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Highlights:
Europe’s right sounds like the left
Europe’s far-right, nationalist parties, “long dismissed as fringe groupings, are now winning votes by adopting previously discredited ‘leftwing’ ideas,” noted Anne Applebaum.Examples include Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France, the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and Heinz-Christian Strache’s Freedom Party in Austria.This may all sound opportunistic, “but it is a mistake to dismiss this kind of language on the grounds that it sounds ridiculous or extreme,” concluded Applebaum. “Just because nationalization, protectionism, fiscal irresponsibility or punitive taxation have been tried and have failed before does not mean that someone will not someday try them again, especially if they are branded with a shiny new national flag rather than a worn-out hammer and sickle.”The likely clash between Trump and Black Lives Matter
Donald Trump is scoring a lot of political success by tapping into Americans’ anger, but in so doing, he’s making a lot of other Americans angry—particularly Black Lives Matter (blm) activists.When blm protesters disrupted a Bernie Sanders event in August, Trump assured, “Believe me, that’s not going to happen to Trump.” And when a protester from that movement disrupted one of his events in November, Trump’s supporters escorted him out with kicks, punches and racial slurs. From the podium, Trump suggested: “Maybe he should have been roughed up.” In the “old days,” he added, the protester would have been “carried out on a stretcher.”“Between now and November,” wrote the Atlantic, “Trump could hold hundreds more rallies, many in areas with large African-American and Latino populations, in an atmosphere of mounting hysteria …. The young left-wing militants who have already braved danger in places like Ferguson, and who hold their more conflict-averse elders in contempt, are unlikely to stop their disruptions. Trump will keep baiting and threatening them because it’s how he rouses his fans.”A major confrontation between these two sides seems increasingly likely.Armenia pulled into Russia-Turkey clash in Syria
Russia has worked diligently these past few weeks to beef up its military footprint in the seldom-discussed nation of Armenia.Wedged between Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan and most importantly, Turkey, Armenia has increasingly become a high priority for Russian President Vladimir Putin.Russia is essentially surrounding Turkey, and since nato and the alliance prophesied in Psalm 83 place Turkey in Europe’s camp, Russian involvement in the region will terrify and galvanize Europe.U.S. ‘distressed debt’: worse than September 2008
United States corporate bonds (also known as “distressed” debt) rose a staggering 265 percent since last year. In February alone, distressed debt rose 15 percent.The number of S&P-rated U.S. corporations burdened with distressed debt rose 128 percent from a year ago and 9 percent in February.The situation is worse than it was when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in September 2008. Yet fiscal authorities say that the situation is contained.The gloss on the surface of the U.S. economy is rapidly fading. What lies underneath will soon be apparent to everyone.Other news:
Iran’s elections are magic, wrote Bloomberg View. “Many of yesterday’s hardliners are today’s reformists.”On Wednesday, China seized the Quarino Atoll from the Philippines. It’s yet another Chinese acquisition in the South China Sea.In typical Catholic politicking, bishops are nudging followers to vote against Britain’s exit from the European Union.Get more details on these stories and more by subscribing to the Trumpet Weekly!
