RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19504/desantis-ukraine

From the start of the conflict one of [Putin’s] key assumptions has been that the Western powers were too weak and divided to sustain their support for the Ukrainian cause, and so it is proving.

This depressing picture will undoubtedly be interpreted by Putin as justifying his view that the West would eventually lose interest in the Ukraine conflict and that, for all the public pledges of support, the Western alliance does not want Ukraine to win after all.

There are also wider global security implications: if Putin is able to get his way. In Ukraine, he will be encouraged in the belief that he can expand his territorial ambitions into other parts of Europe. Other adversaries of the West will not fail to see a second US retreat as yet another vacuum — a green light for their territorial expansion, as well.

For example, an investigation undertaken by the Dossier Centre, a group funded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a long-standing critic of Putin, has warmed that the Kremlin plans to take over Moldova by the end of the decade, a threat also delivered in early February by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, as well as a year ago by Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko “standing in front of a battle map that appears to show a planned invasion of Moldova, along with Ukraine.”

Moscow has also threatened to attack airfields in Poland, a NATO member state, which would require a military response from the entire NATO alliance, thereby provoking all-out war between Russia and the West. At that point, the conflict would very much become a “vital interest” for Washington.

Fortunately there are still countries such as Poland that have no intention of abandoning the Ukrainian cause. On the contrary, the plucky Poles have just reaffirmed their commitment to Kyiv by becoming the first NATO member state to send warplanes to Ukraine: Warsaw is planning to send four MIG-29 fighters.

It is a move that the Biden Administration and other allies should be encouraged to replicate. That is leadership — and what many Americans seem starved for: a Churchill, not a Chamberlain. A reminder: it would have been so much less costly in life and treasure to have stopped Hitler before he crossed the Rhine.

In an attempt to persuade DeSantis to change his mind, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has invited the Florida Governor to visit him in Kyiv.

It is an invitation DeSantis would be well-advised to accept.

No one will be more delighted at the deepening scepticism expressed about America’s continued involvement in the Ukraine conflict than Russian President Vladimir Putin.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19503/persecution-of-christians-february

“[T]he soldiers of the Caliphate… captured five Christians and slaughtered them, praise be to God.” — barnabasaid.org, February 15, 2023, Mozambique.

“I went to the police station to report my daughter’s kidnapping, but they refused to accept my complaint and forced me out of the building.” He made repeated attempts to file a criminal complaint… the police ignored his pleas.” — Morning Star News, February 13, 2023, Pakistan.

” [I]n all cases involving forced marriages of underage minority girls…. The accused first rapes the victim and then uses the cover of an Islamic Nikah [marriage certificate] to escape punishment…” — Morning Star News, February 13, 2023, Pakistan.

“Sunita is just 19, but now her whole life has been physically and mentally scarred [by acid thrown in her face]…. Even if he is convicted for his crime…. We all know how our society treats acid attack survivors….” — Morning Star News, February 13, 2023, Pakistan.

“Kill them wherever you find them [a verbatim quote of Koran 9:5]. If you are a tradesman, use a nail gun to nail the heads and crucify them on woodwork. If you are a truck driver, run them over….” — Islamic State operative, terrorism-info.org.il, February 6, 2023, Sweden.

The following are among the murders and abuses inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of February 2023:

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19502/do-babies-still-win-wars

China, Russia and Iran spend almost twice as much on the military as they do on the health and well-being of their citizens. Their military expenditure as a percentage of GDP is more than twice the average of OECD countries, while their healthcare spending as a percentage of GDP is less than half of the OECD average.

Since the Chinese sage Sun Tzu authored The Art of War around 2,500 years ago, almost all writers on military affairs have asserted that a rapid rate of population growth is the sine qua non for a nation’s decision to go to war.

More recently, this theory was elaborated by the Swiss mercenary, General Antoine-Henri Jomini, in a series of books that have been “must reads” in most military academies since the 19th century. Echoes of the same theory are present in On War, the military “bible” written by Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian general and military historian, in the 19th century.

Thus, the Indo-European tribes left their ancestral homeland in Central Asia because they could no longer feed a rapidly growing population. Seeking more fertile land and pastures for their herds, they embarked on invasions to their west and south to find the resources they coveted.

The ancient Romans and Persians were also pushed towards conquest because of high birth rates that made the seizure of new lands a life-and-death necessity.

The Arab invasion of the Persian and Byzantine Empires in the Middle East and Asia Minor also came when the Arabian Peninsula could no longer feed its rising population. The same analysis has been applied to the Mongol invasion that brought hungry tribes from far away Mongolia to the heart of Europe and the Middle East.

Rapid population growth was also a key factor in pushing the British on a path of empire-building from the 16th century onwards. In fact, the ability to export large numbers of peoples to new lands is often cited as one of the key factors in empire-building since time immemorial.

Finally, the Nazis claimed that post-Weimar Germany needed to invade Europe in search of “Lebensraum” (living space) to secure agricultural and energy resources needed to be a big power.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2023/03/18/garbage-in-the-streets-of-paris-and-riots-over-pension-reform-pose-a-challenge-to-macrons-authority-n1679547

France is in an uproar because French workers will now have to toil an extra two years before they’re eligible for their overly-generous pension. And the change was made thanks to a rarely used article in the French Constitution — Article 49.3 — which provides that the government can pass a bill without a vote at the National Assembly, after deliberation at a Cabinet meeting.

The catch is that French President Emanuel Macron must now navigate a “no confidence” vote that will be held sometime this weekend. He is expected to weather the storm easily, but not without some damage to his standing. Macron is in the middle of his second term, and since he can’t run again, he will try to push through as much of his agenda as possible.

Meanwhile, French workers are livid over the changes. The retirement age has been raised from 62 to 64 because of overly generous governments in the past almost bankrupting the pension system. Macron’s “fix” only kicks the can down the road until the real crunch comes in a few years.

Reuters:

Riot police clashed with protesters on Friday evening in Paris as a demonstration took place at the capital’s Place de la Concorde, near the Assemblee Nationale parliament building, resulting in 61 arrests.

This led the Paris Prefecture on Saturday to ban rallies on Place de la Concorde and the nearby Champs-Elysees.

A further rally was however slated for later on Saturday on Place d’Italie in southern Paris.