THE CAMPUS CRUCIBLE OF ISLAMIC HOLY WAR — The student mobs threaten not just the Jews but America and civilization itself

Columbia University “Gaza Solidarity Encampment”

Events at Columbia University and on other American campuses have left many people open-mouthed in shock and horror.

Overnight last night, a mob stormed Columbia’s Hamilton Hall. Masked men dressed in black used hammers and other tools to break in through the windows, barricading entry to the building with tables, chairs and a human chain. They hung a banner reading “Intifada” and screamed, “Settlers, settlers, go back home, Palestine is ours alone.”  There were reports that one campus worker was taken hostage. 

This was an escalation of the “Gaza Solidarity” encampment on campus that has been defying the authorities for nearly a week.  Columbia president Minouche Shafik began suspending students in the encampment who ignored her Monday deadline to “voluntarily disperse.” After days of previous negotiations between university officials and student protesters, the students voted unanimously to remain and declared: “Columbia will burn.”

The Columbia insurrection is but the most extreme version of what’s been playing out on the campuses and streets of America and Britain for the past seven months, ever since the October 7 Hamas pogrom. An alliance between the far left and Hamas operatives has turned dozens of universities into hotbeds of Hamas support and made London’s streets unsafe for Jews in the vicinity of these demonstrations of anti-Jewish power.

People shocked by this reveal that they have never had a clue about how Islamic fanaticism actually works. While the West’s useful idiots have promoted a mythical “two-state solution” that’s actually been rejected by the Palestinian Arabs for almost a century and would constitute instead a Final Solution for the Jews of Israel, their support for the genocidal Palestinian cause has unwittingly sanitised and legitimised a narrative of Islamic holy war.

The ignorant west similarly told itself that Islamic terrorism — including human bomb attacks — was motivated by despair. On the contrary, it is fuelled by exultation and an ecstatic sense of destiny unfolding. The October 7 pogrom, in which 1200 Israeli innocents were barbarically slaughtered and some 240 kidnapped into Gaza, acted as the starting gun for an Islamic world to which this bloody victory over the Israelis signalled the beginning of the end not only for Israel but also for the west. 

The significance of these campus insurrections is far greater than support for Hamas or even murderous hatred of the Jewish world. The universities have become ground zero for the Muslim Brotherhood’s strategy of Islamising the west . . .  (“The campus crucible of Islamic holy war,” Melanie Phillips, 4/30/2024)

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UK LOCAL ELECTIONS TODAY ARE BEING SCRUTINIZED

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is holding his breath today as voters in England and Wales head to the polls to choose mayors, councilors, and other officials in the final local elections before the UK’s next general election, probably in the fall. That’s because Sunak knows the result will be read, fairly or not, as a referendum on his leadership of the Conservative Party, which currently trails the opposition Labor Party by 20+ percentage points in national polls that have remained remarkably stable over the past year.

The received wisdom is that a poor result for Conservatives might provoke an internal party challenge to Sunak that would require 52 party members to send letters to party leaders calling for a vote of no-confidence. But given the pre-election party turmoil it might generate, such a rebellion remains unlikely to succeed.

The Tories who want to topple Sunak, however, are on the offensive. Last weekend, they issued a 100-day plan to reinvigorate their party ahead of national elections, outlining support for tightened migration rules, get-tough-on-crime proposals, and a boost in defense spending.

Results will be available in the coming hours. (Gzero Signal, 5/2/2024)

Results so far (at midday Friday) show a 26% swing to Labour, the socialists.

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CHINA HUMILIATES AMERICA

“This was more than a slight. Aside from a calculated insult to the dignity of the United States, the move indicates Xi Jinping is making clear that the accepted norms of diplomacy will not be respected by China anymore.” — Charles Burton, former Canadian diplomat who served in Beijing, to Gatestone Institute, April 27, 2024.

Blinken was in China to discuss the growing list of disagreements between Washington and Beijing. Not surprisingly, he did not accomplish anything there other than register America’s complaints on matters such as Beijing’s support for the Russian war effort in Ukraine and unfair treatment of U.S. companies. On every major issue, the U.S. and China take different sides, and the Chinese have clearly dug in. Blinken was reduced to begging. (Gordon G. Chang, Gatestone, 4/30/2024)

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DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON UKRAINE

The world was in disorder, said Fiona Hill, former member of the United States National Security Council, in a speech delivered in the Estonian capital Tallinn in May last year. In numerous countries of the Global South we were witnessing the emergence among “elites and populations” of growing resistance to Western hegemony and, above all, the hegemony of the United States. Gaining ground is the conviction that the West has “imposed” an international order on the South “at a time of weakness,” a system that fails to meet its needs and its interests. Instead, they were seeing, she noted, how the transatlantic powers “dominated the international discourse.” The war in Ukraine was, Hill concedes, the most recent example. According to many in the Global South, it was not about defending Ukraine but, rather, securing the global dominance of the West, which Russia had openly called into question with the war. This was why the sanctions on Russia had received no support in the Global South. Instead, “a mutiny” was currently raging there: a “mutiny against what they see as the collective West.”  (German Foreign Policy, 4/3/2024)

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DIVIDED WE FALL

The demonstrations in the streets of London and on American campuses are very different from those we all remember from 50 years ago.  Then, it was Vietnam.  Now, it’s Gaza.

After the shocking events on October 7^th,  none of us expected that hundreds of thousands of people would soon be rioting against the Jews and for Palestine.

The big difference was immigration.   In the naïve assumption that all peoples in the world could come to America (and Britain) and make the adjustment to our culture, we let in millions – and now we can’t get them out.

And they’re still coming.   They have changed our societies dramatically.  They have divided us terribly.   Many support them, others don’t.

How do we untangle the mess?   I don’t think its possible.   Man created the mess, but man alone cannot put it right.

Matthew 12:25 and Mark 3:25 — “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

THERE IS NO PEACE WITH THE RELIGION OF PEACE

(MUHAMMAD HAMED/REUTERS)

England is going through never-ending problems with its Muslims.

When I say England, I mean England.  The same thing does not apply yet in Wales and Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Many of us have seen it coming for decades.   It took the Hamas-Israel conflict to bring it to a head.  Almost immediately after the brutal attack by Hamas on October 7^th, hundreds of thousands of Muslims started demonstrating for Palestine on the streets of London.  They totally ignored the atrocities committed by Hamas.  They also ignored laws that already existed, against calls for genocide and against disorderly conduct in the demonstration itself.    Statues of famous Londoners were damaged.  It was as if a hostile army had entered the capital, ready to kill and destroy.

Every Saturday since the Hamas attack these demonstrations have gone on, making life very inconvenient for Londoners.     This has particularly affected Jews who no longer feel safe in London.   It’s not just because of physical abuse.  There are also the illegal chants that overwhelm other voices.  “From the river to the sea” is an illegal chant because it calls for the genocide of the Jews in the Holy Land.      But these people are lawless.

How did Britain get here?

Before 1945 the United Kingdom was made up of Anglo-Saxons and Celts, with a little smattering of Jews and others.  This was to change dramatically in the postwar years.   The British people were never consulted about this.   The change was simply imposed on them.   It wasn’t until the Blair and Brown governments elected in 1997 and the early 2000’s that the alarm went off as millions of new arrivals arrived from just about everywhere.  This has totally changed the character of Britain.   Social cohesion is now sadly lacking.   Levels of crime have increased alarmingly.  Much of this can be blamed on Blair and Brown, but not all.  Every government since World War II contributed to this.   It has even been suggested that these two men be put on trial, as what they did with their open borders destroyed the country!

Now, British people are starting to think that this social ‘experiment’ is costing them a fortune.

There has never been an attempt to determine how cost effective this has all been.   But the fact is that the majority of people who enter the UK from other countries are largely poor and uneducated.   The government covers all medical costs and the cost of their children’s education immediately.  They are also entitled to welfare.   It’s not surprising that tens of thousands by-pass France and head straight for Britain.

Most people do not assimilate.   They don’t even try.  They retain their own customs.    This includes millions of Muslims.

Hosea 7:9-10 King James Version (KJV) “Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not. And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this.”  This verse aptly describes modern Israel.

An additional problem with Muslims is their intolerance.   On Monday night of this week Douglas Murray, an anti-Muslim speaker, was to address a crowd of people at the Apollo Theater in London.   This was to be a mainly Jewish crowd.      Muslims turned up and stopped the meeting from ever taking place.      Censorship and threats of violence are the main contributions of “the religion of peace.”

London has become inhospitable to non-Muslims.  The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is a Muslim of Pakistani descent who, some have said, is in league with “militants”.   There is not much hope of replacing him at the next election, demographics being what they are.

Finally, it needs to be said that most of Britain’s leaders are cowards when it comes to dealing with these problems.  Faced with the rising influence of Islam, the government is going to build a memorial in London to all the Muslims who fought with Britain in World War II.  This will honor the men of the British Indian Army.   The government is also donating 117 million pounds (approximately 150 million dollars) to help strengthen security at the country’s mosques.   Christian churches need it more, but they were not offered a penny.   Another illustration of cowardice is that dozens of MPs (members of parliament) are not going to seek re-election this year.   Following the murders of two MPs by “extremists,” one white and one Muslim, the appeal of parliament is waning.

The Muslim problem will not go away and is likely to get worse particularly as nobody wants to tackle the problem of immigration.  An election this year will likely see Labor (the socialists) back in power who will just ignore it.   If something is not done quickly this could be the death of England.   Seriously.  

Prophesying of Israel in the last days, God warns: “The foreigners living among you will become stronger and stronger, while you become weaker and weaker. They will lend money to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, and you will be the tail!” (Deut 28:43-44)

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GAMBIA CONTEMPLATES GIANT LEAP BACKWARDS

Gambia’s National Assembly voted Monday to advance a bill repealing the country’s ban on female genital cutting. The vote sent the bill to committee, buying opponents three months before repealing the ban is up for a final vote. If it passes, Gambia will become the first nation to roll back protections against cutting, potentially setting a dangerous precedent for other countries.

Over 75% of women in Gambia experience cutting, which usually involves removing the clitoris and labia minora of girls between the ages of 10 and 15 and often leads to infection and life-threatening complications during childbirth.

The practice was banned in 2015 but only enforced for the first-time last year. After three practitioners were fined, influential imams in the Muslim-majority country called to repeal the ban, claiming that cutting is religiously and culturally important.

Anti-cutting campaigners protested outside Parliament during the vote, but only religious leaders and their supporters advocating for the repeal were granted entrance. Out of the 47 lawmakers present, 42 voted to advance the repeal in a parliament with only five women.

Opponents of the bill fear that if the ban is repealed, other laws protecting women and girls, like the ban on child marriage, will be next. (Gzero Signal, 3/19/2024)

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TURMOIL IN CUBA AS FOOD SHORTAGES BITE

Extended blackouts and food scarcity drove Cubans into the streets of Santiago, the Caribbean country’s second-largest city, on Monday, in rare and risky protests. President Miguel Díaz-Canelblamed the US trade embargo for shortages and warned that American “terrorists” were fomenting dissent.

Cuba depends heavily on its allies, Russia and Venezuela, for food and fuel, but the island’s rumbling economic crisis means each peso fails to go as far as it once did. The government raised prices on fuel by over 400% at the start of March as part of an effort to stabilize the economy and control spiraling inflation, which officially topped 30% (though the real rate is likely higher).

Havana is now receiving aid from the World Food Bank for the first time, after requesting help in a rare acknowledgment that the country can’t feed itself. Now, blackouts of up to 18 hours a day mean that ordinary folks can’t refrigerate what food they do have, and instead watch it spoil in tropical weather. Over 400,000 people have fled to the US in the two and a half years since the last major economic protests.

We’re watching for signs of unrest spreading to other cities, and for how hard Havana cracks down on dissent.  (Gzero Signal, 3/19/2024)

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BRITISH ISLES BRIEFS

Leo Varadkar is to step down as Taoiseach and as leader of his party, Fine Gael. In an announcement this lunchtime in Dublin, Varadkar said he would quit as party leader with immediate effect but stay in the role of Taoiseach until his successor is appointed. Explaining his decision, Varadkar cited ‘personal and political reasons’ as to why ‘after careful consideration and soul searching, I don’t feel I’m the best person for the job anymore.’  (The Spectator, 3/20/2024)

Bristol, England – has seen more than its share of knife crime.   The police are now giving young boys a survival kit, to help them help others who have been stabbed.    They will be able to stop the bleeding until the ambulance arrives.

All three of the kingdoms that comprise Great Britain are now led by immigrants.   It may be four in a week or two when Ireland replaces Leo Varadkar.  Great Britain is the first European entity to experience this.  It’s too much of a coincidence!

On Monday March 11^th, Lee Anderson, a Conservative Member of Parliament, defected to the new Reform Party, becoming the Reform Party’s first sitting MP.   As Mr. Anderson said, “I just want my country back.” 

FARMAGEDDON: EU LEADERS DODGE ANGRY FARMERS’ EGGS

February 8, 2024

As EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a summit on Thursday, farmers across Europe worked hard to get their attention – throwing eggs and starting fires around the European Parliament and using tractors to bring capitals and roadways across Europe to a standstill. Leaders are scrambling to address farmers’ concerns so that they don’t end up with egg on their faces in June’s European Parliament elections.

Their complaints: EU climate change regulations are costing farmers time and money, while climate-change-fueled disasters devastate crops.

Russia’s invasion led to skyrocketing fertilizer and energy prices, and now, with Ukrainian grain flooding their markets, farmers who were already feeling disadvantaged by cheap imports are voicing their exasperation.

What they want:  Local grievances may vary, but on the whole: less red-tape and environmental restrictions, more subsidies (for small farmers, in particular), and less foreign competition.

Farmers want to reduce foreign imports by limiting free trade agreements, especially one with the Mercosur states – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. French President Emmanuel Macron is under intense domestic pressure to push European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to blow up the deal.

EU elections effect: The protests could amplify a shift to the right in the European Parliament and imperil the EU’s green agenda. The far right, for whom farmers represent a growing constituency, is expected to make gains in the June elections.

In response, the European Commission announced it would curb Ukrainian imports, a blow to Ukraine’s economy and war effort, while France and Germany both watered down their proposals to end gasoline subsidies.

To address foreign competition concerns, Macron is pushing the EU to abandon free trade agreement talks with the Mercosur countries in South America. If he fails, it would give his opponent Marine Le Pen the advantage in France’s next election. Von der Leyen, meanwhile, would lose a powerful ally in Macron, a significant loss as she contemplates running for a second term.   (Gzero Signal, 2/2/2024)

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BIDEN MUST KEEP TROOPS IN MID EAST

The priority now for the White House must be to strengthen its military presence in the region, not reduce it. Worse, the vacuum created by any withdrawal by US troops is sure to be filled by adversaries of America and the free world.

Any US withdrawal is sure to be seen, especially after the US surrender in Afghanistan, as America running away — again.

It would be folly of the highest order for the Biden administration even to contemplate a reduction of US forces in the region. With Iran clearly intent on pursuing its proxy war against the US and its allies, the US needs to demonstrate its determination to prevent Tehran from expanding its malign influence in the Middle East, rather than capitulating in the face of Iranian violence.   (Con Coughlin, Gatestone, 2/2/2024)

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EL SALVADOR’S ELECTION MATH:  2 + 90 = 71

You need three numbers to understand this Sunday’s presidential election in El Salvador.

The first is 2.  Since taking office in 2019, President Nayib Bukele’s sweeping anti-gang crackdown has resulted in the incarceration of 2% of the country’s adult population. In US terms, that’s the equivalent of throwing 5 million people in jail.

The second is 90.  The official homicide rate has fallen more than 90% since 2015, including roughly 75% since Bukele took office.

The third is 71.  Polls show Bukele leading his nearest competitor by 71 points. He will cruise to victory in a free and fair election.

The meaning of this math:  Bukele has been criticized by human rights groups for thousands of abuses. He has used the military to strong-arm congress and twisted the constitution to run for a second term. But ordinary Salvadorans are OK with it because their cities are livable again after years when the country was one of the bloodiest in the world.

It may be that his strongman tactics are planting the seeds for future upheavals. But for now, Bukele is seen – not only at home but by other right-wingers in the Americas – as the Salvador (savior) of El Salvador.    (Gzero Signal, 2/2/2024)

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ANGLO-AMERICAN PUSH FOR INDEPENDENT PALESTINE BAD FOR ISRAEL

Fears that the Biden administration’s bear-hug of embattled Israel is the prelude to eating it alive were dramatically enhanced this week.

On Wednesday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the administration was “actively pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with real security guarantees for Israel.”

He was confirming a report on the Hebrew-language news site Walla that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had ordered officials to examine the possibility of American and international recognition of a “state of Palestine” the day after the war in Gaza.

A senior US official told the site that elements within the Biden administration are recommending a move towards recognizing a Palestinian state as a first step in a renewed peace process and not as the result of negotiations between the parties.

These “elements within the Biden administration” appear to be in lockstep with the British government. Two days before the report, at a reception in London, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron stunned observers by declaring that the British government was considering formal recognition of a “state of Palestine,” including at the UN.

“This could be one of the things that will help make this process irreversible,” he said.

It’s been clear from the start of the war in Gaza that both Britain and America are seizing on the turmoil to advance their obsession with a “two-state solution.” However, it’s one thing to press for movement towards a Palestine state. Unilaterally recognizing it crosses a red line.

Official recognition of a “Palestine” that doesn’t exist is part of the strategy of diplomatic warfare against Israel promoted by those who want to see the Jewish state destroyed.

Conceptually ridiculous, since it involves recognizing a “state” that has no physical form and no boundaries, it would remove at a stroke the necessity for the Palestinian Arabs to agree to live in peace alongside Israel. Instead, it would incentivize still further their rejection of Israel’s right to exist.  (Melanie Phillips, 2/2/2024)

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AFD MAKES GAINS

When Olaf Scholz replaced Angela Merkel as Germany’s chancellor in 2021, hopes were high, in Germany and beyond, that a shift to new leadership might reinvigorate the nation at the heart of Europe. The remarkable Merkel had led her center-right Christian Democrats, her country, and the EU through a series of crises during her 16 years in power. Scholz rose to the top three years ago by casting himself as both a steady pair of hands in the Merkel mold but also as a center-left leader with a progressive view of Germany’s future. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Scholz surprised many with the boldness of his response. The “new era” he declared in Germany’s attitude toward Russia and the countries still trapped in its shadow defied his image as a skilled bureaucrat without a strong public voice or vision.

But as Chancellor Scholz prepares to visit Washington this weekend, he faces a rising tide of criticism back home. The German public mood has grown darker over the past year, mainly because the economy is limping, and inflation has taken a bite out of both consumers and industry. Workers are angry. Business leaders are frustrated. And the coalition Scholz formed to win power – an increasingly uneasy partnership of establishment socialists, ambitious Greens, and the fiscally hawkish, pro-business FDP – is wearing badly.

The poll numbers speak for themselves. In January, the government’s approval rating hit 17%, a record low. Scholz’s personal popularity hovered at 19%, the lowest mark for any chancellor in a quarter century. Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) aren’t faring much better. Recent polls show the current three-party coalition’s expected vote total has dropped from a combined 52% in 2021 to just 32%. By itself, Scholz’s SPD is attracting just 15% support.

The center-right opposition, the CDU-CSU alliance, now leads the polls with 30%-34% of support. But Friedrich Merz, Angela Merkel’s successor as CDU chairman, isn’t much more popular than Scholz. Instead, it’s the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, that’s making headlines. Noisy recent protests in dozens of German cities make clear that the popularity of the AfD’s increasingly radical, openly xenophobic, anti-European, and pro-Russian platform has its limits, and all other parties now represented in parliament have pledged never to partner with them. But nationwide polls show the AfD’s support has grown from just 10.3% at the 2021 election to between 19% and 22% today.   (Gzero Signal, 2/8/2024)

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MISCELLAEOUS

“Shame on you,” says The Mirror as it leads on calls for Rishi Sunak to apologise after he joked about Keir Starmer’s position on trans people. The PM made the comment when the mother of murdered trans teenager Brianna Ghey was in Parliament. Ghey’s father has described Sunak’s words as “dehumanizing,” notes The Guardian.   (The Week, 2/8/2024)

There are, of course, alternatives less than all-out war, and more than attacks on proxies. They involve the bombing of military targets inside Iran. These include sites used for Iran’s nuclear program, its naval bases and ships, its military drone production, its oil and gas facilities and its command centers. All of these could be accomplished from the air and sea without a ground invasion, and without the loss of American lives an invasion would risk.  (Alan Dershowitz, Gatestone, 2/8/2024)

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has largely dismissed a lawsuit brought by Ukraine against Russia. The ruling clearly runs counter to Western interests, now for the second time in just a few days. Kiev initiated proceedings against Moscow back in 2017. The charges were mainly based on accusations of Russian financial support for eastern Ukrainian separatists and repression of Ukrainian and Tatar minorities in Crimea. The ICJ does not share this interpretation of events. It merely accuses Moscow of insufficiently promoting the Ukrainian language in school teaching in Crimea. This major institution of international law cannot now be relied on to support Western claims. In response, Berlin, Washington and NATO have begun to work on setting up parallel structures. A special tribunal is to be established to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine. It is to be installed solely for this purpose, and thus exclude potential prosecutions for waging wars of aggression, in violation of international law, against Iraq or the former Yugoslavia. The West is effectively discarding the idea of equality of all states before international law.  (German Foreign Policy, 2/7/2024)

During a visit to Pristina yesterday (Monday), Defence Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed plans to increase German troop numbers in Kosovo. In April, the Bundeswehr will deploy more than 150 additional military personnel. Germany has stationed soldiers in the former autonomous province for almost twenty-fife years within the NATO framework. Berlin and the West had promised to pacify the territory after the 1999 war of aggression against Yugoslavia conducted by NATO in violation of international law. Yet tensions have again risen sharply along the ethnic divide since a nationalist prime minister took office in Pristina in March 2021. He has instigated aggressive actions against Serbian administrative structures. Primarily in the four Serbian-speaking communities in northern Kosovo, these arrangements have so far been generally tolerated and have enabled tolerable coexistence. The entities are indispensable for the education and healthcare of the Serbian-speaking minority. In Belgrade there is some speculation about a possible return of at least parts of Kosovo in the event of a future shift in the global power balance. The number of states that officially recognize Kosovo is already declining.   (German Foreign Policy, 2/7/2024)

Devastating wildfires tearing through swaths of Chile have killed more than 120 people, authorities said, as they warned that the death toll would continue to rise. There are currently 161 active fires burning across the country, according to the Chilean National Disaster Prevention and Response Service.  (The Week, UK, 2/5/2024)

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BIBLICAL COMMENTARY

“You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.”  (Revelation 2:3)

On a trip to Ephesus, I was able to walk through what had once been a neighborhood of houses and streets.  Etched into a stone in front of one doorway was a symbol that looked like a fish.  According to tradition, this may have identified the house as a place where Christians lived and met together for worship, prayer, and fellowship.

In Revelation 2, Jesus tells John to write to the church in Ephesus, saying, “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. . .  You have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” Jesus’ followers in Ephesus are commended for holding up the light of Christ against the darkness of this world. The apostle Paul had earlier reminded the Ephesians, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against . . . the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Still today, the devil aims to harm the church until Jesus returns. Jesus commended the church in Ephesus for standing strong in defense of the gospel. God’s Word to us today remains: Be strong, know the difference between light and darkness, be wise and ready to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1).   (Our Daily Bread, 2/8/2024)

RUSSIA’S SUPREME COURT OUTLAWS LGBTQ

Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow Friday night, less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned what it called the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization. (Photo by Anton Vaganov/REUTERS)

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism on Thursday, the most drastic step against advocates of gay, lesbian and transgender rights in the increasingly conservative country.

Ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry, the court labeled what the suit called the LGBTQ+ “movement” operating in Russia as an extremist organization and banned it.

The ruling is the latest step in a decade-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia under President Vladimir Putin, who has emphasized “traditional family values” during his 24 years in power.

Thursday’s closed-door hearing lasted four hours. No one besides Justice Ministry representatives were allowed in, and there was no defendant. Journalists were taken into the courtroom only for the reading of the verdict by Judge Oleg Nefedov, who wore a face mask, apparently for health reasons.  (Dasha Litvinova, AP, 11/30/2023)

Vladimir Putin is in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.  For what is unclear.  (12/6/2023)

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Bibi in the balance

At stake is not just the fate of the remaining hostages and the Palestinians in Gaza, but the political future of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. A whopping 80% of Israelis believe Netanyahu was responsible for security failures that led to the attacks of Oct. 7. Netanyahu is now facing even greater criticism after it emerged that his government dismissed intelligence reports about potential Hamas attacks a year ago.

Since the start of the war, Netanyahu’s polling numbers have declined steadily. In the most recent poll released on Friday by the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv, 30% of respondents said that Bibi was the best fit for prime minister, while 49% preferred former Defense Minister Benny Gantz. On top of this, Netanyahu’s trial on corruption charges, which had been suspended, resumes today in the Jerusalem District Court. If convicted, Bibi could face several years in jail unless his political allies come to his aid, either by legalizing some of the “crimes” he is accused of or stopping his trial entirely. (Gzero Signal, 12/3/2023)

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US funding for Ukraine set to run out by end of the year, White House warns    (FT, 12/4/2023)

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Saudi Journalist: Like All Other Terror And Jihad Leaders, Hamas Leaders Live In Luxury And Save Their Own Skin, While Sending Their People To Be Killed

In a November 13, 2023 article in the Saudi daily Okaz, titled “They Hide in Their Tunnels and Sell Out Their People For a Paltry Price,” journalist Musa’ad Al-Thobaiti condemned the fighters of the Hamas military wing, who hide in tunnels in Gaza, as well as Hamas’ leaders abroad, who stay in luxury hotels, saying that they all forsake their people instead of fighting Israel. The Hamas leaders, he added, and Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, resemble numerous other leaders of terrorist organizations, such as Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden and the Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who hid in tunnels or in fortified houses with the members of their family while leaving their supporters alone in the fray. Al-Thobaiti lamented the fact that the Islamic nation is deceived by “a gang of cowards and traders in blood” who sell their people illusions and bring them nothing but death and destruction.  (MEMRI, 11/29/2023)

TERRITORIAL CONFUSION

In the case of a “Palestinian State,” there is no territory on which even the Palestinians agree. Indeed, the charter of Hamas — designated as a terrorist organization by many countries in the West, and which has reigned unchallenged in the Gaza Strip since 2007 when it forcibly expelled the Palestinian Authority, in part by throwing its members off 15-story buildings — calls for the “liberation” of “every inch of Palestine” through jihad.

The Palestinian Authority also lays claim over all of the territory, including all of Israel…  (Gatestone, 12/3/2023)

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JOHNSON BLAMES SCIENTISTS

Boris Johnson will blame “chopping and changing” scientific advice for chaos in government during the pandemic, said the iNews site. The former PM will appear at the Covid Inquiry on Wednesday and Thursday. It has already heard evidence that Johnson was unable to make consistent decisions on how to respond to the pandemic. “There are lots of examples where the scientific advice changed a lot,” said an ally, which “does sort of explain this sense of chopping and changing.”  (The Week, 12/4/2023)

CLIMATE TALKS

Was it really necessary for three private planes to fly to Dubai from the UK?   One was for the king, one for the prime minister and one for the Foreign Secretary.   It’s not likely to make people take the issue of climate change seriously.

GAZA STATS

Stats on deaths and injuries in Gaza seem never to be questioned.  Over 15,000 are now dead, according to official figures.  I have no doubt the death toll is high and that many children have died, but these figures lack credibility.  They also emphasize how naïve Western media is, trusting in figures provided by a terrorist organization.

Kay Burley of Sky News asked an Israeli official why more Palestinian prisoners were being released than Israeli ones.   Was it because the Israelis considered them lesser humans?

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QUOTES

“Sorry, America.  China has a bigger economy than you.” (Financial Times, 12/6/2023)

“Hamas is intending nothing less than a second Holocaust.” (Niall Ferguson, Sky News Australia, 12/6/2023).

President Biden has described a suggested a ban on Muslim immigration as “vile and un-American.”    Muslims were not allowed to enter the US until the 1965 Immigration Act.   This means that from 1607-1965 (a total of 358 years) Muslims could not enter the country.  Some did.  Enough to open the country’s first mosque in Chicago in 1929.  Restrictions in immigrants is as American as apple pie!

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Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine (PFLP) Calls For Targeting US Embassies, Interests, And Military Bases: US ‘Will Pay Price’ For Its ‘Unqualified Support’ Of Israel’; Yemen’s Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis) Promotes Antisemitism. (MEMRI, 12/6/2023)

Samir Shah, the British government’s choice for next Chair of the BBC, is a Muslim who was not born in the UK.

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RISE IN EATING DISORDERS

One in five girls aged 17 to 19 have an eating disorder, an NHS England report has found, along with 5.1% of boys of that age. That gives an overall figure of 12.5% – up from 0.8% in 2017. Rates among younger children have also risen sharply. Today, 2.6% of 11- to 16-year-olds have an eating disorder; six years ago, 0.5% did. Tom Quinn of the charity Beat said that while there’s no single reason for the rise, the impact of the pandemic cannot be overstated. In lockdowns, children were cut off from their friends and school closures prevented teachers and school nurses picking up warning signs. Some 2,370 8- to-25-year-olds were surveyed for the annual Mental Health of Children and Young People in England report. In all groups, the proportion with a probable mental disorder was found to be at least a fifth, based on the responses of young people, children, and parents. (The Week, UK, 12/6/2023)

If you are having difficulty sleeping, be sure to watch the Covid hearings from the UK!

FINAL THOUGHT

Government is bad.   Government is the root cause of most of our problems.  You can argue about which form of government is best.  Christians have the hope of the coming Kingdom of God (Matt 6:33).  They can also be inspired by scriptures like the following.

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.   (Isa 9:6-7)

BAD DAY FOR AMERICA

There’s too much simplistic reasoning following the demonstration in DC and subsequent riot in the Capitol yesterday.

Most media outlets blamed the riot on one man:  Donald Trump.    Yet, we’ve had on-going riots for months in many cities around the US.    Portland, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York City to name a few.   In Portland in August, a right-winger was shot dead by somebody on the opposing side. 

Most of these riots have involved organizations like Antifa and Black Lives Matter.    Noticeably absent was any condemnation by Democrats.  
This is very much a case of “those who live by the sword, shall die by the sword” (Matt 26:52).   Until ALL violence is condemned by ALL politicians (and ALL media), this will not end.  Even if that happens, the causes behind the riots will still be there.   Joe Biden’s legislative priorities are only likely to inspire more violence.

As for yesterday’s events, why wasn’t security more effective at the Capitol?    Police removed the barricades to let people in and some even had selfies taken with the demonstrators.   If security had been better, it’s likely that none of the four deaths would have happened.  As Liz Harrington, a reporter for NewsMax, said this morning: “This is one of the most secure buildings on the planet.”   What went wrong?

And let’s not exaggerate what happened.   The crowd was estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands; the number who actually got into the Capitol was variously estimated to be between 500-1,000.   Most demonstrators were peaceful and well-behaved. And they all vacated the streets when Trump asked them to do so.

The Capitol has seen violence before.   In the twenty years leading up to the Civil War, there were 70 violent incidents in the Capitol itself.  There needs to be a much greater effort all around to avoid another Civil War!
As has often been said in the last few hours, this was a bad day for America.   But it has come after a year of bad days.

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A COMING CRASH OF CURRENCIES

With countries throwing money around like an alcoholic in a casino, how long is it going to be before our countries go broke?   Actually, they already are!  But the day is coming when other nations will not accept dollars (or pounds) as payment for goods.   When that happens, international trade will grind to a halt.  Governments know no restraint.   $500 million for gender studies in Pakistan?   Paid for by the US taxpayer.    It’s insane.  Especially at this time.

We could also have extremely high rates of inflation, making the money in our pockets worthless.

Apart from historical accounts of the perils of high inflation (such as Germany in 1923), the best words on the subject are found in the biblical Book of Haggai 1:6, NIV:  “You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”    Inflation is certainly like having a purse with holes in it.

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SAD STATE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Our public library remains closed.

I can remember a time when all you needed to check out a book was a library card.   That was it.  With your card you could take home anything and keep it for three weeks.  Now you need a card that’s electronically friendly, or you must memorize the last six digits of the number on the back.   My wife and daughter cannot check out items I’ve requested because of some law passed years ago.   And now books have to be held for a week in “quarantine.”   When they give you your books in the parking lot you must have a rear window open so they can throw them in, in a white plastic bag.  All this for $200 every six months in my property taxes (I could buy ten books for that amount of money!)   It seems awfully cloak and dagger and has taken the joy out of going to the library.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE

Apparently, 90 gendarmes in France are employed (and paid for) by the British tax-payer to try and keep out the tens of thousands of migrants trying to get into the UK.

Following the recent Brexit deal, France is to employ an additional 700 officials to process all the paperwork the new deal is causing.

There was less paperwork before the EU.  So why is there more now the UK has left?    Perhaps the ports are run by the libraries!

POST BREXIT DEAL

The British signed a new trade deal with the EU just a few days before the deadline of New Years Eve.   It leaves Northern Ireland (a province of the UK) under partial EU control.   Gibraltar is to be a member of the Schengen travel area, again tying them somewhat to the EU.   Fisheries was another major area of compromise.   My hometown of Grimsby on the east coast is unlikely to see a return to pre-EEC conditions.   Back then, it was the greatest fishing port in the world.

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PLEASE TELL ME WHY

In the rest of the world, left-of-centre political parties are depicted by a red color.   Conservative parties are blue.  In the US, it’s the opposite.  Can anybody tell me why?

In most countries Conservative parties are against guns and for gun control.  In the US, it’s definitely the other way around.  Can anybody tell me why?   (Following a massacre in New Zealand, a leftist party passed strict gun controls.   But that’s the only exception to the rule.)

Why does America put the month first before the day and year on forms?  All airports in America are required to fill out forms that follow the international practice of day, month and year.   Why is it different on domestic forms?

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From the Lansing State Journal

“More murders in 2020, and far more shootings,” (Lansing State Journal, 12/31/20).  

“Non-fatal shootings in Lansing nearly doubled in 2020 and homicides are at a three-decade high from surging violent crime in the second half of the year.  

Lansing Police Chief Daryl Green said many aggravated assaults and shootings have stemmed from minor disagreements.  When the fight escalates, those involved may turn to their guns.  And the more aggravated assaults that occur, the greater the chance there is for a homicide,” Green said.  “A lot of people are hurting . . .   A lot don’t know how to actually mitigate and lessen disagreement.  The conflict mediation portion of things is really an area we probably need to explore to move forward.”

“Starting January 20, the Biden administration will be responsible for  addressing three major public health crisis:   the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 330,000 Americans and infected more than 17 million;  the mental health crisis, which the pandemic has exacerbated to the point that 40% of US residents now report struggling  with mental or behavioral health issues; and the drug overdose crisis, with 81,000 deaths in the 12 months ending in May 2020, the highest ever recorded in a year-long period.   As President-elect Joe Biden knows, addiction is a mental health disorder characterized by recurring substance use, feelings of social isolation, hopelessness and obsessive thinking.”  (Lansing State Journal, 1/3/21) 

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Indigenous people across the US want their land back – and the movement is gaining momentum
by Harmeet Kaur, CNN, Updated 1845 GMT (0245 HKT) Nov 25, 2020

Around this time every year, Americans come together to share a feast commemorating a myth about its first inhabitants.  An indigenous tribe did eat with the Pilgrims in 1621 and sign a treaty with the colonists that had settled on their shores – an act of survival rather than one of goodwill and friendship.  But the relationship would eventually break down, decimating the tribe’s population and whittling away its land.

Nearly 400 years later, the descendants of the very tribe at the heart of the Thanksgiving holiday are still fighting to reclaim their lands – a fight that ironically hinges on whether or not the tribe meets the federal government’s definition of “Indian.”

“We’re kind of stereotyped as the tribes that met the Pilgrims and that’s our whole history, like we ceased to exist in 1621,” said Robert Maxim, a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.  “That couldn’t be further from the truth.”

(https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/25/us/indigenous-people-reclaiming-their-lands-trnd/index.html)

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Neo-Nazis And White Supremacists Mark Christmas By Freely Posting On Telegram, VK, And Parler:  Promoting Violence, ‘Dreaming Of A White Christmas,’ And Wishing Jews ‘Happy Holocaust’

Panelist At A Heated Wife-Beating Debate On Lebanese TV:  I Want My Husband To Beat Me; Other Guest:  If My Wife Refuses Me, I Will Rape Her, Douse Her In Gasoline, Light Her On Fire  (MEMRI 12/2/2020)

WHERE’S THE OUTCRY?

An Islamic hate group massacred 25 farmers in the village of Tingwe, Congo. Some of the victims were found beheaded.  The attack occurred New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2020. 

There were over 10,000 people of color killed by Islamic hate groups in 2020  (Daily Kenn, 1/3/2021)         

Two children were burned alive and another decapitated when a minibus carrying about 20 passengers was attacked by an Islamic hate group in Mozambique.  Witnesses said a man was decapitated in front of his wife and children during the attack.  

Mozambique is a nation in Africa located east of Zimbabwe and Zambia. 

The attack occurred January 2, 2021.  In 2020 there were over 10,000 people of color killed by Islamic hate groups.  (Daily Kenn, 1/3/2021)

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GERMANY-RUSSIA PIPELINE

“We continue to call on Russia to cease using its energy resources for coercive purposes. Russia uses its energy export pipelines to create national and regional dependencies on Russian energy supplies, leveraging these dependencies to expand its political, economic, and military influence, weaken European security, and undermine U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. These pipelines also reduce European energy diversification, and hence weaken European energy security. — U.S. Department of State, “Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act,” October 20, 2020. (Gatestone, 12/28/2020)

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COVID

New Covid strain ‘may resist vaccines’

Scientists in South Africa have warned that there is a “reasonable concern” that the country’s new Covid-19 variant might prove more resistant to the vaccines currently being rolled out in the UK.  Professor Shabir Madhi, who has led trials for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, told the BBC the development makes the need for a global rollout of vaccines “even more critical.” (The Week, 1/5/2021)

How Israel is winning the vaccine race

As countries worldwide scramble to secure doses of the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines, Israel has taken a commanding lead in the race to protect its population from Covid-19.

More than a million Israelis have already been inoculated – a vaccination rate of 12.59 per 100 people, according to latest data from the University of Oxford. The Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain is in second place with 3.57, with the UK in third on 1.39.  (The Week, 1/4/2021)

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IMPERIAL REDUX

“Among some contemporary Israelis, the British Mandate has come to be viewed nostalgically.  Although Palestine did not have the elephants, maharajahs and tigers of the Indian Raj, the same culture of Highland reels, polo and pink gins in the King David Hotel flourished.  So did an incorruptible civil service, possibly a novelty in the region.” (‘Blood and Rage,” by Michael Burleigh, 2009, page 89.)

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“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”  (Abraham Lincoln)

“It takes a PhD in Economics not to be able to understand the obvious.”  (Kristol/ Crystal)

Mr. Blippi is a character on YouTube.   He’s quite famous, especially amongst children.   He entertains children while educating them and does a commendable job.    He’s made $40 million out of his venture.   You, too, can be rich if you dress like a dork and act like an idiot!  (Check him out.)

I looked up a small community in Michigan recently.  Under “Area attractions” the only place listed was the local Methodist church.  Sadly, they spelt Methodist wrong (Methoidist.)    The local bar is welcoming and friendly.   But you may want to give the “town” a miss.

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TO THE POINT

• England and Scotland back in lockdown – Boris Johnson has warned the coming weeks will be the “hardest yet” of the Covid-19 pandemic as he last night announced a third lockdown. The prime minister acted after modelling put the UK on course to exceed 100,000 Covid-related deaths before the end of the month without urgent action. People in all of England and most of Scotland must now stay at home except for a handful of permitted reasons.  (The Week, 1/5)

• Female drivers join Moscow Metro – Trains on Moscow’s Metro subway system can now be driven by women, after a decades-long ban on female drivers was overturned. The first of a new generation of female drivers started work on Monday after Russia’s Ministry of Labour ordered that women be allowed to drive trains on the network. A ban on hiring new female drivers was introduced in the early 1980s.  (The Week, 1/5/2021)

• South Korean birth rate sinks – There have been calls for action to revive South Korea’s falling fertility rate after the nation recorded more deaths than births in 2020. There were only 275,815 births, a record low, compared to 307,764 deaths, a 3.1% increase in fatalities compared to the previous year. This is the first time South Korea has reached the “population death cross”, the name given to the point at which the number of deaths surpasses births.   (The Week, 1/5/2021)

• Is Trump headed for Scotland?  Donald Trump could be planning to visit Scotland during Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony. Sources at an airport in Prestwick, near the Trump-owned Turnberry golf resort, say a US military plane is scheduled to arrive on 19 January, and that the aircraft – a Boeing 757 – had been used by the US president on past trips. President-elect Biden is due to be sworn-in as America’s 46th president on 20 January.  (The Week, 1/5/2021)

• Watching Sky News on the coronavirus in the UK, it’s hard to believe that the last time we all lived through a universal pandemic, the UK was the greatest country in the world, ruling a third of the world’s population.   Not only did they get through it, they helped all their colonies get through it.   Additionally, they ruled all of them, making the day-to-day decisions that every country needs.   Now they are having difficulty just taking care of themselves!

PARTS OF EUROPE AVOIDED BIG LOSSES FROM COVID-19

In western and southern Europe, coronavirus has taken a devastating toll, with people dying in their thousands each day, and doctors having to make appalling choices about which lives to save as health systems buckle under the number of cases.   But in central and eastern Europe (CEE), the pandemic has been contained to such an extent that the first glimpses of a post-lockdown world are visible.   Shops, hotels, schools and even shopping centers are reopening.   The transcontinental divide is striking.   So far, Spain has recorded 517 deaths per million people, Italy 453, France 353, and the UK 325.   By contrast, Slovakia has recorded 4, Poland 16, the Czech Republic 21 and Austria 65.   On Tuesday alone, Spain, Italy and the UK all suffered more deaths than the Czech Republic, Hungary, or Slovakia have recorded during the entire crisis.  “We are doing very well,” Igor Matovic, Slovakia’s prime minister, said in a press conference on Wednesday of his country’s battle.  “Perhaps even better than we expected.”  (“How central and eastern Europe contained coronavirus”, James Shotter and Sam Jones, Financial Times, 4/30/2020)

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GERMANY IS THE NEW GLOBAL LEADER

Forget Washington and Beijing.  These Days Global Leadership Comes From Berlin.  People love to hate Germany—but the country is doing far more than most nations  to help its European neighbors fight the coronavirus.  (by Elisabeth Braw, April 28, 2020, Foreign Policy)

At the beginning of April, the university hospital in the central German city of Jena dispatched two doctors, two medical assistants, and assorted medical supplies to Naples, Italy.   A couple of days before, the Bundeswehr, Germany’s military, had airlifted French and Italian patients to German hospitals.   That’s just a tiny part of Germany’s coronavirus assistance to allies.(https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/28/global-leadership-coronavirus-pandemic-germany-united-states-china/)

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GERMAN RELIANCE ON CHINA OVER COVID-19

Germany will most likely have to rely on China to limit the economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to estimates by two flagship sectors of German industry – the automotive and mechanical engineering branches.   The Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) expects dramatic losses particularly in Europe and North America while expecting growth of business in China, where the situation “seems to become stabilized.” Representatives of the automotive industry express similar views. VW, for example, is expecting to catch up in the People’s Republic and not lag too far behind its original annual plans, whereas experts are expecting billions in losses on the US automotive market.  “Crises shift forces” business circles predict regarding the uneven development in China and the USA.   Berlin also depends on Beijing for the procurement of medical protective equipment.   The largest supply so far is expected to arrive in Leipzig today – carried out by the German military.   (German Foreign Policy, 4/27/2020)

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CAMEL PEE CURES COVID-19

Muslim advocacy for drinking camel urine is back in the news, this time in connection with the coronavirus, which is especially ironic if not deadly, as will be explained.   An “Islamic medicine specialist” and director of a religious-scientific institution in Iran recently called on his countrymen to drink camel urine as the “best cure” for coronavirus and other ailments.

Mehdi Sabili, who is affiliated with the Iranian regime, uploaded a video on his Instagram account extolling the virtues of dromedary urine on April 19.   The video, which has since gone viral, also depicted him drinking a glass of freshly procured camel urine — which he enthused was best drunk “fresh and warm” — and calling on fellow Iranians to do the same three times a day for three days (i.e., nine full glasses).   (Camel urine – Islam’s best cure for coronavirus, Raymond Ibrahim, MEF, 4/28)

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SAN REMO CONFERENCE MAJOR STEP TOWARD CREATION OF ISRAEL

April 25 marked the 100th anniversary of the San Remo conference, which conferred the Mandate for Palestine on Britain, a decision confirmed two years later by the League of Nations in a resolution recognizing Britain’s promise in the 1917 Balfour Declaration to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

There is probably no more understated event in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict than the San Remo conference of April 1920. Convened for a mere week as part of the post-World War I peace conferences, which created a new international order on the basis of indigenous self-rule and national self-determination, participants appointed Britain as mandatory for Palestine with the specific task of:

putting into effect the declaration originally made on November 2, 1917, by the British Government [i.e., the Balfour Declaration], and adopted by the other Allied Powers, in favor of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

This mandate was then ratified on July 24, 1922, by the Council of the League of Nations – the postwar world organization and the United Nation’s predecessor.  (Efraim Karsh, MEF, 4/28)

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STARVATION MAJOR PROBLEM IN ONCE PROSPEROUS SOUTH AFRICA – The biggest lockdown threat:   Hunger, hunger, everywhere

Protests and looting have broken out all over South Africa in recent days in response to one issue:  hunger.   It is now clear that hunger will pose the greatest threat to South African well-being and security during the lockdown – and the difficulties involved with getting food to millions of South Africans in need are tremendous.

The hunger of South Africans during the extended lockdown period is spilling over on to the streets.   This week alone, grocery stores have been looted and protests have broken out on the Cape Flats, Khayelitsha, Alexandra and Chatsworth – to name just a few areas. Cape Flats ward councillor Bongani Ngcani was quoted by News24 as saying:  “A man told me:   ‘I would rather die of Covid-19 than of hunger’ .”   It is clear that all three tiers of government are well aware of the threat posed by hunger.   But the logistical challenges of providing food to potentially millions of South Africans under lockdown are monumental, and may not be able to be resolved through existing systems.  (The Daily Maverick, 17 April 2020, by Rebecca Davis)

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CAN CORONAVIRUS CAUSE A BIBLICAL FAMINE?

On Tuesday, the head of the UN’s food relief agency warned that the coronavirus pandemic could produce “famines of biblical proportions,” as 265 million people across 30 countries face starvation.

And yet, the world right now has an historic abundance of food.  How is this possible?

Even before the arrival of COVID-19, historic locust swarms had left tens of millions in East Africa without enough food.   And some 85 million people across 46 countries already needed emergency food aid in 2019.

But the coronavirus pandemic, and governments’ responses to it, have made matters drastically worse in ways that hurt the neediest countries the most.  (Gzero Signal, 4/24/2020)

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ISLAMIST HATE PREACHER WARNS MUSLIMS TO ARM THEMSELVES

He spins the bitter realities of failing, backward Middle Eastern communities and nations into narratives of victimization that fuel resentment towards the West, Jews and Israel.

One of Chicago’s most notorious anti-Semites has responded to the COVID-19 outbreak in a despicable manner:   by blaming Jews and encouraging Muslims to arm themselves against their neighbors.

During a series of alarmist rants on his YouTube channel, Imam Omar Baloch simultaneously declared that the coronavirus may be a Zionist-American plot to throttle the growth of the Chinese economy, a punishment from Allah and the work of shadowy secret societies.

However, Baloch’s most concerning online lecture occurred on March 22, when he suggested that the coronavirus presents a “very good opportunity” for Muslims to “purchase firearms” ahead of confrontations with their Trump-supporting neighbors.  (Hesham Shehab, Middle East Forum, 4/29/2020)

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AS AMERICA MOVES OUT, CHINA MOVES IN

Both the United Kingdom and the U.S. State Department have complained to China about the free flow of Chinese weapons to Iran, which then wind up with the Taliban.   These include surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, artillery shells, and land mines.

China’s $3 billion copper mine investment… in Afghanistan’s Logar Province remains under the Taliban’s protection.   Other Chinese corporations that have initiated investment projects in Afghanistan include the Zinjin Mining Company, the Jiangxi Copper Corporation, and China National Petroleum Corporation.

The Trump administration has made clear that it wants to end the forward-positioning of U.S. troops on what it regards as a seemingly endless war in Afghanistan, and the Taliban wholeheartedly agrees. China, in the meantime, has continued to profit from its bilateral commerce and investment in the region, and now appears willing to play a future military role in the area.   China has already established a military base in Tajikistan near the Chinese border with Afghanistan….  (Lawrence A. Franklin, Gatestone, 4/29/2020)

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TO THE POINT

• A row between Australia and China over the origins of the new coronavirus escalated.   Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, reiterated his demand for an independent global inquiry into the pandemic; it is widely thought to have started in a wet market in Wuhan.   China accused the Australian government of trying to make “political manoeuvres” and warned that such an inquiry could result in a boycott of Australian education, tourism and agricultural products.    (The Economist, 4/29/2020)
• US Economy Nosedives With Worst Yet To Come — The United State’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 4.8% in the first quarter of 2020 – three months where the country’s economy was hit hard by lockdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic.   The figures, however, do not take April into account, and as such do not show the effect of some of the most comprehensive economic shutdowns that have closed businesses and seen 26.5 million citizens file for unemployment benefits.  (The Week, 4/30/2020)
• Coronavirus-enforced lockdowns in March clobbered American GDP figures for the first quarter. The economy contracted at an annualized rate of 4.8%, the steepest fall since 2008.   The April-June quarter will probably be worse.   Before the pandemic, GDP had been expected to grow by about 2% this year.   The Federal Reserve said it will keep interest rates at near-zero for the foreseeable future.  (The Economist, 4/30/2020)
• The French and Spanish economies shrank at the fastest rate on record in the first three months of the year as lockdowns to curb the spread of covid-19 were imposed.   France’s GDP fell by 5.8% quarter-on-quarter over the period, while Spain’s dropped 5.2% by the same measure.   Economists forecast even bigger drops in GDP for the second quarter.   (The Economist, 4/30/2020)
• News reporter caught on air with no trousers – A US TV news reporter appeared live on Good Morning America – without any trousers. Journalist Will Reeve, the son of Superman actor Christopher Reeve, was appearing on ABC News’s Good Morning America from his home during lockdown.  But he failed to realize that his self-framed shot showed that he wasn’t wearing the bottom half of his suit.  (The Week, 4/29/2020)
• The City of Detroit has had to remind residents of the need to put pants (trousers) on when going out to check their mail.
• 500,000 RECEIVE FREE MEALS — The city of New York is giving Muslims 500,000 free meals for Ramadan. These people are of the same ideology as those who attacked the city less than twenty years ago.
• CHURCHILL A WAR CRIMINAL – At least one school in the UK is now teaching that Winston Churchill was a war criminal.  What’s next?  Hitler as a progressive who solved Germany’s unemployment problem!
• POYGAMY BEGETS VIOLENCE (you don’t say!)    The Economist.  (More next week)

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AFTER THOUGHT

Through the corona crisis I keep going back to my childhood in England.  We did not have a television until Christmas 1959.  I was almost nine years of age.  When we first got one, there were only two channels, both black and white.   Neither came on the air until about 5pm (except on weekends).  There were two television news bulletins a night, both ten minutes long, one for the early birds at about 6pm and the second one in peak time, at about 9.

How would the Covid-19 outbreak have been handled back then?

With only a ten-minute news bulletin, there would have been no opportunity to whip the public into a panic, which is what has happened this time around.   There was no panic, either, during the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918-19, when the death rate was far higher.

Not everyone is panicking, but workers at a local grocery store and employees at our bank have both commented on how fellow employees are not turning up for work.  “They are just too frightened,” a bank employee told me.

Others avoid the daily walk they are allowed because they are too scared to go outside.

A first step to avoiding this over-reaction might be to stop watching the news.

In Matthew 24:42 Jesus Christ told us to “Watch,” to notice what is happening in the world, as we see prophecy unfolding.   Did He mean to “watch” for ten minutes a day, as in 1959, or “watch” the news 24/7 on any one of a dozen TV stations?   Or could we just read the local newspaper for ten minutes?

We can be aware of what’s going on around us in a few minutes a day.   When we expose ourselves too much to endless negativity it’s going to have a depressing effect on us, spiritually, mentally and physically.

I John 4:18 reassures us when it says, “Perfect love casts out fear.”  During this time of confinement we need to strengthen the love that binds us to our family members, people we can still spend time with.  We may not be able to visit grandparents, but we can Skype them or give them a call.

If we focus on that positivity, there will be less room in our lives for the negativity of the coronavirus, of the endless panic that is whipped up in the national hysteria of television.

One morning I got up early and turned on the local news.  It was so depressing, I flicked through the available channels (we don’t have cable) and landed on “I Love Lucy,” an old TV show that was on TV in the 50’s.  It was, surprisingly, refreshing.  It left me with a good feeling.  I certainly didn’t miss anything.  When it was over, there was plenty of time to contemplate the virus.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”  (Phil 4:8).

MR         

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CONSERVATIVES WIN LANDSLIDE IN UK

Johnson, pictured on the final day of campaigning, ran a campaign dominated by the promise to take the UK out of the EU (Reuters)

Once again, pollsters were wrong.   And once again, conservatives benefitted.

The vote was supposed to be close.   There was a lot of talk of a “hung” parliament, where there’s not enough seats to give any party a majority.   This would have been the worst outcome.   As it was, the Conservatives won, as they did in Australia earlier in the year; and in the 2016 US election when every prediction was that Hillary Clinton would be president.

It seems that people do not answer pollsters truthfully.   Perhaps it’s because people are embarrassed to say they are Conservative, but vote with their wallets on election day.   Margaret Thatcher won every time and that was the explanation.   Well, whatever the reason, Boris Johnson won a landslide, the biggest vote for the Conservatives since Mrs. Thatcher in the 80s.

My home town of Grimsby, in the North of England, returned a Conservative MP for the first time in my lifetime.   Others did the same.   Partly, this was disillusionment with the Labor Party (socialists), who have promised much over the years, but delivered little.   This time, according to analysis on Sky News, they promised 28 times as much as the Conservatives, an amount of money that would have been impossible to deliver.

But the main issue was Brexit.  The Conservatives had a definite plan to get out of the European Union by January 31^st.   Labour’s plan was more negotiations with the EU, then a second referendum.   There was a referendum in 2016 and those wanting to leave won.   The experience of the last few years has been that many politicians refused to honor the referendum result.  None of them were returned in last week’s election.

It’s the same with Scotland.   A referendum there in 2014 showed the majority of Scots wanting to remain in the United Kingdom.   But Mrs. Nicola Sturgeon refuses to accept that result and wants a second referendum.   If successful, would she allow a third referendum seven years later when disillusionment with the reality of independence sets in?   Doubtful.   The Scottish people are subsidized by the English taxpayer to the tune of almost 2,000 pounds a year per person.   Independence must mean a drop in living standards.   Her hope is that Germany will help.   But Germany is going to have to bail out everybody in Europe now that Britain is leaving.

However, the issue of Scottish independence is not going away.  Boris Johnson has pledged to preserve the union, but even he is going to find that hard.

It’s not just Scotland, either.   Northern Ireland presents another problem.   For the first time ever, there are more Republican MPs from that region.   The Unionists lost out for the first time.   The Irish Republicans (who favor a united socialist Ireland) will be demanding independence at the same time as the Scots.   If either breaks away, British security will be compromised.   The UK’s nuclear base is in Clyde on the Scottish west coast.  There’s also a big military presence in Northern Ireland.

But Brexit is first.   Mr. Johnson has promised to deliver by the end of next month.   There is no impediment in his way.   There will follow eleven months of negotiations with the EU on a trade deal.   The Europeans say that is impossible, it will take at least two years.   With the election, power has shifted.   The Europeans will have to deliver a trade deal by the end of 2020 if they want to keep British trade, and they will want to.   The German car industry relies on Britain for 20% of its sales.   They are not going to throw that away for the sake of teaching Britain a lesson.

The election result should benefit the US, too.   Mr. Johnson has a personal friendship with Mr. Trump.   Both were born in New York City.   Both are known for their hair.   And both are against globalism, preferring to put their country first.

The trend against pollsters may prove the same in 2020, when Donald Trump faces who knows who for the Democrats.   In spite of impeachment (which isn’t going anywhere and seems solely to benefit hundreds of lawyers, all billing the taxpayer) and opinion polls that will show him losing to Elizabeth Buttagieg, or Bernie Biden, Donald Trump is most likely to win.   The longer the impeachment process continues, the more support he has.

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Could Scotland leave the UK . . . and stay in the EU?                                   by Philip Sim, BBC Scotland political reporter, “Would Scots vote for independence?”  18 Dec 2019

This is the big question – after all Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t just want to hold  a referendum, she wants to win one.

Polling data collected by What Scotland Thinks suggests an increase in support for independence – but it generally remains just short of a majority.   Excluding “don’t knows,” the average of polls this year has been 51% No to 49% Yes.   The average for 2018 was 55% to 45% – the same as the 2014 referendum.

Would an independent Scotland stay in the EU?   In practice, Scotland would not become independent the day after a Yes vote – there would have to be a period of transition.    In 2014, the pro-independence side said it would take 18 months to set up an independent Scottish state.   Even if a referendum was held tomorrow, the transition would therefore run beyond the end of 2020 – when the UK is due to complete its exit from the EU.   This means Scotland would leave the EU with the rest of the UK, and would need to apply to join again.

Scotland would have to jump through the same hoops as any state seeking to join the EU, although it would have the advantage of having recently been a member.

Sturgeon’s own party’s prospectus for independence suggests this could take several years, whereas she wants to rejoin the EU as quickly as possible.   The first minister also wants to avoid a hard border between Scotland and England.

(https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50813510)

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TRUMP AND NATO

The Senate foreign relations committee has voted unanimously in favor of a bipartisan bill that would prevent Trump from unilaterally withdrawing the US from Nato.   The isolationist-inclined president is a noted sceptic of the transatlantic military alliance, and last week left the Nato summit in London early after the emergence of a hot mic video in which other world leaders appeared to be mocking him. The bill will now await a slot for a full vote in the Senate.   (The Guardian, 12/12)

The largest arms producers in the USA and Western Europe, including German companies, have further increased their already predominant share of global arms production, as can be seen in the analysis published yesterday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute SIPRI.   SIPRI analyzed the sales of the world’s Top 100 arms-producers and concluded that 83 percent of their output comes from 70 companies headquartered in countries of the self-proclaimed community of western values.   Whereas the combined sales of the Top 100 arms companies have increased by 4.6 percent, compared to the preceding year, those of the US and West European companies have increased by around 5.2 percent.

Currently the production of military hardware is also massively expanding in Germany.   The armaments division of the Düsseldorf-based Rheinmetall Group was able to boost its sales by 11.8 percent in the first nine months of this year.   The increase of defense budget is promising business in the billions.   German arms exports are also rising dramatically.   (German Foreign Policy, 12/11)

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A 5,000-Year-Old Plan to Erase Debts Is Now a Hot Topic in America                                                                                                                                  In ancient Babylon, a newly enthroned king would declare a jubilee, wiping out the population’s debts.  In modern America, a faint echo of that idea call it jubilee-lite, is catching on.  (Bloomberg, 10 Dec 2019)

Support for write-offs has been driven by Democratic presidential candidates.   Elizabeth Warren says she’d cancel most of the $1.6 trillion in U.S. student loans.   Bernie Sanders would go further -– erasing the whole lot, as well as $81 billion in medical debt.   But it’s coming from other directions too.   In October, one of the Trump administration’s senior student-loan officials resigned, calling for wholesale write-offs and describing the American way of paying for higher education as “nuts.’’    Real-estate firm Zillow cites medical and college liabilities as major hurdles for would-be renters and home buyers.

Moody’s Investors Service listed the headwinds from student debt -– less consumption and investment, more inequality — and said forgiveness would boost the economy like a tax cut.   While the current debate centers on college costs, long-run numbers show how debt has spread through the economy.   The U.S. relies on consumer spending for growth -– but it hasn’t been delivering significantly higher wages.   Household borrowing has filled the gap, with low interest rates making it affordable.   And that’s not unique to America.   Steadily growing debts of one kind or another are weighing on economies all over the world.

The idea that debt can grow faster than the ability to repay, until it unbalances a society, was well understood thousands of years ago, according to Michael Hudson, an economist and historian.   Last year Hudson published “And Forgive Them Their Debts,’’ a study of the ancient Near East where the tradition known as a “jubilee” — wiping the debt-slate clean — has its roots.   He describes how the practice spread through civilizations including Sumer and Babylon, and came to play an important role in the Bible and Jewish law.   Rulers weren’t motivated by charity, Hudson says.   They were being pragmatic — trying to make sure that citizens could meet their own needs and contribute to public projects, instead of just laboring to pay creditors.   And it worked, he says. “Societies that canceled the debts enjoyed stable growth for thousands of years.’’

Forgiveness was good for the economy, would be a modern way of putting it. In an October paper, Moody’s examined how that might apply if America writes off its student debts. (12/10/2019 (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/5-000-old-plan-erase-100000406.html)

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NIGERIAN MONKEYPOX IN ENGLAND                        

A rare viral infection known as monkeypox has been diagnosed in England.   The virus likely was contracted by a person in Nigeria.

Monkeypox could replace smallpox as a most dreaded disease.   The related smallpox virus was eradicated in 1980, thanks to Western technology.   (White people are often condemned for spreading smallpox, but seldom credited with destroying the virus worldwide.)

Open borders allow infected individuals from African nations to invade Western nations.  (Daily Kenn, 12/14/2019)

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A UNITED AFRICA

We Want A United States Of Africa — says Julius Malema
by SG Editor, 16 Dec 2019, iAfrica.com

JOHANNESBURG – Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema on Sunday spelled out the party’s ambitious vision to lead the entire African continent to economic freedom.   Speaking at the party’s second national people’s assembly in Nasrec, south of Johannesburg, Malema explained that it was only natural that economic freedom came from the south.  The gathering was expected to come to an end on Monday.

Governing South Africa may have appeared to be a tall order for the EFF, but this was just one dream that formed part of even bolder ambitions.   Malema wants the six-year-old organisation to have a presence everywhere on the continent.   “Our vision is not these small-minded things you’re thinking about; we want to lead Africa. We want a United States of Africa with one currency, economy, and judiciary,” Malema said.

The party’s vision appeared to be inspired by late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who dreamt of a United States of Africa.   This plan could well be underway with formations from Liberia, Malawi, and Namibia who were among the guests attending the second people’s assembly in Nasrec.
(https://www.iafrica.com/we-want-a-united-states-of-africa-malema/)

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TO THE POINT

• Authorities in Australia warned that a “mega-blaze” was threatening the north-western suburbs of Sydney.   Covering about 400,000 hectares, the bushfire has already destroyed over 20 homes and is moving into the Blue Mountains area, a popular tourist destination.   A heatwave is not helping; the Bureau of Meteorology advised that the record for the highest-ever temperature could be broken this week.  (The Economist, 12/17)
• America’s defence secretary said he needs to speak with his Turkish counterpart about remarks made by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.   On Sunday Mr. Erdogan issued a new threat:   that it may shut down America’s Incirlik air base in eastern Anatolia.   A worsening chill between the two NATO allies has made America jittery about the nuclear warheads it stores there.   (The Economist, 12/17)
• Chief Advisor To Turkish President Erdoğan:   ‘The Islamic World Should Prepare An Army For Palestine From Outside Palestine’ (MEMRI 12/2)
• A special court in Pakistan has sentenced former military leader Pervez Musharraf to death on charges of treason and subversion of the constitution.   Mr. Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and ruled until 2008.   The sentence was largely seen as symbolic, as the former leader is currently in exile in Dubai.   (The Economist, 12/17)
• Protests in India, against a citizenship law designed to exclude Muslims from naturalisation, escalated in their fifth day.   In Delhi police clashed with protesters around a Muslim university; at least 100 were injured and buses were set on fire.   Other campuses around the country erupted in anger. In India’s north-east, where immigration is generally opposed, six people have been killed.   (The Economist, 12/16)
• Chief Advisor To Turkish President Erdoğan:   ‘The Islamic World Should Prepare An Army For Palestine From Outside Palestine’ (MEMRI 12/2)
• 65 of Britain’s MPs returned to the House of Commons last week are minorities.   That’s 10%.   Take away the 59 Scots, and the percentage will increase to almost 20%.   There were none a little over twenty years ago.  This reflects Britain’s changing demographics, the result of massive immigration from the underdeveloped world since World War II.
• I watched the British election on Sky News, a British 24/7 news channel available on “Watch Free”, a US streaming service.   A day or two later, I was surprised to read that only 46, 000 people watched the election on Sky.  The news company spent a small fortune on John Bercow, controversial former Speaker of the House of Commons, a commentator for the evening, who seemed to spend most of his time justifying his performance as Speaker.

ANGLO MIGRATION

Friends of ours are leaving South Africa and moving to Australia.   They are not the first and certainly won’t be the last.

The “new” South Africa that came into being with the end of apartheid, just under 25 years ago, has become one of the most violent countries in the world.   The white farmers who live there, producing most of the region’s food, have been hit really hard by all the violence.   Hundreds have been murdered in the new South Africa.   Another friend’s grandson was murdered at 18 – for a cell phone!

Young families have to seek greater security for their children.   Australia is one of the best countries to go to, for now at least.

What’s been happening in South Africa and other countries before it, has been one of the minor news items in the world, a blip in the global disorder.   But facts are facts – as the British gave independence to their various colonies around the globe, so Brits who had settled there, contributing greatly to economic development, were forced to leave.   This was especially true in Africa.   This mass migration of people has been really bad for Africa and for Africans.   Their British “masters” have simply been replaced by Chinese bosses who often treat them with contempt.

South Africa’s white population was 20% of the population 25 years ago;  today, it’s down to 10%.

We may think that this migration is over, with South Africa being the last country to expel the whites.   It isn’t.   As South Africa’s majority black population took over the country, so, in the next few decades, new majorities in western nations will take over their new countries and push the original occupants out.

This is prophesied in Deuteronomy 28, the blessings and cursings chapter of the Bible.   The Israelites were told by God that if they obeyed Him, they would be greatly blessed; but, if they turned away from Him, they would suffer the negative consequences.   The modern Israelites are suffering these consequences now and will continue to do so, unless they repent and turn back to God.

¹⁶ “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.  ¹⁷ “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.  ¹⁸ “Cursed shall be the ^[a]fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.  ¹⁹ “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.   (Deut. 28:16-19)

 “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.  ⁴⁴ He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. ” (vs. 43-44)

The Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples are amongst the modern Israelites. At the end of World War II, a little over 70 years ago, they dominated the world.   The British Empire had emerged intact from the global conflict, which it had fought for six years; the United States had emerged from the war as a global superpower.   A constant theme of the last seven decades has seen these same Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples lose their power and prestige.     They will continue to do so.

———————————————

REVOLUTION IN THE AIR?

France has seen a great deal of violence the last three weekends and is expected to see more again this coming weekend.

The primary cause was increased fuel taxes to help cover an environmental project.   It was enough to trigger off the worst rioting in decades.

What the French elite, including President Macron, fail to understand is that ordinary people are suffering.  They are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet.  Higher fuel costs mean higher food costs as food has to be transported.

The rioting spread to neighboring Belgium and there is speculation there could be rioting elsewhere, including in neighboring Germany.   Once again, governments are out of touch with the reality of day to day living.

The following is a joke somebody sent me from Germany, a country not noted for its sense of humor:

“An African refugee is walking through the streets of Nuremberg – a well preserved medieval walled city. He fronts up to the first person he meets and says, “I would like to thank you for taking me in. For clothing me, feeding me, giving me healthcare and letting me stay.”

“But I’m not German, I’m Albanian,” the pedestrian responds.

The African walks on undeterred, and meets another pedestrian: “I would like to thank you for taking me in, clothing me, feeding me, giving me healthcare and letting me stay.”

“But I’m not German, I’m Turkish…”

The African tries once more, with a third pedestrian. “Thank you for taking me in, clothing me…”

“But I’m not German, I’m Arabic.”

“Then where are all the bloody Germans?” the African refugee asks.

The Arab looks at his watch, shrugs and says, “Probably at work.” (end of joke)

The cost of housing, clothing, feeding and educating all the refugees falls on the German tax-payer. It’s the same throughout the western world, in every single western nation.

Brexit started as a means to hit back against the system.   51.7% of the British people supported the “rebellion” against the ruling elite. Trump soon followed with victory in the US election.   The reality of what was behind Trump’s victory still has not been appreciated by the liberal intellectual community that has dominated the country for decades.   The reality is summed up in the title of a new book by Anthony Scaramucci:   “Trump – the Blue-Collar President,”   Trump was / is America’s revolution.   If his revolution fails, we should expect a worse one up ahead.

The same with Brexit.   If the British Establishment manages to thwart Brexit, as is certainly a possibility, the frustrations that ordinary people are experiencing could explode in something far worse.

Populist parties exist throughout the western democracies today – unless people see an improvement in their circumstances, we could see sweeping electoral changes ahead.   This could start in France.

————————————————–

AN AGE OF ANGER

During a dinner in Washington, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde sent a warning to politicians whose decisions could create “an age of anger.”   She said:  “Imagine what the world might look like if we fail to build and adapt.   We could live in an age of anger.”

But this lesson is best learnt from Mr. Trump, the US President, who successfully harnessed the anger of America’s rustbelt communities to propel himself into the White House.  (BBC, 12/6)

————————————————————————-

ARABS TIGHTEN BELTS

“A wave of economic austerity is squeezing the Arab world’s middle class, pushing a segment of society that is key to growth and stability into making painful cut-backs and fueling discontent.

“Egyptians say they are taking second jobs and dining out less often. Jordanians trying to make ends meet are pulling children from private schools.   In Tunisia, hundreds of thousands of civil servants staged a one-day strike last month to demand a pay increase.”  (“Arab Middle Class Tightens Belt,” Jared Malsin, WSJ, 12/6)

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IRAN AND ISRAEL PREPARING FOR WAR

Iranian leaders stepped up their war of words against Israel and the United States over the weekend while new information shows both the Israel Defense Forces and the Islamic Republic are actively preparing for a multi-front war in Israel.

The new war of words started when Iran’s so-called moderate president Hassan Rouhani told participants in an Islamic conference that Israel was a “cancerous tumor” and “a fake regime” founded by Western nations.

While calling upon the Islamic world to establish a “joint force” that could win the “battle against criminals,” Rouhani claimed Israel had killed and displaced the (non-existing) “historic nation of Palestine.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu responded to Rouhani’s belligerent rhetoric by warning Iran that Israel knows how to defend itself against the “murderous Iranian regime.”   (“Iran and Israel preparing for multi-front war,”  (Yochanan Visser,  Israel Today, 11/28)

—————————————————-

BREXIT — THE WORST DEAL IN HISTORY

This Brexit “deal” is anything but good for the nation.

This “deal” will cost the British taxpayer £60 billion; require that the British still comply with EU rules without having any say in what those will be, and worst of all, it permits the British to leave the EU only if the EU agrees.   It commits the British effectively to subjugation by the EU in perpetuity, with no recourse should the British change their mind. It is a prison.   It is also the first step of the EU toward its dream of global governance: unaccountable, untransparent, unelected by the public, and with no way out.

There is still a way out of this mess; an easy alternative.   The solution is No Deal.   Without any further action, the UK’s membership of the EU will lapse on March 29, 2019, and unless that majority can unite around a viable alternative, we will leave.   Even better, according to a House of Lords report, there would be no legal obligation for the UK to make any payment as part of a financial settlement.   (David Brown, Gatestone, 12/4)

————————————————————————-

ANGELA MERKEL STEPS DOWN

Friday Angela Merkel, German Chancellor since 2005, stepped down as Chairman of her political party, the Christian Democratic Union.   She will remain Chancellor for the time being, but relinquishing her chairman role will likely result in change at the chancellery in the not too distant future.

—————————————————————–

PROFOUND COMMENTS

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,” PB, 7/6)

A “sense of guilt” for colonialism is debasing the West from within, according to Professor Bruce Gilley, and authoritarian regimes such as Iran, Russia, China and Turkey are profiting from this weakness.

The Romans called it damnatio memoriae:   the damnation of memory that resulted in destroying the portraits and even the names of the fallen emperors.   The same process is now underway in the West about its colonial past.   The cultural elite in the West now seem so haunted by feelings of imperialist guilt that they are no longer confident that our civilization is something to be proud of.  (“Is guilt killing the West from within?”  Giulio Meotti, Gatestone, 7/6)

——————————————————————-

ITALY CLOSES DOOR TO MIGRANTS

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.” 

——————————————————————–  

ANN COULTER PREDICTS END OF REPUBLICAN PARTY

“New York Times best-selling author and populist conservative columnist Ann Coulter says the Republican Party is “just at the point of extinction without a shot” due to mass illegal and legal immigration to the country that continues importing more than 1.5 million immigrants a year.

In an interview with SiriusXM Patriot’s Breitbart News Daily, Coulter told Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow that the United States — due to mass immigration and rapid demographic shifts — will be electorally dominated by Democrats indefinitely in “about five more years,” calling Trump “the last Republican president.” (Breitbart 11/28)

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MILITARY SPENDING

According to SIPRI’s 2016 data:

• Only 4 out of 28 NATO countries — the United States, France, Greece and Estonia — pay above the 2 percent GDP
• If under-paying countries began reaching the 2 percent threshold, total European nato-military spending would rise from $254 billion to $328 billion.
• In comparison, U.S. military spending was $611 billion, China’s $215 billion, and Russia’s $69 billion.
• If Germany spent 2 percent of its GDP on defense, its military spending would parallel Russia’s — $69 billion!

SIPRI stands for Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

———————————————-

CHANGING RELATIONSHIPS

The US Congress is about to come out with a statement stating that the Saudi Arabian Crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the death of the Washington Post correspondent, Jamal Khashoggi. Mr. Khashoggi was assassinated in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Turkey on October 2^nd.

Additionally, the US has requested the extradition of the top executive of the major Chinese company, Huawei.

“New York (CNN Business) — The arrest of a top Huawei executive has sent stock markets plunging around the world and threatens to derail the tenuous trade truce between the United States and China.

“Meng Wanzhou, the Chinese tech company’s chief financial officer, was detained in Vancouver on Saturday at the request of US authorities.” (12/6)

Thirdly, Mr. Trump ignored President Putin of Russia at the G20 summit last weekend.

Three major relationships, with Saudi Arabia, China and Russia are seriously threatened by these actions.

Interestingly, these three countries are the top oil producing countries in the world, after the United States.   Saudi Arabia and Russia are already co-operating on oil production, which will affect the global price.

It should also be noted that all three are murderous regimes.   The Saudi and Russian governments think nothing of murdering opponents in other parts of the world; while the Chinese have their gulags (sorry, re-education camps).

—————————————————-

OF INTEREST

Donald and Melania Trump did not recite The Apostles’ Creed nor did they sing the hymns during George H.W. Bush’s funeral Wednesday, sparking criticism of the president who claims to be Presbyterian and is portrayed as an evangelical Christian by many conservatives.   Video shows the first couple standing in silence alongside three former presidents and first ladies who all recited the creed.

Ivanka Trump also participated, despite having converted to Judaism.   The Apostles’ Creed is considered Christianity’s core prayer, at the heart of the Christian doctrine.   The version of the creed at the service was that of the Episcopal Church, to which the Bush family belongs.   The Apostles’ Creed is Trinitarian in structure with sections affirming belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son and the Holy Spirit.   The Apostles’ Creed was based on Christian theological understanding of the Canonical gospels, the letters of the New Testament and to a lesser extent the Old Testament.   Its basis appears to be the old Roman Creed known also as the Old Roman Symbol.   (mailonline 12/6)

 

 

 

 

 

BACK TO REALITY

The November 2, 1917 declaration by then British foreign minister Arthur Balfour said his government viewed “with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. Photograph: (AFP)

We’re back from Indianapolis after delivering one of our cats to our daughter and family.   We stayed three nights, to see the family and for the cat to get adjusted to her new situation.

I offered to go get some cat food, but our daughter and granddaughters would not allow me near the pet food aisle after my last blog!

I don’t know what it is but whenever I visit them I go into “vacation mode” – I don’t feel like doing anything. I just want to relax.  This is not fair to them.   We help take care of three (sometimes, five) grandchildren in Lansing; then have four when we visit Indy.

Our family Sunday ended up being a day in front of the television with our granddaughters who introduced us to the British series “Father Brown,” available on Netflix. It was actually quite good, though some things did irritate me.   For example, whenever the priest prayed in Latin, the closed-caption subtitles simply said: “Prays in a foreign language.”   Don’t most people know that Latin has been the lingua franca of the Catholic church for almost 2,000 years?

Family members are all trying to be healthier, which meant no junk in the house.   If I had remembered that, I would have taken some goodies to nibble between meals.  I was so hungry, at one point I called our daughter in Lansing and said:   “Can you come down immediately and bring some food?” I was just being humorous – it’s a 4+ hour drive; and I could have gone to a local grocery store if I thought I might expire.

Mike, our son-in-law, is a very good cook and the food was excellent.   I decided to join the healthy eating and then continue it at home, which is what I’m now doing.   I feel better already.   I’ve had no indigestion for a week and feel more energetic.  The dog food last week probably helped.

It was really nice to have a break from everything, including world news.

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BACK TO MORE REALITY

The terror attack in New York on Tuesday is a reminder of the constant threat to our lives that emanates from radical Islam.   It’s also a constant reminder of how hopeless our governments are – they keep letting in Muslims en masse, trying to claim that “Islam is a peaceful religion that has been hijacked by extremists.”

Trump called immediately for Congress to abolish the Diversity Visa Waiver program.  This is a lottery that enables 50,000 people a year from usually poor and backward countries to enter the United States.  They may then sponsor their relatives and friends to enter the US.   Tuesday’s murderer brought in 23 over 15 years.   Most of these people go straight to the bottom of our economic ladder, competing for jobs with low income Americans.

(Do the math. If one man brought in 23, multiply 50,000 x 23 = 1, 150,000 people per year.   That’s in addition to the one million plus who get a visa the normal way.)

President Trump immediately called on Congress to change the law.   That’s commendable.   The law needs to be changed.   But, then, why didn’t he react the same after the Las Vegas mass shooting?   Changes to the law are desperately needed.

It’s been over twenty years since the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, Australia.   35 people were killed in a little over half an hour.   The conservative prime minister, John Howard, immediately called on parliament to pass tough controls on assault weapons.

“Twelve days after the Port Arthur massacre, the Australian prime minister, John Howard, announced a sweeping package of gun reforms in a country where firearms had long been considered an essential prop in the national mythology of life in the bush.

“At that stage the gun lobby was the ruling lobby in Australia,” says Philip Alpers, associate professor at the University of Sydney.  “What happened at Port Arthur is that they were outpaced, outflanked and outwitted by a man who had the power to move in 12 remarkable days.”

“Tim Fischer was leader of the National party and Howard’s deputy prime minister in the Coalition government, charged with persuading skeptical country voters to support, or at least accept, reforms.  “Port Arthur was our Sandy Hook,” he says.   “Port Arthur we acted on.  The USA is not prepared to act on their tragedies.”   (The Guardian 14^th March 2016).

The Sandy Hook massacre of kindergarten children took place on December 14^th, 2012.   Congress did not pass any laws following the deaths of 26 people, including 19 children.   If the country could not make any changes after the deaths of so many young children, it’s doubtful they will ever come.

President Trump and others reacted to the Las Vegas shootings by saying, “Now is not the time to discuss gun control.”

Then, when will it be the time?   Immigration policies make the situation worse – the killer at Virginia Tech ten years ago was from South Korea.   The Boston Marathon killings were also the work of new arrivals.

Changes can be made without encroaching on the Second Amendment, which says:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Today, the US definitely has a “well regulated militia,” so America’s needs have changed.   At the same time, people do have a right to defend themselves.   There’s a balance. It’s time for a national debate.

On the highly successful Australian TV show, “Janet King,” Janet, a senior employee of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS; sometimes referred to as “Crownies”), is appointed by the country’s Governor-General to head a royal commission into gun violence.   It’s time the United States had a presidential commission to look into mass casualty gun violence, with the remit that it report back to the president and the public within twelve months, making recommendations to effectively reduce gun violence.

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NEW ZEALAND MAKES THE NEWS

Before we leave the Antipodes, New Zealand has a new, radical prime minister.

Jacinda Ardern is only 37 and the third female leader of the country. She wants to restrict immigration into New Zealand – one of her first acts was to ban the sale of homes to people living outside of the country.   She is a left-wing republican, meaning she would like to end NZ’s relationship with the Crown thereby giving greater power to the politicians, of which she is the chief!   Interestingly, she is also a former Mormon who has strong views on churches that encourage families to shun former believers like herself; she left the church over its anti-homosexual stance.

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QUOTE: “President Xi (of China) believes that America is in steep decline and China rising in a power game that will define our century” (Carrie Gracie, China Editor, BBC News, 11/2).   President Trump is about to visit China.

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CENTENARIES

Today, November 2^nd, is the centenary of the Balfour Declaration.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in London to commemorate the celebration, boycotted by the anti-semitic socialist Labour Party of Jeremy Corbyn.

The famous Balfour Declaration was announced in the middle of World War I by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, at a time when Great Britain was the dominant power in the world. It committed His Majesty’s Government to establish in Palestine a home for the Jewish people.   It was one of the most important documents of the twentieth century and a major fulfillment of Bible prophecy. It led directly to the establishment of a Jewish nation in the Middle East, the country now called Israel.

An independent Jewish nation had not been in existence since Roman times.   The Roman Jewish province of Judea rebelled against Rome in 66 AD. The Romans crushed the Jewish Revolt in 70 AD, destroying much of Jerusalem in the process.   The Jews rebelled again from 132 AD-135 AD.   Once again, the Romans crushed the revolt.   This time, the Jews dispersed to other parts of the Roman Empire and beyond.   For almost two millennia, they did not have their own country.   But scriptures made it clear that the Jews would be back in their homeland, called Judah in the Bible (the Jews were only one of the twelve tribes of Israel).

Zechariah was a prophet 2,500 years ago.   His Old Testament book is a Millennial prophecy about the Second Coming of the Messiah. Judah figures quite prominently in events at the time immediately prior to Christ’s Return.

Note Zechariah 12:2-3 – “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.  And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”

And Zechariah 14:2-4 – “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

“Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”

The last verse is clearly still in the future.   Jerusalem, Judah, revived after almost 2,000 years is once again a central point of geographical contention, with neighboring nations and tribes wanting to destroy the country.   As if perpetually drunk, they desperately try to destroy her, so far not succeeding.

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RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Five days after the Balfour Declaration, Russia had a second revolution.   Earlier in the year, the Czarist regime had fallen and was replaced by a parliamentary system.   Elections were scheduled for later in the year.   Two weeks before the election, the Bolsheviks (communists) staged a coup on November 7th that overthrew the interim government of Alexander Kerensky.   They proclaimed the world’s first communist state.   It brought seven decades of misery to the country, with despotic leaders that made the czars look like Sunday school teachers.   Communism has gone, but the country remains a dictatorship, though claiming to be a democracy.

The Bolshevik Revolution was the second revolution of 1917; there was an earlier revolution in 1905, which led to the establishment of the Duma (parliament) but still left the czar with ultimate power and authority.   Russia’s parliament today is also called the Duma and is the people’s assembly.   However, some would say that Vladimir Putin is a new Czar, with all the power and authority.

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500^th ANNIVERSARY OF PROTESTANT REFORMATION

Tuesday was the 500^th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenburg church in Germany.   We should all be thankful to Martin Luther.   He had the courage to stand up to the Church of Rome, ending the monopoly the Church had in western Europe.   All churches today owe their freedom to Luther.

I watched a two-hour documentary on PBS recently about Martin Luther and the Reformation.   He is considered the greatest theologian of all time, due to the fact that he wrote more books and articles on the Bible than anybody else. He also translated the scriptures into German.

Later in life, asked to sum up his writings, he replied: “God forgives.” That was of paramount importance to Luther, who struggled all his life with sin, as we all do.   Hearing that, I thought about all the churches that have come out of Luther, directly or indirectly.   Many have one thing in common – they can’t forgive.   How ironic.

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VISIT TO NOAH’S ARK

Earlier in the month, we were in Cincinnati, Ohio.   A group of us, including four of our grandchildren, took the opportunity to visit Noah’s Ark, which is just over the state line in Kentucky.   It’s well worth a visit, if only to get a better idea of the size of the original ark. This replica is built according to biblical specifications.

I’m very thankful that the enterprising Australian behind this project was inspired to build the Ark (and the Creation Museum nearby). More and more people are biblically illiterate, so it’s good that somebody has kept the story alive.   I found the wall plaques explaining everything interesting, but I do not agree with his theory that the earth is only 6,000 years old.

We had been told to allow three hours for our visit. With two 5-year-old twin boys, we went through quite quickly, in exactly two hours.  We left early — because it was raining!!!

The following evening we had a group of Barbadians over for dinner. Wonderful people.   They had actually come from Barbados to visit the Ark.   They are also Young Earthers, believing in the 6,000 years.   We agreed to disagree and still remain friends.  That’s the way it should be.

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FINALLY

I’ve been asked why I quote so often from the Daily Express and Daily Mail newspapers, two Conservative British tabloids.

The answer is quite simple: they have the best web sites.   Check them out sometime.

The Guardian and Independent, more intellectual papers, are constantly asking for money whenever I check their sites; whereas the Times, the Telegraph and the Financial Times make very little available.

The biggest problem with the two papers I use is that they often sensationalize news items.

I will try to find alternative sources, but, realistically I will have to use them occasionally as I don’t have the funds to pay for subscriptions to the more highbrow papers; and they have to request money as they have smaller circulations.

(This blog is a fully independent blog that has no connection to any church or secular organization. It was started to keep people informed on international affairs in light of the scriptures.   Financial support comes from myself and readers who graciously donate to help cover costs.) 

GUAM IN THE HEADLIGHTS

Guam isn’t in the news very often.   But right now it is.   The reason? North Korea has threatened to “nuke” it first.   It seems to have the technology to do it. But will it?   That is the question.

A North Korean attack on the US Pacific island would likely kill most of the 160,000 Americans who live there; but, within minutes, most of North Korea’s population would also be dead in a US retaliatory strike.  That figure would include North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un. Even if he has a bunker to retire to through the attack, he would no longer have a kingdom to rule over.   Kim would lose everything in minutes.   The three-generation Kim dynasty would be history!

Logic and common sense say he won’t do it.   But logic and common sense are sadly lacking in North Korea.

The world awaits developments and hopes for a good outcome.

Back to Guam.

The world was much simpler when the US took possession of the island in 1898.   It was one of four territories acquired by the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War.   The others were Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Guam had been a Spanish territory for 230 years, since 1668.

When the USS Charleston arrived in Guam to capture the territory, the ship fired its cannons in the direction of the Spanish fort on the island.   The Spanish garrison took some time to respond.   Eventually, they sent a delegation to apologize to the Americans. They had thought the cannons were a salute and they had no means of reciprocating – they hadn’t realized this was an invasion.   It had been a while since they had received any communication from Spain.

So Guam fell into American hands.

Not without some opposition – at home.   The United States was terribly divided on the issue of foreign adventures.   Pro-interventionists included President McKinley, the future Vice President Theodore Roosevelt and newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst, a man of great influence at the time.   All three felt that America needed overseas possessions, like European nations. Against the acquisition of colonies were Mark Twain, Dale Carnegie and William Jennings Bryan.   These two were often referred to as the “pro-imperialists” and the “anti-imperialists.”   Imperialism was very much in vogue at the end of the nineteenth century.

The great debate around the birth of the American Empire is the subject of a new history book, entitled “The True Flag” by Stephen Kinzer, a foreign correspondent who now writes for the Boston Globe.   The Spanish-American War was a major turning point in American history and, indeed, in world history. It launched the US as a global power.

“Various forces united to push McKinley toward his decision to seize the Philippines.   Navy commanders recognized Manila Bay as a magnificent platform from which to project American strategic power into East Asia.   Business leaders saw millions of new customers for American goods, the prospect of rich resources, and a springboard to the potentially immense China market.   Missionaries and religious groups swooned at the prospect of saving millions of lost souls for Christ.   McKinley himself recognized above all the political value of annexation – and the furor he feared would engulf him if he turned away from empire at this crucial moment.” (“The True Flag,” page 87.)

Later, McKinley, a deeply religious man, recounted a vision he had at this time.

“When McKinley emerged from his trance, he found himself believing that the United States could not grant independence to the Philippines because its people were ‘unfit for self-government,’ and that ‘there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them and by God’s grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died.” (ibid.)

The following paragraph adds:  “McKinley was deeply religious, and his account of this vision was no doubt sincere.  Nevertheless he must have recognized the happy coincidence: what God wanted him to do would also be popular with voters.  This time, God sounded remarkably like Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge.”

These paragraphs show just how much American thinking has changed in the last century.   America’s track record in international affairs has been mixed, at best.   The Spanish-American War was won by the US.   World Wars One and Two, were also won, with allies, but there were many problems after the fighting was over.   Wars since World War Two have largely not been won and the country is now caught up in never ending conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan.   The resultant turmoil has created an unprecedented refugee problem and untold suffering.

Americans are often woefully ignorant of these wars and the mess that is left behind.   President McKinley did not know where the Philippines and Guam were when he ordered US forces to take both.   Somebody once said that “wars are nature’s way of teaching Americans geography” — there is a great deal of truth to that.

History, too.   A review of a new book on President James Buchanan, who was in office immediately before Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, described him as one of the worst ever leaders of the free world.   This remark fails to appreciate that Americans presidents did not lead the Free World until after World War Two.

“The first time the phrase ‘Leader of the free world’ appeared in The New York Times was in a November 1948 essay by the British economist Barbara Ward, which urged Western unity against the communist threat. With its unchallenged economic might, the United States was ‘potentially the political leader of the free world.’“ (‘What does it mean that Trump is “Leader of the Free World,” by Dominic Tierney, The Atlantic, January 2017.)

Dozens of nations have been truly and deeply thankful for the American umbrella, especially the nuclear umbrella, which protected them from communism during the Cold War.   However, the Cold War ended over a quarter of a century ago.   Now, there are other threats and the US is not doing so well.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell speech in 1961 warned:

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.  The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

A powerful military-industrial complex will constantly be pushing the country toward war to justify its existence and its cost to the tax-payer.   Each of these wars divides the country as assuredly as the first overseas military adventures in 1898.   The wars in the Islamic world have cost the US billions, in addition to thousands of lives.   The result has been described by historian Geoffrey Wawro (University of North Texas) as “Quicksand,” the title of his 2010 book – the more we struggle to get out, the more we get sucked in!

WILL AMERICAN HEGEMONY BE A CONSTANT?

President Trump has vowed to maintain American hegemony, while at the same time promising to put “America First.”   Ultimately, these two are opposites.   America already suffers from a bad case of “imperial over-reach,” with too many commitments around the globe.  Can the US handle a major conflict on the Korean peninsula, together with unfinished wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan? Can the US afford another major conflict, with a $20 trillion overdraft?   Will American voters support more wars?   President Trump has added another possible military intervention, saying that the US may have to intervene militarily in Venezuela.

History shows that every great power eventually burns out.  Before the US, the British Empire was the world’s number one superpower. After World War Two, the British had to deal with three major international problems all at the same time – in India, Palestine and Greece.   Imperial over-reach led to a withdrawal from Greece and the US was well on the way to replacing the United Kingdom as the world’s policeman.   Americans should not fall into the trap of thinking the same cannot happen to them.   The country has a bad case of imperial hubris, just as Britain did before the US.

History shows the inevitability of America’s demise.

So does the Bible.

Bible scholars have long known that the US plays no role in the final prophesied events, which center on Europe and the Middle East.

This implies that something big is going to happen to America, which returns the country to its pre-1898 status, isolated from the rest of the world.   However, it won’t be the same as pre-1898 – then, the US was secure in its isolation; now, there’s too much bitterness and resentment around the world toward the United States.   Additionally, the United States is more divided now than it was then.

Daniel 2:21 reminds us that God is behind the rise and fall of nations.

“And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.”

In the sixth century BC, while living in the Babylonian Empire, Daniel had a vision that revealed to him that Babylon would soon fall and be replaced by Persia; in turn, Persia would give way to Greece and Greece to Rome.   This is exactly what happened over the next few centuries.   Each of those superpowers, in turn, thought it was invincible; yet, each one fell.   Both history and the Bible show the inevitability of this continuing.

Already, there are voices declaring the 21st century China’s century, just as the twentieth was America’s and the nineteenth Great Britain’s. Certainly,   China is a rising power.   It’s the main reason North Korea can threaten the US at this time and seemingly get away with it.

But the Bible shows that the final superpower is a power that has not yet formed; that ten nations will come together and threaten the peace and security of the world.

Revelation 17:12-13 says the following:

“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.   These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.”

The term “for one hour” means that this superpower will not last very long.   America’s supremacy has lasted 70 years, Britain’s was much longer; the next one will be a lot shorter.

Which brings us back to Guam.

When the USS Charleston took possession of Guam en route to the Philippines, America became a major power in Asia.   A successful attack on Guam from North Korea would signal the end of the American Empire.   It happened once before in 1942 when the Japanese took the island, but the US returned after defeating Japan.     A nuclear attack on the island would mean there’s nothing to return to.

It’s likely that something will be worked out and we will return to peace – this time.   But at some point American hegemony will end and it could end on an island thousands of miles away or somewhere closer to home.   It’s worth remembering that the British Empire suffered two major defeats, in Singapore (1942) and Suez (1956).

Stephen Kinzer, who wrote “The True Flag,” has an accompanying article in the latest issue of American History magazine.   He ends with an observation by Mark Twain, who opposed America’s international expansion.

The last two paragraphs make for sobering reading:  “Despondent, Twain wrote a bitter lament. His observations, trenchant then, sound eerily appropriate today.  (italics mine)

“It was impossible to save the Great Republic,”  Twain wrote.  “She was rotten to the heart.   Lust of conquest had long ago done it’s work.   Trampling upon the helpless abroad had taught her, by natural process, to endure with apathy the like at home; multitudes who had applauded the crushing of other people’s liberties, lived to suffer for their mistake in their own persons.   The government was irrevocably in the hands of the prodigiously rich and their hangers-on, the suffrage was become a mere machine, which they used as they chose.   There was no principle but commercialism, no patriotism but of the pocket.”

(This blog is a fully independent blog that has no connection to any church or secular organization. It was started to keep people informed on international affairs in light of the scriptures.   Financial support comes from myself and readers who generously donate to help cover costs.)