zenpundit.com

[ by Charles Cameron — so if they ride through Zürich, do they get to keep all the banks? ]
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Matthew Burton asked an intriguing question on Twitter today [upper panel, below] — while 5,000 Russians pose a similar question [lower panel]:

When was the last time sovereignty depended on bike club membership?

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Addendum:

Matthew Burton kindly pointed me to this WaPo piece, Obama speaks with Putin by phone, calls on Russia to pull forces back to Crimea bases, which includes the following wording:

“In the case of any further spread of violence to Eastern Ukraine and Crimea,” a statement issued by Putin’s office said, “Russia retains the right to protect its interests and the Russian-speaking population of those areas.”

[ by Charles Cameron — a frog, a snail, a praying mantis, yes — but not a piggy in sight! ]
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See also: At a snail’s pace

Hat-tip: Faizah.

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Sources:

Snail rides frog, photocredit: Lessy Sebastian / Solent News

Mantis rides snail, photocredit: Nordin Seruyan / Barcroft Media

[  by Charles Cameron — within the Vatican, feathers fly — a second post posted at our zenpuditry site during our recent downtime ]

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Children, at the side of Pope Francis, release doves in a symbolic prayer for peace in the Ukraine:

What happens next is seen in the lower panel — an almost heraldic battle of the birds, black crow against white dove. Consider, then, war and peace, as they are embodied here.

Heraclitus it was who observed,

What opposes unites, and the finest attunement stems from things bearing in opposite directions, and all things come about by strife.

[ by Charles Cameron — Master Zenpundit echoing Master Rainer Maria Rilke ]
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Zen (upper panel) this morning on FaceBook:

And Rilke (lower panel) speaking into the “maddening wind” (the Föhn) on the cliffs by Schloss Duino:

Or maybe Shakespeare can give us a no less powerful comparison?

Sound and fury, signifying nothing?

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On the one hand, it’s the human condition, at least in these modern times: too much noise drowns out the signal… On the other, the occasional word belted into the wind does get through, eh? Or so we hope…

That’s why we blog.

[ by Charles Cameron — some good advice from Tim Furnish, which Jerry Boykin doesn’t appear to have heard… ]
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Gen. Jerry Boykin (upper panel, below), speaking with his visionary preacher friend, Rick Joyner, naturally has the right to voice his views, including those that see Middle Eastern geopolitics through the lens of Isaiah 17:1-3…

… but he might want to listen to blog-friend Dr Timothy Furnish (lower panel, above) — a fellow Christian and conservative — first.

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I fear that at the moment, Boykin sounds more vigilant than sober, though both are jointly scripturally mandated at 1 Peter 5:8.

Here Boykin & Joyner discuss Syria, Biblical Prophecy, And The End Times:

Rick JOYNER: And we’re seeing Biblical prophecy unfold.
Jerry BOYKIN: We are.
JOYNER: These are times in which things are unfolding in scripture, and one of the Scriptures that has never been fulfilled…
BOYKIN: Unhuh…
JOYNER: …and has to be fulfilled before this age can end, is that Damascus will be destroyed, never inhabited again.
BOYKIN: I share your concern, Rick, and as you say, certainly, and I’ve said this for a long time, one of the ways that Damascus could be destroyed, never to be reoccupied, would be through a chemical attack. So let’s just take a scenario…

Interested? You can hear Boykin’s scenario of Assad’s final gesture in utter defeat, here.

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Sources:

Boykin

Furnish

I hope to discuss Boykin’s friendship with Joyner [“our only hope is a military takeover; martial law“] and what it may portend, in a subsequent post.