Today has somehow come to be named World Day for International Justice. Isn't that just too cute for words.
I suppose we must start with Hammurabi's code and then plow through all of Plato, etc.We could spend years, even decades trying to ferret out the meaning of justice and not really get any closer than we are right now. Then, assuming we get a handle on it, what is International Justice? What obligations does it impose on all the imperialists, colonists, colonial powers, conquerers and all that for past wrongdoing?
And what about the future. The inhabitants of the US know that for the wealthy and or well connected justice is so heavily tempered with mercy that it hardly bears the name of justice at all, while, for the hoi polloi, it is maximally punitive. But, that is for individuals, not nations or peoples. In that arena, we must ever look forward and not backward, forgiving ourselves all of our transgressions and dedicating ourselves to the constant ongoing spread of "democracy" TM and "American Values" TM. That ought to pretty much cover it.
Personally, I long ago gave up on any and all kinds of Justice, but will indulge in a little Bill Justis
On this day in history:
1203 -- The Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople by assault and sacked and looted it 1665 -- Portugal gained independence from Spain in the Battle of Montes Claros 1717 -- Handel's Water Music premiered 1902 -- Willis Carrier built the first air conditioner 1918 -- Tsar Nicholas II, his immediate family, and retainers were executed by Chekists 1936 -- The Spanish Civil War started 1944 -- Two ships laden with ammunition for the war exploded in Port Chicago, California, killing 320 1945 -- The Potsdam conference 1962 -- The last US atmospheric nuclear weapons test. 1975 -- First Apollo--Soyuz orbital docking 1976 -- Indonesia annexed East Timor 1979 – Nicaraguan dictator General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigned and fled the country 1998 -- The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted by many non-US countries 2014 -- Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down
Some people who were born on this day:
Scientific progress is the discovery of a more and more comprehensive simplicity... The previous successes give us confidence in the future of science: we become more and more conscious of the fact that the universe is cognizable.
~~ Georges Lemaitre 1698 -- Pierre Louis Maupertuis, mathematician, invented the principle of least action 1839 – Ephraim Shay, engineer, invented the Shay locomotive 1889 -- Erle Stanley Gardner, attorney and author 1894 -- Georges Lemaitre, astronomer and physicist, developed Hubble's Law. 1901 – Luigi Chinetti, race car driver and much, much more 1911 – Lionel Ferbos, trumpet player 1921 – George Barnes, guitarist, producer, and songwriter 1921 – Mary Osborne, guitarist 1923 – John Cooper, car designer, co-founded the Cooper Car Company 1925 – Jimmy Scott, singer and actor 1928 -- Vince Guaraldi, pianist, singer, and songwriter 1935 -- Diahann Carroll, actress and singer 1935 -- Peter Schickele, composer, educator renowned expert on PDQ Bach 1939 -- Spencer Davis, singer, songwrite and guitarist 1942 – Gale Garnett, singer 1942 -- Zoot Money, singer, songwriter and keyboard player 1949 -- Geezer Butler, bassist and songwriter 1950 – Phoebe Snow, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1952 – Nicolette Larson, singer and songwriter 1954 -- Angela Merkel, chemist and politician 1966 – Lou Barlow, guitarist and songwriter 1971 -- Cory Doctorow, author, activist and happy mutant
Some people who died on this day:
“Civil government, so far as it is instituted for the security of property, is in reality instituted for the defense of the rich against the poor, or of those who have some property against those who have none at all.”
~~ Adam Smith 1790 -- Adam Smith, quack and schemer, robber with an invisible hand 1793 -- Charlotte Corday, killed Marat 1887 -- Dorothea Dix, nurse and activist 1912 -- Henri Poincare, mathematician, physisict, engineer 1918 -- Assorted Romanovs 1935 -- George William Russell, poet, painter and Irish Nationalist 1950 -- Evangeline Booth, first female General of the Salvation Army 1959 -- Billie Holiday, singer 1967 -- John Coltrane, saxophonist 1995 -- Juan Manuel Fangio, race car driver extraordinaire 1996 -- Chas Chandler, bassist 2003 – Rosalyn Tureck, pianist and harpsichord player 2006 -- Sam Myers, drummer, vocalist, harp player, songwriter 2006 -- Mickey Spillane, author 2009 -- Walter Cronkite, journallist 2013 – Peter Appleyard, vibraphone player and composer 2015 – John Taylor, pianist and educator
Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: World Day for International Justice (fer sure, fer sure)
Today's Tunes
Handel's Water Music
Spanish Civil War mit banjo and bodhran, no less
Lionel Ferbos
Mary Osborne
Vince Guaraldi
Diahann Carroll
Peter Schickele conducts the Schleptet in Eb Major. Click on More to see the movements
Spencer Davis, who wandered into his local and found a 15 year old kid play1ng keyboards and singing
Gale Garnett
Zoot Money
Geezer Butler
Adam Smith
Evangeline Booth - "That's General Booth to you folk, got it?
Billie Holiday
John Coltrane
Chas Chandler
Sam Meyers
Peter Applewood
Bonus Billie
A brief bit of Beethoven
Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com