English LCCC Newsbulletin For Le

English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For June 07/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews21/english.june07.21.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Bible Quotations For today
But now I am going to him who sent me; and not one of you says to me, Where are you going
John 16/04-11: I have said these things to you so that when the time comes, what I have said may come to your mind. I did not say them to you at the first, because then I was still with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; and not one of you says to me, Where are you going? But your hearts are full of sorrow because I have said these things. But what I am saying is true: my going is for your good: for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And he, when he comes, will make the world conscious of sin, and of righteousness, and of being judged: Of sin, because they have not faith in me; Of righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no more; Of being judged, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 06-07/2021
Lebanon's Officials And Politicians Are Lebanon's Worst Enemies/Elias Bejjani/June 06/2021
Health Ministry: 134 new Corona cases, 5 deaths
Hassan: A new vaccination marathon will be launched next week
Pfizer Marathon kicks off in Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel, Bekaa
Rahi presides over Sunday Mass service in Bkirki
Rahi: Could There Be Plans to Thwart Parliamentary, Presidential Polls
Ogero Chairman Says Power Cuts to Affect Services
Report: Lebanon Faces Darkness as Power Generators ‘Switch Off’
France Probes Riad Salameh's Wealth
Two Dead in Armed Clashes in Palestinian Camp in Tye
Information Minister: For media professionals to be builders of moral walls, bridges of communication
Amer Fakhoury Foundation Answers Invitation To Meet Again With US. Senate House Leaders/Legislators Look to Include Fakhoury Daughters in Hearings on Budget, Aid, and Human Rights Discussions
FPM: Attack on media professional Rami Naim unacceptable
Abdallah: We will witness unprecedented social deadlock
Economic committee convenes tomorrow
Clashes in Rashidiya Camp expand
Lebanon at the Brink/Charles Elias Chartouni/June 06/2021

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 06-07/2021
Pope calls for reconciliation, healing over Canada school discovery
Gunmen Kill 88 People in Northwest Nigeria
Two Drones Shot Down above Iraq Base Housing US Troops, Says Army
Fatah, PLO factions continue social-media call for intifada
Blast at Iranian steel plant, latest in series of incidents
US concerned after Turkey attacks refugee camp
Israeli F-35s taking part in joint exercise with US, Italy, Britain
77th D-Day anniversary: When the Allies landed in Normandy
EU ambassador to UK says trust is low ahead of Brexit talks
Two drones intercepted, shot down over Iraqi air base military

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 06-07/2021
Sinwar: Next war with Israel will change the Middle East/Khalid Abu Toameh/Jerusalem Post/June 06/2021
Self-Criticism: A Conversation with Göran Adamson/Grégoire Canlorbe/Gatestone Institute/June 06/2021

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on June 06-07/2021
Lebanon's Officials And Politicians Are Lebanon's Worst Enemies
Elias Bejjani/June 06/2021
Sadly Lebanon's officials- rulers, as well as the political class including the political parties dictators with no one exception are mere puppets, selfish, narcissists, serve the occupier blindly and practically are all enemies for both Lebanon and the Lebanese people. They are a replicate of both the Trojans and for the Iscariot.
الحكام واصحاب شركات الأحزاب كلن وإضافة إلى أنهم ادوات بيد المحتل واغطيه له هم اعداء لبنان والشعب اللبناني أين منهم الإسخريوتي

Health Ministry: 134 new Corona cases, 5 deaths
NNA/June 06/2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced, on Sunday, that 134 new Corona infections have been reported, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 541,557.
It also indicated that 5 death cases were recorded during the past 24 hours

Hassan: A new vaccination marathon will be launched next week
NNA/June 06/2021
Caretaker Minister of Health Hamad Hassan, on Sunday, inspected the vaccination center in the West Bekaa as part of the Pfizer Vaccination Marathon taking place today in said region. The Minister announced that 1,517 people have already received the vaccine by Sunday, indicating that there would be more during the vaccination marathon to be held in other regions of the country.

Pfizer Marathon kicks off in Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel, Bekaa
NNA/June 06/2021
The Pfizer Vaccine Marathon, organized by the Ministry of Public Health, kicked off this morning for residents of Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel and the Bekaa, where those aged over 60 will be able to receive a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Rahi presides over Sunday Mass service in Bkirki
NNA/June 06/2021
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, pointed out that if the political officials were humble and loving, they would have abandoned their interests and reconciled with politics and the state, and they would not have brought the country to this political and social misery. Patriarch Rahi indicated that officials are trying to save their souls and their interests, not the country, and they act as if there are no people or system. During the Divine Liturgy on the eighth anniversary of Lebanon's dedication to the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Harissa's Basilica, Rahi added that officials do not care about the Lebanese people, who can no longer tolerate injustice. He also stressed that people could no longer bear to remain silent about the crime of the Beirut port explosion. Finally, the Patriarch called on the United Nations to salvage Lebanon from collapse and bankruptcy, and appealed to the Health Organization to put its hand on the health situation in Lebanon.

Rahi: Could There Be Plans to Thwart Parliamentary, Presidential Polls
Naharnet/June 06/2021
Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi said on Sunday that Lebanese politicians are to blame for Lebanon’s political and social misery, pointing that delayed cabinet efforts could carry intentions to thwart the parliamentary and presidential elections. “If political officials were humble and loving, they would have abandoned their personal interests and reconciled with politics and the state, and they would not have brought the country to this political and social misery,” said Rahi during the liturgy on the eighth anniversary of Lebanon's dedication to the Immaculate Heart of Mary from Basilica of Harissa. Rahi stated that officials are trying to save their “souls and interests, not the country’s, and they act as if there is no people or system.”The Patriarch also emphasized that officials do not care about the Lebanese people, who can no longer tolerate injustice. Rahi raised suspicions about the delayed efforts to form a much-needed government saying it could bear schemes to thwart Lebanon’s parliamentary and presidential elections. “Behind the flimsy reasons are there any intentions to thwart the parliamentary and presidential elections? Or maybe there are plans to bring down Lebanon hundred years after its formation as an independent state,” he lashed. He also stressed that people could no longer bear to remain silent about the crime of bombing the port of Beirut. Finally, he called on the United Nations to pull Lebanon out from collapse and bankruptcy, and appealed to the Health Organization to intervene and help in backing up the health situation in Lebanon.

Ogero Chairman Says Power Cuts to Affect Services
Naharnet/June 06/2021
Chairman Director General at the state-run internet company OgeroTelecom voiced alarm on Sunday that the company’s services would gravely be affected by the continuous rise in power rationing. “The continuous rise in power rationing is causing enormous pressures on Ogero's power generation groups amid an increasing demand for fuels, which have also become scarce,” said Ogero chairman Imad Kreidieh in a tweet. He said the continuous rise in power cuts will seriously affect the services the internet company provides to the Lebanese. “If the situation continues in this manner, it seriously threatens Ogero's ability to provide services,” he added. Lebanon’s electricity crisis worsens each day amid the country’s unprecedented economic and financial crisis, and an inability to provide electricity. Even the owners of power generators, who usually compensate for the state’s shortening to supplying the country with power, are threatening to cut electricity supply for up to 5 hours next week amid a sharp fuel shortage.

Report: Lebanon Faces Darkness as Power Generators ‘Switch Off’
Naharnet/June 06/2021
Amid a sharp fuel shortage and an unprecedented financial crisis, the Lebanese are facing complete darkness after private generator owners announced rationing of electricity supply to an additional five hours per day. Owners of generators complain that state supply of electricity is dwindling sharply pressuring their generators to function longer hours. Head of the Association of Power Generator Owners, Abdo Saadeh, announced in an interview to Asharq el-Awsat that rationing will rise to five hours a day starting next week. “Generator owners are forced to ration due to the fuel shortage crisis. They are buying diesel, when available, from the black market at around 40,000 Lebanese pounds ($3 according to the black market exchange rate) for 20 liters, meanwhile the state sets its price at 28,000 because fuel is still subsidized,” said Saadeh. Fuel shortage in Lebanon is due to Banque du Liban’s reluctance to open the required credits in a move aimed at saving the remaining foreign currency reserves. BDL had announced its inability to continue subsidizing basic goods including fuel. The continued smuggling of diesel to Syria as well as stockpiling by fuel traders for double-profit purposes when subsidies end, have exacerbated the crisis.
Lebanese have long bore the state’s incapacity to provide them with decent power, resorting to subscriptions in private generators who in turn exploited the situation by making huge profits out of the state’s power supply gap.

France Probes Riad Salameh's Wealth
Agence France Presse/June 06/2021
France has opened a probe into the personal wealth of Riad Salameh, central bank chief in crisis-hit Lebanon, sources told AFP Sunday. Paris financial prosecutors have opened a preliminary probe into criminal association and money laundering by Salameh, a source close to the investigation and a judicial source said, following a similar move by Switzerland. Its findings could shed light onto the origins of the 70-year-old former Merrill Lynch banker's wealth. In post since 1993 and once hailed by political and business leaders, Salameh has been repeatedly accused by the government of caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab of being responsible for the collapse of the Lebanese pound. The Lebanese public suspect him and other high officials of transferring money abroad during a 2019 uprising, when ordinary people were prevented from doing so. Lebanon has since been hit by an economic crisis which the World Bank says is one of the worst anywhere since the 19th century. Close to the powerful Hariri family, Salameh has been under investigation for months in Switzerland on suspicion of serious money laundering and embezzlement from the Bank of Lebanon.He also owns several properties in France and may have transferred money via the country. One of the criminal complaints that prompted French prosecutors to get involved came from Swiss foundation Accountability Now, daily Le Monde reported. Another was filed by anti-financial crime group Sherpa and by the Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices in Lebanon, set up by savers devastated by the post-2019 crisis. The French move signals the start of "a universal mega-investigation across Europe", said William Bourdon and Amelie Lefebvre, lawyers for Sherpa and the savers' collective. "Enormous money laundering operations will be examined, which ought to open every nook and cranny of the mafia that has brought Lebanon to its knees," they hope.
Their criminal complaint, seen by AFP, accuses Salameh and people close to him -- his brother Raja, his son Nadi, a nephew and an aide at the central bank -- of fraudulently building a vast fortune in Europe. The groups urge the judiciary to investigate massive capital flight from Lebanon since the crisis began, as well as property purchases out of all proportion to the buyers' income and the roles played by financial intermediaries, tax havens and strawmen. Based especially on reports by Lebanese website Daraj.com and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, the plaintiffs believe that Salameh's worldwide total wealth amounts to more than $2 billion. He contests that figure, saying his holdings stem from inheritances, his banking career and legitimate investments since taking office in 1993. The French prosecutors' investigation is the latest in a string of probes into "ill-gotten gains" of foreign leaders -- especially from Africa or the Middle East.

Two Dead in Armed Clashes in Palestinian Camp in Tye
Naharnet/June 06/2021
Two individuals were killed during armed clashes in the southern al-Rashidiyeh Palestinian refugee camp in the city of Tyre, the National News Agency reported on Sunday. NNA said heavy clashes erupted early on Sunday between Palestinian factions in the camp. The clashes expanded and in addition to machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and RPGs were used, according to the agency. MTV television station said the clashes erupted between drug dealers in the neighborhood of al-Safouri, and in nearby areas, leaving two people dead and several others wounded. The Fatah Movement and the Palestinian factions are working to contain the situation, said NNA.

Information Minister: For media professionals to be builders of moral walls, bridges of communication
NNA/June 06/2021
- Caretaker Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, tweeted Sunday on the role of media professionals in wake of the prevailing challenges, saying: "Lebanon, which suffers an economic and financial crisis that the World Bank ranks among the 3 worst global crises since the mid-19th century, needs today all its media cadres, who are committed to its advancement and are free from restrictions. Media personnel are creators of events and public opinion, and must be the builders of moral walls and bridges of professional communication." She added in a second tweet: "I know the magnitude of the challenges facing the media sector in Lebanon, and that many media institutions are threatened with closure due to the economic crisis, and that journalists working in them are threatened with dismissal. I assure you that the Ministry of Information is concerned with the health and safety of this sector, just like the owners of media outlets and media figures."In a third tweet, Abdel Samad wrote: "But our country, which suffers from all kinds of unprecedented crises, and despite its inability to secure financial resources for its media at the present time, can still secure legal immunities through a modern media law that respects international conventions, responsible freedom and the principle of media unity and the unity of organizational reference."

Amer Fakhoury Foundation Answers Invitation To Meet Again With US. Senate House Leaders/Legislators Look to Include Fakhoury Daughters in Hearings on Budget, Aid, and Human Rights Discussions
مؤسسة الشهيد عامر فاخوري مرة أخرى استدعيت للقاء اعضاء في مجلس الشيوخ الأميركي اشرع جريمة الإعتقال الإعتباطي في لبنان المحتل والإفراج عنه وهو يلفظ أنفاسه الأخيرة
عائلة الشهيد عامر فاخوري عاقدت العزم قولاً وافعالاً وتصمياً وإيمان ورجاء وأمل على عدم ترك جريمة اعتقال وتعذيب واغتيال رب العائلة أن تمر دون عقاب ومحاسيبة وعلى أن لا يتعرض أي ناشط أو مداع عن قضية حق إلى ما تعرض له الشهيد. وفي هذا السياق تعمل المؤسسة على لقاء كبار المسؤوليين والسياسيين الأميركيين من نواب وشيوخ ومؤسسات حقوق انسان
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/99489/%d9%85%d8%a4%d8%b3%d8%b3%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b4%d9%87%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%b9%d8%a7%d9%85%d8%b1-%d9%81%d8%a7%d8%ae%d9%88%d8%b1%d9%8a-%d9%85%d8%b1%d8%a9-%d8%a3%d8%ae%d8%b1%d9%89-%d8%aa%d8%af%d8%b9%d9%89/
WASHINGTON, DC – At the request of Congressional leaders, Amer Fakhoury Foundation (AFF) returned to the US Capitol on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, to expand previous discussions with legislators about US citizen Amer Fakhoury’s illegal detainment and torture in Lebanon and resulting death.
As with AFF’s previous meetings with elected and State Department officials, the delegation included Fakhoury’s four daughters, who co-founded the foundation in his name.
In Washington, AFF met with Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The delegation also met with the legislative staff of Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX1). Between their recent DC visits, AFF met remotely with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and the Lebanon desk of the US State Department.
“Each time we share our father’s story, and those of people who continue to reach out to us from Lebanon, it resonates powerfully,” said Guila Fakhoury, President of AFF.
While officials continue to work on identifying pathways for US government agencies and AFF to partner in delivering aid to those suffering under the Lebanese regime, AFF is currently delivering and expanding partnerships on the ground in Lebanon to meet the necessities of food, clean water, and medicine to those in need. Legislators have asked the Fakhoury’s to again return to Capitol Hill and participate in broader discussion groups and upcoming hearings. Those hearings are in planning but expected to include focus on Lebanese governmental and judicial corruption and human rights violations including illegal detention and torture. Officials shared that, with AFF’s help, these sessions will drive reviews under the Leahy and Magnitsky Acts as Congress looks at matters of US budgeting for civilian and military aid to Lebanon, accountability, and potential sanctions against Lebanese officials believed culpable or corrupt.
“We look forward to our father’s voice, through us, being heard in Congress and pray these sessions to enable real change and justice for the Lebanese people,” Fakhoury concluded.

FPM: Attack on media professional Rami Naim unacceptable
NNA/June 06/2021
The Free Patriotic Movement denounced on Sunday the attack on journalist Rami Naim, saying via Twitter: "The attack on media figure, Rami Naim, for reasons related to freedom of opinion and expression is unacceptable. We call for the investigation to take its course and the aggressors to be punished, and for the incident to be confined to its purely individual context, with appreciation for the responsible and sane positions that were issued."

Abdallah: We will witness unprecedented social deadlock
NNA/June 06/2021
MP Bilal Abdallah tweeted today on the Central Bank's recent decision to pay depositors $400 in fresh currency and their equivalence in Lebanese pounds, saying: "This sudden generosity of Banque du Liban and the banks, by liberating a portion of the depositors' money in hard currency, regardless of the fact that it races the attempt of the Finance and Budget Committee in Parliament to produce an objective capital control, actually reflects the tendency to raise subsidy entirely, and perhaps on all commodities...We will witness an unprecedented social deadlock."

Economic committee convenes tomorrow
NNA/June 06/2021
The Parliamentary Economic Committee will hold a meeting tomorrow, Monday, at 9:00 in the morning, with the caretaker Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, Zeina Akar, caretaker Ministers of Interior and Industry Mohamed Fahmy and Imad Hoballah, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the temporary building near the Government Serail. The meeting aims to follow up on the government's plan to address the ban on exports to Saudi Arabia and view its details and the extent of its implementation and will be followed by a press conference in Parliament at 9:45 a.m., to announce the position of the Economy Committee on this serious development that threatens agricultural crops and industrial production in all its branches.

Clashes in Rashidiya Camp expand
NNA/June 06/2021
The National News Agency correspondent stated that the area of the clashes that erupted in Rashidiya camp hours ago expanded, as some grenades and RPGs were used. It was also reported that two persons were killed and several others were injured.
Fatah and the Palestinian factions are working to contain the problem.

Lebanon at the Brink
Charles Elias Chartouni/June 06/2021
The Ivan Illich Worksites* (Church Ministry and Public Policy) suggest:
The book of my colleague Sarkis Joseph Khoury (Professor Emeritus of International Finance and Banking at the University of California, Author and Editor of 24 books in the field, International Consultant and Editor of various Financial magazines) is a timely contribution to the study of the dire financial crisis in Lebanon and its overall deleterious consequences. This compact analysis attempts to connect the failure of governance to the destructive and overlapping power rivalries and endemic instability, the institutional deficits, and the diffuse state of corruption generated by the rentier economy, flawed public ethics and inability to carry out reforms, since the political and financial oligarchies are hampering any attempt at systemic reforms which put at stake their political and social privileges and financial interests.
Professor Khoury research features as an attempt to elucidate the tangled nature of financial, economic and political crises, and the need to carry out the reforms mandated by the ongoing globalization, and the urgency to overhaul our political, economic and social institutions. Otherwise, this study suggests the Dollarization of the financial system as remedy to the current stagflation and its social and political outcomes, and a short circuit which enables us to restart our financial and economic life, and extract ourselves from the abysses of a long term depression and its corollary calamities. This book could be read as an E Book on Amazon, or at Librairie Antoine at a very low price
Summary:
- The Eight Fundamental Desequilibria: Undermining the Long Term
Stability of Lebanon and the Commitment of its diaspora.
- The Emasculation of the Central Lebanese State and Corruption.
-The Lebanese Economy: a Broader View.
- The Seeds of the 2020 Crisis.
- The Solution.
* Founded and directed by Charles Chartouni in 2018.
**Finest Content Writing, San Francisco, 2020.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 06-07/2021
Pope calls for reconciliation, healing over Canada school discovery
NNA - VATICAN CITY (Reuters)
Pope Francis said on Sunday that he was pained by the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former Catholic school for indigenous students in Canada and called for respect of the rights and culture of native peoples. He urged Canadian political and Catholic religious leaders to "cooperate with determination" to shed light on the finding and to seek reconciliation and healing. Francis said he felt close to "the Canadian people, who have been traumatized by the shocking news". The discovery last month of the remains of the children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, which closed in 1978, has reopened old wounds and is fuelling outrage in Canada about the lack of information and accountability. Francis spoke two days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Catholic Church must take responsibility for its role in running many of the schools.

Gunmen Kill 88 People in Northwest Nigeria
Agence France Presse/June 06/2021
Police in northwest Nigeria's Kebbi state told AFP Sunday that the death toll from an attack by a gang of cattle thieves on seven villages Thursday had risen to 88.
The region has struggled with decades-long communal clashes over resources but more recently some groups have become more violent, looting, killing and kidnapping for ransom. "Initially 66 bodies were recovered but 22 more have been found," Kebbi state police spokesman Nafiu Abubakar said, adding that the search for more bodies was ongoing. Dozens of assailants on motorcycles attacked seven neighbouring villages in Danko-Wasagu district on Thursday, Abubakar said. The gunmen targeted the villages of Koro, Kimpi, Gaya, Dimi, Zutu, Rafin Gora and Iguenge, he said. Many people were still unaccounted for Sunday after fleeing the attacks. "The search is still going on and more bodies could be found. So, the toll is not conclusive yet," said Abubakar. Policemen were deployed to the area over the weekend to forestall further attacks, he said. The assailants were believed to have launched the attacks from neighbouring Zamfara or Niger states where criminals are known to maintain camps. In April, nine policemen were killed in the area in a shootout with gunmen who invaded a village in nearby Sakaba district to steal livestock, Abubakar told AFP at the time.
Security forces stretched thin Northwest and central Nigeria are a hub of criminal gangs known locally as bandits, who raid villages, harass residents and burn down homes. The gangs maintain camps in Rugu forest which straddles Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states. Nigeria's security forces, who are also battling a more than decade-long jihadist insurgency in the northeast of the country, are being stretched thin. Gangs in the northwest have recently stepped up attacks on schools, kidnapping hundreds of students to squeeze ransoms from authorities and parents. More than 700 children and students have already been kidnapped by gunmen for ransom since December, often from schools in remote areas, where pupils live in dormitories with little security protection. State authorities in Niger state said they were negotiating with gunmen who seized 136 children from an Islamic seminary last weekend. The attackers released 11 of the pupils who were "too small and couldn't walk" very far, the authorities previously said. Nearly 700,000 people have been internally displaced in northwest and north central Nigeria in February, according to the UN's migration agency IOM, as a result of violence. In Zamfara, Doctors without Borders (MSF) said it was struggling to respond to growing needs. Between January and April, MSF said it treated 10,300 children in Zamfara for severe acute malnutrition, measles, malaria and other conditions. "This is 54 percent higher than in the same period last year," said an MSF doctor, Godwin Emudanohwo. "People here need food, safe water and vaccinations now," said Emudanohwo in a statement. "What is happening here is a humanitarian emergency that needs urgent attention and a fast and proper response," said Froukje Pelsma, MSF head of mission in Nigeria.

Two Drones Shot Down above Iraq Base Housing US Troops, Says Army
Agence France Presse/June 06/2021
The Iraqi army said Sunday two drones were destroyed above a base housing US troops, one month after the same base was targeted by an armed drone. The US military's C-RAM defence system was activated to shoot down the drones above the Ain al-Assad base, located in Iraq's western desert, the Iraqi military said. Several hours earlier a rocket was shot down above Baghdad airport, "without causing casualties or damage," said Colonel Wayne Marotto, spokesman for the US-led military coalition in Iraq. The coalition was sent to Iraq to help the country's military fight the Islamic State jihadist group -- a campaign that Baghdad declared won in late 2017. The US consistently blames Iran-linked Iraqi factions for rocket attacks against Iraqi installations housing its personnel. Since the start of this year there have been 39 attacks against US interests in Iraq. The vast majority have been bombs against logistics convoys, while 14 were rocket attacks, some of them claimed by pro-Iran factions, who aim to pressure Washington into withdrawing all their troops. The use of drones against American interests by these factions is a relatively new tactic, although the US military has previously accused pro-Iran Iraqi groups of helping Yemen's Huthi rebels carry out attacks using such devices against Saudi interests.

Fatah, PLO factions continue social-media call for intifada
Jerusalem Post/June 06/2021
Fatah posted an image to their Facebook page on social media depicting a rioter throwing rocks set against a backdrop of the Dome of the Rock.
Fatah and various Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) factions have continued their calls for an intifada through social media, following a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza that ended 11 days of violent hostilities, as highlighted in a press release from Palestinian Media Watch on Wednesday. One commentator, Bassem Barhoum, writing for the official Palestinian Authority newspaper, said the “The ceasefire does not mean the end of the battle... “It is clear that the goal that has consensus among the Palestinian people today is ending the occupation and defeating the apartheid regime in Israel. In addition to this, we must continue the comprehensive popular intifada and the solidarity and boycott activity in the international arena.”On social media, Fatah posted an image to their Facebook page depicting a rioter throwing rocks set against the backdrop of the Dome of the Rock, with the caption “the intifada continues … #Al-Aqsa_is_rising_up.”
The Fatah movement also called on Palestinians to mobilize to "defend Jerusalem" and confront the flag march. Similarly, on the PA's TV station, Deputy Mayor of Surif in the Hebron district, Hazem Ghneimat, made remarks about Yasser Arafat, saying “[We are demonstrating for] the souls of our eternal Martyrs, and foremost among them Martyr-symbol commander Yasser Arafat who initiated the Palestinian revolution. The man with the beautiful words that we all repeat together: ‘Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem’.” Other factions within the PLO also made references to an intifada. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP) apparently released a statement calling for “a day of escalating the intifada activity and the open confrontation against the occupation in the friction areas, the military checkpoints, and the settlements,” according to the Palestinian news agency Al-Dunia Al-Watan.

Blast at Iranian steel plant, latest in series of incidents
Jerusalem Post/June 06/2021
A local official told Iranian media that no injuries were caused in the incident and that the fire was under control.
An explosion and fire were reported at the Zarand Iranian Steel Company in eastern Iran on Saturday night, in the latest in a series of similar incidents throughout Iran, according to Iranian media. Video reportedly from the scene showed a large blaze with what appeared to be an explosion launching debris into the air. The Iranian IRNA news reported that a large explosion occurred during the incident. The governor of Zarand told the Iranian Fars News Agency that no injuries were caused in the incident and that the incident was under control. The incident was reportedly caused by the sudden overflow of molten material in the blast furnace, with the governor stressing that no explosion occurred. The governor added that firefighters and emergency services were at the scene in order to prevent possible accidents and that more details would be made available later. The Zarand Iranian Steel Company is part of Middle East Mines and Mineral Industries Development Holding Company (MIDHCO), which was placed under sanctions by the Trump administration earlier this year. "The Iranian metals sector is an important revenue source for the Iranian regime, generating wealth for its corrupt leaders and financing a range of nefarious activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for foreign terrorist groups, and a variety of human rights abuses, at home and abroad," said the US Department of the Treasury at the time. The fire at the steel plant is the latest in a series of similar incidents that have plagued Iran in recent weeks. Last week, Iran's largest naval ship, the Kharg training support vessel, sank recently after it was destroyed in a fire. It is unclear what caused the fire. Additionally, a massive fire was reported at an oil refinery in the southern part of Tehran last week, with no casualties reported in the incident. Additional fires have been reported at a number of petrochemical plants throughout Iran in recent weeks. At least one fire has been associated with an Iranian military site, with The Guardian reporting that a blast hit the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA), which produces a variety of aircraft, including drones, for Iranian and pro-Iranian forces in Iran's Isfahan Province. Iranian media reported that the blast had occurred at the Sepahan Nargostar chemical and fireworks factory in the city of Shahin Shahr in Isfahan, stating at the time that the cause of the blast was under investigation. The Sepahan Nargostar factory is a producer of industrial and commercial explosive materials. Last year, a series of explosions and fires hit industrial sites across Iran, including a number of petrochemical plants. Iranian officials referred to most of the cases as incidents or accidents, although some reports have claimed that at least some of them involved foul play. Aging infrastructure in Iran has also been blamed for at least some of the incidents.

US concerned after Turkey attacks refugee camp
Jerusalem Post/June 06/2021
In recent months, Turkey has increased its presence in northern Iraq. It has been accused of deforestation and depopulation of villages, including minority Christian villages.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield expressed concern on Saturday over Turkey’s airstrikes on a refugee camp in Iraq. It is the latest Turkish attack, reputedly using an armed drone, deep inside Iraq, leaving civilians afraid and leading to questions about why Turkey has impunity to attack other countries and civilian areas. “Yesterday, I made clear to Turkish officials that any attack targeting civilians at Makhmour refugee camp would be a violation of international and humanitarian law,” Thomas-Greenfield wrote. “I’m deeply concerned about violence near the camp today and call on all sides to respect the rights of refugees.”Three people were killed in a suspected Turkish airstrike near Makhmour camp in northern Iraq on Saturday afternoon, according to Rudaw, a media group in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “It was an airstrike and took place near Makhmour refugee camp,” Sirwan Barzani, commander of Peshmerga forces on the Makhmour-Gwer front, told Rudaw. “According to confirmed information, three people have died.” “A resident of the camp, who asked to be identified only as Ahmed, had earlier told Rudaw that Turkish air forces bombed the camp, killing at least one person and injuring a second,” the report said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to attack the camp.
On June 2, “Erdogan has warned Iraq that Turkey will ‘clean up’ a refugee camp which it says provides a safe haven for Kurdish militants, threatening to take its long military campaign deeper inside Iraqi territory,” Reuters reported. Ankara often threatens to attack foreign countries. Turkish forces invaded and ethnically cleansed Afrin in Syria in 2018, forcing 170,000 Kurds and Yazidis to flee. Turkey often threatens attacks on refugees near Ayn Issa and Tel Rifaat in Syria. Turkish-backed Syrian extremists have also cut off water to parts of eastern Syria at Ankara’s behest.
Makhmour camp is 180 kilometers from Turkey on the border of the Kurdistan Region and areas controlled by federal Iraqi forces. The area was threatened and attacked by ISIS in 2014. Turkey claims the camp produces “terrorists,” but there is no evidence of any “terrorist” attacks from the camp.
In recent months, Turkey has increased its presence in northern Iraq. It has been accused of deforestation and depopulation of villages, including minority Christian villages. Ankara has also threatened to invade Sinjar, where Yazidi minorities live. Turkey appears to systematically target every area in Iraq and Syria where minorities, such as Kurds, live. US concern for the refugees represents a major shift from the Trump administration, which tended to never mention Ankara’s attacks on civilians. Some US officials privately even saw extremist groups such as HTS as an “asset” in Syria and lobbied the US to provide more support for Ankara and its extremists. Turkey has increasingly become a closer partner of Iran and Russia and works with authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela and Belarus. In November 2019, Turkey carried out airstrikes near Makhmour refugee camp. The airstrikes damaged several areas and killed at least one fox, photos showed. Turkey provides no evidence that its strikes harm “terrorists.” It has been increasingly using drones in its wars and seeking to sell drones to other countries. It is unclear if its attacks are partly designed to showcase its drones or to distract from domestic political problems, such as a Turkish crime lord who has been making accusations against Erdogan’s inner circle in recent weeks.

Israeli F-35s taking part in joint exercise with US, Italy, Britain
Jerusalem Post/June 06/2021
Israel's F-35 "Adir" deployed part for the first time in an exercise abroad.
Israeli F-35 stealth fighter jets are taking part in a large-scale drill in Italy, marking the first time that the fifth generation plane has been deployed outside of Israel for drills. The IAF jets that took off from Israel on Thursday, will participate in the two-week-long Falcon Strike 2021 drill alongside planes from Italy, the US and England. In addition to the F-35s from the 140th squadron, Israel is also sending F-16A/Bs from the 116th Squadron, G550s from the 122nd Squadron as well as planes that can refuel from the 120th squadron. From a total of some 30 aircraft, six F-35s will be coming from Israel.
The Americans are sending F-16s and F-35Bs, the Royal Air Force will fly the F-35Bs as well as Voyager A330 refeulers and the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and the Italians will be flying the F-35A/Bs, the KC-767 refuelers and the KC-130J. The Italians will also act as the enemy (red) air force with Eurofighter Typhoons, Panavia Tornado jets, Bell Agusta helicopter, AMX International ground-attack aircraft and predator drones. A senior Israel Air Force official told reporters that the drill has been planned for at least a year and the goal is to strengthen cooperation and capabilities between forces that also fly the F-35s as well as to train in an unfamiliar arena and improve the deployment capabilities of the F-35s. “This is an important drill for the Air Force to take the F-35 further,” the senior officer said. “This is a fifth-generation drill.”

77th D-Day anniversary: When the Allies landed in Normandy
Jerusalem Post/June 06/2021
The Normandy landings remain the largest ever amphibious invasion and paved the way for western Europe's liberation. On this day, on June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed on the Normandy beaches of France as part of “Operation Overlord” which helped bring World War II to an end.Commonly known as "D-Day," the day marks the Allies' invasion of Normandy, a military campaign that marked more than anything else in public memory the expected defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The Normandy landings were months in the Allied planning and were kept secret from Hitler and his forces despite a huge trans-Atlantic mobilization of industry and manpower. Under the cover of darkness, thousands of Allied paratroopers jumped behind Germany's coastal defenses. Then, as day broke, warships pounded German positions before hundreds of landing craft disgorged the infantry troops under a barrage of machine-gun fire and artillery. The Germans suffered losses – dead and wounded – ranging from 4,000 to 9,000, while the Allies suffered about 4,500 dead and 6,000 wounded. The Normandy landings remain the largest ever amphibious invasion and paved the way for western Europe's liberation.
Reuters contributed to this report.

EU ambassador to UK says trust is low ahead of Brexit talks
NNA/Reuters/June 06/2021
The European Union's ambassador to the United Kingdom said on Sunday that levels of trust between the two powers was low ahead of Brexit talks on the Northern Ireland protocol this week, but added that he was confident it would improve. "The levels of trust are low right now," Joao Vale de Almeida told Times Radio. "We ultimately need to re-establish a minimum level of trust that allows us to find solutions, but this being said...I remain confident that we can get there."

Two drones intercepted, shot down over Iraqi air base military
NNA/June 06/2021
Iraqi military said on Sunday that air defenses at Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base that hosts u.s. Forces, intercept and shot down two drones. The military said in a statement the drones were intercepted and shot down at a round 12:30 a.m. local time.
On May 8, an attack by an unmanned aerial surveillance system targeted Iraq's Ain al-Asad air base, but it caused no injuries. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday's attack.

The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 06-07/2021
Sinwar: Next war with Israel will change the Middle East
Khalid Abu Toameh/Jerusalem Post/June 06/2021
Addressing Palestinian academics in the Gaza Strip, a defiant Sinwar again boasted that Hamas had won the last round of fighting with Israel.
The next battle between Israel and Hamas will change the shape of the Middle East, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said on Saturday. Addressing Palestinian academics in the Gaza Strip, a defiant Sinwar again boasted that Hamas had won the last round of fighting with Israel. Sinwar’s address, reminiscent of speeches made by Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, was repeatedly interrupted with cries of “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Great) and other slogans in support of Hamas. Sinwar claimed that Israel had failed during the 11-day fighting to destroy “the capabilities of the Palestinian resistance.” He also claimed that Israel destroyed less than 3% of Hamas’s tunnels during the fighting. “Our people proved to the occupation and the rest of the world that our ummah (Muslim community) is ready to defend al-Aqsa Mosque,” Sinwar said. He praised the Palestinians in Jerusalem for resisting Israeli “schemes to Judaize Jerusalem, divide al-Aqsa Mosque and carry out ethnic cleansing.”Sinwar denounced Arab countries and rulers who signed peace treaties with Israel. He also lashed out at the Palestinian Authority for conducting security coordination with Israel in the West Bank.
Sinwar listed what he called “strategic goals” that Hamas allegedly achieved during the military confrontation with Israel.
“First, we proved to the enemy that we are capable of protecting and defending al-Aqsa Mosque and that we are ready to pay a heavy price,” he said. “The uprising of our people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the 1948 lands (Israel) put pressure on the enemy more than the rockets of the resistance.”
Sinwar said that the demonstrations near the border with Jordan and Lebanon during the Israel-Hamas fighting “sent a message to the enemy that it must not be deceived by what it hears from the [Arab] rulers who normalized their relations with Israel that ‘the ummah is finished and has collapsed.’”
Hamas’s second achievement, Sinwar noted, was that it managed to “thwart” Israel’s ostensible plan “to divide al-Aqsa Mosque in time and space” between Muslims and Jews. Sinwar said the third achievement Hamas scored was that it succeeded in rallying Palestinians behind the “resistance.”
“We humiliated Tel Aviv,” the Hamas leader boasted, referring to the rockets and missiles that were fired at the city during the military confrontation. “We turned Tel Aviv into a mop.” Sinwar said that Hamas’s strategic goal was to “break the pride of this criminal and arrogant enemy.” He scoffed at Israel for building a 70-m.-deep wall along the border with the Gaza Strip, adding: “What kind of a state is this that has to build such a wall? Israel is thousands of times weaker than the home of a spider. Israel is a weak, shaky state.”The Hamas leader said that the last round of fighting with Israel represented only a “small battle” and that the next war will be more significant. Addressing the PA, Sinwar called on its leaders not to expect anything from the US administration. He said that the only way for the Palestinians to achieve their goals was through unity and a “popular resistance backed by an armed resistance.”
According to Sinwar, some Arabs and Muslims are “generously supporting the resistance.” He said that those who are supporting Hamas are afraid of revealing their identities out of fear of being held accountable by the international community.

Self-Criticism: A Conversation with Göran Adamson
Grégoire Canlorbe/Gatestone Institute/June 06/2021
In 2017, three out of four people suspected of murder in Sweden were migrants — a figure that seems frightfully high. The funny thing is that the Swedish Social Democrats, and others you might call multiculturalists — the "politically correct" — they have not been interested in investigating this, even though these are issues that Swedish people are talking about.
In Sweden, however, what people talk about are "socioeconomic factors" — which they claim are the causes behind everything: crime, rape, marginalization, exclusion, unemployment and financial issues. The multiculturalists link these issues to our country and say they are something we are to blame for. Those are completely different from culture, which is something that people bring with them when they come to Sweden.
"Culture," they repeat over and over again, "has nothing to do with it!" So we ask them, "Then how do you explain that migrants from, say, Vietnam or Thailand, have a far lesser propensity for crime than migrants from other parts of the world?"
Orwell said something like, "I know enough about the working class not to idealize it." You can apply the same concept to... fantasies about other cultures: the fact that we know very little about them because if we knew enough... we would not idealize these countries the way many academics in Sweden, Paris, or London are doing: we would know too much.
Another aspect here relates to when migrants come to Sweden. They are greeted by those who know very little about their own culture, who care very little about it and who are happy to compare it unfavorably to other cultures. Almost like a pastime. "Oh, you know, the way we treat homosexuals or women or migrants or structural racism in Sweden..." It is simply not true. We all have these dinners and just sit around and harass our own country, and everyone else does the same and we love it.
If people come to Sweden, how are they supposed to respect Swedish culture if we do not respect it ourselves? But in Sweden, we are not allowed to do that. In basically every other country, every other culture, people have a certain respect — even in dictatorships, they love their country, the tradition, and so on. In dictatorships, of course, if they do not love their country, they are not allowed to say so. If Sweden is such a bad place, why is everyone coming here?... No one is escaping from Sweden to Yemen.
It is as if we simply cannot accept the fact that we are fortunate and privileged because it goes against our own self-deception.... This whole self-critical, self-harassing attitude is a perfect way to avoid the kind of shame of being privileged. This self-critical attitude among scores of Western elites can only occur in wealthy societies. It is an odd fruit among those who are troubled by the fact that they are privileged and fortunate. But why on earth be troubled by it? Why be ashamed by all those before us who made our country so successful? This is just head-spinningly grotesque.
So, this is a one-sided tolerance: self-criticism, even if sometimes possibly justified, is replaced by self-annihilation. An idea fostered from above by political elites whereby Western cultures, Western traditions, Western ideas are being dismissed for the benefit of some kind of multicultural veneration and idealization of anything exotic — the more exotic, the better.
You could say that this whole focus on.... sexual identities and so forth sounds not only like sidetracking, but also an attempt to... engage people in... relatively unimportant battles while there are much more important battles to be fought. Most prominently, the battle against globalization, neo-liberalism, the dismantling of national borders, and the intensifying aggression of predatory nations. Those are the most important.
"In 2017, three out of four people suspected of murder in Sweden were migrants — a figure that seems frightfully high. The funny thing is that the Swedish Social Democrats, and others you might call multiculturalists — the 'politically correct' — they have not been interested in investigating this, even though these are issues that Swedish people are talking about." — Göran Adamson. (Photo by Ponus Stenberg/AFP via Getty Images)
Göran Adamson, an associate professor of sociology with a PhD from the London School of economics, is engaged in public debate in Sweden focusing on issues of free speech and diversity; and an outspoken critic of "multiculturalism." His most recent book — Masochist Nationalism: Multicultural Self-hatred and the Infatuation with the Exotic — was published by Routledge in March 2021.
Grégoire Canlorbe: You have been working on a statistical study of the relationship between ethnic background and crime in Sweden. Have you found a connection?
Göran Adamson: Important information was just revealed in an update of the 2005 prevention agency report I recently headed — a completely private initiative. It had been almost 20 years since the Swedish state had done any research about the relationship between migration and crime. The two most salient features we found were that that among people who were suspects or were, with good reason, suspected of a crime were migrants. The result was more than half — about six out of 10 in Sweden. When it comes to the murder rate, people suspected, with good reason, of murder made up about 73% or 74%. In 2017, three out of four people suspected of murder in Sweden were migrants — a figure that seems frightfully high. The funny thing is that the Swedish Social Democrats, and others you might call multiculturalists — the "politically correct" — they have not been interested in investigating this, even though these are issues that Swedish people are talking about. Maybe the most important issue — and the reason why the other party, Sweden Democrats, has become so huge over the last 10 years; they are now almost the biggest party in Sweden — like Marine Le Pen's National Rally Party in France. I think if you check the migrants who are the most likely suspects of crime, many of these people are, regrettably, Muslims — the risk that this person has committed a crime is about roughly three times higher than for a Swede. So, sadly you could say that there is a link.
If you were to say that crime among migrants has to do with culture, I think unfortunately it is fair to say that an association has to be made.
In Sweden, however, what people talk about are "socioeconomic factors" — which they claim are the causes behind everything: crime, rape, marginalization, exclusion, unemployment and financial issues. The multiculturalists link these issues to our country and say they are something we are to blame for. Those are completely different from culture, which is something that people bring with them when they come to Sweden.
The "socioeconomic" explanation as the main cause of crime among migrants is what has been dominant among many Swedes for decades. "Culture," they repeat over and over again has nothing to do with it!" So, we ask them: "Okay, if socioeconomic factors are the reason behind crime among migrants, then how do you explain that migrants from, say, Vietnam or Thailand, have a far lesser propensity for crime than migrants from other parts of the world?" Marginalized people from the Far East are actually under-represented in crime. They are less likely to commit a crime than Swedes are.
The socioeconomic factors simply do not give a satisfactory explanation. There are people who come from much worse circumstances than some of the people from the Middle East. Even so, these people who come from much worse circumstances — such as the Vietnamese — are much less prone to committing violence than other migrants. Which means that there has to be another explanation, which is cultural: how you view women, how you view the state, whether you have any respect for the state, or whether you would rather live in clan-based societies. I am not criticizing individuals, but if you turn a blind eye to cultural differences, you will end up with this extremely appealing, sweet, self-critical multicultural explanation, saying that everything has to do with "socioeconomic factors." People walk about — politicians, members of the media and academics, all repeating this particular explanation — without realizing that it doesn't quite explain huge differences in criminal propensity between groups of migrants from various regions of the world.
Canlorbe: Do you think Sweden may be losing its culture, compared to other Western countries that are taking in migrants? How, for instance, has the Church of Sweden been reacting to the newcomers?
Adamson: The interesting thing about Sweden — it may have to do with a kind of masochistic attitude. It seems we are somehow enticed into liking to paint our own culture, our own religion and our own history, background, identity in rather dark colors, and are happy to compare our own culture unfavorably to other cultures. This does not happen only in Sweden. It has been going on in Britain and in many other countries, such as America and France.
George Orwell wrote about it in a 1945 essay, Notes on Nationalism. He talks about two concepts. First, a negative nationalism: you are obsessed with your own culture, not to trace it, but to criticize it. The second one is sort of a transferred nationalism — a kind of nationalism for export — sentimental, idealistic, romantic, self-eulogizing bullshit. The only difference is geographic: it is not done on behalf and for the benefit of your own country. It is done for the benefit of another – of Syria, or Iraq or Somalia, or any other distant culture or country, of which you know next to nothing. Orwell, I think, said something like, "I know enough about the working class not to idealize it." You can apply the same concept to loony ideas, images, and fantasies about other cultures: the fact that we know very little about them because if we knew enough — I have lived in Jordan for instance —we would not idealize these countries the way many academics in Sweden, Paris, or London are doing: we would know too much.
Another aspect here relates to when migrants come to Sweden. They are greeted by those who know very little about their own culture, who care very little about it and who are happy to compare it unfavorably to other cultures. Almost like a pastime. "Oh, you know, the way we treat homosexuals or women or migrants or structural racism in Sweden..." It is simply not true. We all have these dinners and just sit around and harass our own country, and everyone else does the same and we love it.
My question is: if people come to Sweden, how are they supposed to respect Swedish culture if we do not respect it ourselves? But in Sweden, we are not allowed to do that. In basically every other country, every other culture, people have a certain respect — even in dictatorships, they love their country, the tradition, and so on. In dictatorships, of course, if they do not, they are not allowed to say so. If Sweden is such a bad place, why is everyone coming here? Why is everyone who is escaping trying to come to France, to Germany and especially to Sweden, if it is such a bad country? People are escaping from Yemen or from Somalia to Sweden. No one is escaping from Sweden to Yemen.
It is as if we simply cannot accept the fact that we are fortunate and privileged because it goes against our own self-deception. This whole self-critical, self-harassing attitude is a perfect way to avoid and evade the kind of shame of being privileged. This self-critical attitude among scores of Western elites can only occur in wealthy societies. It is an odd fruit among those who are troubled by the fact that they are privileged and fortunate. But why on earth be troubled by it? Why be ashamed by all those before us who made our country so successful? This is just head-spinningly grotesque.
I remember when I was teaching in Malmö years ago, there was a huge poster in one of the corridors; the question on the poster was: "What do you know about Ramadan?" And I was wondering, "I don't know anything about Ramadan." Then, in one corner, to protest, I wrote in small letters: "What do you know about Yom Kippur?" Then, I went to lunch. When I came back, I had a look at the poster again. But to my great surprise, my question was gone. No one had erased it. Within an hour, someone had seen the question, taken down the entire poster, and replaced it with a new one. That made me think about some of the forces behind the scenes going on in Sweden. Some foreign cultures seem to be being pushed forward and promoted — to the detriment of Swedish culture.
Also, of course, to the detriment of Jewish culture. If you tried to put up a poster asking about Jewish traditions, say Yom Kippur, it would be taken down — or maybe set on fire? So, in Sweden and many other Western cultures you have this escalating self-harassment going on. Humility and self-criticism are fine, and inviting other cultures is fine, but if all of these things become one-sided, that is dangerous.
If this habit of "modesty" means that other cultures are allowed to be marketed, fostered and cherished while Swedish and Judeo-Christian traditions are no longer seen as important, you will see the slow, gradual shift of focus away from Swedish and Judeo-Christian traditions — which are all of the things that people have actually escaped to! That is why they come to Sweden. Gradually, though, there will be a slow shift towards values, traditions and customs that might not have been all that successful throughout the years.
There was a Muslim community center in New York a few blocks from Ground Zero. Some people wanted it to become a mosque. Then people started saying, "We don't know if this is the right spot for a mosque, just around the corner from Ground Zero, where almost 3,000 people perished." You could say that this generosity of spirit might not be a bad idea for cross-religious tolerance — but then, you need to think of the prospects of any church being created in a Muslim country. They are not allowed.
This, therefore, is a one-sided tolerance. Self-criticism, even if perhaps sometimes justified, is replaced by self-annihilation. From an idea fostered from above by political elites, Western cultures, Western traditions and Western ideas are being dismissed for the benefit of some kind of multicultural veneration, romantisation and idealization of anything exotic — the more exotic, the better. It seems as if the most exotic culture and religion these days has a name, and its name is Islam. The author Douglas Murray asked: "What's so great about Islam?" Ask yourself that question.
I hope France is somehow changing now with Macron's speech and the beheading of the teacher, and so on. I think this kind of self-humiliating attitude only exists among a very thin layer of our societies: within the elites. If you ask anyone living in a small town in Sweden if they are part of this self-harassing, self-hating agenda — of course not! They like Sweden. They like their country. They like their traditions. They celebrate Christmas and all those things. So, what we are witnessing is that there is a tiny elite with a huge impact on the media, on science, in the universities and in politics.
Clearly, there is a tension between the people and the elites. It is increasing, intensifying all the time, and it does not look good. If you would say that society rests on a close sense of solidarity between classes, then, in the West, we have a problem. The political polarization is probably a polarization among classes.
As for the church in Sweden, there is a fantastic book — you should try to have it translated into French and English — The Art of Surviving the Swedish Church, by Helena Edlund, a Swedish priest. When she studied to become a priest, people warned her about the so-called "Dark Coats" — students for the priesthood who were dangerously conservative — terrifyingly religious, like monsters! After a few weeks, she realized that she was one of them! She had the same views. She was a Dark Coat, too. She thought, for instance, that reading the Bible was a good thing. When she was studying for the priesthood, her teachers kept saying, "You don't need to study that, it is just the Bible. Forget about the sacraments. Ignore them. You can study other books instead." All these religious traditions were seen as unimportant by the people in charge of the Swedish church. So, she wrote a book about it. For being a religious person, she has been harassed, humiliated to an extent you would not believe could happen in the supposedly open-minded, tolerant West. Her book is a shocking example of what happens when the church is kidnapped by people who think they are the "righteous". It is what many have been doing in Sweden — in institution after institution: universities, the media, the entire educational sector from kindergarten all the way up. In Sweden's Department of Defense, we have drafting campaigns for our army; they ask things like, "Suppose I came out as a gay while I'm out fighting for my country?" I mean, is that what is needed — what is important to defend one's country against an attack? The Swedish Church has been hijacked. The archbishop in Sweden is famous for ignoring Swedish religious traditions. She is much more keen on other, more exotic, religious traditions. There is one particular religion she is very, very keen on, Islam, because it is connected to the whole idea of multiculturalism and the idealization of everything exotic. So, even if you go to a Swedish Church where you think you might find some refuge from the mayhem of political correctness, you end up going from the ashes into the fire.
There are also an increasing number of people leaving the Swedish Church. They leave it not because they are not religious, but because they are religious. They leave the Swedish Church because they have faith in God and apparently also believe that Christian traditions are important. If that is what you think that, you can send in an application saying, "I want to leave the Swedish Church and buy a few books per year instead." When it comes to religious convictions, the Swedish Church is not what it looks like. I love churches, but I also left the Swedish Church a few months ago for precisely that reason.
Canlorbe: A common criticism against multiculturalism says that the capitalist class uses immigration to place at its disposal a large, cheap workforce — and to divert indigenous workers from the class struggle. Do you share such line of criticism?
Adamson: I've written about it, myself, in my previous book — The Trojan Horse: A Leftist Criticism of Multiculturalism in the West. Yes, it is a classic criticism, that instead being able to unite against the globalizing elites — the elites are manufacturing these whimsy wars between Swedish workers and migrants. You could say that this whole focus on LGBTQ, sexual identities and so forth sounds not only like sidetracking, but also an attempt to confuse: to engage people into engage in futile, silly, relatively unimportant battles while there are much more important battles to be fought. Most prominently, the battle against globalization, neo-liberalism, the dismantling of national borders, and the intensifying aggression of predatory nations. Those are the most important.
There is also a class issue. Take the Swedish worker and an unemployed person from the Turkish countryside. Even though both are poor and in need of assistance to a better life, they have very little in common, save for the fact that they both have a low-income. If you are faced with cultural problems, you are really tempted to just shout that this is all is actually a class issue. But if you do that, if you're a Marxist and you only talk about "The Oppressors" and "The Oppressed" — class identities and the need to fight against the globalizing elites — then you simply forget that there are cultural differences between people. If you would like to unite a Swedish worker with an elderly, illiterate woman from the Turkish countryside, or a man from Somalia, go ahead.
Also, the entire idea of Islamophobia is ridiculous. If you use the words Islamophobia and Islamophobic, you are really playing a sordid partisan game — because nobody would be called "liberalophobic" if they criticized liberalism. So, there is only one religion, only one structure out there where you can use this: it is Islam. If you are critical towards Islam, you are seen as "phobic" in some way, which is a hugely strange idea that should not be used. You could actually say that the people who are likely to suffer the most from this kind of on-the-surface idea are not people in the West because we try to go along as good as we can and have learned to handle criticism. The people in the Muslim community, however, are somehow seen as so childish, so fragile and so helpless that they cannot stand any solid, open, rational, reason-based discussion about certain possible shortcomings. So, under the surface, it is an absolutely amazingly arrogant attitude towards an entire religion. The idea of Islamophobia rests, under the surface, on arrogance against Muslims. Also, the funny thing is that people who Islamophobia, they engage in one project or another where they are often fabricating problems, exclusions, marginalization, and suddenly our academics, social workers and politicians are sitting with a handful of nicely marginalized groups of migrants — helpless and uneducated to be used and exploited as tools for our own careers, and our quest for moral haughtiness — all under the pretense of tolerance and anti-racism. It is all a rather fearful sight.
*Grégoire Canlorbe, a journalist, currently lives in Paris. He has conducted interviews for journals such as Man and the Economy, founded by Nobel Prize-winning economist Ronald Coase, and think tanks such as Mises Institute and Gatestone Institute. Contact: gregoire.canlorbe@wanadoo.fr
© 2021 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.