The End is Coming (and other cynical musings): Greed is actually blue...and smells of cheese.

April 6th 2007 - Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, son of deceased ex-president François Mitterrand, as well as former advisor Jacques Attali and former interior minister Charles Pasqua were indicted for their involvement in funding $800 million worth of Eastern European arms to the government of Angola. The Angolan civil war 1976-2002 pitted their president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos against the rebel UNITA forces of the sub-Saharan country. This war resulted in the deaths of over 300,000 Angolans, no really, even though you have barely heard of the country before.

Assuming that the indicted Frenchmen are guilty (they all claim innocence) they actually funded and directly benefited from a civil war, from massive slaughter, from torture, from dictatorship and from despotism, values that are not very French nor very Western. More indirectly, The United States, Cuba, white South Africa and the Soviet Union also supported Dos Santos against his own people. Power and financial interests, be they real or potential, seem to be enough for nations and statesmen to give up morals, principles and ethics. Centuries ago, this trend of supporting the enemy of an enemy against all higher beliefs, was already visible, especially in France.

In the XVIth century, two powerful nemesis fought wars of epic proportions. In the Blue corner was French King François Ist, he notably sponsored exploration voyages to the New World and reformed French administration. In the other more Spanish corner Was Charles the Vth. By Heritage, Charles was king of Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria, Franche-Comté, Southern Italy, the Americas and by election, was Emperor of Germany. France was effectively surrounded and could not count on the only other western power left, their eternal enemy, England. By consequence, successive wars between Charles and François began in 1521; it was one of the first conflicts to pit Catholics against Catholics.

Two catholic kings would mean that the pope, or moral authority, would have to choose which camp to lend his and God’s approval to. Fortunately, the French kings had installed their own pope in Avignon so this last one chose France as the providential conqueror. The more traditional, Roman pope backed Charles Vth as the god chosen overlord. God must not have been paying attention because tow champions were killing each other in his name. Furthurmore, these alliances were in accordance with their religious principles and values. This made sense, but soon came a time where less conventional, and right out heretic, alliances were made out of necessity and greed.

In 1521 to completely surround France, Charles allied with Anglican King Henry the VIIIth (The polygamist beheader). Keeping in mind that this alliance with the heretic directly clashed with his Vatican ally, morals seem to have taken a backseat to ambitions of power. On the other hand, France was desperate for an ally and contacted the worst religious and moral enemy that the Christian world had ever faced at the time, the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Suleiman allied with François in 1542 when the war was still raging, despite several ceasefires. All other considerations left place for power and financial considerations, for example, many battles between the european megalomaniacs were fought for the city of Milan, one of the richest cities of the time. Its control reinforced cultural and economic authority over the other, non-allied territories. By the time of their deaths, François and Charles had accomplished little except for scores of dead soldiers and a dynastic war that continued through their sons.

Some would say that capitalism and the individualisation operated by our "technocentury" has reinforced our tendency to abandon our intangible morals for concrete power. I say that if this is true, we must stop pretending that we still hold dear to ethical considerations, whilst funding a faraway genocide...if, of course, Mitterrand's son is really guilty.