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).

—————————————–

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)

—————————————————————————-

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)

————————————————–

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)

————————————————————–

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)

—————————————————–

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)

——————————————-

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

————————————————

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)

HISTORIANS ARE CONTESTING PUTIN’S INTERVIEW CLAIMS

Researchers say Putin’s vision of Russia amounts to a selective abuse of history to justify the ongoing war in Ukraine. (Credit: Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin began his interview with US talk show host Tucker Carlson with a 30-minute lecture on Russian and Ukrainian history. But historians tell the BBC the Russian leader’s claims are nonsensical.

On the establishment of Russia and Ukraine

Mr. Putin claimed that 862 – when Scandinavian prince Rurik was invited to rule over the city of Novgorod, the capital of the Rus – was the year of the “establishment of the Russian state.” He contrasts this with Ukraine, which he insists was “created” as late as the 20th Century. But Sergey Radchenko, a historian at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, says the claim is “a complete falsehood.” “You could equally say that Ukraine as a state began its development in the ninth Century, exactly with the same kind of evidence and documents,” he said.

On Poland’s ‘collaboration with Hitler’

Mr. Putin claimed Poland – which was invaded by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939 – “collaborated with Hitler.”  Anita Prazmowska, a professor emerita at the LSE, says while it’s true the first treaty Hitler signed after coming to power was a non-aggression pact with Poland in 1934, Mr .Putin is conflating diplomatic outreach to a threatening neighbour with collaboration. “The accusation that the Poles were collaborating is nonsense,” she says. “It just so happened that the Soviet Union also signed treaties with Germany [at the same time].”  (BBC, 2/9/2024)

—————————————————

TRUMP SENDS EUROPE INTO A PANIC

Speaking at a South Carolina rally on Saturday, Donald Trump said he would “encourage” Russia to attack NATO members that don’t meet their financial obligations. “No I would not protect you, in fact I would encourage them to do whatever they want,” the former president and likely GOP 2024 nominee thundered. “You gotta pay.”  (Gzero Signal, 2/12/2024).

950 million people live within the NATO alliance.  (Scripps News, 2/12/2024)

NATO CHIEF WARNS AGAINST TRUMP’S POSITION ON ALLIANCE

What happened 
The NATO chief, Jens Stoltenberg, has said that any assault on the Western military alliance would be met with a “collective and robust reaction” after Donald Trump threatened to encourage Russia to attack countries that have not contributed enough money.

Who said what
“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” Stoltenberg said. His statement came in response to Trump’s comments at a rally in South Carolina that he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to any European countries he deemed to be in arrears.

The commentary 
This is “not the first time Trump has singled out NATO,” said The Times. Indeed, he spent much of his four-year presidency “undermining it while strong-arming members into keeping their commitments to spend more on their own militaries,” said the New York Times, with the threat that “he would not come to their aid otherwise.”

What next? 
Despite NATO’s alarm, further attacks by Moscow do not appear imminent. In his interview with Tucker Carlson last week, Vladimir Putin said that while Russia would fight for its interests “to the end” it had no desire to expand its war in Ukraine to other countries. Putin’s reticence is understandable, considering Russia’s military is already “overextended” in Ukraine, The Guardian said.

——————————————————

CHINA PREPARES FOR US TAKEOVER

China’s Communist Party is at this moment putting in place the infrastructure in America to attack America.

In Reedley, California, near Fresno, authorities found a secret Chinese biological weapons lab with at least 20 pathogens, including the one for Ebola, and almost a thousand mice that had been genetically engineered to spread disease.

Chinese agents, in addition to hobbling Americans with disease and gunning them down, could bomb power stations, attack military bases, start wildfires, poison reservoirs, or create terror in dozens of ways.

These tactics come straight out of Unrestricted Warfare, a 1999 book written by two Chinese air force colonels and first published by the PLA Literature and Arts Publishing House in Beijing. The colonels argued that China can and should employ any tactic in attacking a militarily superior United States. Now, Americans can see how Beijing is operationalizing the suggestions in this how-to manual.   (Gordon Chang, Gatestone, 2/13/2024).

12 FEBRUARY 1912 — The last Qing Emperor of China, Puyi (aged six), abdicates after losing the support of the Chinese people. Modern day China often harks back to the Qing dynasty when making claims to lands including Taiwan, which it calls an inalienable part of its territory. Historians, in turn, recall that even under Qing rule there were more than 100 recorded rebellions in Taiwan, highlighting the island’s complex history.  (The Week, 2/12/2024)

Chinese Influencer Zhou Zheng: Never Believe What The Jews Say; We Only Hear About The Holocaust, But Not About How The ‘Filthy Rich Jews’ Previously Betrayed ‘Kind’ Germany; The Jews’ Crimes Against China Are Even Worse Than Those Against Germany (MEMRI, 2/9/2024)

——————————————–

THE EXPLAINER

What are the Regency Acts?

As the nation absorbs the news of King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, what happens if he becomes unable to fulfil his constitutional duties is another concern.

“Much of his private work will continue,” according to the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason, and the monarch will still “receive his red boxes, the daily exchange of paperwork at the heart of his role.”

But if he were to become seriously ill, a piece of legislation called the Regency Act could come into play.

What is the Regency Act?

The Regency Act of 1937 was introduced during the reign of King Charles’s grandfather, King George VI. It states that if the monarch “by reason of infirmity of mind or body” is “incapable for the time being of performing the royal functions,” a “regent” would be appointed to take their place until they have recovered.    (The Week, 2/12/2024)

———————————————————-

MEDIA BIAS

One can understand why Al-Jazeera and Arab media journalists are so anti-Israel that they do not want to provide a platform to any Palestinian to criticize Hamas. Yet, one cannot understand why the foreign media is turning a blind eye to the critical voices coming out from the Gaza Strip and Palestinians and Arabs living outside the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.  Why? These journalists are busy searching for stories that reflect badly only on Israel.  (Bassam Tawil, Gatestone, 2/12/2024)

———————————————-

5 FEBRUARY 1944

The “Captain America” serial film premieres, starring Dick Purcell. The film was the first appearance of a Marvel superhero outside a comic. Today, Marvel movies loom large over the film industry. However, “superhero fatigue” is beginning to set in, Forbes said, with the last major Marvel Studios film, “The Marvels,” underperforming at the box office.  (The Week, 2/5/2024)

—————————————————

Biden has opened the floodgates of Hell. Although nothing is inevitable, we are fast approaching the point where, as a practical matter, he will not be able to stop China and Russia, directly and through proxies, from merging existing conflicts and turning them into the next global war.  (Gordon G. Chang, Gatestone, 6/6/2023)

———————————————–

A 13-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in a public toilet while the gang of thugs made her boyfriend watch.  Police say that seven suspects were involved in the horrific attack that took place last Tuesday in Sicily, Italy, The Sun reports.

Cops have now arrested seven young Egyptian migrants – four adults and three minors, aged between 15 to 19.   (The Sun, 2/6/2024)

——————————————————–

Scripture Reading — Revelation 1:9-16

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.  (Revelation 1:9)

John explains to his first readers that he understands what it means to suffer for the cause of Christ. He is imprisoned on the island of Patmos “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” John confirms that anyone who follows Jesus is not excused from persecution. In fact, Jesus told his followers to expect it. As Jesus’ enemies did to him, they will do to his followers (John 15:18-20, 33). But Jesus also rose victorious from death and ascended to the Father’s right hand. And the church will follow. “Patient endurance” is needed through trials and suffering for God’s kingdom while his people live here on earth, but full life with God forever is promised for all who keep serving him. Next John notes that Jesus announces himself with a trumpet-like voice, telling him to write to the seven churches. John turns around to see who is speaking, and a man is standing there among seven lampstands, dressed in a royal robe, with hair and eyes reflecting images of the “Ancient of Days” in Daniel 7:9, and with a voice like the sound of rushing waters (see Ezekiel 43:2). This “son of man” can be trusted despite what his enemies might do, for this is Jesus, the Lord of his church! (Evan Heerema, Our Daily Bread, 2/6/2024)