A Tale of Three Gates

[Acrylic-bob]

In the German capital, Berlin, at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstrasse, stands a gate. Built in 1788 on the commission of Friederich Willhelm II of Prussia to represent Peace. The gate, classical in form and monumental in structure, is ironically, perhaps, based on the Propylaea; the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, the seat and cradle of democracy. The Gate now gives access to Unter den Linden which once led to the palace of the Prussian monarchy. Atop the gate stands a sculpture, in gilded bronze, the symbolic figure of Victory riding in a chariot pulled by four horses. In her hand she carries a staff bearing a laurel wreath surmounted by a Prussian Eagle. Napoleon had it removed to Paris in 1806 and on its restoration in 1814 a darker symbol was added to the laurel wreath; a Prussian Iron Cross. The Nazi Party used the gate as a symbol too. As did the West Germans after the close of the Second World War and the erection of the Berlin Wall. Indeed, it became something of a focal point during the now legendary visit to West Berlin of President J.F. Kennedy, who was told by the mayor of the city, Richard von Weizsacker; “The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed.” In 1989 the gate was once more the focal point for the events which saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the re-unification of east and west Germany; A complex symbol, spanning two hundred years of bloodshed, hatred and division, was thus returned to it's original intention of representing Peace.


In the south west of Poland, close to the border with the Czech Republic and Slovakia, There is a another gate, erected to give access to a late ninteenth century Polish artillery barracks. The intention was to keep people out and away from dangerous munitions. In 1940 the use of the gate changed irrevocably. It was used to isolate and confine. In structure it is simple; two posts support a pair of open iron barred gates. Though it is simple, even brutal in its construction, like the Brandenburg Gate, this gate too is freighted with symbolism and philosophical allusion. Above the gate, as an arch, picked out in letters of stark, black iron are the words “ARBEIT MACHT FRIE”, 'Work makes you free'. An anodyne sentiment which served to concealed the truth of the horrors that were committed within. What is ommitted from the legend above the gate is the corollary, that those unfortunate enough to pass beneath the sign would find such freedom came only after slavery, starvation and death. The gate stands now, eternally open, as a mute witness to ruthless inhumanity, pitiless efficiency and callous deceit.


In front of the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, there stands a third gateway recently completed at a cost of 32 million euro's. The so-called Parlamentarium is the visitor centre through which all must pass to visit the European Parliament. As with most things European, it took a good deal longer to build than it should have and cost a lot more than it was supposed to and is a good deal bigger than is necessary. It is a gateway that again makes much use of symbolism. To quote the official website the gateway contains: “ Dynamic, interactive multimedia displays [which] guide our visitors through the journey of European integration and the impact this has on our everyday lives...finding out along the way what contribution the European Union has made to each of the Member States. ” On one wall in the visitor centre, thoughtfully picked out in English, is the following statement:


“National sovereignty is the root cause of the most crying evils of our time. The only final remedy for this supreme and catastrophic evil is a federal union of the peoples.”


This weekend, after four years of dithering and can kicking the current masters of the European Union, Germany, leaked a proposal they were intending to submit as the final solution to the Greek problem; our teutonic bretheren seem to have an unhappy fixation with 'final solutions'. In short the Greek Government must submit all its taxation and spending decisions to an EU appointed Commissioner for approval. All spending decisions would only be approved once the obligations on their debt had been paid. In effect, if enough tax was not collected to repay the debt interest then government spending on everything else; pensions, health, civil service etc. etc. would have to be cut to fit the amount left over. Further, if the Greeks expected further EU bailouts, then the proposal had to be written into Greek Law. No argument, no discussion, Sign up or no more cash.


We have seen how France and Germany have unseated democratically elected Prime Ministers in both Greece and Italy and have replaced them with Brussels placemen, both former Goldman-Sachs' employees. And we know that despite the erection of a toothless European Parliament they take no notice of anything that the demos has to say about anything. And how their stated aim is, and has been since the inception of the European idea, the removal of National Sovereignty. Now we see how it is to be accomplished. Today it is Greece. In a couple of months time it will be Portugal's turn. And then Spain and then Italy. Germany is today accomplishing that which Hitler only ever dared dream about, and all without having fired a single shot. Dont believe me? Read this...


“Europe’s nations should be guided towards the super-state without their people understanding what is happening. This can be accomplished by successive steps each disguised as having an economic purpose, but which will eventually and irreversibly lead to federation.”
Jean Monnet, Founder of the European Movement. Former Cognac salesman and bureaucrat at the League of Nations. 30 April 1952



And then this...



“No government dependent upon a democratic vote could possibly agree in advance to the sacrifice that any adequate plan [to build the EU] must involve. The people must be led slowly and unconsciously into their abandonment of their traditional economic defences…”
Lord (Peter) Thorneycroft, Privy Councillor, Conservative Party Chairman 1975-1981. Chairman of ‘Design For Europe’ Committee, 1947,



and, finally, this...



“The single currency is the greatest abandonment of sovereignty since the foundation of the European Community … it is a decision of an essentially political nature. We need this United Europe … we must never forget that the Euro is an instrument for this project.”
Felipe Gonzalez, Socialist Prime Minister of Spain from 1982 to 1996. May 1998.



What more do you need to know? Get the UK out of this European mess now, Before the gate closes and we are all slaves beneath the Pan European Jackboot.



.

[cashman]

Interesting n eloquently put, Where as i say simply- Tell Em To Get Stuffed.

[Boeing Guy]

Could not agree more. Why does our local MP ignore the voices of his constituents

[MargaretR]

As financial austerity measures bite across Europe, there is a high risk of revolution and anarchy.

It may take such extreme happenings before the politicians put the interests and wishes of the people before those of the banks.

[cashman]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

As financial austerity measures bite across Europe, there is a high risk of revolution and anarchy.

It may take such extreme happenings before the politicians put the interests and wishes of the people before those of the banks.

That is a possibility.

[Alan Varrechia]

I'd say a tad more than a possibility.
You can only take the pish out of the 99% for so long then something will snap.

[cashman]

Originally Posted by Alan Varrechia

I'd say a tad more than a possibility.
You can only take the pish out of the 99% for so long then something will snap.

Just a possibility Alan, This is England, Best place in the world when theres a war, In peacetime a different kettle of fish.

[Eric]

I read in an English newspaper online ... I can't remember which, but I don't think it was the "Mail", as the spelling was correct ... that Cameron risked souring relations with Berlin. So did Air Marshal Harris. I don't know how Cameron will respond. But Harris .......... he knew

[Boeing Guy]

I hope not, the Lancasters are pretty old now

[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by Boeing Guy

I hope not, the Lancasters are pretty old now

True but we haven't much else left to send!

[Margaret Pilkington]

I didn't know about any of those quotes, but I have always had a strong concerns about the motives of the EEC(which was sold to the British population as a trade agreement) later the EU. I had a suspicion that it was more for political motives and dominance than for trade. Which is why, when we were allowed to voice an opinion on the subject I voted NO.


Get us OUT of the EU NOW!

[Eric]

Originally Posted by Boeing Guy

I hope not, the Lancasters are pretty old now

Yeh ... but they have class ... like old steam locos I believe Britain built over 7 thousand of them, at great expense to the taxpayer.

The big drain on Britain's natural wealth in the twentieth century were the two world wars which were started by .... mmm, let me think ... it's on the tip of my tongue .... wait, I'll try google ... ah yes, it was Germany The UK spent billions in cash and millions in dead and wounded to stop those arrogant bastards ... and now look at them, strutting around Europe as if they own the place. It really bugs my ass.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when Merkel mentioned in a speech that the problem with the euro was the biggest crisis Europe had faced since the second world war Shouldn't one of her Google Page Ranking people have taken her to one side and said: "Look Angie .... maybe it's not a good idea to mention that incident ... still lots of folks around who remember it, and who started it. Give it another couple of generations and then we can start behaving as if it never happened ... Oh, and be a little kinder to the Greeks; after all, it wasn't so long ago that fun-loving German soldiers were using them for target practice."

[Acrylic-bob]

It is clear to me, and becomes clearer with every day that passes, that the politicians in this country, and many others, are no longer to be trusted. The parties, who control what they say and do, are themselves the subject of control by collectivists. We fondly imagine that we live in a democracy where every individual vote counts, and governments can be dismissed if they are seen to be acting against the national interest. But what sort of choice is it which lies in choosing between three parties all of whom espouse essentially the same policies which emanate from the same source?

Where is the party in this country which says that government and more government is not the answer to all our woes? Where is the politician who espouses the view that taxes should be slashed to the absolute minimum? Which is the MP brave enough to stand up and say that the welfare budget can no longer be bourne and that we, the people, should learn to stand on our own two feet and take responsibility for our own lives, instead of running to nanny state everytime it looks like it might rain?

Incrementally, since 1945, we have been lulled into accepting the fact that larger and larger slices of our national sovereignty have been signed away in treaty after treaty. David Cameron will go to Brussels today and offer up yet more. We have been led, blinded by state largesse, into a dictatorship which compells and prohibits and circumscribes our freedoms, and one which will, under the guise of economic necessity, eventually extinguish them altogether. It is the same political philosophy which rose in Russia in 1917 and again in Germany in 1933; different feathers but essentially the same bird. It is the same political philosophy which prompted Ed Milliband to persuade Graham Jones to vote against the Euro referendum last autumn.

What is to be done? Perhaps things have to get an awful lot worse before people begin to recognise the deception that has been practised on them. Trouble is, by that time, it may already be too late.


.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Boeing Guy

Could not agree more. Why does our local MP ignore the voices of his constituents

Apparently we're all just the not so silent 5% minority.

REFERENDUM NOW, IF THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DEMOCRACY!

[Acrylic-bob]

I was in a bit of a mood last afternoon, after reading of the doings in Brussels.
I was down at heart and full of woe. There was not much hope in me for the future.
Usually, under these circumstances a quick half hour contemplating Jay's buns is enough to put the world to rights again, and restore my jaded spirit; but not yesterday.

In desperation I betook me to my solitary pallet and spent a rotten night ruminating over the evils and the follies of the world.

I was still in a mood when I woke this morning. So I turned to an even older friend, the Blessed G.K.Chesterton, and there, in a poem entitled The Secret People. I found the balm that soothed my troubled soul.

Being a nice sort of chap, I'll share a bit with you...


"They have given us into the hand of new unhappy lords,
Lords without anger or honour, who dare not carry their swords.
They fight by shuffling papers; they have bright dead alien eyes;
They look at our labour and laughter as a tired man looks at flies.
And the load of their loveless pity is worse than the ancient wrongs,
Their doors are shut in the evening; and they know no songs.

We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet,
Yet is there no man speaketh as we speak in the street.
It may be we shall rise the last as Frenchmen rose the first,
Our wrath come after Russia's wrath and our wrath be the worst.
It may be we are meant to mark with our riot and our rest
God's scorn for all men governing. It may be beer is best.
But we are the people of England; and we have not spoken yet.
Smile at us, pay us, pass us. But do not quite forget."

Considering that this is over 90 years old, there's not much that changes, really, is there?