Month: August 2022

Poland was the first NATO country to support Sweden’s accession to the pact but despite this support, the Swedish government is refusing to return at least some of the cultural treasures plundered in the 17th century, writes Polish MEP Ryszard Czarnecki.

There are Swedish politicians pushing the treasures to be returned to Poland. Björn Söder from the conservative Sweden Democrats party, which also belongs to the same European Conservatives and Reformers (ECR) political group in the EU parliament as Poland’s Law and Justice (PiS) party, proposed reconsidering the return of the Łaski’s Statute (1505) to Poland. However, Anna Lindh, Sweden’s foreign affairs minister, replied negatively to the parliamentary request.

The statute is the oldest piece of Polish writing! There used to be 10 copies; there are only two left. One is in Poland, and the other, looted in the 17^th century during the “Deluge” is in Sweden.

Stockholm also did not return the first publication of the work of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik in Polish), “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres,” which revolutionized people’s perception of the solar system. It was stolen by Swedish mercenaries over 350 years ago and is kept in Sweden at a university in Uppsala.

Swedes in the 17^th century plundered dozens of Polish towns and castles. Being an MEP from Warsaw, I feel compelled to note that the capital of Poland is Warsaw and its castle was plundered eight times. Hundreds of Polish churches were robbed, including the famous Saint Mary’s Basilica in Kraków, often visited by Swedish tourists.

At the other end of the then Republic of Poland, Swedish soldiers robbed one of the largest libraries in Europe at the time — the library of Warmia. Swedes also plundered the library of Frombork Cathedral, from where the abovementioned work of the greatest Polish astronomer was stolen — just one of many books stolen from there by the Swedish Army.

It was not just the lawlessness of Swedish soldiers; their commanders set an example for them: In Kraków’s Wawel Castle, the head of the Swedish Army, General Wirtz, personally ripped metal plates off of the coffin of Saint Stanislaus, the patron of Poland. They were made of silver.

Should we laugh or cry when Stockholm lectures Poland on the rule of law? Speaking of which, Sweden signed the Treaty of Oliva with Poland in 1660, per which it was supposed to return all works of art, books, and documents stolen from Poland. It returned only a small fraction. In the 17th century, they returned about 10 chests with documents chosen at random and some books in the 19th century to Prince Adam Czartoryski, head of the Polish government in exile.

Sweden’s behavior should not be forgotten or excused. Poland rightfully demands reparations for World War II damages resulting from Germany’s actions between the years 1939 and 1945. Poland should be even more demanding that the Kingdom of Sweden returns what it previously committed to returning in a treaty that is 362 years old!

https://rmx.news/poland/sweden-refuses-to-return-polish-cultural-treasures-stolen-in-17th-century-including-the-most-famous-work-of-nicolaus-copernicus%ef%bf%bc/

In Austria, population exchange is making great strides. This is also documented by the Integration Report 2022 that has now been presented. It showed that the alleged “enrichment” through mass immigrants does not mean enrichment for the host society, but rather an economic bloodletting costing billions.

A particularly hair-raising number was reported for the holiday destination of Tyrol. There were a total of 14 500 recipients of social assistance there in 2021. Of these, 5 600 people were Austrians (39 percent), while 6 000 applicants were entitled to asylum or subsidiary protection (41 percent).

This means: more “refugees” than locals receive social assistance in Tyrol. Another 1 600 were other third-country nationals (11 percent), and another 1 300 were nationals of the EU, EFTA, UK and associated small states (9 percent).

A similar picture emerged in Vorarlberg: 3 900 local welfare recipients (39 percent) face 3 800 “refugees” and those entitled to subsidiary protection (39 percent) – that is, the same number. In the other federal states, the number of domestic social assistance recipients was still larger than that of those entitled to asylum and subsidiary protection.

In general, it can be seen that the number of recipients among “Syrian” nationals was highest in all federal states, followed by Afghans.

https://freewestmedia.com/2022/08/17/revealing-trend-in-austria-more-foreign-welfare-recipients-than-locals/

By Robert Merz

Today’s cancel culture is a form of on-line banishment embraced by the far Left.  It is used to expose, target, silence, and humiliate anyone who dares say anything they don’t like.     

The tactic has worked.  Today, many people in schools, the media, and the publishing business are forced to self-censor anything they say or write for fear of retaliation from leftist woke mobs.  In the publishing world, J.K. Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter books is frequently cancelled for her views on transgenderism.  To show how serious this is, she has even received death threats.  

So, where does Marx fit in this equation?  First, Marx is the author of the modern cancel culture and second, he should probably be the victim of it — but won’t be.   

In 1848, long before computers, Marx wrote that, in normal society, the past dominates the present, but in Communist society, the present had to dominate the past.  This means that history can only be seen and interpreted through the prism of Marxist theory.  Anything incompatible with the latest Marxist positions wouldl necessarily be altered to fit or eliminated (AKA Cancelled).   

This is necessary because Marxists have to control the “facts” and the narrative to fit their manufactured reality.  No competing messages or facts can be allowed.  This was the actual beginning of the cancel culture.  

One example of this was seen in a book, The Commissar Vanishes.  In it, photos show heroes of the revolution who were ‘disappeared’ when Stalin took power and accused any possible opponents of being enemies of the people — usually they were both murdered and erased.  That makes Marx the father and Stalin the godfather of the cancel culture.   

Like Stalin in the great terror, the cancel culture mob rules by fear and intimidation. Today, books, plays, songs, and movies are not being removed by state censors (yet), but by authors, editors, publishers, distributors, protesters, news personalities, or others who think they have to remove anything that might be offensive — just as Stalin banned Shakespeare’s Hamlet, because he didn’t like the play.  Some reports even indicate that the U.S. Government is now working with a social media company to censor posts containing what some bureaucrats call ‘misinformation’.  So much for the First Amendment.  

One of the favorite pastimes of the cancel culture mob is to attack anyone they can call a Nazi, a bigot, a racist, a Fascist, a homophobe, or any other name with -phobe attached to the end of it.  Plus, they go after these offenders no matter how long ago the supposed ‘offence’ occurred.  This is Marx’s present dominating the past. 

So, what did Karl Heinrich Marx, the founder of Marxism, say that could get him cancelled? 

Comrades in the West, most of whom have never actually read his works or lived in a Marxist state, speak glowingly of the person they call a great thinker, a philosopher, a champion of the working man, a champion of women’s rights, an internationalist, and a revolutionary hero.  These all sound great, except — they are wrong.   

Let’s look.  Perhaps the attack term the cancel mob use most often is also the most erroneous.  They love calling people Nazis.   

,They often claim that anyone who criticizes them or Marx is a Nazi.  Following that, they’ll go out of their way to claim that even though the actual name of the Nazi Party was the National Socialist German Worker’s Party — they weren’t really socialists.   

But, if you look, you will find that Hitler said that he was a true socialist as opposed to Marx and Marxism.  Also, many of the things Marx wrote were strikingly similar to what Hitler said. 

In a 1934 May Day speech, Hitler said: “The hammer will once more become the symbol of the German worker and the sickle the sign of the German peasant.”  In a newspaper interview, Hitler also said that National Socialism was derived from the national resolution of the bourgeois tradition and creative socialism from the teaching of Marx.   

Marx and Hitler also had similar attitudes on Jews.  In 1844, Marx wrote an essay titled “The Jewish Question.”  In 1919, Hitler wrote about what he called the “Jewish question”.  It is quite telling that they used the same terminology.    

Like Hitler, Marx never hid his anti-Semitism.  Marx also seemed to want to see the Jews eliminated.  He wrote: “The emancipation of the Jews, in the final analysis, is the emancipation of mankind from Judaism.” That doesn’t sound good, but it does sound Nazi.  

Like Hitler, Marx also hated a lot of people and cultures — ones that he thought were less evolved than advanced Western Europeans.  

Marx despised Mexicans.  After the Mexican-American War he wrote: “Is it a misfortune that magnificent California was seized from the lazy Mexicans who did not know what to do with it?”  His buddy Engels added: “In America we have witnessed the conquest of Mexico and have rejoiced at it.  It is to the interest of its own development that Mexico will be placed under the tutelage of the United States.” I wonder what the Critical Race Theory crowd and La Raza think of that? 

Marx also loved to use the N-word.  He even used it against his own son-in-law, who Engels said had “one-eighth or one-twelfth n***** blood.”  When Marx’s son-in-law, Paul Lafargue, ran for a council seat in a Paris district that contained a zoo, Engels said that it was appropriate as n*****s were closer to the animal kingdom than other people.  So much for Marxists courting the Black Lives Matter crowd. 

It wasn’t just Blacks and Jews.  Marx and Engels despised a lot of different people.  In his 1853 writings on the Crimean War, Marx disparaged Slavonians, Greeks, Wallachians (Romanians), Arnauts (Albanians), Moldavians, Serbians, and Turks — equal opportunity hatred.   

Marx also wrote positively about British colonial rule in India.  He said that Indian society had no history at all, except for successive invaders who lost their empires when they became “Hindooized.”  He said that The British conquerors were superior to the Arabs, Turks, Tartars, Moguls (Mughal Empire) who had proceeded them in conquering India.  He said that the British had not succumbed to the “Hindoo civilization” but set the foundation of Western civilization.  Imagine – the first Marxist speaking in favor of racist colonialism and the destruction of native cultures. 

(The Indus Valley culture was in fact one of the first ancient civilizations and was contemporary with the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.)   

Bottom line, Karl Marx was a racist, a religious bigot, a supporter of European colonialism, a person who thought white Europeans were superior to lesser cultures, and a person who had ideologies that were in line with Hitler’s and ideas which may indeed have inspired Hitler.  

So, why isn’t Karl Marx being cancelled?  Because he’s a Marxist and Marxists are a protected class in the U.S. today.  Questioning them is not allowed and indeed may indeed get you cancelled — and called a Nazi.  

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/08/marx_and_cancel_culture_.html

A French church was targeted for robbery during a baptism ceremony, with three armed assailants entering the place of worship and threatening a priest with a handgun.

The incident occurred at 1 p.m. on Saturday at a church at Carbon-Blanc which is on the right bank of Bordeaux. Three masked individuals forced up a door to the presbytery located at the back of the church, which is where the priests live. Once inside, the three men began to tear off the door of the safe.

The three criminals thought the building would be empty during the baptism ceremony taking place in the church. However, while searching a cupboard for other items to steal, they came across a second priest who was inside the building who began to scream for help.

Two of the criminals fled with the safe while the third suspect threatened the priest with a handgun before he also fled, according to a news report from France Bleu. The church reported that the thieves made off with €2,000.

The suspects remain on the run, with police in Bouliac in charge of the investigation. However, they face a serious challenge as the priest who was threatened with the gun could not provide any description of the prepetrators due to being in a state of shock. He was also unable to describe any type of vehicle they may have been driving.

Churches and priests have often been the target of attacks in France, with a priest stabbed in the city of Nice shortly before Emmanuel Macron was reelected earlier this year. Besides robberies, churches have often been the target of arson attacks, including the Nantes Cathedral, which a Rwandan migrant confessed to attacking in 2020. In neighboring Belgium, a priest who offered a migrant coffee and a shower was stabbed multiple times.

https://rmx.news/crime/france-church-robbed-in-the-middle-of-a-baptism-priest-threatened-with-handgun/

The Dutch farmers’ movement Agractie has called on its supporters to stage new protest actions. Erik Luiten, one of the leaders of the movement, said in a video message that such actions could include organising standstills at busy places. The farmers’ movement is massively supported by citizens.

Agractie wants the nitrogen policy of the government off the table. The government wants to force agriculture to halve its nitrogen emissions by 2030. That would mean that many farmers would have to stop.

“It’s really coming down to it now,” said Luiten. “We have to persevere and stay the course.”

The government continues to claim that nature would improve immediately if some critical value is not exceeded. “There is no scientific evidence for that,” emphasised Agraction leader Bart Kemp in the studio of broadcaster Ongehoord Nederland.

“People want to farmers to clean up, while it will also be for nothing,” Kemp said. “Farmers remain motivated by that injustice to take action.”

According to him, nitrogen mediator Johan Remkes is a distraction. “Remkes invited 100 parties, but if I have a fight with my neighbour, I’m not going to invite the whole village, am I? Then you should talk to the farmers who really have a lot of problems with this policy. And not with environmental organisations that say in the media: we already have the lawsuits ready.”

Different agenda

The fact that there is only a focus on these expropriation plans confirmed what opposition figures have been calling for since 2019: that the entire policy is aimed at taking the land away from farmers, in order to be able to build houses, to be able to push through that whole climate agenda and that is distressing, said MP Gideon van Meijeren (FVD).

“It’s taking away land, it’s land grabbing for a different agenda than the one being proposed,” Van Meijeren explained.

The example of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has disappeared from the headlines of world politics. Until recently, reports of civil war-like unrest and an energy emergency have been circulating. Gasoline and electricity were being rationed.

There is a good reason for the silence of the media: The catastrophe that broke out in the holiday paradise is entirely home-made. And it is strikingly reminiscent of the “green” recipes, which threaten to strangle the economy in the Netherlands.

In July, after months of unrest, Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country, abandoning his country to an economic crisis and food shortages. Two and a half years earlier, he had been going around and praising his government for fighting artificial fertilizer. Sri Lanka wanted to convert its agriculture completely to organic farming and for this reason had banned the import of conventional fertilizer and fuel.

The fatal result: in just one year, Sri Lanka went from being a rice exporter to an importer. The organic experiment plunged half a million people into poverty and sent prices skyrocketing by well over 50 percent.

UNEP is responsible for the fiasco

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is responsible for the fiasco. It describes itself as “the global authority that sets the environmental agenda (…) and serves as the authoritative advocate for the global environment”. UNEP is trying to dissuade governments around the world from using fertilizers to increase food production.

In 2019, the acting UNEP director cited the “long-term disturbance of the earth’s nitrogen balance by mankind” as the reason – exactly the same argument that Dutch farmers are currently confronted with. In October 2019, UNEP held a meeting in Colombo and released a “roadmap” to encourage other countries to cut nitrogen pollution by half.

Fake science to ban nitrogen

The meeting attracted worldwide media interest. A month later, citizens elected anti-fertilizer President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who claimed without the slightest scientific evidence that synthetic fertilizers caused kidney disease. Rajapaksa followed his words with deeds: in April 2021 he banned the import of fertilizers.

The result: 85 percent of farmers in Sri Lanka suffered serious crop losses. Rice production fell 20 percent, prices rose more than 50 percent, and the country had to import $450 million worth of grain. In Rajanganaya, where farmers average just one hectare of land, families reported reaping half their normal harvest.

Tea production, the country’s main source of income to date, was hardest hit. It brought in $1,3 billion in exports annually and covered 71 percent of the country’s food imports by 2021. After the fertilizer ban, tea production plummeted by 18 percent, hitting its lowest level in 23 years. The government’s devastating fertilizer ban destroyed Sri Lanka’s ability to pay for food and fuel and service its foreign debt.

Sri Lanka and its “green” agenda is a timely warning to other countries – and a prime example of how “green” policies have been implemented with significant media coverage that have had little effect and caused much suffering.

Experts like the President of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), Žilvinas Šilėnas, now agree that the ban on artificial fertilizers will inevitably lead to less food. But: “It’s just that the effects of these measures in the rich countries only become visible later. Tragically, in poor countries like Sri Lanka, the effects of bad policies are almost immediately visible.”

https://freewestmedia.com/2022/08/17/dutch-farmers-plan-fresh-protests-as-nitrogen-science-is-called-into-question/

In Germany, everything was free for him – this was the opinion of a 27-year-old Somali who is now being brought before the magistrate.

As reported by the Federal Police, they were alerted on Monday because a shoplifter had been caught in a shop on the mezzanine floor of the main railway station. The 27-year-old wanted to steal various foodstuffs (mineral water, lemonade, wraps, meat rolls, energy drink and spinach wrap) for a total of 28.38 euros. In addition, the man drank a coffee, which he did not pay for.

Less than an hour after his release from police custody, the man, who has been in Germany since July 2013, was caught stealing again. Again he stole food, this time sushi, organic prawns, wraps and lemonade. They had a retail value of 26.43 euros.

When the Federal Police were informed again, the officers also got hold of 31 fare surcharges since July 31, 2022, which the 27-year-old had in his luggage. 23 of them came from the German railway company Deutsche Bahn, the rest from other railway companies. Further investigations revealed six more journeys from May 15 onwards. The most recent case was last Monday, the man had travelled from Hamburg to Munich (cost 145 euros).

The total amount of damages for all journeys, which took the man all over Germany, was 3,710.90 euros. He had not paid any of this so far.

An address in Kassel was given as the place of residence on each fare reminder, but the man has not lived there for a long time. Therefore, he is now also being investigated for fraud.

“Once again he told the officers that he was number one and that everything was free for him in Germany – including train journeys. He did not want to give any further information on the matter,” the Federal Police statement said.

And further: “The Somali, who was already known to the police several times, gave the impression that he did not take the measures of the federal police seriously, among other things by laughing all the time. He did not show any alcohol or drug-related signs of disorder.”

After consultation with the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office I, a magistrate’s hearing was ordered for Tuesday. After all, this is free of charge for him, as is the journey to the detention centre and board and lodging in the detention centre.

https://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/muenchen/er-dachte-fuer-ihn-sei-alles-umsonst-selbsternannte-nummer-1-muss-in-haft-art-836801

August 28, 2021, 2 p.m., Obertshausen suburban railway station. A disappointed husband takes extreme brutal revenge on his separated wife in public. With a meat cleaver, Sohil A. almost chopped off both lower legs and the left forearm of the 45-year-old woman. Since yesterday, the 59-year-old has had to answer for this before the jury of the Darmstadt Regional Court. The charge is attempted murder.

“I wanted to disfigure her, but not kill her. I wanted to take away her beauty. I am very sorry,” the man from Nieder-Roden said via his defence lawyer Hans Georg Kaschel. He said that they were ready for a settlement between the perpetrator and the victim. In view of the severe injuries and consequential damages, the words seem rather trivial and hard to believe. The mother of two adult sons spent nine months in hospital. Only the intervention of a couple and an emergency operation saved her life and limbs. Even today, she cannot use her left hand properly and can only move with the help of a walker and wheelchair. It is uncertain whether the symptoms of the attack will ever disappear. The wife is a joint plaintiff in the trial, but does not want to face the perpetrator. Her interrogation will therefore soon be conducted via live video transmission.

Neither alcohol nor drugs are said to have had any influence on the attack. In order to clarify the mental state and the culpability of the accused, a psychiatric expert will be consulted.

The first marital break took place in 2020 for several months. Afterwards, however, the 45-year-old moved back into their shared flat in Nieder-Roden. In spring 2021, they finally separated. She moved into a women’s shelter, he stayed. A court order under the Protection Against Violence Act forbade the Syrian to approach the wife more than 50 metres.

“I met them both in the refugee home in 2015, saw them as a normal couple,” recalls a 47-year-old friend of the victim, “But she also told me that he was very jealous and that she was hardly allowed out of the house. She felt locked up.” Again and again she said she was afraid of him. He would threaten her and had already smashed a mirror. Once, the girlfriend witnessed an incident: “There was a fight between the two of them at my house. He took a couple of small knives in the kitchen and threatened to drag her out. She fought back. No one was hurt.” A neighbour had tried to mediate. The girlfriend says : “He is actually a good person. Just the two of them together, that’s not possible!” At the hospital, the injured woman told her that he had bought the cleaver two years ago with the words “I will need this someday”. “We both didn’t take the threats seriously. He did love her,” the witness said.

Public prosecutor Christian Dilg wants to know if there was a reason for jealousy. “I don’t know. I don’t look into her heart,” is the literal translation from Arabic.

The couple’s 27-year-old son confirms the marital problems: “They discussed a lot, never reached an agreement. Sometimes there were fisticuffs, starting from both of them.” The mother had problems keeping to the rules, explaining when and where she was going. She did not tell the truth. He knew nothing about threats from the father. “He must have had a lot on his plate. I am absolutely against this act. I asked him afterwards, ‘Why are you doing this?'” – the son’s statement on the matter sounds hollow rather than sad in translation. He has not been in contact with his mother for a long time – for personal reasons that he does not want to discuss. The trial is scheduled for the beginning of September.

https://www.op-online.de/region/obertshausen/er-hat-sie-doch-geliebt-91726565.html

The alleged move has prompted the head of recruitment for the Royal Air Force (RAF) – herself a senior female officer – to resign in recent days in protest.

The head of RAF recruitment has resigned in protest at an “effective pause” on offering jobs to white male recruits in favour of women and ethnic minorities, defence sources have claimed.

The senior female officer apparently handed in her notice in recent days amid concerns that any such restrictions on hiring, however temporary and limited, could undermine the fighting strength of the Royal Air Force (RAF), the sources said.

They said the service was attempting to hit “impossible” diversity targets.

The defence sources accused Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, the head of the RAF, of appearing willing to compromise UK security at a time of growing threats from Russia and China in pursuit of albeit important goals such as improving diversity and inclusion.

One of the defence sources noted how General Sir Patrick Sanders, the head of the army, has likened today’s security challenges to those in the build-up to the Second World War, warning that the UK is facing its “1937 moment”.

“Then you look at the head of the RAF and he’s prepared to break the operational requirement of the air force just to meet diversity [targets],” the source said.

“I think he needs to be hauled up by the Ministry of Defence and told: This is the defence agenda, get on it.”

The recruitment claims prompted a response from Rishi Sunak, one of the two contenders vying to be the UK’s next prime minister.

A spokesperson for the Sunak leadership campaign said: “The only thing that should matter in recruitment is the content of your character, not your sex or the colour of your skin.

“That the Ministry of Defence would allow Britain’s security to potentially be put at risk by a drive for so-called ‘diversity’ is not only disgraceful, it is dangerous.”

An RAF spokesperson disputed the allegations.

“There is no pause in Royal Air Force recruitment and no new policy with regards to meeting in-year recruitment requirements,” the spokesperson said.

“Royal Air Force commanders will not shy away from the challenges we face building a service that attracts and recruits talent from every part of the UK workforce.

“As with the Royal Navy and British Army, we are doing everything we can to encourage recruiting from under-represented groups and ensure we have a diverse workforce.

“The Royal Air Force has a well-earned reputation for operational excellence that is founded on the quality of all our people. We will always seek to recruit the best talent available to us”.

But another of the defence sources insisted that there has been an “effective pause” on making an offer of employment to white male recruits.

Also responding to questions from Sky News on the issue, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: “Operational effectiveness is of paramount importance and no one is lowering the standards to join the Royal Air Force. The RAF recruits for many professions and, like the rest of the armed forces, is determined to be a force that reflects the society it serves to protect.”

Neither spokesperson addressed the resignation of the head of RAF recruitment.

The RAF does not typically comment on individuals.

‘Wokefulness’ or ‘Woefulness’

Successive governments have been challenging all three armed services – the RAF, the army and the Royal Navy – for years to improve their diversity statistics in what has traditionally been a predominantly white, male profession.

It is a goal championed by defence chiefs.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the armed forces, used his first public speech in-post last December to stress the importance of striving for better diversity.

He said this was not “about wokefulness. It is about woefulness. The woefulness of too few women. The woefulness of not reflecting the ethnic, religious and cognitive diversity of our nation.”

The MOD has announced it aims to increase the ratio of female recruits coming into the armed forces in general to 30% by 2030 from around 12%.

The RAF – which was the first of the services to open all roles to women and already has the highest ratio of females – is aiming to go further. It wants the ratio of female air force recruits to hit 40% by the end of the decade – more than double the current level.

The target for ethnic minorities is to reach 20% of all air force recruits within the same timeframe, up from around 10%.

Yet the RAF must also hire enough people in the right trades to meet its “operational inflow requirements” – the number of new personnel needed to ensure the service can carry out the full range of tasks it has been given to help keep the UK and its allies safe.

A challenge thought to be encountered by recruitment officers is that women and ethnic minorities do not typically seek to join certain areas of the service, such as the RAF’s infantry force that protects airfields. Hiring white men who may apply ensures those vital roles are filled, but at the expense of diversity numbers.

‘Levels of ambition for ethnic targets… are absolutely crazy’

Senior leaders appear to be prioritising diversity over operational needs, according to defence sources.

They said the RAF’s recruitment arm has effectively been told to take a pause on offering jobs to white male recruits in the hope that more slots can be filled by women and ethnic minorities during this financial year.

“We are all really pro-diversity and we want to see better representation across the services but … levels of ambition for ethnic targets … are absolutely crazy,” one of the sources said.

“There is no scientific or cultural background to these particular levels of ambition.”

Another source called the diversity targets “impossible”.

The push appears to have prompted the Head of Recruitment and Selection – a Group Captain – to hand in her notice, unwilling to carry out such a demand, the defence sources said.

More broadly, there seems to be a growing sense of frustration within the RAF at what some personnel privately – and on occasion publicly – allege is an overly “woke” agenda being pursued by the Chief of the Air Staff at the expense of other priorities.

The defence sources noted how under his tenure since 2019, the RAF has taken steps to be more inclusive, such as changing the term for a member of the service to “aviator” from “airman”, embracing gender-specific or gender-neutral pronouns in signatures and allowing staff to grow beards.

Flying training in crisis

But at the same time the military’s flying training system – a fundamental part of a functioning air force – is in crisis, as revealed by Sky News earlier this month.

Hundreds of junior pilots are either waiting for slots on courses to open up or taking refresher courses even though Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, gave Air Chief Marshal Wigston the task of fixing flying training as his “only priority” more than two and a half years ago.

The RAF itself triggered a rare public display of internal tension last weekend.

It posted its response to Sky News’s reporting on the military flying training “shambles” on the air force’s official Facebook page, defending the RAF’s record.

“Our people are our greatest asset and we’re committed to ensuring we attract and retain the best and brightest talent to meet current and future threats,” the post said. It acknowledged challenges with the training pipeline but said work is underway to improve things.

The comment prompted a number of incredulous responses from readers.

“Is this post from a parallel universe or something?” one respondent asked.

Another said: “If you want retention then you need to drastically change things at all levels within the RAF. Your people are your greatest asset. Start treating them that way.”

After a few more unfriendly jibes, the RAF quietly deleted its own post.

https://news.sky.com/story/raf-pauses-job-offers-for-white-men-to-meet-impossible-diversity-targets-12674409

Her publication cost her dearly. On Monday August 15, a Moroccan blogger was sentenced to two years in prison without parole by the court in Oued. As reported by Le Figaro, Fatema Karim was charged with ” insulting the Muslim religion ” after commenting on Quranic verses and hadiths of the Prophet Mohammed in Arabic in July this year.

The 39-year-old blogger announced that she would appeal her conviction. At the same time, she publicly apologised to “anyone who felt offended by her comment on Facebook”. “This judgement is very harsh. It throws us back years,” said Bouazza Karim, Fatema Karim’s brother. In Morocco, any person who violates the Muslim religion can be sentenced to between six months and two years in prison. This penalty can be increased to five years imprisonment if the offence is committed in public, even online. Any attack “on the monarchical regime” is also punished.

https://www.valeursactuelles.com/monde/une-blogueuse-marocaine-emprisonnee-pour-des-publications-portant-atteinte-a-la-religion-musulmane