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.

China and the Christian Right's Framing of Cold War 2.0

https://wng.org/opinions/another-cold-war-1714597247

This typifies the kind of material we have come to expect from Littlejohn - misleading and shallow.

He repeatedly begs the question - from fentanyl to Taiwan, to Nixon's 'failures' and Reagan's 'successes', he seems unaware that these assumptions are easily challenged. He simply assumes Right-wing talking points and then tries to dress it up with the trappings of 'Christian Worldview'.

Closing the Book on the Assange Era

There are clearly some who are unhappy with Assange's release and believe he should have been either executed or incarcerated for life. The same day as the Notre Dame fire (which dominated the news) - the UK government arrested him in April 2019 at the Ecuadorian embassy where he had already been holed up since 2012. The reasons for his hiding in the embassy are rooted in bogus (and now dropped) charges of rape in Sweden. He suspected that as soon as he ended up in a UK court for an extradition hearing, the US would intervene and unwrap a sealed indictment against him. Its existence was an all but an open secret.

The Wider Implications of The Ukraine War (II)

The hypocritical and frankly spurious ICC indictment of Putin for war crimes was timed perfectly to coincide with Xi's recent trip to Moscow, and meant to embarrass the Asian leader who got to claim the credit for the Riyadh-Tehran agreement. Washington's posture regarding the ICC is hypocritical, self-serving, and even ridiculous as the American government consistently claims the court (which it helped to create) has no jurisdiction over either the United States or Israel because they are not signatories to the treaty. However, when it comes to non-signatories such as Russia (who also refuses to acknowledge the court), the ICC has full jurisdiction – or so it is argued.

The Wider Implications of The Ukraine War (I)

These are mostly points that have been touched on over the past year and even well before the war erupted in February 2022. However, some of these points demand revisiting as the dynamics continue to change and the implications of this war are becoming more pronounced and profound. The Ukraine War is affecting global politics and economics but it's also starting to look like the opening chapter in what history may reckon a much larger war of consequence – even possibly a world war. There are certainly those clamouring for it. Perhaps some readers are tired of hearing about Ukraine but in reality one can barely discuss anything right now that touches on geopolitics or the economy without discussing the war in Eastern Europe.

The War Option, the Calculus of Empire, and the Dreams of Madmen

For years commentators have spoken of the decline of America and what it would look like. Others (including myself) have argued that the American Establishment may opt for war as a means to escape this deterioration and reassert the largely failed project of post Cold War US hegemony.

Thinking Several Moves Ahead: Geopolitical Maneuvering and History's Warnings in Light of The Ukraine War

In light of current events Moldova and Georgia have applied for EU membership. For its part, Moldova has been engaged in a tug-of-war between the West and Moscow and yet unlike Ukraine and Georgia it has been able thus far to avoid violence.

The Ukraine Trap

If Russia invades Ukraine, then Putin will fall for the trap NATO has set for him. As anyone who partakes of any news is sure to know, the Western propaganda campaign is running white hot, to the point that even questioning the official narrative can take down a high ranking admiral – as was seen recently in Germany. The US and NATO are doing all they can to provoke Moscow. This run-up to war is a campaign in itself and there are several angles to consider.

The Geopolitics of the Kazakhstan Protests, the Ukraine Crisis, and Eurasia's New Cold War (II)

The Central Asian states which were run by former Soviet apparatchiks (turned into authoritarian capitalists) relied upon energy revenue and the extraction of natural resources – and in the post-Soviet setting Western corporations flooded into the region to develop these sectors. Wall Street scored major victories and wealthy oligarchies developed in the Central Asian states. Needless to say corruption is endemic. This new post-Cold War political order and economic development in part explains the ongoing tensions with Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan. The logistics of getting resources out of landlocked Central Asia proved daunting and were never resolved. The ruling oligarchies were plugged into the energy economy and these countries rely on this money to function and pay the bills as it were.

The Geopolitics of the Kazakhstan Protests, the Ukraine Crisis, and Eurasia's New Cold War (I)

The January 2022 street protests in Kazakhstan which have received considerable Western news coverage seem at last to be calming down. On the one hand it appeared to be a grass roots uprising in protest of surging inflation, fuel prices and (at least in part) frustration with social restrictions on activism and free speech.

Scott Morrison, Dominionism, and Evangelical Politics in Australia (II)

Scott Morrison, Dominionism, and Evangelical Politics in Australia (I)

https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/10/12/its-time-to-call-it-out-scott-morrison-doesnt-care-about-secular-accountability/

https://www.crikey.com.au/topic/god-in-the-lodge/

The Crikey series is worthy of consideration and yet typical of such journalism it offers a secular assessment that deals with issues that at times the authors and editors clearly don't understand. Given that the name of the publication is tantamount to blasphemy, one must expect a degree of hostility to the Christian faith. But it shouldn't scare us or cause to dismiss the reporting out of hand.

Kovalik on the American Empire and its March to War (Part II)

Kovalik on the American Empire and its March to War (Part I)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/10/29/what-are-the-prospects-for-peace-an-interview-with-dan-kovalik/

This was a good and insightful interview with much to consider. Kovalik's 'The Plot to Scapegoat Russia' caught my eye a few years ago. Kovalik is one of the few voices on the Left that's critical of the Democratic Party and its increasingly hysterical Anti-Russia campaign. This conversation is wide-ranging and touches on several important issues, ones critical to understand if we're to navigate the present situation and filter the many voices that seek to dominate our thinking.

The Establishment's Suppression of the January 6 Investigation (III)

Nancy Pelosi is the Right's greatest and most powerful enemy within Congress and at this point she's the one figure that could really lead the charge, the one person that has the power to pursue the January 6^th coup attempt and to take down the collaborators in congress – wounding the party in the process.

And yet she's not. Why isn't she? Why isn't the Establishment media aggressively reporting on this? Why aren't they coming after her and challenging her tepid response and her lacklustre investigation?

The Establishment's Suppression of the January 6 Investigation (I)

Some independent commentators have picked up on the fact that the mainstream media, the so-called 'Leftist' media has all but ignored the recent 'bombshell' Rolling Stone article that exposes the fact that several members of congress were actively involved in the failed January 6 insurrection.

Why? Why would the media ignore this? It's like the goose that laid the golden egg, a chance to take down several Republicans – and yet they're ignoring it. The January 6 investigation should be like Watergate with around the clock coverage and televised hearings. But instead it barely gets noticed and while the congressional investigation continues – tepid is a word that comes to mind. Given the magnitude of what happened and the nature of emerging revelations since, one would think this would be a major story.

The Shadow State is Alive and Well

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-inside-militarys-secret-undercover-army-1591881

The stage for all of this was set in the aftermath of 9/11 and increasingly as people no longer consider the surrendering of their privacy and data to be anything controversial, and as generations of lock-step, wave the flag, support the troops, my country right or wrong nationalism has come to dominate – this story isn't even controversial.

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.

Asian Tensions and the Clash of Empires: Trump, Xi and the 19th Congress of the CCP

Has Xi extended his power or has he been rebuked and curtailed by elements within the Beijing bureaucracy? It depends on how you read the 19^th Congress and interpret its events.

Clearly on a war trajectory with the United States with the flashpoints being Taiwan and Hong Kong, one could argue that Xi's plans have been limited or restrained. The generals are resistant to his plans which would result in inevitable confrontation. No one doubts that Beijing could wound the American military – perhaps even inflict some stunning losses but ultimately the Chinese military thinks the cost would be too great. And for Xi, that would mean the end of his rule. And thus one interpretation was that this Congress represents a rebuke of Xi's aspirations.

And yet on the other hand Xi's maneuvering suggests a consolidation of power within the bureaucracy. In other words he's bit by bit setting himself up for more autonomy, for more comprehensive control which will become manifest in the near future. As master of the Beijing bureaucracy he won't easily be stopped.

Afghanistan and Iraq at the End of the Trump Era

The panicked reaction to Trump's planned troop withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan has been palpable. The media and the US Establishment in general are hostile to the move and trying to sound the alarm. And yet at the same time they struggle with providing solid reasons for remaining in these seemingly endless conflicts – both of which have gone sideways and evolved into something other than what they originally were purported to be.