Edi Rama, the Albanian Prime Minister needs coaching on public statements.

On Januray the 15th, 2026 the current Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, was being interviewed by a Greek-American journalist in Abu Dhabi, during the Sustainable Development Summit. What followed was an episode which highlights how context, humor, and selective media framing can quickly escalate into diplomatic tension.

Speaking directly to the moderator, Rama remarked that Greeks tend to "underestimate others" because they believe they hold a "monopoly on philosophy" and view themselves as the "direct heirs of Plato and Aristotle—but you are not." The exchange escalated when the moderator mentioned a €1 billion investment project in Albania. Rama interjected, correcting that the figure was actually "over €1 billion," then added another jab: "You estimate like Greeks do. When you talk about your own money, you add three zeroes. When you talk about the money of others, you remove three zeroes. That’s what you do." He wrapped up the comment with sarcasm, noting that this approach is "why the European Union loves you so much."

Naturally the Greek media and social media went on fire. However, following the backlash over his remarks about the Greeks , Albania’s PM Edi Rama clarified that his comments were intended as humor, expressing surprise at the scale of the controversy. He pushed back against Greek media outlets, accusing them of a “public attack fueled by nationalist passion.” He insisted his comments were “steeped in friendly humor” and taken out of context. To reassure his critics, Rama added, “I have not the slightest doubt that Plato and Aristotle are Greek philosophers and that Ancient Greece is the cradle of European civilization.” However, he ended with a sharp retort, stating that, while he respects Greek culture and the Prime Minister, he refuses to accept that those attacking him with “nationalist fervor” are the rightful descendants of such great philosophers.

In an interview with the Greek television station Alpha, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis adopted a calm and pragmatic approach. He stated:“I have known Mr. Rama for many years. He has a particular way of expressing himself and sometimes things slip out that he should not say. This time he said something inappropriate and understood his mistake. I take into account the correction he made, and it is better to leave the issue behind us.”

Personally I think that both Mr Rama and Albania as a country, behave like individuals with inferiority complexes; yet they should not really! The "jokes" were made by the Albanian PM towards a Greek-American journalist if I may add, an American with Greek ancestry, who may not be really aware of what is going on latelly in Albania.

His Greek ancestry is not an invitation or an excuse to make jokes about Greece as a country, especially when they are unprovoked. Nothing that the journalist asked, invited the "humour" of Mr Rama. And to make matters worse, the Albanian PM in his "clarification" stated that he has no doubt that Plato and Aristotle were Greek, yet he did not exactly disputed that in his comments towards the journalist, rather that the modern Greek population has anything to do with them. Something that he expressed again when he complained about the backclash he caused, by refusing to accept that those attacking him with “nationalist fervor” are the rightful descendants of such great philosophers.

One can sense the complex and envy in his words, like for example the "joke" on why the E.U loves Greece so much, when Greeks in general and as a nation, estimate like the way we do. When we talk about our own money, we add three zeroes. When we talk about the money of others, we remove three zeroes.

Stereotypes in general are not a good thing. Mr Rama should remember the famous film "Taken", and how the villains in this movie were an Albanian mafia, trafficking girls across Europe for sexual exploitation. It is not any of us Greeks that are to be blamed for this indeed very unfair portrayal and sterotype that the Albanian people must carry. Our Balkan neighbors must do some soul searching to figure out why and how this came to be, plus find ways to undo this bad image that exists for them across Europe and the rest of the world. But this won't happen by attacking the Greek people and their history, but by proving to the rest of Europe what does Albania has to offer as a nation; and it has-a lot.

Clearly the Greek side over-reacted and unleashed scathing attacks against Rama and the Albanian people in general, which serve as nothing more rather than releasing internal anger and frustration, and as Mr Rama said a misplaced "nationalist passion". However I understand where this comes from and why my compatriots reacted in such way.

We too had to deal with unfair and misplaced stereotypes in Europe, for over a decade now since the Eurozone economic crisis. The Greeks had also to suffer humiliation, economic suffering and injustice to this day, and that made us oversensitive to any such comments and jokes like that of Mr Rama.

In addition, there are numerous social media accounts from our neighboring countries like Albania, Turkey and North Macedonia, spreading false claims, irredentism and propaganda about Greek history, borders, nationality, ethnic identity and the very "jokes" that Mr Rama made; that Greeks are not descended from our ancient ancestors. All of which are false and it has been proven that Greeks are indeed related to their famous forefathers, although understandably not exclusively. You see nationalism and its "passion" goes both ways and is not confined only within the Greek borders. Our Balkan neighbors also suffer a great deal from it.

Now, nobody I know of Greek origin, wakes up in the morning, looks himself in the mirror and boasts about his ancient heritage. We got lots of other problems to solve in our everyday lives, plus as a modern nation. But when it comes to a continuous belittlement, disputes that become toxic, humiliation by our EU partners, scorn by Western media etc, then yes we will answer back just like Mr Rama did when he found himself in hot waters after his comments, and his compatriots that rallied to support him on social media.

Greece was among the first countries, together with Italy, which opened its borders and welcomed thousands of Albanian immigrants when their country was faced with the collapse of communism, gave them work and helped them to rebuilt their lives. I worked with many of them in my youth and my experiences were largely positive. Additionally, those immigrants contributed hugely in the Greek society and economy, something that is undisputed to this day. Not that there were no problems in this new reality that both countries found themselves in.

Greek media fanned the Greek "nationalistic passion," just like today and in every country, by blaming all crimes on "foreign born" criminals. As if suddenly the Greek ones disappeared and migrants from Romania, Albania and Georgia took their place. However, Albanian criminal gangs did indeed commit lots of crimes back then, that is something that cannot be disputed; just the notion that every immigrant in Greece, especially from Albania, was enganging in such activities.

Our two nations have long history of living and working together, sometimes fighting each other or finding themselves on opposing sides. But that is true for all European nations. The difference is, that once in the EU- whose role was originally conceived as to abolish all wars and animosity among the European nations, such sentiments should fade away. A member of the block cannot engage in such demeanor towards another EU member state; especially its Prime Minister who speaks and represents the nation diplomatically abroad, and is not some internet Albanian troll with a fake account on social media, that scorns the Greek people and history in such manner.

That is why many Greeks like myself, see very favorably Albania's EU accession, when the rest of Europe is ready to take them in. It is not Greece that is sceptical about Albania's EU aspirations, rather the rest of the continent which suffers from expansion fatigue, plus each individual member state is faced with their own economic woes lately. You see Mr Rama, the EU does not "love us" more than they love Albania, rather we were only lucky to get in the club, before thigs started to feel sour in EU on expansion.

Where in EU's recent treatment of Greece you whitnessed that European leaders and media are being favorable towards us to have so much envy and an underlined complex towards our country, that in any opportunity which arises, you make "jokes" towards an American citizen of Greek ancestry? Which begs the question then, why you spoke so favorably for Italy and its Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, to whom you even kneeled to welcome her in a recent summit in Tirana? Are the Italians true descendants of the Romans, or has Italy done more than Greece to help fleeing Albanian citizens back in the '90s, or maybe their treatment of Albanian refugees was better than how we treated those who crossed into our country en masse?

Perhaps Italy is more vocal and supportive towards the Albanian EU accession than Greece? No matter what the reasons are, such comments do not do any favors to Albania as a country, the Greek-Albanian relations that should be as close as those you got with Italy, or any EU aspirations that your country may have. It is not proper or suitable for a Prime Minister of a country to make unfortunate "jokes" towards an allied nation in NATO, hopefully an EU partner, just because and American journalist that had a Greek surname, asked you a few wrong questions. Albania deserves better than that.

Will the rift among the Western alliance be fixed, but most importantly, should it?

I have always been a pro-European and believed wholeheartedly that Europe should one day distance itself from USA, forging new trade agreements and alliances with all emerging economies and new "powers" of this world. It is in its own best interests, that our continent should be preparing for the inevitable; a multi-polar world.

However, the way I envisioned that happening was that one day, a gifted and visionary group of European leaders would arise and see that Europe cannot forever remain a follower, a sidekick of US interests. That it would be us that would break our dependency on US "protection" and weaning ourselves off their money, military support and influence.

Well, clearly as we have seen since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine, Europe lacks good leadership and it is increasingly descending into irrelevence and economic decline. To my surprise, it was in fact America under Donald Trump, that created the greatest rift among the traditional alliance between USA and Europe, plus even Canada. We can say that he gave us a "good kick up the backside" as we say in Ireland.

For the past month, US President Trump was insisting on a most absurd idea, that Greenland should become a US territory... Greenland; an autonomous territory of Denmark, a fellow NATO country and an ally of USA. An ally demanding from an allied nation to cede some of its territory, because of US "national security" reasons, or most correctly the whims of an increasingly mentally unstable US President"

That of course would not be the first time that something like that happened in the NATO "alliance", as Turkey's President Erdogan was threatening Greece for years on Twitter (now X platform), with a bombing of Athens or annexation of Greek islands in typical Trump way, plus the two countries have been in dispute over the Aegean for ages, as Erdogan pushes for Turkey’s ‘Blue Homeland’ doctrine. A Turkish "wet-dream" literally, that sees Greece for whatever reason, accepting to cede some of its Greek islands to Turkey. What did the rest of Europe and America do to support Greece? Nothing basically, they just sat there asking for the two countries to "work things out," for now... Until the next time Erdogan wakes up on the wrong side of his bed.

Protests broke up in Denmand and Greenland, to oppose to Trump's annexation plan for the Danish territory while the EU was faced with yet another tariff threating tirade from Trump. Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Finland, fellow NATO members that have expressed solidarity with Denmark in its refusal to yield to Mr. Trump’s demands, would be subject to 10 percent tariff. "If those nations do not relent", Donald Trump added, the rate will increase to 25 percent on June 1, “until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”

In an effort to show support for Denmark and send a message to Trump, a number of European countries decided to send troops to Greenland, in a most bizarre development in NATO history, when we saw alliance members ganging up to protect a territory from another. Somehow I felt justified, when for years I was supporting the view that while Europe is so keen to fend off Russia in the East, it totally made itself vulnerable and exposed at it's own back. We should not be as dependent on USA anymore, simply because as we see in their recent behaviour, they are a country that is going through its own soul searching and internal struggles, which consequently will only use Europe in order to solve them and maintain its grip on our continent and the rest of the world. Somehow "I told you so," never felt so good.

On the other hand, Greenlanders and the Danes, should be a bit more grateful and happy, that they at least got the 15 German soldiers among others from Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK. This is far more than Greece ever got from its "allies" to showcase their support against Erdogan. Now what would this mini force do against America, if it decided to invade Greenland and take the island by force, is another question. Possibly the move was only symbolic. Besides, Germany withdrew its military after just two days, in an effort to explore the conditions for possible military contributions to support Denmark in ensuring security in the region.

And all that chaos and fiasco, just because Trump wanted Greenland for its natural resources, which include rare earth minerals, uranium and iron, plus also potential significant oil and gas reserves.Trump has focused on such resources elsewhere - including in his dealings with Ukraine - but denies they are behind his desire for Greenland. However he has repeatedly described the threat he perceives from Russia and China in the region (excuse me, what?). In one Truth Social post, he wrote: "Nato has been telling Denmark, for 20 years, that 'you have to get the Russian threat away from Greenland.' Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now it is time, and it will be done!!!"

That ridiculous claim, that America "needs" Greenland for national security and to prevent Russia and China from taking it, was echoed by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, obviously in an efford to appease Trump and find common ground to solve this impasse among the NATO alliance. However it does not make it any less nonsensical. Greenland is a Danish territory, a country which is in NATO. If for whatever reason China (??) or Russia- which NATO leaders mock that it cannot even take Ukraine after 4 years of war, attempted to invade and take over it is clear that they would have to deal with NATO. If they tried to take over by trade agreements, they would after all have to come to an accord with Denmark too, as although autonomous, Greenland is heavily relying on Denmark and is heavily subsidised by it, to support its economy.

Besides, America has already operated Pituffik Space Base - formerly known as Thule Air Base - since World War Two. The base currently monitors for missiles. They could just secretly and quietly seek to settle another base there or enhance what they already have, in agreement with Denmark and Greenland if they worried so much about NATO security, instead of staging all this parody which made NATO look ridiculous and an utter joke to the world stage. As Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned, a U.S. invasion of Greenland would spell the end of NATO. And it really should, if this happens again.

As of today, Monday the 26th of January 2026, Trump eased off Greenland threats. After negotiations among NATO leaders last week in the Swiss town of Davos and the World Economic Forum, it has been speculated from sources that the US stationing agreement for Greenland is to be reworked and take into account the planned US "Golden Dome" missile defense system that Trump wants to build. The USA should also have a say in investment projects from other countries in Greenland, plus there are also plans to increase the involvement of European NATO states in the Arctic region.

In other words, USA pushes for its own agenda and muzzles in on who will be doing business with who in Europe, just like they did many times before. Their economy is in trouble, their empire needs to expand in order to survive, thus Greenland, Venezuela, Iran are happening now. They want to install more missiles abroad no matter the consequences for others, and then both USA and its "colony" of Europe will cry foul if Russia and China do the same to countries they see as important to them. When will Europe refuse to be manipulated and controlled in such way by USA? Just because our leaders are used to this status since WW2, in which America is the protector and "big daddy" of our continent and we are afraid to invest in our own defense, (who will attack Europe by the way, Russia which "can't take Ukraine after 4 years of war", or perhaps America which also acts as our protector?) and finally map our own destiny to become independent from everyone.

And this reluctance is so ingrained in the European political elites, that the current NATO Chief Mark Rutte today made a statement in the European Parliament of all places, that Europe cannot defend itself without the United States. "If anyone thinks here again, that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US -- keep on dreaming. You can't," he shamelessly declared, and he went on to describe that EU countries would have to double defence spending from the five percent NATO target agreed last year to 10 percent and spend "billions and billions" on building nuclear arms.

Such a brown-tongue approach, so submissive and with lack of vision and honesty explains clearly why Europe will always be an underdog to the US. We do not need to invest to build nuclear arms to stand on our own accord Mr Teflon-Mark, just coordinate and develop what we already got. France has already nuclear weapons. Europe can never have its own foreign policy, or any other independent policy for that matter, if it keeps relying on USA for its defense. But Mr Rutte is yet another failed and scandal ridden European politician, that after boot-licking America and other European institutions controlled by them, found a new job that is designed to keep Europe under the influence of America for ever.

It is a case that the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said it best in Davos. He described of a rupture in the world order, the end of a pleasant fiction and the beginning of a harsh reality, where geopolitics, where the large, main power, geopolitics, is submitted to no limits, no constraints. On the other hand, other countries, especially intermediate powers like Canada, are not powerless. They have the capacity to build a new order that encompasses their values, such as respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the various states. The power of the less power starts with honesty.

For decades, countries like Canada (and cleary most of Europe) prospered under what we called the rules-based international order. We joined its institutions, we praised its principles, we benefited from its predictability. And because of that, we could pursue values-based foreign policies under its protection.We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. And we knew that international law applied with varying rigour depending on the identity of the accused or the victim.

This fiction was useful, and American hegemony, in particular, helped provide public goods, open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security and support for frameworks for resolving disputes. So, we placed the sign in the window. We participated in the rituals, and we largely avoided calling out the gaps between rhetoric and reality. This bargain no longer works. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.

Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme global integration. But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons, tariffs as leverage, financial infrastructure as coercion, supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited. You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration, when integration becomes the source of your subordination.

This is the first time the truth is being said by a Western politician and leader, so openly and clearly. Sadly, these words do not come from the mouth of a European, all of them who still opt to boot lick America in a desperate effort to maintain the dying status-quo. It is a shameful and disappointing observation, surely painful to admit. But it is a promising one, since a country like Canada decided to call things by their name. This fiasco is an opportunity for Europe to wake up and take action, but by the looks of it, they will fail once again.

Who is going to stand up and save the world from US entitlement?

Something outrageous and unthinable happened at the dawn of 2026. U.S. striked Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro, in a swift operation that took place without the approval of the UN, or the US Congress itself. It is illegal by international and US law, yet somehow the world is just watching and tolerating yet another US illegal takeover and bullying of another country.

US President Donald Trump even blatantly stated that "we're going to run the country" for now", after Maduro's removal, or shall I say literal kidnapping from Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. The move comes as after months of tensions between the two countries and attacks on boats by the US, accused of carrying drugs from the South American country, something that was never officially proven. President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela said the U.S. military operations were a thinly veiled effort to oust him from power.

Maduro was open to talks with the US on drug trafficking allegations, just two days before America invaded Venezuela and kidnapped its president. But as usually, the self righteous Americans did what they do best; ignored international law, the UN, the sovereignty of another nation, and they "yeehawed" into Venezuela to establish their will, dominance and own economic interests.

The relationship between the two nations was always complicated, since former Vnezuelan President Hugo Chávez took office as president of Venezuela. Chávez declared himself socialist and "anti-imperialist", in reference to being against the government of the United States. Tensions between the countries increased further after Venezuela accused the administration of George W. Bush of supporting the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt against Chávez. Accusations which they later withdrew.

The reason for all the above of course, is one; oil! Americans want it desperately and they will stop at nothing in controlling as much of it as they can, no matter where it comes from. But ever since Venezuela nationalized it's oil reserves, America found an excuse to meddle in their country. Especially after Hugo Chávez officially took office in February 1999, several policy changes involving the country's oil industry were made to explicitly tie it to the state under the Bolivarian Revolution. That meant that nationalizing heavy oil projects in the Orinoco Petroleum Belt which formerly operated by international oil companies ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, obviously caused unwanted ripples in the oil market, in which USA relies so much.

Not that Chavez or Maduro are examples of good leadership or democracy, as they both mismanaged their country's resources, they installed people close to them in key positions in their country's oil industry and corruption was widespread. However that does not give USA the right to "fix" other nations, without the approval of the UN. But when it was actually the last time that America played by the rules that they themselves call upon when their adversaries like China or Russia, do something wrong? Was it during the Iraq war that they blatantly lied about the alleged "weapons of mass distruction", that existed in Iraq and threatened US national security?

Many Venezuelans are celebrating outside their country the fall of Maduro, since the country's economy was in a bad shape for years. Partially because of corruption and their leaders' mismanagement, but do not forget the barrage of US blockades, sanctions since 2006 and oil embargo since 2019. This is a very well known policy of US, that somehow wherever there is oil, some dictator or "regime" is in power which the heroic, always benevolent Americans see fit to oust, replace and liberate the country by installing a new regime that is friendly to their own interests.

They break the country's economy with sanctions, so that the people suffer and they eventually become keen for a government change. In addition they fund the opposition, or they simply appoint and recognize them, or award them with a Nobel Peace Prize. My enemy's enemy is my best friend, right? Then all they have to do is stirr unrest and tighten the economic sanctions, until the citizens come to a breaking point, and there the Westerners get their legitimacy for intervention.

Something like this is also happening to Iran now, and it actually happened before in the same country many times over. The US helped oust Iran’s government in 1953 and reinstate the Shah, which in turn brought as result the Islamic Revolution, since the Shah was very unpopular after a few years in power. We all know the outcome of this to this day. But even now, Iran hasn't escaped US intervention, as Iran's currency depreciation 'brought about by US sanctions' and government 'mismanagement'. An economic mismanagement of course, according always of course to Western media.

The people of Iran are suffering and just like Venezuelans, feel the need to a "change". They are currently protesting in their country and it is not a coincidence that all this is happening at the same time with the events in Venezuela. The US President Donald Trump has already threatened the Iranians, that he is ‘locked and loaded’ to back demonstrations, again just like all the benevolent and freedom fighting US governments have done in the past, meddling in another country's affairs and offer solutions to an internal struggle that they helped to be created.

Little do both the Venezuelans and the Iranians currently know or remember in their desperation now to overthrow the current "regime", is what happens once their country is "saved by the God blessed America". Just take a look at Libya, where people there were so keen to get rid off Gaddafi in the past, that they also celebrated his downfall. Fourteen years later and Libya is in a worse state, a "fractured state" and a failed one by all means.

That will be the future of Venezuela too. A civil war may occur between those loyal to Maduro and the current establishment and those supporting change. The US will no doubt establish a friendly to them regime in the country (as Trump already declared), that will make it easier for them to rob Venezuela of its own oil. With the tolerance of the rest of us, and shamefully the collaboration of Europe.

So our continent tolerates all this, setting an example for anyone that wishes to annex a country, rob of its resources or proceed to a regime change, just to go ahead and act on it. I wonder what the European leaders will do, if Russia does the same to Ukraine's President Zelensky. Or if Trump, now unbothered by anyone, just goes and annexes Greenland as he already stated and expressed his interest of accomplishing. What if China copies US example and takes over Taiwan in the same way? Where do we draw the line, plus a most pressing matter; what will happen with Trump's Nobel Peace Prize aspirations now? Clearly he is not qualified for it under the circumstances.

Joking aside, how can we as European have the nerve to lecture or sanction Russia or China to abide by international law, when America can so blatantly go and piss on it so arrogantly and provokatively, and all that the European leaders can say is that they are "supporting the Venezuelan people". Which ones exactly, only the ones who oppose Maduro, or the country as whole which was humilated in the globe by having its own leader dragged away by another government, which is going to judge and trial him according to their own laws?

Will there ever be sanctions against America, somebody to finally stop them from taking it upon themselves to bring their own solutions to problems they partially created with their foreign policy? America is obviously desperate for resources now, as is Europe after financing the war in Ukraine for years, thus Venezuela will pay the price.

So far, no mention of the damage done or the number of victims that this "operation" by the US have had in Venezuela by our own Western media. Just celebrations and "concerns", support for the future- no matter what that means for the stability of the country or the region as a whole and Latin America as a continent. The world passively watches yet another US war crime, and tolerates it. I think it is about time that the rest of the world ganged up against the US and copied a page out of their own book; kidnap their President and trial him, saving the American people from the lunacy of their leaders.

Swedish "mafia", redefines corruption and the migration crisis in Europe.

Recently I came across and artice in EU Observer : "From welfare to 'Wild West': The man who profited from Sweden’s refugee crisis", which is part of a series of investigations conducted by Dutch investigative collective Spit and Italian publication Altreconomia into Europe's privatised migration market across six countries: Italy, Albania, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the UK.

In this story, we learn how a former member of the progressive left in Sweden turned the 2015 refugee crisis into a lucrative business, exploiting not only the people who had fled wars and persecution with housing in Sweden, but also his own country and affecting Europe as a whole to an extend. The business exploits of Jan Emanuel, a former socialist member of the Swedish parliament, have led to a soul-searching of a welfare state that gives an outward image of offering everyone high-quality publicly funded services in the Scandinavian nation.

Sweden in the 2000s had already outsourced most of its welfare sector to private companies (wait, what?). And Emanuel's case, a reality TV star turned new-public-management capitalist, demonstrates an even deeper pivot towards the capitalisation of public services. At one point, he became Sweden's most expensive refugee contractor, billing the state €10,000 per month per child: €2,100 for the family where the child was staying.

As Sweden grappled with some ten thousand people arriving every week during the fall of 2015, the opportunities to outsource the public services to the private sector exploded. It was an unprecedented influx for a state that, up until then, had the capacity to take in only 2,500 per week.The total number of refugees reaching Sweden in 2015 was 162,877, of which 70,000 were minors. Half of the minors came alone.While Germany had received the highest number of refugees in Europe in 2015, Sweden received the most per capita.

The article continues to describe how Emanuel set up his first "business"- HVB-homes: care homes for homeless and runaway youth.Youth care is the part of the welfare sector where privatisation has penetrated deepest, with 90 percent of HVB-homes being run by private contractors.His homes were soon criticised for understaffing. One of them promised 24 hour-staffing, but in reality, the nighttime staff was Jan Emanuel himself, who dropped by once in a while.

But it all went wrong in the end, as at his care home outside Uppsala, where unaccompanied minor refugees were housed, crimes were reportedly rampant. Meanwhile, Emanuel became part of former Social Democrat PM Göran Persson's circle, which was awash with men wanting to make a quick buck, many of them securing a well-paid job in banking or lobbyism after leaving politics. One of them was Per Nuder, often referred to as ”Sweden's most well-paid lobbyist,” who helped Jan Emanuel sell his HVB company for €2.2m, whereof Nuder's own share was €1.2m.

And this criminal activity spread throughout Sweden and across Europe as well. A total of 278 new companies specialising in the care of unaccompanied minors were founded just in the fall of 2015. About 14 percent have registered criminals on the executive board, while some have ties to organised crime, such as the motorcycle mafia Bandidos.

This revealing article, should be making headlines across Europe, however our media focus on the war in Ukraine and other issues, to turn our attention away from the crimes committed by such individuals, to the detriment of all: European citizens and migrants alike. Firstly, it is very interesting that this case comes from Sweden, a country often portrayed as a model for every other European nation; low criminality and corruption, high living standards, stable economy, progressive views on social issues, including migration.

The reality is very dissimilar as it seems. If such scandals took place in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania or Italy, the European press would be quick to make them known and blame these nations for Europe's migration woes. But when it comes to Sweden, a poster child of European leftist liberalism, the story is quite different.

In addition, European media usually blame "human traffickers" of third nations in north Africa, the Middle East or Turkey for the massive influx of migrants and refugees, but never people like Emanuel, individuals with strong and good connections and part of the political fabric of each EU member state. You see if they expose these individuals, the story of the so called "refugee crisis" that Europe is facing for over a decade now, quickly becomes a money making scheme for some of the European elites and other opportunists like Emanuel, to the detriment of European tax payers, that are asked to pay the bill as always.

So how will this narrative, to maintain this multicultural model that European elites pushed for in decades hold, or the "refugees welcome" movement, when it becomes clear that it is all a hoax, a exploitative scheme and nothing more? How will our ruling elites justify their actions and policies they adopted, if articles like these expose the corruption involved?

You see, it is easier to blame Belarus or Putin for engaging in a "hybrid war" against the so called liberal free democracies of Europe, by pushing thousands of refugees into EU member states, but who is going to hold these individuals like Emanuel accountable, for the damage the do to European societies for their own profit? Who is going to deal with the mess they are creating?

And so basically Sweden is considered progressive in its policies by privatising everything, even its own welfare sector to private companies, while other countries in EU- predominantly from the South and Eastern regions, are deemed as "backwards", just because they do not follow suit. As if privatising every state company or organization, is the way forward and something that needs to be copied from everyone, if they want to achieve the high-standards of Sweden's social and economic policies.

Well, I would not think so anymore. When you pass ownership to private companies of your welfare sector, you basically give power to individuals like Emanuel to make profit, while your tax payers and citizens are asked to pay and live with the consequences. And latelly we can witness the results of such crazy policies, when Finland and Sweden boasted the highest unemployment rates in October 2025, together with Spain.

It is not "progressive" to privatize all state bodies and organizations, especially those who deal with immigration and social welfare of the state. You are technically passing all responsibility and power to private owners, who in turn can turn your country into whatever they want, according to their interests and not necessarily the interests or wishes of your citizens. I am sorry but it must be the state that is held accountable by a parliament and the in extend the voters, that should maintain all controll and accountability.

Not that in nations that do not go down this way, there is no corruption or abuse of power, but at least they are not hailed as "progressive" in a mockery of the situation and only to promote an agenda or this rampant liberalism and faux progressiveness that has gripped Europe latelly, and which our elites tried to sell to us as the new norm. In addition, the result and consequences of this madness, is quite the opposite of what one would expect.

The Sweden Democrats, is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing bloc and the second-largest party in the Riksdag. Sweden, after resisting the Far Right and populism for years, has finally gone down the road of many other European nations, by turning to nationalism for solutions.

And people like Emanuel, jump on the rightwing populist trend, after for years posing as Leftwing Liberals. He is now a frequent guest on podcasts, he declares that there are too many immigrants and if they can't adapt, they need to get out, as he poses admiringly next to controversial British-American influencer Andrew Tate in a TV show.

Consequently, thousands of immigrants are caught in a system that basically never cared for their welfare and only brought them into Europe to profit from their presence and desperation. They find themselves in a continent that increasingly turns against them, profiling them as "free loaders", "muslim cancer", "third world colonists that will turn Europe into their lands", as they are caught in a system that wants them to remain second class citizens, so it can blame them for everything in the future.

As for the European citizens, they are also lied to by their own governments and media, that the problem of migration is brought upon them by outside enemies of Europe like Putin, or corrupt human traffickers in poor countries and that we have no other option but to accept millions of migrants that we cannot integrate, do not want them to assimilate into our societies, thus resulting to the rise of the Far Right across our continent; something that can only mean trouble for the future for everyone in Europe; divisions, segregation, economic downturn, limitations of freedoms for both natives and immigrants, limitations of freedom of movement and ultimatelly everything that Europe allegedly stood for.

This is shamefull and not only for Sweden, but for all Europe as a whole since this is surely not a strictly Swedish phenomenon. As this article explores and states, this incidents also affect the Netherlands, the UK, Italy and Albania so we are talking a pan-European issue that has been kept under wraps by our media and politicians, so the European elites cannot be held accountable for the grave mistakes, corruption and sell-off of European wealth and indentity or values. It is time to expose them and realize that we are been lied upon. The enemy is not the migrants, but politicians and opportunists like Emanuel, who with their connections and money, are destroying our nations and continent and are themselves in turn supported or covered by powerfull elites, with suspicious, dangerous agendas.

Europe has become a continent of folly, corruption and dangerous delusions.

In the recent months we have seen worrying and sometimes outrageous developments taking place in Europe, regarding the war in Ukraine.

Europe refuses to accept that this war is unwinnable and insists on keep throwing billions into it, while the US under President Trump is showing signs of caution and efforts to end this conflict, perhaps to the detriment of Ukraine. European politicians deny as usual to listen to their citizens, which are now increasingly sceptical of this war's direction and outcome, plus fearful of further escalation to an generalized warfare between Europe (with or without the US) and Russia.

As always, European leaders, media and the EU leadership under Von der Leyen won't listen to anything else, but the continuation of the support and thus, the perpetuation of this conflict. One after the other, our leaders are using Russia as a boogeyman to explain to us the need of spending billions of our money for the continuation of this conflict. The NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, warned us that " Russia could attack Nato within five years", while British Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, claimed that "British families must be prepared to send their sons and daughters to war against Russia".

Yet, they were only two of Europeans that made such statements, others from across our continent also joined in to this farsical theatre, while USA is seemingly the only Western country willing to still negotiate with the Russians. However, it is dawning on Europe now, that "Europe will need to engage with Putin if US peace talks fail", as French President Emmanuel Macron admitted last week , during a press conference of a European Union leaders' summit, in Brussels, Belgium. Well, it better not be him again leading the negotiations, because it was Mr Macron who called Vladimir Putin three days before the Russian invasion which ended up in disaster, and every attempt of these two solving their differences ever since, failed to produced any results.

In contrast, Russia's President Vladimir Putin in a recent statement from Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, branded fears that Moscow is planning to invade another European nation as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘complete nonsense’. To be honest, one minute Europeans mock Russia for failing to take Ukraine after three years of war, but now they are scaremongering us that they will attack the whole of Europe (and thus NATO), which will result to an all out war between Europe and Russia. Such an outcome and without the full commitment of USA, since under Trump it is doubtful if America will participate actively in this war, would be disastrous for our continent. The Americans most likely will wait it out and resolve on selling weaponry to an ever indebted Europe, and only when we are on our knees they will decide to step in, to make sure we are once more for ever relying on them for funds, weapons and "protection".

In their desperation to find resources and funds to continuing their support for Ukraine, EU leaders were engaging in weeks long debates and diplomatic activity, to use billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to help cover Ukraine’s war needs over the next two years. But Belgium pushed back and eventually managed to block such plan, arguing that the plan carries legal and financial risks that it fears it could end up shouldering alone. And it has every right to do so, as if things turn sour, Belgium would indeed be the country that payed the highest price.

Belgium worries that Euroclear – the Brussels-based financial clearing house that holds the bulk of the frozen Russian assets – could end up entangled in damaging litigation if Russia challenges the EU decision. Besides, it is not as if the EU would just grab and take Russian money from Belgium, but they would rather get a loan on these assets, to be used for supporting Ukraine. But who would end up paying, if Russia succeeded in challenging successfully such move? We, the European citizens would of course. The worse affected country would be Belgium, however the bill would be footed by tax payers money once again, to limit the total financial catastrophe of Belgium, a key EU member state.

Naturally, as we are well used in Europe, double standards came into play once again. Nobody called for sanctions against Belgium, for the country to "be kicked out of the EU", or for funds to be withheld from the Belgians, like they did with Hungary and Slovakia on numerous occasions; simply because they were safeguarding their own national interests. The two Visegrad nations, have jointly blocked the adoption of the European Union’s 18th sanctions package, aimed at further punishing Russia. The decision was a direct response to Brussels’ proposal to ban the import of cheap Russian oil and gas, a move that would severely harm the two nations' energy security and potentially double or triple utility costs for households.

Where is the difference to what these two were doing back then, from what is Belgium doing now? You cannot cut off ties with Russian energy products just like that, this takes years in preparation and a more step-by-step approach, however the EU wants its member states to achieve this in a few years, no matter how much this actually hurts Europe's own interests. Just as you cannot take a risk such a Belgium was asked to take, which could severly affect your economy.

Instead, what we got now is an agreement on a 90 billion loan to Ukraine, which will be placed on who? You've guessed it, each and one of us will have to to pay it off eventually. And do they ask us if we consent to this? Our economies are already suffering, but hey, according to our media the Russians are suffering more, so we got to beat them to it and keep going. They want to bring Ukraine in EU as soon as possible, even though we do not even know its final borders at this stage, and they blast Hungary for refusing and it is quite frankly, the most reasonable nation in EU right now. Ukraine was not ready to join the EU before the war, it is surely less ready to do so now.

Some countries however, like the United Kingdom found a new way to raise funds for this war; by forcing ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to release £2.5 billion for Ukraine. Britain aparently is giving the Russian "oligarch" a final chance to give Ukraine the funds, from the sale of top English soccer team Chelsea or face potential legal action. Abramovich has previously sought more flexibility and said he wants the money to go to all victims. He has 90 days to act under the terms of the government's new license.

In other words, either is Abramovich in favor of the invasion conducted by his own country against Ukraine or not, he will have to pay for it just because... he is Russian and rich! That level of desperation by the EU and European governments, indicate that it is Europe that is in fact in trouble and not America or Russia. The sense of emergency and illogical approaches, often illegal, always indicate who is acting out of need or fear.

And all that, while the US is brewing yet another conflict in Latin America, as if the American and European tax payers having to pay for one war is not bad enough; never mind the ever growing threat of an all-out war in our world, which comes closer to reality the more the Ukraine conflict lingers on.

Apparently the US has seized recently a second sanctioned vessel in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. The move comes after US President Donald Trump ordered a "blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country. Venezuela has previously accused Washington of seeking to steal its oil resources. In recent weeks, the US has been building up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea and has carried out deadly strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, killing around 100 people. The US has provided no public evidence that these vessels were carrying drugs, and the military has come under increasing scrutiny from Congress over the strikes.

Why are we getting a deja-vu feeling here? America lying or not being clear of his actions and military operations. Are they preparing another war or invasion? Most likely. US President Donald Trump stated recently that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's days "are numbered". Now imagine if Russia every made such statements. Imagine if any other nation across the globe, so blatantly made threats to overthrow another nation's leader, without the full support of that country's people. However Europe seems unbothered by such actions and are solely focusing on punishing Russia.

If we ever going to be taken seriously on global affairs, we cannot seem to be a US puppet. Not that we are not by this stage, but if we always turn a blind eye on one nation's actions, while we are outraged so much by another's that we are willing to shoot our own foot, in order to massage our self perceived higher sense of morality, can this really do us any favors in the long term? Our leaders seem to huff and puff about Russia's actions, but when America is being the bully they seem unbothered. Despite that in the recent years the American leadership under Trump, is constantly undermining and redefining the Trans-Atlantic relations and traditional alliance.

Not that we are not used to European and Western hypocricy; in a recent scandal in Italy, wealthy foreigners paid £80k to shoot civilians in besieged Sarajevo, Italian prosecutors claim. They are examining allegations that during the 1990s, far-right extremists and gun enthusiasts from Italy, the United States, Russia and other countries travelled to Bosnia and paid Serbian forces to let them fire at city residents as a form of “war tourism”.

Additionally,a British journalist has alleged that while travelling through conflict zones over the past two decades, he was offered the opportunity to shoot civilians, describing the practice as neither “dark tourism” nor adventurism, but “murder”. Andrew Drury, has spent years travelling through some of the world’s most dangerous regions, including Somalia, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Iraq.

So while the West is scolding others on human rights, while they punished Serbia for the massacres in Bosnia, as they tarnished the country's reputation for ever, wealthy Westerners participated in such attrocities and they will never be brought to justice for hunting humans like animals. Surely this was known in some political or journalistic circles in Europe and America long ago, but it was easier to use the human suffering that people known to them inflicted onto the people of these regions to promote their desirable agenda. Plus, surely this is still happening today in Ukraine and Palestine too- you do the maths. I am sure that many of the ills that are inflicted upon regions of this world throughout our modern history, are initiated, perpetuated, exploited by the wealthy of this planet, to the detriment of humanity's dignity and unity.

The hypocrisy, corruption and utter lunacy that prevails in our world is sickening and desperate at this stage. However this is only an indicator of a "dying beast", which clings to life by roaring the loudest at its end of days. This beast is the mighty Western hegemony that ruled this world for centuries. America may come out of this political, economic, moral and societal crisis we are going through, in a better state than Europe, as they managed to dominate our continent since WW2. But for Europe I am afraid, this could be a definitive moment and we are edging towards the point of no return.

Our leaders are blinded by power mongering, refusing to accept reality or listen to the needs of their citizens, desperate to keep face as they frolic their inflatable egos and sense of a higher morality and they will destroy Europe in the end. The question is now what will we, the citizens of Europe do to prevent this?

Trump and Putin humiliate Europe in Alaska.

During the recent meeting in Alaska between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, it was strikingly obvious that Europe was sidelined... again! Despite European tax payers having to see billions of their taxes being spend in support of Ukraine, plus all the sanctions, rhetoric, fear and war mongering they had to endure by their leaders and elites, no single European leader, not even Zelensky himself was invited to participate in this meeting, regarding the conflict in his own country.

The two statesmen decided to discuss, albeit not coming to an agreement just yet, the future of Ukraine and the outcome of this war. Important European heads of state, members of the NATO alliance, a military block which Ukraine is aspiring to join and which all the fuss is allegedly about, were publicly left out and shunned, regardless the calls from EU and Ukrainian leaders, that "no decision for Ukraine, without Ukraine". Wow!

What one could make from all this, is that firstly Europe needs to wake up. We got leaders not fit for purpose and they are leading us based not on realpolitik and in sync with the new reality the world is heading towards to, but they are still stuck in post WW2 rhetorics and outdated ideologies. They regurgitate the same nonsense which kept our continent stuck to the hip of USA for the past decades, when even the US leadership itself is turning away from them lately. The ever sacred Euro-Atlantic alliance is no more.

... If it ever was in reality. European leaders were so used to bow their heads to the US "saviors" and getting rewarded for it with political careers in their countries, or EU and NATO institutions. They were happy to let America pay for European defense, while they sold out our banks, industries and even our land and culture to the highest bidder in exchange. All in the name of this sacred "alliance". However, no matter how much Europe hopped on one foot to satisfy US demands, it did not spare it from Trump's recent trade war and tariffs, did it?

And while Europeans are stuck in their morals, ethics and ideologies about international law- no matter how many times they, while following their US overlords had to break it, the new US leadership goes and gives them a good slap in the face and shows them that in the end, they again have the last say; despite the fact that Europeans made equal amount of sacrifices to support Ukraine, if not more, since our contributions to this conflict surpass those of USA.

Not to mention poor Ukraine, whose population is being sacrified on the chess board between USA and Russia, their country ravaged and destroyed and only Putin is blamed by our media, not the West itself, whose interests are also damaging the country and perpetuating this war, to the detriment of everyone. And when anyone- like myself- dared ever to state that this war is not winnable and that we should negotiate and compromise in order to avoid further escalation of this conflict, or further destruction of Ukraine, we were branded by many as "Putinists" and "Russian trolls".

Well, there you have it now, a US President trying to end this conflict without Europe, giving leverage to Putin by rolling the red carpet to him in Alaska and signaling a turn in American interests. The world is changing, BRICS are expanding, dedollarisation is in full swing and yes, if America wants to stay relevant it needs to negotiate, be flexible and adjust to the new realities. The problem is when will Europe do the same?

We are heading towards a multipolar world, when new alliances and economic, military and political realities will emerge, so our continent must adapt accordingly. Instead of sticking to the past sense of grandiose of dominance, decision making based on ideologies and a moral compass which is against some "aggressors" or "dictators", while is very happy to do business with some others because it suits our interests, we better do what America itself under Trump is doing and start playing ball with everyone.

Ukraine's war was always about its resources, the wealth that comes with it and power. It was never about NATO membership, democracy, freedom and all the other sentimental mumbo-jumbo our leaders are spewing to their feeble voters. It can never be won by Ukraine alone, not unless USA and Europe go to war with Russia, which is something nobody wants (and hopefully will never do), as it would certainly be the start if WW3. Because in their ultimate wisdom, Western leaders managed to unite Iran, China, North Korea and Russia, all nuclear powers and with anti-Western sentiments, due to their recent policies and decisions, like allowing Israel to attack Iran with its missiles, plus the long-standing US bras-de-fer with China in the South China Sea and ongoing trade war.

And sadly for Ukraine, it has to learn a bitter lesson; if you rely on anyone for your defense, either you got a choice or not, you are also a waif at the mercy of their interests. This was made clear with Zelensky's humiliation in the White House by Trump, back in February 2025. In addition, it was only a matter of time before US and European voters would start being tired of paying for an unwinnable conflict, or as it usually happens, leadership changes, new economic and political realities, or simply plain interests from the start, which required a country to be in desperate need, so that it can be in debt to the West forever, sealed its fate; to be in a double edged sword situation, either they do as they Westerners say, or they risk to lose even more land to Russia. The West has played this game many times before, in the Balkans and Greece for example. The approximately 250 billion dollars that the West has already spent in Ukraine so far, are not terms and conditions free, Ukraine will be in dept to Western nations for generations to come.

And whatever one has to say about Trump as a person or a leader, no one can deny at this stage that diplomacy is the way forward to end this disastrous conflict; not more armaments, rhetorics, blame game, propaganda and sanctions- which haven't worked deterring Russia from gaining even more ground latelly in Ukraine. The only problem is, that Europeans are stuck in their narrow mindedness, corruption, idealism and perceived moral superiority, that even their revered US elites are lately turning away from them and choose diplomacy with Putin, allowing him to land on American soil for negotiations, despite an existing International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him since 2023.

Will Europeans choose to carry the can of supporting Ukraine by themselves from now on, or will they lose face and accept the new reality? My bet is that they will opt for the first option, judging from their staunch and rigid approach in this conflict from the start. What will they say to their voters, how can they save face and their cherished political careers, when for years were acting with no consent by the European citizens, terrorising them that if Russia wins then they will attack Europe next and conquer it all the way to Lisbon, when the Russians clearly cannot- or have no interest in taking the whole of Ukraine, just to funnel billions of tax payers money to fund this war?

And they will keep up with this fantasy even when it is clear that Russia is winning, nobody in Europe and America is actually willing to send troops to Ukraine and go to war with Russia- so all we are achieving is hurting our own economies, risking a greater conflict, destroying Ukraine for generations to come, benefiting the Western arms industries which are the only ones gaining from this war, submitting our continent ever more to US interests and economy, while ridiculing ourselves and any aspirations we ever had for Europe to become a strong political global player, with a significant voice and influence in the world. Well, Trump and Putin just bursted that bubble and while there is no surprise from the Russians, when will it sink in that our "cousins" the Americans have not our best interests at heart, nor any respect for our continent and especially our leaders, who see as irrelevant to this war at this stage?

photo credit Katie Couric Media

The Starling Man

I always had a love for maps as a child. I got curious of all the countries and places that were mentioned on a piece of canvas or paper, somewhere across Earth, at the same time of my presence on this planet. It fascinated me to know that at any particular time, there were millions other souls scattered across the globe, perhaps living a life, or having thoughts very similar to mine. I imagined bustling cities full of people speaking different languages than me, or empty golden beaches that were waiting for my arrival.

Perhaps I always had the “Alexander the Great Syndrome,” being myself born in the region of the ancient Kingdom of Macedon. I wished I could visit and “capture” them all, not by war and violence this time, but with my photographic lenses. Or maybe I simply never really belonged to a place. I perpetually had the feeling of being an outsider, an old soul that was misunderstood by its own family and often friends, a wanderer and a gypsy.

Some other times I felt like an alien that fell onto this planet, to record his own experience of living among humans. People always interested and fascinated me, not that I liked everyone mind you, nor did I wish for their constant attention or approval. If I did that, there would be not enough time for me to organize travels in my imagination. When I could not get my hands onto a map, I would create one myself out of a piece of paper, adhered on a soft sticky tape to create the feel of a papyrus. Then I would draw real or imaginary lands, with cities, colonies or settlements, which grew and thrived, or collapsed and got destroyed by their enemies as I was taught in our history books.

Later the circumstances in my family, made me seek a career in Greece’s hotel industry. For years I came in contact with people from all over the world, of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions and cultures you can imagine. Naturally being curious about them, I befriended some of them and that was a catalyst, a magnet that irreversibly pulled me out of the borders of Greece and the security of my family.

I started my travels during my first year in the tourism industry and since then I have never stopped. My first trip was to Germany and Austria and that had me fall in love with Europe. Many trips would follow something that would ultimately lead me to migrating to Ireland, a country of migrants and travellers itself. What a suitable match. When I cannot travel in my waking life, I do so in my sleep. I often dream of getting lost in a market somewhere in Asia, or visiting some fjord of northern Europe. Additionally I always had this fantasy, of breaking my body into hundreds of starlings, flying in a noisy murmuration over plains, borders, countries and continents. Aren’t these birds just amazing?

Then I land in this avian form on various city park trees or on rooftops, observing local people and learning their ways. I get the chance to survey how they talk, conduct their business or go about their everyday lives. Without them noticing me, I hear about their grievances, their dreams and national or personal dramas unfolding; experience everything that makes them themselves.

Naturally at some stage I join them as a human again. Nothing beats a good conversation with someone new from another country. I only wish I could learn all the languages of the world, converse with people much more different than me and the people that surround me. I am what I am today, not much because of my family environment, but through my interactions with other individuals.

They offered me new experiences and points of view, as diverse as the people I came in contact with. Colleagues, lovers, friends, employers, each of them of various backgrounds, age and ethnicity, helped me manifest and enhance my human experience, by simply being part of it. No matter for how long-sometimes only briefly, occasionally for the better, other times for the worse. The experience only counts.

Similarly to when I meet a new person, I can never describe how it feels when I am in a new city. I love everything about the process of travelling, from booking the flights, arriving at the airport and the hotel, to the first strolls around my new destination of conquest. I get excited like a child when reaching every block corner, of what might just be around; a square, some beautiful building, a park, antiquity ruins or a marvellous cathedral and so hyper by the noises of each city, which echo its own very soul. The constructions and the people, its nature and transport system, plus the church bell chimes or imam calls to prayer from the minarets.

Additionally, the smells from the food stalls, pollution odours or sea breeze and the flowers from the parks, all together are turned into the city’s breath, dispersed by the winds that flow through each settlement and its narrow streets. It’s like the taste of the first kiss with each new city I find myself in, which often leaves a lasting memory and impression.

Some of my favourite attractions of course are each country’s architectural marvels. I dreamed I could be an architect when I was young too, but although this dream never materialized, it left me with a sheer admiration of beautifully made buildings. To me they are pure art, not just a construction that can be utilised for various purposes.

It amazes how nations dedicate so much skill in order to please their rulers or their deities. Particularly the cathedrals, churches, mosques, temples and palaces, are often a striking manifestation of humanity’s creative spirit and will. It is of the few times that humans in their effort to reach out to their gods with art, music and architecture, can sometimes become divine themselves.

That is why I often find myself lingering in religious establishments; not to find “God” myself-I am agnostic, but to marvel humanity and its achievements. In palaces on the other hand, I sometimes feel that they belong more to the people that designed and laboured to build or maintenance them, than the ones who got to actually live in them. It is them that poured their love and hard work into the project.

But one cannot ignore the darker side of these buildings. How many people were exploited to finance their completion, or indeed how many of them died; either while constructing them, working in a plantation field that allowed the wealth needed for such marvels, or during the wars that saw the destruction of an older civilization, to create a new one in its place.

These constructions would be nothing without the people that conceived and made them over the generations. That is why they belong to us all jointly. They are the manifestation of each human culture and ethnic group, which tries to showcase its existence on this planet, but also in this moment in time.

The world is rich with the different cultures, which are like the jewels of our global community; all different but all unique and important as they complement and compete with each other for attention, creating the beautiful mosaic of humanity itself. They are all worthy to be preserved and showcased, that is what make us collectively wealthier, not necessarily our economies and the amount of gold each country keeps in its financial institutions.

Every food, song, craft, art piece, language, dialect national costume or folklore tail and indeed every skilfully made building, is worth visiting and living in this world for and experience being human in the aeons of the universe. That is my take on it, from my time so far on this planet. And that is why I must continue my travels, in my dreams, as a flock of starlings or as a simple man on an airplane, perhaps next to you.

My photo book and short story "The Starling Man", is available for free in preview at Blurb, but also available to buy as PDF and a softcover book, from their website, with more photos.

It is time for Europe to recognize Palestine.

Three European nations announced Wednesday they will formally recognize a Palestinian state, a landmark move that caused retaliatory action from Israel and praise from Palestinians. The announcements from Ireland, Norway and Spain dealt the latest diplomatic blow to Israel, as the United States' close ally faces mounting international isolation and backlash over its deadly military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Government, immediately recalled Israel's ambassadors to Oslo, Dublin and Madrid and ordered a formal reprimand, to the three countries' envoys in Israel.

While the rest of our continent is still divided on what step it should follow after such developments, it is clear that the time for a unilateral recognition of the Palestinian state by Europe, is indeed the only way forward. Thus, more EU nations should follow Ireland's, Norway's and Spain's example and soon. This should not come as punishment towards Israel, rather a realistic approach that these two ethnic groups, can no longer coexist under any form of one government or any other arrangement that has been previously tried and applied in the region; not after such a horrendous death toll and attrocities committed.

There is no sense of pointing fingers or shifting the blame, both sides have over the years had a fair share of mistakes and either of them had governments or leaders that were too hardline and headstrong, for this conflict to be permanently resolved. And the West's involvement is actually questionable if it was ever constructive or helpful.

Europeans are divided between the Centre-Right, which traditionally always sides with Israel, while the continent's Left-Wing has always been more pro-Palestinian. Hence their differences and squabbles, are applied to this ongoing dispute for decades. In addition, different countries bring their national complexes into the debate; Ireland is always siding with the "underdog" in every conflict, perhaps because they are indentifying with them as result of their own struggles against a bigger power, the British Empire.

Germany on the other hand, has always been reluctant to go against Israel, partially due to their national "guilt and shame" of their past actions against Europe's Jewish population. It is no wonder then, why the EU is so divided over the matter and why the block cannot be trusted to have a decisive role in resolving this war, by taking sides or being the negotiator.

If we add to the mix America's role, which blindly supports Israel, funds and arms the country, plus convinces Europe and all the Western allies to stand behind Israel, even though most of the rest of the world has already recognized Palestine as a state, it is evident that we are part of the problem; for decades. How can we end a conflict, when there are so many interests involved, like those of Western arms industries or countries acting like big "powers" for example?

I have visited both nations, funny enough only months before the war errupted, and the region made a lasting impression to me; it is one of the most fascinating, culturally rich and beautiful that I have ever visited. It pained me to see the division, inequality and conflict among its peoples. However all tour guides that I have spoken to (perhaps because they did not want to put any tourists off, or because they wanted to show themselves as friendly, open minded and peaceful) from both sides, expressed the desire to live in peace, the compassion about the other side, plus the acknowledgement that some times, their own leadership was on the wrong.

In fact, I truly believe, if we left it to the ordinary people and not the politicians or foreign powers, this conflict could already have been resolved. However, we cannot go back and change things, this dispute is not new. In fact it has been under way since the British Colonial era and the way the former overlords of this region, abandoned the Jewish people to fend for themselves in a hostile region, only because Europeans did not accept their continent's Jewish population and because the Western powers needed a "foot" in the Middle East. Thus they created the Cyrpus and the Palestinian ongoing conflicts, with the only aim to have a say in the region, never mind the wishes or rights of the native peoples.

We could learn from our collective mistakes and move forward, or we can continue arguing about matters that not only we created, but we should not have a say in the first place. This conlfict must end, if we want the killings on both sides to end and the only way to achieve this, is to do something we did not before, which in fact is the right thing; recognise Palestine as a state and allow it to join the international community. Only if these people prosper, their youths will have a future and won't be susceptible to join organizations like Hamas.

Israel must accept this, that with violence and killings- especially the kind we have so passively whitnessed the past few months, this war will never end and there will be more blood spilled from both sides in the future. The kids that are orphaned or traumatized now, due to this operation against Hamas, will be the coming soldiers of this terrorist organization or any other new that will spring out in the future, if the Israelis are successful in destroying Hamas. The Arabs on the other hand must forever accept that Israel is there to stay, as long as both sides respect the borders drawn and agreed upon. Europe and the rest of the world, will clearly always support Israel in its fight for existence, but we cannot stand by and watch the carnage any longer.

We as Europeans must stop being so hypocrites and cry plus condemn Israel or Hamas over the killings, but fail to do what it must be done, thus we continue to watch passively in the coming years, as more children being bombed and killed, more people dying from attacks and rockets. It is done; the established solution we opted for so far has flaws, it has failed and it cannot continue. Ireland, Norway and Spain, thankfully have shown the way forward.

And this must not be seen as an appeasement or atonement of Hamas and the crimes that they have committed. As the current Irish Taoiseach Simon Harrris recently stated, after Ireland's recognition of the Palestinian State: "Let me also be clear that Hamas is not the Palestinian people. Today’s decision to recognise Palestine is taken to help create a peaceful future. A two-state solution is the only way out of the generational cycles of violence, retaliation and resentment, where so many wrongs can never make a right.Just as Ireland's recognition as a state eventually led to the establishment of our peaceful Republic, we believe that Palestinian statehood will contribute to peace and to reconciliation in the Middle East.

Come on Europe, it is time.....

November 2023 Dublin riots, are a dark omen for Ireland and Europe.

I could not believe that last week, November the 23rd, the city I have been living for almost 20 years would go up in flames, just because of a knife attack would spark a far-right inspired riot. (Image)

The violence broke out after three young children and their care assistant were attacked in Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, a primary school on Parnell Square East, in the north of the city centre on Thursday afternoon. A five-year-old girl and the woman were seriously injured and remain under medical care, while the two other children, a five-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl, suffered less serious injuries.

The then unconfirmed reports on Thursday that the perpetrator was an immigrant to Ireland poured fuel on the fire (it’s since been reported that although the suspect is Algerian-born, he is a naturalised Irish citizen who has lived in Ireland for two decades). That was enough to become a spark, that led to the explosive events that followed.

The incident itself took place at 13:30 pm Dublin time, but by 7 o'clock the city centre was in flames. Thirteen shops were damaged or looted, 11 police cars damaged and destroyed along with three buses and a tram. One officer was seriously injured. From anti-immigrant and counter-protests outside the school, it progressively got worse and it turned into a full mayhem.

I live and work in Dublin central, my apartment is only two blocks away from the epicenter; I could see, hear and even smell everything that took place that night from my balcony. And while the Irish leadership would love to bury this as quickly as possible, by downplaying the far-right while pushing for the "thug" and anti-social element in this occurrence, I will beg to differ.

It is true that many of those who got involved in the riots, were just opportunists and "thugs", trying to cause mayhem and steal shops by breaking into them, during the chaos. But not all of them fall in this category. Since the Covid epidemic ended, I have often watched in horror from my balcony, small groups of Irish nationals protesting for "Ireland for the Irish", "Irish first", or "no more refugees" in the streets below. Not great in numbers, just in the few tens of individuals, but that was unheard in Ireland 20 years ago when I first arrived in the country.

Only last May, far-right anti-immigrant activists have claimed responsibility for setting fire to a makeshift camp housing asylum seekers in Dublin. Posting on social media, the group Real Message Eire claimed they were angry at the presence of what they call a "shanty town" with "illegal migrants and communists", in a predominantly working-class neighbourhood of the Irish capital. And that was not the only time such thing happened.

From peacefull protests some years ago, when the Syrian refugee crisis errupted, when Irish participants would claim "we are not racists, we are just concerned that these people will not be properly accomodated in our rural region", we have seen burning of refugee centres and now a full on graffiti spraying on migrant shops, riots, protests and burning buses with sprayed on messages like "OUT" in Dublin. (Image)

All this time the signs were there to see, but the Irish leadership and indeed society do what the Irish do best; denial. The authorities just sat on their own thumbs, with the typical Irish attitude "ah sure it will be grand", perpetuating the image and thought of Ireland being a very tolerant and welcoming country; which it used to be. But the signs of the few years have been increasingly pointing to a worrisome trend and development, plus no government or authority wanted to openly call a spade a spade and even more importantly, do something about it.

Since the Ukrainian refugee crisis, the Irish people have seen their country take in a huge number of refugees from the war torn country, offer them free housing, social welfare benefits, free postage to send parcels back in the country and many more benefits. Since the conflict began, more than 98,500 people from Ukraine have arrived in Ireland. That sadly happened right after the Covid pandemic, which saw the living standards of many deteriorate, whilst as result of the continuing support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, the cost of living in Ireland has skyrocketed.

Irish people also face at the same time, an ongoing housing crisis which is a direct failure of its own politicians and society. As of March 2023, despite years of consecutive governments saying that housing is a priority, the housing crisis is getting worse. According to figures from the Department of Housing 11,754 people are homeless and relying on emergency homeless accommodation. This is up on 10,492 in March 2022 and 7,991 in May 2021.

This affects vulnerable families and people the most of course, and many of those who participated in the riots could come from such background. Rents in Dublin and Ireland overall are crazy and there is no end in sight, as the refugees put pressure on the country's property market. I work in a company's HR department, and since the pandemic ended we lost so many young, Irish, talented employees that simply cannot affort to rent in Ireland any more with the entry salaries companies offer nowadays, and they opt-out to migrate to Southern Europe, the UK, or Canada for better quality of living and life-work balance. This in one of the EU nations with the highest GDP.

And if we link what has happened in Ireland last week, with what has been happening across Europe for the past few years, it is easy to see that our leaders are failing us repeatedly. Around the same time when the riots in Dublin were happening, another shock wave rippled through Europe; the veteran anti-Islam populist leader Geert Wilders has won a dramatic victory in the Dutch general election. After 25 years in parliament, his Freedom party (PVV) won 37 seats, well ahead of his nearest rival, a left-wing alliance.

This development follows similar outcomes in Italy, Sweden and many other EU nations in recent years and if the next one is France, the EU is heading for yet another major crisis, or even fight for its existence. All our ruling elites can do, is blame Putin for the rise of the far-right in our continent, but never themselves, or take stock from the outcome of their policies during the past few decades. That is decadence, corruption, folly and a disgrace.

The problem is, that while I totally empathise with the anger some youths may feel about their reality and the predicament which the rulers of their countries have inflicted upon them, violence and racism are never the solution or the answer. Although it is true that the attacker (who has been arrested, remains in custody and injured) in Dublin is an Irish citizen of migrant stock, many rumors circulate about him: that he was arrested before for another knife crime and that he suffers from mental illness. The Irish authorities, always so cautious have not yet released a statement on the motives for the attack, and that in my opinion is a mistake, as it allows certain perhaps unfounded speculations to be circulated on social media by the same groups that instigated the riots.

But even if we accept that the attack was a terror or any other racist assault against the Irish society, those who belive in such rumours conveniently ignore that two other foreigners, a Brazilian and a French national, risked their lives to stop the knife attack. Passing by on a moped is Caio Benício, a delivery driver originally from Brazil, stopped and used his helmet as a weapon to stop the attack. In addition, Alan Loren-Guille, a French student on his way to work in a restaurant, also intervened and knocked the attacker's knife out of his hand.

Such issues will never be resolved with more hatred, so please do not turn this country into another far-right haven. The Irish authorities and government may have acted fast to detain those responsible, but this is a short-term solution. In a few months or even years, the monster of populism could return if appropriate actions are not taken, and Ireland if it is not careful could have its very own "Breivik" moment in history. Wether the Irish or indeed the European leaders want indeed to prevent such thing from happening in the future, they better come with solutions for their citizens' needs soon and stop their own kind of populism, of constantly blaming outside factors or countries and their leaders, for their mistakes.