Continuing on from previous posts (2007-8, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012) let us continue surveying the articles within the issues of PCG's Trumpet Weekly.
Among the notable articles here are:
Joel Hilliker declaring that Palestinians children are raised up to be filled with hate. (March 23 issue).
Ron Fraser insinuating that the victory of the Allies in World War II delayed Christ's second coming to allow HWA to preach. (June 15 issue.)
Richard Palmer saying democracy for Egyptians will just create "an Islamist state."
Jeremiah Jacques portraying the late Trayvon Martin as a person with "a history of violence" and a user of illegal drugs. (September 7 issue).
Joel Hilliker making the ridiculous and fanciful statement that America is broke. (October 25 issue.)
Joel Hilliker repeating the long standing canard that the US government is out to get people's guns. (November 9 issue.)
PCG's writers seeing their confident prediction that the Muslim Brotherhood would transform Egypt into a radicalized state like Iran fail completely.
PCG's writers see Pope Benedict XVI resigning. For years PCG had vilified him. Now they could not vilify him anymore.
More fear mongering about the Benghazi terrorist attack.
PCG's writers predicting the murderous Assad regime would soon fall.
Let us begin.
Among the notable articles here are:
Joel Hilliker declaring that Palestinians children are raised up to be filled with hate. (March 23 issue).
Ron Fraser insinuating that the victory of the Allies in World War II delayed Christ's second coming to allow HWA to preach. (June 15 issue.)
Richard Palmer saying democracy for Egyptians will just create "an Islamist state."
Most Egyptians support a radical Islamic constitution. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held radicalism in check only through brute force. Democracy automatically puts Egypt on the path to becoming an Islamist state. (July 20 issue.)Ron Fraser having "real anger" over the closure of several US diplomatic offices in the Middle East. (August 10 issue.)
Jeremiah Jacques portraying the late Trayvon Martin as a person with "a history of violence" and a user of illegal drugs. (September 7 issue).
Joel Hilliker making the ridiculous and fanciful statement that America is broke. (October 25 issue.)
Joel Hilliker repeating the long standing canard that the US government is out to get people's guns. (November 9 issue.)
PCG's writers seeing their confident prediction that the Muslim Brotherhood would transform Egypt into a radicalized state like Iran fail completely.
PCG's writers see Pope Benedict XVI resigning. For years PCG had vilified him. Now they could not vilify him anymore.
More fear mongering about the Benghazi terrorist attack.
PCG's writers predicting the murderous Assad regime would soon fall.
Let us begin.
***
January 5. "Pope Brings English Church To Heel" by Richard Palmer. Here Palmer fear mongers that the Pope is showing his rise to power by persuading some Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church.
"French Muslims run riot on New Year's Eve" (TW in brief, p. 5). PCG's writers have a long and shameful history of demonizing and vilifying Muslims presenting them in the worst possible light. This little article of theirs continues this shameful tradition.
French youths celebrated New Year’s by burning 1193 cars. Car burnings at the turn of the year are becoming tradition. Most of the burning took place in France’s poor Muslim districts."Ethiopia Breaks Up Islamist Cell" (Reuters). This Reuters article is included in this issue by PCG's writers to advance PCG's dogma that Ethiopia would be conquered by extremist Muslims. PCG's leaders began teaching this in 2011. We are still waiting for this to occur.
"Next Crisis: Debt Ceiling" by Robert Morley. In times past raising the debt ceiling was an act as mundane and routine as turning on the light when you enter the room at night. It was done all the time without hardly any bother. But recently Republican legislators decided to politicize it in an attempt to weaken the Democratic Party's legislators and the Obama Administration. These facts are hidden when PCG's writers fear monger about this artificial crisis created by the will of legislators, not a weak economy.
January 12. "Europe--Key Issue of 2013" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser praises Stratfor. PCG's leaders have had a long history of consulting with discussing political events with its CEO, George Friedman, since at least 1999.
Our readers would be aware of the esteem in which we have held Stratfor among the motley collection of geopolitical think tanks that comment regularly on the world scene."New evidence shows Mandela was Communist Party member" (p. 8). I am not going to discuss whether this is true or not but it must be stated that this little article is in line with PCG's constant belittling and condemnation of the current African National Congress (ANC) government ruling South Africa. Even if this is true that does not change the fact that Mandela led a larger and more powerful political party, namely the ANC.
Stratfor’s analyses of world events most often reflect deeply-thought-out scenarios that project clear predictive forecasting based on a chain of events currently happening on the world scene, with a particular view to non-revisionist history.
Inevitably this approach may be traced back to the keen mind of Stratfor’s founder and CEO, George Friedman.
Being of Hungarian Jewish descent, it comes as no surprise that Friedman’s appreciation of European history and current events is most acute. Thus it is that we find ourselves currently agreeing with him that the most vital geopolitical events of 2013 will center on Europe.
Such documents show that South Africa’s transformation into a one-party, socialist state was planned years in advance.This is nonsense. South Africa is not a one party state in the sense that only one political party is allowed to operate. There are other political parties in South Africa that operate there freely. However because of the ANC's prominent role in the anti-Apartheid struggle a majority of South African vote for them as is their right as citizens of South Africa.
If PCG's leaders really do not like the ANC ruling South Africa maybe they should go to South Africa, join an opposition party like the Democratic Party or some other party and persuade people to vote for another party.
"Women Storm the Senate" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker moans about female Senators that are elected by their voters.
Do you suppose that they would actually stop “the fight” [to have more elected female Senators] upon reaching 50, considering how much better women senators supposedly are?January 19. "Croatia to Join EU Though Flouting Rules" by Ron Fraser. Since 1999 PCG's writers have made it habit to portray Croatia in the worst possible light. But they do not do this merely to right wrongs. Instead PCG's condemnation of Croatia is simply a way to demonize Germany and trick people into thinking that Germany will soon conquer America.
"'We Don't Have a Spending Problem'" by Gerald Flurry. Here a Key of David telecast is advertized. Actually America's Federal debt is actually lower per capita then what it was in the 1940s.
"A Major Cause For The Wimpification of Men" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker condemns video games and pornography as having negative effects upon men.
January 26. "America Thrusts Wives and Moms Into Combat" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker condemns women serving as soldiers in the US military. If Hilliker is truly disturbed by this maybe he should become an pacifist in spirit and uses his words to discourage military endeavors.
Strangely he makes no mention of the well documented and most shameful phenomena of female soldiers being sexually harassed and/or raped by "follow" US soldiers.
February 9. "U.S. Vice-President Dotes on Germany, Europe" by Brad MacDonald. MacDonald, it's called diplomacy.
"Lying Wonders" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker insinuates that President Obama or Secretary Clinton somehow did something wrong or covered up some failing connected with the terrorist attack against the US Consulate in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.
PCG's writers have often used the Benghazi terrorist attack to bemoan President Obama and portray him in a bad light. It needs to be stated that this terrorist attack was politicized by those opposed to President Obama. There were numerous terrorist attacks on US embassies and consulates during the previous Bush Administration. Why havn't PCG's writers complained about these terrorist attacks?
June 14, 2002, U.S. consulate in Karachi, PakistanAlso note the terrorist attacks that occurred during the Reagan Administration. (Please note the following quote is presented as it was written.)
Suicide bomber kills 12 and injures 51.
February 20, 2003, international diplomatic compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Truck bomb kills 17.
February 28, 2003, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Gunmen on motorcycles killed two consulate guards.
July 30, 2004, U.S. embassy in Taskkent [sic], Uzbekistan
Suicide bomber kills two.
December 6, 2004, U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Militants stormed and occupied perimeter wall. Five killed, 10 wounded.
March 2, 2006, U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan
Suicide car bomber killed four, including a U.S. diplomate [sic] directly targeted by the assailants.
September 12, 2006, U.S. embassy in Damascus, Syria
Gunmen attacked embassy with grenades, automatic weapons, and a car bomb (though second truck bomb failed to detonate). One killed and 13 wounded.
January 12, 2007, U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece
A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the embassy building. No one was injured.
July 9, 2008, U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey
Armed men attacked consulate with pistols and shotguns. Three policemen killed.
March 18, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen
Mortar attack misses embassy, hits nearby girls' school instead.
September 17, 2008, U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen
Militants dressed as policemen attacked the embassy with RPGs, rifles, grenades and car bombs. Six Yemeni soldiers and seven civilians were killed. Sixteen more were injured. (Daily Kos.)
April 18 1983 Beirut Islamic Jihad car bomb destroys Embassy 63 killedWhy is the Benghazi terrorist attack so often talked about by PCG's writers and not any of these other terrorist attacks? What is going on here?
December 12 1983 Kuwait City al-Dawa truck bomb outside embassy 6 killed.
September 20 1984 Beirut Hezbollah truck bomb outside embassy 24 killed
November 1984 Bogotá Car bomb outside Embassy planted by drug cartel 1 killed
February 1986 Lisbon Popular Forces of 25 April car bomb outside Embassy
May 14 1986 Jakarta Japanese Red Army mortar barrage none
June 9 1987 Rome Japanese Red Army mortar barrage
That's 94 dead. (Source.)
The terrorist attack in Benghazi occurred during a Presidential election. Before when a terrorist attack like this occurred the politicians put aside their differences and rallied together. But Mitt Romney chose to break this tradition and tried to use this terrorist attack against President Obama. Others decided to follow his lead, including PCG's writers, as is seen in this post.
We now return to Hilliker's article, "Lying Wonders".
Here Hilliker discusses Secretary Clinton's "What difference does it make?" statement during a Congressional hearing regarding the terrorist attack in Benghazi.
I couldn’t help but think about that a couple weeks back when watching footage of the congressional hearings about the Benghazi attack. This is a huge scandal, filled with questions that demand answers. Yet over and over we saw congressmen praising Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her tireless service and dedication, then tiptoeing delicately around the real issues. Finally Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin pressed Clinton on a crucial point: This was clearly a premeditated terrorist strike on America’s consulate—so why did the administration go public with a bogus story about it erupting out of a spontaneous protest over a YouTube video?It now turns out that Hilliker was wrong. There was no cover up.
“With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans,” the secretary snapped back. “Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night decided to go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator.”
What difference? This is the point of the inquiry! There looks to be a serious cover-up. Administration officials lied publicly in order to obscure what really happened, and to push a phony, politically correct narrative. WHY? This has yet to be answered. And the secretary gets indignant about being asked about it? As if Senator Johnson was somehow out of line?
The secretary essentially said, Who are YOU to question ME? And the senator backed down. “Thank you, Madam Secretary.”
WHAT ABOUT THE TRUTH?
Two years later there have been at least seven investigations about the Benghazi terrorist attack and not one of them said that there was any malicious attempt to deceive the American public by the Obama Administration.
The House Intelligence Committee report was released with little fanfare on the Friday before Thanksgiving week. Many of its findings echo those of six previous investigations by various congressional committees and a State Department panel. The eighth Benghazi investigation is being carried out by a House Select Committee appointed in May. (Ken Dilanian, House intel panel debunks many Benghazi theories, Associated Press, November 21, 2014.)The report by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence was released on November 21, 2014. It stated that there was no malicious attempt to deceive the American public regarding the nature of the terrorist attack. The intelligence community at first thought the attack was connected to widespread protests against the Innocence of Muslims "film trailer". This was partly because the CIA did not hear the testimonies of the eyewitnesses because the survivors had to be interviewed by the FBI first. It took time for the FBI investigators to gather the testimonies and then deliver them to the CIA on September 22, 2012, eleven days after the attack. After receiving these testimonies it became clear to the CIA that it was a terrorist attack, not a protest gone out of control.
Errors were made but there is no evidence that there was any malicious attempt to deceive the American people by the Obama Administration.
February 16. "Pope Benedict XVI Has Resigned, Now What?" by Brad MacDonald. For many years PCG's writers had made it a sport to vilify and demonize Pope Benedict XVI, the former Joseph Ratzinger.
Now to their complete surprise he has resigned, the first Pope to willingly do so since 1394.
March 3. "Cypriot Elections: Nation Chooses Europe" by Richard Palmer. Here Palmer exploits the result of an election in Cyprus to fear monger that Germany is about to rise to power.
"Republicans: Gay Marriage is a Right" (The Blaze). What must PCG's leaders think when they see right wing Republicans say homosexuality is not sinful? What must they think when they see their simplistic view of world matters lacking? PCG's leaders have often vilified homosexuals in order to distract PCG members from the problems within it.
March 9. "Syria: the inevitability of collapse" (p. 3). Here PCG's writers claim that the Assad regime would soon fall and join a pro-EU alliance of Middle Eastern nations, what PCG calls the Psalm 83 nations, a changed doctrine that Gerald Flurry presented to PCG members in 2011.
The latest U.S. policy shift to send direct aid to Syria is yet another game changer that will ultimately help topple Assad’s government and most likely trigger the switch in Syria’s allegiance from Iran to another alliance comprised of “moderate” Arab states and Germany.Although I would have loved to have the murderous Assad regime brought to justice nearly two years later the Assad regime has not yet fallen.
"Dow Jones Sets New Record: Now What?" by Robert Morley. So the Dow Jones breaks the record and goes higher then it ever has. Morley has constantly insisted that the American economy is on the brink of collapse. So he goes into denial and insists it is not a sign that America is recovering from the crash of 2007-8.
The Dow Jones set a new record on Tuesday. Market commentators say this new record high is a big sign the economy is on the mend.
But is it possible that it signals something much more ominous?The Dow Jones got even higher.
"Venezuela: What's Ahead After the Death of Hugo Chávez?" by Jeremiah Jacques. For years PCG's writers had vilified Hugo Chávez, even accusing him of allying with Iran and conspiring to bring terrorists into Venezuela. But now he died and PCG's writers can't use him as a boogeyman anymore. So what does PCG's writers do?
Jacques exploits the death of President Chavez to fear monger that Latin America is preparing to join forces with the Papacy.
The Trumpet and our forerunner magazine the Plain Truth have long pointed out Bible prophecies indicating that Europe and Latin America will likely draw near each other in the time just before Christ’s return—cemented together by the Roman Catholic religion and the Spanish language. The death of Hugo Chávez could open the way for these two sides to draw much closer.And so we see how even when things occur which one would think might make PCG's writers happy they just twist it around to make people scared. PCG's writers spent a lot of time vilifying President Chavez and making their readers scared of him. Now they cannot use him as a boogeyman anymore. (Not that Chavez even noticed PCG's existence.)
March 23. This issue devotes a lot of attention to the financial troubles in Cyprus. A major reason why Cyprus was forced to be bailed out is because it lacks its own currency and instead uses the Euro. The crisis in Eurozone countries is a terrible problem but it is not a sign that Germany is on the verge of rising up as a military power which will conquer America and Britain as PCG's writers insinuates.
"Obama in Israel" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker portrays President Obama as hopelessly naive and idealistic regarding peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
“The Palestinian people’s right to self determination, their right to justice, must also be recognized.” Applause. “And put yourself in their shoes. Look at the world through their eyes. It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of their own.” Applause.So President Obama says the Palestinians need peace. Just think of the children. That sounds reasonable.
What will Hilliker say to this?
His words characterized the Palestinians as yearning for peace through negotiations with Israel, if only Israel would cooperate. They ignore several pressing realities: that the Palestinian children of which the president speaks are being raised on virulent Jew hatred...Even Palestinian children, many of whom happen to be Christians by the way, are portrayed in a bad way. Even the Palestinians' children scare Hilliker. Hilliker cannot show compassion even for little Palestinian children. Hilliker is scared of little kids.
Just goes to show that Hilliker will say anything to get those tithe paying members thinking World War III is near.
And he is not the only one among PCG's leaders to say such a thing. Gerald Flurry, in his 2014 book, The Former Prophets, (which was edited by Joel Hilliker) also said similar things.
March 30. "Obamacare to Hit Your Pocket Book" by Robert Morley. In this particularly badly informed article Morley tries make readers scared of health care reform. He complains that some study states that medical insurance companies will pay 32 percent more money in insurance claims.
But that is a major reason why health care reform was needed. Many people were unable to get health insurance and would die as a direct result of this. Many Americans died because they were unable to get health insurance. This is why health care reform was necessary. The health care reform would make sure more people got insured. And in fact that is what has been happening.
Now some may think this will mean one's own health care will become more expensive because health insurance companies are now paying more claims. And that is precisely why the Affordable Care Act ordered every American to get health insurance or pay a penalty. Now there are many more Americans paying the health insurance companies and this added income allows the insurance companies to pay more claims.
But none of this is mentioned or explained in Morley's article.
Having said that it must be said that the Affordible Care Act is imperfect, mainly because not everyone is insured. May the day soon come when every American has health insurance.
April 6. "German Domination--Accidental Empire?" by James Brandon.
April 20. "Obama Admin. Snubs Thatcher Funeral" by Anthony Chibarirwe.
This issue contains advertising for Gerald Flurry's booklet, America Under Attack, which insinuates that America will be destroyed by 2017.
Are you concerned about where the current administration is leading this country? Whether the nation can survive the next four years? It's worst then you think, and there is only one solution to this gigantic problem.The solution offered is join PCG, pay their leaders three tithes for the rest of your life and wait for PCG's God to whisk you away to the place of safety.
April 27. "Why Germany is Staying in Afghanistan" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser fear mongers that Germany's military presence in Afghanistan is a sign it is about to rise to power and soon destroy America.
May 4. "Israel, Palestinians turning to a new peace broker" (p. 4). Here PCG's writers once again fear monger that the Papacy is about to rise to power by citing Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas meeting together with the Pope to revive peace negotiations.
"Threatened Benghazi Whistle-Blowers" (Fox News). This non-PCG article contains allegations that persons were told not to testify to Congressional investigators. There is no evidence that anyone has been forced to be silenced in this matter to investigators or that anyone was prevented from testifying to Congressional investigators.
May 11. "Our Homophilia Fascination" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser moans that people outside of PCG do not think the way PCG's leaders do.
Quotes Washington Times. How appropriate.
May 18. "Japanese Defense--Going Nuclear?" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser once again fear mongers that Japan is plotting to become a militaristic power and plotting to gain nuclear weapons. PCG has constantly demonized Japan since 1993 at least as was seen in a previous post.
Tactical nuclear weapons have been stolen form the Soviet arsenal and sold to nations in the Middle East. Soon Germany and Japan will also have nuclear weapons. (Gerald Flurry, Jeremiah: Prophet of Doom--or Hope?, 1993, p. 31.)(Incidentally, what nonsense Flurry says when he asserts that Soviet nuclear weapons have been stolen and sold in the Middle East. This assertion is complete nonsense.)
"Obamastan" (Melanie Phillips). This non-PCG article makes mention of the controversy surrounding the terrorist attack in Benghazi as right wing operatives tried to find a way to make the terrorist attack look bad for the Obama Administration.
May 25. Only Brad MacDonald and Ron Fraser appear in this issue.
Here MacDonald advertises Gerald Flurry's new booklet, America Under Attack. I wrote about this article in a previous post not knowing of Gerald Flurry's bizarre teaching that President Obama is a Man of Sin just like Tkach.
June 8. "From Croatia to the Whirlwind" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser exploits Croatia getting ready to join the EU on July 1, 2013, to fear monger that Croatia's establishment as an independent state is a sign that Germany is about to arise as a military power to destroy America and Britain. One would be more sympathetic to PCG's demonization of Croatia if it was a sincere attempt to right wrongs. But it is not. Instead it is just a cheap way PCG can insist that Germany is on the rise and about to destroy America.
The fact that it has taken 22 years for Croatia to advance from recognition as a sovereign nation to being officially recognized as a member of the European Union is of no real consequence in the grand scheme of things. Why hasten the application of the rules of officialdom when culturally, socially and more importantly, religiously, Croatia was already at the beck and call of the Berlin/Rome axis since 1991?Reading this I cannot help but wonder if what Fraser really meant here is, Don't dare complain that Croatia joining the EU took longer then PCG's leaders said it would.
He would be an ignorant person indeed who would assume the habits of the Holy Roman Empire, extending over a 1,500-year period of repetitive resurrections, will have changed as we watch the seventh and final resurrection of that iron empire now leaping into focus as each week goes by.PCG has already been waiting twenty-two years by the time this article was written. And still Fraser expects PCG members to be continually stunned and amazed that their "prophecies" are coming to pass. What nonsense.
Very shortly we shall see how Germany’s action in recognizing Croatian nationalism a little less than 20 years ago will consummate in devastation in Iran.Armstrongism has been waiting for Europe to arise since 1934. PCG has been waiting to see Iran arise to power in the Middle East since at least 1994. PCG's members will be waiting a long time for these are false prophecies.
"Egypt Considers Action Against Ethiopia" by Callum Wood. Here Wood once again presents PCG's dogma that Ethiopia would fall to "radical Islam" and ally itself with Iran and Egypt.
Despite animosity raging now, Bible prophecy says that Ethiopia will eventually be in an alliance with Egypt and Iran (Daniel 11:43). That suggests a radical reorientation in Ethiopian governance. And Egypt will play a critical role in that reorientation, as Gerald Flurry stated last year.Of course, PCG's writers had no idea that later that year the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt would fall and be suppressed at the cost of 638 lives.
June 15. "Time to Learn Mandarin?" by Jeremiah Jacques. Here Jacques exploits a purchase of an American company by a Chinese company to fear monger that America is about to collapse.
"D-Day, June 6--Last of the Heroes?" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser insists that the victory of the Allies in World War II introduced a "time of delay" allowing HWA to preach "the truth".
The hiatus of the Cold War created a certain scenario—a “time of delay” in the fulfillment of the prophecies leading to Jesus Christ’s return (verse 3)—which permitted a latter- day apostle of God to travel the world unfettered as an “ambassador for peace without portfolio,” as he came to be known.Fraser then boasts how only PCG knows the truth and tries to lure people into joining PCG.
Yet there is still a small band of heroes and heroines who have vowed to their God to give over their lives to His great cause. They are literally prepared to lay their lives on the line to get God’s work done in final preparation for Jesus Christ’s promised return to rule this Earth (John 14:1-3).Of course there is no mention of how PCG requires members to pay three tithes, (that's how PCG got an income of $19.5 million in 2012) and indoctrinates members into believing that the Great Tribulation and the Lake of Fire awaits you if you leave PCG.
This happy band of people, scattered across the globe like a pinch of salt scattered across a plate, are behind the work that produces the Key of David television program and the Trumpet magazine. Theirs is a sacrifice of love— love to God and to fellow man.
"The Valuable Lesson Form Benghazi" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald uses the terrorist attack in Benghazi to accuse the Obama Administration of being "an indirect ally" of Al Qaeda.
Benghazi marks a tragic and historic moment in U.S. history: America’s enemies can now consider the U.S. government—thanks to its immoral character and lawless behavior, manifested in its propensity for lies and deceit— an indirect ally.MacDonald cites several accusations regarding the terrorist attack to claim that the Obama Administration is hiding something. Unfortunately for MacDonald most of these accusations are unfounded and nonsensical.
No doubt you’ve heard how the White House and State Department deliberately refused to dispatch military assistance upon hearing the fearful shrieks of American officials violently ambushed the night of Sept. 11, 2012.Hilliker is wrong. There was no stand down order.
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a report on November 21, 2014. It concluded that there was no stand down order.
How high-ranking government officials then edited intelligence documents, removing terms and phrases that identified al Qaeda’s central role in the attacks.Which "high-ranking government officials"? It was the intelligence community, not the White House or the State Department, that chose to hide suspicions that Al Qaeda like terrorists were behind the attack. This was partly because they did not want the terrorists to know they were on their trail. And also because the intelligence community was not sure it was a deliberate terrorist attack because they had not yet heard from the eyewitnesses whose testimonies were still being processed by the FBI.
According to the November 21, 2014 report by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence the eyewitnesses were first interviewed by the FBI as part of the FBI's criminal investigation to determine who had committed the murderous terrorist attack. It took about eleven days for their testimonies to be received by the CIA. Until then the intelligence community thought the attack might have had some connection to the wave of protests in the Muslim world against the Innocence of Muslims "film trailer". It was only after receiving these testimonies that the intelligence community could be confident that it was a terrorist attack, not a protest gone out of control.
But even before these testimonies were sent to the CIA there were indications that terrorists were behind the attack but at the time the consensus of the intelligence community was to assume it was connected to the protests against the Innocence of Muslims "film trailer".
We return to Hilliker's article.
How Susan Rice, America’s ambassador to the United Nations, fluttered between the Sunday news shows blaming the attack on a YouTube video few had ever heard of.Again it was the consensus of the intelligence community at first that the attack was connected to the wave of protests in the Muslim world against the Innocence of Muslims "film trailer". It was only after the CIA got the testimonies of the eyewitnesses afterwards that the intelligence community knew confidently that it was a terrorist attack, not a protest gone out of control. But this change in consensus happened too late for Susan Rice. Some pounced on her interviews to say the Obama Administration was hiding something. There is no evidence that there was any kind of attempt to maliciously misinform the American people in regards to the terrorist attack.
June 22. "Will This Man Change Iranian Politics" by Anthony Chibarirwe. Here Chibarirwe desperately tries to distract PCG members from noticing that Ahmadinejad's departure proves that PCG's leaders have once again made a false prophecy.
For so long PCG's leaders loved to use Ahmadinejad as a boogeyman to get their followers horrified that he would plunge the world into a catastrophic war. But he lost the favor of Supreme Leader Khamenei and got duly replaced by another man. So inevitably PCG's writers have to minimize yet another prophetic prediction failing spectacularly.
"Shinzo Abe's Japanese Economic Renaissance" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser once again fear mongers that Japan is rising up to become a fearsome military power. PCG has often made this assertion since at least 1993.
June 29. "Victory at the Supreme Court for Same-sex 'Marriage'" by Dennis Leap. Here Leap condemns a decision of the Supreme Court in order to fear monger about homosexuals. PCG's leaders vilify homosexuals in order to distract PCG members from the problems within PCG.
"Germany--Return of National Pride" by Ron Frsaer. Here Fraser insists that Germans are becoming more nationalistic and any minute now Nazism will return and Germany will destroy America. What evidence does he have for this? The release of postage stamps honoring the Bundeswehr.
My word! PCG's leaders will use anything to make this ridiculous claim that the Germans are getting ready to destroy America.
"Melanie Phillips Exposes Britain's Stupor" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald uses a statement by Melanie Phillips, a British columnist PCG's leaders like to read a lot, to say that Britain is falling apart. Why? Because they are not as fearful of Iran as he is.
July 6. "What's Next for Egypt" by Richard Palmer. For years PCG's leaders had insisted that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt would seize power and radicalize Egypt like Iran and ally with Iran. As the Muslim Brotherhood assumed power following the fall of Mubarak PCG's leaders constantly cited their political advances to prove that they knew what was really happening.
Here are some examples from their writings.
It’s time we looked at the facts about Egypt! The Muslim Brotherhood has the political momentum inside Egypt, and it has the backing of Egypt’s ruling military council, Hamas, Iran and the United States! No other political party can compete with this, especially considering parliamentary elections are less than three months away. It’s a hard reality to swallow, especially with Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq demanding so much attention, but we could be months away from the world’s largest Arab nation being dominated by radical Islam. (Brad MacDonald, March of the Brotherhood, July 7, 2011. Source.)But then President Morsi got arrested by the military. So PCG had to explain their miserable prophetic failure away. Palmer fear mongers that Egypt will collapse due to lack of foreign currency. (Wrong, Palmer.) He cites an article speculating that Egypt will attack the State of Israel to rally the nation together. (Wrong again, Palmer.)
There may be a few delays along the way, but do you really think any individual or group will be able to turn back the Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Egypt? As the Trumpet has been reporting for YEARS, the changes in Egypt are leading to an Islamic-led regional power that will soon align itself with the forces of radical Islam, headed by Iran. (Stephen Flurry, Washington Embraces Egypt's Brotherhood, July 11, 2012. Source.)
Egypt is already the radical Islamist country that the Trumpet forecast it would become, years ago. (Egypt's Islamists Control Both Houses of Parliament, February 28, 2012. Source.)
Palmer ends this article insisting that Egypt will still ally with Iran eventually.
Even now, Egypt is much closer to that destination than it was under Mubarak.Wrong, Palmer. There is no hiding that PCG's prophecy that the Muslim Brotherhood would take over Egypt failed miserably.
There are a number of paths Egypt could take to reach that destination. If Iran found a way to bail out Egypt, it would be richly rewarded. Not only would doing so put Tehran right on the border with its archenemy Israel, but it would also give it control of the Suez Canal and smooth the way for it to influence radical Islam throughout Africa.
There may be other twists and turns as this journey unfolds. But you can be sure of the final outcome.
"Germany Strengthens African Military Presence" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser once again fear mongers that Germany is preparing to destroy America military and citing some meeting held by the Bundeswehr.
"Germany's conquest of the Balkans continue" (pp. 5-6). Here PCG's writers exploit Croatia joining the European Union to fear monger that World War III will soon occur.
"God, the Radical Agenda and the Constitution" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser moans that America is forgetting its God conveniently forgetting to state that he teaches PCG's dogma that Protestant Christianity worships a false God and that true Christianity can only be found within PCG's fold.
July 13. "Brazil--Riots, World Youth Day and Pope Francis" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser exploits the mass protests in Brazil to fear monger that the Papacy will somehow seize power in Brazil and the rest of Latin America to turn them against the United States.
As we have long declared, Bible prophecy indicates that the Roman Catholic religion is the only force that will bind the final collective of 10 regional kingships in Europe together as an imperial force in the very near future in its form as the seventh and final resurrection of the Holy Ro - man Empire (Revelation 13, 17).How sad this is to fear monger about so many people who live so close to America.
We have long predicted that Latin America, given the bonds of two common European languages (Spanish in the main and Portuguese in Brazil) and most particularly the spiritual influence of the Catholic religion, will be attached to that empire. The empire needs the raw materials and custom of Latin America to drive its economy forward in addition to giving it access to North America’s back door to aid in fulfilling its future prophesied takeover of that region.
July 20. "Germany's Rising Global Naval Power" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser once again insists that Germany is building up its military and trying to make readers scared that this will lead to catastrophe.
"Egypt's New Constitution More Radical Than the Last" by Richard Palmer. Here Palmer denounces democracy for Egyptians saying it will make Egypt "an Islamist state."
Most Egyptians support a radical Islamic constitution. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held radicalism in check only through brute force. Democracy automatically puts Egypt on the path to becoming an Islamist state.Also Palmer insists that the interim Constitution then adopted is even more Islamist then the Constitution in force under Mubarak.
"The Media--Getting It Wrong" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser boasts that only PCG's writers really know what is going on and insists that PCG's writers have no agenda.
Filled with bias, financial interests and political agendas, much of today’s media is unreliable and untrustworthy.Fraser, among other things, wants to make sure no one notices that PCG's long heralded prediction that the Muslim Brotherhood would rule Egypt had just collapsed miserably.
July 27. "An Heir to the Throne of the World is Born" by Jeremiah Jacques. Here Jacques exploits the birth of Prince George to restate various false dogmas inherited from British Israelism.
"Let Boys Be Girls. Or Goys or Birls." by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker condemns attempts to redefines gender concepts.
August 3. "Was Iran Behind the Benghazi Attack?" by Richard Palmer. PCG's writers constantly demonize Iran as the source of whatever they do not like in the Middle East simply to "prove" to their readers that Gerald Flurry is a prophet. They have been doing this since at least 1994. Of course PCG's writers would try to blame Iran for that.
"New Radical South African Party". Once again PCG's writers use Julius Malema as a boogeyman to scare PCG members.
"Carney: Benghazi, IRS Scandals Are Phony" (Real Clear Politics Video). What if Carney's right?
August 10. "America The Fearful" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser continues to moan that America's standing in the world is falling apart and that America is constantly being bested by its various rivals. PCG's writers always say this regardless of the actual facts.
In this instance Fraser condemns the temporary closure of US Embassies in the Middle East due to fears of a terrorist attack. He says he was so angry he had to stop and calm himself down.
Over the weekend I started to pen this article motivated by a mixture of indignation, shame and real anger. I stopped writing halfway through as I thought my mood might unduly affect my writing. Then I noticed that at least one commentator had the fortitude to observe the overarching truth about the American administration’s reaction to current fears of terrorist attacks on its embassies and consulates.(Fraser talks of having "real anger" hearing of this news. Does this mean that Fraser was just play acting the rest of the time he expressed his anger in his articles?)
He then cites a speech by Representative Louie Gohmert. It should be pointed out that Representative Gohmert has a reputation for saying bombastic things.
Having noted the congressman’s courageous words, I decided, in a calmer—yet no less indignant—mood, to proceed to highlight Washington’s shameful reaction to this threat, and its profound prophetic connection as propounded by our editor in chief, Gerald Flurry.He then claims then is a cowardly action. What does Fraser want the US government to do? Keep Embassies open even if someone might die? That is a terrible idea.
In better days under a far, far better administration than that of today, President Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed: “The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any- price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.”Fraser, you teach your followers that serving in the armed forces is forbidden. What does Fraser know of life threatening duty? He just lets the unenlightened and uncalled to fight on his behalf. How hypocritical.
The current American administration has shown that it has descended to a cowardly “safety-first instead of duty-first” diplomacy by its closure of the offices of its overseas representatives under the mere “threat” of attack.
"Islam--the Radicalization of Central Asia" by Ron Fraser. As if Fraser knows what's going on over there from his perch in Edmond.
"The fiction of Japan's self-defense force" (pp. 6-7). And so PCG's writers continue their shameful tradition of demonizing Japan. They always accuse Japan of plotting to become a military power regardless of what actually happens.
"Australia's Security Challenge" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser fear mongers that Australia is about to be somehow taken over by its Asian neighbors. This is just a paranoid, xenophobic delusion.
"Will the federal government be the next Detroit" (p. 11). Despite the US economy improving PCG's writers desperate try to deny the recovery and point to the woes of Detroit to fancifully insist the US is about to go bankrupt. This ignores the fact that the US federal debt was actually higher in the 1940s because of World War II.
August 17. "Washington--Paying the Wages of Appeasement" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser once again moans about the closure of US Embassies in the Middle East. He says the jihadis are joyous at this move. He also accuse President Obama of somehow sparking off the Arab Spring. (Don't you think the protesters on the street just might be more important then President Obama in doing this, Fraser?) He also quotes a US "retired colonel" to insinuate that President Obama is somehow disloyal to America. He also quotes his boss, Gerald Flurry, and claim he prophetically foretold that America would suffer setbacks because President Obama is somehow appeasing terrorists.
"Death Toll in Egypt Climbs to 525 Deaths" (New York Times). As seen above PCG's writers had constantly demonized the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and prophesied that they would seize control of Egypt. PCG's would be prophets had no idea that the Muslim Brotherhood would so quickly lose control of the situation and be overthrown and violently suppressed.
"The Democracy Delusion" by Callum Wood. Here Wood belittles democracy as only causing trouble when the peoples of the Middle East try to have it for themselves. Every now and then PCG's writers will praise the US Constitution and pretend to dearly love but in fact PCG is stridently anti-democractic. Often Gerald Flurry insists that "one-man rule" must be imposed upon PCG in order, he claims, to get (PCG's) God's good favor.
"Germany--Preparing for Worldwide War" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser exploits news of some restructuring of the Bundeswehr to fear monger that Germany is getting ready to destroy America.
"Putin Vs. the Global Homosexual Juggernaut" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald demonizes homosexuals by insinuate that even President Putin is scared of them. Does this "Global Homosexual Juggernaut" have its own armed army like President Putin? It's own agency of spies? Of course not. This is bizarre demagoguery.
"Obama Ignores History" (Betsy McCaughey, Investor's Business Daily). This person is notorious for vilifying President Obama's health care reform.
"400 Missiles 'Stolen' During Benghazi" (Daily Mail). This non-PCG article cites Joe DiGenova, a lawyer notorious for trying to work against President Clinton.
"Muhammad is London's most popular boys' name" (p. 10). Armstrongism has a long history of exploiting xenophobic fears of ethnic minorities to convince their followers that America will soon collapse. This little article continues that shameful tradition.
I remember hearing this news when it first came out, and then I learned that the Muslim population of Britain happens to be very small. This just shows that people among the small minorities of Muslims within Britain very often use this name. It is not a sign that Muslims are somehow taking over Britain.
Also this assertion appears to be largely exaggerated.
August 24. "Iran to Co-Opt Muslim Brotherhood" (Courcy's Intelligence Digest). PCG's writers exploit this non-PCG article to insinuate that the Muslim Brotherhood will return to power. This is done to minimize and obscure the spectacular failure of PCG's prophecy that the Muslim Brotherhood would gain power.
"Has anyone seen 400 surface-to-air missiles?" (pp. 3-4). Here PCG's writers insinuate there was a sinister motive behind early statements saying the terrorist attack in Benghazi was a protest gone out of control. This is no evidence that there was any attempt to maliciously deceive the American people on this matter.
"Al Jazeera America Hits Airwaves" (Washington Post). PCG's writers do not seem to like Al Jazeera.
"Oklahoma Race Tragedy" by Ron Fraser. Here Fraser exploits the murder of an Australian man in Oklahoma to insinuate that African Americans are terribly violent and sometimes their violence affects European descended people.
The selection of Lane as the black youths’ victim in a drive-by shooting had obviously nothing to do with him being Australian. That fact was an unknown to his killers.This would be Fraser's last article for The Trumpet Weekly. He died on October 4, 2013.
It had everything to do with Lane being white-skinned.
"Battle Cry for a Race War" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker fear mongers that African Americans are getting ready to go on a rampage against "white" people. He cites just one man saying silly and reprehensible things. Hilliker somehow ignores the very real problem of violence by right wing extremists which has led to numerous armed attacks. This article is simply crude race baiting against African Americans. I wrote a post about this article when it came out.
August 31. "Syria Exposes Hypocrisy in Washington" by Stephen Flurry. Here Stephen Flurry condemns President Obama preparing to go to war against the murderous Assad regime after the mass gassing at Ghouta by the Assad regime. Stephen Flurry condemns this move as a hypocritical turn around from (he alleges) previous sympathy and support for Assad by Obama, Clinton and Kerry.
"Germany supports war in Syria" (pp. 5-6). Here PCG's writers insist that Germany is plotting to force Syria into becoming its ally.
it ... suits German strategic interests to get rid of Syrian President Bashar Assad. So Germany’s position is to cheer from the sidelines and give moral support, while hoping that America, British and French troops will do the hard work. ...
The Trumpet has long forecast that Syria would emerge from this crisis a German ally. If Germany can make this happen while providing nothing more than moral support, it will.And so Germany is once again demonized for no good reason as conspiring to work against America.
"One Man's Admirable Attempt to Save UK and the World" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker relates the story of how Ferrar Fenton translated the Bible over fifty years (1853-1903) and praises the idealism behind this act. Hilliker ends the article with these words.
Astonishing what singular devotion to an important task can yield. How critical it is that we prune out those life-frittering details—and make the very most of the brief time we possess. For today, too, there is a great work to be done, in the shadow of looming catastrophe and calamity.Hilliker conveniently ignores how he is praising a man who would have vehemently disagreed with PCG's heretical doctrines such as the heretical God Family doctrine.
September 7. "Could Britain and America Be Weaker?" by Richard Palmer. Here Palmer condemns what he views as dithering by the American and British government over whether or not to launch air strikes against Syria.
"Crossing the 'Red Line'" by Callum Wood. Here Wood exploits the heightened tension over the murderous Assad regime to insinuate that America is on the verge of catastrophe.
"Has Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream Come True?" by Jeremiah Jacques. Here Jacques accuses activists advocating for a full investigation of the armed slaying of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman of (somehow) exploiting this murder case for making European descended Americans feel guilty about the problem of racism.
Even though Trayvon Martin had been shot and died while he was out one night, unarmed, returning home from picking up some sweets, Jacques vilifies him, a 16 year old minor, as a person with a "history of violence" and an illegal drug user.
The case was about whether or not the evidence proved that Zimmerman had acted in self-defense. But activists, columnists, bloggers and politicians— including the U.S. president—were uninterested in the evidence. Most focused instead on another trial still underway today. In this ongoing trial, the culprit is white racism, the offense is harming black people, and the verdict is always the same: guilty.At the end of the article Jacques then tries to insist that he does not sympathize with George Zimmerman, even though Jacques did not subject Zimmerman to the criticism he gave to the late Trayvon Martin.
That’s the unyielding narrative pushed by modern activists. Anything that contradicts it is ignored or labeled as racist.
In Florida v. Zimmerman, there was no shortage of evidence shining light on what Dr. King would have called “the content of Trayvon Martin’s character”: A text message record showed that he picked fights often and wanted a rematch with a certain opponent because he “hadn’t bled enough” the first time Trayvon overpowered him; a Facebook post showed Trayvon’s half-brother acknowledging his fighting expertise and asking Trayvon to teach him how to brawl; another Facebook post showed that Trayvon used an illegal codeine-based drug.
Zimmerman’s attorneys wanted this evidence presented to jurors because it could help determine questions about Martin’s character—primarily if it was possible that he was the aggressor in the confrontation. But the judge disagreed and the jurors were not allowed to know about Trayvon’s history of violence.
Trayvon’s Facebook posts don’t prove what happened the night of the tragic killing and they certainly don’t prove that anyone’s death was justified, but the way they were ignored as all emphasis was given to skin color is the diametric opposite of King’s dream.PCG's writers have a long history of demonizing African Americans as hating white Americans and waiting to go on a riotous rampage against European descended Americans. They have done this since at least 1992 as may be seen in Gerald Flurry's booklet, The Ezekiel Watchman. Jacques' article continues this shameful tradition of theirs.
September 14. "Should America Listen to Vladimir Putin" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker moans that President Putin wrote an op-ed for the New York Times. Hilliker accuses the New York Times and President Obama as somehow agreeing with President Putin.
Putin also took a sanctimonious shot at President Obama referring to America as “exceptional”: ... Apparently the Times editors agree that America is unexceptional. For that matter, even Barack Obama said as much on his first trip abroad as president: ... America’s about as “exceptional” as every other nation in the world, it appears. This passes for enlightened thought today.Then Hilliker talks about he has been reading The Gulag Archipelago by Alexander Solzhenitsyn to say that the terrible mass enslavement of people within the unfathomably brutal gulag prison system shows how great America is. (And what does that have to do with the violent situation in Syria?)
Hilliker ends the article by insisting that somehow letting President Putin write an article in the New York Times is somehow like adopting some of the ideas that led to the horrors that occurred within the Soviet Union.
Americans today, having forgotten even the very recent past, are ignorantly discarding the freedoms that our wise founders devoted their lives to establish. With mystifying exuberance, they are embracing some of the very principles that led to the disaster of communism.What a silly article that was. It did not help anyone in solving problems. Hilliker just engaged in attacking the messenger not the message and weird red baiting.
"Bombing the former embassy U.S. in Libya" (p. 3). Here PCG's writers fantasize (with no evidence) that a car bomb attack against the Libyan Foreign Office was in response to that building serving as the US Embassy decades ago.
In situations of chaos, radical Islam takes the opportunity to move in. It happened in Egypt with the Muslim Brotherhood, and it’s happening in Syria with the opposition groups. It is happening today in Libya with the fall of Benghazi. So how much longer will it be before the militias come knocking at the door of the embassy in Tripoli?Does it never occur to PCG's writers that maybe the terrorists were more focused on destabilizing Libya instead? Maybe they attacked it because it was the Libyan Foreign Office?
Also this little article ignores the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt had just been violently suppressed with the loss of at least 638 lives.
"Syria's Use of Chemical Weapons was Prophesied" (p. 4). In this particularly silly article it is insinuated that Saddam Hussein did have weapons of mass destruction and it is insinuated that they were moved into Syria. (Actually Iraq and Syria were bitter adversaries to each other during Saddam Hussein's time.)
But where did Syria get all of those deadly chemical and biological weapons? It has never been known as a creator of chemical weapons. ...But no such evidence is presented here. Just one sentence of speculation from a British columnist is presented here.
If you remember, Saddam Hussein confessed in 1995 that he had plenty of WMD, and there hasn’t been one shred of evidence ever found that he destroyed them. America went into Iraq for the express purpose of getting rid of Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, but didn’t find any. Where did they go?
There is powerful evidence suggesting they were moved into Syria.
Just go to show PCG's writers are willing to say anything regardless of any contrary evidence.
[Incorrectly observed Feast of Tabernacles break.]
On October 4, 2013, Ron Fraser died.
October 5. "French Laborers: 'We Want to Work Sundays!'" by Jeremiah Jacques. Here Jacques exploits a labor dispute regarding whether to allow certain stores to open on Sunday to vilify the Roman Catholic Church for worshipping on Sunday and fear mongering that they are plotting to impose Sunday worship upon the peoples of Europe.
"Tweeting Tehran" (p. 4). So President Rowhani wishes Jews a happy Rosh Hashana on Twitter and PCG's writers condemn it and uses this mundane incident to vilify a media supposedly too eager to make peace with Iran. Even simple greetings by the Iranian President are presented by PCG's writers in the worst possible light. Do PCG's writers not see how foolishly hateful and petty they look responding to that tweet in this way?
Incidentally, PCG also observes their Armstrongified version of Rosh Hashana which they call the Feast of Trumpets.
"Did Germany Support Syria's Chemical Weapons Program?" Here PCG's writers use a report that some precursors of deadly chemicals were sold to Syria by a German company. This detail is presented in a sensationalistic manner to insinuate that Germany will soon destroy America and Britain.
"Warship Woes" by Callum Wood. Here Wood exploits the financial constraints of the sequester upon the construction of US Navy ships to insinuate that America will soon collapse.
October 11. "How the U.S. Government Shutdown is Affecting Asia" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker fear mongers that the sequester crisis will cause the Asian nations to lose respect for America and turn against the US.
"Syria invites German envoys" (pp. 4-5). Here PCG's writers exploit an offer by the infamous Assad for Germany to send envoys into Syria. Even though this little article notes that Germany refused PCG's writers use this rejected offer to speculate that Germany is about to be a peace broker in the Middle East at America's expense.
"France prepares for war in the Central African Republic" (p. 5). Here PCG's writers exploit the turbulent situation in the Central African Republic as Seleka rebels were on the verge of overthrowing the government to insist in a paranoid way that it is part of a war between Europe and Iran.
"Far-right support continues to grow" (p. 5). Here PCG's writers fear monger that Europe is turning to right wing extremism to insinuate that Europe will soon destroy America.
"Tokyo and Washington Update Military Pact" by Jeremiah Jacques. Here Jacques exploits diplomatic negotiations between America and Japan to insinuate that Japan is plotting to built up its military and turn against America. PCG has a long history of demonizing Japan.
October 18. "President Obama and the Phone Call That Endangered America" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald hysterically insist that America is being bested by Iran. This time MacDonald exploits a phone call President Obama made to President Rowhani. MacDonald condemns this move as a sign that America's leaders, specifically President Obama, are extremely foolish.
Once jilted [during a previous attempt to arrange a meeting], Mr. Obama should have left Rouhani alone. After all, Iran is feeling the pain of economic sanctions and domestic pressure is intensifying. Instead, Mr. Obama “hurriedly” grabbed the phone and made the call.
The call that every American president since Jimmy Carter, Democrat and Republican, was smart enough not to make. ....MacDonald conveniently forgets what happened under President Reagan during the Iran-Contra scandal when America sent weapons to Iran in an attempt to free hostages in Lebanon. As a part of diplomatic maneuvers to open relations with Iran a Bible and a cake shaped like a key was sent to Iranian leaders.
The Iran-Contra scandal, as you'll recall, almost laid waste to the Reagan presidency. Desperate to free U.S. hostages held by Iranian proxies in Lebanon, President Reagan provided weapons Tehran badly needed in its long war with Saddam Hussein. In a clumsy and illegal attempt to skirt U.S. law, the proceeds of those sales were then funneled to the contras fighting the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. And as the New York Times recalled, Reagan's fiasco started with an emissary bearing gifts from the Gipper himself:
A retired Central Intelligence Agency official has confirmed to the Senate Intelligence Committee that on the secret mission to Teheran last May, Robert C. McFarlane and his party carried a Bible with a handwritten verse from President Reagan for Iranian leaders.
We return to MacDonald's article.According to a person who has read the committee's draft report, the retired C.I.A. official, George W. Cave, an Iran expert who was part of the mission, said the group had 10 falsified passports, believed to be Irish, and a key-shaped cake to symbolize the anticipated ''opening'' to Iran. (Source.)
MacDonald complains that while "the mainstream media" generally approved of this move we should really pay attention to how Iran views this.
In America, the reaction to Mr. Obama’s call, especially in the mainstream media and among liberals, was largely positive. Many considered it a major breakthrough, the start of a fresh new dialogue with Iran. Meanwhile, few stopped to consider how Iran perceived the phone call.And what, pray tell, does Iran think of this phone call, according to MacDonald?
“Wow, this is fantastic,” said Armin Kay, an Iranian engineer reacting to the news. “The most important thing is that Obama took the initiative. This will go down really well with our leadership.” Rouhani boasted about it on his Twitter page, though the tweets were later removed.An engineer? MacDonald only bothers to quote an engineer. He does mention tweets from President Rowhani but he does not bother to note what they said. How superficial this article is.
"Food Stamp Spending Spree" by Robert Morley. Morley exploits an unusual situation regarding the payment of food stamps to insinuate that America is falling apart and is about to be destroyed.
October 25. "The Age of American Intervention is Over" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker moans that America is reluctant to intervene in world affairs.
In Egypt, Washington’s push to dethrone Hosni Mubarak opened the door for the Iranian-aligned Muslim Brotherhood to take over. Now the military has reasserted its power and is trying to keep a lid on the post-Mubarak turmoil. Meanwhile, Egypt’s alliances with the U.S. and Israel lie in tatters.Note the way Hilliker makes no mention of the fact that PCG constantly told their followers that the Muslim Brotherhood would seize control of Egypt.
Hilliker also whitewashes how the military suppressed the Muslim Brotherhood. He presents it as though it is bloodless affair. No mention is made of the fact that at least 638 people were killed in suppressing protests supporting the fallen Morsi.
Later in the article Hilliker stirs up fears of China and Japan among his readers.
The Obama administration has said it is pivoting to Asia. At the same time, its signals reveal its desire to gracefully exit. Russia has suddenly become its new go-to peace broker. And does anyone really expect it to directly confront China, to whom it is $1.3 trillion in debt? The best strategy it has devised is to encourage Japan to militarize so it can deal with Beijing.Hilliker declares that Americans no longer want to intervene in the world.
Here is a truth of which you can be absolutely certain: The number of crises in the world is going to increase. ...This is categorically untrue. America is not broke. If America is actually broke then why are the prisoners still in jail? In fact, per capita, the US federal debt was higher in the 1940s because of World War II.
The calls for action, for intervention, are bound to escalate.
But America will not be one to step up.
In Americans’ view, we have done our part. We are weary of intervention. We’re broke. We’re weary of fighting. We’re sick of not seeing the benefits from all the effort and expenditure.
If America was really broke we would be a lot more scared then we are today.
Hilliker then ends this article by comparing Obama to Tkach.
In 2 Thessalonians 2 it speaks of a “great falling away” in the Church of God [PCG jargon for "the true church"]—and it says the falling away came first, and then the man of sin was revealed. He couldn’t have thrived if the people hadn’t fallen away first. This, in principle, has happened to the United States.This is actually alluding to Gerald Flurry's bizarre teaching that President Obama is a Man of Sin just like Tkach which he teaches in his booklet, America Under Attack.
"Germany Invades Obsidia!" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald exploits training exercises by German armed forces that any military would be expected to do to fear monger that Germany will soon destroy America. This merely serves to show how desperate PCG's writers are in portraying Germany as a threat.
"The Only Thing Keeping the Dollar Alive" by Richard Palmer. Here Palmer exploits the widespread annoyance over the US sequester crisis to fear monger that America's finances are just one move away from collapse. But, Palmer says, the only reason the US dollar remains stable is that there is as yet no viable alternative.
Fortunately for America, right now the world has no good alternative to the dollar.Palmer insists that the euro will fulfill this role.
This is the only thing that has stopped nations around the world selling the dollar en masse, crashing America’s economy and sending its borrowing costs soaring.
That puts America in a dangerous place. Everyone around the world wants a new, non-American currency. As soon as there is a credible alternative, the rest of the world will jump at it, and the dollar will be toast.
Europe is the only place such an alternative could come from.This statement is laughable. Several eurozone countries (Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus) were forced to accept bail out financial assistance that has caused great pain within those countries. A major reason for such troubles is precisely because they do not have their own sovereign currency but instead use the euro.
But despite these strong evidences against his assertion Palmer continues to insist that somehow the European Union will find a way to displace the US dollar from its current prominent role in the world economy.
Europe will sort its currency out sooner or later. When it does, the world will finally have the dollar alternative it has been yearning for.Keep dreaming, Palmer.
November 1. "The Brilliance of Karl-Theodor Guttenburg" by Brad MacDonald. Back when Guttenburg was a Minister for Germany PCG insinuated that he would be the European dictator who would destroy America. But when he got dismissed PCG's leaders went into denial and insisted that somehow he would return to power so he would fulfill PCG's assertion that he would destroy America. Amazingly PCG still promotes this delusional idea.
"The Biggest Lesson Adrian Peterson Can Teach Us" by Robert Morley. Here Morley discusses how one man had gone through the ordeal of his son dying to moan that too many Americans are behaving in ways he disapproves of.
The death of Peterson’s 2-year-old “son” is tragic. But it is more so knowing that to his own father, Tyrese Ruffin did not even exist.My word! This man has just lost his son and Morley uses this terrible event to condemn how people manage their family lives. It is amazing how one can be so insensitive to such a personal tragedy. Surely Morley could have used another news story if he wishes to complain about what other people do in regards to their family relations.
Peterson never went to meet the boy he fathered until he found out that he was in the hospital on life support.
Why didn’t Peterson know he had a son until it was too late? Because Peterson, like so many sports “heroes,” had sex with so many women that he can’t even keep track of the children he has fathered. Peterson apparently has at least five children by four different mothers. ...
It is a father’s God-given job to provide for and protect his children. That goes far beyond just sending a paycheck. But how can you do that when you have slept with so many women you don’t even know where all your children are? How can you defend children who not only don’t live with you, but live with complete strangers? How do you love, teach and correct children when they are so scattered across the country you barely see them? Peterson should have been there for his son, but he wasn’t.
November 9. "Beware the 'Well-Educated Technocrats'" by Joel Hilliker. Here Hilliker discusses how a certain Congressman (recently elected Senator) discussed political affairs while giving a talk at PCG's $25 million white elephant, Armstrong Auditorium.
The Trumpet staff got a valuable peek at Washington’s inner workings last Thursday, when Congressman ... gave an outstanding, and sobering, legislative update at Armstrong Auditorium. ... One particularly chilling statement he made stood out to me. It was about technocrats. It rang true because of a slew of recent headlines and events. And it is all the more disturbing because of some history I’ve had my nose in of late.What is a technocrat? The way Hilliker uses this word it sounds like a derogatory word used to describe people the speaker does not like. That, in and of itself, reveals very little.
These technocrats are convinced they have the ability to successfully run the insurance business, health care, the energy sector, car manufacturing, banking, home mortgages, and a growing list of other mammoth, complex industries. No problem is beyond their capacity to solve. They are issuing edicts, handing down regulations, taking on new projects and gobbling up the private sector at an unprecedented rate. All told, government spending now accounts for nearly half of the total U.S. economy.A major reason why the Federal government bailed out large sectors of the US economy was because of the severe fall of the US economy in 2008. Hard decisions had to be made because of the financial crash.
These are the people who believe that monitoring the digital communications of all citizens is essential. They believe we’re only safe if they are the only ones with guns.You believe that the Federal government is trying to get peoples' guns, Hilliker? I guess Hilliker would believe anything.
If this is true then the US government must be doing this all wrong. They must be extremely incompetent if this rumor was true.
(Wait a minute, does this mean PCG has guns?)
We continue with Hilliker's article.
I’m familiar with the word technocrats because of Ron Fraser. For years he wrote in the Trumpet about how the European Union government was crawling with them— unelected, unaccountable individuals, deeply persuaded of their own sagacity and magnificence, who justify their existence by regulating the minutia of other people’s lives, expanding government and amassing power almost imperceptibly, incrementally, guideline by guideline, footnote by legalistically written footnote.
This is a well-worn road to catastrophe. History is littered with the wrecks of societies run by such powerful, self-delusional people.Did the leaders of the European Union define themselves as technocrats? Did anyone call them that aside from Ron Fraser?
What this article tells me is that here the word technocrat is merely used as a derogatory word for people Hilliker, the late Fraser and Co. do not approve of. Thus this word revels very little.
Pardon the historical allusion—it will sound extreme. But Stalin and his technocrats were so convinced of their own wisdom that they imprisoned and murdered untold millions of their own people trying to realize their vision.So Hilliker seems to think that the democratically elected government in a functioning democratic society is somehow just like Stalin. What a silly and immature thing to say.
"Guttenburg's 'Secret' Meeting With Angela Merkel" by Brad MacDonald. Once again MacDonald stirs up fears among his readers that Guttenburg may be the man who will destroy America.
"LAX Shooting: Omen of More to Come?" by Robert Morley. Here Morley fear mongers that America is falling apart by citing the shooting rampage that occurred at LAX. Strangely enough Morley makes no mention that the murderer appears to have been motivated by paranoid ideas that the Federal government is evil and must be opposed with armed violence.
November 15. "Is America Really a Superpower If It Can't Even Produce Its Own Bullets" by Robert Morley. Here Morley discusses the closing down of a lead refining plant and exploits this incident to fear monger that America is about to collapse.
He complains that the people who live there were worried that their children might get lead poisoning because they lived near this factory. Morley seems to think this concern should be ignored so that America can make their own bullets. Did Morley ever have to worry about his kids getting lead poisoning due to a near by factory? Somehow this article makes me doubt that.
"Moscow Puts the Soviet Squeeze on Neighbors" by Jeremiah Jacques. Russia is next door to Eastern Europe and is always going to have interests in what is happening there. But Jacques would have his readers scared.
"Benghazi Warnings Were Loud and Clear" (Investor's Business Daily). This non-PCG article is used by PCG's writers to insinuate that President Obama somehow failed to protect the US personnel in Benghazi. This is PCG once again promoting the politicized controversy that President Obama or Secretary Clinton somehow failed in this matter or hid something about it.
This hides the fact that there have been numerous investigations on this matter. According to this report, there have been at least eight separate investigations into the terrorist attack.
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a report on November 21, 2014, which concluded that the intelligence community had no specific knowledge about the attack before it happened. There were reports that terrorists were basing themselves in Benghazi but nothing specific about the attack against the Consulate.
November 22. "Saudi Arabia Buys Pakistani Nukes" by Callum Wood. More fear mongering.
"America's 'Historic Mistake'" by Callum Wood. Here Wood once again beats PCG's war drums condemning hopes for a negotiated deal with Iran as foolish and leading to war.
Now the West is trying to negotiate an end to Iran’s nuclear program with him. Meanwhile, Israel is practically screaming to the world that this deal was insane. Israel can see the real and present danger of allowing Iran to keep doing what it is doing. ...November 29. "Beyond Lecturing Berlin" by Karl-Theodor zu Guttenburg (New York Times). PCG has long speculated that Guttenburg would be the European dictator who would destroy America and Britain. Even after he resigned as Defense Minister PCG continues to talk him up to scare PCG members that the Great Tribulation will soon occur.
Instead of promoting peace, the most recent negotiations with Iran are heightening the chances of war. America and the West’s dreams of peace with Iran will turn into a nightmare.
December 6. "The Geneva Deal Is Worse Then You Know" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald condemns the US showing any leniency with Iran in negotiations concerning nuclear power.
Many have compared what happened in Geneva November 24 with Neville Chamberlain’s infamous capitulation to Hitler in Munich in 1938. In fact, what happened in Geneva is worse—much worse.Was a country's borders drastically altered without that country's consultation as was the case in 1938? This is just crude hysterics.
But MacDonald's not done yet. He then accuses Obama of being disloyal to America by not being as militantly anti-Iran as PCG is.
Is Barack Obama deeply concerned by Iran’s mullahs, their ideologies, and their apocalyptic aspirations? Does he sincerely intend on preventing Iran from going nuclear? It’s telling that neither question can be answered with a quick and easy “yes.”Since at least 2011, if not earlier, MacDonald has indulged in portraying the American government as helping Iran to arise to power. MacDonald is merely repeating this accusation.
This is a bold assertion, and not one I suggest casually, but unlike Chamberlain, evidence suggests America’s president may support a radical Islamist regime on the verge of going nuclear. And that’s truly terrifying.
But MacDonald is still not done yet. MacDonald this alludes to Gerald Flurry's bizarre teaching that President Obama is a Man of Sin just like Tkach.
Can you see that what happened in Geneva, and the way the deal preserves the radical Islamist regime in Tehran— which is consistent with other actions of the Obama administration —is the product of a sinister force operating within America’s government? Bible prophecy, as Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has been explaining, says the White House has been kidnapped!And of course PCG's leaders would doubtlessly say, if asked, that the fact that Flurry should demonize President Obama as another Man of Sin heavily influenced by Satan and his demon army has nothing to do with the fact that he happens to be of African descent.
"An Aspiring Vladimir Putin?" by Don Jacques.
"A Lesson From Obama From An Ancient King" by Robert Morley. Morley uses an incident concerning King Hezekiah to condemn the US hosting soldiers of Russia and China conducting exercises on US soil.
December 14. "The Fight for Ukraine" by Brad MacDonald. Here MacDonald discusses the mass protests in Ukraine which would soon overthrow the regime of Yanukovych.
"The Truth About Nelson Mandela and South Africa" (The Trumpet Daily). On page 6 is advertizing for an episode of The Trumpet Daily, hosted by Stephen Flurry, discussing Nelson Mandela.
Amid all the praise for the former president of the ‘rainbow Nation,’ virtually nothing is said about his links to communism—or the disastrous state of South Africa today.While so much of the world mourned the death of Nelson Mandela Stephen Flurry chose to vilify him as "a Communist". PCG gave little acknowledgement of the terrible things that occurred under the apartheid regime which kept so many people in a subservient state and inflicted all kinds of disadvantages upon the majority of the population. This episode of The Trumpet Weekly was discussed in a previous post at the time.
"Mandela the Communist" (Bruce Walker, American Thinker). This non-PCG article is used to portray Nelson Mandela in a bad light upon the occasion of his death. Walker accuses Mandela of being a Communist. No mention is made of the fact that he belonged to the African National Congress, not the South African Communist Party.
December 20. "This is What You Get When You Appease Russia" by Richard Palmer. Here Palmer exploits the revelation that Russian missiles are located in the Kaliningrad enclave to fear monger that Russia is becoming powerful and fear monger that the American government is being bested by the Putin government.
"Malema Vows to Continue Mandela's Militant Legacy" by Andrew Miller. Here Miller presents two PCG talking points about South Africa at once, that Mandela was bad and that Malema is bad. Miller exploits a speech Malema made commemorating Mandela. As was seen in a previous post PCG has made it a habit to vilify Julius Malema.
December 27. "Pope Francis: Marxist or Corporatist?" by Andrew Miller. Here Miller fear mongers about Pope Francis and use various statements he made criticizing how the poor are left behind in poverty to accuse him of trying to promote "feudalism for the industrial age."
"German Military Evacuates Citizens From South Sudan" by Andrew Miller. Here Miller exploits the German military evacuating civilians from a turbulent area racked by armed conflict to fear monger that Germany's military will soon destroy America.
"Mandela's Strategy" by Andrew Miller. Here Miller quotes an article by a leader of the Communist Party USA to fear monger that Communists in South Africa and America and infinitely cunning and patient to realize their goals.
Nagin points out that it was the South African Communist Party (SACP) that convinced Mandela to resist those “who demanded immediate nationalization of the mines and other industries and other measures of retribution contained in the South African Freedom Charter.”Miller, shouldn't that make you happy? The SACP decided to not be so Communist when the apartheid regime fell. But Miller refuses to let a detail like this stop him from trying to scare his readers.
Both Mandela and his communist comrades knew that the world would not accept such drastic moves at that time, so they advocated a strategy of staged-revolution. First, South Africa would “cooperate” with capitalism so the ANC and the SACP could gain power. Then the final socialist revolution could occur later.It is now twenty years since the late Mandela was elected President. Those Communists have been waiting a long time. This article is just blatant fear mongering. This article is of no use to anyone, not even the white South Africans PCG claims to love so much.
***
And so 2014 begins. But this post ends here.
I have a suggestion. There are those who are now planning to colonize Mars. Volunteers are needed. All of the PCG leadership should get on board with the program.
ReplyDeleteIf they can't stand earth, maybe Mars will be a better fit for them.
And who knows?
Maybe Mars is the Place of Safety.
It is highly disturbing that there is nothing that could be remotely construed as the Fruit of the Spirit reflected in the PCG scribblings.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, there doesn't seem to be anything remotely reflecting redemption and salvation.
Is this supposed to be some sort of Christian sect?
It all seems so very belligerent....
PCG's writers are very belligerent in regards to world politics. Constantly they portray the nations they view as enemies in the worst possible light. And this even includes nations that are allies of the United States, such as Germany and somewhat more surprisingly Japan.
ReplyDeleteYet at the same time PCG members would refuse to enlist if military conscription were to be enforced. They refuse to serve in the military.
And they don't vote. Or serve jury duty.
ReplyDeleteVolunteer to help those caught in a national emergency?
Good luck with that one.
The Pharisee has passed on the other side of the freeway... you'd better hope a good Samaritan happens by....
In fact Gerald Flurry condemned WCG sending money to charitable causes in his first booklet, Malachi's Message.
ReplyDelete