After resolving the years-long dispute over the naming status
of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the newly named North
Macedonia is poised to join NATO. This has been a long-time goal of both
Brussels and Washington, a step toward the post-Cold War consolidation project
that began in the 1990's, an agenda that lost steam in the early 2000's.
08 March 2020
07 March 2020
Orthodox Activism and Western Journalism
I have no desire to defend the tenets of Classical Liberalism
but this Politico article in assuming them, spawns an unnecessary confusion.
The Russian Orthodox Church does not embrace the epistemological or social model
of Western Liberalism and Putin has apparently all but abandoned it as well.
This is why in the contemporary context they are viewed as heretics by the
adherents of Atlanticism, the Western Establishment and many Western Christians
as well.
29 February 2020
Belgium, Nuclear Weapons and the Breaking of Atlanticism
In light of Trump's
posture towards NATO, one would find it hardly surprising to learn the Belgians
don't want to find themselves as a frontline state in the case of a conflict
with Russia. Why should they endure the risk without the reward?
The Death and Burial of Kemalism
With the West's open opposition to him (except when it comes
to potential conflict with Russia vis-à-vis Syria) Erdogan has decided to
dispense with the pretense of Kemalism. The secular Western-oriented ideology
founded by Mustafa Kemal 'Ataturk' governed Turkey from its founding in the
1920's up until the early 2000's and the rise of the AK Party.
23 February 2020
The Iranian Collaborators: Constantine's Agents in the Realms of Shapur
Shapur II, the Sassanian king of Persia (today's Iran) brutally
persecuted Christians in the 4th century. Under previous Sassanian and
Parthian rulers, Christians had more or less known peace. Persecuted by Rome,
the Persian lands were for many a haven and it was an important seat of early
Christianity.
17 February 2020
Surveillance and the Facial Recognition Non-Scandal
It's a scandal that continues to widen in its scope and yet
in the United States nothing is being done, or even seriously entertained. In
fact under Trump, surveillance technology continues to increase and law
enforcement is being encouraged to use everything from facial recognition to
sundry tracking systems. Some of the latest intrusions have been able to slip
'under the radar' as it were, under the aegis of combating illegal immigration.
15 February 2020
The Libyan Proxy War: Ankara and Athens set to Clash on the Shores of Tripoli
It's perhaps a bit of an exaggeration but looking at the
growing tensions within the EU, NATO, the Mediterranean, Balkans and the Middle
East, it's starting to look and feel a lot like 1914. Is war imminent? Probably
not, but the situation continues to degenerate, stability is in question,
people are talking about it, and scenarios are beginning to manifest in which
such a suggestion doesn't seem so far-fetched.
11 February 2020
Laos, OBOR and Media Bias
There's little doubt that Beijing has shifted gears and
utilising projects like OBOR, it seeks to undermine Western (and particularly
American) power in Eurasia. It's imperialism to be sure but in many ways it's a
mimicking of the Western model of control through debt, trade and economic
influence. The soft-cultural influence is sure to follow and eventually will
entail a military presence, the forts and outposts established to protect its interests.
It's a well known and established pattern.
09 February 2020
CBGM is Being More or Less Embraced
The author's acknowledgement that all Christians need to
consider the issue of textual criticism is to be applauded but I'm left a
little baffled by his tepid response to the issue of CBGM or the
Coherence-Based Genealogical Method of textual reconstruction.
08 February 2020
A Very Wicked Syria Commentary
I found this commentary to be somewhat shocking and as I read
further I was offended. In a hostile and unstable region the Assad regime (for
all its faults) has long been a friend to the Christian communities in Syria.
An authoritarian regime, these groups have nevertheless been allowed to
function and have been protected from Sunni violence, violence that has
escalated throughout the region as a result of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
01 February 2020
Trump + 1107: The Real Scandal of 2016, Glenn Greenwald and the FBI
Though The Intercept continues its path of compromise and
decline there are still some shining moments which, more often than not are
connected to Glenn Greenwald. This article was no exception. In this piece from
December, Greenwald reveals the true scandal surrounding 2016 election, the one
that's getting almost no attention.
27 January 2020
Belarus on the Front Line
Were these marches funded? Probably not as they were too
small to have a real impact, but it's a well known tactic, one certainly at
work in Hong Kong and undoubtedly in Iran... or soon will be once again.
25 January 2020
Trump and the Asian Pivot
The US Navy
has been doing something unusual, carrier swapping. Usually when one enters the
Navy you more or less spend your career either plugged into the Atlantic or
Pacific fleets. But due to personnel problems, the need to re-fuel existing
craft (that would be nuclear refueling) and in order to keep the active or
cutting edge on the Pacific side, the Navy has been in the process of swapping
ships and crews between locations like San Diego and Norfolk.
24 January 2020
A White Helmeted Fog
In November 2019, James Le Mesurier the founder of the White
Helmets fell to his death from a balcony in Istanbul. With good reason, many
people believe he was murdered and given that these events took place in
Istanbul, many have pointed to the Erdogan government.
19 January 2020
The Dust is Still Settling from the Years of Lead
Apart from the kidnapping and assassination of Aldo Moro in
1978, the worst incident in Italy's Years of Lead was the Bologna Bombing in
1980. It was a wake-up for some as the perpetrators seemed to be not the
Leftist Red Brigades but Right-wing fascist groups.
18 January 2020
Citizenship and Travel in the Coming Dystopia
Is it the Mark of the Beast? Actually no, but I'm still not
doing it. I'm not a Dispensationalist looking for a One World Government and a
Seven Year Tribulation but at the same time this sort of technology and the way
it's being used is certainly bestial.
16 January 2020
The Click-Bait and Spin Machines of the Christian Right
Pulpit and Pen wants so badly to be taken seriously as the
bastion of discernment and the font of all wisdom when it comes to things
Reformed. And yet this is seemingly accomplished by means of a Christianised
version of click-bait. Through sensationalist and misleading headlines the
outlet plays a game of bait and switch that in the end amounts to little more
than a dog and pony show.
13 January 2020
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is Still Apostate
There has been extensive coverage in Christian circles with regard to
the proposed split of the United Methodist Church. Many Evangelical leaders
count it a good thing as for once there is resistance within a Mainline body, a
sign of life and a sign of vitality, that people are willing to stand for
something. The acceptance and open embrace of sodomy by a large faction within
the UMC is a step too far and the conservatives are revolting.
11 January 2020
The Downed 737 in Tehran
The downing of a Ukrainian 737 over Tehran was a tragedy with
well over one hundred lives lost. It took place amid the confusion and angst
surrounding the assassination of Iranian general Suleimani and in particular
the Iranian missile strike in which US bases in Iraq were hit as a form of
retaliation.
09 January 2020
VCY-CrossTalk Chaos
Here's the summary for the 9 January 2020 radio show:
Jim
finished yesterday’s Crosstalk by reading Psalm 20:7:
‘Some trust in chariots,
and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.’
As Dr. Gary Frazier
mentioned earlier this week, we’re seeing both an increase in the frequency and
intensity of the events that point to the return of Christ. The Bible
also tells us that things will get worse and people will go about deceiving and
being deceived.
So while our nation still
has its strengths, particularly from a military standpoint, ultimately we need
to remember the name of the Lord our God, especially as we see what’s unfolding
in our nation and the world.
With this in mind, Jim
asked listeners to call in and share what they believe is the Scripture
verse/verses our nation needs in such a time as this.
04 January 2020
Trump +1079: Military Schisms, the Legality of Assassination and Iran
There's been something of a military schism at work within
the Trump administration. For some time it's been an open secret that the special
forces are more or less out of control. Twenty years of endless war, and certainly
war of this kind has proven to be a golden
age for these groups and they've grown wild and undisciplined.
02 January 2020
The Soleimani Assassination
There will be wars and rumours of wars. A good thing to
remember at a tense moment like this.
And yet one hopes that Soleimani isn't the Franz Ferdinand of
our hour and the unleashing of a chain reaction. Soleimani was a major figure within Iran and one whose name often
surfaced when looking into Iranian foreign policy and its roles in places like
Syria. Soleimani has been at the forefront of the fight against ISIS and is
viewed as the major figure in keeping them out of Iran.
01 January 2020
Incirlik AFB Under Question
Incirlik Air Force Base has long been a key outpost, staging
area and strike platform for the US and NATO. It has played an important role
in how the US projects power into the Middle East.
31 December 2019
Money and the Hong Kong Protests
This is the other side of the story when it comes to the Hong
Kong protests. When you realise how much money flows into some of these protest
movements one must legitimately question their democratic and 'grass roots' nature.
30 December 2019
The Polish Judiciary, the EU and the Threat of Polexit
(Both outlets (DW and Euractiv) can safely be described as
pro-EU)
Free courts are the issue that has Poland in a state of
turmoil. Free in the sense of free from political influence and the potential
control of the Law and Justice Party (PiS)? Or free in the sense of Polish
jurisdiction, precedent and custom being respected and not subjected to the
international judicial dictates of the European Union?
29 December 2019
NPR's Reporting on the Space Force
I don't listen to NPR a lot these days but I did catch this
report the other morning and in some ways it typifies just why I've more or
less abandoned NPR as a news source.
The story is on the newly created Space Force, a Sixth Branch
of the US military. The congressional approval for the Space Force, along with
increased defense spending, provisions made for the border wall and an invite
to give the State of the Union address are all political victories for the president.
A strange thing considering he was just impeached. Why is the Democratically
controlled congress helping and empowering the president?
28 December 2019
Inbox: What can the Uighurs do?
Given the magnitude of the Chinese clampdown in the Xinjiang
region, the Uighur people face unimaginable pressure to abandon their culture
and embrace a Han Chinese identity. Beijing's campaign will within a generation
all but eliminate Uighur culture. While they are a Muslim population, from a
Christian perspective the ethics of resistance are worth exploration. This is all
the more true when we apply the same categories to the Church in the People's
Republic and even (to some degree) the events taking place in Hong Kong.
As Christians, how can we analyse such situations and how
would we respond in accord with the ethics of the New Testament?
26 December 2019
Anti-Sodomite Vigilantism in Brazil
Though few leaders are going to come out and openly support
it, I believe many American Evangelicals support this type of
Christian-on-Pagan violence, or would if given the chance. They're frustrated,
they've had it and they want to lash out. Frankly the theology and culture
promoted by Evangelicalism leads to this. It fosters vengeance. From the
lawsuit and politics to the gun and the glorification of the military,
Evangelicalism has embraced violence and power and has chosen to completely
ignore if not negate the ethics of the New Testament.
With regard to Brazil, at this point we're not sure the fire
was started by 'Christian' vigilantes but there's every reason to believe that
it was.
25 December 2019
Trump +1069: Impeachment and the Christianity Today Editorial (Part 2)
The state of things in
the Evangelical world was already confusing and the events surrounding 2016 has
only amplified this reality. Once nearly tangible blocs and affiliations have
been shattered and the proliferation of Far Right news-sites, blogs and
podcasts has only amplified the problem. Throw in websites like Pulpit and Pen and you discover an
active disinformation campaign.
Trump +1069: Impeachment and the Christianity Today Editorial (Part 1)
It
was something of a bombshell when news broke that Christianity Today, long the flagship magazine of the Evangelical movement
proclaimed that Trump should be impeached. Since then the magazine has been
denounced by Evangelical leaders as 'leftist', 'Marxist' and no longer faithful
to the Scriptures.
Besides being absurd
accusations, all we can really say is... what a mess. If things weren't already
confusing enough, now this.
24 December 2019
Libya and the Escalating Mediterranean Conflict
The rift continues to deepen between Turkey and Libya and the
story is further complicated by frankly dishonest Western reporting regarding
the status of Khalifa Haftar and his backers.
23 December 2019
Nord Stream 2 Sanctions
The US has introduced sanctions on companies involved in the Nord
Stream 2 pipeline project which brings gas from Russia directly into Germany
via the Baltic Sea. It's no accident the sanctions were passed as part of the
large defense (military) bill passed by the US Congress.
22 December 2019
CTE, the Ecumenical Movement and the Sodomite Breaking Point
Churches Together in England or CTE is an ecumenical body
that seeks to bring together the various strands of Christianity within
England. It's part of a larger network of similar bodies that seeks to tie
together all ecclesiastical organisations with the British Isles. It's open to
Catholics, Liberals, Pentecostals, Evangelicals and more and yet the
organisation has recently fallen under some scrutiny over a controversy that
developed over one of its six presidencies.
20 December 2019
Reflections on the Hallmark Channel Controversy
In the end, it's all about the money. If Hallmark refuses to
air the 'gay' television ads, then the advertisers who run their commercials on
Hallmark will catch flak and so to avoid it, they'll start pulling their
adverts from the channel.
19 December 2019
Movement and Summits in Central Asia: The EU Alternative
These recent summits mark a change in the global order and perhaps
for the first time since 1991 the Central Asian nations are demonstrating a serious
willingness to cooperate and perhaps even a desire to function with a degree of
autonomy. At last after almost thirty years it would seem that (some of them at
least) have realised this goal might actually be workable if they agree to
function as a bloc.
17 December 2019
Dominionist-Fueled Violence in Brazil
Evangelical activism can take a different turn in countries
that don't have a stable democracy or a long tradition of liberal values rooted
in established social institutions. In Latin America, in Africa and certainly
in parts of Asia these things are lacking and so it shouldn't surprise us that
such religious extremism (one hesitates to call it Christian) is able to take
root.
16 December 2019
The NATO Summit, Energy Policy and TANAP
The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) has been
completed. At one time this would have been reckoned a victory for US foreign
policy but now given that Ankara has pivoted toward Moscow and Baku is not as
solidly in the US column... there's nothing to celebrate.
15 December 2019
Paul Washer's Shocking Sermon
I believe Paul Washer to be a gift to the modern church. His
passion is compelling. I'm not a Baptist and thus I don't agree with him on
every point. At times I'm baffled by his associations. I wonder if he's one of
those men that is willing to appear in any venue in order to get the message
out. If he's not invited back, clearly he doesn't really care.
12 December 2019
Lausanne and the Evangelical Undermining of Sola Scriptura: Watering Down the Word
This article is not unique. In fact there are dozens just
like it produced on a daily basis. I've repeatedly addressed these issues in my
writings and yet since there are so few who seem willing or able to provide the
necessary critique I feel compelled to keep doing so, hoping that someone will
stumble upon it, or that this time it will 'click' with someone.
11 December 2019
The Malta Scandal, Energy Deals and Azerbaijan
One aspect to the scandal surrounding the car-bombing death
of journalist Daphne Galizia that has not been focused on, at least not so far,
is the connection to Azerbaijan and the politics of the Caucasus.
10 December 2019
The NHS and US-UK Trade: Spinning the Revelations
On the one hand I'm a little baffled by the 'breaking' nature
of this story because there were hints of this a couple of years ago. The
Brexit vote was in June of 2016 and Trump of course won the election in
November of that year. There were rumours of NHS privatisation in the air coming
from Tory circles, even during Cameron's tenure, and then it seems to me about
2018 there was a kerfuffle over Trump suggesting that a US-UK trade deal would
require opening up the NHS to US investment and a degree of privatisation.
Well, apparently due to Corbyn's utilisation of these leaks,
it's a big story again. But what's interesting is the media response.
09 December 2019
The Ethos of New Calvinism and Christmas
The celebration of Advent used to raise eyebrows in
Evangelical circles.
08 December 2019
Trump Messianism and Slippery Speech
I seem to recall great concern being expressed back in
2008-2009 over Obama's perceived messianism, the fact that his followers spoke
of him in almost devotional terms as something of a saviour.
07 December 2019
German Militarism and the Rise of Von der Leyen
I'm afraid the picture for this article caught my eye. I
remember on a few occasions working with the German Budeswehr loading and
unloading C-160's. They're like a miniaturised two-engine version of the
Lockheed C-130. Our base normally hosted Spanish and British air units (F-18's
and AWACS) but the Germans would show up on occasion in connection to some
transport mission.
05 December 2019
The Spirit of Capitulation in Evangelicalism With Regard to Sunday
Evangelical leaders continue to produce theology which
ratifies the cultural status quo. From divorce and psychology, to work,
finances, lawsuits, politics and how we order our time, the Evangelical
leadership does not disappoint in this regard. If there's a way to baptise the
cultural norms, you can count on them. Motivated primarily by a fear of losing
numbers, money and ultimately cultural influence they seem to spend an
inordinate amount of time teaching about the culture... but in reality they
endlessly explore ways to push the church to the edge of the cultural cliff and
then hope that they won't fall off.
03 December 2019
Multi-Generational Nightmare Weapons
Though largely discredited in my eyes, I still glance at The
Intercept from time to time. There are still some good reporters attempting to
produce decent journalism and while the original goals of the outlet have
clearly been subverted, the mechanisms of control are not absolute.
01 December 2019
Georgian Orthodoxy and Cold War II
Georgia's
Orthodox Patriarch Ilia II has skeletons in his closet which his enemies are
attempting to exploit. Formerly a leader within the World Council of Churches
(WCC) Ilia is being accused of being a pro-Moscow puppet. Sadly (for him) his
former WCC affiliations will (for some) give credence to that charge. It's well
known the functionally apostate WCC was infiltrated by the Soviets during the
Cold War.
30 November 2019
ISIS Scatters to the Four Winds... And to Central Asia
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Seventeen-die-in-Islamic-State-attack-on-border-checkpoint-48474.html
This has long been the fear, that in the aftermath of its
Syrian defeat and the death of its leader, the surviving elements of ISIS would
return to their home countries and bring their violent forms of Salafism with
them. Al Qaeda it would seem is on the wane and the more extreme, apocalyptic
and (despite its attempted caliphate) even de-centralised forms of Salafi violence
represented by ISIS are growing in popularity. The same frustrations that are
driving people on to the streets across much of the world are in the Islamic
context driving some youth into radicalism.
28 November 2019
A Moment of Cultural Examination in Italy
The ANSA news service seems to be lamenting the fact that
only 57% of Italian mothers work outside the home. If there's something to
lament it's that 57% of Italian mothers work outside the home. Ideally the
number would be zero.
26 November 2019
Frontline's In the Age of AI
I recently watched the PBS Frontline documentary on AI or
Artificial Intelligence. I recommend it but with qualification. It was both
interesting and disturbing but it was also misleading. There were some
interesting discussions to be sure. From the future of jobs to some rather
questionable uses in medicine to social media and surveillance, the documentary
raises numerous salient questions.
24 November 2019
Logic on Fire: The Life and Legacy of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
I had been waiting with some anticipation for a few years to
view the Lloyd-Jones film Logic on Fire
and after viewing it I must say I was quite disappointed.
21 November 2019
Macron, Aachen and the Ghost of de Gaulle
Already there are cracks appearing in the 2019 Aachen Treaty
which was signed by France and Germany in the former Carolingian capital.
19 November 2019
Buying Czech Loyalty: Rewarding the V4
It is with veritable glee that the American and European
publics mark the thirty year anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. And
yet military contractors perhaps find a greater reason to rejoice in marking
the nearly 29 years since the Warsaw Pact collapsed. After almost three decades
it can be safely said that most former Eastern Bloc hardware is becoming
obsolete.
17 November 2019
Hungary, the UK and the Politics of Huawei
https://www.euractiv.com/section/5g/news/hungarys-emergency-infrastructure-hardware-built-by-huawei/
Washington is not pleased that Budapest is collaborating with
Beijing when it comes to its 5G infrastructure. This is part of a larger
struggle with China over technology and global 'tech' infrastructure. Despite
US machinations and even threats, China continues to make inroads into Europe.
11 November 2019
AFR: Blind Guides of the American Evangelical Movement
A couple of weeks ago I was driving about an hour south of
where I live and picked up American Family Radio (AFR). As bad as the Family
Life Network is, I must say AFR is perhaps worse, or at least more overtly political.
Every time I've tuned in, its airwaves propagate Scriptural error and bad
politics rooted in the network's bad theology.
07 November 2019
Pompeo's Sacrilege
05 November 2019
Mayer's Credibility on the Line
Mayer became a familiar face to me when she appeared on
Frontline's series about the Iraq War near the end of the Bush presidency.
Since then she's appeared in other Frontline documentaries and I've heard her
interviewed on NPR. Though I haven't personally read her pieces in The New
Yorker I did read 'Dark Money', her 2017 expose which proved very informative.
Overall I've found her to be a pretty solid journalist... pretty much within
the Establishment consensus but intelligent and probing.
03 November 2019
Training the Satraps
Few realise just how common this sort of this is and what an
important role it plays for the US empire.
Hidden behind euphemisms of partnership, friendship and
alliance the reality is these nations are beholden to the United States.
Self-Affirmation Confused With the Will of God
But she's not plugged in to God's plan. This is a case of
self-affirmation being confused with the will of God or God's Plan.
We may speak of God's decretive will or Providence in which
His will is indeed accomplished regardless of the outcome or means. And yet we
live by His Revealed Will which we can point to as a sure guide.
01 November 2019
European Drama: Aachen versus Brussels?
France has halted the process to enlarge the EU even as
Balkan states form what amount to a 'Mini-Schengen' zone of custom free
borders.
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