Humanitarian wars, especially under the guise of the “Responsibility to Protect (R2P),” are a modern form of imperialism. The standard pattern that the United States and its allies use to execute them is one where genocide and ethnic cleansing are vociferously alleged by a coalition of governments, media organizations, and non-governmental front organizations. The allegations – often lurid and unfounded – then provide moral and diplomatic cover for a variety of sanctions that undermine and isolate the target country in question, and thereby pave the way for military intervention. This is the post-Cold War modus operandi of the US and NATO.
In facilitating this neo-imperialism, the United Nations has been complicit in the hijacking of its own posts and offices by Washington.
Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has been appointed a “special peace envoy” with a mediating role in Syria. Yet, how can Annan be evaluated as an “honest broker” considering his past instrumental role in developing the doctrine of R2P – the very pretext that has served to facilitate several US/NATO criminal wars of aggression? Furthermore, the evidence attests that the US and its allies – despite mouthing support for Annan’s supposed peace plan – are not interested in a mediated, peaceful solution in Syria.
From the Cold War to Humanitarian Wars
As the Cold War began to wind down in the late-1980s and early-1990s, NATO saw the opportunity that would arise from the geopolitical vacuum following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc. Not only did NATO begin transforming from a defensive organization into an offensive military body, the US-led alliance began to embrace a supposed humanitarian mandate for this purpose. It is through this purported embrace of humanitarianism that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was able to change into an offensive, interventionist military force – indeed the largest such force ever in the history of the world.
NATO’s biggest military operation up until a decade after the Cold War was the First Persian Gulf War following the invasion in 1991 of Kuwait by Iraqi forces under the command of Saddam Hussein. The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, at the time a US ally, was mired in a territorial oil dispute over colonial-era borders to which Washington at first appeared to show cool indifference. Immediately after Iraqi forces entered Kuwait, however, a strident US government and media campaign was mounted claiming the sanctity of Kuwait’s sovereign territory and the “defence of small nations.” There were also lurid media reports – later shown to be fabrications – of atrocities committed by Iraqi troops, such as the butchering of babies taken from hospital incubators. The international public was successfully manipulated to accept a US-led war against Iraq to ironically liberate the Emirate of Kuwait only to reinstate an absolute and despotic monarch.
Equipped with UN resolutions, the US-led NATO powers – along with a “coalition of willing” Arab states – launched a war on Iraq supposedly in the name of “humanitarianism.” Operations exclusively run by several NATO powers in Iraqi Kurdistan would also become the basis for NATO’s future humanitarian mandates. The precedent and tempo was now set for NATO’s subsequent “humanitarian” wars. The no-fly zones and legal semantics that were innovated by the Western powers to justify their intervention in Iraq were also applied by these same powers with regard to the former Yugoslavia. Variants of this humanitarian pretext for war included “upholding international law” and “international security” and were deployed for the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and again against Iraq in 2003 – the Second Persian Gulf War – this time to justify the all-out conquest of that country. The same rhetorical justification for military intervention was used by NATO powers to unleash a seven-month aerial bombing campaign in Libya in 2011 that led to the overthrow of the government and to the murder of the country’s leader Muammar Qaddafi. The thematic R2P is currently being amplified to decibel levels by NATO state governments and mainstream media with regard to Syria, where a NATO-led intervention is also covertly underway.
Yugoslavia: Srebrenica’s Sacrifice for NATO Intervention
On July 11, 1995, the forces of the Bosnian Serbs would march into the so-called UN Srebrenica Safe Area. The official NATO narrative is that UN troops agreed to withdraw from Srebrenica and let the Bosnian Serb forces take care of the local Bosniaks, but that once the Bosnian Serbs entered the area they proceeded to slaughter 8,000 Bosniaks. This would be billed as the worst massacre in Europe since the Second World War.
In reality, the events of Srebrenica would be used and warped to justify a massive NATO response on the basis of public outrage. Bosniak leaders would also refuse to give the Red Cross the names of people who had fled Srebrenica, thus resulting in an inflated number of missing people. The number of the dead would later turn out to be significantly lower than originally reported. Media estimates also changed over time. The most senior UN official inside Bosnia-Herzegovina, Philip Corwin, would also lend his voice to those saying that the events in Srebrenica were distorted for political gain and military intervention by NATO.
Then US President Bill Clinton had actually instructed Alija Izetbegovic that 5,000 Bosniaks would need to be sacrificed to bring NATO into the war as a combatant. Surviving members of the Bosniak delegation from Srebrenica have stated on the record that Izetbegovic said that NATO would militarily intervene against the Republika Srpska if at least 5,000 dead bodies could be produced. The Fall of Srebrenica, a UN report issued on November 15, 1999, casually mentions this in paragraph 115. The Bosniak police chief of Srebrenica has also confirmed Clinton’s demand for a “sacrifice” from Izetbegovic to open the doors for NATO attacks against the Bosnian Serbs.
In the Bosnian War, all sides committed horrific atrocities. The crime of the Bosnian Serbs that appeared to rouse NATO was not ethnic cleansing. The crime of the Bosnian Serbs was that they were fighting to preserve Yugoslavia. Even Croats and Bosniaks in both Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina who wanted to preserve Yugoslavia and inter-ethnic peace were targeted, demonized, or killed. For example, the Bosniak Fikret Abdic was charged as a war criminal in Croatia after he fled Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Josip Rejhl-Kir, the Croat police chief of Osijek, was murdered by Croat nationalists for working to preserve the harmony between Croats and Croatian Serbs.
NATO intervened in Bosnia-Herzegovina to change the balance of power. The Bosnian Serbs were up until then the superior military force. Had NATO powers not internationalized the fighting and intervened, the Bosnian Serbs would have taken control of the country and maintained it as an integral part of Yugoslavia. This would have crippled or halted Euro-Atlantic expansion in the Balkans. On January 15, 1999, the fighting in Racak between Serbian forces and the outlawed Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which the US State Department itself labelled a terrorist organization, would be used to paint a similar picture of genocide and ethnic cleansing to justify war. By this time, the Serbs had successfully been demonized by NATO and the media as the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia, so NATO’s efforts to vilify the Serbs were made relatively easy. It is a matter of public record that US Secretary of State Madeline Albright and the KLA leadership were working to create a humanitarian pretext for intervention. It was in this context that the US and NATO had pressured the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to accept an arrangement where their military forces would leave Kosovo, but allowed the KLA to continue its attacks. This stoking of tensions is what NATO has tried to replicate in Syria through the so-called Free Syrian Army, which in reality is a terrorist organization linked to NATO and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
In the Arab World: Libya and Syria
In 2011, the humanitarian card would be played again by NATO, this time in the North African country of Libya. Colonel Qaddafi was accused of massacring his own people in Libya, particularly in Benghazi. Packaged with unverified claims of jet attacks and foreign mercenaries, this prompted the UN to permit the US and its NATO allies to impose another no-fly zone, as in Iraq and Yugoslavia. Illegally, the NATO powers arrogated the no-fly zone provision of UN Security Council Resolution 1973 to mount an aerial bombing campaign. The massive onslaught involving over 10,000 bombing missions was conducted in concert with NATO special forces and proxy militias on the ground. NATO warplanes targeted civilian population centres and civilian infrastructure, such as food stores and water and power utilities – acts that are war crimes under international law. Such a blatant campaign of state terrorism – obscenely in the name of “protecting human rights” – was instrumental in overthrowing the sovereign government in Tripoli and installing a proxy regime composed of an extremely volatile amalgam of opportunist para-militaries, terrorists, NATO intelligence operatives, and fractious tribal warlords. Recent reports of internecine bloodletting and revenge killing erupting across Libya, “post-NATO liberation,” attest to the real criminal enterprise of NATO’s regime change in Libya that was cynically perpetrated under the guise of protecting civilians.
Meanwhile, in Syria, the US and its cohorts have sought to replay the city of Homs like another Srebrenica, Racak, and Benghazi. They have sought to use the same tactic for inciting sectarian tensions and then blaming the government of President Bashar Al-Assad for conducting a “brutal crackdown.” The US and its allies are demanding that the Syrian Army stops fighting while the insurgent forces of the Syrian National Council’s Syrian Free Army are given a free hand to launch attacks, just as the NATO power demanded of the Yugoslav military while giving a green light to the KLA. Russian and Chinese demands that both sides observe a ceasefire offset this strategy.
What stands in the way of yet another NATO intervention is a firm resolve by Moscow and Beijing at the UN Security Council as well as the alliance between Syria and Iran. Damascus and its allies, however, should be wary of more traps to tie Syria down politically and legally through one-sided agreements. Nor should the Syrians place their trust in the United Nations to act as an “honest broker.” Kofi Annan and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
Much praise is being given to Kofi Annan as the special envoy of both the Arab League and United Nations. There should, however, be caution applied when dealing with Annan. In this regard, his history with regard to humanitarian interventions needs to be assessed.
According to American diplomat Richard Holbrooke, who was intimately tied to the balkanization of Yugoslavia, Annan was one of the most supportive figures for US foreign policy in the Balkans. Annan was actually instrumental in helping to put together the R2P doctrine with Canadian diplomats. Furthermore, the Ghanaian-born career diplomat owes his rise to power to senior Washington connections and specifically to the events of Srebrenica and the fighting in the former Yugoslavia. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali was pushed aside by Washington to make way for Annan as the head of the United Nations.
Kofi Annan is also openly supportive of R2P. He participated as a panelist in a discussion about R2P (The Responsibility to Protect – 10 Years On: Reflections on its Past, Present and Future) held at the University of Ottawa on November 4, 2011. A week prior to this event, Allan Rock, president of the University of Ottawa and former Canadian ambassador to the UN, together with Lloyd Axworthy, president of the University of Winnipeg and former Canadian foreign minister, co-authored an article about R2P in the Ottawa Citizen (October 25, 2011). Both Axworthy, who was on the panel with Annan, and Allan Rock praised the war in Libya, calling it a victory for R2P.
At the panel, Annan was joined by the decidedly pro-NATO Canadian parliamentarian Christopher Alexander. Alexander is the parliamentary secretary to Peter MacKay. Mackay is the current defence minister of Canada and has voiced support for open wars against Syria and Iran. Christopher Alexander was also a Canadian diplomat in Russia for several years, the former Canadian ambassador to NATO-garrisoned Afghanistan, and the deputy special representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The R2P panel was moderated by Lyse Doucet, a correspondent for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and a friend of Alexander.
What is important to note about the R2P Ottawa panel is that it was largely supportive of R2P. Kofi Annan also voiced his support for NATO’s military intervention in Libya. When asked about using R2P in Syria, no firm answer was given by Annan. He did appear, however, to give his tacit support to intervention against Syria. Finally, both Annan and Axworthy proposed that regional organizations be given R2P mandates. For example, the African Union should be able to intervene on the behalf of the international community in African countries, such as Uganda and Sudan, or that the Arab League likewise be given an R2P mandate in countries, such as Syria.
These points are key factors. They should not be overlooked. Annan’s impartiality with regard to his latest pivotal task in Syria should be questioned, especially in light of his stated position on Libya and his generally supportive views for NATO military interventions.
Humanitarianism: The Face of Modern Imperialism
The NATO military interventions in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Libya were and are colonial invasions masquerading as humanitarian endeavours. Moreover, what NATO did in Yugoslavia was to intervene incrementally to divide and conquer the country. According to General John Galvin, the former supreme commander of NATO, this was done because NATO officials knew that an all-out invasion during the disintegration of the country would result in a massive guerrilla war with high costs for NATO. It can also be added that such a NATO intervention would have had the inverse effect of unifying Yugoslavia instead of allowing the federal state to dissolve.
At the start of 2011, both Libya and Syria were holdouts to NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue and they also had reservations about the EU’s Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). This effectively means that they were both resistant to Euro-Atlantic expansion. While popular protests in Bahrain and Jordan went unnoticed, all public eyes were directed by NATO state governments and corporate media towards Libya and Syria. This is because of imperialist interests to subvert both the latter Arab states – while the former mentioned states are allies and therefore must be bolstered despite their well-documented repressive conducts.
Atlanticism is on the march. Both NATO’s operations in the Balkans and the Arab World are intended to expand the Euro-Atlantic Zone. Its involvement in African Union missions in East Africa are also tied to this. For all observers who take a detailed look at the restructuring of states vanquished by NATO, this should be clear. Humanitarianism has become the new face of modern imperialism. Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan is a man whose face fits the deceptive humanitarian agenda of modern imperialism.
Dimitris Mitropanos died on Tuesday morning at the age of 64 after suffering a serious heart attack, exactly one year after the untimely death of Nikos Papazogloy. The popular singer whose deep voice spoke to our hearts with every breath, was born on April 2, 1948, is a beloved singer to millions of Greek people all over the world for his mastery in Laïkó music (a type of Greek music).
He grew up in Trikala (northwest Thessaly) and began his musical career in 1964. That is when he met with George Bithikotsis, and a little while later with his mentor George Zampetas.
Two years later he teamed up with living legend Mikis Theodorakis and began singing revolutionary songs such as "Romiosini "and" Axion Esti "in a series of concerts in Greece and Cyprus.
In 1967, Mitropanos recorded his first album with the song "Thessaloniki" and this was followed the recording of "Chameni Paschalia", a song that was censored by the Greek military junta and never released.
During the course of his career since then, some four decades ago, Dimitris Mitropanos collaborated with leading artists of the Laïko and Éntekhno music scene such as Zampetas, Theodorakis, Dimos Moutsis, Apostolos Kaldaras, Takis Mousafiris, Christos Nikolopoulos, Giannis Spanos Stavros Xarhakos, Madra Mandicencio, Manos Hadjidakis, Marios Tokas and Thanos Mikroutsikos.
In 2010, Mitropanos planned a North American Tour for the first time in over 10 years since his last visit to the United States and after his performance at the Radio City Music Hall Mitropanos cancelled the remainder of his tour since reports claimed that he was very ill.
Popular songs "Alimono", "Panta Gelastoi", "Rosa" and "Ladadika", as well as tens of others, will now go down in music history, nonetheless people will remember and honor him always for his humility, pride and talent.
This is a sad day for Greek music lovers, his legend will live on through his surviving family as well as through every note of his music.
Want to know how a country can lie and spread so much propaganda that it has gotten to the point where even its own residents are starting to view and characterize it ridiculous and a total three-ring circus? You needn't go far, the government of FYROM has done just that in to its capital city by erecting buildings with Greek architecture, by placing a grand statue of a warrior who looks exactly like Alexander the Great in its city core, as well as letting out claims that even Bulgarian kings and Cleopatra were all of FYROManian descent.
Negleting the interim agreement that FYROM signed with Greece, as well as what scholars from Oxford, and other esteemed universities say, as well as ancient relics, history and so on... FYROM has continued to brainwash its nation of people to such a degree that they are convinced that ancient Greek philosophers were of Slavic descent!
It is so ridiculous that it would make Alexander himself roll over in his grave from laughter.
What these people forget is that science has proven that they came to this region six centuries after Alexander died.... We don't think people live beyond 110 max... 600 years is quite a gap now isn't it?
In such a framework, the "BTV" television channel in Bulgaria, recently presented an investigative report proving just that and showing how the government of Gruevsk in FYROM has been working methodically over the past few years to totally change the identity of the inhabitants of this country, by removing every trace of Slavic identity these people have and by using historical figures stolen from Ancient Greek history as well as medieval and modern Bulgaria in order to do so.
Seen on the video is the "architect" of the "Skopje 2014" project which has as its aim to transform the capital of FYROM into a wanna-be historical city. Also seen -and unfortunately heard- is the academician Blazy Ristofski who is often called the "father" of the controversial "Macedonian Encyclopedia". A book which was so full of falsifications and provocative material that breached every logic imaginable that it was forced to be withdrawn in 2009. As you will see in the video... the dude continues to ramble on about this subject and what is worse... the younger generation actually believes it!
Since the Bucharest summit in 2008 where former conservative prime minister Costas Karamanlis vetoed FYROM's accession to NATO until the issue of the name was resolved, the government of FYROM has been channeling millions upon millions into creating a fake identity, and erasing every trace of Slavic descent these people have. This is not only a direct provocation against Greece, but also of Bulgaria since they are altering Bulgarian history by laying claims to some of their historical figures as well.
Along with the Bulgarians in this video, even the FYROManians interviewed characterize this whole attempt by the Gruevski government as nothing more than a circus, and find it ridiculous that he is attempting to "create" a culture which never existed in this part of the world. In fact they say he is the only one that is so determined and so fixated about pressing ahead with this idea.
Aside from all the lies, the creation of a fake identity, the propaganda that they are teaching to their children in their schools, as well as the fact they claim to be ancestors to historical Greek figures they are also using Greek architecture in the buildings that they are erecting on every corner of their capital city in light to their coming out party in 2014.
This speaks volumes and proves the theory that they have their eyes set on Greece's Macedonia.
What they forget is that beyond Skopje, people speak Yugoslavian... and they have major problems with many minority groups, especially the Albanian which has its own claims on FYROM. Also... if they think for a minute that real Macedonians who ARE ONLY GREEK will ever accept this... then they better think again.
The important thing when watching this video, which is in the Bulgarian language but contains Greek subtitles, is that one should ask themselves who is providing this tiny country with so much money to construct all this architecture and why?
From what we already know, Ankara is their strongest "supporter" as is Germany. And we all know that the latter two nations do not want what is best for Greece.
Easter has come and GONE, but as always most Greek households are full of left over "tsoureki" bread. No worries folks. Hellasfrappe has the perfect solution. We have a recipe for leftover tsoureki bread for you to try, and trust us... the results are to die for and nothing more than sheer heaven. If on the other you are dieting after stuffing your faces with lamb at the weekend, then stay away from this recipe because it is not calorie friendly.
Piraeus Tsourekei EKMEK
Ingredients
10 large slices of stale tsoureki bread
For the syrup:
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 cups of water
Peel of one lemon
1 cinnamon stick
For the cream:
1 ½ cups of fresh milk
2/3 cups of heavy cream
1 cup of sugar
40gr of corn flour
1 egg
3 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
To garnish:
250gr whipping cream
1 tsp. dusting sugar
(masticha liquor - optional)
Various nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans and hazelnuts work best)
Procedure
First we begin making the syrup. Add all ingredients in a pot and when it allow it to boil for 10 minutes only after you see it begin boiling. In a glass Pyrex baking dish we place the tsoureki slices and are careful not to leave any open spaces or holes anywhere. The bottom has to be completely covered. Once the syrup is done we spoon the syrup over the tsoureki slices until it is completely absorbed and we sprinkle the bottom of the dish with a handful of nuts and some cinnamon powder. Our base is done.
In a separate bowl we begin mixing our eggs with the sugar. until they turn white and thick in consistency (about ten minutes). We add the corn flour, and continue mixing. We then warm our milk. Once it gets hot -BUT HAS NOT YET BOILED - we mix half of the liquid into the egg mixture very, very slowly. We then take the other half of the milk mixture, add our cream, and vanilla and place back on the burner. As soon as they begin to boil we slowly add the egg mixture to the pot of milk. and we lower the hear whisking continuously. The result will be a very delicate smooth creme. Take it off the heat and allow it cool for a little bit remembering to cover the pot because a crust will form on top of the custard. After about 10 minutes, cover it with plastic foil because the crust will harden and you want your custard to remain damp. When your custard is nearly at room temperature, then whip it up a bit, removing any pieces that might of formed a crust and spoon it over your the tsoureki in the baking dish. Place the dish in the refrigerator and allow it to set for at least 3-4 hours covered.
Before serving beat up some whipping cream. with sugar until you achieve a very thick consistency and add some liqor to flavor it. You can then slowly frost the custard cake (only on the top) with the whipping cream and garnish with the nuts. It is heaven.
OUR NERVES ARE GOING TO EXPLODE HERE AT HELLASFRAPPE. When we uncovered a "feta product" several weeks ago that is being manufactured in Canada called "Triple A Cheese Macedonian Feta cheese" we immediately contacted the Pan-Macedonian Association in the United States to take action. Just several days ago, we found out that feta cheese has been branded as a "generic product" in Canada, and according to Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Dollis a "mere" land origin indication cannot be registered as a PDO brand in Canada, referring exclusively to the product that is produced in Greece. Basically, what this means is that Greek Canadians and Americans are consuming a type of feta cheese, made by a company with FYROM interests thinking that it is made in Greece because it has the name Macedonia!
WAKE UP ADERFIA in Canada and in the US! We didn't expect anything else from the people leading this country, especially Mr. Dollis who along with the PASOK party turns away from FYROManian propaganda but we sure as hell are waiting for our Omogeneia to take action!
Based in Ontario and representing FYROM interests, Triple A Cheese Co LTD produces the product called “Macedonian Cheese Feta” for the Canadian and US markets, despite the fact that the term ‘feta’ cheese has been recognized as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product and produced only in Greece.
The European Commission adopted measures to protect the Greek “Feta” in June 1996, which were reconfirmed in 2002 and 2005. According to the PDO decision, the European Commission gives other nations five years to find a new name for their “feta” cheese, or to stop production.
Already the Canadian media has been promoting the advertisement of the Triple A Cheese product.
In Greece, and commenting on this subject, the state news agency quoted Dollis as saying that almost fifty percent of Canada’s feta imports come from Greece and that the Free Trade Agreement being negotiated between Greece and Canada includes the EU list registering all European PDO products that will be protected with its bilateral signing. This list includes, among others, 16 Greek products such as feta, olive oils and olive oil from Kalamata.
LAOS MP Thanos Plevris told Agroschannel that it is outrageous for feta to be considered “generic” in such a vast market as the Canadian one. “The brand name must be protected and the Greek state has long postponed taking any action about it,” added the MP.
In Greece, the thought of FYROManians in Canada producing a product and provokingly labeling it "Macedonian Feta Cheese" has been featured on hundreds of blogs, but it still has yet to be addressed by the mainstream media. However, it must of hit a nerve at some state level because Dollis said that as far as Skopje is concerned, Greece has the right to bring the case before the European Commission.
Editor's Note - If we wait for this government to take action... then we will wait forever. They will never break eggs with these type of interests. Aderfia Listen... Hellasfrappe is not going to tell you whether to purchase this product or not. This is by far your own decision... We just want to point to several things before you do anything. Firstly the product is being produced by a company with FYROM interests. Secondly and MOST IMPORTANTLY it is branded under the name "Macedonia" which cannot be used as a brand because it directly breaches the interim decision between Greece and FYROM they are obligated to use the name FYROM on all their activity beyond their boarders. This is probably why Dolllis said that he will take action at the European Commission. Thirdly they are calling it "Feta" and as we all know Feta is 100 PERCENT a GREEK PRODUCT and everything else has to be labeled as white cheese. These provocations speak volumes. Finally, even the logo used on the product stems from the colors of FYROM's provocative flag. Like we said... we cannot tell you what to do... Just be on your guard -AND GET INFORMED- before you purchase feta cheese, until this idiotic trade agreement is finalized.
Archbishop of America Dimitrios conveyed the amount of 500,000 dollars, an offer to the Church of Greece by the Church of America, to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronymos to be allocated to meals for poor people and humanitarian projects of the Archdiocese. The Prelate visited the Archbishop who thanked him for his offer. Immediately afterwards, Dimitrios visited the offices of the Humanitarian Organisation "Apostoli" where he was welcomed by the general director C. Dimtsas. Dimitrios referred in his address to culture and the history of Greece, stressing that Greece "has at least 6,000 years of life, it has history, culture." (AMNA)
Shockingly a new report on the planned re-opening of talks between Russia and Japan over the disputed Kuril Islands states that Russian diplomats were “stunned” after being told by their Japanese counterparts that upwards of 40 million peoples are in “extreme danger” of life threatening radiation poisoning and could very well likely be faced with forced evacuations away from their countries eastern most located cities…including the world’s largest one, Tokyo.
The Kuril Islands are located in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region and stretch approximately 1,300 km (810 miles) northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater Kuril Ridge and Lesser Kuril Ridge, all of which were captured by Soviet Forces in the closing days of World War II from the Japanese.
The “extreme danger” facing tens of millions of the Japanese peoples is the result of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster that was a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011.
According to this report, Japanese diplomats have signaled to their Russian counterparts that the returning of the Kuril Islands to Japan is “critical” as they have no other place to resettle so many people that would, in essence, become the largest migration of human beings since the 1930’s when Soviet leader Stalin forced tens of millions to resettle Russia’s far eastern regions.
Important to note, this report continues, are that Japanese diplomats told their Russian counterparts that they were, also, “seriously considering” an offer by China to relocate tens of millions of their citizens to the Chinese mainland to inhabit what are called the “ghost cities,” built for reasons still unknown and described, in part, by London’s Daily Mail News Service in their 18 December 2010 article titled “The Ghost Towns Of China: Amazing Satellite Images Show Cities Meant To Be Home To Millions Lying Deserted” that says:
Foreign Ministry experts in this report note that should Japan accept China’s offer, the combined power of these two Asian peoples would make them the largest super-power in human history with an economy larger than that of the United States and European Union combined and able to field a combined military force of over 200 million.
To how dire the situation is in Japan was recently articulated by Japanese diplomat Akio Matsumura who warned that the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant may ultimately turn into an event capable of extinguishing all life on Earth.
Disturbingly, the desperate situation facing Japan is, also, facing the United States as Russian military observers overflying the US this week as part of the Open Skies Treaty are reporting “unprecedented” amounts of radiation in the Western regions of that country, a finding that was further confirmed by scientists with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute who have confirmed that a wave of highly radioactive waste is headed directly for the US west coast.
Though the news of this ongoing global catastrophe is still being heavily censored in the US, the same cannot be said about Japan, and as recently reported by the leading Japanese newspaper The Mainichi Daily News that reports:
“One of the biggest issues that we face is the possibility that the spent nuclear fuel pool of the No. 4 reactor at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant will collapse. This is something that experts from both within and outside Japan have pointed out since the massive quake struck. TEPCO, meanwhile, says that the situation is under control. However, not only independent experts, but also sources within the government say that it’s a grave concern.
The storage pool in the No. 4 reactor building has a total of 1,535 fuel rods, or 460 tons of nuclear fuel, in it. The 7-story building itself has suffered great damage, with the storage pool barely intact on the building’s third and fourth floors. The roof has been blown away. If the storage pool breaks and runs dry, the nuclear fuel inside will overheat and explode, causing a massive amount of radioactive substances to spread over a wide area. Both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and French nuclear energy company Areva have warned about this risk.
A report released in February by the Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident stated that the storage pool of the plant’s No. 4 reactor has clearly been shown to be “the weakest link” in the parallel, chain-reaction crises of the nuclear disaster. The worse-case scenario drawn up by the government includes not only the collapse of the No. 4 reactor pool, but the disintegration of spent fuel rods from all the plant’s other reactors. If this were to happen, residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area would be forced to evacuate.”
Fireworks and lambs roasting on an open fire welcomed the Resurrection of Christ for millions of Greek Orthodox Christians all over Greece this weekend. Hellasfrappe has gathered more than 23 videos from all over Greece with the celebrations. If you are from Costantinopole, Thessaloniki, Pyrgos, the area of Corinth, Agrinio, Lefkada, Kalamata, Arcadia, the island of Corfu, Crete, Paros, Epirus, Andros, Veroia, Salamina, Folegandros island, Kimi island, Psara, Aiginia, etc... then this is a must watch! Maybe you can spot your relatives in the videos...
COSTANTINOPOLE - The Fanar
THESSALONIKI
PYRGOS, ILIA
CORINTH, PELOPONNESE
ARCADIA-HOLY SAT. &EASTER SUNDAY TRIPOLI
CORFU ISLAND
AGIOS NICHOLAOS, CRETE
HALKOUNION EVENT AFTER THE RESSURECTION IN AGRINIO
Many Orthodox believers gathered at the St. Dionysios Areopagite Church on Saturday night in Athens to take part in this year's Easter liturgy and just when the Archbishop of Greece began singing the customary "Christos Anesti" dozens of people -outside of the Church- began to instead sing the Greek national anthem. As you will see in the video, not even the loud sounds of the
microphones were able to silence their voices. The look on the face of
the Archbishop of Greece Irineos who was trying to sing "Christos
Anesti" is totally priceless. Following the "Christos Anesti-national anthem" performance, believers turned their attention -and anger- to the politicians attending the event (specifically interim premier Lucas Papademos, MD parliamentarian Olga Kefaloyiannis, Minister of Labor George Koutroumanis, Minister of Development Anna Diamantopoulou and ND MP Ioannis Tragakis). Believe it or not folks, the crowd totally ignored the spiritual significance of the evening and began to scream at the politicians to leave... and eventually they were forced to do so.
The rocket war or "Rouketopolemos" on the island of Chios is ready to ignite the sky and just like every year thousands of tourists have flooded to this island in order to take part in this explosive event tonight. This traditional event is held every Greek Orthodox Easter in the city of Vrontados (Βροντάδος). As a variation of the Greek habit of throwing fireworks during the celebration of the service at midnight before Easter Sunday, two rival church congregations in the town take part in this "rocket war" by firing thousands of rockets across the town. There are two variations as to how this tradition began. The first stems from the 19th century, when the Ottoman occupiers confiscated the canon over fear they would be used in a uprising. So locals resorted to fire rockets instead. The second story states that the tradition started under Ottoman occupation because its residents were prohibited to celebrate Easter so they decided to stage a fake war between two churches to keep the Ottomans away while they celebrated the Resurrection. Believe it or not, the trick apparently worked.
International Monetary Fund Senior Resident Representative in Russia, Odd Per Brekk recently made a surprisingly lucrative suggestion to the international community. According to Mr. Brekk, one should invest their money in the development of national economies rather than saving up the funds on bank accounts. If something happens, the IMF will be there to help the country in trouble. The idea seems to be perfect, but there is a downside to it. It would at first be good to strain our memory to recollect what kind of organization the International Monetary Fund is. The year 1944 - the peak of WWII. The Soviet troops were in fierce battles with Nazi Germany, but the USA called an international conference in Bretton Woods. Why? They did not discuss anything related to the struggle against fascism during that conference. The delegates from 44 countries gathered in Bretton Woods to discuss the post-war financial world order.
Everyone knows that the world split into two after May 5, 1945. The countries that accepted the USSR's socialist plan decided to follow their own path of development. The rest that thanked the USA and its allies for "liberation" found themselves in the zone of influence of the International Monetary Fund, which was actually founded during the Bretton Woods conference. There were officials from 44 countries participating in the conference, as we mentioned above. However, only 29 were listed as the founders of the IMF. This detail was not important at all at that time.
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It was much more important, and it still remains so, that the main founder, administrator and sponsor of the financial organization was the United States of America. This country, due to its geographical and political reasons, did not suffer much in the global bloody massacre in the first half of the 20th century. Moreover, the USA gained incredible profit from the war: the US dollar became the basic currency in international settlements.
Many years have passed since that time. However, the principles and grounds remain the same. It is an open secret that any loan from the IMF to any country is connected with certain terms and conditions. A country that receives a loan from the IMF will have to take off its last shirt for that. The IMF and its principal beneficiary - the USA - miraculously receive more than just a lot in return.
Why did Mr. Brekk become so generous then? Anyone who can count to three may realize that the USA owns more than just the basic share of finance, whereas all other members are supposed to pay their shares in the same currency. One should bear in mind that this system works in spite of the fact that the USA's foreign debt is more than just enormous. Moreover, the BRICS countries have recently decided to establish their own development bank. Therefore, there is no better way to do away with the problems of one state and destroy competitors than tempt more or less developing states into making investments in their own development.
However, this suggestion implies serious investments in the economy of the United States in the first place. What if there is a country that faces the urgent need of finding a certain amount of currency assets? Is there a guarantee that this country will receive them? If it does, what kind of bonus will the country have to pay to the IMF? There are no answers to these questions.
Russia and China, formerly one of the largest buyers of US treasuries, have been reducing their share in national gold and currency reserves for years already. The statement from Mr. Brekk does not smell good at all.
Words of anger, despair and resistance were displayed by believers against the political, economic and Greek elite all across the country at Churches (and services) throughout the Holy week, but strong messages were also heard by Greek Orthodox bishops, priests and simple preachers. Finally, the Greek Orthodox Church, which kept Hellenism alive during Ottoman rule, is finally taking a stance against the Memorandum and all foreign interests.
One such story occurred in Corinth on Good Friday. in a dramatic speech following the procession of the Epitaph the Head of Corinth's Metropolitan Church advised parishioners in his speech to not allow themselves to bow as Greeks even if this is in the face of poverty.
"We have to show that we are Hellenes of Christian Orthodox faith, and when we show this, we should not be afraid of anyone. It doesn't matter if the enemy is powerful and if the enemy is rich. Anything the enemy says, even if it threatens us, we should not be afraid. We will not kneel to no one that wants to impose themselves on us. or that wants to destroy us; that wants to exploit us; that wants to claim our lives and our souls. And even if they use trickery no one will make us kneel."
Surprisingly... the "Bloody Frocks" continue to have a voice.
Orthodoxy, the last bulwark of Hellenism, is getting "prepared for the final conflict", a Bishop told defencenet. "If they think we will sit quietly and let the country fall into the hands of foreigners they are making a big mistake "...
(Editor's Comment - Kalio Arga... para pote. Bravo)
Christ came to this earth, shed His blood and died on a cross so Christians can be forgiven and after His crucifixion He was buried in a tomb and on the third day He rose from the dead in a blast of light, at least this is what the Bible teaches us. This light... is the highlight for all Orthodox Christians every Holy Saturday and the miracle we wait for year after year that guides our continued faith.
By Marina Spanos The "Miracle" of the Holy Light of Jerusalem, is a recurring 'miracle' that happens each year with clock work precision, in the Holy Church of the Resurrection otherwise known as the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, to the delight of a large congregation of Christians of the Orthodox Church. Many pilgrims travel to Jerusalem repeatedly for the occasion.
The 'Miracle' takes place on Saturday no on preceding Easter Sunday. The substance of the 'miracle' is the appearance of a supernatural fire in a tomb, thoroughly searched and secured beforehand to exclude any source of fire by Israeli authorities. The 'Miracle' is a privleage of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, who is ceremoniously searched and then stripped before entering the tomb.
The searches are witnessed by representatives of other Orthodox Churches, especially of the Armenian Church, who also have certain traditional rights in the specific Church, as well as representatives of local authorities, and officials from the Jerusalem police. The patriarch enters the tomb and apparently prays and then he makes his way to the second part of the tomb and a little while later appears with the miraculous light, to the ecstasy of the attending crowd of thousands. At the same time, fire is reported to appear lighting the candles in and out of the Church spontaneously. Wax torches held by the pilgrims are also sporadically seen to be lighted by "divine" intervention.
In fact blue-white lightning is reported to sometimes appear and travel through the air. The miraculous fire lighting the patriarchs' candle has been reported to be different from normal fire, in that a hand placed in the flame is not burned (at least the hands of the believers, and only for the first 33 minutes after the miracle). The Holy Light is brought back to Greece with a special flight and greeted with honors normally reserved for Foreign Heads of State, after all it is the most revered 'miracle' of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Special flights are used to distribute the Holy Light throughout Greece, so it is made available late Saturday night during the Mass of the Resurrection in many Churches.
Following the customary "Christos Anesi" (Christ has Risen) at midnight, believers return this light to their homes and burn a cross on their front door beams, thus preserving the mark of the Holy Light throughout the year .Then they take the Holy Light to the family altar make the sign of the cross and light a candle which they allow to burn all night. Science cannot explain this great miracle and skeptics say that it is unthinkable to see such neolithic superstitions reign in the land that gave birth to philosophy and the sciences. Indeed, the call of the Ancient Greeks was: "Remember to
Doubt!" (*Memniso Apistein, a quote of Epicharmus mentioned by Lucianus
in Hermotimus). Such scepticism can never coexist with "believeth all
things" (1 Corinthians 13.7) of the Christian dogma.
Our opinion, however, here at hellasfrappe is simple. Miracles do not involve lots of hocus pocus magic that we sometimes view on our television screens, and do not necessarily occur in times when we are the most troubled. Miracles are real.. and they are all around us. The small things we ignore and that occur everyday in our lives are the real miracles.
The fact you can smile is a miracle.
The fact that you can see is a miracle.
The fact that you will have food on your table tonight is a miracle.
The fact that you have love/ed is a miracle.
Take a good look around you...This earth is the real miracle.
When a woman gives birth and then holds that baby in her arms is a miracle because that child is a sure sign that a Supernatural force exists. Whether we call this force God Allah, Buddha or Zeus... does not really make a difference it is still a power that we as humans are not in any position to explain.
The point is to grasp the meaning behind the Miracle of the Holy Light and what it actually represents. For believers and non believers the symbolism is one in the same. Humility, forgiveness and undying love: three simple words that if adopted by all the nations of the world would resolve all the problems we face on this planet in just one second. (such as poverty, famine and war).
And for Orthodox Christians it has an even more profound meaning...
To quote from a related religious site:
"The Holy Light
symbolizes and recalls in a miraculous manner the Resurrection of
Christ. It is a god sent miracle through the centuries, from the Light
which is Jesus Christ to the world".
That is what we as a society should absorb tonight
... but a little mageritsa would not hurt either...
The island of Patmos, or Greece's Holy Island, is the site where the Apostile John or Saint John the Divine wrote the text of Revelation. At Easter time the island comes alive and tourists flock here every year to take part in the holy events that lead to Christ's Resurrection on Holy Saturday.
On Holy Tuesday a solemn procession of the icons in the monastery takes place in the main town.
On Holy Thursday, the center of these church ceremonies and Christian services is the “Washing of the Disciples’ Feet”. On this day, a platform is raised in the main town, or Chora, and then the ceremony begins. The Bishop usually plays the role of Christ and he washes the feet of twelve monks – in lieu of what the Bible has written of Christ’s actions before his Crucifixion.
The reenactment of the Deposition from the Cross takes place in the Monastery of St. John. On the same evening, Epitaphs of the various churches fill the narrow cobbled streets and paths of the island to meet at the central squares of Ησra (a UNESCO world heritage site) and Skαla (Patmos’ port).
In the evening of Easter Saturday, the Monastery opens its gates to welcome us for the celebration of the Resurrection. Locals and visitors have the unique opportunity to attend an Eastern Orthodox mass in a mystic atmosphere of devout concentration, held in one of the most important Christian monasteries. Then “Christσs Anιsti” (Christ has risen) is heard, and an impressive display of fireworks light up the night sky.
The highlight, however, is Sunday at 3 in the afternoon when a Second Resurrection is held at the Patmos Monastery. The Gospel of the Resurrection is read, in seven various languages, and is chanted in heroic hexameters, with a kontio. Red eggs are also distributed to all those in attendance.
Finally, on the Second Day of Easter, or the Monday after Easter, a celebration is held in Skala, during which the Municipality distributes free food to all the visitors.
Patmos has been one of UNESCO's Monuments of Global Heritage. The monastery and its treasures, the preservation and maintenance of the Chora settlement from the Middle Ages to the present time, and the sacred Cave of the Apocalypse were the basic reasons why ICOM has chosen Patmos for this special accolade and distinguished it by characterizing it as a monument of global cultural heritage.
Τhe NATO Summit in Chicago is but several weeks away and FYROManians are mobilizing their citizens and its Diaspora to achieve the country's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. FYROManians do not want to fulfill the conditions set by NATO for a solution to the name issue, and have rather turned their focus on endorsing their accession by "imposing" their integration.
One such move is an all new online campaign from the FYROM Diaspora which created the site www.macedoniainnato.org and is now actually advertising and promoting the country's accession to NATO. Parallel to this, it is flooding youtube with videos promoting its accession.
But there is more, on May 19 the FYROM Embassy in Washington is to jointly organize a Gala at Chicago's Hilton hotel and according to Greek press reports the event will be attended by the President of Skopje, Ivanov as well as leading NATO leaders.
And just one day later, a march has been organized by the FYROM Diaspora in Chicago where participants plan to wear the shirts featured on this blog post.
Hellenes, and members of the Greek Diaspora...
We implore you to ACT NOW
Let us all unite and advocate for Hellas, our Macedonia and our rights... before its too late.
The Monastery of the Temptation or "Sarantario" is a Greek Orthodox Christian monastery located in the West Bank, along a cliff overlooking the city of Jericho and the Jordan Valley. Today, Monk Gerasimos is the only living soul living at the monastery and life at Sarantario is difficult, but he has dedicated his life to preserving the monastery, the Greek Orthodox Church as well as preserving the Greek flag which proudly waves there.
It is built upon the summit of the Mount of Temptation, rising 350
meters above sea level and serves as a tourist attraction. Its land is
under the full jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority, but
the monastery is owned and managed by the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem.
The earliest monastery was constructed by the Byzantines in the 6th century CE above the cave traditionally said to be that where Jesus spent forty days and forty nights fasting and meditating during the temptation of Satan, about three kilometers northwest of Jericho. The monastery receives its name from the mountain which the early Christians referred to as the "Mount of the Temptation". The Monastery of the Temptation was identified by Augusta Helena of Constantinople as one of the "holy sites" in her pilgrimage in 326 CE.
We here at hellasfrappe have often said that there are some politicians in Greece that are not even capable of serving perfume samples at department stores, but there are also a few that are totally committed to the good of the people they represent. And every time they do something impressive they usually get our applause. One such person is former actor Apostolos Gletzos who today is acting Mayor of Stylida (a town in Fthiotida located in Central Greece). Some may remember him from ANT1's
"Psythiri Kardias" series (as well as a long line of other sitcoms and/
or movies). What some may not know however, is that Gletzos is also very
politically active and has been a strong supporter of the Greek
Communist Party (KKE). According to Lamia Report, Gletzos beat up a local building contractor today because the builder wanted to teach him the art of "kickbacks".
If we stumbled on this story two years ago... we would of not believed it. But when we have already seen Gletzos climb onto a tractor in order to break down illegal toll booths in his town, or get into the ring to punch out central development committees that go against his town's interests (and trust us he really let them have it - metaphorically speaking of course), or remove key political figures from platforms to allow the elderly to sit (as he did last October 28th) and even dive for the cross when we all know that he has a serious heart problem... we not only believe it... WE APPLAUD IT.
How did Athens look like at the turn of the 20th century? What about Thessaloniki and Piraeus? How did Greek citizens in the cities and in the countryside spend Easter? What type of transportation was used? What were the leading career choices at the time? How did the homes, the shops and the cinemas look like? What types of games did children play and how did their schools look like? Find out today as TIME MACHINE takes a step back in time to a Greece at the turn of the century. A compilation of videos with rare pictures and art depict a country in shambles where everyone might have been poor, but certainly filotimo and solidarity were the A and Z of Hellenic life. (The videos are self-explanatory) Enjoy.
When did the Orthodox faith begin? Who was the founder of the Orthodox
faith? What is meant by Apostolic Succession? What does Holy Tradition
mean? Why are there icons in Orthodox churches? Are Orthodox
Christians "saved?" How does the Orthodox faith view the Virgin Mary?
Are Orthodox Christians "born again?" Why is the Orthodox faith
considered "the best kept secret?"
"Understanding the Orthodox Faith" is an introductory guide to learning the basics about the Orthodox faith. Ellinas Multimedia has combined interviews with Orthodox Priests along with beautiful photography inside Orthodox churches to teach you.:
Greek journalists say media freedom in Greece is sliding under the heavy-handedness of riot police during street anti-austerity demonstrations. Apart from reportedly firing tear-gas and flash-bang grenades against elderly people, parents holding their children, medical teams and Athens subway personnel, anti-riot police appear to deliberately attack Greek and foreign journalists and news photographers.
According to research carried out by the Greek Union of Photojournalists, 46 percent of photo-reporters have been mal-handled by the police during fieldwork the last year, resulting in three separate cases of hospitalization, the most recent that of Greek journalist Manolis Kypraios who lost his hearing permanently when police threw a flash-bang grenade on his head.
The spate of police violence against media professionals began last year during the summer occupation of Constitution Sq. by civilian protesters, continued in the October two-day general strike and has come without warning in almost every other public protest over the last few months, affecting the work of Greek and global media professionals.
Journalists say that Greek police is using tear gas and flash-bang grenades of military specification, against all protocols.
Despite governmental assurances that investigations be launched to shed light on the attacks, little has been done towards isolating and prosecuting the police officers who violate Greek and international protocols of ethical handling of civilians and media employees.
While the financial and social crisis in Greece deepens, the police announced its intention to rent out police officers for 30 Euros per hour. It has been called a desperate attempt to find money while the country is still reeling from tough austerity cuts to secure a $170 billion bailout from the EU.
After the news conference, journalists staged a protest outside the prime ministerial mansion, while the Greek Prime Minister prepares for his televised address to the nation, announcing the dissolution of the government and the upcoming elections on May 6th.
The secretary general of the Greek Union of Photojournalists Xristina Zaxopoulou observes that Athenian streets are the most dangerous in Europe for reporters, more so than war-zones, occasionally. (PressTv)
The articles posted on HellasFrappe are for entertainment and education purposes only. The views expressed here are solely those of the contributing author and do not necessarily reflect the views of HellasFrappe. Our blog believes in free speech and does not warrant the content on this site. You use the information at your own risk.
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