The World and Everything in It: September 19, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. I'm Vera Cherevaty, and I'm Henry Cherevaty. We like to listen on our way to school and work at Appalachian Christian School in Waynesboro, Virginia. We hope you enjoy today's program.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! Russia and North Korea forge military ties. What’s it mean?

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also today a humanitarian crisis gets worse. And the tradition of family reunions, is there a future?

AUDIO: Family reunions are phasing out because the younger generation don’t see the importance of it.

And WORLD Opinions Commentator Barton Gingerich says Christians have the antidote to political extremism.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, September 19th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: It’s time for news now with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Iran prisoners » Seven Americans who had been trapped in Iran walked off a plane and onto American soil last night.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Tehran had unjustly imprisoned five of the seven while blocking the other two from leaving the country.

BLINKEN: Husbands and wives, fathers and children, grandparents - can hug each other again.

Iranian leaders set them free as part of a controversial prisoner swap in which President Biden agreed to release roughly $6 billion in Iranian cash that was frozen under sanctions.

Top Republicans said they’re glad to see the Americans back home safely. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell added:

MCCONNELL: Unfortunately, the deal that secured their release may very well be the latest example of President Biden rewarding and incentivizing Tehran’s bad behavior.

The United States is still engaged in indirect talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

Trump/Florida/abortion » Many pro-life advocates are pushing back against former President Trump after he again criticized pro-life protections that presidential rival Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in Florida.

TRUMP: I mean [DeSantis] is willing to sign a five-week and six-week ban.
HOST: Would you support that? Do you think that goes too far?
TRUMP: I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.

That from NBC’s Meet the Press.

Another of Trump’s Republican rivals criticized his remarks on Monday. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott:

SCOTT: I think the former president is wrong to suggest that we, as a party, should not be the leader for life.

Trump said measures like the one DeSantis signed into law could cost Republicans votes.

He said he wants to bring all sides together to determine a point within a pregnancy in which an abortion is acceptable.

TRUMP: What’s going to happen is you’re going to come up with a number of weeks or months — you’re going to come up with a number that’s going to make people happy.

Trump suggested 15 weeks might be an acceptable mark.

WORLD Opinions contributor Alley Beth Stuckey responded saying:

“In the past week I’ve seen Trump unable to answer the question, ‘can a man become a woman?’ and say he’ll compromise on abortion so the left will like him.”

UN General Assembly » At the United Nations headquarters in New York President Biden will take center stage this morning addressing roughly 150 world leaders.

BIDEN: Mr President, Mr. Secretary General, my fellow leaders …

Biden heard there at last year’s meeting of the General Assembly.

This year, he’s expected to once again call on the rest of the world to put pressure on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine. He’ll also urge greater action to fight climate change.

Biden speaks against the backdrop of what many see as a new Cold War as China and Russia look to build a coalition to stand toe to toe with the West’s NATO alliance.

Blinken–China meeting » On Monday at UN headquarters, Secretary of State Tony Blinken sat down with China’s vice president ahead of a possible face-to-face meeting between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Blinken and Vice President Han Zheng held talks Monday at the Chinese mission to the United Nations.

Blinken said the goal of the meeting was to keep lines of communication open and show that Washington is —in his words—“responsibly managing the relationship” between the two countries.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently held two days of talks with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

President Biden and Xi Jinping could meet in November at an Asia-Pacific Economic conference in San Francisco.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Spending bill » The House is expected to vote this week on a Republican proposal to fund the government through October, avoiding a shutdown.

Congress has until the end of the month to approve new government funding. And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says they still have plenty of time.

MCCARTHY: It isn’t the 30th yet. We have a lot of different ideas. I credit our members over the weekend working together from the Freedom Caucus to the mainstream.

The proposal includes temporary cuts to virtually all domestic discretionary spending while shielding Defense and Veteran Affairs from any cuts.

But some House Republicans say that won’t support it. And if it does pass in the House, it’ll likely be dead on arrival in the Senate.

Libya death toll » In Libya, rescue crews continue to search for victims of last week’s catastrophic flooding in the coastal city of Derna.

UN humanitarian coordinator for Libya Georgette Gagnon says she toured the city after the flood.

GAGNON: What I saw defies comprehension. Parts of the city were barely recognizable.

UN officials have revised the confirmed death toll sharply downward.

They now say roughly four thousand are confirmed dead. Prior reports put the death toll at nearly three times that number.

But 9,000 people remain missing and are presumed dead.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: A deeper look at Kim Jong-Un’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Russia. Plus, keeping a family reunion going.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 19th of September, 2023.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. First up today: North Korea and Russia strengthen ties.

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un traveled by train to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the town of Vostochny.

During their summit, President Kim said at a state dinner that the two nations would deepen their strategic and tactical cooperation. He also supported Russia’s war in Ukraine.

SOUND: [PRESIDENT KIM SPEAKING AT STATE DINNER] 

What does this meeting mean for the two nations and the world watching?

Joining us now is Will Inboden. He is a professor at the University of Florida. He previously served the George W. Bush Administration as a member of the National Security Council. And he’s a columnist with WORLD Opinions.

REICHARD: Good morning, Will.

INBODEN: Good morning. It's great to be with you.

REICHARD: Will, the first time Putin met with Kim was four years ago in a Russian city near the border with North Korea. This time, they met at Russia’s spaceport a thousand miles away. What’s significant about the venue?

INBODEN: It is a notable venue, Mary, and I think Putin chose it to showcase Russia's space and satellites and missile technology in particular, which is a key part of the package of goodies that he is offering to Kim. And it's also part of a message that Putin is trying to send send to the world that even though Russia is on its back heels or has been dealt some real setbacks in Ukraine, and its economy is a mess in other ways, Russia's power and prestige has been diminished, Russia is still one of the world's leaders in Space and Missile and satellite technology. And so Putin, it's partly his way of reminding the world of Russia's strength there, and also signaling to the world, especially the United States, that he's deepening this strategic partnership with the Kim regime in North Korea.

REICHARD: Let’s talk about the motivations behind the summit. What do Russia and North Korea need from each other?

INBODEN: Yeah, there's certainly benefits flowing both ways here. So because of the sanctions on Russia, and because of the costs of the Ukraine War, Russia has conventional weapons, stocks, you know, artillery, shells, bullets, things like that have been seriously depleted. And North Korea has a lot of those. And so North Korea is going to be providing those to Russia, to enable Russia to continue its aggression in Ukraine. And in turn, Russia is providing North Korea more advanced satellite and missile missile technology. North Korea already has quite a few nuclear warheads, you know, somewhere between 50 and 100, and they've been trying to perfect what's called the Long Range delivery systems so that, their missiles that can reach as far as United States, as well as their satellite reconnaissance to guide those missiles. And so they can now be getting that from Russia. So it's a very worrisome development. 

REICHARD: How does this summit affect the balance of power in Asia, and then more broadly?

INBODEN: Yeah, this this is where there is a very interesting history. So the Soviet Union was the original patron actually the Father, if you will, of North Korea at the end of World War Two, when the Korean peninsula was partitioned and you know, free South Korea set up and then communist North Korea, with Kim Jong Un's grandfather, Kim Il Sung, he was installed by the Soviet Union. And so throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union was the main patron, the main funder, the main weapons supplier to North Korea. That all changed with the collapse of the Soviet Union over 30 years ago and the end of the Cold War. And then China stepped in over the past few decades being North Korea's main patron, but now Russia is returning to one of its historic roles as also a patron for North Korea. And so insofar as North Korea is a real threat to the United States and our allies, and it is, this affects the overall balance of power in the region, with North Korea now being further strengthened and emboldened and removed from some of its isolation, just as it is now helping helping lessen some of Moscow's isolation.

REICHARD: The Biden administration wants to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, giving them offensive weapons. Early on, we sent small arms and defensive weapons. What are some consequences of this change, especially if stickers that say “made in America” are on missiles that hit Russian cities?

INBODEN: You know, I think there's basically two lines of criticism of the Biden administration's policies towards Ukraine. Some people have been critical that Biden has supported Ukraine at all. Others of us on the right have been very critical that Biden's support has been kind of weak and tepid. It's been trying to do just enough to keep Ukraine afloat and from losing the war, but it's contributed to this really terrible stalemate. And it's partly from some of the Biden administration's fears of Russia and what we might call self-deterrence. So, I think it's in our interest to see Russia dealt a strong, strong defeat here and Ukraine preserve its democracy and its viability. And the way to do that is to give them enough to win.

And so, you know, the question about new missiles with Made in America on them maybe hitting behind Russian lines, I don't think that would be a strategic game changer as far as U.S.-Russia relations. Russia already sees us as an adversary and has for a long time. I think, you know, a swift end on favorable terms for Ukraine to this war is certainly in America's interest, especially even as we look at what our adversaries like North Korea and China are now doing now that they have cozied up to Russia so much. So if we're worried about the threat of those communist regimes in East Asia, one way to set them back some would also be to defeat their new partner, Russia.

REICHARD: Will Inboden is professor and director of Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida. Thanks Will!

INBODEN: Thank you. It's always great to be with you.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: A closed road is paving the way for a humanitarian crisis in the southern Caucasus region of Europe.

In December, so-called environmental activists from Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin corridor, protesting illegal mining. The winding four-mile road is the only link between Armenia and the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan controls the only other route into the region.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: The blockade has continued ever since, and grown into an even more complicated political battle. Many are calling for a durable solution to avoid even more shortages of food and essential supplies.

WORLD’s Onize Ohikere reports.

SOUND: [Singing]

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: That’s the choir from the Armenian Evangelical Church in Stepanakert, capital of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

They prayed and sang during a Zoom prayer call organized this month by the Armenian Missionary Association of America or AMAA.

AUDIO: It’s good to see you all. Thank you all for coming on this Saturday from across the globe.

AMAA has organized such prayer sessions with more intensity since December.

That’s when the blockade started—essentially leaving the region’s 120,000 residents without essential supplies.

Aren Deyirmenjian is the AMAA representative in Armenia.

DEYIRMENJIAN: There is heavy shortage of flour, which makes the bakeries unable to produce any, you know, bread. There are long queues for bread. Sometimes people stay inside the queues for long hours and they end up with no bread. And this is just the food part. I mean, I'm not talking about the transportation because there is practically no energy. Like, no, no fuel, no gas.

Azerbaijan initially blamed the blockade on Azeri environmental activists opposing illegal mining activity. But by April, Azerbaijan set up a new security checkpoint along the corridor.

Olesya Vartanyan is the senior South Caucasus analyst at the International Crisis Group.

VARTANYAN: It's not about protesters anymore. It's the Azerbaijani government and border guards that are controlling the checkpoint. And they are effectively the ones who are conducting all the negotiations with the foreign interlocutors, you know, and who are exercising some power and pressure.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked mountainous region roughly the size of Delaware. Control of the region has long been disputed by the majority Christian Armenia and the mostly Muslim Azerbaijan. A war between the former Soviet countries in the 1990s left about 30,000 people dead.

VARTANYAN: The thing is that even when the war finished with Armenians winning it and taking many, much more territory, unfortunately, it did not really lead to any robust attempts to find a solution to the conflict.

Renewed fighting in 2020 sparked a 44-day war that displaced more than 90,000 civilians.

VARTANYAN: Azerbaijan was able to regain control of much of the territory that it lost during the first war in the 90s. But it also still left open a number of questions, including what will be the future of ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh.

A Russia-brokered ceasefire ended the war. Under the deal, Russia deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers to the region. Their duties included guarding the Lachin corridor.

That is, until the blockade began in December.

Last week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told the news outlet Politico that Russian peacekeepers have failed in their mission.

Vartanyan says the conflict there has worsened since Russia invaded Ukraine.

VARTANYAN: Azerbaijan that feels much stronger and then has a professional army and also keeps important positions along the frontlines, started testing the borders and pushing for the solution that it wants. But because of, again, this conflict that is going on in Ukraine, we don't see much cooperation taking place between the U.S,, EU, and Russia on that.

The EU, U.S., and Russia are still pushing for a more permanent peace treaty between the warring countries. Back in May, Pashinyan said Armenia was ready to recognize the region as part of Azerbaijan—as long as it can guarantee the people’s security.

But Azerbaijan says Armenia continues to fund separatist forces from its state budget.

SOUND: [Aid truck]

Last Tuesday, a yellow truck with Red Cross stickers loaded with blankets, toiletries, and 1,000 food parcels arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh after departing from Russia. The truck crossed through Azerbaijan’s Agdam route, marking the first time the transport link has been used in more than three decades. It also marks the first aid shipment into the region in nearly three months.

The shipment came days after Armenia and Azerbaijan reached yet another deal to allow aid flow into the region. The agreement will allow Russian aid to enter through Agdam. In return, Azerbaijani authorities say they will also allow aid from Armenia to flow through the Lachin corridor.

Harout Nercessian lived in Armenia for 26 years. He now serves as the AMAA representative for Canada. He called the truck’s arrival a drop in an ocean of starvation.

NERCESSIAN: I mean, the people who get some food for a couple of days, they're grateful. The handful who get some food. But that doesn't solve the problem. This is just political posturing more than anything else by the Russians and the Azeris.

As the way forward still remains unclear, Nercessian says the people in the region need prayers.

NERCESSIAN: Many people turn to God under these circumstances. Some turn against God asking why this happened. But many turned to God and the international community needs to pray. The Christian community, the Christian world needs to pray for the people of Artsakh.

For WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Police in Springfield, Missouri went on a wild goose chase last week or something.

It was definitely wild, but not a goose. It was a lemur. Yeah, someone called it in and officers gave chase using just a towel as a substitute net:

AUDIO:  I grab his tail? I don’t know. Sorry, Bud. Oh! We got this, Franchi.

After a few fits and starts and huffs and puffs, they finally surrounded the at-large primate. And they got ’er done.

AUDIO: There you go! 3-19, we got the lemur if you want to contact the appropriate services.

Video shows the lemur snuggled up in the towel as he (or she), nobody asked, as the lemur went to animal control.

But the family who’d kept him? Sorry, not allowed.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: City ordinance 18-13: no one can keep a wild or exotic animal.

EICHER: There ya go! It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, September 19th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Family reunions. Used to be these gatherings were the one and only opportunity to see relatives who lived far away.

In most cases it’s the matriarchs and the patriarchs who provide the fuel that keep the annual reunion engine running. But what happens when the family founders are gone? WORLD’s Myrna Brown has the story.

SOUND: [Music blaring]

MYRNA BROWN CORRESPONDENT: Underneath an outdoor pavilion, rhythm and blues blares from a bluetooth speaker. Grandparents gush over their growing grandchildren and first cousins strike poses for selfies. Sixty plus men, women, and children from six different states have gathered under one big roof. And each one proudly wears a matching t-shirt with the name Eaton big and bright across their chests.

WILLIAM HENRY EATON: Our family tree, there are Willis Eaton and Annie Eaton. And I’m on the Annie Eaton side.

That’s 75-year-old William Henry Eaton, Bill for short, talking about the generation of Eatons that came before him.

WILLIAM HENRY EATON: I’m the fourth generation. My mom had 12 kids. I have living six sisters.

Line dancing to the beat of the music is one of Bill’s sisters, 80-year-old Mae.

MAY EATON: Today, I’m the matriarch. I’m the oldest one here.

For decades, Mae and Bill’s generation championed what’s become an Eaton family tradition: the bi-annual family reunion. Today, they’re passing the torch to the next generation.

MAE EATON: Because it’s all about them. We’re going on. Later they’ll go back and say, "Oh, is that me?" And then they can connect the dots.

But will the Gen-Xers, millennials and Gen Zers pick up where the Baby Boomers and the Silent Generations left off? Bill Eaton has faith his nieces and nephews will, despite what statistics suggest.

WILLIAM HENRY EATON: Family reunions are phasing out because the younger generation don’t see the importance of it.

Last year, the Family Travel Association and New York University conducted a poll of adult parents in the United States with children age 17 or younger. The poll found that only three out of ten of those parents have taken their kids to a family reunion. The reasons vary. For one, social media! The ease of connecting online takes some of the incentive out of face-to-face gatherings. And special events like weddings and funerals have also replaced family reunions. And there are other factors that make it hard to get to a family reunion: Cost and distance.

AUDIO: Alright family we’re so excited about being here. It is eating time. Let us prepare for our grace.

It took 59-year-old Anthony Eaton 11 hours to travel by car to his family reunion. Still, the fifth generation husband, father, and grandfather, says he’s determined to leave a strong legacy.

ANTHONY EATON: I am the youngest child of Jesse and Pcola Eaton and we currently live in Raleigh, North Carolina. So I have with me my wife Kimbla, my older daughter Amberly and the younger daughter Antonyece. And Antonyece and Maurice are married and their three children, the oldest, Gordon and Winston. They are, how old are you? Six. 

With his grandson Winston on his knee, Anthony says the best way to teach his children and grandchildren how to nurture family ties is to model it.

ANTHONY EATON: Nothing could have stopped us from being here and that is what they have seen.

WINSTON MATHES: Spend time with our family. [Applause] Ahhhh. That’s good’s Winston.

Lingering over paper plates of fried fish, hot dogs and potato salad is 37-year-old Willie Stallworth. He says his wife and three sons have missed a few reunions over the years but the Georgia residents don't intend on making that a habit.

WILLIE STALLWORTH: You know at this point in time, we’re getting older, family’s getting a little bit older, you want to spend as much time with people as you can. To create memories basically.

It often takes time to create memories. That’s why Willie’s second cousin and reunion organizer Marshall Davis Jr. made some changes to the reunion schedule.

MARSHALL DAVIS JR.: And we decided to do it and do a banquet and do a two-day event.

AUDIO: [Singing] I once was lost but now, I’m found...

Along with the Friday night banquet, and the Saturday picnic, the Eatons spent Sunday morning in their hotel’s meeting room for early morning devotion. It’s what Amberly Cooper, another sixth generation Eaton, calls the most important part of their family reunion weekend.

AMBERLY: Society is so individualistic and to be able to come together as a family, knowing your roots. Knowing where you’ve come from. Being able to see people who are on that same tree. It’s just a beautiful blessing.

AUDIO: [Singing] Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms...

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Myrna Brown in Robertsdale, Alabama.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, September 19th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard. 

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Up next: the “based mind virus.” Of course, Christians should be about the business of resisting extremism, whether it’s ideology of the political left or right—whether “woke” or “based”.

Maybe you’re not familiar with the term “based,” B-A-S-E-D. It has its origins in hip hop, describing anyone full of confidence and swagger.

So today, some on the right are using the term for their heroes. And you’ll hear WORLD Opinions commentator Barton Gingerich say it’s time to fight the “based mind virus” saying Christians ought to be able to offer young men a better way to resist woke.

BARTON GINGERICH, COMMENTATOR: Perhaps you’ve heard of the “woke mind virus.” This mindset makes one deeply doctrinaire, authoritarian, and tribal. The opposite side of this coin is what a colleague of mine calls the “based mind virus.” Offending woke sensibilities can be exciting, and it can gain you plaudits from those on the right. Of course, the questions are how far will you go and how honestly will you engage the issues.

Many go too far into the realm of alt-right fascism and racism. What starts with ironic memes becomes increasingly serious. Riling people up is a cheap and easy way to get attention. What happens when this folly enters a context of Reddit and 4chan—a world marked by artificiality, alienation, and isolation? Men whose great-grandfathers stormed the beaches of Normandy toy with Nazi rhetoric, often behind the mask of anonymous social media accounts.

What do we do about this as Christians? How can we pull people (most of them young men) out of this darkness and prevent fellow church members from succumbing to it? There are no sure-fire solutions, but we should consider several important prescriptions.

First off, believers do well to equip themselves with sound, truthful arguments and resources. Pearl-clutching and liberal boilerplate won’t convince someone playing around with alt-right ideas. We need to debunk pseudoscience like the falsehoods behind eugenics and discern moral wisdom from history, philosophy, and theology. In an American context, Thomas Sowell’s works on race, for example, can help pull someone away from the ledge.

Next, we must know when to cut ties with someone over vicious error. On the one hand, we hope to persuade someone of the truth and call them away from sin, and that can take patience. Still, in Ephesians, Paul insists that we are to have “no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” We cannot be party to racism. Those that embrace racism must repent or face church discipline. Friendships may end when someone stubbornly resists biblical correction.

Today, people can rapidly transform from a “normie” to an extremist of any stripe. That can translate into marching in either a Pride parade or a neo-Nazi demonstration. But Christians work from God’s unchanging standard, which condemns both activities. For faithful Christians who knew the extremist beforehand, the response is similar: “What happened to them?” In either case, we can’t go down the path that person is traveling. We must part ways.

Finally, as others have noted, young men need to be affirmed in their manhood and personhood. They need worthwhile vocations like meaningful work, ministry, marriage, and child-rearing, and they often need practical advice on how to be successful. Older, spiritually mature, “unwoke” men with skills are a valuable asset. They can offer spiritual fatherhood to a generation plagued by fatherlessness. Works of mercy can also help a Very Online person touch the proverbial grass and instill both realism and compassion in his mind and heart.

May the Lord raise up servants who can reach those caught in the darker recesses of the alt-right. And may we all resist the temptation to moral infidelity and short-sighted compromise, no matter the form.

I’m Barton Gingerich.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: Some House Republicans have a plan to pass a stopgap funding bill,  but do they have enough votes to pass it? We’ll have a report on Washington Wednesday.

And, obstacles on the runway to becoming a missionary pilot. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. Psalm 27, verses 1 and 2.

Go now in grace and peace.

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