Merkel Not to Attend Olympics–At Odds With Brown

The Guardian wrote on March 29:

“The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, yesterday became the first world leader to decide not to attend the Olympics in Beijing. As pressure built for concerted western protests to China over the crackdown in Tibet, EU leaders prepared to discuss the crisis for the first time today, amid a rift over whether to boycott the Olympics. The disclosure that Germany is to stay away from the games’ opening ceremonies in August could encourage President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to join in a gesture of defiance and complicate Gordon Brown’s determination to attend the Olympics.

“Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, became the first EU head of government to announce a boycott on Thursday and he was promptly joined by President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic, who had previously promised to travel to Beijing… Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, confirmed that Merkel was staying away. He added that neither he nor Wolfgang Schäuble, the interior minister responsible for sport, would attend the opening ceremony.

“Hans-Gert Pöttering, the politician from Merkel’s Christian Democratic party who chairs the European parliament, encouraged talk of an Olympic boycott this week and invited the Dalai Lama to address the chamber in Strasbourg… ‘I cannot imagine German politicians attending the opening or closing ceremonies [if the Tibetan crackdown continued],’ he said. Merkel enraged the Chinese leadership a few months ago by receiving the Dalai Lama in Berlin for private talks. Brown is to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader when he visits Britain in May, but is determined to be in Beijing…”

Germany and USA At Odds

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 28:

“US President George W. Bush wants to bring more Eastern European countries into the military alliance at the upcoming NATO summit. But Germany is thwarting his plans, because of concerns about Ukraine and Georgia — and in deference to Russia.

“German objections dominate the debate over NATO expansion in the final days leading up the military alliance’s summit meeting in the Romanian capital Bucharest. James Goldgeier, a member of the National Security Council in the administration of former US President Bill Clinton, told SPIEGEL ONLINE: ‘I am amazed at how openly the current differences between Berlin and Washington are being aired. In February it was the German role in Afghanistan. Now it’s about the issue of NATO expansion, in which Germany quite openly orchestrated the resistance to Ukraine and Georgia. This is relatively unusual in advance of this sort of summit.’

“Goldgeier’s words ring especially true when one considers the importance of the issue for the Bush administration. NATO expansion is one of the few strategies it took over almost seamlessly from the Clinton administration. ‘Bush absolutely wanted to get the acceptance process for Georgia and Ukraine underway in Bucharest,’ says Goldgeier…”

These developments are quite interesting in light of Biblical prophecy. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Not All Happy at NATO Summit–and Germany Prevails Against the USA

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 3:

“A disappointed Macedonia warned Thursday that its failure to join NATO could lead to instability in the region. While Ukraine and Georgia were also rejected, the two countries welcomed the pledge that they would one day be part of the alliance.”

The article continued:

“A dejected Macedonian delegation walked out of the NATO summit in Bucharest after Greece succeeded in vetoing Macedonia’s membership bid on Thursday… Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki told reporters that 90 percent of his people supported membership and that he and his officials needed to show their solidarity with their people. ‘Macedonia’s delegation will leave the summit because they see it as necessary to being together with our people today. This is a difficult time for a small nation.’…

“Two other failed bids for NATO membership ended on a happier note on Thursday. Although NATO refused to grant Ukraine and Georgia a so-called Membership Action Plan (MAP), the alliance held out the prospect that the two countries would become members one day in the future and promised to review their progress in December… Germany and France had blocked giving the two countries MAP status now, despite fierce pressure from Washington, arguing that neither met NATO’s criteria. Public support for membership in Ukraine is barely 30 percent, while Georgia is locked in a conflict with separatists in two of its provinces…”

In a related article, Der Spiegel Online commented on April 3 on the German-French successful strategy to defeat President Bush. The magazine stated:

“The first day of the NATO summit saw France and Germany combine forces to thwart the membership ambitions of Ukraine and Georgia. They stood firm in their opposition despite the mounting pressure from US President George W. Bush to admit the two former Soviet republics… US President George W. Bush suffered a first setback when he failed to persuade the alliance to open the door to Ukraine and Georgia for membership. France and Germany stood firm in their opposition…”

More Trouble Between USA and Germany Over Afghanistan

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 3:

“Earlier this week, it seemed as though US President Bush [was] softening his tone regarding Germany’s presence in Afghanistan. Now, though, it seems that such hopes might have been premature.”

The article continued:

“Often a major thorn in Germany’s side for his demands that Berlin take on a greater combat role in Afghanistan, Bush’s tone in a recent interview with German daily Die Welt had seemed full of comprehension for the political difficulties facing Chancellor Angela Merkel. In the interview, he indicated he would no longer ask Berlin to send combat troops to the more dangerous southern part of Afghanistan. The US President said he recognized that the German people, and by extension the German parliament, would be unable to stomach such a demand…

“But on Wednesday morning the joy about this new tone from Bush was revealed as being premature… The alliance would have to ‘maintain its resolve and finish the fight,’ Bush said. And then he repeated his old line: ‘We expect our NATO allies to shoulder the burden necessary to succeed.’… There he was again, the old Bush, the one who wants more engagement from the Europeans — and from Germany. And more clearly than ever, Bush also demanded that a tough line be taken against Iran and Syria. He was also uncompromising in his insistence that Ukraine and Georgia be promised membership of the NATO club…

“When it comes to Afghanistan, there is no denying the US has a strong argument. The US, Great Britain, Canada and Australia are providing around 60 percent of the 43,000 ISAF soldiers in Afghanistan. And they have suffered a disproportionate number of casualties since the fighting started in 2001. While those countries stationed in the south and east of the country have lost around 650 troops, the other nations, including Germany in the north, have only lost 115…

“It is clear that Berlin’s hopes for an end to the debate were naive. Even if it were true that Bush had grown tired of the discussion with Berlin and had simply given up, all of his potential successors — both Democrats and Republican — have made it clear that when it comes to the demands for more Europeans to go to the frontline in Afghanistan, there will be continuity in Washington… German commanders have dropped their opposition to taking part in operations in the western or eastern parts of the country, should the need arise…

“The position of Supreme Allied Commander Europe… will soon need to be filled. The new man set to take over this extremely important strategic position is the current top commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus. That’s not exactly a signal from Washington that it intends to end its aggressive line in Afghanistan.”

NATO Endorses Missile Defense System for Europe

The Associated Press reported on April 3:

“President Bush won NATO’s endorsement Thursday for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe over Russian objections. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called it a ‘breakthrough agreement’ for the military alliance. ‘Now it is clearly understood in the alliance that the challenges of the 21st century, the threats of the 21st century, make it necessary to have missile defense that can defend the countries of Europe,’ Rice told reporters at the NATO summit. Progress on missile defense represented perhaps the biggest boon to Bush from the NATO summit. Russia has fiercely opposed it.”

AFP added on April 3:

“The United States and the Czech Republic said they reached agreement Thursday on the stationing in the Czech Republic of a US missile defense radar strongly opposed by Russia. ‘This legally-binding agreement calls for the stationing of a US radar in the Czech Republic to track ballistic missiles,’ they said in a joint communique… The US plan calls for deploying 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a targeting radar in the Czech Republic by 2012 in response to what Washington says is a growing ballistic missile threat from Iran… NATO leaders agreed that the proliferation of ballistic missiles [poses] a threat…”

Coming–Worldwide Disaster for Banks

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 29:

“For months, experts have been wondering just how bad the ongoing finance crisis might turn out to be. Now, Germany’s Federal Financial Services Authority, known as BaFin, thinks it has the answer… an internal BaFin report says that shortfalls at finance institutions worldwide could end up totalling $600 billion (€380 billion). The shortfall comes as a result of ill-advised speculation on the US subprime market and resulting jitters in markets worldwide. BaFin says that its prognosis is merely a worst-case scenario. ‘Given what we know about the current situation on the markets, we presume that a total of $430 billion is more probable,’ the 16-page report says.

“The paper also lists losses that have already been admitted to by various credit institutions: a total of $295 billion. Some 10 percent of those shortfalls are accounted for by German banks. Should that share of the damage remain constant, German banks can expect losses to be as high as $60 billion. BaFin experts fear that the finance crisis will spread to other sectors of the economy. The turbulence could hit ‘other financial institutions outside of the banking sector,’ the paper says. The report lists hedge funds, insurance companies and retirement funds as being at risk.”

“USA 2008: The Great Depression”

The Independent wrote on April 1:

“Startling official statistics show that as a new economic recession stalks the United States, a record number of Americans will shortly be depending on food stamps just to feed themselves and their families. Dismal projections by the Congressional Budget Office in Washington suggest that in the fiscal year starting in October, 28 million people in the US will be using government food stamps to buy essential groceries, the highest level since the food assistance programme was introduced in the 1960s… Emblematic of the downturn until now has been the parades of houses seized in foreclosure all across the country, and myriad families separated from their homes. But now the crisis is starting to hit the country in its gut. Getting food on the table is a challenge many Americans are finding harder to meet…

“Michigan has been in its own mini-recession for years as its collapsing industrial base, particularly in the car industry, has cast more and more out of work. Now, one in eight residents of the state is on food stamps, double the level in 2000… At least six states, including Florida, Arizona and Maryland, have had a 10 per cent increase in the past year. In Rhode Island, the segment of the population on food stamps has risen by 18 per cent in two years.”

“Why Americans Never Vote For What They Really Want”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 2:

“American voters are a contradictory bunch: They say they want social welfare, but don’t want to pay for it. They claim they are left-leaning, but vote for center-right candidates. Only candidates who can appeal to both sides stand a chance… America is divided, but not just into North and South, black and white, poor and rich. The two Americas appearing on the pollsters’ radar screens lie close together in the political brain of the individual voter. The findings are clear: the desires of American citizens contradict their fundamental convictions.

“The overwhelming majority of Americans are troubled by the social injustices in their country. They dream of a nation in which bridges do not collapse and with a school system in which drug dealers are not the main authority figures. No one doubts that, politically at least, they want to see these shortcomings corrected… When it comes to putting these ideas into practice, Americans quickly lose their wistful gazes…

“Voters come up with… schizophrenic responses when asked about the Iraq war. The majority believes that the invasion of Iraq was a mistake, but that the United States is a safer place today than it was then. The majority of citizens favors withdrawal, but is convinced, or at least considers it likely, that the United States will still win the war first…

“…  What a sharp contrast with the European way of thinking. When the government announces new benefits for citizens, the typical European thinks: ‘I’m getting something new.’ But the average American thinks: ‘It’s going to cost me something.’… One would think that voters would eventually have to make a decision, at least by election day. But even that isn’t quite true. Although Americans will elect only one candidate, they will want it to be the one who embodies both personalities. Ideally, the winning candidate will combine idealism and fundamental conviction… This explains why campaign advisors always make sure that their respective presidential candidates are ready to use soft words and reach out to the other side.”

EU Membership Is Costing British Taxpayers £6 Billion

The Daily Mail wrote on March 29:

“The bill to British taxpayers for EU membership is expected to almost double next year to £6.1billion, according to figures buried in the Budget. This year, Britain will pay £4.1billion net to the EU – £800million more than the £3.3billion forecast by the Treasury. The difference would have been enough to pay the salaries this year of nearly 32,000 nurses, 8,000 doctors or 28,800 soldiers, or to cut taxes by £25.31 per taxpayer… This year’s increase has been caused by extra demands for funding by new EU members, including Bulgaria and Romania. But the figures show how Britain’s contribution to the EU budget will continue to shoot up as the Government’s surrender in 2005 of billions of pounds of rebate payments begins to bite. Margaret Thatcher won the rebate in 1984.

“Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois said: ‘These figures show how Britain is paying more and more to the EU while our taxes are going up and our public finances are in a mess. We can now see just how damaging Gordon Brown’s cave-in was when he gave away £7billion of Britain’s rebate in return for nothing at all. Brown isn’t getting Britain value for money in the EU. He’s ramming through the renamed EU Constitution without the promised referendum. Gordon Brown has failed to stand up for Britain in Europe.'”

“Implementation of Biofuels Plan a Disaster”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 3:

“Germany wanted to lead the way in the use of bioethanol on its roads… Germany’s enthusiasm for biofuels is in question this week after estimates were released that well over a million vehicles on German roads would be unable to run on gasoline containing a higher mixture of bioethanol. Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel had planned to introduce a requirement that gasoline sold in Germany contain 10 percent green ethanol made from plants, a mixture known as E-10. But he said in an interview with the Stuttgarter Nachrichten that, should more than 1 million vehicles be unable to run on the higher mixture, the regulation would be abandoned… The German automobile club ADAC on Wednesday responded by claiming that up to three million cars would be unable to run on E-10. The group demanded that Gabriel’s plans be abandoned immediately. Germany’s Association of Automobile Importers on Thursday threw its hat into the ring as well, claiming that over 1 million vehicles would be affected…

“But not everyone is so sure of the new numbers. Until now, Gabriel’s ministry had assumed that the number of cars affected would be closer to 375,000… The plan, championed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, would cut emissions 40 percent by 2020 at a cost of €3.3 billion ($5.2 billion)… German dailies on Thursday take a look at the impending debacle.

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘What the federal government and special interest groups once thought was a win-win strategy, hasn’t done so well in the court of public opinion recently. After the sweeping euphoria accompanying climate protection last year, this and other recent projects show that the devil is in the details. Voters get angry when they are asked to bear the brunt of additional costs. A year and a half before the next federal election, promoting climate protection at any cost has become too great of a political risk.’… The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes: ‘The idea was a good one, but its implementation was a disaster…'”

Muslims More Numerous Than Catholics

Reuters reported on March 30:

“Islam has overtaken Roman Catholicism as the biggest single religious denomination in the world, the Vatican said on Sunday… Muslims made up 19.2 percent of the world’s population and Catholics 17.4 percent…[The Vatican said] that if all Christian groups were considered, including Orthodox churches, Anglicans and Protestants, then Christians made up 33 percent of the world’s population — or about 2 billion people. The Vatican recently put the number of Catholics in the world at 1.13 billion people. It did not provide a figure for Muslims, generally estimated at around 1.3 billion.”

One Great World Religion Coming?

CNA wrote on March 28:

“A proposal for religious dialogue presented by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has prompted warm reactions from several Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders in what could be a major development in inter-religious relations, the Associated Press reports. ‘The idea is to ask representatives of all monotheistic religions to sit together with their brothers in faith and sincerity to all religions as we all believe in the same God,’ King Abdullah said Monday night…

“King Abdullah said he presented the idea to Pope Benedict XVI when he visited the Vatican in November of last year.  Saying the Pope had ‘warmly welcomed’ him in ‘a meeting of a human to a human which I would never forget,’ the king said he aimed ‘to seek the consent of Allah according to what he ordered in the religions: the Torah, Bible and Quran.’… The king said he planned to hold conferences to learn the opinion of Muslims from other parts of the world, after which he would meet with ‘our brothers’ in Christianity and Judaism ‘so we can agree on something that guarantees the preservation of humanity against those who tamper with ethics, family systems and honesty.’

“Specifics of the proposal remained unclear, such as whether Israelis could take part in the initiative and whether restrictions on religious freedom in Saudi Arabia could be relaxed.  The kingdom bans non-Muslim worship services and objects of veneration from other religions, including crosses and Bibles. Under Saudi law, the conversion of a Muslim to another religion is punishable by death.”

In a related article, CBS wrote on April 3, under the headline: “Pope To Visit NYC Synagogue For Passover”:

“Pope Benedict XVI will visit a synagogue led by a rabbi who survived the Holocaust during his first papal trip to the United States, the nation’s bishops said Thursday. Benedict’s visit will be just the third visit by any pope to a synagogue in the 2,000 year history of the Roman Catholic Church. It is this second visit to a synagogue as pontiff… Separately, the pope has scheduled a meeting with Jewish leaders and representatives of other faiths for April 17 in Washington… Benedict will address the U.N. the morning of April 18…

“The pope has been reaching out to Jews, following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II. Some tensions arose recently over a Good Friday prayer the pope revived from the old Latin rite that had historically been used as an excuse for violence and discrimination against Jews. Benedict revised the prayer to address Jewish fears, but some Jewish leaders worried that the changes did not go far enough. Benedict is visiting the United States for the first time as pontiff from April 15-20, with stops in just two cities, Washington and New York. He will meet with President Bush at the White House, address the presidents of Roman Catholic colleges and universities, and hold Masses at Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium.”

Human-Animal Embryos

BBC News reported on April 1:

“Scientists at Newcastle University have created part-human, part-animal hybrid embryos for the first time in the UK, the BBC can reveal. The embryos survived for up to three days and are part of medical research into a range of illnesses… The Catholic Church describes it as ‘monstrous’. But medical bodies and patient groups say such research is vital for our understanding of disease… [The embryos] were created by injecting DNA derived from human skin cells into eggs taken from cows ovaries which have had virtually all their genetic material removed.”

Times On Line added on April 2:

“The admixed embryos created by the Newcastle group are of a kind known as cytoplasmic hybrids, or cybrids, which are made by placing the nucleus from a human cell into an animal egg that has had its nucleus removed… The ultimate aim is to grow these for six days, and then to extract embryonic stem cells for use in research… It is already illegal to culture human-animal embryos for more than 14 days, or to implant them in the womb of a woman or animal, and these prohibitions will remain in the new legislation.”

California Homeschooling Development

The California Catholic Daily reported the following on March 26:

“The following is an announcement from the Virginia-based Home School Legal Defense Association. On March 25, the California Court of Appeal granted a motion for rehearing in the In re Rachel L. case—the controversial decision which purported to ban all homeschooling in that state unless the parents held a teaching license qualifying them to teach in public schools. The automatic effect of granting this motion is that the prior opinion is vacated and is no longer binding on any one, including the parties in the case.”

This is not necessarily correct, as worded. To grant a motion for rehearing just means, without more, that the prior decision may have been STAYED–not vacated–if so decided by the Court, pending the outcome of the new trial.

The Pope Angers Jews–But the Real Issue Is Overlooked

Deutsche Welle reported on March 23:

“German Jews accused the pope Thursday of allowing anti-Semitic sentiment to fester in the Catholic Church by refusing to abolish the disputed ‘Prayer for the Jews’ in the Latin mass for Good Friday… Berlin rabbi Walter Homolka said Jews found its message deeply offensive… Homolka has joined some 1,600 other rabbis around the world in formally protesting against the prayer. But he said their calls have fallen on deaf ears at the Vatican…

“The old prayer calls on God to ‘remove the veil from [the] hearts’ of the Jews and to end ‘the blindness of that people that acknowledging the light of thy truth, which is Christ, they may be delivered from their darkness.’ A new version published last month removes any reference to the veil or the allusion to blindness but does retain the call for conversion, asking God to ‘illuminate their hearts, that (they) acknowledge Jesus Christ is the savior of all men.’… The vice president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Salomon Korn, told the daily Frankfurter Rundschau that Jews expected more sensitivity from a German pope due to the country’s Nazi past.”

On March 21, Der Spiegel Online published an interview with rabbi Homolka, who stated the following:

“It is insulting to Jews that the Catholic Church, in the context of Good Friday of all things, is once again praying for the illumination of the Jews, so that we can acknowledge Jesus as the savior… Given the weight of responsibility that the Catholic Church has acquired in its history with Judaism, most recently during the Third Reich, this is completely inappropriate and must be rejected to the utmost degree… He [the pope] indicates that he believes that the path to salvation, even for Jews, can only go through Jesus, the savior. This opens the floodgates for the conversion of Jews… The Catholic Church does not have its anti-Semitic tendencies under control… [This is] a theological statement that Jews cannot help but perceive as aggressive and crass.

“… any approach to the possibility of a mission by the Church to convert Jews is essentially a hostile act — a continuation, on a different level, of Hitler’s crimes against the Jews. These are strong but honest words… the controversial Good Friday Prayer completely ignores the unique status of the Jews as God’s chosen people. God called us Jews to be a ‘light for the nations,’ so we certainly do not require illumination by the Catholic Church. The younger sister has clearly struck the wrong chord here… Jesus put forward his arguments within the context of an internal Jewish dialogue. What the Church turned this into was something completely different. It made Jesus the rabbi into a deity. On top of that, it claims that the crucifixion of this rabbi is relevant to my personal salvation. Such teachings would have been news to Jesus.

“… a collective expectation of Judaism to acknowledge Jesus as savior is a heavy imposition… Good Friday this year will be a black day in relations between Jews and Catholics… Relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish community suddenly face a crucial test of the sort that hasn’t been seen in decades.”

These comments are quite interesting for several reasons:

It cannot be denied that the Catholic Church has pursued in the past a course of violent persecution of all those who refused to convert to their belief system–refusing to turn to the “Virgin Mary” or any other of the Catholic doctrines, including the belief in a Trinity, an immortal soul, purgatory or an ever-burning hell fire, or the belief that the righteous go to heaven when they die.  None of these concepts are taught in Scripture, and a refusal to accept those was and is clearly justified. Martin Luther did not fare much better, when he wrote polemic anti-Semitic tirades, which he directed against Jews and all those who keep the Sabbath. It is therefore understandable that the Jewish community looks with great suspicion at a Catholic prayer which brings back to mind the terrible times of persecution–not just during the Nazi era, but also, for example, the Spanish Inquisition.

On the other hand, it must not be overlooked that the Bible teaches that there is NO OTHER WAY to salvation than through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Jesus Himself declared that He was the ONLY way to God the Father (John 14:6; 10:7-9, 26-28). The Bible does not justify those who reject Jesus as their personal Savior, warning instead that we cannot inherit salvation through any other “god” or human savior (compare Matthew 24:24). Certainly, the way to God does not require membership within the Catholic Church–but it does not allow for rejection of the true Jesus of the Bible, either. For Scriptural references, please note Romans 11:7-10, 25; 1 Corinthians 1:22-23; Luke 2:34; Luke 19:12-14; John 1:11.

For more information on the crucial role of Jesus Christ for man’s salvation, please read our free booklet, “Jesus Christ–A Great Mystery.”

German Jews Sue Google and YouTube

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 21:

“The Central Council of Jews in Germany on Thursday requested that a Hamburg court issue a cease-and-desist order against Google for disseminating what it claims are anti-Semitic videos that incite ‘racial hatred and discrimination’ on its YouTube Web site… ‘The radical right-wing scene is using YouTube, massively, as a platform,’ said Stephan Kramer, the general secretary of the Central Council of Jews, the umbrella organization of Germany’s Jewish communities. ‘We are accusing Google, with its YouTube video platform subsidiary of being an accomplice to inciting racial hatred and discrimination.’

“YouTube’s main line of defense against extremists videos is self-policing by its online community. If users spot an inappropriate video that has been uploaded by one of the service’s millions of users, they can report it with the click of a mouse. ‘These complaints are then handled by (YouTube) employees who have been trained to deal with them,’ said [Google Germany spokesman Kay] Oberbeck. Once a video has been banned, YouTube has technology that can identify it and prevent it from being uploaded again in the future.”

If THAT is YouTube’s main line of defense, then that defense will fail, as their technology does not prevent the upload of previously deleted videos. On the other hand, Google and YouTube are very careful not to allow anti-Semitic propaganda to be posted on their sites, and the claim that they are an “accomplice to inciting racial hatred and discrimination” appears overblown and legally flawed.

The Pope Angers Muslims

Reuters reported on March 24:

“The Easter baptism of an Italian Muslim [Egyptian-born journalist Magdi Allam] by Pope Benedict was a provocative act that raises questions about the Vatican’s approach to Islam, a leading participant in Christian-Muslim dialogue [Aref Ali Nayed] said on Monday… Commentators in Algeria and Morocco echoed Nayed’s view, saying Allam’s conversion was a personal affair but his attacks on Islam and his headline-grabbing baptism by the pope strained relations between Muslims and the Catholic Church…

“Mohamed Yatim, commentator for the Moroccan daily Attajdid, called the high-profile baptism ‘a new provocation for the Islamic world and part of a trend that has intensified in recent years with the caricatures of the Prophet’… The Saudi daily al-Watan reported the baptism on its front page and described Allam as someone who ‘worked tirelessly to attack Islam’ and was close to pro-Israel groups… Christophe Roucou, the French Catholic Church’s top official for relations with Islam, also questioned the publicity surrounding Allam’s conversion. ‘I don’t understand why he wasn’t baptized in his hometown by his local bishop,’ he said.”

Hybrid Human-Animal Embryos

Reuters reported on March 21:

“Research using hybrid human-animal embryos for experiments is ‘monstrous’ and should be banned, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland said on Friday… In an interview with BBC radio on Friday, he added: ‘This is Frankenstein science and it must be stopped.'”

The Daily Mail added on March 23:

“Gordon Brown is facing an unprecedented challenge to his authority over plans for embryo research. As many as 12 ministers could quit if ordered to back a Bill allowing the creation of part-human, part-animal embryos for medical research. The Prime Minister is determined to pass the legislation – which will also abolish the need for IVF clinics to consider a child’s need for a father and allow the creation of ‘saviour siblings’ to cure sick brothers and sisters…

“The Association of Medical Research Charities and the Genetic Interest Group, which between them represent more than 200 patient charities, said the research ‘could greatly increase our understanding of serious medical conditions affecting millions’. They said hybrid embryos – created using the ‘shell’ of an animal embryo with adult human DNA added – could help address a shortage of donated human embryos for research.”

The discussion continues and seems to escalate. As the Daily Mail reported on March 24:

“Fertility expert and television scientist Lord Robert Winston has accused senior members of the Catholic church of lying… [He] has told the Daily Telegraph: ‘[Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s] statements are lying. They are misleading and I’m afraid that when the Church, for good motives, tells untruths, it brings discredit upon itself.’…

“Today a leading Church of England bishop added his voice to those who describe the proposals as immoral. The Bishop of Lichfield…, Jonathan Gledhill, said: ‘It’s a very important part of our society and a very important part of the Christian faith that you should have respect for human embryos. If you stop obeying God you start to limit the rights of human beings and this is a case in point… A society has to be judged by the way that it treats its poorest and most vulnerable and weakest. And what can be weaker than an unborn child?… On all sides of this debate we abhor the treatment of patients, for instance, by the Nazis and we have decided not to permit cloning humans…'”

Britain’s Jaguar and Land Rover to Be Sold to New Indian Owners

The Daily Mail reported on March 26:

“Two of Britain’s most famous motoring marques – Jaguar and Land Rover – are set to be sold today to new Indian owners in a £1billion deal. The luxury British car-makers are being hived off by current American owners Ford to Indian industrial conglomerate TATA. The Indian giant… already owns Britain’s Tetley Tea and Corus steel-to-hotels conglomerate that already employs nearly 300,000 people in 85 counties… The ultimate automotive Indian take away also marks yet another sell-off of Britain’s automotive ‘crown jewels’. It follows MG and Rover being [sold] to the Chinese, Aston Martin to the Kuwaitis, Bentley to Germany’s Volkswagen and Rolls-Royce and the Mini to BMW.”

“The End of Britain as We Know It “

Christian Science Monitor reported on March 24:

“You might want to take that vacation in England just as soon as you can – before its 1,000-year run as a sovereign nation comes to an end. This winter, 27 nations of the European Union (EU) signed the Treaty of Lisbon… for England (Britain, actually) the Treaty of Lisbon isn’t that appetizing. That’s because, if ratified, it will become the decisive act in this creation of a federal European superstate with its capital in Brussels. Britain would become a province… And that’s no small humiliation for a country that gave the world English and saved Western civilization in the Battle of Britain in 1940.

“The Eurocrat elite in Brussels might not admit it, but the Treaty of Lisbon is essentially a constitution for a ‘country’ called Europe… But British resistance is stirring. In a recent series of minireferendums, almost 90 percent of voters gave the Lisbon Treaty an emphatic thumbs down and demanded a nationwide referendum.

“If all 27 nations ratify the treaty this year, it will begin to come into effect on Jan. 1, 2009. The British will then be expected to transfer loyalty and affection to the EU… With its flag, anthem, currency, institutions, regulations, and directives, the EU has long been indistinguishable from a nation-state-in-waiting. Now the Lisbon Treaty gives it those requisites of nationhood it’s always lacked: a president, a foreign minister (and diplomatic corps), a powerful new interior department, a public prosecutor and full treaty-making powers. Add to those its common system of criminal justice, an embryonic federal police force, and the faintly sinister-sounding European Gendarmerie Force, and what this union becomes is a monolithic state with great power pretensions. Most alarmingly, though, is that the Lisbon Treaty can be extended indefinitely without recourse to further treaties or referendums…

“… in 1961 the Anti-Common Market League had warned that signing the Treaty of Rome (which created the Common Market) ‘would mean a permanent, irrevocable loss of sovereignty and independence’ and that Britain’s affairs ‘would increasingly be administered by supranational bodies … instead of by our own elected representatives’… Perhaps only Queen Elizabeth II can rescue her realm from the baleful Treaty of Lisbon. She could veto it when it comes to her for royal assent and – sensationally – declare that she’s not prepared to see her proud, independent, liberty-loving country swallowed up by an arrogant, authoritarian, and unloved European superstate… This is about national survival.”

Update on American Presidential Elections

AFP reported on March 25:

“Democrat Hillary Clinton on Tuesday revived the row over the fiery racial rhetoric of Barack Obama’s former pastor, saying she, unlike her White House rival, would have left his church. Clinton’s decision to reignite the controversy came as she battled to shrug off her own embarrassment, after admitting that her claims that she dodged sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia in 1996 as first lady were untrue… The furor [surrounding Obama’s former pastor Jeremiah Wright] prompted Obama to give a landmark speech on racial reconciliation last week which appeared to quiet the storm. But Republican commentators denounced him for refusing to disown Wright, and the drama, which some analysts say could hurt Obama with working-class white voters, looks set to be a general election issue if he wins the nomination.”

AFP reported the following on March 26:

“Republican White House pick John McCain Wednesday broke with President George W. Bush on glaring disputes that soured relations with US allies, but said America had a moral duty to stay in Iraq. The Arizona senator grabbed the spotlight as the Democratic race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama took another negative lurch, while the former first lady vowed to fight on all the way to the party’s August convention.

“‘Our great power does not mean we can do whatever we want, whenever we want, nor should we assume we have all the wisdom and knowledge necessary to succeed,’ McCain said in a major foreign policy address here… ‘I detest war. It might be the worst thing to befall human beings, but it is wretched beyond all description,’ the former Vietnam prisoner of war said. ‘Whatever gains are secured, it is loss the veteran remembers. Only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes the merciless reality of war,’ he told the Los Angeles World Affairs Council… ‘We have incurred a moral responsibility in Iraq. It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people,’ he said. Such a ‘premature’ and ‘irresponsible’ US exit would consign Iraqis to horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing and possibly genocide, McCain said…

“McCain, who endured torture in Vietnam, said he would close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba, which has sparked outrage in Europe, and would outlaw torture and treat suspected terrorists humanely… ‘The bonds we share with Europe in terms of history, values and interests are unique. Americans should welcome the rise of a strong, confident European Union as we continue to support a strong NATO.’ Again with an eye on major European powers, McCain called for a successor to the Kyoto accord on climate change, and a cap-and-trade system to cut greenhouse gas emissions. McCain had harsh words for Moscow’s ‘nuclear blackmail or cyber attacks’ and he renewed his call for Russia to be ejected from the Group of Eight industrialized nations.”

Unfortunately, the “rise of a strong, confident European Union” is NOT good news for the USA and Britain. For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” “Europe in Prophecy,” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Breach of Passport Files of All Three Presidential Candidates

ABC News reported on March 21:

“An embarrassed State Department admitted today that the passport files of all three presidential candidates — Sens. John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — have been breached by its employees… In a rapid series of escalating admissions, State Department Secretary Condoleezza Rice called Obama to apologize. She then had to call Clinton to apologize as well. And by noon, the department held a news conference to concede that McCain’s personal file had also been improperly accessed… All three employees worked for private companies hired by the State Department… The passport files would provide basic information like birth dates and background on where candidates have traveled. But the files would also include sensitive information like Social Security numbers, which could be used to track down credit reports and other personal information…

“Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton issued a statement Thursday evening referring to the Obama revelation, saying, ‘This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy, even from an administration that has shown little regard for either over the last eight years. Our government’s duty is to protect the private information of the American people, not use it for political purposes.’…

“According to one official, such breaches have happened several times before with nonpolitical celebrities. On at least two other occasions during the last eight months, contractors were fired for accessing records of Hollywood celebrities, the official said.”

Constitutional Gun Rights With Restrictions?

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on March 21:

“During oral arguments March 18 on a historic case, a majority of the Supreme Court indicated it sees gun ownership as a right. Nonetheless, their ruling, due by July 1, will also likely restrain such a right… Just on its own, a ruling that… gives Americans the same inalienable right to gun ownership as to freedom of speech could send shock waves into the campaigns for president and Congress – campaigns that have largely dodged talk of gun limits up to now. In a country that sees an average of 80 gun deaths a day and, recently, mass killings by firearms almost once a year, this ruling probably won’t settle the debate.

“The nation has gnawed on the Second Amendment for two centuries with no clear-cut decision by the high court. Yet a majority of the justices may now claim historical clairvoyance on the framers’ intent regarding militias and gun ownership. And they may overreach for grammatical acuity into the amendment’s ambiguous, oddly punctuated wording. (‘A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.’)

“… Chief Justice John Roberts warned against an ‘all-encompassing’ ruling that would apply to every gun law. One reason for such hesitation may be a key argument from the National Rifle Association that an absolute gun right is necessary to allow citizens to rise up against a future ‘tyranny’ in this democracy. That threat of insurrection could even apply against a Supreme Court that denies a right to bear arms… The court might recall last year’s shootings at a Missouri city council by a man out to avenge the perceived wrongs of government. Five officials died. Recognizing an absolute right to guns could kill other rights and give freedom to deny other freedoms.

“The NRA has paid out nearly $20 million in campaign donations since 1990, and Democrats decided after the 2000 election that it’s better not to speak strongly for restraints on gun ownership… Right or no right, politicians are now more constrained by the political power of the NRA than the courts, but that may soon change…”

The U.S. Economy–HOW BAD Is It Really?

The Associated Press reported on March 23:

“For months, Americans have been subjected to a sort of economic water torture–a maddening drip of bad news about jobs, gas prices, sagging home values, creeping inflation, the slouching dollar and a stock market in bumpy descent. Then came Bear Stearns. One of the five largest U.S. investment banks nearly collapsed in a single day before the government propped it up by backing emergency loans and a rival stepped in to buy it for a paltry $2 per share.

“To the drumbeat of signs that seemed to foretell a traditional recession, this added a nightmarish specter… Americans are nervously wondering about retirement savings, interest rates, jobs that had seemed safe. They are surveying the economic landscape and asking: Just how bad is it? They are peering over the edge and asking: How far down? And the scariest part of all? No one can say for sure…

“By the end of 2007, 36 percent of consumers’ disposable income went to food, energy and medical care, a bigger chunk of income than at any time since records were first kept in 1960, according to Merrill Lynch… People are treating themselves less often. The National Restaurant Association says 54 percent of restaurants reported declining traffic in January, and the government says eating at home increased last year for the first time since 2001… Financial planners say that more than ever, parents are calling for advice on how to deal with grown children who have moved back in with Mom and Dad after losing a job or just to save money…

“On top of an economy that was already groaning under the weight of a downturn, Bear Stearns came down like an anvil. It tied together so much of what’s wrong with today’s economy–the housing crash, the credit crunch and a loss of confidence among investors and consumers alike…

“Nearly 9 million households now have upside-down mortgages, and for the first time ever, aggregate mortgage debt is bigger than the total value of homeowner equity–bigger by $836 billion… Nearly 90 percent of chief financial officers of global public companies don’t see an economic recovery coming until 2009…

“So what’s the way out?… Already, the Fed has slashed interest rates. It has cut the closely watched federal funds rate, the overnight lending rate for banks, six times since September, from 5.25 percent to 2.25 percent–two-thirds of the cut coming in the last two months alone. But the Fed can’t work alone. Upcoming tax rebates for millions of people and tax breaks for businesses may give a little relief, but economists think that something will have to be done soon to slow down the number of foreclosures, a cornerstone of the economy’s woes.”

Epic Financial Crisis Should Be at Center of U.S. Election Debate–But It Isn’t!

On March 24, The New York Times published the following article by Paul Krugman, which was republished by Der Spiegel Online:

“We’re now in the midst of an epic financial crisis, which ought to be at the center of the election debate. But it isn’t…

“Now, I don’t expect presidential campaigns to have all the answers to our current crisis — even financial experts are scrambling to keep up with events. But I do think we’re entitled to more answers, and in particular a clearer commitment to financial reform, than we’re getting so far. In truth, I don’t expect much from John McCain, who has both admitted not knowing much about economics and denied having ever said that. Anyway, lately he’s been busy demonstrating that he doesn’t know much about the Middle East, either. Yet the McCain campaign’s silence on the financial crisis has disappointed even my low expectations…

“On the Democratic side, it’s somewhat disappointing that Barack Obama, whose campaign has understandably made a point of contrasting his early opposition to the Iraq war with Hillary Clinton’s initial support, has tried to score a twofer by suggesting that the war, in addition to all its other costs, is responsible for our economic troubles. The war is indeed a grotesque waste of resources, which will place huge long-run burdens on the American public. But it’s just wrong to blame the war for our current economic mess: in the short run, wartime spending actually stimulates the economy. Remember, the lowest unemployment rate America has experienced over the last half-century came at the height of the Vietnam War.

“Hillary Clinton has not, as far as I can tell, made any comparably problematic economic claims. But she, like Mr. Obama, has been disappointingly quiet about the key issue: the need to reform our out-of-control financial system…

“America came out of the Great Depression with a pretty effective financial safety net, based on a fundamental quid pro quo: the government stood ready to rescue banks if they got in trouble, but only on the condition that those banks accept regulation of the risks they were allowed to take… Now, the shadow banking system is facing the 21st-century equivalent of the wave of bank runs that swept America in the early 1930s. And the government is rushing in to help, with hundreds of billions from the Federal Reserve, and hundreds of billions more from government-sponsored institutions… you don’t have to be an economic radical… to see that what’s happening now is the quid without the quo…

“Now, the securities and investment industry is pouring money into both Mr. Obama’s and Mrs. Clinton’s coffers. And these donors surely believe that they’re buying something in return. Let’s hope they’re wrong.”

Worldwide Financial Crisis

Deutsche Welle reported on March 22:

“One of Germany’s most respected economists… Peter Bofinger called the current financial crisis the worst in decades [and the biggest crisis since 1945]…  Bofinger, a member of Germany’s independent Council of Economic Experts, said Berlin cannot treat the credit crisis lightly, although he differentiated between the situation in Germany and the United States. ‘The (economic) upswing in Germany is not an upswing bought on credit,’ he said. ‘Where there is no credit bubble, there can’t be a credit burst.’… The Green Party has weighed in, calling for state intervention to prevent future crises. It wants to see the establishment of new regulatory guidelines for financial markets that would encourage transparency and put effective controls in place. ”

In a related article, Deutsche Welle wrote on March 18:

“Germany’s finance minister said politicians, central banks and loaning institutions have to work together to overcome the global financial crisis… Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck… said Germany had a better chance of withstanding the crisis than the American economy, calling it more ‘robust.’…  German economists said they expected market turmoil to have negative effects on the country’s economy… Threats to Germany’s economy cannot be attributed to a single cause, according to Juergen Thumann, head of the Federation of German Industries. ‘It is the influence of the weak dollar, rising oil prices, falling US economy and financial crisis that is making the situation difficult for companies,’ he told the daily Berliner Zeitung on Tuesday.”

Chinese Police Crush Tibetan Demonstration–Shooting at Monks and Nuns

TimesOnLine wrote on March 24:

“Hundreds of monks, nuns and local Tibetans who tried to march on a local government office in western China to demand the return of the Dalai Lama have been turned back by paramilitary police who opened fire to disperse the crowd. Local residents of Luhuo said two people – a monk and a farmer – appeared to have been shot dead and about a dozen were wounded in the latest violence to rock Tibetan areas of China… China says it has acted with the utmost restraint in response to the unrest…

“The Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in India said today that the death toll in the clashes had risen to 130, but they gave no breakdown or details of the casualties. Foreign journalists have been barred from approaching any Tibetan areas where unrest has been reported, and the numbers are extremely difficult to verify.”

Overall Death Toll in Iraq Rises to 4,000 Americans

The Associated Press reported on March 24:

“The overall U.S. death toll in Iraq rose to 4,000 after four soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing in Baghdad, a grim milestone that is likely to fuel calls for the withdrawal of American forces as the war enters its sixth year… The Associated Press count of 4,000 deaths is based on U.S. military reports and includes eight civilians who worked for the Department of Defense… One widely respected tally by Iraq Body Count, which collects figures based mostly on media reports, estimates that 82,349 to 89,867 Iraqi civilians have lost their lives in the conflict.”

Developments in Pakistan Worry Washington

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on March 24:

“In naming its candidate for prime minister Saturday, the party of Benazir Bhutto has taken a further step toward sidelining Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf… With the public still firmly against Musharraf and his allies now out of power, each success of the new government leaves him more isolated. Musharraf has been an American ally in its war on terrorism, but his weakening position could certainly affect the way the United States battles Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives. The new ruling coalition has stressed the need for dialogue with militants – a position that reflects public opinion but may not be welcome by Washington…

“In the coming days and weeks, the new government promises to begin a process that could spell the end of Musharraf’s era all together. Within 30 days of assuming power, the parliament will reinstate the judges sacked by Musharraf when he declared a state of emergency Nov. 2… The expectation is that if the judges are restored, they will invalidate Musharraf’s presidency… Musharraf has few tools to prevent the ruling coalition. He can disband parliament, but that would likely lead to enormous public upheaval – something the US wants to avoid.”

Reuters added on March 24:

“The National Assembly elected Yousaf Raza Gilani prime minister [on Monday]… In a challenge to the increasingly isolated Musharraf, Gilani ordered the immediate release of judges detained after the president declared emergency rule and he also called for a U.N. investigation into Bhutto’s assassination on December 27… Gilani, a soft-spoken but resolute man, was jailed in 2001 by the Musharraf government on charges of making illegal appointments. He said the charges were aimed at pressuring him to abandon Bhutto, which he refused to do. He was freed in 2006…

“The United States and other Western allies fear more instability in their nuclear-armed ally, which is already facing a campaign of attacks by al Qaeda-inspired militants, if there is confrontation between the president and the new government.”

 

Iraq–After Five Years of American Occupation

On March 17, 2008, Der Spiegel Online reported the following:

“The situation in Iraq on the eve of the anniversary of ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ has both opponents and supporters of the American military campaign puzzled. The body of a Catholic archbishop is found near the northern city of Mosul, and yet the US embassy in Baghdad is holding a flea market as if it were peacetime. There has been a slight rise in the number of attacks again… The United States has been in Iraq longer than it fought in World War II. The conflict is getting long in the tooth… the war has already cost the country at least $3 trillion…
 
“How the country proceeds in Iraq will be decided, at least in part, by American voters this November. If they elect Republican John McCain as president, they may have to get used to a US presence in Iraq for another 100 years, as McCain has suggested. Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential candidates are urging a pullout of US troops. But neither side has thought of a peaceful way to resolve the political problems among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.”

The Associated Press commented on March 16:

“Sometime soon, the U.S. military will suffer the 4,000th death of the war in Iraq.

“When the 1,000th American died in September 2004, the insurgency was just gaining steam. The 2,000th death came as Iraq held its first elections in decades, in October 2005. The U.S. announced its 3,000th loss on the last day of 2006, at the end of a year rocked by sectarian violence. The 4,000th death will come with the war further out of the public eye, and replaced by other topics on the front burner of the U.S. presidential campaigns.

“Analysts say the 4,000 dead, while an arbitrary marker, could inject the war debate back into the campaign season, particularly with the war’s fifth anniversary on Thursday. Or, with overall violence lower in Iraq, the milestone could pass with far less public discussion than in past years. Last year was the deadliest for American troops in Iraq, with 901 troops killed. As of Sunday, at least 3,988 Americans have died in Iraq…

“The number killed in Iraq is far less than in other modern American wars. In Vietnam, the U.S. lost on average about 4,850 troops a year from 1963-75. In the Korean war, from 1950-53, the U.S. lost about 12,300 soldiers a year… Soldiers and analysts alike say the impact of the deaths in Iraq has been largely lost on many Americans who have no personal connection to the war.”

CBS News reported on March 18:

“One the eve of the five-year anniversary of the start of the war with Iraq, [64 percent of] Americans continue to think the results of the war have not been worth the loss of American lives and the other costs of attacking Iraq…”

NO WAR, fought by humans, is “worth it.” But WHEN will mankind learn this bitter lesson? For more information, please read our free booklet, “Should YOU Fight in WAR?”

Iraq War–Doubts about America’s Future

The Christian Science Monitor wrote on March 20:

“The Iraq war has been perhaps America’s bitterest lesson since Vietnam in the realities of war and geopolitics – profoundly altering ordinary citizens’ sense of their country, its essential abilities, and the overall role it plays in the world. Poll after poll shows that Americans are worried about US troops. They’re distressed at the war’s rising human and financial cost and are fully aware of the globe’s rising tide of anti-Americanism. Most of all, they may be confused – unsure of how the United States got here, uncertain about what to do next, and in doubt about how, and when, the conflict will end… The bottom line may be that today many in the US view the Iraq invasion as a mistake they don’t want to see repeated…”

Disastrous Conditions in Iraq

AFP reported on March 20:

“The US-led war on Iraq that toppled the brutal regime of dictator Saddam Hussein entered its sixth year on Thursday with millions of Iraqis still battling daily chaos and rampant bloodshed.

“On March 20, 2003, US planes dropped the first bombs on Baghdad. Within three weeks, invading troops toppled Saddam but left US forces battling a resentful and rebellious people… US President George W. Bush defended the war that has already cost his administration more than 400 billion dollars but admitted the human cost was high… The top UN official in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, told AFP in an interview that time is running out for Iraqi leaders to resolve differences hampering the political progress… Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, in an article for Britain’s Guardian newspaper, slammed the Iraq war as a ‘tragedy — for Iraq, for the US, for the UN, for truth and human dignity.’

“On the streets of Baghdad, fear of Saddam’s hated secret police has been replaced by a new terror. Americans ‘brought our way things we never knew like terrorism and the killings we see on the streets,’ [according to one Iraqi observer]… The International Committee of the Red Cross said the plight of millions of Iraqis who still have little or no access to clean water, sanitation or health care was the ‘most critical in the world.’… The economy, the main concern of Iraqis after security, is also a wreck. Unemployment is running at between 25 and 50 percent, according to government figures… public services as water and electricity have yet to be fully restored, despite billions of dollars having been spent on often badly managed reconstruction projects.”

Europe and the Iraq War

The EUObserver wrote on March 20:

“It has been five years since the United States began its military operation dubbed ‘Iraqi Freedom’. The war resulted in a deep rift in transatlantic relations, caused a split within the European Union and made Iraqis the single largest group seeking refuge in Europe… Several countries, led by France and Germany, were opposed to US-led invasion, while others took part. At the time, US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld exacerbated the divisions by saying: ‘Germany has been a problem and France has been a problem.’ … Since 2003, a number of EU countries such as Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia and the Netherlands have withdrawn their soldiers from the violence-torn country, mainly due to public opinion.  At the same time, troops from Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Romania and the Czech Republic remain deployed in Iraq…

“In general, it is estimated that six million people inside Iraq need urgent humanitarian assistance as a result of the conflict. Some 2.5 million are internally displaced, while an additional two million are hosted by neighbouring countries such as Syria and Jordan.”

Americans Have A Right to Own Guns

The Associated Press reported on March 18:

“Americans have a right to own guns, Supreme Court justices declared Tuesday in a historic and lively debate that could lead to the most significant interpretation of the Second Amendment since its ratification two centuries ago… a majority of justices appeared ready to say that Americans have a ‘right to keep and bear arms’ that goes beyond the amendment’s reference to service in a militia…

“The court has not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791. The amendment reads: ‘A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.’  The basic issue for the justices is whether the amendment protects an individual’s right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.

“A key justice, Anthony Kennedy, seemed to settle that question early on when he said the Second Amendment gives ‘a general right to bear arms.’ He is likely to be joined by Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas – a majority of the nine-member court.”

And so, America’s fascination with guns will continue. And so will killing and death. Let us all pray that the day will soon arive when all people will recognize the utter uselessness of guns and weapons, and when they will “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4).

Financial Crisis in the USA–Worst Since World War II

On March 16, The Financial Times published an article by Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, commenting on the present economic crisis in the USA. Even though his future predictions for a recovery are to be judged as being highly optimistic and unrealistic, his comments pertaining to the present disaster are worthwhile noticing:

“The current financial crisis in the US is likely to be judged in retrospect as the most wrenching since the end of the second world war… The American housing bubble peaked in early 2006, followed by an abrupt and rapid retreat over the past two years. Since summer 2006, hundreds of thousands of homeowners, many forced by foreclosure, have moved out of single-family homes into rental housing, creating an excess of approximately 600,000 vacant, largely investor-owned single-family units for sale. Homebuilders caught by the market’s rapid contraction have involuntarily added an additional 200,000 newly built homes to the ’empty-house-for-sale’ market…

“Single-family housing starts have declined by 60 per cent since early 2006, but have only recently fallen below single-family home demand… The pace of liquidation is likely to pick up even more as new-home construction falls further. The level of home prices will probably stabilise…That point, however, is still an indeterminate number of months in the future.

“The crisis will leave many casualties… In the current crisis, as in past crises, we can learn much, and policy in the future will be informed by these lessons. But we cannot hope to anticipate the specifics of future crises with any degree of confidence.”

Is the USA “On Top of the Situation”???

It would be reassuring to know–in light of such incredible and irresponsible financial debacle–that America is on “top of the situation.” If we could only believe it! This is what The Associated Press wrote on March 17:

“President Bush, trying to ease turmoil in financial markets, said Monday that his administration is ‘on top of the situation’ in dealing with the slumping economy. ‘One thing is for certain, we’re in challenging times,’ the president said after meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other senior economic advisers. ‘But another thing is for certain: we’ve taken strong decisive action.’ The president commended the Fed for its urgent actions over the weekend. He said that ‘we’ve shown the country and the world that the United States is on top of the situation.’… Repeating his reassurances to the country, the president said that in the long run, the economy is going to be fine. Bush spoke on a day of turmoil and plunging prices on global financial markets. Oil prices hit a record in Asian trading, U.S. stock index futures fell sharply and the dollar hit record lows.”

The Associated Press published this follow-up article on March 18:

“President Bush traveled a fair distance from Friday to Monday, and not just to New York and back to the White House. One day, he warned the economy could land ‘in a ditch’ if the government engaged in big bailout-type help for people losing their homes because they gambled, unwisely or unknowingly, on the now-collapsed subprime mortgage market. On the other, he endorsed the Federal Reserve’s move to provide $30 billion in backing for the rescue of one of Wall Street’s largest investment banks, needed because Bear Stearns Cos. risked too much in that very sector.

“Meanwhile, throughout the economy’s recent turbulent times — lost jobs, sky-high gasoline prices, plunging home values, a free-falling dollar, shaken consumer confidence, a growth slowdown and possibly even a recession — Bush has projected an air of unwavering optimism, even joviality. He is the nation’s biggest economic cheerleader at a time of deep uncertainty…

“It all has some people shaking their heads. Is there a disconnect here? Does the president get how this might feel to the little guy? Is there a different standard for the big financial community and the strapped homeowner facing foreclosure?…

“Democrats are struggling for the right note, too. They assumed the somewhat awkward position of criticizing Bush for going too far and not far enough at the same time. They want more direct help for homeowners, such as changing the bankruptcy code to allow judges to adjust mortgage rates… Bush rejects the bankruptcy plan and other ideas like it… Last month, he surprised some people by saying he was unaware that some analysts were predicting $4-a-gallon gasoline by summer.”

The Freefall of the U.S. Dollar

WorldNetDaily wrote on March 18:

“The European Union has overtaken the U.S. as the world’s No. 1 economy due to the continued dramatic fall of the dollar… The U.S. Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, for 2007 is officially estimated at $13,843,800 billion. The 2007 GDP for the 15 EU countries is estimated at 8,847,889 billion euros…  That means when the euro yesterday topped $1.56, the EU officially became the largest economy in the world… As the [Federal Reserve] continues to lower rates to stimulate the sagging economy, the dollar is increasingly abandoned, hitting new lows almost every day against other major currencies.”

Most Americans Think We Are in a Recession and Worry About a Depression

USA Today wrote on March 18:

“More than three in four Americans think the country is in a recession, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll over the weekend shows, reflecting a crisis of confidence that economists say could make the economy worse… Seventy-six percent of those polled said the economy is in recession, compared to 22% who said it’s not. Not since September 1992, two months before President George H.W. Bush lost re-election, have so many Americans said the economy was in such bad shape… Asked if the nation could slip into a depression lasting several years, 59% said it was likely, and 79% said they were worried about it. A recession is an economic downturn that usually lasts at least six months; a depression is longer, deeper and more broadly dispersed.”

Americans have every reason to worry about a depression. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

High Honors for Chancellor Merkel in Israel–But Why?

On March 17, Der Spiegel Online raised the question whether the high honors bestowed on Chancellor Merkel during her visit in Israel–and the good relationships between the two countries–are bought by Germany’s silence about Israeli excesses over the years. The magazine stated:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel has become Israel’s staunchest ally in Europe. This week, the country has pulled out all the stops to welcome the German leader. Back home, though, many wish Merkel would finally speak up about Israeli excesses in the Gaza Strip…

“Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert personally met his guest at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday — an honor that until now he has only bestowed on George W. Bush. Merkel then helicoptered down to the Negev Desert to visit the grave of David Ben Gurion, the father of modern Israel. There, she was hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres. On Monday, Olmert accompanied Merkel to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, where foreign dignitaries normally lay a wreath alone. ‘The chancellor’s visit has the same status as a visit by the US president,’ Olmert’s chief of staff told an advance delegation…

“When the Israeli army attacked the Gaza Strip in early March and over 120 Palestinians died, Merkel said nothing. Even the pope called for both sides to immediately cease all hostilities. And Merkel made no comment when Olmert’s government announced two weeks ago — contrary to previous promises — that Israel would again begin expanding settlements in the occupied territories. Even a year and a half ago, the chancellor refrained from directly displaying any unease with Israel’s military operation in Lebanon. When the Israeli air force killed four UNIFIL soldiers, she merely expressed her ‘deep regret.’ Other European statesmen like France’s then President Jacques Chirac vehemently condemned the incident…

“Merkel’s policies remain controversial. Critics say that Germany is sacrificing its credibility among Arab countries. And even in Israel, Germany’s policy of unconditional solidarity has at times been viewed with astonishment. In Germany, it is primarily Merkel’s coalition partners who are muttering about her politics… Even members of Merkel’s own Christian Democratic Union and its sister party the Christian Social Union, warn of a growing sense of annoyance among the Arab states…

“It remains to be seen whether these exceptional close ties will eventually lead to a ‘normal’ relationship between the two countries, one that naturally includes both mutual criticism and solidarity. The new Israeli ambassador in Berlin, Yoram Ben-Zeev, recently experienced just how ill at ease Germans can be on the topic of Israel when he spoke with a group of journalists in Munich. During clashes with alleged terrorists in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces had just killed 120 Palestinians, including many civilians, but none of the reporters asked any questions about the incident.”

Merkel in Israel–But Not Everyone Is Pleased…

AFP wrote on March 18:

“Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday pledged Germany’s unwavering support for Israel in a landmark address to parliament, as she wrapped up a visit 60 years after the Jewish state was founded in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust. ‘Germany will never abandon Israel but will remain a true friend and partner,’ said Merkel, the first German head of government to address the Knesset, an honour usually reserved for heads of state. ‘Germany and Israel are, and will always remain, linked in a special way through the memory of the Holocaust,” said Merkel… ‘The Holocaust fills us Germans with shame’…

“‘I say clearly and unequivocally: the Qassam (rocket) attacks by Hamas must stop,’ she said in reference to attacks on southern Israel by militants in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave run by the Islamist Hamas movement… The German visitor drew loud applause when she opened her address in Hebrew, saying: ‘I thank you for the honour of allowing me to address the Knesset.’ But the fact she delivered the rest of her speech in German ruffled feathers among MPs in a country where the memory of the Nazi murder of six million Jews still runs deep. Several lawmakers stayed away from the chamber in protest. ‘I know the last sounds heard by my grandparents and my uncles … were those of the German language,’ Arieh Eldad, an MP of the far-right National Union-National Religious Party said earlier in the day. Addressing the controversy, Merkel explicitly thanked the deputies for allowing her to speak in German…

“Merkel’s three-day visit was designed to reiterate support of Israel by its most important political and trading partner in Europe. On Monday, Hamas, which is pledged to Israel’s destruction, slammed the German leader for ignoring the ‘holocaust’ perpetrated by Israel in the impoverished territory. Merkel’s statements ‘reflect a moral degradation… by supporting without failure an entity that commits massacres against Palestinian children, women and the elderly,’ Hamas said in a statement. Earlier this month, an Israeli army blitz on Gaza, launched in response to rocket fire, killed more than 130 Palestinians, including several dozen children and other civilians. Five Israelis were also killed.”

The present unique friendly relationship between Germany and Israel will not continue. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

“Merkel More One-Sided Than Bush in the Middle East”

This is the assessment of some German commentators, pertaining to Chancellor Merkel’s most recent trip to Israel. Der Spiegel Online reported on March 19:

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:… ‘The fact that Hamas’ rule in the Gaza Strip and the rocket attacks on Israeli towns are condemned by the European Union goes back in particular to… Germany’s EU presidency under Merkel. But Germany has to take pains not to repeat Bush’s capital mistake of acting on behalf of one side in the peace process. In her speech the Palestinians were hardly mentioned. Merkel has to protect her independence and criticize Israel for its occupation and settlement polices… The Israeli army is carrying out an asymmetrical war against the comparatively small groups, and as recently demonstrated in the Gaza Strip, applies disproportionate force. The pope has even called for an end to the violence, but Merkel stays silent and doesn’t want to interfere. But the majority of Palestinians are not terrorists and like the Israelis, want to live in peace. The creation of the two-state solution also belongs to Germany’s reason of state: a safe Israel and safe Palestine, without Jewish settlements’…

“The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘(Merkel) did not meet with a single Palestinian. This amount of ignorance about the Palestinian side is unusual. Merkel is acting even more one-sidedly than George W. Bush, who recently also met with President Mahmoud Abbas as a matter of course… True responsibility towards Israel and its own past would involve a policy that did not atone for its sins at the expense of the Palestinians, but instead exerted pressure on Israel to change its (self-) destructive policy.'”

Israel Prepares for War With Syria and Iran

The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 17:

“In the face of a possible escalation with Syria and Iran’s efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon, parts of the country will shut down next month in what security officials say will be the largest emergency exercise in Israel’s history. The drill, which is being organized by the newly-established National Emergency Authority, will take place over five days starting on Sunday, April 6.

“But first, on Tuesday, a first-of-its-kind hospital emergency exercise will take place to see how Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center would cope with a Grad missile hitting a five-story hospitalization building and an outpatient clinic’s laboratory filled with toxic chemicals and a fire breaking out, requiring patients to be lowered from the roof…

“On the first day of the drill [in April], Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will convene the cabinet in Jerusalem in response to an ‘enemy attack’ and to decide on an Israeli response… The rescue services will drill mass evacuations from ‘hit zones’ – including mock chemical and biological attacks – and hospitals will drill their ability to provide medical treatment to thousands of wounded… All government ministries will participate in the exercise and they will hold a drill on one day during which they will direct all of their personnel to enter bomb shelters. Civilians will be asked to locate the public bomb shelter closest to their homes.”

China’s Brutal Crackdown

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 17 about the most recent outbreak of violence in Tibet:

“Tanks in the street of Lhasa, burning cars on the Roof of the World and thousands of soldiers brandishing assault rifles, imposing peace at the barrel of a gun — it is as if China was an imploding banana republic. On top of that, there are unknown numbers of dead on both sides. This, surely, is not the new China — a gleaming economic powerhouse — that Beijing wanted to present to the world before its celebration of the century: the 2008 Olympic Games.

“In fact, the situation is turning into a nightmare. The horror is worst for the locals, who in the next few days will be dragged out of their homes and subjected to terrible punishments and torture. The promise that Beijing will uphold human rights in the run-up to the Olympic Games has now gone out the window..

“In reality, the Chinese government isn’t at all interested in an amicable solution to the conflict. Instead, Beijing is using the Chinese populace as its most potent weapon, in the form of a resettlement policy that has seen tens of thousands of ethnic Chinese relocated to Tibet in recent years — and the resulting assimilation of the region… The Dalai Lama, for his part, has unfortunately been unable to find an adequate political strategy to counter Beijing’s cultural imperialism. As a monk living in exile who is dedicated to non-violence, his options are limited…

“China sees Tibet as a ‘domestic affair’ and as such is not willing to listen to council from outside its borders. Furthermore, America’s human rights record of the last few years has made it easy for China to follow an aggressive course.”

AFP added on March 20:

 “Thousands of soldiers were seen in Lhasa on Thursday amid reports of a huge military build-up, as the Dalai Lama expressed fears China’s crackdown on Tibetan protesters had caused many casualties. Long military convoys were on the move in Tibet while troops also poured into nearby provinces, after a week of violent unrest against China’s rule of the Himalayan region…

“A week of protests against China’s 57-year rule of Tibet erupted into rioting in Lhasa last Friday. Demonstrations have since spilled over into nearby Chinese provinces with sizeable ethnic Tibetan populations… The unrest has been a public relations nightmare for China in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics in August, an event the nation’s communist rulers had hoped would showcase a harmonious country.

“While no government has called for a boycott of the Games, China has faced increasing international pressure to resolve the unrest peacefully and to hold talks with the Dalai Lama… China has banned foreign journalists from Lhasa and tried to block them from the nearby western provinces of China, where a spate of violent protests have taken place over the past week.”

New Violence in Kosovo

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 17:

“United Nations police and security forces clashed on Monday with Serb demonstrators in [Mitrovica in] Kosovo in the [worst] violence since Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence on Feb. 17… The European Commission urged restraint after the clashes…

“Mitrovica, which is divided into an ethnic Albanian part and an ethnic Serbian enclave, has been a center of ethnic tension since Kosovo’s secession from Serbia, and Serbs wanting to take control of UN-run institutions in Kosovo have protested daily outside the courthouse in recent weeks. Serb protestors have prevented ethnic Albanian judges from going to work at the court, which has been controlled by the UN since the end of the war in Kosovo in 1999. Kosovo Serbs also recently tried to take control of a railway line in northern Kosovo, where most of Kosovo’s ethnic Serbs live.

“Monday’s rioting… poses a serious challenge to the authority of NATO, the UN and the new European Union mission to Kosovo. Serbia considers Kosovo’s declaration of independence to be illegal under international law, a position which is supported by Russia. Most EU member states and the US, however, have recognized Kosovo’s independence.”

AFP added on March 17:

“UN police were forced to withdraw Monday from the Serb-populated part of this flashpoint Kosovo town after coming under attack as they stormed a court occupied by Serbs opposed to independence… Northern Kosovo has a 40,000-strong Serb population who are divided from the mainly ethnic Albanian south by the Ibar River, which passes through Mitrovica. The clashes came on the four-year anniversary of the March 2004 anti-Serb riots by ethnic Albanians in which 19 people were killed and dozens of mediaeval Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were destroyed or damaged.”

Switzerland To Sign Huge Iran Gas Deal

The Jerusalem Post wrote on March 16:

“Swiss energy giant EGL is set to sign a 25-year deal in Teheran on Monday to buy 5.5 billion cubic meters of Iranian natural gas per year, starting in 2011, for a reported €18 billion. The contract will be the second largest European gas deal… In April, the Austrian energy company OMV signed letters of intent with Iran valued at €22 billion to supply Europe with gas, but that contract has yet to be finalized… Critics of the growing number of European-Iranian oil and gas deals argue that Teheran can use the profits for a nuclear weapons program… [All of this] comes at a sensitive time because a number of European Union countries and the US are trying to restrict trade with Iran’s energy and banking sectors.”

Homeschooling Debate in California Continues…

The San Diego Union Tribune wrote on March 17:

“Families who educate their children at home have been gaining a powerful band of supporters since a recent court decision that severely restricts most home schooling in the state. California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled Feb. 28 that it is illegal for parents without teaching credentials to home-school their children.

“Officials from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell have vowed to protect home schooling as a legitimate choice for families who want an alternative to traditional schools. California Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-La Mesa, has introduced a resolution calling on the state Supreme Court to reverse the decision…

“The ruling caught the home-schooling community off guard because it was not the result of an organized campaign targeting them. The decision stemmed from a child-welfare dispute involving two children who were home-schooled – along with siblings – by their mother. The children were enrolled in independent-study programs at Sunland Christian School, a Los Angeles County school for home-schoolers.

“On Friday, the Pacific Justice Institute, a conservative legal organization representing the school, filed a motion for rehearing with the courts. ‘If that is denied, then we will be filing an appeal with the state Supreme Court in the first week of April,’ said Brad Dacus, president of [the] institute…

“Although the state does not keep records on the number of students who are home-schooled, estimates indicate as many as 200,000 California children receive their education this way. Countywide, experts estimate that up to 4,000 students [in San Diego county] are home-schooled.”

Homeschooling Under Attack in California

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on March 7:

“A California appeals court ruling clamping down on homeschooling by parents without teaching credentials sent shock waves across the state this week, leaving an estimated 166,000 children as possible truants and their parents at risk of prosecution… The Second District Court of Appeal ruled that California law requires parents to send their children to full-time public or private schools or have them taught by credentialed tutors at home… the appeals court said state law has been clear since at least 1953, when another appellate court rejected a challenge by homeschooling parents to California’s compulsory education statutes. Those statutes require children ages 6 to 18 to attend a full-time day school, either public or private, or to be instructed by a tutor who holds a state credential for the child’s grade level.

“‘California courts have held that … parents do not have a constitutional right to homeschool their children,’ Justice H. Walter Croskey said in the 3-0 ruling issued on Feb. 28… Parents can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply, Croskey said. ‘A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare,’ the judge wrote, quoting from a 1961 case on a similar issue…

“Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute… said the appellate court ruling has set a precedent that can now be used to go after homeschoolers. ‘With this case law, anyone in California who is homeschooling without a teaching credential is subject to prosecution for truancy violation, which could require community service, heavy fines and possibly removal of their children under allegations of educational neglect,’ Dacus said…”

The ruling by the Second District Court of Appeal has been posted on links.sfgate.com/ZCQR. In reviewing the case, it should be noted that the court allows for a very limited and extremely burdensome exception for those (like those adherents of the Amish faith and practice) who set forth facts in detail proving that it would be against their religious conviction to have children taught in public schools. The court demands a very detailed and convincing description. The mere statement to the effect that homeschooling is “against my sincere religious conviction, based on the Bible,” would not be sufficient.

Governor Schwarzenegger and Others Blast Ruling on Homeschooling

WorldNetDaily wrote on March 7:

“California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today blasted a court ruling that endangered homeschooling and homeschoolers statewide. ‘Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what’s best for their children,’ the governor said in a prepared statement. ‘Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children’s education.’

“The comments came after a state appellate court ruling essentially concluded California state law allows no option for parents to school their children at home… ‘This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don’t protect parents’ rights then, as elected officials, we will,’ he said.

“The governor’s office said the ruling from the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles concluded ‘all children ages 6 to 18 must attend public or private school full-time until graduation from high school or be tutored at home by a credentialed teacher.’ The ruling resulted from a case involving the family of Phillip and Mary Long, who earlier described for WND their concerns with the public school district’s advocacy for alternative sexual lifestyles and the promotion of a faith in evolution…

“James Dobson, founder of the Focus on the Family powerhouse Christian publisher, called it ‘an imperious assault on the rights of parents.’ ‘How dare these judges have the audacity to label tens of thousands of parents criminals – the equivalent of drug dealers or pickpockets – because they want to raise and educate their children according to their deeply held values?’ he said.”

On Tuesday, March 11, 2008,  the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell issued a press release on behalf of the California Department of Education. In the statement, O’Connell wrote: “I want to assure parents that chose to home school that California Department of Education policy will not change in any way as a result of this ruling. Parents still have the right to home school in our state… some parents choose to send their children to private schools or to home school, and I respect that right.”

It is interesting what this rather political statement does not say. It does not recognize the rights of parents to have their children taught by uncredentialed teachers–a practice which the Court of Appeal explicitly denied. IF the California Department of Education wants to grant such a right, it would be in conflict with the holding of the Court of Appeal. Unless the Court of Appeal’s decision is repealed by the California Supreme Court, or the United states Supreme Court, or unless California law is AMENDED, the Court of Appeal’s decision is binding on all lower California courts. This means, parents in violation of the Court of Appeal’s findings could still be sued and convicted of crime–regardless of what “practice” the California Department of Education may claim to endorse or support.

Will Other States Accept California Ruling on Homeschooling?

The Christian Science Monitor stated on March 10:

“A court ruling that California parents ‘do not have a constitutional right’ to home-school their children has touched off anger and bewilderment throughout America’s home-schooling community and prompted a denunciation from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“For a movement that has gained greater accommodation in recent years, a state appellate court decision last month is a setback that, if not overturned on appeal, could force some 166,000 home-schooled students in California to enroll in conventional schools. It may also prod California and other states with vague or nonexistent laws on home schooling to be more specific about what is allowed and what is required of home-schoolers.

“California’s education statutes, for instance, do not mention ‘home schooling,’ but officials have allowed the practice for decades. The appellate court, however, found that the state’s laws have not been changed to allow home schooling since a case back in 1953 erected a major roadblock to the practice…

“‘I could see this [ruling] being a real strong impetus for home-schoolers in California to get the legislature to change their laws…. Or I could see it being perhaps the beginning of other states wanting to look more closely both at their laws and current enforcement,’ says Kimberly Yuracko, a professor at Northwestern University’s Law School in Chicago.

“The number of students nationwide who are home-schooled is not known because 10 states are so hands-off they require no reporting at all, nor do parents always comply with reporting requirements. Estimates range from 1.1 million to 2.5 million home-schooled students, and the numbers are rising. About half the states require more than simple notification from parents or guardians, such as testing, curriculum approval, or home visits. But such rules are dwindling – either explicitly or by lax enforcement, say experts. Home-school advocates worry the California case could bring more regulation or enforcement, or both…

“California law stipulates two main exemptions to compulsory public school: enrollment in a full-time private school or instruction from a credentialed tutor. Some home-schoolers enroll their children in independent study programs at private or public charter schools that allow students to work mostly from home. Officials have also allowed parents to declare their home a private school, a process requiring once-a-year filing of a short form. In this case [decided by the appellate court], the parents had enrolled their children in a private school under an arrangement that kept the kids at home except to take year-end tests. School officials said they visited the home about four times a year. Writing for the appellate court, Justice H. Walter Croskey derided this arrangement as a ‘ruse’…”

President Bush Vetoes Bill Against Waterboarding

The Associated Press reported on March 8:

“President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks… based on the margin of passage in each chamber, it would be difficult for the Democratic-controlled Congress to turn back the veto. It takes a two-thirds majority, and the House vote was 222-199 and the Senate’s was 51-45…

“But waterboarding is the most high-profile and contentious method in question. It involves strapping a person down and pouring water over his cloth-covered face to create the sensation of drowning. It has been traced back hundreds of years to the Spanish Inquisition and is condemned by nations around the world and human rights organizations as torture. The Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 includes a provision barring cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment for all detainees, including CIA prisoners, in U.S. custody. Many people believe that covers waterboarding…

“The military specifically prohibited waterboarding in 2006. The CIA also prohibited the practice in 2006 and says it has not been used since three prisoners encountered it in 2003. But the administration has refused to rule definitively on whether it is torture. Bush has said many times that his administration does not torture. The White House says waterboarding remains among the interrogation methods potentially available to the CIA.”

The Daily Mail reported on March 10 that “George Bush caused international outrage last night after refusing to ban torture by the CIA.”

“U.S. Economy Has Entered Recession”

Reuters reported on March 12:

“The U.S. economy has ground to a halt and probably already is in recession but faces higher inflation this year than thought just a month ago, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday. A dismal run of economic data including two months of job market contraction, a declining factory sector and shrinkage in the dominant service sector, has led analysts to downgrade the already grim economic assessment they gave a month ago…

“Economists dropped growth expectations to none at all for the first three months of this year from the anemic 0.2 percent they forecast last month. The poll also showed a median 60 percent chance of an outright recession, which likely started in the current quarter if not late last year. That was up sharply from 45 percent last month and in January. ‘The evidence has built to the point that it is now beyond a reasonable doubt that the U.S. economy has entered recession,’ said Scott Anderson, a senior economist at Wells Fargo & Co. in Minneapolis… with the economy reeling amid the worst housing slump since the Great Depression and resulting financial market turmoil, some analysts say monetary policy may not be enough to cure what ails it.”

The Associated Press reported on March 13:

“Widespread concern about the outlook for the U.S. economy pushed the euro to a new record and the yen to 12-year highs against the U.S. dollar Thursday, while gold and oil prices also surged… The dark economic outlook has raised expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates — even as the European Central Bank sticks to a tough anti-inflation stance and signals that no rate cuts are on the way for the 15-nation euro zone from its current 4 percent level. Lower interest rates can jump-start a nation’s economy, but can also weigh on its currency as traders transfer funds to countries where they can earn higher returns.”

In other words, the economic world will move away from the U.S. dollar and embrace other currencies, such as the euro.

“What Can Europe Expect From the Next White House?”

On March 11, Der Spiegel Online published the following in-depth analysis of the three remaining presidential candidates in the light of a possible European and especially German future. The magazine stated:

“Obama, Clinton and McCain have one thing in common: They have recognized that maintaining the status quo in Washington is not an option. They know that one of their main challenges will be to reestablish fundamental confidence in the United States…

“President Bush, who may well be the worst president in the history of the United States… has brought the country’s reputation to an all-time low worldwide. In the eyes of much of the world, the America of George W. Bush is no longer a beacon of democracy. Instead, it stands for contempt for international law (because of the US’s unilateral war in Iraq), torture at Abu Ghraib, bending the law in Guantanamo and selfish environmental policies that do more harm than good to the world’s climate… Less than half of the populations of all Western European countries, 30 percent of Germans and only 8 percent of Turkish citizens have a positive view of the United States… When George W. Bush began his first term in January 2001, 78 percent of Germans still had a positive view of the United States.

“… the three presidential candidates… differ when it comes to their foreign policy proposals designed to repair America Inc. At first glance, the differences seem minor, but upon closer inspection they are significant — and they offer a surprising, but not always pleasant, outlook for German politics.

“Whether the Republican… or the Democrats… come into power, they will want Germany, as a NATO partner, to assume more responsibility, especially in Afghanistan. While Berlin has managed to fend off the urgent requests coming from a weakened Bush administration, this will become much more difficult when it is dealing with any new US commander-in-chief. Obama, the inexperienced candidate… recently said that it is unacceptable that the Americans and the British are bearing the brunt of ‘the dirty work’ in Afghanistan. If he becomes president, Obama will demand that the German military, the Bundeswehr, which has been stationed in the relatively safe northern part of the country until now, ultimately participate in combat missions in the south… Afghanistan experts believe that it is naïve to think that the Taliban can be defeated, no matter how many NATO troops are deployed to the region. Air strikes, the only effective weapon against the radical Islamists, who often hide in villages, also exact a high civilian death toll and fuel hatred among the population…

“Unlike Bush… McCain is opposed to allowing interrogation methods that border on torture. As a former POW in North Vietnam, McCain knows what torture means. Like his Democratic opponents, he would probably close the detainee camp at Guantanamo. Nevertheless, his worldview remains shaped by his military career. ‘We can afford to spend more on national defense,’ says McCain, as if the United States weren’t already spending more on defense today than the rest of the world combined. McCain also hasn’t ruled out a military strike against the regime in Tehran, although he has said that it wouldn’t be his ‘preferred option.’ …

“If terrorists were to attack the United States or concrete plans of such an attack became known, all three would strike back without hesitation. Even the charismatic Obama, who normally comes across as gentle, almost a pacifist, insists on the right to ‘unilateral American action.’ In the fight against al-Qaida, Obama says he would insist ‘that Pakistan crack down on the Taliban, pursue Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants.’ If necessary, the senator from Illinois would even use US Special Forces to eliminate current targets.

“Environmentalists should be overjoyed by the three American presidential hopefuls’ environmental policies. Obama, Clinton and McCain all sound as if they had been coached by a member of the German Green Party. All three have very similar ideas about reversing the Bush administration’s course, which has been deaf to environmental concerns, and make climate protection a top priority… When it comes to environmental policy, however, the least convincing of the three is McCain, who initially said that he would repeal the tax breaks for large corporations and the wealthy approved by his party, but then changed his mind.

“The Democrats are playing to voters’ fears triggered by the recession. Both Obama… and Clinton create the impression that they can use protectionist measures to bring back the jobs the United States has lost. They must know that they are merely creating illusions among trade unions and factory workers…

“Those who plan to vote for the Democrats support a phased, but clearly scheduled withdrawal [from Iraq]. Clinton and Obama agree that a ‘victory’ for US troops in Iraq is impossible. Those who plan to vote Republican will be supporting McCain’s statement that the US presence in Iraq could last ‘another 100 years’… McCain claims the surge is experiencing ‘success,’ citing the decline in American casualties. The Democrats counter that despite the fact that some parts of the country are now relatively peaceful, the overall situation remains dramatic, the struggle is shifting to new targets selected by the terrorists, like Mosul, and the relative calm in Baghdad is the work of radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who has chosen, for the time being, to respect the cease fire he proclaimed.

“It seems unlikely that McCain’s strategy of aggressive action in Iraq will sit well with voters. Despite the Pentagon’s considerable PR efforts, only 39 percent of Americans today believe that the troop surge is working and has been successful. More than 60 percent continue to see the war as a ‘mistake,’ and about half support withdrawing from Iraq as quickly as possible. In this respect, Obama has an advantage over Clinton. While she voted in favor of the war resolution in the Senate in October 2002, he was opposed to the Iraq invasion from the start on the grounds that it was in violation of international law.

“Berlin will also see additional burdens coming its way on the issue of Iraq. All three remaining presidential candidates want to ‘internationalize’ the Iraq conflict, and they are likely to ask allies for substantial financial and logistical contributions — perhaps even troops.”

To summarize, a substantial improvement of US.-EU relationships under a new U.S. President is, realistically, not to be expected. And the Bible says that it will not happen. For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

“The Magic Is Over”

The International Herald Tribune reported on March 13:

“Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister of France and a longtime humanitarian, diplomatic and political activist on the international scene, says that whoever succeeds President George W. Bush may restore something of the United States’ battered image and standing overseas, but that ‘the magic is over.’… Asked whether the United States could repair the damage it has suffered to its reputation during the Bush presidency and especially since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Kouchner replied, ‘It will never be as it was before.’

”’I think the magic is over,’ he continued, in what amounted to a sober assessment from one of the strongest supporters in France of the United States.”

“Progress” on U.S. Missile Shield Deal with Poland?

Reuters reported on March 10:

“President George W. Bush pledged on Monday to help modernize Poland’s military as part a U.S. effort to secure agreement for basing components of a global missile defense shield in Eastern Europe… The Bush administration wants to put the interceptors in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic as part of a system it says is meant to protect against long-range ballistic missiles from ‘rogue states’ such as Iran and North Korea. Russia has insisted, however, that the shield could pose a threat to its security, and Putin has warned that Moscow will target its missiles at the system if it is deployed in Eastern Europe, Russia’s former sphere of influence.”

“The European Airbus March on America”

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 10:

“Last week, the US Defense Department announced it was awarding the second-biggest contract in its history to a consortium that includes the European Airbus Group, leaving domestic aviation giant Boeing on the outside looking in. A political flap among politicians of all stripes quickly ensued, with calls for the contract to be reviewed and warnings that US national security may be at risk. On its surface, the deal looks simple enough — the contract is for several hundred in-flight refueling aircraft. But days of protest have made it clear that the issue at stake is more one of production locale than logistics — and the formula of global economic power.

“In Chicago, home to both Boeing’s headquarters and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the Senator recently said that he could not believe that ‘an American company that has been a traditional source of aeronautic excellence would not have done this job.’ His Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, said that she was ‘deeply concerned about the Bush administration’s decision to outsource the production of refueling tankers for the American military.’ Her fellow Democrat, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, agreed and wondered aloud about the ‘national security implications of using an aircraft supplied by a foreign firm.’

“Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate John McCain was surprisingly cautious in his remarks. He merely said that he was ‘interested to learn how the Air Force came to its contract award decision here and whether it fairly applied its own rules in arriving at that decision,’ adding that he wanted to examine the details of the deal before commenting on it. Nevertheless, the Republican Party base is incensed. Many consider the contract award to be unpatriotic…

“Boeing is currently considering a legal challenge to the Airbus deal. But should the court come to the conclusion that everything about the contract was perfectly legal, it could provide Americans with an unmistakable confirmation of something experts have been saying for years: that the competitiveness of the US economy has declined dramatically.

“Almost everything Americans need in their lives today is imported… Until now, the job of outfitting the US Armed Forces was sacrosanct — and reserved for domestic manufacturers. The Pentagon’s decision to award portions of the Air Force contract to a European company is thus both a provocation and a violation of a taboo… German Chancellor Angela Merkel did refer to the US Air Force deal as a ‘huge success.'”

Gaza Rocket Breaks Lull

Reuters reported on March 11:

“A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel on Tuesday just hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited the area and cautioned residents not to expect a lull in Palestinian attacks to last. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the rocket strike, the first against Israel since Sunday, saying its ‘battle against occupation is continuing.’ Such attacks have tailed off sharply since Israel ended a Gaza offensive eight days ago and Egypt stepped up truce mediation efforts. Israel has not raided the Gaza Strip since the five-day assault that killed some 120 Palestinians… Olmert said Hamas has ‘created a reality in which there is no way to protect Israeli civilians except to hit back at those who hit us, and sometimes to hit back disproportionately so their pain will be enough to deter them from continuing to fire.'”

AFP added on March 13:

“Israeli warplanes hit Hamas-run Gaza on Thursday after militants rattled the Jewish state with rocket fire… The violence flared within hours of an Israeli operation on Wednesday in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, where undercover special forces killed four Palestinian militants, including two senior commanders.”

Germany Condemns Israel’s Plans for New Settlements

AFP reported on March 10:

“Germany on Monday condemned Israel’s plan to build hundreds of new homes in occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank, calling it unacceptable and a threat to the Middle East peace process… Authorities in Jerusalem said on Monday they planned to build a new Jewish settlement of around 400 homes in the annexed eastern part of the city, which Palestinians want as the capital of their promised state… The announcements followed Thursday’s attack on a Jewish religious school in west Jerusalem in which a Palestinian gunman shot dead eight people.

“The international community has never recognized Israel’s claim to east Jerusalem and Palestinians have demanded a halt to settlement activity in all areas occupied in the 1967 war… German Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Israel on March 16 with several cabinet ministers for a high level visit.”

Serbia’s Government Dissolved–“Most Important Election” Ahead

Reuters reported on March 10:

“Serbia’s coalition government, torn by division over the loss of Kosovo, was formally dissolved on Monday, opening the way for an early parliamentary election. The decision was taken at a brief cabinet session following Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s Saturday announcement that the government could not stay in office owing to disunity over the conflicting goals of defending Kosovo and joining the European Union…

“President Boris Tadic must now disband parliament and set a date for the election, probably on May 11. It will be the most important election since voters ended the era of the late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic in 2000… Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said he hoped for a victory for pro-European parties in Serbia’s upcoming election.”

Pledge of Allegiance Un-British?

Times on Line reported on March 11:

“Lord Goldsmith, the peer charged with carrying out a review for Gordon Brown, suggested children take oaths of allegiance to mark accession from being a student to becoming a UK citizen – an idea which appears similar to that held in America, where children stand at attention to the US flag with their right hand over the heart… However, plans for school pledges caused an immediate backlash from head teachers, the Scottish government – which has its own education powers – and a leading Liberal Democrat peer. ‘This is a half-baked idea…’, John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said. ‘Schools will reject it as an un-British idea imported from America, which does not fit into their ethos or culture’…

“The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “The Prime Minister very much welcomes Lord Goldsmith’s review of citizenship. It has a number of interesting proposals in it and no doubt there will be a debate about them. ‘He thinks this is a good issue to have a debate about. He has said we need to do more to entrench the notion of Britishness in British society.”

Former German President Warns of Dangers for German Political System

The Guardian wrote on March 6:

“Roman Herzog, a former German president and ex-head of the constitutional court, called for changes to the constitution and the electoral system to counter the drift towards government paralysis… Put plainly, the danger of minority governments will grow… Herzog raised the spectre of the Weimar Republic, the ramshackle democracy between the wars which collapsed in chaos and runaway inflation, paving the way for Adolf Hitler… The core of the problem is the long-term trend of erosion of support for the two big national parties, the CDU and the SPD… They now struggle to muster 70% support between them, while the fringe parties – the free market liberals of the FDP, the Greens and the Left – each take up to 10%. Neither of the two big parties can rely on a single junior partner to form a majority.

“For the entire post-war period, German democracy has been a three-party system, morphing into a four-party arrangement with the rise of the Greens in the 1980s. That has now changed. Herzog warned that the entrenchment of the hard left in German politics is likely to be mirrored by the emergence of a stronger extreme right, turning Germany into a six-party system. ‘The possibility of a sixth party, which would not need to be neo-fascist, cannot be quite excluded.’…

“Herzog called for a national debate over how to change the constitution and electoral laws to streamline the system. A British-style system… would ‘never’ be tolerated by the Germans, he said, because a majority of parliamentary seats could be secured from a minority of the popular vote.”

Coming–A European Army

On March 10, the International Herald Tribune published an article by Bernard Kouchner, France’s minister of foreign and European affairs. In his article, Kouchner outlines the goals of a European Defense Force. It is coming–but the Bible shows that ultimately, it will not be limited to just humanitarian, peaceful or “defense” purposes. The article stated:

“For months, for years, we have been deeply distressed, yet powerless, with respect to the tragedy in Darfur. Two weeks ago, despite the troubles in Chad, Europe gave itself the means to protect the victims and to rebuild their villages in eastern Chad. At the behest of France, and thanks to the efforts of our European partners, the European Union… launched its Eufor operation. This is no small achievement. I’ve just returned from Goz Beida in eastern Chad, and I will never forget the enthusiastic welcome the European soldiers received from displaced persons and refugees.

“The launch of an autonomous EU operation in Africa, led by an Irish general with a Polish deputy and bringing together troops from some 15 countries, illustrates how far we have come in building a European defense. It is now desired and supported by nations that until very recently remained skeptical. We have been working to build a European defense since the 1990s…

“No one can deny that this is a major asset for peace in the world. The approximately 15 civilian and military operations that Europe has already conducted since 2003 in the Balkans, in Africa, in the Middle East, in Afghanistan and as far away as Indonesia, largely attest to this. In each of them, the EU was guided by a single ideal: to save lives, to avert war, and to work for reconstruction and reconciliation when the international community had been unable to prevent conflict. Each time we did so with a concern for effectiveness and pragmatism, with or without direct support from the Americans.

“Our vision of relations between the EU and NATO is that they should be founded on this same pragmatism. In some cases, the EU has used its own military means, as it did in Congo in the past and is doing in Chad and the Central African Republic today. In other situations – Bosnia, for example – the EU benefited from NATO support. Now, in a growing number of crises, the EU and NATO are deployed together on the ground. That is sufficient to show that there is not competition but rather complementarity between the two organizations. How could it be otherwise when 21 of the 26 NATO allies are members of the EU, and 21 of the 27 EU partners are members of NATO?…

“The EU presidency, which France will assume on July 1, must allow us to open new perspectives in the field of security and defense, to fight against terrorism and proliferation more effectively, to reinforce our energy security, and to prepare the implementation of permanent structured cooperation open to all 27 member states, as made possible by the new treaty. We will resolutely strive toward that aim.”

Catholic Church Defines Modern “Deadly” Sins

Reuters reported on March 10:

“Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of ‘new’ sins such as causing environmental blight. The guidance came at the weekend when Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican’s number two man in the sometimes murky area of sins and penance, spoke of modern evils… The Vatican opposes stem cell research that involves destruction of embryos and has warned against the prospect of human cloning…

“Girotti also bemoaned that fewer and fewer Catholics go to confession at all. He pointed to a study… that showed that up to 60 percent of Catholic faithful in Italy stopped going to confession… 30 percent of Italian Catholics believed that there was no need for a priest to be God’s intermediary and 20 percent felt uncomfortable talking about their sins to another person.”

On March 10, the Telegraph published an article on the subject, with the headline, “Recycle or go to Hell, Warns Vatican.” With biting irony and sarcasm, the paper pointed out how “mortal” or “deadly” these sins are–according to Catholic teaching, that is:

“Failing to recycle plastic bags could find you spending eternity in Hell, the Vatican said after drawing up a list of seven deadly sins for our times… The ‘sins of yesteryear’ – sloth, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, wrath and pride – have a ‘rather individualistic dimension’ [Girotti said]

“The new seven deadly, or mortal, sins are designed to make worshippers realise that their vices have an effect on others as well. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, mortal sins are a ‘grave violation of God’s law’ and bring about ‘eternal death’ if unrepented by the act of confession. They are far more serious than venial sins, which impede a soul’s progress in the exercise of virtue and moral good…  Girotti said genetic modification, carrying out experiments on humans, polluting the environment, causing social injustice, causing poverty, becoming obscenely wealthy and taking drugs were all mortal sins.”

Let’s note a few things here. First of all, there is nothing in the Bible, delineating between “mortal” and “not-so-mortal” sins. Sin is sin, and every sin leads to eternal death, if not repented of and forgiven by God. Confession to a priest is definitely NOT a procedure endorsed by the Bible. Rather, we need to confess our sins to God and obtain forgiveness from HIM. If we have sinned against another human being, we are to go to the offended person–not a priest or a minister–and reconcile with him or her.

Finally, the Bible does NOT teach that the penalty for sin is being tortured for all eternity in an ever-burning hell. Such a hell simply does not–and will not–exist and is an invention of the human mind. Pagans taught this false concept, and the Catholic Church absorbed it from them–NOT from the Holy Scriptures.

For further information, please read our Q&A on “Confession,” as well as on “Mark 9:43-48.” You may also want to watch Norbert Link’s sermon on the topic of sin, which is posted on Google Video, titled, “Bible Study – Sin: How Do You Look At It?”

“Tsunami That Devastated Ancient World Could Return”

AFP wrote on March 9:

“‘The sea was driven back, and its waters flowed away to such an extent that the deep sea bed was laid bare and many kinds of sea creatures could be seen,’ wrote Roman historian Ammianus Marcellus, awed at a tsunami that struck the then-thriving port of Alexandria in 365 AD. ‘Huge masses of water flowed back when least expected, and now overwhelmed and killed many thousands of people… Some great ships were hurled by the fury of the waves onto the rooftops, and others were thrown up to two miles (three kilometres) from the shore.’ Ancient documents show the great waves of July 21, 365 AD claimed lives from Greece, Sicily and Alexandria in Egypt to modern-day Dubrovnik in the Adriatic… The tsunami was generated by a massive quake that occurred under the western tip of the Greek island of Crete, experts believe…

“Researchers in Britain have taken a fresh look at this event and have come up with some worrying news… The last tsunami to hit the eastern Mediterranean occurred on August 8, 1303. According to research published in 2006, a quake off Crete of about 7.8 magnitude hit Alexandria 40 minutes later with a wave nine metres (29.25 feet) high.”

The new study warns that “Repetition of such an event would have catastrophic consequences for today’s densely-populated Mediterranean coastal regions.”

Our Contaminated Drinking Water and Our Use of Drugs

The Associated Press reported on March 10:

“A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans… the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines… — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health… In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky….

“How do the drugs get into the water?

“People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue… The AP’s investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation’s water supply, also are contaminated…

“Contamination is not confined to the United States. More than 100 different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world. Studies have detected pharmaceuticals in waters throughout Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe — even in Swiss lakes and the North Sea. For example, in Canada, a study of 20 Ontario drinking water treatment plants by a national research institute found nine different drugs in water samples. Japanese health officials in December called for human health impact studies after detecting prescription drugs in drinking water at seven different sites.

“In the United States, the problem isn’t confined to surface waters. Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation’s water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs…

“Perhaps it’s because Americans have been taking drugs — and flushing them unmetabolized or unused — in growing amounts. Over the past five years, the number of U.S. prescriptions rose 12 percent to a record 3.7 billion, while nonprescription drug purchases held steady around 3.3 billion… Some drugs, including widely used cholesterol fighters, tranquilizers and anti-epileptic medications, resist modern drinking water and wastewater treatment processes… There’s evidence that adding chlorine, a common process in conventional drinking water treatment plants, makes some pharmaceuticals more toxic.

“Human waste isn’t the only source of contamination. Cattle, for example, are given ear implants that provide a slow release of trenbolone, an anabolic steroid used by some bodybuilders, which causes cattle to bulk up. But not all the trenbolone circulating in a steer is metabolized. A German study showed 10 percent of the steroid passed right through the animals. Water sampled downstream of a Nebraska feedlot had steroid levels four times as high as the water taken upstream. Male fathead minnows living in that downstream area had low testosterone levels and small heads.

“Other veterinary drugs also play a role. Pets are now treated for arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, dementia, and even obesity — sometimes with the same drugs as humans.

“Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation… Also, pharmaceuticals in waterways are damaging wildlife across the nation and around the globe, research shows. Notably, male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females…

“’We know we are being exposed to other people’s drugs through our drinking water, and that can’t be good,’ says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.”

Commercial Cloning Continues…

The Associated Press reported on March 5:

“Alcalde, a hulking black bull, is quite the stud. He sires up to 40 calves a year, most of them top-grade fighters, even though in human terms he would be almost 80 years old and is nearing the end of his life. Victoriano del Rio, a fifth-generation breeder of fighting bulls, cringes at the thought of losing an animal with such good genes. So he is going to clone him — an unprecedented marriage of modern technology and the Spanish-speaking world’s ancient, beloved pastime…The Spaniard is not alone in the adventure. Rancher Jose Manuel Fernandez in Mexico plans to replicate Zalamero, another aging bull that achieved the rare feat of dodging death in the ring…

“Both breeders have hired ViaGen, a cloning company based in Austin, Texas, to do the job. The technique is essentially the same one used in 1996 to copy the sheep Dolly, the world’s first cloned mammal. It involves inserting the nucleus of a somatic cell from the bull — any cell that is not a sperm cell — into a cow egg cell that has been stripped of its nucleus. The egg undergoes electrical and chemical stimulation to make it divide and grow into an embryo. This is then implanted in a surrogate cow to be carried to term.

“ViaGen spokesman Ben Carlson confirmed the orders from del Rio and Fernandez, but would not comment on pregnancies or expected birth dates. Carlson said the breeders would pay standard cattle cloning prices: $17,500 for the first calf, $15,000 for the second, $12,500 for the third and $10,000 for the fourth and beyond. ViaGen has cloned about 300 mammals, including show pigs, rodeo horses and bucking broncos, since its founding in 2002.

“But this is the world’s first attempt at cloning the breed that takes on matadors in the deadly minuet of bullfighting, the breeders said… But questions abound. It’s one thing to pass on a carbon copy of a fighting or stud bull’s DNA, quite another to expect the new animal to mimic its template.”

… While Robots Replace Humans…

The Associated Press reported on March 5:

“At a university lab in a Tokyo suburb, engineering students are wiring a rubbery robot face to simulate six basic expressions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and disgust. Hooked up to a database of words clustered by association, the robot… responds to the word ‘war’ by quivering in what looks like disgust and fear. It hears ‘love,’ and its pink lips smile… the country [of Japan] is perhaps the closest to a future… where humans and intelligent robots routinely live side by side and interact socially.

“Robots are already taken for granted in Japanese factories, so much so that they are sometimes welcomed on their first day at work with Shinto religious ceremonies. Robots make sushi. Robots plant rice and tend paddies. There are robots serving as receptionists, vacuuming office corridors, spoon-feeding the elderly. They serve tea, greet company guests and chatter away at public technology displays. Now startups are marching out robotic home helpers…

“For Japan, the robotics revolution is an imperative. With more than a fifth of the population 65 or older, the country is banking on robots to replenish the work force and care for the elderly. In the past several years, the government has funded a plethora of robotics-related efforts, including some $42 million for the first phase of a humanoid robotics project, and $10 million a year between 2006 and 2010 to develop key robot technologies. The government estimates the industry could surge from about $5.2 billion in 2006 to $26 billion in 2010 and nearly $70 billion by 2025…

“Japanese are also more accepting of robots because the native Shinto religion often blurs boundaries between the animate and inanimate… To the Japanese psyche, the idea of a humanoid robot with feelings doesn’t feel as creepy — or as threatening — as it might do in other cultures… Japan is already an industrial robot powerhouse. Over 370,000 robots worked at factories across Japan in 2005, about 40 percent of the global total and 32 robots for every 1,000 Japanese manufacturing employees… A single robot can replace about 10 employees… meaning Japan’s future million-robot army of workers could take the place of 10 million humans…

“The ‘Child-Robot with Biomimetic Body’ is designed to mimic the motions of a toddler. It responds to sounds, and sensors in its eyes can see and react to people. It wiggles, changes facial expressions, and makes gurgling sounds. The team leader… is working on artificial intelligence software that would allow the child to ‘learn’ as it progresses… the key is to make robots that look like human beings.”

Latin America–At the Brink of War

The Associated Press reported on March 3:

“Ecuador on Monday broke off diplomatic ties with Colombia, and Venezuela says it will expel Colombia’s ambassador after [Colombia] conducted a strike against leftist rebels inside Ecuador.”

Reuters added on March 3:

“… a dispute across the Andean region… erupted after Colombian soldiers raided inside its southern neighbor [Venezuela] to kill a guerrilla leader… [Venezuelan President] Chavez [ordered] troops and tanks to the border with Colombia and he warned conservative [Colombian] President Alvaro Uribe that a similar strike on Venezuelan soil could lead to war. Ecuador has also sent thousands of troops to the border…”

The Daily Mail stated on March 2 that “The U.S. would almost certainly come to Colombia’s aid if oil-rich Venezuela launched an invasion.”

AFP reported on March 4:

“A crisis between three Latin American nations worsened Tuesday when Venezuela said it was closing its border with Colombia, even as frantic diplomatic talks to stave off war were about to begin.”

German Reaction to Latin American Crisis

On March 4, Der Spiegel Online quoted excerpts from several German newspapers, dealing with the crisis in Latin America. The magazine stated:

“For Europe, the conflict comes as a bit of a shock — Ecuador is a favorite [recipient] of German development aid. Commentators writing in Germany’s main papers Tuesday were full of opinions on what the conflict meant for the region’s future.

“Left-leaning Berliner Zeitung is skeptical of [Venezuelan President] Chavez’s motives. ‘Colombia has chosen to accept the risks. The chance of dealing the guerrillas a devastating blow and of killing their leader was too great to pass up. But the sovereignty of Ecuador was violated in the process, and President Correa [of Ecuador] is well within his rights to be outraged and impose sanctions. The conflict must not escalate. But when Venezuela sends tanks to its border with Colombia — which has nothing to do with this commando raid — what else could it be besides a dangerous regional escalation, the likes of which Latin America hasn’t seen in decades? Hugo Chavez is personally and ideologically close to Colombia’s guerrillas. .. Could Chavez, who is finding less and less support at home, be trying to gather Venezuelans behind him through military escapades?’

“The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung leaps to Venezuela’s defense: ‘… With the precisely planned raid in the Ecuadorean Amazon, Colombia’s right-wing leader Alvaro Uribe is consciously risking a regional escalation of the decades-long conflict. The strong reaction of his leftist neighbors Rafael Correa and Hugo Chavez to his border violation should hardly surprise him — or his powerful backers in Washington… Yesterday’s warning from the German government about escalation is hypocritical: Germany has long counted as one of the discreet, but important, supporters of the Colombian president.’

“Meanwhile, the right-leaning Die Welt has harsh words for Ecuador: ‘In the last few years relations between (Venezuela and Colombia) have gotten dramatically worse, as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez morphed from covert sympathizer to open supporter of Colombia’s FARC terrorists… That should ring alarm bells in Berlin, especially since Ecuador is an important recipient of German and European development aid, which should be withdrawn as soon as possible. Other recent verbal lapses on the part of Venezuela’s president have been unsettling: He suggested that Colombia was essentially “the Israel of Latin America,” because, like Jerusalem, it has close ties to the US. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will welcome these words from his ally Chavez — but in Europe they should inspire watchfulness.'”

Iranian President in Iraq–“Unintended” Consequences of U.S. Invasion

The Associated Press reported on March 3:

“Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday dismissed U.S. accusations that his country is training extremists and demanded that the Americans withdraw from Iraq. Speaking in a nearly hour-long news conference at the end of an unprecedented visit to Iraq, Ahmadinejad said the U.S. allegations – that Iran is training Shiite militants who target American troops and Muslim rivals – don’t matter to the Iranians…

“Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian president to visit Iraq, and his two-day trip highlighted one of the unintended consequences for Washington after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the Iraq that ousted Saddam Hussein from power. Under Saddam, a Sunni who once led an eight-year war against Iran, the two countries were bitter enemies, but Iraq’s new Shiite-dominated government has deep ties to Iran’s cleric-led Islamic republic.

“Ahmadinejad was warmly received by Iraqi President Jabal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd, and other Iraqi leaders. He said Tehran and Baghdad are ‘brotherly’ nations who share many beliefs and values…. After meeting Sunday with Talabani, who told the Iranian leader to call him ‘Uncle Jalal,’ Ahmadinejad drove through the U.S.-controlled Green Zone to visit Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a fellow Shiite, at his Cabinet offices… Earlier Monday, Talabani and Ahmadinejad signed seven memorandums of understanding on issues including industrial development, trade and customs.”

The World Condemns Israel

AFP wrote on March 3:

“Israel vowed on Monday to keep hitting Gaza even as troops pulled out of the Hamas-run territory after clashes that killed more than 120 Palestinians and dealt a major blow to Middle East peace talks… The bloody assault earned Israel international condemnation and caused moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to cut contacts with the Israelis, though on Monday he reiterated his willingness to seek a truce… US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice departed for the region in her latest bid to boost peace efforts which have been stalled… Rice’s deputy spokesman Tom Casey said Israel had a ‘right to defend itself’ against Hamas rocket attacks but Israel also had to ‘show appropriate consideration’ for the humanitarian situation in Gaza Strip…

“Since a dramatic escalation in violence last Wednesday, at least 121 Palestinians, including 22 children and dozens of militants, have been killed… More than 350 were wounded. Two Israeli soldiers were also killed in the clashes and one Israeli civilian died in a rocket attack launched by Gaza militants… Israel launched the operation on Saturday in a bid to stop near-daily rocket fire from Gaza, where the Islamist Hamas movement — which is sworn to Israel’s destruction — seized power in June by routing pro-Abbas forces. But as has been the case with previous Israeli operations, this one failed to halt the rocket fire… The [Israeli] army claimed all the long-range rockets fired at Israel in recent days were Iranian-made.”

Der Spiegel Online stated on March 6:

“A report sponsored by eight British-based aid agencies and human rights groups has described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as the worst in 40 years… The damning report on the humanitarian situation released on Thursday says that 80 percent of Gaza’s 1.5 million inhabitants are now dependent on food aid, while unemployment is close to 40 percent…. Israel’s Defense Ministry rejected the report, saying Hamas, the militant Islamist rulers in Gaza, was to blame for the hardships. It also pointed out that medicines and medical equipment were shipped into Gaza without limitations…

“On Wednesday a senior United Nations official warned that the dire conditions in Gaza would deteriorate even further if Israeli military action escalated. ‘It would be devastating,’ John Ging, director of the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, told Reuters. ‘The whole infrastructure is in a state of collapse, whether it’s water, sanitation or just the medical services,’ he said. ‘If there’s a further military offensive it will again just … compound an already desperate situation.'”

Kremlin’s Tough Line Will Continue

The Associated Press reported on March 3:

“President Vladimir Putin fast-tracked the transfer of power to his newly elected protege Monday and signaled the Kremlin won’t back down from its pull-no-punches anti-U.S. foreign policy or ease up on its critics at home. President-elect Dmitry Medvedev… has stressed he will pursue Putin’s foreign and domestic agenda, and in a sign that little would change, Russia squeezed natural gas supplies to Western-leaning Ukraine, and police in Moscow manhandled opposition protesters who denounced the election as a farce… Medvedev has vowed to make Putin his prime minister, enabling the forceful leader to maintain strong influence…

“The head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s vote observation mission, Andreas Gross, said balloting was not free or fair… Western nations have accused Putin of backtracking on democracy, but he has dismissed the criticism and fired back by accusing the West of meddling.”

Moscow–World Capital for Billionaires

AFP reported on March 5:

“Moscow has overtaken New York City as home to the most billionaires, according to Forbes magazine, with 74 of the super-rich elite now counting the Russian capital as their home. By contrast, 71 billionaires live in New York, according to the magazine’s annual list, which placed London in third place with 36. ‘Russia is again the dominant story in (Europe) this year. Its billionaires are just fast and fearsome. What’s fascinating is that every single one of them is self made,’ said Forbes senior editor Luisa Kroll. ‘We’re not going to get into exactly how they got it but none of them inherited it and their average age is 46,’ she added. Russia now counts a total of 87 billionaires, ousting Germany in second place but still trailing the first-placed United States, which has 469.”

Clinton Wins–What’s Next?…

The Associated Press wrote on March 5:

“But even if she wins every contest left, Clinton still would have a hard time overcoming Barack Obama’s pledged delegate lead. In fact, her task got even harder because even though she won Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island Tuesday night, she didn’t do much to close the delegate gap — and with every contest that passes, the number up for grabs drops… Even her own advisers acknowledge Obama will probably win the two other states left this month — Wyoming on Saturday and Mississippi next Tuesday. If she is able to continue turning voters against Obama in the races after that, she could plausibly clinch the nomination by persuading superdelegates to back her. It won’t be easy… With seven weeks until Pennsylvania, there’s plenty of time for the race to get even uglier.”

… While McCain Wins Republican Mantle

AFP added on March 5:

“Clinton’s comeback prolonged the longest and costliest nominating race in US history and ensured weeks or months more of bruising battle for the right to face John McCain, who clinched the Republican mantle Tuesday… McCain… capped an amazing comeback after his campaign had looked dead and buried in mid-2007, crippled by overspending and infighting that led to an exodus of top aides. But now, McCain can enjoy laying out his lines of attack for the November election while watching the Democrats fight tooth and nail.

“The Arizona senator promised to combat Islamic extremism, keep the US economy open to world trade and lower taxes if elected the successor to George W. Bush, whose blessing he was to receive at the White House on Wednesday… His victories Tuesday took McCain, a Vietnam war hero distrusted by many conservatives for his maverick stance on issues such as immigration, over the Republican finish line of 1,191 delegates. His last remaining challenger, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, bowed out and pledged fealty to the Republicans’ new standard-bearer.”

German Viewpoint on U.S. Elections

Der Spiegel Online reported on March 6:

“Like the millions of others around the world who have been closely following the US presidential primaries, Germans are troubled by the results of Tuesday’s primary votes in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island. Like the candidates themselves, they are exhausted and were hoping for some clarity and resolution from the big day. But clarity is not to be had, and the battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will go on… Going by a recent poll by public broadcaster ARD, two-thirds of Germans skew Democratic in their preference for the next American president. A new survey by pollster Forsa found that a slight majority would prefer to see Obama in the White House. And that leaves Germans a bit troubled at the moment, at least going by the editorial pages…

“The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes: ‘March 4, 2008 might just go down in US political history as the day Republican McCain won the vote to be the 44th president of the United States… With her three victories on Tuesday, Clinton has shown that her aggressive campaign against Obama has paid off. And, so, she will stay in the race… Her absurd suggestion that they could share a ticket– with her on top — is nothing but pure cynicism and won’t fool anyone. Her desire for a mud-slinging contest is irrepressible’…

“The financial daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘After three months of election marathoning, the existence of two formidable and almost equally popular candidates has thrown the Democrats into a real predicament. For the Republicans — with their own “comeback kid” in John McCain — this is a fortunate coincidence.'”

Anti-Americanism on the Rise in Europe

Der Spiegel Online wrote on March 3:

“As credit woes endanger the world economy, they’re giving Europeans another reason to resent US influence. Anti-Americanism was already simmering because of the Iraq war, dislike for President George W. Bush, and mistrust of rampaging buyout firms. Now, Europe’s pundits and politicians are feeding public perceptions that ordinary folks will be left paying the bill for the financial missteps of big banks…

“It’s always hard to measure the practical impact of anti-Americanism on US businesses abroad. But this latest outburst could have repercussions…The atmosphere gets even more charged with actions such as the EC’s record $1.3 billion (€857 million) fine against Microsoft on Feb. 27.

“As popular European attitudes against the American and British brand of capitalism harden, governments may tilt left (it’s already happening in Germany) and economic nationalism will get a boost, as it has in France. The resulting backlash could make it harder for US firms to make acquisitions in Europe, and high-risk, high-reward financial products from Wall Street will be ferociously scrutinized. And as Europe’s Left uses anti-business sentiment to press for an advantage, it will be much harder for companies to restructure or negotiate globally competitive wages.

“In recent years, Europeans have grudgingly accepted US-style reforms as necessary to compete in the global economy… But even as economic growth surged and unemployment plummeted, many people felt the benefits went mostly to the wealthy — who critics say failed to pay their fair share of taxes. Suspicion of the rich runs deep in Europe, where labor leaders and left-leaning politicians still speak the language of class warfare. Of course, Europe’s elites are doing plenty on their own to bring the moneyed classes into disrepute. Many of the tactics that led to the subprime crisis were cooked up in London, and European banks such as UBS were among the most avid buyers of the loans. France has Jérôme Kerviel, the trader blamed for $7 billion in losses at Société Générale. And German police have been raiding the homes of people suspected of hiding assets in Liechtenstein.”

Europeans Expect U.S. Actions Regarding Weak Dollar

The EUObserver reported on March 5:

“EU finance ministers and the head of the European Commission have voiced concern over the record strength of the euro against the US dollar, in comments aimed at the US authorities rather than the monetary policy of the eurozone’s central bank. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso admitted to journalists at a Brussels conference on Tuesday (4 March) that the rise of the common currency against the dollar is a ‘matter of concern in some sectors of our economy’… The strong euro is harmful for European exporters, particularly for French and German producers, although it also weakens the negative effect of high oil prices – which are calculated in dollars – for Europeans.

“While keeping firm on the importance of the independence of the European Central Bank (ECB) and its monetary decisions, Mr [Jean-Claude] Juncker, [the Luxembourg leader and the eurogroup chief,] suggested that Europe expects US authorities to act towards boosting the dollar, as earlier suggested by US Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson. ‘As we have done before, we have noted comments made by the US authorities who have reaffirmed that a strong dollar is in the interest of the US economy,’ said Mr Juncker.”

On March 6, The Associated Press added:

“The dollar’s plunge continued unabated Thursday, striking record lows after the European Central Bank kept its benchmark rate on hold and the U.S. released another batch of dour economic reports. The euro fetched a record $1.5370 in European morning trading before falling back to $1.5360. The European currency closed at $1.5262 Wednesday. Meanwhile, the British pound broke through $2 again after the Bank of England also decided to keep its key refinancing rate unchanged at 5.25 percent… The latest record for the euro drew a new round of criticism in Europe, particularly from trade unions worried about exports to the U.S… European Union businesses said they were starting to feel the pinch, too, notably from U.S.-based buyers who pay for goods from Europe.”

Airbus Over Boeing to Replace U.S. Air Force Tankers

CNN reported on March 1, 2008:

“The U.S. Air Force on Friday announced one of the largest military acquisition programs in U.S. history, saying the service had chosen Northrop Grumman over Boeing to replace its aging air refueling tanker fleet… The announcement was a surprise to many in the business industry who expected Boeing [a U.S. company] to be favored over the company, which will use a European company’s airframe, Airbus, for the tanker. The $40 billion deal to start replacing 179 tankers — known as the KC-45A program — will expand to over $100 billion to replace the entire fleet of almost 500 planes.

“… one lawmaker called the decision to award the contract to Northrop Grumman a blow to the American defense industry and an economic boon for European countries. ‘These are the same European governments who are unwilling to support us in the global war on terror and over the last few months refused to provide even an additional 100 soldiers apiece for Afghanistan operations,’ said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California. ‘Instead, we have to send 3,200 additional U.S. Marines to Afghanistan while they take $35 billion in American taxpayer contracts.’

“The contract to replace the aging fleet of air refueling tankers was mired in corruption and political wrangling for years. In 2004, Congress, led by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, banned the Air Force from working out a lease and purchase deal with Boeing after a federal investigation uncovered improprieties at the highest levels of the Air Force procurement process. Critics also complained that Boeing was awarded the contract without competition and that the deal was a bailout for the 767 program, which was facing slumping sales.

“Congress forced the Air Force to start a new contract bidding plan that allowed Airbus to compete for the contract. Pentagon officials said the losing company could protest and ask the Government Accountability Office to investigate the decision, which would delay the program again.”

Britain to Ratify Lisbon Treaty

The EUObserver wrote on March 6:

“The UK’s parliament has rejected a call for referendum on the new EU’s Lisbon treaty, a move representing a victory for Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown which has argued in the face of bitter opposition that there should not be a public poll… The Lisbon treaty was signed by EU leaders in December 2007 and it must be ratified by all the bloc’s member states before taking into force. Most countries have opted for a parliamentary ratification, with only Ireland due to hold a referendum on the issue, probably in June… Britain is now expected to ratify the treaty by the summer. So far, five countries have given the green light to the document: Hungary, Slovenia, Malta, France, and Romania.”

Joerg Haider vs. “Islamization” in Austria…

DPA (German Press Agency) reported on March 4:

“Austrian rightist Joerg Haider on Tuesday demanded measures against creeping Islamization of the country, including bans of headscarves and the construction of mosques.

“‘We must not tolerate any longer that radical Islamists mock the rule of law in our country and ignore our values and dominant culture,’ said Haider, who led the right-wing Freedom Party (FP) to become Austria’s second strongest party and now is governor of the southern Austrian province Carinthia. Haider demanded that immigrants must adapt to the ‘Leitkultur,’ a term which translates as dominant, or defining culture.

“‘Those who live here, have to adapt to our dominant culture and accept the rule of law. Who cannot or does not want to do this, has no place here,’ Austria’s formerly dominating right-wing figure said in a press release. Following the refusal of a female defendant in an Islamist terrorism trial to remove her burka as required by Austrian law, Haider suggested a headscarf-ban ‘following the Dutch example.’ The Netherlands’ general ban on cloaking was an example worth following, Haider said, as it was a way to ban wearing Muslim headscarves or burkas in accordance with the Dutch constitution, Haider said.

“The former FP-leader and founder of a Alliance for Austria’s Future, a rivalling rightist party, also suggested extending a ban on the construction of mosques, introduced in the southern province of Carinthia last month, to all of Austria.”

… While Harvard Supports U.S. “Islamization”

The Associated Press reported on March 4:

“In a test of Harvard’s famed open-mindedness, the university has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who say it offends their sense of modesty to exercise in front of the opposite sex. The policy is already unpopular with many on campus, including some women who consider it sexist… The trial policy went into effect Feb. 4, about a month after a group of six Muslim women, with the support of the Harvard College Women’s Center, asked the university for the special hours, spokesman Robert Mitchell said.

“‘We get special requests from religious groups all the time and we try to honor them whenever possible,’ he said, noting that the school has designated spaces for Muslim and Hindu students to pray. No men are allowed in the gym between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Mondays, and between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even the staff during those times is all women.

“The special hours allow the Muslim women, who adhere to traditional dress codes by covering their hair and most of their skin while in public, to dress more appropriately for exercising, said Susan Marine, director of the women’s center. ‘It’s a pretty big breach of their moral and religious code for a man to see them with their hair uncovered and it’s just not possible for them to be in a mixed environment,’ she said.”

… And the Pope Is to Host a Summit With Muslims

AFP wrote on March 5:

“Pope Benedict XVI will host a ground-breaking ‘summit’ of Catholic and Muslim leaders in November, the Vatican said Wednesday. The ‘Catholic-Muslim Forum’ from November 4 to 6, will bring together 24 dignitaries from each faith on the theme of ‘love God, love your neighbour,’ it said… The statement was signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Vatican council for dialogue between religions, and Sheikh Hakim Mourad, who led a delegation of Muslim officials in talks in the Vatican on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Vatican Secretary of State… has underlined the pontiff’s ‘complete willingness’ to meet with Muslim leaders ‘to see what unites us, without minimising or ignoring our differences.'”

The World’s Insane Military Spending

BBC News reported on March 4

“The Beijing government has announced a 17.6% rise in its defence budget, meaning it will spend about 417.8bn yuan ($59bn; £30bn) over the next year… In a report released just before Beijing announced its budget, the US Defense Department estimated China’s military spending in 2007 at between $97bn and $139bn – more than double the figure given by Beijing…

“Not including the cost of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, US President George W Bush recently asked for a budget of $515bn for the next fiscal year. According to recent figures, the US spends more than 4% of its GDP on defence…

“In cash terms, the UK government admits to being the next biggest spender on defence, setting aside $64.7bn for the next year. This accounts for 2.5% of the GDP.

“Beijing’s official figures put its spending about on a par with France – although if the Pentagon’s figures are correct, China has the second-biggest defence budget in the world…

“The BBC’s world affairs correspondent… says the US is determined to maintain its position as a major Pacific power, while Beijing seems equally determined to assert what it sees as its rightful place on the world stage. He says both sides know that China has the greatest potential of any country to challenge US military power in the long term. It is a fluid and edgy regional strategic dynamic that also sucks in the other big Asian powers – like Russia, Japan and India…”

The sad lesson of history is that man’s weapons WILL BE USED. And the Bible confirms that another all-encompassing WORLD WAR IS A CERTAINTY. Man’s greed and lust for power, inspired by the god of this present age–Satan the devil (2 Corinthians 4:4)–will bring this world to the brink of utter destruction. And then–but not before then–Jesus Christ WILL intervene and save mankind from total annihilation (Matthew 24:21-22, 30-31). Then HE and “the saints” will rule (Revelation 20:4, Daniel 7:27)–replacing Satan and incompetent human world leaders and power-hungry politicians with faithful and true godly leadership, DESTROYING all weapons and establishing PEACE on this earth (Isaiah 2:1-4)–something this world has not experienced for about 6,000 years.

How Foolish–Jewish Professor Claims Moses Was On Drugs

Did you think you have heard it all? Then be prepared for another surprise. A Jewish professor postulated that Moses was “on drugs” when he saw the burning bush or when he heard God speak to him on Mount Sinai. One wonders how absolutely “foolish” some “educated” minds of this world have become (compare 1 Corinthians 1:20; 3:19). Read it for yourself.

AFP reported on March 4:

“High on Mount Sinai, Moses was on psychedelic drugs when he heard God deliver the Ten Commandments, an Israeli researcher claimed in a study published this week. Such mind-altering substances formed an integral part of the religious rites of Israelites in biblical times, Benny Shanon, a professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem wrote in the Time and Mind journal of philosophy.

“‘As far Moses on Mount Sinai is concerned, it was either a supernatural cosmic event, which I don’t believe, or a legend, which I don’t believe either, or finally, and this is very probable, an event that joined Moses and the people of Israel under the effect of narcotics,’ Shanon told Israeli public radio on Tuesday. Moses was probably also on drugs when he saw the ‘burning bush,’ suggested Shanon, who said he himself has dabbled with such substances…

“He mentioned his own experience when he used ayahuasca, a powerful psychotropic plant, during a religious ceremony in Brazil’s Amazon forest in 1991. ‘I experienced visions that had spiritual-religious connotations,’ Shanon said. He said the psychedelic effects of ayahuasca were comparable to those produced by concoctions based on bark of the acacia tree, that is frequently mentioned in the Bible.”

Let us ask this facetious question: Are we sure that the professor was not on drugs when he came to his conclusions regarding Moses? The sad part is, some may even believe his nonsense.

At the time of Jesus, some did not believe Moses, even though they claimed that they did. It is therefore no surprise that some Jews today disbelieve the inspired account of Moses, as recorded in Scripture. Notice Christ’s challenging words to the Jews at His time: “Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you–Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? (John 5:45-47).

Here is the conclusion of the matter, as God inspired Paul to write: “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar” (Romans 3:1-4).

Spielberg’s Fascination with the Occult, Ghosts and UFOs

TechCrunch, a Weblog founded in June of 2005, reported the following on March 4:

“Hollywood super producer Steven Spielberg is preparing to launch a new social network, we’ve heard from multiple sources. The focus will be on users who’ve had or who are interested in sharing paranormal and extraterrestrial experiences. The new social network may also have original video content investigating alleged ghost and UFO stories.

“Spielberg has always had a love for ghost and UFO stories. His movies include Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Poltergeist (1982), E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Casper (1995), Men in Black (1997), The Haunting (1999), War of the Worlds (2005) and the upcoming Interstellar (2009). His first movie, at 16, was a 140-minute science fiction adventure called Firelight (which later inspired Close Encounters). Add to those titles a score of other sci-fi movies.

“Spielberg has apparently had at least one paranormal experience himself. There are stories of him staying in a hotel called Excelsior House and being so frightened by ghosts that he fled the room and moved 20 miles away. We’ve also heard anecdotes about Spielberg seeing the ghost of a dead relative repeatedly as a child. Whether based in reality or the product of an exceptional imagination, these experiences may have had an impact on his life’s work and this upcoming social network.”

Helpless Against Vultures

An interesting article was published on March 5 by LocalNews.com:

“Residents in a Polk County community [in Florida] are demanding help in getting rid of vultures that are ripping shingles off rooftops and chewing rubber linings of car doors and windows. City officials said little can be done about the hundreds of black and turkey vultures because they are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. City Attorney Sean Parker said vultures have additional protection under a bird-sanctuary ordinance adopted by Bartow in the 1950s. Officials said scaring off the vultures could be considered a violation and could result in fees of up to $500 a day.”

No Public Cussing in March

The Associated Press reported on March 6 about South Pasadena:

“This community on the edge of Los Angeles has become a cuss-free zone. So if you’re headed to South Pasadena this week, be sure to turn down the volume on that Snoop Dogg CD, and, if the little old lady from Pasadena cuts you off in traffic, don’t even think about flipping her the bird. Not that police will slap cuffs on you… in light of the proclamation passed Wednesday by the City Council. But you could be shamed into better behavior by the unsettling glares of residents who take their reputation for civility seriously… The proclamation will be in effect until Friday, and then the first week of every March hereafter… what’s different about the latest push to stop saying in public [objectionable] words… is that it was proposed by a 14-year-old boy.”

Robots for Warfare

AFP wrote on February 27:

“Increasingly autonomous, gun-totting robots developed for warfare could easily fall into the hands of terrorists and may one day unleash a robot arms race, a top expert on artificial intelligence told AFP. ‘They pose a threat to humanity,’ said University of Sheffield professor Noel Sharkey…

“Intelligent machines deployed on battlefields around the world — from mobile grenade launchers to rocket-firing drones — can already identify and lock onto targets without human help. There are more than 4,000 US military robots on the ground in Iraq, as well as unmanned aircraft that have clocked hundreds of thousands of flight hours. The first three armed combat robots fitted with large-caliber machine guns deployed to Iraq last summer, manufactured by US arms maker Foster-Miller, proved so successful that 80 more are on order, said Sharkey.
 
“But up to now, a human hand has always been required to push the button or pull the trigger. [If] we are not careful, he said, that could change. Military leaders ‘are quite clear that they want autonomous robots as soon as possible, because they are more cost-effective and give a risk-free war,’ he said…

“Washington plans to spend four billion dollars by 2010 on unmanned technology systems, with total spending expected [to] rise to 24 billion… James Canton, an expert on technology innovation and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures, predicts that deployment within a decade of detachments… will include 150 soldiers and 2,000 robots.

“The use of such devices by terrorists should be a serious concern, said Sharkey… worrisome, he continued, is the subtle progression from the semi-autonomous military robots deployed today to fully independent killing machines. ‘I have worked in artificial intelligence for decades, and the idea of a robot making decisions about human termination terrifies me,’ Sharkey said… the prospect of armies increasingly dependent on remotely-controlled or autonomous robots raises a host of ethical issues that have barely been addressed… For Sharkey, the best solution may be an outright ban on autonomous weapons systems. ‘We have to say where we want to draw the line and what we want to do — and then get an international agreement,’ he said.”

For more information on this topic as well as related issues, such as cloning and the creation of human-animal hybrids, please listen to or view Norbert Link’s recent video-taped sermon, titled, “Nothing Will Be Impossible for Them.” It is posted on Google Video, and can also be listened to on our Website.

Earthquake in Great Britain

The Times reported on February 27:

“Britain was shaken by a huge earth tremor at 12.56 am this morning which was felt by people from Yorkshire to the South Coast. Thousands of people reported their homes being shaken violently and furniture moving and hundreds more took to the streets for safety and to check for damage.

“The epicentre of the tremor, which measured 5.3 on the Richter scale according to the British Geological Survey, was [centered] on the village of Holton cum Beckering, about 15 miles northeast of Lincoln. According to the US Geological Survey, the epicentre was 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Earth’s surface.

“The tremor is the biggest in Britain since 1984 when north Wales was hit by a quake which registered at 5.4 on the Richter scale… The largest earthquake recorded in Britain had a magnitude of 6.1 and struck offshore in the North Sea on June 7, 1931, about 75 miles northeast of Great Yarmouth. The country experiences a magnitude 5 earthquake on average every ten years. A magnitude 4 earthquake occurs on average every two to three years…”

The Derby Evening Telegraph added the following on February 27:

“An earthquake… rocked Derbyshire in the early hours of today… it was felt in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Manchester, Berkshire and the West Midlands.”

The Daily Mail wrote on February 27:

“England has been rocked by the biggest earthquake to hit the country in 25 years – and the cost of damage to homes and properties is expected to be a staggering £10million.”

Christ announced that ONE sign for His Second Coming would be increasingly powerful earthquakes in various places (compare Matthew 24:7). According to statistics, occurrences of earthquakes with a magnitude of 4 and higher on the Richter scale have been more frequent in 2007 than in any of the prior years in recent history.

Euro Scores All-Time High Against U.S. Dollar

The Associated Press reported on February 27:

“The euro climbed to a record high of $1.5057 in early European trading on Wednesday… Along with the rise in the British pound, which is nearing $2 again, the surging euro will not be kind to Americans visiting Europe… On the other hand, the stronger euro makes shopping trips to the U.S. more appealing to Europeans. A higher euro also makes goods from the euro-zone more expensive for customers abroad, or cuts into manufacturers’ profits…”

Does the Economic World Move Away from the U.S. Dollar?

Pravda reported on February 26:

“The dollar’s depreciation against major currencies, then against all world currencies, imposes a burden on the world economy… Expectations by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, major central banks, and other economic analysts indicate that the American currency will continue to depreciate, at least until the end of the current year.

“So far, it still remains unclear whether the weakness of the greenback is attributed to the US subprime mortgage crisis along with the ensuing consequences and repercussions for the international financial markets… Regardless of the causes, it is impossible to overlook the cost of the US war in Iraq which has so far drained over three trillion dollars in financial resources spent on unproductive activities…

“The Central Bank of China has already started to cut its dollar reserves by turning to more stable currencies such as the Euro. Asian companies such as the South Korean Hyundai no longer accept contracts in dollars. The French company Arriva signed its contracts with China in Euro, and many Indian companies do not accept the American currency… Oil-exporting countries have become more inclined to end their dealings in dollars. Until now, however, they continue to price in dollars with the exception of Iran and Venezuela. Some of these states continue to maintain the peg to the dollar, suffering heavy losses in the value of their income and their citizens’ although part of these losses is compensated for by the rising oil price… “

The Bible predicts that the influence of the US dollar will gradually decrease, while the influence of the Euro will gradually increase. For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America” and “Europe in Prophecy.”

Highest German Judge Questions Democratic Innovations to EU Treaty

The EUObserver reported on February 27:

“Germany’s most senior judge has suggested that while democracy has been strengthened in the EU’s new treaty, a key innovation involving national parliaments does not go far enough and member states have no guarantee that EU powers will not continue to grow…

“Under the treaty rules, MPs are sent legislative proposals by the commission for examination. If they think the EU should not be acting in this area they have eight weeks to notify the commission, which is not bound to act. If one third of national parliaments get together to complain about an EU law, it must be reviewed and the commission must give reasons if it intends to keep the law. The European Court of Justice may also be called on by member states to look into whether the subsidiarity principle is being upheld.

“Professor Papier points out that the sheer number of laws coming from Brussels – there were 18,167 regulations and 750 directives between 1998 and 2004 – means that the MPs’ early warning system is ‘somewhat [impracticable].’ He also notes that the eight week deadline for delivering an opinion on an EU law… is likely to prove too short in practice, while the numerous parliament opinions needed to get a law reviewed would require ‘considerable international coordination’ in the two month timeframe…”

EU Fines Microsoft

The Wall Street Journal reported on February 27:

“The European Union fined Microsoft Corp. €899 million ($1.35 billion) for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust order, tying up a remaining loose end in the EU’s landmark case. It won’t be the end of Microsoft’s saga in Europe. The EU regulator opened two new cases last month, and antitrust chief Neelie Kroes on Wednesday vowed to press ahead with those. The fine, which had been expected, is the largest the EU has ever imposed against a single company in an antitrust case. It is the third against Microsoft… The commission said that, until Oct. 22, 2007, Microsoft had charged ‘unreasonable prices for access to interface documentation for work group servers.'”

EU Angry with Czech Republic Over Unilateral Deal with USA

Reuters reported on February 27:

“The European Commission said on Wednesday it reserved the right to take legal action over the Czech Republic’s move to break ranks with EU partners and sign a bilateral air security and visa pact with the United States… The deal has split the bloc, as it touches on the EU’s competence over visa and border policies. The EU executive had urged governments not to sign individual pacts, so that talks with Washington would continue to take place at EU level…

“The EU executive and a number of old EU member states including the Netherlands, Spain, France and Portugal accuse Washington of trying to bypass the EU, and Prague of breaking ranks, diplomats said… But ambassadors from the Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia said in a meeting on Wednesday that the bloc had not done enough to help them get into the U.S. visa waiver program… Most EU states are already part of the visa waiver program. But eight mostly ex-communist countries that joined the European Union in 2004, along with older member Greece, are pressing Washington to include them too.”

Better EU-US Relationship Under Next American President?

Deutsche Welle reported on February 24:

“Europeans think the next US president will be better. They hope a Democrat in the White House will reinvigorate trans-Atlantic ties. But the candidates aren’t necessarily much more in tune with Europe.

“Europeans’ interest in the US primaries and caucuses is immense… Many Europeans connect the election of a new US president with the hope for a new beginning in trans-Atlantic relations, which suffered setbacks due to numerous controversies, from George W. Bush’s uncompromising approach to climate change to his foray into the Iraqi desert. To many Europeans, everything will get better once there’s a new president. And if he or she is a Democrat, they believe, it’s guaranteed.

“Regardless of how passionately Europeans follow the duel between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Europe plays a negligible role in the top Democratic contenders’ campaigns. Aside from a few sentences in speeches and essays, the two have hardly said a word about Europe. And according to some, European hopes will likely be dashed…

“On points of contention between the US and Europe, such as climate change or human rights, the Europeans could expect significantly more cooperation than in the past [according to some observers]… But whether under a President Obama or a President Clinton, the US would demand the leadership role in fighting climate change. It would also refuse to let the Europeans dictate what should be done… And it’s inconceivable that a new president would ratify the statutes of the International Criminal Court (ICC), an issue that looms large for Europeans…”

Angry Judge Intimidates Jurors

“The Wichita Eagle” reported on February 23:

“Sedgwick County District Judge Rebecca Pilshaw could face public censure for yelling at potential jurors during a murder trial four years ago. That’s the unanimous recommendation the state’s Commission of Judicial Qualifications gave the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday. It’s the first disciplinary action against a Kansas judge sent to the Supreme Court since 2005… Pilshaw lost her temper during the first day of jury selection for [a criminal] trial, after two women said they couldn’t serve. One said she couldn’t believe police officers’ testimony; the other cited religious reasons.

“Pilshaw ordered the first woman to observe the trial in lieu of jury service. The judge released the second woman and then turned to the remaining people on the panel. ‘I feel sorry for the next person that ends up going, because I’m going to hit the roof, I think,’ Pilshaw said in court transcripts… Pilshaw, who had apologized to the remaining jurors at the end of the first day… didn’t make the first woman sit through the trial.”

Sunday vs. Sabbath

The Associated Press reported on February 27:

“State senators have taken up the cause of a Jewish boys basketball team whose playoff run may be halted because its players can’t play on the Jewish Sabbath. The Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy team could be headed for a regional championship on Saturday, March 8, if it wins one more game. But the Denver team’s religious beliefs prohibit students from playing on the Jewish Sabbath between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday. If Herzl/RMHA makes it to the regional championship and refuses to play a Saturday game, another school would be chosen to take its place… Earlier this month, the Colorado High School Activities Association, which governs sports and other high school activities, rejected the team’s request for a schedule change.

“Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, said the CHSAA’s decision was ironic because it has a rule barring games from being played on Sunday for religious reasons. Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Sedalia, said there must be a way for the CHSAA to accommodate the team. ‘It just seems like the bureaucracy has run amok here,’ Wiens said.”

Cause of Power Outage in Florida Still a Mystery

The Associated Press reported on February 27:

“Power executives were still in the dark Wednesday about how a glitch at a substation triggered a blackout that cut power to millions across south Florida. The outage darkened traffic signals, forced hospitals to scramble for generators and cut off air conditioners in the afternoon heat…

“At about 1 p.m. an equipment malfunction happened at a facility that transmits power in Miami, starting a sequence of events that caused power to go off in areas around the state. A switch failed, like a short circuit, and a fire broke out at the facility, which in turn caused larger problems — disabling two power distribution lines between Miami and Daytona Beach, according to the power company. Systems monitoring the power grid saw took action, automatically shutting down two nuclear plants at the Turkey Point facility south of Miami…”

“More Should Publish Mohammed Cartoons”

Deutsche Welle reported on February 27:

“More European newspapers should publish the hotly disputed Mohammed cartoons, said German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble… The minister added that he ‘respected’ the decision of 17 Danish newspapers earlier this month to reprint a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed with a turban that resembled a bomb with a lit fuse. The re-publication came a day after Danish authorities uncovered and foiled a plot to murder the cartoonist whose drawing first appeared in 2005…

“Schaeuble’s statement coincided with protests in Sudan over the reprinting. In a demonstration organized by numerous Islamist movements, some 10,000 people marched through Khartoum on Wednesday… The protestors demanded that diplomatic ties with Denmark be severed and expressed support for a boycott on Danish products declared by the Sudanese government on Monday… Since the cartoon was reprinted two weeks ago, similar protests have been held in Iran and Egypt.”

Germany’s Fight Against Scientology

Der Spiegel Online reported on February 26:

“Authorities have shut down a child-care facility in Munich, saying it was trying to indoctrinate young minds with Scientology. The war between the California ‘church’ and the German government continues.

“The name on the door in the Sendling district of Munich sounded innocent enough: ‘Kinderhäusl’ (Little House for Kids). Child-drawn art hung in the windows. On a normal day, the sounds of children playing would have come from inside. But the little house, which had been open as a day-care center since the summer of 2007, was shut down Monday by Munich officials, who say its teaching methods are illegal. An estimated 20 children will now have to find new day-care.

“‘The well-being of the children in the establishment was under threat,’ the Munich Education Department declared, ‘because the education process was based on the principles of Scientology.’ The organization’s principles threaten a child’s right to free growth and development, the statement continued.

“The German government has been locked for years in legal battles with the Church of Scientology, which it considers a cult and a threat to its democratic system. The idea of a day-care center run by Scientologists would have raised official hackles, and in fact the Kinderhäusl’s troubles started early. ‘A few weeks after the center opened we received a letter from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution,’ Eva-Maria Volland from Munich’s Education Department told SPIEGEL ONLINE. All members of the Kinderhäusl’s board were Scientologists, according to the letter, and the children were being raised according to the cult’s ideology.

“Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution was set up after World War II to pursue any group which the government deemed a specific threat to its democratic system. Neo-Nazis as well as radical Muslim groups have been watched and shut down by the office. A regional court in Germany recently ruled that Scientologists had enough ‘ambitions against the free, democratic basic order’ for the agency to go on watching them. ‘There are concrete indications that Scientology’s activities are to implement Scientology’s program in Germany,’ the court in North Rhine-Westphalia ruled on Feb. 12, ‘and to expand more and more Scientology’s principles in government, economy and society.’ Scientologists have consistently claimed that they do nothing against German law and say the government persecutes them.”

Putin and Medvedev

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 28:

“Dmitry Medvedev is expected to become Russia’s new president on Sunday. A protege of current President Vladimir Putin, Medvedev is suddenly calling for a stronger emphasis on the rule of law, the market economy and freedom of the press. But many in Moscow have their doubts that the new president will become the country’s real leader…

“Two things remain unclear in Russia’s future power structure. One is the question of who will be leaning back in his chair at the small wooden table in the office of the president, and who will be sitting up straight to deliver his reports on television. The second is the question of what to do about the presidential portrait. Will Putin, as prime minister, keep a photograph of the new Kremlin boss hanging in his office, as is customary? Popular wisdom has it that he will, but under one condition: ‘The picture will have to show Medvedev standing in front of a portrait of Putin on the wall.”

Turkey Angers USA, Iraq and Europe

The Associated Press reported on February 27:

“Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that Turkey should remove its troops from northern Iraq in the next few days, sending a strong message to Ankara that U.S. patience is running out on the operation targeting Kurdish insurgents… It was the first time that the Pentagon chief put any time limit on the Turkish incursion launched into Iraq last Thursday…

“A Turkish official insisted that the aim of a military incursion into northern Iraq ‘is clear and limited’ against Kurdish rebels and said no timetable will be set ‘until the terrorist bases are eliminated.’… The Iraqi government demanded for the first time that Turkey immediately withdraw from northern Iraq…”

“…And the Rivers Became Blood…” (Revelation 16:4)

The Associated Press reported on February 27:

“Pollution has turned part of a major river system in central China red and bubbly, forcing authorities to cut water supplies to 200,000 people and close schools… Tests showed the polluted waters contained elevated levels of ammonia, nitrogen, and permanganate, a chemical used in metal cleaning, tanning and bleaching… The source of the pollution had not been determined, and an investigation was ongoing.”

India Tests Submarine-Launched Missile

Reuters reported on February 27:

“India’s successful test-firing of a nuclear-capable, submarine-launched missile will trigger a new arms race in the region, Pakistan’s navy chief said on Wednesday… India, already capable of launches from land and air, tested the new missile on Tuesday from a surfaced submarine — a step closer to firing from under the sea and matching countries such as the United States, Russia, France and China.”

Kosovo Declares Independence–But the Problems Are Just Beginning…

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 18:

“The tortuous break-up of the former Yugoslavia that began in the 1990s produced another country on Sunday. Nine years after NATO troops forced Serbia out of the province, Kosovo has unilaterally declared independence. Many Western countries are now on the verge of recognizing Kosovo as Europe’s latest country [including the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy] but Serbia and its ally Russia [as well as China] regard the declaration as illegal. And many countries with their own separatist groups, from Spain to Sri Lanka, are reluctant to set a precedent by recognizing this new state.

“… at least six [European] member states — Cyprus, Greece, Slovakia, Spain, Bulgaria and Romania — have indicated they will not recognize Kosovo due to misgivings about their own separatist movements or because of close ties with Serbia…”

Addressing the German reaction, the magazine stated:

“Europe is often quick to base foreign policy decisions on rulings made by the United Nations Security Council. Should the EU recognize Kosovo, however, it will be directly countermanding UN Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted in 1999. The resolution explicitly reaffirms ‘the commitment of all member states to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other states of the region.’…

“The financial daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘Given the current situation, Kosovo’s split from Serbia was unavoidable. But it is a further step on a dangerous path to the dissolution of the nation state…'”

The Associated Press reported on February 18:

“The U.S. and the European Union’s biggest powers quickly recognized Kosovo as an independent nation Monday, widening a split with Russia, China and some EU members strongly opposed to letting the territory break away from Serbia… the dispute is likely to worsen already strained relations between the West and Russia, which is a traditional ally of Serbia and seeks to restore its influence in former Soviet bloc states…

“The EU does not recognize nations, leaving that up to its individual members… Despite that divide, the EU foreign ministers issued a joint statement citing ‘the conflict of the 1990s’ in Kosovo as a justification for the independence declaration.”

AFP and Bild Online added on February 18 and 20, respectively, that Serbia recalled its ambassadors to Washington and Germany in protest.

The Associated Press reported on February 21 that “Serb rioters set fire to an office inside the U.S. Embassy Thursday and police clashed with protesters outside other embassy buildings after a large demonstration against Kosovo’s declaration of independence…  For several days, Kosovo’s Serbs have shown their anger by destroying U.N. and NATO property, setting off small bombs and staging noisy rallies. On Thursday, the neighboring Croatian Embassy also was targeted by the same group of protesters at the U.S. Embassy, and smaller groups attacked police posts outside the Turkish and British embassies in another part of the city but were beaten back… Groups also broke into a McDonald’s restaurant and demolished the interior…”

Bild Online added on February 21 that the German Embassy was attacked as well, after Germany had recognized Kosovo as an independent state on Wednesday.

Disunited Europe

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 19:

“The European Union… is hopelessly divided when it comes to Kosovo. A majority of EU countries… is in favor of Kosovo independence. But a closer look reveals that the majority is far from overwhelming. Some 17 countries of the 27-member total are eager to recognize the new nation… But that leaves a large number of European countries who are either against Kosovo independence, or unsure…

“The European Commission has pledged €1 billion already, with a package of trade deals likely… The EU has agreed to send a mission including some 2,000 police, judiciary experts, and civil service experts to Kosovo to help the country get started… Just what the EU mission will do should violence arise between Kosovo’s ethnically Albanian majority and the Serbian minority hasn’t been mentioned. And what would be the EU’s position should the Serbian enclave north of Mitrovica declare independence and express a wish to be joined with Serbia? It’s hard to know.”

Europe Needs a President

UPI reported on February 13:

“For the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the next American president can expect to meet an equal — the first person to occupy the new post of president of the European Union. The new European Treaty, currently being ratified by the 27 member states, creates a president for this agglomeration of 500 million people with a GDP now significantly larger than that of the United States. The EU has 2 million troops under arms, two nuclear powers in France and Britain, two seats on the U.N. Security Council and four members of the G7. ‘The President of the European Council shall, at his level and in that capacity, ensure the external representation of the Union on issues concerning its common foreign and security policy,’ says the treaty. That means summits with the American and Russian presidents, with the leaders of India and China and others ‘at his level.’

“The president will be the permanent chairman of the EU Council, the body where the heads of all 27 national governments meet four times a year. The treaty says the new president shall ‘drive forward its work” and ‘shall ensure the preparation and continuity of the work of the European Council.’ In other words, the new president controls the agenda, the staff and the paper flow. This is real power. The term lasts for two and a half years and can be renewed… once…”

European Elite Defense Force?

The EUObserver wrote on February 15:

“French president Nicolas Sarkozy is spearheading an initiative to create an elite defence force made up of the six EU biggest states – France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy and Poland… It is envisaged that the six countries would adopt common rules for reinforced co-operation, such as spending a minimum of two percent of their GDP on defence, join a common defence equipment market and provide 10,000 troops for an intervention force. Moreover, the elite group would commit to carry out joint security anti-terrorism projects, as well as defence infrastructure programmes, such as missile defence or space and intelligence technology…

“Paris aims to launch the initiative in 2009, after the new EU Lisbon treaty has been ratified in all member states, as it contains a provision for ‘permanent structured co-operation’ which could establish a legal link for the core defence project to be set up. The provision was already included in the old EU constitution that the French and Dutch voters rejected in referendums in 2005…”

Report From the Munich Conference

On February 16, Newsmax.com published the following article by Christopher Ruddy:

“Last week I had the honor of joining the U.S. delegation to the Munich Conference on Security Policy, held in Munich, Germany… Today, Europe appears to have a mindset of accommodation and complacency. Appeasement might be too strong of a word, since there is no Hitler-like figure marching through European capitals to acquiesce to. A U.S. official with NATO told our delegation that throughout Europe, our allies are not making the connection between their own security and the alliance’s work to keep the Taliban out of power in Afghanistan…

“Europe has been moving toward a similar accommodational approach to Iran, a nation that has been developing weapons of mass destruction. Though there is little doubt that Iran, unless stopped, will acquire nuclear weapons, NATO is unwilling to aggressively tackle the threat. Iran already has the ballistic missile capability to strike Europe. And its leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called Israel a ‘disgraceful blot’ that should be ‘wiped off the map,’ adding menacingly that the Jewish state is ‘heading toward annihilation.’ Sen. Lieberman told the conference that Iran must be reckoned with ‘before it is too late.’ He pleaded with European and U.N. member states to use their economic leverage over Iran to stop its nuclear weapons plans… ‘Military action to destroy or deter Iran’s nuclear arsenal is not an option we seek, but it is also not an option that we can eliminate,’ he said…

“Russia today is confident and cocky. But it was just over 15 years ago that the U.S. was airlifting food supplies to Russia. The economic situation there has improved dramatically. With skyrocketing oil and gas prices, Russia has developed a remarkable war chest. One U.S. general told me the Pentagon has been suspicious of Russia because no one knows what the nation plans to do with its vast wealth. He also noted that Russia is ‘unquestionably the nuclear superpower of the world,’ noting the vast arsenal it has maintained after the end of the Cold War.

“Russia’s deputy prime minister, Sergey Ivanov, bragged during his speech in Munich that in recent years Russia had acquired $500 billion in gold and cash reserves, with another $150 billion in a national welfare fund. To understand the vastness of these $650 billion in reserves, consider that China has about double this amount. But Russia has less than one-tenth the population of China…  But there’s no reason to worry, Ivanov assured the gathering, since… Russia had no intention of ‘establishing military blocs or engaging in open confrontation with our partners.’ Ivanov’s comments would be reassuring if Russia was truly a democracy and partner of ours. The facts suggest otherwise.”

Iran–Closer Than Expected?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 21:

“New simulations carried out by European Union experts come to an alarming conclusion: Iran could have enough highly enriched uranium to build an atomic bomb by the end of this year.”

German Viewpoint on Barack Obama

Der Spiegel Online reported on February 19:

“The rise of democratic frontrunner Barack Obama signifies an alarming victory of style over substance… his campaign promises more than he can deliver. The one thing his voters can count on is that they will ultimately be disappointed…

“Voters are hungry for change and for radical departure from a present they now perceive as mediocre, especially after seven meager years under the current president, George W. Bush. A man like Barack Obama is adept at taking advantage of this yearning. He utters beautiful sentences that massage the soul… Nevertheless, if Obama is elected he will eventually be forced to disappoint his voters…

“The future Obama is promising seems foggy and indistinct. He wants to change the rules of engagement in politics, but he neglects to explain how and in what direction. He wants to write a new page in the history books, but what handwriting does he plan to use to make his entry? He wants to drive out lobbyists, but if he does, who will champion the interests of union members, war veterans and chemical corporations? He wants to negotiate with the world’s dictators, but to what end, exactly?

“In fact, Obama’s most dangerous land mines are hidden in foreign policy. A quick withdrawal from Iraq? Sounds great. But the mistake of having started this war in the first place cannot be corrected by ending it in a mad rush to get out of Iraq. A rapid withdrawal of the US military would most likely be followed by a bloody civil war. Al-Qaida would manage to sink its teeth into Iraq once and for all. Iran would rejoice. And Osama bin Laden and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be the real winners of the 2008 American presidential election.

“On top of all that, Obama, in an effort to show strength, has come up with a new, and in some ways exclusive, theater for the US armed forces. He talks about military operations in the nuclear power Pakistan, operations that he, as commander-in-chief, would order even without the approval of the United Nations. That is ‘the war we need to win,’ he says again and again.

“But in reality a military campaign in Pakistan would be lunacy, even if many in the American media have chosen to studiously ignore Obama’s comments. A comparison with President John F. Kennedy, who was 43 when he was elected, reveals that Kennedy was in fact unenthusiastic about going to war in Vietnam. It was a war the inexperienced President slid into, and if he was a war president, it was by accident and not design.

“But there is no room for thoughtfulness in the turbulent world of Obamania. Hillary Clinton, his rival in the fight for the Democratic nomination, suffers from the same problems as traditional companies in the automotive and engineering industries did when confronted with the hype of the New Economy. She is out of touch with his supporters. She uses language to explain, while Obama uses rhetoric to intoxicate. She tells voters what she is bringing to the table. He tells them what they can become. If Clinton is a solid stock, Obama is an option. If she’s a secure investment, he is speculation.

“When the New Economy reached its conclusion, people suddenly realized that their hopes were dashed and their cravings for quick riches left unfulfilled… If democracy functions only half as well as the market economy, the Obama bubble will burst. The burning question is: When? Will it happen before the Democratic nomination this August — or not until afterwards?”

John McCain Under Attack

Der Spiegel Online called it today “the dirty U.S. election campaign,” adding that the “mud match” has begun.  USA Today reported the following on February 21:

“John McCain on Thursday criticized a New York Times story alleging a questionable relationship with a female telecommunications lobbyist [in 2000], saying it’s ‘not true’ and that he was ‘very disappointed’ the newspaper relied on anonymous sources…  the McCain campaign… calls the story a smear campaign to destroy the Republican nominee-in-waiting.

“Robert Bennett, a Washington attorney representing McCain, told NBC’s Today show that McCain’s staff provided the Times with ‘approximately 12 instances where Senator McCain took positions adverse to this lobbyist’s clients and her public relations firm’s clients,’ but none of the examples were included in the paper’s story. ‘There is no evidence that John McCain ever breached the public trust and that is the issue and the only issue,’ said Bennett, who once represented former President Clinton, on Thursday.”

Fidel Castro Steps Down–But No Improvement Is Expected

The New York Times wrote on February 19:

“Cuban exiles in the United States reacted coolly on Tuesday to the overnight news that Fidel Castro was stepping down as president of Cuba, an island he has ruled with an iron fist for almost 50 years. With Mr. Castro’s younger brother Raúl, who has been running the country for a year and a half, seen as most likely to succeed him, many said they expect the system of communist central control to continue unchanged…

“’Fidel Castro’s stepping down is an essential first step, but it is sadly insufficient in bringing freedom to Cuba,’ Mr. Obama… said… ‘Cuba’s future should be determined by the Cuban people and not by an anti-democratic successor regime. The prompt release of prisoners on conscience wrongly jailed for standing up for the basic freedoms too long denied to the Cuban people would mark an important break with the past.’

“Senator McCain… said that despite Mr. Castro’s action, ‘freedom for Cuba is not yet at hand… We must press the Castro regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor union and free media, and to schedule internationally monitored elections’…

“Senator Clinton… said in her statement, ‘I would say to the new leadership, the people of the United States are ready to meet you if you move forward toward the path of democracy, with real, substantial reforms.’”

Elections in Pakistan

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 19:

“Opposition parties seem to have dealt a crushing blow to the ruling party in Pakistan, winning enough seats to threaten the rule of President Pervez Musharraf…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘This election is not a great leap forward for democracy, but at most a tiny step. Most voters stayed at home out of fears of attacks. The people in Pakistan are not to be envied. They have hardly any democratic alternatives… The parties function like dynasties. A few families have all the say and consider power to be a type of inheritance…’

“The Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘… “Musharraf must end his dictatorship. This election is a small step on the long path toward achieving this.'”

The Associated Press reported on February 21 that “Pakistan’s two main opposition parties announced Thursday they would form a new government together after their victory over President Pervez Musharraf’s allies in elections this week…. The two party leaders did not make explicit whether they would push for Musharraf’s ouster.”

Has Austria Learned From the Past?

The Jerusalem Post wrote on February 17:

“When Hitler entered Austria in March 1938, he was welcomed by an extraordinarily large number of Austrians who advocated the ‘Anschluss’ with Germany. A disproportionate number of Austrians served the Nazi death machinery to carry out the ‘Final Solution’ to the ‘Jewish Question.’ Despite these facts, for more than 50 years Austria portrayed itself as the first victim of national-socialism. It took a new generation of historians and politicians to acknowledge – 30 years after the Eichmann trial – that Austrians were actually involved in mass murder.

“During the last decade Austria has worked to present itself as a country which has dealt with its past and drawn the appropriate historical lessons. But one has to ask: Which lessons have been learned? Certainly not the most crucial one: defending Israel’s right to exist. In April 2007 Austria’s partially state-owned oil company, OMV, signed an agreement with Iran on a joint natural gas project. The total investment amounts to 22 billion euros over the next 25 years. Experts believe that these revenues will be used to finance the Iranian nuclear weapons program and undermine present international sanctions. OMV is not just any company. It is the biggest oil corporation in central Europe. The state of Austria holds 31.5% of its shares.

“… this deal is backed by all parties represented in the Austrian parliament. Social Democrats, Conservatives, Greens and the far right have closed ranks against demands to cancel the negotiations with Iran. Ironically, Austrian Social Democratic Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer recently made it very clear that human rights have to be subordinated to business interests. His government has no intention of interfering despite the ongoing oppressions of the Iranian terror regime. Recent criticism from German chancellor Angela Merkel, who said that Austria was setting a dangerous precedent in establishing such a deal, was countered by insistence on the private nature of OMV – even though the state is the company’s largest shareholder… As Iranian Chamber of Commerce president Ali Naghi Khamoushi put it in November 2006, ‘Austria is the gate to the European Union for us.’…

“Austria must turn its moral rhetoric into tangible action if it wants to prove that it has learned its lessons. Stopping Iran from going nuclear by canceling the largest oil deal between a European company and the mullahs would set the tone and fill these words with content.”

Navy Scores Direct Hit on Spy Satellite

The Associated Press reported on February 21:

“A U.S. Navy cruiser blasted a disabled spy satellite with a pinpoint missile strike that achieved the main mission of exploding a tank of toxic fuel 130 miles above the Pacific Ocean, defense officials said. Destroying the satellite’s onboard tank of about 1,000 pounds of hydrazine fuel was the primary goal, and a senior defense official close to the mission said Thursday that it appears the tank was destroyed, and the strike with a specially designed missile was a complete success…

“The elaborate intercept may trigger worries from some international leaders, who could see it as a thinly disguised attempt to test an anti-satellite weapon—one that could take out other nation’s orbiting communications and spy spacecraft… While Pentagon officials stressed that the satellite strike was a one- time incident, it certainly will spin off massive amounts of data and research that can be studied by the military as it works to improve its missile defense technologies…

“Because the satellite was orbiting at a relatively low altitude at the time it was hit by the missile, debris will begin to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere immediately, the Pentagon statement said. ‘Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24-48 hours and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days,’ it said.”

Beef Scandal in California

The Associated Press reported on February 18:

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a California slaughterhouse, the subject of an animal-abuse investigation, that provided meat to school lunch programs. Officials said it was the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats… The recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006…

“Federal officials suspended operations at Westland/Hallmark after an undercover video from the Humane Society of the United States surfaced showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts… Authorities said the video showed workers kicking, shocking and otherwise abusing ‘downer’ animals that were apparently too sick or injured to walk into the slaughterhouse… Federal regulations call for keeping downed cattle out of the food supply because they may pose a higher risk of contamination from E. coli, salmonella or mad cow disease because they typically wallow in feces and their immune systems are often weak…

“Upon learning about the recall, some legislators criticized the USDA, saying the federal agency should conduct more thorough inspections to ensure tainted beef doesn’t get to the public… Advocacy groups also weighed in, noting the problems at Westland wouldn’t have been revealed had it not been for animal right activists.”

How Man Destroys the Oceans…

BBC News reported on February 14:

“Only about 4% of the world’s oceans remain undamaged by human activity, according to the first detailed global map of human impacts on the seas. A study in Science journal says climate change, fishing, pollution and other human factors have exacted a heavy toll on almost half of the marine waters. Only remote icy areas near the poles are relatively pristine, but they face threats as ice sheets melt, it warns… Lead scientist, Dr Benjamin Halpern, of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, US, said humans were having a major impact on the oceans and the marine ecosystems within them…

“Co-author Dr Mark Spalding told BBC News that the map was the first attempt to describe and quantify the combined threats facing the world’s oceans from human factors, ranging from commercial shipping to over-fishing… Andrew Rosenberg, a professor of natural resources at the University of New Hampshire, US, who was not part of the study, said policymakers could no longer focus on fishing or pollution as if they were separate effects. ‘These human impacts overlap in space and time, and in far too many cases the magnitude is frighteningly high,’ he said.”

Magnitude 5 Earthquake at Tyre

The Associated Press reported on February 15:

“An earthquake shook parts of Lebanon and neighboring countries Friday… The U.S. Geological Survey said it was a magnitude 5 quake, which can cause considerable damage. Residents of Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and Israel also reported feeling the tremor. The earthquake was centered near the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre… In parts of Beirut, people left their apartments and went into the streets after the jolt at 12:37 p.m., which lasted a few seconds… Lebanese police said four people were slightly injured in the southern port city of Tyre when parts of a balcony fell on them. In the southern city of Sidon, a man was lightly injured when a cupboard in his home fell on him, police said.”

AFP reported on February 21 that “A strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake [others state that the magnitude was 6.3] struck a sparsely-populated region of northern Nevada on Thursday, damaging buildings and rupturing water and gas mains.”

Commercial Pet Cloning

The Guardian reported on February 15:

“The world’s first pet cloning service is to offer animal lovers the chance to recreate their dead companions… South Korean company RNL Bio will work alongside scientists who created the first cloned canine. A company spokeswoman said it was already working on its first order from an American who wanted a clone of her dead pit bull. The client… was very attached to the pet because it had saved her life during an attack by another dog… ear tissue from the dog had been preserved at a US biotech laboratory before its death. DNA from the sample could now be used in an attempt to create a clone… although the chances of success were about 25%. RNL Bio is charging customers $150,000… for the clones, which clients pay only after they receive their new pet… “

Man vs. Machine?

BBC News reported on February 18:

“Humanity is on the brink of advances that will see tiny robots implanted in people’s brains to make them more intelligent, said Ray Kurzweil. The engineer believes machines and humans will eventually merge through devices implanted in the body to boost intelligence and health… Machines were already doing hundreds of things humans used to do, at human levels of intelligence or better, in many different areas, he said. ‘I’ve made the case that we will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence… by 2029,’ he said…  Humans and machines would eventually merge, by means of devices embedded in people’s bodies to keep them healthy and improve their intelligence, predicted Mr Kurzweil.
 
“The nanobots, he said, would ‘make us smarter, remember things better…’ Mr Kurzweil is one of 18 influential thinkers chosen to identify the great technological challenges facing humanity in the 21st century by the US National Academy of Engineering.”

How Superstitious People Can Be Fooled…

AFP reported about interesting episodes involving lunar eclipses in ancient times–but one wonders whether “modern” people could not be equally fooled. The Bible predicts that they will be in the not-too-distant future, calling some of the events to occur “lying wonders.” For more information, please read our free booklets, “Europe in Prophecy” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

AFP wrote on February 18:

“The Moon will turn an eerie shade of red for people in the western hemisphere late Wednesday and early Thursday, recreating the eclipse that saved Christopher Columbus more than five centuries ago. In a lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth and Moon are directly aligned and the Moon swings into the cone of shadow cast by the Earth…

“Lunar eclipses have long been associated with superstitions and signs of ill omen, especially in battle. The defeat of the Persian king Darius III by Alexander the Great in the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC was foretold by soothsayers when the Moon turned blood-red a few days earlier.

“And an eclipse is credited with saving the life of Christopher Columbus and his crew in 1504. Stranded on the coast of Jamaica, the explorers were running out of food and faced with increasingly hostile local inhabitants who were refusing to provide them with any more supplies. Columbus, looking at an astronomical almanac compiled by a German mathematician, realised that a total eclipse of the Moon would occur on February 29, 1504. He called the native leaders and warned them if they did not cooperate, he would make the Moon disappear from the sky the following night. The warning, of course, came true, prompting the terrified people to beg Columbus to restore the Moon — which he did, in return for as much food as his men needed. He and the crew were rescued on June 29, 1504.”

The Western World’s Subjugation to Muslim Immigrants

Der Spiegel Online published the following on February 12:

“In the summer of 2007, Tiny Muskens, a liberal Catholic and the former bishop of the Dutch city of Breda, proposed replacing the word ‘God’ with the word ‘Allah.’ Allah, he said, is a nice name for God and, for this reason, we shouldn’t feel uncomfortable about referring to God as Allah. A short time later, the Social Democratic mayor of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans… instructed Brussels police officers not… eat in public during the month-long Ramadan fast, so as not to offend Muslims. A bit farther south, in Zurich, police officers were asked to acquaint themselves with Islamic culture by voluntarily refraining from eating or drinking for an entire day during Ramadan… Meanwhile, the BBC announced a new policy on its Web site’s ‘Section on Islam’: Any mention of the Prophet Muhammad was to be followed by the phrase ‘Peace be upon him.’… It didn’t take long before the British Home Office announced a new rule applicable to all official government statements: Phrases like ‘war on terror’ and ‘Islamic extremism’ were no longer to be used.

“And now a British cleric wants to introduce Shariah [Islamic law] in England. Mind you, this is not just any pastor from some tiny village in Wales, but rather the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury. According to Williams, Britain must consider the fact that some citizens cannot identify with British law. Accepting some aspects of Shariah, he argued, could help to avoid social tension. Under Williams’ proposal, people involved in marital conflicts and financial disputes would be able to choose between British law and Shariah…

“The proposal by the archbishop of Canterbury is evidence of more than just an unbelievable naiveté. It also reveals how far the idea of preventive capitulation in the face of an unsolvable problem has advanced.”

Danish and Swedish Newspapers Go On the Offensive

Deutsche Welle reported on February 13:

“Five major daily Danish newspapers, 10 smaller papers and a Swedish daily reprinted on Wednesday, Feb. 13, one of the 12 drawings of Mohammed that a Danish paper had published two years ago and which triggered global protests. The drawing was a caricature of the Prophet, whose head was adorned with a turban that looked like a bomb with a lit fuse. In republishing the cartoon, editors vowed to defend freedom of expression.

“The act was in response to news on Tuesday that police had foiled a murder plot against the cartoonist. ‘We are doing this to document what is at stake in this case, and to unambiguously back and support the freedom of speech that we as a newspaper will always defend,’ wrote the Berlingske Tidende, which reprinted the cartoon in its Wednesday edition… One editorialist in the Danish paper Politiken commented that the murder plot was an attack on Denmark’s democratic culture.”

No Mosques in Parts of Austria

On February 12, IOL published the following article:

“The provincial government of Carinthia, a southern Austrian province, on Tuesday passed a law effectively banning the construction of mosques or minarets. The controversial legislation, passed with the votes of the Conservative People’s party and the right-wing Alliance for Austria’s Future was a sign against the ‘advancement of Islam’, provincial governor Joerg Haider said. The legislation links the construction of mosques with rules concerning the overall look and harmony of towns and villages, thereby aiming at preventing their construction…

“Haider, a former leader of the right-wing Freedom Party that in its heyday enjoyed the support of up to 27 percent of Austria’s voters with its anti-immigration rhetoric, praised the new rules as a ‘guidepost’ for Europe…”

President Bush Signs Economic Stimulus Plan

The Associated Press reported on February 13:

“President Bush signed legislation on Wednesday to send $300 to $1,200 rebate checks to millions of Americans as a ‘booster shot’ for the economy. Rebates are to go out beginning in May to taxpayers and low-income people…

“Most taxpayers will receive a check of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples from the Internal Revenue Service, with an additional $300 per child. People earning at least $3,000 and those who owe little or no taxes would get $300 for singles, $600 for couples. Those making more than $75,000 and couples with income exceeding $150,000 are to get smaller rebates — $50 less per $1,000 they make over those thresholds…

“Economic analysts generally believe the $168 billion package Bush signed will help prevent the current downturn from ballooning into a crisis. But if the rebates don’t spur a consumer spending spree strong enough to cure what ails the economy, Congress is ready to throw more money at the problem… In the meantime, economists are debating how effective the rebates will be, with critics arguing that debt-burdened consumers will use the money to pay bills rather than spending the checks and spurring growth.”

General Motors Suffered Huge Loss in 2007

CNNMoney.com reported on February 12:

“In an effort to shave ongoing losses, General Motors offered lucrative buyouts Tuesday to 74,000 employees – its entire U.S. hourly workforce. The nation’s largest automaker announced the latest round of buyouts as it reported another loss on its core auto operations in the fourth quarter, which combined with charges taken earlier in the year left GM with a company-record $38.7 billion net loss for 2007.
 
“To try to stem automotive losses that have dogged the company since 2005, the company is making a range of offers, up to cash payments of $140,000 to the remaining 74,000 GM workers represented by the United Auto Workers union. The goal is not to reduce headcount but rather to bring in new workers at a lower cost…

“The company also saw pretax losses grow in its European operations and profits decline in the Asia-Pacific region that has become increasingly important for the company’s fortunes.”

U.S. Economy Clearly in Trouble

The Associated Press reported on February 14:

“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday that the country’s economic outlook has deteriorated and signaled that the central bank is ready to keep on lowering a key interest rate — as needed — to shore things up. In remarks to the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke said the one-two punch of the housing and credit crises has greatly strained the economy. Hiring has slowed and people are likely to tighten their belts further, as they are pinched by high energy prices and watch the value of their single biggest asset — their homes — weaken, he warned. ‘The outlook for the economy has worsened in recent months, and the downside risks to growth have increased,’ Bernanke said…

“‘Our economy is clearly in trouble,’ said the committee’s chairman, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn. Restoring investor and consumer confidence, he said, is critical ‘if we are going to get back on our feet again.’… Economic growth practically stalled in the final three months of last year, and some economists believe it may actually be contracting now. By one rough rule of thumb, a recession occurs when there are two consecutive quarters — six straight months — when the economy shrinks.”

Exxon Mobil Cut Off From Venezuela’s Oil

The Associated Press reported on February 12:

“Venezuela’s state oil company said Tuesday that it has stopped selling crude to Exxon Mobil Corp. in response to the U.S. oil company’s drive to use the courts to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets. Exxon Mobil is locked in a dispute over the nationalization of its oil ventures in Venezuela that has led President Hugo Chavez to threaten to cut off all Venezuelan oil supplies to the United States. Venezuela is currently the United States’ fourth largest oil supplier…

“Meanwhile, Venezuelan state television has begun airing short anti-Exxon segments, with a message appearing on the screen in red text reading: ‘Exxon Mobil turns oil into blood.’ The U.S. remains the No. 1 buyer of Venezuelan oil… Venezuela is selling the U.S. a daily average of 1.5 million barrels of crude and other products derived from oil.”

The Melting Pot of the USA

USA Today reported on February 12:

“… according to projections released Monday by the Pew Research Center… show that by 2050… one in five Americans will have been born outside the USA… Whites who are not Hispanic, now two-thirds of the population, will become a minority when their share drops to 47%… Hispanics, already the largest minority group, will more than double their share of the population to 29%… Blacks will remain 13% of the population. Asians will go to 9% from 5%… The gap between the number of working-age people and the children and seniors who depend on them will widen as boomers age. There will be 72 young and elderly for every 100 people of working age by 2050…The ethnic and racial profile of the nation could change because of inter-marriage. It’s not clear how the children and grandchildren of multiracial and multi-ethnic unions will identify themselves in the future.”

Senior Military Commander of Hezbollah Killed

Deutsche Welle reported on February 13:

“The Shi’ite militia group Hezbollah has said that one of its senior military commanders has been killed in Syria. Imad Mughniyah was killed in a car bombing in a residential area of Damascus late on Tuesday. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US welcomed the death of Mughniyah who was alleged to be responsible for bombings and kidnappings on Western facilities in Lebanon in the 1980’s. The US had a 25 million dollar bounty on the head of Mughniyah for his role in the hijacking of a US airliner in 1985. Hezbollah and Iran blame Israel for his assassination, an accusation Israel has denied.”

Calls for “Retaliation” Against Israel

The Associated Press reported on February 14:

“The purported leader of al-Qaida’s affiliate in Iraq called in a new posting on a militant Web site on Thursday for attacks on Israel and proposed that Iraq’s territory be a ‘launching pad’ to seize Jerusalem. In the 30-minute audiotape, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, said to head the Islamic State of Iraq, lashed out at Arab and Palestinian groups — especially the Palestinian Hamas — for failing to liberate the Palestinians… The new posting came as Israeli security instructed embassies and Jewish institutions around the world to go on alert for fear of revenge attacks for a car bomb that killed a top-wanted terrorist, Imad Mughniyeh, late Tuesday in the Syrian capital. Hezbollah has accused Israel of killing the militant, whose funeral was being held Thursday, but Israel has denied that.

“… al-Baghdadi said the ‘Islamic state in Iraq will be the cornerstone for the return of Al-Quds’ and added the group was trying to use Iraq’s western province of al-Anbar as a launching pad for missiles against Israel — the same way the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein fired 31 missiles against the Jewish state in the Gulf War.”

German Court Rules Surveillance of Scientology Legal

Deutsche Welle reported on February 13:

“An administrative appellate court in Muenster… found that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was within its authority to keep Scientologists under observation… In the statement announcing the verdict, the court said that there were ‘numerous indications’ that the Scientology organization promoted a form of society ‘in which central constitutional values such as the dignity of mankind and the right to equal treatment would be suspended or restricted.’ ‘In particular, there is the suspicion that in a scientological society only Scientologists would enjoy civil rights,’ the court decided…

“The German court also heard testimony concerning a number of anti-democratic remarks made by Hubbard. The court found… no evidence of the movement distancing itself from those opinions. The Church of Scientology says it will appeal the ruling and called for an end to the surveillance. ‘The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution should finally end this farce and turn its attention to real enemies of the Constitution and real danger so as to do what it is there for: to protect the German constitution and the basic rights of the people,’ the organization said.”

Israel and Germany–Don’t See Eye to Eye

Der Spiegel Online reported on February 13:

“Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited Berlin Monday and Tuesday, where he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for discussions on topics including the countries’ shared concerns on Iran’s putative nuclear ambitions… On other topics, Israel and Germany share less common ground. The square-off between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has intensified as the militant group continues to launch daily salvos of rockets into Israel and suicide bombers have struck after a year-long hiatus. In response, Israel has tightened restrictions on the Gaza Strip, which has intensified the humanitarian crisis there. Israel has also not ruled out a full-scale military campaign…

“The right-leaning Die Welt writes: ‘… Germans and Israelis are seeing less and less eye to eye… For the Germans, war is the worst possible thing that can happen, but for the Israelis that thing is aggression, which in its most extreme form can only be stopped with war…’

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘Germany only has limited opportunities to exert influence… The most important job for Europe’s governments is to continue encouraging Israel to choose another path’…

“The business daily Handelsblatt writes: ‘Germany is really a dependable ally of Israel’s. But this partnership is skating on thin ice. When the (respected German polling institute) Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research conducted a survey in January asking people which countries Germany should cooperate with, Israel landed in last place. That’s not surprising when you know that nearly half of all Germans view (Israel) as the largest threat to world peace. You can’t make the blanket statement that aggressive anti-Semitism lies behind these views. What is probably more symptomatic of the image of Israel that many Germans have can be seen in the sentiment expressed by a young woman in a discussion last week in Berlin, when she said: ‘Israel is building itself into its own prison, just like East Germany once did. But hopefully this wall will fall, too.'”

A Historic Moment For Europe

The EUObserver wrote on February 8:

“The French parliament has approved the new EU treaty, making France the first of the large member states to ratify the document and drawing a line under the shock ‘No’ vote of almost three years ago when French voters rejected the original EU constitution… Europe Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet told parliament on Thursday that ratification was a ‘historic moment for France’ while foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said ‘this treaty deserves to be appreciated for its value: as an important moment in the construction of the European ideal.’ ‘This is excellent news, a great victory for France which has gone from being the country holding up Europe to being the one that pulled Europe out of gridlock,’ said government spokesman David Martinon… The French ratification… makes France the fifth country after Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Romania to approve the treaty.

“The treaty introduces a powerful foreign policy chief, a permanent president of the European Council and gives greater legislative powers to the European Parliament. It must be ratified by all 27 member states to come into force. Ratification is expected to take place through the year. Germany plans to ratify in June while others such as Spain will follow suit later in the year. Only Ireland has pledged to have a referendum. Meanwhile, the ratification saga continues in Slovakia. Its treaty approval process has become tangled up in a separate dispute between government and opposition parties over a media bill, which the opposition say is too restrictive.”

Slovenia will most certainly not be in a position to stop European unification. Either they will come around and ratify the treaty, or they will find themselves outside European confines. The same would be true for any other of the smaller European countries.

The Soon-Coming European Military Muscle

The Associated Press reported on February 9:

“French Defense Minister Herve Morin accused the United States of a ‘schizophrenic’ approach to European security Saturday and also criticized other European allies for an ‘infantile’ dependence on American power. Morin complained to U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other delegates at an international security conference that the U.S. was constantly pushing European allies to take on a greater defense burden, but resisted French-led efforts to build a security role for the European Union… French President Nicolas Sarkozy is keen to improve trans-Atlantic relations and is considering a return of France’s armed forces to NATO integrated military command 40 years after Gen. Charles de Gaulle pulled them out over concern about American domination of the alliance. But France is expected to link the return to American backing for a greater EU defense role…

“The French minister also took a swipe at other European allies for cutting defense budgets and preferring to rely on American protection rather than building up European military muscle. ‘Europe does not assume enough responsibility, it simply falls into dependence,’ Morin complained. ‘European nations must do more to share the defense burden…

“German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung and NATO’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer both welcomed signs that France is considering a return to full membership of the military structure. ‘I hope that France will get more involved in the alliance,’ Jung told the meeting.”

Armageddon on the Horizon

The Daily Mail reported on February 8:

“Vladimir Putin has accused the United States of starting a new arms race on Russia’s doorstep. Moscow will respond by modernising its military and weapons systems, he said yesterday. In a speech containing tough rhetoric aimed at the West, the Russian president said Nato expansion and U.S. plans for a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe had kicked off an arms race… [He said:] ‘We drew down our bases in Cuba and in Vietnam. What did we get? New American bases in Romania and Bulgaria, and a new third missile defence shield in Poland… The Kremlin has said that U.S. plans to deploy ten missile interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic would threaten Russia’s security. And it dismissed U.S. claims that the sites are to deter a missile threat from Iran… ‘We are being forced to take retaliatory steps,’ he said.”

Der Spiegel Online added on February 13:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on Tuesday that Russia could aim missiles at Ukraine if leaders in Kiev decide to join NATO and host part of the alliance’s controversial anti-missile shield… The statement was the clearest warning so far that Russia would resist the march of NATO membership to the Black Sea.”

Global Warming or New Ice Age?

The Drudge Report published the following article by RIA, which was originally written on or about January 22:

“Temperatures on Earth have stabilized in the past decade, and the planet should brace itself for a new Ice Age rather than global warming, a Russian scientist said in an interview with RIA Novosti Tuesday. ‘Russian and foreign research data confirm that global temperatures in 2007 were practically similar to those in 2006, and, in general, identical to 1998-2006 temperatures, which, basically, means that the Earth passed the peak of global warming in 1998-2005,’ said Khabibullo Abdusamatov, head of a space research lab at the Pulkovo observatory in St. Petersburg…

“Had global temperatures directly responded to concentrations of ‘greenhouse’ gases in the atmosphere, they would have risen by at least 0.1 Celsius in the past ten years, however, it never happened, he said. ‘A year ago, many meteorologists predicted that higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would make the year 2007 the hottest in the last decade, but, fortunately, these predictions did not become reality,’ Abdusamatov said. He also said that in 2008, global temperatures would drop slightly, rather than rise, due to unprecedentedly low solar radiation in the past 30 years, and would continue decreasing even if industrial emissions of carbon dioxide reach record levels. By 2041, solar activity will reach its minimum according to a 200-year cycle, and a deep cooling period will hit the Earth approximately in 2055-2060. It will last for about 45-65 years, the scientist added…

“Mankind will face serious economic, social, and demographic consequences of the coming Ice Age because it will directly affect more than 80% of the earth’s population, the scientist concluded.”

Whether global warming or a new ice age, the consequences for our planet would be equally devastating. Based on the Biblical prophecies, both a temporary “cooling off” and a “warming” of the planet appear to be possible, even though we must understand that the prophecies will be fulfilled, in most cases, through SUPERNATURAL events. Note Biblical passages such as Isaiah 13:10; 30:26; Revelation 8:12;16:8-9, 12.

Huge Rubbish Dump in the Pacific Ocean

The Daily Mail reported on February 12:

“A rubbish dump twice the size of the United States has been discovered floating in the Pacific Ocean. The vast expanse of debris, made up of plastic junk including footballs, kayaks, Lego blocks and carrier bags, is kept together by swirling underwater currents. It stretches from 500 nautical miles off the Californian coast, across the northern Pacific, past Hawaii and almost as far as Japan. Because the rubbish, which has been called a ‘plastic soup’ and a ‘trash vortex’, is translucent and lies just below the water’s surface it cannot be seen in satellite photographs.

“American oceanographer Charles Moore discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch by chance in 1997 while taking a short cut home from a yacht race… He warned that the rubbish could double in size over the next decade if consumers do not cut back on their use of plastics. More than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die every year as a result of plastic rubbish. Syringes, cigarette lighters and toothbrushes have all been found inside the stomachs of dead seabirds. The rubbish can also be dangerous for humans, because tiny plastic pellets in the sea can attract man-made chemicals which then enter the food chain… The rubbish dump is made up of two linked areas either side of Hawaii. Around one-fifth of the junk is thrown off ships or oil platforms, while the rest comes from the land.”

Human-To-Human Transmission of Bird Flu Virus

The Associated Press reported on February 13:

“The daughter of an Indonesian women who tested positive for bird flu has also contracted the virus, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, in what could be a case of human-to-human transmission. The 14-year-old girl was in critical condition at a Jakarta hospital, WHO said on its website. The girl’s 38-year-old mother has been in hospital with the bird flu virus since Jan. 26. ‘She was exposed to her sick mother…and spent time in a neighbourhood where chickens and other birds were found,’ the WHO statement said, adding the source of infection is still under investigation. Further tests will be needed to establish whether the daughter contracted the virus from contact with her mother or from an infected chicken or its droppings – the source of most of Indonesia’s 103 fatal cases.

“Cases of possible human-to-human transmission are watched closely because they increase the chance of the virus mutating into a form that is easily passed among humans, which could possibly trigger a global pandemic. The World Health Organization said the virus passed between humans, although in a limited way, in one large cluster of cases in a single family on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island in 2006. The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed at least 226 people worldwide since it started ravaging poultry stocks in Asia five years ago, WHO said.”

Beware of Cyberthieves!

CNN reported on February 13:

“… cyberthieves use a… type of subterfuge — phishing — to cover their identities and wipe out bank accounts. Phishing occurs when fraudulent e-mails that appear to be from a legitimate source are sent in an effort to obtain sensitive information from a user… Of the top 20 companies targeted by phishing in 2007…, 19 are in the banking industry. Computer users are often tricked into visiting fraudulent sites because of ‘danger, danger’ e-mail subject lines like ‘account security measures,’ ‘important notice’ or ‘(your bank name) security notice.’

“One sneaky thing some malware (malicious threats) does is to modify a user’s server information. For example, a user types www.bankofamerica.com into his or her browser. But instead of the computer using the service provider’s server, which would take the user to the real Bank of America server, the computer uses a bogus server run by phishers — and that takes the user to a fake Bank of America server. The phishers take the user’s login information and empty the account. Most users, even the savvy ones, wouldn’t know that their server settings have been hijacked…

“Though tech-savvy, proudly paperless home computer users may shun those so-20th-century snail mail bank statements, it might be worth it to go retro and compare your online banking information with the paper record… criminals in Brazil have figured out ways to wipe out bank accounts and leave no trail in an individual’s online account. And bank customers may be out of luck if the theft goes unnoticed for a while. Usually, banks give only 90 days to remediate an account problem.”

Jews Still Don’t Like Catholic Prayer…

Reuters reported on February 7:

“The top Vatican cardinal in charge of relations with Jews on Thursday denied a new prayer for their conversion was offensive and said Catholics had the right to pray as they wished. Cardinal Walter Kasper spoke in an interview in a leading Italian newspaper a day after world Jewish leaders said the new prayer could set back inter-religious dialogue by decades. ‘I must say that I don’t understand why Jews cannot accept that we can make use of our freedom to formulate our prayers,’ Kasper, a German, told the Corriere della Sera.

“The Vatican on Tuesday revised a contested Latin prayer used by a traditionalist minority on Good Friday, removing a reference to Jewish ‘blindness’ over Christ and deleting a phrase asking God to ‘remove the veil from their hearts’. Jews criticized the new version because it still says they should recognize Jesus Christ as the savior of all men. It asks that ‘all Israel may be saved’ and keeps an underlying call to conversion that Jewish leaders had wanted omitted.

“‘We think that reasonably this prayer cannot be an obstacle to dialogue because it reflects the faith of the Church and, furthermore, Jews have prayers in their liturgical texts that we Catholics don’t like,’ Kasper said… Jewish organizations… criticized the new version. ‘While we appreciate that some of the deprecatory language has been removed … we are deeply troubled and disappointed that the framework and intention to petition God for Jews to accept Jesus as Lord was kept intact,’ Abraham Foxman, U.S. national director of the ADL, said in a statement.”

However, the Catholic Church is correct in pointing out that all men–including Jews–MUST accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. The BIBLE makes it very clear that we cannot be saved except through Jesus Christ (compare Acts 4:12). Whether men like it or not–that is the truth!

Lent, the Virgin Mary and the Healing of the Sick

VIS reported on February 10 that according to the Pope, “the beginning of Lent this year coincides with the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes (11 February 1858). ‘The message the Virgin Mary continues to proclaim at Lourdes’, he said, ‘recalls the words that Jesus pronounced at the very beginning of His public mission: … “Convert and believe in the Gospel”, pray and do penance. Let us welcome Mary’s invitation, which echoes that of Christ, and ask her to enable us “to enter” with faith into Lent, to live this period of grace with inner joy and generous commitment’. The Pope concluded his pre-Angelus remarks by entrusting the sick and their carers to the Virgin Mary…”

Regarding the role of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church, please make sure to read our Q&A on the Nicolaitans in this Update.

New Chief Named for German Catholic Church

Deutsche Welle reported on February 13:

“Robert Zollitsch, archbishop of Freiburg, unexpectedly has been named Karl Lehmann’s successor as head of the German Catholic Church. He’s considered a liberal and recommends making celibacy optional for priests… Zollitsch has a reputation for not shying away from both touchy political topics and church disputes… He was born in 1938 to a German family in Filipovo in former Yugoslavia. They were expelled after the Second World War and fled to Germany.”

Bishop of Church of England: “We DON’T Go to Heaven When We Die”

WorldNetDaily reported the following on February 10:

“A bishop described as ‘one of the most formidable figures in the world of Christian thought’ is now challenging the widely held belief that Christians go to heaven when they die. N.T. ‘Tom’ Wright, the fourth most senior cleric in the Church of England who has been praised for his staunch defense of the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ, has published a new book in which he says people do not ascend to God’s dwelling place. Instead, God will be coming back to Earth. ‘Never at any point do the Gospels or Paul say Jesus has been raised, therefore we are… all going to heaven,’ Wright told Time Magazine…

“In the Gospel of John, Jesus himself is quoted as saying, ‘And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.’ (John 3:13)…

The article continued quoting Wright as follows:

“Jesus’ resurrection marks the beginning of a restoration that he will complete upon his return… Wright says much of ‘traditional Christianity’ has been influenced by pagan philosophies…

“While Wright’s view may seem stunning to many of today’s Christians, it is the same view held by some famous names in the Protestant Reformation. In 1520, Martin Luther blasted Catholic ideas ‘that the soul is immortal; and all these endless monstrosities in the Roman dunghill of decretals.’ A decade later, English Bible translator and martyr William Tyndale echoed the idea Christians are completely dead until Jesus returns, as he voiced opposition to ‘heathen’ ideas of people having immortal souls at birth: ‘The true faith putteth [setteth forth] the resurrection, which we be warned to look for every hour. The heathen philosophers, denying that, did put [set forth] that the souls did ever live. And the pope joineth the spiritual doctrine of Christ and the fleshly doctrine of philosophers together; things so contrary that they cannot agree…'”

Even though Wright’s positions contain the usual mixture of truth and error–so his unbiblical concept that the souls of men will enter an intermediate conscious state upon death–he nevertheless understands that we do not go to heaven when we die. The truth is this: When we die, we enter into a “dreamless sleep,” but we will be awakened within the next second of our consciousness through a resurrection from the dead. The Bible does not picture death as the entrance into a painful or worrisome uncertain intermediate state–but rather as an unconscious “sleep,” followed by a beautiful and mind-boggling awakening for those who died in Christ. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”

U.S. Elections–Super Tuesday

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 6:

“The race for the Democratic nomination remains open after Super Tuesday as Hillary Clinton won the California primary and most states on the wealthy East Coast, but Barack Obama won more states overall. John McCain clinched delegate-rich primaries to strengthen his lead in the Republican race…

“Obama won 12 states and Clinton took eight. Clinton’s wins included the key prizes of California and New York on the biggest day of presidential voting in the United States ahead of November’s election…

“Republican contender John McCain won nine states, including key victories in California and big Northeastern states to take a strong lead in the Republican race. But Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee kept their hopes alive and vowed to fight on. Romney won six states and Huckabee won five…”

However, The Associated Press reported on February 7: “Mitt Romney will suspend his presidential campaign for the Republican nomination…, effectively ceding the nomination to John McCain.”

In a related article, The Associated Press reported on February 7: “Democrat Barack Obama raised $7.2 million in less than 48 hours post Super Tuesday and rival Hillary Rodham Clinton collected $4 million, giving him a financial edge that’s caused consternation within a Clinton campaign… Clinton acknowledged Wednesday that she loaned her campaign $5 million late last month as Obama was outraising and outspending her heading into Feb. 5 Super Tuesday contests.”

German Analysis of the U.S. Democratic Election

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 6 about the Democratic election:

“Barack Obama has powerful allies… But Barack Obama also has a powerful opponent he has so far been unable to beat: the middle ground of American society. The majority of that middle ground is still refusing to follow his message of change and hope. Converted into power, the most important currency of politics, that means that the senator from Illinois is strong — but not strong enough — to topple Hillary Clinton. She’s ahead in the fight for the Democratic nomination, but her lead is narrowing…

“Try as he might, Obama is failing so far to win over ordinary people. It’s hard to whip up enthusiasm among the down-to-earth voters of the center ground, people who are too preoccupied with the everyday problems of life to get swept up by Obama’s grand pledge to turn over a new leaf in the history book. His message doesn’t have much impact among them… These people aren’t excited, they’re worried. They’re not content, but they have no desire for revolution either. You don’t come across such people in the pages of American newspapers, but the real world is full of them. THEY’RE SKEPTICAL ABOUT POLITICS…

“Obama is inspiring millions of Americans, but there are also millions who find him too young, too smart, too smooth, too unscarred. He’s hardly lived his life and already wants to take home the big prize. The modern part of the country may celebrate him as a pop star, but the majority is still listening to country music.

“Harvard professors might support him, but in Massachusetts, the state surrounding the Harvard campus, Clinton won on Super Tuesday… The rich and famous climbed on stage for Obama in California… But [Clinton] managed to win over the ordinary people… This is no campaign of left against right. This is a HISTORIC ELECTION in which the center of society is trying to stand its ground. The center is shrinking, in Europe as well as in America.”

German Analysis of the U.S. Republican Election

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 6 about the Republican election:

“It’s been an unbelievable comeback. A year ago, you could have pretty much written the obituary for John McCain’s 2008 campaign. And now, one day after Super Tuesday, he’s firmly at the helm of the Republican ship. His battle, though, hasn’t just been with Democrats. Some of his most vicious enemies are part of his own party…

“John McCain’s victory was surprisingly clear. His opponent Mitt Romney won a handful of the smaller states, including Massachusetts, where he used to be the governor. Mike Huckabee, the politically gifted Baptist preacher from Arkansas, performed surprisingly well and won in four Southern states, which makes Romney’s successes look even feebler…

“Right-wing commentators and hosts of the big radio talk shows have joined forces to create a veritable anti-McCain brigade. For weeks now, right-wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh has agitated against McCain on his program. The closer the Vietnam hero gets to the nomination, the meaner the attacks become. McCain ‘has stabbed his party in the back so many times,’ Limbaugh rages. ‘I can’t even say how often.’ The radio host says that he would prefer to have his party lose the election over having it be led by McCain. ‘If I believe the country will suffer with either Hillary, Obama or McCain, I would just as soon the Democrats take the hit … rather than a Republican causing the debacle.’

“James Dobson, the head of an arch-conservative Christian group that espouses family values, warned recently on another radio talk show that: ‘I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative and, in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are.’ These right-wing radio programs are very popular. Each week, Limbaugh alone reaches over 13.5 million listeners.

“But it’s clear that the voters have not listened to the drums beating loudly against McCain. And, instead of transforming Mitt Romney into a kingmaker, it now appears that the influence of the right-wing opinion-makers is smaller than had previously been believed… As Barack Obama’s success also shows, Americans are LOOKING FOR A LEADER and not for someone who, like Romney, adapts his beliefs to whichever way the wind blows…

“More than anything else… this vote was one about CHARACTER. The voters’ beliefs are often at odds with John McCain’s, but they put a high value on his character… This explains what is actually a rather paradoxical situation. America’s tanking economy has become one of the most important election issues, but it is not one of McCain’s strong suits. Nevertheless, he is still winning because his character outshines everything… else. The same holds true when it comes to the war in Iraq. McCain is one of the war’s unshakeable advocates, and he only has differences with President George W. Bush when it comes to the question of which strategies are the correct ones. Nevertheless, the former Marine pilot is also currently [attracting] the votes of Republicans opposed to the war.”

How the World Views the U.S. Presidential Race

The Associated Press reported on February 1:

“America’s extraordinary presidential campaign has captivated politicians and ordinary people around the globe. With SO MUCH AT STAKE in the race for the White House, the world is watching with an intensity that hasn’t been seen since the Clinton era began in 1992…

“‘[Non-Americans]  feel there’s a real chance to work with the U.S.,’ said Julianne Smith, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. ‘America’s image in the world is really on the line.’ Non-Americans, she said, are looking for someone who can ‘restore faith in the United States.’

“Obama, perhaps not surprisingly, is generating most of the buzz abroad. ‘Der schwarze Kennedy,’ some German admirers are calling him: ‘The black JFK.’ ‘He is young, charming and sexy!’ the mass-circulation newspaper Bild gushed. ‘Obama is now the ideal projection screen for hopes and expectations in Europe’ and the U.S. alike, said Christian Hacke, a professor at the University of Bonn.

“… in Europe, where some see Obama as untested, support for Clinton is widespread, and nostalgia for her husband’s charisma runs deep. When scandals rocked the Clinton White House, most Europeans responded with a Gallic shrug. ‘Nobody in Europe ever took Bill Clinton’s problems in office seriously,’ said Patrick Dunleavy, a political scientist at the London School of Economics. ‘Nobody could ever understand why Americans were so upset. Bill Clinton was always a fantastic presence in Europe.’

“The Republican presidential hopefuls, by contrast, are not highly regarded in Europe: Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are seen as too religious, and the 71-year-old McCain as too old. To Britons, history’s most popular postwar presidents were Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton because of their perceived levelheadedness and intelligence, said Dunleavy. The most despised? President Bush and Ronald Reagan ‘because they were seen as erratic and unpredictable,’ he said.

“Yet Democrats don’t rule the entire world of public opinion. Saad al-Hadithi, a political analyst in Baghdad, contends the Republican candidates are more committed to Iraq and have a better approach. ‘They show more support to the political progress and to combating terrorist groups in Iraq,’ he said. ‘The Democrats, especially Hillary Clinton, are calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, but they are not offering an alternative. Such a withdrawal while the Iraqi security forces are still weak will lead to disastrous results.’

“Russia’s leaders also consider Republicans more pragmatic, said Nkolai Petrov, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center. But the Kremlin, Petrov said, would likely have ‘serious concerns’ if McCain wins the Republican nomination because of the Arizona senator’s harsh and persistent criticism of Vladimir Putin’s autocratic government…

“Africans naturally gravitate toward Obama, whose father was from Kenya. Israelis, though, seem to prefer Hillary Clinton… because of her experience and the backing Bill Clinton gave to the Jewish state during his two terms as president.

“Amid the raging debate over immigration, Mexicans arguably have more at stake in the U.S. election than any other nation. But President Felipe Calderon doesn’t think very highly of any of the candidates. ‘The only theme,’ he declared in December, ‘is to compete to see who can be the most swaggering, macho and anti-Mexican… People all around the world are pretty worried,’ he said. ‘They want a president who will restore a kind of U.S. legitimacy in the world.'”

Federal Interest Rate Cuts–A Double-Edged Sword?

Der Spiegel Online reported on January 31:

“In a drastic step, the Fed has lowered its key interest rate to 3.0 percent, the second large cut in two weeks…. Interest rate cuts are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, cheap money is a boon for the economy and stock market: If banks have access to cheap money, then theoretically companies should also be able to take out loans at better conditions…

“But on the other hand, interest rate cuts — especially extraordinary rate cuts announced between scheduled meetings, like last week’s — also raise fears. When the US Federal Reserve takes drastic measures, the inevitable suspicion arises that they know more than the rest of the world: Do they have data which shows that the economy is cooling faster than is feared?…

“More significant than this diffuse anxiety are allegations by many analysts that the Fed’s attempted CURE IS WORSE THAN THE DISEASE. With his policy of holding interest rates low, ex-Fed chief Alan Greenspan is accused by some of being partly responsible for laying the foundations for the subprime real estate crisis…

“Greenspan lowered interest rates 11 times in 2001 — from 6.5 percent to finally just 1.75 percent. The following year, rates even fell to 1 percent… By making these cuts, Greenspan saved the US economy… from disaster.  At the same time, he made money so cheap that Americans who would never have got credit before were suddenly being given loans — and to an extent which exceeded any reasonable limits…”

America’s Terrible Financial Situation

The Associated Press reported on February 4:

“The record $3.1 trillion budget proposed by President Bush on Monday would produce… a huge jump in the deficit to $410 billion this year and $407 billion in 2009, the White House says, just shy of the record $413 billion set four years ago.

“But even those figures are optimistic since they depend on rosy economic forecasts and leave out the full costs of the war in Iraq. The White House predicts the economy will grow at a 2.7 percent clip this year, far higher than congressional and private economists expect, and the administration’s $70 billion figure for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan is simply a placeholder until the next president takes office.

“Bush’s lame-duck budget plan is likely to be ignored by Congress, which is controlled by Democrats and already looking ahead to November elections. His long-term projections are mostly academic since he’s leaving office next January… Bush is leaving his successor an ENORMOUS FISCAL DILEMMA…

“‘There was an assumption that in the short term… the budget would start to correct and that we could balance in the short term,’ said Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, top Republican on the Budget Committee. ‘But with the stimulus package and with the continuing war costs, that’s not going to happen. In fact it’s going to get very serious when you’re hitting $400 billion deficits.’… Some of Bush’s proposals are hopelessly unrealistic…

“Seven years ago, Bush took over a government predicted to generate $5.6 trillion in surpluses over 10 years. Those estimates were flawed, but there’s no question he’s leaving his successor a budget in far weaker fiscal shape than he inherited. For instance, when he took office the total federal debt held by the public was $3.3 trillion… Now, debt held by the public – including foreign governments – is expected to reach $5.4 trillion this year and $5.9 trillion in 2009… Some $2.3 trillion is foreign held.”

America’s terrible financial state of affairs should not be surprising to Bible scholars. For more information, read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

Euros in New York

Reuters reported on February 6:

“In the latest example that the U.S. dollar just ain’t what it used to be, some shops in New York City have begun accepting euros and other foreign currency as payment for merchandise… The increasingly weak U.S. dollar, once considered the king among currencies, has brought waves of European tourists to New York with money to burn and looking to take advantage of hugely favorable exchange rates.”

Al Qaeda Preparing New Strike Against America

The Washington Times wrote on February 6:

“Senior al Qaeda leaders have diverted operatives from Iraq across the globe and are increasing preparations to strike the United States, senior intelligence officials told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence yesterday… The officials added that al Qaeda is recruiting Westerners to terror camps in Pakistan… [and that] al Qaeda had plans to specifically target the White House…

“The most active al Qaeda affiliate in northwestern Africa is the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, which intelligence officials said poses a ‘significant threat to U.S. and European interests in the region.’ Further, al Qaeda ‘has been able to retain a safe haven in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) that provides the organization many of the advantages it once derived from its base across the border in Afghanistan’ making it a training hub for terrorists seeking to attack the United States and its allies…  the Pakistani military has not been able to disrupt al Qaeda operations in the tribal border region… the U.S. military is prohibited by Pakistan from pursuing al Qaeda fighters or Taliban that flee Afghanistan across the border after conducting attacks.”

Tennessee Governor on Tornadoes: “The Wrath of God…”

The New York Times wrote on February 7:

“Residents in five Southern states rose Wednesday to widespread clusters of destruction caused by an unusually ferocious winter tornado system. At least 54 people were killed and scores more were injured… Arkansas and Tennessee were the hardest hit, with Arkansas reporting 13 dead and Tennessee 30…

“‘The wrath of God is the only way I can describe it,’ Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee said after surveying the damage by helicopter. ‘I’m used to seeing roofs off houses; houses blown over. These houses were down to their foundations, stripped clean.’ The governor said 1,000 houses in Tennessee were destroyed.”

Afghanistan–New Crisis Between USA and Germany

Der Spiegel Online reported on February 1:

“On Friday morning, Germany Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung rejected a call by United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for Berlin to send combat troops to southern Afghanistan, where a Taliban-led insurgency has destabilized efforts to establish a democracy in the country.

“This week, German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung received a letter from his American counterpart Robert Gates making it clear that the US expects more from the Germans…

“The letter’s negative tone put German politicians on the defensive on Friday… a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, Ulrich Wilhelm, said there were currently ‘no thoughts’ about making a change to the existing mandate for the Bundeswehr’s deployment in Afghanistan — a move that would require parliamentary approval in the Bundestag — and that the chancellor had rejected Gates’ demand. In all of her talks, Wilhelm said, the chancellor has repeatedly made clear that the scope of the current mandate is ‘not up for discussion’ — and that remains the government’s ‘firm position.’

“Earlier Friday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who also serves as vice chancellor representing the center-left Social Democrats in Merkel’s government, rejected Gates’ call for the deployment of Bundeswehr soldiers in hard-fought southern Afghanistan.”

Der Stern commented on February 1:

“The American demand to send German troops to southern Afghanistan has hit Berlin like a bomb. Now there is a dark cloud between Berlin and Washington… The experiment Afghanistan is about to fail… Gates wants to change the U.S. strategy… Most Afghans condemn the brutal military actions of the West which have cost the lives of many civilians… But the Germans are not in a position to give advice… Those who want to talk must participate in the action…”

The Telegraph reported on February 4:

“Nato has faced one of its greatest tests since the Cold War after America accused Germany of failing to fight the Taliban… Behind this disagreement between the two allies, disclosed in a ‘stern’ exchange of letters between their defence ministers, lies a crucial dispute over ‘burden sharing’ which threatens the credibility of the alliance… All of Nato’s 26 member states agreed to mount the mission in Afghanistan and 42,000 troops have been deployed in the country.

“However, only four Nato members – Britain, America, Canada and Holland – have sent large numbers of soldiers to southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency is strongest. These countries, notably Britain with 7,800 troops, are conducting the lion’s share of the campaign against the Taliban. Germany has 3,200 troops in Afghanistan – but they are deployed in the relative safety of the north…

“Stephen Harper, the Canadian prime minister, has told Gordon Brown that his country will withdraw the 2,500 troops it has in the southern province of Kandahar unless other Nato countries contribute 1,000 troops. If this happens, the Dutch government would come under pressure to do the same, leaving America and Britain to fight the Taliban with little help.”

Der Spiegel Online reported on February 6:

“The German government on Wednesday rejected accusations from NATO allies that it wasn’t bearing its fair share of the burden in Afghanistan and reiterated its refusal of a US request for German troops to be deployed from the relatively peaceful north to help fight a Taliban insurgency in the south. German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said Germany was already the third-biggest troop provider in Afghanistan and that redeploying troops away from the north would be a ‘decisive mistake.’ He did however repeat Germany’s vague pledge to provide its NATO allies with military assistance when required, and announced that Germany will be sending a unit of combat troops to northern Afghanistan to replace the 250-strong Norwegian Quick Reaction Force being withdrawn.”

New President of Europe… With Real Powers?

The Guardian wrote on February 2:

“Tony Blair has been holding discussions with some of his oldest allies on how he could mount a campaign later this year to become full-time president of the EU council, the prestigious new job characterised as ‘president of Europe’. Blair, currently the Middle East envoy for the US, Russia, EU and the UN, has told friends he has made no final decision, but is increasingly willing to put himself forward for the job if it comes WITH REAL POWERS TO INTERVENE IN DEFENCE AND TRADE AFFAIRS… Apart from Blair, two other candidates most often mentioned are the former Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, promoted by Germany, and the current Luxembourg prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker.”

Tony Blair–To Be or Not to Be…?

Reuters reported on February 5:

“Tony Blair is unlikely to be the first president of the European Union, EU diplomats and politicians say… Insiders say Blair has little chance because Britain is too disconnected from the EU mainstream, and he remains too divisive a figure because of his enthusiastic support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq which split Europe in 2003… Britain has not joined the single currency or the Schengen zone of passport-free travel, and… Blair had negotiated elaborate opt-outs from the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights and police and judicial cooperation… Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the former French president, joined the ‘Stop Blair’ chorus, underlining Britain’s absence from the central European economic project of the last decade — the euro.

“Some EU officials question what Blair has achieved in seven months in the Middle East… Blair might garner support from north European states such as the Netherlands, Sweden and Poland that favour a free-market, looser form of European integration, but opposition in countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain would outweigh that.

“[Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude] Juncker, [chairman of finance ministers of the 15-nation euro zone,] whose Eurogroup term expires conveniently at the end of this year, made clear his own interest in the role in a French newspaper interview on Monday PROVIDED IT HAD REAL POWER. ‘It will all depend on the precise job description. I have no intention of just cutting ribbons like a president of the French Fourth Republic,’ he told business daily Les Echos…”

Many European politicians begin to express more forcefully that the new President of Europe must have REAL powers. Ultimately, he will–but this won’t be good news for the world. Please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

Adoption of the EU Lisbon Treaty

The EUObserver reported on February 4 about developments in France:

“French MPs have voted in favour of amending their country’s constitution to allow adoption of the EU Lisbon Treaty… Following the constitutional amendment, the National Assembly and Senate will hold separate votes on the adoption of the treaty on Thursday. Although the Socialists would have preferred a referendum on the treaty, they intend to vote Yes to the treaty itself…

“The Lisbon Treaty replaces the Constitutional Treaty voted down in referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005… Last week, a poll by French left-wing newspaper Liberation said that 59% of French voters favoured a referendum on the treaty and 33% approved of its adoption by parliament.”

The EUObserver added on February 5 about events in the UK:

“Four UK Labour MPs are facing disciplinary action for taking part in a campaign for a referendum on the EU’s Lisbon treaty against the Labour-led government’s wishes… The move comes ahead of unofficial referendums on the EU’s new document… The mock popular votes are aimed at putting pressure on the country’s prime minister, Gordon Brown, who has opted for parliamentary ratification of the EU treaty.

“The Labour party had previously promised to organise a referendum on the original European Constitution in its pre-election manifesto, but it now argues that the current Lisbon treaty – which contains most of the constitution’s innovations – is a different document.”

The article continued:

“Meanwhile, Romania became the fourth country to ratify the EU treaty… The green light from Bucharest means a continuation of the new EU member states’ lead in the ratification marathon, with Hungary, Slovenia and Malta preceding the Black Sea country with the move. ‘This is another important step towards our objective of a new treaty in force by 1 January 2009,’ European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement. ‘I hope that other member states will quickly follow the lead given by the four countries that have now approved the Treaty,’ he added.”

The march towards European unification is unstoppable. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

European Peacekeeping Force in Chad–What’s REALLY Behind It?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 29:

“After months of delay, the European Union finally agreed Monday to deploy a 3,700-strong peacekeeping force to Chad and the Central Africa Republic to help humanitarian aid workers and refugees seeking to escape the chaos in the neighboring Darfur region of Sudan… French soldiers will make up more than half of the force. Thirteen other countries — though not Germany — have also pledged to contribute troops.

“The rebellion raging in Darfur since 2003 has led to an estimated 200,000 deaths and 2.5 million refugees, many of whom have fled into neighboring countries in the hope of finding safety. But Chad itself is currently facing its own turmoil…

“German commentators seem skeptical… believing that France’s historical ties to its former colony and its interests in the region make its INTENTIONS MORE THAN JUST HUMANITARIAN.

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘The European Union has needed three more months than promised to get soldiers on the march in order to help the refugees from Darfur and Chad. The Europeans have had to listen to a lot of criticism on account of this delay. Some have complained that it is scandalous that the EU is incapable of quickly mustering a few thousand men and a handful of helicopters. Others accuse it of really lacking the political will to provide assistance in a lost corner of Africa… Many countries, among them Germany, have held back — but not out of callousness. They do not see the deployment as being useful toward solving the Darfur crisis…’

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung also expressed skepticism about the stated aims of the mission: ‘The Chad mission is not what it seems. What, then, is it? France, the former colonial power in Chad, is contributing the largest contingent. France protects the rebel, dictator and Gadhafi-sidekick [Chad’s President] Idriss Deby, both of whom launched a coordinated invasion of Darfur at the end of the ’80s. France keeps its military staging point for Africa in Chad along with the continent’s longest airstrip. Now [French] President Sarkozy has used massive pressure to ‘Europeanize’ the deployment to Chad, though the more precise word is ‘camouflage.’ So, why the big charade? Strategically speaking, Chad is ONE OF THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT COUNTRIES IN AFRICA, next to Djibouti and Eritrea, both of which are NEAR THE SEA PASSAGE to the Gulf. Chad’s neighbor Niger has vast amounts of uranium, and there are vast amounts of oil in three other neighbors — Nigeria, Libya and Sudan…'”

Europe Ueber Alles?

Recently, there have been several stories surrounding the Serbia/Kosovo quagmire, but interestingly, the perceived solution seems to evolve around membership for Serbia in the EU. Piece by piece, Europe is rising as a formidable force to extinguish historical differences that have created the patchwork of nations on this continent.

Reuters reported on February 5:

“Serbia’s prime minister on Tuesday denounced plans to sign an accord with the European Union as a trick to lure it into rubber-stamping an independent Kosovo, piling pressure on a creaking ruling coalition. The statement by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica exposed a deep rift with pro-Western President Boris Tadic over Serbia’s EU accession drive and could threaten plans to sign a deal that would put Serbia on the road to membership.

“Tadic won re-election on Sunday on a pledge of pursuing EU membership no matter what happens with Serbia’s breakaway province where the 90-percent Albanian majority is poised to declare independence this month, with the West’s backing…

“‘After the referendum confirmation of our country’s European orientation, not a single party or politician can prevent what our citizens want and that is that we sign this agreement and join the EU as soon as possible,’ said deputy PM Bozidar Djelic.”

Europe Concerned About Berlusconi’s Possible Comeback

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 6:

“Attempts to form an interim government in Italy have failed and President Giorgio Napolitano has been forced to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections for April… Observers outside Italy may be looking on in disbelief but it appears that media magnate [and former two-time Prime Minister] Silvio Berlusconi is about to be given another crack at power in Rome… [Prime Minister Romano] Prodi’s government fell victim to the inherent weakness of the system, after a tiny Catholic party withdrew its support, provoking the collapse of the coalition on Jan. 24. His administration had been consistently undermined by bickering between the nine ruling parties, particularly the Catholic and Communist groups.

“There is a widespread assumption that Berlusconi will win the forthcoming snap elections… media commentators are already predicting more instability ahead… The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung is pessimistic about the role Berlusconi is likely to play in Europe. ‘With him it will be almost impossible to reliably agree on a European position, for example if the Iran crisis were to escalate. Then Berlusconi will decide as he always does: on the basis of short-term opportunistic considerations. He won’t strengthen Italy in this way — but he is sure to weaken Europe.'”

Terror Is Back in Israel

Der Spiegel Online wrote on February 5:

“Terrorists struck again in Israel on Monday in the first suicide bombing the country has seen in a year. It was an attack that politicians and military officers say they have seen coming for days. The bloody deed, which claimed the lives of one Israeli woman and the two suicide bombers, came as no surprise for many Israelis. Now that the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is open, it has become easier for terrorists to reach Israel from Gaza. Security experts have been warning that terrorists in Gaza would see this as a new opportunity — and would take advantage of it. This week, they were proven right…

“The nonchalance with which Israel has accepted the gaps in its border fence is astonishing. At the international airport in Tel Aviv, Israeli border agents question arriving passengers in painstaking detail before issuing entry visas, and the West Bank is being sealed off with a security fence. But at its border with Egypt, Israel tolerates ‘that anyone can get in who wants to get in,’ says Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit. Israel’s roughly 300-kilometer (186-mile) desert border with Egypt is not secured and in many places not even marked by a fence. Israeli intelligence is aware of at least 30 locations where it is possible to cross the border between the two countries without having to pass through a border control. Many of Israel’s military observation posts are either permanently or often unmanned. This lack of security is attributable to successive administrations’ unwillingness to pay the necessary costs of a fence that would run upwards of €500 million ($734 million), as Sheetrit estimates…

“The situation is more explosive than ever…  In recent days, Palestinians have taken advantage of the open border to bring weapons and ammunition into the Gaza Strip, including armor-piercing grenades, rockets and anti-aircraft missiles… dozens of Palestinian activists trained in Iranian camps have also returned to Gaza in recent days… Israeli hardliners are calling for a large-scale military campaign against the Gaza Strip so that Israel can put a stop to the terrorists once and for all. But… there is no evidence that military force is even capable of solving the problem.”

Israel to Build Egypt Border Fence

On February 6, 2008, The Jerusalem Post reported the following:

“Israel will soon begin construction of a security fence along certain parts of the Israeli-Egyptian border, it was decided Wednesday in a meeting between the prime minister, defense minister, foreign minister and security officials. The fence will be built in northern Nitzana and southern Eilat, regions considered to be particularly vulnerable to infiltration. Monitoring of other areas will be reinforced by additional ground forces and aerial observation measures.

“The need for a fence along the open border with Egypt was highlighted recently by the breaching of the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move freely between the two territories, as well as – Israel believes – enabling many terrorists to sneak into Sinai. The construction of the fence is expected to LAST SEVERAL YEARS and may force across-the-board budget cuts of an estimated NIS 1 billion.”

Human Embryo With Three “Parents”

On February 5, 2008, BBC News reported the following shocking and outrageous example of so-called “artificial creation” and subsequent destruction or murder of human life, under the guise of “scientific research and advancement”:

“Scientists believe they have made a breakthrough in IVF treatment by creating a human embryo with three separate parents. The Newcastle University team believe the technique could help to eradicate a whole class of hereditary diseases, including some forms of epilepsy. The embryos have been created using DNA from a man and two women in lab tests… Within hours of their creation, the nucleus, containing DNA from the mother and father, was removed from the embryo, and implanted into a donor egg whose DNA had been largely removed… The embryos then began to develop normally, but were DESTROYED [within] six days…

“… the Newcastle work has attracted opposition. Josephine Quintavalle, of the pro-life group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said it was ‘risky, dangerous’ and a step towards ‘designer babies.’ ‘It is human beings they are experimenting with,’ she said. ‘We should not be messing around with the building blocks of life.’ Mrs Quintavalle said embryo research in the US using DNA from one man and two women was discontinued because of the ‘huge abnormalities’ in some cases.”

President Bush’s Final State of the Union Address

On January 28, President Bush gave his final State of the Union address. We are publishing the following excerpts:

“Most Americans think their taxes are high enough… There is only one way to eliminate this uncertainty: make the tax relief permanent. And Members of Congress should know: If any bill raising taxes reaches my desk, I will veto it…

“On matters of science and life… I call on the Congress to pass legislation that bans unethical practices such as the buying, selling, patenting, or cloning of human life…

“We must also find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally. Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals.

“… one Army brigade combat team and one Marine Expeditionary Unit have already come home [from Iraq] and will not be replaced. In the coming months, four additional brigades and two Marine battalions will follow suit. Taken together, this means more than 20,000 of our troops are coming home. Any further drawdown of U.S. troops will be based on conditions in Iraq and the recommendations of our commanders… The mission in Iraq has been difficult and trying for our Nation. But it is in the vital interest of the United States that we succeed… By contrast, a failed Iraq would embolden extremists, strengthen Iran, and give terrorists a base from which to launch new attacks on our friends, our allies, and our homeland…

“This month in Ramallah and Jerusalem, I assured leaders from both sides that America will do, and I will do, everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year. The time has come for a Holy Land where a democratic Israel and a democratic Palestine live side-by-side in peace…

“Iran is funding and training militia groups in Iraq, supporting Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, and backing Hamas’ efforts to undermine peace in the Holy Land. Tehran is also developing ballistic missiles of increasing range and continues to develop its capability to enrich uranium, which could be used to create a nuclear weapon. Our message to the people of Iran is clear: We have no quarrel with you, we respect your traditions and your history, and we look forward to the day when you have your freedom. Our message to the leaders of Iran is also clear: Verifiably suspend your nuclear enrichment, so negotiations can begin… America will confront those who threaten our troops, we will stand by our allies, and we will defend our vital interests in the Persian Gulf.

“On the homefront, we will continue to take every lawful and effective measure to protect our country. This is our most solemn duty. We are grateful that there has not been another attack on our soil since September 11. This is not for a lack of desire or effort on the part of the enemy. In the past 6 years, we have stopped numerous attacks, including a plot to fly a plane into the tallest building in Los Angeles and another to blow up passenger jets bound for America over the Atlantic…

“America is leading the fight against global hunger. Today, more than half the world’s food aid comes from the United States… America is leading the fight against disease. With your help, we are working to cut by half the number of malaria-related deaths in 15 African nations. And our Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is treating 1.4 million people… I call on you to double our initial commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS by approving an additional $30 billion over the next 5 years…

“By trusting the people, our Founders wagered that a great and noble Nation could be built on the liberty that resides in the hearts of all men and women. By trusting the people, succeeding generations transformed our fragile young democracy into the most powerful Nation on earth and a beacon of hope for millions. And so long as we continue to trust the people, our Nation will prosper, our liberty will be secure, and the State of our Union will remain strong. So tonight, with confidence in freedom’s power, and trust in the people, let us set forth to do their business…”

We are not going to comment in detail on the above-quoted excerpts, as they basically speak for themselves. However, we would like to make one notable exception, by pointing out the following:

The Bible makes it very clear that this Nation became powerful because of the MERCY OF GOD–TRUST IN THE PEOPLE HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. Because of Abraham’s unconditional FAITH IN GOD AND his OBEDIENCE of THE LAW OF GOD, God promised his descendants, among other things, to become a PROSPEROUS AND POWERFUL NATION. But God also said that if Abraham’s descendants, in these modern times, were to disobey God and forsake their trust in Him, they would lose their prosperity and wealth. For further information, please read our free booklets, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America,” and “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”

No Troop Reductions in Iraq this Summer?

Following President Bush’s speech on Monday night, indicating possible troop reductions in Iraq, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday, January 29:

“The Bush administration is sending strong signals that U.S. troop reductions in Iraq will slow or stop altogether this summer, a move that would jeopardize hopes of relieving strain on the Army and Marine Corps and revive debate over an open-ended U.S. commitment in Iraq.

“The indications of a likely slowdown reflect concern by U.S. commanders that the improvement in security in Iraq since June… is tenuous and could be reversed if the extra troops come out too soon.”

USA Unprepared for an Attack?

The Associated Press wrote on January 31:

“The U.S. military isn’t ready for a catastrophic attack on the country, and National Guard forces don’t have the equipment or training they need for the job, according to a report. Even fewer Army National Guard units are combat-ready today than were nearly a year ago when the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves determined that 88 percent of the units were not prepared for the fight…

“The commission’s 400-page report concludes that the nation ‘does not have sufficient trained, ready forces available’ to respond to a chemical, biological or nuclear weapons incident, ‘an appalling gap that places the nation and its citizens at greater risk.’

“‘Right now we don’t have the forces we need, we don’t have them trained, we don’t have the equipment,’ commission Chairman Arnold Punaro said in an interview with The Associated Press. ‘Even though there is a lot going on in this area, we need to do a lot more. … There’s a lot of things in the pipeline, but in the world we live in — you’re either ready or you’re not.'”

Peace in the Middle East?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 29 about the situation in Gaza and blamed America and Israel for the debacle. It stated the following:

“The mass jailbreak of Gazans into Egypt revealed the bankruptcy of both Israel’s policy of collective punishment and Bush’s attempt to make Mideast peace… Of the mass breakout, the Associated Press wrote, ‘It … reminded the world that 1.5 million Gazans, many already bitterly poor, cannot remain locked up indefinitely.’ It may have reminded the world of that, but it certainly didn’t remind America… The Congress and the presidential candidates, Democratic and Republican, ignored the Gaza crisis, or weighed in with predictably pro-Israel statements. Even the most progressive candidate, Barack Obama, went out of his way to take Israel’s side…

“Yes, Israel has the right to defend itself against the Qassam rocket attacks. But it was not forced to cut off power, medicine and food to do that. It chose to impose that siege (with Bush’s obvious, if unspoken, blessing) because it hoped that by punishing the people of Gaza, they would overthrow their Hamas-led government. One need not defend Hamas to recognize that ‘sending a message’ by punishing the people who live under its rule is a textbook case of collective punishment, which is illegal under international law…

“The Gaza jailbreak represents the end of Bush’s delusional attempt to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace. Annapolis is now dead, killed before it even started. The fatal flaw of Bush’s approach was that it assumed that dividing the Palestinians would lead to peace, when just the opposite is true…

“Collectively punishing the people of Gaza, far from causing them to rise up and throw out Hamas, as Bush and [Israel’s President] Olmert fantasized, only further radicalized them. American and Israeli intransigence and ineptitude have only succeeded in strengthening the hard-liners and weakening the moderates…

“The recent Gaza jailbreak showed that a deal is urgently necessary. The pot just boiled over. It hasn’t exploded yet, but if it does, it won’t just be the Palestinians and Israelis who get burned.”

Will “Foreigners” Control U.S. Economy?

World Net Daily wrote on January 31:

“Sovereign Wealth Funds in six Persian Gulf countries – including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – have now amassed $1.7 trillion, positioning them for attempts to control major banks and securities firms in the U.S…  Increasingly, U.S. investment bankers are traveling to the Middle East to meet what Business Week calls the ‘New Kings of Wall Street.’… Among U.S. companies, including many of the largest banks and financial institutions, there are many candidates that now or soon may be more than willing to receive capital infusions from foreign sources.

“… a national outrage broke out in 2006 when a Dubai company… proposed to take over operation of some 22 U.S. ports… In the closing months of last year, foreign investments announced to help major U.S. banks and financial institutions received, by comparison, almost no public outcry. Many believe that’s largely because the infusion of foreign capital was perceived by the public as necessary as troubled U.S. financial institutions scrambled to find capital required to continue [operations]…”

Economy Stimulus–Not So Fast

The Associated Press reported on January 29:

“The House, seizing a rare moment of bipartisanship to respond to the economy’s slump, overwhelmingly passed a $146 billion aid package Tuesday that would speed rebates of $600-$1,200 to most taxpayers. The plan, approved 385-35 after little debate, would send at least some rebate to anyone with at least $3,000 in income, with more going to families with children and less going to wealthier taxpayers.

“It faced a murky future in the Senate, though, where Democrats and some Republicans backed a larger package that adds billions of dollars for senior citizens and the unemployed, and shrinks the rebate to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples. That plan… would deliver checks even to the richest taxpayers, who are disqualified under the House-passed measure. Both versions would provide tax breaks to businesses to spur equipment and other purchases…

“Congressional leaders are aiming to send the measure to Bush by Feb. 15. But the divergent plans — and bids by Senate Democrats and Republicans to swell the package with more add-ons — could drag out that schedule.”

Reuters reported on January 31:

“The Senate Finance Committee approved a $157 billion economic stimulus package on Wednesday that offers smaller tax rebates to more people than a plan passed by the House of Representatives. The committee approved the bill as the full Senate prepared to begin debate as early as Thursday on competing versions of an economic stimulus plan lawmakers hope will encourage consumer and business spending to help stave off an election-year recession.

“President George W. Bush wants the Senate to accept the $146 billion package passed Tuesday by the House… The Finance Committee bill, approved on a vote of 14-7, would provide a flat $500 tax rebate to individuals and $1,000 for couples, plus $300 per child. The rebates also would go to about 20 million low-income retirees on Social Security who would not receive checks under the $146 billion House stimulus bill.”

In addition to this political wrangling, unanswered questions remain as to how, exactly, these proposed rebates would have to be handled by the recipients. Are they taxable income which will have to be declared on income tax returns, and for which tax will have to be paid? Or, worse yet, as some local TV newscasters have suggested, are they merely loans to be repaid to the IRS? If so, that would be a most ridiculous attempt to stir up the economy.

Also, the question has been asked where the money for the rebates is supposed to come from. One political candidate for President has suggested repeatedly that it would be borrowed from China, and that the rebate money itself would be used by most recipients to buy products made in China–thereby helping the Chinese economy, rather than the U.S. economy.

 

The American Financial Sickness

On January 28, 2008, Der Stern Online wrote in an article, titled, “Farewell to America”:

“The US mortgage crisis affects the financial world and financial experts worldwide. But even if the US financial sickness is transmitted again to the rest of the world–the days are numbered when the USA determined the economic fate of the world.”

AFP reported on January 30 that the US “economy nearly stalled in the fourth quarter with a growth rate of just 0.6 percent, capping its worst year since 2002,” and that “Fears of a recession have grown.” It added: “The fourth-quarter’s performance was much weaker — half the pace — than economists were expecting.”

Bloomberg added on January 30:

“Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., UBS AG and other banks may be forced to post up to $70 billion in writedowns should bond insurers lose their top credit ratings, according to Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Meredith Whitney. Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and UBS AG, which have already suffered the biggest losses from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, according to Bloomberg data, hold 45 percent of the ‘entire market risk,’ Whitney wrote in a note to clients dated yesterday.”

“Searching For Mr. Europe”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 28:

“Less than one year from now, the European Union will choose its first long-term president… It took years for the European Union to finally agree that it should even have a president. Now, with just 12 months to go before the 27-member bloc is set to inaugurate its first full time leader, the name-game surrounding the position has begun in earnest. And so has the backbiting.

“Until now, the bloc’s leadership was passed around on a rotating basis, with a new country taking the helm every six months. But according to the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, signed in the Portuguese capital in December and currently in the process of being ratified across the continent, the new ‘President of the European Council’ will hold office for a two-and-a-half year term.

“Tony Blair is one prominent name that has been bandied about recently. The former British prime minister is said to have a good shot, and he has powerful friends. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has thrown his support behind Blair for reasons of both personality and politics…

“But numerous Social Democrats and most Christian Democrats, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, aren’t as impressed. On Monday, the Daily Telegraph also reported that senior allies of current Prime Minister Gordon Brown were plotting to wreck Blair’s ambitions for the post out of concern that his appointment could reignite old divisions within his Labour Party…”

It is interesting that even though the European member states still need to ratify the Lisbon treaty, it appears to be a foregone conclusion by mainland European commentators that the treaty WILL be ratified–with the result that Europe WILL have its first long-time president within ONE YEAR.

A European Party to Defend Against “Islamisation”?

BBC News reported on January 25:

“The heads of far-right parties from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and France said their aim was to defend Europe against ‘Islamisation’ and immigrants. At a news conference in Vienna, they said they expected to launch the party by 15 November. The move comes several months after the collapse of a far-right bloc in the European Parliament… The far-right leaders need support from seven EU parties to launch the group, but [Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian] Strache said that the goal was to have ‘more than 10 parties as members and ideally one party from each EU country.'”

No More Mosques and Minarets in Parts of Austria

Der Spiegel Online reported on January 29:

“A far-right party in the Austrian state of Carinthia, led by the notorious right-wing politician Jörg Haider, is trying to ban the construction of mosques and minarets. They’ve presented a draft law designed to prohibit ‘unusual’ buildings that don’t fit in with traditional architecture… ‘With the help of this law, it will be de facto impossible to construct mosques or minarets in Carinthia,’ Uwe Scheuch, the minister responsible for urban planning, told journalists Saturday… Scheuch, who belongs to Haider’s right-wing Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) party, insisted, however, that the law would not infringe on Austria’s constitutional right to freedom of religion.
 
“Officially, the law is not aimed directly at mosques and minarets, but at ‘unusual’ buildings that stand out ‘because of their unusual architecture or size (height).’… BZÖ will need the support of the conservative Austrian People’s Party if it is to get the draft law passed in the state government. That seems assured…

“The draft law reflects a growing wave of anti-Muslim sentiment in Austria, where Muslims make up around 4 percent of the population. Another Austrian state, Vorarlberg, which has the highest proportion of Muslims in Austria, is also considering a ban on minarets. Erwin Pröll, the governor of the state of Lower Austria, who belongs to the People’s Party, recently described minarets as ‘alien’ to Austrian culture in a television interview… Meanwhile, in Germany, a planned mosque in Cologne has also been causing controversy.”

Europe–A Club of “Christians”?

AFP reported on January 27:

“Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan warned the European Union against becoming a ‘club of Christians’ as he pushed Saturday for Ankara’s membership in the bloc… EU heavyweights France and Germany are both opposed to full Turkish membership, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been particularly vocal on the issue, arguing that the mainly Muslim country does not belong in Europe. Babacan regretted that the issue of religion had apparently become a factor in the debate on Turkey’s accession… Babacan also argued that allowing Turkey into the EU would allow the bloc to act as a bridge between the West and the Islamic world… ‘The Turkish military has been a good supporter of Turkey’s EU accession process … although it is not a black and white thing,’ he said.”

Angela Merkel Under Fire After State Vote Debacle

AFP wrote on January 28:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced tough questions Monday after her conservatives suffered heavy losses in a key state election… Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) lost their absolute majority and finished just one-tenth of a percentage point ahead of the Social Democrats (SPD) in Hesse, home to the business capital Frankfurt. The chancellor had vocally backed the law-and-order campaign and was sharply criticised for the drubbing her party took in Hesse Sunday. Merkel ‘must ask herself how this was possible and also take a look at herself in the search for answers,’ the top-selling Bild newspaper said. The election was Merkel’s first genuine test at the ballot box since she came to power in 2005 at the head of a fractious power-sharing government of the CDU and the SPD…

“The conservatives’ bitterly divisive campaign based on tough measures to deal with young criminals from immigrant backgrounds appeared to have seriously backfired, allowing a strong lead in the polls to vanish in just a few weeks. As expected, the CDU scored a clear victory in the neighbouring state of Lower Saxony in another election held Sunday, but turned in a weaker score than four years ago… If the conservatives lose control of Hesse, it is likely to put further strain on Merkel’s already fragile ‘grand coalition’, with each party trying to sharpen its profile on hot-button issues including taxes, health care reform and foreign policy. Federation of German Industry chief Juergen Thumann said he found the political trend troubling. ‘The shift to the left in Germany continues,’ he told business daily Handelsblatt. ‘We are watching current developments with the greatest concern.’ The CDU faces another fight to hold on to power next month when voters go to the polls in the city-state of Hamburg.”

How Hitler Came To Power 75 Years Ago–Warning Signs for Us Today!

Deutsche Welle reported on January 30:

“On Jan. 30, 1933, Hitler was named German chancellor, spelling the end to the Weimar Republic — Germany’s convulsive experiment with democracy between 1919 and 1933. The period was dubbed the ‘Weimar Republic’ by historians in honor of the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to write and adopt a new constitution for the German Reich following the nation’s defeat in World War I.”

Deutsche Welle interviewed Eric Weitz, chairman of the history department at the University of Minnesota. We are quoting the following excerpts:

“There was despair in abundance to be sure. Two million Germans died in World War I, 4 million were wounded, and men who came back were often severely wounded, both physically and psychologically. Women at the home front during the war, experienced four years of intense privation. And afterwards there came the post-war crisis — readjustment and hyperinflation…

“If we look at the economy and the election of 1928 just prior to the onset of the Great Depression, we can see a move back to the center politically and signs of serious economic progress… Without the Depression, the republic would at least have had a chance. It had managed to survive the hyperinflation of 1923… But it was the [Depression] that came from the United States to Germany very fast and very strongly that certainly unleashed the final blow.

“… in 1928, the Nazi party was a marginal, unimportant political group which had very little resonance beyond some very distinctive places that were already in depression before the Great Depression — agricultural areas in particular… In a depression especially, people look for solutions and the republic was not offering any to the economic crisis. From 1930 onwards, Germany was governed under a presidential dictatorship because the political system was so fragmented that the Reichstag could not assemble or function in parliamentary majority. So the chancellor from spring of 1930 onwards, Heinrich Brüning and his successors, governed largely through emergency powers proclaimed by the president, Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg.

“But I do want to underscore the fact that the Nazis never received a majority vote in a popular, freely contested election. In the summer of 1932, they received 37.4 percent of the vote — the highest they would ever receive. It’s a significant jump to be sure but that’s not a majority and the popular phrase that one hears so often in the United States, ‘the German people elected Hitler to power or elected the Nazis to power’ — that’s wrong, it’s inaccurate, it’s untrue. THE NAZIS WERE NEVER ELECTED TO POWER. In the next election, in the [Fall] of 1932, they already lost a significant percentage of the support they had gained in the summer. The Nazi party was in disarray. At the very end, they came to power because the establishment conservative elite, a coterie of powerful men around President Hindenburg, HANDED POWER OVER to the Nazis. That alliance is what ultimately killed the republic.”

These were interesting developments pertaining to the NINTH REVIVAL of the ancient Roman Empire (see our Q&A in this Update). When we focus on the final and last resurrection of the Roman Empire, we note that something similar will happen again–although on a much broader European scale. We read in Revelation 17:12-13 that ten future leaders of European nations or groups of nations will HAND POWER OVER to a charismatic European military leader, called “the beast” in prophecy.

Germany’s “Brave” and “Humble” Self-Accusations?

The International Herald Tribune wrote on January 28:

“Most countries celebrate the best in their past. Germany unrelentingly promotes its worst… This Wednesday marks the 75th anniversary of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party taking power in Germany, which remarkably has prompted yet a new round of soul-searching… ‘Where in the world has one ever seen a nation that erects memorials to immortalize its own shame?’ said Avi Primor, the former Israeli ambassador to Germany, at an event commemorating the Holocaust and the liberation of Auschwitz on Friday in Erfurt. ‘Only the Germans had the bravery and the humility.’

“It is not just in edifices and exhibits that the effort to come to terms with this history continues unabated. The Federal Crime Office last year began an investigation into itself: trying to shine a light on the Nazi past of its founders after the end of the war. And earlier this month the federal prosecutor overturned the guilty verdict of the communist Marinus van der Lubbe, the Dutchman executed for allegedly setting the Reichstag fire, the 75th anniversary of which is Feb. 27… Germany’s relationship with its Nazi history still regularly generates controversy…”

It is within Germany’s official and publicly announced political correctness to deal repeatedly, openly and predominantly with Germany’s Nazi past–as dutifully pronounced by politicians and the mainstream press. However, many Germans (most of them were not even born yet when Nazi Germany collapsed) are growing increasingly tired of this policy which keeps wallowing in the mud of the past. And if Germany’s political scene and press are not careful, those habitual actions of commemorating the shameful past, could very soon backfire.

How Many More Monuments for Berlin?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 29:

“The federal government on Monday announced that two new Holocaust monuments — within walking distance of the sprawling, five-acre Jewish memorial — will soon be completed. One will be dedicated to the gay and lesbian victims of the Holocaust. And in February, construction will begin on another new monument dedicated to the Sinti and Roma, often called Gypsies, who died in the Nazi camps.”

The article continued:

“… advocates for other groups persecuted and murdered by the Nazis [including] Soviet prisoners of war… looking for memorials of their own… A group representing those imprisoned and sentenced to death for deserting the German army is also interested in a memorial. The Third Reich likewise persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses as a group and also killed thousands of handicapped people. None of those groups have a prominent place in central Berlin.”

Will Germany Be Further Embroiled in the Afghan War?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on January 30:

“A day after NATO formerly requested that Germany send combat troops to Afghanistan and two days after Canada warned it would leave if more help didn’t come south, Germans are debating whether sending more troops means more danger… Germany will make a final decision in the coming weeks as to whether it will deploy up to 250 combat troops to the country to supplement the 3,500 German soldiers already serving there, primarily in the more peaceful north… The German media on Wednesday looked at the implications of the NATO request, which could see Germany further embroiled in Afghanistan…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘There’s no reason to panic, but there surely is reason to worry. …The arguments of the critics who are warning of the dangers of the new Afghanistan deployment are justified. The politicians should stop playing them down and allaying them. It is right to not change the German army’s basic strategy in Afghanistan and to not go on the offensive against the Taliban…’

“The conservative Die Welt writes: ‘Germany cannot turn down the request from Brussels, demanding loyalty and solidarity with the allied partner countries — the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Great Britain — who are under constant fire in Afghanistan… But there must be more truthfulness [by NATO] in the discussions concerning Germany’s deployment.’

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes… ‘”Of course, it’s easy for the Americans to point the finger at the other allies. But it’s also true that it was in no way the case that all Europeans were convinced of the usefulness of the mission to Afghanistan in the first place. (It) is far away. The overthrow of the Taliban is already six years behind us, and yet the allies are preparing themselves to stay there for many more years. The burdens have already been enormous. There’s no chance that voters are going to allow further adventures.'”

Deutsche Welle added on January 30:

“Reacting to the news that NATO planned to send more troops to his country to counter the threat of a resurgent Taliban backed by supporters of al Qaeda, [Afghan President Hamid] Karzai said training the Afghan police and army was more important than sending more foreign troops to the country.”

India’s Most Serious Outbreak of Bird Flu

Reuters reported on January 28:

“Bird flu has spread to 13 of West Bengal’s 19 districts… In neighboring Bangladesh, the disease has spread to 29 of… its 64 districts. Experts fear the H5N1 strain found in both countries could mutate into a form easily transmitted from person to person, leading to a pandemic… The World Health Organization has said it is India’s most serious outbreak of bird flu. Over 1.5 million birds have already been culled since the deadly H5N1 virus hit the state earlier this month. Another half a million chickens and ducks will be slaughtered in the next few days, officials said.”

Human Kidneys for Sale

USA Today reported on January 29:

“India is reeling from the news that a ring of doctors may have taken kidneys from hundreds of poor people and then sold them to wealthy patients from around the world…  Two weeks ago, NDTV filmed the suspected mastermind telling a reporter that he would charge 15 lakhs (about $38,000) to facilitate and perform a kidney transplant… ABC News says Indian police are holding two U.S. citizens they suspect of trying to purchase kidneys from the ring. ‘Five foreign tourists, including the two Americans, were found Saturday in what police described as a “luxury guest house,” awaiting kidneys. There was reportedly a transplant waiting list of some 40 foreigners from at least five countries,’ the network reports from Mumbai.”

Terrible Violence in Kenya

The Associated Press reported on January 28:

“Thousands of machete-wielding youths hunted down members of President Mwai Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe Monday in western Kenya’s Rift Valley, torching homes and buses, clashing with police, and blocking roads with burning tires… The death toll has soared over 800… 255,000 people [have been] driven from their homes this month… The bloodshed has transformed this once-stable African country, pitting longtime neighbors against one another and turning tourist towns into no-go zones.”

AFP added on January 28:

“Mobs in Kenya hacked and burnt dozens of people to death on Monday as tribal violence ignited by flawed presidential elections over a month ago threatened to spiral out of control. The upsurge in violence… has undermined the latest mediation efforts, led by Kofi Annan, to try to resolve the political deadlock since President Mwai Kibaki’s disputed re-election… The European Union warned it would cut aid to Kenya unless Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claims he was robbed of victory in the December 27 election, showed they were seeking a solution to the crisis.”

USA Today added on January 29:

“A gang beheaded a doctor in apparent retaliation for the slaying of an opposition lawmaker Tuesday… In western Kenya’s Rift Valley, where much of the violence is focused, thousands of machete-wielding youths from both Kikuyu and Luo tribes hunted each other down, burned homes, and clashed with police who appeared overwhelmed… Human rights groups and officials charge the violence in Kenya has become organized [‘by hidden hands’].”

AFP reported on January 30 that “Kenyan police have been given orders to shoot to kill in a bid to stem weeks of violence…”

On January 31, The Associated Press wrote:

“A police officer gunned down an opposition lawmaker in Kenya Thursday, the second such killing this week in a country that has been gripped by ethnic violence since its disputed presidential election, officials said.

“National police chief Hussein Ali said lawmaker David Too was killed in ‘a crime of passion’ involving the girlfriend of the traffic policeman arrested in the shooting. But the opposition called it an assassination, making clear they saw it as part of the country’s deepening ethnic strife.

“After the killing, thousands of people from Too’s Kalenjin ethnic group sought revenge by setting houses on fire and blocking roads with rocks on the outskirts of the western town of Kericho, near the slain lawmaker’s constituency. Other tribes fled to the police station for fear of reprisals. Similar violence broke out in other towns.”

Sodom in Brazil

AFP wrote on January 30:

“The Brazilian city of Recife is to distribute morning-after pills to women during carnival after public prosecutors on Tuesday rejected a Catholic Church lawsuit claiming the initiative promoted sex and provided ‘abortions.’ ‘The pill has no abortive effect, as the archdiocese claims, and its distribution is in no way an incentive to have sex,’ the prosecutor… told AFP. On top of its legal defeat, the church has come under fire from the Brazilian government for attempting to sway public health policy.

“‘The (Recife) mayor’s office is right and the church is wrong, again,’ Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao said Sunday, as the issue was coming to a head. ‘The morning-after pill is used with medical guidance and is a matter of public health, not religion,’ he said, adding that he believed the church was alienating youths with its stance…  Morning-after pills must be used within 72 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse. They work by blocking fertilization. According to the newspaper Pernambuco, the archbishop at the center of the storm, Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, is not prepared to back down on the issue, and had threatened excommunication to any church-goers who use the pill.”

Man-Made Catastrophes…

The Associated Press reported on January 27:

“A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and could hit the Earth in late February or early March, government officials said Saturday. The satellite, which no longer can be controlled, could contain hazardous materials, and it is unknown where on the planet it might come down, they said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is classified as secret. It was not clear how long ago the satellite lost power, or under what circumstances… The spacecraft contains hydrazine… [which is] a toxic chemical and can cause harm to anyone who contacts it.

“[John] Pike, [a defense and intelligence expert] said it’s not likely the threat from the satellite could be eliminated by shooting it down with a missile, because that would create debris that would then re-enter the atmosphere and burn up or hit the ground. Pike… estimated that the spacecraft weighs about 20,000 pounds and is the size of a small bus.”

The Associated Press added on January 30:

“The U.S. military is developing contingency plans to deal with the possibility that a large spy satellite expected to fall to Earth in late February or early March could hit North America… the size of the satellite suggests that some number of pieces will not burn up as the orbiting vehicle re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere and will hit the ground.

“…the spy satellite is designated by the military as US 193. It was launched in December 2006 but almost immediately lost power and cannot be controlled. It carried a sophisticated and secret imaging sensor but the satellite’s central computer failed shortly after launch.”