By Matthew Ehret-Kump “In pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative, we should ensure that when it comes to different civilizations, exchange will replace estrangement, mutual learning will replace clashes, and coexistence will replace a sense of superiority. This will boost mutual understanding, mutual respect and mutual trust among different countries” -Xi Jinping, Belt and Road…
Symposium: The Edgar A. Poe You Never Knew
On June 8, 2019 a symposium hosted by the Rising Tide Foundation titled “The Edgar Allan Poe You Never Knew” was held in Montreal Canada. 160 years of slanders begun by Rufus Griswold and enemies of Poe have kept alive a false image of this great poet which this event intended to disprove. The symposium…
Symposium: Cultural Optimism, Art and the New Silk Road
On Sunday April 28, 2019, a symposium hosted by the Rising Tide Foundation was held in Montreal, Canada dealing with the unified growth of cultural optimism, beautiful art and economic development as it is being manifested today with the New Silk Road in Asia, Africa and beyond. Presentations were given by a pianist, a dancer,…
Russia Before the Revolution: A Voyage Along the Silk Road in Colour
Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky (1863 – 1944) was a Russian chemist and photographer. He is best known for his pioneering work in colour photography, in particular, his colour portrait of Leo Tolstoy. It was this fame that, in 1909, brought him to the attention of Tsar Nicholas II who would provide funding and the authority for Prokudin-Gorsky to…
Atoms for Peace vs. Atoms for War: A Constructive Outlook for US-Iran Relations
By Matthew Ehret As tensions rose in the Middle East over recent weeks, many people have falsely been led to believe that Iran really intends to build an “Islamic bomb”, and has no other need for nuclear power since oil is so abundant in the region. Hogwash. As we will see, Iranian leaders were already…
The Spirits of Confucius and Socrates Smile on the Growing China-Greek Partnership
By Matthew Ehret Many people have a difficult time thinking about the common themes linking Confucian China with the Christian west. As of the November state visit of Xi Jinping to Greece, it was demonstrated that the leading representatives of two of the oldest cradles of modern civilization had no troubles understanding each other. Prime…
Hussein Askary Discusses the New Silk Road's Advance Across the Middle East
Anyone looking at a map of the Belt and Road Initiative will notice that Syria, Iraq and Iran’s stability and active participation are vital for this world changing program to function. Anyone not realizing that this program of win-win cooperation is in direct opposition to the dismal paradigm of “a clash of civilizations” would be…
Can China’s Long March 4 Revive the Spirit of JFK?
China’s successful launch of its Long March 5 Rocket on December 26 was a powerful reminder of humanity’s true mission and higher nature as a species of reason and discovery which came at just the right moment as China/US tensions have fallen to new lows in recent months. For those who may not be aware, the Long…
Norman Rockwell & the Rediscovery of America's Moral Compass
By Matthew Ehret A great poet once said that you can judge a nation by how it honors (or fails to honor) its artists. In many ways, the soul of a nation is entirely shaped by the artists which that society has produced. This makes perfectly good sense, as an artist is able to portray…
How the Hudson River School of Canadian Painting was Derailed
At a historical inflection point during the American Civil War, it was uncertain what Canada would become… would we become an independent republic, or a part of Lincoln’s America or would we remain a Northern anti-American confederacy under British control? (Britain’s other confederacy did fail in 1865 after all). Nowhere was this battle over our…
The Emerging Eurasian Alliance as an Opportunity not a Threat
by Cynthia Chung This article is based off of a presentation done at the RTF symposium on Nov 16th titled “The Art of Peace: The New Silk Road Counters an Age of Turbulence” Last month was the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and along with its celebration the continuation of a false…
The Harmony Between Tianxia and Westphalia
Several weeks ago, the talented journalist Pepe Escobar wrote a widely circulated report entitled “All Under Heaven: China’s Challenge to the Westphalian System” which explained how China’s ascension to a position of global influence with the Belt and Road Initiative is ushering in a challenge to the western system of values which has been hegemonic…
The Art of Peace- The New Silk Road Counters an Age of Turbulence
The Rising Tide Foundation proudly presents the proceedings of the November 16 seminar held in Montreal Canada entitled “The Art of Peace: The New Silk Road Counters an Age of Turbulence” featuring six speakers tackling the multi-faceted New Silk Road from artistic, engineering, historical, philosophical and scientific standpoints. Presentation 1: A new epoch of cooperation…
Paul Robeson and the Battle for the Soul of America
By Matthew Ehret “Every artist, every scientist, every writer must decide now where he stands. The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice” Paul Robeson, 1937 America today stands at a crossroads. Where an entrenched oligarchy strives desperately to keep hold of those…
Remembering John F. Kennedy’s Vision for the Future that Should Have Been
By Matthew Ehret “Man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe….” President Kennedy, 1961 Inaugural Address Where China and Russia are currently leading a…
The 15th Century Renaissance and the Space Program Today
by Cynthia Chung Today, a new system of alliances is emerging centered around China’s Belt and Road Initiative which has brought together over 125 nations into a new paradigm of cooperation and long term thinking unseen for many generations. With Italy’s recent joining in this new alliance, and the announcement of a Russia-China-European joint lunar…
To What Purpose do We Seek the Beautiful?
Class by Cynthia Chung. We all have something that comes to mind when we are speaking of beauty. It is certain that almost everyone right now is thinking of something different from the person next to them about what is beautiful. Everyone seeks out beauty, But if we cannot explain why we think something is…
Benjamin Franklin and Chinese Civilization
Dave Wang is Manager of Hollis Library and Adjunct Professor of St. Johns University– Article originally published on Reset DOC (Dialogue of Civilizations) Prof. Wang has published over twenty groundbreaking articles on the topic of Chinese influences on the founding fathers of America. You can find more of his incredible work athttps://foundingfathersandchina.blogspot.com Scholarship on the study…
The Post war US-China Alliance that Nearly Was
By Matthew Ehret Some limited moves have been made in the direction of geopolitical cooperation in our troubled age. President Trump has had favorable meetings with the Presidents of Russia and China, followed by a historic visit to North Korea to meet “his friend Kim”. Yet in other respects tensions have never been higher between…
RTF Review of "7 Days in May"
John Frankenheimer’s “7 Days in May” (1964) may be a Hollywood movie but it is also an incredibly insightful account of the problem with Cold War thinking, based off of the book by the same title. At the time it was meant to be a lesson and warning to those who allowed themselves to be…
On Churchill’s ‘Sinews of Peace’
by Cynthia Chung This past Nov. 9th marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a pivotal point in modern history, since it also marked the fall of the Iron Curtain. As is well known the Iron Curtain speech was made by then Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, on March 5th,…
Why Must Aesthetics Govern A Society Worthy Of Political Freedom? Ask the CIA
In the mid-1990s, a series of exposés featured on the London Independent and elsewhere brought a dark secret to light. Many were startled by the revelation that the entire evolution of 20th century modern art was directed in large measure by the CIA! This not only included the direct financing of abstract painters like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko,…
An Introduction to Friedrich Schiller: Theater Considered as a Moral Institution
by Cynthia Chung I know of only one secret to guarding man against depravity, and that is: to arm his heart against weakness. – Friedrich Schiller’s Theater Considered as a Moral Institution As within any period of time, the question is repeatedly asked “What is the Role of the Artist?” That is, what is the…
Alma Deutscher’s Plea for Harmony Strikes a Universal Chord
An incredible speech was given by the 14 year old composer Alma Deutscher upon receiving the European Culture Prize at the Vienna State Opera on October 20, 2019. At this prestigious ceremony, the young musician, whose works have sent shock waves through the musical world since she began composing at young age of 6 made…
The New Silk Road Ushers in a Potential Renaissance for the Middle East
By Matthew Ehret With the transformation of the rules of the “Great Game” in the Middle East since 2015, a sweeping set of development/reconstruction programs led by China now have a chance to become hegemonic across the formerly hopeless, terrorist-infested region. This new positive dynamic is returning the Middle East to its historic role as…
Brunelleschi, Cusa and Kepler: The Makings of the Italian Renaissance
In this symposium, we look into how Brunelleschi, Cusa and Kepler played primary roles in shaping the Italian Renaissance. In the first class, given by Cynthia Chung, we investigate why the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore is so special. How did a dome spark a Renaissance? Why did the Florentines work on such…
To what Purpose are We Drawn to Tragedy: A Study of Shakespeare’s Hamlet
RTF Symposium: Re-discovering the Infinite through Classical Art, on February 10th, 2019. In this class, Cynthia Chung discusses whether there is a purpose to tragedy beyond merely being tragic and whether this was the intention of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Along with a study of the play, two performances were compared and juxtaposed to what Shakespeare intended…
Russia and the United States: The Forgotten History of a Brotherhood
by Cynthia Chung “A battle lost or won is easily described, understood, and appreciated, but the moral growth of a great nation requires reflection, as well as observation, to appreciate it”. – Frederick Douglass (former slave who would later become a great American statesman and diplomat) It has always been an utmost necessity to exercise…
In Memory of Alexei Lenov: A Life Dedicated to Art and Scientific Progress
On October 11, 2019, the world mourned the passing of the great Russian cosmonaut Alexei Lenov, whose life exemplified the greatest expression of mankind’s aspiration to advance beyond the limits of our knowledge through science and artistic inspiration. Making history with the first spacewalk on March 18, 1965, Lenov was scheduled to be the first…
India and Other Asian Nations Join the Polar Silk Road
By Matthew Ehret The best partnerships occur when all participants have special talents to bring to the relationship which makes a whole more powerful than the sum of its parts. This is the beauty of the multi-polar alliance formed by Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and a growing array of Asian, African and South American statesmen…
Will Arctic Science Cities Transition Humanity into a Space-Faring Species?
The creation of the Polar Silk Road as an Arctic extension of China’s Belt and Road Initiative means that this neglected, and last unexplored domain of the Earth’s surface is opening up to a serious policy of development for the first time in many decades. The opening up of the Arctic as the new frontier…
Optical Biophysics, Galaxy Formation and You (RTF Lecture)
Is the universe living or dead? Is living matter just an isolated cased of anti-entropy within an otherwise entropic universe, slowly dying a heat death? Is space empty or saturated with an animating principle? Are the laws of the macro domain truly separate from the atomic domain or are there unifying principles that unite both…
V.I. Vernadsky and the American System in Russia
As the dust settled on the American Civil war in 1865, Russia took pride in the fact that this Eurasian nation turned the tide in favor of Lincoln’s cause of preserving the union and abolishing the institution of slavery. Czar Alexander II was also known as “The Great Liberator” for liberating the serfs in 1861…
The Father of Modern China Was Inspired by Lincoln
By Matthew Ehret China today is a paradox for many people. On the one side, it is a nation based upon centralized government, yet it also has a vast private sector, entrepreneurial culture and market economy. Its leaders call this “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” but there is a larger history at play, going back to…
The Edgar Poe You Never Knew: a Mere Writer of Horror or a Humanist Master of the Mind
by Cynthia Chung What say of it? what say CONSCIENCE grim, That spectre in my path? -Chamberlain’s Pharronida The purpose of this paper is to debunk the myth surrounding Poe; that he was just a mere writer of horror and that he had an unhealthy obsession with the mad and the morbid…since isn’t that all…
The Magic of the Atom
On August 3, 2019, a seminar was delivered in Montreal Canada under the theme “The Universe, Creativity and You: An Optimistic Look at Life in the 3rd Millenium”. The 3rd presentation was delivered on the topic The Magic of the Atom. If human activity moves into planetary bodies, the distances are daunting and challenges manifold….
The Principle of National Sovereignty in an Era of ‘Regime Change’
by Patrick Ruckert Venezuela today brings to the forefront of discussion and debate the fundamental principle of national sovereignty. Its threat must not only raise a protest, but must also provide us the opportunity to define more precisely that principle of national sovereignty. No one has defined that principle better than America’s greatest Secretary of…
Sun Yat-sen’s Advice to Young Revolutionaries
By Matthew Ehret On January 1, 1912 Dr. Sun Yat-sen was inaugurated as the first president of the Republic of China consolidating a decades-long effort to overthrow an ancient feudal order premised upon a hereditary power structure of the “divine right of bloodlines”. Sun’s fascinating life defies any pre-existing categorization as a “socialist” or “capitalist”…
RTF Symposium: “The Universe, Creativity and You”
Do we live in a world of scarcity and limits? Or do we live in a world of creative potential? Is humanity a closed system or an open system? These questions have animated the thinking of scientists and philosophers for thousands of years and strikes at the very heart of the nature of humanity and…
Study of the Heavens: a history of Chinese Astronomy
Transcript of a lecture given by Cynthia Chung at ‘The Universe, Creativity and You’ Symposium August 3, 2019. We live in a strange time. Many have forgotten the power of imagination and are instead bogged down with the reality of ‘practicality’. The reality of ‘the budget’, and the reality of ‘what is deemed useful and…
Frank Capra's Defense of Humanity: Cinema Considered as a Moral Institution
By Matthew Ehret For those who find themselves with excess time this holiday season which they would prefer not to squander with idleness or Netflix binges, then I’d like to offer this serving of Frank Capra films to uplift the soul. Frank Capra (1897-1991) stands as one of the most brilliant directors/producers of the 20th…
New Silk Road Prepares New Paradigm in Latin America
By Matthew Ehret Over the past three years, over 17 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations have signed onto the new operating framework of the Belt and Road Initiative which extends far beyond the limited China-to-Europe corridor which many presumed it to be when it was announced in 2013. With its focus on long term…
The Immortal Spirit of Coretta Scott King
By Matthew Ehret While many people are quick to acknowledge the vital role in world history played by the great Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., a too often overlooked figure is his fellow activist, partner and wife Coretta Scott King. Once King had fallen in the struggle against tyranny on April 4, 1968, Coretta was…
RTF Book of the Month: Beethoven’s Letters
It is indeed very hard to come by anyone who has never heard of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the greatest composers of all time. However, despite this level of fame which has followed him, nearly 200 years after his death, there is little that is truly known about the man himself. For certain, there…
China’s Electricity Superhighway Inspires a Classical Musical Awakening in Brazil
By Matthew Ehret As China’s Belt and Road Initiative continues to lift millions out of poverty through long term investments into energy, water, transportation, education and science projects, a too often overlooked and yet incredibly important effect has been the explosion of cultural optimism and beautiful artistic expression found among the youth touched by the…
Italy’s Embrace of the Silk Road: A hope for all of Europe
It is no secret that the rise of the Belt and Road Initiative has created a positive dynamic for international relations. While many branches of the Belt and Road Initiative which officially united with Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union in 2015, have manifested itself across Europe in the form of rail lines and ports, to this…
Symposium: Rediscovering the Infinite Through Classical Art
On Saturday February 9th, the Rising Tide Foundation hosted a symposium on the revival of classical culture in the arts. The event opened with a presentation on Shakespeare and the use of tragedy in elevating an audience’s knowledge of human nature in order to break free from tragic dynamics within us. Another lecture was delivered on the…
America’s Emerging Friendship with Russia and China: A Revival of the Henry Wallace Doctrine for the Post-War World?
During the course of the G20 important agreements and alliances were reached between Russia-China and the USA which indicate that the USA is increasingly moving towards a policy of friendship with the Eurasian powers. This was seen in his positive meetings held between the American President and the Presidents Putin of Russia, Xi Jinping of…
The Silk Road Roots of America and the American Roots of the New Silk Road
Upon reading this title, I can only imagine a reader asking: How could a young nation that only existed since 1776 be responsible for an idea which has its roots in a program that dates back over two millenia? Of course I am not implying that that America created the ancient Silk Road, but what…
The Russian-China Polar Silk Road Emerges
Whether the Arctic will become a platform for cooperation or warfare has been a question often posed throughout the past 150 years. As early as 1875, a vision for Eurasian-American cooperation was becoming realized as leading Americans and Russians alike foresaw the construction of telegraph and even rail lines across the 100 km Bering Strait…
Fusion Power Has Become a National Priority for Russia. Will the West Follow?
At a July 9 speech to the 2nd Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, President Putin presented a brilliant intervention into the visionless anti-growth ethic pervasive in the west when he made Russia’s leadership in fusion energy a national priority. Speaking to 2500 representative from the public and private sector, President Putin laid out the paradox of…
