News and views of Constance Cumbey concerning "Radical Middle", New Age Movement, Communitarianism, "planetary humanism," "global governance," European Union, Javier Solana, Jeremy Rifkin, "New Age Politics," law in the USA, combined with life in general -- sometimes humorous, sometimes not!
I may be repenting of my endorsement of David Horowitz’ book. He makes explicit in some of his writings of his mentorship and endorsement of Trump speechwriter Stephen Miller. I strongly suspect that Miller wrote Trump’s Saturday night CPAC speech -- promising “total demolishment” of such things as “RINO’s”, “deep state”, the swamp. It is obvious to me that his promise to be “your justice and your retribution” was his promised pardons to those involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol Insurrection.
I find Kevin McCarthy’s exclusive turn over to Tucker Carlson of 40,000 plus hours of January 6th footage disgusting AND DISHONEST on McCarthy’s part -- McCarthy witnessed and condemned those January 6 events conrtemporaneous with their occurrence -- however, when he saw that Trump’s cult-like base was still with him, he apologized to Trump for his condemnation. Now he helps to rewrite the narrative of what the entire country witnessed live in action.
I don’t know where Liz Cheney is and what she is doing now, but I confess I would LOVE to see her run as USA President. I was no fan of her father’s, but I am of her. From my observation, she is a Constitution respecting woman of deep honesty, intellect, courage and integrity.
In reflecting on various natural disasters in the world as of late, including the Turkish, Syrian earthquakes one is clearly brought in mind of the Matthew 24 passages of Jesus describing the time of his Second Coming.
Pope Francis’ declarations on homosexuality needing to be accepted by the Catholic Church in particular and the world at large are as clear an indication of apostasy as I can conceive.
I trust NEITHER Joe Biden nor Donald John Trump. But here is a crucial difference as I see it -- Biden, bad as he can be does not appear to me to have dictatorial aspirations. Donald Trump clearly has! This makes Trump the more dangerous of the two IMHO.
I continue to be shocked at the level of deception in the Evangelical community and parts of the Right to Life Catholic one -- (Fr. Pavone, et al) who cannot see when somebody is playing to a political base rather than acting out of conviction. Scripture warned us there would be deception enough to deceive the very Elect. It looks to me as though it has arrived. Looking at gleeful headlines from Evangelical online sources about "Investigating the Investigators" referring to those attempting to undo the narrative of what happened on January 6, 2021, I am confirmed in that opinion.
This will be short and sweet. I have a new book sitting beside me, DARK AGENDA: The War to Destroy Christian America. The author is David Horowitz who was once a major figure on the radical left. The Bible contains a description of the Godly King Josiah of whom it was said he walked neither to the left hand nor to the right, but strictly in the paths of the Lord. For sure, there are traps on both sides. I don't agree with Horowitz on everything. He definitely does not see the same issues on Donald Trump as I have come to see, especially post January 6.
HOWEVER, with that being said, Horowitz's book on the war on monotheism, including Christians and Jews should be required reading. When I started my research back in early 1981, one of the trends I noticed was very, very similar to what Horowitz reports. I opened a file that I have continuously maintained thereafter -- I still have my original paper file, "War on Fundamentalism."
DARK AGENDA by David Horowitz, copyright 2018, is an excellent and disturbing summary of much that is happening. The difference between Horowitz and myself is that I believe Trump's moves are playing right into the hands of our enemies. In fact, many of our spiritual "New Age" entities are shaping the organizations/networks such as "Qanon" and leading Christians to do things that make us look like fair game by our enemies to rationalize our coming prophesied persecutions.
Read the book. Take the wheat, leave any chaff, and thank God that former leftists such as Lee Penn (whose memorial mass was held in Portland, Oregon yesterday), David Horowitz, and others have repented of their former positionss and came to be active workers for God and righteousness,
I just saw a television clip about devastating floods in Auckland, New Zealand. That might sound like a far, far away place for most, but we have readers and blog participants there. Grant Sutton, his wife, daughter and son-in-law live in Auckland. I was rushing to my computer to post a request for prayers for their safety. As I got to the computer, I heard my phone ring in the opposite end of the house I had left to do the computer messaging. I rushed back to the phone, but the ringing had stopped. On my caller ID was the number Grant Sutton has called me from the past few years. I always pray for weather mercy on my region of the country. I believe that many times God has shown weather mercy on Southeast Michigan, USA. Now, I am praying for weather mercy on New Zealand and I ask you to join me on that.
Rich Peterson and I enjoyed a wonderful friendship and information exchange relationship with brilliant author and business consultant, Lee Penn. Rich called me this morning with sad news that Lee died a week ago. He learned of it from Lee's sister posting to Lee's Facebook page. Dorothy Margraf over the years had enjoyed a good working relationship with Lee as well.
Lee wrote many wonderful articles about the New Age Movement in a variety of publications, including Spiritual Counterfeit Project and New Oxford Review.
Lee told me he had once been a Marxist and an atheist. He had a wonderful conversion to Christianity and used his immense talents to do God's work. His leading book, FALSE DAWN is nearly encyclopedic in the scope of his coverage on various New Age personalities such as Barbara Marx Hubbard and the United Religions Initiative.
The last time I talked at length with Lee was during the time I became ill for a protracted period myself. I'm still not fully out of the woods on that score. Lee had suffered from debilitating effects, as I recall, of Cerebral Palsy. Nevertheless, although his body was weakened his mind remained very sharp.
Lee was brilliant and very highly educated. He graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1976. Thereafter, he received master's degrees in busines and public health from the University of California (Berkeley) in 1986. He was listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.
From his Author's Biography, I will shamelessly cut and paste:
Lee Penn is a health care information systems consultant and a journalist. He received a BA cum laude from Harvard in 1976, and master's degrees in business and in public health from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986. Since then, he has worked in finance and health care information systems - mostly as a consultant, assisting hospitals, health maintenance organizations, and other health care providers with automation and business planning. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as an undergraduate, and is listed in Who's Who in America (56th-59th editions) and Who's Who in the World (20th-22nd editions). He is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
As a journalist, he has written about the United Religions Initiative, cults, and the New Age movement since 1998, and has been published in various confessions' orthodox and conservative magazines:
• The Christian Challenge (Anglican) — 19 by-lined stories from 1999 through 2004 on the URI, the New Age movement in the Episcopal Church, Anglican/Catholic relations, and pro-life issues.
• Foundations (Anglican) — 2 articles on the URI: “The Globalism Blues” (September 1999) and “Amen, Swami: The URI Gets a Charter, But Not a Whole Lot Else” (August 2000).
• HLI Reports (Human Life International, a Catholic pro-life organization) — “The Case Against the United Religions Initiative,” February 2001.
• New Oxford Review (Catholic) — 4 feature stories between 1998 and 2000, including “The United Religions Initiative: A Bridge Back to Gnosticism” (December 1998) and “Beware! The New Age Movement is More Than Self-Indulgent Silliness” (July/August 2000).
• The Journal of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project (SCP), a front-line Reformed/Evangelical Protestant ministry whose mission is "confronting the occult, the cults, and the New Age movement." He has had 10 feature articles in the Journal since 1999: a 4-part series on the URI, globalism, and the New Age movement, a science fiction story ("The World Church of 2017"), a 3-part series on the history and beliefs of mainstream and fringe Freemasonry, and - in 2004 - a 2-part series on the emerging police state. In addition, Penn co-authored "Neale Donald Walsch: Conversations With Myself " with Tal Brooke, the President of SCP. In 2004, this article won a "First Place" award in the "Critical Review" category from the Evangelical Press Association. (There were 500 contestants for this award.)
• World Net Daily (secular conservative) — Co-author, with SCP’s Tal Brooke, of 2 articles in 2002: “How the State Confiscates Rights” (February 27, 2002) and “State Surveillance: Abolishing Freedom” (March 25, 2002).
• The Wanderer (Catholic) — Paul Likoudis’ “United Religious Initiative Launched in Pittsburgh” (July 6, 2000) quoted extensively from my articles, as did several “From the Mail” columns: “Unscrambling the Labyrinth” (July 8, 1999), “The Transforming Power of the Labyrinth” (March 1, 2001), “The Endless Labyrinth” (April 12, 2001), and “Mapping the Scandals” (June 6, 2002).
• Touchstone (orthodox Christian, from all confessions) — “Midwives of a Common God: The Myriad Friends of the United Religions Initiative” (June 2000).
• The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, which acts as a pro-life advocate to the UN and other international bodies, published “The United Religions Initiative: An Organization Seeking to Undermine Traditional Religious Faith and Evangelization,” in February 2005.
With this book, Penn hopes to speak to a wider audience, to liberals as well as to conservatives, since the current and pending threats to liberty and to traditional religious belief come from both political extremes.
Lee Penn was raised as an Episcopalian, but became atheist while in college. After a six-year detour into Marxism (as a member of the New American Movement, a "democratic-socialist" descendant of the Students for a Democratic Society), he returned to Christ in 1978. From 1979 to 1983, he was a member of a Methodist congregation in Oregon; from 1983 to 1995, he was an active member of the Episcopal Church in Bishop Swing's diocese, including serving on a San Francisco parish's Vestry, heading its Finance Committee, and participating in its Search Committee for a new rector in 1994.
Lee Penn left the Episcopal Church in 1995 - pushed away by Bishop Swing's establishment of the United Religions Initiative, Swing's 1994 acceptance of Matthew Fox as an Episcopal priest, and the pro-abortion stance of the Episcopal Church. The last straw was when they started calling God "she" at Penn's Episcopal parish; by the next Sunday, Lee was seeking a new spiritual home, and began by worshiping at a Russian Orthodox parish. That year, he explored Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy - and was received into an Eastern Catholic parish that is in communion with Rome but worships, fasts, feasts, and prays in the Eastern Orthodox fashion. Lee's spiritual home since 1995 has been the Christian East. He says that his "history is evidence that God is merciful to sinners, and shows that the writer of 'Amazing Grace' was telling the truth."
Lee is certainly missed here, but I am looking forward to seeing him THERE!
Yesterday, our Detroit Lions were approaching a cold weather Green Bay football game that they won. Of course, most Michiganders, myself included, were happy. I've been to Green Bay, spoken in Green Bay, and they were wonderful people when I was back there during the 80s. But home team is home team. I'm not so sure Rich of Medford (Wisconsin) was thrilled. He's probably a little distance from Green Bay -- but Wisconsin is his home.
That being said, I wasn't quite as thrilled pre-game by normal news coverage being bypassed for pre-game interviews and telecasts. WDIV, our NBC station, carried the game and its pre-events. I switched to ABC after the usual 6:30 national news did not play. Sometimes most of the news is so bad that I will turn off the TV and ask "Google Home" to play "nice classical music" for me. Such was the case yesterday. Consequently, I did not get normal "breaking news" notices on the bigger screen TV until 6:33 when I made the station change. I watched with my mouth open --- Brazil, just over 2 years to the day was experiencing its own insurrection -- former President Bolsonaro claiming he had won the election over DaSilva when he had not and his believing supporters looting and damaging critical governmental buildings.
Immediately, I dialed Rich of Medford (Richard Peterson) and screamed "this has Steve Bannon's fingerprints all over it!"
A few months ago, I read a critical book about Steve Bannon whom I once admired. The brilliant book by Benjamin Teitelbaum is WAR FOR ETERNITY, It was about Steve Bannon and, the Traditionalist cult of which he is a critical global leader and Donald Trump's role in it as "the chosen one."
That book was disturbingly revealing. Bannon and Trump have done a very good job of convincing many Christians they are our friends. However, in this book, I learned that Catholic-raised Bannon had Theosophical leanings. During his navy career he frequented occult book shops and in a remote eastern Asia port purchased one book that particularly influenced him in a favorable way -- THE SECRET DOCTRINE by none other than Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. That was the book Kennedy killer Sirhan Sirhan requested when first sent to his cell after his arrest for the 1968 Robert F, Kennedy assassination. Sirhan is Moslem. He did not request a Bible, he did not request a Koran -- he wanted the Blavatsky book. To give Madame Blavatsky her perspective, she named their initial Theosophical Society magazine "Lucifer."
There was an international circle of those combinging occult beliefs with a bastardized form of "traditionalism" where nationalist interests were to maintain their long standing traditions -- be they Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, Tao, or whatever! Putin's advisor Aleksandr Dugin, the mapper of his Ukraine strategy was part of the group. Bannon held secret meetings with Dugin in 2018, per Teitelbaum.
I recognized immediately what was happening. I had my computer off for most of the day. Immediately after I phoned Rich (Rich Peterson), I then googled and saw that many others had made identical observations. I do not know if they were familiar with Teitelbaum's book or not, but they did recognize Bannon and his tactics. Moreover, it was reported that Trump advisors Bannon and Miller had met with Bolsonaro psot-election and told him to deny election results!
Bannon was one of the principal purveyors of the election denial issue. He has continued to loudly and vocally repeat it plus predictions that they will prevail and take over. Their international circle included figures such as Bolsonaro of Brazil, Dugin of Russia, Viktor Orban of Hungary, Marine LePen of France. Their propaganda and think tank production site was an occult and "esoteric Nazism" publisher now located in Hugary named Arktos. Ironically, one of the founders was a New Age activist from Ann Arbor, Michigan, one John R. Morgan.
Bannon's boasts are very real. As I said in the comments section, Qanon is organized in 71 countries at one of the last counts. The New Age "radical middle" come together as global fascism and left wing Marxism merge. Too many Trump followers sre sympathetic to Putin (via Dugin part of the same circle) and buying the lies that the Ukraine is a Nazi country.
Furthermore, the events are certain to come back and be a justification for persecution of Christian believers who defend whatever Bannon and Trump espouse.
Events are disturbing. Let us pray for discernment, "lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil."
Update: The FINAL REPORT of the January 6 Congressional Committee has been released and is available for free download. Click here to obtain a copy.
It's hard for me to believe that Christmas is almost here again. The last year has gone so fast for me. When you are one, a year is the totality of your life and a year seems like a very, very long time. When you are my age, it seems like a relatively small percentage of same. I'm not into Einstein, but it does seem to illustrate one of his maxims -- everything is relative!
This year was very eventful for my health. I was diagnosed with a severe colon-stomach infection and also with an atrial fibrillation heart condition. I am doing much better now, but I'm still not fully out of the woods on the colon issues. Neither tubes through my middle nor colon resectioning are acceptable alternatives for me. The heart condition is being treated with moderate medications.
I have started many writing projects for this blog as obvious BIG events occurred. Often, I just had to retire for the night before I could finish. Our Rich of Medford (Rich Peterson) has been a big help. He too had obstacles in the form of an attempted ransom attack on the firm where he manages the IT functions. Needless to say, this and weather emergencies that have struck his part of the country have also consumed his writing time.
RADIO OPPORTUNITY
As most of you probably know, I have done literally thousands of radio and TV interviews over the past full nearly 42 years (since early 1981) after discovering and starting to warn and report of the New Age Movement and related developments. After returning to the full tine practice of law and less travel, I did a 13 year radio program for WMUZ-FM radio in Detroit - Southeastern Michigan area. I had some wonderful opportunities to do exceptional interviews including Demond Wilson (the actor turned minister who had played Lamont Sanford in the long running Sanford and Son series). Coming from representing a client in the Mt. Pleasant, Michigan area, I spotted a book in the New Age section of a Little Professor Bookstore. The book was entitled "NEW AGE MILLENNIUM". Browsing the book, I went to myself -- "this doesn't look like a New Age book -- it looks like an anti-New Age book." Then I noticed that I was extensively quoted in the book. I'm human, too. I went to myself, "obviously the author must be a person of great wisdom and intelligence." I bought the hard cover book, far more expensive than Hidden Dangers then sold for. I then stopped in Midland, Michigan to eat dinner and started more extensively perusing the book and its inside jackets. Then I noticed that it was the famed Sanford and Son actor. When I arrived home, I sent an email to his publisher and said I would love to talk with him.
Demond Wilson honored me with a 2 hour call the very next day -- his nickel. He said at the outset, "Constance Cumbey, you've been my hero for years." We then scheduled the interview he did with LAW TALK, my radio program.
I also interviewed Malachi Martin, Cliff Kincaid, many, many important Detroit political and media figures including United States Senators, State Senators, State Representatives, United States House of Representatives members. My intention was to expose people to the facts on the New Age Movement and to acquaint prominent Detroiters with the Christian community. Both attempts were then wildly successful,
In 2007, I undertook an internet radio which lasted for 11 years through 2018. I noticed looking at theoir website the other day that they still have me listed as a talk show host. I had some serious disagreements with one of their other hosts -- Mark Koernke who pursued a path of anti-Semitism and militia violence that I could never support. Neverthless, that also was a fine venue for many years.
Today I was contacted by Alex Schild of VoiceAmerica networks -- an internet radio network. He said they were interested in having me do a regular program. Production costs were about $20,000 a year. I told him I had always loved doing radio and would probably love it again, but I am now a mostly-retired widow living primarily on Social Security and a small pension from my dear departed husband, Barry MacIntosh, who left this earth a little more than two years ago.
I told him that if he could find sponsorship, I would be happy to try doing the show. They claim global reach. I will confess I knew little about it, but his offer seemed sincere and genuine. He suggested he would try and he also suggested I reach out to my blogspot audience to see if there might be potential sponsors there. So, I'm doing it here.
Certainly, if I had the program, there is MUCH to report to and educate his audiences. The World Economic Forum is playing a major role in propagating a "cashless society" and social monitoring programs. The world has been turned upside down in terms of sexual morality and gender identity. The New Agers are very much on the march again. The John Fetxer Institute is one of many major players,. Lucis Trust reported on their websites (World Goodwill) that the World Economic Forum and Klaus Schwab, its founder, are a major focus of their meditation groups and the great hope of achieving the agenda laid out in the Alice Bailey books.
Many prominent New Agers have repented of their former involvement and are working to win people to their only true hope -- Jesus Christ. Such a radio program would give me opportunities to interview them. Also, I am disturbed about the Qanon cult which has obvious New Age and Psyop roots that too many Evangelicals seem to be oblivious to. All of these items and many more need public discussion.
At any rate, pray about it as Rich Peterson and I are also doing.
It's been a bad year for me health wise and I'm delighted Richard Peterson (our "Rich of Medford") is assisting me. There are so many developments on so many ugly fronts, it is difficult to keep up. I am increasingly concerned about Evangelical and conservative Catholic devotion to Donald Trump, the raft of books proclaiming that Trump is God's chosen instrument.Donald John Trump is THE CHRIST. Here's opening paragraphs from the worst I've read, PRESIDENT DONALD JOHN TRUMP, THE SON OF MAN, THE CHRIST. No, that was not referring to Jesus. It was referring to Donald Trump.
Here is the opening paragraphs from that horribly blasphemous book by Trump groupie Helgard Muller:
"PRESIDENT DONALD J. Trump is the King of Kings, And Lord
of Lords! The Son of Man who will be seen seated in the place
of power at God's right hand and coming on the clouds of
heaven! You have read that correctly! President Donald Trump
is the Christ for this age! The Son of King David! Prophecies
of Jesus and all the prophets point to President Donald J.
Trump as the Son of Man, the Christ. People, Christians, and
Jews are not aware of how many prophecies President Donald
Trump of the United States has fulfilled in his presidency as
the Son of Man."
And, here's the cover of the so-far worst book of the year:
This September marks the third anniversary
of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations launching its Plan
of Action for the Safeguarding of Religious Sites.First, a brief introduction for those not yet
familiar with the Alliance.
The UN Alliance of Civilizations is
an initiative which was introduced in 2005 by Spain and Turkey. Its political origins
date farther back. The Alliance’s declared purpose is to combat polarization
and extremism worldwide in order to counter the “clash of civilizations” and negate
it with a partnership among civilizations. The Alliance is said to be the “mother
tongue” of the UN system. It is a primary component of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism
Strategy. The Security Council’s statement on the Partnership Among Civilizations
reads “this partnership will represent a powerful response to those who feed on
exclusion and arrogantly claim the sole ownership of truth.” (A/60/341–S/2005/567,
September 2005)
Intercultural and interfaith
dialogue are the primary instruments the Alliance utilizes to advance its agenda.
The Plan of Action for the protection of religious sites emphasizes interfaith
dialogue as a means to combat terror. A significant aspect of the Plan of Action is the worldwide mappings of
religious sites and institutions. Last month, in collaboration with the UN
Satellite Center, the Alliance published the first fruits of this endeavor as it published an
interactive
map of religious sites throughout Sweden.
Should one accept at face value what
is written within the Plan of Action it may sound reasonable. It is difficult to
quarrel with a plan which proposes the safeguarding of religious adherents from
terrorist attacks. The expressed values of human rights, democracy, peace, the
rule of law are ones most would embrace. But what if the language is a veneer which
conceals an entirely different political platform? I have written critical
assessments of the Alliance of Civilizations since 2006 so I propose there
exists an underlying agenda which looks entirely different.
The primary composition of the
Alliance is the High Representative and the High Level Group of eminent
religious scholars.
During the 2006 Alliance Doha
Debates, High Level group members were asked to define extremism for the rest
of the world. This definition becomes important as one assesses the Alliance since
extremism – the root cause of terrorism – is the target. John Esposito defined
extremism as one who believes his or her religious beliefs to be right and
another’s to be wrong. That individual, he said, has adopted the “theology of
hate.” The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu defined
extremism as those who hold their [religious] views exclusive. The Alliance of
Civilizations is especially hostile towards Christianity.
Now align the Alliance’s definition of
extremist thought with the words of Jesus in John 14:6: “Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me.”
High
Level Group member Karen Armstrong lectures that religion has been hijacked by
religious extremists who are abusing religious texts. At the launch of her Charter
for Compassion (an interlocking initiative with the Alliance), she proposed bringing
together all faiths whereby guidelines would be written for how we are to
interpret those abused scriptures. Exactly what constitutes abuse?
I once was
forwarded an email from one of my New Zealand readers. The email was a response
to concerns he expressed to his Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters regarding
the Alliance of Civilizations. Mr. Peters assured this reader Christians had no
cause for concern because the High Level Group had Christian representation,
namely Karen Armstrong and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Karen
Armstrong’s representation is less than stellar. In her book In the
Beginning: A New Interpretation of
Genesis, Armstrong expresses theological twists of the absurd. She portrays
God the Creator as a perpetual liar, the evil one, while arguing that the serpent
was so much more truthful. During an interview with Share International (a
voice for the occult organization Lucis Trust), Armstrong argues that
Christians have wrongfully attributed
divinity to Jesus. Similarly, the late Desmond Tutu wrote in God Has a Dream,
A Vision of Hope for Our Time that God gave the poor serpent a raw deal (finding
himself at the end of the line there was no-one left to pass blame). The archbishop’s
writing continued with the admonition that Jesus was never bodily resurrected.
As I first read of the mappings of
religious sites, my first thoughts were that ultimately this will serve to subjugate
religions. Preceding the 2005 Alliance of Civilizations launch, hearings were
held to determine the shape of the initiative. (Note that Lucis Trust was a
participant.) The outcome document
envisions a future where religions be held accountable to an overarching
authority: “religions and the
institutions that represent them cannot be banned from the public sphere but
must be brought in under the leadership of the international civil bodies when
it comes to questions concerning mutual recognition, universal justice, and
lasting peace.” Literature from other interlocking
initiatives envision the same. One such initiative is the OSCE: the Organization for Security and Cooperation
of Europe. The OSCE is an Alliance of Civilizations implementation partner. The
United States is an OSCE signatory nation as well as an Alliance Partner.
While serving as Spain’s Minister
of Foreign Affairs in 2007, Miguel Angel Moratinos also chaired the
OSCE. The OSCE’s Annual Report focused on counterterrorism
by means of interreligious and intercultural dialogue. The report’s concluding
remarks include:
“However, claims to exclusive truth and absoluteness
threaten to damage or even wreck the dialogue of religions. Believers and
religious leaders often fear a weakening of their own religious sensibilities
if other faiths are accepted as potential pathways to “ultimate truths.” The
insistence on the exclusivity of a single true way to salvation devalues other
religious paths and makes dialogue considerably more difficult. Respect and
tolerance with regard to other religions is, however, a fundamental
prerequisite for interreligious dialogue and co-operation. And yet real respect
begins when I can assert my own personal religious truths for myself while
accepting another’s differing religious truth and conviction as authoritative
and valid without restrictions for him.”
Miguel Angel Moratinos presently holds
the position of High
Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations.
In his book Signs of Christ,
Lucis Trust initiate Harold Balyoz wrote of the coming new world religion:
“formerly one said: ‘And my spirit rejoiceth in God, my
Savior.’ Now you will say: ‘And my spirit rejoiceth in God, thy Savior’.
. . Solemnly do I say that therein is salvation. ‘Long live thy God!’ So you will say to everyone; and exchanging
Gods, you will walk to the One…Thus, find the God of each one and exalt Him.”
Several years have passed since I
last wrote of the Alliance of Civilizations. The purpose of this piece is to remind
readers that while the initiative may have diluted its public profile, it has
not gone away. The Plan of Action illustrates it has strengthened.
Earlier this year I read a news
article which reported on the European Union’s plans to construct a full
digital replica of the Earth to be completed by 2030. The replica incorporates
a technology called digital
twins which essentially is a virtual copy of any object. One may think of these
objects primarily as a noun:a person,
place, or thing.
As I read the article, I recalled World
Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab’s words that in the near future we should expect
a fusion between our technological and biological worlds.
Digital twin technology is
commonly used in manufacturing facilities. Take, for example, a cutting machine
which has been fitted with sensors that continually feeds data to a target
computer. The target computer creates a virtual copy of its source whereby, over
time, the replica is able to predict what impact different variables (e.g., speed
of operation, material types cut, maintenance schedule, etc.) would have on the
machine. Digital twin technology helps to anticipate the behavior of the
cutting machine and helps prevent issues related to malfunctions.
A great deal of literature exists
which proposes extending digital twin technology to humans. The sensors discussed
range from eyeglasses which interact with the Metaverse to cell phones, and,
ultimately, sensors embedded within the human body. The World Economic Forum expects
digital
twin technology will extend to humans.
What if salvation of the earth includes making every human on earth an input?
A digital profile of you most
likely exists today. Have you ever questioned why, after conducting online research
for a product – a lawn mower for example – that over the next several days lawn
mower ads fill your browser? Or perhaps wondered if Seri had eavesdropped on
your conversation because ads related to something you had just discussed begin
to appear in your online feeds? Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. Should we find
this to be invasive we are able to turn off our computers and put down our
phones.
Back in April I had expressed concerns
about human digital twinning in a blog post which I did not publish. Later that
July I reconsidered posting it as I read the World Economic Forum had partnered
with China to digitally
transform the world’s cities through use of digital twin technology.
Then last week this article – Biology
meets AI – reminded me of the direction digital twin technology appears to
be headed. (The World Economic Forum’s session
the article refers to may be found here
along with news coverage here.)
Since digital twin technology continues
to appear in my news feeds, I decided to publish the piece I originally wrote
on the EU’s Destination Earth:
Destination Earth & the Human Digital Twin
I recently noticed a news article
which sparked my attention: EU to
develop a digital twin of Earth to better predict climate impact. The same was reported by the World
Economic Forum a year ago. The
mention that human activity would be a data input raised in my mind some questions.
Since I work in the field of information
technology, I am familiar with the digital twin as it pertains to manufacturing
machinery. A digital twin may be thought of as a virtualization of a real world
physical object. IBM describes the digital twin as
such:
“A digital twin is a
virtual model designed to accurately reflect a physical object. The object
being studied — for example, a wind turbine — is outfitted with various
sensors related to vital areas of functionality. These sensors produce data
about different aspects of the physical object’s performance, such as energy
output, temperature, weather conditions and more. This data is then relayed to
a processing system and applied to the digital copy.”
“Once informed with
such data, the virtual model can be used to run simulations, study performance
issues and generate possible improvements, all with the goal of generating
valuable insights — which can then be applied back to the original physical
object.”
Another area where the utilization of digital twin technology is
useful is in health care where medical professionals have the ability to
monitor patients’ implanted devices and take early action should the digital
twin alert them of a potential issue.
What if this technology were to be extended to humans making our
virtual
selves inputs for other twins? To a degree, this is already happening absent the biometric unique identifier - yet.
Futurist Jan Amkreutz in his book Digital Spirit writes extensively about
the human digital twin and how its use will develop a collective consciousness
and advance human evolution.
Amkreutz’s “writes that the sensory interface between humans and
their digital twins will be one which eliminates devices (p. 178) and also:
“The meaning of technology that connects
human thought and digital knowledge, or the physical me and my DT [digital
twin], on a higher level of understanding goes deeper than mere 'convenience',
because ultimately this type of research will lead to a seamless connection of
human thinking and digeality. The most 'user-friendly' computer interface is no
interface at all. We are working to do just that…” (p. 329)
And again:
“Finally,
biological evolution created a species that could manipulate its environment
and had some rational faculties, and now the cutting edge of evolution actually
changed from biological evolution into something carried out by one of its own
creations, Homo sapiens, and is represented by technology. In the next epoch
this species that ushered in its own evolutionary process - that is, its own
cultural and technological evolution, as no other species has - will combine
with its own creation and will merge with its technology. At some level that's
already happening, even if most of us don't necessarily have them yet inside
our bodies and brains, since we're very intimate with the technology - it's in
our pockets. We've certainly expanded the power of the mind of the human
civilization through the power of its technology. We are entering a new era. I
call it "the Singularity." It's a merger between human intelligence
and machine intelligence that is going to create something bigger than itself. It's
the cutting edge of evolution on our planet.” (p. 377)
Amkreutz book, whether
or not he intended it, issues a warning:
“Digitally controlled 'smart' weapons and digitally guided
weapon carriers will know and recognize their trajectories and their targets. .
.Digital algorithm, the products of simulation and programming, will make the
need for human judgment on the battlefield the exception rather than the rule.
That would leave the war in the hands of a few human conductors of an orchestra
of digital twins. No logistics for the physical movement of troops, no supply
lines to protect: just a clean 'surgical procedure that eliminates the enemy.
What happens, however, when the enemy has the same digital capability? Where
are the living soldiers to eliminate? Who is the enemy? Civilians that have the
wrong mindset?” (p. 386)
I expect what I view as
a warning may be another person’s positive.
How close are digital twins to
becoming reality? The World Economic Forum envisions a fusion between the
digital and biological worlds. The WEF is working with China to help with the urban transformation
of cities, i.e., smart cities. One
of the more overt
portrayals of the human digital twin originates from China’s Anyang
Institute of Technology which closely resembles Jan Amkreutz
writings of the Digital Spirit.
The European Commission
indicates that Destination
Earth or DestinE is the product of two initiatives, the Green
Deal and the Digital Strategy:
“Destination
Earth is at the crossroads between two major European endeavours: the Green
Deal and the Digital Strategy. The initiative will contribute to achieving the
objectives of the twin transition, green and digital.”
A component of the
Commission’s Digital
Strategy is to establish
a personal digital twin for every European citizen. An attendee (by invitation only) of the Commission-organized
workshop – MyDigitalTwin: Trusted
Personal Digital Twins in a Transformed Society – summarized outcomes
which include:
“Personal Digital Twins are seen as
providing a new technological edge by creating a digital alter-ego to all
citizens, the ‘other digital me’.”
“PDTs are also considered
instrumental in the fostering of Smart Cities and Local Digital Twins (usually
clusters of DT mirroring a specific, local, reality).”
“The EU Next Generation and the
Green/Digital Transition Strategies: data and their leverage both by
institutions and single citizens are a must to support the transition.”
One aspect of the human digital twin is a relationship between self-measurement
and social
credit score systems.
In the EU there exists a
carbon
reduction app which rewards citizens for behavior modification. The
EU is known for its “carrot and stick” approach. What happens as
people decide to opt out of digitization? What happens as the digital twinning
of humans goes global?
I'm slowly and hopefully on the medical mend. It has been a rough past 3 months which included 17 days of hospitalization. Many thanks for your prayers and kind words.
I've just discovered online work directed against Social Emotional Learning by Jennifer McWilliams. I don't know much about her yet -- would love to talk to her -- but she gives vital information on one of the methods the New Age Movement is attempting to advance its agenda. I've found two videos and other material from her that is worth studying and considering. She has traced it to the Fetzer Institute of which I have written much about previously on this blogspot.
Let's please continue to keep Constance in our prayers. She has had a very bumpy week as she was admitted into the hospital in serious condition. Today when I talked with her she sounded like she had gained some energy and a bit more like herself. When she returns home I'll ask her to provide details of what she would like to share.
by Co-Host, Richard Peterson (our long time time "Rich of Medford")
After reading some of the blog
comments ridiculing the research time spent on Javier Solana, I felt compelled
to respond.
Javier Solana is a high profile European
diplomat. Solana’s curriculum vitae is extensive. Some of the more notable
positions of which he was incumbent include Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
1992 – 1995; NATO Secretary General 1995 – 1999;Secretary General of the Council of the
European Union and EU High Representative from 1999 – 2009; Secretary General
of the Western European Union 1999 – 2009.
Javier Solana’s tenure as Secretary
General of the Western European Union (WEU) is one which garnered the attention
of several global governance researchers (myself included). In her book The
Western European Union, Sally Rohan opens with the question what was the role
of this short lived institution? The answer is this ten-nation military
alliance served to develop the European Union’s military architecture which was
purposefully kept at a polite distance from the integration process. The
Council of Europe was tasked with the integration process.
Javier Solana is the chief
architect of the European Security and Defence Policy, an apparatus which later
was transferred into the European Union which now is known as the Common
Security and Defense Policy. The Lisbon Treaty references this architecture as
it remains in place to this day.
An aspect of the WEU framework
which was adopted by the Council of Ministers is the transfer of power
mechanism – Recommendation 666 – whereby emergency powers are given to the High
Representative in the event of a crisis. The position of High Representative, created
under Section 666 of the Europa code, was to be filled by an individual having
a strong political profile and backed by credible operational capabilities so
that a cohesive EU strategy would be applied foremost to Russia, and secondarily
the Ukraine and Mediterranean regions.
All of the above is ample
rationale for the continued observation of both the position of High
Representative as well as the chief architect of the EU’s military apparatus.
The current appointee to the High
Representative position is Josep Borrell.
It has been reported that Josep
Borrell regularly consults with Solana on matters of foreign policy. Whether or
not this is the case, their messages appear to beharmonized. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
both men had voiced the solution needed to be derived from European diplomacy. This
did not happen as the United States sidelined EU diplomacy citing its weak
foreign policy. Both Solana and Borrell since have advocated for China to
become the conflict’s mediator. Solana has long called for China to assume a
leading role
in global governance.
What’s disturbing is China’s assessment
and proposed solution to the current crisis:
it is the US-led NATO which is problematic and that Europe needs to
complete its security architecture by achieving strategic autonomy. China calls for Europe sideline the United
States and incorporate Russia into European security architecture which is what
French President Macron had envisioned would be a counter-balance to US hegemony.
Both Borrell and Solana are
working to achieve European strategic autonomy. While Solana says he does not
envision Europe separating from the NATO security arrangements, he has articulated
a vision of European control of NATO assets.
Solana’s work in formulating EU
foreign and militarization policies has not diminished with his return to the
private sector. He remains one of the movers and shakers of the EU’s Permanent
Structured Cooperation (PESCO) programme. Solana’s defense policy paper
mentions the EU Parliament’s authority over the military architecture. There is
none. The Parliament’s voice is consultative only. The paper paves ways coalitions
of member states who wish to engage in military action would be able to work
around the unanimity rule, i.e., through the instrument provided in the Lisbon
Treaty called Enhanced Cooperation.
The Enhanced Cooperation
instrument was explored several years back with the proposal that Core Defense
Groups be formed so that military action would not be subject to objecting
states’ vetoes. The 1999 Amsterdam Council had expressed concerns that Enhanced
Cooperation could be used as a means to circumvent the Council of Ministers and
warned that it should never be used in defense policy as that would be
dangerous.
Solana presently chairs an initiative
called ENGAGE
– Envisioning a New Governance Architecture for a Global Europe – which is a
consortium of legal experts brought together to explore the EU treaties and to form
a legal basis to overcome the “bipolarity” of EU external actions. In other words, while they pay lip service to
unanimity, the intent is to find avenues to circumvent it.
On March 22, Solana addressed the conference
hosted by the European Parliament Office in Barcelona entitled “2022 The Year
of European Defense” where he called for the further development of the EU’s
military capabilities. Soon thereafter, some Members of European Parliament (MEPs)
warned of the dangers associated with the EU’s current militarization trajectory.
MEP Ozlem
Demirel said “the speed with which all this has now happened clearly shows
that nothing has been thought up and decided upon on an ad hoc basis. We are
talking about arming programmes that have been ready to go for a long time and
which the EU is now taking advantage of the situation for.”
MEP Hannah
Neumann’s assessment that the EU
Parliament is shut out of defense decisions reflects an understanding of the Parliament’s
powerlessness over military matters.
Notwithstanding Solana’s calls for
China to assume more of a leading role in global governance, some of his
statements on the Ukraine conflict sound perfectly rational: that the West is now experiencing
the consequences for the false promise of Ukraine’s entry into NATO; that the
world cannot afford a third world war with nuclear weapons; and that the Ukraine
conflict can end only with a diplomatic agreement.
Solana acknowledges that at the
present time he is not in a position to negotiate the diplomatic solution. Perhaps
he is to remain in the private sector and only effect change without the
backing of credible capabilities.
Nevertheless, the current High Representative position carries the weight
of the architecture Solana designed should the Council or a Core Defense Group activate
one particular instrument from their toolkit.
Before the Russian invasion, one
article I found of interest is this piece published by the Kyiv
Post:
Here the writer expresses the
opinion that the EU hasn’t employed diplomats since Barroso and Solana who are competent enough to handle Ukraine
policy. He then calls for “a strong and serious commissioner…to be
given overall responsibility for Ukraine, as Solana and Füle had.” The writer’s perception is that Josep Borrell
lacks the strength to stand up to Russia.
There are voices within the
European Union who have said the EU would lead the system of global governance.
In its Global Governance 2025 report, the US Office of the Director of National
Intelligence in conjunction with the EU
Institute of Security Studies lays out the case that its best hope for global
governance is a European launch.
Solana’s past role in global governance has
been far from insignificant. Whatever his future role turns out to be, I expect
it not to be minuscule.
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Requesting Prayer
First and foremost, I am asking for prayers for
Constance. She continues to run a low
grade fever which is well into its second week.
She believes this to be a reaction after receiving a Covid booster. I know right now she is feeling pretty lousy. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
The Shaping of a New Economic Order
I had planned to write more in-depth about the following
articles. Unfortunately time does not
permit so I’ll let the articles speak for themselves.
Recently I noticed an article about microchip implants for
use for contactless
payments. Considering the geopolitical
realignment currently underway as well as the competition for who will redefine
the existing economic rules-based order, Windows Central’s statement comes more
into focus: “who
will govern this evolving global community and economy becomes relevant.
Especially since nonparticipants in this system would be unable to buy or sell
goods or services.”
Former EU diplomat Alastair Crooke writes that the West’s expulsion
of Russia from the SWIFT payment system was “an
act of self-mutilation.”
"The current military operation
in Ukraine will, in due course, be relegated to the status of little more than
a footnote in global history, although the all-out financial war that has
erupted in Russia will be instrumental in shaping the coming new world
order."
"US hegemony over the
so-called “rules-based order” has been much more financial (rather than
military). That is, an order imposed by the US threat to 'sanction' any and all
offenders with a 'neutron bomb' of US Treasury bills...And on February 26, this
system began to die..."
"...They act only on
impulse. We know this because both the Fed and the ECB reported that they were
not consulted about the confiscation of gold or the expulsion of seven Russian
banks from the SWIFT financial clearing system. And they clarified that, if
consulted, they would have opposed both movements."
“It is important to emphasize
that this is not a traditional war, nor a conflict between two states over
disputed territory, nor a pre-election propaganda, but a war of an entirely
different kind. This war is a first step on the path to establishment of a new
order in international relations, that is a new division of spheres of
influence at the global level.”
“The developments in Ukraine
represent the beginning of the end of the existing world order…Put succinctly,
the current developments are a prelude to the emergence of a new international
order.”
All
of this is consistent with new age expectations that the forces of the old age
would clash and from it would rise the new. But we know that’s not how things pan
out.
