Impunity in Michigan: A Murderer Threatened with a Slap on the Wrist

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/14/956924155/ex-michigan-gov-rick-snyder-and-8-others-criminally-charged-in-flint-water-crisi

It is right and just that Rick Snyder faces criminal charges for his conduct with regard to the water system in Flint, Michigan.

The Epstein-Maxwell Scandal – Muddying the Waters with QAnon

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/19/ghislaine-maxwell-court-proceeding-qanon

I found this report to be irritating on many fronts. On the one hand the QAnon people are delusional, misled, and dangerous. On the other hand there is most definitely a cover-up with regard to the whole Epstein affair, including the events surrounding his death. His conduct and longtime impunity indicate he had friends in high places that were either involved in his business or knew full well what he was really about. This does not however give credence to 'Pizzagate' style narratives or the absurdity that Trump was somehow going to save the children from some kind of globalist elite paedophile ring.

Tragedy in Texas

I remember years ago reading about the US electrical grid and how basically there's the Eastern United States, the West, and then there's Texas which is on a standalone grid.

A Christian Victory in Indonesia?

https://www.persecution.org/2021/01/23/indonesia-appoints-christian-man-national-police-chief/

This is presented as some kind of victory, something to celebrate. In truth it's tragic, a case of compromise on display. We have a professed Christian who will now wield the sword of state – and what state? A state with a horrific and bloody past that the present administration is unapologetic about, a president who protects the criminals still living associated with the American-backed genocide of the 1960's.

Capitalism and John Robbins

https://lucidmarbles.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/capitalism-and-john-robbins-no-argument-from-scripture/ 

I heartily recommend this article which takes John Robbins to task. The protégé of Gordon Clark, Robbins (who died in 2008) and the Trinity Foundation have long promoted a particularly rabid form of Christian Capitalism. In addition to his Clarkian projects, Robbins worked for Texas congressman Ron Paul in the 1970's and 1980's and has connections to the Heritage Foundation. He combines his Right-wing political and economic theories with Clark's philosophical-theology labeled under the misnomer of Scripturalism.

The Latest Clampdown on the IOR

https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/vatican-convicts-ex-bank-chief-in-property-embezzlement-scam

Stories surrounding investigations and reforms concerning the Vatican Bank or IOR continue to appear in the news. There is an appearance of due diligence as certain corrupt officials are removed but the systemic issues are never tackled.

The OPC's Polluted Horizons

https://www.opc.org/nh.html?issue_id=288

I was more than a little disturbed when perusing the January 2021 New Horizons, the magazine of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. As I have explained in the past as a former member of that faction I used to pick a copy every month from the back table of the auditorium and over the years I still keep tabs on the OPC and some of the people I used to know within its ranks.

Lausanne and the Sundering of Italian Evangelicals

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/10047/italian-evangelicals-warn-of-support-for-populism-amid-political-instability

It is tragic to me that this sort of politicising and division has emerged within Italian Evangelicalism. When I lived in Italy in the 1990's it seemed (at least to me) that Italian Christianity (by which I exclude Roman Catholicism) was wonderfully free of political concern. A tiny minority, there were no contrived narratives of a 'Christian Nation' or any real concern for politics that I detected. Politics was inherently corrupt, had nothing to do with the Church, and this was understood. Christians could go about their lives and focus on Kingdom-related issues. They talked about the Bible and life in a fallen world. Obsessing over politics and control of government was not an issue for them.

And yet even then seeds (or more properly tares) had been planted that were starting to bear fruit.

Greenwald Rapidly Destroying His Credibility

Glenn Greenwald formerly of The Guardian and The Intercept, the latter of which he helped to found in the aftermath of the Edward Snowden revelations – has gone out on his own. One of the lone voices within anti-Establishment (Left-wing) journalism, he has made enemies by questioning the Russiagate narrative and has at times questioned some of the Left's narratives surrounding Donald Trump.

The Pastor as Upper Middle Class Professional

https://www.opc.org/feature.html?feature_id=504

According to the guidelines provided by the OPC, the pastor is to be 'free from worldly care and employment'. And yet what this translates into is that the pastor should make a salary commensurate with that of an upper middle class professional.

The Capitol Fallout: Two Quotes Regarding 6 January and Christian Imagery

https://apnews.com/article/christianity-capitol-riot-6f13ef0030ad7b5a6f37a1e3b7b4c898

The Christian angle to this story has generated a lot of discussion. At one time I would have said the 'Evangelical' angle but in recent years even this is changing. In terms of the socio-political sphere the Evangelical and Right-wing Catholic lines are increasingly being blurred.

Living in the World: A Misdiagnosis

https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2020/living-in-the-world/

The reader of this piece will certainly discover a lot of interesting history to consider but the article-lecture is flawed in its premise, its analysis, and thus in its worth.

Trumpism Rightly Denounced as a Heretical Cult

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/cult-christian-trumpism/

Finally, there is a strong voice emanating from the Reformed community that is willing to call a spade a spade. But because the voice is that of Michael Horton and associated with Westminster California, it will be dismissed and decried by many as yet another manifestation of 'Radical' Two Kingdoms (R2K) thinking.

The Sublime Porte versus L'Elysee

https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/turkey-bolsters-influence-across-north-africas-maghreb/

While the Istanbul-based Porte is no longer active, the Erdogan administration in Ankara certainly has a vision of Neo-Ottomanism - the Neo-Porte is you will. On the back burner for a season, it's back with a vengeance as Turkey attempts to triangulate its alliances, play its opposition off against one another and re-assert its unique geographical and cultural role. This is best seen in its geo-strategic and economic policies within the Middle East, the Caucasus region, Europe (particularly Germany and the Balkans) and the larger Mediterranean region.

The Capitol Attack: China Exposes US Hypocrisy

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Attack-on-Congress:-Chinese-in-US-alerted.-Beijing-criticizes-US-democracy-52006.html

I hate to admit it but in this case Beijing does have a point. Actually their statements are rather restrained – Beijing has only touched upon the tip of the iceberg.

Notes from December 2020: The Madness of the Moment

I have so many notes from the past couple of months and so little time that I've given up trying to write separate pieces on them all. Instead I've chosen to bundle a few together – some highlights if you will. There are a couple of things that I keep coming back to especially with regard to December of 2020.

Evangelical Smoke and Mirrors: Disassociating the Movement from the Events of 6 January 2021

With regard to the events of January 6, I have read and heard nothing but attempts by Christians to distance themselves from these events and place the blame on others.

Fiscal and Diplomatic Cracks in the Atlanticist Wall

https://www.centralasianews.net/news/267414063/eu-china-investment-deal-threatens-us-europe-relations

This represents a further development of what I reported in 2018:

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2018/06/atlantic-breakdown-in-slow-motion.html

http://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2018/04/cracks-in-atlantic-wall.html

Right wing commentators in the United States are focusing on Europe's 'betrayal' – the fact that Europe is not bowing in every case to Washington's instructions and desires. This has been a reality since the fruition of the European Union project in the 1990's. At that time even the continuation of NATO was an open question.

The Vatican and the Kosovo Equation

https://www.lastampa.it/vatican-insider/en/2020/10/07/news/relations-between-kosovo-and-the-vatican-1.39391883

The article is co-written by an official affiliated with the Pristina government – which is (functionally) an arm of the US State Department. Kosovo has been called the Fifty-First state by more than a few commentators.

We are to be Shocked! The Chinese Engage in Espionage and Blackmail

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/how-suspected-chinese-spy-honey-trapped-top-us-politicians/articleshow/79924299.cms

The US has (since the Obama administration) openly declared China to be an enemy, thus it should hardly surprise anyone that Beijing has responded and the MSS (the Chinese intelligence agency) has invested significant intelligence gathering assets within the United States itself.

Assessing the Nashville Bomber

When the reports broke on the morning of 25 December I was at first afraid that it was another Oklahoma City Bombing – another terroristic act perpetrated by a Right-wing activist – or worse, some kind of Trumpite-Christian fanatic. In some respects I'm surprised that more of such things haven't happened but then again, there are still many in those circles that seem to think Trump is somehow going to 'pull this one out' and retain the presidency. (I wrote this before the 6 January incident)

Reporting on China's Fiscal Power in Central Asia

https://eurasianet.org/covid-and-the-new-debt-dynamics-of-kyrgyzstan-and-tajikistan

https://www.centralasianews.net/news/267339395/uzbekistan-attracts-usd-66-billion-fdi-in-2020

Articles such as these represent a signal to Western investment – particularly the EU, that there is a need to infuse cash (and thus influence) into the region. A failure to do so will lead to Beijing's increased power and presence in the Central Asian and Eurasian theatres.

A Uighur Money-Launderer's Murder in Istanbul

https://www.rferl.org/a/man-who-exposed-kyrgyz-smuggling-scheme-was-hunted-by-contract-killers/30940261.html

I cannot be sure what the true nature of this story is but given the way it's being framed by RFE/RL and the involvement of outlets such as Bellingcat I am led to believe that it is something of a false expose', serving as a means of cover-up.

Deceitful Blacklists and the Cyber-Pearl Harbor that Wasn't

https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/us-publishes-black-list-of-chinese-and-russian-firms-with-military-ties/

What about US blacklist – a list of firms with ties to the US military? It would be the size of a metropolitan phonebook. This kind of article is fundamentally deceitful and meant to prey on either those governed merely by passions or the ignorant.

Glorying in Compromise and Shame: Swiss Evangelicals and the Army

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/8953/swiss-free-evangelical-churches-sign-a-partnership-with-the-army-chaplaincy

The Swiss are famous for their neutrality and yet the nation is also unique among its European neighbours in that it is armed to the teeth and virtually every male citizen is required to do military service. The fact that the nation's posture is strictly defensive is a point some would celebrate and even those who in many cases would frown on the idea of conscription, see in the Swiss situation a wholly different creature.

Dystopia Rising: Augmented Soldiers

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/12/11/france-augmented-soldiers/

Once these technologies are developed they won't stay static and they won't be contained. At the very least they'll be sold on the black market. And even if Western 'liberal democratic' governments decide to formally reject the technology in terms of an official capacity, it is certain that they will develop them and use them via proxies.

Continued Hardship in Uzbekistan

http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Tashkent,-religious-communities-subjected-to-whims-of-authorities-51894.html

The news here has to be contrasted with the June 2020 Evangelical Focus article which cast the situation in an air of optimism. Apparently the situation isn't quite as hopeful as it seemed even six months ago.

Tajik Insurgents and Central Asian Unease

https://www.rferl.org/a/tajikistan-reinforces-border-militants-afghanistan-video-islamic-state/31005499.html

Radio Free Europe is a well known front for US intelligence agencies and thus its news is to be taken with a grain of salt. In many ways it seems like the growing mission of the news-site is rooted in an Anti-Moscow/Anti-Putin campaign. That said, one can also learn something from the way in which it covers stories. Additionally, even taking into account a degree of 'spin' there is nevertheless a lot of helpful and interesting information.

Statistical Games and Disturbing Trends: American Conservative Christianity at the End of 2020

In 2016 it was reported that 81% of Evangelicals voted for Trump. This figure has proven controversial as the Trumpites see it as embarrassingly low – an indication that Trump isn't properly supported among their Right-wing movement.

To actual political conservatives (whose numbers grow fewer by the day) as opposed to Trumpites who are merely Right-wing advocates, the 81% statistic was also an embarrassment but for a different reason – it was a mark of shame and cause for alarm as Trump was in many ways the antithesis of what Moral Majority-type Christian politicking was supposed to be about. It was sign their movement had gone off the rails.

Salvini's Hopes and Covid Realities

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/opinion/covid-19-is-putting-italys-populists-to-bed/

The Covid crisis has in more than one instance boosted the standing and profile of Right-wing politicians as their core supporters are in many cases Covid-deniers and sceptics.

Russian Eyes on the Red Sea

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/12/09/russia-naval-base-sudan/

Given that the US government has already demonstrated considerable influence over the new government in Khartoum, this naval base agreement with Russia was something of a surprise. When considers the overwhelming pressure the US has put on its allies regarding Huawei and 5G networks, surely Washington could have come up with enough pressures, incentives, and even threats to dissuade the Sudanese government from cutting a deal like this. So what happened?

The Low-Hanging Fruit Approach to Justice

Perusing the news, the Lori Laughlin story caught my eye again – something related to her being in prison. Overall I care nothing about the story. I don't know who this actress is and I really don't care either.

I recall the coverage of the story last year. It wasn't something I was interested in but it was often in the background on BBC while I was working or in the car.

Seneca Falls in España

https://evangelicalfocus.com/life-tech/4871/we-identify-with-a-feminism-with-deep-historical-roots

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Sentiments

This is tragic in so many ways. Would it have ever occurred to these Spanish Christians to seek out, emulate, and celebrate the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention apart from American Evangelical influence?

Barr's Resignation

Attorney General William Barr's recent resignation has generated a stir within with Christian-Trumpite circles leading many to wonder if he's a traitor, or even a closet Biden supporter.

This notion is misguided and even a bit silly and it painfully demonstrates how ill-informed and even ignorant the Trump base is. How little they understand even about the basic workings of government and why people do what they do.

Pompeo's Rising Star

https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/in-parting-shot-pompeo-rebukes-turkey-at-nato-meeting/

It was a rare moment of Trump-era unity as Turkey has become the pariah state in NATO. Democrats and Republicans, NATO allies and the Neo-Conservative elements within Washington – everyone could rally around Pompeo's condemnations of Erdogan.

Lutzer's Trumpite Christianity and its Message of Peace, Peace

https://www.vcyamerica.org/crosstalk/2020/11/27/we-will-not-be-silenced-2/

The episode description indicates that America isn't really bad at all. There's nothing about America that 'we' should be ashamed about.

From the onset the pronoun confusion begins with no distinction being made between being an American and having a conscientious mindset about being American versus that of a Christian who has an identity wholly separate from America and its culture – never mind the fact that the Christian identity calls us to a different set of ethics and goals. The two notions are wholly confused and this error dominates the interview as indeed this theology dominates the American Evangelical world.

Crypto AG, Sweden, and the American Empire

https://www.politico.eu/article/sweden-ann-linde-and-switzerland-ignazio-cassis-get-frosty-over-espionage-claims/ 

The Swedish connection to the story is significant because though Sweden never joined NATO, it nevertheless played a special role during the Cold War and the US has long been involved with its defense and intelligence Establishment. There are still many unanswered questions from the period including plausible suggestions of CIA involvement in the assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme. Only the most credulous accepted the recent findings of the Swedish government regarding the 1986 assassination.

The Worldliness of the Media

Media Hypocrisy on Russian Election Interference, Claims Regarding Biden and China, and Some General Comments on the Moral Spectrum of Western News Coverage

In this polarised and increasingly insane social climate it is important (even critical) for Christians to understand what is happening. It's affecting the Church and its testimony in the larger culture. Like it or not we are being identified with one of the political factions involved in the present conflagration and it would serve us well to be able to explain what is happening and why we reject the dominant narratives.

The Christian Right's Increasing Embrace of Authoritarianism

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/16/opinion/trump-religion-authoritarianism.html

This editorial piece did not reveal anything new but the authoritarian theme afforded the author (Katherine Stewart) a means of making a larger point in connection to current strategies and trends at work within both the GOP and the larger Christian-Right community.

Stewart is not a Christian and is in fact hostile to New Testament Christianity – though she may have never actually encountered it. There is still value in her writings even if we cannot endorse her assumptions or conclusions. A Christian read of the essay enables further points to be considered.

The Context for the Tigray Revolt

There's been a fair bit of news coverage regarding the situation in Ethiopia but as is often the case – little contextualisation. A quick survey will help to explain the nature of the conflict and its potential dangers to the wider region.

Netanyahu's Gambit: The Baiting of Iran and the Manipulation of Trump

All the evidence suggests Israel has just assassinated one of Iran's top nuclear scientists. This is nothing new. Israel has been assassinating Iranian scientists and sabotaging their nuclear operations for years.

But this time is a bit different and this explains why the story is generating some limited media attention in the West. There's a sense of building pressure of something in the works. Many commentators believe an attack is in the offing.

Cold War II: The Battle for Bulgaria and the 2020 Protests

https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/how-bulgaria-gave-gazprom-the-keys-to-the-balkans/

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bulgaria-north-macedonia-eu/bulgaria-says-north-macedonia-must-address-historical-issues-or-face-delay-on-eu-path-idUKKBN27F2T9

In the summer of 2020, the boiling cauldron that is Bulgaria began to spill over. Caught in a struggle between the West (NATO and the EU) and its historical ally in Moscow, the Balkan nation has been racked by controversy and intrigue.

Austrian Intelligence and the Rise of the Right

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-attack-mosques/austria-admits-intolerable-mistakes-in-checks-on-vienna-attacker-idUSKBN27M1J8

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-austria-attack-mosques/austria-orders-closure-of-radical-mosques-news-agency-apa-says-idUKKBN27M1J4

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/11/11/austria-to-introduce-preventive-detention-after-deadly-attack

The Austrian government had intelligence from Slovakia that the gunman was acting suspiciously and there were indications that he might be planning some sort of attack. And it should be to no one's surprise that Berlin was also aware of him.

The al Qaeda-Iran Narrative 2.0

https://mondoweiss.net/2020/11/front-page-ny-times-story-on-iran-al-qaeda-links-is-dishonest-and-could-help-justify-a-u-s-israeli-attack/

These were also my thoughts upon reading the Times article. I was thinking of the Bush years and how they had tried to push that angle – Iran and al Qaeda – and how it repeatedly came to nothing.

Russia: Protector of Oriental Christendom in the Face of Armenian Defeat

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-armenia-azerbaijan-karabakh-russia/putin-tells-azerbaijan-to-take-care-of-christian-shrines-in-nagorno-karabakh-idUKKBN27U0OJ

From Putin's standpoint this call to protect Armenia's Christian legacy is an attempt to recover face. Moscow dropped the ball in terms of its larger Orthodox narrative. It did not come to the aid of Armenia and turn back the tide of the Turk. Azerbaijan clearly won this round as Armenia, defeated and broken was forced to abandon the field and cede large portions of Artsakh, the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave it had captured in the 1990's.

Rush Limbaugh's Phony Profession and Testimony

According to Christian media we are supposed to be excited that at long last after thirty years on the public stage (and as his voice is soon to be silenced due to terminal illness), Rush Limbaugh is at last a Christian. He has a 'personal relationship' with Christ.

Charismatic Trumpism in Crisis

https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2020/11/9/no-ones-covering-how-trumps-loss-is-a-faith-crisis-for-charismatics-and-pentecostals

What I see watching this video is a sad deceived woman, a woman who thinks she's serving God but is in fact zealously labouring in opposition to Him.

Theological Trumpism: Christ Defended by Thugs

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/president-of-brazil-pushes-for-worldwide-fight-against-christophobia-at-un

It is no great shock to find a platform such as LifeSite celebrating this sort of thing – Christ being promoted and defended by thugs such as Jair Bolsonaro.

LifeSite represents the Dominionist nexus – the new ecumenism born of Evangelical Dominion theology and sections of traditionalist and integralist Catholicism. These groups celebrate anything that smacks of Christians (of almost any stripe) wielding and exercising cultural influence and political power.

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.

The Sudan Junta Blackmailed

https://consortiumnews.com/2020/10/26/the-angry-arab-the-us-just-blackmailed-sudan/

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2020/07/trouble-on-nile.html

Sudan, an opponent of Washington for the past thirty years has been flipped over into the American column. Washington sponsored and shepherded the creation of South Sudan in 2011, a move that (for a time) cut off the Beijing-aligned Khartoum regime from its oil resources. As of last year China has returned to a position of dominance in terms of South Sudanese oil. And yet now Washington has scored another victory in the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir and the bringing of Sudan into alliance with the West. Divide and conquer in this case worked. And China for its part risks trouble in getting its oil to the coast.

Judgment on the African Church

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54297372

What a sad testimony. While I don't doubt that the Obama administration was pushing feminism and sodomy alongside their humanitarian efforts, one would hope the Africa church would see the danger of any and all connections to the American Empire and what it represents.

The Labour Purges: Corbyn and the Fraudulent Anti-Semitism Campaign

Though he was forced out over six months ago, the UK's Blair-ite controlled Labour Party has persisted in their conspiracy to destroy Jeremy Corbyn and any hint of his legacy. He's still an MP and apparently there's fear that his wing of the party may come back at some point. And so while he's down, Keir Starmer and those that back him are maneuvering to take Corbyn out of the equation.

Greenwald Quits The Intercept

Greenwald's departure wasn't all that surprising apart from the fact that he was the key name associated with The Intercept's founding in 2014. The online magazine arose in the wake of the Snowden revelations and yet within a few years it began to decline.

Inbox: No to The Biden Alternative

If Trump is so wrong for the Christian Church to embrace, was Biden a viable alternative?

Of course not. As I've repeatedly argued, to politicise and to vote is to participate in and endorse the system which is in fact evil. In terms of Providence it serves a purpose and thus we don't oppose the system on political terms. Calling men to repentance, we warn of the coming Judgment and we offer hope of life for those who unite with Christ. But our task is not to challenge the powers that be for they are ordained by God. I couldn't care less if the president of the United States is a Republican or a Democrat – he's still the president of the United States and thus represents the American system.

Biden's Victory, Election Controversies, and What is to Come

I am completely open to the notion that elements within the US government would seek to subvert the electoral process. They've done it outside US borders on dozens of occasions and so the thought that it could happen here does not even begin to stretch my imagination.

That said, I am unconvinced that this has taken place with regard to the Biden-Trump contest. If Deep State actors had intended this, they would want to make sure the victory was clear-cut – something that didn't happen. In fact this tight and long drawn-out race was in many respects the worse scenario.

Trump +1383: The Second Term and the Coming Praetorian Purge

https://www.axios.com/trump-firing-wray-haspel-esper-088cbd70-3524-4625-91f1-dbc985767c71.html

There are indications that if Trump stays in office he plans a purge – a move that will alarm some within the Establishment as it indicates he's prepared to adopt a completely reckless attitude in his second term. And given the way he's conducted himself over the past four years, that's really saying something.

The Right's Abandonment of Liberal Values

There is a great hypocrisy at work within Right-wing circles. They profess to believe in the American system of democratic representation and yet clearly they don't actually hold to it. Their actions suggest a strong anti-democratic bias as represented by their attempts to suppress democracy and disenfranchise large segments of the population.

Richard Land, The Christian Post, and Celebrity Theology

https://www.christianpost.com/news/pub-fri-morn-pls-jo-kathie-lee-gifford-says-church-has-failed-nonbelievers-feels-called-to-share-faith-through-film.html

Led by Richard Land a lobbyist, political activist and Dominionist the Christian Post wants to reach the broadest possible spectrum to make Christianity something that's not merely detected (having a place at the table) but a force that's influencing all aspects of culture.

The Christian Post attempts to provide a broad spectrum of Christian media and news coverage but instead it has degenerated into parody.

What about Hunter Biden?

The controversy over Hunter Biden is being downplayed in some circles and great exaggerated in others. There is something to the story. Of this there can be no doubt and yet any story released by the Murdoch-affiliated New York Post should always be taken with a grain of salt. Of all his publications and outlets, that one (even though regularly utilised by FOX) is highly dubious and its journalistic standards are sub-par at best.

It comes down to this. Did the Biden's engage in anything illegal? At this point it doesn't seem to be the case. Are Hunter Biden's business dealings ethical? Of course not. Is Hunter Biden financially benefitting from his name and connections to his father? Obviously this is the case.

Taiwan Warnings

Taiwan watchers are nervous as there are some indications that China may act in light of an outbreak of election-related chaos in the United States. The argument is that if the transition of US power is in question and there is civil and economic upheaval, Beijing may decide to make its move against Taiwan.