There has been a steady stream of such stories in recent days.
The Anti-China campaign is in full swing. It has become so normative to see
this kind of reporting it hardly raises an eyebrow anymore. But it should. In
fact there should be a good deal of ire and even outrage.
When considering the recent government sanctioned UFO reports, one is left wondering if a leak wasn't imminent. Was this damage control, an attempt to head off a 'scoop' brought by some whistleblower? Or was pressure building in some corner of the bureaucracy and finally it was agreed that the report would be released.
And released it was but what has been interesting is that it
has been utilised by the American military-industrial establishment (and its
media assets) as a means of propaganda and scare-tactics.
https://www.vcyamerica.org/crosstalk/2021/06/14/u-s-flag-under-attack/
Every once in awhile I grit my teeth and listen to an episode
of this radio programme that represents a fusion of John Birch Society-inspired
ideology and Protestant Fundamentalism. Not everything on the show is bad but
most of it is and some episodes are certainly worse than others.
This episode (linked above) was one of the bad ones. The
entire discussion is rooted in a false premise and as such the whole discussion
goes off the rails.
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1009882751/the-battle-over-teaching-critical-race-theory
While the interview is less than pleasant to listen to, it
nevertheless is warranted. I was pleased to note that some have picked up on
the fact that the current Critical Race Theory frenzy is little more than hype
and it also represents an attempt by Right-wing forces to generate a new wave
of Tea Party-type hysteria. The parallels are obvious it was refreshing to hear
someone else take note of it.
The legacy of George W Bush is being slowly rehabilitated. In many circles it is already complete. The dismal state of the country and world by the end of his presidency has been forgotten and re-written and he's been transformed into cute and bumbling Grandpa George.
But that's not what he was. He tore the Middle East apart,
sowed cancerous seeds within American society and its judiciary, used
technology for evil means and left behind a legacy of war, mass death, torture,
kidnapping, assassination and the like. He was and is a monster and yet he was
the darling of the American Evangelicals – one of their own. It's a testimony
to the sad and degenerate state of American Christianity.
Like so many other ministries, Come Over and Help is experiencing what I can only call a downgrade. There are many little things I've noticed over recent years but a couple of glaring examples has driven me to go public in my condemnation and I can no longer recommend them as a ministry to support.
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/trump-doj-obtained-data-on-schiff
Greenwald rightly calls out Democratic hypocrisy regarding
the issue of government spying. The tools which they helped to create and
endorse were turned against them. These are the same tools that violate the US
Constitution, undermine free speech and democracy, and the same tools they used
to violate international agreements – and yes, spy on not just citizens but
people within the government – and even political figures in other governments.
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Museum-of-Christian-Culture-opens-in-St.-Petersburg-53335.html
It is entirely appropriate that this farcical museum contains
a Constantine Room, for this form of counterfeit Christianity has its genesis
in the fourth century. Begun by Constantine, the Christianisation project would
be completed by the reign of Theodosius II. Seventeen centuries later the
Church has never recovered from it and its poison has worked its way into the
farthest recesses of the Church on Earth. Indeed there are few who seem able to
question its basic suppositions, and even fewer who can divorce their thinking
from its assumptions.
https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-jurgen-conings-manhunt-culture-war/
The Flemish Rambo is dead but there are no sighs of relief in
Brussels.
The fact that someone like Jürgen Conings would appear on the
contemporary stage is surprising to no one. That extreme Right-wing ideology
and behaviour should arise in Flanders also makes sense. Flemish hatred of
Brussels has only grown in recent years. For them Brussels is the seat of Belgium,
a country they view as an artificial nineteenth-century contrivance and it is
also the seat of the European Union, a political entity that many have also
come to hate as it represents the breakdown and disintegration of not just
regional autonomy but traditional culture.
Lauded
by the broader American Christian community, Kayleigh McEnany continually
demonstrates that she is both a serial liar and a person in the severest grip
of self-deception. She continues to stand by Donald Trump, a person that
essentially wears his reprobation on his sleeve and McEnany seems to equate her
Trumpian fidelity with Christian virtues and ethics – demonstrating only just
how lost she is.
Northwestern Pennsylvania has been the site of a recent controversy that is starting to appear in some national media outlets. A school board member referred to a pro-sodomite library display as evil and as you might imagine this generated a significant backlash prompting both support and calls for his removal.
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Persecution-of-Tajik-Islamists-53398.html
This is a strange story coming from a Catholic news agency.
Why is a conservative Catholic news network taking what is essentially a
Pro-Islamist position?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57304094
Kenya was the scene of a previous Turkish intelligence (MIT)
operation in the late 1990's when (with the help of the CIA) the head of the
PKK was captured. This time it's unclear if Nairobi was a willing participant
in the MIT operation though it seems unlikely that Turkey would have risked the
international scandal to capture someone that frankly is not exactly a
high-value target.
Erdogan's AKP is continuing its campaign against the Gülenist
movement. They have been unable to get their hands on Fethullah Gülen himself
who has lived in the Pennsylvania Poconos since 1999.*
The FOX channel is mistakenly perceived as conservative. It
is certainly Right-wing but conservative is not a term that would apply. And
overarching all the politics of the channel is the ubiquitous presence of tanned,
blond women in tight short dresses – most of whom don't seem to own an outfit
with sleeves. Several of them are former beauty queens and almost all put on
airs of piety and religiosity. It's offensive, but the tactic has worked and
over the past twenty years the entertainment-propaganda channel has played a
profound role in re-shaping Evangelicalism.
Biden's appointment and promotion of Victoria Nuland sends a
clear signal to all that his administration plans to aggressively pursue NATO
expansionism and a policy of Russian roll-back and regime change. And, the
fighting will be dirty. Nuland was point-man (as it were) on the Ukraine
operation in 2014 that resulted in a Color-Revolution/Regime Change.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/chris-hedges-unraveling-empire-united-states/276752/
Chris Hedges is in many respects a brilliant thinker. And yet
reading him always saddens me a bit because of his distorted view of
Christianity. But given his interaction with its politicised forms and his
training under the auspices of theological liberalism, his less-than-Biblical
views are hardly surprising. And while his understanding of the Scriptures is
often wrong, he understands Right-wing Christianity well enough and thus his
comments (though frustrating at times) are often insightful and contain no
small degree of truth.
Seven Mountains Dominionism is simply the Charismatic iteration and packaging put on the Kuyperian doctrine brought to them by the Calvinistic world. It's a little more blatant and crude in how it sets out its agenda as it openly proclaims its desire to capture key cultural institutions.
The story here is that it's not a story. John Fea's Current may cover it, but no one else
really takes notice. This kind of thinking and the doctrinal assumptions which
undergird it have become normalised and normative – to the point that it can be
publically proclaimed without any real controversy.
In this case, it's the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) once again. Rick Warren's business and therapy oriented approach to ecclesiology made him rich and famous. He became a friend of African dictators, was invited into the circles of the Atlantic political order, and built himself a global brand. In recent years he's become little more than a huckster, selling a diet plan that claims to be rooted in Scripture but can only do so by means of wishful thinking and tortured hermeneutics. Warren isn't one to let that stop him. He knows his audience and their ignorance and they continue to fall for his scams.
https://eurasianet.org/perspectives-xian-meeting-marks-a-new-chapter-for-china-in-central-asia
China is stepping aggressively into the gap left by four
years of Donald Trump. The US has not wholly abandoned Central Asia by any
means and the Biden administration has yet to act but at this point Beijing has
the advantage and they're seeking to capitalize upon it.
Extra-Biblical ecclesiology, bad hermeneutics, and bad
doctrine in general have opened the door to feminism and they are now
triumphant in the Evangelical world. So triumphant in fact, that things are
beginning evolve.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/8/us-warns-china-over-moves-on-philippines-taiwan
These types of articles appear almost daily. The US continues
to rattle its sabre and draw lines in the sand – and yet faint lines that can
easily be withdrawn. Washington is pushing for war but it's clear there's still
a good degree of timidity.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/05/20/japan-must-speed-up-defense-says-minister/
Though it is often presented as a preventative measure, a
type of peace through strength, the truth is militarism always results in conflict.
And Japan has been rattling the sabre for some time. The Japanese Right is
eager to re-arm and re-assert its traditional role in the Asian theatre. They
view Japan as a great power on par with Western nations and now 75 years after
its defeat in WWII – it's time for Japan to re-assume its place.
Brussels and Beijing are caught in something of a standoff.
Both political entities have thrown down the gauntlet and now neither knows how
to get out of the situation. And you can be sure that if a way can be found,
the United States will pour fuel on the fire.
Who needs the other more? Who can outlast the other?
In other words, it's a test.
So said the US government in regard to the RyanAir flight diverted by Belarus to Minsk. Ostensibly threatened by a bomb, all admit the move was made by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko in order to seize an opposition journalist with Western ties.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has been
apostate for many years but the recent full inclusion of every extreme form of
sodomy seems shocking to some – but it shouldn't be.
If these people want to impact culture, this isn't the way.
This isn't being salt and light. This is capitulation. I'm not a Sabbatarian though
I will say the Church has always met on Sundays are there are doctrinal reasons
for doing so. It's not essential as the Church can certainly meet on other days
as well – and should. But Sunday worship, the first day of the week in
connection to the Resurrection, is ancient and found in the New Testament
itself.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/05/05/us-space-chief-human-augmentation/
The reason this is being discussed is because it's probably
already happening. Either the West is already involved in human augmentation,
the Chinese are doing it – or probably a bit of both.
It is tragic to watch yet another chapter of violence unfold in the Southern Levant. Israel and Hamas are at war again. People are dying in Gaza. Homemade rockets, the paltry weapons of a desperate people are fired into Israel and yes, some have died. We've seen this play out before. But in this case, there's an extra layer of cynicism and depravity at work as all this centers around the evil that is Benjamin Netanyahu, the current and longtime prime minister of Israel.
https://armenianweekly.com/2021/02/17/turkeys-pivot-in-central-asia-a-calculated-risk/
Under Erdogan's leadership the Turkish state has shifted from being a Western-oriented and zealous member of NATO to a position often described as Neo-Ottomanism. Related to the Byzantine heritage, Neo-Ottomanism seeks to straddle the East-West divide and utilise its central geographic position as a means economic and geopolitical leverage. Instead of embracing the secularist nationalism of Kemalism, Erdogan has sought to rekindle the Islamic identity of the Ottomans.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/political-theatre/woman-arrested-at-bofa-for-no-mask/
I do not endorse Lew Rockwell's website. I visit it just to
see what's being said in those circles. On occasion there's some foreign policy
insight but generally speaking the Libertarianism of the site is contrary to
New Testament doctrine and ethics.
And yet, there are many Christians taken in by their ethos
and values. It's a bit of strange brew – a lot of Traditionalist Catholicism,
Bircher-types, sometimes beyond-the-pale conspiracy stuff, mixed with
Neo-Confederatism and a lot of other things. Sometimes there's something interesting
but often it's more of an occasion to shake one's head.
In 1998 the Wilson Center concluded that the many
longstanding claims regarding American use of germ agents during the Korean War
were not only not credible, they were based on a hoax. In response to this I
would argue that anyone who has spent any time looking into the Wilson Center
would have known the germ warfare denial was all but an endorsement of its
reality. In other words if the Wilson Center is denying it – it probably happened.
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/04/08/pentagon-vietnam-military-china-us-war/
Just a few years ago it seemed the Hanoi and Washington were
on the cusp of becoming formal allies. The controversy that surrounded Bill
Clinton's restoration of diplomatic relations with Vietnam in the 1990's is
long past. Though Vietnam still suffers the effects of the US war in terms of
Agent Orange and the like, they are clearly a resilient people and have moved
on – ready to deal with contemporary realities. The American War now belongs to
another generation. The fear today is with regard to the ancient enemy – not
the Americans across the ocean but the neighbour across the northern border,
China.
https://news.antiwar.com/2021/04/16/pentagon-unclear-if-contractors-will-leave-afghanistan/
The US strategy to secure Afghanistan has failed. A continued
combat troop presence will only further tie down Washington and leave it
committed to the internal politics of the country. The plans for pipelines have
been abandoned – for now.
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/04/06/us-army-facial-recognition-bases/
One might call this The China Effect. Already the UK is using
facial recognition software and US law enforcement agencies are certainly using
the software to scan through ID photo databases and social media.
I must say that I have a special loathing of all the 'Home
and Garden'-type television programmes. I don't have regular television but
I've seen them on occasion and I've seen clips via YouTube and the like. As one
who has connections to the world of home remodeling I can say the effect of
these shows has been disastrous. It has been very beneficial for the Big Box
outlets and the industry which sponsor the shows but in terms of society and
ethics – they have been destructive.
Israel and Jordan have had unofficial relations since the 1970's and formal relations dating back to the 1990's. Jordan's King Abdullah is pro-West, a friend to both Israel and Washington.
Longtime readers will know that I've discussed Chris Arnzen's
Iron Sharpens Iron in the past and
will know that I'm something less than a fan of him, his work, or his
associates.*
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/02/20/reuters-bbc-uk-foreign-office-russian-media/
The greatest irony surrounding this story is that it reveals
the British government is actively engaged in the very sorts of activities they
repeatedly accuse Russia of. And don't think for a moment the US government is
any different. I guarantee the campaign is actually on a more massive scale.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/8/northern-ireland-unrest-four-key-questions-answered
Everyone who has followed the news surrounding Northern
Ireland and Brexit has dreaded this moment. Hopefully, things will calm down
but there's another element to the story the Al Jazeera article fails to
pursue.
Trinity Broadcasting Network or TBN is the haunt of Evangelical apostates. No serious Biblically-minded Christian would have anything to do with that highly corrupt and heretical organisation and in saying so I do paint with a broad brush.
The hypocrisy of this story beggars belief. While this
Vatican-connected website is sometimes the source of interesting news, at
others time it becomes nigh on ridiculous – and this is one of those times.
https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-court-jails-mother-and-son-jehovah-s-witnesses/31120167.html
The US-affiliated RFERL just wants to take shots at Moscow
and as such their coverage is disingenuous. It's merely part of a large
coordinated campaign to paint Russia in a negative light. In truth, the US
Establishment hates Jehovah's Witnesses and doesn't care about them but in this
case it's good to remember what's happening in Russia.
Evangelicals are facing bureaucratic hardship but since 2017,
the Watchtower folks are enduring outright persecution.
Nika Melia who is connected to Mikheil Saakashvili's ENM was
arrested in a February raid. The nation is in a state of political upheaval and
turmoil as it is caught in a proxy struggle between pro-Washington forces and
those who would either seek a pro-Europe but not necessarily pro-Atlanticist
position, and those who would seem what is tantamount to a Non-Aligned position
and the restoration of the Orthodox-rooted monarchy. There is also a small but
vocal pro-Russian faction that seeks to break all ties to the West.
This was a disappointing read to say the least, all the more
when one considers this woman is an Evangelical (whatever that means anymore)
and has even been placed into a position of semi-leadership within the Church –
how else should one understand the contrived extra-Scriptural office of Worship
Leader?
Her Atlantic article is a case of The Accommodationist Triad (see
below) at work. In this case, feminism and psychology are being applied and leading
to theological liberalism and ultimately the abandonment of Christian ethics.
And don't think divorce isn't in the cards for this woman. A Biblical case to
the contrary would carry very little weight with her.
It's not too often that the Grey Wolves make it into mainstream
news circles. The Turkish nationalist (and by all accounts) fascist movement
has often been utilised by the United States – especially during the Cold War.
There are many clear cases of US intelligence collaborating with the group.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/bulgarian-corruption-leads-to-us-russia-clash/
As suggested last year, Bulgarian Prime Minister Borissov has
turned a corner and the US is starting to move against him. They tolerated him
and even utilised him but on critical points (such as energy) he has proven
unreliable. Given the corruption and outside influence within Bulgaria it's
hardly difficult to find scandals to amplify his 'unworthiness' and thus
Washington is beginning a campaign to oust him.
I first encountered Baucham about fifteen years ago. He was
unique because it's unusual find conservative Black voices within Calvinist
circles – in this case Calvinistic Baptist. He came onto the radar (as it were)
alongside the New Calvinist movement but clearly he was not one of them. Like
Paul Washer he seemed to partner with and associate with some Theonomic types
which always gave me occasion to pause, but generally speaking I would have
said he was a pretty solid guy, a good teacher who for most part stood for
Biblical thought and ethics.
While reading an article concerning the latest shake-up associated with Liberty University I was struck by this statement concerning their politically motivated think-tank, The Falkirk Center.
The Falkirk Center spearheaded an
aggressive, no-holds-bared approach to the culture war.
“Bemoaning the rise of leftism is no
longer enough,” its website read. “Although we do,
as Jesus taught, turn the other cheek in our personal relationships, we cannot
abdicate our responsibilities on the cultural battlefield. There is too much at
stake in the clash for the soul of our nation. Bold, unapologetic engagement
and initiative is needed on the part of every conservative American.”
This
only further exemplifies a point I've been trying to make for many years. In
the realm of ethics (which includes economics) the Evangelical movement as a
whole (and the broader category of Christian Sacralism) rejects the teachings
of Christ and in many cases does so knowingly.
https://www.vcyamerica.org/crosstalk/2021/03/03/american-heritage-girls/
This is yet another example of the Accommodationist Triad
(see below) at work within Evangelicalism. Posing as cultural conservatives and
traditionalists, they assume one-time liberal (now Right-wing) arguments in
order to score their political victories. And yet the assumptions they have
embraced represent a fatal compromise of the very conservative values they
claim to uphold. Their arguments are ultimately self-defeating. It's a case of fighting
off an acute poison by the utilisation of a long term cancer.
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.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/croatia-kicks-off-lng-terminal-in-north-adriatic/
Rising from the fragmented war-torn disaster that was
Yugoslavia, Croatia has been attempting to break with any 'Eastern' association
and root itself firmly in the Catholic-Enlightenment West. This is essential to
the Croat identity. Though of the same genetic stock as the Orthodox Serbs and Muslim
Bosniaks, their history has been defined by alliance to the Habsburgs – in
other words to the Latin West.
The Roman Catholic Church was keen to utilise Western
Liberalism in its fight with the government of communist Poland. Backing Solidarity
and the democratic movement, the papacy of John Paul II played a significant
role in the Cold War struggle.
This was a fascinating if unsurprising piece written by one
formerly on the inside of the Dutch Calvinist and Evangelical world. One need
not agree with all of the author's views or conclusions to acknowledge that
Abraham Kuyper's ghost haunts and overshadows the Evangelical edifice that
began to emerge in the post-WWII period. While few know his name or are
familiar with his Stone Lectures at Princeton, his influence is pervasive.*
https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/opinion/the-slow-death-of-schengen/
Already under significant strain due to the immigration
crisis and growing nationalist concerns, the Schengen Area of uninhibited
visa-free travel and trade which began to be implemented in 1995 is under
growing threat – and one greatly exacerbated by the Covid crisis.
There have been repeated hints made in Western media that Beijing is somehow behind the coup in Myanmar (Burma). While the ruling party (CCP) of China is undoubtedly an evil organisation, I was immediately sceptical of the claims. Once again, just because Xi Jinping is an evil persecutor of the Church does not mean that we as Christians need to hop on to the Western propaganda bandwagon. We need to hold the truth and remember that just because the Chinese government is evil – it does not follow that Western powers like the US or UK are somehow 'good'.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/americas-half-century-war-somalia-comes-end-sort/274956/
I was pleased to see a connection made with the Cold War and
the fact that the US has been involved in the Horn of Africa since that time. Overall
the article is excellent, a concise and yet probing and even poignant summary
of events, and most importantly it provides the larger context that helps to
explain the US role in the region and the cynicism the people of the Somalia
and the larger Horn must feel toward Washington.
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2020/11/22/the-whole-world-is-turning-toward-evil/
Was all well prior to November 2020? Was Paul mistaken when
he characterised this period as a present evil age? Is that only a reality when
certain political parties are in power? Are the Scriptures in error when they
speak of Satan as the god of this world?
This move would have hardly required some kind of great
effort on the part of the Trump administration. Kosovo wears its Islam rather
lightly and while threatened by a growing Salafist movement (one sometimes
utilised by US intelligence) the establishment of relations with Israel is a
win-win from the standpoint of the Tel Aviv and Washington Establishments.
Despite the disinformation campaign waged by the media, Trump never really 'let up' on Russia. In fact in many respects his administration took more actions against Moscow than the Obama administration ever did.
However I expect Biden to be a bit different. Rather than
Obama 2.0, we're more likely to see what a Clinton administration might have
done. The Syria airstrike and the uptick in activity in the Black Sea is only
the beginning. Russia is to endure it even while the United States would hardly
tolerant such actions by either Moscow or Beijing in the Gulf of Mexico, Puget
Sound, or off the coast of California.
