“Would a Germany that is doubling its dependency on Russia for the natural gas that fuels its economy be willing to go to war against that same Russia, and send German troops to fight alongside NATO? Would Berlin be willing to declare war on its own gas station?”
When the U.S. created NATO, a primary purpose of the alliance was to serve as a western wall to defend Germany against the 400,000 Russian troops on the eastern side of the Elbe River.
Seventy years later, Germany has decided to double its dependence on Vladimir Putin’s Russia for the natural gas needed to run the German economy, despite the opposition of her great protector, the USA. (Pat Buchanan, 5/25/2021)
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Growing military tensions in the Arctic overshadow today’s Arctic Council ministerial meeting. In recent years, the Arctic has increasingly become the theater of global rivalries. The melting of the polar ice facilitates access to natural resources and opens new maritime trade routes, thus exacerbating competition between the states involved. At the same time, Russia’s Arctic coast is gradually losing its protective barrier of ice and extreme cold and is becoming vulnerable. Moscow feels compelled to reinforce its defenses and has built new military bases in its Arctic regions. German government advisors concede that Moscow’s approach is “fundamentally defensive.” However, according to NATO, today Russia poses a “threat” to the entire region. With the active support of Berlin and the Bundeswehr, the war alliance is accelerating the militarization of the Arctic Ocean. NATO member Norway has announced that the largest maneuver in the Arctic since the end of the Cold War will be held in 2022. (German Foreign Policy, 5/20/2021)
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MIDEAST
For the watching world, the fourth Gaza war was defined by images of rockets streaking into the night sky. As both sides take stock amid a cease-fire, one data point will leap out at military planners throughout the Middle East: Hamas fired over 4,000 projectiles in 11 days of fighting.
That is a huge increase in the rate of fire compared to the 2014 Gaza war, when Hamas fired 4,500 in 50 days. Just as alarming is the improved quality of Hamas’ arsenal: In the latest conflict, it was able to lob projectiles much farther into Israel than before. Hamas also used so-called “suicide drones” which, unlike its rockets, can be directed at specific targets. (Seth Frantzman, Bloomberg, 5/22/2021)
Armed drones crisscross Middle Eastern skies, bringing havoc and a new threat to U.S. Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2021 (Extracts) — Proliferation of military drones crisscrossing the region’s skies in unprecedented numbers. They target oil facilities, militant hideouts, Israeli and Palestinian territory and even U.S. bases in the region. “These small- and medium-sized [drones] present a new and complex threat to our forces and those of our partners and allies,” Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, told Congress last month. “For the first time since the Korean War, we are operating without complete air superiority.” Even cheaper nonmilitary drones and parts are widely available from China and other sources and can be easily fitted with explosives, turning them into crude but potentially effective single-use weapons, the U.S. officials say. (https://news.yahoo.com/armed-drones-crisscross-middle-eastern-130054087.html)
Egypt: In a video released on April 17, Muslims connected to the Islamic State in Sinai executed 62-year-old Nabil Habashi Salama, a Christian. Salama appears on his knees in the video, with three men holding rifles standing behind him. The one in the middle launches into a typical jihadi diatribe: “All praise to Allah, who ordered his slaves [Muslims] to fight and who assigned humiliation onto the infidels” —pointing contemptuously at the kneeling Christian before him — “until they pay the jizya while feeling utterly subdued.” The words are a paraphrasing of Koran 9:29, which commands Muslims to “fight the people of the book,” understood as meaning Christians and Jews, “until they pay the jizya (monetary tribute) with willing submissiveness and feel themselves utterly subdued.” (This Week, 5/24/2021)
Hamas-Israel Cease-Fire Begins after 11 Days of Fighting – Felicia Schwartz
Israel and Hamas in Gaza agreed to a cease-fire that began early Friday. Israel’s cabinet voted Thursday to accept an Egyptian-brokered bilateral cease-fire without any conditions. Hamas leader Osama Hamdan confirmed the cease-fire. Since May 10, Palestinians in Gaza have fired 4,340 rockets toward Israel, with 640 of them falling inside Gaza. (Wall Street Journal, 5/21/2021)
DailyKenn.com — As the banana republic culture floods over the border into the USA, Americans can expect a future very different from our past. A case in point is the massive violence that accompanies elections south of the border. Abel Murrieta was one of dozens of candidates killed in recent weeks. He was fatally shot in the head while distributing flyers. He was a candidate for mayor in Ciudad Obregon. The city was named for a former mayor who was, himself, fatally shot in 1928, a testimony to the deep roots of violence that permeates Hispanic culture. Why so violent? Winning an election south of the border is akin to winning a lottery. Virtually every economy in every jurisdiction is rooted in corruption. That is, everything from building permits to traffic tickets is part of a cultural bribery scheme. The guy at the top receives a percentage of everything. That culture of bribery and corruption is pouring over the border as invaders seek the low hanging fruit of Western civilization. (Reuters, 5/26/2021)
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TALKING POINTS
- DailyKenn.com — Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot announced she would refuse one-on-one interviews with white reporters. It’s her way of fighting racial discrimination. Lightfoot apparently is reacting to the reality that the news media is dominated by white people. In an effort to create an environment of diversity and inclusion, she is excluding the dominant group. (5/20/2021)
- “The elevation of fitness to the highest of attainments is a sure sign of a culture grown neurotically inward and stunted. It’s a sign of diminished aspirations,” writes Lionel Shriver on UnHerd. “When ‘self-improvement’ entails not learning German but doing star jumps, we’re aiming to clear the lowest of bars,” she continues. “In the end, no matter how much agony we undergo to build our biceps, those perishable muscles will still atrophy in old age and then end up on the scrap heap – at which point, what have we got to show?” “The whole purpose of maintaining a functional body is to be able to do something else: write books, invent new software, land a rover on Mars. Theoretically, Michelangelo could have spent all his time on chin-ups and never have got round to the Sistine Chapel.” (The Week, 5/18/2021)
- EU announces Belarus response – The EU has banned Belarusian airlines from European skies after a flight was diverted to Minsk so that a journalist on board could be arrested. Leaders also told EU airlines not to fly over Belarus and promised further economic sanctions. The British government has told all UK planes to cease flying over Belarus and summoned the country’s ambassador. Dissident reporter Roman Protasevich was arrested after his flight from Greece to Lithuania was rerouted. (The Week, 5/25/2021)
- BLM activist ‘shot by gang’ – A leading Black Lives Matter activist who was shot in the head was the unintended victim of a gang attack, a fellow activist said yesterday. Sasha Johnson was shot by gang members who fired at rivals from a car in Peckham, southeast London, according to Imarn Ayton. She said the shooting in Consort Road just before 3am on Sunday was “more related to rival gangs as opposed to her activism”. (The Week, 5/25/2021)
- Villages braced for new homes – Nearly 400,000 homes will be built on greenfield sites in the south of England over the next five years, The Times reports. Analysis of planning policy suggests that “huge parts of the countryside could be paved over by councils to meet revised housebuilding targets,” the paper says. Conservative backbenchers fear that the proposals will alienate their voters in the shires. (The Week, 5/25/2021)
- Prince William attacks BBC – Prince William says the BBC’s failures around Martin Bashir’s 1995 Panorama interview with his mother “contributed significantly to her fear, paranoia and isolation.” The royal spoke out after the publication of a report which concluded that the former Panorama reporter had used “deceitful behaviour” to induce Diana, Princess of Wales, to agree to the 1995 interview. The Times says the Duke’s rebuke of the corporation is “unprecedented.” (The Week, 5/21/2021)
- Unrest follows Swansea vigil – Cars were set on fire in Swansea last night after a vigil descended into violence. South Wales Police said they attended “large scale disorder” in the Mayhill area of the city. The force warned people to stay indoors amid chaotic scenes after people gathered to remember a man who recently died. Footage on social media showed crowds cheering as a burning vehicle was rolled down a hill. (The Week, 5/21/2021)
- Civil service given days for aid cuts – Civil servants were given just five to seven working days to prepare 30% cuts in the overseas aid budget last summer. The Guardian says the government spent only seven hours discussing the proposed £2.9bn cuts to multilateral and bilateral aid, and then imposed them on the world’s poorest countries. The cuts were made on the basis of a forecast shown five days later to be too pessimistic, the paper reports. (The Week, 5/21/2021)
- Think tank says poverty rate soaring – The poverty rate among working households in the UK is the highest ever, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research. It says relative poverty has reached 17.4%. It blames higher rents, soaring property prices and childcare costs. (The Week, 5/26/2021)
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FINAL THOUGHT
Proverbs 16:4 – “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” Scientists can study only what God has made. . . . Like a good engineer, God made everything for a purpose. Oct 1, 2018
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