https://main.cse-initiative.eu/?p=1460 … Continue reading
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Wayne, Nice to hear from you. I have no interest in following or supporting Julian Assange. It’s NOT a subject that comes up when we get together. All the best, RVK 19 March 2026 (Explanation: By “we”, Bob means Fort Street “old boys”. W.H.) Bob, this is an e-mail I received (in a mass e-mailing) from Gabriel Shipton, Julian Assange’s half-brother. Mary Kostakidis is a Fortian and I once wrote to suggest to her the idea of trying to mobilise “the old school tie”. She rejected the idea fairly abruptly but with the passage of time it occurs to me that I may have tried the wrong approach. I should have spoken to other Fortians about the idea of supporting her rather than speaking to her about the idea of other Fortians supporting her. In any case Gabriel Shipton’s asking me for money seems equally misguided. I am the last person to be approached as a significant financial donor. I share this message with my friend and comrade Nikos Vakolidis, orthodontist in the northern Greek city of Ioannina. Let’s just discuss it between ourselves for starters, Bob, Nikos has not been abrupt with Gabriel Shipton as I have so perhaps … Continue reading
https://cairnsnews.org/2026/03/14/indigenous-virtue-signalling-reaches-absurd-heights-as-sa-hospital-given-bizarre-new-name/ To judge by Cory Bernardi’s name he is of Italian origin, which may give a hint to his evident sensitivity to considerations that escape certain dangerous unfortunates who almost certainly know no other language than English. This is speculation, but even the term “virtue signaling” becomes less opaque if one knows Latin or Italian and know that “vir” is Latin for “man”. Australia is now importing population from almost everywhere and if everyone starts insisting on their “native language rights” we are back at the Tower of Babel. Portuguese and Spanish imperialists had no qualms about conflating linguistic and religious considerations. It is only since the French got involved in the colonial (and enslaving) project that the idea gained ground that colonialists should be “on the side of the natives”. A knowledge of Latin (or indeed Italian) helps one understand the English language but if one really wants to go “back to the roots” one will learn Greek, modern Greek preferably because one cannot speak with the dead. There are good reasons for Australians to know something about the origins of human habitation on the Australian continent, but for the purposes of politics, going back to the roots means … Continue reading
Heraklis Kalogerakis https://cairnsnews.org/2026/03/12/new-iranian-leader-wounded-in-hiding-from-us-missiles/ https://halva.proboards.com/post/3231 The history of nations is often recorded through wars, campaigns, conflicts. In the case of the Greek Revolution, our historical memory is filled with such images: the fire ships of Kanaris, the battles of Kolokotronis, the resistance of Karaiskakis. But states are not created only on the battlefield. They are born also in the sessions of diplomacy. They are brought into existence by people who understand that the force of arms is not enough in itself. Political discernment is equally necessary, as is international strategy and – above all – the ability to avert war when this is possible. Such a person was Ioannis Capodistrias. In an age of revolutions and confrontations Capodistrias was the embodiment of a different approach to power. He did not believe that nations are saved by means of war alone. He believed that they are saved when politics and diplomacy create the conditions that render warfare either superfluous or impossible. In other words he believed in what today is called strategic deterrence. Perhaps this is what is most up-to-date about Capodistrias. Because his thinking was not applicable only for 1821. It applies for every age. In every historical period states are … Continue reading
If, as it seems, the president of the United States takes orders from Israel, this makes Israel today’s arch-imperialist power, which is strange insofar as Israel apparently, alone, among history’s successive hegemonic powers, is uniquely lacking in an ideological justification with something approaching plausibility for external, and not just internal, consumption. To be God’s chosen people can surely be flattering and praiseworthy only to those who can see themselves as included in this category. Does this mean that such an imperialist power can rely only on blackmail to maintain its position? The first of the European powers to seek hegemony over the New World was Portugal, whose supremacy was quickly challenged, with the assistance of the Dutch, by Spain. Here is a timeline, presented by Robin Blackburn in his book “The Making of New World Slavery” (p.9) “The theory of empire which the Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch and English came to expound appealed to God-given rights, but with interesting differences of emphasis. The Portuguese emphasized their rights as “discoverers”, not so much of the land as of the sea-routes between Europe and the newly discovered coast; Portuguese captains were required to register navigational details of their discoveries as well as … Continue reading