https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/01/court-upholds-ruling-against-two-ex-managers-of-vatican-bank
A Vatican appellate court has upheld the conviction of two
clerics in a corruption and money laundering scandal that dates back almost a
decade.
Does this represent a slap on the wrist or a sign of real reform
in the notoriously corrupt and scandal-ridden institution?
This experiment is noteworthy because if successful it could
be transformative and mark the beginning of a new energy economy. Utilising
coal, Australia has produced hydrogen which is then liquefied. It is now being
brought to Japan by tanker where it can be used in a variety of industries and
applications.
In times past you wouldn't have found a Western-connected
Evangelical group sympathizing with the plight and positions of the Orthodox
world and indeed were Djokovic a Russian, the response would have likely been
different.
In the grand scheme of things the death of rock singer Meat Loaf (Marvin Aday) is hardly important. The news brought back some memories of school years and learning he was an anti-vax proponent I immediately thought of the joke that is certain to circulate – that he would do anything for love but he wouldn't do that (get a vaccine).
On a more serious note, a couple of quick reflections...
https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/canada/Remembering-a-Legacy-of-Faith-From-Canadian-Labor-Camps/
https://www.e-know.ca/regions/east-kootenay/kootenay-park-conscientious-objector-camps/
Juxtaposing these two articles on Canadian Jehovah's
Witnesses during WWII reveals something of how this group perceives itself and
how it is perceived and misunderstood by those outside it.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/12/23/indonesia-sukhoi-us-french-planes/
These types of stories appear on a regular basis. One can't
read too much into them or overplay their meaning but they reveal something of
the behind the scenes struggle between the powers.
https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-geopolitics-of-dead-georgian-in.html
Accused Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov has been found guilty
of the 2019 murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili – Chechen militant living in
Germany. The verdict is no surprise and it has led to tit-for-tat diplomatic
expulsions.
From the moment he was elected in 2017, the US has not been
happy with South Korean president Moon Jae-in. A member of the Korean Left and
insufficiently militant, he represents the political heritage in South Korea
that has been resistant to US domination – the same faction which began to
openly rebel from US control in the late 1980's. In South Korea and the rest of
the world, this period marks South Korea's embrace of democracy and the setting
aside of US-sponsored authoritarian rule.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Comprehensive_Economic_Partnership
With the turn of the calendar the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) went into effect on 1 January 2022. Initially meant
to counter the US attempt to re-shape Asian diplomacy and trade by means of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the RCEP represents a geopolitical and
diplomatic victory for Beijing – another sore blow to US hegemony in the
Asia-Pacific.
This article needs to be read, especially by many of the people
I know who believe that racism is effectively a dead issue. In their middle
class suburban-shaped minds, the claims of racism made by today's Left are akin
to showboating, a case of dog whistle and identity politics that play to a
base.
https://news.yahoo.com/cruz-offers-swap-nord-stream-181728222.html
No one can seriously accuse the Democrats of being soft on
Russia. If anything they've led the militaristic charge against Moscow since
the late Obama administration. In 2014, the US backed a coup in Ukraine leading
to the Russian annexation of the Crimea and Putin's open support for
separatists in the Donbass – the already rocky relationship quickly soured. And
when Russia intervened in the US proxy war in Syria, and thwarted plans to oust
Assad, relations grew hostile.