Week in Review: Papal Politicking, War for East Asia, Terrorism in San Bernardino, King Hezekiah, and More

Week in Review: Papal Politicking, War for East Asia, Terrorism in San Bernardino, King Hezekiah, and More

Courtesy of Eilat Mazar, Photo: Ouria Tadmor/Sean M. Haffey/Muneyoshi Someya - Pool/GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images

Week in Review: Papal Politicking, War for East Asia, Terrorism in San Bernardino, King Hezekiah, and More

All you need to know about everything in the news this week

December 5, 2015

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Highlights:

The Vatican in International Politics

  • The Vatican “has foreign-policy resources and networks available that should not be underestimated,” said an October report by the Konrad Ardenuar Foundation.
  • The report added that the Vatican “has, in fact, been involved in central decision-making and events of world politics for a long time, acting patiently behind the scenes, particularly since the middle of the 20th century.”
  • The Konrad Ardenuar Foundation report is similar to our own report on the subject: “Many historians and analysts underestimate the role of the Roman Catholic Church in European history. Many also underestimate the extent of the Vatican’s involvement in the affairs of Europe and European countries today.”

    • East Asia: A Region Pulled Between China and America

  • The smaller nations of East Asia would rather not choose between allegiance to the United States and allegiance to China; they’d rather maintain the delicate balance that they’ve had between these two powers for decades.
  • China is now challenging the existing order—forcing those smaller nations to pick a side.
  • There is a profound reason China is exuding more self-confidence on the global stage.

    • Terrorist Act in San Bernardino

  • Wearing tactical attire, U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook and Pakistan national Tashfeen Malik stormed into the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, and killed 14 civilians and wounded 21 others.
  • Their house was stockpiled with thousands of rounds of ammunition and a dozen homemade pipe bombs.
  • Farook had interacted with at least five potential terrorists. Malik had posted comments about her allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group on Facebook.
  • Was the San Bernardino attack a case of workplace violence or was it a terrorist attack?

    • King Hezekiah’s Bulla—Found

  • Dr. Eilat Mazar unearthed a new discovery from her latest archaeological excavation in Jerusalem: the bulla of King Hezekiah of Judah.
  • The clay seal stamped with Hezekiah’s name was found in the royal quarter of the Ophel and marks Mazar’s newest biblically related find.
  • 2 Kings 18:5 notes Hezekiah’s historical significance by recording: “[A]fter him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.”
  • The find is another proof of the Jews’ longstanding attachment to the land of Israel.

    • Other news:

  • An official document leaked by the London-based Statewatch group revealed that the European Union is considering a proposal to re-impose internal borders in the Schengen area for up to two years.
  • “The Russian people are becoming weaponized” as a result of the cult of personality surrounding President Vladimir Putin, wrote Todd Wood. Internal Russian propaganda is working, and the Russians are becoming “a vehicle for Vladimir Putin and his palace guard at the Kremlin to use at their disposal.”
  • It’s now official: Iran lied about the military dimensions of its nuclear program. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported December 2 that Iran has, in fact, pursued nuclear weapons until as late as 2009.
  • In a landmark decision, United States Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the opening of all jobs in combat units to women.
  • The Paris talks are not primarily about saving lives, preventing civil war, or stopping the Earth from warming. They are about money and power. They are about fomenting a revolution. And they are geopolitics at its most cutthroat.

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