RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-iranian-regime-is-hollowing-out/

Trump claims he would “prefer” that an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities not happen. But it’s up to Iran. If it refuses to negotiate, as Ayatollah Khamenei now insists, then Israel will have no choice but to attack, and Trump will have no choice but to support and aid the Israelis, by providing both those 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs, as those Massive Ordnance Penetrators, or MOPs, are known, and the bombers big enough to deliver them.

Since Israel’s airstrikes on October 26, 2024 that destroyed Iran’s anti-missile systems, Iran has been threatening to wreak a terrible vengeance on the Jewish state. But nearly four months have passed, and Iran has not dared to launch a single missile, rocket, or drone at Israel. Its threats are empty; its boasts those of a miles gloriosus, a braggart warrior. The more it threatens to destroy its enemy, Israel, the more ridiculous Iran becomes in the eyes of the world. More on Iran’s hollow bravado — akin to the frog that puffs itself up to ward off predators — can be found here: “Iran Says Israel, US ‘Cannot Do a Damn Thing’ Against Tehran,” Algemeiner, February 17, 2025:

Iran has claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes rather than building weapons. However, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported in December that Iran had greatly accelerated uranium enrichment to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level, at its Fordow site dug into a mountain.

Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA, has been warning about Iran’s rush to enrich uranium up to a level just below weapons-grade, a development by the Iranians that only makes sense if they are determined to manufacture nuclear weapons. There is no civilian use for uranium enriched to that level.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21441/south-africa-congo

It turns out that while the South African soldiers were fighting for their lives in what might now be considered a “suicide mission”, their military leaders were busy playing golf thousands of kilometers away.

Unfortunately, the ineptitude of South Africa’s top military echelon and ministers of defense is only a symptom of abysmal political rule by the ANC, governing the country for the last 30 years. It seems that almost every decision they make is a catastrophe.

Added to this systemic incompetence is wide-spread corruption among politicians. It is so bad that many ANC ministers have periodically been accused, charged, or faced allegations of it.

White farmers are murdered at a rate four times the national average – one every five days. In 2019, for instance, more than 1,000 individual farmers were attacked. Some political parties allege that farm killings “can justifiably be viewed as genocide” and have accused the police of suppressing official figures that indicate a “drastic increase” in farm assaults and murders.

In criticizing Trump publicly, it is not exactly clear which planet Ramaphosa and the ANC believe they live on. Adopting that attitude, as the world witnessed last week during the US president’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, might be self-destructive and highly detrimental to the people of South Africa.

South Africa’s defiant attitude escalated further when the ANC indicated an intention to increase its nuclear power capacity and permit Iran and Russia to tender for the project – in blatant violation of US law.

“Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in Goma in recent days” reported Vivian van de Perre, Deputy Head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in central Africa. Goma is the capital and largest city of the DRC’s North Kivu Province.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/migrant-occupation-of-paris-theater-turns-explosive/

Back in mid-January, I wrote about the takeover of Paris’ Gaîté Lyrique theatre, one of the French capital’s most historic arts venues, by more than 250 west African migrants. They had been invited by the theatre’s Left-wing management to attend a free conference the previous month titled “Reinventing the Welcome for Refugees in France.” When the conference ended, the migrants reinvented this welcoming gesture by refusing to leave, and their numbers grew to over 300 as sanitary conditions worsened by the day. The multiculturalist management refused to throw them out in the dead of winter, because the Left prioritizes non-Western illegals over even their own survival; so the theatre instead canceled all performances indefinitely, driving it toward bankruptcy after an estimated “several hundred thousand euros in direct losses” of ticket sales.

Businesses surrounding the 19th century venue were and are being impacted as well. The manager of the popular bistro next door reported €30,000 in lost revenue at the time of my previous article. “They are ruining my business,” the bistro owner, herself the daughter of Algerian migrants, told reporters:

They hang around outside my terrace, smoking joints and fighting among themselves. Not only do we no longer get theatregoers because the theatre is shut but we don’t get passers-by either. They’re being frightened away by all these young men.

The theatre is owned by the City of Paris, which is dominated by Socialists and Greens, so they blame government inaction instead of the squatters themselves or instead of taking responsibility for having literally ushered them in, but President Macron’s cabinet reportedly has ignored a request to intercede.

As one would expect, especially because the self-righteous theater Leftists have been “welcoming and sheltering the occupants” throughout this debacle rather than having them evicted, things have only deteriorated from there. Now the theater managers are set to abandon the building because the situation has become so “explosive,” surrender has become their only option.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21440/persecution-of-christians-january

“Typically, kidnapped girls in Pakistan, some as young as 10, are abducted, forced to convert to Islam and raped under cover of Islamic ‘marriages’ and are then pressured to record false statements in favor of the kidnappers, rights advocates say. Judges routinely ignore documentary evidence related to the children’s ages, handing them back to kidnappers as their ‘legal wives.’ — Morning Star News, February 7, 2025, Pakistan.

In just the three weeks between Christmas 2024 and these attacks of Jan. 15, at least 128 Christians have been slaughtered in the North Kivu region alone. — Congo.

“Paki establishment has created a nation where the rights of minorities are trampled upon with alarming regularity. By empowering hardline groups and allowing them free rein, the Army has nurtured a culture of extremism that targets Christians, Hindus, Ahmadis, and other minorities with brutal precision…. Police rarely act to protect victims, while legal loopholes and vague religious laws, such as the infamous blasphemy law, are weaponized against them. These tools of oppression serve not only to silence dissent but also to provide cover for the perpetrators of violence. In the case of minority girls, the judicial system often works to retain victims against their will, legitimizing forced conversions and marriages under the pretext of religious freedom. This legal framework is no accident—it is the product of an establishment that has long relied on radical Islamists as a tool of power. These alliances have turned Pakistan into a hotbed of extremism, destabilizing not just its internal fabric but the entire region. The unchecked violence against minorities is not an aberration but the inevitable outcome of decades of Army-sponsored radicalization.” — News Intervention, January 7, 2025, Pakistan.

“There is also a new emphasis on targeting Coptic women who suffer physical or mental health problems, which make them doubly vulnerable. This enables the abductors to create confusion regarding the circumstances of a disappeared Coptic girl, creating a narrative of a love story utilizing existing relationships and communications, despite orchestrating the entire situation…” — Coptic Solidarity, January 29, 2025, Egypt.

Court documents make clear that these sentencings revolve around religion. — Iran.

According to multiple sources, non-Muslim students, many of whom are Christian, are being “subjected to a variety of tactics designed to induce conversion.” — Malaysia.

“Somalia’s constitution establishes Islam as the state religion and prohibits the propagation of any other religion, according to the U.S. State Department. It also requires that laws comply with sharia (Islamic law) principles, with no exceptions in application for non-Muslims. The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to mainstream schools of Islamic jurisprudence. An Islamic extremist group in Somalia, Al Shabaab, is allied with Al Qaeda and adheres to the teaching.” — Morning Star News, February 7, 2025.

“Christians in Indonesia say they are routinely pressured to make extra payments known as ‘grease’ to local officials or residents in order to obtain construction permits in the 83.3-percent Muslim country. When Muslim residents opposed to the St. Anthony church construction demonstrated in the street, one Catholic commented on social media, ‘Those who demonstrate do it because there was no grease available.'” — Morning Star News, February 8, 2025.

According to an Indonesian attorney speaking on condition of anonymity, this “grease” is “a kind of bribery paid to protestors to keep them from blocking church construction, though not legally acknowledged even when it is paid in full view of police.”

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21435/iran-regime-diplomacy-deals

The Islamic of Republic of Iran is a revolutionary state, deeply committed to an ideological mission that transcends conventional diplomacy. Its very core identity is rooted in anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, and the goal of exporting its revolutionary ideals worldwide.

This ideological foundation is not just some negotiable policy but an unshakable pillar of the regime’s existence. If the Islamic Republic were to abandon these principles, it would not merely be modifying its foreign policy — it would be dismantling its own identity. The regime cannot and will not abandon its hostility toward the United States and Israel; doing so would strip it of the very ideology that justifies its rule.

The Western dream has been that economic benefits, integration into the global system, and negotiations could push Iran to abandon its radical policies and support for terrorist groups. Iran, however, has mostly used negotiations as a tool to buy time, secure economic relief, then continue its military buildup. Iran’s regime has never wavered from its core mission, which is to spread its revolutionary Islamist ideology and challenge the global order that it views as corrupt and dominated by the West.

Iran’s constitution explicitly enshrines its mission to export its revolution abroad. Article 11 states that the government “considers the continuation of the Islamic Revolution at home and abroad as its duty.” Article 154 states that the Islamic Republic “supports the just struggles of the oppressed against the arrogant everywhere in the world.” This language is not mere rhetoric; it is the foundation upon which the entire state apparatus operates.

The regime’s founding mullah, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, made clear that the Islamic Republic’s ultimate goal is to unite the Muslim world under its own Islamist governance: “We shall export our revolution to the whole world. Until the cry ‘There is no god but Allah’ resounds over the whole world, there will be struggle.” This ideology is the regime’s very essence. To abandon it would mean abandoning the Islamic Republic itself. That is why Iran’s rulers will never truly compromise, regardless of how many sanctions are lifted or how many agreements are signed.

The world ignored similar signs from Nazi Germany in the 1930s, perhaps in the wish that appeasement would prevent a greater catastrophe. We know how that ended. Iran’s current regime, sadly, will never be a friend to the United States, to Israel, or to the free world — no matter what it is given.

For more than four decades, some policymakers in the United States and the West have clung to the belief that Iran’s regime can be persuaded into cooperation through diplomatic engagement, economic incentives or strategic deals. This persistent delusion has driven various US administrations to pursue negotiations, lift sanctions, shower Iran with cash, and offer it reintegration into the global financial system — all in the hope that such gestures would encourage moderation.

The regime’s record, however, has repeatedly proven the opposite. Regardless of the strategies employed to engage it, Iran’s regime remains intractably hostile to the United States, Israel and the broader Western world.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21438/syria-kidnapping-torturing-christians

After forces from the al-Qaeda affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group conquered Damascus and overthrew Syria’s Assad regime in December 2024, they urged the residents of the Valley of the Christians to surrender any weapons they kept for self-defense, telling them that civilians would not be harmed. Since the jihadists’ takeover of Syria, however, around 500,000 Christians in the country have been faced with increased persecution and abductions

On February 16, more Christians… were abducted from another village in the area. Their kidnappers, according to sources on the ground, are torturing them.

“HTS’s successive renamings and ‘rebrandings’ appear to echo al-Qaeda’s own strategy in Syria of establishing branches and presenting them as locally-grown organizations arising in response to Syrians’ needs…” — US Commission on International Religious Freedom, November 2022.

Al-Sharaa recently started dressing in a suit and tie, and is now presenting himself to the West as a “moderate.” He has spoken of plans to form an inclusive transitional government representing diverse communities that will build institutions and run the country until it can hold free and fair elections. In schoolbooks, however, his government has been replacing the word “law” with “sharia,” and has been using Islamic teaching to recruit the country’s new army.

“Under HTS-control in Idlib, Christian clergy are not allowed to walk outside in any clothing that makes them recognisable as priests or pastors. Crosses have been removed from church buildings.” — Open Doors, December 2024.

“Islam does not tolerate other cultures.” — “Christina,” a Greek Christian in Syria, to Gatestone, January 2025.

“The new Syria should not be established without parties that represent the minority groups in the country, such as Christians, Kurds, Druze, and Alawites. The official recognition and acceptance of the jihadists by Western governments is like placing swords on the necks of Christians in particular and everyone who disagrees with them in general.” – “Christina,” a Greek Christian in Syria, to Gatestone, January 2025.

Sadly, the persecution of Christians in Syria’s “Valley of the Christians” (Wadi al-Nasara), overwhelmingly inhabited by Greeks originally from Antioch, has been escalating. Antioch is a city in today’s Turkey (now known as Antakya), near the country’s border with Syria. It is among the Turkish cities from which, in the last century, Greeks were forcibly expelled.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/the-talibanization-of-bangladesh/

Bangladesh’s interim government, supported by the country’s most radical Islamic groups, is struggling with a host of issues which have led to human rights violations and restrictions of its citizens’ freedoms.

After a mass uprising (hijacked by Islamists) ended her 15-year rule, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5, 2024. The interim government is headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who returned from the US to work as Bangladesh’s caretaker.

Since then, Islamic attacks against religious minorities have surged. Women football matches have been cancelled due to Islamist pressure. Actors and authors are obstructed from carrying out their professional activities. Journalists face threats from attacks, investigations, and upcoming new cyber laws.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), six months after the country’s regime change, Bangladeshi journalists continue to be threatened and attacked. They also face new fears that planned legislation could undermine press freedom.

“Bangladesh’s interim government has drawn criticism from journalists and media advocates for its January introduction of drafts of two cyber ordinances: the Cyber Protection Ordinance 2025 (CPO) and Personal Data Protection Ordinance 2025. According to the Global Network Initiative, the draft of CPO gives the government ‘disproportionate authority’ to access user data and impose restrictions on online content. Journalists are also concerned that the proposed data law will give the government ‘unchecked powers’ to access personal data, with minimal opportunity for judicial redress.”

Meanwhile, serious attacks on journalists have risen, as evident by beatings carried out by police officers and political activists alike, as well as the storming of newsrooms, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported.

https://www.jns.org/chicago-takes-a-stand-against-islamic-terrorism-and-slavery-in-africa/

Charles Jacobs is president of the African Jewish Alliance and recipient of the Boston Freedom Award from Coretta Scott King for helping to liberate black jihad slaves in Sudan.

Ben Poser is executive editor of White Rose Magazine and research director for the African Jewish Alliance.

Less than a week after 70 Christians were beheaded by terrorists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Chicago City Council resolved, on Feb. 19, to stand with the African victims of Islamic terrorism and modern-day slavery. It is the first American polity to take such a stand.

The effort to bring the matter of jihad massacre and the enslavement of blacks to a major American city was led by a coalition of human rights and abolitionist groups: our African Jewish Alliance, the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON), the Simon Wiesenthal Center, StandWithUs and the Abolition Institute.

Chicago City Alderperson Raymond A. López (D-Ward 5) was the driving force behind a groundbreaking condemnatory resolution against jihad and slavery in Africa. He eloquently promoted it among his colleagues and persuaded 41 of the other alderpersons, out of 50 members, to sign on.

The resolution’s final, adopted text expressed the Chicago City Council’s denunciation of the “ongoing enslavement of Africans within some Arab states by radical terrorist organizations,” calling it a “violation of international humanitarian law and a crime against humanity.” It included a statement calling for America’s third most populous city to “stand in solidarity with all victims of slavery including the people of Sudan, South Sudan, Nigeria and Mauritania, who have endured centuries of oppression and enslavement.”

The day before the full city council vote, African eyewitnesses testified before the Committee on Health and Human Relations. The presentations were raw and emotional.

Stephen Enada, director of ICON, the leading Nigerian American organization in the United States, described how terror has spread throughout much of his country. “Nigeria may be the worst place on Earth to be a Christian, yet the world remains mostly silent,” he said after his testimony.