Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition
"I understand that you decided that GWP [Geneva Convention III on the Treatment of Prisoners of War] does not apply and, accordingly, that al-Qaeda and Taliban detainees are not prisoners of war under the GWP."
- Memorandum for the President, January 25, 2002 from Alberto R. Gonzales, White House Counsel to President George W. Bush
Empires, like bubble markets, end up at a point that is lower than where they began. Rome began as a town on the Tiber, with sheep grazing on the hills. A bull market in Roman property lasted from 700 B.C. to about 300 A.D. when temples, monuments and villas crowded the Palatine. Then, a bear market began, and even as late as the 18th century, Rome was once again just a city on the Tiber where sheep grazed on the hillsides, albeit amid broken marble columns.
The collapse of the Roman Empire heralded a correction in the European markets. One of the reasons why markets fragmented was because people had lost confidence in the debased currency of Rome and had returned to the barter system.
Until the rule of Augustus (the first ruler of the Roman Empire in 27 B.C.), the Romans only used pure gold and silver coins. In order to finance his expenditures, Augustus ordered that government-owned mines in Spain and France be exploited 24 hours a day, a measure which increased the money supply significantly. It also led to rising prices. It is estimated that between 27 B.C. and 6 B.C. prices in Rome doubled. Thereafter, whenever the Romans needed more money to finance their wars, their public improvements and their trade deficit, they reduced the metal content of their coins. By the time Odoacer deposed the last emperor in 476, the denarius contained only 0.02 percent silver. This process is now happening to the U.S. dollar, which, after it completes its current counter trend, is set to decline much further over the next few years.
After the fall of Rome, the next one thousand years are known as the 'Medieval' period, after the Latin term for 'middle.' The early middle period is often referred to as the 'Dark Ages,' as it has left historians with very little concrete material other than the conviction that the life of individuals within the tribes of Europe was "nasty, brutish and short." At the same time, however, the progress of civilization and the advancement of knowledge continued in the Muslim world.
As the political, civil and economic order disintegrated, the only hope for most Europeans was for their life in heaven to be better than their life on earth. The monopoly of the spiritual and religious fundamentalism became the order of the day. Toleration began where power ended, and a high degree of conformity was demanded in both the secular and the spiritual realm.
Unlike many other religions (for example, Buddhism, Judaism or Islam), the Catholic Church has a hierarchical structure with a central bureaucracy. This bureaucracy decided upon the version of salvation that would prevail. Those who believed otherwise were branded 'heretics.' And once you were branded a heretic, you were excluded from common humanity and underwent special treatment. The onus was on you to disprove the accusation.
The Roman Church taught that all true authority came from God. This doctrine was supported by secular authorities, for it buttressed their own power. When it appeared that an attack was made upon any aspect of the Divine foundation of secular authority (or the accepted interpretation of that foundation) the state would intervene. Only in the interest of justice did the Church feel the need to provide well educated adjudicators - as it monopolized the skills of reading and writing and doing sums.
Both authorities, the secular and the religious, believed in destroying the body to save the soul, as any heretic who was not quashed endangered not only his own soul, but also the souls of all who heard him. Therefore to destroy heresy was to save every individual in society.
In the beginning, individual inquisitors were appointed, usually Dominicans or Franciscans (the first recorded case of 'contracting out' specialist tasks). Indeed, the first letter giving such mandates dates from 1231. By the end of the decade, the Inquisition had become a general institution in all lands under the purview of the Pope, and by the end of the 13th century each region had its own bureaucracy.
An inquisitor could bring suit against anyone. The accused had to testify against themselves and did not have the right to face or question the accuser. It was acceptable to take testimony from criminals, persons of bad reputation, excommunicated people, and other heretics. The accused did not have the right to counsel, and sentences could not be appealed. At times, entire towns and villages were interrogated in order to weed out the mistaken believers.
Various means were used to get the cooperation of the accused, and torture became widespread by the middle of the 13th century. Penalties ranged from visits to churches, pilgrimages and wearing the cross of infamy to imprisonment (usually for life, but sentences were often commuted) and death by burning at the stake. This was carried out by the secular authorities and not the Church. Death or life imprisonment was always accompanied by the confiscation of all the accused's property, and the spoils were shared between the State and the Church.
The Inquisition reached a pinnacle of proficiency in Spain when Ferdinand and Isabella chose Catholicism to unite the land. In 1478, they sought the Pope's permission to purify their subjects and began by driving out Muslims, then Jews, then Protestants and then other non-believers. It lasted for 356 years, for it became a convenient tool by means of which the State Treasury was replenished. It officially ended in 1834.
Cycles repeat. Cleansing the world of 'terrorists' may last far longer than the Spanish Inquisition, and the Empire of the USA is presently on the verge of bankruptcy and in need of additional resources. Unfortunately, the time of the devaluation of all paper currencies is fast approaching, and although the markets will rise one more time prior to the election of the Head of the Protestant Crusaders, they will not exceed the highs already set this year.
- Memorandum for the President, January 25, 2002 from Alberto R. Gonzales, White House Counsel to President George W. Bush
Empires, like bubble markets, end up at a point that is lower than where they began. Rome began as a town on the Tiber, with sheep grazing on the hills. A bull market in Roman property lasted from 700 B.C. to about 300 A.D. when temples, monuments and villas crowded the Palatine. Then, a bear market began, and even as late as the 18th century, Rome was once again just a city on the Tiber where sheep grazed on the hillsides, albeit amid broken marble columns.
The collapse of the Roman Empire heralded a correction in the European markets. One of the reasons why markets fragmented was because people had lost confidence in the debased currency of Rome and had returned to the barter system.
Until the rule of Augustus (the first ruler of the Roman Empire in 27 B.C.), the Romans only used pure gold and silver coins. In order to finance his expenditures, Augustus ordered that government-owned mines in Spain and France be exploited 24 hours a day, a measure which increased the money supply significantly. It also led to rising prices. It is estimated that between 27 B.C. and 6 B.C. prices in Rome doubled. Thereafter, whenever the Romans needed more money to finance their wars, their public improvements and their trade deficit, they reduced the metal content of their coins. By the time Odoacer deposed the last emperor in 476, the denarius contained only 0.02 percent silver. This process is now happening to the U.S. dollar, which, after it completes its current counter trend, is set to decline much further over the next few years.
After the fall of Rome, the next one thousand years are known as the 'Medieval' period, after the Latin term for 'middle.' The early middle period is often referred to as the 'Dark Ages,' as it has left historians with very little concrete material other than the conviction that the life of individuals within the tribes of Europe was "nasty, brutish and short." At the same time, however, the progress of civilization and the advancement of knowledge continued in the Muslim world.
As the political, civil and economic order disintegrated, the only hope for most Europeans was for their life in heaven to be better than their life on earth. The monopoly of the spiritual and religious fundamentalism became the order of the day. Toleration began where power ended, and a high degree of conformity was demanded in both the secular and the spiritual realm.
Unlike many other religions (for example, Buddhism, Judaism or Islam), the Catholic Church has a hierarchical structure with a central bureaucracy. This bureaucracy decided upon the version of salvation that would prevail. Those who believed otherwise were branded 'heretics.' And once you were branded a heretic, you were excluded from common humanity and underwent special treatment. The onus was on you to disprove the accusation.
The Roman Church taught that all true authority came from God. This doctrine was supported by secular authorities, for it buttressed their own power. When it appeared that an attack was made upon any aspect of the Divine foundation of secular authority (or the accepted interpretation of that foundation) the state would intervene. Only in the interest of justice did the Church feel the need to provide well educated adjudicators - as it monopolized the skills of reading and writing and doing sums.
Both authorities, the secular and the religious, believed in destroying the body to save the soul, as any heretic who was not quashed endangered not only his own soul, but also the souls of all who heard him. Therefore to destroy heresy was to save every individual in society.
In the beginning, individual inquisitors were appointed, usually Dominicans or Franciscans (the first recorded case of 'contracting out' specialist tasks). Indeed, the first letter giving such mandates dates from 1231. By the end of the decade, the Inquisition had become a general institution in all lands under the purview of the Pope, and by the end of the 13th century each region had its own bureaucracy.
An inquisitor could bring suit against anyone. The accused had to testify against themselves and did not have the right to face or question the accuser. It was acceptable to take testimony from criminals, persons of bad reputation, excommunicated people, and other heretics. The accused did not have the right to counsel, and sentences could not be appealed. At times, entire towns and villages were interrogated in order to weed out the mistaken believers.
Various means were used to get the cooperation of the accused, and torture became widespread by the middle of the 13th century. Penalties ranged from visits to churches, pilgrimages and wearing the cross of infamy to imprisonment (usually for life, but sentences were often commuted) and death by burning at the stake. This was carried out by the secular authorities and not the Church. Death or life imprisonment was always accompanied by the confiscation of all the accused's property, and the spoils were shared between the State and the Church.
The Inquisition reached a pinnacle of proficiency in Spain when Ferdinand and Isabella chose Catholicism to unite the land. In 1478, they sought the Pope's permission to purify their subjects and began by driving out Muslims, then Jews, then Protestants and then other non-believers. It lasted for 356 years, for it became a convenient tool by means of which the State Treasury was replenished. It officially ended in 1834.
Cycles repeat. Cleansing the world of 'terrorists' may last far longer than the Spanish Inquisition, and the Empire of the USA is presently on the verge of bankruptcy and in need of additional resources. Unfortunately, the time of the devaluation of all paper currencies is fast approaching, and although the markets will rise one more time prior to the election of the Head of the Protestant Crusaders, they will not exceed the highs already set this year.
