IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT UKRAINE

Of course, it’s about Ukraine.  But it’s also about Europe and Europe’s biggest economy, Germany.  

Europe was powerless to stop the invasion of Ukraine. 

For seventy years, it has not been spending enough on defense.   Now it sees clearly that it must spend more.   The West has been delusional, thinking everybody wants peace and all disagreements can be talked through.

The biggest problem is German guilt over World War II.  Germany has held back from spending more on defense lest neighboring nations get the wrong idea.

Wednesday’s headline in Metro, a London paper, is “Shunned by the World,” purporting to show the world united against Putin.  But consider:  According to Wikipedia only 6.4% of the world’s people live in a real democracy.  A further 40% live in partial democracies.   That still leaves over half that are not free.  These figures show that Putin doesn’t have to worry too much about sanctions – there are plenty of nations that will trade with him.

Is Germany solidly democratic?

When Germany put out feelers to end World War I, US President Woodrow Wilson insisted on the Kaiser being removed before the US would consider any agreement with Germany.   But by removing the Kaiser, the Americans opened the door for Adolf Hitler.

At the end of World War II, NATO was established to “keep the Russians out, the Americans in and the Germans down,” to quote the first Secretary General of NATO, General Ismay. Now, the Germans are being encouraged to rearm.  Who knows what it will lead to?

The Bible speaks of a final European based union of ten nations, which will only make things worse.   Revelation 17:12-14 says:

^“ “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. ¹³ These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

———————————————————————————–

NOW, THE BIGGEST SPENDER ON DEFENSE

• The measures represent a complete reversal of Germany’s post-Cold War Russia policy – which focused on pursuing economic ties rather than confrontation with Moscow – and mark a definitive end to the era of former Chancellor Angela Merkel.
• “We are living through a watershed era. And that means that the world afterwards will no longer be the same as the world before. The core question is whether power is allowed to prevail over the law. Will we allow Putin to turn the clock back to the 19th century and the age of great powers? Or can we muster the strength to keep warmongers like Putin in check. That requires strength of our own. Yes, we fully intend to secure our freedom, our democracy and our prosperity.” — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Bundestag, February 27, 2022.
• The significance of the German U-turn cannot be overstated: Germany will become the biggest spender on defense in Europe.  (“Germany abandons pro-Putin policy,” Soeren Kern, Gatestone, 3/1/2022)

NATO is uniting. Germany has voted to raise its defense budget and send its own anti-tank weapons and Stingers to Ukraine.  (Pat Buchanan, 3/1/2022)

A New Era in Berlin:  Germany Goes Big on Defense Spending

For years, Germany has starved its military of money.  But on Sunday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced massive new defense spending.  Der Spiegal has learned what the money will be used for.

Whenever things get serious, the chief of defense, Germany’s senior-most military officer, calls a meeting of the Military Command Council, the most powerful body of Germany’s armed forces, the Bundeswehr. The most important generals and admirals in the country then gather in a bug-proof room at the Defense Ministry in Berlin for a face-to-face.

Such a meeting was called for Monday afternoon, and this time, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), joined the group as a guest. It was a clear sign that she and her top generals had some difficult decisions to make.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has completely upended the fundamental constants of German security policy. German troops are being rapidly sent to Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank. At the same time, six German warships have set off to strengthen the alliance’s northern flank. And since Sunday, the country’s military leadership finds itself facing a problem that they didn’t expect at all. The country’s defense forces, which have struggled for years to make ends meet, suddenly has money. A lot of money. In his speech on Sunday to a special session of German parliament, Scholz announced emergency funding of the German military to the tune of 100 billion euros while also pledging to boost defense spending to above 2 percent of gross national product. (Matthias Gebauer and Konstantin von Hammerstein, Der Spiegal, 1st March, 2022, Germany)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has inadvertently achieved what Western allies have long struggled to:  get Germany to step up to its role as a major global power with an assertive foreign policy backed by a strong military despite its World War guilt.   German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a dramatic hike in military spending in what is being heralded as a historic speech that marks a paradigm shift in German foreign and defense policy.  (Reuters Daily Briefing, 28 Feb 2022)

Satellite images are showing that a 40-mile Russian military convoy is advancing towards Kyiv. Other images have shown additional deployments and helicopter units in southern Belarus, around 20 miles north of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. At least nine people were killed and 37 injured in the city of Kharkiv on Monday after Russian forces launched multiple rocket strikes in civilian areas. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague said he wants to investigate Russia for possible war crimes or crimes against humanity in Ukraine.  (The Week, 3/1/2022)

“Whatever we may think of Putin, he is no Stalin. He has not murdered millions or created a gulag archipelago. Nor is he “irrational,” as some pundits rail. He does not want a war with us, which would be worse than ruinous to us both. Putin is a Russian nationalist, patriot, traditionalist and a cold and ruthless realist looking out to preserve Russia as the great and respected power it once was and he believes it can be again.”  (Pat Buchanan, 2/25/2022)

ASSASSINATE ZELENSKY

Private militia known as the Wagner Group ‘flown in from Africa five weeks ago’. It is run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of the Russian president. Highly trained operatives have a 23-strong kill list including the PM and cabinet. (Daily Mail, UK)

According to the Times, the army-for-hire, run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin – a close ally of the Russian president who is often dubbed ‘Putin’s chef’ – was flown in five weeks ago and is being offered a huge sum for the mission. The highly-trained operatives are said to be waiting for the green light from the Kremlin to pounce, with their hit list also including Ukraine’s prime minister, the entire cabinet, mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir – both boxing champions who have become iconic figures on the front lines of the capital.

However, the plans were rumbled after they reached the upper echelons of the Ukrainian government on Saturday morning. A source with knowledge of the Wagner Group’s activities told the Times that between 2,000 and 4,000 mercenaries had actually arrived in Ukraine in January, but with different missions. Some were sent to the rebel-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east of the country – while the 400 tasked with taking out Zelensky headed to Kyiv from Belarus.

The group are said to be tracking Zelesnky and his colleagues via their mobile phones – claiming to know where they are at all times.

(https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10558749/Kremlin-sends-400-mercenaries-Kyiv-assassinate-President-Zelensky.html)

Ukraine crisis prompts former Japan PM to make nuclear suggestion

Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has controversially suggested his country should consider allowing the US to base nuclear weapons in his country, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  He made the remarks while discussing the impact of the Ukraine crisis during a television interview.  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn immediate parallels in Japan with a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan or takeover of Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea.  The BBC’s Tokyo correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says that politically this is one of Japan’s biggest taboos. Since World War Two, Japan has committed to never possessing, producing or deploying nuclear weapons on its territory.  Mr. Abe also said he believes the US should make it clear to China that it will defend Taiwan if Beijing attacks the island.  (BBC, 28 Feb 2022)

MOST STUPID COMMENT

“We beat the Russians back in 1853. We can do it again!”  (UK Defense Secretary)   In 1853 Britain was the greatest military power on earth.  Today it is not.  Note the following:

The Russian Armed Forces are one of the world’s largest military forces, with around a million active-duty personnel, which is the world’s fifth-largest.  (Wikipedia)

The British military is only slightly bigger than that of Ukraine, at 198,000 personnel.  Ukraine has 196,000.

The Crimean War was actually 1854-56.  Wrong again!

——————————————————————————

TOO MUCH DEBT

“A critical part of the State of the Union should be the financial state of the Union, but the president will most likely fail to mention that the government’s spending is on an unsustainable path and that, while the government has promised our seniors Social Security and Medicare benefits over the next 75 years, Congress and the president have no idea where the money will come from to pay $71 trillion of those benefits,” she continued.

Weinberg also said she doubts “the president will mention that in order to maintain the spending projected without borrowing even more money, taxes would need to increase by more than 32 percent or spending, including promised Social Security and Medicare benefits, would have to be cut by 25 percent.”  (Mark Tapscott, Epoch Times, 3/1/2022)

——————————————————————————

AUSTRALIA

Sydney has suffered its wettest summer in three decades and the most humid season in ten years, with life-threatening weather expected in New South Wales and Queensland. Heavy rain and flooding has already led to two deaths in Queensland and one in New South Wales, said The Guardian. A meteorologist has predicted that some areas from Byron Bay to Fraser Island could receive more than 300mm of rainfall over the next few days. “This is a dangerous setup as very heavy rainfall falls over already saturated soils,” they told the paper.   (The Week, 2/25/2022)

————————————————————————–

IMMIGRANTS DESECRATE CHRISTIAN SITES

“As a deeply religious society, these attacks on churches are shocking to the Greek people and calls to question whether these illegal immigrants seeking a new life in Europe are willing to integrate and conform to the norms and values of their new countries.” — Greek City Times, May 16, 2020.   (Raymond Ibrahim, 2/27/2022)

Before Christmas, in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, where more than a million Muslim migrants reside, some 50 public statues of Jesus and other Christian figures were beheaded and crucifixes broken.    (Ibrahim, 2/27/2022)

————————————————————————————–

TO THE POINT

• Rome:  Pope Francis visited the Russian Embassy on Friday to personally “express his concern about the war” in Ukraine, in an extraordinary, hands-on papal gesture that has no recent precedent.     (Lansing State Journal, 2/26/2022)

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has sounded a fresh alarm bell, warning that climate breakdown is accelerating rapidly, many of its impacts will be worse than predicted and there is only a slim window to avoid its worst effects. In a report described as the IPCC’s “bleakest warning yet,” the global authority on climate science said that human actions are causing dangerous and widespread disruption, threatening devastation to swathes of the natural world and rendering many areas uninhabitable, reported The Guardian.  (The Week, 3/1/2022)

• A man in Pakistan has been found guilty of murdering the daughter of a distinguished diplomat. Noor Muqaddam, 27, was beaten, raped and beheaded by Zahir Jaffer, the son of one of Pakistan’s richest families, after she refused his offer of marriage. The killing shook the nation last year and underlined the widespread violence facing Pakistani women, campaigners said. The BBC noted that hundreds of women are killed in the country each year and thousands suffer violence, with many cases going unreported.   (The Week, 2/25/2022)

• Florida’s House of Representatives has passed a bill that bans the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in primary school classrooms. Governor Ron DeSantis had previously signaled support for the legislation and is expected to sign it into law. Activists and parents have warned the bill – dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics – could stigmatize and isolate LGBTQ+ youth. Joe Biden has described the bill as “hateful.”   (The Week, 2/25/2022)

FRENCH TEACHER BEHEADED IN STREET

Flowers outside the Collège du Bois d’Aulne middle school as part of a memorial to the teacher who was killed in Eragny, a suburb of Paris, on Friday.Credit…Siegfried Modola/Getty Images

In an attack that sent France reeling, on Friday afternoon, October 16, in broad daylight, a French schoolteacher was beheaded on a suburban street for teaching his students a required lesson about free speech. Samuel Paty, 47, was murdered close to the school where he taught by an 18-year-old Chechen immigrant (identified only as Abdoulakh A.) who had come to France as a child refugee.

Abdoulakh then posted images of Paty’s severed head on his Twitter account along with insults aimed at French President Emmanuel Macron and French “infidels” and “dogs.” 

Witnesses reported hearing Abdoulakh shout “Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)!” during the attack. Abdoulakh had been waiting for Paty before attacking him with a knife and inflicting him with multiple head wounds.

The attacker was killed by police after firing at them with an air gun.

Paty was a history and geography teacher, who had been threatened many times after educating his students in light of the ongoing Charlie Hebdo trial and showing them cartoons from the satirical magazine depicting Islam’s prophet Mohammed (he advised Muslim students to look away if they were offended).  (Clarion Project, 10/18/2020)

An entire community of immigrants, who enjoyed all the freedoms we had granted them, ambushed him . . . It is a racism condoned by imams who had called [the beheaded teacher] Paty “delinquent.”

“[T]here is the continuity of our submission. I am convinced that if we had known how to say no, we would not be here. They all bowed their heads out of fear of appearing racist or out of patronage.” — Élisabeth Badinter, author, Le Point, October 16, 2020.

If the French authorities do not take the many warnings to heart, even after a schoolteacher was beheaded in broad daylight by a terrorist shouting “Allahu Akbar,” it means that the fight is over and they might as well raise a white flag over the Eiffel Tower.   (Giulio Meotti, Gatestone, 10/20/2020)

Sheikh Ali Al-Yousuf Of The International Union Of Muslim Scholars: Killing Of French Teacher Paty Was In Keeping With The Ruling Of The Shari’a But It Should Have Been Done By The Islamic State, Not By Just Any Individual  (MEMRI, 10/20/2020)

——————————————–

GERMANY

[BREXIT]:  In the Interest of German Industry

The German government breaks ranks with the EU consensus on the negotiations of a Brexit free trade agreement and demands that concessions be made to Great Britain. On Thursday, the EU heads of states and governments – with Germany’s endorsement – had unanimously increased pressure on the British government to unilaterally concede in the dispute over the agreement, however, Chancellor Merkel is now strongly pleading for “a compromise.” This change of course was triggered by London’s reiteration that it would rather settle for a no-deal Brexit, if the EU insists on its maximalist positions. A hard Brexit would bring serious disadvantages particularly for German industry, because, well ahead of China, the UK is its second largest investment site and its business on the British Isles has already been seriously affected by Brexit uncertainties. Confronted with the impact of the Corona crisis and economic risks due to the power struggle between the USA and China, Germany seeks to avoid further slumps. 19 Oct 2020, German-Foreign-Policy newsletter. (https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/news/detail/8415/)

Secret NATO Drills: German Air Force trains in the event of nuclear war?
The German air force is currently working with NATO partners to work out the defense of the alliance’s territory using nuclear weapons
19 October 2020 (From German newspaper) Bild.de

If the situation would follow the most appalling scenario, and it comes to a nuclear war, we must be ready for this. 

The German air force is currently working with NATO partners to work out the defense of the alliance’s territory using nuclear weapons.

According to the DPA news agency, a secret Alliance exercise called Steadfast Noon began this week. At the same time, the operations of fighter-bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons are being practiced. The venue for the maneuvers this year was the Nørvenich airbase in North Rhine-Westphalia. Presumably, it is there that the American tactical atomic bombs B61 will be placed, according to unofficial data, stored at the base in Büchel (Rhineland-Palatinate)

At the same time, the Resilient Guard exercise continues in Büchel, where the Air Force is practicing defense of the airbase there. According to the Bundeswehr, operations with the use of Patriot missile systems are also being practiced there.

The B61 hydrogen bombs located in Büchel, if necessary, can take on board, in particular, the German Tornado aircraft, in order to take hostile forces out of the game. American nuclear weapons are also stored in Belgium, Turkey, and the Netherlands. Combat aircraft of the Air Forces of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy are also participating in the current exercises.

According to military experts, during the Persistent Noon maneuvers, which traditionally take place in October, the safe delivery of American nuclear weapons from underground storage facilities to aircraft and their placement there is being worked out. However, during the exercise, flights will be carried out without bombs. Information on a specific exercise scenario has not yet been released.

Today, the danger of war, during which nuclear weapons may be used, has grown significantly in comparison with the past 30 years. The reason is the termination of the INF Treaty. The United States, with the approval of NATO partners, withdrew from it in the summer of 2019, arguing that Russia has been developing medium-range missiles called 9M729 (NATO classification: SSC-8) for several years, thereby violating the agreement.

Will a new arms race start?

Military experts do not rule out that the world is on the verge of a new arms race. The United States is already working on a new mobile ground-based missile system, which was illegal during the INF Treaty. According to current plans, they should be equipped exclusively with conventional (that is, non-nuclear) warheads. But it is possible that the plans will be further adjusted.

In addition, the last major nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia, the START III Treaty, expires on February 5, 2021. The parties are now negotiating its extension, but Moscow has recently made it clear that it will hardly be possible to reach an agreement with Washington under President Donald Trump.(https://112.international/politics/secret-nato-drills-german-air-force-trains-in-the-event-of-nuclear-war-55714.html)

A GERMAN PERSPECTIVE

What If Trump Won’t Go?

Europe Preparing for the Worst in Washington; Concern is growing in the European Union that Donald Trump might refuse to recognize the election results if he loses.  Preparations are underway for the worst-case scenario.  by Markus Becker, Christiane Hoffmann und Peter Müller 16.Oct.2020, Der Spiegel, Germany

A horror scenario is making the rounds these days in both Berlin and Brussels:  Should the outcome of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3 be close, incumbent Donald Trump could declare himself the winner when polls close, even if he is behind in the vote count. He could prematurely and unlawfully claim the presidency. (DS)

————————————————————————–

USA

AFGHANISTAN DILEMMA

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, US President George W. Bush demanded that Afghanistan’s Taliban government surrender Osama bin Laden and end support for al-Qaeda. The Taliban refused.

On October 7, US bombs began falling on Taliban forces. NATO allies quickly pledged support for the US, and US boots hit the ground in Afghanistan two weeks later.

Thus began a war, now the longest in US history, that has killed more than 3,500 coalition soldiers and 110,000 Afghans. It has cost the American taxpayer nearly $3 trillion. US allies have also made human and material sacrifices.

Though the Taliban government quickly crumbled, its fighters kept fighting. A Taliban insurgency continues, and its forces are now believed to control nearly 20 percent of Afghan territory. Almost half of Afghan land is “contested.”

The Taliban is militarily stronger today than at any time since the start of the war, and there are now US soldiers serving in Afghanistan who were not yet born on September 11, 2001.

The dilemma remains

A large-scale US effort to defeat the Taliban everywhere in Afghanistan would prove costlier than the American public, and therefore any US president, is willing to bear.   (Gzero Signal, 10/22/2020)

——————————————————-

THREAT FROM AMERICAN EXTREME RIGHT — On October 19, 2020, the National Socialist Order (NSO), which was created by members of the international neo-Nazi network, AtomWaffen Division, released a one-minute video on its Telegram channel urging supporters to take action such as running-over protesters, or murdering politicians, to bring about a “new world.” The video, titled “National Socialist Order – A Step by Step Guide to Victory,” is a slick production in a retro television style, with black and white animated sequences and titles, and is narrated in a male voice.  (MEMRI 10/21/2020)

——————————————————–

FRANKLIN GRAHAM ON POLITICS 

Regarding the recent Democratic and Republican national conventions, Graham asserted that the Democratic Party is “opposed to faith.”

“The Democrats are really, if anything, they are opposed to faith.” Graham asserted.

Graham acknowledged that while his father, the late evangelist Billy Graham, was a lifelong democrat, even he saw the significant transformation within the Democratic Party as it became “a party of the left.”

“It’s a socialist party. They want socialism for this country,” Graham argued, according to CBN News.   (CBN, 9/3/2020)

———————–

New Data Analysis Finds 353 Counties With 1.8 Million More Registered Voters Than Eligible Citizens by Mark Tapscott (Epoch Times, 10/18/2020)

Nope, no chance of voter fraud here, folks.

—————————————————

THREAT FROM CCP

We are at risk of losing a war today because too few of us know that we are engaged with an enemy, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), that means to destroy us. The forces of globalism that have dominated our government (until recently) and our media for the better part of half a century have blinded too many Americans to the threat we face. If we do not wake up to the danger soon, we will find ourselves helpless.(Imprimis, 9/20/2020)

—————————————————-

VIOLENCE AHEAD?

As Election Day nears, voters are on edge.

In fact, almost three in four voters, 72 per cent, describe themselves as very or quite concerned about post-election violence, according to a poll conducted by JL Partners and The Independent.

Republicans in Washington are concerned far-left groups will stir up trouble after the election should Mr. Trump win – or say he won as a court battle begins. Democrats say it is the president who has been stoking trouble.   (The Independent, 10/22/2020)

———————————————————-

Chris Jackson / Canada Government

CANADA’S NEW OFFICIAL PORTRAIT OF THE QUEEN

A new portrait of the Queen has been commissioned by the Canadian government. It will hang in schools, government buildings and embassies.

Even after resuming socially-distanced in-person engagements, and reopening Buckingham Palace for audiences, the royals haven’t had occasion to flaunt their stunning jewelry collection in some time – and may not for a while yet. This makes the reveal of Queen Elizabeth’s new official Canadian portrait, which features the monarch bedecked in precious stones from the King George VI Victorian Suite, all the more special.

Photographer Chris Jackson unveiled the portrait on Instagram, saying, “It was an incredible honor to have the opportunity to photograph HM Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the Canadian Government.”

He then went on to explain the significance of the jewelry and royal honors the Queen wears in the portrait, starting with the two badges affixed to her dress. These are the Canadian insignia as Sovereign of the Order of Canada and the Order of Military Merit (per Canadian Heritage’s Instagram, the Order of Canada is the country’s highest civilian honor, instituted by the Queen herself in 1967). More interesting, perhaps, to those interested in royal history are the jewels: a tiara, necklace, earrings, and bracelet, all from the diamond and sapphire King George VI Victorian Suite.

The suite – then composed only of the necklace and earrings, made circa 1850 – was given to the Queen by her father, King George VI, as a wedding present in 1947. A matching tiara and bracelet were fashioned in 1963, and in 1990, the Queen took the whole suite with her for a royal tour of Canada – making it a particularly meaningful choice for this portrait.

———————————————————-

POPE ENDORSES SAME SEX CIVIL UNIONS

ROME — Pope Francis expressed support for same-sex civil unions in remarks revealed in a documentary film that premiered on Wednesday, a significant break from his predecessors that staked out new ground for the church in its recognition of gay people.

The remarks, coming from the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, had the potential to shift debates about the legal status of same-sex couples in nations around the globe and unsettle bishops worried that the unions threaten what the church considers traditional marriage — between one man and one woman.

“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered,” Francis said in the documentary, “Francesco,” which debuted at the Rome Film Festival, reiterating his view that gay people are children of God. “I stood up for that.”

Many gay Catholics and their allies outside the church welcomed the pope’s remarks, though Francis’ opposition to gay marriage within the church remained absolute.

His conservative critics within the church hierarchy, and especially in the conservative wing of the church in the United States, who have for years accused him of diluting church doctrine, saw the remarks as a reversal of church teaching.

“The pope’s statement clearly contradicts what has been the longstanding teaching of the church about same-sex unions,” said Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, R.I., adding that the remarks needed to be clarified.   (NYT, 10/22/2020)

Matthew 23:9 – “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”

————————————————————

HOW ISIS RESPONDED TO COVID:  In early March, as coronavirus swept across Europe, Isis issued a surprising message to its members.   Adopting a safety-first approach, the terror group’s al-Naba magazine stopped encouraging attacks on western nations, instead advising its members not to travel to Europe, which it described as “the land of the epidemic.”

The group also told its followers to “put trust in God and seek refuge in Him from illnesses,” but to also “cover the mouth when yawning and sneezing” and to wash their hands frequently, Politico reports. Terror groups traditionally thrive in areas undergoing disruption and chaos. So how has Isis handled the past eight months? (The Week, 10/21/2020)

——————————————————-

The goal of socialism is communism.   Vladimir Lenin

SYRIAN WITHDRAWAL RISKS ISIS REBOUND

U.S. Soldiers observe Turkish forces in the distance while on patrol outside Manbij, Syria, August 7, 2018.  These independent, coordinated patrols are to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS in the region. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Nicole Paese)

Wednesday US President Donald Trump announced that America had beaten ISIS and would soon depart from Syria.   The decision involves 2,200 US military personnel.   The news that ISIS had been beaten came as a surprise to allies and enemies alike.

Later in the day, the following was posted by germanforeignpolicy.com:

(Own report) – “German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas’ brief visit to Baghdad is accompanied by reports that the IS militia (Islamic State) is regaining strength.   Maas was in the Iraqi capital yesterday for talks with Iraq’s new Prime Minister to emphasize Berlin’s push for obtaining stronger influence in Iraq.   He also promoted a billion-euro deal with Siemens and listened to his Baghdad counterpart’s call for Iraqi refugees to return to their homeland.   According to reports, Iraqi authorities are not only responsible for the slow reconstruction of Sunni regions, but Sunnis are being also detained arbitrarily, tortured or condemned to death without proof of guilt. “This is not just revenge on the IS,” explained a senior intelligence officer, “this is revenge on Sunnis.”   Observers warn that this will refill the ranks of the still existing IS in clandestinity, which has again “taken the offensive.””

“As Christmas and the New Year approach, Islamic State (ISIS) supporters have begun to produce posters threatening terror attacks against Christians and inhabitants of Western countries during the holiday season.   Some of the posters threaten impending attacks, particularly by lone operatives, as retaliation for ongoing airstrikes on the organization’s strongholds in eastern Syria, by the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.   Others warn Westerners not to leave their homes on Christmas, while some posters specifically threaten attacks in New York City and London.”   (MEMRI, 12/20)

President Putin praises move to withdraw from Syria, saying that there is no need for US troops to be in the country.   So, why do Russian troops need to be there?

Two headlines from Thursday’s Wall StreetJournal:

“US Pullout could boost ISIS in Syria.”                                                         “Quick exit would add to struggles of Kurdish-led force fighting militant group.”

Additionally, President Trump is to pull 7,000 troops out of Afghanistan.

TWO FOREIGN GIRLS KILLED BY ISIS IN MOROCCO:   Two Scandinavian tourists, aged 24 and 28, were beheaded in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains by men claiming allegiance to ISIS.

BREAKING NEWS: (Friday AM)

ISIS threatens Drone Attack on New York City 

ISIS has issued a chilling new threat to plague the US and the EU with drone attacks.   It comes after a drone near London’s Gatwick Airport caused travel chaos with hundreds of flights cancelled.  

The extremist group widely used drones bought over the counter when it was defending its so-called Caliphate in Syria and Iraq.   Some were used for spy missions while others were adapted to drop grenades and bombs.

Gun cops deployed at Gatwick are continuing to work with elite Army troops and MI5 spooks as they hunt the drones and last night said shooting them down was a “tactical option.”   The saboteur has been playing cat-and-mouse with cops after shutting down Britain’s second busiest airport by drones over the runway 50 times since Wednesday night.  Sharpshooters are today continuing to try to bring down the device – while MI5 spooks were called in to track down the suspect.   Experts say the skilled drone operator – feared to be a lone-wolf green protester – could be controlling the industrial scale craft from up to five miles away.  (Similar claims are in UK tabloids, The Sun and Daily Mail)

—————————————————-

FOUR-YEAR DROUGHT PLUNGES CENTRAL KAROO FARMERS INTO FINANCIAL DISTRESS

CAPE TOWN – Farmers in the central Karoo say they are in financial distress due to a four-year drought.  Farmer’s organisation, Agri Central Karoo, says it’s the worst and longest drought in living memory.   Producers have been unable to grow crops or feed for their livestock.   Agri Central Karoo manager Dêan Gous says the region has only been receiving light rain of two to three millimetres at a time.   He says downpours of at least 20 millimetres are needed.  Gous says farmers are forced to buy expensive feed, while many are being turned away by banks and the co-op.  “My main concern is the people’s cash flow.  We’re past the stage of banks helping us, so now people must dip into their investment money and pension funds.”  He welcomes the Western Cape government’s intervention and drought relief but warns that production cannot be sustained.  “This is not enough . . .  so the main thing is people are decreasing their numbers on the shelves.”  (https://ewn.co.za/2018/12/21/four-year-drought-plunges-central-karoo-farmers-into-financial-distress)

——————————————————

30,000 JOBS LOST IN WESTERN CAPE AGRICULTURE SECTOR DUE TO DROUGHT — The Western Cape Economic Opportunities Department says the drought has had a massive impact on the agricultural sector

CAPE TOWN – The Western Cape Economic Opportunities Department says the drought has cost about 30,000 jobs in the agriculture sector.  That is 1.5% of all jobs in the Western Cape. Agri Central Karoo says the area is experiencing the worst and longest drought in living memory.  Farmers say they are finding it impossible to farm due to low rainfall. The Western Cape Economic Opportunities Department says the drought has had a massive impact on the agricultural sector. MEC Beverley Schäfer says it has a large impact on jobs and economic growth in the province:   “We’ve already seen a R5.9 billion drop in gross value add, which is about 25% of the value of agriculture production and a 20% decrease in production in general.”   Agri Central Karoo said on Thursday that due to the drought farmers are unable to grow crops or feed their flocks.   Agri Central Karoo manager Dêan Gous says more assistance is needed from the government. Schäfer says they are doing their best and adds that since November support to the farmers in the Central Karoo has increased.   Schäfer says the government is supporting 563 farmers and is spending R8.1 million per month.  (12/21)

—————————————————

Russia’s Vladimir Putin warns about growing threat of nuclear war

If the US puts intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will take countermeasures, Putin said at his end-of-year press conference.  He warned the “threshold” for the use of nuclear weapons was getting lower.

An attempt to lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons could potentially result in an all-out nuclear war, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned during his traditional end-of-year press conference on Thursday.  It is the first such event since the beginning of Putin’s new presidential term in May and the fourteenth for him in total.

“There is a tendency to lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons,” he said.  “In the West, there is this idea of using low-yield nuclear weapons.  The use of such weapons could lead to a global disaster,” the Russian leader stressed.

Putin pointed at the US intention to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.   He said that if the US puts intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will be forced to take countermeasures.

The Russian leader also warned against developing tactical nuclear warheads and conventional long-range ballistic missiles.   According to him, both are dangerous, because they increase the threat of an incidental nuclear war.

“We are currently observing the collapse of the international system for containing weapons,” he added.

————————————————————-

A global credit ‘heart attack’ is just months away

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

20 December 2018 — 11:36am                                                                   Surging borrowing costs for companies in the US and Europe threaten a recession within months and resemble events leading up to the global credit “heart attack” in August 2007.

Risk spreads on American high-yield debt have jumped since early October.   Credit experts say this is the delayed fallout from months of double-barrelled monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve.

The US central bank is raising interest rates and at the same time shrinking its balance sheet by $US50 billion  a month, perhaps draining more liquidity from global financial markets than intended.

Simon Ward from Janus Henderson said his leading indicator for the health of US companies – the cash supply available to non-financial business (M1) – has turned starkly negative for the first time since the Lehman crisis.

This points to a sharp slowdown next year. “When this measure of cash contracts it means companies plan to cut back,” he said.

——————————————- 

The deal with the EU will turn us into captives                                 By Boris Johnson 19 Nov 2018 — 11:45 PM

Well, it seems my predictions of last week were, if anything, too optimistic.  If MPs vote for this deal, we are bowing our neck to the yoke.

We are preparing to take colonial rule by foreign powers and courts. We are handing over colossal sums of money for nothing.   We are giving up the hope of new free-trade deals. We are giving up the right to vary our laws.   We are betraying Leavers and Remainers alike: we are poised to abandon any UK influence in Brussels, and yet we are signally failing to take back control.

In fact, we are surrendering control to the EU – and this 585-page fig-leaf does nothing to cover the embarrassment of our total defeat.

Boris Johnson argues that the Brexit deal will turn Britons into captives.

In the protocol on Northern Ireland, there is a note almost of malice, as though the EU is punishing us by the surgical severing of part of the UK.   From one convoluted paragraph to the next, you can follow the plot to amputate Northern Ireland and keep it in the EU – run by the EU, but with no influence in Brussels except via Dublin.

Today, No 10 continues to brief that there can still be a future Canada-style free-trade deal and that one day we can still take back control of our laws and our tariffs. But from the Treasury you hear a very different message: that this is the end-state providing the blessed “certainty” that business has been craving.

They can’t both be right – so which is it?   Is the Government serious about staying in the customs union and single market, or is it serious about democracy, free trade and Brexit?   After two years of this tragedy, I think we all know the answer to that one.

———————————————————

YELLOW VEST RIOTS SPREAD

• Across Western Europe, ordinary citizens feel ignored and condescended to by their political, business, academic, and media elites.   Against the will of most of these citizens, their leaders are gradually surrendering their nations’ sovereignty to the EU.
• Also against these citizens’ will, their nations have been flooded with Muslim immigrants who embody a major cultural challenge, have caused massive social unrest, and represent a devastating economic burden.
• Although it is increasingly obvious that taxpayer-funded Islamization is leading Western Europe down the wrong path, the EU, which stands foursquare behind this disastrous development, refuses to reverse course.
• Perhaps the question should not be why Western Europeans are rioting but why they did not start rioting a long time ago.

(By Bruce Bawer, Gatestone, 12/18)

———————————————————

Australia recognises West Jerusalem as Israeli capital .    Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that his government will recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

BBC * 15 Dec 2018                                                                                              However, he said Australia’s embassy would not move from Tel Aviv, until a peace settlement was achieved.

He added Australia also recognised the aspirations of the Palestinians to a state with a capital in East Jerusalem.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the most contested issues between Israel and the Palestinians.

US President Donald Trump drew international criticism last year when he reversed decades of American foreign policy by recognising the ancient city as Israel’s capital.   The US embassy was relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May.

 

MORE OBSERVATIONS

It seems as if our ancestors did nothing right.

The latest example is the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima seventy years ago August 6^th.

70,000 people were killed instantly while another 70, 000 died of severe burns within weeks.

The BBC World Service (radio) led with a longer than usual report from Hiroshima.  One of their veteran correspondents concluded his report by asking when the United States is going to apologize for what it did seven decades ago.

Particularly disturbing was that a group of university students from Princeton were in Hiroshima for the commemorations yesterday.   Those that were interviewed all thought the US should apologize. One even went so far as to say that the US, as the world’s leader, should set everybody an example by dismantling its nuclear weapons, then the others would follow!   Fortunately, he is too young to run for president!

If you had any doubts, it’s clear what young people are being taught in schools – the slant is always anti-American.   The US is always to blame.   Well, not just the US – we will come to that later.

For the record, the dropping of the bombs (a second one was dropped on Nagasaki three days later) ended World War II in the Pacific.   Before the atomic bombs there was no hint that the Japanese would surrender.   The US would have lost a further 100,000 men, an estimate of how many would die fighting their way to Japan through the jungles of the Philippines and other islands.   In addition, thousands of sailors would have died.   The USS Indianapolis was sunk just a few days before Hiroshima, with the loss of almost a thousand men.

A second benefit of the bomb is that, seventy years later, no country has used an atomic or nuclear device since.   What happened in Japan seventy years ago has made world leaders hesitate before starting something that would lead to massive retaliation on them.

This is likely to change as Mideast nations, starting with Iran, get the bomb.   India and Pakistan could also use theirs against each other.

————————————————————————–

Which brings us to the other nation everybody likes to bash, including Generation Y.

At the time the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the British were still ruling India, which included Pakistan and Bangladesh.   After two centuries, they were about to withdraw from the sub-continent.   Now, there are increasing calls for reparations. The Oxford Union (Oxford is one of Britain’s two most famous universities) debated the issue last month and voted in favor of reparations. The Indian prime minister has added his own view, demanding the British pay up.

What is interesting here is that the leaders of India’s independence movement did not call for financial reparations – and they were in a much better position to know if reparations were called for.

But they were also aware that the British were responsible for laying a solid foundation throughout India – including one of the best railway systems in the world, a solid infrastructure, parliamentary government, the rule of law, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the English language, which India’s first prime minister described as “India’s window to the world” and a first-class military, which had served the British Empire well.   In addition, the British kept the peace on the North-West Frontier, where the Taliban, al-Qaeda and, now, ISIS, are active.

Those early leaders were content to build on these strengths.   They did not demand reparations, though they did ask for aid.   That aid is still coming from Britain and other western nations, even though India itself is quite wealthy.

The current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, should be thankful for British rule.   Without it, India’s democratic system would not exist and he would not be in power!

India has the potential to become the greatest economic power in the world.   The country is only diminished by calls for reparations, as if they can’t take care of themselves.   To use an analogy, all of Britain’s offspring have been independent adults for fifty plus years – isn’t it a little embarrassing to go back home and ask for money?

—————————————————————————-

Talking of the sub-continent, a fourth blogger has been murdered in Bangladesh for his comments on Islam.   The religion of peace clearly is not big enough to handle criticism!

______________________________________________________________

Little attention has been given to President Obama’s decision to alter the Oath of Allegiance, taking into account Islamic beliefs.

According to the Middle East Forum: “On July 21, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced some “modifications” to the Oath of Allegiance that immigrants must take before becoming naturalized. The original oath required incoming citizens to declare that they will “bear arms on behalf of the United States” and “perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States” when required by the law. Now the USCIS says that “a candidate [to U.S. citizenship] may be eligible to exclude these two clauses based on religious training and belief or a conscientious objection.”

Why is this “necessary”?

Because, although Islam allows Muslims to fight for a non-Muslim country, it does not allow believers to fight other believers.   In other words, American Muslims are not going to be helping in the fight against radical Islamic extremism. In effect, they will be helping the other side!

—————————————————————————

What does it say about us when more attention is given to the hunting death of a lion in Zimbabwe than to the selling of baby body parts in restaurants?

Richard Weikart’s “From Darwin to Hitler”, shows the progression from the Theory of Evolution down to all the sins that plague the western world today.   Abortion, the murder of innocent children unable to defend themselves, is a sin before God.   We can dress it up as “a woman’s right to choose”, or a “female health issue”, but murder is murder and should be called such.

The prophet Isaiah put it well when he said that “The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. ⁶ From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it” (Isa 1:5b-6a).

We can’t think straight any more.

If King David were alive today, he would no doubt be languishing in a prison somewhere for killing lions in his earlier role as a shepherd! (I Samuel 17:34-36).

From now on, I shall refer to him as ‘David, the lion killer.”   It’s just another way of showing how ridiculous political correctness is.

—————————————————————————-

Back row standing: Simone (Carol Johnson) Albert, Carol (Wooten) Boyer, Alan Boyer, Susan and Colin Lauchlan, Phil Shields, Mark and Donna (Pattemore) Rhodes, Steve and Denise (Branham) Acerra, Richard and Annette (Weatherley) Forkun. Sitting on chairs/couch: Anita Wickham-Becker, Melvin and Diane (Hoot) Rhodes, Patricia (Kingsmore) Hayward, Carole (Beeston) Shields, Suzy Blackwell, Carl Hayward. Sitting on floor: Leo and Jane (Patterson) Van Pelt, Lowell Blackwell.

On a more uplifting note, Diane and I spent last weekend with old (and I mean old) friends from Bricket Wood, the English campus of Ambassador College, that closed down in 1974.

Apart from a few spouses, everybody present attended BW in the early seventies.

Although we are all now in different churches or no church at all, it did not detract one bit from the spirit of unity, friendliness and love that we all felt.

All people who profess to follow Jesus Christ should remember what He said was the identifying sign of real Christians:  “By this shall all men know you are my disciples, that you love one another.” (John 13:35)

We hope to do this again sometime!  (No pressure, Tricia!)

UK ELECTION – SECOND TV DEBATE

     Grimsby Dock Tower, Lincs – Grimsby fishing port at the height of its glory

I first saw BBC World in Uganda back in 1993.   I remember then expressing the hope that we would soon have it in Michigan.   I did not expect it to take 22 years, but we do finally have it, thanks to AT&T.   However, I’m not sure it’s worth over $100 per month.   This includes a zillion other channels I have no desire to watch.   CNN International is also good and comes with the package.

However, thanks to BBC World I’ve been able to keep up on the British election, which takes place on May 7^th.

The first live televised debate was between seven leaders of seven political parties, including Prime Minister David Cameron and his coalition partner, Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats.   The debate was very interesting.

It was followed by a second debate last week, this time without the prime minister and his coalition ally.

Again, I found it very interesting but, at the same time, quite disturbing.

Each party leader was making promises.   The four left-of-center party leaders were all promising more and more, competing with each other on how they would improve this or that service, spending more millions (or was it billions?) on this, that or the other.   Only the leader of UKIP (the United Kingdom Independence Party) seemed to have any sense of the need to balance the nation’s accounts.

The Coalition has been trying to do that since austerity measures were introduced almost five years ago.   Their policies stabilized the country while some continental nations were in a rapid downward spiral.   Now, the other leaders feel it’s time to ditch austerity and throw a big, no-expense-spared party!

Two members of my family in England sent me a rather long article in the London Review of Books about the election in my hometown of Grimsby, on the east coast of England.   Once the world’s premiere fishing port, the town fell on hard times after the country joined the European Common Market (now the EU).   It’s revived somewhat, but is still way behind when it comes to economic development.   It has been a Labour Party stronghold since 1945. There is a connection!   No matter who wins, the next representative for Grimsby will be the first woman, as both leading candidates are women.

The Conservatives never stood a chance of winning the seat for parliament.   David Cameron’s posh accent did him in!   But a new party may actually take the electoral cup from Labour.   That party is UKIP.

Resentment against the EU is so great that working class voters seem just as inclined to vote UKIP as they are to vote Labour.

It’s not just the EU, which is the problem.   Immigration is another concern – and the perception that, in an area of 10% unemployment, jobs are being lost to immigrants, both legal and illegal.   UKIP is promising to pull Britain out of the EU and to do something about immigration.

Unlike the other left-of-center parties, UKIP does not look upon the English tax-payer as a cash cow, or a bottomless pit, whichever metaphor you prefer.   I think you get the picture.

The leader of the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon, makes Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party, seem positively restrained, in her enthusiasm for spending other peoples’ money.   In her case, although she would never use the terms, all the money she is demanding for Scotland and Scottish development would come from the English taxpayer.   None of the others participating in the debate commented on this, perhaps because they all (except for UKIP) were looking to get more from the English taxpayer themselves.

The British (read, the English) are upset because they subsidize much of Europe through the EU.   How long is it going to be before there is a tax-payers revolt against all the subsidies to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, none of which pay their own way?

Ms. Sturgeon is also enthusiastic in her desire to see Britain scrap its nuclear weapons in order to partially pay for all this largesse.

Of greater concern is her insistence that, if David Cameron’s Conservative coalition is returned to power, and the promised referendum on EU membership is held, Scotland must have the right to remain in the EU, if England votes to depart.   This would automatically give Scotland independence, even though voters rejected independence in a referendum last September. Independence is what she and her party are committed to.

But how would they pay for it?   Scotland depends for roughly 10% of its expenditure on the English taxpayer.   This will only increase if the SNP joins the Labour Party in a left-wing coalition.

If Scotland remains within the EU and England withdraws, Scotland will need all the help it can get . . . from Germany, Europe’s other cash cow!

PS:  I thought you would all appreciate the following letter which appeared in the conservative Daily Telegraph of London. It’s a very astute observation on the British election campaign: