Italicised comment is from a commentary by Jakob Augstein, the bracketed text is VDH's fisking. rtwt. Haven't read a fisking this good outside the 'burg in a while. Nevertheless, at least one good opportunity springs from America's fate: The further the United States distances itself from us, the more we will (have to) think for ourselves, as Europeans. The West? That's us.
[As we say in America -- "promises, promises..." Does that "distance" include rejection of U.S. military subsidies -- as in the final departure of the remaining 52,000 American troops in Germany? Given the status of the EU, and what I read in the German papers about Italians and Greeks--and then again in the southern European papers about Germans -- Mr. Augstein should be thinking not of ridding America from the West, but whether the West will still include a united Europe, which is proving as undemocratic as it is unable to continue the basic premises of the welfare state. So the West indeed totters, but the general culprit -- whether evidenced in the North-South divide in Europe, the rancor over borrowing an unsustainable $16 trillion in the U.S., or the dichotomy between the financial health of red- and blue-state America -- is an unsustainable redistributive state.
The desire for "distance" unfortunately is not just confined to European elites like Mr. Augstein himself, but is voiced more often by a far greater numbers of Americans, who cannot quite fathom the premises of postmodern Europe, much less why in tough financial times we should be subsidizing the security of a system that won't pay for what it thinks it requires for its own protection -- is NATO still the old British formulation, as articulated by Lord Ismay, of keeping Russia out, America in, and Germany down? If the French and British military record in Libya or the German-Greek negotiations are a blueprint for a new definition of European singularity, then God help our trans-Atlantic cousins, since America will soon no longer be willing or able to.]
Continued on Page 47
#1
At a certain point the Roman Empire split, the Western half to include Rome fell quickly by 455 [the date the real Vandals sacked the city]. The Eastern half would continue in some form or fraction till the 15th Century. Justinian the last Emperor to dream of reuniting the old Roman state, so exhausted the East in manpower and resources trying to recover the glory days, that it was unable to stop the first Muslim war of expansion and conquest. There comes a time to allow history to take its course for those civilizations that commit cultural suicide.
#5
Yup. Post-Roman Italy was actually doing okay before Justinian; the Vandals and Lombards ruled lightly and wanted to be more Roman-like. The Roman senators still controlled much of the land and wealth, and life was more or less romanized.
Justinian led a terrible campaign to reclaim Italy for the Empire, and in the process his army marched up and down the peninsula several times. When they were done Rome was a wreck, the senators were gone, and the land was ruined for a couple generations.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2011 13:53 Comments ||
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#6
Single best thing we could do for Europe at this point is to leave the military wing of NATO, and invite the Europeans to plan and participate in their own defense. Let them figure out how much they need, where to put it, and who's going to do it. Let the Euros find the new balance point between defense and social spending, or let them go under.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2011 13:54 Comments ||
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#7
"Let the Euros find the new balance point between defense and social spending, or let them go under."
Yes, exactly that.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
08/09/2011 14:03 Comments ||
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#8
In all fairness to Justinian, everything he might have accomplished was pretty much undone by the plague, including his own health for the rest of his life. The Empress Theodora, however, was singularly responsible for extending the life of the empire by another 200 years.
In a situation eerily reflective of today's America, the empire was split into political factions, the blues (think blue States), who were favored by Justinian, and their allies, the more radical greens, who sought to overthrow him, and the less powerful reds (think red States) and the whites.
After a period of severe instability that almost overthrew the government, called the Nika Riots, led by the greens and the blues, Justinian was about to call it quits and flee, but Theodora thought otherwise. So she called for something of a peace conference with the blues and the greens to be held in the largest amphitheater.
The blues and the greens arrived, and decided to name their own emperor, but the queen sent a trusted eunuch and two generals. The eunuch delivered a bag of gold to the blue leaders, and reminded them that Justinian had long supported them. They took the hint, and ordered all the blues, as a group, to leave the stadium, much to the surprise of the greens, who decided that the new emperor would be a green emperor (think Al Gore.)
But the amphitheater, now containing only greens, was surrounded by the two trusted generals and their armies. Who then went in and slaughtered every one of the greens.
An act which politically stabilized their empire for 200 more years.
#9
"Let the Euros find the new balance point between defense and social spending, or let them go under."
Which is something the United States has NEVER come close to finding in 235 years, even with a GPS...
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/09/2011 14:41 Comments ||
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#10
Single best thing we could do for Europe at this point is to leave the military wing of NATO, and invite the Europeans to plan and participate in their own defense.
I agree completely. Until I think that might be just what the Russians want. Would we care if EUrope came under the New Soviet umbrella?
#11
"Would we care if EUrope came under the New Soviet umbrella?"
The answer is 'yes'.
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/09/2011 14:55 Comments ||
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#12
And how much are you contributing, Mr. SS?
Other than your mouth, I mean.
Posted by: Barbara ||
08/09/2011 15:05 Comments ||
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#13
A gentle reminder, Shakey, that Canada too benefits substantially from American defense spending. We south of the 48th would not mind at all if Canada decided to cancel the partnership and go its on way on defense, we really wouldn't. Try us.
Europe is destined to fail. It's unfortunate; many of us have ancestors who came from there, and there's an enormous culture, literature, art, and political theory that started on the continent. One cannot imagine the world history of the last two millennia, good and bad, without Europe. But Europe will fail for two reasons:
First, demography. There are to be fewer and fewer Europeans in the decades to come. One of the most popular names for a newborn male in Europe these days is "Mohammed", and while I don't begrudge anyone's faith, a Europe with a Muslim majority or near-majority population is going to be very different than the Europe we've known. Europe is a continent always defined by its ethnicity, and that is changing radically.
Second, will. Europe will fail because its people and particularly its leaders don't believe in the things that sustain a culture. Europe is all socialistic twaddle these days. It's no secret that the riots in London are coming out of neighborhoods that are the result of socialistic foolishness; that the police can't fight back; that the elites are telling people not to fight back; and that everyone just about is looking for a way to pick someone's else pocket for their pension plans and health benefits.
Europe is done because the people don't really believe in Europe -- the banding together of the elites into the 'European Union' doesn't count.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/09/2011 15:35 Comments ||
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#14
Whom are you defending us from? I'd like to know..
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/09/2011 15:50 Comments ||
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#15
Would we care if EUrope came under the New Soviet umbrella?
#17
I play pick up hockey with several members of the Canadian Forces Air Command (I still think of them as RCAF) most weekends in the winter. They're here in Upstate NY as part of EADS. Great guys, bring their share of the beer and, unlike Shakey Steve, understand what their mission here is all about. Glad they're here.
#18
Funny that the Americans and the Danes also lay claim...so does that mean you are 'protecting' us from yourselves also? Gets pretty convoluted, all this 'protection' you know...
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/09/2011 18:43 Comments ||
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#19
I wouldn't worry about American 'claims'. In the end, the EPA will decree its all untouchable. At least we should let someone else get it [like the Chinese who are drilling for Cuba now in oil resource areas between there and Florida].
#20
Suppose an extended game of Axis & Allies, or a simple game of Risk, is quite below such proclaimed stature. It is, after all, at a twelve year old's level.
Escape Merica's state? Last I saw the EU had to plug in an extra fan to catch the shit with another shovel load at the ready. At least in the USA polyticks have to address people unlike the selected EU. Keep it up, and you all will have border skirmishes on and off paper.
It is extremely difficult to understand the rationale (if any) behind terror attacks. All terror attacks are the sick acts of deranged - if perversely lucid - people, who feel impotent against the society they live in or they unwittingly fight for.
The Norway massacre by this young, pleasant looking monster is particularly horrible because it doesn't seem at first glance to have any explanation or justification, twisted or not. Unfortunately, it is as sickly rational (from a sick mind point of view) as any other terrorist attack.
Historians and intellectuals, fearful of the risk of repeating past atrocities (always perpetrated for the 'good' of humanity, of course) have been warning the West's progressives not to push their agendas to their extreme consequences lest they wanted to obtain the opposite of what they theoretically wished onto their citizens (racism, concentration camps, deportations, ethnic cleansing); but power, greed and corruption have muddled the original issues and molded them into perfect demagoguery material. The result? Uncontrolled immigration to the detriment (and often discrimination) of the indigenous population for the purpose of creating voting blocks, welfare and all sorts of entitlements to create dependence and passivity and - of course - more votes, misguided multiculturalism to appease violent minorities, betrayal of hard won ideals (to the point of harsh anti-Semitism, in Norway) for the sake of security, promotion of extreme relativism to undermine societies' institutions, etc., etc., etc..
In a normal democracy, these agendas are eventually moderated through political dialogue or die of their own, either when people see the lies behind the policies or when the nanny state runs out of money. Norway, on the contrary, could afford to drown their citizens in entitlements, accommodate and subsidize fresh immigration and at the same time lull everybody in a false sense of security, thanks to its oil wealth.
Such state of things eventually creates social conflicts which in normal circumstances generate a healthy (at least in the name of democratic choice) shift in politics and nothing more (as seen recently in most of Europe, including Norway). On the other hand, more serious and dangerous effects are produced on the weakest (or sickest, take your pick) minds. To these, the continuous exposure to such social contradictions exasperates their sense of betrayal, oppression, impotence, producing a desire to sow the horror we have sadly often witnessed, as a lesson, a message, a warning or a cry of desperation - who really knows what goes on in their minds.
Someone (individuals or groups) was bound to exploit the situation. Something was bound to blow up.
Forgetting what man really is, his limitations and potential and pretending, for political expediency, that we all are the same good, altruistic, outgoing beings, helps only power-greedy or clueless politicians, while tolerating intolerance for fear or gain only invites violence, of one kind or another.
A last observation: guns in Norway (they declare themselves proudly to be 'multiculturalists and pacifists') are anathema; even the police is totally unarmed. But most of the Utoya victims would be alive today if anyone had had a gun.
That last sentence could be true, and agreed that the police do not carry their guns with them as a general practice -- they have to get them from the lock-up. Also that most of the Utoya victims would be alive if they all threw rocks at the shooter to wound him and distract his aim instead of walking up to him to discuss his issues and persuade him to take a different course. But as for the rest of the paragraph, Norway has a very active hunting and sport shooting culture, and lots of people own things that shoot bullets, both registered and unregistered (see here for details). The shooter was a member of several gun clubs, and reportedly they knew nothing of his political activities.
It should be noted that Norway was under Nazi occupation during WWII for longer than any other western European nation. That bit of history would go a long way towards explaining why Norweigians are allowed to own firearms, while other citizens of other nations are not. Continued on Page 47
#2
Even original articles published at Rantburg hae some sort of news peg. I have published, written or rewritten no fewer than 600 articles at Rantburg and I have never used social media as a news source.
Maybe the rules aren't clear enough, but the posting interface does display rather prominently a box for a news source. Social media, if you want to include it should be included as a separate link in your article, not as a source.
#5
The killer promotes "patriarchy." How many women would vote for that? I believe he is a movement of one person. He will like the solitaryness of prison life.
#6
I spoke with a Norwegian Saturday. I asked him about this and he responded by saying that this was the work of one man like our Timothy McVeigh(I wanted to say Timothy Geithner). End of story. They have moved on. So I say leave this issue to the media talking heads elsewhere in the world.
Ok. I added "by Terry Mattingly" at the top of the text. To clarify: Elmalet Greamble7487 is Mr. Mattingly, only posting under a nym all unwilling? Mr. Mattingly, all you need do is erase/delete the nym and type in the name you wish us to know you by. This should also create a cookie attached to the new ID, so that in future the desired identity should appear instead of one of Fred's cute little randomized anonymous thingies.
Next point: if you have written a piece specifically for Rantburg, post it in full without a URL, because the correct reference is here. If you have written a piece for your own blog, link to the blog page in the URL box, but give us no more than a brief summary or a single paragraph from the text. Truthfully, the best way to garner attention for your blog is to put the blog URL In the optional website block when you post comments -- if your comments are thoughtful and knowledgeable, people are likely to follow you home to see what else you have to say. I certainly do, and have commented both here and on various blogs about what I've seen.
#8
Who's Terry Mattingly?
Look, this is getting too complicated, please delete the post; all I wanted was to publish the piece and then tell my followers on twitter and G+ to come and read it here (which I thought would be good for your audience too). Forget it, thanks.
#9
I have to totally take the blame for the confuson concerning this article.
All I wanted to do was to impress on the individual posting this material, that we like to see news links, not personal links in the source box, so I, unhelpfully as it turned out, included the first link on the Norway massacre I could google, enhancing the confusion.
I will not delete the article. It was good and well written. I am glad Rantburg was one of the places you decided to post it.
But, it has to be said, this was amateur hour for us, and for that I am very sorry.
#11
Ok Badanov, no big deal, apology accepted and thanks for the compliments.
But if you want to keep it, could you please clean up all the misunderstandings from the comments and delete the "Terry Mattingly?" green header?
Thanks! (^_~)
[An Nahar] A Mohammedan man died on Sunday after setting himself on fire inside a mosque in the French city of Toulouse, local officials said, saying the man was psychologically disturbed.
The man, in his fifties, suffered burns over 90 percent of his body and died in hospital, the local prefect's office said.
He had doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire inside the mosque after earlier yelling at the local imam, officials said.
A prefect official said the incident had nothing to do with "xenophobia or racism" and said the man was known to have suffered from psychiatric problems.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A 
