Antons Benjamiņš varbūt balsos PAR!


A Moment For Remembering the First Latvian Woman Playright. Ramava.

Harmony centre (Saskaņās centrs) has issued a call http://www.apollo.lv/portal/news/articles/259012 for all Latvians to participate in the Referendum on the “”language issue—ragardless of what one’s conviction is, whether it is FOR or AGAINST enabling Russian to become the 2^nd official language of Latvia.

In effect, this writer is considering the possibility of voting AGAINST Latvian as the only official language in Latvia, and FOR Russian as a 2^nd language.

Considering how one may vote in a Referendum (before the Referendum takes place by discussing it) there is NO HEDGING the discussion, especially if a date for the vote is not yet set., But it does cause one to pause, the PAUSE coinciding with giving thought to the possibility of voting FOR, demands arguments that support doing so, thinking things through not necessarily in a linear fashion only.

Therefore, the following is a list of some of this writer’s reasons for imagining that the Latvian language has not served Latvians in a way that it is supposed to serve in the public spheres of politics, business, economic development, education, video, and so forth. The following is an informative blog on the state of NATO: http://emsnews.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/nato-banking-mess-creates-global-insurrections-and-wars/#more-13582

In effect: This blogger, Antons Benjamiņš aka Jaņdžs, varbūt balsos (may vote FOR) PAR!

NoHedge, re: The ‘Varbūt’ (maybe will) stands for "will ponder for sure".

I In fact, there are two Latvian languages. The first is the one assured ‘eternal’ existence by the Latvian Constitution. This language is the Latvian that evolved in Riga, Latvia’s capital city. The centre of most Latvian urbanism, starting on the cusp of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, Riga contained all the elements of a society slated to become consumers consuming everything (newspapers including).

When the Latvian localisms were smoothed out of the-Latvian-language-at-large this Latvian (along with its own mannerisms) became what we know as the Latvian language today. The one region in Latvia that had a very noted idiomatic manner of expressing itself was Latgale. It was not long, before Latgalian Latvian was begun to be looked down on, a presumption of Latvian lawgivers in the Saeima to this day. The second Latvian language is the one spoken at home, whether in Latgale, or anywhere else. What distinguishes this second Latvian language from the first, is its informality and frequent use of the ‘endearing word’ (John=Johnny). The latter inflections almost never appears in documents or the public media in Latvia.

II The call FOR but one language in Latvian schools, does not free one of the yoke of pretentions projected by the first Latvian language (see above; which this writer speaks before he turns to English) against the second Latvian language. Indeed, the Chairwoman of the Latvian Saeima recently denigrated Latgalian on a very official occasion, when she rejected the Latgalian idiom of a Saeima deputy during his swearing-in ceremony.

III The attitude of the Latvian government with regard to  above I & II points, has not improved or come to greater self-consciousness, but appears to preserve the class prejudice that was at the basis of the discrimination between the two Latvian languages during the first half of Latvia’s existence (1918-1939). While many today dismiss class prejudice as a matter of another day, in Latvia the prejudice has continued to progress in a number of ways.

Students and teachers; a Moment For Remembering the First Latvian Woman Playright,
Marija Pekšēna, Ramava, 2011.

IV The consequences of snobbism in Latvia have been disastrous to Latvia in numbers of ways.

a)     The Latvian political and bureaucratic circles, the media including, reject all matters relating to populism as unmentionables. There is—to this writer’s experience—not one Latvia of the above mentioned stripes, who will acknowledge populism as a valid political orientation.

b)    Though accusing Latvians of intra-ethnic conflict may not be very nice with regard to all who hold the prejudice, the “not so nice” tag has its roots in related mindset, re ‘prestige’ http://www.pbs.org/speak/speech/prestige/articles/  The ‘prestige comes with being an urbanite vs one from the countryside.This (let me say) ‘stupid’ polarization of society is mostly the doing of urbanites.

c)     This intra-ethnic polarization has cost Latvia at least 200,000 citizens to economic emigration. Whatever the accurate figure may be, the consequences are not only loss of labor force, but is a matter of profound demoralization to the people in the countryside. My neighbour recently responded to the above mentioned figure of 200,000 with: “It feels like a million have left”.

d)    In short, the consequences of snobbism in Latvia on the part of some Latvians who consider themselves to be more Latvian than Latvian Latgalians who do not speak 1^st Latvian without an accent. Thus, just imagine, if so-and-so Latvians who do not speak either 1^st or 2^nd version Latvian, insist that they have a right to continue studying in schools that teach in Russian or when teachers in Latvian schools should begin to teach Latvian speaking Latvian-Latgalian.

e)     The snobbism may also come in reverse. Thus, students in a countryside school may gang up on one who is from Riga. And I have heard quite a few Latvians complain that Russians call Latvian a fascist  language, as the gentleman in the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXKQxcqjMPQ appears to do  (I do not understand Russian, except on inspired osmosis of-the-moments as here) , though apparently for the interviewed person  the word ‘fascist’ is equitable with ‘nationalist’. Here we may be seeing and hearing a Russian liberal of the ‘a Russian-of-Riga’ mind set and its meme.

First Latvian Woman Playright, Marija Pekšēna. Ramava. 2011.

V  For a  Latvian to consider a vote FOR Russian, with which vote goes (in his mind) an automatic AGAINST Latvian there is much to do and think about. One of the questions is, of course, would this question have arisen if the economy was or is doing well?

A large crowd of populists is waiting at the door of the Latvian Saeima, everyone in it wanting to know if the Saeima knows that to the populist Latvians the country feels as if  a million people have gone?

This blog in 2 parts. This is part 2.
THE UNWELCOME MEME IN THE LATVIAN MINDSET 2.

A Mindset Meme Reflected in a Temple Gong.

 Unortunately ever since the Latvians became infected by the Roman meme or for that matter with Zatler’s Reform Party approach to politics, et al, raises the question BUT WHAT IF the vote FOR making RUSSIAN the 2nd official language in Latvia were nevertheless to receive a majority vote. What would then be the consequences (predicted to be dire) to the existence of the Latvian state?

The first question that is raised is: Whether the Latvian Russian speaking public would try to eliminate the state of Latvia by inviting Moscow to come and to occupy Latvia once more?

During the last few days, the Latvian media is doing everything it can to emphasize the demonstrations in Moscow and Petersburg against former Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin. It is a noticeably directed campaign and  against all matters Russian.

If the news media emphasis on protests in Moscow is based on an internalized  opposition or whether it is directed INTERFERENCE by out outside intelligence, interjected and dispersed throughout the publicē organism in haphazard fashion cannot be known for sure at this time. To start a run for your money at the bank is an clever tactic to xtir Spurious Togetherness to resemble a mass orgasm. But that is apparetly  the tactic of governsment propaganda when honesty fails to carry authority.

If Latvians of certain political orientations could but cause Mr. Putin  to retreat before the army of liberal Russians in Moscow, perhaps they could entice the same liberal democracy seekers to invite themselves to Latvia, thish would double the number of Latvians of Russian descent in Riga.

Never mind, that the setting of the Latvians language in opposition to the Russian language is not a pleasant posiition for Latvian to be in.

One may imagine that an INVIGORATED Latvian Russian language arises out of the challenge as soon as tomorrow. If Latvians came to feel intimidated before Russian speaking Latvians, perhaps they would also fear a RESURRECTED LATVIA, because the culture of such an entity would likely embrace  Latvia with its historic Slavic connections.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_peoples It is sensibly enough not to have to fight another Finnish-Russian War in days when there is no Stalin around.

It is possible to imagine that a Latvian-Russian or Russian-Latvian may evolve a slavic dialect all its own, perhaps to be known as Rigaslav, a word that sounds close the Chehoslav. Riga is in the prefix, because that is where in Latvia  the Latvian Russians are most concentrated.

I write this as I imagine Russian becoming the 2nd language of Latvia? Before the Latvian Nationalist suggested this possibilithy, I had not thought of the possibility in a serious way.

Among one of the first reactions is likely to be to start teaching Latvian speaking children English beginning with the first or other early grade as in many European countries http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t15458.htm . Since then Russians would not wish to stay behind the trend toward globalization, their children would study English in the same gradēs as the Latvian children. The language in Latvia in the future may, therefore, be called Let-rus..

If a change in official languages were to become real, the competition between Latvians and Russian ethnic descendants may become sharper, and children in Latvian kindergartens would be exposed to English at least on the speaking level at very early ages.

Some well known words of Latvian folk songs, such as begin with „Puht vehyinyi, dzen laivinyu....”, the children would know to sing in English („Blow ye winds where you must,/ send me on to Kur-ze-me!”

Children, before they ever came to learn the words of the song in  Latvian would know  itw words in English. „Blow ye winds where you muts,/ send me on to Kur-ze-me! ”

When the children who learn to sing „Kur tu teci, kur tu teci, galīti manu” render the song to their kindergarten mates in England or Ireland as „What’s up? What’s up? You little rooster of mine?” and some Latvian rockers change the words of the song to an unorthodox reinterpretation and sing: „Uz kurieni tu tā steidzies? Uz kurieni tu tā steidzies, gailīti manu?” and the "Canibal Corpse" troiupe, a brutal death metal ansemble catchhes on and sings: „His ways are super,/ his ways are single minded,/ The doll that's with me cannot do without him.”

When a Latvian begins to think of the many evolutions that the words of Latvian folk songs can go through—the Latvian Russians would catch on, too. Wow!

The Meme of a Sunlit Tree.

In my previous blog, I allowed myself to imagine removing myself to proto-Latvian times, when I sang the Latvian national anthem, to the words: „Saulīt, svētī Latviju,/ mūs dārgo dzimteni,/ apstaro, ak apstaro/ mūs Latviju,” Incidentally, the last punishment that the Latvian Sun Goddess, Saule, punished the all-too-clever Clever John was to present him with a bearskin vest in the summer.

THE UNWELCOME MEME IN THE LATVIAN MINDSET 1.

Unortunately ever since the Latvians became infected by the Roman meme with the arival of the meme in Latvia), or for that matter Zatler’s Reform Party, et al, raises the question BUT WHAT IF the FOR vote for making RUSSIAN the 2nd official language in Latvi were nevertheless to receive a majority. What would then be the dire consequences to the existence of the Latvian state?

Te first question that is raised is: Whether the Latvian Russian speaking public would try to eliminate the state of Latvia by inviting Russians and Moscow to come and occupy it once more?

During the last few days, the Latvian media is doing everything it can to emphasize the demonstrations in Moscow and Petersburg against former Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin. It is a noticeably directed campaign against all matters Russian.

It the media emphasis on protests in Moscow is based on an ingrown  opposition or is directed INTERFERENCE , being interjected and dispersed throughout the publicē organism. Starting an anti bank run for your money is an clever and almost alembracing tactic to rech the orgasm of Spurious Togetherness to those involved on occasion.  But sometimes that is the tactic of the despairing of governsment propaganda,

If Latvians could but animate Mr. Putin  to retreat before the army ofs liberal Russians in Moscow rushing to invite themselves to Riga, where the number of Latvians of Russian descent would then double.

Never mind, that the opposition of Latvians language to the Russian language is not a pleasant proposition. One may imagine that a NEW  or NEWLY INVIGORATED Latvian Russians Latvia.  Perhaps they would call Latvia: THE RESURRECTED LATVIA!

Such a family tree  would embrace  Latvia with Slavic  connections. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_peoples   already on the periphery of Mother Russia.

It is possible to imagine that a Latvian-Russian or /russian-Latvian may evolve a slavic dialect all its own, perhaps to be known as Rigaslav, a word that sounds close the Chehoslav. Riga in the prefix, because that is the place in Latvia where the Latvian Russians are most concentrated.

What will the Latvian speakiig Latvians do? I mean in an immediate sense if Russian were to suddenly  become the 2nd language of Latvia?

Among one of the first moves will be to start teaching Latvian speaking children English beginning with the first or other early grade as in many European countries http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t15458.htm . Since then Russians would not wish to stay behind the trend toward globalization, their children would study English in the same gradēs as the Latvian children. The language in Latvia in the future may, therefore, be called Letingrus..

The competition between Latvians of Latvian and Russian ethnic descent may become sharper, and children in Latvian kindergartens, too, would be exposed to English, at least on the speaking level.

Some well known words of Latvian folk songs, such as begin with „Puht vehyinyi, dzen laivinyu....”, the children would know to sing in English („Blow ye winds where you will,/ Just make sure when you do,/ blow me to Kur-ze-me! ”

Young people, too, before they ever got to learn the words of the song in  Latvian would know  also through the  help of Unity Party in an Alliance with Latvian nationalists will the party’s expense.

„Blow ye winds where you will,/ Just make sure when you do,/ blow me to Kur-ze-me! ”

By this manner alone we may expect many linguistic even ritualistic  evolutions and changes. When the children who learn to sing „Kur tu teci, kur tu teci, galīti manu” render the song to their kindergarten mates in England or Ireland as „What’s up? What’s up? You little rooster of mine?” and some Latvian rockers change the words of the song to an unorthodox reinterpretation and sing: „Uz kurieni tu steidzies? Uz kurieni tu steidzies, gailīti manu?” and the Canibal Corpse, a brutal death metal group band, catchhes on and sings: „His ways are super,/ his ways are of nano-mind,/ The chick with me cannot do without him.”

When a Latvian begins to think of the many evolutions the words of Latvian folk songs could go through—the Latvian Russians would catch on, too. Wow!

In my previous blog, I allowed to imagine myself using mimesis and imagining myself in proto-Latvian times, when I sang the Latvian national anthem, to the words: „Saulīt, svētī Latviju,/ mūs dārgo dzimteni,/ apstaro, ak apstaro/ mīs Latviju,” The last punishment that the Latvian Sun Goddess, Saule, meted out was to present her grand-son with a bearskin vest in the heat of the summer.

This blog in 2 parts. This is part 1.
THE UNWELCOME MEME IN THE LATVIAN MINDSET 1.


A Meme of a  Tem;ple Gong. 1

 To intervijā laikrakstam «Latvijas Avīze» pastāstījis «Vienotības» ģenerālsekretārs Artis Kampars.

«Tā kā latviešu valoda noteikti ir viens no šīs valsts pastāvēšanas pamatjautājumiem, tad tik svarīgā pasākumā, iespējams, varētu izmantot arī budžeta naudu. Tam piekrīt «Vienotības» valdes vairākums, jo lai atceramies, ka arī pirms referenduma par iestāšanos Eiropas Savienībā tika rīkota plaša atbalsta kampaņa, kam tērēja valsts līdzekļus. Jautājums par latviešu valodu kā vienīgo valsts valodu ir tikpat nozīmīgs pamatjautājums Latvijas nākotnei. Manuprāt, šī ir reize, kad būtu korekti tērēt nodokļu maksātāju naudu, lai informētu iedzīvotājus. Tai nevajadzētu būt lielai summai, lai izskaidrotu mūsu neatkarīgās valsts pozīciju, kāpēc ir tik svarīgi saglabāt pilnas neapstrīdamas tiesības latviešu valodai. Un valstij šāda pozīcija ir jāieņem,» teica Kampars.

A Meme of a Tem;ple Gong. 2.

Kampars ir pārliecināts, ka trim koalīcijas partijām šajā jautājumā nebūs nekādu domstarpību.
«Par «Vienotību» runājot, jā, cilvēki tiks celti kājās, un mums būs arī kampaņas vadības grupa. Man ir pārliecība, ka vismaz jau nu referenduma lietā trim koalīcijas partijām nebūs nekādu domstarpību. Paredzu, ka turpināsim koordinēt sadarbību, saskaņot plānus, lai uzrunātu vēlētājus.» (Paldies Apollo.lv)

The  above announcement is from Artis Kampars, the general-secretary of the right wing’s most  anti-populist) party. Kampars is confident that he reflects the  party’s collective will. What does that will mean? What means its success? WIll the Russian language in Riga lie prostrate before A STATE FINANCED CULTURAL WAR LED BY KAMPARS? Where is the public  Referendum for that act?

I have only unpleasant associations with the mind-set behind Kampars aggressiveness.  Does Kampars and the party indeed have so closely related views? 

It seems as if an ancient mind meme originating with the arrival in Latvia of the Romans in the eleventh century, found fertile ground here. The route of the infected meme was: through the ranks of  lithuanian boyars who find much in common with the polish pans. A ‘native lett', one named Kaupo, joined the defectors from the Egalitarian League. It was probably through the help of the llatter that Latvian bohyars in Riga got hold of the preses and being a Latvian was defined in the Riga. It was obviously asuccessful seizure, because Latvian boyars are now everywhere we look.

Ever since the roman meme virus was let loose in Livonia, it occupies the land as a mind-meme. In Latvia the local synonym for roman aggression manifests itself as  „skaudiba”

Strange as it may seem, the „roman meme” was carried by what we may now call the „Mind Meme Virus”, a virus  that asserts that „whatever takes self-discipline is easily sabotaged” by turning  to violence for a little help.

True, the aggressiveness ought never to have got this far into the Latvian culture and become part of the mind-set. Unfortunately, it has seldom if ever been contested, and as a result it does a lot of  harm when it comes to the preservation of the community for the long-term. Mr. Kampars speaks for the short-term culture, which is subject to a mindset open to a suggestion to solve problems through turning to aggression, perhaps even violence

The roman mind meme among Latvians has its roots in the eleventh century and in the arrival of the idea that solutions to the problems of the community can be solved by aggression and violence. The prehistoric traditions of self-sacrifice as means to an end were shown the door. Ever since it has been an unstated presumption of the state that the "tauta" of populists better do as we of the government do, or you exist only  because we and the state money behind us agree to it.

However, there are other ways of thinking about the roman meme. The Roman-to-German to-Papish and the catholic lutheran meme dug itself deep into the proto-Latvian soul. The Latvians, living largely on poor soil and little else but forests and sands as its  resources) were naturally jealous of everyone better off. This is one reason why it is such a wonder that the community came through not as demoralized as some would predict..

The roman meme met up with and became friends of  Latvian ‘skaudiba’. Whether it leads to violence is anyone;s guess. It takes training to be able to do a mind meme stunt with the entire society in tov. The result is more likely of one of moving agains the crowd.

Hopefully Latvians have come to an end of accepting such advice as offered as a solution to the language issue by Kampars of Vienotība. «Tā kā latviešu valoda noteikti ir viens no šīs valsts pastāvēšanas pamatjautājumiem, tad tik svarīgā pasākumā, iespējams, varētu izmantot arī budžeta naudu. Tam piekrīt «Vienotības» valdes vairākums.... " It is a presumption that leads a political party to identify itself as the state." This is not a mindset for Latvians to be welcoming of..

A Meme of a Tem;ple Gong. 3.

What can provide this innder compulsion? Next a fantasy about the romanized mind meme.

The question is „What if” using the tactic dictated by the presumption for more and more and never enough freedom theme, leads to a  „meme cancer”, and the canceriys „sastrehgums” of languages devours the  community.

A Painted Tree.

December 10, 2111

The currently “hot” political issue in Latvia is the consequence of a successful signature gathering campaign that will lead to a Referendum of whether the 2^nd official Latvian language ought also be Russian.

While most everyone believes that the outcome of the Referendum cannot be anything but an AGAINST vote against the Russian language becoming an official second language, is this necessarily so?

This writer’s sympathies were revealed when in a 1991 paper, he suggested that the official language of Latvia be in the future English, with Latvian and Russian languages playing their role within the subjective realm known as “home”. The writer’s failure to learn Russian after a total of twenty-seven years in Latvia, Russian ancestry on the mother-side, and believing the Latvian Children of Johns’ Festival to be a relic of Russian Orthodox festivals in the distant past when the forests still ruled the surface of planet Earth, attests to a view paradoxical of the one that some readers are likely to already see as AN ANTI-Latvian orientation. No doubt, I favor the Latvian language as a language of the subjective over its officialese, for which trouble I have a couple of self-published books of translations in English of Latvian folk-poems to show.

Wood for the Temple Complex.

In any case, the possibility that the anticipated AGAINST vote may not be so overwhelming as the reps of the oligarchs in the Latvian Saeima expect. There may not be any “Ureka!” for the fascist-nationalists which is but an small inflection from “Hurraa!” . The “Hurraa!”  role ill befits the descendants of the Children of Johns, who never addressed the Sun as “Saule”, but always as “Saulihte” or Dear Sun. “Saulite” is a word, that should be the first word in the Latvian national anthem. “Dievs” (God) was put there by by sn exercise in metamorphosis, a romanized view of life the--of the lighthouse on the hill--the romanization beginning about the 18^th , which puts my great great-grandfather in the Herrnhuter ranks. My grandfather's cardinal rule was "never speak ill of anyone while at the dinner table" No one did, and learned resentment instead.

The Roman instilled tradition and presumption of substituting human lives for lack of self-discipline, rather than become able to reflect on life and act with mindfulness, occupies a large place in the content box of Latvian consciousness. Therefore, with the help of teaching the Latvian mind to do a little hocus pocus in the mind-set, it may come to see the romanizing (a way of metaphormozing one religion into another) as a an event that can be understood, as when a vision of Romans become Enterprisers (Uznehmehyi) is repeated often enough to seem natural. Thus men identified as Latvian Oligarchs. Meanwhile, the taking human life has been dubstituted by substituting human life with economic depravation (called ‘Capitalism with a Heart’ in America), nevertheless leading to an economic death for an entire society and culture somewhere else.

Having joined NATO, Latvians now officially participate in such distant, distasteful and ultimately ill serving violent events appearing out of the sky and out of the blue, for which they contribute 2% of the annual wealth of the Latvian people''

I have to confess that I often call people by the name of populists. The Latvians call themselves “tauta”). I believe that the word “tauta”, it is a synonym (albeit denied in the media) for Latvian "tautas" way of identifying themselves as  populists. The Latvian media gives evidence of many tendencies to bend Westward, which means it is from the ceiling in the room below and the enourmous magnet beaming pro-Roman beams and, therefore eternally, pro-West slanted, because it knows little or nothing of the history of the West and even less of "tauta". It will not permit itself to associate populism with the word “tauta”, which it nevertheless obviously means.

So, the issue of removing the Russian language, and replacing it with Latvian in schools which heretofore have been teaching in Russian, has been met by over 180,000 signatures gathered by the Russian speaking Latvians to make Russian officially Latvia’s 2^nd language. Now the extreme rightists, having earlier gathered significantly less votes for their initiative against the language at school, are raising their voices in angst, and saying that the large number of Russian signers was but a Russian “protest vote”. Apparently the kids gave up smoking cigarettes to start smoking mini cigars.

Not likely that it was but a PROTEST VOTE!

IT WAS A VOTE TO REMOVE A GOVERNMENT WHICH HAS PRESUMED ITSELF TO REPRESENT THE STATE.

Who knows how many Latvians will sympathize with having their State free of corruption, having a Government where corruption by way of Romanization, becomes Catholicization, becomes Monetization and becomes Globalization. Still, this is how my rear-view mirror projects the psyche (mind set) of the current government and how iit shows naked with its regard for the place and role the State has in its heart of hearts.


The Painted Tree as A Gate Post.

 The AGAINST Russian vote may perhaps be nullified by adding to the “FOR” and “AGAINST” vote, a third vote, one that is AGAINST, BUT FOR, MAKING THE REFERENDUM NOT BINDING. 

For this to happen  the Chairman of the Elections Office, Cimzars, must resign, because he is a committed “One Systems Man”. When in an earlier Referendum, he refused to agree that it is legitimate under the present law to make place for a square that would allow one to NOT-VOTE http://the-not-voter.blogspot.com/ , by likening such an interpretation of democracy as being anti-State, because to think so means to think anti-state.

Thus, for Latvians, the question in the upcoming  Referendum in is whether it is "TAUTA" who is the rightful owner of the LATVIAN STATE, or whether the State is corrupt AND XENOPHOBIC?

Caught entering the Woodshed.

December 8, 2011

The following was placed on a discussion site at Latvians Online, where this writer is a Participat.

Speculation for all its connection to finance or whether the sun will rise on Johns Day, the day following the Johns Eve bash has been dealt with in numerous ways in the past.

In the past, speculation over Sunrise was put to a stop with a human sacrifice, some of the more gory ways of doing this pictured in Aztec  temple illustrations.

A  reminder of this ritual was shown a few days ago in a travelogue program in Latvia. A group of men traveling in the Mongol territory east of Lake Baikal, were welcomed by the tribesmen, who killed one of their sheep to welcome these Latvian tourists. The method of good will on the part of these natives was to stretch a sheep (an ewe) belly up on the ground. One of the men then makes a slit in the ewe’s belly about the area of the bladder. As other men hold the legs of the sheep stretched out, the butcher reaches with his hand up the innards of the ewe until the hand reaches the heart, at which point he tears away from the heart the main artery. Now the Latvian tourists will eat, and the Sun will rise on Johns Day morning. No further speculation about the outcome is needed.

We may as well imagine Johns Day morning as the day the Referendum over the use of the  Latvian language prevails over Russian (the Sun rises), this sometime in April 2012. If the speculative anticipation is on mark, this will happen, because many Latvians today prefer to speculate-believe themselves to be in the majority.

The anticipation of victory by Vienotība, ZRP, and other politicianss is based on the speculation that Latvians are unlikely to vote FOR Russian—even if the Latvian Sun has long gone down with regard to Johns Day. This latter fact, can be deduced from numerous facts with regard to the Latvian language.

One fact is the demographic catastrophe caused by the Latvian governsment’s failure to come up with a successful economic program (cutting down Latvia’s forests to satisfy bank debt is hardly a reflection of economic success; rather, it is an introduction to what will happen to the Latvian population in the course of speculative time making its arrival felt.)

Two, inspite of the rhetoric by Latvian government about Latvian being of such primary importance to the survival of Latvians, Latvian books and other printed matter are not let reach the publicē TAX FREE. Just this past week the court shut down an operation by some young adult Latvians who were taking their concern about Latvian up the next logical step by creating an internet site, where people could read just about anything written in Latvian FREE. In typical self-righteous fashion the evening news program Panorama did a clip on this matter just a few evenings ago.

Three, the very real problems of the Latvian language caused by the neglect of Latvian economy and culture by the government are NEVER discussed on such programs as 100.pants, the latter a typically presumptuous program, which assumes to be  discussing important „news”. Only the usual run of politicians appear on the program, which continues the exclusionary tradition established by one Janis Domburs, a typical anti-populist Latvian media personality of years past. His present-day incarnation is one named Reders.  At this point, anything that is critical of the Latvian government is presumed to be populist, an indication of government control of the media. We may return to the article that is the topic of this discussion, in which Michael Hudson et al  point out that the time of the DEFEAT of POPULISTS occurs in the days of Sparta, when the local oligarchs invited the Romans to come defeat and kill  the democratic leaders of Sparta. I am inclined to believe that Professor Hudson is not making a speculative statement, because not all statements are speculative as some here tend to erroneously think.

What is of speculative nature in the Latvian and Russian language debate is whether Latvian will prevail. My perspective is to say NOT SO FAST to jump to such conclusions. The Latvian leadership, the media including, has consistently speculated with no success whatsoever about Latvia's future.. The failure is  mostly because it does not take into account the importance of the economy and jobs that a successful economy generates. As a consequence, there are hundreds of Latvian parents today anxious to find their children jobs in the far abroad. This is no speculation, but a statement of fact, because the yoke of debt slavery already lies heavy upon Latvia.

Incidentally, Krugman hyperlinked the “No People No Problem” article to his NYTimes’ blog today.

Entrance to The Temple Commemorating Destroyed Forests.

Post Script: to the Paul Krugman link: The Latvian governsment’s foreign and domestic policies may be described in terms of „No Latvians, no Problems.” http://neweconomicperspectives.blogspot.com/2011/12/no-people-no-problem-baltic-tigers.html 

The Temple to Destroyed Forests Bell or Gong.

THE FOLLOWING BLOG IN LATVIAN

In the following blog, I react to former Culture Minister, Sarmite Ehlerte, statement that "A divided community is not to anyone's advantage". The statement is made with reference to the soon to arrive Referendum, whether Latvia ought to have a 2nd official language, i.e., Russian. My response points out that the issue of the Latvian language is not only an ethnic one, but may go back as far as 1209, when Crusaders destroyed a "heretic" Christian community in Jersika. The repression of "dualist" religious belief had repressive effects that in this author's opinion have lasted to this day, a time, when the Latvian government of the last twenty-one years has pretty much ignored the existence of Russians in Latvia by various repressive means, one of the means being to simply ignore their existence or perhaps better said--their reality. At the same time, the Latvian government has been extremely negligent with regard to economic development of the country by essentially siding with the oligarchal model for society (the Polish Pans* being a model for today's oligarchs that is not so far in time or space from us), a model which was unilaterally imposed by the West on Latvia after the down-fall of the Soviet Union with all the liberal neo-capitalist prejudices in full bloom. This model for serfdom, imposed in 1991, is realized and understood only in our own day, seventeen and more years after the the 2008 financial collapse of the financial markets.

The idea that the Latvian Saeima may be serving the likes of  "Polish Pans" is not so far fetched. The following articles makes the point well with other examples http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/12/06/the-baltic-tigers%E2%80%99-false-prophets-of-austerity/.

December 6, 2011

No: Sarmite Elerte
Datums: 2011. gada 5. decembris 12:52
Temats: par referendumu

Epasts ar Ģirta Zeidenberga starpniecību.Sarmīte Ēlerte, Ministru prezidenta padomniece nacionālās identitātes, pilsoniskās sabiedrības un integrācijas jautājumos

S. Ēlerte.: "Sašķelta divkopienu sabiedrība nav izdevīga nevienam."

Jaņdža (EAB) atbilde: Agresīvi dogmātisks apgalvojums. Aizņemts no katoļu ticības, ka Pops apgalvo un izlemj visus svarīgos juridiskos jautājumus pēc sava prāta. S.Ē teikums paredz nākotnēju izlemšanu ar Krusta karam līdzīgu izpalīgu. Citiem vārdiem: uzvarētājs ņem un piesavinās visu.

Latviešu sabiedrības domāšanas stagnāts sākās ar Alberta uzbrukumu Jersikai, 1209. g. Tas bija laiks, kad latvieši sāka dot zvērastu (re: boyārs Kaupo) uz rakstītā vārda pamatojuma. Ar to tika sagrauts latviešu valodā pastāvošais dualisms, kas iekšēji apgalvo, ka valoda nav valsts cietums (kurā tautu var iesēdināt tās “ierakstītā” elīte, Saeima), bet realitāti ir iespējams mainīt uz tā pamata vien, kā ja ķēniņš apstākļu spiests pieļauj citādu realitātes izpratni (divvalodību), kā 1922.g. rakstītais Satversmes pants par valodu, kēniņa Visvalža lēmums pieļauj, —īpaši, ja ir ārkārtēja situācija—ka tā darīt ir iespējams. Katoliskā iedoma par viena uzskata negrozamību ir gana agresīvs, represējošs, un naidu kurinošs, kā iekšējai (ielokā dzīvojošai) tā ārējai (ārpus ieloka dzīvojošai)  sabiedrībai.

1209, g, Krusta karš prêt Jersiku un tās ķēniņu Visvaldi, kas notika paralēli Albigensijas Krusta karam, bija katoliski domājošo [krustnešu—tā laika oligarhu un bojāru karš prêt latviešu Jāņu bērniem, kam domāšana bija “dualistiska” līdzīgi tā sauktiem Katāriem (vel šodien nicinoši devēti kā Ķeceri)].

S.Elertes apgalvojums jautājumā par latviešu un krievu valodas tiesībām Latvijā, ir tiešā pretrunā ar krievu valodu runājošo latviešu uzskatiem.  Latviešiem ir vērts atcerēties, ka latviešu valodā ieceltie dualistiskie (laicīgie un garīgie) uzskati tiek represēti gadu simtu gājumā.