The Latest Echo of the Shapur Effect

https://www.churchinchains.ie/news-by-country/middle-east/iran/iran-state-media-accuses-recently-arrested-christians-of-espionage/

In the 3rd and 4th centuries large numbers of Christians lived in Persia - and given that the Roman Empire persecuted them, they were welcome. Rome and Persia had already been engaged in centuries of war and it would continue until the 7th century and the Islamic conquest. Persia was a haven for these Christian communities.

Project Esther's McCarthyite Campaign

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/31/what-is-project-esther-the-playbook-against-pro-palestine-movement-in-us

Likud has long collaborated with the GOP, not only on issues such as Project Esther, but in partisan politics as well. Time and again, Israel has helped Republicans undermine not only presidents' Clinton, Obama, and Biden, but other figures connected to the Democratic Party. They work in tandem, with common interests.

Media Cover-ups and Fragmentation over Gaza Policy

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-civil-war-erupts-over-gaza-as-gop-rep-says-starve-away/

In some respects it seems like the situation in Gaza is getting less and less coverage even while the situation remains acute, with at least dozens dying every day, killed by bullets, bombs, starvation, or other forms of deprivation. The media is derelict and refuses to properly cover the story nor the fact that Israel has killed over two hundred journalists, and is clearly unwilling for anyone to do on the ground reporting.

The Grand Chessboard 2.0? - Central Asia, Iran, Israel, and the Shah

There's so much that could be said right now about events in the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Iran and the potential for a wider war including the United States and others.

For my part I think about scenarios in which the war could go sideways or the aftermath of a regime collapse.

A Tepid Rebuke of Huckabee at Best - A Whitewashing of Evil at Worst

https://theaquilareport.com/christians-stop-calling-them-monsters/

This was a bit of a frustrating read. Marion is correct in saying that terms like 'monster' get overused and an appeal can be made to that end regarding the imago dei, however any appeal to Genesis 1 must also take in the fall, the curse, death, and the fear and dread (Genesis 9) that man spreads upon the Earth - points he seemingly does not take into account.

Family Life's Latest News Farce

I caught a few minutes of the Family Life Network's (FLN) news segment the other day and I was struck by how fuzzy the line gets between mis- and disinformation. It's also noteworthy how much the network has shifted to the Right in recent years - though it's nowhere near American Family Radio (AFR) or even local stations like WDCX out of Buffalo, New York - other stations I pick up at times when I'm out and about.

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.

Spinning Yemen and Syria

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5341420/syrias-transitional-leader-is-a-former-jihadist-can-he-help-stabilize-the-region

This interview was informative to a point. It was also striking in that it attempted to spin the HTS takeover of Syria. The US Establishment is so ecstatic that Assad is gone, they are willing to spin the situation in order to assuage public fears. While Robert Worth suggested Israel is less than pleased - as demonstrated by their seizure of territory beyond the Golan Heights, and the numerous strikes to cripple that nation's military capability, I still felt like the whole question of Jolani/al-Sharaa was viewed through an Israeli lens.

Christian Radio, Deceitful Stunts, and Distortions of Reality

The other day I was working within range of the American Family Radio (AFR) signal and I caught some of Todd Herman's show. He suggested the globalists had taken over American foreign policy and that the United States had been actively involved in the manipulation of Ukrainian politics. He pulled out material and clips from 2014 of Victoria Nuland and others to make his point. It was almost like I was listening to Democracy Now or The Grayzone.

Lindsey Graham Wants to Bomb Iran - Again

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/19/graham-military-action-iran-nuclear-program-00199181

This story has almost been lost in the flurry of events over the past month but the issue is still live and the bomb-loving Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is still pressing for a strike on Iran.

Trump and South Africa

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/10/white-victimhood-to-g20-whats-behind-trumps-attacks-on-south-africa

The Trump administration has made the news recently with regard to South Africa and White farmers. I've been following the coverage and I must say I've found it frustrating. I think many outlets have more or less answered and/or explained the misleading nature of Trump's charges. A little more context would be helpful but such endeavours take time.

The Continuing Collapse of Israel's 7 October Narrative

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/israel-still-cant-find-any-7-october-rape-victims-prosecutor-admits

As Ali Abunimah of the Electronic Intifada was being detained and ultimately deported from Switzerland for his 'Anti-Semitic' views, Moran Gez the Israeli prosecutor has publicly admitted they have no evidence to suggest that rape occurred in connection with the 7 October 2023 attacks.

Stefanik's Anti-Semitic Connections and Confused Catholicism

https://religionnews.com/2024/11/14/elise-stefanik-jews-united-nations/

I recommend this article because even though it's far more pro-Israel than I would be, and far more critical of Anti-Zionism than I think warranted, the author nevertheless is sceptical of Elise Stefanik and her supposedly pro-Jewish credentials.

Spinning the Ceasefire in Gaza and Just About Everything Else

The news broke today regarding a Gaza ceasefire. Let us pray that it holds true. I reflected for a moment when someone pointed out how the fire devastation in Los Angeles has struck a chord with the American public. The pictures look not unlike the devastation in Gaza which is many magnitudes greater - but it doesn't impact the American public the same way. There's no comparison. It makes one think doesn't it?

Epstein and Tensions within the Israeli-American Alliance

https://consortiumnews.com/2024/11/05/israel-blackmail-the-presidents/

Not a few historians, analysts, and commentators wonder just who is in charge? Who is calling the shots in terms of the US-Israel relationship? At times it almost seems like Israel has the upper hand and steers the American ship - at least with regard to Middle Eastern policy.

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.

The Double Standard when it comes to Dead Journalists

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinian-journalist-killed-israeli-bombing-after-receiving-threats-end-gaza-coverage

This is just one of the endless outrages and hypocrisies associated with this war. One of the many war crimes ignored by the West as Israel pursues it genocidal campaign in Gaza.

The Justification and Whitewashing of War Crimes

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/10/feroze-sidhwa-new-york-times-children-gaza-shot-in-head-israel-palestine-doctor/

https://www.democracynow.org/2024/10/16/gaza_doctor

https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/t%C3%AAte-%C3%A0-t%C3%AAte/20241029-us-doctor-claims-israeli-snipers-target-child-in-gaza-no-child-gets-shot-twice-by-mistakea

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-doctors-gaza

Eighty years after World War II we have an army (ironically a Jewish one) behaving very much like the Nazis, and yet those who protest its actions and conduct are condemned and castigated for their immorality. The mainstream media supports this army and writes apologias for it and in some cases when it cannot stop the story - it censors photos or does whatever it can to soften the effect and the public's ability to perceive the nature and extent of Israeli war crimes.

Red Sea Shipping, Yemen, and Israel

https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ports-logistics/attacks-on-red-sea-shipping-bankrupt-israeli-port

https://themedialine.org/top-stories/eilat-still-shipless-houthis-strangle-port-city/

This is a story that has received little attention and it's noteworthy because it actually represents one area in which Israel has suffered economic harm from its wars - this even as Assad's rule over Syria collapses, Hezbollah is broken, Gaza is in ruins, and Iran is cowering, and more than fifty thousand have died. Yemen is the one exception, the holdout that continues to defy Israel and its American ally.

Media Coverage of Israel: Two Examples of Smoke, Mirrors, Deception, and Ignorance

https://theworld.org/segments/2024/10/23/northern-gaza-sees-intense-fighting-between-hamas-and-israel-as-civilians-forced-out

The other day I caught Robby Price on the Family Life Network express surprise (even irritation) at the notion that the US was spying on Israel. This was in reference to the leaked plans of Israel's coming attack on Iran - which is now underway. The US had satellite data and other intelligence tracking just what Israel was putting together for the attack - that is assuming it wasn't a deliberate and misleading leak. Of course the American's are privy to this information anyway and have sent one hundred US troops to Israel with missile defense batteries in preparation - yet another escalation of the growing Middle Eastern War.