A lazy LinkSwarm for the last Friday of the year:
LinkSwarm for December 27, 2013
December 27th, 2013The 120th Birthday of the Greatest Mass Murderer In History
December 26th, 2013From Dwight comes word that today is the 120th birthday of Mao Tse-Tung (aka Mao Zedong). Most people know he ruled Communist China and published his “Little Red Book” of quotations.
Fewer people know that he’s the greatest mass-murder in history, having killed somewhere between 65 million and 77 million of his own people. (Whether Hitler or Stalin comes in second depends on just how you apportion World War II deaths among them. Does the fact that Stalin waited a whole 16 days before helping Hitler dismember Poland absolve him of all blame for the final body count? I think not…) Between the mass collectivization famine of the Great Leap Forward, the subjugation of Tibet, and the Cultural Revolution, Mao was a very nasty piece of work indeed.
And his political heirs are still running China today.
Further Reading
The World Peace Treaty: A Look Back on the Kellogg-Briand Pact
December 26th, 2013I got one of the most amusingly ridiculous pieces of political spam in my email box recently:
DEAR SANTA
please can be seated in your nice wormchair and email to the rest off the world to forward the red note to their head of state, if the world peace treaty ever take place (with your help and those that read this), there are enough monie spent on each country on defend budgets (that %30 off our taxes monie) we can all have 3 presents each every day for the rest of our lives the and also our great great great grand children lives, not including the ten year early retirement which we should have
together we can kindly ask the world top 20 leaders to sign a world Peace treaty
please can you copy and paste the message in the red below then email it to your local Members of Parliament (MPs) or someone who s head of state
in your country or county
do this once (mean you r a true beliver))
copy and email all the text to a hundred people (mean this will happen, 100x 100 x 100x 100= 1 bilion people
Etc. etc. etc., at great length.
It would be the height of laziness to take potshots at a naive piece of badly-spelled spam, but since it’s the day after Christmas, and I’m feeling very lazy indeed, let’s grab the pump-action Remington and stroll out to the pike barrel, shall we?
Putting aside the fact that this particular email seems to have been dictated by a Nigerian Prince to someone for whom English was not their first (or even second) language, let me concentrate on the underlying idea animating the missive, namely a world peace treaty to end war.
Hate to tell you sparky, but it’s been tried. It was called the Kellogg-Braind Pact:
WHEREAS a Treaty between the President of the United States Of America, the President of the German Reich, His Majesty the King of the Belgians, the President of the French Republic, His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, His Majesty the King of Italy, His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, the President of the Republic of Poland, and the President of the Czechoslovak Republic, providing for the renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy, was concluded and signed by their respective Plenipotontiaries at Paris on the twenty-seventh day of August, one thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight, the original of which Treaty, being in the English and the French languages, is word for word as follows:
THE PRESIDENT OF THE GERMAN REICH, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS, THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN IRELAND AND THE BRITISH DOMINIONS BEYOND THE SEAS, EMPEROR OF INDIA, HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF ITALY, HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND THE PRESIDENT OF THE CZECHOSLOVAK REPUBLIC,
Deeply sensible of their solemn duty to promote the welfare of mankind;
Persuaded that the time has, come when a frank renunciation of war as an instrument of na tional policy should be made to the end that the peaceful and friendly relations now existing between their peoples may be perpetuated;
Convinced that all changes in their relations with one another should be sought only by pacific means and be the result of a peaceful and orderly process, and that any signatory Power which shall hereafter seek to promote its ts national interests by resort to war a should be denied the benefits furnished by this Treaty;
Hopeful that, encouraged by their example, all the other nations of the world will join in this humane endeavor and by adhering to the present Treaty as soon as it comes into force bring their peoples within the scope of its beneficent provisions, thus uniting the civilized nations of the world in a common renunciation of war as an instrument of their national policy;
Have decided to conclude a Treaty and for that purpose have appointed as their respective Plenipotentiaries
[List of Plenipotentiary signatories omitted]
who, having communicated to one another their full powers found in good and due form have agreed upon the following articles:
ARTICLE I
The High Contracting Parties solemly declare in the names of their respective peoples that they condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies, and renounce it, as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another.
ARTICLE II
The High Contracting Parties agree that the settlement or solution of all disputes or conflicts of whatever nature or of whatever origin they may be, which may arise among them, shall never be sought except by pacific means.
ARTICLE III
The present Treaty shall be ratified by the High Contracting Parties named in the Preamble in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements, and shall take effect as between them as soon as all their several instruments of ratification shall have been deposited at Washington.
This Treaty shall, when it has come into effect as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, remain open as long as may be necessary for adherence by all the other Powers of the world. Every instrument evidencing the adherence of a Power shall be deposited at Washington and the Treaty shall immediately upon such deposit become effective as; between the Power thus adhering and the other Powers parties hereto.
It shall be the duty of the Government of the United States to furnish each Government named in the Preamble and every Government subsequently adhering to this Treaty with a certified copy of the Treaty and of every instrument of ratification or adherence. It shall also be the duty of the Government of the United States telegraphically to notify such Governments immediately upon the deposit with it of each instrument of ratification or adherence.
IN FAITH WHEREOF the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed this Treaty in the French and English languages both texts having equal force, and hereunto affix their seals.
DONE at Paris, the twenty seventh day of August in the year one thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight.
The brainchild of French foreign minister Aristide Briand and U.S. Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg, the Pact was conceived as a way of constraining future German aggression and eliminating the horrors of war for all time.
Didn’t work out so well.
Like all Utopian schemes, the Kellog-Briand Pact failed because it assumed human beings were both perfectible and rational in large numbers, neither of which is the case. Forged in a time of relative economic prosperity, when Hitler was an ex-con running the fringe National Socialist German Workers’ Party, no one could foresee the Great Depression and the conflagration of World War II just around the corner.
Wars happen for a variety of reasons, none of which can be derailed solely because the countries involved signed a piece of paper saying war is bad and naughty and they’re having none of it. Treaties work when they either benefit both nations (see, for example, the Rush-Bagot Treaty, which demilitirized the Great Lakes), or because one party to the treaty has the obvious ability to completely beat the snot out of the other.
Treaties with non-democratic regimes are only as good as the obvious willingness of democratic nations to use force to back them up. Which is why I have little-to-no faith that the recent treaty with Iran will have the slightest effect on Iran’s nuclear program beyond accelerating it…
Merry Christmas!
December 25th, 2013Enjoy the traditional Christmas music of my people:
LinkSwarm for December 24, 2013
December 24th, 2013Merry Christmas a day in advance!
It's Not Working. #ObamaCareInThreeWords pic.twitter.com/Kt1OCjY0FV
— My Cancellation (@MyCancellation) December 19, 2013
The Black Citiziens of Chicago Are Mad As Hell; Are They Going To Take It Anymore?
December 23rd, 2013Saw this over on Ace of Spades, and thought it worthy of much wider distribution. Essentially, black voters in Chicago are tired of a political machine (including black aldermen and preachers ) that does nothing but screw them over.
Caveat: These are obviously excerpts, so we don’t know what the rest of the meeting was like.
But certainly black Americans in most American cities have real complaints about a welfare state that’s left them behind and made their lives worse rather than better, and those in Chicago, with one of the heaviest Democratic machines and the highest murder count in the country, have more cause for complaint than most. And it’s absolutely true that the Democratic Party takes them for granted, and will continue to do so as long as they blindly vote 9-1 straight ticket Democrat in every election. Why shouldn’t Democrats take them for granted if they continue to reap lockstep votes without having to exert any effort. (And whenever it waivers, they seem to feel they need only shout “Trayvon!” or some other race card distraction to continue their grip.) And the Great Obama Recession has consistently been worse for black America than white America.
(It also needs to be noted that at the state level, many Illinois Republicans are just guilty of ignoring voter needs as part of the corrupt bipartisan Combine that runs the state.)
But at least Chicago’s black community has made the first step of speaking out about how the Democratic machine has been harvesting their votes and handing out welfare, but otherwise neglecting them and taking them for granted. There’s no guarantee they’ll take the next step, be it actually talking to Republicans, consider abandoning the failed liberal welfare state model that’s destroyed their community, or even form a new political party (maybe The Urban Party) rather than demanding a bigger share of the corruption (as so many black politicians have). But at least the recognize there’s a problem.
Finally, I still think Al Sharpton is among the lowest of race-hustling poverty pimps, but let’s give him one cheer here for setting this up and actually letting people speak.
Charles Krauthammer Nails ObamaCare
December 20th, 2013This is far from the first time Charles Krauthammer has taken the wood to ObamaCare, but this piece provides an admirable takedown for column length:
In fact, Obamacare is a full-scale federal takeover. The keep-your-plan-if-you-like-your-plan ruse was a way of saying to the millions of Americans who had insurance and liked what they had: Don’t worry. You’ll be left unmolested. For you, everything goes on as before.
That was a fraud from the very beginning. The law was designed to throw people off their private plans and into government-run exchanges where they would be made to overpay — forced to purchase government-mandated services they don’t need — as a way to subsidize others. (That’s how you get to the ostensible free lunch.)
It wasn’t until the first cancellation notices went out in late 2013 that the deception began to be understood. And felt. Six million Americans with private insurance have just lost it. And that’s just the beginning. By the Department of Health and Human Services’ own estimates, about 75 million Americans would have plans that their employers would have the right to cancel.
Also:
Three years ago I predicted that Obamacare would turn insurers into the lapdog equivalent of utility companies. I undershot. They are being treated as wholly owned subsidiaries.
Read the whole thing.
PajamaBoy Update
December 19th, 2013It turns out that PajamaBoy is not an unsuspecting pajama model, but an actual OFA minion named Ethan Krupp. So if you worried that all this ruthless mockery was unjustified, worry no more! He bought the ticket, he can take the ride.
I snarkily referred to PajamaBoy’s “Canadian Girlfriend.” It occurs to me that you could make a good case for “Truth,” “Transparency” or “Competence” being Obama’s Canadian girlfriends. He sure talks about them a lot, but no one has ever seen them in the same room with him…
Enter PajamaBoy
December 18th, 2013If ObamaCare weren’t destroying the lives of millions, you could almost feel sorry for their colossal ineptitude at every aspect of ObamaCare.
Almost.
But the most recent of Obama’s risible “Sell ObamaCare to your relatives at holidays” gambits is far and away the most mockable:
How do you plan to spend the cold days of December? http://t.co/Rwf5AYc3bG #GetTalking pic.twitter.com/PBQ397yLf4
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 17, 2013
And thus #PajamaBoy was born. There are topics that just cry out for my special brand of sensitivity, and PajamaBoy is one of those topics:
The only way #PajamaBoy could look less macho is if there were pictures of #HelloKitty on his onsie.
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
So who is #Pajamaboy going to talk about #ObamaCare with on Christmas: his mother, his cat, or his imaginary Canadian girlfriend?
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#pajamaboy: The centerfold for this month's edition of Internet Tough Guy magazine.
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#pajamaboy: A Superhero for the 1st century! "Able to stay in his parent's basement until 26!"
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#pajamaboy: Still believes in Santa Klaus, The Tooth Fairy, and Obama telling the truth.
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#pajamaboy: Once shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die. Since it was a Nerf gun, it didn't turn out to well.
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#PajamaBoy would be drinking a #PBR, but his mom doesn't allow alcohol in her basement.
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
Eventually I started channeling #PajamaBoy himself:
#PajamaBoy: "With these fabulous curtains and throw-pillows I sewed, you can hardly tell it's a basement!"
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#PajamaBoy: "Normally when I dream I'm a Disney Princess, I dream I'm Belle, but last night I dreamed I was Ariel. A trip to the beach?"
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#PajamaBoy: "Yes, I still have all The Wigglies albums. Why do you ask?"
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#PajamaBoy: "Behold the full armed and operational power of this Glee Club!"
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#PajamaBoy: "Mom, you bought me the wrong type of Lunchables! I wanted the ones with the smoothies!"
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
#PajamaBoy: "Mom, I can't take out the trash now! Andrea Mitchell is on!"
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 18, 2013
Others, of course, were right there in the trenches of derisive mockery with me:
#PajamaBoy selfie pic.twitter.com/NNlemABt9X
— jon gabriel (@exjon) December 18, 2013
This #Obamacare #pajamaboy reminds me of another #Obamacare supporting Democrat #tcot #p2 @TwitchyTeam pic.twitter.com/sZOZP47av8
— Chris Coon (@Coondawg68) December 18, 2013
Little-known fact: #PajamaBoy was not their first choice as a model. pic.twitter.com/CjkbIwJaIW
— Angela Nelson (@angelaisms) December 18, 2013