Of course everybody was innocent but...

Written by Slawek


Continued from page 1

"In order to understand that game I had a long discussion with Grunbaum,repparttar chase leader, beforerepparttar 126021 trial. I remember that discussion very well. In his hysteria, demagogy and sick inclination toward blood and violence, Hitler resembled Grunbaum most,repparttar 126022 scope of available means beingrepparttar 126023 only. Grunbaum and other Jewish Nazis had to persecute and bully somebody – just like for Hitler, it wasrepparttar 126024 meaning of their lives – and they found a victim to correspond with their means, totally defenseless". 

Don’t you think that in this critical moment of our thinking about ourselves and about those who, since 11th century, have been buildingrepparttar 126025 HISTORY and CULTURE of this Central European land, we should pull out these three letters written half a Century ago by a mason, Jerzy Stempowski, alias Hostowiec,repparttar 126026 mentor of Polish intellectuals?

Don’t you think that those whom Finkelstein recently calledrepparttar 126027 "holocaust industry", and to whomrepparttar 126028 simpletons refer as "disneyland" ... would then happily retire bestowingrepparttar 126029 collected funds onrepparttar 126030 legal owner, Country of ISRAEL; glad that they have managed to preserverepparttar 126031 memory of one ofrepparttar 126032 most cruel events of our highly civilized 20th century ifrepparttar 126033 successors of Uncle Sam and papa Churchill went throughrepparttar 126034 list of their sins with us and with many others.  Don’t you think that saying "WE APOLOGIZE" for our sins our CULTURE would RECEIVE APOLOGIES by those who survived beside us throughoutrepparttar 126035 centuries in friendship and argument, and sheltered them fromrepparttar 126036 awaiting extermination, atrepparttar 126037 same time remembering Tuwim, Grydzewski, Slonimski, also Christ, and many many others who have been contributing to it.  Don’t you think we could finally, having gone through all this, put up a monument of a Good Jew to commemorate our and their memory? 

I wonder why, sincerepparttar 126038 first discussion in 1989 and through allrepparttar 126039 recent fuss, we contend against each other in apologizing and protesting. Why nobody cares to notice that Hostowiec could explain a lot?  So much for my writing Take care! 

                         As always, 

  JA

Ps:  I must admit thatrepparttar 126040 ideas of Stempowski - Hostowiec are being noticed in our country. The authors and readers of "Rzeczpospolita" become more and more aware ofrepparttar 126041 fact how much harm we experienced from our neighbors and how much harm they experienced from us throughoutrepparttar 126042 centuries, that continuing to live together we should say after rabi Schudrich: "The time has come when if Jews want Poles to feel and understand our pain, we need to feel and understand their pain". "Werepparttar 126043 Jews have to admit that there wererepparttar 126044 Jews who servedrepparttar 126045 communists and even Hitler, who commited crimes against Poles and against Jews", "accusing Polish people of participating inrepparttar 126046 holocaust is a sin", and bishop Stanislaw Gadecki adds: "The thing is that until we people living here do not recognize each other as friends, our imagination will be susceptible to manipulating and anybody would be able to interpret reality according to their interests".



None


The Roots of Anti-Americanism

Written by Sam Vaknin


Continued from page 1

Despite its instinctual unilateralism,repparttar United States is never averse to exploiting multilateral institutions to its ends. It isrepparttar 126020 only shareholder with a veto power inrepparttar 126021 International Monetary Fund (IMF), by now widely considered to have degenerated into a long arm ofrepparttar 126022 American administration. The United Nations Security Council, raucous protestations aside, has rubber-stamped American martial exploits from Panama to Iraq.

It seems as though America uses - and thus, perforce, abuses -repparttar 126023 international system for its own, ever changing, ends. International law is invoked by it when convenient - ignored when importune.

In short, America is a bully. It is a law unto itself and it legislates onrepparttar 126024 fly, twisting arms and breaking bones when faced with opposition and ignoringrepparttar 126025 very edicts it promulgates at its convenience. Its soldiers and peacekeepers, its bankers and businessmen, its traders and diplomats are its long arms, an embodiment of this potent and malignant mixture of supremacy and contempt.

But why is America being singled out?

In politics and even more so in geopolitics, double standards and bullying are common. Apartheid South Africa, colonial France, mainland China, post-1967 Israel - and virtually every other polity - were at one time or another characterized by both. But while these countries usually mistreated only their own subjects -repparttar 126026 USA does so also exterritorialy.

Even as it never ceases to hector, preach, chastise, and instruct - it does not recoil from violating its own decrees and ignoring its own teachings. It is, therefore, notrepparttar 126027 USA's intrinsic nature, nor its self-perception, or social model that I find most reprehensible - but its actions, particularly its foreign policy.

America's manifest hypocrisy, its moral talk and often immoral walk, its persistent application of double standards, irks and grates. I firmly believe that it is better to face a forthright villain than a masquerading saint. It is easy to confront a Hitler, a Stalin, or a Mao, vile and bloodied, irredeemably depraved, worthy only of annihilation. The subtleties of coping withrepparttar 126028 United States are far more demanding - and far less rewarding.

This self-proclaimed champion of human rights has aided and abetted countless murderous dictatorships. This alleged sponsor of free trade - isrepparttar 126029 most protectionist of rich nations. This ostensible beacon of charity - contributes less than 0.1% of its GDP to foreign aid (compared to Scandinavia's 0.6%, for instance). This upright proponent of international law (under whose aegis it bombed and invaded half a dozen countries this past decade alone) - is in avowed opposition to crucial pillars ofrepparttar 126030 international order.

Naturally, America's enemies and critics are envious of its might and wealth. They would have probably actedrepparttar 126031 same asrepparttar 126032 United States, if they only could. But America's haughtiness and obtuse refusal to engage in soul searching and house cleaning do little to ameliorate this antagonism.

Torepparttar 126033 peoples ofrepparttar 126034 poor world, America is both a colonial power and a mercantilist exploiter. To further its geopolitical and economic goals from Central Asia torepparttar 126035 Middle East, it persists in buttressing regimes with scant regard for human rights, in cahoots with venal and sometimes homicidal indigenous politicians. And it drainsrepparttar 126036 developing world of its brains, its labour, and its raw materials, giving little in return.

All powers are self-interested - but America is narcissistic. It is bent on exploiting and, having exploited, on discarding. It is a global Dr. Frankenstein, spawning mutated monsters in its wake. Its "drain and dump" policies consistently boomerang to haunt it.

Both Saddam Hussein and Manuel Noriega - two acknowledged monsters - were aided and abetted byrepparttar 126037 CIA andrepparttar 126038 US military. America had to invade Panama to deposerepparttar 126039 latter and plans to invade Iraq forrepparttar 126040 second time to forcerepparttar 126041 removal ofrepparttar 126042 former.

The Kosovo Liberation Army, an American anti-Milosevic pet, provoked a civil war in Macedonia two years ago. Osama bin-Laden, another CIA golem, restored torepparttar 126043 USA, on September 11, 2001 some ofrepparttar 126044 materiel it so generously bestowed on him in his anti-Russian days.

Normallyrepparttar 126045 outcomes of expedience,repparttar 126046 Ugly American's alliances and allegiances shift kaleidoscopically. Pakistan and Libya were transmuted from foes to allies inrepparttar 126047 fortnight prior torepparttar 126048 Afghan campaign. Milosevic has metamorphosed from staunch ally to rabid foe in days.

This capricious inconsistency casts in grave doubt America's sincerity - and in sharp relief its unreliability and disloyalty, its short term thinking, truncated attention span, soundbite mentality, and dangerous, "black and white", simplism.

In its heartland, America is isolationist. Its denizens erroneously believe thatrepparttar 126049 Land ofrepparttar 126050 Free andrepparttar 126051 Home ofrepparttar 126052 Brave is an economically self-sufficient and self-contained continent. Yet, it is not what Americans trust or wish that matters to others. It is what they do. And what they do is meddle, often unilaterally, always ignorantly, sometimes forcefully.

Elsewhere, inevitable unilateralism is mitigated by inclusive cosmopolitanism. It is exacerbated by provincialism - and American decision-makers are mostly provincials, popularly elected by provincials. As opposed to Rome, or Great Britain, America is ill-suited and ill-equipped to micromanagerepparttar 126053 world.

It is too puerile, too abrasive, too arrogant - and it has a lot to learn. Its refusal to acknowledge its shortcomings, its confusion of brain with brawn (i.e., money or bombs), its legalistic-litigious character, its culture of instant gratification and one-dimensional over-simplification, its heartless lack of empathy, and bloated sense of entitlement - are detrimental to world peace and stability.

America is often called by others to intervene. Many initiate conflicts or prolong them withrepparttar 126054 express purpose of dragging America intorepparttar 126055 quagmire. It then is either castigated for not having responded to such calls - or reprimanded for having responded. It seems that it cannot win. Abstention and involvement alike garner it only ill-will.

But people call upon America to get involved because they know it rises torepparttar 126056 challenge. America should make it unequivocally and unambiguously clear that - withrepparttar 126057 exception ofrepparttar 126058 Americas - its sole interests rest in commerce. It should make it equally known that it will protect its citizens and defend its assets - if need be by force.

Indeed, America's - andrepparttar 126059 world's - best bet are a reversion torepparttar 126060 Monroe and (technologically updated) Mahan doctrines. Wilson's Fourteen Points broughtrepparttar 126061 USA nothing but two World Wars and a Cold War thereafter. It is time to disengage.



Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He is a columnist for Central Europe Review, PopMatters, and eBookWeb , a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory Bellaonline, and Suite101 .

Visit Sam's Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com




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