THE VIRTUE OF NATIONALISM

January 25, 2024

One of the best written books you will ever read is The Virtue of Nationalism by Yoram Hazony. There is too much in it to quote here. But note this:

“The European Union does, despite the propaganda, have a powerful central government whose directives are legally binding on European nations and on their individual members . . .  It lacks a strong executive – an emperor – capable of conducting foreign affairs and waging war . . .”

“The European nations are, as everyone understands, dominated by Germany. The European Union is a German imperial state in all but name. However, as long as Germany seeks to avoid building up its military and taking responsibility for the security of the continent, the EU will apparently remain an American protectorate – a protectorate that is also an empire in its own right. Should the United States ever withdraw its protection, all the talk of Europeans pioneering a new form of political order will quickly evaporate. At that time, a strong European executive will be appointed by Germany and empowered to maintain the security of the continent. Then the reconstitution of the medieval German empire in Europe will be complete, and the English-inspired experiment with an order of independent national states in Europe will have reached its end.” (pp, 152, 153, 154)

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ISRAEL AND US DISAGREE ON FUTURE OF GAZA

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long been opposed to Palestinian statehood. And he has reiterated this view, saying Israel must have security control over all land west of the River Jordan, which would include the territory of any future Palestinian state. “I tell this truth to our American friends, and I also stopped the attempt to impose a reality on us that would harm Israel’s security,” he said. While not surprising, the very public nature of this latest dismissal of the US diplomatic push for a two-state solution is likely to cause frustration among Israel’s allies, writes correspondent Mark Lowen. Asked about Mr. Netanyahu’s comments, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby recognized that the US and Israel “obviously” see things differently. Mr. Netanyahu’s focus on destroying Hamas may also be at odds with a majority of Israelis who, according to recent polls, would rather  prioritize bringing home hostages. More than 100 remain in Gaza after being kidnapped during the 7 October attacks in which about 1,300 people were killed.   (1/19/2024)

ENDING PALESTINIAN SUFFERING

Palestinians in Lebanon are “prevented from employment in 39 professions such as medicine, law and engineering . . . are socially marginalized, have very limited civil, social, political and economic rights, including restricted access to the Government of Lebanon’s public health, educational and social services and face significant restrictions on their right to work…” — United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees, updated September 2020.

Arab citizens of Israel…. can own, buy and sell property, can vote and run in national and local elections, have equal access to free public healthcare, education and other services . . . Many Arab Israelis serve in senior positions in hospitals, universities and colleges, courts, the civil service, and even in the Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces.

Neither Syria nor Lebanon grants citizenship to the Palestinians living there . . .

[W]hat is happening inside the Syrian detention centers against the Palestinians is “a war crime by all standards.” – Action Group for Palestinians of Syria, alquds.co.uk, November 29, 2023.

By ignoring the profound suffering of the Palestinians in Syria and Lebanon, these self-proclaimed “pro-Palestinian” activists and groups are once again proving that their goal is not to help Palestinians, but only to make Israel into a pariah state.

If these activists and groups want to end the suffering of the Palestinians, they should be demanding that the Arab countries end their discriminatory and repressive measures against their Palestinian brethren. The activists and groups should also be raising the plight of the Palestinians at every available international platform instead of blaming Israel.   (Bassam Tawil, Gatestone, 1/16/2024)

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TIMES SQUARE MACHETE ATTACKER PLEADS GUILTY

When Trevor Bickford was 19 years old, on Dec. 31, 2022, he ventured to Times Square along with multitudes of New Year’s Eve revelers, but he was not interested in joining the festivities. Instead, he attacked three NYPD officers with a machete. On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to three charges of attempted murder, and while his motive is abundantly clear, authorities appear to be completely indifferent about what its implications are for the future.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that Bickford, who came down to Times Square from his home in Wells, Maine, said this as he entered his guilty plea: “On Dec. 31, 2022, I attempted to kill three NYPD officers with a knife while they were working in Manhattan. I know what I did was wrong and I’m sorry.” That’s swell, but it would have been more helpful if young Bickford had explained why exactly he was sorry now for an act that he carried out in accord with his newfound beliefs and ideology.

AP added that Bickford “shouted ‘Allahu akbar’ — the Arabic phrase for God is great — before striking the officers in the head with the machete and trying to grab an officer’s gun, authorities said. One officer suffered a fractured skull.”

AP’s explanation was inaccurate: While most media outlets routinely translate “Allahu akbar” as “God is great,” it actually means “Allah is greater.” That is, the god of Islam is superior to anything that non-Muslims worship or hold dear. This declaration of superiority frequently accompanies acts that are designed to enforce the subjugation and submission of the non-believer or “infidel,” amounting to a kind of explanation of why a particular act of violence is being perpetrated.

It was unusually forthright of this far-left news service to bother to mention the politically incorrect fact that Bickford shouted this at all. AP even went so far as to add that “authorities say he had studied radical Islamic ideology and decided to wage jihad against U.S. officials.

Yet while AP was unusually forthright about Bickford’s motive, Bickford himself may have been trying to obscure it:  “At the outset of the hearing,” AP tells us, “Bickford said he was taking three medications for treatment of schizoaffective disorder.” In Europe, it is extremely common for clear cases of jihad violence to be dismissed as mental illness, with the perpetrators hospitalized rather than imprisoned.

There was no doubt, however, when Bickford was arrested. He had a handwritten note in his backpack, asking his family to “please repent to Allah and accept Islam.”   (Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, 1/15/2024)

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TURKISH PARLIAMENT SAYS “YES” TO SWEDEN

The Turkish Parliament has officially approved Sweden’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership bid after months of deliberation.

On Tuesday, the Parliament plenary in Ankara voted 287-55 in accepting Sweden’s application to NATO. 

Before the document is filed with the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., the papers will be returned to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey for his signature and final approval.

Erdogan, who recently endorsed Sweden’s admission, is anticipated to sign.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May of that same year. NATO’s border with Russia was doubled when Finland joined the alliance in April 2023, however, Sweden’s accession process has been plagued with setbacks.

Analysts maintain that NATO would benefit from Sweden’s entry by expanding its northern reach and strengthening its defense of the east. 

Prior to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military actions, Sweden and Finland had avoided membership in military alliances.

Hungary is the only member state that has not yet ratified Sweden’s accession.

In order to negotiate the conditions of Sweden’s membership bid, Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, announced on Tuesday that he had extended an invitation to Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, requesting that he visit Hungary to negotiate and discuss his terms.

“Today I sent an invitation letter to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson for a visit to Hungary to negotiate on Sweden’s NATO accession,” Orbán said on X (Twitter). (OAN, 1/24/2024)

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BANNING A POLITICAL PARTY – NOT SO EASY

More than 800,000 people took to the streets of Germany’s major cities over the weekend to protest against Alternative for Germany (AfD), following reports that members of the right-wing party have been discussing a radical plan to expel millions of migrants.

Independent investigative news site Correctiv reported on a meeting of right-wing groups including the AfD and the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). They were planning “for the so-called remigration, or expulsion, of millions of people who have immigrated to Germany,” said Deutsche Welle.

The story “jolted the nation awake from its winter slumber,” said The Guardian, “triggering sackings and resignations” and “mass rallies across German cities.”

It also prompted “a politically risky debate over an outright ban of the country’s second-strongest party,” the paper added.   (The Week, 1/23/2024)

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BRIEFLY

Britain’s shrinking army is “not what it used to be,” a top US general has warned, as the UK’s armed forces face a funding, procurement and personnel crisis just when they are most needed.

The UK has taken the lead – along with the US – in conducting military action against Houthi rebels in Yemen, with Rishi Sunak authorizing RAF air strikes last night for the second time in two weeks. This fits with Britain’s vision of itself as a “tier one” military power, loosely defined as having a full spectrum of capabilities, including a nuclear deterrent and a navy, army and air force capable of being deployed anywhere in the world.

But even the UK’s closest allies see this as fantasy, with a senior US general telling the then defense secretary Ben Wallace in 2022 that Britain was “barely tier two.”  (The Week, 1/23/2024)

The race for the Republican nomination is “all but over,” said the BBC, after Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary. It is a highly significant victory for the former president and puts him in pole position to become the party’s candidate in November’s White House election. Joe Biden said it was “clear” Donald Trump would be the 2024 Republican nominee and warned that “the stakes could not be higher.”  (The Week, 1/24/2024)

A Tory MP said the party must replace Rishi Sunak as prime minister or be “massacred” in the general election. Writing for The Telegraph, former cabinet secretary Sir Simon Clarke said the Conservatives have “lost key voters” and need a leader who “shares the instincts of the majority.” But Priti Patel accused Clarke of “facile and divisive self indulgence” and backbench Tories “used WhatsApp groups to attack the former levelling-up secretary,” said The Times. (The Week, 1/24/2024)

The head of the Army is to “warn that the British public will be called up to fight if the UK goes to war,” claimed The Telegraph. In a speech later, General Sir Patrick Sanders will say the government will need to “mobilise the nation” if there is a war with Russia. Gen. Sir Patrick has been “openly critical of troop cuts” and believes there should be a “shift” in the mindset of regular British people, where they “think more like troops.” But the paper understands he does not support conscription.  (The Week, 1/24/2024)

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GET A HEARING AID

Some seven million people in the UK could benefit from wearing a hearing aid, according to RNID, but five million of them don’t regularly wear one. And they may be risking early mortality as a result, a study has found. For the research in the US, 10,000 adults with an average age of 49 had their hearing tested. Almost one in five of them were found to have hearing loss and were asked about how often they used a hearing aid. All of the participants were then tracked for ten years. Analysis of the results revealed those who had poor hearing were more likely to die during the period of the study – but those who wore a hearing aid regularly had a 24% lower risk of early death than those who did not. This was the case even after adjusting for age, sex, education, socioeconomic status and the severity of the hearing loss. The study didn’t look at why it might be the case, but previous research has found links between hearing loss and increased rates of depression, dementia and social isolation. Lead author Dr. Janet Choi suggested that improved hearing leads to better mental health and healthier, more active lives.   (The Week, 1/19/2024)

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Now and Forever

by Bob Arbogast — Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Scripture Reading — Matthew 19:16-26

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” - Matthew 19:24

The kingdom of God is eternal. It’s the ultimate reality, when everything will be good at last. Surprisingly, though, the kingdom is also right here, right now—wherever Jesus is present in the flesh or by the Spirit. We can see that in Matthew 19. A rich man who comes to talk with Jesus is very interested in having eternal life—that is, life in the kingdom of God. But does he really want that kind of life? When Jesus tells the man, “Sell everything, give to the poor, and follow me,” the man can’t do it. He can’t take those three steps. It’s really hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. That’s what Jesus says. And he means more than entering the eternal kingdom in the future. He also means living the way of the kingdom right here, right now. Among other things, the way of the kingdom is selfless and generous. And the way of the kingdom includes deeply trusting in God to meet every need. Sadly, the rich man in this story wasn’t ready to live that way. Not here, not now. How about you? Are you ready to live the way of the kingdom here and now? If not, will you want to live that way in eternity? (Our Daily Bread, 1/24/2024)