Méditterrannée, mon amour

I am sailing with my family in the Agean. I will write more about this later when I will have a decent internet connection. Today, a security message was sent to all ships in the region that they should be cautious because of the presence of military maneuvering by the US army in the Eastern meditterranean.

Yesterday, a Turkish newspaper published a poll done in Turkey and Greece about how people of both countries perceive each other. 7% of Turkish say they perceive Greece as a threat and more than 80 % of Greeks say they perceive Turkey as a threat. A majority of Turkish fear the US.

Last Sunday, a server at a Greek restaurant asked us if we were French. We said 'Yes'. He said 'Sarkozy' (The newly elected ultraconservative, ultraliberal, ultraddemagogue, ultrarightist French president). We asked what he has to say about Sarkozy. He said : 'A great president, like Mitterrand'. We asked what was in his opinion so great about Sarkozy. He said that Sarkozy has a real vision for Europe. 'What vision we asked' and he answered: 'A Europe without Turkey'.

Now I know what is not so great about Greeks, they boast about themselves as part of Europe but at the same time they are misusing the money given to them by the European union. We visited Rhodes, the most Christian (Roman Catholic) of the Greek islands and the mainland. The castle built there by the Chevaliers of the order of St Jean of Jerusalem after they left the kingdom of Jerusalem, as well as the old medieval city, is full of boutiques covering its ancient walls, selling things one can find in all tourist shops around the world, and privately owned restaurants are inside the walls of the castle. This is despite Greece receiving money from the European union and from UNESCO to maintain this world heritage site. It is clear that modern Greece does not care about its Roman Catholic heritage but it joins nonetheless the choir of Muslim bashers when it comes to eliminate competition for European money and European markets. Because the only thing that is stopping the full integration of Turkey to the European Union is religion, and that should be said loud. Shame on Sarkozy, shame on European countries who, under false pretext, are closing the door to Turkey. And it seems that Belgium has joined this Muslim phobic european choir recently.

Greece, and with it, the western world, shun the oriental heritage in the hellenistic culture, from mesopotamian and pharaonic inlfuences to recent ottoman heritage.

The Agean was and still a privileged space for these East-West exchanges. And the US army is doing military excercices and maneuvers just in this area, inciting fears, erecting walls, and obscuring the many lights of great civilisations around the mediterranean.
The only country around the meditterranean who is finding this useful is Israel.

And there was another Car bombing in Lebanon today.