I agree with him in regard to the rise of nationalistic forces across Europe and how this has the potential to shatter the European order which is far more fragile then we assume.Jean Claude Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg, who chaired a group of Euro-zone finance ministers at the height of the financial crisis, claimed that elections in Italy and Greece brought "national resentments to the surface, which we'd believed had gone away".
He said that he had been appalled by protesters' banners in Greece which showed Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, in Nazi uniform.
Mr Juncker said in an interview with the magazine Der Spiegel: “Anyone who believes that the eternal question of war and peace in Europe is no longer there risks being deeply mistaken. The demons have not gone away — they’re only sleeping, as the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo showed. I am chilled by the realisation of how similar circumstances in Europe in 2013 are to those of 100 years ago.”
The way in which some political figures in Germany had “lashed out” at Greece during the financial crisis has left “deep wounds” there Mr Juncker said. He said the Italian election was “excessively hostile to Germany and therefore anti-European”.
Resentment over austerity measures advocated by Germany spilt over into public anger when Mrs Merkel visited Athens last October. Some Greeks protesters burned a swastika flag while others dressed in Nazi uniforms.
In 1913 many believed that there would never again be a war in Europe. The great powers of the continent were so closely intertwined economically that the view was widespread that they could no longer afford to have military confrontations.
“There was a complete sense of complacency based on the assumption that peace had been secured forever.”
I don't think that we face a risk of major war between states, but rather a risk of rising tide of low-level civil 'unrest'/wars sparked by the rise of extremist parties, the risk of secession and economic collapse leading to martial law (Greece being a prime example) and a violent backlash from sections of society.
The best thing that can happen is for a orderly break-up of the Euro but sadly I don't think this is likely until the German elite smell the coffee and wake-up soon.
http://www.uncommonwisdomdaily.com/no-o ... -this-9587
On the subject of the cycles of war (which I know is controversial) this chap has a interesting article...
I’m not the first to conduct research into the rhythms or cycles of war. There have been many before me, notably, Raymond Wheeler, who has published the most authoritative chronicle of war ever, covering a period of 2,600 years of data.
And Mr. Edward R. Dewey, the noted cycle theorist and founder of the Foundation for the Study of Cycles.
In 1964, after having worked extensively with Wheeler’s data, Mr. Dewey discovered a 17.71 year cycle in war. In other words, throughout 2,600 years of data, there seemed to be a natural tendency and high probability for societies to engage in conflict, every 17.71 years, on average.
Dewey’s work was way ahead of its time. But as I examined the data and cycles as they panned out in the 19th and 20th centuries, they often missed the mark by being too early or too late, and at other times, seemed to have no impact at all.
As a result, in my early years studying Dewey’s work and the Wheeler Index, I concluded that there seemed to be little correlation between events, and that something larger was impacting the cycles. So I set out to find out what that might be.
In short, I discovered that what was impacting the cycles Dewey and Wheeler had discovered was none other than the monetary system.
Effectively, when governments made changes to their monetary systems, the timing of the war cycle was often distorted, arriving early, or in some cases too late.
I then tested and re-tested my data and theories. And I concluded that …
A. When governments and central banks tinkered with the value of a country’s money, revaluing its currency (mostly devaluing), in the midst of financial crises, it could have either a positive or negative effect on the war cycle coming due. The determining factor seemed to be whether or not the country became protectionist, engaging in trade wars first.
B. In social phenomena such as war, just as in financial markets, cycle timing dates relate more to TURNING POINTS in time, than the amplitude of the cycle.
In other words, one could not forecast the intensity of war alone from the timing of the cycles, just when there would be a window in time where war was not only likely, but probable.
And …
C. Dewey’s original cycles were more accurate when defined as an 18-year cycle, but within the confines of a much larger 54-year cycle, which I labeled the 54-Year Socio-Political Cycle.
Here is a listing of the dates/turning points that resulted from my work … how they panned out and intertwined with major economic and geo-political events … and where those turning points lie in the future.
This mathematically generated cycle chart shows that for the period from 2014 through 2017, the world is, sadly, at a very high risk of a major, international war. A war that could be as significant as the Korean War, and quite possibly, World War III.
I hope I am wrong. I hope and pray that the leaders of the world recognize that times of financial chaos are also times that can lead to terrible consequences.
But whether they do, or do not, I hope that you take this information very seriously, and take the necessary steps to prepare your family … your loved ones … and your finances — by recognizing and acknowledging the potentially dire times that may lie ahead.
