"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"

Father God, thank you for the love of the truth you have given me. Please bless me with the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed to always present the truth in an attitude of grace and love. Use this blog and Northwoods Ministries for your glory. Help us all to read and to study Your Word without preconceived notions, but rather, let scripture interpret scripture in the presence of the Holy Spirit. All praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Please note: All my writings and comments appear in bold italics in this colour

Sunday, February 1, 2026

Military Madness > Switzerland abandoning neutrality for military upgrade


Will the hit to the economy be worth it? Are they really afraid of Russia? There are several large countries and several more smaller countries, and 2000 kms between Switzerland and Russia.  



Switzerland plans tax hike to revamp military


Europe’s only internationally recognized neutral state claims it needs stronger security amid a “deteriorating geopolitical situation”
Switzerland plans tax hike to revamp military











Switzerland plans to raise value-added tax to fund a major military expansion and modernization, the government has announced, citing growing security threats. The money would be earmarked for upgrading the armed forces, missile defenses, cybersecurity, and border protection.

Long Europe’s only formally neutral state, Switzerland has traditionally avoided foreign wars, stayed out of military blocs, and relied on a militia-based army. In recent years, however, Bern has abandoned strict neutrality, expanding security cooperation with NATO, forging closer defense ties with the EU, backing Kiev in the Ukraine conflict, and taking part in the sanctions on Russia.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Swiss government said the “deteriorating geopolitical situation” in Europe requires “substantially strengthening Switzerland’s security and defense capabilities,” citing cyberattacks, disinformation, and insufficient military readiness.

Bern said it needs 31 billion Swiss francs ($40.4 billion) for the move. It plans to raise the money by hiking VAT by 0.8 percentage points from the current 8.1% for ten years starting in 2028, depositing the proceeds into an armaments fund. Upgrades will focus on short-range missile defense, anti-drone systems, IT, intelligence, early warning, and civilian security.

Switzerland currently spends around 0.7% of GDP on defense – less than half the European average – and had planned to reach 1% by 2032. Rising costs and high demand for weapons now make this insufficient, Bern said, estimating that the VAT hike would push spending to 1.5% of GDP.

Under Swiss law, the hike requires parliamentary approval and a national referendum. The government plans to draft the law by March, submit it to parliament in the autumn, and hold a vote in summer 2027. Analysts, however, warn that support could be limited. A recent IPSOS survey found that only 31% of Swiss people favor higher military spending – the lowest in Europe, compared with 60% in Germany and 53% in France.

Western leaders have increasingly invoked the perceived ‘Russian threat’ to justify major defense spending hikes in recent months, including pledges by European NATO members to reach 5% of GDP.

Russia has dismissed claims that it plans to attack Europe as baseless fearmongering, warning that “rabid militarization” risks a broader conflict on the continent. Commenting on Switzerland’s growing military alignment with the EU and its stance on the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier accused it of “forfeiting” its neutrality, calling it “an openly hostile state.”




Saturday, January 31, 2026

Islamization of France - The Great Replacement is not a theory, but a fact, in France

 

The Great Replacement in France


France is being swamped with new immigrants. In 2025, nearly 400,000 new residence permits were issued to these migrants who are, overwhelmingly, Muslims from North Africa. And many French people, who for a long time averted their eyes from the phenomenon, are no longer afraid to speak out and to call for a great reduction, or even for a complete halt, to immigration. More on the French alarm over what has been called the “Great Replacement” can be found here:


France: Record 384,000 first-time residence permits granted in 2025 as immigration keeps soaring higher

Remix News, January 27, 2026:

In 2025, France is seeing a significant shift in its non-EU immigration landscape, with first-time residence permits projected to reach 384,000 — an 11.2 percent increase from the previous year. This growth is uniquely defined by a massive 65 percent surge in permits granted on humanitarian grounds, primarily to refugees and those seeking subsidiary protection.

The legal foreign population in France is expected to hit approximately 4.5 million by the end of 2025, a 3.2 percent annual increase. However, previous reports have put the total population of foreigners at much higher levels, already reaching 6 million in 2024. While humanitarian reasons are the primary driver for new arrivals, the “stock” of residents remains heavily influenced by family ties and labor needs.

The purpose of residency varies drastically depending on the country of origin, reflecting France’s diverse historical and geopolitical ties. As French news outlet Fdesouche notes, “Nationals of the three Maghreb countries are more often issued with residence permits granted for family reunification reasons.” These countries consist of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. However, these groups are also now being granted work permits, with the government arguing they can be used to fill labor shortages….

Contrary to the French government’s expectations, many of the Muslim maghrebins who are granted work permits do not, in fact, end up working. They prefer to take advantage of all of the benefits that the generous French welfare state lavishes upon them, that put them in as good a position economically as they would be doing the kind of menial jobs for which, given their lack of advanced education, they are qualified.

Meanwhile, Afghans receive residence permits almost entirely based on humanitarian reasons….

The Afghans who flee from the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan ought not to be taken in by France, a country alien to them in every respect. Instead, it would be far better for their fellow Muslims next door in Pakistan, or the Arab oil states of the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, that have a need for manual labor, given all of the trillion-dollar construction projects now underway in those countries, to take in those Afghans.

That 1.2 billion euros paid for migrant housing, including 50,000 hotel rooms, is the total for only one city — Paris. How many more billions of euros does the French government spend on housing for migrants outside the capital? Five billion euros? Ten?

Last year, demographic researcher and data analyst Marc Vanguard reported that “the foreign population in France is growing FOUR times faster than the population of French nationality.”…

That “foreign population” consists overwhelmingly of Muslims from North Africa. They arrive to take advantage of the cornucopia of benefits that are lavished on migrants, including free housing, free medical care, free education (including language tuition and vocational training), unemployment benefits, family allowances, and more. Many are in no hurry to be gainfully employed; they have calculated they can receive more benefits if they remain unemployed. Besides, the Infidels owe them all those benefits, which Muslims interpret as a kind of proleptic jizyah.

In 2022, famed French author Michel Houellebecq came out and said the Great Replacement is a “fact” during a wide-ranging discussion with influential French philosopher Michel Onfray.

“The Great Replacement, I was shocked it’s called a theory. It’s not a theory, it’s a fact,” said Houellebecq. “When it comes to immigration, nobody controls anything; that’s the whole problem. Europe will be swept away by this cataclysm.”…

Those who, like Michel Houllebecq, have taken note of the ever-increasing numbers of Muslim migrants, are the most alarmed. They no longer conceal their anxiety about the changes in the population of France. If either Jordan Bardella or Marine Le Pen of the anti-immigrant National Rally party is swept into office as president, we can expect the spigot of migrants from Third-World countries (which is to say, from Muslim countries) to be turned down, or turned off entirely.

Notably, the vast majority of the French want serious immigration restrictions put in place, while a tremendous 53 percent of women want zero immigration into the country, according to polling.

More women than men in France want zero immigration because it is the women who have to endure the unwanted attentions, and even sexual assaults, of Muslim migrants who misinterpret the dress of French women, so immodest by Muslim standards, as expressing a come-hither attitude.

To put a stop to the “Great Replacement” in France — as in other countries in Western Europe — calling a halt to migration will not be sufficient. Fertility rates for French women are currently 1.7, far below the replacement level of 2.1. But the fertility rate for Muslim women already in France is 2.9. Policies need to be put in place to bring down the fertility rates of Muslim women. One possibility is to deny families on welfare — most of them Muslim migrants — any additional benefits for a third child, and to decrease by half the amount of support provided for a second child. At the same time, pro-natalist policies for French women could be introduced, by providing to women whose grandparents were French citizens extra state support for every child beyond the second. Aren’t these policies worth a try?

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After a Thousand Years a Woman is selected as Archbishop of Canterbury

 

Sarah Mullally becomes first woman to lead

Church of England

   
Sarah Mullally (C) departs St. Paul's Cathedral in London after becoming the 106th and first female Archbishop of Canterbury on Wednesday. Photo by Neil Hall/EPA
Sarah Mullally (C) departs St. Paul's Cathedral in London after becoming the 106th and first female Archbishop of Canterbury on Wednesday. Photo by Neil Hall/EPA

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Sarah Mullally was confirmed as the first female and 106th archbishop of Canterbury during a formal ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on Wednesday.

Mullally, 63, previously was Britain's top nursing officer and had been the Bishop of London since 2018. She said she has received significant support for her appointment as Archbishop.

"There's a sense of the weight of office that I feel, but I've also been very conscious of the huge support that I've had from people either writing [to me] or passing me in the streets," Mullally told the BBC.

She said raising awareness of misogyny will be among her goals in her new role.

"It is fair to say that I have, both in my secular role as well as in the church, experienced misogyny at times," Mullally said.

"I'm conscious that being in this role, it's important for me to speak it because there are some that don't necessarily have the status or power of this role and feel more hesitant to do it," she added.

"I commit myself to making an environment where all people can flourish and which is safer for all," Mullally said.

Sounds like a woke mentality. Perhaps even an agenda to change the thousand year old church to make it more welcoming for gay and lesbian leaders.

St Paul wrote that women should not be in a position of authority in the church over men. He cited Eve's disastrous decision in the Garden and her influence over Adam in sharing that decision as reason for men to be responsible for women in spiritual matters. This doctrine has worked in the church for a millenium, but suddenly is not good enough. Watch for trouble between the African church and Canterbury. There will be much spiritual antagonism there,

Mullally's ascent to the Church of England's leading role ends the scandalous term of former Archbishop Justin Welby, who resigned in 2024 due to concerns that he did not do enough to stop a known abuser of boys and young men, who was associated with the church.

Welby was the first archbishop to resign from the Church of England due to a scandal in 1,000 years.

Mullally's rise to archbishop was not universally welcomed within the church.

Some African church elders were unhappy with her confirmation, and others have questioned her ability to protect church members.

Church of Nigeria Archbishop Henry Ndukuba said Mullally's new role as an archbishop runs counter to the "conviction of the majority of Anglicans who are unable to embrace female headship of the episcopate."

Echoing that sentiment, Rwanda Anglican Church Archbishop Laurent Mbanda issued a statement in which he said the "majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy."

Mullally acknowledged such concerns and said she understands that some will find it problematic for a woman to lead the Church of England.

"What I hope to do is to be able to provide a space where I can offer hospitality to people, where I can listen to what their concerns are and, in a sense, find some way in which we can at least have a partnership together in that way," she said.

Mullally acknowledged other concerns that include her support for same-sex marriage and her ability to safeguard church members following the scandal that forced Welby to resign.

The Church of England also recently dismissed a complaint that accused Mullally of protecting an alleged abuser while she was the bishop of London by sharing emails detailing abuse allegations against that person.

Former London Diocese safeguarding adviser Michell Burns has accused the diocese of placing a greater importance on protecting its reputation than addressing the potential abuse of victims.


Latin America Rising > US unfreezes some Venezuelan assets; Ecuador raises tariff on Colombian oil by 900%

 

US unblocks Venezuelan assets

– interim president


Washington is reportedly sitting on $30 billion worth of the South American nation’s property
US unblocks Venezuelan assets – interim president











The US has unfrozen some of Venezuela’s impounded assets, acting President Delcy Rodriguez has announced. Rodriguez said the money will be spent on hospital equipment and power infrastructure.

Speaking on national television on Tuesday, Rodriguez said she had spoken to US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio with “respect and courtesy,” and that the unblocked funds would be used to purchase hospital equipment from the US “and other countries.”

“We are unblocking Venezuelan resources that belong to the Venezuelan people… and this will allow us to invest significant resources in equipment for hospitals,” she said. Rodriguez added that Venezuela will also purchase “equipment for the electricity sector and equipment for the gas industry” with the funds.

Rodriguez did not say what amount of assets would be released. President Nicolas Maduro claimed in 2022 that around $30 billion worth of Venezuelan assets were frozen abroad. These include oil impounded by the US and around $2 billion worth of gold frozen in the UK.

Maduro was abducted by US forces earlier this month and charged with narcoterrorism, cocaine trafficking, and firearms offenses. Rodriguez has denounced the kidnapping of Maduro, but has attempted to placate Washington – namely by allowing US companies to run the South American nation’s oil industry.

Venezuela’s oil industry was nationalized in 1976, with American contractors slapped with further restrictions by Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, in 2007. Trump has repeatedly claimed that these moves amounted to Venezuela “stealing” oil infrastructure built by US firms.

Trump has warned that if Rodriguez “doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.” The US president spoke with Rodriguez by phone last week, and announced plans to invite her to the White House.

What's right? Probably spending the majority of unfrozen assets in the USA. 

Rodriguez insisted on Sunday that she had enough of “Washington's orders,” and that Venezuelans alone would “resolve our differences and our internal conflicts.” Asked on Tuesday about Rodriguez’ comments, Trump replied: “I haven't heard that at all. We have a very good relationship.”



Ecuador hikes Colombian crude transport tariff by 900%

Colombia's Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Diana Morales said at a press conference that her government is reviewing which additional Ecuadorian products will be subject to the new tariffs. Photo by Carlos Ortega/EPA
Colombia's Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Diana Morales said at a press conference that her government is reviewing which additional Ecuadorian products will be subject to the new tariffs. Photo by Carlos Ortega/EPA

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Ecuador confirmed a retaliatory 900% increase in the tariff it charges to transport Colombian crude oil through its petroleum infrastructure, raising the cost to $30 per barrel from $3 -- a move that has deepened bilateral tensions in the energy and trade spheres.

The measure was confirmed Monday by Ecuador's Minister of Environment and Energy Ines Manzano, who said the new rate applies to Colombian crude that moves through the Transecuadorian Oil Pipeline System, known by its Spanish acronym SOTE, which is owned by Ecuador. She said the increase took effect Friday.

"The tariff rose from $3 to $30 in reciprocity for Colombia's decision to suspend the sale of electricity," Manzano said in an interview with local radio station Sucesos.

The dispute between the two countries began after President Daniel Noboa's government announced it would impose a 30% tariff on Colombian products. Ecuador justified the move by arguing that Colombia has not done enough to combat drug trafficking along the shared border and framed it as a trade protection measure.

Bogota responded with retaliatory steps, including the suspension of electricity supplies to Ecuador, which relies on imports to cover part of its power demand.

The SOTE is one of Ecuador's two main oil pipelines and is operated by state-owned Petroecuador. The system transports crude from southern Colombia to the Ecuadorian port of Esmeraldas, on the Pacific Coast, for export to international markets, according to Colombia's La Republica newspaper.

"Ecuador is providing a service of high strategic value to Ecopetrol," Manzano said.

"This is an area where illicit activities occur and where numerous attacks have been recorded, so transporting the crude through our territory has allowed it to reach international markets," she added.

According to figures cited by Ecuadorian outlet Primicias, about 10,300 barrels per day of Colombian oil were transported through the SOTE in November, including from Ecopetrol and private companies.

Ecuador also operates the Heavy Crude Oil Pipeline, known as OCP, which transports oil for private companies. Because it operates under separate commercial contracts, its tariff was not modified.

Colombia relies on Ecuadorian infrastructure, which provides one of the fastest and safest routes to export oil from fields in the country's south. Using Ecuador's pipelines reduces transit times, overland transport costs and risks associated with longer domestic routes.

For more than a decade, Ecuador has been a key logistics partner for Colombia's oil industry, providing direct access to international markets through the Pacific.

In response to Ecuador's decision to raise the tariff on crude oil transportation, the Colombian government decided Tuesday to impose a 30% tariff on a range of products from Ecuador that were not included in the first round of measures, according to Caracol Radio.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Diana Morales said at a press conference that the government is reviewing which additional Ecuadorian products will be subject to the new tariffs.

Morales added that Colombia, "as a state," has been compelled to "create conditions of balance in the trade relationship with Ecuador."

"Today, we are considering another decree that will include other types of products from Ecuador, also with the imposition of 30% tariffs, so that we can seek that trade balance," she said.

According to the report, the Colombian government is seeking a solution to the dispute through dialogue and was promoting a meeting between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Ecuador's Noboa at the CAF forum Wednesday in Panama.

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