Manchurian Candidates, Keystone Cops or Something Else?

G4S is one of many companies that is heavily linked with the US-intelligence apparatus and the Corporatocracy. Conspiracists will wonder if Orlando shooter Mateen isn't some kind of Manchurian Candidate. Of course it is rather suspicious when one considers his background and the fact that he was well known to authorities. This pattern is repeating as we have seen more or less the same thing with regard to the recent terror attacks in Europe.

An Ominous Anniversary: 22 June 1941

Remembering Barbarossa

Seventy-five years ago Germany unleashed a massive assault on the Soviet Union opening up the Eastern Front, the largest battleground in human history. Tens of millions would die over the next four years and the Eastern Front would take on a particularly sinister and horrific character with genocide, death camps, and ethnic cleansing. It was a brutal chapter in human history, the real heart of the war and for the people that lived through it... it can never be forgotten.

Relationships as a Euphemism for Recruitment and Corruption

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Visitor_Leadership_Program#Agencies_involved

There are only hints of CIA recruitment associated with this particular programme and yet it is exactly the kind of venue utilised by the US Establishment to 'establish relationships' with future world leaders.

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.

Misconceptions About Teen Unemployment and the Minimum Wage

You might see these little banners and graphs depicting the plunging rate of teen employment and this is usually followed by some declarative statement about the minimum wage kills jobs etc...

The Saudi Gambit

http://oilpro.com/post/24372/battle-saudi-iran-oil-proxy-war-heats-up-bin-salman-consolidation

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/blog/2016/5/11/saudi-oil-keeps-flowing-while-debt-reaches-record-levels

Earlier this year PBS' Frontline put out a documentary on Saudi Arabia. Frontline is a good show when it comes to covering domestic controversies. I have found it to be seriously lacking and rather slanted when it comes to covering anything international. I usually feel like I'm watching a propaganda video issued by the State Department.

The Feminist Double-Standard on Display in Ottawa

Recently there was a big stink in the news about Canadian PM Trudeau 'elbowing' a fellow MP who was part of a group trying to physically block a vote.

A Lost Soul, an Icon... with some integrity

Muhammad Ali was an intriguing figure regardless of whether you like boxing or not. I grew up in the household of a boxing fanatic. Even though my father was about as Right-wing as they come, Ali intrigued him. His conversion to Islam and his anti-war stance were not appreciated but when the guy appeared on the scene he could fight like no one else.

He was by all accounts amazing even if obnoxious and outrageous in his presentation. He came across as unbelievably arrogant and yet he could back up his words.

And yet he gave it all up because he refused to go to Vietnam.

Missile Defense in Romania

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nato-shield-idUSKCN0Y30JX

The US media is persistently deceptive in reporting on Missile Defense Systems. Of course the US media in general doesn't really want to talk about this issue.

Two Kingdom Theology in its Compromised Form

http://heidelblog.net/2016/05/memorial-day-a-time-to-distinguish-between-patriotism-and-pulpit/

This article is an affront to morality and Biblical sensibilities. All too often what passes as Reformed Two Kingdom Theology manifests itself in this type of mostly Sacralist, certainly Kuyperian and loosely Constantinian format. While not wishing to formalise a so-called Christian state it nevertheless champions the legacy of so-called Western Christendom. While its advocates may be anti-Theonomic and so-called Amillennialists, their embrace of Dominionist categories both in the end and on a practical level brings them to more or less the same place. In terms of ethics they might as well be Post-millenarians of the old stripe.

The Fallujah Deception

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-on-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html

http://morallowground.com/2012/04/04/on-this-day-2004-us-forces-launch-operation-vigilant-resolve-first-battle-of-fallujah/

I was watching a clip tonight on a mainstream media website that attempted to provide an explanation as to 'Why Fallujah Matters'.

Vietnam and the Pivot

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36360005

Vietnam wants to purchase and utilise US weapons but the United States wants Vietnam to have them even more.

Walls, Pulpits and Impoverished Hermeneutics

Nehemiah built walls to keep his enemies out. So don't be too quick in condemning Donald Trump for wanting to build one.

I heard this in a sermon on a recent Sunday. This is the state of the Evangelical pulpit. Actually the congregation I was attending would probably qualify as more of the Fundamentalist variety. Evangelicals would probably be more likely to talk about the vocation of Border Guard and how special they are in God's eyes for doing that holy task.

Weapons Caches and Dark Plots

It has long been suggested the US and its allies have established weapons caches in various locales, especially in Europe that were accessible by those in the know and in an hour of need. Supposedly set up for 'Stay-behind' units, covert cells established to generate resistance in light of a Soviet invasion, these weapons caches were used by various underground groups during the 1970s and 1980s to conduct terror operations across Europe.

Gaddafi's Libya and the United States

A lesson in alliance and machination

During the opening salvos of the Cold War, the United States found a staunch ally in Libya's King Idris who reigned from 1951-69. Italian imperialism seemed to be replaced by the United States which promptly utilised the nation's resources and appropriated a large airbase. Libya was viewed as strategically important, a bridge between the Mediterranean, Africa and the Middle East.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelus_Air_Base#United_States_withdrawal

Another Far Right Almost-Victory... This time in Austria

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36362505

Even though the Right-wing candidate Norbert Hofer of the FPÖ finally conceded, once again the fact that these parties are coming so close to power and are gaining in popularity indicates there's a growing wave of sentiment with their positions and ideology.

New York Police: Intoxicated by Power

http://gothamist.com/2016/03/01/nypd_home_invasion.php

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has long shown their disdain for the Constitution and the rule of law. Though they fell under some criticism for 'Stop and Frisk' they continue to abuse their authority and believe they are the totalitarian masters of the Five Boroughs.

Keating, Keating and Butler

Perhaps I wasn't alone when I heard on the radio that Charles Keating was killed in Iraq. It stopped me dead in my tracks.

What?

I did a double-take because the name was all too familiar. Charles Keating was one of the major figures in the Savings and Loan Crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Socialism and Identity Politics

If Bernie Sanders wanted to demonstrate his true Socialist bona fides, he would attack Obama's recent Transgender Bathroom mandate.

Lethal Injection and the Pharmaceutical Industry

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36292193

There's something rather offensive about a company like Pfizer or any pharmaceutical company trying to take the moral high ground.

Netanyahu's Game

http://atimes.com/2016/05/russia-seeks-bigger-middle-east-role-through-alliance-with-israel/

What's Benjamin Netanyahu up to? He met with Putin last year over Syria and now over energy? Is this about the post-Assad era? Is Israel securing the lines on the map, buffer zones and energy deals?

Oil and Geopolitical Tension

Margolis once again provides some interesting information and succinctly reveals some of the tensions at work in the Saudi-American relationship. Riyadh is plagued by angst and fears about their standing in both the Islamic sphere and larger economic world.

Deep State Disturbance: The Resignation of Davutoglu

http://www.turkishamericannews.com/turkey/item/460-davutoglu-2013-talks-with-gulen-known-by-gul-erdogan

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/so-who-authorized-davutoglus-gulen-visit.aspx?pageID=238&nid=82373

This is probably premature as undoubtedly more will come out in subsequent days and yet there may be one angle to this story that is not being considered in most media reports.

Icons of Political Christianity: Sometimes Inspiring But Always in Error

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36180902

Roman Catholic priest Daniel Berrigan was despised by the Christian Right for using verses like the one in Isaiah 2 referring to the beating of swords into plowshares.

Blocking Putin in Cuba

In no way do I wish to celebrate the Obama administration and its achievements but I find it striking that in their zeal to tarnish his name and diplomatic agenda the Right-wing has overlooked something they should view as something of a triumph for US diplomacy.

Ann Coulter, Christian Sage

Ann Coulter's star seems to be fading but for several years she was not only one of the most extreme Right-wing commentators but considered one of the most overtly Christian.

Polish Sacralism

http://www.politico.eu/article/polands-church-state-alliance-to-ban-abortion/

This is the kind of relationship American Evangelicals long to implement. The Protestant Sacral model is one in which the Church advises the state, it acts as arbiter for official policy.

Evangelical Femininity and Power

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-35813994

It's people like this that make me ashamed to say I'm a Christian or a homeschooler. I always feel like I have to say, "I'm a Christian, but..."

Tony Evans and Charles Ryrie, Dispensationalism and Dominionism

God has designed mankind to be in charge, not in chains. God wants Christians to rule, too often they're living like exiles.

I caught these blurbs the other day on Moody Radio, advertising for the Tony Evans radio programme.

Aerial Antics and a Russian Pilot Inspired by Hollywood

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36177405

https://theaviationist.com/2016/04/17/russian-su-27-interceptor-performs-top-gun-stunt-over-u-s-spyplane/

The US is outraged that a Russian pilot challenged an American plane that was getting a little too close to its shores. Apparently he pulled a stunt and the US is trying to act outraged but instead they're looking pretty foolish. The US is calling Russian actions provocative and irresponsible.

But when Tom Cruise does it to the Russians, then it's cool, he's a hero and we all laughed and clapped.

American Evangelicalism: A Death Cult

http://www.freemansperspective.com/military-evangelical-complex/

There are some very flawed views (of the Libertarian variety) in this piece and yet in general it is correct regarding the way in which the military has formed a nexus with American Evangelical culture.

Trillium Afoot

Spring is not my favourite season but it has its glories.

The Trillium has emerged in the Mid-Atlantic, blanketing shady hillsides. It's beautiful. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you are all the poorer for it.

 

The World Celebrates Sin: When Celebrities Die

They think it strange that you do not run with them in the same in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. (1 Peter 4.4)

China's TSPM: Political Christianity, Sacral Architecture and Oil Money?

Let's hope there's more to their gospel than this.

By Tor and the Electric Eye

Tor (The Onion Router) is often touted as a means to escape government surveillance, a way to evade tracking and the discovery of your location. It utilises encryption and thousands of relays to inhibit analysis.

Walter Williams Does the Hustle

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/04/walter-e-williams/slavery-framers/

The very premise of American colonialisation vis-à-vis the Indians was racist. Imperialism in virtually every case is rooted in the idea that one people is better than another and has a 'right' or even 'obligation' to take lands and resources from lesser people and in many cases enslave them.

The Grey Wolves and the Turkmen Brigades

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/russian-plane-crash-isis-linked-turkish-group-grey-wolves-may-have-downed-airbus-a321-1541304

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/syria-photos-alparslan-celik-rebel-leader-turkey-who-shot-russian-pilot-go-viral-656993

IBT's reporting is a little confused here. The Grey Wolves if allied with the Syrian Turkmen Brigades are not affiliated with ISIS, they're fighting ISIS along with the Assad regime and the Kurdish YPG.

Russia's Response to American Aggression

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/us-navy-could-have-shoot-down-low-flying-russia-jets-john-kerry

Can you even imagine if Russian ships were sailing in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana or Texas? What if they were sailing between Catalina Island and Long Beach? What if they were conducting war exercises... with Mexico?

Privatised Sociological and Census Data

Lockheed Martin epitomises the Military-Industrial Complex and the Corporate Establishment. These articles are several years old but the issue keeps coming to the surface. It's been on my mind over the past few days so I dug up these links.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/uk/news/press-releases/2008-press-releases/census2011.html

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2011/01/11/big-corporate-brother-lockheed-martin-shadowing-you

Why is a company like Lockheed Martin getting involved in the UK and Canadian census? Why is the biggest government contractor in the United States and one of the wealthiest and most powerful corporations in the world collecting census data on citizens in other countries?

Foreign Fighters in Transcaucasia: Nagorno-Karabakh Sounds the Alarm About the Grey Wolves and ISIS

Of course the spokesman for the Nagorno-Karabakh republic has a stake in the fight and so I will remain a little dubious about his statements. The few articles that are circulating in the American press are written by Armenians as well. This doesn't mean they're necessarily wrong but I urge caution. The emotions run so high in the Caucasus that statements and claims can get a little carried away.

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/842113/adrbejanin-ajakcum-en-ahabekichnery-arajnagits-en-bervel.html

Transcaucasia: Alliances and Arms Sales by Proxy

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has flared once again and is making the news. The conflict which erupted as the Soviet Union collapsed has never been fully resolved. The breakaway Armenian enclave lives in a state of siege and there continues to be dangerous border areas inhabited by snipers etc...

Trump and Punishing Women Who Seek Abortion

The Christian Right shouldn't be shocked by Trump's statements about punishing women who have abortions. Cruz and other professing Christians seem to want to capitalise on Trump's perceived error but don't want to follow through on the implications of the question. Their dismay strikes me as hypocritical and false.

Issues Etc. and Uwe Siemon-Nietto

http://issuesetc.org/2016/04/01/1-a-european-conservative-perspective-on-the-2016-presidential-race-dr-uwe-siemon-netto-4116/

I don't do a lot of these direct critique pieces anymore but this interview was brought to my attention and maybe some readers will find the comments helpful. If anything as I've suggested in the past it is instructive in dissecting these types of segments so common in Christian media.

An Erstwhile Democrat Transformed into a Trumpite

Recently I had the displeasure of encountering an old acquaintance who at one time I would have described as a working class Democrat. He's a former union guy, a baby-boomer that generally speaking was socially liberal, patriotic and somewhat racist.

I have to say growing up in the West I had not really encountered the old working-class type Democrat before. When I moved to Rust-Belt Appalachia I started finding them all over the place. They love America, the military and believe in hard work and yet don't quite fit into the Progressive or Conservative categories. They are a true mix.

Trump: NATO is Obsolete

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-idUSKCN0WT0MZhttp://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-idUSKCN0WT0MZ

Trump thinks NATO is obsolete. He's right, it should have been disbanded but instead since 1989 it has been the primary tool of imperial expansion. Trump apparently didn't get the memo. I don't know who is advising him, but they're not doing a very good job. NATO is anything but obsolete.

Smartphone: Thesis and Antithesis

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/01ba2970-9e70-11e5-8ce1-f6219b685d74.html?ftcamp=engage/ext_display/Tech/Dianomi_USActual/beacon_connection_q1q2/auddev&utm_source=Dianomi_USActual&utm_medium=ext_display&utm_term=Tech&connectionsus=y&utm_campaign=beacon_connection_q1q2&segid=0201001#axzz44APCVpXf

I hoping this is the beginning of a reaction in the other direction. Let the pendulum swing!

Beck and his Beast Worship

http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2016/03/22/glenn-beck-at-cruz-rally-in-utah-southern-evangelicals-are-not-listening-to-their-god/

The linked video runs about 30mins and is painful to sit through but if you're not aware of the rhetoric, mindset and mood then it's a helpful summary. This is pretty much in keeping with the stuff I hear on the radio. I don't turn it on very often but when I turn on Beck it's pretty much the same material that he presents here.

Albright's Hypocrisy on Display

http://time.com/4272021/karadzic-conviction/

She is a vile creature and I don't feel like she even deserves common courtesy.

International Courts: Rigged Justice

All forms of Nationalism are hideous, all ultimately lead to war and death on a massive scale. Nationalism creates its own ethic and justifies behaviours that otherwise would be viewed as immoral. Essentially as an '–ism', it represents a worldview, a philosophical system with its own metaphysic, epistemology and ethic. It's a religion and thus idolatrous.

Obama in Argentina: Condor and Crocodile Tears

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-argentina-idUSKCN0WQ0I9

Obama is shedding crocodile tears. His language is completely farcical and disingenuous. The problem wasn't that America didn't 'speak out' for human rights. The United States has a long history in Latin America of installing fascist military dictatorships, working with ex-Nazis and aiding these governments in the brutal suppression of their peoples. This is a sordid history connected to the School of the Americas, death squads, secret prisons, torture and assassination.

False Moderation as a Tool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRefP0N8Dy4

Media favourite and Establishment mouthpiece Michael Hayden is critical of Cruz's rhetoric regarding the patrolling of Muslim neighbourhoods.

Asian Alliances and Cold Wars: Past and Present Provocations

The United States continues to push into East Asia and is moving ever closer to the formation of a new Asian version of NATO. It must be remembered that though the USSR certainly occupied Eastern Europe and had attempted and eventually succeeded to establish new regimes in those countries, it was sabre rattlers like Churchill and the United States in forming NATO that really got the Cold War underway. While that narrative is unacceptable to Western convention it needs to be revisited.

Five theories, Apple, the FBI and the LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-apple-fbi-theories-20160321-snap-htmlstory.html

Or #6: This whole thing has just been a big show from the beginning.

Of course option #1, the so-called ACLU scenario hints at this... something Snowden has said all along.

The Snowden Comments and the Mainstream Media

Once again we are provided with a clear example of the mainstream media's true role. Its task is not to report the news and inform the public, but to protect the system and promote its official line.

Snowden, the most important whistleblower on these technical issues has unequivocally declared that the government's claims are false. They don't need Apple to develop anti-encryption software in order to access the iPhone. If anyone would know, it's Edward Snowden.

Decadence Comes to Cuba

I was watching a recent report about some American DJ's setting up a concert in Cuba. I don't know who they are but their music was that kind of grinding discotheque style... the very sort of thing that repressive governments would like to ban. I hate to agree with such governments but the music is culturally subversive and promotes individual gratification, hedonism and decadence. The concert looked like a pretty wicked scene.

The Broken Babel of the European Union

The proposed Brexit is but another signal the colossus that is the EU is beginning to crack and crumble. The US was less than keen on the project in the 1990s (let alone the EEC of the 1950s) but today they want the EU to stand. A divided Europe will likely degenerate and it could happen quickly. The US has bigger fish to fry and the EU represents a bulwark against Putin.

NATO is the real foundation of American power for Eurasia, but a collapsing EU could also rend NATO asunder.

Bloodsport, Profits and Social Ethics

Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao, a professing Christian made disparaging comments about homosexuals. While correct, I find these public declarations are sometimes less than helpful.

Blind Guides of the American Evangelical Apostasy

NPR's Morning Edition ran a recent story about Evangelical support for Donald Trump. Albert Mohler made a few comments in which he expressed shock and disappointment that so many Evangelicals would flock to a man like Trump who has led a life that is largely at odds with the values they hold.

The Strategy of Tension, Economic Espionage in Post-Cold War France and Why Stories Like This Matter

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/13/world/cia-confirms-blunders-during-economic-spying-on-france.html

While revisiting some of the economic changes afoot during the 1990s I was reminded of this episode with France. This took place while I was still stationed in Italy. There were many subsequent episodes after 9/11 and the 2003 Iraq Invasion.

The 1990s was a strange 'in-between' time. After 2001 the world of espionage entered a new 'Golden Age' akin to the 1950s, an age in which the restraints have been removed and its organisations and members have been allowed to drink deeply from the well of shadowy endeavours, dark deeds and murderous plots.

The Arms Industry and Empire

In Southeast Asia the role of Singapore continues to grow as a means to arm the new American formed and backed alliance meant to secure American hegemony and contain China.

ST Kinetics formerly Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS) was utilised by the Reagan administration to set up arms deals with Iran.