Thursday, July 10, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

French parliament approves law legalizing euthanasia

Published 28 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
In the 21st century, several European countries have chosen to legalize euthanasia or assisted suicide - and now France is next.
3 minute read

The French parliament has voted to legalize active euthanasia, allowing healthcare providers to help terminally ill patients end their lives.

The bill was approved by the National Assembly with 305 votes in favor and 199 against, while a separate law on the right to palliative care was passed unanimously.

The new law, called the “law on end of life”, is described by the government as “an ethical response to the need to support the sick and the suffering“. It allows medical teams to decide whether a patient can have access to a lethal substance, either through self-administration or with the help of healthcare professionals.

To qualify, the patient must be over 18, have French citizenship or residency, and suffer from a “serious and incurable, life-threatening, advanced or terminal illness” that causes “constant, unbearable physical or psychological suffering” without relief. The patient must also express their wishes freely and in an informed manner.

The proposal was supported by President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist MPs and the left, while conservative and nationalist parties opposed it.

Socialist MP Stéphane Delautrette called the decision “historic” and compared it to the introduction of abortion rights or the abolition of the death penalty.

– The French people are ready for this, and we owe them this rendezvous with history.

May come into force next year

However, Patrick Hetzel (Les Républicains) was not nearly as enthusiastic, warning of the risks of allowing assisted suicide.

– It is illusory to and even dangerous to even think of debating a legalization of euthanasia without having first fully deployed proper access to palliative care, he argued.

France has previously allowed passive euthanasia and deep sedation, but active euthanasia required travel to neighboring countries such as Switzerland. Although the parliament has given its approval, the law must now be reviewed by the Senate and return to the National Assembly, and is expected to come into force sometime next year at the earliest.

In countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, and Portugal, active euthanasia is already permitted, and in Germany and Switzerland, physician-assisted suicide is permitted. In the UK, politicians will soon take a position on a bill to allow euthanasia.

Critics argue, however, that assisted suicide and active euthanasia risk undermining human dignity and opening up gray areas where vulnerable people, such as the elderly, the sick, or the disabled, may feel pressured or compelled to end their lives.

Risks becoming a quick and cheap solution

There are also warnings that legal certainty is lacking and that end-of-life care should be strengthened instead. Several experts have pointed out that access to palliative care is uneven and that euthanasia risks becoming a quick and cheap solution instead of offering relief, care, and support to those who need it most.

In several countries, euthanasia is not only provided to people with incurable and painful physical conditions, but also to those suffering from mental illness if this is considered to cause unbearable suffering.

Critics have pointed out, however, that mental illness is often treatable and that people in mental crisis need care and help to get better, rather than help to end their lives.

Experts have also emphasized that people suffering from deep depression or similar severe mental illness are not capable of making life-and-death decisions on their own, and that there is a real risk that mentally ill and highly vulnerable individuals will be pressured or persuaded to believe that death is the best option for them.

In Canada, where the rules are among the most liberal in the world, medically assisted dying accounted for nearly five percent of all deaths in the country in 2023.

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US issues sanctions against UN investigator who criticized Israel

The situation in Gaza

Published today 13:41
– By Editorial Staff
Francesca Albanese is the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022.
4 minute read

The Trump administration has decided to sanction Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, as part of the American campaign to silence critics of Israel’s actions in the ongoing war. This is reported by The Guardian.

In a text message to Al Jazeera, Albanese accuses the US of “mafia style intimidation techniques”.

The US State Department announced on Wednesday that the country is issuing sanctions against the independent official who is tasked with investigating human rights violations in the Palestinian territories. The decision comes after American pressure on the UN to remove Albanese from her position previously failed.

Francesca Albanese, who is a human rights lawyer, has been open with her criticism of what she describes as the “genocide” that Israel is carrying out against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the US, which provides Israel with military support, have firmly denied these allegations.

International legal scrutiny

Israel faces allegations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and war crimes at the International Criminal Court following the country’s devastating military assault on Gaza. Albanese’s position has also received support from leading genocide scholars and human rights organizations.

In a post on X late Wednesday evening, Albanese wrote that she stands “firmly and convincingly on the side of justice, as I have always done,” without directly mentioning the American sanctions. In a text message to Al Jazeera, she was quoted dismissing the US actions as “mafia style intimidation techniques“.

In recent weeks, Albanese has sent out a series of letters urging other countries to pressure Israel, including through sanctions, to end its deadly bombing of the Gaza Strip. The Italian citizen has also been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court’s prosecution of Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes.

Harsh American criticism

Most recently, she issued a report that named several American corporations among the companies helping with what she described as Israel’s occupation and war against Gaza.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented on the sanctions on social media:

– Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.

Albanese has been targeted for criticism by pro-Israeli officials and groups in the US and Middle East. Last week, the US UN mission issued a sharp statement demanding her removal for “years-long pattern of virulent antisemitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias”.

The statement claimed that Albanese’s allegations that Israel is committing genocide or apartheid are “false and offensive”.

Part of broader campaign

The sanctions represent the culmination of an extensive campaign over nearly six months by the Trump administration to silence criticism of Israel’s handling of the deadly war in Gaza, which is approaching two years. Earlier this year, the Trump administration began arresting and deporting faculty members and students at American universities who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities.

Human rights experts have sharply criticized the US sanctions against Albanese. Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the think tank Center for International Policy, described them as “rogue state behavior”, while Amnesty International said that UN Special Rapporteurs must be supported and not sanctioned.

Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International and former UN Special Rapporteur, stated:

– Governments around the world and all actors who believe in the rule-based order and international law must do everything in their power to mitigate and block the effect of the sanctions against Francesca Albanese and more generally to protect the work and independence of special rapporteurs.

Background to the conflict

Israel’s retaliation campaign after the events of October 7, 2023, has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were combatants or civilians. The figure is generally considered to be a significant underestimate.

Nearly 21 months into the conflict that has displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, it is almost impossible for the critically injured to receive the care they need, say doctors and aid workers.

Albanese said in a recent post on X:

We must stop this genocide, whose short-term goal is completing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, while also profiteering from the killing machine devised to perform it.

No one is safe until everyone is safe.

Francesca Albanese is an Italian jurist and human rights expert who has served as the UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories since 2022. She has a background in international law and has worked on issues concerning human rights, humanitarian law and conflict resolution. Albanese is known for her critical reports and analyses of the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, where she highlights the consequences of the Israeli occupation for the civilian population. Her work aims to promote justice, accountability and respect for international law in the region.

Russia now allows foreigners in the military

The war in Ukraine

Published today 9:39
– By Editorial Staff
Vladimir Putin with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
1 minute read

Non-Russian citizens will now be allowed to enlist in the military, according to a law signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The state-run Russian news agency Tass reports that the new law enables stateless persons and foreigners to sign contracts and serve in the Russian military until the end of the mobilization period, the lifting of the state of emergency, or the end of martial law in Russia.

The law is said to have been expedited “in order to take urgent additional measures to restaff the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” according to the explanation in the legal document.

After Iran bombing: Netanyahu nominates Trump for peace prize

Published yesterday 14:37
– By Editorial Staff
Trump and Netanyahu during the latest session at the White House.
1 minute read

Israel’s internationally wanted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the opportunity during a dinner at the White House to nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his bombings of Iran.

It’s well deserved, you should get it, Netanyahu said when he announced the nomination.

The statement comes in the context of Trump’s bombing raids against Iran, which were carried out in violation of both international law and the US Constitution.

Coming from you in particular this is very meaningful, Trump responded gratefully.

Netanyahu himself is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and is being investigated for genocide in Gaza, and also faces charges in Israel for corruption.

During the dinner, Donald Trump also announced that the US is resuming and scaling up arms deliveries for the war in Ukraine.

 

Trump administration accused of covering up Epstein investigation

The Epstein case

Published yesterday 12:44
– By Editorial Staff
3 minute read

The Trump administration is deliberately working to cover up the investigation surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. This is the claim made by American political commentator Nick Fuentes in a statement on X.

He argues that the administration, despite previous promises of transparency, is now lying about Epstein’s death and burying the story of his alleged blackmail ring. He also points to connections between Epstein and Israeli interests.

Jewish-American financier Jeffrey Epstein, previously convicted of sex crimes, was arrested in 2019 for sex trafficking of minors. His case gained global attention due to his close ties to influential figures in politics and business. Epstein died in his cell in August 2019, officially by suicide, but the circumstances have given rise to speculation that he was murdered. The investigation has since focused on his alleged blackmail operation, where he is accused of filming powerful individuals in compromising situations. Epstein was first charged in 2005 for soliciting minors for prostitution.

Despite serious charges, Epstein received an unusually lenient sentence in 2008, which according to Fuentes was due to his connections to intelligence services.

– Former Attorney General Acosta said (this goes back to 2008), Epstein is intelligence.

Allegations of cover-up

Fuentes’ central criticism is directed at the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein investigation. He claims that the administration has not only broken promises of openness but is actively working to conceal the truth.

– This is literally the opposite of what Trump supporters voted for. It’s the opposite. This is not only not disclosure, this is a cover-up.

According to Fuentes, the Department of Justice has now stated that Epstein committed suicide, that no client list exists (with politicians and business leaders who allegedly participated in the abuse, editor’s note) and that further investigations are unnecessary. He sees this as an attempt to end the discussion.

– Now they’re lying about it and covering it up. They’re actually burying it. They’re making it less accessible than before.

Fuentes also points to evidence from Epstein’s residences, where cameras and recording equipment were found, which he says supports the theory of a blackmail ring. He questions the Department of Justice’s claims that no such operation took place.

Connections to Israel and powerful actors

Fuentes highlights Epstein’s alleged connections to Israeli intelligence services, particularly Mossad. He mentions Epstein’s financial support from Jewish billionaires in the Mega Group, an organization that according to Fuentes promotes pro-Israeli interests.

– He got his money from Les Wexner and the Bronfman family from Mega Group. They’re both Israeli operators.

Fuentes also highlights that Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the daughter of Robert Maxwell, a British media mogul who is alleged to have been a Mossad agent.

– His girlfriend and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell was the daughter of Mossad super spy Robert Maxwell.

He argues that these connections suggest that Epstein may have operated a blackmail ring on Israel’s behalf, something he believes the Trump administration is now trying to conceal.

Timing and political motives

Fuentes notes that the Department of Justice’s statements about the Epstein case being closed coincided with a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House on July 7, 2025. He sees this as suspicious and connects it to the administration’s pro-Israeli stance.

– His pro-Israel deputy FBI director, buried and covered up the story of the pro-Israel blackmail organizer Jeffrey Epstein the same day that Netanyahu visited the White House for the third time.

He points to key figures like Kash Patel, Dan Bongino and Pam Bondi, whom he describes as strongly pro-Israeli, and questions their role in burying the story.

– Why, oh why, would the super Zionists, Pam Bondi and Dan Bongino, Pam Bondi being from the state of Florida, which is run by Jews, why would they bury the story of the Israeli spy running a blackmail ring known as Jeffrey Epstein? he questions ironically in conclusion.

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