Category: Uncategorized

Debt-Cancellation in Ancient Greece

Jesus said debts should be forgiven. So did the ancient Greeks, as Rev. Matt points out.

One of the most consistent arguments made against the policy of society wide debt forgiveness is this: “You need a Christian or believing (in the sense of ancient Israelite) nation for it to work. It cannot work in a nation like ours because it is non-Christian, so either people will not go for it, or they will abuse it and it will not work.” Almost every time I have made a case for debt forgiveness somebody makes this argument. But it is a fallacious one, both historically and logically.

It is fallacious logically because there is nothing inherent to many pagan philosophies saying that debt cannot be forgiven. Forgiveness, liberty and debt cancellation were all concepts that existed before either Israel or Christianity had graced the face of the earth. Indeed, the most ancient usage of words that can be translated as “liberty” were pagan words referring to debt forgiveness.

It is fallacious historically, because we have countless examples throughout history of ancient societies practicing debt forgiveness. From the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, and other Near Eastern societies, on through to Greek city states and the Roman public, we see that debt forgiveness was either practiced, debated, or offered in various contexts. In fact, many ancient pagan leaders saw it, correctly, as an effective means of shoring up popular support for their reign, and limiting the damage their nobles could do to both their reign and their society.

Many examples of debt forgiveness in pagan societies can be given, here is one from ancient Athens,

“Now later writers observe that the ancient Athenians used to cover up the ugliness of things with auspicious and kindly terms, giving them polite and endearing names. Thus they called harlots “companions”, taxes “contributions”, the garrison of a city its “guard”, and the prison a “chamber”. But Solon was the first, it would seem, to use this device, when he called his cancelling of debts a “disburdenment”. For the first of his public measures was an enactment that existing debts should be remitted, and that in future no one should lend money on the person of a borrower.”

Debt enforcement and the refusal to cancel fraudulent debts such as student loans is neither moral nor Christian. Precisely how is it “progress” for a modern society to be observably less moral and less forgiving than ancient pagan societies?

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Color Revolution in Sudan

AUG 24, 2022 – US Ambassador appointed to Sudan following a 25 year absence.

SEPT 28, 2022 – US Ambassador warns Sudan against finalizing Russian naval base deal

NOV 11, 2022 – Blinken urges Sudan to consider “US support for the rapid formation of a civilian-led transitional governnent”.

DEC 5, 2022 – UN brokers Framework Agreement between Sudan’s military leaders and leading pro-democracy parties

DEC 7, 2022 – Blinken threatens travel ban for Sudanese who endanger Framework Agreement deal

FEB 12, 2023 – Sudan confirms deal for Russian naval base, key players Lavrov and General Burhan.

FEB 16, 2023 – CIA payout cash sent. Biden administration sends $218 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan.

MAR 9, 2023 – Coup plans finalized, orders given as Victoria Nuland visits Sudan to “discuss democracy”

APR 8, 2023 – Conflict escalates between Sudanese Armed Forces (under General Burhan) and paramilitary group RSF (under Dagalo)

APR 22, 2023 – US diplomats evacuate Sudan

APR 24, 2023 – Biden submits a War Powers Resolution to Congress regarding the Deployment of U.S. Military Forces to Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Sudan.

APR 25, 2023 – U.S. moves intelligence assets, troops into Africa.

This is precisely the process that what Victoria Nuland’s husband, Robert Kagan, describes as “tending the jungle on behalf of the garden of democracy” in his 2019 book The Jungle Grows Back.

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Tuesday Arktoons

A MIND PROGRAMMED Episode 20: She Can Hold Her Own

EVIL MONKEY MEMES Episode 87: These Boots Were Made For Walkin

THE SIDEWINDERS Episode 23: Convictions Where Necessary

REBEL DEAD REVENGE Episode 62: Fire, Blood and Steel

RIOT TOWN, USA Episode 16: Maternity Ward Anti-Fascism

BOB Episode 131: Painting Freedom

LEAF 2086 Episode 2: New York 2086

CHUCK DIXON’S AVALON Episode 104: Block Nine Break-In

BEN GARRISON Episode 102: Free Speech

STONETOSS Episode 183: Plummeting Viewership

Rethinking History

One can’t help but wonder if the much-decried history of lynching in the United States might have a little less to do with racism and a little more to do with the criminal behavior of those being put to death by vigilantes given recent events in Haiti and South Africa:

This is the horrifying moment suspected Haitian gang members beg for mercy before a vigilante lynch mob stones and burns them alive. The mob beat and burned 13 men to death with gasoline-soaked tyres on Monday after pulling them from police custody at a traffic stop, police and witnesses in the capital Port-au-Prince said. Six more burned bodies were seen in a nearby neighbourhood later on in the day, and witnesses claimed to have seen police kill them before residents set them on fire.

Now, I have no doubt that there is some theory of racism that would explain why black vigilantes killing black criminals is not racist, but white vigilantes killing black criminals is. But the undeniable fact of the matter is that people of any race will only tolerate so much crime before they take matters into their own hands.

UPDATE: The residents are about as unapologetic about their vigilantism as they could possibly be.

‘It is out of the question that armed bandits come to settle in Canapé Vert, if others return, they will meet the same fate,’ an unnamed resident said, as quotes by local newspaper Le National. ‘We will not accept that these thugs transform our neighborhood like Canaan, Laboule, and Pernier.’

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Neither Archbishop nor King

Anglican Christians from around the world have formally rejected the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England due to their convergence with Clown World.

We have no confidence that the Archbishop of Canterbury nor the other Instruments of Communion led by him (the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council, and the Primates’ Meetings) are able to provide a godly way forward that will be acceptable to those who are committed to the truthfulness, clarity, sufficiency, and authority of Scripture. The Instruments of Communion have failed to maintain true communion based on the Word of God and shared faith in Christ.

Successive Archbishops of Canterbury have failed to guard the faith by inviting bishops to Lambeth who have embraced or promoted practices contrary to Scripture. This failure of church discipline has been compounded by the current Archbishop of Canterbury who has himself welcomed the provision of liturgical resources to bless these practices contrary to Scripture. This renders his leadership role in the Anglican Communion entirely indefensible.

Despite 25 years of persistent warnings by most Anglican Primates, repeated departures from the authority of God’s Word have torn the fabric of the Communion. These warnings were blatantly and deliberately disregarded and now without repentance this tear cannot be mended.

In view of the current crisis, we reiterate our support for those who are unable to remain in the Church of England because of the failure of its leadership. We rejoice in the growth of the Anglican Network in Europe and other Gafcon-aligned networks. We also continue to stand with and pray for those faithful Anglicans who remain within the Church of England. We support their efforts to uphold biblical orthodoxy and to resist breaches of [Lambeth 1998] Resolution I.10.

The primary rhetorical weapon used by the converged is an appeal to “unity”. But the Bible repeatedly addresses this false argument in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15.

Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?

There can be no unity with Clown World or its demonic clowns. If anyone attempts to converge your organization, kick them out without hesitation or remorse. And if your organization is converged, don’t hesitate to leave it without delay or explanation.

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Tucker Leaves Fox News

FOX News Media and Tucker Carlson have agreed to part ways. We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor. Mr. Carlson’s last program was Friday April 21st. Fox News Tonight will air live at 8 PM/ET starting this evening as an interim show helmed by rotating FOX News personalities until a new host is named.

It will be interesting to see if Tucker is bigger than Fox now or if it was Fox that was propping him up. Either way, he’s in a remarkable position going forward, and if he plays his cards right, he could set up an organization capable of competing successfully with CNN and MSNBC before the end of the year.

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A Wargame in Washington

This may be the only time I have ever regretted not becoming a Congressman. This weekend, the House Ways and Means Committee played a wargame simulating a US-China war over Taiwan.

It’s April 22, 2027, and 72 hours into a first-strike Chinese attack on Taiwan and the U.S. military response. Already, the toll on all sides is staggering.

It was a war game, but one with a serious purpose and high-profile players: members of the House select committee on China. The conflict unfolded on Risk board game-style tabletop maps and markers under a giant gold chandelier in the House Ways and Means Committee room.

The exercise explored American diplomatic, economic and military options if the United States and China were to reach the brink of war over Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. The exercise played out one night last week and was observed by The Associated Press. It was part of the committee’s in-depth review of U.S. policies toward China as lawmakers, especially in the Republican-led House, focus on tensions with President Xi Jinping’s government.

In the war game, Beijing’s missiles and rockets cascade down on Taiwan and on U.S. forces as far away as Japan and Guam. Initial casualties include hundreds, possibly thousands, of U.S. troops. Taiwan’s and China’s losses are even higher.

Discouragingly for Washington, alarmed and alienated allies in the war game leave Americans to fight almost entirely alone in support of Taiwan.

In the war game, lawmakers played the blue team, in the role of National Security Council advisers. Their directive from their (imaginary) president: Deter a Chinese takeover of Taiwan if possible, defeat it if not. Experts for the Center for a New American Security think tank, whose research includes war-gaming possible conflicts using realistic scenarios and unclassified information, played the red team.

In the exercise, it all kicks off with opposition lawmakers in Taiwan talking about independence.

With the think tank’s defense program director Stacie Pettyjohn narrating, angry Chinese officials respond by heaping unacceptable demands on Taiwan. Meanwhile, China’s military moves invasion-capable forces into position. Steps such as bringing in blood supplies for treating troops suggest this is no ordinary military exercise.

Ultimately, China imposes a de facto blockade on Taiwan, intolerable for an island that produces more than 60% of the world’s semiconductors, as well as other high-tech gear.

One hopes that the wargame’s designers made it real enough to teach the politicians that a war with China over Taiwan is actually less winnable than Ukraine. The basic concept of a “regional power” necessarily entails not interfering with that power in its region-of-control.

The fact that the wargame did not culminate in a US victory, unlike the previous wargames by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, is a good sign that it had at least some connection to the actual situation. But the fact that one of the lessons they took from the exercise concerned “diplomacy” and “the lack of direct, immediate leader-to-leader crisis communication” is dangerous, because a) there is no amount of diplomacy or talk-talk that is going to dissuade the Chinese and b) it means the politicians are still hoping to find some sort of painless Smart Boy solution that does not exist.

China fully expects reunification by 2030. I would not be surprised if it takes place sooner than that, and more or less peacefully, given the absolute lunacy of Clown World’s latest ideas for trying to deter the Chinese from their top strategic priority.

The latest remarks by the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, who called for European navies to patrol the Taiwan Straits, caused huge controversy on Sunday as some Chinese observers said the comments are “extremely dangerous” and signal “a retrogression” of the EU’s stance on the Taiwan question following the recent G7 meeting during which the US tried to pressure its allies to take a tougher position on the matter.

European navies should patrol the disputed Taiwan Straits, Borrell wrote in an article published in the French newspaper Journal Du Dimanche, saying that the Chinese island concerns the EU economically, commercially and technologically, according to media reports on Sunday. He called for European navies to patrol the Taiwan Straits to “show Europe’s commitment to freedom of navigation” in this crucial area.

Call of top EU diplomat for European navies to patrol the Taiwan Straits ‘very dangerous’, Global Times

I really don’t think a resort to European gunboat diplomacy is a wise idea when China is actively seeking vengeance for its “Century of Humiliation”. Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.

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Mike Lindell, Thou Art Avenged

Bed Bath & Beyond has somehow managed to go bankrupt despite the fact that there are more US residents than ever who still presumably need bedrooms and bathrooms:

The once-dominant home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for bankruptcy protection after months of losing shoppers and money.

The company, which also owns the BuyBuy Baby chain, has struggled to regain its financial footing after a series of turnaround attempts that proved to be mistimed or ineffective.

“Millions of customers have trusted us through the most important milestones in their lives – from going to college to getting married, settling into a new home to having a baby,” said Sue Gove, the company’s president and CEO. “Our teams have worked with incredible purpose to support and strengthen our beloved banners, Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY. We deeply appreciate our associates, customers, partners, and the communities we serve, and we remain steadfastly determined to serve them throughout this process.”

The company said that for now its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 BuyBuy Baby stores and websites would remain open, but that over time they would be closed.

Since first warning of a bankruptcy in January, the company has exhausted numerous last-ditch efforts to shore up financing, including store closures, job cuts and several lifelines from banks and investors.

Bed Bath & Beyond previously cited “lower customer traffic and reduced levels of inventory availability” as it flagged “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” A preliminary report for the holiday-season quarter showed sales falling 40% to 50% from a year earlier. Sales had fallen similarly in the quarter before that, down 32%.

Bed Bath & Beyond was once a dominant “category killer” that absorbed or outlived many early rivals. As recently as 2018, the chain had over 1,500 stores.

Economic centralization is a community killer. We see the pattern again and again and again. A financialized corporation devours all of the local suppliers, takes over the entire industry, then somehow manages to go bankrupt despite the fact that it doesn’t have any serious competitors.

How is this even possible? The answer is straightforward: vampire finance.

As recently as 2022, Bed Bath & Beyond’s revenue was higher than it was in 2009. But by then, it was already seen as being in trouble and on its way out. The problem, of course, is financialization and the systematic draining of profit from the financialized corporation’s operations. A healthy company pours its resources back into the business and grows as a result, leaving everyone better off. A dying company is one that has had its resources methodically drained from it by the financial vampires, thereby leaving everyone worse off except the people who killed it.

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