What about Hunter Biden?

The controversy over Hunter Biden is being downplayed in some circles and great exaggerated in others. There is something to the story. Of this there can be no doubt and yet any story released by the Murdoch-affiliated New York Post should always be taken with a grain of salt. Of all his publications and outlets, that one (even though regularly utilised by FOX) is highly dubious and its journalistic standards are sub-par at best.

It comes down to this. Did the Biden's engage in anything illegal? At this point it doesn't seem to be the case. Are Hunter Biden's business dealings ethical? Of course not. Is Hunter Biden financially benefitting from his name and connections to his father? Obviously this is the case.

Taiwan Warnings

Taiwan watchers are nervous as there are some indications that China may act in light of an outbreak of election-related chaos in the United States. The argument is that if the transition of US power is in question and there is civil and economic upheaval, Beijing may decide to make its move against Taiwan.

Growing Anti-Chinese Sentiment in the Americas

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Protesters-shout-China-out-of-Argentina-51306.html

One would love to know more about the protests and whether or not money is being spread around. It is in Washington's interest that Latin America turns away from China and if such unrest happens to topple the Kirchner-affiliated government of Alberto Fernandez – there will be celebrations in both the State Department and on Wall Street.

Kyrgyzstan's Latest Round of Unrest

Central Asia is complicated. It's not the Balkans but it's not a region that's easily explained or understood. The current crisis in Kyrgyzstan can be summed as a struggle between two factions – one, the group headed by former president Almazbek Atambayev (2011-2017) who has been in and out of prison and was recently subjected to an assassination attempt.

The rival faction is represented by Sooronbay Jeenbekov who was president from 2017 until 15 October 2020 when he resigned and was replaced by Sadyr Japarov whom we will mention again below.

This is partly an internal struggle over control of the Kyrgyz political order. There's a great deal of corruption and shadowy business dealings, there are international players and as expected there are questions surrounding the black market, drugs and organised crime. Kyrgyzstan has emerged as a key point on the smuggling route between Afghanistan and the Russian Federation. There is also great mineral wealth which continues to play a part in the nation's struggles.

Bolivia: The MAS-Aymara Bloc Strikes Back

https://consortiumnews.com/2020/10/19/socialist-luis-arce-declares-victory-in-bolivia-election/

https://news.yahoo.com/bolivia-election-voters-head-polls-193341929.html

Get ready for it to get ugly in Bolivia. The American backed 2019 coup is being democratically rolled back and the Socialists (MAS) are on the brink of returning to power.

The Evangelical Pasztor

https://apnews.com/4296b5c0a5b2fe876b89f1c96ba7906c

This AP article ran in our local paper and since it mentioned Evangelicals it caught my eye. And then I was rather taken aback when I saw the Evangelical point man they chose to interview was none other than Laszlo Pasztor.

Trump +1365: Unanswered Questions Surrounding the Michigan Plot

This is a follow up to the previous piece found here:

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-michigan-plot.html

Until the time of Trump any president upon receiving news of a plot to kidnap a governor and violently take control of state capitol would have resulted in (at the very least) a personal phone call.

Neither Lead nor Pillows can Sharpen Iron

I have been an occasional listener to Iron Sharpens Iron for many years. The show hosted by Chris Arnzen has a sort of quasi-theonomic Calvinistic Baptist flair about it. Arnzen would (I think) deny being a Theonomist but he's strongly influenced by them and his baptistic rendering of theology definitely plays a prominent if unfortunate role in the tone of the show.

The Michigan Plot

At this point in time a lot of the details are still unknown. Was the plot to storm the capitol building and kidnap the governor the plan of one militia group or multiple groups?

Red Flags in Israel: A Tectonic Shift in Palestinian Politics

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/After-15-years,-Fatah-and-Hamas-agree-on-Palestinian-elections-51128.html

The recent US-motivated Arab peace deals with Israel, the so-called 'Abraham Agreements' have inadvertently healed old wounds. Hamas arose in the 1980's in response to Yasser Arafat's compromises – a perceived sellout that would eventually lead to the Oslo Accords in 1994.

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.

China Tensions and a Suspicious Fire

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/25/huge-fire-breaks-out-at-huawei-facility-in-china

The context for this potentially controversial fire is one of military drills, cat and mouse confrontations between the Chinese and American navies in the South China Sea and growing tensions over Taiwan.

Palantir Goes Mainstream

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/sep/25/palantir-valuation-shares-new-york-stock-exchange-debut

Palantir, the Orwellian data-analytic company founded by the apostate sodomite Peter Thiel continues to flourish and has expanded its footprint during the Trump era – and it's time to cash in and get plugged into the mainstream.

The Danger Regarding the Flare-up in Nagorno-Karabakh

For many years I have followed and written about the tensions within the Caucasus and once again they're flaring up but many seem to sense there's something different this time – the potential is there for a greater regional war.

Ethical Dissonance: Western Evangelicalism and BJP India

https://www.mnnonline.org/news/dear-mr-pompeo-please-hold-india-accountable-for-its-oppression/

Confusion reigns as the compromised Western Church has no moral standing. Allying itself with political power, the Evangelical movement and its allies call upon the likes of Pompeo to use the power of the American Empire to curtail the anti-Christian policies of Modi's BJP.

New Calvinist Civil War: Protestia, Friel, and The Gospel Coalition

Protestia, the newest incarnation of JD Hall's Pulpit and Pen clickbait factory posted a broadside attacking The Gospel Coalition. The 'news' article used this critical 'tweet' from Justin Taylor as a platform to launch their attack:

Interestingly I went looking for the tweet but couldn't find it. It seems to have been removed.

A Historian of Worth

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/books/stephen-cohen-dead.html

Stephen Cohen was a solid historian who spent most of his career focused on the Soviet Union and Russia. His specialisation gave him a largely unparalleled perspective that proved both unique and critical in the 21^st century as the United States began to take a more aggressive posture vis-à-vis Russia.

The Twin Disasters of American Evangelicalism: Dominionism and Dispensationalism

https://www.mintpressnews.com/christian-nationalists-christian-zionists-secure-another-four-years-for-trump/270259/

The Mint Press News article wades into confusing waters as there is some truth in the assertions of racism at work in the narratives of Christian Nationalism but these realities are vigorously denied by most in that sector – as is the reality of American imperialism.

There is so much dishonesty at work, the revising and romanticisation of history and imposed metanarrative that it's very difficult to get through to the adherents of Christian Nationalism (a variant of Dominionism) that they have in fact departed from historical truth and certainly New Testament Christianity.

Trump+ 1338: The Coming Constitutional Crisis, Ginsburg and Evangelicals

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/opinion/2020-election-voting.html

It surprises me to say that to some extent I agree with former DNI Coats or rather I agree with his assessment. As a Christian I believe we ought to pray for the peace of the city. This does not mean we endorse the city, its agendas, policies, goals, or wars.

On the contrary in many cases we must speak against these things but we do so from a non-political standpoint. We speak as prophets bringing a message of doom and hope. We do not seek power as God will judge those on the outside. We have no interest in their Babel towers or their Babylons and ultimately we submit to the powers that be and do not resist them in terms of the sword or the coin.

My concerns are less about the integrity of the American democratic experiment and the ideals that it ostensibly stands for. Rather my concerns are purely pragmatic. At this point it time the election has been cast into doubt and it's hard to imagine a scenario in which there will not be chaos and considerable blood in the streets.

Inbox: Are American Soldiers Losers and Suckers?

Despite Trump's near panicked claims to the contrary, the witnesses that testify to have heard him say as much are credible. Trump's selfishness and self-absorption know no bounds. He cannot conceive of anyone believing in anything greater than one's self – let alone believing in it so strongly that they would be willing to sacrifice their lives for it. And thus to the bafflement and irritation of those serving under him, he as president of the United States impugned the memory of fallen soldiers buried on French soil.

Peace in the Middle East?

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Trump-announces-a-'peace-agreement'-between-Bahrain-and-Israel-51018.html

This Catholic news article seems to catch the right air of cynicism with regard to the recent Trumpite peace accords. Various Arab nations have been signing on to the pro-Israel axis so aggressively advocated by Trump and his Likud allies. An era of peace is about dawn on the Middle East or so we're told.

Real Christians Won't Listen to John MacArthur

https://www.christianpost.com/politics/john-macarthur-says-true-believers-will-vote-for-trump-cant-affirm-abortion-and-trans-activism.html

One is little surprised that Richard Land's rag 'The Christian Post' picked up this story. Land has long been one of the chief voices of Evangelical evil – a hater of Christ and a supporter of sin. Land hates Jesus Christ and has given himself over to deceiving the people of God, strengthening the hand of the evildoer and seducing the flock to do the same. Sadly, John MacArthur has fallen into this same trap.

Real Christians will vote for Donald Trump – so says John MacArthur. The issues of abortion and the larger spectrum of sodomite issues are enough that Christians have no choice – they'll vote for the Trump ticket.

Such declarations demonstrate MacArthur's continued slide into compromise. His worldliness and mammon worship continue to pull him into convoluted and corrupted thinking.

Failing to Discern the Real Nature of the BBC and Mainstream Media in the Anglo-American World

https://www.evangelical-times.org/59589/the-noble-liar-how-and-why-the-bbc-distorts-the-news-to-promote-a-liberal-agenda/

There is a lack of discernment on display in the Sharon James article. She laments the fall of the BBC and the abandonment of its Biblical values missing the fact that when the institution was created in 1927 the British Empire was still in full swing. The idea that something like the BBC –a mouthpiece for the British Establishment would in any way represent Christian values or that the ethics of honesty and objectivity wouldn't come into conflict with the Empire – which like all empires is built on lies was just absurd. It was bound to fail. It was from the beginning a lie and therefore prima facie unbiblical.

Calvinism, the Feminist Wars, and the Vocation Trap

https://julieroys.com/aimee-byrd-cyberbullying-the-battle-over-manhood-womanhood/

I must confess I was pretty disturbed hearing about some of the comments directed at Aimee Byrd. They were out of line and some of the men who made them are especially guilty as they are office holders in the Church.

Covid Statistics, the CDC, and Comorbidity

The CDC numbers regarding actual 'official' Covid deaths has been out for some time. At first it seems shocking. What? Of all the 180,000+ Covid deaths only 6% are directly attributable to Covid? Everyone else had an underlying or pre-existing condition? Does that mean this has all been an exaggeration?

That's how many people understand it and when Trump recently sent out a tweet echoing these statistics the Internet went wild. Numerous Right-wing oriented websites picked it up and what I saw were several variations of the following deductive process.

The Lithium Coup (Week 42): Bolivian Unrest Continues

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/bolivia-farmers-denounce-armed-pro-regime-civilians-attack-20200811-0002.html

More evidence has poured in since the November 2019 coup that forced Evo Morales from power – and forced him to flee for his life. Contrary to the assertions of Mike Pompeo and other American officials, the election was not fraudulent as the Organisation of American States (OAS) now admits.

The 2020 RNC: Obscene, Fictitious and Dangerous (Part 2)

The whole escapade was to Christian eyes a disgusting display. Few seem to have noticed the campaign has no real platform – as indeed Trump doesn't actually stand for anything. There are no real goals – it's just an endless hymn of praise for Trump and the whole thing culminated in his fascistic tirade.

The 2020 RNC: Obscene, Fictitious and Dangerous (Part 1)

The Democratic National Convention was also obscene and fictitious in its narratives and ideas but the GOP convention had a distinct Christian air about it and it was making an explicit Evangelical appeal – and that's why I'm compelled to be more interested in what was happening there. 

In fact on the final night there were some one hundred Evangelical leaders in attendance at Trump's speech and while Christian media made much of the crowds shouting at them upon their exit, the same Christian media has chosen to largely ignore the Trump-inspired teenage gunman in Kenosha, Wisconsin who after gunning unarmed people down in cold blood walked through the police line – even while voices cried out that he had just shot people. The police stood by and let him pass and return to his home in Illinois. 

The QAnon Problem

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/20/904237192/journalist-enters-the-world-of-qanon-it-s-almost-like-a-bad-spy-novel

This interview was extremely interesting and informative and yet also frustrating.

The Falwells: Two Dirty People

Months, even years ago it was clear to me that something was amiss with Jerry Falwell Jr. In all sincerity based on his actions and his words, I didn't believe him to be a genuine Christian. And this was before we learned he was some sort of unrepentant pervert.

F-16 Fighters for Taiwan

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/taiwan-finalizes-dollar62bn-purchase-of-f-16-jets-from-lockheed-martin/ar-BB17YD2V

Militarism always leads to war. In the minds of some a weapons and military buildup is a form of deterrence and yet they're playing a dangerous game.

A Serbian Rubicon?

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/08/11/serbia-considers-buying-chinese-missiles-despite-us-warning/

Normally I would say 'yes', this does represent a Rubicon moment in which Serbia is making a conscious decision to turn away from Brussels (the EU and NATO). Belgrade is (it would seem) done flirting with the West and is throwing in with Moscow.

But it might be more complicated than that.

Belarus and the Evangelical Trap

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/7536/belarussian-christians-let-others-know-about-what-is-happening-here

Sadly we've seen this sort of thing all too often – Evangelicals going to the West (and specifically the United States) and functionally allying their Christianity and ecclesiastical activities with US geopolitical power.

Covid-19: The Age of Masks and Facial Recognition

https://www.cnet.com/health/facial-recognition-firms-are-scrambling-to-see-around-face-masks/

It's one of the rare blessings of the Covid-19 era. My wife and I were talking about this a couple of months ago when the new reality started to settle on American shores. We were talking about it because as the pandemic was spreading, everyone was talking about tracking apps and government surveillance. Facial recognition had already been in the news for some time as it has been proliferating over the past couple of years.

Tech Resistance in the Face of Orwellian Surveillance

One might say it's a case of fighting technology with technology or perhaps one could view it as a type of counter espionage. While most of the public willingly surrenders their information to the state and/or the corporate entities which exist in a symbiotic relationship with it – some of us are more than a little concerned.

Social Credit Scores Today and Tomorrow

https://www.thehour.com/opinion/article/Data-isn-t-just-being-collected-from-your-phone-15451658.php

The Snowden revelations in 2013 confirmed our fears that the Orwellian TIA (Total Information Awareness) programme had lived on despite the fact that it had supposedly been canceled by the Bush administration.

German Tanks for Orban

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/07/31/Hungary-upgrades-military-with-delivery-of-German-tanks/4891596226305/

The weapons trade represents a form of diplomacy that trumps all. Countries that cultivate the industry are desperate to promote it and are often willing to sell arms – even to nations and governments that they would otherwise frown upon. Avarice drives the trade but at the same time there are political reasons for selling arms. It's an element to the industry that's often overlooked.

The Context of the Hagia Sophia Controversy

Erdogan's conversion of the Hagia Sophia museum back into a mosque has generated a fair bit of news coverage in the West, coupled with not a little consternation and some confusion.

Trump +1294: The Rubicon

Our area is flooded with signs and flags: Trump 2020: No More Bulls---

But with Trump, that's all you get. What a strange moment – the candidate Evangelicals continue to rally around, the same Evangelicals who decried the degradation of the presidential office under Clinton, has brought the office lower than it has ever been in history. For those old enough to remember, can you even imagine such a moment that the unofficial 'Christian' candidate would have an unofficial campaign slogan like that?

Belarus Drowning in Intrigue

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/tens-thousands-rally-belarus-pre-election-crackdown-200731074941570.html

In Belarus, there's a pending presidential election due to take place on 9 August 2020. To no one's real surprise the candidate posing a viable threat to Alexander Lukashenko (who has been president since 1994) has been arrested. Sergei Tikhanovsky, a dissident blogger turned presidential candidate was arrested and charged with collaborating with Russian mercenaries in order to foment unrest. It's a pretty sensational story.

Iconoclasm, Traditionalist Roman Catholicism and Trump

I occasionally listen to Taylor Marshall as well as some other Roman Catholic Traditionalists. For obvious reasons I don't agree with Marshall but I like some of the topics he covers and I've long been intrigued by Roman Catholic history – especially in the wake of the 19^th century. This was only amplified by the time I spent in Italy along with the multiple trips I took to Rome. It whets the appetite to be sure. I'm not speaking in terms of conversion but rather the intrigue and frankly, the evil.

Evangelicals and New Calvinists Out-Foxed: MacArthur's Non-Scriptural Basis for Resistance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62nN2RDhjOA

This is a follow-up to the piece that appears here:

http://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-context-of-macarthurs-flawed-stand.html

If I had any doubts about John MacArthur's motivation regarding his defiance of the governor – his appearance on Tucker Carlson's programme certainly cleared things up.

NBC and the Chinese Consulate in Houston

I had to chuckle while watching NBC's coverage of the US ordered closing of the Chinese consulate in Houston. They had aerial shots showing Chinese staffers outside (in a courtyard I think) burning documents. The reporting was ominous in its tone, seeking to cast the Chinese in the darkest possible terms. Clearly they were up to something – hiding their dark deeds taking place within US borders.

Some Reflections on the Death of JI Packer

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/july/j-i-packer-died-evangelical-theologian-knowing-god.html

Whenever someone of the older generation of Evangelical leaders dies off, it's always a time to reflect. For me, I am forced to look back to my early days as a Christian in the mid-1990's and consider where I was then versus now and how things in general have changed.

Trouble on the Nile

There is serious trouble brewing in Northeastern Africa. While many of the tensions and conflicts of our day are packaged in terms of human rights and political struggle there is an underlying factor that is driving geopolitical tension and that is the struggle for resources.

How Should We Then Live: The Schaeffer Legacy and the Great Evangelical Disaster

Though the series ended with Part 10, we're using this 11^th installment to reflect on the legacy of Schaeffer and his film. While at this point it's very dated, the leaders of contemporary Evangelicalism were greatly inspired by Schaeffer and his work. Whether they read his books or not, chances are they saw these films. Virtually every leader of the movement was either directly inspired by him or by those who took up his mantle. His presence both hovers and looms over the Evangelical world.

How Should We Then Live Part 10: Final Choices (II)

Schaeffer then launches into a discussion regarding civil liberties and the role of the state and how under the Christian consensus freedoms were able to flourish without chaos (for the racial-tribal majority we might add) and yet once the consensus was removed, the very same freedoms became self-destructive.

How Should We Then Live Part 10: Final Choices (I)

This final episode was certainly one of the weakest and most dated – and yet also necessary. Schaeffer attempts to tie things together and make his final appeal. This episode differs from the others in that Schaeffer is not talking about art and culture from the vantage point of historic places and museums. It's mostly just him talking and he more or less keeps falling back on a couple of points crucial to his project. This is what the series has been all about. He wants his audience to take away these crucial applications and he more or less devotes an entire episode to them.

UK Politics: Labour Continues Phoney Anti-Semitic Purges and the Results of Beijing's Hong Kong Clampdown

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-53183085

Jeremy Corbyn is gone but the Labour Party's 'Anti-Semitism' push to the right agenda continues. It's being used as a means to purge the party of anyone who doesn't toe the Establishment line when it comes to UK foreign policy.

You could almost describe this as the UK's version of a flirtation with McCarthyism.

A Warning to the Egyptian Churches

http://www.christianpost.com/news/treatment-of-christians-in-egypt-much-better-now-than-its-been-for-a-long-time-expert.html

Egyptian ethnic Christians and Protestants have always endured their share of struggles as modern Egyptian society has been torn apart by the conflicts between secular nationalist rule and religious traditionalism. The latter is represented by groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood which would (if allowed) take Egypt in the direction of a more deliberately Islamic society and this would also be reflected in terms of foreign policy – an issue that continues to tear modern Egyptian society apart.

The Sino-Vatican Agreement: The Error of Compromise

https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/underground-bishop-detained-in-china

If Francis thought Beijing was making a good faith agreement in 2018 he was short-sighted in at least two aspects.

The Larger Context of the China-India Border Conflict

India and China have occasionally sparred since the modern iterations of their countries were formed in the aftermath of World War II. Their disputes are over borders, in this case an irregular and segmented 2100 mile long frontier in the Himalaya region. The conflicts have at times broken out into small-scale war, the worst of which took place in 1962 but as fighting in such terrain is logistically challenging, the wars remain constrained.

Brunson's Legacy: Ankara's Hostility to Foreign Protestants and Evangelicals

https://www.persecution.org/2020/06/21/turkey-resumes-discrimination-protestants/

After Andrew Brunson was released in the fall of 2018 and repeatedly sat on the public stage with Trump and vocally supported his Anti-Erdogan geopolitical posturing – is anyone surprised that Erdogan looks askance at foreign evangelical leaders at work in his country?

Poland's Militarisation and Serbia's Pivot

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/06/22/Poland-calls-for-more-US-troops-aircraft-as-Trump-Duda-set-to-meet/4281592847135/

Poland is actively seeking to militarise their country, fully embracing the role as a NATO front-line state. The right-wing PiS government has requested America troops and armaments and you can be sure they'll get them. They have a lot of support from the American Right and growing support from the Christian Right as not a few intellectuals see their Christian Democracy as something to be admired.

Geopolitical Chess: The Libyan Civil War and the Mediterranean Powder Keg

https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/nato-opens-probe-into-france-turkey-naval-incident-in-mediterranean/

France has long been the voice of opposition to the inclusion of Turkey within the European community. Under Erdogan, the Ankara government has effectively given up the proposition of EU membership and the relationship with France has only continued to grow worse.

Great Power Pawns and the Media Gamepiece

In 2013 I mused whether Putin might be willing to trade Edward Snowden for Victor Bout, the Russian arms dealer arrested in 2008. At this point Bout has done hard time and even a loyalist might be tempted to 'flip' as he still faces another fourteen years in prison.

Kosovo, Serbia and the Balkan Game in the Age of Trump

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/20/kosovan-acting-pm-accuses-trump-envoy-of-meddling

Kosovo sometimes referred to as the Fifty-First state of the United States was from the beginning an American creation. It was part of Washington's project to consolidate the power of NATO in the aftermath of the Cold War.

How Should We Then Live Part 9: The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence (II)

Switching gears somewhat Schaeffer turns to the question of 'arbitrary law' and the relativism born of it.

How Should We Then Live Part 9: The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence (I)

As with previous episodes not every observation Schaeffer makes is incorrect and at certain points his insight is appreciated – all the more when considers the narratives at work some forty years later in our own day. By comparison at times he can seem (relatively speaking) refreshing.

Trump Administration Threatens ICC

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53012783

On the one hand the US championed the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which was finally activated in 2002 but Washington never had any intention of joining it or being accountable to it. This would violate the American claim to Exceptionalism and the reality that it places itself above the other nations of the world.

And so in this capacity the ICC could function as a tool, yet another instrument in the Atlanticist arsenal – used to bolster the largely phoney but often convenient narrative of democratisation and liberalism.