The Week in Review

The Bible has prophesied thousands of years ago that in these last days, the United States of America will be utterly defeated in war and that it will be totally destroyed. It is remarkable that more and more voices in the political field are being heard these days warning that this distinct possibility exists NOW. For one example, please read our lead article excerpting statements from Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The Bible has also prophesied that America would lose its willingness to fight in war and to represent its own interests. The incredible interview with Defense Secretary Robert Gates regarding North Korea exemplifies the utter helplessness and paralysis of America in the face of a potentially volatile situation. (Mr. Gates made equally problematic comments regarding Israel and Iran.)

In addition, President Obama’s strategy in Pakistan and Afghanistan does not seem to show any improvement to the failed policies of the Bush Administration. Mr. Obama’s popularity is definitely diminishing both in this country and abroad. As we have stated from the outset, Mr. Obama is not the “savior” the media has made him out to be, and this country will wake up to this fact with bitter disappointment. However, as one article shows, it has become dangerous to criticize Mr. Obama’s policies, as many supporters respond to such criticism with damnable charges of being a racist.

President Obama traveled to Europe to join the G20 gatherings. But Germany and France have shown their disagreement with Britain and the USA and are blaming the Anglo-Saxons for the worldwide recession. And while all the G20 summit leaders claimed success, they “papered over divisions between Europe and the USA” and “offered little new on monetary policy action” (Financial Times, April 2). In the end, the French and the Germans got basically everything they asked for, and the USA just gave in. In other news, it was reported that Italy and Israel are moving to the far right, and Iran continues with its war-mongering activities in the Middle East.

For more information about what is prophesied for the USA, Britain, continental Europe and the Middle East, please read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

We end with a piece of good news: There is an increasing number of Germans who begin to express doubts about the ungodly concept of Darwin’s Evolution Theory. One interesting project in the making is a Bible-themed fun park in Germany, including a replica of Noah’s Ark. Scientists and even mainstream Christianity have opposed this endeavor–shame on them–but it is hoped that in spite of this ungodly opposition, it may still materialize. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–A Fairy Tale for Adults.”

Total Destruction of America

On March 29, Newsmax.com published an intriguing and eye-opening article by Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, titled, “A Single Nuke Could Destroy America.” In the article, it was pointed out:

“A sword of Damocles hangs over our heads. It is a real threat that has been all but ignored. On Feb. 3, Iran launched a ‘communications satellite’ into orbit. At this very moment, North Korea is threatening to do the same. The ability to launch an alleged communications satellite belies a far more frightening truth. A rocket that can carry a satellite into orbit also can drop a nuclear warhead over any location on the planet in less than 45 minutes.

“Far too many timid or uninformed sources maintain that a single launch of a missile poses no true threat to the United States, given our retaliatory power. A reality check is in order and must be discussed in response to such an absurd claim: In fact, one small nuclear weapon, delivered by an ICBM can destroy the United States by maximizing the effect of the resultant electromagnetic pulse upon detonation.

“An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a byproduct of detonating an atomic bomb above the Earth’s atmosphere. When a nuclear weapon is detonated in space, the gamma rays emitted trigger a massive electrical disturbance in the upper atmosphere. Moving at the speed of light, this overload will short out all electrical equipment, power grids and delicate electronics on the Earth’s surface. In fact, it would take only one to three weapons exploding above the continental United States to wipe out our entire grid and transportation network…

“One to three missiles tipped with nuclear weapons and armed to detonate at a high altitude… would create an EMP ‘overlay’ that triggers a continent-wide collapse of our entire electrical, transportation, and communications infrastructure.

“Within weeks after such an attack, tens of millions of Americans would perish. The impact has been likened to a nationwide Hurricane Katrina. Some studies estimate that 90 percent of all Americans might very well die in the year after such an attack as our transportation, food distribution, communications, public safety, law enforcement, and medical infrastructures collapse.”

America–The Helpless Sleeping Giant?

Fox News reported on March 29 about a ridiculous interview with Defense Secretary Robert Gates about the situation with North Korea. While America is trying to present a nice front to show their worries about North Korean warlike tendencies–even sending warships in the region–Gates let the cat out of the bag when stating that America can and will do nothing to stop North Korea. The great sleeping giant–helpless and paralyzed? What a picture of confusing, disillusioning and contradictory messages.

The article stated:

“The United States can do nothing to stop North Korea from breaking international law in the next 10 days by firing a missile that is unlikely to be shot down by the U.S. or its allies, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday. Appearing on ‘FOX News Sunday,’ Gates said North Korea ‘probably will’ fire the missile, prompting host Chris Wallace to ask: ‘And there’s nothing we can do about it?’ ‘No,’ Gates answered, adding, ‘I would say we’re not prepared to do anything about it.’

“Last week, Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said the U.S. is ‘fully prepared’ to shoot down the missile. But Gates said such a response is unlikely. ‘I think if we had an aberrant missile, one that was headed for Hawaii, that looked like it was headed for Hawaii or something like that, we might consider it,’ Gates said. ‘But I don’t think we have any plans to do anything like that at this point.'”

Obama Is Repeating Bush Mistakes

In its March online edition, Foreign Policy wrote the following:

“President Barack Obama’s sobering speech on Afghanistan and Pakistan has been well, if cautiously, received by commentators so far… But amid all of the commentary on the depth and wisdom of the new proposed strategy, it is important to consider some facts and recent history from the ground that should elicit caution and concern for the would-be optimists.

“… the United States is not putting any troops on the ground in Pakistan. The U.S. military will continue to rely on drones, even though their use has led to politically damaging civilian casualties and very little in the way of top al Qaeda leader ‘kills.’ Obama spoke of the $1.5 billion proposed in aid each year over the next five years… That amount is certainly not more than Bush spent on Pakistan; it may even be less, as funding during the previous administration averaged $1.6 billion per year. Comments that Obama is now ‘fully resourcing’ the war in South Asia are completely ungrounded.

“But the biggest flaw in Obama’s strategy for Pakistan is not funding; it is the complete misportrayal of Pakistani politics. Obama denies a fundamental and inescapable choice that he will have to face: the trade-off between Pakistani ‘democracy’ and Pakistani government cooperation in fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda. Pakistani government action against al Qaeda and the Taliban is and will remain inherently unpopular with a significant proportion of the population. If this or any Pakistani government takes serious action against al Qaeda or the Taliban, it will be doing so in the face of significant domestic opposition. It would be difficult enough for a pro-American autocrat with robust financial and military backing to do what the United States is asking. It is a fantasy to think that a democratic government — one that is dependent on popular support — could ever move decisively against the militants. And certainly, $1.5 billion a year is not enough to motivate either type of regime toward much of anything…

 “Likewise, when Obama turns from Pakistan to Afghanistan, he takes on the wrong problem. Obama describes Afghanistan — nearly eight years after the overthrow of the Taliban — as a largely failed state… The Taliban gains support as a direct result of the central government’s failure to provide a minimal level of physical security… Until Obama and his advisors come up with a strategy that will improve security conditions for everyday Afghans, the Taliban will continue to gain ground…

“To be sure, one of former President George W. Bush’s biggest post-September 11 mistakes was to pull U.S. forces out of Afghanistan before they were able to finish destroying al Qaeda. But Obama’s ‘new’ stabilization plan is not fundamentally different from Bush’s ‘democracy as panacea.’ Now, just as Bush had to do, Obama will be forced to decide whether he is really prepared to embrace a security strategy that relies on regional warlords rather than the central government. The Bush administration never resolved this question in its own policies, and the consequence was incoherence and ineffectiveness.

‘”Obama stands to suffer the same fate. Relying on local warlords is extremely problematic in terms of promoting national cohesion, human rights, and other issues of concern to the United States…

“Facing a daunting task, Obama wants to draw on the expertise of an international contact group that includes the United States’ ‘NATO allies and other partners, but also the Central Asian states, the Gulf nations and Iran; Russia, India and China.’ This idea is good only in principle. It is hard to see how such an internally conflicted assembly — including India, Pakistan, Gulf Arab states, and Iran — could accomplish very much…

“The bottom line: The Obama administration’s much-anticipated strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan offers little that is really new or that squarely addresses the long-standing contradictions and deficits in U.S. policy.”

“FROM MANIA TO MISTRUST– Europe’s Obama Euphoria Wanes”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 30:

“Europe was ecstatic when Barack Obama got elected, but the enthusiasm has dampened since he took office in January. On the eve of his first visit to Europe as president, some here are wondering how seriously he takes the Continent…

“When Obama arrives in London on Tuesday for the start of his one-week visit to Europe, he’ll come as a friend, but as one who is still in some ways a stranger. Europe backed his election campaign more enthusiastically than most other parts of the world. But the White House has been too preoccupied coping with domestic crises to devote much attention to this region in the first two months of Obama’s presidency.

“… it has become clear that the most contentious issues have been shelved… it’s plain to see that Obama’s team has yet to become accustomed to dealing with Europe. And a worry voiced during the campaign has returned: that Obama — who spent his childhood years in Indonesia and who has shown a lot of interest in Africa — knows little about Europe.

“Even the British, proud of their ‘special relationship’ with Washington, have been wondering why Gordon Brown was handed nothing more than a box of DVDs as a present during his recent visit. Brussels was pleased that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton devoted so much time to her recent trip there, but the fact that she chose to visit Asia first has been noted…”

Anger Against Obama Within the USA

The Associated Press reported on March 30:

“Many assembly line autoworkers reacted with skepticism and anger Monday to the Obama administration’s tough tactics, which stoked long-simmering feelings that the people who put the country on wheels get treated differently than the wizards of Wall Street… Many workers — not generally known for their affection toward executives — even sympathized with Rick Wagoner, who was forced to step down as chief executive of General Motors Corp. He was by turns called a ‘sacrificial lamb,’ ‘scapegoat’ and ‘fall guy.’

“‘We knew someone was going to have to take the proverbial ‘bullet,’ and it would have made it a lot easier to accept that had the CEOs of the banks also been required to give up their jobs,’ said Jim Graham, president of a union local in Lordstown, Ohio…

“Obama said the administration will offer GM ‘adequate working capital’ during the next 60 days to produce an acceptable reorganization plan. The government gave Chrysler LLC 30 days to overcome hurdles to a merger with Fiat SpA, the Italian automaker. Many workers say the government hasn’t dictated such terms to insurance giant AIG or the banks in which it’s taken an ownership stake. Obama’s actions come amid public outrage over bonuses paid to business leaders and American International Group executives.”

Is Anti-Obamaism Being Racist?

On March 30, Fox News published an interesting piece about a Hollywood actress who is labeled as a racist because she does not agree with President Obama’s policies. Sadly, these prejudicial accusations have become more common in the “land of the free,” which prides itself of granting the right of free expression to its citizens. The article pointed out:

“Angie Harmon (“Law and Order”) is not afraid to come out and say she doesn’t like how President Obama is handling the job — but she’s sick of having to defend herself from being deemed a racist.

“Here’s my problem with this, I’m just going to come out and say it. If I have anything to say against Obama it’s not because I’m a racist, it’s because I don’t like what he’s doing as President and anybody should be able to feel that way, but what I find now is that if you say anything against him you’re called a racist,’ Harmon [said]…’But it has nothing to do with it, I don’t care what color he is. I’m just not crazy about what he’s doing… If I’m going to disagree with my President, that doesn’t make me a racist… it is ridiculous.'”

Germany Stops Britain and Opposes USA

The Telegraph wrote on March 29:

“GORDON BROWN’S carefully laid plans for a G20 deal on worldwide tax cuts have been scuppered by an eve-of-summit ambush by European leaders. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, last night led the assault on the prime minister’s ‘global new deal’ for a $2 trillion-plus fiscal stimulus to end the recession. ‘I will not let anyone tell me that we must spend more money,’ she said.

“The Spanish finance minister, Pedro Solbes, also dismissed new cash being pledged at Thursday’s London summit…

“The attacks on Brown’s ambitions for the G20 to inject more money into the world economy come at the end of a week where the prime minister has travelled to three continents to build support for his proposals… The assault by European Union leaders also represents a defeat for President Barack Obama, who is desperate for other big economies to copy his $800 billion stimulus plan… Adding to the disarray, a draft of the agreement Brown hopes to secure was leaked to a German news magazine…

“George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, yesterday warned Brown against further tax cuts in the budget. ‘When it comes to your plans for a second fiscal stimulus, I say this Gordon Brown: enough is enough,’ he said in a speech. ‘We will not let you play roulette with the public finances yet again’…

“Merkel’s criticism drew an angry response from Labour MPs. Denis MacShane, the former Europe minister, said: ‘Who does Mrs Merkel think is going to buy Mercedes and BMWs if she . . . says putting demand into the economy is a bad thing?’ Another Labour MP said: ‘One has to ask who had something to gain from the leak of [Brown’s] communiqué. This feels like a dirty trick.'”

France Threatens Britain, Blames USA

On March 31, The Times reported the following:

“President Sarkozy yesterday threatened to wreck the London summit if France’s demands for tougher financial regulation are not met. France will not accept a G20 that produces a ‘false success with language that sounds good but contains no commitments’, his advisers said… The French threat dramatically raised the temperature hours before President Obama arrives in London today. If carried through, it would ruin a summit for which Mr Brown and Mr Obama have high ambitions, believing it vital to international recovery…

“Mr Sarkozy, who blames the ‘Anglo-Saxons’ for causing the economic crisis, told his ministers last week that he would leave Mr Brown’s summit ‘if it does not work out’… France wants a global financial regulator, an idea fiercely opposed by the United States and Britain. Mr Brown has described the notion as ridiculous.

“Germany and other nations are reported to be against a global regulator and sources said that President Sarkozy must know that the proposal would not make progress… British officials said it looked as if Mr Sarkozy was picking a fight he could present as a victory back home.”

France and Germany vs. GB and USA

Times On Line wrote on April 2:

“France and Germany delivered a late threat to derail Gordon Brown’s efforts to secure a global recovery deal last night by demanding new concessions from the United States on financial regulation.

“In a classic show of eve-of-summit brinkmanship, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy joined forces to give warning that they would refuse to sign any agreement that did not meet their ‘red lines’ on tax havens, hedge fund regulation, tracing ‘securitised’ assets sold around the world and capping bankers’ remuneration. They also wanted the ‘naming and shaming’ of tax havens that refused to go along with tougher regulatory rules, which is being opposed by the United States.

“In a reminder of former confrontations between America and the countries of Old Europe, Mr Sarkozy suggested that Europe would not take economic direction from the US. He appeared to suggest that America would have to compromise, adding pointedly: ‘The crisis didn’t spontaneously erupt in Europe, did it?’

“The firm stance of Mr Sarkozy and Ms Merkel and the language used in a joint press conference took negotiators by surprise as they prepared to work through the night on the communiqué to be released today. Although Mr Brown and President Obama appeared confident of an agreement throughout yesterday’s talks in London, it was clear last night that Mr Obama would have to make more concessions if differences were to be smoothed over…

“Mr Sarkozy… said last night that the German-Franco demands on regulation were ‘non-negotiable’… he indicated that France and Germany would be ready to discuss other issues only if they felt that their priority of tougher regulation was being adequately dealt with…

“The tone of the two leaders differed sharply from that adopted by Mr Brown and Mr Obama earlier in the day. Mr Brown spoke of leaders being ‘within a few hours’ of agreeing a global plan for economic recovery…”

“G20 Leaders Claim Summit Success”

The Financial Times reported on April 2:

“World leaders on Thursday heralded the G20 summit as the day the world ‘fought back against the recession’ as they put on a show of unity that lifted global markets and mapped out a new future for financial regulation

“Gordon Brown, host of the summit, said the meeting marked the emergence of a ‘new world order’, as he unveiled what leaders claimed was a $1,100bn package of measures to tackle the global downturn, including support for lower income countries and a $250bn plan to boost the international money supply.

“Close inspection showed some of the $1,100bn pledged included reannouncements and half-done deals. However, even before the summit ended, equity markets rose sharply around the world on hopes that the global economy was stabilising…

“The leaders papered over divisions between the US and Europe over whether the world could afford a new fiscal stimulus, with US president Barack Obama describing the summit’s measures as ‘bolder and more rapid than any international response that we’ve seen to a financial crisis in memory’ and predicted they would mark ‘a turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery’.

“France’s president Nicolas Sarkozy, meanwhile, said the summit’s agreement on a new regulatory regime and crackdown on tax havens showed ‘a page has been turned’ on an era of post-war ‘Anglo Saxon’ capitalism.

“Although the summit ended with smiles, a row between China and France over the blacklisting of tax havens – including possibly Hong Kong and Macao – continued behind the scenes well into the day. US officials say that Barack Obama helped broker a compromise over offshore tax savings between Hu Jintao of China and Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who had threatened to walk away from the summit… In the end they agreed [to] a compromise in which the G20 would only ‘take note’ of the OECD’s list, rather than endorse it.

“The summit text included commitments to curb ‘risky’ bank pay and bonuses, but offered little new on monetary policy action or efforts to clean up bank balance sheets. Of the $500bn of money pledged to the IMF to bolster struggling economies, some had already been announced and $250bn was a pledge of future funds.”

“Merkel and Sarkozy Got Everything They Asked For”

Der Spiegel Online reported on April 2:

“On Wednesday, eyebrows were raised when German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy went before the press to demand in no uncertain terms that the G-20 do more to strengthen regulation of global financial markets. On Thursday, the two leaders appeared to be getting everything they asked for…

“Merkel and Sarkozy had rejected earlier drafts of the statement for lacking bite when it came to financial oversight. Now, the G-20 has agreed to the creation of blacklists of tax havens in addition to measures to tighten rules pertaining to hedge funds and credit rating agencies. An oversight body will also be created. Chancellor Merkel praised the outcome of the summit for reaching a ‘very, very good, almost historic compromise.’ She said ‘we have agreed on the development of a clear financial architecture.'”

Italy Moves to the Far Right

The EUObserver wrote on March 27:

“The populist right-wing party of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Friday officially merges with the post-fascist Alleanza Nazionale at the founding congress of Il Popolo della Liberta, the powerful new rightist bloc that is not only set to dominate Italian politics for the foreseeable future, but will also wield considerable power in the European Parliament after the June elections…

“The Alleanza Nazionale was formed by Mr Fini out of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), the former neo-fascist party, together with a handful of conservative ex-Christian Democrats and Liberals. Despite once having called Italy’s fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, the greatest statesman of the 20th century, Mr Fini has since tried to distance himself from his far right past, making numerous trips to Israel and even criticising elements of the recent hardline security package that targets immigrants and minorities.”

Of course, even Adolf Hitler backed down from persecuting Jews openly, when he ran for power. He showed his true colors, however, when he WAS in power.

Iran’s Warmongering in the Middle East

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 30:

“Iran is reportedly increasing its military aid to both Hezbollah and Hamas, according to Israeli intelligence sources…

“The findings of other intelligence agencies in the Middle East also indicate that Iran is sending weapons and explosives to Hezbollah in Lebanon and to the Palestinian radical group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip…

“Meanwhile, the Israelis have carried out aerial attacks in Sudan in an attempt to halt the delivery of weapons to Hamas — including rockets with a range of 70 kilometers, far enough to reach Tel Aviv from the Gaza Strip…

“The level to which Iran is intervening politically in the region is made evident by the failure of attempts so far to achieve reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions. The moderate Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas, which controls the West Bank, is locked in a bitter conflict with the radical Islamist group Hamas, which forced Fatah out of the Gaza Strip in June 2007… even the veteran Egyptian mediators had underestimated Iran’s influence.”

Israel Moves to the Right

The Financial Times wrote on March 30:

“Benjamin Netanyahu will be sworn in as Israel’s prime minister, marking a decisive shift to a more rightwing, hawkish government, just as the country is facing mounting international criticism.

“The Likud party leader, prime minister between 1996 and 1999, will preside over a broad but potentially fractious coalition. Mr Netanyahu’s alliance includes the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party, the centre-left Labour party and the ultra-orthodox religious Shas group. His government may eventually comprise six parties with strongly diverging policies on issues from foreign policy to Israel’s religious-secular divide. The new prime minister faces discontent within his own party over the number of senior cabinet posts for his party affiliates…

“Mr Netanyahu has so far refused to back the idea of an independent Palestinian state – the cornerstone of all recent diplomatic efforts to end the 60-year Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Compounding the difficult international environment faced by the new government is the backlash over Israel’s recent assault on the Gaza Strip, which has sparked calls for a war crimes tribunal and strained relations with neighbouring Egypt. The Arab world, in particular, has been aghast at the appointment of Avigdor Lieberman as Israel’s foreign minister.

“Mr Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, is known for anti-Arab outbursts, and an election campaign this year that targeted Israel’s Palestinian minority. However, fears that Mr Netanyahu could become dependent on Mr Lieberman and other far-right groups have receded since last week, when he managed to bring the Labour party on board. The coalition agreement will allow Ehud Barak, the Labour leader and a former prime minister himself, to continue in his job as defence minister.

“It is unclear, however, to what degree Labour will be in a position to counterbalance the rightwing forces in the coalition. The party only controls five out of 30 cabinet posts and will have fewer deputies than either Likud or Yisrael Beiteinu. The decision to join a government dominated by rightwing and religious parties is likely to have antagonised many Labour voters, potentially reducing Mr Barak’s readiness to force an early election over policy disagreements.”

Israel Warns USA and Iran

The Jerusalem Post reported on April 1:

“The primary imperative for the United States and President Barack Obama is to put an end to Iran’s nuclear race, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said before his swearing-in Tuesday, adding that if the US failed to do so Israel might be forced to resort to a military strike on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear installations.

“‘The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons,’ Netanyahu told The Atlantic. The Iranian drive for a nuclear weapon was a ‘hinge of history,’ he said, emphasizing that all of ‘Western civilization’ was responsible for preventing an Iranian bomb.

“‘You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs,’ Netanyahu said of the Iranian regime. ‘When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.'”

“Israel Might Attack Iran”

Press TV wrote on April 1:

“Top US commander in the Middle East, General David Petraeus says Israel might choose to attack Iran as a move to halt its nuclear program. ‘The Israeli government may ultimately see itself so threatened by the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon that it would take preemptive military action to derail or delay it,’ Petraeus told the US Congress on Wednesday.

“The head of the US Central Command also accused Iran of failing ‘to provide the assurances and transparency necessary for international acceptance and verification’ of the peaceful nature of its program. Tehran’s ‘obstinacy and obfuscation have forced Iran’s neighbors and the international community to conclude the worst about the regime’s intention,’ Bloomberg quoted Petraeus as telling the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Ken Katzman, a Middle East military analyst for the non- partisan Congressional Research Service in Washington, said Petraeus’ remarks about a prospective Israeli attack against Iran ‘was extremely significant, particularly for what he did not say — that the United States would act to restrain Israel or talk it out of conducting such a strike.’

“Israel, which is believed to possess the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenals, accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear arms. Tehran however says its nuclear program is only aimed at meeting the country’s energy needs.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ Ill-Advised Comments

According to Haaretz.com in an article, dated April 2, “U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Financial Times on Wednesday that Israel is unlikely to launch military operations against Iranian nuclear installations this year in a bid to derail the Islamic regime’s drive to attain atomic weapons.”

Again, as was the case with his previous comments regarding North Korea, Robert Gates’ new comments must also be viewed as ill-advised and politically dangerous.

The article continued:

“Upon taking office this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a strategic threat to Israel, and that neutralizing that threat is a top priority of his new administration… Gates said he believed that Iran would not cross the nuclear threshold, or ‘red line’, this year. He estimated that it would take Tehran between one to three years to reach the point it possessed enough know-how to produce nuclear weapons.

“Gates’ assessment is at odds with that offered by Israel’s defense establishment. Last month, Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told lawmakers that Iran has ‘crossed the technological threshold’ for making a nuclear bomb. He told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the Islamic Republic has developed surface-to-surface missiles that can carry nuclear warheads.”

Israel Opposes Annapolis

The Wall Street Journal wrote on April 2:

“Sounding a defiant tone on his first day as foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman said Israel wouldn’t abide by commitments it made to pursue Palestinian statehood at the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis peace summit in 2007.

“The comments suggested a potential early friction point between the newly sworn-in government of Benjamin Netanyahu and the Obama administration, and stood in sharp contrast to a more conciliatory tone struck by Mr. Netanyahu at his swearing-in ceremony Tuesday night.

“‘There is one document that obligates us — and that’s not the Annapolis conference, it has no validity,’ Mr. Lieberman said at a news conference Wednesday. He said Israel would instead abide by the so-called ‘road map’ for peace developed in 2002, which delays discussion of Palestinian statehood until after Palestinians clamp down on terror and meet other conditions. ‘Those who think that through concessions they will gain respect and peace are wrong,’ he added. ‘It’s the other way around; it will lead to more wars.’ Many in Mr. Netanyahu’s own party share Mr. Lieberman’s views, but Mr. Netanyahu has been trying to moderate his image…

“U.S. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid avoided responding directly to Mr. Lieberman’s comments, instead telling reporters the White House is committed to the two-state solution and ‘moving forward’ from Annapolis, and is awaiting ‘the final position of the Israeli government.'”

Some Germans Are Questioning Evolution Theory

Netzeitung wrote on March 26:

“Many Evangelical Americans might consider Europe a godless place, but… questioning the theory of evolution and teaching Creationism is on the rise in Germany. Herald Janssen reckons that if people could only see a replica of Noah’s Ark, they might be swayed toward the Biblical story of creation. ‘It was as big as an oil-tanker,’ he says. ‘If you could see it, you’d start to think, “Wow, it might have fit all the animals in there.”‘

“Articulate and obviously well-read, Janssen… sits on the board of a Swiss non-profit group that wants to build a Bible-themed fun park in Germany… Creationism – the belief that Genesis and other books of the Bible explain life on Earth – is gaining strength in Germany.

“A recent survey at the University of Dortmund found that more than one-fifth of students who wanted to become teachers had misgivings about Darwin’s theory of evolution. Some 17 percent of students who’d studied basic biology doubted evolution, as did nearly eight percent who were studying a higher degree in biology…

“A real litmus test for the movement will be whether the Biblical theme park planned by the Swiss group Genesis Land gets off the ground. The original location near Heidelberg has been abandoned due to opposition from locals and mainstream Protestants. Genesis Land is now in talks with planning authorities in three other locations, though Herald Janssen won’t say where.

“They need about EUR 80 million to open the park and another EUR 120 million to complete it. So far, they have raised less than half a million, though Mr Janssen points out they are awaiting planning approval before they begin their proper fundraising drive. ‘Sure,’ he says. ‘We have a long way to go.'”

The Week in Review

In light of questionable U.S. lawmaking and financial politics, the National Post and the Financial Post ran a provocative article, titled, “Is This the End of America?” Questions are also justified in light of a perceived agenda by the Obama Administration to enact mandatory national service for all Americans (see our new StandingWatch program, titled, “Beware of the GIVE Act,”) and to seize more powers from institutions other than banks.

There are also concerns that the hypocritical actions of Congress to impose a 90% tax on bonuses (even though the AIG bonuses were included in the stimulus package which Congress adopted without reading it) may lead to a mass exodus of American bankers to Europe. This new law might very well be unconstitutional, but it is felt that the courts would not rule this way, given their historical deference to the actions of Congress.

Recently, former Vice-President Dick Cheney stated in an interview that the USA accomplished everything in Iraq that they had intended to do. This is hardly the case. As Der Spiegel reported this week, religious persecution of Christians in Iraq and other minorities is on the rise. Afghanistan proves to be another debacle. Even though President Obama wants to continue the war in Afghanistan by sending more troops, that war has been an utter disaster, and additional troops won’t improve the situation.

Poland has voiced deep concerns about Mr. Obama’s decision to place the missile shield program on hold, stating that, “We hope we don’t regret our trust in the United States.” And a rift between Mexico and the USA, as well as a transatlantic rift between Washington and Brussels, are widening.

The world also watches with anxiety a real possibility of a war with North Korea, and the attempts of Prime Minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government in Israel, fearing for the continuation of the ill-fated “peace process” in the Middle East.

Turning to Germany, retailers made the correct decision to take violent video games off their shelves, following a horrific school shooting last week. And finally, we are told that Arabs are willing to invest heavily in Germany, which could lead to events described in Daniel 11. (For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”)

The End of America?

The National Post and the Financial Post ran a provocative article, titled, “Is This the End of America?” In the article, dated March 19, it was stated:

“Helicopter Ben Bernanke’s Federal Reserve is dropping trillions of fresh paper dollars on the world economy, the President of the United States is cracking jokes on late night comedy shows, his energy minister is threatening a trade war over carbon emissions, his treasury secretary is dithering over a banking reform program amid rising concerns over his competence and a monumentally dysfunctional U.S. Congress is launching another public jihad against corporations and bankers.

“As an aghast world — from China to Chicago and Chihuahua — watches, the circus-like U.S. political system seems to be declining into near chaos. Through it all, stock and financial markets are paralyzed. The more the policy regime does, the worse the outlook gets. The multi-ringed spectacle raises a disturbing question in many minds: Is this the end of America?

“Probably not, if only because there are good reasons for optimism… It’s happened many times before, except for once, when it took 20 years to rise out of the Great Depression.

“Past success, however, is no guarantee of future recovery, especially now when there are daily disasters and new indicators of political breakdown. All developments are not disasters in themselves. The AIG bonus firestorm is a diversion from real issues , but it puts the ghastly political classes who make U.S. law on display for what they are: ageing self-serving demagogues who have spent decades warping the U.S. political system for their own ends. We see the system up close, law-making that is riddled with slapdash, incompetence and gamesmanship.

“One test of whether we are witnessing the end of America is how many more times Americans put up with congressional show trials of individual business people and their employees, slandering and vilifying them for their actions and motives. And for how long will they tolerate a President who berates business and corporations as dens of crime and malfeasance? If the majority of Americans come to accept the caricatures of business as true, then America is closer to the end of its life as a global leader, as a champion of markets and individualism.

“But America is at risk in other ways, especially in the technical business of setting and executing policy. The presidency of Barack Obama has set out on a course that has no precedent in U.S. history…

“Reform of health care, environmental policy, education, energy, banking, regulation — every nook and cranny of the U.S. economy has been put on alert for major change. Expansion of government spending, plunging the U.S. into unprecedented deficits, is without parallel. In economic policy, through regulation and control of energy output, financial services and monetary expansion, the U.S. government has embarked on a fundamental reshaping of America. It is designed, in short, to bring on the end of America…

“Under the chairmanship of Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve is in the midst of a giant economic experiment, flooding the world with U.S. dollars, hoping that flood will stimulate economic activity… For the rest of the world, however, the worry is that America is at risk of becoming the fountainhead of a new inflationary outburst. The U.S. dollar is now in decline, gold is moving sharply higher, and new global currency turmoil is on the horizon.”

Mass Exodus of American Bankers to Europe?

The Financial Times wrote on March 20:

“Bankers on Wall Street and in Europe have struck back against moves by US lawmakers to slap punitive taxes on bonuses paid to high earners at bailed-out institutions. Senior executives on both sides of the Atlantic on Friday warned of an exodus of talent from some of the biggest names in US finance, saying the ‘anti-American’ measures smacked of ‘a McCarthy witch-hunt’ that would send the country ‘back to the stone age.’

“… ‘Finance is one of America’s great industries, and they’re destroying it,’ said one banker at a firm that has accepted public money. ‘This happened out of haste and anger over AIG, but we’re not like AIG…’ Bankers at Deutsche Bank said it could benefit from the proposed legislation by poaching its US rivals’ most talented employees.”

Bonus Law Probably Unconstitutional… But Do the Courts Care?

Bloomberg wrote on March 20:

“Courts probably will uphold Congress’s effort to tax employee bonuses at American International Group Inc. and other companies receiving federal bailout funds, several legal experts said… The measure raises a number of legal questions, and New Hampshire Republican Senator Judd Gregg yesterday [as well as former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney and former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee] said the legislation was unconstitutional. Still, any legal challenge will meet a significant obstacle: the historic reluctance of the Supreme Court to second-guess Congress on tax issues…

“The House took several steps to shield the measure from that argument, said Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law professor at Harvard Law School [and legal advisor to President Obama]… The measure doesn’t single out employees at AIG and instead uses general language affecting all companies receiving more than $5 billion in federal bailout money. Bonuses for employees at Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley would be affected.

“Tribe also pointed to a provision in the measure exempting executives at companies that repay enough bailout funds to reduce the government’s investment below $5 billion. That provision ‘makes it clear that the goal is not to punish corporate executives generally, but is simply to ensure the appropriate use of government funds,’ Tribe said in an e-mail…

“‘Courts have been fairly deferential to Congress if the language is written in sufficiently general terms,’ said Jonathan Adler, a law professor and director of the Center for Business Law and Regulation at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland.

“McCaffery, who teaches at USC’s Gould School of Law in Los Angeles, said opponents also would be able to press a legitimate — if not ultimately successful — argument against the measure based on the Constitution’s due-process clause… Opponents would have to show that Congress imposed punishment, bypassing the criminal court system… Even so [this might be the case], he said, ‘you’re swimming upstream because of the general tendency of the courts to stay out of tax legislation…'”

Beware of the GIVE Act

Fox.news reported on March 18:

“The House of Representatives passed a measure Wednesday that supporters are calling the most sweeping reform of nationally-backed volunteer programs since AmeriCorps. But some opponents are strongly criticizing the legislation, calling it expensive indoctrination and forced advocacy. The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, known as the GIVE Act… was approved by a 321-105 vote and now goes to the Senate.

“… the bill’s opponents — and there are only a few in Congress — say it could cram ideology down the throats of young ‘volunteers,’ many of whom could be forced into service since the bill creates a ‘Congressional Commission on Civic Service.’

“The bipartisan commission will be tasked with exploring a number of topics, including ‘whether a workable, fair and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the nation.’

“…some critics on the right suggest that the president’s push for national service goes too far, and the recent congressional steps toward expanding the federal role in volunteerism and ‘civilian service’ smacks of a larger agenda. They point to a campaign speech the president made last July in which he suggested national security could be entrusted to a civilian force.

“‘We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded,’ Obama… said during a Colorado Springs rally.”

Senate Rubberstamps the GIVE Act

In the meantime, the Senate approved this Act as well.

Note the following “enthusiastic” article by the New York Times, dated March 23:

“Following overwhelming House passage last week, the Senate tonight voted 74 to 14 on a procedural move that essentially guarantees a major expansion of a national service corps, a cornerstone of volunteerism that dates back to the era of President Kennedy. It’s akin to a call to arms by President Obama, who has harkened back to those early days to demand giving back by those who voted for him.

“In fact, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the senior Democrat from Massachusetts whose battle with brain cancer has oft kept him absent from the Senate these days, appeared on the floor to welcomes all around as he cast his approving vote as a co-sponsor. From President Kennedy’s days to the creation of Americorps by then President Bill Clinton, the notion of public service has become a rallying cry. Tonight’s vote, propelled by President Obama’s urging of an expansion, would mean a growth in such work from 75,000 community service jobs to 250,000.

“According to the Congressional Budget Office, the cost of the Senate bill at least would be an outlay for the fiscal year 2010 of $418 million to about $5.7 billion from 2010 through 2014. It’s an historic vote in the sense that a national service corps, an army dispersed to help with education, health services and the environment, would vastly enlarge the notion of ‘community organizing,’ and allow, as Senator Barbara Mikulski, Democrat of Maryland, said tonight, for about 7 million people to be engaged in such work.

“The bill enjoyed extraordinary bipartisan support, including namely the major co-sponsor, Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah, who tonight even recommended reading the biography of R. Sargent Shriver, relative by marriage to the Kennedys and who directed the original Peace Corps from 1961 to 1966. In addition, Senator Hatch mentioned that the Rev. Rick Warren, the evangelical minister of Saddleback Church… was an enthusiastic supporter of this effort, as was Senator John McCain, the former Republican presidential nominee…

“Eleven senators did not cast a vote. The 14 Republicans, some of whom cited the cost in voting against the proposal, are: Senators Sam Brownback of Kansas, James Bunning of Kentucky, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Michael Crapo of Idaho, Jon Kyl of Arizona, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, John Ensign of Nevada, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Jim Risch of Idaho, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, both of Alabama, Tom DeMint of South Carolina and John Thune of South Dakota.”

However, there are DEEP concerns with this bill.

As Infowars.com reports on March 24:

“A passage contained in section 6104 of the original House version entitled ‘Duties,’ in subsection B6, states that a commission will be set up to investigate, ‘Whether a workable, fair, and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed.’ This language has been dropped from the version passed by the Senate.

“However, Section 120 of the bill discusses the ‘Youth Engagement Zone Program’ and states that ‘service learning’ will be ‘a mandatory part of the curriculum in all of the secondary schools served by the local educational agency.’ This part remains in the version passed by the Senate.

“Roles which will be staffed by members of the programs, labeled ‘Required National Service Corps,’ include ‘criminal justice,’ ‘environmental stewardship,’ and ‘public safety.’ Aside from the programs aimed at college students and young people, others will be specifically targeted towards, ‘Retired and other former law enforcement, fire, rescue, and emergency personnel, and other individuals with backgrounds in disaster preparedness, relief, and recovery.’”

Please make sure to watch Norbert Link’s new StandingWatch program, titled, “Beware of the GIVE Act.”

Sen. Judd Gregg–Hopelessly Confusing

The Associated Press reported on March 22 about a blatantly inconsistent statement by Republican Senator Judd Gregg, pertaining to the Obama financial policy. The article stated:

“The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee says the Obama administration is on the right course to save the nation’s financial system. But Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire also says President Barack Obama’s massive budget proposal will bankrupt the country. Gregg says he has no regrets in withdrawing his nomination to become commerce secretary. He pulled out after deciding he could not fully back the administration’s economic policies. The senator said Obama’s spending plan in the midst of a prolonged recession would leave the next generation with a country too expensive to live in.”

Americans in Dire Financial Need

News Seattle Times reported on March 21:

“A MetLife study released last week found that 50 percent of Americans said they have only a one-month cushion — roughly two paychecks — or less before they would be unable to fully meet their financial obligations if they were to lose their jobs. More disturbing is that 28 percent said they could not make ends meet for longer than two weeks without their jobs…”

More Power to the Government?

The Washington Post wrote on March 24:

“The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage the broader economy, according to an administration document. The government at present has the authority to seize only banks.”

“Washington-Brussels Divide”

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 24:

“As the G-20 club of the world’s wealthiest nations prepares to meet in London on Apr. 2, observers have focused increasingly on an alleged clash between the US and Europe about how to deal with the global financial crisis…

“US-style domestic stimulus would have only limited effect in export-oriented economies such as Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and many Eastern European countries…

“To be sure, [European Central Bank President Jean-Claude] Trichet fueled talk of a US-Europe rift when he seemed to tell the Wall Street Journal that American policymakers should put their money where their mouths are.”

America’s Stimulus Package a “Road to Hell”

The Associated Press reported on March 25:

“The president of the European Union slammed President Barack Obama’s plans to have the U.S. spend its way out of recession as ‘a road to hell,’ underscoring European differences with Washington ahead of a crucial summit next week on fixing the world economy. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, told the European Parliament on Wednesday that Obama’s massive stimulus package and banking bailout ‘will undermine the liquidity of the global financial market.’

“Other European politicians kept their distance from the blunt remarks, with some reproaching the Czech leader for his strong language and others reaffirming their good diplomatic ties with the U.S. European governments, led by France and Germany, say the focus should be on tighter financial regulation, while the U.S. is pushing for larger economic stimulus plans — but nobody has so far escalated the rhetoric to such strident levels.

“Topolanek’s remarks are the strongest criticism so far from a European leader as the 27-nation bloc sticks to its position that its member countries are already spending enough to stimulate demand… Topolanek, whose government lost a vote of confidence Tuesday but who will remain EU president until a new Czech government is established, bluntly said that ‘the United States did not take the right path.'”

England Can’t Afford Another Stimulus Package

The Times wrote on March 25:

“The Governor of the Bank of England laid bare tensions between Gordon Brown and the Treasury yesterday by warning that Britain could not afford a second economic stimulus in the Budget.

“Mervyn King… spoke as the Prime Minister, beginning an international tour to co-ordinate measures for next week’s G20 gathering in London, called on leaders to do ‘whatever it takes to create growth and the jobs we need.’ President Obama, Mr Brown’s main stimulus ally, writes in the same vein in The Times today, saying that America is ready to lead the world out of recession, while calling for swift and robust action to stimulate growth ‘until growth is restored.'”

Strain in US-Mexico Relations

The Wall Street Journal wrote on March 25:

“Mexico’s economy is being dragged down by the recession to the north. American addicts have turned Mexico into a drug superhighway, and its police and soldiers are under assault from American guns. Nafta promised 15 years ago that Mexican trucks would be allowed on American roads, but Congress said they were unsafe.

“United States-Mexican relations are in the midst of what can be described as a neighborly feud, one that stretches along a lengthy shared fence. That border fence, which has become a wall in some places, is another irritant.

“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives in Mexico on Wednesday for what will be the first in a parade of visits by top administration officials, including President Obama himself next month, to try to head off a major foreign policy crisis close to home. They will find a country mired in a deepening slump, miffed by signs of protectionism in its largest trading partner, and torn apart by a drug war for which many in Mexico blame customers in the United States…

“Mr. Obama, like President George W. Bush before him, is finding that these foreign challenges touch on some of the thorniest issues in domestic politics, including immigration, free trade and gun control. The Bush administration disturbed relations by failing to deliver on its promise of immigration reform. And the Obama administration, in its first weeks in office, has set off new tensions with a series of conflicting signals and false starts…

“The bloody drug war, which has caused 7,000 deaths in 16 months, has become the principal sore point between the countries… 90 percent of the guns used by Mexican drug cartels originated in the United States…

“The suggestion by Mr. Obama that American troops might be moved toward the border to combat drug cartels prompted Gen. Guillermo Galván, Mexico’s defense secretary, to assert that no deployment of foreign soldiers would be allowed on Mexican soil. History was at the root of the concern here, as even Mexican schoolchildren know of the war a century and a half ago in which the United States seized half of Mexico’s territory…”

Mission Accomplished in Iraq?

Der Spiegel wrote on March 20:

“Europe is opening its doors to the first of a 10,000-strong group of mostly Christian Iraqis… They’ve been chased and threatened, exiled and robbed… Many of the families are Christians for whom living in Iraq has become extremely dangerous. Churches have been bombed, bishops murdered and anyone wearing a cross can quickly become a target. The Christians are too small a minority in the Muslim country to protect themselves…

“The refugees include people like Rita, who once owned a hair salon but had to give it up after receiving death threats. She lived a life of fear until, like many other Christians, she fled the country with her family. Now she has nothing to return to — her house has been occupied and her neighborhood has been ‘ethnically cleansed.’ Rita’s father was kidnapped because he is a Christian. His wife searched for him for one month and then fled to Syria. Police freed him after eight weeks, but it took him nine months to find out where his family had gone.

“Indeed, many of the Iraqi refugees survived horrible events and are traumatized. Sixteen-year-old Muhanad, for example, was kidnapped on his way to school at the age of 14. His kidnappers held him captive until his parents were able to raise $10,000 in ransom by selling jewellery and getting help from other family members. They took the money and dumped the boy in the street with two broken legs. ‘I cried for two weeks, but now everything is okay,’ he says. Muhanad’s family belongs to a Mandaean minority group, which like Christians and Yazidis, became the target of terrorism early on…

“The persecution was far from limited to religious minorities — it was also perpetrated against Muslims like a young man named Mohamed, who was terrorized by the Sunni terror network al-Qaida on one side and the brutal Shiite Mahdi Army on the other… There were loud calls for heightened political pressure on Iraq to respect basic human rights…

“Even though the Americans and the Brits are not without guilt in this matter, Iraq was already a state which showed little respect for human rights. Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party were unpredictable in their treatment of minorities…”

The Afghan Disaster

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 20:

“Afghanistan is on the brink of chaos… The elected government… can no longer compete with the Taliban…

“Internal reports by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) paint grim pictures of the situation. US generals say that they are seeing a ‘significant challenge from insurgents’ in Wardak, and their commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama, recently responded with a simple ‘no’ to the question of whether the United States and its allies are currently winning the war in Afghanistan…

“Instead of progress, NATO is constantly forced to report setbacks, even in areas that seemed to have been turned around after the Taliban regime was toppled in the fall of 2001… Peace has proven elusive after the supposed military victory over the Taliban seven years ago. Officials in the world’s capitals must now contemplate the terrible possibility of failure, the likelihood of defeat for NATO, the UN, the European Union and the United States…

“Obama’s announcement of his intention to negotiate with the ‘moderate’ Taliban looks like the move of a commander-in-chief who no longer believes in victory. His words are those of a leader who sees his position as so weakened that he must make concessions to the enemy. And they demonstrate that the world was misled over the situation in Afghanistan for years…

“Day after day, foreign soldiers are killed and Afghan policemen are murdered… In the east, along the supply routes in the Afghan-Pakistani border region, bridges are constantly being blown up and roads covered in rubble. Convoys are attacked on the Afghan side or destroyed by the enemy in Pakistan before they can even reach the border.”

Will Poland Be Disappointed by the USA?

Deutsche Welle reported on March 22 about the intention by the USA to reconsider the planned deployment of a anti-missile shield in Poland:

“‘We hope we don’t regret our trust in the United States,’ Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said… Russia was enraged by the US missile plans — which the last administration under George W. Bush said was needed to counter a threat from Iran — but has welcomed the review ordered by President Barack Obama.

“I am afraid Russian generals and even the Russian president continue to threaten us with the deployment of medium-range missiles,” Sikorski said…

“Russia has been bitterly opposed to the deployment of a US anti-missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic ever since it was proposed by the former US President George W. Bush… But it was assuaged by Obama’s decision to order a review of the multi-billion dollar project…

“But Sikorski stressed that Poland had taken ‘something of a political risk’ in signing an agreement with the previous US administration. ‘When we started discussing this with the United States, the US assured us they would persuade the Russians that it was purely defensive and it would be a non-controversial decision,’ he said.”

North Korea Threatens War

The Associated Press reported on March 26:

“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday warned North Korea that firing a missile for any purpose would be a ‘provocative act’ that would have consequences. North Korea is loading a rocket on a launch pad in anticipation of the launch of a communications satellite between April 4 and 8.”

The Telegraph added on March 26:

“The US has deployed two warships with anti-missile capabilities in the waters off Japan as tensions mount over North Korea’s plans to test-fire a long-range ballistic missile capable of striking Alaska… North Korea, which has informed international agencies of its plan to fire the missile between April 4 and 8, says the launch is a ‘satellite test’ which it is entitled to make under international law… Japan has threatened to shoot down the missile if it crosses over Japanese territory, a move which Pyongyang has already said it would consider an ‘act of war.'”

Reuters stated on March 26:

“North Korea said on Thursday that if the international community punishes it for next month’s planned missile launch it will restart a nuclear plant that makes weapons grade plutonium… The planned launch… is the first big test for U.S. President Barack Obama in dealing with the prickly North, whose efforts to build a nuclear arsenal have long plagued ties with Washington.”

Developments in Israel

Die Welt reported on March 24:

“Prime Minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu made a coalition agreement with Labour Chief Ehud Barak Tuesday… On Monday, Netanyahu sealed a coalition deal with the Orthodox Jewish Shas party. He had already signed up the Yisrael Beitenu party led by ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman.

“But while enlisting those partners following Israel’s Feb. 10 election, Netanyahu made clear he preferred a broad-based coalition — a government of ‘national unity’. A sharp turn to the right within Israel’s government could raise international concern already heightened by Netanyahu’s promise to appoint Lieberman foreign minister.

“Lieberman has proposed transferring land where many of Israel’s 1.5 million Arab citizens live to a future Palestinian state in return for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, and wants all Israelis to take a loyalty oath.

“Netanyahy could significantly widen his parliamentary majority if the centrist Kadima party, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, changes its mind about going into the opposition. Netanyahu has not met her demand for a commitment to Palestinian statehood and a rotation agreement that would make her prime minister for part of the next government’s term.”

Arab Investments in Germany

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 25:

“Abu Dhabi’s stake in Daimler [secured by a payment of €1.95 billion] may herald a wave of Arab investments in German companies that are now available at bargain prices in the economic crisis. However, the new investors are likely to want a bigger say in corporate strategy than German executives have been used to.

“… there are strong signs that Arab investors will become increasingly active in Germany and Central Europe in the near future. Despite the financial crisis, they have ample cash. Besides, the stock value of major companies has nosedived and governments are so busy trying to rescue their economies that their resistance to supposedly dangerous foreign investors has evaporated…

“If the trend is confirmed, the times when Arab investors simply nodded through decisions by German management boards will be over… Arab investors will continue to focus on Europe and Germany, analysts say. In Europe, investors are interested in a broad range of industries, from machine production to carmaking.

“Another European advantage is the euro. ‘Many funds try to prevent the dollar share of their portfolios from getting too big,’ said Deutsche Bank’s Kern…

“The German government last year introduced legislation to give it the power to block major acquisitions of German firms by foreign investors from outside the EU… But the new rule, which allows the government to prevent foreign purchases of more than 25 percent of a firm’s voting rights if it deems the investment ‘a threat to public order and security,’ is unlikely to be used in these times of crisis. Given that many companies are badly in need of capital, authorities are unlikely to throw up any hurdles to acquisitions.”

Violent Video Games Off the Shelve

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 20:

“Following a horrific school shooting, German retailer Galeria Kaufhof has decided to pull violent video games from its shelves. A political debate on instituting an outright ban has also erupted… Beginning in April, the company announced this week, games with 18-plus ratings will no longer be sold in its department stores…

“On March 11, 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer shot 12 people to death at the Albertville secondary school — including nine pupils — before killing three more during his escape attempt. Investigators say the teenager was fond of playing ‘Counter Strike’ and had played ‘Far Cry 2’ on the night before his brutal rampage. Both games are considered excessively violent and cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 18… [He also possessed a huge collection of violent Horror movies.]

“‘It’s well known that, in every case of school shootings, the perpetrator has exhibited a pronounced proclivity towards playing violent videogames,’ Heini Schmitt, the head of the police federation of Hessen told a regional radio station. ‘The means and ways in which these people commit crimes sometimes bares a striking resemblance to those of their virtual role models.’

“Germany already has one of the strictest ratings systems for violent games in Europe. The video game company Sega hasn’t even applied in Germany to sell its recently released ‘fight to the death’ Wii game Mad World, which requires players to mimic physically violent motions like carving out an opponent’s heart with a chainsaw.”

The Week in Review

Our lead articles deal this week with the growing discontent of the American public with their new governmental leadership and an increasing fear of another Great Depression. The original Obama enthusiasm has declined sharply–and that even BEFORE the most recent scandal pertaining to the AIG bonuses. The Obama Administration’s bumbling attempts to claim ignorance and deny any responsibilities did not appease the American public–and the hypocritical outrage of politicians–who did or should have known better–only exaggerated public distrust and condemnation.

Alarming is also the fact that the Obama Administration seems to be willing to severely limit the constitutional freedoms of Americans and deny rights stemming from their personal conscience. Observers are further worried by a written US commitment to share highly sensitive information with Germany, and by President Obama’s intention to abandon the European Missile Defense Shield, while at the same time Russia announced its goal to rearm against “threats” from NATO. And while Mr. Obama seems to be in support of a European superstate under German and French leadership, many in Britain are concerned.

The western world views with dismay developments in Israel and Iran, pointing at a possible military conflict, and Germany and Austria see themselves confronted with domestic violent developments and a resurgence of Neo-Nazism in the light of a worldwide recession. Finally, the pope spoke out in Africa against pre-marital sex and the use of condoms to protect the partners from HIV and AIDS–and even though his position on this matter is absolutely correct, most liberal commentators condemned him for his stance.

Americans Lose Confidence in President Obama and His Administration

The Wall Street Journal wrote on March 13:

“It is simply wrong for commentators to continue to focus on President Barack Obama’s high levels of popularity, and to conclude that these are indicative of high levels of public confidence in the work of his administration. Indeed, a detailed look at recent survey data shows that the opposite is most likely true. The American people are coming to express increasingly significant doubts about his initiatives, and most likely support a different agenda and different policies from those that the Obama administration has advanced.

“Polling data show that Mr. Obama’s approval rating is dropping and is below where George W. Bush was in an analogous period in 2001… Mr. Obama has lost virtually all of his Republican support and a good part of his Independent support, and the trend is decidedly negative…

“There is also a clear sense in the polling that taxes will increase for all Americans because of the stimulus, notwithstanding what the president has said about taxes going down for 95% of Americans. Close to three-quarters expect that government spending will grow under this administration.

“Recent Gallup data echo these concerns. That polling shows that there are deep-seated, underlying economic concerns. Eighty-three percent say they are worried that the steps Mr. Obama is taking to fix the economy may not work and the economy will get worse. Eighty-two percent say they are worried about the amount of money being added to the deficit. Seventy-eight percent are worried about inflation growing, and 69% say they are worried about the increasing role of the government in the U.S. economy…

“Support for the stimulus package is dropping from narrow majority support to below that. There is no sense that the stimulus package itself will work quickly, and according to a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll, close to 60% said it would make only a marginal difference in the next two to four years… And by 2-to-1, voters reject House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s call for a second stimulus package.

“While over two-thirds support the plan to help homeowners refinance their mortgage, a 48%-36% plurality said that it will unfairly benefit those who have been irresponsible… There is no real appetite for increasing taxes to pay for an expanded health-insurance program. Less than half would support such an idea, which is 17% less than the percentage that supported government health insurance when Bill Clinton first considered it in March of 1993…

“Fifty-six percent of Americans oppose giving bankers any additional government money or any guarantees backed by the government… Only less than a quarter of Americans believe that the federal government truly reflects the will of the people… When it comes to the nation’s economic issues, two-thirds of voters have more confidence in their own judgment than they do in the average member of Congress.

“Finally, what probably accounts for a good measure of the confidence and support the Obama administration has enjoyed is the fact that they are not Republicans. Virtually all Americans, more than eight in 10, blame Republicans for the current economic woes, and the only two leaders with lower approval ratings than Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and John Boehner.”

Many Americans Very Pessimistic About the Economic Future

The Boston Globe reported on March 17:

“While it’s no shocker that nearly 9 in 10 Americans rate the economy as somewhat or very poor, it is noteworthy that poll findings released today show they are more pessimistic about a recovery… only 10 percent of respondents believe the economy will bounce back within the next year, while 32 percent say it will take as long as two years… Even more worrisome, while only a minority of economists are talking about the possibility, 45 percent believe another Great Depression is somewhat or very likely within the next year…”

Risky Conduct of the Federal Reserve

The International Herald Tribune reported on March 18:

“The Federal Reserve sharply stepped up its efforts to bolster the economy on Wednesday, announcing that it would pump an extra $1 trillion into the financial system by purchasing Treasury bonds and mortgage securities… the central bank has increasingly turned to alternatives… as a way of getting more dollars into the economy, a tactic that amounts to creating vast new sums of money out of thin air.

“… there were… clear indications that the Fed was taking risks that could dilute the value of the dollar and set the stage for future inflation… In its announcement, the central bank said that the United States remained in a severe recession and listed its continuing woes, from job losses and lost housing wealth to falling exports as a result of the worldwide economic slowdown.”

Unprecedented National Debt

Politico wrote on March 17:

“The eye-popping national debt surpassed $11 trillion Monday, the largest in U.S. history… The new Treasury Department figures on the national debt… is expected to project that the annual budget deficit will be higher than previously estimated by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget… The whopping number has major ramifications for President Barack Obama, who is trying to push through a raft of big-ticket bills on health care, energy, education and climate change — while also attempting to stabilize the swooning economy.”

President Obama’s Attack on Freedom of Conscience

On March 15, Newsmax printed the following comments by Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich:

“Earlier this month, the President took the first step in rescinding a Bush administration moral conscience regulation which enforces existing legal protections against discrimination and intimidation for doctors and other healthcare professionals who invoke conscience by refusing to participate in medical procedures they believe immoral… Efforts to roll back freedom of conscience protections are only the latest in a series of aggressive actions that demonstrate intolerance for those whose conscience is convicted in support of a culture of life:

“… In the first month of his presidency, Obama reversed the established Mexico City policy that kept taxpayer money from being used by international organizations for abortions as a method of family planning protecting millions of Americans from paying for a procedure that they find morally objectionable. Last week, the President unilaterally lifted embryonic-stem-cell research restrictions. In the President’s recent healthcare summit, groups that support abortion were invited but pro-life groups with a stake in healthcare were excluded. With the President’s support, Congress recently approved $50 million in funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). UNFPA is complicit in China’s unspeakably cruel one-child enforcement policy, which employs forced abortion and sterilization… In February, the Administration decided that it would no longer extend hiring protections to faith-based organizations but would instead review on a case-by-case basis…

“Yet, the most hostile assault against the civil liberties in the medical profession may be yet to come.

“In 2007, Obama promised a Planned Parenthood gathering on the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade that, as president, he would sign the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). If enacted, FOCA would repeal all federal and state restrictions on abortion including the ban on partial-birth abortion. FOCA would force all public hospitals and health programs offering maternity services to provide abortions. Moreover, provisions in state constitutions that protect speech and the free exercise of religion of those whose conscience is opposed to abortion could be invalidated.

“Having no reason to believe that President Obama will not fulfill this radical campaign pledge, some Catholic bishops are talking openly about engaging in civil disobedience to protect Catholic hospitals and their doctors from being forced to perform abortions. The chilling effect of the Obama administration forcing doctors and nurses to choose between their losing their careers and being compelled to participate in abortions against their moral and religious belief is incalculable.”

Hard To Believe–Obama Administration Did Not Know About AIG Bonuses?

ABC News reported on March 17:

“Sources in the Obama administration Tuesday said that despite previous media reports administration officials did not know until a couple weeks ago that the officials of the controversial AIG Financial Product Division were set to receive $165 million in bonuses on March 13.

“It was just this month, administration sources told ABC News, that officials of the New York Federal Reserve Bank — after studying AIG’s more than 100 compensation policies for more than 116,000 employees throughout the world — informed the Treasury Department of the $165 million in bonuses pending for the controversial Financial Products Subsidiary…

“How the Obama administration was caught flat-footed by this controversy dates back to last Fall, when the New York Federal Reserve Bank — then run by Geithner — stepped in to give AIG a high-interest loan to help prevent the company from going under, as Lehman Brothers was doing at the time.

“In late October, the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program passed Congress, which includes rules about executive compensation but nothing about retention bonuses… AIG provided information about the company’s myriad compensation packages to the New York Fed, but officials described the information as extremely complex and not easily understood.”

This hard-to-believe version of the Obama Administration did nothing to appease the anger of the American public over the Bonus scandal. The Washington Post reported on March 17:

“President Obama’s apparent inability to block executive bonuses at insurance giant AIG has dealt a sharp blow to his young administration and is threatening to derail both public and congressional support for his ambitious political agenda. Politicians in both parties flocked to express outrage over $165 million in bonuses paid out to executives at the company… The populist anger at the executives who ran their firms into the ground is increasingly blowing back on Obama, whom aides yesterday described as having little recourse in the face of legal contracts that guaranteed those bonuses… Obama himself sought to channel the public’s sense of disbelief yesterday…

“But the damage control did not seem to satisfy incredulous lawmakers in both parties, who said the image of financial executives taking huge bonuses from a taxpayer-funded rescue puts the president in a politically impossible position… More than 80 House Democrats signed a letter demanding that the money used to pay the bonuses be recouped from AIG.”

Costly U.S. Missile Defense System Might Be Discontinued

USA Today reported on March 16:

“President Obama recently suggested he would consider scrapping the Europe [missile defense] system in exchange for Russia’s help in thwarting Iran’s nuclear ambitions… The type of ground-based interceptors that would be deployed in Europe failed to hit targets in five of 13 tests, according to the Pentagon… The system, planned as a potential defense should Iran develop a nuclear capability, would cost $9 billion to $13 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and would leave parts of Europe unprotected from an Iranian missile. All told, the government has spent $144 billion on missile defense since 1985, according to the CBO… Independent technical analysis has shown that Iran and North Korea, which has a nuclear program, could fool the system using simple countermeasures such as balloons…

“Charles McQueary, who directs testing for the missile agency, told a congressional committee last month that the U.S.-based system ‘has demonstrated a limited capability to defend against a simple long-range ballistic missile threat launched from North Korea,’ but ‘we still have a long way to go.’ Physicist Richard Garwin, who helped design the hydrogen bomb and served recently on a commission to assess the ballistic missile threat, said in an email that because it can be so easily defeated by decoys, the ‘system is not worth deploying, because it will be useless.'”

Major Military Rearmament in Russia in Light of Risk of “Significant Conflict” with NATO

Times Online reported on March 17:

“President Medvedev ordered a major military rearmament today, warning that Russia faced the risk of ‘significant conflict’… In a stark assessment, Mr Medvedev said that Nato was still intent on expanding closer to Russia’s borders and told military chiefs to raise the combat readiness of the country’s armed forces. Russia’s Defence Minister also lashed out at the United States, accusing it of plotting to take control of energy and mineral resources in states bordering Russia. Mr Medvedev called for modernisation of Russia’s nuclear forces and said that ‘large-scale rearmament’ of the army and navy would commence in 2011…

“The conflict with Georgia over South Ossetia last August had exposed weaknesses in Russia’s weaponry and communications systems that had to be rectified quickly. Mr Medvedev has stationed more than 7,000 troops in South Ossetia and Georgia’s other breakaway region of Abkhazia. He recognised them as independent after the war, a move condemned by Nato, the US and the European Union. The previous Republican administration under President Bush pushed hard for Nato to offer Membership Action Plans to Georgia and Ukraine, a move fiercely opposed by Moscow. Mr Obama has given no indication so far that he is as enthusiastic about Nato expansion.”

Europe, USA and Egypt Concerned Over Developments in Israel

Haaretz.com reported on March 16:

“Ties between the European Union and Israel depend on the Israeli government’s commitment to a two-state solution in the peace process with Palestinians, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Monday. Asked to comment on Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s preliminary coalition pact with the ultra-right Yisrael Beiteinu party [of Avigdor Lieberman], Solana told reporters: ‘We will be ready to do business as usual, normally with a government in Israel that is prepared to continue talking and working for a two-state solution. If that is not the case, the situation would be different.'”

AFP reported on March 16:

“Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Gheit voiced concern Monday for Middle East peace hopes after an ultra-nationalist party signed up to be part of Israel’s new government. ‘We have a negative, possibly damaging factor, which is the emergence of an extreme right government in Israel,’ he told members of the European Parliament in Brussels… Lieberman, a controversial firebrand slammed as a ‘racist’ by critics, is due to become the foreign minister in the new government.

“Gheit expressed fears about the new government, saying that ‘if they would implement what they’ve been talking about over the last few years, we would all of us face dire difficulties and face the most extreme of situations.’… A narrow right-wing government is likely to put Israel at odds with its main ally the United States because it would probably put the brakes on the already hobbled peace negotiations with the Palestinians…”

In an article dated March 17, Der Spiegel Online reported about the German press reaction to the most recent developments in Israel:

“With Likud and Yisrael Beitenu having signed a coalition agreement, it looks increasingly likely that far-right politician Avigdor Lieberman will be the next Israeli foreign minister. German newspapers are concerned that such an appointment would signal the end of the peace process… Netanyahu still needs other coalition partners to form a majority government…

“On Tuesday, German commentators are gloomy about the prospects for peace in the Middle East, arguing that Netanyahu and Lieberman represent a step backwards.

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘… Netanyahu associates politics with fear, not hope… Netanyahu is only going to administer the conflict, not solve it. He and Lieberman are the gravediggers of the Middle East peace process. They want to maintain the occupation and expand the settlements… Hamas needs Netanyahu, because the confrontation with Israel legitimizes its very existence.’

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘… Lieberman is a persona non grata for Israel’s neighbors — even for states like Jordan and Egypt who see themselves as Jerusalem’s partners…’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘Whoever had believed that after the short but brutal war in the Gaza Strip and the inauguration of President Obama… the relations between Israel and the Palestinians could experience a new beginning has been disappointed…'”

Has Iran BECOME a Nuclear Power?

On March 13, RIA reported:

“Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday that pressure from Western powers trying to keep Iran in economic isolation have in fact spurred the country to become a space and nuclear power. ”

In fact, Ahamadinejad said more than that. As RIA clarified:

“‘Had you not been bad-tempered and blocked the way, the Iranian nation would not have been present in space, and WOULD HAVE NOT BECOME a nuclear power,” Fars news agency quoted Ahmadinejad…”

Israel Ready to Strike Iran?

On March 16, ynetnews.com reported:

“IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, who is on an official visit to the United States, told his American colleagues Monday that the Iranian threat could still be handled via sanctions, but stressed that an Israeli military strike was a ‘serious’ option.

“Ashkenazi reportedly stressed that any final decision pertaining to a possible Israeli course of action against Iran would be made by the government and not by him, adding that as head of the Israeli Defense Forces he has been asked to come up with various contingencies and that a military operation was a concrete possibility… Israel has repeatedly stated that it… would prefer to apply economic sanctions to military ones, but that all options remain viable.”

According to an article in Newsmax, dated March 17, “The Jerusalem Post reported earlier this month that Israeli leaders are ‘seriously considering’ a unilateral strike on Iran, likely to occur this year, to destroy its nuclear weapons facilities. And former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nancy Soderberg, said the timetable for an Israeli strike might be moved up if Israel believed Russia was going to follow through on its pledge to supply Iran with a surface-to-air missile system that would greatly complicate an Israeli attack.”

Mr. Obama Supports European Superstate

The Telegraph wrote on March 18:

“Barack Obama heads to Britain and Europe in two weeks’ time as the leader of the first U.S. Administration to wholeheartedly back the creation of a federal Europe. In contrast to earlier U.S. administrations, including those of George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, the Obama administration is avowedly Euro-federalist in outlook, and is keen to help build a European Union defense identity as well as support the foundations of a European superstate in Brussels.

“This dangerous shift in U.S. policy is a betrayal of both U.S. and British interests that will threaten the long-term future of the Anglo-American Special Relationship, weaken the NATO alliance, and undermine the defence of British sovereignty in Europe. It will also undercut opposition across the EU to the Treaty of Lisbon, including in countries such as Ireland, Poland and the Czech Republic, and may set the scene for a major confrontation between the Obama White House and a future Conservative administration in London…

“President Obama’s government will strongly back the European Security and Defence Policy, the Lisbon Treaty and the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and will seek to strengthen French and German leadership at the heart of a united European Union… Significantly, while wooing both continental Europe and Russia, the new U.S. administration has been largely indifferent to the Anglo-American alliance, with an appallingly handled reception for the British Prime Minister when he visited the White House earlier this month…

“There is a chance the Obama Administration will eventually wake up to the reality that American support for a federal Europe will backfire… Under a unified EU foreign policy, U.S. allies would lose the freedom to decide where and when they can fight alongside America.

“As they approach the transatlantic alliance, President Obama and his aides should heed the advice of a former prime minister and great friend of the United States who fought to defend the Special Relationship and maintain British sovereignty in Europe. As Margaret Thatcher put it, ‘that such an unnecessary and irrational project as building a European superstate was ever embarked upon will seem in future years to be perhaps the greatest folly of the modern era.”

USA Shares Top Secret Research with Germany

NetZeitung reported on March 16:

“Germany and the United States signed a new government accord… to develop better protection from terror attacks, natural disasters, large-scale accidents and organised crime… the accord is the first such agreement between the two countries and marks a new step in sharing details of previously top secret US research that began after September 11, 2001… German scientists will now take part in research programmes that find vaccines for biological weapons in high-security laboratories…”

Germany Tries to Cope with Teenage Shooting

NetZeitung reported on March 16:

“Police on Monday said they were investigating the father of the teenage gunman who murdered 15 people last week in southwestern Germany for negligent homicide. Tim Kretschmer’s father kept a dozen weapons at his home and his son is thought to have found the nine-millimetre pistol he used in the massacre in the town of Winnenden outside Stuttgart in his parent’s bedroom. The 17-year-old also apparently knew the code to the weapons safe where his father kept thousands of rounds of ammunition.

“‘There are concrete indications that the parents were aware of their son’s health problems,’ prosecutors said in a statement, referring to reports Kretschmer suffered from depression. New details also emerged earlier on Monday about Tim’s activities at his father’s shooting club… there were credible witnesses who saw the 17-year-old shooting a large-calibre weapon at the range only three weeks before he would kill 15 people in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Kretschmer then turned his father’s nine-millimetre pistol on himself during a shoot-out with police…

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel… has avoided making rash demands or suggestions for new laws following the massacre in Winnenden, but spoke on Deutschlandfunk radio on Sunday calling for more attention to be given to young people. ‘We must do everything to see that children do not get weapons, and certainly that they are not encouraged to violence. We have to pay attention to all young people. That goes for parents, and it goes for teachers,’ she said. She added that authorities should consider surprise visits to gun owners to see that they have their firearms locked away as prescribed by the law.”

Germany Under Attack

Haaretz.com reported on March 19:

“German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck hit back on Thursday at Swiss comments comparing him to a Nazi and said he had received threatening letters from the Alpine country. A growing war of words between Switzerland and Germany over banking secrecy intensified on Wednesday when a Swiss politician said Steinbrueck reminded him of the Nazis…

“‘This is completely out of proportion and unacceptable,’ [Steinbrueck] added, saying the dispute arose because of a realisation in Switzerland that the country was violating international norms. Thomas Mueller, a Swiss member of parliament, compared the minister to a ‘generation of Germans…who went through the streets wearing leather coats, boots and [Nazi] arm-bands’… He was speaking during a heated debate in the Swiss parliament after Switzerland, the world’s biggest offshore center, offered to relax bank secrecy in the face of a global crackdown on tax havens led by Germany.

“Steinbrueck, who angered Switzerland last year by calling for a ‘carrot and stick’ approach on the tax issue, prompted new outrage on Saturday when he compared Germany’s southern neighbour to ‘Indians’ running scared from the cavalry.

“It was not the first time Germans [have] been compared to Nazis for campaigning against tax havens. In September, Liechtenstein’s Prince Hans-Adam II dubbed Germany a ‘Fourth Reich’ after Berlin launched a probe into rich citizens who parked savings in the miniature state.”

Neo-Nazism on the Rise

The Daily Mail wrote on March 14:

“In Austria’s recent general election [in September], nearly 30 per cent of voters backed extremist right-wing parties. Some 70 years on from that infamous pogrom, the world faces a similar financial crisis to the one that precipitated the rise of Hitler and, in chilling echoes of Thirties Europe, support for far-right groups is exploding. Hitler’s birthplace has become the focus for neo-Nazis across the world.”

Reuters reported on March 17:

“Roughly one in twenty 15-year-old German males is a member of a neo-Nazi group, a higher proportion than are involved in mainstream politics, according to a study released on Tuesday. Many politicians fear a resurgence of right-wing extremism as unemployment creeps higher in Germany, which is facing its deepest recession since World War Two. Government figures have shown anti-Semitic crimes rose at the end of last year.

“‘It is shocking that right-wing groups have more success recruiting male youths than the established political parties,’ said Christian Pfeiffer, author of the report issued by Lower Saxony’s criminal research [institute]. Pfeiffer said fewer than 2 percent of young men were active in mainstream politics, compared to the 5 percent involved in far-right groups.”

UK’s Recession Worst in the World?

The Daily Mail reported on March 18:

“Gordon Brown’s economic credibility suffered another blow last night following a warning that Britain’s recession will be the worst in the world. The International Monetary Fund said the downturn in the UK would be deeper than anyone previously feared – and it would last through 2010…

“A slump of 3.8 per cent, economists say, would mean tens of thousands of businesses going to the wall and unemployment rising above 3million… Only Japan is now forecast to suffer a worse slump than the UK this year, with a 5 per cent contraction – sharply down from the last forecast of a 2.6 per cent.”

The Pope–Condoms Help to Spread AIDS

Times Online reported on March 17:

“The Pope courted further controversy on his first trip to Africa today by declaring that condoms were not a solution to the Aids epidemic – but were instead part of the problem… the pontiff told reporters… that Aids ‘is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems’…

“The Vatican encourages sexual abstinence to fight the spread of the disease… He said the ‘traditional teaching of the Church’ on chastity outside marriage and fidelity within it had proved to be ‘the only sure way of preventing the spread of HIV and Aids.'”

Murders Upon Murders!

Illinois:

Another shocking murder took place this past Sunday in an Illinois church.

The AP reported about the incident on March 9, 2009:

“The gunman, identified by authorities only as a 27-year-old from Troy, strode toward the Rev. Fred Winters shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, exchanged words with him, then fired a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol until it jammed. Winters, 45, died of a single shot to the heart, the coroner said Monday.”

While others were wounded, had not this man’s gun jammed, many more of those in the church would have fallen victim to his murderous rampage.

Germany:

Deutsche Welle, March 12, 2009, reported on another school-related mass murder. Pointing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s televised address to the nation and her description of this horrific event “…as a day of sorrow for the entire country,” the article also gave this summary of the tragedy:

“A 17-year-old gunman entered a school in the town of Winnenden shortly after nine in the morning and opened fire, killing students and teachers. He then left the school, shooting dead more people as he fled. The assailant killed 15 people in total. He commandeered a vehicle and traveled to a town around 40 kilometres from Winnenden, where police cornered him. The gun battle that ensued left two police officers seriously injured and the attacker dead. Police say he turned his weapon on himself. The gunman is believed to have been a former student of the school.”

German commentators pointed out that no country seems to be safe from these horrendous acts. Early reports stated that the murderer targeted mainly young female students and that he suffered from depression. There has been no evidence so far that he was in any way connected to terrorists or neo-Nazis.

Alabama:

From Reuters, March 11, 2009:

“U.S. authorities trying to piece together why a man killed 10 people in the worst rampage in Alabama’s history focused on Wednesday on the grudges that he bore.”

USA, March 11, 2009, adds these details of the murderous crimes:

“Alabama authorities say the gunman who killed 10 people, including five members of this family, was armed with two assault rifles and a .38-caliber pistol. They say he fired more than 200 rounds in his crime spree Tuesday afternoon.

“According to authorities, the suspect, Michael McLendon, killed his mother in Kinston, Ala., then drove to the town of Samson and killed four more relatives and two others. Finally, he went on a general shooting spree in the town, the Associated Press reports. The victims included the wife and child of a local sheriff’s deputy. McLendon then killed himself.”

Northern Ireland Sees Return to Sectarian Violence!

From the Christian Science Monitor, March 8, 2009:

“Police believe dissident Irish nationalists attempting to smash the decade-old peace in Northern Ireland might have been behind the shooting deaths Saturday night of two British soldiers.

“The soldiers were killed in a drive-by shooting at Massereene Army base in Antrim, Northern Ireland. Four others, including two pizza delivery men, were injured when gunmen opened fire. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police are blaming dissident Irish republicans.”

Grim Financial News!

On March 8, 2009, a World Bank report was summarized in the Washington Post:

“Developing nations are facing a massive financing shortfall of up to $700 billion this year as private investment evaporates and global trade collapses, threatening to return many countries to the days of heavy reliance on foreign aid, the World Bank warned yesterday…

“The World Bank predicted that the global economy will shrink this year for the first time since World War II, a prognosis more dire than that of almost any private investment house. Its report underscored what many are calling a mounting crisis within a crisis, as the downturn that started in the wealthy nations of the West washes over developing countries through a pullback in investment, trade and credit…

“Falling demand in the West is sparking the sharpest drop in world trade in 80 years, sending sales of the products and commodities of poorer nations spiraling down, the report said.”

Also reporting on the World Bank assessment, CNNMoney.com (March 9, 2009) stated:

“The world economy is on track to post its worst performance since the Great Depression, with developing countries bearing much of the economic pain, the World Bank said Monday.”

Bloomberg added on March 10:

“Billionaire Warren Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. posted its worst results ever in 2008, said the economy ‘has fallen off a cliff’ and that efforts to stimulate recovery may lead to inflation higher than the 1970s.”

Mr. Obama to “Restore Scientific INTEGRITY”???

MSNBC on March 9, 2009, wrote the following in its coverage of President Obama’s signing of a Presidential executive order:

“Before an East Room audience of doctors, scientists, lawmakers and religious leaders President Obama signed an executive order Monday lifting the ban on federal funding for stem cell research, fulfilling a promise he made on the campaign trail.

“The order overturns the Bush policy that said no government money could be used for research on stem cell lines created after Aug. 9, 2001.”

While only those opposed to the new directive took strong ethical and moral positions decrying both the destruction of human life and the potential for more and more erosion in anything based on religious views, the President seems ready to justify much in the name of science. The article adds these comments:

“The president also signed a memorandum that directs the head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a strategy for restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making. Obama spoke frequently on the campaign trail of the need to make sure public policy was based on sound science.

“’It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda,’” Obama said, “’and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.’”

Reuters added on March 10:

“After Obama signed the order on Monday, the Vatican and U.S. Church leaders condemned the move… Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committee on pro-life activities, called Obama’s decision ‘a sad victory of politics over science and ethics… This action is morally wrong because it encourages the destruction of innocent human life, treating vulnerable human beings as mere products to be harvested,’ he added.

“The Catholic Church, other religious groups and pro-life advocates oppose such research — which scientists hope can lead to cures for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s — because it involves the destruction of embryos. The Catholic Church supports adult stem cell research, which has made advances in recent years, because it does not involve the destruction of embryos.”

Jerusalem Stays Center Stage!

The Guardian reported on March 7:

“A confidential EU report accuses the Israeli government of using settlement expansion, house demolitions, discriminatory housing policies and the West Bank barrier as a way of ‘actively pursuing the illegal annexation’ of East Jerusalem.

“The document says Israel has accelerated its plans for East Jerusalem, and is undermining the Palestinian Authority’s credibility and weakening support for peace talks. ‘Israel’s actions in and around Jerusalem constitute one of the most acute challenges to Israeli-Palestinian peace-making,’ says the document, EU Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem.”

The Guardian article added this comment about the European Union’s view:

“The EU report goes further, saying that the demolitions are ‘illegal under international law, serve no obvious purpose, have severe humanitarian effects, and fuel bitterness and extremism.’ The EU raised its concern in a formal diplomatic representation on December 1, it says…

“However, the EU says the fourth Geneva convention prevents an occupying power extending its jurisdiction to occupied territory. Israel occupied the east of the city in the 1967 six day war and later annexed it. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.”

This report comes as the new American Administration has called for a two-state solution for the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Pope to Visit Israel

As reported in the Jerusalem Post on May 8, 2009, “Pope Benedict XVI will visit Israel between May 8 and 15, the leader of the Catholic church confirmed in Sunday’s mass at St. Peter’s in the Vatican.”

Israeli president Shimon Peres was quoted in the article:

“’I am delighted that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has responded positively and accepted my invitation to visit the Holy Land. The pope will be a most honored guest, welcomed and respected by people from all walks of life. His visit will be a moving and important event bringing the spirit of peace and hope. Welcome to Israel.’”

Beyond the historic significance of such a papal visit at this time of turmoil in the Middle East, the specific sites chosen for the Pope’s tour hold prophetic overtones, and the article states:

“The pope is expected to tour sites in Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount, and in the Center and North. Large numbers of police will be assigned to secure these areas. He will also visit sites in the Palestinian Authority.”

Iran’s Military Threat Grows!

The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 8, 2009, about the successful test-firing of a new generation of long range missiles.

“Last Wednesday, a senior Teheran official announced that Iranian missiles can reach Israeli nuclear sites.

“’All the nuclear facilities in different parts of the land under the occupation of the Zionist regime are in the reach of Iran’s missile defenses,’ Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic republic’s Revolutionary Guards, was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying.”

Also reporting about this latest development, Fox News on March 8, stated:

“Iran’s Shahab-3 missiles have a range of up to 1,250 miles, putting Israel within striking distance.”

“This Is Change!”

USA Today reported on February 27:
 
“This is change, whether you believe in it or not. And not just pocket change. Following through on many of his campaign promises, President Obama wants to spend about $3.6 trillion next year to pull the nation out of recession and begin major new initiatives in health care, energy and education. All that and more is contained in a 134-page budget request for 2010 and beyond that is unprecedented in size, breathtaking in scope and sure to have a major impact on millions of Americans — if he can get much of it through Congress.

“It’s a budget plan that would help the young by increasing their chances of getting a college education and the poor by providing funds for health insurance. It seeks to clean the air and reduce the USA’s dependence on foreign oil. It would cut taxes on low- and middle-income Americans while raising them, starting in 2011, on couples who make at least $250,000 a year.

“All this would come at a price to be paid by in the future: annual deficits of at least $500 billion, and a federal debt that would reach $23 trillion in a decade…

“In little more than five weeks, Obama has shown he intends to think big and act quickly. He’s already agreed to spend nearly $800 billion over two years to try to jump-start the economy. He’s not only pressed Congress for the second half of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, he’s reserving the option for another $750 billion on top of that…”

But USA Today has to admit the incredible “risks” involved with this proposed budget. It states:

“Even groups aligned with Obama express concern that tax increases at the end of this recession could trigger another one — a situation Franklin Roosevelt faced in the 1930s. ‘The Great Depression was really two big recessions with a recovery in the middle,’ says Bill Gale of the Brookings Institution. ‘There’s potential to do real damage.'”

Mr. Obama’s Proposed Budget–The Big Gamble

Reuters added on February 27:

“President Barack Obama forecast the biggest U.S. deficit since World War Two in a budget on Thursday that urges a costly overhaul of the healthcare system and would spend billions to arrest the economy’s freefall. An eye-popping $1.75 trillion deficit for the 2009 fiscal year underlined the heavy blow the deep recession has dealt to the country’s finances as Obama unveiled his first budget. That is the highest ever in dollar terms, and amounts to a 12.3 percent share of the economy — the largest since 1945. In 2010, the deficit would dip to a still-huge $1.17 trillion, Obama predicted.

“With that backdrop, his budget represents a gamble that Americans are ready for the sort of change they embraced by electing him in November… The cost of extra borrowing to pay for the record budget deficit pushed U.S. stocks and government debt prices down on Thursday. The budget’s healthcare plans delivered a hit to shares in health insurers and drugmakers

“… some analysts questioned whether Obama’s goals were realistic at a time when the economy is still in crisis and the surging deficits threaten to burden a future recovery… While Obama is still basking in high approval ratings from the U.S. public, his stimulus package and other efforts to revitalize the economy have done little to win over Wall Street. U.S. stocks prices hit 12-year lows this week.”

Mr. Obama’s Proposed Budget–“The Great Illusion”

The Wall Street Journal wrote on February 26:

“President Obama has laid out the most ambitious and expensive domestic agenda since LBJ, and now all he has to do is figure out how to pay for it. On Tuesday, he left the impression that we need merely end ‘tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans,’ and he promised that households earning less than $250,000 won’t see their taxes increased by ‘one single dime.’

“This is going to be some trick. Even the most basic inspection of the IRS income tax statistics shows that raising taxes on the salaries, dividends and capital gains of those making more than $250,000 can’t possibly raise enough revenue to fund Mr. Obama’s new spending ambitions…

“Mr. Obama is of course counting on an economic recovery. And he’s also assuming along with the new liberal economic consensus that taxes don’t matter to growth or job creation. The truth, though, is that they do. Small- and medium-sized businesses are the nation’s primary employers… The bottom line is that Mr. Obama is selling the country on a 2% illusion. Unwinding the U.S. commitment in Iraq and allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire can’t possibly pay for his agenda. Taxes on the not-so-rich will need to rise as well.

“On that point, by the way, it’s unclear why Mr. Obama thinks his climate-change scheme won’t hit all Americans with higher taxes. Selling the right to emit greenhouse gases amounts to a steep new tax on most types of energy and, therefore, on all Americans who use energy… Mr. Obama is very good at portraying his agenda as nothing more than center-left pragmatism. But pragmatists don’t ignore the data. And the reality is that the only way to pay for Mr. Obama’s ambitions is to reach ever deeper into the pockets of the American middle class.”

Germany to the Rescue

The EUObserver wrote on February 27:

“German chancellor Angela Merkel has given the strongest signal to date that her country may come to the rescue of embattled eurozone economies… Certain conditions are likely to be attached to any support plan offered by Berlin. While Ms Merkel refused to be drawn on the exact nature of financial support, she made it clear that action to tackle excessive budget deficits would be a stipulation for receiving aid.

“She indicated such action could be carried out under Article 100 of the Maastricht Treaty that allows financial assistance to be given to countries experiencing ‘difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control’… German officials hinted support for Ireland could be dependent on the country increasing its low corporate tax…

“Germany [is] seen as the safest EU economy by investors…”

German Neo-Nazi’s Dream of a Fourth Reich

The Daily Mail reported on February 26:

“Neo-Nazis are on the rise in Germany and are planning to exploit the economic crisis to build a Fourth Reich, a defector from their ranks warned yesterday. Uwe Luthardt painted a chilling picture of the far-Right trying to recruit the record number of young Germans facing a bleak future as the country’s economy contracts and unemployment mounts. Experts fear that the worsening conditions are worryingly similar to those of the late 1920s and early 1930s which propelled Hitler’s Nazi regime – the Third Reich – to power…

“German unemployment has climbed by 63,000 this month to 3,552,000, or 8.5 per cent. Its economy – the world’s third largest – is predicted to shrink by 5 per cent this year.

“A sign of resurgent extreme Right came earlier this month in Dresden where nearly 7,000 neo-Nazis turned up to ‘honour German patriots’ on the anniversary of the Allied bombing in 1945 which killed 25,000 residents. It was nearly double the turnout of last year…

“Mr Luthardt described an organisation that preys on the gullible and the weak who seek, as he did, to restore some mythical glory to Germany while finding scapegoats for the economic misery. He told of weapons stores, how members greet each other with Heil Hitler! salutes, sing the banned songs of the Third Reich, relish the idea of a new Holocaust against the Jews and plot to bring hard-core Nazism back with a vengeance.

“Luthardt was in the NPD for only four months, but quickly rose to become a member of the ruling board. He told Der Spiegel magazine that old Nazis living in South America donate to the party via shell companies. Other funds come from the staging of skinhead-music concerts. He went on: ‘The simple aim is the restoration of the Reich in which a new stormtrooper organisation takes revenge on anyone who disagrees with them… The basic concept the NPD talks about is, “Let’s kick out all the foreigners, then the Germans will have jobs again.”‘”

Israel Moves to the Right

Deutsche Welle reported on February 27:

“Last ditch talks to form a broad coalition government in Israel have failed after Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni from the Kadima party were unable to reach agreement. Netanyahu said a coalition with Foreign Minister Livni’s centrist Kadima party was impossible.

“This increases the possibility that Israel’s next government will be an alliance of hawks and hard-line religious parties opposed to substantial concessions for peace. After the talks in Tel Aviv, Livni said the meeting ended without agreements on some substantial issues, like support for the formation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Netanyahu opposes.”

More Attacks on Israel

Haaretz reported on March 1:

“A Qassam launched from the Gaza Strip exploded off the coast of Ashkelon on Sunday, just hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised a ‘painful, uncompromising response’ to Palestinian rocket fire… Olmert’s vow came a day after ten rockets were fired at Israel from the coastal territory, bringing the number of projectiles launched from Gaza since the truce to more than 60…  Olmert said that Israel would respond to rocket fire…”

Jewish Leaders “Furious” With Hillary Clinton

On February 27, wcbstv.com and CBS wrote the following:
 
“In a swift about face from her views as New York’s senator, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now hammering Israel over its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza… On Thursday… she [delivered] angry messages demanding Israel speed up aid to Gaza. Jewish leaders are furious…
 
“Clinton’s decision to hammer Israel comes as the Clintons and President Barack Obama are planning to give the Palestinians $900 million toward the rebuilding of Gaza in the wake of the Israeli offensive that was sparked by Hamas rocket fire…”

Nuclear War at Sea

On February 26, Der Spiegel Online wrote:

“The collision of two strategic nuclear submarines [owned by the French and the British] earlier this month shows that the Cold War is still being fought every day in the Atlantic — with the world’s most powerful weapons… It quickly became clear that a nuclear catastrophe had almost occurred out at sea — and that it could happen at any time…

“Vanguard and Le Triomphant aren’t ordinary attack submarines — they’re rare and extremely expensive ballistic missile submarines. The British have four, as do the French, the Americans have 14, the Russians 15, and the Chinese are believed to have three. The hull of the Vanguard, as tall as a four-story building and roughly 150 meters (492 feet) long, contains a nuclear reactor and 16 ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads with a combined power more than 300 times greater than that of the atom bomb that destroyed Hiroshima…

“Neither the British nor the French are willing to reveal when, where and exactly how it happened… Strategic submarines are high-tech weapons with an archaic mission: to exact revenge. And they are built for the day the world comes to an end…The submarines… are designed to retaliate with such force that there can be no winners in a nuclear war…

“That leaves the Russians. The 173-meter (567-foot) Dimitry Donskoy, for example, is the world’s largest strategic submarine… According to the Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda, the Donskoy could ‘simultaneously destroy dozens of cities like New York, or level half of Afghanistan.'”

Left-Liberal Propaganda for Darwin’s Evolution Theory

On February 25, Der Spiegel Online published the following “masterpiece” about brainwashed evolution-worshipping scientists (and other “intellectuals”):
 
“The US isn’t the only place with heated debates about Darwin’s theory of evolution: Europe has its own hardcore creationists and intelligent design backers, too… Fundamentalist Christians who believe in creationism — which holds that God created the world and humanity in the manner described in the Bible — reject the principle of evolution and are striking back. They are pushing for the use of school texts that vilify the theory of evolution as a mere ideology. They have sued to have the theory of intelligent design — a water-down version of creationism — taught in biology courses at the same time as evolution, as both an equally valid scientific theory and alternative to evolution.

“‘It would be like claiming a right to teach astrology in a physics course,’ said James Williams, a lecturer in science education at the University of Sussex…

“According to a survey conducted in 2006, the majority of British have their doubts about evolution, and 40 percent want creationism taught in biology classes.

“Scientists agree that the overwhelming mass of evidence supports the theory of evolution. ‘No serious scientist questions the theory of evolution,’ says Ralf Sommer, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Tübingen…

“The guerrilla tactics used against evolution continue to be the same: Evolution’s opponents try to discredit Darwin’s broader theory by looking for gaps and narrower scientific issues that remain answered… Scientists today also know that evolution is verifiable because you don’t have to wait millions of years to see it in action. ‘Evolution can sometimes happen very quickly,’ says Claus Wedekind, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Lausanne — so quickly, in fact, that scientists can sometimes observe it within the space of one human generation.

“Intelligent design and creationism, on the other hand, are not scientific theories because they aren’t falsifiable: They postulate the existence of a deity, a divine creation and guided evolution — all things that can never be empirically proved or disproved… This type of reasoning hasn’t stopped people from doubting the theory of evolution. In Germany, 20 percent of the population doesn’t believe in the theory; in the US, it’s closer to one-third…

“In June 2007, the Council of Europe’s Committee on Culture, Science and Education released a report entitled “The Dangers of Creationism in Education.” According to Anne Brasseur, a member of the council who collaborated on the report, its goal was to firmly anchor the theory of evolution in school curricula.

“The report was prompted by resistance to teaching Darwin’s theory in some European countries. ‘For example,’ Brasseur explains, ‘the former deputy education minister of Poland called the theory of evolution a lie.’

“She went on to list a number of other negative examples:

“In Russia, many parents are strongly opposed to the teaching of evolution in grade schools. In Italy in 2004, there was a proposed decree against the theory of evolution. In Switzerland, the ProGenesis group has a tentative project called ‘Genesis-Land’ that envisions a leisure park on the model of the Creation Museum in the US state of Kentucky… In Germany, the Ministry of Education for the state of Hesse saw no infringement of the curriculum when teachers at a number of schools were found to be teaching the Biblical theory of creation in biology class. The publishing house ‘Studiengemeinschaft Wort und Wissen’ is now publishing the sixth edition of a grade school textbook that includes the theory of intelligent design.

“The Catholic Church’s position on evolution is unclear. Pope Benedict XVI has stated that the theories of evolution and creation are not mutually exclusive and, in July 2007, that ‘there is much scientific proof in favor of evolution.’ Still, in April 2007, he wrote in a theological book published in Germany that the existence of evolution was ‘not ultimately provable.’ In 2005, Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn published an opinion piece in the New York Times entitled ‘Finding Design in Evolution,’ in which he discussed a theory of creation that included the theory of a guided evolution — in short, intelligent design… At previous times in history, the Catholic Church has espoused different positions on evolution. John Paul II, for example, the predecessor of the current pope, apparently gave some recognition to Darwin’s theory when he said in 1996 that: ‘The theory of evolution is more than a hypothesis’…

“According to Brasseur, however, Pope Benedict XVI’s Vatican criticized the Council of Europe’s report — without success. The council ultimately approved the report’s recommendations, with 48 votes in favor and 25 against. As for Germany’s five representatives on the council, three voted against the report, one voted for it and one abstained.”

Ebola Virus Found in Pigs

Reuters reported on February 23:

“The Philippines will slaughter 6,000 pigs at a hog farm north of the capital Manila to prevent the spread of the Ebola-Reston virus, health and farm officials said on Monday… The country has more than 13 million heads of swine… The government said 6,000 pigs would be killed, burned and buried as experts sought to determine the source of Ebola-Reston in pigs as well as pig-to-pig and from pig-to-human transmission…

“It is the first time the virus has been found outside monkeys and the first time it has been found in pigs. The virus had previously jumped from monkeys to humans but this was the first case of a jump from hogs.”

Former Chancellor Schroeder Meets with President Ahmadinejad

Deutsche Welle reported on February 22:

“Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder met with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after delivering a speech in Tehran criticizing the Iranian leader’s stance against Israel and his denial of the Holocaust.

“The meeting took place on Saturday, Feb. 21, behind closed doors in the president’s offices. A brief statement afterwards said the two had exchanged ideas about regional and international issues. Ahmadinejad also urged global cooperation to solve the world’s problems…

“In Tehran, Schroeder commented that Iran appeared to have good intentions for a new beginning in relations to the West, but developments had not gone as one had hoped…

“Eyewitnesses said the meeting took place in a tense and cool atmosphere… Schroeder, in Iran on a private visit, also met with Parliament President Ali Larijani and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. In contrast to the tense meeting with Ahmadinejad, Schroeder’s meeting with former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami — who plans to run against Ahmadinejad in the June elections — was congenial.

“The two politicians spoke German, which Khatami learned when he lived in Hamburg as a moderate cleric before the Islamic revolution in 1979. ‘We are good and old friends and when we were both in office, the countries had the best relations,’ Khatami told DPA news service after the meeting.

“Khatami said efforts were in gear to find a diplomatic solution in the conflict over Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which has produced more than 1,000 kilograms of low-enriched uranium… The amount, if subjected to further processing, would be enough to create an atomic weapon…

“In Germany, the general secretary of the Central Council of Jews Stephan Kramer criticized the Schroeder-Ahmadinejad meeting in an interview with the Hanover daily Neue Presse: ‘Mr. Schroeder is greatly damaging the reputation of Germany and the German government…’

“Iran’s ambassador in Berlin, Aliresa Sheikh-Attar, didn’t think Schroeder’s criticism of Ahmadinejad would damage ties between the two countries. ‘The relations between Teheran and Berlin are too important to be overshadowed by a subject such as the Holocaust,’ Attar said. During his time in office (1998-2005), Schroeder never visited Iran…”

Muslim Anti-Semitism in Germany

Netzeitung wrote on February 23:

“Germany should take anti-Semitic tendencies among its Muslim population seriously, Turkish-German Green party leader Cem Özdemir warned in an interview with daily Frankfurter Rundschau on Monday.

“‘We must unfortunately acknowledge that there are anti-Semitic mindsets not only in the right-wing or among the so-called left-wing anti-imperialists, but also in the Muslim community – particularly among male Arabic, Turkish and Kurdish youths,’ Özdemir, the country’s first leader of a major political party with Turkish roots, told the paper…

“A 2007 study by the Interior Ministry found that Muslim students were far more anti-Semitic than other students, the paper reported…”

A New Plan for a European Army

The Telegraph wrote on February 18:

“A security blueprint charting a path to a European Union army [was] agreed by Euro-MPs on Thursday. The plan, which has influential support in Germany and France, proposes to set up a ‘Synchronised Armed Forces Europe’, or Safe, as a first step towards a true European military force…

“Geoffrey Van Orden MEP, the Conservative European defence spokesman, warned that British ministers are ‘in denial’. He said: ‘They are sleepwalking towards a European army and seem to have little awareness of what is going on’…”

Dire Warning of Deutsche Bank

Netzeitung wrote on February 23:

“Germany’s gross domestic product will likely shrink by more than five percent in 2009, chief economist for Deutsche Bank Norbert Walter told daily Bild on Monday…

“Companies and politicians have sugarcoated the country’s economic situation, the head economist of Germany’s largest private bank said, adding that they are ‘ignoring the truth.'”

U.S. Economy Continues to Go Downward

On February 24, The New York Times published an article with the headline, “Fed Chief Says Recovery May Wait Until 2010 or Later.” In the article, it was pointed out:

“On Tuesday, two barometers of the housing market and consumer attitudes underscored the economy’s downward trajectory. Home prices in the United States plunged at the fastest pace on record in December… signaling that housing was likely to continue declining.

“Consumer confidence also… dropped to a new low of 25 in February, from 37.4 a month earlier, as people fretted about losing their jobs or earning less, and worsening prospects over the next six months.”

President Obama–“The Day of Reckoning Has Arrived… America at the Crossroads”

Bild Online wrote on February 25:

“Barack Obama insisted the ‘day of reckoning has arrived’ when he addressed Congress for the first time yesterday… Obama acknowledged the need for America to take charge on the issue of the global financial crisis: ‘As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all nations are once again upon us – watching to see what we do with this moment, waiting for us to lead’…

“Obama promised support to the floundering American car industry, saying that the ‘nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it’… Leading US car manufacturers such as Chrysler and General Motors have already asked the government for billions of dollars in aid.

“Obama also offered help to the banking and finance sectors, warning that a rescue programme could cost more than expected. He stressed that the aim was to support the people not the banks…

“The US government is working on reducing the burden of financial debt that the country has found itself in, Obama insisted. He said that the budget deficit will be halved in the coming year. In order to save the money, he said he would ‘eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq and reform our defence budget so that we’re not paying for Cold War-era weapons systems we don’t use’…

“And Obama referred to a new era in international politics: ‘… we know that America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, but the world cannot meet them without America.’”

Who Says the War in Gaza Is Over?

AFP reported on February 25:

“Israeli warplanes launched two air strikes along the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt on Wednesday as delegates from three Palestinian factions were crossing at a nearby terminal, witnesses said. They said the two air strikes left large craters and caused damage to surrounding homes near the border, where smugglers operate a massive underground network of tunnels to supply goods to the besieged territory…

“An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that two air strikes had been carried out in the area. Palestinian militants had earlier fired two crude homemade rockets into southern Israel without causing any casualties, according to the military.”

Politics Made in Washington…

The New York Post wrote on February 15:

“After pushing Congress for weeks to hurry up and pass the massive $787 billion stimulus bill, President Obama promptly took off for a three-day holiday getaway [before signing the bill on Tuesday, February 17]… The push to get the bill through before the holiday weekend was so frantic, members of Congress didn’t have a chance to read all 1,071 pages of the document before they could vote.”

Not that anyone WOULD HAVE read it…

The Stimulus Bill–How Costly Is It Really?

WorldNetDaily wrote on February 13:

“Before this bill is signed, actual federal obligations are already $65.5 trillion – exceeding the gross domestic product of the entire world. The Obama administration economic stimulus package is going to force the Treasury to borrow approximately $2.5 trillion in 2009 and another $4 trillion in 2010, with the result of increasing the current $10 trillion national debt by 65 percent in just two years. If the Obama administration increases the national debt by 65 percent every two years, the debt will be $16.5 trillion in 2010 and $27.225 trillion by 2012, the year of the next presidential election.

“Let’s consider the real meaning of these numbers:

“… If you had gone into business on the day Jesus was born, and your business lost a million dollars a day, 365 days a year, it would take you until October 2737 to lose $1 trillion. $1 trillion dollars divided by 300 million Americans comes out to $3,333 per person. One trillion $1 bills stacked one on top of the other would reach nearly 68,000 miles into the sky, about a third of the way from the Earth to the moon. Earth’s home galaxy, the Milky Way, is estimated to contain about 200 billion stars. So, if each star cost $1, $1 trillion would buy five Milky Way galaxies full of stars.

“But you don’t need to know all that.

“Just let the ‘experts’ in Washington figure it all out for you – the ones who are not even reading the bills, the ones who lied to you last year when they campaigned for office, the ones who are hiding this information from you even today.”

How U.S. Tax Payer Money is “Used”…

Newsmax.com reported on February 14:

“The gargantuan stimulus bill Congress has rubber-stamped with virtually no Republican support contains tens of billions of the very spending projects that made the legislation a lightning rod for criticism. And although the bill is generally described as costing $787 billion, the Congressional Budget Office reports the actual figure is now closer to $3.27 trillion. That stems from the $744 billion it will take to pay for the additional debt the legislation will create, and $2.527 trillion in increased spending from the new and expanded programs the bill will spawn over the next decade…

“The plan has more than $3 billion in ‘neighborhood stabilization’ and Community Development Block Grant funding, much of which may go to benefit ACORN, a low-income housing and voter registration ‘community’ organization that is under federal investigation for its suspicious voter registration practices.

“$1.3 billion [will be used] to bailout AMTRAK, the perennial money-loser railroad. $1 billion for educational programs, including courses on sexually transmitted diseases. $30 million for restoration of wetlands to be spent in the San Francisco Bay Area – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s district. The money will go in part to protect the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse.

“$200 million for a low-pollution, coal-fired power plant in President Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois. $45 million for ATV four-wheeler trails, and government office renovations, according to RNC Chairman Michael Steele. $200 million to provide computers to community colleges.

“$50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts. Over $650 million in coupons to help consumers buy digital TV converter-box coupons. A reported $300 million for hybrid vehicles and electric-powered cars. According to the Washington Times, this item will include buying golf carts for federal workers.”

California at the Abyss

The Los Angeles Times reported on February 16:

“Ending a weekend marathon of tense negotiations, bleary-eyed state lawmakers late Sunday suspended their bid to plug California’s $41-billion deficit… The two-day hunt for a third Republican in the state Senate willing to vote for $14.4 billion in temporary tax increases proved futile…”

Finally, on February 19, the Sacramento Bee reported:

“The state Legislature voted early today to approve a massive budget package of tax increases, spending cuts and borrowing to close a $40 billion deficit after granting major concessions to one holdout Republican senator. The votes came after… 45 1/2 hours, the single longest Senate session in California history.”

Freedom of Speech in California?

The Los Angeles Times reported on February 16:

“A classroom dispute at Los Angeles City College in the emotional aftermath of Proposition 8 has given rise to a lawsuit testing the balance between 1st Amendment rights and school codes on offensive speech. Student Jonathan Lopez says his professor called him a ‘fascist bastard’ and refused to let him finish his speech against same-sex marriage during a public speaking class last November, weeks after California voters approved the ban on such unions…

“Lopez also said the teacher threatened to have him expelled when he complained to higher-ups. In addition to financial damages, the suit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeks to strike down a sexual harassment code barring students from uttering ‘offensive’ statements…

“Lopez, a Los Angeles resident working toward an associate of arts degree, is described in the suit as a Christian who considers it a religious duty to share his beliefs, particularly with other students… Lopez is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and co-founded by evangelical leader James Dobson of Focus on the Family…”

Germany to Rescue Ireland?

The Sunday Times wrote on February 15:

“Fears are mounting that Ireland could default on its soaring national debt pile, amid continuing worries about its troubled banking sector. The cost of buying insurance against Irish government bonds rose to record highs on Friday, having almost tripled in a week. Debt-market investors now rank Ireland as the most troubled economy in Europe…

“With Ireland set to borrow an additional €15 billion (£13.4 billion) this year, the national debt pile will hit €70 billion… One possible solution would see Germany buy billions of euros of Irish government debt through a fund set up by the European Central Bank.”

Germany to Help in Rebuilding Iraq?

The Associated Press reported on February 17:

“Germany’s foreign minister met with top Iraqi leaders in Baghdad on Tuesday in the latest high-level visit by a major Western nation that opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion…

“Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s visit–the first by a German foreign minister since 1987–comes on the heels of a similar trip by French President Nicolas Sarkozy a week ago… German and French companies could… [strike] lucrative Iraq reconstruction contracts. Iraqi leaders appear eager to shore up their ties with European nations like Germany and France to ease their dependence on the United States.”

Demonstrations and Clashes in Dresden

Bloomberg reported on February 14:

“German anti-immigrant, skinhead and neo-Nazi groups in the eastern city of Dresden staged one of their biggest demonstrations since German reunification in 1990 today, as 6,000 extremists marched through the streets, police said.

“Groups tied to the National Democratic Party used the 64th anniversary of the 1945 firebombing of Dresden to hold a ‘mourning march’ through the [capitol] of the state of Saxony. Two counter-demonstrations, led by unions and political activists, drew almost 10,000… a group of historians commissioned by the city last year concluded that as many as 25,000 died [during the 1945 fire bombing]… Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the Verfassungsschutz, has also said online activity is increasing organization among extremist groups.”

The Los Angeles Times added on February 14:

“Police clashed with leftist opponents of a march by about 6,000 right-wingers marking the anniversary of the Allied bombing of Dresden during World War II. A police spokesman said the leftists tipped over two police vehicles and threw bottles and rocks as authorities struggled to keep the two groups separated. Several police officers and demonstrators were injured and some people were detained… A third group held a largely peaceful march in Dresden.”

France Was Responsible for Deporting Jews

The Times wrote on February 17:

“The French State was responsible for deporting Jews during the Second World War, the top judicial authority ruled for the first time yesterday, but it dismayed families of victims by declaring that they had already been compensated.

“The… Council of State… called for a ‘solemn recognition of the responsibility of the State’. France was ‘responsible for damages caused by actions which did not result from the occupiers’ direct orders but facilitated deportation from France of people who were victims of anti-Semitic persecution’, it said. The ruling endorses a view that was proclaimed by the former President Jacques Chirac when he took office in 1995.”

Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Europe?

Times on Line wrote on February 16:

“World depressions lead to a rise in anti-Semitism. All over Europe, the evidence is around us… As the world enters a new era of crisis, anti-Semitism is back. History, as ever, begins to repeat itself…

“The Great Depression gave rise to the worst expressions of anti-Semitism ever seen, namely the politics that led to the Holocaust. But even in Britain the Duke of Wellington of the time was leader of a secret anti-Jewish organisation which had the initials PJ – Perish Judah – on its letterhead…

“The distress and upset over the terrible pictures of children killed in Israel’s attacks on Hamas in Gaza have allowed anti-Israeli feelings to be more violently and vehemently expressed than ever before. Criticism of Israel is not anti-Semitic. But all anti-Semites hate the existence of a Jewish state…

“In Italy, the streets of Milan are daubed with slogans urging Italians not to buy goods at Jewish shops – an echo of the Nazi slogan ‘Kauft Nicht Bei Juden’. In Germany, radio phone-ins are full of accusations that the bankers accused of being responsible for the current economic crisis are Jews. In anti-Israel demonstrations in Berlin, placards stating ‘It was a good idea to use gas’ or ‘I’m anti-Semitic and that’s a good thing’ were carried…”

Israel Engaged in Covert War of Sabotage Inside Iran

Welt On Line reported on February 17:

“Israel is involved in a covert war of sabotage inside Iran in an effort to delay Tehran’s attempts to develop a nuclear weapon, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Tuesday… As evidence of Israel’s reported strategy, Iran watchers have pointed to events such as the death of Ardeshire Hassanpour, a nuclear scientist at the Isfahan uranium plant who died at home from apparent gas poisoning in 2007.

“Meir Javendafar, an Iran expert at Meepas, a Middle East analysis group, said there were also reports Iran was being sold faulty equipment for its nuclear programme on international markets, and that there were attempts to disrupt the electricity supply to Natanz, a uranium enrichment facility in central Iran…

“However, he said there were also indications that several more countries other than Israel were involved in attempting to infiltrate Iran to disrupt its nuclear programme… ‘Numerous intelligence agencies are trying their best to do this. Not just Israel but the Americans and many European spy agencies — there are even reports that neutrals such as Holland have been involved,’ he said… ‘Since none of this is confirmed, we can’t be sure. But even if there’s no truth to it, it’s part of what is a massive psychological war against Iran’s nuclear programme…'”

The “Unthinkable” Could Have Happened!

The English tabloid, The Sun, reported on February 16:

“British and French nuclear submarines which collided deep under the Atlantic could have sunk or released deadly radioactivity, it emerged last night. The Royal Navy’s HMS Vanguard and the French Navy’s Le Triomphant are both nuclear powered and were carrying nuke missiles. Between them they had around 250 sailors on board.

“A senior Navy source said: ‘The potential consequences are unthinkable. It’s very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. But a radioactive leak was a possibility. Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster.’

“The collision is believed to have taken place on February 3 or 4, in mid-Atlantic. Both subs were submerged and on separate missions. As inquiries began, naval sources said it was a millions-to-one unlucky chance both subs were in the same patch of sea. Warships have sonar gear which locates submarines by sound waves… this is the biggest embarrassment to the Navy since Iran captured 15 sailors in 2007.”

The Independent added on February 17:

“Defence chiefs are facing an inquiry into the safety of the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent after British and French submarines, each laden with missiles powerful enough for 1,248 Hiroshima bombings, collided while submerged in the mid-Atlantic…

“Anti-nuclear campaigners said the two vessels had been moments from a potentially catastrophic accident which could have resulted in the widespread release of radioactive material…”

How Europe Muzzles Its Member States

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 16:

“The Federal Constitutional Court in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe had hardly begun its hearing on the Lisbon Treaty when a higher power — the European Court of Justice — intervened. The Luxembourg-based rival court’s demonstration that there are no limits to the Eurocrats’ claim to power — was spread by whispers through the German courtroom… The [European] court’s reasoning seemed bizarre… It’s a cunning line of argumentation which effectively allows the court to intervene in many different political spheres within member countries…

“A [proposed national] veto [to be included in the Lisbon Treaty]… is only useful with those decisions that must be made unanimously. But all areas of domestic and legal policy where competency is transferred to the European bodies under the Lisbon Treaty would be exempt from the unanimity requirement. Even worse, the European Council can also decide to apply the majority vote principle to decisions that would normally require a unanimous vote. If that happens, Germany could simply be overruled, such as on the question of joint military operations abroad…”

Europe Still in Need of Strong Unifying Leadership

Der Spiegel wrote on February 16:

“As the economy in the European Union sinks deeper into recession, Brussels has proven itself to be devoid of ideas and solutions. Member states are going it alone — and often getting in each other’s way… There is, in short, little good that Brussels can do. But it can do plenty of harm…

“A wave of bankruptcies is spreading throughout the European economy. In Italy, bankruptcies were up 30 percent last year, and they have almost doubled in Ireland and Spain. This year experts anticipate about 35,000 bankruptcy filings in Germany, where the most prominent victims to date include underwear producer Schiesser, model train maker Märklin and porcelain company Rosenthal [In addition, Hertie and Opel are also in deep financial trouble].

“The economic climate in the European common currency zone has reached ‘an historic low’… Countries like Romania are on the brink of bankruptcy. The Greek health minister is not even able to pay suppliers to government-owned hospitals… The Swedish government has promised Swedish automakers Saab and Volvo government subsidies if they agree to shift production away from Germany and Belgium and home to Sweden. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has hinted to Fiat that he plans to rescue the company if need be.

“And in Germany the latest conservative rising star is already wading into protectionist territory. Shortly before his appointment as Berlin’s new economics minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, a Bavarian, blue-blooded member of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), made it clear that he plans to stimulate ‘jobs in Germany, not in the Far East.’

“It was precisely these sorts of protectionist policies that fired up the worldwide economic crisis in the 1930s. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, the current holder of the European Union’s rotating presidency, warned that the ‘scenario of 1930’ could repeat itself. German Finance Minister Steinbrück warned of a ‘race of the lemmings.’

“French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who sought to portray himself as a model European only last year, is suddenly an ardent nationalist. He wants to lend French automakers PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault a total of €6 billion ($7.8 billion) at low interest rates to ‘keep jobs in France’…

“But the Germans, too, quickly turn into combative nationalists when their own interests are at stake…

“Economic policy measures can be left largely to the jurisdiction of the member states… Europe today is only as strong as the 27 heads of government in the EU allow it to be. But views on many issues differ widely in Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Prague or Riga — not exactly a basis for workable bailout concepts.”

80th Anniversary of the Vatican City State

The Catholic news agency, Zenit, reported on February 13:

“Despite its small size, Vatican City State is great in other aspects, according to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Benedict XVI’s secretary of state said Thursday at the opening of the congress ‘A Small Territory for a Great Mission,’ held in Rome’s Lateran palace, that the Vatican is ‘small but great; the greatest in the world from any point of view.’

“The event, organized by the Governorate of the Holy See, marks the 80th anniversary of the Feb. 11, 1929, accords that recognized the independence and sovereignty of the Holy See, created the Vatican City State, and defined the civil and religious relationship between the government and the Church in Italy… The signing of the Lateran Pacts [under Benito Mussolini] put an end to the so-called ‘Roman question’ that began in 1870 when Italy invaded and took possession of Church properties…”

Tame Chimpanzee Becomes Violent

The Associated Press reported on February 17:

“A 200-pound domesticated chimpanzee who once starred in TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola was shot dead by police after a violent rampage that left a friend of its owner badly mauled. Sandra Herold, who owned the 15-year-old chimp named Travis, wrestled with the animal after it inexplicably attacked her friend Charla Nash, 55…

“After the initial attack, Travis ran away and started roaming Herold’s property until police arrived… the chimpanzee… went after several of the officers, who retreated into their cars… Travis knocked the mirror off a cruiser before opening its door and starting to get in, trapping the officer. That officer shot the chimpanzee several times… The wounded chimpanzee fled the scene, but… police were able to follow the trail of his blood: down the driveway, into the open door of the home, through the house and to his living quarters, where he had retreated and died of his wounds.

“… the chimp was acting so agitated earlier that afternoon that Herold gave him the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in some tea [Xanax can lead to aggression in people, but Herold later denied that she had given Xanax to the chimp]… the animal may have attacked Nash because she was wearing her hair differently and perhaps wasn’t recognized… Police have dealt with [Travis] in the past, including an incident in 2003 when he escaped from his owners’ vehicle in downtown Stamford for two hours. Officers used cookies, macadamia treats and ice cream in an attempt to lure him, but subdued him only after he became too tired to resist.

“… the chimpanzee was toilet trained, dressed himself, took his own bath, ate at the table and drank wine from a stemmed glass. He also brushed his teeth using a Water Pik, logged onto the computer to look at pictures, and watched television using the remote control… ‘He’s been raised almost like a child by this family,’ [the police said]. ‘He rides in a car every day, he opens doors, he’s a very unique animal in that aspect….'”

In its article of February 17, the New York Post quoted a police spokesman as saying: “There was no provocation that we know of. One thing that we’re looking into is that we understand the chimpanzee has Lyme disease and has been ill from that, so maybe from the medications he was out of sorts. We really don’t know.”

The paper also quoted Colleen McCann, a primatologist at the Bronx Zoo, as saying that “chimps are… dangerous even after living among humans for years. ‘They are unpredictable, and in instances like this you cannot control that behavior or prevent it from happening if it is in a private home,’ she said.”

In a recent video-taped sermon series, Norbert Link addresses the increasingly violent behavior of animals around the world. The sermons can be viewed on Google Video or on our Webpage.

The Biblical World of Animals, Part 2, Norbert Link, Nov. 1, 2008
The Biblical World of Animals, Part 1, Norbert Link, Oct. 25, 2008

U.S. Senate Approves Stimulus Plan–But At What Cost!

The New York Times reported on February 11:

“The Senate approved an economic stimulus bill of some $838 billion on Tuesday, clearing the way for negotiations with the House… The 61-to-37 vote was largely along party lines, as expected… Only a few Republicans voted for the bill… whose support was vital when the bill narrowly cleared a procedural hurdle requiring 60 ‘yes’ votes on Monday.”

The Associated Press reported on February 12:

“Economic stimulus legislation at the heart of President Barack Obama’s recovery plan is on track for final votes in the House and Senate after a dizzying final round of bargaining that yielded agreement on tax cuts and spending totaling $789 billion.

“Obama, who has campaigned energetically for the legislation, welcomed the agreement, saying it would ‘save or create more than 3.5 million jobs and get our economy back on track.’

“The $500-per-worker credit for lower- and middle-income taxpayers that Obama outlined during his presidential campaign was scaled back to $400 during bargaining by the Democratic-controlled Congress and White House. Couples would receive $800 instead of $1,000. Over two years, that move would pump about $25 billion less into the economy than had been previously planned.

“Officials estimated it would mean about $13 a week more in people’s paychecks when withholding tables are adjusted in late spring. Critics say that’s unlikely to do much to boost consumption.

“Millions of people receiving Social Security benefits would get a one-time payment of $250 under the agreement, along with veterans receiving pensions, and poor people receiving Supplemental Security Income payments. An additional $46 billion would go to transportation projects such as highway, bridge and mass transit construction; many lawmakers wanted more.

“The House could vote on the bill as early as Thursday, though Friday seemed more likely. The Senate would follow, but its schedule is less certain… A $15,000 tax credit for anybody buying a home over the next year was dropped; instead, first-time homebuyers could claim an $8,000 credit for homes bought by the end of August. Car buyers could deduct the sales tax they paid on a new car but not the interest on their car loans.”

“U.S. Unveils New $1.5 Trillion Bank Bailout Plan”

Welt On Line reported on February 10:

“U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday announced a plan to take $500 billion in bad assets off the books of struggling banks and expand a Federal Reserve program to support up to $1 trillion in asset-backed securities. The renamed ‘Financial Stability Plan’… will also devote $50 billion in federal rescue funds to try to stem home foreclosures and soften the crushing impact of the deep housing crisis now afflicting the entire economy… After Geithner’s announcement, stock prices fell further and the dollar extended losses while prices for U.S. Treasury debt securities extended gains.

“James Ellman, President of Seacliff Capital in San Francisco, said: ‘Investors want clarity, simplicity, and resolution. This plan is seen as convoluted, obfuscating, and clouded.’ Geithner acknowledged deep skepticism has developed over the fairness and efficiency of a $700-billion bank bailout program approved by Congress in October. He said leaders of some financial institutions that have received money had squandered the good faith that is needed to make the bank rescue effective.”

The Myths of Stimulus Success

In its March on-line edition of the commentarymagazine.com, James K. Glassman wrote about the folly of stimulus. Glassman is the former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. We are bringing you the following excerpts from his article:

“Before he was sworn in as President, Barack Obama began to lay out his plans for reviving an American economy that… had declined 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, its worst performance in 26 years… He anointed the stimulus proposal with a convenient and vivid metaphor…

“Like payments for broken windows, tax rebates and new roads (the seen) do not come free. The stimulus money that flows to taxpayers, government agencies, and businesses has to come from somewhere (the unseen). During a recession, it is usually borrowed, and the anticipation of taxpayers is that they will have to repay these loans, which means their taxes will rise in the future. This knowledge makes people anxious about spending the extra money, or even about investing it in the kind of ventures that help an economy grow…

“Government simply cannot know enough to direct an economy successfully, and when the President claims that his fiscal stimulus plan will create (or save) at least three million jobs, he is taking a wild, and dangerous, leap…

“In fact, stimulus may be precisely the wrong metaphor… Stimulus—that is, fiscal intervention with the express purpose of speeding up the normal regenerative process…—is unnecessary and almost certainly harmful…

“There may, in fact, be a good reason for government to spend billions of dollars today on building highways, and it has nothing to do with stimulus. It is that long-term interest rates are at historic lows and that the right highways can boost the economy in the long term. There also may be a good reason, again far apart from stimulus, for revising the tax code and reforming Social Security and Medicare. It is that Americans now understand that the economic future is not so assured as they believed a couple of years ago, and it is time for decisions to be made—in a manner careful, sensible, and unstimulated.”

“Popular Rage Grows as Global Crisis Worsens”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 10:

“As the global economic crisis deepens, tempers around the world are getting shorter. French and British trade unions are organizing strikes, Putin is sending troops into the streets and Beijing is trying to buy itself calm…

“The global financial crisis has already reached France, bringing business failures, mass layoffs for some workers and reduced working hours for others… Across the English Channel in Britain… demonstrations became a symbol for the fears of the British lower classes, because the country… faces the worst downturn among all highly developed economies…

“In Russia, dismal labor statistics have driven Communists and anti-government protestors into the streets…

“Beijing announced that about 20 million migrant workers — more than the combined populations of Denmark, Sweden and Norway — would likely become unemployed in the coming months… 2009 will be the ‘most difficult’ year since the turn of the millennium.

“About 50 million jobs could be lost worldwide in the next 11 months and more than 200 million people could drift into total poverty, warns the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Guy Ryder, the group’s general secretary, believes that these changes represent a ‘social time bomb,’ and that the resulting instability could become ‘extremely hazardous to democracy’ in some countries.

“In the West, the crisis could cost heads of state their jobs, as was recently the case with the prime minister of Iceland… Cabinets in London, Moscow, Beijing and Paris have been overcome by a sense of helplessness…

“The overwhelming majority of the French are plagued by fears of unemployment, lower incomes and shrinking savings… Two-thirds of the French believe that their government… is not engaging in effective crisis management…

“British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s popularity is falling even faster than Sarkozy’s… only one in three Britons would vote for [Brown’s] Labour today…

“The Kremlin fears that members of the middle class, loyal Putin supporters, will withdraw their support if the prosperity of recent years vanishes. In December alone, disposable income sank by 11.6 percent, and 5.8 million people are already officially unemployed…”

Germany’s Unhappy Alliance

Deutsche Welle reported on February 9:

“The resignation tendered by Economy Minister Michael Glos comes just months ahead of general elections due Sept. 27, and in the midst of an unprecedented global financial crisis… It’s no secret… that there were strains in his relationship with Bavarian Premier Horst Seehofer. Both men are leading figures of Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), whose alliance with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) makes up a sizeable proportion of the conservative camp’s national support…”

According to Der Spiegel Online, dated February 9, 2009, the reaction of the German press to this most recent debacle was quite telling:

“Conservative newspaper Die Welt writes: ‘Glos wasn’t the right man and wasn’t capable of doing this job, that was an open secret. But he was allowed to remain in it all these years. That’s not exactly a sign of a government aware of its responsibilities. It’s a sign that the conservatives lack a clear economic direction and have been indulging in party political tactics…’

“Mass circulation Bild writes: ‘The timing couldn’t have been worse! The economy ministry is quitting in the middle of the financial crisis… And CSU leader Seehofer didn’t even give him the opportunity to quit the stage in a respectable way… The conservatives didn’t cover themselves in glory in these chaotic hours of Berlin and Munich. And they have shown how few qualified candidates… they have in this their most important area!'”

Merkel and Benedict Patching Up

Welt On Line wrote on February 9:

“Pope Benedict and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had criticised the pontiff over a Holocaust-denying bishop, have had a ‘cordial and constructive’ phone conversation on the issue, the Vatican said. A joint statement by the Holy See and German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said they exchanged views ‘in an atmosphere of great respect’… adding the phone call had been requested by Merkel…

“It has [been] said Pope Benedict, who has expressed his full solidarity with Jews, was not aware of Williamson’s denial of the Holocaust when he rehabilitated the bishops to try to heal a 20-year-old schism within the Church.”

“Obama Means Blood, Sweat and Tears for Germany”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 9:

“German enthusiasm for the new US administration could soon fade. The Americans made it very clear at the Munich Security Conference that they expect solidarity from their European allies — and that means blood, sweat and tears.

“This year, it’s going to be hard to escape the slew of German anniversaries. The list includes the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest 2,000 years ago, the invasion of Poland and the outbreak of World War II 70 years ago, the founding of East and West Germany 60 years ago and the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago. In 2009, hardly any other country in the world will spend so much time intensively examining its own past as Germany.

“At the Munich Security Conference, which ran from Friday to Sunday, politicians from all over the world dared to take a look into the future. As difficult as [forecasts] might be in this time of terrorist threats, global financial meltdown and innumerable intractable regional conflicts, one prediction can be safely made: The phase of German military intervention that began 10 years ago during the Kosovo war is in no way coming to an end, despite the fact the majority of Germans wish it would. On the contrary: The era of foreign deployments for Germans and their military forces has just begun.

“In his highly anticipated speech at the conference, US Vice President Joe Biden did not make the slightest effort to talk around the problem. The good news for America’s European allies is that, from now on, Washington intends to ask for their input often and to listen to it. And the bad news? ‘America will do more, but America will ask for more from our partners.’ Biden is obviously referring to Afghanistan, where the Obama administration intends to station an additional 30,000 soldiers in the near future. And let’s make one thing very clear: Unlike the German forces who are helping with reconstruction efforts, the US troops are not going to Afghanistan to build schools or roads. They are going there to kill Taliban fighters, and their commander-in-chief will not be George W. Bush but Barack Hussein Obama.

“Afghanistan — which will be even more heatedly discussed in Germany than usual during this election year — is not the only international conflict in which Germany is playing an active role. There are also the international efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Here, too, the agenda of the US government appears to be clear: The Obama administration will hold talks with Tehran, but it is also prepared to pursue other avenues if such talks fail to achieve their intended goal. And that goal is non-negotiable: Iran can not be allowed to have nuclear weapons…

“The Americans will be scrupulously careful that the confrontation with Tehran does not develop into a one-on-one battle between the US and Iran. Biden’s message from Munich is the following: Every NATO country and every member of the European Union is now involved, as of today. This is the price for the new trans-Atlantic openness and cooperation.

“… the Germans would prefer to return to the era before the fall of the Berlin Wall, when the German army… obediently remained in its barracks when trouble broke out elsewhere in the world… In this election year, Angela Merkel and Frank-Walter Steinmeier need to explain to the electorate that there can be no way back to the era in which Germany was left in peace… George W. Bush’s departure from office was met with jubilation in Germany… It’s safe to predict that some Obama worshipers in Germany will soon be missing the 43rd president — because things will no longer be as comfortable for Europe as they were during his time.”

More Than 200 Feared Dead in “Suspicious” Australian Bushfires

Welt On Line reported on February 10:

“Australian police combed through a blackened landscape searching for clues in the hunt for possible arsonists on Tuesday as the death toll from the nation’s worst bushfires looked likely to top 200…

“The bushfires which swept through Victoria state on Saturday night were ‘suspicious’ as there were no natural events such as lightning which would have sparked the blazes, said police. State Premier John Brumby said anyone found guilty could face manslaughter or murder charges.

“The disaster area, more than twice the size of London and encompassing more than 20 towns north of Melbourne, has been declared a crime zone by officials…

“Australia is the most fire-prone country on earth, say scientists, and most of its bushfires are ignited by lightning. Fire officials monitor lightning strikes and any fire that does not correspond with a strike is assumed to be started by people, either accidentally or deliberately.

“The bushfire tragedy is the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years. The previous worst bushfire was the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 which killed 75 people.”

Israel Has Spoken

Haaretz reported on February 11:

“With 99 percent of the votes counted, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni’s Kadima Party is in first place with 28 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, with Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party following closely behind with 27 seats… Despite the poll results, it is not certain that Livni will be able to muster the 61-seat coalition needed to form a government…

“If the exit polls are correct, the right-wing bloc, led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, will comprise 63-64 seats, while the center-left bloc, headed by Livni, will take 56-57 seats…”

In a related article, the newspaper wrote:

“With a clear advantage to the rightist bloc in Israel’s national elections Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu could well end up as the next prime minister, regardless of whether his Likud party won the most votes or came second to centrist Kadima and Tzipi Livni. Late Tuesday night, Netanyahu began contacts with several right-wing parties, including Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu.

“By law, the president must consult with all the parties as to who they prefer as prime minister, and whoever is recommended by more Knesset members is given the nod. Hence if the religious and rightist parties all recommend Netanyahu, he would get first crack at forming a government… Both parties rejected the idea of sharing power via a rotation government.

“At Labor Party headquarters, in contrast, the atmosphere was one of unrelieved gloom: The party had been fighting desperately to hang onto third place, and it apparently lost the battle. Before the vote, party chairman Ehud Barak had been angling for the post of defense minister under either Netanyahu or Livni. But Labor officials said Tuesday night that the party’s poor showing made it virtually impossible for it to join a Netanyahu government.”

Hamas Accused of Torture and Murder

Welt On Line wrote on February 10:

“Amnesty International said on Tuesday Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip had carried out killings, torture and abductions of people accused of helping Israel, during and after the recent Israeli offensive. The abuses have taken place since the end of December 2008…

“At least two dozen men have been shot dead by Hamas gunmen and scores of others have been shot in the legs, knee-capped or injured in other ways intended to cause permanent disability… Others have been severely beaten, tortured or ill-treated, it said in a report.

“Most were abducted from their homes and later dumped, dead or injured, in isolated areas, or found in the morgue of one of Gaza’s hospitals. Some were shot dead in hospitals where they were receiving treatment for injuries, Amnesty said.”

Will Germany Defeat the Lisbon Treaty?

Der Spiegel Online reported on February 11:

“Germany’s high court is taking a closer look at the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty, the document meant to replace the failed EU constitution. Early indications are that it doesn’t like what it sees. If Germany says no, the treaty is likely dead. Commentators can’t decide whether or not that is good…

“During oral arguments on Tuesday, justices asked unexpectedly critical questions… The skeptical tone from the bench continued on Wednesday… [One justice] said he didn’t really understand how Germany’s parliament would benefit from handing over competencies to the European Union.

“In particular, the court indicated deep skepticism about provisions in the Lisbon Treaty which would allow for the EU to have a say in German criminal law. Given the doubts, it seemed this week unlikely that the court would rubber-stamp the treaty without demanding changes. The court also placed a discussion of Article 146 of the constitution on the agenda for Wednesday. The paragraph stipulates that a national referendum must be held if any part of the constitution is superseded…

“Germany is one of four countries which have not yet ratified the Lisbon Treaty — joining Ireland (which rejected the treaty in a referendum last June), the Czech Republic and Poland. The German parliament approved the treaty last April, but President Horst Köhler withheld his signature pending legal challenges filed by a number of appellants, including parliamentarian Peter Gauweiler, a member of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union — the sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats — and the Left Party. Franz Ludwig Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the son of Claus von Stauffenberg, who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944, is also among those who challenged the treaty.

“Indicating the importance Berlin attaches to the treaty, both Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble appeared before the court on Tuesday to defend the treaty…

“Should the court rule that parts of the Lisbon Treaty are not in harmony with the German constitution, it would likely mean the end of the document. Any adjustments would mean new negotiations involving all 27 member states. The treaty was already modified following its rejection in 2005. After Ireland voted down the treaty last June, minor adjustments were made in anticipation of a revote. Fundamental questions like those raised by the German court on Tuesday, however, would likely be more difficult to change.

“German commentators take a closer look on Wednesday.

“The Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘… If the justices intervene, which is to be expected, then it will be because the EU’s expansion of competencies has not been followed by an expansion of democracy. Europe is suffering from too little democracy.’

“The economic daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘That the appellants want to stop the construction of the European house was impossible to ignore during Tuesday’s arguments. Germany would be giving yet more power to Europe… But is there a reasonable alternative?’…”

“Hamas Leader Praises Iran’s Help”

CNN reported on February 1:

“Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Sunday praised Iran for helping Hamas achieve ‘victory’ over Israel in Gaza… ‘The victory of the people of Gaza was a miracle of God and the Islamic Republic definitely has a share in this victory,’ Meshaal said after meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei…

“Khamenei congratulated Meshaal, saying, ‘The people of Gaza and the Islamic Resistance made us all proud and with their patience and perseverance successfully passed this very difficult test.’ The Iranian leader stressed that the war in Gaza has not yet ended, noting that ‘the Islamic Resistance must, with full alertness and in proper ways, prepare itself fully for the possibility of the beginning of another war…’ Iran has supported Hamas during and since the 22-day Israeli military operation.”

Israel’s Gaza War “Preintroduction” to Tackle Nuclear Iran

The Australian wrote on January 31:

“Israel’s ambassador to Australia [Yuval Rotem] has described his country’s military offensives in Gaza as a ‘preintroduction’ to tackling the military threat posed by a nuclear-equipped Iran… Mr Rotem told those gathered he expected Iran to stockpile enough uranium over the next 14 months to ‘be at the point of no return.'”

Olmert Threatens Gaza with Disproportionate Response

Deutsche Welle reported on February 2:

“Israeli aircraft have again bombed Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in spite of the de facto truce in place since Jan. 18, which ended Israel’s 22-day offensive in the coastal enclave. Sporadic rockets attacks from Hamas have continued since the ceasefire with ten such attacks occurring in the last 24 hours prompting Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, to threaten Gaza with a ‘disproportionate response’…”

Welt on Line reported on February 2:

“Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Monday that Israel does not intend to launch another broad operation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip… His comments clashed with statements on Sunday by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni who said that, if necessary, Israel would mount a new offensive in the Gaza Strip to choke off cross-border rocket fire. Both Barak, head of the centre-left Labour Party, and Livni, chairman of the ruling, centrist Kadima party, are candidates for prime minister in Israel’s Feb. 10 election. Opinion polls forecast victory for right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud.”

Netanyahu Would Do “Everything Necessary” To Prevent Iran Getting Nuclear

The Associated Press reported on February 1:

“Benjamin Netanyahu… said Saturday that Iran ‘will not be armed with a nuclear weapon.’… Netanyahu said if elected prime minister his first mission will be to thwart the Iranian nuclear threat. Netanyahu… called Iran the greatest danger to Israel and to all humanity. When asked if stopping Iran’s nuclear ambitions included a military strike, he replied: ‘It includes everything that is necessary to make this statement come true.'”

Israel Threatens Lebanon

Reuters wrote on February 3:

“During a tour of the northern border on Tuesday, [Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud] Barak addressed concerns that Syria was looking to transfer anti-aircraft missiles to the Lebanon-based militants group [Hezbollah], vowing that Israel would respond to such an illicit deal.

“Bracing for reprisals a year after the assassination of Hezbollah’s military mastermind, Israel said on Tuesday it would hold Lebanon responsible for any such attacks by the guerrilla group…

“The Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a severe travel warning on Sunday for Israelis abroad… The bureau said it was on high alert due to concrete intelligence that Hezbollah is in advanced stages of preparing an attack against Israelis abroad… Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah… said Hezbollah’s revenge was ‘yet ahead.'”

Due To Mr. Obama’s Position–Israel All Alone Against Iran

The Jerusalem Post wrote on January 29:

“In his first week and a half in office, US President Barack Obama has proven that he is a man of his word. For instance, he was not bluffing when he said during his campaign that he would make reconstituting America’s relations with the Islamic world one of his first priorities in office. Obama’s first phone call to a foreign leader was to PLO chieftain Mahmoud Abbas last Wednesday morning. And this past Tuesday, Obama gave his first television interview as president to the Al-Arabiya pan-Arabic television network.

“… the most significant campaign promise that Obama is wasting no time in keeping is his attempt to diplomatically engage with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Teheran is the central sponsor of the global jihad. Hizbullah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are all Iranian proxies. And, as is becoming increasingly undeniable, al-Qaida too enjoys a close relationship with the mullahs…

“Beyond its sponsorship of terrorism, due to its nuclear weapons program Iran is the largest emerging threat to global security. Together with its genocidal rhetoric against Israel, its calls for the destruction of the US, and its incitement for the overthrow of the governments of Egypt and Jordan, among others, Iran is the single largest source of instability in the region. Moreover, as US Defense Secretary Robert Gates made clear in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Iran is working actively in South and Central America to destabilize the western hemisphere.

“Obama caused an uproar when during a Democratic primary debate last spring he said that he would meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without preconditions. In subsequent months, he sought to soften his declaration. It is now apparent that his statement was not a slip of the tongue. It was a pledge…

“On November 6, two days after the US election, Ahmadinejad sent a congratulatory letter to Obama… In general, Iran’s government-controlled media outlets reported that Ahmadinejad’s letter was an ultimatum and that if Obama did not submit to his demands, the US would be destroyed… To summarize, Iran’s conditions for meeting with the Obama administration are that the US abandon Israel (which as Ahmadinejad reiterated at his annual Holocaust denial conference on Tuesday, must be annihilated), and that Obama take no action whatsoever against Iran’s nuclear program…

“If in fact Obama truly intends to move ahead with his plan to engage the mullahs, then he will effectively legitimize – if not adopt – Teheran’s preconditions that the US end its alliance with Israel, which Iran seeks to destroy, and accept a nuclear-armed Iran… Israel is alone in recognizing the necessity of preventing Iran from acquiring the means to destroy the Jewish state. Consequently, [Israel’s new] government will need to proceed with all deliberate speed to take whatever actions are necessary to prevent Israel’s destruction.”

Mr. Obama Already in Negotiations With Iran

AFP reported on January 31:

“US President Barack Obama has already used experts within the last few months to hold high-level but discreet talks with both Iran and Syria… Former defense secretary William Perry, who served in Obama’s election campaign, participated in some of these meetings…”

Germany “Concerned” Over Iran’s Satellite

Deutsche Welle reported on February 3:

“German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier has expressed concern about the launch of Iran’s first domestically built satellite… Steinmeier said that Germany and the permanent members of the UN Security Council would now have to intensify their efforts to dissuade Tehran from developing a nuclear weapons programme… the long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit can also be used for launching weapons, although Iran says it has no plans to do so…”

“Berlin Split Over How to Deal with New US Administration”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 2:

“US President Barack Obama is driving a wedge between the parties in Germany’s grand coalition government. Angela Merkel is keeping her distance while Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is making overtures to the new president — and ruffling feathers in the process… [Germany is divided] between Merkel’s Germany and Steinmeier’s Germany. And when it comes to their relationship with the new America, these two Germanys could not be more different.

“Chancellor Angela Merkel takes a reserved view of Obama, waiting to see what his administration’s policies will look like. There is not even a trace of enthusiasm for the man on whom the world’s hopes are now pinned. Merkel is not prepared to quickly accommodate the Americans on the first concrete issue for trans-Atlantic relations, namely the acceptance of detainees from Guantanamo.

“Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on the other hand, is the president of Germany’s Obama fan club. His enthusiasm knows no bounds. Steinmeier indicated right away that Germany would accept detainees from Guantanamo. And so Obama has a problem: figuring out which Germany he will be dealing with…

“The new chapter in German-American relations has gotten off to a bumpy start… Germany is still a puzzle for the new US administration. Which party in Germany’s grand coalition government… will call the shots in this election year, and what direction will they take?…

“The curiosity is mutual. The Germans want to know what the United States intends to do in the world’s crisis regions, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq. They are also curious to see how America intends to combat the recession. There are growing fears that the country will isolate itself and protect its economy while discouraging imports. This would be a serious blow for Germany, the world’s largest exporter…”

Regarding the thorny issue of Guantanamo prisoners, the magazine explained:

“There is now a list of 57 names of Guantanamo prisoners that the Americans have scheduled for release and who are not considered high-ranking terrorists. It is a list of 57 problems…

“It includes such illustrious cases as that of Tunisian national Abdul Bin Mohammed Ourgy, who the Americans say is a member of al-Qaida… Another man on the list is Rafiq Bin Bashir al-Hami [who] is believed to have… attended a terrorist training camp… in Afghanistan…

“Two Uzbeks, who are believed to be members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and were captured during fighting in Afghanistan in late 2001, are also on the US list. In a video released at the beginning of this year, the IMU threatened Germany and sought to recruit volunteers for jihad…”

The EU Threatens the USA

The Times wrote on February 4:

“The European Union warned the US yesterday against plunging the world into depression by adopting a planned ‘Buy American’ policy, intensifying fears of a trade war. The EU threatened to retaliate if the US Congress went ahead with sweeping measures in its $800 billion (£554 billion) stimulus plan to restrict spending to American goods and services.

“Gordon Brown was caught in the crossfire as John Bruton, the EU Ambassador to Washington, said that ‘history has shown us’ where the closing of markets leads — a clear reference to the Depression of the 1930s, triggered by US protectionist laws. Last night Mr Obama gave a strong signal that he would remove the most provocative passages from the Bill.”

Germany to Station Troops in France for Joint Mission

Deutsche Welle reported on February 3:

“France has agreed to allow a German battalion to be stationed in eastern France for the first time since World War II… Anywhere between 450 and 800 German soldiers will likely be stationed near the northeastern French city of Strasbourg… Such a move would have been unimaginable in the past, with animosity stemming from the 1870 Franco-German conflict and two world wars. Times have changed. Germany and France have found themselves at the forefront of pushing for a joint European defense strategy…

“The countries already have a 5,000-member bi-national brigade, which has served in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan since it was founded 20 years ago.”

“Europe Must Send Troops to the Middle East!”

Deutsche Welle reported on February 4:

“Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made his request for armed support while addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Feb. 4. ‘The time has come for the international community to bear its legal, political and moral responsibilities and provide … adequate international protection,’ Abbas said. ‘I would like to stress again our request to send international forces in order to protect our people.'”

Insects as Weapons of War?

Times on Line wrote on February 2:

“Insects are one of the cheapest and most destructive weapons available to terrorists today, and one of the most widely ignored: they are easy to sneak across borders, reproduce quickly and can spread disease and destroy crops with devastating speed… few people have an inkling of how insects can – and have – been used to inflict human suffering and economic destruction…

“In the 14th century, 75 million people succumbed to flea-borne bubonic plague. But few people realise that the Black Death arrived in Europe after the Mongols catapulted flea-ridden corpses into the port of Kaffa. People fled, carrying bacteria, rats and fleas throughout the Mediterranean. And it was lice, not enemy armies, that nearly broke the back of the Soviet Union when typhus made 30 million people ill and killed 5 million after the First World War.

“Military strategists have seen the potential for warfare in all this. In the Second World War, the French and Germans pursued the mass production and dispersal of Colorado beetles to destroy enemy food supplies, and the Japanese military killed more than 400,000 Chinese by dropping plague-infected fleas and cholera-coated flies.

“During the Cold War, the US military planned to produce 100 million yellow fever-infected mosquitoes a month, and produced an ‘entomological warfare target analysis’ of vulnerable sites in the Soviet Union and its allies’ territories. The dispersal and biting capacity of (uninfected) mosquitoes was tested by secretly dropping them over US cities…”

The ideas that terrorists will use insects in their wars are not far-fetched. According to the Bible, God used hornets to fight against Israel’s enemies (Joshua 24:12).

Mexico–One of the World’s Biggest Security Risks

The Washington Times wrote on January 22:

“Indiscriminate kidnappings. Nearly daily beheadings. Gangs that mock and kill government agents. This isn’t Iraq or Pakistan. It’s Mexico, which the U.S. government and a growing number of experts say is becoming one of the world’s biggest security risks. The prospect that America’s southern neighbor could melt into lawlessness provides an unexpected challenge to President Obama’s government.

“In its latest report anticipating possible global security risks, the U.S. Joint Forces Command lumps Mexico and Pakistan together as being at risk of a ‘rapid and sudden collapse.’… The Justice Department said last month that Mexican gangs are the ‘biggest organized crime threat to the United States.’ 

“Mexico – Latin America’s second-biggest economy and the United States’ third-biggest oil supplier – is one of the top 10 global risks for 2009… Businesses have closed because they can’t afford to pay monthly extortion fees to local thugs. The rich have fled to the U.S. to avoid one of the world’s highest kidnapping rates. Many won’t leave their homes at night.”

Schuller’s Televangelism Empire in Chaos

USA Today wrote February 1:

“Once one of the nation’s most popular televangelists… Robert H. Schuller is watching his life’s work crumble. His son and recent successor… Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral… The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County property to pay off debt. Revenue dropped by nearly $5 million last year…

“The Crystal Cathedral blames the recession for its woes. But it’s clear that the elder Schuller’s carefully orchestrated leadership transition… has stumbled badly. It’s a problem common to personality driven ministries. Most have collapsed or been greatly diminished after their founders left the pulpit or died. Members often tie their donations to the pastor, not the institution…

“Church-based televangelism led by powerful personalities filled TV in the 1980s, but now only a handful of shows remain… Among the struggling ministries are those of Oral Roberts and the late D. James Kennedy…”

Stir Within the Catholic Church

Deutsche Welle wrote on February 1:

“A second German Catholic bishop Saturday raised unusual criticism of German Pope Benedict XVI for rehabilitating Holocaust denier Bishop Williamson… Bishop Gebhard Fuerst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart… charged that Benedict’s rehabilitation of Williamson had led to ‘external and internal alienation from the church on the part of many believers, to a betrayal of trust especially among Jewish sisters and brothers in their relationship to the church, and to a considerable disturbance in the Christian-Jewish dialogue.’…

“In related developments on Saturday, Israel’s minister for religious affairs threatened to suspend relationships with the Vatican… The timing of Benedict’s pardon is considered particularly insensitive, as the announcement came just days before Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27…

“Catholic priests in Austria on Sunday criticized the Vatican for naming an ultraconservative priest as auxiliary bishop in Linz on Saturday without having consulted the local church… [He] suggested in 2005 that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment, as it destroyed five abortion clinics as well as nightclubs in New Orleans… A significant portion of Austrian Catholics see themselves as more liberal than the Vatican, opposing Rome’s views on abortion, homosexuality or the ban on married priests.”

Der Spiegel Online added on February 2:

“One controversy is apparently not enough for the Catholic Church… Another week, another public relations disaster for the Catholic Church. While the furor continues swirling around the pope’s decision to reinstate an ultra-conservative bishop who denies the Holocaust, the Vatican has once again raised hackles by promoting a controversial pastor to be a bishop in Austria… The priest has a knack for inappropriate comments, writing back in 2005 in a parish newsletter that Hurricane Katrina was an act of ‘divine retribution’ for New Orleans’ permissive ways. ‘This was not the sinking of any city but that of a people’s dream city with the “best brothels and prettiest prostitutes,”‘ he wrote.

“The same man warned children in 2001 against reading J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books because the tales of a boy wizard were ‘spreading Satanism.’ Then in 2004 Wagner said that it was no coincidence that the Tsunami disaster had occurred at Christmas, inferring that it was punishment for ‘rich Western tourists’ who had fled to ‘poor Thailand’…

“Liberal Catholics now fear that the pope is steering the church in an ultra-conservative direction and there is increasing concern about his leadership style. In a commentary for the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Catholic theologian Hans Küng said that the pope risked losing the trust of millions of Catholics across the world. Küng said that Pope Benedict XVI is obviously ‘so shielded and cut off from the real world, that he has no idea how disastrously his actions are received.'”

Der Spiegel Online added the following in a related article, dated February 3:

“The criticism of the Vatican’s decision has been particularly cutting in Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel entered into the fray on Tuesday… ‘If a decision of the Vatican gives rise to the impression that the Holocaust may be denied, this cannot be left to stand,’ Merkel said. ‘It’s a matter of affirming very clearly on the part of the pope and the Vatican, that there can be no denial here,’ she said, adding that in her view this had ‘not yet been made sufficiently clear.’

“Merkel, who is a Lutheran, added that she usually would not judge internal decisions made within… the church but that the current debate dealt with a fundamental issue.

“And even the pope’s strongest supporters have been left dismayed by the decision. Cardinal Karl Lehmann, who is a highly influential figure in Germany and serves as the bishop of Mainz, has described the pope’s decision to rehabilitate Williamson as ‘catastrophic’ and said that many people were very disappointed by Benedict XVI’s move… Lehmann said that there should be a clear apology ‘from a high position.'”

Has the Pope Lost His Magic?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 4:

“The scandal surrounding Bishop Williamson has brought the honeymoon between Germans and their pope to an abrupt end. The affair has done lasting damage to Benedict’s reputation and authority in his home country…

“Neither the Curia, nor the press office nor the pope has learned the lessons of the PR disaster of Regensburg in 2006, when Benedict deeply offended the Muslim world… A degree of alienation and mistrust will remain between the German Catholics and their pope. People will take a closer look at his comments, question them more critically, behave more independently.

“The Vatican has called on Bishop Williamson to retract his Holocaust denial. He may do so and declare that he had taken another look at the history books and didn’t mean what he said about the Jews. It will change nothing. What could it change? Too many questions will remain unanswered. For example, why does the pope always hold out his hand of mercy in just one direction?…

“… the media covered ‘our pope’ with fondness, curiosity and empathy. That’s over… This scandal surrounding Bishop Williamson has robbed this pope of his magic. It’s a pity.”

But DID the scandal really rob “this pope of his magic”? The near future will show that it did NOT.

Human-Animal Clones Don’t Seem to Work…

Reuters reported on February 2:

“Researchers who tried to use mouse, cow and rabbit eggs to make human clones said on Monday the effort failed to produce workable embryos but added that they showed human cloning should work in principle…

“A mouse-human hybrid petered out after just one division. The cow and rabbit human hybrids went further, but stopped at the point when maternal DNA is supposed to kick in and turn the ball of cells into a proper embryo… It appears that using the egg of another species turns off the genes needed to make an embryo instead of turning them on… But the human-human clone did turn on the right genes, although it, too stopped dividing before it could produce stem cells…”

News Overview in Light of Bible Prophecy

The already strained relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish community reached a new low over the Pope’s decision to welcome back an anti-Semitic Bishop who denied the Holocaust. The Catholic Church also sharply criticized President Obama for his recent decisions to allow stem-cell research and provide funds for abortion. In the USA, the Obama mania seems to have no end, but dark clouds are on the horizons of Afghanistan and Pakistan; as well as the ever-worsening economy in the USA and Great Britain [with frightening parallels being pointed out between the ever-increasing inflation of the US dollar and the German Reichsmark during the Weimar Republic]; the unresolved Guantanamo Bay situation; controversial comments by the Obama administration regarding white construction workers; and Mr. Obama’s failure to obtain bipartisan support for his unpopular $819 billion economic stimulus package [which has grown in the Senate to $888 billion] might soon bring idolizing supporters, as well as the entire country, back to the level of reality.

The situation surrounding the war in Gaza is still very volatile, as the fragile cease fire was broken this week. Lasting peace appears impossible to achieve. The EU continues to consider the possibility of getting involved militarily, while the world continues to condemn a seemingly indifferent Israel for its actions.

The Bible predicts that the USA and Great Britain will lose their status as influential world powers, facing destruction from the outside and within. Likewise, the state of Israel will be hated by all nations. Scripture is very clear that the EU will intervene in the Middle East, apparently motivated by a desire to bring peace to the region; to protect religious artifacts; and to guarantee unhindered access, religious and otherwise, to the city of Jerusalem. In support of Arab communities and to avoid a further escalation, the EU will prohibit sacrifices which the Jewish people will have begun in the city. However, that “confederation” between the EU and Arab nations will not last. Ultimately, outright war will thrust the region into utter chaos and devastation.

For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord” and “Europe in Prophecy”.

Catholic Church “Infuriates” Jews

The Guardian wrote on January 25:

“[Pope] Benedict yesterday welcomed back into the Roman Catholic Church Richard Williamson and three other men who were excommunicated in 1988 after being ordained without Vatican permission. The three had been appointed by breakaway French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The Vatican decree issued yesterday spoke of overcoming the ‘scandal of divisiveness’ and seeking reconciliation with Lefebvre’s conservative order, the Society of Saint Pius X, which opposes the modernisation of Catholic doctrine.

“But Jewish groups have warned the Pope that the decision could damage Catholic-Jewish relations after Williamson claimed in an interview, broadcast last week, that historical evidence ‘is hugely against six million having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler … I believe there were no gas chambers’… Williamson added he realised he could go to jail for Holocaust denial in Germany…

“Relations between the Vatican and Jewish groups are already strained by the row over Pope Pius XII, who was pontiff during the second world war, and is being considered by the Vatican for beatification. He is accused by some historians and Jewish leaders of failing to speak out against the Holocaust. Israeli officials recently protested when a senior cardinal said Israel’s offensive in Gaza had turned it into a ‘big concentration camp’.

“It is not the first controversy for Benedict. His decision to allow freer use of the old Latin mass, including a Good Friday prayer for the conversion of Jews, caused widespread anger…”

The Time wrote on January 24:

“The bishop [Williamson]… has been accused of anti-Semitism in the past… The French Jewish organization CRIF called Williamson ‘a despicable liar whose only goal is to revive the centuries-old hatred against Jews.’..

“A senior Vatican official told TIME that the Pope is expected to make the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), the name Lefebvre followers call their movement, into a personal prelature of the papacy, the same special status that conservative lay group Opus Dei was granted by John Paul II… Benedict’s decision marks a watershed. Following on the Pope’s 2007 decision to widen use of the old Latin rite mass, the rapprochement with the traditionalist faction appears to be a purely papal initiative…

“Some will hail Benedict as a bold defender of the rights of traditionalist Catholics and a man of conviction unbent by the winds of controversy; but others, both inside and outside the Church, will take his embrace of the Lefebvre followers as the final proof that Benedict, deep down, is determined to make the Church far more traditional than it is today.”

Welt On Line wrote on January 25:

“While lifting excommunications that had barred them from the Roman Catholic Church left many internal questions open, there was no doubt it has provoked what some are calling the biggest setback in Catholic-Jewish relations in half a century.

“Israel-based Rabbi David Rosen, head of inter-religious affairs for the American Jewish Committee and a leading figure in decades of dialogue with the Vatican, said:

“‘The late Pope John Paul II called anti-Semitism a sin against God and man. The denial of the overwhelmingly detailed documentation of the Shoah (Holocaust) is anti-Semitism at its most blatant…’ Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, spoke of ‘an act of moral debasement unworthy of a moral institution’…”

Outrageously Dangerous Opinions by Bishop Williamson

Arutz Daily Israel Report wrote on January 25:

“Williamson is a Holocaust denier, and has repeatedly said that the gas chambers did not exist and that no more than 300,000 Jews were killed during World War II, mostly of starvation. In addition, Williamson has declared that the Jews are plotting to take over the world, and that the U.S. and Israel were behind 9/11. In an interview with Swedish television conducted last November but broadcast last week, Williamson said that he believed that there were ‘no gas chambers. Between 200,000-300,000 perished in Nazi concentration camps, but not one of them by gassing in a gas chamber,’ he said…

“Williamson has had a long history of Holocaust denial. In a 1989 sermon in Sherbrooke, Canada, Williamson said that ‘there was not one Jew killed in the gas chambers. It was all lies, lies, lies. The Jews created the Holocaust so we would prostrate ourselves on our knees before them and approve of their new State of Israel… Jews made up the Holocaust, Protestants get their orders from the devil, and the Vatican has sold its soul to liberalism.’ In dozens of sermons and letters, [Williamson] reiterated the same theme, adding that Hitler ‘liberated’ Germany from the Jews.

“[Williamson] advocates a return to the Middle Ages, with the Inquisition the preferred model of the Catholic relationship to Jews. ‘As Catholic faith goes up, so Jewish power goes down, while as Catholic faith goes down, so Jewish power goes up. In the Catholic Middle Ages, the Jews were relatively impotent to harm Christendom. But as Catholics have grown over the centuries weaker and weaker in the faith, especially since Vatican II, so the Jews have come closer and closer to fulfilling their substitute-Messianic drive towards world dominion… When Spanish Catholics were truly Catholic, God granted them by 1492 to reconquer Spain from the Arabs, and then granted them to create a Catholic empire in the Americas.'”

German Press’ Reactions

Der Spiegel Online reported on January 26 about the German press’ reaction to Bishop Williamson’s embrace by the Catholic Church:

“German papers on Monday argue that the pope is ruining decades of work aimed at improving relations between Jews and Catholics… Meanwhile in Germany, the vice president of the Central Council of Jews, Dieter Graumann, has accused the pope of an ‘incomprehensible act of provocation.’ Speaking to the Handelsblatt newspaper on Sunday, Graumann said: ‘The fact that it is of all things a German pope who conjured up this new ice age between Jews and the Catholic Church … that is something particularly painful, astonishing and deplorable’…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘The pope’s reconciliation with an offensive anti-Semite is shocking… With the rehabilitation of the bishop, Benedict XVI is sabotaging the Christian-Jewish dialogue…’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘… it remains a mystery why the pope is now making such concessions to the fanatical opponents of the Second Vatican Council, that he is making a mockery of his predecessor John Paul II’s insistence on obedience to the teachings of the church and to the pope…'”

Catholics Concerned About Pope’s Decision

Catholics are shocked, too, about the decision of the Pope to rehabilitate Bishop Williamson. NPR wrote on January 26:

“John Allen, a senior correspondent with the National Catholic Reporter, says, at least in the short term, the decision is a ‘catastrophe [and a ‘disaster’] in terms of Catholic-Jewish relations… a lot of even moderate and even some conservative Catholics would look at this as symbolic of a kind of course change in Catholicism.’

“The traditionalist Lefebvrites reject celebrating Mass in languages other than Latin, Allen says, and they oppose moves the church has made to recognize religious freedom and the separation of church and state, as well as to promote unity with other religions.”

German Jews Cut Contact with Catholic Church

Der Spiegel Online reported on January 29:

“Pope Benedict XVI these days is doing his best to calm waters roughened by his recent decision to bring Holocaust denier Bishop Richard Williamson back into the fold. At his Wednesday audience at the Vatican, Benedict went out of his way to express ‘full and indisputable solidarity’ with Jews and explicitly condemned those who would deny the Holocaust…

“Charlotte Knobloch, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said she was breaking off contact with the Catholic Church. ‘Under such conditions, there will be no further dialogue between myself and the church… I am not dealing here with people who don’t know what they are doing,’ she continued. ‘The pope is one of the most educated and most intelligent people in the Catholic Church. Every word that he says, he means.’…”

Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Severs Vatican Ties

USA Today wrote on January 29:

“Israel’s chief rabbinate severed ties with the Vatican on Wednesday…

“The Jewish state’s highest religious authority sent a letter to the Holy See expressing ‘sorrow and pain’ at the papal decision. ‘It will be very difficult for the chief rabbinate of Israel to continue its dialogue with the Vatican as before,’ the letter said. Chief rabbis of both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews were parties to the letter…

“The rabbinate and the state of Israel have separate ties with the Vatican, and Wednesday’s move does not affect state relations.”

Catholic Church Disappointed with “Arrogant” President Obama

AFP reported on January 24:

“A senior Vatican official on Saturday attacked US President Barack Obama for ‘arrogance’ for overturning a ban on state funding for family-planning groups that carry out or facilitate abortions overseas.

“It is ‘the arrogance of someone who believes they are right, in signing a decree which will open the door to abortion and thus to the destruction of human life,’ Archbishop Rino Fisichella was quoted as saying… Fisichella is president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, one of a number of so-called pontifical academies which are formed by or under the direction of the Holy See…”

The Associated Press added on January 24:

“Fisichella said in an interview… that ‘if this is one of President Obama’s first acts, I have to say, in all due respect, that we’re heading quickly toward disappointment.’…

“‘This deals a harsh blow not only to us Catholics but to all the people across the world who fight against the slaughter of innocents that is carried out with the abortion,’ another top official with the Academy for Life, Monsignor Elio Sgreccia, [said]… ‘Among the many good things that he could have done, Barack Obama instead chose the worst,’ he was quoted as saying Saturday.”

Prior to Mr. Obama’s signing the controversial bill on abortion, the Catholic Church had warned him not to do so. As NPR wrote on January 18:

“Less than a week after the presidential election, the Vatican’s top health official, Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, warned the President-elect that it’s unethical to give the green light to embryonic stem-cell research [which Mr. Obama did subsequently]. Even tougher words came from Cardinal James Francis Stafford, head of a Vatican court and one of the highest ranking Americans at the Vatican. The Cardinal said in a speech at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. that Obama’s statements on abortion reflect ‘an agenda and vision that are aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic.’

“Now, the Vatican’s number one concern is that Obama may sign a proposed Freedom of Choice Act [which he did, see article above] that would invalidate any state laws that place restrictions on abortions. A senior Vatican official told Time Magazine that ‘would be the equivalent of a war.’

“And this is not the only potential clash. Just last month, the Vatican issued a wide-ranging document on bioethics that forcefully condemned not only embryonic stem-cell research, but also artificial fertilization, and it declared that the morning-after pill falls within the ‘sin of abortion.’ A few days earlier, the Vatican opposed the United Nations declarations against discrimination of homosexuals and for the rights of the disabled on the grounds that they could be seen as sanctioning gay marriage and abortion.”

Attack on White Labor by Obama Administration?

Associated Content reported on January 22:

“Families of white, male construction workers may want to pay attention: Robert Reich [22nd secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton] has opined that the Obama stimulus funds allocated to businesses in the construction industry should be withheld specifically from white men… While it is comforting that in the audio clip Mr. Reich is quick to disclose that he has ‘nothing against while male construction workers,’ the fact that he does not want stimulus generated jobs to go to ‘white male construction workers’ is gravely disconcerting. Even more alarming is the fact that Barack Obama has remained mum about the opinions expressed by his economic adviser.

“Would there have been an outcry has Mr. Reich suggested keeping the stimulus funds from being spent on ‘black male construction workers’ or ‘undocumented alien construction workers?’ Maybe it would have made waves had he opined on ‘Jewish construction workers’ or ‘female construction workers?’ As it stands, it would appear that Robert Reich has declared open season on white males.”

President Obama’s Troubles with Afghanistan…

The Associated Press reported on January 25:

“President Hamid Karzai condemned a U.S. operation he said killed 16 Afghan civilians, while hundreds of villagers denounced the American military during an angry demonstration Sunday… Karzai’s latest criticism follows a Saturday raid in Laghman province that the U.S. says killed 15 armed militants, including a woman with an RPG, but that Afghan officials say killed civilians. Two women and three children were among the 16 dead civilians, Karzai said in a statement…

“Civilian deaths are an extremely complicated issue in Afghanistan. Afghan villagers have been known to exaggerate civilian death claims in order to receive more compensation from the U.S. military, and officials have said that insurgents sometimes force villagers to make false death claims. But the U.S. military has also been known to not fully acknowledge when it killed civilians.”

… and with Pakistan…

Welt on Line reported on January 25:

“U.S. drones fired missiles into Pakistan late on Friday killing 17 people, intelligence officials and residents said, in the first such strike since Barack Obama became U.S. president. These missile attacks on Islamist militants in Pakistan do not help its efforts in the U.S.-led campaign against militancy, a spokesman for President Asif Ali Zardari said on Sunday… There was no sign Friday’s strikes hit any of al Qaeda’s top leadership…

“Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it hoped the new U.S. administration would review the policy, although during his election campaign Obama had spoken of strikes into Pakistan if the Pakistani military was unwilling or unable to tackle militant targets… Pakistani authorities said the drone attacks, which sometimes kill villagers, enrage Pashtun tribesmen and drive them into the arms of the militants…”

Ordering to Close Guantanamo Bay Prison Just the “Easy Part”

AFP reported on January 24:

“Two men released from the US ‘war on terror’ prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have appeared in a video posted on a jihadist website… One of the two former inmates, a Saudi man… has been elevated to the senior ranks of Al-Qaeda in Yemen… The Defense Department has said as many as 61 former Guantanamo detainees — about 11 percent of 520 detainees transferred from the detention center and released — are believed to have returned to the fight.

“The latest case highlights the risk the new US administration faces as it moves to empty Guantanamo of its remaining 245 prisoners and close the controversial detention camp within a year.”

U.S. Economy in Deeper Trouble Than Realized

Bloomberg reported on January 24:

“First Centennial Bank of Redlands, California, was seized by a state regulator, the third U.S. bank to fail this year, as the recession deepens and the slump in the housing industry sends home foreclosures to records…

“Regulators closed 25 banks last year, the most since 1993, draining money from the FDIC deposit insurance fund… National Bank of Commerce in Berkeley, Illinois, and Bank of Clark County in Vancouver, Washington, were shuttered by regulators on Jan. 16…

“More than 2.3 million U.S. properties got a default or auction notice, or were seized by lenders… The FDIC classified 171 banks as ‘problem’ in the third quarter, a 46 percent jump from the second quarter, and said industry earnings fell 94 percent to $1.73 billion from the previous year. The agency doesn’t identify problem banks by name.

“The largest institution to fail in U.S. history, Washington Mutual, was sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sept. 25 after customers drained $16.7 billion in deposits in less than two weeks. Wachovia Corp. was near failure before being bought by Wells Fargo & Co. for $12.7 billion.”

2009–Another Miserable Year for U.S. Employees

The Associated Press reported on January 27:

“Rising unemployment spared no state last month, and 2009 is shaping up as another miserable year for workers from coast to coast. Jobless rates for December hit double digits in Michigan and Rhode Island… With tens of thousands of layoffs announced this week by well-known employers such as Pfizer Inc., Caterpillar Inc. and Home Depot Inc., the unemployment picture is bound to get worse in every region of the country, economists say. ‘We won’t see a light at the end of the tunnel until 2010,’ said Anthony Sabino, a professor of law and business at St. John’s University.

“The number of newly laid off Americans filing claims for state unemployment benefits has soared to 589,000, while people continuing to draw claims climbed to 4.6 million, the government said last week. There’s been such a crush that resources in New York, California and other states have run dry, forcing them to tap the federal government for money to keep paying unemployment benefits…

“In 2008, the country lost 2.6 million jobs, and in 2009 at least 2 million more jobs are forecast to disappear… The U.S. has been mired in a recession since December 2007. It is on track to be the longest downturn since World War II.”

Is California Being “Terminated”?

ABC News reported on January 27:

“… tax refunds are now on hold in California for the first time in state history… the controller’s office estimates that a combined 2.74 million California individuals and businesses will have their tax refund delayed [which is hoped to] free up $1.99 billion over the next month to pay for education, debt service, and other payments that legally have first claim to state funds.

“California has had no money in its general fund for the past 17 months, and has been paying its bills by borrowing from Wall Street and special internal funds. If the state’s legislators and governor do not reach a budget agreement that brings immediate funds into the state’s coffers, the state’s borrowed funds will be entirely exhausted at the end of February, according to the controller’s office.”

Even though Governor Schwarzenegger (“the Terminator”) came to power in California due to a recall procedure, based on the concept that he could restore a sound economy to the state, it is clear that his ambitions have failed miserably.

New $819 Billion Economic Recovery Plan Only Approved by Most Democrats

USA Today reported on January 28:

“The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives quickly approved President Obama’s $819 billion economic recovery plan Wednesday. The vote was 244-188, mostly along party lines… The vote sent the bill to the Senate [and according to press releases, has now reached a figure of $888 billion]… Democratic leaders have pledged to have legislation ready for Obama’s signature by mid-February… No Republicans supported the measure. Eleven Democrats opposed it. The vote was Obama’s first test of the bipartisanship he pledged in his campaign.”

Obviously, this test has failed!

Broken Bank Bailout–Are We in Trouble!!!!

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 29:

“New Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner is exploring the creation of a government-funded ‘bad bank’ to buy up mortgage-backed securities and other troubled assets from banks in hopes of boosting their capital levels so they can begin lending again… Ultimately… Administration officials believe they could need up to $2 trillion.

“Fixing the banks will almost certainly require far more than $700 billion in TARP funds. Goldman Sachs analyst Andrew Tilton figures U.S. financial institutions will suffer more than $1 trillion in loan losses — about half of which have been recognized so far. The problem isn’t only with residential mortgages. Add in commercial real estate and other poorly performing loan categories, and the banks may hold some $5 trillion in ‘troubled assets’ on their books, he says.

“New York University’s bearish economics professor, Nouriel Roubini, estimates that additional private and public capital of $1 trillion to $1.4 trillion will be needed to recapitalize the banks…

“Prying more money out of Congress for expanded bank bailouts will be tough. Yet it’s hard to see the economy recovering without healthy banks. Getting there won’t come cheap.”

UK Economy Worse Than Great Depression in 1939?

The Telegraph wrote on January 25:

“Britain is heading for economic depression for the first time since the 1930s, economists have warned… They said the current crisis will be of a scale to rival the biggest peace-time crisis in modern history — the Great Depression… The news sent the pound sliding to its lowest level since 1985… Confirmation that the economy has entered recession capped a week in which Gordon Brown was forced to announce a new £350 billion bank rescue plan. Unemployment has almost reached two million…

“Britain is likely to suffer more than other economies due to its heavy reliance on the financial services sector, which has all but imploded in the wake of the economic crisis, experts said.

“Others raised the spectre of an outright economic depression, often defined by experts as a peak-to-trough economic contraction of 10 per cent. Aside from the demobilisation periods following the First and Second World Wars, this kind of contraction has never taken place — not even in the 1930s’ Great Depression.”

German Economy–How Bad Is It Really?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 22:

“The German economy may shrink by as much as 2.25 percent this year, warns Economics Minister Glos. But there is some cause for optimism. Despite the deepest recession since World War II, the country could see positive quarterly growth before the year is out…

“Germany, which makes up about a third of economic output among those countries belonging to the single currency, the euro, could see a return to positive growth as early as April and keep growing for the remainder of the year, the government said…”

A less optimistic picture was painted by Der Spiegel Online in an article, dated January 23, quoting from several German newspapers and magazines:

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

“‘The (German government’s) rescue operations have so far not brought the desired results. The banks have been plugging up their worst holes with billions of euros of taxpayers’ money, but their losses have been growing even faster. Meanwhile complaints from companies about increasingly restrictive lending practices are growing louder. Obviously the banks can not be helped just with money alone…

“The financial daily Handelsblatt writes:

“‘It is not easy to say this loudly and clearly: The German banks are on the edge of the abyss. This is the painful truth, and nothing but the truth…’

“The conservative Die Welt writes:

“‘Taken as a whole, (Germany’s) financial institutions have dead weight to the tune of hundreds — or even thousands — of billions on their balance sheets. This problem can not be solved simply by sitting it out — action needs to be taken now so that the economic crisis is not exacerbated…'”

European Troops in the Middle East?

The Associated Press reported on January 24:

“French troops, Turkish monitors, British ships, German tunnel detectors, European radar equipment — officials say all these options are being weighed as they try to cement the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas… Potential obstacles include divisions within Europe over how robust an international border control presence should be, Western discord over how to deal with Hamas, and Egypt’s resistance to a foreign military presence on its soil…

“France is pressing other European allies and Egypt to consider an armed border force, possibly under European Union or United Nations auspices… British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also offered Britain’s Royal Navy to help interdict arms shipments bound for Hamas.”

Smuggle of Arms for Hamas through Tunnels Still Ongoing

The JC.com added on January 22:

“The Egyptian regime is still enabling Bedouin smugglers to use the tunnels under their border with the Gaza Strip to transfer arms to Hamas… Despite announcements by senior Egyptian officials that they would clamp down on the smuggling, local Bedouin traders are still offering — even after the Gaza ceasefire — to smuggle goods and people under the border.

“These were the tunnels that enabled Hamas and the other Palestinian organisations to bring through materials to manufacture the missiles fired on Israel. Longer-range Grad and anti-aircraft missiles are also taken through the tunnels, as are regular consignments of marijuana grown in Sinai, destined for the Israeli market…  the smuggling never ceased during the past three weeks, despite the heavy bombardment by the Israeli Air Force of buildings on the Palestinian side of Rafah, suspected of hiding tunnel entrances.

“In one case, a group of German doctors who arrived to treat Palestinian wounded were smuggled through a tunnel, eyes blindfolded so they would not be able to reveal the location. ‘A lot of tunnels were destroyed,’ said one Bedouin active in the smuggling business, ‘but the deeper ones that are well shored up are still standing’…

“‘The only thing that will stop the tunnel business is a full opening of the crossings,’ said one Bedouin. ‘But even that won’t stop the arms smuggling. There will still be ways to put arms on the lorries going through the crossings and to bribe the guards.’”

Worldwide Anger Against Israel

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 22:

“Israelis do not understand a world that reproaches them for what they have done in the Gaza Strip. They brush aside concerns about civilian [casualties] and stories about Palestinian suffering are relegated to the back pages… The number of dead, wounded and homeless runs into the thousands — and all of this happened less than an hour’s drive from Tel Aviv. But no one in Israel seems to be talking much about the consequences of the war against Hamas. Thoughts about the upcoming elections on Feb. 10 push away those about the moral issues involved with military action. There is no public discourse about the ethical boundaries soldiers and officers should have observed. Nobody asks how many children it was acceptable to sacrifice in Gaza in order to save the life of one Israeli soldier. No one wants to know about the question of who is responsible for taking care of Gaza’s homeless and refugees.

“This silence worries Gadi Baltiansky, director general of the Geneva Initiative, a large Israeli peace organization advocating a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It troubles him that his country is so indifferent to the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza…

“During the war, Yedioth Ahronoth, the country’s most influential newspaper, reported each new expansion of the offensive in bold headlines, while at the same time relegating stories about the suffering of Palestinians to the back pages — as if the latter were somehow irrelevant. In any case, the Israeli media weighted the events in Gaza differently than Western newspapers and TV stations. For example, Israeli readers had to wait until page seven of Yedioth Ahronoth to find reports about the Israeli military’s shelling of a United Nations-run school. In the European and American media, on the other hand, reports about the incident were given far greater prominence.

“With Israel facing global condemnation and with the possibility of war crimes trials, the Israelis are concerned about the legal pitfalls that might lie ahead for its government ministers and military officers. Many people do not understand what the world wants them to do and dismiss the criticisms, saying: ‘As usual, everyone is turning against us again.’ A full 82 percent of Israeli citizens say they do not believe that Israel acted with disproportionate violence in Gaza. That might explain why they don’t understand how the images and reports coming out of Gaza could create a wave of empathy for Palestinians — and anger toward the Israelis — around the world…

“Palestinians are not completely blameless when it comes to rising indifference to Palestinian suffering among Israeli youths. Seeking to explain Israeli public sentiment, peace activist Baltiansky says: ‘The suicide bombers who brought insecurity to Israeli cities during the second intifada have hardened Israeli society. Why should we show restraint when Palestinians sacrifice their children for suicide attacks and send them against us?'”

Turkey Angry with Israel

Reuters reported on January 29:

“Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stormed out of a debate on the Middle East at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, saying he might never return to the annual gathering of the rich and powerful. Israel’s President Shimon Peres had launched a fiery defense of his country’s assault on Gaza over the past month and, with a raised voice and pointed finger, questioned what Erdogan would do if rockets were fired at Istanbul every night.

“As the debate… was ending, Erdogan was cut short as he tried to respond. ‘I don’t think I will come back to Davos because you don’t let me speak,’ the Turkish prime minister said, as he stood up and walked out of the conference hall in the Swiss ski resort…

“Turkey’s state-run Anatolian news agency quoted Erdogan as saying to Peres: ‘When it comes to killing you know very well how to kill. I know very well how you killed children on the beaches.'”

And the War Goes On…

BBC reported on January 27:

“Israel has carried out an air attack in Gaza and sent tanks into the Strip, after Palestinian militants killed an Israeli soldier… It was the worst violence in Gaza since Israel’s offensive against Hamas ended with both sides declaring ceasefires… An Israeli soldier on patrol in a vehicle was killed by an explosive device deliberately planted on Israel’s side of the border near the Kissufim crossing, prompting troops to open fire into Gaza.

“The explosion was filmed by the militants, as was gun fire and a grenade blast. Three soldiers were injured in the attack. Israeli troops fired into the Gaza Strip in retaliation, as a result of which Palestinian officials said a farmer was killed. Heavy fighting was reported in Khan Younis, south of the Kissufim crossing, and many people had fled their homes.”

The Associated Press added on January 28:

“President Barack Obama’s new Mideast envoy sought Wednesday to boost a 10-day-old Gaza cease-fire that was thrown into turmoil, as Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza smuggling tunnels in retaliation for a Palestinian bombing that killed a soldier… U.S. envoy George Mitchell said it was ‘critical’ that the cease-fire be extended and consolidated… But the new violence cast a shadow over Mitchell’s arrival.

“The flare-up is the worst since Israel and Hamas separately declared cease-fires on Jan. 18 to end a three-week Israeli offensive against the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip. Since withdrawing its troops, Israel has threatened to retaliate hard for any violations of the informal truce. Reflecting the seriousness of the situation, Defense Minister Ehud Barak canceled a planned trip to Washington this week to stay home and deal with the crisis…”

UPI added on January 29:

“Eight Palestinians, including children, were wounded Thursday when an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in Khan Yunis in Gaza, Palestinian officials said. The strike targeted Mahmoud Hamdan Samiri, a Khan Yunis resident Israeli authorities said was involved in the terror cell behind Tuesday’s attack at the Kissufim crossing in which an Israeli soldier was killed and three others were wounded, The Jerusalem Post reported.”