Franco and Protestantism

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/33362/francoism-against-protestants-recovering-stories-of-repression-and-resilience

Given that we now have calls for a 'Protestant Franco', this book should interest all readers. At present I can't seem to locate the book in English, and so that may be forthcoming. At least we'll hope so.

You Will Love and Celebrate Charlie Kirk

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/11/nx-s1-5550366/charlie-kirk-social-media-firings

There are many stories similar to this one that have been lost in the fog since the September assassination of Kirk. The irony here is that the 'Alexandra' in question was only using Kirk's own words and morally dubious framing of the Paul Pelosi attack - which was attempted murder. She more or less quoted Kirk and yet because it was directed against him - it turned her life upside down.

Right-wing Cancel Culture, Kimmel, and McCarthyism

(updated 23 Sept) 

I've never watched Jimmy Kimmel or been a fan. Like many Americans, I've seen the occasional YouTube clip on this or that issue when he's made the news. Most of the time (I must confess) I just haven't found him to be that funny.

The FCC head suggested that Kimmel's recent comments regarding the Charlie Kirk shooter were misleading the American public. While it would seem that Robinson is unlikely to be a member of the MAGA cult, his motives still remain unclear. Some have attempted to connect him to Nick Fuentes who is a Right-wing rival and critic of Charlie Kirk. The point being is it may be more complicated. However, Right-wing media has already decided the issue and is moving forward with their propaganda and their political campaign to capitalize on Kirk's death. On that point, Kimmel was certainly correct.

The Pseudo-Patriotic Fantasies of Taylor Marshall

https://taylormarshall.com/2025/09/1249-12-strategies-to-restore-christian-civilization-dr-taylor-marshall.html

Marshall's podcast used to be a bit more substantive and I would listen to learn things about the Right-wing Catholic take on certain controversies. But lately the show has turned more often than not into a kind of dog and pony show, an ongoing advertisement for his books. Often he's spending most of his time attempting to pseudo-referee live social media interactions - which are clearly rigged. Most of the time I don't bother to listen and more than a few times I've just turned him off. He's currently pushing his new book on patriotism and so I thought I would give it another try and listen to an episode.

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.

Homosexuality in Woke Communist China

https://www.scmp.com/sport/paris-olympics-2024/article/3272119/chinas-cctv-stunned-silence-lgbtq-scene-paris-olympics-opening-ceremony

I used to enjoy watching the Olympics. Some years we'd even have cable turned on for a month so we could watch them. But at some point the debauchery (and the sundry base and vulgar ads) became too unbearable and so we gave up. I wasn't at all surprised to hear about all the filth in the opening ceremony - I did not watch it.

The GOP's Sociopathic Behaviour Regarding Israel

Watching a PBS Frontline episode on campus violence the other night I fully expected to see some clips of the congressional hearing with university presidents - a dialogue that was largely misrepresented in the mainstream media. It goes without saying this was misrepresented by the Right.

The Information Gatekeepers and Assange

Western Mainstream Media continues to largely ignore the situation with Julian Assange. He has now spent more than a decade effectively (and actually) imprisoned without ever facing any kind of trial or due process – the bogus charges being used as a pretense to seize him being found without merit and dropped. But by then he was caught in a series of legal traps and in order to avoid the snares laid for him by the CIA – he became a fugitive and asylum seeker.

Almost Blacklisted by Google

I recently had an interesting experience with Google. An article from 2016 was flagged by the Blogger platform as violating their community terms of use. It wasn't removed, but it was censored in that you have to agree that you were an adult to read it – and sign in via a Google log-in.

The Nordstream Sabotage and the Ukraine War Narrative

https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/claims-of-u-s-involvement-in-nord-stream-attack-draw-scrutiny

Mainstream media has all but ignored Seymour Hersh's latest Substack piece in which he states emphatically something that many of us have suspected all along – that the Nordstream Pipelines were sabotaged by the US Navy.

Germany: Anti-Nazi Laws Turned Against Those Opposing Fascism

https://unac.notowar.net/2023/02/05/peace-activist-sentenced-for-criticizing-german-war-policy-in-ukraine/

This story makes one's head spin. Peace activists opposing German policy and state support for Ukraine (especially in light of Germany's history with Russia) are now being punished by laws that ostensibly would have been drafted to silence Nazis and Neo-Fascists in the post-war setting.

The Cover of World War II Narratives

Millions of their people were killed during World War II, and as a result this country believes that they are exempt from the normative rules of conduct in terms of international affairs. The crisis engendered by the war was of such a nature, such an existential threat to their existence that the only imperative is this – never again.

Academia, Christendom, and the Question of Censorship

https://www.ironsharpensironradio.com/podcast/may-4-2022-show-with-dr-kevin-clauson-on-reconquering-the-academy-for-christ/

I already knew that I disagreed with the premise of the show. I don't believe that academia is something that can be recaptured because I don't believe it was ever the province of the Church to begin with.

A Ukraine Miscellany (VII): Proxy War, BRICS, and Roadblocks to the US Plan

It's a point that needs to be reiterated. By failing to provide any kind of context to the war, the reporting on Russia and the responses of Putin to the sanctions regime are effectively spin-jobs. His threats to cut off Eastern European gas are not cases of blackmail, but the result of him being painted into a corner. The sanctions are basically an attempt to blackmail Russia into bowing to NATO. Any resistance on his part is ironically couched as 'blackmail'.

Putin's threats regarding a quick response to outside intervention are presented as menacing and aggressive but once again he finds himself in a serious quandary. He's fighting a war against NATO and losing. He has certainly lost the propaganda war in much of the world. By means of proxy war, economic sanctions, and various other measures his regime is under severe strain and increasingly isolated. They're fighting him but he's not allowed to respond. In fact if Foreign Minister Lavrov or anyone for that matter within the context of US politics or media declares this to be a proxy war between the US/NATO and Russia, they're decried and even mocked by the mainstream media.

And yet the US Secretary of Defense has openly declared the US is in a fight with Russia and military aid to Ukraine is meant to weaken Moscow's military might. That sounds like a proxy war to me.

Cancel Culture and the Christian Right

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/04/book-burning-harry-potter-twilight-us-pastor-tennessee

For Christians there should be no doubt about books like Harry Potter and the Twilight series. They're rubbish and they're not the type of books I would encourage my children to read.

That said, burning the books is little more than a political stunt. It would be one thing if there was a genuine Spirit-wrought outpouring and people did this as a form of repentance and renunciation (as seen in Ephesus) but that's not what's happening here.

A Ukraine Miscellany (II): Zelenskiy and Media Coverage of Ukraine 2022 vs. Iraq 2003

Listening to the chants on the radio of 'USA Help Ukraine', I wondered if it ever occurred to any of these people that it was America's 'help', its meddling in Eastern Europe and Ukraine in particular that led to the current crisis? Had the United States remained in its own hemisphere, and had Washington avoided sponsoring a militaristic eastern expansion on the part of NATO, then perhaps the world wouldn't face this crisis. Are they aware of America's 'help' for Ukraine in the 2004 and 2014?

Greenwald Quits The Intercept

Greenwald's departure wasn't all that surprising apart from the fact that he was the key name associated with The Intercept's founding in 2014. The online magazine arose in the wake of the Snowden revelations and yet within a few years it began to decline.

The Threat of China According to The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/dec/07/china-plan-for-global-media-dominance-propaganda-xi-jinping

The rise of Xi Jinping continues to re-shape China and it's becoming clear the New Silk Road or One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative is about more than commerce or economic security.

Historically China (when powerful) has remained more or less within its geopolitical sphere. A dominating regional Hegemon, many have argued that its contemporary resurgence represents little more than an attempt to revert to the historical pattern. The lords of Beijing wish for China to recapture its historical place and position in the global order. Its aspirations are regional and restricted.

And yet some wonder if under Xi the vision has shifted and China is moving more in the direction of a global empire akin to the old European empires but with a special reliance upon the model of the United States.

In Defense of Anonymity – In Christian Cyberspace and Beyond

There are calls on both sides of the Atlantic to eliminate Internet anonymity. The arguments are made on the basis of social discourse, the preservation of democracy, legal concerns and questions of security. Once again the Establishment is indicating that the Internet project has gotten away from them and has spiraled dangerously out of control.

Social Upheaval in Modi's India

India is experiencing a strange dynamic. The Modi government is involved in a clampdown against dissidents and the RSS paramilitaries are harassing Christians and others who are deemed less than Indian.