The Politics of Orthodoxy in Old Bessarabia

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Romanian-and-Moldovan-Orthodox-Christians-in-conflict-64314.html

I have previously reported on the contest within Eastern Orthodoxy over the question of Moldova - an episode that somewhat parallels events in Ukraine.

Anti-Semitism and the GOP - Then and Now

https://forward.com/opinion/524649/trump-destroyed-guardrails-against-antisemitism-gorka-kyrie-kanye/

The concept of Anti-Semitism has become confused in our day. There is a kind of three-fold debate over race-based Anti-Semitism associated with Right-wing ideology, Anti-Zionism opposed to the state of Israel and its policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians, and even some other forms of Anti-Semitism which often defy the Left/Right divide, focusing on the corrupt nature of Western Capitalist (or for some Globalist) society and the role Jews play in the banking, academic, and political world - and of course the Hollywood and media-entertainment complexes.

Church Attendance under Ceaușescu

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/32218/in-communist-romania-i-was-made-an-example-of-religious-persecution

This article inadvertently reveals some of the misperceptions of life under communism. You certainly could attend church but if you did, there was a price.

Along with the bulk of the public, as a church attender you would not be a member of the Communist Party. In addition you would find many jobs and places to live closed to you. You could live and make a living, but as a Christian you were part of an underclass.

Historical Revisionism and a Romanian Pastor

While reading coverage of the Romanian election (with the second round slated to take place on 18 May), I was absolutely floored reading this from a pastor in Romania:

The Russian invasion of 80 years ago is not forgotten. "They distorted everything; they raped our mothers, wives, and daughters. They are less than 200 km from my home. Do I, myself, have to kill somebody? Or to watch how my family is destroyed? Will I be able to preach again from the pulpit ever in my life? Or to run away? To leave everything behind? To leave my flock behind? I am not ready for this, I don't have the strength. I am not Dietrich Bonhoeffer... I am just a simple Christian pastor who serves his Lord in Eastern Europe."

How many times in recent weeks and months have I heard BBC programmes covering the election warning about the lessons of history being forgotten and the threat of Right-wing revisionism? And then to find this?

Romania's Failed Election and Shift to the Right

https://www.politico.eu/article/could-romania-break-eu-and-nato-elections-russia-influence-moldova-georgia-calin-georgescu/

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/29889/at-a-time-of-social-upheaval-christians-in-romania-are-very-interested-in-how-politics-and-theology-relate-to-each-other

In late November, Romania's presidential election resulted in Calin Georgescu winning the first round with 23% of the vote. He stood poised to win the second (run-off) round and yet before this could happen, the state intervened and annulled the election. After battles in the courts, it was decided that entirely new elections would take place in May of 2025. It is unclear as to whether or not Georgescu will be allowed to run again - even though he continues to lead in every poll.

Washington and the Banderites

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/09/13/czgh-s13.html

It had been a few years since I picked up Russ Bellant's Old Nazis, the New Right, and the Republican Party, the 3rd edition published in 1991. The scandals he reports surrounding World War II-era fascists and the Nixon, Reagan, and GHW Bush administrations have been all but forgotten. And yet it was the Ukrainian angle that drove me to revisit the work - and it revealed some interesting bits of information.

The BBC and the Manipulation of Moldovan History

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg330w2x7g3o

As previously stated in other pieces (linked below) - Moldova cannot join the EU unless Transnistria issue is solved. You can't have an unsettled border and join the EU or NATO.

Orthodox Intrigues in Moldova

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/romanian-orthodox-church-welcomes-moldovan-priests-wanting-join-2024-04-25/

https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/romanian-orthodox-church-welcomes-moldovan-priests-wanting-to-join/

As I have often reported, political programmes of subversion and transformation often contain a religious component. Moldova and its place in the West's Anti-Russia campaign has been overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Ukraine as well as other global conflicts, but in fact the campaign is intensifying as Brussels seeks to fast-track both Chișinău and Kyiv into the EU. Whether that actually happens or not is yet to be seen.

Rehabilitating Vlad the Impaler: The Extreme End of Revisionist Church History

https://www.christianpost.com/news/historical-dracula-was-actually-a-committed-christian.html

I've written on more than one occasion about the growth of Right-wing revisionism surrounding the Crusades. When I was growing up the Crusades were universally condemned within Evangelical and Fundamentalist circles. It was but another of the abominable episodes connected to the false Church of Rome.

Moldovan Intrigues and Russian Threats

https://www.euractiv.com/section/europe-s-east/news/in-moldova-europes-leaders-strive-to-send-message-of-unity-towards-russia/

This article has been in the queue for a few weeks and I might have tossed it aside other than it struck me today (24 June) of how absurd it is in many respects even as NATO continues to push the narrative about the threat of Russia. Russia has been exposed today as a nation in a state of instability and peril. Not only did Putin's forces fail to take Kyiv in 2022, he has now faced a very threatening mutiny and this is even in light Ukraine's failed spring 2023 offensive. Putin looks weak in the eyes of the world.

Homeschooling in Romania and the HSLDA

https://hslda.org/post/as-homeschooling-grows-in-romania-government-cracks-down

As mentioned in previous posts, I'm not a fan of HSLDA and its Dominionist approach to homeschooling and larger questions concerning the law. Confusing Christianity (its doctrines and ethics) with the Western (and more often the American) cultural tradition, their overall approach theology, ethics, and jurisprudence are (to me) seriously misguided.

A Ukraine Miscellany (III): MiG's to Ukraine?

The US wanted to send fighter aircraft to Ukraine but finally someone realised that Ukrainian pilots are trained on Soviet and Russian models – Sukhoi's and MiG's. And so sending them F-16's and the like will do little good. I'm sure they could fly them but they won't be proficient without training.

Bucharest Moves to Block OBOR Access to Central Europe

https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/romania-issues-memorandum-blocking-chinese-firms-from-public-infrastructure-projects/

Romania has been transformed. Once a stalwart member of the Warsaw Pact, during the post-Cold War epoch Bucharest has become a functional satrap of the American Empire – even allowing Washington to base missile systems and troops within its borders.

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.

Orban's Flirtations with Hungarian Dictatorship

https://unherd.com/2020/05/how-viktor-orban-plays-his-enemies/

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/27/862925730/hungary-says-it-will-end-state-of-emergency-giving-orban-power-to-rule-by-decree

Everyone has an angle on Covid-19. For some it provides opportunities to push the envelope of power and Hungary's Viktor Orban has done just that. In light of Orban's attempt to seize emergency powers, cries of dictatorship prevailed and the EU started to take further action against the wayward government in Budapest.

Michael of Romania (1921-2017)

I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago. I apologise for the seeming lack of productivity. I have barely had time to sit down lately. Sometimes days go by and I don't even turn my computer on. When I do I often just keep labouring on whatever project I have going, take a look at the news and avoid everything else. I know I have emails to get to and I will try to do so.

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.

Dominionism Infecting Romania's Evangelicals

http://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/2289/Romania_protests_corruption_interview_evangelicals_adrian_petrice

Romanian Evangelical leader and aspiring political player Adrian Petrice claims he isn't looking for a theocracy or seeking political control but he's using all the language and concepts found in Dominion Theology. It's obvious that he has picked up these concepts from Western Evangelical influence.

Right-Wing Crises and Setbacks within Europe

Poland continues to struggle with Brussels and the conflict is reaching a point of crisis. Neither side is willing to back down.

https://euobserver.com/institutional/136365

https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/poland-rejects-eu-warning-on-constitutional-court-crisis/

The Right-wing PiS currently controls the Polish parliament (Sejm) and has come into conflict with the EU over its politicisation of judicial appointments and its moves toward censorship and restrictive pro-Catholic social policies.

US Nuclear Weapons, Turkey and Romania

https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/us-moves-nuclear-weapons-from-turkey-to-romania/

The US record with regard to nuclear weapons and proliferation is riddled with lies. In another piece I wrote about an incident I witnessed and even participated in back in the 1990s. Official denials are meaningless.

http://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2016/06/missile-defense-in-romania.html

The US may officially deny that they're moving weapons to the new missile 'Defense' base in Romania, but who can say?