BlackHat's Journal: ...voices of the men who invoke ritual to hide their greed

Nation building in the modern context of 'Democracy, Christianity or Die' gets its start on the isle of Corfu.

Quote(1):
In March 1799 the French garrison on Corfu capitulated to a joint Russo-Turkish expeditionary force under Admiral Ushtakov. Corfu was the largest of the Heptanesos, the seven Ionian Islands, which the Treaty of Campo Formio had handed to France from the late Venetian Republic.

(Its capture was the outcome of a rare example of Russo-Turkish co-operation inspired by Napoleon's invasion of Egypt.)

Once established, the Russians shed their Ottoman allies and created a model 'septinsular republic' with its own parliament and a constitution (1803) designed by Tsar Alexander's chief minister, Prince A. J. Czartoryski. The aim of their largesse was to outbid the 'revolutionary' French and to create the nucleus of a future Greek state. The arrangements lasted for only four years. The Ionian Islands reverted to French possession by the Treaty of Tilsit, only to be picked off one by one by the British Fleet from 1809 onwards.

The British regime proved rather less liberal than its Russian-sponsored predecessor. An imposed constitution gave overriding powers to the governor. A handful of notables ran both the consultatory assembly and the oppressive colonia system of landholding. During the Greek War of Independence, the main British aim was to frustrate the islanders' desire to join Greece. In 1848 and 1849, Cephalonia was the scene of agrarian revolts, which the Governor, Sir Henry Ward, suppressed with mass arrests, floggings, and executions.

At the very time that Palmerston was condemning the Austrians as 'the greatest brutes that ever called themselves the undeserved name of civilized men', and when General Heynau was unceremoniously dumped into a London horse-trough, Governor Ward was described in the House of Commons as 'the bloody Heynau of the Ionian Islands'. But to no avail. It was a fitting prelude to Palmerston's rough handling of the Don Pacifico Affair.

Union with Greece was ruled out as late as 1859, on the advice of the British commissioner, W. E. Gladstone. But it was conceded in 1864 as a face-saving gesture in the general settlement with Greece. During the crisis Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh had been offered and had rejected the Greek throne. It was a nice irony that the British monarchy would eventually also concede the defunct title of Duke of Edinburgh to an exiled Greek prince born on Corfu.
--Europe A History, Norman Davies , page 740.

I'll be putting more about the Return from the Scattering[Dune ref] and the orange eyed in [modern]Greece. Oh, look. There's one of them now. A short example, heh!

Quote(2):
When Buonaparte marched to Moscow in 1812, all depended upon whether the taking of the capital, and the events which preceded the capture, would force the Emperor Alexander to make peace, as he had been compelled to do after the battle of Friedland in 1807, and the Emperor Francis in 1805 and 1809 after Austerlitz and Wagram; for if Buonaparte did not obtain a peace at Moscow, there was no alternative but to return--that is, there was nothing for him but a strategic defeat.

We shall leave out of the question what he did to get to Moscow, and whether in his advance he did not miss many opportunities of bringing the Emperor Alexander to peace; we shall also exclude all consideration of the disastrous circumstances which attended his retreat, and which perhaps had their origin in the general conduct of the campaign.

Still the question remains the same, for however much more brilliant the course of the campaign up to Moscow might have been, still there was always an uncertainty whether the Emperor Alexander would be intimidated into making peace; and then, even if a retreat did not contain in itself the seeds of such disasters as did in fact occur, still it could never be anything else than a great strategic defeat. If the Emperor Alexander agreed to a peace which was disadvantageous to him, the campaign of 1812 would have ranked with those of Austerlitz, Friedland, and Wagram. But these campaigns also, if they had not led to peace, would in all probability have ended in similar catastrophes.

Whatever, therefore, of genius, skill, and energy the Conqueror of the World applied to the task, this last question addressed to fate remained always the same. Shall we then discard the campaigns of 1805, 1807, 1809, and say on account of the campaign of 1812 that they were acts of imprudence; that the results were against the nature of things, and that in 1812 strategic justice at last found vent for itself in opposition to blind chance? That would be an unwarrantable conclusion, a most arbitrary judgment, a case only half proved, because no human, eye can trace the thread of the necessary connection of events up to the determination of the conquered Princes.

Still less can we say the campaign of 1812 merited the same success as the others, and that the reason why it turned out otherwise lies in something unnatural, for we cannot regard the firmness of Alexander as something unpredictable.

What can be more natural than to say that in the years 1805, 1807, 1809, Buonaparte judged his opponents correctly, and that in 1812 he erred in that point? On the former occasions, therefore, he was right, in the latter wrong, and in both cases we judge by the RESULT.

All action in War, as we have already said, is directed on probable, not on certain, results. Whatever is wanting in certainty must always be left to fate, or chance, call it which you will. We may demand that what is so left should be as little as possible, but only in relation to the particular case--that is, as little as is possible in this one case, but not that the case in which the least is left to chance is always to be preferred. That would be an enormous error, as follows from all our theoretical views. There are cases in which the greatest daring is the greatest wisdom.

Now in everything which is left to chance by the chief actor, his personal merit, and therefore his responsibility as well, seems to be completely set aside; nevertheless we cannot suppress an inward feeling of satisfaction whenever expectation realises itself, and if it disappoints us our mind is dissatisfied; and more than this of right and wrong should not be meant by the judgment which we form from the mere result, or rather that we find there. -- Clausewitz

Nation building will become all the rage as we move from 1799 through to 1899 again. Yes there is some overlap with a previously quoted section. Cries of Dup! Dup! but it serves a different purpose here. More to come on this 'notions on nations' theme. Until then

News bombed from 35,000 feet:
Camp Delta "It cannot be right to keep people in complete isolation, denied human contact and denied any access to the courts for an interminable length of time," she said yesterday at the Edinburgh Book Festival, where she was promoting her novel. Of course she was. "I find that very difficult to come to terms with really." Well I would expect your book to be rather thin then?

Isolation, Two regulations affecting travelers from 22 European nations, plus Australia, Brunei, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore, will be kicking in the next two months. Starting the end of September, travelers from those countries, known as visa waiver countries, will be fingerprinted and photographed when they enter the United States at major airports and seaports. The United States already fingerprints and photographs travelers required to have visas to enter the country. See the Texttoon for OYAITJ entry below.

Insulation, President Bush paid tribute Tuesday to defense workers who help equip U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and also put in a plug for his administration's plans for an anti-missile system as he toured a helicopter factory involved in both missions. Devastation, and Dance.

Opposition Roll(4?): A small loaf kept in a dark room and taken out only to show foreigners as a sop.

Tigers answer the Clue phone. "The Sri Lankan state and military are using armed groups to divide and rule Tamil society in Batticaloa. They did it in the past. My people will never fall prey to the machinations of divisive forces because they have made immense sacrifices for the Tamil cause", said Mr. Senathirajah Jeyanandamoorthy, Tamil National Alliance MP for Batticaloa, speaking at a press conference by TNA regarding the current situation in the east.

A real question! Say it ain't so Tommy.
QUESTION: Are you aware of the fact that exit polls and tracking projections exist, some of them commissioned by American firms, which show very clearly that the results were exactly the opposite of what had been announced?

MR. CASEY: Well, I've seen a number of press reports. I really don't have any --

QUESTION: They're not press reports. They are not put out to the press. But they should be available to the American Embassy and the Department of State.

MR. CASEY: Well, I can tell you right now that what we have at this point is some preliminary results from the National Electoral Council and a general overview of what happened that day in terms of what was seen publicly. But again, I don't think we're in a position to talk about anything beyond that, in terms of results, until we hear from the people that were there doing the monitoring, doing the work on the ground, and who, frankly, are the folks that we've been relying on throughout this process to ensure its credibility.

QUESTION: Well, I can tell you, it was a very ugly mood in Caracas, despite the heavy rain. Chavez has declared a national holiday. Is the United States Government prepared for all eventualities down there?

MR. CASEY: Well, I think, first of all, let me, again, refer you back to the statement we made before the election, which applies today as well. The important thing about this process is that it helps achieve a peaceful, democratic constitutional solution to Venezuela's ongoing political crisis. That's the starting point that we went into this with, that's where we are now.
He did not add "...more's the pity. Drat, foiled again."
Several other prize slips too.
QUESTION: Do you have anything on Bobby Fischer's attempt to renounce his citizenship and looking for help from Secretary of State Powell?

MR. CASEY: Not much, I'm afraid, Barry, simply because, as we've said throughout this case, and Mr. Fischer, while he is certainly free to make comments, has not granted the Department of State a Privacy Act Waiver, and so I'm, frankly, really constrained in what I can say on that.

QUESTION: Quick follow-up?

MR. CASEY: Yeah.

QUESTION: Just on the off chance that he might be reading a transcript of this or watching on television, what exactly does he have to do to sign a Privacy Act Waiver and would it involve him actually having to show up at the embassy or a consulate somewhere, a place where he might, presumably, be placed under arrest or be put in jeopardy of losing his liberty?

MR. CASEY: Well, actually, as you know, we usually get Privacy Act waivers without having people come necessarily to the embassy to do it. If they're visited by a consular official, they have the opportunity and usually are given a form. As you know, it's kind of a checkbox system. So, no, it would not be a situation where he would have to, in effect, put himself in U.S. custody and sign a Privacy Act Waiver.

QUESTION: The initial question was his effort, his appeal to Powell to help him renounce U.S. citizenship. Do you need a Privacy Act Waiver to say whether he's asked for help from the Secretary of State?

MR. CASEY: I, basically, need a Privacy Act Waiver to discuss just about anything relevant to this case.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: One question. Would -- renouncing his citizenship would not, surely, cease to make him liable for crimes that he might have committed while he was a U.S. citizen, right?

MR. CASEY: No, and that's actually true. I can -- frankly, I'd refer you to the information that's on our website that is rather extensive as to how one goes about renuncing -- renouncing citizenship -- sorry about that. But what I can tell you is that taking an oath of renunciation or formally renouncing your citizenship does not necessarily allow one to escape the possibility of persecution for crimes they might have committed in the United States or --

QUESTION: Prosecution.

MR. CASEY: Prosecuted, sorry. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Checkmate.

MR. CASEY: It is Monday. Yeah. [Insert bar of 'Take me out to the ballgame'.]

Rummy want's his crypto-corp-yakuza to have control of the field officers, now! US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has warned against creating new barriers between US intelligence and military commanders. Before his time runs out at the MIC-gravy-train. In related news. Cheney's money held. They only want to fondle it for a while, surely?

Napal having problems again. Security forces in Nepal are on high alert ahead of a deadline set by Maoist rebels, who have threatened to blockade the capital. The rebels say they will stop food and other supplies reaching Kathmandu unless a series of conditions are met. They are demanding that 24 top firms in the city, including multinationals, shut down operations before Wednesday.

Booze Wars, Eh? [heh] Two Sri Lankan men have been hanged in Kuwait for murdering a Canadian citizen of Sri Lankan origin during a dispute over an illegal shipment of alcohol. Not much more detail in the link. See the OYAITJ.

Oh yeah? What if we fling her? A woman who was told she could not board a flight because she has no limbs says she has borrowed $10,000 to sue the airline in a New York court. Adele Price, 42, from Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, is seeking unspecified damages from Air France. She claims an airline employee told her "one head, one bottom and a torso cannot possibly fly on its own".

OYAITJ:
42787 16th -- Cuba, Anne, Anne one upped-- Fresno residents and community leaders, outraged by an e-mail message in which City Council Member Jerry Duncan wished he had a "dirty bomb" to kill every liberal in Fresno, called Thursday for his resignation, recall or reprimand. , So far Dean, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut are tied for the lead among likely Democratic primary voters, according to a nationwide Zogby International poll taken this summer. Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts is right behind them. Such polls hold little meaning, of course, but this one suggests that the Democrats right now can't make up their minds about whom they want to nominate -- and what they want to be. and more. Mazen Dana link is broken [it was a 'latest' link(hint!)]. Free and not dead press.

42850 17th -- A senior Saudi adviser has vehemently denied three British men were tortured into confessing to a car bombing campaign. Foreign affairs adviser to the Crown Prince Abdullah, Adel al-Jubeir, told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend the Saudi authorities stood by their claim that the men's crimes were part of an alcohol smuggling feud. and more MLPs.

Texttoon:
Ink on paper/jpg : Drawing of Ali Abbas and Adele Price sitting in standard jet seats. A few pillows at their hips and bungie-cords crossing their chests as an improvised seat belt. They smile and look at each one another saying in a common bubble; "Looks like they got you too." And single bubbles with "I'm Ali.", and "Adele. Pleased to meet you."