Navalny’s Widow Addresses EU Lawmakers

Yulia Navalnaya has vowed to continue her husband’s work to fight for a “free Russia,” Credit: EPA

In the days following her husband Alexei Navalny’s death in a Russian prison colony on 16 February, Yulia Navalnaya has picked up his mantle as a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin.  Speaking to European lawmakers and students from across the continent in Strasbourg, Ms. Navalnaya called on countries to treat the Russian president as the leader of a criminal organization, using the legal tools at their disposal. Ahead of her speech, Mr. Navalny’s spokesperson announced that the activist’s body would be buried at a cemetery in Moscow on Friday, two weeks before the start of Russia’s presidential election, where Mr. Putin is set to win another six-year term.  Ms. Navalnaya addressed the feeling that “Putin cannot be defeated at all,” channeling her husband in saying: “If you want to defeat Putin you have to become an innovator. You have to stop being boring.”   (BBC News Briefing, 2/28/2024).

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TUESDAY’S MICHIGAN PRIMARY – Michigan’s primary mattered, here’s why

Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden won their primaries in Michigan yesterday, but the vote revealed vulnerabilities for Joe Biden that could come back to haunt him in November.

Why Michigan mattered:  It was Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton in Michigan that sealed the 2016 election, and Joe Biden’s triumph over Trump there and in other Upper Midwestern states in 2020 that decided the election. In all probability, it will play a decisive role this November. Michigan is also home to the largest Arab-American population in the United States. After a concerted campaign in protest of the Biden administration’s policy toward Israel and Gaza, 13 percent of Democratic primary voters chose “uncommitted” last night. In Dearborn and Hamtramck, two of the Michigan cities with the highest concentrations of Arab Americans, “uncommitted” won 56 and 61 percent of the Democratic vote, respectively. Significant portions of Michigan’s college towns also voted uncommitted in protest, foreshadowing how many young, progressive voters are angry about American support for Israel.

GOP voters once again rejected Nikki Haley in favor of Donald Trump. Haley lost for a fifth time against the former president, winning 27% of the vote against Trump’s 68%. She has vowed to stay in the race through Super Tuesday, where the lion’s share of the delegates are up for grabs. (Gzero Signal, 2/28/2024)

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NATO Troops to Ukraine? Macron Can’t Be Serious

Is French President Emmanuel Macron crazy or just bluffing? It’s a question geopolitics experts are confronting after he suggested Monday that sending Western troops into Ukraine to fight against Russia shouldn’t be “ruled out.”

Ukraine seemed to welcome the suggestion of possible European intervention – hardly surprising given Kyiv’s many challenges at this stage of the war.

But Moscow quickly warned that would inevitably lead to a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. Germany and Poland on Tuesday also pooh-poohed Marcron’s idea.

Would this actually happen? It’s extremely unlikely that any Western countries will put boots on the ground in Ukraine. No one wants a conflict between nuclear-armed powers.

So why did Macron say this? According to a thread on X by Eurasia Group’s Europe Director Mujtaba Rahman, French sources said Macron’s comments were meant “to reassure Ukraine” and serve as “words of warning to Vladimir Putin.”

Our take:  Macron likes to stand out on the global stage, for better or worse. He took a lot of flak for seeming too friendly to Putin early in the war. Making a non-starter threat like this enables him to look tough, without actually having to back it up. Trés shrewd, Emmanuel.   (Gzero Signal, 2/28/2024)

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MOSCOW MUST LOSE THE WAR

In Germany, the second anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine has been marked by noisy sloganeering: calls to keep on fighting until Russia is defeated, and scorn for those who question the logic of ever more lethal weapons for Kiev. “They’re just scared.” From the United States come warnings that Ukraine will lose the war. Some voices within the US administration are now urging President Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate with Russia. Yet Berlin is doubling down: Moscow must “lose this war.” The leader of the main opposition party in the Bundestag, Friedrich Merz (CDU), says bluntly that there should be “no negotiations” before Russia capitulates. Surveys indicate that not many agree: only 10 to 25 per cent of the German population think a Ukrainian victory is likely. Majorities expect a Russian victory and oppose further arms deliveries. Yet leading German media have joined in the ridiculing of Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his current stance against handing over Taurus cruise missiles to Kiev. He should, they say, stop being “scared”. Any fears are, of course, based on the well-founded assumption that Moscow would interpret the delivery of the Taurus as Germany going to war. Meanwhile, domestically Germany is in a downward spiral. The sharp rise in military spending is accompanied by social cuts and economic decline: “guns without butter,” as one economist quips.  (German Foreign Policy, 2/28/2024)

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US Immigration: Economics vs. Politics

Immigration has overtaken the economy atop the list of Americans’ biggest concerns. In part that’s because the economic future is getting brighter, and as it happens, immigration is part of that story.

The upside:  According to a CBO study, the surge in irregular migrants seen under Joe Biden will lead to 1.7 million more workers in 2024, and will grow the economy by about $7 trillion over the next decade.

The downside:  Irregular immigration is straining social services, even in Democrat-run “sanctuary cities.”  And over the longer term, experts say that the lower skill levels of this wave of migrants could undermine productivity and depress wages in low-skilled sectors.

The politics:  Notwithstanding the findings about undocumented immigrants’ contributions to the future economy, Americans’ views are hardening. 80% of Americans say the current administration is doing a bad job managing the border, and a Gallup poll found that 28% of voters named immigration as the country’s biggest problem, up from 20% last month.   (Gzero Signal, 2/28)

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JEW HATRED IN UK OUT OF CONTROL

In London over the past few days, I was told the following story.

It concerned Menai Bridge, a small town in north Wales which is listed here as having a population of 3,046 souls of whom precisely four are Jews. A few weeks ago, one of these four Jews decided to visit a shop in the town. She was shocked, however, to see a sign in its window declaring “No Zionists allowed.” She put her head round the door and told the owner that she had been intending to visit the shop, but in view of the sign in the window she wouldn’t now do so. At which he yelled at her: “Get out of my shop, you f*****g Jew!” 

The owner was white-skinned. As the woman retreated into the street, an Asian man who was passing heard what was being screamed at her from inside the shop and proceeded to hurl at her the same antisemitic obscenity.

Jew-hatred in Britain is out of control.   (Melanie Phillips, 2/28/2024)

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SHORTS

Any addiction, whether to the internet, opioids, or gambling, is closely linked to depression, with each reinforcing the other. (Rise and shine, Epoch Times, 2/28/2024)

TRUMP’S SURPIRSING PLEDGE. If former President Donald Trump wins reelection in 2024, he’s promising a massive campaign to deport all illegal immigrants. There are some doubts around whether this would be possible, but during the recent CPAC conference, President Trump reiterated this promise. Meanwhile, the former president is saying that a victory for him would render Nov. 5 a veritable “Liberation Day” for hard-working Americans.  (Epoch Times, 2/28/2024)

The Daily Mail leads on the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, allegedly deciding not to boost defence spending in the upcoming budget, despite “raging” wars and “growing threats.” The paper describes this as “indefensible.”  The Times splashes on its own interview with the home secretary, James Cleverly, who tells the paper that he believes that pro-Palestinian protesters have “made their point” and do not need to continue with their demonstrations.  (The Week, 2/28/2024)

Mary Poppins, the 1964 Disney classic film, has had its age rating raised from U to PG by British film censors because it features “discriminatory language.” Mary Poppins includes two uses of the discriminatory term ‘hottentots’,” which was a derogatory term originally used by white Europeans about nomadic peoples in southern Africa, a spokesperson for the British Board of Film Classification said. “Most recently, the film was resubmitted to us in February 2024 for another theatrical re-release, and we reclassified it PG for discriminatory language.”   (The Week, 2/27/2024)

Incitement Against Israel In Qatari Press Continues: Only More Attacks Like October 7 Will Restrain It; The Conflict Will End Only With Disappearance Of Israel (MEMRI headline, 2/28/2024

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RICH BUT, OH, SO POOR

Scripture Reading – Hebrews 13:16-18

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Stock market values can make people wealthy or poor. Money is not a good god; it cannot love you, nor can it give you eternal life. The one true God, however, has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” The church in Laodicea had a big problem. Because their lukewarm attitude caused a less-than-effective ministry, Jesus warned them that he was about to spit them out of his mouth. They had bank accounts filled with money, tempting their eyes to turn from Jesus toward only themselves. But that made them “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” in Jesus’ eyes.

Jesus did not shut the door on them, but he offered wise financial advice. He advised them to find true wealth in him, and to obtain the pure, white garments of his righteousness rather than the black-wool garments that Laodicea was famous for. And they should invest in the eye medicine of his insight, rather than the medicinal balm their region was known for. Money itself is not the problem, but trusting in money instead of Jesus will bring ruin (see 1 Timothy 6:10). Following the way of Laodicea puts the church at great spiritual risk. Let us thank God that he never leaves us but is always ready to discipline us in love.   (Evan Heerema, Our Daily Bread, 2/27/2024)

FRENCH TEACHER BEHEADED IN STREET

Flowers outside the Collège du Bois d’Aulne middle school as part of a memorial to the teacher who was killed in Eragny, a suburb of Paris, on Friday.Credit…Siegfried Modola/Getty Images

In an attack that sent France reeling, on Friday afternoon, October 16, in broad daylight, a French schoolteacher was beheaded on a suburban street for teaching his students a required lesson about free speech. Samuel Paty, 47, was murdered close to the school where he taught by an 18-year-old Chechen immigrant (identified only as Abdoulakh A.) who had come to France as a child refugee.

Abdoulakh then posted images of Paty’s severed head on his Twitter account along with insults aimed at French President Emmanuel Macron and French “infidels” and “dogs.” 

Witnesses reported hearing Abdoulakh shout “Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)!” during the attack. Abdoulakh had been waiting for Paty before attacking him with a knife and inflicting him with multiple head wounds.

The attacker was killed by police after firing at them with an air gun.

Paty was a history and geography teacher, who had been threatened many times after educating his students in light of the ongoing Charlie Hebdo trial and showing them cartoons from the satirical magazine depicting Islam’s prophet Mohammed (he advised Muslim students to look away if they were offended).  (Clarion Project, 10/18/2020)

An entire community of immigrants, who enjoyed all the freedoms we had granted them, ambushed him . . . It is a racism condoned by imams who had called [the beheaded teacher] Paty “delinquent.”

“[T]here is the continuity of our submission. I am convinced that if we had known how to say no, we would not be here. They all bowed their heads out of fear of appearing racist or out of patronage.” — Élisabeth Badinter, author, Le Point, October 16, 2020.

If the French authorities do not take the many warnings to heart, even after a schoolteacher was beheaded in broad daylight by a terrorist shouting “Allahu Akbar,” it means that the fight is over and they might as well raise a white flag over the Eiffel Tower.   (Giulio Meotti, Gatestone, 10/20/2020)

Sheikh Ali Al-Yousuf Of The International Union Of Muslim Scholars: Killing Of French Teacher Paty Was In Keeping With The Ruling Of The Shari’a But It Should Have Been Done By The Islamic State, Not By Just Any Individual  (MEMRI, 10/20/2020)

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GERMANY

[BREXIT]:  In the Interest of German Industry

The German government breaks ranks with the EU consensus on the negotiations of a Brexit free trade agreement and demands that concessions be made to Great Britain. On Thursday, the EU heads of states and governments – with Germany’s endorsement – had unanimously increased pressure on the British government to unilaterally concede in the dispute over the agreement, however, Chancellor Merkel is now strongly pleading for “a compromise.” This change of course was triggered by London’s reiteration that it would rather settle for a no-deal Brexit, if the EU insists on its maximalist positions. A hard Brexit would bring serious disadvantages particularly for German industry, because, well ahead of China, the UK is its second largest investment site and its business on the British Isles has already been seriously affected by Brexit uncertainties. Confronted with the impact of the Corona crisis and economic risks due to the power struggle between the USA and China, Germany seeks to avoid further slumps. 19 Oct 2020, German-Foreign-Policy newsletter. (https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/news/detail/8415/)

Secret NATO Drills: German Air Force trains in the event of nuclear war?
The German air force is currently working with NATO partners to work out the defense of the alliance’s territory using nuclear weapons
19 October 2020 (From German newspaper) Bild.de

If the situation would follow the most appalling scenario, and it comes to a nuclear war, we must be ready for this. 

The German air force is currently working with NATO partners to work out the defense of the alliance’s territory using nuclear weapons.

According to the DPA news agency, a secret Alliance exercise called Steadfast Noon began this week. At the same time, the operations of fighter-bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons are being practiced. The venue for the maneuvers this year was the Nørvenich airbase in North Rhine-Westphalia. Presumably, it is there that the American tactical atomic bombs B61 will be placed, according to unofficial data, stored at the base in Büchel (Rhineland-Palatinate)

At the same time, the Resilient Guard exercise continues in Büchel, where the Air Force is practicing defense of the airbase there. According to the Bundeswehr, operations with the use of Patriot missile systems are also being practiced there.

The B61 hydrogen bombs located in Büchel, if necessary, can take on board, in particular, the German Tornado aircraft, in order to take hostile forces out of the game. American nuclear weapons are also stored in Belgium, Turkey, and the Netherlands. Combat aircraft of the Air Forces of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy are also participating in the current exercises.

According to military experts, during the Persistent Noon maneuvers, which traditionally take place in October, the safe delivery of American nuclear weapons from underground storage facilities to aircraft and their placement there is being worked out. However, during the exercise, flights will be carried out without bombs. Information on a specific exercise scenario has not yet been released.

Today, the danger of war, during which nuclear weapons may be used, has grown significantly in comparison with the past 30 years. The reason is the termination of the INF Treaty. The United States, with the approval of NATO partners, withdrew from it in the summer of 2019, arguing that Russia has been developing medium-range missiles called 9M729 (NATO classification: SSC-8) for several years, thereby violating the agreement.

Will a new arms race start?

Military experts do not rule out that the world is on the verge of a new arms race. The United States is already working on a new mobile ground-based missile system, which was illegal during the INF Treaty. According to current plans, they should be equipped exclusively with conventional (that is, non-nuclear) warheads. But it is possible that the plans will be further adjusted.

In addition, the last major nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, the START III Treaty, expires on February 5, 2021. The parties are now negotiating its extension, but Moscow has recently made it clear that it will hardly be possible to reach an agreement with Washington under President Donald Trump.(https://112.international/politics/secret-nato-drills-german-air-force-trains-in-the-event-of-nuclear-war-55714.html)

A GERMAN PERSPECTIVE

What If Trump Won’t Go?

Europe Preparing for the Worst in Washington; Concern is growing in the European Union that Donald Trump might refuse to recognize the election results if he loses.  Preparations are underway for the worst-case scenario.  by Markus Becker, Christiane Hoffmann und Peter Müller 16.Oct.2020, Der Spiegel, Germany

A horror scenario is making the rounds these days in both Berlin and Brussels:  Should the outcome of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3 be close, incumbent Donald Trump could declare himself the winner when polls close, even if he is behind in the vote count. He could prematurely and unlawfully claim the presidency. (DS)

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USA

AFGHANISTAN DILEMMA

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, US President George W. Bush demanded that Afghanistan’s Taliban government surrender Osama bin Laden and end support for al-Qaeda. The Taliban refused.

On October 7, US bombs began falling on Taliban forces. NATO allies quickly pledged support for the US, and US boots hit the ground in Afghanistan two weeks later.

Thus began a war, now the longest in US history, that has killed more than 3,500 coalition soldiers and 110,000 Afghans. It has cost the American taxpayer nearly $3 trillion. US allies have also made human and material sacrifices.

Though the Taliban government quickly crumbled, its fighters kept fighting. A Taliban insurgency continues, and its forces are now believed to control nearly 20 percent of Afghan territory. Almost half of Afghan land is “contested.”

The Taliban is militarily stronger today than at any time since the start of the war, and there are now US soldiers serving in Afghanistan who were not yet born on September 11, 2001.

The dilemma remains

A large-scale US effort to defeat the Taliban everywhere in Afghanistan would prove costlier than the American public, and therefore any US president, is willing to bear.   (Gzero Signal, 10/22/2020)

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THREAT FROM AMERICAN EXTREME RIGHT — On October 19, 2020, the National Socialist Order (NSO), which was created by members of the international neo-Nazi network, AtomWaffen Division, released a one-minute video on its Telegram channel urging supporters to take action such as running-over protesters, or murdering politicians, to bring about a “new world.” The video, titled “National Socialist Order – A Step by Step Guide to Victory,” is a slick production in a retro television style, with black and white animated sequences and titles, and is narrated in a male voice.  (MEMRI 10/21/2020)

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FRANKLIN GRAHAM ON POLITICS 

Regarding the recent Democratic and Republican national conventions, Graham asserted that the Democratic Party is “opposed to faith.”

“The Democrats are really, if anything, they are opposed to faith.” Graham asserted.

Graham acknowledged that while his father, the late evangelist Billy Graham, was a lifelong democrat, even he saw the significant transformation within the Democratic Party as it became “a party of the left.”

“It’s a socialist party. They want socialism for this country,” Graham argued, according to CBN News.   (CBN, 9/3/2020)

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New Data Analysis Finds 353 Counties With 1.8 Million More Registered Voters Than Eligible Citizens by Mark Tapscott (Epoch Times, 10/18/2020)

Nope, no chance of voter fraud here, folks.

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THREAT FROM CCP

We are at risk of losing a war today because too few of us know that we are engaged with an enemy, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), that means to destroy us. The forces of globalism that have dominated our government (until recently) and our media for the better part of half a century have blinded too many Americans to the threat we face. If we do not wake up to the danger soon, we will find ourselves helpless.(Imprimis, 9/20/2020)

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VIOLENCE AHEAD?

As Election Day nears, voters are on edge.

In fact, almost three in four voters, 72 per cent, describe themselves as very or quite concerned about post-election violence, according to a poll conducted by JL Partners and The Independent.

Republicans in Washington are concerned far-left groups will stir up trouble after the election should Mr. Trump win – or say he won as a court battle begins. Democrats say it is the president who has been stoking trouble.   (The Independent, 10/22/2020)

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Chris Jackson / Canada Government

CANADA’S NEW OFFICIAL PORTRAIT OF THE QUEEN

A new portrait of the Queen has been commissioned by the Canadian government. It will hang in schools, government buildings and embassies.

Even after resuming socially-distanced in-person engagements, and reopening Buckingham Palace for audiences, the royals haven’t had occasion to flaunt their stunning jewelry collection in some time – and may not for a while yet. This makes the reveal of Queen Elizabeth’s new official Canadian portrait, which features the monarch bedecked in precious stones from the King George VI Victorian Suite, all the more special.

Photographer Chris Jackson unveiled the portrait on Instagram, saying, “It was an incredible honor to have the opportunity to photograph HM Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the Canadian Government.”

He then went on to explain the significance of the jewelry and royal honors the Queen wears in the portrait, starting with the two badges affixed to her dress. These are the Canadian insignia as Sovereign of the Order of Canada and the Order of Military Merit (per Canadian Heritage’s Instagram, the Order of Canada is the country’s highest civilian honor, instituted by the Queen herself in 1967). More interesting, perhaps, to those interested in royal history are the jewels: a tiara, necklace, earrings, and bracelet, all from the diamond and sapphire King George VI Victorian Suite.

The suite – then composed only of the necklace and earrings, made circa 1850 – was given to the Queen by her father, King George VI, as a wedding present in 1947. A matching tiara and bracelet were fashioned in 1963, and in 1990, the Queen took the whole suite with her for a royal tour of Canada – making it a particularly meaningful choice for this portrait.

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POPE ENDORSES SAME SEX CIVIL UNIONS

ROME — Pope Francis expressed support for same-sex civil unions in remarks revealed in a documentary film that premiered on Wednesday, a significant break from his predecessors that staked out new ground for the church in its recognition of gay people.

The remarks, coming from the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, had the potential to shift debates about the legal status of same-sex couples in nations around the globe and unsettle bishops worried that the unions threaten what the church considers traditional marriage — between one man and one woman.

“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” Francis said in the documentary, “Francesco,” which debuted at the Rome Film Festival, reiterating his view that gay people are children of God. “I stood up for that.”

Many gay Catholics and their allies outside the church welcomed the pope’s remarks, though Francis’ opposition to gay marriage within the church remained absolute.

His conservative critics within the church hierarchy, and especially in the conservative wing of the church in the United States, who have for years accused him of diluting church doctrine, saw the remarks as a reversal of church teaching.

“The pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the longstanding teaching of the church about same-sex unions,” said Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, R.I., adding that the remarks needed to be clarified.   (NYT, 10/22/2020)

Matthew 23:9 – “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”

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HOW ISIS RESPONDED TO COVID:  In early March, as coronavirus swept across Europe, Isis issued a surprising message to its members.   Adopting a safety-first approach, the terror group’s al-Naba magazine stopped encouraging attacks on western nations, instead advising its members not to travel to Europe, which it described as “the land of the epidemic.”

The group also told its followers to “put trust in God and seek refuge in Him from illnesses,” but to also “cover the mouth when yawning and sneezing” and to wash their hands frequently, Politico reports. Terror groups traditionally thrive in areas undergoing disruption and chaos. So how has Isis handled the past eight months? (The Week, 10/21/2020)

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The goal of socialism is communism.   Vladimir Lenin