George Handlery on the week that was.
Our age is a mosaic. Its bits are easily missed as we tend to focus on the whole. This column presents some overlooked details that deserve attention.
1. Kosovo has declared the independence she has de facto enjoyed for years. Contrary to the belief of some, this is not a victory for Islamism. Widely recognized independence supports moderate Islam. Re-subjugating abused Kosovo to Serbia would have radicalized its Albanian majority that also happens to be Moslem.
2. The majority of Kosovo received self-determination at the expense of Serbia's territorial integrity. If this is principled action — as it is said to be – then the province Serbian North should be allowed to join adjacent Serbia. The same goes for Serb-inhabited Bosnia. Moral and practical consistency, if applied impartially, rises above politics and furthers the cause of stability and peace.
3. The spokesmen of Slovakia's and Romania's large indigenous Hungarian minority protest the analogies made there between Kosovo's independence and their demand for cultural autonomy and local self-government.
4. Meanwhile (2/28) Slovakia‘s Foreign Minister announced that his government rejected demands for autonomy no matter where it is requested. Apparently it does not bother him that this contradicts the practice of the original EU countries.
5. Erdogan (Turkey‘s Premier) visited Germany. There he took umbrage at the attempt of schools to teach in the language of that land's inhabitants. This suggests that the maintenance of the Turkish identity of pupils who are German citizens or immigrants is a responsibility of the host government. An odd position, especially if one considers Turkey's policy with respect to her native Kurds.
6. Erdogan demands EU membership for Turkey. Inconsistencies such as above raise the question of whether a lager EU is also a stronger EU. Furthermore, a consistent answer is needed to tell whether economic and political development is to be followed by membership or whether membership is to be followed by the required development.
7. Europe, whether represented by the EU or by NATO, more problems than its difficulty selecting new members. Old members are also a cause of consternation. Germany has trouble determining whether it is to put 3,500 or 4,500 boots on the ground in Afghanistan. Should the soldiers that defend the West there do so in regions where the Taliban might shoot at them? 86% do not want the military to engage in combat. 55% wish to withdraw from the mission. This is common sense as it acknowledges that firing candy-bars at the Jihadists might not quite dissuade them.
8. Denmark is again hurting the sensitivities of (radical) Moslems. Let us assume this is avoided in the case of spoofs such as the Muhammad caricatures. In this case, are physics and geography texts to be re-written so as to accommodate those who, on the basis of the Koran, argue that the earth is flat and that the sun circles the earth? Before doing so let us agree regarding the limits of concessions to odd views.
9. From time-to-time some of the youth in certain countries riots. Essentially they demand respect for the ways of their parent's home country. This is preferably expressed by more transfer payments and loosely applied laws. In doing so, as little respect is given to the host country's traditions as is the appreciation limited for the protection and (the often unused) opportunities they enjoy.
10. Germany uses illegally obtained evidence, purchased from a convicted supplier, to clamp down on people who avoided punitive taxes in Liechtenstein. Now Germany is sharing the data for free with countries ranging from Britain through Sweden to the USA. Some blame German taxes for tax avoidance. The black economy's share of her GDP is above 15%. This means that, those who can, do cheat.
11. More numbers. We all pay taxes and are grateful if our state (occasionally) reduces its take of our money. In Germany the top 0.1% generates 10% of the tax revenue. The top 1% delivers 23% of the total. Meanwhile the top 10% forks out 55% of the state's take. Unimpressed, the Left still talks about parasites.
12. More about cheating. In same places it is made easy to cheat not on taxes but on welfare. Take the leftist Ms. Stocker's doings. She was until her recent resignation in charge of the Social Services of Zürich. (Probably the per capita richest major city in terms of earned wealth.) For distributing handouts she instructed her underlings that "nobody in this country should be forced to work." When the resulting abuses resulted in the inevitable scandals, she developed the health problems that made her resign. She is now finding bliss by taking ethics courses at the University.
13. Admittedly the implied analogy limps a bit. The tax refugees in Liechtenstein tried to cheat to avoid what they felt were confiscatory taxes used to finance non-essentials. Ms. Stocker tried to cover up the cheating made possible through the negligent disbursement of funds created by taxpayers. There is a connection between these cases. To spend more on voting clients, the paying chicken must be ruthlessly plucked.
14. All this might make you ponder the question: "Do supposedly good values — as claimed by their advocates – justify procedures known to be erroneous?"
15. From a letter by the manager of a housing complex. He expressed his astonishment to the welfare bureau that an inhabitant whose bill it paid is always driving the newest Mercedes cars. He was told to mind his own business.
16. Remember this as you observe others preparing to vote. At first there is approval because someone grabbed the lonely crowd by its emotions. It will find out about the inevitable consequences of diffuse promises only after the balloting. That will make the sobered to turn against what they had approved. Too late is too bad.
17. 2/22. The International Atomic Energy Agency gave Iran a clean bill of health. Except for one area: the working on nukes. The data on its doings is rejected by Tehran as "irrelevant." This is akin of saying, "I am an honest person and my only fault is that I lie."
18. Reacting to one of the many books lamenting globalization. It describes the market and the laws of supply and demand as producing poverty and inequality. While poverty and inequality are as far removed from each other as are economic equality and justice, you might want to conduct a quick practical test. Consider the development of your family's living standards and the economic rise of hundreds of millions in Asia. In some parlances "inequality" is only a coded way to say "differences." Inequality is only unjust if prevails regardless of measurably equal contribution to society.
19. Radicalization occurring when passing from the traditional social order to the open society surprises some. Improving chances to a better life are expected to cause contentment. Here a simple explanation of the contradiction taken from a wide palate. In the traditional society your possibilities were restricted by limitations known to all. While you could not succeed, you could hardly fail either. In an open society and its corresponding economic order, you can fail when your achievement is compared to that of others. The resulting frustration and fear from failure radicalizes those that are made insecure by the promise of unlimited opportunities. Persons, social groups and countries that successfully exploitat these new opportunities will be resented and proclaimed to be the enemy.
handlery@sunrise.ch
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