A NEW WAY TO WAGE WAR

Last week the New York Time's website was hacked. The site was down two days as a result of the attack.

 

I was impressed and concerned. Impressed and concerned that an entity as mighty as the New York Times could have its computer operation infiltrated and as a result shut down.

 

Within a day or two of the hacking, an organization known as the Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility. The Syrian Electronic Army is a known supporter of President Assad.

 

No person or organization in the United states has denied the Syrian Electronic Army's responsibility.

 

Turns out this was not the Syrian Electronic Army's first foray into the world of electronic disruption. The group had previously successfully hacked the Financial Times, the Washington Post, and made an attempt to hack CNN.

 

Twitter was also an object of the Syrian Electronic Army's hacking. President Obama and Oprah Winfrey had their Twitter sites hacked so that each sent out a tweet in support of Syria's President Assad.

 

As I became aware of these occurrences, it became clear that hacking was a new way of waging war. One that could be quicker and more destructive than a payload of bombs or missiles.

 

The geek (I use the term respectfully) world has a position of respectability and importance. An effective software design followed by the flick of a finger and a nation can be brought to its knees.

 

This is not pie in the sky. It is reality. It is the present.

 

Today, the New York Times. Tomorrow, a nation's electric power grids, water, fuel, communications, and transportation. The list is endless. A nation's military command systems, air defense networks, and weapons systems that require computers to work could instantaneously be rendered useless.

 

Leon Panetta resigned last year as Secretary of Defense. He warned at the time of cyber terrrorismand that the United States was not prepared to meet the threat. 

 

Panetta painted the picture clearly. The United States was facing a "cyber-Pearl Harbor" that would "paralyze the nation." He further commented that not only the federal government, but also private industry was way behind in providing protections against cyber war situations.

 

The most recent leaker of government documents is Edward Snowden. He was able to successfully escape the United States and now resides in Russia under the protection of the Russian government.

 

A couple of days following the New York Times hacking, one of the documents Snowden leaked was disclosed by the media. It is called on the face of the document the Black Budget. The Black Budget in its entirety ran on the internet. I briefly browsed through it.

 

The Black Budget is so named because no one is supposed to know its contents. For security reasons. It tells a selected few where U.S. tax dollars are being spent with regard to national security. The total budget for 2013 was $52 billion.

 

A portion of the budget was allocated for offensive cyber operations. Simply stated, the United States cost for doing to other countries what the Syrian Electronic Army did to the New York Times. The dollars allocated for defensive cyber operations were insignificant in comparison.

 

Nations and their citizens are not fools. People are aware that their mother countries are using computers to spy on others. The question is whether any one in the United States, besides Panetta, realizes how ill prepared we are to defend against a cyber attack. An attack that is comparable not only to Pearl Harbor, but also to 9/11.

 

If a nation has the capacity to engage in cyber espionage, it has the capacity to engage in cybersabotage. Most modern nations have developed such capacities.

 

The nations in the forefront of cyber activity are Iran, Russia and China. Makes sense.

 

There has already occurred history's first cyber war. It involved the United States and Iran.

 

It is alleged the United States cyber attacked an Iranian nuclear facility. The exercise infected 60,000 computers and it is claimed set Iran back two years in its nuclear development program.

 

Were you aware?

 

Iran in 2012 hacked United States banks. A hacking that seriously affected the operation of the banks.

 

Again, were you aware?

 

There are some who believe the Syrian Electronic Army is Iran's baby, regardless of the Syrian portion of its name.

 

The bottom line is time is being wasted. Valuable time. The United States must move its ass to catch up and be ready for the onslaught which most certainly will come. A certainty in today's world.

FLORA'S STORY

A true to life tale reflecting on how well most of us have it. If you do not agree, complain not. For if you do, Flora's story will put you to shame.

 

Who is Flora?

 

She is the cleaning lady in the pensione I am staying in on Amorgos. She cleans my apartment and every other apartment in the complex once a day. I do not know the exact number of apartments. The building is four stories high and wide, built into a mountain.

 

She cleans toilets, washes the floors, changes the sheets and otherwise keeps each apartment neat and tidy. Seven days a week. Eight to nine hours day. For three straight months. Not for $25 an hour. For 4 euros an hour. Six dollars American money.

 

Floras speaks excellent English. Also, Albanian and Italian.

 

Flora resides in Albania. She has lived in Albania all her life. She is 41 years old. Single, never married.

 

Albania is a small country in southeastern Europe. Greece borders Albania to the south.

 

Albania has an interesting history.

 

Until 1991, Albania was socialistic. A Communist nation. Being small, it thought it needed the protection of a great power. First, it was in a protectorate of China. Then Russia and Yugoslavia. Following the fall of Communist Russia, Albania became a democracy. A parliamentary democracy.

 

The language is Albanian. The country is considered a top ten place for visitors.

 

Religion is a strange combination. Fifty seven per cent are Muslims, seventeen per cent Christians. Only forty per cent pay attention to their religion, however. Albania is ranked the 13th least religious country in the world.

 

Russia is primarily responsible for the lack of religious fervor. When Russia took over Albania following World War II, it banned religion. All religion. As a result, Albania acquired the distinction of being the world's first atheist state.

 

Today's Muslims and Christians get along well. Tranquility exists between them. Many Muslims are Muslims only because their ancestors became Muslims during the 500 years Turkey controlled Albania. Muslims and Christians intermarry. No problem. Muslim husbands neither dominate nor mistreat their wives as in most other Muslim countries. The partners to the marriage are equal and treat each other accordingly.

 

When Russia initially took over Albania, the illiteracy rate was 85 per cent. Russia initiated immediate steps to correct the problem. Within 12 years, the rate was corrected dramatically. Today, 98.7 per cent of the people are literate.

 

Health care is a problem in today's Albania. A national health program does not exist. Under Russia' s domination, everyone had health care. Today few. If a person has not money to pay, doctors and hospitals will not provide treatment.

 

There is very little HIV-AIDS in Albania. Less than 100 cases.

 

I thought a little Albanian background would be helpful in understanding Flora's life.

 

Now to Flora.

 

Flora grew up under the Communist system. Her father died when she was seven years old. As indicated, Russia made Albanians literate. Education was important.

 

Flora was a good student. Russia would look at a student's record and decide what that student would be in later life. Doctor, lawyer or Indian chief, so to speak. It was determined when Flora was 10 years old that her talents were best accommodated if she became either a teacher or nurse. Teaching became the choice.

 

High school in Albania is eight years. At age 18, Flora graduated. High school can be described as a professional school. Flora at 18 upon graduation from high school was qualified to be a teacher. She immediately was assigned to a school and started teaching.

 

She continued her education at the university level. Her college degree did not affect her earnings significantly. She earned just a bit more after acquiring her degree. Money was not an issue for her. It was the security of the job. Albanians are put into a mold and can expect job security throughout their lives. Money, no.

 

Flora teaches third class. Notice, not grade. Our grades are their classes.

 

Russia's drive to eliminate illiteracy obviously helped Flora. Without it, she would not have acquired an education nor have become a teacher.

 

Without a father, Flora has been her own decision maker in life.

 

Flora lived under Communism her first 20 years. She says Communism was no good. She and her family, everyone, did not have enough food or clothes. Things have been considerably better under a democratic form of government.

 

Flora presently earns 300 euros a month as a teacher. Her salary continues through the three summer months when school is closed. Though she says it is not enough, she considers herself middle class. I suspect because she is a teacher.

 

Twelve years ago, she bought a house. A small one. One bedroom, a small kitchen, a living room area, and a very small bathroom. No tub. Just a shower. She borrowed money from friends to purchase the home. The mortgage was recently paid in full. She now owns her home free and clear.

 

She related it was not easy to make the mortgage payments. Her first year as a homeowner, she was earning only 190 euros a month teaching. The house was important to her and she sacrificed. She claims, and I believe her, that she ate only beans  for a whole year. She could not purchase even a quart of milk.

 

She has been working summers to help pay off the house. Now that the house is paid, she works summers to renovate it. New windows, new doors and the like.

 

Her home is everything to her. She describes it as ".....the most beautiful place in the world." She says, "I find peace in  my house."

 

Simplicity best describes the previous paragraph. It also reflects well on the state of her soul.

 

She is glad to have summer employment on Amorgos. It is hard work as she describes it, however. She works long days. Earns four euros an hour. Her employer pays half her rent. Flora does not live in the pensione complex. She rents a room elsewhere. She describes it as dingy. But it works for her.

 

Her share of the rent is 90 euros a month. She also pays the utility bills. Her employer provides her with lunch each day. That is all Flora eats. She buys no other food. She does not go out after work. She saves every penny. Her sole source of enjoyment is viewing the ocean. She claims in the absence from her home, it gives her peace.

 

Flora is obviously on a mission. Her home. To put together enough monies for its renovation.

 

Flora's widowed mother is 76. She lives with Flora. They share the same bed.

 

Medical is a major concern. Flora puts some money aside to pay doctor and hospital bills in the event her mother becomes ill. As she put it, ".....if you have no money, you die." No medical attention is available without money up front.

 

Interestingly, Albania provides her mother with a pension. Sixty euros a month. Ten of those euros are retained by the government to cover the mother's prescription drugs. Her mom has a bad heart.

 

She would like a husband. She stated it in no uncertain terms. "I want a husband!"

 

I was curious as to what she was looking for in a man. She is 41 and still unmarried. By the way, Flora is an extremely beautiful woman. Looks 30. Thin. The face of an angel. Magnificent eyes.

 

Flora says money is not important in her selection of a husband. She prefers ".....a good boy.....a good person.....one who works."

 

Do you go out evenings and try to meet a man. "No, no!", she responded. She never goes out evenings. I am not sure if it was because she did not want to be considered a bad  girl or could not afford it. Her sole out of the house activity besides teaching was coffee in the afternoon with female friends.

 

Her best friend is a 20 year old niece.

I inquired what she liked to do best for pleasure. Dance was her response. If you do not go out evenings, how do you dance? At parties. How often do you attend parties. Two times a year. Teacher parties.

 

Teaching gives her the next best pleasure. Especially students who may be handicapped in some fashion. She presently has a boy who cannot hear well, but has the ability to speak. She has another boy who is mentally slow. She works extra time with them both.

 

Flora claims there is a benefit to her summer jobs. She gets to travel, to see the world. Last year, it was Italy. This year Amorgos. She considers Amorgos ".....a wonderful place." She believes that people on Amorgos live better than she does in Albania.

 

Her health is good. She tries to take care of herself. There is no money for medical attention were she to get sick. I asked about yearly check ups, she laughed. What check ups?

 

I asked this simple woman what she would like to have that she does not. Her answer came quick. "A car!" She ".....dreams to have one." She walks everywhere, even to work. If the trip is too far, there are buses. Small vans.

 

I asked about vacations. She responded, "For poor people winter is all year, there is no summer."

 

The cleaning job is the most difficult she has had. She has to move swiftly to get all the rooms cleaned. The hours are long. She is tired all the time.

 

I was curious how she got to Amorgos from Albania. First a 16 hour bus ride and then a big ship. The trip took three days. Not bad, she said.

 

Besides a car, what else would make her happy? To only work one job with more pay. She went on to point out that the money here in Amorgos was better than her previous summer employment in Albania. In her home country, she worked every day in the summers for three months from six in the morning to midnight. For 150 euros a month!

 

Teaching hours are not bad. She teaches four hours in the morning. Then is expected to spend three hours at home in the afternoon preparing for the next day. However, she has been teaching third grade for over 20 years and so preparation does not consume that much time.

 

She told me prices in Albania were no different than on Amorgos.

 

She neither drinks nor smokes, except for an occasional wine at those two teacher parties a year.

 

Her English is self taught. She wanted to learn. Started with children's books and worked her way up. She speaks and writes the language well.

 

Her home town is called Rubik. She tells me it is large. Four thousand people.

 

Such is Flora's story. She has less and wants more. A universal desire. She is working toward her goals. She will attain most of them, if not all. I wish her a car, a husband, and good health at the very least.

 

Americans as a whole have more than most of their brethren world wide. Flora is an example. We complain. Some of us do have less than others. Some very little.

 

In the overall picture of things, Flora makes up for less with hard work. There are no social agencies, welfare, governmental help or Stephanie Kaples for her. She continues without complaint. 

 

We could learn from her.

 

THE BEGGARS OF ATHENS

 

Begging is as old as prostitution. It has always existed. In varying degrees. Depending on factors peculiar to a certain locale.

 

Athens has beggars galore. Overladen. So much so that the situation is worthy of analysis.

 

Again, begging has been part and parcel of man since earliest times. People need to survive. It is a basic. When all else fails, begging or stealing is all that is left.

 

Athens had the same everyday beggars as the rest of the known world till sometime around 400 B.C.. Then Diogenes came upon the scene.

 

The name Diogenes is familiar to most. One thinks philosopher when hearing the name. He was. Crazy, also. A real fruit cake.

 

He ended up becoming Athens most famous beggar during his time there.

 

Diogenes initially lived in Sinope, Turkey. He came from money. His father was a banker and coin maker. Diogenes followed in his foot steps.

 

Diogenes had larceny in his heart. He devised a scam involving coins. Defacing coins. Making them worthless, in effect.  Whatever he did caused him to become extremely rich.

 

The problem was that the defacing was seriously affecting Turkey's economic stability. The Turkish government stripped Diogenes of his wealth and exiled him.

 

Diogenes ended up in Athens, Greece. Broke. He decided to become a beggar. At the same time, it was his intent to become a philosopher, a man of wisdom. He desired to be a guiding light for all peoples.

 

He survived by begging. He made a virtue of poverty.  Everyone knew of him. He literally preached from the rooftops.

 

In due course, his mental instability became evident. He challenged Greek customs and virtues. At one point, he started walking  the streets of Athens with a candle lamp. In the day time. When asked what he was doing, Diogenes replied, "I am looking for an honest man." He is best known historically for the statement.

 

The problem was that Diogenes was a dishonest man to begin with. Recall he was exiled from Turkey because of a money/coin scam.

 

Whatever, he never found the honest man he sought.

 

Diogenes began pontificating about anything and everything. He embarrassed Plato. He disputed Plato's interpretation of Socrates and sabotaged Plato's lectures. He publicly mocked Alexander the Great.

 

The Athens' city fathers finally had it with him. Diogenes had to go. He was too much trouble.

 

They arranged to get rid of him. They paid pirates to capture him in the dead of night. He was taken aboard a pirate ship and eventually deposited somewhere.

 

Diogenes was never heard from again.

 

Fast track to the modern era. The 1900s till the late 1980s. Begging basically involved two groups. Perky gypsy children and pathetic old ladies.

 

Gypsy children begged as part of an overall scheme by the adult
gypsy community to make money. The money received was not necessarily needed. It was not the difference between life and death. It was a gypsy way of life.

 

The old ladies were widows. Left alone. Penniless and neglected. Toothless and bent over as their counterpart of today. No social network existed to care for them. They were on their own. Begging was their means of survival.

 

Up to this point, Athens' begging was similar to that which existed in many countries.

 

Then a dramatic change occurred. One which dumped thousands into Greece. Involved were three occurrences.

 

The Balkan Wars was the first. It started with the breakup of Yugoslavia  in the early 1990s. It was an ethnic conflict.

 

The Balkan Wars have been described as the deadliest conflict since World War II. War crimes, genocide, and mass murders.140,000 died.  Many survivors left with horrific injuries. Crippled and disfigured for life.

 

Recall the news reports regarding Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia during the war years.

 

Another contributing factor was the breakup of the Soviet Union beginning in 1989. Most of the states which had made up the Soviet Union wanted to be independent. Some nearby countries also. Wars began. Deadly wars. Many survivors maimed and crippled.

 

The states and countries were known as the Eastern Block.

 

Note that the Balkan Wars and Eastern Block problems basically occurred at the same time.

 

The third and final contributing factor involved Africans and Asians. They sought  to escape tyranny and poverty. They ended up in Greece, also.

 

All this occurred in the past fifteen years.

 

Many settled in Athens. Athens and Greece as a whole could not handle the thousands who sought refuge. There was neither sufficient government assistance nor jobs to help/absorb this mass of people.

 

Where did many end up? On the streets of Athens! Their occupation? Begging! There was no other way.

 

They were new faces. Different faces. The gypsy children and elderly ladies were relegated to a small minority.

 

These former Yugoslavs, Russians, Africans, and Asians brought their misery with them. Disfigured and crippled from the wars. Sickly. Many eventually became emaciated from a lack of food.

 

These were and are the peoples who comprise the begging community. They utilize  their disfigurements and poverty. They make sure others are keenly aware of them. They are every where on the streets of Athens.

 

I have spoken of the begging problem in the past. I found and continue to find the entire situation a cultural shock.

 

We have all seen begging of one sort or another. Give me a quarter, buddy. I need some money for food. I need a place to sleep. Some in rags.

 

However from my perspective, nothing so hideous and heart wrenching as that which I observed on the streets of Athens.

 

The facts described could have further consequence.

 

Greece is broke. It is well known. 27.2 per cent unemployed. 62.2 per cent of that number under 25. Greece's economy has shrunk consistently in the last 19 quarters. The unemployed exceed 1.4 million. Being out of work means health coverage lost. The Athens Stock Exchange has dropped 85 per cent since 2007.

 

Bad things are happening and about to happen. Someone has to be at fault. That is the way of the world.

 

The Golden Dawn Party is a political party. It is Hitler's Nazi party recreated in Greece. Blackshirts, Nazi type flags, beatings, store front windows destroyed.....all the things that happened in Germany in the late 1920s and into the early 1930s.

 

Hitler blamed the Jews. The Golden Dawn Party blames the immigrants. The Greek immigrants of today are Hitler's Jews of yesterday.

 

The Golden Dawn Party is increasing in influence. They now hold 18 seats in Parliament. Greece's third largest political party and growing. They have a member in the Greek cabinet.

 

It is said that history repeats itself. Hopefully not in this situation. I fear the Golden Dawn Party may eliminate Athens' begging problem.

 

If not, again I hope not, then begging in Athens will continue as it presently is. There is neither money nor programs available now or in the foreseeable  to help these people.

SEX CHANGE PAID FOR BY TAXPAYERS

I wrote an article last year entitled Jailed Persons Entitled To Adequate Health Care. The bottom line was that jailed prisoners were entitled to adequate medical health care. Generally viewed as the best possible health care.

 

The courts had decided that to preclude prisoners from adequate health care was cruel and unusual treatment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

 

The thrust of my column was that the medical care prisoners were entitled to and receiving was paid for with taxpayer dollars. Which in many instances provided the prisoners with better coverage or coverage itself which taxpayers did not have.

 

Based on the court decisions, civilian prisoners in local, state and federal jails were and are receiving terrific medical care.

 

I did not think it was fair that a murderer, burglar or rapist should receive better medical care than tax paying American citizens. There was something about the concept that bothered me.

 

Now comes Bruce Manning.

 

Manning was recently convicted of leaking 700,000 secret documents while serving in the military. He was sentenced to 35 years in jail. He has already been sent to the military correctional institution at Fort Leavenworth. A military jail.

 

Last week on the Today Show, Manning's attorney read a statement by Manning. He said.....I am Chelsea Manning. Note the adoption of a female first name. He also said.....I am female.

 

He went on to say he wanted to live as a female and that the female gender was the real him. He requested hormone therapy as soon as possible. He did not request a sex change operation.

 

A spokesman for the Fort Leavenworth military prison said the U.S. Army was not going to pay for any hormonal treatment.

 

I believe the spokesman spoke in error. The only distinction between Manning and other prisoners is that Manning is in a military jail. I do not believe that distinction alone will deny him hormonal treatments and, if proven necessary, a sex change operation. All at taxpayer expense.

 

Lets spend a moment examining the nature and extent of the problem. The politics of it, also.

 

People who require a sex change are simply defined as persons with one gender on the outside and another on the inside. A man who believes mentally his innards make him a woman, a woman who believes she is a man otherwise than in appearance.

 

It is a medical illness. A mental one. A for real one. It is technically called gender dysphoria. In layman's terms, gender identity disorder. The disorder results in severe emotional distress. The medical profession views such persons as people in serious medical need.

 

Gender identity disorder is not new. It was recognized hundreds of years ago by American and Canadian Indians. Also by native Mexicans. It was not frowned upon. It was viewed as a third gender. Male, female and transgender. It was no big deal.

 

Shoot fast to last week. California's Governor Brown signed a new law. One which permits students to decide which rest room and locker room they wish to use. The law goes into effect January 1. The law obviously is to assist transgender students.

 

Turns out the transgender problem is serious one in California. It affects just less than 2 per cent of the population. A significant number.

 

There have been six recently conducted national studies. They showed that 3 per cent of the United States population is affected by transgenderism. Roughly 700,000 persons. Another significant number.

 

The problem is bigger than most were aware. It affects such large numbers of people.

 

You will recall that with the same sex marriage issue, people came out of the closet. With transgenderism, they are coming out of the shadows.

 

I view transgenderism as a new and major civil rights issue over the course of the next decade. It will become increasingly vocal. I suspect that in 10-15 years, it will be constitutionally protected as race, color and gender are today.

 

There can be no other way. The problem is medically recognized. It affects a significant portion of the population. The result is cast in stone.

CHARACTER

Character is an interesting word. Subject to many definitions. All basically reflecting the same thing. Moral quality. Right conduct as opposed to wrong conduct.

 

Character encompasses the existence of or lack of certain virtues such as integrity, honesty, loyalty, and good behavior habits.

 

The Bible defines character as any behavior or activity that reflects the character of God.

 

Many of today's political figures are lacking in character. Moral fiber.

 

I specifically refer to three primary candidates in New York City's political races as examples.

 

First, there is former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Several years ago he was caught enjoying the services of a prostitute. While he was Governor. The tryist was arranged at a Washington, D.C. hotel. The Governor paid the New York City prostitute some where in the area of $4,000-$5,000. Paid her train ticket from New York City, also. Then did her with his socks on.

 

Spitzer had prosecuted prostitutes while Attorney General. A bit hypocritical that he was now using their services as Governor.

 

Spitzer resigned his Governorship.

 

Now he seeks a come back. He is a Democratic candidate for Comptroller of New York City. He believes the public has forgiven his misdeeds. That he has atoned for his wrongdoing. He resigned his exalted office, made a bleary eyed public confession on television with his wife at his side. He believes his days in purgatory are at an end.

 

There is Kristen Davis.

 

Davis is 38 years old. Once a librarian. She also seeks the Democratic nomination for Comptroller. The same one Spitzer seeks.

 

Davis is a former Manhattan madam. She spent four months in jail for being one. Interestingly, she claims Spitzer was a client and she provided him with prostitutes.

 

Davis was arrested two weeks ago by the FBI allegedly for selling prescription pills for cash.

 

Finally, Anthony Weiner. A candidate for New York City Mayor. He is a candidate in the Democraticprimary for the position.

 

Weiner is a former Congressman. While one, he sent pictures of his nude body, including his genitals, over the internet to women. When caught, he resigned. He did the same I am sorry bit before thetelevision cameras with his faithful wife at his side. Weiner claimed he had learned his lesson and would sin no more. He had stopped the conduct which brought him down.

 

Weiner waited a short period and announced his desire to be New York City Mayor. Unfortunately, Weiner had not stopped sending his genitalia exposed pictures over the Internet. Three post confession episodes came to light.

 

I believe Spitzer, Davis, and Weiner lack the moral fiber we should demand of our political leaders. The mere fact that they were discovered and thereafter believe the public would not hold them to account in and of itself suggests a lack of proper moral thinking.

 

I believe the electorate should not support any of the three. Unfortunately, it appears Spitzer may win. Why, I do not understand. His perhaps was the slimiest wrongdoing of all. He prosecuted and jailed persons who engaged in prostitution.

 

The issue comes up regarding former Presidents who strayed from their marriage vows.

 

There was John Quincy Adams. An ugly fellow appearance wise. History tells us he was a frequent nightly visitor to Mt. Whoredom in Boston. The place off the Boston Commons where prostitutes sold their wares.

 

After election to the Presidency, he swam daily across the Potomac. Warm weather and cold. Each morning. In the nude. He enjoyed early morning liaisons during the swim times. He is quoted as having said....."The art of making love, up in furs, in the open air, with the thermometer at zero, is a Yankee tradition."

 

Thomas Jefferson's relationship with his slave Sally Hemings is well known.

 

Warren Harding was one of the worst, if not the worst, President the United States ever had. He had a long time relationship with Carrie Phillips, the wife of a friend. He fathered a daughter, Elizabeth Ann, by her.

Nan Britton was another of Harding's lady friends. It was reported that he used to do her in a White House broom closet.

 

Calvin Coolidge also lacked in Presidential qualities. He was not lacking in his zeal for sexual conquests, however. He had a need for many sexual partners. He did every female he could. So much so that sexologists have labeled the need for excessive sexual partners as The Coolidge Effect.

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was one of our best Presidents. He was also handicapped and confined to a wheel chair. Such did not restrain his sexual activities. It is well known that he had a long term relationship with his wife's secretary, Lucy Mercer. He is also known to have carried on an affair with his own secretary at the same time. He also maintained a relationship with Princess Martha of Norway during World War II. For a man with physical disabilities, he performed wonders.

 

Dwight Eisenhower had England's Kate Summersby during World War II. She was his driver.

 

John Kennedy's many sex encounters are well known. From Marilyn Monroe to anyone he could get. It is reported he had to have a woman every three days or suffered a headache. He did not let his bad back inhibit him.

 

Lyndon John was a sexual animal. He utilized his penis wherever possible. It was reported he had an unusually large one. It was described as jumbo in size. It was referred to at Washington cocktail parties as Johnson's Jumbo Johnson.

 

William Clinton was a transitional President from my perspective when it came to sexual escapades. Whereas prior to Clinton, the media and public looked aside at a President's sexual activities, the Republicans sought to embarrass and punish him for his Monica Lewinsky, Jennifer Flowers and Paula Jones activities. All for naught. Clinton survived. He is regarded as having been one of our finest Presidents.

 

In view of the preceding Presidential escapades, are Spitzer, Davis, and Weiner any different? They are. I am not condoning infidelity in any fashion. The Presidents listed all strayed. God is there judge, not me. These other three are different, however. They seem to have gone a step further. Therefore making them subject to judgment and criticism.

 

Spitzer hurt people for the same thing he was doing. Davis as a former madam and illegal seller of prescription pills, goes beyond  an illicit sex encounter. Weiner needs no description. He is a sexual fruitcake.

 

On the other hand, what do I know? None of us is perfect. Most if not all of us are sinners. I guess it is the degree of imperfection that is important.

 

I am a firm believer in the admonition.....Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. The problem is who acted as Spitzer and tried to jail people for the same activities he was doing. How many public servants were madams or pimps and sellers of illegal drugs? Weiner is in a class all himself. A public servant sending pictures of his privates over the Internet, promising he would sin no more, and then sinning again.

 

It may be the quality of the sexual escapade that is important rather than the mere act of illicit sexual intercourse. Spitzer, Davis, and Weiner went a step too far. Their conduct deviant.

 

There is a corporation called Honest Tea. Many of you may be familiar with it.

 

Honest Tea does an annual survey. Many topics are involved.

 

This year the question was asked as to which was the least honest city in America. Guess who won? You got it right! Washington, D.C.

 

Surprised? No. That is the way it is. Unfortunately.

 

NAZI GREECE ON THE RISE

I recently returned from five weeks in Greece. I had a similar trip last year at this time.

 

I wanted to write this column two weeks into my Greece trip. However, I was concerned. Perhaps afraid might be the more appropriate word. I feared that once published, I might be detained and interrogated. Or, interrogated and then detained. Either way, not a comfortable situation.

 

You may think I am a bit daffy at this point. You will not by the time you finish reading what I have to share with you..

 

Greece has suffered the most of the euro nations. There are 1.4 million unemployed. The unemployment rate is 27 per cent. Sixty five per cent of the 27 per cent unemployed are under 25. The Greek Stock Exchange has fallen 85 per cent since 2007.

 

Men cannot feed their families. Single mothers, their children. A new group of impoverished is visible on the streets. The Greek people themselves.

 

Demonstrations flourished last summer. Thousands would gather to protest in the front of Parliament in Athens. I was there when three occurred. I walked through them. No one bothered me. What I saw were people of all ages angry at Merkle and Germany. Every time Merkle's name was mentioned, male and female alike would spit on the ground.

 

There are no demonstrations this summer, except for a few union organized ones. Things have moved beyond demonstrations and protests.

 

Whereas last year, the people were openly angry with what they perceived as their German caused plight, this year there was almost a reverent silence. Like everyone was waiting for something to happen.

 

People are still hungry. Families still miss meals. Never the less, this quiet exists. Perhaps the quiet before the storm.

 

Hitler came to power as a result of Germany's economics at that time. The Allies had foisted unreasonable reparations upon Germany which made Hitler's ascent possible. The German people were broke because of the reparations that had to be paid. Similar to the Greek situation of today where the Greek people are economically depressed because of the euro/Germany problem.

 

There is a Nazi party in Greece today. It has been in existence in one form or another for more than  twenty years. Some years actually dead. Existed merely on paper. The Nazi party was revitalized several years ago. It is called the Golden Dawn Party.

 

Initially, a nothing. Today, it is the third largest political party in Greece. Greece has a coalition government. No administration can survive without the 18 votes of the Golden Dawn Party. Ergo, its influence is significant.

 

It has been suggested that if a new national election were held today, the Golden Dawn Party would capture significantly more seats. 

 

Now for the practicalities. As you read through the next few paragraphs, think of the similarities with what occurred in Nazi Germany beginning in the late 1920s.

 

There are blackshirts. Young good looking men. Black shirts and pants. Walk the busy streets Athens in large groups. Like 15-20 at a time. Ride mopeds two at a time, generally on two or more mopeds.

 

My Athens hotel was in the downtown area near Parliament. I am not ashamed to admit I felt intimidated each time I walked past such a group. Even when the mopeds drove past me. Sometimes they starred like they could see every part of my being.

 

There is a Youth Movement. The young  wear only black shirts with the Party's insignia. No black pants.

 

The Golden Dawn Party has a flag. It has an insignia that appears to be a swastika. Not exactly. Close enough however so there is no question.

 

Hitler needed a scapegoat. Someone to blame for Germany's ills. He picked the Jews. The Golden Dawn Party, immigrants. Greece has had a massive influx of peoples from all over in recent years. Most escaping wars and/or tyranny. The claim is the immigrants took jobs that should have gone to Greeks and that the Greek government is broke because it cannot afford to support dependent immigrants.

 

Several years ago, Greece started a program of arresting and deporting immigrants. For no reason other than they were immigrants. In 2010, Parliament passed a law granting citizenship automatically to second generation persons. It was almost immediately repealed. A new law replaced it. The new law gave police the power to detain people for HIV testing and sex identity. Many immigrants had become part of the sex industry in order to survive economically. Once arrested, most are never released. They are kept jailed for months or forever. No judge, no nothing.

 

Hitler's Jews of yesterday are Greece's immigrants of today.

 

The Golden Dawn Party is not to be outdone, however. They are negative about Jews as well. They claim Jewish bankers internationally are partially to blame for Greece's economic woes.

 

The Greek police and Golden Dawn Party members have an informal affiliation. It has been reported that at least one half of the Athens police force are members of the Golden Dawn Party. The blackshirts carry weapons illegally. Nothing is done.

 

One of the reasons for the police support is that during the early demonstrations, no one came to the aid of the police. The mobs  were incensed and the police many times could not contain them. The blackshirts came to help. They stood with the police.

 

During recent demonstrations, the police have supplied the black shirts with batons and radio communication equipment.

 

There are beatings. Openly on the streets of Athens. Of immigrants. The police stand by and do nothing. Store fronts of businesses owned by immigrants have large X's painted on their doors and windows. Plus signs saying..... Do Not Do Business Here. Again, the police do  nothing.

 

The government does not interfere either.

 

It is claimed that at least half the judges are supportive of the Golden Dawn Party.

 

The Party continues to experience growing influence and power in Athens itself. It is spreading its tentacles to the suburbs. It wishes to capture the hearts and minds of the middle classes living in the suburbs.

 

The Golden Dawn Party's new member gathering techniques speak volumes. If you are hungry and can feed neither yourself or your family, the Party will give you food. Bags of food. If you are in trouble with the police/charged with a crime, the Party will resolve the problem to your satisfaction.

 

All that is required in either instance is allegiance to the Golden Dawn Party. In writing. Coupled with open participation in the Party's activities.

 

Frequent bags of free food are handed out at various intersections to those who are hungry. Immigrants of course are precluded from receiving this help. A person must first prove he or she is not an immigrant in order to qualify for the free food.

 

Party members are viewed as Robin Hoods. Not my description. The label given to them by the Greek people.

 

The Party has frequent rallies. The organization has a theme song. Auschwitz. The lyrics are anti-Semitic. One line goes.....F--k Anne Frank. Another.....Juden rous, Jews out.

 

Strangely, the Golden Dawn Party denies the Holocaust. An inconsistency.

 

American and Israeli flags are burned.

 

The party's hero is Adolph Hitler. He is viewed as a great social reformer and military genius. They believe in "Hitler for a 1,000 years!"  They believe the Golden Dawn Party will succeed where Hitler failed.

 

They greet and otherwise recognize persons with the Nazi salute.

 

There are moneyed people who support the Golden Dawn Party. Their identities are unknown.

 

All of the preceding results from the poverty and despair brought on the Greek people by  euro/German inspired austerity programs. Ironically, the Greek people blame the Germans for the euro and austerity problems. Yet they are leaning the way of Hitler's Germany in order to survive.

 

While all this is going on, the Greek people and government stand silently by. The people because they are eating or are afraid. The government because it wants to stay in power.

 

Why do I have to tell you what is happening in Greece? Where is the media? Isn't a growing Nazi party in Greece worthy of consideration? Why are we not being made aware? Why the silence?

 

History does repeat itself. It is happening again.

 

Scares the hell out of me!