Armenia's cold war

Armenia is one of those places we hear little of, somewhere far off somewhere in the east. It is also one the great nations of the world, an ancient nation, an ancient race of people who have a history that would intimidate many others.

Armenia was a great kingdom in the time of Christ, it was the first nation in the world to establish Christianity as it's religion, it has been a nation that has risen and fallen many times, and a nation that seems to have migrated over hundreds of miles in that time.

Perhaps only the Jews can compare with the Armenians in their antiquity and the integrity of their culture and religion. When other races have faded or mixed with newer ones, the Armenians kept themselves whole, through massacres, conquest and genocide they survived and managed somehow to thrive.

Above: St. Stepanos church

When the Soviet Union began it's dissolution in the late 80s and early 90s, Armenia reclaimed itself once again and their brothers in the Kharabagh proclaimed their union with Armenia proper. Muslim Azerbaijan (in which Kharabagh is situated) declared this illegal, even though they themselves had just declared independence from the USSR.

When Stalin had been the Nationalities Commissar under Lenin, he had drawn the borders of the republics of the Soviet Union, in places he deliberately drew borders that divided peoples and ancient nations as a tool with which to divide the locals who would then look to Moscow.

Above: Yerevan - Armenia's capital

Kharabagh and Naxcivan, although majority Armenian, were handed over to Azerbaijan, in the years that followed Naxcivan was de-Armenianised, so was Kharabagh, but it was less successful in Kharabagh.

Above: The Tatev monastery

In response to a referendum in Kharabagh which decided on independence, Azerbaijan launched a war on the Kharabagh and the Armenian peoples. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians fled from Azerbaijan and Naxcivan, hundreds of thousands of Azeri's also fled from Armenia, the Kharabagh and the territories that Armenia would occupy in the war.

Unfortunately, as is the case in Bosnia and Kosovo and other places, this conflict was frozen. Armenia won this war, but they have been unable to end this war as the 'international community' refuses to recognise reality and the will of the Armenian peoples.

Above: Khor Virap monastery, with Mount Ararat

Not that I trust the will of any peoples, but surely if anyone has the right to this little slice of land, it is this ancient Christian race?

The Azeri's already have a large nation, one enriched with oil and allied to Turkey and Iran. Armenia is a small nation, the Kharabagh even smaller, Azerbaijan could well do without this small impoverished province.

I have a great deal of respect for this ancient Christian people, their faith, their churches and monasteries, their sheer survival over time is enough to inspire.

Above:The Armenian Holy See in Echmiadzin is built over a pagan (fire) temple

Their suffering is also humbling, a small group of highly cultured people, people who know how to make money and thrive, have been the scape goats for many less able and jealous races, most famously the Turks who came close to annihilating them in the Great War.

Let us hope the Armenians can continue to inspire, let us hope they hold fast to their faith!

Serbia's betrayal

It is done, Kosovo is now 'independent' from Serbia, Those United States, Britain, France and Germany have recognised this statelet as an equal!

Serbia has finally been dismembered.

I remember the bombing of Serbia in 1999, I also remember the earlier bombing of the Serbs in Bosnia in 1995 and feeling that the Serbs had been turned into bogey men by the media. The press, as is so often the case, need a good story, Bosia became the story of the good Muslims and the bad Serbs, is it not interesting how Christians always end up as the bad guys? Think of the Christians in Lebanon or the Spanish civil war.

Whilst I so not condone murder of any kind, and am suspicious of all wars and the insigators of those wars, the wars in the Balkans were none of our business. The desire to help the unfortunate victims is an admirable one, the desire to send money and relief a natural response to suffering, but the demand to bomb one side implies that they are the 'baddies'.

The Serbs may have been involved in terrible crimes, they may have sinned grievously, but this is for them and their consciences, not us and our bombs! The Serbs were not the only ones to commit crimes in those conflicts, the Muslims imported Hisbollah and other Islamic radicals who massacred Christians and beheaded their enemy, the Muslim militias were as violent and merciless as any Serb, as were the Croats!

But for our media, that would not do, the story had to be simple and understandable to the audience, so, Serbs = bad, Muslims = victims.

In Kosovo, the KLA has been waging a guerilla war for months before the Serbian army went in to root them out, people fled as they do in war, and so the press decided to rehash the same story of Serb = bad, Muslim = victim for this new story.

Then the Serbs were bombed again, their nation left in ruins, humiliated and vilified, isolated in the world for trying to defend their country against what would now be described as 'terrorists'.

In fact what is the difference between what those United States has done in Afghanistan and what is continues to do and what Serbia did in Kosovo?

Well, Kosovo is Serbian soil, and Albanian terrorists were atacking police stations and ethnically cleansing Serbs from their own homes. Kosovo has been the centre of the ancient Serbian kingdoms for centuries, as recently as the 1940s, the Serbs were a majority in Kosovo, but higher birth rates and migration from Albania meant that by the late 1990s the Serbs were a minority. This is when the Albanians decided to make a bid for power.

The KLA is a criminal orginisation, it runs prostitution rings around Europe, is the main supplier of heroin in Europe and also smuggles guns to other criminal orginisations. These are the same people the west allied itself to in 1999.

In contrast Afghanistan has never been American, and although it hosted Al Qaida, has never actually attacked those United States, yet the Americans continue to kill Afghans and drop bombs and mines, but thats ok because Americans are not nasty Serbs, right?

Never mind the tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed by the 'nice, unlike the Serbs, Americans'.

Hypocricy knows no humilty

I believe that this action by the west has further alienated Russia and eastern Christendom from the west, from the criminal sacking of Constantinople in 1204, to the abandonment of our Christian brothers to the Turks in later centuries, to the sneering contempt for Russia, we in the west have earned suspicion and distrust from the east, this reckless action will just continue this unfortunate and avoidable schism.

Today the west has empowered Islam once again, we have alienated the Orthodox and probably instigated a new cold war, it seems our foolishness and selfishness know no bounds!

Perhaps some day we will grow up?

Carpe Diem

Seize the day, live as if this is your last day alive! Carpe Diem!

This was something I used to think, it was something I have uttered inanely whilst drunk! It is the attitude of the Universities, the press, our whole culture! Carpe Diem!

It was only a few days ago when I pondered the meaning of this, 'live for the day', what can it mean? For those who have faith it can mean something quite different from the unbeliever, for this world, it means have sex when you want, with whom you want, whenever you want. It means eat, eat and eat until you turn into a 20 stone blob of living lard! It means swear and curse those who get in your way or who irritate you, it means never forgive, never forget, it means lie if it gets you what you want, it means deceive, cheat and betray if this suits you!

If people really 'lived for the day', what would it look like?

Like some of our city centres on a Saturday night! If one truly lived for the day and you had no faith it would mean one would rape a woman that took one's fancy, it would mean steal instead of work, it would mean murder those whom you hate, it would mean betray those one loved, it would mean chaos, it would look like hell!

The truth is most people don't really believe Carpe Diem, decent people work! Why work? Not for amusement, people work so they can pay their bills, buy a house, support their family and enjoy their lives. Most people remain faithful to their spouse most of the time, why? Love.

Criminals are the people who most closely follow this 'live for the day' lark, and with out God, more do so all the time.

A better phrase would be 'live for tomorrow', for this is what we should be aiming for, we should be bettering ourselves, investing in our families, friends and neighbours. We know from scripture that God hates theft, almost as much as he hates murder, we also know he loves righteousness, but what is righteousness? It is not an absence of theft and murder, it is something positive, it is a litany of good actions that build up to make us who we are, humility in little actions every day, decency toward others, generosity, kindness, faith.

It seems to me that we become who we are; this happens over time, good people are those who do lots of little seemingly irrelevant good things over time, bad people are those who do lots of bad things over time. Selfishness seems to be the root of this and Carpe Diem if taken seriously implies selfishness on a grand scale.

There are of course times when we are presented with an opportunity, which would be foolish to turn down, but this is not the same as self absorbed attitude that we should 'live for the day', this is just part of the wider attitude in the degraded society of ours, that we owe no allegiance to anyone or anything, that we should endulge every desire and damn the consequences.

Sin has consequences, so too does righteousness, we deserve most of the good or bad things that come our way, they are as a result of earlier deeds, its karma!

So forget about Carpe Diem, think Carpe Crastinum!

Sharia and the Archbishop

The furor surrounding Dr Rowan Williams' speech the other day seems a bit hysterical and unrealistic to me, the whole point of his speech, it seems to me, was that we need to face up to reality and understand that Sharia is already in Britain and much of Europe, although informal at the moment, and that it will spread and become entrenched.

I am not much of an admirer of Islam, something that seems to me to be a heretical Judeo-Christian sect. For many years I have opposed the establishment of mosques and Islamic immigration into Europe and especially Ireland as a matter of principle.

However it seems clear to me that the people who govern us are determined to ignore us, and worse to oppose our quite moderate, in my view, and sensible views on immigration and Islam.

They seem to be determined to place large groups of Muslims in all our cities and to change the ethnic makeup of Europe.

We can't stop this, we can protest, we can write letters, we can complain, we can vote for another party, but none of this will make the slightest difference to what is happening.

Therefore, we must make our peace with reality, and that reality is that we will see large Islamic minorities in all western European nations in the near future.

Those who cheer on this ever increasing tide of immigrants are the very people who would suffer under Sharia law, the leftist revolutionaries, the feminists, the criminals, the degenerate etc, it is not the conservatives or the Christian who will feel the immediate wrath of Sharia, it is the former.

So, if we are unable to stop this, if we are to be under the jurisdiction of Islamic Law, then let those who made it possible feel it's wrath first.

Dr Williams was only doing what any responsible leader in such circumstances would do, he is preparing for the future, a more Islamicised future.

Please don't think me a traitor or a defeatist, I am wearied of worrying about Islam and it's followers, let them have their law, let them do as they please, and let those who made all this possible suffer the consequences of their acts, as they should!

Monarchy versus the Republic

Peter Hitchens, once again makes a good argument for monarchy, he contrasts it to the dreadful non-stop election that is American public life!

'The Land of the Free is a lot less free than Britain's ancient monarchy. There is nothing like a dive into American politics to remind you that even the most successful republic in human history has its drawbacks.'

Read the rest here.

Regicide

On this day in the year of our Lord 1649, His Majesty, Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland was murdered, His Majesty's last words before his execution were, "I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be."

As is usual, this murder of a rightful king led to much evil in these isles, much suffering and darkness before the restoration of Charles II, the son and heir of the murdered king!

God save the King!

Christendom

I like that word.

I like the certainty behind it, the sureness, the confidence it implies. There was a time when we actually were proud of ourselves, certain of our faith and culture. Certain that It was true, certain that is was a shining example to the world.

What happened?

Its hard to know exactly what happened, because so much has happened, but the revolutions of the eighteenth century obviously left their scars and planted the seeds for the evil to come.

Nationalism was another of the viral contagions from the French Revolution that spread over Europe, it destroyed the Holy Roman Empire, it was used by atheist utopians to unify Italy and dispose the rightful Kings, Dukes and old republics of that peninsula as well as strip the Patrimony of St Peter from the Popes.

Nationalism led to pointless hatreds between people who should be the firmest of friends, the Hungarians, the Poles, The Germans, the Irish, The Catalans were all infected by this virus, this highest of lies!

And nationalism led directly to that most foolish of wars, the Great War!

The world was in a bad state in 1914 anyway, what with France a republic, poisoned with laicite and Portugal having recently overthrown their King. Then looking to the east, China had become a republic in 1911 leaving a vacuum that would not be filled until 1949. Ireland was on the verge of a bitter civil war, Italy, that plastic Kingdom was still trying to keep the Neapolitans and Sicilians down, The Balkans was a ferment of racialism, ethnic and sectarian enmity and all over the world ill educated but zealous ideologues stirred trouble, Communists, Anarchists, Republicans, Nationalists, Zionists and atheists!

If the economy had continued to grow, if peace had continued to reign, if the rightful kings and emperors of the world had continued to rule, prosperity would have diffused most of these passions.

Yet despite these problems, Christendom still existed, there was still a confidence in who we were, faith, history, monarchy and culture were real to people back then, and they believed that Christendom was a light to a dark world!

















It’s not easy to maintain that confidence after thirty million battle dead, forty million dead after a pandemic, the collapse of three empires, mass starvation, the use of poison gas, the desecration of churches and monasteries, the rape of nuns, the murder of an imperial family, genocide, ethnic cleansing, the pulling apart of ancient nations and a series of unlawful coup d’etats. This is bound to affect the morale of any civilisation; I suppose we should only be thankful that it failed to destroy us completely!

In July and August 1914 the military High Commands of Austria, Germany and Russia instigated what can only be called coup d’etats against the wishes and desires of their rightful sovereigns!

Czar Nicholas and Kaiser Wilhelm did not want war, and worked for peace in the weeks that followed the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Franz Josef was an elderly and broken man, easily led by his conniving ministers and generals. Together the generals of Austria and Germany sealed the fates of their sovereigns and empires and decided to go to war!















The Russian generals too, decided for war, they were tired of Nicholas’ prevarication, his fear of war and its consequences, one of his generals stated after receiving the go ahead for general mobilisation, that he disconnected his phone to stop the Czar from rescinding his order as he had done many times in the past! This is treason, and the Russian generals, as eager for blood and death as their Austrian and German peers committed treason, for them war and the mirage of glory was more important then their sovereign Lord!

Wilhelm was stunned when he rushed back to Berlin after the Russians mobilised, to find that he had been effectively sidelined in the decision to go to war, he was presented with a fait acompli, like their Russian peers, his generals did not trust the Kaiser, as he too feared the consequences of war.

1914 marked the triumph of nationalism and militarism and ‘the future’, over the ‘forces of conservatism’, as Tony Blair so eloquently put it! It marked the end of the power of the aristocrats, kings and emperors and their replacement with bureaucrats, generals and politicians. This was the true significance of those fateful weeks!

There was nothing conservative about that war, nothing right, nothing moral, nothing noble or glorious, it was a bloody mistake, or maybe not, perhaps that is exactly how the ‘modern world’ needed to be birthed? In 1914, the state, whether the Russian state, the German state, the British state, the Italian, French or American States were small, mostly harmless things, one did not need a passport or any identification to travel the world in those days, one did not need the states approval to invest ones money abroad, or to take that money on holiday, one did not need the governments permission to keep ones pub open after ten in the evening, one did not need to register a gun or pay very much in tax, one did not need to be numbered, licenced, authorised or stamped by the government, AJP Taylor wrote that ‘an Englishman could live his whole life and the government would be unaware of his existence.

By 1918 all this had changed and changed completely. War had been the excuse to bring in passports, so now they would know when and where one had gone, War was the excuse to steal property, in the form of railways and the coal mines, condemning them to their slow decline. War was the excuse for more and ever higher taxes, taking more and more of a mans wage, War was the excuse for the first ID cards, the dream of many a totalitarian and pushy bureaucrat, War was the excuse to close pubs and dance halls after 10 pm, War was the excuse to change time zones, War was the excuse to use poison gas, chemicals and billions of shells to kill as many as the enemy as possible, War was the excuse to cast aside decency and civility to achieve ‘victory’.














None of the things mentioned above were rescinded after the war, some are still in force to this day, the barbarity of total war degraded all of us, it opened the gates of hell and was the template for future wars and the conduct of instigators of Babi Yar and Mai Lai.

Worst of all Christendom died in the trenches of the Great War, the fury of that barbaric war, along with all the chaos, bloodshed and misery that followed knocked many peoples faith, for some it convinced them there was no God, for the professional atheist it was an opening, they condemned the old order, the one that had been overthrown as the instigator of this viciousness!

The anarchists, communists, atheists and other trouble makers seized the opportunities provided by the war to end completely the old order of the world, the did this at Versailles and condemned us to an other war twenty years later which would finish off any semblance of the overthrown order.

I love to explore Europe, seeing the great cities, the great centres of our culture, but it also saddens me, as I look upon mere buildings, the treasures of Europe and experience the place, all the time I know what happened, this suicide, this murder of us took place among all this beauty and achievement by fools, by greedy men who thought nothing of tradition or faith or morals!

Christendom still lingers in some places, the odd village, some faded cities far from the centres of power, and the memory of the old order also lingers in places, the cathedrals, palaces and older parts of cities that were fortunate enough not to be flattened in the next war. Mostly it lingers in the hearts of the faithful, who in spite of the scorn and derision continue with their quiet but resolute faith in God.

Christendom survives, but only now in a spiritual sense!

We now live in a ‘modern’ world, one committed to ‘progress’ and egalitarianism; truly, the world has been remade in the image of the Jacobins!

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