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

The Left and Their Unique Selling Point

The new Dutch Labour leader, Job Cohen (Nohen) who just sustained a disastrous mock Obama (Nobama) launch, showed us yesterday how desperately out of touch the Left really is.

Enjoying a public holiday every five years on May 5, the commemoration of liberation in World War II, Cohen just proposed to turn it into an annual affair. Just what we need, another public holiday! With the economy tanking, talk of raising the state pension age to 67, the European Union on the brink, and a Euro that just plummeted to a staggering 1,04% against the dollar, the lowest mark in over a year, the Left is calling for an extra day off the job!

- Caption: protesting Greece's austerity measures in a country with little welfare fat on the bones - 

The desperate situation in Greece is entirely on the plate of the unions and their limitless appetites, and the weak back Governments that were unwilling or unable to perform 'a Maggy'. Today it's make or break, and even now they do not seem to get it. But apparently, neither do we.

Needless to say, the unions and other socialistic parties were soon aboard Cohen's proposal. So this sad piece of ill concealed bribery is how Labour proposes to win the general elections next month! Desperate indeed ... and completely out of touch with reality. This just proves they're too irresponsible to govern and too out of touch to drag the country out of the economic quagmire.

Even more infuriating is, that Cohen is said to launch this idea out of 'respect' for liberty and the freedom of expression. As the former mayor of Amsterdam, Cohen enjoyed quite a few afternoons having 'tea summits' with Moroccan hooligans and other n'ver-do-wells, wont to terrorize entire neighbourhoods out of its indigenous populations.

This is how Cohen, the multiculturalist, proposes to 'keep the country together". As for the freedom of expression, don't provoke him! - before you know it he's triggered his own version of Brown's 'bigotgate'.

The man has no concept of the word Liberty! To the Left, liberty means freedom not to live under the collectivist Right's jackboot (as opposed to the collectivist Left's jackboot). To them, negative rights, the essence of true liberty, mean "neglection by the state". After all, it's now apparently the duty of politicians to offer the population "hope and consolation". Government has now in actual fact usurped the role of the God head: statism is no longer an abstraction, but a real state of mind.

Even more desperate is the British Labour Party, starting with Gordon Brown. The entire Left has abandoned them and jumped on to Nick Clegg's LibDem bandwaggon. The Labour Party doesn't stand a chance. Of course the state-run media would never, ever paint the Conservatives as a genuine alternative.

Current cohort of media workers do not even know anymore what Conservatism stands for. It's quite some time since I've heard a practicing journalist explain the details of the political philosophy, let alone provide a level playing field. The sole meme emanating from the lamestreamers is, "this is public enemy number one".

Labour has been in power in Britain for the last thirteen years; how it is then, that "the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer"? Chatter has it, that the gap has become ever wider so that it's quite necessary to vote in ... more Labour.

As an explanation it is implied that somehow this feature is inherent in British class society. But the truth is, this is happening in every country, city and borough that is ruled by Leftists.

When are people going to catch on to this racket?

The Left is it's own unique selling point. Obama conveyed the notion correctly ... we are the people we've been waiting for ... vote Labour so as to mitigate our own policies!

Related articles

Washington Times: "Greek lawmakers pass austerity bill"

Related dossiers

- "Doing a Maggy"
- "Money & Economy"
- "London Calling"
- "Socialist Causes Explained"

The Burning Streets: How We Got Here

Seldom was an assumption as naive as the idea prevailing since 1989 that political radicalism was over, just because the major agitator - the Soviet Union - had collapsed under its own weight.

This notion in the heads of security services, politicians and the general public supports the evidence that the West swallowed Communist disinformation and propaganda, hook, line and sinker. Here's one that pervades Western popular thinking to this very day.

Also on the level of ideas 'Leftism' and its origins, has been very badly understood.

The first harbinger of a better understanding was posited by philosopher and historian Sir Isaiah Berlin who coined the term, the Counter-Enlightenment in his book "Against the Current" in 1979 (Hogarth Press). In all probability this trouveille can be attributed to Nietzsche, who used the term "die Gegenaufklärung" at the end of the nineteenth century.

Objectivist philosopher Stephen Hicks has explained the origins and history of the anti-modern Counter-Enlightenment movement very succinctly in his 2004 tome "Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault".

More recently Richard Wolin in "The Seduction of Unreason: The Intellectual Romance with Fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism" bridged the gap even further, showing how an amalgam of Left and Right collectivism resurfaced in Postmodernism. (Here's a sample chapter available from Princeton University Press.)

The reactionary movement sought to counter and destroy the rational and humanistic ideals of the Enlightenment, modernism. The first anti-modernist is the erroneously classified hero of the Enlightenment, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He broke with reason and individualism, in effect laying the groundwork for Socialism and the notion that a collective has a 'will' of its own.

After Rousseau, the influential anti-philosophers Kant and Hegel furthered the anti-modernist cause against reason. Kant was remarkably effective in isolating the mind within the confines of the skull, rendering it practically useless as a tool for exploring knowledge and the universe. Precursing Orwell, he typified it as Pure Reason.

- Caption: Legion Park, Brighton Heights, Pittsburgh, center piece of the World War I Memorial by Allen G. Newman - photo by artisticpursuits -

From Kant onwards, the avant-garde considered man incapable of knowing anything. Kant's irrational theories are the greatest disaster in the history of the post Renaissance world. They are responsible for all pernicious ideas about the nature of thought that persist to this day.

It opened up the field for Marxism (Left collectivism), National Socialism (Right collectivism), currently culminating in Postmodernism. The latter think of the human species as a whole as a collective, a idea of Kantian origin.

Humanity as a collective is pushed today by swathes of world elites, from the transnational "one world" movement, to multiculturalists and Postmodern anti-globalists.

The Greeks identify the latter by their proper name, anarchists. The rest of the W est knows them as the squatter movement, animal rights activists, radical environmentalists, and anti globalists. They are not anti globalism as such, but just anti Western dominated globalism.

After Left and Right collectivism were dealt with through the realities of history and Francis Fukuyama briefly enjoyed "The End of History and the Last Man" the storms of Islamic radicalism were already brewing in the Middle East and spilling over on the streets of the countries favored by Muslim migrants.

The onset of the 21st Century saw a revival of Leftist radicalism. While the old 1968 hippy generation saw it's ideals drowned in a cesspool of drugs and experiments in social licentiousness, Postmodernism has shed itself of all values: life is futile, man's efforts are absurd in their presumptiousness and arrogance.

This radical Left movement is just as ready for a scorched earth as radical Islamism is. Whereas the former have nothing left to lose after their ideals collapsed over their ears, the latter are urged to self-sacrifice for a global victory of the collective Ummah. It is a marriage quite literally made in hell: both are negators of the life-force, but for different reasons.

A culture's implicit sense of life is all-pervasive. Theirs has translated into the negative territory of nihilism and death-worship. For Muslims man is a mere plaything in the hands of a fickle God. To Postmodernists man is a drifter in a purposeless, unknowable universe whose fate is determined by chaos and glandular secretions.

And this is how we got here.

World Security Network: "Urban Radicalism in Europe and Terrorism", by Ioannis Michaletos

Urban radicalism in Europe as portrayed by the recent riots in Athens is a constant worry of the European security services, since there is ample evidence of wider connections between radicals and terrorists.

There are two major themes to be looked upon. Firstly the relationship between the extreme-leftist terrorist groups that operate in the so-called "Mediterranean axis" - France, Italy, Greece and Spain - and secondly, the connection of these groups to Islamic extremists.

The radical - anarchist movement in Europe is pretty strong and well organized with thousands of loyal supporters. Back in 2005, the riots in Paris proved that the radicals and second-generation Muslim immigrants in France were able to form the political agenda of that time, although they were not successful in preventing Sarkozy’s ascendance to power 18 months later.

In June 2008, the French authorities and in particular the Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure (French Directorate-General for External Security or DGSE) announced that French anarchists were behind the attempted sabotage of the TGV railway, that if successful could have killed hundreds of people. It was also revealed that the anarchist group labeled "The Invisible Committeel" was in contact with other Italian and Greek groups over the previous period. (...)

Get it all, read the latest revelations by Greek intelligence analyst Ioannis Michaletos >>>

- Filed on Articles in "The Unholy Alliance" -

The International Intifada of Greece (update)

The spin the mainstream media is putting on this major story is of a similar nature, as was (is) the case in France's burning barricades: disenfranchised youths, no work, bored to shreds, here the concrete suburbs angle removed and the added chutzpah of complaints about "the quality of education"! Since when has any student ever protested against the dumbing-down of education?

What no one mentions is that the Karamanlis Government wants to put an end to the anomaly of university campuses being legalized free houses from criminal prosecution - a leftover from a spade of hyper corrections that took place under previous Socialist Governments in a reaction to the military regime's political persecution of Leftist students.

Still, all the positive spin and excusing the inexcusable makes one wonder if the old media aren't simply the third partner in the Unholy Alliance. Entire swatches of people have simply given up on them: their monopoly on the news is over! What to think of grown-up television journalists tenderly referring to 18 to 28 year old hooligans as 'angry boys'. Are they gullible, in the tank, or just plain idiots - or do they take the public for idiots?

Telegraph.co.uk: "Greek protests spread to European cities" - Hat Tip: Nora Sánchez

Anger over the fatal shooting of a Greek teenager by a policeman has spread across Europe with disturbances in a string of cities. (...) From Madrid to Moscow, Greeks living abroad, left-wing activists and other sympathisers took part in demonstrations in solidarity with the six days of rioting which has hit Greece.(...)

- In Copenhagen, police detained 63 people who threw bottles and paint bombs at riot police late on Wednesday.

- In Madrid, nine people were arrested when around 200 people chanting "police killers" targeted a police station, shops and banks.

- In Barcelona a Greek woman and another unidentified foreigner were arrested during a similar demonstration.

- In France, arsonists torched two cars outside the Greek consulate in Bordeaux, scrawling slogans in support of Greece's worst riots since the country was ruled by a military junta in the early 1970s. Graffiti sprayed opposite the consulate read "Support for the fires in Greece", "Insurrection Everywhere" and "The Coming Insurrection" – the latter the name of a book which the French government alleges has inspired a network of "ultra-left" anarchist groups.

- In Turkey, about a dozen left-wing protesters daubed red paint over the front of the Greek consulate in Istanbul. Protesters threw petrol bombs at Greece's embassies in Moscow and Rome. (...) >>>

Understand that in the light of an interview yesterday in the Polish Times with the author of the previous article on Politeia ("Riots in Greece: What Is Not Reported") - Greek intelligence analyst Ioannis Michaletos, and you'll get another picture of reality. Here's just one excerpt from the English translation:

International Analyst Network: "Interview on the Greek riots"

Could you analyze important aspects of present street battles in Athens?

The street battles are the worst Athens has ever experienced, although it is a city with rather frequent clashes with the police. Important characteristics include the rapid mobilization of the rioters. For example they were out in the streets destroying property in just 20-25 minutes after the death of the young person was announced. It happened in 21.03, it was first announced in a website around 21:30 and the riots were already in full swing at 22:00. I have served in the Navy but I don't think armed forces are that quick in mobilizing their personnel!

Over the coming days, the rioters that numbered between 1,500-2,000 people (30% of those immigrants-mostly Muslim), were able to move from one part of the city to another in a quick way using a variety of methods, such as public transportation in small groups, motorcycles or even riding taxis alone and gathering in a specific "meeting place".

Lastly, they used extensively the internet, mobile phones and instant messaging services to alert against police and gather information of what the media were transmitting. In a few words, they were trained in a fashion that distincts them from the usual "Athenian rioters". They seemed to have international experience and plenty of hideouts within the city centre. (...)

The last two days the police took more action against them and they disappeared. This is a typical urban guerrilla way of fighting; avoid confrontation and strike when least expected, always in a very fast mode. There was looting involved but it was not done by the rioters but by other elements that exploited the situation. Therefore the rioters were not seeking immediate financial gains, nor did they want to make a political pronouncement. Their aim was to inspire fear. (...)

(...) a web of relations has been developed between Greek radicals and foreign ones. In that sense a provocation or the involvement of foreign intelligence apparatus it is not improbable judging by the recent European history. (...) >>>

Read it all!

Update: This article in the Wall Street Journal ("Greece is Burning") is repeating some of the worst of popular conspiracy theories around. It paints a picture of an almost a failed state! It's simply ludicrous. The press seems to be part of the troika that is bent on bringing down a democratically elected government. Updating throughout ...

The article is factually incorrect (we know to postmodernists reality is pliable, but hey - have facts become totally irrelevant in journalism?): the riots started only minutes after the death of the teenager, while this article speaks of "mostly peaceful mass demonstrations" which is exactly what didn't happen. Basically its an article with half truths and half lies without explaining one basic thing: why the riots started in the first place ... and who are the rioters?!

Update:

To put all these complaints in perspective, a poll on Greece-Salonika Blogspot on the question which are Greece's most urgent problems, reads as follows: inflation 47%, Macedonia 17%, unemployment 9%, drug abuse 2%, education 13%, Cyprus 3%, other 4%.

Nourishing Obscurity get kudos for indepth historical research in documents attached to: "[greece] gateway to powerful forces".

- Filed on Articles in "Terrorism in Greece" -

Riots in Greece: What Is Not Reported

From the desk of Ioannis Michaletos

~~-:-~~

The International Analyst Network website has as a main aim to inform a specialized and enlightened audience of the undercover nature of events within the global security and intelligence sector.

In this case, an alternative point of view is going to be presented which derives from careful analysis and observation of the riots in Greece and reliable information streaming from domestic security circles. For obvious reasons, matters concerning operational or intelligence procedures will not be mentioned or quoted.

The riots have been orchestrated since late summer 2008. There were reports within the Greek police that the riots would commence by the Christmas period at the latest; the location and the justification was not known, but any event could have caused them. This is a copycat case of what happened in France in October 2005.

The culprits on the higher levels are Islamic networks in the Middle East, who go hand-in-hand with corrupt western officials, who are selling their services to the highest bidder.

The purpose is to destabilize Greece, the “weakest link” in the Euro zone countries. The ultimate goal is the creation of a European space, suitable for expansion of the Middle Eastern networks. For the moment the latter use a variety of techniques to bolster their aims: terrorism, disinformation, psyops, bribing officials.

They are trying to pit the US against Russia on the one hand, and to disrupt the Euro-American alliance on the other. They were also responsible for the Greek wildfires (pyro terrorism) in summer 2007 in an operation some call “the Ibrahim Project”, reminiscent of the type of havoc wreaked on the same region by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt during the Greek revolution in the summer of 1827.

The existence of more than obvious links between renegade intelligence officers of western origin and anarchist-radical movements, in order to destabilize European countries is a major issue nowadays.

The anarchist-radical network of disenfranchised youths is very strong in Europe as the riots in 2005 showed, when radicals and Muslims joined forces and failed to damage French President Sarkozy’s image. In France it was announced recently by the Ministry of Interior that French anarchists are in contact with their Greek and Italian counterparts in trying to sabotage the High Speed Railway Network (TGV trains).

The inability of western governments to comprehend what is really at stake has already grave consequences for Europe. Moreover, the deals between European and Russian energy companies will increase natural gas imports by the former, will greatly diminish the influence of the Saudis in Europe, along with their long-term income.

The new American administration should really understand that it has been used for a number of years by Riyad (and others) who have managed to throw American forces into the Iraqi and Afghan battlefields, where the new 21st century Mujahedeen forces are being forged. They will be used against Europe in a few years, in a wargame that will surpass the abilities of Western capitals.

Back in Greece the riots are being executed with the use of the Internet and other new media techniques, such as instant messaging (IM) from mobile phones to web pages, Indymedia, along with the use of CB’s, Facebook pages, walkie-talkies, computer mass generated SMS, Twitter, and the construction of “flow-networks” and already established “dark networks” within the city.

The French government has already called for tough action by the Greek administration, whilst the intelligence apparatus of the former provides assistance to the latter. Over the coming days it seems that all the known security forces in the world will either try to take advantage of the situation, or take the side of the Greek government.

In a concluding remark, the author emphatically notes that the responsibility of the western capitals is of historical proportions. Rioting by “radical youths” will become an everyday reality on the continent in the coming years and the security forces should look further than their noses in assessing the situation.

A 4th World War erupted in 2001 and there are enemy collaborators within our ranks. Before any victory can be called, they should be removed and punished accordingly. The riots in Greece are just one small incident in the ongoing war, that may last longer than the previous ones; it is a struggle which all-encompasses national, social, and economic structures.

Interested readers should not forget that the first “Little War” of the Cold War started on Greek soil in 1946. Back then the enemy was clear and present. Now he is not, and the effort therefore will be much harder.

Post Scriptum: Quite a few Greek radical groups have adopted Arabic noms de guerres; they promote illegal immigration of Muslims into Europe, and call for the destruction of Western civilization. They are part of an almost global network that acts as a “soft power” element of the hard one, as envisaged by Al Qaeda. It has to be stressed once more that rogue elements of western security forces protect them. They have to be dealt with as soon as possible.



- Filed on Articles in "Terrorism in Greece" -

The Turkish Genocides, the Endless Story

From Facebook group "Turkish troops out of Cyprus" we received word that MSNBC is holding a live poll, if the US should formally recognize the World War I-era killing of Armenians as genocide?

The group: "As of a few minutes ago the numbers showed Yes 20%, No 80%! The Turks have mobilized a global campaign to shift results towards "No" but we can't let them.

The Armenian Genocide is a historical fact, along with many other crimes against humanity (...) and it should be recognized.

Please vote ' YES ' at the below link and send it to everyone you know. >>>

- Caption: from the Genocide Education Project -

As long as Turkey is able to get away with their denial, all concerned - Turks, Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians - will never be able to close the book on this painful episode in the history of the Ottoman Empire.

Even last week The Brussels Journal published an article by Tiberge, "For the EU, Sarkozy and the UN, Turkey Is Already in Europe", quoting Turkish Defense Minister, Vecdi Gönül during a ceremony at the Turkish Embassy in Brussels honoring the 70th anniversary of the death of Ataturk (d. Nov. 10, 1938), in atrocious denial, praising the policy of what he termed the “deportation” of the Armenians, because it allowed the construction of the Turkish nation.

-Caption: Red Cross photo on Hellenic Genocide-

“Would it be possible today to maintain the same national State if the existence of Greeks in the Aegean region and of Armenians in several regions of Turkey had continued as before?” Vecdi Gönül asked. “Remember, before the republic, Ankara was composed of four sectors: Jewish, Muslim, Armenian, and Greek... When I was governor at Izmir I realized that the Izmir Chamber of Commerce had been founded only by non-Muslims. There was not a Turk among them.”

The article goes on to quote a comment by French blogger Yves Daoudal:

"Before the republic", Izmir was called Smyrna and it was a Greek city, and stayed that way until 1922, when it was conquered by Ataturk. But he had to deny that Izmir was a Greek city before the Greeks were chased out of it, as he had to deny that the most fortunate deportation of the Armenians was a genocide (...) "

This has now gone on long enough. Turkey wants to join the European Union. If they want to be a mature state, they should grow up and own up. An organized denial to vote No to a poll is hardly the answer towards resolving this serious question.

- Caption: Headline of a 1922 Times article -

Related:

- Politeia: "The Medina Precedent for Holocaust and Genocide"
- Jewcy: "Understanding the Islam in Islamic Antisemitism", by Andrew G. Bostom (in 3 parts)
- The Lighthouse: "Pope Benedict XVI in Turkey: day 1"
- The Lighthouse: "Transnational Progressivism: an Inexplicable Presumption"



- Filed on Articles in "History Compiled" -

Helen of the Dung-Hill: a puzzle contest

Read the following article carefully. Spot the crap (all of it) and win this month's Golden Ari. Send in your findings before 5th June.
The Guardian/The Observer: "DNA explodes Greek myth about women," by Robin McKie, science editor - Hat Tip: Phantis

British researchers have unearthed evidence that proves Helen was much more than a chattel.

Women in Ancient Greece were major power brokers in their own right, researchers have discovered, and often played key roles in running affairs of state. Until now it was thought they were treated little better than servants.

The discovery is part of an investigation by Manchester researchers into the founders of Mycenae, Europe's first great city-state and capital of King Agamemnon's domains.

'It was thought that in those days women were rated as little more than chattels in Ancient Greece,' said Professor Terry Brown, of the faculty of life sciences at Manchester University. 'Our work now suggests that notion is wrong.'

- Caption: Helen of Troy, by Frederick Sandys -

Mycenae is one of the most important and evocative archaeological sites in Europe. According to legend, Agamemnon led his armies from Mycenae to Troy to bring back Helen - the wife of his ally, Menelaus - who had run off with the Trojan prince Paris.

The citadel was first excavated in the 1870s by Heinrich Schliemann, who uncovered tombs containing crumbling bones draped with jewels and gold face masks. 'I have discovered the graves of Agamemnon, Eurymedon, and their companions, all slain at a banquet by Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthos,' he told the King of Greece.

In fact, the graves have since been dated and shown to be too old for those of Agamemnon. Nevertheless, Mycenae has since proved to be a treasure trove of archaeological riches. Most recently, these have involved scientists using a range of new techniques, including facial reconstruction work carried out by Manchester researchers John Prag and Richard Neave. They recreated the faces of seven individuals whose skeletons had been excavated at a circle of graves inside the citadel.

The images provided scientists with a family picture album for the rulers of Europe's first great city-state. However, genetics experts have now taken this work a stage further by attempting to extract DNA from 22 of the 35 bodies found in the grave circle. 'The facial reconstructions were carried out 10 years ago, but it is only now that scientists have developed sensitive enough techniques to get DNA from skeletons as old as these,' said Brown. 'In each case we had to deal with a single cell's worth of DNA.'

The genetic material isolated by the scientists is known as mitochondrial DNA, which humans inherit exclusively from their mothers. However, of the 22 skeletons that were tested, only four produced enough DNA for full analysis. Nevertheless, findings from these provided a shock for the team from Manchester.

While two of the males had DNA that indicated they were unrelated, the genetic material extracted from the remaining pair, a man and a woman, revealed they were brother and sister. They had been thought to have been man and wife.

'To be precise our DNA evidence suggests the pair were closely related, possibly siblings or possibly cousins. However, the facial reconstruction work of Prag and Neave also shows they were very similar in appearance which indicates they were brother and sister,' said Brown.

The critical point, he said, was that the woman was thought to have been buried in a richly endowed grave because she was the wife of a powerful man. That was in keeping with previous ideas about Ancient Greece - that women had little power and could only exert influence through their husbands.

'But this discovery shows both the man and the woman were of equal status and had equal power,' he said. 'Women in Ancient Greece held positions of power by right of birth, it now appears.

'The problem has been that up until recently our interpretation of life in Ancient Greece has been the work of a previous generations of archaeologists, then a male-oriented profession and who interpreted their findings in a male-oriented way. That is changing now and women in Ancient Greece are being seen in a new light.' >>>

And while we are at it, we might as well distill the irrational hogwash from this piece of postmodern 'science' reporting as well. Take the weekend too. Good for another Golden Ari.

Yahoo!News: "Key to All Optical Illusions Discovered" and "Cool Optical Illusions"

Demolished Heritage

If you happened to have read my post yesterday morning, you'll know what I've been up to. I went into town on assignment, hot on the trail of a building in distress. As it happens, it is actually no less than an entire community, and a place representing our very roots, that's in peril! Here's the related blog: "Dionysiou Areopagitou 17: A Monument in Danger".

To fully appreciate what we're dealing with, picture the following. The building concerned is a 1930's, Art Deco specimen, that is perfectly embedded in a classical Greek setting; it was built and designed by award winning, international artist and architect Vasilis Kouremenos, a friend of Pablo Picasso's. More details in this post.

It has recently been restored and the adorning marble relief work and mosaics are as fresh as if applied only yesterday. Some of the interior art work is simply exquisite: there's a slide show accessible here.This perfect architectonic period piece flanks the road the Apostle Paul is said to have walked; it lies on the foot of the Acropolis mountain, in the heart of the old town of Athens. The buildings in this area are traditionally of the Neo-classical period. Some sadly have been abandoned by their impoverished owners and ran to seed in the course of two and half centuries; the vast majority that hasn't, have recently been restored to their former glory. It is a truly unique place, in the physical sense as well as historical and cultural.

It was bound to happen ... inevitably ... Postmodern politicians, planners and architects being what they are - the deconstructionists of a past and a place they revile and despise, having made its atomization the centre-piece of their vacuous lives - not content with dumping a linear glass monument to nihilism smack in the middle of this paradise - are now threatening the annex historical build-up with extinction.

It simply couldn't stand: deconstruction of the place that symbolizes the cradle of Western civilization, is to them the height of accomplishment. The challenge has long stood firm, taunting them to lift up their barbaric hands against her; at last she's succumbed to the relativist onslaught! The Postmodern oaf boasting his accomplishment can be viewed in the video embedded in yesterday's post.

The owners, occupants and a great number of other defenders of the remaining buildings in peril, are making the case for the proverbial line in sand that will not be crossed. No more! The excuse is too feeble for words: as if one demanding visitor, one exhausted tourist, would ever forfeit their refreshing cuppa or G&T after a long, hot haul with the spirits of the Parthenon ... because of an obstructed view!

Instead of the oaf adjusting his 'artistic efforts' to fit the environment in which it stands, the plan was of course all along to adjust the heritage to fit the nihilist design!

I'm begging any human being with a cultural or historical bone in his or her body, to sign the petition that will help the brave activists keeping the deconstructionists at bay. You can help stop the Postmodern wreckers by entering a short comment in the commentary box (blue coloured text at the bottom of the top post, titled Action - click on: ΣΧΟΛΙΑ).

With gratitude, on behalf of the cradle!

More photos, videos and other material is available on the Politeia Articles Blog.

Demolishing Heritage

Your intrepid civil reporter is today on assignment. Reverting asap!

"The Fable of the Knife"

Dr Sam C. Holliday, director of the Armiger Cromwell Center, following his first essay in these pages, "Effectively Communicating Jihad: a spade is a spade", in a second article is sharing with us today "The Fable of the Knife", which dates back to the days of the Greek Civil War. He does the introduction himself:

We welcome the good news that killings are down in Iraq. However, we must not forget the ‘Fable of the Knife’. Future hirabahists (Islamic extremists who kill the innocent) will surely remember it. There is no need for each generation to relearn its lesson. The origin of this fable is unknown. From 1947 to 1949 it was told in Greece, and since then many variations have been told.

THE FABLE - Do three insurgents with one hunting knife, or a battalion, control the town?

The battalion is well equipped with the latest in vehicles, communication, and weapons. Its soldiers are well-trained professionals. Most of the time they are in their fortified compound. All guns and ammunition in the town have been collected and destroyed, and no enemy units have been reported in the vicinity. Several times a day vehicles from the compound patrol the town with the soldiers smiling and waving to the people; from time to time they stop and talk - as best they can. Officers from the battalion meet regularly with town leaders to discuss how to improve public utilities, facilitate economic development, and improve governance. They also talk - through an interpreter - about the glories of freedom, and the advantages of democracy. Every day the battalion commander reports to his superior that the town is secure and under his control.

The three insurgents have no vehicle, only face-to-face communication, and one hunting knife. Anyone who has spoken out against the insurgents has been found the next morning in front of his home with his throat cut.

Who controls the town, the three insurgents with one hunting knife or the battalion?

LESSON TO BE LEARNED - Local security must be of, by and for the people.

The big dog theory holds that the biggest, badest dog can dominate all other dogs, and also the cats. In accordance with this theory, war-fighting forces should be able to dispatch insurgents to the ash can of history. But the hirabahists are not dogs or cats; they are snakes, insects, bacteria and viruses. So the battalion is unable to neutralize them. The ruthlessness, cruelty and determination of the insurgents give them the upper hand in a battle of wills.

Sam C. Holliday is a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, a former director of Stability Studies at the Army War College, and a retired Army Colonel. He earned a Master's in Public Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a doctorate in International Relations from the University of South Carolina. Currently he is Director of The Armiger Cromwell Center, a small nonprofit Internet clearinghouse for thinking "outside of the box of conventional wisdom." By means of its online essays, the ACC seeks more effective foreign policies to achieve stability through equilibrium.

- Related: The Fable of the Water Buffalo and the Sparrow

Copyright © 2007 Armiger Cromwell Center, 3750 Peachtree Road, NE, Suite 374, Atlanta, GA 30319-1322 armigercc@comcast.net Permission is granted to forward this essay to friends or colleagues, on a fair use basis. For reprint permission contact Armiger Cromwell Center.

Exclusive: The Clinton Legacy, The Balkan Caliphate

Last Friday morning the traditional neoclassical building, nowadays occupied by the Cultural Center of the University of Indianapolis - an architectonic jewel in the traditional old town of Athens at the foot of the Acropolis mountain - was the scenic theatre of the presentation of a book with the skin crawling title "The Coming Balkan Caliphate", written by the American author Christopher Deliso.

Deliso is director of Balkanalysis.com, a leading independent online news and analysis group. The site utilizes a growing corps of writers and researchers from regional countries as well as from elsewhere in Europe and the United States. Amongst those Ioannis Michaletos, the intelligence blogger and Junior Analyst at Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS) who has kindly provided "The Lighthouse" with unique background information on this summer's devastating wild fires, which - in all probability - were part of a pyro-terrorism campaign against the Greek state, for which seventy people have been arrested, twenty of whom are described as 'foreigners'.

Deliso has lived and traveled widely in southeastern Europe and has a master's degree with distinction in Byzantine Studies from Oxford University (1999). Since 2001, he has published many articles on Balkan politics, economics, security issues, travel, history and culture in US and world newspapers, analysis firms such as the Economist Intelligence Unit, and in numerous magazines and websites.

The Balkans (link provides an excellent UN map) is the gateway between East and West, and historically Europe's soft underbelly. Presently organized crime and terrorism present a constant threat. Chris Deliso's eye-opening book details how fifteen years of misguided Western interventions, political scheming, and local mafia appeasement, compounded by a massive infusion of Arab cash, fundamentalist Islamic preaching and Wahhabi mosque building, have allowed radical Islamic groups to fill in the cracks between internal ethnic and religious schisms, and take root in key areas of the Balkans.

Deliso clarifies the situation as follows.

- Bosnia - During the 1990 Yugoslav conflict the Western powers conspired to allow Arab (Saudi, Wahhabi) mujaheddin, surplus of the Afghan resistance against Soviet occupation, to enter the territory as an easy way to counter the Serb attempts to keep the federation of Yugoslavia together while countering internal Muslim harassment of local Christian populations.

Since the blow-back of this policy has become apparent, the US is pushing Bosnia to expel the radicals who've set up shop in the region. Belatedly, as by now they have gone underground. The present situation is said to be fluid.

There are however direct links between the Islamic radicals who were imported into Bosnia as a consequence of said Western policy, and the attacks of 9/11, the Madrid train bombings and the London attacks.

Another Bosnian connection that surfaced not so long ago was the foiled attempt on US Fort Dix and, just last week the scantly publicised matter of a Bosnian arrested in Vienna, Austria for a thwarted attack on the US Embassy in that city.

- Albania - Already historically a breading ground for lawlessness, tribalism and backwardness, this isolated rugged territory became a radical Islamist safe haven from the moment the old Stalinist regime fell. The US policy was to strengthen the fledgling democratic regime. It is this blog's opinion that personal ties between Albania and the Clintons stem from these early years, as the US political order transited from the Cold War. Deliso: "The United States both cracked down on extremists and allied itself with Islamic leaders in the Tirana government, funding these radicals."

Albania became the scene of an influx of Wahhabi mujaheddin and Al Qaeda elements. Wahhabi mosque building is proliferating as we speak, as is Islamist social engineering: providing unemployed villagers with hand-outs to dress up as fundamentalists in an attempt at creating critical mass for the normalization of radicalism; call it the corrupt Islamist version of political correctness. This method is combined with a form of institutionalised thuggery: blackmail and intimidation. It is happening not just in Albania, but in all less affluent regions of the Balkans, of which there are many.

Albanian clan structure produces a social situation, ideal for the incubation of organised crime. The connection between terrorism and organised crime is well established by now; it is being monitored and documented by the various intelligence agencies.

- Kosovo - As was the case in Bosnia, Western policy has allowed mujaheddin to establish themselves in the territory, creating the conditions for radicalisation and Wahhabi mosque building. Also here the same pressurizing pattern of social engineering and intimidation emerges. (Tony Blair, rather shortsightedly, specifically encouraged mujaheddin who found themselves on UK territory, to join the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), so to be rid of them).

Whether Kosovo, under misguided American and European pressure, will become independent or not, is no longer really relevant as radical Islamization is concerned. The question is rather, will the matter of independence get sectarian dimensions or not.

Deliso was kind enough at this point to hand the audience a great scoop: there are Albanian-American radicals in Kosovo who had prior knowledge of the 9/11 attack. They were actively recruiting terrorists for 'the war against America'. The UN was aware of this fact, and did nothing.

Saudis and Pakistanis are making sincere efforts to take over the territory by means of (forced) conversions, proselytizing, charity hand-outs, entrenchment of Islamic banking structures, social engineering, intimidation, etc. Islamist functionaries are parachuted below the radar into minor positions, that are nevertheless of strategic interest. The word that springs to mind, is subversion.

Funds are pouring in. Donors are located in the Middle East, Malaysia and Birmingham (UK). The Islamic Heritage Foundation is another of the great Islamic charities exerting social pressure. The organization is banned in four countries, but is allowed to do their damnedest in the UN administered province of Kosovo.

The Bulgarian region of the Rodopi Mountains, bordering Greece, has pockets of radicalized villages, once again the result of radical import and social pressure, through charity, hand-outs, and intimidation.

There are tensions as a result of Christian versus Islamic animosity, but there's also competition over Saudi versus Turkish Islamic influence in the region.

While most Muslims - in the Balkans, or anywhere else - aren't fanatics at all, it must be stated that they profit from the situation in the sense that extremism offers them an opportunity to present themselves as the viable, reasonable alternative. Once in key positions, the moderates are threatened, intimidated and bullied into a more radical attitude. Their Islamist enforcers often take the shape of mafia style thugs.

- Intelligence failures - There has been a marked lack of intelligence sharing between countries, as well as between national or federal agencies. This has assisted in creating the current situation to a large extent. Various intelligence agencies per country are competing and fighting out turf wars over competence and jurisdiction. Given the EU's multinational dimensions this competition is even worse in Europe than it is in America. Terrorist groups of course have no such impediments.

The policies on Kosovo and Bosnia have assisted the nesting of foreign radical elements. The UN administration of Kosovo is inhabited by career diplomats whose attitude is to sit it out while pondering the next prestigious career move. Their motto consequently is "don't rock the boat", coupled with a mind set that prefers sweeping dirt under the carpet. Whistle-blowers are known to be stonewalled. There's high level corruption.


Deliso voices concern over the US government's infiltration by spooks to an extent that is alarming. He also mentions there was a second failed attempt on Pope John Paul II's life, which is rarely publicised. I think I saw it reported once, but took it for a mistake. (Google produces no hits at all).

The threat of terrorism is also changing shape: an innovation are the so-called 'white devils', Caucasian converts who escape racial profiling. I think I predicted in these pages somewhere that this will likely be the face of terrorism in the future: a sort of Islamic Bader Meinhoff, just as fanatical, deluded, and radical Marxist as the Cold War set up.

Computer hacking is assisting terrorism by 'remote control', for example attacks on essential installations, such as power grids. The spate of pyro-terrorism waltzing through Greece this summer may have been ignited 'remotely' by cell phones. Also in Greece some attacks were perilously close to power grids. More attacks than we realise are being thwarted.

How's this for a coincidence ... on the morning that the former President Clinton is arriving in Athens to consult the local Socialist Party out of the crisis it finds itself in since losing the general elections - they cannot figure out how they lost it - Deliso is filling us in on some details of the Clinton legacy: "The Coming Balkan Caliphate".

Deliso stresses that he has spoken with high level US officials who have made plain that the 1990s failed policies were conscious decisions. The election of Hillary Rodham Clinton would in all probability bring back the same politicians who signed for the flawed policies of which we only now are experiencing the dire results: Wesley Clark, Madeleine Albright, Richard Holbrooke, Sandy Berger, to name but a few.

The questionable method of rendition that got the Bush government into trouble, was first used in 1995 in Albania during the Clinton years. Ray Robison commenting on a Front Page Magazine article by Julia Gorin, "Kosovo – The Epicenter of Islamofascism?" writes on this matter:

"... There are Islamic extremists in Kosovo. There have been for years as evidenced by the Clinton Administration’s germination of a controversial policy called "rendition". It was in Bosnia and Kosovo that the rendition of Islamic terrorists to nations like Egypt - which would obviously employ torture and in some cases murderous interrogation methods - began. The reason the U.S. rendition policy became necessary is because the Islamic terrorists were not from Kosovo. They were sent back to Egypt in most cases because they were Egyptians. Now an argument can be made that these Arab jihadists, veterans of the Afghan mujahideen were supported locally by some Albanian Islamic extremists."

The US, having currently concentrated their efforts on the Middle East and Afghanistan, have an intelligence deficiency in the region. In the past the US have outsourced information gathering to Ukrainian and Romanian agencies, but stopped doing so when a inordinate amount of disinformation ensued.

- Greece - Greece has of course always objected to the failed Western policies in the Balkans, but was forced to go along with more powerful allies. Foreign policy instead was concentrated on the minor issues, such as the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), or Skopje, on which matter Turkey seems to be very well informed.

Also in Skopje, enclaves have been created, that are virtual no-go areas for Westerners: ideal safe havens for terrorists and radicals.

Greece should identify and correct the intelligence hiatus. If more information would be available to combat the War on Terrorism, Greece would become a more valuable partner.

What stood out - and this is effectively the reason why Greece in the West is almost a white elephant - was Deliso's underlining specifically that the Greek governments, as well as the Orthodox Church 'have not allowed' and have 'prevented' Islamic radicals from establishing themselves in the country. The habitual means of establishment is through charity organizations.

But what Greece and the Greek Orthodox Church can achieve, can also be done by other countries! All we know is, that they haven't. Was that the result of active, but inapt policies as described here by Deliso, or a lack of political will? Or are we perhaps scratching the surface here of the very purposeful Eurabia doctrine as presented by author Bat Ye'or, of which we are to witness the latest instalment during the forthcoming Arab-European Dialogue on Human Rights and Terrorism, taking place in Copenhagen on 21-23 October?

This seems to be a good moment to go on record that a family member who worked for an intelligence service in the past, once disclosed that the Cold War ended at a good time, as resources would now become available for monitoring radical Islamist elements. This means that in government circles in 1990 there was known to be a threat from that area. Today it is widely forgotton that the problems didn't start on 9/11, 2001.

While many Western countries have severed historical ties and suppressed national consciousness for ideological reasons, Greece is still a very free, traditional, Christian country, enjoying historical roots and national identity with all that entails. While Western Europe is wallowing in decadence, and realing from its self-induced uprootedness, Greece is developing the first affluent middle class.

Deliso: "Many countries in the West, for example Germany and the UK, are in trouble through their multicultural policies." Greece on the other hand is still recovering from the historical black hole that was the blessing of being part of the Ottoman Empire. There are people alive today who remember, and there are those who know because their (grand)parents told them. Greece will have to be force-fed by the EU on multiculturalism, will it ever become a politically correct nation.

Deliso travels through the area extensively and has concluded, there are quite a few Western exiles who have found a home in the Balkans as well, the undersigned one of them. It would seem everybody is more or less adrift these days.

Finally, I'd like to remind the readership that the petition against the independence of the Serb province of Kosovo-Metohija, which would enhance the chances of the Balkan Caliphate even further, can be signed here.