RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21483/germany-domination-europe

By giving himself the right to spend an extra €500 billion over 12 years on infrastructure and climate change, and additional to that, spend “whatever it takes” for the German military — €40 billion more per year being the best available estimate — [Friedrich] Merz [the likely next chancellor] is assuming considerable power, the likes of which no German chancellor has had since 1945.

As the allocation of these resources is formulated in broad and vague terms, the chancellor will have immense power in the allocation of funds. In addition, the German military will be financed to the tune of €120 billion per year, giving it the potential to become the strongest force in Europe — France spends roughly €55 billion a year. Here again, the power of Germany and its chancellor is growing considerably.

It certainly seems as if Das Rheingold is emerging from the deep.

In the opera Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner, the Rhine Gold is a magical treasure guarded by the Rhine Maidens (Rheinmädchen). This gold can be forged into a ring that gives its holder unlimited power. By arrogating to himself the power to put Germany into debt in a way that no chancellor has done since 1945, Friedrich Merz, the likely next chancellor, will be taking on an unrivalled power: that of dominating Europe.

Germany has just announced the creation of a special “infrastructure fund” (Sondervermögen) of €500 billion ($545 billion) to be spent over a maximum of 12 years, and €40 billion in additional military spending per year, bringing the annual German defense budget up to 3%. The infrastructure fund, which will not be subject to the strict constitutional rules limiting government budget deficits and debt, is intended to meet urgent needs, overriding the budgetary constraints imposed by the “debt brake” (Schuldenbremse) enshrined in 2009 by then Chancellor Angela Merkel in the constitution.

The main reason given is the need to rearm Germany in the face of Russia’s war economy and its 1.2 million mobilized soldiers. In concrete terms, German public debt will rise from 60% of GDP to at least 80%.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21466/iran-mullahs-never-change

The Islamic Republic of Iran is not a normal state, or even a conventional dictatorship. It is an ideological entity that derives its very identity from opposition to the United States, Israel and the West.

From the moment the Islamic Republic was born out of the 1979 revolution, its core identity was forged in opposition to the United States and Israel. These were not just foreign policy stances but central tenets of the regime’s existence. The regime refers to the United States as the “Great Satan” and Israel as the “Little Satan,” righteously positioning itself as the force of divine justice against these supposed embodiments of evil.

For the Iranian mullahs, hostility toward America and Israel is not just rhetoric; it is the fundamental pillar of their legitimacy. If the regime were to abandon its enmity toward the U.S. and Israel, it would lose the entire justification upon which it has built its power.

Every negotiation with Iran has followed the same pattern: the Iranian regime makes promises, secures financial and political gains, and then, once it has strengthened its position, resumes its belligerent actions.

The Islamic Republic views nuclear weapons as the ultimate guarantor of its survival… Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has explicitly stated that Gaddafi’s fate proves why Iran should never surrender its nuclear weapons.

As with North Korea, negotiations may temporarily slow Iran’s nuclear weapons development; they can never stop it. The regime will agree to talks only when it needs to buy time — whether to rebuild its economy under the cover of diplomacy, to lull the West into complacency, or to wait out an unfavorable political climate, such as a Trump. Always, the regime’s goal remains the same: acquiring nuclear weapons to solidify its regional dominance and deter any attempt to remove the regime from power.

Regrettably, the only way to neutralize the Iranian threat is through strength. The regime in Tehran understands only force. Until the West recognizes this reality, it will continue to be bamboozled while the Iranian regime buys time to advance its ambitions unchecked.

https://quadrant.org.au/news-opinions/middle-east/the-syrian-blood-on-obamas-hands/

Syria is presently controlled by al-Qaeda offshoot Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Christians and other religious minorities are being massacred in Syria by the same Islamist group that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad three months ago. More than 1000 people have been killed since last Thursday. The killings have targeted Alawites, Christians and other minorities in Syria’s coastal regions.[1]

On December 8, 2024, the Assad regime in Syria collapsed during a major offensive by Sunni Islamist militants. The Assad family, members of the minority Alawite sect, ruled Syria for over half a century. The capture of Damascus, the capital, in December marked the end of Assad’s rule. Bashar al-Assad fled the capital aboard a plane to Russia, where he joined his family, already in exile, and was granted asylum by the Kremlin.

This was the end of a long campaign by the West to overthrow the Assad regime which culminated in HTS delivering the coup de grace.

In 2011, the US and European Union called for President Assad to resign following the crackdown on Arab Spring protesters during the events that led to  Syria’s civil war. By 2022, around 580,000 people were dead, of whom at least 306,000 were non-combatants. On November 15, 2023, France issued an arrest warrant for Assad for the use of chemical weapons against civilians. Assad dsnied the allegations and accused his accusers, notably the US, of attempting to effect regime change.

The Arab Spring, just to refresh memory, were anti-government protests and army uprisings — promoted by the Obama administration, it should be noted — that in the early 2010s spread across the Middle East and North Africa. Over that period the US did much more than any religious extremist group ‘to permanently enshrine Sharia as the constitutional law of the land throughout the Muslim world.’[2] In Egypt, for example, the Arab Spring empowered Muslim extremists to initiate a bloody persecution that drove hundreds of thousands of Christian Copts to flee the nation. Egyptian political scholar Samuel Tadros writes: ‘The Copts can only wonder today whether, after 2,000 years, the time has come for them to pack their belongings and leave, as Egypt looks less hospitable to them than ever’.[3]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/greenland-elections-upset-denmark-independence/

Nuuk, Greenland — The center-right Demokraatit Party won the most votes in Greenland’s parliamentary elections, a surprise result as the territory went to the polls in the shadow of President Trump’s stated goal of taking control of the island one way or another .

Both Demokraatit – the Democrats – and the second place party, Naleraq – “Point of Orientation” – favor independence from Denmark but differ on the pace of change.

Four of the five main parties in the race sought independence, but disagreed on when and how.

Naleraq is the most aggressively pro-independence, while Demokraatit favors a more moderate pace of change.

Demokraatit’s upset victory over parties that have governed the territory for years indicates that many in Greenland care just as much about health care, education, cultural heritage and other social policies.

“I think this is a historic result in Greenland’s political history,” Demokraatit party leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at the election party after the results.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/tommy-robinsons-ramadan/

It’s the holiday season again in Britain. The West End of London is bright with lights. Children with lanterns paraded around Leicester Square. At Windsor Castle, more than 360 guests gathered in St. George’s Hall for a celebratory meal sponsored by King Charles III.

Never in the history of Britain has there been such a big, public, official commemoration of the beginning of Ramadan.

On social media, the Royal Family issued a statement: “Wishing all Muslims in the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world a blessed and peaceful Ramadan.”

London’s Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, also commented on the start of Ramadan: “London was the first city in the Western world to host a Ramadan Lights display. It’s a powerful symbol of who we are as Londoners.”

Just days later came Ash Wednesday – the start of the Christian season of Lent. As the musician and social commentator Winston Marshall noted, the Royal Family had nothing to say on social media about Lent – even though King Charles is head of the Church of England.

As it happens, Mayor Khan did put out a statement at the beginning of Lent. But oops, this one, too, was about Muslims: “London owes a great debt to Muslims! They have made our community a better, brighter and more prosperous place!”

On March 5, the Sentencing Council for England and Wales came out with what could easily be interpreted as a Ramadan gift for the Muslim community. A new set of guidelines, scheduled to take effect in April, recommended that when just-convicted criminals are evaluated for sentencing, judges should exhibit an extra measure of mercy toward those belonging to “an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community.”

In other words, as the Shadow Justice Secretary, Robert Jenrick, complained in the House of Commons, members of minority groups would be less likely to be given a term in prison than other offenders. “Why is the Justice Secretary enshrining this double standard, this two-tier approach to sentencing?” asked Jenrick.