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.

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.

Albright's War to Break Yugoslavia

https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/08/how-madeleine-albright-got-the-war-the-u-s-wanted/

Elich speaks of the US wanting war in 1999 and setting up negotiations with the Serbs to fail. This is true but is no less so when it comes to the first phase of the Yugoslav break-up in 1991. The US played a role in facilitating the split that would lead to independent nations like Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia - and a bombing campaign in 1995.

Atlanticism's Attempt to Curtail the Rise of Europe and a Multi-Polar World

Atlanticism represents a historical anomaly – Europe under subjugation from an outside power. For many decades this was limited to Western Europe but with the collapse of the USSR, the United States extended its reach through NATO and other mechanisms to include all the former Warsaw Pact nations and portions of the former Soviet Union itself.

Churchill's Christian Civilization (II)

The Churchill Cult in the United States finds its most tangible expression in Fulton, Missouri the site of his famous speech. Though most people are unaware of this, a small London church (reconstructed by Wren after the 1666 fire) was dismantled in the 1960's and moved to Missouri and is a symbolic platform for the Churchill museum. In a kind of strange commemorative fusion it combines Churchill, Christianity and (it would seem) the call to take up arms in the Cold War.

Churchill's Christian Civilization (I)

In recent days, with the Ukraine War, the coronation of Charles III, as well as some Evangelical commentaries tangentially connected to these issues, I've been reminded of the still extant Churchill Cult and the inroads it has made within the Christian community. This needs to be addressed.

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 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.

Memories of 1983 and an NPR Report on Russian Activity in Latin America

From the Olympics to computing, from news to politics, the Russians are everywhere in the news or more accurately the Anti-Russian propaganda campaign is everywhere. This is by far the worst we've seen in forty years, since the tense period accompanying Reagan's ascent to the US presidency. Almost immediately he began a rapid military buildup and a series of aggressive military Psyops directed against Russia. The US pushed the Russian security perimeter by air, land, and sea. At that time the Soviets were in dire fear of an American First Strike and became very edgy and the tension led to events like the shootdown of KAL 007.

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 Complicated Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Right's Revisionism and Deceitful Appropriation of His Message

On this Martin Luther King Jr. day we are once more reminded of the massive revisionism taking place within Right-wing circles. I've written about this repeatedly and focused deliberately on these points back in 2012 and 2014. This revisionism is something I noticed years ago and was left somewhat stunned to hear figures like Glenn Beck and Charles Colson attempt to appropriate the King legacy and argue that somehow his ideas were resonant and representative of their own. It was a re-writing of the history and yet few seemed to notice.

A Dominionist-Evangelical Distortion of Haiti's Sad History

https://www.breakpoint.org/helping-haiti-with-our-heads-and-hearts/

Haiti has been in the news more than once in 2021. Unrest, assassination, an earthquake, and now the kidnapping of US-based missionaries, Haiti is all but associated with chaos, turmoil, grinding poverty, and corruption. The cultural commentators want to weigh in and John Stonestreet of BreakPoint and The Colson Center recently offered his own Evangelical assessment, his own take on the Haitian situation.

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.

Milley, The Deep State, and the Present Crisis

Is General Milley a traitor? The Trumpites would have you think so. As a Christian my concerns to this end are minimal at best. Let the dead bury their dead. Let the Babylons and the Babylonians scheme and betray one another. Whatever faction is ascendant – it's still Babylon in the end.

And yet there's a concern here on a deeper level because it touches on fundamental understandings of the nature of US government. This is particularly important given the way Evangelical leaders have fused Liberalism with Christianity and have thus generated a series of extra-biblical imperatives regarding citizenship, voting, general participation, capitalist economics, and the like.

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.

The PBS Documentary on Billy Graham

I was at first a little surprised to see that PBS-American Experience had produced a documentary on Billy Graham. In other respects it wasn't all that surprising as he was a significant figure in twentieth century American life – certainly a household name to anyone over forty or so. I certainly grew up with Billy Graham and thus was eager to see it.

Three Shots Fired at Moscow

The Anti-Russian campaign is in full swing. It might as well be 1950, 1961 or 1983. It's reaching that kind of intensity.

First, we're told that Russian affiliated hackers attempted to steal data related to development of a Covid-19 vaccine. These hacks targeted Western pharmaceutical companies that are currently involved in the research and development.

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.