Joel Hilliker's Rise in the Ranks of PCG's Leadership

PCG's Joel Hilliker has released an article, "Thankful", celebrating his twenty year anniversary of being in PCG. Here Hilliker reveals that he joined PCG in 1994. Here is some of what he says about what he has been up to while within PCG.

God pays close attention to many anniversaries, memorials and annual reminders. The Sabbath after Thanksgiving is one date I remember each year. It was on this day in 1994 that my family attended services with the Philadelphia Church of God for the first time.

That makes 20 years in the PCG. Being 22 at the time, I’ve now spent almost half my life here, the previous years being in the Worldwide Church of God. My sister was 20, so she’s had an almost perfect split between the two.

A full human lifetime is only seven or eight decades. Two decades is a pretty decent portion of a life. It is intriguing to remember back on the 22-year-old—and then 32-year-old—and compare to today. Such reflection inspires overwhelming gratitude for the blessings of these past two decades.

I can survey more than 19 years of being baptized—possessing and growing in the Holy Spirit, the source of spiritual understanding, power, love. Over 17 years of working at headquarters in Edmond, directly contributing to God’s Work. Nearly 16 years of marriage, building memories and absorbing all the lessons it offers. Over 14 years in God’s ministry, and 14 years teaching at God’s college, helping others’ spiritual growth. Over 13 years as a father, and seven as a father of three, working in partnership with God and my wife at shaping future God beings.

I find it fascinating how Hilliker was writing articles for PCG even before he was ordained. He was writing articles as early as 1998.

Well of course Hilliker is happy. The tithes sent by PCG members allows him and his family to live in this fine abode.

Hilliker's home at PCG's headquarters. (PCG Information.)

No wonder Hilliker continues to prop up PCG despite the many problems within it.

PCG's Ron Fraser: Yugoslavia to be Rushed into the EU (2000)

Here is yet another false prophecy from PCG. Shortly after the overthrow of the Milošević regime in Serbia in 2000 the European Union took measures to normalize relations with Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). Part of the process of normalizing relations was for Yugoslavia to join the European Council. PCG's Ron Fraser seemed to think this was a sign that Yugoslavia would be fast tracked into joining the EU.

Now Yugoslavia appears to be thrust into the fast lane for early membership despite an economy and political structure seemingly in tatters. Why? It’s simple. The gnomes of Brussels who oversee the agenda for EU expansion know that there can be no effective eastward expansion of the Union unless and until the Balkan Peninsula is secured. ...

Less than two weeks after Kostunica’s recognition of the osce, the federal republic was admitted to membership at a special meeting called in Vienna on November 10. On the same day, Yugoslavia applied for a membership of the 41-nation European Council. This is normally a long, drawn-out process. However, after a special two-day meeting of the European Council’s political committee held in Strasbourg, it decided to place Yugoslavia in the fast lane and grant membership by June next year!

What is worth noting is that European Council membership, as the BBC related at the time, “is the touchstone to EU membership.” The BBC report further noted, “Yugoslavia may gain special guest status with unprecedented quickness; probably by the end of the year.”

Watch for Yugoslavia to be pushed now, by events controlled from Brussels, into the fast lane to EU membership. (Ron Fraser, "Yugoslavia Comes in From the Cold", Philadelphia Trumpet, December 2000.)

Fourteen years later neither Serbia nor Montenegro are in the EU. Clearly Ron Fraser did not know what he was talking about. This is because God is not with the Philadelphia Church of God. Gerald Flurry, Ron Fraser and their collaborators are false prophets spreading false fear inducing prophecies. There is no nee to fear their dire pronouncements.

PCG's Ron Fraser: Germany and Russia Will Have Peace (1999)

In 1999, during the time of heightened tension caused by the Kosovo War, PCG's Ron Fraser wrote an article entitled "Divided We Fall", published in the June 1999 issue of PCG's Philadelphia Trumpet.

In this article Ron Fraser made many statements. Within it he asserted that PCG's leaders believed that Germany and Russia would make peace and come to terms similar to the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact of 1939 in order for Germany to destroy America and Britain.

With Russia looming again on the horizon across the Polish plain, Germany gets the jitters. Germany will never trust NATO in a European adventure again. Apart from this, Germany has never, ever trusted Russia! So—revive the old Ribbentrop-Molotov pact! In 1939 the German foreign minister negotiated a non-aggression pact with Russia. We believe that a similar pact will soon be concluded between Russia and Germany.

It is now fifteen years since these words were published. Today there is now a tense situation between Germany and Russia caused by the crisis in Ukraine, even imposing economic sanctions on each other.

Yet another false prophecy produced by Gerald Flurry's Philadelphia Church of God. God is not with them. Following PCG's commands will not lead anyone to some place of safety. There is no need to send money to them. There is no need to fear their dire, fear inducing false prophecies.

How PCG's Ron Fraser Viewed the Kosovo War in 1998

For a long time PCG has taken a pro-Milošević stance regarding the Yugoslav Wars, portraying Serbia as the innocent victim of sinister German designs to "conquer" Yugoslavia as part of the Germans' plan to unify Europe into a European Empire. This may be seen in Gerald Flurry's booklet, Germany's Conquest of the Balkans, which was discussed previously on this blog (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

Having read the booklet and watched a program of theirs I began to suspect that PCG adopted their pro-Milošević stance around 1999, during the height of the Kosovo War. I have since come upon an article that seems to have been written before PCG's stance hardened in Milošević's favor.

In the September 1998 issue of The Philadelphia Trumpet Ron Fraser wrote an article entitled "Crisis Point of Western Leadership". This article gives a glimpse of how PCG's writers viewed the situation in Kosovo at this time. Having read this one is struck by how little emphasis there is on justifying and minimizing what was done by those who were led by Milošević as PCG normally does.

It has been the standard line for PCG's writers to profess support and sympathy for Milosevic and those who followed him and to belittle and criticize the others, especially Croatia and Kosovo, in order to insist that these wars were part of a great conspiracy by Germany to bring Europe under its heel.

But that is not found here in this September 1998 article. While Fraser discusses what happened in Kosovo there is no sympathy for Milošević. In fact Milošević is portrayed as being morally the same as Tudjman, who was leader of Croatia at the time.

Malcolm goes to the heart and core of the matter. He slices through the multiplicity of views touted by the media, almost all of which have assumed the causes of the Balkan problems to be “ethnic conflicts.” Malcolm quite rightly argues that this is far from the truth. The real cause of the continuing Balkan crisis has been the aggressively pursued political policies of Balkan leaders, primarily Serbian Slobodan Milosevic and Croatian leader Franjo Tudjman. They have deliberately created conflict via military initiatives for political and territorial gain.

This is very unusual for PCG. Normally PCG's writers portray Milošević and those with him as innocent victims of German aggression and betrayal. None of those themes are to be found here. Here Milošević and Tudjman are portrayed as morally equivalent to each other. This suggests that PCG's leadership had not yet taken a pro-Milosevic stance regarding the Yugoslav Wars at this point.

Fraser also discusses the history of Kosovo. While reciting this he relates certain events, including incidents of ethnic violence committed by some Serbs in Kosovo just before World War I and after World War II which seem quite surprising to see from him considering how staunchly pro-Milošević he would later become.

The intensity of Serbian aggression against Albanians in Kosovo increased to the point where between 1912 and 1913 gross atrocities were committed by combined Serbian/Montenegran forces in campaigns which sacked Albanian villages, whole village populations being massacred in the process. This was followed by a policy of forced conversions of Muslims and Catholics to orthodoxy, the penalty for refusal being torture or death. Peculiarly, the Montenegrans enforced this policy more stringently than did the Serbians. The combined initiatives of “ethnic cleansing” and forced conversion were designed to change the population statistics of conquered areas to ease their assimilation by the Montenegran and Serbian governments. The Serbian king placed Kosovo under military rule, disarming all Albanians. This Serb hegemony was, however, to be short-lived. The Austro/Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914.

I will not speak on whether these assertions are true but these words are cited to show that at this time Fraser had no sympathy for the Milošević regime. 

If anything Fraser seems to use Milošević's refusal to listen to the concerns of Western leaders to claim that America and Britain just cannot not get any respect from him.

The American President had promised that his government would not permit a repetition of the Bosnian tragedy. Meanwhile, the British Prime minister declared, “This is Milosevic’s final warning”; Robin Cook, foreign minister for Britain, warned Milosevic that he should take the threats of retribution from the West most seriously. The UN warned Milosevic; Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State, repeated President Clinton’s warning; NATO rattled its sabers in pitiful war games in Albania; and world leaders and shuttle diplomats talk in huddled meetings of air strikes.

Talk, talk, talk—threats, but no action! The Serbian leader has the world’s greatest powers checkmated!

And so Fraser talks of Milošević as an enemy, not an innocent victim of German aggression as PCG normally portrayed Milošević from 1999 onwards.

Fraser also seems to regard the Dayton Accords as a false peace.

Richard Holbrooke, shuttle-diplomat who brokered the false peace of the Balkans (the Dayton Accords),

As far as I can gather no side was particularly pleased with those terms but it is now nineteen years since it was signed. How false is a peace that lasts that long?

Also Fraser talks about the negotiators who devised the Dayton Accords that finally ended the Bosnian War. Fraser portrays the negotiators in a very bad light as Machiavellian schemers of the worst sort.

The most recent “success” in ending a war was the conclusion of the Dayton Accords, facilitated between the Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian leaders by U.S. emissary Richard Holbrooke in 1995. Yet, studying Holbrooke’s analysis of events leading to the conclusion of this peace accord, one is struck by the dramatic nature of the mood swings of the Balkan leaders with whom he negotiated. Here were men whose moods could swing most dramatically from red-hot anger to dramatic calmness in a flash. Here were men either unable to exert proper control over their emotions or who were just great deceivers, deliberately and manipulatively using the impression of dramatic mood swings to rattle the opposition and influence outcomes in their own favor. Either way, here were men, leaders of governments, who were missing a vital ingredient to enable them to deal honestly and with true integrity with each other.

Normally PCG would have described the negotiators from Belgrade as victims of German aggression. But here they are viewed as morally equivalent to the Croatians and the Bosnians. Fraser does not take sides here.

After all this Fraser then goes onto to make a denunciation of "human nature" as is common in all forms of Armstrongism and insisting that only Christ's return can make humanity turn away from it and become righteous people who will produce a peaceful society. The crisis point according to Fraser is human nature. The message is somewhat similar to Stephen Flurry's booklet, Human Nature--What Is It?, which was discussed in a previous post.

This article seems to be strong evidence that as of the latter half of 1998 PCG's writers had no sympathy to the Milošević regime.

But later in the January 1999 issue of The Philadelphia Trumpet Gerald Flurry wrote an article entitled "Croatia Reveals the Rising Beast", condemning the secession of Croatia from Yugoslavia and was later adapted to become Chapter 1 of his booklet, Germany's Conquest of the Balkans, which was discussed in a previous post.

Then in the May 1999 issue Gerald Flurry wrote "The Unseen Danger in Kosovo" which portrayed the armed insurgency against Belgrade in Kosovo as being secretly engineered by the Germans. That article later became the basis for Chapter 2 of his booklet, Germany's Conquest of the Balkans, which was discussed in a previous post.

Since then PCG has maintained the same line, insisting that Milošević was the innocent victim of German designs. Shamefully PCG's writers have even allowed their sympathy for Milošević to even belittle the atrocities that forces aligned with Milošević committed. Richard Palmer in one article even dared to belittle the Srebrenica Massacre as just "a crime of passion".

***

Here are some other posts regarding the topic of the Yugoslav Wars and how PCG discusses it:

Reading PCG's Booklet, Germany's Conquest of the Balkans (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

PCG Using the Yugoslav Wars to Demonize Germany and the Pope

Watching PCG's Program, Germany's Conquest of Europe

PCG Advertizing Flurry's Yugoslav Wars Booklet

PCG Exploits Yugoslav Wars to Demonize Germany

PCG's Support for Serbia in the Yugoslav Wars

Watching PCG's Telecast, Putin Remembers Yugoslavia

PCG's Ron Fraser Demonizing Bosnia as a "Terrorist Enclave" (2008)

PCG Calls Srebrenica Massacre "a Crime of Passion"

Serb War Criminals Convicted

PCG's Joel Hilliker on the Situation in Fergusson

In the latest chapter of the aftermath of the tragic situation arising from the killing of Michael Brown on August 9, it was announced that a grand jury has decided not to lay charges against Darren Wilson over his shooting.

PCG's Joel Hilliker has produced an article about this situation, "No Indictment—and Toxic Racial Thinking in Ferguson".

It was announced Monday night that a grand jury determined not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting Michael Brown last August. The jury found that Wilson shot Brown in the line of duty under credible threat against his own life. Immediately, protests began in cities across the nation. 

Hilliker then describes the chaotic night after the announcement. He then considers why events like this have happened.

Consider why this mayhem is happening. Think about the incredibly toxic ideas that are turning this into such a volatile moment.

There are Americans who believe the reason this white policeman killed this young black man is pure racial animus. They are sure that at the time of the killing, the black man was raising his hands in surrender, posing no threat; the policeman shot him in cold blood out of murderous hatred for blacks.

Some of the eye witness reports of the killing said Michael Brown raised his hands just before he fell. So it is not some ill founded assertion. Eye witness testimony said that is happened. Now it has to be said some the testimony around the shooting is conflicting.

They further believe that there exists a pattern of such attacks—that blacks face regular if not continual harassment from authorities and citizens across the country—that young black men must fear, even for their lives, from whites (or even, in the case of George Zimmerman, “white Hispanics”) who are looking for any pretext to go after them.

How can Hilliker talk like this? It is true that African Americans often face discrimination. It is true that African Americans often face incarceration and imprisonment at a greater rate then the white population. These are well documented facts. How can Hilliker profess this to be just a delusion? African Americans are forced to endure many things that the majority do not have to endure.

They further believe that the grand jury’s acquittal is based on racial hostility alone. Their mistrust of and cynicism about the justice system is so deep that they are certain the jury did not rule based on facts and evidence, but in spite of facts and evidence. They know that the only reason Wilson was found innocent is the system’s inherently racist nature. 

It was a grand jury, not a jury. A grand jury is supposed to listen to the prosecutor make his case that there is probable cause to believe an offense may have happened. There is no defense in a grand jury. The defense makes its case in the actual trial afterwards. It is not the role of the grand jury to decide if one is innocent or not. The grand jury is to rule if there is probable cause for an investigation and since they only listen to the prosecutor it is usually a certainty that a grand jury will find probable cause. So it is strange for a grand jury to rule that there was no probable cause. They do not decide who is guilty or innocent. No wonder so many are disturbed by this.

Why is it that Hilliker seems to not notice this strange happening? A grand jury is not a jury.

Also there is actually a pattern of police officers shooting unarmed men and not getting convicted of it. Here is one news article written just a week after Michael Brown's shooting.

It remains to be seen whether Wilson will face criminal charges, but a limited review of similar killings by police suggests that the officers more often than not walk away without an indictment, and are very rarely convicted. Delores Jones-Brown, a law professor and director of the Center on Race, Crime, and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, looked at 21 publicized cases from 1994 through 2009 in which a police officer killed an unarmed black person. Of those, only seven cases resulted in an indictment—for criminally negligent homicide, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, or violation of civil rights—and only three officers were found guilty. (Jeaeh Lee and Katie Rose Quandt, "Here's What Happens to Police Officers Who Shoot Unarmed Black Men", Mother Jones, August 20, 2014.)

There was no defense and still they found no probable cause.

We continue with Hilliker's article.

Hilliker then proceeds to characterize the rioters as rebelling against all authority. However he is quite vague about who he is talking about. Is he just talking the few who chose to riot? Or is he talking about just anyone who points out the fact that African Americans suffer a lot of hardship?

Among those who believe all of that, there are some who are are so sure of these convictions, so certain of the system’s innate anti-black bigotry, that they are ready to rise up in violent protest. Not directly, specifically against police officers or government officials that they have proven to be racist, but against authority in general—and even against society in general. They believe the injustice they have been dealt is so egregious that they are justified at lashing out at virtually anything—smashing shop windows, looting stores, creating general mayhem.

Again it must be noted that Hilliker is very vague here. Is he talking about the rioters or just anyone noting the widespread problems African Americans are forced to deal with? It is hard to be sure because of the way this is written.

Hilliker then minimizes by saying this only applies to a few people, continuing to state that "we" should be very scared.

Surely the number of Americans who follow such “reasoning,” as it were, are very few. But they are numerous enough to arrest the attention of media and law enforcement, and countless others of us who are apprehensive about what they are about to do. And truth be told, this is not unwarranted apprehension; it has been built over time in recent years, incident by indiscriminately violent incident. 

PCG's writers have been fear mongering that massive riots are about to occur since at least 1992 as may be seen in Gerald Flurry booklet, The Ezekiel Watchman, which discussed the 1992 LA riots.  

It is sad that in this tragic affair PCG's writers decide to just say a few words fear mongering about the riots and to insinuate that well documented and widespread racial discrimination against African Americans is just a fantasy some African Americans have. 

***

For more information about this tragic affair here is the testimony presented to the grand jury.

Notes from PCG's Trumpet Weekly (2010)

Continuing on from previous posts (2007-8 and 2009) let us continue surveying the articles within the issues of PCG's Trumpet Weekly.

In 2010 there was much discussion regarding the crisis in the eurozone. PCG's writers had thought the crisis would hit the US dollar particularly hard, instead the worst crises hit certain parts of the eurozone because those countries had no sovereign currency of their own.

PCG's writers continued to "watch" zu Guttenburg insinuating he would be the dictator who would lead the future European Empire to destroy America. They even insinuated that Chancellor Merkel would soon be cast out of power. They had no idea it would be zu Guttenburg who would soon be forced out of power.

As the continuing scandal regarding sexual abuse and the resultant cover up within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church unfolded PCG's writers decided to insist that the Catholic Church would recover from this and be stronger then ever. Just a few years later Pope Benedict XVI would resign, the first to willingly do so since 1394.

***

Let us now begin.

2010

January 2. "2009: A Year of Diversification" by Jeremiah Jacques. PCG's writers often assert that other nations are going to stop using the US dollar for their financial transactions and this assertion is presented as a sign of US decline. This article once again continue that assertion.

The closing year highlighted an ominous dollar movement. Central banks all over the globe dumped the dollar—often in favor of the euro and gold.

"9/11 and the Head of the Terrorist Snake" by Stephen Flurry. Here Stephen Flurry says the US should have gone after Iran after 9/11, ignoring the fact that al Qaeda committed those terrorist attacks. Also he uses that truly disgusting euphemism against Iran which they have used since at least 9/11.

"Guttenburg and the Kunduz Affair" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser is watching zu Guttenburg again, insinuating he might be the European dictators will destroy America and Britain.

Watch for these [German and Vatican] elites to carefully stagemanage the hearing into the Kunduz bombing in the progressive effort to get the public attuned to Germany’s defense forces drawing and shedding blood in battle again, and to get the German army the support from its politicians and public that it needs to effectively carry out its increasing role.

Watch for Guttenberg’s political star to rise even higher as a result of the Kunduz inquiry.

"Beginning of a New Russian Empire" by David Vejil.

January 9. "Children Who Are Spanked Are More Successful" (Life Site News). Armstrongism has a long and shameful history of glorifying and promoting the harsh corporal punishment of children. This is exacerbated by the requirement for little children to sit during the sermon instead of going to a Sunday School class during the sermon. This article was discussed in a previous post when this was first released.

January 16. "The Bill Clinton Statue in Kosovo" by Stephen Flurry. Even though it was a statue of Bill Clinton that was unveiled in Kosovo Stephen Flurry uses this incident to remind his followers of PCG's dogma that Germany is responsible for Kosovo's secession in order to demonize Germany as a menacing state ready to destroy America and Britain in a heartbeat.
 
"2010: The Make-Believe Recovery" by Robert Morley. Here Morley insists economic catastrophe is just around the corner.

Chapter two of America’s great economic crisis is about to unfold. The moral of the story is that the economy is not set to recover—at least not in any meaningful, lasting way. That is what the statistics say. More importantly, that is what God’s Word says.

January 23. "Is It Haiti That's Cursed--or America?" by Stephen Flurry. Don't be silly. It's probably you.

January 30. "The Pope Destroys Catholicism's Left Wing" by Richard Palmer. Of course PCG's writers had no idea that the next Pope would be the way he is.

February 6. "Davis--The Biggest News" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser tries make his readers think it is 1933 by taking an announcement that Germany was putting more money into arming itself.

For anyone who had memories of the last time that a united Germany revived an ailing economy by cranking up the wheels of industry to produce instruments of war, this should have set the alarm bells ringing. The alarms should have sounded from Davos to London, Washington, Ottawa, Sydney, Auckland and parts beyond and drummed up a frenzied reaction!

But no! To the contrary. The announcement was greeted with words of approval.

But it was not 1933, it was 2010. By this point Germany and the US are closely aligned with each other. This act was not an attempt to break away from America's influence. Germany is not going to turn Nazi anytime soon, that is why no one was worried.

Fraser also exploits this announce to once again falsely accuse Germany of starting the Yugoslav Wars by recognizing Slovenia and Croatia in December 1991, which was months after armed conflict had begun.

Yes! THINK of the Balkans! It was Germany, supported by the Vatican, that lit the touch tape which started the Balkan wars of the 1990s, cleverly then handing the resultant explosion to the U.S./NATO axis to, on its behalf, fight an illegal war that brought the phrase “ethnic cleansing” into the world’s foreign-policy lexicon and resulted in the handing over of the EU’S first colonies to the control of Brussels/Berlin!...

The first foreign-policy initiative of the newly united Federal Republic of Germany was to trigger war in the Balkan Peninsula by unilaterally recognizing the old Nazi puppet state of Croatia and the state of Slovenia as sovereign nation-states separate and distinct from federal Yugoslavia. The result was war in the Balkans. A war that, in ignorance of the facts, was supported by the continuance of that same questionable Anglo-Saxon foreign policy relating to Germany that Tetens referred to as “misled by a facade.”

"Brussels/Berlin"? Is that grammatical?

Fraser also cites some writing from HWA's WCG to stereotype Germans as remarkably talented.

The best commentators on German character are intelligent Germans themselves. Too few have taken note of their warnings of certain innate tendencies in the German national character. In his well-researched thesis on the German character, Gerhard O. Marx writes, “Will Germans again arise to illusionary heights of grandeur? Not as long as one thing is lacking: a strong, authoritarian leader. Once he appears, the characteristics Germans have always possessed will again be obvious to all” (A Two Thousand Year Analysis of the German Character). In the wake of a certain high-profile breakfast meeting in Davos last week, perhaps we should ask: Is that strong, authoritarian leader on the rise today?

"Spend to Prosper?" by Stephen Flurry. Here Stephen Flurry shows his lack of understanding that public debt is not like private debt and that if the government stopped spending money in a recession the economy would shrink even more thus making the situation even worse.

Which is exactly what America continues to do, even in the worst possible economic climate: spend more, borrow more, print more money—and act as if there won’t be catastrophic consequences in the end.

"Remember the Promises" by Joel Hilliker.

February 13. "Germany's Calculated Crisis" by Robert Morley. Here Morley discusses the crisis in Greece caused by Greece's use of the euro.

Remarkably Morley shows that he understands why Greece was in so much trouble at the time.

Typically, when a country takes on too much debt they devalue their currency by turning on the money printing presses and simply creating the currency to pay the bills. This of course upsets creditors, but at least the bills get paid. The economy also gets a short-term kick start because a devalued currency makes exported goods less expensive; thus foreigners buy more domestic products.

Greece, however, does not have this option. Since it is locked into the euro, it does not control the printing presses. Germany does.

Wonderful! You understand why Greece was in so much trouble at that time. The euro is the problem.

Why don't you understand that the US is not in that situation? That is how America can afford to spend its way out of recession, because it does control its own printing presses. Why don't you explain that to your readers when discussing the financial situation of the US?

"The Rise of Germany" by Stephen Flurry. This article uses some of what Stephen Flurry wrote in the booklet, Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.

Earlier this year, on January 4, we posted an article that may well set the tone for much of what we report this year: “The Holy Roman Empire Is Back!” As my father explained in that important piece, that final resurrection of that empire now has its own constitution. It has Roman Empire diplomats stationed all over the Earth. This year, it will begin assembling a military machine for its empire. And soon, it will undergo a swift and radical reduction in size—probably brought on by an economic crisis—that will actually strengthen its unity and add to its power.

You and your follow collaborators have been saying the same thing since the 1930s. Details are updated as deemed necessary but this same story has been told again and again while the 1% of PCG get to enjoy sharing out a part of an annual income of $19.5 million among themselves.

This issue also contains more fear mongering about Iran and claims that Germany is getting tough on Iran.

February 28. "Could Germany Soon Acquire Nuclear Weapons?" by Brad MacDonald. Four years later we are still waiting.

"Flood of Retirees Nudges Social Security to the Brink" by Jeremiah Jacques. As we shall soon see this is far from true.

"Greece's Mirror Image in America" by Robert Morley. Here Morley fear mongers that California is in as bad financial shape as Greece.

For example, comparing total California debt to total Greece debt is like comparing rotten apples to rotten oranges. Factoring in California’s share of the federal debt, its ratio is almost 90 percent. Greece’s debt-to-GDP measures at around 100 percent.

But when including America’s unfunded Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid liabilities into the equation, California’s state debt-to-GDP ratio soars to a stratospheric 400 percent.

Where are the mass strikes in California? That's right. There weren't any. Because PCG's writers have an agenda, namely getting people to panic and think only PCG can save them, spiritually and physically.

Also, contrary to Jacques and Morley's dire pronouncements Social Security is not in trouble.

March 6. "Why Have Natural Disasters Increased?" by Ron Fraser. Robert Morley also has a similar article. Actually natural disasters have not increased.

Quotes Washington Times. How appropriate.

March 13.

Quotes Washington Times. How appropriate.

March 20. "A Momentous Summer Looms" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald says Germany is so powerful now despite its lackluster leadership. Imagine what it will be like when a really charismatic and unified leadership arise. Four years later the same Chancellor is still in charge.

This issue also talks about a disagreement between the United States and the State of Israel.

"Pope and Pedophilia--The Plain Truth" by Ron Fraser. Here is Fraser insisting that the Vatican will recover from the deeply shameful scandal regarding the protection of predator priests by those higher up in the hierarchy.

What appears to have happened is that, after being wounded by Benedict’s verbal barbs, the secularists started on a scheme to discredit the most powerful right-wing pope to have ascended the papal throne this side of World War II. The goal of the embattled liberal rationalists of the anti-church secular movement in Europe is to denigrate their chief enemy—the Vatican and its papal leader, who are so well advanced in the fulfillment of their grand imperial dream to revive, yet one more time, the Holy Roman Empire.

The secularists realize that unless they can denigrate Pope Benedict in the eyes of the public to the point that the powerful influence of the Vatican in all affairs European is significantly damaged if not broken, then they are cooked geese.

Fraser insists the Papacy will recover from this and become "stronger then ever".

The reality is that, following each attack, the Vatican has emerged, eventually, stronger than ever. That will be the case with this current scenario. In fact, following this current, and perhaps final, attack on the pope and the Catholic Church, the Vatican—and the pope—will emerge stronger than ever in its entire history!

A few years later Pope Benedict XVI resigned, the first Pope to voluntarily do so since 1394, no doubt partly because of the severe and deserved damage to the Catholic Church's reputation. Another thing PCG did not foresee.

This issue also contains a lot of fear mongering condemning the necessary health care reform that had just passed Congress. A major reason why Americans were forced to pay so much for health insurance was that it was entirely privatized and a lot of the money went on overhead costs (paying salaries for instance) instead of providing health care. That is why reform was necessary. The health reform was not perfect in that many Americans are, alas, still uninsured, but reform was necessary.

Also Social Security is not broke.

April 3. "Militiaman Unapologetic" (Washington Post). This article reports a wave of politically motivated vandalism incited by a right wing blogger who was a former militiaman. One of those offices wickedly targeted in this way was that of Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Just a few months later she would be severely wounded by being shot in a mass shooting in which six civilians were murdered.

April 10. "Beware! The Vatican Will Retaliate!" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald insists that the shameful scandal regarding the protection of pedophile priests by the hierarchy will not harm the Vatican's supposed rise to power.

Apparently, millions of Catholics are dazed and demoralized. Apparently, the Vatican is mired in an impossible battle against fact and truth and is reeling. Apparently, Catholic leaders are quietly, apologetically, retreating. ...

DON'T BUY IT!

Expect Benedict and the Vatican to exploit this crisis to muster the allegiance of prominent Catholic politicians, social personalities, monarchs, governments and institutions in Europe. (Also, don’t be surprised if very soon we see an individual of courage and vision, and of German descent, stand up to defend the pope and the Vatican.) ...

Lastly, discard the overblown reports that the Catholic Church is imploding. Neither Pope Benedict XVI nor the Vatican are dazed and confused, and they’re certainly not about to slink away in guilt and shame. Watch these events closely, and let history and Bible prophecy be your assurance: The Vatican is alert and focused, and is about to respond to this crisis with a level of force that will shock the world! 

Less then three years later Pope Benedict XVI resigned, the first Pope to voluntarily do so since 1394. No doubt the guilt, shame and disgrace caused by this abominable behavior by so-called leaders within the priestly hierarchy was a major reason he did so.

"An Uncomfortable Fact About Oil" by Robert Morley. Here Morley says

Since coming to office, Mr. Obama has been confronted with an uncomfortable truth.

It is the fact that, going forward, it is going to become dramatically more difficult for America to obtain and secure the energy it needs—and sooner than most people realize. It is a truth that policy makers and politicians are afraid to publicly admit because the implications of an oil-constrained world affect everything from stock markets and food production to the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. ...

So where is the oil going to come from? Not America. ...

Over the past week crude oil surged to a new 17-month highs—$86 per barrel. Better get used to it, sky-high oil prices may soon be here to stay.

What happened? Oil companies soon started using fracking techniques to acquire oil from previously inaccessible places. So oil prices did come down.

(Please note: This is not an endorsement of fracking. Frankly I am wonder if it should even be done having heard of the various concerns about it. Let's just say if someone was going to do that near where I lived I would do all I legally could to stop that.) 

April 17. "Germany: Kunduz Neutered" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser notes how a German Colonel getting cleared for an attack in which civilians were tragically killed. This is cited as evidence that zu Guttenburg is rising. He did not foresee that a scandal over plagiarism would cast him out of office.

May 8. "Watch Out for White Men" by Stephen Flurry.  Here Stephen Flurry asserts that white men are being discriminated against. What nonsense! This article was discussed in a previous post at the time it was released.

May 15. This issue also contains a fair bit about the crisis in Greece. Although Morley tries to say that California is like Greece again by this point world events had compelled PCG's writers to focus on Europe instead of America as they confidently predicted would be the case in 2009.

May 22. "Europe in Crisis" by Stephen Flurry. Here Stephen Flurry states that the euro currency is in big trouble.

Europe is in chaos. The euro is on the brink of collapse. Investors are dumping the currency, as well as stocks, and rushing to inflation-proof havens like gold. Greece is up to its ears in debt and can’t pay it back. Its citizens are taking to the streets in violent protest against any “austerity measures” intended to roll back benefits. Other European nations are now threatening to pull out of the eurozone.

What a change this is from the dire predictions PCG's writers made back in 2008-9 that the US dollar was doomed and that this was the EU time to arise as a superpower.

Stephen Flurry insinuates that the euro crisis was deliberately planned and boasts that PCG have been proclaiming this since 2002.

Stephen Flurry also insinuates that Chancellor Merkel will soon be replaced.

Soon to be added to that tab may well be the chancellorship of Angela Merkel.

Germany, and Europe, will soon have their strongman. All the mechanisms are now in place—including the groundswell of support he will need to capitalize on the current crisis—for him to pare down the bloated, 27-member union to the powerfully destructive, biblically prophesied TEN kings.

Five years later we are still waiting for this slimmed down EU to arise. We are still waiting for Chancellor Merkel to be replaced. And zu Guttenburg is no longer in the halls of power. 

"Who Really Did Win World War II?" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser claims Britain has lost whatever gains they got from the victory in World War II and moans that Britain is falling apart. 

This year on May 8 when the British people celebrated VE Day, they did so under a situation of a hung Parliament, truly a witness to the dearth of statesmanlike, Churchillian leadership evident in the ranks of elites in Britain today.

Or maybe this situation was caused because more people voted for the Liberal Democratic Party this time so that it was impossible for one party to simply assume governance after election night. For Britain that is a very unusual situation. But in other countries, the State of Israel for instance, this sort of situation happens quite often.

Fraser continues, stating that the only thing preventing Germany from arising as a superpower is that their leadership is weak.

The greatest single lack in Germany today is political leadership. Watch for Angela Merkel’s fall to consummate with the rise of the leader who will seize this opportunity to propel Germany to dominance of the Western world!

Fraser here seems to be implying that zu Guttenburg will become the new leader of Germany. Little did Fraser know that in a few years time zu Guttenburg would be ousted from power and Chancellor Merkel is still in charge in Germany.

"Now Immanent: Britain's Exodus from Europe" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald claims Britain is going to soon leave the EU. Five years later we are waiting for this event that was supposedly immanent five years now.

May 29. "Britain--Teutonic Takeover" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser invokes the horrors of the holocaust to (can you believe this?) condemn a business transaction, namely Deutsche Bahn, a German firm, taking over the operation of parts of the British railway system.

But it is the prospect of British passengers having to be transported by trains and buses sporting the colors and logo of a German state owned enterprise that once ferried millions to their death in Nazi gas chambers that will be of concern to Britons.

If Britain’s new government does not resist this latest Teutonic takeover, it will be but another nail in the coffin of not only British industry, but of the rapidly failing pride of the British in their once great, and once greatly respected, heritage.

If you do not like that, Ron Fraser, fine. Condemn it. But to bring the holocaust over such an issue is just wrong and demeaning towards the many who suffered and are suffering because of those atrocities.

This issue contains the following quote.

“Most of us have heard of the story of Achilles, the warrior who was only vulnerable in his heel. America is the greatest superpower this world has ever known. But we have a very vulnerable point in our military—our own Achilles heel. … Computer dependence is the Western world’s Achilles heel, and within a few years this weakness could be tested to the full.”
—Gerald Flurry, Trumpet, January 1995

June 5. "Israel The Outcast" by Stephen Flurry. Here Stephen Flurry discusses the killing of nine Turkish men on the Mavi Marmara by Israeli soldiers. One of the victims was a US citizen, a fact that Stephen Flurry does not mention. Here Stephen Flurry does all he can to suppress any sympathy for the victims. PCG's simplistic black and white view of the Israel-Palestine conflict, that one side is good and the other side is bad, is on full display here.

"Germany--Watch This Space" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser tells PCG members and readers to keep watching the following individuals.

So there it is. Yet once again we draw attention to three Bavarians of the moment—Joseph Ratzinger, Baron Guttenberg and Edmund Stoiber.

Actually in just a few short years Pope Benedict XVI resigned, Baron Guttenburg was shunted out of power and Stoiber is still not the President of Germany which is a largely ceremonial role anyway.

"Iran Getting Rid of Euros" (Daily News)

The ongoing decline of the European single currency has triggered a move that could be further detrimental to the euro, according to an Iranian newspaper. Iran’s central bank began the first phase of sales of roughly €45 billion of its reserves in exchange for dollars,

What a different story compared to what PCG's writers said would happen in 2008-9 when they wrote so confidently that the US dollar would collapse. Now the world situation has forced them to discuss the euro's problems instead of the US dollar as they would have preferred.

June 12. "Turkey Betrays Israel" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker, exploiting the widespread anger in Turkey over the violent deaths of nine of their countrymen, restates the inaccurate idea that the Turks are the descendents of Esau. This idea is inherited from British Israelism.

What will become of this exploding antipathy for Israel? The book of Obadiah vividly foretells. It speaks of Edom, another name for the descendants of Isaac’s son Esau (see Genesis 36:8)—which comprise the nation of Turkey today. ... when the enemies of Israel rise up to destroy it, Turkey will align with them. One of the most grotesque acts of treachery in Bible prophecy will be committed by Turkey against Israel.

Notably no sense of sympathy or even regret is expressed for the loss of the nine lives in this particular article.

"A Chilling 'Age of Rage'" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald quotes a British historian to fear monger that the economic crisis is just like the 1930s before the rise of Nazism.

Note that: The developed world—not some backwoods sub-Saharan dictatorship—is on the verge of exploding.

He said this just a year and a half before the Arab Spring broke out.

"Germany--The Blind Leading the Blind" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser mocks those who correctly point out that PCG's predictions are useless and he denies that PCG's writers are bigoted towards Germans.

Germanophobes, racists, conspiracy theorists, we’ve been called the lot simply because we are willing—in fact driven—to warn the world of the prophetic reality that, to use the words of that respected Germanic journalist Sigrid Schultz, “Germany will try it again.”

Why did Gerald Flurry call Germans a people fated to be "a continual curse upon mankind" and chosen by Satan "to inflict a stream of misery and destruction upon mankind"?

Nahum is a book about Germany, a nation which has been a continual curse upon mankind. Satan chose the Germans to inflict a stream of misery and destruction upon mankind. (Gerald Flurry, Royal Vision, July-August, 2000, p. 39.)

Why did Robert Morley call Germans "Huns"?

Sixty-nine years later, London is under attack again. Only this time, the Huns are burning it economically. (Robert Morley, "The Battle for Britain Begins", Trumpet Weekly, October 17, 2009, p. 7.)

The reason you, PCG's writers, are called such things is because you act like them.

June 19. "The End of the Recession as We Know It" by Robert Morley. Here Morley tries once again to insist that America is on the verge of financial catastrophe.

The problem is that America has passed the financial point of no return. This country has reached debt-saturation. Borrowing and spending more money to fix a problem caused by too much borrowing and spending won’t fix anything. If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you are getting.

The end of the recession is almost here. Next comes the depression.

Five years later we are still waiting for that depression.

"Flag Day" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser stirs up fear by ludicrously saying that national symbols are falling out of favor.

June 26. "Germany—Coming Military Dictatorship" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser encourages PCG members to watch zu Guttenburg, insinuating he will be the fearful European dictator.

"Will BP Survive?" by Robert Morley. A curious article which romantically relates how BP started.

And it was the Anglo-Persian Oil Company that fueled the trade and commerce that made the empire possible.

It is this icon of empire—this most strategic of companies—that is now facing the same plight as the country that it helped make great.

Just as the British Empire so quickly fell apart following the Second World War, so now may be the company that was so integral in preserving it during the wars.

While so many people were suffering because of the oil leak Morley chose to sympathize and romanticize BP.

Quotes Washington Times. How appropriate.

July 3. "A Flirt with Dictatorships" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker condemns Germans elites for (he says) yearning to abolish democracy. What many readers of The Trumpet Weekly may not be aware of is that Hilliker's boss, Gerald Flurry, often insists that his PCG has "one-man rule" and he is that one man. Also HWA often associated with third world dictators some whom committed the most appalling and horrific atrocities.

"California: Is An Earthquake Immanent?" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald once again recites PCG's bizarre dogma that California is cursed because Tkach's WCG is centered there.

July 17. "President Obama, the Black Panthers, and the Coming Racial Explosion" by Robert Morley. Here Morley continues Armstrongism's long and shameful habit of fear mongering that racial minorities are about to explode in violence against white Americans any minute now. This is similar to a similar article by Joel Hilliker.

"Oldest Written Document Ever Found in Jerusalem" (Hebrew University of Jerusalem). This promotes the archeological work of Dr. Eilat Mazar in Jerusalem which is partly supported by PCG in order to convince members that PCG is truly special and worthy of receiving the three tithes and extra offerings.

"Egypt: New Government Immanent?" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald insists that the Muslim Brotherhood are will placed to seize power in Egypt. PCG failed to foresee that the Muslim Brotherhood would be ousted from power after just one year in power and their mainly peaceful protesters were routed with the loss of at least 638 lives.

"Europe Shakes" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser desperately tries to deny the obvious and say Europe, despite the severe financial crisis, will arise far more powerful then ever to destroy America and Britain.

To the unknowing eye, the European Union is on the brink of becoming the grandest failure in all of Western democracy’s checkered history. ...

The EU’s leading nations will soon be trimmed to just 10, with all other member nations in subservience, politically, economically, militarily and spiritually, to a joint Berlin-Rome hierarchy.

This is a message we have trumpeted for the past 20 years from prophecies embedded in your Bible, which foretell of a 10-nation combine appearing on the world scene immediately before Jesus Christ’s imminent return to set up His kingdom of peace forever.

July 24. "Afghanistan—to Stay or Not to Stay" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser continues to extol the greatness of zu Guttenburg to insinuate he will be the European dictator.

"Is 'Sudden' Collapse Possible?" by Robert Morley. Here Morley cites a speculation of a historian who suggests that financial troubles may cause America to collapse in two years. Just two years.

Five years later we are still waiting.

July 31. "Wanted: A Healthy and Vibrant Teenager!" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald mentions PCG's Philadelphia Youth Camp.

"One of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Son" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker tells PCG parents to monitor what their children are watching on TV.

Another stealth missile in the media aimed at our boys is sex. Today, the average age of a boy’s first exposure to pornography is 11. And what is available on the Internet is far worse than ever before—and far easier to access. Almost half of boys between grades 3 and 8 have visited “adult” websites. Pornography degrades women especially. God intends your son to grow up to be a protector of and provider for women. If he becomes ensnared by lust, it takes his mind 180 degrees opposite being able to successfully fulfill that calling.

How specific.

This issue quotes The Washington Times. How appropriate.

August 14. "America's Great Gamble" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser quotes a historian at Harvard to suggest that catastrophe will soon occur.

"The Pirates Who Destroyed America" by Robert Morley. Here Morley condemns the wealthy for leading America into such financial troubles. But most of the article is spent condemning public officials and Unions.

This issue contains the following quote from a 2009 Co-Worker Letter by Gerald Flurry.

“Mankind is on a toboggan-slide toward nuclear oblivion! It looks like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could have nuclear weapons in a matter of months. It also looks like the Taliban can conquer Pakistan in a very short amount of time. WE COULD HAVE THREE MADMEN IN THIS WORLD WITH NUCLEAR BOMBS!”
—Gerald Flurry, Co-Worker Letter, July 3, 2009

Five years later Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is no longer in power after losing the favor of the Supreme Leader Khatamei and the Taliban did not conquer Pakistan although there are severe problems there. Yet more fear inducing demagoguery that failed miserably.  

August 21. "Ground Zero Mosque: A Shameful Double Standard" by Stephen Flurry. Here Stephen Flurry tries to exploit the controversy, largely started up by one Pamela Geller, regarding a community center being built in New York City in order to lure sympathetic readers into PCG. "Ground Zero Mosque" was an inflammatory and inaccurate label applied to the community center in question. New York City is possibly the most multicultural city in the world. Why wouldn't a community center of that sort be built there?

No mention is made of the fact that some of the murdered victims of 9/11 were Muslims and that the World Trade Center had contained a Muslim prayer space which was destroyed by those al Qaeda terrorists.

"On Thinking" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker discusses how to study things.

When you read, what do you read? What is the quality of the food you feed your mind? And—just as important—when you read, how much do you think? Studying something to the point where it actually changes you requires letting it soak into and saturate the folds of your gray matter.

"How The Unions Betrayed America" by Robert Morley. Of course PCG's writers condemn unions. They are a bunch of people who, if they are getting a bad deal by their employers, organize themselves to go on strike to resist bad decisions. Somehow I cannot help but think that PCG's leaders do not want their followers seeing how it is possible to compel the powerful to bend to the will of ordinary people who work together.

August 28. "Is Iraq About to Fall to Iran?" by Joel Hilliker.

"The Return of the Mahdi is Nigh" by Robert Morley. Here Morley fear monger that Ahmadinejad plans to somehow hasten the return of the Mahdi. Today that man is no longer in charge.

"The True National Debt" (Zero Hedge, Tyler Durden). This non-PCG article mentions that the US federal debt is not as high as it was in World War II. However this article argues the US federal debt is actually 130% of GDP once one adds in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

September 4. "A House for God!" by Stephen Flurry. Here Stephen Flurry boasts about the opening of Armstrong Auditorium.

"Iraq: 'I Just Want to Go Home'" by Ron Fraser.

Historically, the military man’s role was very clear. Defeat the enemy. Fight for God, king and country and the protection of loved ones back home. Fight till the enemy is vanquished.

It’s taken 60 years of repetitive defeats in battles fought not to win, but for compromise, to produce today’s increasingly feminized, homosexualized and significantly psychologized approach to fighting a war. The results have just reinforced Herbert Armstrong’s prophecy, following World War II, that “the United States of America has won its last war.”

And Don't Ask, Don't Tell was still in force when Fraser wrote this forbidding US military personal from openly serving in the armed forces and Fraser was still condemning them.

This issue contains the following quote from Gerald Flurry.

“After World War II , Mr. Armstrong said the U.S. would never win another war. I believe that after we retreat from Iraq, America will never FIGHT another war!”
—Gerald Flurry, Trumpet, January 2007

Gerald Flurry did not anticipate that the US would go to war against the Gaddafi regime and assist the Libyan people in overthrowing the bloodthirsty dictatorship.

"Love Actually" by Joel Hilliker. This is one of the sentimental articles presented on The Trumpet Weekly.

September 11. "Germany Unshackled" by Ron Fraser.

"Incomparably Magnificent" by Stephen Flurry. Here Stephen Flurry again boasts of Armstrong Auditorium.

September 18. "The Roots of Obama's Anticolonialism" by Stephen Flurry.

Despite these many prodigious flaws, President Barack Obama has elevated the father he never knew to a larger-than-life mythical hero.

I read Barack Obama's book, Dreams from My Father. The whole book, not just a few words that some people liked to use. Obama said many things in that book, but he did not turn "the father he never knew to a larger-than-life mythical hero." Where did Stephen Flurry get this idea? It simply makes no sense.

"German Conscription: Victory for Guttenburg" (TheTrumpet.com). Here zu Guttenburg is again insinuated to be the future dictator in Europe. In this article zu Guttenburg is portrayed as a prodigious man by getting Germany to abolish conscription despite widespread opposition.

Quotes Washington Times. Twice. How appropriate.

[Incorrectly observed Feast of Tabernacles break.]

October 9. "Iran and Egypt Resume Flights" (BBC). Today PCG's writers portray the Arab world before 2011 as relatively stable and in good shape. Mubarak is now portrayed by PCG's writers as a wise man who kept the supposedly unstoppable forces of Islamist extremism at bay and his removal is viewed as a terrible thing by them. But while Mubarak ruled PCG's writers had no qualms about fear mongering that even Mubarak himself would turn against the US as is seen in their selection of this non-PCG article in this issue.

This issue contains the following quote from Gerald Flurry fear mongering that Germany and Russia will make peace in order to turn against and destroy the US and Britain.

“The presence of a deal between [Germany and Russia] is not a sign of peace. Like the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact … it is a sign of exactly the opposite. Both of these nations are looking to secure their shared border—so they can pursue their imperialistic aims elsewhere! It is a precursor to war! That is the way they operate! And the U.S. has no clue.”
—Gerald Flurry, Trumpet, October 1998

Today relations between Europe and Russia are in a terrible state because of the crisis in the Ukraine. Also the murderous Assad regime's bloodthirsty campaign of violence and terror against the Syrian people also helped to degrade relations with Russia. Yet another false prophecy by Gerald Flurry.

October 16. "A Nuclear-Armed Japan May Be Around the Corner" (Wayne Marsden Report). PCG has selected to include this non-PCG article because PCG has long fear mongered that Japan is plotting to build nuclear weapons.

"California: Experts See the ‘Big One’ Growing" (TheTrumpet.com). Here PCG's writers once again assert that California is cursed with natural disasters because Tkach's WCG has its headquarters there.

"Losing Our Grip on Reality" by Ron Fraser.

How I love the fact that the Ten Commandments are so downright and beautifully politically incorrect! I’m so thankful for being raised within a generation that took it as a given that a child should learn those 10 binding laws of God by rote.

What offended Fraser this time? Here Fraser was offended that some journalists referred to the slaughter of some gorillas belonging to an endangered species as murder. Of all the things to get upset about.

October 23. "Guttenberg Is Everywhere!" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser once again portrays zu Guttenburg as a prodigy in order to insinuate that he will be the European dictator Armstrongites have been taught to fear since the 1930s.

The issue contains the following quote from Gerald Flurry.

“Benedict XVI will add to the church’s power in another way. We are about to see the Protestant churches return to the Catholic Church—the throne—from which they rebelled.”
—Gerald Flurry, Trumpet, June 2005

Just less then three years later Pope Benedict XVI resigned, the first to do so willingly since 1394.

"Vampires, Werewolves and Zombies, Oh No" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker condemn various pop culture trends, link them with a violent stabbing, and insinuate various items of entertainment are actually inspired by Satan the Devil. This is simply a tool to isolate PCG members from mainstream society by restricting what they watch and do in order to make them socially dependent on PCG.

This is similar to a 2001 article by Mark Nash that also insinuated that watching certain popular movies might turn children into murderers. 

Quotes CNS News.

October 30. "Vatican: ‘Jews Have No Claim to Promised Land’" by Ron Fraser. As if the State of Israel fear what the Pope has to say. The State of Israel has a very effective army as many Arabs have discovered the hard way over the years. Why would the State of Israel be scared of what the Pope has to say? They are not.

But PCG teaches that the Pope will be extremely powerful and that he will be somehow involved in a cataclysmic struggle over the possession of Jerusalem. This article is produced in order to convince PCG members that the Pope is on the verge of fulfilling this role. It is nonsense made to indoctrinate people into thinking Gerald Flurry know the future.

This issue contains the following quote:

“The way it’s looking, don’t be surprised if America arrives in Lisbon to learn that Germany, France and Russia have hatched a plan to redefine NATO into a distinctly European, pro-Russian organization!”
—theTrumpet.com, October 21

Did that happen? No. Yet another false prophecy by PCG.

Quotes CNS News.

November 6. "Preparing to Sack the City of God" by Joel Hilliker.

"Catholics Massacred in Baghdad" (TheTrumpet.com). This article discusses the monstrous massacre of 58 Iraqi Catholics by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi's lackeys back when they falsely called themselves the "Islamic State in Iraq", what used to be called Al Qaeda in Iraq.

"South Africa—Clouds Across the Rainbow" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser bemoans the state of South Africa and insinuates that things were better under apartheid.

One year after the 1994 handover of South Africa by President De Klerk to the African National Congress (ANC)/South African Communist Party (SACP) dominated government, I stood only a few yards away from Nelson Mandela. The occasion was the first anniversary celebration of the handover on the day that has since been annually celebrated as Freedom Day.

We were in the press gallery covering the gala event for the Trumpet magazine. As I looked into the eyes of Mandela, the words of my editor in chief rang loud in my ears. “South Africa is the first of the Anglo-Saxon nations to give away its God-given birthright.”

During the apartheid era the majority black population were forbidden to vote and were treated as second class citizens just for being black. They were forced to endure all kinds of humiliations just for not being born white. Restoring something dreadfully racist like that would not help anyone, not even the whites Fraser professes to support.

November 13. "Germany's Rhetorical War with America" by Stephen Flurry.

"Japan: Nationalism on the Rise" by Jeremiah Jacques. PCG's writers have for a long time demonized Japan, saying it is preparing to acquire nuclear arms and adopt a militaristic policy. They say this to scare their predominantly American members into giving PCG more money. 

"An Eye Witness to Prophecy" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser fear mongers that the Nazis went underground plotting to return to power.

The keenest of analysts have written much about how the German elites went underground toward the end of World War II to ensure perpetuation of their plan for global dominance.

Fraser is simply repeating what HWA taught. It is just an attempt to manipulate people by using fear.

"The Greatest Liquidation Event Ever" by Robert Morley. Here Morley fear mongers once again that America will go bankrupt, even though no government can be made "to default on debt denominated in its own currency".

November 20. "Is The Deficit Commission On To Something?" by Robert Morley. Here Morley once again insists America is about to go broke.

Forty percent of America’s current federal expenditures is borrowed. How long can you borrow 40 percent of your yearly salary on credit cards and personal loans before the interest payments leach the life out of you and you start defaulting?

Morley is comparing apples and oranges.

The US government can print more money. Ordinary people cannot do this.

How is it that Morley cannot understand such elementary things?

America’s national debt is already close to 90 percent of gross domestic product. By this time next year it could be approaching 100 percent, which is pretty close to European crisis levels.

Morley is comparing apples and oranges again.

Greece, Ireland and Portugal do not control their own currencies. They have the euro. The euro is controlled by the European Central Bank. The euro is the problem. Those Eurozone countries cannot print more money if necessary. The US can do this. So the US have much more options to manage its finances then those unfortunate countries in the Eurozone.

They know the danger facing the country. Will they be able to put aside differences and for once—just once—act for the welfare and benefit of the nation?

Don’t count on it. The recommendations are dead on arrival, pronounced former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. They are “simply unacceptable.”

One reason why Representative Pelosi did that is because Social Security is not in danger. At all.

Five years we are still waiting.

November 27. "Rule al Britannia" by Robert Morley. (Does this title even make sense?) Here Morley fear mongers about immigration into Britain by Muslims accusing their children of being taught values antithetical to Western values.

If you are a politician, be careful who you offend because you just might represent a district composed primarily of Poles, or Roma, or Sudanese, or Pakistanis, or Cambodians. Who then do you really represent? Do you represent the British interest, or the interest of some other people?

Morley, you don't even live in Britain. And what's wrong with representing an electorate predominantly composed of Poles, Roma, Sudanese, Pakistanis, Cambodians or any other ethnicity? What xenophobic drivel.

December 4. "Look Who Survived Wikileaks" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald uses the Wikileaks revelations to say that only Minister zu Guttenburg was truly respected by US diplomats.

Consider German Defense Minister Karl- Theodor zu Guttenberg. Guttenberg, as Time observed this week, “is virtually the only German minister to emerge from the revelations untainted” (emphasis mine throughout).

That’s telling.

No it is not. What's telling is how someone among PCG's writers have so carefully selected this quote in order to insinuate that zu Guttenburg will be the leader of the European Beast Power.

Shortly afterwards zu Guttenburg was caught up in a scandal that had nothing and forced to resign.

December 11. "The Great Wiki Non-Leak" by Ron Fraser. In this particularly silly article Fraser uses the Wikileaks revelations to insist it shows Germany is seizing control of the European Union. He boasts that this is not a revelation because PCG knew this would happen. He cites a writer saying relations between Germany and Russia are getting closer. Fraser failed to foresee the current crisis in Ukraine which, along with the loss of many lives, has also caused relations between Europe and Russia to become quite strained.

"A Lot of Blood for Little Oil" (Der Spiegel). Non-PCG article about where the oil in Iraq went to from 2003 onwards.

December 25. ""We Hold This Day Holy"?" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker condemns Christmas as a pagan practice that must not be observed by "true Christians", meaning PCG members.

"Caught Sleeping" by Robert Morley. Here Morley talks about how unexpected the start of World War I was to people of the time when it started in 1914. This is done to insinuate that the Great Tribulation will also occur just as suddenly. This is done to keep PCG members in a state of constant fear so that they will ignore the problems within PCG and stay loyal to them.

And so 2011 begins. But this post ends here.

Bring on the Arab Spring.

Watching PCG's Program, Germany's Conquest of Europe

In a previous post it was noted that PCG offered a "documentary DVD" of an episode of The Trumpet Daily, hosted by Stephen Flurry. This program is entitled "Germany's Conquest of Europe". It was uploaded to YouTube on February 9, 2014. Let us take a look at what Stephen Flurry has to say.

The following are a few notes I took while watching this program along with discussion of what is said and not said in the program.

Introduction

Many prophetic events have occurred, according to Stephen Flurry, but the important of which is that "Germany has taken control of the European Union." (20 seconds.)

"Step by step Berlin is gaining control over other European nations." (1 minute.)

It is said that Germany is now achieving what they tried and failed to do in two World Wars, "Control of Europe". (2 minutes.)

At the start of the program the troubles caused by the financial crisis are alluded to, but what the program says about Germany supposedly "conquering" Yugoslavia is what PCG's writers have been constantly saying since at least 1999.

The program shows images of dead bodies while discussing Serbia enduring World War I. (3:40-3:50.)

Yugoslavia in World War II

Shows graphic holocaust scenes. Alas, Yugoslavia endured numerous horrors and trials during those horrible days. (5:20-5:30.)

This program contains footage of an interview with George Friedman, chairman of Stratfor. It is accompanied with graphic footage from World War II. In the thirty second extract George Friedman states that, 

No one can overestimate the fear that Eastern Europeans, people in the Balkans, have of the Germans. The memory of the occupation's still seared in their minds. And the German occupation was unspeakably brutal, particularly in Yugoslavia. And particularly with the Serbians because during World War II the Croatians were allied with the Germans, whereas the Serbs fought them. (5:20-5:50.)

Now to be fair it must be stated that it is very likely George Friedman probably said more then the thirty seconds he gets in this program. But as used by PCG's editors here Friedman's words are used by them to simplistically cast the Serbians as "the good guys" and the Croatians as "the bad guys". Friedman's edited words greatly oversimplify the situation in World War II by saying the Serbs fought the Germans. Alas, some Serbs in fact collaborated with the Nazis as will be noted later.

The program also notes relations between the Pope and fascist Croatia which was ruled an astoundingly brutal and horrific regime which was a puppet of the Nazis. This is noted in order to portray these events as a sinister foreshadowing of events in 1991 as will be seen later.   

"Yugoslav resistance to the Axis powers in World War II was largely led by Serbian and pro-Serbian forces." (7 minutes.)

I am amazed at how much history is distorted and obscured by that statement. Here are a few facts which that statement so carefully hides away from scrutiny.

It was the Communist led Partisans that liberated Yugoslavia from the Nazis and their ilk. There is no mention of the fact that there was another rebel group, the Chetniks, who were nominally loyal to the deposed King of Yugoslavia. But the Chetniks were overly Serb oriented and did not try to appeal to the other ethnicities. And the Chetniks loathed Communists and in time many Chetniks came to collaborate with the fascist occupiers against the Partisans. It was because of this collaboration that Britain and the Western allies came to support the Partisans instead of the Chetniks. During the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s some Serbs would identify themselves with the Chetniks despite this shameful facet of their history. 

Also this program makes no mention of the fact that post-World War II Yugoslavia was Communist.

Croatian War of Independence

At this point the program turns its focus to the Yugoslav Wars.

Shows Schroeder while discussing events of 1991 even though he was not Chancellor until 1998. (9:31.)

Cites Danke Deutschland song. "After Croatia gained its independence in 1991 it acknowledged its indebtedness to its European benefactor by adopting the hymn, Danke Deutschland (Thank you, Germany)." (11 minutes.)

The song is actually taken from a Croatian TV broadcast as was presented in a 1999 Slovenian documentary broadcast in 1999 and later uploaded to YouTube. A link to the video is at the end of this post.

Whether intentionally or not this statement might cause some confusion. Croatia's national anthem is Lijepa naša domovino (Our Beautiful Homeland).

Stephen Flurry then notes that the Papacy also recognized Slovenia and Croatia as independent states in December 1991. No mention is made of the fact Lithuania recognized Croatia earlier on July 30, 1991. But why let facts like that spoil a scary story?

Just as many predicted "soon after ... [as many predicted] civil broke out in Yugoslavia." (12:00-12:10.)

PCG's writers have asserted numerous times that the Yugoslav Wars started when Germany recognized Slovenia and Croatia as independent states in December 1991. But this assertion ignores and obscures many facts which are not mentioned in this Trumpet Daily program.

One of these ignored facts is that both Slovenia and Croatia held referendums in which the vast majority of voters chose to secede from Yugoslavia. Slovenia held a referendum on December 23, 1990 in which 88.5% of voters chose to vote for Slovenia's independence. Croatia held a referendum on May 19, 1991 in which 93.24% of voters chose to vote for Croatia's independence and 92.18% of voters chose to vote against remaining in Yugoslavia. They declared independence after these referendums. All this occurred before December 1991. 

Actually the war in Slovenia had already ended by December 1991. In June and July 1991 Slovenia fought off the forces of Belgrade in what is called the Ten Day War. After several days of armed conflict Belgrade gave up on retaking control of Slovenia. A major reason for Belgrade's reluctance to continue the war is that Belgrade was uninterested in Slovenia because there were few Serbs there.

Also the war in Croatia had long raged since June, or even Easter if one includes a certain ambush against Croatian policemen that occurred at that time. By December 1991 the Belgrade government had already seized Vukovar from Croatia after a three month siege which killed about 3000 people (August 25-November 18, 1991). All this occurred before December 1991.

Also just a few days later, on January 2, 1992, Belgrade and Croatia madea cease fire that proved to be long lasting. Fighting between Serbia and Croatia was not renewed until next year in 1993. Fighting would break out between Serbia and Croatia intermittently until 1995. Is it not amazing how badly PCG's writers explain recent history?

So it can be seen that blaming Germany's recognition of Slovenia and Croatia in December 1991 for starting the Yugoslav Wars is dreadfully misleading and fails to explain the complexity of these events.

Also there is no mention of the so-called Anti-bureaucratic revolution in 1986-9 which saw the Serbs embrace nationalism and led to Slobodan Milošević's rise to power. This embrace of nationalism by many Serbs did so much to destroy any sense of community among the various ethnicities of Yugoslavia and help propel the destruction of Yugoslavia as the nation fractured along largely ethnic lines. This was a major reason why so many chose to secede from Yugoslavia despite the great risk involved.

But not all Serbs embraced the nationalism Milošević gave them. During the Bosnian War many ethnic Serbs who lived in Bosnia saw through the propaganda of the Milošević, Karadžić and Mladić and chose to take up arms for Bosnia because they refused to turn against the people they had lived with all their lives and perceived. Some of these Serbs gave up their lives in the armed struggle against those led by Milošević, Karadžić and Mladić.

We now continue with Stephen Flurry's program.

The Bosnian War (Ignored in the Program)

Amazingly, according to Stephen Flurry, the criticism on Europe was not for starting the war but for refusing to get even more involved to clean up the mess. (12 minutes.)

As shown above what is presented in this program is very misleading and leaves out a lot of important facts.

Another fact left out is the Bosnian War, which in terms of lives lost, was the very worst of Yugoslav Wars. But PCG's writers tend to ignore the Bosnian War because it does not fit their story of German cunning and duplicity very well.

In April 1992 the United Nations recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina led by President Izetbegović as an independent state. But the Republika Srpska, led by Karadžić and Mladić, proceeded to go to war in order to seize control of as large an area of Bosnia as they could at the expense of the Bosnian Muslims.

In response to these events the United Nations imposed an arms embargo on Bosnia. In theory this was supposed to limit the war's severity by making harder for the armed forces to fight. But Serbia sent as many arms as they pleased to aid the Karadžić and Mladić clique, but the Bosnians had no such patron. The Bosnians were unable to buy arms to defend themselves. So the embargo turned the war into a one sided rout in Karadžić and Mladić's favor. For a time Croatia waged war against the Bosnians as well, but later the two sides allied themselves together against those aligned with Milošević.

Many people were saddened that the international community (which includes Germany) had so miserably failed to protect the Bosnians and left them to suffer the ravages of war at the hands of the Karadžić and Mladić clique. Those led by Karadžić and Mladić committed all sorts of atrocities to ethnically cleanse as much of Bosnian territory of non-Serbs as possible in order to take it for themselves. The most infamous of these many atrocities was the Srebrenica massacre in which Mladić's forces seized control of Srebrenica and, in an act of genocide, promptly murdered 8000 unarmed Bosnian men.

While it is true that all sides committed atrocities most atrocities against civilians in Bosnia were committed by those led by Karadžić and Mladić. 83% of civilian fatalities in Bosnia were Bosnian Muslims.

It was not until 1995 that NATO intervened against the Karadžić and Mladić clique. After a relatively short time of bombing the Republika Srpska came to accept terms and the war came to an end with the Dayton Accords. After committing so many terrible things against the Bosnians the Republika Srpska gained possession of 49% of Bosnia.

(Although PCG's writers rarely talk about Bosnia because their selective interpretation of what happened with Croatia and Kosovo serves their purpose of demonizing Germany, but every now and then they do discuss it. PCG's Ron Fraser in 2008 would write that Bosnia was founded to be a "terrorist enclave" for the benefit of "Muslim interests" and accused Bosnia of being "a hotbed of Islamist terrorist training". Both of these accusations are untrue. Also PCG's Richard Palmer in 2010 would belittle the Srebrenica Massacre as just "a crime of passion" as though the vast logistics necessary to commit such a vast atrocity could be committed on a spur of the moment.)

The Kosovo War

From this point onwards the program discusses the Kosovo War in which an ethnic Albanian guerrilla force called the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in 1998 launched an armed uprising to create an independent Kosovo.

The program what appears to be KLA fighters standing over a dead body. (14 minutes.)

Kosovo War was the first time German air force was used in war since World War II. (15 minutes.)

Map of Yugoslavia is shown which does not show Montenegro. (16 minutes.)

Speaks of "eastern leg" thus insinuating that the dissolution of Yugoslavia and entry of some of the successor states into the European Union fulfills the idea that the foretold European Empire will be composed of a Western and an Eastern component within Europe. (17 minutes.)

Talks of how most formerly Yugoslav states are trying or have even joined the EU, which is viewed as a very bad thing by PCG's writers.

PCG Obliquely Boasting to be "the True Church"

Boasts that, while hardly anyone talked about what was really happening, Gerald Flurry did so in 1999. From this point the program cites several articles and a telecast by PCG since 1999 supposedly "exposing" Germany's malevolent plan against the Serbs.

It even shows a 1999 broadcast of The Key of David entitled "Serbs' Greatest Fear", in which Gerald Flurry states that Germany was the hidden mastermind behind NATO intervention over the Kosovo War. (18:50-19:25)

The fact that PCG only appeals to writings dating back to 1999 in this program indicates that this position of portraying NATO intervention as helping Germany was only taken up by PCG's leaders in 1999. On the other hand Gerald Flurry's booklet on this matter, Germany's Conquest of the Balkans (formerly entitled The Rising Beast), quotes earlier news articles. At present, because there is little information regarding what PCG said about Yugoslavia in its early years, it is hard to discern what PCG said about Yugoslavia in those early days.  

Stephen Flurry boasts that "biblical prophecy" is the only way to understand why Germany's supposed intervention against Yugoslavia is so threatening.

Fear mongers that the Pope will be behind the European Empire. (22 minutes.)

Cites HWA's words to portray him as miraculously foreseeing the rise of the European Union. (22-23 minutes.)

Cites HWA saying Yugoslavia will be part of the future European Empire. It seems to escape Stephen Flurry's notice that HWA did not foresee Yugoslavia disintegrating. HWA assumed Yugoslavia would survive to join the future European Empire intact. (23 minutes.)

Stephen Flurry complains that people are distracted by petty things to not notice prophecy (as defined by PCG's leaders) being fulfilled. (24:50-25:05)

Stephen Flurry ends this program with advertizing for Gerald Flurry booklet, Germany's Conquest of the Balkans. That booklet has been discussed previously on this blog (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Essentially this program is an adaptation of that booklet.

Needless to say the Yugoslav Wars are a vast and very complicated topic. Alas, PCG's writers have simply used these painful and terrible events simply to demonize Germany and the Pope. PCG's superficially pro-Serb stance can be summed up in one paragraph by Stephen Flurry written in 1999.

As pointed out in “The Unseen Danger in Kosovo” (page 6), Germany stood against the whole world in 1991 by recognizing Croatia. That, not Slobodan Milosevic, is the reason civil war has erupted in Yugoslavia. That point cannot be overemphasized. (Stephen Flurry, NATO: Why Bomb Serbia, The Philadelphia Trumpet, May 1999.)

As pointed out earlier war had erupted between Serbia and Croatia long before December 1991. Also a truce between Croatia and Serbia that lasted over a year was signed on January 2, 1992.

***

Here are some other posts regarding the topic of the Yugoslav Wars and how PCG discusses it:

Reading PCG's Booklet, Germany's Conquest of the Balkans (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

PCG Using the Yugoslav Wars to Demonize Germany and the Pope

PCG Advertizing Flurry's Yugoslav Wars Booklet

PCG Exploits Yugoslav Wars to Demonize Germany

PCG's Support for Serbia in the Yugoslav Wars

Watching PCG's Telecast, Putin Remembers Yugoslavia

PCG's Ron Fraser Demonizing Bosnia as a "Terrorist Enclave" (2008)

PCG Calls Srebrenica Massacre "a Crime of Passion"

Serb War Criminals Convicted

***

Although I have some misgiving about posting this I will do so. Please note that other parts of the video contain graphic war footage. This is the video of a Croatian singer thanking Germany. The audio from it is used 11 minutes into this Trumpet Daily program: Video (36 minutes, 34 seconds).