Freedom by Means of Authoritarianism

https://justandsinner.libsyn.com/how-the-modern-world-misunderstands-freedom-a-conversation-with-brad-littlejohn

Littlejohn of The Davenant Institute is an avowed disciple of the Doug Wilson sect and offers his appreciation to not only Wilson and Douglas Jones, but Peter Leithart. This reveals a great deal in terms of his formation.

A Dangerous Precedent Regarding Speech

https://consortiumnews.com/2025/02/07/medhurst-detained-by-austrian-police-accused-of-being-hamas-member-uk-investigation-against-him-extended/

Though this story dates from February it is still relevant and still a source of concern. Increasingly Western governments are equating anti-Israel and anti-Zionist speech with being pro-Hamas and tantamount to expressing support for that democratically elected political organisation.

Meloni and the Judges

https://www.politico.eu/article/giorgia-melonis-italy-judges-viktor-orban-hungary-albania-rome-court-russia-war-ukraine/

Meloni's policy has mostly been to tack toward the centre, which has given her great credibility and standing within the EU Establishment. But as the article points out, there's still a very ugly Right-wing side to her domestic policy. Politically it's brilliant as it doesn't allow domestic rivals like Matteo Salvini to outflank her, but I think it's also indicative of her true colours and the nature of her political pedigree.

Wikileaks, Internews, and USAID

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/wikileaks-reveals-us-spent-4726m-to-promote-covert-censorship-media-control-through-ngo/3476741

This linked article comes from a Turkish news source. As expected this Wikileaks revelation isn't getting a lot of coverage in the West.

Some are happy to see USAID collapse because of it ties to US intelligence operations. The article (in the AKP-aligned news outlet) mentions Soros and yet a closer read of the historical record reveals that far from being some agent of Internationalist Globalism or Socialism, George Soros was one of the American Empire's 'point' men in the 1980's and 1990's in Eastern Europe. As soon as the Berlin Wall came down, the US sought to consolidate power in Eastern Europe and worked with Soros and many others to subvert politics, create political parties, and spread money around to quickly shift the former Warsaw Pact nations into the EU and NATO. It was highly successful and played no small role in today's tensions with Moscow.

Gabbard Sells Out on FISA

https://consortiumnews.com/2025/01/15/patrick-lawrence-the-predictable-capitulation-of-tulsi-gabbard/

Gabbard was one of those interesting people that captured a lot of attention from the Left and within Alternative Media circles for her opposition to the war in Syria and her general scepticism regarding US foreign policy at the time. It was the second or late phase of the War on Terror - the fallout from the Arab Spring, the campaigns in Syria and Libya, and the war against ISIS. She was a backer of Bernie Sanders and generally speaking had become a pariah to the DNC Establishment. The GOP viewed her as something akin to a traitor.

New Religious Legislation in Kyrgyzstan

https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-authorities-seek-expanded-powers-to-regulate-religious-affairs

This new set of laws is in keeping with everything we've come to expect with the authoritarian states of Central Asia which emerged with the fall of the Soviet Union. The Eurasianet article is incorrect. Kyrgyzstan is not a secular society at all, but rather one in which Islam is the officially favoured religion with other traditional groups (such as Eastern Orthodoxy) tolerated.

Syria and Gaza: Creeping Authoritarianism in the UK and the War on Adversarial Journalism

https://consortiumnews.com/2024/10/18/police-escalate-britians-war-on-independent-journalism/

The recent Israel-Gaza War has been eye-opening. We're literally witnessing the normalizing of a genocide. I feel it's something of a watershed. This sort of butchery has taken place before - in Vietnam for example. And while everyone talks about the media's role in reporting that war and supposedly undermining it, the truth is they barely scratched the surface. The fact that their on-the-ground reporting was (and is) considered controversial by some is a testimony to how well conditioned the public was up to that point. It was not adversarial (by my estimations) but just the reporting and the footage was enough to upset the public and lead to a questioning.

Europe's New Black Nobility and America's Christian Right

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/13/alito-supreme-court-far-right-ties

If you follow Right-wing politics in Europe or even Traditionalist Catholic politics then you're sure to encounter Gloria von Thurn und Taxis. The Guardian article in question provides a quick overview of the circles she inhabits which overlap with those of Samuel Alito. Her activities are not illegal - the article is focusing primarily on the corruption within the US Supreme Court and the ever expanding circles of Right-wing Catholicism.

Democracy in Crisis

https://theworld.org/segments/2024/09/18/democracy-is-under-strain-across-the-globe

Advocates for democracy are concerned. The once seemingly inevitable and unstoppable 'progress' of their system seems to be struggling. Some would say it's under strain, others would put in more stringent terms and simply say that democracy is in a state of crisis. They would point not just to the rise of authoritarian regimes but the strain on democracy within Europe and the evident fragility of the American system - supposedly the very nexus of modern democracy, the nation upon which the narrative depends.

Homosexuality in Woke Communist China

https://www.scmp.com/sport/paris-olympics-2024/article/3272119/chinas-cctv-stunned-silence-lgbtq-scene-paris-olympics-opening-ceremony

I used to enjoy watching the Olympics. Some years we'd even have cable turned on for a month so we could watch them. But at some point the debauchery (and the sundry base and vulgar ads) became too unbearable and so we gave up. I wasn't at all surprised to hear about all the filth in the opening ceremony - I did not watch it.

Dictators and Drug Dealers: America's Dissonant Practice of Celebrating the Fall of its Allies and Activist Deaths that Don't Matter

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/3/17/the-criminal-hypocrisy-of-hernandezs-drug-conviction-in-a-us-court

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/honduras-president-arrested/

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/01/years-after-berta-caceres-is-there-new-hope-for-justice

The death of Alexei Navalny received around-the-clock coverage and it was simply assumed that Putin ordered it and yet when someone like Berta Caceres of Honduras is killed, virtually no one in Western (and certainly American) media seems to care and suggestions of American involvement are met with scoffs.

Congress and Big Tech: Hypocrisy and Blindness all on Sides

https://breakpoint.org/big-tech-families-and-the-role-of-government/

As we've come to expect, Stonestreet is less than helpful in addressing the salient issues. This time it's about families, technology, and the state. It continues to astonish me that parents have so little oversight or influence over their children that they are unable to curtail the problems associated with Smartphones and social media.

Persecution in Uzbekistan

https://evangelicalfocus.com/world/21528/police-raid-baptist-easter-service-and-detain-10-church-members-in-uzbekistan

This reporting relies on Forum 18 which as I contended last year is problematic, as the organisation is a little too cozy with the European Establishment. That said, (as with the Mariupol pastor story from October 2022), this is not to say the story isn't true. It's more of a warning to be sceptical of the source and to realize that despite their claims – they're not neutral or apolitical observers.

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.

Building on the Foundation of the Christo-MAGA Shift

https://religiondispatches.org/inside-natcon-the-elite-movement-laying-the-foundation-for-a-maga-that-will-outlast-trump-and-remake-america-part-i/

This article doesn't reveal anything that I haven't already read in numerous books and articles that have appeared over the past twenty years. Every few years reports emerge of some new conference or gathering that reveals the direction that these political movements are headed. They represent the nexus of Christian-Right activism, academia, and the political order. It's always changing but always the same.

There are a few noteworthy exceptions and points worth highlighting in the case of this article.

The Shifting Sands of the China-Covid Narrative

Have you noticed the shift in coverage regarding China? For months Western media outlets have voiced criticism regarding Beijing's Zero-Covid policy. They referred to it as draconian and despite the fact that only a few thousand people have died within a country over a billion people – as ineffective.

War and the Authoritarian Clampdown in Russia

People seem shocked that Vladimir Putin is making aggressive moves to silence dissent and punish social nonconformity. They shouldn't be and I'm not just saying that because it's Vladimir Putin. All states, whether already authoritarian-leaning entities such as Russia and China or even so-called liberal democracies like the United States, resort to some form of internal clampdown whenever the war machine is running under full steam.

The Living Legacies of Forgotten Wars: El Salvador

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/8/30/keeping-up-disappearances-in-el-salvador

The El Salvador Civil War (1979-1992) was in some respects ignored even while it was taking place. It received some coverage, and there were some flashpoints and massacres, namely the raped and murdered nuns, and most famously the dramatic assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980.

Mammon, Technology, and the Road to Dystopia

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/18/1087446715/heres-how-americans-view-facial-recognition-and-driverless-cars

Some people embrace these new technologies and some don't. Some are concerned with the role they're playing in our lives and are afraid of what they're doing to society. Others are optimistic and filled with hope and even revel in their potential.

The Saudi Alliance and the False Claims of the American Establishment Regarding Autocracy and Authoritarianism

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/03/09/lockheed-military-manufacturing-saudi/

Biden and others in the American Establishment have sought to cast the new Cold War in terms of the Liberal Democracies versus the Authoritarian States. This claim is as farcical as the Capitalist Free World versus the Communist Bloc of the first Cold War. The truth is always far more complicated.