Stories behind the headlines

Heh. Lots of stuff on the Catholic blogosphere debating Pope Francis' emphasis on "love love love". Sentimentality over those old fashioned rules (which were put there to defend the weak from being destroyed by the strong).

Old leftie bishop Cruz has several short essays explaining Francis' writings, but then he posts this essay on anti social personality disorder and how it manipulates others.

Ya think?

Hmm...maybe the Pope needs to read the DSM-IV.

Jesus offered mercy to all, but I seem to remember him telling off certain SOB's using quite colourful language...

Or maybe the Pope should read Niebuhr's essay the Children of Light and the Children of Darkness... on how those with a sentimental idea of humanity don't see how "self interest" might see this as weakness and use this against them.

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StrategyPage has a book review on the first Sino Japanese War. More here. and HERE.

book marked for later reading. I was aware of the very repressive Japanese takeover of Korea in the early 20th century but don't know much about this. right now, I'm trying to beef up on East Asian history.

This is also a background for Chinese expansion into Japanese held Islands that is causing tension today, and like most of the very bloody wars of Asia, are almost unknown to the west (including all the clueless bozos commenting on the internet and TV who claim all wars are caused by religion. DUH. Talk about European bias...).
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Related item: StrategyPage on China's sea grab from the Philippines and other nearby countries.

This is going on over the complaints by half a dozen countries here, but only token resistance from the Obama administration.

No one takes Obama seriously in Asia... and the trust in the US is down, which is why Duterte says he will try to compromise with China if elected.

This, and the fact he is the front runner, has the powers that be upset, so I was not surprised to see several almost idential articles calling him as Trump-like (he isn't, he is Mayor Guillani lite) and calling him a bigot for making a "rape" joke.

Uh, he was discussing a serious incident, and tried to lighten the discussion by making a joke (a cultural trait here is defuse emotional or stressful situations by making a joke).

But three major articles doing hit jobs in one week suggest someone doesn't want him President of the Philippines...presumably the "American girl" or the corrupt former VP are preferable to the NWO.

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Remember the song: From the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.

well Professor Bob has a bunch of podcasts on the Mexican American war.

StrategyPage again puts ISIS and terrorism into the perspective of the Middle East and Islam as a religion.

The shores of Tripoli were the Barbary pirates who were stole people into slavery and stole goods from merchants, but were simply paid off by Europe for centuries until Thomas Jefferson got mad...

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Suicides are soaring.

No, it's not poverty or joblessness: It's societal breakdown, and often drugs.

And the press/MSM/Hollywood is making things worse: psychologists have known for years about the tendency of copycat suicide, and even warned the press that sympathetic and often sentimental coverage of suicide would lead to more suicides.

Of course, the cutting edge argument in medicine is assisted suicide, to be passed by the Supreme court as soon as Obama or Clinton can get appoint the deciding vote there.


But of course, the plans for these policies (often with plans for medical rationing for untermensch, not for themselves) have been openly written about in the "bioethics" literature since the mid 1980's...and it is simply Orwellian that the UK medical rationing board is called "NICE"....