The Musings of Mutti Merkel

 http://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/back-home-after-icy-white-house-meeting-merkel-calls-for-open-markets/

The Trump Administration is making Europe nervous, even frantic but it is also opening doors. From a European military force to a new Brussels and Berlin defined IMF, to new autonomy in trade, the instability is laying great weight on Merkel... but at the same time she's more powerful than ever.

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.

Soros, Orban and the Struggle for Hungary

http://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-vs-civil-society/

George Soros is demonised by many in the alternative media, but especially in the Right and Alt-right sectors. Viewed as a liberal globalist they consider him to be a 'Dark Lord' type figure working behind the scenes to manipulate world events.

Macedonia: The Balkan Trap

http://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/macedonias-political-crisis-takes-ethnic-turn/

http://www.euractiv.com/section/elections/news/macedonian-president-warns-eu-nato-of-albanian-meddling/

Albania insists it has a right and obligation to pursue the interests of ethnic Albanians in neighbouring countries. In other words the NATO-proxy says it has the right to meddle.

Byzantine Bulgaria

http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/bulgarias-pm-says-taking-steps-to-prevent-election-meddling-by-turkey/

Only in the Balkans.

Bulgaria which contains a large Turkish population and one that has endured no little difficulty fears that Erdogan may meddle in their elections and seek influence.

Dirty Oil Deals and The Italian Connection

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/05/the-oil-deal-the-disgraced-minister-and-800m-paid-via-a-uk-bank

This is a link to a remarkable if incomplete story regarding oil corruption and money laundering. What is of particular import is that it points to the overlap between the corporate and finance sectors and strategic interests.  

Dominionist Scripture Twisting on Display

http://theaquilareport.com/debunking-citizenship-heaven-motif/

This article authored by a PCA pastor completely misrepresents the position of Two-Kingdom advocates, especially those within his own Reformed circles. Most of the Two Kingdom advocates in Reformed circles are actually Kuyperians and his criticisms are invalid. He falls into the classic straw-man argument, projecting 'dualism' on to people who aren't dualists. He accuses Two Kingdom theology of a world-abandonment mindset that no one actually advocates.

Condor Convictions

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/02/01/cond-f01.html

Operation Condor was a project of cooperation between various Right-wing Latin American governments. They collaborated in the sharing of intelligence and a commitment to destroy Left-wing movements. This included kidnappings, assassination, torture, terror and secret prisons. Spanning the 1970s and 1980s the Condor legacy resulted in the deaths of thousands and the traumatising of whole societies. Even US apologists will admit that Washington knew about it and yet the evidence suggests that not only was the United States in the know, it was managing the project, funding it, as well as arming and training the death squads.

The Mainstreaming of Sodom

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/feb/12/beauty-boys-mens-makeup-cosmetics-instagram

Obviously this is little more than the culmination of a long-standing trend within our culture. What is sometimes most disturbing to me is that I look at my children's generation and realise they're growing up in a time when this sort of thing is becoming normative.

Neo-Nazis and the German Intelligence Services

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/15/neo-nazi-murders-revealing-germanys-darkest-secrets

The nebulous Nazi connection lives on or so it would seem. Even this Guardian article openly admits the connections between the American formed post-war German intelligence services and ex-Nazis. The question is, as Neo-Nazi groups have acted and continue to act (often with impunity) are they being facilitated by the state intelligence apparatus? It would seem so.

Max Boot has joined the CIA

Boot recently produced an article entitled Wikileaks has joined the Trump administration at Foreign Policy, the largely Neo-conservative magazine founded by Samuel Huntington of Clash of Civilisations fame.

Tolkien Cosmology Update

I recently updated The Cosmology of Tolkien on The Pilgrim Path/Proto-Protestantism website. The link is here if anyone is interested, followed by the additions I made.

The Latin American Pseudo-Left Revolutions and the American Backlash

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ecuador-election-lasso-idUKKBN15W1G7

The Bush years afforded a rise of a new Latin American Left. From Argentina, to Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador and even some of the nations in Central America, the people reacted to over a century of US imperialism and voted in governments that were openly hostile to American interests. It was a New Leftist Revolution, or was it?

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.

The Intercept: The Good, Bad and Ugly

https://theintercept.com/2017/02/23/the-increasingly-unhinged-russia-rhetoric-comes-from-a-long-standing-u-s-playbook/

https://theintercept.com/2017/02/28/the-new-yorkers-big-cover-story-reveals-five-uncomfortable-truths-about-u-s-and-russia/

It's hard to deny The Intercept is an exciting online magazine. Launched in 2014, it came on the scene in the wake of the Snowden revelations. Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill were the big names associated with its launch. Poitras has since departed to focus on her film-making.

Since its start the magazine has put together an impressive team of journalists and they literally churn out articles and analysis. The website has become a wealth of information and due to their high-profile in the alternative media world they are getting a lot of tips and leaks which facilitate their reporting. 

Economic Warfare and the US Justice Department

 http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4897228,00.html

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/31/deutsche-bank-fined-630m-over-russia-money-laundering-claims

There are so many stories like this floating around if you go looking. The US is waging a war against companies that do business in places and with people not liked by the Washington Establishment.

Vatican Tensions Escalate

https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0213/852389-pope/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/04/vatican-civil-war-conservatives-battle-francis-lent

Some of you may have been following the scandal over the Knights of Malta. While the catalyst for the scandal was somewhat absurd it points to deeper tensions within the Vatican.

Croatian Proxies and the Balkan Strategy

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/croatia-profits-from-syria-s-gruesome-war-02-20-2017

The article proclaims the Croatians ignored well-founded concerns the arms they sold to Saudi Arabia would end up in Syria.

These concerns weren't ignored. This was the whole point.

Greece, NATO and Moscow

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2017/02/28/US-Army-UH-60-Black-Hawks-reach-Greece-for-NATO-operation/1861488299581/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=8

Greece has often been one of the most volatile members within the NATO alliance. Under the Karamanlis government which came to power in 1974 after the US-backed Junta of Colonels was ousted, Greece left the military structure of NATO and did not return until the 1980s. And even then under Andreas Papandreou the relationship was less than brilliant.

Deutsche Welle (DW): Turkish Intelligence (MIT) Hunting Down Dissidents in Turkey... but there's more to the story

http://www.dw.com/en/erdogans-informants-in-germany/av-37368760

The Turkish intelligence agency, the MIT is hunting down Kurdish dissidents affiliated with the PKK, Gülenists and others beyond its borders. Germany with it large Turkish population, which includes numerous Kurds is the special focus of the operation. Germany was a nation without colonies and thus when it looked for cheap labour, it couldn't import Africans, Indians or other Asians. Instead a deal was cut.

Proxy Espionage and Empire

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-intelligence-spied-on-foreign-journalists-for-years-a-1136188.html

This article fails to connect its own dots. Der Spiegel has already reported on US dominance of the German intelligence service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND). In light of that we must ask, why is the BND spying on foreign journalists?

The Pull of the CIA: Italy Capitulates

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-us-cia-pardon-idUKKBN1683ZI

I've been following this story, especially as it has been in the news the past few days. How frustrated the Italian prosecutors and investigators must be. They've laboured to bring this to trial, to hold someone accountable for what was done within their borders, in violation of their nation's sovereignty. They're trying to demonstrate that America cannot act with impunity.

Carlson on Capitalism

http://issuesetc.org/2017/02/13/0443-capitalism-and-the-family-dr-allan-carlson-21317/

LPR's Issues Etc. usually frustrates me but this segment was a pleasant surprise, although I'm not sure if the host or most of the audience was equally enthused.