My own personal rock bottom was in high rise, Ballymun, Dublin, in a totally unfurnished flat. I was totally isolated from the reality around me and desperate. I was constantly alternating in my sleep, with dreams of my absent children and nightmares of nihilism and the abyss. I was sleeping on the bare frame of a steel bed, without a mattress, covered by wallpaper, torn from the walls, to keep myself warm in an Irish winter. I had walked among the high rise flats, an Irish country boy, totally isolated and alone, with the lights of each apartment, like beacons from alien worlds, from which I was absolutely isolated.The aeroplanes were coming in low into Dublin Airport, like spacecraft from other planets, as I had never been on one in my life of 35 years. The Provos were no longer part of the solution, neither was family or community. The alcohol was no longer doing the trick of escape. I was in no man's land, a very vulnerable, lonely place to be, as anyone who has been there, can testify. Well, desperate people, do desperate things, and I made the decision to do a hold-up the following day, either way, it couldn't get worse, company in gaol or a good piss-up. Now I wouldn't recommend jail to my worst enemy, freedom is everything to me but I met some of the nicest people, I have ever known, in there. Anyway, this rock bottom was to lead me eventually, to a community of people, just like myself, where the brutal truth about our way of life, our selfishness, self-centredness and self-will, had led us. It was reflected by people around me, who were mirrors of myself, sharing their own experience, from which I could not avoid identifying myself. With the help of the stardust, both without and within, I found personal freedom and learned how to fly, which is conditional on sharing it. Somehow, I feel Ireland is on the threshold of freedom too, if we remember the lessons of our experience and our history, some of which is in the second article below. As a country boy, my first lesson as a child, was that people need land, to be self-supporting, and whether we like it or not, we are interdependent on a community around us, where we can barter a pinch of salt, or a cup of sugar, or tea, or whatever, not forgetting the goats, of course.
February 07, 2015 "ICH" - I have to say that I personally don't recall anything quite like what happened today in Munich. For one thing, I detected a tone in Lavrov's words which I had not felt so strongly before. Of course, Lavrov was calm, composed and polite. But this time I also felt an immense sense of disgust on his part for the audience he was addressing and for what these so-called 'leaders' had done over the past decade. In essence Lavrov told them "Putin already explained everything to you in 2007 but you have not listened to a word he had to say - and now are you really happy with the result?". Then came the Q&A and things only got worse.
Frankly, I am wondering whether what happened today was some kind of setup to try to provoke Lavrov or whether the folks who asked questions are just simply terminally stupid. Listening to them, I though that was was witnessing an "intellectual Conchita Wurst" moment: terminally pretentious and degenerate Europeans who are completely devoid of any sense of reality, truth or even basic decency. Even the very thin veneer of European manners melted away when the German reporter began laughing at Lavrov's mention of the UN Charter. I can only marvel at Lavrov's mental control and thank God that he did not make me a diplomat as I felt like punching my computer screen listening to these clowns.
If you look at the Saint George Ribbon on the left side of the page you will see that above I wrote "Russia stands for freedom". I am beginning to realize that this is a rather superficial formulation. On a much deeper level, Russia stands for truth both as a logical category and a moral principle. The western 'elites' stand for the exact opposite of that, they are the embodiment of un-truth in the logical and moral sense. And that chasm was evident in today's face à face between Lavrov has his "western colleagues".
Dishonesty, intellectual and moral, has been elevated to an ontological principle and foundation of the modern western political thought and culture, it is what these societies do best and all they can do. Not only are "right and wrong" gone in a moral sense, they are now also gone in a logical sense. Something both deeply immoral and completely absurd can now be elevated to an axiomatic status and then be used as "the measure of all things".
Yet again and again, I come to the conclusion that what we are seeing here is truly a deep civilizational clash between two civilizational realm who have grown so far apart as to make them virtual extraterrestrial aliens to each other. Lavrov would have had a much better experience speaking to some little green men on another Galaxy, these the people he addressed today in Munich.
I am going to say something which will trigger the usual spike in hate mail and outraged comments, but what I see today is struggle very similar to the one which opposed the Pharisees and Christ 2000 years ago. You could also refer to it as a struggle between "Conchita Wurst vs Saint George". Or "Hizb Shaitan vs Hizb Allah". These are all metaphors for the same reality. And since what is at stake today is really the future of the entire international order you can say that we are living one of the most dangerous and crucial moment in history.
I don't see how this conflict could be resolved by negotiations. On a short-term, tactical level, yes, sure. But fundamentally this is an existential struggle for both sides and only one will be left standing. We might well have reached the kind of historical nexus which will determine the future (or lack thereof) of the entire human race. This is the conclusion I have personally come to.
Now feel free to ridicule me for being over the top - I call it as I see it.
Cheers and kind regards,
The Saker
Ireland:When the bishop's blessed the blueshirts
"To abolish, without compensation, landlordism in lands, fisheries and minerals"As Blueshirt James Hogan put it:
"To make the national wealth and credit available for the creation and fullest development of essential industries and mineral resources, through Industrial Workers Co-operatives, under State direction and management, workers to regulate internal working conditions" (1)
"It was the growing menace of the Communist I.R.A. that called forth the Blueshirts as Communist Anarchy called forth the Blackshirts in Italy" (2)However mostly when they thought of the Red Menace they were simply believing their own exaggerated propaganda. Now who was responsible for this Red tide? Why the international Jewish/Communist/Banking conspiracy of course. As a writer in the Blueshirt journal put it: "The founders of Communism were practically all Jews. This can scarcely be a mere coincidence. It may appear singular that Marx, Engels, Lasalle and Ricardo were all Jews" (3)
The Blueshirts saw themselves as part of the European Fascist movement, as a leading Cumann na nGaedheal member John A. Costello, who was later leader of Fine Gael and Prime Minister of the Irish Republic said in the Dail:
"The Blackshirts have been victorious in Italy and Hitler's Brownshirts have been victorious in Germany, as assuredly the Blueshirts will be victorious in Ireland." (4)This was not so and much of the credit must go to the people who fought them tooth and nail. O'Duffy planed a Mussolini style March on Rome for Dublin in August 1933 ostensibly to commemorate Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith and Kevin O'Higgins. The Government banned the march and units of the I.R.A. lay in wait to ambush it as it passed over O'Connell bridge. O'Duffy backed down and cancelled the march. The Blueshirt movement was now marginalised, O'Duffy had failed to live up to his hard man rhetoric. Later that year the Blueshirts merged with Cumann Na nGaedheal, the Farmers Party and the National Centre Party to form Fine Gael with O'Duffy as it's leader. O'Duffy was ousted from the leadership after making a speech in which he proposed to invade Northern Ireland.
The Spanish Civil War
O'Duffy re-emerged onto the national stage in 1936 to form a seven hundred strong Irish Brigade to fight for Franco in Spain's Civil War, this effort was vigorously supported by the Catholic Church. The Dean of Cashel endorsed it stating that:"The Irish Brigade have gone to fight the battle of Christianity against Communism. There are tremendous difficulties facing the men under O'Duffy and only heroes can fight such a battle" (5)The aforementioned Saor Eire had by contrast been condemned by the Bishops as:
"a sinful and irreligious organisation" (6)They pressurised the Government into outlawing it.
Cardinal Macrory Archbishop of Armagh and primate of all-Ireland, while addressing seven thousand pilgrims in Drogheda at the shrine of blessed Oliver Plunket - a preserved, severed head with reputed magical powers, nailed his colours to the mast and expressed his support for Franco:
"There is no room any longer for any doubt as to the issues at stake in the Spanish conflict. It is not a question of the Army against the people, nor the Army plus the aristocracy and the Church against Labour. Not at all. It is a question of whether Spain will remain as she has been for so long, a Christian and Catholic land or a Bolshevist and anti-God one" (7)Newspapers and in particular the Irish Independent took a pro-Franco line:
"It is well that the line of demarcation in Spain should be made clear. On the one side is a so-called Government which has abandoned all the functions of government to a Communist Junta bent upon the destruction of personal liberty, the eradication of religion, the burning of churches, and the wholesale slaughter of clergy. On the other side are the Patriot Army gladly risking liberty, property, and life, in defense of their faith-Fighting the same fight that our Irish ancestors fought for centuries for the same cause" (8)Unsurprisingly the multitude of widely read Church based publications were even more vociferous in their praise for Fascism.
The main body organising support for Franco was the Irish Christian Front ( I.C.F.) a broad based pressure group which , in the early months of the civil war , organised massive demonstrations and had , initially at least , more widespread support than the Blueshirts . The Front's founders were Patrick Belton , who was formerly a T.D. for both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael as well as being an ex-Blueshirt , and Alexander McCabe , formerly elected for both Sinn Fein (pre-1922) and Cumann Na nGaedheal and later to be a member of Eoin O'Duffy's pro-nazi People's National Party. At one I.C.F. rally in Cork in September 1936 40,000 people assembled to hear Monsignor Patrick Sexton , dean of Cork , blame the civil war on "a gang of murderous Jews in Moscow" (9) while beside him stood Alfred O'Rahilly , the future president of the University College of Cork and Douglas Hyde , the future president of the Irish state who currently has his head on the £50 note.
Oliver J. Flanagan and Fine Gael
In 1943 elected as an independent to the Dail for the Laois-Offaly area was one Oliver J. Flanagan . In one of his earliest parliamentary speeches he said:"There is one thing that Germany did and that was to rout the Jews out of their country. Until we rout the Jews out of this country it does not matter a hair's breadth what orders you make. Where the bees are there is honey, and where the Jews are there is money." (10) He was soon to join Fine Gael and remained a T.D. for them until 1987 briefly becoming Minister for Defence in the late 1970's .
Fianna Fail and Alleanza Nazionale
Fianna Fail's members of the European Parliament are part of the same group, the Union for Europe of the Nations, as the neo-Fascist , post-Fascist, or just plain-Fascist Italian party the Alleanza Nazionale (National Alliance).Gianfranco Fini , leader of the National Alliance , describes Mussolini as his "political master" and as "the greatest Italian politician".(2) Quoted in 'Fighting Talk' issue 6 pages 16 and 17.
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Ibid.
(6) Quoted in 'Ireland since 1870' by Mark Tierney page 293.
(7) Quoted in 'Frank Ryan' by Sean Cronin page 79.
(8) Ibid. page 77.
(9) Quoted in 'The Spanish Civil War and Irish Politics' by Mick Cronin
(10) Quoted in 'This Great Little Nation' by Gene Kerrigan and Pat Brennan page 107.
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