Monday, August 9, 2010
The Israeli-Palestine Crisis
Jerusalem. It is the greatest land and it is worst land. Everyone wants it, it is where some of the most "holy" things have happened, and yet it binds chaos, destruction and enslavement instead of peace, harmony and love. From the Kingdom of Israel to the Kingdom of Jerusalem to the Mamelukes, Ottomans, Britain and today Israel once again, it seems no one can just get a grip on this enigma.
Jerusalem was originally Egyptian, then later came into the hands of Israel. It was first taken from the Kingdom of Israel by the Greeks, and later by the Romans. (which is where the origin of Palestine comes from.. all roads DO lead to Rome..) After the first real decline of the Eastern Roman Empire Jerusalem would begin to fall into the hands of Turks and Egyptians. This would continue from the 6th until the 11th century when the crusaders would form the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
King Amalric, one of the last Kings of Jerusalem, was a very generous one. He gave rights to Muslims and Jews to practice their religion in peace within the walls. Many Christians disliked this policy, but it was a withstanding one and was definitely one of the most peaceful times in Jerusalem. However, Amalric was a leper, as was his son Baldwin IV. This brought Guy to the throne, a frenchmen who was friends with anti-Islamic Crusaders. His reign was disastrous and the Kingdom of Jerusalem would fall to one of the greatest sultans to ever grace the earth, Sala al-Din of Egypt.
Jerusalem would forget what peace was.. as the Ayyubid Caliphate (Egypt), The Mongol Empire and the Mamelukes (Egypt) would reign over this city throughout the Middle Ages. However, near the end of the Middle Ages the rise of the a new empire, the Ottoman empire, would take Jerusalem from the Egyptians (15th century) and would hold onto this city for the next 500 years.
In other words, it would be five hundred years without a ruler that was not of the Islam faith. Also, 900 of the past 1000 years with a ruler of Islamic faith would have ruled Judea. In whose right mind did creating a state for the Jewish population from the west did creating a state in a concentrated Muslim population, now referred to as Palestine, deem this a fruitful and splendid idea?
Absolutely insane! There was no justification! Obviously, we can not undo the past actions of United Nations and the major powers following World War I and World War II, but this needs to be understood before trying to tackle a peace settlement in a region that has been through so much death and chaos.
Jews are there to stay, but unless something is rectified, the Palestinians may face a similar fate that the Jews "earned" Israel with.
Jerusalem was originally Egyptian, then later came into the hands of Israel. It was first taken from the Kingdom of Israel by the Greeks, and later by the Romans. (which is where the origin of Palestine comes from.. all roads DO lead to Rome..) After the first real decline of the Eastern Roman Empire Jerusalem would begin to fall into the hands of Turks and Egyptians. This would continue from the 6th until the 11th century when the crusaders would form the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
King Amalric, one of the last Kings of Jerusalem, was a very generous one. He gave rights to Muslims and Jews to practice their religion in peace within the walls. Many Christians disliked this policy, but it was a withstanding one and was definitely one of the most peaceful times in Jerusalem. However, Amalric was a leper, as was his son Baldwin IV. This brought Guy to the throne, a frenchmen who was friends with anti-Islamic Crusaders. His reign was disastrous and the Kingdom of Jerusalem would fall to one of the greatest sultans to ever grace the earth, Sala al-Din of Egypt.
Jerusalem would forget what peace was.. as the Ayyubid Caliphate (Egypt), The Mongol Empire and the Mamelukes (Egypt) would reign over this city throughout the Middle Ages. However, near the end of the Middle Ages the rise of the a new empire, the Ottoman empire, would take Jerusalem from the Egyptians (15th century) and would hold onto this city for the next 500 years.
In other words, it would be five hundred years without a ruler that was not of the Islam faith. Also, 900 of the past 1000 years with a ruler of Islamic faith would have ruled Judea. In whose right mind did creating a state for the Jewish population from the west did creating a state in a concentrated Muslim population, now referred to as Palestine, deem this a fruitful and splendid idea?
Absolutely insane! There was no justification! Obviously, we can not undo the past actions of United Nations and the major powers following World War I and World War II, but this needs to be understood before trying to tackle a peace settlement in a region that has been through so much death and chaos.
Jews are there to stay, but unless something is rectified, the Palestinians may face a similar fate that the Jews "earned" Israel with.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
The Florentine Republic
I was playing Europa Universalis III and was playing as Tuscany at the start date of 1399. I realized I did not know much of the Republic of Tuscany and decided to go research the topic myself.
That might be because.. the Republic of Tuscany never existed! in 1197 the Republic of Florence was born and it would become one of most influential merchant republics on the Italian peninsula. Shortly after the banking crisis in the Republic of Sienna, Florence would quickly become to replace what Sienna was.
However, they went above and beyond Sienna and completely changed economics in Europe and the Near East. The Florentines came up with a gold coin known as a Florin. This was the first time a viable currency was developed and it quickly spread throughout Europe. The Florin is credited with being the single greatest invention of bringing Europe out of the Dark Ages.
There are many other fabulous achievements for Florence, but on a grander scale, the only one greater than the Florin was the Italian Renaissance which began by the government in Florence. There is plenty of information around, and definitely romanticized opinions, to tell the story of how this single event changed the face of Europe forever.
However, by 1532 the Medici family began to dominate Florentine politics and would soon get a Pope sanctioned Duke-ship to firmly end the Republic of Florence forever. The Duchy of Florence was born. Less than a century later, the Duchy of Florence would get claims on Pisa and become the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Tuscany would exist in one form or another for centuries to come until the unification of Italy in the 19th century.
In other words, the Florentine Republic is one of the least known places, most likely due to their lack of military power, but revolutionized the whole face of Europe in the four centuries it lasted.
That might be because.. the Republic of Tuscany never existed! in 1197 the Republic of Florence was born and it would become one of most influential merchant republics on the Italian peninsula. Shortly after the banking crisis in the Republic of Sienna, Florence would quickly become to replace what Sienna was.
However, they went above and beyond Sienna and completely changed economics in Europe and the Near East. The Florentines came up with a gold coin known as a Florin. This was the first time a viable currency was developed and it quickly spread throughout Europe. The Florin is credited with being the single greatest invention of bringing Europe out of the Dark Ages.
There are many other fabulous achievements for Florence, but on a grander scale, the only one greater than the Florin was the Italian Renaissance which began by the government in Florence. There is plenty of information around, and definitely romanticized opinions, to tell the story of how this single event changed the face of Europe forever.
However, by 1532 the Medici family began to dominate Florentine politics and would soon get a Pope sanctioned Duke-ship to firmly end the Republic of Florence forever. The Duchy of Florence was born. Less than a century later, the Duchy of Florence would get claims on Pisa and become the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Tuscany would exist in one form or another for centuries to come until the unification of Italy in the 19th century.
In other words, the Florentine Republic is one of the least known places, most likely due to their lack of military power, but revolutionized the whole face of Europe in the four centuries it lasted.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Blessed Be The State of Missouri
From Resolutions of Kentucky and Virginia in 1798.. Nullification and Interposition became a useful tool to keep Federal power in check. They were used for all sorts of reasons and all sorts of causes to nullify or void federal laws that were disagreeable or wouldn't work in the given state.
The first example was the Alien and Sedition Acts passed during the Adams administration. Another great example was the draconian trade embargo passed by the Jeffersonian Administration, that the great Thomas Jefferson signed immediately. (One of the few poor moral judgements he made in his life..)
Nullifcation has so many more examples, but it went away. The unsuccessful Southern Secession and the Civil Rights movement clouded everyone's thinking of what it was. Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Lindon B. Johnson, Woodrow Wilson and many other presidents who are statist and centralist did not like the idea of nullification. It was disastrous to how they felt that a nation should be ran.
It hasn't been used in over fifty years, perhaps longer. Until now. The Obama Administration passed a health care package that penalized citizens for not having health insurance. Missouri had a referendum to make the State deny enforcement of such a law and it passed with 71.1% of the vote. (link)
Nullification and interposition are the two most powerful statutes against tyranny of the Federal government, and this is a huge precedent. It isn't just talk anymore, this movement has real teeth.
(For more on Nullification, a book was recently released: Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century by Thomas E. Woods Jr.)
The first example was the Alien and Sedition Acts passed during the Adams administration. Another great example was the draconian trade embargo passed by the Jeffersonian Administration, that the great Thomas Jefferson signed immediately. (One of the few poor moral judgements he made in his life..)
Nullifcation has so many more examples, but it went away. The unsuccessful Southern Secession and the Civil Rights movement clouded everyone's thinking of what it was. Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Lindon B. Johnson, Woodrow Wilson and many other presidents who are statist and centralist did not like the idea of nullification. It was disastrous to how they felt that a nation should be ran.
It hasn't been used in over fifty years, perhaps longer. Until now. The Obama Administration passed a health care package that penalized citizens for not having health insurance. Missouri had a referendum to make the State deny enforcement of such a law and it passed with 71.1% of the vote. (link)
Nullification and interposition are the two most powerful statutes against tyranny of the Federal government, and this is a huge precedent. It isn't just talk anymore, this movement has real teeth.
(For more on Nullification, a book was recently released: Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century by Thomas E. Woods Jr.)
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