Women in Europe.

I have been reading a lot about gender equality lately, and two particular cases got my attention; the European Women's Lobby for Democracy 50/50 (www.5050campaign.wordpress.com) and of course the criminalization in Sweden of men purchasing sex services from prostitutes. In general the overall effort to ban prostitution completely.

I absolutely support and agree with the 50/50 European Women's Lobby effort. I think it is about time women saw their role in the society we live in as a more active and influential, rather than a passive one.

Women have been manipulated and silenced for centuries, and their role was seen only as a mother and a home keeper. This role was enforced on them funny enough by religion; both Christianity and Islam inherited the rather conservative southern Greco-Roman mentality on the role of women in a society.

While other European tribes and pagan religions treated more equally males and females (perhaps because of the harsh climate and living conditions in places like central and northern Europe- everybody was relying on everybody), the Mediterranean cultures were predominantly male dominated with few exceptions of some priestesses and queens.

Free thinking women were hunted down by the Church as witches. Women were blocked from any education, inheritance, political and social rights and this situation lasted until only a few decades ago. Their struggle is still on in most parts of the World. But only now we see a movement not only to allow women the right to vote, but to also have an opinion and be active in the political life of a nation. I applaud.

In the pagan traditions perfection and balance are achieved by the unity of the male and female, either in the physical or the mental and emotional nature of human beings, either between them or within them. So perhaps if we want to have a balanced society we will have to allow women to have an equal voice with men in politics.

But that does not mean that we have to do what many so called feminists believe we should ; take power from men. Because simply then we have the same situation but reversed. In fact I think modern women suffer from what all previous suppressed communities suffer from, like the gay and black people; a loss of direction in their struggle for total equality.

Just like the gay people who after so many decades of discrimination and suppression now feel that being gay is to be "out and proud." That they should follow the role models that our media and society are portraying of gay people; behave in a certain way, listen to certain type of music, like certain type of things and have a certain type of lifestyle.

When we look back at history and we see some of the greatest writers, composers, poets, painters, dancers, athletes, thinkers and artists being homosexuals, do we really think that being gay is to listen to Madonna, wear pink and parade your sexuality once a year in the city center? Vengeance towards the former oppressors does not better your situation in a society; freedom, equality and respect is.

I realize that young people need role models, someone to look up to and to be inspired from, so young girls and gay or black youths look at popular stereotypes that the media promote. What if we show the life of Tchaikovsky (a homosexual and one of the greatest composers) instead of certain TV presenters as a gay role model, Marie Curie (a woman scientist) instead of any glamor model in reality TV as a role model for young girls?

Women have a lot to offer but first they need to change themselves. Feminism is not trying to make men do women jobs! It is rather women prove that they can do men jobs as well as them. In fact not even that! It is to show to women themselves that they can be as good and as useful as men in a society. Empower them.

 I was working in a hotel as a receptionist once, and most of my colleagues were female. While they expected me to do "women tasks" like decorating, hoovering, dusting the reception and washing the cups we were using, when one had to go up in a room and check what was wrong with the electrics or the plumbing, it was always me who had to go.

As if because I was born a man, I was given with my birth certificate an electrician's and a plumber's diploma! I wonder what the women during WW2 would think of them. They had to do men jobs in industries since all men where fighting in battles all over Europe. It is the women in most cases who raise their kids with this stereotype of the girls staying with mama and do what she does, while boys follow their dads in their activities. And that is true for most modern families in most countries.

So how do women expect that they deserve full equality, when it is themselves that need to re-examine their role in a society and become active? I would love to see more women in any national Parliament or indeed the European Parliament, but then again when I talk with most women about politics they are rather indifferent.

No my ladies politics are not like foot-ball! They affect you directly! Also, most women that already are in politics or other male dominated professions think that they must behave like their male counterparts to succeed. They become equally aggressive and competitive. Perhaps they are right; but then what is the point of having a woman who behaves like a man in politics? What we need is more femininity in our politics, more creativity, less aggression, more nurturing and care for the people!

The other thing that strikes me is that there is a movement especially in Northern Europe to ban prostitution. That is a noble pursue but they seem to be interested only in the poorer and deprived street prostitutes. What about the professional escorts of the rich class? They claim that women are forced into this shameful act by the brutality and abuse of men, often by a family member and it is degrading to women.

Well if you see it this way of course it is! But if you take into consideration that prostitution always existed (it is called often the most ancient profession on Earth) and it is not only a female activity but there are a lot of male prostitutes (gigolos) offering their "services" to rich women (and men) then why no one is trying to protect them?

Why do they think that being immoral is only a male trait? That girls who end up in prostitution are always victims of male brutality and abuse, and they are emotional unstable. What about the so many young men who were equally abused when they were young either by their mother or father and they have developed a disturbed sexuality that can be only satisfied by a prostitute? Because no woman will tolerate such sex acts in a formal sexual relationship!

Aren't there women that become prostitutes by choice or "immoral" women at all, that do this profession out of pleasure or the need of money? Then why in a move in South Korea to ban prostitution recently it was the prostitutes who protested against such laws? Perhaps it is time to stop seeing prostitution as something immoral and shameful?

How many young men first had sex with a prostitute? How many emotional unstable young men found refuge in a "relationship" with a prostitute? How many physically unattractive men are forced to have sex with prostitutes simply because few women will chose to be their lovers? How many men in a sex deprived marriage (either because of illness of their wife or simply a marriage that is held together because of the children, property, family or other "obligations") are finding sexual pleasure with a prostitute? Why do we care more about "unstable" and "abused" women in our societies than the equally unstable and abused men?

Isn't it a fact that the majority of homeless young people are young men? Simply because our social welfare services give priority to single mothers, families and older people while they think that a young man should be able to fend for himself. While it is acceptable for a young woman to have a child and rely on a man for their welfare.

The opposite is just laughable! So you see the problem are the different stereotypes that we ourselves have put there for the two genders and other minorities. If the women want men to understand them and respect them, they should do the same for them too. Men possibly need sex more than women, or it is simply another taboo that a strong and a successful man is the one with many women or with a very active sex life.

Or perhaps as some women with emotional issues end up in prostitution as they claim in Sweden, the same goes for men that seek perverted and kinky sex and only with prostitutes. Perhaps maybe they lack the confidence to find a real female lover? Human sexuality is not just black and white. It has all shades of grey and we should not dismiss anything.

In Sweden they claim that  their new laws are highly successful and prostitution fell dramatically when compared with other Scandinavian countries. In fact in Finland are thinking of introducing similar laws. Prosecute the men that pay for sex, while prostitution remains legal and prostitutes are not convicted. I wonder if they take in consideration the rape rates and other violence in formal heterosexual relationships.

As many of the Sweden's prostitutes have admitted, the "decent" customers now stay away and they have to deal with the "rougher" perverted ones and often they are forced to have sex without condoms. Thus there is a rise in HIV cases among them. The girls sadly need to take those "customers" because they need the money. Most of them are drug addicts so perhaps that is the real problem.

Another more realistic root to the problem of prostitution is poverty, inequality and illegal immigration. I can not accept that a girl that is trafficked illegally from a poor country by a man that she barely knows, thinks that he has her best interests in his consideration. Desperation, poverty and perhaps problems at home, drive those girls to choose a risky path in knowledge that they may have to get sexually involved with the man who promised them a better future, or work somewhere like in a bar.

Only to find themselves in a vicious underworld. It is not just girls that are victims: how about young boys, drug addicts that become dealers to earn money for their next dose exactly as many female addicts end up in prostitution. Don't they get violently physically abused, beaten up or even killed? The problem is not male violence against women here. It is drug and poverty related. End up poverty and you solve many problems!

Prostitution should be legalized and regulated by the state and police and doctors appointed by the state. I do not think it will ever go away unless we end poverty in the world and change our point of view on human sexuality, sexual relationships and marriage! But I do not see this happening anytime soon. If you ban it or impose sanctions on the individuals involved, it will simply go underground and who will control it?

What annoys me is that the so called "high-class" escorts that most certainly do this profession by choice and for the financial benefits that it brings sleeping with the rich and powerful of this world, are not mentioned in the Swedish "research".

The role of the migrant women in Europe, especially those coming from a Islamic background must also be discussed! They must be equal to all other women in the continent, and their rights secured. But with such strong Islamic influence and male dominated culture how do they feel about their position in our societies? Being a modern European woman does not mean that you have to bear all. But certainly not hide yourself behind a veil or be submissive to your husband's, father's or brother's will. It will be very interested to see how they will position themselves in a modern European society n the future.

To keep the Irish Corporate Tax, or not to keep?

The Irish corporate taxation system is one important asset for the country. The country's economy is based on it and gives it an advantage, by making it very attractive for overseas multinationals.

Ireland is an English-speaking European Union member with an open economy, plus it has lower corporate tax rates and so it has managed to become from one of the poorest nations in Europe, to one of the richest.

But the country's taxation system often brings Ireland under fire, from some of its European partners that believe that it gives an unfair advantage to the country. They would prefer to create a harmonized taxation system across the EU. Many in USA also believe that it harms their country's economy, as it is mainly American companies that take advantage of the Irish corporate tax system.

If we want to be honest about it, low corporate taxes serve mainly the multinational corporations. Though it boosts the economy of Ireland by the exports of goods such as lap-tops, it creates few job positions and the companies contribute little to the Irish state. Most of the income earned is taken out of the Irish economy and shipped back to the multinational's country of origin.

A lot of the companies are so-called "ghost" companies that only register Ireland as their base, to avoid paying high taxes back home. The rent near empty buildings and they employ very little staff, if any. The reason why the Irish public is so protective of them, is because their Government and media are portraying the taxation system as an important national asset.


Of course Ireland's taxation system does offer an advantage to the country and contributes to its economy. But if they actually developed industries and stable economic factors, their country's economy would benefit more. Multinationals are concerned only about their profit. They may locate their bases in your country for a period of time, only to move them a few years later when they find a country that is more attractive to them.

Instead in relying on pocket money from the corporations and bow to their demands, wouldn't it better to be able to rely on exports or any other "real" economy type? The problem is that it is very difficult for a small country to achieve such thing, especially when it lacks the infrastructure and the funds to do so.

Also the Irish political elite serves the global capitalist elites. They gave away all rights of the Irish oil and gas resources, that could have given the country a more stable income, which could then be used as investment to diversify the Irish economy.



What should happen in Europe is further economic and political integration.The Germans and the French who are the main critics of Ireland, should not ask the Irish to abolish their corporate tax rate unless they change the way they do business too.

Ireland and all small countries are very susceptible to the economic or political influence of their big neighbors. So they must strive to make deals and business with multinationals to attract capita, in order to maintain their sovereignty.


When Ireland gained its independence from Britain, it was left in a very bad financial status. They went from boom to bust and they remained dependent to the British economy for decades to come. Even the "Irish" pound was pegged to the British, linking Ireland's economy to Britain's.


If we want to secure small nation's financial future and harmonize Europe's economy and taxation, then it is the richer countries that must make the sacrifice and reform their economies first. If they monopolize all industrial and financial development in the continent, then smaller states are forced to come up with a taxation system that will attract foreign multinationals.

Or even worse, they will have to become tax havens and invest in their banking sector. If we could establish a European Investment Bank or Fund, together with a EU body that would coordinate these investments, then we could divert cash where is needed to create new jobs and industries across Europe.

In that way all countries would benefit and they would have a secure source of investment, that would spread equally throughout the Union. When we are allowing small European nations to seek and strike deals with multinationals, we are actually forcing them to compromise some of their sovereignty for them. They will have to pass certain laws that will allow or attract the corporations to invest, in order to maintain their position as a favorite investment hub.

So these nations are not entirely sovereign anymore and in a European context it allows third parties or countries, to have access and be able to influence their laws and of course in extend many EU laws.So how can we have an independent or unanimous agreement on EU policy, when each state is trying to protect and promote their interests. But in Ireland's and many other smaller states' case, these are the interests of the multinationals.

When Ireland agrees with American corporate companies to establish branches in its soil for example, it is relying on America to keep finding Ireland a profitable and convenient place for them to invest. To do that the Americans will place some demands that Ireland must defend and promote, sometimes even against EU law and regulations. No surprise then why some countries like Britain always wish to block or opt out of EU regulations.

And it is not just Ireland that must find as solution to its economic problem, the lowering of its tax rates for multinational companies. Many countries across the EU are doing the same and even France itself has a peculiar taxation system that favors foreign investment. 

Wouldn't it better to set up European owned companies, either large or SMEs that will be funded by this new European Investment Fund, in many different European countries? Thus helping European businessmen, developers or inventors from all over the continent to keep creating jobs, promoting stability and equal opportunities for all European citizens.

What good is to point the finger to each other like France and Germany are doing to the Irish, if they do not give them any alternative. Ireland now more than ever needs to find and keep any resources it can to save their economy. If the scrap their lower tax rate, they will lose the investments from the multinationals and with no alternative solution from their European partners, their economy will be in deeper trouble.

If the rich European nations do not want to share with the Irish and include them in their industrial and economic development, then they will have to allow them to rely on foreign investment and so to keep their low corporate tax rates. 

The solution to this problem lies on a European level. No country should be pushed to change its taxation system if its partners are not willing to do the same or support each other. If Europeans want to harmonize the continent's tax rates, as it should happen at some stage, then they will have to compensate the Irish by creating jobs here and fill the gap. Otherwise they will forever have to sustain the Irish economy with subsidies and further bail outs.

Greece's relationship with Western Europe over the centuries!

Recently there is a great spite towards Greece from many European nations, because of the crisis break-out in the euro-zone, that threatens to spread to the rest of the block.

Let us trace back in this article the relation between Greece and the rest of Europe, from the Ancient Times to the modern and most recent ones. The reason? Partly to remind, expose, explain and understand the long relationship between them.

We will have to start from the Antiquity, when the Greeks colonized the south Italian peninsula, southern Galatia (France) and parts of Iberia (Spain) along with their colonies in the Balkans and the Black Sea. They established city states and colonies, trade ports and centers of culture that some exist even today.

With the rise of the empire of Alexander the Great, we see Greeks united for the first time under one ruler and expanding their sphere of influence and territories to the East. With the constant wars between the successors of Alexander though, the Hellenistic kingdoms had weaken and one by one fell under the occupation of a new super power, Rome!

Since then, Greece will never be a free and autonomous state until the liberation of the nation from the Ottoman Empire. During the Roman Empire, Greece will decline while Rome and other of its territories will flourish. With the Romans the Greek culture will spread in almost half of the European continent while Greek artifacts and treasures will be transported to Rome.

The Romans will not allow any further Greek cultural or political independence! Greece will also be the battleground for many wars between the aspiring Roman rulers and their civil wars they started, weakening even more Greece to the point of deprivation.

During the Roman Empire, but also during the Hellenistic years the Greek peninsula will receive attacks and raids from Celtic and other European tribes. Especially during the times of the Great Migrations in Europe and the collapse of the western Roman Empire, we have the appearance of many new tribes invading the lands of both Eastern and Western Roman Empires; the Goths, the Slavs, the Avars all looking for new fertile lands and riches to steal. Greece becomes a popular destination for their raids.

With the dominance of Christianity the Greek spirit suffers its biggest defeat and irreversible decline. In the beginning conversion to Christianity was voluntary but once the Christians became the majority they made sure that the "ethnic" Greeks as they called them were converted.

They attacked and destroyed many Pagan Greek temples, art and holy sites, notably the Parthenon. Later during the Byzantine Empire they would force immigration from Greece to Asia Minor and vice versa in order to weaken the Greek "ethnic" pagan spirit.

Despite all this Byzantium thrives and it is the most powerful and wealthy region of Europe for more than a millennium. Slavic tribes still pose a threat coming from Europe, but they are being converted to Christianity, coming in contact with the Greek Christian Orthodox heritage of the Byzantine Empire. For this purpose the Byzantine Emperors assign two Greek disciples from Thessaloniki, Cyril and Methodius, to convert the Slavs and stop them from being a threat to the Empire.

But the threat from Europe was not over. Greece continued to be raided by the European Vikings from the north and the Moors from the south! The biggest blow though came from fellow Christians. The Crusades may have started in order to regain the Holy Lands from the Arabs, but during the so called Forth Crusade they sacked Constantinople stealing artifacts, all the city's wealth, destroying its monuments, its library and transporting everything to the West.

They created Latin Kingdoms in the region and by dividing the Byzantine Empire not only they contributed in its decline, but also in its future surrender to the Ottomans. Inevitably, they pushed the Greeks to being for centuries under Islamic rule and to the further decline of their culture.

During the Ottoman occupation many Greek scholars will flee to Europe, participating in that way in the European Renaissance. The European powers will oppose any change in the European borders and any separatist or freedom movement.With politicians like Klemens Von Metternich and the Austrian Hungarian Empire, any chance of freedom for the Greeks or other Balkan nations under the Ottoman rule was impossible.

The Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate cooperated with the Ottomans and in fact it was them who preferred to fall under the Islamic rule, than to ask for help from their fellow Christian Europeans. Because since the events of the Crusades centuries earlier, they mistrusted the "Francs" or their Catholic cousins.

Meanwhile European archaeologists, collectors and "Indiana Joneses" of the time raided Greece to steal its artifacts, its last remaining wealth from the Ancient Times. They chopped and transported a lot of the monuments they found, from the Elgin Marbles of the Parthenon to the Dionysian statues that where named "Ta Eidola" (The Idols) from the city of Thessaloniki.

The statues are currently housed in the Louvre in Paris, France. Efforts are being made to return these to Thessaloniki. These statues have traditionally been the symbol of the city, since antiquity. Only after they were stolen by the French in 1864 did the White Tower rise to prominence as the symbol of the city.

They traded with the ancient Greek artifacts and treasures, making a fortune out of their activities. But at least their contact with Greece's art, culture, philosophy and heritage led to the Philhellenism movement in Europe. Also, in contributed to the change of the public opinion of the European populace and the support to the cause for Greek independence! The most famous among its supporters, was of course Lord Byron.

After the liberation of Greece from the Ottoman Empire though, the geopolitical interests of the big Powers of Europe in the region did not stop. Soon after the Balkan Wars the Greek territory expanded by gaining lands not only from the declining Ottoman Empire but from the colonial Powers of Europe too; The Ionian and the Dodecanese Islands belonged to Italy and Britain, with the Dodecanese uniting with the rest of Greece just in 1947!

During the wars with Turkey the European Powers originally favored Greece in its attempt and operations to regain some of the Asian Minor territories. Only to betray Greece with a shift of their interests that lead to the Greek Asia Minor Disaster, the destruction of Smyrne (today's Izmir) and the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey. While Smyrne burned and the Turks were killing civilians, the Western "allies" of Greece remained with their ships in the city's port...watching! They did not get involved to save the civilians.

Two World Wars followed soon after the bloody wars that Greece had to endure in order to regain its territories. In both wars Greece tried to remain neutral, only to be dragged in both by the Entente and the Alliance of France and Britain in the WW1 or Italy during the WW2.

In both cases Greece was not given the choice or the luxury to remain neutral, paying a huge price in lives both of civilian and military population, but also enduring an economic disaster and further deprivation. Raw materials and foodstuffs were requisitioned and the collaborationist government was forced to pay the cost of the occupation. That gave rise to inflation, further exacerbated by a "war loan" Greece was forced to grant to the German Reich which severely devalued the Drachma.

Requisitions, together with the Allied blockade of Greece, the ruined state of the country's infrastructure and the emergence of a powerful and well-connected black market, resulted in the Great Famine during the winter of 1941-42, when an estimated 300,000 people perished in greater Athens.

It is important to mention the very important role of Greece in the war, delaying the Nazis in Crete and giving time to the Russians to prepare, while the Soviet winter was creeping playing a decisive role in the outcome of the WW2! Germany never compensated Greece for the damages during the Nazi occupation.

As if all the above was not enough, Greece had to endure a bloody civil war right after WW2. The big Powers and winners of the war (Britain, USA and USSR) sat down in Crimea and divided Europe in half. Greece falls in the British pro-Western slice and any communist elements are expelled after the Civil War.

The British actively participated in the operations, fighting on the side of the National Army against the Communists. All this so Greece will remain in the sphere of influence of the West!

One would think that after all the exploitation, the raids, the theft, the wars, the invasions that Greece endured from the European nations, it would eventually find peace and recognition. Well no! The European powers established a kingdom in Greece with royal family coming from Denmark.

When they were ousted, the USA helped a military junta to be established in Greece during the early '70s, that led to the "Metapolitefsi" years and the restoration of Democracy. They established in this way a political elite that rules the country to this day, based on corruption and money coming from the West.

After a couple of decades of progress and prosperity, the EU and NATO membership and the adoption of the Euro we now see the European and American press categorizing Greece among the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland,Greece and Spain) nations. Even daring to demand its islands, the Parthenon and all its natural resources in order to repay the debt that Greece has accumulated over the years.

For a crisis that did not originate in Greece but in the USA and their irresponsible finances. For doing what the capitalist system that the Americans and the Europeans have established demands: excess debt and a consumerist attitude. All European western nations are heavily indebted, but Greece is the one to pay the price. Plus it is not allowed to exploit its natural resources on its own, or to develop heavy industry like its northern European "brothers".

According to all the above, who has given more to Europe than the Greek people and who has suffered more than them? Yet the European countries believe that the Greeks are lazy, thieving and corrupt. Well with a re-examination of history, we realize who is the thief and raider in Europe!