[NYTr] "I hate all Iranians" - Cagan & her Iron Cross/Maltese Cross/Commander's Cross

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Debra Cagan and Her Iron Cross? Maltese Cross? Commander's Cross!

Follow-up to:

"I hate all Iranians: 4th Reich Gets Weirder as It Emerges from Closets"
http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/Week-of-Mon-20071001/069459.html

The URL above includes Leupp's Oct 2, 2007 Counterpunch piece, the Daily
Mail article and a link to the photo itself. 

Ed Pearl sent a possible explanation of the bizarre cross. Several
other posts on Usenet also note that the Daily Mail -- in fine
tabloid fashion -- dug out a 2-year-old photo from a Hungarian
diplomatic function at the Hungarian Embassy (presumably in Washington,
DC) where Ambassador András Simonyi awarded the "Commander's Cross
Order of Merit" to the bizarre Debra Cagan (or Kagen, as Ed spells it).

Here's Ed's note:

"Carole LaFlamme here provides a rational explanation of
the cross worn by dragon lady, Debra Kagen.  No comment on
why the Hungarian Government uses the iron cross. -Ed 10/6/2007

"'Debra Cagan gained notoriety after the Daily Mail newspaper claimed
that during a meeting with visiting British MPs, she stated that "I
hate all Iranians." She then purportedly accused Britain of
"dismantling" the Anglo-US-led coalition in Iraq by pulling troops out
of Basra too soon. This controversy brought public attention to an
October 24, 2005 photograph of Ms. Cagan appearing at a Hungarian
Embassy function dressed in a red leather blouse and sporting the
Commander's Cross Order of Merit, which she had just been awarded by
Ambassador András Simonyi.'" [end of Ed's note]

To be fair, the distinctively shaped cross had been used by all
sorts of strange right-wing and spiritualist organizations. It's
also known as the Maltese Cross, and no doubt sends shivers down the
spines of members of Opus Dei, the shadowy and secret organization of
ultra-reactionary right-wing Catholics. The symbol is likewise
prominent in artworks depicting the Crusades. It's not surprising to
see the symbol used as some sort of militaristic diplomatic honor by one
of the former so-called "Captive Nations."

The cross was used as well by another weird religious Christian cult in
the US, the Oxford Group, from which Alcoholics Anonymous evolved. The
leader of the Oxford Group, Frank Buchman, seems to have had a great
affinity for fascism and cultivated the rich and powerful in
Germany, Britain and the US -- those with similar fascist leanings,
including Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. Buchman pretty much
discredited himself and the Oxford Group when he spoke approvingly of
Adolf Hitler in a 1936 interview published in the "New York World
Telegram." By 1938, Buchman sought to rehabilitate his reputation by
renaming his group "Moral Re-Armament" and started emphasizing the
concept of "patriotism." [1]

Fascist authoritarian dictatorship is a global phenomenon and certainly
did not begin or end with World War 2, nor was it limited to Nazi
Germany or Il Duce's Italy. How deliberate is the Bush Regime's message
when the Decider uses the word CRUSADE about invading Afghanistan after
9/11 and their diplomats go parading around in leather dominatrix
outfits? You decide. Some of them say they're not at war with Islam,
but Muslims and Christians seem to get their real drift.

And some Amerikans wonder "why do they hate us?"

Notes:

[1] See: "The Religious Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve
Steps" by Agent Orange. 
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-religiousroots.html

especially:

Chapter 8: Partying with the Nazi Party
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-rroot240.html

Chapter 9: The Oxford Group Morphs Into Moral Re-Armament 
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-rroot270.html

and Chapter 16: What is Fascism? How fascist was Frank Buchman?
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-rroot480.html