Portugal 2022: António Costa reelected

António Costa reelected, PS wins 2022 Portuguese General Elections

Out of the many scenarios for this election in Portugal, this one was the most sought after by António Costa, the parliamentary majority for the Socialist Party. Voter turnout was almost 10% higher than in 2019.

He asked for it, he got it, almost all political analysts called a socialist parliamentary majority “impossible” and even António Costa said at the beginning of the night that an absolute majority was an “extreme scenario”. However, 41,68% was enough for a majority in the parliament.

117 deputies elected, 116 needed for an absolute majority.

Never, in the history of Portuguese Democracy has a parliamentary majority been formed with so few votes, the last, and at the time only, the absolute majority for PS was in 2005 with 45,03% of the votes. 

PS won all electoral districts except Madeira, a social-democratic bastion, but all other PSD electoral bastions, like Leiria and Viseu for example, were lost to the socialists. This was also one of the major surprises of the electoral night.

The leader of PSD, Partido Social-Democrata (Social-Democratic Party), Rui Rio announced that with a socialist majority “I can’t see how I can be useful” for the party.

This result was a big upset for the social-democrats, Rui Rio expected to increase not only the PSD vote but also the social-democratic parliamentary representation. However, the voter share had only a minimal increase and the PSD parliamentary group will only have one more deputy compared to 2019. PSD wasn’t even able to cross the 30% mark.

CHEGA! (ENOUGH!) is now the 3rd political force in Portugal, even exceeding expectations in relation to the number of deputies elected, the populist party has now 12 deputies, increasing the parliamentary group by eleven members. The party also managed to have a better result in the north of the country than expected.

Iniciativa Liberal (Liberal Initiative), also had only one deputy and now has 8. The party almost had 5% of the vote (4,98%), this result is within the expectations although some polls not only pointed to 6% but also predicted the liberals to be the 3rd political force in Portugal. The party leader, however, did not mention any disappointment.

The former members of “gerigonça” (name given to the informal alliance between the left-wing political parties in Portugal, PS/BE/PCP) had a terrible electoral night. Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc) went from 500.017 votes (9,52% of the vote, 3rd political force) to 240.257, losing more than half of the votes, but more importantly 14 deputies, with the leftist parliamentary group being reduced to only 5 members.

The CDU, a coalition led by the PCP, Partido Comunista Português (Portuguese Communist Party) also lost a big share of the vote, going from 6,33% and 12 deputies to 4,39% and 6 deputies. PEV, the ecologist party and the other member of CDU, Coligação Democrática Unitária (Unitary Democratic Coalition), disappeared from the Portuguese Parliament.

Livre (Free) and PAN (People Animals Nature) managed to elect 1 deputy each, but with the Socialist Party absolute majority, will both probably have little, to no relevance in the Portuguese scene.

Although CDS-PP (CDS-People’s Party) had more votes than PAN and Livre, the Christian-democratic party failed to elect any deputy. Francisco Rodrigues dos Santos, the centrists’ party leader, presented his resignation as he is “no longer able to lead the party”.

Results*:

PS (Socialist Party) – 41,68% – 117*

• PPD/PSD (Social-Democratic Party) – 29,27% ** – 76*

• CH (ENOUGH!) – 7,15% – 12

• IL (Liberal Initiative) – 4,98% – 8

• BE (Left Bloc) – 4,46% – 5

• CDU – PCP/PEV (Portuguese Communist Party/”The Greens”) – 4,39% – 6

• CDS-PP (CDS-People’s Party) – 1,61% – 0

• PAN (People Animals Nature) – 1,53% – 1

• Livre (Free) – 1,22% – 1

*There are 4 seats in the Portuguese Parliament reserved for the votes outside the Continent and the Autonomous Regions (Açores and Madeira), Europe and Outside of Europe electoral districts. However, each party will almost certainly have 2 seats each from those 2 electoral districts.

**In Madeira and Açores, PSD was part of a coalition with CDS-PP and CDS-PP/PPM respectively, but all the deputies elected by the coalitions are militants of PSD.

António Costa now awaits the request of the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to form his “new” government.

More information about the Portuguese General Elections to follow.

See the official results HERE – https://www.legislativas2022.mai.gov.pt/resultados/globais

More information about the election:

2022 Portugal Elections: Do you know each party?

Portuguese Elections: What to know before election day

In Portugal, try to go to the same restaurant more than once…

As with any other country, there are many unwritten rules. If you now live in Portugal, or if you’re just a tourist, read this text to get a tip that will make you more welcome in the country.

You enter in a more traditional Portuguese restaurant or café, to eat a more traditional Portuguese food. You’re nervous, will they scowl you for being a foreigner? You look at the menu or at the exhibited food, and you ask the waiter (or God forbid the manager) what dish they recommend for lunch.

He looks at you with “that” face… You know, the face of judgment… He points to the “house specialty”, like he is screaming “you entered here searching for what other than this?”.

You feel your stomach turning around, and it is not the hunger you were feeling before you entered the place… You feel small, reduced to the position of “uninformed tourist” or something like that. You drink from the water you ordered, looking at the other people in the place. Not that they’re talking about you, but you know that at least one person said “what’s this tourist doing here?”. 

Now the waiter and the manager are looking at you while they speak, as if you needed to feel worse about yourself. Someone in the kitchen calls for the waiter, he goes there and when he’s back he brings a plate, your plate…

He puts it on the table, you say “Thank you”, he says “De nada” with a somewhat long face. “You did nothing wrong”, you say, “So just eat the food”… The meal is very delicious, humble, but very good. The price is even better, and so close to the place where you’re staying… It is just too convenient.

So you go there again, they looked happy when you left, they noticed that you liked the food, so maybe it wasn’t that bad. 

When you enter for the second time you see the waiter that served you the last time, “Hello!” he says recognizing you. The “hello” could be for the worst reasons of course, like “that tourist again…”, but you give him the benefit of the doubt, the “hello” seemed too nice for that…

More at ease than the last time, you order the same dish, but the waiter says “No, no, that dish is beginners stuff. Since you liked it that much we are going to cook you a real traditional dish.”. Wow, you don’t even ask what dish it is, you just say: “Bring it on then…”

And if it’s not better than the other dish… Wow! This one really is incredible! The manager comes to you to ask if you liked the dish, you not only say yes but you also ask the origin of the dish, and he tells you everything about it… You then ask for a desert, and they bring you “the special” with a cup of liquor. And the rest is history…

It may not happen as fast, but this can certainly happen to you. Many foreigners say to me that the Portuguese are not hospitable or nice with them, but that couldn’t be further from the truth… 

The truth is this: Portuguese  (especially the more elderly) are a bit particular, hard to please at first, but the best way to break this “block of ice” is by showing perseverance and especially loyalty.

So, for example, in this story, “you” managed to surpass the initial tension by going there again, showing that even with the suspicious looks you still liked the food/restaurant. 

So you just have to pass an endurance test…

And this “distrust” is not directed only at foreigners, I can certainly relate to this too, so don’t treat it as a “stigma” against you personally… 🙂

Anti-war Jehovah’s Witnesses claim some Nazi-time archives from Germany

Germany: Property of archives in a German military museum claimed by anti-war Jehovah’s Witnesses

As reported by The New York Times on 25 January, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany are seeking to obtain the extensive archives of the Kusserow family, decimated by the Nazis during WW II, which are currently held by the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden, Germany. Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany claim to be the legal heir to the archive.

Noteworthy is that Jehovah’s Witnesses have always been against war and military solutions in conflictual situations between two or several countries. In conformity with their religious beliefs, they have always refused to carry out military service everywhere around the world. Thousands of them in South Korea, Greece, France and many other countries have spent many years in prison because of their anti-war religious beliefs and in Nazi Germany, a number of their objectors were even executed. ‘Irony of history’, a military museum is now in possession of the decimated Kusserow family and beyond the legal property issue, German Jehovah’s Witnesses feel offended by what they call a gross moral injustice. For years, they have only been able to see the Kusserow family archive in a military building exhibiting all sorts of weapons used to kill and destroy.

The 13 members of the Kusserow family were harshly persecuted by the Nazi regime because of their religious identity. Two of the boys, Wilhelm and Wolfgang, were executed for not supporting the Nazi military effort.

Their youngest and only living sibling, Paul-Gerhard Kusserow, asserted: “My brothers died for refusing to participate in military service. I don’t find it proper that this inheritance is stored in a military museum.” Therefore, primarily to address this moral wrong, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany are seeking to obtain the Kusserow archive from the museum.

Additionally, Jehovah’s Witnesses say they have documentation to prove that Annemarie Kusserow, the eldest sibling, bequeathed Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany the archive that she meticulously compiled. The archive consists of over 1,000 items that include photographs, drawings, pre-execution farewell letters, death penalty pronouncements, and classified Gestapo reports.

Annemarie died in 2005. Subsequently, the Witnesses discovered the Bundeswehr Military History Museum had obtained the archive. According to the museum, they bought it in good faith from a Kusserow family member—who was no longer affiliated with Jehovah’s Witnesses and has since died.

For nearly seven years, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany have been unable to reach a peaceful settlement with the museum and have taken legal action to acquire it.

If successful, the Witnesses plan to display the Kusserow archive in their museum at the Central Europe office in Selters, Germany. It will then be accessible to any visitor free of charge.

History of the Persecution of the Kusserow Family

• Wilhelm Kusserow was one of the first conscientious objectors executed by Nazis during World War II. He was killed by firing squad
• Wolfgang Kusserow, a younger brother of Wilhelm, was beheaded two years later
• Franz Kusserow, the father, was imprisoned three times. Annemarie and Waltraud, two of the daughters, were imprisoned
• The mother, Hilda Kusserow, as well as two of her daughters, Hildegard and Magdalena, were imprisoned and subsequently sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp
• Karl-Heinz Kusserow, one of the sons, was sent to the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps
• During the 12 years of the Nazi regime, members of the Kusserow family were sentenced to a total of 47 years and 9 months in prisons or concentration camps
• The three youngest children were abducted and sent to Nazi training schools, forbidden to contact their family. Subsequently, they were placed under the care of families who supported the National Socialist party.

Special "Voices for Humanity" on International Education Day

Each year, the United Nations sets aside January 24 as International Day of Education. Among this year’s goals: “unlocking the potential in every person.” 

The episode “Help for Miami,” of Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network takes viewers inside an innovative program that is shattering the glass ceiling for those labeled with learning disabilities.

“Our country is in crisis today,” says Tamara Batalha, cofounder and administrator of HELP Miami.

“Kids are being labeled and drugged. They’re not learning,” adds HELP Miami’s principal Barbie Rivera. “This is a tragedy.”

Together, they are introducing kids to a new way of learning.

“Families thought the only solution was to drug their child and now they don’t have to anymore,” says Batalha. “The beauty of our program is we treat every child as an individual, so no matter where they are on their educational level, we’re able to work with them.”

HELP Miami is a dynamic program using Study Technology developed by author, humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. It provides a fully workable approach to teaching students how to learn.

One mother relates that her son was getting “F” in subject after subject at the school where he attended 5th grade. They were advised to place him on medication, but that caused side effects. “He told me he hated school. He wanted to drop out.” When they enrolled him at HELP Miami, everything changed. “They brought him up to grade level,” the mother said. “Now he’s in 8th grade and every single year, he’s gotten honor roll. Being able to learn how to learn—this is an incredible gift that HELP Miami is giving these kids.”

Go behind the scenes of this innovative school that is providing a bright future for kids who were told they would never have one. 

Scientology Network’s Voices for Humanity, is a weekly series presenting heroic changemakers from a variety of faiths, cultures and nations, working to uplift their communities.

Since launching with a special episode featuring Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige, Scientology Network has been viewed in 240 countries and territories worldwide in 17 languages. Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church’s global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network is available on DIRECTV Channel 320 and can be streamed at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.

Source HERE.

Irfan Virji Discusses the Benefits of Running

MOMBASA, KENYA, January 24, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Running is one of the world’s oldest forms of exercise. Since humans first appeared on earth, we’ve been running and racing for sport and enjoyment as well as necessity. Today it’s popular as a sport that costs nothing and can be done almost anywhere, at any time that’s convenient for one. Whether their interested in running alone or in marathons, this form of exercise carries many benefits, says Irfan Virji. From ones physical health to ones mental health, running can help them improve and evolve into the person one want to be. 

Running Helps One Lose Weight

Like every form of cardio, running is a great way to burn calories and lose weight, says Irfan Virji. When one run, it moves their entire body and requires the use of all of their major muscle groups. This requires a lot of energy. The average person can burn about 100 calories per mile while running. The more one run, the more calories one burn, and the more weight one lose over time.

Running Improves the Quality of Ones Sleep Says Irfan Virji

Exercise helps improve the quality of ones sleep in several ways. First, it burns off energy and tires out ones body, which can help one fall asleep more quickly. Secondly, running releases endorphins and other feel-good chemicals that help combat stress and anxiety–both of which can prevent one from sleeping well. 

If one run outside rather than in a gym, one may also experience extra sleep benefits, Irfan Virji says. Being outside, especially early in the morning or late in the afternoon, exposes us to sunlight. Our circadian rhythms (the biological clock inside us that keeps track of time and controls sleep) are set by the sun. Being outside early in the morning or late in the afternoon can signal to our brains what time it is, keeping us in sync with sunrise and sunset. This makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep when we’re supposed to. 

Running Can Help Ones Knees and Back 

Because one use ones knees so much while running, one may assume that over time, running is bad for ones joints. And while running is an impact sport, studies have found that running is actually good for ones back and knees, explains Irfan Virji. 

When studying marathon runners versus the general population, the rate of arthritis in runners was well below average. This suggests that the movement and use of the knee joints actually helped protect against developing arthritis. 

In another study of first-time marathon runners, researchers found that the condition of their bone marrow and articular cartilage (the cartilage found in knees and other joints that allows them to move and bend) actually improved for at least six months after the races. 

The same is true for the cartilage between discs in the vertebrae of the back. Middle-aged, long-term runners had less back pain and lower lumbar IVD decline. This means the height of the discs in their back remained the same rather than declining which can cause rubbing and pain.

RUSSIA: Aleksei Yershov is already the second Jehovah’s Witness to be sent behind bars in 2022

A court in Seversk sentenced this 68-year old Jehovah’s Witness to three years in a penal colony. A week ago, Maksim Nikolayevich Beltikov was sentenced to two years in prison

On 19 January 2022, Judge of the Seversky City Court of the Tomsk Region Yalchin Badalov found 68-year-old Jehovah’s Witness Alexei Ershov guilty of participating in “extremist activities” (Part 2 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced him to three years in a penal colony. The convict was taken into custody in the courtroom, reports the correspondent of the Portal “Credo.Press” with reference to sources among Russian Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The prosecutor’s office had asked the court to reclassify him under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activities of an extremist organization) and sentenced Ershov to five years in prison but he was not followed by the court.

Yershov case history

In July 2020, the regional investigative committee announced the initiation of criminal proceedings against a group of persons who organized the activities of the banned local community of Jehovah’s Witnesses, knowing about its ban. Then Ershov and other believers’ houses were searched.

In March 2021, Ershov and three other Jehovah’s Witnesses were summoned for questioning and notified that they had received the status of suspects after a woman named Klira Klisheva collaborating with the FSB services had put video recordings of Jehovah’s Witnesses at their disposal. For about a year, she had pretended to be interested in the Bible but was obviously infiltrating their community.

Ershov, in particular, was accused of “taking part in a conspiratorial meeting in the form of a collective religious service, <…> consisting of reproduction of audio and video recordings and <…> consistently performed songs from a special collection of religious teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses and prayers to God Jehovah”.

The trial began in July 2021.

When Klira Klisheva was asked why she determined that Jehovah’s Witnesses were extremists, she answered in court: “Because they pronounce the name of God – Yahweh.” Such testimony of this witness is based on the accusations against five more believers from Seversk.

In his closing statements to the court (link), Aleksei defended himself and other Jehovah’s Witnesses by frequently quoting from Russian religious scholar Sergei Ivanenko’s book, “About people who never part with the Bible.” Aleksey concluded: “The facts in this book show that Witnesses do not resort to violence, work conscientiously, pay taxes honestly, and generally have strong, close-knit families. Living in accordance with biblical principles, they are reliable workers, good neighbors, caring parents. They do not impose their views on anyone. To listen to their preaching or not is a matter of conscience and free choice of each person.”

Jarrod Lopes, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses states: “There now over 80 Jehovah’s Witnesses in prison in Russia. This is the highest number since the Russian Supreme Court liquidated the Witnesses’ legal entities in 2017. It’s patently absurd that a peaceful Christian family man like Aleksei would be accused of extremist activity. It’s yet another miscarriage of justice on the part of the Russian courts that began with local authorities unjustly raiding homes of Witnesses. For those who have not seen video footage of such raids, visualize officers with face masks, fully armed and outfitted for combat, gang-raiding homes of peaceful Jehovah’s Witnesses. The officers often break down the doors while people are sleeping, sometimes torturing and beating one of the believers while their families in earshot are forced to listen to the screaming. Now, who are the extremists in that scenario? Any reasonable person would agree, it’s not the Jehovah’s Witnesses. We hope that soon this systematic discriminatory assault on Jehovah’s Witnesses will end so they can worship freely in Russia as they do in over 200 other lands.”

In November 2021, the same court sentenced 80-year-old Elena Savelyeva, a teacher with forty years of experience, to four years probation – also for talking about the Bible. In total, since May 2018, seven criminal cases have been initiated against Jehovah’s Witnesses in the sole Tomsk region.

Additional background on the case can be found here.

This case is further evidence that local authorities continue to disregard Russia’s Supreme Court Plenum back in October 2021 that outlined that individual or collective worship should not in itself be viewed as participation in the activities of a banned religious organization.

What happened since the Supreme Court Plenum?

• Five Jehovah’s Witnesses (including Aleksei) sentenced to prison colonies (sentences from 2.5-5 years)
• 11 have received suspended prison sentences ranging from 2.5-6 years (the oldest being 80-year old Yelena Savelyeva)
• Five have been fined between 300,000-500,000 rubles

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized all 396 religious organizations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia as extremist in April 2017. Soon after, law enforcement agencies began criminal prosecution of believers of this denomination in almost all regions of the country, including in the annexed territory of Crimea.

Why did Vikings have 'Allah' embroidered into funeral clothes?

Researchers in Sweden have found Arabic characters woven into burial costumes from Viking boat graves. The discovery raises new questions about the influence of Islam in Scandinavia, writes journalist Tharik Hussain.

They were kept in storage for more than 100 years, dismissed as typical examples of Viking Age funeral clothes.

But a new investigation into the garments – found in 9th and 10th Century graves – has thrown up groundbreaking insights into contact between the Viking and Muslim worlds.

Patterns woven with silk and silver thread have been found to spell the words “Allah” and “Ali”.

The breakthrough was made by textile archaeologist Annika Larsson of Uppsala University while re-examining the remnants of burial costumes from male and female boat and chamber graves originally excavated in Birka and Gamla Uppsala in Sweden in the late 19th and mid-20th centuries.

She became interested in the forgotten fragments after realising the material had come from central Asia, Persia and China.

Larsson says the tiny geometric designs – no more than 1.5cm (0.6in) high – resembled nothing she had come across in Scandinavia before.

“I couldn’t quite make sense of them and then I remembered where I had seen similar designs – in Spain, on Moorish textiles.”

Unlocking a puzzle

Larsson then realised she was not looking at Viking patterns at all but ancient Arabic Kufic script.

There were two words that kept recurring. One of them she identified with the help of an Iranian colleague. It was the name “Ali” – the fourth caliph of Islam.

But the word next to Ali was more difficult to decipher.

To unlock the puzzle, she enlarged the letters and examined them from all angles, including from behind.

“I suddenly saw that the word ‘Allah’ [God] had been written in mirrored lettering,” she says.

Larsson has so far found the names on at least 10 of the nearly 100 pieces she is working through, and they always appear together.

The new find now raises fascinating questions about the grave’s occupants.

“The possibility that some of those in the graves were Muslim cannot be completely ruled out,” she says.

“We know from other Viking tomb excavations that DNA analysis has shown some of the people buried in them originated from places like Persia, where Islam was very dominant.

“However, it is more likely these findings show that Viking age burial customs were influenced by Islamic ideas such as eternal life in paradise after death.”

Her team is now working with the university’s department for immunology, genetics and pathology to establish the geographic origins of the bodies dressed in the funeral clothes.

Historic first

Contact between the Viking and Muslim worlds has long been established by historic accounts and the discovery of Islamic coins across the northern hemisphere.

Two years ago, researchers re-examined a silver ring from a female tomb at Birka and found the phrase “for Allah” inscribed on the stone.

Again the text was Kufic, developed in the Iraqi town of Kufah in the 7th Century – one of the first Arabic scripts used to write down the Koran.

What makes Larsson’s discovery so interesting is that it is the first time historic items mentioning Ali have ever been unearthed in Scandinavia.

“The name Ali is repeated again and again beside Allah,” she says.

“I know Ali is highly revered by the largest Muslim minority group, the Shia, and have wondered if there is a connection.”

Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, having married his daughter Fatima. He also became the fourth leader of the Muslim community after Muhammad died.

Although both Sunnis and Shia revere Ali as an important companion of Muhammad, he has elevated status amongst the Shia, who see him as the Prophet’s spiritual heir.

“The use of Ali does suggest a Shia connection,” says Amir De Martino, programme leader of Islamic studies at the Islamic College in London.

“But without the phrase ‘waly Allah’ accompanying the name – meaning ‘friend of Allah’ – this would not be from mainstream Shia culture and might just have been copied wrongly from something that was,” adds De Martino, who is also the chief editor of Islam Today, a British Shia magazine.

“The pattern suggests Ali is being equated with Allah, and therefore there is a slim possibility it has some connection to very early, extreme, mystical fringe movements who believed in this

“But more likely it is a wrongly copied pattern.”

The names Allah and Ali are often represented in enigmatic patterns inside the tombs and books of mystical Shia sects such as the Alevis and Bektashis to this day, but always they are accompanied by the name Muhammad. These can sometimes include mirrored script. – Inscriptions on the ceiling of an Alevi mausoleum in Bulgaria feature – on the right – the names Allah, Muhammad and Ali written in legible, simple Arabic while on the left there is a blue mystic pattern with the three names interlocked

But unlike Larsson’s find, these examples usually include both the name depicted the correct way around and the reflection.

For Larsson though, her discovery offers much promise for the future.

“Now that I am looking at Viking patterns differently, I am convinced I will find more Islamic inscriptions in the remaining fragments from these excavations, and other Viking era textiles.

“Who knows? Maybe they appear in non-textile artefacts too.”

Tharik Hussain is a London-based freelance journalist, travel writer and broadcaster who specialises in Muslim heritage.

Photo: Enlarging the patterns and looking at the reflection in a mirror revealed the word ‘Allah’ (God) in Arabic

Roberta Metsola becomes President of the European Parliament on her birthday

Roberta Metsola, a Malta politician celebrates two important occassion on January 18th. First her birthday, born in 1979, and second, she has been elected with absolute majority, as the president of the European Parliament, taking over for a two and a half-year term. She is the youngest president (43) the European Parliament has ever had.

Ms Metsola, a Christian Democrat from the EPP, received 458 of the 616 votes cast on Tuesday. She had already been acting president since Mr Sassoli’s death on January 11.

She will lead an EU institution which has become more powerful over the years and been instrumental in charting the course of the 27-nation union on issues such as the digital economy, climate change and Brexit.

The European Parliament represents the 450 million citizens from the European Union and refers to itself as “the heart of European democracy”.

Known as a committed bridge-builder between parties, Ms Metsola said she would stick to Mr Sassoli’s style of work.

“David fought hard to bring people around the same table. It is that commitment to holding the constructive forces in Europe together that I will build on,” she said.

The parliament has long been the “less important” EU institution if compared with the executive European Commission and the European Council, which represents the governments of the 27 member states. In fact, while meant to be a legislative power, this task is more executed and own by the Commission and the Council, than by the Parliament.

As it gained decision-making powers the legislature has become a more forceful player on the European scene, and Ms Metsola wants to continue that trend.

“We need to strengthen it. We cannot be afraid of reform,” she said.

“The next part of the mandate will see a window of opportunity to make our parliament more modern, more effective and more efficient. We must seize the opportunity.”

Ms Metsola is the first politician from Malta to hold such a high position in the EU.

“I am a woman from a small island in the middle of Europe’s southern sea. I know what it means to be the underdog. I know what it means to be pigeonholed,” she said.

“I know what this means for every girl watching today. I know what it means for everyone who dares and whoever dared to dream.”

Immediately after the vote, Metsola said: “I am honoured to have been given a strong mandate by the EPP Group to be its candidate for President of the European Parliament. The second half of this legislature will be critical for Europe – I will work hard to keep building bridges in this House as we work together in pushing forward important legislative files and bringing decision-making closer to people in every Member State.”

Nyenabo Touts Liberia's Strong Democratic Credentials and Urges Deeper EU - Africa Engagements

The Ambassador of Liberia to the European Union and the Benelux Countries, H.E Isaac W Nyenabo II, has highlighted Liberia’s strong democratic credentials in a briefing to members of the European Press.

At the well-attended gathering, Ambassador Nyenabo said Liberia, under the Leadership of his Excellency George Manneh Weah “continues to make significant progress in the areas of rule of law, human rights, Good Governance and Democracy”.

The Ambassador named the December 8, 2020 midterm senatorial elections and the subsequent by-elections of December 2021, during which the opposition won majority of the seats, as evidence of the leaps the country is making to further strengthen its institutions. The elections, he said, were monitored and declared free and fair by the International Community (including the European Union, the UN and United States Embassy in Monrovia).

The Ambassador further informed the gathering that under the new administration, the country has no political prisoners, and that politicians carry out their activities void of any form of harassment and intimidation – an apparent reference to the ongoing legal hurdle between the political leader of the Alternative National Congress, Alexander Cummings, and the All Liberian Party’s Benoni Urey.

He said the issue with Cummings “is purely a matter of law” and that “all should allow the process to take its due course”. He explained that in a case where a private citizen alleges criminality on the part of another, the “Government is left with no option but to allow due process”.

Ambassador Nyenabo then commended President Emmanuel Marcon for his speech during the takeover of the Republic of France of the EU Council, where the French President promised that during his six-month presidency, he will make relations with Africa a priority. He also committed to enhance partnership with the continent through an Africa-EU security structure, provide room for economic growth, as well as good governance. 

The leaders of the EU and the African Union are expected to meet on February 17- 18, 2022 for the Sixth European Union- African Summit in Brussels, with the objectives of outlining a joint communique towards a comprehensive strategy with Africa on five key global trends: Green Transition and energy Access; Digital Transformation; sustainable growth and Jobs; peace, Security, and Governance, as well as Migration.

EGYPT: Jehovah’s Witnesses banned since 1960 call upon the UN Human Rights Committee

On the occasion of the upcoming 134^th session of the UN Human Rights Committee (28 February – 25 March 2022), the African Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses (AAJW) and the European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses (EAJW) have filed a joint submission about the situation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Egypt banned since 1960.

They request the Government of Egypt to take the necessary steps to:

1. Ensure that Jehovah’s Witnesses are able to register their local religious organizations

2. End the continuous and intrusive surveillance and interrogations of Jehovah’s Witnesses

3. Allow Egyptian and foreign Jehovah’s Witnesses to worship peacefully and to associate with one another;

4. Cancel the directives of the Administration of Land Registration and Documentation of the Ministry of Justice in Egypt that prohibit its agencies from registering title to property belonging to legal entities of Jehovah’s Witnesses;

5. Abide by its commitment to uphold the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Covenant for all citizens, including Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Religious freedom violations

A decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs dated 20 June 1960 deregistered the local branch of the Watch Tower Society and effectively banned the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The pretext for the ban was an alleged failure to re-register according to Law 384 of 1956. Efforts to re-register were rejected for “security reasons.” All the property owned by Witness entities were confiscated.

For over 60 years, Jehovah’s Witnesses have not been allowed to build or own places of worship. Consequently, they are obliged to hold their religious meetings discreetly, in private homes. Many Witnesses report continued surveillance of their telephone conversations, their homes and their meeting locations. Additionally, the Witnesses are not permitted to import their religious literature or to manifest their religious beliefs by peacefully sharing a Bible message with persons who wish to receive it.

In February 2020, an Egyptian Witness who owns an apartment arranged for it to be completely renovated so as to be suitable for religious meetings and rented it to fellow worshippers. Since Witnesses cannot obtain a zoning permit to use property for their religious meetings, the NSA repeatedly attempted to obtain a copy of the rental contract in order to file charges against the Witnesses involved. Despite repeated telephone calls and threats, the Witnesses refused to give the NSA a copy of the contract. Their agents then interrogated and harassed the Witness landlord and ordered that the apartment be emptied and closed immediately. Subsequently, Jehovah’s Witnesses have not been able to use the property.

On 28 March 2020, a National Security (NSA) agent visited a Witness family in central Cairo to interrogate them about meetings held in their home.

The NSA searches for and threatens Jehovah’s Witnesses who are foreign nationals, especially those believed to be “leading ministers” and those associating with Egyptian Witnesses. During interrogations, agents try to intimidate them and often threaten them with arrest in order to obtain information both about fellow believers in Egypt and about how they are organized. A few examples:

March 2020: NS agents forcefully entered the homes of at least two Egyptian Witnesses, without a warrant or consent, in order to interrogate them about a married Witness couple who were foreign nationals lawfully resident in Egypt. Because of the threat of arrest and deportation, the couple fled Egypt and returned to the United States.

April/May 2020: NS agents interrogated two Sudanese Witnesses about their religious activities

The above incidents have occurred since the European Parliament’s adoption of the 24 October 2019 Resolution on Egypt, which “stresses the importance of guaranteeing the equality of all Egyptians, regardless of their faith or belief; calls for Egypt to review its blasphemy laws in order to ensure the protection of religious minorities … calls on the Egyptian authorities, including the military and security forces, to respect the rights of Christians, protect them against violence and discrimination and ensure that those responsible for such acts are prosecuted.”

During 2021, owing to Covid-19 precautions, all of Jehovah’s Witnesses religious meetings have been held via videoconference. The NSA has strenuously investigated who holds licences for a proprietary videoconferencing system, how meeting details are distributed, who the hosts are, the names of the attendees, etc. Such details constituted part of the information sought during interrogations of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Background

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been present in Egypt since 1912. In the 1930s, they established congregations in Alexandria and in Cairo. By the post-war years of 1945–1950, there were already a significant number of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Egypt.

Well into the 1950s, Egyptian Jehovah’s Witnesses enjoyed relative freedom of worship. On 3 November 1951, the Cairo Governorate granted recognition to a branch of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania (Watch Tower Society), a legal corporation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In 1956, the Governorate of Alexandria granted similar recognition to the local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In 1959, a campaign of false accusations labelling Jehovah’s Witnesses as “Zionists” caused the police to order the Witnesses to cease holding their religious services.

On 20 June 1960, a decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs deregistered the local branch of the Watch Tower Society and effectively banned the activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses in all Egypt.

Later on, the Administration of Land Registration and Documentation of the Ministry of Justice in Egypt issued three directives (in 1985, 1993 and 1999) that prohibit its agencies from registering any property as well as marriages.

As a result, property cannot be bought or owned in the name of any organized group of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They cannot even obtain land to bury their dead but must use privately owned cemeteries.

Although more than 60 years have passed, officials continue to deny them the opportunity to meet with key authorities in order to resolve the situation.

Von der Leyen on Sassoli: "A man of deep faith and strong convictions"

Statement by President von der Leyen on the passing of David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament

È un giorno triste per l’Europa. Oggi la nostra Unione perde un convinto europeista, un sincero democratico, e un uomo buono.

Today is a sad day for Europe. Our Union loses a passionate European, a sincere democrat and a good man. David Sassoli was a man of deep faith and strong convictions. Everyone loved his smile and his kindness, yet he knew how to fight for what he believed in. In 1989, he was in Berlin, among the young Europeans when the Wall came down. And ever since, he has stood on the side of democracy and of a united Europe. In over a decade of service in the European Parliament, he constantly defended our Union and its values. But he also believed that Europe had to strive for more. He wanted Europe to be more united, closer to its people, more faithful to our values. That is his legacy.

And that is how I will remember him. As a champion of justice and solidarity, and a dear friend. My thoughts are with his wife, Alessandra, his children, Giulio and Livia, and all his friends.

Un uomo che ha lottato per la giustizia e la solidarietà, e un buon amico. I miei pensieri vanno alla moglie, Alessandra, ai figli Giulio e Livia, e a tutti i suoi amici.

The abuse of psych drugs for emotional problems forces a response from Catalan Health department

The pandemic has increased the demand for mental health care by between 20% and 30%, according to data cited by Óscar Pino, coordinator of the Benito Menni adult mental health centre (l’Hospitalet) and member of the Col-legi de Psicologia de Catalunya. The indicators report increases in the number of suicides, in the number of emergencies linked to infant-juvenile mental pathologies, in eating disorders… The rates of emotional distress tend to worsen and, with them, one of the problems that alarms the health authorities: the excessive use of psychotropic drugs.

Original article in Spanish at LA VANGUARDIA by Antoni López Tovar

“We have a problem as a society, which is that we always look for the easy answer first: ‘I don’t feel well, go to a psychologist or psychiatrist, and take a pill’. We are a pill-popping society,” said the Catalan Minister of Health, Josep Maria Argimon. Spain is the country in the world with the highest consumption of benzodiazepines (psychotropic drugs used for mild cases of insomnia, anxiety or emotional disorders) per 1,000 inhabitants, according to the latest report of the International Narcotics Control Board, with data from 2019. The Spanish Medicines Association indicates that 91.07 doses of sedatives, anxiolytics and hypnotics were consumed per 1,000 inhabitants in 2020, an increase of 4.5% over the previous year, and the latest Alcohol and Drugs Survey by the Ministry of Health reveals that 31.1% of Spaniards aged 75 or over have consumed hypnosedatives, with or without prescription, in the last year.

“We have a problem as a society”, says Catalan health councillor Argimon with regard to the use of psychotropic drugs.

One of the objectives of the reinforcement of emotional health in the Catalan Generalitat’s 2021-2025 health plan is to “de-medicalise a large part of this malaise that the pandemic has exacerbated, but which we must not confuse with mental illness”, according to Minister Argimon.

“We live in a society in which everything has to be resolved quickly, but there are circumstances in life that are inherent to the fact that we are alive. Situations of conflict, work, professional and family difficulties cause certain emotional discomforts, but we should not psychologise or psychiatrisise what is not necessary,” explains Joan Vegué, president of the Generalitat’s advisory council on mental health and addictions.

Where is the boundary between discomfort and pathology? “Sometimes it is blurred. We professionals have the tools to understand that something is an adaptive reaction that involves a certain sadness, fear, uncertainty, but that is not pathology. Exacerbated anxiety, sleeping badly for many days… this is already a symptom, a malaise that generates dysfunctionality and must be treated”, explains Vegué.

The shortest way

A few minutes to see a depressed patient, who even requires medication, and the prospect of a waiting queue for a specialist. The circumstances are ripe for the family doctor to prescribe psychotropic drugs. The incorporation of psychologists into primary care aims to avoid this. Along the same lines are programmes to improve coping strategies. But there is a lack of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists. “I am much more concerned about the lack of accessibility to adequate mental health care than the overuse of drugs,” says Narcís Cardoner.

In Pino’s opinion, the threshold of the illness varies: “It depends on the person, not everything works for everyone, but the frequency and intensity of the symptoms and the fact that they affect your daily life is fundamental. You may not be able to go to work, you may have stopped doing activities that were pleasurable for you.

“If the system were really optimal, we could address many things,” explains Narcís Cardoner, president of the Catalan Society of Psychiatry of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Catalonia. “In a public health system, there are always many attitudes of users that could be corrected: just because you have a fever, you don’t have to go to the emergency room. But the risk of not being able to respond to all needs is currently more important than the percentage of people who make a demand that is not entirely justified”.

Xi Jinping’s sinicization of religions, the new Cultural Revolution dear to Mao Zedong

On the eve of the Winter Olympic Games to be held in China, this conference and the protest demonstrations simultaneously held in Geneva, Berlin, Brussels and Antwerp are welcome to raise awareness about the egregious human rights violations for which China has been responsible for years and decades, especially under the rule of Xi Jinping.

Under the guise of Sinicization, Xi Jinping has reinforced the full control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over all sectors of society. This is what we would call totalitarianism.

What is sinicization?

Sinicization is a word used at least since the 17^th century that indicated the assimilation of minorities in the Chinese empire into Chinese culture and language.

The same term was adopted by Nationalist China to signify the effort to replace the foreigners who managed business, religions and civil society organizations by Chinese citizens.

The CCP, however, gives a different meaning to the word “sinicization”. It is not sufficient that organizations operating in China, including religions and churches, have Chinese leaders. In order to be accepted as “sinicized,” they should have leaders selected by the CCP and operate within a framework of strategies and objectives indicated by the CCP.

In Tibet and Xinjiang, however, the CCP pursues a policy of “sinicization” in the traditional sense of the word, trying to assimilate Uyghurs Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists into the Chinese Communist culture.

On 3-4 December last, Xi Jinping personally presided on the first National Conference on Work Related to Religious Affairs that the CCP had held since 2016. He spoke at the Conference and asked for a more in-depth study of Karl Marx’s texts on religion by all those involved in the management of religious activities in China.

He also reiterated that “Sinicization” of religion means its alignment with the CCP’s principles, goals, and directions, and lamented that the process he started with the 2016 conference is not advancing quickly enough.

In the name of “sinicization”, millions of Uyghur Muslims are deprived of their freedom to be politically educated or reeducated in camps against their will, women are massively sterilized, hundreds of thousands of Han people are introduced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to make the Uyghur community a minority on its own historical lands and young Uyghur students are schooled in other regions far away from their cultural, linguistic and religious roots.

In the name of “sinicization”, Tibetan Buddhists are also deprived of their culture, their traditions, their language, their religion and any access to their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Their monasteries and numerous statues of Buddha have been and continue to be destroyed. The objective is to make Buddhism and any religion invisible in the public space.

“Sinicization” is a form of resurgence of the Cultural Revolution carried out by Mao Zedong from 1966 until his death in 1976 which devastated the then Chinese society.

The common objective of Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping is the reinforcement of Communism by eradicating the historical cultural and religious roots of their ethno-religious minorities and by purging the country of Western elements. And Christianity is one of those “foreign agents” perceived by the CCP as a threat to its leadership.

The sinicization of Christians

As long as Christianity cannot disappear from China, its churches are to be “sinicized,” which means to “adapt to the socialist society” and to be placed under the authority of state organs controlled by the CCP, such as the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement. 

Concretely, it is the CCP who appoints the leaders and pastors of Protestant Churches. Concerning the Catholic Church, it is the Chinese government who proposes candidates to be appointed as bishops who are then to be confirmed by the Vatican.

Those who try to evade the Communist sinicization and to operate outside this framework, in so-called house churches for example, are arrested and sentenced to heavy prison terms, as we regularly report in our newsletters. Examples:

·       From October 14 to November 23 last year, the CCP authorities carried out a wanton crackdown against meetings of Church of Almighty God members in several cities and arrested over two hundred of them in 40 days.

·     On 25 October last, a Chinese Catholic bishop, Peter Shao Zhumin, who had been arrested five times since 2016 for refusing to cut ties with the Vatican was taken away by authorities.

The official reason for his arrest and his whereabouts remain unknown but the real reason is his allegiance to the Vatican.

·     In November last, a Christian couple have each been sentenced to seven years in prison and a heavy fine of RMB 250,000 (approximately £29,240) for allegedly “illegal business operations.” In reality, the couple’s registered printing company had produced a large number of Christian books before being seized by the local authorities.

·     In a Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Church in northeast China’s Liaoning Province, there is a library to promote the education of believers. Its shelves have been filled with all kinds of secular books, including biographies of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and other Chinese communist leaders, a series of books on the battles of World War II and the “red revolution.” 

·     In several parts of China, limitations and prohibitions are introduced for the celebration of Christmas, including in places of worship of the government-controlled Catholic and Protestant churches, in the framework of the implementation of directives on “Sinicization” of Christianity, which forbid “Western” celebrations. Hotels are also penalized for hosting Christmas events.

A previous panelist, Ben Rogers from Hong Kong Watch, has shown us how Beijing is currently putting an end to the “One country, two systems” status enjoyed by Hong Kong and replacing it by “One country one system”.

The absorption of Christianity, Buddhism and Islam under the pretext of “sinicization” follows the same logic: to engulf religions into Communism with so-called Chinese characteristics, to neutralize them, to catch and to revel in their souls. The next target on the agenda of Xi Jinping is certainly Taiwan.

The diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympic Games in China will show which countries, which heads of states, which political parties and which politicians are on the side of democracy and human rights or on the side of totalitarianism and join the Axis of Shame.

Past lives: should we look at it from religion, science, or both?

Past lives is a question that sounds mystical. Have we ever lived before? My dear grandmother has always told me that there is no evidence that we have lived before. 

I asked him if there was any evidence that no previous life existed. Of course not. At least 19% of humanity, or 1.4 billion people, according to a report, believe in reincarnation.

Have we lived before? Are past lives real?

More than 18,000 people in 23 countries participated in the survey conducted by the Global Research Society and the Institute for Social Research (Ipsos).

The survey also found that 7% of the people believe in reincarnation, while 23 percent believe that we only will “cease to exist”. About a quarter (26 percent) said they do not know what will happen after death.

Bobby Duffy, managing director of Ipsos, told Reuters (as reported in ReincarnationandDeath website) that “it may seem to many that we live in a secular world, but this study shows that spiritual life is important to the citizens of the world since half of them said they believed in a supreme being”.

“Also a large proportion of the remaining population is sure that there is a spiritual explanation to either how we got here or what happens after death.”

According to the survey, “definitive belief in a God or a Supreme Being” is highest in Indonesia (93 percent) and Turkey (91 percent), followed by Brazil (84 percent), South Africa (83 percent) and Mexico (78 percent).

Those most likely to believe in “many Gods or Supreme Beings” are in India (24 percent), China (14 percent) and Russia (10 percent). People who do not believe in God or a Supreme Being are most likely to live in France (39 percent), Sweden (37 percent), Belgium (36 percent), Britain (34 percent), Japan (33 percent) and Germany (31 percent).

So… do you actually think they are not real?

This is a fascinating question. Let’s walk around it a bit. Have you ever met people you didn’t know before but still know? Have you been particularly attracted or repelled by a city or place? Why is it that young children, who are supposed to have no experience of a certain thing, are always afraid of it? Many questions of this kind could be asked.

Those who believe in past lives have the answer: ‘these things come from past life experiences’.

But those who believe they don’t exist can answer just as strongly. DNA is often referred to as inheriting different traits from our parents. But what if you have skills and knowledge that no one else in your family has? How can DNA pass on knowledge or experience? I have seen very smart parents with children who had learning difficulties.

I have also experienced where in a poor family, where both parents and siblings had below-average knowledge, one of their children was still among the best learners.

He had his own difficulties because of his family background, but he was a very bright and clever boy and despite all the difficulties he came out at the top.

Of course, there are arguments for and against. But there is a lot of randomness about it. And this makes me doubt the materialistic explanations. We have all experienced feelings of being very attracted to something or very afraid of something. They all come from past life experiences.

Newer understandings and approaches

You may have read here and there about this or the other religion and how they deal with past lives. But how about newer religions? What does Scientology for example say about past lives?

Scientology, which was developed by L. Ron Hubbard, says we don’t live only once. We have lived before, and after death we are born again into another family. This is usually called reincarnation. Today’s general definition of reincarnation is “being reborn into different life forms”.

Its original meaning is slightly different. Originally it meant “to be born again into the flesh or into another body“. The Scientology faith is close to the latter. In Scientology, belief in past lives is not a dogma that everyone must believe. But in spiritual counseling (which they call auditing), past lives can be experienced.

According to accounts from Scientologists, auditing helps them to uncover and deal with painful memories and regain their abilities. The purpose is not to explore past lives, but to release people’s fears, bad feelings, weaknesses and restore their abilities, sometimes taking them to past lives, but not necessarily. In Scientology, they do not talk about past lives found during spiritual counseling because deal with it as “a very personal matter“. But many people state that they have experienced them, and that it has helped them get rid of their fears.

Scientologist, believe that the real roots of the problems of people did not begin in this life, but have been brought with us from the past, which is why it is necessary to examine our past lives. The idea of past lives is not unique to Scientology. Many other sciences and religions also say to recognize the existence of past lives. Spiritual counseling, or auditing (from the Latin audire, meaning “to listen or hear”), in Scientology is not the same or similar to procedures found in other sciences or religions. For example, unlike hypnosis, during auditing the parishioners are conscious all the time and can control events themselves with the help of a trained minister, called an auditor and because of that, unlike some other mental/spiritual practices, Scientology’s “auditing” is completely safe and easy for anyone to do.

[1] Reincarnation after death ?: How Many People In The World Believe In Reincarnation?