The Dalai Lama and Mongolian Intrigues

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y772jlpgzo

In early July 2025, the Dalai Lama finally announced that he would have a successor, that there would be a reincarnation and a continuation of the office, which in Tibetan Buddhism is a manifestation (or emanation) of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The Bodhisattvas are beings in the Mahayana tradition that have delayed their entrance to the state of Nirvana in order to help mankind. They are functionally a type of divine entity that some would compare to angels or gods, but such terms and concepts don't exactly fit. Nevertheless they are venerated and appealed to - and so from a Christian standpoint they are akin to gods are at least demi-gods.

Malachi Martin and Rich Church, Poor Church

Back in the 1990's I used to pick up some Malachi Martin works on occasion. He provides insider information about the Jesuits and the Vatican and while I've never agreed with him, I've always found him to be interesting.

I stumbled on his 1984 work 'Rich Church, Poor Church' in a pile of discount books and since it was only $1.50, I decided to pick it up. It was a work I had never encountered before.

Ashurbanipal, Nebuchadnezzar, and the Leaders of Other Evil Empires

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/reagan-evil-empire/

During the Cold War there were three years that stand out - periods in which tension was high and the world stood on the brink of nuclear conflagration. 1962 easily ranks first with the Cuban Missile Crisis. 1973 usually ranks second in connection to the Yom Kippur War and the US raising of the DefCon alert to an elevated '3' - signalling preparations for potential war. The DefCon was not raised by the Americans in 1983, but Moscow was on high alert and many consider it to be one of the most tense periods of the Cold War.

Blair, the Roman Beast, and The Mark (IV)

The visions in Daniel and repeated in Revelation seem to suggest the Roman Empire is the model for the Beast and indeed from the time of the New Testament to the present, the spectre of Rome haunts Christendom. From the Russian and British Empires, to the German, French, and American - all seek to emulate Rome. Whether Republican or Imperial Rome, the Western or Eastern iterations, all look to Rome as the paragon of government, the ideal they aspire to. All are inspired by its institutions and laws - and certainly its architecture. And all muse over its fall.

Finding Meaning in History and the Dangers of Historicism

Following recent Christian discussions on historiography, it was inevitable that criticism directed at Historicism would eventually be put on the table. In this case the reference is to the argument for inevitable historical processes that govern human development and progress. Following in the footsteps of thinkers like Hegel, the philosopher studies these processes and by understanding them, a right view of history can be developed and with it a coherent political theory and strategy.

The Meloni Problem (II)

Whether Meloni is able to implement her policies or not is yet to be seen. Her coalition may very well implode as she is contending with some powerful personalities and egos that will certainly challenge and undermine her leadership at points. If they can actually work together they will be very powerful and given what's happening in France and Germany, (the only EU members more powerful and influential in Italy) – the prospects for the future are a cause for concern.

The Meloni Problem (I)

God, Family, and Country – what's wrong with that? This is the response of the Christian Right to the electoral victory of Giorgia Meloni and her choice slogan. In fact it sounds a lot like what one hears with the Trumpite movement. Meloni who is all but set to be the next prime minister of Italy has certainly been making the rounds and has garnered considerable support in American Right-wing circles. Fluent in English she has been able to blend in nicely at the National Prayer Breakfast and CPAC.

Chiliasm, Totalitarian Cults, and The Pursuit of the Millennium

After many years I finally found the time to read Norman Cohn's The Pursuit of the Millennium: Revolutionary Millenarians and Mystical Anarchists of the Middle Ages first published in 1957. For all the attention this book has received I was quite disappointed.

Cohn's thesis rests on a cobbled together narrative that confuses popular impulse and superstition with religious conviction. He tries to argue that various utopian and chiliastic movements of the medieval period were the cultural and ideological precursors of twentieth century Nazism and Communism.

Barna on Marxism (Part 2)

If the younger generation has soured on capitalism it's because they've come of age at a time when the entry level situation is fairly dire and in some cases hopeless. You can skip college and remain on the lower end of the working class – an exception being those who find a skill in demand and escape neo-vassalage by means of becoming self-employed.

Or, you can take on massive debt which more or less enslaves you to a job (an employer) as you are compelled to keep making your payments. And by the time you're done you've undoubtedly taken on many more. It's a trap and some young people have realised it. For many of that generation, adult life properly speaking, an age of autonomy and social establishment is nigh on impossible before one is in their thirties. The system is immoral and exploitative and those who are living in the bottom tiers realise it and thus they're willing to entertain other options, all the more when they begin to understand the American system and its priorities, as opposed to the model of the social democracies in Europe – which have elements that many Right-wing Americans erroneously associate with Marxism.

Barna and Marxism (Part 1)

https://familyliferadio.blubrry.net/2021/10/21/faith-under-fire-ep-74-marxism-in-america-part-1/

George Barna is best known for his fusion of ecclesiology with market analysis. He and those associated with him have pursued models of church growth rooted in surveying and in shaping practice on the basis of the results. His name is usually associated with the Seeker Sensitive Movement because its leaders (men like Bill Hybels and Rick Warren) have integrated the market strategy popularised by figures like Barna into their models for Church growth.

Siemon-Nietto on Vietnam: No Wisdom Gained

http://uwesiemon.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-wrong-side-won.html

I have written before about Uwe Siemon-Nietto who is a semi-frequent guest on Lutheran Public Radio's Issues Etc. Along with John Warwick Montgomery, Siemon-Nietto often provides what might be described as the view from Europe.

Afghanistan and the Fall of Saigon

In recent days while reflecting on Afghanistan and the US withdrawal, I have thought more and more of Vietnam and what happened there in 1975. I was prompted to revisit the 2014 PBS film Last Days in Vietnam which was aired at the end of April 2015 – the fortieth anniversary of the fall of Saigon.

The End of World War II in Europe: Establishment Narratives and Bircher Conspiracies (Part 2)

The Stab in the Back and the Communist Plots

There are conspiracies to be sure. I've already mentioned some of them. The US strategy was to betray its ally the USSR into doing about 80% of the fighting in Europe and tens of millions died as a result. Churchill wanted to hold on to the British Empire and was conniving to control Western Europe – thus he was attempting manipulate the post-war order – leading to not only the handing over of Eastern Europe but the massive (and tragic) repatriation of Soviet prisoners and other units that had joined with the Germans to fight against the USSR. As a result thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands more anti-Soviet elements would die in the years following 1945.

The End of World War II in Europe: Establishment Narratives and Bircher Conspiracies (Part 1)

The Race for Berlin

The final days and aftermath of the European theatre of World War II is a topic that still generates some controversy even seventy-five years after the events. Competing nations have their respective narratives regarding the defeat of Nazi Germany and who can rightly claim to have 'won the war'.

Additionally there is the popular perception of the history, a neat and tidy narrative of 'good guys and bad guys' and then there is the reality – a rather messy, confusing and even contradictory series of events that defies the narratives, upsets some and generates controversies and suspicion of conspiracy in others.

Far Right AfD Makes Electoral Gains in Germany... Eighty Years After the Start of WWII

The Alternative für Deutschland or AfD has made significant gains in German state elections and this comes after gains in the European Parliament made earlier this year. And people are talking about it. It's shocking to them that 80 years after the start of WWII, a Far-Right party (that by many estimations harbours a Neo-Nazi element) is becoming a significant player in German politics.

Kromiadi, the 1944 Prague Manifesto and Contemporary Alliances

Constantine Kromiadi was a Greco-Russian nationalist who fought on the White side in the Russian Civil Wars. He eventually became a Nazi collaborator who wanted to see Stalin defeated and some form of traditionalist Russia restored.

Hanoi and Rome

http://www.lastampa.it/2018/03/09/vaticaninsider/eng/world-news/bishops-of-vietnam-the-church-committed-to-education-and-society-pOpzCxYHD3ApgekwxZPINO/pagina.html

The linked article mentions the Vatican and Hanoi still don't have formal relations and that this is a legacy of communism. The statement is interesting because someone might read it and think something along these lines: The communists were atheistic and thus they would have no interest in establishing diplomatic ties with a theocratic state like the Vatican.