The Re-Alignment of India

India's geopolitical shift involves a complicated dance in order to maintain a network of relationships. On the one hand India has moved toward a military alliance with the United States and the establishment of closer economic ties with the West. At the same time India is still entangled in historic alliances with Russia which involve joint military projects as well as a commitment to BRICS, the international banking order meant to counter and check the dominance of Western organisations such as the World Bank and IMF.

The Latest on Cold War II in the Balkans and Caucasus

The series of proxy battles and posturing continues. One thing is clear the lines are becoming more distinct and increasingly turning to battle lines.

Pivot Collapse: Thailand's Junta Moves Toward Moscow and Beijing

There are so many aspects of the US election that have been covered and yet American mainstream media has largely failed to report on the international effects.

The collapse of TPP and the movement of the EU toward autonomy in light of Brexit are perhaps somewhat known but there have also been some interesting developments in Asia. While the Philippine's Duterte has made the news for cursing Obama and cozying up to Beijing there are other stories that point to the American 'Pivot' being in jeopardy.

Parenting, Values and Culture

http://www.rosemond.com/September-2016.html

I don't really know much about the author but his columns often appear in the local newspaper. Sometimes the advice is good and I admit this despite my general hostility to the theological and philosophical underpinnings of psychology and much of the counseling movement.

Elections and Establishment: The 2016 US Presidential Drama and the French Centre-Right Primaries

The numbers aren't fully in yet but it would appear that Francois Fillon has won the first round of the French Centre-Right primary and will face Alain Juppe in the second round. Juppe will likely win the primaries and has a very good chance of being the next president of France. This represents a stunning defeat of former president Nicholas Sarkozy. Sarkozy was the obvious favourite of the US Establishment and his defeat will be disappointing to some within the US power structure. This isn't to say they can't work with Juppe as well, but Sarkozy in particular was beloved in Washington for moving Paris solidly into the US and NATO orbit.

Finance Capital and the Shopping Mall

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-property-cmbs-idUSKCN12L0XB

The destructive and wasteful nature of Finance Capitalism is on display. Profit margins must always increase and this imperative produces its much celebrated dynamism.

But how destructive it is! Resources are wasted, communities are in constant upheaval and what is the price that is paid by individuals and families as this system generates, nay is founded on a constant game of instability?

Rwandan Secrets and the Ethics of Dominion

Rwanda's Paul Kagame has been in the news recently as questions have re-emerged regarding his possible role in the shoot-down of President Habyarimana's plane in 1994, the event which triggered the Rwandan Genocide. The slaughter perpetrated by Hutu Interahamwe militias was ended when Kagame and his Tutsi fighters, backed by Uganda and the United States entered Rwanda and drove the Hutu militias into Zaire/Congo. This later contributed to the breakup of Zaire and the subsequent Congo Wars.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37613315

Kagame has always denied playing any part in the shoot-down and he has counter-charged France with complicity in the genocide through aiding the Hutu government and providing training and assistance to those who committed the genocide. France had been backing the Hutu government and had opposed Kagame as a tool of American imperialism.

An EU Military Union in the Works?

https://euobserver.com/foreign/135877

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-defence-idUSKBN1322GH

As mentioned in previous articles, the Brexit kicked open the door for France and Germany to pursue a degree of autonomy and begin to establish themselves as the permanent leaders of the EU. Through various mechanisms Europe has been largely controlled by the United States since the end of World War II. The EU project while ostensibly designed to balance power and common interests, it has instead consolidated them in the hands of the most powerful factions. The British exit has further concentrated the power in Paris and Berlin and now there is a strong push for the creation of a unified European military command that would operate outside US control.

Providence at Work in the European Immigrant Crisis

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/thousands.of.muslim.refugees.in.switzerland.germany.converting.to.christianity.amid.disillusionment/94634.htm

Amidst the horrors of war and social collapse, God's Providence works in mysterious ways. Immigrants fleeing for their lives and hoping for a better tomorrow are in some cases finding not just a new life in Europe but a new life in Christ.

A New Black Sea Front within Cold War II

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-russia-idUSKCN12P31W

The tension increases as both sides continue a process of escalation. This build-up is reminiscent of what occurred in 1983 as US exercises, rhetoric and posturing pushed the USSR to a point of paranoid frenzy. This culminated with the shoot-down of Korean Air Lines flight 007 near Sakhalin.

The Domestic Consequences of German Militarism (Part 2)

Once again German militarism comes with a cost to domestic society, privacy and free speech. Don't think for a moment this won't affect the press and a host of other issues.

Militarism drives the state into the mode of fear... fear of enemies and fear as a tool to keep the populace in line.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/germanys-intelligence-service-reform-stokes-controversy/

Notice the quote... the BND must be active in detecting 'early threats to the domestic and external security of Germany'.

Homeschooled Stormtroopers

Homeschooled young men joining the military...

It seems like it's been happening a lot lately and it grieves me to no end.

I have witnessed several incidents of homeschooling families who have laboured for years to raise their children 'different' who have separated from family, churches and friends in order to maintain the standards and ideals they believed were right...

Only to hand over their sons to the US military.

The Silver Lining of the Trump Fiasco

Maybe there's a silver lining to this whole Trump episode. The Libertarian-Tea Party wing and now the Trumpites have smashed the GOP both in terms of a consensus and as a unified institution.

We don't know yet what the fallout will be after November 2016. If the movement perpetuates, the GOP will probably fail to recover. This may be the effectual end of the Two-Party duopoly.

Culture Warriors: Form Without Substance

Recently I was poking around on Facebook and encountered someone I knew from a couple of years ago. I've thought about this guy quite often. He grew up in Reformed circles but admitted that he knew very little in the way of doctrine. This came up during a conversation after services in which I tried to engage him a bit on some issues that had come up in the sermon. He didn't have the vocabulary, familiarity with the doctrine... or with the text for that matter.

What did his parents teach him?

Trump and the Semblance of Dignity

I've mentioned this before but I wanted to put it into a brief post.

In the 1990s so many lamented the lack of dignity and gravitas that the Clintons brought to the White House. Many, myself included, all but wretched watching the Clinton's dance to Fleetwood Mac on Inauguration night. The bearing and sobriety of the World War II generation was gone and it was clear that the Boomers had arrived.