Forum Gazetesi :: Yazarlar :: Robert J. Bonsignore

Born of Fire

"The holocaust against jews, gypsies, Polish christians and soviet war prisoners helped Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin win the war against Hitler and Nazi Germany!" Herr Franz Borkenau exclaimed. He was a Holocaust survivor.

""Their extermination weakened Hitler's armaments program which needed slave labor and captured prisoners to manufacture weapons." "The Allies considered these millions sacrificial victims and looked the other way as millions of civilians and prisoners were slaughtered. It was considered a necessary evil in the interests of expediency and pragmatism even though those slain posed no threat to their captors!" he concluded. "Hitler was stupid as well as evil for killing them!"

"But what Jew then could imagine the birth of the State of Israel when he was dying in the midst of overwhelming horror?" he rhetorically asked me. "Even President Harry Truman thought Israel would be slain in the cradle upon its birth some sixty years ago!" he said with tears in his eyes. All this happened at the Opening of a Permanent Holocaust Exhibit at the United Nations where Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman and leading UN officials spoke: "We sowed in tears as we remembered our dead, and we reap our harvests with laughter and joy for the life granted us - even though our enemies seek to destroy us.

We arose out of the flames and are born of fire, and we are unafraid" I felt terribly ashamed of myself as I recalled complaining of the pebbles pressing against the soles of my shoes as I walked up the gravel road to the death chambers of Auschwitz when I visited Poland. What did I know of such horrors having been raised in the world of American Disney Land.

My only "pains" comparatively were of a petty or trivial nature, and I can only ask my Jewish, Turkish, Russian, and German friends to forgive me of any insensitivities to any anguish and trauma they or their families suffered during the 20th Century. Yes - even Germans suffered horribly under Hitler. Still, I could not stop myself from complaining about some petty matters to a journalist associate: "Smile!" he said, "Things could get worse!" So I smiled, and sure enough, things got worse, but not that bad.

My hope is that modern America never suffers the kind of travail suffered by other peoples during the 20th Century. But as is said in our nuclear age: "Hope for the best while preparing for the worst." Dr. Borkenau admonished me: "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and we must not have a failure of imagination as we had in the past. If our minds can imagine the worst, then it is possible.
But if it's possible, then it's possible to stop it from happening!" My mind was churning and had much to think of.

"Where do we go from here?" I asked myself.

Barbecued Turkey

"Neutral Turkey escaped the horrors of the Second World War in an insane Europe where wholesale killing and murder became normal!" explained historian Peter D Smith at a United Nations session. "What about it?" I asked him in my office. He had authored "Doomsday Men" and given me a copy. "Turkey today was historically protected and thus positioned to promote a culture of life for all of Europe which sadly has embraced the culture of death!" he added. "But Turkey is becoming Europeanized!" I countered, "And what makes you believe the Western world is governed by destructive scientific madmen?" "This is difficult to believe but there are real live Dr. Strangeloves who would love to destroy all human life on earth!" he explained. "Nuclear physicist Paul Engelfield who helped develop the atomic bomb considered people to be "walking, talking, thinking garbage with no reason to exist in a cosmic void doomed to extinction." He further explained that Professor Engelfield and his brothers created a cult to promote these views. "Well Dr.Engelfild was obviously insane!" I said, "but there are Foundations and people like CNN founder Ted Turner who contribute billions of dollars to United Nations agencies to eventually eliminate five billion people through population control!" In defense of Mr. Turner I added: "Mr. Turner truly believes that global warming will lead to massive crop failures and food shortages, and we all will become cannibals and eat each other to survive!" Dr. Smith seemed skeptical until I told him all this was said publicly and is in the public domain. "I kid you not!" I exclaimed to him. Just then the telephone rang, and it was Ted Turner himself. He invited us to dine and talk with him at his elegant Buffalo Beef Steakhouse in Manhattan. "But for you two guys I'll serve barbecued turkey!"

"Hollywood actors make good Ambassadors of Goodwill!"

A United Nations spokesman for The Alliance Between Civilizations stated in Madrid. This as Queen Noor of Jordan who authored "Leap of Faith" launched a massive movie and media effort for "peace between peoples." "Turkey itself is the answer to clashes between civilizations!" uttered PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Let us build bridges!" stated Spanish President Jose Zapatero. "We can change the world!" proclaimed ex-President Sampaio of Portugal.
"This forum is the way to counter extremism!" chimed in UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. "When Attila the Hun greeted the pope outside Rome fifteen hundred years ago that was the beginning of dialogue!" a Vatican observer noted. Hollywood actors and movie makers are not enough to deal with nuclear proliferation and international terrorism.
Statesmen and women with the hearts and minds of matadors are needed I thought. So I decided to get a cape and put on an act: "I studied acting and bull throwing in Mexico!" I told officials as I twirled around like a dervish. "Shout 'Olay!' and step aside with a flair, grab the bull by the horns, and don't cry when you get gored!" It became apparent however that they had no matador hearts, so they did not grasp my meaning - or get the metaphor. Nor did they have a sense of humor. Throwing the bull and having fun while facing death in the bull ring was not their cup of tea.
I had made a fool of myself the looks on their faces telling me this. I was ashamed of myself, made some lame excuse promising to be more serious in the future, and departed hoping I would not be censored.
Special Report to Forum

Cyprus Showdown

"Greek and Turkish Cypriots unite!" is the battle cry of Dimitri Christofias who won an unprecedented Presidential election. "We are the first communist government in post-Christian Europe, but we are not dogmatic and will govern as social democrats!"

"Britain out of Cyprus!" is another battle cry causing earch-shaking political quakes in Ankara, Athens, and London. "We say 'No!' to Kosovo independence" is another cry highlighting the split within and between Europe and Russia where President Christofias was educated in international affairs. "Huge oil deposits in the waters surrounding Cyprus make prosperity certain for all residents!"

After visiting Turkey President Mehmet Ali Talat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will meet with President Christofias at the end of March. "Cyprus could be unified by the end of the year!" claims President Talat.

Meanwhile the World Organization for Animal Health declared Cyprus "free of foot-and-mouth disease.This while EU Health Commisiioner Markos Kyprianou resigned to become Minister Foreign Affairs at the invitation of President Christofias. "The leaders of the world must avoid foot-in-mouth disease!" he warned when leaving Brussels. "United Nations mediation will be the determining factor to bring unification!"

He was sending a message to U.N. Undersecretary for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe, a veteren American diplomat, who met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to focus on a Cyprus settlement. "A United Nations brokered solution can end thirty years of division!" President Christofias exclaimed.

Meanwhile unease settled over the east Mediterranean region to the mysterious sounds of distant drums and stormy clouds rumbling in places far and near. "Perhaps someone put their foot in their mouth!" a Turkish official wryly commented.

"Forget past mistakes!

"Forget past mistakes! Forget failures! Forget everything - except what you are doing now! And then do it!" uttered former top United Nations Negotiator Giandominico Picco. He had helped end the Iran-Iraq conflict and facilitated the exit of the Soviets from Afghanistan.

"We are entering an epoch of 'alignments' where nations will live together without being 'married' as with alliances!" He had authored a book "The New Mideast From Lebanon to Iran" and envisioned a Commonwealth of Nations from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea.

"Picco!" I said, "All bets are off in the Mideast where an arms race is happening together with a fortress mentality!" I told him to lighten up and we walked over to a Womens Media Conference. This is what we heard:

"Single career women in New Delhi have replaced their graceful sari robes with slim-fitting jeans and chic short skirts!" syndicated columnist Suzanne Fields told the audience. Sociologist and author Kay Hymowitiz chimed,"Unmarried professional women are dressing like this from Seoul to Singapore, from Madrid to Berlin, from Istanbul to Warsaw. We are in a global New Girl Order!" Picco was shocked and taken aback.

"These single professional women marry late, have high incomes, and band together. Their motto is 'work hard, play harder'!" a representative from the Berlin Institute for Population & Overseas Development cried. "Educated women in search of careers are abandoning many towns and small cities, and men there cannot find wives!" he lamented. "German men now seek wives from the Phillipines and Indonesia!" he exclaimed, "And this is happening in China where there is a shortage of women!"

"Forget what I just said!" Picco moaned. "This New Girl Order changes everything!" So what should we do I asked. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing! We must take time out to think!

So now I find myself thinking, but my mind is blank.

Occupied or Administered

"Israel administers the West Bank and East Jerusalem until such time a Palestinian State is created!" the official stated as an off-the-record personal opinion. "Jordan had formerly administered those territories but wants no part of it today!"

"So why did President Bush use the term 'occupied territories' during his trip to the Mideast?" an Israeli journalist lamented. The official responded: "He was placating the Arabs his ultimate goal being to protect the entire Saudi Peninsula from the Iranian threat!" The Israeli was unplacated.

A Turkish journalist interjected, "Turkey and North Iraq are neighbors and with Americans will explore for oil and make security arrangements!" The official agreed and gave another opinion: "Everyone wants peace and prosperity in the region, and Iran wants to be respected and accepted as a regional power!" So what's new I thought.

I then mentioned that Senator Hillary Clinton promised to start removing American troops two months after she is installed as President in January 2009, and she said this publicly on WNBC-TV Meet the Press. "Won't this amount to a large-scale American withdrawal and create a power vacuum?" I asked. "What if there is no unified government in Iraq by then?"

"You can't assume anything!" the official responded. "No one knows for sure who the next American President will be, or what may develope this coming year. There is a dynamic at work which is extremely volatile and unpredictable. Wrong decisions can esculate tensions and words must be chosen carefully to avoid misperceptions." The Israeli joked: "Sure! Israel will have an Embassy in Tehran next year!" But the official didn't smile.

At Turkish House across from the United Nations I waved to President Abdullah Gul as he arrived in his motorcade. The next day I waved to him as he departed. I don't think he saw me.

India After Gandhi

"Victory comes from moral courage! Power comes from truth! Strength comes from righteousness!" proclaimed H.E. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi at an Observance of the U.N. International Day of Non-Violence. "The dialogue Mahatma Gandhi fostered was founded on a spirit of understanding the other point of view, and we must reach out and engage people in meaningful dialogue!"

"India After Gandhi" author Ramachadra Guha spoke: "A few hundred Members of our Constitutional Assembly wrote our Constitution and divided India into multiple linguistic and ethnic states. A country cannot be run like a corporation to maximize profits. Rather, the goal of government must be to minimize discontent and conflict." More: " "If we insisted on imposing a uniform language, culture, religious, and political ideology there would be endless strife and conflict. Instead, we have the world's must diverse religious and secular democracy!"

"Perhaps this forumula can be applied to the European Union and Russian Federation where there are many ethnic, religious, and political groupings?" I quiered. "And Hinduism is something unique in your country this perhaps making comparisons meaningless?"

"We have the largest Moslem population outside of Indonesia!" he retorted, "And Hindus never ruled more than 30% of present day India." Furthur: "Our history yes is unique and our constitutional formula surely cannot be applied as is to Europeans or Russians. But perhaps others can learn from us. If I recall the Ottoman Empire was a diverse multireligious and multiethnic entity spanning many present day nations. We surely learned from them!"

I turned on the car radio on my way home: "Hitler and Napoleon melted church bells and turned them into cannons!" a speaker was reciting. "But Hitler never reached the Kremlin which contains the largest bell in the world!" I thought to myself that Gandhi might interpose, "Make bells - not war!"

It was a miscalculation

"His name is Abd al Qirsh!" his detractors called him when the Englishman St John Philby converted to Islam! He was another Lawrence of Arabia and consultant to King Ibn Saud of Arabia!" the Lebanese official told me at the United Nations. "He was the father of the famous Kim Philby who immigrated from Beirut to become a foreign service officer in Moscow."

I wondered why he was giving me lessons in old history, so he invited me to discuss a book on an Austrian spy he was carrying. "To survive we Lebanese must be smarter than the CIA, the KGB, and the Mossad!" he told me on the way to the Vienna Cafe.

"The Czarist Russians outsmarted themselves when they enlisted Colonel Alfred Redl of Austrian Military Intelligence to become their secret agent!" I wondered "How?" as I sipped my capuchino. "Redl concealed from the Austrians the true extent of the Russian military buildup. So Vienna considered Russia weak and issued an ultimatum to Serbia!"

I already knew this, so what's the big deal! "It was a miscalculation. Russia mobilized to protect Serbia, the Austrian Empire was destroyed, and so was Russia!" he shouted. He seemed agitated and erratic and I started looking for a quick exit.

"So what's this got to do with Abn al Qirsh?" I half-teasingly asked. "Everything!" he retorted. "Soviet Russia was the first government to recognize the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia!" At this point I stood up and told him I don't believe he is what he says he is.

"You must connect the dots!" he shouted as I walked away embarrassed at the scene he was creating. "You must connect the dots!"

As I looked back I saw him grab the sleeve of a well-known Iranian diplomat who pushed him away. Such crazies here at the United Nations, and with credentials. Well then - maybe I have a problem too.

Mad Cow Disease

"Without Stalin Hitler would conquer Asia and the world!" a Hero of The Great Patriotic War told me at a United Nations Correspondent Association affair honoring elderly Soviet military veterans. "Stalin helped America defeat Japan by conquering Manchuria. That is why Tokyo surrendered!" He seemed unaware that an unofficial state of war still exists between Japan and Russia over disputed territories.

"Stalin gave birth to the State of Israel while America wanted a Trusteeship under the United Nations!" he continued. He was not part of the official Russian military delegation and was a former Soviet officer who immigrated to Israel. "There are one million Soviet Jews now citizens of Israel." I was being enlightened.

"Stalin was troubled by the low Soviet birthrate and needed more soldiers to fight the fascists!" he continued. "The ultimate capitalist weapons was abortion. It destroyed people and left property undamaged!" I took away his empty vodka glass and gave him a cup of coffee, but his tongue would not stop.

"Stalin tried to mate human genes with apes and produce apeman soldiers!" he cried. "It did not work and Soviet women failed to have enough children." A delegate from the Russian Mission intervened and explained, "Russia is losing over a half-million people each year and Putin is doing all he can to restore our country. He wants Russians abroad to come home!"

Afterward I met the Swedish president of a non-government organization(NGO) involved with "banned parenthood" and "planned barrenhood." "If you eliminate one European or American it is equivalent to eliminating twenty Asians or Africans who pollute Mother Earth and poison our planet!" He considered pregnancy a "disease." It did not matter to him that Swedish society would eventually diminish to the point of extinction.

"Our one-child policy reduces pollution and will make our country green!" his Chinese associate told me, and he was right. This reminded me of the Charlton Heston movie "Soylent Green" co-starring Edward G Robinson where people were recycled due to food shortages caused by overpopulation.

Everything sounded so logical, but then the Swedish NGO collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. I learned his brain was perforated due to mad cow disease contracted years past from eating tainted meat. On learning this I immediated had my brain scanned, but there was nothing there.

Egypt & ElBaradei

"The American occupation of Iraq proved us right that Saddam Hussein had no nuclear weapons facilities!" exclaimed Director-General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian who heads the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA). "We cannot say yet that Iran is in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty(NPT), but America should make a 'deal' with Iran and recognize its role as a legitimate regional power. Peace has many dividends!" Dr. ElBaradei had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize a few years ago in 2005.

"Egypt had signed the NPT accord and under the supervision of the IAEA will now resume development of peaceful nuclear energy capabilities!" another Egyption ex officio revealed. Someone pointed out that in years past Egypt was caught by IAEA inspectors developing an illicit nuclear "separation" program. "We put a stop to that and now we will be in full IAEA compliance!" he responded.

"Saddam Hussein had proposed I join with him, Anwar Sadat, and King Hussein of Jordan to takeover the entire Saudi Peninsula!" President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt announced in a once-shown never-to-be-repeated American TV broadcast over a decade ago. "But I refused!" He believes Iran will be grateful to Egypt for helping reduce the threat Saddam posed to that country.

DR. ElBaradei considers Israel a "nuclear state" since France had joined with them in the 1960's to develop an "independent" nuclear weapons capacity. In 1967 the Soviet Union sent an advanced Foxbat MIG-25RB aircraft over the Dimona nuclear complex in preparation for its destruction during the Six Day War. Colonel Alexandr Drobyshevsky of the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed this he responding to the recent Yale publication of "Foxbat Over Dimona" which reveals Soviet nuclear-armed submarines were near the coast of Israel ready to strike if necessary.

"Israel was threatened by nuclear weapons not only in 1967 but also in 1973 during the October Yom Yippur War!" explained Yosef BenTovim in the U.N.Vienna Cafe. "You should remember President Nixon called a nuclear alert!" he told a visiting group of fellow intern journalists. "And now Amadinejad threatens to destroy us!. But we are unafraid. We have our Samsons!"

Someone then quoted an old-time American entertainer named Jimmy Durante: "Everybody wants to get into the act!" Then he played the Simon & Garfunkel song "The Sound of Silence" whose words pierced our hearts. After that there was nothing more to be said.

American Dynasty

"Hillary as First Lady has the experience necessary to be President!" he inexlicibly uttered, "And if Hillary can do it in 2008 then my wife Laura can become President in 2012!" he added. This was political humor I thought, but things suddenly got serious.

"The United States is preparing 'the last helicopter' to flee the Middle East as soon as President Bush leaves the White House!" Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boasted. Ahmadinejad was referring to the helicopter evacuating the American embassy in Saigon after Congress cutoff funding to South Vietnam.

"American foreign policy is not haphazard and helter-skelter as Ahmadinejad would like to believe!" Bush retorted. "I, Hillary, co-President Bill Clinton, future-President Laura, and me will hold the line in the Middle East long after Ahmadinejad bites the dust!" I was confused.

At that crucial moment a French journalist further provoked him: "Syria is having second thoughts on holding the line in Lebanon on behalf of Iran! And we French and Syrians do not want a civil war there with pro-American and pro-Iranian factions fighting each other!"

His blood seemed to boil: "Saddam tried to assassinate my Dad when he visited Kuwait and President Bill Clinton bombed the heck out of Iraqi Military Headquarters in response. That is why my father and Bill are in cahoots." Now the Frenchman was confused.

And: "If my friend Vladimir Putin can use backdoor political channels to remain in power then so can Bill and I." Calming down President Bush dropped his Washington accent and reverted to a Texas drawl: "Me, Laura, Bill, Hillary, Mom and Dad - we are Family!" Then he left and ironically - took a helicopter to Crawford.

Meanwhile Putin was reportedly "dismayed" during his historical visit to Iran. "They did the talking and I did the listening!" and "they live in a world of their own." After hearing of Bush's comments: "Napoleon saved the Revolution but then crowned himself emperor and invaded Egypt, Turkey, and Russia. He thought of himself as another Alexander the Great who conquered Mesopotamia and Persia. I only want to serve Mother Russia. We too are Family!"

I needed a mental vacation as I settled down with my family to enjoy the blockbuster movie "Cleopatra" starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Cleopatra it seems was quite a First Lady.

Bolts from Bolton

Former Ambassador John Bolton's November 9 press conference at United Nations: "The internationalists here believe this institution is a 'religion' and that the UN-Secretary-General is a 'secular pope'!" he blurted, "And IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei thinks he's a "secular cardinal" and has become an "apologist for Iran." Bolton claimed he's a Lutheran and "does not believe in a religious pope."

"Regime change in Iran or military action are the only two options remaining to stop Iranian nukes, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) should be expanded to include Japan, Israel, and Australia."

Bolton was on a roll good-humoredly shooting verbal bolts of lightning: "Whatever the terrible consequences of attacking Iran, the consequences would be worse if Iran acquires nuclear weapons! And the Pakistani nuclear arsenal must be kept out of the hands of Al-Qeada. Civilian rule there might be unable to do this, and loose nukes can destroy America!"

He was beginning to rant that his expanded Atlanti-Pacific NATO "would be a true International Democratic Federation" and referred to his past experience at the United Nations "as entering a twilight zone."

Meanwhile renovation of the United Nations New York Hadquarters Bldg might require the total evacuation of the premises for a minimum of three years to facilitate construction and avoid toxic dust poisoning the staff, diplomats, and visiting world leaders. This has caused "nightmares" for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who tells visiting dignitaries "I can't sleep from worry, but things will work out I'm sure!"

With Bolton on the loose promoting The International Democratic Federation can the United Nations survive after being "shutdown" for a long period. Time will tell!

Prelude to War

"Running around like a madman with a razor blade is not the way to resolve a tense situation!" was Vladimir Putin's rapid response to President Bush imposing sanctions on the Iranian military. "To avoid a third world war Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons capabilities!" Bush had declared as V.P.Richard Cheney compared Armadinejad's Republican Guards to Hitler's S.S.Stormtroopers.

"Iran acquiring nuclear weapons would not necessarily mean the end of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty(NPT)!" a dissident American official tasked with preventing the spread of nuclear weapons technology mused unofficially. Alarm bells went off after this gambler spoke.

"To me the NPT regime is a top priority issue!" exclaimed U.N.Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a spot interview as he exited the Security Council chambers. "The NPT Committee will meet in Geneva next May!" he added as he headed for the elevator to the 38th Floor. He presumes the-cowboy-from-Texas won't shoot-from-the-hip before then.

"The moment we are attacked one thousand missiles will be launched from Iran!" declared Ahmadinejad the targets obviously including the Saudi Arabian oil fields and refineries as well as Israel. More alarm bells rang, but louder..

"Mutual suicide is the insane path this region is choosing!" a former Jordanian official lamented to me. "The Israelis helped us chase Arafat's Palestinian Liberation Organization(PLO) into Lebanon, and now that country is in ruins!" I reminded him that his King Hussein was in league with Arafat and Saddam Hussein had promised him the Saudi throne. He became angry and walked away.

Meanwhile California was burning with American officials suspecting terrorists used timing devices to set fires after they fled the country. So no wonder "madman" Bush is "burning" and in a furious rage. So everyone - "Watch out!"

Perhaps both Putin and Bush should count to ten and give Ban Ki-Moon time to do his thing. All good things come to those who wait.

Syria, Iraq, Iran

"The United Nations will become the centerpiece of American foreign policy when the Democratic party controls the White House in 2009!" a leading New York politician explained at an informal meeting. "China has invested heavily in Iran and wants peace in the region!"

Further: "Iraq must come under international supervision within the framework of a Comprehensive Mideast Accord with America providing the bulk of Blue Helmut U.N.Peacekeeping troops" he explained. "And the region must be nuclear-free!"

Later on Congressman Peter Hoekstra of the House Intelligence Committee revealed he was given confidential secret information on the Israeli attack against Syrian nuclear facilities. Sworn to secrecy Hoekstra explained that President Bush must explain to Congress the esculating threat of nuclear proliferation. "Congress has oversight reponsibilities and must not be kept in the dark!"

Meanwhile U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari will represent him and the the international community in Ankara when the neighbors of Iraq gather November 2nd to voice their fears and concerns. Afterward Prime Minister Recept Tayyip Erdogan plans to visit Washington D.C.

When asked about Vladimir Putin's "alliance" with Iran Bush explained "I must talk personally with Vlad to understand the meaning of all of this. Similarly I must speak privately with Prime Minister Erdogan to know what's happening in Iraq"

Hearing this one of Erdovan's top advisers, I learned, warned him against meeting with with "a lame-duck President!" Erdovan reportedly retorted, "President Bush is not a duck! And he is not lame!"

I hope the translation I confidentially obtained is correct and accurate. So I'll keep my fingers crossed.

WAR & GENOCIDE

"In Nazi-conquered Eastern Europe, Lithuania, and Ukraine millions of religious Jewish men, women, and children offered no resistance to their new German masters!" an elderly Yiddish journalist named Genia Silkes told me at the United Nations Holocaust Remembrance Conference where Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman spoke passionately. Silkes continued: "Most of these millions were Orthodox Jews but secular and atheistic Jews were equally hated and exterminated. The word 'genocide' was invented in 1945 to describe this Holocaust as something unique in history."

In response I mentioned to her the millions of Irish within the British Isles who starved to death while their neighbors were well fed, the millions who died when Stalin relocated the Crimean Tartars and others during the Second World War, and the massive ongoing bloodbath in Africa.today. "These are terrible things as also happened when India was partitioned and when Bangladesh separated from Pakistan!" I added. "Let's talk later on this!" she said.

Genia was a Warsaw Ghetto Resistance Fighter who escaped the death train to the Treblinka extermination camp. As an experienced international journalist who spoke fifteen languages she challenged me to think. But then she died suddenly and is buried in a cemetery outside the Walls of Jerusalem I learned later.

So I was thinking when I read Australian media giant Rupert Murdock's embittered hitman Colonel Ralph Peters insulting Turkey for not allowing American troops passage in the attack against Saddam Hussein: "I have no sympathy for Turkey, and the Turks are jerks!" Peters wrote in Murdock's Sunday New York Post on October 14. "But we must not support the Armenian Genocide Resolution which is a trap by Pelosi's Democratic Party to undermine George Bush's Iraqi policy!"

Murdock is now an American citizen but remembers the tens of thousands of Australian soldiers who died when they invaded Gallipoli in 1915. He - like Peters - is a prisoner of history and lives in an emotional jailhouse. Citizen Peters also claims in his article that "anti-American hatred spewing from the Turkish media is uglier than Barbara Streisand at four o'clock in the morning."

I showed the article to visiting Professor Viktor Borkenau who specializes in psycho-political analysis in Poland who summarily surmised: "This man who insults a nation and its people seems sincere but emotionally confused and politically inept. He projects cognitive dissonance and oxymoronic inner conflict together with delusional bedroom fantasies. Perhaps he saw secret photos of Barbara Streisand when she slept in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House."

In simpler terms Borkenau said: "Peters is a jerk!" Sad! Sad! Sad! I thought. It takes people from other countries who seemingly must teach us Americans how to think.

India Nuclear Deal Updated

"India is an economic infant on the way to economic manhood, and we must wean ourselves from fossil fuels. A greener earth demands this!" uttered Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India to U.N.Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who headed a high-level U.N. Conference on Climate Change during the 62nd Opening of the U.N.General Assembly.

"Cutrate oil from Iran is better than expensive nuclear fuel from distant America!" challenged Marxist Prakash Karat of the India Communist Party who was initially joined with the nationalist Hindu BJP Bharatiya Janata Party hinting they might withdraw from the present coalition government and topple Manmohan Singh.

Centrist Congress Party Chairman Sonia Gandhi affirmed India's commitment to peaceful nuclear energy adding, "We love the American people and we love the sweetheart deal Singh has made with President Bush." But then Prakash Karat asserted, "We must love our neighbor, and Iran is our neighbor!" Singh responded Ïf India delays signing we may miss the bus, and they might fall out of love with us.¨

UN CLIMATE CHANGE

"Eons ago the Bosporous Straits was a land bridge, and where the Black Sea is located was a huge valley with a small lake at the bottom. That is where Noah built his boat!" This by Professor Luigi Linguini of the University of Bologna speaking at the U.N.Conference on Climate Change. Participants wondered at the point he was making, and he explained: "When the Ice Age ended twelve thousand years ago and the thick ice sheet covering North America and Europe melted - sea levels rose significantly and the Bosporous Straits opened up. That was Noah's Flood. The Black Sea filled the valley and Noah's boat docked in Turkey. He became Turkish!" I knew he was making a point and adding some humor, but twisting historical events would only confuse people and detract from his point that global warming is a natural ongoing phenomena: "You are very creative in your approach, but you will only turn believers into non-believers when you exaggerate matters!" I told him. "We live in a propaganda world of lies where the truth is difficult to discover, so I cook my message and add spice so people will listen!" he retorted. "Would you eat spaghetti without first cooking it and adding sauce?" He was a story teller engaging in satire, parody, and humor when dealing with serious subjects, I realized. But when I used his approach and did the same to him, he didn't get it. Oil Ring at North Pole .

Russian engineers tore down the North Pole and erected an oil rig: "The Arctic is ours!" declared Parlimentarian Artur Chilingarove as a deep-sea Russian submarine planted a rust-proof titanian metal flag on the Arctic seabed. Melting ice and glaciers is opening up access to vast mineral, oil, and gas deposits with Canada now building an Arctic port and fleet of ice-breaking ships: ""The Northwest Passage over northern Canada connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean will save 5000 nautical miles for shipping between Europe and Asia, and we need the U.S.Navy to secure oiur rights in the Arctic!" Canadian Prime Minister informed President Bush in Quebec. "America has not signed the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention and is at a disadvantage!" warned legal expert Professor John Moore of Virginia. "Meanwhile China and Russia are claiming huge undersea mineral deposits." "This is a race to the bottom of the sea by giant mineral extraction corporations. Down there is gold, manganese, cobalt, and zinc as well as hydrate fossil deposits double the known reserves of present fossile global reserves!" an expert from the U.S. Geological Survey Project told me. "There are even diamonds to be extracted.! "Perhaps the Panama Canal will become a tourist attraction!" a Panamanian official joked with me. But a grim British official feared that climate change might shift the Gulf Stream which heats the United Kingdom and freeze that nation. Should we laugh or cry, I wondered

"The Arctic is ours!"
Russian engineers tore down the North Pole and erected an oil rig: "The Arctic is ours!" declared Parlimentarian Artur Chilingarove as a deep-sea Russian submarine planted a rust-proof titanian metal flag on the Arctic seabed. Melting ice and glaciers is opening up access to vast mineral, oil, and gas deposits with Canada now building an Arctic port and fleet of ice-breaking ships: ""The Northwest Passage over northern Canada connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean will save 5000 nautical miles for shipping between Europe and Asia, and we need the U.S.Navy to secure our rights in the Arctic!" Canadian Prime Minister informed President Bush in Quebec. "America has not signed the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention and is at a disadvantage!" warned legal expert Professor John Moore of Virginia."Meanwhile China and Russia are claiming huge undersea mineral deposits." "This is a race to the bottom of the sea by giant mineral extraction corporations. Down there is gold, manganese, cobalt, and zinc as well as hyd-rate fossil deposits double the known reserves of present fossile global reserves!" an expert from the U.S. Geological Survey Project told me. "There are even diamonds to be extracted.! "Perhaps the Panama Canal will become a tourist attraction!" a Panamanian official joked with me. But a grim British official feared that climate change might shift the Gulf Stream which heats the United Kingdom and freeze that nation. Should we laugh or cry, I wondered.

Swine

"Mother Russia is threatened by NATO missiles which surround her and Vladimir Putin is responding to deliberate American provocations!" declared leftist Anatol Lieven in the rightist American Conservative Magazine.

"False!" responds Wall Street editor Bret Stephens: "America is not provoking a new Cold War with evil President Putin who is a Mussolin fascist poisoning his enemies!"

"Swine!" declares President Putin against the enemies of Russia, "The West acts like the Nazi Third Reich led by Hitler imitators, but I am willing to make peace!"

Otherwise all is well in the world as I headed for Disney Land.

"America and England are no longer Siamese twins joined at the hip!"

declared Mark Malloch Brown, the former Deputy Secretary-General at the United Nations. Now serving in the British Foreign Office he was referring to the "joined" relationship between Tony Blair and George W Bush. Not to be confused with Prime Minister Gordon Brown who is furious at Malloch,British Foreign Secretary David Miliband declared, "I do the talking on such matters as well as my boss Gordon!" Britain right now faces domestic turmoil and is at odds with the Russian Federation some of whose diplomats were expelled. "Timing is an essential ingredient in the world of diplomacy!" ousted Tony Blair reflected on his pathway to Damascus to formulated a comprehensive peace on behalf of The Quartet - EU/UN/USA/RF. But already his role has been reduced by the Russians who see him as a junior member of the Bush team. "Peace will come when everyone gets a piece of the pie!" Blair mused. And so it goes.

"Lobster Summit"

At the "Lobster Summit" between George Bush and Vladimir Putin the Maine Menu side-dish in Kennebunkport was Coney Island Hotdogs "They look like baloney-loaded missiles pointed at my face!" Putin said to Bush "No! No!" said Bush "They are covered with spicy Iranian mustard and you can't taste the baloney!" At that moment, future co-President Bill Clinton telephoned from the Crimea. "Look Vlad! The 'son of star wars' missile system which George thinks he's installing in Poland I inititiated during my Administration. So relax!" Putin did not relax and sabers subsequently rattled in Russia. Elsewhere, at a Session of the floating Trans-Mediterranean Parliment (TMP) a Spanish diplomat from Barcelona exclaimed, " Arab and European expertise is a winning combination! The TMP will intergrate North Africa into the European Union." And in Ghana: "We want a United States of Africa now!" shouted Colonel Khadady of Libya. "Not now! Later!" shouted a majority of the 'gradualist' African Union delegates. Back in New York I kissed the ground.