Tyrants Never Learn!

Prof. Tim Congdon, an economist of 40 years in public policy studies has published an analysis of Britain's position in the EU. He brought the matter down to two essentials: 1. the continental collective state culture versus liberty philosophy rooted in individualism prevailing in the Anglo-Saxon world, and 2. the relative costs versus the benefits. The second question boiling down to the question: ‘Do we want a centralist, top down, federal state or a free trade club of independent nations?’

Euro Rescue Operation or Mass Usurpation of Parliament?

The following posting on the site of the German publication Welt Online, written by Gunther Lachmann is relaying a video that has lately gone viral on the German language section of the Internet, much to the dismay of supporters of the parliamentary system.

- Will Europeans defend
their sovereignty? - 

What started out as a bailout program for Greece and Ireland, rendering these former proud sovereign nations de facto wards of state of the EU, has now grown into a hatchling Leviathan, EFSF. By 2013 it is to morph into a fully fledged monster (ESM) that will usurp the Parliamentary budget right of all euro zone countries.

We are sleep-walking into serfdom. The future will be taxation without representation! Where is the EuroTeaParty?

It's important to keep an eye on Germany. The Constitutional Court has pulled the brakes at the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, when politicians forgot for a moment that Europe isn't (yet) a state. In fact, there's a new ruling:

Update: ZeroHedge: "Explaining The German Constitutional Court Ruling".

Here's a translation of Lachmann's piece:

~ o ~

Video Reveals the Hidden Agenda Behind the Euro Rescue Operation

The new EU financial authority is seeking rights for itself that has left democrats dumbfounded. Politicians know it since May - and are keep stum about it.

For several days now a video about the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) has been making the rounds on the Internet. The video analyzes the draft agreement that the euro-zone countries have charted out in spring of this year. Two interesting things have emerged. First, the features have not yet been publicly debated in Germany, although the draft treaty has already been delivered to the parliamentary parties in May. Secondly, elected officials do not speak directly about the issues as mentioned in the video.



Here is some background information: As of 2013 the ESM will succeed the temporary euro rescue operation (EFSF). The German federal parliament will debate the EFSF later this month. The ESM is to be adopted in December.

In the video, the following points from the preliminary draft Treaty ESM are discussed:

• The ESM is to get a share capital of €700 billion. That's twice as much as the entire German federal budget this year.

• The ESM members agree "irrevocably and unconditionally" to payment "within 7 (seven) days".

• The Board of Governors may decide to change the share capital.

• The ESM, its property, and its financial assets enjoy full legal immunity.

• The property, funds and assets of the ESM are "exempt from access through search, seizure, forfeiture, expropriation and any other form of seizure, taking or foreclosure by government action or a judicial, administrative or legislative action"

"Welt Online" confronted all parliamentary parties with the findings, produced a "representatives-check.de" video and asked for a brief assessment of the points highlighted in the video. On the advisory board of "deputies check.de" are journalists, such as former "Welt" editor Adam Konrad and longtime "FAZ" correspondent, Karl Feldmeyer.

The SPD announced that it will refrain from "commenting on the video" because of the "dubious campaign" against the euro by "a single operator of various websites - including one on which present video is found". "For further information on its euro policy" the SPD referred us to their Home Page. And since the ESM contract was currently under renegotiation, the statements in the video are outdated and untrue anyway.

What does the Union think

The CDU/CSU parliamentary group is defending the ESM. The financial affairs spokesman Klaus-Peter Flosbach wrote down in their stance for "Welt Online": "The video is much too biased to be informative. This only deepens the voters' confusion. Important issues, central to the functioning of the European stability mechanism, are omitted.

It does not, for example, point to the particularly high hurdles under which financial assistance may be granted. Also missing is information about the participation of the private sector, or that Germany has veto power. This video is but one example of the great need for information. We need to better explain to the voters why we have taken this route in dealing with the European sovereign debt crisis".

What say the Greens

The Green Party said that they had been in conclave the past week and spoke "very intensely about the problems as mentioned in the video". This has led to the following conclusions:

"Despite the need for improvement, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is a useful tool. Therefore, we support it. The ESM must be made operational quickly and credibly. Only that will calm down the financial markets and will a market-driven debt crisis be prevented from happening in the future. At the same time, the rights of the legislature as imposed by the Federal Constitutional Court ruling regarding Lisbon and the integrity of the German Parliament, must be maintained. Therefore a far-reaching involvement of the German Bundestag in important".

The existing laws on the participation and involvement of the German Parliament in matters concerning the EU will serve as a model for the future involvement of parliament in ESM. The Greens call for:

- "The nature, amount of German contributions, and the instruments must be determined by law and can only be changed by an amendment.

- Similarly, should other countries apply to be included in the permanent rescue plan, the agreement of the Bundestag is mandated. Should the federal government for any compelling reason disagree with the decision of the Bundestag, the Bundestag must be immediately informed before the crucial vote takes place.

- Furthermore, the government must inform Parliament of any action in the ESM and decision-making bodies at the earliest possible date, comprehensively, continuously and in writing and orally. The information includes relevant documents, including preparatory articles".

However, should the parliament not agree with the billions of aid, the Greens will immediately reserve their right of democratic participation:

"But the ESM must be able to act in a crisis and be able to respond quickly. Therefore, a mandatory decision of the Bundestag before the granting a loan would hamper coping with the crisis".

But they expect that "the European Parliament will be fully involved: the ESM is to insure financial stability in the euro zone as a whole".

What does Die Linke

Alexander Ulrich, chairman of the Group in the European Union Committee, spoke on behalf of Die Linke about the video: "Die Linke rejects the European stability mechanism - probably the only group in the Bundestag - off hand". Their reasons, however, are different from those in the video. The video completely ignores the participation rights secured by the German Goverment.

"Decisions are either taken unanimously or by a majority which includes a German vote," said Ulrich. Also, the participation rights of the Bundestag are misrepresented in the video, for example that the ESM can't raise capital independently. The Bundestag has set the ceiling for German participation in national law.

"But it is true: Parliament should have more rights in the future, and decide on euro rescue packages," said Ulrich. "What these participation rights should be is up to parliament to negotiate in the forthcoming ratification of the ESM Treaty".

Criticism of the ESM is justified, but the real weaknesses must be pointed out: "We can't waste billions of taxpayers' money in order to save banks and speculative profits. Recipients should not even be driven into recession by socially unjust and economically nonsensical reduction programs that raise their debts instead of lowering them, "Ulrich wrote.

De Linke therefore demand euro bonds and loans from a European Bank for public bonds, so that exorbitant rates of capital markets and speculators are reigned in.

Criticism of economic law expert, Kerber

Outside of politics the issue is viewed differently, says a Berlin economic law expert, Markus C. Kerber, who represents 50 entrepreneurs in a Court action against the policies of the federal government: "The ESM is the future of Finance. The ESM contract will lead to the elimination of the budget right of Parliament". He specifically warns against this road.

More contributions by Günther Lachmann

Courtesy @hlelowrold & @berryhoning

Related

- Orphans of Liberty: "The European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism", by James Higham

Another Grandiose Godwin in the European Parliament

The German equivalent of Alan Grayson, Comrade Schultz, the leader of the Socialist faction, has been called a Kapo (concentration kamp supervisor) by none other than Silvio Berlusconi, and many things besides.

Personally he's very fond of loosely applying the style named after Mike Godwin. But he's much less amused if someone else is doling out a reductio ad Hitlerum.

The reason these statists appear to be democratic fundamentalists, is because mob rule is the only thing separating them from the total state. It may come to that yet.



How it ended ...



Strasbourg: EU Parliament votes to oust UKIP's MEP Godfrey Bloom, posted with vodpod

Europe, and that goes for all its institutions, is filled to the brim with neo-totalitalitarians, statists and Hegelians.  Nigel Farage explains why!

PJM: "“Just who the hell do you think you people are?” Nigel Farage poses an excellent question. We’re still waiting for the answer . . .", by Roger Kimball

(...) The problem is, Mr. Farage pointed out, that people all over Europe are waking up and saying “we don’t want this, we don’t want [the EU] flag, we don’t want the anthem, we don’t this political class, we want the whole thing consigned to the dust bin of history.”

And the response by the EU bureaucrats who run things? Well, Ireland was told that it would be inappropriate from them to have a general election; they had to agree on a budget first. Mr. Farage had the perfect response to this effrontery: “Just who the hell do you think you people are? You are very, very dangerous people indeed. Your obsession with creating this Euro state means that you are happy to destroy democracy.”

Mr. Farage got it in right: the political crisis facing Europe may be exacerbated by the domino-like collapse of the economies of the member states. But the critical issue is the future of democracy, i.e., the future of freedom. It is “more serious than economics,” Mr. Farage argued, “because if you rob people of their identity, if you rob them of democracy, then all they are left with is nationalism and violence. I can only hope and pray that the Euro project is destroyed by the markets before that really happens.” (...) >>>

Is Gaza a Stinking Rat's Nest?

It is. But it's not as poverty stricken as the propaganda suggests.

Another Sorelian myth blasted.

Jewish Chronicle: "Palestinian territories beat Egypt in well-being", by Jennifer Lipman

The United Nations has published a report showing that the Palestinian territories have higher standards of development and well-being than the surrounding countries of Egypt, Yemen and Pakistan. The Palestinian territories appear at number 110 out of 182 countries on the list. Compiled by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the annual report ranks countries on education, life expectancy and living standard. (...) >>>

See also Walid Shoebat's vlog "Gaza, not as poor as the propaganda suggests"

But all that doesn't keep the EU High Representative, former crypto commie Lady Ashton, currently 'touring' Gaza, from paying the salaries of Hamas civil servants, and calling for open borders with the terror eparchy.

On top of already allocated funds, Ashton promised another EUR 40 million of tax payers' money to the Palestinian Authority (whoever that may be).

There's also talk of the UN taking over the patrol and security of the border crossing. If they do as good a job, as they do in southern Lebanon, brace for impact.

Update

The Israeli journalist residing in Berlin, Daniel Dagan is drawing attention to the fact that the Gadaffi (r)aid ship docked and unloaded in the Egyptian port of Al Arish, disclosing the fact that Gaza can be reached from a country other than Israel. To pressure Israel to lift the blockade is another example of the staggering hypocrisy involved. While it would be very convenient to provide Iran's proxy, Hamas with a port at Europe's doorstep, the short term goal of the exercise is to delegitimate the state of Israel -


Grotere kaart weergeven

Update

- Tom Gross Mideast Media Analysis: "A nice new shopping mall opened today in Gaza: Will the media report on it?"
- Jews for Sarah: "What ‘Humanitarian Crisis?’ – New mall opens in Gaza, brimming with food, furnishings and ‘Zionist clothing'" (Kudos to HuffPost for having enough integrity to publish THIS)


Related

- "Middle East Project"
- "The Propflot Tactic"

The Ugly Face of the New Global Paradigm

Economy

Related dossier

"Money & Economy"

- Nourishing obscurity: "Where does the money come from?", by James Higham

- The Market Ticker: "But You Love Bailing Out Greece, Right?" - Hat Tip: James Higham

- Telegraph: "ECB risks its reputation and a German backlash over mass bond purchases"

- Bild: "We are the schmucks of Europe yet again!", by Nikolaus Blome

- WSJ: "A €750 Billion EU Feint?", by Terence Roth

- AiM: "Manipulation, Not Error, Behind Market Plunge", by Cliff Kincaid

- Asia Times: "The tarping of Euroland"


Climate Scam

Related dossier

"Greenism"

- Matador 94: "Obama, Maurice Strong, Al Gore key players cashing in on Chicago Climate Exchange"

- The August Review: "Obama is merely a fop for the global elite", by Judi McLeod

More on 'big fish' Maurice Strong, operating on the interfaces of transnational progressivism, climate alarmism, and the economic and financial collapse, on the Greenism file.

More tips warmly welcomed.

May Day, Mayday! They're Deleting the Borders!

Anyone with a brain the size of a pea can figure out that multiculturalism, driven on by postmodern identity politics and the 'delete the border' crowd (amongst others made up by the mainstream Common Purpose), will lead to balkanization and fracture, with all the consequences that entails.

They don't care. They may have no principle or morality to speak of (they even deny it exists) but to them, this is a matter of ethics. Borders aren't a natural thing, so this hateful, artificial divide has to go. By definition the nation state discriminates against those who don't belong to it. It is therefore an evil thing that must be torn town. Everything must bow for the great equalizer.

If that sounds fringe and a bit extreme to you, realize then it is that notion that propels forward the transnational progressives in the UN and the EU. The North American Union (NAU) is a less known entity, but it is caught up with the Native American Aztlan myth, the Chicano movement and the racist organization of La Raza (and now, the Tequila party). The axis with radical Islam is now open source material. From Hamas and Hezbollah we know where community organizing eventually may lead.

- Caption: mural in the Aztlan Community Center makes no secret of its affiliations -

Ever since Rousseau declared that the natural state is superior to the man-made, anything 'artificial' is damned by his essentially anti-modern followers. Current postmodernists are merely the latest cohort to enforce nature over culture.

The Soviet Union after its inception started annexing neighboring countries, because unlike Nazi Germany, which was an exclusive collective, Leftism is an inclusive hive: it aims to assimilate the entire globe and bask it in the love and warmth of global Socialism.

Naive witnesses of history like myself, thought the Left had conceded defeat after the fall of the wall. But the print of Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History and the Last Man" wasn't dry when they started plotting a come-back. We should have known. "We shall get there through the institutions" threatened a follower of Gramsci's cultural Marxism (I forgot who). His fellow travellers are as good as their word.

The 'illegal' Bush wars and the ensuing agitation and rage, rage, rage created sufficient momentum for a huge chunk of the moderate electorate to vote in Barack Obama and his agenda of deception.

They looked no more when the charismatic wave of dope and chains overwhelmed them. None had any doubt whatsoever that "this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal (Barack Obama Nomination Victory Speech 3rd June 2008). The rest, as they say, is history.

In the Netherlands, which is bracing for a momentous election, old new Left is slowly coming out of the closet. Apart from Labour saying their goodbyes to the third way in which the Left embraced pro free-market elements, now pejoratively referred to as 'neo liberalism', no one as yet has openly declared the nameless stance. But there is talk of a coalition of no less than four Leftist parties. They've been trying to launch Obama style (thought creates reality) a thoroughly uncharismatic Labour leader, so far to little avail. But then, they don't need to declare themselves anymore.

We can see the havoc that is wrecked on the country by the Obama administration. We know welfare is about creating an underclass that is forever dependent on the state; we know the dumbing down of education is about the debilitation of the mind; we know that climate alarmism is a control mechanism and a shake-down of the developed world perpetrated by watermelons (green outside, red inside) to fund transnational entities.

The Obama, who as a President is supposed to be above the parties, has declared war on Republican, Conservative and Libertarian citizens in the Tea Party, and now even on the entire state of Arizona (well within the scope of Aztlan). Reversed racism and identity politics is used to divide the country against itself. It's an outrage which if left unchecked, will be the end of America as we've known it! (Article by David Limbaugh on Obama's unpresidential demeanor.)

The old, authoritative Left is finally crawling out of the woodwork in the Netherlands too: last week a real Marx Festival was held and today, May Day sees the presentation of a new translation of Karl Marx' signature work, Das Kapital. The media simply report and do not even venture an unbiased opinion, let alone pass moral judgment on an ideology that according to conservative estimates, is responsible for over 110 million dead world-wide (more accurate is probably 149,469,610).

Selective memory and evasion deals with the historical record, causing at times quite a bit of cognitive dissonance leading to staggering bouts of projection. Yeah, some leaders like Pol Pot and Uncle Joe were a bit misguided, but that doesn't taint in any way Marxism's moral superiority, which - according to former adherents - is to this day considered an admittedly outdated, but nevertheless 'scientific' piece of work.

We've only  to look at India to see what havoc capitalism may wreak in its early stages. That country is finally pulling itself up by the bootstraps out of the squallor caused by Socialism, but Leftist narrative can deal with any fact or reality. Of course they can hardly deny that people aren't worse off today, but real postmodernists actually manage that too.

The translator is obviously a true believer and proudly touts the sales figures in Germany for the newly translated 'bible of socialism'. All told, he says, putting it into perspective, some 7,000 copies have been sold. But don't kid yourself just yet. A relatively small group disseminating powerful memes into global society can do a lot of harm over time. Like a radio talk show host singing the praises of East Germany's touching national anthem which he can't get out of his head and is so much better than our own boring tune.

Over time, stuff like that has a real impact on the perception of people's reality. Ideas matter, because one bit of fallacy may have huge implications in another context. The drip of disinformation, going on for at least a decade, continues and may at some point open the floodgates. We're fed a steady stream of deception and the generations born after 1970 have no inkling what's going on and where it leads. We can but brace ourselves and inform the world that once again, freedom is at stake.

The translator of Das Kapital and a former CP member offer a brief insight into the Marxist mind. Following Rousseau, Marxism turns against reason and the fruits of the Enlightenment, technology and the Industrial Revolution. They are in essence, regressive Luddites. It should come as no surprise that a true believer is actually claiming that scientists have known for 200 years that CO2 is causing greenhouse gases: as it happens, that would be around the time of the Industrial Revolution. Marxists are very susceptible to conspiracy theories.

If that seems harmless enough, ignore it at your peril! There a reason the Irish struggle simply collapsed and the Bask ETA has become next to obsolete. The same motive underpins why Israel is now seen as quintessential evil. National identity, self-determination and the autonomous state no longer fit the paradigm. The new template is "delete the borders".

Mark Steyn, on the madness that has this crowd in its grip:

IBD: "Smart Guys In Limos Able To Flee Dangerous World That They Made", by Mark Steyn

As I write, I have my papers on me — and not just because I'm in Arizona. I'm an immigrant, and it is a condition of my admission to this great land that I carry documentary proof of my residency status with me at all times and be prepared to produce it to law enforcement officials, whether on a business trip to Tucson or taking a 20-minute stroll in the woods back at my pad in New Hampshire. Who would impose such an outrageous Nazi fascist discriminatory law? Er, well, that would be Franklin Roosevelt. (...) >>>

Update

While the Obama and his minions are having feigned apoplexy over the Arizona law and its infringements on 'human rights', Michael Posner - one of Hillary Clinton's underlings with links to the 'delete the border' crowd, is apologizing to the Chinese commies for the law. Over the Mexican border meanwhile ...

Washington Times: "EXCLUSIVE: Hezbollah uses Mexican drug routes into U.S. - Works beside smuggler cartels to fund operations", by Sara A. Carter

Related articles

- Follow the Networks: "FAIR IMMIGRATION REFORM MOVEMENT (FIRM)"
- PJM: "The Truth about the Redgraves and the ’60s Left: Kudos to journalist Nick Cohen", by Ron Radosh
- PJM: "When They Call You a Nazi, You’ve Won the Immigration Argument", by Jack Dunphy

Related posts

- "Of the Goodness of Nature and the Evil of Men"
- "The Re-re-re-invention of Socialism"
- "Transnational Progressivism: an Inexplicable Presumption"
- "Enter the Cabal (II): Transnational Progressivism" (series on Common Purpose)

Related dossiers

- "The Pomo White House" (the Obama campaign file)
- "The Political Pathology Asylum"
- "Greenism"
- "Transnational Progressivism"

Tea Party Returns Home, Has Kittens in England - Updated

I'm coming to Farage and his awful tirade against the European President in a minute, but British Tory MEP Dan Hannan had this to say on February 10 about the Tea Party Movement:

"Some of my US readers believe that anti-tax rebellions are an American speciality, but we’ve had plenty of them in this country, from the Poll Tax Riots of 1381 (the Peasants’ Revolt) to the Poll Tax Riots of 1990. The doctrines that inspired the Boston mutineers – above all, the idea that taxes should not be levied without parliamentary process – were borrowed from English political theory. 

Indeed, as Hugh Brogan drily observed in his History of the United States, the taxpayers’ revolt which sparked the American Revolution began on this side of the Atlantic: the Seven Years War had pushed taxes up to 25 shillings a year for the average Englishman as against sixpence for the average colonist, and MPs were determined to export part of that cost to North America.

Of course, there was an extra dimension to the Boston Tea Party: “No Taxation without Representation!” Taxes in the UK may be excessive but they have, so far, been set by our own government. This, though, is changing. If there was one theme that came out of the hearings for the new European Commissioners, it was their determination to create a direct revenue stream for the EU. Herman Van Rompuy, a declared enthusiast for the global managament of our planet, maintains that “recent developments in the euro area highlight the urgent need to strengthen our economic governance,” (hat-tip, Stephen Castle).

“Whether it is called coordination of policies or economic government, only the European Council is capable of delivering and sustaining a common European strategy for more growth and more jobs.”

I'm no admirer of the postmodern ad hominem style, but this is why I applaud UK Independence Party MEP Nigal Farage and his rude but right 'tirade' against President Rumpy Pumpy (bl**dy Hegelian statists! - "damp rag charisma" and a "low-grade bankclerk" indeed - in fact, he was lauded for being just that, so that Messrs Brown, Merkel and Sarkozy may shine all the more in comparison! "President Humpy Pumpy" is just great! Too bad it wouldn't trend on Twitter. I'll have to think up a good nickname for Baroness Kremlina Stalinova next!

Britain, in other words, has all the conditions necessary for a popular anti-tax movement. Not only are levies high and rising; they are being imposed by rulers over whom we have no control. We need our own Tea Party Movement. Who will help me run one? >>>

I don't know who stept up to the plate, but he's done it - Hannan ...

nourishing obscurity: "Tea Party this Saturday"

Join DANIEL HANNAN MEP at the Brighton Tea Party at 5.30 p.m. this Saturday 27 February at the Best Western Hotel, 143-145 King’s Road, Brighton BN1 2PQ.

The event will take place on the Conservative Party Spring Forum fringe, but is outside the secure zone, so all members of the public are very welcome to attend. Admission is free. Tea and other refreshments will be available at a small charge. Cash bar. (...) >>>

 Facebook Event

I'm trying to limit myself to The Right Tweets right now (see also this post), linking up UK, USA, and Netherlands based sympathizers of the Tea Parties; but I sincerely hope this catches on and infects the entire continent next!

Update:

The reaction from Tea Party Patriots is in! The Brits Are Revolting!

No, I don't mean that people from England are repulsive. I mean they are revolting against out-of-control government just like millions of Americans are. On Saturday, as Tea Party Patriots in America gather to celebrate the One Year Anniversary of the Nationwide Tea Party Movement, EU Parliament Member Daniel Hannan will host a British Tea Party.

Since Tea Party Patriots is the organization that supports the local coordinators and grassroots members, TPP members have stepped up to the plate to help organize the British Tea Party as well. Today, at 4:00 pm eastern, Tea Party Patriots' Hot Tea Radio Show will host Daniel Hannan to find out what is happening in the EU and why he is leading this effort in Britain. Listen Today at 4 PM.

You can listen live by going here.You can chat and call in by going to the Hot Tea Radio Blog Talk Radio page. Be sure to listen today at 4:00 pm eastern time. (...) >>>

Related dossiers:

- "Building the State of Europe"
- "Hegel's Legacy"
- "Neototalitarianism"

Related articles by Zemanta

• Sarah Palin talks of 'revolution' at Tea Party meeting (telegraph.co.uk)
• Right wingers launch "British Tea Party" (liberalconspiracy.org)
• Tirade against 'damp rag' EU president shocks MEPs (news.bbc.co.uk)

The Turkish Capacity for Chutzpah

In a recent entry on the Articles file "In Defense of Liberty" we brought up the matter of a Dutch Parliamentary delegation headed for Turkey running into trouble, because the Turkish Government refused to meet with Geert Wilders, a member of the party. It's just become official and to his honor, the Socialist leader of the group has cancelled the tour altogether.

The Turkish Government kindly confirmed for us a number of 'preconceptions' we are allegedly laboring under. For one, true to tradition and in a fit of psychological projection, they're blaming the other party. Secondly, that they are not mature enough to join the EU. The Muslim sense for solidarity trumps objectivity every time. And get this! It's not them who are intolerant, but Wilders, the xenophobes, the Dutch, the Swiss, the Islamophobes, the fascists!

The Erdogan Government's top EU negotiator Egemen Bagis just commented on the Swiss anti minaret plebiscite. (N.B. Switzerland is not an EU member state.) He's advising rich muzzlemen to remove their pots of gold from Swiss banking paradise and place them on Turkish halal banks: that'll make the Alpine fascists see the error of their intolerance!

He went on to state that Turkey easily meets the EU requirement of respecting minorities. Yeah, ask the Greeks, the Armenians, the Assyrians, the Kurds, or any other former subject of the Ottoman Empire or of the current secular state! Your jaw hitting the pavement yet? There's more where that came from.

Yassin Musharbash writing in Germany's Der Spiegel makes an argument which truly defies all logic. He's asserting that the rationality behind the often heard demand for Islamo-Christian reciprocity is bizarre! (By the way, has anyone heard anything of late about the Pope's talks with 138 Muslim clerics?)

- Caption: Head uncovered, Patriarch Athenagoras prays before the overturned altar table of the destroyed Panagia Church in Belgratkapi. (Photo by Demetrios Kaloumenos) - Hat Tip: My Greek Odyssey -

It's false equivalence, says Yassin Musharbash in his Spiegel article, because ... as we all know ... Christians in Muslim countries are indigenous, while Muslims in Christian countries are not! Makes all the difference, right?! Of all false arguments this one fairly takes the cake!

Specifically noteworthy from a revisionist view point is:

"As Islam spread from Saudi Arabia, the number of Christians dropped as many people converted to the new religion. Forced conversions were the exception; many sought the tax benefits that came with being Muslim. Today, of course -- primarily on account of massive exoduses -- there are relatively few Christians in the Arab and Muslim world, perhaps only a few percent. Even Bethlehem no longer has a Christian majority.

Let me translate that for you. As Mohammed's conquering hordes swept through Christian lands, Christians heartily and voluntarily converted to the new "religion of peace". The choice of death, conversion or jizyah never came into it. (It's the first time I've seen it described as a "tax benefit".) The entire arrangement was so successful that said converts - again entirely of their own free will - exited Muslim conquered lands en masse. That's why there are now only few Christians left in the Arab world, including Bethlehem and quite a few other locations in the Dar-Al-Islam ...

Turks truly are the champion producers of chutzpah. It fairly takes your breath away.

Of Eurocratic Musical Chairs, a Nasty Rumor and Rather Good Spoof

While a thriller of a race is on in New York's 23rd District as well as in a few other constituencies in the US, Europe is showing the world how real statists operate. Obama c.s., while very promising in the field of collectivism and intrigue, they are as yet small-time tinkerers when it comes to constructing a solid edifice of total state.

Talk of the town of Brussels the last few days is Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, or JPB, as he is affectionately known to his Christian Democratic followers.

While Czech President Vaclav Klaus is dealing with ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon (the 'Constitution' that dares not speak its name) as best he can for his country, securing a few opt outs that less euroskeptic nations will have to forego, the Euro machinery has kicked in to appoint the new 'Government' as is required under the agreement.

- Caption: spoof of JPB as Harry Potter - 

While it goes without saying that no messy, direct democracy is involved here as in NY23, there is a power sharing mechanism in play by which the largest party in Parliament delivers the chairperson or 'President', the second largest the 'Foreign Minister', and so on, and so forth.

Another completely obscure and byzantine, post-democratic mechanism governs power sharing between various sub collectives: large versus small countries, North vs South, and new against old Europe (please don't ask!). Individualism is anathema in Europe, almost is much as patriotism.

The balance of power in the Europarliament is currently held by the Christian Democrats assembled in the European People's Party.  (The British Tories notably detached themselves recently from this body and became part of the Conservative and Reformist bloc. That Italian PM Berlusconi's party for example is still a member of the EPP goes to show that all is rather relative here!)

Although theories abound, this is the obvious reason why British Socialist Tony Blair has dropped out of the race for the 'Presidency'. One rumor has it that Blair is too much associated with the Bush era: with the fresh Obama across the pond we need fresh Europeans at home to go with it, or so the nasty reasoning goes.

The buzz around Europe today, is that UK Foreign Minister David Miliband (also of Labor extraction) is a contender for Europe's first real 'Foreign Minister' (unsure at their stage if these titles should be 'ironized' or not, given the awkward status of the 'Constitution'). Miliband has far left credentials and for some reason, triggers the same warning signals in me as Rahm Emanuel.

Should JPB be appointed Europe's first 'President' the Netherlands might well face a political crisis of sorts. Although there's no constitutional reason for new elections, this may well prove the way to go. Support for the sitting cabinet is dwindling; swathes of the electorate will not be at all sad to see the colorless JPB go after he's sat as PM to four consecutive, equally colorless Governments of variations in grey.

A much more exciting prospect is the buzz involving the candidacy of Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, former President of Latvia. A Liberty loving woman for first President of Europe ... now that's a novel idea even a staunch euroskeptic like myself might warm to, but ... nah ... we can't have too many libertarian influences ruling Euroland.

EUX.TV: "EU Seeks Council President - Eurinfo Report"



The opposition puts it into perspective:



Related dossiers:

- "Building the State of Europe"
- "The Treaty of Lisbon"
- "Neototalitarianism"

- "Hegel's Legacy"
- "Leviathan's Birth Certificate: Analysis of the Lisbon Treaty"

Old Politics as Usual: the Offer You Can't Refuse

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf last Saturday published an explosive story, throwing a potentially damning light on European politics. It involves threats, blackmail, extortion, broken promises and piles of unpaid bills.

The article answers the hitherto obscure question how come Libertas, the pan European party founded by conservative Euroskeptic Irishman Declan Ganley, floundered on the brink of victory in the  European Parliamentary elections last June. 

Ganley had promised to pay 1,1 million Euros towards the campaign in the Netherlands alone, but funds dried up and the public perception was that the party had disappeared into thin air. Libertas did best in France where it scored a single seat.

Ganley was the driving force behind the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty which was voted down by the Irish after its predecessor, the so-called "The European Constitution" had already been rejected by both the Dutch and the French. The Treaty in effect puts an end to the member states' national sovereignty.

The Irish referendum victory inspired Ganley to go pan European with his Libertas movement, which is in principle pro European, but skeptic on the execution and operations side of the project.

Since the election defeat, Ganley never publicly offered an explanation for his extraordinary behavior of not paying the bills and abandoning his political movement. Dutch Chapter leader Eline van den Broek - rooted in the Edmund Burke Foundation - only last week sat down with De Telegraaf to talk about the explosive story behind the events.

According to Van den Broek Ganley and his family were receiving death threats. Van den Broek sat at the multimillionair's kitchen table just a few days prior to the elections on May 28 when he told her about it. These threats originated in the world of business, in which Ganley is an important player. He was also told his business would not continue to flourish, should he hold on to his political ambitions.

It is unknown what the financial damage is of all these abandoned campaigns. In Spain, Greece, Portugal, France and in central and north eastern European countries, Libertas committees piled up millions of unpaid bills that Ganley had promised to pay. No one dares talk publicly, says Van den Broek.

Van der Broek is in touch with Ganley on an almost daily basis. He says he was leaned on by businessmen as well as politicians and pressured to stop his 'crusade' against Brussels. Enormous interests are at stake, linked up as they are with the Treaty of Lisbon. The latter is in effect the ressurected but already rejected European Constitution: a monument for contempt of democratic principles (vote on it until you get it politically correct)!

Undoubtedly smear campaigns have been launched from various quarters, notably by the federalistic, postmodern Left as well as the not so very Left, but equally pathologically obsessed heirs of Hegel: it could be they'd been talking through their tin foil hats, but some were actually convinced Ganley was funded by and was acting on behalf of the CIA and 'American interests'.

Now his, his wife's and his family of four's lives are under threat. In De Telegraaf interview Van den Broek assures the paper that the devoutly Catholic's love for his family is Ganley's Achilles heel. Yeah, and don't they know it ...



Related:

- "Bring Ganley Back"
- "Declan Ganley and Libertas" (a critique, to put it mildly)




- Filed on Articles in "Ruled by the Mob" -

NEW! Wealth Spread! Now for the Entire Global Family

It started with the wrong revolution, the French one - which ultimately didn't rest on the Lockean principle of freedom as a result of all men being created equal, but on the radical collectivist, egalitarian notions as underscored by the essentially anti Modernist Rousseau.

Brotherhood - "Fraternité", the third in the trinity "Liberté, Egalité, et Fraternité" in our time took on the shape of 'solidarity'.

But the trinity is also a philosophical abomination: it is a contradiction in terms.

Humanity still has not really caught on to the fact that in exercising the redistributive principle, the freedom and equality of others is necessarily being violated.

- Caption: Wealth Spread is a brand of "The People's Cube" -

This is probably the reason why we have seen Liberty and Equality being discredited and moved to the background with comparitive lightning speed.

Fantastic as it may seem, after the socialist experiments gone haywire during the last century, the redistributive principle still has not been exposed as the instrument that enslaves one brother to the other.

In fact, we are getting more and more obsessed by it, and currently view it as a panacea for every ill and pestilence it has caused itself in the first place. We are rapidly descending into a vicious, redistributive cycle of which the outcome can only be singularly, ominously plain and simple.

Whereas the problem started with various forms of redistribution between social classes, America is currently discovering the notion of mass corporate wealth spread. But the extortion gets worse. Europe has one up on the land of Liberty.

This morning the Hungarian PM Ferenc Gyurcsany warned of a new economic "Iron Curtain" being drawn across Europe unless the leaders at today's EU summit act to prevent the weakest members from going under.

"He warned, in a paper presented to the EU summit, that failure to offer bigger bailouts "could lead to massive contractions" in their economies and lead to "large-scale defaults" that would affect Europe as a whole."

"Gyurcsany added that failure to support fellow EU countries could trigger political unrest and immigration pressures as jobless rates soar."

"He called for a special EU fund of up to EUR 190 billion ($241 billion) to help restore trust and solvency in eastern EU members' financial markets."

Read it all in this AP report.

Update: The call for an Eastern Europe 'solidarity' bailout fund has been rejected ...


Wilders Tops Polls in The Netherlands

The latest poll in the Netherlands (link in Dutch) shows Geert Wilders' Freedom Party come up trumps. Currently in Parliament with just nine seats, and up in last week's poll to twenty seats, this latest survey shows the party getting up to 27 Parliamentary seats.

Wilders, still in the US, is overjoyed by so such support. He's aware of the tremendous responsibilities a PM-ship would entail, but he's ready for it!

The danger exists that Wilders' PVV party will end up as Pim Fortuyn's LPF did. Not just in the sense that Wilders' life is in serious danger as well, but that the party will mushroom too soon. All these seats need to be filled with a rare sort of human: talented wannabe politicians who are as ambitious as they are capable.

In the ideological department alone the confusion is palpable ... I've got one advice for the Freedom Party: to ruthlessly jilt the collectivists! Test: what is the nature of your politeia? Is it a neutral, empty space; or a common property?

We, the Peoples of Europe, Got Roots!

Two and a half years ago I set out on a mission to find out what's wrong with the West today. One of the first ports of call on this mission was a wonderful little tome - "Without Roots" - a dialogue between Marcello Pera, President of the Italian Senate and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pisa - and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, as Pope Benedict XVI was known before his accession.

It acquainted me with the terms we have come to know so well by now: relativism, Postmodernism, false equivalence, subjectivism and reverse morality.

The book became an instant sensation in Italy. Pomo and self-declared boomer, EU Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, whose highest ethic consists in the truthiness "Make Love, Not War", lost no time dropping a sneer. The director of the European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, Beate Winkler went as far as going on the record with the declaration that "people have boots, not roots!" - all, of course, in an effort to bend reality to the new Utopia of a borderless, multicultural empire as plugged by the Union.

Very revealing all, precisely what the Postmodernists wish us all to believe: that we are a people without a past (watch this Day by Day cartoon: Chris Muir gets it too), that we have no cultural or historical roots prior to the onset of the 1968 counter culture that abandoned all essentially modern values for anti-modern ones. George Orwell would have been proud.

It is for the same reason that history education has been reformed out of existence and children have no insight into culture-historical events, other than the revisionism that Nazism and Fascism are a form of Capitalism and that Leftism is the only proper form of Socialism.

We do not propose advancing either form of Socialism - Leftist or Rightist - but on the contrary, advocate fighting both its precursors. Because that is precisely where political and social thought leads once the primacies of individualism and equality are abandoned.

For the purpose of preserving the values of modernism and the Enlightenment, and for promoting the call that Americans have already answered when their Founding Fathers claimed the American politeia and put "We, the people ..." to paper in their Constitution, we are today launching a European grassroots movement, Roots! We, the Peoples of Europe ...

Our temporary home is a Ning social netroots platform that supports personal pages, blogs, videos, groups, a forum, photo albums and a slideshow for your personal favourites, an events calender, and soon also chat. So sign up, get your own badge, transfer your most cherished stuff to Roots! and let's use all those great features to debate the battle plan.

I am looking forward to see you on Roots! Let's get this continent on the road for the people, the European citizens, let's take this to street level ... Can't wait to meet you all!


View my page on Roots!

Urgent Call to Reclaim Europe for the Citizens

Americans have historically taken ownership of their politeia. The Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence are inspiring documents that remind us every day of the core values that produce liberty and prosperity.

Within 24 hours after losing the Presidential election to Barack Obama, Republican grassroots groups ' to win back the White House in 2012' sprang up like mushrooms. Modern Conservatism, The Freedomist Movement, Let's Get This Right and America Coast2Coast are just a few.

Europeans on the other hand still allow petty bureaucrats and postmodern Emperors to rule over them; this, despite the Rousseau inspired French Revolution, at least during its latter stages (typically another animal than its Lockean counterpart across the pond); and democratic principles now being established in almost all corners of the continent.

The European Union is out of control. The Lisbon Treaty (the 'Constitution' redux) was an opportunity squandered to right a wrong that is inherent in the blueprint of the European Union. Instead, the uninspired bureaucrats and power politicians took over and produced an unprincipled pile of legal yada yada.

Our American friends have provided a playbook how to build a grassroots movement. Would you join such a popular movement - based on individual rights, free market economy and limited government - and help claim the European politeia back for its citizens? We'd love to hear from you!

Here's the link to our Facebook page. You can also email us directly at "peace.practice@gmail.com": write us with your views, leaving your name, location, and country and specify what your field of interest or expertise would be.

A grassroots initiative is far overdue! Sign up now and take control of your living space!

Update:

This is the platform where Europe intends to communicate with its citizens (regret due to overwhelming interest the porn doesn't work for the moment) ... and this is how you can contribute (fill up the form) .... and here's how they propose to 'interact' ...

... in an update by Yahoo!Tech the EU's dishonest reflexes are once again exposed; moreover, they cost the taxpayer another EUR 100,000 (US$126,905) on top of the EUR 1 million budget for Europeana, just to get it ready for a relaunch in mid December ... that's right, by mid December! At this point we're starting to experience some real curiosity, what wonderful information Europeana will have in store for those who are financing it ...

Related:

- "Americana"
- "Leviathan's Birth Certificate"
- "Irish Reject "Treaty of Lisbon," Ratification Continues"



- Filed on "Roots! We, the Peoples of Europe" -