RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/kremlin-officials-war-games-are-largest-in-decades/

This year’s annual Russian war games, which begin on Tuesday, will be the largest since Ronald Reagan was inaugurated during the Cold War, Kremlin defense minister Sergey Shoygu claimed to NBC News Monday.

The military exercises, called Vostok 2018 by the Russian government, will put to use almost 300,000 troops, over 1,000 airplanes, helicopters, and drones, as many as 80 ships, and 36,000 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other vehicles, Russian officials said. They will take place in Siberia and Russia’s Far East, and are a necessary response to the “current international situation, which is often aggressive and unfriendly,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

China will also send a military contingent to participate jointly in the exercises. NATO was made aware of the drills months ago, officials said.

Back in June, the U.S. led NATO drills involving 18,000 troops from 19 countries, most of them NATO members, in the Baltic states and Poland. But U.S. Army Europe denied the war games were a “provocation of Russia” and said they were meant to “demonstrate the commitment and solidarity of the alliance.”

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12959/turkey-prisons-torture-sexual-abuse

Inmates in a jail in Şanlıurfa in southeast Turkey tell of the plight of 27-year-old Uğur Yeloğlu, who they say has been isolated and tortured so badly since his imprisonment seven months ago that his level of functioning is like that of a baby.

Yeloğlu was arrested in Istanbul in January for allegedly “aiding a terrorist organization.” His lawyer, Abdülkadir Aslan, said that in spite of the many months his client has been in jail, his indictment has not yet been prepared by prosecutors: “The investigation file is also marked ‘confidential,’ so we do not know what it contains.”

“Prisoners are beaten up and sometimes killed, when they refuse to roll-call standing up, give military salute, reject strip searches, or ask to see a doctor.” — Report by the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

In the early 2000s, after the Justice and Development Party (AKP) first came to power in Turkey, its leader, then Prime Minister (now President) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, proclaimed a policy of “zero tolerance” for torture.

In June of this year, Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül repeated the same mantra. “We — as the AKP government — are implementing a policy of zero tolerance for torture,” he said.

Statements by many prisoners, their lawyers and human-rights defenders, however, tell a much different story; victim and witness accounts reveal that torture and other forms of unlawful abuse are increasingly widespread in Turkish jails and prisons. Inmates in a jail in Şanlıurfa in southeast Turkey, for example, tell of the plight of 27-year-old Uğur Yeloğlu, who they say has been isolated and tortured so badly since his imprisonment seven months ago that his level of functioning is like that of a baby. He has apparently lost his memory and is unable to walk, or even eat, on his own. In addition, these inmates said, the prison’s healthcare staff are lax in their treatment of him.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/swedens-political-warning-1536531909

Swedes went to the polls on Sunday and although it will take some time for a ruling coalition to emerge, the biggest immediate winner appears to be the party that won’t form a government. The Sweden Democrats, born as a far-right political movement and now an anti-immigration party, garnered a little under 18% of the vote. That third-place finish is their best electoral result.

The governing party is still likely to be either the first-place center-left Social Democrats or the second-place center-right Moderate Party, the anchors of Swedish politics for decades. But they will govern with reduced vote tallies, and no coalition is likely to enjoy a majority in parliament.

As in so many recent European elections, the authority of mainstream parties is eroding. The Moderates were the biggest losers Sunday compared to 2014, down 3.5 points to 20%. The ruling Social Democrats have been hemorrhaging voters for years. Their better-than-expected result Sunday is that they finished at 28%, three percentage points down from the last election but well shy of the 40% tally they used to achieve.

The Sweden Democrats have won over many disaffected working-class voters, as the party’s share of the vote has risen from under 6% in 2010. Others have shifted to the Left coalition, a far-left faction whose vote total also rose more than two percentage points Sunday.

Many commentators—and more than a few Swedish and European Union politicians—will mourn growing support for the “far right” by Sweden’s historically tolerant voters. That misses much of the story.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/09/opinions/systemic-corruption-and-security-nikki-haley/index.html

On December 17, 2010, one young man took a stand against corruption, and changed the course of history. Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26 year-old fruit vendor in Tunisia, set himself on fire to protest the harassment he faced from government officials, who confiscated his products and kept him from making a living.
Bouazizi’s tragic act of desperation touched a deep chord. People were fed up living under a dictator who treated his country’s treasury like his own personal bank account. A month later, Tunisia had risen up, and the reign of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was over. Shortly thereafter, protests broke out across the Middle East, and the Arab Spring had begun.

All too often, we think of corruption as a low-level problem — like the cop that demands a bribe to let someone off, or the bureaucrat who demands an extra “tip” before granting a permit.
But corruption goes far beyond a few individual bad actors. In too many places, the state exists mostly to enrich the ruler and a tiny circle of cronies at the top. When that happens, just like Tunisia in 2010, the effects can be dramatic.
Regimes that appeared stable can suddenly crumble when corruption fuels popular uprisings. That was true for Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine, who stole billions of dollars before the people declared enough was enough. The same sentiment toppled regimes in Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.
In all of these cases, protests took the world by sur

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12982/death-punishment-disbelief

“I was beaten and taken to a bathroom. I asked what was my mistake, and they [the police] replied that I was his cousin…. Later they asked me to pull his pants down and sodomize him. I refused.” — Christian man, Pakistan.

“One of the Boko Haram said, ‘You’re not ready to convert to Islam, so I’m going to teach you a lesson.'” He then proceeded to drown her 3-year-old son Jonathan in a nearby river. — Nigeria.

“The equality that is named as a law in the Constitution of Egypt disappears before Article 2 of the Constitution, which stipulates that Islamic law is the main source of legislation.” — Fadi, a Coptic lawyer, Egypt.

The jihadi assault on, and massacre of, Christians continued unabated throughout the Muslim word. According to one report titled, “Armed gangs WIPE OUT 15 villages in mass Christian slaughter in Nigeria,” several Islamic terrorists “stormed through 15 villages to massacre Christians and destroy their churches in a violent crackdown against the religion…. Dozens of people have been killed after the gangs ransacked towns and villages to clear them of all aspects of the Christian faith. Houses belonging to believers have also been razed with authorities doing little to help…” According to a human rights activist, “One attack took place in broad daylight, as people were about to go to church. The assailants chased and killed the villagers and burned down nine churches and many more houses.”

An open letter to Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari lamented that since he came to power, the plight of Christians has gone from bad to worse: 16,000 Christians have been killed—many in the name of jihad—since June 2015, when Buhari became president. The letter states:

“… the estimated 30 million Christians in Northern Nigeria who form the largest minority in a predominantly Muslim environment, have for decades, suffered marginalization and discrimination as well as targeted violence especially in the hands of organized mob violence and violent groups such as Boko Haram and Fulani Herdsmen.

“Hundreds of churches in Northern Nigeria particularly Northeast and North-central Nigeria as well as Southern part of Kaduna State which is predominant Christian population have also been burnt or destroyed with estimated 16,000 defenseless citizens composed of mostly Christian population killed across the country since June 2015 when Mr. President became Nigeria’s sixth civilian President. The estimated 16, 000 defenseless civilian deaths outside the law include 5,800 mostly Christians killed by terror Fulani Herdsmen and Boko Haram since June 2015.”

A Christian woman, Rebecca Bitrus, shared her experiences as a former captive of the jihadi group Boko Haram. After she and her two young children were abducted during a raid on a Christian village, they were taken to a forest where the terrorists attempted to force her to convert to Islam, but she refused.

https://amgreatness.com/2018/09/09/immigration-

Angela Merkel’s dastardly decision to throw open Germany’s borders to more than 1 million mainly Syrian migrants in 2015 didn’t quite go as planned.

The German Chancellor’s grandiloquent gesture meant to exorcise German history once and for all instead cleaved through the middle of a once-reliably measured and “open” nation.

Even in Germany, where most people one meets will insist with conviction that any stance outside of the squishy center is “extreme,” the migration question has exposed the chasm between rulers and the ruled.

Last week saw violent protests engulf the eastern city of Chemnitz, where a 35-year-old carpenter was stabbed to death. Two suspects are in custody. One suspect is Syrian, and the other Iraqi.

Famed German tolerance, the kind Merkel drew upon when declaring, “Wir schaffen das”—We can do this—has boiled dry, in Chemnitz at least.

As always, social media disfigured the protests, echo-chambering and manicuring events to suit both extremes. As always, the simplistic tapestry of black and white is more a shade of gray. What started as a demonstration of grief, was soon hijacked by the mirroring of extreme Left and Right.

Ghastly images of troglodytic Nazi bootboys joined in violent communion with, of course, their black-clad Antifa cousins, peppered paper and pixel. Both groups are execrable to anyone with an IQ above that of processed cheese.

Surely this is the most comprehensive list of the ongoing destruction of Western civilization throughout Europe that has ever been assembled. It is impossible to read all of this – but even a fast-paced scroll gives you all of the information you need…..C.Baker

UNITED KINGDOM

NHS staff crisis as 25% of student nurses drop out; With the National Health Service (NHS) struggling to cope with a huge shortfall of nurses – estimated at 40,000 in England alone – the issue is more pressing than ever.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1012134/NHS-staff-crisis-25-percent-student-nurses-drop-out

Scotland’s nurses at ‘breaking point’ as vacancies rise to record levels; more than one in 20 nursing and midwifery posts in NHS Scotland are vacant – the highest ever level.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/09/04/scotlands-nurses-breaking-point-vacancies-rise-record-levels/

Number of doctors opting for early retirement doubles, amid pension clampdown; Medics blamed stress, and said they were increasingly overloaded

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/04/number-doctors-opting-early-retirement-doubles-amid-pension/

FEARS are mounting over a new “Manchester-style attack” – after the defence secretary warned about links between UK terror cells and Islamic State fighters regrouping in Afghanistan; government acknowledged threats posed by links between the emerging threat in that country and terror cells in the UK.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1012327/UK-terror-warning-Islamic-State-Manchester-attack-terrorist-attack

FINALLY! British jihadists who fight with ISIS in warzones to face 10 years in jail; A total of 360 jihadists were allowed to go free, after officials deemed there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them; Javid has called for an amendment to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Bill, calling for measures to imprison any Briton travelling to terror-ridden countries without reasonable grounds.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/09/06/returning-british-jihadists-could-face-ten-years-prison/

Two men accused of jointly plotting a terror attack were attempting to manufacture an explosive device involving a DRIVERLESS CAR to spare their own lives; the pair were supporters of terrorist organisation Islamic State; three air rifles, two Samurai swords, a wine bottle full of sulphuric acid, homemade fireworks, gunpowder, and “a variety of improvised homemade fuses” were discovered at their properties

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/terrorism-plot-driverless-car-explosive-device-bomb-chesterfield-sheffield-a8523101.html

Paramedics furious as ‘senseless’ thugs pelt ambulance with eggs and flour while on call in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1012831/Peterborough-news-Ambulance-pelted-with-eggs-and-flour-while-on-call-out

SCARRED FOR LIFE: Acid attacks in the UK – where have they been carried out and is London the worst affected city?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4016850/acid-attacks-uk-london-statistics-westbourne-grove/

Seventeen men and a woman have appeared in court charged with offences linked to child sexual exploitation in West Yorkshire; The Muslim group are among 31 people accused of offences including the rape and trafficking of five girls, aged 12 to 18, in the Huddersfield area between 2005 and 2012.

https://www.thesouthafrican.com/debt-colonialism

China has just offered Africa another $60 billion for emerging economic developments, but is this a slight of hand aimed at funnelling out the continent’s resources, or is it a sincere gesture of assistance?

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has vehemently denied accusations insinuating Chinese neo-colonialism taking root in Africa. Even Chinese President, Xi Jinping, rebuked the notion of ulterior motives, telling African leaders his country’s investments in the continent have “no political strings attached”.
China in South Africa

This may be so – but the question needs to be asked, what does China hope to gain from these costly investments in Africa?

In August, China pledged R196 billion to South Africa, during the 10th annual BRICS summit which was held in Johannesburg. A portion of these funds is set to assist embattled state-owned enterprises, Eskom and Transnet.

While foreign investment in South Africa is surely appreciated, especially considering Ramaphosa’s target of $100 billion, questions regarding the payback have not gone unnoticed.

Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Mmusi Maimane, has requested the president to disclose conditions on the loan agreement before parliament, saying:

“If the President is confident that the agreement is in the best interest of the South African people, he will surely accede to our request.

It is difficult to imagine that the Chinese Development Bank approved a R33 billion loan to Eskom with no strings attached. Eskom is in dire financial straits and made a R2.3 billion loss in the last financial year.”

Is China practising debt-colonialism?