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| Credit: Artofit |
The recent mud flood in Tibet and Nepal apparently has nothing to do with climate change, but is somehow the result of Communism. Or something. Per Breitbart News.
Xi Jinping leads meeting celebrating Communist Party response to Tibet floods
Ligger ju något i detta. Förenta Staterna LARP-ar anti-kommunism á la kalla kriget, Ryssland LARP-ar anti-fascism á la andra världskriget och kalla kriget, medan de nya eliterna i den f.d. tredje världen låtsas vara något slags militanta nationella frihetskrigare. Finns det historiska exempel på samma sak? "Alla" låtsades vara romare hundratals år efter att det (latinska) romarriket upplösts. Liket lever, uppenbarligen.
Billy Graham seems to have been...I don´t know...an unofficial American diplomatic envoy? His contacts with genocidal maniac Efraím Ríos Montt in Guatemala are well-known (and scrubbed from Wiki´s Billy Graham entry!), but I never heard of his North Korean exploits until now. For whatever reason, *they* are briefly mentioned on Wiki. Hmmm...
Here is Wikipedia:
>>>In a 1999 speech, Graham discussed his relationship with the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, praising him as a "different kind of communist" and "one of the great fighters for freedom in his country against the Japanese". Graham went on to note that although he had never met Kim's son and then-current North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, he had "exchanged gifts with him". [The link to the source doesn´t work on my computer]
And here is Gemini:
Can you tell me more about Graham´s relation with North Korea?
Billy Graham’s relationship with North Korea was one of the most surprising and debated chapters of his career. Despite being a staunch anti-communist who once called Communism "the greatest challenge the church has ever had to face," he became a rare bridge between the West and the "Hermit Kingdom."
His connection was deeply personal: his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, had attended a missionary school in Pyongyang in the 1930s (before the Korean War), which gave the family a unique emotional tie to the region.
Graham visited North Korea twice, in 1992 and 1994, meeting directly with the nation's founder, Kim Il-sung.
Preaching in Pyongyang: Graham was the first foreign religious leader allowed to preach in North Korea since the war. He spoke at the Bongsu Church (one of the few state-sanctioned churches) and lectured at Kim Il-sung University.
The "Messenger" Role: During his 1992 trip, Graham carried a verbal message from President George H.W. Bush to Kim Il-sung.
A "Cordial" Relationship: Kim Il-sung reportedly welcomed Graham warmly.
Following his 1992 visit, North Korean state media (Rodong Sinmun)
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) immediately and forcefully denied these reports, stating that the quotes were state propaganda and did not "even remotely resemble" Graham’s theology.
Graham's visits opened a small window for humanitarian work that continues today:
Samaritan’s Purse: His son, Franklin Graham, took over the mantle, visiting the country multiple times.
Back-Channel Diplomacy: Many historians believe Graham’s 1994 visit helped pave the way for former President Jimmy Carter’s landmark trip later that year, which temporarily defused a nuclear crisis.
Graham was often criticized for "legitimizing" a regime known for extreme religious persecution. His defense was consistent: he believed that to reach the people, he had to speak to the leaders. He once said:
"I didn't go as a politician; I went as a minister of the Gospel... I think there's going to be some changes."
While the "changes" Graham hoped for (in terms of religious freedom) never fully materialized, his visits remain a unique example of "faith-based diplomacy" during the Cold War era.
Did he praise Kim Il-sung as a "different kind of Communist" and a national liberation hero?
Whether Billy Graham actually praised Kim Il-sung in those specific terms is a matter of significant historical debate, largely because of the "he-said, she-said" nature of North Korean state propaganda versus the official records of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
Here is the breakdown of those specific claims:
It is widely documented that Graham spoke of Kim Il-sung with a level of personal warmth that shocked his Western critics. He did occasionally suggest that Kim was a leader who deeply cared for his people’s well-being, which some interpreted as labeling him a "different" or more humanitarian type of leader.
However, it is important to distinguish between Graham’s diplomatic politeness and ideological endorsement. Graham was desperate to maintain access to the country to continue his ministry, so he often avoided criticizing the regime's brutality in public, choosing instead to focus on Kim's "personality" and "hospitality."
The claim that Graham called Kim Il-sung a "hero of national liberation" or a "great revolutionary" originated primarily from North Korean state media (KCNA).
The Propaganda Angle: The North Korean government was notorious for "ghostwriting" quotes for visiting dignitaries. They regularly published reports claiming that Graham—one of the world's most famous Christians—had recognized the Juche ideology or praised Kim Il-sung as a god-like figure.
The BGEA Denial: Graham’s team consistently refuted these reports. They argued that the North Korean government twisted Graham’s standard diplomatic pleasantries (e.g., acknowledging Kim’s role in Korean history) into full-blown ideological endorsements.
While he denied the most extreme "God-like" quotes, Graham did make several public statements that were highly controversial:
Social Order: Upon returning from Pyongyang, Graham noted he was impressed by the "health" and "discipline" of the North Korean people, famously remarking that he saw no crime or drugs in the streets—a comment that critics said ignored the reality of a totalitarian police state.
Religious Freedom: He was criticized for suggesting that there was a degree of religious freedom in North Korea based on his visits to the Bongsu and Chilgol churches, which many experts considered "show churches" designed to deceive foreigners.
| Aspect | Graham's Public Stance | Critics' Perspective |
| Goal | Evangelism and "building bridges." | Legitimizing a dictator. |
| Tone | Diplomatic, focusing on "mutual respect." | Naive or complicit in propaganda. |
| Theology | Remained strictly Christian. | Accused of staying silent on human rights for access. |
Ultimately, Graham walked a razor-thin line. He never renounced his Christianity or his belief that Communism was fundamentally flawed, but he was willing to use flattery and diplomatic "softness" to ensure he was the one Westerner Kim Il-sung would actually listen to. Whether that was "wise diplomacy" or "compromise" remains a point of contention among historians today.
Does this clarify the distinction between what he actually said and what the North Korean media claimed?
It seems I´m not a fascist after all. So I took the test linked below and became "Mostly Liberal", since I agreed with 29 of 39 statements. Note that the test was devised by none other than the Devil himself (James Burnham) in 1964! Clearly, something´s wrong with the questions, I mean, come on...
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| The CIA director meets Delcy Rodriguez |
Why are there no mass protests in Venezuela against the capture of Maduro and the apparent treason of Delcy Rodriguez? I mean, if the Bolivarian Republic has such broad popular support as we´ve been told by certain people...
Jag erkänner att jag faktiskt tycker det här är lite underhållande. Visste inte att Trump var *så* fåfäng och inbilsk. Många av hans knäppare utspel handlar om att trolla medierna och "own the libs". Men när det gäller fredspriset verkar han faktiskt mena allvar?! Och så är det ju dråpligt att Norge - som antagligen gav Machado utmärkelsen just för att hon är allierad med Trump - misslyckades med sin lilla manöver. Manövern var alltså att ge priset till Trump utan att ge priset till Trump.
Och i en *viss* mening är det väl kul att se hur förvirrade högen och mitten har blivit sedan Trump, istället för att följa spelboken och den sedvanliga dramaturgin, har låtit den kommunistiska regimen i Venezuela sitta kvar vid makten...
But OK, I got a terrible sense of humor!
So it seems Trump actually prefers Maduro´s (allegedly) narco-Communist vice president Delcy Rodriguez to the democratic opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Maria Corina Machado as future leader of Venezuela.
The "Donroe Doctrine" is getting more and more interesting. I mean, it gives an entirely new meaning to the term Fuck Around and Find Out.
But I assume the Alt Right are fine with this? I mean, they had nothing against Gaddafi and Bashar Assad (not to mention Vlad the Mad), so a Communist cooperating with the Don would fit their political preferences just fine, wouldn´t it? LOL.
As I was saying: Fuck Around and...
OK, this was interesting. A Russian investment czar allied with Putin blasts Zohran Mamdani, while portraying Russia as a bastion of anti-Woke traditionalism...and capitalism. He even sarcastically refers to the new NYC mayor as "comrade"!
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| - Karma is a bitch, bro! |
Trump har tydligen attackerat Venezuela. Jaha, vi får väl se om han lyckas med något den här gången. Lite cyniskt uttryckt.
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| Credit: Wilson44691 |
I just had a terrible nightmare. I woke up shaking, thinking Aurora was firing signal shots again! :P
Självklart är sossarna mot en statligt centraliserad säkerhetstjänst. De föredrar nämligen säkerhetstjänster som är partipolitiskt centraliserade. Om ni förstår vad jag menar.
Okej, nu fick jag det här märkliga resultatet på det jäkla ryska revolutionstestet. Pilsudski, va? ;-)
Jag hittade faktiskt testet som Hübinette nämner på sin blogg. Det finns inte bara på Facebook utan även här:
Jag tog alltså testet, men det måste vara något slags fel på det. Jag svarade att Ryssland bör lämna första världskriget, men fick ändå svaret är jag är en "mensjevikisk defensist"!
Men okej, jag förväntade mig att bli något slags mensjevik eller SR-are (utifrån hur testet är utformat) så jag är ändå inte helt missnöjd. Jag menar, storpolsk nationalist är ju inte ett alternativ på kompassen...
De flydde slavarbete, svält och offentliga avrättningar i Nordkorea
Probably Hindutva propaganda, I mean, they claim that beef-eating is a Communist conspiracy?! Still, an interesting sneak peek into a current "culture war" in Kerala, southern India.
A Christian content-creator who calls himself "The Tentative Apologist" discusses atheist fundamentalism, which often mirrors religious ditto. This is definitely a thing. I´m old enough to remember when Bart Ehrman was treated as a treacherous apostate by his fellow ateistas for daring to suggest that Jesus actually was a real historical person. They went full "body snatcher" on the man. As in "Reeeeee"!!! The guy who simply switches to the opposite worldview while remaining just as dogmatic is also a thing. A classical example from Cold War political culture is the Communist turned anti-Communist who becomes a kind of "conservative Pravda".
However, I think Mr Tentative is wrong on one score. He says that fundamentalists deny being fundamentalists. This may be the case in a community ostensibly based on skepticism and critical thinking, but I know from my own experience that many fanatics are quite proud of their zealotry, ideological purity and unwavering conviction. Yes, that includes advocates of certain atheistic worldviews. Trotskyism and Marxism-Leninism are two examples (this sentence is an "acid test", btw. The guy in the commentary section below who says "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ONLY TROTSKYISTS ARE REAL MARXIST-LENINISTS" is excatly the kind of dude bro I´m refering to here).
In a sense, it´s actually stranger to be a religious fundamentalist than a secular one, since the former is zelous about things he can´t even perceive! And yet, here we are...
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| Credit: Gage Skidmore |
Probably written around 2008, when I still unproblematically defined myself as a "leftist" in Amazon customer reviews. Can´t help linking to it a propos certain recent news...
