BRITAIN TURNS TO THE LEFT AS EUROPE TURNS TO THE RIGHT

Supporters of French far-right National Rally react at the party election night headquarters, Sunday, June 9, 2024 in Paris. First projected results from France put far-right National Rally party well ahead in EU elections, according to French opinion poll institutes. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly) https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/made-big-gains-european-elections-matter-110995112

As predicted, the second biggest election in the world (India is first) saw gains for the far right.

In France, President Macron dissolved parliament and announced a general election June 30th.  His gamble is predicted to fail.   His hope was that the rightist party of Marine LePen would be in disarray, meaning there would be less of them and more of Macron’s own party, in the national parliamentary election. 

Meanwhile, the Belgian prime minister resigned.

There will be repercussions from the federal election in the coming weeks and months.

Meanwhile, the British election (purely an internal matter as Britain left the EU some years ago), continues predictably.  Labor is favorite to win.

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MUSLIMS HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS

Falls Church, Virginia Imam Farhan Siddiqi: Building Alliances With LGBT Groups Has Not Benefitted Us, Has Only Confused Our Children; Homosexuality, Sodomy, And Transgenderism Remain A Huge Issue For Our Community; We Do Not Have To Work With Certain Groups

Imam Farhan Siddiqi discussed alliances with LGBT groups over common issues such as Gaza, in his May 24, 2024 Friday sermon at Dar Al-Hijra Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, which was posted on the Islamic Center’s YouTube channel. He said that the issue of Gaza has overshadowed the biggest issue in the Muslim community, which was dealing with homosexuality and transgenderism. Siddiqi said that while the Muslim community does not seek to harm homosexuals, sodomy is forbidden in Islam, and the community cannot accept homosexuality. He said that there are “certain endorsements” the Muslim community doesn’t care for, nor need. Siddqi added that during its ten years of cooperation with gay groups, the Muslim community has not benefited from its alliances.  (MEMRI, 6/7/2024)

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HAMAS AGAINST PEACE DEAL.   ISRAEL TOO?

Hamas responded Tuesday to the US cease-fire proposal for Gaza, reportedly requesting a change to the timeline for a permanent cease-fire and “complete halt” to the war, not just a six-week or phased truce. “The ball is now in the Israeli courtyard,” a Hamas official said. At least one Israeli official said that Hamas’s response effectively amounted to a rejection of the deal laid out by President Joe Biden.

The full details of Hamas’s response remain unclear, but it appears that the militant group is making demands that will be unacceptable to Israel, including the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. That would leave the door open for Hamas to stay in power in Gaza, which Israel will see as an unacceptable security threat.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly committed to Biden’s cease-fire plan — even though Sec. of State Antony Blinken has said Bibi was onboard. The Israeli leader has repeatedly said the war can’t end until Hamas is destroyed, and the far-right members of his flimsy coalition government have threatened to skedaddle if the plan moves forward.

Hamas may be deliberately making demands it knows Netanyahu won’t agree to in an attempt to prolong the war, boost the Palestinian national cause, and further damage Israel’s global image as the civilian death toll rises. Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s military leader, reportedly recently told followers that they have “the Israelis right where we want them” and that civilian deaths are “necessary sacrifices.”

We’ll be watching to see how negotiators react to Hamas moving the goalposts. The White House on Tuesday said it’s “evaluating” the response.  (Gzero Signal, 6/12/2024)

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A NEW ALLIANCE BETWEEN ROME AND BRUSSELS?

As the dust settles from last weekend’s EU Parliament elections, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is holding all the cards, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is preparing to kiss the ring.

The EU undeniably shifted right in the election, with support for Meloni’s right-wing coalition climbing to more than 47%. Meanwhile, for von der Leyen, the center held — but barely. Her coalition of mainstream parties won a narrow 400-seat majority, but with many threatening to defect, so she will need to pull votes from Meloni’s camp to secure the 361 votes she needs to win a second term as commission president on July 18. For Meloni, supporting von der Leyen could further cement her influence in Brussels.

These women aren’t diametrically opposed. While Meloni’s party traces its roots back to a neo-fascist group, and her 2022 victory set the tone for far-right gains across Europe, she’s moderated her position on the international stage and dropped her previous anti-EU rhetoric. She is also a fervent Ukraine supporter, which could make her a key bridge to the far right for von der Leyen, who announced on Tuesday that the EU will send €1.4 billion to Ukraine and that it will begin accession talks this summer.

Meloni is gearing up to host the G7 meeting on Thursday, and Ukraine will top the agenda. We will be watching to see whether she and von der Leyen team up on securing more aid, which could signal a deepening partnership in parliament to come. (Gzero Signal, 6/12/2024)

BREAKING NEWS: POPE TO ADDRESS G7 IN ITALY. This will be the first time a pope will speak live to the G7 (the richest countries in the world).

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HUNTER BIDEN VERDICT

Hunter Biden was convicted on Tuesday of three felony charges related to a 2018 gun purchase, capping a high-profile trial that could impact the 2024 presidential election.

A federal jury found President Joe Biden’s son guilty of making false statements on paperwork to acquire a handgun while struggling with drug addiction and of illegal possession of a firearm. The verdict followed testimony from several of Hunter’s romantic partners and his daughter Naomi about his substance abuse issues around the time of the purchase.

With a potential appeal looming, Hunter’s sentencing hearing is likely to take place in about four months. He could face up to 25 years in jail on these charges, though legal experts think it’s unlikely he will face more than a few months, if any. He is also set for trial in September on separate tax evasion charges.

Republicans have signaled they will seize on the conviction to portray the Bidens as corrupt, though the president has pledged to let the judicial process play out and ruled out pardoning his son. But the verdict also provides Democrats a counterpoint to Republican claims of a politically motivated Justice Department: A Trump-appointed prosecutor charged Hunter.  (Gzero Signal, 6/12/2024)

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BRIEFLY

• Germany and Europe are on the brink of a second ‘Zeitenwende’ – another epochal turning point. At least this is a scenario predicted by the Berlin-based German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in a recent study. The think-tank points out the likelihood of a significant reduction in US military activities in Europe after the US presidential election on 5 November – not only if Donald Trump wins but also if Joe Biden emerges victorious. When it comes to the crunch, Biden will, according to the SWP’s analysis, prioritise preparation for a war against China over Taiwan over any future support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. The authors argue that ‘the main task’ of German foreign and military policy should be to ‘secure’ the EU and the NATO states of Europe against Russia in the future. ‘All aspects’ of the ongoing arms build-up in Europe must be ‘geared to this objective.’ Berlin should, therefore, step away from small-scale military missions all around the world. This policy recommendation dovetails with strategic deliberations in the US on the feasibility of waging three wars simultaneously: against Russia, against adversaries in the Middle East, and against China. The threat of such a military scenario could only be realised with the support of US allies and a massive arms build-up.  (German Foreign Policy, 6/11/2024)

• Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron came to Jerusalem, where he told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza. “The ordeal of the Palestinians in Gaza must end,” Macron said, without even bothering to demand the release of the remaining hostages as a precondition for his fever-dream of a ceasefire. So far, Hamas has rejected all proposals but one, and that came only after extreme military, not diplomatic, persuasion.  (Robert Williams, Gatestone, 6/11/2024)

• Conspicuously, the same Macron who is ordering Israel to lay down its weapons in Gaza has been silent when it comes to asking that of Hamas and Iran.  (RW, Gatestone, 6/11/2024)

• Al-Qaeda top dog urges jihadis to go to Afghanistan for training and then strike Israeli and Western targets. (Jihad Watch, 6/12/2024)

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ONE MORE THOUGHT

IS HAPPINESS FOUND IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC POLICIES?

With so many elections going on right now, the question must be asked:  Is happiness found in social and economic policies

I asked myself this question while I was watching the British Labour Party present its manifesto.   You would think the answer is yes.

With a lead of 20 points over the ruling Conservative Party, it’s almost certain that Labor (the socialists) will win the general election on July 4^th.

As I watched, all I heard was promise after promise to create a fairer society.   While doing so the leader of the party, Sir Keir Starmer, largely avoided the obvious question:  how is the UK going to pay for it?   This – at a time when it is widely believed that the country is broke.

As Mrs. Thatcher once famously said, “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other peoples’ money.”

So the choice seems obvious.   Or not.  The Conservative Party is really no better.   Its spending has been all over the place.  And its record on government is nothing they can boast about.

But the real problem is that the parties are competing to promise the people everything.

Everything, that is, except your personal relationship with God.   The answers to most questions can be found in your Bibles.  The problem with Britain (and other countries, too) is spiritual, not physical.

Here is what the psalmist observed:   Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.  (Psalm 33:12)

HARRY AND MEGHAN INTERVIEW

Posted March 8, 2021 23:08 by Josh Darvill

For this is what the LORD says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever.   (Jeremiah 33:17 New Living Translation)

Three African-American women were involved in Sunday’s interview.    Oprah Winfrey, a billionaire, sat down with Meghan Markle, a millionaire, (most probably) in millionaire Gayle King’s mansion, to discuss, amongst other things, white oppression.    With Oprah, once described as “race baiter in chief,” inevitably the subject of race came up.  The accusation was made over a comment about baby Archie’s skin color.  In response Buckingham Palace observed, that “recollections may vary.”  It is possible that Meghan is particularly sensitive on this issue.

There was no suggestion that the Queen herself is a racist.    After all, she has spent decades promoting multiculturalism and the Commonwealth, whose 54 member countries include much of Africa and the Caribbean.  Meghan specifically stated that the controversial comment on baby Archie’s skin color was not made by either the Queen or her husband, Prince Philip.  It was the kind of comment that could be made in any family and, quite rightly, the Queen’s subsequent statement said it would be addressed within the family.  

Monarchy is, at its core, about identity.   For centuries the English people, along with many in western Europe, have had a monarch as the symbol of their unity.   In 1603 the Scottish king, James VI, moved to England and became King (as James I) of both countries.   Wales had already been conquered and so was Ireland.

The four kingdoms are united by the Crown.   If the monarchy were ever abolished, it is doubtful that the four nations would stay together.   Even with the monarchy, the strains of the pandemic highlighted differences between the four.   Scottish nationalism has been a threat for some time.    Scottish nationalists have been very critical of England, but never of the Queen, as this would not gain them any support.    It’s also the case that the Commonwealth would likely not survive without the Queen as its members could never agree on a new leader.

After almost 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II enjoys an 82% approval rating as Head of State.   American presidents must envy her.   Half of the people in the US do not vote and roughly half of those who do, support the president.  That’s about 25% (or less) approval, less than a third of what the Queen enjoys.   Even in Canada she enjoys 55% support.  A referendum in Australia in 1999 showed 54% support.   Another referendum in St Vincent and the Grenadines, a majority black country, gave the Queen two thirds of the vote.   No wonder Barbados is not risking a vote on the issue.  The government there is ending the Queen’s role as Head of State later this year, giving the Labor Party unprecedented power and authority.   

Nobody wants the American system of government, which is seen as a personality contest between two multi millionaires.   An alternative republican model, proposed in Australia, would simply replace the Queen with a figurehead president.   This would give the politicians greater power, as one of them would likely be president.   A big advantage of retaining the monarchy is that the monarch is a neutral figurehead.   Even in American academic circles, the present Australian model is seen as the best, combining the Crown (British) and an elected Senate (American), the best from both countries.

President Biden described Meghan after the interview, as “courageous.”  Hillary Clinton used the same word and added that the Royals were “insensitive.”   It seems unwise to comment without hearing the other side.   It may be that Meghan was lying.  Whatever the case, it’s a matter for the constitutional monarchies of the Commonwealth to address.   The US deliberately cut itself off from the institution over 200 years ago!

Perhaps this was all inevitable.   Multiculturalism, a term first coined in Canada exactly 50 years ago when it became clear that newly arrived immigrants were not going to assimilate, has been all the rage for five decades, as more and more immigrants arrived from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.  They have not inherited the same identity as the English with the monarchy.  It was inevitable that values and priorities would eventually clash.

One grievance mentioned was the absence of a title for Archie when William’s sons have one.  But this has been the law since George V.   Only the children and grandchildren of a monarch are given titles.    As William will be king, his children got one; Harry is unlikely to be king, but his father will be one day, and then Harry’s children would qualify.  (There’s too much fretting about other titles.  Canada and Australia get by without them.  Surely only the king and queen and those most immediately in line should get a title.   All the rest can survive without.   The rest of us do.)

I just have two questions:  I know that Harry and Meghan were paid nothing for the interview, but how much did Oprah make?  

The second question:  the wedding cost the UK taxpayer almost $40 million.   Additionally, a few million was spent renovating their home.  Are Harry and Meghan going to pay all of this back?

Historical footnote: King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936. He and his American divorcee wife became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and settled in Paris. In 1970 they gave a TV interview. They made no criticism at all of the royal family!

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According to legend, British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham once saw a distinguished looking woman in a hotel foyer.  Believing he knew her but unable to remember her name, he paused to talk with her.  As the two chatted, he vaguely recollected that she had a brother.  Hoping for a clue, he asked how her brother was doing and whether he was still working at the same job.  “Oh, he’s very well,” she said, “And still king.”   (Our Daily Bread, 3/4/2021)

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The Society of Editors has denied the media is racist after Prince Harry said racism from within the tabloid press was a “large part” of why he and Meghan Markle left the UK. In the couple’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast on ITV last night, the Duke alleged that the tabloid media in the UK is “bigoted” and creates a “toxic environment.”  However, the media freedom organization criticized the couple for accusing the press of racism without “any supporting evidence.”   (The Week, 3/9/2021)

Biden offers Taliban power-share
Joe Biden has offered the Taliban a return to power in Afghanistan as he seeks to bring the longest war in American history to an end. The White House is ready to offer the Islamic fundamentalists a power-sharing deal with the Afghan government if they agree to lay down their arms. The offer comes almost two decades after the US invasion that “routed the Taliban regime and triggered a bloody insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people,” The Times says.   (The Week, 3/9/2021)

UK could have fourth wave
England’s deputy chief medical adviser has warned that it is too soon to rule out a fourth wave of Covid-19. Jenny Harries told the daily press briefing that under current levels of infection, “a new wave could easily take off again.”  Her call for caution came as Boris Johnson admitted that with the re-opening of schools “there will be a risk of increased transmission” that could delay the end of lockdown. The UK yesterday reported less than 100 deaths for the second day in a row, the first time that has happened since 9 October.   (The Week, 3/9/2021)

Call for action on conversions
Campaigners have warned that ministers are not moving quickly enough to ban LGBT+ “conversion therapy.”   Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch insisted that the government is “committed” to “ending” the practice and takes the issue “very seriously.”  But equality campaigners said targeted action is required. Conversion therapy refers to any form of treatment or psychotherapy that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation, “ranging from electric shock treatment to religious teaching and discussion,” the BBC reports.  (The Week, 3/9/2021)

“We are weeks, maybe even days, away from a crisis on the southern border,” says Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat whose Texas district abuts Mexico. “Our country is currently unprepared to handle a surge in migrants in the middle of the pandemic.”  (Patrick Buchanan, 3/9/2021)

“Through economic bribery and military aid, the Chinese Communist Party has relentlessly manipulated African governments and opposition groups, controlling the affairs of African countries while imposing the communist Chinese model and its values on them.”  (Epoch Times, 2/24/2021)

Southwest-Based Neo-Nazi Group Outlines Replacement Of U.S. Government With Germanic Ethno-State, Hangs Posters Throughout U.S., Canada Including On College Campuses; Leader Glorifies Hitler  (MEMRI, 3/5/2021)

GERMAN GOVERNMENT TO SPY ON OPPOSITION

“Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) have placed the Alternative for Germany (AfD) under surveillance, according to local media.

“That designation gives state agents more powers for surveillance in certain circumstances, including potentially tapping the party’s communications.”  (DW 3/3/2021)

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Farming has destroyed a lot of the rich soil of America’s Midwestern prairie. A team of scientists just came up with a staggering new estimate for just how much has disappeared.  The most fertile topsoil is entirely gone from a third of all the land devoted to growing crops across the upper Midwest, the scientists say.   (NPR 2/25/2021)

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President Joe Biden will formally create a gender policy council within the White House as part of two executive orders he intends to sign Monday to mark International Women’s Day.  (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/08/fact-sheet-president-biden-to-sign-executive-orders-establishing-the-white-house-gender-policy-council-and-ensuring-education-free-from-sexual-violence/ )  

The council will include a staff of four, three of whom will hold the title of special assistant to the president, according to a senior administration official who previewed the two orders.

The council’s mandate is to work across the federal government’s domestic and foreign policy to fight discrimination and bias, boost economic security, increase access to health care, and advance general equality through diplomacy, trade and defense.

The second order asks the Department of Education to re-examine the Trump administration’s policies and rule-making on Title IX, the 1972 law which governs the way sex-based discrimination in schools is handled.   (Newsmax 3/8/2021, https://www.newsmax.com/politics/biden-gender-equity-title-ix-sex-misconduct/2021/03/08/id/1012908/  )

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TO THE POINT

• Switzerland now joins Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands and Sweden, all of which currently have full or partial bans on religious and non-religious face coverings.  “In Switzerland our tradition is that you show your face. That is a sign of our basic freedoms.” — Walter Wobmann, member of the Swiss People’s Party, the biggest political party in Switzerland.   (Gatestone, 3/10/2021)

• A terrorist who claimed asylum in Britain after he was sentenced to death in Egypt for a failed assassination plot is set to win the right to stay in this country. Yasser Al-Sirri, 58, first claimed asylum in 1994 but was turned down and has taken the issue to court more than eight times at great cost to British taxpayers.  Al-Sirri, who was also charged in the US with assisting someone involved in the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing, has appeared in several tribunals since. And last week a tribunal decided he was entitled to remain in the U.K. as a refugee.  (MEF, 2/14/2021)

• German companies are increasingly dependent on business with China and are shifting their activities to the People’s Republic at a growing rate, as current economic data and a recent survey of German companies reveal. China is not only one of the very few countries, to which German companies could continue to export in 2020 as much as in the previous year, but it is also the only major economy, to which they could already export this January more than during the same month the previous year. The fact that exports to the People’s Republic are a vital support for the German economy is particularly significant, because Germany’s domestic consumption remains sluggish, due to the pandemic. Already five DAX companies, such as VW, Daimler, Infineon, are generating their largest share of sales in China, more than on their German domestic market. To protect themselves against the risks of US economic warfare, German companies doing business with China are increasingly relocating their activities to the People’s Republic. Efforts to encourage their withdrawal from China have failed.  (German Foreign Policy, 3/10/2021)

US-EU RIFT GETS WORSE

Hello everybody,

The election dominates US news.   There are many conflicting reports.

In Michigan, polls show Trump losing to every prominent Democratic candidate.   Yet, at the same time, his rallies (and those for VP Mike Pence) attract audiences too big to be accommodated.

And note the following report from the Munich Security Conference (read article “Munich Security Conference,” further down).  “Europeans widely expect Trump to be re-elected this fall.”

Meanwhile, the Democratic debate held last night in South Carolina, shows the party tearing itself apart.   Amy Klobuchar said it best:   “If we continue to tear each other apart over the next four months, we will see Trump continue to tear the country apart for the next four years.”  Another House Democrat described the seven Democrats on stage as a “circular firing squad.”   They should remember the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 12:25 — “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” words quoted by Abraham Lincoln on the eve of the Civil War.  With Trump so universally “hated,” it’s incredible the Democrats can’t come up with a winning candidate!

The second issue that dominates the news is the coronavirus.  Hopefully, this will not have the death toll of the various plagues that hit the world during the Middle Ages.   Justinian’s “flea” (probably bubonic plague) killed a manageable 5,000 a day in the first month; then 10,000 a day.   The population was greatly diminished.   As with the coronavirus, it was spread through trade and international travel.   It was the same in the 14^th century, 800 years later, when the plague hit Europe again.  The death toll was a staggering 50% of the people.  Just over a century ago, the Spanish flu infected 500 million people worldwide, about one third of the world’s population.   It killed an estimated 20-50 million, including some 675,000 Americans.

We will get through it, but it may kill millions before it’s over.

One final thought on the election:   At least two of the candidates for the Democratic party claim to be Christians.   Voters, however, should be careful here.   All seven of the people appearing last night support a woman’s right to murder her baby!  (To be fair, so do some Republicans.)

Have a great week.

Melvin   

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Very early this morning, I came across a show on PBS World called “Gzero World”, with Ian Bremmer. Today they were reporting from the Munich Security Conference on world security issues.  The first four items come from their website.

US-EU RIFT GETS WORSE

The risk of a major technology blow-up between the US and Europe is growing.   A few weeks ago, we wrote about how the European Union wanted to boost its “technological sovereignty” by tightening its oversight of Big Tech and promoting its own alternatives to big US and Chinese firms in areas like cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her top digital officials unveiled their first concrete proposals for regulating AI, and pledged to invest billions of euros to turn Europe into a data superpower.    (Gzero World, 2/25/2020)

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Communal violence in Delhi:   Over the past few days, India’s capital city has seen its deadliest communal violence in decades.  This week’s surge in mob violence began as a standoff between protesters against a new citizenship law that critics say discriminates against India’s Muslims and the law’s Hindu nationalist defenders.   Clashes between Hindu and Muslim mobs in majority-Muslim neighborhoods in northeast Delhi have killed at least 11 people, both Muslim and Hindu, since Sunday.   We’re watching to see how Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government responds – Delhi’s police force reports to federal, rather than local, officials.(Gzero World, 2/25/2020)

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Unlikely jihadist bedfellows:   For years, the jihadists of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have been at odds over territory and ideology. Bloody clashes between offshoots of the two groups have become commonplace in Yemen and Syria, further destabilizing those war-torn countries.   But now, strangely, ISIS and al-Qaeda linked groups appear to have joined forces in West Africa, recruiting locals and divvying up vast swathes of territory in the Sahel – a semi-arid area stretching across the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.  Motivated by mutual practical interests and common foes – Western forces and local governments – they’ve set aside their doctrinal differences and are gaining ground in states with weak central governments like Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the US military recently said.  This all comes as the Trump administration is weighing a sizable drawdown of US troops in West Africa.  (Gzero World, 2/25/2020)

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US-China tit-for-tat retaliations:   The Trump administration is weighing up retribution against Chinese journalists and state-owned media – as well as Chinese intelligence agencies – after Beijing expelled three Wall Street Journal reporters last week over an opinion column that criticized Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus.  The Chinese Foreign Ministry, incensed by the “China is the Real Sick Man of Asia” headline, demanded an apology from the Journal before booting three of its reporters, none of whom had anything to do with the column.   If the US responds in kind, it could lead to a cycle of tit-for-tat retribution and animosity between Washington and Beijing just as a preliminary trade agreement appears to have eased mounting tensions between the world’s two largest economies.   We’re watching to see if the Trump administration follows through on its threat – or if it’s just bluster.  (Gzero World, 2/25/2020)

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MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE

The annual gathering of the Munich Security Conference provides a useful barometer for the health of the transatlantic relationship. Two years ago, Europeans were reeling from the first year of the Trump administration.   Last year, they were resigned to that reality and determined to press ahead.  This past weekend, everyone was searching for a savior to address critical challenges amid a lack of global leadership.

Europeans widely expect Trump to be re-elected this fall.   After their shock at his 2016 victory, they seem to be bracing for the worst, but remain unprepared for the consequences.   They inquired about Democratic presidential candidates, asking what Bernie Sanders would mean for Europe and whether Michael Bloomberg was a good compromise for moderates.  (Amanda Sloat, Brookings, 2/18/2020)

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TRUMP EMBRACED BY ENTHUSIASTIC INDIANS

“It was the Trumpiest of offers.

“A rally at one of the world’s largest stadiums.   A crowd of millions cheering him on.   A love fest during an election year.”   (Lansing State Journal, 2/24/2020).

The stadium is the world’s biggest cricket stadium.  I wonder if President Trump was aware that cricket was the preferred sport of fellow Republican, Abraham Lincoln?

An incredible welcome from the world’s second most populous nation.  President Trump is hoping for a trade deal with India.

Sadly, it coincided with massive demonstrations against a new Indian immigration bill, which discriminates against Muslims.  At least twenty people have been killed.

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ISRAEL NOW RECOGNIZED BY 161 COUNTRIES

161 countries now have diplomatic relations with Israel, which is the highest number that it has ever been for the Jewish state.  Increasingly, the community of nations cares less about Palestinian objections and more about what Israel has to offer.   (Israel National News, 2/24/2020)

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NEVER ENDING SYRIAN CONFLICT

At a four-way summit with the leaders of Russia, Turkey and France, Angela Merkel will seek to influence the future of the northern Syrian province Idlib.  The summit, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on the weekend is to be held next week.  It will explore options for ending the fighting in the province, where, over the past few weeks, Syrian troops have been advancing on militias.  Usually referred to as “rebels” in the German media, they are, in fact, dominated by an al Qaeda subsidiary.  The combat has deepened dissention between Russia and Turkey on how to go forward in Syria, raising new hopes among western powers for driving a wedge between Ankara and Moscow.   Prior to the summit, however, specialists are pointing out that Berlin hardly has any options for exerting influence in Syria.  The EU sees the overthrow of the government in Damascus as the precondition for granting desperately needed reconstruction aid.    (German Foreign Policy, 2/25/2020)

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MACRON VOWS CRACKDOWN ON POLITICAL ISLAM

“The problem is when, in the name of a religion, some people want to separate themselves from the Republic and therefore not respect its laws.” — French President Emmanuel Macron, February 18, 2020.   (Soeren Kern, Gatestone, 2/21/2020)

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SWEDISH MIGRANT CRISIS

“For the first time now, more crimes – in absolute terms – are committed by persons of foreign background than by persons of Swedish origin . . .   The most crime-prone population subgroup are people born [in Sweden] to two foreign-born parents.” — Report by Det Goda Samhället (“The Good Society”), summer of 2019. (Judith Bergman, Gatestone, 2/26)

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UK GROOMING GANGS TO REMAIN A SECRET

DAILYKENN.com — It’s a state secret.  No one is to know the ethnicity of grooming gang members.  The thugs are responsible for trafficking nearly 19,000 British girls in one year.

Who are these people?  No one knows because  Boris Johnson’s government won’t release statistics that reveal their ethnicity.

The truth is, of course, that the government doesn’t need to release the data because everyone knows the preponderance of the gang members are from non-white Islamic regions of the world.  Nearly all are ethnic Pakistanis.

It’s akin to the n-word.  No one dares say it, but everyone knows what it means.   Authorities said that releasing the data would not be in the public interest.

Survivors accused ministers of making “empty promises,” while a man who prosecuted abusers in Rochdale called for the Home Office to “show some courage and publish” its findings.

It comes after The Independent revealed that almost 19,000 suspected child sexual exploitation victims were identified by local authorities in just one year, sparking renewed calls for prevention efforts.   (Daily Kenn, 2/25/2020)

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GAY CONVERSION THERAPY BANNED IN MORE COUNTRIES

Global momentum is growing to ban so-called gay “conversion therapy,” with bills drawn up in nine countries, a rights group said on Wednesday.

The United States, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Germany are among countries seeking to outlaw the treatment, which includes practices from electric shocks to “praying away the gay” and is based on the belief that being gay or transgender is a mental illness that can be “cured,” Ilga, an LGBT+ advocacy group, said.

Worldwide, only Brazil, Ecuador and Malta have national bans on conversion therapy, condemned as ineffective and harmful to mental health by more than 60 associations of doctors, psychologists or counsellors globally, the Ilga study said.

“The main driving force [for reform] is survivors with their testimonies coming forwards,” Lucas Ramon Mendos, author of the Ilga report, which said 2020 could be a turning point in the fight against “therapies” that have ruined many lives.

“A lot of awareness is being created through their testimony,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.   (Rachel Savage, Independent, 2/26/2020)

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TO THE POINT

• A headline in our local newspaper, the Lansing State Journal, appeared Monday.   It read: ‘White supremacy seeps into public, experts warn.”   It added:   “Incidents show startling jump over the past year.”   The article went on to show that violence emanating from “white supremacist groups” is increasing and is expected to grow further in the years ahead.   There is no excuse for violence.  But surely this is a reaction to the massive immigration of recent years and the constant emphasis on multiculturalism.   Until both change, there will be a constant threat from the political “right.”  It’s a reaction to the “extreme left.”
• There’s a plan in Michigan to expand the options offered on payday loans.  These “short term, high cost financial products,” have trapped millions of families into a never ending “costly and potentially catastrophic cycle of debt.”  (David Snodgrass,  Lansing State Journal, 2/20/2020).   The bill “would allow lenders to charge a monthly service fee of 11% on the principal of a loan, equivalent to an APR of around 132%.   In practical terms, this means a borrower would end up paying more than $7,000 to pay off a $2,500 two-year loan.”   Heed the following biblical advice:  “If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you.  Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you.” (Lev. 25:35-36)
• I went to a concert on Monday evening.   The Academy of St Martin in the Fields played Brahms Symphony Number 4, along with a violin concerto by Paganini and a short piece by Mozart.  It was a delightful and relaxing evening with good friends.
• Also relaxing (and gripping) is my latest “read:”   “The Race to save the Romanovs” by Helen Rappaport was published in 2018.  After the Russian revolution in 1917 the Romanov family were under house arrest.   When the communists came to power later in the year, their situation deteriorated fast.   Many people wanted to save them and their five young children, but no attempt got very far; eventually, they were all brutally murdered.   The Bolsheviks were, if nothing else, thorough – killing all their opponents for over seventy years!   The deaths of the children were particularly reprehensible.   Today’s Russians have tried to make amends by canonizing each member of the Imperial Family.  28% of Russians polled said they would like to see the monarchy restored.   But how do you restore it when you killed everybody off?    (Interestingly, 28% is roughly the support US presidents get; when you consider that only 54.9% bothered to vote in the last election.)    Maurice Paleologue was the French Ambassador to Russia at the time of the revolution.   He said the only man who could have saved them was Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.   The Russians had been fighting the Germans, along with the British and the French.  The Kaiser helped Lenin get to Russia and, when he assumed power, entered into a peace deal with him, so that Russia could leave the war.    The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of 1918 could have (should have) included a clause freeing the Czar and his family.   Wilhelm was related to the Russian Imperial Family.  He particularly loved the children.   Why didn’t he save them?

NATO SUMMIT COULD BE DECISIVE

The new NATO Headquarters on Boulevard Leopold III, 1110 Brussels.

A few weeks ago, I said I gave up on television news when my grandson, aged 5, made a remark about how nasty everybody is.  Today, I’m back to watching while I write this blog.   There are two reasons for this – Sky News (from the UK) and the young soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand.   As we no longer have cable, Sky is a real treat – a free 24/7 news channel with no sensationalism, no shouting and few commercials. It has more international content than US TV channels, though not as much as the BBC, which has more foreign correspondents than any other source.   I recommend it to those of you who have also “cut the cord.”

There’s a great deal going on in the world right now.   The implications are quite profound for almost all countries.

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NATO SUMMIT

Next week, President Trump will be attending the NATO summit in Brussels.   The 70^th anniversary of the alliance is coming up.   After seven decades of working together to maintain the peace of the western world, the 29-nation military grouping is facing its biggest challenge yet:   President Trump.

The US president is adamant that European countries need to contribute more, a justifiable demand on the part of the US Administration.   But, perhaps a greater challenge is growing indifference to the alliance in the US as increasing numbers of people turn isolationist.   Americans are focused primarily on their own problems.

Today’s Economist led with the following words:   “The Western alliance is breaking apart.”

The collapse of NATO will quickly lead to radical change and realignments in Europe; ultimately leading to the fulfillment of Revelation 17.

President Trump will be visiting the UK after the NATO summit.  His “working” visit will include meetings with Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth.

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EU SECURITY TIES

No country can replace the US in the short term, but European countries are certainly moving in the direction of closer security ties. NATO was formed to keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down!   Russia is no longer the greatest threat to European security.   Note the following comment:

‘Europe today is not afraid of Vladimir Putin reaching the Rhine. Europe is afraid of Africa and the Middle East reaching the Danube.”  (“The Never-Trumpers are never coming back,” Pat Buchanan, 7/6).

Attitudes are certainly changing on the continent:   “In Italy, rising popular sentiment against immigration has found a forceful spokesman and leader in (Deputy PM Matteo) Salvini, who has refused entry to Italian ports to migrant rescue ships, saying “NGO rescue ships will only see Italy on postcards.”   

Nations are increasingly working together to keep the Muslims out.   Others are still letting them in.

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TRADE WAR BEGINS

“The U.S. and China slapped levies on $34 billion of each other’s exports, the first tangible shots in a trade battle that both sides are bracing to fight for months – if not years.” (WSJ  7/6).

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NHS @ 70

The British are proud of their National Health Service (NHS). Everybody in the country, at least in theory, has equal access to free health care, which costs 9.8% of GDP.   Conservatives, Liberals and Socialists in the UK all support the NHS, competing with each other to promise increased funding.

“In 2014, Britain spent 9.8 per cent of its GDP on healthcare, compared to the average for the EU . . . of 9.7 per cent.”  (ft.com).

In contrast, the US spent 17.9 % of its GDP on healthcare last year, almost twice as much per person and with no better results.

Over the last 70 years, the NHS has provided free health care for all British citizens.   But it has some serious problems:

• A shortfall of 100,000 doctors and nurses, who can often earn more in other countries.
• After 70 years of the NHS, people were asked in a recent poll if they thought it would last another 70 years.  Over two-thirds said “No.”
• “The NHS is drowning in bureaucracy”, a report noted in 2015.
• Rising costs are due to: recent medical developments that are very costly;  an increasing number of elderly.   55% of all the money allocated to the NHS is spent on people over 85;  foreign nationals taking advantage of the system.   Can no way be found to make them pay up BEFORE receiving treatment?   They can’t buy petrol at the pump without paying in advance – perhaps the petrol companies can help the NHS here?

Each year, the cost of the NHS increases by 8%; but the economy only grows at a 2%  rate.   This means that the NHS is unsustainable.

Mrs. May is promising the medical service an additional 20 billion pounds ($26.6 billion), out of the savings the country will make as a result of Brexit.

This will not solve the problem long-term.

• REALITY CHECK:   The same government that introduced the NHS started dismantling the British Empire and reducing the UK’s military power.   There IS a connection.   Military cuts have combined with increased medical bills over the last 70 years.  If the country cannot defend itself, there will be no NHS!

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BREXIT

As I write, Theresa May, UK Prime Minister, is trying to keep her Cabinet together as she draws up Britain’s final Brexit offer.   They are all meeting at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country home not far from London.   The country is due to leave the European Union in March of next year.   Many members of the Cabinet are concerned she will give too much away and tie Britain to the EU for decades to come.   The worst-case scenario is that Britain will become a European vassal state, constantly having to follow orders from Berlin.   Can’t the country find another Winston Churchill?

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CANADA:    “Canada’s Supreme Court has banned Christian schools and colleges from teaching Biblical values because the Bible does not support the Trudeau government’s vision of “diversity” and is therefore “harmful” to LGBT and Muslim students.

“Instead, Canada’s schools have been encouraged to adopt Common Core values such as ordering children as young as six to question their sexual orientation and gender identity, while teaching them how to use a range of vegetables as sex toys, and promoting anal sex as “normal.”

“Christian colleges and universities will be stripped of their accreditation if they continue to promote Biblical standards and values.   In other words, the highest Canadian court has ruled that Christianity and education are incompatible. ”  (“Canada Bans Christianity from the classroom”, Ray Pennings, 6/15, National Post)

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ROYALS

Rumors have long persisted that Queen Elizabeth was not as involved as she perhaps should have been in her children’s lives, especially when they were young.

In his controversial 1994 authorized biography of Prince Charles, Jonathan Dimbleby quotes the Prince of Wales saying it was “inevitably the nursery staff” who taught him to play, witnessed his first steps, and punished and rewarded him, as they are who took care of him.

But Princess Anne has publicly refuted any claim that her mother was an absent parent.   “I simply don’t believe there is any evidence whatsoever to suggest that she wasn’t caring.   It just beggars belief,” the Princess Royal said.

Indeed, Elizabeth II, who has four children, eight grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren (including newborns Lena Tindall and little Prince Louis) once described motherhood as “the only job which matters.”   (The Royal News from Town and Country, 7/6).

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GAY CONVERSION THERAPY TO BE BANNED IN  UK

“Gay conversion “therapies” are based on the premise that being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender is a mental illness that can be “cured.”   But there is no evidence that they work, and the techniques are largely discredited.   Members of UK professional bodies for counseling and psychotherapy are prohibited from using such techniques.” (CNN)   The government believes that the therapies are harmful and have driven some to suicide.