Headline News 28/10/2016

Headlines:

• Merkel Suggests Christmas Carols, Flute-Playing in Face of Islam Concerns
• Britain Sends Tanks, Drones and 800 Troops to Russian Border Amid Fears of All-Out Nuclear War
• Pakistan, Philippines Threaten to Leave U.S. for Stronger China/Russia Ties

Details

Merkel Suggests Christmas Carols, Flute-Playing in Face of Islam concerns

Chancellor Angela Merkel has admitted that she knows “there are concerns about Islam” in Germany and has a brand new idea as to how to address the issue: Germans should then stick to Christian traditions such as Christmas carols and playing the flute. “We’re the party with a C in its name,” Merkel told a special party meeting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the chancellor’s party gained fewer votes than anti-immigrant populist Alternative for Germany (AfD). “How many Christmas carols do we still know? And how many of them will we pass to our children and grandchildren?” she then asked rhetorically, referring to her party agenda which commits itself to applying moderate Catholic values to politics and economy. Contrary to her previous remarks on Muslims being an integral part of the German community, Merkel said that “I know there are concerns about Islam,” urging people to recall Christian culture in order to tackle the challenge. “One should copy some [carols] music sheets and ask someone who can play flute [to assist],” she added. When some people at the congress laughed at her words, she said that she is “quite serious” about her suggestion and added that “otherwise, we will lose a piece of our homeland.” However the proposal to play Pied Piper amid the growing anti-Muslim sentiments in Germany raised eyebrows with some of the politicians in the country. “I think it's a great idea, it's great when people sing Christmas songs, and I also do it. But thinking that you can stop the Islamization of Germany by playing the flute is too much,” Beatrix von Storch, Member of the European Parliament and deputy head of the far-right party Alternative for Germany said in an interview with Sputnik's German bureau. “This advice comes from the representative of the party which has the letter C in its name which means Christian rather than Vitamin C,” von Storch added. Merkel's call to preserve traditional German values follows last month defeat of her Christian Democrat Union in the local elections held in a number of districts across the country.  The far-right, openly anti-Muslim AfD party has made significant gains in Germany’s local elections weaken Merkel's chances of a fourth term in next year's federal elections. Merkel's biggest defeat was in Berlin, where AfD won 14.2 percent of the vote. Angela Merkel also suffered a defeat in regional elections in her constituency of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with her CDU coming third behind the Social Democrats (SPD) and the rightwing populists AfD. For the past 10 years, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has been governed in a “grand coalition” between the SPD and CDU, mirroring the current power structure at the federal level. The result is seen as a reaction to Merkel’s immigration policy with many CDU voters shifting towards the AfD to register their disapproval. [Source: Russia Today]

Bereft of ideas, Merkel suggests that by singing songs Germans will return to Christianity and prevent Islamization of Germany. Atheism is more of a threat to Christian values than Islam. In fact, if Germans adopted Islam they could halt the tide towards atheism and safeguard Christian values.

Britain Sends Tanks, Drones and 800 Troops to Russian Border Amid Fears of All-Out Nuclear War

Britain is sending the biggest troop deployment on the Russian border since the Cold War amid fears Russia is poised to attack. Hundreds of UK troops plus tanks, jets and drones are being sent to Eastern Europe to combat the rise of Russia, it was confirmed yesterday. Fears are growing that President Vladimir Putin could be plotting to invade the Baltic states – which broke away from Russia when the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s. After Russia snatched Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have been boosting their armed forces and begging for NATO to beef up its presence to counter an invasion threat. But the UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon today confirmed at NATO headquarters in Brussels that Britain would be sending tanks, drones and 800 troops to Estonia. Combat forces will be bolstered by Warrior armoured fighting vehicles, Desert Hawk bomb-hunting drones, and four Challenger 2 main battle tanks. Mr Fallon said: “I am confirming details today of our deployment as part of the forward presence in Estonia next year, a full sized British battalion with light armour, Challenger 2 tanks, Warriors vehicles, French and Danish companies in support. That deployment will begin next spring [May].“This is Britain stepping up in NATO, beefing up the reassurance that we are able to offer. “Although we are leaving the European Union, we will be doing more to help secure the eastern and southern flanks of NATO.” He confirmed RAF Typhoon war jets will police the skies around the Black Sea from a Romanian airbase next year. “I hope this will provide reassurance for that entire region, certainly in Romania, Bulgaria, Black Sea generally and including Turkey,” he added. Other powerful NATO members will also send troops to the Baltic states and eastern Europe. [Source: The Sun]

800 UK troops and 2 tanks is hardly going to deter Russia. The aim of tabloid scaremongering and doomsday scenarios is intended to prepare public opinion for a possible Western led offensive against Russia and not the other way round. Putin is being demonized in the West for resisting US demands on a number of issues.

Pakistan, Philippines Threaten to Leave U.S. for Stronger China/Russia Ties

Pakistan and the Philippines have threatened to break ties with the United States and forge a closer relationship with Russia and China, accusing America of ignoring their concerns. In commenting on their resentment towards the U.S., Pakistan characterized the United States as a “declining” world power and the Philippines said America has “failed” them. One of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s diplomats has reportedly warned that their country would cozy up to China and Russia if the United States fails to consider its position on the increasingly worsening Pak-India conflict in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. “[The] US is no longer a world power. It is a declining power. Forget about it,” Mushahid Hussain Syed, the Pakistani PM’s special envoy to Kashmir, said at an Oct. 5 discussion at the Atlantic Council, a U.S. think tank. Meanwhile, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s top diplomat has defended his leader’s threats to move away from its relationship with the United States. “America has failed us. This is at the core message of [Duterte] to the American people and the world,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said in a statement, reports Philippine Star. [Source: Breitbart]

Both Pakistan and Philippines are protesting at the way America has treated them. In the case of Pakistan, the US refused to supply F16s, did not support Pakistan’s membership of the NSG and stood by India over the attacks in Kashmir. As for Philippines, the US withheld its support President Rodrigo Duterte’s tough stance on fighting drugs. If Pakistan and Philippines sincerely want to break from America’s stranglehold, their leaders have to do more than fiery rhetoric.