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.
7th 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.
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