DEMS OPPOSED TO VOTING MACHINES

“He said, she said.

“It turns out that your opinion about Dominion Voting Systems depends not only on who you are but when you’re asked.  If you zip way back to December 2019, then, if you are Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, or Amy Klobucher, you are very worried about their security.

“Back then, these high-minded public servants wrote letters warning that these widely used voting systems were “prone to security problems.”  “We are particularly concerned,” they wrote, that “voting machines and other election administration equipment, ‘have long skimped on security in favor of convenience’.”

“That was in December of last year – the good old days when NBC, for example, warned about “Chinese parts” and “hidden ownership” of the machines.

“Chinese manufacturers,” they noted, “can be forced to cooperate with requests from Chinese intelligence officials to share any information about the technology and therefore pose a risk for US companies,” not to mention “the concern of machines shipped with undetected vulnerabilities or back doors that could allow tampering.”

“As I say, that was a year ago.

“Today, post Nov 3, 2020, you don’t hear the Democrats worrying out loud about the security of the machines that counted (not to say manufactured) the votes that led to Joe Biden’s apparent victory.

“On the contrary, to raise questions now about Dominion Voting Systems and the software that powers them, as Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and others have done, is to obstruct “democracy” and promulgate “conspiracy theories.”

“Zip back to 2006, and you find CNN running stories about how vulnerable electronic voting systems are to interference and hacking.  Back then, the watchword was “Democracy for sale.”

“It was all especially worrisome since the machines are used in some 2000 counties across 30 states.”  (“Recounts needed to settle Dominion’s Role, and the Election.” Roger Kimball, The Epoch Times, 11/25/2020).

The 2020 presidential election is unlike any before and requires unprecedented measures to protect it, our republic, and our future.

The degree and scale of voter fraud was unprecedented. In swing states, President Donald Trump had large leads on election night.  Then, late at night counting was stopped while election observers were ushered out.  And then, huge, statistically impossible vote dumps occurred, giving Joe Biden the lead.

This pattern, which occurred only in the states where Biden had to reverse the results, and hadn’t occurred in previous elections, points to a coordinated effort to steal the election.   (The Epoch Times, 12/14/2020)

“Who was not stunned to learn that as Trump seemed to be pulling ahead in the voting count on Nov. 3, suddenly, around midnight, the vote counting appeared to stop in the crucial swing states, and we were told it would begin again early the next morning? Why the halt?”  (Pat Buchanan, 12/11/2020)

“Can a nation so distracted, so divided, so at war with itself continue to meet all of the duties, obligations and commitments that are ours as the self-proclaimed ‘leader of the free world’?”  (Pat Buchanan, 12/15/2020)

The federal government’s distribution of COVID relief funds over the past year has been disastrous. As Bloomberg reported in October, the Small Business Administration (SBA) “gave out $10,000 grants to almost anyone who asked.”  From fraudulent applications to identity theft, billions of dollars are believed to have been stolen.  However, criminals were not the only ones to benefit from governmental incompetence; federal COVID relief has also helped prop up extremist organizations with long-held ties to violence. The amounts may be small, but the examples are shocking.   (MEF, 12/7/2020)

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BENEFITS OF FURTHER MIDEAST PEACE – Jared Kushner scores late-term wins for Israel, upending expectations.

President’s son-in-law was widely mocked in the US but made historic breakthroughs in the Middle East, with four Arab countries recognizing the Jewish state within months
by Shaun Tandon and Francesco Fontemaggi, 13 Dec 2020, Times of Israel

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates is getting top-of-the-line fighter jets. Morocco is winning recognition for decades-old territorial claims. And Sudan is coming off the US terrorism blacklist. The Arab nations are suddenly achieving long-sought goals after agreeing to normalize ties with Israel, in a last-minute triumph for the unorthodox diplomacy of outgoing US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Widely mocked for more than three years as a boyish lightweight, who was best known for his famous wife, troubled property deals and his father’s stint in prison, Kushner is scoring historic breakthroughs lauded by Trump’s base with four Arab nations since.

. . . Veterans of Middle East diplomacy agree that Kushner moved nimbly after the United Arab Emirates first signaled its willingness to recognize Israel. “He had the authority; he was smart enough to develop personalized relations. I think he clearly deserves some credit for taking advantage of what the landscape showed was possible,” said Dennis Ross, who served as Bill Clinton’s Middle East envoy. (MORE — https://www.timesofisrael.com/jared-kushner-scores-late-term-wins-for-israel-upending-expections)

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POTENTIAL SECURITY SCANDAL INVOLVING US CONGRESSMAN ERIC SWALWELL

This scandal involves a Chinese spy named Fang Fang (aka Christine Fang) who posed as a student in the San Francisco area and raised money for Swalwell’s first campaign for Congress, was placed as an intern in his Washington office and had a personal, possibly romantic, relationship with him. 

The FBI became so concerned about Swalwell’s ties to Fang that they gave him a “defensive briefing” on her in 2015. Shortly thereafter, Fang fled the U.S. for China after she learned she was being investigated by the FBI. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Swalwell have tried to downplay this story.  Swalwell says it happened many years ago and he severed all ties to Fang in 2015 after the FBI briefing.   (Fred Fleitz, Foxnews, 12/14/2020)  (See article “Afterthought” at end of blog.)

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BREXIT END GAME

“As an uncompromising Brexiteer, I believed from the very start that the only true Brexit was a no-deal Brexit.

That’s because iron logic always meant that any deal the UK might strike with the EU would keep the UK tied to it in some way. 

The reason for that is the premise upon which the EU is based. In essence, it is a protectionist bloc which, acting as a European super-state subsuming its 27 member countries, will resist anything that puts it at an economic disadvantage. 

It is therefore particularly sensitive to competition, particularly since it is itself so vulnerable. That’s because it’s trapped by its regulations, laws and bureaucratic rigidity into a permanent state of economic sclerosis and inability to respond flexibly to any shocks to the system — of which there are plenty. Its internal economic pressures are therefore dire and its long-term future unsustainable. In short, it’s an economic basket-case.

By contrast, the UK is innately nimble and flexible. It has the ability to adjust its financial and monetary levers to respond to shocks to the system. Its deep commitment to true liberty, so poorly understood in continental Europe, means it is far less regulated and therefore more entrepreneurial and potentially dynamic. And it commands the supreme global advantages of the English language, and in the City of London the world’s pre-eminent financial hub. 

Without minimizing the UK’s undoubted weaknesses, all these advantages mean that, unshackled from the EU, it stands poised to become a supreme competitive threat to its neighbors just across the English Channel — a threat that the EU has explicitly recognized and sworn to negate.

As indeed it must. That’s why it was always the case that the EU would never make any concessions to the UK that would place the EU at a disadvantage. That’s why it was always the case that the terms of any such deal would always be to the UK’s disadvantage. 

And that’s why the words that must strike deep dread into the heart of every true Brexiteer are “A deal now looks more likely . . . ”   (“The Brexit end-game,” Melanie Philips, 12/11/2020)

Scotland can’t afford to remain part of the Union from The Spectator magazine UK:  21 Nov 2020 by Andrew Wilson:  a former SNP MSP & author of the party’s recent ‘Growth Report’

Tony Blair’s biggest achievement was delivering a referendum that unified Scotland behind devolution and gave all parties a stake in its success. Boris Johnson is wrong to say it was ‘a disaster,’ but in being wrong is helping precipitate the logical next step: independence. The opinion polls that show a growing majority for Scottish independence will mystify those who believe the lazy, metropolitan idea that independence is an emotional fantasy — all Braveheart, Bannockburn and bagpipes. How, they ask, could a band of Caledonian romantics ever convince the canny Scots to opt for such a thing?

But what if the case for independence was a highly sophisticated position advocated by one of the most popular political leaders in the world? It is now supported by 64 per cent of those aged under 65, according to one of the latest polls. The Spectator, while founded by a Scot, has never supported the idea of his homeland’s independence. But its readers rightly pride themselves on reading different points of view. I seek not your support but your understanding as I try to explain what is really going on here.

The problem for Scotland is that it cannot afford to remain on the UK’s glide path. Staying in the Union is riskier than independence. Voters can see that.

In his outstanding book The Levelling:  What’s Next After Globalisation, the Irish author Michael O’Sullivan points out that in 1924 Argentina was three times wealthier than Japan but is today half as rich. His point is that countries can make colossal strategic errors. The UK has been in a slow descent for some time now. It used to be the richest country on Earth, but currently sits in 21st position in the IMF rankings, and Brexit is hastening the drop. Why should Scotland now buckle in and continue to not enjoy the ride?   (“Scotland can’t afford to remain part of the Union,” Andrew Wilson, a former SNP MSP, The Spectator, 11/21/2020)

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FIGHT AGAINST ISLAMIC SEPARATISM

On October 2, President Emmanuel Macron delivered a “Fight Against Separatism” speech to the French parliament, announcing stricter measures to crack down on the growing influence of what he called “radical Islamism” among France’s Muslim minority, proportionally the largest in Western Europe. This ideology, he said, has “a proclaimed, publicized desire, a systematic way of organizing things to contravene the Republic’s laws and create a parallel order, establish other values, develop another way of organizing society which is initially separatist, but whose ultimate goal is to take over [the Republic] completely.”

Macron’s proposals include abolishing home-schooling, closing down independent schools, devoting more resources to policing and courts, bringing community language teaching under the control of the state, restoring policing in Muslim-majority zones, which he acknowledges has been let slide, reversing ghetto­ization, preventing radical takeovers of Muslim organizations, and rolling back sharia creep, such as the public cafeterias which now offer only halal-compliant menus, and the separation of sexes in public swimming pools.

(Mark Durie is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum, founding director of the Institute for Spiritual Awareness, and a senior research fellow of the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam)

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CHINA ASSERTING ITSELF IN CARIBBEAN

• China also seems to have a military agenda in the Caribbean region . . .  Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe already is on record expressing China’s willingness to deepen military cooperation with Caribbean countries. Of more concern to US security interests is the ongoing seaport expansion project in the already commercially important port at Kingston, Jamaica, as well as the port at Freeport, Bahamas, China’s possible new base of operations 90 miles off the US coast.

• China is clearly not a government that honors its agreements . . .  The US can ill afford any Chinese drive to place under threat any Western Hemisphere country, much less the United States.

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SWAZI LEADER DIES OF COVID

Ambrose Dlamini:  Eswatini’s (Swaziland) PM dies after testing positive for Covid-19

The government of Eswatini says Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini has died, four weeks after he tested positive for coronavirus.  A government statement said Dlamini, 52, died on Sunday afternoon in hospital in South Africa.  No cause of death was mentioned, but Dlamini had recently been receiving treatment for Covid-19 in South Africa.  Dlamini had been prime minister of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, since October 2018.  The tiny landlocked country in southern Africa is one of the last absolute monarchies in the world.

With a population of about one million, the country has recorded 6,768 coronavirus infections and 127 deaths linked to the pandemic, according to the health ministry.  Dlamini announced he had tested positive for coronavirus on 16 November. At the time, he said he was asymptomatic and was feeling well.  A few weeks later, on 1 December, the Eswatini government said Dlamini had been moved to a hospital in South Africa, with the aim of fast-tracking his recovery.  But on Sunday the government said Dlamini died “while under medical care in a hospital in South Africa,” without giving more details. “Government in collaboration with the family will keep the nation informed of subsequent arrangements,” Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku said in the statement. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-55297472)  

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SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

ELECTION 2016

In their infinite wisdom, the United States’ Founders created the Electoral College to ensure the STATES were fairly represented.  Why should one or two densely populated areas speak for the whole of the nation?  The following list of statistics has been making the rounds on the Internet.  It should finally put an end to the argument as to why the Electoral College makes sense. 

Do share this.  It needs to be widely known and understood. 

• There are 3,141 counties in the United States. 
• Trump won 3,084 of them. 
• Clinton won 57. 
• There are 62 counties in New York State. 
• Trump won 46 of them. 
• Clinton won 16. 
• Clinton won the popular vote by approx. 1.5 million votes. 
• In the 5 counties that encompass NYC, (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Richmond & Queens) Clinton received well over 2 million more votes than Trump.  (Clinton won 4 of these counties; Trump won Richmond) 
• Therefore these 5 counties alone, more than accounted for Clinton winning the popular vote of the entire country. These 5 counties comprise 319 square miles. The United States is comprised of 3,797,000 square miles.  When you have a country that encompasses almost 4 million square miles of territory, it would be ludicrous to even suggest that the vote of those who inhabit a mere 319 square miles should dictate the outcome of a national election. 
• Large, densely populated Democrat cities (NYC, Chicago, LA, etc.) DO NOT and SHOULD NOT speak for the rest of our country! 
• And . . . it’s been verified and documented that those aforementioned 319 square miles are where the majority of our nation’s problems foment. 

PILGRIMS NO FUN

“James I had thrown his weight behind Anglicanism, which in tone, vestment, and ritual was modeled closely on Rome. Down at the other end of the Protestant spectrum lay the gloomy Puritans, straitlaced and austere, rabidly opposed to any form of religious ostentation, convinced that pleasure was the invention of the Devil.   Fun-loving James despised them and would, he gloated, harry them out of the land.  Many, most notably the Pilgrims Fathers, took him at his word and abandoned England to settle in the New World.”   (“Great Feuds in history,” Colin Evans, 2001, page 29.)

1949 LETTER FROM ALDOUS HUXLEY TO GEORGE ORWELL

“Whether in actual fact the policy of the boot-on-the-face can go on indefinitely seems doubtful.  My own belief is that the ruling oligarchy will find less arduous and wasteful ways of governing and of satisfying its lust for power, and these ways will resemble those which I described in Brave New World.  Within the next generation I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience.”  (Letter from Aldous Huxley to George Orwell – 1949)

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TO THE POINT

• Eton College teacher loses dismissal appeal — An appeal panel has ruled that Eton College’s dismissal of a teacher was justified. The headmaster of the institution said that there are “limits to the freedoms that teachers have.” Will Knowland, an English teacher at the prestigious school, was sacked earlier this year for gross misconduct after recording a lecture in which he questioned “current radical feminist orthodoxy”.  (The Week, 12/15/2020)
• Campaigners call for reusable face-masks – Calls are rising for a switch to reusable face coverings after it emerged that more than 100 million disposable masks are binned in the UK every week. Research for the North London Waste Authority found that nearly 70% of those who wear disposable masks are unaware they are single-use plastic. “Whether they are binned or littered they will damage the environment,” a spokesperson for the NLWA said.  (The Week, 12/15/2020)

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LESSON FOR THE US FROM A CENTURY AGO

1936 was a long time ago.       

Before the American president became the “leader of the free world”, the King of England held the most important position on the planet.    The British Empire was at the height of is territory and the king was Head of State.

It had been almost a thousand years since England had three kings in one year, yet it happened in 1936.   “The year of the three kings” began with King George V on the throne.  His death at the end of January saw his son David become king as “Edward VIII”.   Before the year was out David would abdicate in favor of his brother, George VI, father of Queen Elizabeth II.

Abdication is such a rare event that many books have been written on the abdication.    The circumstances made if quite different from the last time there were three kings in one year (1066).  This is because the abdication was about a woman, an American divorcee (twice) from Baltimore.  Her name was Wallis Warfield Simpson.   The king is Head of the Church of England.  At the time, the church did not allow divorce.

In hindsight, a lot more is known.   Mrs. Simpson was having an affair even when dating the king, which might have compromised national security.  But, worse still, the king had definite Nazi sympathies, and would likely have compromised the nation’s security at a time when Germany posed a major threat to the United Kingdom.

The famous entertainer Noel Coward suggested at the time of the abdication that “a statue should be erected to Mrs. Simpson in every town in England for the blessing she has bestowed upon the country” (Great Feuds in History, Colin Evans, page 146). 

As I said, the abdication was a very long time ago.  But there’s a serious lesson here for Americans.  Just as England had a king who was a Nazi sympathizer, is it possible that the US could have a president working for communist China? 

Joe Biden seems to have extensive ties with the Chinese.  His son Hunter has been involved in questionable business activities with the Chinese and other foreign powers.  Certainly, on his salary of the last 50 years (he entered Congress in 1972), he could not afford the 10,000 square foot house he lives in.   

As it says in I Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”   He would not, of course, be the only member of Congress tempted by money.

Betrayal at the highest level is not inconceivable.

RACE SET TO DOMINATE DECADE

America is not an inherently racist society, as the dominant ethnic group is working hard on eliminating itself.

Note this from Wikipedia:   “As a result of its changed makeup and rapid growth, new immigration since 1965 has altered the nation’s racial and ethnic composition.   In 1965, 84% of Americans were non-Hispanic whites. By 2015, that share had declined to 62%. Meanwhile, the Hispanic share of the U.S. population rose from 4% in 1965 to 18% in 2015.”  (posted Sep 28, 2015).   By now, the white population is well under 60%.   A sudden recent drop in the birthrate means that they will soon be a minority themselves.  This means that race related matters are set to dominate our news in the next few years.  Schools are already majority non-white.

Nor does the United States discriminate in jobs and income.  There are non-white ethnic groups that have done very well in the US.  Our daughter lives in a nice, modern suburb where there are lots of Indians, people who have moved from the sub-continent, many for computer related jobs.   The Chinese and Japanese have also done well.   Before them, the Jews, also a minority, were very successful.

Minneapolis itself, where the death of George Floyd took place, is home to a large Somali community.   A few years ago, the BBC asked many Somalis if they were happy there.  None of them were and all said they would rather live in an Islamic society.

So, how then do you explain the riots and demonstrations that are affecting the country now?

The incident that sparked the riots was the murder of George Floyd when a policeman had his knee on his neck for nine minutes.   Incidents like it have happened all too often, but they happen to white people, too.

On February 28th, 2015, Deven Guilford, a 17-year-old white kid was shot seven times by a white policeman in Eaton County where we live in Michigan.   The difference between George Floyd and Deven?   The media did not think Deven’s death warranted any coverage.  The death of a black man at the hands of white police is always national news, but the death of a white kid in a similar manner is not!

America has been hit by a triple whammy the last three months.   First, there was the corona virus; secondly, the collapse of much of the economy, with 40 million unemployed; and third, racial problems which have resurfaced.   The riots are out of all proportion to the death of George Floyd, whose brother has called for people to stop rioting.  There were reports of people being bussed in to the big cities to riot; and  of mysterious piles of bricks left on street corners for people to throw.   There has been speculation that much of it has been orchestrated from outside.   When you consider that over 16% of all the people living in the US are foreign born, it’s not too unbelievable that some may be agents of foreign governments.

With some groups doing exceptionally well, whites in the middle and others left behind, it’s impossible to achieve total equality no matter what changes are made.   Almost 2,000 years ago, the early Christians experienced a problem, which involved two ethnic groups.  One group believed they were being discriminated against by the other.

“Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution” (Acts 6:1).  Because the early Christians were such a small group, they were able to resolve this by appointing deacons who distributed food and clothing more evenly.

Later, in Galatians 2 we read of an incident where the Apostle Peter was guilty of what today would be called racism.  Peter showed favoritism to the Jewish converts over those from a gentile background.

If they couldn’t achieve total equality, how can we?

One final thought:   Even in African countries, where black Africans rule, black people are treated badly.  Clearly, millions of Africans would rather live in the United States than stay at home!

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ATTACKS ON ASIANS INCREASING

Attacks on East Asian people living in the US have shot up during the pandemic, revealing an uncomfortable truth about American identity.

Though she was not born in the US, nothing about Tracy Wen Liu’s life in the country felt “un-American.”   Ms, Liu went to football games, watched Sex and the City and volunteered at food banks.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the 31-year-old didn’t think anything of being East Asian and living in Austin, Texas.   “Honestly, I didn’t really think I stood out a lot,” she says.

That has changed.  With the outbreak of the pandemic that has killed around 100,000 people in the US, being Asian in America can make you a target – and many, including Ms Liu, have felt it.

In her case, she says a Korean friend was pushed and yelled at by several people in a grocery store, and then asked to leave, simply because she was Asian and wore a mask.

In states including New York, California, and Texas, East Asians have been spat on, punched or kicked – and in one case even stabbed.

Whether they have been faced with outright violence, bullying or more insidious forms of social or political abuse, a spike in anti- Asian prejudice has left many Asians – which in the US refers to people of east or southeast Asian descent – wondering where they fit in American society.

“When I first came here five years ago, my goal was to adapt to American culture as soon as possible,” says Ms Liu.

“Then the pandemic made me realise that because I am Asian, and because of how I look like or where I was born, I could never become one of them.”   (by Helier Cheung & Zhaoyin Feng & Boer Deng, BBC News, 5/27/20)

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DESIGNATE ANTIFA A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION?

Responding to the riots that have wracked America for close to a week, President Trump stated that he would designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.

Between local and federal law enforcement agencies, there appears to be ample evidence that outside agitators belonging at least in part (if not wholly) to Antifa, a Far-Left group, have played a huge part in transforming what began as peaceful protests against the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police into the violent rioting that is being seen today in the streets of American cities.

One Clarion source in Minneapolis reported how he watched the protests turn from demonstrations to organized riots, and how Antifa brought weapons to the protests.   He estimated there were possibly between 10-12 outside groups.   As Antifa is an amorphous group, it is hard to know how many of these groups were affiliated with Antifa.

Trump’s vow to designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization has been met with derision from the Left (which was predictable) as well as criticism from those who would also like to see white supremacists and neo-Nazi groups equally designated, as these groups are also dangerous, violent and act like terrorist organizations.

Yet today it is Antifa at the forefront.   If we hadn’t seen the group’s true colors before (which we did), its current manifestation in the 2020 riots is one of violence and instigation to more violence.   In fact, the group believes that their use of violence is actually justified as a self-defensive measure.   (Clarion Project, 6/2/2020)

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FOREIGN VIEWS

How is it playing abroad?   Not so well for the US.   Solidarity protests have erupted outside US consulates and embassies in London, Berlin, and Milan.   Meanwhile, several authoritarian countries that have recently gotten an earful from Washington over their own repression have gleefully shot back at the White House: Turkey’s president decried the US’ “racist and fascist” police, Iran’s supreme leader let off a tweet in Spanish about the perils of being black in America, while the country’s ultraconservative former president allowed himself a provocative Tupac quote.   China, for its part, had a field day in light of recent criticism of its crackdown on Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Russia and China seem to be doing their best to further inflame political tensions over the protests – not that the US needs much help on that score at the moment.  (Gzero Signal, 6/2/2020)

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RUSSIAN REACTION TO RIOTS

Russia’s political establishment drew satisfaction at seeing American pretensions to lecture others on human rights punctured by the killing of George Floyd and the massive demonstrations that it triggered.   This satisfaction was somewhat tempered by the knowledge that liberal voices in the United States, for example George Soros, were not Russia’s friends and some commentators even endorsed the theory that the Democrats had instigated and were trying to capitalize on the riots.   Russia’s wariness about the Democrats was also reflected in the quick reaction to remarks by Obama’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, that insinuated that Russia had a hand in the riots.   Russian press commentary also speculated on how the disorders would impact on the November 2020 presidential elections in the United States.   Below is a survey of Russian reactions to the events in the United States:

Russian officials, surrogates and state-controlled outlets expressed satisfaction at America’s discomfiture and the discomfiture of Russian liberals, who disdained their government and looked up to the US. Senator Alexey Pushkov tweeted:   The US is starting to crumble.  This is visible in Syria and Afghanistan, in the disaster with Covid-19 within the USA itself, in the [US’] inability to help its European allies at the peak of the pandemic, in the hysterical but sketchy accusations against China, in the racial rebellion, in the internal schism.   The US has entered an era of turmoil.  (MEMRI, 6/2/2020)

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FOREIGN REPORTS:

Lebanese Intl Affairs Expert: US Is Heading Toward Bloody Civil War, Disintegration (MEMRI, 6/1/2020)

German Foreign Minister says the protests are more than legitimate.  (BBC, 6/2/2020)

The US is dealing with three crises at once:   corona virus, a downturn in the economy and the racial problems that have plagued the country for decades.   (Jon Sopel, BBC, 6/2/2020)

The US can no longer lead the western world.  (Jon Sopel, same interview).

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MONASH GIVES ITSELF OVER TO FEMINISM

Monash University in Melbourne was named after Sir John Monash, a famous World War I general.   He was certainly no feminist.

The Australian Defence Force is planning to train its personnel with a Gender, Peace and Security Course to be run by Monash University.   The $12,000-a-head course will be run by two of their feminist professors who allegedly believe masculinist policies are to blame for many of our current political problems.

Monash University is arguably the most woke university in the southern hemisphere and was all too keen to install trigger warnings and safe spaces on their campuses.

In the space of two weeks, we have had Clementine Ford’s tweet about men not dying quickly enough with the coronavirus and now the government has given two feminists a platform in our defense force.

Clementine Ford, for now, still has her City of Melbourne ratepayer grant to spew her misandrist dribble.   Toxic masculinity is another theory that gets plenty of taxpayer funds as does feminism, Marxism, gender studies and other such very productive things. Whinging opinions which have no relevance.   These feminists are quacks just like the socialists.

If getting taxpayer funds at universities were not bad enough, the feminists can now take on our Defense Force.   And once again, spineless politicians don’t take any action.   The ADF allows its personnel to march every year in uniform in Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Chief of Army David Morrison was made Australian of the Year in 2016 for his feminist rantings which included telling us not to use the term “guys.”

In the US, President Obama turned the military into a bastion of social justice, diversity, and inclusiveness.   He spent the last six months of his presidency thinking about how to get transgenders into the army and into the restrooms of their choice.   Obama purged the military and retained only those who kissed his feet to be social justice warriors.   (Philippe Armstrong, The Unshackled, 5/29/2020)

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TWO COVERS ON THE ECONOMIST

We have two covers this week.   In most of our editions, as America records 100,000 deaths from covid-19, we ask how it has coped. Many Americans think their president has handled the epidemic disastrously, that their country has been hit uniquely hard and that there is a simple causal relationship between the two.   This is not supported by the numbers.   Or, at least, not yet.   The official death rate in America is about the same as in the European Union.  Overall, America has fared a bit worse than Switzerland and a bit better than the Netherlands, neither of which is a failed state.   That is because America’s handling of the virus reflects its strengths, as well as its weaknesses – and in particular its devolved system of government.

In our Asia edition we look at how China’s decision to impose a security law on Hong Kong threatens a broader reckoning with the world—and not just over Hong Kong’s future as a global financial centre, but also over the South China Sea and Taiwan.   The new law, written in Beijing, will create still-to-be-defined crimes of subversion and secession, terms used elsewhere in China to lock up dissidents, including Uighurs and Tibetans.   Hong Kong will have no say in drafting the law, which will let China station its secret police there.   The message is clear.   Rule by fear is about to begin.   (The Economist, 5/29/2020)

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The Epoch Times is a new conservative newspaper, published weekly.

STATES DEMANDING BIGGEST BAILOUTS DO LEAST TO CONTROL SPENDING, DEFICIT  (headline in the Epoch Times, 5/28/2020)

“When Illinois legislators approved a $42.8 billion budget for the coming year, during an emergency session over the Memorial Day weekend, official revenue projections were only for $36.8 billion.

“Lawmakers weren’t worried about the resulting deficit, however, because they assumed the state would borrow at least $5 billion to close the revenue gap.

“So they also voted themselves a tidy $1,800 pay raise on top of the $1,900 hike they gave themselves in 2019; state employees also got $261 million in scheduled pay raises.

“A few weeks earlier, state Senate President Don Harmon told the state’s congressional delegation that Illinois needed $42 billion in federal bailout funds, only $2.6 billion of which was attributable to unforeseen public health costs associated with the (virus).

“The biggest single chunk of the requested bailout was the $15 billion that Harmon said was needed “to stabilize the state budget.”  Harmon’s Democratic colleagues outnumber Republicans, 40-19.  Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is a Democrat, and Democrats control the state House of Representatives, 74-44.

“Illinois isn’t unique in demanding billions of bailout dollars from federal taxpayers.   California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, pointing to a $54 billion budget deficit, is demanding a federal bailout, while New York’s Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, seeks nearly $62 billion.”   (Mark Tapscott, The Epoch Times, 5/28).

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GERMAN ARMY EXPANDS IN WEST AFRICA

With today’s decision to extend and expand the Bundeswehr’s deployment in Mali, Berlin is once again boosting the region’s militarization.   The attempt to defeat Sahel insurgents and jihadis by force has been a failure since troops from Germany and other European countries began their mission in Mali in 2013.   Since then, the war has been spreading because of socio-economic conflicts – first in Central Mali, then in Burkina Faso at Mali’s southeastern border.  Instead of taking preventive action with resolute economic support, Germany and other EU powers have continued to militarize the conflict.   This has simply made matters worse, and only helped push the region closer to the brink of the abyss, experts note in view of developments leading to a growing number of ethnically motivated massacres in several Sahel countries.   It was a European war, in the first place, that lit the spark to armed conflict in Mali.(German Foreign Policy, 5/29/2020)

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HISTORY:   67 YEARS AGO TODAY  (June 2^nd)

The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey, London.   She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive councils shortly afterwards.

The coronation was held more than one year later because of the tradition of allowing an appropriate length of time to pass after a monarch dies before holding such festivals.   It also gave the planning committees adequate time to make preparations for the ceremony.   During the service, Elizabeth took an oath, was anointed with holy oil, invested with robes and regalia, and crowned Queen of the United Kingdom and her other realms and territories.”

Elizabeth, born in 1926, was the first-born daughter of Prince George, the second son of King George V.   Her grandfather died in 1936, and her uncle was proclaimed King Edward VIII.   Later that year, however, Edward abdicated over the controversy surrounding his decision to marry Wallis Warfield Simpson, an American divorcee, and Elizabeth’s father was proclaimed King George VI in his place.   (Wikipedia and History.com)

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TO THE POINT

• “I do not use social media, so books are my salvation.  Television is unwatchable, full of sci-fi rubbish and superhero garbage.  How people can enjoy watching such trash is beyond me.  If I ruled Sky or the BBC, I would order only golden oldies – black and white films where men wore double-breasted suits and hats and women slinky décolleté dresses.  At least it would show our present braindead youth how sweet life was when people had manners.”  (Taki, aged 83, The Spectator, 3/21/2020).
• Britain said it would extend visa rights to every resident of Hong Kong who is eligible for a British National (Overseas) passport.  That would be around 2.9m of Hong Kong’s population of 7.4m. On Thursday Britain had indicated it would do so for the 350,000 who already held BNO passports, providing each with “a pathway to future citizenship.”   (The Economist, 5/30/2020)
• Scandinavian borders are slowly opening again.   From June 15th Norway and Denmark will permit each other’s tourists to visit, with certain restrictions.  But they will continue to shun Swedish visitors.  Sweden’s coronavirus lockdown was noticeably less strict than its neighbors’—it kept schools open, for example.   Its covid-19 infection rate remains much higher.  (The Economist, 5/30/2020)
• Iran would be willing to help Americans in their revolution. (MEMRI 6/2/2020)
• WITH so many “conservative” MPs obsessing over climate “emergencies” while also championing late-term abortions, LGBTQ schooling and softer bestiality laws, even those on the Left have had enough, telling Coalition MPs to get serious. (Politicom, Australia, 6/2/2020)
• Germany, which takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency on July 1, has announced that it will prioritize relations with China.   German Chancellor Angela Merkel is particularly determined to proceed with a major EU-China summit to be held in the German city of Leipzig in September.   She is reportedly under intense pressure from German automobile manufacturers, who are concerned about maintaining their access to the Chinese market.   (Gatestone, 6/2/2020)
• I’ve been reading an old (1979) book on travel in what was then the Soviet Union.   Interestingly, the term the Russians then used for western consumerism was veshchism, which meant literally, thingism.   (“No travel Like Russian Travel,” by Nora Beloff)

LOOSE ENDS

HONOUR: King George V knights Lieutenant General John Monash at the Australian Corps headquarters in France on August 12, 1918. Photo: AWM E02964.

A friend in Australia pointed out something interesting about Lieutenant General John Monash, “the outsider who won a war” (the title of a biography about him published in 2004).   He did, indeed, receive a knighthood from King George V in 1918.   It was no ordinary knighthood.

The knighthood was unprecedented in that the King crossed the channel to present it to Sir John Monash at the Australian Army Corps headquarters in the Chateau where they were based.  This was during the First World War, on August 12^th, 1918.  It was the first time in 200 years that anybody had been knighted on the battlefield.

Clearly, Sir John was held in high esteem.

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DIABETES

My blood sugar has been worse since I returned to the US.   It’s difficult to say why.   I’m eating the same.    Stress is minimal.   I think the only difference is the quality of food.

There’s way too much garbage in our food (in bread, for example; the subject of an article in The Guardian newspaper this week.   We have the worst bread in the western world.   The bread contains additives, which are banned in other western nations.

Diabetes has restricted my mobility, which rules out hikes.   It also means that I need a wheelchair when going through airports.   The only airport that let me down was Detroit.

There’s only one solution – move to Australia!  I could eat cheesecake every day and still stay within the recommended range.

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CELL PHONE ADDICTION

Mobile phones are banned in Australia.   You can’t drive and use a phone, of any type.   You can’t even touch one in the car  even if the car is stationery – I know a lot of people who would find it hard to let go!

Not only does this cut down the accidents, it’s also a great stress reliever.

I mentioned last week that Australia is more relaxed that the US. One reason must be mobile phones.   When people are always on the phone, they don’t relax.   Take a four- or five-hour journey in Australia – without a phone, it’s pure relaxation!

I should add that hands-free phones are ok.

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DEATH OF BOB HAWKE

One of Australia’s most memorable prime ministers, Bog Hawke, died while I was visiting the country. He was PM from 1983-91.

News coverage was all positive.  One TV news program said that he was “a gambler, a womanizer and an adulterer.”   The same narrator added that he was “a great bloke.”

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CHURCHILL

I’ve started reading Andrew Roberts’ 1,000-page biography of Sir Winston Churchill.   This means I’m slowly progressing through two biographies at the same time, the one on Churchill and the one on Monash.   I got both out of the library.

I may post a few quotes on Churchill as I progress through the book.

“No less a figure than Mark Twain introduced Churchill at his first New York lecture, saying: “Mr. Churchill by his father is an Englishman, by his mother he is an American, no doubt a blend that makes the perfect man.”

At the Press Club, he made the following observation.   “After seeing many nations, after traveling through Europe, and after having been a prisoner of the Boers, I have come to see that, after all, the chief characteristic of the English-speaking people as compared with other white people is that they wash, and wash at regular periods. England and America are divided by a great ocean of salt water, but united by an eternal bathtub of soap and water.”   (p 78, Churchill, by Andrew Roberts).

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BORIS SET TO WIN?

Donald Trump isn’t the only leader going through constant efforts to discredit him.   Describing Boris Johnson as “a friend of mine,”   Mr. Trump came close to endorsing him Thursday.    Mr. Johnson is the favorite so succeed Theresa May. Is it just a coincidence that legal action is being taken against him when he is running for the Tory leadership?   He is being accused of lying.

His accusers say that his claim that the UK subsidizes the EU by 350 million pounds a week was a lie, which influenced voters in favor of Brexit.   “Remainers” are as bewildered as anti-Trump voters in the US – they cannot comprehend that others disagree with them!

Mr. Johnson has promised to deliver Brexit with or without a deal.   The British Foreign Office really doesn’t want to leave with “no deal.” Discredit Johnson and it’s likely the country will never leave the EU.

The European parliamentary elections were a mixed bag.   People turned away from the main parties in droves.   In Britain, the six-week-old Brexit party got more votes than anybody, but still not a majority. Some interpret this as the people supporting “Remain” in the EU.

A move toward the “extreme Right” was noticeable in many countries, including France and Germany; but, at the same time, there was also a move toward the Greens.

It will be some time before Europe settles down.

After all the upheavals, the prophesied ten nations will be in place (Revelation 17).

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LONDON NO LONGER LONDON

Actor John Cleese is having to defend himself after making the comment that “London isn’t really an English city any more.”    Of course it isn’t.   Over half the people of London are immigrants (first, second and third generation immigrants).   They are not ethnic Englishmen.

It’s a fact.   Just don’t mention it!

Pat Buchanan asked this week (May 30^th):   “Is the Liberal Hour ending in the West?”   With the rising tide of populist feeling in the West (and even in India), it seems that the ideas of “one worldism” are dying.

“Why is liberalism fading away, and nationalism ascendant?

“The former is an idea that appeals to the intellect; the latter, rooted in love of family, faith, tribe and nation, is of the heart.   In its potency to motivate men, liberalism is to nationalism what near beer is to Bombay gin.”

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DEATH OF FRANCE

The Middle East Forum saw symbolism in the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral and the death of the Judeo-Christian values in modern France.

“There was something darkly symbolic about the fire that nearly destroyed the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris on April 15 – the morrow of Palm Sunday — and the fall amid heavy smoke of its 93-metre iron spire.   One couldn’t help linking the religious and architectural disaster with a deeper crisis:   the passing of France as a distinct country, or at least as the Western, Judeo-Christian nation it had hitherto been presumed to be.

“Writing in Causeur the morning after, Hadrien Desuin, a conservative journalist, conveyed some of these feelings as he observed:   “Beyond the cathedral’s fire, France itself is burning . . . We have witnessed the Church’s slow death . . . and now even the old stones are collapsing . . . Yes, France may die . . . That’s what Notre-Dame’s flames tell us.”   (Michel Gurfinkiel, 5/30).

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WHAT’S BEIJING DOING IN HAIFA?

“Below the radar screens of all but a few experts, a dispute is brewing with the potential to disrupt defense cooperation between the U.S. and Israel and embroil the Jewish state in America’s increasingly intense trade conflict with China.

“The story begins in 2015, when Israel’s Transportation Ministry accepted an offer from the Shanghai International Port Group to operate the port of Haifa for 25 years, starting in 2021, and invest $2 billion to expand the port into Israel’s largest harbor.   Notably, this decision was taken without the formal involvement of either Israel’s security cabinet or its National Security Council.

“As far as I can tell, this agreement went almost unnoticed for three years, until the transfer of part of the new port to Chinese control in the summer of 2018 sparked a furor in the Israeli media.   But it took a meeting this past August between a delegation from the Washington-based Hudson Institute and Haifa University’s Research Center for Maritime Policy and Strategy to make this issue a matter of international concern.

During this meeting, the U.S. delegation, which included retired Adm. Gary Roughead, former chief of naval operations, and ex-Pentagon official Douglas Feith, weighed in against the deal with a vehemence that reportedly stunned many Israeli participants.

“Adm. Roughead noted that China’s presence in Haifa might force the U.S. Sixth Fleet to abandon the port and dock elsewhere.   As he explained in remarks reported in the Jerusalem Post, “The Chinese port operators will be able to monitor closely U.S. ship movements, be aware of maintenance activity, and could have access to equipment moving to and from repair sites and interact freely with our crews over protracted periods.”   He also expressed concern that the Chinese could use the new port’s information systems to conduct surveillance and threaten U.S. cybersecurity.”    (William Galston, WSJ, 5/28)

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GERMANY STRENGTHENS TIES WITH LATIN AMERICA

(Own report) – With a Latin America-Caribbean Conference, the German Foreign Ministry is launching a new political offensive in the struggle for influence in Latin America.   Germany and the EU’s influence on the subcontinent has been stagnating, while China’s importance is growing.   The government hopes to counteract this development by helping German companies to increase their opportunities in Latin America – and this at a time when massive protest is being raised against German companies’ activities, for example, in Brazil.   The Brazilian judiciary has currently taken action against the Technical Control Board (TÜV) South, for its alleged complicity in a dam burst in January of this year, killing more than 250 people.    Brazilian activists are also accusing the Bayer and BASF companies of selling agricultural poisons in their country, which are banned in the EU.   Over the past decade, more than 2,000 people have died in Brazil from agrochemicals. Berlin is also envisaging the inclusion of Latin American countries into NATO structures.   (German Foreign Policy, 5/29)

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MERKEL AT HARVARD

Angela Merkel gave the commencement address at Harvard University today.

She called for a strengthening of ties between Europe and the US, building on what has been accomplished in the last seven decades.

Politico reports:   “Angela Merkel urged Harvard graduates Thursday to “tear down walls of ignorance and narrow-mindedness” in a speech laced with apparent jibes at Donald Trump and his policies.

“Though she did not name the U.S. president, the German chancellor devoted much of her Harvard University commencement speech to attacking major pillars of Trump’s presidency:    protectionism, trade wars and building walls.

“She also warned of the “threat climate change poses to our planet’s resources” and called for the world to work together.   Trump announced in 2017 that he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement.”

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Trump will win 2020 election unless Democrats impeach, says expert

(Independent, 5/30)

AUSTRALIA – THE WONDERFUL LAND DOWN UNDER

    BREAKING NEWS:   THERESA MAY RESIGNS

For the fourth time in under 30 years, a conservative British prime minister has been brought down by Europe, with a possible fifth one to follow.

Mrs. Theresa May worked hard to deliver her dream of a “deal” with the EU, but failed miserably after three parliamentary votes.   The British people voted for Brexit three years ago and are still waiting.

Her successor as prime minister must still deliver Brexit, with a deadline of October 31^st. Wrong moves and bad decisions could bring him or her down, too.

It was a Conservative prime minister who took Britain into Europe, perhaps the greatest mistake Britain has ever made.  It’s a form of justice that all four subsequent Conservative leaders have been brought down by Europe.

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AUSTRALIA – THE WONDERFUL LAND DOWN UNDER

I’ve been in Australia for three weeks.   A friend sent me a ticket.  It was a wonderful trip.   Not the first time I’ve been there (actually, the 5^th), but the first time to visit without having to work.   It was total relaxation.

And the Australians know how to relax.   They are much more laid back, far less frenetic, and, I believe, enjoy life more because of it.

In explaining the difference between Australia and the United States, an Australian historian observed that while America was founded by pilgrims, Australia was founded by convicts.   The Americans, striving to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, had nowhere to go but down; whilst the Australians, who threw a wild party when they arrived on Australia’s shores, had nowhere to go but up!

So, I had a great time – exclusively in small town Australia (Westbury in Tasmania, Wangaratta in Victoria, Junee in NSW; and outside of Kiama in NSW).   This is the real Australia.   Too many visitors spend all their time on the beaches of the Gold Coast, with a quick visit to the Great Barrier Reef, great to visit but you won’t learn anything about Australia there.

The days I spent in Wangaratta were spent in Ned Kelly country. He was the Jesse James of Australia, a horse thief and bank robber whose gang killed some policemen. He got himself hanged in November 1880, at the age of 25.   As a criminal, he also got a considerable following, a Robin Hood figure who stood against authority.

Intermezzo Cafe, Wangaratta, NSW

Life in Wangaratta was beautiful.   A coffee in the morning at a coffee shop called “Intermezzo” (yes, I actually drank coffee), followed by a visit to the town library (one of the best I’ve ever been in), followed by a pub lunch.   There are only a few Starbucks in Australia – it wasn’t very successful.   And there are no big pub chains, each one has its own distinct personality. We drank one day at the pub frequented by Ned Kelly.   There, I had fish and chips (hake) and a dessert of sticky date pudding!   Even the beer was exceptionally good.   We also spent thirty minutes talking to the owner, who revealed that much of his business came from the local pig industry.   They kill 3,500 pigs a day, which makes it the world’s biggest producer of pork products, mostly for the Chinese market.   We had no idea it was there.

As a diabetic, I have to keep my blood sugar numbers within a range. I had no difficulty at all while in Australia, even with drinking a beer a day. It must be the fact that I was very relaxed!

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AUSTRALIAN ELECTION

While visiting Australia, the country was preparing for a general election.  Opinion polls throughout showed Labor (the socialists) were winning, but, as in the US, the conservative (Liberal) party won. Pollsters seem to always get it wrong, probably because they ask the wrong questions.   It may even be deliberate, an attempt to force people to vote Left.

Perhaps the people saw through all the promises being made by Labor (though the Liberals themselves made enough!).   Bill Shorten, Labor leader, was promising this, that and the other, in a country of only 25 million people.   Scott Morrison, leader of the Liberal Party, had a better grasp of what Australia’s economy needed.

I actually met One Nation party leader Pauline Hanson in the airport luggage area in Launceston, Tasmania.   One Nation is a small party that is very much against mass immigration, which is changing the fabric of Australian society.   34% of Australians were born overseas, which is more than double the American figure.   Most immigrants are settling in the big cities, which is adding to social problems.   On the internet, I saw a discussion between her and a Muslim man with three wives, new to Australia.   He explained how he had put all the welfare payments he received for the children into buying a house. When he had bought one, he wanted to start on a second one for his second wife.   And so on for the third.

In contrast to the US, one issue that dominated was climate change.   This is because television news is one sided (pro-Left) and they have made it the number one issue.   Morning news programs could spend up to thirty minutes on the one issue, warning of dire consequences if nothing is done immediately.    Australia already does more than most countries, at great cost and inconvenience to its people.   For example, the ubiquitous plastic bags, so common in the US, have been withdrawn, and people have been told to take their own bags to the grocery store in which to carry their own groceries.

A generational divide was also apparent during the election, with young people much more concerned about climate change than older voters.

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REMEMBERING THE PAST

Every year, on April 25^th, Australia (and New Zealand) celebrate ANZAC Day.   This day honors the memory of those who served in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, a vital contributory factor to the Allied victories in World Wars 1 & 2.

Although they contributed only 5% of the sum total of troops, the new nations were enthusiastic in their support of the British Empire.   An Australian General, Sir John Monash, distinguished himself at Gallipoli and on the Western Front, receiving a knighthood for his services from King George V.   As a Prussian Jew he faced a lot of opposition at home.

In both world wars, Australia fought from beginning to end, in contrast to the US, which only entered World War I near the end, and World War 2 after Pearl Harbor.   The British Commonwealth nations fought with Britain from the moment war was declared.   This “multitude of nations” comprised the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and, at the time, South Africa and Rhodesia. Together with Britain’s many colonies, they were the global superpower before the United States.   “And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.” (Genesis 48:20)   Many men fighting in the trenches firmly believed that they were the modern descendants of Ephraim fighting together in a just war. Even if you do not believe there is any biblical significance to their historic role, history shows they had a very significant and meaningful role at the time.

Since World War 2, these allies have increasingly drifted apart.   Yet, there are no nations that are as similar, sharing a common cultural and political heritage.   Perhaps its time to think about reviving the organization, as a separate entity from the Commonwealth, which is the 53-nation multicultural organization that does not have a military component.

They could certainly cooperate in military matters, at a time when the US is reducing its international commitments.

They could also cooperate on other meaningful challenges at this time.   Australia, with its commitment in fighting global warming; New Zealand with their deep interest in the terrorist threats posed by social media; Canada, the country that coined the term multiculturalism could help solve the problems created by it; and Britain, whose two royal princes have done so much in the area of mental health.

They should not argue over who has the dominant role (this could rotate amongst the four), but they would collectively work together to address the most important issues of our time.

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THE AUSTRALIAN

The Australian is the nation’s best newspaper, the only one with real news.   It’s a Rupert Murdoch owned newspaper with a definite conservative slant.

I enjoyed reading it each day, even with coffee!

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BACK TO THE US

When I arrived back in the US, the first thing I heard at the airport was a woman complaining about her wheelchair, which was delayed by five minutes.   A couple of days later, at a doctor’s office, there was a similar incident, with a lady complaining that her subsidized public transport was late.   Are we becoming a nation of complainers?

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It was good to get back to America, but I sure do miss Australia. I think I need an annual Australian “fix.”

AUSTRIAN COALITION ANNOUNCED AT KAHLENBERG MOUNTAIN

Austrian Foreign Minister and the leader of the Austrian Peoples Party (OeVP) Sebastian Kurz attend a news conference at the Kahlenberg mountain in Vienna, Austria, Dec. 16, 2017. EPA-EFE/CHRISTIAN BRUNA

Whereas Germany is having difficulty putting together a coalition government, Austria’s youthful Chancellor, the youngest head of government in the world, has been successful.   Sebastian Kurz, 31, leads the Austrian People’s Party.   His party is now in coalition with the “extreme right” Freedom Party, led by Heinz-Christian Strache. The latter party is often compared to the Nazis, whose leader, Adolf Hitler, was from Austria.   This is an exaggeration, to say the least.

Both leaders and their supporters, are concerned about the invasion of their country by Muslims and encroaching Islamization. They announced the formation of their government on Kahlenberg Mountain outside of Vienna, the same hill where Islamic Turks were defeated on 9-11 (& 12), 1683, ending the Muslim threat to western Europe.   The new government joins Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia in turning against the tide of immigrants welcomed by Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel.   Interestingly, all five of these countries were parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed after World War One.

One thing is certain – Austria has become the first western nation with a genuine conservative government. 

“The new coalition was agreed on Friday (15^th December) by the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) and the Freedom Party (FPÖ), pledging to stop illegal immigration, cut taxes and resist EU centralization.

It will be led by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who took over the ÖVP in May and yanked it to the right, securing his party first place in October elections.  At 31, Kurz will be the world’s youngest leader.

At his side for the investiture by Austria’s (figurehead) president in the Hapsburg dynasty’s imperial palace in Vienna was FPÖ chief Heinz-Christian Strache, 48, now vice-chancellor, and FPÖ general secretary Herbert Kickl, the new interior minister.

“Strache has said Islam “has no place in Europe” and last year called German Chancellor Angela Merkel “the most dangerous woman in Europe” for her open-door refugee policy.

On Sunday, Strache trumpeted to his 750,000 followers on Facebook that the new government would slash social benefits for asylum-seekers.

“It will no longer happen that migrants who have never worked here a single day or paid anything into the social system will get thousands of euros in welfare!” he said in a post that has gained 9,000 “likes.”

(“European far-right jubilant as Austria’s new government is sworn in.” The Local, December 18^th)

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HAPSBURG MEMORIES

Empress Elizabeth of Austria, wife of Emperor Franz-Josef.

Coincidentally, at the same time the Austrian government was agreeing a coalition, my wife and I were watching the “Sisi” trilogy on Turner Classic Movies.  These three films, made over 50 years ago in Austria (with English sub-titles), portrayed the Austrian Empress Elizabeth, wife of the Emperor Franz Josef, who reigned from 1848-1916. Elizabeth came from Bavaria.  She was sympathetic to the aspirations of Hungarian nationalists and was influential in the historic agreement that united Austria and Hungary in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (in 1867).   Her life was rather tragic – her only son, the Crown Prince Rudolf, committed suicide and she herself was assassinated a few years later, while visiting Geneva.

It was an interesting time in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.   A great deal of liberalization took place under Franz Josef as Austrians tried to keep their multiethnic empire together.   Often overlooked is the fact that this major empire gave a home to eleven different nationalities, all united under the Hapsburgs.  Today, each ethnic group has its own sovereign state, each one weaker than the old empire.

“The great Czech historian Frantisek Palacky once said that if the Hapsburg Empire had not existed, it would have been necessary to invent it” (The Emperors, by Gareth Russell, 2014, pages 40-41).   The European Union is no replacement as it is German dominated.

Some of the former Austrian nationalities are again marching together.   Austria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are all opposed to further Muslim immigration, wanting to protect and preserve Catholic Europe.   These five countries are set to form the Eastern leg of the biblically prophesied revived Roman Empire.

Following the fall of the Roman Empire in the West in the fifth century, there have been a number of attempts to revive it – most recently, in 1922 Mussolini announced a revival of the Roman Empire; in 1957 European leaders signed the Treaty of Rome, forming what is now the European Union, another attempt at uniting Europe.   Perhaps out of the rubble of the EU will come the final European Union, led by Germany.

^“Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.  And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.  As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.  And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” (Daniel 2:41-44)

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ANNUAL MESSAGES FROM HEADS OF STATE

Every year, the British monarch speaks to the Commonwealth on Christmas Day.  This is a tradition that began with her grandfather, King George V, in 1932.   At the time Britain was a global superpower, ruling over a quarter of the world’s people.   With the introduction of radio in the previous decade, the king could now address all his subjects around the world.

In 1957 the annual radio broadcast began to be televised. By this time, the empire was fundamentally changing.   Indeed, in 1957’s broadcast, the Queen welcomed Ghana and Malaysia into the Commonwealth, as both nations had become independent that year. The 52-nation Commonwealth continues to this day, with the Queen as its Head.

For some years now, the queen’s message has embraced multiculturalism.   The Commonwealth is multicultural in itself, composed of nations that have different religions and a great deal of ethnic diversity.   This year, she took a different approach to her speech. Instead of emphasizing multiculturalism, she praised the citizens of London and Manchester who suffered terrorist attacks last year; and the heroism of Emergency Responders who helped save lives.

Sadly, it is, of course, multiculturalism which has led directly to terrorism, not just in the United Kingdom but in other countries in Europe.

The queen is a deeply religious woman, never more so than at Christmas.   In her speech this year she talked of how Jesus Christ “suffered rejection, hardship and persecution.”   Having experienced all three in recent years, I was encouraged by her words, which prompted a Bible Study from this angle.

Queen Elizabeth is not the only Head of State who gives an annual Christmas speech.   President Steinmeier of Germany addressed the German people on the same day.   The German president, like the British monarch, is a figurehead, playing an important role in unifying the nation at a difficult time.   The German president devoted his speech to reassuring the German people, who still do not have a government over three months after the election.   This is the longest period in the Federal Republic’s history and, for some, brings back memories of the rather unstable Weimar Republic.   Today’s German republic is more resilient and Germany should soon have a new coalition government, made up of two or more parties.

The Pope also gave a Christmas speech.   Whereas the British monarch and the German president were careful not to advocate more immigrants, the pope called upon nations to open their doors wider to receive more refugees.   Ironically, on the same day, ISIS in Somalia called for the assassination of the pope and for attacks on more western cities, like Manchester and London.

And so it goes on.  The West has lost its way and does not know how to respond to radical Islam’s assault upon it.   It won’t, until its religious roots are revived.   Most people in the West still give lip-service to Christianity, but few think deeply about their traditional religions, both Catholic and Protestant.

Acts 4:12 says of Jesus Christ:  “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”   Muslims deny Jesus Christ is the Son of God.   Therefore, to equate Islam with Christianity, makes no sense and endangers Christians, who are ill-prepared for the assault that is taking place upon them today.

The British monarch is the titular Head of the Anglican Community. The Pope is the Head of the Catholic Church.

They need to wake up to what is happening and to see clearly the threat to traditional Christianity.

The Pope, in his annual speech, focused on Jerusalem, calling for an independent Palestinian state, the “two state solution” that has been official policy of most countries in recent years.   What the pope is calling for pits him (and the Church) against the US Administration, which is recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“Pope Francis has used his traditional Christmas Day message to call for “peace for Jerusalem” and dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. Acknowledging “growing tensions” between them, he urged a “negotiated solution . . . .  that would allow the peaceful co-existence of two states.”   US President Donald Trump recently announced that America recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.   The hugely controversial move drew condemnation across the Muslim world.   The Roman Catholic leader gave his Urbi et Orbi speech, which in Latin means “To the city and world,” in Saint Peter’s Square.”    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42477274

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REVISIONIST HISTORY – CHECK THE FACTS!

I’ve taken to looking up just about everything depicted in historical movies and television programs.   As we watch a series, I keep my laptop on my lap and google the “facts” depicted by Hollywood and others who make movies.   The “facts” are rarely factual. Note the following:

1) The new “History” channel series “Knightfall” depicts the Knights Templar around the year 1300.   In the first episode of the series, the Catholic soldiers saved the Jews who were expelled from Paris by King Philip the Fair in 1306.   According to the series, the Jews were saved by the Knights Templar.

This is a total fabrication.   Note the following from the BBC’s Religion section:

“During the first half of the 13th century the attitude of the Church towards Jews hardened from disapproval to loathing. On 22 July, 1306 King Philip IV of France expelled all Jews from his kingdom.”

2) The second season of “The Crown” (Netflix) implies that Prince Philip cheated on his wife in the 1950’s and early 60’s.   There is no evidence for this.  It may be true – it may not be true.  But people watching the otherwise excellent series will no doubt believe everything they see.

3)   “A United Kingdom” was an otherwise good movie, telling the story of Seretse Khama and his wife Ruth Williams.   Sir Seretse led Botswana to independence in 1966.   He met his wife while studying in London.   They were a bi-racial couple in southern Africa, not very common in those days and forbidden in neighboring South Africa, the regional powerhouse.   In 1947 the movie referred to the presidents of four neighboring countries, not one of which had a president at the time, as they were all a part of the British Commonwealth.

4) This is the worst one!   ‘The Viceroy’s House” is a recent movie set in India at the time of independence and partition, in 1947.

Everything in the movie was good until somebody opened a drawer and pulled out a two-year-old highly secretive British government paper advocating partition of the country into India and (Muslim) Pakistan.   So what, you may ask?

Well, this file changed history.   Instead of Earl Mountbatten being responsible for partition, the file “revealed” it was war-time leader Winston Churchill.   As the anti-colonial Guardian reviewer put it – it was the equivalent of somebody in Germany opening a drawer and finding that the Holocaust was first proposed, not by Hitler, but by Mussolini.

Why can’t the entertainment industry ever get it right?   As far more people will watch the movie than read any book on the subject, Churchill will now be blamed for one of the greatest disasters of the twentieth century.

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One very good series we’ve seen was on the National Geographic Channel.  It was a biography of Albert Einstein.   One of the most brilliant minds in history, he was absolutely hopeless at personal relationships.

I thought you might appreciate the following quote from the great physicist himself:   “The universe is so extraordinary that only God could have created it.  My job is to figure out how He did it.”  (Einstein)

The two greatest scientists of all time were Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.     Many people today see science and religion as opposites — these men did not.  They both believed in God.    Be sure to share that fact with others.