Dominionist Jurisprudence and the Evangelical Destruction of Gospel Testimony

https://www.propublica.org/article/paul-newby-north-carolina-supreme-court

There are enough stories like this to fill a book shelf. Christians believing they are serving God by wielding power and yet oblivious to their own corruption or willing to explain it away. Ignoring what the Bible says about power, money, ethics, and integrity they wage culture war and seek to transform America's Enlightenment Liberal society into the Kingdom of God. The result is a sham, a counterfeit and yet another occasion in which the name of Christ is besmirched.

Ritter, Russia, and Hersh

https://consortiumnews.com/2026/01/23/scott-ritter-getting-it-wrong-on-russia/

Seymour Hersh has been on my mind as of late. I was able to watch the 2025 documentary Cover-Up, directed by Laura Poitras. It traced and highlighted aspects of career and offered some interesting and candid moments.

The End of the Road for Bolsonaro?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/28/support-dissolves-as-jair-bolsonaro-starts-jail-term

It would seem Jair Bolsonaro grew desperate and attempted to remove his tracking anklet which resulted in the judge insisting that (since his appeals were exhausted), he immediately begin serving his 27 year jail sentence.

Georgia and the Slippery Nature of Defining Democracy

https://eurasianet.org/us-congressional-measure-to-punish-georgian-dream-government-at-risk-of-failure

Take note how the religious concept of 'backsliding' is being applied to governments that are restricting democratic processes and institutions. Democracy is indeed a key doctrinal plank in the Humanist religion. In most cases its ideals and values are simply assumed by media and government figures and yet it's never that simple.

Christian Radio, Deceitful Stunts, and Distortions of Reality

The other day I was working within range of the American Family Radio (AFR) signal and I caught some of Todd Herman's show. He suggested the globalists had taken over American foreign policy and that the United States had been actively involved in the manipulation of Ukrainian politics. He pulled out material and clips from 2014 of Victoria Nuland and others to make his point. It was almost like I was listening to Democracy Now or The Grayzone.

Trump, Vance, and the Coming Fragmentation of NATO

We all knew that Trump was going to tear NATO apart. After less than a month in office the process has already begun in earnest. I watched coverage of the Vance speech in US media and let's just say they're not covering the real scope and impact of what the vice-president said - let alone the response or the larger context going back to the first Trump administration and before.

The Church and Election Subversion

 https://www.cpr.org/2024/10/03/tina-peters-former-mesa-county-clerk-prison/

I don't believe in the American system. I've made this very clear but it continues to baffle me how these Evangelicals (and others within the orbit of the Christian Right wave their flags and step over each other to display their patriotism) have (in the Trump era) turned to actions that fundamentally undermine the system they profess to love and believe in. Everything they do testifies to the fact that if it means they lose - they don't believe in it either.

Democracy in Crisis

https://theworld.org/segments/2024/09/18/democracy-is-under-strain-across-the-globe

Advocates for democracy are concerned. The once seemingly inevitable and unstoppable 'progress' of their system seems to be struggling. Some would say it's under strain, others would put in more stringent terms and simply say that democracy is in a state of crisis. They would point not just to the rise of authoritarian regimes but the strain on democracy within Europe and the evident fragility of the American system - supposedly the very nexus of modern democracy, the nation upon which the narrative depends.

Orban's Habsburg Dreams in Hungary and Europe

https://www.politico.eu/article/habsburg-empire-viktor-orban-patriots-for-europe-hard-right-european-parliament-hungary-austria-czech-republic/

https://apnews.com/article/viktor-orban-hungary-romania-eu-3ea649669de75d13b0ba3585c0e83239

The lead article alludes to the Habsburg Empire but then proves less than accurate in some of its historical statements. Orban does indeed have Habsburg allies but the article isn't really about the Habsburgs. The article touches on his grand vision, the supposed reconstitution of the Habsburg realm, but the story is really in the numbers. These reveal the rightward shift that's taking place in Europe and (I think) sheds light on Orban's more immediate machinations. It's clear he's thinking a couple of steps ahead, preparing for the next European Parliamentary election in 2029.

The 2024 EU Parliamentary Elections

https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-braces-for-far-right-wave-as-eu-election-looms/

It's too difficult to tell if there will be a Right-wing wave in the June 2024 EU Parliamentary Elections. For years the Right has been predicted to win in France and yet always seems to fail in the second round. In other words, when it comes down to it, people are willing to vote strategically rather than stick to one party come what may. It's a definite difference when compared to the US winner-take-all system - one that makes a two-party duopoly all but inevitable.

The Georgia Indictment, RICO, and Rudy Giuliani

I have not been watching all of the news coverage but I would hope that someone would point out the irony present in this situation. Giuliani has been swept up in the Georgia indictment on the basis of RICO – the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Democracy as a Worldview

https://breakpoint.org/no-mr-president-democracy-isnt-a-worldview-politics-cant-answer-our-deepest-questions/

I am fully aware that many consider John Stonestreet to be something of a lightweight and yet, when I find his commentaries appearing on Calvinistic websites like The Aquila Report, it indicates a growing appreciation for him. As such, I feel compelled to respond, since no one else seems willing to do so. There is much to be learned from his Evangelical-Kuyperian (or Colsonite) errors and the convoluted thinking his commentaries represent.

I'm not sure what that says about the likes of The Aquila Report.

Right Wing Evangelicals in Brazil and the Embrace of Fascism

https://theworld.org/stories/2022-07-29/brazil-s-evangelicals-work-us-political-mission

https://theworld.org/stories/2022-07-29/brazil-s-evangelicals-stand-president-bolsonaro

I have visited this topic more than once but with today's election in Brazil it once more comes to mind. The rise of Bolsonaro isn't that surprising as we see Right-wing and fascistic movements waxing everywhere. But it is the Evangelical support for Bolsonaro that is particularly of interest and the fact that like Trump he has all but announced that if he loses the election he will not accept the results – and has indicated he's willing to entertain extreme measures to reverse the result.

The Saudi Alliance and the False Claims of the American Establishment Regarding Autocracy and Authoritarianism

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/03/09/lockheed-military-manufacturing-saudi/

Biden and others in the American Establishment have sought to cast the new Cold War in terms of the Liberal Democracies versus the Authoritarian States. This claim is as farcical as the Capitalist Free World versus the Communist Bloc of the first Cold War. The truth is always far more complicated.

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?

Italy and the United States: Seeking Stability in the Elder Statesmen

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/president-mattarella-reluctant-hero-in-italys-crisis/

Akin to similar developments in other Western democracies, the polarity within Italian politics has reached an extreme – to the point that change itself is feared. Elected to his second term as president, Sergio Matarella is 80 years old and he is the stabilizing factor, the shepherd of an inherently unstable situation – that of Italy's National Unity government which was formed last year.

Lessons from the Watchtower's Canadian Experience during World War II

https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/canada/Remembering-a-Legacy-of-Faith-From-Canadian-Labor-Camps/

https://www.e-know.ca/regions/east-kootenay/kootenay-park-conscientious-objector-camps/

Juxtaposing these two articles on Canadian Jehovah's Witnesses during WWII reveals something of how this group perceives itself and how it is perceived and misunderstood by those outside it.

Follow up on the Chechen Murdered in Berlin

https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/15/zelimkhan-khangoshvili-russian-man-convicted-of-2019-berlin-murder-of-georgian-chechen

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2021/10/the-geopolitics-of-dead-georgian-in.html

Accused Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov has been found guilty of the 2019 murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili – Chechen militant living in Germany. The verdict is no surprise and it has led to tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions.

The Capitol Attack: China Exposes US Hypocrisy

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Attack-on-Congress:-Chinese-in-US-alerted.-Beijing-criticizes-US-democracy-52006.html

I hate to admit it but in this case Beijing does have a point. Actually their statements are rather restrained – Beijing has only touched upon the tip of the iceberg.

The Contest for Moldova

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Moldova-is-preparing-for-a-revolution,-Belarus-style-51461.html

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Moldovan-elections-head-for-run-off-51513.html

Sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, Moldova remains poised for the same sort of unrest that has plagued both Ukraine and Belarus. Indeed, the nation which is more or less Romanian in its ethnicity is divided between it majority population and a considerable minority of Russians and other Eastern Slavs.