Month: December 2022

EU Widens Carbon Market

The political agreement sets the goal of reducing carbon pollution by 62%, one percent over the Commission’s original proposal.

German Self-Assertion and a New Consensus

The most important distinction now runs between globalists and protectionists. The continuing reference to the old Left to Right coordinate system hinders us in our search for a middle ground between the local and the global.

When Middle Earth Came to Vienna

The renewed obsession with the minutiae of Tolkien’s work gives me an excuse to revisit my favorite bit of Tolkien trivia: that the Polish king’s great victory was the inspiration for Tolkien’s Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

The Paradox of Capitalism

A capitalist society is not nihilistic. It allows man’s economic virtues to flourish. And yet, without moral guardrails, capitalism becomes its own worst enemy.

Light in the Darkness: How Ukraine’s Transcarpathia Survives the War

Heating, lighting, and electricity come and go in Transcarpathia, plunged into uncertainty and darkness as a result of the war in Ukraine. However, the Ukrainian community that lives on the other side of the Hungarian border struggles to live on.

Four Asylum Seekers Drown in the English Channel

So far, 44,000 Channel asylum seekers have arrived in Britain this year. Unless the situation is addressed, with a generous welfare state and a low chance of being deported, more tragedies can be expected.

Central Banks Raise Interest Rates Again

Central Banks Raise Interest Rates Again

The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank both foresee having to continue raising interest rates significantly to roll back inflation to 2%.

December 19, 2022
German Bishops Loosen Labour Law Restrictions for Homosexual Employees

German Bishops Loosen Labour Law Restrictions for Homosexual Employees

Employees, who used to have to agree to the Church’s moral code with regard to relationships and intimacy, are now free to follow their own moral convictions, as these are considered “private matters.”

December 19, 2022
Japan Approves Doubling of Military Spending

Japan Approves Doubling of Military Spending

This change for Japan, which had renounced the right to wage war and had adopted a stance of military non-involvement in international disputes, illustrates how much the geopolitical reality has changed in recent years.

December 19, 2022
Qatargate: Obstacles to an Urgent Commission of Inquiry in the European Parliament

Qatargate: Obstacles to an Urgent Commission of Inquiry in the European Parliament

The text that was finally voted on calls for a commission of inquiry, but only once the legal proceedings have been completed, i.e., in effect, during the next term.

December 19, 2022
Tragedy and the Cross: The Role of Suffering in Michael D. O’Brien’s Novels

Tragedy and the Cross: The Role of Suffering in Michael D. O’Brien’s Novels

From O’Brien’s perspective, Christian civilization and the Church are failing in critical ways, inducing a sense of collective kenosis, and the temptation to social despair. The raw pain of collective suffering puts supernatural hope to the test.

December 19, 2022
Death on Demand in Canada

Death on Demand in Canada

What started as an allegedly rare and ‘kindly’ way to ease the suffering of the terminally ill has ballooned into a government program offering death as an escape from loneliness, depression, or even poverty and homelessness.

December 18, 2022
France: 88-Year-Old Man Beaten to Death in Apartment Building

France: 88-Year-Old Man Beaten to Death in Apartment Building

88-year-old victim died after suffering severe traumas to his head along with a broken jaw, and injuries to his legs.

December 18, 2022
Countering Wokeness is Breaking Free From the Prison of Others’ Thoughts: An Interview with <strong>Dr. Alex Pattakos</strong>

Countering Wokeness is Breaking Free From the Prison of Others’ Thoughts: An Interview with <strong>Dr. Alex Pattakos</strong>

I’m disappointed in the NDP [New Democracy Party] in Greece and the NDP [New Democracy Party] in Canada. They are different parties, but in both cases they’re merging into a leftist ‘uniparty.’ It’s as if we just let the parties get run by unelected technocrats who basically are telling us how to live our lives. That is not freedom.

December 18, 2022
Presidential Election in Czech Republic To Be Held in January 2023

Presidential Election in Czech Republic To Be Held in January 2023

Three personalities from the Center to the Right are likely to reach the second round: former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, General Petr Pavel, and economist Danuše Nerudová.

December 18, 2022
Elon Musk: Protection of Children Top Priority at Twitter

Elon Musk: Protection of Children Top Priority at Twitter

Critics speculate that unless Musk repopulates the Trust and Safety Council, eliminating access to abusive content will not solve the problem.

December 18, 2022
2022 Proved a Historically Dangerous Year for Journalists

2022 Proved a Historically Dangerous Year for Journalists

Detentions rose by 13.4% to 533 cases; 65 journalists are held hostage, 49 are missing, and the number killed has risen to 57—an 18.8% increase compared to 2021 figures.

December 18, 2022
New Study Finds Global Discrimination Against the Unvaccinated

New Study Finds Global Discrimination Against the Unvaccinated

The conflict between those who are vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who are not threatens societal cohesion as a new socio-political cleavage, and the vaccinated clearly seem to be the ones deepening this rift.

December 18, 2022