WILL THIS BE AMERICA’S LAST YEAR?

NATO is the biggest and longest-serving alliance in history, with 32 members.  It was founded in 1949.   It was about that time that the US was first called the Leader of the Free World.  (Prior to World War II Britain had the same status.). Seventy-five years later, there is increasing talk of ending the alliance.   That would mean the US ending its leadership role.  It would no longer be called the Leader of the Free World.  That role would be passed to another member of NATO.

Note the following quotes from Wikipedia:

“On 6 May 2010, upon an address to the plenary chamber of the European Parliament, the then US Vice President Joe Biden, stated that Brussels had a “legitimate claim” to the title of “capital of the free world,” normally a title reserved for Washington. He added that Brussels is a “great city which boasts 1,000 years of history and serves as capital of Belgium, the home of many of the institutions of the European Union and the headquarters of the NATO alliance.”

“When Time declared the German Chancellor Angela Merkel as Time Person of the Year for 2015, they referred to her as “Europe’s most powerful leader,” and the cover bore the title “Chancellor of the Free World.”  Following the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency in November 2016, The New York Times called Merkel “the Liberal West’s Last Defender,” and a number of commentators called her “the next leader of the free world.”  Merkel herself rejected the description. An article by James Rubin in Politico about a White House meeting between Merkel and Trump was ironically titled “The Leader of the Free World Meets Donald Trump.”

“Is Europe ready?”

“Russia is becoming more dangerous.  America is less reliable and Europe remains unprepared.  The problem is simply put, but the scale of its solution is hard to comprehend.  The security arrangements based on NATO that emerged from the Second World War – and have prevented a third – are so much part of Europe’s fabric that remaking them will be an immense task.   European leaders urgently need to jettison their post-Soviet complacency. That means raising their defense spending to a level not seen in decades, restoring Europe’s neglected military traditions, restructuring its arms industries and preparing for a possible war.  The work has barely begun.

“The murder of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s main opposition leader, in a penal colony on February 16^th ought to have shattered any remaining illusions about the ruthlessness and violence of Vladimir Putin.  As the violence enters its third year, Russia is winning in Ukraine.  Having put the economy on a war footing, Russia’s president is spending 7.1% of GDP on defense.   Within three to five years, Denmark’s defense minister has said, Mr. Putin could be ready to take on NATO, perhaps by launching hybrid operations against one of the Baltic states.  His aim would be to wreck NATO’s pledge that if one country is attacked, the others will be ready to come to its aid.”  (“Is Europe ready?” The Economist 2/24)

In its 75 year history, only once has Clause 5 of the treaty been invoked. That was on Sept 11, 2001. The country helped was America.

——————————————————————–

WHAT’S BORIS JOHNSON UP TO IN VENEZUELA?

Boris Johnson is back in the news again – but not for the reasons you might think. The former UK prime minister secretly flew by private jet to Venezuela last month for talks with President Nicolás Maduro, according to an exclusive in The Sunday Times.

Apparently with the knowledge of Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Johnson spoke to the widely sanctioned autocrat Maduro about the war in Ukraine, amid fears that the “oil-rich socialist republic” could supply weapons to Russia, its stalwart ally. But Johnson also reportedly discussed the possibility of the UK normalizing relations with Venezuela – as the US did last year – in exchange for its first “free and fair presidential elections” since 2013. 

The UK (and most of the world) doesn’t accept Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, after the fraudulent 2018 elections. But as we discussed in our end-of-year The Week Unwrapped podcast, the poverty-stricken nation has become a focal point in the global tug-of-war between authoritarianism and democracy. A long-time ally of Iran, Venezuela is also attractive to the US for its massive oil reserves and for its potential to help stem the flow of desperate Venezuelan migrants into America.

Maduro has agreed to hold elections on 28 July – but will likely run without a challenger, after banning his strongest adversary from public office for alleged corruption. Johnson’s back-channel visit is bound to raise eyebrows in Westminster, but whether it will move the dial on democracy in Caracas looks much less likely.  (The Week, 3/11/2024)

——————————————————–

INDIA’S NEW CITIZENSHIP LAW

EDITOR’S COMMENT: India has some of the strictest laws on immigration and citizenship.   Whereas the Indian PM is always calling for the US, UK and Australia to allow in more Indians, the doors are always closed the other way.  The new proposed citizenship law will tweak that, a little.

The Indian government implemented a new citizenship law on Monday after over four years of delay that critics say may be used to discriminate against the country’s large Muslim minority.

What’s the new law? The amendment extends Indian citizenship to Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Christians who moved to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan, or Bangladesh before Dec. 31, 2014.

Supporters say the law is meant to help members of those faiths escape persecution in their countries of origin, but critics worry it is one step of a two-part plan. In combination with a proposed national register of citizens, they say this law could be used to render Muslims stateless. When the law was first passed in 2019, it triggered months of protests and riots that left dozens dead and hundreds injured, which is why the government waited years to implement it.

Why now? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has never looked stronger, and he’s aiming to fire up Hindu nationalist sentiment ahead of elections this spring. Modi is expected to win comfortably, but he’s aiming to run up his party’s vote count as high as possible and solidify its long-term prospects.

To that end, earlier this year he opened a controversial Hindu temple on the grounds of a former mosque in a massive symbolic victory, which had been the site of violent confrontation for over a century. And to woo less spiritually motivated voters, Modi announced he was spending $15 billion on infrastructure in the south and east, where he hopes to make inroads into opposition strongholds.  (Gzero Signal, 3/12/2024)

——————————————————————–

GAINING WAR EXPERIENCE

Following the death of three sailors in another Houthi militia attack on a freighter in the Gulf of Aden, the situation in the operational area of Germany’s state-of-the-art frigate, The Hessen, continues to worsen. In response to the attack, there is likely to be a renewed wave of US-British strikes on Houthi (Ansar Allah) positions in Yemen. Yet it is highly unlikely that this firepower will dissuade Ansar Allah from launching further attacks on merchant shipping. The Hessen has been deployed to the Red Sea and neighboring waters as part of Operation Aspides, the EU’s own maritime security mission to protect merchant ships. The vessel’s initial actions have not been a success. Its anti-drone missiles have missed their target several times, including an attempt to bring down a misidentified US drone. German naval circles speak of beginner’s mistakes and the need to learn lessons:  “What the ship and crew lack is war experience.” The German navy is keen to gain this war experience. The Hessen can spy on large parts of Yemen thanks to its advanced technical equipment. The data yielded can be passed on to the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian, taking place alongside the EU’s own Operation Aspides in the Red Sea. This capability could have far-reaching consequences for regional tensions, although it remains uncertain as to whether the data will be used for strikes on Houthi positions.  (German Foreign Policy, 3/11/2024)

TALKING POINT

Church of England and the Slavery Reparations Row

The Church of England is appealing for other organizations to help it establish a £1 billion fund to address its former connections to slavery.

A £100 million sum was initially pledged by the Church to tackle the issue, but following a review by an independent oversight group, it was viewed as “insufficient,” The Guardian reported. Instead, it has been suggested a far greater sum is necessary to properly “reflect the scale of moral sin.”  The Church hopes to “attract co-investors to increase the fund’s value” to “invest globally in black-led businesses.”

The original commitment to reparations, supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was made following findings that a “significant chunk” of the Church’s £10.3 billion wealth could be traced back to profits made from slavery, said The Times.

‘It’s not a lot’

Rosemarie Mallett, the Bishop of Croydon, led the review into the church’s original fund. Speaking to The Guardian, she said £100 million is “a heck of a lot of money,” but “that it is not a lot when you consider the harm done.”

A call for reparations is intrinsically linked to faith, said Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York, in The Sunday Times.  Acknowledging the past demonstrates the Church is “serious about justice and serious about the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

A ‘trinity of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’

But Niall Gooch on UnHerd said it was an “un-Christian” move. When it comes to reparations, “there is a distinct whiff of the Church leaping on board a passing secular bandwagon.”  Christians “ought to be in the business of promoting racial harmony,” said Gooch, “not crank theories about how all the problems of society are the fault of a certain group.”

Instead of fault, “the Church of England stands close to the top of the heroes’ table” when it comes to addressing the horrors of the slave trade, said Daniel Hannan in The Telegraph. William Wilberforce, widely viewed as the main driving force in Britain for the abolition of the “foul business,” discussed being motivated by his Anglican faith.

Reparations only show the traditional doctrine of the Church is being abandoned in favor of the “newer trinity of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”

—————————————————————————-

HAITI’S CONTINUING AGONY

Regional leaders are meeting Monday in Jamaica to discuss Haiti’s political crisis after intense violence in Port-au-Prince saw gangs burn down the country’s Interior Ministry this weekend. They also attacked police stations near the National Palace in offensives that have paralyzed the country. The US Embassy has evacuated non-essential staff.

Washington is pushing for a transitional council to replace unpopular Prime Minister  Ariel Henry, who is stuck outside Haiti. He left for Nairobi on Feb. 25 to try to salvage a multinational intervention force to be led by Kenya. The leader of the largest gang coalition, Jimmy Chérizier (aka Barbecue), used Henry’s absence as an opportunity to play for power.

What happens now? Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, the president of regional bloc CARICOM, says he is in talks with Henry and other Haitian power players.

We expect Henry to step down – without support from Haitians, the US, or regional leaders, how can he hang on?

The tricky question is who comes next. Guy Philippe, a convicted drug trafficker who led the 2004 coup, is building support for his “National Awakening” movement, and some Haitians say he is in a position to negotiate with the gangs. But considering he’s fresh out of a US prison, don’t expect Washington to back him.  (Gzero Signal, 3/12/2024)

————————————————————

QUOTES OF THE DAY

“All I want is my country back.”  (Lee Anderson, the former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, explains why he has defected to Reform UK)

“Americans have kind of had it with wars “ (General Mark Milley, Financial Times, 3/2/2024)

“Israel has forfeited the right to exist.”  (George Galloway’s assistant)

Thomas Sowell gave a one-word answer to the question:  “What can Jews do to defeat rising antisemitism?”    Answer:  Fail (brilliant).

“Twice in my lifetime I’ve used the mute button on my remote to stop listening to a president.  One was President Trump; the other Obama.”   (Thomas Sowell, who has endorsed Trump for president)

———————————————————–

STAT OF THE WEEK

67.7% / 73.9%

Irish voters delivered “two wallops” to their government when they shot down efforts to modernize the “very old-fashioned” 1937 constitution. About 67.7% of voters rejected broadening the definition of family (it currently specifies marriage as the basis) and 73.9% voted against removing a suggestion that women’s value derives from “duties in the home” (the biggest constitutional defeat in Ireland’s history). The proposed replacements to these “notions from a bygone era” were criticized as rushed, “maddeningly vague and threatening to property rights,” said Politico.   (The Week, 3/11/2024)

————————————————–

SCRIPTURE CORNER

Jesus came to take away the guilt and shame of our sin. And he did that by taking on the most shameful death No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame . . .
(Psalm 25:3)

Shame is different from guilt. If you are guilty, you did something wrong, and you realize you are responsible for it. You can feel shame from being guilty, but feelings of shame are not always tied to guilt. Shame has more to do with a lack of self-worth, and that can come from not measuring up to a standard, from feeling insecure, from being bullied or abused in various ways, from public disgrace, ridicule, and more. When you are ashamed, you may or may not have done something wrong, but when others see you, you feel exposed, dirty, unworthy of respect.

When Adam and Eve fell into sin, they realized they had done wrong. They saw that they were naked. They were exposed and felt shame. They tried to cover up and hide. But they couldn’t hide from God—and that was a good thing, because God loved them and valued them, despite what they had done wrong. God loves us all too, despite any bad we have done.

Jesus came to take away the guilt and shame of our sins and he did that by taking on the most shameful death possible:  crucifixion on a Roman cross. He hung there naked, in public disgrace, exposed to the abuse of the jeering crowd. And yet he was innocent. “He endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2), so that we can be freed from all shame and live fully with him. Now, because of Jesus, we are forever clean.   (Kent Van Til, Our Daily Bread, 3/8/2024)

POLAND’S HOLOCAUST DENIAL

Bible prophecy is focused on the Middle East and Europe.   There’s a lot happening in the latter right now, as the following news items show.   Poland’s holocaust denial is likely to be followed by other European countries given time, as a new generation takes over and does not want to be blamed for the sins of their fathers.  

“Watch therefore and pray always.” (Luke 21:36)

 

A few years ago, I visited Auschwitz and Krakow in Poland.   I remember asking the tour guide about Polish involvement in the Holocaust.  He admitted that many Poles had aided the Nazis in rounding up the Jews and worked in the camps, helping the Nazis in killing Jews.

The upper house of the Polish parliament has now made it illegal to say such things.  Revisionist history now says that Poles played no role in the Holocaust.  Note the following from the Wall Street Journal:

“Poland’s parliament passed a libel bill imposing jail sentences for accusing the Polish population for collaborating in the Holocaust or other war crimes, sparking concerns from Israel and the United States that a close ally was limiting free expression and flirting with anti-Semitism.

“American and Israeli diplomats condemned the legislation, passed by the upper house of the country’s legislature on Thursday which would set up to three year’s imprisonment for blaming the wartime murder of roughly six million Jews on the Polish state or people.”   (“Poland pushes controversial libel law,” Wall St Journal, 2/2/18)

Under the new legislation, it will become illegal to write or talk about ‘Polish death camps.’

In Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, Alan M. Dershowitz of Harvard University, wrote the article:   “Poland seeks to censor history.”   Here’s a paragraph from the article:

“True, the Germans built Auschwitz and other death camps on Polish soil.   But the Germans could not have murdered the Polish Jews, and millions of other Europeans imported to death camps in Poland, without the active assistance of many Poles in identifying and rounding up victims.   This complicity was incited by generations of anti-Semitic church sermons.   Poles also murdered Jews during and after the German occupation – including in the Jedwabne pogrom in July 1941 and in Kielce in July 1946.”

————————————————————

Merkel warns of rising anti-Semitism on Holocaust remembrance day  (AFP / 27 January 2018)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of rising anti-Semitism in her country on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, calling the need to protect Jewish buildings “shameful.”   “It is inconceivable and shameful that no Jewish institution can exist without police protection, whether it is a school, a kindergarten or a synagogue,” she said.    The chancellor also reaffirmed her support of creating the position of anti-Semitism commissioner in the next German government, if her party can finalize tortuous negotiations to forge a coalition.  The commissioner would be appointed to counter growing hate speech against Jews and Israel in German from both its home-grown far-right and some recent migrants in the Muslim community.

https://www.thelocal.de/20180127/merkel-warns-of-rising-anti-semitism-on-holocaust-day

****************

‘Verbal attacks have become part of everyday Jewish life in Germany’

The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany argued in an interview that much more educational work needs to be done in schools to combat anti-Semitism.  (25 January 2018 / The Local Germany)

Dr. Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews, spoke with the founder of the initiative Faces of Democracy, Sven Lilienström, about the importance of German democracy,   Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and modern anti-Semitism in Germany.   Surveys have shown for decades that about 20 to 25 percent of the population have anti-Jewish resentment.   However, these attitudes have been articulated more openly for some time now.   The internet plays a major role here.   In the social networks we find a verbal lack of inhibition which is dangerous, especially on the far-right of the political spectrum. Therefore, it is good that the Network Enforcement Act now provides an instrument to better prevent “hate speech.”

Unfortunately, however, an anti-Israeli attitude is also spreading in society.   It is then no longer a matter of factual criticism of Israel, but Israel’s right to exist is called into question, or Jews in general are held liable for the policies of the Israeli government.   That’s anti-Semitism.

https://www.thelocal.de/20180125/verbal-attacks-have-become-part-of-everyday-jewish-life-in-germany

*****************

Germany’s AfD is ‘destructive power,’ Jewish leader warns

The ex-president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch, says the party Alternative for Germany endangers democracy.

 It could soon become the biggest opposition party in the German parliament.

 

©27 Jan 2018 Deutsche Welle

 

The former president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch, has expressed her concern at the fact that the right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has entered the German Bundestag. “It pains me that a party that tolerates not just historical misrepresentation and anti-Semitism but also racism, far-right extremism and populist nationalism in its ranks was able to become the third-strongest in Germany,” Knobloch told the Passauer Neue Presse in an interview published on Saturday for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. “Here, an anti-modern, anti-democratic and anti-liberal destructive power is at work that challenges the prevailing collective consensus” formed on the basis of the lessons of history, Knobloch said. Knobloch also warned of what she described as a “very strong and very aggressive” form of anti-Semitism present among Muslims living in Germany and called on Muslim associations and institutions to combat radical elements in their own communities. (http://www.dw.com/) 

*****************

Son of Nazi leader’s warning about Germany — HARDtalk interviews Niklas Frank, son of Hans Frank, brutal Nazi Governor of Poland executed for war crimes 

Germany could return to authoritarianism if the economic conditions were to seriously worsen in the country, the son of Hans Frank the governor general of Nazi occupied Poland during World War Two, has told BBC Hardtalk.   “As long as our economy is great, and as long as we make money everything is very democratic,” said Niklas Frank, but “if we have five to 10 years heavy economic problems the swamp is a lake, and is a sea and will swallow again, everything,” he added.

Niklas Frank said he “despises” his father for the crimes he committed while he was governor-general of Poland from 1939 to 1945, and tours Germany giving speeches about his father and the legacy of the Nazi era.  Hans Frank was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg trials and executed in 1946.  (Released:  25 April 2017)

***************** 

Germany’s push for EU army:   Merkel developing networks with EU members for military union

Germany has been pushing for greater military co-operation amongst European Union member states, setting up a network between the Bundeswehr and other Brussels partners.  (29 Dec 2017 * Express UK)

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has been working on establishing the groundwork for an European Union army, in particular developing a network of co-operation between troops from Germany and others from countries that are part of Pesco – Permanent Structured Co-operation.  The bloc comprises 25 EU countries with only Denmark, Malta and the UK remaining outside. The move largely comprises of co-operation in training the troops, with the Bundeswehr training a number of soldiers from various EU countries and similarly,   German troops visit their counterparts.  But the plan does not just comprise the army but also the navy and air force.   The aim is deeper European integration in defence, which could already be realised ahead of the aims of Pesco.   The German Ministry of Defence has said it is open to the creation of a single EU academy for its military elite but there has been no firm commitment to such a project due to concerns that Germany could end up paying the bulk of the cost to train soldiers from around the bloc. . . .   The move by Ms. von der Leyen comes after Brussels announced EU military cooperation is a now a “tangible reality” after signing off a huge new project . . .   The European Defence Fund has received its first grant from the bloc for a €1million research programme called Pythia.   Named after the Priestess of Ancient Delphi, Pythia will see countries including France and Italy join forces to research cutting-edge military technology.   The UK also forms part of the programme, despite leaving the bloc in 2019, alongside Bulgaria, Poland and Romania.   A further €90million will be dished out from the EU budget in the next two years as Brussels chiefs look to strengthen military ties across the bloc.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/897773/EU-army-Germany-Bundeswehr-military-co-operation-training-Merkel-Macron

***************** 

Austrian right-wing Chancellor Sebastian Kurz welcomes Hungary’s Orban, says tensions have grown in the EU since the migrant crisis.  (AFP•January 30, 2018)

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Tuesday that he aimed to ease east-west tensions within the European Union, as his new right-wing government welcomed Hungary’s incendiary Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Vienna.   “In particular since the start of the migrant crisis (in 2015) tensions have grown in the European Union,” Kurz told a joint news conference with Orban in the Austrian capital. “Our great aim in Austria is to be a bridge-builder in this respect between the Visegrad states and the countries in western Europe,” the 31-year-old conservative said.

. . .  A rift has emerged in recent years between Brussels and the Visegrad group of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia — and in particular with Warsaw and Budapest.   A sweeping revamp of state institutions by the nationalist governments in both countries have raised worries about the rule of law, judicial independence and media freedom.   Both have been the subject of legal action by the European Commission and they have refused to take part in a scheme to share out migrants around the 28-nation bloc.

. . .  Orban has called immigration the “Trojan Horse of terrorism” and earlier this month called migrants “Muslim invaders” of a Christian Europe.   “The biggest danger today to the hopeful future of central Europe is migration of peoples,” Orban told the news conference with Kurz on Tuesday.   “When I say that the future needs to be protected I mean that we have a culture, a Christian culture . . .   We have a way of life, and we want to protect this way of life,” Orban said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/austrian-wing-govt-welcomes-hungarys-orban-162849205.html

*****************

MIDEAST

“215 million Christians experience high levels of persecution” around the world, according to Open Doors, a human rights organization.   On its recently released World Watch List 2018, which ranks the world’s 50 worst nations wherein to be Christian, 3,066 Christians were killed, 1,252 abducted, and 1,020 raped or sexually harassed on account of their faith; and 793 churches were attacked or destroyed.

The Islamic world had the lion’s share of this persecution; 38 of the 50 worst nations are Muslim-majority.   The report further cites “Islamic oppression” behind the “extreme persecution” that prevails in eight of the 10 worst nations.   In short, the overwhelming majority of persecution that these 215 million Christians experience around the world — especially the worst forms, such as rape and murder — occurs at the hands of Muslims.”  (215 million Christians persecuted – mostly by Muslims,” Raymond Ibrahim, MEF, 1/21)

*****************

REAL PROBLEM WITH MIDEAST PEACE TALKS

The root cause of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has not been an Israeli refusal to concede, or an American unwillingness to bend: it has been the ongoing Palestinian rejection of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.   (E.J. Kimball, The Daily Caller, Middle East Forum, 2/2)

————————————————————-

SYRIA

“Idlib province is home to a wide range of groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.   His efforts to crush rebels there come after the government successfully reasserted control over large parts of the country, thanks to firepower from the regime’s Russian and Iranian allies.   But the offensive on Idlib is moving into risky territory, with foreign powers maneuvering in proximity to each other as alliances that used to fight Islamic State fray.”   (“Syrian Offensive strains foreign powers”, WSJ, 2/5/18).

————————————————————

HOLOCAUST DENIAL — 2

In a TV interview, Egyptian historian and Egyptologist Bassam El Shammaa downplayed the Holocaust, saying that the figure of six million Jews killed was “disputed among historians” and that “at the time, there weren’t six million Jews in the world.”   “How come nobody talks about the ‘counter Holocaust’? he asked, claiming that after Hitler’s defeat, “the Jews in Europe captured the Germans, put them in camps, and started to kill them.”   The interview aired on the Egyptian Mehwar TV channel on December 17, 2017.   (MEMRI)

——————————————————

DEMOGRAPHICS

All that matters is immigration…

Republicans who treat immigration as a backburner issue should be required to run on the issues they consider more important — in California.   See how your arguments fare in a state that’s already been transformed by immigration.   That’s your new country.  (Steynonline)

How stupid do you have to be to carry on about taxes, defense spending, ISIS, abortion or the Ten Commandments while intentionally losing on the one issue that will determine the outcome of all these other issues?   Too stupid to be of any real help.   (Ann Coulter, January 2018)

• In Germany, 47% of Muslims believe Sharia is more important than German law.   In Sweden, 52% of Muslims believe that Sharia is more important than Swedish law.
• The studies are supported by European intelligence reports. In Germany, intelligence agencies warned in the early fall of 2015 that, “We are importing Islamic extremism, Arab anti-Semitism, national and ethnic conflicts of other peoples, as well as a different understanding of society and law.”
• A recent Belgian study, in which 4,734 Belgians were polled, showed that two-thirds of Belgians feel that their nation is being “increasingly invaded.”

(Europe: Making Islam Great Again. Gatestone 2/3)

*****************

Special Dispatch No. 7305

Former Basij Commander Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi:  ‘The European Continent Is Gradually Giving Way To The Asiatic And African Genes; In The Next Century, They’ll Have To Look For The European Gene In Museums’

THE COST OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION                                                          By Ruthie Blum, Gatestone 2/5/18

• “At the federal, state, and local levels, taxpayers shell out approximately $134.9 billion to cover the costs incurred by the presence of more than 12.5 million illegal aliens, and about 4.2 million citizen children of illegal aliens.” — Matt O’Brien and Spencer Raley
• It is also rather more than the single payment of $25 billion that it will cost to build a wall — five and a half times more, and every year.
• “Undocumented immigrants are at least 142% more likely to be convicted of a crime than other Arizonans.   They also tend to commit more serious crimes. . . . ” — John R. Lott.
• In 2015, included in the DEA’s drug-threat assessment was the fact that drug overdoses killed more people in the United States than car accidents or guns. Many of these drugs [were] smuggled in large volumes by drug cartels.”

*****************

An Italian man went on a shooting spree in the central town of Macerata, wounding six African immigrants before getting out of his car and doing the fascist salute, police said.

“The 28-year-old suspect drove through Macerata on Saturday, shooting in an area where police had arrested a Nigerian man suspected of killing an 18-year-old Italian woman, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said.” (WSJ, 3/5)

*****************

BERLUSCONI WANTS TO DEPORT 600,000 IMMIGRANTS

Silvio Berlusconi has pledged to deport 600,000 illegal immigrants from Italy should his centre-right coalition enter government after elections on 4 March, as tensions simmer over the shooting of six Africans by a far-right extremist on Saturday.

The 81-year-old rightwing former prime minister said in a TV interview that immigration was a “social bomb ready to explode in Italy” and that the shooting in Macerata posed a security problem.

“Immigration has become an urgent question, because after years with a leftwing government, there are 600,000 migrants who don’t have the right to stay,” said Berlusconi.   “We consider it to be an absolute priority to regain control over the situation.”

Berlusconi’s Forza Italia has forged an alliance with two far-right parties, the Northern League and the smaller Brothers of Italy, for the elections.   (The Guardian, 2/5)