Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ukraine. Show all posts

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Mexico, NOT RUSSIA, Has A Plan To Stop Donald Trump. But It’s Just A Bluff—Given Patriotic American Leadership

A timely post from http://www.vdare.com about Mexican, not Russian, meddling. This follows this post about Senator Tom Cotton. This follows this post about the SPLC. Remember, “Amnesty” means ANY non-enforcement of existing immigration laws! This follows this comment and this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants! Also, you can read two very interesting books HERE.
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Memo From Middle America: Mexico’s Jorge Castaneda Has A Plan To Stop Donald Trump. But It’s Just A Bluff—Given Patriotic American Leadership


“Some Americans….dislike immigration, but there is very little they can do about it,” gloated Jorge Castaneda in Atlantic Monthly in 1995 [Ferocious Differences, July, 1995 ] In the past few decades, it would have been hard to say Vicente Fox’s foreign minister was wrong.  But the triumph of Donald Trump may mean Americans will finally reclaim control of our immigration policy. And Mexican elites don’t like that one bit.
Castaneda, like other Mexican elitists, is livid over Trump. Though it’s concealed in Mexican nationalist or globalist “human rights” rhetoric, the real reason Trump’s election victory terrifies them is it threatens their strategy of dumping the Mexican poor on the American taxpayers, in the process expanding Mexican influence within our borders.
The Mexican elite is already attempting to sabotage Trump’s efforts. Thus the Mexican foreign ministry is continuing and probably expanding its meddling through its vast consular network on U.S. soil. But Mexican elitists who aren’t part of the current Mexican government are also working these issues. Castaneda is at the forefront of these efforts.
Castaneda has a long history of working for “the whole enchilada” – a comprehensive migratory accord giving Mexico effective veto power over U.S. immigration policy. Of course, he has little in common with the poor mestizos he purports to champion, but instead operates as part of the academic/journalistic jet set lecturing Americans about why they should give up their country.
In a new column entitled Pintar Nuestra Raya [“paint our line,” the equivalent of “drawing a line in the sand”] Castaneda declared Mexico should resist Trump in three major ways [Jorge G. Castaneda website, November 11, 2016, first published in el Financiero. My translations].
  • First, Castaneda says Mexico should declare the construction of The Wall is a “hostile act toward Mexico.” He urges the use of “legal, ecological, political, cultural and social” instruments so “it is not constructed.” He even says “they [= Americans] have no right” to build it.
How is building a wall on our side of the border “hostile?” The way the Mexican government incites migrants to break our laws is obviously more “hostile” than a common-sense measure to protect our sovereignty. And Mexico is in no position to say what we can or can not do. But they’ve been walking all over us for decades. It’s going to be a shock when the gravy train ends.
  • Secondly, Castaneda says “NAFTA cannot be re-opened or renegotiated.“ But in the very next sentence, he writes in the future there can be a “certain renegotiation” of NAFTA “in exchange for other concessions.”
Other concessions? According to Castaneda we can’t build a wall and can’t renegotiate a trade agreement. So what other concessions does he want from us?
  • Third, Castaneda says “massive deportation of Mexicans” is “unacceptable for Mexico.” Indeed, he openly says Mexico should try to make it “enormously difficult” for us to enforce our laws.
In other words, as Mexico’s elites see it, they should call the shots in our immigration system.
To frustrate our ability to enforce immigration law, Castaneda says Mexican officials
…could very easily tell the U.S. authorities that we accept a deportee on the condition that they demonstrate to us, with documents, their Mexican nationality. If they allege that by definition the undocumented don’t have documents, we say to them that we think that the great majority of the deportees are Central Americans, and that if they want to deport them that they send them to Central America. Some Mexicans will end up there… For the time being, such a delay of deportations will accumulate that the Americans themselves will not know what to do.
Note Castaneda’s disdain for ordinary Mexicans. He doesn’t mind some of them being accidentally deported to Central America to make his point.
But there’s a simple solution on the U.S. side. Just deport anybody, regardless of nationality, who enters illegally from Mexico to Mexico. Make Mexico deal with them. After all, they entered the U.S. from Mexico!
But Castaneda has an even more insidious suggestion. He openly states Mexico should use Central American immigration as a weapon against us [Mexico can use Central-American immigration as bargaining chip with Trump, Univision, December 8, 2016]:
There has been a surge in Central American immigrants heading for the United States since Donald Trump won the Election in November, according to several initial reports… If this is the case, it is only logical. Trump has vowed to build his wall. It does not matter if Mexico will pay for it or even if the threat is true. It makes perfect sense for anybody hoping to make it to the United States, from Salvador, Honduras or Guatemala, to do so before any wall is put up….If they have relatives in the United States, or if they think that their reception will be better with President Barack Obama still in power until January 20, then their decision is perfectly rational.
Castaneda recounts how during the Surge of 2014, the Obama Administration pressured Mexico:
When the first wave of unaccompanied minors came to the United States in July 2014, Mexico complied with the White House request to cooperate in stopping the flow of immigrants. The logic behind it was sound. The goal was to avoid sparking anti-immigrant hysteria in the United States precisely when immigration reform seemed set to prosper.
My italics! By “hysteria,” Castaneda means provoking Americans who want a sane American immigration policy.
Castaneda says in 2014, in hopes of an imminent amnesty in the U.S., Mexican President Pena “…declined to take either of the two feasible actions for a country caught up in this immigration situation.”
These “two feasible actions”:
  • First, declare the Central Americans as “refugees,” let them stay in UN-supervised refugee camps in Mexico for a month, after which “they have the right to leave Mexico for wherever they choose: to the United States, or their home country.”
  • Second, “To follow Turkey’s example”. Here Castaneda refers to Turkey’s Erdogan agreeing to stop the flow of refugees entering Europe in return for benefits for Turkey.
It’s telling that Castaneda sees the relationship of Mexico with the United States as being analogous to that between Turkey and the European Union.
According to Castaneda, “Mexico has agreed to do the United States’ dirty work without maintaining its values via the refugee option and without extracting any benefits from a Turkey-style alternative. But things have now changed.”
So what does Castaneda propose?
….Trump is no friend to Mexico. It makes no sense for Mexico to keep doing America’s dirty work with Trump as president if he wants to build walls, deport Mexicans or revise the NAFTA trade deal. Still, Mexico has a bargaining chip. Mexico can stop the flow of immigrants on the southern border, or it can allow immigrants free access to its northern border.
But how is this a bargaining chip? Aren’t there already hordes of illegal alien Central Americans entering our southern border? And did not those same illegal aliens pass through Mexico?
This means that Mexico either can’t or won’t stop the flow of Central Americans. Castaneda is either mistaken and a victim of his own arrogance or just bluffing.
The real bargaining chips are in the hands of President-elect Trump, not the Mexican government.
If we get control of our border, then hundreds of thousands of Central American illegal aliens could be stuck in Mexico. And that’s something the Mexican elite doesn’t want!
So rave on, Jorge. If Trump does what he pledged to do, Mexico may have to finally get control of its southeastern border!
And if Trump does what he said he’d do, it won’t matter what Mexican elites say about it.
American citizen Allan Wall (email him) moved back to the U.S.A. in 2008 after many years residing in Mexico. Allan`s wife is Mexican, and their two sons are bilingual. In 2005, Allan served a tour of duty in Iraq with the Texas Army National Guard. His VDARE.COM articles are archived here; his Mexidata.info articles are archived here ; his News With Views columns are archived here; and his website is here.

Friday, November 4, 2016

Anthony Weiner-Huma Abedin Marriage Is Like The De Facto Israel-Saudi Arabia Alliance

A timely post from www.vdare.com about Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin. This follows this post about current music. This follows this post about the TV show "Designated Survivor." This follows this post about rap songs referencing Donald Trump.
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Anthony Weiner-Huma Abedin Marriage Is Like The De Facto Israel-Saudi Arabia Alliance



With the separated husband and wife team of former Congressman Anthony Weiner and Hillary’s right-hand woman Huma Abedin back in the news, it’s worth thinking about this odd couple.
Weiner comes from the most pro-Israel side of the Democratic Party (e.g., Hillary’s big donor Haim Saban donated to this 2013 run for mayor of NYC). Abedin is a Muslim South Asian born in the US but largely raised in Saudi Arabia.
This may seem like a strange pairing, but one of the little remarked developments of recent years is the de facto arms-length alliance that has emerged between the Gulf Sunni Arab states and the Jewish state. They both have a common enemy in Shi’ite Iran and dislike Iran’s ally, the Alaawite Assad in Syria. Lately, homophobic white Christian Russia has been actively helping prop up Assad in Syria, so that gives Hillary a politically correct way to tie together her desire for more destruction in Syria.
To Hillary, Weiner and Abedin don’t seem like weirdoes, they seem like two kids who give you hope in a glorious future in which Zionist campaign contributions can openly lay down with Gulf State contributions to the Clinton Foundation.
[Comment at Unz.com]

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

The Shofar, the Rapture and the Feast of Trumpets

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the Feast of Trumpets. This follows this post about the Oil Chessboard. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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The Shofar, the Rapture and the Feast of Trumpets





What do these terms have to do with Christ's return? You need to separate truth from fiction.


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Every autumn the Jewish community observes a holiday called Rosh Hashanah, also called the Feast of Trumpets. On this day a shofar, or ram’s horn, is blown.
Most Christians find little meaning in the Feast of Trumpets, but this day holds an important message for you and your future?
There are connections between this ancient holy day, the idea of the Christian Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Join us on Beyond Today as we explore The Shofar, the Rapture and the Feast of Trumpets.
Jackie has been a Christian all of her life. She believes that we are fast approaching a time of massive war, disease epidemics and natural calamities.
She also believes that God is going to save her by the “Rapture.” Many Christians believe that the Rapture is a prophesied event where Christ “raptures” away Christians into the clouds before the time of the Great Tribulation.
She worries about her husband, who isn’t concerned with any church or the Bible. Will he be left behind to suffer and possibly die?
At a synagogue down the street a group of Orthodox Jews meet to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets.
Part of this ceremony will be the blowing of the shofar, or ram’s horn. In ancient times the shofar was blown for various reasons, including a call to waror the heralding of an important event.
It would appear that these two events: a Christian woman thinking about the Rapture and a group of Orthodox Jews observing the Feast of Trumpets have nothing in common.
The truth is that the Feast of Trumpets is a celebration of one of the most important times for both Jews and Christians. It is a day that celebrates events that are yet to happen!
On Beyond Today we’re going to explore the wonderful meaning of the Feast of Trumpets and how—for Christians—understanding what this day pictures can change your understanding of God’s plan for all humanity…and for you personally.
The book of Revelation tells of a time when seven angels will blast seven trumpets, each one heralds a great event during the time leading to the return of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings.
A careful study of these events shows that Jackie’s concern about the Rapture is based on a wrong understanding of the prophecies.
If you’re a Christian who believes in the Rapture, about this time you’re saying, “I know this guy is wrong. The Rapture is mentioned in the Bible by the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians.”
Let’s take a look at those verses. If you don’t have a Bible in front of you get one and follow along. Let’s turn to 1 Thessalonians:4:13. Here the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica
Let’s look at what Jesus taught about His Second Coming and the gathering of the saints: Matthew:24:29-31.
We can see that there are remarkable similarities between what Paul wrote and what Jesus says about the events that take place at the end of the tribulation.
Are Jesus and Paul talking of two different events? Are they contradicting themselves?
To answer these questions we have two other passages to explore, but before we do I want to personally offer you a free booklet that explains what the Bible really teaches about the Feast of Trumpets and its importance for Christians.
God’s Holy Day Plan will take you step by step through the annual holy days given by God to ancient Israel and observed by Jesus and the early Church. You’ve probably heard that these are Jewish observances and are not important to Christians. It’s not true! These divinely ordained holy days reveal God’s plan of salvation for humanity.
God’s Holy Day Plan will show you the deep spiritual meaning of the Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. In reading this booklet your walk with God will change forever!
Go online right now to beyondtoday.tv to read or order your free copy of God’s Holy Day Plan. Or, call toll-free 1-triple-eight-886-8632. That's, 1-triple-eight-886-8632, or go online to beyondtoday.tv.
What does the Bible really teach about the Rapture? So far we’ve compared what Paul taught in 1 Thessalonians with what Jesus taught in Matthew 24. Now, let’s go to another passage by Paul where he writes of this same future event.
The book of Revelation states that there will be seven major events that happen toward the end of the Tribulation. These events are called the “Seven Trumpets.” At the last, or seventh trumpet, Christ returns.
Let’s compare one last passage. This time from the book of Revelation.
REVELATION 20:4-6
When we look at these scriptures it is plain that there is little support for the pre-Tribulation Rapture. Jesus Christ is returning for His followers, but it will be at the end of the Tribulation, at the sound of the last, or seventh, trumpet, when all the elect and dead are changed together.
We’ve seen the importance of the blowing of the shofar, or trumpet, and how it fits into understanding the Rapture.
But what does this have to do with you and the Feast of Trumpets? We’ll be back to explain something you’ve probably never heard and help you understand God’s grand design for the future of humanity.

Friday, August 22, 2014

The Image of Daniel 2

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the image of Daniel 2. This follows this post about crime. This follows this post about Iraq, the country where ISIS is fighting. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.
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The Image of Daniel 2





Prophecy points to a fulfillment of Daniel's pivotal prophecy and the soon coming of the Kingdom of God.


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[Gary Petty] We just finished recording a Beyond Today program on the image of Daniel 2. And this is one of the charts that we use – we're using a number of different charts, but this one really shows and gives us an understanding of what the image of Daniel 2 is all about. We see that the image that was given to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream – and Daniel of course came along and gave him an explanation of the head, the chest and arms, the belly and thighs, and these legs of iron and feet of iron and clay.
And we show through the program – we invite you to be sure and see this program when it's on – that what he was talking about is the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, and the Roman Empire. And of course we can see that these empires have actually happened during the course of history, which inspires us, because we can look back and see, wow, these prophecies took place. But this prophecy also reaches out into the future and it's going to predict some of the headlines in the news that you and I are going to see in the near future. And that involves the rise of ten toes that are ten kings that are part of the Roman Empire.
So what we know from this is that there's going to be an attempt to restore the Roman Empire. And this is very important because when this happens, this is when Jesus Christ returns, which is the stone cut out to become a mountain and sets up God's kingdom on this earth. So we invite you to be sure and watch this program when it comes out in a little bit. It's on the image of Daniel 2.
That's today's BT Daily . Join us next time.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Azerbaijan: A key to defeating Russia! (and Iran)

A very interesting post from www.Stratfor.com about the strategic country of Azerbaijan. This follows this post about Jews in Chicago. This follows this article about American energy independence and preventing money from going to hostile countries. For more about what you can do to get more involved click here and you can read two very interesting books HERE. You can follow me at blogspot here and at twitter here https://twitter.com/brianleesblog. Please consider following both in case one goes down!


Borderlands: The View from Azerbaijan

By George Friedman
I arrive in Azerbaijan as the country celebrates Victory Day, the day successor states of the former Soviet Union celebrate the defeat of Germany in World War II. No one knows how many Soviet citizens died in that war -- perhaps 22 million. The number is staggering and represents both the incompetence and magnificence of Russia, which led the Soviets in war. Any understanding of Russia that speaks of one without the other is flawed.
As I write, fireworks are going off over the Caspian Sea. The pyrotechnics are long and elaborate, sounding like an artillery barrage. They are a reminder that Baku was perhaps the most important place in the Nazi-Soviet war. It produced almost all of the Soviet Union's petroleum. The Germans were desperate for it and wanted to deny it to Moscow. Germany's strategy after 1942, including the infamous battle of Stalingrad, turned on Baku's oil. In the end, the Germans threw an army against the high Caucasus guarding Baku. In response, an army raised in the Caucasus fought and defeated them. The Soviets won the war. They wouldn't have if the Germans had reached Baku. It is symbolic, at least to me, that these celebrations blend into the anniversary of the birth of Heydar Aliyev, the late president of Azerbaijan who endured the war and later forged the post-Soviet identity of his country. He would have been 91 on May 10.
Baku is strategic again today, partly because of oil. I've started the journey here partly by convenience and partly because Azerbaijan is key to any counter-Russian strategy that might emerge. My purpose on this trip is to get a sense of the degree to which individual European states feel threatened by Russia, and if they do, the level of effort and risk they are prepared to endure. For Europe does not exist as anything more than a geographic expression; it is the fears and efforts of the individual nation-states constituting it that will determine the course of this affair. Each nation is different, and each makes its own calculus of interest. My interest is to understand their thinking, not only about Russia but also about the European Union, the United States and ultimately themselves. Each is unique; it isn't possible to make a general statement about them.
Some question whether the Caucasus region and neighboring Turkey are geographically part of Europe. There are many academic ways to approach this question. My approach, however, is less sophisticated. Modern European history cannot be understood without understanding the Ottoman Empire and the fact that it conquered much of the southeastern part of the European peninsula. Russia conquered the three Caucasian states -- Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan -- and many of their institutions are Russian, hence European. If an organic European expression does exist, it can be argued to be Eurovision, the pan-continental music competition. The Azerbaijanis won it in 2011, which should settle any debate on their "Europeanness."
But more important, a strategy to block Russia is hard to imagine without including its southern flank. There is much talk of sanctions on Russia. But sanctions can be countered and always ignore a key truth: Russia has always been economically dysfunctional. It has created great empires and defeated Napoleon and Hitler in spite of that. Undermining Russia's economy may be possible, but that does not always undermine Russia's military power. That Soviet military power outlived the economically driven collapse of the Soviet Union confirms this point. And the issue at the moment is military.
The solution found for dealing with the Soviet Union during the Cold War was containment. The architect of this strategy was diplomat George Kennan, whose realist approach to geopolitics may have lost some adherents but not its relevance. A cordon sanitaire was constructed around the Soviet Union through a system of alliances. In the end, the Soviets were unable to expand and choked on their own inefficiency. There is a strange view abroad that the 21st century is dramatically different from all prior centuries and such thinking is obsolete. I have no idea why this should be so. The 21st century is simply another century, and there has been no transcendence of history. Containment was a core strategy and it seems likely that it will be adopted again -- if countries like Azerbaijan are prepared to participate.
To understand Azerbaijan you must begin with two issues: oil and a unique approach to Islam. At the beginning of the 20th century, over half the world's oil production originated near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Hence Hitler's strategy after 1942. Today, Azerbaijani energy production is massive, but it cannot substitute for Russia's production. Russian energy production, meanwhile, defines part of the strategic equation. Many European countries depend substantially on Russian energy, particularly natural gas. They have few alternatives. There is talk of U.S. energy being shipped to Europe, but building the infrastructure for that (even if there are supplies) will take many years before it can reduce Europe's dependence on Russia.
Withholding energy would be part of any Russian counter to Western pressure, even if Russia were to suffer itself. Any strategy against Russia must address the energy issue, begin with Azerbaijan, and be about more than production. Azerbaijan is not a major producer of gas compared to oil. On the other side of the Caspian Sea, however, Turkmenistan is. Its resources, coupled with Azerbaijan's, would provide a significant alternative to Russian energy. Turkmenistan has an interest in not selling through Russia and would be interested in a Trans-Caspian pipeline. That pipeline would have to pass through Azerbaijan, connecting onward to infrastructure in Turkey. Assuming Moscow had no effective counters, this would begin to provide a serious alternative to Russian energy and decrease Moscow's leverage. But this would all depend on Baku's willingness and ability to resist pressure from every direction.
Azerbaijan lies between Russia and Iran. Russia is the traditional occupier of Azerbaijan and its return is what Baku fears the most. Iran is partly an Azeri country. Nearly a quarter of its citizens, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are Azeri. But while both Azerbaijan and Iran are predominantly Shiite, Azerbaijan is a militantly secular state. Partly due to the Soviet experience and partly because of the unique evolution of Azeri identity since the 19th century, Azerbaijan separates the private practice of Islam from public life. I recall once attending a Jewish Passover feast in Baku that was presided over by an Orthodox rabbi, with security provided by the state. To be fair, Iran has a Jewish minority that has its own lawmaker in parliament. But any tolerance in Iran flows from theocratic dogma, whereas in Azerbaijan it is rooted in a constitution that is more explicitly secular than any in the European Union, save that of France.
This is just one obvious wedge between Azerbaijan and Iran, and Tehran has made efforts to influence the Azeri population. For the moment, relations are somewhat better but there is an insoluble tension that derives from geopolitical reality and the fact that any attack on Iran could come from Azerbaijan. Furthering this wedge are the close relations between Azerbaijan and Israel. The United States currently blocks most weapons sales to Azerbaijan. Israel -- with U.S. approval -- sells the needed weapons. This gives us a sense of the complexity of the relationship, recalling that complexity undermines alliances.
The complexity of alliances also defines Russia's reality. It occupies the high Caucasus overlooking the plains of Azerbaijan. Armenia is a Russian ally, bound by an agreement that permits Russian bases through 2044. Yerevan also plans to join the Moscow-led Customs Union, and Russian firms own a large swath of the Armenian economy. Armenia feels isolated. It remains hostile to Turkey for Ankara's unwillingness to acknowledge events of a century ago as genocide. Armenia also fought a war with Azerbaijan in the 1990s, shortly after independence, for a region called Nagorno-Karabakh that had been part of Azerbaijan -- a region that it lost in the war and wants back. Armenia, caught between Turkey and an increasingly powerful Azerbaijan, regards Russia as a guarantor of its national security.
For Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh remains a critical issue. Azerbaijan holds that U.N. resolutions have made it clear that Armenia's attack constituted a violation of international law, and a diplomatic process set up in Minsk to resolve the crisis has proven ineffective. Azerbaijan operates on two tracks on this issue. It pursues national development, as can be seen in Baku, a city that reflects the oil wealth of the country. It will not endanger that development, nor will it forget about Nagorno-Karabakh. At some point, any nation aligning itself with Azerbaijan will need to take a stand on this frozen conflict, and that is a high price for most.
Which leads me to an interesting symmetry of incomprehension between the United States and Azerbaijan. The United States does not want to sell weapons directly to Azerbaijan because of what it regards as violations of human rights by the Azerbaijani government. The Americans find it incomprehensible that Baku, facing Russia and Iran and needing the United States, cannot satisfy American sensibilities by avoiding repression -- a change that would not threaten the regime. Azerbaijan's answer is that it is precisely the threats it faces from Iran and Russia that require Baku to maintain a security state. Both countries send operatives into Azerbaijan to destabilize it. What the Americans consider dissidents, Azerbaijan sees as agents of foreign powers. Washington disputes this and continually offends Baku with its pronouncements. The Azerbaijanis, meanwhile, continually offend the Americans.
This is similar to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Most Americans have never heard of it and don't care who owns it. For the Azerbaijanis, this is an issue of fundamental historical importance. They cannot understand how, after assisting the United States in Afghanistan, risking close ties with Israel, maintaining a secular Islamic state and more, the United States not only cannot help Baku with Nagorno-Karabakh but also insists on criticizing Azerbaijan.
The question on human rights revolves around the interpretation of who is being arrested and for what reason. For a long time this was an issue that didn't need to be settled. But after the Ukrainian crisis, U.S.-Azerbaijani relations became critical. It is not just energy; rather, in the event of the creation of a containment alliance, Azerbaijan is the southeastern anchor of the line on the Caspian Sea. In addition, since Georgia is absolutely essential as a route for pipelines, given Armenia's alliance with Russia, Azerbaijan's support for Georgian independence is essential. Azerbaijan is the cornerstone for any U.S.-sponsored Caucasus strategy, should it develop.
I do not want to get into the question of either Nagorno-Karabakh or human rights in Azerbaijan. It is, for me, a fruitless issue arising from the deep historical and cultural imperatives of each. But I must take exception to one principle that the U.S. State Department has: an unwillingness to do comparative analysis. In other words, the State Department condemns all violations equally, whether by nations hostile to the United States or friendly to it, whether by countries with wholesale violations or those with more limited violations. When the State Department does pull punches, there is a whiff of bias, as with Georgia and Armenia, which -- while occasionally scolded -- absorb less criticism than Azerbaijan, despite each country's own imperfect record.
Even assuming the validity of State Department criticism, no one argues that Azerbaijani repression rises anywhere near the horrors of Joseph Stalin. I use Stalin as an example because Franklin Roosevelt allied the United States with Stalin to defeat Hitler and didn't find it necessary to regularly condemn Stalin while the Soviet Union was carrying the burden of fighting the war, thereby protecting American interests. That same geopolitical realism animated Kennan and ultimately created the alliance architecture that served the United States throughout the Cold War. Is it necessary to offend someone who will not change his behavior and whom you need for your strategy? The State Department of an earlier era would say no.
It was interesting to attend a celebration of U.S.-Azerbaijani relations in Washington the week before I came to Baku. In the past, these events were subdued. This one was different, because many members of Congress attended. Two guests were particularly significant. One was Charles Schumer of New York, who declared the United States and Azerbaijan to be great democracies. The second was Nancy Pelosi, long a loyalist to Armenian interests. She didn't say much but chose to show up. It is clear that the Ukrainian crisis triggered this turnout. It is clear that Azerbaijan's importance is actually obvious to some in Congress, and it is also clear that it signals tension over the policy of criticizing human rights records without comparing them to those of other countries and of ignoring the criticized country's importance to American strategy.
This is not just about Azerbaijan. The United States will need to work with Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary -- all of whom have been found wanting by the State Department in some ways. This criticism does not -- and will not -- produce change. Endless repetition of the same is the height of ineffectiveness. It will instead make any strategy the United States wants to construct in Europe ineffective. In the end, I would argue that a comparison between Russia and these other countries matters. Perfect friends are hard to find. Refusing to sell weapons to someone you need is not a good way to create an alliance.
In the past, it seemed that such an alliance was merely Cold War nostalgia by people who did not realize and appreciate that we had reached an age too wise to think of war and geopolitics. But the events in Ukraine raise the possibility that those unreconstructed in their cynicism toward the human condition may well have been right. Alliances may in fact be needed. In that case, Roosevelt's attitude toward Stalin is instructive.
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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

World News and Trends: Will Catholicism become the religion of the EU?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the European Union. This follows this post about taxes.  For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632. You can follow me at blogspot here and at twitter here https://twitter.com/brianleesblog. Please consider following both in case one goes down!


World News and Trends: Will Catholicism become the religion of the EU?





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The leaders of the Roman Catholic Church leveled harsh criticism at the Charter of Fundamental Rights adopted by the European Union in December 2000.

At the time, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, a close aide to the Pope, said the charter failed to take adequate account of the "historical and cultural roots of Europe, in particular Christianity, which represents Europe's soul and which still today can inspire Europe's mission and identity."
In March of this year, Cardinal Ratzinger, the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (successor to the medieval Inquisition), said that it was regrettable that "God and our responsibility before God" had not been "anchored in the European constitution."
Many European politicians do not want religious clerics to determine their future. They understand that history has a way of repeating itself. For nearly 2,000 years European leaders had either been crowned by the pope (as in the case of Charlemagne, Otto the Great and Charles Hapsburg) or been given its blessing (as was Napoleon, who took the crown from the pope and crowned himself).
Cardinal Ruini was correct in his assessment that Europe's roots are Catholic, a tradition that can still powerfully influence Europe's mission and identity.
Will Europe eventually become like another Roman Empire of old? If so, will it also be blessed by the Vatican, transforming it into a modern revival of the Holy Roman Empire? Some European Parliamentarians have already suggested this thought. But more importantly, a number of biblical prophecies support it. To learn more, request or download our free booklets The Book of Revelation Unveiled and You Can Understand Bible Prophecy.
(Source: Zenit News Agency .)









Friday, July 18, 2014

Crisis in Ukraine: Why It Matters

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/  about Ukraine. This follows this post about creation.  For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632. You can follow me at blogspot here and at twitter here https://twitter.com/brianleesblog. Please consider following both in case one goes down!








Crisis in Ukraine: Why It Matters

Wednesday, March 19, 2014 (All day)

Most Americans have little understanding of the critical importance of Ukraine in the balance of power in Europe.


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[Darris McNeely] The news right now is transfixed with news out of the Ukraine because of the revolutions that has been going on there in recent weeks, and now the vote in Crimea to separate from Ukraine and to realign itself with the Russian republic. Many people are watching and trying to understand what's taking place, but I think that the biggest question that we should understand and focus on is why Ukraine matters within the context of a massive geopolitical fight between Russia, Europe, and America's posturing and roles that it's taking right now with the threat of sanctions. Why does this matter? What's taking place?
These three maps on the board here help us to at least begin to understand that. At least geographically, it's important to understand that Ukraine borders Russia, Poland, some of the Baltic states, and Western Europe. Ukraine has recently wanted to become a part of the European Union, but that was blocked last fall, and now with the overthrow of the government there, and the redistribution that's taking place, Russia has now moved in and a vote has taken place in Crimea to realign itself with Russia. What this means is that there is a major shake-up taking place within this very critical country. These other maps show, again, a little bit more of the agricultural and industrial importance of Ukraine to Europe, Russia especially. It's interesting to note that agriculturally, western Ukraine represents some of the richest, most productive soil in the world – probably within the top three agricultural areas in terms of the value of the land to agricultural production in all of the world. This is important to Russia as well as to Europe.
This other map shows the crossing of energy pipelines from Russia, across Ukraine, into Western Europe. Western Europe gains the majority of its natural gas and petroleum from Russia. And the lines, the pipelines that carry that petroleum and that natural gas go through Ukraine. Who controls Ukraine is going to control the heat in Germany, in Poland, and other parts of Western Europe. So you see the stranglehold that is there. And of course, with Russia involved in this right now, it's impacting its relationship with other European nations and the United States – financial ties, political ties, especially with the role that Russia is playing with the other great powers in the Middle East, Syria in particular – the relationships between all of these nations – the United States, Europe, and Russia – is very, very critical and very important. That's why it matters.
There's a couple of – there's a few other issues for us to consider as to why this matters, as well. What is taking place in front of us, really, is the biggest crisis since the end of the Cold War over twenty years ago. And for most of us in the United States especially, we've been having a holiday from history. We have not been all that interested. We're more interested, perhaps, in the sports events, the next NCAA tournament that's now just gearing up in the United States, other matters, and we're not really interested in what's taking place in other parts of the world. But this is big. This is the biggest in over twenty years. And should Russia – which it looks like it's going to do – annex Crimea ( this was recorded before Russia annexed Crimea ), possibly eastern Ukraine, because of the ethnic Russian majority in this part of Ukraine, it would also represent the biggest land grab since Adolf Hitler in the late 1930s, and what he began doing in Europe that triggered World War II. That's important. That's why what is taking place over there matters.


Tuesday, June 24, 2014

The EU: A Seventh Roman Revival in the Making?

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Germany's future designs. This follows this post about the war in Iraq. This follows this post about previous World Cup expenses. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632. You can follow me at blogspot here and at twitter here https://twitter.com/brianleesblog. Please consider following both in case one goes down!


The EU: A Seventh Roman Revival in the Making?





In the devastated aftermath of World War II, it seemed unimaginable that Europe could rise again. Many venerable cities had been bombed into rubble. The dead were counted in the tens of millions. Old institutions and organizations ceased to exist.

What happened next, fueled by U.S. dollars supplied under the Marshall Plan, was an economic miracle: Western Europe rebuilt and retooled its industry.
Modernized from the ground up, in the 1950s and 60s many of defeated Germany's factories began to outclass the factories of its national benefactor, the United States. The old dream of a peaceful European union led to an organization known as the European Common Market.
In the last half of the 20th century the Common Market gave way to the European Union, a powerful alliance with old enemies France and Germany at the center. The amount of international integration achieved under the European Union is staggering.
But it is not in the form that it will be when Jesus Christ returns.
Returning to Revelation 17, we see that John "marveled with great amazement" at the vision he had seen of the woman and the beast (Revelation:17:6). An angel then explained to John that "the beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit …" When they see it, people "will marvel…when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is " (Revelation:17:8).

What does such unusual wording mean?

Having gone through this historical background, we can now understand how an empire could once exist, then disappear, then reappear in a somewhat different form. The fact that this beast, symbolic of an empire, " was, and is not, and yet is " tells us that the Roman Empire, which does not exist at this time as such, will be restored yet again in the near future.
It " was ," meaning it existed in the past, it currently " is not ," meaning it doesn't exist at this moment, and " yet is ," for it remains an undercurrent in European politics, and " will ascend out of the bottomless pit "—meaning it is destined to rise yet again.
Revelation:17:10 prophesies that there would be seven kings or rulers who would lead resurrections of the Roman Empire in cooperation with the Roman church. We've seen that so far, there have been six. A seventh revival, called "the beast" and linked in prophecy to God's intervention in human affairs with Christ's return, lies ahead.
In 1957 six Western European nations—West Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium—came together to create the European Economic Community through the Treaty of Rome. These groundbreaking steps toward European unification were taken in the ancient capital city of the Roman Empire and home to one of the world's oldest and major religions.
Paul Henri Spaak, former secretary-general of NATO, later remarked on that signing in a BBC documentary: "We felt like Romans on that day…we were consciously recreating the Roman Empire once more."
Europe's long dream of unity retains its hold on European leaders. Although slow to come together, and certainly not yet in its final form, that union will emerge as a global superpower that will stun and shock the world.
The European Union is now the world's greatest economic power, accounting for more than a third of the globe's total gross domestic product. It's the largest exporter in the world. The euro, the EU's common currency, has increased in value almost 50 percent against the U.S. dollar since its introduction in 2002.
Some EU leaders believe that the union isn't developing fast enough or flexing enough muscle on the world scene. There has even been discussion of forming a coalition within the European Union, led by France and Germany, that would speed up political unity.
Not all Europeans are greeting the concept of an EU military force with open arms. The joint U.S.-European incursion into Kosovo in the late 1990s revealed the general reluctance of many European states to play a part in using military force. The combined EU members sent only 50,000 troops to the Balkans, when they have almost 2 million men under arms.
Meanwhile the United States, with its major military commitment in Afghanistan and other forces scattered worldwide in the war on terror, is showing considerable weariness in acting as the world's policeman. Instead of pursuing force with Syria after that country's president Bashir al-Assad used chemical weapons on its own people, the administration of Barack Obama has pursued diplomacy instead. Likewise a recent diplomatic deal with Iran has taken shape instead of the typical threat of armed conflict and sanctions that have been used in the past.

Europe's Prophesied Future

The events in Europe are following a historical pattern—an attempt to unite the Spanish and Italians, Germans and Slavs, French and Scandinavians into one empire.
The current moves to expand and solidify the European Union appear to be setting the stage for the emergence of the end-time power Daniel prophesied as being made of partly of iron and partly of clay. In light of what Bible prophecy reveals, it's fascinating to note the roots of the movement to unify Europe.
The idea of founding a renewed Roman Empire was certainly on the minds of those whose efforts have led to the current organization of European nations. That union has continued to strengthen with greater cooperation and integration in economic and political affairs.
The 10 kings who will give their power and authority to the beast will not understand how monstrously evil their creation will become, ultimately plunging the world into catastrophe.
Revelation:17:14 clearly states the time setting for this prophecy: "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them…" The Lamb, of course, is Jesus Christ. He will not return until this prophecy of 10 rulers who form an end-time superpower is fulfilled. Yet all indications are that His return must be soon (a forthcoming study aid Seven Prophetic Signs Before Jesus' Return will cover this topic in greater detail)—and the appearance of this empire will of course be even sooner.
As history shows, the Roman Empire has fallen, risen and fallen several times in the past. Be assured that it will rise once more, yet soon afterward will be destroyed and replaced by the final superpower—the Kingdom of God, ruled by Jesus Christ, which will never be destroyed!

The Final Fall

The dreams of Julius Caesar, Justinian, Charlemagne, Napoleon and Mussolini have never died. They will resurge once more—yet will end in utter disaster. In Revelation 19 we find out who destroys this final empire. Here the apostle John writes about a vision he received concerning the future: "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God" (Revelation:19:11-13). This is the One we know as Jesus Christ.
Continuing: "And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Revelation:19:14-16; see also Revelation:19:17-21).
The last superpower of men described in Bible prophecy will be replaced by the final superpower—the Kingdom of God, led by Jesus Christ, which will rule the entire world. Prophecy was given by God to guide us through changing world conditions, strengthen our faith and give us hope for the future. Our faith must be in Him and our lives must be dedicated to doing His will so we might ultimately be a part of that Kingdom.
This is what Bible prophecy reveals regarding the end time. The foundation is laid, the structure is being built, and the time for the seventh revival of the Roman Empire—the beast—draws ever closer.
Will you be ready to face these events that are destined to transform the world?