RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18000/russia-ukraine

In July, Putin published a 5,000-word article — “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians” — in which he wrote that he was convinced that the “true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia.”

“The Russian regime’s foremost interest is its own hold on power. All policy, internal and external, stems from this overriding goal.” — Edward Lucas, Ben Hodges and Carsten Schmiedl, Center for European Policy Analysis.

“The Russian Federation…has two main options: to escalate the armed conflict in the Donbas in order to achieve a rapid breakthrough, or to intensify long-term pressure, i.e. to play for Kyiv’s gradual exhaustion. The choice of strategy depends on the Russian perception of the situation, the attitude of Ukraine itself, and the behavior of key Western actors.” — Marek Menkiszak, Center for Eastern Studies.

The first important factor here is Moscow’s likely perception of the relative weakness of the US. The Kremlin’s initial fear of ‘retribution’ from the new Joe Biden administration for its interference in the 2016 presidential election seems to have given way to the belief that Washington is focused on domestic problems and the challenge from China, so it is seeking to improve relations with the Russian Federation. — Marek Menkiszak.

“Do not make the mistake of handing an essential part of Europe’s future to a country that is demonstratively not the EU’s friend. Time will not be kind to such decision or to those who made it.” — Olexander Scherba, Ukrainian diplomat, Jamestown Foundation.

“Russia has a clear aim: to weaken Ukraine so much that it will be relatively easy to control the country’s politics. Moscow can achieve this by forcing Kyiv to implement the Minsk agreement on its terms — which would establish a de facto Russian veto on Ukrainian domestic affairs — and by starting…anti-government revolts. Alternatively, Moscow could pressure Washington to ‘deliver’ Ukraine by signing security guarantees that favored Russia. These guarantees would prohibit Ukraine from not only joining NATO but also engaging in any form of cooperation with the West that would strengthen its resilience. This would eventually force Ukraine back into Moscow’s sphere of influence.” — Gustav Gressel, European Council on Foreign Relations.

“If Russia’s coercive strategy works well, there is no guarantee that it will stop with Ukraine.” — Gustav Gressel.

“Many European leaders do not seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation…. Ukraine has a gun to its head, but the German government only seems worried about the survival of its pipeline…. This is just the kind of poor judgement that enables Russian military aggression.” — Gustav Gressel.

A massive build-up of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border is fueling speculation of an imminent invasion. Western leaders have warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against military action, but, especially after the catastrophic American withdrawal from Afghanistan, they appear divided and weak and may be unable to stop him.

A Russian invasion of Ukraine, if successful, would expand Moscow’s sphere of influence along its western border and pave the way for Eastern Europe and the Baltics to come under Russian domination once again.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/12/bawer-zemmour-bruce-bawer/

Well, he’s in. And he did it in a pretty spectacular way.

Last week, in a seven-minute video, Éric Zemmour – the fearless columnist and TV commentator whose latest book, France Has Not Yet Had the Last Word, I wrote about here last month – officially announced his candidacy for president of France. And it could hardly have been more powerful. It wasn’t just an announcement; it was an oration for the ages.

“My dear compatriots,” began the man widely known as “France’s Trump,” “for years, the same feeling has gripped you, oppressed you, haunted you: a strange and penetrating feeling of dispossession.” As he spoke, music played. Beethoven’s Seventh. Many commentators jumped on this: how could a man so preoccupied with all things French use a German symphony for his music bed? Fair enough: it would’ve made more sense to pick, say, Faure’s Requiem or Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.

Zemmour continued. “You walk the streets of your city and you don’t recognize it. You look at your screens and you are spoken to in a language that is strange and, quite frankly, foreign.” The video cut back and forth between a shot of Zemmour reading his announcement – an old-fashioned radio microphone in front of him, a wall of old books behind him – and images of street violence, girls in hijabs, soccer players “taking the knee,” subway crime.

Wherever you go, said Zemmour, “you have the impression that you are no longer in the country you know.” From this description of today’s France – a description to which most Frenchmen, judging by recent polls, would vigorously nod assent – Zemmour looked back to the France of a generation or two ago, the France of history, and the France of national myth: “You remember the country you knew in your childhood, you remember the country your parents described to you; you remember the country you find in movies or in books; the country of Joan of Arc and Louis XIV, the country of Bonaparte and General De Gaulle….”

And, as we viewed images of Versailles, a classroom, a theater stage, a laboratory, the names rolled on: Hugo, Descartes, Pasteur, Molière, Racine. Even Jean Gabin and Alain Delon. Although Zemmour gave France credit for the invention of the car (arguable), it was an impressive and, yes, powerful litany. I know it was powerful because it worked on me – a person who’s capable of being quite snotty about the French.

ttps://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17994/china-india-himalayas-border

While working talks have resumed, both China and India have reinforced their air and ground assets. China has advanced fighter jets at three air bases within striking distance of Indian military positions.

Indian diplomats have loudly denounced a recent law passed by the Chinese national legislature, the National People’s Congress, which makes it mandatory for China’s leaders never to negotiate away one inch of professed Chinese territory. The legislation referred to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as “sacred and inviolable.”

China also has underscored its inflexibility by constructing extended civilian housing along the Line of Actual Control, thereby defying Indian counterclaims that these future habitats are being built on territory seized by China.

It is likely that China will again initiate armed skirmishes along disputed border regions to test the Biden Administration’s will to defend U.S. allies.

China will doubtless factor U.S. responses to its attacks on allied countries in the Indo-Pacific region into its decision-making calculus on how best to seize Taiwan.

Chinese missile-laden bombers flew over a contested border area with India recently, following the breakdown of bilateral talks between Indian and Chinese regional military commanders.

The near-simultaneity of the collapse of military negotiations and the threatening fly-over by People’s Liberation Army Air Force bombers underscores China’s willingness to punish India for having resisted Beijing’s territorial claims and aggression in the region.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/11/29/german-suicide-factory-says-it-will-only-help-you-kill-yourself-if-youre-vaxxed/

Verein Sterbehilfe — the German Euthanasia Association — recently announced it will not help unvaccinated patients kill themselves. Now anyone seeking assisted suicide must submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination first.

“Euthanasia and the preparatory examination of the voluntary responsibility of our members willing to die require human closeness. Human closeness, however, is a prerequisite and breeding ground for coronavirus transmission,” the association said in a statement. “As of today, the 2G rule applies in our association, supplemented by situation-related measures, such as quick tests before encounters in closed rooms.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently announced “2G” restrictions that allow leisure activities only for individuals who are vaccinated or who have recovered from COVID-19. The rule applies in every area where more than three per 100,000 inhabitants are hospitalized with the virus.

“Some would say this is cynical, but probably by the end of this winter, pretty much everyone in Germany will be vaccinated, recovered, or dead. That’s the reality,” Health Minister Jens Spahn said at a press conference in Berlin last week.

The ban on physician-assisted suicide in Germany was lifted over a year ago, and Free Democratic Member of Parliament Katrin Helling-Plahr introduced a law in January that would regulate physician-assisted suicide.

“We want to set the record straight — everyone has a right to self-determined death,” she said at the time.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17983/turkish-grey-wolves

In reality, the Grey Wolves movement very much does exist. It has a long history of bloodbaths across Turkey and is now a growing movement across Europe as well as the South Caucasus.

This ideology [Turanism, or the Greater Turkish homeland] believes in the superiority of a supposed Turkish race and wants to unite all Turks under one country, “Turan”, from Europe to the Pacific. These ideas have greatly influenced the Grey Wolves organization and its actions.

The “Turan” ideal is still alive and well in Turkish politics. Prior to a meeting at the presidential palace on November 17, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli, posed with a map of the so-called “Turkish world”, or the Turan, before cameras.

“The Grey Wolves have a long history of terrorism towards ethnic religious minorities, but their skillset has evolved. They are stronger than in the early 2000’s. The MHP’s political alliance with Turkey’s ruling AKP three years ago legitimized them, giving the Grey Wolves a new sense of unity. They are militarized, they are efficient, and they are on the move globally. Their mission is Pan-Turkic Islamism, and any ethnic Christian who exists within their targeted sphere is at risk.” — International Christian Concern.

It is time for civilized nations to look more closely at the violent attacks and threats by the Grey Wolves against minorities and dissident intellectuals in and outside of Turkey.

Last month, the US Congress passed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that could affect the status of the far-right, extremist group that operates both inside and outside Turkey: the Grey Wolves.

The amendment, introduced by Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV), requires that the State Department send a report to Congress on the activities of the Grey Wolves against the United States and its allies — including an assessment of whether the Grey Wolves meets the criteria to be designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

The Grey Wolves (Bozkurtlar) is the informal name of a Turkish nationalist organization called Idealist Hearths (Ülkü Ocakları). As a political movement, it is referred to as the Idealist Movement (Ülkücü Hareket) and is responsible for many acts of violence, including the 1981 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II.

In 1968, the Idealist Hearths were founded as the militant wing of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), currently an ally of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The US is not the only country that has started paying more attention to the criminal activities of the Grey Wolves. In November of last year, French Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin announced on Twitter that the group was banned in France. “It incites discrimination and hatred and is implicated in violent actions,” he wrote. The announcement came after an Armenian genocide memorial outside the city of Lyon was defaced with yellow graffiti and pro-Turkish slogans.

https://asiatimes.com/2021/11/shanghais-data-exchange-to-fuel-fourth-industrial-revolution/

NEW YORK – Shanghai’s new Data Exchange began trading on November 26, in what might be one of the transformational events of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Initial data offerings include 20 products from China Eastern Airlines, Cosco Shipping, China Mobile Insight and other Chinese firms, according to the Exchange’s website.

The creation of capital markets in the West made it possible to mobilize the savings of the middle class to build the canals and railways that supported the First Industrial Revolution.

The 4th Industrial Revolution is being driven by data. The emergence of an efficient market in data has implications as profound as the founding of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1601, the funding of America’s public debt in 1790, or the financing of the debt of the Napoleonic Wars.

China’s emphasis on data as a factor of production breaks not only with Marxist economic theory but also with the classical English economics that Marx adapted. From the standpoint of economic theory, it is perhaps the most anti-communist innovation of the past century, and all the more remarkable as a programmatic statement of the Chinese Communist Party.

Value maximization

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17980/persecution-of-christians-october

Ali Harbi Ali, a 25-year-old Muslim man of Somali descent, lunged at and repeatedly stabbed British MP Sir David Amess with a knife. Amess, 69, died soon after…. It is worth noting that, when it comes to severely persecuting and slaughtering Christians, Somalia is the world’s third-worst ranked nation, after Afghanistan (#2) and North Korea (#1) . — United Kingdom.

“The Christians are treated as slaves bounded to Muslims… Christians enjoy no rights, no dignity, and no protection in this country. The overall system of society is based on religious hatred against Christians and other minorities.” — Asif Muniwar, local human rights defender; International Christian Concern, October 12, 2021, Pakistan

[T]hree Christian workers died after Muslim emergency staff refused to rescue them because Christians are supposedly “ritually unclean.” Problems began when the Muslim employers of sewage worker Michael Masih, aged 33, threatened to fire him unless he entered a highly toxic sewer without any personal protective equipment or masks…. “An emergency team got to the sewer within 10 minutes but on arrival they looked down the pipe and could see the men but refused to save them. This was on account that they were choorah [dirty cleaners] and would cause the Muslims to become ritually impure.” — British Asian Christian Association, October 8, 2021, Pakistan.

“Many shops were looted after they set them on fire. Church of Christ in All Nation (COCIN) was also burned down…. “[M]any houses were set ablaze. Bulls used for farming were also killed.” A local eyewitness said the murderers were dressed in Nigerian army uniforms and traveling in two vans owned by the Nigerian army. — International Christian Concern, October 17, 2021, Nigeria, which U.S. Secretary of Antony Blinken just removed from its 2021 List of “Countries of Particular Concern”.

“[T]he herdsmen returned and shot [Dr. Habila Solomon, a medical doctor who also served as a Christian pastor] in his chest, killing him instantly. He was the reason why many people saw hope…. In the course of doing missions, God used him to provide drinking water, shelter, free education and feed the poor…. [and] also provided the [Muslim] herdsmen and their families with free medical care.” — Morning Star News, October 25, 2021, Nigeria.

“Nigeria’s government seems unable or unwilling to stop the growing carnage…. More Christians have been killed for their faith in Nigeria in the last year than in the entire Middle East. Unless we find our voice, what is happening in Nigeria will move relentlessly toward a Christian genocide.” — Former U.S. Under Secretary of Education, Gary L. Bauer, calling Nigeria a “killing field” of Christians;” The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2021 annual report; Nigeria.

Although the abduction, rape, and forced conversion to Islam of Christian girls and other religious minorities is rampant in Pakistan—with Muslim police, judges, and authorities often siding with the kidnappers and rapists—the nation is now witnessing record breaking numbers…. a nearly 300% increase from 2020…. This report comes on the heels of the Pakistani government’s rejection of an anti-forced conversion bill, which would have helped protect such minor girls. — Union of Catholic Asian News, October 14 and 18, 2021, Pakistan.

“My cross has been with me for 40 years. It is part of me, and my faith, and it has never caused anyone any harm…. At this hospital there are members of staff who go to a mosque four times a day and no one says anything to them. Hindus wear red bracelets on their wrists and female Muslims wear hijabs in theatre. Yet my small cross around my neck was deemed so dangerous that I was no longer allowed to do my job.” — NHS nurse Mary Onuoha, who had fled from Uganda to the UK for religious freedom; Daily Mail, October 5, 2021, United Kingdom.

“Why do some NHS employers feel that the cross is less worthy of protection or display than other religious attire?” — Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre; Daily Mail, October 5, 2021, United Kingdom.

The following are among the abuses Muslims inflicted on Christians throughout the month of October 2021:

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17967/china-move-olympics

[T]he world should long ago have confronted the evil system that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has built and continues to develop. China has… built artificial islands in the South China Sea and militarized them after promising not to. China has also threatened Japan, Australia, the Philippines and the US; it recently has attacked India, illegally seized Hong Kong, enslaved Uyghurs and, by repeatedly lying about the human-to-human transmissibility of its Wuhan COVID-19 virus, caused the death worldwide of more than five million people, not to mention economic devastation.

The Communist Chinese have “disappeared” many high-profile Chinese, including the physician Dr. Ai Fen, the movie star Zhao Wei, and now, possibly the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai… What about all of those acts of aggression should not force the world finally to confront China?

To the public, it seems as if their leaders are more willing to threaten their own citizens than they are to confront the Chinese Communists.

The CCP should have been called out years ago. Hopefully moving the Olympics to a safer and more deserving country, or seriously boycotting them, would be only the first of many actions designed to hold China accountable. We should also hold our own leaders accountable for their actions, or as is too often the case, inaction.

“It is now time,” Gordon Chang recently wrote, “for the world to face the reality of the Communist Party of China and the horrific system it has constructed.”

Now? Both Chang and I are in strong agreement that the world should long ago have confronted the evil system that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has built and continues to develop. China has ignored its trade agreements with the WTO, failed to disclose crucial information about its businesses on stock exchanges as other businesses do, has built artificial islands in the South China Sea and militarized them after promising not to. China has also threatened Japan, Australia, the Philippines and the US; it recently has attacked India, illegally seized Hong Kong, enslaved Uyghurs and, by repeatedly lying about the human-to-human transmissibility of its Wuhan COVID-19 virus, caused the deaths worldwide of more than five million people, not to mention economic devastation.