Christian Celebrities and their Fraudulent Testimonies

Why do I have to keep hearing about Kathy Ireland? Why are these people celebrated for their supposed faith? The woman became famous in the 1980's for taking her clothes off. Tame by today's standards, this was a more innocent time and a publication like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition was a big deal for teenage boys and young men – that was a lot of skin to lust over. It wouldn't even grab anyone's attention today but for years that magazine's annual release was a cultural moment and viewed as scandalous by anyone with a moral compass.

Lukoil and Italy

https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/russias-lukoil-reaches-deal-to-sell-italian-refinery/

It's surprising to me that this transaction wouldn't be considered in violation of sanctions as it is effectively a business transaction with a Russian company. Lukoil may not be directly targeted but the spectrum of sanctions is sweeping enough that I'm sure regulatory officials and prosecutors could make a case to block this sale if they wanted to.

Exposing Bolton

https://daniellarison.substack.com/p/boltons-big-error-on-china-and-north

Larison states what should be obvious to all – John Bolton is not qualified to speak on this topic. His record as a warmonger and miscalculator is well-established.

The Drug War: Corruption and Cover-up at the Highest Levels

https://www.reuters.com/legal/former-mexican-drug-czar-heads-trial-accused-aiding-el-chapo-2023-01-23/

https://theintercept.com/2023/01/18/genaro-garcia-luna-trial/

Ten days after winning the Mexican presidency in 2006, and encouraged by the Bush administration, Felipe Calderon launched the Mexican Drug War. Less than two decades later over 500,000 are dead and even these figures are misleading as they don't include all of the tangential deaths involved in connection to drugs – nor do mere numbers explain what the war has meant for the industry, its markets, and societies ranging from South America to the Canadian border.

The Nordstream Sabotage and the Ukraine War Narrative

https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/claims-of-u-s-involvement-in-nord-stream-attack-draw-scrutiny

Mainstream media has all but ignored Seymour Hersh's latest Substack piece in which he states emphatically something that many of us have suspected all along – that the Nordstream Pipelines were sabotaged by the US Navy.

Contextualising US Hypocrisy and Why China has Nothing to Lose in Arming Russia

The hypocrisy of the United States knows no boundaries. We've seen this time and again, but it's still shocking to behold.

The latest episode is with regard to Ukraine. The US is threatening that China would be crossing a red line if it provides lethal arms and other weaponry to Russia. It would be unacceptable.

Beck the Ecumenical Puppet Master

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUxZeEaa7BI

I had not realized to just what extent Glenn Beck was reaching out and engaged in a kind of functional if informal ecumenism. I knew he had made tremendous inroads into the Evangelical sphere deceiving many people into thinking him a Christian. And now apparently he's even gaining traction among Roman Catholics.

Germany: Anti-Nazi Laws Turned Against Those Opposing Fascism

https://unac.notowar.net/2023/02/05/peace-activist-sentenced-for-criticizing-german-war-policy-in-ukraine/

This story makes one's head spin. Peace activists opposing German policy and state support for Ukraine (especially in light of Germany's history with Russia) are now being punished by laws that ostensibly would have been drafted to silence Nazis and Neo-Fascists in the post-war setting.

Putting Pressure on Türkiye

https://thecradle.co/article-view/20848/us-treasury-official-issues-warning-to-turkiye-uae-regarding-evasion-of-sanctions

These are stressful times for the AKP leadership in Ankara and many wonder if its long tenure is nearing its end. Erdogan has been on the West's blacklist for years but his recent moves to block Sweden from joining NATO have earned him a new set of enemies and with elections in the spring, the pressure is starting to mount. These moves by the US Treasury Department are only going to pour fuel on an already intensely burning fire.

The Christian Post on Super Bowl Athletes and Newsmax

Two headlines at The Christian Post recently caught my eye. As expected the Evangelical outlet wants to praise the Christian football players involved in the Super Bowl.

Assessing Musharraf's Tenure 1999-2008

Here we go, I thought as I heard the BBC lead-in on the death of Pervez Musharraf. As expected the story was for the most part an exercise in spin and disingenuous reflection.

Libyan Gas and Italian Finance

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/italy-and-libya-reach-8b-deal-on-offshore-gas-development

Money is moving all around and when you take a moment and squint through the fog you realize that in the deal, Italy is getting more military cooperation to block migrants – Libya being one of the primary hubs for the refugee trails coming out of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Spinning Myanmar

BBC's Newshour recently ran a story on Myanmar and the forgotten internal war that country faces, a conflict exacerbated by the February 2021 coup and takeover by the military. Two years later, the news outlet wanted to revisit the story – or so it seemed.

A Ukraine Miscellany XVII: Orwell's Ghost and Western Double-Speak

The Orwellian nature and blatant contradictions of the Western narratives surrounding The Ukraine War continue to become more pronounced – sometimes to the point of being comic.

South Africa, BRICS, and Ukraine

South Africa has been catching quite a bit of flak as of late from the Western media. The ruling ANC has refused to openly condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and worse, they are planning to participate in military exercises in February with both China and Russia.