Oligarchs

The Filipino “elites” have a starring role as heroes and villains in Philippine history. So-called “ilustrados” were vanguards of the Propaganda Movement whose writings helped inspire the Philippine Revolution in the late nineteenth century and from whose ranks have been drawn many of the country’s “National Heroes.” The urban middle sector and municipal elites actively participated in the Philippine Revolution. But the Filipino elites have also been taken to task for “betraying” the Revolution, for putting their selfish, factional interests above those of the nation and the “masses”, for collaborating with the colonizers, and for being the principal beneficiaries of the American-era “colonial democracy” and post-war “elite democracy” that have plunged the country into crisis for most of the twentieth century.

This book shows how Filipino literature has intervened in the intellectual and popular debates on the historical origins, ascendancy, power, and legitimacy of the elites. Writers like Jose Rizal, Nick Joaquin, Ninotchka Rosca, Miguel Syjuco, and Ramon Guillermo are unsparing in their criticism of elite authorship of the Philippines’ past and present woes while seeking to recuperate the critical stance once represented by the “ilustrado.” The book identifies a number of emblematic cosmopolitan figures— the “middle sector” or “middle element” in Manila and other urban areas, Manila men and musicians, Overseas Filipino Workers, intellectuals, and Fil-foreigners—whose emergence as social forces points to the ongoing redefinition of the elites and the transformations of Philippine society, politics, and economy.

Table of Contents

Introduction: "Patria e intereses"
1  Who are the "Elites"?
2  Portraits of the Elites as Filipinos
3  The Misadventures of Ilustrado Nationalism
4  Ilustrados and OFWs
5  People's Power, Crony Capitalism, and the (Anti-)Developmental State
6  Transnational Elite Alliances
7 Overseas Filipino Intellectuals and Fil-Foreigners
Epilogue
Notes
Works Cited

For some time now I have been busy trying to tell the world the truth about religion. I have even said that the people responsible for the world's more pervasive religions were my own royal ancestors. And this is true. I have tried to inform as many people as I can to what they did and why they did it, and to help people to understand this step-by-step. It is my responsibility to do my best to undo the harm that my ancestors did to the world. And so, there is no choice for me but to continue until everyone is informed of this and finally accepts the truth about religion. This is not the easiest thing for me to say or talk about, but it is true that some of my ancestors were indeed psychopaths. Also, there are some of my relatives who know that I have been telling the world about this, but who would rather I not do so. I know the damage that the lies and twisted ideologies have caused and will continue to cause if left unchecked. This is now about the survival of the human race and our planet. The result of what my ancestors did is that the world is now a place in which psychopaths run free, occupy positions of authority and remain in a position to control and manipulate the populace. And if humanity is to survive, it cannot continue to be left in the hands of psychopaths. My royal ancestors had already known how to rule and control the masses when they began to create the three main religions of the world. This is because they had been ruling over dynasties even before dynasties were formally known as such. And that was long before the person known to the world as 'Adam' had existed. Those earliest 'dynasties' are called by archaeologists by the term "proto-dynasties". These ancestors of mine established the first dynasty in Egypt. It wasn't until the 12th dynasty that the pharaoh Amenemhept I (aka Adam-en-em-hept I, etc.) began to create the religion that would later become known as Judaism. He was the founder of the 12th dynasty, but he was also creating another dynasty parallel to that one which was known to his family and descendants as the "biblical dynasty". This pharaoh had envisioned the way that he wanted his religion to be and left instructions for its further creation and establishment to his descendants. He had created the first part of the story of Genesis and borrowed from some from already known religions for some of the other portions of his religion.* This religion, was only a part of what he had envisioned to do. He needed to continue to rule over Egypt and so, he had assistance from his sons to create his then new religion-a monotheistic religion. In it, he, the pharaoh was the god and played the part of God. He also played the part of Adam. He, like many of the ancient rulers played around with words. He placed 'Adam' in a wonderful place which was called the "garden of Eden". It was a play on the letters that were used, it was actually, the "garden of Aten". That, was a royal garden belonging to the pharaoh himself. And the name 'Adam' was already a name by which this pharaoh was known. Other information about this pharaoh and the story of Genesis and others will be made known; but at this time, I am giving an overview of what these ancient royals did. The Pharaoh's son Seth stayed with him in Egypt and ruled there with him and then also after he died. Another of his sons, known as 'Cain' went to another land to establish followers for the new religion with his brother's son Enosh. Cain had a son of his own whom he named after his brother's son who was helping him, Enoch. And Seth while ruling in Egypt was known as Sesostris, his Egyptian name. His son Enosh, had a son, and he named him after his uncle, calling him Kenan (Cainan). It was Cain and his descendants who established the people known as Cainanites. In the line of descent from Adam, Seth's wife is unnamed. But knowing that Seth as actually the Pharaoh Sesostris I, we then know that his wife was his sister or half-sister Neferu III. But to have given her name in the Bible would have

Recently, we have seen a lot of Princess Diana's sons on television as they have been remembering the anniversary of her untimely death. And, we hear about all the good that she had done. Granted, these things are true. But we have heard similar stories about people who were supposed to have been 'good', who, later, we found out to be less than the 'good' we thought that they were (Christopher Columbus, Mother Theresa, Father Serra, etc.). And we must also remember all of the popes who knew the truth about Christianity, but went on pretending that Christianity is 'good' and not a fraud. I'm not trying to say that the late Diana Spencer wasn't a good person, or that her sons are not. However, we do have to reexamine a lot of what we have been told, as well as what was presented to us in history and by whom.

Who was Flavius Josephus? Answering this one question, leads to answers to virtually all other questions about ancient history. The answer is that he was Arrius Calpurnius Piso, a royal Roman. He wrote under the alias of Flavius Josephus and pretended to be a Jew. He was of Jewish descent, on his mother's side. Please read on and learn.

Borxhi eshte thjesht nje simptome. Shkaku i vertete i borxhit jane nevoja apo deshira e qeverive per te shpenzuar me shume se te ardhurat qe " krijojne " – jane shpenzimet qe mund te vleresohen si te mira apo te keqija. Borxhi eshte nje shenje besimi tek e ardhmja. Ai, individi apo qeveria, qe kerkon borxh ka besim tek ideja qe kerkon te financoje; ai qe te jep borxh ka besim tek ideja jote dhe beson se do marre parate mbrapsht me interes. Fillimi i perdorimit te borxhit publik (kredimarrjes) ne shekullin e 15 i dha hov ekonomise boterore dhe zhvillimit te njerezimit. Por, shperdorimi i besimit mund te sjelle shkaterrim. Borxhi i marre disa dekada rresht e falimentoi Greqine ne vitin 2015, me efekte mjaft te renda tek qytetaret e cdo shtrese dhe moshe. Prandaj, jam dakord qe ta perkufizoj borxhin si nje force nukleare. Nese perdoret sic duhet, behet nje burim energjie per ekonomine dhe mireqenien e njerezve. Ne te kunderten, shkreton ekonomine dhe njerezit.

This is the proceedings of the Regional Stability in the South Caucasus Study Group workshop that took place in Reichenau, Austria, 9-11 November 2017. It focuses on problems of media bias, information operations, psychological operations, etc. The aim of the workshop was to determine whether biasing news content was acceptable to build peaceful relations.

Being 'Inner-Circle' with regards to history & religion means viewing it with "inside" knowledge. Whereas, all others try to understand it by studying it from the outside looking in. Summary: Certain Romans created Christianity during a time of war and as a part of that war. Therefore, motives & evidence remain within it. At the beginning of the 20th Century, a main hypothesis within academia was the Roman creation of Christianity, headed by Oxford University and students of earlier scholars who were founders of the field of Biblical Criticism. However, regardless of all of the work that had been done and all of the scholars who had reached this conclusion and wrote about it, that information was successfully suppressed-and, virtually, wiped out. Again, this was, at one point and for some time, the leading working hypothesis within academia (which, began with people like Copernicus and Galileo, and the invention of the printing press-which meant that it was much more difficult for the Church and other authorities to prevent or ban materials from circulating). What happened? Once Christian religious institutions realized what was happening, they began to a) open more religious colleges & universities, and b) began to recruit more religious people into academia. Also c), the scholars that had been writing about their findings of a Roman authorship for the New Testament, began dying off. And d), their work was being stolen, bought up and/or otherwise destroyed. If a book contradicted an individual's religious belief, that is all the reason needed for that individual to destroy that book.

The emperor Constantine's family is referred to by scholars as either the Constantinian Dynasty, or the Neo-Flavians. The reason that they have been called the 'Neo-Flavians' or New Flavians, is not because scholars have traced back their descent from the Flavian Dynasty of the 1st century, but because members of the family of Constantine used the name 'Flavius'; as if a rebirth of the earlier Flavian Dynasty. Scholars have thought that this was done in an attempt to show themselves triumphant in ways that the earlier Flavian Dynasty had, and not because they were actually descended from that earlier dynasty. But, in reality, that is exactly why they had used the name Flavius among their family members. And this was to show that they knew of their own descent from those earlier Flavians; not to the general public, but to other royal families of the time, who were their relatives-and, many of whom, were also descended from those earlier Flavians. As my research (based upon the work of Sir Ronald Syme, Abelard Reuchlin and others, along with the primary source texts in their original languages), has revealed, the emperor Vespasian was a descendant of King Herod, and therefore, via his branch of that family, a relative (cousin) of King Agrippa II. The evidence for this is overwhelming once it is all brought together and considered; including the fact that Vespasian had his own Herodian relatives leave Judea before his attack upon Jerusalem. Another thing that I had noticed during the process of investigating the Flavian/Herodian connection, is that there was indeed, a family resemblance between King Agrippa II and the Emperor Vespasian; which can be easily seen when viewing certain of their coins side by side. But the purpose of this paper is not to demonstrate the relationship between the Herodians and Flavians, this is just an aspect that I felt that the reader should be aware of as they consider Vespasian as ancestor of the Neo-Flavians. What we need is many more researchers working to reveal the truth in ancient history. That is why I have been working as I have to bring as much of this information to the public, so that there are many aspects of this from which to choose from to get researchers started and so that they have their choice of just where they would like to begin their own work. Bear in mind that the research papers, genealogies, books and other information that I have made available, should all be read as so much of it is connected and will offer the researcher answers where they may not otherwise have them. When one reads and considers my work, such as with the genealogical connections presented in this paper, the reader should think about what I have stated in my other works with regards to how it is possible to reconstruct relationships within ancient royal individuals and the way in which they left that information to us. For instance, I have said that in order to find out just who these individuals actually were and how they were related to each other, one must do a vast amount of research and read all primary documents available (or as close to that as possible), in the original languages-as well as the later citations and references to those individuals (who may also be descendants of those same individuals). Secondary sources (such as that of modern researchers) can also be helpful. The papers of Sir Ronald Syme, for instance, are extremely helpful and important; many of which, were published in JRS [Journal of Roman Studies]. Again, I would like to stress the importance of the researcher building up a cross-referenced database.

Sobre a Unidade Histórica de Russos e Ucranianos corresponde a tradução por Maurício Waldman do texto original em língua inglesa On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians, título de autoria de Vladimir Putin, presidente da Federação Russa, postado em 12 de julho de 2021 na home-page do Kremlin: < http://en.kremlin.ru/misc/66182 >. Este artigo foi igualmente publicado em língua russa e em ucraniano. Sobre a Unidade Histórica de Russos e Ucranianos é um material de acesso livre na Internet, sendo vedada a reprodução comercial e a divulgação sem aprovação prévia da Editora Kotev. Qualquer citação de Sobre a Unidade Histórica de Russos e Ucranianos deve incorporar referências e apensos editoriais em conformidade com o padrão modelar que segue: PUTIN, Vladimir. Sobre a Unidade Histórica de Russos e Ucranianos. Tradução de Maurício Waldman. Série Relações Internacionais Nº. 7. São Paulo (SP): Editora Kotev. 2022.

More than two years after the Maidan revolution, it is fully justified to say that the oligarchic system remains a key mechanism in Ukraine’s political and economic life. While it is true that the influence of the formerly most powerful oligarchic groups has eroded during this period, no such group except for the Family, i.e. the oligarchic circle centred around former President Yanukovych, has been eliminated.

The oligarchs have been able to hold on to their influence thanks to the weakness of the government in Kyiv and the fact that they still possess powerful instruments to defend their positions, including dominance of the media and some strategic sectors of the economy.

The main cause behind the persistence of the oligarchic system has been the decision taken by sections of the post-Maidan elite to enter into informal alliances with the oligarchs. At the same time, new political-business groups have started to emerge around the Ukrainian leadership, which can also be termed ‘oligarchic’.

The oligarchs remains one of the crucial obstacles impeding the modernisation of Ukraine. Undermining their influence will depend on whether the present-day façade institutions can be replaced with institutions that are robust and independent, which is the most important objective of the reforms.

Another thing is that Abelard Reuchlin not only passed along Inner-Circle knowledge that he was told, but he expounded upon it so that it could be more clearly understood by those who otherwise would not. He put forth a viable means in which to examine the texts of the time which includes those who were the witnesses to the creation of Christianity, those Jews who were writing the Talmud. In addition, he caused others, like me, to examine this further and allowed us to realize just how valuable it is in our studies to look much closer at the involvement of the Jews in trying to prevent the rise of those who would go on to create and promote Christianity. For, the Jews of the time, saw it (Christianity) for what it was truly was, an effort or tactic used by their enemies, as a part of the war that they had been fighting. And therefore, a fraud which needed to be exposed as such. The cause of the Pharisees and Scribes was for basic human rights, the end of slavery, and the foundation of a new fair democratic government. And, instead of teaching irrational and superstitious religion, they were trying to wean people off of that and replace it with sound, rational, practical, ethical reasoning. While Christianity, by contrast, was created to do the opposite of that. And that is because some greedy Roman rulers whose lives of luxury would be drastically changed, if the Pharisees and Scribes accomplished their goals for the people. Of course, to get people to believe in Christianity, the creators of Christianity had to make it appear to be something 'good', in much the same way that trappers set traps for dumb animals. Which, is exactly how those ancient royal rulers (the less than 1% of the time) saw non-royals, as nothing more than their own chattel which was there for no other reason than their own use for whatever purposes that they saw fit. Thus, Christianity was created as a means for them to better secure, control and manipulate the people, that they saw as their own sheep or chattel. This paper highlights the course that Abelard Reuchlin had taken in order to reach the conclusions that he was able to in order to advance our understanding of what the world was really like during the time in which the New Testament was being written and just who had motive to do so. And, his work also reminds us that we must consider all of the evidence of the time (that means the Jewish texts, the Jews of the time, and the Jewish war that was involved in the creation of Christianity). Reuchlin's work underscores our need to better understand what we study in the correct context in order to find out just who was actually writing at the time, and why. It is because of Abelard Reuchlin's work (and that of others, or course), that my own work was made more complete. I urge everyone to read and learn from the work that Reuchlin had devoted his life to in order that future generations could have that extremely important information.

Now, to better understand the Oligarchy or the 1% (actually, those who are really in control of our world are of much less than 1%, but it is easier to just say, "the 1%"), we need to not only ask questions, but to answer them as well. It just so happens that I had already been researching the Oligarchy for more than 20 years before people like Jimmy Carter, Jesse Ventura and Bernie Sanders started talking about it.

Thus, I am perhaps the one main person who not only knows the most about them, but who will also tell you about what I now know. Others who know, may not know as much, and they may not want to tell you what they know. The fact of the matter is that you most likely will not find out anything about the Oligarchy or the 1% via an education from within present day academia. In fact, what you "learn" or are told from within academia today, most likely will steer you away from what you would need to know about the subject.

Many people today are “Woke” to the reality of the situation that the 99% had been born into. And that is that the world that we were born into had been rigged to work against us and to benefit the few who were born into the 1% and the Oligarchy. It is going to be a monumental task to change this. But it can and must be done. And that must begin by educating more people to this reality.

This paper is being written mainly as a genealogy, but it does also contain much valuable information as to just why such genealogies exist and/or can be reconstructed with the right knowledge of ancient texts. It is also more evidence of the existence of a royal oligarchy which had many branches, so as to cover many geographic locations and peoples. Because we find that the Viking leaders were of ancient royal ancestry, as the rest of those who were in power and either royal or of papal families, we can better understand just why they were able to do what they did and get away with it. They were, doing publicly, what their royal ancestors had been doing (and what other royals of their time were also doing) in secret (See my work on Royal Supremacy).[I] In terms of the Viking history as it was left to us, as 'Vikings', their " history " as Viking raiders began with the attack on Lindisfarne monastery in 793 CE/AD, and ended with the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 CE/AD, when the Vikings were battling the English army, and the English army had successfully repelled them. Another thing to note, is that the Vikings are credited with various things, particularly, the discovery of America. However, there is evidence that their relatives and ancestors had already known of and visited America. And that explains just how it is that they knew where it was and how to get to it, and back. Though I have not yet written much about it (see my paper 'What Claudius Ptolemy Knew'), I have been meaning to write more about ancient world travel and the evidence that there is for it.[II] There are still a lot of people who do not want to even consider that ancient people had traveled around the world.

Since I have been studying so many different areas of ancient history, particularly that of ancient Rome, this subject has been of some interest to me and others for a number of reasons. It has been apparent that the decline in the content of silver in Roman coinage directly related to various factors within the Roman Empire over the course of several centuries; namely, through the First Century AD/CE to the Fourth Century AD/CE. The examination of the part that coins played in history is crucial in helping to make important determinations in a number of areas of the study. For instance, the names used by various emperors, their family members, wives, and sometimes, relatives. It is for much more than simple interest or trivia that we, as historians, examine ancient coins. We find many things of interest and importance, that is, of value to us in our quest to learn more about the people and times in which they lived. Coins of the various emperors contain information. They give us portraits of the emperors which give us some idea as to how they looked. They tell us things from what they chose to include on their coins, such as symbols, gods and/or goddesses, motto and more. And, at times, we may even find examples of propaganda and historical reference. But in this instance, we are examining the silver content or the amount of silver contained within the silver denarius (or "denarii" in plural) as minted under the various emperors. Which, may tell us a few things or at least indicate or support various views of certain emperors at particular points in the historical timeline of the Roman Empire. One of the first things that comes to mind is that as the Roman Empire was expanding and more people and territory was being added to it, the demand for more coinage became a priority. And, one of the easiest ways to make silver coinage 'stretch' is to "water it down" so to speak. Or, in other words, reduce the silver content rather than the size of the coins-which, by the way, was another thing that we see happening as time went on (a good example of this can be seen in the reduction of size in both the denarius and the tetradrachm over the course of time). Coins which were produced under the Emperor Augustus were virtually as pure as they could make them, about 98 percent pure. We see, as time went on, that the silver coins minted under later emperors were reduced to 'billon' (a token amount of silver) and essentially copper coins with a silver wash to make them appear to be silver. Of course, with use, the silver washed coins would begin to show the copper as the silver wore off. Basically, the coins which were produced by the Julian Emperors remained for the most part, stable. The exception to that (and remember, we are focused primarily upon the denarius in this paper), could be coins produced for the various Roman territories in the form of coinage issued for use in the provinces. Once the rule of the Julian Emperors ended with the death of Nero, we begin to see where the rule of successive emperors changed the content of silver in their coins. The Silver Content In The Denarius Under Various Emperors*: [Again, remember that we find silver reduction in coins produced for the provinces] Augustus (ruled : 27 BC/BCE-14 AD/CE) 97/98%. Claudius (ruled : 41-54 AD/CE) 97%.

The research that has been done on royalty in general is massive. And, the connections between royal lines once revealed can be amazing, as they will sometimes reveal connections that a) were not supposed to have existed, and even b) that actually contradict the information that was given to the general public by those very royals. This paper gives two different lines of descent of Kaiser Wilhelm II, from Arrius Calpurnius Piso. One is through Arrius Piso's son Justus Piso. And the second line of descent is via Arrius Piso's son Julius Piso. Now, even though these two lines are given here, it should be understood that in reality, these are but two of many extant genealogies extending from Arrius Piso and his family to Kaiser Wilhelm. I plan to write yet another paper giving some of the other lines as well. There are several things that I have noticed as I have researched and studied ancient history and genealogies; things that should provide any good (or with time, potentially great) researcher with valuable information. And, as in my case, perhaps answers to many very important questions, as well as a few epic discoveries. When I began to investigate fully, and with the time and attention required, ancient history and information given within those histories, with regards to particular individuals, I found that certain things appeared to be 'standard' with all of those ancient authors-and those things stood out to me, and appeared to have been missed by other researchers, as I had never seen those certain things ever being noted or mentioned in the work of other researchers. For one thing, I had noted that in the work of one ancient author after another, there were so many instances where those authors could have very easily gave answers and information in a direct and forthright manner; but deliberately chose not to. And, more often than not, avoided very skillfully, giving key information about certain individuals; mainly and particularly, the authors themselves. Also, those authors would make statements which either promised to give answers and/or further information about a particular subject, and then failed to do so. At least, in any known or public work. Now, some researchers have tried to answer this by giving excuses for some of those instances. But, in essence, those explanations or excuses are really simply guesses. And poor ones at that. My work has given some genuine answers. And the true context of the material that was being written and left to future generations by those ancient authors is key to getting at the truth and in finding valid answers to these and other questions. One of the main things to realize is that ancient history (and other material being produced by those authors), was being written within a tightly controlled environment. And that changes the context in which we must now examine that material in order to understand it correctly. It also means that because of this set of circumstances, other things were in play as well. And, one of those is the fact that the authors who were leaving us their works were in fact, all royalty. Which, in turn, means that these authors were related to each other and had the same common ancestry. It also, therefore, means that they had the same or similar vested interests. Because only royals or those of royal blood, were able to write for publication, it meant that what they

This article presents a comparative analysis of the changing patterns of media ownership in ten new EU member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and discusses the implications of these processes for media freedom and autonomy. Briefly outlining the history of internationalization of CEE media markets, it argues that the presence of Western-based multinational companies on the CEE media markets has been recently diminishing rather than further growing. In addition, a different type
of actor has been gaining prominence on the CEE media map, unspotted or largely overlooked in most previous analyses, namely, local business elites acquiring stakes in news media. Combining secondary sources and field interviews with media experts
and practitioners, this study explores the various practices of business and political instrumentalization of media by their local owners, often resulting in a constrained editorial independence and increasing intertwinement of the systems of media, politics, and economy in the region.

Un tetto sopra la testa L'occupazione di case somiglia alla lotta contro il latifondo La solidarietà di Palermo con la docente sospesa per il video degli alunni contro le leggi razziali e il decreto sicurezza: «Torni subito in cattedra». Studenti, insegnanti e sindacati in piazza. Il caso finisce in parlamento. Salvini prova a disinnescarlo: voglio incontrarla pagina3 CONTRO L'OMOFOBIA Taiwan legalizza i matrimoni omosex biani Esplora Vai su iorompo.it e troverai tutte le informazioni su questa campagna. Gioca Decidi con quali armi vuoi abbattere il muro e per quanti giorni vuoi abbonarti al manifesto digitale. Condividi Pubblica il tuo nome, scrivici qual è il muro che vuoi abbattere, diffondi la campagna e aiutaci a far conoscere questo progetto di informazione bene comune. SALVINI CONTRO I CINQUE STELLE. AUTORIZZATO LO SBARCO DI SOLI 18 MIGRANTI SU 65 Governo alla deriva sulla Sea Watch II Ho avuto in classe militanti neofascisti che affermavano che i campi rom andavano bruciati, altri che erano a favore della pe-na di morte, sedicenni a favore delle classi differenziali e per la sterilizzazione dei disabili, altri che pensavano che la legislazio-ne sullo stupro fosse esagerata.-segue a pagina 3-Palermo, manifestazione di solidarità con la docente sospesa foto Ansa TONINO PERNA D a quando è iniziato l'acca-nimento terapeutico con-tro Domenico Lucano e del modello Riace, con il blocco dei fondi, poi con gli arresti domi-ciliari e infine con l'esilio, ho assi-stito ad una crescita esponenzia-le, dall'Italia e dall'Europa, della solidarietà di associazioni, perso-nalità e semplici cittadini.-segue a pagina 15-Grazie Salvini Il capo leghista ha fatto riscoprire la Destra e la Sinistra Leggi razziali La sospensione della prof è un atto squadrista CHRISTIAN RAIMO GAETANO LAMANNA N el cuore di Roma si sta sperimentando un mo-do nuovo di intendere l'abitare, i servizi condominiali e alla domiciliarità. Si è creato uno spazio di co-working con i residenti del quartiere. Che co-sa c'è di "illegale" in tutto que-sto? O è preferibile il degrado alla vitalità culturale?-segue a pagina 15-1-9 giugno 2019 | Scopri lo spettacolo del marmo The first widespread exhibition in Italy

There have been major changes in the balance of forces among the key Ukrainian oligarchs, representatives of big business with strong political influence, since the victory of the Maidan revolution. However, these changes have not undermined the oligarchic system per se. Over the past decade or so, the oligarchs have been key players in Ukrainian politics and economy, and they have retained this position until the present. One of the effects of the change of the government in Kyiv and the war in the Donbas was the elimination of the influence of 'the family' – the people from Viktor Yanukovych's inner circle who formed the most expansive oligarchic group in Ukraine at the time of his presidency. The influence of Rinat Akhmetov, the country's wealthiest man, has also weakened significantly; Akhmetov was one of the most influential people in Ukraine for more than ten years, partly owing to his close bonds with Yanukovych. Dmytro Firtash's group has also lost a great deal of its influence since Firtash was arrested in Austria in March 2014. The elimination ('the family') or the reduction in influence (Akhmetov and Firtash) of what were until recently the most powerful oligarchic groups has been accompanied over the past few months by an unprecedented increase in the influence of Ihor Kolomoyskyi. The present governor of Dnipropetrovsk oblast has become Ukraine's most powerful oligarch, and has ambitions to expand his influence. Other representatives of big business (including Victor Pinchuk, Serhiy Taruta and Oleh Bakhmatyuk) have also maintained their positions. Petro Poroshenko is a special case. He had been considered a second-rank oligarch over the past few years, but since being elected president he has become the most important person in the country, along with Prime Minister Yatsenyuk. However, Poroshenko has promised to sell his main business assets. Despite the reshuffle among the key oligarchic groups seen over the past few months, and the new government's declarations that radical reforms are necessary, the oligarchs are unlikely to lose their influence on Ukrainian politics and economy in the foreseeable future. The conflict in the Donbas, the deep economic crisis in Ukraine and the instability of the government coalition all mean that the government is too weak and lacking in will to eliminate the oligarchs' influence. Furthermore, the outcome of the parliamentary election confirms that representatives of big business have retained significant influence in the Ukrainian parliament. The oligarchs' control of the key economic sectors and the media, coupled with the proneness of government representatives to corruption, means that any possible attempt to upset the oligarchic system will generate serious tension.

“I am Emperor. I am above grammar.” – Holy Roman Emperor, Sigismund (b. 1368, d. 1437 CE)

[This research paper gives the ancestry of Emperor Sigismund going back to ancient times]

Why would a Holy Roman Emperor’s statement be of such importance that I (or anyone) would take the time to write a research paper about it? Well, because it is just one of many examples of those who were born into royalty, making reference to what only they were privy to; the use of a ‘Royal Language’. [I]

In order to get to the point where one would understand just what his statement actually meant and referred to, one would have to know much about the true nature of royalty. And, that, is a very complex subject. As I have been explaining in other papers, just as we have a 1% today, this same “condition” existed for a very long time – a very long time. And the reason that it had remained so, is because those ancient royal individuals saw to it that it would;...

This paper in conjunction with my other papers on the subject of the popes demonstrates how we may reconstruct just who the popes were and why they all had the same common ancestry. This too, is proof of the fact of the existence of a virtually all-controlling royal oligarchy who created both popes and emperors. And, who were, and had been, writing all published material in the West for hundreds of years.

In Russia, civil society engagement with the petroleum sector is surprisingly rich and varied for a country that is ranked low on most democracy-related indicators. This chapter finds that there is a lively and varied public debate, with business associations, research institutes, independent experts, indigenous organizations and the few surviving independent media actively and often competently analysing and commenting on a broad range of issues related to the oil and gas sector. Russians were early users of social media, which occasionally also function as a platform for discussion of petroleum policy issues. However, the real impact of civil society on decision-making and policy formulation in the petroleum sector is not as great as the diversity of actors and discussion might imply. One key reason is the tight government control over mainstream media outlets. The situation for free speech and civil society worsened steadily from around 2004 to 2016. As in neighbouring Kazakhstan, the Russian population puts a high premium on stability over freedom. While a central concern in this book is whether the media and civil society have any influence on the petroleum sector, in Russia the paradoxical situation is that the relationship is often reversed: the gas company Gazprom, rather than another organizational vehicle, is used by the government to control key mass media; and the oil company Yukos played a central role in promoting civil society until its main owner Mikhail Khodorkovskiy was arrested and the company was carved up.

In this unfinished rough powerpoint for a series of lectures I explore why the United States is markedly different from other representative democracies and welfare states.  I trace the tradition of using a combination of bribery and corruption of the Congress and Judiciary, and violence and racist terror as a means of marginalizing organized labour and frustrating democratic control.  I explore how the contemporary crisis of social inequality, political corruption and racist authoritarian government long predates Trump, first emerging after Reconstruction in the Kleptocracy of the Gilded Age, receding somewhat under Roosevelt's leadership and with the Bretton Woods consensus, only to re-emerge with the Reagan revolution and the political triumph of the racist reaction to the Civil Rights and Feminist Movements, and the radicalism of the 1960s.  On the foreign policy side, the resurgent power of the oligarchy within the country and the brutal repression of the poor and marginalization of labour and the voices of the black radical tradition, symbolized by the ruins of Detroit and the South Bronx, would be matched by the consolidation of the policies of the so-called Washington Consensus.  This policy approach, enforced by the IMF, World Bank, and American military force and paramilitary violence, is often sold as Globalization, critiqued as Neo-liberalism, but might more accurately be described as a return to racist colonialism of the filibusters, Teddy Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson.  The talk, which is intended to engage non-academic audiences and avoid jargon and theory, ought to be read in conjunction with Richard Iton's Solidarity Blues, and WIlkinson and Pickett's The Spirit Level.

La Constitution des Athéniens est un pamphlet contre la démocratie athénienne, rédigé à la fin du Ve siècle av. J.-C., à l’époque où Périclès faisait au contraire l’éloge du régime. Longtemps attribuée à tort à Xénophon, elle est due à un Athénien anonyme de la classe supérieure, partisan d’un régime oligarchique, que les modernes surnomment parfois « le vieil oligarque ». L’auteur dénonce la démocratie comme un régime injuste, dont les victimes sont les riches, les bien nés, ceux qu’il appelle « les honnêtes gens » et qui sont les mieux qualifiés pour gouverner, tandis que les « fripons », les pauvres, la masse profitent d’un système qui vise à leur seul profit. L’opuscule détaille les spécificités du régime et ses conséquences pour les uns et les autres. Il présente la démocratie athénienne comme un régime immoral, mais très cohérent. Considéré par les historiens actuels comme une œuvre majeure, il est une mine d’informations sur la démocratie athénienne, son fonctionnement et les attaques dont elle a fait l’objet.
La présente édition s’appuie sur un nouvel examen des manuscrits grecs et sur les travaux des philologues modernes. Elle cherche à comprendre le texte tel qu’il a été transmis, sans améliorer son style par des corrections inutiles. La traduction cherche à rendre écriture et raisonnement avec fidélité et cohérence. Un commentaire linéaire détaillé justifie l’établissement du texte et apporte des éclairages linguistiques, littéraires et historiques, tant sur les idées avancées et sur leur place dans l’histoire de la pensée politique que sur les événements et pratiques dont témoigne le texte. Un glossaire recense un large choix de termes en grec et en transcription, avec leur traduction et leurs occurrences significatives. Un index verborum complet est également proposé. L’ensemble est précédé d’une introduction de 160 pages qui traite non seulement de la tradition du texte, mais de l’histoire de l’opuscule et de son interprétation : sa date et son arrière-plan historique, son auteur, le genre dont il relève, sa composition, sa représentation orientée des Athéniens et des autres, ses cibles, ses procédés polémiques, sa valeur documentaire, l’idéal politique qu’il traduit et sa place dans les débats antiques sur la démocratie.
The Constitution of the Athenians is a satirical tract on Athenian democracy, which was written near the end of the fifth century BC, during the period when Pericles, for his part, praised Athenian democracy. Although it has long been attributed to Xenophon, it was in fact authored by an anonymous upper class Athenian supporter of the opposing oligarchic system of government. The author condemns democracy as an unfair system, whose victims are the rich, well-born citizens, whom he calls “the valuable” and sees as the best qualified to rule. In contrast, “the worthless”, the poor majority, take advantage of a system which aims at their sole interest. The opuscule explains the peculiarities of the democratic system and its consequences for different categories of people. It represents the Athenian democracy as an immoral, but very coherent system. Considered a major work by modern historians of the ancient world, the Constitution of the Athenians is a mine of information on Athenian democracy, its workings, and the opposition which it had to face.
This critical edition leans on a new examination of both the Greek manuscripts and also of modern philological studies. It tries to understand the text as it has been transmitted without improving its style with pointless corrections. The translation faithfully and coherently renders the original style and reasoning. The detailed commentary accounts for the philological choices of this particular edition, and provides linguistic, literary, and historical insights on the anonymous author’s ideas and their place in the history of political thought, as well as on the events and social customs mentioned. A glossary includes a large selection of words in Greek and in transcription; the selected terms are also translated and their meaningful occurrences are indexed. The volume concludes with a complete index uerborum. All this is preceded by a 160-page introduction which deals not only with the textual and critical traditions that preceded this edition, but also with whatever aspects of the historical context of the opuscule affect its interpretation: its date, its author, the genre to which it belongs, its structure, its biased representation of Athenians and others, its targets, its polemical processes, its informative value, the political ideal behind it, and its place among ancient debates on democracy.

Arria Antonina, had other names. And we know this because her 'Antonina' name was the feminine form of her father's alias name of 'Arrius Antoninus'. The name 'Antoninus' was a name created by using one of Arrius Piso's inherited names ('Antonius') and 'ninus' (i.e., "baby boy"), which alluded to Arrius Piso as the baby Jesus. Even though I knew about Arria Antonina for awhile, I was not able to comment upon her in any of my works until now. The reason is that because of her name, I was not entirely certain that she was a different individual other than her sister Claudia Phoebe, who was aka Arria Fadilla. In all of these instances where there are similar names involved, caution and diligence is absolutely necessary or mistakes can be easily made. And, also, because under that name, she was associated with certain other people-which meant that I had to do more investigation and research into just what her relationship was with other family members. Finding out things such as this can take time. Remember, even with all of my knowledge of the subject, my expertise and experience, and even working upon this with a high level of expertise for more than 20 years, it is only within the last few years that I discovered that Arrius Piso had this other daughter. And, the only way that such things can be discovered is by doing this exactly as I have been doing it, by building profiles or data bases for each individual and working slowly, carefully and with certainty. If one were to read and believe the histories of the time as written, believing that the authors were being honest and forthright, we would never discover all of the things such as this, that they were hiding or disguising. If we thought of Claudia Phoebe, for instance, only as Pompeia Plotina, we would not know that she had children. The only way to discover such things, is to find out what alias or alternate names...

What we have observed in our studies of the Popes and their relatives and ancestry is that there were branches of royal families who appear to have exchanged the papacy with each other. All of these royal families trace their ancestry back to a common ancestor, Arrius Calpurnius Piso. Again, as I have explained before in my other papers and in the book 'Piso Christ', the key to uncovering these popes and their ancestry is in knowing that there was an oligarchy in control of the known world. And that they were the royals of the time and were in charge of all that was written and published. And, especially, in knowing that the authors were the royals themselves and their royal family members and relatives, all of whom, were using alias names or alternate identities.

No biblical text has been more central to the politics of modern Israel than the book of Joshua. Named after a military leader who became the successor to Moses, it depicts the march of the ancient Israelites into Canaan, describing how they subjugated and massacred the indigenous peoples. The Joshua Generation examines the book's centrality to the Israeli occupation today, revealing why nationalist longing and social reality are tragically out of sync in the Promised Land.

Though the book of Joshua was largely ignored and reviled by diaspora Jews, the leaders of modern Israel have invoked it to promote national cohesion. Critics of occupation, meanwhile, have denounced it as a book that celebrates genocide. Rachel Havrelock looks at the composition of Joshua, showing how it reflected the fractious nature of ancient Israelite society and a desire to unify the populace under a strong monarchy. She describes how David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, convened a study group at his home in the late 1950s, where generals, politicians, and professors reformulated the story of Israel's founding in the language of Joshua. Havrelock traces how Ben-Gurion used a brutal tale of conquest to unite an immigrant population of Jews of different ethnicities and backgrounds, casting modern Israelis and Palestinians as latter-day Israelites and Canaanites.

There is demand among Russia's oligarchs for systemic change, but not for the rule of law proper. Instead, it is the de facto accountability of political elites and improved relations with the West that the Russian oligarchs want from the Kremlin. However, the oligarchs currently lack the capacity to effect change. Their insufficient leverage vis-à-vis Putin is rooted in their competition for rents, which prevents them from confronting the Kremlin as a united force. In addition to analyzing the lack of systemic pressure for change from the oligarchs, this essay considers the prospects of individual oligarchs who have nevertheless pushed openly for liberalization or tried to effect incremental change. It also draws on comparisons with other countries to chart the political behavior of Russia's business elites in the future.

This paper gives family descent of Pope Gregory V & Frederick Barbarossa from Arrius Calpurnius Piso. Frederick Barbarossa was a Holy Roman Emperor who was instrumental in the Third Crusade of the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick Barbarossa was descended from Henry, the brother of Bruno (aka Pope Gregory V).

The United States of America continues to create chaos in the world today. It is quite evident that there is an urgent need for a One Earth Nation Government to solve the issues facing the Earth and its peoples. The Earth and its peoples will only survive if Nations work together; Nationalism must be overcome; Intolerance must be overcome. Pluralism and Diversity, access to Education, Health and a better quality of life are the keys for our survival

This paper will propose that the extraction of gas by hydraulic fracturing, and the social and environmental disasters that shadow it, can be best explained by the influence exerted by a select few extremely wealthy people in order to secure their private interests: to protect and further embed their wealth and power. Oligarchs in the United States form an exceptionally small proportion of the total population, but control a vast amount of the financial resources. These financial resources allow the oligarchs access to high-ranking government officials, but those same resources can also be used to influence political decision-making through 'think tanks', contributions to political campaigns or by employing the services of professional lobby agents. This paper will first, though briefly, examine the contemporary energy crisis caused by the depletion of finite natural resources. Then it will look into the history and process of hydraulic fracturing, before turning to the environmental impacts, with a particular focus on the local communities and the social impacts.

After the contemporary colonial period, and the continued economic domination of the old metropolises over the new formally independent countries, the North-South divide and the maintenance of the old inequality and dependence began to be theorised. The "North" came to coincide with almost the entire geography of the Western hemisphere referred to as the West, and the so-called "First World". With Putin's Russia's invasion of Ukraine, things have changed. And not only geographically.
The new East-West axis, represented by Russia's imperialist orientalism and communist China's booming state capitalism, now confronts the liberal market westernism of America and Europe in an increasingly de-ideologised world. It is pathetic to witness the attempt to square the circle that some Soviet Union nostalgists seek to carry out. Thus, Putin's airs and graces are interpreted as a revival of the pretended world domination manifested at the Communist Summit of September 1957. Then 64 nominally communist parties - 12 of which were in government in their countries, including Russia and China - enunciated their anti-Western, anti-capitalist goal based on a supposed communist ideological supremacy.

This article addresses how global art markets are becoming an outlet of choice for those wishing to hide assets. Recent efforts by the OECD and the U.S. Treasury have made it more difficult for people to avoid taxes by taking money "offshore". These efforts, however, do not cover physical assets such as fine art. Citing data collected in Luxembourg-a jurisdiction angling to become a worldwide leader in "art finance"-I discuss the characteristics of this emerging system of opaque economic activity. The first of these is a "freeport", a luxurious and securitized warehouse where investors can store, buy, and sell art tax free with minimal oversight. The second element points to the work of art-finance professionals, who issue loans using fine art as collateral and develop "art funds" linked to the market value of certain artworks. The final elements cover lax scrutiny by enforcement authorities as well as the secrecy techniques typically on offer in offshore centers. Combining these elements in jurisdictions such as Luxembourg can make mobile and secret the vast wealth stored in fine art. I end the article by asking whether artworks linked to freeports and opaque financial products have become the contemporary version of the numbered Swiss bank account or the suitcase full of cash.

Who are the post-Soviet oligarchs? Have they been members of the nomenklatura before 1991? Did they accumulate their initial wealth before or after privatization? To answer these questions, I have compiled an original dataset of oligarchs drawing on publicly available biographical data in the fifteen republics of the former Soviet Union. The dataset covers the period from 1991 to 2011. There are two trends in the literature on oligarchs. One group of scholars argues that the oligarchs represent the former nomenklatura, while the second group claims that the members of the new business elites have diverse career backgrounds. The findings in this paper disconfirm the nomenklatura capitalism hypothesis. First, I show that many of the oligarchs were initially founders of cooperatives, some of them too young to be part of the party bureaucracy. Second, I parse out the oligarchic career paths, and suggest that most oligarchs made their fortunes by trading various goods during the perestroika period. Trading involved significant risks and was deemed as a quasi-criminal activity, so leading party officials were less likely to jeopardize their party careers by engaging in trading. Third, many oligarchs move from trading to banking and from banking to industry. The future oligarchs were individuals, who took high risks and accumulated their initial capital prior to the privatization rounds in their respective countries. However, numerous oligarchs have used their initial capital to become industrialists. This project contributes to a better understanding of the origins and emergence of oligarchs in the fifteen republics of the former Soviet Union.

The JC (Jewish Chronicle) essay - 2 March 2012
[Olim means immigrants to Israel]
This is an edited version of an article that appears in the cultural magazine, The Jewish Quarterly. Read the full version of this essay 'From Oligarch to Icon' in www.jewishquarterly.org. The article considers the phenomenon of Jewish immigration to Israel from the former Soviet Union, through the prism of the case of Mikhail Khordokovsky, a major Jewish tycoon with political ambitions who was imprisoned in Russia on allegedly trumped up charges of tax evasion.

This brief assesses the effectiveness of Western sanctions on Russia, and their likely future impact. It examines the unique features of Russia as a sanctions target in the context of global sanctions experience. It then considers the goals that sanctions are intended to achieve, their impact so far, and the second-order effects of Russia’s responses. It concludes that, although the factors that typically correlate with sanctions success are absent, sanctions on Russia have nonetheless achieved important goals relatively quickly. Their impact will increase over time. Though speculative at this stage, recent oligarch sanctions and more stringent scrutiny may have significant consequences. They pose new and difficult choices for Russia’s business elite, much of which is dependent on the global economy. How oligarchs resolve these dilemmas has important implications for Russia’s domestic evolution.

Gelingen die Reformen, entsteht in der Ukraine ein Gegenmodell zu den kleptokratischen Diktaturen im postsowjetischen Raum. Solange Russland und Belarus nicht selbst ernsthafte Reformen beginnen und sich der EU annähern, werden die Fortschritte der Ukraine für ihre Potentaten zunehmend zur innenpolitischen Bedrohung. Neue Eskalationen insbesondere in der Ost- und Südukraine sind deshalb nicht ausgeschlossen. Seinen Hybridkrieg niedriger Intensität gegen die Ukraine, der oft unter dem Radarschirm westlicher Medienaufmerksamkeit stattfindet, wird Moskau womöglich ohnehin fortführen. Die ständigen Scharmützel vergiften bereits über zwei Jahre das ukrainische Geschäfts- und Investitionsklima – insbesondere in jenen Gebieten, die in Moskau gern als "Neurussland" bezeichnet werden. Solange dieses fundamentale Sicherheitsproblem der Ukraine ungelöst bleibt, besteht das Risiko, dass alle Reformanstrengungen und westliche Hilfsmilliarden letzten Endes sinnlose Mühe bleiben. Im schlimmsten Fall könnte eine neue russische Offensive oder konzertierte Unterwanderung zu einem Kollaps des ukrainischen Staates führen, was für die EU unter anderem Millionen neuer Flüchtlinge aus Osteuropa bedeuten würde. Die westlichen Entscheidungsträger, allen voran in der EU und ihren Mitgliedsstaaten, müssen sich deshalb intensivere Gedanken darüber machen, wie das fundamentale Sicherheitsproblem der Ukraine zu lösen sein kann.

To understand the social and political health of any society, it is enough to look at the state of informality of its formal institutions, which affect its economy and politics. In all the directions we look at and analyze after hearing enough political information, it seems that at the end of each day the most important institution is endemic corruption, which is the main threat to the country. Political corruption (as worst habit of corruption), which is even more damaging, is evident in at least three directions: First, there is a lot of dubious data regarding the exploitation of above and below ground assets. The second is the distribution of large infrastructure projects at the personal discretion of a small group of political leaders. Third, day by day there are reports of direct abuses from the state budget and large-scale corruption.