Chaos in the Middle East — Will the UN or the EU Intervene?

Der Spiegel Online reported on June 14:

“As the violence in the Gaza Strip escalates, with Hamas tightening its grip on the territory, President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the United Nations for help… The Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Olmert said for the first time on Tuesday that an international force along the Gaza-Egypt border should be seriously considered to help counter the growing strength of Hamas. Israel in the past has resisted Palestinian calls for peacekeepers in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, saying any UN deployment would interfere with Israeli security operations. But there is speculation that Olmert’s calls for international engagement is merely laying the groundwork for Israeli action against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, from which Israeli troops withdrew in 2005… The European Union has also said it would consider participation in an international force in the Gaza Strip. ‘If we are asked, of course we will consider the possibility,’ EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters.”

AFP added on June 14:

“Hamas was poised to seize full control of the Gaza Strip on Thursday, overrunning key security strongholds of the rival Fatah movement after days of ferocious gunbattles in the chaotic territory. The Palestine Liberation Organisation called on president Mahmud Abbas to sack the teetering coalition government and declare a state of emergency after the deaths of almost 100 people in less than a week. Hamas gunmen stormed the compound of the preventive security forces in Gaza City and hoisted the green flag of the Islamist movement on the roof after an hours-long battle that left at least 14 dead and 70 wounded, witnesses said.

“Dozens of Fatah fighters loyal to Abbas, some of them stripped to their underwear, were dragged out of the building with their hands in the air as black-clad masked Hamas gunmen stood watch, they said. Some Islamist fighters prayed on the sidewalk while on the rooftop others fired automatic weapons into the air to celebrate their latest victory in what one Hamas leader described as ‘a battle between Islam and heresy.’ It is [the] largest stronghold of pro-Fatah security services to fall to Hamas — considered a terror outfit by the EU, Israel and the United States — whose disciplined fighters had already overran positions in the south and the north.

“Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, demanded the surrender of the overall Fatah-controlled Palestinian security headquarters as its militiamen besieged the complex in Gaza City. Hamas’s armed wing also declared it had grabbed a security compound in the southern city of Rafah on the border with Egypt and the Fatah intelligence headquarters for the entire Gaza in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.”

The Financial Times reported on Thursday evening, June 14:

“Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, dismissed his Hamas-led government on Thursday night and declared a state of emergency, although with little prospect of imposing it in the Gaza Strip after Hamas routed his Fatah loyalists there in the space of a week. His decrees marked the end of a unity government that the two parties formed in March after agreeing in Mecca on a programme to end their factional strife. In the latest round of violence, Hamas gunmen seized almost all the main Gaza bases of security forces that answer to Mr Abbas.”

A Drought For the Ages

USA Today reported on June 10:

“Drought, a fixture in much of the West for nearly a decade, now covers more than one-third of the continental USA. And it’s spreading. As summer starts, half the nation is either abnormally dry or in outright drought from prolonged lack of rain that could lead to water shortages… Welcome rainfall last weekend from Tropical Storm Barry brought short-term relief to parts of the fire-scorched Southeast. But up to 50 inches of rain is needed to end the drought there, and this is the driest spring in the Southeast since record-keeping began in 1895… In central California, ranchers are selling cattle or trucking them out of state as grazing grass dries up. In Southern California’s Antelope Valley, rainfall at just 15% of normal erased the spring bloom of California poppies…

“Dry episodes have become so persistent in the West that some scientists and water managers say drought is the ‘new normal’ there. Reinforcing that notion are global-warming projections warning of more and deeper dry spells in the Southwest, although a report in last week’s Science magazine challenges the climate models and suggests there will be more rainfall worldwide later this century… This drought has been particularly harsh in three regions: the Southwest, the Southeast and northern Minnesota.

“Severe dryness across California and Arizona has spread into 11 other Western states. On the Colorado River, the water supply for 30 million people in seven states and Mexico, the Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs are only half full and unlikely to recover for years. In Los Angeles County, on track for a record dry year with 21% of normal rain downtown since last summer, fire officials are threatening to cancel Fourth of July fireworks if conditions worsen… In Minnesota, which is in its worst drought since 1976, the situation is improving slowly…

“The Southeast, unaccustomed to prolonged dry spells, may be suffering the most. In eight states from Mississippi to the Carolinas and down through Florida, lakes are shrinking, crops are withering, well levels are falling and there are new limits on water use. ‘We need 40-50 inches of rainfall to get out of the drought,’ says Carol Ann Wehle of the South Florida Water Management District… Texas and Oklahoma, charred by wildfires in the dry winter of 2005-06, are drought-free. Even in California… shortages are unlikely this year. But another dry winter would tax supplies.”

Possibility of Nuclear Chain Reaction in Russia?

The Associated Press reported on June 4:

“The Russian government claimed on Monday that a nuclear waste dump in the Russian Arctic is safe, responding to a Norwegian environmental group’s warning that the site may be in danger of exploding because of corrosion from salt water… [The study group] cited a report from Rosatom, the Russian nuclear authority, in its warning. ‘Ongoing degradation is causing fuel to split into small granules. Calculations show that the creation of a homogenous mixture of these particles with water can cause an uncontrolled chain reaction,’ its translation of the report said.”

No Climate Change Breakthrough at G-8 Summit

The EUObserver wrote on June 7:

“World leaders yesterday (7 June) managed to stave off accusations of calamity at their G8 summit in Heiligendamm, but their climate change ‘breakthrough’ has been condemned as insufficient. At the summit, six of the eight countries agreed to ‘at least halve global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050’ and to achieve the goal together ‘as part of a United Nations process.’  Russia and the US did not sign up to the non-binding pledge by Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Canada and Japan. As a compromise, however, all eight nations agreed to make substantial – but undefined – emissions cuts. The eight countries also agreed to launch negotiations on climate change under the United Nations umbrella starting in December 2007 to be wrapped up by 2009… Acknowledging that the statement is not legally-binding, German chancellor and current G8 host Angela Merkel said she was sure that ‘no one can escape this declaration.'”

Der Spiegel Online reported on June 8 about the “success” of the G-8 summit on gashouse emissions:

“Nevertheless, the compromise still leaves plenty of room for criticism. Before the summit, Merkel had promised not to accept any ‘lazy compromises.’ Her words are now coming back to haunt her, as organizations like Greenpeace, Oxfam and other environmentalist groups take her to task for not living up to them. If there is one thing the final document does not contain, it is mandatory reduction targets for the United States and Russia. This is where Bush has prevailed.”

No Improvement in British-Russian Relationship

The Times wrote on June 9:

“Tony Blair told Vladimir Putin yesterday that the world was becoming more and more afraid of Russia’s behaviour at home and abroad. And as he left his last G8 summit in Germany Mr Blair predicted a lengthy period of deep freeze in relations between Russia and the West. The two men… had a tense, hour-long encounter… Mr Blair raised the murder of the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, Mr Putin’s threats to train missiles on Europe and the treatment of international companies in Russia, particularly BP… [Blair said:] ‘It matters that we start trying to resolve some of these outstanding matters but in the end this is a question of actions rather than words.’ Mr Blair said that Mr Putin had put his case that Russia was not being treated properly by the West, particularly America… Mr Blair added: ‘It was a very frank discussion but what will come out of it is another matter.’

“Mr Blair… has grown increasingly sceptical about [Mr Putin] and believes that Russia’s democratic reforms have gone into reverse. Relations with Russia will be one of Gordon Brown’s main foreign policy headaches. Mr Blair told Mr Putin that Russia’s behaviour would decide how much political and commercial business it would be able to do with the rest of the world.”

Growing Tensions Between Russia and the West

The Financial Times wrote on June 8:

“Growing tensions between Russia and the west overshadowed the close of the Group of Eight summit of industrialised nations in Germany on Friday, as Vladimir Putin hardened his stance on the future of Kosovo and offered further controversial proposals to challenge US plans for Europe-based missile defences… Having already surprised the US with an offer to use a Russian radar base in Azerbaijan for its missile defence shield, Mr Putin on Friday suggested that, instead of Poland, the Pentagon place its missile interceptors in Turkey, Iraq or on ships.

“He also toughened his stance on the future of Kosovo, rejecting French proposals to resolve the future of the troubled territory, under which Kosovo and Serbia would be given six months to negotiate an alternative status for the region or see it become independent.

“The tensions eclipsed the proclaimed achievements of the summit, which was marked by progress [which, according to other articles quotes herein, was not really progress at all] on climate change but disappointment for African countries as G8 countries refused to act on promises to boost aid to their continent significantly.”

US Does Not Abandon Missile Defense Shields in Eastern Europe

The Associated Press reported on June 8:

“President Bush signaled Friday the United States will press ahead with a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe despite Russia’s heated objections… The administration made clear it was not abandoning plans for a missile-defense program in Poland and the Czech Republic despite a surprise counterproposal Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin to instead use a Soviet-era radar tracking station in Azerbaijan [or, as Bild Online reported on June 8, in Turkey, or even Iraq. He said: “What else did they fight the war in Iraq for?”].”

Is G-8 Announcement to Fight Aids a Misleading Betrayal?

The Telegraph wrote on June 9:

“The G8 summit ended yesterday with world leaders pledging to spend £30 billion on fighting Aids, malaria and tuberculosis and stressing their determination to help Africa. But anti-poverty campaigners denounced this as a ‘betrayal’ and said the headline figure was ‘misleading’. Earlier announcements from President George W Bush account for half of the £30 billion and there is no sign that any new money arose from the summit in Germany. The G8 has also ‘watered down’ a pledge brokered by Tony Blair at the Gleneagles summit in 2005 to fund ‘universal access’ to anti-Aids drugs, critics said.

“As the G8 leaders left the Baltic town of Heiligendamm, Bob Geldof, the anti-poverty campaigner and rock star,…  denounced their work as a ‘total farce’. ‘The richest countries in the world, trillions of dollars swirling around that table, smiling in that stupid tent chair with the candy stripes. Do me a favour: get serious. This wasn’t serious, this was a farce, a total farce,’ he said. Bono, Geldof’s fellow rock star and campaigner, accused the leaders of deliberate ‘obfuscation’ and said the summit’s final declaration masked their failure to reach a consensus on helping Africa. The pair singled out the Canadian and Italian prime ministers, Stephen Harper and Romano Prodi, for blocking pledges for more aid.”

Chancellor Merkel–“Miss World”

In an article, dated June 8, Bild Online summarized the results of the G-8 Summit as follows: “Germany hosts the world… we are one world… Merkel can do it!… Problems remain.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on June 8:

“Angela Merkel is basking in widespread praise for steering the G-8 summit to a compromise on combating climate change. The deal may not be the ‘huge success’ she’s calling it, say German commentators, but it’s a start — and that’s all that could realistically be expected…

“Mass circulation Bild newspaper crowned Merkel ‘Miss World’ in a banner headline…’The controversial summit meeting behind the high fence on the Baltic sea was a success for Angela Merkel!… Step-by-step, she pulled the US President over to her side for a new UN treaty to reduce greenhouse gases… And she even built a bridge of reconciliation between Bush and Vladimir Putin in the missile row.’…  [But, as other articles in this Update show, Angela Merkel was NOT really successful.]

“Business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes: ‘Measured in terms of the high-flying expectations she herself whipped up in recent weeks, Angela Merkel failed on climate change at the G-8 summit. Measured in terms of what was realistically possible, she achieved a success at the meeting of leaders in Heiligendamm. Not the ‘huge success’ she is calling it, but a good start… US President George W. Bush for his part doesn’t need to feel committed to any concrete measures on the basis of this communiqué. The other governments too can be as rigorous or relaxed about climate protection as they see fit… The success of the German presidency is that it has set a process in motion, or rather back in motion — the attempt to regard the fight against climate change as an international and common problem which all relevant polluters have to tackle.'”

Chancellor Merkel emerges as the new World Leader–in spite of little accomplishments at the G-8 Summit. Why? Our new StandingWatch program, “The Unsuccessful G-8 summit,” provides the answers.

Poland vs. EU ? — Not Really

On June 13, Der Spiegel Online reported:

“Next week European leaders will gather in Brussels for the final event of Angela Merkel’s EU presidency. According to German commentators, though, the summit is shaping up to be a showdown between Merkel and her neighbors east of the Oder River: Poland’s Kaczynski twins…

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces what is arguably the most important summit of a season that has seen her serve simultaneously as the rotating president of the European Union and the G-8. European leaders will meet in Brussels next week for final negotiations on Merkel’s plan to resurrect the failed EU constitution… Among EU leaders, Poland is isolated. No one but these twins is demanding a new weighting of votes in the EU council. With the exception of the Kaczynskis, everyone seems to be aware that revisiting the wishes and demands (for the constitution) of each member state is like opening a can of worms.”

But Poland KNOWS that it NEEDS the EU and that it CANNOT SURVIVE without it. And so, it should come as no surprise that Poland IS RELENTING.

Der Spiegel Online reported on June 14:

“Warsaw indicated on Thursday that it may be willing to compromise. Perhaps the European Union will be able to agree on a new treaty after all. With time growing short before leaders from the EU member-states gather in Brussels next week to agree on a blue-print for future decision-making, Poland on Thursday signalled its hope that a compromise can be reached in its continued opposition to some elements of the draft treaty.

“With newly crowned French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Warsaw to convince Poland not to veto the draft treaty, President Lech Kaczynski indicated that he is not interested in standing in the way of a solution. ‘We don’t want to be isolated. We want to achieve a solution,’ Kaczynski said on Thursday. ‘We want a compromise under which all countries will be happy.’

“The tone was a far cry from previous statements out of Warsaw… Poland’s apparent softening comes after weeks of growing pressure and pleas from around Europe. Indeed, prior to Sarkozy’s Thursday visit, which commentators had seen as the last, best chance to lobby Poland to give ground on its position, both Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering had blasted Warsaw in the German press for its obstinacy.”

It seems certain that Poland–a thoroughly Catholic country–will be part of the EU’s final configuration. Whatever compromise Merkel and the other EU leaders might agree to on paper next week, the EU IS uniting–and no temporary set-back will stop this Biblically prophesied development. It is also interesting that, according to Der Stern Online of June 14, a poll in Germany found that a majority of 65 percent WANT a EU constitution–a dramatic change to former polls suggesting that most Germans were against a EU treaty. Only 27 percent felt the EU does not need a constitution, while 8 percent did not state an opinion.

For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

New Financial World Order?

The Financial Times wrote on June 10:

“Russian president Vladimir Putin called on Sunday for a radical overhaul of the world’s financial and trade institutions to reflect the growing economic power of emerging market countries – including Russia. Mr Putin said the world needed to create a new international financial architecture to replace an existing model that had become ‘archaic, undemocratic and unwieldy’. His apparent challenge to western dominance of the world economic order came at a forum in St Petersburg designed to showcase the country’s economic recovery.

“Business deals worth more than $4bn were signed at the conference – including an order by Aeroflot for Boeing jets… His speech on financial institutions suggested that, along with an aggressive recent campaign against US ‘unilateralism’ in foreign policy, he was also seeking to challenge western dominance of the world economic order.”

Worldwide Unlawful Kidnappings of the CIA?

On June 11, Der Spiegel Online reported about alleged inappropriate conduct of the CIA outside the USA–this time in Ethiopia. These reportedly wrong activities are only adding to the increasing mistrust of the world towards American international activities. The article explained:

“The CIA’s system of unlawful kidnappings of terrorist suspects known as ‘extraordinary renditions’ appears to have been extended to the Horn of Africa. New cases have emerged of the transfer of terror suspects to prisons in third countries, where they have been questioned and allegedly mistreated — this time in East Africa. In total more than 100 terror suspects are thought to have been arrested in Somalia and Kenya and transferred to Ethiopia to face interrogation by US officials.

“In the chaos of the Ethiopian operation in Somalia that began in December 2006, a number of men and women were arrested, including at least four Britons, two Swedish citizens and one Canadian… the Sunday Times of London reported on Sunday that… flight records show that 85 other prisoners were transferred to Ethiopia for interrogation, and that these included 11 women and 11 children…

“Meanwhile last Friday, Council of Europe special investigator Dick Marty released his second report, saying he had ‘enough evidence to state’ that the CIA had operated secret prisons in Poland and Romania. The illegal deportation of suspects by CIA kidnapping teams in Europe amounts to a ‘massive and systematic violation of human rights,’ the report says.”

“Extremely Controversial” U.S. Proposal

On June 11, 2007, Der Spiegel Online reported about a U.S. proposal which would require Europeans to register online two days before traveling to America. And, Americans would be required to do the same when traveling to Europe. Of course, it appears unlikely that a prior notice of only two days would really enable the authorities to identify potential terrorists. In addition, not taking into account that some, especially older air travelers don’t even have computers or that they are not connected to the Internet, the “extremely controversial proposal,” as Der Spiegel put it mildly, brings again into focus the increasingly sharp “dispute between US terror investigators and EU privacy regulators.”

In an interview with Michael Chertoff, America’s Secretary of Homeland Security, the magazine asked some tough questions and received some rather astonishing answers, again evidencing the increasingly deteriorating relationship between the USA and Europe. After the magazine questioned the effectiveness of the present U.S. travel and data collection program, which ends July 31, the new “proposal” was discussed, as follows:

“SPIEGEL: The fear in the US administration seems so widespread that you don’t even want to rely solely on the passenger data. In addition you endorse a sort of online registration every European would have to fill out 48 hours before traveling.

“Chertoff: We proposed to Congress a way that would loosen the visa waiver process and make it more flexible in some respects — so that countries in Eastern Europe could participate. But at the same time we want to elevate the security level generally by having what we call an ‘electronic travel authorization.’…

“SPIEGEL: So it will mean that every European citizen has to fill out such a form two days before traveling?

“Chertoff: Right. The registration would have a shelf life of some years. It wouldn’t be something you do every trip, you would do it periodically.

“SPIEGEL: To make this point clear — you would only be allowed to travel with this kind of pre-clearance?

“Chertoff: Yes…

“SPIEGEL: So if you screen ‘every guest in your house’ as you phrased it, will American citizens who travel to Europe undergo similar treatment?

“Chertoff: Absolutely. It ought to be reciprocal…

“SPIEGEL: Are you not concerned that you will be accused of turning the United States into a kind of fortress?

“Chertoff: No. What we are trying to do is avoid a fortress. We are not suggesting to bring back the visa system for Europe, although frankly you will find some people in the US who argue we should do that…”

US Democratic Lawmaker “INSULTS” Germany

The Associated Press reported on June 13:

“A leading Democratic lawmaker lashed out at the former leaders of Germany and France, calling former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder a `political prostitute.’  Germany denounced the remarks by Rep. Tom Lantos, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as an insult to its people. Lantos’ comments about Schroeder and former French President Jacques Chirac, both opponents of the Iraq war, came in a speech Tuesday at the dedication of a monument to victims of communism. President Bush spoke at the same event, but did not arrive until after Lantos spoke.

“‘I am so glad that the era of Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Schroeder in Germany is now gone,’ Lantos said to applause. He said when the United States asked Schroeder to support its decision to go to war in Iraq ‘he told us where to go. I referred to him as a political prostitute, now that he’s taking big checks from (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. But the sex workers in my district objected, so I will no longer use that phrase,’ Lantos said. After leaving office in 2005 Schroeder became chairman of the North Europe Gas Pipeline, which is 51 percent owned by the Russian state natural gas company Gazprom…

“German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, once Schroeder’s chief of staff, said Lantos’ comments overstepped ‘the limits of political decency.’ He said Lantos’ comment ‘insults not only the former chancellor but also the great majority of German people.'”

Powell: “Guantanamo Bay Should Be Closed Immediately.”

On June 11, 2007, Reuters reported that “former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay for foreign terrorism suspects should be immediately closed and its inmates moved to the United States… [He] said the controversial prison in Cuba had become a ‘major problem’ for the United States’ image abroad and done more harm than good… ‘Essentially, we have shaken the belief the world had in America’s justice system by keeping a place like Guantánamo open and creating things like the military commission…’, he said.”

Serbia Outraged Over President Bush’s Remarks

CNN reported on June 11:

“U.S. President George W. Bush was returning home Monday after an eight-day European tour dominated by concerns over American plans for a Europe-based missile defense system and the future status of the Serbian province of Kosovo. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said Monday that his country was ‘rightfully embittered’ by Bush’s remarks in support of Kosovan independence made during a brief stopover Sunday in Albania, adding that the United States ‘has no right to give away Serbia’s territory to Albanians,’ according to a government news release.

“‘America must find another way to show its affection and love for the [Kosovan] Albanians, without offering them Serb territories,’ Kostunica told Serbian national television. ‘Serbia is rightfully outraged at the American policies on the issue of Kosovo.’ Kostunica’s comments came after Bush said: ‘At some point in time — sooner rather than later — you’ve got to say “Enough is enough. Kosovo is independent” and that’s the position we’ve taken.'”

Ethiopia Demands Queen Return Prince

On June 11, The Telegraph reported the following:

“He was born a prince with a bloodline stretching back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the son of an Ethiopian emperor and heir to the treasures of one of Africa’s richest royal dynasties. But, taken as a boy to Victorian England by British soldiers who ransacked his father’s mountain-top palace, Prince Alemayehu died alone aged 18 in Leeds, 128 years ago. Now the Ethiopians want his body returned to mark their millennium which, according to the Ethiopian calendar, falls on Sept 12 this year. President Girma Wolde-Giorgis has written to the Queen, requesting that the prince’s remains be exhumed from where they were buried in a crypt beside St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle…

“Britain sent a military force to the palace of Emperor Tewodros II at Maqdala, in the mountains of northern Ethiopia, to bargain for the release of diplomatic hostages. Denied an audience, the troops routed the emperor’s army in a three-day battle over Easter 1868. The emperor committed suicide as his fortress fell to the British. The seven-year-old prince’s mother succumbed to illness days later. In the care of the British, he was first handed to the Raj in India, which administered Abyssinia [now known as Ethiopia], and then sent to Britain. In London he was befriended by Queen Victoria, who enrolled him at Rugby School and later sent him to Sandhurst for officer training. But having grown up in a royal household he never settled into British public school life. After nine unhappy years at Rugby, and less than a term at Sandhurst, he died of pleurisy at the home of his private tutor, in Leeds, in November 1879… His remains have been visited by Ethiopia’s last emperor Haile Selassie and by its current prime minister, Meles Zenawi.

“Officials at Windsor Castle yesterday refused to discuss ‘private correspondence’ received by the Queen, but a spokesman for Ethiopia’s embassy in London said she understood that the request was ‘being considered’. ‘The prince was a prisoner of war,’ said Mulugeta Aserate, Haile Selassie’s second cousin. ‘His return would ease the minds of lots of Ethiopians who believe his rightful resting place should be here with his father.’ There have also been requests for the return of Ethiopian artefacts, including illuminated manuscripts and altar slabs, which are now held at the British Museum and in private collections at Windsor Castle.”

You Must Belong to the Catholic Church, Pope Says

The Catholic news agency, VIS, wrote on June 6:

“… Cyprian, ‘the first African bishop to achieve the crown of martyrdom,’ was the subject of Benedict XVI’s catechesis during his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter’s Square in the presence of 40,000 people. Cyprian, said the Pope, ‘was born in Carthage to a rich pagan family’ and ‘converted to Christianity at the age of 35. … He became a priest and later a bishop. In the brief period of his episcopate, he had to face the first two persecutions authorized by imperial edict, that of Decius (250) and that of Valerian (257-258),’… In [Cyprian’s] works, the [Pope] explained, ‘the Church is by far the topic most dear to him. He distinguishes between the visible hierarchical Church and the invisible mystical Church, at the same time forcefully affirming that the Church is one, founded upon Peter. He never tires of repeating that ‘whoever abandons the chair of Peter, upon which the Church is founded, deludes himself if he believes he remains in the Church’…

“Hence, ‘the indispensable characteristic of the Church is unity, as symbolized by the seamless robe of Christ; a unity that finds its foundation in Peter and its perfect realization in the Eucharist,’ said the [Pope]. He then referred to Cyprian’s teaching on prayer ‘which highlights how in the Our Father Christians are shown the correct way to pray.’ That prayer refers to ‘us’ and ‘our’ rather than to ‘me’ and ‘mine,’ said the Pope, ‘so that he who prays does not pray only for himself. Ours is a public and community prayer. … The Christian does not say “my Father,” but “our Father,” even when praying in the privacy of a closed room, because he knows that everywhere and in all circumstances, he is a member of the one Body.'”

Democratic Vote in German Catholic Church

Catholic World News (CWN) reported on June 8:

“Priests in Rottenburg, Germany have voted to reject the Vatican translation of the phrase pro multis in the Eucharistic liturgy… The priests’ council of the Rottenburg-Stuttgart diocese announced that the members had decided by a ‘democratic vote,’ to retain the current German translation of pro multis as ‘for all.’

“The council dismissed a directive from the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship. Cardinal Francis Arinze, the prefect of the Congregation, wrote to the world’s bishops last November, announcing that all translations of the liturgy should render pro multis as ‘for many’– a translation that is more faithful to the Latin text and to the theological reality that while Christ’s redemptive suffering makes salvation available to all, it does not follow that all men are saved.

“The Rottenburg priests argued that the use of ‘for many’ would be confusing to the faithful ‘in this day and age.’ They added that the original Scriptural text read ‘for all,’ citing as their authority a Protestant scholar of the 18th century whose analysis the Catholic Church has rejected.

“‘The promise of salvation is directed to all people,’ the German priests said. ‘This truth of the faith is put most clearly in the “for all.”‘”

Anti-Semitism Worldwide

The Washington Times wrote on June 7:

“Anti-Semitism, one of the world’s oldest hatreds, has resurged with a vengeance. Around the globe, Jews are being assaulted, some even murdered. Synagogues are being attacked. Jewish gravestones are being desecrated by the hundreds. Even the historical fact of the Holocaust is being questioned. The threat today is not existential. There is no room for complacency.  

“The increase in anti-Semitism is all the more disturbing because it is occurring not only in authoritarian societies where governments fan the flames of hatred to distract publics from their governments’ shortcomings. Anti-Semitism also is on the rise in fully democratic countries where governments and civil society have admirable records of promoting tolerance and actively combating anti-Semitism.

“According to the Community Security Trust in London, last year in the United Kingdom anti-Semitic incidents, defined as any malicious act aimed at Jewish people, organizations or property, rose 31 percent from 2005; the total number of incidents for 2006 was more than any other year since 1984, when statistics were first collected. In France, according to the European Jewish Congress, there were over 112 anti-Semitic attacks, a 45 percent increase from 2005. In all these cases, the governments are taking steps to combat the problem, yet more needs to be done. 

“Here in the United States, there was a reported 12 percent decline in anti-Semitic incidents in 2006. Even so, in just the last year there were attacks on synagogues in Chicago, Tarzana, Calif. and in North Miami Beach, Fla. In Seattle, Pamela Waechter was murdered and five others were shot in an attack at the Jewish Federation last July by a gunman incensed at Israel’s war with Hezbollah.

“Another category of concern, however, is the situation in Iran, where anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are state policy. The Iranian government held a Holocaust-denial conference in December; an Iranian newspaper offered cash prizes for the best cartoon mocking the Holocaust and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly threatened to ‘wipe Israel off of the map.’…”

Disagreement Between EU and Turkey Over Troop Engagement

On June 8, Ankara’s “Today’s Zaman,” stated the following:

“Turkish officials on Thursday revealed a disagreement with the European Union regarding modalities of a cooperation process for enhancing defense capacities of the union within the European Security and Defense Policy…
 
“Yesterday’s Sabah daily reported ‘Turkey’s withdrawal of its troops under the command of the EU after the union did not allow Turkey’s special operation brigades to join in the command and decision making policies of the unit.’ The daily also said that according to the General Staff, Turkey’s Special Operation brigades, supported by warplanes and ships, will not be sent to any of the operations under the EU’s coordination. Nevertheless, both Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül and Foreign Ministry officials made it clear that the withdrawal was on the paper, since commitments made by Turkey have not yet been materialized… As well as EU member states, non-EU member states such as Turkey, Switzerland and Ukraine also contribute to these plans [to be an integral part of EU military operations].

“… The Sabah daily alleged that ‘the General Staff’s recent decision caused a shock in Brussels, leading the NATO secretary-general to come to Turkey to discuss the issue immediately.’”

More “Evolutionary” Fairy Tales

The Associated Press reported on June 13:

“The remains of a giant, birdlike dinosaur as tall as the formidable tyrannosaur have been found in China, a surprising discovery that indicates a more complicated evolutionary process for birds than originally thought, scientists said Wednesday.

“Fossilized bones uncovered in the Erlian Basin of northern China’s Inner Mongolia region show that the specimen was about 26 feet long, 16 feet tall and weighed 3,000 pounds, said Xu Xing, a paleontologist at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology in Beijing.

“The height is comparable to the meat-eating tyrannosaurs. But the dinosaur, called Gigantoraptor elrianensis, also had a beak and slender legs and likely had feathers. It was 35 times larger than its likely close relation, the Caudiperyx, a small, feathered dinosaur species, Xu said.

“That puts the Gigantoraptor’s existence at odds with prevailing theories that dinosaurs became smaller as they evolved into birds and that bigger dinosaurs had less birdlike characteristics, he said.

“‘This is like having a mouse that is the size of a horse or cow,’ said Xu, who co-authored a paper on the finding published Thursday in the journal Nature. ‘It is very important information for us in our efforts to trace the evolution process of dinosaurs to birds. It’s more complicated than we imagined.'”

Of course, it is, if you want to believe those ridiculous notions of a God-defying world which receives its inspiration from none other than God’s “adversary” and “enemy.” The concept of evolution has been rightly rejected BY SCIENTISTS–but more importantly, by God’s Word, the Bible. For more information, please read our free booklet, “The Theory of Evolution–A Fairy Tale for Adults.”

What and Why the G-8 Summit?

Der Spiegel Online described on June 6 the role and reason for the G-8 summit:

“The Group of Eight (G- 8) includes many of the world’s most powerful industrial democracies: the Unites States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Russia. The European Union also participates, represented by the president of the European Commission and the President of the EU, but is not an official member…

“The G- 8 is an [annual] ‘informal forum of heads of state’ without an administrative structure or offices. The summit agenda is administered by the year’s president and host. As this year’s host country, Germany has announced an agenda which focuses on climate change prevention and the need for a replacement to the Kyoto Protocol, set to expire in 2012. Stabilizing the world economy with sustainable energy policy, development and HIV prevention aid in Africa, anti- product piracy strategy, and security policy are also among topics Germany plans to address…

“This year Germany is hosting the 33rd summit at Heiligendamm, the country’s oldest beach resort, which is in the state of Mecklenberg Vorpommern on the Baltic Sea. The entire resort has been blocked off by a 12- kilometer long, razor wire fence to prevent demonstrators from getting [too] close to the venue…

“The G- 8 originated in 1973, when the oil crisis and subsequent economic recession prompted the US to host informal meetings for world leaders to discuss relevant issues. In 1975, France invited the US, the UK, West Germany, Italy and Japan to a summit, called the Group of Six, where the countries agreed on an annual meeting and rotating presidency. Canada joined the next year, forming the G- 7. In 1997, Russia joined the group — a decision which is still contested by some — forming what is currently known as the G- 8.

“Together, the eight countries produce more than half of the world’s economic production, and represent a powerhouse of political influence. Summit topics have evolved from purely economic concerns to include political agendas such as poverty, terrorism, and climate change.”

Europe Angry With Bush

The Financial Times wrote on June 1:

“Germany and the European Commission reacted angrily to President George W. Bush’s apparent change of heart on climate change on Friday, setting the stage for a stormy G8 summit of rich industrialised countries next week.

“A spokesman for Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor and current G8 president, said Germany’s stance that climate talks should take place within the United Nations was ‘non-negotiable’. Stavros Dimas, the EU environment commissioner, dismissed the proposals for climate talks as vague and ‘the classic US line’…

“Attitudes within Europe hardened on Friday as some politicians and activists accused Mr Bush of trying to wreck next week’s summit, and UN negotiations on climate change, set to take place this December… Sigmar Gabriel, the German environment minister, said Mr Bush’s speech could mark a ‘change in the US position or a manoeuvre aimed at causing confusion.’ A comment by Mr Bush to German media that Ms Merkel ‘will be pleased’ with his proposals, which run counter to her own, was seen as provocative.

“There were signs on Friday night that Mr Bush’s proposals would split the G8, which some sceptics argue is his intention. Stephen Harper, Canada’s prime minister, welcomed the plans, as did Tony Blair, Britain’s outgoing prime minister, and Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister.”

A commentary in Germany’s daily, Die Zeit, stated on June 1:

“Is the US President changing from Saul to Paul? Only Tony Blair seems to believe that… Nothing indicates that Bush had a change of heart… The G-8 countries and the entire world would be well advised not to even consider the tactical games of the Bush Administration… If one was to accept Bush’s proposal, then one would open the door to American delay strategies.”

Britain Isolated?

The Telegraph wrote on June 2:

“The Prime Minister [Tony Blair] will be told by Angela Merkel tomorrow that he faces isolation and a bruising battle over British opposition to new powers for the European Union. At a pre-G8 meeting in Berlin, the German chancellor will warn Mr Blair that he will be under siege if he tries to defend Britain’s sovereignty at a meeting on June 21 in Brussels – where details of a treaty will be thrashed out to replace the constitution that was rejected by French and Dutch voters two years ago.

“Support for the Prime Minister is melting away as key allies such as French president Nicolas Sarkozy rally behind proposals to beef up EU powers ahead of the summit, which is Mr Blair’s last top-level engagement before he hands over power to Gordon Brown on June 27… The German leader will use the summit to fix a basic outline for a new EU treaty and is hoping to commit Mr Blair to firm promises on which Mr Brown will find it difficult to backtrack later.”

Ahead of the G-8 Summit

On Saturday, June 2, The German and international press reported about staggering violent demonstrations in the East German city of Rostock, days ahead of the G-8 summit in Heiligendamm. Deutsche Welle reported:

“As tens of thousands of peaceful anti-globalization demonstrators marched in protest against the upcoming G8 summit in the German town of Rostock Saturday, some clashed violently with police…  The stone-throwing demonstrators were from a far-left anti-globalization group and wore black masks and hoods… Saturday’s clashes bear out fears expressed by the German police that left-wing militants would seek to cause unrest during protests against the summit…. As is now customary for G8 summits, the luxury beachfront hotel on the Baltic coast where US President George W. Bush and his counterparts will hold talks is surrounded by a heavily guarded fence topped with barbed wire. An underwater barrier has been erected to prevent ships approaching the hotel.”

The German press reported on Tuesday that one demonstrator, who had been arrested and charged with throwing stones at police officers, was sentenced to ten months in prison without the possibility of parole. The accelerated procedure and the decision against the 33-year old German citizen, who had not been previously convicted, was meant to have a deterrent effect on future demonstrators. During the clash on Saturday, over 433 police officers were injured, as well as more than 1,000 civilians.

Over the weekend, former German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt (88), stated in an interview with the German tabloid, Bild, that the G-8 Summit has become nothing more than a spectacle for the media. He pointed out that the original concept was invented by former French President Giscard d’Estaing and himself, to get world leaders together to talk to each other [However, note the excerpt from Der Spiegel Online in this Update, describing the purpose of the G-8 meetings, which portrays a slightly different historical picture as to their origins.] He added that at first, the British and the Americans were opposed to the concept. He continued that in order to be productive, leaders from China and India [in addition to Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the USA] would have to be added now, and that all leaders should appear with a very small entourage–and not with “1,000 people,” as the Americans are doing.

… And During the Summit

Reuters reported on June 6:

“Around 10,000 anti-capitalist protesters clashed with police on Wednesday, injuring eight, as they tried to blockade routes to a summit of major powers in northern Germany. Police used water cannons to push back demonstrators. Delegates from several G8 countries said the protests were limiting their ability to move around at the summit venue, a seaside resort on Germany’s Baltic coast. Eight officers were injured during the clashes with protesters near the town of Bad Doberan, police spokesman Luedger Behrens said. Police ‘used water cannons twice after demonstrators bombarded police with stones,’ he said. Police said 15 protesters had been detained. Protesters were trying to block access to a luxury hotel on the coast in Heiligendamm…”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on June 7:

“The peaceful blockades by anti G-8 demonstrators at the summit in Heiligendamm have allayed fears of mass violence stoked by last Saturday’s riot in Rostock, and have won praise in the German media.”

Der Stern published a report on June 7 alleging that police officers in civilian clothes had mingled themselves among the demonstrators in Rostock, provoking violence by persuading them to throw stones at police officers.

How Merkel Wants to Lead

Der Spiegel Online reported on June 5:

“US President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are competing for control of the climate change agenda at the G-8 summit. The minutes of a secret meeting to plan the German government’s strategy… reveal the hard line Merkel plans to take… From the beginning, Merkel and the group had no illusions about the US president’s intentions. The chancellor’s senior economic advisor, Jens Weidmann, had done his own research, and he presented his conclusions to the group. The minutes read: ‘Dr. Weidmann reported that the US president’s advisor on climate issues is currently traveling through a number of emerging nations, the goal being to intervene against Germany’s ambitious G-8 agenda on the subject of climate protection.’… Cooperation with the Russians — against Bush — is another option, the document quotes Merkel as saying…”

“Bush made it clear that the United States would expect to assume the leadership in this process, a role the Chancellery had in fact already claimed for Merkel.

“Anxious as the powerful are to avoid giving this impression, a showdown seems inevitable in Heiligendamm. The smiling photo ops in beautiful, natural surroundings will likely stand in sharp contrast to what happens behind the scenes: America against Germany, a climate change deadbeat against a courageous contender for a better world — he against she… Merkel has no intention to be robbed of the opportunity to shine before the local and global public in Heiligendamm as an energetic champion of a better world…

“There is a lot at stake for the chancellor: her reputation as G-8 chair as well as Germany’s image in the world, but also Merkel’s image as a politician who gets things done. Merkel has promised that the summit will not be about empty words, but will instead examine solutions for the world’s biggest challenges… Merkel’s way of thinking is different from Bush’s, and is very German. She wants the summit to succeed in weakening two preconceptions: her supposed thralldom to the United States is a thorn in her side, as is the supposed lack of environmental commitment on the part of Germany’s conservatives.

“It’s with excitement and a certain amount of schadenfreude [malicious joy] that the Social Democratic members of Merkel’s cabinet watch as the chancellor suddenly finds herself in a new skirmish: Merkel has to defend herself against the Americans’ initiative… Publicly, the looming conflict with the Americans is in no way to be ratcheted up — softening is the order [of] the day… But internally, Merkel’s advisors have told her that reaching a concrete CO2 reduction goal is the decisive yardstick.”

First “Major Success” at G-8 Summit? — Not Really!

Der Spiegel Online reported on June 7:

“G-8 leaders meeting in Heiligendamm have agreed to ‘seriously consider’ a 50 percent cut in global CO2 emissions by 2050, said Chancellor Angela Merkel, hailing the deal as a major success. The summit had also agreed to negotiate a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, which sets cuts in greenhouse gases running to 2012, within the framework of the United Nations, she said…”

Bild Online reported that the German Green Party (former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer is a member of the Green party) strongly criticized the “compromise,” calling it a “laughable fraud” and a “noncommittal triumph.” According to the criticism, rather than agreeing to a clear obligatory commitment, all they came up with was a “hotchpotch.”

Bild Online also quoted Greenpeace as saying that no success was achieved, but just a further delay of dealing with the problems.

Putin Threatens USA and NATO

The Globe and Mail wrote on June 4:

“In a threat not uttered since the Cold War, Vladimir Putin said that Russia intends to aim its missile systems – potentially nuclear weapons – at targets in Europe in retaliation for the U.S. decision to establish antimissile bases there.

“During a lengthy dinner, Russia’s President defended his semi-authoritarian style and insisted he is the world’s only true democrat. In an interview with The Globe and Mail and a small circle of other journalists, he stressed that his country is not moving away from a market economy, refused to consider extraditing a former KGB agent charged with poisoning a dissident in London, and lashed out repeatedly at the United States and NATO for operating in countries previously within Russia’s sphere of influence. Mr. Putin’s remarks, translated from Russian, virtually guarantee much of the G8 summit, due to begin in northern Germany on Wednesday, will be dominated by the growing confrontation between the West and Russia…

“‘It is obvious that if part of the strategic nuclear potential of the United States is located in Europe, and according to our military experts will be threatening us, we will have to respond,’ he said. ‘What kind of steps are we going to take in response? Of course, we are going to get new targets in Europe.’ He suggested that this could include powerful nuclear-capable weapons.”

In response, during a speech in the Czech Republic, President Bush “tried to defuse a worsening dispute with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of the G-8 summit,” according to Der Spiegel Online, dated June 5. The magazine quoted Mr. Bush as saying: “Russia is not the enemy… The Cold War is over. It ended… My message will be: ‘Vladimir’ — I call him Vladimir — you shouldn’t fear a missile defense system. As a matter of fact, why don’t you cooperate with us on a missile defense system?”

It will have to be seen whether “Vladimir” will be impressed by these words.

Another “Success” at the G-8 Summit?

The Associated Press reported on June 7:

“Bush and Putin met privately after days of Cold War-style sparring over U.S. plans to base a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, essentially in Russia’s back yard. Putin, bitterly opposed to placing such a system in Europe, told Bush that Russia would drop its objections and not seek to retrain its missiles on Europe if the shield were installed in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet satellite in central Asia. Bush’s national security adviser, Steve Hadley, called it an ‘interesting proposal.'”

The Collapse of the US as a Superpower

The ABC Online Network in Australia reported on June 1:

“A US military analyst who’s served in the armed forces and has written on international affairs for more than two decades, is issuing a warning today about the collapse of the United States as a superpower. In his latest book, ‘The Mess They Made: the Middle East After Iraq,’ Gwynne Dyer says there’s no doubt that the US will withdraw its troops from Iraq once President George W. Bush leaves office. But he predicts that already that war has set in motion events that will radically transform not only the Middle East but the role of the United States in the world.”

In an interview with Australia’s “World Today,” Dyer stated the following:

“The regimes of the Arab world, with zero exceptions, except for Iraq, where the Americans overthrew Saddam, have all been in power for at least forty years. They’re all dictatorships or absolute monarchies, most of them are corrupt beyond imagining. So this is a very unstable status quo, maintained by American subsidies, American troops, American guarantees, and when those are withdrawn, I think that there will be very large changes in the Middle East… Congress will be reluctant to vote new funds, Congress will be very suspicious about new commitments to support Arab regimes, and meanwhile the momentum in the streets in the Arab world will be moving very rapidly in the favour of the revolutionaries…

“A senior Japanese diplomat said to me, last year… ‘You know the United States is a twelve year old with a shotgun’. And what he meant was that as the United States begins to suspect that it’s past the apogee of its trajectory, [it is] on the way down, as a great power no longer on the way up or at the top securely, that it is becoming extremely erratic, that is lashing out in all sorts of ways to try and slow or stop what it perceives as insipient decline. So there is concern that we’re getting into rather deep water here, that we may be going into an era where the Americans become highly unpredictable and quite dangerous.”

Republicans Bash President Bush in New Hampshire

The Associated Press reported on June 5, 2007:

“President Bush drew sporadic, startling criticism Tuesday night from Republican White House hopefuls unhappy with his handling of the Iraq war, his diplomatic style and his approach to immigration.

“‘I would certainly not send him to the United Nations to represent the United States’, said Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor and one-time member of Bush’s Cabinet… Arizona Sen. John McCain… criticized the administration for its handling of the Iraq War, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said, ‘I think we were underprepared and underplanned for what came after we knocked down Saddam Hussein.’

“Rep. Duncan Hunter… of California said the current administration ‘has the slows’ when it comes to building a security fence along the border with Mexico. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado recalled that White House aide Karl Rove had once told him ‘never darken the door of the White House.’ The congressman said he’d tell George W. Bush the same thing.

“The criticism of Bush was more in keeping of the type of rhetoric that could be expected when Democratic presidential contenders debate. Its prominence at the GOP event — while Bush was traveling overseas — was a reflection of his poor poll ratings and the need of even members of his own party to campaign on platforms of change…

“Much of the debate focused on Iraq… McCain drew loud applause from the partisan debate audience when he turned a question about the war in Iraq into criticism of the leading Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

“‘When Senator Clinton says this is… President Bush’s war, she is wrong,’ he said. ‘When President Clinton was in power, I didn’t say Bosnia was President Clinton’s war… Presidents don’t lose wars. Political parties don’t lose wars. Nations lose wars’… Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee added his voice to those criticizing the war effort. He added that the Bush administration ‘lost credibility’ with its response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005…

“Bush’s support for the pending immigration legislation… figured prominently in the debate. McCain… supports the measure, and he sought to fend off criticism from some of his rivals.  ‘We cannot have 12 million people washing around America illegally, my friends,’ he said. But [Rudy] Giuliani [former New York Mayor] said the legislation was flawed, ‘a typical Washington mess.'”

California Is Preparing for a HOT Summer

Reuters reported the following on June 6:

“Los Angeles residents were urged on Wednesday to take shorter showers, reduce lawn sprinklers and stop throwing trash in toilets in a bid to cut water usage by 10 percent in the driest year on record. With downtown Los Angeles seeing a record low of 4 inches of rain since July 2006 — less than a quarter of normal — and with a hot, dry summer ahead, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the city needed ‘to change course and conserve water to steer clear of this perfect storm.’

On June 6, 2007, CNN filed this report:

“… climatologist Bill Patzert of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory… got a rare glimpse into the future by studying the past. He found that in the last 100 years the average daily temperature in this state [of California]  jumped 5 degrees; average nightly temperature jumped 7 degrees; and the annual number of extreme heat days, those over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, multiplied by 12. Even heat waves are up, he said. They are three-to-five times more likely with each passing summer… ‘We’re no longer living in a normal world. We’re living in a warmer world,’ he said.

“So what does all that mean for Californians? It could mean a steamy, smoggy, hot, fiery summer is around the corner, with myriad consequences… with the ground so hot, brush fires no longer occur just a few months a year, but all year long.

“A heightened demand for electricity could tax power companies and their ability to deliver a consistent flow of energy. Last year, when temperatures soared well over 100 degrees, more than one million Californians lost power for more than a week… Before it got so hot in California, one megawatt could power 750 homes. Now it only powers 650 homes. And people are building bigger and bigger homes, megahomes if you will, in inland areas like San Bernardino Valley, which are hotter… It’s getting so bad that California Attorney General Jerry Brown has sued San Bernardino County, one of the fastest growing inland areas in the United States, for failing to account for greenhouse gases when updating its 25-year blueprint for growth.

“Infectious disease experts… suggest extreme heat this summer may even bring tropical diseases to southern California. The flu, which circulates year round in the tropics, could do the same here. And the mosquitoes — look out! They bite more often at night, so the warmer nights are sure to keep them busy.”

40th Anniversary of Israeli-Arab War

AFP reported on June 5:

“The Middle East marks the 40th anniversary on Tuesday of the war which saw Israel defeat three Arab armies in six days but began four decades of occupation — the key obstacle to peace to this day… The 1967 war planted the seeds of the many deep-rooted obstacles that generations of diplomats have found impossible to untangle in their search for peace — from the Jewish settler movement to sovereignty over Jerusalem.

“After weeks of belligerency and brinkmanship from regional and international players, on June 5, 1967 Israel launched what it called a preemptive strike, smashed the armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria, and secured its status as a regional superpower. Its soldiers captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the Gaza Strip and Sinai peninsula from Egypt — an area three and a half times larger than the state of Israel.

“For Israelis, the conquest of east Jerusalem — and with it Judaism’s holiest site, the Western Wall which Jews had been prohibited from visiting since the creation of the state in 1948 — was a messianic victory. For Palestinians, the war brought new depths of despair after the initial ‘catastrophe’ of the creation of the Jewish state: they came under Israeli occupation and their dream of a state of their own seemed to slip out of reach.

“But it also galvanised their often bloody resistance movement and paved the way for most Israelis to accept a two-state solution and for the two sides to sign the 1993 Oslo interim peace accords. Israel eventually signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, under which it returned the Sinai, and a second with Jordan in 1994. In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, but it retains control of its borders, air space and territorial waters and continues to mount incursions into the territory in response to militant attacks. All efforts to resolve the conflict have so far failed, with peace talks moribund since the failure of Camp David negotiations in 2000 and little progress discernible on the horizon from a recently revived Arab peace plan.”

Turkey Invades Iraq–Or Does It?

The Associated Press reported on June 6:

“Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who attack Turkey from bases there, two Turkish security officials said… speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, [they] characterized the action as a ‘hot pursuit’ raid that was limited in scope. They told The Associated Press it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks as Turkish troops built up their force along the border.”

Deutsche Welle reported on June 7:

“Turkey has denied reports that its troops have launched a major incursion into northern Iraq, targeting Kurdish militants. This has also been confirmed by the White House and Baghdad officials. But news agencies quoting unnamed Turkish security officials say that there has been a ‘limited cross-border’ military operation. An estimated 4,000 rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, are said to be hiding in Iraq. Turkey’s foreign minister Abdullah Gul called reports of a 50,000-strong invasion force ‘disinformation.'”

Assyrian Region in Iraq?

AsiaNews.it reported on June 6:

“Politicized groups are pushing for the creation of an ‘Assyrian region’ in the country’s north, on the border with Kurdistan. To this end, they are exploiting the anti-Christian persecution to confirm the urgency of carrying out their plan. A project being called for by those who know little of the situation in Iraq, it may be on the agenda for meetings between Bush and the Vatican.”

The article continued:

“Closing the Christian community into a ghetto/buffer-zone between Arabs and Kurds in the north seems, for some, the only solution for salvation.  According to local AsiaNews sources, the utmost is being done to make this convincing: religious leaders are being duped, the press is being manipulated; even suffering and sorrow are being exploited.  The latest example is the murder of Fr Ragheed Ganni, Chaldean priest, whose death, along with that of three friends, is at the centre of a media circus in Iraq that even Iraqis themselves are saying is ‘excessive.’  An AsiaNews source says, ‘Ragheed, who lived and died in Mosul, sacrificed himself for the exact opposite: for peaceful coexistence, for the future of the Church in Iraq, not abroad, not caged within political or territorial borders.’

“Ever since the anti-Christian campaign has become violent enough to be in the spotlight of international media, more and more articles and television coverage speak of what would be the unavoidable necessity, at this point, of creating a safe haven for this minority. Yesterday, an article of the Eastern Star News Agency (a Sweden-based Assyrian agency) compared the situation of the ‘Assyrian people’ (a term that is meant to include Chaldeans and Syrians) to that of the Kurds under Saddam: they need protection.  And they go on to say that: ‘Assyrians are calling more and more for an autonomous Christian region in Iraq.’…

“The project for an ‘Assyrian ghetto’ is strongly supported by the Christian diaspora in the United States, which holds a lot of sway over the Baghdad Patriarchate, by Evangelicals and by Kurdistan’s Finance Minister, Sarkis Aghajan, who over the last year has donated large sums of money for the reconstruction of numerous villages and churches in the north.

“In October 2006, American Catholic bishops wrote to Condoleezza Rice to urge Washington to consider the possibility of creating a new ‘administrative region’ around Nineveh, connected directly to the central government in Baghdad, which ‘could provide Christians and other minorities with greater safety and offer more opportunity to control their own affairs.’  And given that numerous Christians are seeking refuge in the country’s north, the document also suggests collaboration between the U.S. government and Kurdish authorities to ensure the security of Christians in these areas.

“It is expected that the Vatican will express its position on this matter on the occasion of the forthcoming meeting – set for June 8 – between President George W. Bush and the Pope…

“Various prominent figures of the Church, as well as ordinary members of the faithful, have, for some time, been pointing out the risks of a ‘Nineveh Project’.   In comments to AsiaNews a few months ago, Monsignor Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, acknowledged the need for an ‘end to the violence’ but was nevertheless puzzled about the idea.  ‘The Plains of Nineveh,’ he explained, ‘are surrounded for the most part by Arabs: Christians would be a handy and vulnerable buffer between Arabs and Kurds.  In my opinion, it would be much better to work at the level of the constitution and the single states to guarantee religious freedom and equal rights to the members of all faiths over the entire territory, for Christians too who live throughout Iraq.’…”

Germany and the “War on Terror”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on May 30:

“For good historical reasons, Germans tend to get easily nervous about war, and recent violence in Afghanistan and Iraq has caused the nation to reconsider its role in the war on terror. Dozens of gunmen dressed as Iraqi police kidnapped five foreign workers in a brazen daylight raid on Baghdad’s Finance Ministry on Tuesday, and early reports from Iraq had suggested the victims were German. They were, in fact, British, but the raid highlighted ongoing chaos in Iraq and gave German newspapers a reason to mull the violence… The overall conclusion on Wednesday is that it may be too late to pretend that the war in Iraq has nothing to do with Germany.

“The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes:

“‘In February a German woman and her son were kidnapped; in mid-April there was a terror alert for Americans in Germany; one month later three German soldiers died in Afghanistan; and yesterday it seemed that three Germans had been taken hostage in Baghdad. Even if this last report is untrue, the reminders that Germany is caught in a steadily-more-hopeless “war on terror” are becoming more frequent. It seems our freedom and security are not being defended in Afghanistan (and wherever else German anti-terrorism forces are stationed) so much as put at risk.’

“‘Deliberating this in public has been made virtually taboo by the German government…. Anyone who, like (Left Party politician) Oskar Lafontaine, dares to characterize as “terrorism” the campaign waged by the United States and others — including Germany — against al-Qaida and the Taliban, finds himself labelled an enemy of the state. It’s time to retire the current culture of debate in Germany that follows President Bush’s maxim: “Who’s not for us is against us,” and make way for a realistic and objective political argument about the point and duration of foreign commitments, anti-terrorism alliances and new security laws.’…

“The conservative daily Die Welt writes: ‘Do critics like the former US Security Advisor Zbigneiew Brzezinski have it right? Months ago he suggested two alternatives to the Bush administration: Either suppress the insurgents quickly and brutally with 300,000 American soldiers, or pull out as fast as possible.'”

US Blamed for Possible Failure at Future Summit

The Financial Times wrote on May 25:

“Political tensions between the US and Germany over climate change have worsened sharply, with Washington threatening to no longer ‘tread lightly’ in negotiations on global warming ahead of the Group of Eight rich nations’ summit next month. The US has sent Germany a harshly worded statement in which it accuses Berlin of ignoring of Washington’s ‘serious, fundamental concerns’ with Germany’s draft climate change communiqué for the Baltic coast summit.

“The statement, written in red ink and obtained by the Financial Times, says: ‘We have tried to “tread lightly” but there is only so far we can go given our fundamental opposition to the German position.’

“Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, would like the summit to agree limits on carbon emissions but the US says climate change should be tackled with technology-based solutions rather than mandatory emissions targets and accuses Berlin of ignoring its stance.

“Washington says… ‘The majority of our comments on the previous draft have not been addressed and some new, problematic text has been added.’ Germany’s proposed text ‘crosses multiple “red lines” in terms of what we simply cannot agree to’, according to the statement… Diplomats said the US outburst confirms that a substantial deal on climate change is no longer possible at the summit, despite the months of diplomatic pressure from Berlin.

“The strains in German-US relations ahead of the June 6-8 summit, to be attended by US President George W. Bush, are also likely to make it tougher for Ms Merkel to achieve progress in other sensitive fields, such as the stalled world trade talks.”

Der Spiegel Online wrote on May 30

“One week ahead of the G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, the US is still refusing to agree on concrete emissions reductions goals. Now, the German environment minister [Sigmar Gabriel] has had enough… On German television on Wednesday, Gabriel finally shed his diplomatic veneer and lashed out.

“‘Now is not the time to merely write in the minutes how well we got along with each other,’ Gabriel said on the news channel N24. ‘Now is not the hour of diplomacy. Now is the hour for real action.’ The German environment minister then took on the US directly, saying ‘the challenge remains that of convincing the Americans that they have a responsibility — also for their own citizens who suffer from climate change. Look at the hurricane in New Orleans.’… Gabriel said on Wednesday that the US position makes it easier for developing nations to sit back and do nothing about reducing their own emissions. Countries such as India and China, said Gabriel, ‘have the attitude: “if the industrialized nations don’t take responsibility, then how should developing countries do so?” The only solution is to continue negotiations with the Americans and to put them under pressure.'”

Ministerial Meeting Ahead of G-8 Summit

AFP reported on May 30:

“Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight nations met Wednesday to lay the groundwork for next week’s summit in Germany as discord over climate change and Kosovo cast a shadow over the talks… Japan poured cold water on one of the issues Germany had placed at the top of its priority list for the summit — a binding agreement on reducing greenhouse gases, [saying that] German proposals to complete negotiations on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases by 2009 were ‘premature.’

“Japan has been leading efforts among Asian nations to limit global warming. It said it believed major emitters of greenhouse gases such as the United States, China and India should agree to join the process before any timetable was put in place…

“However, faced with the bloodiest internal clashes in Lebanon for decades and the firing of Palestinian rockets into Israel and Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, expectations for the meeting were low… The ministers also addressed the situation in strife-torn Afghanistan.”

Zoellick Nominated as New World Bank President

Der Spiegel Online wrote on May 30:

“Robert Zoellick has been designated the new president of the World Bank following Paul Wolfowitz’s departure. Many Germans remember him as the likeable mediator who helped bring about German reunification. But Zoellick’s maxim is still ‘America first.’… In Germany, Zoellick is considered a friend, an ‘Atlanticist’ and a bridge-builder…

“His nomination was quickly interpreted as a technical victory for the moderates, since he was considered the favored candidate of the Europeans, of developing countries and even of the World Bank’s critics. His nomination could therefore be seen as a gesture of reconciliation on the part of US President George W. Bush. But 53-year-old Zoellick knows what he wants — which is to say, he knows what his superior in Washington wants… He is, after all, an old friend of the Bush family — and he shares its conviction that the United States is the only qualified world power today. Zoellick… grew up as a descendant of German immigrants in Illinois…”

Proposed Immigration Bill Under Fire

The New York Times wrote on May 29:

“President Bush today accused opponents of his proposed immigration measure of fear-mongering to defeat it in Congress, and took on his own conservative political base as he did so… The bill, the product of a compromise struck by Republican and Democratic leaders two weeks ago, has encountered stiff resistance from the left and right. Liberal opposition taking aim at the proposal for shifting the system for awarding permanent residence status to give more weight to education and skills and less to family reunification, while conservatives have derided the plan for allowing illegal aliens to legalize their status.

“It was the conservative opponents whom Mr. Bush seemed to address most forcefully in his remarks here today — a rare example of the president crossing swords with key members of the political coalition that helped him attain the Oval Office and then keep it four years later…”

Deadly Strain of Tuberculosis Has Re-entered the USA

The New York Times wrote on May 29:

“Public health officials today urged the passengers and crew of two recent trans-Atlantic flights to get checked for tuberculosis, after learning that a man with an exceptionally deadly and drug-resistant form of the disease had flown on the planes. The man, an American…, flew on May 12 from Atlanta to Paris aboard Air France Flight 385, then traveled on May 24 from Prague to Montreal aboard Czech Air Flight 410 before driving back to the United States… He is currently hospitalized in an isolation ward… While tuberculosis is not highly transmissible, the deadliness of this strain — and the ease of modern transportation — underscored the need for rapid response, as with the SARS virus epidemic of a few years ago… the type of tuberculosis found in the infected American — known as extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR TB — resists treatment even by three of the six second-line drugs used when first-line drugs fail. Only two cases of the strain were found last year in the United States.

“Tuberculosis is typically spread by sneezing or coughing…  tuberculosis is still deadly, particularly in countries where medical care is lacking, killing about 1.6 million people each year worldwide. It is particularly deadly among those infected with HIV. At any given time, one person in three worldwide is infected with dormant tuberculosis germs… People become ill when the bacteria become active, usually when a person’s immunity declines, whether because of advancing age, HIV infection or some other medical problem.”

Russia Threatens EU and USA

The Associated Press reported on May 29:

“Russia tested new missiles Tuesday that a Kremlin official boasted could penetrate any defense system, and President Vladimir Putin warned that U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield in Europe would turn the region into a ‘powder keg.’ … Russia has bristled at the plans, dismissing U.S. assertions that the system would be aimed at blocking possible attacks by Iran and saying it would destroy the strategic balance of forces in Europe.

“‘We consider it harmful and dangerous to turn Europe into a powder keg and to fill it with new kinds of weapons,’ Putin said…

“Russia is also embroiled in a dispute with the West over another Soviet-era arms pact, the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty. Putin has announced a moratorium on observance of the treaty and threatened to withdraw altogether if the United States and other NATO members do not ratify an 1999 amended version. ”

The Guardian wrote on May 30:

“Russia yesterday threatened a new cold war-style arms race with the United States by announcing that it had successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of penetrating American defences.”

Grim Conditions in Sudan

AFP reported on May 29:

“US President George W. Bush on Tuesday tightened US sanctions on Sudan over ‘genocide’ in Darfur and pushed for a tough new UN Security Council resolution to punish the government in Khartoum.

“‘The people of Darfur are crying out for help, and they deserve it,’ he said. ‘I promise this to the people of Darfur: The United States will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of the world.’

“China, a veto-wielding permanent council member and one of Sudan’s main allies, criticized the sanctions even before Bush unveiled them. But Britain welcomed the plan, while France proposed a humanitarian corridor through neighboring Chad to get aid to Darfur.

“The violence in Sudan’s western states has left at least 200,000 people dead and forced more than two million people from their homes, according to the United Nations…

“The goal of the sanctions is to force Sudan to allow the full deployment of a UN peacekeeping force; disarm the Janjaweed militias; and let humanitarian aid reach the region, which is roughly the size of France, US officials say…  China also faced pressure from European nations over Darfur.”

Even though the situation is very grim in Darfur, there is no Biblical evidence whatsoever for the concept that Sudan may be the “king of the south,” mentioned in Daniel 11, as some have recently suggested. Such fanciful ideas do not help in any way to gain a proper understanding of prophecy.

Eu vs. Turkey

The Turkish Daily News wrote on May 28:

“As they seemed to forget their comments about Turkey’s membership to the EU, European politicians with an imperialistic arrogance about our domestic politics have recently told Turkey to wait fifty more years; that is after having kept Turkey waiting at the EU door for more than forty-five years… It is time to say stop [to] European injustice and the arrogant European double standard with its old imperialistic traditions. With the mentality ‘I decide everything and everything belongs to me,’ the EU seems to not be satisfied with its economic benefits…

“By making Turkey obey harsh conditions of the Customs Union, Turkey became the fifth largest market of the EU ahead of Japan, Korea and India… Since 1999 when Turkey was granted candidate status, the EU has made visa application and customs laws more difficult instead of easier… Some EU countries like the Netherlands are only open for visa applications between 8:45 – 9:15 a.m. at their consulates…  It is time to say stop to the discriminatory visa application against Turkey…  It is time to… raise the stakes with arrogant Europeans.”

Five Britons Kidnapped in Iraq

AFP reported on May 30:

“Iraqi and British officials scrambled Wednesday to get to the bottom of the brazen daylight kidnapping of five British contractors snatched from a finance ministry building in Baghdad. The Britons… were taken on Tuesday by a large group [of] gunmen in Iraqi police uniforms.

“‘We are pursuing this case very vigorously, I would say, because the nature of this kidnapping is very strange,’ Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP. ‘The location of this finance ministry computer centre and the nature of the operation and the number of people involved, I think all indicate more a militia than a terrorist group, let’s say,’ he added…  the nature of the kidnapping clearly points towards the involvement of one of the Shiite militant groups that has infiltrated Iraqi forces, rather than a Sunni insurgent outfit such as Al-Qaeda, he said…

“Mass kidnappings by uniformed men were common last year and were believed to be the work of Shiite militias with close ties to the police.”

Iraq War With No End in Sight

AFP reported on May 26:

“US President George W. Bush scored a key victory against Democrats in Congress over funding US troops in Iraq, but with no end in sight, the four-year-old war continues to encumber his administration… After battling for weeks, the president’s Democratic foes in Congress had ceded to his demands to strip timelines for troop withdrawals out of the war funding bill… But the bill’s passage was unlikely to reassure a war-weary US public strongly critical of the Bush administration’s Iraq effort and dismayed at the mounting US toll there, with 3,445 US servicemen dead since the March 2003 start of the war.

“A new poll Friday showed a record number of people in the United States are pessimistic about the war’s outcome and now believe it was a mistake. Seventy-six percent of Americans think the Iraq war is going badly, up ten percentage points in one month, according to the CBS News/New York Times opinion poll. And 61 percent said the United States should have stayed out of Iraq…

“The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, meanwhile gave the clearest signal yet that Republicans would also be looking for a change of tack by Bush later this year. ‘I think the handwriting is on the wall that we are going in a different direction in the fall, and I expect the president is going to lead it,’ McConnell told reporters.”

“War Is Hell”

USA Today wrote on May 25:

“He said it in 1879, a decade after he led Union forces to victory in our Civil War. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman: ‘War is at best barbarism. … Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.’

“Those are words to heed as we honor the dead of all our wars on Monday’s Memorial Day. Those who died in the service of our country – and many who served and survived – have been through hell. We have about 147,000 servicemen and women in Iraq now. More than 3,400 have died there…

“On Memorial Day, my memories will be with my buddies who served with me in the 86th Infantry Division in both Europe and the Pacific in World War II. But my hopes and prayers will be for our military in Iraq. It’s already too late to bring them home sooner, as I suggested three years ago. But better late (now) than never.”

President Bush the Only Person Who Understands?

The Herald Tribune published on May 27 the following biting article:

“Never mind how badly the war is going in Iraq. President George W. Bush has been swaggering around like a victorious general because he cowed a wobbly coalition of Democrats into dropping their attempt to impose a time limit on his disastrous misadventure. By week’s end, Bush was acting as though that bit of parliamentary strong-arming had left him free to ignore not just the Democrats, but also the vast majority of Americans, who want him to stop chasing illusions of victory and concentrate on how to stop the sacrifice of young Americans’ lives. And, ever faithful to his illusions, Bush was insisting that he was the only person who understood the true enemy.

“Speaking to graduates of the Coast Guard Academy, Bush declared that Al Qaeda is ‘public enemy No. 1’ in Iraq and that ‘the terrorists’ goal in Iraq is to reignite sectarian violence and break support for the war here at home.’ The next day, in the Rose Garden, Bush turned on a reporter who had the temerity to ask about Bush’s declining credibility with the public, declaring that Al Qaeda is ‘a threat to your children’ and accusing him of naïvely ignoring the danger.

“It’s upsetting to think that Bush believes the raging sectarian violence in Iraq awaits reigniting, or that he does not recognize that Americans’ support for the war broke down many bloody months ago. But we have grown accustomed to this president’s disconnect from reality and his habit of tilting at straw men, like Americans who don’t care about terrorism because they question his mismanagement of the war or don’t worry about what will happen after the United States withdraws, as it inevitably must.

“The really disturbing thing about Bush’s comments is his painting of the war in Iraq as an obvious-to-everyone-but-the-wrongheaded fight between the United States and a young Iraqi democracy on one side, and Al Qaeda on the other. That fails to acknowledge that the Shiite-dominated government of Iraq is not a democracy and is at war with many of its own people. And it removes all pressure from the Iraqi leadership – and Bush – to halt the sectarian fighting and create a real democracy. There is no doubt that organized Islamist terrorism – call it Al Qaeda or by any other name – is a dire threat. There is also no doubt that terrorists entered Iraq – mostly after the war began.

“We, too, believe that Iraq has to be made as stable as possible so the United States can withdraw its troops without unleashing even more chaos and destruction. But Bush is not doing that, and his version of reality only makes it more unlikely. The only solution lies with the Iraqi leaders, who have to stop their sectarian blood feud and make a real attempt to form a united government. That is their best chance to stabilize the country, allow the United States to withdraw and, yes, battle Al Qaeda.

“The Democrats who called for imposing benchmarks for political progress on the Iraqis, combined with a withdrawal date for American soldiers, were trying to start that process. It’s a shame they could not summon the will and discipline to keep going, but we hope they have not given up. As disjointed as the Democrats have been, their approach makes far more sense than Bush’s denial of Iraq’s civil war and his war-without-end against terror.”

Kuwait Drops U.S. Dollar

The Wall Street Journal reported on May 21: “Kuwait dropped its currency’s four-year-old peg to the falling U.S. dollar and switched to a basket of currencies, raising new questions about plans for a currency union with other Gulf Arab oil producers. Kuwait’s central-bank governor said his country was still committed to the union and was acting in the ‘national interest’ to contain inflation. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the other states of the Gulf Cooperation Council may now be pressed to relax fiscal policy. Saudi Arabia’s central bank said it has no plans to change the exchange rate of its dollar-pegged currency.”

Eurozone Takes Over From USA

The EUObserver wrote on May 25:

“The eurozone will in 2007 take over from the US as the driver of world economic growth, according to Paris-based think tank the OECD, with a strong performance by Germany giving Europe the edge.

“The 13-state strong European currency union will see 2.7 percent GDP growth this year compared to 2.1 percent in the US… ‘Europe [is] taking over the baton from the United States,’ OECD chief economist Jean-Philippe Cotis said. ‘A vibrant German-led recovery has remained on track…[and] the so-far lagging Italian economy has been sharing in the upswing.’…

“By contrast, US results are being held back by problems in the housing market… The European upswing could spell good news for political projects, such as Germany’s attempt to revive the EU constitution… But the European picture is not entirely rosy: unemployment still remains much higher than in the US; inflation risks are likely to see the European Central Bank hike rates again this year and an ageing population is increasing pressure on the public purse.”

Iran Defiant

Y-net-news.com reported on May 25:

“[One] Day after [the] end of [the] deadline to halt uranium enrichment and in light of possibility of additional sanctions, Ahmadinejad says ‘sanctions will hurt Western countries more than they will hurt us’… The Western powers are unable to act against Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday morning… On Thursday, the Iranian president ruled out even a brief halt in his country’s nuclear program, saying it would hand a victory to the country’s enemies who seek to prevent Iran from becoming a world power…  the Iranian president referred to the Security Council’s resolutions as ‘having no influence.’…

“Ahmadinejad’s outburst followed Wednesday’s report by the UN nuclear watchdog that said Iran has expanded its controversial uranium enrichment program in defiance of UN demands for a suspension. The report could set the stage for a third round of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran.”

Queen Exasperated Over Blair’s Legacy?

AFP reported on May 26:

“Prime Minister Tony Blair, who steps down in a month after 10 years in power, is leaving a legacy for Britain that has ‘exasperated and frustrated’ Queen Elizabeth II… The queen is worried that London’s close ties with Washington have come at the Commonwealth’s expense and that British troops might have become ‘overstretched’ in Iraq and Afghanistan, The Sunday Telegraph said. The newspaper… said the 81-year-old monarch is especially concerned that the nation has become divided over some New Labour policies, such as the ban on fox hunting and hare coursing. ‘The queen has been left exasperated and frustrated by change for change’s sake,’ one of her friends was quoted as saying…

“Under the constitutional monarchy, the queen, who meets with the prime minister on a weekly basis at Buckingham Palace, has the right to be consulted, to encourage and to warn, the newspaper recalled. The queen, who has ruled for 55 years and worked with 10 prime ministers, is the head of state, head of the Commonwealth — which groups former British colonies — and head of the armed forces…

“John Daw, an influential farmer, recalled telling the queen in May 2002, following the nationwide crisis over foot and mouth disease, that he doubted whether Blair and his government understood the countryside. He told the newspaper that the queen surprised him with her reply: ‘I know. I tell him that every week when I see him.’

“The newspaper said Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the relationship between the queen and the prime minister.”

EU Constitution in the Making–Without Britain?

The Wall Street Journal wrote on May 24:

“Whatever happened to the idea of a European Union constitution? A new cast of characters leading the bloc’s biggest governments may be on the verge of providing an answer.

“Angela Merkel took over from Gerhard Schroeder as Germany’s chancellor last fall, Romano Prodi took back Italy’s premiership from Silvio Berlusconi a year ago, Nicolas Sarkozy succeeded Jacques Chirac as French president last week and Gordon Brown is set to assume Tony Blair’s post in Britain next month. They are all involved in negotiations taking place in several capitals over what to do with the pact scuttled two years ago by French and Dutch referendums — with an eye toward finding a solution in time for an EU summit June 21-22 in Germany. Yesterday, Mr. Sarkozy made his first presidential visit to the EU headquarters in Brussels, [and] expressed support for the new French leader’s idea of a ‘simplified, more compact’ treaty…

“During the French election campaign, Mr. Sarkozy said [he] wanted to keep language that would change the EU to streamline decision making; create an EU presidency that would replace the one currently rotating among nations every six months; and apply majority voting to immigration and some other policy areas where EU member states can’t reach consensus…

“Mr. Sarkozy has also said that this time he would leave ratification to parliament rather than a referendum, and yet with French parliamentary elections set for next month, he may be confident about popular support on the issue since he is giving it such prominence. Still, while the Netherlands also likes the idea of a slimmer constitution, Germany and other EU partners don’t want to abandon altogether the original, far more ambitious version that took so many years to forge. Mr. Prodi — a former commission president — was also in Brussels this week to offer vociferous backing for the constitution, and suggested countries that didn’t like it could be excluded from the faster, fuller pace of integration…

“Ms. Merkel’s team considers Britain one of the biggest obstacles to any agreement… Mr. Brown wants to avoid a referendum ‘at all costs,’ and to win him over, Ms. Merkel may find a way to let the U.K. ‘opt out’ of police, judicial and other legal areas of the treaty as a way to avoid one.”

Israel Arrests 33 Palestinian Officials… While EU Considers Peacekeeping Force in Gaza

The Herald Tribune wrote on May 24:

“The Israeli Army and internal security agency arrested 33 prominent West Bank Palestinians, including a minister, three lawmakers and three mayors, in raids early this morning, army officials said. In a statement, the army described those arrested as ‘senior members of the Hamas terror organization,’ which it said ‘exploits governmental institutions to encourage and support terrorist activity.’ Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel, said, ‘We have information that connects all those arrested to terrorist activity.’ Another senior Israeli government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the arrests came ‘on the heels of concrete and genuine indications that these individuals – all of them – pose a clear and present danger to the lives of Israelis.’

“But the most senior Palestinian to have been arrested, the Palestinian Authority’s education minister, Nasser Eddin al-Shaer, had already been detained by the Israeli authorities in August… Shaer was released by a military court in late September, because of what the court said was a lack of evidence against him.

“Other Palestinians arrested ran educational and charitable establishments… Forty-one Palestinian legislators have remained in Israeli detention since the summer, including the parliament’s speaker, Aziz Dweik. All were elected in January 2006, having run on Hamas’s ‘Change and Reform’ list, which won a large majority of seats in the 132-member parliament…

“Israel, the Palestinians and the United Nations should consider stationing peacekeepers in the Gaza Strip, Michael Williams, the UN special envoy to the Middle East, said on Thursday… The European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, after talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials, said a peacekeeping force was ‘one of many suggestions’ that the EU would be ‘open to consider’ if proposed by the parties. But he said Egyptian officials made clear during talks this week ‘they don’t see the need for that.'”

China’s Military Ambitions

The Financial Times wrote on May 24:

“The US is increasingly concerned about China’s deployment of mobile land and sea-based ballistic nuclear missiles that have the range to hit the US… The 2007 Pentagon China military power report will highlight the surprising pace of development of a new Jin-class submarine equipped to carry a nuclear ballistic missile with a range of more than 5,000 miles.

“Washington is also concerned about the strategic implications of China’s preparations later this year to start deploying a new mobile, land-based… intercontinental ballistic missile that could target the whole US.

“Robert Gates, US defence secretary, on Thursday said the report would not exaggerate the threat posed by China. ‘It paints a picture of a country that is devoting substantial resources to the military and developing…some very sophisticated capabilities.’

“The report also outlines concerns about the build-up of missiles across the Taiwan Strait, China’s recent anti-satellite missile test and its development of technologies to deny access in space. Beijing has strongly criticised previous Pentagon reports on the Chinese military, which it sees as portraying China as a cold war-style enemy, and points out that the Chinese military budget is a fraction of US defence spending…”

North Korea — the Plot Thickens

The Associated Press reported on May 25:

“North Korea fired several short-range guided missiles Friday into the sea that separates it from Japan in an apparent test launch… Analysts and media reports said the North’s test was in response to South Korea’s launch of its first destroyer equipped with high-tech Aegis radar technology on Friday. South Korea is now one of only five countries armed with the technology, which will make it easier to track and shoot down North Korean aircraft and missiles…

“Last month, North Korea displayed a newly developed ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam during a military parade… North Korea’s missile program has been a constant concern to the region, along with its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

“The hard-line regime test-fired a series of missiles in July last year… which experts believe could reach parts of the United States. The North rattled the world again in October by conducting its first-ever test of a nuclear device.”

Latin–The Language of Europe?

VIS reported on May 24:

“‘Latin Future: the language for building the identity of Europe’ is the theme of an international congress to be held in Rome and the Vatican from May 25 to 26… On the first day Friday, May 25, discussions will focus on the question of ‘the role of Latin in the formation of Europe’… to consider the question of ‘policies to follow in order to support the study of Latin.'”

Biblical or Worldly Pentecost…Which?

On May 27, Zenit published a translation of an address by Benedict XVI, pointing out, inadvertently, the fundamental differences between the Biblical Feast of Pentecost and its worldly counterfeit. His statements regarding the city of Rome are also very remarkable. For more information, please read our free booklets, “The Meaning of God’s Spring Holy Days,” and “Europe in Prophecy“:

“Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. And through today’s liturgy we relive the birth of the Church as it is narrated by Luke in the book of the Acts of the Apostles (2:1-13). Fifty days after Easter, the Holy Spirit descended upon the community of disciples — ‘persevering with one mind in prayer’ — gathered together ‘with Mary, the mother of Jesus’ and with the twelve apostles (cf. Acts 1:14; 2,1)…

“Rome represents the pagan world and therefore all peoples who are outside the ancient people of God. In fact, the Acts conclude with the arrival of the Gospel in Rome. We can say, then, that Rome is the concrete name of the catholicity and missionary spirit of the Church… the first Pentecost happened when Mary Most Holy was present among the disciples in the cenacle in Jerusalem and prayed.”

Health Scare Over Soft Drinks

The Independent wrote on May 27:

“A new health scare erupted over soft drinks last night amid evidence they may cause serious cell damage. Research from a British university suggests a common preservative found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max has the ability to switch off vital parts of DNA. The problem – more usually associated with ageing and alcohol abuse – can eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver and degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s…

“Concerns centre on the safety of E211, known as sodium benzoate, a preservative used for decades by the £74bn global carbonated drinks industry. Sodium benzoate derives from benzoic acid. It occurs naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks such as Sprite, Oasis and Dr Pepper. It is also added to pickles and sauces.

“Sodium benzoate has already been the subject of concern about cancer because when mixed with the additive vitamin C in soft drinks, it causes benzene, a carcinogenic substance…  Coca-Cola and Britvic’s Pepsi Max and Diet Pepsi all contain sodium benzoate.”

Nightmare Scenario Likely in the Near Future

The Daily Mail wrote on May 24:

“Thousands of government web pages suddenly vanish…  thousands of popular websites, from eBay to YouTube, start malfunctioning or are replaced by malicious parodies. Tens of millions of pounds are wiped off the share price of companies like Amazon as fears grow that the whole Internet credit card payment network is now vulnerable and insecure. Eventually, reports start to flood in that hundreds of thousands of personal bank accounts have been raided overnight.

“…thousands of anxious citizens take to the streets, many in tears, and pour angrily into the banks to demand their savings in cash. When the ATM system goes down, the government steps in. A task force is appointed. There is a rush on hard cash that leads to a shortage of notes and coins. Soon, it is clear that the United Kingdom (and much of Europe) has been subjected to a sustained and effective cyber-terrorist attack… Such a scenario, say some experts, is not only possible but likely in the near future…
 
“The Internet, developed as a rather ad hoc joint venture between the American military and academia as a way of sharing information quickly and reliably, has become – 30 years later – a vast worldwide infrastructure. It is now a huge, ungoverned electronic machine upon which we are all more and more dependent. We don’t only bank and shop online, our governments use the infrastructure of the Net to do their business too. Secure information is entrusted to cyberspace, information held by the likes of MI5 and the Pentagon, as well as various financial authorities, health services and treasuries…

“The genie is out of the bottle. Controlling – and policing – the Net, still less trying to shut the thing down, will probably prove to be as impossible as trying to stop the waves and the tides. If you bank online, best keep an eye on your account.”

Germany Uses Stasi Practices

The Associated Press reported on May 22:

“German authorities are using scent tracking to keep tabs on possibly violent protesters against next month’s Group of Eight summit–a tactic that is drawing comparisons with the methods of former East Germany’s secret police… The use of scent samples was widely known to be practiced in Germany by the East German secret police, the Stasi, who used the technique to track dissidents. “Petra Pau, a senior lawmaker with the opposition Left Party, a group that includes ex-communists, criticized the practice as ‘another step away from a democratic state of law toward a preventive security state. A state that adopts the methods of the East German Stasi, robs itself of every … legitimacy,’ she said in a statement…

“Earlier this month, police raided 40 offices and apartments used by left-wing protesters in Berlin, Hamburg and elsewhere, which provoked protests. Prosecutors at the time said they were investigating more than 18 people suspected of organizing what they called a terrorist group that planned to carry out firebombings and other violent attacks aimed at hindering or stopping the world leaders from holding the summit… A $17 million fence has been built around Heiligendamm in an attempt to keep protesters away. Security officials also have… announced tighter border controls.”

Attack on German Soldiers in Afghanistan

Der Spiegel Online wrote on May 22:

“The death of three German soldiers in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz on Saturday has led to calls in Germany for a rethink of NATO’s entire strategy in Afghanistan… A suicide bomber blew himself up next to the soldiers as they were buying fridges in a busy market in the center of Kunduz. Five other German servicemen were wounded, two of them so seriously that they had to be put into an artificial coma for the flight back in a hospital jet… Seven Afghan civilians were also killed and 13 wounded. It was the deadliest attack on German troops in Afghanistan since 2003 when four were killed in a suicide car bombing in Kabul…

“The German government quickly declared that it remained committed to the Afghan mission. Chancellor Angela Merkel called the attack ‘perfidious murder that fills us all with disgust and horror. The international community is determined to continue helping the people of Afghanistan to build a good future for their country,’ she said in a statement… Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said German troops wouldn’t be confining themselves to barracks despite Saturday’s attacks.”

In a related article, the magazine wrote that “most [German] newspaper commentators say bringing the boys home would hand the Taliban a triumph.”

Italy Demands Ethiopian Withdrawal

AFP wrote on May 19:

“The Italian government on Saturday pressed Ethiopian troops to pull out from lawless Somalia…  ‘I expressed the position of my government that Ethiopian troops must withdraw,’ [Italy’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Patrizia Sentinelli] told a press conference in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, after visiting Rome’s former colony…

“Ethiopian forces were deployed last year and helped Somali troops expel the Islamists movement from southern and central Somalia at the start of the year.

“But the insurgents continued with attacks that culminated in two offensives by Ethiopia-Somali forces in March and April that killed at least 1,400 people… Apart from the face-to-face fighting, dozens of people — including peacekeepers — have been killed and scores wounded in separate attacks since then, mainly by homemade bombs and grenades… At least 1,500 African Union peacekeepers from Uganda, who are currently in Mogadishu, are due to take over from Ethiopian forces.”

United Europe Full Steam Ahead?

The EUObserver wrote on May 22:

“In the run up to the decisive EU summit on finding a way out of the constitutional impasse, the pro-European camp has started to sound the drum, with Italy’s prime minister [Prodi] calling to ‘preserve as much as possible’ of the draft EU treaty. ‘In the last two years, almost only eurosceptic views have been listened to. It is time to listen to those who ratified the 2004 treaty,’ [Prodi said].

“Mr Prodi – claiming to speak on behalf of 18 EU states which have largely ratified the original text – rejected ‘radical changes’ to the foreseen institutional reforms. He listed the EU foreign minister, a lengthier presidency, the extension of qualified majority voting, the union’s legal personality and the abolition of its three-pillar structure as elements which ‘must be preserved.’

“‘If the compromise does not convince us, we will not sign it,’ he warned, clearly stating that a multi-speed Europe could bring about the long-sought breakthrough on the controversial issue.  ‘At this point, a vanguard of countries could…be the best way to proceed towards a more integrated union, on condition that door remains always open to those countries willing to join later,’ he said.”

EU vs. Russia

The Wall Street Journal wrote on May 18:

“Relations between Moscow and the U.S., as well as the EU, are at their worst since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Moscow on Tuesday… both sides… refused to budge on key disputes, from the placement of a U.S. missile-defense shield in Europe to proposals at the United Nations to make the Serbian province of Kosovo independent…

“Russians increasingly perceive their nation as distinct from Europe, according to opinion polls. More than half of respondents in a February survey by the EU-Russia Center said they viewed the EU as a potential threat to Russia, while 71% said they didn’t regard themselves as Europeans.

“In the U.S. and Europe, Moscow’s assertiveness is viewed with growing concern, particularly because it has been accompanied by a steady rollback of democratic institutions inside Russia and growing use of economic leverage and other means to pressure its neighbors.”

The German daily tabloid, Bild, reported on May 19 that there is “Eiszeit” (Ice Age) between Merkel and Putin.

The Herald Tribune stated on May 19:

“At a summit meeting overshadowed by discord on trade, security and energy issues, Russian and European Union leaders ended two days of talks Friday with a tense exchange over human rights but without an agreement on how to negotiate closer economic links, or even a joint statement… In her ninth meeting with Putin since becoming chancellor in 2005, Merkel was blunt about the lack of cooperation between the EU and Russia. ‘Our talks today showed that we are not cooperating very intensively,’ she said.

“The chancellor, who has consistently challenged Putin about the lack of press freedom and his country’s poor human rights record, criticized the Russian authorities for preventing Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion turned opposition leader, and his supporters from traveling to the summit meeting. They were stopped at the Moscow airport, where the police confiscated their passports and tickets and detained them for five hours.

“‘I say it completely openly that it is my wish that those who wish to demonstrate can do so in Samara,’ said Merkel, who grew up in Communist East Germany, where Putin once served as a KGB officer…

“Putin, who is expected to leave office in March 2008 after serving two terms, said his priority was to defend Russia’s interests. ‘We need each other,’ he said, referring to the EU, Russia’s largest trading partner. ‘We are open for an honest dialogue between Russia and the EU. But we must defend our interests in the same professional way as our partners do that.'”

The Moscow Times.com added on May 21:

“Top EU officials accused a visibly annoyed President Vladimir Putin on Friday of meddling in other countries’ affairs, turning a blind eye to the killings of Kremlin opponents, and muffling voices of criticism.

“No major deals were reached during the one-day Russia-EU summit at this Volga River resort, as expected. While the two sides spoke of a willingness to cooperate, they disagreed over almost everything, including the freedom of assembly, Polish meat and the removal of a Soviet monument in Estonia.”

Poland Is Happy

The EuObserver wrote on May 21:

“Polish politicians and analysts are celebrating EU solidarity after Berlin and Brussels took Warsaw’s line at the EU-Russia summit on Friday. But the meeting irked Russian president Vladimir Putin, damaging further the prospects of a new EU-Russia treaty.

“‘This is a great success for Polish diplomacy, in terms of Russian relations we got what we wanted,’ the chairman of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, Marek Kuchcinski, said… ‘Our critics should finally admit this.’

“Analyst Andrzej Maciejewski of the Sobieski Institute in Warsaw said the EU ‘taught [Russia] a lesson.’ Rafal Trzaskowski of the European school in Natolin said the EU showed ‘it can speak with one voice, that solidarity is not an empty word.’

“The reactions – yet to be matched at top Polish government level – come after Germany’s Angela Merkel and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso gave backing to Polish, Estonian and Lithuanian concerns at last week’s meeting in Samara.”

A New Low in Anglo-Russia Relationship

AFP wrote on May 22:

“British prosecutors demanded Tuesday that Russia extradite an ex-KGB agent  [Lugovoi] to face murder charges over the death of former spy Alexander Litvinenko, plunging chilly ties with Moscow to a new low… Moscow has angrily denied having a hand in the killing, and on Tuesday the Russian foreign ministry said extraditing Lugovoi to Britain would contradict the Russian constitution… But Russia’s ambassador Yuri Fedotov was hauled in by the Foreign Office to be told London expects ‘full cooperation’ in bringing Lugovoi to face justice.

“Anglo-Russia ties have hit a post-Cold War low with Litvinenko’s murder and London-based exile Boris Berezovsky’s calls to overthrow Putin. British courts have refused to allow the tycoon to be extradited…

“White House spokesman Tony Snow said the United States was ‘not taking sides’ with either Britain or Russia.”

Michael Moore’s Attack on US HealthCare System

The conservative news agency, Fox News, reported on May 20:

“Filmmaker Michael Moore’s brilliant and uplifting new documentary, ‘Sicko,’ deals with the failings of the U.S. healthcare system, both real and perceived. But this time around, the controversial documentarian seems to be letting the subject matter do the talking, and in the process shows a new maturity…

“‘Sicko’ works because in this one there are no confrontations. Moore smartly lets very articulate average Americans tell their personal horror stories at the hands of insurance companies… Moore criticizes both Democrats and Republicans for their inaction and in some cases their willingness to be bribed by pharmaceutical companies and insurance carriers.

“In a key moment in the film, Moore takes a group of patients by boat to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba because of its outstanding medical care. When they can’t get into the U.S. naval base, Moore proceeds onto Havana where the patients are treated well and cheaply. This has caused a great deal of controversy, with the federal government launching an investigation into the trip, which officials say was in violation of the trade and commerce embargo against the Communist country… Moore said he made a second master copy of ‘Sicko’ and had it shipped it to France immediately just in case of potential government issues.”

Reuters added on May 20:

“In ‘SiCKO’ he turns his attention to health, asking why 50 million Americans, 9 million of them children, live without cover, while those that are insured are often driven to poverty by spiraling costs or wrongly refused treatment at all.

“But the movie, which has taken Cannes by storm, goes further by portraying a country where the government is more interested in personal profit and protecting big business than caring for its citizens, many of whom cannot afford health insurance…

“One section of the film explains how a U.S. man severed the tip of two fingers in an accident and was told he would have to pay $12,000 to re-attach the end of his ring finger, and $60,000 to re-attach that of his index finger. ‘Being a hopeless romantic, Rick chose his ring finger,’ Moore quipped in a typically sardonic voiceover.

“It also follows a woman whose young daughter falls seriously ill but who said she was refused admission to a general hospital and instructed to go to a private one instead. By the time she got to the second hospital, it was too late to save the girl.

“One of the most controversial passages of the film, due to be released in the United States on June 29, compares health care in the United States to that which Islamic militant suspects receive at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. ‘I think when Americans see this they are not going to focus on Cuba or Fidel Castro,’ Moore said, referring to the controversy surrounding his trip to Cuba, which has prompted a U.S. government investigation.

“‘They are going to say to themselves, “You’re telling me that the al Qaeda detainees are receiving better health care, the people that helped participate in the attacks of 9/11 are receiving better health care from us than those who went down to rescue those who suffered and died on 9/11?”‘”

The International Herald Tribune added on May 23:

“Few of them may become Michael Moore fans. But some insurance industry officials and health policy experts have acknowledged that the film documentary ‘Sicko,’ Moore’s indictment of health care in the United States, taps into widespread public concern that the system does not work for millions of Americans. The movie, which had its first showing at the Cannes Film Festival in France last week and received many favorable reviews, presents a series of heart-rending anecdotes meant to illustrate systemic failures and foul-ups in the U.S. insurance industry – even if many of the major pieces of evidence are ones that have been widely reported elsewhere and in some cases date back 20 years…

“The film, scheduled for release in the United States on June 29 and in Asian countries later this year, is arriving as health care has become a leading policy concern in many polls in the United States, second only to the Iraq war…

“Perhaps not coincidentally, on Sunday, ’60 Minutes,’ the television news-magazine show, took up a scandal that is part of Moore’s film – and has been well chronicled in The Los Angeles Times – about the abandonment by Los Angeles hospitals of homeless patients after they have received medical treatment. Last week, Kaiser Permanente, the largest nonprofit health insurer in the United States, settled criminal and civil lawsuits, agreeing to establish new rules for discharging such patients, and to pay $55,000 in fines and to cover the city attorney’s investigative costs. Kaiser will also contribute $500,000 to a fund to help homeless people with follow-up care and other services.”

Will Gordon Brown End Special Relationship with George Bush?

The Telegraph wrote on May 20:

“Gordon Brown is prepared to risk the future of the ‘special relationship’ with the United States by reversing Tony Blair’s support for the Iraq war, President George W Bush has been warned. He has been briefed by White House officials to expect an announcement on British troop withdrawals from Mr Brown during his first 100 days in power. It would be designed to boost the new prime minister’s popularity in the opinion polls.

“The President recently discussed with a senior White House adviser how to handle the fallout from the expected loss of Washington’s main ally in Iraq [Tony Blair]… senior figures in the National Security Council, the Pentagon and the State Department in Washington have expressed fears about Mr Brown. They believe that cordial relations between the two leaders will be ‘at an end’… President Bush’s aides fear that Mr Brown will boost Democrats’ demands for a timetable for a US pullout from Iraq and encourage wavering Republicans to defect – leaving the President more isolated.”

The Pope Angers Indians in Latin America

Reuters reported on May 19:

“Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez demanded Pope Benedict apologize to Indians in Latin America for saying this month in Brazil that the Roman Catholic Church purified them. Chavez, who regularly clashes with the Catholic Church in Venezuela but had not directly criticized the Pope before, accused the Pontiff on Friday of ignoring the ‘holocaust’ that followed Christopher Columbus’s 1492 landing in the Americas.

“‘With all due respect your Holiness, apologize because there was a real genocide here and, if we were to deny it, we would be denying our very selves,’ Chavez said at an event on freedom of expression.

“In a speech to Latin American and Caribbean bishops at the end of a visit to Venezuela’s neighbor Brazil, the Pope said the Church had not imposed itself on the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Indian leaders in the region were outraged by the comments. Millions of tribal Indians are believed to have died as a result of European colonization backed by the Church, through slaughter, disease or enslavement.”

Human-Animal Hybrids?

BBC News reported on May 17:

“Ministers [in Great Britain] have bowed to pressure to allow the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos for research… The draft bill allows the creation of human embryos that have been physically mixed with one or more animal cells. However, true human-animal hybrids, made by the fusion of sperm and eggs, remain outlawed.  And in all cases it would be illegal to allow embryos to grow for more than 14 days or be implanted into a womb.”

USA Least Desirable Tourist Attraction

Bild reported on May 19, 2007, that the USA has become the LEAST desirable country to visit IN THE WORLD–topping the list even ahead of the Middle East–mainly due to perceived inappropriate conduct of American immigration officials at US airports, as well as American tourist restrictions. The American tourist association TIA reportedly complained that due to American misconduct, many international tourists decline to travel to the USA. At the same time, Europe is perceived to be a very friendly country for tourists, with the exception of France.

Heavy Fighting in Lebanon

Der Spiegel Online wrote on May 22:

“The United Nations is warning of a humanitarian crisis as fighting raged for the third straight day at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon… the Lebanese army stopped six relief trucks from entering the camp, saying it was too dangerous to enter. The army has been bombarding the camp since Sunday in a bid to destroy the Palestinian extremist group Fatah Islam, which is holed up inside Nahr el-Bared. Lebanese troops are not allowed to enter the camp, home to 31,000 people… Some 215,000 of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon are housed in overcrowded camps, with many extremist groups likewise finding refuge there.”

The Associated Press added on May 22:

“People flooded out of a besieged Palestinian refugee camp Tuesday night, waving white flags and telling of bodies lying in the streets and inside wrecked houses after three days of fighting between Lebanese troops and Islamic militants.

“Twenty-nine soldiers and at least 20 militants had been killed since the battle began Sunday in the heaviest internal fighting in Lebanon since the 1975-90 civil war. But the number of civilian casualties remained unknown because relief workers were not able to get inside the camp…

“The military’s attack at the camp also has raised fears the fighting could destabilize Lebanon’s uneasy balance among its many religious sects and factions. Saniora’s Western-backed government already faces a domestic political crisis, with the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah militant group campaigning for its removal…

“The Bush administration repeated its support for Saniora, a close U.S. ally. It also hinted that it suspected a Syrian role in the turmoil. White House press secretary Tony Snow said the militants wanted to distract international attention from an effort at the United Nations to establish a special tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. He said the U.S. ‘will not tolerate attempts by Syria, terrorist groups or any others to delay or derail Lebanon’s efforts to solidify its sovereignty or seek justice in the Hariri case.’

“Lebanese security officials accuse Syria of using Fatah Islam to destabilize Lebanon, a charge Damascus denies. Syria controlled Lebanon for decades until growing street demonstrations by Lebanese and international pressure forced it to withdraw its troops after Hariri’s assassination.”

U.S. Democrats Lose Fight for Withdrawing Troops

The New York Times wrote on May 22:

“Congressional Democrats relented today on their insistence that a war spending measure sought by President Bush also set a date for withdrawing troops from Iraq. The decision to back down… was a wrenching reversal for some Democrats, who saw their election triumph as a call to force an end to the war. A Democratic effort to include timelines prompted Mr. Bush’s veto of the original bill last month, producing a political impasse… “The Democratic leaders’ concession infuriated one of their own, Senator Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, who failed last week in his attempt to win passage of a measure that would have cut off money for the war next spring.

“’I cannot support a bill that contains nothing more than toothless benchmarks and that allows the president to continue what may be the greatest foreign policy blunder in our nation’s history,’ he said. ‘There has been a lot of tough talk from members of Congress about wanting to end this war, but it looks like the desire for political comfort won out over real action. Congress should have stood strong, acknowledged the will of the American people, and insisted on a bill requiring a real change of course in Iraq.’”

U.S. War Games at Iran’s Doorsteps

Reuters reported on May 24:

“The U.S. navy began war games on Iran’s doorstep on Thursday, navy officials said, a day after a large flotilla of U.S. ships entered the Gulf in a dramatic daytime show of military muscle.

“The group includes two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, whose presence adds to the pressure on the Islamic Republic to abandon its own nuclear ambitions, which the West says are an attempt to develop atomic weapons… Asked if any of the American ships carried atomic weapons, a U.S. navy spokesman said the United States routinely did not comment on whether its warships were equipped with nuclear arms.

“On the same day the U.S. ships entered the Gulf, skirting Iran’s coast as they passed the Gulf’s narrowest point, the U.N.’s atomic agency released a report saying Iran was continuing to defy world demands to stop enriching uranium….Oil prices have continued to rise, hitting a nine-month high above $71 on Thursday.

“The ships, carrying about 17,000 personnel and 140 aircraft will take part in war drills over the next two weeks, the group’s leader Rear Admiral Kevin Quinn said on Wednesday, adding that the drills would include exercises to defend against air, surface and submarine threats… The passage of the U.S. ships through the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow channel in the Gulf and major oil shipping lane, was the largest such move in daylight hours since the 2003 Iraq war.”

AFP added on May 24:

“The United States threatened new UN sanctions to punish Iran’s nuclear drive as it ratcheted up tensions with the biggest display of naval power in the Gulf in years.

“Hours after a bristling US armada led by two aircraft carriers steamed into waters near Iran for exercises Wednesday, Iran defied the threats and pledged that its controversial atomic program was expanding.”

“When Will They Ever Learn…?”

The popular song, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” asks the pertinent question, after describing the horrors of war: “When Will They Ever Learn?” Sadly, prior to the return of Jesus Christ, man will not understand that his wars will NEVER bring peace, but they will ONLY produce MORE wars! Because of man’s attempts to establish “peace” through war, man will find himself at the brink of self annihilation and total destruction, which can and will only be prevented by Almighty God. Once Christ rules on this earth, as the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), THEN man will LEARN war NO MORE (Isaiah 2:1-4).

Cheney Threatens Iran…

The International Herald Tribune wrote on May 11:

“Vice President Dick Cheney used the deck of an American aircraft carrier just 240 kilometers off Iran’s coast as the backdrop Friday to warn the country that the United States was prepared to use its naval power to keep Tehran from disrupting oil routes or ‘gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region.’… the symbolism of sending the administration’s most famous hawk to deliver the speech so close to Iran’s coast was unmistakable… the speech Friday was not circulated broadly in the government before it was delivered, a senior American diplomat said. ‘He kind of runs by his own rules,’ the official said… Oil seemed to be on Cheney’s mind Friday, when he told an audience of 3,500 to 4,000 American service members on the Stennis that Iran would not be permitted to choke off oil shipments through the waters of the region.”

… and So Does Bolton

On May 16, The Daily Telegraph published the following report:

“John Bolton, who still has close links to the Bush administration, told The Daily Telegraph that the European Union had to ‘get more serious’ about Iran and recognise that its diplomatic attempts to halt Iran’s enrichment programme had failed. Iran has ‘clearly mastered the enrichment technology now… they’re not stopping, they’re making progress and our time is limited’, he said. Economic sanctions ‘with pain’ had to be the next step, followed by attempting to overthrow the theocratic regime and, ultimately, military action to destroy nuclear sites…

“President George W Bush privately refers to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has pledged to wipe Israel ‘off the map’, as a 21st Century Adolf Hitler and Mr Bolton, who remains a close ally of Vice President Dick Cheney, said the Iranian leader presented a similar threat.

“‘If the choice is them continuing [towards a nuclear bomb] or the use of force, I think you’re at a Hitler marching into the Rhineland point. If you don’t stop it then, the future is in his hands, not in your hands, just as the future decisions on their nuclear programme would be in Iran’s hands, not ours.’ But Mr Bolton conceded that military action had many disadvantages and might not succeed. ‘It’s very risky for the price of oil, risky because you could, let’s say, take out their enrichment capabilities at Natanz, and they may have enrichment capabilities elsewhere you don’t know about.’…

“Although he praised Tony Blair for his support of America over the Iraq war, he criticised the Prime Minister…’ for persisting with supporting EU attempts to negotiate with Iran that were “doomed to fail”… Blair just didn’t focus on it as much as [Jack] Straw [former Foreign Secretary] did, and it was very much a Foreign Office thing because they wanted to show their European credentials, wanted to work with the Germans and the French to show “we’ll solve Iran in a way differently than those cowboy Americans solved Iraq.'”

“Mr Bolton, a leading advocate of the Iraq war, insisted that it had been right to overthrow Saddam Hussein and that the later failures did not mean that military action against rogue states should not be contemplated again.”

To Nobody’s Surprise, US Senate Fails to End the Iraq War…

On May 16, The Associated Press reported:

“The Senate on Wednesday rejected legislation that would cut off money for combat operations in Iraq after March 31, 2008. The vote was a loss for Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and other Democrats who want to end the war. But the effort picked up support from members, including presidential hopefuls previously reluctant to limit war funding — an indication of the conflict’s unpopularity among voters… The Senate agreed only on a nonbinding resolution expressing the need to pass a war spending bill by Memorial Day.”

In a related article, The Associated Press stated on May 16:

“Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton voted Wednesday to advance legislation cutting off money for the Iraq war, then refused to pledge to support the measure if it came to a vote, then said she would.

“At lunchtime, the New York senator and presidential candidate was asked repeatedly by reporters whether she favored the troop withdrawal legislation that had just come up for a procedural vote on the Senate floor. Her answer: ‘I’m not going to speculate on what I’m going to be voting on in the future. I voted in favor of cloture to have a debate.’ By supper time, she had a different answer. ‘I support the underlying bill,’ she said. ‘That’s what this vote on cloture was all about.’

“A rival Democratic camp quickly criticized Clinton’s evolving — and possibly revolving — statements. ‘We’re as confused as anyone on Senator Clinton’s position,’ said Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd’s campaign spokeswoman, Christy Setzer. ‘Frankly, it’s hard to know whether it’s indecision, miscommunication or simple word games and political gamesmanship we’re dealing with. Our troops in Iraq don’t have time for poll-tested word games,’ Setzer said.”

Reuters added on May 17:

“The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed an interim Iraq war funding bill that promised support but gave no specific dollar figure, enabling congressional negotiators to begin work on a compromise they hope to send to President George W. Bush next week. By voice vote, the Senate approved vague language expressing the need to support U.S. troops. The measure reflected the Senate’s inability to bridge differences between Democrats and Republicans on war funding legislation that Bush would sign.”

…And Prince Harry Will Not Be Sent To Iraq

The Associated Press reported on May 16:

“Britain’s Prince Harry will not be sent with his unit to Iraq, Britain’s top general said Wednesday, citing specific threats to the third in line to the throne. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt said the changing situation on the ground exposed the prince to too much danger… Harry would have been the first member of the British royal family to serve in a war zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew, flew as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands conflict with Argentina in 1982.”

Sky News added on May 17 that “the Prince was ‘very disappointed’ that he would not be going with his squadron in the Household Cavalry. But a spokesman insisted that he would not quit the Army.”

Blair-Bush Whitehouse Swansong

AFP wrote on May 17, 2007:

“US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair Thursday staged a White House swansong for their tumultuous double-act, defiant to the last over the Iraq war which sunk their political fortunes. Taking turns to lavish praise on each other’s leadership, they said history would be the judge of their decision to invade Iraq in search of elusive weapons of mass destruction and to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime… Iraq dealt a fatal blow to Blair’s popularity in Britain, but the prime minister remained adamant that he had no regrets over backing Bush in the bitterly controversial enterprise… all roads led back to Iraq, with Blair insisting that he would take the same course of action all over again.”

Reuters added on May 17:

“Blair’s final visit to Washington as prime minister underscored the political price he has paid for embracing Bush and enlisting in the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, for which critics at home derided him as ‘Bush’s poodle.’ Blair will leave office in mid-term, under pressure from within his own Labour Party to step aside before the next general election expected in 2009… Bush was also apparently looking for further assurances that Blair’s successor, finance minister Gordon Brown, will not lessen Britain’s resolve in Iraq… Brown has accepted that mistakes were made in Iraq but has ruled out an immediate pullout… Brown is considered unlikely to form the kind of close personal bond Blair has with Bush. The two have seemed an odd couple — Bush the rich Texas Republican with strong conservative views and Blair the head of a center-left party with socialist origins… But Blair was quick to join the war on terrorism that Bush declared after the September 11 attacks, and he later stood by the U.S. leader when many other European leaders distanced themselves from the Iraq war or openly criticized it.”

More Conflicts and Problems Worldwide

Just prior to the return of Christ, we are to expect the increase of wars and rumors of wars, national and international conflicts and tensions, troubles and problems between governments and individuals on a worldwide scale (Luke 21:9-10; Matthew 24:6-8). And so, events of this past week are no surprise…

NATO, EU and the USA Don’t See Eye to Eye

AFP reported on May 14:

“German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said Monday that he had complained to NATO about the increased number of civilian casualties during US-led military operations in Afghanistan. ‘I have told the NATO Secretary General … that we have to make sure that such operations are not carried out in the future,’ said Jung, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency until the end of next month. ‘We must ensure that operations do not develop this way. It would not be a victory to set the (Afghan) people against us,’ he said, after talks between EU defence ministers in Brussels. Some 20 Afghan villagers were killed last week in an operation by US-led coalition forces in southern Afghanistan, according to Afghan officials…

“NATO is leading a force of some 37,000 troops from 37 nations in Afghanistan which is trying to extend the political reach of President Hamid Karzai’s weak central government to more lawless outlying regions. The US-led coalition is a separate force around 10,000-strong which, while it does coordinate with the NATO-led contingent, is mainly involved in ‘anti-terror’ operations.”

US and EU Bicker Over Privacy Issues… And EU Air Travelers Are About to Suffer

 On May 17, Der Spiegel Online published an article, titled: “US Shuns European Privacy Concerns.”

The magazine wrote:

“The post-Sept. 11 flight data sharing agreement between the US and EU expires in July. But a new agreement is nowhere in sight. The Americans want to know even more, and the Europeans want to tell them even less… If no new agreement is reached by July 2007, the simplified process through which millions of EU citizens enter the US could become a thing of the past. The unpleasant task of finding a compromise falls on the Germans, since they currently hold the rotating EU presidency…

“Even the existing agreement is seen with some skepticism in the European Parliament. And the myriad concerns and questions raised… showed just how deep that skepticism runs… For the moment, no one in Berlin is expecting to come to a quick agreement…  If no new agreement is reached by the end of July, the procedure for EU citizens entering the United States will be completely unclear.”

Germany Slams Wolfowitz… While USA Fails

The Associated Press reported on May 17 that “World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz will resign at the end of June, he and the bank said late Thursday, ending his long fight to survive pressure for his ouster.” For all practical purposes, the EU and especially Germany won this battle for power and influence, while the USA clearly lost.

Here is what transpired this week, leading to Wolfowitz’s resignation:

Reuters reported on May 16:

“Paul Wolfowitz made an emotional appeal to stay on as World Bank president, but Germany stepped up pressure on him to resign, saying he would not be welcome at a forum the bank is holding next week in Berlin… a bank panel found that he violated ethics rules in pushing through a promotion and pay rise for his bank-employee companion Shaha Riza.

“‘He would do the bank and himself a great service if he resigned,’ German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, one of Wolfowitz’s strongest critics, told reporters. ‘It would be the best thing for all concerned.’ Should he fail to give up his post, she advised him not to take part in a two-day World Bank forum on development aid for Africa which starts Monday in the German capital…

“Wolfowitz has been a controversial figure at the World Bank since his nomination by President George W. Bush in 2005 and has fought misgivings by European member countries over his role in the Iraq war while U.S. deputy defense secretary.

“The U.S. government has failed to rally support among its key allies for a strategy aimed at saving Wolfowitz his job. The Bush administration found support only from Japan in a conference call of officials from Group of Seven industrial nations for a plan to separate consideration of Wolfowitz’s ethics violations from credibility issues. A G7 source said it was clear that most participants on the call wanted a quick resolution to a protracted and messy battle over whether Wolfowitz should stay on, step down or be fired. The G7 countries — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Britain, the United States and Japan — are the bank’s biggest funders and dominate its decision making.”

AFP added on May 17:

“A fresh call [for Wolfowitz’s resignation] came Thursday in the Slovenian capital of Bled, where an annual World Bank conference on development economics opened. Wolfowitz, who had planned to deliver the keynote address Thursday night, cancelled his appearance. ‘Now this scandal has been dragging on for too long, which is undermining the credibility of the institution,’ Slovenian Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told journalists on the sidelines of the meeting. It would be best if ‘the gentleman should withdraw,’ he was quoted as saying by the STA news agency…

“The Bush administration had been resolutely backing Wolfowitz — one of the key architects of the Iraq war — despite mounting calls for him to resign during the month-old scandal. But that support began to crumble this week after the internal report found he had breached the bank’s ethics rules.”

The article added that “White House support waned in recent days as the controversy has deepened.”

Friday’s Russia-EU Summit–Don’t Expect Much, If Anything

The EUObserver wrote on May 16:

“German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s trip to Moscow failed to produce any result on EU-Russia trade disputes but saw some friendly words, foreshadowing what is set to be an equally substance-free summit in Samara, Russia on Friday (18 May)… The German minister spent one hour talking with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, foreign minister Lavrov and farm minister Gordeyev as well as one hour alone with Mr Putin, but the talks ended with Moscow upholding its ban on Polish food imports.

“Russia’s 18-month old import ban has been called groundless by the European Commission and has seen Poland veto starting talks on a new EU-Russia treaty in a position backed this week by Lithuania and Estonia, which have political gripes of their own with Moscow.

“Russian diplomats on Tuesday (15 May) also called into question a recent EU deal on ending $300 million a year worth of Siberian overflight fees for European airlines. The deal was due to be one of the few things the pair could claim success on at the unlucky summit…

“The mood was made slightly darker by Russian complaints about EU handling of the Russia-Estonia dispute over Tallinn’s removal of a Soviet-era statue. Senior Putin aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky accused the EU of ‘hypocrisy’ in supporting Tallinn…

“The Samara meeting will also try and tackle big international issues such as Kosovo and Iran, but Russian and EU officials warned not to expect much from the summit in terms of results on specific EU-Russia issues.

“Another Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told the Moscow Times that ‘the summit is unlikely to bring about any breakthroughs…’ An EU official told the paper ‘there will be less and less substance’ at the Samara gathering. The Russian press was less circumspect, with the Vedomosti daily writing ‘The EU-Russian summit will either be a relative failure or a scandalous failure…The participants may not even be able to agree on a joint declaration.'”

And Now–Cyberwarfare Between Russia and Estonia?

Der Spiegel Online reported on May 17:

“A massive denial-of-service attack on Estonian servers has brought down Web sites belonging to government ministries, banks and news outlets. Russia denies waging cyberwar, but the assaults look connected to a real-world spat between Moscow and its former satellite state.”

The article continued:

“A bickering match between Russia and one of its Soviet-era allies, Estonia, may have spilled over into cyberspace. NATO, at least, has been worried enough to send cyber-terrorism experts to the capital of Tallinn to investigate a major three-week “denial of service” assault on both official and private Estonian Web sites as well as the country’s cell phone networks.

“Estonia says the attacks — which involve massive volleys of data fired at the servers of government ministries, newspapers, banks, and other corporations with the intention of crashing their sites — originated in Russia…

“The cyberattacks… came in waves, peaking around significant dates like May 8 and 9 (V-E Day, a major holiday in Russia). Hackers… need a vast host of machines to send the volumes of data needed to overwhelm server and bandwidth capacities for the targeted sites. Estonian officials claim that some attackers were traceable to Kremlin institutions.

“‘When there are attacks coming from official IP addresses of Russian authorities and they are attacking not only our Web sites but our mobile phone network and our rescue service network, then it is already very dangerous,’ said Estonia’s foreign minister, Urmas Paet, to The Times of London. ‘It can cost lives. I hope they will stop it but the attacks are continuing.’

“Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC that the allegations were ‘completely untrue.’ An unnamed NATO official said to the Guardian, ‘I won’t point fingers. But these were not things done by a few individuals. …This clearly bore the hallmarks of something concerted.'”

“Breakthrough” in U.S. Illegal Immigration–But Is It Really?

The Associated Press reported on May 17 about a proposed compromise which–by all standards and no matter where one might stand on the “political spectrum”–is far from achieving Godly justice and fairness. It is highly disappointing and can hardly be viewed as a positive breakthrough.

The article explained:

“Key senators in both parties and the White House announced agreement Thursday on an immigration overhaul that would grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and fortify the border.

“The plan would create a temporary worker program to bring new arrivals to the U.S and a separate program to cover agricultural workers. Skills and education-level would for the first time be weighted over family connections in deciding whether future immigrants should get permanent legal status. New high-tech employment verification measures also would be instituted to ensure that workers are here legally…

“The accord sets the stage for what promises to be a bruising battle next week in the Senate on one of Bush’s top non-war priorities… The proposed agreement would allow illegal immigrants to come forward and obtain a ‘Z visa’ and–after paying fees and a $5,000 fine–ultimately get on track for permanent residency, which could take between eight and 13 years. Heads of household would have to return to their home countries first. They could come forward right away to claim a probationary card that would let them live and work legally in the U.S., but could not begin the path to permanent residency or citizenship until border security improvements and the high-tech worker identification program were completed…

“In perhaps the most hotly debated change, the proposed plan would shift from an immigration system primarily weighted toward family ties toward one with preferences for people with advanced degrees and sophisticated skills. Republicans have long sought such revisions, which they say are needed to end ‘chain migration’ that harms the economy, while some Democrats and liberal groups say it’s an unfair system that rips families apart. Family connections alone would no longer be enough to qualify for a green card–except for spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens. New limits would apply to U.S. citizens seeking to bring foreign-born parents into the country.”

Another Round of Fighting Has Begun…

The Associated Press reported on May 17:

“Israel targeted Hamas with airstrikes Thursday, destroying a compound and a car carrying senior commanders of the Islamic group and killing six people in a new layer of violence added to Palestinian infighting that has paralyzed the Gaza Strip. In all, 45 Palestinians have been killed in the infighting between Hamas and the rival Fatah since Sunday, including three on Thursday, in the worst round in more than a year… The raging street battles have turned the densely populated seaside city into a war zone and endangered the Palestinian unity government.

“Israel unleashed the air campaign — a hit on a Hamas command center, on a trailer housing bodyguards and two vehicles — after Gaza militants fired more than 50 rockets on the Israeli border town of Sderot in three days… Jordan’s King Abdullah II told a gathering of Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian peace activists he was ‘very concerned’ by the wave of inter-Palestinian fighting in Gaza and warned that more will follow unless progress is made in the peace process.”

Do Politics and Christian Religion Mix?

According to Scripture, they should not mix at all. As Christians, we are not to be part of this world and its evil politics. Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we await the return of Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20), to end man’s misrule and to set up the Kingdom and Government of God here on earth (Revelation 11:17-18). We are commanded to come out of the Babylon of this world and its political and religious alliances (Revelation 18:4). Modern Babylon is described as “that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth” (Revelation 17:18), and with which “the kings of the earth have committed [spiritual] fornication” (Revelation 18:3). But God will judge that great city–including those who have political or religious affiliations with it–“who corrupted the earth with her [spiritual] fornication” (Revelation 19:2).

For more information on the identity of “that great city” and its influence on the entire world, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Falwell Dies–How Religion Makes Politics…

The Associated Press reported on May 15:

“Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73… Falwell credited his Moral Majority with getting millions of conservative voters registered, electing Ronald Reagan and giving Republicans Senate control in 1980…

“Falwell had once opposed mixing preaching with politics, but he changed his view and in 1979, founded the Moral Majority. The political lobbying organization grew to 6.5 million members and raised $69 million as it supported conservative politicians and campaigned against abortion, homosexuality, pornography and bans on school prayer…

“With Falwell’s high profile came frequent criticism, even from fellow ministers… Billy Graham once rebuked him for political sermonizing on ‘non-moral issues.’… Days after Sept. 11, 2001, Falwell essentially blamed feminists, gays, lesbians and liberal groups for bringing on the terrorist attacks. He later apologized. In 1999, he told an evangelical conference that the Antichrist was a male Jew who was probably already alive. Falwell later apologized for the remark but not for holding the belief. A month later, his National Liberty Journal warned parents that Tinky Winky, a purple, purse-toting character on television’s ‘Teletubbies’ show, was a gay role model and morally damaging to children.

“Falwell was re-energized… in the 2004 presidential election. He formed the Faith and Values Coalition as the ’21st Century resurrection of the Moral Majority,’ to seek anti-abortion judges, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and more conservative elected officials.”

EU Plans Won’t Make the Pope Very Happy

The EUObserver reported on May 15:

“German chancellor and Christian Democrat Angela Merkel has voiced regret there will be no reference to Christian roots in the revised EU treaty…

“‘You know what my personal view is. I would have liked the constitution to deliver such a reference. But as president of the European Council, I see there is not much of a chance,’ she said on the prospects of God appearing in a preamble to the EU text.  ‘I can’t hold out any hope,’ she added.

“Her statement comes in the context of Germany’s push to fix the broad outlines of a new EU treaty – still called a ‘constitution’ by some – in late June, following months of bilateral consultations with EU states after the rejection of the original EU constitution in 2005.

“The God debate is at least as old as the 2002 EU convention that wrote the original constitution, with Roman Catholic states like Poland and the Vatican pushing for the reference, but with France and the UK worried over national secularist traditions or damaging relations with Islamic EU candidate Turkey. The EU’s 50th birthday declaration in March rejuvenated the discussion. But in the end the birthday text made no reference to Christianity, while praising ‘identities and diverse traditions of member states’ and how the EU is ‘enriched’ by a ‘variety of languages, cultures.’

“When the German chancellor, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament president Hans-Gert Poettering met Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders at the EU capital on Tuesday (15 May), they stuck to safe ground on ‘universal’ EU values such as ‘human dignity.’ … But the meeting was not entirely free of controversy, with Ms Merkel at the final press conference saying the EU ‘can’t close its eyes’ to violations of ‘human dignity’ in ‘particular terms’ such as ‘the fact religious property is being damaged [by Turkey] in Northern Cyprus.'”

Peace in Northern Ireland … But There Is No Peace

The Associated Press reported on May 8:

“Protestant firebrand Ian Paisley and IRA veteran Martin McGuinness formed a long-unthinkable alliance Tuesday as Northern Ireland power-sharing went from dream to reality–and all sides expressed hope that bloodshed over this British territory would never return. “Paisley, who spent decades refusing to cooperate with Northern Ireland’s Catholic minority, conceded he had often refused to budge in years past but was ready now. He lauded the Irish Republican Army’s moves to renounce violence and disarm, and Sinn Fein’s decision to cooperate with the province’s mostly Protestant police as genuine. ‘From the depths of my heart, I believe Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace, a time when hate will no longer rule. How good it will be to be part of a wonderful healing in this province,’ Paisley said.

“Tuesday’s speedy, trouble-free formation of a 12-member administration jointly led by Paisley and McGuinness heralded an astonishing new era for Northern Ireland following decades of violence and political stalemate that left 3,700 dead. Paisley, 81, affirmed an oath pledging to cooperate with Catholics and the government of the neighboring Republic of Ireland–moves that the fire-and-brimstone evangelist had long denounced as surrender.”

Sadly, the Bible clearly predicts that there will be no lasting peace–neither in Northern Ireland, nor anywhere else on this globe.  The only hope for worldwide peace is the return of Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 says: “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.”

Elections in France — and More Talk of Peace

The Herald Tribune wrote on May 7:

“Leaders across Europe welcomed the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as France’s next president but enthusiasm Monday was tempered with caution, particularly in Germany. While leaders hoped that Sarkozy would reform the French economy, they questioned his protectionist policies and voiced concern that his strong opposition to Turkey joining the European Union could divide the 27-member bloc.

“Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was quick to congratulate Sarkozy on Sunday night. ‘The German-French friendship will continue to be the basis to secure lasting peace, democracy and prosperity in Europe,’ said Merkel, who like Sarkozy, belongs to the new generation of leaders born after World War II. The European Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, said he was confident that Sarkozy would play the role of ‘motor’ in helping to overhaul EU institutions…

“Russia’s reaction was muted. Sergey Karaganov, dean of international studies at the Higher School of Economics, said in a telephone interview: ‘The only change I see will be the loss of a personal relationship with Chirac. With changes in Germany, France, Italy and the United States, there is an element of unpredictability’ for Russia, he added.

“Analysts said Sarkozy’s foreign policy agenda could ultimately depend on two things: whether the Franco-German alliance can again become the driving force inside the EU; and whether Gordon Brown, who is expected to succeed Tony Blair as Britain’s prime minister, will re-engage with Europe.”

France’s Next President for EU Constitution

Der Spiegel Online reported on May 7:

“Germany, as current EU president, will [breathe] a collective sigh of relief that Sarkozy has prevailed. Unlike his rival Ségolène Royal, Sarkozy does not want to let the French vote again on the constitutional treaty. Instead he wants a slimmed-down version, with only institutional reforms for the 27-member bloc, to be ratified as soon as possible — and not by the people, but by parliament. The discussions about a more comprehensive EU constitution would then be postponed to a later date.

“This pragmatism reflects that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel who, as EU president, has already been working on a roadmap that would save the ‘substance of the constitutional treaty’ by 2009. A further indication of Sarkozy’s new pro-European stance is the fact that in March he was the only candidate in the French election to publicly support the Berlin Declaration, which marked the EU’s 50th anniversary, and which called for the revival of the constitution. It is also in Sarkozy’s own interest to clear the hurdles as soon as possible since France is due to take over the EU presidency in the second half of 2008. If everything goes according to Merkel’s roadmap, Sarkozy could end up being celebrated as the savior of the constitutional treaty…

“Other issues, however, could well lead to clashes. Sarkozy is a genuine opponent of further EU expansion. Even before the entry of Bulgaria and Romania he had called for an end to the accession of any more countries. And unlike his predecessor Jacques Chirac, he categorically rejects EU membership for Turkey. The Turkish newspaper Vatan has called him the ‘greatest opponent of Turkey in Europe.’ Sarkozy has repeatedly explained that as far as he is concerned geographically, Turkey doesn’t belong in Europe, but rather in Asia.”

France Over All

On May 7, Der Spiegel Online quoted the business daily Handelsblatt, as follows: “The new president has a dream: he wants to help France, which has lost its economic and political significance, to achieve new greatness… Sarkozy looks at Europe through a purely French lens…”

US-French Friendship?

The French News Agency AFP reported on May 7:

“World leaders were quick to congratulate Sarkozy on his victory, with US President George W. Bush telephoning him within an hour of polls closing. Sarkozy’s presidency carries hopes of a new era in US-France relations after the frostiness caused by Chirac’s opposition to the Iraq war. In his victory speech, Sarkozy said Washington can count on France’s friendship but urged it to show leadership in the struggle against global warming.”

Tony Blair Announces His Resignation

The Associated Press reported on May 10, 2007:

“Tony Blair said Thursday he would step down as prime minister on June 27, closing a decade of power in which he fostered peace in Northern Ireland and followed the United States to a war in Iraq that cost him much of his popularity. In a somber farewell, Blair made way for Treasury chief Gordon Brown to take the top post.

“Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, it was right, Blair said, to ‘stand shoulder to shoulder with our oldest ally, and I did so out of belief… I may have been wrong, but that’s your call. But believe one thing if nothing else. I did what I thought was right for our country.’

“Brown, Blair’s dour partner in reforming the Labour Party and a sometimes impatient rival in government, was expected to easily win election as the party’s new leader and become the next prime minister. Brown has never criticized Blair’s decision to go to war in Iraq and has given no indication on how he will steer Britain’s role in the conflict…

“Under the stewardship of Blair and Brown, the British economy has thrived. London rivals New York as the world’s pre-eminent financial center, GDP is up, unemployment is down and interest rates are low, though rising. However, Blair’s promised health and education reforms remain incomplete, and soaring house prices and increasing personal debt threaten to widen the divide between haves and have-nots…

“His decision to stand [shoulder]-to-shoulder with President Bush by committing troops for the invasion divided his party and the country. Blair said he was content for history to judge him, but four years on and with almost 150 British troops dead in Iraq, the war is more unpopular than ever. In Iraq, those critical of the 2003 invasion welcomed Blair’s impending departure… But in southern Basra, where British soldiers have been based since 2003, some worried the city will fall into chaos when Britain reduces its troop presence…

“Blair’s last months in office also have been overshadowed by a police investigation into claims that his party and the opposition traded political honors for cash…”

King Herod’s Tomb Found

CNN.com reported on May 7:

“An Israeli archaeologist has found the tomb of King Herod, the legendary builder of ancient Jerusalem and the Holy Land, Hebrew University said late Monday. The tomb is at a site called Herodium, a flattened hilltop in the Judean Desert, clearly visible from southern Jerusalem. Herod built a palace on the hill, and researchers discovered his burial site there, the university said…

“Herod became the ruler of the Holy Land under the Romans around 37 B.C. The wall he built around the Old City of Jerusalem still stands, and he also ordered big construction projects in Caesaria, Jericho, the hilltop fortress of Massada and other sites… Herod died in 4 B.C. in Jericho. Herodium was one of the last strong points held by Jewish rebels fighting against the Romans, and it was conquered and destroyed by Roman troops in A.D. 71, a year after they destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem.”

Herod was one of the most brutal and cruel leaders this world has ever known. Among other terrible crimes, his bad reputation results from his evil murder of innocent children in an attempt to kill Jesus (compare Matthew 2:16-18).

Turkey in Big Trouble

Der Spiegel Online wrote on May 7:

“Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül withdrew from the country’s presidential race on Sunday in disgust after secularists in parliament handed his Islamic-rooted party another humiliating defeat. Gül said the rift in Turkey between secularist and Islamic politicians has ‘damaged the parliament’s honor’ and may force a popular presidential vote… A defeat for Gül — who belongs to Prime Minister Recept Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, the AKP — is, perhaps ironically, bad news for the West…

“European politicians are now more concerned about the Turkish military, which looks unwilling to keep its fingers out of politics, than any Islamic agenda. Is it possible that Turkey still hasn’t transcended its violent past, typified in previous decades by coups and rolling tanks?… An open conflict between AKP supporters and the military would be fatal for the country…

“The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal, later known as Atatürk… made Sunday the country’s official day of rest (instead of Friday, the Muslim day of prayer). He introduced Latin writing instead of Arabic and replaced Sharia with a code composed of Swiss and Italian law. ‘Progress means taking part in this civilization,’ Atatürk preached to his people, ‘the Turks have constantly moved in one direction — we have always gone from East to West.’…”

Russian Nuclear Weapons Missing?

The Washington Times reported on May 2:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Bush he could not account for all of Moscow’s nuclear weapons at the same time al Qaeda was seeking to purchase three Russian nuclear devices on the black market, former CIA Director George J. Tenet said… The comments contradict Russian government claims for the past 16 years that no nuclear arms were missing. Alexander Lebed, a former Russian national security adviser, stated in 1997 that Russia could not account for about 80 portable nuclear weapons, a claim later denied by Moscow.”

The Pope Warns Catholic Politicians

Reuters reported on May 9:

“Pope Benedict on Wednesday warned Catholic politicians they risked excommunication from the [Catholic] Church and should not receive communion if they support abortion.

“It was the first time that the Pope, speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him on a trip to Brazil, dealt in depth with a controversial topic that has come up in many countries, including the United States, Mexico, and Italy… Under [Catholic] Church law, someone who knowingly does or backs something which the [Catholic] Church considers a grave sin, such as abortion, inflicts what is known as ‘automatic excommunication’ on themselves…

“The Pope’s comments appear to raise the stakes in the debate over whether Catholic politicians can support abortion or gay marriage and still consider themselves proper Catholics. In recent months, the Vatican has been accused of interference in Italy for telling Catholic lawmakers to oppose a draft law that would grant some rights to unwed and gay couples…

“Some Catholics say they personally would not have an abortion but feel obliged to support a woman’s right to choose. But the [Catholic] Church, which teaches that life begins at the moment of conception and that abortion is murder, says Catholics cannot have it both ways.”

Terrible Weather Conditions in the USA

The Associated Press wrote on May 9:

“Nature’s fury made life miserable Wednesday from one end of the nation to the other… And although the calendar still said spring, the first named storm of the year was whipping up surf on the beaches of the Southeast.

“… a three-week-old fire in southern Georgia had become that state’s biggest on record after charring 167 square miles of forest and swamp. Smoke and a dusting of ashes filled the air through much of Florida and southeastern Georgia. The haze over most of Florida even closed several highways and sent people with breathing problems indoors.

“… In addition to 11 tornado deaths, two drowning deaths were blamed on the storms, one each in Oklahoma and Kansas. High water had poured over the tops of at least 20 levees along the Missouri River and other streams in the state…

“On the West Coast, in view of many Los Angeles residents, a blaze had covered more than 800 acres in the city’s sprawling Griffith Park behind the iconic Griffith Observatory… In the Southeast, a wildfire in northern Florida’s Bradford County had forced the evacuation of about 250 homes… That fire had blackened 16,000 to 18,000 acres and was 20 percent contained…

“Elsewhere, a wildfire near the Canadian border in northeastern Minnesota had covered more than 34 square miles Wednesday, adding more than 8 square miles in one day, authorities said. It had destroyed 45 buildings, including multimillion-dollar homes, and firefighters said it was just 5 percent contained. More than 100 people had been removed from their homes in the path of the fire.”

State Orders Gas Prices to Be Raised

From the highly objectionable to the totally ridiculous–and because of laws, which make no sense, there is no end in sight of the rise of manipulated unreasonable gas prices.

The Associated Press reported on May 9:

“A service station that offered discounted gas to senior citizens and people supporting youth sports has been ordered by the state to raise its prices. Center City BP owner Raj Bhandari has been offering senior citizens a 2 cent per gallon price break and discount cards that let sports boosters pay 3 cents less per gallon.

“But the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection says those deals violate Wisconsin’s Unfair Sales Act, which requires stations to sell gas for about 9.2 percent more than the wholesale price. Bhandari said he received a letter from the state auditor last month saying the state would sue him if he did not raise his prices. The state could penalize him for each discounted gallon he sold, with the fine determined by a judge.

“Bhandari, who bought the station a year ago, said he worries customers will think he stopped the discounts because he wants to make more money. About 10 percent of his customers had used the discount cards.”

“Ethiopia Is Now Trapped”

BBC News reported on April 28:

“The Somali capital Mogadishu has this week seen some of its worst fighting for 16 years. A fragile transitional government there has been trying to destroy groups of fighters left over from the so-called Islamic Courts group which was in control of much of the country last year… The capital has been devastated in the past two weeks by intense fighting.

“Ethiopian forces in support of the transitional government, rooted out militia loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts at the turn of the year. In the past fortnight they have unleashed a devastating artillery and rocket barrage on obdurate remnants of Islamic Court fighters in the capital. The Islamists are fighting alongside members of a powerful Somali clan, the Hawiye, who are enemies of those controlling the transitional government…

“It is a complicated and bloody struggle. In the past few days more than 300 have been killed and since the turn of the year 2,000 have died, most of them civilians caught in crossfire. Many thousands have been injured. The appalling violence has led to one of the largest mass migrations in recent times. Hundreds of thousands of people who were living in Mogadishu have grabbed what few possessions they could carry and headed for places of safety.

“Some have moved to the outskirts of the capital away from the fighting. Others have gone out into the Somali hinterland. They have travelled into an environment that cannot sustain them, into villages dotted along dusty roads in the scrubby, scruffy bush of southern and central Somalia, into communities which were hit in the past year, first by drought and then by flooding. There is little stored food, goat and cattle herds are only just recovering and the capacity to feed and care for thousands of displaced people does not exist. And in the past few days the annual rains have started.

“At the best of times Somalia poses huge problems for aid agencies. Now it is, as one aid worker put it to me, ‘a total nightmare’… Cholera is now seeping through the displaced thousands, picking off the young and the weak. In the rain and misery, hundreds have died… Just a few months ago, Mogadishu and much of Somalia were enjoying their most stable period for 16 years. Under the brief control of the Islamic Courts Union, the grip of the warlords was loosened and some of the basic expectations of an organised life were being restored. Schools were opening, police were being trained, roadblocks were removed and litter was even collected from the streets. Many Somalis were unhappy with the more extreme rules of the Islamic Courts: closing down the cinemas, banning music and insisting women [wear] veils.

“But the Islamists were able to spread their power steadily through more of Somalia and this alarmed the government in neighbouring Ethiopia who have long feared a radical Islamic group in control of the country. It worried the Americans too, who feared the Islamic Courts were harbouring al-Qaeda elements. So with tacit American approval and with other international governments looking on, Ethiopia sent troops into Somalia to support the weak transitional government.

“Ethiopia is now trapped. It wants to get out of Somalia, but cannot go until what it calls the ‘Islamist threat’ is eliminated. But every moment Ethiopian troops spend in Somalia stirs up more resentment and their presence acts as a compelling recruiting sergeant for insurgents, who say they will die trying to rid their country of the Ethiopian invaders. “

Pandemic Influenza Overdue

The Coloradoan reported on April 30:

“Larimer County officials are turning their efforts to community involvement and awareness as they try to prepare residents for a potential pandemic flu… Officials believe a pandemic flu, or an outbreak of severe disease that affects a large amount of people worldwide, could occur if H5N1, the virus that causes avian flu, mutates into a human transmissible virus. Although H5N1 isn’t the only virus that could cause a pandemic, it is highly pathogenic and has caused the largest number of detected cases of severe disease and death in humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“‘Pandemic influenza usually occurs about three times a century,’ said Jane Viste, spokeswoman for the health department. ‘We are overdue.’

“The flu partnership met last week to brainstorm ways to get Larimer County citizens on board with the emergency plan, believing most people would be unprepared for a pandemic. ‘I would be surprised if 5 percent of the population of Larimer County would be prepared for a severe pandemic if it were to happen,’ said Dr. Adrienne LeBailly, director of the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment.”

Virus Might Cause Disaster for American Freshwater Fish

USA Today wrote on April 29:

“A deadly Ebola-like virus is killing fish of all types in the Great Lakes, a development some scientists fear could trigger disaster for the USA’s freshwater fish.

“Because of a lack of genetic resistance to viral hemorrhagic septicemia, fish populations could be damaged in the same way the smallpox virus struck Native Americans and Dutch elm disease decimated elm trees, says Jim Winton, chief of fish health at the U.S. Geological Survey in Seattle.

“The disease has been found in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Niagara River and an inland lake in New York. The aggressive virus, which causes fish to hemorrhage, was unexpectedly found in the Great Lakes in 2005. Last year, it resulted in large fish kills that struck at least 20 species. Scientists are watching to see whether the disease returns in mid-May when water in the lakes warms to temperatures at which the virus attacks.

“‘VHS is the most important and dangerous fish virus known worldwide,’ Winton says. ‘Its discovery in our fresh water is disturbing and potentially catastrophic.’ ‘What’s so disturbing is that it’s killing fish from so many species and with amazingly high mortality levels,’ says Paul Bowser, professor of aquatic animal medicine at Cornell University. The virus does not threaten humans, Bowser says. ‘If you cook the fish, heat will kill the virus,’ he says.

“How VHS got into the Great Lakes is unclear. The dumping of ocean water from an international cargo ship is a suspected cause. Also not ruled out: spawning fish swimming upstream or a bird carrying a diseased fish. Genetic tests show that the strain of VHS found in the Great Lakes probably originated in the Atlantic Ocean, near New Brunswick, Canada…

“VHS thrives in water of 40 to 59 degrees. Most water in the Great Lakes, which contain about 20% of the world’s fresh water, has not hit that temperature yet this year. ‘The best-case scenario is that the virus becomes something that lurks in the background and attacks only when conditions are ripe,’  [Gary] Whelan says [who runs the state’s hatcheries]. ‘I’m not expecting that, but I am hoping.'”

EU-Russian Relations Continue to Deteriorate

The EUObserver reported on April 30:

“German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has warned of a risk of a new east-west conflict following a sharp deterioration in relations between Moscow and western states in recent months.

“Reacting to the news that Russia wants to suspend a key arms treaty, Mr Steinmeier said this was a ’cause for concern’ and ‘goes in the wrong direction. We must prevent this. It cannot be allowed to come to a new spiral in mistrust between the west and Russia,’ he told Germany’s Bild newspaper on Sunday… ‘It is in the urgent interest of Europe to avoid an escalation,’ he said.

“His words come after Russian president Vladimir Putin during his state of the nation address last week said Moscow would suspend compliance with a treaty on conventional arms in Europe. In place since the end of the Cold War, the treaty puts limits on the number of conventional weapons and foreign troops that can be deployed in the signatory countries.

“The catalyst for the sharp rhetoric coming out of Moscow is Washington’s decision to build a new missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic, which it says will block threats from countries such as Iran and North Korea… Although the tone has sharpened up in the last few days, the rift in east-west relations comes in the context of more long-term problems including EU worries over energy dependency on Russia, Russian trade relations with some eastern European EU states and western criticism of Russia’s democratic standards.

“The EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, last week even remarked that relations had sunk to levels not seen since the Cold War.”

Turkey Just A Few Steps Away From Chaos

The EUObserver stated on April 30:

“The European Union has warned Turkey’s military to stay out of politics and show respect for democracy, after the army indicated it could step into a political row over the country’s next president to defend secular values… The turmoil came after foreign minister Abdullah Gul announced he would continue running for president, despite having failed to win sufficient support in the first parliamentary ballot on Friday (27 April)… Hundreds of thousands of people took to the [streets] of Istanbul on Sunday (29 April) – also in support of secularism, waving pictures of the father of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Ataturk, and shouting ‘Turkey is secular and will remain secular.'”

Der Spiegel Online added on April 30:

“Turkey has plunged into a political crisis over a presidential election that has pitted the Islamist-rooted government against secular protesters… The Europe Union and the United States have called for a democratic resolution and the Council of Europe, a group of 46 countries aimed at promoting democratic values, said it was shocked at the army’s behavior and said the armed forces ‘should stay in their barracks and keep out of politics.’

“German media commentators blame the army for plunging Turkey into a crisis that has lessened the country’s chances of joining the EU. The military, commentators write, is trying to preserve its own power…

“Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“‘It seems to be a special Turkish art form to plunge itself into political crises. The country has to choose between returning to the dark ages of the distant past or moving towards a democratic future. This is about nothing less than that, and about whether Turkey will at some point be able to find its place in the EU or simply doesn’t fit into Europe.’…

“Conservative Die Welt writes:

“‘The fifth coup [of the Turkish army] is now happening. The army wants to stop the governing AKP party from making one of its leaders state president. In one way or another the army will take action if the government defies it. It may be that this course of events is the Turkish way of doing things. But it’s clear that we’re seeing a political culture here that is light years away from being brought into harmony with the European mindset in any respect. Ankara’s EU dream is over.’…

“The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

“‘Turkey is just a few steps away from violence and chaos … With the generals’ threat of a coup and mass demonstrations on the one hand and the government’s uncompromising insistence on making its candidate the president on the other, the final stage of escalation has been reached before the outbreak of violence. Anyone with political responsibility, be it the government, the opposition or the military, who does not now seek a compromise wants to see blood spilled.'”

War Report Blasts Israeli PM Ehud Olmert for “Serious Failure”

AFP reported on April 30:

“An Israeli government commission on Monday accused Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of ‘serious failure’ in the Lebanon war but he refused to step down despite the blow to his flagging leadership.

“Retired judge Eliyahu Winograd, reading from partial findings of an investigation, held Olmert, Defence Minister Amir Peretz and former army chief Dan Halutz principally responsible for the failings of last summer’s conflict. ‘If each or anyone of those would have acted better, the decisions and the results of the war would have been different or better,’ Winograd said of the war that began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12. ‘The prime minister made up his mind hastily, despite the fact that no detailed military plan was submitted to him and without asking for one,’ despite his lack of experience in foreign policy and military affairs. ‘He made a personal contribution to the fact that the declared goals were over-ambitious and not feasible,’ the report said, accusing Olmert of not properly considering political and professional reservations presented to him. ‘All of these add up to a serious failure in exercising judgement, responsibility and prudence,’ said the report.

“The devastating conflict, called the Second Lebanon War in Israel, lasted 34 days and killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers, according to government figures. It failed to retrieve the two Israeli soldiers or stop Hezbollah rocket fire that sent a million Israelis fleeing from the north…

“The United States moved swiftly to bolster its closest regional ally, as a White House spokesman told reporters that US President George W. Bush views Olmert as ‘essential’ to Middle East peace efforts. But his numerous critics immediately mounted calls for his government to resign, with a mass demonstration planned in Tel Aviv on Thursday… In Lebanon, meanwhile, a senior Hezbollah official said the damning report amounted to ‘an admission of Israel’s historic defeat’.

“Weakened by the war and a string of corruption scandals implicating him and senior members of his government, Olmert’s ratings have sunk to an historic low with just two percent of Israelis trusting him, according to opinion polls.”

Further Victory of Homosexuals in Europe

Roman Catholic News Agency, Zenit, reported on April 30:

“[Roman Catholic] Church officials criticized a European Parliament resolution that condemns ‘discriminatory comments’ made by political and religious leaders against homosexuals.

“The resolution, which passed 325-124, with 150 abstentions, condemns the ‘discriminatory comments formulated by politicians and religious leaders about homosexuals, as fermenting hatred and violence — even if they were later withdrawn — and it asks that the hierarchies of the respective organizations condemn them as well.’…

“The approved resolution invites member states to propose laws ‘that overcome discriminations suffered by same sex couples’ and ‘reminds all member states that the prohibition of the Gay Pride Parade and the lack of protection offered to its participants are against the principles of the European Convention of human rights.’ The resolution also proposes that an annual ‘International Day Against Homophobia’ be held on May 17.

“Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice and Cardinal Peter Erdo and Monsignor Aldo Giordano, president and secretary-general of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, respectively, defended the Church against accusations that it doesn’t respect homosexual persons. ‘There is no homophobia in the Catholic Church and it is time that all this ended,’ Cardinal Scola said… Referring to the European Parliament, he said: ‘There needs to be more respect for the orientation of our people. There is no need to tell lies.’

“Paolo Bustaffa, director of the Italian bishops’ SIR news agency, told Vatican Radio last Thursday: ‘It is clear that they are suspicious of the Church’s thinking in regard to these situations, these people, for whom — the Catechism of the Catholic Church says — the Church has a great respect. Respect for people, however, cannot nullify a problematic aspect,’ he added. ‘There must be understanding but in many cases there cannot be justification.'”

President Bush Supports World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz

USA Today wrote on April 30:

 “President Bush said Monday that Paul Wolfowitz should remain as World Bank president even as the embattled official denounced a ‘smear campaign’ over his handling of a promotion and pay raise for his girlfriend. Wolfowitz, a former Pentagon official and architect of the Iraq war, appeared Monday before a special bank panel investigating the case involving his companion, Shaha Riza, a fellow bank employee…
 
“Bush, at a news conference in Washington with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, was asked whether the Wolfowitz controversy and calls for his resignation were raised in his talks with the two world leaders… Bush said the topic did not come up but added, ‘my position is that he ought to stay.’… Wolfowitz vowed to fight for his job: ‘I will not resign in the face of a plainly bogus charge of conflict of interest.'”

Special Report on Russia

Why Russian Brutality

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 23:

“Andrei Illarionov, 45, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Cato Institute and former chief economic advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, discusses the reasons for the Kremlin’s brutal treatment of the political opposition.”

In his interview with Der Spiegel, Illarionov pointed out:

“Those in power deliberately use violence to intimidate. They want to break the people’s will to resist and act independently, and to do so they are constantly raising the level of aggression. Unlike the mass terror under Hitler, Stalin and Mao, we in Russia are currently experiencing a campaign of terror against individuals and groups…

“Employees of the intelligence agencies… now occupy more than 70 percent of all top positions in the state machinery. The destruction of Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s Yukos oil company, the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, the polonium poisoning of former agent Alexander Litvinenko — the goal in each of these cases is to keep society in a state of constant fear. That makes it easier to control the people. This is the only reason the state-controlled media are allowed to report at length on these cases. It contributes to the climate of fear…

“Russia is certainly no longer a free country. We are moving in the direction of Zimbabwe… All our democratic institutions are also being dismantled… This is why Russia is becoming more isolated diplomatically, and why economic growth is slowing. In a comparison with the 15 former Soviet republics, Russia is now third to last when it comes to economic growth.”

“Russia Cannot Be A Strategic Partner for Europe”

In a related article, Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 23:

“Russian authorities cracked down heavily on opposition protests over the weekend, arresting the anti-Putin camp’s leader, Garry Kasparov, and hundreds of other demonstrators in violent clashes. German commentators voice their concern about the oppressive path Russia is taking and ask: What is it that has Putin so scared?…

“Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“‘It’s only explicable in terms of fear, namely the fear that those in power in Moscow have themselves, and the fear that they want to spread. Russia is led by former and current intelligence agents, with the natural consequence that suspicion and the hunger for power hold sway over the state… But the reaction in the West is little more than a brief shudder. Putin’s Russia is needed as an energy supplier and is much in demand as a partner, particularly by Germany. … The demonstrators in Moscow and St. Petersburg are therefore not only a nuisance for Putin, but also for his Western friends. The puzzle is not so hard to solve after all.’

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

“‘[Russia] cannot be a strategic partner for Europe … Europe should keep its dependence (on Russia), particularly in regard to energy security, as low as possible — and not, as is currently the case, keep increasing it.’

“The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

“‘The events (of this weekend) make it clear that people and their rights get — literally — beaten down in Russia. A regime that takes recourse in such repressive measures and persists in discrediting itself is clearly afraid… The opposition needn’t hope for support from outside. “Tell your heads of government that we live in a police state,” Kasparov shouted to foreign journalists. This call too may well trail off, unheard.’

“Conservative Die Welt writes:

“‘In Putin’s worldview, political opponents do not have any right to exist. In Russian politics, it’s not about a competition of ideas — with the possibility of a change of government — but rather about holding on to power. Any means of doing so is correct and justified — the baton, the judicial sentence, or the brochures of the Putin youth movement Nashi, in which the opposition is condemned as enemies of the people and agents of the West — just like in the time of Joseph Stalin. That doesn’t mean that we are about to witness the return of the Great Terror, like in 1937. It does mean that Russia is on a course which is miles away from Western values. …

“‘The West would do well to call a spade a spade. False considerateness — out of fear that the energy supplier might turn off the tap — is out of place. The West owes the dissidents in Putin’s empire open and honest words.'”

These developments are likely to continue. It appears that Russia will become more and more autocratic and dictatorial–so much so that Europe will finally intervene–with disastrous consequences for the entire world. Daniel 11:44 predicts that a future European leader will be greatly troubled by rumors or “news from the east and the north”–Russia and its Far Eastern allies–and he shall go out “with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.”

Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin Dies

The Associated Press reported on April 23:

“Former President Boris Yeltsin, who engineered the final collapse of the Soviet Union and pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy, died Monday. He was 76… Yeltsin steadfastly defended freedom of the press, but was a master at manipulating the media. His hand-picked successor, Vladimir Putin, has proven far more popular even as he has tightened Kremlin control over both Russia’s industry and its press…

“Yeltsin… stood atop a tank to resist an attempted coup in August 1991, and spearheaded the peaceful end of the Soviet state on Dec. 25 of that year… But Yeltsin… damaged his democratic credentials by using force to solve political disputes, though he claimed his actions were necessary to keep the country together.

“He sent tanks and troops in October 1993 to flush armed, hard-line supporters out of a hostile Russian parliament after they had sparked violence in the streets of Moscow. And in December 1994, Yeltsin launched a war against separatists in the southern republic of Chechnya. Tens of thousands of people were killed in the Chechnya conflict, and a defeated and humiliated Russian army withdrew at the end of 1996. The war solved nothing–and Russian troops resumed fighting in the breakaway region in fall 1999…

“Yet Yeltsin had made a stunning debut as Russian president. He introduced many basics of democracy, guaranteeing the rights to free speech, private property and multiparty elections, and opening the borders to trade and travel… Yeltsin pushed through free-market reforms, creating a private sector and allowing foreign investment. In foreign policy, he assured independence for Russia’s Soviet-era satellites, oversaw troop and arms reductions, and developed warm relations with Western leaders… Throughout his nearly decade-long leadership, he remained Russia’s strongest bulwark against Communism…

“In the course of the Yeltsin era, per capita income fell about 75 percent, and the nation’s population fell by more than 2 million, due largely to the steep decline in public health… The economy sank into a deep recession in summer 1998, but Yeltsin rarely commented on the troubles and never offered a plan to combat them…

“Yeltsin met about once a month with Putin… He felt certain that the reforms he championed would continue under Putin…’If I had doubts that the reforms might be reversed, I would not have resigned,’ Yeltsin said.”

However, Putin’s power trip has brought Russia back to the times of much-dreaded dictatorship.

Worsening EU-Russia Relations

EUObserver wrote on April 23:

“The European Commission failed to persuade Russia to lift its 16-month old ban on Polish meat imports during high-level talks this weekend, amid worsening EU-Russia relations four weeks before the EU-Russia summit in Samara… ‘Everything remains as before,’ Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said in Warsaw on Sunday night… ‘We do not agree to opening discussions with Russia on a new agreement as long as this issue is not settled.’

“Poland last year vetoed launching negotiations on a new EU-Russia treaty, saying the Russian meat ban is a political ploy to sow disunity between old and new EU states and to punish Warsaw for supporting the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine… The deadlock could see Samara turn into the same embarrassing flop as the EU-Russia summit in Helsinki last November, as well as derail EU efforts to conclude the new bilateral treaty before Russian presidential elections in 2008.

“If the Russian-Polish row is solved in time, EU member Lithuania is threatening to veto treaty talks unless Russia resumes oil pipeline supplies to its petrol refinery in Mazeikiu. Vilnius also accuses Moscow of political punishment for not selling the refinery to a Russian bidder…

“On top of this, UK-Russia relations have become strained over London’s refusal to extradite anti-Putin oligarch Boris Berezovsky and an ongoing probe into the notorious murder in England of anti-Kremlin activist Alexander Litvinenko last year…

“From Moscow’s point of view, the EU’s talk of democratic and market economy values is an attempt to weaken Vladimir Putin’s administration and to get its hands on Russian oil and gas assets, in the context of an ever-expanding NATO. EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson last week spoke of ‘a level of misunderstanding or even mistrust we have not seen since the end of the Cold War…each suspects the other of double standards. Both believe the other is using the energy weapon as an instrument of politics.'”

“Most Important” Election in France

The Wall Street Journal wrote on April 23:

“In the first round of French presidential elections, goes an old saw, voters choose with their hearts. Yesterday’s favorites, of 12 candidates on the ballot, were center-right Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Ségolène Royal. In the runoff, held on the second Sunday after the first, the French are said to vote with their heads, coldly eliminating one.

“The two-week campaign that formally started last night between Sarko and Ségo will show which of the candidates the French dislike least. Mr. Sarkozy, an energetic and divisive former minister, must build a majority off his 30% score yesterday. Though the candidate himself has shunned personal attacks on opponents, the Sarkozy camp is bound to portray the first woman to get this far in a French election as an ingenue unfit for the Élysée Palace. The Socialists will seek to seize the momentum from their candidate’s strong 25% showing to make Mr. Sarkozy out to be an authoritarian maverick with a bad temper and dangerous ideas.

“This election is the most important in decades, bringing in a new generation to tackle the country’s deep economic and social problems. So, after flirting with alternatives in centrist François Bayrou and the far-right Jean-Marie Le Pen, voters put aside doubts about both the main contenders and went for a straight left-right fight in an election that saw record turnouts…

“In a change with previous elections, this one saw little discussion of the world beyond France. The country’s domestic problems are challenging enough. But a newly confident French leader will likely seek to reclaim the country’s role at the heart of Europe… Mr. Chirac leaves behind a presidential office weakened by corruption scandals, his own inefficacy and the Fifth Republic’s inherent flaws… The presidency, as Mr. Chirac also says, will be decided in the next 15 days. One can’t envy the winner’s task.”

The French Elections–from Russia’s Point of View

The Russian Pravda wrote on April 24:

“The result of new presidential elections in France will definitely change the political atmosphere in the country. Relations with Russia may radically change as well. Both candidates… have already criticized the Kremlin’s line… The relations with Russia were certainly not a priority issue for the French electorate; however the basic candidates for presidency touched upon it. ‘The evolution of Russia makes me uneasy,’ says Sarkozy. He says that the Russian policy in Chechnya makes him prefer the USA to Russia. Royal in her turn states that France must speak the language of truth with Russia… Judging by the above statements of the candidates who have entered the second round of the presidential election, the relations between Russia and France will grow worse at least at first.

“Let us suppose that Segolene Royal wins the elections, and left-wing forces will be the ruling power. It was always a more serious problem for Moscow to establish relations with France’s leftists than with the right-wing forces. However, the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy may bring even more problems. Unlike Royal who openly criticizes US’s policy, the former interior minister of France [Sarkozy] is open for closer cooperation with Washington… Sarkozy did not support the US campaign in Iraq openly, but he said that democracy united France and the USA, and so he rather preferred Washington to Moscow. The Hungarian origin of Nicolas Sarkozy seems to be a real obstacle to the development of relations between Russia and France as East-European problems may interfere here.

“No matter who of the two candidates wins the presidential election, the personality of any of them is going to be a historical figure. Sarkozy is not a genuine Frenchman. His father came to France from Hungary and got the French citizenship in 1980. The father of Sarkozy’s mother was a Greek. As for Segolene Royal, she may be the first-ever woman president of France if [she] wins the race. So, in any case a new president of France is going to be a type of president not typical of France… Neither Sarkozy nor Royal witnessed the alliance formed between France and Moscow for fighting Nazism. But the political views of both were formed under the influence of the cold war which implies that their attitude to Moscow may be negative.

“A new president who is to come will have rather serious problems to solve during a presidential term. Hundreds of thousands of the French have to work abroad in Switzerland, Belgium and Canada because of the high taxes at home. Much is to be done for regulation of the labor legislation. Arab and African immigrants that are flooding France are getting a more burning problem every year. The problem of the Corsican separatists is not settled yet. Aboriginal minorities – Alsatians, Basques and Bretons – demand official recognition of their national and linguistic rights. They say that Paris must stop converting them into Frenchmen.

“As for France’s foreign policy the country is to take a really crucial decision: either to establish closer relations with the USA or resist ‘the Anglo-Saxon world order’. France is to decide either to keep teaching Russia some good sense and build more visa barriers for Russians, or to see Russia as a partner equal in rights and ease the visa regime for Russian tourists.”

U.S. World Bank President vs. Europe

AFP wrote on April 22:

“The furor surrounding World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz exposes the need for overdue reform of the six-decade-old development lender itself, according to experts… Questions about the World Bank’s relevance are being raised, including whether the post-war settlement under which the bank is led by an American and the IMF by a European is past its sell-by date…

“European governments have been pressing hardest for Wolfowitz to bow out over the controversy surrounding his Libyan-born girlfriend, Shaha Riza, who on his direction was given a generous pay deal and guaranteed promotions when she was reassigned from the bank to the US State Department in 2005…

“But for one expert close to the bank, the Europeans have only themselves to blame, after they swallowed their doubts over the US government’s nomination of the former Pentagon deputy chief to take over the bank two years ago. ‘They stood aside when he was nominated as if somehow he had completely changed,’ the expert said on condition of anonymity. ‘And over the past year all the people I knew (at the bank) were deeply unhappy — they saw the things that were happening, but they didn’t say anything.'”

“Scandal Season in Washington”

Der Spiegel Online published an article on April 24 with the headline, “Scandal Season in Washington.” The magazine pointed out:

“The seats are getting hotter for World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Both still enjoy the support of the US president, but dismissals may be just around the corner…

“Gonzales is in a fix because of false statements on eight fired federal prosecutors. There is much to suggest the prosecutors were handed pink slips for political reasons, and that the White House was involved. Gonzales then went on to lie about his involvement in the matter. On Thursday of last week, he had a last chance to dig himself out of the hole he finds himself in. But his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee — which he had weeks to prepare for — was a disaster. Not even the Republicans on the panel were in the mood to defend the embattled prosecutor, and Gonzales likewise did himself no favors. Not only did he try to avoid almost every question, but he also claimed memory loss no less than 64 times. This astonishing lack of recall went so far that Gonzales couldn’t even remember a decisive meeting in his office that had taken place just a few months earlier.

“The country’s top law-enforcement officer sounded ‘like the sort of person who forgets where he parked his car,’ the Washington Post scoffed. Republican Senator Tom Coburn snarled at Gonzales: ‘The best way to put this behind us is your resignation.’ The Attorney General of the United States has become a laughing stock for both friend and foe…

“The situation Paul Wolfowitz finds himself in is hardly much better… A veritable ‘civil war’ is raging within the World Bank, the Financial Times wrote recently. And Wolfowitz’s opponents in this conflict comprise the overwhelming majority of the World Bank’s 13,000 employees. A regime change seems to be in the offing, and this time it won’t be happening in Baghdad.”

Mere War Propaganda?

AFP reported on April 25:

“A pair of high-profile US army figures accused the military of spreading outright lies and manipulating their stories for a hero-starved public, during testimony before Congress Tuesday.

“One was Kevin Tillman, the brother of a US football star killed by ‘friendly fire’ in Afghanistan three years ago, who said the military lied about the circumstances of his death to avoid a public relations fiasco and to draw attention from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

“The other was Jessica Lynch, a female soldier who decried her inaccurate portrayal as a ‘little girl Rambo,’ firing her weapon down to the last bullet before being captured by Iraqis in early 2003, and then daringly saved by US forces nine days later. ‘It was not true … I’m still confused as to why they choose to lie and try to make me a legend,’ she told the House Government Reform Committee hearing on ‘Misleading Information from the Battlefield.'”

The article continued to quote Kevin Tillman, as follows:

“‘A terrible tragedy that might have further undermined support for the war in Iraq was transformed into an inspirational message that served instead to support the nation’s foreign policy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan… It was utter fiction,’ he said, accusing the military of ‘deliberate and careful misrepresentations.’ In the hours immediately after his brother’s death, ‘crucial evidence was destroyed — including Pat’s uniform, equipment and notebook,’ he said.”

More Terrible Weather Conditions Across the USA

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday, April 25:

“Search teams worked their way through wreckage-strewn neighborhoods in this border town [i.e., Texas-Mexican border] Wednesday after a tornado killed at least 10 people and destroyed two schools and more than 20 homes… Wednesday morning, several mobile homes from the community of about 26,000 residents were missing, officials said. More than 70 people were reported injured in Eagle Pass…

“Severe thunderstorms also battered other parts of Texas with high wind, flooding rain and hail. Streets were flooded and roofs peeled off homes in North Texas as the first thunderstorms moved through Tuesday afternoon, followed by another line of severe storms about six hours later. Television footage showed drivers and residents being rescued from flooded cars and suburban neighborhoods.

“American Airlines canceled about 200 flights in Dallas… The airline also diverted about 80 flights bound for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to other airports, including San Antonio.

“Elsewhere, as much as 3.5 inches of rain fell Tuesday on western and central Iowa, washing out roads, flooding basements and causing at least one landslide that buried part of Interstate 29 in Sioux City in trees and mud… More than 5 inches of rain fell at Holdrege and Kearney, Neb…

“In Colorado, six buses carrying at least 60 children were stranded when the storm dropped more than a foot of snow in about two hours… Crews used Sno-Cats to rescue dozens of motorists from snow-covered roads on the plains east of Colorado Springs… Evergreen, Colo., in the foothills west of Denver, reported 16 inches of snow… A tornado damaged several buildings near the small town of Wild Horse about 110 miles southeast of Denver… Another twister touched down in north-central Oklahoma…”

WHY Doesn’t God Fight Our Battles?

Have you wondered WHY God is not giving victory to our “Christian” armies? There are certainly many reasons for this phenomenon, one of which is without doubt our indifference toward pagan religions and demonic worship. God told ancient Israel that He would not fight for them, if they were to turn their back on Him and follow other gods instead. God has not changed. In this context, notice the following article, describing the state of affairs of our armed forces:

The Washington Times wrote on April 24:

“The Bush administration has agreed to allow Wiccan pentacles in military cemeteries in a court settlement announced yesterday by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
   
“The settlement was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin to settle a suit filed in November against the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of several families of Wiccan soldiers and Circle Sanctuary, a 200-acre Wiccan nature center 30 miles west of Madison, Wis. The sanctuary holds the remains of two soldiers, one who fought in Vietnam and the other in Korea.

“Until now, the U.S. government had refused to issue grave markers, headstones or memorial plaques with the Wiccan symbol to join those of 38 other religions — or those with none. In addition to the Christian cross, the Jewish six-pointed star and the Islamic crescent, atheists, Hindus, humanists, Sikhs and members of the Eckankar, Serbian Orthodox and United Moravian faiths also have symbols.
   
“The star in Wicca, a nature-based religion, symbolizes earth, wind, fire, spirit and water. Although its followers say it is not related to the occult, they meet in small groups called ‘covens’ that are usually headed by a woman called a ‘high priestess.'”

Although Wiccan followers might disagree and try to put their spin on the facts, it is generally understood and believed that Wiccan worship is connected with witchcraft in one way or another. God has expressly forbidden us to worship other gods and to engage in witchcraft, sorcery and other magical practices, including consulting mediums or horoscopes, or conducting and participating in séances, as it may open us up to contact and fellowship with the demonic world. NO WONDER that God is not fighting our battles for us these days.

“Large-Scale” Terrorist Attacks on Britain?

Times on Line wrote on April 22:

“Al Qaeda leaders in Iraq are planning the first ‘large-scale’ terrorist attacks on Britain and other western targets with the help of supporters in Iran, according to a leaked intelligence report. Spy chiefs warn that one operative had said he was planning an attack on ‘a par with Hiroshima and Nagasaki’ in an attempt to ‘shake the Roman throne’, a reference to the West…

“The report, produced earlier this month and seen by The Sunday Times, appears to provide evidence that Al-Qaeda is active in Iran and has ambitions far beyond the improvised attacks it has been waging against British and American soldiers in Iraq… It follows revelations last year that up to 150 Britons had travelled to Iraq to fight as part of Al-Qaeda’s ‘foreign legion’. A number are thought to have returned to the UK, after receiving terrorist training, to form sleeper cells.”

German Wirtschaftswunder 2007

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 24:

“Experts in the government and academia are astonished over the strength of Germany’s economic recovery. Unemployment is declining more rapidly and the government coffers are filling more quickly than during any other economic recovery in postwar German history… stories of vibrant success can be heard all over Germany, which is experiencing the kind of surge in economic energy it hasn’t seen in a long time…

“The labor market isn’t the only area where improvement is on the horizon. Germans… can find themselves witnessing something akin to a miracle recovery. Tax revenues are growing from month to month… According to the economic research institutes, the federal budget will be balanced by next year. To put that figure into perspective, only two years ago Germany was bumping up against the 3-percent limit for new debt stipulated under the European Union pact that ensures the stability of its common currency, the euro.

“The new German dynamism under Chancellor Angela Merkel is attracting attention abroad, too. The London-based Financial Times, notoriously critical of Germany, writes admiringly of a ‘new economic miracle’ — and even suggests that less dynamic economies, such as France or Italy, might be well-advised to look to Germany as a model.”

Germany and USA at Odds Over Climate Protection

Deutsche Welle reported on April 23:

“In an interview published Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she did not expect Washington to adopt European goals on climate protection at an EU-US summit next week… The EU championed the Kyoto Protocol to reduce harmful emissions after it was abandoned by the United States in March 2001. But the treaty has been almost crippled by the absence of the United States, which alone accounts for about a quarter of all this pollution… Germany helped broker an agreement last month under which the 27 EU member states will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels over the next 13 years.”

Toyota Soon “the World’s Largest Automaker”?

Bloomberg wrote on April 24:

“Toyota Motor Corp. sold more cars and trucks than General Motors Corp. for the first time, helped by demand for fuel-efficient models. Toyota’s global sales rose 9.2 percent to 2.35 million vehicles in the Jan.-March quarter, the company said today. GM’s sales gained 3 percent to 2.26 million vehicles during the same period. The addition of its sixth North American factory in San Antonio last year helped spur Toyota’s sales in the U.S., GM’s home market. Demand for Toyota’s Corolla and Camry sedans has surged as sales of GM’s light trucks and sport-utility vehicles have slumped on higher fuel prices… Toyota, which probably earned more than any other company in Japan last fiscal year, is forecast by some industry analysts to overtake GM to become the world’s largest automaker on an annual basis this year…”

Deadly Shooting Rampage in Virginia, USA

The Associated Press reported on April 16:

“A gunman massacred 32 people at Virginia Tech in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history Monday, cutting down his victims in two attacks two hours and a half-mile apart before the university could figure out what was going on and get the warning out to students. The bloodbath ended with the gunman committing suicide, bringing the death toll to 33 and stamping the campus in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains with tragedy, perhaps forever.”

The New York Times added on April 17:

“This morning, the gunman was identified as Seung-Hui Cho [from South Korea]… It was the deadliest shooting rampage in American history and came nearly eight years to the day after 13 people died at Columbine High School in Colorado at the hands of two disaffected students who then killed themselves.”

ABC News added on April 17:

“Seung-Hui Cho bought his first gun, a Glock 9 mm handgun, on March 13 and his second weapon, a .22 caliber handgun, within the last week, law enforcement officials tell ABCNews.com. ‘This was no spur of the moment crime. He’s been thinking about this since at least the time he bought the first gun,’ said former FBI agent Brad Garrett, an ABC News consultant. Both guns were bought in Virginia, according to the officials.
 
“Under Virginia law, state residents can only buy one handgun in any 30 day period, suggesting Cho bought his second weapon after April 13, or sometime over the weekend. ‘He clearly spent some time figuring out how he was going to take care of business once classes began on Monday morning,’ said Garrett.”

As Rootsweb.com pointed out on April 17, there was actually a worse mass murder in recent American history, involving the killing of school children: “On May 18, 1927, 45 people, mostly children, were killed and 58 were injured when disgruntled and demented school board member Andrew Kehoe dynamited the new school building in Bath, Michigan out of revenge over his foreclosed farm due in part to the taxes required to pay for the new school.”

On April 19, AFP reported that  “South Korean mass-killer Cho Seung-Hui cast himself as a martyr in a hate-filled manifesto that included photos of him brandishing the guns used to mow down at least 30 classmates and teachers on a US campus… Virginia Tech police chief Wendell Flinchum said Cho was committed to a mental health facility through a court-ordered ‘temporary detention order’ in December 2005, following a stalking incident…  Cho was released for outpatient treatment after a physician certified that while he was ‘mentally ill’ he ‘does not present an imminent danger to himself or others.’ The revelation of Cho’s hospitalization for mental illness raised additional questions as to how he was able to legally purchase the guns used in Monday’s shootings.”

It is obvious to us that the mass murderer was not only “mentally ill”–he was, in our opinion, CLEARLY DEMONICALLY INFLUENCED–IF NOT POSSESSED–when he committed his horrific crimes. The additional fact that apparently, a “personality change” occurred in him a short time prior to his murders, provides additional evidence for this conclusion.

European Press Reactions

European press reactions to this recent massacre minced no words, blaming the American fascination with guns and the relative ease to be able to acquire them for the mass murder. Der Spiegel Online pointed out on April 17: “The local authorities are not the only ones who have a lot of explaining to do [why they did not act quicker and with more competence]. The whole country should be looking at why these kinds of horrible crimes happen so often in the United States. No other country in the world experiences massacres in schools and universities so regularly. Out of 46 of these kinds of crimes that have occurred since 1996, more than half have been in the US… Perhaps the most urgent question is: Is it not finally time for tighter weapons laws? Virginia, the setting for yesterday’s catastrophe, is proud of its particularly lax gun laws. A 9 mm pistol, like the one the perpetrator used, shoots as fast as you can pull the trigger. It is as easy to buy at a private gun fair as a six-pack of beer.”

The magazine added the following in a separate article:

“Across the continent on Tuesday, European media rubber-neck at Monday’s massacre in the United States. Most seem to agree about one thing: The shooting at Virginia Tech is the result of America’s woeful lack of serious gun control laws…
“British daily The Independent writes:

”’The passionate feelings of the gun lobby may be traced to the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, enshrining “the right of the people to keep and bear arms”. Although the provision stems from the times when “well regulated militias” were deemed necessary to protect against a British attempt to regain the lost colonies, it is the default position of any argument against greater gun control here. As such, it has trumped every other consideration, not least the fact that on any given day about 80 people are killed by firearms, the vast majority by murder or suicide. Gun violence may cost $2.3 billion each year in medical expenses, but it is a price, gun supporters believe, that is worth paying to protect a fundamental freedom .’…

“French daily Le Monde writes:

“‘This new tragedy presents a new opportunity for American public opinion to interrogate itself about a society which, as one of the students who survived Columbine said at the time, is very much responsible for what has happened.’

“‘French conservative daily Le Figaro writes:

“‘It was all too easy for the elected representatives of the United States, from the White House to the Congress, to express their sadness yesterday; America’s problem with fire-arms represents a political issue for which they share responsibility. Here is a country that represents the vanguard of development and democracy while it is legal to carry a gun in 45 of 50 states, as long as the gun is not loaded’…

“Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera writes:

“‘Shocked psychologists and sociologists ask themselves how gun violence is to be explained. Some speak of the repressed violence of a country that goes back to generations of pioneers habituated to achieve justice on their own and which is forced to face the powerful tensions within a multiracial society. Others criticize the spread of violent video games (which are, however, a phenomenon that has only emerged in recent years). In any case, gun violence is becoming a common phenomenon in the United States… In the poorest neighborhoods, people are getting used to the use of fire-arms — a phenomenon that is linked to the growing tendency among many young people to resort to violence to settle even minor disputes and to the ease with which weapons can be acquired.’

“Italian daily Il Messaggero writes:

“‘America is a nation that has for some years been in danger of becoming more and more unloved in the world, especially in the poorest countries. During the period following World War II, America was seen as the guardian of democracy and was equated with the defense of liberty; today, America is a superpower that begins wars and lives with the constant necessity of having to defend itself against the enemy — whether this enemy be called Islam or whether it bears the face of the neighbor who has done you wrong.’…

“German daily Bild writes:

“‘Now we will probably begin discussing the overly lax gun laws in the United States. There, buying a machine gun is often easier than getting a driver’s license. And a new ban on violent games and killer videos will also be put back on the agenda. But in the end, nothing is likely to happen. And the next killer already lives somewhere among us. But we have little reason to point an accusing finger at the Americans. Despite strict gun legislation, we (in Germany) have experienced the school shootings in Erfurt and Emsdetten. We have to consider the problems in our society. And we have to take care of our fellow humans.'”

German Press Reactions to American Reactions

After the German and European press published several national and international press reactions to the shooting, many responses from angry American readers were received, requesting the press to stop moralizing and lecturing America, and defending the “constitutional right to bear arms.”

This in turn prompted the German press to respond.

On Wednesday, April 18, Der Spiegel Online wrote:

“Two days after the Blacksburg massacre, media commentators in Germany say that however absurd America’s lax gun laws may seem in Europe, they are a fact of life in the US and won’t change… There are all kinds of reasons that drive someone to commit mass murder. Germany, which has strict gun laws, suffered its own school massacre in the eastern city of Erfurt in 2002 in which 18 people died including the 19-year-old shooter, former pupil Robert Steinhäuser, who was armed with a pump-action shotgun and a 9mm semi-automatic Glock similar to the one used by Blacksburg killer Cho Seung- Hui.

“Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“‘One can’t completely deny the influence of factors such as video games and lax gun laws. Researchers at Iowa State University found that young people who like to play violent video games are more aggressive and have more criminal energy. But what no study has ever been able to prove is the sequence of causes. Do games trigger violence or are they simply poison for souls who already have a propensity to commit violence?’

“‘Of course the constant use of video games can damage a weak psyche. And it’s a perfectly logical conclusion that lax laws like those in Virginia make it far easier to get at an arsenal of weapons. But clinical disorders, the psychological and social development of the shooter and factors like a loss of self-worth or the end of a relationship also play a role in shooting rampages.’… It makes no difference whether it’s the know-it-all attitude of European television presenters or Austrialian Prime Minister John Howard who urged America on the day of the tragedy to change its laws; or the hurried defense of gun ownership rights by President George Bush and his potential successor John McCain. Such contributions are like corn plaster on plague boils. There are no simple explanations for a complex pathology like that of a mass murderer. Only intensive research into suicides can unravel the web of factors that trigger such a tragedy.’

“Conservative Die Welt writes:

“‘Mass murder is possible in seconds… Is that America’s curse? In some American states, guns are largely banned, in others they’re largely permitted. There are urgent and justified calls for legislation to limit gun ownership. In the USA, 80 people die from gun shot wounds each day, in Britain it’s around 200 a year. But the Erfurt school, was that in America? Man is a wolf to other men — the Ancients said.’

“Left-wing Die Tageszeitung writes that the right to bear arms is firmly cemented in the minds of Americans:

“‘It’s part of American postmortem ritual to first mourn what has happened and then in the very next sentence to insist on the right of every American citizen to own his own gun. That is how it is enshrined in the Constitution, says the National Rifle Association, the gun lovers’ lobby. Which means it’s set in stone… But wasn’t the nation ready after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to do all in its power to prevent future attacks?… The Blacksburg shooting is another wake-up call to American society to finally rid itself of outdated paradigms. If it doesn’t it will have to learn to live with such massacres in future. There will always be homicidal maniacs. But one could make it more difficult for them to take action.’

“Center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

“‘Supporters of a right to bear arms like to refer to the Second Amendment of the Constitution and to history. Non-Americans find it hard to understand a mythology believed in by millions of Americans and nurtured by powerful political forces. Especially after an event like Monday’s rampage it seems like immoral absurdity. But could this deed have been prevented if access to guns had been more difficult? After all, Erfurt is not in Virginia.”

“Business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes:

“‘Non-Americans might find it crazy but the fundamental right of citizens to own guns has been enshrined in the Constitution since 1791. It mirrors America’s fundamental mistrust of government but also the need for self-protection in remote areas… Two out of five US households today own a firearm. As long as the gun laws in rural states remain as lax as they are now for plausible reasons, it will be easy to circumvent the bans that have already existed in cities for a long time. Even a Democratic presidential candidate cannot afford to stir up voter opposition in the South and West with a call for new legislation. In any case, he or she wouldn’t have the power to implement such laws.'”

More British Press Reactions

Britain’s The Daily Mail wrote on April 18, 2007:

“The NRA (National Rifle Association) spends millions of dollars every year to protect the sacred rights of American citizens to own guns, quoting as its authority the Second Amendment to the Constitution (1789) which states, in part, ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed’. But there is a vital preamble to this right which is always ignored, asserting that those bearing arms should be within ‘a well-regulated militia’. Not a single court in the U.S. has upheld the NRA’s claim that when the authors of the Second Amendment referred to a ‘militia’ they meant the citizenry, the ordinary people.

“Indeed, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger is on record as saying that the NRA’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is: ‘One of the greatest  pieces of fraud, and I repeat the word fraud, on the American people by special interest groups that I have seen in my lifetime.’

 “This notwithstanding, the gun lobby goes from strength to strength, apparently untroubled by a growing number of admittedly less well-funded pressure groups calling for Congress to take action and control the private ownership of firearms.”

More International Reactions

The Associated Press wrote on April 17:

“The Virginia Tech shootings sparked criticism of U.S. gun control laws around the world Tuesday. Editorials lashed out at the availability of weapons, and the leader of Australia—one of America’s closest allies—declared that America’s gun culture was costing lives. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the government hoped Monday’s shootings, … carried out by a 23-year-old South Korean native, would not ‘stir up racial prejudice or confrontation.’ “While some focused blame only on the gunman, world opinion over U.S. gun laws was almost unanimous: Access to weapons increases the probability of shootings. There was no sympathy for the view that more guns would have saved lives by enabling students to shoot the assailant.

“‘We took action to limit the availability of guns and we showed a national resolve that the gun culture that is such a negative in the United States would never become a negative in our country,’ said Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who staked his political career on promoting tough gun laws after a gunman went on one of the world’s deadliest killing sprees 11 years ago. The tragedy in a Tasmanian tourist resort left 35 people dead. Afterward, Australia’s gun laws were changed to prohibit automatic weapons and handguns and toughen licensing and storage restrictions.

“Handguns are also banned in Britain—a prohibition that forces even the country’s Olympic pistol shooting team from practicing on its own soil. In Sweden, civilians can acquire firearm permits only if they have a hunting license or are members of a shooting club and have no criminal record. In Italy, people must have a valid reason for wanting one. Firearms are forbidden for private Chinese citizens.

“Still, leaders from Britain, Germany, Mexico, China, Afghanistan and France stopped short of criticizing President Bush or U.S. gun laws when they offered sympathies to the families of Monday’s victims.

“Editorials were less diplomatic.

“‘Only the names change—And the numbers,’ read a headline in the Times of London. ‘Why, we ask, do Americans continue to tolerate gun laws and a culture that seems to condemn thousands of innocents to death every year, when presumably, tougher restrictions, such as those in force in European countries, could at least reduce the number?’…

“The Swedish daily Goteborgs-Posten said without access to weapons, the killings at Virginia Tech may have been prevented… In Mexico, radio commentators criticized the availability of firearms in the U.S. Others renewed Mexico’s complaint that most guns in Mexico are smuggled in from the United States.”

Catholic Church Tries to Re-Write History

The New York Times wrote on April 14:

“The Vatican’s ambassador to Israel has said he will skip the official Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at a national museum here on Sunday to protest the museum’s depiction of Pope Pius XII as a largely passive bystander to the murder of Jews during World War II… [The] ambassador, Archbishop Antonio Franco, said that he would not attend the service because he believed the description of Pope Pius XII offends the Catholic Church.

“The eight-sentence caption next to two photographs of Pius XII in an exhibit says his reaction to the ‘murder of the Jews during the Holocaust is a matter of controversy,’ implying he did not do enough. ‘When Jews were deported from Rome to Auschwitz, the pope did not intervene,’ the caption reads. ‘The pope maintained his neutral position throughout the war, with the exception of appeals to the rulers of Hungary and Slovakia towards its end. His silence and the absence of guidelines obliged churchmen throughout Europe to decide on their own how to react.’… The dispute could threaten already fragile ties between the Roman Catholic Church and Israel, which established a diplomatic relationship in 1994.”

In spite of the recent attempt by some Catholic scholars to re-write history, the caption of the national museum on the Holocaust is absolutely correct. It is a historical and UNDENIABLE FACT that Pius XII did not openly oppose Nazi Germany, in order to “protect” Catholics in Germany. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Anglican Archbishop Tries to Re-Write the Bible

On April 18, Britain’s The Daily Mail wrote the following:

“The spiritual leader of the world’s 77 million Anglicans has said conservative Christians who cite the Bible to condemn homosexuality are misreading a key passage written by Saint Paul almost 2,000 years ago.
 
“Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, addressing theology students in Toronto, said an oft-quoted passage in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans meant to warn Christians not to be self-righteous when they see others fall into sin. His comments were an unusually open rebuff to conservative bishops, many of them from Africa, who have been citing the Bible to demand that pro-gay Anglican majorities in the United States and Canada be reined in or forced out of the Communion… The worldwide Anglican Communion is near breaking point over homosexuality, with conservative clerics insisting the Bible forbids gay bishops or blessings for same-sex unions. Its U.S. branch, the Episcopal Church, named a gay bishop in 2003… In the passage of Romans that Williams referred to in Monday’s speech, Paul said people who forgot God’s words fell into sin. ‘Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion,’ Paul wrote” [compare Romans 1:27].

Of course, there are many more New Testament passages where the practice of homosexuality is condemned in Scripture (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Russia’s Ongoing Dictatorial Tactics

CNN reported on April 14 that several hundreds of Putin’s outspoken critics and “dissenters,” including world-famous former chess champion Garry Kasparov, were “detained” during a demonstration, questioning Putin’s dictatorial politics. We recently published excerpts from a Spiegel interview with Kasparov  in our Update #286 (“Russia–Don’t Close Your Eyes!”). The fact that Russia tried to put the usual spin on these events cannot deny the fact that Putin’s government is using increasingly autocratic and tyrannical measures to suppress any opposition.

Reuters added on April 16:

“The White House expressed deep concern on Monday over how Russian authorities broke up opposition protests over the weekend, calling it heavy-handed and part of an ’emerging pattern of use of excessive force.’… The sharp U.S. criticism marked a new chapter in already strained relations between Washington and Moscow. The Bush administration over the past year has at times accused Putin of rolling back democratic reforms… The Kremlin on Monday defended police action… Germany, currently holding presidency of the European Union, said earlier on Monday that Russia’s police crackdown on the anti-Kremlin protesters and media was ‘unacceptable’ and demanded Moscow explain its actions.”

The Imus Lynch Party

On April 13, WorldNetDaily published an outspoken editorial by Pat Buchanan pertaining to the remarks by Don Imus and his subsequent firing, titled, “The Imus Lynch Party.” In the article, it was pointed out:

“In the end, it was not about Imus. It was about us. Are we really a better country because, after he was publicly whipped for 10 days as the worst kind of racist, with whom no decent person could associate, he was thrown off the air?… when Imus called the Rutgers women’s basketball team ‘tattooed … nappy-headed hos,’ he went over the top. The women deserved an apology… But Imus did apologize, again and again and again… The hypocrisy here was too thick to cut with a chainsaw. What was the term the I-Man used? It was ‘hos,’ slang for whores, a term employed ad infinitum et ad nauseam by rap and hip-hop ‘artists.’ It is a term out of the African-American community. Yet, if any of a hundred rap singers has lost his contract or been driven from the airwaves for using it, maybe someone can tell me about it. “If the word ‘hos’ is a filthy insult to decent black women, and it is, why are hip-hop artists and rap singers who use it incessantly not pariahs in the black community? Why would black politicians hobnob with them? Why are there no boycotts of the advertisers of the radio stations that play their degrading music?…

“‘We know of no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodic fits of morality,’ said Lord Macaulay… Imus threw himself on the mercy of the court of elite opinion – and that court, pandering to the mob, lynched him.”

Bush Under Fire

The Independent wrote on April 15:

“President George Bush is coming under unprecedented pressure from Tony Blair and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, to agree to tough new international measures to stop global warming accelerating out of control. The measures are contained in a strongly worded draft communiqué for June’s G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany… which warns that ‘tackling climate change is an imperative, not a choice’. It adds that if ‘resolute and concerted international action’ is not ‘urgently’ taken, global warming will become ‘largely unmanageable’.

“The United States and Canada are resisting key elements of the draft, but Mrs Merkel is determined not to water it down. She is backed by the Prime Minister, who is ringing Mr Bush weekly to try to persuade him to change his position. The draft warns that ‘global warming caused largely by human activities is accelerating’ and that it ‘will seriously damage our common natural environment and severely weaken [the] global economy, with implications for international security’…

“The United States is at present refusing to agree to any target for limiting global warming, and the issue will come to a head at a crucial preparatory meeting for the summit on 4 May.”

Racism in Germany

The Associated Press wrote on April 15:

“A German army instructor ordered a soldier to envision himself in New York City facing hostile blacks while firing his machine gun, a video that aired Saturday on national television showed… The Defense Ministry said the video was shot in July 2006 at barracks in the northern town of Rendsburg and that the army has been aware of it since January… The clip shows an instructor and a soldier in camouflage uniforms in a forest. The instructor tells the soldier, ‘You are in the Bronx. A black van is stopping in front of you. Three African-Americans are getting out and they are insulting your mother in the worst ways. … Act.’ The soldier fires his machine gun several times and yells an obscenity several times in English. The instructor then tells the soldier to curse even louder.

“According to [Der] Stern, the 90-second clip had been posted on a Web site used by soldiers to exchange private videos. A soldier who used the site alerted his superiors, the magazine reported.

“The video is the latest embarrassment for the German army. Eighteen army instructors are currently on trial for allegedly abusing and humiliating 163 recruits in 2004. Last year, newspapers published photos of German soldiers in Afghanistan posing with skulls — including one who exposed himself while holding a skull. ”

According to an article in Der Stern, dated April 19, the German army instructor has been dismissed. The magazine published an interview with one of the soldiers who obeyed the command, stating that he “disagreed” with the decision to dismiss the instructor, as the video had been “completely misinterpreted.”

Innocent Afghans Killed

According to an article of Der Spiegel Online, of April 15, 2007, American soldiers are accused of killing 10 innocent civilians in Afghanistan in early March, and injuring 33. The magazine quotes the Washington Post to the effect that the accused soldiers misrepresented that they were forced to defend themselves after a suicide attack by responding to “gun fire” from the innocent victims.

Would Jesus Have Looked Like the Pope?

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 15, 2007, that Germany’s Roman Catholic Cardinal, Joachim Meissner from Cologne, wrote that if Jesus Christ had reached the age of 80, He would have looked like Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope turned 80 on Monday, and the circus surrounding his birthday celebrations “is becoming more and more scurrile,” according to the magazine.

Do Cell Phones Kill Bees?

The Independent published a rather fantastic article about the disappearance of bees, speculating that cell phones are responsible. In that seemingly bizarre publication, it was pointed out:

“It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world’s harvests fail. “They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world – the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon – which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe – was beginning to hit Britain as well.

“The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees’ navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives.”

It seems to us that a much more plausible explanation for the disappearance of bees is man’s greedy and uncontrolled desire for wealth, thereby polluting the atmosphere in the process, as we reported in last week’s Update #289 (“Do Millions of Bees Die Because of Pesticides?”)

Iraq’s Ongoing Troubles

The Associated Press reported on April 16:

“Cabinet ministers loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr resigned on Monday to protest the prime minister’s refusal to set a timetable for an American withdrawal, raising the prospect that the Mahdi Army militia could return to the streets of Baghdad. The number of bodies found dumped in Baghdad increased sharply on Sunday to 30 — from as low as five in recent days — in a possible sign of the militia’s resurgence, even ahead of the six resignations. The bodies, most of them tortured before they were shot execution-style, are widely believed to be the victims of Shiite death squads associated with the Mahdi Army. Al-Sadr had ordered his fighters hide their weapons and stay off the streets shortly before the U.S. troop surge and security crackdown began on Feb. 14.

“The departure of the six ministers, while unlikely to topple Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government, deals a significant blow to the U.S.-backed leader, who relied on support from the Sadrists to gain office… Al-Sadr, who has tremendous influence among Iraq’s majority Shiites, has been upset about recent arrests of his Mahdi Army fighters in the U.S.-led Baghdad security crackdown. He and his followers have also criticized al-Maliki for failing to back calls for a timetable for U.S. troops to leave the country.”

On April 18, AFP reported:

“An avalanche of car bomb attacks on Shiite districts of Baghdad slaughtered 190 people on Wednesday and delivered a savage blow to the credibility of a two-month-old US security plan. The series of blasts was the deadliest in the Iraqi capital since the launch of the massive crackdown; the single most devastating blast alone killed 140 people, mainly civilian commuters and shoppers.”

Terrible Weather Conditions in the Northeast of the USA

The Associated Press reported on April 16:

“A menacing spring storm punished the Northeast for a second straight day Monday, dumping more than 8 inches of rain on Central Park and sending refrigerators and pickup trucks floating down rivers in one of the region’s worst storms in recent memory… The nor’easter left a huge swath of devastation, from the beaches of South Carolina to the mountains of Maine. It knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people…

“The storm was especially harsh in the Westchester County suburbs north of New York City and in New Jersey, where the state was placed under a state of emergency and more than 1,400 residents were evacuated—many by boat… Vermont got about 17 inches of snow, with flakes still falling Monday across sections of Pennsylvania, New York and Maine… New Jersey authorities called it the worst storm to hit the state in 15 years. Five homes burned down in one town after fire crews could not reach the buildings because of floodwaters.”

Germany Fails To Act

The Wall Street Journal wrote on April 17:

“Hezbollah arrived in the European Union back in the 1980s, along with refugees from the civil war in Lebanon. Despite its deadly track record and a 2005 European Parliament resolution recommending the banning of the Iranian-funded group, it is still legal on the Continent. France, Spain, Belgium and Sweden prevent the EU from jointly designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

“Holding currently both the E.U. and G-8 presidencies, Berlin would be in a strong position to head the fight against an organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the replacement of Lebanon’s fragile democracy with a Tehran-backed Islamic state. So far, however, Germany has squandered this unique opportunity to push for a Hezbollah ban… German security services believe that about 900 Hezbollah core activists are in the country and regularly meet in 30 cultural community centers and mosques… Berlin is also aware that representatives of Hezbollah’s ‘foreign affairs office’ in Lebanon regularly travel to Germany to give orders to their followers.

“… too many Germany policymakers uncritically accept the idea that there is supposedly a political Hezbollah — an Islamist but legitimate movement independent of those Hezbollah terrorists who have murdered hundreds of people around the world. To believe that fairy tale, they even ignore Hezbollah’s own words. As Mohammed Fannish, member of the ‘political bureau’ of Hezbollah and former Lebanese energy minister put it in 2002: ‘I can state that there is no separating between Hezbollah’s military and political arms.’… In ignoring the threat from Hezbollah, the German government puts hope above experience. While it tries to spare German citizens from the wrath of Hezbollah, it plays down the danger… In the end, this approach… compromises the safety of German citizens.”

“The Conscience of the Colonel”– How the U.S. Government Damaged Its Own Case

On March 31, 2007, The Wall Street Journal wrote an amazing and eye-opening lengthy article, which falls into the category of must-read publications, explaining the unusual decision of a veteran prosecutor to refuse to proceed with the prosecution of a case, based on legal and moral grounds. The paper titled the article, “The Conscience of the Colonel.”

We are quoting the following excerpts from the article:

“When the Pentagon needed someone to prosecute a Guantanamo Bay prisoner linked to 9/11, it turned to Lt. Col. V. Stuart Couch. A Marine Corps pilot and veteran prosecutor, Col. Couch brought a personal connection to the job: His old Marine buddy, Michael ‘Rocks’ Horrocks, was co-pilot on United 175, the second plane to strike the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. The prisoner in question, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, had already been suspected of terrorist activity…

“But, nine months later, in what he calls the toughest decision of his military career, Col. Couch refused to proceed with the Slahi prosecution. The reason: He concluded that Mr. Slahi’s incriminating statements — the core of the government’s case — had been taken through torture, rendering them inadmissible under U.S. and international law…

“Guantanamo prosecutors estimate that at least 90% of cases depend on statements taken from prisoners, making the credibility of such evidence critical to any convictions. In Mr. Slahi’s case, Col. Couch would uncover evidence the prisoner had been beaten and exposed to psychological torture, including death threats and intimations that his mother would be raped in custody unless he cooperated…

“Col. Couch had his own misgivings. On his first visit to Guantanamo in October 2003, he recalls preparing to watch an interrogation of a detainee when he was distracted by heavy-metal music. Accompanied by an escort, he saw a prisoner shackled to a cell floor, rocking back and forth, mumbling as strobe lights flashed. Two men in civilian dress shut the cell door and told Col. Couch to move along. ‘Did you see that?’ he asked his escort. The escort replied: ‘Yeah, it’s approved,’ Col. Couch says. The treatment resembled the abuse he had been trained to resist if captured; he never expected Americans would be the ones employing it…

“By May 2004, Col. Couch had most of the picture relating to Mr. Slahi’s treatment, and faced a painful dilemma: Could he seek a conviction based on statements he thought were taken through torture, as permitted by President Bush’s November 2001 military commission order citing a ‘state of emergency?’ Or was he nonetheless bound by the Torture Convention, which bars using statements taken ‘as a result of torture…as evidence in any proceedings.’…

“In May 2004, at a meeting with the then-chief prosecutor, Army Col. Bob Swann, Col. Couch dropped his bombshell. He told Col. Swann that in addition to legal reasons, he was ‘morally opposed’ to the interrogation techniques ‘and for that reason alone refused to participate in [the Slahi] prosecution in any manner.’ An impassioned debate followed, the prosecutor recalls. Col. Swann said the Torture Convention didn’t apply to military commissions. Col. Couch asked his superior to cite legal precedent that would allow the president to disregard a treaty. The meeting ended when Col. Swann asked the prosecutor to turn over the Slahi files so the case could be reassigned, Col. Couch recalls…

“With the Slahi prosecution on ice, Col. Couch continued work on other cases — including another ‘varsity program’ prisoner, Mohammmed al-Qahtani, who, according to army report overseen by Gens. Schmidt and Furlow, had been made to wear women’s underwear, leashed, forced to perform dog tricks and berated as a homosexual. Col. Couch refused to use statements obtained during these interrogations. But he determined the prosecution could continue based on a separate source of evidence compiled by the FBI before Mr. Qahtani’s Guantanamo interrogation…

“In August 2006, [Col. Couch] took on a new assignment as a judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. Col. Couch says he’s still frustrated that the actions of the U.S. government helped ruin the case against Mr. Slahi. ‘I’m hoping there’s some non-tainted evidence out there that can put the guy in the hole,’ he says.”

Iraq “Celebrates” Four-Year U.S. Liberation

The Associated Press reported on April 9:

“Tens of thousands of Shiites – a sea of women in black abayas and men waving Iraqi flags – rallied Monday to demand that U.S. forces leave their country. Some ripped apart American flags and tromped across a Stars and Stripes rug. The protesters marched about three miles between the holy cities of Kufa and Najaf to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. In the capital, streets were silent and empty under a hastily imposed 24-hour driving ban. Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered up the march as a show of strength not only to Washington but to Iraq’s establishment Shiite ayatollahs as well…

“The fiery cleric owes much of his large following to the high esteem in which Shiites hold his father, Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, who was assassinated in 1999 by suspected agents of Saddam Hussein… Iraqi soldiers in uniform joined the crowd of marchers which stretched for at least three miles and was led by a dozen turbaned clerics, a Sunni Muslim among them.”

Der Spiegel Online added on April 10:

“German commentators are pessimistic about the future of the country… Monday marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein. But instead of celebrations, the tone in Iraq was set by angry anti-American protests. The powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called protests in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, on Monday. April 9 was the fourth anniversary of the tearing down of a giant statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, which symbolized the end of the dictator’s regime… German commentators Tuesday felt that the demonstrations were a sign of increasing pessimism in Iraq over the country’s future…

“The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: ‘Four years after the end of the Baath regime, most Iraqis are in no mood to celebrate. If one believes the latest surveys, more than three quarters of the population want the Americans and their allies to withdraw, and they have never been so pessimistic about the future…

“The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes: ‘There is not the slightest chance that the Shiites will convert to the ideal which is wanted by the United States, namely that of a multi-denominational, multi-national Iraq…

“Conservative daily Die Welt writes: ‘(Iraq is) a country in civil war — four years after its liberation.'”

The EU and Britain

The Wall Street Journal wrote on April 4:

“On March 30, the EU’s foreign affairs ministers gathered in Bremen, Germany, to discuss Iran’s kidnapping of 15 British soldiers. The ministers refused to support the U.K. proposal to pressure the mullahs with the threat of revoking government export guarantees. Their joint declaration of course ‘deplores the continued arrest of 15 British citizens by Iran’ and ‘underlines the European Union’s unconditional support for the government of the United Kingdom.’ But that’s as far as their ‘unconditional support’ went. There was no diplomatic or economic boycott, not even the hint of one, let alone a military threat.

“The EU couldn’t muster the strength to support one of its most important member states. The lack of substance in the declaration stands in sharp contrast to the gravity of the incident. The British soldiers were in Iraqi waters and their presence was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council.

“The Iranian leaders created this incident to test the will of the West and demonstrate their own power… The EU reacted as the mullahs expected: it did nothing. It wouldn’t even threaten ending export guarantees, although Europe could easily bear the possible loss of these sales that make up only 1.5% of its total exports. Europe chose instead to handle Iran with kid gloves, just as it has for years.”

In Townhall.com, Charles Krauthammer wrote on April 6:

“Iran has pulled off a tidy little success with its seizure and subsequent release of those 15 British sailors and marines: a pointed humiliation of Britain, with a bonus demonstration of Iran’s intention to push back against coalition challenges to its assets in Iraq. All with total impunity… The quid pro quos were not terribly subtle. An Iranian ‘diplomat’ who had been held for two months in Iraq is suddenly released. Equally suddenly, Iran is granted access to the five Iranian ‘consular officials’ — Revolutionary Guards who had been training Shiite militias to kill Americans and others — whom the U.S. had arrested in Irbil in January. There may have been other concessions we will never hear about… Where then was the EU? These 15 hostages, after all, are not just British citizens, but under the laws of Europe, citizens of Europe. Yet the EU lifted not a finger on their behalf…

“Iran’s shaky economy is highly dependent on European credits, trade and technology. Britain asked the EU to threaten to freeze exports, $18 billion a year of commerce. Iran would have lost its No. 1 trading partner. The EU refused.”

The article goes on to lament, as did the previous article of the Wall Street Journal, that Europe could not have acted as they are too diversified and politically incompetent to do so. However, that is NOT the real reason. The cause for EU’s inactivity and Britain’s isolation is to be seen in BIBLICAL PROPHECY. For more information, read our free booklet, “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.” Also, please view our latest StandingWatch program on this issue, titled, “Why Britain’s Humiliation?” 

Not Much Sympathy for Britain

The Daily Mail wrote on April 6 about the lack of sympathy for Britain, after the release of the sailors from Iran. And the subsequent inappropriate conduct of some of the British sailors, offering their story to the press for money, did not help to change the world’s view. Due to the national and international outcry, the British government reportedly prohibited its sailors to “sell” their story–a forced reaction… “too little too late.”

The Daily Mail wrote:

“Sympathy for Britain was in short supply around the world yesterday…

“IN IRAN, newspapers reported the release of the 15 British hostages with glee. The conservative Resalat daily called the affair ‘a slap in the face’ for ‘those countries that think they can violate Iran’s territory’. The hardline Jam-e Jam declared: ‘Britain gave guarantees, soldiers were released. Iran could skillfully humiliate the West in this incident.’…

“IN SAUDI ARABIA, which has troubled relations with Iran, newspapers voiced the widespread suspicion that a deal had been struck over the 15 Britons. ‘Whatever spin the British may be putting on the release of their 15 naval personnel… the whole incident has become a triumph for the Iranians,’ said Arab News, an influential English language daily.

“IN THE U.S.,… The Wall Street Journal said the Iranian objective had been to humiliate Tony Blair…

“IN ISRAEL, a headline in the Jerusalem Post declared: ‘Iran Shows Up Britain’s Weakness.’…

“IN ITALY, the leading daily Corriere della Sera said in an editorial: ‘… it seems that Great Britain [has] negotiated a deal with Tehran.’

“IN HOLLAND, De Volkskrant agreed.

“IN FRANCE, influential broadsheet Le Figaro gloatingly told its readers of Britain’s sense of shame at the outcome of the hostage crisis. The paper showed front covers of… daily papers under the headline ‘Britain has been humiliated!’

“IN AUSTRALIA, the Sydney Morning Herald said the hostage saga had been ‘too horribly familiar’ and that Tony Blair’s protests seemed ‘hollow’ because he has supported the U.S. over Guantanamo and CIA renditions. In the case of the sailors there had been ‘release after coerced confessions and guilty pleas’.”

Iran Defies the World

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 10:

“The international community has sharply condemned Iran for announcing on Monday, its ‘National Day of Nuclear Technology’, that it had begun industrial-scale nuclear fuel production. The move is a fresh snub to the UN Security Council.

“Iran’s ‘National Day of Nuclear Technology’ didn’t give the international community much to celebrate this year. Russia called Iran’s announcement that it had begun industrial-scale nuclear fuel production a ‘provocation,’ the United States said it was a further sign of Iran’s defiance of the international community, and the United Nations urged Iran to engage in dialogue.

“Tehran on Monday announced it had achieved a major expansion of uranium enrichment and begun operating 3,000 centrifuges — nearly 10 times the previously known number — in defiance of UN demands it halt its nuclear program or face increased sanctions…

“Iran’s announcement marks a shift from experimental atomic fuel work involving a few hundred centrifuges used for enriching uranium to a process that will involve thousands of machines. Western nations fear enrichment will bring Tehran closer to building atomic bombs. Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, says it only wants the fuel to produce electricity so it can export more of its oil and gas. US analysts say 3,000 centrifuges are in theory enough to produce sufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon, perhaps even within a year…

“The move showed Iran was ‘definitively going in the wrong direction,’ said the Foreign Ministry in Germany, which currently holds the European Union presidency. A foreign policy spokesman for Germany’s ruling conservative Christian Democrats, Eckart von Klaeden, said Iran posed the biggest threat to international security… Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, warned that if the UN imposes further sanctions, Iran may reconsider how much it cooperates with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The IAEA has been conducting inspections at a number of Iran’s nuclear sites. Larijani… added that the West must accept that its nuclear program is a fact and rejected halting enrichment as a precondition for talks.”

More Bad News for the U.S. Dollar

WorldNetDaily wrote on April 11:

“While the world press has focused on Iran’s plans to move ahead with enriching uranium, Tehran continues to wage economic war against the U.S. dollar behind the scenes.

“Tehran has reached a decision to end all oil sales in dollars, according to statements by Iran’s central bank governor… in Kuala Lumpur at the end of last month. Zhuhai Zhenrong Trading, a Chinese state-run company that buys 240,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran, approximately 10 percent of Iran’s 2.2 million barrels per day total output, has confirmed a shift to the euro for its Iranian oil purchases…

“Meanwhile, China which now holds $1 trillion in foreign reserve holdings, announced March 20 it will no longer accumulate foreign exchange reserves. This is more bad news for the dollar, since approximately 70 percent of China’s $1 trillion in foreign reserve holdings are held in U.S. dollar assets… The dollar has lost 9 percent of its value against the euro in the last year and is down 35 percent against the euro in the last five years.”

China and Japan Want Reconciliation

AsiaNews.It wrote on April 11:

“Starting today through to April 13th the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is in Japan on a state visit which observers describe as a milestone in the journey towards reconciliation between East Asia’s two super powers… There are three events which give particular meaning to Wen’s trip to Japan: talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; his speech to the Diet, the first ever made by a Chinese leader; his audience with the Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at the imperial palace… The event is of great importance on a geopolitical level, both in an East Asian and world context.”

China and Japan will ultimately work closely together. In fact, according to Biblical prophecy, they will become part of a power bloc which will also be joined by Russia and India, among other Asian nations.

France, UK and Germany’s Increased Powers

The EUObserver wrote on April 5:

“Despite recent enlargement, the biggest EU states – France, the UK and Germany – have increased their power over EU decision-making, a Swedish study suggests. But Italy is punching below its weight, while sheer charisma helps some small EU countries boost their influence.

“The overcrowded negotiating table in the European Council – EU leaders’ meetings which normally take place four times a year – has made the bloc’s big players more eager to pool their powers in coalitions and bilateral agreements where size really matters, the report ‘Bargaining power in the European Council’ says… Despite the two recent enlargement rounds, France, Great Britain and Germany have grabbed more influence over EU decision-making, although formally, all member states have equal say, the report concludes.

“‘The European Council is a rather inhospitable environment for small and medium sized member states,’ the study’s author [Mr. Tallberg] stated in Brussels, explaining that the nature of the European Council, with negotiations carried out behind locked doors, offers greater leeway for power politics than any other EU institution. ‘The presidency gets together with the large member states and settles the matter among them, and then they ask the other states if they are in or not,’ Mr Tallberg explained.

“The report quotes Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker as saying that ‘greater member states have a greater say. We never admit it, of course, but one has to acknowledge that geography and demography are playing a role.’…

“Finally, an important factor for gaining bargaining power in the council is the personal qualities of EU leaders and their ability to generate authority, respect and trust among their European colleagues.”

The article also pointed out that presently, “Germany has relatively little say in matters of defence, due to its limited military capacity despite its position as the largest EU member state.” However, when a charismatic German or Austrian leader will arise on the world scene, that situation will dramatically change. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Europe in Prophecy.”

Do Millions of Bees Die Because of Pesticides?

AFP reported on April 6:

“US beekeepers have been stung in recent months by the mysterious disappearance of millions of bees threatening honey supplies as well as crops which depend on the insects for pollination. Bee numbers on parts of the east coast and in Texas have fallen by more than 70 percent, while California has seen colonies drop by 30 to 60 percent. According to estimates from the US Department of Agriculture, bees are vanishing across a total of 22 states, and for the time being no one really knows why…

“The situation is so bad, that beekeepers are now calling for some kind of government intervention, warning the flight of the bees could be catastrophic for crop growers. Domestic bees are essential for pollinating some 90 varieties of vegetables and fruits, such as apples, avocados, and blueberries and cherries…

“Scientists… believe… [that] a new kind of chemical product… could be weakening the insects’ immune systems. The finger of suspicion is being pointed at agriculture pesticides such as the widely-used neonicotinoides, which are already known to be poisonous to bees. France saw a huge fall in its bee population in the 1990s, blamed on the insecticide Gaucho which has now been banned in the country.”

If true, this would be another example of the incredible foolishness of man.

Politicians Influence and Respond to Second Part of UN Report on Global Warming

Der Spiegel Online wrote on April 6:

“Climate change in the coming century may lead to disasters ranging from famine in Africa to the thinning of Himalayan glaciers, according to the long-awaited second part of an extensive United Nations report on global warming. More than 100 countries represented in the UN’s panel on climate change spent a tense Thursday night in Brussels trying to agree unanimously on the language of a final draft.

“The report, prepared by more than 2,500 scientists for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), provides the first confirmation from the entire international scientific community that the burning of fossil fuels by humans is one of the main culprits of global warming…

“The report claims that global warming will lead to desertification, droughts and rising seas and that those living in the tropics will be the worst hit — from sub-Saharan Africa to the Pacific islands. Billions could face water shortages, and ocean levels might rise for centuries to come. It could lead to a sharp drop in crop yields in Africa and bring heatwaves to Europe and North America. Europe’s Alpine glaciers will disappear and much of the coral that comprises Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will die from bleaching.

“The scientific conclusions — based on 29,000 sets of data — also said that up to 30 percent of the Earth’s species faced a higher risk of vanishing if global temperatures rise 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average in the 1980s and ’90s…

“The contents of the report, most of which had already been leaked to the media in recent weeks, prompted political leaders to call for action, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel. ‘The report confirms that climate change is a fact,’ Merkel told the Munich daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. ‘That’s why we need quick and determined action to limit the rise in temperatures worldwide and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. I will also address the issue at the G-8 summit. My aim is, insofar as possible, to involve all states in taking responsibility for climate protection.’

“Merkel said she hoped recent European Union actions might help to push China and the United States — the world’s two largest sources of greenhouse gases — to do more to reduce emissions. In March the EU’s 27 member states agreed [to] cut greenhouse gas emission by at least 20 percent from 1990 levels over the next 13 years. In addition, it agreed that at least one-fifth of all of the EU’s energy would come from renewable sources by 2020…

“Originally, the report was to be released on Friday morning at 10 a.m., but the presentation was delayed for hours as heated discussions continued as countries like China, Russia and the US continued to lobby for the removal of parts of the report. US delegates also opposed a passage warning of the prospects of ‘severe economic damage’ to parts of North America. But the main tension in Brussels between some authors of the report and some political representatives was not over the scientific findings, but over a 21-page summary that would be shown to policymakers.

“Earlier this week, the summary said scientists had ‘very high confidence’ that natural systems around the world ‘are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases.’ ‘Very high confidence,’ in the language used by the report, translates to a 90 percent certainty. Delegates from China and Saudi Arabia lobbied for ‘high confidence’ instead, or 80 percent certainty — and after a dramatic hours-long protest by three scientists on Thursday night, the milder language went in. ‘The authors lost,’ said one of the scientists. ‘A lot of authors are not going to engage in the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) process anymore. I have had it with them,’ he told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

“Though Washington and Beijing ultimately succeeded in changing very little of the text, the political tug o’ war drew sharp criticism in Germany. ‘We are happy that we were able to prevent this kind of scientific vandalism in the end,’ Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel told Reuters TV. ‘The people have a right to find out about the consequences that threaten them if we are unable to stop climate change.'”

Historic Cold Weather in Charlotte, N.C.

Charlotte.com reported on April 9:

“A historic cold weather outbreak shattered records this morning in Charlotte and elsewhere in the Carolinas, producing bone-chilling conditions for Easter sunrise services… The polar air outbreak that began Thursday reached the bottom this morning, when temperatures dropped to 21 degrees at 7 a.m. at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. That not only broke the low-temperature record for the date, but it was the coldest for any April day in Charlotte history… Sleet fell Saturday afternoon in parts of Texas, including the Dallas and Austin metropolitan areas. It was the first time in 70 years that frozen precipitation fell in April in those areas.”

Quake Lifts Island Out of the Sea

AFP reported on April 7:

“The seismic jolt that unleashed the deadly Solomons tsunami this week lifted an entire island metres out of the sea, destroying some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs. In an instant, the grinding of the Earth’s tectonic plates in the 8.0 magnitude earthquake Monday forced the island of Ranongga up three metres (10 foot).

“Submerged reefs that once attracted scuba divers from around the globe lie exposed and dying after the quake raised the mountainous landmass, which is 32-kilometres (20-miles) long and 8-kilometres (5-miles) wide.”

This occurrence reminds us–as a very tiny and small forerunner–of prophesied powerful earthquakes in the future, when “every mountain and island” will be “moved out of its place” (Revelation 6:14; compare, too, Revelation 16:20).

A Spooky Apparition in Rome

The Daily Mail reported on March 30:

“When retired policeman Andy Key went on a trip to Rome, he was struck by the beauty of sunlight streaming through a window in the Vatican. As the Pope made an address nearby, he decided to capture the stunning image on his camera. But it was only when Mr Key, 48, and his wife Susan, 44, returned home and downloaded their photographs that they noticed a strange apparition in the picture.”

The article added: “Professional photographers have studied Mr Key’s photo and are at a loss to explain what may have caused the image.”

The article speculated that this “apparition” might have been the picture of an “guardian angel.” However, Key was also quoted as saying: “I snapped the picture and didn’t notice anything until I got home. It looks almost like a hologram. I thought it was really spooky.”

The article published several pictures of that “apparition.” We would agree that “spooky” would be the operative word. The Bible has much to say about “apparitions,” but they are not in any way connected with God’s holy angels. For more information, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”