By William Markiewicz
(As other short items may follow, I've decided to group them together.)
You Don't Build a Solid Structure on a Moving Platform (8/26)
Belgium and Brussels were the ideal setting for the European Union. Ideal geographic location. Wallons and Flamands have the European spirit but the Flamands want to exploit their numerous and economic advantages which is only normal. Less normal was to build the center of Europe in a bicultural country. Flamands and Wallons have very little in common besides being European. All the countries north of Belgium are more ethnically cohesive but they are less centrally European and the more you go to the north, the longer and colder are the winters. A lot has been built and organized in Brussels. It would be a pity if it were wasted in a crumbling country. The solution might be federalism which the Flamands promote but the less numerous and less prosperous Wallons may bear the consequences. Will the structures of the European Union survive if Brussels becomes a province for itself? As we know, the Flamands propose an autonomous Flanders, autonomous Wallonia and autonomous Brussels because of its biethnic population. We don't have an answer; we can only hope for them.
The Recent Bush Sarkozy Encounter in the USA (8/12)
Nicholas Sarkozy is a dynamic politician who blew fresh air into French politics. He passes from one initiative to another keeping public attention awake. One question is, how long can he continue this game? The second question is, what can Bush and Sarkozy offer each other besides moral support? Bush's biggest need is a partner for his invasions and, with Sarkozy that would be practically impossible; the French are against it. The rest of the world is not very happy either. Bush has a lot to offer Sarkozy but he's not ready for no strings attached gifts. Chances are that this social event will have no particular outcome.
Some Americans Bored Stiff with Too Much Peace (8/12)
Eric Garris at the antiwar.com blog, Aug. 10 (excerpts):
"Hawk Columnist: 'To save America, we need another 9/11' Stu Bykofsky, columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, is hoping for another major terror attack on the US. Bykofsky argues that we have lost the will to fight that united us after 9/11. He wants the hawks of the left and right to stop attacking each other and unite for bigger and better wars."
Confusion Amidst the Quests (7/30)
Religions, even those holding the same credo, diversify into sects that can be as ferociously hostile to one another as those that are completely different. Catholicism, with the stroke of genius that replaced alienating sects by unifying Orders, avoided sectarianism. Also, one Pope is a unifying element over the subtle differences that turn into sects (various Islams) or even religions (various Protestantisms). The core of conflict lies not so much in their differences which are a natural fruit of the unquiet human mind as in the fact that they all pretend to be universal. There is no such a thing as universality; the ambition for universality is fascistic.
The quest for the Universal should be replaced by the "global village" ideology. They can remain themselves, respecting their differences, equal to each other, and cooperating in accordance with their own interests.
"The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions" -- and What About Poisoned Roads Leading to Paradise? (7/30)
Powerful groups in Brazil accuse international environmental organizations of a new form of colonialism: "They want to control these reserves full of minerals and other valuables. Environmental and indigenous problems are merely pretexts." Some of the environmentalists are accused of flexing their muscle, warning Brazil not to put the USA at risk.
All those rumors may be false or true. In the most honorable aspirations there may be some hard to detect devilish intentions. Therefore, a general alert remains necessary.
Illusory Road to Peace in the Middle East (7/30)
Practically all the interested parties see the USA as the only side able to influence the peace process. The problem is that the American politicans don't care; for them, Israelis and Arabs can kill themselves until the end of time. American Judaism, as long as Israel keeps the upper hand, is happy. European Judaism didn't think about the future and neither do they.
Kaddish (7/30)
The Kaddish is the Jewish prayer of mourning. "Show me one word of Kaddish that speaks of death," Makuch said defiantly. "There is no word of death in Kaddish -- but this is a prayer of mourning! So what is a Jewish cultural festival on the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe? This is Kaddish." (Macleans Magazine 7-30-07)
Janusz Makuch, Polish Christian, is the founder and director of the Jewish Cultural Festival in Cracow. The Jews should dedicate a golden statue of the Honorary Jew to him.
Bulgarian Nurses and Palestinian Doctor Liberated in Libya (7/25)
A joint crime without motive is practically unheard of. Sadistic serial killers, madmen, usually operate singlehanded. What motive could a a team of Bulgarians and a Palestinian have in common? I never studied the case so I don't know what motives were presented by the prosecution but the whole world united against Libya in defence of the accused is not a political game but confirmation that a motive couldn't exist. We've heard about the accuseds' confessions under torture but no confession replaces a lack of motive. Foreign countries spent millions to pay off Libya. The life-wasting eight years in prison for the accused are hard to compensate; anyway I've heard nothing about compensating them. There is no excuse for the pathetic crime committed against the medical team.
I don't believe Karzai (7/24)
unless he knows something I don't know. Personally I doubt it; Hitler believed in his final victory while everybody around him knew that he lived in illusion. Karzai dresses himself like a science fiction personage: something Pashtun, something Uzbek, something Tadjik, etc., as if you could shape the unity of the country by mixing clothes. The war in Afghanistan is a war of coalitions against the Pashtun. Karzai, Pashtun himself, turned his back on his people for his impossible task. He wants to liberate Afghanistan from the Taliban with foreign troops, de facto occupational forces. The Taliban also operates with non-natives but the Taliban have more supporters among the locals while the anti-Taliban coalition is composed either of soldiers led by Americans or the "Northern Alliance", whose main goal is to smash the Pashtun. For the locals, the war is nothing but an interethnic war. An "Afghan army" is as much an illusion as a "Serbo – Croation army" would be now.
Saddam Would Approve (7/20)
By arming Sunni tribes, Americans have turned away from the Iraqi government which they helped form. It is a slap in the face to the Iraqi government, a reminder of who is really the master, and also revenge for their challenge: "Go when you want": "Yes, we will go, but first we'll arm your enemies!" Initially the Americans had to curb Iraqi sectarianism; now they've joined it, following the classical procedure "divide and rule." With renewed Sunni power, Iraq returns to Saddam Hussein's policy, so why did Iraq have to be invaded? Even with Sunni power boosted, the Americans will not get Iraqi oil free.
World Leadership (7/18)
The US rules the world, Britain rules the world . . . Leadership, an old term with no place today, is returning with unbridled aggressivity. Influences, mesquinery, profit, profit, extravagant profit, have become the open or hidden leitmotif. Russia understood the real situation first, giving freedom to the former Soviet republics, while the USA and later England jumped into the imaginary carriage driving toward “rule the world.” Following the Global Village policy, all problems should be settled among neighbours even if blood is spilled. Instead, Nato, this reshaped monster, decides on the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. Bloody resistances create new priorities so wars spread like weeds. This collective madness will end while erupting like a ripe abscess. We can only hope that the world survives the overdestructive war machine and patriotisms whether false or justified. The invaders’ patriotism is always wrong.
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William Markiewicz