Adonis Diaries

Posts Tagged ‘attack on the Twin Towers

Visa to where?  Dignity deficiencies, official pre-humiliation tactics
If you are a European, US, Canadian…citizen, you have no idea what many other citizens have overwhelming beefs related to visas problems, passports, and headaches for traveling overseas.
These problems of ridiculous delays for a stupid visa can linger for months. And if the visa is denied? You are not entitled for refunds and all your expenses go down the drain.
Harassment of “foreigners” from States considered not to be “true democracies” have emerged acutely after the 9/11/2001 attack on the Twin Towers… The Western States, including other smug States, rekindled their racist tendencies under smokescreens of preserving “Home Security” from potential terrorists…
Ramez, a friend of mine from Lebanon, published his beefs.  He wrote:  “I have three beefs with the embassies.
First beef is related to the cost of visas.
A Schengen tourist visa (for entering and traveling in the European Union States, excluding England) costs about $80.  A cost compared to the zero or $10 that Europeans or U.S. citizens pay at the airport for their entry visas to Lebanon, and they have not to apply for visas prior to entering.
If you apply for a visa to Europe or the United States their embassies will inform you, rather haughtily, that you won’t get the money back if your request for a visa is denied!
A visa application to the United States costs $140 and to the United Kingdom can get into the hundreds of dollars depending on length of validity.  For most of the embassies you also have to come prepared with the exact change, or lose your turn and be asked to come back later. Next in line?
My second beef is the amount of documents you have to show to get a visa to spend a measly week-long vacation!
Passport, photos of a specific size, letter of employment, a document attesting to the financial status of the company employing you, a family certificate, a statement of your bank account for the last few months, travel insurance including repatriation coverage, in case your bladder burst while hunting for a toilet in Rome.
All of these documents will set you back at least another $60 and must be translated by a sworn translator – and don’t forget to bring photocopies.
What documents does a European or US citizen need to get into Lebanon?
Just a passport, carrying a photo of the holder smiling smugly.
My third beef is the process.
To apply for a visa to most European countries one must first call a pay-per-minute number to obtain an appointment. You appear on the set time and wait an hour or two outside in the open air, rain or shine. Then, you wait indoor for another 30 to 60 minutes.
My worst experience has been with the German Embassy who once gave me an appointment for 9:00 am and when I arrived precisely at 9:00 am, I was informed that I should have been there at 8:45 am, so they could look at all my papers before my 9:00 am appointment! Here is a suggestion, Herr Ambassador: make the appointment at 8:45.” (End of quote)
Mind you that we are asked to go to these horrendous processes even if we are invited by organizations to attend conferences or we have to deliver a talk to conventions…” End of quote
Lebanese are promptly punished by Arab States for one reason or another.
It is like: “We don’t like the politics of your current government.  All Lebanese are denied visa for an unlimited period.”
Lebanese residents in these Arab States are harassed and warned to leave their businesses and years of connections and vacate the country within a few days.
Whatever dignities these dictators and absolute monarchs have for human rights are denied the Lebanese.
That is why Turkey and Egypt are excellent destinations: Lebanese need not apply for a visa to these wonderful countries, far more exciting, varied cultures, with cheerful people.
If we ever manage to have a State, reciprocity should be the norm, and the cost of the European and American not responding is minimal; we may generate millions in saving redundant expenses by stopping applying for expensive visas and the humiliating processes and procedures.
If we had a State we could take a stand and be rewarded for our stand…Dignity in this century is to just show your passport and enter any country you like
We permitted to be the mockery of smug States, simply because we gave up our responsibility to demanding to have real governments and not a ridiculous multi-theocratic political system
I suggest that the UN deliver UN passports to all developing States citizens.
If we have to submit to these humiliations, let us submit to them once for all to a world organization that should be representing and honoring recognized States.

Note: this is the second in a series of three articles targeted intended to simplifying the explanation of the causes (not the mechanisms) of the financial crash of Wall Street and offering an alternative resolution.

The American Manifesto of the 21st century (October 6, 2008)           

We all know by now that the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers and its consequences in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Moslem World, in general, were the events of the decade.  We do feel deep in our guts that the fall of Wall Street and its results would be the events of the century.  The fall of the last bastion of unbridled capitalism is shaking the World economy and sending strong Tsunami waves to global finance and investment institutions all around. 

The US Federal government is nationalizing the major failing commercial banks and a few investment banks, which are the foundation and symbol of greedy capitalism.  For the time being the Federal government has bailed out AIG and then nationalized Goldman & Sacks and G.P. Morgan who would have the task of purchasing the remaining failing financial institutions.  Since when you could conceive the two relatively puny institutions of G&S and G.P. Morgan to purchase Washington Mutual and other giants for a nickel?  What organizations are behind Goldman & Sacks and G.P. Morgan to obtain formal nomination of the US Federal government for the nationalization process? 

            It is well documented that minor cataclysms generate abundance of investigation and then public coverage but the coverage of seismic cataclysms that are financial in nature are relegated to professional manuscripts that the general public would not touch with a long pole.  Did anyone read any serious coverage of the financial repercussions of the September 11 nightmare or the bankruptcy of the energy giant ENRON?  If anyone, so far, comprehend the causes of the fall of Wall Street then please disseminate your knowledge profusely and immediately. 

One hint though; follows the money trails and you will catch the head criminals.  Astute Warren Buffet has already invested 5 billions in Goldman & Sacks or 10% of the shares; thus, this is a strong lead to follow.  The most direct way for grabbing significant threads is by investigating Vice President Cheney and his inner circle; they were fundamentally following orders of the malefic financial giant organizations that are behind the turmoil of this decade.

              I wonder though why the fall of Wall Street happened when the last bastions of communism (China) definitely shifted gears to participate in the new world economic order!  The fall of Wall Street should have taken place shortly after September 11, 2001.  The invasion of poor Afghanistan was not credible to infuse over 3 trillion dollars into the already failing financial institutions in the USA through fraud and the scapegoat of a major war against “terrorism”. The Bush Administration, and the behind the scene nefarious financial organizations, needed to invade rich Iraq and blackmail the neighboring tiny Arab Emirate States to redirect the swindle on the largest scale through front re-construction companies such as Bechtel and Halliburton and others private security companies.  The Iraqi war could not cost that much money and certainly the Iraqi people didn’t notice any beneficial change in their daily lives for six years and they are much worse everyday.

            This gimmick of infusing another 700 billion dollars from the US citizens taxes is basically one of the last payments of the Federal government to the financial mega mafias.  For a year, those malefic financial mafias might lie low to ride off the anger of the US people and then the same cohabitation and capitalist schemes will resume under laws riddled with loopholes as large as elephants.

            They say that everything is politics; but in capitalist systems, where political structures are fundamentally legal front for the mega financial mafias to bleed dry the citizens then, capitalism is what defines politics.  If you want to investigate any political decision then, your best bet is to follow the financial traces.  I urge the US citizens not to wait and see!  If you do not do your homework now, and before the 700 billions are issued, and then actively revisit the US political structures then the same cycle would recur at a nastier magnitude.


adonis49

adonis49

adonis49

June 2023
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