The Legend of Pentagonius

By T.H. Tetens in Germany Plots with the Kremlin

There was a rich and influential banker named Pentagonius,

whose life had been troubled by threats and attacks from

gangsters. One of the toughest leaders in gangland was a certain

Germanicus who, after a long and most strenuous search

was finally hunted down. Just when the gangster's jig was up,

a bright idea flashed in banker Pentagonius' head: "Wouldn't

it be wonderful to have such a tough fellow as a bodyguard?

This Germanicus," the banker pondered, "certainly knows

all the ins and outs of gangland, he is a most powerful and

ruthless fighter—and if I save him from the electric chair and

gain his gratitude, maybe he can be of use to me and can keep

lots of unpleasantness from my door."

Thus, through his influence, banker Pentagonius saved gangster

Germanicus from the electric chair. Of course, this action

shocked the police experts. The Police Commissioner Lippenwald

warned the banker against such a foolish undertaking. He

called to his attention the long criminal record of Germanicus,

his absolute unreliability, his trickery, his uncontrolled temper,

and so forth. But all these and other warnings were of no avail.

Banker Pentagonius was deeply afraid of another gangster,

Sovieticus, and he firmly believed that gangster Germankus

could give him better protection.

Thus, Germankus became the bodyguard of the banker, and

moved into the gardener's house on the banker's estate. Banker

Pentagonius felt proud and satisfied with what he had engineered.

He was convinced that he had done a good deed, and

felt sure that in the end gangster Germanicus would be reformed

and would show his gratitude and devotion towards his

benefactor throughout his life.

In the beginning, the feelings of the banker were bolstered

by the assurances of eternal gratitude which Germanicus daily

expressed. As time went by, a few incidents occurred which

made the banker a little skeptical of the soundness of undertaking

this self-styled reform work. Yet, considering the fact

that this was an unusual experiment, he did not allow his trust

to be shaken too much by these initial incidents. At any rate,

he was unafraid since he knew that Germanicus was still on

parole and in case his behavior should become improper, the

banker could ask the police to take corrective action.

Germanicus, in the meantime, was fully aware of the situation,

and cunningly worked with promises and little threats until

he had gained a firmer position and was finally free from parole.

Now it was time for him to act in accordance with his new

outlook on life. He was well aware of the advantageous position

he was in and was determined to make the most of the various

possibilities that the turn of events had presented to him. The

banker had indeed opened a new aspect of life for Germanicus.

As a smart, calculating and ruthless fellow, he was set to exploit

these new opportunities to the fullest extent possible. He

convinced the banker that in order to be more useful to him,

he, the ex-convict, would have to regain his self-respect. He

told the banker in unmistakable terms that he would have to

stop treating him in a charitable way by giving him handouts,

and he made it clear that what he wanted was to be treated like

an independent person. Germanicus said that if he could own

the gardener's house or another piece of property, it would

give him his self-assurance and the independence he wanted.

Pentagonius yielded to these requests, all of which were backed

up with menacing tales intended to frighten the banker, but in

which Germanicus himself did not believe. The banker, still

clinging to his faith in the basic soundness of his experiment,

continued to let himself be taken in more and more by Germanicus.

But with every new concession and compromise, the

pressure of new and greater demands grew in increasing proportion.

Finally, Germanicus confronted the banker with the demand

that since he was now a remade man, he wanted to take his

place in accepted society. He asked his benefactor to introduce

him into the circle of high society. Again, Pentagonius conceded.

Thus, at least, in outward appearance, Germanicus entered into

the status of social equality. As a result, however, the banker

lost some of his social prestige for having become too intimate

with a former gangster. Quite naturally some of the banker's

most faithful friends resented the fact that he had foisted this

former gangster on their circle. Many of the old friends of

Pentagonius began to question his wisdom and his sanity.

As things developed, Germanicus became more and more dissatisfied

with his new role. The old "king of gangland" was

determined to use all his tricks to reconquer for himself a

position of power. The more his demands were met, the more

cocky he became. Increasingly, he became resentful at having

to take orders and follow certain directives of the banker.

In the meantime, there were new developments which made

Pentagonius very uneasy. Reports came to him that secret dealings

were taking place between gangster Germanicus and that

other character and archenemy of his, Sovieticus. Pentagonius

found himself in an untenable position. He could no longer

appeal to the police for help, and practically all of his influential

friends had deserted him. The banker became irritated and

lost his cool judgment; he suffered considerable financial losses

under the increasing blackmail tactics of Germanicus. Impoverished

through the expensive protective measures he had undertaken,

and driven nearly insane with fear and worry, he saw

no way out of his sorry plight but to take his life. And so,

Pentagonius met his tragic end by leaping

from a window.

By strange coincidence, Pentagonius' end not only had been

foretold in the diaries of Germanicus (in Christ und Welt,

November 1, 1951), but was also predicted in an article "How

America Took It," published in the Moscow New Times of

January 1, 1952.

Ezekiel 23, verses 2 through 10

Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:

And they committed whoredoms in Egypt; they committed whoredoms in their youth: there were their breasts pressed, and there they bruised the teats of their virginity.

And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.

And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors,

Which were clothed with blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses.

Thus she committed her whoredoms with them, with all them that were the chosen men of Assyria, and with all on whom she doted: with all their idols she defiled herself.

Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.

Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted.

These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.

Band of Brothers

WESTMORELAND:

O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!

KING HENRY V:

What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

~ William Shakespeare in Henry V

For an eloquently performed rendition of this rousing speech, listen to a man who is arguably the world's best Shakespearean actor, Kenneth Branagh:

Addicted to Heroism

In January 2007, Conn Iggulden made publishing history by becoming the first author to hold the number one position on both the fiction and non-fiction hardback bestsellers charts in Britain. On the non-fiction chart was Iggulden's book, The Dangerous Book for Boys, a collection of practical ideas on how young men can develop true masculinity. On the fiction chart was the first of a series of books about Genghis Khan, Wolf of the Plains.

The first book, I regard as one of the best books on true masculinity since Aubrey Andelin's Man of Steel and Velvet.

The second book, I regard as one of the most engaging works of historical fiction ever.

"I do think the Mongol Empire is criminally overlooked by history," Iggulden explains. "But the fact that it hasn't been as thoroughly picked over as some of the other major empires means it remains a goldmine for storytellers."

For more information on what this book is about, listen to Iggulden himself:

I am currently working my way through the fourth book in Iggulden's Conquerer Series: Empire of Silver. If you like historical fiction, and/or the traits of heroism, I recommend it.

The Day After Greece Defaults

The fate of Europe may well have been determined by a glossed-over accounting detail that occurined in 1998. The European Monetary Institute (EMI) once carried almost $27 billion in gold reserves. In 1998, however the EMI was replaced by the European Central Bank (ECB). No financial data was published that year, while Europe's  elites "rebalance" the  financial system. When published financial records resumed in 1999, $20 billion in gold had "gone missing." No official explaination was ever given. It is interesting to note, however, that in that same year, the German Central Bank reported a $20 billion increase in their national gold reserves.

In other words, the ECB lost $20 billion in gold, while the Bundesbank gained the exact same amount. Germany now owned 3,400 tons of gold--enouph to back an entire currency, if it wanted to!

This onimous fact is made all the more interesting by statements recently made by a senior Bundesbank official. When asked what Germany would do if a Greek default forced the ECB into insolvency, he responded that Bundesbank officials had already discussed how to deal with such a situation. “We have 3,400 tons of gold,” he said. “We are the only country that has not sold its original allotment from the [late 1940s]. So we are covered to some extent.”

Read this insightful Vanity Fair article entitled It's the Economy, Dummkopf! for more detailed reporting. http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2011/09/europe-201109

Is it possible that the Germans could use their masive gold reserves to establish a gold-backed Deutsche Mark in the advent that the Euro goes bankrupt? A former adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher seems to think so! Here is what Christopher Story wrote in the March 2000 edition of the Economic Intelligence Review:

If Berlin were to decide that the progressive collapse of the Euro, which is already well advanced, had ceased to be tolerable, it has already amassed the necessary reserves of gold to be able to float a 'New Deutschemark' unilaterally--leaving the rest of Europe at Germany's mercy and prospectively left with no practical choice, under the circumstances, but to accept the New Deutschemark in lieu of the degraded Euro...

The implications of all this for the United States, the dollar and the world, are staggering. For, whereas the US dollar ceased to be backed by gold in 1971, the New Deutschemark will be backed by gold. Therefore, the dollar will be 'dislodged' from its global primacy not by the Euro, which will continue to be degraded either immediately or over time, but by the New Deutschemark.

Only time will tell how the future will play out. If the Bundesbank does have plans on introducing a gold-backed Deutschemark, however, it could well be that the day Greece defaults is the day that Germany replaces America as the world's most powerful nation.

IF

 

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

–Rudyard Kipling