RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19704/taqiyya-iran

Iran’s Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “used the Islamic concept of ‘Taqiyya’ to describe the regime’s decision to accept the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal with the West. Taqiyya means the permissibility to deny or conceal one’s real beliefs to secure a worthy goal.” — iranintl.com, May 20, 2023.

“Khamenei’s emphasis on “expediency” as the third principle in foreign policy was particularly notable, as he urged flexibility “in necessary instances” and circumventing “tough barriers” to continue a set course.” — iranintl.com, May 20, 2023

If it was not clear what “heroic flexibility” meant then, it probably should be clear by now. Reports consistently document that Iran has been cheating since day one.

“[Khamenei] said that when a revolution hits a tough rock on its path, it need not break its head against it; the wisest course would be to try and go around it.” — Amir Taheri, “Iran: Heroic Flexibility Returns,” June 4, 2023.

” [A]l- Taqiyya is with the tongue only, (not the heart).” — Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his book, “al-Durr al-Manthoor Fi al-Tafsir al- Ma’athoor,” quoting Ibn Abbas.

Taqiyya is actually all around us. Iran pretends that its nuclear program is just for peaceful purposes. Some Muslim pretend to convert to Christianity (past and present), or an Islamic gunman gains entrance inside a church by feigning interest in Christian prayers.

It should not be surprising, therefore, that Khamenei is relying on taqiyya once again. What is surprising is that the Biden Administration is falling for it – after being told it would be used – and allowing itself to be sucker-punched, or pretending to allow it.

In 1994, PLO leader Yasser Arafat, after he signed the Oslo Accord with Israel, justified his actions by saying, “I see this agreement as being no more than the agreement signed between our Prophet Muhammad and the Quraysh in Mecca”— referring to a truce, the Treaty of Hudaibiyah, which Muhammad broke as soon as he had regained power and was able to attack.

Similarly, Khamenei, by referring to taqiyya in Iran’s agreement to a nuclear deal with the West, is signaling that Iran is only going along for “expediency” — until it finds itself in a position to realize its nuclear aspirations and renege.

[I]s there a single authority representing the West at these international nuclear talks that knows — let alone cares about — any of this? Or is the fix already in?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hong-kong-china-communist-party-glory-to-hong-kong-student-facebook-post-arrest-4ca2e6f3?mod=opinion_lead_pos4

How far will China’s Communist Party go to stifle and punish dissent in Hong Kong? As far as authorities can reach, new developments show.

The first involves “Glory to Hong Kong,” an anthem that arose from the 2019 pro-democracy protests. On Monday the Hong Kong Department of Justiceasked the city’s High Court to issue an injunction on national-security grounds to prohibit anyone from “broadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing” the song “in any way.”

The government added that it’s seeking to restrict sharing of the song “on the internet and/or any media accessible online and/or any internet-based platform or medium.”

Beijing claims its national-security law applies even to speech abroad and to foreigners. Article 43 asserts that authorities can order a “relevant service provider” to hand over communication or delete information. Regulations say Hong Kong can require social-media companies to take down posts deemed a national-security threat, and failing to comply can mean fines or imprisonment.

There is also the recent case involving a 23-year-old Hong Konger studying at a Japanese university. Some two years ago the young woman (whose name hasn’t been released) posted a brief statement on Facebook about independence for Hong Kong, according to the Tokyo-based JiJi Press. Hong Kong authorities arrested her in March when she returned home to renew her ID card.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19702/india-china-border

India feels a giant demon breathing on her shoulder.

The more China strengthens its military and economic power, the more threatened India feels. The main reason is China’s aggressive actions along the China-India border.

Tibet [in 1914] was an independent country that had every right to negotiate border agreements with any bordering countries.

In 1950, China invaded and fully occupied Tibet. Since then, China has been claiming a right to Arunachal Pradesh and denying the Tibet-India agreement. Even though the McMahon Line is the clear boundary between the countries, the dispute between China and India increases as skirmishes flare up. Each time, the region and the world hold their breath.

Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh was the site of one of the meetings in March. However, China did not participate in that meeting and also skipped the meeting held in Kashmir on May 22-24.

Day by day, relations between the two world’s most populous countries, both nuclear powers, continue to deteriorate, with no signs of peace talks in sight.

India feels a giant demon breathing on her shoulder.

https://www.racket.news/p/cover-those-nazi-symbols-please

The New York Times just released a story called “Nazi Symbols on Ukraine’s Front Lines Highlight Thorny Issues of History,” about whether or not it means anything that some Ukrainian soldiers have been photographed wearing Nazi Death’s Head or “Totenkopf” symbols. One passage stands out:

In November, during a meeting with Times reporters near the front line, a Ukrainian press officer wore a Totenkopf variation made by a company called R3ICH (pronounced “Reich”). He said he did not believe the patch was affiliated with the Nazis. A second press officer present said other journalists had asked soldiers to remove the patch before taking photographs.

The institutional obstacles to getting clear information about the war in Ukraine are formidable, from embedding rules barring journalists from entering “red zones” (and requiring escorts in “yellow” areas), to casualties undercounted by officials on both sides, to open use of planted stories, to harassment of voices who go against official messaging. Journalists asking soldiers to remove Nazi patches is a new level of insanity. With the line between propagandist and reporter all but dissolved, how long before embeds are offered NATO uniforms? Who thinks this is a good idea?

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19701/china-space-program-defeat

Far more significant than scoring space spectaculars, however, is the question of which nation will achieve military dominance in the domain of near-earth space. Chinese international media deceitfully stresses the peaceful, cooperative, and scientific nature of its national space program. However, the ambitious nature of China’s space program indicates that Beijing’s primary objective is to dominate near earth space.

China’s PLA is openly preparing for war, particularly in areas where Beijing’s territorial and maritime claims are illegal and hegemonic.

The aggressive nature of China’s space program is particularly obvious in its anti-satellite projects.

The proximity of these Chinese anti-satellite vehicles clearly reveals the mission to degrade and/or blind collection and transmission of intelligence data by US systems. Another Chinese anti-satellite project features a satellite with a grappling hook, designed to capture US satellites as an immediate prelude to war.

Beijing is planning to win a war in space as part of its reported overall objective of replacing the US as the dominant power on earth. One assessment estimates that fully 84% of China’s space launches are military in nature — indicating that the CCP may well be determined to emerge as the only remaining superpower.

It will also most likely be in the dimension of space, as well as biowarfare, that mankind will get a tip-off that a major armed conflict is about to breakout between China and the United States. China at present not only has “killer satellites,” but also reportedly: “Beijing also has rapidly developed an array of space warfare capabilities, including several types of ground-launched anti-satellite missiles capable of hitting satellites in different orbits; ground-based lasers that can blind or damage orbiting satellites; and small robotic satellites capable of maneuvering and grabbing orbiting satellites.”

China will most likely attempt to shut down US intelligence collection, “eyes and ears in the sky,” prior to combat operations on earth. The United States, if an impending military clash seems unavoidable, may be forced to “preemptively retaliate” by disabling China’s intelligence collection and data transmission space-based assets – if it can.

“[I]f the U.S. military doesn’t change course… we’re going to lose fast” — Air Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, the deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements, americanmilitarynews.com, March 11, 2021.

It seems high time that the US increased its defense budget instead of cutting it, prepositioned arms in Taiwan for deterrence, and got serious about acknowledging the Chinese Communist Party, led by President Xi Jinping, not as a “competitor,” but as an adversary, and an intractable one at that.

The US-China “Space Race” is but one dimension of the ongoing Cold War between the two superpowers. The national space programs of both countries are comprehensive in scope, running across the entire scientific spectrum. Both America and China are focused on scoring space spectaculars to influence the world as to which superpower will inherit the future. Each rival is seeking to be the first to land a human on Mars.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19699/pakistan-christian-teenagers-blasphemy

[Police constable Zahid Sohail] alleged that the boys were making fun of each other and were calling a puppy “Muhammad Ali.”

The families of both boys said they have no puppy.

“‘Muhammad Ali’ is the brand name of the Naswar [tobacco] he takes. While both boys were talking about the brand, at the same time Zahid Sohail, a policeman, was passing by and heard them. Without knowing the facts, he started beating the children, saying they were committing blasphemy.” — Samina Nadeem, the mother of Simon.

[B]oth boys have been sent to jail, and nobody knows their fate.

On May 19, a judicial magistrate in Lahore, Pakistan sent two Christian teenagers, Simon Nadeem, 12, and Adil Baber, 18, to jail on judicial remand, after they were charged under Penal Code section 295-C (the blasphemy law).

Both boys were arrested by the police and charged on May 18 after a complaint was made against them by police constable Zahid Sohail.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/catherinesalgado/2023/06/05/wef-talks-gender-equality-in-nigerian-plastics-amid-nigerian-genocide-n1700815

Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be Christian, with thousands killed, kidnapped, or displaced every year by radical Islamic extremists. Fortunately the insidious World Economic Forum (WEF) always has its priorities straight. Its big concern for Nigeria right now is gender representation in the area of “plastic pollution.” Yes, really.

Firstly, I am not, of course, belittling the many Nigerian women who work so hard in bad conditions for little pay picking up and sorting plastics in Nigeria. They absolutely deserve better than what they have. But, let’s face it, gender equity and inclusion is hardly one of the biggest crises facing Nigeria right now. Thousands of men and women are coping with a bloody and catastrophe genocide right now, with those who survive frequently losing their homes. But WEF and the United Nations (UN) don’t really want to talk about that, because they would have to admit that Christians are being mass murdered by Muslims. WEF prefers to address a fake crisis like “global warming”—or woke “inclusion.”

Over 60,000 Nigerian Christians had been killed in the decade-long genocide there as of 2021, and of course the number has increased since. Jihadis reportedly killed 4,000 Nigerian Christians and abducted 2,300 more just in the first 10 months of 2022. Meanwhile, as of May 20, 2023, over 120 Nigerians had been killed and over 20,000 displaced in bloody Plateau State.

WEF published a piece June 1 by Priscilla Achakpa, global gender equality & inclusivity advisor for National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP), and Katherine Gilchrist, global gender equality & inclusivity advisor for GPAP (Global Plastic Action Partnership). These woke, wacky women only briefly referred to the jihadi violence from Boko Haram and other groups tearing Nigeria apart. They had a bigger issue in mind—“equity and inclusion.”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-if-putin-loses-his-war-ukraine-russia-nationalism-slavs-china-defense-e1864e09?mod=opinion_lead_pos10

Nobody this side of paradise knows how Vladimir Putin’s war will end, but Zbigniew Brzezinski identified the stakes in 1994. “Without Ukraine,” he wrote in Foreign Affairs, “Russia ceases to be an empire.”

Mr. Putin couldn’t agree more, and for him and the Russian nationalists clinging to his coattails, Russia is an empire or it is nothing at all.

A Ukrainian victory—which we can describe as an end to the conflict that leaves Ukraine with all or most of its original territory, independent of Moscow and aligned with the West—would be a geopolitical earthquake. The Russia that Europe has known and feared since the 18th century, an immense and looming presence relentlessly bent on expanding westward, will be gone. The consequences would reshape the politics of Europe and the Middle East and define a new era in U.S.-China competition.

Many in the West hoped that the fall of the Soviet Union would have ended the threat of Russian imperialism, but Mr. Putin’s regime was bent on defying the odds. After all, czarist Russia collapsed in World War I and the Communists had to sign the punitive treaty of Brest-Litovsk with imperial Germany, giving up swathes of land and acknowledging the independence of former imperial territories, including Ukraine. Taking advantage of Western divisions and weakness, Lenin reassembled almost the entire empire of Nicholas II, and Stalin seized still more territory to make Moscow a global superpower.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19686/sweden-criminal-gangs

After the Russian invasion of the Ukraine in February 2022, Sweden and Finland abandoned generations of neutrality to apply for membership in the NATO military alliance. However, there is already a gang war going on in Swedish streets, and it has nothing to do with Russia.

[National Police Commissioner Anders] Thornberg estimated that more than 30,000 people are now involved in gang violence in Sweden… According to Thornberg, the situation is “extremely serious,” with organized crime infiltrating and corrupting the democratic society, the business world and the public sector.

Some two million immigrants (20% of the population) now live in Sweden, according to David Jones in the Daily Mail, Many come from the most troubled parts of Asia and Africa and have not integrated well into Swedish society. Rival gangs now shoot each other on a regular basis. In Stockholm alone, 52 gangs are vying for control of the burgeoning drug trade, according to a police report, and they are becoming ever more ruthless. Some child gang members even carry explosives in their school thermos flasks. Jones writes:

“Twenty years ago, gun crime was almost non-existent here.” — David Jones, the Daily Mail, February 10, 2023.

“Ten to fifteen years ago, it was about shoplifting when we were dealing with 14-year-olds, but now they deal in drugs and handle automatic weapons… Older criminals use children to avoid being caught themselves, and for the children, it is a sign of status to be chosen. It starts as a cool thing for a kid who can’t see consequences and ends up getting involved in gang conflicts.”— Police officer who asked to remain anonymous, document.no, March 1, 2023.

When available resources are dedicated to investigating shootings and bombings, other crimes such as burglary or theft have become effectively risk-free. This inversion of law enforcement contributes to a growing sense of lawlessness now being felt by many Swedes. What is the point of having laws if they are not enforced, or only used to punish honest citizens?

Since 2010, shoplifting in Sweden has doubled.

More serious crime is also being ignored or de-prioritized by an understaffed police force. In the city of Uppsala, victims of rape complain that they must wait for months to be interviewed…. Most available police resources are now dedicated to combating criminal gangs.

Swedish schools are also becoming increasingly violent, for teachers and pupils alike. Reports about threats and violence at schools have more than doubled since 2012. These reports mainly concern students who have attacked teachers with threats, punches, or strangulation.

In Malmö, Sweden’s third-largest city, native Swedes are already a minority. The city is experiencing a kind of “white flight.” Many move to smaller towns to find safer environments and schools for their families.

While ownership of rifles for hunting is not uncommon in Sweden, owning guns for self-defence had never, until recently, been a reason to be granted a firearms license.