The World Economic Forum has been going on this week in Davos, Switzerland. The US had very little presence there due to the transition in Administrations. Obama---who was humiliated by China at the G-20, ASEAN, and APEC meetings declined to attend this year and sent the hapless Joe Biden in his place.
Like Obama at the previous conferences, Biden too was essentially snubbed by the over 3,000 international dignitaries in attendance. As if to put the final exclamation point on Obama's failed foreign policy, Chinese President Xi Jinping emerged as the clear world economic leader at the WEF.
President Xi gave the keynote address at Davos, stressing the successes of China's New Silk Road Initiative, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Most importantly for the incoming American Administration, Xi encouraged Trump not to replicate Obama's blunders and instead seek a path of cooperation with China.
"China will always keep the door open to trade," Xi stressed, "There will be no winners in a trade war. There is no point in blaming economic globalization for the world's problems. The root causes of the sluggish global economy stem from a lack of initiative, poor management, and uneven rates of development."
Xi announced that during the coming 5 years, China expects to import a massive $8 trillion in goods; attract $600 billion in new investments in China; and garner $750 billion in foreign investment.
The future of US-Sino relations is an open question at this point. Trump has appointed a very capable ambassador to China, but much of his rhetoric on China has raised concerns of a trade war. It is to be hoped that Trump will not take a hardline policy with China---that approach completely failed for Obama. The trap that Trump needs to avoid is falling for the Neocon illusion that Obama failed because he wasn't tough enough with China.
Trump should take the same position with China that he's taken with Russia. Xi Jinping, like Trump, is basically a businessman and negotiator by nature. By the standards of recent Chinese leaders, Xi is something of a moderate who prefers diplomacy and trade to conflict. It could very well be, as some have speculated, that what we're really hearing from Trump is The Art of the Deal. His rhetoric is calculated to bring China to the negotiating table and trade concessions in the mutual interest of both countries. This would be the wisest approach. America actually stands to gain more from a reconciliation with China than with Russia.
The basic problem with a trade war with China is that Protectionist policies do not build native industry---they only work when there's something to protect. China could, paradoxically, help revive American industry and infrastructure if we were cooperating more closely economically.
This is another area where Trump can really demonstrate his leadership abilities: not as adversary with China, but a US-China Economic Partnership would be the greatest business deal of his life. The reason that China is dominating these recent economic conferences is because China comes to the table ready to make deals while America's under Bush/Clinton/ Obama has been coming to the table to dictate terms.
Almost as if to underscore symbolically the new global paradigm: on the same day that Obama was boasting that his greatest legacy was so-called 'marriage equality'; Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan was awarded by the World Health Organization for her humanitarian efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS. China solves problems; recent US Administrations exacerbate them.
Time will determine what Trump's China Policy will be; but we have eight years of examples of what does not work. A fresh approach in this direction would be a welcome change.
As we've been predicting, the hours leading up to the Inauguration would see a spike in strange and violent incidents involving anti-Government extremists. This trend will continue at least through the weekend. The incoming Administration is going to have vividly displayed the urgent national need for curtailing drug proliferation and for expanding mental healthcare programs.
An example today happened in front of the DC branch of Trump Tower, when an unidentified Anarchist went berserk and immolated himself on the front steps. First responders---who are numerous around Trump Towers these days---quickly put out the fire and the man was taken to the hospital and treated for burns.
A US media outlet---appropriately named The Blaze---covered the story with several eyewitness accounts. They quote an NBC reporter on the scene who spoke briefly with the man as he was loaded into an ambulance. When asked to explain his action, he screamed: "Because we have a dictator who has been elected! I was trying to light myself on fire as an act of protest! An act of protest! Protesting the fact that we have elected somebody who is incapable of respecting the Constitution of the United States!"
The Blaze also cites a British reporter on the scene who stated that the man was shouting Trump's name as he was engulfed in flames.
I wonder where he would have gotten ideas like these? It all sounds suspiciously similar the hysterical media rants coming out of various celebrities and being fanned by the Corporate Media. It goes back again to what Pope Francis recently said about journalistic responsibility and the tongue as a weapon. There are elements in our society who, fed on a steady diet of that kind of rhetoric, will respond in violent ways.
This isn't even the first time some Anarchist crackpot has attempted suicide as a form of protest. Barely two weeks after the election, another one in Akron lost it and burned himself alive with gasoline in a park in front of innocent children.
There is no way to stop crazies from acting out; but we can lessen their presence by calling for and advocating media responsibility. The Far Left and the Far Right have both been guilty of baiting these types of people with irresponsible rhetoric. That's exactly the kind of thing that Pope Francis was referring to. Our words are always, in a way, a form of advocacy. We have to understand that some people are more susceptible to influence of words than others.
All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California has eliminated speaking the President's name in upcoming prayer services. In many traditional churches, it is customary to pray for national leaders by name; but the Reverend Mike Kinman has decided that publically breathing the word 'Trump' might traumatize his flock.
"There are indeed people in our congregation for whom the anticipation of praying for Donald Trump by name in a worship service is legitimately triggering trauma and compromising the safety of the worship space." Pastor Kinman wrote, "I am speaking of the clinical definition of trauma; and not just 'I don't like it' or 'It's really hard for me.'"
Pasadena is only a few miles from Hollywood; one would think that Pastor Kinman might address something like, say, the number of celebrities who've been forced out of attending Trump's Inauguration because of death threats and such. But actually, according to the church's website, next Sunday's sermon is titled "The Call to Sacred Resistance." Prior to the sermon, the church announces: "At 10:15 AM, we will offer the first in a series of Intersectional Resistance Forums focused this week on Reproductive Justice. Join us for a conversation with Planned Parenthood's Sheri Bonner and Susan Russell."
So praying for the President in a church is emotionally traumatizing to these people, but supporting the murder of babies for profit, is not.
American Christianity is in sad shape if this is what passes for Christian leadership. During the last few years we've read about Syrian Christians having churches burned down over their heads; mass graves of Iraqi Christians whose organs had been harvested; Libyan and Yemeni Christians put in corrals and massacred; terrorist attacks on Christians in Egypt and Ethiopia. Maybe Pastor Kinman would do more good preaching about these things---since his congregation is in obvious need of exhortation to Christian fortitude and courage.
But, sadly, that is unlikely to happen. All Saints Church, though, does list a number of causes its parishioners can take up: among them are 'The Affordable Care Act', 'Climate Change', 'Gun Violence Prevention', and 'Marriage Equality.'
It's also somewhat sad to reflect that All Saints Church hasn't always been like this. The building is a lovely Gothic Cathedral built in 1924. The Church was formerly a real community leader in Pasadena---now it's become a symbol of Postmodernist degeneracy.
Pastor Mike Kinman himself is a recent arrival to Pasadena, taking over at All Saints last year. He was for seven years previously the pastor of Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis. There, according to his official biography, he had "a particular interest in the Cathedral's role in dismantling systemic misogyny and homophobia and promoting racial and economic reconciliation in St. Louis---and with Christ Church Cathedral was active in the new civil rights movement that was ignited in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri."
So there is Rev. Kinman's idea of Christian values in action: the Anarchist reign of terror in Ferguson. In light of this, his argument that mention of Trump in church could trigger people and 'threaten the safety of the worship space' makes sense. The mention of Trump's name in audience like that would be like waving a red flag in front of a bull.
But it's not exactly a Christian approach. For all his Ivy-League degrees in Theology, Pastor Kinman and his congregation would be better served by going back and reading the New Testament.
In Portland, Oregon---one of America's most effete and 'Progressive' cities---people are literally freezing to death in the streets. The compassionate Left, who are always ready to collect money for the downtrodden without ever actually doing anything to help them, is blaming everybody but themselves for the crisis.
In fact, quite a lot of money is available to hire people to protest Trump over issues like these. Instead of providing humanitarian aid to Portland's suffering 'poor', groups like San Francisco's Demand Protest is running ads in 20 major cities hiring people at up to $2500 per month to foment headline-grabbing photo-ops at anti-Trump rallies. Not bad pay, actually. At least Portland anti-Trump activists can afford to watch news coverage of themselves on the big-screen TVs in Hookah lounges after a hard day's work complaining about Republicans' lack of commitment to Social Justice.
Demand Protest itself seems to be a rather shady organization that has either recently changed its name or come out from the shadows. It is not listed, for example, as a registered California company and its domain name was registered within a month after the election (though it boasts a proven track-record). The company's website makes a point of confidentiality and secrecy---not unrealistic given the number of exposures of such organizations during the recent elections.
What is interesting to note, though, is while the situation in Portland is worsening for displaced persons, poorer countries in harsher climates have actually shown that emergencies like these can be dealt with. Last August, Typhoon Lionrock struck the Northeastern coast of North Korea, displacing thousands of families and killing hundreds. It was the worst storm recorded since North Korea became independent in 1945. And, as anyone familiar with the Korean War knows, winters in North Korea are notoriously bad.
The North Korean government, though, mobilized its slender resources and in a phenomenal feat of its own, reconstructed shelters for nearly 12,000 families by November's end. Contrast this to Obama's 2010 boast that his Administration would end homelessness in America, while homeless people die on the streets of Portland---a city that voted 75% for Hilary Clinton and has been the national epicenter of anti-Election riots. According even to CBS News, homelessness rates have gone up 39% in the US since 2010.
American Liberals should feel ashamed that North Korea is actually doing a better job of providing housing for the displaced than Portland, Oregon. Even more shameful is the fact that these same Liberals are constantly bashing Russia---which has given North Korea over a billion tons of fuel oil to keep the typhoon victims from freezing. The compassionate Democrats in the Obama Administration, meanwhile, reacted to the North Korean disaster by imposing tougher sanctions on the country and spending billions to deploy additional military resources to the Korean Peninsula.
But American Leftists are---and always have been---about nothing but power and control. They have proven over and over again that they could care less about the poor and see the impoverished only as means to ends in their drive for power.
The Manosphere's Red Pill Cult, many of whom work hand-in-glove with the Far Left to foment racial hatred have come up with an 'alternative' holiday to MLK Day. The new meme is to honor Confederate General Robert E. Lee instead. Blogger Vox Day, an expat living in Italy, apparently came up with the idea. He writes as follows at Vox Populi:
"This would actually make a potentially effective meme next year. Instead of celebrating the sacred martyr of an alien tribe, celebrate a true American and a hero of Virginia and of the South."
There are three things that Vox seems to have overlooked here. First is that the alien tribe didn't immigrate to the United States of its own free will. Secondly, General Lee actually fought for a system that kept Blacks here, whether they wanted to stay or not. Third, it's difficult to comprehend how a man who led a rebellion against the US Government qualifies as a true American.
Martin Luther King, in contrast, was a Christian minister who advocated civil rights through peaceful means. His entire message essentially was that the Constitution not be overthrown, but enforced. Blacks, he claimed, should demand that their rights as Americans be respected; and that discrimination was de facto, illegal. Which the Supreme Court agreed with in several cases heard during the middle 20th Century.
Robert E. Lee, a son of the privileged Southern Aristocracy, lifted up his hand against the Constitution and joined the Secessionists who---much like the Whacko Left today---refused to recognize the legitimacy of the 1860 Election. The Confederate leaders were the 'not-my-president' types of their day. They adopted numerous illegal means to subvert the government, including setting up rump-state legislatures in Border States where they couldn't obtain Secessionist support. The most notable example was Texas: where a real American hero, Sam Houston was governor and stood firm for the Union. Houston was ousted from office by a sham convention, which demanded he take an oath to the Confederacy. Houston said:
"Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, you may win Southern Independence if God be not against you, but I doubt it."
Sam Houston, Patriot
And just as Leftists today do; the Secessionists harassed Houston with everything including death-threats; and he died in virtual obscurity in 1863. The illegitimate government that Lee served was guilty of numerous Crimes Against Humanity. The brutal POW camps like Andersonville and Salisbury; illegal executions of Union soldiers; property confiscations; press censorship; forced labor---these were the characteristics of the Noble Cause that Lee supported. And it is no doubt the type of Regime that the Red Pill Cultists would support.
Granted, we believe that other notable Americans besides the Reverend Dr. King should be honored with holidays as well. But it is absurd to argue, as these Red Pills do, that King is not a true American patriot and hero; while Confederate officials should be venerated instead. King's Christian vision for the future was one where we are all Americans; under one God, one Flag, and one Constitution.
Trump's first foreign policy challenge may be coming on the horizon shortly after the Inauguration from an unlikely place: the tiny island nation of Bahrain. Our Corporate Media---far more focused on publishing lurid gossip about bed-wetting prostitutes and children lured into pizza-parlor basements---has ignored a situation which has been spiraling out of control for some time.
Bahrain is a geopolitical time-bomb set by Obama, Clinton, and Podesta that is on the verge of going off at any moment. The island the headquarters of the 5th US Fleet, a major oil exporter, and once was an exotic, though little-known tourist destination. Bahrain has been ruled by Sunni Moslem monarchy since the 1700s, although the population is predominantly Shiite. When Bush Junior stationed the fleet there, the Monarchy drew closer politically to Wahhabi countries like Saudi Arabia and has embraced the extremist cult. When Clinton and Soros initiated the so-called 'Arab Spring' in 2011, the Bahraini people began demonstrating against Wahhabi rule and for democracy. Little did they realize that the Arab Spring was intended to promote Wahhabi rule.
Thus, the Obama Administration looked the other way while the Bahraini Regime imported troops from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to crush the demonstrations. Things have gone from bad to worse there ever since. Demonstrations are increasing, the Government becoming even more repressive.
This Sunday, the Bahraini Regime executed three men who allegedly bombed a police station in 2014. We say allegedly because this was anything but a fair and transparent trial---many in the Arab World believe this to have been a 'show trial'. Iran, Bahrain's neighbor and natural ally to the Shiites have been protesting the executions the most; the Ayatollahs are calling for fairly harsh measures against the Regime.
There are reportedly running street-battles and demonstrations breaking out all over the island. The Bahraini people are at a breaking-point and this situation could end in an all-out civil war. And as small a country as Bahrain is, the implications of that scenario are even worse for US interests than the Syrian Civil War.
Trump has opportunity here to make the moral choice; which we hold as siding with the Bahraini Insurgents. For Trump to do so would accomplish many positive things---not the least of which is securing freedom for the island. From a political standpoint, reversing Bush's and Obama's policies in Bahrain would have the following effects:
1. It would show to some skeptics that Trump truly is a principled Conservative;
2. It would prove to the Arab World that Trump really is offering them a New Deal;
3. It would allow us to keep our strategic Naval base there;
4. It would lessen Iran's influence on the island among the populace and teach the Saudi Wahhabis that they aren't the ones in control of the Middle East;
5. It would restore peace to Bahrain and keep it as a valuable trading-partner and a true friend to the US.
For Trump to do this, though, will be a test of his political courage. The corrupt Democrats---who take bribes from the Wahhabis---will oppose it. The RINO/Neocon ignoramuses will reflexively balk at siding with a movement that has Iranian support. If Trump is wise, he'll take the ball from Iran and run with it. Possession is 9/10s of the law here. We have a presence on Bahrain and Iran hasn't; strengthening our position there and winning the Bahraini people to our side would be a strong diplomatic bargaining-chip in bringing Iran to the table for any future negotiations.
This course we encourage Trump to take. Do the right thing and bring freedom to Bahrain.
Red Pill blogger Andrew Anglin of The Daily Stormer has been advertising an armed march of Skinheads and Manosphereans since late December. This supposed to occur on Monday (MLK Day) through the small resort village of Whitefish, Montana. Now, Whitefish is a ski resort town---and one can well imagine the economic hardship that a Nazi demonstration in a village of 7,000 people would cause on a 3-day weekend in mid-January.
Fortunately, Anglin's plan for a jolly weekend of photo-ops and terrorizing Jews has fallen through. The amusing part of the whole story is that it failed because these would-be manly Alpha leaders of the New Order couldn't put together a simple application for a Parade Permit.
In a letter dated January 10th, Whitefish City Manager Chuck Stearns informs Anglin that the application is incomplete, and therefore denied for the 16th. Stearns lists are as follows what the application still lacks:
1. A map of the intended parade route.
2. The remaining $65 of the stated $125 permit fee.
3. A Certificate of Insurance.
4. A Notification for businesses and residences effected by the street closure.
According to the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce's website, the next scheduled parade is during the Whitefish Winter Carnival on February 5th; so it's difficult to imagine that obtaining a Parade Permit there is especially complicated. Stearns reminds Anglin in the letter that the instructions are clearly stated online.
Anglin, of course, blamed everyone but himself for this humiliating defeat. Especially the town's few dozen Jews whom he imagines are trying to seize control of the village. He was quite exorcised that businesses along the parade route could object to the permit---especially since he's been encouraging his followers to harass them online and otherwise for the past month. Anglin evidently hasn't learned a lesson that most men learn just before puberty: it doesn't pay to be a jerk.
Hopefully the negative publicity that Anglin generated hasn't harmed Whitefish's economy too much. Readers in Montana who enjoy skiing may want to make a trek out to Whitefish on Monday. And make sure to buy local, too.
