https://cne.news/article/4817-in-italy-antisemitism-seems-to-be-on-the-rise
This kind of conflation of Anti-Zionism and Anti-Semitism has become a self-fulfilling prophecy as seen with the Minneapolis Shooter or in the case (as cited in the article) of the French-Jewish tourists in Italy.
https://cne.news/article/4772-seven-books-to-sharpen-your-christian-worldview
The article's set-up leads me to believe that once again the evocation of 'worldview' is not in the sense of a comprehensive and coherent system of thought but rather the rubber-stamping of an agenda. As such, it is in keeping with its frequent use within American Evangelicalism.
https://cne.news/article/4780-as-war-looms-in-europe-some-christians-pursue-pacifism
Articles such as this are always going to grab my attention. I was disappointed to read the statement of Fernando Enns who apparently is unfamiliar with the argument that taking up arms in warfare is viewed by war-advocates as self-defense on a large scale, or even better they will argue that invading a country is an act of love - defending people from a murderous tyrant for example.
One might wish that Evangelical leaders would be a little more familiar with history. If so, they might raise an eyebrow at the sabre-rattling of politicians and be a little more cynical of their motivations. Make no mistake, many are motivated by nationalist interests vis-a-vis Atlanticism or the EU. Others are simply in line to profit from military expansion and militarism.
https://cne.news/article/1753-giorgia-meloni-woman-mother-and-christian
This article proudly proclaims Meloni's roots and ties to the MSI - the Italian Social Movement, the pro-Mussolini party that was founded in the aftermath of the war. The party would splinter in 1995 with one faction merging into Berlusconi's movement and the rest into smaller parties such as the Lega Nord (just Lega today) and the National Alliance (AN) - the party that Meloni cut her teeth in. Her Brothers of Italy (FdI) emerged from the AN, but the Mussolini-based roots are clear not only terms of political-institutional pedigree but ideology.
We all knew that Trump was going to tear NATO apart. After less than a month in office the process has already begun in earnest. I watched coverage of the Vance speech in US media and let's just say they're not covering the real scope and impact of what the vice-president said - let alone the response or the larger context going back to the first Trump administration and before.
https://www.politico.eu/politico-28-class-of-2025/
As expected, Giorgia Meloni is ranked as the most powerful person in Europe. When Angela Merkel stepped down it was Macron's time but he squandered it and was sidelined by his own domestic troubles. Meloni has (in part) triangulated the Right and as such stayed within the fold of the EU Establishment. At the same time her triangulation has allowed her to stay within the sphere of elements far to her Right but most importantly of all - she has successfully shifted the EU itself to the Right. Ursula von der Leyen has embraced Meloni for her own political survival.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/opinion/the-brief-europes-guantanamo/
Syria has been out of everyone's mind for a number of years and as such the public has forgotten about these prisoners - tens of thousands of ISIS members and affiliates still held in prison camps. The article is absolutely correct in pointing out that the Turkish backed militias could lead the Kurds to abandon these camps and thousands of these Salafist fighters could be once more on the loose.
https://baptistnews.com/article/people-are-dying-in-africa-but-the-world-doesnt-notice/
https://www.democracynow.org/2023/1/13/european_migrant_crisis_rescue_volunteers_trial
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/7/12/dead_calm
Over the past decade, tens of thousands of refugees have died attempting to get to Europe. Many are war widows and orphans attempting to escape impossible situations. They're coming from as far away as Afghanistan and Sub-Saharan Africa. Many have fled the wars in places like Libya and Syria.
Parties and politicians formerly aligned with Eurosceptic elements have accumulated a great deal of power and now stand near the pinnacle of the EU hierarchy. They're not there yet and they remain divided but were these Right-wing nationalist groups to come together - Brussels could be theirs.
https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/turkiye-and-brics-step-toward-more-multipolar-future
https://www.trtworld.com/turkiye/turkiyes-brics-bid-is-response-to-eu-membership-delay-18210122
Erdogan announced that Türkiye would be joining the ever expanding BRICS bloc in 2022, but just last month (September 2024) he made it official and Ankara has now officially applied for membership.
https://apnews.com/article/viktor-orban-hungary-romania-eu-3ea649669de75d13b0ba3585c0e83239
The lead article alludes to the Habsburg Empire but then proves less than accurate in some of its historical statements. Orban does indeed have Habsburg allies but the article isn't really about the Habsburgs. The article touches on his grand vision, the supposed reconstitution of the Habsburg realm, but the story is really in the numbers. These reveal the rightward shift that's taking place in Europe and (I think) sheds light on Orban's more immediate machinations. It's clear he's thinking a couple of steps ahead, preparing for the next European Parliamentary election in 2029.
https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-hungary-culture-war-woke-brussels/
There is a circularity of inspiration for these Right-wing movements. US politicians, movements, and media outlets have inspired the likes of Viktor Orban in Hungary. Given the political climate of his country and its much smaller population, Orban has been successful in actually implementing some of these policies. As such he's become a hero to American Right and now political actors in the US are looking to Orban for inspiration when it comes to their strategies and style.
https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-braces-for-far-right-wave-as-eu-election-looms/
It's too difficult to tell if there will be a Right-wing wave in the June 2024 EU Parliamentary Elections. For years the Right has been predicted to win in France and yet always seems to fail in the second round. In other words, when it comes down to it, people are willing to vote strategically rather than stick to one party come what may. It's a definite difference when compared to the US winner-take-all system - one that makes a two-party duopoly all but inevitable.
*This article was written on 13 May, two days before the assassination attempt which is briefly addressed at the conclusion of this piece.
Brussels has another dissident nation on its hands. On the one hand Slovakia is part of the Visegrad Four (V4), a bloc which has long resisted the EU bureaucracy. But this bloc has been fragmented if not shattered by the war in Ukraine. Poland and the Czech Republic are 'all in' with the EU and NATO, while Hungary and now Slovakia dissent. As such the foreign policy of the bloc is at odds with itself.
The fact that these Evangelicals in Austria are reaching out to politicians did not particularly surprise me – but it does concern me.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67634959
There is an evident reciprocity taking place between Italy's Right-wing coalition government and Brussels. On the one hand, Brussels is moving in the direction of Meloni when it comes to her government's posture toward immigration. Under the guise of the humanitarian concern and anti-smuggling measures, the EU is doing all it can to curb immigration – even to the point of arming and paying North African regimes. We're seeing the same thing in North America with US attempts to curtail immigration in Central America, long before the migrants actually reach the border region.
Building bridges to society is basically another way of saying – find as much common ground as you can and try to redeem what you can. It sounds noble and well-intentioned but history demonstrates it's a formula for compromise and eventually capitulation.
Investment is always viewed through the lens of economic
legitimacy – both as a means and an end. But it also needs to be understood that
a flood of money invariably generates corruption.
This article has been in the queue for a few weeks and I
might have tossed it aside other than it struck me today (24 June) of how absurd
it is in many respects even as NATO continues to push the narrative about the
threat of Russia. Russia has been exposed today as a nation in a state of
instability and peril. Not only did Putin's forces fail to take Kyiv in 2022,
he has now faced a very threatening mutiny and this is even in light Ukraine's
failed spring 2023 offensive. Putin looks weak in the eyes of the world.
