With this post I hope to re-ignite my discussions about the Flemish involvement with the American Pilgrims. For those unfamiliar with those postings #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6, can be accessed by clicking on the relevant #. In that sense, this might be viewed as #7 of the “Flemish Influence on the American Pilgrims” series.

Permit me then, Gentle Reader, to offer you evidence of the involvement of the Flemish in the establishment of the W.I.C. Obliquely, I will also illustrate through this the West-Indische Compagnie’s importance to the discovery and settlement of America. 

Bitter criticism of Islam, a "grass-roots" profile, islamophobia: that's what "experts" immediately point to in the wake of the disaster created by a so-called "Christian extremist" (or, in contradiction, a freemason).  Compared with the Oslo bombing and the Utøya killings, a small anti-christian killing in Egypt or elsewhere is explained simply as an act of an unbalanced lunatic, or as the effect of social tension caused by the "American-Zionist" masters of the universe.  That is the iniquitous model of the bankable explanation presented to us.

Without reducing the inexcusable aspect of his acts, let's focus on the circumstances in which Anders Behring Breivik planned his crime. Was he a "lone wolf", like the Oklahoma City bomber or the failed assassin of Chirac? Is he a white knight trying to stop the supposed implosion of a derailed world by shooting at the heart of the future elite?  Let's follow this hypothesis for a while, and hence reject that he was pathologically affected. His rage, fed by video games, may also have been caused by the lack of real debate on the radical changes caused by a multiculturalism.

Even if he travels, a fool remains a fool.

Sovereign debt and the Euro. This chaos of the global economy is not caused by its participants’ inability to offer goods in a quality and for a price for which there is a demand. That (private) part of the economy that produces and consumes is in good shape. The tumor is located in the political direction of the economy. The crisis is one of confidence. No wonder. The Western pillars of the world economy have governments that are in debt because their clientism forces them to misspend the community’s funds. These indebted governments are run by leaders who, being blinded by their “eurocratic” doctrine, extend loans to broken systems. These national economies have no chance to climb back up on the greased flagpole on which they have slid down. 

Arab spring. The uprising of the Arab street has been provoked by desperation. It source has been the theft, the corruption and the inadequate allotments left for the rest of the population by the greedy “Thiefs-In-Chiefs”. The old regimes are gone but the final tally is not yet in. Nevertheless, from the outset, some of the world’s relieved optimism required that the euphoria be examined with calm rationalism. The high hopes universally expressed stood in danger of reflecting a dream rather than the potentials embedded in the actual situation on the ground.

A paradox of modernity is that, from its beginnings in Eighteenth Century rationalism, it has been accompanied by a veritable polyphony of dissent. The advocates of rationalism – and of progress – have inveterately denounced this heterogeneous arousal of dissident judgment under the sweeping term reaction; but that term, reaction or reactionism, applies much more appropriately to the Enlightenment itself than it does to the critique of the Enlightenment, or to the critique of the Enlightenment’s swift self-transfiguration into Revolution.

A “1968” rebel against majoritarian democracy clashes with an insurgent against Communist dictatorship.

1.Why be surprised? A globally not-so-unique case has shaken Switzerland. A left-run Canton allowed a prisoner go on “an excursion”. The convicted murderer, who is also a rapist, made good use of the opportunity. While the authorities played “nice”, he acted “smart”. So he took a leave of absence after wounding with a knife –how could he get one?- a guard. That person happened to be a woman. This makes one wonder about a myth besides the one that criminals are normal folks with bad luck. A woman assigned to restrain a violent criminal is given an inappropriate job. Weight class and strength are characteristics that come to mind. Naturally, these reality-derived considerations contradict the theory of absolute equality. In this instance reality prevailed and it worked to the detriment of the policewoman –excuse me, “person”- and the public.

All figures in dollars. The US economy (GDP) is worth about 15 trillion (2009 was 14.12 trillion). The total federal debt stands now higher than 14 trillion, and reaches about 100% of GDP. If all non-covered expenses for retirees over the next years are added, the total federal debt reaches about 400 % of GDP. The debt of the 50 individual States and of all local governments in the country is NOT yet added to this total.

The yearly federal deficit during Obama’s three years in office is on average 1.5 trillion, and this on a budget total of 3.83 trillion. This means about 40%. Obama borrows 40 cents on every dollar he spends. His administration predicts a yearly budget deficit of over 1 trillion for the next 10 years.

The beneficiaries of allocated handouts are always surprised when they are presented with the donor’s final bill.

As so often, the title infers its own answer. Like the fog of San Francisco, such bad news rolls in daily. The ritual might have made the global citizen crisis resistant. Numbed by incessant blows, it is understandable if the reaction begins with “I do not care” and ends with “I am no Greek”. In this case, not paying attention while assuming that the distance confers protection, does not amount to immunity even if the matter is shut out. To get typhus you do not need to be aware of infectious diseases.

Tallinn, Estonia.  Most Eastern European countries that were controlled by the communists have had successful political/economic transitions and are far more prosperous than they were two decades ago - but none has come as far as Estonia. 

The Estonians are closely related to the Finns, and their languages are close as well. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is only about 50 miles from Helsinki, the capital of Finland, and they are in commuting distance by hydrofoil across the Gulf of Finland. Before the Soviet Union conquered Estonia in 1939, the Estonians and Finns had close to the same standard of living. But the Finns were able to maintain their freedom by conducting a vigorous defense against the Soviet invasion in 1939. 

Although Malise Ruthven is credited with coining the term 'Islamofascism' while writing for the British Independent in 1990, the term was coined by Maxine Rodinson.  Throughout the West we have a vast intellectual reserve providing antecedents to understand not only Sharia law, but historical analogies providing insight into the political and cultural currents that dominate Islam, especially as it confronts the West.  This confrontation will expose a fatal weakness within the West itself. If not corrected, this weakness will permit Sharia law to be protected under our Constitution, which would threaten the foundation of American exceptionalism.