"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." Northwoods is a ministry dedicated to refreshing Christians and challenging them to search for the truth in Christianity, politics, sociology, and science
"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
Protests have been organized in Pretoria against Rheinmetallover weapon sales to Israel and Ukraine
Demonstrators have picketed Union Buildings in Pretoria demanding the closure of GErma’s arms giant Rheinmetall in South Africa and more control over arms sales to Israel and Ukraine.
Thuto Mashaba, who led the protest this week, stated this was a continuation of the picket in Boksburg last month.
Although the German armaments firm has publicly acknowledged that it supplies weapons to Ukraine, he underlined that activists are extremely concerned that it is still producing artillery shells.
”We demanded that President Cyril Ramaphosa at the very least check the activities of the Rheinmetall plant for compliance with South Africa’s official policy of not intervening in international conflicts or supplying arms to third countries,” Mashaba said.
BlackRock, a US financial corporation, holds the majority of shares in Rheinmetall Denel Munitions (RDM), a multinational arms manufacturer headquartered in Germany with operations in South Africa.
According to the company’s recent report, the German military’s inventories are being reduced as a result of massive armament sales to Israel and Ukraine.
RDM’s South African division is a major supplier of 155mm ammunition. Israel and Ukraine both purchase weaponry from Rheinmetall’s South African facility.
The US Department of Defense recently announced that South Africa is a member of the Ukraine Defence Contact Support Group (UDCG).
Notwithstanding South African regulations that forbid gun manufacturers from delivering their goods to areas of conflict, this activity is taking place.
In a recent statement, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said for the war in the Ukraine where artillery stockpile shortages have been replenished by South African sales.
”As a consequence of our dismal lack of arms control and failure to adhere to our domestic law and regulations, as well as international arms control regulations, we are guilty of enabling genocide.
“The EFF demands that the South African government must, as a matter of urgency, reform our weak, and administratively inept approach to weapons exports, and strengthen the capacity of the NCACC to fulfill its legal mandate,” the EFF said.
The red berets said it is simply untenable for South Africa to state in the ICJ that Israel is committing genocide, while weapons manufactured in South Africa supply Israel with the means to commit genocide.
Israel is not committing genocide but Hamas' only goal is to commit genocide against the Jews from the river to the sea.
South Africa has intervened in that war by accusing Israel of doing what Hamas has attempted to do. They are on the wrong side of history here.
It is currently alleged that Rheinmetall circumvents South Africa’s stringent export regulations by using its international network to divert ammunition from the factory to conflict areas after it is formally sold to Germany or other nations.
IOL tried to get a comment from Rheinmetall but to no avail.
Volkswagen welcomes weapons opportunity
All options are on the table, Volkswagen’s Oliver Blume has said, after the EU announced a multi-billion euro militarization plan
Struggling German automaker, Volkswagen, is open to producing weapons and military equipment, CEO Oliver Blume has said. He made the remarks in response to a recent EU announcement of a plan to spend up to $870 billion on its defense sector.
The automotive giant posted declining sales and profits last year and was forced announce plant closures and mass layoffs in Germany for the first time.
Germany’s was the worst-performing major economy globally in 2023 posting a 0.3% contraction, followed by minimal growth in 2024 leading to recession. The economic crisis is partly due to the loss of affordable Russian energy following Ukraine-related sanctions.
Speaking to German state broadcaster NDR on Tuesday, Blume announced that the carmaker was closely examining the needs of the defense industry.
All options are on the table, he said, including repurposing some factories from civilian to military production. “We are fundamentally open to such topics,” Blume claimed.
The idea has been supported by Germany’s largest arms manufacturer Rheinmetall. Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said on Wednesday that the VW facility in Osnabrueck would be a good fit for a conversion.
VW previously produced military vehicles for the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Germany, during World War II, including lightweight transporter Kübelwagen and amphibious four-wheel-drive vehicle Schwimmwagen.
A VW plant was involved in manufacturing components for the V-1 flying bomb, a type of early cruise missile used to devastating effect by the Nazis.
The EU intensified its efforts to militarize after US President Donald Trump repeatedly criticized European NATO members for failing to meet the bloc’s defense spending commitments.
In response Brussels announced a large militarization initiative proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Dubbed ReArm Europe, the plan could divert €800 billion ($870 billion) into the defense sector over the next four years. While the announcement sent share prices of Europe’s largest weapons producers soaring, the plan has been rejected by Dutch lawmakers, citing fiscal concerns.
Moscow has condemned the EU’s plan, stating that it is mainly aimed at Russia and caused “deep concern.” The EU militarization initiative comes as Russia and the US began negotiations last month to try and settle the Ukraine conflict. Despite this, EU leaders have pledged to continue to support Ukraine militarily.
Greed keeps the War Industry inventories flowing at maximum capacity. No concerns whatsoever for the thousands who die every month and the millions who have been driven from their homes and jobs.
Next to paedophilia, the War Industry is the worst atrocity man has ever seen.
This is the end of democracy in Romania if Deep State is allowed to win. And it puts the rest of Europe on notice that 'resistance is futile!'
Tens of thousands rally in support of NATO-skeptic Romanian politician
Calin Georgescu, whose victory in the first round of the presidential election last November was annulled, is now facing charges that he calls politically motivated
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Bucharest on Saturday to demand that the second round of the annulled Romanian presidential election take place rather than a new vote be held. The protests come after in December Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results of the first round, which saw right-wing candidate Calin Georgescu win with 23% of the vote.
In January, Romania's ruling coalition approved a rerun of the presidential election, the first round of which is scheduled for May 4. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will follow on May 18.
The Romanian authorities cited supposed“irregularities”in Georgescu’s campaign, claiming without proof that Russia had covertly supported him. The politician is known as a critic of NATO and the EU and a staunch opponent of aiding Ukraine.
Saturday’s rally, organized by the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, drew participants from across the country to Bucharest’s Victory Square. AUR leader George Simion and Georgescu were in attendance. Organizers claimed that nearly a million people turned out, although several media outlets reported lower figures.
The demonstrators in front of the government’s headquarters chanted“Down with the Government,”with placards demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. According to media reports, there were several isolated altercations between protesters and police, which had a large presence in the Romanian capital.
Simon proclaimed that the protest on Saturday was pursuing the goals of“returning to democracy, supporting free elections and expressing protest against the government.”
He warned that similar rallies would follow until the authorities paid heed to the dissatisfaction felt by large sections of the Romanian population.
Georgescu stated that“Romanians are fed up with corruption and state security forces.”He urged the demonstrators to“repossess our country.”
On Wednesday, police briefly detained the politician and conducted dozens of raids on his supporters. After being questioned by the Prosecutor General’s Office, Georgescu was released, but barred from leaving the country, making social media posts, or appearing on TV. He faces a total of six charges, including“anti-constitutional acts”and misreporting finances, the authorities said in a statement.
The politician claims that he has fallen prey to the Romanian“deep state.”
Earlier this week, he asked US President Donald Trump for help against what he described as a political persecution campaign against him.
Georgescu’s arrest drew condemnation from Trump-appointed government efficiency tsar Elon Musk, who described the Romanian government’s actions as“messed up.”
US Vice President J.D. Vance similarly hit out at the government in Bucharest while speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February.
EU wants another year of war – Rubio
The US is determined to seize even the slightest opportunity to end the Ukraine conflict, the secretary of state has said
Some EU countries would favor the conflict between Russia and Ukraine dragging on longer with the idea of weakening Moscow, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has charged, stressing that Washington’s goal is to end the hostilities.
Rubio's comments came after a heated meeting between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky on Friday, which triggered accusations from American officials that the Ukrainian leader showed “disrespect” and ingratitude towards the US.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, Rubio emphasized that Washington is seeking peace for Ukraine, adding that if there’s even a 1% chance of that happening, it “needs to be explored.” He also suggested that some of his EU counterparts are not exactly on board with this approach.
He cited an unnamed European foreign minister as saying that the EU’s plan is to allow “the war go… on for another year and at that point Russia will feel so weakened that they’ll beg for peace.” Rubio criticized this approach, stating, “That’s another year of killing, another year of dying, another year of destruction, and by the way, not a very realistic plan in my point of view.”
Rubio has also called on Zelensky to apologize for what he called an “antagonistic” approach during the meeting, rebuking him for his stance on an agreement granting the US rights to Ukraine’s natural resources, which was set to be signed at the White House but ended up in limbo due to the spat that ensued.
While Zelensky – who urged the US to continue military support for Ukraine while warning that the failure to do so would backfire – was heavily criticized by Trump administration officials and Republicans, many EU leaders rallied to his support.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission, praised Zelensky’s “dignity” and reassured him that he is “never alone.” Friedrich Merz, Germany’s presumed future chancellor, said that “we must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war.”
It's too late, you've been confused for 3 years now. The aggressor has always been NATO (read America) in this proxy war. The only one benefitting from it is the Western War Industry which is filthy rich and getting filthier every day.
Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, went even further, issuing a not-so-veiled rebuke to Trump. “We stand by Ukraine. We will step up our support to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight back the aggressor… Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It’s up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.”
You need to stand up to NATO, the War Industry's storefront, not Russia.
Whereas Russia has praised the Trump administration for its willingness to find ways to resolve the Ukraine conflict, including examining its root causes, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denounced the EU for what he described as a desire to further escalate the hostilities.
More consequences of NATO's proxy war with Russia. Expensive American LNG is not working in the German industrial world. The country is headed for its third straight year of recession for the first time since WWII.
German engineering giant announces more job cuts – media
Bosch has reportedly signaled that up to 10,000 positions could be at risk
Bosch, the world’s biggest automotive supplier by revenue, is planning additional job cuts at several locations amid stagnating global sales and deepening downturn in the German economy, Stuttgarter Zeitung has reported.
While the exact number of layoffs has yet to be announced, the reported move will add to a series of workforce reductions by the company. In November, the Stuttgart-based group announced plans to slash 5,500 jobs over the next several years.
Bosch CEO Stefan Hartung attributed the decision to sluggish global economy, the stagnating automotive sector, as well as increasing competition from China, and consumer uncertainty. The industry is also reckoning with a slower-than-expected transition to electric vehicles.
“We will not be able to avoid further job cuts,” he told the outlet on Sunday.
Hartung also cited the shift from combustion to electric engines, highlighting that it will inevitably result in significant job losses.
The slower-than-expected adoption of e-mobility could also allow the existing combustion engine production to continue operating at full capacity for longer than expected, Hartung noted. Many employees will reach retirement before their positions are phased out due to the transition, he added.
Over the past two years Bosch has repeatedly announced plans to cut jobs, warning last year that up to 10,000 positions could be at risk.
Preliminary estimates showed that the company’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell by a third to €3.2 billion last year, the outlet said.
The company’s planned cutbacks are the latest sign of the growing strain on the German car industry.
Germany’s ailing automotive sector has raised concerns about the stability of the EU’s largest manufacturing economy. Rising costs have led to shutdowns and bankruptcies, including major players like Volkswagen.
Earlier this year, Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI) warned that the German economy is on course for its longest post-war recession, with a third consecutive year of contraction projected for 2025.
Romania and Bulgaria officially joined the EU's visa-free Schengen zone on January 1 despite having been European Union members since 2007. Their delayed accession to the now 29-nation zone had been blocked by Austria over migration concerns.
Romania and Bulgaria became full members of the Schengen zone on Wednesday, expanding the borderless area to 29 members and ending a 13-year wait for the two eastern European countries.
The expansion, made possible when Austria and other members dropped their objections to the former communist countries joining, officially took place at midnight (2200 GMT) on January 1, marked by ceremonies at various border posts.
Romania and Bulgaria, both members of the European Union since 2007, were partially included in the Schengen zone in March, eliminating border checks at ports and airports.
But Austria had threatened to veto their full entry over migration concerns, which meant that controls still applied at land border crossings.
Vienna backed off its veto threat in December after the three countries reached a deal on a "border protection package", clearing the way for Romania and Bulgaria, two of the EU's poorest countries, to join Schengen.
Created in 1985, the zone will now include 25 of the EU's 27 members, as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, covering a total population of more than 400 million people.
Romania and Bulgaria had met the Schengen zone's technical requirements for membership since 2011.
But "member states objected every time" they tried to join, analyst Valentin Naumescu told AFP.
That became "a source of frustration exploited by anti-EU parties, which alleged Romania was being treated unfairly", he said.
The resentment came into play in Romania's recent presidential elections, in which far-right candidate Calin Georgescu surged to a surprise first-round win, before the polls were cancelled amid claims of Russian interference.
And, of course, there was no interference from the EU or George Soros, etc.
Now, "that feeling of being second-class citizens" should fade, Naumescu said.
Truckers celebrate
Leaders on both sides hailed the expansion as "historic".
Austria had for years complained about hosting a disproportionate number of undocumented migrants as a result of poorly protected external Schengen borders.
It dropped its objections to Romania (population 19 million) and Bulgaria (6.5 million) joining Schengen after the three countries signed a border protection agreement in November.
The deal provides for the joint deployment of guards to the Bulgarian-Turkish border and temporary controls at land crossings for an initial period of six months.
Joining the zone will boost Romania's and Bulgaria's gross domestic product (GDP) by at least one percentage point, analysts estimate.
Lorry drivers, who currently wait up to 20 hours at border crossings, celebrated the news.
"It was a pure waste of time for drivers, who couldn't even stop to rest because they had to move their vehicles every 10 minutes," said Beniamin Lucescu, head of a Romanian transport federation.
Poor road and railroad infrastructure in Bulgaria could limit the positive impact there, however.
The countries' tourism sectors are meanwhile expecting a surge in visitors from the two countries to nearby Greece.
"It's excellent news," said 46-year-old sales manager Ivailo Kirkov, who owns a house in northern Greece.
"We'd been waiting impatiently."
Greek teacher and tour guide Gueorgui Grantcharov predicted a rush of Romanian and Bulgarian tourists to Greece.
With no queues at the border, "it takes just over four hours to get from Sofia to Thessaloniki", he said.
The EU’s largest economy is expected to shrink for a third consecutive year in 2025, marking the longest downturn since WWII
The German economy is on course for its longest post-war recession, with a third consecutive year of contraction projected for 2025, according to the Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI).
The institute predicts a 0.1% decline in 2025, following contractions of 0.3% in 2023 and 0.2% in 2024.
This economic slump surpasses the two-year downturn of the early 2000s and reflects the compounded effects of an energy crisis, persistent inflation, and the Covid-19 pandemic.
What about the extreme costs of asylum seekers most of whom don't work, collect social benefits, and many of whom are criminals? Don't they come with a staggering cost?
“The German economy is in the midst of its greatest crisis in post-war history,” HRI chief economist Bert Rurup said.
Demographic challenges, such as an aging population, are adding to the strain. The HRI estimates Germany’s growth potential has fallen to just 0.5% annually.
“The economy is at the beginning of a strong aging spurt,” Rurup noted. Official data from the Federal Statistical Office, expected on January 15, is likely to confirm the contraction in 2024.
While the HRI forecasts modest recovery in 2026, growth is expected to reach just 0.9%, far below pre-crisis levels. The German central bank has also adjusted its 2025 growth outlook, revising it down from 1.1% to 0.2% in December.
Germany’s shift from affordable Russian gas to more expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US has driven up energy costs, severely affecting manufacturers and small businesses. Rising costs have led to shutdowns and bankruptcies across industries, including major players like Volkswagen.
Before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Germany relied on Russian gas for over half of its energy needs. Following EU sanctions on Moscow, gas deliveries were drastically reduced or cut off entirely. In September 2022, the Nord Stream pipelines, which transported Russian gas to Germany, were destroyed by explosions. On January 1, 2025, Russia was forced to officially suspend gas transit to the EU through Ukraine.
Germany’s export sector, particularly high-value manufacturing, remains one of the few strengths in the economy. However, it also faces challenges from global uncertainties and high energy prices.
The loss of affordable Russian energy and rising costs have made recovery difficult. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel recently criticized the decision to abandon Russian gas. In an interview with France 2 TV in December, she called the past arrangement a “win-win situation,” saying it provided Germany with low-cost energy, while now prices have “exploded.”
The economic crisis has become a pressing issue for Germans. A poll in December conducted by public broadcaster ARD revealed that the economy is the top concern for voters. The early general election scheduled for February 23 follows the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition in November.
Sevim Dagdelen has accused her country’s government of “happily watching the destruction of European industry”
Germany should respond to the rising energy prices caused by Ukraine's refusal to transit Russian gas to EU countries by repairing and reactivating the Nord Stream pipelines, leftist German MP Sevim Dagdelen has proposed.
Ukraine refused to extend its transit contract with Russia’s Gazprom beyond the end of 2024, cutting off the flow of natural gas from Russia to Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Italy and Moldova.
Ukraine’s decision caused EU gas prices to spike to €50 per megawatt hour, a figure unseen since October 2023.
"Ukraine drives the energy price up further by stopping the transit of Russian gas in Europe,” Dagdelen wrote on X on Thursday, complaining that “the German government and the EU are happily watching the destruction of European industry due to high energy prices.”
Energy costs soared in Germany after the government renounced Russian oil and gas imports in 2022. Whereas the country once relied on Russia for around 55% of its natural gas supply, it has struggled to make up the shortfall, and its leading manufacturers – including Volkswagen, Bosch, and BASF – have all announced layoffs and plant closures.
Prior to the start of the Ukraine conflict, Germany received gas from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipelines, while Nord Stream 2 was due to come online in 2022. Berlin revoked the certification for Nord Stream 2 several days before Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began, and both sets of lines were destroyed in an act of sabotage in September of that year.
While German investigators have reportedly settled on the theory that the pipelines were destroyed by Ukrainian saboteurs, American journalist Seymour Hersh maintains that they were blown up by the CIA and US Navy. The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, has blamed “professional saboteurs from the Anglo-American special services,” referring to the US and UK.
In her post, Dagdelen called for the pipelines to “finally be put into operation,” and for the German government to “stop giving money to Kiev!”
Dagdelen is a member of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a leftist political faction that supports rapprochement with Russia and shares the right-wing Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) anti-immigration stance. The party’s leader, Sahra Wagenknecht, recently blamed the Ukraine conflict on the failure of the US to acknowledge Russia’s “red lines.”
Back in September, Wagenknecht declared that “if Ukraine is responsible for the terrorist act against the German energy supply, the arms deliveries must end immediately and the question of compensation must be put on the table.”
Dagdelen is not the first German MP to demand that Nord Stream be reopened. In September, AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla called the undersea pipes “a lifeline of German industry,” and declared that “Nord Stream must be repaired, opened, and secured.”
Mainstream political parties in Germany have agreed to refuse to work with AfD in any coalition. So, even if they win first place in the February elections, which is a little unlikely, but 2nd place is likely, they will not be able to form a government without one or more of the mainstream parties. They are far more afraid of being called Nazis than they are of seeing their party disappear into oblivion for sheer irrelevance.
BSW is a new party with enough in common with AfD that they are likely to work together at some point in the future even though they may be social opposites. Expect elections to come fast and furious in the next few years until the legacy parties complete incompetence is dealt with.
Not just AfD: What’s the BSW,
Germany’s rising populist left party?
The party founded in January espouses anti-NATO, anti-immigrant populist rhetoric while promoting left-wing economics.
It’s the new kid on the block in German politics — and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is making waves.
A little more than nine months after its birth, the BSW, a new populist party, is rapidly emerging as a major political force in Europe’s largest economy, after stunning gains in recent state elections. The latest among them was in Brandenburg, on the outskirts of capital Berlin, where the BSW secured 13.5 percent of the vote, coming third behind the federally ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
On paper, the BSW belongs on the left – the hard left, even. But it advocates an unusual mix of left-leaning economic policies and anti-immigration rhetoric.
Even people on the political left are beginning to realize the mistake of "wir shaffen das".
Experts say its success lies in cannibalising Germany’s left while also borrowing from the nationalist policies of the AfD – all while using its unorthodox brand of populism to appeal to apathetic voters.
So what is the BSW, how is it shaking up German politics, and could it be a key player in national elections scheduled for next September?
Now scheduled for 23 Feb. 2025, as the Scholz coalition blew apart in December.
