We Need To Be Relentless

Bulgarian Bulge by Don Ellis

The above link is to one of my favorite pieces of music with one of my favorite recorded piano improvisations. For the technically minded, the time signature of this music continually switches between 33/16 and 36/16. It is Bulgarian folk music played by a jazz big band recorded in 1971. I  have been enjoying learning how to play a piano version of this music thanks to the graciousness and generosity of Ellis's then pianist, Milcho Leviev, who is originally from Bulgaria and who helped me start to learn how to play it. And though I cannot play the piano version of this piece like he can and how it should be played, I have had, and still have, fun trying to learn how to play it. It is my favorite piece of music to play. I will always be grateful for the kindness that Leviev showed to me.

If you access the link, you might be required to login into a Gmail account--I am not sure if non-gmail accounts are recognized by Youtube--in order to play this particular Youtube page. I am providing this link and pointing to the last part of Leviev's solo because, if my music knowledge is correct, it is based on a part of the 4th movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony only it is played in 33/16--that is if my music knowledge is correct. Regardless of whether that is correct, the theme played by Leviev repeats around 5 times with variations and to me, this points to the title of this blog article. To me, the last part of his improvisation conjures up the notion of being relentless. And for any of us who oppose Trump's authoritarian direction for our government, we, not just seasoned activists, need to step up and be relentless in our opposition to Trump and where he is leading our nation. Again, we, which involves everyone who opposes the direction in which Trump is leading our nation, need to step up, show up, and peacefully and legally act up.

Where is Trump leading our nation? Even before the 2024 election, either it was stated in this blog or I had said to individuals and in comments on the internet, that if Trump is elected, Russia will be our future. And it isn't just the corruption of his administration, his zeal for more and more power, his suppression of free speech on an institutional level, and his use of religion as a façade for the corrupt oligarchy is for the ever growing authoritarian rabbit hole he, and a gang of seemingly disjoint groups, are taking this nation . But his domestic policies are not the only indicators of  his authoritarian direction, consider his foreign policies, especially his actions  and words about Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as who he seems to admire the most. 

At the beginning, he blamed Zelensky and Ukraine for the war as he was making some false claims about it. He really never condemned the invasion nor did he put pressure on  Putin to stop. And now, his support for Putin and Russia has become oververt and exlicit. And in the proposed summit between JinPing, Putin, and Trump, it appears that what a former MI6 chief predicted: a world dominated by three strongman leaders who divy up the nations between themselves (click here for the blog article).

Why Trump wants to lead our nation down that path is not  yet clear. Is it because of his admiration for Puting? Or is it because Putin has enough dirt on Trump to make him act like a puppet? Is it a combination of the two? Or are there some other reasons?

We should note that Trump has some notable domestic allies who are supporting/enabling  his actions. First, there are many of my fellow religiously conservative Christians who have a penchant for authoritarianism that now includes the intense fear of the LGBT community having escaped its prison of marginalization. According to some of them, a dictator like Putin who oppresses that community in Russia is preferable to a democracy in which they would have to share the nation as equals. That is because to Putin and at least some who follow Trump, Democracy brings decadence. It is as if the SCOTUS Obergefell decision was the last straw in the moral degradation of our nation. Of course the only morals that they are considering are related to sex. For when it comes to the dehumanization and the following expolitation and abuse of groups based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and one's biological sex, such are not signs of moral degredation.

Of course there are also the techno-oligarchs and other wealthy elites who are either Trump's enablers or his puppet masters. For the sake of profits, these wealthy elites have morphed into moral chamelions who do whatever they  can to appease the current governmental leaders of our nation. Their ability to change  their moral colors come from their desire to keep maximizing their corporate profits.

When we see the power that Trump has already garnered, the direction of the future of our nation in which Trump is leading us, and those who have Trump's back, we are in a desparate situation. And so  we find that our Obi-Wan Kenobi, our only hope, has a name is spelled 'RELENTLESS.' These midterms might be our last stand for an unforeseen time period. It is like we are in game 7 of the last World Series that will afterwards  will not be played for an indeterminant amount of time and so for all players, including all pitchers regardless of their series workload, we must have an 'all hands on deck' attitude. All of us, not just us seasoned activists, must be relentless in peacefully and legally resisting Trump's Presidency. 

And part of that resistance involves voting against almost every Republican candidate. Because, for almost every Republican candidate, a vote for a Republican is a vote that further enables the Revolution that the Trump-led Republican party is pursuing. We should expect that Trump's authoritarianism will, IMO,  increase significantly if Trump's party holds majorities in Congress.

One more thing must be said. What is now needed the most by this country is for more Americans to become less consumer oriented and more activist active. That does not mean that we make a complete break from being happy consumers--that is if we can afford to be that way. It does mean that, at this point in time, we become more activist and less consumerist in how we live our lives. This is how we must be if we are to save our Democracy from the logical concequence of our current form of Capitalism: a corrupt oligarachy. The midterms just might be our last chance to stop Trump's express train motoring toward a Russian style government.

Views From The Outside For October 20, 2026

 Views From The Outside

The purpose of this page is to list news stories and reports from mostly Western sources outside of the U.S. You can use Google Translate to translate articles that are printed in another language. 

So far, news sources include:

International

• Médecins Sans Frontieres
1. Providing Palliative Care To Women With Cervical Cancer
2. People Seeking Safety In Greece Are Trapped In Uncertainty
3. Five Things To Know About The Situation In The South Of Yemen Today
4. MSF Urges Release Of Detained Palestinian Medics In Israel As World Medical Association Begins General Assembly
5. Why We Could Not Stop Cholera In Sudan

• UN News
1. DR Congo: Cholera Cases Spike Amid Fight Against Ebola
2. Health Workers Tackle Taboos Over Drinking With New AI Tool
3. Yemen: WFP Warns Of Potential ‘Humanitarian Catastrophe’ As Fighting Blocks Aid Delivery
4. WHO Calls For Urgent Health Action Across The Eastern Mediterranean
5. Yemen: Houthi Siege, Cholera Outbreak And Aid Cuts Put Civilians In The Crosshairs

From Canada

• Le Devoir
1. Trump Renonce À Diffuser En Direct Une Exécution Militaire
2. En Colombie, Des Milliers De Personnes Manifestent Contre Le Nouveau Gouvernement De Droite
3. Guerre En Ukraine|Zelensky Défie Trump En Annonçant La Reprise Des Frappes Sur Les Raffineries Russes
4. L’interdiction Du Hidjab À L’école Démarre Difficilement En Autriche
5. Le Président De Cornell Admet N’avoir Jamais Donné Suite À La Plainte De Jane Doe

• Le Journal de Montréal
1. La Plus Puissante Bombe Conventionnelle Washington Envisage De L'utiliser Contre L'Iran
2. Comment Le Canada Va Profiter De La Guerre
3. Région Très Touristique Du Mexique: L'amibe «Mangeuse De Cerveau» Détectée Au Yucatan
4. Face Aux Champions Chinois Du Genre: IA: Meta Lance Un Puissant « Modèle Ouvert »
5. Pour Un Cancer: L'opération Du Pape Redessine Déjà Le Pontificat

• Toronto Star
1. Car Registered To Man Accused Of Planning Mass Shooting Was At Hindu Temple He Targeted, Police Say
2. Talarico Rallies As His Texas US Senate Race Against Paxton Enters Final Weeks
3. Trump Administration Advances Plan For Peptide Drugs Favored By RFK Jr.
4. Ukraine Abandons Truce And Attacks Russian Oil Refinery As Zelenskyy Says He Feels Betrayed By Trump
5. AP Gets Exclusive Look At 'StarGate,' Ukraine's First Aerial Drone To Evacuate Wounded Soldiers

• CBC
1. Yemen's Houthis Attack Presidential Palace In Aden, Key Saudi Infrastructure
2. Canada Courting Indian Business Partnerships In Race To Seal Trade Deal
3. New White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia Faces Mounting Questions About Resume
4. Black Hawk Down: Trump's Trade War Pauses Canadian Helicopter Deal
5. Uncertainty Is The Point: The Growing Drone Campaign Stalking NATO’s Skies

From England

•  BBC
1. Katie Zacharia Leaving Her White House Role Less Than Five Days On The Job
2. Inside Ukrainian Offensive Pushing Russia Back - With Starlink Playing A Key Role
3. Toxic Algorithms Wouldn't Let Them Go - Now Australia Wants An Off Switch
4. Palestinians And US Journalist Injured By Israeli Settlers In West Bank Harvest Attack
5. Why Is Alberta Voting To Separate From Canada, And How Likely Is It To Happen?

• Reuters
1. Teacher Tackled And Fought Oregon School Shooter
2. US Probes Omar's Decades-Old Immigration Paperwork With Eye Toward Deportation
3. Order To Limit Starshield For Ukraine Came From Inside White House
4. Putin Says Russia Is Building Non-Negotiable 'Security Zone' In Ukraine Along Border
5. Why Is The Battle For Yemen's Taiz So Important?

From France

• France24
1. 'Finish What We Started': After Student Protests, France Braces For Return Of The Yellow Vests
2. 'Thanks A Lot, Trump': Wyoming Conservatives Divided Ahead Of US Midterms
3. Clashes Grip Tirana As Albanian PM Blames 'Foreign Hands' For Mounting Unrest
4. The Risks Faced By Women Migrants In Europe
5. Donald Trump 'Openly Financing Russia's War With Ukraine', Nobel Peace Laureate Says

• Les Echos
1. L'Europe Affiche Son Soutien À L'Ukraine, Mais Cherche Encore Comment Financer Sa Résistance À La Russie
2. Après L'automobile, La Chimie ? Les Européens Prêts À Muscler Leur Défense Commerciale Face À La Chine
3. « On Y Consacre Davantage De Ressources Que Pendant La Guerre Froide... » : Le Coût Méconnu Des Attaques Hybrides De La Russie Contre L'Europe
4. Midterms : Sans Preuves, Le Camp Trump Nourrit Déjà Le Doute Sur L'intégrité Du Scrutin 
5. Budget Européen : De Nouvelles Taxes Sur La Table Pour Sortir De L'impasse, L'Après-Macron Inquiète 

• Le Monde
1. Clashes Erupt In France As Protesters Vow To Make Government 'Tremble'
2. Ukraine's Increasingly Powerful Intelligence Services Worry Its Political Leaders
3. Thomas Piketty: 'Hundreds Of Thousands Of French High Schoolers Work Hard, But Nothing Is Planned To Welcome Them Into Higher Education'
4. Israeli Settlers Attack European Diplomatic Cars In West Bank And Beat French Mayor, Say Witnesses
5. Escalation Between Pakistan And Afghanistan Leads To Heavy Human Toll

From Germany

• DW
1. Romanian Fighter Jets Shoot Down 2 Drones Over Black Sea
2. Egypt's Sissi Says He'll Defend Saudi Arabia, If Asked
3. Can Albania's Student Protests Bring Political Change?
4. German Lawmakers Press Tanzania Over Rights Concerns
5. How Great Is The Russian Threat Against Germany?

• DER SPIEGEL
1. The Erosion Of My American Dream
2. "The Rule Was: 'Shoot Everyone You See'"
3. »Ich Unterstütze Meinen Präsidenten Trotzdem«
4. US-Republikaner Verurteilen Trumps Aussetzung Von Neuen Russlandsanktionen
5. Der Krieg Hat Sie Aus Der Heimat Vertrieben – Und Zusammengebracht

From Russian Source 

• Novaya Gazeta Europe
1. Splendid Isolation?
2. Zelensky Reportedly Ready To Halt Energy Strikes In Return For Extended Starlink Access
3. Axis Of Diesel

From Spain

• El Mundo
1. Testigo Directo. París Después De La Batalla: "Esto No Parece Francia, Yo Nunca He Visto Un Salvajismo Así"
2. Carlos García, Ex Alcalde De La Ciudad Venezolana De Mérida: Hui De Venezuela Para Evitar La Cárcel Del Régimen Y Acabé En Una Cárcel De EEUU"
3. Statu Quo. Tampoco Hay Paz En El Fin Del Mundo
4. Israel. Un Avión De Austrian Airlines Con Ruta Tel Aviv A Viena Aterriza En Sofía Tras Una Amenaza De Bomba
5. Guerra En Europa. La Generación Que Estudia Español En Kiev Bajo Las Bombas: "La Verdad Es Que Ahora No Tengo Miedo A Los Drones"

• El País
1. Los Anuncios Políticos Hechos Con IA Irrumpen En Las Campañas Para Las ‘Midterms’
2. Convivir Con 230 Centros De Datos En La Puerta De Casa: “Nadie Nos Avisó De Lo Que Iba A Pasar”
3. Debate Presidencial En Brasil, En Vivo | Lula: “Ustedes Están En Los Estados Unidos Conspirando Contra Brasil”
4. Trump Respalda A Netanyahu A Nueve Días De Las Elecciones Israelíes: “Es Un Gran Guerrero, Fuerte, Valiente”
5. Peter Thiel, El Tecnoligarca Que Cree En El Anticristo

From Switzerland

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung
1. Plünderungen, Gewalt, Zerstörungen Auch In Italien: Der Krieg Der Kinder
2. Die Wut Der Masse: Wann Proteste Eskalieren Und Wieso Plünderungen Mehr sind Als Chaos
3. Warum Derzeit So Viele Menschen In Europäischen Ländern Auf Die Strasse Gehen
4. Zehn Verdächtige Destgenommen: Angriffe Im Westjordanland Bringen Benjamin Netanyahu In Bedrängnis
5. KI Zündet Die Nächste Stufe Der Überwachung: Mit Fingerprinting Können Nutzer Auch Im Inkognito-Modus Überwacht Werden

From Ukraine

• UATV English
1. SHOCK! Russia’s New Geran-4 Contains 76% US-Made Chips: We Explain HOW
2. ST. PETERSBURG PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS! UAVs Struck VK’s Data Center And Halted PULKOVO Airport!
3. Ukraine’s New SLAVIC Drone Is Better Than Its CHINESE COUNTERPART: Let’s Take A Look!
4. BALLISTICS WITHOUT WARNING: Why Did Washington “Forget” To Warn Kyiv About Russia’s LAUNCH?

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Should A Blue Wave Succeed, We Still Have Much Of The Same War To Fight

 Many of my fellow protesters are very much hoping for, if not expecting, a Blue Wave to sweep over the midterm elections and install a relevant Congress. Of course, should the elections be fair enough to produce such a result, we need to remember January 6, 2021 to expect how Trump might respond to challenging elections. What would he do either to try to rig the elections or block the installation of newly elected Dems is anyone's guess.

But, as we might do in logic, suppose that there is a big Bkue Wave, and the Dems make Congress relevant again, what can we expect? As Presidents Clinton, Obama, and Biden have shown, we will have more freedom of speech but a kindler and gentler same economic system. And so the basic question is what will life be like after Trump? How different will it be? What can we expect?

In terms of economic systems, we should note that starting with Reagan, our nation transitioned from relying on a Bretton-Woods  system for Capitalism, which started after the end of WW II and extended to through the 1970s, to  Neoliberalism or a Neliberal form of Capitalism.

What is Neoliberalism? It could best be explained by the Biblical story of Cain and Abel (click here for the pertinent part of this story). In that story, Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy. When God asks Cain about the whereabouts of his brother, Cain responds with a rhetorical question: 'Am I my brother's keeper?'

Those who wish to directly benefit from Neoliberal policies, which include a huge reduction in tax rates that would have funded social safety net programs and the cutting of regulations that would have protected the people and the environment, desire to rhetorically ask Cain's question. What is the justification for this cutting  of social responsibilities? It is the assertion that everyone is solely responsible for their own plight in life. And so whatever results from the cuts in those safety nets and protective regulations, the end result is that each person is solely responsible for their own standing in life.

What is absent from those who would play the role of Cain in today's world is that they are not solely responsible for their own success. They own their success to the workers who provide the goods and/or services that they have sold. In owing their success to the workers, they should note that the ability of the workers to produce depends on their skills, acquired through education,  the health and welfare of those workers which enables them to succeed at their jobs, and the soundness of the communities and society in which they live which contributes to the workers' ability to better focus on performing their jobs well.

Those who would play the role of Cain also own their success to the customers who purchase their goods and/or services. Part of that includes that the ability of the customers to purchase goods and services. 

Those who play the role of Cain also own their success to venders who provide the materials used in producing goods and services. They also own their success to the people involved in selling or transporting those materials they use in producing their goods and/or services.  

Those who play the role of Cain also own their success to the government that provides legal systems and  infrastructures in which their enterprisess can blossom and education for them and their employees.

And those who play the role of Cain also own their success to the environment that affects everything.

In other words, we see others as acting as their brothers' keepers in helping those who directly benefit from Neoliberalism to succeed while visions of ever increasing profits blind them from seeing their responsibilities in acting as their brothers' keepers.

Neoliberalism thrives on consumerism. But when consumerism passes a certain threshold, it can blind us from admitting our responsibilities in being our brothers' keepers.

Neoliberalism in America started with Reagan. Its principles blinded him from seeing the crimes committed by Pinochet in Chile. Its principles blinded him from seeing the sins that the U.S. was committing in both Central America and the Middle East as well as complicity in the future sins of Neoliberalism by establishing a foundation for it here. 

And so regardless of any size of a Blue Wave occurring in the Midterms, because both political parties ascribe to Neoliberalism, we will still have an ideological war to wage. 

However here, we need to be careful. That is because while Neoliberalism as a whole is destroying our democracy, and even our economy, if we approach its destruction employing all-or-nothing thinking which always causes one to throw the baby out with the bathwater, we will include unnecessarily negative tradeoffs in our war against Neoliberalism. 

We need to battle Neoliberalism because of the harm it is doing. The ever increasing wealth dispaity between the classes and races can eventually infringe on economic growth and could lead to political instability. But something else must be added. As Neoliberalism increases in its intensity and consistency, it will eventually shut down our democracy and will lead to a corrupt oligarchy.

Neoliberalism destroys a nation's democracy by continually reducing the social responsibilities that the business and financial communities have toward society. That reduces a democratic government's ability to create and enforce the parameters in which businesses and financial institutes operate. Democratic governments then become impotent in controlling  businesses and financial institutions. As democratic governments become more and more impotent, power continues to flow from the people who were democratically elected to represent us to business and financial elites. And so as the people lose power through a weaker and weaker democratic government, democracy becomes the shrinking person who eventual becomes so small that it disappears. And waiting in the wings for this disintergration are authoritarian leaders who are more than eager to grab the reins controlling the nation.

But despite the problems that Neoliberalism causes, we must not imitate the kind of thinking that proponents of Neoliberalism employ. That is that we must not take and all-or-nothing approach to the issues here. For just as Neoliberalism takes an all-or-nothing approach in assigning responsibility for a person's plight solely to the individual, one can overreact and take the opposite all-or-nothing approach by putting the whole blame for one's position in society on society itself. We need to avoid  unnecessary all-or-nothing thinking approaches. 

Both the individual and society share responsibility for each person's place in life. And the mix of individual and societal responsibility is different for each person seeing that some are more privileged and/or have more abilities and less obstacles than others. And so what we have to accommodate is a race between those who must jump over hurdles racing against those who don't.  

Because the responsibility for each person's plight in life is shared by society and the individual, we need to recognize that those who directly benefit or even defend Neoliberalism have real concerns. And if we are going to stop Neoliberalism, we have to show its defenders that we all need a different kind of thinking than the all-or-nothing thinking that they are employing. And we cannot do that if we attribute to society complete responsibility for each person's life and their life choices. Rather than competing, supporters of Neoliberalism must understand that there are parts of life and society where we need to cooperate and collaborate to be responsible members of society. 

And so we are all our brothers' keepers. And those who directly benefit from Neoliberalism must add to their belief that individuals are responsible for their own place in society, society, including its economic practices, also shares responsibility for where people end up in life. And thus those who directly benefit from Neoliberalism must embrace, rather than shrink back from their social responsibilities. One way by which they can do that is to not manipulate the government to lower tax rates and reduce necessary regulations.

Views From The Outside For October 13, 2026

Views From The Outside

The purpose of this page is to list news stories and reports from mostly Western sources outside of the U.S. You can use Google Translate to translate articles that are printed in another language. 

So far, news sources include:

International

• Médecins Sans Frontieres
1. Why We Could Not Stop Cholera In Sudan
2. MSF Staff Member Tests Positive For Ebola Disease And Is Medically Evacuated

• UN News
1. Ukraine: UN Condemns Latest Attacks And Calls For Civilian Protection
2. ‘No Plague Case’ In Siberia, Russia Tells WHO As Assessments Continue
3. Kenya Races To Trace All Contacts After First Ebola Death, WHO Official Says
4. Critical Funding Gap Threatens Health Response In Yemen
5. Reform, Or Lose Trust: Governments Press The UN To Reflect The World As It Is

From Canada

• Le Devoir
1. «Où Suis-Je?», Demande Christa Pike Après Avoir Survécu À Son Exécution
2. 20 Ans Après L’assassinat De La Journaliste Russe Anna Politkovskaïa, Des Militants Honorent Sa Mémoire
3. Une Commémoration De L’attaque Du 7 Octobre 2023 Teintée De Tensions Avant Le Scrutin En Israël
4. Merz Évoque Un Complot Contre Son Parti, «Horrifié» Par Le Succès De L’AfD Dans Une Région Allemande
5. En Éthiopie, Des Troupes De L’Érythrée Se Déploient Dans Le Nord Du Tigré

• Le Journal de Montréal
1. Une statue dorée de Trump nu fait sensation
2. Torture Présumée D’Américains: New York S’apprête À Accuser Nicolas Maduro
3. Les É.-U. Ont Intercepté 90 Cargaisons Vers Cuba
4. L’Australie Ouvre Une Enquête
5. «Ils Ont Rasé Gaza, Mais Pas L’idéologie Du Hamas»

• Toronto Star
1. Trump Wants Talarico And Paxton To Debate. Talarico Couldn’t Be Happier
2. Brazilian Judge Issues Arrest Warrant For Eduardo Bolsonaro, Brother Of A Presidential Candidate
3. NATO Presses Ahead With 'Steadfast Noon' Nuclear Drill After Russia's Nuclear Warning
4. Moscow’s Secrecy About A Suspected Plague Case Follows A Pattern From The Soviet Era
5. Palestinian Factions Move To Delay The First Legislative Elections In 20 Years

• CBC
1. Spanish Pensioner Maricarmen, Symbol Of Country's Housing Crisis, Dead At 87
2. The Democrats Are Surging As The U.S. Midterms Near. Here's The Data That Has Trump's Republicans Spooked
3. Russian Attack On Eastern Ukrainian City Of Kramatorsk Kills At Least 33
4. NASA's Curiosity Rover Takes Striking Image Of Dawn On Mars
5. What's Still Within Trump's Power Even If The Democrats Sweep The U.S. Midterms

From England

•  BBC
1. Trump Announces Deal For Russian Diesel As Zelensky Criticises 'Gift To Putin'
2. US Immigration Officials Defend ICE Agents Who Shot Man In Same Car As Child
3. Powerful Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Hits Panama, Damaging Buildings
4. US Unveils Sanctions On ICC In Move Court Condemns As 'Assault On Rule Of Law'
5. Michigan Senate Debate Spotlights Increase In Anti-Muslim Rhetoric As Midterms Race Heats Up

• Reuters
1. Bipartisan Majority Of Americans Blame Trump Policies For Rising Costs
2. Former ICC Judge Navi Pillay Wins 2026 Nobel Peace Prize
3. Hurricane Isaias Strengthens As US Gulf Coast Prepares For Landfall
4. UAE Says Omani Flydubai Co-Pilot Planned Suicide Attack On Tel Aviv Flight
5. Houthi Strikes On Riyadh Airport Killed Three Saudis As War Escalates

From France

• France24
1. Le Pen's Top Ally Bardella Faces Fresh Claims He Sought To Cover Up Past Anti-Semitic Comments
2. Israel A Rare Dissenting Voice As Praise Pours In For Nobel Peace Prize Winner Navi Pillay
3. What France's Student Protesters Want – And What The Government Is Offering
4. New York Mayor To Ask Trump For ICE Withdrawal After Agents Shoot Man In Car With Child
5. Eritrea And Ethiopia Accuse Each Other Of Provoking War As Tigray Rebels Retreat

• Les Echos
1. Nous Interdirons Toute Transaction Avec Ce Tribunal Voyou » : Les Etats-Unis Haussent Le Ton Dans Leur Croisade Contre La Cour Pénale Internationale
2. « Nous Avons Besoin D'un Budget Européen Crédible » : L'aide Publique Au Développement Européenne Menacée De Coupes
3. Deux Data Centers Frappés En 48 Heures : L'armée Ukrainienne Vise Le « Google Russe » Avec Ses Drones À Longue Portée
4. Automobile : Bruxelles Et Pékin Se mettent D'accord Sur Une Forte Baisse Des Exportations Chinoises
5. Guerre Au Moyen-Orient : Trump Temporise Sur L'Iran Avant Les Midterms, Les Cours Du Pétrole Reculent 

• Le Monde
1. Hasan Piker, The Controversial Streamer Seducing America's Radical Left
2. Why French Students Are So Angry About Parcoursup, The Higher Education Access Platform
3. ICE Agents Are Chasing Miami's Haitians: 'No One Goes Out Anymore, The Streets And Churches Are Deserted'
4. French Presidential Election: Attal, Seeking Momentum, Takes Aim At Mélenchon
5. Denmark Set To Allow Return Of 'Physical Force' To Maintain Order In Schools

From Germany

• DW
1. Trump Says Ukraine Should Elect A New President
2. Palestinian President Postpones Elections Until Late 2027
3. Germany Sticks To Russia Sanctions After Trump Diesel Deal
4. How The Houthi-Saudi Conflict Is Affecting African Countries
5. Taiwan To Boost Military Spending To 'Deter War' With China

• DER SPIEGEL
1. German Intelligence Rocked By Espionage Arrest Of Former Chief
2. Abuse in France: "Is Anyone Thinking Of The Children?"
3. Begleiteter Suizid: Des Lebens Satt
4. Wie Okinawa Unter Der Präsenz Der US-Truppen Leidet – Und Jetzt Aufbegehrt
5. Wie Kann Man Nur Links Wählen, Fragt Die Frau Beim Aperol – Und Wünscht Sich Einen Großen Knall

From Russian Source 

• Novaya Gazeta Europe
1. ‘She Tried To Normalise Death’
2. ‘On The Side Of The Victims’
3. Where Do Russia’s Deserters Go?
4. Mother Russia

From Spain

• El Mundo
1. Trump Pierde Swing
2. Guerra En Europa. Zelenski Ofrece Celebrar Elecciones Si Rusia Acepta 60 Días De Alto El Fuego
3. Estados Unidos. La Ofensiva migratoria De Trump Llega A Las Urnas Entre Temor E Indignación
4. Estados Unidos. La Ofensiva Migratoria De Trump Llega A Las Urnas Entre Temor E Indignación
5. Guerra. Ucrania Ataca El Tercer Centro De Datos Del Gigante Informático Ruso Yandex E Interrumpe Sus Servicios

• El País
1. Trump Anuncia Una Tregua Energética De Carácter “Inmediato” Entre Rusia Y Ucrania
2. Las Familias Israelíes Buscan Descendencia En El Esperma Extraído De Los Cadáveres De Sus Hijos
3. Una Docena De Muertos Y Más De 300 Heridos En Un Ataque Hutí Contra El Aeropuerto De Riad, La Capital De Arabia Saudí
4. Lula Saca A La Calle Una Marea Roja Para Emprender La Remontada Y Ganar Las Elecciones
5. “No Ayudes Al Enemigo”: Kiev Alerta A Europa Del Peligro De La Guerra Híbrida Rusa

From Switzerland

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung
1. Verschärft Trump Den Druck Auf Russlands Schattenflotte?
2. «I can English understand» – warum der Bundesratsjob immer schwieriger wird
3. Gedankenstriche, «Herzstücke», «Mehr Als Nur . . .»-Konstruktionen: KI Beeinflusst Die Sprache In Medien Messbar
4. Open AI schockiert die Anleger: Macht das Unternehmen viel weniger Umsatz, als die Börse glaubte?
5. «Gemeinsame Aufgabe»: Der VW-Chef Beschwört Den Zusammenhalt Zur Rettung Der Europäischen Industrie

From Ukraine

• UATV English
1. Russia DESTROYS Trump's "Energy Ceasefire". Ukraine Prepares A Harsh Response!
2. PUTIN Spent $200 BILLION On WAR — Ukraine Just Wiped Out $100 MILLION In ONE STRIKE!
3. TRUMP’S DIESEL DEAL: Helping PUTIN Fund THE WAR?
4. Minus 25 kg, ELECTRIC SHOCK Torture, And LIFE After CAPTIVITY: Vladyslav Karetnyk's Story

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A Rosa Luxemburg Approach To Christian Living

 To mention the name of a famous socialist, a contemporary of Vlad Lenin at that, and Christianity in the same sentence would strike many as not just being strange, but being oxymoronic. Then again, that is because we Americans have the tendency to pigeonhole people by pejoratively labeling them and then think of them in all-or-nothing terms.

And so I am writing about how Rosa Luxemburg's approach to socialism could apply to how we approach Christian living. Of course by identifying Luxemburg, I am reminding people of what Marx and Lenin said about religion: That religion is the 'opium of the people.' When Lenin said that, he was complaining about how religion was used to either support the bourgeoisie oppression of the proletariat or encourage people to be passive in the face of that oppression (click here for his writing on this). In contrast, Luxemburg, while acknowledging the same support for that oppression did so in an appeal to Christians to join the Socialist call. And in making such an appeal, she went through Church history to see how the Church had reacted to wealth in the past (click here for her writing on this).

In reviewing the Russian Revolution, Luxemburg showed both sympathy toward and criticisms of Lenin's political approach. Part of that criticism showed a contrast between utopian approaches to socialism and a scientific approach. In utopian approaches, problems already have predetermined solutions that a government only needs to implement enthusiastically. Note the following lengthy quote below (click here for the source):

'The tacit assumption underlying the Lenin-Trotsky theory of dictatorship is this: that the socialist transformation is something for which a ready-made formula lies completed in the pocket of the revolutionary party, which needs only to be carried out energetically in practice. This is, unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – not the case. Far from being a sum of ready-made prescriptions which have only to be applied, the practical realization of socialism as an economic, social and juridical system is something which lies completely hidden in the mists of the future. What we possess in our program is nothing but a few main signposts which indicate the general direction in which to look for the necessary measures, and the indications are mainly negative in character at that. Thus we know more or less what we must eliminate at the outset in order to free the road for a socialist economy. But when it comes to the nature of the thousand concrete, practical measures, large and small, necessary to introduce socialist principles into economy, law and all social relationships, there is no key in any socialist party program or textbook. That is not a shortcoming but rather the very thing that makes scientific socialism superior to the utopian varieties.'

Note what I underlined above. She stated that the scientific socialism, which one could also be labeled a trial-and-error or experimental approach,  has only a few signposts to hold up. She later goes on to say that practicing a scientific socialism consists of learning how to apply those signposts in solving problems for as long as we live.We learn from experience about what works and what doesn't. 

Now regardless of whether one wants to learn from Luxemburg or not, the question is whether  Christians are in the same boat as those Russians who lived under Lenin's utopian approach to socialism when it comes to living out their Christian lives. That is because us religiously conservative Christians are constantly inundated with all sorts of rules, principles, guidelines, and disciplines that are, in many cases, predesigned to guide every decision we make. And what is lost with all of that guidance are relatively few signposts that should be used when making decisions and interacting with others. In fact, some, if not all, of our signposts can also serve as reasons for doing what we are called to do. We should note that the Christian faith has both predesigned rules to follow in some situations while having more signposts for Christian living that Luxemburg has for socialism. But with all of that, we need to idenify  at least some of those signposts so that we don't lose sight of the signposts for the rules.

Regarding how we should treat others, the first signpost we should take note of is that of how we treat others. How we treat others should reflect how God has treated us through Christ. A summary of what Christ has done for us is described in the passage below. Note how Paul describes how God treated us through Christ in Romans 5:6-11 (click here for the source):

'6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation'

Paul describes our standing before God when God sent Christ into the world to save us as  'helpless,' 'sinners,' and 'enemies' of God. And that is true for every  one of us Christians before we came to faith. So when we use the above passage as a signpost, how should we treat other people? Doesn't the above signpost imply that we should love and forgive all including our enemies. And if we are to love our enemies, how much more should we care for  the marginalized and vulnerable as well as others including neighbors, friends, and family?

Certainly rules can help us flesh out how we express that love. In fact, I Corinthians 13 lists a bunch of rules or principles about love. But  rules can also distract us from this signpost--which in this case tells us why we are to love the way that God tells us to love. In fact, how to love others, or how to be guided by the signposts, can be a messy, trial and error venture. It might take a lifetime to learn how to love some problem people in the way that God has loved us. And I personally probably belong to that group of 'some problem people' for certain people just as I have my own group of 'some problem people' for whom it will take me a lifetime to love as God has loved me.

The point is that we can invent all of the rules, disciplines, guidelines, and principles we want to tell us how to treat others and still miss what God is trying to teach us. The basic lessons of what God is trying to teach us is first found in the signposts provided by the Scriptures. Learning those rules etc can make us feel spiritual. Also, as a side note, there is no doubt that along with those rules, disciplines, guidelines and principles, we try to find exceptions so that we can excuse ourselves from following the rules. Or we might discover that how to love some people might not be covered by those rules etc. Still, the signposts remain and they can often better guide us on how to love others than mere rules etc.  And so the rules, guidelines, and principles we choose to employ must serve the signposts instead of using the rules etc help us deduce what the signpost should have said.

Yes, there are other Christian signposts to consider. Signposts such as how we should relate to the world, how we should seek holiness, how we should interact with the government in order to honor God's name, and so forth. And we need to search through the Scriptures to discover them. We need to discover them  so that when we are inundated with rules, guidelines, disciplines, and principles, we can put those rule etc in their proper context and so not lose sight of the signposts that God has provided for us.

Views From The Outside For October 6, 2026

Views From The Outside

The purpose of this page is to list news stories and reports from mostly Western sources outside of the U.S. You can use Google Translate to translate articles that are printed in another language. 

So far, news sources include:

International

• Médecins Sans Frontieres
1. What Will It Take To End The Ebola Disease Outbreak In Democratic Republic Of Congo?
2. Renewed Fighting In Northern Ethiopia As MSF Teams Scale Up Medical Response To Increase In War-Wounded
3. People And Healthcare Must Be Protected Amid Escalating Violence In Baidoa, Somalia
4. Ebola Disease Outbreak Spreads Like A Megafire In North Kivu As New Hotspots Multiply
5. Three Years On, Israel Is Asphyxiating Gaza And Dismantling The Means Of Survival

• UN News
1. Who Gets To Shape AI? UN Debate Centres On Power, Trust And Inclusion
2. Could A New Global Panel Defuse Inequality’s ‘Ticking Time Bomb’?
3. Somali Families Face Renewed Violence Amid Worsening Hunger Crisis
4. Homicides Fall As Organised Crime Grows More Profitable – And Networked
5. Malaysia: UN Agency Urges Safeguards After Refugees Returned To Myanmar

From Canada

• Le Devoir
1. La Plupart Des Américains Tiennent Trump Pour Responsable Du Coût De La Vie
2. Pete Hegseth Affirme Avoir Considérablement Réduit Le Nombre De Généraux
3. L’affaire D’un Viol Collectif Présumé À L’Université Cornell Enflamme Les Réseaux Sociaux
4. Le Département De La Justice Veut Sévir Contre Des Juges Pour Avoir Parlé Aux Médias
5. Chaos À Bord D’un Vol Pour Tel-Aviv Après Une Possible Tentative D’Attaque-Suicide

• Le Journal de Montréal
1. Essais Nucléaires Américains: L'ONU Réclame Réparation Pour Les Marshallais
2. Vol De Flydubai: Comment Éviter Les Pilotes Kamikazes?
3. Exécution Ratée Dans Le Tennessee: L'ONU Appelle À Renoncer À Une Nouvelle Tentative
4. Collimateur De Washington: Bolivie: Arrestation Du Procureur Général
5. Elon Musk Va Plancher Sur Les Futures Guerres

• Toronto Star
1. France’s Public Debt Hits Records As Economy Takes Center Stage In French Election
2. France Gripped By Spreading Student Protests As PM Calls Crisis Meeting
3. US Unemployment Claims Dip To 197,000, Lowest Since Mid-July
4. Supreme Court Grants Review Of Trump Administration’s Mandatory Detention Policy For Immigrants
5. Wind Turbine Taller Than The Eiffel Tower Aims To Boost German Electricity Production

• CBC
1. How AI Hacked The Australian Government And Almost Got Away With It 
2. Families Of Canadian Mining Firm Workers Kidnapped In Mexico Plan To File RCMP Complaint
3. Trump Says 'Very Bad' Canada Is Being 'Taught A Little Lesson' As Trade Action Escalates
4. What To Know About Cornell's Alleged Frat House Gang-Rape Case And The 'Cornell 7'
5. G20 Trade Ministers Are Meeting in Wisconsin. Many Will Be Discussing Deals Without Their U.S. Host

From England

•  BBC
1. US Murderer Christa Pike Unconscious And On Ventilator After Failed Execution, Lawyers Say
2. Woman At Centre Of Cornell Rape Inquiry Was 'Failed' By Officials, Says New York Governor
3. Spanish PM Sánchez Loses Key Housing Crisis Vote After Eviction Of Woman, 87
4. Ethiopia And Eritrea Cut Diplomatic Ties As Northern Conflict Escalates
5. Intensified Russian Strikes Are Tearing Kyiv Apart, Warns Mayor

• Reuters
1. How Trump’s Obsession With ‘Rigged’ Voting Machines Spread Across Government
2. Indian Pilot Tells PM Modi He Opened Flydubai Cockpit Door During Attack
3. Birtisan Members Of Congress Move To Block Demolition Of Kennedy Center
4. G7 Countries Agree On Release Of Diesel And Oil Stocks After US Pressure
5. Saudis Plan Assault On Houthis To Break Red Sea Chokehold

From France

• France24
1. On The Run For 20 Years, Ugandan Warlord Kony Still 'Active' Within The Lord's Resistance Army
2. Brazil’s Lula Gears Up For ‘Last Dance’ With Run For Fourth Presidential Term
3. Netanyahu Warns Of 'Very Heavy Price' If Any Country Found To Be Behind FlyDubai Incident
4. Paraguay, A Tax And Political Haven For Brazil's Far Right
5. More Than Half Of Europe Faced Intense Summer Heat Stress, EU Monitor Says

• Les Echos
1. Guerre en Ukraine : un nouveau projet sur la table des Européens pour financer Kiev avec les avoirs russes gelés 
2. « On En Arrive À La Conclusion Que Le Système Est Intégralement Pourri De L'intérieur » : Au Brésil, La Campagne Présidentielle Dans Un Climat Délétère 
3. « Nous Avons Perdu 40 % De Notre Clientèle » : À Daugavpils, Les Entreprises Lettones Apprennent À Vivre Sans La Russie
4. Guerre Au Moyen-Orient : Les Etats-Unis Envoient Un Troisième Porte-Avions
5. Immobilier : La Chine Commence À Réguler Les Achats Sur Plan

• Le Monde
1. Ceuta Migrant Camp Being Removed Ahead Of Spanish King's Visit
2. Pro-Europe Latvian PM Wins Poll Dominated By Russia, Social worries
3.  'It Would Have Been Easier To Have Lost A Leg': A Former Soldier's Internal War with PTSD
4. Brazil Faces Lackluster Presidential Campaign And Uncertain Vote Amid Concerns Over US Interference
5. Russian Strikes Hit Kyiv While Germany's Merz Visits

From Germany

• DW
1. Germany News: 48% Believe Merkel More Capable Than Merz
2. India: Police Probe Harassment Allegations At Delhi Protest
3. Trump Names AI Czar To Head White House Task Force
4. Bosnia-Herzegovina Shaped By War, Separatism, EU Ambitions
5. Pakistan Vs. Afghanistan: From Allies And Neighbors To War

• DER SPIEGEL
1. A Journey Along The Dnipro In Wartime Ukraine
2. Warum Was Fußballspiel Irland Gegen Israel Politisch So Aufgeladen Ist
3. Der Abend, An Dem Die Koalition In Den Abgrund Blickt Und Der Bundespräsident Zum Telefon Greift
4. Mögliche Regelverstöße Im AfD-Wahlkampf: Zweifel An Gültigkeit Der Landtagswahl In Sachsen-Anhalt – Opposition Fordert Konsequenzen
5. Niedrige Pegelstände In Deutschland: Umweltminister Schneider Rät Zu Investitionen In Wasserinfrastruktur

From Russian Source 

• Novaya Gazeta Europe
1. Russia, Belarus And Four Central Asian Countries Sign Pact To Exchange Information On Alleged Extremists
2. War in Ukraine: A Starving Human Shield
3. Russia Sentences 68-Year-Old Ukrainian Citizen To 14 Years In Prison On Treason Charges
4. Is Modern Russia Fascist?
5. Russia Plotted To Assassinate Garry Kasparov And Former Lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev In US, Spanish Media Reports 

From Spain

• El Mundo
1. Elecciones. Brasil Vota Polarizado En Primera Vuelta Como Si Ya Fuese La Segunda
2. Diplomacia & Geopolítica. Las 'cucarachas' se expanden por Europa
3. Balcanes Occidentales. Bosnia Vota Con El Pasado Muy Presente: "Tras Años De Estancamiento Y Promesas Incumplidas, Muchos Caen en La Resignación Y El Desánimo"
4. Europa. El 'Coloso' Kulbergs Revalida Su Mandato En Letonia Y Blinda Su Política Firme Frente A Rusia
5. La Administración Trump Ataca Sin Distinción A Países, Líderes O A La Justicia Y Presume De Ello

• El País
1. Flávio Bolsonaro Pone A Prueba La Fidelidad Del Voto Evangélico
2. El Asalto De Trump Al Supremo De Estados Unidos Entra En Un Año Decisivo
3. La UE Rechaza Retirar A Sus Diplomáticos De Kiev Tras Las Últimas Amenazas De Putin
4. Estudiantes Reclutados Por Telegram, Saboteadores Amateur Y Sicarios: Así Externaliza Rusia Sus Operaciones En Europa
5. Svetlana Tijanóvskaya: “Si dejamos que Ucrania pierda la guerra, la pregunta será quién es el siguiente”

From Switzerland

• Neue Zürcher Zeitung
1. Neue Drohungen Gegen Die Militärbasis Fairford: Jetzt Ziehen Die USA Ihre Bomber Aus England ab
2. Alle Warten Auf Die Feststoffbatterie Für E-Autos. Zwei Ihrer Versprechen Löst Jetzt Eine Neue Technologie Ein: Reichweite – Und Erschwinglichkeit
3. Sie nennen Frankreich eine «Kolonialmacht» und wollen lieber allein sein auf ihrer Insel
4. Sánchez Wagt Die Flucht Nach Vorn – Die Wahl In Spanien Wird Zum Plebiszit Über Den Bedrängten Regierungschef
5. Wohnungskrise In Spanien: Die Sozialistische Regierung Scheitert Kläglich

From Ukraine

• UATV English
1. 456 RUSSIAN ENERGY FACILITIES BURNED! Ukraine’s Security Service HITS SU-34 & SU-35 Jets IN ADYGEA
2. KREMLIN Sets NUCLEAR APOCALYPSE DATE?! Artificial Crisis Around Baltics As A Pretext For War?
3. UAVs from Iran, North Korean Soldiers And Taliban Among Guests: The Final Chapter Of A Superpower!
4. RUSSIA’S CIVIL AVIATION Is Running Out Of PARTS Due To SANCTIONS — And Has ZERO ROOM To Manoeuvre!
5. BREAKING THE SKY BLOCKADE! Ukrainian Drones Airdrop Food To Oleshky And Rescue Animals

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