Western Deals with Rwanda

https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/rwanda-exports-critical-mineral-tungsten-concentrate-to-the-us-for-the-first-time/jcl63ne

The article only mentions it in passing but there's a suspicion connected to the 'conflict free' minerals coming out of Rwanda. Under Paul Kagame, Rwanda has long involved itself in the affairs and ongoing wars of Eastern Congo - primarily in their support of the M23 militia. Time will tell if the present peace does in fact hold.

How Should We Then Live Part 8: The Age of Fragmentation (II)

I think it safe to say that Europeans developed a deeper concept of life and thus art – and they felt a deeper and more reflective pain regarding the changes that had overtaken the West.

An Anglo-American wrote about The Wasteland but I think the Europeans felt it more poignantly. Likewise Romanticism came to America but (in my estimation) it never took hold as it did in Europe. Primitivism, the frontier, individualistic anti-Puritanism and the grand spectrum of nature played a part in American Romanticism but it was not deeply retrospective and if anything progressive and therefore of a very different (though at times still pleasing) character.

How Should We Then Live Part 8: The Age of Fragmentation (I)

Watching this episode I was reminded of something I have referenced before – spending time in Europe with American Fundamentalists. In general I found that American Fundamentalists (often from the Mid-West or South) did not always appreciate the richness of Europe and its culture. Their palette struggled with the foods, the ubiquitous alcohol put them off, the arts and culture struck them as high-brow and their own patriotism (and frankly provincialism) caused them to constantly look down on other nations and cultures – and in many cases things they didn't understand. They didn't enjoy their time and I certainly did not enjoy my time with them.

The Establishment's Pro-Robotics Propaganda and its Manipulation of the Political Spectrum

http://www.politico.eu/article/germany-should-welcome-robot-overlords-global-policy-lab/

We are told in this article to welcome the robot revolution and to not be concerned with either the technological implications... which are not really addressed... or the social impact.

In fact robots replacing workers are viewed as a solution to workplace problems and by implication it could even help with the social tensions regarding immigrants!

What we really have here is a Right-wing piece that's meant to promote the interests of the capitalist class.

A DTS Podcast on Theology and Technology

A recent Dallas Theological Seminary podcast on technology and theology provided a sobering instance of worldview teaching's syncretistic tendencies. It might be added the failure and unbiblical nature of worldview-Dominionism can have startling implications for both the Church and the culture. When it comes to technology the stakes are high and I found myself a bit taken aback by the guest's shortsightedness, even blindness when it comes to these questions.

The Plight of Christians in Laos

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/laos.christians.exiled.and.beaten.for.their.faith/103309.htm

This is a heartbreaking story but one that we need to hear and follow. There is perhaps another story here... a growing nationalist/Sacralist tendency within Theravada Buddhism. We've already seen it in Sri Lanka but it's definitely on the rise in places like Burma, Thailand and indeed Laos.

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.

Trying to Keep Focused in a Spinning World

Steel Mills, Fighter Jets, Leaks and Fake News

This isn't about keeping our eyes on Christ amid a world that seems bent on chaos. That goes without saying.

I'm talking about what's happening on the street.

Feeding on the Corpse of Brazil

At this point it's difficult to point to hard evidence but there are rumours, suggestions and hints that the toppling of Rousseff in Brazil has at the very least been instigated by forces associated with the United States. The case is growing almost by the day.

The Christian Right and Free Market Orthodoxy

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-utx-idUSMTZSAPEC2EIWOEVW

It continues to surprise me that so many who advocate the free market continue to support Trump. With Sanders on the Democratic side, he doesn't really elaborate his policies. Both populists promote big ideas but seem unable to elaborate on the details. A few people are starting to notice. But one point that Trump does make clear is his economic stance regarding outsourcing, trade deals, tariffs and the like.

Right-Wing Market Analysis Wanting

I turned on Rush Limbaugh the other day while in the car and he was extolling the wonders of the Free Market and its effect on the price of oil. He attributes the low price at the pump to the miracle of Fracking.

Social Darwinism and Detroit

I've seen numerous videos on the downfall of Detroit. This one is brief and to the point. I enjoyed the guy by the burn barrel. He knows more about economics than Thomas Sowell does!

The Capitalist system is little more than Social Darwinism and these are the people marked for extinction. They're a mess but they've also been wronged. Just because some of them have turned to bad behaviour doesn't mean the corporate criminals are off the hook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrUFZrWQRhE