Showing posts with label UN Security Council. Show all posts

Friday, January 27, 2017

UK Blocks Adoption of ‘Unhelpful’ Paris Conference Declaration - VIEWPOINT ISRAEL

AFP Photo/Pool/Bertrand Guay

UK Blocks Adoption of ‘Unhelpful’ Paris Conference Declaration

VIEWPOINT ISRAEL JANUARY 27, 2017NEWS, NEWS

After helping the UN Security Council pass a harsh anti-Israel resolution last month, Britain last week turned the tables and blocked the European Union from officially adopting the final declaration from Sunday’s Middle East peace conference in Paris.

London spurned the conference by sending three low-level diplomats, while the other 70 or so nations attending all sent heads of state or foreign ministers.

British officials noted the ridiculous timing of the conference, just days ahead of the inauguration of a new US administration that has very different views on the Israel-Palestinian conflict than its predecessor. They also pointed out that Israel and the Palestinians weren’t even at the conference, and yet everyone there agreed that peace can only be achieved through bilateral negotiations.

London further stressed that the most likely outcome of the conference would be a hardening of Palestinian positions, putting true peace even further out of reach.

At the end of the confab, both the UK and Australia refused to sign the final declaration, which, as usual, placed the lion’s share of the blame for the lack of peace on Jewish settlement activity.

No matter. The European Union still intended to adopt the declaration. But London had other plans.

At the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, the UK again refused to endorse the document, and convinced several eastern European nations to do the same. The council can only officially adopt such resolutions with a unanimous vote.

Originally posted at Israel Today Magazine.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Team Triumph After Calling God’s Number! - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

Team Triumph After Calling God’s Number!

Monday, January 23, 2017 | Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

Topics:

Bible

Following my claim (in my last posting) that the Paris ‘peace conference’ was an answer to prayer, confirmation has come from the report of a small European coalition of fervent intercessors who have proved that the God of Israel is still in charge of world events!

When last month’s UN Security Council vote effectively delegitimized much of Israel, there was grave concern that the Paris summit involving 70 nations would ‘stick the knife in’ – diplomatically-speaking – with further harsh measures in a bid to impose a settlement on the protagonists despite their absence from the meeting.

But the communiqué issued afterwards said little more than what has become standard fare for the past several decades, insisting that the two sides step up their efforts to achieve peace on the basis of a ‘two-state solution’.

Particularly notable was the fact that Britain, who had shamefully voted for the UN resolution, had a change of heart – not only by failing to send its Foreign Secretary to the convocation, but by refusing to sign the motion, believing it would only harden attitudes.

This could well have been linked in part to journalist Melanie Phillips’ open letter to Prime Minister Theresa May accusing the British Government of anti-Semitism in its betrayal of Israel.

But among others who clearly played a part in thus weakening the international threat against the Jews was British author, speaker and veteran Israel supporter Fred Wright who, with a small team of theological students from Holland, Germany and Poland, travelled to the French capital and prayed throughout the conference for God to step in.

“Wow, wow and wow again,” he enthused. “We went in faith against overwhelming odds by sight – and the Lord came through for his land and people!”

Fred said it was something of an untested experience for him, and he had met none of the 13 students before. “It was a bit random on getting updates as to how the conference was proceeding, but we were there and believed that our prayers would be sufficient. As the meeting dragged on, we made a decision to stay until it was over – we didn’t think we could leave until we had the result. It meant we were in danger of missing our flights, but it turned out that it would have happened anyway due to the combination of weather conditions and a traffic accident en route to the airport. However, overnight accommodation and the extra expense of booking new flights at short notice left some of us in financial difficulties. A few of us were even prepared to fly on to New York, if necessary, to help bring this business to an end. But we just had to trust the Lord, and this was one of the most magnificent breakthroughs I have seen for many years.

“We had even symbolically declared the Lord’s triumph at the Arc de Triomphe!”

A prolific author and historian, with works including Father, Forgive Us (Olive Press and Monarch Books), Fred also strives to support Jews from Eastern Europe and elsewhere to make aliyah (immigrate to Israel) in fulfillment of many ancient prophecies about restoration to the land.

Jeremiah 33.3 is sometimes referred to as ‘God’s telephone number’ – 333 – because the verse says: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” And the context is the promise of restoration for God’s beleaguered people – at the time under the cosh of the Babylonians.

The simple truth is that, though not perfect by any means, they are His chosen ones and he is on their side!

Charles Gardner is author of Israel the Chosen, available from Amazon, and Peace in Jerusalem, available from olivepresspublisher.com

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Friday, January 13, 2017

No Peace in Paris - Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

No Peace in Paris

Friday, January 13, 2017 | Charles Gardner ISRAEL TODAY

Topics:

Peace Process

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a problem that is going to disappear with a wave of a magic wand weaved by the world’s politicians. It’s an age-old dilemma that has spiritual roots, and a spiritual solution.

Representatives of 70 nations will descend on Paris on Sunday for a global conference to promote a “two-state solution” as the way to lasting peace in the Middle East. It’s a ‘peace’ they plan to impose on Israel, who will not even be there! And the fear among Jews is that whatever is agreed in France will be used as the basis for a UN Security Council resolution that would permanently divide Israel and create an Islamic Palestinian state.

But the nations are merely engaging in another distraction – a denial of reality – that does not begin to address the issue. Just three weeks ago the UN passed a resolution declaring that Israel is illegally ‘occupying’ much of the land to which it is historically, and biblically, entitled – including the Temple Mount, Western Wall and the Old City itself (every inch of east Jerusalem, in fact) which has been part of Judaism for thousands of years. And Britain, to its shame, voted for this!

In rewriting history and making a mockery of justice and fairness, the United Nations has become a sick joke as it brazenly continues to back the Palestinian narrative that would drive Israel into the sea. Their spokesmen have been quoted over and again saying that they only want such a state as a launch pad for ridding the region of Jews altogether.[1]

The response to the truck-ramming attack in Jerusalem which killed four Israeli Defence Force soldiers[2] says it all. Arab Palestinians took to the streets and social media to celebrate and, in Gaza, the ruling Hamas terrorist group praised the attack as a “natural response to the Israeli occupier’s crimes”. People in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority-controlled ‘West Bank’ were seen festively handing out sweets to mark the occasion.

According to the PA, the murder of Israeli youths is sanctioned by Islam! The official PA daily said the killer “died as a Shahid” (that is, a martyr for Allah). And the Authority will now reward the terrorist’s wife with a lifetime monthly allowance of £627 ($760 or 2,900 shekels). And this in a territory led by Mahmoud Abbas – a so-called ‘moderate’.

No, the problem is not the settlements, or Jewish communities, built on disputed land claimed by the Palestinians. The root of this enduring conflict is anti-Semitism, currently in the shape of Islamic fundamentalism. Actually, Israel is entitled under international law to Judea and Samaria (currently known as the West Bank) courtesy of the San Remo Conference of 1922 in the aftermath of World War I. In fact it was around this time that a ‘two-state solution’ was first tried when, with the stroke of a pen, the British Government handed over a major portion of the territory originally earmarked for Israel to the Arabs – the country now known as Jordan. So why is there a need for further division?

The Paris Conference, like the recent UN resolution, could well make things worse for Israel and render peace even less likely by encouraging terror groups to believe they have the backing of world powers.

This would be a profound tragedy, however, especially for the nations involved. There will undoubtedly be further battles for Israel, but in the end they hold the ‘trump’ card – and I am not referring to the incoming U.S. President.

Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, will return to his beloved land – and the nations who scattered his people and divided up his land will be put on trial. But the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem will be restored. (See Joel 3.1f)

Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and will be king over the whole earth. (Zechariah 14.1–9)

Come, Lord Jesus!

For this and other information in this article, I am indebted to David Soakell’s January 12 2017 newsletter, Watching Over Zion, produced weekly for Christian Friends of Israel, as well as to official PA TV, January 8 2017. ↩
This included three young women aged 20–22, one of whom, Yael Yekutiel, was a Facebook friend of my CFI colleague David Soakell, who described the 20-year-old officer as “full of light and life” who “seemed to love everyone and everyone loved her.” David himself narrowly missed being a victim of a suicide bomb back in 2002. ↩

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Monday, December 26, 2016

The UN Security Council Has Just Officially Given Every Inch Of East Jerusalem To The Palestinians - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

The UN Security Council Has Just Officially Given Every Inch Of East Jerusalem To The Palestinians

Posted: 25 Dec 2016 Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Barack Obama has just made the worst decision of his entire presidency. On Friday, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2334, and this never would have happened without the support and approval of Barack Obama. Since the United States has veto power on the Security Council, no resolution can ever pass unless the United States allows it to pass.

For decades, it has been the policy of the U.S. government to veto all anti-Israel resolutions at the Security Council, and the Israeli government had been expecting that Barack Obama would not suddenly change that policy at the very end of his second term. Most of the news headlines about resolution 2334 refer to “Israeli settlements”, but the reality of the matter is that this resolution is about much more than that.

The truth is that this resolution has established legally binding parameters for a “two-state solution” that Israel will never accept, and this includes giving every inch of East Jerusalem to the Palestinians.

If you have not read it yet, you can find the full text of resolution 2334 right here. It is one of the most important documents of our time, so you need to take a few minutes to read it.

In the excerpt below, you will see that this resolution clearly states that East Jerusalem is in “Palestinian territory” and that the Security Council says that it will recognize no changes to the pre-1967 borders except “those agreed by the parties through negotiations”…

Reaffirms that the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law and a major obstacle to the achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace;
Reiterates its demand that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and that it fully respect all of its legal obligations in this regard;
Underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations;

Of course not one inch of East Jerusalem was controlled by Israel prior to the 1967 war. So the UN Security Council is saying that unless the Palestinians agree to give it up, every single inch of East Jerusalem (including the Temple Mount) belongs to the Palestinians.

As I have explained before, UN Security Council resolutions are considered to be legally binding on the parties. Now that the Palestinians have been granted full legal ownership over East Jerusalem, does anyone actually believe that they will ever willingly relinquish that?

Today, more than half a million Israelis live in East Jerusalem and the 137 settlements that are scattered throughout the West Bank.

Where are they all supposed to go?

This UN Security Council resolution never should have happened. President-elect Donald Trump made it abundantly clear that he would have vetoed this resolution, but instead of deferring to the next administration Barack Obama decided to viciously stab Israel in the back. This is the greatest betrayal of Israel in American history, and according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the Obama administration has been plotting this for quite a while…

“From the information that we have, we have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “This is, of course, in complete contradiction of the traditional American policy that was committed to not trying to dictate terms for a permanent agreement, like any issue related to them in the Security Council, and, of course, the explicit commitment of President Obama himself, in 2011, to refrain from such steps.”

During an interview with with CNN on Sunday, an official spokesperson for Netanyahu said essentially the same thing…

Netanyahu spokesman David Keyes told CNN on Sunday, “We have iron-clad information, frankly, that the Obama administration really helped push this resolution and helped craft it, from sources internationally and sources in the Arab world.”

Unfortunately, Obama’s actions are going to have very serious implications for all of us.
As I just explained in an article on The Most Important News, those that bless Israel will be blessed, and those that curse Israel will be cursed.

And this is especially true when it comes to Jerusalem. In Zechariah 2:8 we are told that those that touch Jerusalem touch the apple of God’s eye, and in Zechariah 12 we are told that the city of Jerusalem will play a significant role in the last days. The following is what Zechariah 12:3 says in the Modern English Version…

“And it will be on that day that I will set Jerusalem as a weighty stone to all the peoples. All who carry it will surely gash themselves, and all the nations of the land will be gathered against it.”

By defiantly attempting to divide the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem during the waning days of his presidency, Barack Obama has cursed America.

You may not believe in blessings and curses, but the Word of God says that those that curse Israel will be cursed, and without a doubt we will most assuredly be cursed as a result of what Barack Obama has done.

And of course the entire Middle East is going to suffer as well. Instead of bringing peace, this resolution just sets the stage for more conflict. According to the Times of Israel, the Netanyahu government is already promising not to adhere to the terms of the resolution…

“Israel categorically rejects the despicable anti-Israeli resolution at the UN, and will not adhere to it,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a seething statement after the council voted in favor of the motion 14-0.

Knowing all of this, put yourself into the shoes of the Palestinians for a moment.

The UN Security Council has given them legal rights to a nation with borders based on the pre-1967 lines. They have been given every inch of East Jerusalem, and every Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem and the West Bank has officially been declared illegal.

If Israel refuses to budge, the Palestinians could very easily come to the conclusion that they have exhausted all legal channels for resolving the conflict and that the only way they are going to get what legally belongs to them is to take it by force.

A great war is coming to the Middle East, and it will be a life or death struggle between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Nothing else that Barack Obama has done during his entire time in the White House even comes close to this. He has greatly cursed America, he has set the stage for the bloodiest war the Middle East has ever seen, and he has defiantly shaken his fist at the one true God that created all things.

May God have mercy on us all.

Sunday, December 25, 2016

Joel C. Rosenberg - What are the implications of the UN Security Council’s anti-Israel vote?

New post on Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog

What are the implications of the UN Security Council’s anti-Israel vote? Here’s the short version.

by joelcrosenberg

(Denver, Colorado) -- It was deeply disappointing (though unfortunately not surprising) that on the eve of Hanukkah and Christmas, President Obama helped an anti-Israel resolution pass in the United Nations Security Council on Friday.

The final vote was essentially unanimous -- 14 nations in favor, while the U.S. officially abstained. But in this case the "abstention" was cosmetic. Mr. Obama supported this move. If he hadn't, he would have done what American Presidents historically do when facing resolutions against the Jewish State: veto it.

In the days ahead, I will provide more detailed analysis.

For now, it's important to note that this is not simply the meaningless act of UN diplomats blowing hot air. This resolution actually puts the State of Israel, our leaders, our citizens and businesses who work with and trade with us in very serious legal jeopardy.

Like many Evangelicals, I want there to be a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. But I don't believe a solution should be mandated -- much less forced -- by the world on Israel. There should be direct talks between both sides. The talks should be serious and constructive and should lead to the end of the conflict and real protection of Israel's rights and security needs balanced with real protection for Palestinian human rights and civil rights and security needs.

Unilateral UN decisions are not helpful, and in this case could prove counter-productive.

I'm not worried, nor should you be. The Scriptures make clear that the God of Israel will keep us and protect us and He neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is sovereign and good and on the job 24/7 and we can trust Him. That said, we need to be wise and thus aware of the practical implications of this move.

Here is the full text of U.N. Resolution 2334.

Here is an analysis published by the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot (Ynet News):

The resolution makes Israeli citizens that are involved in the settlement enterprise in the West Bank vulnerable to lawsuits in courts all over the world.
Jerusalem is also worried that the resolution opens the door for lawsuits against Israeli officials at the ICC: government ministers and senior IDF officers who make decisions about construction in the settlements, the demolition of Palestinian homes, or the expropriation of lands could be accused of war crimes under the Geneva Convention.
The resolution can also lead to the creation of mechanisms to monitor and report Israeli actions, which could lead to sanctions being imposed against it.
The resolution's wording can also be seen as a victory to the BDS Movement, as it opens the door for boycotts of goods produced in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
The resolution includes an article requiring the UN secretary-general to report to the Security Council every three months regarding its implementation. This will lead to continued pressure on Israel, putting it in a constant defensive position, similar to South Africa during the apartheid regime.
Article 5 of the resolution calls to create a distinction between the State of Israel and the settlements built on lands captured in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War.
This article calls on the international community not to aid those settlements and allows for countries and organizations to boycott the settlement enterprise—either directly or indirectly.
Officials in Jerusalem are worried such a call would encourage the European Union to make its policy of labeling settlement products into law and call for a boycott these products.
Such a move would lead banks, gas stations, HMOs, retailers, high-tech companies and others to close their branches beyond Green Line to avoid being included in the "blacklist" of companies doing business in the settlements and consequently being boycotted as a result.
Officials in Jerusalem are also worried that other nations in the world will follow in the footsteps of the European Union—even if not by boycotting the settlements, then at least by labeling settlement products.
Nevertheless, the resolution cannot be applied retroactively and has no immediate practical consequences. Since it was adopted under Chapter 6 of the United Nations Charter, it cannot be forced on Israel. Only resolutions passed under Chapter 7 can be imposed.

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joelcrosenberg | December 24, 2016 at 6:19 pm | Categories: Epicenter | URL: http://wp.me/piWZ7-6mq

Monday, December 19, 2016

The Real Reason Why America Has Been Given A Reprieve - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

america-has-been-given-a-reprieve-public-domain

The Real Reason Why America Has Been Given A Reprieve

Posted: 18 Dec 2016 Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

This is one of the most important articles that I have written in a long time. The strange events of the past year and a half have befuddled and mystified many, and in this article I am going to explain why America has been given a temporary reprieve.

If you go back to June 2015, I warned my readers that major financial problems were imminent, and sure enough in August 2015 we witnessed the greatest financial shaking that we had seen in seven years. I remember getting emails from my readers applauding me for absolutely nailing that prediction, but we were all concerned about what was coming next in September.

If you will recall, there was more buzz about September 2015 than any other month that I can ever recall. That was the month of the last blood moon, the end of the Shemitah year and the Pope’s visit to the United States among other things. There was a tremendous amount of anticipation that the crisis that had begun in August 2015 would greatly accelerate in September and lead us into a period of cataclysmic global chaos. But that did not happen.

Instead, U.S. financial markets calmed down and eventually recovered. There was a shift in the political realm as well, as the second half of 2015 marked the rise of Donald Trump. During those key months, Trump miraculously built a commanding lead in the race for the Republican nomination that none of his opponents were ever able to overcome. And now that Trump has won the election, an economic surge appears to be happening that is unlike anything that we have witnessed in many years.

Compared to much of the rest of the world, America appears to have been blessed over the past year and a half. Our financial markets have performed extremely well, the U.S. dollar is the strongest that is has been in over a decade, and jobs are coming back to the United States.

None of this was supposed to happen. In fact, our financial system was in such bad shape a year and a half ago that it was being projected that the U.S. would be on the bleeding edge of the next crisis. But instead here we stand safe, prosperous and seemingly secure.
How in the would can we explain this?

What I am about to share with you I have previously shared on national television down at Morningside, but it has been brought to my attention that I have never shared this with my readers on The Economic Collapse Blog. I apologize for this, because the past year and a half doesn’t make any sense until you understand these things.

When people look back at September 2015, they always forget the most critical event. In addition to everything else that was going on that month, France had a UN Security Council resolution all ready to go that would have permanently divided the land of Israel, that would have given formal UN Security Council recognition to a Palestinian state for the very first time, and that would have given East Jerusalem to the Palestinians as the capital of their new state.

The rest of the UN Security Council was ready to go along with the French resolution, but there was just one country standing in the way.

The United States has veto power on the UN Security Council, and so the Obama administration had the power to potentially block the resolution. After carefully considering the matter, the Obama administration decided that it was not the time for such a resolution, and so France never submitted it for a vote.

Just about everything else that Barack Obama did throughout his entire presidency was bad, but in this instance he got something completely right. The decision whether or not to divide the land of Israel was in his hands, and he made the right call.

Once this decision was made, it was almost as if someone hit a “pause button”. None of the bad things that people were forecasting ending up happening, and since that decision America has been blessed compared to the rest of the world.

And this is perfectly consistent with what God said that He would do. Starting in Genesis 12 and continuing all throughout the Scriptures, God promises to bless those that bless Israel and to curse those that curse Israel.

In this case, Barack Obama blessed Israel by preventing the UN Security Council from dividing the land, and so we were blessed as a result.

But of course there have been many other instances over the past several decades when we have been cursed as a nation for attempting to take steps toward the division of the land of Israel. One of the most notable instances took place in 1991 when George H. W. Bush got the Israelis and the Palestinians together for the very first time to discuss the dividing of the land of Israel into two states…

At that conference, the New York Times reported that Bush told Israel that “territorial compromise is essential for peace”. Needless to say, this upset a lot of people…

At the exact same time that conference was going on, the “Perfect Storm” was raging in the North Atlantic. Three major storms merged together, and instead of canceling one another out, they formed the kind of storm that is normally only seen once in a lifetime. If you will remember, Hollywood made a big blockbuster with George Clooney that was based on this storm. This gigantic storm went 1000 miles the wrong direction and slammed directly into the home of George H. W. Bush while he was at the Madrid conference talking about the need to divide the land of Israel…

Another very notable example of this phenomenon came in 2005. At that time, George W. Bush (the son of George H. W. Bush) had convinced Israel that it should pull all of the settlers out of Gaza and turn it entirely over to the Palestinians. According to the New York Times, the last of the settlers was evacuated on August 23, 2005…

On that exact same day, a little storm that came to be known as Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas. It shocked forecasters by turning directly toward New Orleans, and it ultimately became the costliest natural disaster in all of U.S. history up until that time.
There are dozens more examples like this, and men like John McTernan, William Koenig and David Brennan have done a great job documenting them.

Today, 137 nations have already recognized a Palestinian state. The holdouts are mostly in North America and Europe…

France and most of the rest of Europe have been eager and ready to recognize a Palestinian state for quite a while now, but they don’t really want to move forward without the United States.

And of course they can’t officially do anything at the UN Security Council without U.S. approval.

Barack Obama had been hoping to achieve something through direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but those totally broke down and there is no hope that there will be any new negotiations any time soon.

So Barack Obama knows that his only shot at “leaving a legacy” in the Middle East is at the United Nations, and earlier this year he said that a UN Security Council resolution that would recognize a Palestinian state was “on the table” for the very first time…

At that time he did not indicate which way that he would go, and although there have been rumblings that something might happen, he has not taken any action yet.

But now time is running out for Obama, because his term is scheduled to end on January 20th. The advocates of a “two state solution” are becoming increasingly desperate, because they know that Donald Trump has already promised not to support a UN Security Council resolution that would divide the land of Israel. So they know that if something is going to be done, it has got to be done now.

A UN Security Council resolution would be legally binding on both the Israelis and the Palestinians, and it would be something that Donald Trump would not be able to undo. Another vote of the UN Security Council would be required to revoke a resolution once it has been passed, and the votes would not be there to do that.

So the next month is absolutely critical. The UN Security Council still has time to take action while Obama is still in office, and we know that such a move is actively being considered. For much, much more on this, please see the following articles that I have recently authored…

-“Jimmy Carter Urges Barack Obama To Divide The Land Of Israel At The United Nations Before January 20th”

-“John Bolton Warns That Obama May Divide The Land Of Israel At The UN Before The Inauguration”

-“The Danger Zone: Why Israel Greatly Fears Barack Obama’s Last Few Months In Office”

-“The New York Times Calls For Obama To Support A UN Resolution That Would Divide The Land Of Israel”

If we can get to January 20th and the land of Israel has not been divided by the UN Security Council and Donald Trump successfully takes office, perhaps our reprieve will be extended for a while.

But if Barack Obama very foolishly allows the land of Israel to be divided at the UN Security Council before January 20th, the “pause button” will be unpaused, our blessing will be turned into a curse, and all hell will break loose in America.

Contents List

Friday, January 27, 2017