The United States government and its NATO puppets have been killing Muslim men, women and children for a decade in the name of bringing them democracy. But is the West itself a democracy?
Skeptics point out that President George W. Bush was put in office by the Supreme Court and that a number of other elections have been decided by electronic voting machines that leave no paper trail. Others note that elected officials represent the special interests that fund their campaigns and not the voters. The bailout of the banks arranged by Bush’s Treasury Secretary and former Goldman Sachs chairman, Henry Paulson, and Washington’s failure to indict any banksters for the fraud that contributed to the financial crisis, are evidence in support of the view that the US government represents money and not the voters.
Recent events in Greece and Italy have created more skepticism of the West’s claim to be democratic. Two elected European prime ministers, George Papandreou of Greece and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, were forced to resign over the sovereign debt issue. Not even Berlusconi, a billionaire who continues to lead the largest Italian political party, could stand up to the pressure brought by private bankers and unelected European Union officials.
Papandreou lasted only 10 days after announcing on October 31, 2011, that he would let the Greek voters decide in a referendum whether or not to accept the austerity being imposed on the Greek people from the outside. Austerity is the price charged by the EU for lending the Greek government the money to pay to the banks. In other words, the question was austerity or default. However, the question was decided without the participation of the Greek people.
Consequently, Greeks have taken to the streets. The conditions accompanying the latest tranche of the bailout have again brought large numbers of Greeks into the streets of Athens and other cities. Citizens are protesting a 20% cut both in the minimum wage and in pensions larger than 12,000 euros ($15,800) annually and more cuts in public sector jobs. Greek taxes were raised 2.3 billion euros last year and are scheduled to rise another 3.4 billion euros in 2013. The austerity is being imposed despite Greece’s unemployment rate of 21% overall and 48% for those under the age of 25.
One interpretation is that the banks, which were careless in their loans to governments, are forcing the people to save the banks from the consequences of their bad decisions.
Another interpretation is that the European Union is using the sovereign debt crisis to extend its power and control over the individual member states of the EU.
Some say that the EU is using the banks for the EU’s agenda, and others say the banks are using the EU for the banks’ agenda.
Indeed, they may be using each other. Regardless, democracy is not part of the process.
Greece’s appointed—not elected—prime minister is Lucas Papademos. He is a former governor of the Bank of Greece, a member of Rockefeller’s Trilateral Commission, and former vice president of the European Central Bank. In other words, he is a banker appointed to represent the banks.
On February 12 the appointed prime minister, whose job is to deliver Greece to the banks or to Brussels, failed to see the irony in his statement that “violence has no place in a democracy.” Neither did he see any irony in the fact that 40 elected representatives in the Greek parliament who rejected the bailout terms were expelled by the ruling coalition parties. Violence begets violence. Violence in the streets is a response to the economic violence being committed against the Greek people.
Italy has formed a second democratic government devoid of democracy. The appointed prime minister, Mario Monti, doesn’t have to face an election until April 2013. Moreover, according to news reports, his “technocratic cabinet” does not include a single elected politician. The banks are taking no chances: Monti is both prime minister and minister of economics and finance.
Monti’s background indicates that he represents both the EU and the banks. He is former European advisor to Goldman Sachs, European chairman of the Trilateral Commission, a member of the Bilderberg Group, a former EU Commissioner, and a founding member of the Spinelli Group, an organization launched in September 2010 to facilitate integration within the EU, that is, to advance central power over the member states.
There is little doubt that European governments, like Washington, have been financially improvident, living beyond their means and building up debt burdens on citizens. Something needed to be done. However, what is being done is extra-democratic. This is an indication that Western elites—the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group, the EU, transnational corporations, oversized banks, and the mega-rich—no longer believe in democracy.
Perhaps future historians will conclude that democracy once served the interests of money in order to break free of the power of kings, aristocracy, and government predations, but as money established control over governments, democracy became a liability. Historians will speak of the transition from the divine right of kings to the divine right of money.
This article was originally published at PaulCraigRoberts.org and has been used here with permission.
“There is little doubt that European governments, … have been financially improvident, living beyond their means ….”
That was not a problem until Europeans were forced to accept various treaties culminating in the Nice and Lisbon Treaties forcing EU states to accept the free movement of people goods and services. Under these treaties the democratic will of the people was subverted by EU “directives” backed up by the EU courts where the EU made the law and the individual States were forced to pay the cost of implementation.
The best thing to come from the EU was the common currency, the €uro. But that has now become a mill-stone around the necks of the poorer EU countries. Why should this be so? Taking Ireland for example the Nice and Lisbon Treaties allowed the banks to flood the country with “cheap” foreign labour and mounting debt until all the countries assets were compromised by debt. Even though this debt was incurred by the private sector playing monopoly,when all the borrowed money had mysteriously dissappeared the debts were forced on the State – one of the greatest scams in history. And like Greece the politicians are only too willing to burden their citizens with debts they do not owe to people the have not met without getting anything in return with not even a semblance of accountability or value for money. Thus democracy in practice today is nothing more than a complete farce.
Greeks have to suffer so that French/German banks can make money. There will no end to this as long as Greece is not in control of the Euro. After the banks have had their fill, Greece will begin to improve. But when will this happen? Greece will always be in debt. The Germans/UK/France were lucky that after the war, their huge debts were reduced by 50% by a meeting of some European countries. It was a lot of Greek money that helped to salvage Germany from the depths of WW2. Now the Germans are slowly strangling the Greeks. No wonder the Greeks are so sore. They will show their anger in the only way that the EU understands, ie. more violence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQNNwgqnrIE
Another link to the story
Dears
There is not western or eastern, northern or southern democracy. There is only one democracy and its Liberal Democracy with a lot of shads. But not fundamental differences.
England in West and India and Japan in east follow the same democratic norms. Norway in north and south Africa in the south too.
*Nothing better illustrates the total unreality of life in the West than the fact that the entire Western world did not break out in riotous laughter over Obama’s expression of his human rights concern over China’s behavior*
http://tinyurl.com/73vots2
come to think of it,
Nothing better illustrates the total bs of the entire *Liberal Democracy* than the fact that england, india n japan did not rofl over Obama n those congress critters *concern* over China’s alleged *hr* transgressions
*Surrounded by American and NATO military bases, without nuclear weapons and no history of invading any nation in modern times, Iran is a threat. Israel, with hundreds of nukes and a record of assaulting its neighbors, and the U.S, with hundreds of military bases all over the world and the only nation to ever use nuclear weapons, are guardians of the peace.
If you believe that, you need to take a sedative and see a mental health professional. The rest of us need to further investigate our supposed democratic reality before we allow it to be imposed on other nations.*
http://tinyurl.com/7ofcayn