RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.jns.org/uk-election-sees-rise-of-anti-israel-independents/

Labour Party’s landslide in last week’s elections in the United Kingdom was no surprise. What came as a jolt was the success of the ‘pro-Gaza independents.’ All ran on the issue of “Palestine” and Gaza in heavily Muslim districts.

The winning independent candidates were Shockat Adam, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan and Iqbal Hussain Mohamed.

They unseated four Labour members of parliament. As one British headline blared: “Pro-Palestinian MPs become ‘sixth largest’ party in shock Labour defeats.”

The ‘Gaza bloc’ capitalized on anger toward the Labour Party among Muslim voters, who believed Labour hadn’t done enough against Israel and for “Palestine” in the current conflict.

Though Labour performed well overall, it did poorly in areas with high Muslim populations.

Labour Party leader and incoming prime minister, Keir Starmer, and wife Victoria greet supporters as they enter 10 Downing Street in London following a landslide election victory in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2024. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

https://apnews.com/article/nato-summit-biden-trump-europe-russia-ukraine-6c24773349aa1a9f6592a15268f98169

WASHINGTON (AP) — NATO leaders meet this week for a summit commemorating the 75th anniversary of the military alliance, which has never been larger and more focused but is also facing potentially existential threats from outside and within.

If Russia’s war in Ukraine, challenges posed by an increasingly aggressive China, and the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza weren’t enough, some key members’ commitment to defend their allies is coming under question.

There is deep uncertainty over President Joe Biden’s ability to beat his predecessor, NATO skeptic Donald Trump, in November to lead the most powerful member of the alliance.

While Biden’s political troubles are stirring concerns at home and abroad, countries in Europe are facing their own issues with a rise of far-right populism, particularly in France and Hungary, threatening what had been a bedrock pillar of post-World War II security and stability.

Here’s what to watch for at the three-day summit:

All eyes on Biden

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20768/arab-league-whitewashing-hezbollah

By removing Hezbollah from its terror list, the Arab League has sent a message to Iran and its terror proxies that they have a green light to pursue their terrorist attackers not only against Israel, but also against some of the Arab countries, especially the Gulf states.

Many Lebanese citizens and politicians are convinced that Hezbollah, together with the mullahs in Iran, are determined to destroy Lebanon by dragging it into war with Israel

Every child in Lebanon and the rest of the Middle East knows that the Lebanese army along with UNIFUL forces have failed to secure the border with Israel and combat terrorism.

“What Americans do not know is that there was actually an agreement signed [for energy deals with Lebanon for its sub-sea gas fields] between international companies, including American and European companies, under the umbrella of the ‘Iran Deal.’ All these capitalists who want to make money do not want a war. They want to maintain the status quo [in Lebanon]. … If you put pressure on the Israelis not to take action [against Hezbollah], Hezbollah will reinforce and they will pull another October 7 attack against the north [of Israel]. As for the Lebanese, once Hezbollah is protected from Israel, Hezbollah will go and finish the Christians, Druze, [and] Sunnis who oppose Hezbollah.” – Walid Phares, Middle East expert, X.com, July 2, 2024

In a surprise and controversial move, the Arab League, which has 22 member states, announced last month that it no longer classifies the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon as a terrorist organization. The announcement was made by Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League, Hossam Zaki, who recently visited the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Zaki explained that previous decisions of the Arab League to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization “led to cutting off communication with it.”

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20745/iran-hitler-nuclear-bombs

The Iranian regime is rapidly pursuing acquiring nuclear weapons. This breakout must be prevented.

Iran is already supplying terror groups — Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis — with ballistic missiles. Presumably to hide behind “plausible deniability,” Iran’s regime does not seem particularly shy about arming these militias abroad with advanced weaponry. Why wouldn’t it equip these groups with nuclear weapons as well?

Iran’s regime has made no secret of its desire to annihilate Israel (“Death to Israel!”) on the way to annihilating the United States (“Death to America!”). The mullahs doubtless just see Israel as standing in the way.

From Iran’s perspective, Israel, smaller than New Jersey, is, as former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani indicated, a “one-bomb” country: “[T]he employment of even one atomic bomb inside Israel will wipe it off the face of the earth, but [such a bomb] would only do damage to the Islamic World.”

Consider the scenario where not just Iran’s proxies, but other allies of Iran — such as Venezuela or Cuba — are equipped with nuclear weapons.

Does anyone imagine if Hamas had possessed nuclear weapons when they sent a “huge barrage of rockets” and bulldozed their way into Israel on October 7, 2023, that they would have hesitated to use them?

The proliferation of nuclear weapons poses an existential threat not only to Israel but, of course, creates a broader, more unpredictable global security crisis.

Immediate action is needed to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons… It is an intervention that should have been undertaken many years ago, but was unfortunately thwarted by the Obama administration. Any further delay can only lead to catastrophic consequences for international stability.

The Iranian regime is rapidly pursuing acquiring nuclear weapons. This breakout must be prevented. Iran’s regime poses a danger at least as dangerous as Hitler’s if he had possessed them. Given the Iranian leadership’s ideological extremism, combined with its strategic ambitions and regional influence, the potential for regional and global instability that could result cannot be overstated. Allowing Iran to obtain nuclear weapons will simply increase the risk of a Middle Eastern nuclear arms race and devastating global conflicts.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/07/05/the-true-story-of-this-election-populism-is-here-to-stay/

There has been an earthquake in British politics, reporters say. Everyone from the Guardian to the Sun to CNN is reaching for the metaphor of shifting tectonic plates to describe Labour’s victory over the Tories in the General Election. And in a sense they’re right. The political ground has shaken. Rumblings have been felt. But it wasn’t drab, grey Labour that did it – it was the millions of voters who rejected both Labour and the Tories and in the process delivered one of the most devastating sucker punches to the political duopoly in decades.

To see the true quake, you need to look beyond Labour’s mirage-like landslide. As is now becoming clear, Labour has not been swept to power on anything like a wave of public enthusiasm. On the contrary, it won its 412 seats on the second lowest electoral turnout since 1885, and more as a result of people’s exhaustion with the Tories than their love for Sir Keir. No, it is those who refused to vote Labour who have brilliantly unsettled British politics. It is those who took a punt on Nigel Farage’s Reform party who have planted a bomb in the political landscape that will not be easily defused.

For me, the most fascinating stat of the election is the share of the vote received by Labour and the Tories. Labour won around 34 per cent of vote, the Tories around 24 per cent. Let’s leave to one side what a lame landslide it is if only 34 per cent of the people who could be bothered to vote put an X in your box. More striking is the fact that the combined vote share of Labour and the Tories, the parties that have dominated British politics for a century, was 58 per cent. That is staggeringly – and, if you will allow me, hilariously – low.

To put it in historical context: at the last General Election, in 2019, their combined vote share was 75.8 per cent. In 2017 it was even higher: 82.4 per cent. In the elections of the 2000s it hovered around 70 per cent. Why has it now dropped to less than 60 per cent, giving rise to the possibility that in the next few years the two parties that have run this country for decades might see their combined vote drop to less than half of all votes cast? Largely, because of Reform. And a few independents, too. Reform’s vote share is around 14 per cent, enough to shatter the Labour / Tory duopoly and to unravel the two big parties’ arrogant belief that they and they alone have a right to rule.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20742/uganda-islamic-militants-isis

In recent years, Uganda has faced a growing threat from radical Islamic groups, notably “Allied Democratic Forces — National Army for the Liberation of Uganda” (ADF-NALU) and the Islamic State (ISIS) — which have targeted Christians and escalated security concerns.

“ADF-NALU has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Meanwhile, ISIS has also claimed responsibility for various attacks.” – Uganda: full country dossier, Open Doors, March 2024.

Uganda and other African nations — especially Sudan, Nigeria, Algeria, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ivory Coast, Mali, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritania, Cameroon, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Tanzania — are increasingly suffering at the hands of radical Islamists. They are proof of how much even majority non-Muslim, secular nations are vulnerable at the hands of jihadist groups. To prevent jihadists from massacring, abusing or enslaving non-Muslims, and taking over the continent, countries need immediately to crack down on all extremist groups. Do not grant them space to operate.

June 16 marked the one-year anniversary of a sickening terror attack at a Christian boarding school in western Uganda, in which Islamist terrorists murdered 42 people.

On June 16, 2023, the Islamist “Allied Democratic Forces” (ADF), based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), invaded the compound of the private Mpondwe Lhubiriha Secondary School in Uganda’s Kasese District.

Islamic militants firebombed student dormitories; students fleeing the fire were either gunned down or hacked to death with machetes. Students trapped in the dormitories burned to death as the terrorists shouted “Allahu akbar!” (“Allah is the greatest!”). Some of the victims’ bodies, burnt beyond recognition, required DNA testing to identify them. Six students were kidnapped.

https://www.aol.com/news/labour-party-set-end-14-215636362.html

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak conceded defeat to the opposition Labour Party as voters in the UK general election delivered a devastating verdict on 14 years of Conservative rule.

As results poured in from around the UK, the center-left Labour Party was on course to win Britain’s general election by a landslide. Party leader Keir Starmer celebrated the victory in front of supporters at the Tate Modern art gallery in London. “Change begins now. It feels good, I have to be honest,” he said.

Sunak said he had called Starmer to congratulate him, and added that he took personal responsibility for the crushing defeat. “I am sorry,” Sunak said after becoming one of a lonely band of Conservative figures to retain their seats.

An exit poll predicted that Labour would win 410 seats, while the Conservatives will drop to just 131 seats, a rejection of the ruling party by Britain’s electorate that had been anticipated for months.

“The Labour Party has won this general election,” Sunak said. “The British people have delivered a sobering verdict tonight. There is much to learn and reflect on, and I take responsibility for the loss,” he said.

Reform UK, an insurgent rightwing populist party led by Nigel Farage, was on course to take a handful of seats – and split the right-wing vote around the country, contributing to the Conservatives’ defeat. “This, folks, is huge,” Farage said in video message, shortly before it was announced he had won his first seat in the UK parliament.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/07/02/the-green-partys-bigotry-problem-is-far-worse-than-reforms/

There’s a political party in the UK that is fielding candidates who seem to have ‘praised’ the slaughter of hundreds of members of an ethnic group. This party has put forward candidates for the 4 July General Election who appear to have favourably compared racist murderers to the French Resistance. It’s a party with candidates who allegedly accused victims of racist violence of bringing the violence on themselves in a bid to win some pity. What awful party is this? What dreadful organisation might have such bigotry coursing through its ranks? It must be Reform, right? No. It’s the Greens.

We need to talk about the Green Party’s anti-Semitism problem. All the comments mentioned above – the praising of bigoted violence, the likening of such violence to resistance – were made by Green Party candidates in the wake of Hamas’s 7 October pogrom. The world witnessed the worst act of anti-Jewish violence since the Holocaust and these people were crowing about Hamas’s ‘freedom to resist’. More importantly – far more importantly – we need to talk about why the Greens’ seeming Jew problem has caused far less concern in chattering-class circles than Reform’s handful of mad candidates who’ve said vile things about black and Asian people. It’s the most glaring double standard of this election, and it demands interrogation.

Election followers will be keenly aware of the racist invective that has been spouted on the fringes of Reform. For the simple reason that it is never out of the headlines. Everywhere you look there is media fury over ‘Reform’s racism’. Every time party leader Nigel Farage appears on TV he is grilled about the bigoted tweets and hateful blather of some of his candidates.

And, to be clear, dreadful utterances have been made. A Reform campaigner in Clacton, where Farage hopes to be elected to parliament, was filmed by an undercover journalist referring to Rishi Sunak as a ‘Paki’. The Reform candidate for Barnsley North reportedly said black people should ‘get off [their] lazy arses’ and stop acting ‘like savages’. Another allegedly referred to the people arriving on small boats as ‘scum’. Another seemed to make sneering comments about the IQ of sub-Saharan Africans. The Clacton campaigner and these three candidates have now all been unceremoniously dumped by Reform, and quite right too. Language like this has no place in 21st-century Britain.

But here’s what I want to know: why is the racism of a small number of Reform-linked people hogging the headlines while the horrific post-pogrom commentary of certain Green candidates is being treated as a small, troubling affair, at best? Or to put it another way: why has there been more cappuccino-spilling in right-think circles over that Reform candidate’s gross likening of black people to ‘savages’ than there has been over some Greens’ seeming sympathy for the real-world savagery visited on Israelis by Hamas? Is saying the word ‘savage’ worse in these people’s minds than praising the savagery of fascistic violence? If so, I’d hate to see the state of their moral compasses.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/irans-gulag-archipelago/

More news of Iran’s brutal crackdown on dissidents — from murders during protests to death sentences and torture. “Two Iranian Protesters Face Charges Punishable by Death,” Iran International, June 30, 2024:

Eight detainees from Iran’s 2022 nationwide uprising following Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody were tried in a Revolutionary Court on Sunday, with some facing charges punishable by death.

The individuals—Nasim Gholami Simiyari, Hamidreza Sahlabadi, Amin Sokhanvar, Ali Harati Mokhtari, Hossein Mohammad Hosseini, Amir Shah-Velayati, Ehsan Ravazjian, and Hossein Ardestani—were tried by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.

Among them, Gholami Simiyari and Sahlabadi faced charges of “armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic,” which can lead to harsh sentences including the death penalty.

During the court session, Gholami Simiyari denied all charges, stating that her confessions were coerced through pressure and torture by security officers, and prolonged solitary confinement….

Another case in Iran: Mona Bakhtiari, whose 27-year-old brother, Pouya Bakhtiari, was shot in the head by Iran’s police during the 2019 wave of pro-democracy protests, reports that her mother, Nahid Shirpisheh, is being harshly beaten in prison. At least 1,500 people were killed by regime security forces in 2019.

Bakhtiari says that the Ministry of Intelligence summoned her mother two months ago, demanding she confess on camera that her son Pouya was a “troublemaker who intended to shoot at officers.”