US Supreme Court Judge Spreading False information

Fox News wrote on January 7:

“Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor [who had been appointed by Obama] came under withering criticism Friday after she falsely suggested that upwards of 100,000 children in the United States are hospitalized from COVID-19, many of them on ventilators. During oral arguments on the Biden administration’s mandate on private businesses for employees to be either vaccinated or frequently tested, Sotomayor drastically overstated the number of young people who have fallen severely ill from coronavirus.

“…according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the seven-day average of pediatric hospitalizations [of children] was around 3,700 this week, according to the Washington Post. As with prior strains of the virus, younger people are at far less risk than old ones of severe outcomes from the coronavirus… ‘Inexcusable for a SCOTUS justice to peddle this fear mongering false info,’ the Hudson Institute’s Rebeccah Heinrichs wrote. ‘It’s actually terrifying that a Supreme Court justice can be so misinformed…’ Ron DeSantis press secretary Christina Pushaw chimed in. ‘Justice Sotomayor’s comment on 100,000 children in serious condition with covid is such a flagrantly untrue statement she should have to correct it after the argument. It’s embarrassing for the Supreme Court to allow that factual inaccuracy to occur in an oral argument,’ OutKick’s Clay Travis tweeted.”

Fox News reported on January 9 that CDC Director Rochelle Walensky clarified… that “there are fewer than 3,500 children in hospitals with COVID-19… Walensky also pointed out that numbers of COVID hospitalizations generally include patients who go to hospitals for other reasons and just happen to test positive while they are there, as opposed to those who go to the hospital because they are sick with COVID…”

The left-liberal Washington Post performed what they call “the Pinocchio Test” and gave Sotomayor “four Pinocchios” for her “absurdly high” figure, arguing that “it’s important for Supreme Court justices to make rulings based on correct data” (compare Fox News, dated January 9).

Breitbart added on January 7:

“Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor also claimed that vaccinated people cannot transmit the coronavirus.”

This claim is also false, as set forth in an article below. But this is how the fearmongering propaganda operates, and even US Supreme Court Judges fall victims to its deception. How can we then expect a fair and reasonable judgment?

Fox News reported on January 8:

“Laura Ingraham… noted [in her show] that ‘’even Anthony Fauci admits that most kids are hospitalized with COVID, not because of COVID.’…

“Later she highlighted Clinton-appointed Justice Stephen Breyer claiming a delay in the Biden mandate could lead to thousands of more COVID infections… ‘If we delay [a decision for one day] then 750,000 more people will have COVID who otherwise, if we didn’t delay it, wouldn’t have,’ Breyer, 83, claimed.

“Ingraham responded: ‘Wait, so in Breyer’s warped thinking, if OSHA’s mandate is upheld, all infections would be eliminated? Who said you need basic logic and math skills to be a Supreme Court justice. You don’t. We are repeatedly told that the liberals on the court are some of the brightest legal minds in the country,’ she said. ‘I’m beginning to have my doubts, especially after hearing th[o]se words leave Justice Sotomayor’s mouth.’”

The comments to this article were telling:

“This is potentially a dire situation when we have supreme court justices spreading misinformation over an already politicized pandemic…. The problem here is does she KNOW this is misinformation, or is she simply badly misinformed? Both scenarios are bad, since this woman will be part of a decision that will affect 100M workers, and determine the future of how much a President can mandate…. I still can’t believe the republicans on the judiciary committee voted for her appointment to the supreme court with her past track record. she is more of a social activist than a judge… This was no accident. There is no way she can be this misinformed… And these justices are supposed to be the protectors of the constitution/nation against rogue government. The founders erred in thinking that by giving lawyers a job for life it would somehow ensure their integrity… How long before twitter takes down both Supreme Court justices for misinformation? Don’t hold your breath!… Kagan [the third liberal US Supreme Court Judge, appointed by  Obama] said this mandate/policy is the only thing that can end this pandemic. Wrong and her job is not to assess the policy but how it’s being implemented and by whom and is THAT constitutional.”

US Supreme Court “Decides”

 CNBC wrote on January 13:

“The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its sweeping vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies… The mandate required that workers at businesses with 100 or more employees get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid test weekly to enter the workplace. It also required unvaccinated workers to wear masks indoors at work. ‘Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly,’ the court wrote in an unsigned opinion…. Liberal Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented…

“President Joe Biden, in a statement, said the Supreme Court chose to block requirements that are life-saving for workers. Biden called on states and businesses to step up and voluntarily institute vaccination requirements to protect workers, customers and the broader community…

“In a separate, simultaneously released ruling on the administration’s vaccination rules for health-care workers, a 5-4 majority sided with the Biden administration… Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, four of the six conservatives on the nine-seat bench, dissented…

“Biden, in a statement, said the vaccine requirement for health-care workers will save the lives of patients, doctors and nurses. ‘We will enforce it,’ the president said of the mandate.”

Australian Lunacy

The U.S. Sun wrote on January 7:

 “TENNIS star Novak Djokovic… was granted a vaccine exemption to compete in the Australian Open before his visa was cancelled following a six hour stand-off at Melbourne Airport and a major U-turn by Australian authorities. He was then banished to a filthy hotel ‘full of fleas and maggots’ to isolate…

“The 34-year-old had been granted an exemption to play despite his unvaccinated status before it was dramatically cancelled. As the athlete attempted to enter Aussie territory, he was ordered into a side-room by Border Force guards after a visa ‘blunder’ was revealed. Djokovic, seeking to win a record 21st Grand Slam title, was stripped of his phone and kept alone in the room, with armed police on patrol outside.

“Even Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic got involved, eventually contacting Djokovic to offer his support and backing and summoning Australia’s ambassador to the country for a dressing down. It emerged that Tennis Australia had granted exemptions to two other players who did not meet strict Border Force rules…

“In another twist, a second Australian Open competitor was detained by Border Force under similar circumstances and sent to the same hotel. Despite already playing in Melbourne earlier this week, Czech Republic doubles specialist Renata Voracova has now been asked to leave the country….”

CNN added on January 8:

“The 34-year-old… was granted a medical exemption to compete in the tournament unvaccinated ‘on the grounds that he had recently recovered from COVID,’ his lawyers said in a court submission Saturday…. Djokovic’s exemption was determined to be invalid under Australia’s BioSecurity Act because his ‘previous infection with COVID-19 is not considered a medical contraindication for Covid-19 vaccination in Australia.’…”

Breitbart wrote on January 8:

“Brexit champion Nigel Farage has backed tennis ace Novak Djokovic against ‘big, bullying, nasty government’ in Australia… Farage… insisted that the sportsman did have an exemption under the relevant regional rules…  ‘The most astonishing thing with all of this is how few people are prepared to speak out, how the broadcasters are making out that somehow Djokovic is a threat to public health — well, he absolutely isn’t,’ Farage asserted, claiming that even if you have ‘one, two, three, or in Israel four injections’ you are still at risk of catching and spreading the coronavirus. The BBC, citing research published in The Lancet, did report in October that people ‘who have had two vaccine doses can be just as infectious as those who have not been jabbed’…

“‘It seems to me that Australia has lost any sense of liberty, any sense, frankly, of common sense,’ Farage added… ‘What has happened to Australia, and what has happened here [in Britain] to us? Why are the majority prepared to allow Big Government, in the name of fighting this virus, to take away our liberties and freedoms?’ he demanded.”

Fox News commentator Will Cain condemned Australia’s “lunacy” and “authoritarian insanity” which has been going on ‘for 2 years.”

On January 10, Deutsche Welle reported:

“Federal Circuit and Family Court Judge Anthony Kelly ordered the government to release [Djokovic from detention] within 30 minutes of the ruling, and return his passport and other travel documents to him…. However, it is still not certain the Serbian tennis star will be able to compete at the Australian Open as the government may yet still order him to be deported.”

Deutsche Welle reported on January 12:

“Djokovic’s form said that he had not traveled anywhere in the 14 days before arriving in Australia, even though the tennis player had been seen at events in Spain and his native Serbia within that time period… Djokovic said his travel declaration was filled in by his support team, and that his ‘agent sincerely apologizes for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box.’ ‘This was human error and certainly not deliberate,’ Djokovic wrote.”

The World’s Insane Persecution of the Unvaccinated

The Los Angeles Times wrote on January 7:

“In one European country after another, public health restrictions are steadily tightening. Italy declared a vaccination mandate for those over age 50…

“Austria plans to enhance enforcement of existing measures banning the unvaccinated from many public venues…[Also, vaccine mandates for everyone will be enforced in February.]

“In Germany, many of those who have chosen to remain unvaccinated report feeling socially ostracized as a result… Many Germans, mindful of their history under communist and Nazi rule, are also squeamish about a prospective national registry of the vaccinated, saying that runs counter to the country’s cherished data-privacy laws.

“And the anti-vaccination movement, while still relatively small, has grown in intensity, with protests sometimes boiling over into violence. On Monday, more than 35,000 people participated in protests that resulted in police being hit by bottles and firebombs…”

It will only get worse. On Friday, Germany foolishly decided the following, according to Deutsche Welle:

“Access to restaurants will be limited to people who are fully vaccinated or considered recovered, who can additionally provide evidence of either a booster shot or a current negative COVID-19 test…. Under the new rules, people who have received a booster shot will no longer have to quarantine if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19…. The existing rule that private gatherings of vaccinated and recovered persons with a maximum of 10 persons are allowed will remain in place. Those who are not vaccinated will continue to be subject to strict contact restrictions [meetings of only two households are allowed]”

In addition, according to Deutsche Welle, dated January 8, “German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has insisted vaccine mandates are the only way out of the pandemic… Lauterbach said gaining immunity through infection was a ‘dirty vaccination’ and not the solution… ‘Mandatory vaccination is also important for the future variants that may still develop,’ he told Welt. ‘Omicron infection does not necessarily make one immune to the next viral variant.’ Lauterbach also warned of the possibility that a new, more dangerous variant could start spreading.”

However, ABC News reported on January 9:

“Germany’s ruling parties are hitting the brakes on plans for compulsory coronavirus vaccinations, saying it may take months for lawmakers to properly debate the contentious measure in parliament. Berlin daily Tagesspiegel… reported that implementation could be delayed until June to ensure the technical conditions, such as a nationwide vaccine register, are in place… Among those who oppose a vaccine mandate are some members of the Free Democrats, who are part of the ruling coalition, and Germany’s former health minister [Jens Spahn] who pledged last summer not to introduce a general vaccine mandate…”

To top the irony, it was now revealed by Focus that Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer [loosely translated, “no Hammer”] was tested positive with Corona and is in quarantine, even though he had been fully vaccinated with three shots…

In addition, as Express reported on January 8, “On Friday, [Macron] said he stood by his earlier comments saying he wanted to ‘p*** off’ the five million French people who are still not vaccinated against COVID-19… Macron’s coarse language barely three months before a presidential election was widely seen as a politically calculated, tapping into [an] intensifying public frustration against the unvaccinated.’”

Health Tax and Fines for the Unvaccinated

BBC News wrote on January 11:

“The Canadian province of Quebec will charge a health tax to residents who are not vaccinated against Covid-19…. Starting later this month, Greeks over age 60 are being required to pay a €100 (£85; C$142; $113) fine for each month that they remain unvaccinated.”

Propagandistic Article by Daily Mail

The Daily Mail wrote on January 9:

“A staggering six million people follow UK accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok that pump out anti-vaccine propaganda, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Social-media giants have been accused of a ‘moral failure’ for not curbing the torrent of misinformation, which Boris Johnson last week blasted as online ‘mumbo-jumbo’…

“Technology giants claim they are cracking down on anti-vax propaganda but Imran Ahmed, from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, accused them of putting profit before public health… “Among the accounts spreading anti-vaccine misinformation is that of Leilani Dowding, 41, a former Miss Great Britain and Page 3 glamour model, who has attracted more than 90,000 followers… On Twitter, she wrote: ‘I Will NOT be part of their real world experiment‘, and on Facebook she posted: ‘2 years on my unvaxxed self had NOT had Covid!! Not after all the protests I’ve been to, the thousands of people I’ve hugged, having never worn a mask.’ Approached for comment, she said: ‘I absolutely stand by what I said. I’m never going to have the vaccine. I just don’t believe the science behind it.’

“Former reality TV star Jay Gardner, who appeared in Geordie Shore, regularly posts anti-vaccine and conspiracy theories to his 800,000 Twitter followers. Last month, he tweeted ‘These guys telling you to take all these shots have absolutely 0 idea of any long term damage, but we will force you to do it anyway’…

“Anna de Buisseret, 56, a lawyer with 24,000 Twitter followers, last week claimed that vaccinated people had been ‘deceived, lied to, coerced, threatened, intimidated, harassed, guilt tripped and shamed into taking part in this live human experiment’. Last night she said: ‘I am not “anti-vaccine”, I am against the use of experimental gene treatments.’…”

We do not deny, of course, that misinformation by anti-vaxxers is being spread, but are unable to agree with The Daily Mail that the excerpts quoted by the outlet in the article above are necessarily misinformation. Also, it is ludicrous to suggest that the manipulative social-media giants, which have been rightly accused of suppressing free speech, are cooperating with anti-vaxxers. Quite to the contrary, according to their own words, Facebook and Instagram alone have removed accounts of “more than 20 million pieces” of –what they determined to be—”harmful Covid misinformation.”

First Anniversary of January 6, 2021

Newsmax wrote on January 6:

“President Joe Biden, speaking Thursday morning on the first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, excoriated former President Donald Trump — without ever mentioning Trump’s name — saying he ‘rallied the mob to attack… The will of the people was under assault … for the first  time in our history, a president had not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the capitol but they failed. They failed.’

“Trump, said Biden ‘has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He’s done so because he values power over principal, because he sees his own interest as more important than his country’s interest and America’s interest and because his bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy and Constitution.’ But Trump… ‘can’t accept that he lost, even though that’s what 93 U.S. Senators, his own attorney general, every battleground state have all said,’ said Biden. ‘He lost. That’s what 81 million of you did as you voted for a new way forward. He has done what no president in the history of this country has ever done. He refused the results of the election and the will of the American people.’

“Trump slammed Biden after the speech, saying in a statement that the president is ‘destroying our nation with insane policies of open borders, corrupt elections, disastrous energy policies, unconstitutional mandates, and devastating school closures’… ‘Why is it that the Unselect Committee of totally partisan political hacks, whose judgment has long ago been made, not discussing the rigged Presidential Election of 2020?’ Trump said. ‘It’s because they don’t have the answers or justifications for what happened…’”

Trump also wrote:

“Does anybody really think that Biden beat Obama with the Black population in select Swing State cities, but nowhere else? That he would lose 18 out of 19 bellwether counties, and 27 out of 27 ‘toss up’ House races, but somehow miraculously receive the most votes in American history with no coattails? That he would lose Florida, Ohio, and Iowa and win, even though it has never been done before?

“They spread a ‘web of lies’ about me and Russia for 4 years to try to overturn the 2016 election, and now they lie about how they interfered in the 2020 Election, too. Big Tech was used illegally. Where did all those votes show up from in Georgia, where it was just revealed they sold ballots for $10 a piece, or in Pennsylvania, and Arizona, and Wisconsin. He acts like he’s aggrieved, but we’re the ones who were aggrieved and America is suffering because of it with poisonous Borders, record Inflation, a humiliating surrender in Afghanistan, $5 a gallon gas and higher, empty stock shelves, and rampant crime. America is a laughingstock stock of the world, and it’s all because of the real insurrection, which took place on November 3^rd… Never forget the crime of the 2020 Presidential Election.”

After Biden thanked Trump for the speedy “success” of his vaccinations, Trump said that it would be difficult for him now to say bad things about Biden. Well, that “peace treaty” did not last long.

Dick Chaney’s Horrible Legacy and His Support of His Daughter and the Democrats

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on January 8:

“Former Vice President Dick Cheney visited the House of Representatives yesterday. He and his daughter Liz were the only two Republicans present at a moment of silence commemorating the events of last January 6^th...  the Washington Post wrote that ‘Democrats put aside their fierce and lasting policy divides with the Cheneys to thank them for condemning the attack and Trump’s continued effort to undermine the 2020 presidential election results with his false claims of fraud.’…

“I don’t mean to understate the seriousness of January 6th, even though it’s been absurdly misreported for over a year now. No one… could mistake 1/6 for ‘a coup.’…  a coup is a real attempt to seize power… we saw none of that on January 6th, but it’s become journalistic requirement to use either ‘coup’ or ‘insurrection’ in describing it…

“The endless hyperventilating efforts to describe January 6th as a disaster on the order of Pearl Harbor or even 9/11 has been awesome to behold. Huffington Post… even called it ‘1,000 percent worse’ than 9/11…

“Ted Cruz made a plea for mainstream recognition by denouncing 1/6 as a ‘violent terrorist attack’ before cowering in retreat on Tucker Carlson Tonight, in the process [placing] himself with audiences in all directions…

“It was no heroic storming of the Bastille… Trump [is] always trying out new material, and if he gets the right reaction, he comes back with a bigger delivery next time… The man has no attention span, no interest in planning or strategy, and most importantly, no ability to maintain relationships with the type of people who do have those qualities… Even if he wanted to overturn ‘democracy itself’ — I don’t believe he does, but let’s say — Trump has proven over and over he lacks the qualities a politician would need to make that happen.

“Which brings us back to Cheney. All those things Trump is rumored to be, Dick Cheney actually is. That’s why it’s so significant that he appeared on the floor of the House yesterday to be slobbered over by the Adam Schiffs and Nancy Pelosis of the world. Dick Cheney did more to destroy democracy in ten minutes of his Vice Presidency than Donald Trump did in four years… Even if you find the Trump phenomenon troubling, his opposition is not only authoritarian, but organized and armed with the intellectual tools to understand and appreciate how the technological elimination of democracy might be achieved in the 21st century.

“We’re living through a period where an unpleasantly likely outcome for the ordinary American is the invocation of emergency powers to eliminate basic rights…  have you noticed the total lack of interest among pundits and politicians in distinguishing between anti-vaxxers and people who merely have anti-mandate or anti-passport attitudes?…

“Where have we seen this style of intentional line-blurring to justify the expansion of executive authority before? From Cheney, who took emergency politics to places even a sober Joe McCarthy could never have dreamed of. On the pretense that new powers were needed to combat the sweeping global threat whose existence 9/11 supposedly proved, Cheney institutionalized executive assassination, torture, mass surveillance, secret prisons, secret budgeting, and the wholesale elimination of congressional oversight over most of his programs…

“It was under Cheney’s watch that we turned into a country that snatched people off the streets all over the world, put them in indefinite detention in an archipelago of secret hell-holes, threatened to rape their family members, and resorted to techniques like ‘rectal feeding’ so often that one Guantanamo Bay prisoner had to bring a special pillow to sit in court.

“The core principle of Cheney’s politics was protecting his new bureaucracies of murder and open-ended detention from legal challenge. That meant creating structures that were legally invisible… Courts repeatedly declined to listen to complainants… because the secrecy of the programs made it difficult or impossible to prove they had a cause of action, a perfect Catch-22.”

We should also not forget his terrible role in the misguided Iraq war which was fought under the pretext of Iraq’s “weapons of mass destruction” which were never found. As the Atlantic wrote on August 30, 2011:

“When Vice President Dick Cheney left office, his approval rating stood at a staggeringly low 13 percent. Few political figures in history have been so reviled… President Bush bears ultimate responsibility for the Iraq War, as do the members of Congress who voted for it. But Dick Cheney’s role in the run-up to war was uniquely irresponsible and mendacious. And after the invasion, he contributed to the early dysfunction on the ground…

“Cheney undercut the CIA by instructing subordinates in that agency to stovepipe raw intelligence directly to his office. He also worked with Donald Rumsfeld to establish an alternative intelligence agency within the Pentagon. Both of these actions directly contributed to the faulty information that informed the decision to go to war…”

The White House’ Latest Spin

Fox News reported on January 8:

“… a disappointing jobs report showed hiring had fallen far below expectations in December… Biden defended the economy under his watch on Friday. ‘There’s been a lot of press coverage about people quitting their jobs,” he said from the White House. “Well, today’s report tells you why – Americans are moving up to better jobs. This is the kind of recovery I promised and hoped for, for the American people.’

“While economic experts had expected 400,000 new jobs to be added in the last report of the year, it was a dismal 199,000.”

Biden Keeps Lying

Fox News wrote on January 11:

“Laura Ingraham said that ‘lies that [have] bound’ President Biden the Democrats and the media ‘regime’ together are finally unraveling, and the administration is being exposed as a group of power-hungry bureaucrats who proclaim to be the arbiters of science, while instead continuing to ignore science to further take control and violate the autonomy of the American people…

“She pointed out that President Biden’s long-held public claims that people cannot be infected by the coronavirus if they are vaccinated, as well as his administration’s claim that a third ‘booster’ is effective, are both turning out to be false, as the omicron variant continues to infect vaccinated Americans. ‘On the vaccine mandates, it’s now a proven fact that being vaccinated and boosted neither protects you from contracting the virus nor spreading it. And more shocking is the new data that the vaccinated are more likely to contract omicron than the unvaccinated,’ she said.

“‘A fantastic piece today in the Wall Street Journal correctly notes that one study found that after 30 days, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines no longer had any statistically significant positive effect against omicron infection, and after 90 days, their effect went negative — i.e. vaccinated people were more susceptible to omicron infection,’ Ingraham reported. ‘Their house of cards is falling in on itself, but courageous medical experts featured here as far back as May 2020 warned that… obsessing over case counts and mandating vaccines would crush our hospitals, our businesses and our schools. And lo and behold, even California now says it can’t go on this way forever. It’s now allowing asymptomatic hospital staff to return to work, calling it temporary flexibility once again,’ the host continued…

“‘But as with lies, they’re eventually overtaken by truth and experience…’”

 Fox News wrote on January 13:

“The Washington Post awarded President Biden its harshest fact-check rating of ‘Four Pinocchios’ over his false claim this week that he was ‘arrested’ for the first time as a teenager while attending a civil rights protest in Delaware. In a Thursday piece headlined, ‘Biden claims yet another arrest for which there’s little evidence,’ Glenn Kessler, The Post’s resident fact-checker, wrote that Biden was ‘not always a reliable source’ when it came to his ‘exaggerated’ stories, and that too many elements of his claim didn’t add up…

“Biden was forced to admit in 2020 he had concocted a tale of once getting arrested while trying to see Nelson Mandela in South Africa.”

“Is the US really heading for a second civil war?”

The Guardian wrote on January 9, 2022:

“It is a question that many inside America and beyond are now asking… A slew of recent opinion polls show a significant minority of Americans at ease with the idea of violence against the government. Even talk of a second American civil war has gone from fringe fantasy to media mainstream… The mere fact that such notions are entering the public domain shows the once unthinkable has become thinkable…

“Although most Americans have grown up taking its stable democracy for granted, this is also a society where violence is the norm, not the exception, from the genocide of Native Americans to slavery, from the civil war to four presidential assassinations, from gun violence that takes 40,000 lives a year to a military-industrial complex that has killed millions overseas.

“Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said: ‘America is not unaccustomed to violence. It is a very violent society and what we’re talking about is violence being given an explicit political agenda. That’s a kind of terrifying new direction in America… Of course, it doesn’t help in America that guns are prevalent. Anyone can get a gun and you have ready access to explosives. All of this is kindling for the precarious position we now find ourselves in.’…

“And yet the assumption that ‘it can’t happen here’ is as old as politics itself. [Barbara] Walter [a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego] has interviewed many survivors about the lead-up to civil wars. ‘What everybody said, whether they were in Baghdad or Sarajevo or Kiev, was we didn’t see it coming,’ she recalled. ‘In fact, we weren’t willing to accept that anything was wrong until we heard machine gun fire in the hillside. And by that time, it was too late.’”

As can be expected from a left-liberal outlet such as the Guardian, blame for the violence and the potential outbreak of civil war is placed on Republicans and Trump supporters, while ignoring the fact that the real violence with killing, arson and looting has been perpetrated in 2021 by followers of Antifa, Black Lives Matter and other left-wing radical left groups.

Russia in Kazakhstan

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 7:

“The importance of Kazakhstan for Russia can hardly be overstated. It’s the largest and richest former Soviet republic in Central Asia, which also has the closest ties with Moscow… Kazakhs made up the largest group among foreign students at Russian universities in 2020, numbering more than 60,000. In surveys conducted by the renowned Moscow polling institute Levada Center, about a third of Russians repeatedly rated Kazakhstan as the second most friendly country after Belarus. In 2014, it was overtaken by China and has since ranked third….

“Around 3.5 million ethnic Russians live in the northern provinces of Kazakhstan, out of a total population of around 19 million. There has been speculation in both countries for years about whether Russia might annex these territories in a manner similar to Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula… Now there is renewed discussion… about Russia’s actions in Kazakhstan. There is a widespread view that Putin could seize on the deployment of troops as an opportunity to expand Russian presence in Kazakhstan. Russia currently has no military bases in the country…

“In any case, the unrest in Kazakhstan is a nightmare for the Russian president. The Kremlin has called such events ‘color revolutions’ and accused the West of orchestrating them. The last successful uprising was in 2018 in Armenia, which has close ties with Russia. In Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko was able to hold on to power by force in 2020… All of Russia’s major neighbors have been rocked by social unrest…”

The Guardian wrote on January 7:

“The old joke about the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact was that it was the only military alliance to attack itself, after its tanks rolled into Prague in 1968 to crush a reform movement there. With the deployment of troops from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) to Kazakhstan on Thursday, some heard ‘eerie echoes’ of the so-called Prague spring of 1968, and the Soviet crushing of the Hungarian revolution in 1956.

“Meant as a mutual defence pact, the CSTO has not made any joint deployments since its founding in 1999. Now it has been called upon to quell internal unrest in one of its member states. Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, claimed the revolt was inspired by foreign-backed ‘terrorists’ to justify his appeal, but the call to the CSTO suggests he no longer felt he could trust his own forces. When Tokayev’s request came, the CSTO jumped into action in a matter of hours…

“In a hardline address to the nation on Friday in which he said he had personally approved orders to shoot to kill, Tokayev gave ‘special thanks’ to Vladimir Putin for sending the troops, but said they had not taken part in any fighting…

“One definite similarity with the Warsaw Pact is that although the CSTO is an alliance, the decision to intervene was almost certainly taken in Moscow. It was cheered on by Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko, who in 2020 was able to crush a huge revolution using his own domestic forces, but Putin will have made the final call.”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 10:

“Putin has said the Moscow-led… military alliance would only remain in Kazakhstan for a limited time. He also said the bloc’s intervention was a signal that it would not allow any governments in the region to be undermined [or]  overthrown.”

Sweden Warns NATO of Russian Demands

Reuters wrote on January 7:

“Sweden’s security strategy would be entirely undermined if NATO agreed to refrain from expanding further and curb some of its activity in Europe, as Russia has demanded, Sweden’s top military commander said… Sweden… has strengthened ties with the alliance even if it has no plans to join at present…

“‘We aim to become a stronger defence power in all categories and develop overall defence. But that hinges on developed international cooperation,’ the commander said [adding that] Europe’s security order was non-negotiable. ‘In Sweden, we ourselves decide over our foreign and security policy and who we cooperate with.’”

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 8:

“The US said it has no plans to cut troop numbers in Eastern Europe to defuse tensions with Russia. Top diplomat Antony Blinken said Russia is pushing a ‘false narrative’ to justify troop deployments on Ukraine’s border… US outlet NBC News, citing several sources, reported on Friday that Washington was ready to discuss scaling back US forces in Eastern Europe, with Russia also pulling back from the Ukrainian border and other parts of the region.”

Austria’s Former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz Joins Anti-Racism NGO

Deutsche Welle wrote on January 9:

“Sebastian Kurz has been appointed co-chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, just a few months after leaving office amid a corruption scandal. Conservative politician Sebastian Kurz, who stepped [down] as Austrian chancellor… last year, was announced on Sunday as the new co-chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation (ECTR). The ECTR is an international NGO that describes its goal on its website as fighting ‘such evils as extremism, racism, antisemitism and xenophobia.’

“Other noteworthy co-chairmen of the group are former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Aznar — both of whom were in power when their nations joined the 2003 invasion of Iraq…  “During his time in office, Kurz made efforts to confront Austria’s role in the Holocaust and placed himself firmly on the side of Israel in diplomatic affairs… During his political career, Kurz was also instrumental in forming a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party in 2017 — making Austria the only country in Western Europe to have a far-right party in government. He also opposed the acceptance of refugees from camps in Greece as well as those fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power. Since leaving office, he has joined the investment firm led by tech billionaire Peter Thiel whom many see as a far-right figure.”

Have we heard and seen the latest of Sebastian Kurz’s political career… or not?

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Germany and France for a more “Sovereign” Europe

Breitbart wrote on January 1, 2022:

“Annalena Baerbock, the foreign minister of Germany’s new left-led coalition government, has pledged that her country will support France in making ‘a more sovereign Europe’ — that is, one with more power over its member-states’ national governments. The declaration comes as France assumes the European Union’s rotating presidency for the next six months. ‘Our French friends can count on our support from the first to the last day to lay the right foundations within the EU: for a sustainable economic recovery, in the fight against the climate crisis, in digitization and for a more sovereign Europe in the world,’ Baerbock said…

“The German minister went on to say… that Germany and France as ‘the closest friends at the heart of Europe, bear a particular responsibility for a united European Union, capable of acting and oriented towards the future’.

“France’s President Emmanuel Macron has already promised that the nation will aim to increase the power of Europe on the world stage during its presidency of the bloc, which kicks off on January 1^st… As France begins its presidency of the EU, Germany will begin its presidency of the G7 on the same date, with Berlin to host a summit of the seven nations in June…

“The [German] coalition — led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz — has declared that it will push for a so-called ‘United States of Europe’ during its lifespan. In the document outlining the government’s goals, the three coalition members commit to ‘lead developments to a European federal state’, with the document noting the move is Germany’s ‘special responsibility’ as the EU’s ‘largest member-state’…

“Germany has even been accused of using the EU to create a ‘Fourth Reich’, with Polish deputy prime minister Jarosław Kaczyński making comparisons between the bloc and the Holy Roman Empire. The French government has also repeatedly backed the call for stronger European ties, with one government source even saying that Macron was willing to surrender its seat on the UN Security Council to the bloc in exchange for the establishment of an European Army.”

Comments by readers to this article are telling:

“Makes it easy for another Hitler or Stalin leader to appear… Germany still trying to create its own army & take over Europe… the next three years will be perilous indeed, as there will be no one in the White House calling out Brussels and its policies… The Reconstitution of the Roman Empire continues…”

20 Years of the Euro

The Local wrote on January 1:

“The euro on Saturday marked 20 years since people began to use the single European currency… European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called the euro ‘a true symbol for the strength of Europe’…

“Euro banknotes and coins came into circulation in 12 countries on January 1, 2002, greeted by a mix of enthusiasm and scepticism from citizens who had to trade in their Deutsche marks, French francs, pesetas and liras. The euro is now used by 340 million people in 19 nations, from Ireland to Germany to Slovakia. Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are next in line to join the eurozone…

“While the dollar still reigns supreme across the globe, the euro is now the world’s second most-used currency… Von der Leyen, in a video statement, said: ‘We are the biggest player in the world trade and nearly half of this trade takes place in euros.’”

We have emphasized time and time again that the euro is here to stay, as it is the glue which holds European member states together.

Austria Reliving its Past Dictatorship?

Breitbart wrote on December 31:

“On Thursday, Austria’s National Council decided to extend the lockdown for the unvaccinated until at least January 10^th… The new measures are the fourth amendment to Austria’s COVID-19 Protective Measures Ordinance and were passed in parliament by the ruling Austrian People’s Party (OeVP), their coalition partners the Greens, as well as the Social Democrats (SPOe)… the new amendment states that private New Year gatherings must not exceed ten people. A curfew for all restaurants has also been set for 10 p.m.

“The EU member-state has also decided that any vaccine certificates that involved a single dose inoculation will expire on January 3rd. Those who took a one-dose vaccine will be required to take a booster shot for their health passport to remain valid.

“Unvaccinated individuals in Austria have been under a general lockdown since late November, which ultimately included fully vaccinated residents as well — but the government lifted restrictions for the vaccinated earlier this month. The new amendment is just the latest time the lockdown for the unvaccinated has been extended by the government, which will meet on January 10th to possibly extend the lockdown yet again. The new year will also see Austria make the vaccine mandatory for all citizens. Those who do not comply could face large fines as well as possible prison time beginning in February.”

Comments to this article are telling:

“… everybody in my family who took the vaccines are sick ! The ones of us who didn`t take the shots are working very hard to take care of them, that`s the facts around this family…  the actual science actually says that the ‘vaccinated’ are at greater risk of catching and getting ill from Omicron than the unvaccinated… The mind boggles at the stupidity of these silly restrictions… Same here. Vaccinated daughters got the virus, non-vaccinated parents didn’t…. I know of several families where everyone is vaccinated and everyone is now sick. Unvaxxed…. no one sick… I got horribly ill from the second Moderna vaccine I will not be taking the booster!… Austria, original home of the Nazi menace, has truly returned to its roots…. It makes one wonder if the spirit of the 1930s ever really died in Austria….

Imagine, a lockdown over a bad cold. Now we know why Hitler was able to march in and take Austria over without firing a shot…. Austrians learned NOTHING from history…”

It appears that most Austrians did NOT learn from their history. However, the anger of a vocal minority against governmental restrictions grows in parts of Austria and Germany. Dictatorial reactions of the governments can be expected.

 The Western Standard wrote on January 2:

“Close to 350,000 people took to the streets in Vienna, Austria this weekend to protest some of the most Draconian COVID-19 restrictions in the world. Austria was the first country to announce mandatory vaccinations for all citizens 14-years-old and up. This week it was announced the mandate comes into effect February 1 and will cost the unvaccinated up to 3,600 euros… every three months.”

Breitbart wrote on January 4:

“A number of protests have taken place in Germany, with estimates putting the number of anti-lockdown protesters attending events at over 100,000 in total nationwide… 50,000 turned out in Baden-Wuertemberg, ‘tens of thousands’ in Saxony, and 17,000 in Thuringia.  While a number of protests took place in the country with the permission of relative authorities, others went ahead despite non-compliance, with thousands attending so-called ‘unannounced’ rallies despite being threatened with fines by police. Monday night ‘strolls’ have a history in Germany reaching back to the Communist era where protesting could be a dangerous occupation…

“While protests in a number of regions last night remained relatively peaceful… others did experience some levels of violence… East German members of the ruling Free Democratic Party (FDP) have expressed a desire for security authorities to clamp down on violent protesters. A strategy paper by the group’s eastern head, Hagen Reinhold, has called for better coordination between security authorities in dealing with internet bubbles and chats that he claims are used to mobilise people… Reinhold calls out Telegram in particular as a potential source of problems, the encrypted messaging service having already drawn much institutional ire in Germany over recent months.

“German authorities have already launched legal proceedings against the app last month over claims that it did not abide by laws requiring social media to police the actions of users on the platform. ‘Should Telegram fail to react to the European and German legal situation, our security policy will increasingly begin in the chat groups in the future,’ wrote the FDP politician in the paper.”

The more some Germans object to the restrictions, the more the government will respond, especially when it can be alleged that demonstrators, even if it is just a handful, become “violent.” Such problematic governmental reactions will not only be directed at the actual perpetrators, but also at the organizers of demonstrations.

Macron Attacks the Unvaccinated

BBC News wrote on January 5:

 “French President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of using divisive, vulgar language after he used a slang term to say he wanted to make life difficult for unvaccinated people. ‘I really want to p… them off, and we’ll carry on doing this – to the end,’ he told Le Parisien newspaper…. ‘So we need to tell them, from 15 January, you will no longer be able to go to the restaurant. You will no longer be able to go for a coffee, you will no longer be able to go to the theatre. You will no longer be able to go to the cinema.’…

“The airwaves in France are shrill this morning with the sound of angry politicians. From left and right, moderate and extreme, opponents are outbidding each other in condemnation…”

The Sun added on January 5:

“FUMING Emmanuel Macron has vowed to ‘p**s off’ France’s unvaccinated population as he branded them ‘non-citizens’ in a furious outburst… He insisted he would not ‘vaccinate by force’ the minority who had not had a dose, but instead persuade them to get jabbed by ‘limiting as much as possible their access to activities in social life’.”

These terrible tactics by governmental officials have become common in other countries as well. Later on in this section, we report on awful accusations against the unvaccinated in Canada and the USA.

Ethiopian War Danger to Europe

Market Research Telecast wrote on December 31:

“Brussels fears that the armed conflict in Ethiopia will degenerate in 2022 and cause a humanitarian catastrophe and a migration crisis of historic proportions. Community sources warn of the risk that the war will destabilize the entire Horn of Africa, an area where more than 200 million people live and already undergoes the stress of gigantic internal population displacements…

“Brussels fears that the Ethiopian conflict will… end up dragging other countries in the area such as Sudan, South Sudan or Somalia, in addition to Eritrea, already clearly involved. Community sources point out that the outbreak of the area would cause ‘a migratory exodus of historical proportions comparable to that of the breakup of Yugoslavia.’ That dismemberment from 1991 caused population movements that affected more than three million people and almost one million sought refuge in the countries of the European Union…

“Europe was overwhelmed despite the fact that the former Yugoslavia had only 23 million inhabitants. But Ethiopia, the epicenter of the conflict in the Horn of Africa, is a giant of 112 million people. And it is surrounded by countries like Sudan (45 million), South Sudan (16 million) or Somalia (16 million), which already suffer enormous internal tensions… although the geographical distance from the EU is much greater than in the case of Yugoslavia, Brussels considers it likely that part of the migratory flows will move to the old continent through, above all, Libya. ‘Ethiopia is experiencing one of the bloodiest wars that are being fought at the moment on the planet,’ say community sources. And they show their concern for the peaceful subsistence of the area ‘even when the war ends.’ The conflict, according to data from the European Commission, has already caused the displacement of more than two million people and thousands have sought refuge in Sudan…

This could lead to much hostility between Europe and Ethiopia.

China Hoards over Half of World’s Grain

Nikkei Asia wrote on December 23:

“Less than 20% of the world’s population has managed to stockpile more than half of the globe’s maize and other grains, leading to steep price increases across the planet and dropping more countries into famine. The hoarding is taking place in China…

“According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, China is expected to have 69% of the globe’s maize reserves in the first half of crop year 2022, 60% of its rice and 51% of its wheat.”

TikTok Danger to our Children

Daily Mail wrote on December 26:

“Campaigners have accused TikTok of helping children to be ‘brainwashed’ by hosting viral social-media videos that promote changing sex as ‘cool’. Material posted by transgender influencers on the social networking service – in which they provide advice on transitioning and accessing hormone therapies – has been seen by millions of young viewers. Some parents are concerned the involvement of TikTok, which became the UK’s most downloaded app last year, is fuelling a ‘social contagion’ of pressure on impressionable youngsters and the rise in teenagers who are identifying as trans…

“TikTok signed a partnership earlier this year with Stonewall, the controversial lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity, to promote this material.

“One popular transgender TikTok influencer, Bella Fitzpatrick, raised £20,000 from followers in less than three months to fund private gender-reassignment surgery. The 19-year-old has 700,000 followers and explains the process of transitioning, including her experience of bypassing NHS waiting lists.

“Another is Alex Consani, 18, who has more than 680,000 followers. She went viral five years ago when, aged 12, Cosmopolitan magazine featured her life as a trans model. One of her videos, seen 2.3 million times, tells followers they are ‘one oestrogen pill away from a glow up’. A ‘glow up’ is a mental, physical and emotional transformation for the better.

“A channel featuring influencer Jaison Jowett shows the process of transitioning and carrying out reassignment surgery. One video includes the caption ‘Heal with me after top surgery!’ – a reference to a reconstructive chest operation. Another video begins with the words ‘I used to be a good Christian kid’ before showing the transformation to a ‘trans, gay atheist who loves tattoos and chaos’….

“A spokesman for TikTok said: ‘We are honoured that the LGBTQ+ community has embraced TikTok from our very early days, as a platform for self-expression, education, community-building and joy.’ A spokesman for Stonewall said: ‘Our content allows young LGBTQ+ people to know that they are not alone in their experiences.’”

Tik Tok is owned by “Beijing-based technology company ByteDance, founded by the Chinese billionaire entrepreneur, Zhang Yiming. The 38-year-old was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2019, who described him as ‘the top entrepreneur in the world’” (The Sun, dated December 18, 2021).

“US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order announcing that he would ban US businesses and citizens from doing business with or downloading TikTok… The move came after the Trump administration aired concerns about user data being shared with Chinese authorities, a claim that ByteDance denied. However, the ban did not come into effect after a US District Judge ruled to temporarily halt the ban on TikTok downloads… It seems unlikely that Biden will take as drastic actions as Trump did when it comes to China’s tech giants, while he will still be concerned about data security” (Focus, November 20, 2020).

We should note that Trump’s and Biden’s concerns were and are strictly based on data security, not on their questionable and dangerous contents.

Make Believe Insanity in Switzerland

International Family News wrote on December 30:

“Switzerland has now joined a host of nations that allows a person to change gender identity by merely declaring so. Starting January 1, 2022, proof of undergoing hormone therapy or having had ‘sex-reassignment’ surgery, or a declaration from a doctor attesting to a person suffering from gender dysphoria, are not required. Now all one must do to legally change one’s gender is go to a civil registry office and fill out a simple form. It is just that easy.

“Allowing mere belief–no matter how objectively wrong it may be–to determine legal reality is a pathway leading to societal chaos. How this snowball will end can be glimpsed in Mexico, where the state Supreme Court recently ruled that a person’s belief about his age trumps the actual age of that person. With this decision, pedophilia could end as a crime if an adult in good faith believes he is a child. A minor could be allowed to purchase alcohol or visit a strip club if he or she in good faith believes they are twenty-one. With this ‘make believe’ movement gathering steam, a person could soon be able to legally change his race and ethnicity by merely declaring so; and people would be incentivized to do this because of all the quotas and set-asides reserved for minorities. Indeed, what is to stop a person from lying on his resume when applying for jobs, government grants, and colleges if he actually believes that he had the experiences listed on it? Living in a world turned upside where fiction is truth and truth is fiction is where this snowball stops….”

This is indeed insane, but one can see where these ungodly movements are heading…

Where Putin Is Right

IFN wrote on December 24:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has many flaws and reasons to be disliked. He illegally occupied and annexed the Crimea. He is supporting a civil war in Ukraine. He jails and may even poison political opponents. He repeatedly makes threats against the West. Yet, in one area he should be admired—in thinking clearly about woke cancel culture and the radical transgender agenda…

“In regard to the radical transgender agenda that holds that any biological man can become a woman just by saying so and vice versa, Putin made several common-sense remarks; remarks that all of humanity unanimously agreed with until the last few decades in the West. ‘If someone believes that males and females are the same thing, well, let them believe that, but let’s think about common sense,’ Putin stated. Regarding allowing biological men to compete against biological women in sports, Putin declared: ‘Say, for example, males say they are females and compete in weightlifting competitions [as happened in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics]. This renders the entire area of women’s sports meaningless. I believe that the traditional approach is correct: a male is a male, a female is a female. Mother is mother and father is father.’…

“Putin then discussed the insanity of placing biological men identifying as women with biological women prisoners…

“After hearing Putin’s remarks, you have to ask yourself: Why is Putin, flawed in so many ways, the only current Western world leader courageously confronting the ‘virus’ of cancel culture and the lie that a biological man can become a woman just by saying so? Why are so many officials in the West afraid to defend objective reality and common sense?…”

Of course, Putin is totally correct in this regard, but one must not overlook that he is viciously opposing everyone who does not conform to his ideas, whatever they may be.

Second Putin-Biden Phone Call

Daily Mail wrote on December 31:

“Tensions between Russia and the West have… reached new highs over Ukraine. Putin discussed the soaring tensions in a phone call with US President Joe Biden on Thursday.

“Biden reaffirmed the U.S. threat of new sanctions against Russia in case of an escalation or invasion, to which Putin responded with a warning of his own that such a U.S. move could lead to a complete rupture of ties between the nations.”

It was reported that the call “ended without clarity about Mr. Putin’s intention.”

Russia Warns Finland and Sweden

EU Today wrote on December 29:

“Moscow has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato amid rising tensions between Russia and the western military alliance. Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, accused the alliance of trying to pull the two countries into its orbit…

 “Finland and Sweden both pursued a policy of neutrality throughout the Cold War and neither country has ever formally applied to join Nato. However, Sweden, which increased its defence budget after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, introduced legislation last year that would allow it to join Nato in the future if it decided it was in its interests. Swedish troops have held joint military exercises with Nato.

“Finland has also said that it could apply for Nato membership in the future…

‘Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the two countries in October and praised their willingness to work with the alliance amid Russia’s ‘aggressive posturing.’”

Turmoil in Kazakhstan

The Guardian wrote on January 5:

“Kazakhstan’s president has appealed to a Moscow-led security bloc to help regain control amid protests sparked by fuel price rises, after demonstrators took over government buildings and reportedly stormed the airport in Almaty, the country’s commercial capital and largest city.

“In a televised address late on Wednesday, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said he had turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – a military alliance of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan – after what he described as ‘attacks’ by foreign-trained terrorist gangs…

“Earlier in the day, there were violent clashes between police and demonstrators in the city and the mayor’s office was set on fire…

“Tokayev accepted the resignation of the government on Wednesday morning and introduced a state of emergency… to the entire country… The protests began in the west of the country at the weekend, after a sharp rise in fuel prices, but have spread quickly and taken Kazakhstan’s authorities and international observers by surprise… on Wednesday, the internet went down across much of Kazakhstan…

“Images of police being overpowered by protesters are likely to cause alarm in the Kremlin, as another country neighbouring Russia succumbs to political unrest. Kazakhstan is part of an economic union with Russia and the two countries share a long border. ‘We hope for the earliest possible normalisation of the situation in the country, with which Russia is linked by relations of strategic partnership and alliance through fraternal, human contacts,’ the Russian foreign ministry said [and that] it was important no foreign countries interfered in Kazakhstan.

“Tokayev spoke to the Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, who crushed a huge uprising with brutal force in 2019. Before calling Tokayev, Lukashenko spoke to Putin…

“Kazakhstan has never held an election judged as free and fair by international observers…”

The West is anxiously observing these developments, wondering what Putin might do.

Russia Sends Troops to Kazakhstan

Reuters reported on January 6:

“Fresh violence erupted in Kazakhstan’s main city on Thursday after Russia rushed in paratroopers to put down a countrywide uprising in one of Moscow’s closest former Soviet allies…. The Russian deployment was a gamble by the Kremlin that rapid military force could secure its interests in the oil and uranium-producing Central Asian nation, by swiftly putting down the worst violence in Kazakhstan’s 30 years of independence….

 “Moscow did not disclose how many troops it was sending, and it was not possible to determine if any were involved in Thursday’s unrest…. The swift arrival of Russian troops demonstrated the Kremlin’s willingness to safeguard its influence in the ex-Soviet Union with force… The West has so far mainly limited its response to calls for calm.”

Abortion Leading Cause of Death

Breitbart wrote on December 31:

“As of noon on December 31, 2021, there were 42.6 million abortions performed in the course of the year… while 8.2 million people died from cancer, 5 million from smoking, 1.7 million of HIV/AIDS, 1.3 million from traffic fatalities, and 1 million from suicide.

“Totaling all the deaths in the world from causes other than abortion reveals a figure of 58.7 million, meaning that abortions accounted for just over 42 percent of all human deaths in 2021. By comparison, worldwide deaths from coronavirus in 2021 totaled around 3.5 million, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).”

We dare to say that the number of deaths from corona is highly exaggerated. Note the next article.

Fauci “Clarifies” Prior Lies

Townhall wrote on December 31:

“Chief White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci finally acknowledged an important point about Covid-19 case numbers in hospitalized children… ‘many of them are hospitalized with Covid as opposed to because of Covid,’ Fauci admitted… ‘And what we mean by that — if a child goes in the hospital, they automatically get tested for Covid. And they get counted as a Covid-hospitalized individual. When in fact, they may go in for a broken leg or appendicitis or something like that. So, it’s over-counting the number of children who are, quote, ‘hospitalized with Covid,’ as opposed to because of Covid.

“Many pointed out that people were banned from social media channels for making this exact point, which is happening not just for children but adults, too. ‘Fauci acknowledges what others were censored for saying: Many children enter hospitals for reasons unrelated to Covid like broken bones but are registered as Covid hospitalizations simply because they got a + PCR test, thereby inflating the numbers,’ said The Grayzone’s editor Max Blumenthal.”

Still, the FDA just backed Pfizer booster shots for kids ages 2 to 15 (The Week, dated January 3). The money machine must go on…

A Country Divided

npr wrote on January 3:

“One year after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Americans are deeply pessimistic about the future of democracy… 64% of Americans believe U.S. democracy is ‘in crisis and at risk of failing.’ That sentiment is felt most acutely by Republicans: Two-thirds of GOP respondents agree with the… claim that ‘voter fraud helped Joe Biden win the 2020 election’… Fewer than half of Republicans say they are willing to accept the results of the 2020 election…

“Nearly two-thirds of poll respondents agree that U.S. democracy is ‘more at risk’ now than it was a year ago. Among Republicans, that number climbs to 4 in 5… “More than half of Democrats say the Jan. 6 assault was an ‘attempted coup or insurrection,’ while Republicans are more likely to describe it as a ‘riot that got out of control.’…”

The New York Post wrote on January 3:

“40 percent of Republicans agreed it could sometimes be ‘justified for citizens to take violent action against the government.’ Twenty-three percent of Democrats and 41 percent of Independents also endorsed situational violence. Of those who agree that rising up in arms against the government could be acceptable, 22 percent said it would be justified for invasions of personal liberties, while 15 percent pointed to a military takeover or democratic collapse. Three percent said violence was appropriate if the government did not accept election results…

“The numbers had risen sharply in recent years. In 2015, 23 percent of Americans approved of violence against authorities, researchers said. Five years before that, 16 percent agreed — up from only 13 percent in the mid-90s.

“The same poll found that 92 percent of Democrats thought Trump was largely to blame for the Jan. 6 riot, compared to 27 percent of GOP voters.”

These are dangerous numbers. When so many Americans feel violence is sometimes justified to be used against the government, then it is only a matter of time… To be clear, God condemns the use of violence against governmental officials or governmental institutions. HOW MUCH the nation is divided can also be seen in the next article.

FBI Biden’s Personal Gestapo?

Breitbart wrote on January 4:

“Many U.S. voters think the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is Democrat President Joe Biden’s ‘personal Gestapo,’ according to a Rasmussen poll released Tuesday. ‘Roger Stone, an adviser to former President Donald Trump, has said there is “a group of politicized thugs at the top of the FBI who are using the FBI … as Joe Biden‘s personal Gestapo,”’ the poll report states. ‘Forty-six percent of voters agree with Stone’s assessment, including 29 percent who Strongly Agree. Thirty-eight percent disagree with Stone’s claim, including 25 percent who Strongly Disagree.’

“The results of the poll, which was conducted… on Dec. 29-30, come after the FBI conducted a raid on the home of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe, looking for information about Ashley Biden’s diary… Voter opinion on whether FBI Director Christopher Wray is influenced by the president has reached a ‘near-complete reversal.’ Now, 50 percent of voters believe Wray is influenced by Biden ‘in his decision making,’ and only 26 percent think he is independent of the administration. Twenty-five percent of those polled are unsure. In May 2017, 53 percent thought the FBI director was independent while 26 percent thought he was beholden to the president. Approval of Wray has also declined since 2020…

“Fifty-seven percent of Republicans and 56 percent of unaffiliated voters have an unfavorable view of the FBI compared to 30 percent of Democrats…”

YouTube Worst Censor of All?

Newsmax wrote on January 3:

“Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says he won’t be posting to YouTube anymore because the video platform site is ‘the worst censor of all.’ ‘Today I begin my exodus from Big Tech, starting with the worst censor of all, YouTube,” Paul said in a statement… Instead, Paul’s team said viewers can see his content on Rumble.com.

“Paul’s YouTube account was suspended for seven days twice in August and September over videos the platform said violated its COVID-19 misinformation policy. In one of the videos, Paul, a staunch critic of Biden administration vaccination policies and of key COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, posted a video that disputed the effectiveness of wearing masks to limit the spread of the coronavirus. In the video, Paul says: ‘Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work. They don’t prevent infection.’ Later in the video, he adds, ‘Trying to shape human behavior isn’t the same as following the actual science, which tells us that cloth masks don’t work.’”

The irony is that now, more and more scientists agree that cloth masks do not work. For instance, the Ron Paul Institute wrote on January 2:

“Germany’s official government health authority reported last week that 90 plus percent of new Omicron variant cases are among vaccinated individuals, obliterating the long-repeated claim that this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Other narratives are also crumbling – former FDA head Scott Gottlieb says cloth masks are useless.”

Trudeau and Biden Malign and Accuse the Unvaccinated

LifeSiteNews wrote on January 3:

“Prime Minister Trudeau maligned Canadians who are opposed to receiving the experimental COVID-19 gene-therapy injections as ‘extremists,’ ‘racists,’ and ‘misogynists’ who deny science. The September interview went viral on social media only late last month and has since attracted strong criticism from politicians and citizens alike… They ‘do not believe in science, who are often misogynists, often racists, too; it is a sect, a small group, but who are taking up space, and here we have to make a choice, as a leader, as a country,’ added Trudeau.

“He made the shocking statement that he is unsure if Canada should even ‘tolerate these people’ while telling the host that the unvaccinated ‘are going to block us’ from getting back to the ‘things we like doing.’ Trudeau’s discriminatory and confusing statements had seemed to have gone unnoticed by Canadian society until December 28, when career politician and federal leader of the pro-freedom People’s Party of Canada, Maxime Bernier, posted the clip to social media while labelling Trudeau a ‘psychopathic fascist.’…

“Despite Trudeau and all of Canada’s provincial leaders supporting vaccine mandates and vaccine passports for access to various parts of Canadian society, coronavirus vaccine trials have never produced evidence that the vaccines stop infection or transmission...

“Trudeau’s assertion that those opposed to vaccination are ‘racist’ is at odds with the fact that many of the most vaccine-hesitant people are members of minority communities who have a strong distrust of government due to mistreatment in past generations. In Canada, indigenous groups like the Six Nations community in Ontario have a vaccination rate of only 46 percent as of mid-December, compared to a rate of over 85 percent for the province’s population as a whole.

“In America, the group to report the highest levels of hesitancy is black Americans, with a whopping 50 percent reporting a distrust in the procedure.

“In addition to cultural hesitancy, there are those too who oppose the shots on scientific or religious grounds…”

Sadly, such mean-spirited and hateful comments, as uttered by Trudeau, can be expected to be made by politicians and leaders in other countries as well. Note the article on France above.

Also, even though less offensive in his words than Trudeau, Biden keeps maligning the “unvaccinated” and holds them responsible for the spread of the Omicron virus, as he did on January 4 in a speech to the nation, even though the facts do not support his claim at all. Incredibly, Biden said this:

“The impact from the rising cases depends on the effect on the person based on whether that person — what their vaccination status is… if you’re vaccinated and boosted, you are highly protected… if you’re unvaccinated, you have some reason to be alarmed.  Many of you will — you know, you’ll experience severe illness, in many cases, if you get COVID-19 if you’re not vaccinated.  Some will die — needlessly die.

“The unvaccinated are taking up hospital beds and crowding emergency rooms and intensive care units.  That’s a place that other people will need access to those hospitals… there is no excuse — no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated.  This continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated… And for [parents] who still haven’t gotten your kids vaccinated, please get them vaccinated.  Look out for their interests here.  It’s the best way to protect them.

“And for parents with kids too young to be vaccinated, surround your kids with people who are vaccinated.  And make sure you’re masking in public so you don’t get COVID and give it to your kids.”

What absolutely divisive and scientifically false remarks! Fox News, in pointing out the many misrepresentations in Biden’s speech, wrote on January 5:

“But those who have been vaccinated are still getting sick. The U.S. recorded its record number of COVID-19 cases for a single day on Monday, almost doubling the previous record of about 590,000 set just four days earlier. This, despite 73% of the U.S. population being at least partially vaccinated and 62% fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control…. the CDC noted on December 20 that it ‘expects that anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have symptoms…’”

The Past Two Years… a Testimony of Autocratic Insanity

Dr. Ron Paul wrote the following in his weekly column in the Ron Paul Institute on January 3:

“… these past two years have been a bad dream. It seems like we fell asleep in early 2020 and woke up in 1984! They said that if we just put on a mask and stayed home for two weeks, we’d be able to return to normal. The two weeks came and went and instead of going back to normal they added more restrictions. These past two years have been a story of moving goalposts and ‘experts’ like Anthony Fauci constantly contradicting themselves…

“The history of these past two years is that the worst ideas have been adopted by force and anyone questioning those ideas has been suppressed by force…

“As my son Rand said on a recent Liberty Report, thousands of people died because Fauci refused to consider the proven effectiveness of natural immunity against Covid. He and his colleagues were determined to deny any outpatient treatments and insisted on vaccines as the only way out. Now, as we see the vaccines performing so poorly versus natural immunity, their whole strategy lies in tatters. Will anyone apologize to the relatives of all those who died?

“When we look back at these two years, hopefully one thing that will be remembered is [that] the institutions of state power… have been exposed as frauds and worse.

“In a recent massively popular Joe Rogan interview with Dr. Robert Malone – inventor of the mRNA technology that is the backbone of the ‘vaccines’ – Malone discusses the disturbing concept of mass formation psychosis, where fear and manipulation are used to drive a society mad in the service of a group of elites with an agenda. We saw it in Germany in the 1930s….”

Judge Blocks Navy Vaccine Mandate

Thomson/Reuters wrote on January 4:

“A federal judge on Monday barred the U.S. Department of Defense from punishing a group of Navy SEALs and other special forces members who refused COVID-19 vaccines on religious grounds.

“U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, acting in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of 35 special forces service members, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Navy and Defense Department from enforcing the mandate. O’Connor, who was appointed to the federal bench in Texas by President George W. Bush, said the Navy had not granted a single religious exemption to the vaccine rule.

“‘The Navy service members in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect. The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms,’ the judge wrote in a 26-page decision.”

Ultimately, the highly political US Supreme Court will have to decide these issues.

And Now.. Another Variant?

Mashable wrote on January 4:

“The world is still coping with the rapid spread of Omicron and the previously reported Delta variant. As infection rates surge in several countries, yet another COVID-19 variant has been discovered. Scientists in France have detected a new coronavirus variant called ‘IHU’…

“So far, 12 cases have been reported in Marseille with an initial case being linked to travel history in Cameroon… The researchers revealed that the IHU variant is believed to contain 46 mutations (higher than Omicron) which could mean that it’s far more infectious and resistant to vaccinations. Currently, it is too soon to tell if this is the latest variant of concern. The WHO is still investigating the findings.”

Big Pharma will have a lucrative field day to develop a vaccine against that variant. It appears many mutations might occur because of the vaccinations.

How many more booster shots?

CNN wrote on January 4:

“A leading expert who helped create the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19  said Tuesday that giving everyone in the world booster shots multiple times a year is not feasible. ‘We can’t vaccinate the planet every four to six months. It’s not sustainable or affordable,’ Professor Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and head of the UK’s Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, told The Daily Telegraph in an interview published Tuesday…

“Pollard also said he thought further evidence was needed before offering a fourth Covid-19 shot to people in the UK… Israel has already begun its rollout of a fourth vaccine dose, offering it to all medical workers and people 60 and older as of Monday. And in late December, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told public broadcaster ZDF that Germans ‘will need a fourth vaccination’ against Covid-19.”

What Germany, the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, Austria, Israel and many other countries need are competent and knowledgeable health experts.

Historic Wildfires in Colorado

Bloomberg wrote on December 31:

“The infernos near Boulder, Colorado, destroyed as many as 1,000 homes, overwhelming firefighters as hurricane-force gusts propelled flames through suburban neighborhoods left tinder dry by months of drought. The blazes dashed erratically from house to house, scorching about 6,000 acres (2,400 hectares) and devouring structures ‘in just a blink of an eye,’ Colorado Governor Jared Polis said… Authorities suspect the grass fires were touched off by power lines that toppled in the 100-mile (161-kilometer) per-hour winds. No deaths have been reported…”

These fires with “historic” winds made it the “most destructive fire in state history.”

“Highly Credible” Unexplained UFO Sightings

The Hill wrote on January 5:

“The Navy has a perplexing mystery on its hands. For several weeks in 2019, unknown objects stalked U.S. warships off the coast of southern California. While the bizarre ‘drone’ encounters remain unsolved, the incidents occurred in an area with a long history of UFO sightings, including two of the most credible encounters on record… The Navy, working with the FBI and Coast Guard, now appears to have ruled out civilian activity or U.S. military operations as plausible explanations for the encounters. This leaves two possibilities, each with extraordinary implications.

“Either a foreign adversary is spying on Navy ships around the Channel Islands (which lie just west of Los Angeles and San Diego), or devices of truly unknown origin are operating with impunity around U.S. (and allied) vessels.

“The implications of a foreign power deploying drones to spy on American warships just off the California coast are immense. For starters, this scenario suggests a monumental U.S. counterintelligence failure. Moreover, such a brazen and technically complex intelligence operation amounts to an enormous gamble for a hostile nation. Any shoot-down – as the Navy reportedly attempted – of a foreign surveillance drone so close to U.S. shores would invite sweeping geopolitical repercussions.

“Importantly, if the UFOs that stalked the Navy warships were part of an adversarial intelligence collection effort, the objects’ operators made little effort to conceal their presence. Videos taken aboard one U.S. vessel show the mysterious craft displaying bright and flashing lights. At the same time, Navy radar operators tracked the objects with apparent ease, even expressing surprise as the craft engaged in anomalous maneuvers. In another video, a spherical object… appears to descend slowly into the ocean.

“To be sure, investigators and intelligence analysts must take seriously the possibility that a foreign power is spying on U.S. warships a stone’s throw from two major American cities. But based on what is known publicly about these bizarre incidents, investigators should also consider the long history of UFO sightings around the Channel islands…

“Now, with Congress forcing the government to take the UFO phenomenon seriously for the first time, investigators must consider whether the objects that followed Navy warships are linked to the long history of inexplicable – yet highly credible – encounters in the waters off southern California.”

The author of the article, Marik von Rennenkampff, served as an analyst with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, as well as an Obama administration appointee at the U.S. Department of Defense. Of course, a third and most plausible explanation for these UFO sightings is demonic activities to prepare mankind for Armageddon.

Israel Prepared to Attack Iran?

Townhall wrote on December 31:

“The timing of recent rhetoric throughout the Middle East is directly related to renewed nuclear negotiations with Iran. Nobody thinks the Iranians are honest players or can be trusted. But there are world leaders who think that continuing to negotiate… is a goal in and of itself…

“A large part of the problem and Israel’s justified concern is that the western secular world does not understand religious fanaticism…

“If Israel really believes that Iran is on the verge of a nuclear breakout, is Israel prepared to act on its own assuming others won’t?… Making such a decision to attack Iran will be a historic Jewish decision, like Prime Minister Begin’s in 1981… Israel’s actions will be based on its understanding of the historic enormity of the decision. The more it does, the fewer restraints there will be, militarily and diplomatically. Unless the U.S. is on board from the outset, it’s likely the U.S. may not be informed until planes are in the air… If the U.S. does not participate in an attack, would it support Israel or vote against it in the event of a UN condemnation?

“Between the probable military backlash and the inevitable international pushback, Israel is between a rock and a hard place… As the Jewish sage Hillel said, ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me.’ The modern application of that in Israel is, ‘If I am not for myself, who will stop Iran?’”

An Israeli attack on Iran is not unlikely. If it happens, it could lead to terrible consequences for Israel.  

Fate of Al Aqsa

Israel 365 wrote on December 28:

“Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz) has always been an outspoken advocate for Israel but he recently went even further when criticizing the recent UN resolutions concerning Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. In his response, Gosar called on the UN to dismantle the Muslim structures in Jerusalem that were built on the ruins of the Jewish Temple… ‘The Jewish Temple, located in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City, is holy ground to Jews and it belongs solely to their faith.  I object to any effort to ethnically cleanse the Jewish people from their sole historic claim to this land and temple… It remains an abomination that a mosque was allowed to be built over this temple. The United Nations should be finding ways to dismantle and move that mosque, which is an affront to all religions,’ concluded Congressman Gosar.

“It is interesting to note that Gosar did not specify which Muslim structure on the Temple Mount he felt should be dismantled. The UN resolution specified al-Haram al-Sharif (the noble sanctuary), a term that refers to the Temple Mount and not to a specific structure. The major structures currently on the site are the grey domed Al Aqsa Mosque (the further mosque) and the gold-domed Qubbat a Sakhra (shrine of the rock) that was built on the site of the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temples.

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin, does not believe that all of the Muslim structures on the Temple Mount needed to be removed. ‘As long as the Muslims agree to live peacefully with the other religions in Israel, there is no reason to remove the Aqsa Mosque,’ Rabbi Weiss said. ‘An entrance can be set up and pathways arranged so that they can, like the Jews and everyone else, remain in the permitted areas. In fact, the current entrance to the Aqsa Mosque fits that description. Al Aqsa is not in the part of the Temple Mount that was used in the Temples. But by calling the entire Temple Mount by the name Al Aqsa, they are laying claim to the entire mountain with the intent of preventing the Jews from returning the Temple service. This has no source in Islam or benefit to the Muslims. It is simply a political lie that was created by the Palestinians and perpetuated by those who hate the Jews.’…”

It would be difficult to imagine that the Muslims would agree to such an “arrangement,” as proposed by Rabbi Weiss.

Friction between American Jews and the State of Israel

The Associated Press wrote on January 2:

“When Israel’s new government took office last June, it indicated it would press ahead on an egalitarian prayer site at Jerusalem’s Western Wall — a sensitive holy site that has emerged as a point of friction between Jews over how prayer is conducted there. But the plan is coming up against the limits of Israel’s fragile government, which is struggling to move forward on the issue due to its own internal divisions. The inaction has disappointed both Israeli groups that promote religious pluralism and their American Jewish allies, who view the issue as an important test of recognition from the Israeli government…

“The Western Wall is considered the holiest site where Jews can pray. Under ultra-Orthodox management, the wall is currently separated between men’s and women’s prayer sections. Under the more liberal Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism, women and men pray together and women are allowed to read from the Torah, which Orthodox Judaism prohibits. Those streams are a minority in Israel but make up the majority of American Jews. Israel’s refusal to recognize these liberal streams has long been a point of tension with American Jews.

“After years of negotiations, Israel approved a plan in 2016 to officially recognize a special prayer area at the Western Wall. The $9 million plan vowed to expand an egalitarian prayer site and make it more hospitable to prayer and religious events held by Jews who don’t follow Orthodox traditions. The deal was welcomed by Jewish American leaders and seen as a significant breakthrough in promoting religious pluralism in Israel, where the ultra-Orthodox authorities govern almost every facet of Jewish life. But then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu never implemented the plan due to objections from powerful ultra-Orthodox allies who had initially endorsed it.

“He shelved the plan the following year, leading to strained relations with American Jewish leaders that continued until he left office last year. His tight relationship with President Donald Trump further unsettled the heavily Democratic-leaning Jewish community…

“The new government, led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett — the child of American immigrants — brought hope that the plan may be revived… But Bennett heads an unwieldy coalition of parties from across the political spectrum — ranging from nationalist parties to dovish liberal ones and even an Islamist faction — that was united behind the goal of ousting Netanyahu and very little else. While the Western Wall plan features in agreements that brought the coalition together, its leaders have generally chosen to sidestep divisive issues that might rattle its stability. Moving ahead with the Western Wall plan could spark an outcry from ultra-Orthodox opposition parties, which in turn could exert pressure on more sympathetic elements of the coalition to oppose the move. And while the government isn’t likely to fall over the Western Wall plan, a public brawl over the issue within government ranks could wear down the already delicate ties that bind the coalition.”

 As predicted from the outset, the Israeli coalition won’t accomplish much. This in turn will alienate American Jews from the state of Israel even further.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Democracy in Peril Worldwide

Breitbart wrote on December 24:

“Several of the world’s free nations will greet the year 2022 under the immediate threat of conquest by authoritarian forces, either through military invasion or subversion from within.

“The best-known example is Taiwan, an outpost of free-market democracy under the perpetual threat of conquest by the hideous tyrants of China… Last week, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said it fears China could turn large-scale military exercises near Taiwan into a full-scale surprise attack, while simultaneously deploying naval forces to keep allies like the United States and Japan from coming to Taiwan’s assistance. Chinese officials and state media are increasingly belligerent about threatening to attack any military that attempts to defend Taiwan, including the U.S. military…

“Seizing Taiwan may appeal to Chinese leaders as a bold move that would destroy the credibility of the United States and Europe, frightening other Asian powers into China’s orbit because they can no longer rely on Western security guarantees. The death of democracy in Taiwan could threaten its survival in South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and elsewhere…

“And then again, democracy could conceivably topple in Taiwan without a military invasion. China invested considerable effort in subverting Taiwanese democracy and nourishing pro-Beijing opposition parties…

“Also living under the threat of invasion from the authoritarians next door is Ukraine. Russia now has over 90,000 troops massed along the Ukrainian border and Ukrainian intelligence believes they could invade by the end of January 2022… Relentless Russian propaganda portrays the Ukrainian government as an illegitimate puppet of foreign interests….

“In South America, there are troubling signs of anti-democratic leftist dictatorships on the rise. The odious regime of Nicolás Maduro appears securely in control of Venezuela, having vanquished a pro-democracy movement even as the national economy comes crashing down in socialist flames. International observers are nervously hoping the new leftist president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, does not follow in Maduro’s footsteps…

“Authoritarian powers like China and Iran are increasing their influence in Latin America, posing both a strategic challenge to the United States and an ideological threat to democracy…

“Democracy in other parts of the developing world is threatened by a string of military coups. The most horrific example is obviously Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency swept away the elected civilian government in a matter of days while the Biden administration fumbled through a disastrous withdrawal of American troops. Thanks to Biden’s reckless abandonment of American military equipment and weapons, the Taliban is now the best-armed junta in the world, with plenty of munitions to spare for sale to other anti-democratic forces.

“In Myanmar and Sudan, military juntas seized power… These juntas have survived intense pressure from human rights activists, democratic governments, and the United Nations.

“Libya, transformed into a gruesome wasteland of warlords and jihadis by Biden’s Democrat predecessor Barack Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is still struggling to hold a nationwide democratic election. Ten years after Obama’s invasion, Libya perpetually teeters on the edge of either disintegrating completely or becoming a military dictatorship…

“2022 will dawn with democracy in peril – not just from the vicious struggle to redefine it being waged across the Western world, but from numerous fragile democracies on the brink of external invasion or authoritarian revolution. 2021 was the year that saw freedom and autonomy die in Hong Kong. Representative government is on the chopping block in far too many other places.”

This analysis is, sadly, very real and true. Dictatorships will increase. There will be more and more wars and rumors of wars, as well as famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places, indicating the “beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:6-8).

Close to Civil War

The Washington Post wrote on December 17:

“Barbara F. Walter, a political science professor at the University of California at San Diego, serves on a CIA advisory panel called the Political Instability Task Force that monitors countries around the world and predicts which of them are most at risk of deteriorating into violence…

“Her bottom line: ‘We are closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe… No one wants to believe that their beloved democracy is in decline, or headed toward war,’ she writes. But, ‘if you were an analyst in a foreign country looking at events in America — the same way you’d look at events in Ukraine or the Ivory Coast or Venezuela — you would go down a checklist, assessing each of the conditions that make civil war likely. And what you would find is that the United States, a democracy founded more than two centuries ago, has entered very dangerous territory.’…

“Walter writes that the United States is now an ‘anocracy,’ somewhere between a democracy and an autocratic state….”

Of course, as can be expected from the Washington Post, this decline of US democracy is blamed on Trump, without mentioning the ongoing autocratic dictatorial measures imposed by the Biden Administration.

2021 in Review

The Rutherford Institute wrote on December 27:

“A simmering pot of political tensions boiled over on January 6, 2021, when protesters stormed the Capitol… It took no time at all for the nation’s capital to be placed under a military lockdown, online speech forums restricted… The subsequent  military occupation of the nation’s capital by 25,000 troops as part of the so-called ‘peaceful’ transfer of power from one administration to the next was little more than martial law disguised as national security…

“On any given day, the average American going about his daily business was monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways, by both government and corporate eyes and ears… In response to the events of Jan. 6, the tech giants meted out their own version of social justice by way of digital tyranny and corporate censorship… ‘Domestic terrorism’ became the new poster child for expanding the government’s powers at the expense of civil liberties…  the ramifications… are so far-reaching as to render almost every American an extremist in word, deed, thought or by association.

“Political correctness gave way to a more insidious form of group think and mob rule which, coupled with government and corporate censors and a cancel culture determined not to offend ‘certain’ viewpoints, was all too willing to eradicate views that do not conform. Critical race theory also moved to the forefront of the culture wars…

“Government agents routinely violated the Fourth Amendment at will [by invading homes] under the pretext of public health and safety…

“Caught in the crosshairs of a showdown between the rights of the individual and the so-called ‘emergency’ state, concerns about COVID-19 mandates and bodily integrity remained part of a much larger debate over the ongoing power struggle between the citizenry and the government over our property ‘interest’ in our bodies. This debate over bodily integrity covered broad territory, ranging from abortion and forced vaccinations to biometric surveillance and basic healthcare…

“What started out as an apparent effort to prevent a novel coronavirus from sickening the nation (and the world) became yet another means by which world governments (including our own) expanded their powers, abused their authority, and further oppressed their constituents.

“The national debt exceeded $29 trillion. Meanwhile, the government continued to spend taxpayer money it didn’t have on programs it couldn’t afford; businesses shuttered for lack of customers, resources and employees; and consumers continued to encounter global supply chain shortages (and skyrocketing prices) on everything from computer chips and cars to construction materials…

“Owing in large part to the government’s deep-seated and, in many cases, top-secret alliances with foreign nations and global corporations, the US entered into a new world order—a global world order—made up of international government agencies and corporations. Fascism became a global menace…

“Every crisis—manufactured or otherwise—since the nation’s early beginnings has become a make-work opportunity for the government to expand its reach and its power at taxpayer expense while limiting our freedoms at every turn: The Great Depression. The World Wars. The 9/11 terror attacks. The COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, the government’s (mis)management of various states of emergency in the past 20 years from 9/11 to COVID-19 has spawned a massive security-industrial complex the likes of which have never been seen before….

“There may have been a new guy [Biden] in charge this year, but for the most part, nothing changed. The nation remained politically polarized, controlled by forces beyond the purview of the average American, and rapidly moving the nation away from its freedom foundation. Over the past year, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans found themselves repeatedly subjected to egregious civil liberties violations, invasive surveillance, martial law, lockdowns, political correctness, erosions of free speech, strip searches, police shootings of unarmed citizens, government spying, the criminalization of lawful activities, warmongering, etc….”

Sadly, this synopsis does point out convincingly our decline in democracy, freedom and liberties.

More on Russia and Ukraine

The Week wrote on December 22:

“Before this week, I’d never heard of Dmitri Alperovitch or Silverado Policy Accelerator, the nonprofit think tank for which he is co-founder and chair. But Alperovitch is on my radar now, thanks to a viral tweet thread about Russia’s intentions in Ukraine that is at once smart, highly informed, and chilling.

“Alperovitch’s core assertion is simple: The Kremlin has already ‘made a decision to invade Ukraine later this winter.’ The evidence he marshals in defense of this claim is overwhelming. Alperovitch points to Russia’s massive troop deployment to the Ukraine border, increased acts of cyber intrusion into Ukraine, the issuing of diplomatic ultimatums and public demands that would be extremely difficult to walk back, and several other recent moves on Russia’s part.

“He then pivots to listing the reasons he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided on this bellicose course of action. These range from internal conflicts within Ukraine that threaten Russian interests to longstanding concerns about NATO expansion into Russia’s near abroad [sic], which the Kremlin considers a serious danger, to the waning effectiveness of economic sanctions from the West as a deterrent. All of it builds to a prediction: Putin ‘is unlikely to invade western Ukraine but can relatively easily split the country in half along the Dnieper [River] and establish a permanent buffer zone between Europe and Russia, as well as a land bridge to Crimea.’

“Since we’re making predictions, I’ll propose my own: If Alperovitch is right and Putin launches an invasion of Ukraine, the United States and NATO will raise rhetorical hell about it from Washington and Brussels, but they will do nothing to stop it militarily. And that, as Alperovitch points out, ‘would put a permanent end to all talk of Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, or any Central Asian states of ever joining NATO.’

“… a Russian invasion of Ukraine would propel the United States and the world into an era of geopolitical risk unlike any we’ve seen in several decades. And if Alperovitch is correct, that era may be poised to begin in a matter of weeks.”

Deutsche Welle reported on December 26:

“Russia announced on Saturday that 10,000 troops had finished month-long military drills near Ukraine and would be returning to their permanent bases.”

Whether this is even true and whether, if true, this is only another ploy by Putin to calm the West a little while secretly planning an invasion will have to be seen. In any event, the Bible prophesies that Russia and Ukraine will “unite” in some way and ultimately fight against a mighty European power bloc .

Russia’s Ambitions in the Balkans

Foreign Affairs wrote on December 27:

“This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the beginning of the Yugoslav wars, Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II…. Now Russian President Vladimir Putin is seizing his opportunity and using the former Yugoslav states as the next battlefield to weaken NATO and the European Union.

“Russia’s goal in the Balkans is to ramp up tensions so that it can position itself as the sole regional mediator and security guarantor. It simultaneously aims to demonstrate that neither NATO, the EU, nor their members are credible partners for any of the Balkan countries. As Moscow also continues its military buildup near the Ukrainian border, its influence campaign in the Balkans serves as another theater to challenge the West.

“Russia’s efforts have been helped immeasurably by the EU’s weak response. Despite the many years and billions of euros spent preparing the Balkans for EU integration, the effort has stalled. Western Europe was asleep at the wheel the last time war broke out in the Balkans—the stakes are too high for it to ignore the region this time around.”

Europeans “Need” for their  Army

Arab News wrote on December 24:

“The EU is once again at a crossroads that requires bold decisions, in the face of severe cracks from within and relentless external challenges…

“One of the recurring ideas that surfaces among European leaders… is the establishment [of] an independent military force [and] that in international affairs it is no longer enough to concentrate on economic and soft power while relying for hard power on NATO, as that organization does not necessarily provide the answers to an increasingly polarized and conflictual international arena…

“The messy withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan in August has sent a clear message to EU strategists that it is necessary to lead from the front whenever European interests and values do not coincide with those of friends and foes alike….

“One of the EU’s more immediately pressing vulnerabilities was exposed by the deliberate mayhem instigated by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of President Putin, in orchestrating border crossings by refugees who had been residing in his country into Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. This was retaliation for sanctions imposed on Belarus for its brutal crackdown on opposition activists protesting against Lukashenko’s highly questionable electoral victory last year. The EU’s lack of capacity to adequately respond to this type of cynical, hybrid act of aggression was revealing — and this at a time when Russia has been deploying its troops close to its border with Ukraine in a menacing fashion that leaves little room for doubt about Moscow’s true intentions…

“Ursula von der Leyen, the current European Commission president and a former German defense minister, is one high-profile proponent of the idea of an EU military force. In her State of the Union address in September she emphasized the need to reflect on how the mission in Afghanistan had ended so abruptly, in what was a coded criticism of the US and NATO… For her, it is about recognizing that Europe’s geopolitical vulnerabilities demand that it must itself be prepared to help deal with overseas crises, otherwise it will end up having to deal with such crises on its own soil…”

Ultimately, both will happen, but first, a European army will be established soon at the time when we observe the unification of ten European core nations, including, in all likelihood, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Poland, France, Italy, Spain and others.  

Germany’s Fourth Reich?

The Guardian wrote on December 24:

“The head of Poland’s ruling party, Jarosław Kaczyński, has said Germany is trying to turn the EU into a federal ‘German fourth reich’… the head of the Law and Justice party (PiS) said some countries ‘are not enthusiastic at the prospect of a German fourth reich being built on the basis of the EU’…  Kaczyński is also a deputy prime minister. He added that the European court of justice was being used as an ‘instrument’ for federalist ideas.

“… The EU this week said it was launching legal action against Poland for ignoring EU law and undermining judicial independence. Poland has accused the bloc of ‘bureaucratic centralism’.

“During a visit to Warsaw by the new German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, this month, the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said the current Berlin government’s support for EU federalism was ‘utopian and therefore dangerous.’”

Whatever expressions are being used, current developments and biblical prophecy show that Germany and a leader of German or Austrian descent will indeed lead a united Europe under ten nations or groups of nations, and this emerging power bloc will by no means be democratic and freedom-loving. The paradox is that in all likelihood, Poland will be part of that authoritarian and dictatorial beast power.

Kurz Becoming a Global Strategist?

Bloomberg wrote on December30:

“Billionaire Peter Thiel’s investment firm is tapping former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to become a global strategist. Kurz, who resigned under a cloud of controversy in October and remains under investigation for corruption, is set to start his new role at Thiel Capital LLC in the first three months of 2022, he told the Heute newspaper.

“The appointment comes amid multiple criminal probes into Kurz and his inner circle over allegations that he used taxpayer money to plant fabricated public-opinion polls in newspapers to help build his career. He completely withdrew from politics earlier this month, setting off another change in power. Kurz has denied wrongdoing.

“Kurz long cultivated connections to Thiel, a conservative power broker. The German-born venture capitalist — one of the first investors in Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook — has supported Republican candidates in the U.S. and endorsed Donald Trump. Kurz, 35, is looking to move beyond a blitz career in politics that made him the youngest head of government in Europe. He was touted as a pioneer of populist conservative politics on the continent before his downfall.”

“UK and the EU Set to Remain Best of Enemies”

The Guardian wrote on December 25:

“The year 2021 has been marked by a remarkable level of petulance in the UK-EU relationship. The unfortunate reality is that 2022 doesn’t offer much hope of redemption.

“France will hold the rolling presidency of the EU for the first six months, during which Emmanuel Macron will have an election campaign to fight and win against the centre and far-right. Boris Johnson is on his uppers, with a large and vocal wing of the Conservative party frothing over Covid restrictions and a lack of Brexit dividend.

“It is quite hard to imagine a less favourable context for relations to be patched up and mature conversations to be had… New German chancellor Olaf Scholz attended his first EU summit just a week ago, but it is yet to be seen whether a date with the British prime minister is even in the diary…”

The relationship between the UK and continental Europe will not improve.

Kamala Harris: Our Democracy Biggest Threat to National Security

The New York Post wrote on December 25:

“During the interview on CBS News ‘Face the Nation,’ host Margaret Brennan asked her about the one national security threat that keeps her up at night worrying. ​‘​Frankly, one of them is our democracy. There is,​ I think, no question in the minds of people who are foreign policy experts that the year 2021 is not the year 2000​,’ she said…

“Later in the interview, she clarified her earlier comment, saying there is a need to ‘fight for the integrity of our democracy.’”

In light of the desired move of the Biden Administration to replace our democracy with a dictatorship—something which Trump admittedly would also have liked to do—note that Christ said this: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

The article continued:

“Harris also refused to take any responsibility for the debacle surrounding the US military pullout from Afghanistan in August, instead blaming the Trump administration for inking an agreement with the Taliban…”

She said this: ““I strongly believe that had we broken that agreement, we would be talking about the war in Afghanistan and American troops in Afghanistan, and we’re not talking about that. I don’t regret that…”

No, but we are talking about the unprotected tens of thousands of people whom Biden had left behind, not to mention valuable and sophisticated American equipment and armory,  and the terrible atrocities of the Taliban being committed to the women of Afghanistan. Kamala Harris seems to be living in a dream world… and it‘s a dangerous one.

Fauci’s Method of Coercion

Fox News wrote on December 27:

“Fauci said that taking masks off while on an airplane is ‘not something we should even be considering.’… ‘A vaccine requirement for a person getting on the plane is just another level of getting people to have a mechanism that would spur them to get vaccinated; namely, you can’t get on a plane unless you’re vaccinated, which is just another one of the ways of getting requirements, whatever that might be,’ Fauci said. ‘So I mean, anything that could get people more vaccinated would be welcome…”

He is continuing to show his true colors, but many Americans are sound asleep, without recognizing the real danger of his ideas.

Trump’s Push for Vaccines

The Washington Post wrote on December 23:

“In August, Trump called extra vaccine doses a ‘moneymaking operation,’ and in September he said that he ‘probably’ would not get a booster. He also did not make public that he had received his first two doses during his presidency. But this week he became a vocal advocate for the shots — while maintaining an opposition to vaccine mandates.

“On Sunday, during an event with former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, Trump revealed to a crowd of supporters that he had gotten a booster shot. He was immediately booed, but the former president told his supporters to knock it off. ‘Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t,’ Trump scolded, waving his hand dismissively. ‘If you don’t want to take it, you shouldn’t be forced to take it — no mandates,’ Trump said. ‘But take credit, because we saved tens of millions of lives.’

“Then, during an interview published Wednesday by the Daily Wire, Trump told conservative commentator Candace Owens that the coronavirus vaccines are ‘one of the greatest achievements of mankind.’ Owens tried to cast doubt on this, saying that ‘more people have died’ since the vaccines became available and calling their efficacy into question. Trump interrupted her. ‘Oh no, the vaccines work,’ Trump told her. ‘The ones who get very sick and go to the hospital are the ones that don’t take the vaccine. But it’s still their choice. And if you take the vaccine, you’re protected.’

“He told Owens he takes credit for the ‘incredible speed’ with which the vaccines were developed, and he said that ‘people aren’t dying when they take the vaccine.’

“On Monday, O’Reilly said during an interview with NewsNation that the reason Trump had not discussed his booster status before was that he was afraid of alienating his anti-vaccine supporters. O’Reilly said he reassured Trump of his pro-vaccine views ahead of the event, telling him that the fact that vaccines were developed during his presidency should be part of his pitch to voters…

“Trump, however, told Fox News on Tuesday evening that it is tough for him to be ‘overly critical’ of Biden after the president praised his administration for the vaccines’ rollout. Earlier that day, Biden credited Trump with spurring the development of the vaccines, a day after the former president revealed he had gotten a booster… ‘I think he did something very good,’ Trump added. ‘It has to be a process of healing in this country, and that will help a lot.’…

“Still, the former president’s promotion of the shots puts him at odds with a large portion of his base. The widest divide in vaccination rates in the United States is between Democrats and Republicans. Polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that, for every unvaccinated Democrat or Democratic-leaning independent, there are about three unvaccinated Republicans or Republican-leaning independents. Even among those who have already been vaccinated, Republicans are less likely to say they will get a booster…”

Many of Trump’s comments about the effectiveness of “his” vaccines, as underlined in the article above, are demonstrably false or misleading. O’Reilly, no stranger to controversy, also reported that Trump was hurt by the disapproval from the crowd regarding his vaccination push, but that he consoled and encouraged Trump to continue his pitch to voters (compare the Daily Beast, dated December 21). O’Reilly also said that Trump will “definitely run in 2024.” O’ Reilly, who was fired in April of 2017 from Fox News for alleged sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior, may turn out to be one of Trump’s extremely bad counselors [as Dr. Fauci had turned out to be]. Many wrote on Breitbart that they had supported Trump in the past, but now, they have had it with him.

In any event, it makes no difference as to who is leading the USA, as the prophesied downfall of the USA is inevitable. This is because of the abominable sins of the nation, from the top down, while there is absolutely no sign of sincere and deep repentance of the people and their leaders.

Far Right against Trump

Mediaite wrote on December 26:

“Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones lit into former President Donald Trump on Saturday for his recent statements supporting the Covid-19 vaccinations.

“‘This is an emergency Christmas Day warning to President Trump,’ Jones said… ‘You are either completely ignorant about the so-called vaccine gene therapy you helped ram through with Operation Warp Speed, or you are the most evil man who has ever lived to push this toxic poison on the public and to attack your constituents when they simply try to save their lives and the lives of others… What you told Candace Owens is nothing but a raft of dirty lies,’ Jones added…

“Trump has angered many on the far-right with his recent comments on the vaccines…”

Trump can’t afford to lose the votes of the “far right.”

Hypocrisy of Trump Hotels

The Week wrote on December 24:

“The Trump Grill, located inside Trump Tower in New York City, refused to allow a group of vaccine mandate protesters to eat at the restaurant on Thursday after they failed to provide proof of vaccination…

“While Trump has come around on promoting the COVID-19 vaccines, he’s maintained that ‘there can’t be mandates and all those things.’ As he further put it to Fox News this week, ‘The mandate will destroy people’s lives — it destroys people’s lives, just as the vaccine saves people.’

“Trump Hotels, however, says on its website that its Manhattan location requires proof of vaccination ‘in accordance with the most recent local government mandate.’”

The Sun added on December 25:

“‘We came to Trump Tower because we thought Donald Trump was supposed to be for America, he said he’s against vaccine mandates,’ one unmasked protester said. ‘I thought as a man, who’s for America, he would stand up, pay a $1,000 fine, and let us eat freely – you know the man’s a billionaire, he can afford a $1,000 fine. It would make him look good. But instead, he’s had his people not serve us and it just exposed him as a fraud,’ the anti-vaxxer said. ‘All talk but no action.’…

“‘Prove to us that we are a threat,’ one protester said to the cop, while another said: ‘The burden of proof is on them because they are assuming that we are a threat because we don’t have a vaccine. Well, prove to me that we are a threat.’ The cop explained that Trump Grill didn’t have to prove anything to the protesters.”

So, it appears that the restaurant even called the police. However one views it, Trump’s position in this matter, which is viewed by some of his supporters as clearly hypocritical, becomes more and more controversial and problematic for him.

Biden’s Approval Rating Really Bad… but not as Bad as Trump’s was

Fox News wrote on December 27:

“Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. But the president’s numbers started sagging in August… There is a slight uptick in some of the most recent surveys. Biden stood at 47% approval and 51% disapproval in the latest FOX Business poll, 48%-52% in the most recent CNN survey and slightly back above water at 48%-46% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll. But his average heading into the end of his first year in the White House is nothing to brag about.

“The approval rating is a key indicator of a president’s political strength nationwide and… [it] has also long been a much-watched indicator ahead of the midterm elections, and Biden’s flagging numbers could spell major trouble for the Democrats as they try to hold on to their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate in the 2022 elections…

“Biden’s numbers lag behind recent predecessors at this point in their presidencies. Former President George W. Bush stood at 84%-12% [sic] in late December 2001, with his numbers skyrocketing as the country rallied around the government in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton stood at 50%-45% and 54%-40%, respectively, at the end of their first years in office. The only recent president whose poll numbers were worse than Biden’s at this point during a White House tenure was Donald Trump, who stood at 39%-56% as 2017 was coming to a close.

“The Democrats suffered disastrous midterm elections in 1994 under Clinton and in 2010 under Obama, but both Democratic presidents rebounded and won reelection two years later. House Republicans were shellacked in the 2018 midterms during Trump’s presidency, losing their eight-year-long majority in the chamber…”

Police Officers too Quick to Fire?

The LA Times Newsletter reported on December 27:

“… the Los Angeles Police Department killed a 14-year-old girl at a Burlington clothing store in North Hollywood last week, only a few days before Christmas… The teenager was in a fitting room with her mother trying on dresses for a quinceañera…  Officers were responding to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at the store. When they arrived, authorities encountered a man they said was assaulting someone, and they opened fire, according to the LAPD. It was not immediately clear what prompted the officers to shoot.

“The man was taken into custody and died at the scene, a spokesperson for the department said. When officers fired their weapons, their gunfire penetrated a wall, which killed the girl in the dressing room. Authorities said that they found a metal cable next to the suspect whom officers were confronting, but that no gun was recovered.

“The case has caused an uproar, with many citing the shooting as the latest example of officers being too quick to draw and fire their weapons…”

In the Millennium, such tragedies won’t occur, as there will not be any police officers with weapons shooting at people…

Canada’s Privacy Intrusion

The New York Post wrote on December 25:

“Canada’s federal government admitted to secretly surveilling its population’s movements during the COVID-19 lockdown by tracking 33 million phones… Canada’s entire population totals 38 million…

“‘Evidence is coming in from many sources, from countries around the world, that what was seen as a huge surveillance surge — post 9/11 — is now completely upstaged by pandemic surveillance,’ David Lyon [said], author of ‘Pandemic Surveillance’ and the former director of the Surveillance Studies Centre at Queen’s University in Ontario…

It can indeed be assumed that the governments of other “democratic” countries engage in the same kind of abominable “Orwellian” conduct.

Israeli Airstrike Sets Port in Syria Ablaze

The Guardian wrote on December 28:

“An Israeli airstrike hit Syria’s Latakia port before dawn on Tuesday, sparking a fire that lit up the Mediterranean seafront in the second such attack on the cargo hub this month, Syrian state media reported. Since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has routinely carried out airstrikes on its neighbour, mostly targeting Syrian government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters. But it is only the second time it has hit Latakia port, in the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad’s minority Alawite community…

“Pictures released by Sana showed firefighters hosing stacks of blazing containers that lit up the night sky… the British-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the cargo was ‘arms and munitions’ that had detonated in ‘powerful explosions that were felt across the city of Latakia and its suburbs’… The Syrian government’s other major ally [in addition to Iran], Russia, operates a naval base in the port of Tartus, 53 miles (85km) to the south.

“So far this year, Israel has targeted Syria nearly 30 times, killing 130 people including five civilians and 125 loyalist fighters… On 7 December it carried out a strike targeting an Iranian arms shipment in Latakia, its first on the port since the start of the civil war… According to a report by the Israeli army, it hit about 50 targets in Syria in 2020.

“In the deadliest operation since the strikes began, Israel killed 57 government troops and allied fighters in eastern Syria in January this year. The Israeli military has defended the strikes as a necessary measure to prevent its arch-foe Iran from gaining a foothold on its doorstep… In a shadow war, Israel has targeted suspected Iranian military facilities in Syria and mounted a sabotage campaign against Iran’s nuclear programme.

“Iran has been a key supporter of the Syrian government in the decade-old conflict. It finances, arms and commands a number of Syrian and foreign militia groups fighting alongside the regular armed forces, chief among them Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah. The conflict in Syria has killed nearly 500,000 people since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations.”

The violent controversy between Israel and Iran will continue….

Bird Flu in Israel

The Times of Israel wrote on December 27:

“Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with security officials on Monday to discuss an epidemic of bird flu that has killed vast numbers of wild and domestic fowl in Israel in recent days… The Agriculture Ministry is culling hundreds of thousands of birds [mainly chickens and turkeys], in an attempt to stem the spread of the disease in animals and ‘prevent the infection of the human population,’ the statement said…

“Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg called the outbreak ‘the worst blow to wildlife in the country’s history.’”

Israel 365 added on December 27:

“On Sunday, avian experts from the Nature and Parks Authority counted some 5,000 cranes at the Hula Lake Reserve in the Jezreel Valley in the north of Israel that had died from an outbreak of the  H5N1 virus, known as the avian flu. Another 250 dead cranes were seen in the Hula Valley outside of the reserve, and a further 30 were documented elsewhere, mainly in the Jezreel Valley. “

More Nonsense—Contacting Aliens

Newsmax wrote on December 26:

“NASA is reportedly hiring two dozen theologians to take part in a program at Princeton University to assess how humans will react if alien life is found on other planets, and how that would impact ideas about creation and God.

“In 2008, the Vatican’s chief astronomer said there is no conflict between believing in God and in the possibility of ‘extraterrestrial brothers’ perhaps more evolved than humans…

“Jose Gabriel Funes, who heads the Vatican Observatory… told the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano in an interview last week… ‘How can we exclude that life has developed elsewhere,’… explaining the large number of galaxies with their own planets made this possible.”

Of course, if one believes in the ungodly and blasphemous fairy tale of evolution, then everything seems to be possible. But all of this keeps the false notion in place that there are aliens on other planets, not realizing that UFO “sightings” do not prove the existence of extraterrestrial aliens, but they could be fraudulent; simply natural phenomena; or, most likely, part of Satan’s attempts to deceive mankind in preparation for his fight against the returning “alien” Jesus Christ. Note the next article.

The Guardian wrote on December 26:

“From mysterious discs over Slemish Mountain in County Antrim to strange images spotted on CCTV, unexplained sightings increased in Northern Ireland again last year.

“UFO sighting reports… include unidentified flying objects (UFOs); aerial phenomena; unidentified aerial phenomena; lights in the sky; and aliens and extraterrestrials.

“Nick Pope, who used to investigate reports of UFO sightings for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), said… he believed the true number of sightings was much higher.”

We can expect that more and more of these “sightings,” “encounters” and “experiences” will be reported as we are nearing the time of the Great Tribulation and Christ’s Second Coming. Compare  Luke 21:11.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Christians Refuse to Celebrate Christmas

Israel 365 wrote on December 20:

“It’s time to explain why many of Jesus’ followers stop celebrating Christmas. It’s done out of a deep desire to respect Jesus and God’s Word. No longer celebrating Christmas can be easily misunderstood and challenging for one’s family, relatives, and congregation. It is usually perceived as if one is no longer celebrating the birth of Jesus, his life and God’s great gift to the world. With this in mind, why are more and more of Jesus’ followers giving up Christmas celebrations?

“The reason that many stop celebrating Christmas, is not that they try to minimize the Son of God. Rather, they do it out of respect for him. To understand this question, some background history is needed… A clear and concise source for the history of Christmas is bibelfragan.com (The Bible Question):..

“‘During the first 300 years of the history of the Christian Church, no one celebrated the birth of Jesus whatsoever. The reason was primarily threefold: Firstly, the date for the birth of Jesus is not given anywhere in the Bible. Secondly, in the Bible, only wicked people celebrated their birthdays. Thirdly, in the pagan Roman Empire (which was occupying Israel at the time of the beginning of the Church) there was a common tradition to celebrate the birthdays of the pagan gods.

“‘… In Rome, the great god was called Saturn. In the middle of the winter, there was a long celebration held in his honor. This feast was called ‘Saturnalia’ and lasted from December 17–24. It was a feast when one ate and drank, gathered friends together, and gave gifts to one another. December 25th was the last and greatest day of Saturnalia.

“‘During the first 300 years of the Roman Empire, sun worship had begun to spread from the East—from Syria and Persia—and reached large parts of the Empire. Already in ancient Babylon, people had worshiped the sun. One of the highest deities among the Babylonians was the sun god Shamash. The most important day in the solar religion was the day when the sun was ‘born’ again and rose in the heavens, after it had been sinking closer to the horizon and the days had become shorter and shorter in the fall and early winter. When the winter solstice occurred on December 25, it was celebrated with a great feast.

“‘Eastern philosophers and mystics preached about the divine nature of the sun and immigrants from the East brought their faith to the West. This resulted in the solar religion getting ever more followers in the Roman Empire. Then it happened that a Roman emperor won a great military victory after praying to the sun god for victory. As a thank you, he elevated the ‘Invincible Sun’ (Sol Invictus) above all the other gods of Rome. In the year 273 CE, he had a magnificent temple built for the sun. This temple was dedicated on the birthday of the sun—December 25.

“‘Barely 50 years later, the Roman emperor Constantine became an adherent of the Christian doctrine. He was a former sun worshipper and the new religion presented a problem. What should he do with the annual festival for the sun? To begin with, the Church tried to have him ban the sun religion and its December festival, but he refused. If he banned the popular feast, conflicts could arise between the followers of the different religions. Finally, a compromise was made. December 25 was the winter solstice, the day when the sun was born again. Why not transfer the worship of the masses from the sun god to the “sun of righteousness,” “the light of the world”—Christ?… If one “Christianized” the festival of the sun god, by instead celebrating the birth of Jesus on that day, perhaps conflict could be avoided. In addition, many people would automatically join the new religion.

“‘Consequently, the Romans were allowed to continue celebrating the large feast on December 25, but the sun god was removed and Christ was put there instead. And, once Rome had accepted December 25 as the “birthday” of Jesus, there was no difficulty for the feast to spread to the rest of the Roman Empire.

“‘In Constantinople, they started to celebrate Christmas year 380 CE; in Asia Minor, year 382; in Egypt, around year 430; and in Jerusalem, around year 440. This spread up through Europe, where the “sun-turning feast” had been celebrated since ancient times in most of the countries. Also, in the far North, something called “Jul” [still the Swedish name for Christmas today], a midwinter feast was celebrated. The word jul some claim comes from the Anglo-Saxon hweol which means “wheel,” symbolic of the divine sun and its path around the earth… When Christianity arrived, the ancient northern “Jul” was Christianized and ever since then we have continued to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25…’

“There is another aspect to the story as well. The church adopted the holiday within a larger paradigm shift, a process of intentionally cutting itself off from its Jewish roots and God’s own calendar, in order to establish a separate identity and gain cultural influence in Rome. The majority of today’s Christians are probably unaware of this history. Some, who do know it, feel that the pagan origin of Christmas is something in the past and of no current significance. They feel that the history might be unfortunate, or that the Church did right in Christianizing the feast, but maintain that Christians who celebrate Christmas do not worship idols, but simply celebrate Jesus and spend quality time with family.

“… many… see the nature of Christmas as ultimately irreconcilable with Biblical faith for several serious reasons. It is primarily because Scripture teaches strongly against such syncretism, i.e. to ‘Christianize,’ or appropriate, pagan rites (see for instance Deut. 12:1–5, 30–31)… It is a question, not about how we feel about the subject, but about how God feels about it, and what He has said in His Word… The pagan elements of Christmas are far from absent… nearly every Christmas custom has pagan roots… the dark principalities that once were worshipped through the holiday are still a reality in our world…”

But those who do not WANT to know will not care… Please read our free booklet “Don’t Keep Christmas,” and note our two-part series on Christmas celebrations in this and the previous Q&A. Also view our new StandingWatch program in this regard, titled,“Why Won’t Some Christians Keep Christmas this Year?”.

Biden tested on China, Russia and Iran

Newsmax wrote on December 17:

“There is ‘every indication’ that Russian President Putin and China’s leader Xi Jinping are coordinating their strategies ‘more closely than ever before,’ and that puts the United States in a ‘crisis situation,’ former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said… Bolton said he believes Putin is sensing weakness in President Joe Biden, and that leaves the United States ‘vulnerable.’

“Meanwhile, Russia is laying demands for a sweeping new security deal with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including a written agreement that the alliance won’t expand east to Russia, and Bolton said he thinks that the move is another way Putin and Moscow are testing Biden’s administration. ‘I think this is a real test for NATO. This is something that the Biden administration will be judged for. If it gives up on this point it will be a terrible signal not just to Russia but China and our other adversaries around the world.’…

“The former ambassador has also recently written that he believes Biden is losing the contest of wills with Iran over nuclear weapons… Bolton said he’s worried that Biden is so determined to revive the [Iran] deal, which was struck while he was vice president under President Barack Obama, that he will make ‘very dangerous concessions’ that will cause problems for the United States, Israel, and other allies in the Middle East.”

So far, Biden has failed just about every test.

Russian-Chinese Financial Collaboration

The Russian government’s controlled RT wrote on September 15:

“Both Russia and China are said to be increasingly looking to move away from using the US dollar as the main currency of international trade, instead using their own denominations to underpin the booming volume of Moscow-Beijing trade.

“Russia and China will develop shared financial structures to enable them to deepen economic ties in a way that foreign states will be unable to influence, the Kremlin has announced following talks between the countries’ leaders.”

Russia’s Demands and Military Threats

The Moscow Times reported on December 20:

“Russia demands immediate talks with the United States on security guarantees from NATO… while President Vladimir Putin’s chief arms control negotiator warned of a ‘military response’ if the alliance continues to step on Moscow’s ‘sore spots.’…

“In its list of demands published Friday, Russia demanded that the U.S. not establish any new military bases in ex-Soviet countries and that NATO guarantee to block these states’ future memberships. Russia also wants NATO to abandon all military activities in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus region and Central Asia. Additionally, Russia wants NATO to pledge not to deploy troops in former-communist member states Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltics without Moscow’s consent.”

The article also pointed out:

“The United States has responded to Russia’s demands… that it would not negotiate without input from Europe. The EU has rejected Russia’s bid to block Ukraine’s NATO ambitions. European officials have in recent days signaled a willingness to negotiate with Moscow, however. ‘We need to solve the current tensions on the diplomatic level,’ the Financial Times quoted Germany’s new defense minister Christine Lambrecht as saying.”

Will Germany Confront Russia?

The Week wrote on December 17:

“Germany has long had a Russia problem. Even before their unification under the Hohenzollerns in 1870, German principalities struggled to deal with their giant neighbor to the east. In 1863, at the beginning of his long stint in power, the legendary statesman Otto von Bismarck quipped, ‘The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.’ But despite interludes of stability, Germany hasn’t quite figured out how to make its agreements, both formal and informal, stick.

“Now, time may be running out…  Germany may hope to muddle through, neither conceding the former Soviet sphere of influence to Russia nor imposing painful economic and perhaps military consequences. But Putin’s ambitions won’t let them avoid the choice forever. As with his predecessor Angela Merkel, Scholz’s ambivalence about Russia follows domestic opinion…  Germans overwhelmingly want more co-operative relations between Berlin and Moscow. At the same time, Russian provocations have grown harder to ignore. Beyond the Ukraine situation, Germans were outraged by Russian agents’ 2019 murder of a former Chechen fighter in Berlin. Just this week, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced the expulsion of two Russian diplomats as punishment for that offense.

“Despite their hopes for a middle way, Scholz and the German public need to decide what they’re willing to tolerate from Russia — and what they can hope to prevent… Russia looms larger in the German mind than most Americans realize… the German and Russian economies are also closely linked… [Russia] is an important market for German exports and major supplier of energy. That’s why Scholz was silent about the planned Nordstream II pipeline in his speech on Monday… [In] 2014, Merkel sharply condemned the Russian annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The problem is that nothing much has [followed.] Like Merkel, Scholz has expressed his opposition to Russian encroachment on Ukraine as a matter of principle. What he hasn’t done is spell out the consequences he’s willing to impose…

“To be fair, the coercive measures at Scholz’s disposal are limited… Germany and its partners can’t expect much military help from the United States, either as the Biden administration has made clear we won’t fight for Ukraine. Nor could we, realistically… With the American presence in Europe receding… Berlin enjoys more flexibility in choosing its Russia policy than at any time since the end of World War II. Doing so, however, requires a clarity about its goals, resources, and principles… In seeking inspiration for a new Ostpolitik, Scholz could do worse than asking what Bismarck would do. But Olaf Scholz is no Bismarck.”

He certainly is no “Bismarck,” who was also called the “Iron Chancellor.” Not much can be expected from Scholz and his new government when it comes to opposing Russia. It will require a strong leader of German or Austrian descent who will do just that… but with terrible and disastrous consequences. Scholz is not that leader.

Friedrich Merz new CDU Party-Chief

AFP and The Local wrote on December 17:

“Friedrich Merz, a die-hard opponent of Angela Merkel within Germany’s conservative CDU, was elected party chief on Friday, marking a new direction after its disastrous defeat in September’s election.

“Merz, a 66-year-old member of the Bundestag and former MEP… [walked] away with 62.1 percent of the vote share. Merz will replace Merkel ally Armin Laschet, who was forced to announce his resignation after leading the CDU-CSU bloc to its worst-ever result in the September general election.

“… the election of Merz marks a decisive shift away from the cautious, centre-leaning politics of the Merkel era. As a staunch right-winger, he was one of 130 conservative MPs to vote against repealing a law change to make rape in marriage a criminal offence in 1997. He has also been a vocal opponent of a proposed wealth tax to off-set the impact of the Covid crisis on the poorest in society…

“A millionaire and corporate lawyer by trade, Merz had previously been pushed out of politics altogether by a power struggle with Merkel in the 2000s before returning when she resigned as head of the CDU in 2018. He has since lost out twice in his quest to become party leader, beaten in both cases by candidates preferring a more centrist course and continuity with the Merkel era.”

Bild Online commented on December 17 that Merz’ victory is at the same time an expression of disapproval for Merkel, and that with Merz, Chancellor Olaf Scholz will face the strongest and persistent leader of the opposition. The paper also opinionated that the role of Chancellor may now be in reach for Merz. In his first interview with Bild Online after his election as CDU Party Chief, Merz stated that new Health Minister Lauterbach (SPD) is prone to very strong exaggerations (“sehr starke Übertreibungen”).  

Germany’s Persecution of Christians

The Daily Mail wrote on December 17:

“Hate crimes targeting Christians in Germany have nearly trebled in a year amid a wave of religious discrimination across Europe… Overall, hate crime in Germany rose by 19 per cent last year. .. On Germany, the [Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance against Christians in Europe] OIDAC report says: ‘Freedom of expression has been limited in Germany when it comes to discussions about gender, marriage, bioethics, and sexuality.’…

“A study by Matthias Revers and Richard Traunmüller at the Goethe University Frankfurt found that a third of German students are in favour of banning controversial books from the student library. Meanwhile between a third and a half of university students would not allow a controversial speaker on campus.

“Gynaecologist Michael Kiworr was blocked from speaking at Gottingen University about abortion after being invited by Christian student group Reformatio 21.The group Alternative Linke Liste Göttingen staged protests and forced the university to rescind the invitation. The move was criticised by The Professor’s Forum, an 800-member strong association of academics in Germany. They said: ‘There are frequent incidents in which aggressively appearing political groups sabotage the right to freedom of expression.’”’

For quite a while, Germany has severely restricted, if not outright prohibited, the pursuit of numerous liberties, including the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of expression, assembly, movement and the exercise of religion, just to name a few.

“The Year of the New Normal Fascists”

The Consent Factory wrote on December 18:

“Here in Europe, things are particularly fascist. One by one, New Normal countries are rolling out social-segregation systems, ordering ‘lockdowns’ of ‘the Unvaccinated,’ and otherwise persecuting those who refuse to conform to official New Normal ideology…

“In New Normal Germany, ‘the Unvaccinated’ are under de facto house arrest. We are banned from society. We are banned from traveling. We are banned from protesting. Our writings are censored. We’re demonized and dehumanized by the New Normal government, the state and corporate media, and the New Normal masses on a daily basis…”

 According to new left-wing German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, mandatory vaccinations should be enforced as soon as possible, but he does not believe they will be enforced as early as January!!!!

According to reports from Germany which we have received, more and more people get Corona, although [or because?] they had been “fully” vaccinated.

New Measures in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 21:

“Germany’s federal and state leaders on Tuesday agreed to impose contact restrictions — including for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals – starting next week. The regulations — which come into effect ‘at the latest’ on December 28 — are aimed to dissuade people from holding and attending large New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“… a maximum of 10 people who have been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 would be allowed to attend a private gathering. In cases when an unvaccinated person is present, only one other household would be able to attend. The new capacity limits apply to both indoor and outdoor celebrations. Access to restaurants remains limited to people who could provide proof of vaccination or recovery…

“Starting on December 28, spectators will be banned from sporting events, cultural shows, concerts and other large public events…  the German government is also preparing for the event that more drastic measures could be necessary next year… German lawmakers in the Bundestag will also debate whether to make COVID vaccines mandatory for the general public — and how they will implement it.”

These restrictions—which did not work under Merkel either—show Germany’s descent into full blown dictatorship, and it will only get worse. But most Germans are totally blind.

The Global Decline of Democracy

Axios wrote on December 16:

‘Democratic governance is sliding backward in the U.S. and much of the world, according to a series of recent reports…

“Democratic decline stems in part from the pandemic, as governments pursue policies to control the virus that involve restricting civil liberties like free movement and as citizens become frustrated that those policies haven’t yet brought an end to COVID-19… Authoritarian countries like China are taking advantage of democratic woes to tout their own systems…”

We have reported about this development for a long time.

Pope Francis’ Fight with Conservatives Continues

Breitbart wrote on December 18:

“Pope Francis doubled down Saturday on his efforts to quash the old Latin Mass, forbidding the celebration of some sacraments according to the ancient rite in his latest salvo against conservatives and traditionalists.

“The Vatican’s liturgy office issued a document that clarified some questions that arose after Francis in July took the extraordinary step of reimposing restrictions on celebrating the so-called Tridentine Rite. Francis’ July move outraged conservatives and traditionalists, given it amounted to a direct reversal of one of the singular policies of Pope Benedict XVI. Benedict in 2007 had relaxed the restrictions on celebrating the Latin Mass in a bid to reconcile with a breakaway group of traditionalists who were opposed to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Francis said in July he had to reverse course because Benedict’s 2007 decision had divided the church and been exploited by conservatives on ideological grounds.

“The Vatican repeated that rationale on Saturday in explaining the need for the new restrictions. The new decree outlaws using the ancient ritual for the sacraments of Confirmation and ordaining new priests, and will make it exceedingly difficult for traditionalists to access the sacraments of Baptism, Marriage and First Communion according to the old rite. Archbishop Arthur Roche, prefect of the Vatican’s liturgy office, said the restrictions were needed to promote unity in the church and unity in the celebration of its sacraments.”

Far from creating unity, the division within the Catholic Church is widened. Also note the next article.

Vatican Apologizes to LGBT Community

ABC News wrote on December 17:

“A Vatican official apologized to a leading Catholic LGBTQ advocacy group for having yanked a reference to it on the Vatican website, drawing immediate praise Monday from the group as an ‘historic’ move to repair the painful rift between the Catholic hierarchy and the gay community…

“The flip-flop on the reference to New Ways Ministry on the Synod website is indicative of the mixed messages the Holy See over the years, and Pope Francis himself, have sent about the Vatican’s position on gays and their place in the church.

“Francis made international headlines in 2013 when he quipped ‘Who am I to judge?’ about a purportedly gay priest. He followed up over the years with unprecedented gestures of papal outreach to the gay and transsexual communities… But he has also upheld official church teaching… asserting that the Catholic Church cannot and will not bless same-sex unions since God ‘cannot bless sin.’

“In the aftermath of the Synod’s original removal of the webinar video, New Ways Ministry revealed that Francis had written the group two letters this year commending its work. That was significant… “

Based on the clear Word of God, practicing homosexuality is sin, and we are to judge this accordingly. The Vatican’s flip-flop is for the sole purpose of embracing and keeping as many of the “faithful” in their fold, no matter what their background, preferences and persuasions. This stands in sharp contrast to Francis’s attack on traditionalists and conservatives [see previous article].

Abortion by Mail

CNN wrote on December 16:

“The US Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is lifting a requirement that patients seeking medication abortion had to pick up the medication in-person, instead allowing pills to be sent by mail. The move comes as the Supreme Court is poised to undo its abortion rights precedent.

“Relaxing the federal restrictions on medication abortion is one thing that the Biden administration could do to mitigate the fallout from a Roe v. Wade reversal… Medication abortion, in which a pregnancy is ended in a two-pill process, has become a prevalent approach to terminating a pregnancy.”

Whatever it takes to promote the left-wing liberal agenda of the Biden Administration.

BBC News added on December 17:

“The change is… allowing women to receive the pill by post from a certified medical worker or pharmacy and receive abortion consultations on the internet…

“…the move will be overridden by 19 states that already have rules banning mail-order abortion pills.”

Biden’s $4.91 Trillion “Build Back Better Act” Doomed?

Breitbart wrote on December 19:

“Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said on Sunday he will oppose the $4.91 trillion Build Back Better Act, effectively killing the ‘mammoth’ legislation… Manchin, the West Virginia moderate Democrat, serves as the critical swing vote in the Senate for Democrats to pass the bill through the Senate…

“[Since] Democrats only have a one-member majority, it would require the approval of two swing votes, Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). ‘This is a no on this legislation,’ Manchin said…”

Thanks to Manchin for standing up for what he believes and for saving America, at least for now, from another terrible increase of national debt. Of course, the backlash against Manchin was predictable, but the mean viciousness was surpassing.

Trump: American Jews Don’t Like Israel

i24News and the Algemeiner reported on December 17:

“… former US president Donald Trump [said] American Jews, especially those in positions of power in the media… ‘either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel.’

“Trump also had harsh and controversial words for the New York Times. ‘I mean you look at the New York Times, the New York Times hates Israel. Hates them,’ he said. ‘And they’re Jewish people that run the New York Times.’

“The statements garnered condemnation from multiple officials across the political spectrum.”

In fact, Trump was accused of making antisemitic statements, which is of course utter nonsense, given the fact that his son-in-law is Jewish and that his daughter converted to Judaism. According to the Guardian, dated December 18, Trump also said: “… the evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country.” Trump also allegedly criticized Netanyahu for congratulating Biden right away after the “rigged” election.

Trump might very well be correct, which might be evidenced by the biblical prophecy in the Book of Zechariah that Judah will fight against Jerusalem. In addition, it is becoming common and convenient to label opposing views as being antisemitic. Note the next article.

Don’t Dare to Express Your Belief

JTA wrote on December 16:

“Following a court order, a Dutch lawmaker removed social media messages in which he drew parallels between COVID-19 measures and the treatment of Jews by the Nazis… The previous day, a judge in Amsterdam issued an injunction ordering the deletion of the content, prescribing a fine of 25,000 euros – or $28,000 – for each day that the content is still online.

“The judge said that [Thierry] Baudet’s tweets ‘contribute to a climate in which antisemitism is encouraged.’… Speech that equates to Holocaust denial is illegal in many European countries, though not in the Netherlands, where some forms of denial are prosecuted under laws against hate speech.

“In one of the deleted tweets, from Nov. 14, Baudet called the unvaccinated ‘the new Jews’… Two days later, Baudet posted a picture of a child unable to attend a seasonal holiday procession juxtaposed with a picture of a child wearing a yellow star during the Holocaust in Poland. Later last month he posted a sign requiring vaccination certificates at the entrance to the museum on the grounds of the Buchenwald former concentration camp…

“‘I am extremely sad that I am not allowed to express what I believe in, and I will not accept it. We will definitely be appealing,’ Baudet wrote…”

To even suggest that Baudet’s statements amount to antisemitism is beyond ridiculous. Neither can Baudet’s statements be remotely compared with a Holocaust denial. It should be obvious that just the opposite is the case!

Transgender Rights and Persecution in the UK

The Daily Mail wrote on December 20:

“The Scout Association has apologised to a campaigner after investigating her for two years for ‘misgendering’ someone on Twitter.

“Assistant cub scout leader Maya Forstater inadvertently called a bearded transgender scout leader ‘he’ rather than ‘they’ in 2019. This prompted an inquiry, which found Miss Forstater had brought the organisation into disrepute.”

Along the same lines, the Daily Mail published this article by Andrew Pierce on December 19:

“Hounded out of her job for her feminist views in the trans debate, academic Kathleen Stock is an archetypal victim of cancel culture. Stock, who is gay and opposes ‘self ID’ for trans people, which makes it easier for biological males to enter women-only spaces, was until recently Professor of Philosophy at Sussex University.

“Then balaclava-wearing trans-rights activists forced her out of her job by running a vindictive campaign, brandishing signs demanding for her to resign and, they hoped, ending her career.”

This scenario is a really peculiar one. The author of the article is homosexual, commenting on a lesbian who is being harassed by the transexual lobby. What a combination…

Big Trouble Ahead for Boris Johnson

The Sun wrote on December 17:

“The scale of the Tories’ by-election ­disaster dwarfs even Downing Street’s ­grimmest nightmares. A 23,000 majority [was] blown away in a super-safe Leave-backing North Shropshire seat the Conservatives had held for most of two centuries. The winners, by a mile, [are] the Lib-Dem ultra-Remainders…

“Governments often lose mid-term by-elections, but this calamity is of a different order. It is the dire consequence of Boris Johnson sneakily trying to bend rules… [It is the] predictable result of illicit parties and other scandals…

“Elected by a landslide, then boosted by his world-beating jabs programme, the PM has in a few bewildering weeks shredded a huge amount of the goodwill and authority he enjoyed. His poll leads have gone, handing ill-deserved hope to Labour’s rabble and their wooden, opportunist leader Keir Starmer…

“Boris must… develop a credible long-term plan to live with Covid — and not be plunged by overwrought scientists into lockdowns with every new variant. [He must deal with the] soaring cost of living — with prices rocketing and our vast tax burden going in precisely the wrong direction. Crime, too. The illegal migrants cheating the system by sailing across the Channel.

“We fear [we] are in for a tough few months. They need a PM focused on their lives, not distracted by crisis after crisis as his enemies drag him ever deeper into the quicksand.”

Will Boris Johnson accept the challenge and step up to the plate of true leadership?

Britain’s “Brexit Mastermind” Quits over Corona Restrictions—Boris Johnson in Big Trouble

The Sun wrote on December 19:

“BORIS Johnson was rocked by a fresh crisis last night as his Brexit mastermind quit the Cabinet. Lord Frost — one of his most loyal ministers — sensationally resigned in protest over the direction of the Government. Lord Frost’s walk-out will intensify the pressure on Mr Johnson’s faltering leadership…  Sources said the final straw for [Lord Frost] 56, was last week’s bid to impose Covid passports for pubs and big events as well as his growing ‘disillusionment’ with the ‘direction’ of Tory policy…

“The hammer blow came as Boris planned his fightback after his worst week in charge. Mr Johnson has agreed to fire [“Chief whip” Mark] Spencer… Ministers blame Spencer for last week’s rebellion when 100 Tory MP’s voted against Government Covid pass plans…”

“Lockdowns Do Immense Harm”

The Sun wrote on December 19:

“Lockdowns do immense harm to our livelihoods, mental health and children’s safety, as horrific recent cases prove.

“Our way of life, and our kids’ futures, cannot be endlessly restricted by the constant need to protect a health service supposedly always on the brink… The political price for Boris Johnson if he opts for a new lockdown vote, and the inevitable backbench mutiny, would be massive. That’s a side issue to the damage it would mean for the rest of us.”

It surely would mean that.

Archbishop of Canterbury’s Divisive Comments

The Daily Mail wrote on December 22:

“The Archbishop of Canterbury has implied that Jesus would get vaccinated against Covid. Justin Welby suggested that people who refuse to get jabbed are ‘immoral’ as he told people to ‘love one another, as Jesus said’…

“Last month, he was forced to apologise after saying that failure to strike a climate change deal at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow would lead to a ‘genocide’ worse than that committed by the Nazis. …

“And in April, the archbishop was accused of ‘jumping on a woke bandwagon’ after claiming that being a royal is like serving ‘life without parole’ – in words that appeared to signal his support for Harry and Meghan over Buckingham Palace.”

A more ridiculous comment than the one that Jesus would get vaccinated against Corona has rarely been uttered.

Fury Erupts in London over Johnson’s Lockdown Plans

Express wrote on December 18:

“A demonstration against mandatory vaccinations [occurred] at Parliament Square in Westminster. The iconic location was said to be ‘rammed’ with angry Britons on Saturday afternoon… The  protest today saw people travel to the capital from across the UK and there are also rallies in Bournemouth, Blackburn, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast and the Isle of Wight. The protest is supported by an umbrella movement called the ‘Together Declaration’, with 170,000 signatures including business, religious and campaign leaders, as well as MPs, which is campaigning against mandatory vaccinations as well as an end to vaccine passports and mass testing…

“It is understood the Prime Minister is also considering further measures under a so-called Plan C, which includes another lockdown, the Financial Times reports.”

Resistance to autocratic governmental measures is rising all over the world, and the concern is that real violence will break out between protestors and governmental agents… perhaps even creating civil unrest and civil war. And it creates animosity between certain countries, as the next article shows.

France’s and Germany’s Attack on the UK

The Guardian wrote on December 16:

“France will dramatically tighten restrictions on travel from Britain… effectively banning all non-essential journeys. The government announced in a statement that incoming travellers would require ‘an essential reason to travel to, or come from, the UK, both for the unvaccinated and vaccinated’ from midnight on Saturday…

“‘People cannot travel for tourism or professional reasons,’ it said… In addition, all arrivals from the UK will need a negative PCR or antigen test taken within the previous 24, rather than 48 hours, and will have to quarantine in France for seven days – reduced to 48 hours if they can produce a new negative test…. The French government also… asked travellers from France who had planned to visit the UK to postpone their journey….”

The age-long animosity between France and Britain can again be seen in this example of willful discrimination… And Boris Johnson seems to be a far-too-willing “accomplice.”

The Sun wrote on December 19:

“GERMANY is the latest country to ban travel to and from the UK from this weekend over Omicron variant fears… From midnight on Sunday, or 11pm UK time, any travellers from the UK apart from German nationals, residents and transit passengers will be banned.

“Everyone entering Germany from Britain, whether vaccinated or not, will need a negative PCR test and is required to be quarantined for 14 days.”

Of course, Germany would join France against the UK. No surprise there.

Huge Demonstrations against Corona Restrictions in Germany

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 18:

“Thousands of people have demonstrated against coronavirus rules in several major German cities… Several thousand people took to the streets in the northern port city of Hamburg, then marched in several blocks through the city center, police said. About 8,000 attendees were registered [This means, many more participated.] ‘No to compulsory vaccination!’ was written on self-made placards, as well as ‘Hands off our children.’ In the western city of Düsseldorf, police said an estimated 4,000 protesters marched through the city center…

“Vaccinations for children are beginning in Germany, following recommendations made by the country’s top vaccine body. However, many parents are divided on the issue… Demonstrations also took place in the financial hub of Frankfurt am Main, as well as the southwestern cities of Karlsruhe and Freiburg.  Police said around 3,500 people marched through the center of Freiburg, adding that they sporadically split up groups because some attendees were not wearing obligatory face masks. Around 900 people took to the streets in Karlsruhe to protest mandatory vaccinations, particularly for health care workers such as nurses. In Osnabrück, Lower Saxony, nearly 2,000 people demonstrated under the slogan ‘Basic rights are not negotiable,’ according to police. Around 1,900 people attended a protest against restrictions in Schwerin, the capital of the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, police said…

“Meanwhile, officials in Berlin banned a demonstration that had 2,000 registered protesters, citing the expectation that demonstrators would violate coronavirus rules such as the obligation to wear a mask and maintain social distance. However, protesters have gathered on many occasions despite police bans.

“Police in the eastern German state of Saxony shut down gatherings organized by the Querdenker or ‘lateral thinkers’ group. People demonstrated in several parts of Dresden, which is one of the cities where the Querdenker movement is most popular. Meanwhile, in Rathenow in the state of Brandenburg, 360 police officers stopped a protest on Friday evening, citing a lack of people complying with mask requirements…”

The more people demonstrate, the more German state governments will respond harshly. Violence is to be expected.

The Netherlands Pushes the Panic Button

Reuters wrote on December 18:

“The Netherlands will go into a strict lockdown over the Christmas and New Year period to try to contain the highly- contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Saturday.

“All non-essential shops and services, including restaurants, hairdressers, museums and gyms will be closed from Sunday until Jan. 14. All schools will be shut until at least Jan. 9…. Other measures include a recommendation that households receive no more than two visitors and that gatherings outside are also limited to a maximum of two people…”

Israel again in the News

Israel Today wrote on December 19:

“Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appeared to fail a critical Covid-combatting leadership test at the weekend, after opposition to his wish to impose a near-total travel ban on Israelis forced him to backtrack… The prime minister used coercive manipulation, including warnings that those who opposed the measures would be to [be blamed] for any Covid-19 disaster that might result…

“Following those reports, and as the premier huddled with his government leaders at the weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday morning, news emerged that he was no longer planning a sweeping travel ban, but would announce a more limited list of countries to which Israelis may no longer fly, including the United States, Canada, Germany and Turkey. These restrictions will reportedly go into effect a little later this week.”

Far from being a shining light of democracy in the Middle East, the governments of Israel have been at the forefront of imposing dictatorial coronavirus restrictions.

More and More Vaccinations Required

Deutsche Welle reported on December 21:

“The European Commission announced Tuesday that COVID vaccine certificates in the bloc would only be valid for nine months without a booster shot…. The new rule concerns traveling within the European Union, but the Commission said in a statement that it recommends EU countries also apply it on a national level… EU residents are recommended to receive a booster shot six months, at the latest, after they’re fully vaccinated. But the certificate will be valid for three additional months as a grace period to ensure access to booster doses…”

JTA wrote on December 22:

“Israel will likely begin administering a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine to seniors, immunocompromised people, and healthcare workers in an effort to stem the spread of the Omicron variant.

“The move was recommended Tuesday by the panel of experts advising Israel’s government on the coronavirus pandemic. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had been hinting at the possibility of a fourth shot and embraced the recommendation in a statement Tuesday. ‘This is wonderful news that will assist us in getting through the Omicron wave that is engulfing the world,’ Bennett said…

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on December 22 that a fourth dose might become necessary soon, as the vaccines might not be that “durable.” When will it end? And how about the lack of confidence of scientists and doctors in their own vaccines?

Canada’s Dictatorial Restrictions

Life Site News reported on December 17:

“A Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MP sounded the alarm that the Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to keep COVID jab mandates and rules for years to come… as [h]idden in [Trudeau’s] Fiscal and Economic Update”…

“Many Canadian doctors have spoken out against both jab mandates as well as their purported safety and effectiveness…

“The Liberal’s fiscal update also praises the draconian and discriminatory Trudeau travel ban by air, sea, or train for the vaccine-free, which has been in place since December 1… The Liberal’s fiscal update also highlights the federal government’s mandate of COVID shots for all federally regulated sectors.

“However, many consider jab mandates as a blatant assault on individual freedoms that’s unnecessary given COVID’s high survivability among most groups, its minimal risk of asymptomatic spread, and research indicating that post-infection natural immunity is equally protected against reinfection [in fact, as the evidence proves, and as it is pointed out in this section, it is MORE EFFECTIVE than vaccinations.]

“There is also a substantial amount of evidence that vaccine mandates are a failed strategy for tackling COVID… the government once again has mandated COVID testing for returning air travelers, along with mandatory quarantine, even for those who are considered ’fully vaccinated.’”

They must not have too much confidence in their vaccinations.

“Dr. Fauci, Please Stop Lying!”

The left-liberal outlet, The Week, wrote on December 17:

“American public health bureaucrats… have repeatedly lied to the public, playing politics with the pandemic, and in the process undermined both the fight against COVID-19 and confidence in their own credibility… Back in February and March 2020… Anthony Fauci was all over the media downplaying masks. ‘If you look at the masks that you buy in a drug store, the leakage around that doesn’t really do much to protect you,’ he told USA Today that spring. ‘Now, in the United States, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to wear a mask.’ In an interview with 60 Minutes in March, he said, ‘Right now in the United States, people should not be walking around with masks.’

“It turns out Fauci almost certainly didn’t believe what he was saying. In an interview with InStyle several months later, he admitted that trying to preserve the mask supply for doctors and nurses was his first motivation…

“Fauci didn’t learn his lesson. Not only did he lie more, but he exposed his own deception once again. Last December, he told The New York Times he’d also been lying about how many people would have to get vaccinated to reach herd immunity (moving from 60 to 90 percent)…”

We do not endorse the gist of the article nor the premises expressed therein [such as the importance of wearing masks and the need for three vaccinations]. But what we found interesting is the recognition of Fauci’s repeated lies and the lack of trust people are having in his advice, competence and predictions. Also note the next incredible article.

Fauci, the Spin Doctor

Fox News reported on December 17:

“Fauci said Friday that the possibility of changing the definition for fully vaccinated is ‘certainly on the table’… which currently states a person is fully vaccinated when they have received two doses of a Pfizer or Moderna regimen or a shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In the face of omicron, some have suggested the definition should include a booster shot… Friday morning he finally planted his flag in the war of words around the pandemic when he suggested that some terms may – and in one case, should – change… [He said:] ‘… there’s no doubt that optimum vaccination is with a booster’…

“He also discussed the difficulty in pushing ‘mandates,’ instead suggesting that people should discuss ‘requirements’ as a more palatable term. ‘Mandates — that’s a radioactive word. Requirements people seem to respond better to that. They work,’ Fauci argued. ‘We are never going to get out of this outbreak if we still have 50 million people who for reasons that are very difficult to understand refuse to get vaccinated.’

“Fauci has walked this line in the past two weeks, making a distinction between ‘fully’ vaccinated versus ‘optimum’ vaccination [stressing] that ‘optimum’ vaccination would include a booster.

“Omicron has driven new cases up across the country…  The new variant appears to spread more than the delta variant while only creating mild symptoms so far. Hospitalizations and deaths have not increased to the same degree if at all… The United States has yet to record a death as a result of the omicron variant.”

Not only that, as WND reported on December 17, “Nearly 80% of the omicron variant cases in the United States were found in people who were fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention… In Israel, where most of the population has received a booster shot, 54 of 67 omicron cases, 80%, were people who had received three COVID-19 shots.”

Fauci’s spinning of the facts cannot hide the truth that we are dealing with a money-making political agenda.

The Fallacy of “Public Health” Experts

The Dossier wrote on December 18:

“There’s one thing that the ‘public health expert’ class is certain about these days. They claim to have ‘the tools’ to stop this coronavirus. But the thing about these ‘tools’ is that they require blind faith in order to work, since every observable metric shows that they’ve failed in catastrophic fashion…

“We are now almost two full years into our population-wide ‘public health expert’-managed COVID tyranny, and it has not exactly paid dividends for anyone other than the people in charge, who have catapulted to a life of fame and prestige.

“There is no evidence anywhere in the world that top-down authoritarianism, guided by these excessively praised ‘public health experts,’ has produced positive outcomes for the health and safety of any nation. In fact, the opposite is true. Throughout the world, sickness and unhealthy habits are increasing across the board, both indirectly and directly related to COVID-19… In fact, most of these ‘tools,’ when employed, are making everything worse.

“The mRNA shots were originally sold to the public with the claim that they prevent people from both infecting others and being infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. This is why the FDA and CDC, among other ‘public health’ bureaucracies, decided to green light injecting unthreatened 5 year olds with experimental drugs. The promise was that they would be ‘doing their part’ to ‘save grandma’ and ‘stop the spread.’ Yet the prevention and transmission claim has been completely memory-holed. As evidenced most recently by the breakouts in universally compliant settings, after a period of time, the shots seem to do nothing at all to prevent infection or transmission.

“Universal masking, another agreed upon tool to stop a virus, doesn’t work, yet the ‘experts’ continue to [demand it]. Curfews and lockdowns… have done absolutely nothing to solve a virus problem…”

Still, gullible people are listening to their unfounded and oftentimes totally false opinions…

Masks Don’t Help on Flights

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on December 16:

“CEOs of Southwest Airlines and American Airlines testified before Congress this week that forcing people to wear masks on board their planes does little if anything to prevent spread of the virus.

“As predicted, Dem Members freaked out after hearing this blow to their deep faith.”

It has been known for a long time that masks on flights do not help at all. For many, they could be harmful. Still, airlines follow Biden’s mandate to demand wearing masks. Fauci responded that masks on planes will “always be necessary, no matter what” (Fox News, December 19). What an incredible situation.

Natural Immunity Overlooked

Newsmax wrote on December 20:

“Former FDA commissioner and Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Sunday said… on CBS News: ‘A lot of people believe, including myself, that the reason why it’s [Omicron] manifesting as a less severe illness is probably because we have baseline immunity in the population… Probably around 80% of Americans and 90% of South Africans have some level of immunity, either from prior infection or through vaccination’… Gottlieb also believes omicron will ‘blow through fairly quickly.’”

In a related article, Newsmax wrote on December 20:

“Stumping for the overlooked science of natural immunity and denouncing the ‘inconsistent’ political science ‘tune’ of Dr. Anthony Fauci, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said she has overcome COVID-19 and does not need a vaccination from it now. ‘It’ll be over my dead body that I’ll have to get a shot,” Palin [said] on Sunday. ‘I will not. I won’t do it and they better not touch my kids either.’…

“The remarks came as Republicans are denouncing Biden’s vaccine mandates, not only on choice, but also on the scientific belief natural immunity might be protection enough, if not better.”

Natural immunity is overlooked because it does not pay the Big Pharma industry.

And Now… First Death in USA Reported

Reuters reported on December 20:

“Texas’ Harris County on Monday reported its first death related to the Omicron COVID-19 variant, a man who was unvaccinated, the county health department said… Earlier in December, Britain reported the first publicly confirmed death globally from Omicron. Twelve people in Britain have now died with the variant, and 104 are currently in hospital with it…”

Of course, an unvaccinated person is blamed and the push for vaccinations ensues as a consequence, even though the virus affects many more vaccinated than unvaccinated people. It would also be interesting to find out the exact circumstances of the person’s death.

Biden’s War on the Unvaccinated

Fox News reported on December 20:

“The White House was viciously mocked over the weekend after pushing the message that unvaccinated Americans would experience a winter of ‘severe illness and death’ due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus….

“Critics took to social media to mock the White House’s message of death, with some referring to Biden as the ‘Grim Reaper’…

“‘President Biden’s warning of a “winter of severe illness and death” makes President Jimmy Carter’s “malaise” speech urging Americans to lower expectations seem a cheerful upper by contrast. How do Democrats run as the party of ‘severe illness and death’? This is madness,’ wrote former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Other critics echoed his Jimmy Carter comparison…”

Madness indeed. God has poured out a spirit of deep slumber on our leaders.

Utter Confusion regarding Biden’s Vaccine Mandates

Newsmax, The Associated Press and Thomson/Reuters wrote on December 18:

“A U.S. appeals court on Friday reinstated a nationwide vaccine-or-testing COVID-19 mandate for large businesses, a federal government rule that covers 80 million American workers. The ruling by the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati lifted a November injunction that had blocked the rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which applies to businesses with at least 100 workers…

“The [decision] comes a day after the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a nationwide ban on the mandate [for healthcare workers]. The court instead allowed the mandate to remain blocked in 14 states that had collectively sued in federal court in Louisiana. That action altered a Nov. 30 ruling by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, who originally applied his order nationwide.

“A different appeals court, the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has declined to disturb a lower court order blocking the mandate in 10 other states.

“The Biden administration asked the justices to allow the mandate to take effect in the 24 states covered by those two courts’ decisions. A federal judge in Texas granted an injunction Thursday that applies only to that state.”

The Associated Press wrote on December 17 about the decision of the 6^th Court of Appeals regarding private companies:

“‘Given OSHA’s clear and exercised authority to regulate viruses, OSHA necessarily has the authority to regulate infectious diseases that are not unique to the workplace,’ Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, who was nominated to the court by former President George W. Bush, a Republican, wrote in her majority opinion…. She was joined in the majority decision by Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, an appointee of former President Barrack Obama, a Democrat… The dissent in Friday’s ruling came from Judge Joan Larsen, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, who said Congress did not authorize OSHA to make this sort of rule and that it did not qualify as a necessity to use the emergency procedures the agency followed to put it in place.’”

This decision by two judges (against one) is SO unconstitutional and plainly wrong.

Fox News added on December 18:

“The Supreme Court earlier this week refused to block a New York regulation mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for health care workers – a move that could spell trouble for those opposed to the sweeping mandate.”

All of this is becoming SO political, as evidenced by the fact that courts and judges disagree amongst themselves and decide, strictly based on political preferences. The concern for the health of the American people is secondary, if it exists at all, even though lip-services to the contrary might be uttered here and there. Nobody knows how the utterly political and divided Supreme Court will decide, while innocent workers are the pawns in this despicable chess game.

The Associated Press added on December 18:

“A vaccine mandate for companies that have contracts with the federal government is on hold nationwide, while a separate mandate for health care employees who work for providers that receive federal Medicare or Medicaid funding has been blocked in half the states…

“… vaccine mandates for federal government employees and the military remain in effect, as do mask requirements for airline passengers and people using public transportation.”

Californians Openly Defy Newsom’s Corona Mandates—Good for Them

NBC San Diego wrote on December 18:

“Coronado and El Cajon leaders said this week if the state wants to enforce the new indoor mask mandate it can use its own resources. On Friday the city of Oceanside joined them. The mandate won’t be enforced at privately owned businesses in Oceanside, and many small business owners who made it through the pandemic are fine with it…”

Breitbart wrote on December 17:

“Californians are ignoring Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide mask mandate, which went into effect Wednesday for most indoor spaces… Newsom exempted San Francisco — where he used to be mayor of the city — and the surrounding counties…

“In Los Angeles County, for example, gyms and restaurants are continuing as before…  The Sacramento Bee reported that no one can figure out who is responsible for enforcing the mask mandate, and that Newsom says he has ‘faith’ in Californians to enforce his mandate themselves, saying that they would ‘self-enforce’ but didn’t provide specifics on what would happen if they didn’t…

“Local government officials say the state hasn’t given any guidance on enforcement, and some local authorities say they won’t enforce the state’s order at all. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said… he would not enforce vaccine mandates in his county.”

Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia?

The Jerusalem Post wrote on December 16:

“A fascinating connection between Ethiopia and Jewish history is the belief that the Ark of the Covenant, containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments, may reside to this day in Ethiopia. While a Talmudic source relates that the ark – along with several other of the Temple’s sacred objects – was hidden just prior to the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, numerous other theories exist as to its whereabouts.

“A longstanding religious legend in Ethiopia describes how the Ark of the Covenant was brought there 3,000 years ago by a man named Menelik, who, according to the legend, was the son of the Queen of Sheba and Israel’s King Solomon. The legend states that the Queen of Sheba was from Ethiopia and that she traveled to Jerusalem, where she was seduced by King Solomon, giving birth to Menelik upon her return home. Menelik later traveled to Jerusalem and studied with his father before taking the ark and bringing it to Ethiopia, where, legend has it, it still resides in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum, where only ‘The Guardian of the Ark of the Covenant’ can view it.

“Others maintain that a sect of Jews driven by King Manasseh from Israel took the ark with them and transported it to Egypt, from where they eventually sailed up the Nile to Ethiopia. Researchers who journeyed to Aksum and made their way to Mary of Zion Church were purportedly introduced to a man referred to as the guardian of the ark. This man was said to live his entire life inside a fenced-off area surrounding the church and will not leave his post until he dies, at which time he will be replaced by the next guardian. In the chapel of the church, 30 robes from 30 previous guardians are on display – and every one of those 30 professed that the object they protected was the true Ark of the Covenant.

“While others dispute and debunk this legend – claiming that, at most, the ark in the church is merely a replica of the real thing – it fits neatly with the claim by Ethiopia’s former emperor Haile Selassie that he was a direct descendant of Menelik. Selassie, who ruled Ethiopia from 1930-1974, called himself ‘the Lion of Judah,’ the 225th king descended from King David, and prominently displayed a Lion of Judah motif on the country’s flag and currency.”

Whether true or not, the question is what others believe, especially the Roman Catholic Church which is very interested in possessing all kinds of religious relics and which therefore might be prompted to participate in a war against Ethiopia (Daniel 11:40-43). Regarding the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant and its future, see our Q&A on the issue. 

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Inflation at all Time High since 1982

The Associated Press wrote on December 10:

“Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.8% in November compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, energy, housing and other items left Americans enduring their highest annual inflation rate since 1982.

“It is the sixth straight month that inflation has been above 5%.”

Fox News added on December 10:

“Consumer prices surged at the fastest pace in nearly four decades in November as Americans paid more for practically everything from groceries to cars to gasoline… Price increases were widespread: Energy prices jumped 3.5% in November and are up 33.3% year over year. Gasoline is a stunning 58.1% higher than it was a year ago. Food prices have also climbed 6.1% higher over the year, while used car and truck prices – a major component of the inflation increase – are up 31%.”

No spin of the Biden Administration that we are on the road of economic recovery can change the facts.

US Debt Limit now at 31.4 Trillion Dollars

Newsmax wrote on December 15:

“The U.S. Congress on Tuesday approved raising the federal government’s debt limit by $2.5 trillion, to about $31.4 trillion, sending the bill to President Joe Biden to sign and avert an unprecedented default… A deal last week between Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, set the stage for Tuesday’s vote, bypassing normal Senate rules requiring at least 60 of the chamber’s 100 members to agree to advance most legislation. The Senate passed the bill earlier on Tuesday in a partisan 50-49 vote.

“The Democrat-led House of Representatives approved the bill in a 221-209 vote.”

CNS News reported on December 15:

“With that limit lifted, the federal debt will take a jump upward, then keep steadily climbing, constantly increasing the burden on future taxpayers….

“Among those lending money to the federal government so it can continue to run its massive annual deficits are foreign governments and foreign interests. According to the Treasury Department, entities in Japan owned $1.299 trillion in U.S. government debt as of the end of September. Entities in mainland China owned $1.047 trillion. Entities in the United Kingdom owned $566.5 billion; entities in Luxembourg owned $311.8 billion; entities in Ireland owned $309.6 billion; and entities in Switzerland own $296.5 billion…

“In fiscal 2021, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement, interest payments on Treasury securities hit $562.38 billion. That was more than three times as much as the fiscal 2021 cost of the Department of State ($35.814 billion), the Department of Justice ($39.261 billion) and the Department of Homeland Security ($91.069 billion) combined ($166.144 billion).

“Will the federal government ever again balance its budget? The obvious bet is: No.”

Foreigners become the head, and the borrower is servant to the lender…

Violent America

ABC News wrote on December 8:

“At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021… Philadelphia, a city of roughly 1.5 million people, has had more homicides this year (521 as of Dec. 6) than the nation’s two largest cities, New York (443 as of Dec. 5) and Los Angeles (352 as of Nov. 27). That’s an increase of 13% from 2020, a year that nearly broke the 1990 record.

“Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, leads the nation with 739 homicides as of the end of November, up 3% from 2020…

“Other major cities that have surpassed yearly homicide records are St. Paul, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona; Toledo, Ohio; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Austin, Texas; Rochester, New York; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, which broke its record back in August.

“… the nation saw a 30% increase in murder in 2020, the largest single-year jump since the bureau began recording crime statistics 60 years ago…”

America’s Crazy Windstorms

Gizmodo wrote on December 15:

“Dust Bowl-like conditions have spread across the Plains, with dust storms, ferocious fires, and staggering storms that are exceptional for this time of year…. Less than a week after a freak tornado outbreak  [in six states, especially in Kentucky], meteorologists are again gawking in awe and horror at the scenes unfolding on their radar screens and across the Midwest and Plains.

“A powerful windstorm unleashed by the clash of record heat and a vigorous storm system dropping out of the Mountain West has unleashed chaos for a huge swath of the United States. Raging winds have whipped up to 107 mph (172 kmh) in Colorado, fires have lit up the Texas Panhandle, and monster plumes of dust have turned night into day from Nebraska to Kansas.

“As if that wasn’t enough, a line of thunderstorms is now screaming into the region with shocking speed and ferocity—and could be poised to unleash a handful of tornadoes in locations usually covered in snow at this time of year. Dealing with one of these hazards alone would be shocking for this time of year, but seeing the weather map painted in broad brush strokes with some of the most extreme warnings that the National Weather Service issues is a nightmare…

“The conditions that gave rise to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s have become twice as likely thanks to carbon pollution from burning fossil fuels… In addition to satellites showing dust, smoke is also visible in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. Wildfires have rapidly spread in the region…”

How Biden and Harris, and other Lefties, Led Frenzy in Jussie Smollett’s False Claims

Fox News wrote on December 10 in three different articles [which were compiled below in just one publication]:

“It is shameful, but predictable, that Smollett’s false accusations were accepted as gospel by prominent politicians and others without ever waiting for the facts to unfold…

“In 2019, top Democrats, celebrities, and liberal news outlets, including CNN, all uncritically peddled the false narrative that [‘Empire’ actor] Jussie Smollett [who is gay] was attacked by two MAGA hat-wearing Trump supporters at 2 AM during the polar vortex in Chicago… Even when his story began raising scrutiny, CNN’s left-wing media guru Brian Stelter defended the media’s coverage of the disgraced actor at the time….

“Smollett was found guilty on five [out of six] charges of staging a hate crime [by hiring two Nigerian brothers to fake the attack against him] and lying to police on Thursday…

“What happened today to Jussie Smollett must never be tolerated in this country,” President Biden tweeted in January 2019 when he was mulling a presidential run, ‘We must stand up and demand that we no longer give this hate safe harbor; that homophobia and racism have no place on our streets or in our hearts. We are with you, Jussie.’

“Vice President Kamala Harris also believed Smollett’s story and posted about it on Twitter calling the alleged attack an attempted ‘modern day lynching.’ New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat who ran for president, also referred to the alleged attack as an attempted ‘modern day lynching.’…

“Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took Smollett’s side as well and used the incident to push for hate crime legislation… Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California called the alleged attack ‘vile’ and ‘tragic.’… Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and many other prominent Democrats also chimed in with support for Smollett..

“It says something about the quality of leadership in the White House when neither the president nor vice president have the common decency to apologize for their role in blindly supporting a phony hate crime….”

Shameful indeed, but this narrative was used eagerly by the left in their support of the “hate crime-racial oppression” agenda.

CNN Anderson Cooper’s Arrogance

Breitbart wrote on December 9:

“CNN anchor Anderson Cooper said Thursday on his show ‘Anderson Cooper 360’ that those who choose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are arrogantly shirking their responsibilities to society, which he finds ‘infuriating.’”

What about the arrogance of many proponents of mandatory vaccinations towards the unvaccinated? Comments published by Breitbart were telling:

“No tyranny can survive without a complicit media… Notice no anger toward the drug companies who made these big promises?… The drug companies support the media by pumping big $ into ads… a full third of those fully vaccinated are getting sick. It’s coming to light the original vaccine only lasts 4-5mos…”

Brian Williams Retires with a Sober Warning

Real Clear Politics wrote on December 10:

“Longtime NBC News broadcaster Brian Williams issued a strange warning Thursday as he retired from his 11 p.m. MSNBC show.

“‘I’m not a liberal or a conservative. I’m an institutionalist. I believe in this place. And in my love of my country… But the darkness on the edge of town has spread to the main roads and highways and neighborhoods. It is now at the local bar, and the bowling alley, the school board, and the grocery store. And it must be acknowledged and answered for. Grown men and women who swore an oath to our Constitution, elected by their constituents, possessing the kinds of college degrees I could only dream of, have decided to join the mob and become something they are not while hoping we somehow forget who they were.

“‘They’ve decided to burn it all down with us inside. That should scare you to no end as much as it scares an aging volunteer fireman… The reality is though, I will wake up tomorrow in the America of the year 2021, a nation unrecognizable to those who came before us and fought to protect it, which is what you must do now…”

But his warning will fall on deaf ears…

Build Back Better Will Cost Almost 5 Trillion Dollars

Breitbart wrote on December 10:

“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told reporters on Friday that the true cost of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion reconciliation package is far more costly and debt-ridden than previously disclosed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

“Upon request from Graham, the CBO issued a report Friday that revealed the reconciliation package would increase the deficit by $3 trillion over a ten-year period and cost $4.9 trillion in scope. The CBO’s original scoring claimed the deficit would only increase $0.2 trillion over ten years…

“Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, said in a statement on Friday that the $4.9 trillion Build Back Better Act will ‘bankrupt the economy’ while Americans continue to suffer from soaring inflation.”

Wisconsin 2020 Election Rigged?

Life Site News reported on December 9:

“Tens or even hundreds of thousands of people likely cast illegal votes in Wisconsin’s 2020 election, according to newly-released findings from a months-long investigation by a conservative legal group. Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) published the results of a 10-month probe of last year’s elections in the battleground state, reporting that the number of unlawful ballots in Wisconsin all but certainly surpassed Joe Biden’s victory margin of under 21,000 votes. ‘It is almost certain that in Wisconsin’s 2020 election the number of votes that did not comply with existing legal requirements exceeded Joe Biden’s margin of victory,’ the group said…

“It seems clear that voters abandoned the rules for voting indefinitely confined, drop boxes were used, at least one ballot harvesting event was conducted without statutory authorization, absentee balloting in nursing homes was conducted contrary to law, ballots were cured without authorization, and voter rolls were not accurately maintained as required by state and federal law… WILL said that while it did not find evidence of widespread, intentional fraud, the possibility ‘cannot be excluded.’

“While the fact that something ‘could have’ happened is not evidence that it did, failure to follow the required procedures raises the possibility of fraud and undercuts confidence in the results… It is unclear whether, had these ballots been disqualified, the results of the election would have changed. ‘It is not possible to know who these legally questionable votes were cast for,’ according to the WILL report. ‘Given the location of the votes it may be more likely than not that, depending on which ballots were thought to be unlawfully cast, that Trump would have wound up the winner’ due to Wisconsin’s ‘drawdown’ method, the group concluded.”

But the left-wing mass media does not want to hear about that.

Meadows Held in Contempt

NBC News wrote on December 15:

“The House voted Tuesday night to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the Justice Department for a potential criminal charge over his refusal to answer questions about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol [claiming executive privilege]. Lawmakers passed the measure largely along party lines in a 222-208 vote. Two Republicans voted with Democrats: Reps. Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, and Adam Kinzinger, of Illinois…

“Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio… accused Democrats of ‘destroying executive privilege’ by seeking to force ‘the closest of close’ presidential advisers [i.e. Trump] to testify…’

“A contempt referral is not the first to stem from the Jan. 6 investigation. The House previously voted to refer former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to the Justice Department for contempt charges after he defied the committee’s subpoenas. The Justice Department acted on the recommendation… Bannon has been charged with two counts of contempt and could face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine if he is convicted. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in July.”

Trump’s claim of executive privilege is being adjudicated. To hold Meadows and Bannon in contempt is premature at best. Meadows rightly pointed out that this is another attempt by Democrats and two Rino’s to get to Trump.

Elon Musk “Person of the Year”

The Brownstone Institute published the following article by Jeffrey Tucker on or about December 15:

“It’s a good call for Time Magazine: it made Elon Musk the person of the year… Musk is arguably the most prominent opponent of lockdowns and vaccine mandates in the US. In his official interview, he refused to take back his last-year denunciation of stay-at-home orders as ‘fascist.’

“He stepped it up even further concerning vaccine mandates. ‘I am against forcing people to be vaccinated, not something we should do in America… ‘I believe we’ve got to watch out for the erosion of freedom in America.’…

“For some reason, people have a hard time understanding how someone could be for the right to accept the vaccine but also be against imposing it by force. And yet that position is clearly the most reasonable one, the one consistent with freedom, and good public health…

“Only a few weeks ago, he told the Wall Street Journal that the whole of the Democrats’ and Biden’s $1.9 trillion spending bill on infrastructure should be scrapped… There is nothing worth anything in it… What’s surprising is that someone so rich, so influential, so decisive to our present economic lives, would actually say openly what everyone knows… Musk… is now beyond being controlled or contrite at this point. In that way he is a very dangerous man, in the best possible way we can use that term. He had better watch his back.

“Today, the White House spokesman routinely says that no edicts against rights and freedom are ‘off the table.’ Anything is possible. Anything can happen. They will decide. No one says a word; the craven press believes this is just normal. It’s not. It’s dangerous…

“[Musk] began to realize that the governing elites in this country are incredibly inept and unwilling to take responsibility for their actions. He noted the completely undemocratic methods and the unscientific rationale that were deployed to bring about lockdowns. For that reason, he has been smeared and put down as a promoter of misinformation. Anyone who has paid attention for the last two years knows exactly what that means: he is telling truths he is not supposed to tell…”

Fauci and Lauterbach—the great Dividers

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on December 9:

“As Biden’s vaccine mandates continue to be smacked down by courts, as the Senate has held a bipartisan vote rejecting mandates, as even Democrats are…  ‘souring’ on vaccine mandates, Fauci was asked in a MSNBC interview whether it might be time to back down a bit. Not at all! – was Fauci’s response. If people won’t take the shots they must be forced to take the shots, he replied.”

Newsmax wrote on December 10:

“Fauci says families should ‘ask,’ and ‘maybe require’ that guests be vaccinated if they come over for holiday celebrations…”

Fauci’s clone or alter ego, Germany’s new Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, blows into the same horn. According to an article in Bild Online, dated December 10, [“Unvaccinated are hit now very hard” – “Ungeimpfte trifft es jetzt ganz hart”], he said in a discussion televised by ZDF:

https://www.bild.de/politik/talk-kritik/talk-kritk/omikron-debatte-im-zdf-lauterbach-ungeimpfte-trifft-es-ganz-hart-78500232.bild.html

“I will continue to say that one is perhaps only protected well with three vaccinations [“Ich werde immer wieder erklären, dass man nur mit drei Impfungen wahrscheinlich gut geschützt ist”.]… [Those who are not vaccinated] are not protected at all [“Die sind gar nicht geschützt!”].” He also stated that the vaccines can only be preserved for nine months. [“Der Impfstoff ist neun Monate lagerbar, tiefgekühlt”], and that Delta and Omicron can only be fought with the two pillars of booster shots and mandatory vaccination.” [“Delta und Omikron wirklich effektiv zu bekämpfen [ist] nur möglich mit den zwei Säulen Boosterimpfung und Impfpflicht.“]

Nothing was said that those who have had corona ARE protected because of natural immunity.

Wochenblick ran a lengthy article on December 10, stating that “Lauterbach continues to lie.” [“Lauterbach lügt weiter.”] 

California Joins the Corona Hysteria

NBC7 wrote on December 13:

“… the state announced Monday that beginning Wednesday, mask-wearing will become mandatory in all indoor public settings across California regardless of vaccination status. The mask mandate… will remain in place until Jan. 15.

“The state will also toughen the restriction for unvaccinated people who attend indoor ‘mega-events’ of 1,000 people or more, requiring them to receive a negative COVID-19 test within one day of the event if it’s a rapid antigen test or within two days for a PCR test… State officials will also recommend, but not require, that people who travel to California or return to the state after traveling be tested for COVID-19 within three to five days.”

Nothing else was to be expected from left-wing Governor Newsom.  

Is WH Press Secretary Jean Psaki for Real?

Fox News wrote on December 10:

“White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggested Friday that it is OK for kids to eat their lunches outside in cold temperatures in an effort to maintain safety amid the COVID 19 pandemic.

“Asked whether the White House wanted school children to ‘get back to a more normal school experience,’ Psaki insisted schools are having children practice social distancing measures, mask up, and eat their snacks and lunch in frigid outdoor temperatures in an effort to ‘keep their kids safe and keep students safe.’

“Psaki said she believes the ‘vast majority of parents appreciate’ such measures being taken by school systems to limit the spread of the coronavirus among elementary-aged school children.”

This is appalling. We would say that the vast majority of parents who have not been brainwashed by the left-wing propaganda, do NOT appreciate such measures being taken by autocratic school systems which endanger the health of our children much more than COVID could ever do.

Confusion regarding Mandatory Vaccinations

 Fisher Phillips wrote on December 16:

 “Serving up yet another curveball for healthcare employers, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals effectively reactivated the [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] CMS vaccination mandate across nearly half of the country with a surprise decision on Wednesday afternoon…

“… It is… possible that the vaccine mandate may have received only a brief reprieve. The Fifth Circuit stopped short of approving the mandate, ruling only that the Louisiana judge had exceeded his authority in enjoining the vaccine mandate nationwide.

“In states such as Florida and Tennessee – where the CMS mandate is reinstated and new state laws or executive orders have all but gutted employer vaccine mandates – a clear conflict exists between state and federal law on this issue. Although the CMS mandate clearly states its intention to supersede any contrary state or local law, it remains to be seen as to how long it remains in place, if at all.”

Bad Signs for Europe’s “Democracies”

The Local wrote on December 10:

“As the German parliament votes through a vaccine mandate for medical and care workers, the new Health Minister has clarified that people who avoid compulsory Covid jabs will face fines… ‘The imposition of fines is unavoidable,’ Lauterbach said… If someone doesn’t pay, the fines will have to be increased considerably, he said… [He] also spoke out in favour of a vaccine mandate for teachers and nursery school employees…

“From March 15th, 2022, employees in clinics, doctors’ surgeries and care homes will have to show proof that they are fully vaccinated – or present a doctor’s note explaining why they are unable to get their jabs…

“The step towards compulsory jabs for certain sections of the population follows similar moves by France, Italy, Britain and Greece. Neighbouring Austria plans to bring in a general vaccine mandate by next February, with fines of around €3,000 for people who still refuse to get their Covid jabs.

“Germany’s new Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he is in favour of compulsory jabs [for] the general public…”

It does not look as if many of the European nations will ever return to a free democracy. Rather, the build-up to an authoritarian and dictatorial society is steadily and swiftly increasing.

The Propaganda against the Unvaccinated

The medical Journal, the Lancet, published an article by Guenther Kampf, “a prominent German researcher,” on November 20, which was referenced by the Ron Paul Institute on December 14:

“In the USA and Germany, high-level officials have used the term pandemic of the unvaccinated, suggesting that people who have been vaccinated are not relevant in the epidemiology of COVID-19. Officials’ use of this phrase might have encouraged one scientist to claim that ‘the unvaccinated threaten the vaccinated for COVID-19.’ But this view is far too simple.

“There is increasing evidence that vaccinated individuals continue to have a relevant role in transmission. In Massachusetts, USA, a total of 469 new COVID-19 cases were detected during various events in July, 2021, and 346 (74%) of these cases were in people who were fully or partly vaccinated, 274 (79%) of whom were symptomatic. Cycle threshold values were similarly low between people who were fully vaccinated (median 22·8) and people who were unvaccinated, not fully vaccinated, or whose vaccination status was unknown (median 21·5), indicating a high viral load even among people who were fully vaccinated.

“In the USA, a total of 10 262 COVID-19 cases were reported in vaccinated people by April 30, 2021, of whom 2725 (26·6%) were asymptomatic, 995 (9·7%) were hospitalised, and 160 (1·6%) died. In Germany, 55·4% of symptomatic COVID-19 cases in patients aged 60 years or older were in fully vaccinated individuals, and this proportion is increasing each week…

“People who are vaccinated… are still a relevant part of the pandemic. It is therefore wrong and dangerous to speak of a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Historically, both the USA and Germany have engendered negative experiences by stigmatising parts of the population for their skin colour or religion. I call on high-level officials and scientists to stop the inappropriate stigmatisation of unvaccinated people, who include our patients, colleagues, and other fellow citizens, and to put extra effort into bringing society together.”

AMEN!

Governmental Persecution of Christians in Europe

Christian Today wrote on December 9:

“A new report [by OIDAC] has identified the UK as one of the most challenging places for Christians in Europe amid a startling rise in anti-Christian hate crime across the continent…. It reveals a 70 per cent increase in anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe between 2019 and 2020, with the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Sweden forming the top five countries where Christians face the ‘most severe challenges’ for their faith… The hate crimes include… physical attacks on Christians, and restrictions on religious freedom, freedom of expression and parental rights…. It warned of ‘a strong and sometimes even extreme opposition to Christian morals derived from core beliefs’, and the increasing criminalisation of opinion.

“OIDAC director Madeleine Enzlberger said the 60-page report revealed a ‘worrisome phenomenon’… When Christians are forced to choose between their moral values and their professions; Christian students and speakers get silenced on campuses; when parental rights are trampled on by overreaching governmental interference or asylum claims of Christian refugees are arbitrarily denied; we often find that the main source of this intolerance and discrimination against Christians is due to a simple ignorance towards the problem or an explicit anti-Christian bias,’ she said.”

We should note that Germany is mentioned as one of the five top countries guilty of Christian persecution by the government.

The UN and the Lion with Wings

On December 9, Israel 365 wrote the following:

“A statue with Biblical implications has been erected recently outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The statue, entitled the ‘guardian for international peace and security, is situated on the Visitor’s Plaza outside UN Headquarters. According to the UN, the ‘guardian’ is a ‘fusion of jaguar and eagle.’ It was donated by the Government of Oaxaca, Mexico.

“Many have noticed an eerie similarity to Daniel’s dream in the Bible… His dream featured four beasts – a lion with wings, a bear with fangs, a four-winged leopard. The fourth beast had ten horns… The lion with wings represents Babylon. The bear represented Persia. The four-winged leopard represented Greece and the final most treacherous of them all represented Rome…”

In Daniel 7, four world-ruling empires are described and compared with wild beasts—the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greco-Macedonian and Roman Empires. The first beast, the Babylonian Empire, is described as “a lion, and had eagle’s wings” (Daniel 7:4). Although the Babylonian Empire was replaced by the Medo-Persian Empire and ultimately absorbed by the ancient Roman Empire, it would experience a revival in these last days… in the form of a revived Roman Empire in Europe. The modern Chaldeans will lead that revival into an all-encompassing war. It is interesting that the UN headquarters would erect such a statue, claiming peace and security, but signifying dictatorial war-mongering world domination.

No War with Russia

An Editorial by Pat Buchanan of December 9, published by buchanan.org, states the following:

“A U.S. war with Russia over Ukraine would be a disaster for all three nations. Nor could the U.S. indefinitely guarantee the independence of a country 5,000 miles away that shares not only a lengthy border with Mother Russia but also a history, language, religion, ethnicity and culture…

“Forced to choose between accepting Russia’s demand that NATO stay out of Ukraine and Russia going in, the U.S. is not going to war.”

See our new StandingWatch program, titled, “War between Russia, America and Europe over Ukraine?”

America’s Cluelessness regarding Russia and Ukraine

Here are some comics which were published in the Week (December 10, 2021) on the Russia-Ukraine developments https://theweek.com/cartoons . Even though satirical, they DO point out the current danger of the situation and Biden’s cluelessness as to how to deal with it. .

Ukraine Hopes for Europeans to Intervene

The Telegraph wrote on December 9:

“Vladimir Putin will be emboldened to invade Ukraine if European Union countries don’t sign up to a package of sanctions to deter Russia, Ukraine’s country’s foreign minister has warned. Dmytro Kuleba told the Telegraph that Mr Putin’s goal was to ‘destroy Ukraine’ and that he would be more tempted to resort to military actions if Western allies do not quickly find agreement on punitive measures… The Kremlin has denied planning an attack, but has simultaneously signalled that it will go to war unless the West and Ukraine concede a list of demands…

“Meanwhile, Joe Biden… promised ‘additional military capabilities’ would be deployed in the region – although he ruled out sending forces to Ukraine.”

Tensions Escalate

Express wrote on December 13:

“President Putin has sent the notorious Buk-M1 medium-range surface to air missiles to the frontline of the conflict. The Buk became infamous in 2014 after a missile fired from a territory controlled by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine shot down a Malaysian airline, killing all 298 people aboard.

“The news of Mr Putin sending in this deadly weapon does not bode well for peace talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine… Even if he does not launch a full-scale invasion, experts suggest Mr Putin may be leaving his troops and the Buk near the frontline as leverage for negotiations. However, Russian and western analysts also agree that this military buildup is a dire warning about a series of future crises over Ukraine…

“With over 175,000 personnel now ready in the region, the US has warned allies the Russian leader may be planning a renewed invasion for real this time. In the past few days alone, Mr Putin has likened Ukraine’s policy in the Donbas, the border region where Russia has led a slow-burning separatist war since 2014, to ‘genocide’ – words Kyiv fears may be a pretext to invade.

“The US has shared intelligence to convince even the most sceptical European allies that Mr Putin may be prepared to make good on Russia’s quasi-imperial ambitions early next year but has yet to conclude precisely when or if he may give the order to invade. Officials and analysts in Washington and Europe, and even people close to the Kremlin in Moscow, admit Putin’s true intentions with Ukraine remain a mystery.”

Russian-Chinese Cooperation

The New York Ledger wrote on December 15:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to present a united front with Xi Jinping as the Kremlin said the Chinese leader supported Moscow’s demand for security guarantees that would limit western influence in its backyard. In remarks shown by Russian state television at the start of their 90-minute video call on Wednesday, Putin told his ‘dear friend’ Xi that ‘a new model of co-operation between our countries has formed on principles such as non-interference in internal affairs and respecting each other’s interests’…

“‘Certain international forces are interfering in the internal affairs of China and Russia, and trampling on international law and recognised norms of international relations,’ Xi added. ‘China and Russia should carry out more joint actions to safeguard the security interests of both parties.’”

While Russia is reportedly planning an invasion of Ukraine, China is reportedly planning an invasion of Taiwan.

Scholz NOT the new European Leader

Politico wrote on December 9:

“The power shift in Berlin this week sparked hopes around Europe and across the Atlantic that the new chancellor’s government would unfreeze Germany’s stance on everything from pipelines to Poland, reversing Angela Merkel’s why-can’t-we-all-be-friends approach to the world. Instead, they’re likely to get more of the same.

“For Germany’s international partners, that shouldn’t be reassuring. With serious tensions on Europe’s eastern flank, not to mention challenges the EU faces on its southern doorstep and its dealings with China and even the U.S., a divided Continent could use some leadership from its most populous country. It’s unlikely to get any…

“Germany’s new coalition promises to be a difficult partner for Washington…

“Germany’s future engagement with the world isn’t clear. It doesn’t suggest, however, that Germany… is eager to play a central role… If [Scholz] fails to act quickly, his international standing will melt long before summer.’

It should have been clear from the outset that Scholz and his left-wing coalition spell disaster for Germany.

France and Hungary United?

The Times wrote on December 14:

“President Macron smoothed over differences yesterday with Viktor Orban, the man he has defined as his European adversary, and won Hungarian support for French goals for EU defence, nuclear power and agriculture.

“The Hungarian prime minister… struck a relatively friendly note with the French leader, who was visiting Budapest to push his plans for an ambitious French turn in the rotating six-month presidency of the European Council. Four months from an election in which he hopes to win a second term, Macron is treating the usually routine EU role as a moment for France to shine on the global stage. ‘Hungary’s relation towards President Macron is that of respect,’ Orban said.”

Europe Is Losing It

Israel 365 wrote on December 8:

“After widespread criticism (including from the Pope) the European Union retracted a manual for communications that claims to promote religious and gender ‘inclusion’ but which many believe is anti-religion.

“The 32-page internal document called the ‘Union of Equality’ was released last month as an initiative of Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, President of the European Commission to ensure that ‘everyone is valued and recognized’. The manual for EU officials was intended as a guide for how they should communicate in press briefings and social media. It recommended that EU representatives ‘update your language’…

“It also suggested using the phrase ‘first name’ rather than ‘Christian name’ and using names ‘Malika and Julio’ instead of ‘Mary and John’ to describe an ‘international couple’…

“The manual also instructed to avoid gender-referencing words such as ‘Man-made’ and ‘ladies and gentlemen,’ which should be replaced with more neutral phrases like… ‘dear colleagues.’ Words such as ‘chairman’ should be replaced by ‘chairperson’, and ‘policeman’ or ‘policewoman’ substituted for ‘police officer’, the guide said. It also recommended the word ‘stewardess’ be avoided in preference of ‘flight attendant’, and ‘principal’ be used instead of ‘headmaster’ or ‘headmistress’.

“Pope Francis reacted strongly to the EU statement, comparing it to other anti-religious ideologies. In a statement on Monday, the pontiff said, ‘In history many, many dictatorships have tried to do it. Think of Napoleon: from there… Think of the Nazi dictatorship, the communist one… it is a fashion of a watered-down secularism, distilled water… But this is something that throughout hasn’t worked… This could end up dividing the countries and [causing] the European Union to fail. The European Union must respect each country as it is structured within, the variety of countries, and not want to make them uniform.’

“‘[Nazism] ended up annihilating democratic life, indeed life itself with the death of the people, in becoming a bloody dictatorship,’ Pope Francis said… ‘This happens when there is a superpower that dictates economic, cultural, and social behavior to the other countries…’”

Now China

The Washington Free Beacon wrote on December 9:

“China’s military ‘will heavily attack U.S. troops who come to Taiwan’s rescue’ if a war between China and Taiwan breaks out, a possibility that is increasingly likely as the Communist regime readies its war machine on Taiwan’s borders.

“China’s latest threat to escalate tensions with Taiwan comes on the heels of remarks by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who said the United States is prepared to counter an attempt by China to forcefully seize Taiwan and bring it back into the Communist country’s orbit. The long-simmering standoff comes as the Biden administration confronts Russian attempts to invade Ukraine… China has been threatening to take Taiwan since the Biden administration took office.”

Biden’s troubles only mount, while he seems incapable of dealing with them.

You Must Not Tell the Truth

The Associated Press wrote on December 10:

“A Roman Catholic diocese in Sicily publicly apologized to outraged parents after its bishop told a group of children that Santa Claus doesn’t exist… The diocesan communications director, the Rev. Alessandro Paolino, said Stagliano was trying to underline the true meaning of Christmas and the story of St. Nicholas…  Italian news reports quoted Stagliano as saying during a recent religious festival that Santa doesn’t exist and that his red costume was created by the Coca-Cola company for publicity.

“‘First of all, on behalf of the bishop, I express my sorrow for this declaration which has created disappointment in the little ones…’ Paolino wrote on the diocesan Facebook page. ‘We certainly must not demolish the imagination of children, but draw good examples from it that are positive for life,’ he continued…

“While several welcomed the bishop’s attempt to focus on the Catholic meaning of Christmas, others faulted Stagliano for interfering with family traditions and celebrations, and crushing the spirits of children…”

So, one is willing to continue to LIE to their children and attack those who are daring to tell the truth.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

“Immigration Hardliner” Karl Nehammer new Austrian leader

The Guardian wrote on December 3:

“Austria’s ruling conservatives have picked the interior minister, an immigration hardliner, to lead them and the nation after a wave of resignations by senior officials set off by Sebastian Kurz…

“Karl Nehammer succeeds Kurz as party chief and will lead the coalition government with the Greens. He takes over a party in disarray since Kurz stepped down as chancellor in October because he had been placed under criminal investigation on suspicion of corruption offences.  Kurz denies any wrongdoing. Nehammer said… fighting coronavirus would be a top priority. Austria is in lockdown…

“Kurz’s resignation as party leader on Thursday sent shock waves through the party and prompted two of his closest allies, the chancellor, Alexander Schallenberg, and the finance minister, Gernot Blümel, to say they too would step down. Schallenberg had been in the job for less than two months.

“Bluemel is under investigation in a separate corruption case and also denies wrongdoing. Both he and Kurz said that having newborn children had motivated their decisions… Neither the OVP nor the Greens have an obvious interest in a snap election as opinion polls suggest both would lose seats. But tensions between them are such that few analysts expect their government to survive until the end of this parliament in 2023.”

Voices have warned that under Nehammer, Austria’s dictatorship will even get worse.

On Monday, Nehammer was sworn in as the new Chancellor. Wochenblick added on December 6:

“Other ÖVP members were also newly sworn in … the appointment of the new Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, who stood out in the past by caring for the remembrance of the Austro-Fascist dictator Engelbert Dollfuss, is causing criticism. Will the Interior Ministry now act even more aggressively against the resistance than it did under Nehammer? In any case, the Interior Ministry has already found the right [person as the] head of state security for dictatorial reprisals. Just yesterday, the ‘Director for State Security and Intelligence’ Omar Haijawi Pirchner announced that he wanted to monitor closely the social media.”

Demonstrations in Austria

Wochenblick wrote on December 4:

“Tens of thousands are back on Vienna’s streets today. They stand up against the coming compulsory vaccination…. People from all walks of life and of all ages are protesting. Mothers appeal: ‘Protect our children – get children out of schools!’ The state has been repressive from the start. Penalties for not wearing a mask were imposed…

“The lawyer from the Ministry of Defense, Monika Donner, gave an incendiary speech against the lies of the government…

“As a trained medical doctor, the FPÖ politician Dagmar Belakowitsch… spoke again at the rally. Alexander Tschugguel from the Catholic St. Bonifatius Institute spoke out decisively against the state access to our bodies and appealed to the people to continue to offer resistance before everything is taken from us…

“The fact that Karl Nehammer is now the new Federal Chancellor is causing a particular resentment among those who resist. They know from their own demonstration experiences that as minister of the interior, he was known by his autocratic, inhuman style… As the government will… force injections, this will also apply to the children and, if nothing changes, even to the newborns as well.”

Wochenblick stated on December 5 that “more than 100,000 people demonstrated in Vienna.”

The New York Times added the following on December 5:

“Austria has also announced that vaccination would become compulsory as of Feb. 1, making it the first Western country to take that step… the editorial board of The Financial Times [has] said the plan exacts too high a price in terms of individual freedom and see it a sign of political failure.”

By Sunday, the lockdown in Austria for the vaccinated will end, for the time being, but NOT for the unvaccinated.

Germany’s New Lockdown and Mandatory Vax Health Minister…

Breitbart wrote on December 6 in a headline:

“New German Government Taps Lockdown Loving Lawmaker as New Health Minister.”

It continued:

“The most closely watched appointment was that of the health minister… Scholz chose Karl Lauterbach, an epidemiologist and media-savvy lawmaker who lacks executive experience but has been one of Germany’s most prominent voices urging caution and strict measures against COVID-19 since the pandemic started… Federal and state leaders last week announced tough new restrictions that largely target unvaccinated people… parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate.”

Lauterbach is also an advocate of mandatory vaccinations. Lauterbach is a controversial figure, even in his own party (SPD). Leader of the opposition party AFP, Alice Weidel, tweeted: “It could not have been worse for Germany.”  The three coalition parties of the new government (SPD, Green and FDP) also agreed on other controversial measures, such as obtaining 80% of Germany’s electricity from renewable energies by 2030; lowering the voting age to 16; and legalizing the recreational use of cannabis. Dark clouds on the horizon in Germany…

Germany’s “Fight” against the Unvaccinated

The Local wrote on December 7:

“In a press conference held after the signing of the new government’s coalition agreement in Berlin, incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz slammed ‘threatening’ protests against Covid restrictions and vaccinations. His comments were echoed by Green Party co-leader Robert Habeck… ‘The fact that we need a higher vaccination rate isn’t up for debate,’ he said. ‘It becomes problematic when, out of the multitude of different reasons (for not getting vaccinated), a movement arises – not necessarily against vaccination, but against the state, against a free and open democracy,’ he added…

“Demonstrations against current Covid measures have been ramping up in Germany as the incoming government moves to bar unvaccinated people from most areas of public life, including non-essential shops. The country has also introduced contact restrictions that prevent unvaccinated people from meeting more than two other people at a time.

“Critics of the measures claim that the moves risk sowing more division in an already divided society, but Scholz defended the move on Tuesday, claiming the German population was ‘not split’ but rather ‘of one mind’. ‘We have to do everything in our power to protect the population, and we’ll only succeed if as many people as possible are vaccinated,’ said Scholz. ‘We need restrictions, particularly for the people who haven’t got vaccinated, because there’s no doubt whatsoever that it’s the people who aren’t vaccinated who are driving the high infection rates.’”

The Local published the following comments:

“What a hypocrisy! To talk about democracy when there is in fact absolute tyranny and segregation.

“The hypocrisy is real… To claim that the only way to succeed in fighting covid is by getting as many people as possible vaccinated or to claim that the unvaccinated are to blame for the rising covid cases is just bogus and false…”

New German chameleon and backpedaling politician Olaf Scholz might be right to the extent that most brainwashed Germans, but by far not all, are of “one mind” when it comes to blaming the unvaccinated and mandating vaccinations.

Meet Karl Lauterbach… the German Anthony Fauci

Deutsche Welle wrote on December 6:

“During the COVID pandemic, epidemiologist and eccentric Karl Lauterbach became known as a voice of reason for some, and an infuriating lockdown supporter for others. Now he will be Germany’s new health minister… Karl Lauterbach… is a regular guest on talk shows, gives interviews and regularly tweets — sometimes every hour… his media appearances were to impart bad news. He regularly called for a tougher stance and more restrictions in Germany’s coronavirus policy…

“Karl Lauterbach is a controversial figure. Some are annoyed and [describe] him as a ‘Cassandra,’ a nod to the ancient Greek mythical clairvoyant who always predicted disaster… But many others trust him, and some even became ardent supporters during the course of the pandemic…

“[His] appointment was a highly controversial decision within the SPD right up to the end. In the party, to which Lauterbach has belonged for 16 years as a directly elected member of parliament, he is regarded as a lone wolf, an eccentric and a know-it-all… Olaf Scholz likely knows that with Karl Lauterbach he is bringing a politician into his Cabinet who will not please everyone…”

Germany’s “Quarantine Centers” in Use Again

Life Site News wrote on December 3:

“A recent survey by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag found that at least 15 people have been taken to quarantine facilities in Germany’s 10 largest cities since the beginning of the year. The 15 individuals, who allegedly violated at-home isolation requirements for COVID-19, include 11 in Munich, two in Stuttgart, and one each in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt, Welt am Sonntag reported. The full number of cases is likely higher, as authorities Berlin and Leipzig did not provide figures to the paper.

“Some of the quarantine facilities were located within prisons, according to Welt. ‘Most of the federal states have closed areas in hospitals or prisons for quarantine breakers,’ the outlet noted. ‘In Eisenhüttenstadt, Brandenburg, refusals were last housed in a former deportation detention center, in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, in a Solingen clinic.’…

“German Infection Protection Act of 2000 specifically authorizes ‘placement in a locked hospital’ or ‘locked facility’ to that effect. ‘The fundamental right to freedom of the person can be restricted in this respect,’ the law states. With hundreds of thousands of Germans subject to domestic quarantine orders at any given time, city authorities typically ‘check’ residents ‘if there is a specific suspicion,’ according to Welt. In Stuttgart, officials rely on ‘special tipsters,’ including ‘neighbors, acquaintances and relatives.’…

“The 10 largest cities in Germany have also initiated more than 250 fine proceedings for quarantine violations, the newspaper noted. Fines ranged between 250-1,000 euros, though they can run up to 25,000 euros….”

Incredible Falsification in Bavaria

Focus wrote on December 4:

“The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder caused a sensation at the end of November with a graphic: The incidence of unvaccinated people in Bavaria is 1469, compared with only 110 people who have been vaccinated. ‘There is a direct connection between low vaccination rates and high infection rates,’ Söder wrote. His appeal: ‘So please get vaccinated. Only vaccination helps.‘

“Now it became known, however, that the State Office for Health and Food Safety [LGL] which collects the data in Bavaria, apparently often does not even know the vaccination status of the individually infected people, according to ‘Welt’ research. Instead of ignoring the cases with an unknown status, they are added to the unvaccinated.

“The imbalance can be serious. According to a spokesman for the authorities, a total of 81,782 corona cases were reported for the week before November 24th – 9,641 infected people with full vaccination protection, 14,652 without vaccination protection and 57,489 with ‘unknown’ vaccination status. According to the LGL, these 57,489 infected people were then assigned to the group of unvaccinated – with considerable consequences for the incidence value for unvaccinated people.

“Apparently Bavaria is not an isolated case. This counting method is also used accordingly in Hamburg, as a spokesman for the Hamburg Senate of the ‘Welt’ confirmed …

“There has been harsh criticism from the opposition regarding the incidence reports in Bavaria. Martin Hagen, FDP parliamentary group leader in the Bavarian state parliament, called for ‘unreserved clarification’. He criticized according to ‘Welt’: ‘The suspicion that state authorities are deliberately giving the public a wrong picture with distorted statistics weighs heavily.’ And turning to the Prime Minister, he asks: ‘Did Söder know that the numbers were manipulated with which he justifies his politics?’”

It will end up as it did in Bertolt Brecht’s “Mackie Messer”: “… who knows nothing of any of it” (“der von allem nichts gewusst.”)

Subsequently, Focus reported on December 5 that the Bavarian government responded to the report. The audacity with which their falsifications were justified is incredible:

“LGL President Walter Jonas says: ‘This accusation is absolutely absurd. We decided to initially count the cases without information on the vaccination status among the unvaccinated… Merely omitting the missing values ​​would have led to completely wrong incidence ratios … Even after changing the calculation, nothing will change…’

“However, the authority does not provide any information about what the ‘conversion of the calculation’ of the data is all about.”

This is how the people are being misled.

Abolishing the Nuremberg Code?

Ddbnews.org wrote on December 4:

“Ursula Van Der Leyen, chairwoman of the EU Commission, told the press on Wednesday that she was in favor of abolishing the long-standing Nuremberg Code and forcing people to get vaccinated against COVID… In Austria, unvaccinated people aged 12 and over are currently almost completely banned and are only allowed outside for essential tasks such as eating or seeing a doctor…

“The Nuremberg Code was enacted in 1947 immediately after World War II to prevent many of the egregious human rights violations committed by the Nazis and the Imperial Japanese during the war.

“In particular, it was about carrying out medical procedures on test subjects without their consent. These procedures, often under the direction of the likes of Dr. Josef Mengele or Hideki Tojo, often included the worst torture methods. Since then, full and proactive ongoing consent has been required.”

If this does not ring alarm bells…

Israel too?

Israel Today wrote on December 6:

“Israel’s ‘Corona Czar’ said last week that the Jewish state must consider mandating COVID-19 vaccines for all citizens. Other officials retorted that doing so would make Israel a dictatorship. Israel is currently not mandating vaccination against coronavirus, though many have argued that there is heavy governmental control to get the jab… Government officials, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, insist that those sectors of society still refusing the vaccine are now threatening the success of Israel’s battle against the pandemic.

“…  there is a good chance Israel will eventually mandate vaccination in light of decisions by several major European countries… However, Israel is a more fractured society. Vaccination rates are still lowest among the Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews, and it is difficult to see those sectors peacefully acquiescing to any government mandates.”

Italy of Course

The Associated Press reported on December 6:

“Italy is making life more uncomfortable for unvaccinated people this holiday season, excluding them from indoor restaurants, theaters and museums starting Monday to reduce the spread of coronavirus and encourage vaccine skeptics to get their shots.

“Italian police have been empowered to check whether diners in restaurants or bars have a ‘super’ green health pass certifying that they are either vaccinated or have recently recovered from the virus. Smart phone applications that verify people’s health pass status have been updated to prevent entry to concerts, movies or performances to those who have merely tested negative in recent days. The measures run through Jan. 15.”

Mussolini is coming to town…

Comeback of Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi?

The Daily Mail wrote on December 5:

“Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been tipped to make one more run to be Italy’s next president. The 85-year-old media tycoon… remains Italy’s longest serving post war leader, having been in office three times. Despite regular brushes with the law – including being convicted of tax fraud in 2013 – and a number of health concerns, he has previously been referred to as ‘the immortal’ for his longevity in politics. And now, those within his centre-right Forza Italia party, which he led for more than two decades, are tipping him to make one final run for the top job.

“Antonio Tajani, the deputy leader of the party told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘It would be a dream. A lot of us have asked him [to run]…’ Berlusconi has not officially entered the race but is reportedly campaigning behind the scenes. The right-wing bloc… are expected to back him if he were to officially enter the race… He is currently a legislator in the European Parliament…

“Gianfranco Rotondi, a veteran Forza Italia MP and a former minister under Berlusconi’s last government said his former boss has a ’50-50 chance to make it’ in voting which starts around January 20. Lorenzo Castellani, a political historian at Rome’s Luiss university, said he predicted Berlusconi’s attempt to fade, but expected him to be ‘one of the kingmakers’ in the presidential race. The frontrunner in January’s elections is currently Mario Draghi, the current prime minister, while sitting president Sergio Mattarella has also been mentioned as a credible option, despite saying he wants to retire.

“Italian presidents are elected by approximately 1,000 national and regional lawmakers in a secret ballot.”

A Global Treaty for Pandemics?

Climate Depot wrote on December 1:

“… global leaders on Wednesday agreed to start negotiations to create an international agreement to prevent and deal with future pandemics — which some have dubbed a ‘pandemic treaty.’ The special session of the World Health Assembly, only the second ever held by the WHO’s governing body, pledged by consensus to begin work on an agreement… The United States has said it is largely in favor of such an accord… Britain and European Union states have also championed an agreement…”

Climate Depot went on to comment:

“… if a ‘radical’ WHO ‘pandemic treaty’ that is ‘legally binding’ becomes reality, global mandates may be coming your way… Even the Washington Post is calling a ‘pandemic treaty’ a ‘radical’ idea. Once a ‘pandemic treaty’ is set in place, COVID mandates will become permanent as elite officials fly around the world to discuss how to further crush freedom… Just like the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the architects of a ‘pandemic treaty’ will seek more and more power and control and become a self-interested lobbying organization…”

This is frightening news.

Global Tyranny

Life Site News wrote on December 3:

“Dr. Robert Malone, the original inventor of the mRNA vaccine technology 40 years ago, praised the recent call by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò to build an anti-globalist alliance…

“Archbishop Viganò had proposed on November 18 to ‘free humanity from a totalitarian regime that brings together in itself the horrors of the worst dictatorships of all time,’ and he challenged ‘rulers, political and religious leaders, intellectuals and all people of good will, inviting them to unite in an alliance that launches an anti-globalist manifesto, refuting point by point the errors and deviations of the dystopia of the New World Order and proposing concrete alternatives for a political program inspired by the common good, the moral principles of Christianity, traditional values, the protection of life and the natural family, the protection of business and work, the promotion of education and research, and respect for creation.’…

“Dr. Malone [is] a strong opponent to the currently debated and planned vaccine mandates, lockdown policies, and mask mandates, all of which are, according to his study and research, ineffective and potentially harmful to human health… The vaccine expert compared the lockdowns with the ‘camel’s nose’ metaphor: ‘Once the camel’s nose gets in the tent, pretty soon the whole camel is in the tent,’ Dr. Malone said…

“‘There is a growing sense by many people that there’s something fundamentally evil going on here (…) I’ve become convinced that we do have a situation that is essentially the growth and expansion of global tyranny that is harmonized, that is managed, that is aligned across nation states, and it appears to be aligned with the economic interests of a small cluster of investment funds that represents the bulk of global western capital… For two years now we have been witnessing a global coup d’état, in which a financial and ideological elite has succeeded in seizing control of part of national governments, public and private institutions, the media, the judiciary, politicians, and religious leaders… Fundamental rights, which up until yesterday were presented as inviolable, have been trampled underfoot in the name of an emergency: today a health emergency, tomorrow an ecological emergency, and after that an internet emergency.’”

Poll: US Government without Power to Mandate Vaccination

Breitbart wrote on December 3:

“Most voters say the federal government does not have the authority to mandate coronavirus vaccines, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Friday found… “Most, 57 percent, said ‘no,’ the government does not have that power, while 35 percent said ‘yes,’ and eight percent said ‘not sure.’

“The vast majority of Republicans, 81 percent, said the government does not have that power, and 63 percent of independents agree. However, most Democrats, 59 percent, believe the government does, in fact, have the power to make the coronavirus vaccination mandatory.”

This shows where at this point, the greatest danger for US democracy comes from. We are not promoting or endorsing any political party or candidate—we are just stating facts and focusing on trends. However, Trump keeps taking credit for developing the vaccine at high speed “when everyone said it wasn’t possible.” Since the vaccine was not, and could not have been tested for long-time complications, his continued “encouragement” to get vaccinated contributes to the problems which we are facing today. But there can be no doubt that the vaccination policy of the Biden Administration does endanger the safety, security and survival of this country. Note the next article.

Oklahoma’s AG Sues Biden over Vaccine Mandates

Breitbart reported on December 3:

“Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor (R) has sued the Biden administration over its federal coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal employees and National Guard members… Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt earlier this week reinforcing the need for military members to be vaccinated following Stitt’s request to bypass the mandate…

“‘Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate ensures that many Oklahoma National Guard members will simply quit instead of getting a vaccine, a situation that will irreparably harm Oklahomans’ safety and security,’ O’Connor said in a statement. ‘These patriots, along with many federal employees, who serve their country and their state are now at risk of being terminated because they do not wish to take the vaccine.’”

Federal Judge Blocks Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors

Breitbart wrote on December 7:

“A federal judge Tuesday issued an injunction striking down the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal contractors, saying the plaintiffs are ‘likely [to] succeed in their claim that the President exceeded the authorization given to him by Congress.’

“The lawsuit was brought by Attorney General Alan Wilson and Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina, along with the attorneys general of Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, Utah, and West Virginia and the governors of Georgia, Alabama, and Idaho, as well as other state entities.

“The case revolves around the president’s authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act (Procurement Act) and the authority it gives the president to issue public health mandates such as the one President Joe Biden issues in Executive Order (EO) 14042 to require all federal contractors to be vaccinated or face possible termination. ‘The Court acknowledges the tragic toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has wrought throughout the nation and the globe,’ Judge Stan Baker begins. ‘However, even in time of crisis this Court must preserve the rule of law and ensure that all branches of government act within the bounds of their constitutionally granted authorities.’ Furthermore, writes Baker, the government’s  ‘“strong interest in combating the spread of [COVID-19]’ … does not permit the government to ‘act unlawfully even in the pursuit of desirable ends.’”…

“Baker also pointed out that the Biden administration has neither cited a case that allows the president ‘to promulgate such a wide and sweeping public health regulation,’ nor cited a case in which a court upheld an analogous action. Concluding his determination of the merits, Baker explained that if the Biden administration were to have success in this case, it would give the president the ‘right to impose virtually any kind of requirement on businesses that wish to contract with the Government.’”

New York City’s Ongoing Tyranny under Mayor de Blasio

CNBC wrote on December 6:

“New York City is imposing a vaccine mandate for all private sector employers as a preemptive measure to fight a surge of Covid cases this winter, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday. The mandate covers 184,000 businesses and will go into effect on Dec. 27, de Blasio said. Everyone 12 and older, workers and customers, will be required to show proof of two vaccine doses by that date, unless they received Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine…

“The city will also require proof of vaccination for children ages 5 to 11 for indoor dining, entertainment and fitness establishments, the mayor said. Kids will be required to have proof of at least one dose by Dec. 14. They will also have to show proof of one dose for high-risk extracurricular activities such as sports, band, orchestra and dance by the same date.

“The New York City policy comes after the Biden administration was forced to halt implementation and enforcement of national vaccine and testing requirements for businesses with 100 or more employees to comply with a federal court order… It’s unclear whether omicron causes more severe disease, according to the WHO. The people who have tested positive…  so far have shown mild to moderate symptoms.”

This incredible “first in the nation” measure has been summarized by Breitbart in this way: “Covid-1984… It’s All About Control.” De Blasio’s mayoralty ends at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, so he moved quickly to get these new dictatorial measures in place before vacating his office. The proposed new measures have already received sharp criticism from many New Yorkers (see New York Post, December 6).

New York City has been setting a really bad example of terrible dictatorship.

Far Weaker US Jobs Report as Expected

Breitbart wrote on December 3:

“The U.S. economy added 210,00 jobs in November and the unemployment rate sank to 4.2 percent. This was a far weaker jobs report than expected. Economists had forecast 545,000 positions added to payrolls and an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent…”

The White House and President Biden tried to spin the devastating report by saying it contained “incredible news” and proof of a “strong” recovery.  Fox News moderators and others responded to this spin with mockery and condemnation.  Sean Hannity said on Fox News:

“The November jobs report was abysmal, falling well short of every projection — keep in mind we’re already facing a severe worker shortage, record-setting inflation, insanely high gas prices, stagnant growth, and now it appears to be getting even worse,” adding that Biden was supposed to shut down the virus, not the economy (see Fox News, December 4).

Breitbart wrote on December 3:

“Alfredo Ortiz, president and CEO of the Job Creators Network,… said Biden’s speech is evidence of the ‘complete delusion concerning the actual state of the economy.’… Ortiz put forth some sobering economic data, that Biden omitted… ‘Biden touted the “significant improvement” in created jobs since he took office, yet chooses to ignore the fact that we are still 4 million jobs behind pre-pandemic numbers. Today’s jobs report showed there are still 6.9 million Americans unemployed. The number of those who currently want to work but can’t find work is a stagging 5.9 million. It’s worth noting, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does NOT count those 5.9 million looking for work among the 6.9 million currently unemployed…’”

How Soros “Makes” Left-Liberal Politics

Fox News reported on December 9:

“Liberal billionaire George Soros has poured millions of dollars into a dark money hub used by far-left activists pushing to dismantle the police…

“[This] is yet another instance showing how [Soros’] cash funds efforts to reshape the justice system. For years, Soros has showered district attorney races with money, oftentimes backing the most progressive candidate.

“Parker Thayer, a researcher at the Capital Research Center, estimated that Soros has dropped $28 million into prosecutor races since 2015.

“Soros’ Open Society Foundations also devoted $220 million in 2020 to a racial equality push, which included $70 million for local efforts geared toward criminal justice reform.”

Breitbart added on December 9:

“Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón gathered ‘progressive’ prosecutors from around the country to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his time in office, but the party was derailed by questions about rising violent crime.

“Gascón, who ran against the first black woman to hold the job, and who received millions of dollars in donations from left-wing billionaire George Soros, has pursued an aggressive, radical agenda of ‘criminal justice reform’ since taking office. But crime has spiked, leaving the city in the throes of what the Los Angeles Times has called a spate of ‘brutal, brazen’ crimes.”

So much for left-wing billionaire Soros’ policies.

BLM Calls for Boycott of White Companies

Fox Business wrote on December 1:

“The Black Lives Matter movement’s national arm is leading a boycott of ‘white companies’ until New Year’s Day, encouraging supporters to help ‘end white-supremacist-capitalism’ by visiting only Black-owned businesses during the holiday shopping season…

“‘We’re dreaming of a #Blackxmas. That means no spending with white companies from 11/26/2021 – 01/01/2022,’ the BlackXmas website says. The organization also calls on supporters to ‘move your money out of white-corporate banks that finance our oppression and open accounts with Black-owned banks.”

Serious questions about Biden’s Mental Health

The New York Post wrote on December 3:

“President Biden is having a series of worrisome episodes that seem to be a mix of his trademark plagiarism (adopting episodes from other public figures’ lives as his own in addition to appropriating their words) and what we sometimes euphemistically call a ‘senior moment.’

“Recently, President Biden told a truck driver: ‘I used to drive a tractor-trailor.’ This wasn’t the first time he had made the claim. But the White House has since conceded that it is a fabrication…

“But that’s par for the course for Biden, who infamously slandered an innocent man in the matter of the death of his first wife and daughter, claiming that the man had been a drunken driver. He wasn’t, there was no suggestion that he was, and police reports at the time suggested that it was probably Mrs. Biden who had been at fault in the accident. Yet Biden spent years alleging that the man ‘drank his lunch’ before causing the accident.

“Biden also has a rich fantasy life, which is not limited to his mythical truck-driving days… On Wednesday, he told an audience that during the Six-Day War, he had acted as a liaison between Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and the Egyptian government. The Six-Day War occurred in 1967, when Levi Eshkol was the prime minister of Israel and Biden was plagiarizing his way toward finishing No. 76 of 85 in law school… He was years away from beginning his Senate career. This is another fantasy, one that Biden keeps repeating. Is it an ordinary lie, or is it a delusion?

“… Because of Biden’s long history of habitual dishonesty, it is difficult to tell how much of this is Biden being Biden and how much of it is Biden no longer quite being Biden — how much is his longstanding and familiar moral disability and how much is, as it may be, late-life mental disability.

“We need an independent medical assessment of the president’s mental health. That is a sobering fact to face, but face it we must. And right now, we need a Democrat who will say so in public.”

But Democrats are not willing to raise this, and neither do Republicans because the replacement of Biden through Kamala Harris would seem to be even more devastating to many.

The Pope in Greece

The Associated Press wrote on December 4:

“Pope Francis warned Saturday that the ‘easy answers’ of populism and authoritarianism are threatening democracy in Europe… Arriving in Greece, the birthplace of democracy, Francis used a speech to Greek political and cultural leaders to warn Europe at large about the threats facing the continent…

“Francis, who lived through Argentina’s populist Peronist era as well as its military dictatorship, has frequently warned about the threat of authoritarianism and populism and the danger it poses to the European Union and democracy itself… Francis praised the ‘necessary vaccination campaign’ promoted by government authorities to tame the coronavirus…

“Francis has accelerated inter-faith initiatives, as the two churches attempt to shift from centuries of competition and mistrust toward collaboration. Orthodox churches are also seeking alliances amid a deepening dispute over the independence of the Ukrainian church, which was historically governed by the Russian Orthodox Church…

“Up to 4,000 police officers were readied for duty in Athens for the pope’s visit, and authorities banned protests and large public gatherings in parts of central Athens over the weekend.”

Francis warned of authoritarianism and praised at the same time the “necessary vaccination campaign” of governments, which includes mandatory vaccinations. These measures clearly constitute authoritarianism. What a contradiction.  It is also interesting that the Greek government prohibited protests against the Pope. So much for Francis’ highly praised Greek democracy. According to the Bible, most “Christian” churches will unite under the umbrella and leadership of the Catholic Church.

Russian Offensive against Ukraine Coming Soon?

Deutsche Welle reported on December 4:

“US intelligence officials claimed on Friday that Russia is planning a military offensive against Ukraine that could begin as early as 2022 [which] would supposedly involve an estimated 175,000 Russian military personnel. A US intelligence document obtained by the Washington Post showed apparent evidence of Russian forces massing in four locations and the arrival of tanks and artillery…

“[While denying that an invasion is planned,] Russian foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said that President Vladimir Putin will reiterate Russia’s ‘red lines’ in negotiations, including demands for a legally binding guarantee that NATO will not expand into Ukraine. NATO has not set a timeline for Ukrainian membership in the alliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia has no say in whether Ukraine will join the alliance…”

Newsmax added on December 4:

“Ukrainian officials also warned that Russia could invade next month… But some U.S. government officials say Putin also could be seeking attention and concessions from Biden and other Western leaders, using the military escalation to force Russia back into a central role in world affairs as it had in the days of the Soviet Union.”

Biden and Putin Talk for two Hours… with little or no success

Deutsche Welle reported on December 7:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Joe Biden held a virtual summit Tuesday, with Moscow’s troop build-up on Ukraine’s borders dominating the talks. The two presidents spoke for roughly two hours…

“‘President Biden voiced the deep concerns of the United States and our European Allies about Russia’s escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine and made clear that the U.S. and our Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation,’ the White House said in a statement after the summit… The Kremlin also issued a statement after the call, saying that Putin had ‘complained about NATO’s dangerous attempts to develop Ukraine’ for its own goals, and that he ‘expressed concerns about Kyiv’s provocative actions’ towards Ukrainian regions controlled by Russia-backed separatists…

“A Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory could come with consequences for Germany too. US approval for the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Europe was contingent on Moscow refraining from military provocations. Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that Washington would pull its approval if Russian troops enter Ukrainian territory.”

The approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was one of the biggest blunders by Merkel and Biden.

The Sun added on December 7:

“Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told CNN that there would be a ‘really bloody massacre’ if Russia decides to invade Ukraine… The defense minister also said that five million Ukrainian refugees are fleeing into Europe amid heightened alarm about troop movements on the nations’ border.”

The New York Post added on December 7:

“Following… a virtual summit between President Biden and his Russian counterpart Tuesday, the White House appeared to be taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to a potential invasion of Ukraine by Moscow… national security adviser Jake Sullivan… acknowledged in the afternoon that ‘we still do not believe that President Putin has made a decision’ about whether to send his massed forces across the border and into Ukraine… Sullivan declined to say whether additional American forces would be dispatched to eastern Europe in the event of an invasion… When asked why the US should wait to take action… Sullivan responded that American policy, in ‘lockstep with our European allies,’ was to deter a Russian invasion…

“Sullivan also suggested Tuesday that the US could persuade Germany to cut off the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline if Russia invaded Ukraine.’ The fact is the gas is not currently flowing through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which means that it’s not operating, which means that it’s not leveraged for Putin,’ Sullivan claimed. ‘It is leverage for the West. If Vladimir Putin wants to see gas flow through that pipeline, he may not want to take the risk of invading Ukraine.’

“That claim caused an uproar among online critics, who pointed out that Biden waived sanctions against the pipeline in May despite concerns that it would weaken Ukraine’s security by pumping gas directly from Russia to Germany — depriving Kiev of lucrative gas transit fees…”

Would Germany be willing to give up the Nord Stream 2 pipeline? That is highly doubtful.

But it’s all pretty immaterial as to what different powers may want to do, as the Bible is clear that Russia and Ukraine will unite in some way. Please view our new StandingWatch program, titled, “War between Russia, America and Europe over Ukraine?”

Christmas Trees Unite Us?

JTA wrote on December 8:

“A Fox News host explained that the Christmas tree represents the Christmas spirit — and Hanukkah… after a man was arrested for allegedly setting fire to the Christmas tree outside Fox News Channel headquarters in New York. ‘It’s a tree that unites us, that brings us together. It is about the Christmas spirit, it is about the holiday season, it is about Jesus, it is about Hanukkah,’ Earhardt said… ‘It is about everything we stand for as a country…’

“Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Jewish temple several centuries before the birth of Jesus,  and its main story is about a Jewish sect’s resistance to assimilating into the dominant religious culture. The two holidays, Christmas and Hanukkah, are coincidental in their midwinter timings, but in little else.

“There is suggestive evidence in the New Testament that Jesus attended a Hanukkah event [as] described in John 10:22… Some angry Jews confronted Jesus about his claim to messiahhood, and it almost ended in a stoning. The apostle does not report any tree-burnings, however.”

Even though of different origins, there can be no doubt that a mixture between Christmas and Hanukkah has occurred. The Christmas tree is thoroughly pagan and was used as a means of worship long before the birth of Christ. If it unites the country, then woe to the country.

Swarm of Earthquakes rattles Oregon

Beach Connection wrote on December 9:

“What seems like an unprecedented number of small to sizable quakes off the Oregon coast have rattled underwater starting early Tuesday morning, with the number still rising 36 hours later. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, some 74 undersea quakes have hit about 300 miles directly west of Yachats in just over 24 hours… Experts say it’s nothing to worry about because it has nothing to do with the larger Cascadia Subduction zone that also exists off the Oregon coast, which will one day create a massive quake and subsequent tsunami…

“The quake swarm is unusual, as that area generally receives about 20 to 30 quakes per year… Most were in the 4.0 to 4.8 magnitude range, but at least ten were over 5.0, which is sizable… they are not ‘releasing’ pressure for that area and are not lessening the chances of the big one.”

KIRO 7 added on December 8:

“Harold Tobin leads the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington. He points out the Blanco Fracture Zone is a long way from the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which is what we worry about for a major quake around Seattle… Still, any seismic event is a reminder that we live in earthquake country and should be prepared. ‘We always have the risk of a substantial earthquake that is damaging but I don’t think that risk is different in the Pacific Northwest today than it was two days ago,’ Tobin said.

“Emergency managers now ask people to be ‘two weeks ready,’ which means having enough supplies to be on your own for two weeks.”

If you are naïve enough to take the “experts’” words for it… 

Is the USA-Israel Honeymoon Period Over?

JTA wrote on December 2:

“[Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett has allowed for the construction of thousands of new settler homes. Biden is pushing to reopen the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, formerly the principal venue for U.S.-Palestinian relations. Last month the United States sanctioned two Israeli spyware companies.

“Then there is the ongoing strife over Iran’s nuclear program, a point of contention that those who analyze the U.S.-Israel relationship say could eventually blow the doors wide open… Israeli officials have said they believe Iran is weeks away from nuclear weapons capability; the country is enriching uranium to 60% purity, perilously close to the 90% needed for weaponization…”

It might very well be over, but then note the following surprising news, which was published by a paper in Israel.

Biden and the Third Temple?

Israel 365 wrote on December 2:

“US president Joe Biden hosted the White House’s annual menorah lighting ceremony on the fourth night of Chanukah on Wednesday. During his speech, Biden referenced the story of Chanukah and the destruction of the Second Temple. Biden compared the holy Temple to the ‘temple of our democracy’…

“Later on in his speech, the US president seemed to be optimistic that the third Temple will be rebuilt saying: ‘Whether it’s in the temple of Jerusalem or a temple of our democracy nothing broken or profaned is beyond repair…nothing. We can always build back better. Or perhaps, build back brighter.’

“The speech was not without the president’s signature gaffes… Ironically, Biden who champions both mask and vaccine mandates hailed the lessons of freedom and liberty that could be learned from the Maccabees.”

With Biden, one never knows, of course, how serious he is with speeches drafted for him, and whether any references are intentional or just “accidental.” Still, a third temple WILL BE built prior to Christ’s return, even though some are still stiff-necked or willfully ignorant enough to totally dismiss this possibility, against current events, better judgment and the clear prophecies in the Bible. Please view our recent StandingWatch program, titled, “A False Messiah in the Temple of God?” 

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Putin’s Undeclared War against Europe

Financial Post wrote on November 26:

“… western leaders are waking up to the fact that Vladimir Putin has been waging an undeclared war against Europe and the west since 2014 when it annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. This is because he has escalated his warfare. In August, he weaponized energy exports by throttling back natural gas shipments, creating shortages and enormous price hikes. Also during the summer, Putin’s proxy, Belarus, weaponized migration. Thousands of residents from the Middle East were encouraged to fly to Minsk, then were transported to the border with Poland where they were promised they could easily sneak into the European Union (EU).

“This gambit, designed to damage the EU, was impeded by Poland and Lithuanian troops. It gained world headlines as these migrants were caught, like human ping pong balls, between an odious regime in Belarus (likely urged by Russia) pushing them to break fencing and defy soldiers — and the Polish army using tear gas and water cannons to prevent a flood of illegal migrants…

“In April, Putin amassed about 100,000 troops, tanks and warships near Ukraine’s borders, and has continued this deployment despite requests by the United States and others to de-escalate… Putin… described the demise of the Soviet empire as the greatest ‘geopolitical catastrophe in history’ in a 2005 speech. Ever since, he has set out to reverse history… his ‘War’ against Europe has gone mostly unnoticed because he wages two kinds of warfare. He undertakes ‘hot wars’ or traditional conflicts but these are hidden and involve unidentified armed forces or operatives, who are former Russian military soldiers working as mercenaries. Hot wars against European nation-states included Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, both of which are now partially occupied by Russian ‘operatives’ — territories equivalent in size to the country of Bulgaria, or the State of Colorado.

“More commonly, Putin conducts ‘hybrid warfare’ against targets which also include the United States, all NATO members, and former Soviet vassal nations. In these battles, his arsenal includes cyber warfare, political sabotage, disinformation, propaganda, lawsuits, election intervention, diplomatic maneuvers, bombings, poisonings, assassinations, gaslighting, and most dramatically this year, the mobilization of forces capable of invading Ukraine as well as the weaponization of energy and migration…

“Putin’s biggest ‘recapture’ occurred in 2020 when Russia took control over Belarus without a single shot fired after its dictator lost re-election, rigged results and faced mass protests in the streets. Its leader, Alexandre Lukashenko, was only able to cling to power with Russian military and financial backing, and now takes orders from the Kremlin… winter approaches and he has inordinate leverage over Europe’s energy market. The reality is that Putin plays a long game, and tested the limits this year. But he will never end his war and hopefully Europe realizes this and will remain vigilant and fortified.”

The time will come when European powers, feeling threatened by Russia, China and other Far Eastern nations, will “react” militarily with terrible and devastating consequences.

Russia Expected to Invade Ukraine

Newsmax wrote on November 28:

“Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the mass production of the Zircon hypersonic nuclear missile ahead of an expected offensive into Ukraine early next year, The Sun reported. Putin has said Zircon could fly at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of 620 miles, according to The Associated Press. He has ordered the Zircon missile to be deployed in 2022 by the Russian Navy, boasting that it is ‘truly unparalleled … in the world,’ per The Sun.

‘There was a successful hypersonic missile test from a frigate in the White Sea on Nov. 18, following a submarine test a month earlier. The missiles have been in development for over 20 years and are considered a critical next step for Putin’s arsenal…

“Ukrainian commander Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Kyiv’s defence intelligence agency, said that Russia has planned an attack in late January that would involve some 100,000 Russian soldiers on 10 fronts… Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky recently alleged that Russian ‘representatives’ are planning to overthrow his government…, which Russia has denied, BBC reported.”

It is only a matter of time.

The United States of Europe

Express wrote on November 27:

“The new German government is pressing for further integration with the European Union in a move set to pave the way for a so-called ‘United States of Europe’…

“Social Democrat (SPD) leader and incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed an historic three-way coalition this week with the Greens and Free Democrats.  The direction of the new regime has also started to take shape after the Green party’s co-leader Annalena Baerbock, an ardent europhile, was appointed foreign minister… The 40-year-old will help to shape overseas policy-making and her ideas are already being described as a blueprint for a ‘United States of Europe’…

“The prospect of a ‘United States of Europe’ is one that has been in the offing for several years – and ever since French President Emmanuel Macron spearheaded the idea of an EU Army… The EU27 began operating like one super-state during the coronavirus pandemic after President Macron and Angela Merkel led calls for a historic €750 billion rescue package to bail out the bloc. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also presided over coronavirus vaccine purchases for the entire bloc.”

Breitbart wrote on November 29:

“Germany’s incoming Europhile left-wing government has begun a push for a federalized European Union superstate and the creation of what has been unofficially dubbed the ‘United States of Europe’. The campaign for the creation of the superstate was enshrined in the coalition agreement between the three soon-to-be ruling parties, the Social Democrats (SPD), the Free Democrats (FPD), and the Greens, according to a report by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the German language paper of record in Switzerland.

“The agreement outlines the coalition’s commitment to supporting the ‘necessary treaty changes’ needed to ‘lead developments to a European federal state’. This is something Germany clearly sees itself as being responsible for doing… It also voices the coalition’s support… for an increase of ‘Europe’s strategic sovereignty… this means establishing one’s own ability to act in a global context and being less dependent and vulnerable in important strategic areas’, an oblique reference to an emerging single European foreign policy and an EU military…

“The idea for a federal ‘United States of Europe’ has been brewing for years, and was a major subject of discussion in the run-up to the UK Brexit referendum in 2016. Yet preparations for a federal Europe stepped up a gear in 2017 when the former President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, proposed that the bloc be turned into a federal state by 2025… European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen [stated] in September that the bloc needs to build the ‘political will’ to create an EU Army. German defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer hailed the call for an EU Army, saying von der Leyen was right and that ‘Germany and France must lead.’”

The emergence of a powerful EU Army is sure.

Washington vs. Budapest

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on November 27:

“Ever since the Democrats took the White House, Washington and Budapest have been drifting ever further apart. But Biden needs to accept that just because Orban disagrees with him doesn’t mean he’s ‘undemocratic’.

“Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has expressed concerns that the United States will attempt to interfere in next year’s general election. The purpose of the underhand interference, Szijjarto believes, is to have sitting Hungarian PM Viktor Orban replaced by the United Opposition candidate Peter Marki-Zay, who is more ideologically aligned with the Biden administration…

“This is not the first time the Hungarian government has suggested America will intervene in next year’s election… The Hungarian government is unashamedly anti-globalist and believes in the sanctity of the sovereign nation. It is also very pro-family and a champion of Christian values. This is anathema to Biden, Brussels and the liberal press, which regularly, and lazily, label Orban ‘far-right’.

“Second, unlike Biden, Orban believes in strong borders, and, to this end, has built a wall to secure his country from another migrant crisis. In contrast, one of Biden’s first acts as president was to put a halt to the building of Donald Trump’s wall on the US’ southern border. The result has been a catastrophe…

“Third, there is the fact that Orban was close to Trump and made it clear he was rooting for his ally to win another term last year… The feelings of warmth are mutual…

“Next year’s Hungarian general election, to take place in either April or May, will determine the direction the nation will take…”

It does not appear very likely that Hungary will not be part of the EU.. .and maybe even the core European nations… but further hostility between Hungary and the USA can be expected.

Germany’s Nuclear Weapons

The Independent wrote on November 30:

“The president of Belarus has suggested his nation will take advantage of access it has to nuclear weapons via its Russian ally, should Nato decide to arm parts of Europe with similar machinery. It comes amid increasing tensions between Alexander Lukashenko and the EU over the current migrant crisis on the border shared by Belarus and Poland.

“Less than two weeks ago, Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, announced in a statement that US nuclear weapons currently stationed inside Germany could well be moved to ‘other European countries’…  However, he added: ‘I expect that Germany will continue to be part of nuclear sharing, because it is so important for Europe.’

“… Mr Stoltenberg said in his speech on 19 November that Nato’s ‘aim is a world free of nuclear weapons’. But, he added, ‘as long as others have them, we must have them too’”.

And so, nuclear war IS coming.

Today’s America… another Socialist Country

Fox News reported on November 28, 2021:

“A Republican congresswoman from South Carolina [Nancy Mace] says President Biden’s Build Back Better plan includes $80 billion in funding to hire some 89,000 more IRS agents who will be tasked with ‘spying’ on Americans’ bank accounts like socialist countries around the world do…

“The Build Back Better Act’s investments in the IRS… would result in an estimated 1.2 million additional audits each year. Nearly half of the audits would impact families earning less than $75,000 a year. One quarter of the audits would affect Americans earning $25,000 or more per year.

“Mace predicted that the Build Back Better plan will only increase inflation, arguing that socialist spending will incentivize people not to work, worsening supply chain issues and raising taxes for average Americans already facing increased prices for groceries, gas and other goods….”

Trump’s Running Mate for 2024

The New York Post wrote on November 30:

“While former President Donald Trump has yet to formally announce a 2024 White House bid, he’s already stoking speculation about potential running mates… [Reportedly, the] 45th president will largely choose his campaign sidekick based on two factors: unconditional loyalty, and support for Trump’s claim that the 2020 election was stolen by the Democrats.

“In June, [Trump said] that he would ‘certainly consider’ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis… as a potential running mate. But a source quoted by Politico threw cold water on the possibility… ‘Trump sees him as a competitor…’

“Other names that sources have suggested based on recent interactions with Trump include Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both of whom recently spoke with Trump at Mar-a-Lago… If Trump opts to select a female running mate, the outlet reports the list of contenders includes Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)… Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley was once thought to be a possible VP candidate, but that is seen as increasingly unlikely due to her sharp criticism of Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“Some sources… suggest former acting national security adviser Ric Grenell… While Pence has publicly proclaimed that he and Trump are on good terms after the former president labeled Pence disloyal for not attempting to overturn the 2020 election results earlier this year, there is little chance the two would reunite for a third White House run. Trump is expected to formally announce his decision following the 2022 midterms, in which Republicans are favored to regain control of the House of Representatives after two years of Democratic control of the House, Senate and White House.”

Preparing for the Third Temple

Israel 365 wrote on November 30:

“On Monday, December 6, a reenactment of several Temple ceremonies will be held in Mitzpe Yericho. The reenactments will include a demonstration of the anointing of the High Priest, and the lighting of the Temple menorah. A new altar will be dedicated for use on the Temple Mount. Each ceremony is an essential element of the Temple service and practical efforts such as these are intended to prepare for the Third Temple.

“As Monday will be the last night of Hanukkah, a demonstration of the lighting of the temple menorah will be carried out. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple by the Hasmoneans in 164 BCE and the ceremony next week will recreate several aspects of that historic event.

“The gold menorah intended to be installed permanently in the Third Temple upon its construction is on display in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem. Made to Biblical specifications, it is not portable and cannot be used for reenactments. Standing approximately six feet tall, it weighs half a ton, and contains 45 kilograms (approximately 99 lbs) of 24 karat gold valued at approximately three million dollars…

“A demonstration of the anointing of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) will also be held. Rabbi Baruch Kahana will serve as the Kohen Gadol for the purpose of this demonstration. Rabbi Kahana has served an essential role in educating Kohanim to serve in the Third Temple and has served as the Kohen Gadol in many of the Temple reenactments.”

The building of the Third Temple, prior to Christ’s return, is just a matter of time.

New Radical Pro-LGBT Bill in Canada

Life Site News wrote on November 30:

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s liberals introduced yet another radical left-wing pro-LGBT bill that seeks to criminalize all forms of so-called ‘conversion therapy.’ Violators would face years in prison. On Monday, Trudeau’s Federal Liberal Party introduced Bill C-4 in the second effort made by the Liberals, after their first bill, C-6, was dropped earlier this year when Trudeau called for an election. While similar, the new bill is stricter, and is being touted as ‘among the most comprehensive in the world,’ with violators of the broad-scoped policy being subject to a prison term of up to five years.

“The bill not only seeks to criminalize ‘providing’ so-called conversion therapy to people, including adults actively seeking it out, but also intends to make illegal ‘knowingly’ causing ‘another person to undergo conversion therapy,’ advertising or promoting conversion therapy, removing a child from Canada for the purposes of undergoing conversion therapy, or receiving ‘financial or material’ benefit as a result of someone undergoing conversion therapy.

“Further, the bill applies a broad definition to the term ‘conversion therapy.’ The term includes ‘any practice, treatment or service designed to: change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual; change a person’s gender identity to cisgender; change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth; repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviour; repress a person’s non-cisgender gender identity; or repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.’

“In effect, not only is attempting to reverse someone’s orientation from homosexual to heterosexual illegal, but so is any attempt to ‘repress or reduce’ homosexual or transsexual behavior, even if an adult asks for help to do so…

“Jack Fonseca, Political Operations Director for Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), told LifeSiteNews that ‘there are no protections whatsoever in Bill C-6 for parents or pastors who, for example, discourage a gender-confused child from identifying as transgender and try to help them be at peace with the body in which they were born.’”

God’s righteous wrath on modern Sodomite countries, such as Canada, will be poured out soon.

“Omicron Variant Symptoms ‘Unusual but Mild’”

Fox News reported on November 27:

“‘So far, we have detected that those infected do not suffer the loss of taste or smell. They might have a slight cough.’ [Dr. Angelique Coetzee, a board member of the South African Medical Association] who first alerted authorities to the presence of the COVID-19 omicron variant reported that it presents ‘unusual but mild’ symptoms. ‘It presents mild disease with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two not feeling well,’ Coetzee explained… ‘ They might have a slight cough. There are no prominent symptoms. Of those infected some are currently being treated at home.’…

“Tulio de Oliveira, the director of South Africa’s Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation…  criticized several countries – including the U.S., U.K., South Korea and various countries in Europe – for enacting travel restrictions on South Africa and several other African nations…”

Israel jumped on the hysteria bandwagon and banned all foreigners from entering Israel, after one case (!) had been confirmed in the country. Israel’s history of lockdowns is more than troubling.

Biden’s and Fauci’s Worse than Useless Travel Bans

The New York Post wrote on November 27:

“Critics took aim Saturday at White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and President Biden for their ‘worse than useless’ response to the… Omicron variant of COVID-19…  The Fauci-approved weekend-long delay in launching the ban on travel from Omicron-infected African countries angered City Councilman Joe Borelli (R-SI). ‘Why do people still take this man seriously?’ Borelli, the chamber’s new minority leader, asked. ‘Either this is a life or death emergency, or it doesn’t need to happen. It seems like this is a lockdown for the sake of lockdowns.’…

“Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) condemned the Biden administration’s too-little, too-late travel measure as ‘worse than useless.’ ‘Joe Biden and Tony Fauci push crushing restrictions on Americans—like masking two-year-olds—that are pointless,’ Cotton tweeted Saturday.”

Fauci is still being referred to in the mass media as “The United States’ top infectious disease expert” (Reuters, November 28). It is high time that this false description be altered. He said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that the Republicans like Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY) criticizing him were “lying” while he is “saving lives.” But Fauci’s continued misrepresentations, combined with numerous incompetent “opinions,” have been well documented.

Fauci’s Departure long Overdue

Newsmax wrote on November 28:

“Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Sunday called Dr. Anthony Fauci an ‘unelected technocrat who has distorted science and facts in order to exercise authoritarian control over millions of Americans’ after Fauci blasted Cruz for suggesting he be investigated for statements he made about COVID-19….

“Some Republicans, including Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., have accused Fauci of lying to Congress when he denied in May that the National Institutes of Health funded ‘gain of function’ research — the practice of enhancing a virus in a lab to study its potential effect in the real world — at a virology lab in Wuhan, China. Cruz has urged Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Fauci’s statements…”

The New York Post added on November 29:

“[Fauci also said:] ‘So it’s easy to criticize… But they’re really criticizing science, because I represent science. That’s dangerous.’…  ‘The absolute hubris of someone claiming THEY represent science,” [Rand] Paul tweeted. ‘It’s astounding and alarming that a public health bureaucrat would even think to claim such a thing, especially one who has worked so hard to ignore the science of natural immunity.’

“The Biden administration has repeatedly stood by Fauci amid the criticism from Republicans…”

Breitbart wrote on November 30:

“Appearing Monday on the Fox News Channel’s ‘Hannity,’ Sen. Ted Cruz… referred to White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci as the ‘most dangerous bureaucrat’ in U.S. history… ‘Throughout this pandemic, he’s been dishonest, political, partisan, and the American people know it…”

The “Nu Variant” Hysteria in the UK

The Dossier wrote on November 26:

“The ‘Nu variant’ scare [which is officially named the “omicron” variant, after the 15^th letter of the Greek alphabet, thereby skipping the thirteenth and fourteenth letter, “Nu” and “Xi”] is coming from the same people and institutions that spawned the last COVID scare, and the one before that, and the one before that one, dating back all the way to the onset of COVID Mania.

“The corporate press and world governments have produced an incredible amount of noise about a claimed new COVID variant, the ‘Nu’ variant, which has been detected in South Africa and Botswana… there is no statistical cause for alarm over this new strain, which is one of over 100,000 mutations of the coronavirus…. a panicked narrative has already been seeded in the public. The U.K. in particular has driven the fear to new levels. The country has already added several African nations to its travel ban list, citing the new strain… it is not a coincidence that the U.K. is again the first mover on the ‘Nu strain’ front.

“The new variant hysteria originated at Imperial College UK, the home of a disgraced, corrupted academic modeling institution that proselytized lockdowns to the Western world. Throughout COVID Mania, Imperial has been the source of countless versions of ‘new strain’ propaganda. The institution does not only participate in shoddy modeling. It both foments the insanity and demands a series of totalitarian measures to deal with their faulty narrative creations…

“The current new strain panic comes at a time in Europe when COVID-19 cases are surging in the continent, despite the universal embrace of mRNA injections that were promised to resolve the COVID-19 problem. This ‘new strain’ has reportedly been found in Europe, driving the media’s narrative even further into the totalitarian abyss. With claims disseminated to the masses by Big Tech and world governments, the Gates Inc and China-influenced World Health Organization is sowing maximum panic and terror…

“Imperial College UK is the home of the infamous ‘doomsday models’ for COVID-19, which promised that millions of people would imminently be wiped off the earth if the Western world did not lock down in March of 2020 for COVID-19… Before Nu, the latest scariant, best known as the ‘Delta variant,’ had a similar viral marketing campaign behind its emergence.

“Notably, Imperial’s virology and epidemiology departments have received incredible amounts of funding from the Gates Foundation…  According to a review of their public records, Gates Inc has delivered close to $300 million dollars to the Imperial College London.”

It has been suggested that the WHO skipped “Xi” for naming the variant, as it is the name of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping. And that “Nu” sounds like “nothing.”

The Afrophobia of Omicron Travel Bans

The Washington Post wrote on November 29:

“The president of Malawi has described travel bans imposed by several nations… in response to a new strain of the coronavirus as ‘Afrophobia,’ joining other African leaders in condemning the restrictions… The bans have… angered political leaders in Africa who view them as hasty and unjustified – scapegoating countries that have been quick to come forward with information on a potentially dangerous new variant. South Africa’s health minister on Friday described the measures as ‘misdirected’ and ‘draconian.’…

“South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa said he was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the travel bans and called for them to be lifted immediately. ‘The prohibition of travel is not informed by science. Nor will it be effective in preventing the spread of this variant,’ he said in a televised broadcast. ‘The only thing the prohibition on travel will do is to further damage the economies of the affected countries and undermine their ability to respond to and also to recover from the pandemic.’”

No doubt about that.

Why Biden Is Deeply Unpopular

Fox News published on November 27 an article which was adapted from Tucker Carlson’s opening commentary on the November 26, 2021 edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight”:

“Joe Biden is deeply unpopular. The question is: why?… What we are witnessing under the Biden administration is something Americans will absolutely not forgive: the decline in our standard of living. Biden hasn’t just embarrassed the United States internationally, though he has certainly done that. Americans can overlook that… and hope for something better next time.

“A lot of things are happening and one of them is inflation. Inflation [is] a result of government policy. The Federal Reserve has devalued the U.S. dollar by printing too many U.S. dollars. Why are they printing them? To pay for more government spending. Spending that under the Biden administration is now literally out of control. There was a $10.1 trillion amount of spending obligations in fiscal year 2020… In 2019… the total was $6.6 trillion, still a lot, but very different than $10.1 trillion.

“More spending is on the way because we can spend any amount of money, we hold the world’s reserve currency. Biden’s so-called Build Back Better bill is estimated to cost over $5 trillion. The people who are printing this money, U.S. Congress, The Federal Reserve specifically, know they are making the problem worse. They don’t care…

“In the Biden administration, a host of bureaucratic agencies are suddenly in charge of your body… The White House believes that OSHA, for example, can tell you what to inject into your body. Get the injection or you’re fired. Just a few months ago the White House was saying the opposite of this. Vaccine mandates are illegal.

“JOE BIDEN: ‘I don’t think it should be mandatory, I wouldn’t demand it be mandatory, but I would do everything in my power. Just like I don’t think masks should be made mandatory nationwide.’

“JEN PSAKI: ‘Can we mandate vaccines across the country? No, that’s not a role that the federal government I think even has the power to make.’

“NANCY PELOSI: ‘We cannot require someone to be vaccinated. That’s just not what we can do [sic]. It is a matter of privacy to know who is or who isn’t.’

“ANTHONY FAUCI: ‘No. Definitely not. You don’t want to mandate and try and force anyone to take the vaccine, we’ve never done that. We don’t want to be mandating from the federal government to the general population. It would be unenforceable and not appropriate.’

“These people are reckless, crazy, and dishonest, and the people put up with it. After all that, of course they mandated the injection. They knew that was illegal and… they did it anyway. Then the airlines started canceling flights and health care workers disappeared because politicians know more about coronavirus than nurses?… Then we ran out of truck drivers to pick up goods from our ports. First responders were then fired. You couldn’t get an ambulance…

“Most people are very tired of it… The question is, how are we going to survive three more years of this? It’s a very good question.”

It has been reported that Biden is thinking of running again in 2024. And if he does not run, then the politician who is most popular among the Democrats would be Kamala Harris, followed by Michelle Obama. Words fail…

The Dictatorship of Greece

The Associated Press wrote on November 30:

“Residents in Greece over 60 years old will have to undergo mandatory vaccinations against coronavirus or face monthly 100-euro ($114) fines beginning next year, the prime minister announced Tuesday, declaring the country’s first general inoculation mandate… It will take effect on Jan. 16 and the fines will be added to tax bills… Roughly a quarter of the country’s adult population remains unvaccinated. Vaccination mandates were introduced over the summer for health care workers and fire service rescuers in Greece, with those failing to comply being suspended from their jobs indefinitely without pay…

“The opposition left-wing Syriza party accused the center-right government of… ‘targeting people over 60 … with punitive and financially debilitating measures that haven’t been implemented anywhere else in the world.’”

This is discriminatory STUPID dictatorship in the extreme.

Francis to Visit Greece

AFP wrote on November 30:

“Twenty years after the last papal visit to Athens sparked protests by monks, Pope Francis heads to the Greek capital on Saturday seeking to improve historically difficult relations between the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches. Francis visited the island of Lesbos in 2016 but his trip to Athens, which will include a mass and meetings with Greece’s top cleric, Archbishop Ieronymos, is the first to the Greek capital by a pope since John Paul II came in May 2001.

“The Orthodox Church has been separated from the Catholic Church since the schism of 1054 between Rome and Constantinople, today’s Istanbul which was then the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

“Hardliners in Greece still blame the pope for the split, and for the Fourth Crusade that sacked Constantinople in 1204… Francis has already visited several majority Orthodox countries including Georgia, Armenia, Romania, Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia.”

This is a curious coincidence that at the time when Greece enacts terrible dictatorial measures, Pope Francis would visit the state to improve relationships with the Greek Orthodox Churches.  

The Dictatorship of Germany

The Associated Press and Breitbart wrote on November 30:

“Germany’s highest court on Tuesday rejected complaints against curfews and other restrictions imposed by federal legislation earlier this year in areas where the coronavirus was spreading quickly…

“The court found that the most controversial measures contained in the federal ‘emergency brake’ legislation that was in place from April until the end of June were in line with the constitution. Those included a 10 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew and school closures in areas with high coronavirus infection rates.”

How this could be constitutional is hard to decipher, and many legal experts are of a different mindset. But we know—don’t we?—that the Beast will arise in Germany or Austria. In biblical terms, Germany and Austria are one nation, anyhow.

Interesting were some of the comments to this article, published by Breitbart:

“They were looking at the 1933 version Constitution to come to this conclusion… The Germans can’t help themselves. No matter what they always side with the State… Germany has not come far from its Nazi roots… The gas ovens were also legal in Germany… Nothing new here. Next they will round up the new 21st century Jew, the unvaccinated… I fully envisage a day in Germany when Adolph Hitler will be fully rehabilitated, and the courts there will rule that everything he did was constitutional, so okay to do it all again… Germany apparently can’t learn from its own history… Watch out Germany, you have been down this path before… The top German courts have always been good at siding with authoritarian regimes… Remember the 30’s? Of course it was legal for the state to confiscate Jewish property…  It is obvious that the German ‘constitution’ is not created to empower people, rather grant tyrannical power to the ‘government’… German law also found nothing wrong with concentration camps and the extermination of 6 million Jews… It’s 1939 all over again.”

And many many more comments along the same lines… But most Germans are sound asleep, as the comments above recognize.

The New Dangerous German Chameleon— Chancellor-in-Waiting Olaf Scholz

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 30:

“Merkel’s designated successor Olaf Scholz is calling for a general vaccine mandate. Talking to Germany’s Bild television on Tuesday, the chancellor-in-waiting said he would like to see mandatory vaccinations ‘not too far away in the future, so I suggest beginning of February or March.’…

“The question of mandatory vaccination is considered controversial in Germany, partly due to forced medical treatments during the Nazi-era.”

Scholz also indicated that the unvaccinated should be punished with fines as they are to be blamed for the current corona situation. Merkel’s leadership regarding the coronavirus crisis was already bad enough. But with Scholz, unpleasant memories of the Nazi era come to light. It is noteworthy what we read in Wikipedia about Scholz:

“Scholz joined the SPD in 1975 as a student, where he got involved with the Jusos, the youth organization of the SPD. From 1982 to 1988, he was Deputy Federal Juso Chairman, and from 1987 to 1989 also Vice President of the International Union of Socialist Youth. He supported the Freudenberger Kreis, the Marxist wing of the Juso university groups, and the magazine spw and promoted ‘overcoming the capitalist economy’ in articles. In it, Scholz criticized the ‘aggressive-imperialist NATO’, the Federal Republic as the ‘European stronghold of big business’…”

We had written this in our Update #991, quoting an article from Deutsche Welle of September 27:

““Scholz underwent a remarkable political transformation. As deputy chairman of the SPD youth organization Jusos, he was still a radical socialist in the 1980s…”

Allegedly, he “transformed” and left his dictatorial and autocratic Juso/Socialist/Marxist past behind. Did he really? In any event, the mass tabloid Bild Online accused Scholz and others of breaking their word.

Germans Brainwashed?

Breitbart wrote on December 1:

“People who are fully vaccinated will also be considered unvaccinated again if they do not take a booster dose within six months, Scholz added.

“A recent poll conducted by YouGov revealed that nearly seven out of ten adults in Germany support mandatory vaccinations, with less than a quarter saying they were against the coercive measure.”

Comments to this article were telling:

“Why do German politicians hate the people of Germany so much???… They show no fear of the LORD which is about all there is to save them at this point… But they fear the monster which they have helped to create… The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom. They have neither.”

Breitbart wrote on December 2:

“Angela Merkel has announced a de facto lockdown of the unvaccinated, and that Germany’s parliament will soon vote on making vaccination mandatory….  the country will be barring the unvaccinated from events, leisure facilities, and all non-essential retail.”

Austria’s Chancellor Announces His Resignation

Deutsche Welle reported on December 2:

 “Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz announced he is stepping back from politics following the birth of his son… Kurz’s withdrawal from national political life comes as a surprise to Austria… Later on Thursday, Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, a Kurz loyalist who took over when Kurz resigned from the chancellorship, announced he would not run for party leadership and announced his intention to resign as head of government… ‘I am… making my post as chancellor available as soon as the relevant course has been set within the party,’ he added.”

Europeans Brainwashed?

The Guardian wrote on December 1:

“The EU must now consider mandatory vaccination in response to the spread of the ‘highly contagious’ Omicron Covid variant  across Europe, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said… Von der Leyen said the EU’s 27 member states should rapidly deploy booster doses and a commission communique backed countries opting to temporarily enforce pre-travel PCR tests even within the bloc’s borders….

“There is growing momentum behind mandatory vaccination among the EU member states… On Wednesday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, an EU health agency, said the potential benefits of vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 should also now be considered…”

And on and on it goes…

Quarantine Camps in Brainwashed Australia for the Unvaccinated

Armstrong Economics wrote on November 24:

“Rumors are swirling on the internet that the Australian Army is herding the unvaccinated population into ‘quarantine camps.’ The army is not currently hunting down the vaccinated, yet, but there is a suspicious amount of funds going toward these quarantine facilities. The Guardian has reported that $130 million was recently invested by the Northern Territory into the Howard Springs quarantine camp. Howard Springs was designed as a fly-in-fly-out workers’ camp, but the mainstream media is reporting that the camps will become redundant as home quarantine pilot programs have begun. If that were true, why is the government continuing to invest in Howard Springs?

“The Northern Territory hosts two main quarantine camps—Howard Springs and Alice Springs… People constantly compare conditions to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, but this is one example that is becoming dangerously close in nature. They have not begun killing off the unvaccinated population, but they have taken away their freedoms. ‘Residents’ at these hotels may not leave their rooms unless supervised by an authorized officer. That is much more akin to a prison than a hotel. Officers will ‘remind’ those held hostage by their government when they are disobeying the rules. Since COVID can spread on surfaces, people are not allowed to interact with those outside their immediate family. But it gets worse. The website states that family rooms are not always available…

“The poor children who are subjected to this traumatizing experience! Toys are not allowed. Visitors are not allowed. There is a chance children will be separated from their parents, guarded only by the state. Similar to a prison environment, cooking appliances are not available in these quarantine camps. Officers in hazmats suits feed their hostages three times per day by leaving the meals outside the room on the ground as another reminder of lost freedoms. Bottled water and toiletries are not available. The camps boast having limited wifi service, but it is safe to bet that online activities will be monitored. How could we allow such cruel human rights abuses to occur in plain sight? Sending millions of dollars to these camps indicates that they have no real plans to end this abuse…”

This is satanic! Satan’s world is being pushed into universal dictatorship and the establishment of concentration camps for the “undesired” population.

Famous Televangelist Reportedly Dies of Covid Complications

Newsweek reported on November 30:

“Marcus Lamb, a televangelist and founder of Daystar Television Network, has… died… after allegedly taking ivermectin to prevent infection….  Marcus’ wife, Joni Lamb, confirmed her husband died from COVID-19, saying that he had been hospitalized after his oxygen dropped and alternative treatments proved ineffective. Lamb [64], according to Joni Lamb, was diabetic…

“Marcus founded Word of God Fellowship in the early 1980s and created Daystar Television Network in the late 1990s. It’s since become the second-largest Christian network in the world, reaching more than 2 billion people worldwide.

“Throughout the pandemic, Daystar has hosted prominent anti-vaccine voices, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was barred from Instagram for spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. On the network’s website, Daystar called vaccines the ‘most dangerous thing’ children face, and Daystar filed a petition to block President Joe Biden’s vaccine rule from going into place. In a court filing Daystar filed alongside the American Family Association, the two nonprofits called implementing a vaccine mandate a ‘sin against God’s Holy Word.’

“Daystar argued in the court filing that they have a ‘religious objection’ to forcing employees to ‘test their conscience’ about getting vaccinated. If the company was required to implement the policy, they claimed they would ‘wound the consciences’ of employees and ‘potentially cause them to sin.’

“People claiming a religious exemption to vaccine mandates often cite the fact that vaccines were developed and tested on fetal cell lines, which are based on aborted fetal cells but grown in labs. Fetal cell lines have also been used in the development of multiple common medications, including Tylenol, Benadryl and Claritin.

“Tributes began pouring out after news broke of Marcus’ death and Graham posted on Facebook that he was ‘shocked’ to learn Marcus died from complications of COVID-19…

“Ahead of his death, Marcus’ son, Jonathan, said there was ‘no doubt’ in his mind that his father’s COVID-19 battle was a ‘spiritual attack from the enemy…’”

Instagram’s barring Kennedy for “spreading misinformation” was more like barring him for spreading information which Instagram does not like to be heard. There is no doubt that the death of Marcus Lamb will be used to push vaccinations and malign the unvaccinated…

Abuse in Convents

Reuters reported on November 29:

“When young nuns at a convent in Eastern Europe told their Mother Superior that a priest had tried to molest them, she retorted that it was probably their fault for ‘provoking him’. When African nuns in Minnesota asked why it was always they who had to shovel snow they were told it was because they were young and strong, even though white sisters of the same age lived there too. As the Roman Catholic Church pays more attention to the closed world of convents, where women spend much of their time in prayer and household work, more episodes of psychological, emotional and physical abuse are coming to light…

“Marcela, a South American woman who joined an order of cloistered nuns in Italy 20 years ago when she was 19, recounts how the indoctrination was so strict that younger sisters needed permission to go to the bathroom and ask for sanitary products during their menstrual periods… Therese, a French woman, was told ‘you have to suffer for Jesus’ when she asked to be spared physically demanding chores because of a back condition…

“In 2018, the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano exposed the plight of foreign nuns sent by their orders to work as housekeepers for cardinals and bishops in Rome with little or no remuneration… Last year, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz… [said] he was shocked to discover that… former nuns had to resort to prostitution to live.”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

We HAVE Seen It Before!

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on November 18:

“Across Europe, from Germany to Italy, governments are placing millions under house arrest for the ‘crime’ of not being ‘fully’ vaccinated. While there is no public health justification for the move – we know from experts such as the CDC Director that the vaxxed continue to spread the virus – there is a distinct punitive intent. Those who do not follow the orders – as irrational as the orders [are] – are to be denied basic human rights. Haven’t we seen this movie before?”

Absolutely—in Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Russia, East Germany’s communist regime, and in other dictatorships. But most are blind and brainwashed. Warning voices are being ignored. History is repeating itself. Terrible times are ahead of us.

Austria’s Tyranny

The Associated Press reported on November 19:

“Austria announced a new national lockdown and a plan to mandate vaccinations as coronavirus infections hit a record high Friday, forcing the government to walk back promises that such blanket shutdowns were a thing of the past. Imposing a mandate would give Austria one of the world’s most stringent vaccine requirements. Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said those who didn’t comply would likely be fined but gave no other details… Starting Feb. 1, the country will also make vaccinations mandatory — though the chancellor gave few details about what that meant or how it would work…

“When the lockdown takes effect early next Monday, restaurants, Christmas markets and most stores will close, and cultural events will be canceled. People will be able to leave their homes only for certain reasons, including buying groceries, going to the doctor or exercising. Wolfgang Mueckstein, the country’s health minister, said that kindergartens and schools would remain open for those who needed them, but all parents were asked to keep their children at home if possible…

“Government officials had long promised that vaccinated people would no longer face lockdown restrictions: Over the summer, then-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz declared the pandemic ‘over’ for those who had received the vaccine…”

God never justifies broken promises. This is ungodly behavior. The Austrian government was in no way “forced” to break their word. To break one’s word is to lie. But it is good politics to lie. That is why a true Christian could not be a politician. Liars will not be in God’s Kingdom. Thank God for that.

The Daily Mail wrote on November 19:

“One of Austria’s main opposition parties has warned the country ‘is now a dictatorship‘ after the government vowed to make Covid vaccines mandatory for everyone from February next year to tackle a wave of Covid cases. Herbert Kickl, leader of the right-wing populist FPO party, slammed Friday’s announcement – which also plunged the country into full lockdown – branding it ‘unconstitutional’ and calling on the country’s top court to intervene… ‘we have reached a level with compulsory vaccination that nobody actually thought was possible…’ Even if the decision to lift the lockdown is taken, the ministers said unvaccinated people will be required to stay in lockdown longer….

“[Chancellor] Schallenberg [accused] the un-jabbed of launching an ‘attack on the health system.’ The move is likely to prove hugely controversial, coming after Austria locked down only unvaccinated people in a move dubbed ‘health apartheid’…”

The FPO’s stance on lockdowns and mandatory vaccination is being condemned as attacks on the health system and the vaccinated, and the FPO is indirectly labeled as an “enemy of the state.” And most Austrians are swallowing it.

Freedom for Austria

The Austrian newspaper Wochenblick wrote on November 23:

“Croatian President Zoran Milanovic is concerned about Austria. The fact that the Corona dictatorship now provides for the compulsory vaccination of Austrians from February reminds him of the 30s. Internationally, Austria is increasingly becoming a negative example. ‘The Nazis are coming back,’ headlines a Greek newspaper. A comparison that would even be illegal in Austria in accordance with the Prohibition Act (NS trivialization, §3h). Croatia’s President describes Austria’s path as ‘fascist’. That’s why he is summoning Vienna’s ambassador.

“According to media reports, Milanovic calls the Corona dictatorship in Austria a ‘catastrophe’. He wants to ‘express our deep concerns about the fundamental freedoms in Austria’ to the ambassador, as the corona restrictions envisaged by Austria’s policy are not scientifically justified and are only aimed at terrorizing people, according to Milanovic.

“‘For a long time, the politicians in the Balkans were lectured by Western Europeans. For example on the subject of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Now Croatia’s president is also speaking out about the human rights violations in this country. He explains: ‘If the Dutch and anyone else comment on Bosnia-Herzegovina every week, then I can also talk about Rotterdam.’ In Rotterdam, the people protested resolutely against the country’s lockdown dictatorship. What happened in Austria reminded him of fascism. People in Croatia are smarter than the Austrians and will therefore not impose a lockdown. ‘In Austria today, people who have not been vaccinated are forbidden from leaving the house. What is it, science or methods that are reminiscent of the 30s?’ explains Milanovic.

“‘The Nazis are coming again,” headlines an Athens newspaper, “Dimokratia.” Many people are inclined to compare the increasingly dictatorial Corona regime with National Socialism. It is unclear whether Croatia’s president is targeting the Christian-social Austrofascism of the 1930s or National Socialism. The former would be legally permissible and in fact, Austria had this experience of dictatorial leadership beyond the later National Socialist rule …

“If Austrians were to take up the comparison in the Greek newspaper, ‘The Nazis are coming again’, they would at least come close to NS-trivialization. A jury would ultimately decide whether they would even have to serve a prison term for it. Dr. Jaroslav Belsky had to experience a conviction according to §3h of the National Socialist Prohibition Act … He compared the Australian Corona camps with the historical concentration camps. But that doesn’t matter to the Athens newspaper ‘Dimokratia’. It even placed the Nazi comparison on the front page …

“People across Europe fear that our fate will happen to them too. The solidarity is great. Solidarity rallies have already taken place in London, Paris and Germany under the motto ‘Freedom for Austria’.”

It has also been reported that those who refuse to be vaccinated will be punished with heavy fines.

Germany’s Tyranny

Reuters wrote on November 19:

“Asked if Germany could rule out an Austrian-style full lockdown, [German Health Minister Jens] Spahn said: ‘We are now in a situation… where we can’t rule anything out… ‘A total lockdown for Germany would be extremely bad news for the economic recovery,’ said Ludovic Colin, a senior portfolio manager at Swiss asset manager Vontobel…

“Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday Germany will limit large parts of public life in areas where hospitals are becoming dangerously full of COVID-19 patients to those who have either been vaccinated or have recovered from the illness.”

Merkel’s recent comments that she justified and defended her prior unconstitutional lockdown with its restrictions in Germany were already great cause for concern. And nothing good can be expected from chameleon and double-tongued Jens Spahn. But most Germans are as blind as their Austrian neighbors. With the new government taking control, Spahn will exit the political arena soon, but perhaps not for good. Some are already predicting Spahn’s resurgence or comeback in the future (Handelsblatt, November 18).

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 19:

“The plans include mandatory daily testing for employees and visitors of care homes, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not. They also include ‘3G’ rules (vaccinated, recovered, or tested) requiring people to show proof of full vaccination or recovery or a valid negative COVID test result for workplaces and on public transport… Germany’s 16 states will be also able to retain and introduce protective measures. This includes restricting or prohibiting recreational, cultural, and sporting events, banning entry to healthcare facilities and the sale and public consumption of alcohol, and closing universities…

“German Green Party lawmaker and doctor Paula Piechotta said… ‘If we can’t achieve sufficient vaccination rates on a non-mandatory basis… ‘we have to talk about vaccine mandates…’”

The Green party, which will be part of the next contemplated government, has shown authoritarian tendencies in the past, especially with their ridiculous “green” policies. The article continues:

“Bavaria… imposed a lockdown on all districts that have a seven-day COVID incidence rate of over 1,000 per 100,000 people. Premier Markus Söder said there will be a ‘de facto lockdown’ for unvaccinated people by implementing the ‘2G’ rule across the state. The unvaccinated will lose access to even places like hairdressers, universities or adult education centers. There will also be contact restrictions, with the unvaccinated allowed to meet with a maximum of five people from two households. Even in areas with incidence rates lower than 1,000, there will be restrictions.

“For sports and cultural events, the number of spectators will be limited to 25% of the venue’s total capacity and the ‘2G+’ rule will apply — meaning even the vaccinated and recovered people will be required to produce an additional negative COVID test result. In retail stores, there will be a limit on the number of customers allowed inside: one customer per 10 square meters. All retail outlets and restaurants will also have to be closed by 10 p.m.”

The “free state” of Bavaria, as it calls itself, has always been known for being a place prone to dictatorship, having been “ruled” by dictators such as Franz Josef Strauss and others. Söder is most certainly no exception. So no surprise that Bavaria would jump ahead with authoritarian measures. And all under the disguise of concern for public health.

The Sun added on November 21:

“Germany is set to become the latest European nation to make vaccines compulsory… Ministers and experts said a move to make jabs mandatory was ‘unavoidable’… The country’s tourism czar Thomas Bareiß… [said to the] DPA news agency: ‘It is politically no longer justifiable that entire industries, retailers, restaurants, clubs, bars and the entire cinema, cultural and event scene live in a state of crisis prescribed by the state for 20 months and are faced with great existential fears, while others… take the freedom not to vaccinate.’”

So it’s the fault of the unvaccinated, as the Jews were blamed for everything which was wrong in Germany’s Third Reich. History is just repeating itself… Note the next article.

The Local reported on November 21:

“Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have docked the wages of unvaccinated players like star midfielder Joshua Kimmich who, along with four unimmunised teammates, is in quarantine over contact with Covid-infected individuals… The latest quarantine order risks inflaming an already heated debate over whether sports personalities should be required to take the jab… Kimmich, 26, had drawn sharp criticism since revealing he opted not to be vaccinated due to ‘personal concerns’… Under new rules taking effect from November 1st, employees who miss work because of a quarantine are no longer entitled to receive compensation if they are unvaccinated…

“German leaders this week decided new curbs to spur those holding out against the jab to change their minds. Those not immunised will have to provide negative tests to use public transport or go to the office. They will also be shut out of restaurants, sporting events and cultural shows in regions where the hospitalisation rate stands at above three patients per 100,000 over the past seven days.”

The fact that it has not been established that these vaccinations are even safe does not seem to bother governmental officials and company bosses.

Vaccine Mandate and Test Requirements

The Associated Press reported on November 24:”

“Germans faced a confusing array of pandemic rules, lax enforcement and a national election — followed by a drawn-out government transition during which senior politicians dangled the prospect of further lifting restrictions… Resistance to getting the shot… remains strong among a sizeable minority of the country. Vaccination rates have stalled at 68% of the population, far short of the 75% or higher that the government had aimed for… Older people who got vaccinated early in 2021 are also seeing their immunity wear off, making them vulnerable to serious illness again…

“Some German politicians are suggesting it’s time to consider a vaccine mandate, either for specific professions or for the population as a whole…  Merkel’s likely successor, current Finance Minister Olaf Scholz of the center-left Social Democrats, has refused to be drawn on whether he would back compulsory COVID-19 shots…  Together with the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats, his party recently passed a law that replaces the existing legal foundations for pandemic restrictions with narrower measures, starting Wednesday. These include a requirement for workers to provide their employers with proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test….”

These “narrower measures” have already proved to be a nightmare for unvaccinated workers. Employers become increasingly hostile towards their unvaccinated employees. The test requirements have proven more than just an annoyance.  Beginning Wednesday, employees, depending on where they live, have to be tested DAILY, as the tests are only valid for 24 hours.  

Other European countries, such as Italy, of course, are following Austria’s bad dictatorial example. Reuters reported on November 24:

 “Italy is expected to restrict access to some indoor venues for people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19… The government will approve a decree allowing only those who are vaccinated or have recently recovered from the virus to enter venues such as cinemas, restaurants and hotels as of Dec. 6… The country is also likely to extend mandatory vaccination, already in force for healthcare workers, to teachers and police as of Dec. 15…”

Italy, Germany, Austria… the dictatorships of the past under Hitler and Mussolini are coming together again. But not only there. It’s a worldwide phenomenon, driven by paranoia, brain-washed masses, and the mass media (which Trump, in speaking about the mass media in the USA, just called fake news, corrupt news and the enemy of the people; see Newsmax, November 23).

Now Merkel’s Husband Speaks Out???

The Guardian wrote on November 23:

“Angela Merkel’s husband has accused unvaccinated Germans of ‘laziness’, amid calls for the introduction of mandatory coronavirus jabs to combat a dramatic rise in infections. ‘It is astonishing that a third of the population does not follow scientific findings,’ Merkel’s husband, Joachim Sauer, said in an interview with Italian newspaper la Repubblica and picked up by German daily Die Welt. ‘In part, this is due to a certain laziness and complacency of Germans,’ said Sauer, who seldom speaks in public. ‘The other group are people who follow a personal conviction, a kind of ideological reaction to what they consider a vaccination dictatorship,’ Sauer said…

“The outgoing chancellor, who is acting in a caretaker capacity and will probably be replaced by the finance minister Olaf Scholz next month, has repeatedly urged Germans to get vaccinated….”

Normally, Angela Merkel’s husband has been very quiet and has been living “in seclusion” all these years. For him to speak in public is very rare. In this case, it would have been better if he had stayed quiet as well, instead of making totally unfounded accusations. The persecution of the German federal and state governments against the unvaccinated and the dictatorial and unconstitutional measures and restrictions especially for the unvaccinated are bad enough.

How More Stupid Could It Get?

Bild Online wrote on November 23:

“The Thuringian Justice Committee lifted the immunity of the Thuringian AfD parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke (49) in a meeting on Wednesday … According to reports, the investigation is about a speech that Höcke held in Merseburg (Saxony-Anhalt) and, according to the ‘Spiegel’ report, it ended with the words, ‘Everything for Germany’.

“Saxon-Anhalt Greens chief Sebastian Striegel filed a criminal complaint against Höcke on June 8th – because of the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations … Striegel referred to an opinion of the Scientific Service of the Bundestag, in which the use of the phrase ‘Everything for Germany’ in the context of a public speech was punishable because it was a slogan of the Nazi organization SA …”

This is silly beyond imagination.

Violent Demonstrations in the Netherlands

The Guardian wrote on November 20:

“In what the Dutch city’s mayor described as an ‘orgy of violence’, crowds of several hundred rioters torched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks at police during the protests on Friday evening. Police responded with… shots and water cannon. Police said on Twitter on Saturday that 51 people had been arrested, about half of whom were under 18… rioters rampaged through the shopping district, starting fires and throwing stones and fireworks at officers… It was one of the worst outbreaks of violence in the Netherlands since coronavirus restrictions were first imposed last year. In January, rioters attacked police and started fires on the streets of Rotterdam after a curfew came into force.

“The Dutch justice minister, Ferd Grapperhaus, condemned the events. “The riots and extreme violence against police officers, riot police and firefighters last night in Rotterdam are disgusting to see,’ he said in a statement. ‘Protesting is a great right in our society, but what we saw last night is simply criminal behaviour. It has nothing to do with demonstrating.’…

“The government has said it wants to introduce a law that would allow businesses to restrict the country’s coronavirus pass system to people who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19, which would exclude people who test negative…”

The group that had organized and then canceled the Amsterdam rally on Saturday said on Facebook it acted because “last night, all hell broke loose in Rotterdam.” Two people were shot and killed during the demonstration. Far too often, demonstrations turn violent. Radical elements use otherwise peaceful demonstrations for their own purposes. Our advice: Stay away from demonstrations.

Demonstrations in many Countries

The Associated Press reported on November 20:

“Tens of thousands of protesters… marched through Vienna on Saturday after the Austrian government announced a nationwide lockdown… Demonstrations against virus restrictions also took place in Switzerland, Croatia, Italy, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands on Saturday… Protesters rallied against coronavirus restrictions and mandatory COVID-19 passes needed in many European countries to enter restaurants, Christmas markets or sports events, as well as mandatory vaccinations…

“[In Austria,] 35,000 protesters participated in different marches across the city, police said, adding that most didn’t wear masks. Police said several protesters were detained, but didn’t give specific numbers… A day after the Rotterdam rioting, thousands gathered on Amsterdam’s central Dam Square, despite organizers calling off the protest. They walked peacefully through the city’s streets… In Italy, 3,000 turned out in the capital’s Circus Maximus, a field where in ancient times Romans staged popular entertainment, to protest against ‘Green Pass’ certificates required at workplaces, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, sports venues and gyms, as well as for long-distance train, bus or ferry travel within Italy…

“In Northern Ireland, several hundred people opposed to vaccine passports protested outside the city hall in Belfast… Some protesters carried signs that have been widely criticized as offensive, comparing coronavirus restrictions to the actions of Nazi Germany. In Croatia, thousands gathered at in the capital Zagreb, carrying Croatian flags, nationalist and religious symbols, along with banners against vaccination and what they describe as restrictions of people’s freedoms.

“In France, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin condemned violent protests in the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, one of France’s overseas territories… Authorities were sending 200 more police officers to the island and on Tuesday will impose a nightly curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. Protesters in Guadeloupe have staged road blockades and set cars on fire. They denounce France’s COVID-19 health pass that is required to access restaurants and cafes, cultural venues, sport arenas and long-distance travel. They are also protesting France’s mandatory vaccinations for health care workers.”

AFP wrote on November 20:

“In Sydney, some 10,000 marched and there were protests in other major Australian cities against vaccine mandates applied to certain occupations by state authorities. ‘In Australia where a fanatical cult runs our health bureaucracies, they say it’s ok (to vaccinate children),’ right-wing politician Craig Kelly told the Sydney crowd to large cheers.”

The Associated Press wrote on November 21:

“Tens of thousands of people marched through central Brussels on Sunday to protest reinforced COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government… Many among the police estimate of 35,000 at the rally were also against the government’s strong advice to get vaccinated and any possible moves to impose mandatory shots.”

The demonstrations won’t change the agenda of governments in any way, but the worldwide unrest grows.

Incredible Dictatorship in Australia

Breitbart wrote on November 24:

“Quarantine camps for the unvaccinated. What for months has been dismissed as an idle conspiracy theory is now coming horribly true in Australia’s Northern Territory under the region’s tinpot dictator Michael Gunner. Gunner, the Northern Territory Chief Minister, has proudly boasted that 38 ‘close contacts’ of positive Covid cases have been transferred to quarantine camps in army trucks.

“Australia’s Northern Territory already had some of the strictest lockdown laws in the English-speaking world. The five allowable reasons for leaving your home are: buying food; exercising for up to two hours; caregiving; work; education.

“This latest move by Gunner, of Australia’s left-wing Labor party, represents a rapid escalation of bio-security totalitarianism. The people being targeted are indigenous Australians (otherwise known as Aborigines), an ethnic group which has been especially reluctant to take the Covid vaccine…

“To add insult to injury, quarantine camp prisoners are expected to pay top dollar for their ordeal. [Just to remind our readers, Nazi Germany charged family members for the incarceration and death of their loved ones in concentration camps.]

“Gunner was a hitherto unknown figure outside Australia’s Northern Territory… But his latest media statements have elevated him to global tinpot dictator notoriety status… [In a video, he has] declared war on the anti-vaxxers. According to his definition, this includes even people who have been vaccinated but who oppose his draconian measures. ‘If you are anti-mandate, you are absolutely anti-vax’, he said.”

Get Rid of TSA

Reason wrote on November 19:

“On this day in 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created… In the ensuing two decades, the TSA has proven itself skilled at harassing travelers and freaking out over pocketknives and water bottles while steadfastly failing at its assigned task of making air transportation any safer. The TSA, in short, is an awful example of government in action…

“The TSA launched with the passage of the Aviation and Transportation and Security Act on November 19, 2001. The new law nationalized passenger screening, which previously had been the responsibility of airlines. It’s not clear why anybody saw a need for the TSA, since it’s unlikely that a federal agency would have been any more successful than private contractors at predicting terrorists’ unprecedented use of aircraft as kamikaze weapons…

‘The TSA blog carries constant reports of weapons confiscated from people who forgot to remove them from carry-on bags. But the Homeland Security Red Teams in the 2015 test actively concealed forbidden items just as real criminals and terrorist would. The result was that ‘TSA agents failed 67 out of 70 tests, with Red Team members repeatedly able to get potential weapons through checkpoints.’ Two years later, a Red Team test at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport achieved the same 95 percent failure rate to detect explosives, weapons, and illegal drugs…

“But that’s just the tip of the iceberg of abject failure represented by the TSA. The agency repeatedly has been called out for spending vast amounts of money on unproven toys and techniques and then failing to assess their effectiveness—or just leaving them to gather dust…

“What the TSA is good at is high-visibility groping, scanning and confiscating. Making people drop their pants, take off their shoes, and surrender their shampoo annoys people in a way that says ‘we’re doing something’ without actually accomplishing anything… ‘Airport security has to change,’ Kip Hawley, one-time head of the TSA wrote in 2012. ‘The relationship between the public and the TSA has become too poisonous to be sustained.’…

“Instead of making headlines with reform, though, the TSA has become better-known for stealing money from travelers. In September, news reports called out the case of TSA working with other agencies to seize $27,600 from a Texas man, apparently because he was traveling to Oregon where marijuana is legal in conflict with federal law; he was never charged with a crime. Last year, the Institute for Justice reported that TSA and its sister agencies at Homeland Security ‘seized over $2 billion in currency at airports’ between 2000 and 2016.

“‘Law enforcement agencies routinely seize currency from travelers at airports nationwide using civil forfeiture—a legal process that allows agencies to take and keep property without ever charging owners with a crime, let alone securing a conviction,’ noted author Jennifer McDonald.

“After 20 years of failure, the Transportation Security Administration continues to waste resources, harass travelers, and actively mug air passengers. It is far more of a threat than the dangers from which it supposedly protects us. At long last, let’s put the agency out of our misery.”

Not to mention the incredible delays and long lines of passengers waiting in airports caused by a far-too-often indifferent TSA personnel .. .and that was even the case BEFORE the coronavirus debacle. Whenever the government puts its greedy and incompetent hands into the pie, disaster follows.

House Approves Biden’s “Build Back Better” Spending Bill

Breitbart wrote on November 19:

“House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) yielded the floor on Friday morning at 5:11 a.m. after speaking for a record eight hours and forty-two minutes against the Democrats’ multi-trillion-dollar ‘Build Back Better’ social spending bill… McCarthy broke down the bill, attacking it for lavish spending on Democrats’ favored special interest groups while raising taxes on middle-class Americans — and providing an effective tax cut for the wealthy in high-tax, Democrat-run states.

“He noted that the bill… rejected Republican amendments, including one to prohibit funding from going to the Chinese Communist Party… McCarthy added that the country was at a ‘tipping point,’ and that the bill… represented a step toward socialist policies that had already failed in other countries, and government programs that could never be undone… Republicans rose to their feet in a standing ovation as McCarthy finally finished and the House chamber emptied…

“The House passed the $1.7 Build Back Better Act early on Friday morning, sending the bill to the Senate… The bill passed 220-213, with overwhelming Democrat support, and strong Republican opposition to the bill. Only one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), a swing district Democrat, voted against the bill. The legislation serves as the marquee legislation for President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. Biden pinned his legislative majority on passing dual infrastructure bills, the Build Back Better Act, and the $1.2 trillion so-called bipartisan infrastructure bill, otherwise known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Build Back Better Act would massively expand social welfare programs and fund major climate change programs…

“The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that the legislation could cost as much as $4.91 trillion over ten years… President Joe Biden and other congressional Democrats have promised that the legislation would cost zero dollars…

“The legislation will go to the Senate, where it remains uncertain if moderate Democrats… will support the bill… Democrats cannot afford to lose one vote to pass the bill.”

This presupposes, of course, that RINOs [“Republicans in name only”] will not support the bill, as some did in regard to the equally controversial infrastructure bill.

The New York Post Editorial Board wrote on November 19:

“Overall, this bill remains a piece of junk — written, re-written and re-re-rewritten all year long with no eye on what the nation needs nor even whether it makes any sense, except as an effort to pass some of the left’s longstanding agenda while Democrats are in control. The games they’re playing to make it look not too fiscally irresponsible can’t change that.”

This astronomical ever-climbing irresponsible debt of the USA can never be repaid. The time will come when creditors might take matters into their own hands. The Bible warns us with a reason, in Proverbs 22:7: “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant (or slave) to the lender.”

Biden’s Vaccine Mandate Despite Court Ruling

Life Site News reported on November 19:

“Days after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it will comply with a federal court order not to enforce the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on American businesses, the White House says it still wants businesses to carry out the mandate on their own. ‘Our message to businesses right now is to move forward with measures that will make their workplaces safer and protect their workforces from COVID-19,’ Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday… ‘That was our message after the first stay issued by the Fifth Circuit. That remains our message and nothing has changed.’ ‘We are still heading towards the same timeline’ of a January 4, 2021 deadline for implementation, she continued…

“Psaki’s comments do not carry the force of law, but appear to signal the administration’s intentions to continue informally pushing businesses to force vaccination on their employees regardless of the law.

“Meanwhile, evidence continues to mount undermining the vaccine mandate’s rationale, with a growing body of data indicating that the mass vaccination strategy for defeating COVID-19 has failed…  Noncompliance is further driven by significant unaddressed concerns about the vaccines’ safety, stemming largely from the fact that they were developed and released far faster than any previous vaccine….”

More Nonsense from the Biden Administration

The Associated Press wrote on November 22:

“Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning on Jan. 22… A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers in line with those that took effect earlier this month for leisure travelers, when the U.S. reopened its borders to fully vaccinated individuals.

“Essential travelers entering by ferry will also be required to be fully vaccinated by the same date, the official said…

“The rules pertain to non-U.S. nationals. American citizens and permanent residents may still enter the U.S. regardless of their vaccination status, but face additional testing hurdles because officials believe they more easily contract and spread COVID-19 and in order to encourage them to get a shot.”

Incredible! Fauci’s Critics Should Be Brought “to Justice”?

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on November 23:

“Outgoing National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins told the Washington Post that critics of Fauci and his organization are spreading misinformation and should be ‘brought to justice.’

“He continues the ‘I am science’ argument of Fauci even as the multitude of flip-flops and failed promises have undermined public confidence.”

This is getting so stupid… but it’s well-organized dangerous stupidity. Note the next two articles.

Don’t Dare to Criticize Fauci!

The Ron Paul Institute wrote on November 23:

 “Fauci made another circuit through the adoring media yesterday, again accusing anyone of pointing out his lack of honesty and constant moving the goal posts of ‘killing people.’”

Silencing Kennedy

Life Site News wrote on November 22:

“Robert Kennedy Jr. shed light on the deep-seated corruption occurring within Big Pharma and the federal regulatory bodies, including their worrisome ties to billionaire population control advocate Bill Gates. In an  interview on November 15 with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Robert Kennedy Jr., [son of U.S. senator Robert Kennedy and] nephew of late U.S. President John F. Kennedy, detailed the decades-long corruption occurring within the pharmaceutical industry and the federal regulatory agencies. Included is the collusion between Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and Gates pursuant to vaccine development, vaccine safety, mass vaccination programs, and legal immunity. ‘[The corruption] began in 1986 when they passed the Vaccine Act and gave complete shield from liability to all vaccine companies,’ Kennedy told Carlson. ‘So, if you’re a vaccine company and you injure somebody, no matter how grievous the injury, no matter how reckless your conduct, no matter how negligent you were, no matter how toxic the ingredient, nobody can sue you.’…

“Tying together Fauci, Gates, and the federal regulatory agencies, Kennedy outlined that in 2000, Fauci flew to Seattle to meet with Gates. During this meeting, they struck a partnership to ‘vaccinate all of humanity’…  With Gates using his large wealth to accumulate partial ownership in all major pharmaceutical companies, as well as significant influence over so-called philanthropic organizations and regulatory agencies, Kennedy stated that nothing goes through the WHO without ‘first being vetted by the Gates Foundation.’

“In effect, Kennedy says that Gates uses his foundation’s influence over the WHO to require countries to use the vaccines he is heavily invested in or they will no longer receive the money from the WHO that they require to operate…”

Kennedy released a new book, “The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health,” which is hitting the bestseller lists, but major networks (Fox News excluded) have refused to even talk about it. The book received the following review by thriftbook.com:

“When the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since November 1984 and the leading architect of ‘agency capture’–the corporate seizure of America’s public health agencies by the pharmaceutical industry–happen to be the same man, conflicts of interest arise. Wearing both hats, Dr. Anthony Stephen Fauci, tasked with managing the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, peddled and back-pedaled his prescriptions as Pharma profits and bureaucratic powers grew and public health waned. Working in tandem with his long-term partner, billionaire Bill Gates, to corral Americans toward a single vaccine solution to COVID, Dr. Fauci committed zero dollars to studying or promoting early treatment with various drug combinations that could dramatically reduce deaths and hospitalizations.

“Meanwhile, in an assault on our First Amendment guarantee of free speech, Dr. Fauci’s Silicon Valley and media allies dutifully censored criticism of his policies on mainstream social media and collaborated to muzzle any medical information about therapies and treatments that might end the pandemic and compete with vaccines. After effectively abolishing the First Amendment right to free speech, Dr. Fauci subverted our Seventh Amendment rights to jury trials by arranging to shield reckless and negligent pharmaceutical corporations from liability for injuries from any COVID countermeasures, including vaccines. His lockdowns targeted First Amendment religious freedom by closing churches–while keeping liquor stores open as ‘essential businesses’–and abolishing century-old religious exemptions to vaccination.

“Dr. Fauci’s enforced quarantine trampled the Constitutional rights of assembly, of association, and to petition the government, and our Fifth Amendment protection against uncompensated taking of private property. His arbitrary mask and lockdown diktats, without public hearings or rulemaking, strangled our Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment due process guarantees. His tracking and tracing initiatives bulldozed Constitutional rights to privacy and travel, and our Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless searches and seizures. Finally, readers will see how Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates, asserting biosecurity rationales, worked together to finance and promote the very gain-of-function experiments in Wuhan that may have released the COVID-19 pathogen.”

No wonder the Biden Administration, Big Pharma and the mass media do not want you to read this book, which, according to the publisher, is well researched with thousands of footnotes, presenting evidence for all of Robert Kennedy’s claims. By the way, Robert Kennedy is an American environmental lawyer.

Rittenhouse Not Guilty

The New York Post wrote on November 19:

“Not guilty on all counts: That verdict comes as no surprise to anyone who’d paid close attention to the Kyle Rittenhouse trial but may shock those who relied on horrifically biased media accounts. Nearly all the early media tropes proved false: He didn’t bring the gun across state lines; he had major roots in Kenosha including his day job and much of his family. He wasn’t a militia-wannabe but an aspiring cop/firefighter/EMT.

“Absolutely nothing suggests he was a ‘white supremacist,’ as no less than Joe Biden claimed right before last year’s election. And the men he shot were all attacking him when he pulled the trigger; all were white, and at least two had histories of violence. None of this makes him a ‘patriot’… But the evidence for self-defense was rock-solid.

“But for months, and even as the trial exposed these facts, the haters stuck to their narrative… The rank, politicized distortions of fact here — and in so many other recent incidents — should teach everyone once and for all not to trust instant analysis or agenda-driven reporting...

“May that lesson sink in widely, not least with the man in charge of upholding America’s institutions and leading the nation to unity.”

The mass media engaged in horrible reporting and misrepresentations, as was pointed out in our last Update. (On November 17, the New York Post listed 10 misrepresentations and outright lies by the mass media in this case.) In addition, important evidence about the prior criminal conduct of the persons Rittenhouse shot was suppressed (showing once again, by way of example, why conscientious Christians cannot possibly serve on a jury). But we also agree with voices like the one of Prof. Dershowitz who warned against idolizing Rittenhouse and making him out to be a hero (Newsmax, dated November 19). Further, although much in an article published by USA Today on November 18, prior to the verdict, is undoubtedly objectionable and wrong, one point is correct:

“What did this boy think would happen if he carried an AR-15-type rifle into the chaos that warm summer night?… Some people argue he’s a positive role model for other young people: He saw a problem. He took action. He stood up when the police stood down… We live in a society where guns have become a fetish for some people [who] claim they are protecting the public. It’s an illusion. And it’s dangerous… My father died 20 years ago. But I know exactly what he would say about the events in Kenosha… He would tell his teenage son: Don’t you ever do something so stupid. You stay home and stay out of trouble.”

Rittenhouse’s actions do NOT represent a positive role model for young people to follow. No matter what man’s law may say, Christ tells us not to take up the sword, but to put it away, because everyone who takes the sword will ultimately perish by it (Matthew 26:52). Using a gun on other people is wrong in God’s eyes. Please view our new StandingWatch program, “Kyle Rittenhouse—Vigilante and Villain or Patriot and Hero?” and read our free booklet, “Should YOU Fight in War?” Also, please read our free booklet, “The Ten Commandments.” 

Antifa: Take Up Arms!

The Washington Times reported on November 23:

“Some members of Antifa are responding to the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse last week by getting guns themselves. According to social media posts collected by conservative journalist Andy Ngo, the violent leftist group sees as a threat to them Mr. Rittenhouse’s successful claim of self-defense in the shootings of three rioters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year.

“‘Antifa accounts in Portland & beyond are terrified over the Rittenhouse acquittal because they’re afraid others will shoot them dead during an attack & have a legal argument for self-defense. They’re urging comrades to get guns immediately so they can kill before being killed,’ Mr. Ngo wrote on Twitter, providing multiple screenshots to support his claim.”

The Christmas Parade Murderer

The New York Post reported on November 24:

“The ex-con charged over the deaths of six people at a Wisconsin Christmas parade shared social media posts calling for violence against white people — and suggesting ‘Hitler was right’ for killing Jews…. [The messages] included numerous posts attacking cops, comparing them to Ku Klux Klan members and calling them ‘violent street gangs’ — as well as calling for violence toward white people, according to screenshots… Police have yet to announce a motive for Sunday’s carnage, but all six who died… were white…

“In his rap songs, Brooks also bragged that he was a ‘terrorist’ and a ‘killer in the city.’”

All Three Men Charged in Ahmaud Arbery’s Death Convicted of Murder

Newsmax reported on November 24:

“A jury Wednesday found Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor William Bryan guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery outside of Brunswick, Georgia. Travis McMichael was found guilty on all nine charges, including malice murder after the jury deliberated for about 11 hours over two days. His father and Bryan were found guilty on counts of felony murder. Each of the three men faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole…

“The three men accused of Arbery’s Feb. 23, 2020, killing were initially cleared by the local district attorney. But after video of the deadly encounter was leaked, a public outcry led to the case being transferred to a different district attorney and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation charged the trio in May…

“Arbery, 25… was reportedly jogging in the Glynn County neighborhood where the McMichaels lived. McMichael said he sought out Arbery after his 65-year-old father told him ‘the guy who has been breaking in down the road’ had just run past their home… both McMichaels armed themselves before pursuing Arbery in their pickup truck. McMichael said Arbery initially stopped when he pulled up alongside him, but again took off running when McMichael told him police were en route.

“That began a sequence in which prosecutors say Arbery was chased and prevented from fleeing by two pickup trucks — the one with the McMichaels inside and another driven by the 52-year-old Bryan, who also videotaped the encounter. At some point, a struggle between Travis McMichael and Arbery ensued, and Travis McMichael admits to fatally shooting Arbery. ‘He had my gun,’ McMichael testified on Wednesday. ‘He struck me. It was obvious that he was attacking me, that if he would have gotten the shotgun from me, then this was a life-or-death situation, and I’m going to have to stop him from doing this, so I shot.’…

“Arbery’s family has claimed the incident was racially motivated and there have been allegations of racist language used by the defendants. Prominent Black civil rights activists such as Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton have made appearances in the courtroom, leading to a brief failed attempt by the defense to have the controversial leaders ejected from the proceedings.

“Numerous political leaders have commented on the trial, including President Joe Biden who tweeted on the one-year anniversary of the shooting: ‘A Black man should be able to go for a jog without fearing for his life. Today, we remember Ahmaud Arbery’s life and we dedicate ourselves to making this country safer for people of color.’ The comments appeared to prejudge the guilt of the defendants, continuing a trend of Biden remarking on cases that had not yet been decided by a jury, as he had done with Kenosha shooting defendant Kyle Rittenhouse.

“… The Arbery and Floyd deaths sparked a summer of social justice protests nationwide that were dominated by Black Lives Matter activists and, often, members of the left-wing group antifa. Frequently the events turned destructive or violent, resulting in several cities having businesses looted or burned down, countless assaults, and several deaths.”

California New Abortion Mecca?

Life News wrote on November 16:

“California Gov. Gavin Newsom is working to make his state the abortion center of the United States in anticipation of Roe v. Wade being overturned soon…  Newsom, a pro-abortion Democrat, recently asked a group of ‘reproductive health’ experts to come up with plans to make it easier for women from other states to come to California to abort their unborn babies… Currently, under Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, states are prohibited from protecting unborn babies from abortion before viability, about 22 weeks of pregnancy. If Roe goes, 26 states likely would ban abortions to protect unborn babies…

“Among other things, they want lawmakers to increase taxpayer funding for abortions through the state Medi-Cal program and create a fund to help pay for transportation, child care, hotel stays and other costs to encourage women to come to California to abort their unborn babies… [California] has more abortion facilities than any other state in the U.S. Newsom also recently signed a law that forces colleges and universities to provide abortions on campus.”

How can God bless a state like this? Note the next shocking article.

California’s Teachers Urge Recruiting Young Kids into LGBT Clubs

Daily Wire reported on November 19:

“Abigail Shrier, the author of the best-selling book ‘Irreversible Damage,’ revealed that at a late October meeting at a conference of California’s largest teacher’s union, the California Teachers Association (CTA), documents show teachers were encouraged to recruit students into LGBT clubs, urging them to ‘have the courage to create a safe environment that fosters bravery to explore sexual orientation.’ One teacher reportedly chortled, ‘We’re going to do just a little mind-trick on our sixth graders.’

“Additionally, Shier wrote, ‘Speakers went so far as to tout their surveillance of students’ Google searches, internet activity, and hallway conversations in order to target sixth graders for personal invitations to LGBTQ clubs, while actively concealing these clubs’ membership rolls from participants’ parents.’”

Boris Johnson Incompetent

Express wrote on November 19:

“The British public is furious with Boris Johnson.. with record numbers believing the Prime Minister is ‘incompetent’ according to a YouGov poll…. [It] shows a leap of faith made by the British public when the Prime Minister was elected in December 2019, with his competency rating sitting at more than 50 percent… those thinking the Prime Minister is competent [is] just 29 percent.”

Johnson can shake hands with Biden and Harris… And then we are told that Harris made history as the first woman…and woman of color… to occupy the office of [acting] President for 1 hour and 25 minutes while Biden was undergoing a procedure, requiring short anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy and medical exam. What lunacy.

Barbados to Remove the Queen

Bloomberg wrote on November 22:

“For the first time in three decades, Queen Elizabeth II is losing one of her many realms. On Nov. 30, Barbados, in the eastern Caribbean, will be removing the British monarch as its head of state and installing Governor General Sandra Mason as president…

“The move is largely symbolic, as Barbados has been a sovereign nation since 1966. But the transition underscores the growing independent streak in the Caribbean — home to nine of the 16 commonwealth realms, sovereign countries that have Queen Elizabeth as their head of state.  ‘The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind,’ Governor General Mason said last year, when the transition was announced…

“The last nation to leave the commonwealth realm was Mauritius in 1992. But Jamaica, the Bahamas, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have all considered ditching the monarchy…”

Catholics “Encouraged” to take Mass on Sunday

Premier Christian News wrote on November 20:

“Catholics in England and Wales are being encouraged to ‘look again’ at the activities they are doing on Sundays instead of going to Mass… such as sports or shopping, or other leisure and social activities… But the bishops also recognised that for some ‘there is legitimate fear in gathering together’ as the pandemic is not over and they acknowledged that not everyone ‘is yet in the position to fulfil the absolute duty to attend freely Sunday Mass.’…

“They concluded: ‘The Sunday Mass is the very heartbeat of the Church and of our personal life of faith. We gather on the “first day of the week,” and devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42).”

At least, they recognize that Sunday is the “first day of the week” and therefore not the biblical Sabbath, which is of course the last day of the week, even though the Catholic Church has been influential in changing the calendar, marking Sunday as the seventh day. In addition, breaking bread has nothing to do with attending worship services on Sunday and taking communion or participating in mass. Please see our Q&A on that topic. 

Russia’s Plan to Annex Ukraine

European Council of Foreign Affairs (ecf.eu) wrote on November 17:

“Russia is mobilising its forces… Moscow’s belief that the EU and US will not step in to protect Ukraine could lead it to take direct military action… Following an invasion of Ukraine, it would use [its forces] to control conquered territory, suppress dissent, and install puppet administrations. Their mobilisation is a sign that the Kremlin is at least considering the option of further incursions into Ukraine… This may hint towards a significantly more serious intention than simply a wish to appear threatening.

“Hostile Russian rhetoric towards Ukraine has increased over the last year. ‘Reintegrating’ Ukraine – the whole of Ukraine, not Donbas alone – into the Russian Empire is a declared aim of the Russian president. The impression of a weak West, underlined by the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, may convince Moscow that now is the time to wrap up its ‘unfinished business’ with Kyiv. The Kremlin may have been emboldened in this by its interpretation of the American position on Ukraine, particularly since senior US diplomat Victoria Nuland’s recent visit to Moscow. That trip likely left the impression that Washington would subscribe to Moscow’s interpretation of the Minsk agreement…

“And, finally, current events around Belarus tightly connect Ukraine’s security situation with the rest of Europe. This relates not only to the immediate stand-offs with migrant arrivals at the Belarus-Poland border, but to these major Russian military redeployments whose full nature is not yet clear. Were it to take Ukraine, an enlarged and confident Russia would then turn its sights on influencing the activities of it new nearest neighbours: the EU and its member states.”

Ukraine will fall into the hands of Russia… either forcefully or “peacefully”.

Russia Threatens to Destroy NATO Satellites over Ukraine

The Sun wrote on November 23:

“RUSSIA’S new weapon dubbed ‘Star Warrior’ has the West worried as it can blast satellites out of orbit at heights of up to 500 miles above Earth. Vladimir Putin’s state owned TV issued a chilling threat that Russia may deploy the system to destroy some 32 Western satellites to render Nato missiles useless. It comes after Putin used the weapon to destroy a redundant Soviet-era Tselina-D military reconnaissance satellite – blasting it into an orbital debris storm…

“State-controlled Russian Channel One TV host Dmitry Kiselyov – dubbed Putin’s ‘mouthpiece’ and ‘propagandist-in-chief’ – has claimed the satellite strike was a deliberate warning to the West not to cross the Kremlin’s red lines on Ukraine.  He boasted in the event of worsening relations, Russia could wipe out 32 GPS satellites crucial for Nato’s military operations, including the pinpointing of missile strikes.

“The warning comes as relations continue to worsen between Russia and the West amid fears that Putin may be about to invade Ukraine.

“… Russia deputy prime minister Yuri Borisov previously bragged that the Star Warrior weapons system has no counterpart in the West.”

Roadmap for Closer Military Ties between Russia and China

The Associated Press wrote on November 23:

“Russia’s defense chief on Tuesday signed a roadmap for closer military ties with China, pointing to increasingly frequent U.S. strategic bomber flights near both countries’ borders… Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe ‘expressed a shared interest in stepping up strategic military exercises and joint patrols by Russia and China,’ according to the Russian Defense Ministry. ‘China and Russia have been strategic partners for many years,’ Shoigu said… Wei praised Russia for successfully countering what he described as U.S. pressure and military threats…

“In August, Shoigu visited China to attend joint war games, which marked the first time that Russian troops had taken part in drills on Chinese territory. They were the latest in a series of war games in recent years, intended to underline increasingly close military relations between Moscow and Beijing. Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, have developed strong personal ties to bolster a ‘strategic partnership’ between the former Communist rivals as they both faced tensions with the West.

“Putin said last year that… Russia has been sharing highly sensitive military technologies with China that helped significantly bolster its defense capability.”

Chinese New Hypersonic Weapon More Dangerous than Previously Thought

Israel 365 wrote on November 22:

“In July, China tested an unprecedented ability of its new hypersonic weapon; firing a separate missile while traveling at Mach 5… a new report reveals even more shocking details of China’s hypersonic capabilities that US military experts can’t even begin to understand…

“China’s hypersonic weapon that took the world by surprise in July had an additional ability. Capable of flying at five times the speed of sound while carrying a nuclear warhead, the weapon, essentially a space vehicle, fired a projectile in midflight. Experts are still unsure of how this was achieved and don’t even know what the purpose of the projectile was. The projectile fired midflight landed in the water and did not seem to have a target. Some conjectures suggest the projectile may have been electronic countermeasures capable of targeting an enemy’s missile defense systems while others suggest it may have been an air-to-air missile…

“The hypersonic glide vehicle tested by China in July was capable of bypassing the US’s air-defense systems by flying over the South Pole….”

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

US Court of Appeals Permanently Prohibits Biden Vaccination Mandate

Breitbart wrote on November 12:

“A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed its stay on President Joe Biden’s workplace vaccine mandate on Friday. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a rule that would require businesses with at least 100 employees to mandate coronavirus vaccinations or implement frequent testing. Friday’s decision comes after the Fifth Circuit issued a stay on the OSHA rule last Saturday.

“On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department requested the appeals court lift the stay, arguing it would ‘likely cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day.’

“In its decision, the court ordered OSHA to ‘take no steps to implement or enforce the Mandate until further court order’  [stating:] ‘The Mandate is a one-size-fits-all sledgehammer that makes hardly any attempt to account for differences in workplaces (and workers) that have more than a little bearing on workers’ varying degrees of susceptibility to the supposedly “grave danger” the Mandate purports to address.’”

Newsmax added on November 12:

“‘The mandate is staggeringly overbroad,’ the opinion said… ‘The public interest is also served by maintaining our constitutional structure and maintaining the liberty of individuals to make intensely personal decisions according to their own convictions – even, or perhaps particularly, when those decisions frustrate government officials’… “

A Ping Pong Ball Might Decide Biden’s Vaccination Mandate

The Associated Press reported on November 16:

“Challenges to President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers will be consolidated in the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals… The Cincinnati-based court was selected Tuesday in a random drawing using ping-pong balls, a process employed when challenges to certain federal agency actions are filed in multiple courts.

“The selection could be good news for those challenging the administration’s vaccine requirement, which includes officials in 27 Republican-led states, employers and several conservative and business organizations… The challenges… were made this month in 12 circuit courts. Under an arcane system, it was up to the clerk of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict litigation to select a ping-pong ball from a bin to choose where the cases would be heard.

“It was a favorable outcome for Republicans. Eleven of the 16 full-time judges in the 6th Circuit were appointed by Republican presidents… It had not yet been determined which judges from the 6th Circuit will be on a three-judge panel to hear the case or whether it will be considered by all the judges….”

A ping pong ball as the decision-maker. It would be laughable if it was not so sad. In any event, this will end up in front of the Supreme Court, and no matter what decision will be rendered, it will antagonize Americans even more.

Why the Biden Mandate Makes No Scientific Sense

On November 12, the Ron Paul Institute republished the following article by Dr. Gilbert Berdine, associate professor of medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center :

“The scientific basis for the [Biden vaccination] mandate is dubious. We are told that the vaccine is effective and safe. If this assertion were true… anyone taking the vaccine would have nothing to fear from the unvaccinated. If the vaccine worked, then everyone taking the vaccine would be protected. Of course, the vaccine does not work for everyone… it becomes a judgment call whether the risk of vaccination is worth the benefit.

“Contrary to what is claimed on a daily basis, the vaccine is not safe… As of November 7, 2021, there were 2,725,582 adverse events…including 8,284 deaths, 9,726 life-threatening events, 9,580 permanent disabilities, 363… birth defects, 38,818 hospitalizations, 79,615 ER visits, and 121,100 doctor’s office visits attributed to the covid vaccines. These are only the risks we know about so far. Nobody knows what the adverse effects will be one, five, or ten years from now….

“How effective are the vaccines?… As of August 25, 2021, it takes over twenty-five hundred vaccinations to prevent a single death in the US…

“What would the effect of 100 percent vaccination rate be on the virus? Contrary to claims, the virus will not disappear. The next outbreak would occur within a year and would be 100 percent breakthrough cases with a vaccine-resistant strain. Then we would need another vaccine mandate, and another, ad infinitum.

“… proponents of mandates underestimate the degree of conviction of those who decline the covid vaccines. Wherever people are not permitted to remain unvaccinated…, a percentage of people will quit their jobs rather than be vaccinated… at least 10 percent of physicians and 20 percent of nurses will quit rather than be vaccinated… similar events in hospitals could precipitate a catastrophic collapse of the US healthcare system…

“The worst-case scenario is outright civil war. This is too horrible to contemplate, but this possibility is real. President Biden said his patience is wearing thin. That works both ways…”

Apart from the downfall of America’s economy and its social services, including the health-care system, civil war IS, sadly, a distinct possibility. Note the next article.

“Would America Survive a Civil War?”

Unherd wrote on November 12:

“Talk of insurrection, secession, civil conflict and civil war is no longer the chatter of the gullible and the mentally ill. It’s entering the fringes of polite society…

“[There is a] very common assertion: that a civil war, if waged on American soil, would be over quickly… The idea here is that the US military is so advanced, and has so many tanks, gunships, fuel air bombs, and drones, that the federal government is simply assured of victory. As such, a civil war is an unlikely or impossible scenario, given the dramatic imbalance of power between the state and even a numerically large, dissatisfied internal population. But this is a dangerous misconception. While the US military is indeed powerful and lavishly funded, it is a military designed to fight other states….

“… how likely is it that there will be some sort of civil conflict in the near or mid future for the United States? Unfortunately, the correct answer here may very well be that it is not terribly unlikely…

“The legitimacy of its elite has been shaken repeatedly, and faith in the electoral process itself is now rapidly declining among large segments of the electorate…

“Most ominously of all, however, looms the growing supply crisis. This crisis would be tolerable if it merely implied a lack of variety at the grocery store… But it is also creating havoc in the productive economy itself, denying farmers the spare parts to run their harvesters and car manufacturers the metals they need to make cars. The longer the crisis goes on, the more broken the economy will become, and the more painful the necessary reforms will be, once America’s elites truly wake up to the danger.

“If there is one time throughout history where civil wars are actually likely to occur, it is precisely when a delegitimated elite undertakes necessary reforms after letting underlying problems fester for decades. That is when states are at their weakest, and when they are vulnerable to the worst forms of internal disasters. Sadly, that might just be where America is headed today.”

Our StandingWatch program, “Is Civil War Coming?”, addresses this frightening scenario. Also note the next article, showing how divided this country has already become over coronavirus regulations, mandates and restrictions.

How Covid Regulations Divide the Country

Newsmax wrote on November 13:

“Sixty percent of vaccinated individuals say they are banning unvaccinated family members from seasonal festivities… A slightly higher number, 63%, said they are not comfortable having unvaccinated relatives at their parties. Some 14% of those surveyed said they would never get the vaccine because of concerns about its safety and side effects.

“Almost half of the unvaccinated respondents, 49%, said they are no longer communicating with family members who won’t understand their hesitancy and unwillingness to get the shot, with 22% of those saying they have already been banned from family gatherings… 16% of those surveyed ended three or more friendships during the pandemic, starting in March 2020.”

There is really nothing godly about this.

The Road to Fascism

On November 17, the Ron Paul Institute republished the following article by the Rutherford Institute:

“We are moving fast down the road to fascism. This COVID-19 pandemic has shifted us into high gear. The heavy-handed collusion between the Techno-Corporate State and the US government over vaccine mandates is merely the latest manifestation of the extent to which fascist forces are working to overthrow our constitutional republic and nullify the rights of the individual… Katrina Trinko writes for USA Today, ‘the government is turning employers—who are not paid by, nor work for, the government—into an army of vaccine enforcers.’

“You know who won’t suffer any harm as a result of these vaccine mandates? The Corporate State (manufacturers, distributors, and health care providers), which were given a blanket ‘get out of jail’ card to insulate them from liability for any injuries or death caused by the vaccines… This has long since ceased to be a debate over how best to protect the populace at large against an unknown pandemic. Rather, it has become a massively intrusive, coercive and authoritarian assault on the right of individual sovereignty over one’s life, self and private property…

“At a minimum, our right to individual sovereignty over our lives and our bodies is being usurped by power-hungry authoritarians; greedy, self-serving corporations; egotistical Nanny Staters who think they know what’s best for the rest of the populace; and a short-sighted but well-meaning populace which fails to understand the long-term ramifications of trading their essential freedoms for temporary promises of safety and security…

“This merely pushes us one step further down that road towards a total control society in which the government… gets to decide who is ‘worthy’ of being allowed to take part in society.

“Right now, COVID-19 vaccines are the magic ticket for gaining access to the ‘privileges’ of communal life. Having already conditioned the population to the idea that being part of society is a privilege and not a right, such access could easily be predicated on social credit scores, the worthiness of one’s political views, or the extent to which one is willing to comply with the government’s dictates, no matter what they might be… nothing good can come from totalitarian tactics—no matter how benevolent they appear—that are used to make us cower, fear and comply with the government’s dictates.”

Amen to that.

How Big Pharma PROFITS from the Vaccines

Medical Press wrote on November 16:

“Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna… will make pre-tax profits of $34 billion this year between them, which works out to over $1,000 a second, $65,000 a minute or $93.5 million a day [from their COVID-19 vaccines]…

“Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna have used their monopolies to prioritise the most profitable contracts with the richest governments…”

 According to the New York Times, the US is planning to invest billions of dollars in expanding COVID-19 manufacturing capacity to have at least a billion doses by the second half of next year.

Trump Says Pence Should have Refused to Certify “Fraudulent” Election

The Insider wrote on November 12:

“Former President Donald Trump claimed in a new interview that half of constitutional scholars agree that former Vice President Mike Pence could have overturned his 2020 election loss… ‘How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? — how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress? How can you do that?’ Trump told [Jonathan] Karl about Pence’s refusal to reject the election results when Congress met to certify them on January 6. ‘And I’m telling you: 50/50, it’s right down the middle for the top constitutional scholars when I speak to them.’

“… That push came after the dismissal of dozens of lawsuits by Trump’s legal team challenging the results… The Supreme Court, which holds a 6-3 conservative majority, also rejected a Trump-backed bid to invalidate the results in key swing states….

“Last month, a bipartisan group of former officials and lawyers sent a letter  to the California bar association calling for an investigation into [John] Eastman, the lawyer behind the memo that claimed Pence could overturn the election. The group said the state bar should look into whether Eastman violated attorney ethics by making false statements.

“Eastman also retired as a law professor at Chapman University after more than 150 faculty members called for his removal following the January 6 insurrection. “

To clarify some misleading and troublesome statements in the above article: NO court decided the issue of election fraud on the merits. Cases were dismissed strictly on procedural grounds, such as lack of standing. It is appalling to realize that an attorney can be “investigated” and can be forced to retire for stating legal opinions which might not be in conformity with [politically motivated?] majority views.

Team Biden’s Never-ending Lies

The Editorial Board of the New York Post wrote on November 13:

“Before his utterly botched Aug. 30 withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, President Biden made a solemn vow: ‘If there are American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out.’ Not only did he break that promise, we’re still learning just how badly he failed: Thousands upon thousands remain stranded.

“Foreign Policy magazine reports, citing an in-the-know congressional aide, that the State Department believes as many as 14,000 United States legal permanent residents remain in Afghanistan. Plus, Deputy Secretary of State Brian McKeon revealed at a Nov. 3 hearing that State knew of 289 US citizens stuck in Afghanistan as of Nov. 2, with a further 81 ready to depart — after 140 Americans had left in the prior week. That tracks with the 450 US citizens the Pentagon reported still being in the country at October’s end. But it doesn’t track with the lowball numbers that State and the White House have claimed [repeatedly, which was under 200 and likely closer to 100]…

“And this ignores the tens of thousands of Afghan allies [Biden] promised to evacuate, whom he instead left to face the wrath of the Taliban. Biden, in short, vowed to get everyone out while having no clue how many ‘everyone’ was. Like all his other promises and pronouncements, it was just meaningless noise.”

No wonder Biden’s popularity has now reached an unprecedented low—with only a 38% approval rate (according to Breitbart, dated November 14). According to another poll which was released on November 18, Biden’s approval rate dropped to 36 %. One wonders who those 36 % are who support Biden’s totally unsuccessful policies. 

The Biden-Harris Debacle

The New York Post wrote on November 15:

“Vice President Kamala Harris feels increasingly isolated inside the White House as her approval ratings plummet…  Despite their public show of unity, Biden and his right-hand woman have a dysfunctional relationship that has reached an ‘exhausted stalemate,’ according to CNN, which based its report on interviews with nearly three dozen insiders..

“At a time when the president would usually be expected to promote his vice president as a future replacement in the White House, Biden has instead been sidelining Harris as a potential liability, the report said. For their part, Harris’ allies are reportedly frustrated with the president for dumping politically fraught issues in her lap — including, infamously, the ongoing illegal immigration crisis at the US-Mexico border…

“Insiders told CNN the West Wing has been especially bothered by Harris’ handling of the border issue. The veep’s trip to Mexico and Guatemala was overshadowed by a disastrous interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt, in which Harris responded to Holt by noting that she hadn’t yet been to the frontier region by chuckling and joking: ‘And I haven’t been to Europe….

“CNN also reported that Harris did not attend most of the meetings Biden held with members of Congress as he attempted to secure passage of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill…

“The CNN report is not the first time Harris has been the focus of DC whispers. At the end of June, Politico reported that her office was ‘chaotic’…

“The revelations emerged days after a poll showed Biden with an approval rating of 37.8 percent, a new low for the president. However, Harris’ approval rating was 10 points lower, at 27.8 percent.”

Of course, the White House tried to dispute CNN’s report, but did so quite unsuccessfully. Breitbart wrote on November 15:

“The White House on Monday scrambled to support Vice President Kamala Harris from a damaging CNN report about her struggles… The sudden reaction to the CNN story from the White House prompted mockery, especially after [White House Press Secretary Jen] Psaki claimed Harris helped deliver on broadband and actually succeeded handling the migration crisis.”

A more ridiculous and blatantly untrue “defense” could hardly be imagined.

The “Outrageous” Indictment of Steve Bannon

Breitbart wrote on November 15:

“The Justice Department’s (DOJ) indictment of Steve Bannon is ‘outrageous,’ Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz… said…  Bannon… faces contempt charges after defying a subpoena from a House committee ostensibly investigating the events of January 6th.

“Dershowitz said, ‘It’s an outrageous indictment. I’ll tell you why it’s outrageous. You don’t indict somebody when you don’t know what the law is. Nobody knows whether or not Bannon has the right to refuse to answer if the president tells him not to.  That is a disputed question. That’s not a proper subject for criminal indictment.’ Retention of executive privilege by former presidents is a disputed legal question, Dershowitz stated. ‘… you don’t use the criminal justice system except after you’ve exhausted all the alternatives to try to find out what the law is,’ he said…

“‘If you’ve got 10 constitutional scholars in a room — not Larry Tribe, because he’s not a constitutional scholar, he’s a partisan advocate, he was a scholar, but he’s now an advocate — but if you’ve got 10 reasonable constitutional scholars in the room and you didn’t tell them whether the person was a Democrat or a Republican, it would go five-to-five whether or not a former president has the authority to instruct his former adviser not to turn material over and not to testify.’”

Of course, the whole “investigation” is deeply political.

The Kyle Rittenhouse Scandal—and How the Media Deceives You

Fox News published on November 16 an article, which was adapted from Tucker Carlson’s opening commentary on November 15, 2021:

“Just days after Rittenhouse was first arrested, that was back in August of 2020… PolitiFact… claimed that Kyle Rittenhouse had committed a crime by carrying a firearm in the state of Wisconsin. Here’s the quote. ‘It is against the law in Wisconsin for someone younger than 18 to possess a dangerous weapon. Period.’…

“The problem was it was a lie. In fact, under Wisconsin law, which apparently no one in any newsroom in America had even bothered to check, 17-year-olds are allowed to carry rifles as long as their barrels meet a minimum length requirement, and Kyle Rittenhouse’s rifle met that requirement. So no, Kyle Rittenhouse did not violate Wisconsin’s gun laws. Today, even the prosecution at the trial was forced to admit that. And so immediately, the judge dismissed the firearms charge…

“Joe Scarborough [from MSNBC said]: ‘We have a 17-year-old kid underage, said he bought an AR-15 because he thought it was cool. He drove across state, had his mother drive him across state lines. He appointed himself a militia member. He goes around and he ends up unloading, what, 60 rounds?

“’… consider how totally dishonest the summary you just heard is. Virtually every word is a lie.  Kyle Rittenhouse wasn’t a militia member. He was a lifeguard. Kyle Rittenhouse did not fire 60 rounds, not even close to that. He was not underage, as we just told you, He was not in illegal possession of his gun. But most amazing is the claim, which you’re hearing everywhere right now, that Kyle Rittenhouse is bad because he ‘drove across state lines.’… So the very same people who have told you for years that borders are by definition White supremacy now claim it’s some kind of moral offense for an American citizen to enter a contiguous state. You’re making it sound like Kyle Rittenhouse snuck into a foreign land under cover of darkness to murder people. That’s not quite what happened. If you look at the map, you can see Kyle Rittenhouse’s drive from his mother’s home in Antioch, Illinois, to Kenosha, Wisconsin. Our map says 17 miles, probably shorter than your commute to work every morning. As Kyle Rittenhouse explained on the stand last week, when mobs set fire to Kenosha, he had every reason to want to defend the city because his father lives there…

“Bet you didn’t know that, bet you hadn’t heard it on CNN. Nor have any of the people hyperventilating about crossing state lines explained why it’s OK for the BLM rioters and the Antifa creeps to come from around the country to burn Kenosha down, as many of them did…

“But if there’s one thing this trial has taught us, it’s how completely dishonest and totally misleading so many of the news accounts of what Kyle Rittenhouse did have been. We’ve known for more than a year, for example, how Rittenhouse first encountered convicted child rapist Joseph Rosenbaum, the first man he shot… Joseph Rosenbaum had just been released from a mental hospital and for some reason decided to join the riot. So first he lit a fire. Then he began to swing a chain like a weapon. When he saw Kyle Rittenhouse, he threatened to kill Kyle Rittenhouse. Then he chased Rittenhouse in a full sprint, cornered him, and then tried to snatch his gun from his hands. It was at that point that Rittenhouse fired… After shooting Rosenbaum, Rittenhouse tried to turn himself in to police, but he couldn’t because a mob howling for his death chased him down a city street.  One rioter knocked Kyle Rittenhouse to the ground, another smashed him in the head with a skateboard, and a third rioter drew a loaded pistol, which he was not allowed to have, unlike Kyle Rittenhouse, and pointed it in Kyle Rittenhouse’s face. So at no point was Kyle Rittenhouse the aggressor in the sequence of events. Every move he made was defensive…

“In this case, there is… no racial angle to the story… everybody involved in the story is the same color [white]… the only bigot on the scene appears to have been Joseph Rosenbaum [who] kept screaming the N-word… And yet it’s Kyle Rittenhouse who Joe Biden accused of being a White supremacist on the basis of no evidence whatsoever. And let’s hope at some point he gets sued for that… So if a White guy shooting another White guy is an example of racism, maybe you should tell us how. This is insane.”

We publish these remarkable excerpts to show you how the left-wing mass media, including MSNBC and CNN, is lying to you to support their racial agenda. Also, for many months the mass media intentionally suppressed the fact that all actors were white, so that many thought that Rittenhouse had shot two black men during BLM’s riots. This “reporting” is appalling.

The Climate Change Scare

The Editorial Board of the New York Post wrote on November 12:

“For the past two weeks in Glasgow, Scotland, world leaders have gathered at COP 26,  the United Nations Climate Change Conference to listen to the same message: Disaster is just around the corner.

“[But] consider this news story from 1972: ‘We have ten years to stop the catastrophe,’ said the UN’s environmental protection boss… for more than 50 years, the United Nations and the media have regularly predicted we’re on the verge of calamity… In 1982, after the catastrophe failed to materialize, the New York Times covered the second UN conference on the environment, which opened ‘amid gloom’. The piece quotes Mostafa K. Tolba, executive director of the United Nations environmental program, as saying that if things aren’t fixed by the turn of the century — the year 2000 — the world would face ‘an environmental catastrophe which will witness devastation as complete, as irreversible, as any nuclear holocaust.’’

“In 1989, a senior UN environmental official [said] that if we didn’t fix climate change by 1999, we would have ‘Global disaster, nations wiped off the face of the earth, crop failures’… In 2004, the Guardian newspaper said a ‘secret report’ from the Pentagon to President George W. Bush said climate change would ‘destroy us.’ Among the predictions: Major European cities will be sunk beneath rising seas. Britain is plunged into a ‘Siberian’ climate by 2020. Nuclear conflict, mega-droughts, famine and widespread rioting will erupt across the world…

“As of 2019, the UN said ‘only 11 years left to prevent irreversible damage from climate change’… That gives us until 2030 — or 58 years after the warnings of 1972. Advocates for change believe if they just scream louder… they’ll get the world to agree to a complete upheaval of modern life and trillions in spending…”

Buenos Aires Times wrote on November 11:

“Pope Francis warned time was ‘running out’ to save the planet while expressing regret at his absence from climate talks in Glasgow, in a letter published Thursday… ‘this occasion must not be wasted, lest we have to face God’s judgement for our failure to be faithful stewards of the world he has entrusted to our care,’ wrote Francis.”

A Lesson from World War I

The Daily Mail wrote on November 12:

“Known originally as Armistice Day, Britain’s first day of remembrance was held on November 11, 1919, marking the first anniversary of the end of World War I…. But what was it all about, that first Great War? Why did it happen?  Today… understanding the causes of World War I has never been so important. As in the years before 1914, we live in an age of feverish uncertainty…

“With China challenging U.S. power in the Pacific, and Vladimir Putin and his clients rattling their sabres in Belarus and eastern Ukraine, who would bet against provocation escalating into war one of these days?… China has reasserted its claim to the U.S.-backed island of Taiwan, while the U.S. State Department has explicitly warned that Russian troops are massing on the border of Ukraine… The footage that emerged yesterday of Russian and Belarusian paratroopers taking part in unannounced military drills close to the Polish border — where thousands of migrants are gathering — is certainly little cause for comfort….

“Has the global situation ever been so unpredictable? And isn’t it possible that the resulting adventurism, hubris, fear and distrust could build into precisely the same kind of cataclysm that tore the world apart in 1914?…”

Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria/Hungary by a young fanatic in Sarajevo, and after blaming especially Serbia for the assassination and due to treaties between certain countries (not unlike the NATO treaties in existence today), war was proclaimed.  

Is Russia to Invade Ukraine?

Time wrote on November 11:

“The U.S. is raising the alarm with European Union allies that Russia may be weighing a potential invasion of Ukraine as tensions flare between Moscow and the bloc over migrants and energy supplies… Russia says military deployments on its territory are an internal matter and it denies any aggressive intentions, while accusing the U.S. of provocation by sailing warships in the Black Sea close to its territory this week…

“Ukraine and Russia have been in conflict since Putin responded to the 2014 Ukrainian revolution that ousted the pro-Moscow president by seizing Crimea. Russia also backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in a war that has killed more than 13,000 people… Some analysts argue that Putin may believe now is the time to halt Ukraine’s closer embrace with the West before it progresses any further… the recent Russian deployment has been covert, often taking place at night and carried out by elite ground units…

“The deputy speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament, Pyotr Tolstoy, declared that ‘all of Ukraine will be part of Russia and there won’t be any Ukraine’ in a debate broadcast on Russia’s NTV last month….”

Sooner than later, Russia and Ukraine will become “re-united.”

Nord Stream 2 Gas Pipeline on Hold

AFP wrote on November 16:

“Germany’s energy regulator said Tuesday it was temporarily halting the approval process for Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, saying the operating company [which is registered in Switzerland] first needs to become compliant with German law. The move is the latest setback for the 10-billion-euro project ($12 billion), which has been dogged by delays and become a geopolitical hot potato. The Baltic Sea pipeline is set to double Russian gas supplies to Germany, which the EU’s top economy says is needed to help it transition away from coal and nuclear energy. But opponents say the recently completed pipeline will increase Europe’s energy reliance on Russia.

“Crucially, the pipeline also bypasses Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, depriving the country of much-needed transit fees. [This is also true for Belarus]. The dispute comes as Europe, which receives a third of its gas from Russia, is battling surging energy prices just as the continent heads into the colder winter season. German consumers have been warned that prices for energy are at their highest levels – and will increase further… The certification procedure ‘will remain suspended until the main assets and human resources’ have been transferred from the Nord Stream 2 parent company to its German subsidiary, that will own and operate the German part of the pipeline, [the regulator] added.

“Critics have accused Moscow of intentionally limiting gas supplies to Europe and driving up prices in an effort to hasten the launch of Nord Stream 2, a claim Russia denies… Germany’s energy regulator has four months, until January 2022, to give its green light for Nord Stream 2. After that, the European Commission still needs to give its recommendation.”

Militarizing Space?

The Hill wrote on November 17:

“Russia’s missile test that struck a defunct space satellite has U.S. officials and lawmakers rattled over fears Moscow seeks to further militarize space, with calls to hold the Kremlin accountable. The satellite explosion created at least 1,500 pieces of trackable space debris and hundreds of thousands of smaller pieces, which officials say could threaten astronauts and other satellites… U.S. officials and lawmakers worry that the ground-launched missile, which hit a Soviet satellite sent up in 1982, is indicative of ramped-up Russian efforts to develop and test space-based systems and weapons.

“The Kremlin in recent years has sought to outpace the U.S. in the hotly contested space domain — often referred to as the new ‘Wild West’ — testing several anti-satellite weapons, lasers and other armaments that could prevent the effective use of American and allied satellites… While the United States and its allies have condemned the missile test, it is unclear what more they can do to respond to the move. There are no universal norms, rules or principles of responsible behaviors relating to threats by nation states to others’ space systems. Russia earlier this month opposed a United Nations resolution that would move to set up such guidelines…”

It is not enough that man has waged war on the earth… now space has become the new frontier…

Crisis between Poland and Belarus Intensifies

Express wrote on November 16:

“An ongoing geopolitical crisis between Poland and Belarus has seen the EU prepare further sanctions against Minsk which the bloc accuses of attempting to destabilise the EU by pushing migrants across the border illegally… The Polish government is working to build a wall on the border with Belarus…

“The EU Commission has offered to pay for two percent of the cost of the wall. In exchange, Poland would have to change its laws allowing for pushbacks of migrants. Warsaw would also have to allow Frontex, the EU’s border agency, to process asylum seekers on Polish territory. But the Polish government is refusing to budge to Brussels’ demands, despite the lucrative cash incentive….

“According to Polish authorities, more than 20,000 members of the police, border guard and army are reinforcing the border where migrants have gathered near the Polish town of Kuznica. An estimated 4,000 migrants are at the border and many say Belarusian authorities are not allowing them to return to Minsk.

“Poland’s ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said his country was facing a hybrid war… Belarus, a close Russian ally, said assertions it had fuelled the border crisis were ‘absurd’… “

China Threatens Australia and USA

The Daily Mail wrote on November 14:

“A former Chinese official has threatened Australia and the US with ‘Armageddon’ if the democratic allies move to protect Taiwan in a military conflict. Victor Gao, who… now serves as a mouthpiece for the government, warned western powers to stay out of China’s quest to annex the disputed territory…

“US President Joe Biden last month vowed American troops will stand in China’s way if any attempt is made to conquer the island. On Friday, defence minister Peter Dutton made similar remarks saying it would be ‘inconceivable’ that Australian troops wouldn’t back up the US if such a scenario played out in the region…

“Senator Jim Molan, who also climbed to the rank of Major General in the Australian Army, explained there are three possible scenarios of how China could take over Taiwan… One possibility is that China’s vast navy could set up a no-sail, no-fly blockade around Taiwan, slowing choking the island’s economy to death before seizing control. Another option is a sudden attack ‘Pearl Harbour’ type attack and the third possibility is a simultaneous combination of both strategies.

“If any of these situations played out he warns Australia would be ‘monstrously vulnerable’ because we have a ‘naïve faith that American military power is infinite and it’s not’.”

Even though a war between China and the USA or Australia is not prophesied in Scripture, the assessment that America’s military power is (no more) infinite is very true.

The World Against Israel

Israel 365 wrote on November 12:

“The largest rabbinic public-policy organization in the United States called the Biden administration’s decision to abstain from a U.N. General Assembly draft resolution that targeted Israel ‘quite disappointing.’ The text… demands ‘compensation’ for descendants of Palestinian refugees who lost property when they fled their homes, as well as an unlimited ‘right of return’ for Palestinian refugees to a sovereign Israel.

“Israel would cease being the world’s only Jewish state as a result of the resolution… Israel was the sole country that opposed the text, which passed the General Assembly on Tuesday 160-1 with nine abstentions from the United States, Canada, Cameroon, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Uruguay.

“Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), which represents more than 1,500 traditional Jewish leaders, said: ‘This resolution employed a blatantly anti-Semitic double standard, demanding “compensation” for Arabs who left as advised by the genocidal Arab League, but no similar compensation from Arab states for the endemic ethnic cleansing of Jews and confiscation of their property, much less a “right of return” to countries unsafe for Jews to enter. The [Biden] administration abstained on an issue of hate and bigotry… This is not moral leadership. The previous administration took the morally correct approach, and we did not expect its position to be so rapidly abandoned.’

“The Trump administration unequivocally voted against similar resolutions aimed at Israel while the Obama administration traditionally abstained from the same resolution, which comes annually before the General Assembly.”

To be clear, some of the following countries are party to the UN and the General Assembly and have therefore voted for the anti-Semitic resolution: Austria, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, including many other Western European nations.

The United States of Europe

On November 9, the European Council of the European Union published the following speech of President Charles Michel at the Berlin Conference 2021:

 “I am deeply touched to speak to you, here in Berlin… Berlin… is [Europe’s] symbolic capital… The 21st century will be the century of Europe…

“[Europe is] the largest area of democracy and freedom in the world. The most advanced area of prosperity and social development… Our single currency, the euro, has become the second most traded currency in the world…

“Unity and strength, along with our ‘strategic autonomy’, are the keys to the future of Europe…

“Our countries and regions have diverse histories, languages, traditions, political and economic backgrounds. It is precisely this diversity that makes Europe extraordinarily rich. But it also makes our quest for unity particularly challenging. So we must strive to understand each other and respect our differences…

“The European Union is the world’s leading trading power…

“We are often asked the question: will Europe one day have its own European army? The prospect exists…  One thing is certain: we will one day have to face a major cyber-crisis or cyber-attack… Recent attacks have shown that the threats are global. And so are the attackers. It is therefore in the interest of Europeans to pool our efforts and to create defensive and deterrent cyber capabilities. This should start by establishing an EU system for cyber crisis management and response to large-scale attacks…

“Our cyber security is also intrinsically linked to the security of our resources in space… [We] must strengthen the synergies between the civil, space and defence industries…

“The European project takes time. Seventy years is still a young age for such a unique organisation like ours. We have already achieved a lot. Our experience shows that sometimes we can gain time by taking our time. And in other moments, it’s good to be pragmatic and speed up….”

Europe will not end up as a peaceful power bloc. When they say, “Peace, peace,” there is no peace.

Austria’s Lockdown for the Unvaccinated!

The Associated Press wrote on November 14:

“The Austrian government ordered a nationwide lockdown for unvaccinated people starting midnight Sunday to slow the fast spread of the coronavirus in the country. The move prohibits unvaccinated individuals older than age 12 from leaving their homes except for basic activities such as working, grocery shopping, going for a walk — or getting vaccinated…

“The lockdown affects about 2 million people in the Alpine country of 8.9 million people… It doesn’t apply to children under the age of 12 because they cannot yet officially get vaccinated… police have been asked to check people outside to make sure they are vaccinated. [Chancellor Alexander] Schallenberg [added] that additional officers would go on patrol to control the lockdown. Unvaccinated people can be fined up to 1,450 euros ($1,660) if they do not adhere to the restrictions…

“Schallenberg also called on people who have been vaccinated to get their booster shot, saying that otherwise ‘we will never get out of this vicious circle.’”

Reuters added on November 14:

“Austria is the first European country to reinstate the same restrictions on daily movements that applied during national lockdowns before vaccines were rolled out, though this time they only affect [the unvaccinated.]… The measures on Monday will extend those brought in a week ago which banned the unvaccinated from places including restaurants, hotels, theatres and ski lifts…

“Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said there will be thorough police checks and fines of up to 1,450 euros ($1,660) for breaches, and all interactions with the police will include checking people’s vaccination status. ‘As of tomorrow, every citizen, every person who lives in Austria must be aware that they can be checked by the police,’ Nehammer told the news conference… As of Monday non-essential shops… will be off-limits to the unvaccinated…”

If this does not remind us of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany and the persecution of the Jews and other minorities, nothing will. It almost appears as if Austria under Schallenberg is becoming more of an autocratic dictatorship than it had been under Sebastian Kurz. And what about Germany? Note the next article.

Duty to Get Vaccinated in Germany?

Deutsche Welle reported on November 12:

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the unvaccinated have a duty towards society to get inoculated… ‘You have the right to get vaccinated. But, to a certain extent, you also, as a member of society, have the duty to be vaccinated to protect yourself and to protect others,’ she said.”

Where does this incredible “revelation” come from, given the fact that vaccinations do not even protect the vaccinated in far too many cases? And if they did, what then do they have to fear from the unvaccinated?

Huge Earthquake to Come

Express wrote on November 15:

“Earthquakes happen every day… there are around 20,000 of them around the globe each year, amounting to approximately 55 quakes each day. Many of these are small and go unnoticed, mere tremors.  Others, more than a seven on the Richter scale, cause utter devastation. On average there are about 15 earthquakes every year with a magnitude of seven or more.

“The Richter scale is not a linear but logarithmic. As the numbers go up by one the magnitude of the quake increases by a factor of ten… the scale of an earthquake is related to the length of the fault on which it occurs: the longer the fault, the larger the earthquake. To produce a magnitude 10.5 earthquake, there would need to be a fault line with a length of around 80,000 km. Given that the Earth’s circumference is only about 40,000 km, this would be highly unlikely. And so an earthquake with a magnitude of 20 seems impossible.

“Yet… there is one way that such an event could take place… [It] would be due to a massive asteroid impact… Tsunamis and volcanic eruptions would be taking place, more earthquakes would likely be triggered and the whole world would be falling apart [and] destroy the planet..”

“The largest earthquake ever recorded is the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. Various studies have established that it measured somewhere between a 9.4 and 9.6 on the Moment Magnitude Scale…”

This does not mean, of course, that much larger earthquakes did not happen before which were not recorded. In Revelation 16:18, we read about a future “great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.”

Creating Humanzees?

The Sun wrote on November 12:

“… during Russia’s Soviet era Josef Stalin poured money into sensational experiments which involved injecting human sperm into female gorillas – and, even more shockingly, inseminating human women with the seed of primates. Stalin ordered renowned scientist Ilia Ivanov to create an invincible breed of Red Army soldiers… the Kremlin chief demanded these mutant warriors be ‘resilient and resistant to hunger’. He said they should be of ‘immense strength but with an underdeveloped brain’…

“Scientist Ivanov had made his name at the turn of the century by perfecting artificial insemination in horses proving that the sperm of one male stallion could impregnate up to 500 females. He then… tried to create a super-horse by crossing the animals with zebras.

“The term ‘humanzee’ was coined later in the 20th century and refers to a human-chimp crossbreed…

“In 1924, Ivanov… managed to secure support from the Pasteur Institute in Paris who let him use a research station in Guinea, West Africa, for ape-breeding research… He managed to inseminate three chimps with human sperm but none of the beasts fell pregnant. Ivanov reported that African women had been seized to be impregnated with ape sperm, but no pregnancy resulted.

“Female gorillas were set to receive human sperm as well before the experiments were shut down. Ivanov then headed back to the Soviet Union where he set up an ape nursery with 20 chimps in the subtropical republic of Abkhazia, near Georgia. When his project failed, Ivanov was arrested in 1930. He became one of millions rounded up by paranoid Stalin and died in a labour camp in 1932….”

This is just SO sick! According to some reports, Hitler also tried unsuccessfully to create “humanzees.” Especially the experiments in Russia were conducted in the name of science to “prove” the accuracy of Darwin’s ungodly evolution theory.

Divisions within the Catholic Church

Thomson/Reuters wrote on November 14:

“U.S. Roman Catholic Bishops this week are expected to revisit whether President Joe Biden’s support for abortion rights should disqualify him from receiving communion, an issue that has deepened rifts in the church since the Democrat took office…

“Biden, the first Catholic president since John F. Kennedy, has said he personally opposes abortion but supports a woman’s right to choose. He has vowed to protect abortion rights in the face of increasingly restrictive laws enacted by states; last month, his administration called on the Supreme Court to block a Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks. The issue has divided the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and pitted more conservative Catholics against those who support the president’s views. Some 55% of Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared to 59% of the general population…

“The debate has sown further discord as the church struggles to retain a fractured membership. Nearly 20% of U.S. Catholics have left the church in the past two decades… as sexual abuse scandals involving predatory priests have emerged and members have increasingly disagreed on social issues.”

It is truly appalling that the majority of members of the biggest professing Christian organization believe abortion should be allowed in most cases, even though their leadership is opposed to it. What are they even doing in the Catholic Church?

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.

Huge Setback for Biden’s Vaccine Mandate… for Now!

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 7:

“A US federal appeals court on Saturday issued a [temporary] stay on a decision by US President Joe Biden’s administration requiring tens of millions of Americans to be either vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID. Saturday’s ruling followed a backlash from conservative Republicans, who had vowed to overturn the rule. At least 27 states filed lawsuits challenging the requirement…

“The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals cited  ‘grave statutory and constitutional’ issues with the vaccine requirement. Louisiana Attorney General Landry said the action stops President Joe Biden ‘from moving forward with his unlawful overreach… The president will not impose medical procedures on the American people without the checks and balances afforded by the constitution,’ Landry said in a statement…

“The Biden administration is also being sued by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis… over rules requiring employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated.”

Breitbart added on November 6:

“The ruling does not create legal precedent, but it is an important victory for challengers as it could signal which way the court would go on the merits as the case moves forward…

“In a final item that bodes ill for the Biden administration, the panel of the New Orleans-based appeals court wrote that all future cases, appeals, motions, and petitions on this issue in that jurisdiction shall be assigned to that same three-judge panel under this docket number. The judges are Edith Jones – an appointee of President Ronald Reagan and one of the most respected and brilliant conservative federal appeals judges in the nation, and Kyle Duncan and Kurt Engelhardt, both appointed by President Donald Trump.”

Lawsuits Galore

The Associated Press reported on November 5:

“Attorneys general in 11 states filed suit Friday against President Joe Biden’s administration, challenging a new vaccine requirement for workers at companies with more than 100 employees. The lawsuit filed in the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals argues that the authority to compel vaccinations rests with the states, not the federal government…

“Missouri was joined in the lawsuit by the Republican attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The office of Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, also joined in the suit, along with several private, nonprofit, and religious employers.

“The Daily Wire, a conservative media company, filed a challenge in federal court on Thursday. So did companies in Michigan and Ohio represented by a conservative advocacy law firm.”

With all these pending lawsuits and the Biden administration’s position that federal law supersedes state law in this case, the Supreme Court will surely have to get involved. What the divided Supreme Court will decide is anyone’s guess. In addition, as the next article shows, there are many states, run by Democrats, which enforce OSHA regulations, showing the existence of totalitarian rule in America. We include in this edition numerous articles which point out this troublesome fact.

What the New Biden Mandate Would Do

 The Associated Press wrote on November 5:

“The Biden administration’s sweeping new COVID-19 mandate will apply to 84 million workers at mid-size and large companies… A separate rule requires workers at health care facilities that receive federal Medicare and Medicaid payments to be vaccinated. This rule, from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will apply to 17 million workers at 76,000 health care facilities, including hospitals and long-term care facilities…

“Employers must give workers paid time off to be vaccinated and to recover from any side effects. Vaccinations will be paid for by the federal government, though employees may have to pay for testing… OSHA says it will enforce the new rules… by relying largely on whistleblower complaints and some limited spot checks… The agency said it will work with companies to have employees vaccinated but would fine them up to $13,653 for each violation. Companies must collect proof of employee vaccinations and keep records. And employers must prove that unvaccinated employees have taken tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and that the tests are properly administered…

“The rules do not apply to employees who work alone, at home or outdoors. In addition, workers may apply for religious or medical exemptions. Nicholas Hulse, an employment lawyer at Fisher & Phillips LLC, noted that companies that have issued their own vaccine mandates are already being deluged with requests to be excused from vaccine requirements. Normally, Hulse said, religious exemption requests are straightforward: Someone, say, requests Sundays off to attend church or observe a day of rest. Now, he said, it will be ‘difficult to tell if (anti-vaccine) beliefs are sincerely held, or are they just trying to use religion to get an accommodation?’…

“In 28 states and U.S. territories that enforce OSHA regulations, the new rule will cover both public and private employers. These states and territories are:

“Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. In the remaining states and territories, public employees are not covered by the new mandate.

“…A Kaiser Family Foundation survey last month found that 37% of unvaccinated workers say they would leave their job if they were required to get jabbed or submit to weekly tests — a figure that rises to 70% if testing isn’t an option…

“Only 10 times has OSHA issued an emergency rule, which allows it to bypass normal administrative procedures, including the need to seek public comment. Until it issued an emergency rule in June covering COVID risks in the health care industry, it hadn’t done so in 38 years. And no wonder: The courts have overturned four emergency rules and partially blocked a fifth, according to a review by the Congressional Research Service. To fast-track its rules, the agency must show that it’s acting to protect workers from a ‘grave danger.’”

This approach by the Biden administration constitutes dictatorship to the extreme, no matter how courts will decide the issue. And this might not be all.

Breitbart wrote on November 4:

“The Biden-Harris administration on Thursday is weighing if they should expand the vaccine mandate for companies employing fewer than 100 employees… [OSHA] is ‘seeking comment to help the agency’ determine if smaller employers with fewer than 100 employees can implement a coronavirus vaccine mandate ‘without undue disruption.’”

And now, the Biden administration is even going after the children. Note the next article.

Vaccinating Young Children against Corona?

WND News Center wrote on November 3:

“A former surgeon at the John Hopkins Children’s Center is describing the Biden administration’s move to vaccinate young children for COVID-19 as a ‘giant experiment’, arguing there is no sufficient data to determine the long-term risks posed by the shots. ‘Do we want to put our children at risk, when we know that the risk of the disease to them is relatively small, but we don’t know what the future risks are? Why would we do a thing like that? It makes no sense whatsoever,’ said Dr. Ben Carson in a Sunday interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’

“Carson, renowned for his innovative surgeries to save the lives of children, is former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. He previously served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump administration. Bartiromo asked Carson whether or not young children should receive the COVID-19 vaccine. ‘Absolutely not,’ he replied… Carson also pointed to studies showing natural immunity ‘is very, very effective.’

“Dr. Carson is supported in his opposition to child injections for COVID-19, with other health experts voicing their opinions on the matter. Dr. Martin Kulldorf, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, member of FDA and CDC scientific advisory committees stated: ‘I don’t think children should be vaccinated for COVID… COVID is not a huge threat to children.’

“Dr. Harvey Risch, professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale School of Public Health and Yale School of Medicine, had a clear vision of what he would do if schools mandate the vaccine. ‘If the child has chronic conditions that make their risk appreciable, then there is reason that they should be considered for vaccination. Other than that, if it were my child, I would (remove them from public school and) homeschool them,’ he stated.

“Meanwhile, Dr. Sunetra Gupta, infectious disease epidemiologist and professor of theoretical epidemiology at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, argued against injecting children, who were ‘unlikely to benefit’ from such an intervention…

“Dr. Robert Malone, virologist and immunologist known for his work developing mRNA vaccine technology, declared ‘There is absolutely no scientific or medical justification for vaccinating children, in my opinion.’”

KUSI San Diego reported on November 3:

“The CDC recommended the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years old on Tuesday, following the FDA’s authorization of its use for those in that age group.

“Dr. Kelly Victory, Emergency Medicine and Disaster Specialist, joined KUSI’s Ginger Jeffries on Good Evening San Diego to discuss what parents should consider before giving their children a COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Victory described that the risk of the vaccine far outweigh the risks of [not] vaccinating children with a COVID-19 vaccine.”

Parents should research this issue very carefully.

America’s Totalitarianism… Much Worse Than Imagined

The Ron Paul Institute republished an article by Children’s Health Defense, dated November 7:

“Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. last month delivered a speech at the 2021 Ron Paul Institute ‘Pandemic and the Road to Totalitarianism’ conference. In his speech — described by the Ron Paul Institute as ‘a compelling indictment of the mad push to total control’ — Kennedy said the techniques used by government officials during the COVID pandemic to ‘edge people into subservience’ come straight out of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) manuals he researched for his book, ‘American Values.’…

“Kennedy described a recent simulation, Event 201, a pandemic ‘tabletop exercise’ that simulated a global pandemic nearly identical to COVID. The event took place in October 2019 at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security, facilitated the simulation. Bill Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, global health officers and people from social media groups, large pharmaceutical companies and global corporations attended or sent representatives.

“Kennedy said: ‘…They were simulating a pandemic, but they weren’t simulating a medical response to that pandemic. They were simulating a militarized response. How do you use that pandemic to, particularly in that Event 201, to impose censorship globally? And that’s what they were modeling.’

“Describing CIA operations and organized mind control programs at top universities… Kennedy said the same techniques are used in today’s lockdowns: ‘The most potent technique,,, was isolation … And they did this in sensory deprivation tanks … and also just locking people in solitary confinement. You can get [people] to do almost anything you want after a certain period of time. It will drive them mad… If a government can hide what it’s doing by censoring its opponents and silencing dissonants, it has license to do anything that it wants,’ Kennedy said.

“He said what happens when you have a population of fear, ‘you have the complete obliteration of critical thinking, and then people stop asking questions.’

“Kennedy described how the rules and regulations handed down during the pandemic have been manipulated to [the] point where no one recognizes the country as a democracy anymore. ‘So there are all these democratic protections that were waived… All of these things were imposed upon us by fiat — with no discussion, no science cited.’

“Kennedy cited parallels in books he’s read by George Orwell and science fiction writer, Robert Heinlein, with what he sees all over the civilized world… ‘what’s happening now is this lockstep imposition of totalitarian controls — not just in America, but in every one of the liberal democracies in the world, and all of the other countries in the world. ‘China moved into Hong Kong and banned the last democratic newspaper. Everywhere in the world, we see democracy and constitutional rights disappearing. And it all happened at once, as if it was planned.’…”

It is planned indeed by none other than Satan, the god and ruler of this world.

Joe Biden’s Presidency… Scary!

The New York Post wrote on November 4:

“President Joe Biden ‘may not have been fully briefed about the actions of his very own Justice Department,’ the ACLU said, after [he] angrily called a report that Justice would give $450,000-per-person payoffs to illegal immigrant families separated at the border ‘garbage.’…

“So either: 1) Biden is unaware of the deal and the progressives that dictate all policy through Chief of Staff Rob Klain are doing it on their own. 2) Biden is lying. 3) Biden was told and forgot.

“All of these scenarios seem plausible; none inspire confidence in this president. Scary…”

Biden’s selective memory and his outright lies have been the topic of much discussion recently. Note the next articles.

Biden’s flip-flops

APP reported on November 6:

“US President Joe Biden said Saturday he supported compensation for families of immigrants separated from their children at the Mexican border under the ‘zero tolerance’ policy of Donald Trump… The US departments of Justice and Homeland Security have been negotiating with affected families who have sued the government, the Wall Street Journal reported in late October. It said payments could run as high as $450,000.

“Asked about that report on Wednesday, Biden said it was ‘garbage’… A White House spokesperson… later clarified that… Biden was ‘perfectly comfortable” with the idea of compensation’…”

Biden’s flip-flops are more than just embarrassing. What a terrible message of incompetence and ignorance is being given to America’s friends and enemies!

The White House and the left-wing mass media later tried to spin it (what else is new?) in saying that Biden was just objecting to the figure of $450,000. But that was NOT what Biden was asked and what he responded to.

Biden clearly not in charge

Fox News reported on November 6:

“Biden claimed he would be in ‘real trouble’ for taking another question from the press Saturday following remarks about the passage of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill… The president has a history of saying he will be in hot water with his staff for taking media questions… In April, the president again claimed he would be ‘in trouble’ if he continued to take questions from reporters after speaking about new federal health guidelines for mask wearing for vaccinated and non-vaccinated Americans…

“Biden’s press secretary Jen Psaki has also said that Biden taking reporter questions’ is ‘not something we recommend.’“

Biden also stated repeatedly that before taking questions from reporters, he had been “instructed” as to whom to call upon. He is clearly not in charge… but who is? We are confronted with an utter picture of total confusion.

Biden and FBI in Cahoots by Illegally Raiding Homes of Journalists?

Fox News wrote on November 6:

“The FBI  raided the home of Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe as part of a federal investigation into the ‘stolen’ diary of President Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden. The New York Times reported the raid took place early Saturday morning just days after the homes of two Project Veritas associates were also the subject of search warrants…

“Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett appeared on ‘Hannity’ Friday and stressed there’s a ‘huge difference’ between what Ashley Biden’s attorney has alleged that her diary was stolen versus what O’Keefe alleged about it being left behind in a room, saying ‘one’s a crime and the other one isn’t.’ ‘Project Veritas did the right thing,’ Jarrett told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. ‘They didn’t publish this because they couldn’t verify the authenticity of the documents, but the other conservative website did publish it but they claimed they did verify it. What is so bewildering about this is why in the world would the feds even [be] involved in it.’

“Jarrett insisted that even if the diary was the subject of a theft, it would be a ‘state crime’ rather than a federal crime and that the investigation, which allegedly began under Attorney General William Barr, has become an ‘enormous conflict of interest’ with President Biden now in office. ‘A journalist cannot be criminally prosecuted for publishing stolen material unless the journalist himself or herself is involved in the theft. There’s no indication of that,’ Jarrett said. ‘And the same is true of leaked classified information. Journalists have never been prosecuted for that, although the leakers have when they’re identified.. [This story is] deeply troubling. They would barge into the homes of two journalists armed with a search warrant signed off by a federal judge and the Department of Justice, presided over by Joe Biden, this smacks of a political investigation and potential prosecution.’”

Whatever happened to the FBI’s investigation of the alleged criminal acts by Biden’s son Hunter, with the alleged knowledge and/or collaboration of Joe Biden?

House Passes Infrastructure Bill

The Washington Post wrote on November 5:

“House lawmakers late Friday adopted a roughly $1.2 trillion measure to improve the country’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections… The bipartisan 228-to-206 vote… proved littered with political conflict, pushing to the limits a fractious party with still-widening ideological fissures. Democrats initially hoped to approve the infrastructure bill on Friday along with a separate, roughly $2 trillion proposal [the ‘Build Back Better Act,’] to overhaul the nation’s health care, education, immigration, climate and tax laws. Doing so would have advanced two spending initiatives that have been stalled on Capitol Hill for months.

“Instead, House Democrats started only to debate, but did not finalize, the $2 trillion tax-and-spending package. Facing new delays, that bill remained bogged down in the broader war between liberals, who are eager to spend now that they are in the majority, and moderates, who continue to question the fiscal impacts of the bill.

“In the end, it was a bipartisan coalition of Democrats with the aid of 13 Republicans that helped propel the infrastructure proposal to passage… The bill includes more than $110 billion to replace and repair roads, bridges and highways, and $66 billion to boost rail, making it the most substantial such investment in the country’s passenger and commercial network since the creation of Amtrak about half a century ago. Lawmakers provided $55 billion to improve the nation’s water supply and replace lead pipes, $60 billion to modernize the power grid and billions in additional sums to expand speedy Internet access nationwide.

“Many of the investments aim to promote green energy and combat some of the country’s worst sources of pollution. At Biden’s behest, for example, lawmakers approved $7.5 billion to build out a national network of vehicle charging stations… the package also allocates another roughly $50 billion to respond to emergencies including droughts, wildfires and major storms.

“… Democrats ultimately worked out an arrangement that allowed for the adoption of the infrastructure bill in exchange for a pledge from moderates that they would hold a vote on the other spending package [the’ Build Back Better Act’] by Nov. 15, providing the spending plan does not add to the deficit, as Democrats have promised… Still, the arrangement did not satisfy the entire party: Six left-leaning Democrats…  ultimately voted against the measure…

“To be sure, the final bill is far less than what the White House initially sought. And lawmakers jettisoned some of Biden’s plans to pay for the package, which he initially had hoped to finance through tax increases on wealthy Americans and corporations — unwinding the tax cuts enacted under Trump in 2017. Instead, Congress relied on a pastiche of mechanisms that experts predict may not raise as much as some lawmakers say, including new reporting requirements on cryptocurrency that could be subject to legal challenge….”

The Guardian wrote on November 6:

“Progress on Biden’s agenda comes at a particularly difficult moment for the president. His approval ratings have slumped amid concerns over rising inflation, an unshakable pandemic and a harried withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden departed for a pair of international summits without securing progress on domestic agenda, only to be met upon his return by news of his party’s poor showing in races across the country on Tuesday.

“In Virginia, a state he won by 10 points in 2020, Republicans won the governor’s race, and came much closer than expected to denying the Democratic governor of New Jersey a second term. The grim results helped jolt Democrats into action on Capitol Hill, where leaders hope enacting their ambitious agenda will help the party regain momentum and improve their electoral prospects ahead of next year’s midterm elections….”

So it’s all for votes? It has been pointed out that the Infrastructure Bill does little, if anything, for the average American who is struggling with having to pay for astronomically high gas prices and groceries. Also, the Damocles sword of the increasing national debt, which can never be repaid, is hanging over America. This is not even addressing the second contemplated bill—the tax-and-spending package called the Build Back Better Act—which would cost another 2+ trillion Dollars. The claim by Democrats that this would not add to the national deficit is just ludicrous.

America’s situation is hopeless. It will take the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of a righteous and sane government to clear up the mess.

“U.S. Economy added 531,000 Jobs in October”

This headline, as quoted above from Breitbart, does not tell the whole story.  Note the article by CNS News on November 5:

“The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday that 100,450,000 people in this country were not in the labor force in October, up 38,000 from the 100,412,000 in September… Persons who are neither employed nor unemployed are not in the labor force. This category includes retired persons, students, those taking care of children or other family members, and others who are neither working nor seeking work.

“Among those not in the labor force in October, 1.3 million persons said they were prevented from looking for work due to the pandemic… In October, 3.8 million persons reported that they had been unable to work because their employer closed or lost business due to the pandemic.”

Tensions between Israel and USA on the Rise

Israel 365 wrote on November 8:

“Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, formerly political opponents, closed ranks to oppose the Biden administration’s plan to open a consulate to the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem… ‘There is no place for an American consulate that serves the Palestinians in Jerusalem,’ Bennett said… ‘Jerusalem is the capital of Israel alone.’… emphasizing that ‘sovereignty in Jerusalem belongs to one country — Israel.’

“The issue of the consulate is just one piece in the growing divide between the current White House administration and Israel. Just two weeks ago, the State Department rebuked Israel for branding six NGOs as terror groups after it was discovered they had deep ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Israel claims that it has proof that while claiming to serve humanitarian functions, the organizations in fact funneled foreign funds to the terrorist organization.

“At the same time, the State Department condemned Israel for its recently published plans to allow Jews to build several housing units in Judea and Samaria, a region the Biden administration would like to reserve for a Palestinian state that is ethnically cleansed of Jews.

“Another rift is the efforts by the Biden administration to reinstate… the Iran nuclear deal… Nikki Haley, the former US Ambassador to the United Nations warned that Israel should not rely on the US to protect its security interests regarding Iran.  ‘If Israel makes the grave decision that its security depends on removing that threat, it should not wait for an American green light… If a politician supports the disastrous Iran deal, opposes moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, and is embraced by anti-Semites who support the [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement, then a pro-Israel group should have absolutely nothing to do with him or her.’”

Strong words, and really frightening developments.

Anointing Oil and a New Temple in Jerusalem

Israel 365 wrote on November 8:

 “The Sanhedrin is moving forward to prepare enough [special oil] to anoint the Messiah from the House of David who, when he returns, will rule over Israel in the Messianic era.

“Rabbi Hillel Weiss, the spokesman for the Sanhedrin…  emphasized that a Kohen Gadol (High Priest) and Temple utensils will be anointed when the Temple service begins, which does not need an actual Temple structure, only an altar… ‘We are now entering the time when the preparations for the Temple are almost complete,’ Rabbi Weiss said. ‘Now is the time for people to act, to show whether they will be part of the Temple or stand against the reappearance of God’s house in Jerusalem.’”

Also, daily animal sacrifices may begin in Jerusalem before a Temple is built, but the Temple will exist when the man of sin and lawlessness will occupy it, sitting in God’s Temple and proclaiming that he is God—perhaps saying that he is Jesus Christ who, he might claim, has returned. It is interesting in that context that Rabbi Weiss also announced that special oil is being prepared for the anointing of the returning Messiah. Of course, the real Messiah, Jesus Christ, will not be anointed by human beings… but a false Messiah might be. Further, most Jews do not believe in Christ as being the Messiah.

Crisis at Belarus-Poland Border

The Guardian wrote on November 10:

“The [outgoing] German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has asked Vladimir Putin to intervene in the crisis on the Belarus-Poland border… In a phone call, Merkel told Putin that the ‘use of migrants by the Belarusian regime was inhuman and unacceptable and asked [Putin] to influence the regime in Minsk’, said the chancellor’s spokesperson, Steffen Seibert. The conversation came hours after Poland’s prime minister accused Putin of ‘masterminding’ the crisis on Belarus’s border with the EU… Russia has denied any involvement and blamed Europe [Deutsche Welle added in this regard on November 10 that Russia and Belarus blame the EU and Poland “for refusing to help potential asylum seekers…, with large groups of migrants stuck on the border in dropping temperatures. Between 2,000 and 4,000 migrants, reported to be mostly Kurds, have set up a camp near the barrier after failing to break through the fence on Monday.”]

“Poland and Lithuania have declared a state of emergency on their borders with Belarus, where Lukashenko has been accused of ferrying asylum seekers from the Middle East to the EU’s borders as revenge for the bloc’s criticism of his crackdown on opposition… Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki… said Putin was determined to ‘rebuild the Russian empire’ and called the crisis at the border ‘a new kind of war, in which people are used as living shields’… Moscow has been an increasingly crucial ally for Belarus in the past year, backing Lukashenko after his brutal crackdown on protests and after his grounding of a Ryanair flight in May that set off a fresh round of sanctions and pushed Minsk further into isolation.

“EU countries have threatened new sanctions and accused Lukashenko of ‘human trafficking’ and ‘gangster-style’ tactics.”

Belarus or White Russia will continue to work with Russia against Europe. Ultimately, Ukraine will join Russia in that fight.

Europe’s Future?

The Economist wrote on November 8:

“The EU is divided when it comes to defence… A French-led summit on defence in the first half of 2022, with the European Commission as a cheerleader, will put the topic front and centre. Deciding how to treat America will be the main bone of contention. For France, America is an unreliable friend that ditches allies without warning in Afghanistan and snatches submarine contracts. For Poland and its eastern friends it is the only viable bulwark against Russian aggression…

“France will cement its role as the EU’s most influential government. Angela Merkel’s departure leaves a power vacuum at the top, which the French will happily try to fill. France has the rotating presidency of the EU for the first six months of the year, allowing it to shape the legislative agenda of the bloc…

“A test of French influence will be in the coming reforms to the Stability and Growth Pact. Resetting the rules, which dictate how much governments can spend, will be the main fiscal battle of 2022. France, Italy and Spain have long called for a loosening. Germany and the Netherlands insist things work perfectly well as they are. Sorting out the spending rules will be the most consequential decision taken by EU leaders in 2022…  the pact has provided neither stability nor growth: wide gaps in growth rates have emerged between northern and southern Europe in the past two decades, along with a subsequent political backlash. The EU gains its power from its economic clout…”

France might “lead” Europe for a short while… But it will be Germany which will ultimately lead. A united Europe is also described in the book of Revelation and elsewhere as an extremely rich economic power.

Germany’s Increased Military Involvement

Defense News wrote on November 5:

“The German Air Force is preparing to… deploy six Eurofighter aircraft, three Airbus A330 tankers and three A400M transport aircraft in support of Australia’s Pitch Black exercise, scheduled for Sept. 5-23, 2022… Germany is ready to play a bigger role in the Indo-Pacific region… This is the Air Force’s ‘first and biggest deployment’ of air assets to the Asia-Pacific region…

“This air deployment would follow the August 2021 deployment of the German Navy frigate Bayern. The ship is to spend six months at sea, with stops planned in 12 different ports including in Djibouti, Karachi, Diego Garcia, Perth, Guam, Tokyo and Shanghai. However, news outlet Deutsche Welle reported in September that China rejected the planned Shanghai stopover ‘after a period of reflection.’”

Joint European Military Force by Core Members Only?

 The Telegraph wrote on November 10:

“The European Union is considering controversial plans to allow the bloc to deploy a joint military force without the unanimous support of all its member states. Removing the need for unanimity would stop a country blocking the rapid reaction force of 5,000 troops from being sent to crisis situations independently of Washington and Nato… ‘Europe cannot afford to be a bystander in a world order that is mainly shaped by others,’ a draft of the document obtained by The Telegraph, said.

“[Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs chief] told a group of European newspapers smaller groups of member states could take joint action and ‘we cannot decide by unanimity every step of the process… Europe is in danger… All the threats we face are intensifying and the capacity of individual member states to cope is insufficient and declining.’… Brussels and Germany have long called for member states to be stripped of their effective veto on foreign policy such as EU sanctions so that the bloc can react more quickly to geopolitical challenges.”

EU and Ethiopia

Euractiv wrote on November 5:

“The EU is prepared to issue sanctions against those responsible for the war and humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray province, EU officials confirmed…

“A sanctions’ regime signed by US President Joe Biden covering those responsible for prolonging the conflict in northern Ethiopia, human rights abuses and obstruction of humanitarian access is now about to be implemented. Officials say it will include travel bans and asset freezes on ministers, military commanders and regional authorities, as well as restrictions on aid and assistance and prohibition of arms sales to either Eritrea or Ethiopia.

“In the meantime, the EU will continue to supply humanitarian aid, despite continued difficulties in aid reaching those in need… More than 400,000 people are estimated to be living in famine conditions in Tigray… and a hundred trucks are needed daily to provide critical humanitarian needs….

“The recent escalation of fighting in the Amhara region and the military advances of the TPLF and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), as well as aerial bombardment by the Ethiopian Airforce of Mekelle, the main town in Tigray, threaten to make the war a truly national conflict. The European Union has already responded to the blockade of Tigray by blocking $107 million in budget support…”

Ultimately, Europe and Ethiopia might find themselves involved in a military confrontation.

Austria’s Newest Dictatorial Measures

Deutsche Welle wrote on November 6:

“Starting Monday, Austria will ban unvaccinated patrons from entering cafes, restaurants and large events… Under new rules that go into effect nationwide on Monday, those who cannot provide proof of full vaccination will not be allowed to enter places like restaurants, bars and hairdressers.

“Unvaccinated people will also be barred from hotels, events with more than 25 people and ski lifts… ‘We’re going to have to tighten the reins on the unvaccinated,’ Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said…”

Especially Austria should be careful with dictatorial rule in light of their unpleasant history under Hitler.

Why Hitler Did not Invade the UK

Express wrote on November 5:

“Hitler completed the German invasion of France in June 1940 after British forces withdrew from Europe and evacuated from Dunkirk. After France fell to the Nazis, German air raids were then carried out across Britain from July 1940. The Royal Air Force eventually won the Battle of Britain, which resulted in the extension of World War 2 and the eventual defeat of Germany.

“However, after the invasion of France, the German leader also began plotting the invasion of England in July 1940… Germany never carried out the invasion of Britain and by 1941 the idea had been taken off the table..

“Files from German General Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus have been preserved in a Russian archive. Paulus, who had only recently been promoted to General, surrendered to the Soviet Union as he led an offensive on Stalingrad in 1943. While a Soviet prisoner of war, in 1946 he provided a detailed account of the Nazis’ plans to invade England…

“Friedrich Paulus cited four points as reasons for the permanent postponement: firstly, the risk of a ‘loss of prestige’ if the invasion had failed… Second, the hope that the mere threat of submarines and bombing would make Britain want peace. Thirdly, the… calculation of ‘not hurting the enemy’ in order to be able to forge an alliance later. Fourth, Hitler’s clear intention to attack the USSR since the summer of 1940.

“… Paulus… was one of the military leaders of the empire from late 1940 to early 1942… Paulus, who was Germany’s highest-ranking prisoner of war, was interrogated at length by the Soviets.”

Some of the reasons stated above were well-known for a long time. Another reason was that Hitler considered the British people as part of the “master race,” which he did not want to obliterate. The Bible shows, however, that in the future, Britain will be invaded and destroyed by a unified European power bloc.

The Fight for UK’s Fishery

Express wrote on November 5:

“[The UK fishing industry is] ready to be sacrificed in order to get the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement across the line… This week, even as President Macron temporarily delayed his threats to impose severe sanctions on the UK, Boris [Johnson] described the issue of fishing as ‘really vanishingly unimportant’ when compared to his pet project of COP26… While protecting the sovereignty of our waters may not be as flashy as standing up and making big speeches to billionaires and other world leaders, the Conservative Party won the votes of this country with promises to ‘Get Brexit Done’ and to protect our fishing industry…

“If for a moment Macron feels French interests are not being given top priority, he will resurrect threats of trade tariffs and cuts to energy supplies, regardless of what is agreed in any ongoing talks, especially as we get nearer to the French Presidential elections next year. It is clear, President Macron does not believe Boris Johnson cares enough about UK fishermen to take drastic action… The current attitude of simply trying to sweep problems under the carpet will not work, and the PM’s failure to keep his promises to the UK fishing industry will not be forgotten…

“For example, it’s about time the UK makes the payment of the so-called ‘Divorce Bill’ conditional on the resolution of fishing talks and the end to French threats? In 2021 alone we are set to send £7 billion to the EU, with £5 billion to follow in 2022. Why on earth should we send this money to a hostile foreign organisation which so obviously has no interest in being our true ‘friend and partner’?…”

PM Boris Johnson is acting very weakly and indecisively. He is no match for President Macron or continental Europe, and the future will prove this.

Ridiculous Comparison by Archbishop Welby

The Daily Mail wrote on November 6:

“Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has apologised for grotesquely claiming that the failure to act on climate change is worse than the failure to prevent Hitler’s murder of six million Jews.

“Britain’s ever-dwindling Christian community is crying out for a brave, compassionate leader focused on saving souls…”

The “fight” to combat climate change reaches more and more ridiculous levels.

“Real” Meat without Animals?

ABC News reported on November 5:

“Bay Area company Upside Foods opened a new lab Thursday designed to create real meat, but no animals will be present in this facility… Upside Foods says workers will take cells from animal tissue and create the meat inside their lab. They say they have a staff of 150 workers including dozens of scientists working on this type of cultivation… With their new lab, Upside Foods says the goal is to produce around 50,000 pounds of meat…

“‘The only things transported through our tubes are the cells and the meat,’ [Eric Schulze, Vice President of Product and Regulation] said. ‘Instead of growing a cow for 18 months before it hits the grocery store we can make the same meat in 14-21 days.’”

Sounds weird.

Trump Just Can’t Keep Silent

The Insider wrote on November 6:

“Former President Donald Trump baselessly claimed that Alec Baldwin might have purposefully shot crew members on the set of the movie ‘Rust.’ The  firing of a prop gun by Baldwin on set led to the death of the director of photography, Halyna Hutchins, and injured the director, Joel Souza. ‘He’s a troubled guy. There’s something wrong with him. I’ve watched him for years. He gets into fistfights with reporters,’ Donald Trump told conservative radio host Chris Stigall in a podcast on Thursday. ‘He’s a cuckoo-bird, he’s a nutjob. And usually, when there’s somebody like that, you know, in my opinion, he had something to do with it.’

“… In the police affidavit, Baldwin said that he was told that the gun was not loaded. Trump added that he thought Baldwin had behaved irresponsibly by pointing the gun at a crewmember, whether it was loaded or not… Trump said on the podcast that if he had been handed a gun, he would first discharge it into the air to make sure it wasn’t loaded… Trump suggested that Baldwin might have loaded the gun that killed Hutchins…

“The former president went on to say that he thought Baldwin’s impersonation of him on Saturday Night Live over the years was ‘terrible’… ”

Trump seems to be unable to be silent when his silence would be called for.

Acknowledgement and Disclaimer

These Current Events are compiled and commented on by Norbert Link. We gratefully acknowledge the many contributions of news articles from our readership. The publication of articles in this section is not to be viewed as an endorsement or approval as to contents or accuracy of the selected articles, but they are published for the purpose of pointing at worldwide developments in the light of biblical end-time prophecy and godly instruction. Our own comments are provided in italics.