Category: political

During the great depression FDR went on radio for his fireside chats to talk to the country. FDR was a President who exuded optimism. Ronald Reagan was like that as well. Those kind of attitudes are crucial for the morale of people during difficult times

The attitudes that media and scientists have during the present crisis is frustrating and infuriating. Omicron is a setback in the fight against covid. But, this is not March 2020 nor is it the winter of 2020 to 2021.

We have come a very long way. Can anyone say that the year 2021 was not much better than 2020? Even with Omicron, this is a mild variant in comparison to its predecessors. The infections in South Africa have decreased dramatically. The present situation is difficult but there are signs that are encouraging.

The Scientific community sees things very bleakly. I understand we need to be realistic and not be in denial. Do we have to see things in the worst possible light.

Scientists do not understand diplomacy or behave like emotionless machines. Take for example the Greek scientist Elias Mosialos. This Scientist was attempting to persuade Greeks to wear masks. A worthy endeavor.

This man posted a blasphemous picture of the holy family in which he mocked and ridiculed the virginity of the most holy Panaghia within the context of mask wearing. This fool does not realize that angering millions of Orthodox Greeks does not make it easier to persuade people to wear masks.

Most Greek bishops have endorsed vaccinations and have assisted the government in efforts to stop covid. Yet, Mr. Mosialos angered the bishops in Greece. The contempt for Christianity that this well educated Scientist expressed is an example of the dangerous divide that exists between the scientific community and many ordinary people.

People around the world are tired, frustrated, and angry. No doubt the Scientists feel the same way. But the Scientists need to understand human nature as it is. Human civilization over the past two years has suffered a trauma unprecedented in this lifetime.

The Scientific community has estranged itself from millions of people owing to the support given to the Wuhan lab in China. From the very beginning of this pandemic Scientists lost the confidence of people owing first and foremost to association with China. The inability of Scientists to show any form of optimism and the doom and gloom attitudes have not helped.

What are people supposed to think in a horror movie world where life has been completely disrupted only to see Scientists who have no empathy for regular people? Yes, people should be responsible and wear masks and be vaccinated. Scientists likewise need to have more empathy and appreciation for the average person.

Scientists do not relate to ordinary people. That is a problem and it can be seen in the example of a Greek Scientist ridiculing the Mother of God. This Scientist has totally undermined his own efforts to convince people to wear masks.

At a a time when unity among men matters, science has become politicized and detached from ordinary citizens. This is an obstacle that needs to be overcome. Scientists should not mock religious faith and they should be inclined to acknowledge that things have improved despite recent setbacks.

The anti vaxxers and Scientists have much in common. They both view the present world with a sense of pessimism and negativity. Since the Scientists and the media are publicizing nothing but negativity and minimizing facts that offer hope they should not be surprised that so many people believe that things are hopeless.

Orthodox Christians and people of other faiths take solace knowing that God is there. Leave it to a scientist to mock faith which has proved invaluable to so many people during these evil times.

Former Greek President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Karolos Papoulias passed away. He was an honorable man and a Greek nationalist who as Foreign Minister under the late Andreas Papandreou took very hard line positions on Cyprus and Macedonia. In 2004, the treacherous Prime Minister Costas Simitis, Foreign Minister George Papandreou, Constantinos Mitsotakis, and Dora Bakoyannis plotted against Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos.

Papadopoulos refused to accept a United Nations plan for Cyprus that would have solidified the Turkish invasions and occupation. For this reason, the above mentioned buffoons sought to undermine the President of Cyprus. President Papoulias refused to support them and maintained his support for a free Cyprus.

May his memory be eternal!

It has been proven that the National Institute of Health and its affiliates such as Eco Health alliance and the World Health Organization have been morally compromised by their working relationships with China. Their professional and financial backing for Gain of Function research in Wuhan has been exposed. Unfortunately, their activities have not received proper coverage from international media.

The first point here is that the scientific community refuses to take responsibility for the outbreak of covid. They initially lied about the leak in the Wuhan lab by stating that the wet markets in Wuhan were to blame for Covid. The refusal of the scientific community to demand the departure of Anthony Fauci (an enthusiastic and unapologetic supporter of gain of function research up to the present day) continues to undermine its credibility.

Leaving aside the nefarious activities of all the above let us examine the attitudes of the broader scientific community. By no means should the broader scientific community be associated with the activities of all the above. However, scientists have an inclination to be irritating by their apathy to the very real frustrations of ordinary people.

At the present time, the new variant called Omicron represents a serious threat. Fair enough to recognize this threat. However, Scientists act as if nothing has changed since last year. The media is not helping either but that is another story.

Last year, no one was vaccinated. This winter, sixty percent of all Americans have been fully vaccinated. Furthermore, although Omicron spreads much faster than the Delta variant as it has a much more mild effect on people. Granted, none of this is good but the fact is we are much better off this winter than last winter and the refusal of Scientists and Doctors to concede that things are better is especially irritating.

It is clear that Scientists and Doctors do not understand the importance of morale. Clearly, they do not understand the frustrations of ordinary people. This is not the fourteenth century in which the world was ravaged by the black death. This is 2021 where the world has changed and in which the outbreak of an infectious disease is far more difficult to cope with.

The world of 2020 was a much different world from previous centuries. Frankly, a pandemic in today’s world should have been unthinkable. Scientists and Doctors have shown inability to understand the economic, social, and political effects emanating from the lockdowns that were imposed at the beginning. Shutting the world down created further problems as can be seen by the riots in America during the summer of 2020.

Theologians understand that we live in a fallen world where man is a sinner. Christianity offers the sacrament-mystery of confession to believers because people sin even after repenting. People fall again and again and look to God’s grace for forgiveness again and again. Do Scientists and Doctors understand the nature of man and his proclivity to sin?

The Scientists believe if they tell people about how to fight the pandemic that people will just listen. That humans are more complex with a variety of beliefs and theories and may not listen does not seem to reach the understanding of the highly educated Scientists and Doctors.

The pandemic should not have happened. It happened because of the reckless actions of Chinese Scientists and their western enablers who failed to take into account the well being of the people of the world and the disruption of their lives. Much has been said about privilege in America.

Let it be understood that the most privileged people are the Scientists who carried on with their activities while the people of the world carried on with their lives not suspecting what was to come. One of the things that must change post pandemic is the privileged position of scientists. Democratic governments must take control and exert their authority over the Scientific communities in the future.

We have seen in recent years the scandals regarding religious institutions. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese is a case in point with its never ending tales of corruption. The Roman Catholic Church is another example. As Churches and Governments are held responsible for their offenses, so should the Scientists at the National Institute of Health and elsewhere for assisting the Wuhan lab.

The lockdowns also deprived people of attending religious services from which they draw faith and strength. The secular elite in Science, Medicine, Government, and Media had no empathy for the spiritual and moral dilemma that believers in all faiths faced during the lockdowns.

Scientists and Doctors see nothing but gloom and death. This despite the fact that America and the world came a long way from the early horrors of the pandemic to the summer of 2021 where things got much, much better. While the year 2021 will end in disappointment can any one doubt this was a much, much better year than 2020?

The Scientific community needs to clean house beginning with Anthony Fauci who needs to be retired. They also need to fundamentally recognize that people need a sense of optimism and hope. It is not enough for people to merely be alive, they need to know that they will recover their lives.

One has to wonder if the Scientists will ever admit that the pandemic is over even when it actually is over. No one can deny that the Scientific community under Fauci has attained a great deal of political authority and influence unprecedented in American history.

The Russian government sponsored a resolution at the United Nations which passed. The resolution condemned Nazism and Neo-Nazism. The resolution condemned racism and racist ideology. Guess which two countries voted against the resolution?

That would be the United States and Ukraine. Countries that abstained from voting are mostly American allies. This exposes the Biden administration and the Democratic Party as the frauds that they really are. Decent people condemn the pagan, racist, and occultist ideology of Nazism at every opportunity.

Since the Russians sponsored the resolution, the Biden administration refrained from doing so. The Russians have valid reasons for sponsoring the resolution and the Democrats have understandable reasons for opposing it. The Biden administration and its predecessors have been supporting the Ukrainian militias which are filled with Neo-Nazis that glorify Nazi collaborators.

Ukraine’s opposition to the resolution is obvious. The Russians have exposed the hypocrisy of the American Democratic Party which claims to be anti racist while turning down an opportunity to denounce real racism at the United Nations. The Democratic Party has made common cause with Antifa, a radical Marxist organization that considers itself to be anti fascist.

The real anti fascists are in Russia who are fighting the Neo-Nazis militias in Ukraine. The connection of the Democratic Party to fascism goes back to the support that the Clinton administration gave to the pro Nazi Croatian government during the 1990’s. Hillary Clinton compared Vladimir Putin to Hitler but serious people know that Putin has a family that fought and suffered against the Nazis.

The Clintons and Biden have a history of pro fascist activism in the former Yugoslavia and Ukraine. The Russians have successfully exposed them.

The European Union is apparently considering sanctions on Turkey in response to the opening of the town of Varosha in the occupied territories of Cyprus. Such a development would be victory and a major step forward for Greece and Cyprus. Whether the EU is serious on the other hand remains to be seen.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said sanctions are being considered. This would be crucial because it would directly impose sanctions on Turkey for its aggressive stances toward the Hellenic world. The EU has previously imposed sanctions on Turkey over the purchase of a Russian defense system. At the insistence of Germany, Europe has refused to sanction Turkey over its aggressive and expansionist claims on Greek and Cypriot territory.

Sanctions over Varosha will be a major victory in Hellenic diplomacy. The question remains whether the EU will actually impose sanctions. Now is the time for Athens to pay close attention to which European states will oppose or support the aforementioned sanctions. Any opposition to sanctioning Turkey on the matter of Varosha collectively by the EU itself or by individual EU members should be viewed as hostile and unfriendly actions by Greece and Cyprus.

Any European elements that do not stand with Greece and Cyprus at this date are not worth consideration as long time allies by either Athens or Nicosia.

The United States withdrew from a twenty year war in Afghanistan that ended in disaster. While it is true that the manner in which the Biden administration withdrew was responsible for the disaster that unfolded, the fact is that Afghanistan was very problematic and unwinnable as can be seen by the recent publication of the “Afghanistan Papers” a book based heavily on documents from the Bush, Obama, and Trump administration. Now the United States wants to provoke tensions with Russia over Ukraine.

Russia should not invade Ukraine. Ukraine is entitled to its sovereignty and independence. At the same time, the Biden administration refuses to accept Russian demands that Ukraine not be admitted into NATO. In fairness to the Biden administration, NATO expansion at the expense of Russian national security began under the Clinton administration and continued under the Bush and Obama administrations. Neocons in the Republican Party remain as vociferous in their anti Russian sentiments as the Democrats.

NATO needs to give assurances that Ukraine will not be accepted as a member. Then the Russians could give assurances they will not invade. Ukraine borders Russia and considering the history of invasions directed at Russia from the Teutonic Knights to Hitler it is easy to see why the Russians will not accept Ukraine as a member of NATO.

The US lost in Afghanistan because it never understood the complex tribal and cultural factors that makes that country ungovernable. Ukraine is not as complex but it does have cultural and religious problems that western secularists and liberals do not understand. The Uniates are Eastern Rite Christians under the Papacy. Byzantine in their liturgy and Roman Catholic in their ecclesiology and dogmas they are a complicating factor in relations between the Orthodox and the Papacy.

Ukraine is the border between Orthodoxy and western Christianity. It is a very delicate situation fraught with tensions and violence. Into the mix is the Church situation into which Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople unwisely ventured at the request of Washington. The political complexities of Ukraine have led to the schism that threatens Orthodox unity.

The Russians should recognize that the Church question will become further complicated by a Russian invasion. The canonical and legitimate Ukrainian Orthodox Church is under the omophorion of Moscow. The Patriarch of Moscow is the legitimate spiritual leader of Ukraine and everything that has transpired in the ecclesiastical affairs of Ukraine over the past three years constitutes an aggression against the Moscow Patriarchate’s rightful authority.

A conflict in Ukraine will aggravate the Church problems and will serve to make a resolution more difficult. A resolution necessitates that the Ukrainian Church is an autonomous and inseparable part of the Russian Church. A Russian intervention will play to the political interests of those Ukrainian politicians that started the Church crisis.

The Biden administration will look particularly bad after the pathetic way in which the Afghanistan war was ended if it ends up in a conflict with Russia. President Biden insisted that Afghanistan was unwinnable. Biden was right about that but wrong in the manner in which he chose to withdraw American forces.

Provoking the Russians will be an even worse decision than the Bush administrations decision to invade Iraq. Both sides need to back down and respect Ukrainian sovereignty. Washington should demand that NATO abandon its desire to grant Ukraine membership and the Russians should renounce any plans to invade Ukraine.

Former Senator (R-Kansas) Robert Dole passed away at the age of ninety six. I voted for him in the 1996 Presidential election. I also wrote two published letters to the now defunct Hellenic Chronicle (Boston) and Greek American (New York) pointing out why Dole would have been good for Greece and Cyprus.

Among the reasons for supporting Dole were the times he sponsored Resolutions in the Senate recognizing the Armenian Genocide. During the Second World War, an Armenian Doctor saved the life of the future Senator. Dole became close to the Armenian community which raised money for his campaign in 1996.

The Dole campaign at the time made a real effort to win over the Greeks on the matters of the Patriarchate and Cyprus. The Greeks voted for the Democrats. This was the year incidentally in which the Clinton administration forced Greece to capitulate when Turkey claimed the Islet of Imia. In August of that year, the Turks murdered four Greek Cypriots within a one month period.

The Clinton administration did nothing. It is possible that if Dole had won the US would have still been pro Turkish. But we did know that after one term in office Clinton had done nothing for Greece and Cyprus.

The thing about Dole that was impressive was the personal connection he had to the Armenians which was described in an article in the Boston Globe. If there had ever been a Presidential Candidate who might have changed policies toward Turkey, it might have been Dole.

Furthermore, Dole had integrity. As we were later to discover the incumbent Democrat had no class or integrity.

Tensions are rising once again between NATO and Russia over Ukraine. Russia is threatening to invade Ukraine. However, Moscow is asking that NATO agree that Ukraine should not join the alliance.

NATO is dismissing the very idea that Ukraine should not become a member. NATO expansionism is a threat to Russia and the war of 2014 would not have occurred had not NATO (America specifically) overthrown the Ukrainian government and replaced it with an anti Russian one. An agreement by NATO not to include Ukraine as a member might go a long way toward establishing peace with Russia.

NATO wants to commit itself to Ukraine. Rather ironic that NATO refuses to support Greece against fellow NATO member Turkey. Turkey has been claiming Greece territory and threatening Greece with war. NATO has refused to intervene in any way.

NATO member Turkey invaded non aligned Cyprus in 1974 and continues to occupy Cypriot territory where Greek Cypriots were ethnically cleansed. NATO is not a defense alliance and its bombing of Serbia in 1999 fully affirms this. NATO is instigating tensions with Russia by seeking to make Ukraine a member.

The Biden administration would do well to improve relations with Russia and to ease tensions. Biden could make the US a leader by working to prevent further NATO expansion at the expense of Russia. With covid still a major problem the people of the world do not need either a cold war or a hot war with Russia.

The top priority for all should be the end of covid and a restoration of normal life, not war and conflict.

Before the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the subsequent war in Syria, the liberal-neocon Crusaders championed the conquest of the Serbs. Twenty years before the outbreak of anti Russian hysteria, there was the anti Serb hysteria of the 1990’s. Atrocities were committed by all sides during the wars of the former Yugoslavia, but it was the Serbs who were singled out by American and European governments and media as the alleged instigators.

In 1999, the Clinton administration and NATO bombed Serbia for over three months until the Serbs were forced to withdraw from Kosovo abandoning territory that had been liberated from the Ottoman Turks in 1912-13. It should be remembered that the Democratic administration in Washington demanded that the Serbs cede Kosovo in three years time or be bombed.

Twenty one years later, the Democrats would attempt to impeach Donald Trump for alleged threats against Ukraine. In truth, Trump did not do anything to compare with the threats the Clinton administration directed against Serbia. Previous to Kosovo, the Clinton administration bombed the Bosnian Serbs and supported the Muslims over the Serbs as they also supported the Neo-Nazi Croats against the Serbs in the region of Krajiina.

Tensions in Bosnia have arisen again. The Serbs are threatening to secede. The Americans and Europeans should not repeat the mistakes of the 1990’s. They should work for a peaceful settlement that takes into consideration the interests of the Serbs.

The big difference between today and the 1990’s is the status of Russia. During the 1990’s, Russia was weak and looked upon the destruction of Serbia helplessly. In the aftermath of Russian successes in Crimea and Syria, the westerners would be making a huge mistake if they attempt to reimpose their will on Serbia as they did during the 1990’s.

The Russians have not forgotten Serbia and they have not accepted the detachment of Kosovo from Serbia. Russia and Serbia are Slavic and Orthodox. They also share a common enemy in the form of the Democratic Party and the Clintons. The Democrats waged war on Serbia and it is the Democrats who instigated the anti Russia hysteria of the past several years for partisan purposes.

Hillary Clinton once compared Vladimir Putin to Hitler. This from a woman whose husband armed and supported the pro Nazi and anti Semitic Croatian regime of Franjo Tudjman. The Democrats under Obama and Biden armed and supported the Neo-Nazi militias in Ukraine that the Russians fought against.

Hopefully, lessons have been learned and the west will not repeat their mistakes in Bosnia. They should listen to all parties in Bosnia and offer to mediate but by no means should they demonize the Serbs as they did three decades ago.

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-greece-expand-defense-cooperation-amid-tension-with-turkey-russia-2021-11

The recent defense agreement between Greece and the United States is difficult to assess. On the positive side, the agreement has angered the Turkish government. If the agreement leads to protecting Greece from the Turks it will be a political triumph for Greece unprecedented since the days of Venizelos.

The danger of the agreement can be seen by the concerns of the Russians that the agreement is directed against them. To a certain extent, the Russians are being hypocritical considering the support they have given to the establishment of a nuclear plant in Turkey (with Russian priests blessing it). Overall however it is not in the interests of Greece to engage in or support a conflict with Russia.

In summation, if the United States is prepared to support Greece against Turkey, Athens has done the right thing. The Russians have their interests, and the Greeks have theirs. Greece should desire friendly relations with the Russians and many of us remain pro Russian while being concerned that Moscow did not support the Armenians against Azerbaijan.

The United States military has recently suggested that it needs to modernize the Turkish military. This is a bad sign. Greece needs to realize that Hellenic interests are threatened by Turkey, and no one else. Greece should pursue friendship with both Washington and Moscow and should let them know that relations with Athens will depend on how they react to Greece in the context of Turkish aggression against Greece and Cyprus.

The wise course of action is for Greece to maintain a policy of strict neutrality toward American-Russian rivalries that are playing out. Having made recent defense agreements with Washington, it can only be hoped that these agreements will help Greece in the context of Turkish expansionism.