HOLLAND - Dutch author and sociologist Ruud Koopmans said this week that Muslims are more difficult to integrate into Western society than other migrant groups because of a literal interpretation of the Quran prevalent among Muslims. Koopmans, a professor at the Berlin Social Science Center and author of several books including Contested Citizenship: Immigration and Cultural Diversity in Europe, told the Danish newspaper Berlingske that whereas most groups of migrants integrate relatively quickly, especially from one generation to the next, Islam stands out as an exception. “Although it’s not completely absent in Muslims, the change is much slower,” he said, noting that a literal interpretation of the Quran prevents them from integrating into Western countries.

USA - A security report from Microsoft detailed in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday described a cyber-espionage campaign of previously unsuspected scope conducted by Iranian hackers over the past two years. The hackers attacked over 200 companies around the world, inflicting hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

MIDDLE EAST - Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad reportedly warned Kristin Lund, head of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), that “Syria will attack Israel if it does not leave the Golan Heights.” “We will not hesitate to confront Israel,” Mekdad said. “We are also not scared away by its [Israel’s] supporters who are helping to perpetuate the occupation of the Golan,” he added. The Syrian official accused Israel of using violence and harming regional stability. The message has been interpreted as a sign that Syria is concerned that the US will recognize Israel’s sovereignty on the Golan Heights.

MIDDLE EAST - Syria faces an open economic war with the new EU and US sanctions, experts contend. A recent analysis of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) notes, the sanctions have a "hugely detrimental impact on the most vulnerable members of Syria's population." The sanctions imposed on Syria have been strongly criticized internationally for many years. Already in 2016, the United Nations noted, that it is the "most complicated and far-reaching sanctions regimes ever imposed." UN officials cite Western sanctions and not the war as the "principal factor" in the erosion of Syria's health care system. Now that Brussels has even extended its sanctions, Washington is about to impose sanctions on all companies and countries lending support to Syrian government projects to rebuild the country.

USA - We have not seen anything like this since the last recession.  Layoff announcements are coming fast and furious now, and the speed at which workers are being laid off is shocking a lot of people.  In this day and age, big companies have absolutely no loyalty to their workers.  The moment it becomes financially advantageous for them to start laying off employees, most of them will do it in a heartbeat. 

USA - Is the consumer debt bubble finally starting to burst? If the latest numbers on delinquent credit card accounts are any indication, that appears to be precisely what is happening. As I noted the other day, Americans currently have 480 million credit cards, and they are carrying 870 billion dollars worth of balances on those cards. That is one giant pile of debt, but there won’t be a problem as long as the vast majority of Americans regularly make their credit card payments. Unfortunately, the number of credit card accounts that are delinquent has been steadily rising, and now we are being told that the number of “seriously delinquent” accounts has shot up to 37 million…

SOUTH AFRICA - In a judgment handed down on Friday, the court found that it was unfair to exclude members of the church from the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms that the church offers.  These included the opportunity to get married in the church.  In 2015, the church decided to allow individual church councils to recognise same-sex marriages, and scrapped a rule that gay ministers of the church had to be celibate.  A year later, in 2016, the church adopted a new policy, scrapping the 2015 decision.  Reverend Laurie Gaum, his father Dr Frits Gaum and eight other members of the Dutch Reformed Church launched the High Court application to have the 2016 decision set aside and declared unconstitutional.

USA - Tuesday on Fox Business Network’s “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” economist and Hoover Institution senior fellow Thomas Sowell offered his thoughts on what appears to be a comeback for the popularity of socialism in the United States. Sowell explained that some of the blame could be put on the media and educational institutions in the country for not doing a better job of putting socialism to the test. “Unfortunately, neither our educational system nor our media encourage people to test ideas against facts,” Sowell said. “Socialism is a wonderful sounding idea. It’s only as a reality, it is disastrous.”

USA - Thomas Sowell, a living legend in the field of economics, says he fears the US may eventually succumb to the siren song of socialism… the US may very well go down a path of financial ruin due to “wonderful-sounding” rhetoric. Mr Sowell, a Marxist in his youth, made the remarks Tuesday while appearing with Fox Business Network’s David Asman. “I do have a great fear that, in the long run, we may not make it,” Mr Sowell said. The author said that time and time again, people adopt willful ignorance regarding socialism’s track record around the world.

USA - US President Donald Trump has announced his intention to end preferential trade treatment for India, accusing New Delhi of failing to convince Washington it will provide “equitable and reasonable” access to its markets. “I am providing notice of my intent to terminate the designation of India as a beneficiary developing country under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program,” Trump said in a letter to Congress on Monday. “I am taking this step because, after intensive engagement between the United States and the Government of India, I have determined that India has not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets of India.” Further deterioration of the cozy trade relationship with Washington could prove problematic for India, for which the US serves as its second largest export market with 16 percent.

GERMANY - When the Iranian government celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, few celebrated outside regime rent-a-mobs in Tehran. After all, while the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini promised Iranians and diplomats that he had no interest in personal power and only wanted an Islamic democracy, he instead ushered in a dictatorship more brutal, corrupt, and capricious than the shah’s regime which he demonized.

ISRAEL - The latest confrontation over the “Gate of Mercy” (known as the Golden Gate, or in Hebrew, Sha’ar HaRachamim), which has been disputed in the past, reflects a new pact between the opponents of US President Donald Trump’s upcoming Mideast peace plan. That consists of the Palestinian Authority, Turkey and Jordan, all of whom are concerned about its future status on the Temple Mount. The present conflict is intended to give a clear message to anyone thinking of removing Jordan or the Palestinian Authority from their current or future position on the Temple Mount. The Jordanian-Palestinian concern is that the plan will weaken their position on the Temple Mount.

USA - Gone are the days when US consumers looked to the nightly news and print media as a trusted source of information, and especially if they hold conservative views, according to a new poll by the Columbia Journalism Review. Things are going from bad to worse for the US legacy media as its trust credentials have reached an all-time new low, as if that were possible. It has even achieved a lower trust rating than lawyers and members of Congress. Indeed, the cynicism on the street should have every mainstream media purveyor in a state of absolute panic. A whole new business model built on trust is desperately needed. But can the media deliver such a product? Nothing less than its survival depends upon it.

ISRAEL - A group of Israeli activists are calling on the government to establish a synagogue on the Temple Mount and open it for Jewish prayer. According to Asaf Fried, a spokesman for an association of organizations dedicated to Jewish rights on the Temple Mount, more than 50 leaders from across the religious spectrum gathered on Sunday to discuss the situation on the Temple Mount, known as Har Habayit in Hebrew. Participants included Rabbi Yehudah Glick (Likud), Baruch Marzal (Otzma) and members of the Rabbinate. Jews believe the site – venerated as holy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike – is where the Beit Hamikdash used to sit. Fried said he believes that this time the goal can be accomplished because Israel is in an election period and politicians who can effect change will want to appear responsive.

EUROPE - One hundred and sixty-eight. That’s the number of pirate attacks there were in the Gulf of Aden in 2008. That number dropped to just three in 2014, thanks to Operation Atlanta, which was recently extended to the end of 2020. Behind this vast naval operation to secure shipping lanes off the Horn of Africa lies the European Union. “Despite what one might be led to believe, the European Union already conducts military operations, apart from Operation Atlanta, over thirty operations have taken place, notably in Africa,” explains Delphine Deschaux-Dutard a European defense analyst at the Centre for International Security and European Studies (Cesice). For her, things are straightforward: “Europe is an army politically and militarily.”