Belgium, Nuclear Weapons and the Breaking of Atlanticism

https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/belgium-debates-phase-out-of-us-nuclear-weapons-on-its-soil/

In light of Trump's posture towards NATO, one would find it hardly surprising to learn the Belgians don't want to find themselves as a frontline state in the case of a conflict with Russia. Why should they endure the risk without the reward?

The Death and Burial of Kemalism

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Come-on-Children-Mosque-Project-marks-the-end-of-secular-Turkey-49050.html

With the West's open opposition to him (except when it comes to potential conflict with Russia vis-à-vis Syria) Erdogan has decided to dispense with the pretense of Kemalism. The secular Western-oriented ideology founded by Mustafa Kemal 'Ataturk' governed Turkey from its founding in the 1920's up until the early 2000's and the rise of the AK Party.

The Iranian Collaborators: Constantine's Agents in the Realms of Shapur

https://www.christianpost.com/news/iranian-christian-who-met-with-trump-details-how-regime-shut-down-her-familys-church.html

Shapur II, the Sassanian king of Persia (today's Iran) brutally persecuted Christians in the 4^th century. Under previous Sassanian and Parthian rulers, Christians had more or less known peace. Persecuted by Rome, the Persian lands were for many a haven and it was an important seat of early Christianity.

Surveillance and the Facial Recognition Non-Scandal

https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/hundreds-of-us-police-departments-using-dystopian-face-recognition-app-report/

It's a scandal that continues to widen in its scope and yet in the United States nothing is being done, or even seriously entertained. In fact under Trump, surveillance technology continues to increase and law enforcement is being encouraged to use everything from facial recognition to sundry tracking systems. Some of the latest intrusions have been able to slip 'under the radar' as it were, under the aegis of combating illegal immigration.

The Libyan Proxy War: Ankara and Athens set to Clash on the Shores of Tripoli

https://news.yahoo.com/greece-aims-outflank-turkey-mediterranean-051925982.html

https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/athens-smarting-after-exclusion-from-german-hosted-libya-conference/

It's perhaps a bit of an exaggeration but looking at the growing tensions within the EU, NATO, the Mediterranean, Balkans and the Middle East, it's starting to look and feel a lot like 1914. Is war imminent? Probably not, but the situation continues to degenerate, stability is in question, people are talking about it, and scenarios are beginning to manifest in which such a suggestion doesn't seem so far-fetched.

Laos, OBOR and Media Bias

https://journal-neo.org/2020/01/06/laos-wests-war-on-asian-development/

There's little doubt that Beijing has shifted gears and utilising projects like OBOR, it seeks to undermine Western (and particularly American) power in Eurasia. It's imperialism to be sure but in many ways it's a mimicking of the Western model of control through debt, trade and economic influence. The soft-cultural influence is sure to follow and eventually will entail a military presence, the forts and outposts established to protect its interests. It's a well known and established pattern.

CBGM is Being More or Less Embraced

https://www.fivesolas.church/archives/29930

The author's acknowledgement that all Christians need to consider the issue of textual criticism is to be applauded but I'm left a little baffled by his tepid response to the issue of CBGM or the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method of textual reconstruction.

A Very Wicked Syria Commentary

https://www.christianpost.com/voice/christians-face-threats-throughout-syria-thanks-to-its-president.html

I found this commentary to be somewhat shocking and as I read further I was offended. In a hostile and unstable region the Assad regime (for all its faults) has long been a friend to the Christian communities in Syria. An authoritarian regime, these groups have nevertheless been allowed to function and have been protected from Sunni violence, violence that has escalated throughout the region as a result of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Trump + 1107: The Real Scandal of 2016, Glenn Greenwald and the FBI

https://theintercept.com/2019/12/12/the-inspector-generals-report-on-2016-fb-i-spying-reveals-a-scandal-of-historic-magnitude-not-only-for-the-fbi-but-also-the-u-s-media/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/world/americas/glenn-greenwald-brazil-cybercrimes.html

Though The Intercept continues its path of compromise and decline there are still some shining moments which, more often than not are connected to Glenn Greenwald. This article was no exception. In this piece from December, Greenwald reveals the true scandal surrounding 2016 election, the one that's getting almost no attention.