US LOSES $32 MILLION DRONE

(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/18/world/u-s-loses-drone-syria-claims-brought/)

In what is so far the closest thing to a direct clash between the US and Russia over Ukraine, a Russian jet on Tuesday crashed into an American drone over the Black Sea, sending the unmanned craft hurtling into the water.

Moscow disputes the claim, saying its jets didn’t hit the drone. The US accused the pilots of two Russian Su-27s of being “unprofessional” and “environmentally unsafe” for harassing and “dumping fuel” on the $32 million MQ-9 Reaper drone.

But scholars point out that the US didn’t call the act “unlawful.” Russia was evidently within its rights to disrupt a drone in international territory that was almost certainly gathering intel for Moscow’s adversaries in Kyiv. Still, the incident shows the dangers of US and Russian military hardware operating in such close proximity, even if they aren’t in direct conflict.  (Gzero Signal, 3/14/2023)

PRESSURE ON UKRAINE TO END THE WAR

German Green Party Parliamentary Foreign Policy Spokesperson Jürgen Trittin, predicts that, in the fall, the West will put heavy pressure on Ukraine to negotiate with Russia to end the war. The US administration recently sent out signals to this effect, Trittin reported. It would be unwise to continue the support for Kiev in the coming presidential elections, due to a change of mood within the US population. While this is an indication that Kiev must change course, several countries outside the transatlantic West are intensifying their mediation for a ceasefire.

Brazil continues to promote peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Following his visits to Kiev and Moscow, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud confirmed that Riyadh is also pursuing such activities. According to reports, China’s President Xi Jinping is expected to arrive soon for talks in Russia and to subsequently hold talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Unlike the West, Zelensky already welcomes the negotiation initiatives.   (German Foreign Policy, 3/14/2023)

DESANTIS NOT COMMITTED TO UKRAINE

Speaking of those dangers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has waded into some foreign policy waters of his own, telling Fox News host Tucker Carlson he thinks that the Russia-Ukraine “territorial dispute” is not a vital US national interest and that Biden’s “blank check” for Kyiv is a distraction from more pressing issues like China.

This puts DeSantis at odds with much of the GOP but firmly in line with … former President Donald Trump, whom he is all but sure to challenge for the Republican nomination in 2024.

Political wrangling aside, DeSantis may be trying to catch a broader trend: In February, Polls showed that only 48% of Americans favored providing weapons to Ukraine, down 12 points from May of last year. Is Ron on to something?  (Gzero Signal, 3/14/2023)

WHY WON’T PUTIN ADMIT HE’S WRONG?

More than a year after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the war shows no signs of abating.

Even in the face of heavy, increasing losses, Russian President Vladimir Putin remains resolved to continue fighting but is “grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion,” wrote David V. Gioe, a professor at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies, for Foreign Policy.

Like countless leaders before him who have entered doomed conflicts, Putin “cannot escape a self-made trap.”  He is unable to justify his “incoherent” claims for war and is meanwhile caught in the “sunk-cost fallacy,” whereby he chooses to “continue fighting at even greater cost” rather than “admit to the people that the previous sacrifices were in vain.”  (The Week, 3/14/2023)

ANTI-ISRAEL ORGANIZATION CONDEMNS ANTI-SEMITISM

An American Islamist group notorious for its efforts to demonize Israel and its supporters in the United States is struggling to rehabilitate its reputation by issuing regular statements about the evils of Jew-hatred in American society. Experts warn that the statements do not erase the organization’s long history of demonizing Israel and the Jewish community in the United States.

Hardly a month goes by without the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemning the distribution of antisemitic leaflets on college campuses or the spray painting of anti-Jewish graffiti in driveways in many locations, including Georgia, Louisiana, and Maryland.  (MEF, 3/3/2023)

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STRONGER TIES BETWEEN JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida are meeting in Tokyo this week in a bid to forge stronger economic and security ties. Diplomatic engagement between the countries has stalled in recent years owing to territorial disputes and Japan’s rearmament amid what Koreans see as Japan’s efforts to whitewash World War II-era atrocities.

This follows a recent landmark agreement between Tokyo and Seoul for a South Korean fund to compensate victims of Japan’s forced labor camps during its 20th-century colonization of the Korean peninsula – a deal that has proven unpopular with South Koreans for not holding Japan directly and financially accountable.

Improved cooperation would help both countries meet the increasing security challenges posed by China and North Korea in the region. Restoring trade links between South Korea and Japan, meanwhile, will help alleviate high-tech global supply chains.  But for this to work, Kishida’s government must first win over South Korean hearts and minds.  (Gzero Signal, 3/14/2023)

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TALKING POINTS

In an unexpected move on March 10, 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran declared that they had reached an agreement to renew relations after a seven-year hiatus.  Through Chinese mediation, the two countries agreed to reopen their respective embassies within two months, and to reactivate past Saudi-Iran agreements, among them a 2001 security cooperation agreement. (MEMRI, 3/15/2023)

In Hamburg, Germany, a terror attack took place Thursday, leaving eight people dead including an unborn child.  The attack was in a Jehovah Witness hall.  News bulletins kept repeating that an unborn child was killed.  This is hypocritical when the death toll from abortions in Germany is 94,596 (2021 figure).  What’s one child?

After bludgeoning 77-year-old Lawrence Scully, a sex offender he believed had been harassing his daughter, Levi Axtell drove to the sheriff’s office and handed himself in, covered in blood. Axtell from Cook County, Minnesota “had long been suspicious of Scully parking his vehicle at locations where children were present,” said the Daily Mail. Scully, who was convicted of molesting a six-year-old girl in 1979, died following the attack and Axtell has been charged with second-degree murder.  (The Week, 3/1/2023)

Pakistani security forces on Wednesday withdrew from near Imran Khan’s home in Lahore after failing to detain the former PM, despite having an arrest warrant. The reason: to allow a big cricket match to take place in the city.  (Gzero Signal, 3/14/2023)

Pakistani security forces on Wednesday withdrew from near Imran Khan’s home in Lahore after failing to detain the former PM, despite having an arrest warrant. The reason: to allow a big cricket match to take place in the city. 

As the standoff unfolded, Khan — who used to captain the national team in cricket-crazy Pakistan — took to Twitter, urging his supporters not to give up. He was ousted in a no-confidence vote last April over allegations of corruption and “terrorism”, which he and his supporters dismiss as politically motivated. But since then, Khan has fervently sought to win back the top job, leading a populist movement against Pakistan’s political elite and all-powerful army, whom he accused of being behind an assassination attempt against him in Nov. 2022.  (Gzero Signal, 3/14/2023)

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COMMENTARY

Moslem grooming gangs have become a major problem in the UK.

Frustrated men seek out young girls that they take advantage of.   Often, the girls are treated cruelly.   Partly this is because they have no respect for these girls.

This is very much a culture clash.  Moslem men are brought up to have no respect for women who expose parts of their body.   Also, they have no respect for women who are non-Muslim.   Their targets are mostly white and mostly virgins as they will gladly groom girls as young as 13.

The basic problem here is not sex.  It’s the immigration of men from alien cultures.

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. ”  (Thess. 4::3-8)

This shows that Biblical passages that relate to sex were meant for the Israelites.    Only “lust” was expected from the Gentiles, those who did not believe in the true God.  Now, it’s very much the case that Christian girls (and boys) frequently break God’s laws relating to morality.  It’s little wonder then that girls are being groomed for sex by Muslim gangs.

Hebrews 13:4 considers sex outside of marriage to be immoral: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” This verse can’t just be limited to adultery, since both “sexually immoral” and “adulterous” are listed.

There are many scriptures that show sex outside of marriage is sin.  Just because we have birth control today does not negate those scriptures.

I Cor. 6:18 shows us that sex outside of marriage affects the mind as well as the body. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

RUSSIA AND CHINA IN ANTI-WESTERN GROUPING

Russia and China are drawing closer together, though they have not signed a treaty.   I suspect this may be because China does not want to be seen supporting the loser in the world’s biggest on-going conflict.   They will, however, back Russia with armaments.  Of course, with Russia and China supporting each other, the threat to the West has increased.  There is also a financial threat here – for some time, both countries have not liked the fact that much of their trade is in US dollars.  Expect them to try and change that.  Also, expect the “alliance” to grow.  Iran and North Korea are two other countries that will help the big 2.  Lots of smaller countries may also be added.  Russia and China staged naval manoevres in the Indian Ocean, with South Africa, a country that has noticeably not condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine.  The conflict is not over, and the risk of nuclear war has increased in recent weeks, if only because the Russians will not lose!

China warns of inevitable US conflict

China’s new foreign minister said that his nation and the US are heading towards inevitable conflict if Washington does not “hit the brake.”  In a press conference described as “fiery” by The Guardian, Qin Gang presented China and its relationship with Russia as a “beacon of strength and stability,” and the one between the US and its allies as “a source of tension and conflict”, said the paper. CNN noted that “ties between the world’s two largest economies are at their worst in decades.”  (The Week, 3/7/2023)

The German Bundeswehr is preparing to dispatch ground forces to a major exercise in the Asia-Pacific region. The Bundeswehr announced that “alongside troops from the sea battalion and the air force” an infantry company from the army will also be dispatched this summer, for the first time, to Australia to participate in the Talisman Sabre 2023 combat exercises. The Talisman Sabre maneuvers are being held every two years and are reputed to be Australia and the United States’ largest joint training operations. Participants include Japan and South Korea and, according to reports, also France, whose colony New Caledonia is not far away from the exercise region, which covers areas of Australia’s state of Queensland and the Coral Sea. Over the past two years, Bundeswehr units have been dispatched to combat exercises in the Asia-Pacific region: From August 2021 to February 2022 the frigate Bayern, in the summer of 2022 an air force squadron. Both will be continued next year. The Asia-Pacific exercises are being conducted alongside new NATO operations in the region – and are intensifying the escalation of the power struggle against China.   (German Foreign Policy)

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IRAN PLANNING DEATHS OF PROMINENT AMERICANS

Amid the report that a top Iranian regime military official on Friday urged the murders of the ex-commander of the United States Central Command General Kenneth McKenzie, former President Trump, and former Secretary State of Mike Pompeo, a new report asserts that Iran is likely behind a “kill list” targeting law enforcement agencies in Boston.

Amirali Hajizadeh, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace, declared during a televised interview last week that, “Inshallah (God willing) we will be able to kill Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo (former) CENTCOM chief Kenneth McKenzie, and others who ordered killing of Qasem Soleimani.”

The U.S. military killed Soleimani with a drone strike in January 2020 because the EU and U.S.-designated terrorist was planning an attack and was responsible for the murder of over 600 American military personnel.  (MEF, 3/1/2023)

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 Fighting the airlines for pilots

The Air Force’s efforts to bolster its number of pilots is hindered by two factors. First, the service spent more than two decades of war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, where pilots were worn out by nonstop deployment. At the same time, Air Force leaders must counter the headwinds of robust civilian-sector employment.

Second, most active-duty pilots head into the private sector in their mid-30s, after amassing about 10 years of flight experience, Riley said. At that point in their career, airmen make about $63,000 a year, plus bonus and combat pay. This can make them attractive candidates for commercial airlines, which are also starving for workers. There, former airmen can fly for higher pay and less paperwork and other extraneous duties.

The 12 major U.S. airlines — Alaska, Allegiant, American, Atlas, Delta, FedEx, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, United and UPS — hired more than 13,000 pilots in 2022, according to data compiled by the consulting firm Future and Active Pilot Advisors.

That’s more than the previous three years combined, and the largest single-year hiring spree since 1990.

About 25% — or 3,280 — of the pilots hired by those 12 companies last year came from the military, the advisory firm told Air Force Times.

But money isn’t the only factor. Airmen leave for any combination of reasons, such as a desire for more stability at home, to avoid being shuffled into office jobs, or, simply, burnout. Others may feel like they got what they wanted out of military service, or that it’s time for a new challenge, Air Force leaders and former troops have said.   (Air Force Times, 3/3/2023)

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Filthy Seam of Sabotage – how thieving cartels are plunging South Africa into darkness.

Intelligence reports obtained by Daily Maverick link two senior members of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet to four criminal cartels operating inside Eskom. This is the story of how they steal from and destroy the infrastructure meant to be keeping your lights on.  (Daily Maverick, 4 March 2023, by Ethan van Diemen)

New intelligence reports obtained by Daily Maverick outline how four cartels, allegedly with links to two senior members of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet have been able to infiltrate the entire power value chain for personal enrichment and to meet political ends. Although we cannot yet reveal the names of the Cabinet members for legal reasons, and many of the sites, tactics and other detailed specifics of how the cartels operate are deliberately left vague because investigations are ongoing, we can begin here to paint a picture of how Eskom is being sabotaged.

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TO THE POINT

• The World Obesity Federation has warned that more than half the world’s population will be classed as obese or overweight by 2035 if authorities do not act now. The report says that more than four billion people will be affected, with rates rising fastest among children, and in low or middle-income countries in Africa and Asia. The organization forecasts that the cost of obesity will rise to more than $4tn (£3.3tn) annually by 2035. It comes as the demand for obesity drugs continues to skyrocket in the Western world. (The Week, 3/3/2023)

• Art and gardening classes will replace codeine and antidepressants as part of an NHS drive to help millions stop using prescription drugs, said The Times. Under new national guidance, GPs are asked to stop writing repeat prescriptions for those who have become dependent on common medications. The NHS England plan, which “aims to avoid a US-style opioid crisis,” recommends that patients be sent to art, music or gardening classes, instead of being prescribed painkillers. Pharmacists will be asked to watch for people who frequently buy codeine over the counter.  (The Week)

• Rising living costs meant UK consumers “sharply cut back” spending in February, reported The Guardian. Although total sales rose by 5.2% in February compared with a year earlier, up from January’s annual growth rate of 4.2%, much of the rise was a result of high inflation pushing up the value of goods sold, said the British Retail Consortium. A separate report from Barclays found the weakness in sales was because of a reduction in discretionary purchases due to the cost of living squeeze.  (The Week, 3/7/2023)

• Prince Harry is close to “being exiled” from the royal family after “self-sabotaging” his relationship with his brother, according to Lady Victoria Hervey. The model compared the relationship between the two brothers to Cain and Abel, the biblical brothers. In the story, Cain murders his brother after God showed favour to Abel’s sacrifice. “It’s becoming a bit of a blood sport,” Hervey said of the royal siblings. “Harry is getting himself closer and closer to being exiled. I think he’s only one or two steps away from that happening.”

PERSONAL COMMENTS

For months media have been warning that we are all going to starve.   Then, this morning came the warning that within a few years half of the people are going to be obese.   You can’t have it both ways!

It’s hard to believe but it’s exactly 34 years since the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan.

The Soviet Union collapsed two years later.   Could history repeat itself?   Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, answered questions at the G20 in India, and actually said the war in Ukraine was the result of provocation from Ukraine.   The audience (Indians and others) laughed. 

In Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has stepped down as First Minister.   A replacement now must be found.   There are three candidates:  Kate Forbes, Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan.   Predictably, Katie Forbes has been attacked.  She is a conservative Christian who believes that sex should only be within marriage.   Interestingly, Mr. Yousaf’s Islamic religion has not been questioned.  You can be anything you want in the West today, except a conservative Christian.

I decided not to buy a copy of Prince Harry’s book.   Partly because it was $36, and partly because I don’t believe a word he says.  So, I requested a copy from the library.  I got to page 16 and asked myself why am I reading this?  I don’t believe a word he says.  So I returned the book to the library, where I suggested they put it in the fiction section.

7^th March. Adolf Hitler breaks the Treaty of Versailles by sending troops into the Rhineland.   We’ve made no real progress in the 87 years since then.  Then, it was Hitler; today it’s Vladimir Putin.  Dictators never learn.

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ANGLICAN SPLIT

This morning, I was able to watch an Anglican priest speak to the Oxford Union (the word’s best debating society), encouraging the Church of England to return to its traditional teachings on sex and the sanctity of marriage.  Calvin Robinson is clearly a conservative when it comes to morality.  He spoke on the subject watched by hostile eyes trying to push the church toward “diversity” and “inclusivity’.   Mr. Robinson can be seen regularly on GB News.  (In the US, via YouTube. Try and watch Mr. Robinson’s presentation.  I saw it this morning on YouTube.)

There aren’t any scriptures which justify today’s liberal values.   He quoted the Apostle Paul and Christ Himself in support of his conservatism. 

The Church is falling apart over this issue, with thousands of people staying home rather than hear the liberal views of the church hierarchy.

Acts 5:29 tells us to obey God rather than men.  This means keeping God’s Laws on morality, regardless of what modern interpretations put on things.   This age is only temporary.   Given time, people will go back to God’s way of doing things, because nothing else works.

MASS SHOOTING AT MSU

Alexandria Verner, Arielle Anderson, and Brian Fraser killed in the shooting.

“The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion.”  (Psa 11:5)

Lansing, or rather neighboring East Lansing, home of MSU (Michigan State University), became the scene of a mass shooting on Monday evening, when MSU was attacked.  Three students were killed and five are in critical condition.  The perpetrator of the attack was a 43- year-old black male, with no previous ties to the university, though he lived not far from the university.   Two of his victims were white and one black.

It is so sad reading about the lives of the three youngsters.  They were full of hopes and dreams.  Michigan (and the US) should mourn their loss.

As the Governor pointed out, this is a uniquely American problem.   A small number of countries have experienced attacks on schools.   But no other country has them regularly.  This was the 67^th mass shooting this year.

Three days later, students are still demonstrating for reforms to the law.

Arguably, mass shootings are now the greatest threat to our democracy.  They are certainly a threat to health, killing people in record numbers.  Yet, Congress refuses to address the issue.

In 1996, Australia had a mass shooting.  The attack was on the island of Tasmania, at a tourist site called Port Arthur.   Some years later, I was able to visit the site – bullet holes were still in the wall.

Immediately after the attack, parliament discussed gun violence and, within a few days, came back with concrete proposals to make some changes.   Australia, today, remains a nation with comparatively little violence and certainly no school violence.

This issue, which can affect us all, needs the attention of the Congress.   There are a number of things that can be done, within the parameters set by the Second Amendment.  Yet, our representatives lack the courage to open a national debate on the issue, which is claiming so many, mainly young, lives.

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ANTI-SEMITISM ON RISE IN. US

In the last few months many of you will have watched the excellent PBS series on “America and the Holocaust.”   The series showed that there were many people who were anti-Semitic, even as Hitler was trying to kill off the Jews.

Now, a recent survey shows that “more than 4 in 10 Jews in the US feel their status in America is less secure than it was a year earlier, according to a new survey by the American Jewish Committee.” (Lansing State Journal, 2/14/2023)

“The survey was taken in a year of high-profile incidents of anti-semitism, including a hostage taking at a Texas synagogue and anti-Jewish statements shared by celebrities on social media.”

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English Language ISIS-K Magazine Vows To ‘Avenge Desecration Of Quran In Sweden And The Netherlands’; ISIS-K’s Pashtu-Language Magazine Urges Muslims Living In Europe ‘To Chase The Desecrator [Of The Quran], Strangle, Stab, And Shoot Him’. (MEMRI, 2/17/2023)

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NEW DRUG CAUSES FLESH WOUNDS AND DEATH

An animal sedative being sold illegally by drug dealers across the US is putting users at risk of serious flesh wounds and deadly overdoses.

The drug, called xylazine, is an FDA-approved animal sedative but it is increasingly being mixed with substances such as heroin and fentanyl in a toxic mixture known colloquially as “tranq dope.”

The US is already in the grip of an opioid crisis, in which “more than 700,000 people a year” are dying from by fentanyl overdoses, said Sky News.  But doctors and public health officials are alarmed at the rapid spread of tranq dope, which is becoming increasingly prevalent in overdose deaths and can cause horrific skin wounds on the bodies of users.   (The Week, 2/17/2023)

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STURGEON RESIGNS AS SCOTTISH LEADER

When news broke of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, the first reaction among Tory ministers was delight. For years, she had been one of their most formidable opponents and potent threats: perhaps the only politician capable of leading a Scottish independence campaign to victory.  Without her, what would happen to the SNP? But then the elation faded. If nationalists’ votes are up for grabs, would they be more likely to go to Labour or the Tories? Sturgeon’s departure has consequences far beyond that of the SNP leadership.  The UK’s whole political landscape could be about to change.

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RIFT DEVELOPS AT MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE

Whereas Ukraine wants a speedy end to the war, Germany and France expect the conflict to last a lot longer.  (DW News, 2/27/2023)

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NEW INTERFAITH BUILDING OPENS IN MUSLIM COUNTRY

A landmark interfaith compound in the United Arab Emirates housing a new synagogue is set to open Thursday afternoon in a ceremony kicking off a series of events over the weekend.

The Abrahamic Family House, located on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, also contains a mosque and church.  It was initially slated to open in 2022.

The opening ceremony will be followed by a conference on Friday morning on relations between the faiths. The local Jewish community will hold Shabbat prayers in the synagogue, led by Chief Rabbi Yehuda Sarna.

On Sunday, a Torah scroll donated by UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be brought to the synagogue in a dedication ceremony.

The Abrahamic Family House project was announced after Pope Francis’s visit to the UAE in 2019, the first by a pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula. During the trip, the pope signed a joint declaration with the grand imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, that called for religious tolerance and dialogue.

An interfaith council to oversee projects advancing tolerance was formed as a result of the declaration, and named the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity. The Abrahamic Family House was its first initiative.  (Lazar Berman, Times of Israel, 2/16/2023)

UK PAYS £2.3BN FINE TO EU

(Pic: Reuters)

Britain has paid a fine of more than £2.3bn to the European Union for allowing Chinese gangs to flood the continent with cheap clothes and shoes. The Treasury “slipped out” the news that it had paid Brussels to settle a long-running quarrel over slack customs checks when Britain was a member of the bloc, said The Times. An EU fraud investigation found that HMRC failed to check impossibly low valuations put on Chinese consignments arriving into Britain.

SYNOD VOTES FOR SAME-SEX BLESSINGS

Gay couples will be able to receive a blessing in the Church of England after the General Synod voted in favour of the move last night. Following more than eight hours of “emotionally charged debate” over two days that brought the Archbishop of Canterbury to tears, the change was backed by 57% of bishops, priests and lay members, said The Times. Traditionalists narrowly succeeded in amending the motion to state that the church’s doctrine of marriage – that it is between a man and a woman – remained in place. The move came as the Church announced it was considering a proposal to begin referring to God in gender-neutral terms, rather than using traditional male pronouns

Even “Our Father” (The Lord’s Prayer) may be abolished.

EARTHQUAKE IN TURKEY

A devastating earthquake that has claimed over 23,000 lives hit southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria on Sunday.   President Assad of Syria blamed politics by the West for the slow response.   Of course, he’s actually the one playing politics.  He hopes the West will ease up on sanctions.   President Erdogan of Turkey apologized for the slow response on his side of the border.   I have a serious question to ask Mr. Erdogan.   Turkey is home to the Hagai Sophia, a church (now a mosque) built in the sixth century.  It has survived many earthquakes but remains standing.  Over ten years ago, I was able to walk around it and kept marveling at it.   At the time, Istanbul (Constantinople) was in the Byzantine Empire, whose people called themselves Greeks.  But they really knew how to build.   Why can’t buildings today be built the same way?

TYRE NICHOLS

Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old black man, was beaten so badly by five policemen that he died in hospital three days later. Television played down the fact that his killers were all black.  Black on black crime is a touchy subject but we need to discuss it.  We also need to discuss police training as incidents like these are all too frequent.   These attacks bother me greatly — autistic children have died in confrontations with the police.   

UK DAMPENS JET SPECULATION

The defense secretary has said that Ukraine is unlikely to receive British fighter jets until after the war with Russia is over. After Volodymyr Zelenskyy finished his speech in London earlier this week by saying “thank you in advance for powerful English planes,” Rishi Sunak said the prospect of gifting fighter jets was now “part of the conversation.” However, Ben Wallace said that although the UK will be the first nation to start training Ukrainian pilots on Nato-standard aircraft, “Britain hasn’t said it is necessarily going to send fighter jets to Ukraine.”

MONEY IS THE PROBLEM

Suddenly, money is the big issue.   In just about every country.

After accumulating debt ($31.4 trillion in the US, in addition to the billions of private debt) — there’s nothing left to spend.  The Biden administration will have to cut spending.

In the UK striking public sector workers are unlikely to get a pay rise, as this would be inflationary at a time of high inflation.

A US general commented last week that the UK is not capable of defending itself due to many cuts over the years.   So the UK must find more money.  This will not be popular.

In France, French strikers are protesting changes to the pension system.  Until now, the French could retire on full benefits at the age of 62.  Faced with serious labor shortages, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, aims to raise the age to 64.   This is still lower than most competitor countries but the French people do not like it.   

So, money is the problem.  Or, rather, the lack of it.   This could be solved by a massive increase in taxes, but this would be deeply unpopular.   

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Row Growing Over Shell’s £32bn Profits (UK)

Pressure is growing on the government to impose a bigger windfall tax on energy companies after Shell reported the largest profits in its history. Thanks to the surge in energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the oil company’s annual takings have risen to $40bn (£32bn). The vast profits — “equivalent to just over £1,000 a second,” said the London Evening Standard — were among the biggest ever made by a British company. Opposition parties accused Rishi Sunak of letting fossil fuel companies “off the hook” and unions described the profits as “obscene”. The UK-headquartered company paid $134m in British windfall taxes last year.  (The Week, 2/3/2023)

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From German Foreign Policy, 2/2/2023

In open defiance of Germany and the other Western powers, Brazil rejects all arms deliveries to Ukraine and pushes, instead, for a mediation initiative to end the Ukraine war. Brazil sees itself as a “land of peace” and rejects any involvement in this war, was President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s response Monday to Berlin’s demand during German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit, that ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tank be provided to Kiev. Rather than constantly fueling the war with ever more weapons, a mediation initiative must be launched, with the possible contribution from China, in particular, but also from India and Indonesia, according to Lula. Scholz does not support such an initiative from the Global South to end the fighting and raised his objections on Monday. However, more and more governments, particularly in the Global South, such as, most recently Columbia and Egypt, but also Israel are promoting a negotiated solution. Thus, a counterpoint is becoming apparent to the West’s efforts to continue to assert its global dominance in and with the Ukraine war.

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In an anti-Islam demonstration, a Swedish man burned a copy of the Quran.   This has enraged Muslims around the world.   Many are now threatening suicide bombings in Europe.  The demonstration also resulted in Sweden’s application to join NATO being rejected because of Turkey’s refusal to support it.

“Afghan Taliban Officials Threaten Suicide Bombings In Europe To Avenge Quran Desecrations:  ‘We . . . Are Ready To Conduct Istishhadi [Martyrdom-Seeking] Attacks To Defend Our Islamic Values;’ ‘The Lions Of Islam Should Respond To This Evil Act In Such A Way That The Heart Of Stockholm, Sweden, Can Be Shaken Several Times.’ “(MEMRI, 2/1/2023)

In its Freedom in the World 2022 report, Freedom House, a U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., put Turkey in its “not free” category of countries, along with Afghanistan, Angola, Belarus, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nicaragua, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and several other third world rogue regimes. Could one, by the criteria of democracy, imagine any of those countries as a NATO member state? But Turkey is.  (Gatestone, 2/3/2023)

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(Sorry, folks, my computer is still giving me problems. I think it is about to give up the ghost.  It’s one of the older ones, about 2008 — large screen and keyboard for my ham fists to pound on.  I tried to have it fixed but it’s just too old.  So I am having a bit of difficulty producing my blog right now.)

HARRY IS A TWIT

One of the definitions of a twit is “a foolish or annoying person.”  

This describes Prince Harry. 

Although he says he supports the monarchy, even believes in it, he is doing everything he can to destroy it.

Now, with the publication of his book “Spare,” he seems deliberately determined to destroy himself.  

To what am I referring?

The book is not available yet but apparently he claims to have killed 25 Taliban during his two terms in Afghanistan.  A Taliban leader retorted that this is not a game of chess.  They (the Taliban) are in the serious business of giving independence to Afghanistan. He must now be the Number One target of the terrorist movement, which has thousands of supporters just about everywhere.   They could easily stage a terror attack on his home or some other place frequented by the traveling, almost nomadic prince.

I had lunch yesterday with a friend here in Lansing.   I was struck by how he described America as being “broken.”  He used the term two or three times.  It is broken, with Congress at a standstill while it tries to appoint a Speaker to the House of Representatives.  (Matthew 12:25 – “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”)

Two months ago we could have used the same word “broken” to describe the UK, choosing a third prime minister in as many months.  And now, the monarchy, the “rock” (Liz Truss’ word) that unites the kingdom, is faltering due to a spiteful and destructive boy who will do anything to get his way.

Without the monarchy, the United Kingdom would likely fall apart.   So would the Commonwealth Realms and the wider Commonwealth.   Without this wider, global role, there would be no need for the monarchy.  

Surely the prince has learned one thing while living in the US — that a country can do quite well for itself without a royal family; and that people can become rich and famous without a title.

TAKE FIVE

• One example of how the US is broken is its tax system.  I was reminded of this last week when Donald Trump’s tax returns where posted.   They showed that the billionaire paid no taxes in 2021.  This is not Trump’s fault — it’s very common in the US that the extremely wealthy pay no tax.  And there are plenty of tax havens for them to hide their money.   Warren Buffett said years ago that it was ridiculous that his secretary paid more taxes than he did.  That remains the case.  But then, his secretary, as well as most of us, can’t afford to engage his tax lawyers.

• I was privileged on three occasions to walk around Buckingham Palace on tour.  The palace opens during the summer months when the Queen lives elsewhere.  One year there was an exhibit of photographs taken during her Commonwealth tours.   I remember one photo taken in Ghana, where my wife and I lived for seven years.   It was a beautiful picture taken in a stadium during a tour she made in 1961.  In the midst of a sea of black faces, there was the Queen, the only white person in the crowd.   Any suggestion that the queen was racist is ridiculous.

• Similarly, a ridiculous letter appeared in an Australian newspaper.  It was from an Aussie lady who toured the Tower of London.  She wrote that the Crown Jewels illustrated why so many Brits are poor.  It’s because their leader has all these expensive jewels.   The Jewels, madam, belong to the State.  They are not in the Queen’s (or King’s) private possession.    The last time an English leader cashed in the jewels was when Oliver Cromwell sold them all off to raise money for his bankrupt republic.  That was in 1650.   No such attempt has been made since.   We don’t want ignorance on the part of visitors to raise the issue again.  It’s the STATE that’s the reason the people are poor.  Get it straight.  And that’s true everywhere.

• Once again, a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is being pushed. It will never work.  The Palestinians don’t want it.   They want to take over Israel.   The Israelis do not want it, either, so why keep bringing it up?

• Be sure to watch a documentary on YouTube produced by DWnews (German news).  It lasts 41 minutes and is on the extreme right in Germany.   It’s bigger than you think.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:  27 years after the wrist on my right hand was broken in a car accident with a drunk driver, the wrist and hand are bothering me.    Using my hand is quite painful.   I’ve had to curtail activities, including writing my blog.   I have an appointment next week.   Please pray that it can be healed.

PUTIN IN BELARUS

Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko shake hands before their meeting at the Palace of Independence in Minsk (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64030975)

“. . . Putin’s latest muscle flex is unlikely to make much difference. So far, Ukrainian authorities have demonstrated an ability to blunt the force of Russian attacks on infrastructure by intercepting some Russian missiles and drones and also by restoring electricity and heat relatively quickly following each major attack. There’s no sign these artillery attacks have moved Ukraine’s government toward concessions of any kind. There is no reason yet to expect NATO, the EU, or the Biden administration will hedge their bets on Ukraine’s continued resistance.

“Nor is there any indication that Putin has managed to change Lukashenko’s mind about committing Belarussian troops to the fight. Even if Belarus joined the battle, the effect would be simply to pull more Ukrainian troops from other regions to repel another attack from the north. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based military think tank, argued in a recent report that a new Russian attack on Kyiv from Belarus is “extraordinarily unlikely to succeed.” Russian forces have been badly degraded since their first run on the capital, and Ukrainians are now much better prepared to play defense.

In short, Putin’s war on Ukraine grinds on with no game-changing breakthrough in sight.”  (Gzero Signal, 12/20/2022)

Hosea 8:7  “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.”

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RUSSIAN FERTILIZERS FOR AFRICA

Following an eight-month blockade, the EU lifts obstacles to supplying African countries with vital Russian fertilizers. According to UN data, the global grain harvest has already slumped by 2.4 percent this year due to the lack of fertilizers. It is expected to drop significantly more next year – up to 20 percent. The main reason is that due to EU sanctions, Russian fertilizers could no longer be delivered to African countries. Russia is one of the world’s main fertilizer producers. The EU has continuously denied this publicly, but has now implicitly admitted its responsibility. The existing sanctions have already impeded fertilizer shipments to Africa, it was remarked prior to Thursday’s decision to alter the sanctions regime. In the future, EU states are permitted to ease punitive measures against several Russian billionaires, if it facilitates supplies of Russian fertilizers reaching African countries. This was heavily resisted by Poland and the Baltic states, who prioritize the struggle against Russia to the struggle against hunger in Africa.  (German Foreign Policy, 12/19/2022)

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UK MIGRANTS FOR RWANDA

UK High Court deems Rwanda immigration deal legal

The British government says it remains committed to its Rwanda asylum plan after the High Court on Monday deemed it lawful. Introduced by former PM Boris Johnson, it was part of a deal struck in April between London and Kigali, whereby migrants who arrive in the UK would be sent to Rwanda to have their asylum applications processed – and would ultimately be resettled in the East African country. Rwanda, for its part, received £140 million ($170m) for playing ball. But because the deal has faced a slew of legal challenges, no migrants have yet been transported. Indeed, European human rights groups say the proposal violates international law and that it’s especially egregious given Rwanda’s poor human rights record. The court’s decision landed just days after new UK PM Rishi Sunak, who backs the Rwanda policy, outlined a new plan to stop migrants from traveling in rickety boats across the English Channel. Still, appeal applications are expected in response to Monday’s ruling, and the Rwanda plan must remain on ice until all legal avenues are exhausted.   (Gzero Signal, 12/20/2022)

PALESTINIANS  AGAINST TWO-STATE SOLUTION

The results of several public opinion polls, including the most recent one, demonstrate that Blinken and his team are either engaging in self-deception or simply fail to understand or see what most Palestinians want: Killing more Jews and the obliteration of Israel.

This is not the first poll to show that a majority of Palestinians oppose the “two-state solution.” That is because they are clamoring for a Palestinian state not alongside Israel, but instead of Israel.

The rising popularity of Hamas among the Palestinians is a clear sign that most of them identify with the Islamist group’s goal of destroying Israel.  (Bassam Tawil, Gatestone,12/19/2022)

LEICESTER’S MULTICULTURALISM

This year, Leicester’s famous multiculturalism, so praised by the establishment, exploded. Knife attacks, stone- and bottle-throwing, cars torched, religious symbols under siege, dozens wounded, including policemen. . .  Then the hunt for Hindus began in Britain’s streets.

• “Leicester to be first city where white people are minority,” announced The Independent in 2007.  Some understood that it would not end well.
• What happened? Leicester became Islamized fast.  In 2001, the Muslim population was 11%.  By 2017, it made up 20%.  Among children, Islam is dominant.
• For the first time since the 7th century AD, England is no longer majority Christian.

(Giulio Meotti, Gatestone, 12/18/2022)

RECOMMENDED BOOK ON AMERICAN REVOLUTION

“Like other colonists, New Yorkers generally saw themselves as British subjects and treasured the British constitution as a guarantee of public order.  Indeed, they believed that the constitution of the colony mimicked in miniature the constitution  of Great Britain.   They trusted the conservatism of the British constitution because it rested on the revered Magna Carta and because it had long protected the rights of  Englishmen. 

They believed that American liberty rested on the supremacy of the British Crown, the maintenance of the English system of government, the particular glory of which was its perfect balance of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy.  Sovereignty did not reside only with the king but within a mixed structure that included the king, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.  New Yorkers insisted that government in New York was congruent to Great Britain’s because the governor represented the king, the council the House of Lords, and the assembly the House of Commons.  The distribution of power among three branches served as a bulwark against tyranny by any one branch.”     (Unnatural Rebellion, Ruma Chopra, pages 10, 201)

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TAKE FIVE

I can never understand why Prince Harry and Meghan are obsessed with titles.   They live in the United States, which doesn’t recognize titles.   

The LGBTQI community is increasingly vocal against developing countries prosecuting people for same-sex relationships.   Increasingly, this is blamed on colonialism.   While it is true that written laws were passed during the colonial period, this is not to say that same-sex acts were widely practiced before colonialism. 

The BBC is under increasing pressure over the television license fee.  This is currently 159 pounds per year, almost $200. This enables the BBC to provide programs without advertising.   They might want to consider the US system, which provides 5 non-commercial TV channels free.  Two or three times a year they have fund-raisers which are remarkably effective in raising funds that pay for these channels.  Only 14% of viewers give to PBS.   The system means that there’s no bickering over money and ensures that only people who actually watch PBS will contribute.  

On similar lines, has the UK ever actually compared the National Health Service to health care in other countries?  Shocking as it may sound, there may be a more cost-effective means of providing healthcare.

US federal drug agents say they seized enough fentanyl in 2022 to kill every American.   (BBC News website, 12/21/2022)

GERMANY THWARTS RIGHT WING COUP

Masked police officers lead Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, center, to a police vehicle during a raid against so-called ‘Reich citizens’ in Frankfurt, Germany,. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

Dozens arrested over plot to overthrow German government

German police have arrested 25 alleged members of a far-right terrorist group accused of plotting to overthrow the government and install a prince as national leader.

The federal prosecutor’s office said more than 3,000 police officials and security force officials had been involved in raids on 130 locations across 11 German federal states. The detained suspects included Prince Heinrich XIII, a “minor aristocrat” who is “alleged to have been central” to the plot, said the BBC.  (The Week, 12/7/2022)

It also declined to comment on how, if at all, Heinrich was involved in the far-right “Reichsbuerger” movement, which denies the existence of the modern German state, and which prosecutors say inspired the group of suspects arrested.  The Reuss dynasty named all its male children Heinrich or Henry after the end of the 12th century in honor of Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, who bequeathed them the estates of Weida and Gera, now towns in Thueringen state.  (Indy, 12/7/2022)

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MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

“Ngozi Fulani, the CEO of a domestic violence charity for Black women, has spoken out about the “horrific online abuse” that she’s endured after courageously speaking out about racism at Buckingham Palace.

The Londoner expressed shock at her treatment by the late Queen’s lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, who repeatedly challenged her when she said she was British and touched her hair without consent. Witnesses were present and Lady Hussey later resigned from her honorary role.

No one has disputed what Ngozi said – yet she has suffered the worst type of vitriol and harassment since going public last Wednesday. She was a victim of abuse and racism.” (The Independent, 12/8/2022)

Shouldn’t Ngozi Fulani be charged with racism?  Her charity only helps black women who are abused.  She clearly does not care about white women, including Lady Hussey.

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TIME Magazine named President Volodymyr Zelensky as well as “the spirit of Ukraine” as its 2022 person of the year on Wednesday, for the resistance the country has shown in the face of Russia’s invasion.  Calling Zelensky’s decision to remain in Kyiv and rally his country amid the ongoing war “fateful,” Time editor in chief Edward Felsenthal said this year’s decision was “the most clear-cut in memory.”  Since Russia’s February 24 invasion, Zelensky has delivered daily speeches followed not only by Ukrainians but by citizens and governments around the globe.  He has appeared on the frontlines and recently celebrated in the streets of Kherson when Ukraine pushed Russia from the critical southern city.  “His information offensive shifted the geopolitical weather system, setting off a wave of action that swept the globe,” Felsenthal wrote in announcing the winner.  “Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, Volodymyr Zelensky galvanized the world in a way we haven’t seen in decades,” Felsenthal added. Zelensky shares the 2022 title with “the spirit of Ukraine,” which Felsenthal said was embodied by the “countless individuals inside and outside the country” who fought behind the scenes, including everyday people such as chefs and surgeons.  Time first presented its Person of the Year award in 1927.  Last year’s honoree was Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk, who has since made major headlines with his high-profile purchase of Twitter. ( © 2022 AFP * & Dec 2022)

(https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221207-time-magazine-names-ukraine-s-zelensky-person-of-the-year)

CHINESE POLICE STATIONS IN US

China has been accused of operating more than 100 illegal “police stations” in dozens of countries around the world in an effort to monitor, harass and coerce its citizens in exile.

A new report from Madrid-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders has revealed the extent of the state-run foreign network, and also that Beijing is being helped by at least some of the host nations.

The revelations have sparked international outrage at a time when the Chinese government is already facing domestic pressure over its draconian zero-Covid restrictions.   (The Week, 12/6/2022)

(https://dennis.slgnt.eu/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=pTSpSkExmDcGeULOeetipJ7WgLscGH8yZhaWEBkJHkKn_FM%2Bh12BD33Nf_lqngTE60o_0ciRXE8jwL8oZtPt7ockXao%2BL) 

Jiang Zemin: China says goodbye to ‘outstanding’ leader with ‘mixed legacy’

China has bid farewell to its former leader Jiang Zemin, who died last week at the age of 96.  President Xi Jinping delivered the eulogy at the state funeral ceremony in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, praising the “extraordinary courage” of “Comrade Jiang.”

“Standing before a giant picture of Jiang and a row of white chrysanthemum wreaths,” Xi called on China to “turn grief into strength,” said CNN. (The Week, 12/14/2022)

(https://dennis.slgnt.eu/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=XtsXsO3z5F096Gk96v9QMEqee3Q3_svf3Rus_257_uaeB7UH5YY6HyQbI9vjmeKUntGQxKngSE6djlqjAFr0gT4nWexPJ)

POINTS TO PONDER

• As G. K. Chesterton once said, “It’s not that Christianity has failed, it’s just never been tried.’’ (John Cleese)

• Why are Prince Harry and Meghan so obsessed with titles when they live in the United States?   America famously does not recognize titles.

• James 1:2-3 – “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

ALBANIAN INVASION

The home secretary, Suella Braverman, in parliament on 31 October, where she spoke of an ‘invasion’ on the south coast. (Photograph: Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/AFP/Getty Images)

For hundreds of years, Great Britain had the biggest navy in the world.   It kept all invaders out of the British Isles and kept them away from Britain’s vast colonial empire as well.  Chief amongst its enemies were Spain and France, two Catholic powers that wanted to restore Britain to the church.  More recently, there was Germany.   In two world wars Britain kept the German invader out and maintained the country’s independence.

But everything is different now.  The Royal Navy was the great protector of Great Britain, keeping out the Germans, before them, the French and Spanish.  But now they are being defeated by an irregular force of Albanians, who, apparently want to expand their criminal activities to England (human trafficking, gambling and drugs).   At least one thousand people a week arrive in dinghies, claiming asylum.  It should be noted here that there is absolutely no reason for them to seek asylum, as Albania is a democracy.  It’s been a member of NATO since 2009.  And since most arrivals are young men (and not women and children), these new arrivals are clearly economic migrants, simply out to better themselves.

The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) rescues them, gives them a hot cup of tea, and brings them safely to shore where they are then housed in 3- or 4-star hotels at tax-payer expense.  They are given three meals a day and 38 pounds spending money a week. This, at a time when many people in Britain do not have enough to eat.

Suella Braverman, Home Secretary (Interior Minister) in the UK, described what is happening as an “invasion.”   She was criticized in parliament for using that word, but what word should she use?   The waves of immigrants in recent years are changing Great Britain out of recognition; making it worse is that people have been silenced through repressive laws that limit their freedom to speak on this issue.

Once again, Britain is asking the French to help stop the flow.  They are to pay France 72.2 million euros (the dollar and the euro are on a par right now), up from 63 million last year.    One question: If it didn’t work then, why should it work now?

A solution might be to bring some royal naval commanders out of retirement.  They will know what to do and take great pleasure in doing it!

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PS:  It’s just been announced that only 46% of the British people, in a recent survey, consider themselves Christian.   In the US it’s 71% Coincidentally, my electronic Bible opened up at the following verse this morning: “The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. ” (Deut 28)

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US MIDTERMS

The Republicans had a disappointing electoral result in the Midterms.   Inflation did not turn people against the Democrats.   Many commentators said it was the female vote that did it.  More specifically women who support abortion.

For the GOP, it’s an opportunity to launch investigations on stuff like the origins of COVID, the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Republicans’ favorite target: Biden’s own son, Hunter. It might even lead to impeaching the president. On foreign policy, expect the GOP to penny-pinch US aid to Ukraine and make Congress get even tougher on China — perhaps not the best idea after Biden and Xi Jinping decided to cool things down at the G-20 in Bali.  (Gzero Signal, 11/17/2022)

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UN Mideast envoy warns West Bank ‘reaching a boiling point’ The UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, warns the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “reaching a boiling point.”  (Times of Israel, by Luke Tress, 28 Nov 2022)

“The high level of violence in the occupied West Bank and Israel in recent months including attacks against Israeli and Palestinian civilians,” Wennesland says, “have caused grave human suffering.”  

“The targeting of civilians can never be justified and the violence must stop,” Wennesland says at a Security Council briefing, calling for a return to a political process for a resolution to the conflict.  He condemns the recent terror attacks in Jerusalem and Ariel, as well as settler violence against Palestinians in Hebron.  He warns that “demography is moving faster than politics,” and that the rapid population growth in Gaza and the West Bank will make it “increasingly difficult” to manage the conflict.  The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, condemns the terror attacks against Israelis and settler violence.  The US “is deeply concerned about the sharp escalation,” Thomas-Greenfield says. “This has been the deadliest year in the West Bank since 2004.”  She condemns the Palestinian Authority’s payments to terrorists and the “disruption to the historic status quo of holy sites.”  Thomas-Greenfield blasts the UN for its “lopsided focus” on Israel, including the open-ended Commission of Inquiry and the request for the International Court of Justice to weigh in on the conflict.  “The UN system is replete with anti-Israel actions and bodies,” she says. “Instead of grandstanding and pursuing unproductive measures, we hope the UN will start focusing on concrete steps that improve the lives of Israelis and Palestinians.” 

(https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-november-28-2022/)

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BERLIN AND THE “UKRAINIAN HOLOCAUST”

The German Bundestag wants to declare the 1932/33 famine in Ukraine a genocide and is thus adopting a politically motivated classification from the milieu of the former Ukrainian Nazi collaboration. As research by historians shows, the claim that the famine was a deliberately planned “Ukrainian Holocaust” originated within the Ukrainian exile community in Canada, where former Nazi-collaborators set the tone. In the late 1980s, this claim was subsumed under the newly coined term “Holdomor.”  Historians overwhelmingly reject this claim, particularly because the famine affected the populations of agrarian regions throughout the Soviet Union. The Bundestag plans to pass its resolution on the “Holdomor” already on Wednesday. This also threatens to have serious domestic consequences. Last Friday the Bundesrat had approved the recent tightening of §130 of the German penal code, according to which “the public condoning, denying, or grossly trivializing” of war crimes and genocide will be punishable by law.   (German Foreign Policy, 11/28/2022)

A CHILD OF THE EMPIRE

In the 1890’s Britain was building a new railway in its newly acquired colonies of Kenya and Uganda.   As there was free movement of peoples throughout the empire, hundreds of thousands left British India for better paid jobs on the East African Railway.  After the completion of the railway, many of them stayed in Africa where they became the business class, helping Uganda and Kenya achieve greater prosperity. In 1962 Uganda gained independence, followed a few months later by Kenya.

Democracy did not last long in Uganda.  Less than a decade after independence, on January 25^th, 1972, a military coup brought Idi Amin to power.   The following year, he ordered all Asians to get out of the country.    Armed with British passports, most of them moved to the United Kingdom where they prospered, changing small business practices in the country and opening thousands of restaurants.  

On May 12^th, Rishi Sunak was born in the city of Southampton.    He attended a private school, receiving a much better education than the average Brit.   At the age of 42, he becomes one of the youngest PM’s in history.  He is the first ethnic Indian, the first person of color and the first Hindu to hold the office.

The Indian diaspora is a very successful community in many countries.  They tend to be hard working and family oriented.   Included in their number are 60 CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies.   In the UK Suella Braverman is another Indian at the top, becoming Home Secretary, one of the three senior positions the UK offers.  She comes from Mauritius, another former colony.  

Suella Braverman has the really challenging task of solving Britain’s immigration mess.  At present, asylum seekers cannot be turned away.  Approximately, 1,000 per week are arriving in dinghies on UK shores.  Britain is obliged to house and feed them, providing medical care and education to the tune of seven million pounds per day  (approximately $8 million).  This at a time when many Brits can’t afford to pay their utility bills.  Ms. Braverman was heavily criticized when she described the mass of people as an “invasion,” which, of course, it is.

One thing of note:  although ethnic Indians are successful in western countries, it’s all very one-sided.   Non-Indian ethnics can never receive citizenship in India, which is blatantly discriminatory.

Also of note is a scripture in Deuteronomy 28 (the blessings and cursings chapter), in which God warns the modern Israelites of foreign domination.

“The foreigners living among you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker. They will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail!  (verses 43-44)

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OBITUARY  

Ian Hamilton, aged 97

Ian Hamilton, a Scottish nationalist, was the leader of a group of four students who stole the Coronation Stone in 1950.  

“For the Stone of Destiny, as this was, did not belong to England, it belonged to Scotland, and was the seat of Scottish kings.  Legends hung thickly around it, instilled in his head by his mother.   This was the pillow on which Jacob had slept, dreaming of angels descending and ascending again to heaven.  The prophet Jeremiah had brought it to Ireland, where it became the seat of the High Kings.  Thence it came to Scotland.   It was ripped from Scone Abbey by King Edward I in 1296, since Scotland could not prosper if it was gone.   Edward III later promised to return it, but never had.  Now, in 1950, 650 years later, a 25-year-old chain-smoking student was proposing to right a great wrong.

“He did not do so because he hated the English . . .  He had signed the Covenant of 1949 that had demanded self-government in Scotland, but he was loyal to the English king; he did not seek separation, just a better union.  More than anything, he wanted to wake Scotland up to its own greatness, its history and shared identity.  Since the stone symbolized all that, its restitution would be a rallying cry.  And no blood would be shed in doing it.”   (The Economist, 10/29/2022)

Ian Hamilton’s account of the “theft” of the stone is recounted in his book, “Stone of Destiny.” A movie by the same name was made in 2008 and well worth a watch.