Doing last night's post got me thinking about the Swiss Guard...I googled up the Janissaries too, and the Marmelukes...and had the scandalous Blackwater security company in Iraq in mind...as they all have something in common...they were mercenary bodyguards for Kings, Queens, royal courts and aristocracy.
I read about the Swiss Guard slaughter during the French Revolution...they were France's Royalty personal bodyguards...sorta like old Rome's Praetorian Guard.
Well, and almost on cue today!, there is story about the Vatican releasing an old parchment with story of the Knights Templar...they too were a body guard outfit, getting their start escorting pilgrims to the Holy Land.
I thought the Marines guarded State Department personnel, they do guard our embassies around the world, but there is some mystery here why Blackwater is employed. I think I touched on this in an old JFK post, which maybe I can find in a bit...
There's an author I read from time to time, Jerry Pournelle, somewhat famous for science fiction stories, computer articles, and general punditry, who I find difficult to fathom insomuch as his thoughts seem to teeter between sense and nonsense (remind you of anyone? as Ferguson might put it!), and one I've gathered in for contemplation is his mention of the Janissaries. I've had to try and study them out a bit....
Pournelle has a solution for Iraq--hire mercenaries like the British did in India...Gurkas and such (I forget who were their policeman in Old Shanghai)....
Near as I can figure, the Jannisaries were a military force that was accepted by all sides because they had no national loyalties, only loyalty to their employer...the old Sultans in Turkey. They were formed from non Muslim slaves, persuaded to convert to Islam and serve the Sultan, gaining some freedom...many of them were Chirstians. They solved a serious problem, then, like now, the different Arab factions were terribly suspicious of one another, and could never solve their differences. Having a neutral standing army guarding the court and royalty solved a lot of problems.
(Herodotus has a story of how a king comes to be because he is noted for his trustworthiness in disputes and trusted by all sides for his fairness.)
There's only one Swiss Guard unit left, and it guards the Pope. I was gonna ramble on just about this tonight, but after reading about the Parchment I wondered if there was a connection between the Swiss Guard and the Knights Templar.
Well, it's one of those mysteries, I find, after googleing it up. Sheesh.
Another order, the Knights of Malta, configures into this, and is much a part of JFK lore, and which I've had a few posts about!...if I remember right old Joe Kennedy was a Knight of Malta, along with Clare Booth Luce, a handful of CIA heads, and whole bunch of others, easy to find on the web as the conspiracy sites collect them.
One question I raised was how a political appointee could be a member of Order and hold office...the Order declares itself a sovereign nation. Oh, it's a tangle.
Anyway, here's a thought, is Switzerland the fortress home of the Knights??
I think Pournelle might be a Knight. He claims to have been near the center of the Cold War, what to call it, thinkers. Most in a war just do, but somewhere somehow someone has to think things through. I like his book Footfall. And there's a kinda ad hoc bunch of thinkers in that who may resemble Pournelle's engagement in things.
Hmmph...how'd I'd get going on all this...doggone Rick Steves and his travel brochure world...hooey...in the Valley I'm in one!!
Watched 2 and a half men, reruns I think, then the news..Friends on now...
I read about the Swiss Guard slaughter during the French Revolution...they were France's Royalty personal bodyguards...sorta like old Rome's Praetorian Guard.
Well, and almost on cue today!, there is story about the Vatican releasing an old parchment with story of the Knights Templar...they too were a body guard outfit, getting their start escorting pilgrims to the Holy Land.
I thought the Marines guarded State Department personnel, they do guard our embassies around the world, but there is some mystery here why Blackwater is employed. I think I touched on this in an old JFK post, which maybe I can find in a bit...
There's an author I read from time to time, Jerry Pournelle, somewhat famous for science fiction stories, computer articles, and general punditry, who I find difficult to fathom insomuch as his thoughts seem to teeter between sense and nonsense (remind you of anyone? as Ferguson might put it!), and one I've gathered in for contemplation is his mention of the Janissaries. I've had to try and study them out a bit....
Pournelle has a solution for Iraq--hire mercenaries like the British did in India...Gurkas and such (I forget who were their policeman in Old Shanghai)....
Near as I can figure, the Jannisaries were a military force that was accepted by all sides because they had no national loyalties, only loyalty to their employer...the old Sultans in Turkey. They were formed from non Muslim slaves, persuaded to convert to Islam and serve the Sultan, gaining some freedom...many of them were Chirstians. They solved a serious problem, then, like now, the different Arab factions were terribly suspicious of one another, and could never solve their differences. Having a neutral standing army guarding the court and royalty solved a lot of problems.
(Herodotus has a story of how a king comes to be because he is noted for his trustworthiness in disputes and trusted by all sides for his fairness.)
There's only one Swiss Guard unit left, and it guards the Pope. I was gonna ramble on just about this tonight, but after reading about the Parchment I wondered if there was a connection between the Swiss Guard and the Knights Templar.
Well, it's one of those mysteries, I find, after googleing it up. Sheesh.
Another order, the Knights of Malta, configures into this, and is much a part of JFK lore, and which I've had a few posts about!...if I remember right old Joe Kennedy was a Knight of Malta, along with Clare Booth Luce, a handful of CIA heads, and whole bunch of others, easy to find on the web as the conspiracy sites collect them.
One question I raised was how a political appointee could be a member of Order and hold office...the Order declares itself a sovereign nation. Oh, it's a tangle.
Anyway, here's a thought, is Switzerland the fortress home of the Knights??
I think Pournelle might be a Knight. He claims to have been near the center of the Cold War, what to call it, thinkers. Most in a war just do, but somewhere somehow someone has to think things through. I like his book Footfall. And there's a kinda ad hoc bunch of thinkers in that who may resemble Pournelle's engagement in things.
Hmmph...how'd I'd get going on all this...doggone Rick Steves and his travel brochure world...hooey...in the Valley I'm in one!!
Watched 2 and a half men, reruns I think, then the news..Friends on now...
And of course I go google up Blackwater Security Malta...and a raft of conspiracy sites make the connection...Blackwater an arm of the Knights?...trying to recollect my jfk posts and configure them here would be a task...I did a lot of connection ones on the Knights of Malta...oh, there's a new movie coming out about Queen Elizabeth and the Armada battle....how the old troubles have sifted through to today is remarkable!!
DavidDavid
Tree in the Door
Oct. 12 2007
DavidDavid
Tree in the Door
Oct. 12 2007
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