Article by Wagner Hertzog

   

Dobrica Ćosi
, born Dobrosav Ćosi
, was a politician, statesman and Yugoslav writer, who in 1992 became the first president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Although a newly constituted nation composed only of Serbia and Montenegro, it was largely considered to be the successor state of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, although such an assertion was disputed by the other republics of the Balkan Peninsula. A man who would later become a symbol of both a dynamic and unstable government,

​Dobrica Ćosi  was seen by many of his supporters as "The Father of the Nation," as well as a warrior of political and social causes. As a young man, he showed a penchant for public life and, engaging in communist political causes from his youth, in 1939 at the beginning of World War II, Dobrica Ćosi, then only seventeen years old, joined the Communist Youth Organization, and from then on, would rise rapidly in the spheres of power, never to dissociate himself from politics. A determined man, with fervent communist convictions, would end up consolidating a notorious and consistent, but troubled political career, which, by virtue of his aggressive and bold centralizing tendencies, inherent to his polemical and nationalistic character, would make the world see him as one of the most controversial Yugoslavian politicians of his time. As an enthusiast of Tito, and the propaganda of a strong and united Yugoslavia, unlike many of his countrymen, who defended a moderate political administrative management, with respect for the autonomy of local governments, Dobrica Ćosi
 fervently defended a solid and cohesive central government, with broad powers at the federal level, with a priority to eradicate separatist movements and to stifle peripheral nationalisms.

Nonetheless, early on, Dobrica Ćosić demonstrated its major moral fault, partiality, visible especially by his policies favoring Serbs and Montenegrins, as well as a special concern for the region of Kosovo, whose autonomy would make him feel deeply resentful. When Slobodan Miloševi  came to power in 1989, Dobrica Ćosi , initially enthusiastic and demonstrating his unconditional support, especially for sharing his Serbian expansionist and protectionist proposals, was gradually distancing himself from this fact, when the objectives and government directives of both statesmen clearly demonstrated to be incompatible and divergent. Shortly thereafter, Dobrica Ćosić declared himself to be Miloševi 's opponent, which cost him the presidency. Then, Dobrica Ćosi  joined Otpor!, an anti-Miloševi  organization, which quickly gained notoriety in Belgrade. However, despite assuming a seemingly optimistic and constructive policy guideline, many of his actions and convictions to this day are viewed with serious reservations, due to the tragic consequences that many of his political attitudes and decisions have finally set out, although indirectly,  most of the time. One of them was the fact that, at least to some extent, it was through his influence that Radovan Karadži  became leader of the Bosnian Serbs, and later he became the first president of the Republika Srpska, a Serbian enclave in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And until 2010, Dobrica Ćosi  claimed to support all the actions under which the Republika Srpska army – then under Ratko Mladi  – operated during the Bosnian war, which caused major controversy, due to war crimes committed with hideous, hostile and visceral brutality. It is important to note that the Srebrenica massacre, which exterminated more than 8,000 Bosniaks in a matter of a few days, is considered the worst slaughter in postwar Europe, and the epithet "Bosnian Butcher" is applied to both Radovan Karadži  and Ratko Mladi , individuals directly responsible for the massacre. No less noteworthy is the fact that both were prosecuted in the Netherlands by the International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, doesn’t matter now what were his real motivations – we will simply never know –, Dobrica Ćosi seems to have been a man engaged in the political and social causes of his time, being, like any person before or after him, a man endowed with many qualities on one hand, and serious defects on the other. A man of many talents, Dobrica Ćosi  was also a renowned and prominent writer, winner of several literary awards, as well as a distinguished member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. 

Having died on May 18, 2014, at the age of 92, it is certain that Dobrica Ćosi , for many Serbs, will leave a gap in the political and intellectual life of Serbia, which few men will be able to fulfill, due to his persistent engagement and tireless battle – not always impartial, sadly – by a nation free from the heinous internal ills and opportunistic and demagogic foreign parasites, in an inflexible search for the consolidation of a solid national identity, as well as for the preservation of its cultural and social hegemony, where freedom is not only a statute of the state, but the guarantee of a life well lived. If Dobrica Ćosi  was a fearless and daring hero, or just another foolish and opportunistic public man, only time will tell. The truth, after all, shows us that doesn’t matter how the Serbs choose to see Dobrica Ćosić from now on, or how they will pass on his legacy, he was just a man like you and me, with dreams, fears, goals and struggles. Nothing more than that.


​Wagner

In the late 1940s, China was governed by the nationalist party, whose leader was a notorious military man on the national political scene, named Chiang Kai-shek, an individual born in the Fenghua District, located in Zhejiang Province. Rebelling against the nationalist primacy, the communists, led by a Marxist-Leninist thinker named Mao Zedong, organized his group of combatants to throw out an insurgency against the nationalists and seize power. And that's exactly what they did. Invariably, a civil war was fatally triggered.

By virtue of circumstances as well as strategy, the communists eventually came out victorious. Because of the purge to which they were subjected, the nationalists had no alternative but to flee to the island of Formosa. There, upon arriving in Taipei – which Chiang Kai-shek called the wartime capital – the nationalists reorganized themselves, determined to return to the continent and regain their place in government. Nevertheless, Chiang Kai-shek, no less a butcher than his communist rival, began a huge purge when he arrived in Taiwan with his entourage of nationalists. Any individual suspected of being a communist, or to maintain any connections with the communists of the continent, was summarily executed. After abortive attempts to take over the Chinese mainland government and depose political rivals, it was clear that the days of nationalist primacy in the newly formed communist republic were over. In this way, the nationalists had to content themselves with governing the island of Formosa, on which they founded the modern island nation now known as Taiwan. Nevertheless, decades have passed by, but the nationalists continued to claim their sovereignty over the continent, just as mainland China continued to try to reassert its supposed right to political sovereignty over Taiwan. However, Taiwan has always been an independent nation, never having established political ties with the communist nation founded by Mao Zedong.

Because of this conflict, countries that recognize and legitimize the People's Republic of China and establish trade or diplomatic relations with it do not recognize Taiwan's political sovereignty, but see it as a rebellious separatist territory of China .

Likewise, nations that recognize the legitimacy of the Republic of China and establish trade or diplomatic relations with it, see the communist mainland government as an illegitimate opportunist government that rose to power by overthrowing the legally established nationalist party, .

This is a question that divides countries to this day, including the United States and England, which have never reached a consensus. Recently, the United States has had serious diplomatic problems with China because of its trade relations with Taiwan, which have shaken diplomatic relations between the two countries.

A complex political subject, the China-Taiwan question is far from being over, and probably will never met a solution plausible or accepted by both sides. 



Wagner

One Step Beyond – whose complete title was, in fact, Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond – was an American anthology television series, that aired on ABC from the beginning of 1959 to mid-1961. Hosted and directed by charismatic John Newland, it was similar to the subsequent, but much more successful, The Twilight Zone, scripted and presented by American screen legend Rod Serling. 



​
Like the Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond had a similar premise: each episode showed a different story, that ranged mainly from somber and unexplained mysteries, to the most unknown parapsychological phenomena that could ever haunt the existence of human beings. Although a little more down to earth on the approach of its subjects – not nearly as esoteric, eccentric or imaginative as The Twilight Zone –, the show to this day has its widely appreciated circle of enthusiasts. Fascinating and incredibly lucid, One Step Beyond knew how to wisely explore the innermost psychological fears of the mind, and the susceptibility of human beings to it, as well as expose the fragile perception of humans themselves in what concerns the limitations of their own condition, and how they can be confused and trapped by it.

Like the Twilight Zone, One Step Beyond had featured over its two and a half years run a lot of legendary actors and actresses – but before they had achieved notoriety and fame –, like Elizabeth Montgomery, Suzanne Pleshette, Donald Pleasence, Robert Loggia, Christopher Lee and William Shatner (which also starred in two episodes of The Twilight Zone), amongst others, as well as an enormous cast of other incredibly talented actors, that haven’t become famous, or didn’t solidified well-established careers. 

With almost one hundred episodes that ran for three seasons, unfortunately One Step Beyond failed to meet the success or to achieve the audience of its most well-known seemingly related show, The Twilight Zone. But this doesn’t mean One Step Beyond was inferior or mediocre: the quality of the stories, as well as the acting and directing speaks for itself in each episode of the series. Despite the striking similarities, the two shows also had profound differences, since One Step Beyond usually dealt with far more real possibilities, departing from lucid premises, while Rod Serling – who scripted most of the episodes of The Twilight Zone – usually explored more implausible and hermetic, but nevertheless fascinating, scenarios.    

These two shows are part of the American television folklore. If you like a classic tale of mystery, or a deranged and deviating story of hallucination and desperation, I highly recommend you to watch One Step Beyond.       


Wagner

Valerian Madatov, whose complete name was Valerian Grigoryevich Madatov, was a notorious general of the Russian empire, of noble Armenian descent, who fought in the historic 19th century conflicts against the Turks and the Persians. 

Born in 1782, Madatov’s military career started at the dawn of the new century. Leaving his homeland in an effort to enlist the help of Russian political authorities against Muslim control of the territory, Madatov – probably unbeknownst to him at the time – was about to start a life of unpredictable and conspicuous adventures, like little human beings in history. In the Russian-Turkish wars, Madatov’s experience would deeply enlarge, and his bravery and profound sense of commitment and duty would decorate him with many honors, and this proceeded throughout his life. Soon, he had a profoundly important role in the Napoleonic wars, more specifically when the French troops invaded Russia. Soon afterwards, he would be a leading instrumental figure in the military offensive to attack the French empire.  

Always progressing in the military ranks, he fought and witnessed several battles, being ostensibly injured in several of them. He also had an enormous role during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus, since he was deeply familiarized with all aspects of the region: languages, tribes, customs and geography. 

An intelligent, articulate and tireless general, Valerian Madatov was the personification of dedication. Formidably disciplined and with a strong sense of purpose, he was mostly victorious and successful in practically all the military operations in which he was engaged. 

When the Persians attacked a Russian stronghold in the Caucasus upon which Madatov was the leader, being a sagacious, confident and experienced military strategist, he managed to succeed in one of the most implausible battles of the time, defeating an army of 10.000 Persians, with a brigade of only 2.000 men. Nonetheless, this only intensified the strife, and both political powers called reinforcements, to continue their belligerent dispute.   

Surprisingly, the Russians again inflicted over the Persians another humiliating defeat, forcing them to retreat, for once and for all, which favored Madatov with another military promotion. 

Madatov’s military career would end in another war against the Turks. A little before the end of the war and the signing of a peace treaty, Madatov died unexpectedly, from natural causes, approximately forty seven years old. His mortal remains were buried in a cemetery in Saint Petersburg. 
    
Wagner

Vardan Mamikonian was an Armenian military leader of the late antiquity, of particular importance in the Battle of Avarayr, which was fought against the Persians. I think you can say the battle can be considered almost a religious one, since it’s overtones were all practically grounded in the right and in the fundamental principle of the individual to exercise faith. With the Armenian territory – which held some degree of autonomy and independence – falling under the Sassanid domain, they’ve tried to suppress Christianity. Nonetheless, the Armenians would not let their faith to be despised, demoralized nor to disappear from their lives, so they prepared themselves to fight for their right to practice their faith.     

Initially tolerant of the Armenians’ Christian faith, the Sassanid rulers, for political reasons, tried to persuade them to untie themselves from orthodox Christianity, which was then centered in Rome and Byzantium. But they were not successful in their intentions. So they tried to suppress Christianity by using force, destroying churches, and radically enforcing Zoroastrianism.      

For their surprise, the Armenians hadn’t accepted this pacifically. Soon after the decree, conflagrations and insurrections exploded throughout the region. When hearing about the religious freedom of his comrades being restricted, Vardan Mamikonian, a respected general, asked for the Byzantine Empire’s military assistance, which was conceded, but unfortunately, haven’t arrived at the expected time. The Sassanid army had already prepared an attack. 

With experienced veterans and army officials, reinforced by an enormous contingent of the population, the Armenians were able to gather an effective offensive. They were deeply committed to fight for their right to practice Christianity – which was, by then, their cultural and historic religion – as well as to maintain their customs and principles, that the Sassanid dynasty was deeply committed to modify, extinguish and subvert.     

Nevertheless, despite the respectable and consistent contingent the Armenians had organized in their behalf, the Sassanid army was simply too superior to be subdued. The Armenians inevitably suffered tragic losses, and expired at the battlefield. Vardan Mamikonian perished in the conflict, along with his war entourage. 

Always tough and determined in their resistance, the Armenians never accepted their fate. The general dissatisfactions and the aggressive rebellion against the religious suppression progressed in the years to come. Vahan Mamikonian, nephew of Vardan Mamikonian, led a continuation of the turmoil against the Sassanid dynasty, that eventually resulted in the Treaty of Nvarsak, that guaranteed and restored religious freedom to the Armenians. A testimony that exposes the value of perseverance, persistence and faith.    
 

​Wagner

Ernesto Geisel was a Brazilian politician, that served as the country’s president from 1974 to 1979. The penultimate president of the Brazilian military regime, during his tenure, Geisel started the slow process that would convert the country into a democracy again. His motto advocated a “slow, gradual and secure openness”. Geisel was especially important for Brazilian politics during this period, because he was a sympathizer of the moderate school of thought of the military institution, which meant that he was determined to work in favor of important social reforms, facing, as a result, ardent opposition from the military generals and politicians known as linha-dura (hard-line), a branch of government conservative officials that wished a continuation of a more rigid and rigorous stance of the state towards the population.      

Born in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil (the same where I live [several other Brazilian presidents came from this state as well, especially during the military regime {the most notorious Brazilian president, Getúlio Vargas, was also from Rio Grande do Sul; he presided over Brazil for two distinct periods: the first one as a dictator, from 1930 to 1945, during a period known as Estado Novo, and then from 1951 to 1954, by virtue of democratic elections; Vargas committed suicide in the Palácio of Catete, in August 24, 1954}]), in the city of Bento Gonçalves, in August 3, 1907, Geisel was the son of German immigrants, and spent his youth studying in military academies. His ascension in the political arena came only after the military coup of 1964, when Geisel fell into the favor of then president Castelo Branco, the first president of the military regime, and one of the articulators of the military coup. Nevertheless, before that, Geisel had a profound experience and a vast and long career as a civil servant, having worked in several government institutions throughout his life. 

Under Castelo Branco’s tutelage, Geisel was nominated leader of the Military Parliament. Then, in a direct sequence of events, in 1966 Castelo Branco elevated Geisel to the ranks of general, only to promote him Minister of the Superior Military Court in 1967. Nonetheless, Geisel’s behavior was discreet. He only wished to execute the functions and duties he was told to. By this point, Geisel probably would never have imagined that he would be, in the near future, president of the country. 

With the death of Castelo Branco in 1967, internal disputes arose for the rights of succession to the presidency, within the two main military branches, the moderates and the hard-lines. Geisel obviously sided with the castelistas, a group of militaries and politicians that were ardent oppositionists to the election of Costa e Silva (another politician from Rio Grande do Sul) to the presidency of the republic. A former official of the Ministry of War during Castelo Branco’s tenure as president, Costa e Silva, a hard-line, was eventually elected, giving rise to the most repressive, cruel, hostile and violent period of the military regime. Costa e Silva’s tenure as president, though, was quite short. Assuming office in the beginning of 1967, in 1969 he suffered a stroke, dying a few months later. Initially replaced by a provisional junta, his substitute, Emílio Garrastazu Médici (also from Rio Grande do Sul), inflicted over the civil population a continuation of the brutality and the repression initiated by Costa e Silva.

During this period, Médici nominated Geisel – that has been also extensively involved with the oil business throughout his life – president of Petrobras, a state owned oil company, that detains the monopoly, the resources and the commercialization of petroleum in the country. The support that his brother, Orlando Geisel, offered to Médici during his tenure as president, eventually made him chose Ernesto as a successor. Disputing the office as member of a party called ARENA (Aliança Renovadora Nacional), Ernesto Geisel defeated his opponents, Ulysses Guimarães – that, probably assassinated in 1992 during a travel in a helicopter that was deliberately sabotaged, would become one of the most notorious Brazilian politicians – and Barbosa Lima Sobrinho.

Several interesting changes occurred during Geisel’s presidency. Probably the most notorious – and remains fundamental to his body of legacies – were changes in the Brazilian political map. Geisel divided the state of Mato Grosso, creating a new state, Mato Grosso do Sul, and diluted the state of Guanabara (today Rio de Janeiro), giving it city status and merging it with the eponymous state, turning it into its capital.  

During Geisel’s term of office, one of the greatest achievements was the dissolution of both the censorship and the AI-5, a severe political amendment that invalidated the constitution, and gave plenipotentiary powers to the state repression apparatus.       

In 1978, Geisel faced the now historical general strike of metallurgical workers, led by former metallurgist and union representative, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, that would eventually rise in the political arena, to become the president of Brazil for two consecutive terms, from 2003 to 2010. Probably the most corrupt politician in the country’s history – and considered among the worst in a global scale – Lula has been responding to several court and judicial orders in recent years, being systematically implicated in the most horrifying political scandals of Brazilian history.    

Geisel’s presidency was mainly marked by ostensive plans to control the inflation – a chronic problem in Brazil’s financial system at the time, destined to continue in the years to come –, devised and elaborated strategies to boost the economy’s development, presided the inauguration of subway lines in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and oversaw the beginning of the construction of the Hydroelectric Power Plant of Itaipu.    

After his term expired, Geisel supported a politician named Tancredo Neves to be the country’s president. Tancredo won, but died before assuming office. 

The post-presidency life of Ernesto Geisel was a quiet and discreet one. He continued his work in oil companies, and together with his wife, Lucy, divided his time between his apartment in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, and a farm in Teresópolis. Geisel died in September 12, 1996, 89 years old.     


Wagner

History, and the public in general, usually blame Adolf Hitler for the Holocaust and the World War II. But he had done it all by himself?

What the vast majority of people do not take into evaluation is the fact that, as a statesman, Adolf Hitler delegated powers to men he considered to be highly capable individuals, who, by their turn, also delegated positions and powers to many other individuals. And like any other political state, Nazi Germany was not immune to corruption, favoritism, and questionable influence networks, so a lot of things had happened without the Führer's consent or knowledge. Do not misunderstand me: I refuse to undertake a defense, or an exoneration of responsibilities here, concerning the terrible and atrocious brutalities perpetrated by the individual that certainly was one of the most sadistic tyrants in history. Nevertheless, it is necessary to understand the extent of Hitler’s involvement in the atrocities carried out by the Third Reich, which did not occur in the way people usually tend to believe.

Contrary to many claims, the Holocaust was the main product of the "work" of three men: Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Adolf Eichmann, all senior officers of the Third Reich. Himmler, though, was the only one who was part of the personal circle of flatterers of Adolf Hitler, and like all the aforementioned individuals, always acted motivated by insidious intentions, or guided by perfidious personal ambitions. Together with the rest of the Führer's inner circle, which included other influential Nazi figures such as Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels, information deemed to be unwanted or inconvenient was never passed on to Adolf Hitler, who was permanently surrounded by his subservient sycophants, even when he was enjoying recreational periods in the Berghof, his mansion located in Bavaria, having at his reach only the information that went through the "filter" of his dark and manipulative subordinates.

Considering himself to be a brilliant military strategist, and a political leader ahead of his time, from 1942 onwards, the Führer became involved exclusively in the war effort, delegating to other Ministries of the Reich tasks that he considered mundane or secondary. And by his command, the "Final Solution" of the Jewish problem was taken to Himmler's office, which in turn completely exempted himself from the task, and forwarded this ordeal to Reinhard Heydrich – who later became known by the alias of "The Butcher Of Prague " – the responsibility to preside over the macabre meeting that became known as the Wannsee Conference, whose final resolution demanded, but not without its share of internal controversies, for the extermination of the Jewish people.

Although any analysis of the Holocaust will be a task of invariable complexity, the structure of this terrible tragedy came to exist in the logistical efforts of three men: Heinrich Himmler, who administered the concentration camps, Reinhard Heydrich, who was in charge of taking the Jews to their final destination, and Adolf Eichmann, the individual in charge of capturing and deporting them. Completely obsessed with his insane desire to win the war at any cost, Adolf Hitler haven’t followed attentively – not in the way people are usually led to believe – what was happening in Germany, being conveniently kept in the dark about an enormous diversity of affairs. Far from being innocent, the truth is that Adolf Hitler was not the only malevolent and sardonic man in his country, but unfortunately, remains the only monster illuminated by the spotlights of history. It’s more than a propitious time now, to assign and acknowledge responsibility, and properly expose all the others, who were as perfidious, sinister, and evil as Adolf Hitler.


Wagner

Although this film has won a fair share of awards, I'm sure it hasn't been seen by enough people. So here's a review. 

Have you ever heard of Doel? It translates as purpose, goal, target or meaning and that's one of the reasons why the story of Doel is heartbreaking. Doel is a small village near Antwerp, on the left bank of the river Scheldt, at walking distance from our nuclear power plant. The harbour of Antwerp on the right bank has been expanding since, let's say, the year 1200 and it has a rich history. Nowadays it's the second largest harbour of Europe. To compress recent history in one sentence: this harbour likes villages for breakfast. In the 1960s four villages in the north have been devoured after an extremely brutal session of Belgian expropriation politics - some dead-end roads and the upper parts of two church towers patiently witness of what is no more. One of them just stands amidst the containers, can you imagine? The other tower top, more findable, arises from a field of grass on a corner of two streets that can't handle all the road traffic. If you stand here amidst the noise and gasping for some oxygen, in vain, feelings of misanthropy assail you like famished lions - if you have a heart or give a shit, at least. This is the reason why I've never visited Doel, seeing it just might add the last drop in my bucket... But I've been wanting to watch 'De Engel van Doel' (The Angel of Doel) for a long time now, and there it was, in the library. And I saw Doel, and the bucket overflowed indeed. At this moment, writing this review is the only remedy for this state of mind. I hope you can handle watching better than I did, but this thing really is a must-see. Why? I'll tell you later.

"Docks!" this harbour has been screaming since, according to wiki, 1550. "Locks! More docks and more locks, more, more, more, for larger container ships so we can import and export more stuff than we could ever imagine! Even more docks and locks in the years to come, larger, deeper, oh man, we're such a proud city! We say that we create jobs so we believe that the people have no other option than worshipping every fart we let. Meanwhile, let's fill our time by counting our money and by looking forward to getting even more money. Moneeeeeey!!!" (insert Pink Floyd tune)

That money's not even yours, you bunch of cunts. Keep your yaps shut for once, wipe those reports you never read anyway off your desk, along with those bottles, whores, drugs and piles of money. Listen to what John Public, poor and unhealthy because of you, has to say. Learn by watching 'De Engel van Doel' for example, in your big-ass mansion with your loved ones. I wonder whether you are capable of loving, I really wonder.

Anyway, to continue our little history lesson, since the 1990s the left bank of the river Scheldt also got gnawed by the hungry beast. The harbour started nibbling on Doel.

The film maker has followed Emilienne between 2006 and 2011. She's an older widow living in Doel. As the years go by, so do her neighbours and friends. They're pestered out of their houses by official Kafkaesque letters. Politicians give false hope, very well aware that they're lying, as usual. Emilienne doesn't want to move - don't replant an old tree, as a Flemish saying goes. She also doesn't want to participate in the protests organised by left-wing young people, maybe because she knows that those are just drops of water on a red hot plate - another saying, sayings have a lot to say. The elderly priest has cancer and is unable or unwilling to give what's left of his herd false hope. He knows. They all know. Resistance is futile, the stomach of the harbour is growling, and money makes the world go round. 

The film has a very welome slow tempo and the scenes are filmed by a steady camera. The colour is grey. Luckily there's subtitles, also in English, because you have to know the dialects to fully comprehend what's being said. Not a single event gives the impression of being acted, what you see is very probably what has happened. John Public in his natural habitat, the last drop being pressed out of the lemon, and you're standing in the middle of it.

In one scene, Emilienne's dog appears at the kitchen table. He must feel what she feels: it really is over now. His eyebrows move up in a try to get her attention, only to let her know: "I'm here for you, no matter what." She does not react to him, because she's in a discussion with a friend about the letter on the table. The morning after, she refuses to accept the same letter - this time it's registered - from the mailman. "I am staying anyway." He refuses to have a seat and a cup of coffee because he's too busy. "Young people, (grand)children included, are too busy", says Emilienne's best friend while they're peeling beans or something at the kitchen table. She's right. A demolishing crane drives at the town, seen from the broken window of one of the long-abandoned homes. Another house bites the dust. In the middle of the street, there's a donkey eating hay and wearing a banner that goes "(name of politician), you're a shame to my race". Emilienne's last friend doesn't want to say goodbye because she doesn't want a tear jerking party. Emilienne and I cry our eyes out, she's all alone on her doorstep and I'm on the sofa. My cat tries to get my attention just to let me know: "I'm here for you, no matter what." I do not react to her because I'm looking for a handkerchief and want to know what happens next, but I appreciate the gesture. There's a lot we can learn from the animals.

According to Einstein, the injustice in the world doesn't exist because some people commit it, but because most people just look away. 

Food for thought.



Eline

Hostility is something hidden deep inside each and every one of us, and we always demonstrate this sordid aspect of the human nature now and then, towards someone close to us. And in these moments, we have to try to show complacence, self-control and domain of character. But there are instances in life, upon which exhibiting a circumspect trace of behavior like this is much more problematic and terrible.  

The recent homicide of the Russian ambassador to Turkey has generated a media fuzz of diplomatic tension, and a dramatic episode like this one reveals itself as a morbid demonstration of political fanaticism, although it does serve for analytic purposes: in this case, to analyze this particular situation under its peculiar stances. Someone advocating a cause, trying to achieve a specific goal by hostile and homicidal means. What the perpetrator expected to accomplish, with such an evil deed? What this event revealed in full was the converging of hostility with political goals, although this is a commonality within the wider spectrum of international politics. Which country doesn’t resort to hostility, war and aggression, when its governmental agenda is fully inclined to achieve its objectives, no matter the cost?

Nonetheless, this specific event of international politics is more clouded in mystery than what we think. The reasons of the shooter for his dramatic decision to kill the Russian ambassador remain unclear. But the point that I’m trying to highlight and clarify here is why madman are driven by an irrational hatred. Eventually, evil resolutions, deeds and objectives will be all tied together. Hatred begins as an emotion filled by resentment in the human mind. Men that don’t suppress this primal urge of aggression and fury will be driven to commit atrocities and acts of hostility.

Men undoubtedly have a belligerent spirit, inclined to war and aggression. But why this hasn’t changed over the years, or along the generations, or centuries? The human nature is compelling, and men abide to a degree of instinct, that sometimes is more intense than his intelligence, principles and intuition. We have learned throughout the history of civilization that men are driven way more by its vices, ambitions, personality flaws and rudeness of character than any possible virtues. But these are the general rules of behavior, or are we talking about exceptions? Maybe this doesn’t apply to everyone.

For certain, hostility is only one aspect of human behavior. Like a creature driven by emotion, the human beings revealed themselves to be creatures difficult to study or understand. But we can always make a personal effort to suppress our negative impulses, and let only what we have of graceful and joyful to touch our fellow human beings. Unfortunately, this would not end violence in the world. Hatred, hostility and aggression are terrible diseases, for which humankind has yet to find the cure.     

   
 Wagner

Julius Streicher was a prominent individual of the Third Reich, that working as a journalist and editor, was the main responsible for the articulation of Nazi propaganda, as well as disseminating anti-Semitism in Germany, going as far as publishing children’s books with anti-Semitic themes. Born in 1885 in Fleinhausen, in the Kingdom of Bavaria, Julius Streicher was a military combatant in the First World War. Having acquired profound political interests as the war ended, he absorbed deeply the anti-Semitic ideology way before the Nazi Party came to power. Becoming one between the hundreds of thousands of Germans seduced by the loquacious and scathing rhetoric of Adolf Hitler about Pan Germanic goals, the restoration of the Homeland, and the defense of national-socialist ideals, in 1921, Streicher visited Munich just to hear a speech by the future dictator of Germany. This experience, apparently, caused him great personal commotion. Soon after this event, Streicher had become a party member, completely incapable – like most of his contemporaries – to foretell the horrors in long term that the hostile and totalitarian character of the national-socialist values would bring – not just for the entire country – over Europe and, by extension, to the rest of the world. In 1923, Streicher founded a newspaper, Der Stürmer, whose main purpose was to be a vehicle for the anti-Semitic ideals of the party, and, soon afterwards, Streicher would take part on the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, the first frustrated attempt by Adolf Hitler to seize power.

As evidence suggests, Streicher was so estimated by Hitler for his loyalty and dedication, that he managed to become one of his few confidents. A fanatic with a hostile character, Streicher attributed everything going wrong in Germany and in the rest of the world to the Jews: from the 1929 financial crisis to the social and moral decline of the German society, from the unemployment to the inflation, from congenital diseases to prostitution, he used all kinds of arguments to – in a very abusive and outrageous manner – vilify Judaism, using excuses to harm or to attack even specific Jews, that, for one reason or another, were disturbing to him. When the Nazi party was not yet in fully control of Germany, Streicher, in several moments, was punished for his prejudiced and defamatory attitudes towards the Jews, obliged to answer to the law and pay for his transgressions, with no other options besides facing the legal penalties that subdued him, as a consequence for the ideologies he defended, as well as the slanders he published on his newspaper. Nonetheless, when the Nazi Party took power, one of the first measures Streicher has taken was to organize boycotts against Jewish commerce, fully committed to purge Judaism from the religious life of Germany. In 1938, Streicher apparently demanded a large synagogue in Nuremberg to be destroyed, soon afterwards using it’s architectural style as prerogative to justify the evil deed. Nonetheless, his arrogance would be his downfall, and the several enmities he had cultivated within the party, especially between Nazi officials of the highest ranks – like Hermann Göring – would eventually become his ruin. Expelled from his position as Gauleiter in 1940, the beast of Franconia – moniker by which his detractors used to call him – relocated to Austria when Germany surrendered to the Allies, just to be captured in a matter of days. 

At the Nuremberg Trials, although Julius Streicher was not a member of the army, nor had any direct role during the Holocaust, he was accused of crimes against humanity, given his radical racial militancy against the Jews. At his trial, Streicher, still profoundly contaminated by the subversive racial ideologies that he so ardently defended, exhibited the characteristic traces of arrogance, egocentrism and stubbornness that were so peculiar to his personality, never showing any remorse or regret in the slightest degree, during the process. Sentenced to death by hanging, before being executed, on October 16, 1946, he apparently said, with pride and vanity, “Heil Hitler”. Nonetheless, something terribly wrong occurred during the execution. Apparently, the rope on his neck was put in the wrong level – whether deliberate or accidental, it is not known – and Streicher, which by standard procedure should die immediately, something that was being systematically executed by the responsible authorities, instead, suffocated and agonized by several minutes, before finally dying. His executor, American official John C. Woods, not just gave his word in what concerns the following of standard procedures, guaranteeing the fact that all executions were carried out with perfection, but he said to be “proud” of his work. Dead at 61 years old, and still profoundly shackled by the national-socialist ideologies, Julius Streicher, in the end, was just one more man fooled and deceived by Adolf Hitler, and by the aggrandizing ambitions of his immensurable ego. In the corners of despair, like the vast majority of Germans, Julius Streicher deeply believed in false hopes, that apparently would resolve all the problems of the Homeland, with unwavering fastness. Nonetheless, they forgot to measure up the expensive horrors that, all along the way, would deflagrate the most catastrophic tragedy ever, to shake the world. Whipped by an irrational hatred, as well as an insensible, perfidious and inhumane anti-Semitism, in the end, Julius Streicher was one more Nazi individual that, ultimately, had to face the terrible consequences of his sordid and cruel transgressions. A fate shared by everybody who believed in the well dissimulated treachery that the Third Reich revealed itself to be.


​Wagner