Basil Venitis from Athens, Greece, brings our readers a unique writing style filled with colourful rhetoric enriched with alliterations, metaphors, heightened imagery, and emotional effect! An accomplished libertarian orator and keynote speaker for many associations, colleges, industry groups, companies, political groups, lobbyists, and professional congresses; Basil enables his audiences to truly learn, and provides them with fascinating, provocative insights and analysis, by getting to the heart of the matter. He is extensively involved in policy issues and the Global Tax Revolt, and is often a part of the process, working to shape and direct critical components of libertarian issues. You can visit his Blog athttp://venitism.blogspot.ca/or email him at
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The best economic years of Greece happened during the Papadopoulos-Pattakos dictatorship. That's why many Greeks miss dictatorship! But Hondurans hate their present dictatorship. Not a day has passed since the start of the year in Honduras without a blogger, journalist, local media owner or social commentator receiving a phone call to say his or her life is in danger.
The freakish governments of Honduras and Greece use charge stacking to persecute dissident bloggers. Charge stacking is the ability to charge a large number of overlapping crimes for a single course of conduct. Combining crimes enables prosecutors to get convictions in cases where there is no misconduct at all.
By stacking enough charges, including treason, Greek prosecutors jack up the threat value of a trial against a dissident blogger, even if the government's case is very weak. Charge stacking is terror. The disgusting governments of Honduras and Greece cannot terrorize the people.
Offshore oil bewilders China. Japan and China have locked horns over islands in the East China Sea, and Vietnam, Philippines, and other nations have challenged China over claims to islands of the South China Sea.
China shares its land border with 14 countries; it used to make sense that a country in such a position maintains strong conventional forces. But in this nuclear age, it does not really make sense that China continues to build up its military at such a pace.
China's real total military outlays in 2012 are $250 billion, which makes it the world's second-biggest defense spender after the United States. There's no doubt China's new hardware has important symbolic value and important coercive value. The American navy has to think twice now before getting too close to China's shores!
China is the world's second largest economy after Uncle Sam. It is the world's fastest-growing major economy, with average growth rates of 10% for the past 30 years. China is also the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods in the world. China became the world's top manufacturer in 2011, surpassing USA.
Myriad Turks joined the demonstrations in Istanbul by the Freedom for Journalists platform, the Friends of Ahmet and Nedim and the Friends of Mustafa Balbay and Tuncay Ozkan to press for the release of all imprisoned journalists.
Many Balkan and Middle-East countries kowtow to Turkey. Even Greece offered my head on plate to Erdogan, because Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, wrongfully thought it could make him happy! Needless to say, Erdogan was offended by this stupid gesture. Nevertheless, it has destroyed my life. My live was stolen. Now I demand my life back!
Reporters Without Borders reiterates its call for the immediate release of investigative journalists Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener, who have completed their first year in detention, and the immediate release of the Oda TV news website's journalists, who have been held for just over a year on a similar terrorism charge.
Turkey's Article 301 outlaws insulting Turkishness. The law is used against Kurds and Armenians, because in the Kemalist vision that shaped the country, there are no Kurds or Armenians. There are only Turks, united in a single vision and a single story.
Tuesday, 28 February 2012 00:00
GFP Columnist - Basil Venitis
Life is a game with winners and losers. Any loser must have the right to get out of the game, to cut his losses short. Any person must have the right to die peacefully, and under circumstances of his own choosing. The State should not stop his exit to the other side. His body belongs to himself, not to the State.
Venitis Law of Self-ownership: You own your body and your soul, and nobody should dictate what you take in and what you take out. Speech, education, heresy, habeas corpus, military service, mating, healthcare, abortion, cloning, drugs, guns, and euthanasia should be personal choices.
Medical advances have created longer lives and sometimes, ironically, longer and more torturous deaths. The World Federation of Right to Die Societies is aware of the increasing concern to many individuals over their right to die with dignity. Believing in the rights and freedom of all persons, they affirm this right to die with dignity, meaning in peace and without suffering.
All competent adults - regardless of their nationalities, professions, religious beliefs, and ethical and political views - who are suffering unbearably from incurable illnesses, should have the possibility of various choices at the end of their life. Death is unavoidable. We strongly believe that the manner and time of dying should be left to the decision of the individual. The voluntarily expressed will of individuals, once they are fully informed of their diagnosis, prognosis and available means of relief, should be respected by all concerned as an expression of intrinsic human rights.
Tuesday, 14 February 2012 00:00
GFP Columnist - Basil Venitis
For the first time in history, there are huge changes going on simultaneously in every part of the world, and these changes are not of the same nature. In Europe, where the state system originated, the state is losing its significance, and they're trying to form a larger unit. In the Middle East, the states never took hold in the same manner, and there is a religious overtone to the contest. In Asia the states have a character more similar to what the European states used to have.
Dmitry Medvedev asserts Putinlandian diplomats must not be deterred by the fact that comments in social networks sometimes lack depth or amount to an endless stream of expletives and sometimes contain insults. Putinlandian diplomats must firmly pursue Putinlandian policy, just as their colleagues do in other countries. It is crucial to keep up with the times.
Karl-Theodor Guttenberg, Internet Czar of Fourth Reich, is pushed by Neelie Kroes to cooperate with Hillary Clinton to use the social media of internet for Occidental propaganda to incite people to overthrow their anti-occidental governments, mission impossible.