VOX: the Global Right and Condor 2.0

https://today.in-24.com/News/499825.html

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/10/22/spai-o22.html

In the Madrid Forum are found the seeds for Operation Condor 2.0, a reiteration or reincarnation of the Right-wing campaign launched during the Cold War to dominate the politics of the Latin world (or Iberosphere), and to crush (by means of political maneuvering and violence), the forces of the Left.

And as before, the new iteration of the project finds its essential ally in the American Right.

Obstruction in El Salvador

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-elsalvador-massacre/el-salvadors-president-says-military-files-on-civil-war-massacre-were-destroyed-idUKKCN26G2J7

Pardon my cynicism but it's rather convenient that the files regarding one of the most notorious massacres in Salvadoran Civil War, one perpetuated by the US trained and backed Atlacatl Battalion have seemingly disappeared.

DeMint and Heritage

https://caffeinatedthoughts.com/2017/05/jim-demint-heritage-foundation/

If Heritage is indeed going to be 'torn apart' by this 'coup' against PCA member Jim DeMint, then I say tear away.

Heritage has been a force for evil, virtually writing the policy of the Reagan, Bush II and now Trump administrations. This 'think-tank' and its operatives have helped to implement policies of economic exploitation and warmongering. From Latin America to Africa and Asia, it was Heritage and the people within its orbit that helped unleash a stream of violent paramilitary and terrorist actions that still reverberate across the world.

Politics over research? Research? Propaganda is more like it. Heritage has churned out an endless stream of statistical manipulations, revisionist history and outright lies. Heritage has never been one to do research with an objective aim. The bias is built in. This is the nature of think-tanks. They're not to be trusted.

The Heritage Howse of Cards

Brannon Howse runs a popular 'discernment ministry'. Of course the only discernment one requires is to determine that he's something of a charlatan.

I stumbled on his worldview survey and from the get-go I knew what it was. It was a scam. It's the same kind of survey that The Heritage Foundation sends out. The questions are completely rigged.

Brave Christians on the Tumen Frontier

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/02/10/Report-China-arrests-four-Christian-missionaries-near-North-Korea-border/8641486780703/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=14

There's an ongoing, heroic and very moving story that's been taking place in North Korea and in China's nearby region of Manchuria. It's a story of missionaries, refugees and an underground railroad. It's often a sad and very cruel story and yet there are some real shining lights, people who are labouring as Christians to reach out to escapees and in some cases help them embark on the long road to a new life in South Korea.

Ukrainian Intrigues at the National Prayer Breakfast

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-ukraine-russia-sanctions-234631

What is most remarkable to me about this article is that Yulia Tymoshenko who had all but disappeared from the public eye after her release from prison and failed election bid in 2014 is apparently still in the picture... but operating somewhat in the background.

Health Insurance: Risk or Access?

As it would seem Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as ObamaCare is under attack and faces repeal, I've noticed a certain way of speaking is starting to crop up once again.

Insurance is being referred to as a question of calculated risk and this definition is being used to discredit concepts like comprehensive coverage and even the idea of access.

And yet it must be remembered that the latter is actually the key issue. For the working class and the poor, health insurance is not a question of calculated risk. This is how the upper class and some of the middle class approach the question.

Russian State Persecution, Western Money and the Heritage Foundation

There are a growing number of reports regarding Russian state harassment of Evangelical groups. They're being bullied about property, registration and in some cases fund raising. The state is making it clear that they're not particularly welcome and they're being watched.

These actions are starting to garner attention from Evangelical leaders and ministries. Of course this also dovetails nicely with the US Establishment's propaganda campaign directed at Moscow and the march to war.

Arbitration, Corporate Interests, the ACA and Pilgrim Ethics

http://www.npr.org/2015/11/12/455749456/have-we-lost-a-constitutional-right-in-the-fine-print

This discussion on the Arbitration system was for the most part a rehash of information and arguments that are well known. The corporations hate and detest Class Action lawsuits. As with most issues, it's complicated. There are good arguments against Class Action suits and yet there's no doubt that many of them are essentially frivolous endeavours that accomplish little more than enriching lawyers.

The Heritage Foundation and the Military-Industrial Complex

https://theintercept.com/2015/09/15/heritage-foundation/

This is hardly a real shocker but it does aid in exposing the corrupt nature of Think Tanks and provide some insight into how they function within the larger system. The Heritage Foundation is one of the worst. It has quite a record of blood on its hands. Hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of their policies being implemented.

The Tragedy of Angola Lives On

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/05/06/christian-sect-killings-in-angola-shrouded-in-fear-and-mystery/

I'm sorry to say it but US backing of UNITA and Christian involvement through groups like the Heritage Foundation through the 1970's and 80's did not help the situation and the societal tension it has fostered.

A Rebuttal of False Claims Regarding Two Kingdom Theology and Non-violence in the Face of Tyranny

Since I am called 'ranter', I will indeed rant. Sometimes it's called for.

It is a complete and malicious falsehood that somehow the theology of non-violence, the application of the Sermon on the Mount to ethics, that the separatist form of Two Kingdom thinking means the Church just goes to sleep and allows the Hitler's of the world to rise up. I was accused of this again just the other day and I have to say I find this sort of accusation to be nothing less than astonishing. Nothing makes me feel like I'm living in some Orwellian distorted nightmare than for people to accuse me of being and allowing what they in fact are.

Some Historical and Theological Commentary on Unger's The Fall of the House of Bush

This is not a book review per se, rather some selected comments regarding this work that pertain to the larger set of issues frequently discussed here. Unger weaves together a tale of the Bush family and the social forces at work that helped bring Reagan to power...with HW Bush in tow and of course later GW Bush as the saviour of the Christian Right. People have forgotten. For all the talk of Obama as being treated as 'messiah', it wasn't that different in 2000-2001. It was Unger's discussion of the Christian Right and how it interplayed with American and international politics that most interested me.

Different Faces of Evil and How Sometimes the Lost Still Seek Truth

Here's a tough lesson to explain to your kids. Mine are now mostly teenagers and while they can certainly grasp more than they could a few years ago, in some ways it's getting more and more complicated. I'm sure those of you who have adult children will smile and nod your head. You've already been down this road.

We've been talking about the Mexican-American War and I found this recent video from RT. I realize many people hate RT (Russia Today) and consider it to be nothing less than Russian propaganda.