What 2022 brought to us and looking forward to 2023

Liberation

Lots of people thought 2022 would be the year of liberating us from that terrible virus which got the world in its grip. Though not a liberation became several people on their part, an even more senseless killing ‘disease’ came unto Europe.

The leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, who would love to find a renewed Soviet Union, said at the beginning of the year he would bring liberation to the Ukrainians. Instead, his “bloodstained” tyranny plunged Europe into the war on a scale not seen since 1945 as Russian troops advanced on Kyiv on Thursday night, February 24th.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is shocking and disgraceful. It is the latest terrible aggression by the Putin regime and the latest damaging conflict in our world, with so many people being killed or injured, losing loved ones and seeing their homes destroyed.

2022 has been a tough year to navigate, with a series of political and economic crises that continue to shape our world.

One powerful man

Who could have ever imagined that one man, from up north, would single-handedly turn the world upside down? However, he has succeeded very well in not only bringing black snow over several people, and literally turning the landscape blood-red, he has severely disrupted economic life in several countries.

Following two long pandemic years – with many still experiencing the effects – we’ve witnessed the outbreak of war in Ukraine and could feel in our purse how it affects us also in our region. We cannot ignore this war that has affected many citizens. At our new WordPress Site “Some View on the World” we have given a voice to those suffering in the conflict as well as reporting the situation on the ground and providing the expertise needed to understand geopolitics.

Picturing what is happening in the world

As best we can, we try to give a picture of what is happening in the world on the continuation of “Our World“. 2022 was another year of figuring out how we would be able to keep up with bringing political and religious news alongside our other spiritual websites. We hope to find that balance further in 2023.

By nature, I am not an easy person and have dared to clash several times by speaking my mind outright. Even in the articles, I publish here and on my other websites, my thinking is based on my personal opinion. One can agree or disagree with that view. I, therefore, appreciate that people also dare to express their opinions. But in general, there is a little reaction in that area. Still, I hope the articles brought, can make people think. For instance, I was happy to find that my op-eds on Christmas in the Daily Telegraph were able to bring a debate after all.

Hoping to expose wrongdoings

With the news we place at Some View on the World we do hope we also could be able to expose the mistreatment and deaths of migrant workers in Qatar for almost a decade as well as other wrong attitudes towards people as well as animals and plants. At my personal site and this site as well, in particular on “Some View on the World” we continue to bear witness to the climate crisis as it destroys lives, uproots whole communities and changes the course of our shared future. We hope for 2023 to be able to bring regular news about our environment.

The fallout from the January 6 hearings and Donald Trump’s presidency could get our attention, and we hold our hearts for the intentions of Mr Trump, wanting to come back as president of the U.S.A..

Independence of my websites

For all the reporting we do here, and on my other websites, I would like to remind you, readers, that there is no financial support from companies anywhere and that all reporting is based on personal and independent reporting, where I keep searching for this site among texts that appear on the net what could possibly be fascinating for you to read as well, and thus to reblog them here.

2022 could bring lots of blogs on the net of which we presented some selections over here too. At Firefox several could find their way into ‘Pocket’, like: Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid, How to Want Less, A Neurologist’s Tips to Protect Your Memory, Why You Should Really Stop Charging Your Phone Overnight, A Guide to Getting Rid of Almost Everything, a.o. most read.

Uncovering and unravelling

Whether on social, political or religious issues, we are eager to seek the truth and expose false reports. Exposing wariness is not always appreciated, but is very important in our view. To do that, we can count on several investigative journalists and some newspapers to join in the pursuit of that muddle, so that together we can make certain things known to the world while others would rather see them covered up.

At Some View on the World we have maintained round-the-clock coverage from several places, not always bringing nice news, like mass graves of Bucha, Izium and many war crimes.

The war accelerated a global economic slump, sending costs soaring, throttling energy supplies and raising the spectre of blackouts, malnutrition and a winter of discontent across dozens of countries. As global food supplies fluctuated, we reported on the hunger gripping the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan. In 2022, it became impossible to ignore those victims in poorer countries. But sadly, we had to observe how little the public cared about those people living far from their homes. And closer, many did not wish to have refugees, so we could speak of a refugee crisis again this year.

Here in Belgium, the influx of refugees seems completely uncontrollable and many, even with small children, shamefully had to sleep outside several nights through rain and wind. This while in Great Britain, the reception was also not going smoothly and people started looking for a housing solution in Rwanda, and proceeded to deportations.

Condition of mother earth

A lot of people do not want to realise that things are very bad for Mother Earth. To this, in 2022, several scientists again tried to make it clear to the world that we need to think seriously about this and take action. We were confronted with UK’s hottest summer, a very early and long great Summer in Belgium, drought in Europe, and the accompanying fires.

Heating the houses became for many difficult to keep in the household budget. It looked like mother nature felt the pressure on the energy market, as well. Everywhere in Europe, we had extremely high temperatures for the time of year. In Belgium 2022 became the warmest year since measurements.

The climate emergency ran as a constant thread through much of our Some View on the World journalism in 2022.

While many European countries were suffering from a shortage of water, they had it in other countries, like Pakistan, too much. Devastating floods in Pakistan, encountering one of its worst natural catastrophes, Sydney’s wettest year on record, ferocious heatwaves in the US southwest and the costliest Atlantic hurricane for years, could catch our attention.

At Cop27 in Egypt, the Guardian asked the tough questions. Though, we did not give so much attention to the changing tactics of activists, now more likely to throw soup at a painting as they are to glue themselves to a public highway.

Uprising

In my view, many other protests could get our attention earlier, as they were carried out in a more correct way. Coming from a not expected corner, sparked by the death in custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini.

Once again, we were able to conclude in Afghanistan and Iran that there is no improvement in human rights yet. The Iranian authorities tightly control reporting inside the country, so we counted on the teams of the Guardian to redouble efforts to reach protagonists to tell their stories. Social media remained also important for this, so it was satisfying to see the Guardian Instagram video on why Iranians are risking everything for change reach more than 2 million viewers.

It is impossible for me to have news sources everywhere, which is why we must also call on professional companies, for which we must also pay. Financial aid is therefore very welcome to cover these expenses. Nevertheless, we try to be as aware as possible of the general events, for which we also make further use of the known news channels and reliable TV channels and newspapers.

United States debacle

In terms of exposure, it was imperative to look at the Trumpists who still claim high and low that the US elections were forged.

The country which was formed on the idea that it could be a free world where everybody could express himself freely and would not be bounded by limitations through a government, in 2022 came to see deep political divisions, caused by a man who as 45th president of the U.S.A. did mutiny on that state and brought democracy in danger. His party made the ongoing climate crisis and racial, economic and health inequalities worsened. It was impossible to ignore the fallout from the January 6 hearings and Donald Trump’s presidency, as well as his willingness to come back as president.

The repeal of Roe v Wade provided a divisive backdrop to the November midterm elections. The conservative, or better said, the extremist Christians in the U.S., made it possible that women lost even the right to their own bodies. They also did not want to give an eye for mother nature nor for all those poor Americans who have no house or anywhere to live except on the streets, where many in the last weeks of the year found their dead by Winter storm Elliott. Buffalo got the worst hit by that bomb cyclone.

Political storms

In 2022 there were more significant elections in America which caught our attention. In Brazil, there were an anxious few weeks as Jair Bolsonaro wanted to do like his friend Trump, saying the votes were falsified. Finally, he suffered a chastening defeat by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who completed a comeback from prison to the presidential palace.

To our annoyance, we in northern Europe had to observe an inverse movement towards South America. The far right in Sweden, Italy and Israel, could get most seats in parliament. Despite her political prowess, the 45-year-old from Rome, whose strong will and determination has drawn comparisons to Margaret Thatcher, Giorgia Meloni has spent three decades fighting her way to the top of Italian politics. She is clear evidence that go-getters win. In October last year, after Brothers of Italy managed to draw votes away from the Northern League in its northern strongholds in local elections, a secret recording revealed Matteo Salvini hitting out at Meloni, calling her a “pain in the ass”.

In Belgium, too, the newspapers disguised several polls, clearly showing that the right is making a strong rise and where voices can already be heard that NVA will have to make the choice to form a majority coalition with Vlaams Belang.

As for British politics, prime ministers came and went with alarming regularity and the nation buried the pound, Queen Elizabeth and its global standing in quick succession. For 10 days in September, the future of the monarchy dominated the newsroom. The crazy game of the English conservatives who wanted their leader to put his capsones under the benches and to ask the people to stay at home because of Corona and not to have parties seemed to think it normal that their leader could do that and lie about it too. The whole world could laugh at the blunders of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, while the British citizen seemed not to mind. In any case, they did not demand new elections and left it to the Tory members to elect the new prime minister.

In Australia Labour could note a historic federal election victory.

Economical storms

The struggle between Russia and Ukraine is also a struggle between the Putin regime and Western Europe.

The war accelerated a global economic slump, sending costs soaring, throttling energy supplies and raising the spectre of blackouts, malnutrition and a winter of discontent across dozens of countries. But we also noticed that certain companies were abusing the war in Ukraine to raise their prices.

Cereals and gas were not released enough by blockades from the Russians, which caused major food problems, especially in Africa. In Western Europe we felt our energy prices skyrocket due to the pressure on the export and import markets. In Belgium, it took forever for the government to take measures to mitigate the costs of its citizens. After several months of calls by the Labour Party PvdA/PtB to reduce VAT to 6% and by their appeals to the public to put pressure on the government, things finally came to a head.

Health matters

2022 received big leaps forward for Alzheimer’s treatments, bowel cancer prevention and understanding depression.

In several countries there was joy that people could come together again to party and that the elderly should no longer be separated from their children and grandchildren. The lockdown had made it very clear how important personal contact is. It was striking how in 2022 teenagers and twens still had many psychological difficulties, which were not resolved. Bad enough, many could not be admitted in time, causing unnecessarily too many young people to die, while this could have been avoided.

Post-pandemic in Europe in danger

For months Europe tried to combat Covid-19. We started the annual overview with the relaxation of the Corona measures. But at the end of December, they now appear to be endangered because Europe does not want to take strict measures for the Chinese who are now allowed by their government to travel outside China again, which will allow them to spread the increased disease further outside China. With the coming Chinese New Year, they could start a new pandemic as in Belgium, it started in Antwerp.

For much of the world, a sort of post-pandemic normality has resumed – with one striking exception: the country where it all began. Chinese leaders faced a rapid spread of public anger caused by their draconian Covid lockdown policy. Only after some activists could ignite a revolt against the lockdown and more people joined them on the streets, even coming to shout to get rid of the Chinese leader and communist party, the government got seriously afraid and eased the lockdown measures. After they had done that another hell broke down, the virus rapidly spreading and killing so many people the mortuaries could not handle it anymore.

While the Chinese seem to be in the first Corona wave, as it were, the rest of the world has gotten out over time and everyone is now looking forward to a shock-free 2023.

We too look forward to an ending of the war in Ukraine and to a peaceful solution between Kosovo and Serbia.

At Some View of the World and at my other personal Space, we shall try to bring you up-to-date news of the happenings in the world, and here on this website, we hope we shall still be able to offer you and share with you, some worthwhile articles to read in this coming New Year.

 

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A sincere thank you to our readers and supporters – wherever you are in the world,
we wish you a wonderful end to 2022 and an optimistic 2023.

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Additional reading

1. G7 agreed to ban or phase out Russian oil and gas imports
2. 2022 the year of fearing some wars

Coming to the close of 2022: Looking from the top of the mountain

Slowly but surely we are coming to the close of 2022, a year which could have started nicely, but where so many dreams of a good year were crushed even before it went good on its way.

It was a year when a Jewish Young Professional “JYP” felt as though she was standing at the top of an ornate staircase,

looking down at what might have been a grand ballroom of a world, only the world is so broken, it is difficult to imagine the world as a place of celebrations and parties.

In a way, this is nothing new. The heartbeat of the world has always been a pulsing contrast of peaks and valleys between the “haves” and “have nots”.
It is rarer for the fortunate ones at the top to notice those in the lows brightly illuminated on the heart rate monitor.
But at the same time, there has been a massive change.
Hundreds dead.
Millions of refugees fleeing their homes.
The threat of nuclear.
All for an utterly pointless, needless war.
A pillar of world stability feels like it has been removed
and everything is off-kilter.

{At The Top Of, What, Exactly?}

This year, for several moments the world was on the brink of a new world war, that could be the first serious nuclear world war.

Jewish Young Professional “JYP was one moment at the top of the mountain, but she had to admit

it is impossible not to feel the bitter, chilly wind. {At The Top Of, What, Exactly?}

Joseph Farquharson ‘Cauld Blaws the Wind Frae East to West’ (1888). From dVerse

Beware the Ides of March

Friendly Fairy Tales

Be you a young Russian soldier 
doing as you’re told or 
a young Ukrainian,
castaway 
from home,

View original post 321 more words

Praying For The Victims Of Ukraine

Although far from the ongoing violence, the terror threat is close by, and we are with the Ukrainian people with our souls, hearts and prayers.

Becoming the Oil and the Wine

Today, I have decided to postpone my usual Fun Friday post to pause and take some time to pray for the people of Ukraine.

View original post 702 more words

The biggest ground offensive in Europe since World War II

Russia started its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday February 24, 2022, with airstrikes on cities and military bases. Russian troops and tanks then entered the country on three sides and reached the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, on Friday, in the biggest ground offensive in Europe since World War II. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned other countries not to come to Ukraine’s aid, reminding the world of Russia’s nuclear weapons stockpile and threatening “consequences you have never seen.” Ukrainian leaders said their military was fighting back, and that dozens of their soldiers and hundreds of Russian troops had been killed. They said Russian forces had seized control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant in an attack that could “cause another ecological disaster” at the site of the world’s worst nuclear meltdown. [The Associated Press, The Washington Post]

Thousands of people across Russia took to the streets but were silenced. Opposition activist Tatyana Usmanova called the invasion “a disgrace” and she asked for “forgiveness” from Ukrainians.

“We didn’t vote for those who unleashed the war,”

she said.

Despite hundreds of arrests daily, and nearly 3,000 total since the invasion began, demonstrators held signs and marched through the centres of cities from Moscow to Siberia, chanting “No to war!” in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Russia’s smaller neighbour.

It is good to hear how International businesses operating in Russia and Ukraine one after the other started closing offices and factories after Russia invaded Ukraine, all facing dark days for all of us.

Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruchtold shareholders at their annual meeting.

“The attack on Ukraine represents a turning point in Europe; a war was simply unthinkable for many people, especially the younger generations.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had agreed to send a Ukrainian delegation to negotiate with Russia near Ukraine’s border with Belarus. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to use Belarus as a staging ground for his invasion, arranged the meeting. But we could see yesterday that Russia did not keep to the agreement to have a corridor for the civilians to flee the terrorised cities. As soon they drove out of those cities they were shot at by the Russians, and as such were driven back to where they came from.

The European Union has shut down its airspace to commercial and private Russian airplanes and committed, along with several member countries (including non-NATO Sweden and Finland), to arming Ukraine. And perhaps most astonishing of all, Europe and the United States (joined even by perennially neutral Switzerland) have put together a package of economic sanctions far more severe than anything anticipated prior to the outbreak of hostilities. There’s now a very real possibility Russia could be plunged into a catastrophic economic tailspin.

Last Sunday Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was putting Russian nuclear deterrence forces on high alert due to what he called “aggressive statements” Western nations were making against Russia.  Yesterday he went a step further, calling all those who wanted to interfere with his peace mission, dangerous attackers of his state, to which he will not shrink from counterattacking. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen her call for promptly opening EU membership talks, Putin considers as a war declaration.

Elon Musk came to help Ukraine maintain internet access as it fights a Russian invasion. Musk’s private rocket company SpaceX has deployed thousands of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, establishing a network over the last three years to beam high-speed internet service to users from more than 100 miles up. The service can work in parts of the world with limited conventional internet infrastructure. Since Russia invaded, Ukraine has experienced internet disruptions, so Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, asked Musk to send Starlink terminals.

Russia’s central bank on Monday hiked a key interest rate from 9.5 percent to 20 percent to fight inflation and depreciation of the ruble, after the Russian currency fell by 30 percent to a record low against the dollar as Europe and the U.S. imposed harsh sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The move came after the United States, European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom over the weekend announced plans to cut off some Russian banks from the SWIFT financial support network, a global payment system connecting international banks. The allies also said they would take steps to thwart the Russian central bank’s attempt to boost Russia’s economy with its more than $600 billion in reserves, part of an escalating push by the West for Moscow to negotiate peace.

Ukrainians are fleeing en masse to clogged borders of European neighbours, with the biggest share heading to Poland while smaller numbers try to reach Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, and Romania. More than 500,000 Ukrainians have left for Europe since Russian forces invaded on Thursday and Europe expects this going to grow to 1,5 million. Over previous weekend, one crossing into Poland had a line nearly nine miles long. The exodus has been the biggest Europe has seen in years, with some authorities bracing for a humanitarian crisis like the one that occurred in 2015 when more than a million refugees arrived from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries. Many European nations were hostile to the refugees who arrived in 2015, but so far they have said they would welcome Ukrainians.

Big question for Europe is now how long it can stand at the sideline.

Switzerland has edged away from its long-standing tradition of neutrality. Finland is not comfortable with Putin’s aggressive expansionism, which may also have its eyes on several of Russia’s neighbouring countries. It is on the cusp of asking for admission into the NATO alliance after decades of standing to the side. Germany, after a nearly 80-year break from militarism, is suddenly beefing up its defence budget and sending arms to Ukraine.  Previously, neutrality for countries like Finland and Switzerland had benefits to those countries — and to the world at large, but in which way is a neutrality tenable?

 

A genuine European Union to ensure welfare, security and democracy

We European citizens are worried and scared. The economic and financial crisis has impoverished many of us. Youth unemployment risks creating a lost generation. Inequality grows and social cohesion is in peril. The EU is surrounded by war and instability from Ukraine to Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa. The flux of refugees and migrants has become a structural feature we must address together, in a human and forward-looking manner. In many Member states we witness authoritarian tendencies and the rise of nationalist and xenophobic forces. Democracy and the core values of the European modern civilisation are under attack. The EU itself is questioned, although it ensured peace, democracy and welfare for decades.

We European citizens don’t want our national politicians to care only about their next local or national election. They ask for European solutions to European problems but then they act to render those solutions impossible or ineffective. They disregard sensible Commission proposals or fail to implement decisions already taken , including when agreed by all. They claim, one day, for Europe to do something and protest, the following day, Europe’s proposed actions.

As the anniversary of the signature of the EU’s founding treaties is approaching, a group of over 300 European academics and personalities are endorsing this appeal to relaunch European integration and inviting civil society, academia, young people and citizens to participate to the March for Europe in Rome on March 25.

Alberto Alemanno for VoxEurop

Signing of the Treaty of Rome, March 25, 1957. – AP Images – Treaty of Rome, originally (1957–93) Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community, succeeded by (1993–2009) Treaty Establishing the European Community and (2009– ) Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; also called, together with the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community,

25 March 2017 is the day of the 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaties which have made the EU project the most successful experiment of peace and integration ever.

This date may go down history as yet another self-praising, boring, closed-door party of 27 EU leaders or as the germ of a first conscious, popular and patriotic European manifestation. A March for Europe – mimicking the one that took place in London in the aftermath of the Brexit vote – has been announced by the Union of European Federalists. Unfortunately, only the usual suspects – a few pro-European organisations – are behind this one-in-a-generation opportunity to show how many citizens of Europe support and share its ideals, values and lifestyles. Despite its high-potential in prompting a genuine, pan-European manifestation calling for a renewal of the EU project through an inclusive, constituent process, the risk that it may reveal a flop is dangerously high.

The appeal below intends to pierce the typical Brussels bubble currently surrounding the March for Europe, by broadening its audience to a much wider public. There has never been a better opportunity to federate – in a critical moment of its existence – the multitude of associations, movements and grassroots actors who believe in the European project. There has never been a better opportunity to make your voice heard and contribute to the emergent European public space. There has been never been a better opportunity to shape your history and that of the generations to come.

See you in Rome on 25 March. Help us spread the call below through the hashtag #MarchForEurope2017!

A genuine European Union to ensure welfare, security and democracy

We European citizens are worried and scared. The economic and financial crisis has impoverished many of us. Youth unemployment risks creating a lost generation. Inequality grows and social cohesion is in peril. The EU is surrounded by war and instability from Ukraine to Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa. The flux of refugees and migrants has become a structural feature we must address together, in a human and forward-looking manner. In many Member states we witness authoritarian tendencies and the rise of nationalist and xenophobic forces. Democracy and the core values of the European modern civilisation are under attack. The EU itself is questioned, although it ensured peace, democracy and welfare for decades.

We European citizens don’t want our national politicians to care only about their next local or national election. They ask for European solutions to European problems but then they act to render those solutions impossible or ineffective. They disregard sensible Commission proposals or fail to implement decisions already taken , including when agreed by all. They claim, one day, for Europe to do something and protest, the following day, Europe’s proposed actions.

We ask national politicians and the media to stop depicting integration as a zero-sum game, thus pitting nations against one another. In an interdependent world no nation can satisfy all of its citizens’ basic needs and appeals for social justice. In this context, integration and supranational government is a positive-sum game. Our European social model based on liberal democracy and a social market economy can only survive in a multi-level framework of government, on the basis of the subsidiarity principle.

We European citizens are aware that globalisation is transforming the world. We need a European government to foster our common values and contribute to the solution of the global problems threatening humanity. The world needs an outward-looking cosmopolitan Europe to help build a more effective and democratic global governance to cope with climate change, peace, global poverty, and the transition to an environmentally and socially sustainable economy.

The European Central Bank (ECB; French: Banque centrale européenne) = central bank for the euro and administers monetary policy of the eurozone, which consists of 19 EU member states and is one of the largest currency areas in the world.

We European citizens recognise the EU as an incomplete Res Publica. It has a ridiculous budget (0.9 percent of GDP) and no financial autonomy from Member states, while its current competences are out of date for what is necessary to successfully answer the challenges of the current crises. It has a federal like legislative, judiciary and central bank. But democracy is the possibility for citizens to choose the government and make it accountable. For the Union to work and be democratic its decisions, including budget, foreign and defence policy, and the reform of the Treaties, should primarily be taken by a qualified majority representing the majority will of European citizens and states. The Commission should evolve into a fully-fledged government, setting and promoting a political agenda legitimated through elections. European parties should present their candidates to the Presidency at the European election.

The alternative is a directly elected President of the EU merging the Presidencies of the Commission and the European Council.

On 14 February 1984 the European Parliament adopted the Draft Treaty establishing the European Union, the so-called Spinelli Project, pointing towards a political union, which Member states disregarded. On 14 February 2017 we call upon the European Parliament, the only directly elected body of the EU, to take a new initiative to kick-start the EU on strengthened democratic basis. Talking about banking, fiscal, economic, energy, security, defence and political unions makes sense only within a genuine democratic European Union, with all those policies under a European government.

Signing of the Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community, in the Jerónimos Monastery of Lisbon, Portugal, 13 December 2007, which entered into force on 1 December 2009

On 25 March 2017 the Heads of state and government will celebrate the Treaties of Rome establishing the European Economic Community and Euratom in 1957. We call upon them to match the vision of the Founders. They should open the way to the re-foundation of the EU on the basis of the European Parliament proposal, and immediately exploit all the Lisbon Treaties’ instruments to strengthen EU institutions and policies, especially on foreign and security, economic and social policies.

We call upon the Europe’s youth, its civil society, workers, entrepreneurs, academia, local governments and European citizens to participate in the March for Europe in Rome on 25 March. Together we shall give the political leaders the strength and courage to push forward the EU to a new beginning. European unity is key to solve our common problems, safeguard our values and ensure our welfare, security and democracy.

This Appeal was drafted by Roberto Castaldi with Giuliano Amato, Yves Bertoncini, Stefan Collignon, Anthony Giddens, Ulrike Guérot, and Miguel Maduro. It is available in various languages for further adhesions at March for Europe with the list of signatures and the info on the March.

Marcus Ampe

March for Europe: in Rome on March 25

English: Constituency for the European Parliament election in 2009 Español: Mapa por el Elecciones al Parlamento Europeo de 2009 Français : Circonscriptions aux élections européennes en 2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Preceding articles:

Human tragedy need to be addressed at source

60 years after creation of European Economic Community, Europeans skeptical about one of their biggest achievements this century

F: Une véritable Union européenne pour garantir le bien-être, la sécurité et la démocratie

D.: Eine echte Europäische Union die Gemeinwohl, Sicherheit und Demokratie gewährleistet

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60 years after creation of European Economic Community, Europeans skeptical about one of their biggest achievements this century

Anti-European movements seem to be enjoying a fair wind, not only in Great Britain but also here on our side of the Channel. This demonstrates how Euroskepticism has become a threat to the fundamental values of the common European life.

Although the EU considers itself a unity, it is unable to introduce a united policy. In the absence of such policy, it is impossible to overcome the growing economical and social inequalities between the citizens of the Member States.

The European Economic Community, founded 60 years ago, was meant to maintain and guarantee peace. More than ever nowadays, in an unsafe world where hundreds of thousands are fleeing the horrors of war, we should embrace and take care of this precious gift of peace. Though many people today are willing to step out of the union, this is not the moment. It would be reckless to put all of it on the line.

People may not forget that we have already so many years of no war experience. In our regions the EU also managed to protect democracy: the freedom of press, freedom of speech and a free choice of religion (those being just a fraction of the inviolable rights Europeans enjoy).

All Member States of the EU have to ensure democratic guidelines, and countries aiming to join the EU cannot hinder reform processes. This contributes to the broadening of democratic values.

Two essential aspects of the European Union are the free movement of persons and a single currency. Admittedly, they are not perfectly elaborated; the Euro being the most commonly criticised aspect. However, in the Euro Zone, currency exchange disappeared along with the attached fees. We can cross the borders of all EU countries without passport control or visa requirements. It is really a pity that the last few months we saw the Schengen Agreement undermined. That agreement is the seal of proof for our ‘Union’, which assured a free movement concept within the internal borders, not only contributing to the economical dynamism but also to an inter-cultural exchange and thus to peace and understanding between different cultures.

No border control: Border crossing between two Schengen Agreement states, view from Germany to the Netherlands. The Netherlands begins at the red line added to the photo.

The ex-communist countries by putting up walls are forgetting what it meant to be inclosed and are taking on a very selfish attitude. Free movement across our internal border-states is necessary, but also an allowance for people and goods entering our community.

Visegrad Group, also called the Visegrad Four, or V4 is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European states – Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – for the purposes of furthering their European integration, as well as for advancing military, economic and energy cooperation with one another.[

All the Visegrád countries now have leaders who could be fairly described as national-populists. In Western Europe, their rhetoric would often put them at the far-right of the political spectrum: they typically reject migrants and Islam, and do not wish to reproduce the Westerners’ experiment in multiculturalism in their own countries. This has led to clashes with Western Europe, notably Angela Merkel’s Germany, and the European Commission, who have advocated the welcoming of millions of refugees and the distribution of thousands across Central Europe.

Furthermore, all these nations – with the exception of Poland – have made various pro-Russian statements, and implied that they would ideally want a reconciliation and reinforcement of economic ties with Moscow. This bodes ill for the maintenance of the EU’s sanctions against Russia, in retaliation for the annexation of Crimea, and which can only be maintained by unanimity. More generally, Trump’s traumatic surprise electoral win in the United States is likely to embolden Central European conservatives in challenging Brussels and Berlin’s leadership of the EU.

Central Europe according to The World Factbook (2009),[17] Encyclopædia Britannica, and Brockhaus Enzyklopädie (1998)

The area in which this is most apparent is perhaps demographics. Central Europe faces severe medium-term decline in the face of ongoing emigration – while wages have risen, they remain much higher in the West – and extremely low fertility, which goes from 1.3 children per woman in Poland to 1.5 in the Czech Republic.

As a result, the European Commission projects that all these nations, with the exception of the Czech Republic, will see a drastic decline in population between now and 2080, falling by as much as 25 percent. In Poland, this would mean almost 10 million less people. This will inevitably mean a weaker Central Europe in the world, with a rapidly-shrinking labour force obligated to commit an ever-greater share of resources to an exploding population of pensioners.

The case of demographics shows the weaknesses of Visegrád’s alternative vision for Europe. Borders and national sovereignty are indeed means of slowing change, including undesirable change. But in themselves, they would do little to halt Europe’s decline to an elderly collection of statelets on the western Eurasian periphery. No doubt more creative and forward-looking measures are needed to prevent such a scenario and secure a sovereign Europe’s place among this century’s leading powers.

Everywhere in Europe we have to face the problem of the older getting population. Europe shall need young men and women to strengthen our workforce. When we can help rescuing people fleeing for the horrors of war we should open our borders.

Therefore, we can only shake our heads when we hear that others plan on building walls. Europe is familiar with such division. We must not let it come to that point anymore. To question the free movement of persons, on anyone’s behalf, would be a major setback for this free and diverse community.

The EU is not perfect but it assures peace and safety in Europe. To criticise it, is legitimate. To destroy it, is not.

We cannot deny that reforms and innovations are needed to make the EU fit for the future. However, these reforms can only be completed through unity and cohesion and not through antipathy and inner conflict.

A strengthening of the European Union is very overdue.

Isn’t it a privilege to be able to call our neighbours our friends? To move freely without passport control? Not to have to exchange currency? And moreover: to live in peace?

For us Europeans, these privileges have become self-evident, just like so many other things in the EU. And yet so many are beginning to question it all.

With thanks to Vox Europe

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Preceding articles

Still Hope though Power generating long train of abuses

Challenges and impact on freedom of movement within the EU

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Additional reading

1. Migrants to the West #1
2. Migrants to the West #2
3. Migrants to the West #3
4. Migrants to the West #6
5. Migrants to the West #8 Welbeing
6. Europe and much-vaunted bastions of multiculturalism becoming No God Zones
7. 2015 Human rights
8. Religion, fundamentalism and murder
9. Religious Freedom in a Multicultural World
10. The New gulf of migration and seed for far right parties
11. Problems by losing the borders
12. Brexit: The mother of all uncertainties
13. Walls,colours, multiculturalism, money to flow, Carson, Trump and consorts

+++

Related articles

1. With EU and U.S. Distracted, Central and Eastern European Countries Crack Down on Civil Society
2. European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) [Policy Podcast]
3. Schengen area: Update and state of play
4. Hungary: The Abject Failure of the EU
5. UK & Europe
6. UK: MP McDonagh chairwoman of the all-party parliamentary group of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community calls crack down of radicalisation
7. Brexit bill to go before MPs from Monday
8. Brexit, Blair and doing the right thing
9. Will UK Nationals Lose their EU Citizens’ Rights after Brexit?
10. Pros and cons of multi-speed EU
11. Poland ‘alone’ in the EU after Tusk re-election snub — Anti-European Union storm clouds — “The EU is in Germany’s sphere of influence.”
12. Ordanoski: There is only one direction for Balkan countries – west
13. As ECB Charts Economic Course, Politics Complicate the Picture
14. EPRS circular economy infographic
15. Berlin calls for dialogue to mitigate risks in Balic Sea region
16. Reactions to the ECJ decision on asylum law in EU
17. Europe: Poland fails to stop Donald Tusk EU re-election
18. Donald Tusk re-elected as European council president
19. Much to Poland’s Chagrin, Donald Tusk Wins Second Term as European Council President
20. The European pass or how to expel more

+++

Further Related articles

• EU Parliament moves to end visa-free travel for Americans
• European Parliament Votes to End Visa-Free Travel for Americans (Video)
• ‘VISA WAR’ WAGING? EU parliament seeks to limit US tourists’ travel in possible response to Trump policies
• European Commission Made ‘Fundamental Errors’ in Irish Tax Ruling, Says Apple
• Europe must not cave in to US spending demands on NATO, says EU’s Jean-Claude Juncker
• EU escalates ‘visa war’ with US with Americans set to lose visa-free travel to Europe
• BAML: There’s a 1 in 3 chance the Brexit negotiations will fall at the first hurdle
• Brexit is the real reason the LSE-Deutsche deal fell apart
• Europe’s Silicon Valley problem
• Apple Appeals EU’s $14 Billion Tax Demand

Seeds from the world creating division and separation from God

These days we can find more than one politician trying to sow division in his own country and in the world. The are very handy bullies who can keep their outlook unchanged like a good strong high quality wig. their periwig may be their trade mark, hiding what is underneath that peruke. Like postiches are fake people may not forget those words spoken by such politicians may also be fake.

We can hear those politicians, which claim to be Christians, picking on Jews, Muslims and immigrants, trying to hide the internal more important matters, and trying to please the people their tickling ears, who want to find a scapegoat for all the problems of their own country. The last few years our Jewish community already felt the pressure, having to face an increase of bullying, making that several Jews decided to leave Belgium and to go to Israel, where the violence seems to frighten them less than here in Belgium.

Shoebat asks why Christians, before they start ‘picking on Jewish, Muslim or immigrant dumpsters, are joining another dumpster instead of cleaning up the growing neopaganism in their own backyard?’

Fact is, so many, be they Catholic, Orthodox or Evangelical, are looking the other way, that for the sake of being anti-immigrant, they support the heathen. {The Greatest Abandonment Of Christianity In The West Is Happening And The Whole World Is Being Plunged Into Paganism As Biblical Prophecies Reveal}

He should know, like the whole world should know, that at this present day satan, the adversary of God, is throwing a lot of seeds on this globe which shall infect many other seeds wanting to grow up on this earth which is warming up for a less pleasant climate change and for bad times to come.

It are those seeds sown by the adversary of God, which are clearly no seeds of love, or seeds of peace, who by growing up, getting bigger than the slower growing seeds of godly people, that want to convince those who believe in the True God, that they are wrong and that they should believe in the god of the world, making that they shall have it much better than now as believing naive guys.

Those contemporary seeds want those who believe those very old books to come to see that the symbols they are carrying are the signs for better times. They are proud of their tattoos which should be a sign for the world that the world belongs to them. In a way, they are right. The world belongs to them. God has given the world in the hands of man. The adversary of God already for some time has the right to proof to the Divine Maker he can do it better than the Creator Himself.

In ancient times there where the idols of Egypt and it looks like we are gone back to them. We can see many carrying again those very well known symbols of the sun and pagan elements.

Europe and many of the slavs are veering away from Christ’s church returning back in masse to pre-Christian paganism, all with deities that honor “the sun” just as John predicted in Revelations. {The Greatest Abandonment Of Christianity In The West Is Happening And The Whole World Is Being Plunged Into Paganism As Biblical Prophecies Reveal}

At the closing times there will be division. People shall come to fight each other for many reasons, one of which religion shall taken as a point of discussion. The different religious groups fighting against each other, even Christians forgetting the agapé love of the preaching of Christ and his apostles, not willing to be open minded for people who have an other faith or come from other nations.

Isaiah 19 speaks of neopaganism spread from Egyptian mythology which will be the hallmark of the world prior to Christ’s coming. The ultra-nationalist movements from Europe all the way to slavic nations derive from Thor, the sun god in Norse mythology was also the Egyptian Osiris and Kneph, the Phœnician Bel or Baal, and it is accepted freely when slavic neopagans call upon the same God when they invoke Perun.

The American and European Alt-Right’s obsession with a mythical ancient Egyptian deity, Kek, is also Egyptian, while “the Hindus, Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Celts have all yielded striking comparisons [to each other], and the Norse Gods display significant resemblances to members of other pantheons” (A History of the Vikings, Oxford University Press, P.p, 319). {The Greatest Abandonment Of Christianity In The West Is Happening And The Whole World Is Being Plunged Into Paganism As Biblical Prophecies Reveal}

In the previous years we could feel how the right wing movements became more into the light, not hiding any more, but shouting loud, wanting to get rid of Jews and Muslims. Again Christian churches where silent, in the same way a mosques did not come out to tell people ISIS and other  Muslim fundamentalists where not real Muslims but bringers of hate, not acting like a Muslim should do.

All over Europe we can see the right wing parties getting stronger, making people afraid of the Muslims, Jews and of those who come to look for refuge. The refugees and immigrants are not welcome for them. There is no place in their heart to foster for those in need or fleeing from the war regions in the East or South.

The Lambda. The symbol of identitarians and many neo-Nazis

Shoebat writes

The devil will use antisemitism, stupid, where every evil is blamed on the Jews. And this is currently brewing like never before since WWII. While critiquing Jews is valid, the evil is this unbalanced view that is sweeping western nations like a storm accusing Jews to supersede gentiles in doing mischief. And its coming from claiming Christians who do not consider that antisemitism in Christianity is a heresy, condemned by the church as mortal sin since it stems from ultra-nationalists leading their nations to commit genocide. Today, there is a tremendous rise in antisemitism. It has become a silent reality getting us ever closer to fulfilling Zechariah 12. {A Horrific Storm Of Evil Is Rising Up And Is Sweeping The World, It Is Leading Europe Into The Hands Of The Antichrist}

According to him

Saddam Hussein, also spelled Ṣaddām Ḥusayn, in full Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti whose brutal rule was marked by costly and unsuccessful wars against neighbouring countries.

The first phase began around three decades ago when the West declared war hailing Saddam Hussein as the major threat to the world. And when the true prophets warned “this is a bad idea” the prophets were burned alive. Then it took a decade or two to recognize the prophets were right all along.

Then the next evil phase began when a new spring gushed forth out of the bottomless pit declaring that Middle East dictators are the major threat to the world. The false prophets declare it “an Arab Spring” and they blessed it. And when the true prophets said “this too is wickedness” more true prophets were burned alive. The west then went full-throttle on pumping this Arab Spring to gush forth the waters which became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

The west, as it turns out, commenced an evil plan. Germany aided the Islamist evil dragon Turkey which spewed a flood of Muslim immigrants, locusts if you will, into the heartland of Europe. Now the European masters did not have to convince the masses to aid in the ultimate evil plan, the third phase. Instead the masses on their own declared and complained to their masters that aided and abetted this wormwood shouting that the Muslim immigration is the ultimate major threat to the world. {A Horrific Storm Of Evil Is Rising Up And Is Sweeping The World, It Is Leading Europe Into The Hands Of The Antichrist}

We can clearly see how anti-Semitism was growing in Europe and now has reached the United States of America as well. It is stemming not just from the typical anti-Israel liberals, but according to Shoebath from western conservatives who do not heed Zechariah’s warning.

Today the rise of neopaganism reveals a disturbing trend becoming the fastest growing religion globally and is also virulently antisemitic and contra-believers of God, be it Jews, real or non-trinitarian Christians or real Muslims. We should be alert that there are also groups who may see what is happening to the Jews but want to blame the followers of the prophet Mohammed, making people afraid of those believers of One God.

We must be careful, for those who are trying to frighten people for the worshippers of Allah. First of all those making others afraid of the worshippers of Allah, is that they forget ‘Allah’ is a title which denotes a god and the God. In Belgium and many other countries ‘Allah’ does not pose so many problems because it is a general title being used to denote a god or God, Who gets also other titles over here like ‘Ene’ or ‘Enige’ (‘One’ or ‘Only One’), Elohim, Dieu and Gott, el (not for the girl of female ‘el’) and El Shadai. I got the impression on the net (for the short time I’m presenting there my own ‘Immanuel site’ or blog) that English speaking people want all others to use the same word for God as they do and how many say the Jews killed Jesus and therefore should be punished and done with. (It would be the same as Jews now saying to a Caucasian “you killed my forefathers so I have to kill you’, though perhaps it could well be that this Caucasian’s father or grand parent really has Jewish blood on his hands, though Christ was long ago put to death not by Jews but by the Romans, which many Christians seem to forget.). Some even want that we all would speak English and use what is according to them the only valuable Bible ‘The King James Version’ as if God would only want to reach His people in English. The other-way round in some Muslim countries there are leaders wanting to forbid Catholics and protestants to use the general term for god or God ‘allah’ because they claim ‘Allah’ is only the God of Muslims. Both should know that Allah is the God of all. They also should know that Allah or God  has a name which is even Holy or set-apart, and which should be known all over the world. That Holy Name is Jehovah and is the Name given to the Most High Almighty God of gods, Who is a Spirit and not a human being or a being of flesh, blood and bones, like Jesus Christ was. He is also a singular God and Being One He wants all to worship Him alone and not having people bowing down in front of graven images or making any pictures or sculptures of Him or any other gods.

Today we can see that the pagan rituals are very much increasing again and that lots of people prefer to take part in those human rituals and pagan festivals, instead of holding to the festivals the Most High Elohim has given or demands His people to keep.

By having gone so far away from the mitzvah or commandments of God, man became ‘bewildered’ and has lost the North. Not having a good compass any more man has chosen for the wrong and more attractive paths.

Walid Shoebat seems not to believe that his American compatriots are also infested with the same pesticide as the European evangelicals. He writes

Most Americans think that Evangelicals are the same universality, believing that these are ‘Israel flag wavers’ just like them. The American evangelical being unique is the most ill-informed. When it comes to this issue, they do not realize that the bulk of what identifies itself as European Evangelicals are quite the different breed. Germany is exploding with Odin worship with a church in kahoot with it, while in the U.S. Evangelicals don’t say much fearing to appear as pro-immigrant. {The Greatest Abandonment Of Christianity In The West Is Happening And The Whole World Is Being Plunged Into Paganism As Biblical Prophecies Reveal}

and continues

While westerners are made to focus on “creeping Sharia,” they forget how Christians in Germany welcomed “creeping Nazism”. The rise of Nazism in 1933 upheld “Christian values”. Just as the Next News Network, Gary Franchi Jr, the Evangelical supporting the Soldiers of Odin for their good deeds, likewise, during Nazi Germany, Germans were persuaded by the statement on “positive Christianity”:

“We demand the freedom of all religious confessions in the state, insofar as they do not jeopardize the state’s existence or conflict with the manners and moral sentiments of the Germanic race. The Party as such upholds the point of view of a positive Christianity without tying itself confessionally to any one confession. It combats the Jewish-materialistic spirit at home and abroad and is convinced that a permanent recovery of our people can only be achieved from within on the basis of the common good before individual good.” (from Article 24, 1920 Nazi Party Platform)

And just as these deceived Europeans during Nazism, they are doing it again. Everything repeats, there is nothing new under the sun.

And just as it was in WWII, what they all have in common is “antisemitism” “ultra-nationalism,” and a “racialized” understanding of morality.

Kirchenratswahlen am 23. Juli 1933: Wahlpropaganda mit SA-Unterstützung vor der St.-Marien-Kirche am Neuen Markt in Berlin

And if one thinks it is the Catholic, or the Orthodox who were the main players, I remind, it was the Evangelicals in Germany who were the bulk of the masses deceiving while being deceived in the 1930s. These comprised of 28 regional churches or Landeskirchen, the bulk of German churches, that included the three major theological traditions that had emerged from the Reformation: Lutheran, Reformed, and United. Most, the bulk majority, of Germany’s 40 million Protestants, were members of this church, although there were smaller so-called “free” Protestant churches, such as Methodist and Baptist churches that withstood Nazism.

Flag of the Deutsche Christen or German Christians 1934

During the 1920s, a movement emerged within the German Evangelical Church called the Deutsche Christen, or “German Christians.” The “German Christians” embraced many of the nationalistic and racial aspects of Nazi ideology, which is exactly what we see rising today. Once the Nazis came to power, this group sought the creation of a national “Reich Church” and supported a “nazified” paganized version of Christianity.

{The Greatest Abandonment Of Christianity In The West Is Happening And The Whole World Is Being Plunged Into Paganism As Biblical Prophecies Reveal}

Wandlung der DC-Embleme 1932 – 1935 – 1937

It is very clear for us in West-Europe that we can see a very similar situation as in the 1920ies –1930ies and that we similar dictatorial right wing figures rising up and misleading the citizens of their country. America being the first country in the series where the right wing weapon lobby has won and is going to do everything to get other coloured and other believers out of ‘their nation’. Soon we might see Wilders in the Netherlands and Marine Le Pen following in the footsteps of the new dictator Donald Trump, who shall take care that all those who do not agree with him shall disappear from the stage of his theatre.

Europe and other countries should be aware how they should be careful not to fall in the trap of those bad seed, the weeds being sown all over America and Europe, not to become infested with a dangerous virus, which not only shall kill many of the ones not like by many, but worst of all, killing lots of innocent people and bringing horror all over the world.

We should be warned and better know our real enemy.

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Preceding

Seeds to be planted soon

Seeds of promise

Seeds, weeds and kingdoms

Unbelief, faith and mustard seed

Engagement in an actual two-way conversation with your deities

Solstice, Saturnalia and Christmas-stress

 

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Additional reading

1. Hamas the modern Philistines
2. Religious Practices around the world
3. Unprecedented violence against protesters and social protest
4. Social media a destabilisation tool in the Middle East and Syrian conflict
5. Protest against Tzahal concert in Antwerp
6. Migrants to the West #6
7. 2014 European elections
8. 2015 In the Picture
9. Israel the Oil and Gas Opportunity
10. Foreign workers and immigrants
11. Silence, devotion, Salafists, quietists, weaponry, bombings, books, writers and terrorists
12. A world with or without religion
13. Knife-trust in democratic sore back
14. January 27 – 70 years ago Not an end yet to genocide
15. Nigel Farage called Donald Trump’s victory ‘bigger than Brexit’
16. 25 Orthodox rabbis issued a statement on Christianity
17. The American clouds of Anti-Semitism
18. French Muslims under attack
19. Declaration of war against Islam and Christianity
20. At the closing hours of 2016 #2 Low but also highlights
21. Bible sayings about God
22. Two states of existence before God
23. Disobedient man and God’s promises
24. How long to wait before bringing religiousness and spirituality in practice
25. You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone
26. Looking for answers on the question Is there a God #2 Pantheon of gods and celebrations
27. Picking Stones
28. Apple of Gods eye
29. Have no other gods besides Me
30. Sow and harvests in the garden of your heart
31. Bearing fruit
32. Agape, a love to share with others from the Fruit of the Spirit
33. Improving the world by improving the Faith

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Further related articles

1. An Another Way
2. What Seeds Are You Planting? (365 Days of Daring Faith — DAY 293)
3. Sowing the Wind
4. We Do Not Save, Only Plant
5. our words matter…
6. Spread the Gospel
7. ignite hope…
8. The art of Love
9. The Harvest
10. The Apple Tree
11. The Orchard of Your Life, Tom Moore
12. Faith’s Checkbook: Pruning For Fruit-Bearing
13. Matthew 21:18-22: Withering the Fig Tree
14. Be A Fruitful Tree In Harsh Weather
15. Planted to Bear Fruit
16. You Shall Know Them By Their Fruits…But What is Fruit?
17. Bearing Fruit
18. Bearing Fruit for God – John 15:6-8
19. The First Year of Marriage: Being Spiritual is Not in Tongues-Speaking
20. The Thin Line Between Pride And Greed
21. Psalms of the Salter: Some Thoughts on Really Living for the Lord (Psalm 92)
22. Discernment and God – Philippians 1:9-11
23. What! No Fruit?
24. Cookie a day: Don’t Be A Tree That Gets Cut Down
25. Sanctification by God – John 15:1-4
26. Post-Truth Bears No Fruit
27. 4 Keys To Pleasing God
28. Through Christ – You Can Do All Things
29. Our Fruit Is Found In Christ
30. “Fruit Bearing”
31. Unity: Wisdom is Justified by her Children
32. Why Don’t You Feel Him With You?
33. Abiding in the Lord
34. Following the Leader
35. rise up and resist…
36. Restored faith in humanity
37. Was It Worth It?
38. What a “normal” day for God looks like
39. Life Transformation~ Starts with the Seed, the Word of God
40. Religious Pluralism and Common Sense on Trump’s Inauguration Day
41. Hate Still Great as Trump Administration Begins
42. Here’s What Dr. Seuss Thought About “America First”
43. David Icke and the meaning of Jewish power
44. To anyone who still supports Donald Trump
45. Mario Silva: Persistence of anti-Semitism shows world has yet to learn lessons of the Holocaust
46. What’s in a name? Identity in a reactionary age
47. Defend The Jews: We Must Never Forget The Holocaust
48. Tam Dalyell and anti-semitism
49. London Mayor Sadiq Khan: We Must ‘Redouble Our Efforts’ to Stop Anti-Semitism
50. Populism is breeding racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: UN chief
51. Never Forget… Unless You Are The Russian Usurper Donald Trump
52. Rachel Rozsa *************************** In memory of my grandmother on Holocaust Memorial Day
53. Remember the Shoah, Not Just the Holocaust
54. ‘You Get a Gold Star!’: Alt-Righters Celebrate Holocaust Remembrance Day
55. Alan Dershowitz’ Long Reach
56. After Trump orders entry ban, airlines bar Iranians from US-bound flights | The Times of Israel
57. Trump’s Holocaust Remembrance Speech Doesn’t Mention Jews!
58. Lobby: Trump’s ‘America First’ slogan is antisemitic!
59. The anti-Semite with the Jewish wife
60. Anti-American & Un-Jewish (Jared Kushner)
61. Speak Out In Times of Great Moral Crisis
62. Redemption is sweet
63. Watch “What’s Holding the Arab World Back?” ~ PragerU
64. Hasbara is Desperate to stop David Icke (video)
65. Deepa Kumar: hating Israel, loving Hamas
66. Know Your Enemy
67. Nationalists’ approaches to Jews, Israel and Zionism: Complex relationships
68. United in Idiocy: Milo Yiannopolous vs the University of Berkeley Students
69. Next Week in Jerusalem
70. A former skinhead explains why it’s a mistake for the US to stop targeting right-wing extremists
71. United States Donald Trump news update

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 Related articles

• Warnings of rising xenophobia on Holocaust Remembrance Day
• Samantha Bee compares Trump ‘Muslim ban’ to a ‘shameful’ moment in US history
• Beautiful photo of Jewish and Muslim families bonding at protest will give you hope
• Faith leaders unite against crackdown
• Betraying Israel
• All Signs Reveal That Terrorism Is On The Rise, While Americans Remain A Divided Nation Heading The Way Of Europe Where We Will Soon See Violence On The Streets
• This Photo of Kids Protesting at an Airport Proves We Are All the Same
• A Break in the Search for the Origin of Complex Life
• ‘The President Went Out of His Way to Recognize the Holocaust’
• The Story Behind The Viral Photo Of Muslim And Jewish Children Protesting At O’Hare

Save

Let me through- ReFuGe

Today’s thought comes from Divisha Rastogi who completed

an awesome existence of 16 years on 19th march,2016 {Pen Pals…You and me make a better world. – about}

who resides in a small town of north India, Faizabad.

From her sunny country she looks at what horrible things this world overcome.

Screams an cries the throats are dry
On parched ground you lay
Agony and pain, what did you gain?
Ad that war stretched by the day
Realise your worst fears as the end comes near
Your last breath’s a sigh
Regret or relief, what do you believe?
Is the fight worthwhile? {Is the war worthwhile?}

Living in that world she is also fully aware that

When things go wrong,

As they often will

we do have to

Keep holding on, to your strong will.

If life’s headed south, things will eventually turn north again,

Because the world is round my friend

What goes around, comes back around. {When things head south}

It is now already for some years that we do have a worldwide crisis of people fleeing the terror of war. Added to them shall even come more people fleeing the draught and consequences of climate change. The West seeing desperate people thinking they might find heaven on earth in the capitalist Western Europe.

+++

Related articles

• China admonishes U.S. for ambassador’s visit to disputed India-China border
• Chinese Media Makes Fun Of #BoycottChinese Campaign; Describes Investment in India as ‘Suicidal’
• Cauvery dispute, a grim reminder of India’s looming water crisis
• An uneasy Congress gears up to battle for its survival
• Recording Brother in Visakhapatnam taking care of 9 ecclesiae
• The Christadelphian Shunem Home, Hyderabad India Change of treasurer
• Editorial: Another Big Step on Climate
• Nations meet in Rwanda to tackle greenhouse gases
• London’s newest skyscraper ridiculed for resemblance to male genitalia
• Travellers warned of fatal tick-borne disease in Western Europe

Save

Pen Pals

Let me through, will you?
For I seek refuge
Just for my child, some food and bed
I think I see a light ahead
Across the bars,
In someplace far
The vision is distant
But I do dream
Help me, will you please?
Urge, for my brother’s release
I seek asylum
For I am distraught
It isn’t done as easy as said
But I think i see a light ahead.

Beyond the Fence .

View original post

Our life depending on faith

Looking at the Bible reading for January 28

When we look at our bible readings of the day, we do find Genesis 46-47, Psalm 50 and Paul’s letter to the Romans chapter 3-4.

Apostle Paul in the apse (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Apostle Paul when he was called Saul had been full of zeal for keeping the law and saw the followers of Christ as appearing to have no respect for keeping the law so he persecuted them – until he was dramatically converted. After his conversion and the maturity gained by the experiences that followed, he wrote his remarkable letter to the Romans, a letter primarily to the Gentiles.

The apostle asks a valid question, which should bring us to wonder what the good might be us of difference between a non believer and a believer doing good works.

People trained in God’s ways

Throughout history we have seen that there have been many people who were so called trained in God’s ways and even got titles of universities, declaring them to be theologians. Lots of people look up at them and think they are the person who best know how everything is about God, gods, religion, man, life and death. Lots of people got frustrated with what they got to know from those scholars  who often said we just had to belief this or that, because it is incomprehensible for a human being to understand. As such lots of human doctrines were introduced in Christendom.

People also got annoyed with certain behaviour of those so called religious men. Some had relationships not only with different wives, but there have also been clerics who had intercourse with children.
On the other hand the world sees lots of unbelievers who are doing very good works and are always ready to help others, plus giving very good examples how we make the best of our life in a good relationship with others.

God not abandoning people

It is true that lots of non-religious people are also good people, but the apostle Paul tells us as it turns out, it makes a lot of difference who is a follower of Christ and a believer in the Only One True God.

In history there have been many people who tried to bring the Word of God to others and make it alive for the future. We had the Jewish scribes who were being put in charge of writing down and caring for God’s revelation, what we call the Holy Scriptures or the Bible. In the course of doing that, when some of those Jews abandoned their post, we can see that God didn’t abandon them.

Throughout the Book of books we can see how God always stayed with His People, even when they did bad things or had moments that they forgot Him. Even the most important of these men of God had one moment of doubt, that he questioned God why He (Jehovah God) had abandoned him (Jesus).

Jesus at one moment also cried to his heavenly Father saying

 Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? (Matthew 27:46)

being a call unto God questioning Him why he had forsaken or had deserted the son of man Jeshua (Jesus Christ), who was willing to do God’s Will instead of his own will. (In case Jesus is God he naturally would always have done his own will and could never have left himself.)

Not cancelling out Jehovah his faithfulness

Do you think Jesus and other men of God their faithlessness cancels out Jehovah the Almighty God His faithfulness?

We are told that God keeps his Word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth. Scripture says the same

“God forbid! Yea, let God be true, though every man a liar. As it is written: “That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged.”” (Romans 3:4 KJ21)

We are given God’s Word which stand fast and true and is not given to confuse us or to.  We are given commandments in that book of books and are questioned if we make the law of none effect through faith.

The unbelievers can do good and bad like we too can do a lot of bad. But if our wrongdoing only underlines and confirms God’s right-doing, “shouldn’t we be commended for helping out?” remarks Paul. When having come into the faith we should be willing to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ (a work to be done) and should do our uttermost best to comply not only with his teachings but also with the ordnance of God.

Sayings we are saved and have to do no works

The people who do want us to believe we can do whatever we want because salvation is on us by the blood of Christ, must know that it is not by our bad deeds that God would come out better.  It’s simply perverse to say,

“If my lies serve to show off God’s truth all the more gloriously, why blame me? I’m doing God a favour.”

or to say

“The more evil we do, the more good God does, so let’s just do it!”

That’s pure slander. (Romans 3:7-8)

Same start for every one

It is not because we are Jews, Christians or Muslims that we would be we more excellent than the others and are getting a better break than the others. (Romans 3:9) Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it that there’s nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They’ve all taken the wrong turn; they’ve all wandered down blind alleys.

It may sound harsh, but there is “No one’s living right”.

“9 What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise! For we have before proved that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin. 10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 there is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They have all gone from the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”” (Romans 3:9-12 KJ21)

Therefore every day we do have to be careful not to have our throats to be gaping graves,our tongues slick as mud slides. (Romans 3:13) With no tongues to deceit we should try to get others to know Jeshua, Jesus Christ, the son of man and the son of God. In him we did receive salvation, but in him we do have to grow (a work) so that we can run a good race, not for the honour of sinner-of-the-year, or for the one who made the most money on the back of others.

Afraid for those coming in

In our land littered with heartbreak and ruin, many of us do not want to know living with others. They are so afraid of the refugees coming into our nation. Are they afraid of them being able to get others to believe what they believe and to come to the same religion as theirs. Should they than not wonder how it comes that those immigrants not come to be surprised by the faith we are having and that they would become interested in the faith that lives in Europe? We think the greatest problem is that there is not so much faith in God living around in our regions. Most people never give God the time of day. This makes it clear, doesn’t it, that whatever is written in these Scriptures is not what God says about others but to us to whom these Scriptures were addressed in the first place! And it’s clear enough, isn’t it, that we’re sinners, every one of us, in the same sinking boat with everybody else?

For sure it is not our involvement with God’s revelation that will  put us right with God. There are also many unbelievers who write about our God and about religion. There are also people who are against God who try to bring others in doubt by throwing lots of discussions at them.

Should we not more question why there would be a danger of Muslims converting people from here unto the Islamic faith? In case there would be enough people standing strong in their faith we should not worry.

Did Jesus also not give the task to his followers to go out and preach? When Christians would do what Jesus Christ ordered them to do we should have enough preachers witnessing about the works of god and about the real faith we should follow.

Man incapable to govern

Throughout history man has proven to be incapable to come to good governments, or to be able to rule this universe. By the Word of God we are forced to face our complicity in our sins. By all our stupidities we do have to come to see we can only have a good government under the jurisdiction of Christ Jesus.

Because by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified in God His sight (Romans3:20) we should know that for by the Law comes the knowledge of sin and are we given the ways to handle sin. Now we also do not have any excuse because in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about in our Scriptures, has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this.

“20 Therefore by the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all those who believe. For there is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:20-23 KJ21)

“30  What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, who followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.” (Romans 9:30-31 KJ21)

Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God sent us His only begotten son and accepted this man’s ransom offering to pay for our sins. did it for us. The action of God, out of sheer generosity, was taken for the recognizance of the humbleness of  the Nazarene Jew who was willing to put his own will aside for complying totally to God’s Will.

A Freebox in Berlin, Germany 2005, serving as a distribution centre for free donated materials, and where the gratis is really for free.

With Jeshua (Jesus Christ) the world has received a pure gift. With God it is not, like we can see so many times today, that there are offers to people where they say it is gratis, but then they still have to pay so much money. By God Gratis does really means for free. We do not have to pay anything for the Gift of Grace. Salvation is given to everybody in the world. But it is given at one point and then we have to continue from there onwards. And that is what a lot of people seem to forget.

The mess we are in & Setting the world in the clear

God by the action taken, or by the work done by His son, got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where God always wanted us to be. In His plan fits a righteous people. Jehovah, the God of gods, did it by means of Jesus Christ. It was God who sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear.

God decided on this course of action in full view of the public — to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. For many that does not seem to be clear, but it’s now — this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.

Working at a relationship

When we come to know that Jesus is the Way to God, we do have to respond (an action to be taken or a work to be done). Our response to what God does for us should create our willingness to do the right works to come to a very good relationship with Him. to come to such a good relationship our lives have to get in step with God.

Jehovah God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews and this God of Abraham should be the Allah, Adonai, Elohim or God of Israel and God of all Jews, Christians, Muslims but also of all those who wander in this world without knowing yet what the purpose and the goal of their life is.

The apostle Paul warns the world to know that there is only one God Who has set right all who welcome His action and enter into it, both those who follow the apostle’s religious system and those who have never heard of his and our religion.

“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 KJ21)

“in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.” (Ephesians 3:12 KJ21)

“knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 KJ21)

“And His name, through faith in His name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know. Yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Acts 3:16 KJ21)

“But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Galatians 3:22 KJ21)

“23 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24 KJ21)

“30 seeing it is one God who shall justify the Circumcision by faith, and Uncircumcision through faith.” (Romans 3:30 KJ21)

Having stressed “the faithfulness of God” (verse 3) and having told that God reacts to what he sees – seeing “faith” and also faithlessness – we should be fully aware that it is important how we act. Our behaviour is an important factor to our faith-life.

Several people are cross with God and left faith because they did not see any difference between them and the unbelievers. Many do say it is not right God also “inflicts” trouble, pain and sorrow to those who believe in Him.

We must not say,

“God is unrighteous to inflict wrath” (verse 5) on the disobedience he sees in his creation.

What God looks to see, Paul says as he higlights the example of Abraham in the fourth chapter, is – faith, genuine belief and trust in God for “faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness” (verse 9) and it will be “counted” to us also.

“Cometh this blessedness then upon the Circumcision only, or upon the Uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.” (Romans 4:9 KJ21)

Statue of Saint Paul at Bab Kisan, Damascus, Syria Français : Statue de Saint-Paul à Bab Kissan, Damas, Syrie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Paul stresses this was “the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe … so that righteousness would be counted to them as well” (verse 11).

We read in Genesis earlier this month all the things Abraham did – through faith. Paul is stressing that

“For the promise that he should be the heir of the world came not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” (Romans 4:13 KJ21)

Acting faithfully toward God in our lives is what matters most of all and Abraham is the key example for us to follow. In the past the Jews had a contract or covenant with God. With Christ there was made a new covenant. In the knowledge that a contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect, we have been offered a much better contract. Yes, we as human beings do need some contract or written rules. As  such those who follow Christ, believing in him, can live with the promise that God made to our forefathers. God’s promise, though, can not be broken. This is why the fulfilment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and His way, and then simply embracing Him and what He does. God’s promise arrives as pure gift. That’s the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father — that’s reading the story backwards. He is our faith father. Therefore Paul realized that “the law brings wrath” and

“15 because the law worketh wrath; for where there is no law, there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be given by grace to the end that the promise might be made sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:15-16 KJ21)

It depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace.

We should recall God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 17:4,5 and his life of faith beginning from when he left Ur. We must each reflect on our own acts of faith, for it is not just something we talk about! What things have we done, and are doing – that show our faith?

Our eternal future “depends on faith”.

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Preceding article: January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works

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Please do find also to read:

1. Epicurus’ Problem of Evil
2. Condemnation of the World and Illustration of Justification
3. Elul Observances
4. God’s wrath and sanctification
5. A god who gave his people commandments and laws he knew they never could keep to it
6. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
7. Outflow of foundational relationship based on acceptance of Jesus
8. Back from gone #4 Your inner feelings and actions
9. Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences
10. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
11. Being of good courage running the race
12. A race not to swift, nor a battle to the strong
13. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong
14. To Soar In The Spirit You Have To Be Hard Core
15. Being religious has benefits even in this life
16. Cognizance at the doorstep or at the internet socket
17. Good and bad things in this world
18. Salvation and Righteousness
19. Establish your hearts blameless in holiness
20. Myth 12: The Hyper-Grace Gospel Makes People Lazy
21. Faith Alone Does Not Save . . . No Matter How Many Times Protestants Say It Does
22. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
23. A Living Faith #6 Sacrifice
24. A Living Faith #10: Our manner of Life #2
25. Faith and works
26. Not making yourselves abominable
27. The attraction of doing something
28. Re–forming ourselves
29. Humbleness
30. Wired to Connect?
31. Bearing fruit
32. Our stance against certain religions and immigrating people
33. Religion, fundamentalism and murder
34. Whoopi Goldberg commandments and abortion
35. Daring to speak in multicultural environment
36. As Christ’s slaves doing the Will of God in gratitude
37. 2014 Religion
38. Disobedient man and God’s promises
39. Crisis man needed in this world
40. From pain to purpose
41. Unconditional love
42. Relying on the Love of God
43. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #17 Sorts of prayers
44. God’s forgotten Word 5 Lost Lawbook 4 The ‘Catholic’ church
45. Daily Spiritual Food To prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God
46. Evangelisation, local preaching opposite overseas evangelism
47. When not seeing or not finding a biblically sound church

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Further reading

1. Faith (Heartfixxer)
2. Embracing the Path
3. To Soar In The Spirit You Have To Be Hard Core (the Inscribed heart)
4. See Other with God’s Eyes
5. Faith is the Key
6. Wear Your Faith on Your Sleeve
7. We Need to Water Our Faith
8. A Date With God
9. Where is the Church that Christ built?
10. Actions are the Megaphone of Words
11. We are justified by faith and works, in a manner of speaking.
12. Luther’s misunderstanding
13. Faith-Rooted Practice – Rev. Dr. King and Prophetic Evangelicalism
14. Declaring what is not as though it is
15. What is Right?
16. Thankful Thursday: God’s Faithfulness
17. Great Faithfulness
18. Grace Makes All The Difference

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Related articles

• Can Faithful Living Exempt Me From Suffering?
• How Apostle Paul distorted biblical view of Torah observance and righteousness
• Rabbi Schochet echoes Paul: dead are free from Law & resurrected born-again Jews live in new reality
• Vatican: Jews don’t need Christ to be saved
• Jews for Jesus Denounces Vatican Statement on Jewish Evangelism
• Daily Devotion – Friday, December 18, 2015
• Serving the Saints
• Love & Leadership
• Beyond the Manger
• 12-16-2015 Whose Denominations Are They?

Symbolic move to scare people away

Because Denmark found it had to need tighter immigration rules Martin Henriksen, immigration spokesman for the populist DPP, used the debate to call for an extension of the border controls that have currently been introduced on a temporary basis.

Copy of “the Independent” cartoon in the article about Human rights groups who also objected to measures delaying family reunifications (2016 January 27)

Do we have to say “After more than ” or “it took only” three hours of debate to have the minority Liberal Party government’s bill adopted by 81 votes to 27, with the support of the opposition Social Democrats and the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party (DPP)? One politician abstained and 70 others were absent.

This shows clearly how the majority of Denmark is feeling about people in need coming to safer places, like Denmark and Germany.

Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen, of the opposition left Red-Green Alliance, argued that the measures taken are

a symbolic move to scare people away.

The United Nations warned the measures would “fuel fear and xenophobia” but Danish politicians claimed they were

“about creating equality between migrants and Danes”.

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The tough measures such as confiscating refugees’ valuables to pay for their stay and delaying family reunification to three years, are not worthy for a free democratic state.

Denmark’s prime minister has warned that the 1951 United Nations treaty governing the rights of refugees might need updating. After Sweden imposed identity checks for travellers coming from Denmark, Denmark did the same along its border with Germany. Hungary had already built a razor-wire fence along its border with Croatia. {NYT}

Denmark and all the other European countries can and should take other measures to avoid the influx of refugees to the more wealthy countries of Europe. Last year, a record 21,300 refugees entered Denmark, one of the highest rates per capita in the EU, but Germany has to face more entrants and public opinion is also under pressure in that country.

Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote to Denmark’s immigration minister to oppose the property seizures.

“I believe that such a measure could amount to an infringement of the human dignity of the persons concerned,”

he said.

The family reunification delays have also been heavily criticised, with Denmark being accused of violating the European Convention on Human Rights.

Jonas Christoffersen, the director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera:

“The right of refugees to be reunited with their family is protected by numerous international conventions ratified by Denmark. We believe the government is overstepping international law by implementing this bill.”

Liberal and left-wing EU parliamentarians criticised the proposed bill and took aim at a new provision in Danish law that would delay family reunification for up to three years for people in need of temporary protection.

“This law … goes completely in the wrong direction,”

Cornelia Ernst, a far-left German politician, said on Monday.

Amnesty International said the country had started a “race to the bottom” as support for refugees continues to wane across Europe.

“To prolong the suffering of vulnerable people who have been ripped apart from their families by conflict or persecution is plain wrong,”

John Dalhuisen, its Europe and Central Asia Director said.

“This is a sad reflection of how far Denmark has strayed from its historic support of international norms enshrined in the Refugee Convention.

“European states must stop this dismal race to the bottom and begin to meet their international obligations, by upholding refugees’ human rights and dignity. Anything less is a betrayal of our common humanity.”

Liberal Party spokesman Jakob Ellemann-Jensen defended their proposition by telling CNN’s Christiane Amanpour last month:

“All Danish citizens and refugees coming here receive universal health care; you receive education from preschool to university, and you receive elderly care; you receive language training and integration training free of charge, paid for by the government.”

The only demand that we set to measure this is if you have the means to pay for your housing and for your food — regardless of whether you are a Dane or whether you are a refugee — then you should.”

Similar laws exist in Switzerland and Germany, according to officials there. Dozens of cases were reported in Switzerland of migrants’ assets being confiscated to fund their living expenses, although in Germany it was unclear if, or how widely, the policy was enforced.

According to CNN many in socially liberal Denmark say they are appalled by the law, which the U.N. Refugee Agency has called

“an affront to (refugees’) dignity and an arbitrary interference with their right to privacy.”

Wiebke Keson, a 72-year-old Danish refugee center volunteer, said she was “shocked” by the notion of confiscating jewelry.

“Since I’m German, I was immediately thinking about our own history,”

she said, voicing a common criticism that the policy echoes Nazi confiscations of Jewish valuables.

The refugee camp in Thisted (Photo the Telegraph)

A Syrian family was stopped by the police at Padborg Station in Denmark, near the German border, en route to Sweden last year. Credit Mauricio Lima for The New York Times

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Please do find to read:

A stain of shame for the European Union

Denmark votes in favour for a Discriminatory Nazi law

Denmark approves controversial refugee bill allowing police to seize asylum seekers’ cash and valuables

Danish MPs approve seizing valuables from refugees

Denmark adopts controversial law to seize asylum seekers’ valuables

Denmark approves law on seizing refugees’ valuables and delaying family reunions

Danish Law Requires Asylum Seekers to Hand Over Valuables

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Related articles

• Strasbourg court rules Hungary pension law violates European Convention on Human Rights
• Denmark’s government wants to seize valuables from Syrian refugees
• Migrant, refugee, or human? The unsettled issue of human rights in Europe
• European Union Combats Extremists Online
• The woman is simply deranged and drunk on her perceived power
• EU could be slapped down again by Danes in latest referendum
• Denmark defends plan to strip refugee valuables
• The Latest: Agency says arrivals to Europe to top 1 million
• Norway: Anti-immigrationist appointed immigration minister
• Danish PM backs David Cameron’s plan for ‘slimmer’ EU after referendum defeat

Denmark votes in favour for a Discriminatory Nazi law

On Tuesday the 26th of January 2016 it was good to see and hear that there was someone from a tiny country who dared to raise his voice against an outrageous and discriminatory Nazi law of which the Danes and some other East European countries would hope keep away other asylum seekers.

In 2008 Denmark had barely immigrants from the ‘other’ category, under which granted asylum requests also fall. In 2009 it rose, to 7.6 immigrants per 10,000 residents. That was the same as in the Netherlands, but the country was more desired and achieved in 2010 more asylum seekers than the Netherlands. The “other” category counted for Denmark in 2010, 9.7 against 7.2 for the Netherlands.

Danish politician Lars Løkke Rasmussen. (This image is a cropped version of File:Dmitry Medvedev in Denmark 28 April 2010-12.jpeg). Attribution: http://www.kremlin.ru. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen‘s center-right party Venstre presented his new cabinet in June 2015, it looked forward to a stricter policy to arrive mainly because the influx increased constantly.

On Tuesday, January 26th, it was the in December proposed plan toned down, that was accepted to be taken in a law.

The Danish government wants to make it clear that all rejected asylum seekers are immediately returned, but also wants to bring a dissuasion by taking the belongings of immigrants.

In Europe more and more Nazi ideology seems to get back coming up. By excluding certain groups of people travelling between the communities it creates a dangerous distinction. If one were to ask money to people to be allowed to settle in the country one could still accept it. But to just take the belongings from only one population group, refugees, is just unacceptable.

Following similar moves in Switzerland and southern Germany, Denmark’s parliament voted on Tuesday to allow police to search asylum-seekers on arrival in the country and confiscate any non-essential items worth more than 10,000 Danish kroner (about €1,300) that have no sentimental value to their owner. Who will also determine the handling of emotional value which may be retained and which are pricey to be saved? In any case, it also creates the possibility for the police force to hold back (steal) goods from those who are trying to enter the country and to have the confiscated goods disappearing in their own pocket.

The centre-right Danish government says the procedure is to cover the cost of each asylum-seeker’s treatment by the state, and mimics treatment of Danish citizens on welfare benefits.

The UN has nevertheless called the move concerning and regrettable, while an opposition party termed it “morally horrible”. This new legislation is ethically unsound and unworthy for a Union which want to carry the words democracy and freedom in its emblems. In the European Union all states should join hands to take care that human rights standards are kept high.

May we expect such a ague or getting the creeps by those in power in the European Union that measures will be taken to protect the right of those who are fleeing war and horror?

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Find also: A stain of shame for the European Union

A Dutch version / Nederlandse versie: Denemarken zwicht onder druk van anti asielzoekers

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Related articles

• [Ticker] Ireland enters refugee relocation scheme
• Riot Erupts in Dutch Town over Plan to Build Asylum Centre
• European Council worries about the detention and reception conditions for asylum seekers
• Soini: Finland should follow Denmark’s tough stance on asylum seekers
• Half of Netherlands 52,000 asylum seekers are Syrian
• Merkel vows to ‘drastically decrease’ refugee influx, but rejects cap on asylum seekers
• U.N. refugee chief says fears for future of European asylum system
• Denmark’s government wants to seize valuables from Syrian refugees
• Danish PM slams new Swedish border checks
• Dutch refugee law echo’s Nazi seizure of cash, jewellery

From Guestwriters 2015 in review

From the start in 2014, April the 26th

On 2014 April 26 we started offering a readers digest to you. We wanted to have different writers presenting their selection of most interesting articles found on the net. We regret we did not find enough people interested in co-operating to create a free lifestyle magazine where people could find uplifting stories.

We started talking about the dreams we all have or have to have, because he who beams never walks in the dark, and looked at our position in this world and how positivism should enter this world more. Our invitation to you reader to share those read articles you liked is still counting. We would love to present more interesting articles people can find on the net. For this reason we started the Reblog section in 2014, when we looked if we or you have something to say or not.

At the opening of 2016 we would like to remind you that you too are invited to share with us. You too may be sharing your words with us and many more readers. You don’t have to stay in the shadow.

At this site we want to speak about feelings and started to look at the worst feeling, the one which pulls us down. Depression is when we can’t walk in the light of life any more. Our intention is to show that each of us matter in this world and that we can get fate in our change to positiveness. You and us we all can contribute and help to create a positive attitude. You have to get the right attitude of an unstoppable success, and once more we do bring a call to help to create a positive attitude.

You may consider your own journey in life but we dared to ask which kind of attitude you want to take. In 2014, when we started we asked our readers to begin their day by living their positive attitude and in started also to point out to look at the way to come to the truth. We went in defence of it. For that, we also started looking at Who should be your closest friend.

Though we may be lonely in the crowd we wanted to build up a place where many could find each other and could overcome hurt feelings. we do not ask people to be some one else, but would love to see you smiling and with a positive attitude or positive disposition.

Perhaps what we hope for is what you hope for. In September 2014 we repeated our call to come to write for us and to share what you think interesting. A year after our question what our readers are seeking we did not receive many answers. We expressed our love to find more contributors who could show ways of fulfilling our dreams. We do hope you could find inspiration here and follow your dreams.

In 2015 finishing our first year

On the first of January we, like many others looked back at the previous year and presented our first review: 2014 in review.

Our first year we got visitors from 71 countries in all. 13 countries were added in 2015 bringing the total to 84 countries in all, with most visitors again coming from The United States (2467). Netherlands (351) & United Kingdom (341) were not far behind. Based in Belgium we only could get the attention of 181 viewers in Belgium in 2015, which is not much, but which can be caused by not many writings being in Dutch, French or German. We are pleased we also got 141 viewers from Down Under.

Knowing that we need light on our path in life, near the end of 2015 we also started placing some reflections or meditations texts, which we shall continue to do. Because we did so often got questions why we referred to some ones website article, or got requests to take some listed article out of the list of “Further reading” we shall enter less references or note lesser further readings. Normally you would think people would be pleased when there is placed a link to their site, but at several of our websites we got an other impression, hearing people not being pleased they being mentioned on one of our sites. Not being appreciated we bringing others to their writings or commenting on their writings, plus they not understanding we are helping them to get more readers and to get higher on the Google ranking, whilst we take them away from our own website, we will not any more invest so much time in looking for appropriate articles worth mentioning. Therefore in the future you will find lesser links and we shall be pleased keeping you more to our own websites.

Treats, fear and discussions in 2015

2015 was again a year were many civil rights were tread under foot. The Syrian war continued for its fourth year and brought many war refugees into Europe, a region where many do not seem to know themselves very well because kindness to others seemed to be far off. Though we are born to shine, not to fear, lots of people got over-manned by fear. At a time where there is not much knowledge of the truth, but lots of doubt and/or blindness, we tried to convince that less is still enough.

While viral moments and trends or fads, that took up lots of people their time and their Twitter feeds included viral phenomenon The Dress, pizza rat, dad bods and adult coloring books we looked at the major refugee crisis in Europe as well as numerous instances of terrorism and mass shootings. Whilst July, Caitlyn Jenner made her big debut via a sexy and scantily clad Vanity Fair cover shot…and her new reality was officially underway we also look at how we human beings manage with birth, our being and our behaviour and acceptance or not of certain situations. Bringing articles around abortion and life we were pleased to have as our 5 most active commenter  Blackhorn33 who is Comanche – Irish and a half-breed that’s Full Blooded American, who with “Our Circle of Friends” met on Google and was willing to contribute about Child Abuse -The Facts, and show the world the importance of the unborn life.

A place for a Higher Being and for His Creation

“Stockholmsfyrens” ungefärliga utseende vid Ropsten med vy från hotell Forestas entréplan på Lidingö. Det runda 187 m höga tornet innehållande både bostäder och kontorslokaler är föreslaget att uppföras omkring 2014-2015. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

With less for more we looked at one of the major discussed issues of the year, bringing global warming and climate change at the second place and the refugees at the first place as major topics for 2015. Pointing out that it is important that we do know that we have to find the meaning of life and reach a state of peace, of old and new ideas to sustain power and to feel good by loving to be connected and worship something, we brought to the attention that we have our duties in this world and have to take our responsibility,making the right engagement in an actual two way conversation with your deities or more important to build up a good relationship with the Only One True God, the Divine Creator.

Throughout the year on this and our other sites we wanted to bring to understanding that we do have to come in a good relationship with others and with the Most High, even when we sometimes have to deal with the silence of God.

We asked not to forget that falsehood darkens the pure knowledge of God and that we should always turn to the Book of books, the Bible, to find the truth and Guidance. But to come to know the Creator and His creatures and creation, we do have to look with our eyes and to see with our heart. Some may think “God plays hide’n seek“, but He is always around us and sees everything we do.
The Almighty God above all other gods greater than all gods has given us His infallible Word, the Bible, helmet of salvation, God’s Words put in the mouth of prophets for perfecting, to reprove and correct. Searching or overlooking God’s presence more people do have to find His Word and take up that book that is Written by inspiration of God for our admonition, to whom it shall be imputed if they believe.

2015 once more showed to the world that human beings need a lot of correction. It was good to see that in France many nations also came to conclusion we have urgently to take care of mother earth. In this world were many have to learn that stuff is just stuff, it became time that man takes his position about materialistic desires.

The terrors which came over Europe should make those who call themselves Christian to think and have them remind and hear God’s voice, bringing them into the habit of dealing with God about everything.

Statistics for 2015

In 2015, there were 295 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 525 posts. On the 12th of January in total 534 articles have been published on this site. 

The busiest day of the year was October 19th with 175 views. The most popular post that day was Whoopi Goldberg commandments and abortion. But the most commented on post in 2015 was Bible, helmet of salvation, God’s Words put in the mouth of prophets for perfecting, to reprove and correct.

For 2016

We are thankful that you came along on this site and do hope to find you more than once at this and some other of our sites. We wish you all the best for 2016 and do hope you may be like a tree planted by streams of water.

Have faith in your faith…doubt your doubts and don’t throw a curtain across tomorrow… the star of its performance just may be you !

There still has to be done a lot before we shall have sustainable, green habits as a second nature, but at this site we do hope to bring incentives to work at it.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,300 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Preceding: 2014 in review

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Additional reading

1. A look at materialism
2. Our you taking a step back to think
3. US must do more to protect its children
4. A year coming to its end and our Spiritual Senses
5. Summary for the year 2015 #1 Threat and fear
6. Summary for the year 2015 # 2 Strewn with corpses and refugees
7. 2015 In the Picture
8. 2015 Human rights
9. 2015 Health and Welfare
10. 2015 Ecology
11. Vatican against Opponents of immigration
12. Greenpeace demands scale up of ecological farming
13. Building a low-carbon world: the sixth industrial revolution
14. Republican member of Congress from Arizona to boycott pope’s address over climate change
15. Vatican meeting of mayors talking about global warming, human trafficking and modern-day slavery
16. Paris World Summit of Conscience, International interfaith gathering #1
17. Paris World Summit of Conscience, International interfaith gathering #2
18. Paris World Summit of Conscience, International interfaith gathering #3
19. 2015 Summit of Consciences for the Climate
20. A Miracle of Unity at COP21
21. Charlie Hebdo
22. Belgian Bible Students review of 2015
23. Bijbelvorsers Blogging annual report and 2015 in review
24. Refugee crisis, terrorist attacks and created fear
25. Before you blame All Muslims for the terrorist attack in Paris
26. The first on the list of the concerns of the saint
27. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
28. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands
29. Hidden potential for helping others
30. Only one person who has the power to cast the deciding vote that will kill your dream
31. Have faith in your faith…doubt your doubts
32. The inspiring divine spark
33. Healthy life can be found in sacred books
34. Bible, best Book of books to get to know the truth
35. Written to whom it is about to be reckoned
36. No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation
37. By temptations, by signs, and by wonders we can see the Works of God
38. A Bible Falling Apart Belongs to Someone who isn’t
39. A heart in the right place and brightly burning faith
40. For attractive lips, speak words of kindness
41. If you want to go far in life
42. Spread love everywhere you go
43. Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair
44. The truest greatness lies in being kind
45. Kindness
46. Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness
47. Be kinder than necessary
48. He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass
49. Taking care of mother earth
50. No curtain placed over tomorrow

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Further about what happened in 2015

1. MSN 2015 in review
2. 2015 in review: Memorable Journeys on EP
3. 2015 Wrap Up!
4. My most difficult travel moments of 2015
5. The 2015 Eternal Hunt Awards, pt. 2: The Hobbyists
6. Stay within the lines – or not!
7. coloring to de-stress; I’ve joined the craze!
8. Art and the Holidays
9. Whatever Is Lovely
10. Intuitive Coaching 101–Zen & The Art of Coloring Books
11. Adults Coloring Kaleidoscopic Creatures
12. Unique Sugar Gliders Chinchillas Reptile Adult Coloring Books
13. Adult Coloring Worldwide & Tangle With Jessica Palmers Hidden Treasures
14. What Amazon’s 2015 Bestsellers Say About Us
15. Winter 2015: The rest of the field…
16. Grandad, I can smell you …
17. Kaleidoscope of 2015
18. Reflecting on 2015
19. My 2015 In Year Review
20. 2015 In Review… (adventuretimealpacamybag)
21. 2015 In Review (ingridandjimmy)
22. 50 Things that made me smile in 2015
23. The Year That Was…2015
24. Favorite-est things from #2015
25. Be Looking at 2015 in review
26. 2015 in Review: Paradise River, Dusk
27. The Obsessive Viewer Podcast – Ep 148 – 2015 in Review – Best and Worst Movies of the Year and Viewing Stats
28. Looking Back at 2015
29. Year in Review
30. New Zealand’s 2015: the year we hid from a world in need
31. End of the Year Survey 2015!
32. 2015 in transit
33. A New Year: 2015 In Review and Plans for 2016!
34. Bye bye 2015 and welcome 2016
35. Start 2016 with a Backwards Slide
36. Let’s Commence to Coordinate our Sights
37. Flee from Idolatry

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UNHCR recommends measures for strengthening security and refugee protection

UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – on 18 December 2015, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva released guidance aimed at helping States deal with security concerns while maintaining vital standards of refugee protection.

2015 was a horrible year for millions of people who had to leave their own habitat, trying to find places where they could find some peace. The number of forcibly displaced people worldwide will far surpass a record 60 million this year.

With almost a million people having crossed the Mediterranean as refugees and migrants so far this year, and conflicts in Syria and elsewhere continuing to generate staggering levels of human suffering, 2015 is likely to exceed all previous records for global forced displacement, the UN Refugee Agency warned in a new report today.

The global refugee total, which a year ago was 19.5 million, had as of mid-2015 passed the 20 million threshold (20.2 million) for the first time since 1992. Asylum applications meanwhile were up 78 per cent (993,600) over the same period in 2014. And the numbers of internally displaced people jumped by around 2 million to an estimated 34 million.

The report by the United Nations refugee agency says one in every 122 humans today is someone who has been forced to flee their homes.

It notes that the figure includes 20.2 million refugees, the highest total since 1992.

The report says the numbers were mainly driven by the Syrian war, conflict in Ukraine and other protracted conflicts.

Persian Gulf states, which were not a party to the 1951 treaty, have not accepted refugees despite sharing a common language and geographic proximity in the Arabian Peninsula. Lebanon meanwhile hosts more refugees compared to its population size than any other country, with 209 refugees per 1000 inhabitants. And Ethiopia pays most in relation to the size of its economy with 469 refugees for every dollar of GDP (per capita, at PPP). Overall, the lion’s share of the global responsibility for hosting refugees continues to be carried by countries immediately bordering zones of conflict, many of them in the developing world. The United States (and Canada) has limited Syrian refugees to about 1500 since that country’s war broke out in 2011. However, the United States has provided more than $4 billion in humanitarian aid and almost one-third of the more than $574 million provided for the refugees. Reshaping the Middle East Exact numbers on population shifts are difficult to determine because of the chaos in both Syria and Iraq. While some four million Syrians have fled the country, another 6 to 7 million have been internally displaced.

“Forced displacement is now profoundly affecting our times. It touches the lives of millions of our fellow human beings – both those forced to flee and those who provide them with shelter and protection,”

High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said.

“Never has there been a greater need for tolerance, compassion and solidarity with people who have lost everything,”

he added.

Nearly 2.5 million asylum seekers have requests pending, with Germany, Russia and the United States receiving the highest numbers of the nearly one million new claims lodged in the first half of the year.

Currently, with growing polarization of political debate concerning refugees in some countries, the concern is that asylum-seekers and refugees could be victimized, and refugee protection – which has saved the lives of millions of people since World War Two – could be endangered.

Two important points to bear in mind here are that refugees are themselves fleeing persecution and violence, often including terrorist acts; and that the 1951 Refugee Convention explicitly excludes people who are combatants or who have committed serious crimes.

For us it is very difficult to know if between the refugees are also fighters or infiltrators. Lots of people are afraid that Muslim fundamentalists may also enter our regions that way. But this would be most likely. The conditions how the refugees enter our regions is so bad that the Muslim fundamentalists can use much better and more safely way to enter our countries.

With border controls, UNHCR understands the need of States to identify security concerns at the point of entry, for example through increased checks, including the use of biometrics such as fingerprints and iris scans. Its recommendations include practical guidance on ensuring that these and other measures are carried out properly and proportionately and subject to judicial control, and avoiding discrimination, for example based on nationality, race, ethnicity, or religion. Applications for asylum must be looked at individually.

With cases involving the exclusion of people for serious criminal or terrorist acts, the paper of the UNHCR recommends that a factual and legal assessment be done, if needed, by specialized exclusion units. Guidance is provided on this and related measures, including handling of extradition requests, and detention. It also notes that people providing funds to terrorist organizations could themselves be excluded from refugee status, depending on the individual circumstances.

Registration is a crucial part of the refugee protection process, and UNHCR believes that proper systems for this, plus identity and security screening are essential – including in situations of large-scale refugee influxes. As refugees are people at risk of their lives, information-sharing between States has to be done in line with established principles and standards on data protection.

Resettlement and other forms of admission remain a key tool for providing refugees with safety and a solution to their plight. In light of today’s record number of forcibly displaced people globally – some 60 million – the paper makes the point that it is more crucial than ever that resettlement and other forms of admission remain viable and effective options for the international community in dealing with refugees.

Resettlement programmes are handled between UNHCR and receiving States, which in many cases invoke far tougher screening than for almost any other form of admission to a country. Nonetheless, and to assuage concerns, UNHCR’s recommendations include support for continuing security screening – not least as effective resettlement programmes provide a regular and safe alternative to dangerous sea and other journeys that not only put refugee lives at risk, but also profit smugglers and make the jobs of border security forces even more difficult.

Arguably the biggest risk for any environment of insecurity is that of increasing xenophobia and vilification directed towards people fleeing violent conflicts. The paper calls on States to exert continued resolute leadership in de-dramatizing and de-politicizing the challenges associated with managing refugee flows.

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• 10,000 missing asylum seekers ‘too difficult to find’

4.1 million Syrians having fled their homeland

In December already more than 1 million refugees entered Europe. Some 4.1 million Syrians have now fled their homeland, according to the United Nations, victims of more than four years of civil war in their homeland. This is the latest war to redistribute people from ravaged countries.

After the two world wars the United Nations responded with the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol which clarified the rights of refugees and the obligations of the 148 members that became party to one or both of these instruments.These obligations have greatly burdened these countries in the current Syrian refugee crisis.

According to the United Nations, those countries in Europe absorbing refugees include:

• Turkey, which shares a border with Syria, has taken in almost half.
• Lebanon has taken in over a million, increasing its population by 25 percent.
• Jordan has taken in 629,000, with about 20 percent living in camps.
• Iraq has taken in 249,000 despite attacks by ISIS, which has captured portions of the country.
• Egypt has taken in 132,000. Billionaire Naguib Swiris has offered to buy an island from Greece or
  Italy as a new home for these refugees.

Besides the refugees entering these countries, Europe has received nearly 250,000 asylum requests, many of which will not be processed for several years.  The sheer number of migrants seeking refuge to Europe is so overwhelming and stretching the capacities of these countries that British lawmaker Nigel Farage of the Independence Party has labeled it a problem of  “biblical proportions.”

Israeli and Syrian flags (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Around half of Syria’s prewar population of 20 million has been forced from their homes.  A European Parliament resolution in March 2015 condemning attacks on Christians and other minorities said more than 700,000 of 1.1 million Syrian Christians were among those who fled the country. In Iraq, the pre-2003-war Christian population may have been as high as 1.4 million. Estimates today put it at fewer than 350,000.

In the past these situations were already foretold. The Book of books spoke about signs we should come to see. Today many of the signs spoken of should be clear for those who believe in the Only One true God.

The refugee crisis has followed years of unending battles among nations and within nations. Enemies change but the result is the same. Fear and uncertainty are now the norm. Governments in Europe and the U.S. ponder how commitments made long ago can be kept. They see no clear way out of the dilemma, and in many cases, put off inevitable crises with temporary fixes.

 

Read more about in “Today in Prophecy – Syrian Migrant Crisis“

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Solstice, Saturnalia and Christmas-stress

Today lots of people tend to treat things such as Christmas trees and holiday gift giving as if they’ve been with us forever. While these are old traditions, they were once far more localized. In this world of media everywhere, we tend to forget that customs were once far more specific to the area. Lots of people also have lost the connection of those festivals and have transposed it to their group of people, believers or non-believers in Jesus Christ or in God.

From the Saxon days there was Yule for mid-winter and in the regions of West Europe the autumn storm brought many ideas alive to think about gods who controlled everything in nature. The days becoming darker demanded for and still demand for some more light bringing into it. In the old times to honour the gods it was custom to put all sorts of things in the trees as an offering to the gods. On December the 25th it was the day of the goddess of light. Time was taken to celebrate her.

Traditional Christmas card with holly and mistletoe. Circa 1880s

Druids, Celts, and even the Romans used evergreen branches made into wreaths in winter solstice celebrations. Because so many things lost colour and seemed to have died people looked up for those elements in nature which could be so strong that they stayed green. Pagan symbols as holly and ivy remained green and were taken as a promise of life to return in dead of winter. Holly – prized for its ability to bear fruit in winter and its healing uses – were the blessings people hoped they could have in the house and share with each other. Healing elements were very important to get through Winter.

While the Romans were holding the feast for the god Saturn — which occurred about the time of the winter solstice — they decked the outsides of their houses with holly. At the same time the Christians were quietly celebrating the birth of Christ, and to avoid detection they outwardly followed the custom of their heathen neighbours and decked their houses with holly as well. In this way holly came to be connected with Christmas customs. The plant was also regarded as a symbol of the Resurrection.

The missionaries coming in these regions quickly understood how the pagan traditions were so strong and how people would not like to give them up. This we still see today happening. As Christians should come to know more about traditions and about usages all over the world, plus having the Holy Scriptures to find what they could or could not do, we see that those who call themselves Christian still do not like to give up those pagan traditions and pagan festivals.

The Roman Catholic Church had already given in to Constantine the Great allowing the false teaching of the trinity be part of the Catholic Faith, so it was a further small step to adapt the Western Celtic and Saxon traditions to the Roman Faith. In 336 CE, during the time of this so called  first Christian Roman Emperor for the first time on December 25th “Christmas” was being celebrated.

A very early Christian tradition said that March 25^th was the day when Mary was told she’d give birth to Jesus (called the Annunciation). And nine months later, of course, would be December 25^th. But the Bible doesn’t mention the exact days of that annunciation, nor of the birth of Jesus, though from all the secular writings we do know when the cencus took place, when the falling star appeared and that it was in October that Mary and Joseph went to fulfil their duties. We can take it was in 4BCE on October the 17th that rabbi Jeshua from the tribe of King David was born. For those who would love to celebrate his birthday it is strange that they than not do this around the period Jesus was rally born.

An image from the necropolis under the Vatican in which Jesus = Mithras (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is true that in many cultures we can find a festival of lights, also the Jews have such a festival of lights. Germans and Scandinavians had their yule festival. Celtic legends connected the solstice with Balder, the Scandinavian sun god or Norse god of light, son of the chief god Odin and his wife Frigg, who was struck down by a mistletoe arrow from the blind god Hödur (or Höd). At the pagan festival of Saturnalia, Romans feasted and gave gifts to the poor. Drinking was closely connected with these pagan feasts.

The Babylonian sun-god and god of agriculture and flocks, Tammuz, lover of Ishtar, born on the winter solstice according to legend was also celebrated on December the 25th and by the Roman Catholic Church his symbol was taken as the symbol for Jesus (the sign of Tammuz or the cross), placing Jesus as the bringer of light and god of light.

The leaders of the instituted organisation of clergy who accepted the trinity, agreed to adopted the saturnalia day of the ‘day of birth’ or ‘day of new life’ as a remembrance day of the new life Jesus has given to all mankind. For them it was easier to get more converts by keeping the folks from indulging in the old pagan festivals as part of the pagan culture, now transformed or redressed in a Roman Catholic dressing.

Branches that had thorns became to be the thorns Christ wore on the crucifix (sign of Tammuz) and the berries were stained red by his drops of blood. From the Norse and the Druids, the Mistletoe you may find growing here everywhere and at that time was considered special because of it found growing on the sacred oaks, was featured in several old myths and held to be sacred and associated with fertility, which led to kissing boughs.

Also today at the Christmas markets we can find the gangway where there is the kissing bough custom one holds that a woman who refuses the kiss shall have bad luck, and that those who kiss underneath it shall be having a blessed and fruitful year.

Not all the following years Christmas was part of Christian life. During Cromwell’s rule, Christmas was even banned. Charles II restored the holiday in England. However, the Parliament of Scotland officially abolished the observance of Christmas in 1640, to purge the church “of all superstitious observation of days”, and it was not restored as a public holiday in Scotland until 1958.

Julbocken, by John Bauer (1912)

From the 4th to the 19th century the tradition of the Northern people their celebration for their chief god and the father of Thor, (Thunor, or Thonar), Balder, and Tiw, Woden or Wotan became more and more also liked by the people from Holland and Belgium and the man with a long white beard who rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn became their Sint Niklaas (Sinterklaas) or Sint Nicholas  (saint Nicholas) and in the Anglo Saxon countries Father Christmas or Santa Claus/Sancta Claus.

1881 illustration by Thomas Nast who, along with Clement Clarke Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, helped to create the modern image of Santa Claus

From the 20th century onward that Father Christmas started gaining more popularity and the presents became more and more the focus of the people for that season were the darkness seemed to have darkened their Christian sight. Lots of Christians enjoyed decorating the ‘Christmas tree‘ and telling their children the Saint from Spain had brought presents for all those who had behaved well the previous year. Later in the month it was the Santa who once more brought presents in the house.

History illustrates the awesome outworking of initial events from when the Divine Creator has declared

Zephaniah 1:17-18 The Scriptures 1998+  (17)  “And I shall bring distress on men, and they shall walk like blind men – because they have sinned against יהוה  {Jehovah}, and their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.”  (18)  Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of יהוה  {Jehovah}. And by the fire of His jealousy all the earth shall be consumed, for He makes a sudden end of all those who dwell in the earth.

This comes from the Christadelphian bible reading for December 15 when we started reading this short and somewhat overlooked prophecy of Zephaniah. He would have been one of the prophets Peter referred to, as we read the final chapter of his second letter of the same day-reading, he told them they should remember

2 Peter 3:2 The Scriptures 1998+  (2)  the words previously spoken by the set-apart prophets, and of the command of the Master and Saviour, spoken by your emissaries,

Today we may find lots of people who have stress about the coming days when they have to present nice meals and many presents and have to fulfil many family visits and social obligations. Their eyes are closed for the real issue in life. Not a Santa shall bring salvation and he from the North has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. When we look at the many Christmas markets we even do not see much what reminds us of the Saviour who was sent by God to this earth.

Ages ago holy prophets told about the eyes of people which would become blinded. Today we

“should remember their predictions”

Folk tale depiction of Father Christmas riding on a goat. Perhaps an evolved version of the Swedish Tomte. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We also should remember that they also warned for the time that scoffers were going to come and would lead people following their own sinful desires. About the promised one who was born, lived for a very short time here on earth, died, was resurrected from the dead and showed that he was not a spirit, but the one brought back alive by his heavenly Father, that master teacher is not remembered much these days and many do not think about his return or even do not believe in it.

Yes many laugh at us and say,

“Where is the promise of his coming?”

Many children have to promise their parents that they will be good next year. Then they also will get some present. But not many children learn about that man who died for our sins. Not many take time in this ‘Time of the year’ to read the Bible and to meditate on what God and his son Jesus had to say.

Today lots of people are concentrating on their self and do see all those refugees coming in our regions as a possible threat to what they can enjoy. Many are afraid they shall have to share with those poor people who travelled thousands of miles to find their luck in our Western world where money seems to flow like moulted butter.

Many people do not see what is really going on and how those set apart men of God had warned for certain situations we can see today. Also Jesus told about the signs of those days we have today. That time Jesus spoke about, may be much closer than many think. Many are blinded by the money this world is offering. Lots of people think everything can be said with presents and with the value of money. The real value for life they often do not see. Capitalism has put sand in their eyes.

The ways of godless thinking and living will be seen for all the foolishness they are; and we must never forget, there are only 2 ways: the broad way and the narrow way. Those on the narrow way are

2 Peter 3:12-15 The Scriptures 1998+  (12)  looking for and hastening the coming of the day of Elohim, through which the heavens shall be destroyed, being set on fire, and the elements melt with intense heat!  (13)  But according to His promise we wait for a renewed heavens and a renewed earth in which righteousness dwells.  (14)  So then, beloved ones, looking forward to this, do your utmost to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,  (15)  and reckon the patience of our Master as deliverance, as also our beloved brother Sha’ul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him,

“waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace” (verses 13,14).

Included in what they (we) are waiting for, is what Job perceived and that we read today. He declared,

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!” (19:25-27).

He believed in resurrection!

That final comment is most thought provoking. Our hearts will be in danger of fainting within us for multiple reasons, when God “bring(s) distress” – the experience will be awesome for believers! But how imminent then will be the time when they will “see God” through seeing his Son, marvelling in anticipation of the ultimate time when

“God himself will be with them as their God … for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3,4).

Let us anticipate in faith the things that “our eyes shall behold” to carry us through the coming time of “distress”.

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Additional reading

1. Holidays, holy days and traditions
2. Christmas customs – Are They Christian?
3. Christmas, Saturnalia and the birth of Jesus
4. Irminsul, dies natalis solis invicti, birthday of light, Christmas and Saturnalia
5. Focus on outward appearances
6. Jesus begotten Son of God #1 Christmas and Christians
7. Christmas in Ancient Rome (AKA Saturnalia)
8. Christmas trees
9. Actions to be a reflection of openness of heart
10. With child and righteousness greater than the law
11. Objects around the birth and death of Jesus
12. Politics and power first priority #3 Elevation of Mary and the Holy Spirit
13. The imaginational war against Christmas
14. Autumn traditions for 2014 – 1: Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet
15. Manna from Sint Nicholas
16. Traditionalists Vow to Fight Charges of Racism in Netherlands
17. Ignorance of Today’s Youth (and Adults)
18. Sancta Claus is not God
19. Brits believe Santa present at Jesus’ birth, new poll reveals
20. Wishing lanterns and Christmas

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Further reading

1. Winter Solstice and Yule
2. Yule is upon us!
3. Dickens’ Christmas Story as an Intertexteme in Leskov’s Yule Short Story
4. Winter Solstice 2015: Shortest Day Of The Year Celebrated As Pagan Yule
5. Commercialmas
6. Yule 2015 #15 performing magic
7. Yule 2015#16
8. A radiant vision of splendour
9. Yule prep
10. Yule Wreath and Garland
11. 13 Trolls
12. War Against Christmas?
13. Holiday King of the Hill
14. SGC Admin: From our inbox to you from: Patti Wigington: Paganism/Wicca Expert
15. Yule – Wicca subject of the week
16. Happy Yule 2015
17. How to bring some real Christmas spirits into your Yule-tide
18. 10 Ways to Celebrate Yule
19. Santa Claus, Krampus,The Wild Hunt and Me.
20. Vigil
21. Use Yule Bells For Positive Energy
22. Irish Christmas
23. Christmas, the Weridest Holiday of the Year; Part one
24. Holly Tree
25. Holly, Plant of Saturn and Mars
26. Symbol of Yule: Holly Mistletoe and Bayberry Candles
27. Memories of Yuletide
28. A Little history on the holly tree
29. Let It Be Done Unto Me
30. Annunciation
31. Annunciation: a reflection for Advent
32. This Annunciation
33. The Annunciation, according to Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich
34. Tuesday 15th December
35. Wednesday Writings – Annunciation
36. Mary’s Heart
37. Angels & Advent: In His Shadow – a sermon podcast
38. And the virgin’s name was Mary
39. Angels of Advent: Encountering the Annunciation
40. Somersaults /Wednesday, December 9, 2015
41. Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
42. Mary and a “Yes” to God’s Request
43. Joseph’s Pregnant Advent
44. The Overshadowing of Mary –Pentecost
45. Christmas
46. Saturnalia
47. From Sukkot to Saturnalia: The Attack on Christmas in Sixteenth-Century..
48. Togas, Laurels, Chariots and Some Roast Lambs’ Testicles
49. Countdown to Christmas 17: Saturnalia
50. Saturnalia Is a Fleadh by Another Name. Just Don’t Tell Jerry Buttimer
51. By Jove! It’s Christmas: Did the First Christian Roman Emperor Appropriate..
52. War On Christmas Memes: Saturnalia
53. War On Christmas Memes: The Yule Tree
54. Christmas: it’s all about money, not messiahs.
55. Geranium Lake Properties, Saturn and Sol
56. Advent Calendar Day 15: Christmas: The Perfect Excuse For A Fight? by Lucy Brazier
57. Pig Washing 1, “Christmas”
58. Christmas is Pagan!
59. Christmas — Who gives a rip HOW we came up with the date we use?!?
60. Christmas is Tammuz’s Birthday?

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Related articles

• Santa preparing sleigh for ride through Nipomo
• Which Christian sect is the only true Christian church?
• 25 Orthodox rabbis issued a statement on Christianity
• Objects around the birth and death of Jesus
• Updating the Roman Catholic Church…
• Why Are Catholics Unable To Admit That, Yes, They Do Pray To Mary?

Looking for the consummation of presents

When the end of the year is coming
people are looking for the consummation of presents

the sexy santa assistants were there to take a photo of you in front of the xmas tree or you could just ask them to take a photo with you and pretend that your girlfriend is a sexy santa assistant See where this picture was taken. [?] (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We are coming closer to the Winter holidays and in the down side of this globe the Summer holidays. The holidays can be an unsettling time for atheists and the Christmas holidays may be an stressing times for trinitarian Christians. Those Christians also often want to know how atheists can cope with what those Christians call the Season of the Greatest Gift on earth.

Sarah, a dog-faced atheist currently living in North Carolina, writes

Once when talking to a family member who is aware of my atheism and verbal about it, she asked: “Does it bother you when you get Jesus stuff for the holidays?” The truth, yes and no. {Holiday Shopping For Your Token Atheist Friend}

She, like many other atheists and lots of Christians, does not seem to know that all this Christmas event has nothing to do with Christianity or the real Jesus born in Bethlehem. Christmas is a pagan feast of which real Christians should abstain. But many Christians love to think about the true real Greatest Gift on earth mankind received. That was indeed the saviour or the Kristos, Jesus Christ, who was really born in 4BCE, October 17. So, we could wonder why they like to celebrate his so called birthday on the birthday of the goddess of light and on the pagan holy day for that goddess.

Therefore it is strange that as self-proclaimed resident holiday gift adviser, this Sarah gives her guiding rules on how to shop for heathens as follows:

1. Don’t give your atheist friend anything religious.

2. Avoid gifts that use “Christmas” or “Xmas.”

3. Coffee is good. Atheists like coffee. {Holiday Shopping For Your Token Atheist Friend}

When we look in the shop windows we also do not see much that reminds people of the Messiah and what he has given to mankind and why we can look at him as the best gift the world ever got.

Many may say that

“The Word became flesh.”

but do not really know what this means.

A certain Chandy who is also knowing that she is been given a gift, likes to share it, but considers it impossible. she also seems to see the reason.

No one’s bothered, which is fine. People have their own choices and finally, Jesus does love them. Others possibly communicate their theology but I can’t. And in some senses I wish I hadn’t learnt it. {Despairing Resonance}

This December she writes

Blood, bodily fluids, wordless crying are at the heart of Christmas story. It is icky, joyful and fills the senses. {Christmas fragment 1}

When we carefully look around everything turns around getting presents and just making lots of fun. Naturally nothing is wrong with making lots of fun and giving each other presents. Lovely. But to have stress about it?! And to say it is all for Jesus?!

Chandy at WordPress continues

It is icky, joyful and fills the senses.

This is why with so many objects criss crossing the planet it fulfils part of the spirit of Christmas. The handling of the card, the wrapping of the gift, the prising of the plastic, the eating of food, the drinking of wine affirms our bodily humanity; for God affirms bodily humanity in its messy state by taking on a breathing, weeing, gurgling body. {Christmas fragment 1}

Looking at mankind they all seem to look for their luck in stuff.

Everyone seeking love, joy, hope, peace, contentment and seeking to find it in stuff. Anyone who has an eternal perspective sees how silly this is – chasing after wealth and popularity and power. Still the pull of this world is strong. Smell that cheddar? Don’t worry about that spring loaded wire it’s sitting on. “People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.”  Wealth isn’t the issue.  Idolatry – love of money is.  (But sometimes wealth breeds the other.) {Contented Consumer?}

Even those Christians who say this is the season of peace are arguing that all those refugees better stayed in their country and would leave our developed society on its own, they not coming to take away some food and quality of life. They forget they themselves never brought anything themselves into this life at start, but got everything given to them, life, education, edible plants, sunshine, rain, the earth. Man is so selfish he thinks he has done it all by himself and that everything belongs to himself. To share it with others is difficult. For that reason such a gift season may not be so bad, because than people have to provide something for somebody else, and they have to spend something from their own money for it, which is not so easy for them. but many have fallen in the trap of the ” tyranny of expectations surrounding this so called Holy Day”.

Those who belong to the wealthy better should think about those who have less. This time of gifts should bring them to think about what gifts we all get in our life. Scripture is not against products that make life better for those who produce them.  It is also not against consuming products. but it warns us how we use our money and warns us about the attitude we can take or have to take with the things we can enjoy.

Scriptures does not say at all that luxury would not be allowed, but it gives us an indication that we should be willing to share with others. The Bible tells us the “Love of money” is wrong and corrupting.

Studies show that those with a lot of it are more narcissistic and less generous.  Our tendency is to think – that’s people who are richer than we are – They are self-absorbed and greedy. {Woes and Watch-out Warnings}

In the West we have become a “Consumer driven society”

Buy, buy, buy. Get, get, get. We’re all buyers; consumers of stuff. There are things we need and things we want. Separating our wants from our needs has become more difficult with the growing ideology of consumerism. The encouragement of acquiring more and more stuff at an increasing pace continues to change our society. The “one who dies with the most toys” philosophy has propelled the age of consumerism as our appetite to acquire things has skyrocketed. I wonder though if this is healthy for our society? {Top Risks for a Consumer-Driven Society}

The Spirit of Christmas (short film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The way people want to consume is changing and shopping becomes for some less a social activity, but a lonesome internet action, not really interested were it comes form at what cost, as long as he can get it the cheapest.

Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Distinguished Programs Joseph DeRosa warns

So as we enter the Holiday season – whatever Holiday you celebrate – think about your own gift giving habits. If it’s cheaper online, I get it. That’s simply being fiscally responsible. But if it’s not, I’d challenge you to go to the store, walk the aisles, smile at others and say hello. Let’s not slip so far into our rabbit holes that we forget that the difference between living and being alive is the amount of interaction and experience we have with one another. Would any of us really want to be walking around this planet alone? Would that be alive? Not me. Make the choice to live alive. Connect with someone. Today.

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Preceding

Family happiness and little things we do

Halloween is Satanist Christmas

He who beams never walks in the dark

The Evolution Of Passover–Past To Present

Welcome to Easter 2014

Next: One can buy a lot in the supermarket, but not hope

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Additional reading

1. A season of gifts
2. Holidays, holy days and traditions
3. Focus on outward appearances
4. Irminsul, dies natalis solis invicti, birthday of light, Christmas and Saturnalia
5. Christmas, Saturnalia and the birth of Jesus
6. Jesus begotten Son of God #1 Christmas and Christians
7. Jesus begotten Son of God #2 Christmas and pagan rites
8. Objects around the birth and death of Jesus
9. Christmas in Ancient Rome (AKA Saturnalia)
10. Wishing lanterns and Christmas
11. The imaginational war against Christmas
12. Hanukkahgiving or Thanksgivvukah
13. Thanksgivukkah and Advent
14. Holiday tolerance
15. Exodus 9: Liar Liar
16. Autumn traditions for 2014 – 1: Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet
17. Traditionalists Vow to Fight Charges of Racism in Netherlands
18. Geert Wilders wants mandatory blackface at Dutch festival
19. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
20. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
21. Christian values, traditions, real or false stories, pure and upright belief
22. I believe in you…
23. Ember and light the ransomed of Jehovah
24. Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #3 Days to be kept holy or set apart
25. Not bounded by labels but liberated in Christ
26. Nativity scene of the birth of the Bill of Rights
27. Brits believe Santa present at Jesus’ birth, new poll reveals
28. Sancta Claus is not God
29. What Jesus sang
30. Merry Christmas with the King of Kings
31. Weekly World Watch 12th – 18th Sept 2010‏
32. Christmas trees
33. I Only hope we find GOD again before it is too late !
34. God’s Special Gift
35. What do you want for Christmas
36. Speedy Christmas!
37. Don’t Envy the World

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Further related postings on the net

1. Christmas Twinkle and Festive Helsinki City Lights
2. You Lived Your Best Life If You Had These ’90s Toys When You Were A Kid
3. 27 of the best 90s toys that prove Christmas used to be way better
4. Five holiday light displays you can’t miss this holiday season
5. The North Poles’ Secret by Zoey Hart #CinnamonTreats
6. Bending History
7. Advent No.12: Gifting guide for friends…
8. Seventh day of Christmas 
9. Joy to the World
10. Advent Day 12
11. 12 Days Of Christmas… ‘This Time Of Year’ by Only Girl
12. The Twelve Days of Christmas: Preparing Families for Emergencies
13. BoyChild Chooses: The 12 Reviews of Christmas, Day 12–McDuff’s Christmas
14. Bear With Me While I Wait For Santa
15. Christmas Gift Guide
16. It’s beginning to look a lot like…
17. How to find the Christmas gifts for your friends and family?
18. Transcending the Financial Border
19. Prepare ye the way of the Lord
20. He Loves to Hear You Pray
21. Christmas prayers for children
22. Christmas 31 Day Scripture Writing Plan: Day 12 – Malachi 3:1-3
23. Advent 2015 – Day 14 – Perfect Peace
24. Holidays for Earth Part II
25. New Bond Street – Xmas 2015
26. The Culture of Excesses- Losing Humanity
27. The foolish man

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Solidarité: The Paris Attack and the Refugee Crisis

To remember

• great paradoxical absurdity > appalling violence in Paris > parts of media + certain individuals + groups = advocating denial of sanctuary to refugees – people who have experienced very same violence (at the hands of very same fundamentalists) = as a daily reality
• one must empathise with those refugees fleeing violence and terrorism
• exploiting anger + fear felt by so many people across the world in the aftermath of these horrible attacks, purely to further own Islamophobic + xenophobic narrative = misdirected anger + hatred = inexcusable + entirely unhelpful.
• solidarité which must prevail
• our obligations > kind of violence + terror from which refugees are fleeing
• observe somewhat selective humanity + relative silence from same people in relation to events in Beirut + similar violence across the world
• emergence of refugee crisis + displacement of millions of people = considered a consequence, in part, of failings of incoherent + ineffective foreign policy of certain Western countries

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Preceding:

Paris Attack and Ranting

Spike In Anti-Muslim Attacks Casts Spotlight On Government Policies

Human tragedy need to be addressed at source

Before you blame All Muslims for the terrorist attack in Paris

A husband’s heartbreaking tribute to his wife killed in the Paris attacks

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Find also to read:

1. Religion, fundamentalism and murder
2. Do we have to be an anarchist to react
3. Wrong ideas about religious terrorism
4. Massive police operation in northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis
5. French Muslims under attack

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• The Western World Is On Its Last Legs
• The Collapse Of Europe And The Western World
• Color Palette of the Week: Old Paris
• Tsipras, Trump and the Rise of the Populists
• The Collapse Of Europe And The Western World
• If you want to better understand the Syrian refugee crisis, watch this video
• The West Suppresses Report on Ukraine’s Suppression of Journalists
• Bulgaria to Accept 852 Migrants Under 1st Stage of EU Quota Plan
• Syrian army uses new Russian jets to strike Islamic State – monitor
• Kerry to Open Doors to ISIS Terrorists

Reflections on Human Rights and World Affairs

The great paradoxical absurdity is that, because of the appalling violence in Paris on Friday night, parts of the media and certain individuals and groups are now advocating the denial of sanctuary to refugees – people who have experienced the very same violence (at the hands of the very same fundamentalists) but as a daily reality. For such people to express moral outrage and horror at the actions of the terrorists in Paris whilst simultaneously proposing that we withhold protection from refugees fleeing such violence in their own countries, it is entirely contradictory. If one genuinely feels outrage at the death of 129 people and injury of many more on Friday night in Paris, and empathises with the families of those killed, then one must empathise with those refugees fleeing violence and terrorism. Anything less is simply moral hypocrisy.

However, such moral outrage is not authentic, but opportunistic – exploiting the anger…

View original post 649 more words

Are Christianity and Capitalism Compatible?

In regards to scale, the civil war in Syria is a tragedy that’s reminiscent of the earth-moving conflicts of the early 20th Century. So far, a quarter of a million people have been killed, with millions of others displaced.

After the turbulence of two world wars Europe has managed to create a zone were no battles are fought with weapons, but with words. But it might well be that we are on the bring of a turning point were radical groups of Christians and Muslims may like to throw spanner in the works.

National socialists, neo-nazis, but also several people who call themselves ‘Christian‘ want the rest of the population in their country to believe the refugees are a danger for their economic striving society and for their democratic and their ‘religious’ life.

So many Christians have forgotten the teachings of Christ Jesus and better should take up the Messianic writings again, and especially the gospels, to out again what Christianity is all about.

It is also not bad to look at different writings of people who called themselves Christian and see how they think we should cope with others around us, but also with our wealth we can enjoy. Because when you hear many talking today lots of people are more concerned with the financial consequences of those entering their community and with the minor radical lunatics who want to frighten our society and seem to succeed in their task, because so many give in to that unjustified fear.

*

To remember

In an age when Christianity is comfortably entwined with consumer capitalism, the early Christians’ passion for social and economic justice can come as a shock.

• From 1st days of Christianity > duty to care for poor and marginalized = at center of gospel
• Jesus preached way of life free of possessions
• 1st church in Jerusalem abolished private property + early apostles > warned of privilege and wealth.
• 3 centuries later Christendom becoming official religion of Roman Empire > economics remained communitarian
• Church fathers such as Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, + Augustine of Hippo preached
• give your wealth free passage everywhere
• let your wealth run through many conduits to the homes of the poor
• Money kept standing idle = worthless > moving + changing hands = benefitting community => brings increase…
• money in your vaults belongs to the destitute
• injustice to every man whom you could help but do not.
• God grants you gifts.

 

• alms, prayers, protection of the injured and the like = genuine work
• what we possess is not personal property; it belongs to all.
• God generously gives all things that are much more necessary than money > air, water, fire, sun … All these things to be distributed equally to all.
• “Mine” and “thine” = chilling words > introduce innumerable wars into the world => should be eliminated from the church
• All things = in common.
• When you possess superfluity = you possess what belongs to others
• God gives the world to the poor as well as to the rich.
• abstain from the possessions of private property – or from the love of it, if we cannot abstain from possession – and let us make room for the Lord.

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Find also:

Responses to Radical Muslims and Radical Christians

Listening for the Language of Peace

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Read also and watch the video: Refugee crisis, terrorist attacks and created fear

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Further readings:

1. Europe and the Joke of Reverse Colonialism
2. Editorial: Against Authority, Against Terror
3. Capitalism
4. Capitalism – Access to capital = Slavery
5. Capitalism: incentivising sensationalism, taking advantage of our biases and damaging our mental health | Plymouth Herald journalist in breach of ethics?
6. Eleutherios or A Hatred of Capitalism: The ascetic philosophy of Mick
7. Next Generation Favors Socialism over Capitalism
8. Coalitions against Impunity: Why the UN fails to maintain peace.
9. Anti-Christ Anti-Scientist
10. Should We Be Scared?
11. Who is the Consummate Capitalist?
12. Coal lights the way
13. Stop the whole system wrecking the planet: this means revolution!
14. Offended by the Lord’s Prayer? You should be!
15. What Prince Charles gets wrong – and right – about climate change and conflict in Syria
16. Quote for the day – November 19
17. Quote for the day – November 22
18. American Christianity: I Can’t “Unsee”
19. A Sense of Proportion
20. Politicians Talk a Lot, do Nothing, and Simply don’t Care
21. In The Blink of a Kalashnikov
22. The Psychopathy of Greed
23. The Post-Capitalist Society is Already Emerging in Denmark
24. Capitalism and the Dalai Lama
25. Preliminary Materials on Collective Liberation and the New Material Reality

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Related articles

• Christian Morality and Civil Disobedience
• Is It Ever Good To Be Impulsive?
• Holy Dream Team? The Most Notorious Catholic Saints
• My Good Read of the Day (09/20/15)
• The Rule of Love
• Behind Russia’s ultra-nationalist crackdown
• Video Shows Muslim Horde Vandalizing Christian Site In Europe
• A Perfect Inheritance
• Have we forgotten the plight of Middle Eastern Christians?
• Reflective Moment ‘The Greatest Gift Is Free’

LiveWithoutLovingMoney

What Did the Early Church Say About Economic Justice?

(Thanks to Plough publishing for sharing this).

St. Augustine, John Chrysostom, and Basil the Great

 

In an age when Christianity is comfortably entwined with consumer capitalism, the early Christians’ passion for social and economic justice can come as a shock. From the first days of Christianity, the duty to care for the poor and marginalized was at the center of the gospel. Jesus preached a way of life free of possessions, the first church in Jerusalem abolished private property, and the early apostles warned of privilege and wealth.

Remarkably, three centuries later – when Christianity was well on its way to becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire – the church’s version of economics remained as communitarian as ever. Church fathers such as Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, and Augustine of Hippo preached in a way that…

View original post 841 more words

Migration not something to fear

With the terrorist attacks in Paris last weekend, the European Union was shocked again and the social media went as a roller-coaster shouting love and hate messages.

In most messages which tried to bring fear and hate against non-Caucasians and people of an other faith than Christendom we noticed that that’s a gross of given numbers was overestimated a lot. Many overestimate the amount of illegal citizens as well as the amount of refugees.

What does “fair” migration look like? Does protecting citizens’ rights depend upon limiting migrants’ freedoms? Or is migration actually one of the best weapons we have in the fight against poverty, injustice and social immobility – on both sides of our border?

Lets look at real ciphers:

Ten years ago, developing countries hosted 70% of the world’s refugees. In 2014 it could reach 86% of the amount of which those who reached Europe were just a very tiny percentage 4 à 5 %  of the total population of Europe.

The 49 least-developed countries – places like Chad, Malawi, and Yemen – provide asylum to 2.4 million exiles. By whatever measure you choose, the idea that the West is under siege from would-be refugees flies in the face of statistical evidence. In Pakistan, there are 552 refugees for every dollar per capita GDP; that number is 303 in Ethiopia, and 301 in Kenya. For the US, UK and Australia, the equivalent numbers are 5.4, 4.7 and 0.9.

In certain developed states we can see that people move around quite a lot to find work opportunities. This might not be so much in Belgium and Holland, but for France and other countries the locals often have to emigrate to an other place to be able to survive. Spanish, Greek and Portuguese we may find looking for work in Germany.

Most of us, if we move at all, do so within the borders of our own country – from Manchester to London, or from New York to California. In fact, we are at least six times more likely to migrate across a country (from one region to another) than we are to move across a border. There are at least 740 million domestic migrants. Few today would suggest we should restrict these migrations – in fact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly prohibits such restrictions. But however obvious this may seem to us, your right to move within the borders of your own is relatively recent. The US Supreme Court, for instance, only definitely confirmed US citizens’ ‘fundamental’ right to ‘move at will from place to place’ across state lines in 1920.

Stamp of Moldova: 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In 2013, according to the World Bank, there were 232 million people living outside the country of their birth. This is a significant number: but it isn’t overwhelming. It means that just 3% of the world’s 7 billion inhabitants are international migrants. The real puzzle about the age of global mobility is arguably not why so many people are moving across borders, but why so many are not.

Lots of people are afraid to loose their jobs when refugees come to live and work in their country. they must see that when more people are coming to live here, there shall be a need of more housing facilities, more products to be made for the growing amount of consumers, and those coming to work here shall also contribute to the social security providing enough money to pay for the older generation which shall be able to do more in their retirement.

Until 2008, Swedish labour migration was among the most restrictive system in the developed world: trade unions ‘had, and used, an informal veto on recruitment’. Today, its labour migration system is one of the most liberal. Employers – having first advertised the job to the local EU market for 10 days – can effectively recruit any worker, for any job, from anywhere. The result? Swedish workers working for firms recruiting labour migrants earn on average 10.5% more than those working in firms that don’t. The recent rise of the far-right Swedish Democrats risks pulling apart this liberal – and successful – model for labour migration

When it comes to inequality, birthplace is destiny. In 2012, researchers at the World Bank determined that no less than 50% of our lifetime income is determined solely by the country we live in — which, for 97% of us, is also the country we were born in.  It’s a citizenship lottery – and those of us lucky enough to be born in wealthy states are automatic winners.

This means international migration is one of the only ways in which individuals can redress the arbitrary inequalities of citizenship assigned at birth. And it works – a migrant who moves from a low-income to a high-income country can expect, on average, a 15-fold increase in income — and a 16-fold decrease in child mortality rates.

Emigration is not a one-way flow: Western citizens leave their home countries too.

In 2014, at least 5.6 million British citizens lived permanently abroad. And while some of them may prefer to call themselves “expatriates”, 40% of these emigrants – an estimated 2.2 million UK citizens – are EU migrants by any other name.  That balances neatly with the 2.3 million EU migrants from other states who have come to the UK.

Did those ex-pats bring problems to the countries they moved to? Did those migrating people bring more criminality in those visited countries?

The US has experienced a 45% drop in violent crime rates since 1990. During the same period, the number of unauthorised migrants climbed from 3.5 to 11 million, and the percentage of the population who were foreign born rose from 8 to 13%. Correlation, of course, is not causation.  But it is a good indication that more migration does not translate into more crime.  And in fact, researchers from the US have similarly concluded that ‘broad reductions in violent crime during recent years are partially attributable to increases in immigration’. In the UK, immigrant “enclaves” – defined as neighbourhoods where at least 30% of the residents are immigrants – have lower levels of crime and victimisation than similar socio-economic areas without a large immigrant presence.

We must be honest and we must be sincerely looking at the reality of the migration issue.

Perhaps it would be better if more people would consider how a migration could keep a certain balance and how the refugees of today perhaps can be the solution for the problems we shall have to face when the boomchildren are going to retire.

Remember also what shaimaa khalil BBC @Shaimaakhalil by mobilitymuse twittered today

Refugees are not the cause of violence,they are the people trying to flee it. Hope EU leaders remember that as they deal with #ParisAttacks

• With thanks for the text-material to “Migrants and Citizens” which poses the big questions we need to be asking about immigration and inequality.

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Preceding:

What we don’t say about the refugee crisis?

Human tragedy need to be addressed at source

Real progress leaves nobody behind

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Additional reading:

1. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #3 Of the earth or of God
2. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #3 Right to Human dignity
3. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #8 Work
4. Economic crisis danger for the rise of political extremism
5. Refugee crisis, terrorist attacks and created fear
6. Europe’s refugees just follow the ancient routes for the peopling of Europe in the Neolithic
7. Is ISIS a product of American in-action or a product of direct action
8. Islamophobic hate crimes rise in UK following terror attacks
9. Paris attacks darkning the world
10. Trump brand of migrant demonization #1
11. Trump brand of migrant demonization #2
12. Europe and much-vaunted bastions of multiculturalism becoming No God Zones
13. Wrong ideas about religious terrorism
14. State and attitude of certain people to blame for radicalisation
15. The world Having to face a collective failure
16. Can We Pay The Price To Free Humanity?
17. Bringing into safety from Iraq and Iran

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Further reading

1. Welcoming the Refugee – Choosing to Walk Away from Fear
2. Feelings on Refugees, Post-Paris Attacks
3. The other side
4. So many women stand waiting behind fences…
5. The Migration of the Irish to Newport in the 1800’s.
6. America, the Not So Promised Land – The New York Times
7. Walter Noteboom’s Emigration Record from the Netherlands
8. San Marino and Paris
9. Beach Bound
10. Poll: Third of Jewish Israelis favor urging Arab Israeli emigration
11. The Feld family – part two
12. Dithane and Doodlebugs
13. Jews Leave Europe as Arab-Muslims arrive
14. Armenia’s independence generation
15. Leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again!
16. Moving Home, Moving On
17. Looking for emigrants from the Rhineland?
18. I Need to share…
19. Hello from the other side…

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• What Rights Do Refugees Have?
• Britain’s Police State: Targeting Key Individuals, Stifling Free Speech, Arbitrary Detention
• Human Rights Day
• UK plans could be part of new EU treaty, says French minister
• The Migration Crisis and Europe’s Crippling Doubts
• World Congress of Families Welcomes Pope Francis and The World Meeting of Families
• EU leaders pledge $1 billion for Syrian refugee camps
• Migrant Surge Tests Sweden’s Open-Door Policy
• Slovakia will not implement mandatory EU migrant quotas, PM says
• BOOM: German Town Shows Surefire Way to Keep Muslims Out… This Is BRUTAL