MEMORABILIA...................

HOW THE 90'S REALLY STARTED

In what sometimes feels like a Lifetime ago a Bunch of People in Bristol did something quite extraordinary. It was the Cusp of the 1980's and 90's and the World was in Flux. The Warsaw Pact was about to - and then did - collapse, a Moderate was about to rule Iran after the Ayatollah Khomeini died, the Injustice of Apartheid was ending in South Africa and even Margaret Thatcher resigned. But while all this was happening a few People scattered across the Globe fought to ensure another Injustice wasn't forgotten. Beirut had been a Black Hole where People had been killed or disappeared since the mid 1970's and some were still there. In Bristol People watched TV as one of them, John McCarthy, had a Girlfriend in Britain who had been keeping his Memory alive. It was seeing Jill Morrell pleading for someone to do something that prompted those People to create a Music Project called International Hostage Release.

There then followed some Campaign work, Sleep-outs, Vigils and an Album Project with some very famous Names on it. Yours truly wrote the Press Pack that got everyone from Tina Turner to Midge Ure, Dire Straits to Todd Rundgren, and the Group who dedicated "Belfast Child" to Brian Keenan to donate a Song to the Album.

We then had an awesome Press Conference at the Waldorf Hotel in London to launch it.

It turned out to be something of a Full Stop to the 1980's and the start of the 1990's.

(Cue; someone starts the Projector)

Many things have happened since this Scene was filmed

(Cue ethereal Sissel Vocal)
Rather like that Intro to a certain James Cameron Movie from 1997 - here's an (almost) Sepia tinged Article by yours truly............................

And then - from Article to Artefacts..............................

This is from the Press Conference the subsequent Project did - and while John Jacob Astor was the wealthiest Man on the Titanic, the Conference was at his Cousins Hotel - built the same year as the stricken Ship, 1908, by William Waldorf Astor. How little I knew then that an epic Film would be made about that "Night to remember" a few years later!

When I was at the Conference I met the Sisters of Belfast Hostage Brian Keenan whose resolute Determination was very inspirational. Their and our Work was finally vindicated when he was released a few Months afterwards - and he wore one of our T'Shirts.

Yes, it really did feel like a Movie!

There's more.......... Click here More Memorabilia......

I have been quite vociferous about how the 90's commenced within a few years of this, but in the early 2000's I connected up with a Bloke who was a Fan of Colin Woore whose "If you really want me" appeared on the Album. I contacted him, told him about the Campaign - sending him Stuff from it - and he put together a rather nice Web Page about it ......

http://www.theeuropeans.co.uk/IHR.htm

And as a sort of Certificate of Authenticity - here's the Email exchange I had with Mr Glasswell about sending him the stuff. We've had all sorts of shenanigans with this - but rather like someone from Slovakia who quipped about how People might have seen something on the Internet - some of us saw all this for real!

Contact us............

Visit us at facebook; https://www.facebook.com/Metro-wynn-presents-1764433923845226/

Email; metrowynn@gmail.com

The Day after Tomorrow..................

As the World seems to be lurching from War to yet more War for causes as anachronistic as the Fossil Fuels they seem to be about, here's to me doing my bit to slow down the process that is leading to the Day after Tomorrow. Whether you feel that the World is being devoured by all this and maybe it should stop - or you've had enough of feeding that voracious Monster called your Electricity Meter - even both - check this out................

Click Here! Yep, that's right - free Electricity!!!!

Copy and paste into your Browser and enjoy.............

If I find a DIY Fusion Technology System I'll let you know. I find it astonishing that even when confronted by the contnuing Calamity that the Thirst for Oil seems to cause there hasn't been any more investment or enthusiasm for what is probably one of the most sensible alternatives to Fossil and Nuclear Fuels and even some 'renewable' Enery. Solar Panels have a limited Life expectancy before they start to deteriorate - thus having to make more and add to the Carbon Footprint in their Manufacture. Wind Farms are an Eyesore - and merely replace Chimneys with Windmills, while causing Turbulence if there are too many - while Barrage technology (ie; utilising Tidal Flows to generate Hydroelectricity) disrupt Estuaries and Rivers - causing problems for Shipping and Marine Life.

Until then, this looks cool...........and means at

least we don't have a Landscape that looks like the Theme from "The Thomas Crown Affair", you have control of your Wind powered Energy,  your Solar Panels might last longer than some, and we don't end up with Shipping and Whale Jams at an Estuary near you................

Click Here!

In an Age when Probes have left the Solar System, we have seen the Apollo Space Missions and the squillions of other technological advances made in the last 60 years - it's very hard to believe that there isn't something you could drop into the Bonnet of an average Saloon Car that doesn't run on Petrol, Diesel or even Bio Fuel. The latter might sound attractive, but when do we reach that point where we have to ask whether we use the Land to grow Fuel.........or Food?

Meanwhile, President Obama's 'New Age' Government took a Step forward - then a large one back - when they decided to allow Food Manufacturers to not display GMFs on their Packaging. This not only means 'Frankensein Foods' by stealth, but also encourages non-sustainable Food production.

This is when Agribusiness cultivates Species that don't naturally pro-create. Thus, a Crop yield will only grow once. Then you have to buy in more Seed to produce next years Harvest. A purely Monetarist Attitude which does nothing to help Agricultural Communities in some of the poorest parts of the World. It's also madness - because it ultimately means all of it becomes dependent on those cultivated Species. So what happens if or when it all goes wrong?????

There are many 'Isms; associated with Social Consciousness, but whatever your Ism might be - none of it amounts to anything if we can't breath the Air, drink the Water - and can't feed ourselves!   

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Movie Quote and Scenes relevant to you..................

How many people have seen films or TV shows without realizing that many of them - as Tolkien said - have to have some semblance of reality to be believable? He said this of his own stories - how he created his Middle Earth using real life peoples and characters from our own history and culture. This applies no less to many other stories found in films and TV shows, and while many might be flattering portrayals of individuals or events some aren't, while all are attempts at showing what might be right or wrong so people can decide from what they have seen or heard. No-one wants to look bad - or at least most people don't, while everyone from James Cameron, Francis Coppola, Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter have in their own inimitable style shown who or what the good, the bad and the downright ugly can be. In this Blog I will attempt to explain to you what those metaphors, analogies and characterizations might mean in the context of our own realities and actions. The rest - as they say - is up to the reader!

Watch this space.............

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Binary Options - the new Frontier

I recommend some Binary Options People you can rely on. 24option the most trusted in the world - with full regulation, Here's what some professionals are saying about them.....

"Some Binary Options brokers are just a Scam, some just Suck. 24Option is a member of the exclusive list of brokers considered to be highly respected and truly inspiring. Thanks to CySec regulation we can revoke any suspicion of a scam by 24Option and an attractive easy-to-use trading platform with a good customer service makes 24Option a user friendly prime and trusted broker."

"The management team at 24option is committed to their customers’ success by providing industry-leading service, features, asset choices, payoff ratios, and a user-friendly trading platform that makes trading fun, enjoyable, and profitable. You will not find a broker that has received more awards and commendations than 24option. They have set the bar extremely high for their competitors and have achieved a large and loyal following for being fair and focused on the right elements in the binary options arena. You would be hard pressed to find a broker that surpasses this one at any level, and their reputation, established over years of achievement, speaks for itself."

BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CHOOSE SOME OTHER THINGS?

I'm not Gordon Gecko - but after a few forays into the world of Binary Options Trading I reached a few quite informed conclusions, not based on Mr Douglas's Characters knowledge of the Markets but on some common sense and a feeling that this has become the new Frontier - fraught with almost as many virtual hazards as any Pioneer might have in the 'olde days' where Maps said "Here be Dragons!'

How many People have been inundated with Email promising to make them a Millionaire in a few Minutes? That all you have to do is subscribe to their "Free" software and you will live the lifestyle of your Dreams? Seen those Videos of posh Cars, Ladies, even posher Houses, the inevitable cliched Photo's of some exotic place - probably copied from a Holiday Company Brochure. How many of you have thought that if anyone approached you in real life like they do in their Email you might ignore them - or even tell them to £%&^£ off!

That the "Free" ends when you get referred to a Broker who contacts you almost immediately asking for a £250 Deposit. This they do before they ask you for any Accreditation - ID Documents and the like - which is weird because no Bank would even let you open a Deposit Account without some proof of ID. Suffice to say that while they might get yer Money with a read of your Card Number, Sort Code and CVV Code - you can't re-access it quite so promptly while your Accreditation has to be 'approved'.

Then how about the Software that got you into all this to start with? One has a 'Demo' Account, which created the impression that everything is prompt, accurate and lucrative.Wow I thought, but after a while it prompted a few questions from me. The first was why as soon as it starts it does so at the same value on the same Currency Pair every time? How the same Names of 'Winners' always appeared telling you "so and so has just won.... etc". The fact is that this 'Demo' is rather like any artificial intelligence game - which might have some interactivity but all of it is pre-programmed. Sim City might let you create Trading Estates, Housing, Civic Infrastructure and everything else that makes a Metropolis work - but it isn't wired into City Hall. Unfortunately there is nothing to tell you that this 'Demo' isn't actually trading Monopoly Money in Wall Street, so the impression it gives is very misleading. Someone somewhere will 'go through go' but you might not necessarily collect £200!

How about the Pitch that got you to the Software - or at least that online Video you see where they ask for your Email and Phone Number? Actors ( and you half expect them to look like Robert Redford and Paul Newman), some glamour puss draped on their arm (probably from an Agency), that sleek Car - a rental - maybe even some Real Estate - which you could photograph or film using a reasonable quality Digital Camera - just stand outside House/Condo of choice, Testimonials - probably Friends and Colleagues, maybe even Photos lifted from Google Images/Facebook/Twitter etc - and those Screenshots of Bank Statements. Photoshop Guarantees and Money back pledges, drone, blah - it's almost become a parody of itself.

Then there is the Propaganda and Counter-Propaganda. Websites - decrying one and promoting the other - usually because one works for or knows, been payed by - those behind it, some even copy and paste the Blurb written by them and call it a "Review". One I wrote to - where my Name was changed - another asking for my Email Password, both of which seemed rather like the very sites they write about!

In the end, if whoever responsible for it is that confident that their Program works - and will make you anything like the Money they claim - when they do contact you ask them if you can borrow the paltry £250 to set it up. Mere Bagatelle to People who will make you "half a Millionaire in 30 days", and when you have made your first few 1000 - you could meet them, do all that stuff the Bloke in the Video does, or just celebrate your good fortune with a Meal and Night out. Not only do they get their Money back they also get to live up to their own Hype!

As People look for alternative incomes and solutions to minimal wages and unemployment these People are potentially very exploitative, while the actual premise of trading on the Internet is as sound as sending Email and all the other good things it offered.

HERE'S A REAL LIFE STORY THAT PROMPTED ME TO WRITE THIS..........

I read heaps of reviews about a certain Auto Trading Program, saw the Videos, those "Live Trades" etc, and after a few days decided to do it. Suddenly all those reviews are null and void because I got assigned this Broker - and the complaints seem almost as omnipresent as that Programs reviews.

Almost instantly, my back was up. Clicked on "Chat" for the Brokers Website and it doesn't work. Fine, so I'll contact the Support People at the Software Office. Ahh, can't be found - at least not until I make my Deposit. So much for their vaunted "Superb support" etc. Asking to get them to assign me a different Broker, y'know - like the one all those Reviewers use.

Because of this I have not made my Deposit because it all looks very flaky. I don't think it's right that these Software Companies can operate a System of Pot Luck when it comes to which Broker you use, while I think you should have the Option (no pun intended) to choose which one you want an Account with.

This will put People off - and I'm not surprised, while the stuff I'd read about a Broker affiliated to that Program looks like the sort of thing we've come to expect in the shadier areas of Binary Trading. I hope that the Software people sort this out and maybe they should reassign any Customers with the Broker their glowing reviewers use.

There were a few questions I had for the Software People...

The first and obvious one being the Broker Assignment - that they should tell you which Broker you will have BEFORE you sign up.......surely? That you don't open a Bank Account with HSBC - only to find you've got one with Nat West, or say that HSBC has "HSBC" in big letters on the Premises.

That the 'Reviews' are not only with a Broker I didn't get assigned to - they are based on 10 Minute Trades. My Broker doesn't offer those - so - how can the Software work?

That they might claim their Program makes a lot of Money - but that means diddly squat if you can't withdraw it.

That the Website the Broker uses looks suspiciously like some of the less than reputable Sites operating at the moment. A new word can be added to the lexicon of Hypespeak - "Viral" - which sums it all up - perhaps unintentionally!

Here are the main - and quite common - criticisms People have had about this particular Broker...

That they can't make a Withdrawal.

That the Broker does Trades for them - frittering away any Profits, Balances and Deposits. This isn't with any Autotrading Software, just individuals working for them.

Completely stonewalling any attempts at contact and communication.

All of this is why I'm reluctant to continue because regardless of what any Software Program might claim, it's rendered meaningless if the Broker is shonky. That it might make you Money - but that could easily disappear if they do Trades without your consent.

The crucial bit is when you transfer Funds to your Bank Account, until then your "Balance" is meaningless!

The things that put me off were.....

How I couldn't contact the Software providers UNTIL I made a Deposit

How the reviews were for 10 Minute Trades - not available with that Broker (thus; irrelevant). Do they really check their Brokers for compatibility?

How there wasn't even a "Withdrawal" facility on their Webpage.

That the Video wasn't working like any YouTube Vid might (ie; You couldn't replay it)

How the Brokers "Chat" Facility wasn't working.

Some of this suggests that their Website isn't up to the Job. After all, how could you do a manual Trade soon enough if you have to struggle with the HTML to get it to work at all?

Also, 'Trading' must be quite difficult if there isn't a 'Trading Platform'. (which any site usually shows - even if you have a nil Balance). If I could post a Screenshot of their Website - and one of the many serious Trading Sites - you will see the difference between what any namesake Trader might use - and what can be done with Wax Crayons and bits of coloured Paper. I'm not saying any Sites should be overly complicated, but there wasn't very much to work with at all.

So if you can't access any trading page how do you know what you are going to be using?

It was similar with some Autotrade Programs. That there wasn't any "Contact Us" on the Page at all, while when I googled them what that showed looked nothing like what I got sent to after clicking their Email and subsequent Application Form.

In the end, my Conclusion was this.......

That the (Software) Web-link I clicked on must be a Spoof. That if People could spoof Paypal like they did a few years ago they could do with this

The Giveaway was how it didn't have an SSL Certificate. This is the Padlock and HTTP you see in your Browser. If this isn't there then it could be someone spoofing the Site - using a temporary Domain to do so. It also means that there is no secure Connection with the Provider, thus anything you send or receive can be read by any third, fourth, fifth etc party who cares to.

In other words I was right not to continue with the Application -while equally right not to use Autotraders that look amateurish.

Watch this Space for more - as I continue with the next instalment of a Story that was at best frustrating at worse traumatic.

Click below for something rather more reliable..........







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Brexit

2 Months ago something quite extraordinary happened. An emotional Prime Minister announced his pending Resignation. The German President - Angela Merkel - seemed humbled, European Politicians shook their Heads in disbelief ...............

Britain voted the leave the European Union!

Admittedly it was a very small Margin - but a Vote is a Vote - and about 1.5% of those who did decided to vote Brexit. Suddenly, Politicians who had been ridiculed for years were vindicated. Nigel Farage - Leader of the UK Independence Party looked triumphant and announced June 23rd should be our Independence Day. Sir James Goldsmith - whose euro-sceptic Referendum Party ran in the 1997 Election - must have finally sighed "I hate to say I told you so - but I told you so" - and on it went.

Britains Poltical Establishment went into Meltdown. Jeremy Corbyn - whose Mettle was sorely tested during the Campaign - and whose efforts many Labour Supporters felt were left wanting - steadfastly refused to do what David Cameron did on June 24th. The Tories became a rudderless Ship as leading Frontbenchers announced their Leadership Bids. The rumbustious Boris Johnson looked set to become Cameron’s successor - until Micheal Gove plunged a Knife in his back, then - in turn - was also trounced in his hopes to become Prime Minister.

Then, the 'People' took to the Streets in what can only be described as a very skewed Statement of "People Power!" Pro-European Demonstrators called for a second Referendum and protested at who exactly? They missed the Point, and this wasn't a Decision made by Parliament - it was a Decision made by.............the People, so we were given the bizarre Spectacle of People trying to dissolve the People - and elect another! TV Journalists interviewed some - and while it was a Vote by Britain about - and for - Britain - those German, French etc Accents were furious at why 'they' should now leave the EU!

This seemed like the equivalent of a Warsaw Pact country leaving the Pact. That a complete destructing of the Eurocracy has to start concurrent with a re-structuring of the domestic Executive, Legislature and Sovereignty. That the career structure for cynics might try and recidivate - if they want to look like Generalisimo Franco in 1936 and his response to Spanish Democracy - Krushchev to Nagy in 1956, Brezhnev to Dubcek’s reforms in 1968 - or Yaneyev's Gang of Four in 1991 to Gorbachev’s.

Then, how about when Airbus threatened to close its UK Operation if Britain voted against the EU? That's like Brezhnev warning Dubcek that he'll shut down the Kalashnikov Rifle Factory in Czechoslovakia if Prague decides to cede from the Warsaw Pact in 1968. Not particularly democratic while also revealing the iniquities of the MIC - something Eisenhower warned about in 1960 - and how it could interfere with the civic Life of the US.

Others criticised the older Voters who voted Brexit. Millennials - 16 to 35 year olds - who weren't alive when those Voters did so in the 1975 Referendum, seemed oblivious to why that Vote went the way it did, and what it was for.

There were those that thought these Decisions should be left to the Political Elite. It was - when David Cameron had the Referendum in his 2010 Manifesto. That he threw it open to the Demos in Democracy scotches those who felt that this ought to have been left to Parliament. If he hadn't it'd be rather like a European Commission who wouldn't even forward Policy to the European Parliament to vote on. So even pro-Europeans must see that their process was applied in this instance (the Public being the equivalent of the Euro-Parliament). Their reaction to the Vote is like a Commission who decide that a "yes" or "no" Vote in the Parliament is somehow invalid. In that context even the EU has to accept our decision.

Euro-Sceptics were branded Racist, an insult to anyone who realises that People entering Britain because of their EU Passport means those who don't have one can't. How the EU merely expands the Borders of Racism because of this. That a Euro-Chauvinism developed - no less racist than any Alf Garnet Characters might have been in BBC Sitcoms. How the very Policies of the European Union have spawned reactionary Groups like the Front Nationale in France and Golden Dawn in Greece. How the EU seemed to benefit white, northern Europeans at the Expense of the Mediterranean Countries. To see how serious this is no-one ever envisaged Martin Webster ever becoming an MP like the Nationalists in France have now, while the BNP can only manage a few Councillors. It isn't any of those things. The EU ironically acted as a Catalyst to Racism.

Then there were others....

"The Environment would suffer" someone said, except Friends of the Earth were created in Britain - the Worlds most respected Eco-Lobbyist and Research Organisation - before we joined the EEC in 1973. Human Rights was another - but Amnesty International was started in Britain in 1961. It was these that prompted me to ask if we've become too dependent on the EU for everything, and that it almost implies that we've somehow forgotten how to do Environment and Human Rights completely. That a moral Bankruptcy meant we could always rely on Brussels and Strasbourg for these things. The positive thing here is; now we can rediscover how - and shrug off the Eurocomplacency that has developed in the last 43 years. It's that "They should do something about it" thing isn't it - except after June 23rd 2016 there is no "They" anymore, just you or us!

Also, the combination of the industrial Lobbyists and their influence on the Commission - and the Impotency of the European Parliament - a Pseudo-Legislature that in reality just legitimises Commission Directives - means that concessions to the Environment and Human Rights are just Crumbs that fall from the European Round Table. A very small Carrot offset by a very large Stick!

In the Debate before the Vote Frances O'Grady - the Leader of the TUC - lamented how Industries were "crushed by Bankers" in the 1980s. This isn't entirely true, and the huge Closures of Coal and Steel which made 100s of 1000s unemployed was done as much for ideological Reasons as economic. She should meet the Latvian who complained how - once in the EU - many Latvian Business's were closed - even viable ones - to align the Country with the European Union. That this is no less ideological than Thatchers Government doing same in Britain. Subsequently, about a 3rd of the Population has now left Latvia - severely depleting her Workforce. That something like 800,000 People leaving a Country of only 2.5 Million amounts to severe Depopulation. This is akin to the ideologically driven Collectivizations that caused the Soviet Famine of the 1930s and turned Ceaucescu's Romania into Absurdistan - where the Presidents Dogs ate more nutritious Food than a People living in South East Europe's Market Garden. 

This continued in Southern Europe - where Euro-policies have caused 50% youth unemployment. However you look at this - it is either chronic and brutal indifference - or that same Ideologically driven Policy making and application.

This brings me to this.........

That while a veritable army of Poles, Balts, Slovaks and other former Warsaw Pact Citizens arrived in more prosperous European Countries - what does this say about the failure of the EU to develop their Economies so they don't have to migrate? What does it also say about the unfortunate consequence of what is effectively Economic Migrancy? It also implies that a Centric attitude existed in the EU that meant any Benefits supposedly felt by those Countries never got that far.

Then Sinn Fein MP Martin McGuinness got involved. Seeing how the Referendum showed Ulster was a pro-Europe Area, and how the Vote might estrange the Province from the Republic he mooted an Irish Reunification Referendum. This was a bit opportunistic and while many Loyalists might have been pro-Europe they still aren't pro-united Ireland. Your Enemies Enemy isn't necessarily your Friend and all that!

Britain gets more Money from the EU than she puts in apparently, or at least so we were told. So, if we are the 2nd largest Contributor to the EU how can we be? Does this imply that Germany gives the EU so much that it supports us - not to mention Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the former Warsaw Pact - all at once? The problem I have with Euro-Subsidies is how Money goes to the EU - then comes back. Why can't we keep it and decide what we do with it? Having read something someone wrote in support of the EU - and my being involved with an Anti-Poverty Campaign in Wales in 1999, I would say that a paltry £2.5 Billion from 2014 to 2020 isn't much of a return on our £10 Billion a year investment. I realise that that amount is sent by the UK as a whole - but while EU Subsidies are meant for the most needy of regions - Wales being one of them - where the other £58 Billion goes is a question for those responsible. Despite the Subsidy Economy in Wales - Cymru voted Brexit!

The French Prime Minister summed it up - although maybe unwittingly - when he said that the Referendum was a "Jolt" to the complacency and arrogance of the EU - prompting them to reconnect with the People. but why did the second largest contributor to it have to leave before he finally said it? People had been telling him this for years. His attitude isn't just at the highest echelon of the EU either. I could say that it applied at an every day level too. What this has finally also proved - and that is just how patronising the EU is (that, "let them calm down, be sensible, and have a second EU referendum" attitude, and how undemocratic. Anyone who voted against has to keep schtum in Company and Social Media for fear of recriminations.

But then, when you have an Organisation that employs 10,000 People - all paid more Money than he or she in Downing Street with the Nuclear Launch Codes, the desire to continue with it must be very tempting. Quite a lucrative Gravy Train if you can get on it. The Machinations to garner support in the daily lives of everyone as omnipresent as the Reactionists attitude proved.

One of the central Myths about the EU was how it prevented another War in Europe. To say this is to ignore why Germany is one of the most powerful economies in the world and that of the Continent. Marshall Aid gave them the biggest incentive of all not to wage War in Europe again, (ditto for Italy and others in receipt of the Program), while if the EU was meant to prevent another European Conflict then why wasn't it implemented in the late 1940's after WW2 instead of the end of the 1950s? Although it failed the League of Nations was within Wilson's Presidency straight after WW1. Also, the EU actually failed to prevent war in Europe when Yugoslavia descended into Conflict in the 90's, ominously a lot of it happening in Sarajevo. It didn’t stop the continuing Violence in Ireland either - despite both Britain and the republic joining in 1973. The Good Friday Agreement resolved this - and it was completely independent of the European Union.

Economic stability?

The recent Fortunes of Greece, Spain, Portugal and Ireland are in conflict with this, but it gets worse.

After the European Commission was disbanded in 2000 because some Commissioners were committing extreme Fraud a Group of Ombudsmen were appointed to monitor the EU - particularly its dealings with the industrial Lobbyists. These People were supposed to be independent - but when they were researched it turned out some had connections with the same Companies behind the Economic Slump of 2008. Considering how impotent the SEC were in the US at preventing what eventually led to 2008, I found it distressing that these same people could be involved in the political process of the EU. That it has been said that 2008 will happen again because that Bubble has been replaced by an even bigger one. When that one bursts the implications for any economy bound up with the EU are obvious, and will be far more disastrous than something that came from Wall Street.

This is why Brexit wasn't the economic disaster Scaremongers would have us believe and might even be a safeguard against what could happen in Europe. That to wrest our Economy from the toxic Morass of the EU couldn't have happened at a better time.

How about a potential collision with Russia?

The EU was very hostile towards any Russian involvement in Negotiations over the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Agreement in 2013. They refused any Input from a Country who has dealt with Ukraine for over a thousand years. This finally led to the ousting of President Yanukovych and Ukraine descending into civil War in its eastern Regions. It also led to the Annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014. This is all very worrying as it turns Ukraine into a battleground of East and West. It's like it's becoming the new East and West Germany, the fault line that divided the World until 1989, but far bigger than the Brandenburg Gate.

To be continued……………………….

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A few years after the Iraq War - a disaster that vindicated many who don't gloat.

Iraq's Regime had gone - but what next?

Meanwhile, until I find my writings about the Caucasus in the context of the recent Russian-Georgian War here's some stuff I wrote a few years ago about the Wars in Syria and northern Iraq

Having just read about ISIS and their Activities in the last 12 Years it seems some of us are being proved right about the disaster that unfurls in the Region formerly called Arabia and the Levant. Those Paramilitaries GWB went on about - which, then, were factitious - are now there in their 1000s - and while the West tries to evaluate which one might be friendly and those that aren't, all have shown that the Arab Expression "Your Enemies Enemy isn't necessarily your Friend" is right. Even the Iraqi Government recently showed support for Syrian Government Air strikes against recent rebel Activity as it encroached into Iraq. So much for the continued Support the West has had for the insurgency in Syria then as it puts them in conflict with their new Protege, while President Obama has asked for yet another $500M to arm what he hopes would be "Moderate" Forces in the Rebellion. I'm sure some of those Moujahedin in 1980s Afghanistan must have seemed quite moderate when the US did something similar then.

Isn't this Folly and for a Number of Reasons? Firstly; that the Afghan example applies and that today s 'Freedom Fighters' are tomorrows 'Terrorists' - or that the Ebb and Flow of Allegiances in the Region could mean the President being duped into supplying People who could change sides at the Drop of a Keffir. Also, if they are defeated those Weapons are captured - just like the many others that have been - in both Syria and Iraq (the latter having a Squadron of Helicopters appropriated by ISIS when they seized Mosul Airport recently). John Kerry must have seen something similar in Vietnam when those 'Vietnamised' Troops (Soldiers from South Vietnam charged with assuming Army Duty once the US withdrew) collapsed and their Weapons siezed by VC and NVA Troops instead. This is why I'm surprised the President even suggested it - particularly when his Secretary of State for Defence must also realise why Vietnamisation didn't work for the same Reason those Iraqi'ised Troops surrendered as promptly as they did. After almost the same Time-scale (about 3-4 Years) Vietnamised Soldiers realised that the People they pointed their Rifles at were as Vietnamese as they were - those they did so on behalf of weren't. The same applies to the Iraqi Army - with the additional Element of whichever Strand of Islam they subscribe to.

Meanwhile, a Consignment of F16s seem to have got lost in the Post - causing Baghdad to buy Sukhoi Aircraft from Russia and Belorus instead - something Saddam used to do - and while those ,and maybe any other FWhatevernumbers, seem to be mislaid in the Sorting Office maybe they'll continue buying Planes from Saddam s former Ally!

All of this is partially because western Intel insisted on identifying Sunnis and Shia Moslems as potential Friend or Foe Groupings rather than as Iraqis - a Policy we saw the beginnings of in 1990 when GHB tried rallying those Shias of the Basra region into Insurrection against Saddam's Sunni Government, and continued when the recent War raged. The Aim of ISIS is to create a pre-1919 Arabia where Islam (the Caliphate) effectively erases the artificially created Countries of the post WWl Era (Sykes-Piquot). Considering they are a Reaction to the predominantly Shia Government in Baghdad - who were a Reaction to the Sunni Government of Saddam - while Assads Regime in Damascus is a Shia Alawite Sect of Islam - the Allegiances in the region are somewhat Skewed. The West backs the new Iraqi Government and opposes Damascus - thus supports Rebels in Syria - but is against those in Iraq. Iraq's Government supports the Government in Damascus and tacitly opposes Rebels.. All of this suggests that Groupings like ISIS could prove very seductive to a People wearied by War in either Countries and begin to see their Presence as potential to end it in both. Even one of their Regions (where Tikrit is located) has the very evocative Name Salah-ah-Din - from a time when Shia and Sunni Saracens were unified in the 12th-13th Century. Something I'm sure isn't lost on those responsible for their Propaganda. Particularly against the Backdrop of Prisoners being killed like it was the Crusades 800 years ago. It should be remembered that People in Afghanistan, who had suffered 5 years of Civil War after the Soviets withdrew, were relieved when the Taliban finally took control ending the Conflict - even if they might forfeit certain Rights. Who's to say the same wont apply in the Levant as years of War start to make them think Westernisation is more trouble than it's worth? 

All of this shows that the recent Wars could prove to be counter-productive in protecting western Interests in Arabia and the Levant - while Israel must wince at the prospect of a unified Islamic Caliphate on their Doorstep.

It also shows that whatever they have now is far more extreme than anything they had before - including the Syrian Government and former Iraqi Regime. In the recent Years of the current Conflicts the myriad Combatants have probably killed, maimed, kidnapped and oppressed as many People on every side as either Government had in rather more Years. Even the formerly maligned Kurds during Saddam's Era haven't escaped the Conflict as they have had to defend themselves (and others fleeing the War) against the Paramilitaries. NATO Turkey has seen its Government severely compromised as the Strain starts to cross its own Borders with Syria and the Kurdish PK begin to seize their chance in the uncertainty. This is why ISIS have had an Ascendancy they otherwise wouldn't have as the Wars gradually wear down the People and any Resolve they might have had to retain any Westernisation, where that 12th-13th Century historical Figure who represented Unification and subsequent Peace, seems more attractive as each Day of the Conflict continues - even in Sunni Islamic Turkey. There have even been mass Executions of POWs not seen since the Massacre of the Saracens at 1190s Acre or those of Refugee Camps in Lebanon..They have seen 12 Years of total War - and like any omnipresent Conflict anything that existed before gradually fades into distant Memory.

What makes it all far more dangerous to the West and Israel is how any previous Paramilitary Activity from the PLO and the late Yassur Arafat were waged from Refugee Camps and the tiny Enclaves of Gaza and the West Bank. These were also Nationalist Conflicts - a territorial Battle for Areas of what used to be called Palestine. ISIS and others have an Islamist Agenda that wouldn't be negotiated at Camp David with Maps and territorial and administerial Agreements, while they now control Areas of the Region rather more substantial and not completely reliant on Funding from other Arabist States. This means they are in a much more powerful Position to export 'Terrorism' to other Islamic Regions and the sort of Activity in the West we used to see in the 1960s-90s by the PLO - but on a wider Scale. Arafat might have been behind those Bombings and Hijackings - but at least he and Rabin could be brought to the Negotiating Table to resolve the Crisis.

Even when it was possible to negotiate about Geography like the British and French did with Faisal there were still mistakes........

As these 2 Maps show - the first from the 6th Century - the second after Sykes-Picot - the Anglo-French almost applied their Borders according to traditional Tribal Regions - with one glaring omission - no Homeland for the Kurds.

Also, I remember how Hostages were returned to the West via Syrian backed Amal in Lebanon - to Assad's Damascus and ultimately their Home Countries. The kidnapping Activities of these Groups in the current Conflict have shown no Intent at all of doing the same - quite the opposite - and while Damascus is compromised as a regional Influence so is the prospect of an acceptable Resolution to any Hostage Scenario. That these have - and will - happen in Areas far larger than the Lebanon merely compounds the Problem.

And no-one has even contemplated the Dilemma surrounding the Millions of Refugees scattered across the Region, who - at some Point - will have to return Home. Home - to what exactly - while it's Luck of the Draw as to who rules which Area each Refugee came from and returns to.

What also makes all of this more dangerous than ever before are things like that and the many other Crises that afflict the Region. Israel have fought their Wars with Arabs and Palestinians many times before - the latter a comparatively small Group of Fighters numbering no more than a few Thousand, while the other Arab Peoples watched. This time - and unlike Yom Kippur in 1973 - if things escalated (and Israel seem to have resorted to the usual Tit for Tat Policy with Gaza at the moment) they won't be fighting either a conventional Army controlled from Cairo, Amman and Damascus or that small Group of Palestinians - but an entire Swathe of potentially 100s of 1000s of increasingly desperate People - all armed - and of all Aramaic Demographics. The biggest Mistake the West can make would be to send yet another Coalition into War - where those 'People' they are there to 'Liberate' might just as readily shoot them as support them.

Whoever it was who thought a Rebellion in Syria might be a good Idea ought to be brought to account for this - while the Iraq Conflict suffered because GWB broke one of the most important Rules of War - don't over-deploy your Army on any second Fronts, which he did - as that 250,000 was split - 125,000 each in Iraq and Afghanistan. This means neither were as effective as they could have been had they just focussed on each objective at a time. Those WMDs might or might not have been there (while it could be argued certain former Vice Presidents probably had the Copies of Invoices from the Sale of any that did - as does France, Britain etc with many conventional Weapons) but how any of this could be decisive when you don't have enough Troops in the Conflict is a Question for him. Apparently, amongst the Weapons ISIS have captured was a SCUD Missile - so, so much for disposing of any of those anyway then. Even then, a SCUD Missile isn't necessarily a WMD (ie; nuclear or biochemical) unless it is tipped with a relevant Warhead. Saddam fired 2 of them at Israel in the 1990 Gulf War - and the conventional Impact was minimal, and more psychological than strategic. It also emphasises the Fact that he didn't have WMD capability because he could have armed and used them in 2003 if he had.

Also, Yitzhak Rabin was killed - not by a Palestinian, or anyone else who might oppose Israel - but by an Israeli (who thought Rabin had made too many Concessions to Arafat) - so the extremist Element in all this isn't just in the Arab Camp and Israel has its own Enemies of Peace too!

What should also be remembered here is that while the 1967 War concluded with the Capture of the Golan Heights and Yom Kippur by the conventional Defeat of a conventional Army (with the usual Announcement of Cessation of Hostilities) any War waged against Israel now won't. Unlike a very small Group of Suicide Bombers from Hamas there are infinitely more of them - and we have seen them do this in their Battles in Iraq and Syria. These Rocket Attacks - launched from Gaza and Southern Lebanon - are limited by the Borders they have with Israel. Now, they could do it from the Syrian Border Region and maybe even Jordan if the Conflict spreads into there too. King Hussein's Government has been regarded by the Islamists as an Enemy and they could make Life very difficult in Amman.

GWBs biggest Error was self-admitted in 2001 when he said how he was going to play one Group off against another - while his under-deployment of Resources showed how he also underestimated how difficult it would be to keep those same Factions from fighting each other long after Saddam was toppled. He broke the Country and Iraqi Society - but couldn't repair it. while the same applied to Syria - but on a much larger Scale as her Russian Allies were prompt in supporting the Government. Suddenly the War reached the Gates of Moscow.

Not sure what George Robertson was doing either when he let Sakashvili loose a few Years ago in the Caucasus. Instead of this he ought to have urged Caution as Secretary General of NATO - but he didn't, thus forfeiting any diplomatic Work via the Kremlin as Putin 'resolved' the Ossetia and Abkazia Crisis in quite predictatble Fashion. Although, for all Putin’s Faults it has to be said it was just as well it was 'concluded' as quickly as it was to prevent South Ossettia and Abkhazia turning into Ingushettia and Chechnya - oeven these being embroiled in a wider - opportunistic Conflict by Grozny. Problem now being those same Chechens are now in control of a Region of Syria - with all that that entails.

(This is where I wish I could access my Piece about the Caucasus being the most dangerous place on Earth - an Analysis of the various Allegiances and enmities in the region).

On the continuing Israel-Palestinian conflict and the contrast..........................

The Difference now is how the Conflict is infinitely bigger than it was since 1948.........and certainly after the Palestinians established Refugee Camps in Lebanon and Jordan. For Years Palestinians had their internecine Skirmishes, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Peoples Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Revolutionary Justice Organisation, more latterly Hamas and the PLO have squabbled - as have Lebanese Groups like Hezbollah and Amal, Abu Nidal and the Druze. Their common Enemy is Israel and her western Allies, but these Groupings are all comparatively small and even unified haven't really done much Damage to the Jewish State.

The Knesset's biggest Dilemma is how they have been manoeuvred into an unenviable Position by Events and while it might be one thing to launch the usual Air strikes on Gaza or even invade Lebanon like they have in the past - it could be something entirely different if they did on any of these new Groupings in Syria and Iraq. Even the IDF can't be everywhere - and they must realise that if anything would unify these Groupings it would be that. There is an unfortunate Resonance with the Crusades - particularly that of the third - as a Caliphate now occupies somewhere called Salah'ah'Din and we have seen a Massacre of Prisoners of War almost as large as Richard lst's mass Execution of Saracens at Acre. There was no Geneva Convention in the 1190s - there seems to be scant regard for it now!

Iraq, before, during and after the Invasion in Maps.....

http://www.packriverpotions.com/iraq/iraq-war-map

For a complete geographical understanding of the current Situation click here..............

http://www.edmaps.com/html/islamic_state_in_maps.html

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