150,000 life jackets piled up on the island of Lesbos? 1st question? Who counted them?  Second question? Who paid for them?

There are snowstorms in the deserts of the Middle East. The Lord said pray that the end times do not come in the winter.

The genocide of the 20th century is like all genocide in the 20th century – it is denied. The Turks didn’t kill the Armenians. The Germans didn’t kill Jews (although you would think it was only 6 millions deaths by the Nazis in total. In the grand scheme of death generated by the 20th century, six million is a small fraction – and so is one million Armenians). Even the communist starvation and gulag have had their deniers.

By the 19th century – Greece, (which had been at war since before the time of The Christ,) was sitting on a far-flung shattered empire, very much indebted to the British for protection. The Ottoman Turks would perpetuate genocide upon the Greeks and other peoples in fits and starts. Many Greek refugees would escape Smyrna to Russia from Ottoman genocide. There was a religious tie through the Eastern Orthodox Church (one of the oldest Christian religious institutions in the world).

The economy of the United States was an attractive pearl. Many agents came here to make their fortune, representing the interests of foreign employers. Johanne Jakob Astor, (who was born in the Holy Roman Empire, specifically Waldorf Electoral Palatinate which today is identified as free state of Thuringia in Central Germany) came to America (by way of England) directly after the end of The Revolutionary War. Within a few short years, he had opened his own fur shop, buying hides from Native Americans which he prepared himself.

In 1794, Astor took advantage of the John Jay Treaty, which was negotiated between the United States and Great Britain. Astor imported furs from Canada to New York and exported them to Europe.

Astor’s far-flung network could be attributed to the expansion of America through commerce. Astor’s American Fur Company which he established in 1808, profited enough to finance The Astor Expedition in 1810. Discoveries of routes to the coast caused thousands of immigrants to go west.  The fur trade was interrupted by the War of 1812 and Astor diversified into Turkish opium, which he shipped to China (just like the Merchants of Boston).

After the Treaty of Ghent, and where historian Donald E. Graves had stated “what the Americans lost on the battle field, they made up for at the negotiating table” – Astor found it was easier to ship the opium to England. English opium merchants would then ship the Turkish opium to China.

Making investments in real estate, and courting the old patroon Dutchmen, Astor saw opportunities as New York was emerging as one of the World’s greatest cities. Astor steadily built his interests in the National City Bank of New York (The bank went through many name changes over the years, eventually becoming Citibank, N.A.).

Thomas Bloodgood was President of City National Bank during the Panic of 1837.  Bloodgood was from an old Dutch family in New York which owned a nursery in Flushing, New York, where he was born. Bloodgood was also a wine merchant, at the Fulton Market. Moses Taylor was placed as a Director of the bank following the Panic of 1837.

Jacob B. Taylor had been the face of Jakob Astor in much of Jakob Astor’s real estate purchases in NYC and New York state. The relationship between Astor and the Taylor family greatly benefitted the son, Moses, who started his career as a sugar broker and discovered that loans and investments were better sources of income.

Taylor used his positions at the bank to enrich his business associates. Astor would die before the son of his close associate became president of City national Bank in 1855.

Many factors contributed to the American Civil War. British intrigue fed the abolitionist north, while giving suck to southern secessionists with promises of military backing and materials.

The California Gold Rush began as America had spread coast-to-coast. The west was hungry for goods that the east could supply. The money supply was large and much expansion had taken place, which had been funded by agents of foreign banks. Many eastern merchants continued to borrow money in efforts to build their businesses i.e., mercantile and railroads, to facilitate the movement of their products and to ensure a steady increase in consumers moving west.

The Panic of 1857 was a direct result of British financial institutions, working in conjunction with dwindling California gold production. Our merchants were in hock in the east, and the term “ghost town” entered the lexicon. The people “in the know” were able to consolidate ownership of railroads by buying shares for as little as $5.00 which in time would be valued at $240.00.

The newly completed Ohio & Mississippi Railroad connected Cincinnati to St. Louis; it was intended to transport goods and people to St. Louis, who would purchase wagons and supplies for their journey westward. Morgan Brothers got their start in St. Louis, dealing to the pioneers.

Also in 1857, the first railroad platform scale had been patented but further – in England, Robert Forester Mushet, had perfected Henry Bessemer’s process for making steel and Mushet made the first steel railroad tie. Many of his inventions are still used to this day. Bessemer was made rich, while Mushet was never financially rewarded for his groundbreaking work.

During The War Between The States in 1863, the U.S. created a national banking system where the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency was established as an independent bureau within the U.S. Treasury Department. Authority was given the Comptroller to examine and regulate, nationally chartered banks, and was a sleight of hand which sought to establish a central banking system.

British intelligence through capitalists’ agents of European central bankers, were in a position to influence both sides in The War Between The States. The Confederates were always hopeful of the British coming to their aid as if it had been already promised. At the same time, the north was deluged with anti-slavery propaganda. The anti-slavery movements were well-funded.

Many bank failures occurred by 1865, leaving only state banks that had received these national charters. At this time, the Secret Service was created to combat mass counterfeiting of the government printed Treasury Notes.

Black Friday is not the day after Thanksgiving. It is the name given to the gold speculation by Jay Gould and James Fisk. You may not know the names of these two men, but they were big enough to go up against Cornelius Vanderbilt and Daniel Drew.

Wild stock market speculation was how Gould and Fisk cut their teeth and they sought to corner the gold market in August of 1869. There is much skullduggery in the scandal which shows there is more involvement here than just capitalists doing business.

Born in the Provence of Smyrna as Basileios Zaccharias, adopting a more Russian name as the family had done while in exile, he later became Sir Basil Zaharoff.  A recipient of The Most Honorable Order of the Bath, (a medieval appointment of a knight) known as Knights of the Bath (somehow, bathed from their sins?) and also The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Another order of chivalry bestowed, more or less, public service. He was more commonly known as The Merchant of Death. Sir Basil was a British operative.

Zaharoff was also a recipient of the French National Order of The Legion of Honor, France’s highest order for military and civil merits, created by Napoleon in recognition of merit as opposed to a new system of nobility. The Merchant of Death was the mold for arms dealers in the modern age, if you had the money, he had the time and the arms.

Purportedly, Zaharoff was in Britain when he married Emily Burrows from Bristol, England. Shortly thereafter, the new groom became the first subject of an extradition treaty between Belgium and Britain. Accused of embezzling £7,000 in securities and merchandise, he was at trial at the Central Criminal Court next to Newgate Prison. Obviously, the close proximity of Newgate prompted Zaharoff to offer compensation, and so – he was set free on the promise of good-behavior.

Stephanos Skouloudis came from a family that had business in Constantinople. A Greek banker who founded the Bank of Constantinople in 1871. He was also a diplomat and a Prime Minister.

Skouloudis introduced Zaharoff to Thorsten Nordenfelt – a Swedish industrialist and inventor who hired Zaharoff in October of 1877. Zaharoff, a ruthless salesman, capitalized on conflicts between Turkey and Russia, selling to both sides. Political instability was also fertile ground for arms dealing (from his home in Cyprus).

Shortly after Cyprus passed back into the control of the British, Zaharoff surfaces in Galway, Ireland. When he wasn’t working as a shipping agent, he posed as a Count and persuaded many local Irish girls to immigrate to Massachusetts in what could be construed as a human trafficking scheme, given his past associations with brothels (a lifelong pursuit). Soon he was given 24-hours to leave that country and since many in Ireland were going to the United States, he was able to secure passage for himself.

Still posing as the “Count,” Zaharoff became superintendent of a St. Louis railcar manufacturer and formulated a marketing ploy using the greatest soprano of the day, Adelina Patti, for endorsing Zaharoff’s sleeping cars.

Shortly thereafter, Zaharoff charmed a New York heiress while he was purportedly a Prince (self-elevated). A gentleman from Bristol, England remembered him as being the husband of Emily Burrows in Bristol. Zaharoff fled the United States, the subject of a Trans-Atlantic police manhunt…for bigamy.

Zaharoff returned to Greece and the Greek enclaves in Ottoman Turkey where he focused on Nordenfelt’s multi-barrelled machine gun and a steam-powered submarine. Although the submarine was of inferior design and the crew was exposed to dangerously high temperatures (the crew inside would faint) it is a credit to the salesman (Zaharoff) when six were sold (none were used). The multi-barrelled machine gun, while viable, was inferior to the Maxim gun.

Zaharoff did his best to sabotage Maxim’s gun in competition with Nordenfelt’s gun, as the age of the machine gun dawned on Europe. Eventually, Zaharoff would become “the salesman” of the Maxim gun.

The Rothschild and Vickers were able to merge Nordenfelt with Maxim and within two years had forced Nordenfelt out of the company. Zaharoff was now working for Maxim and through the purchase of stock, became more or less, an equal. Maxim lost interest in the business enabling Zaharoff and Vickers to move Maxim out. Zaharoff then  became a member of the Board of Directors in a business entity known as Vickers, Son & Maxim. The firm then acquired the Barrow Shipbuilding Company which became a naval construction yard.

Zaharoff came upon Issac Peral. Plans and memoranda reports were somehow acquired through the Spanish Navy Headquarters. Peral had designed the first workable submarine, electric propulsion, periscope, compensating compass, gyroscope and a servo-motor which prevented erratic underwater movement by keeping the sub trimmed. This working design was able to successfully fire torpedoes on the surface and underwater.

Zaharoff sabotaged Peral within the Spanish Government with money, propaganda and the seduction of powerful ladies of the Spanish nobility. It is interesting that Peral, died at 43, seeking cancer treatment in Berlin. He may have divulged every idea that he ever had to some wicked, German psychologist, under the influence of drugs available in the day. Opium has been mentioned many times herein, but, Devil’s Breath had been available to the Spanish for many years. In light of Germany’s reliance on U-Boats during W.W.I., Peral’s prior work would seem to benefit German banking interests and its blossoming arms-making industries.

Before W.W. I. Vickers name changed to Vickers LTD which expanded into aircraft manufacture and the seeds of war were set. By 1914, Vickers LTD advertised in Jane’s all types of warships designed, built, engined, armed and armored, ready for service. Offensive and defensive, automatic, submarine and mines.

Anatolia, sometimes known as Asia-Minor; the westernmost protrusion of Asia, Asian-Turkey. The Dardenelles are known as Hellespont from Greek antiquity (which translates in English as Sea of Helle) the straits along the Gallipoli Peninsula.

During W.W. I, First Lord of the British Admiralty, Winston Churchill, was involved with the disaster at The Dardenelles.

There is no doubt that Sir Winston was a fearless combatant, and as an infantry commander (he resigned as First Lord of the British Admiralty and accepted a commission in the Army) made many forays himself into no man’s land. (There are monuments in various locations to commemorate the 11,000 British and Empire troops who have no known grave). By this time, British intelligence apparatus was unparalleled in the world and the sun never set on Great Britain. There are many coincidences that have forethought from unseen quarters.

Teddy Roosevelt, America’s 1st Progressive President, had a son named Kermit.

Kermit was a world traveler and able to explore the most remote locations on earth, even dragging his father who was near death, racked with malaria, from the steaming jungles of South America. Kermit served in the British Army during W.W. I and was friends with Winston Churchill. (It’s no small wonder that this would happen when you look at today’s modern celebrity – 7 degrees of separation is showing its age).

The British posted Kermit to what is modern-day Iraq. He was awarded the Military Cross (which is usually awarded to Officers of Commonwealth Nations within the United Kingdom). It did not take Kermit long to master the language, both written and spoken. Thus, he served as a translator, which brought him in contact with those gathering intelligence.

Kermit was later to serve in the American Expeditionary Force.

His son Kermit Jr. was born in Buenos Aires in 1916. He returned to Buenos Aires after the war, and resumed his former position as Assistant Manager for The National City Bank, Buenos Aires branch. Citibank has some very old establishments – worldwide, which may not have followed the letter of the law in their worldwide expansion.

The National City Bank of New York was one of the largest and oldest banks in the United States and in 1897, became the 1st major U.S. bank to establish a foreign branch in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Meanwhile 1920, Smyrna had become a demilitarized zone under the authority of the League of Nations, with the Treaty of Sèvres following the complete collapse of the Ottoman Empire. What can be seen throughout history, is there are winners and losers, and Treaties, and many people who profit from war, profit even further from the Treaties.

The British and their boundaries: a time-honored tradition of pitting one against another leading to the Turkish War of Independence and where another great world figure eventually becomes a friend to Winston Churchill: Aristotle Onassis.

Onassis, from a well-to-do family in Smyrna (then part of the Ottoman Empire) was educated at The Evangelical School which had been established in 1733. During those times, Greeks were allowed to have their church under the Ottoman rulers.

The Evangelical School had its own library and museum, unlike other Greek schools in Smyrna. Early in its history and under the efforts of the Greek Orthodox Bishop, the school came under the protection of the British Consulate in 1747. Producing graduates that may be likened to  “Rhodes Scholars.” Suited for intelligence purposes of the British Crown (for Greek boys in Asia-Minor during the time of the Ottoman Turk)?

Smyrna of the Treaty of Sèvres, was to be administered by the League of Nations. The Turkish National Movement fought against the terms of the Treaty and the significant loss of territory. The Turks were under the command of Mustafa Kemal Attaturk. The Greeks were driven from Smyrna and after the Ottoman Sultan was removed, a nationalistic secular government was installed.

Following eight-month’s of intense negotiations, The Treaty of Laussane was signed in Switzerland in 1923. Along with the parties directly involved in negotiations, during the Conference of Laussane, an American negotiator was present as the United States High Commissioner: Admiral Mark Lambert Bristol (USN).

Bristol was sympathetic to the Turks, downplayed Armenian interests and was unsympathetic to the Greeks and their loss in the burning of Smyrna which claimed the lives of many in Aristotle Socrates Onassis’ family. (Bristol served aboard the U.S.S.Texas during the Spanish-American War and participated in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.)

Another famous graduate of The Evangelical School was Nick the Greek, (not that he had anything to do with Sir Winston Churchill) who was sent by his father to the United States in 1901 with an allowance of $150 per week (if you are aware of what money was before the Federal Reserve, this was a small fortune).

Nicholas Andrea Dandolos settled in Chicago, but found Montreal’s action more to his liking. Quite possibly, he won $500,000 before moving back to Chicago where he lost it all on card and dice games.

Many lifelong friendships were developed as he got to know the criminal element of Chicago on a personal basis. When you lose $500,000 in pre- W.W.I. Chicago, (playing cards and shooting dice) you become a most sought-after-player by every underworld figure running a game. (Progressives had placed millions of men in Europe, many of whom arrived after hostilities. These troops were shunted from the voting process by not receiving absentee ballots which resulted in prohibition of alcohol due to the voting patterns of women who had been organized into temperance unions (much like the abolitionists movement prior to The War Between The States).

It is submitted here, that this was British intelligence at work, to denigrate America. Progressives and Fabian sympathizers within the United States, turned their backs on the Constitution, weakening our nation, for a future British intelligence, disguised as Progressivism i.e., Socialism.

The split within the Republican Party, with Teddy Roosevelt forming the Bull Moose Party, enabled Progressives to propel a democrat puppet; Woodrow Wilson. In the election of 1912, Wilson was beholden to campaign donations from very powerful people, who sought to change the social fabric America and were prepared to involve us in European conflicts to accomplish it. (Trust busting gave rise to the creation of Foundations)

There’s no doubt Nick the Greek was a degenerate gambler but is generally credited with being the loser in a 5-month poker marathon. Benny Binion (who may or may not have been a murderer, rackets man, and moonshiner) put together a marathon poker game between Nick the Greek and Johnny Moss; the World Series of Poker was born. Nick the Greek lost over $2 million leaving the table with one of the famous quotes of gambling: “Mr. Moss, I have to let you go.”

Johnny Moss and Binion were fellow Texans and also, native to Dallas. Benny Binion had risen to the top of the Dallas underworld and survived to run the Dallas underworld, even in the late 1940’s, when the Chicago Mob made its move into Dallas.

Gambling naturally gravitated to the oil rich area of Texas. We may never know if the game was really honest.

One of Binion’s employees, Louis McWillie, ran the Tropicana Casino in Havana in 1960. McWillie was visited by Jack Ruby (a small time hood from Chicago or at least, that’s what we have been lead to believe) and in turn, the two visited Santo Trafficante who had been arrested by Fidel Castro after the overthrow of The Batista Regime.

Santo, who was born in Tampa, Florida, (and after spending time in a Florida prison) was released and moved to Cuba where his gambling interests had been running for about 17 years. Please remember, Meyer Lansky was just a poor retired accountant.

Nick was friends with Albert Einstein, who wrote an advice column in a Princeton Paper under a pen name. It has been said that Nick the Greek was introduced to Albert Einstein at a Manhattan poker game where he learned the name “lil Al” from Jersey. Later, when introducing Einstein in Vegas he introduced him as “lil Al from Princeton who controlled a lot of numbers action around Jersey.” No one in Vegas had any idea who Albert Einstein was, just as long as he could ante up, he was good to go.

Back to Aristotle Onassis –  who at the age of 17, left Greece for Buenos Aires, Argentina on a refugee passport. He was destined to become another successful businessman from Greece with ties to British intelligence.

Onassis was somehow able to dress above his means and was always around the high night life of Buenos Aires.  Never letting anyone know that in the day time, he was a telephone operator with a british owned telephone company in Buenos Aires. (You may recall The Falkland Islands are not the Malvinas and Britain’s conquest of sections of South America did not endear them to all Argentines. Argentina was a “Latin United States” – a melting pot of diverse peoples and indigenous culture.) Onassis would listen in on overseas’ telephone business conversations at every opportunity.

Ari had hoped to take over his father’s tobacco import business but the Ottoman Turks had other ideas. In Buenos Aires, Onassis made his first million in tobacco. Ari contracted with his father for shipment of Turkish tobacco. He planned to market a cigarette to the ladies of Argentina, different from the Cuban tobacco which was plentiful.

Borrowing a successful marketing technique of his fellow Ottoman-Greek (Zaharoff), he seduced Claudia Muzio, an opera singer who was popular in Argentina. Ari was not an opera lover so his courtship was not an easy conquest but this may have prepared Onassis for his Colección de mujeres.  Pictures of famous Claudia smoking Ari’s brands,  Osman and Primeros lead to Buenos Aires opening up for Onassis.

Ari’s business dealings and further correspondence with the Greek government over tariffs argued against any taxes on sea trade. This spared his business in Argentina while at the same time, he received an appointment to the Greek Consulate in Argentina.  Seeking to increase profits, he realized that could fast become a reality if he shipped his own tobacco product and naturally – if he owned the ships!

Onassis borrowed money in Buenos Aires and traveled to Canada, where a division of the Canadian National Railways, known as the Canadian National Steamship Company, was selling ships at scrap metal prices. Onasis bought six for $120,000. and with that, he entered the shipping business, just before W.W. II broke out.

To be continued.