The situation in Syria

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello Everyone,

This is a small post about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, currently occupied by Russian forces.

It could be the scene of a future false flag attack, though anyone who is sane would naturally hope that this is not the case.

It's been at the centre of information warfare for many months, if not for much of the war so far. It's been occupied by the Russians since the early stages of the war.

For roughly a year now both sides have been arguing and fighting over it. The plant has also been periodically shelled, with the Ukrainian government/Western mainstream media pusing the absurd story that the Russians have been the ones responsible for the shelling (thus shelling the same facility that they are in control of, if we're to believe this narrative...)

Both sides have also accused each other for roughly a year or so of planning a false flag event at the plant, which would essentially cause a nuclear crisis within the warzone. The responsible party would then blame the other side.

Honestly, while the Russians are obviously no angels, and share at least 50% responsibility for the carnage of this war, the idea that they would orchestrate such a false flag at the plant is as ridiculous as the notion that they would shell it. They would have nothing to gain from a nuclear incident at the plant, and much to lose.

Ukraine and their Western sponsors, meanwhile, would indeed have something to gain. With the much-vaunted counteroffensive looking more and more like a fiasco, and the recent coup attempt involved elements of Wagner ultimately dead on arrival, a nuclear incident would be a welcome distraction and springboard for further escalation.

Zelensky has been recently warning about what he frames as the risks of a Russian-orchestrated false flag at the plant. There has been accompanying corporate media hype pumping up the potential for such a Russian false flag (but conveniently ignoring any notion that the Ukrainians might potentially carry out such a false flag themselves).

Further to this, two psycho neo-con senators out of Washington have recently been attempting to push a bill to obligate full NATO involvement in the war against Russia, should a nuclear incident occur at the plant.

In an interview grab I saw of the two psychos in question, one of them mentioned how NATO would 'eviserate' the Russian military. In short, I am not a military expert, but I am more of an expert than those two psychos and anyone who thinks as they do: There is nothing that NATO could do to Russia that Russia couldn't do straight back to them. And the endgame would be the annihilation of much of the world, including Russia, the USA, the UK, and most if not all of those on the side of NATO.

This is what we're talking about and while I think that Russia seems to be generally aware of the collossal risks involved in this escalating conflict, I fear that Western countries are incredibly degenerate and full of hubris to the extent that they do not grasp the seriousness of the situation.

If you would like a prayer point on this, I suggest that we initially focus on this power plant, and that sinister elements (regardless of what side they may be on) not be allowed to pull off a false flag at the facility.

Longer term, it might pay to pray that the warmongering elements of all sides concerned be sidelined or at least marginalized, so that peace could have a chance to take root.

That's all for today.

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello Friends,

I'm currently on a visit home, so until now haven't made the time to post further updates on Ukraine.

However, I've still been following it from afar. In short, while the killing on the battlefield, the propaganda and sanctions campaigns have continued, my honest assessment is that the broader war continues to be stuck in a stalemate; a vast quagmire for both Russia and Ukraine/NATO.

Anyone who tells you otherwise, regardless of the side they are advocating for, is in my opinion only cheerleading and shilling.

That aside, I wish to post two fresh articles for you today. They're both from generally pro-Ukraine western corporate media sources, but at least they make an effort to provide a partially balanced update on the current situation re: the Ukraine war.

Links below

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thewee ... aine%3famp

https://www.skynews.com.au/insights-and ... d31e2a37dc

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello again to All,

There have recently been an increasing number of articles and news reports, including in corporate legacy media, of the overall failure of the (previously) much-vaunted Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Why is this? I mean, to the openminded observer it has been clear now for at least a couple of months that this counteroffensive has been disastrous from the NATO/Ukrainian perspective. This much is obvious. The not-so-obvious factor here is that it is now even being admitted, if somewhat begrudgingly, by mainstream media and western politicians.

I currently don’t have an answer for you vis-à-vis this partial admission of failure from the establishment. I’m simply asking the question in rhetorical fashion.

Based on everything I have read, and incorporating educated guesswork, my estimations re: death tolls would currently be in the following vicinity: a) Way over 200,000 Ukrainian and pro-Ukrainian combatants KIA; b) Way over 50,000 Russian and pro-Russian combatants KIA; c) Up to 30,000 civilians killed directly and indirectly as a result of hostilities.

Russia obviously bears the blame for the majority of these killed civilians- no question about it. But NATO/Ukraine also bear the blame for a large minority of these civilian deaths.

There have been other things going on around the periphery of the battlefield. There are several articles I could now refer you to for a general overview of the current situation, but I will try to keep this concise and refer you just to one for today.

It’s from IPS, an establishment source which is obviously pro-Ukraine and anti-Russia. However, to the credit of the writer of this article, a genuine attempt is made to provide a relatively balanced overview. The name of the piece is, ‘A bitter battlefield stalemate: The Ukrainian counter offensive is faltering. Instead of endlessly supplying new weapons, the west should co-operate in the preparation of peace talks’.

Here is a really quick summary of the article: boastful western predictions of lightning Ukrainian successes in this counteroffensive were ultimately based on no more than wishful thinking and associated miscalculation. Ukrainian forces- despite western hype about NATO support and weapons- were woefully unprepared for the operation, while Russian forces were exceptionally well-prepared.

Changing weather and stark battlefield realities will sooner or later mean that the Ukrainian forces will probably have to cut their losses re: the counteroffensive, as the reality of a broader stalemate becomes more apparent. Disagreements and even tensions also appear to be simmering among Ukraine’s major backers, although there appears to be no end in sight to their gradual escalation of the conflict on behalf of Kiev.

Moreover, while the writer sympathizes with Ukrainian demands to regain control of all of their lost territories, he concedes that this is little more than a pipedream. The writer finishes with expressing a (very reasonable) desire for moves towards peace- including through international conferences- to gain traction.

Perhaps his only unreasonable desire was expressed in the final paragraph of the piece, in which he said that it was important for the war crimes of (only) the Russians to be prosecuted. Indeed, Russian war crimes ought to go punished. But this would be completely meaningless in isolation, i.e. in order to be fair and balanced, the war crimes not only of Russia, but also of Ukraine and the USA, et al, would also need to be prosecuted.

The question here, to my mind, is ‘Punished by whom?’ Of course, it is only God who is in a position to administer perfect justice- it is certainly not possible to achieve any kind of real justice through fallen, human-led globalist organizations like the UN, for example. The lack of understanding in this regard is the only point where I really take umbrage with the author.

But you could read the article for yourself and make up your own mind.

Link below:

https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/forei ... mate-6924/

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello all,

I wish to provide you another update on the Ukraine war. I don’t believe we have seen a war before which has featured so much use of drones in one way or another. Of course, drones are a relatively new kind of technology but still, they have not only been used in the Ukraine war. Yet I think it’s also fair to say that they haven’t been used near as much as they have been in this war.

The use of drones has recently led to a dangerous development: Strong circumstantial evidence that a drone was used to attack Russia on behalf of Ukraine by NATO member Estonia. Of course, this would almost certainly not happen without the psychotics in Washington quietly giving a wink of approval to use the territory of a NATO land to attack Russia.

Elements of the western corporate media are hyping up a Ukrainian ‘breakthrough’ in the south of the country, claiming that Ukrainian forces had finally punctured a main Russian line of defence. While I cannot know for sure, this largely seems to be propaganda put out by the Ukrainian state in collusion with pro-NATO media across the west.

While Ukraine has managed to move in on a bombed-out settlement or two in recent days/weeks, the recent hype of a ‘breakthrough’ is apparently a smokescreen to distract from the calamitously unsuccessful Ukraine/NATO counteroffensive, now about three months in and with little to show except for huge casualties and destruction of equipment.

There are also reports that Russian forces are tightening the noose up north around the regional city of Kupiansk, though I wouldn’t expect it to fall any time soon.

Note: I am not a military expert and don’t have any contacts within Ukraine. But I’m giving you my best assessment based on copious research from sources which I view as relatively credible, obviously independent of corporate mainstream media.

All of this said, I still believe that the situation could continue to be well-described as a stalemate. I have heard recent rumours that up to 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers may have been killed since the Russian invasion.

This, in my view, is possible but would be considered as a high-end estimate. Based on everything I’ve read and sifted through, here is my basic death tally estimate of victims of the war thus far: 200,000- 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers and their allies KIA; 50,000- 100,000 Russian soldiers and their allies KIA; up to 30,000 Ukrainian civilians killed directly from hostilities (the majority by Russia, but a sizeable minority by NATO/Ukrainian forces).

The war is obviously a crime of the Russian state first and foremost, but there is also plenty of blood on the hands of the US government as well as the Ukrainian government. There are no ‘good guys’, just lots of innocent victims among the Ukrainian military and civilian population as well as the Russian military.

I link you to an article, should you wish to read more about this, from The Federalist. It’s about a week old and is titled, ‘Ukraine is neocons last gasp’. It’s a short article with strong, obviously well-warranted criticism of the military-industrial complex based in Washington.

Link below:

https://thefederalist.com/2023/09/04/uk ... last-gasp/

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi to all,

While the killing and suffering has continued on the ground in Ukraine, there has not been a lot of movement on the ground.

Numerous establishment media outlets continue to make claims that Ukraine has finally made its long-awaited ‘breakthrough’ in its counter-offensive, but these claims are to be taken with a grain of salt.

On the diplomatic front, there are growing (but at this stage still minor) signs of tensions within the NATO coalition. Of particular interest of late is that top Polish politicians appear to have pulled their support from the Ukraine.

To be sure, Poland has been one of the most rabid anti-Russian countries (third perhaps only to the US and UK). To be fair, Poland has every reason to be distrustful/not overly fond of Russia on a historical basis.

One top Polish official, in an interview, compared Ukraine to a man who was drowning, making the analogy that Poland’s ongoing support for Ukraine would be like a person who went to the aid of the drowning man, only to be pulled down into the depths amid the adrenaline-fueled panic of the drowning man (with the result that both would ultimately drown).

Another Polish official (or officials) have indicated that they would like to stop arming Ukraine, and even cut off support for the many hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees currently residing in Poland.

While I cannot be sure from afar, I suspect that this could be the result of some kind of secretive deal between Polish and Russian officials. It’s no secret that Poland has historical designs on some of the land in western Ukraine. Maybe Russia told them they could have it if they stop supporting Ukraine. While openly antagonistic to each other, it’s possible Poland and Russian could have found some common ground here in one way or another.

To be sure, this is only speculation and I can’t be sure. But what I can be far more confident about is that neo-con types from Washington and London, CIA types, etc, will currently be in overdrive behind the scenes to try and get the Polish to backtrack. Blackmail, manipulation, petulance, threats and other such things would all undoubtedly be tools currently being employed by these elements to get the Polish to backtrack.

While most of the bloodshed in this war has been caused by the Russians, Ukrainian forces and their NATO supporters also have their fair share of blood on their hands, naturally covered up by the government/media/military- complex in the west.

I refer you to a recent incident (from September 6th) in which a rocket slammed into a market somewhere in the east, killing approximately 15 people. The Ukrainian government immediately said that the crime was carried out by Russia. Western propaganda outlets then regurgitated the claim without any critical consideration. This was done en masse, by virtually all and sundry.

The New York Times was one of these. But oddly, and I don’t quite understand why, they backtracked on the claim and apparently decided to dome some balanced analysis. The findings of the New York Times indicated that it was fired by the Ukrainian forces.

Moreover, based on satellite imagery, missile fragments, social media posts and witness statements, the paper concluded that it was an errant missile-defence projectile fired from Ukrainian-held territory.

The Ukrainian state naturally rebuffed the later report of the New York Times. I can’t know for sure who fired the missile, but know that the Ukrainian government would never, ever admit guilt (nor, to be fair, would the Russian side), nor would western press… until the New York Times did just that!
This is what’s really weird, and I just need to refer you to the broken clock analogy. But credit to the New York Times on this occasion; they have clearly gone against ‘the narrative’ in order to search for the truth.

Wonders never cease.

I can’t know with 100% certainty that Ukraine fired this missile, but it would appear highly likely. Moreover, it is known that Ukrainian forces regularly shell and bomb eastern regions of Ukraine that contain largely pro-Russian civilians. Ukraine and their NATO backers have the blood of many pro-Russian Ukrainians on their hands, albeit not quite as many as the number of Ukrainians killed by Russian forces. And neither side, nor their propaganda mouthpieces in the media, will ever admit it.

For anyone interested in reading a little dispatch on this, link below:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ev ... 023-09-19/

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi again,

Firstly, a side note. While this forum, as with the other forums on this website, are primarily about the Lord, the Word, and the truth, there is also (on a more superficial level, if I’m to be honest) satisfaction in knowing that people are reading what is posted.

I’ve recently noticed that this forum has gone over a million hits, and I thank everyone who has clicked on and had a read at one time or another. Furthermore, feel free to add comments or correct me when I’m wrong. Like most people, I can be a bit thin-skinned if someone comes across as impolite, but I’d like to think I’d be the first to admit my errors if they’re pointed out to me with love (unless it’s God pointing out my errors; in that case I’d have to take it regardless of how it was pointed out to me).

All of that aside, I’m going to refer you to a couple of recent articles about the current situation in Ukraine. One of them is from an apparently independent source called, ‘Responsible Statecraft’. The title of this one is, ‘Will Ukraine’s effort go bankrupt gradually… then suddenly?’

The other piece is from the establishment source, ‘Business Insider’. It’s a surprisingly honest report, albeit from the perspective of the establishment, titled, ‘Putin’s plan for winning the war could be starting to become reality’.

Both items are somewhat similar in their content, and I will try to summarize the general commonalities:

- Now over one-and-a-half years into the war, there are cracks beginning to show in the NATO/Western front and military support for Ukraine.
- A key contributing factor to this is recent signs of displeasure- within libertarian, anti-war elements of US politics- against the bottomless pit of Ukraine war funding maintained by the military-industrial complex and all of its tentacles based in Washington.
- Signs of displeasure are also materializing in Europe. The recent election in Slovakia saw the victory of an anti-war candidate who does not wish to arm the Ukraine. Even in US vassal states like Germany, populist anti-war parties (smeared by establishment as ‘right-wing’, ‘fascists’, etc) are surging in opinion polls. This is on top of recent moves by Poland- once one of the more rabid anti-Russian attack dogs- to distance itself from its support of Ukraine.
- The steadily decreasing interest (in such countries) for the war of attrition in Ukraine, currently a stalemate which shows no signs of breaking one way or the other at the moment, could play into Putin’s hands. Russia, of course, is a much larger country with greater manpower and resources to maintain a war of attrition.
- This will not necessarily lead to a total collapse of Ukrainian forces, but could threaten the Zelensky regime, and will make it harder for the Ukrainian state to obtain a conclusion to the conflict that could be viewed as even somewhat favourable for itself.

This is my general summary. I’ve no doubt missed some points and/or oversimplified others. If you have the time/inclination, and would like to read the articles for yourselves, here are the links:

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/if-us ... d-ukraine/

https://www.businessinsider.com/analysi ... ue-2023-10

God bless you all, and I’ll keep you updated with developments.

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi Everyone,

No doubt you’d have noticed that there’s been a partial narrative switch over the last week or so. I say ‘partial’ because it’s clear that the Ukraine war is still (for now) at least a secondary news headline.

But events in the Middle-East, namely between Israel and Palestine, have obviously stolen headlines over the last week, and will continue to do so for at least the foreseeable future.

I will make a post on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the coming days if I find the time. In short, it’s obviously very divisive. There is a lot of pressure to ‘pick a side’. I don’t begrudge anyone who picks a side, no matter the side. But I would urge anyone feeling pressured (to pick a side) to refrain from doing so.

In terms of governments/governing authorities, I do not believe that there is a single good guy in the Middle-East, nor across the entire globe. The Israeli government is undoubtedly wicked and evil, as are Hamas and its sponsors- the Iranian government and Hezbollah. They are all evil, and the evidence clearly supports this.

There is no shame in admitting this, while feeling sympathy for the Israeli victims, Palestinian victims and any other victims who are unfortunately caught up in the violence. There is no shame in refusing to pick a side, acknowledging that the leaders on both sides are generally evil and wicked, while feeling sympathy for the victims on both sides.

If someone would ask me what side I am on in this conflict, I would say, ‘Neither. I am only on the side of Jesus Christ’.

But more on this another time. Now, though, I wish to refer you to a new article I came across. It is only a day or two old, is from ‘France 24’ (mainstream media), and is titled, ‘On southern front, Ukraine’s struggle to pierce Russian lines’.

This article is further proof of the partial narrative switch which I mentioned in the introduction of this post. In the piece, there is an open admission that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has been a failure. Furthermore, efforts by the Ukrainian government and western mainstream media- to talk up stories of a ‘breakthrough’ in the village of Robotyne about six weeks ago- were entirely concocted and only undertaken as a psy-op/propaganda operation to muddy the waters re: the obvious fact that the counteroffensive had been an abject failure.

In the article over half-a-dozen Ukrainian soldiers, involved in the thick of the fight, were referenced with some of them directly quoted.

Yet, as admitted within the article- including by some of these eight Ukrainian solders- the battle over the town was largely based on PR/propaganda, rather than battlefield facts. As admitted within the article, the village had been only partially captured by the Ukrainians, while heavy Ukrainian losses had been incurred in the fight for this village which was not even a necessary fight battle to be involved in.

Overall, the fight for the village aside (both in a battlefield and propaganda sense), the broader Ukrainian counteroffensive has been a resounding failure- due at least in part to a withering, comprehensive, well-prepared Russian defence.

As admitted within the article, the war of attrition had Russia- with its vast manpower and resources- better placed than Ukraine, although the fighting spirit of Ukraine remained strong.

If you wish to read more, the link to the piece is below:

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/2 ... sian-lines

This aside, I hope to make a post about Israel/Palestine over the next week or so.

All the best, and God bless you.

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi Everyone,

The latest from Ukraine, in my opinion, is that the general stalemate is ongoing. The Ukrainian counteroffensive is now largely seen as a colossal failure, which cost the lives of tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, as well as destruction of huge amounts of NATO equipment, for virtually zero gains.

But to highlight the nature of the quagmire, a recent Russian counteroffensive against the regional town of Avdiivka (spelling can vary) is also proving tough going for the Russians, with high losses for very little gain (although, not to the extent of the ridiculously bloated casualty figures put out by the Ukrainian government about Russian losses, often regurgitated unquestioningly by western establishment media).

While the military-industrial complex will continue to prolong the NATO/Ukraine versus Russia war, there has been a clear shift of focus over the last fortnight or so since the Hamas attack against Israel, and Israeli retaliation.

It’s the current conflict in the Middle-East that I wish to write about today. I do not seek to tell you what to think, only to encourage you to think for yourself as a Christ-centred person. Naturally, I will probably mention my own opinion at one time or another.

Firstly, this conflict is far more divisive than the NATO/Ukraine-Russian war. While there are always exceptions, minorities, outsiders and the like, it’s fair to say that western politicians, mainstream media and social media were generally very pro-NATO/Ukraine and anti-Russia. As a personal anecdote, the 2nd main administrative building in my regional city has flown three separate flags out the front over the last year or so, if not longer. One of these was the Ukrainian flag.

Out of nowhere, the Ukrainian flag disappeared last week, to be replaced by an obscure local/municipality flag. It is quite evident that if the Israeli flag would have been hoisted in place of the Ukrainian flag, this would have been controversial. It would have been equally controversial if the Palestinian flag would have been hoisted.

While western politicians/mainstream media are generally biased in favour of Israel, the realm of social media is generally biased in favour of the Palestinian side. There are always exceptions which can be cherry picked but- generally speaking- I believe this statement to be objectively true.

Within my own very close family/friendship circle (I won’t get too specific, lest one of those concerned come across this post one day) there are two people who I respect very much, and consider to be very intelligent. These are both people who are well-and-truly aware of the globalist agenda, and satanic nature of the New World Order. To highlight my point, while these two would agree on almost everything, the conflict in the Middle-East has them on polar opposite sides. One of the two is 100% pro-Israel, while the other one is 100% pro-Palestine (as well as pro-Hezbollah and Iran). Both of these two get angry about the atrocities and evil things committed by the other side, but don’t care at all about the atrocities/evil things carried out by their own side.

As I value my relationships with these two people, I generally try to stay out of it. However, as I may have alluded to in my previous post, I believe that the governments of Israel as well as Hamas (and the supporters of Hamas) are all evil and wicked. I believe this to be objectively true, and easy to back up with facts. If someone were to yell at me that I was guilty of ascribing ‘Moral equivalency’ (an accusation often made as a slur), I would respond, ‘Absolutely. There is absolutely moral equivalency between Israel on one side, and Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran on the other. The facts are on my side to indicate this’.

Further to this, I believe that it takes mental gymnastics, selective memory and blindly partisan thinking to see one side as generally ‘Good’ while the other side is generally ‘Bad’. Again, the cold facts tend to overwhelmingly support the notion that both sides are objectively bad. The approximately 1,500 innocent Israelis murdered by Hamas a fortnight ago did not deserve it and- this is a really crucial point- I do not add a ‘but’ or ‘however’ to this statement. Equally, the thousands of innocent Palestinians already murdered by Israel since the Hamas crime also didn’t deserve it- again, with no ‘but’ or ‘however’ tacked onto this statement.

The Israeli government are monsters, as are Hamas and their Hezbollah/Iranian sponsors. It’s the innocent people on all sides who suffer. As an aside, let’s not forget that neither side is Christian. One side is essentially Jewish/secular, while the other side is essentially Islamic. Both sides generally somewhat tolerate Christians within their populations, but are not led by Christian principles.

Without Christ, we can not do anything good. I now quote John 15: 4-5: Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

It is clear that both sides not only hate each other, but also care little for their own populations. For example, Hamas knew that thousands of its own people would be slaughtered in retaliation for the terror attacks against Israel.

On the Israeli side, the fact that a terror attack of this scale (by what must’ve been thousands of people with prior knowledge and/or involvement on the Palestinian side) could have been carried out against Israel leaves any objective analyser with only two conclusions: a) It was allowed to happen due to massive intelligence and security failures on the Israeli side borne out of carelessness and hubris; or b) Something more sinister, i.e. a blind eye was turned by secretive Israeli officials with the view to using the resulting terror attacks to pursue other policy objective/s. Which is the more likely alternative? I don’t know. But I know that something doesn’t add up about the whole thing.

I don’t believe for a second that Hamas cares for the wellbeing of the people whom it governs. But it’s the same for Israel. I also not that, during the era of Covid lockdowns/mandates, Israel was virtually the world leader bar none at surveilling its own population, enforcing brutal lockdowns and uncompromising vaccination mandates vis-à-vis needles and boosters, which essentially made the entire Israeli population serve as Pfizer’s front-line guinea pigs as the experimental MRNA vaccines were rolled out across the globe.

These are not the actions of a government that cares about its own people. But, in the name of fairness, I also point out that the Iranian government- particularly in the early stages of the Covid lockdowns- was reportedly just as brutal as anywhere else, though I haven’t availed myself of the facts about their vaccine rollout. Iran, too, is just as brutal and murderous as anywhere else when it comes to dealing with internal dissidents.

What is the solution to the Middle-East crisis? I don’t know, and won’t pretend that I do. While anyone trying to bring about peace is to be commended (Matthew 5: 9: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.), I believe that such a peace will only happen upon the return of Jesus.

In short, for every evil thing done by one side in this conflict, it’s all too easy to point out an equally evil thing done by the other side. Was Iran (and Hezbollah) evil to sponsor a murderous rampage by Islamic extremists (Hamas) against Israel? Yes. Conversely, was Israel evil to sponsor murderous rampages of Islamic extremists (al-queda, ISIS, etc) against Syria? Yes. It’s a pretty simple equation, is it not?

Lastly, I finish with a Bible verse, Romans 3: 10-18: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.

There was probably more I wanted to share with you, but it may’ve slipped my mind for now and I’ve probably gone on long enough. To be sure, the issue of Israel/Palestine and who one chooses to support is not (in my honest opinion) a salvation issue. I know genuine Christians who are pro-Israel and others who are pro-Palestine. But, and I hope this doesn’t come across as disrespectful, while it makes sense to sympathize with the suffering on all sides, I view it as at least a little bit misguided to be fully 100% supportive of one side while 0% for the other.

Then again, I’m just one guy with an opinion and the only thing that ultimately matters is not what I think I know (or what anyone else thinks they know), but the all-knowing, flawless, perfect view of almighty God. In conclusion, if you’re unsure about how you should feel about something, rather than be led by one hot-headed mob, or another hot-headed mob (Side A versus Side B, or vice versa), come to God in prayer and ask to be led by His Holy Spirit.

Til next time.

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi again,

I don’t have much to share with you about Ukraine today. As alluded to in the previous post, most of the heaviest fighting is currently raging around the regional city of Avdiivka. It is currently Ukrainian-held, and represents a virtual fortress with over 10,000 defenders. Russians are still currently trying to encircle it, and have suffered high losses in personnel and equipment in the process. So too- presumably- have the Ukrainian forces, though this aspect is predictably never mentioned in western mainstream media.

There is a personal rule of thumb that I follow with regard to any Russian casualty figures put out by the Ukrainian government/media/western mainstream media. That is to say, whenever they put out a casualty figure about the Russians, work out what approximately 10% of that figure is, and then you’ll be much closer to the truth.

Anyway, I wish to comment again today on the Israeli/Palestinian crisis. In the last post, I made the point that the Israeli government and Hamas authorities have both committed numerous, easily-verifiable war crimes. This, in my opinion, should give any thoughtful person pause before deciding to give 100% support to one side over the other.

I don’t want to rehash the main points of my last post. However, I wish to post an article which articulates the general thrust of the last post. This article (very surprisingly) was put out by mainstream outlet news.com.au, a largely low-brow, low-octane, low-value outlet with more interest in celebrities than world affairs.

However, credit where credit is due. I came across an excellent (recent) article at the site, titled, ‘The revealing backlash against UN chief Antonio Guterres- and the hypocrisy it exposes’. The caption underneath the title is, ‘An indelicate comment by the head of the UN sparked a worldwide backlash. His critics revealed more about themselves than him’.

Firstly, the article in no way expresses sympathy for the UN or its boss. Secondly, it is in no way ‘Pro-Israel’ or ‘Pro-Palestinian’. In fact, the whole point of the article is to refuse to be drawn into the (highly dubious) ‘Pick a side’ morass.

If you stand in overwhelming support of one side in this conflict, which is your right to do so, there will be parts of this article you don’t like. And it doesn’t matter which side someone has decided to pick.

Something else I have personally noticed about this whole conflict: People who genuinely try to be neutral regarding this conflict will be slandered as ‘anti-Semitic’ and ‘pro-terrorist’ by one side, and ‘Zionist’, ‘colonialist’ or ‘pro-genocide’ by the other.

Personally, I am very much neutral on this conflict and I don’t see the need to pick a side. I certainly wish that it wasn’t happening, and that people could live in peace. Overall, though, one’s allegiances need to be with Jesus first and foremost, and everything else should flow on from there.

I do believe that you can be a genuine Christian while supporting one side of this conflict over the other. Having said that, we are all guilty of making poor judgement from time-to-time and, in my opinion, it is poor judgement to favour one side of this conflict unequivocally over the other. You could then respond, of course, that it’s poor judgement from me to make such a comment, and it’s your right to think whatever you want.

All I am saying is that there is great suffering going on among the people on both sides. This is an objective, verifiable fact. Both the Israeli government and Hamas authorities are absolutely guilty of doing profoundly evil things. This is an objective, verifiable fact. It is easy to make a very strong case that there is indeed moral equivalency between the Israeli government and Hamas. Moreover, in any fair, objective court, the idea that one of these sides is generally ‘good’ and ‘morally superior’ (compared to the other side) would not hold up. The evidence just doesn’t support it.

Well, I’ll stop there as I think I’ve already said too much. Rather, I strongly encourage you to read the article.

Lastly, remember that the most important thing about your mind is not ‘What to think’, but ‘How to think’.

Link to the article is below:

https://www.news.com.au/world/middle-ea ... 07b66ea31e

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello again,

There was recently an extended report published in Time Magazine about Zelensky/Ukraine which has raised more than a few eyebrows.

Why has it raised eyebrows? Because Time Magazine, like virtually all establishment media, has long been known to be a mouthpiece of the intelligence/security services. However, this latest report was not particularly anti-Russian, but was strangely candid in its highly-critical appraisal of the Ukrainian state and its prospects in the war.

Moreover, this surprisingly honest article seems to be part of an overall narrative shift which has become sharply evident since the Hamas attack against Israel. At first glance, it appears that the globalist agenda has (for whatever reason) decided to shift the focus of the world away from the Ukraine War.

I do not really wish to summarize the article for you today. If you have 15 or so spare minutes, you could read it for yourself. But here are some dot point takeaways from the piece:

- Zelensky (and by extension, the Ukraine War) is in the process of losing the focus/interest of the world. - Zelensky (as head of the Ukrainian state) is starting to feel abandoned, and it is showing. - Support for the war among the US public has begun to drop markedly, in possible correlation with the disastrous failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. - Corruption in the Ukraine is off the charts from top to bottom. - Zelensky has developed a messianic complex and is quite possibly going insane.

- He is digging in his heels on the unrealistic prospect of ultimate victory against Russia, even as his international support base begins to recede. - It was only one year ago when he got the super rockstar treatment from the establishment in the US. This time, his reception has been much more indifferent and/or muted. - The effects of the failed counteroffensive are still well and truly rippling at the top levels of the Ukrainian government. - Some of the orders being given to the military seem to be unrealistic, if not at least a touch delusional.

- While death toll statistics continue to be covered up by all sides, a personnel shortage in the Ukrainian military is starting to seriously bite. - Even minimal efforts to fight the systemic corruption seem to be easier said than done. - A specific anecdote or two of the high-level corruption are outlined. - The Hamas attack on Israel has indeed brough about a major international shift of focus, to the detriment of the Ukrainian cause. - While globalist politicians, etc, will continue to give lip service to Ukraine for now, future support and funding are far from guaranteed.

That was my basic summary for you. But if you wish to read it for yourself, link below:

https://time.com/6329188/ukraine-volody ... interview/

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hello Everyone,

There is an article which I will post, which gives you a relatively balanced overview of the current situation in Ukraine.

Before referring to that, I wish to make a comment or two about the situation in the Middle-East. It’s obviously a very divisive, heated topic and there is pressure to get off the fence and ‘pick a side’.

As Christians, we obviously don’t have to do that, knowing that everyone is fallen, everyone is evil, and that no-one is good in God’s eyes, unless they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and saviour (Romans 3: 10-12: As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”)

Having said that, there is no question that a lot of Bible prophecy about the end times seems to revolve around the geographical state of Israel in the Middle-East. Megiddo, otherwise known as Armageddon, for example, is in northern Israel, to name just one basic example.

The anti-Christ, to refer to another example, will apparently enter a newly-built Temple in Jerusalem halfway through his seven-year tenure, and declare himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4- He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.)

Am I personally a fan of Israel? No. They lost me when it became abundantly clear that they were providing largescale covert support to al-queda and ISIS in Syria. I also don’t see any good reason why they would be involved in the Ukraine war supporting Kiev. There are other reasons why I am not a fan of Israel. But ultimately, what I think about Israel and whatever you think- and what anyone else (besides God) thinks- doesn’t matter.

It is an objective fact that both the Israeli government and Hamas are evil and genocidal in intent, and that innocent regular people on both sides suffer the consequences of this. In short, what I am getting at is this: I don’t care what your views are on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I urge you to keep an eye on this part of the world with a view to Bible prophecy.

Watch the Middle-East and ask God for guidance in spotting the signs. This part of the world is very relevant when it comes to the end times.

That’s all on that. Now, to the article about Ukraine previously mentioned. It’s a few days old, but is more evidence of the great narrative shift that has become evident (from Covid hysteria, to Ukraine, and now to Israel-Palestine). The piece is from the National Interest, an establishment, pro-military-industrial complex periodical. But despite the clearly negative aspects of being both of these things, credit where credit is due- the article makes an effort to be honest and somewhat balanced.

This, of course, is part of a trend involving significant elements of mainstream media, though not all of course. Up until a few months ago, the political/media establishment was still all in on their pro-war, anti-Russian stance, saturating the public with wall-to-wall sledgehammer propaganda that the Ukrainians are kicking butt, Russians are incompetent, the Russians are evil, Ukrainians (and NATO) are good, etc, etc, etc.

As you are probably well aware, things began to change with the commencement of the much-vaunted Ukrainian/NATO counteroffensive midyear. As it ground on, the reality of its disastrous lack of progress, huge losses and ultimate failure became too difficult to cover up, even for western mainstream media.

While some of the hardcore, intelligence-run state media outlets (CNN, MSNBC, The Guardian, The Independent, their equivalents in the EU, etc) continue to wholeheartedly push the big lie, others have begun to step back- at least partially- and admit that things are not going as well for the Ukraine as they’d all been previously letting on.

Obviously, the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian violence has further accelerated the narrative shift. To be sure, the war in the Ukraine is still very hot, and there is currently not a lot of progress being made by either side in terms of territory gained/lost. However, concepts such as holding talks, discussing possible compromises, and even the finiteness of US/NATO military backing for Ukraine have begun to crop up in certain mainstream media outlets, and even started to be uttered by various politicians.

The article I refer you to today is titled, ‘Ukraine War: Selling stalemate and prolonging pain’. The caption under the title reads, ‘Freezing the Russo- Ukrainian war with a ‘fight-and-talk’ approach may be more challenging than its proponents appreciate’.

I will not summarize it in detail, but recommend you read it. However, here are some key points:

- There is an increasing push in the west, including from some of those who remained very pro-war up until only a few months ago, to push for peace with Russia.
- Unlike the Korean war of the 1950s, the conditions at this point are not ripe to freeze the conflict.
- While the Ukraine war appears to be a stalemate in terms of (the very little) territory lost and gained in recent times, the war of attrition tends to favour Russia, which has greater military-industrial output and manpower. The article also admits that Russia’s enemies greatly exaggerate Russian losses on the battlefield for propaganda purposes.
- The current Russian attack on Avdiivka, while indeed costly in terms of manpower and equipment, is indicative of Russia’s willingness to absorb such losses to achieve battlefield results, as was the case earlier in the year with Bakhmut.
- Only dramatic NATO escalation might realistically stave off ultimate defeat for its proxy state in Kiev. And short of that, achieving any kind of diplomatic solution would also be fraught on numerous levels.
- The fighting and killing on the ground currently have no end in sight. But the longer it goes, the more advantageous the situation would likely become for Russia.
- Talks should start right now with a view to potentially achieving some kind of ceasefire down the track. Even if it would be shaky, such an outcome would be preferable to a misguided attempt to freeze the conflict, or take some other kind of action that would entail escalation.

That’s all. Link below:

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/uk ... ain-207395

[TrueAndMagneticNorth]

Hi again,

This is another post about the Ukraine War, which is clearly no longer the main focal point of the international spotlight.

Up until approximately three months ago, the general narrative of the globalist government/media/military complex was that Ukraine is kicking butt, losing virtually no soldiers, NATO is awesome and has everything in hand, etc, while Russia is evil incarnate, incompetent and is suffering exponential losses on the battlefield.

Largely due to the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian hostilities in the Middle-East, the narrative re: Ukraine has started to shift. There is now a broad acceptance that the much-hyped NATO/Ukrainian counteroffensive was a colossal and disastrous failure. A biting manpower shortage afflicting Kiev’s forces is also being openly discussed, as well as the general failure of western sanctions (against Russia), the need for concessions from Kiev in prospective peace negotiations and the unrealistic expectations of Zelensky and his backers.

Further to this, the military-industrial complex has been suffering a series of geo-political pinpricks and setbacks across the globe, which have seen anti-war forces empowered, even within US vassal states. Even in the US, it is getting harder for the neo-con types (across both major parties and mainstream media, etc) to pass military funding bills designed to keep the war in the Ukraine raging.

Personally, I think that the best plan all along would have been for Ukraine to remain both out of NATO, but independent of Russia. This basic plan would have saved the lives of up to half-a-million Ukrainian soldiers (and counting), up to 100,000 Russian soldiers, as well as tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and destruction of national infrastructure.

To be sure, if we take bias and partisanship out of the equation, the Ukraine War is largely a crime of Russia, the USA and the puppet government in Kiev. In my opinion, the best thing to do now is for Ukraine and Russia to agree a ceasefire, and enter peace negotiations in which both make compromises. Some relatively neutral middlemen (which obviously excludes the USA, UK, EU, etc) would be needed to mediate the talks.

For anyone to wish that the fighting would continue- without that same person being willing to sign up and risk their own neck for the cause they espouse- is simply immoral. The Ukraine War is different to a war against the likes of al-queda or ISIS. Such terrorist fanatics are clearly evil and need to be exterminated. But in a war like Ukraine v Russia, we have a completely different, avoidable situation involving nominally Christian nations in which brother is killing brother.

All of that aside, I refer you to a recent article from Christian website ‘The Trumpet’. It is titled, ‘Germany’s secret plan to end the war in Ukraine- exposed!’ I do not necessarily agree with everything said by The Trumpet, nor with its German-centric take on end times prophecy. But I still believe it is well worth a read.

In the article you will read more on the waning enthusiasm for the war in the west- including even the USA and Germany- and moves towards potentially winding it down and holding peace negotiations. Within this context, The Trumpet sees nefarious German designs on ultimately dethroning the USA and helming the New World Order.

Link to the piece is below:

https://www.thetrumpet.com/28574-german ... ne-exposed