Powerline wrote an article yesterday about the troubles of a history professor at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIU-C). Apparently he is in trouble for giving his class an optional reading assignment of an article about the Zebra Murders. I was rather unfamiliar with this string of murders so I followed the link and read the article the teacher had given to his class.
In 1972 in San Francisco a group of young black men, who were all members of the Nation of Islam, formed a group called the Death Angels. This group believed that the white race had been formed by a mad black experimenter 3,000 years ago to be slaves to the black race and that they would earn points in heaven for killing white people. A bit like the Islamic fundamentalists we’re fighting now. The case got its nickname from the band on the radio used by the police during their operation against the killers.
The Death Angels targeted mostly elderly men and women. Most of their victims were savagely beaten prior to being killed. One of their first victims was an elderly woman who was beaten and sexually abused before they cut off her head with a machete. There was no real pattern to the crimes, just that the victims were white and in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Police stepped up patrols and arrests in traditional black neighborhoods fanning racial tensions between residents and police. Several prominent black leaders of the day were to be found in San Francisco arguing that the police presence was only because the victims were white and that it was another example of oppression against blacks in the area. These may be true, but the leaders also expressed no remorse for the slaying of innocent people, alienating many white leaders.
Eventually, police captured one member of the gang in 1974. He quickly broke and confessed, implicating many of the other members of the gang. The Nation of Islam paid for their defense but all the members captured were sent to jail. Most were eligible for parole in 2002 although I am unaware if any were actually released.
I am rather confused as to what objections other faculty members have as to students learning about this crime spree. Understanding problems of the past is key towards working to prevent them from happening in the future.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
HP Conspiracies
Sorry about the long delay. This past was a bit hectic here at work and I never quite got around to chatting about the new pope or anything else of interest. So, we'll have a gay old time today discussing fun stuff.
Towards the end of last week I ventured back to Mugglenet after a hiatus. No real news had popped out about either the GoF movie or the HBP book. While I was surfing around, I found a new editorial column had gone up called The Underground Lake. Its actually a well thought out column that looks at various points and explanations of future events in the Harry Potter series. Probably his most interesting post was a recap of what's referred to as Vold War I, the first war against Voldemort that lasted from 1970 to Voldemort's fall in 1981. Most interesting in that was his recap and speculation as to what happened between Voldemort's assault on Godric's Hollow and Harry's arrival at Privett Drive.
His recap is as follows (I'll go ahead and include his theories with the known facts): Voldemort, operating on half of the prophesy decides that Harry Potter is the real threat and not Neville Longbottom. However, to be safe, he dispatches the Lestranges to watch the Longbottom residence while he concentrates his assault on the Potters. Peter Pettigrew brings word to Voldemort that he is the secret keeper for the Potters. Voldemort then goes to Godric's Hollow, taking Peter with him in case it might be a trap. Peter waits outside while Voldemort bursts in. He kills James quickly, having been caught off guard. Lily runs to protect Harry. When she won't remove herself, Voldemort kills her. He then tries to kill Harry, but thanks to his mother's charm, the spell rebounds and expels the spirit of Voldemort from his body. Peter quickly learns that something has gone wrong and goes inside. He sees the body of Voldemort and Harry, still alive and probably crying from his scar. Peter panics. He grabs Voldemort's wand and flees the house, probably destroying it first to cover up the evidence that he was ever there.
Peter knows Sirius will come by in the next day or so to check up on Lily and James. He then flees to Lucius Malfoy and discloses what happened. Malfoy realizes that with the disappearance of Voldemort, the principle power of the Death Eaters will be broken. They could try to put someone else in power, but none of them is as strong as Voldemort. Malfoy then cooks up a plan. He tells Peter to make himself known and let Sirius track him down. Malfoy will speed things up by sending out a rumor that Voldemort was destroyed while trying to kill Harry. He notifies the Junior Minister of Magical Catastrophes, Cornelius Fudge, that Sirius Black will be chasing down Peter Pettigrew and that Peter will engineer his own "death". Fudge will arrest Black and accuse him of being Voldemort's strongest supporter. Fudge will then be vaulted into the highest levels of political circles and in position to compete with Barty Crouch for Minister of Magic. Fudge isn't a Death Eater but he certainly is complicit with Malfoy, certainly enough to advance himself politically. We can see a parallel with Percy Weasley and the blindness his ambition is causing.
So Fudge is waiting when Sirius tracks Peter down. Peter blows the street leaving his finger (and presumably his wand, having stashed Voldemort's away in a safe place) behind. Fudge immediately arrests Sirius and may have even hit him with a powerful cheering charm to make him laugh maniacally. Sirius is then quickly handed over to Barty Crouch who tosses him into Azkaban without trial. Malfoy uses his political connections with Fudge and other ministers to shield himself during the Ministry crackdown on the Death Eaters.
Meanwhile, news reaches the Lestranges of Voldemort's downfall. Unaware of the full nature of their assignment, they torture Frank and Alice Longbottom, thinking they may have information on what happened. When they get nothing out of them, they torture them to insanity. The gang is caught shortly afterward and dispatched to Azkaban until Barty Crouch Jr. escapes with aid from his parents.
An interesting theory and one that could very well be true. Only Fudge's complicity with Malfoy is unknown. But given his closeness to Malfoy throughout the period of peace between Vold War I and II and his stonewalling at the beginning of Vold War II, it would be somewhat surprising to learn that Fudge is as naive as we are initially led to believe.
If you're curious about other theories posed, be sure to check out some of his other articles. They're quite interesting.
Towards the end of last week I ventured back to Mugglenet after a hiatus. No real news had popped out about either the GoF movie or the HBP book. While I was surfing around, I found a new editorial column had gone up called The Underground Lake. Its actually a well thought out column that looks at various points and explanations of future events in the Harry Potter series. Probably his most interesting post was a recap of what's referred to as Vold War I, the first war against Voldemort that lasted from 1970 to Voldemort's fall in 1981. Most interesting in that was his recap and speculation as to what happened between Voldemort's assault on Godric's Hollow and Harry's arrival at Privett Drive.
His recap is as follows (I'll go ahead and include his theories with the known facts): Voldemort, operating on half of the prophesy decides that Harry Potter is the real threat and not Neville Longbottom. However, to be safe, he dispatches the Lestranges to watch the Longbottom residence while he concentrates his assault on the Potters. Peter Pettigrew brings word to Voldemort that he is the secret keeper for the Potters. Voldemort then goes to Godric's Hollow, taking Peter with him in case it might be a trap. Peter waits outside while Voldemort bursts in. He kills James quickly, having been caught off guard. Lily runs to protect Harry. When she won't remove herself, Voldemort kills her. He then tries to kill Harry, but thanks to his mother's charm, the spell rebounds and expels the spirit of Voldemort from his body. Peter quickly learns that something has gone wrong and goes inside. He sees the body of Voldemort and Harry, still alive and probably crying from his scar. Peter panics. He grabs Voldemort's wand and flees the house, probably destroying it first to cover up the evidence that he was ever there.
Peter knows Sirius will come by in the next day or so to check up on Lily and James. He then flees to Lucius Malfoy and discloses what happened. Malfoy realizes that with the disappearance of Voldemort, the principle power of the Death Eaters will be broken. They could try to put someone else in power, but none of them is as strong as Voldemort. Malfoy then cooks up a plan. He tells Peter to make himself known and let Sirius track him down. Malfoy will speed things up by sending out a rumor that Voldemort was destroyed while trying to kill Harry. He notifies the Junior Minister of Magical Catastrophes, Cornelius Fudge, that Sirius Black will be chasing down Peter Pettigrew and that Peter will engineer his own "death". Fudge will arrest Black and accuse him of being Voldemort's strongest supporter. Fudge will then be vaulted into the highest levels of political circles and in position to compete with Barty Crouch for Minister of Magic. Fudge isn't a Death Eater but he certainly is complicit with Malfoy, certainly enough to advance himself politically. We can see a parallel with Percy Weasley and the blindness his ambition is causing.
So Fudge is waiting when Sirius tracks Peter down. Peter blows the street leaving his finger (and presumably his wand, having stashed Voldemort's away in a safe place) behind. Fudge immediately arrests Sirius and may have even hit him with a powerful cheering charm to make him laugh maniacally. Sirius is then quickly handed over to Barty Crouch who tosses him into Azkaban without trial. Malfoy uses his political connections with Fudge and other ministers to shield himself during the Ministry crackdown on the Death Eaters.
Meanwhile, news reaches the Lestranges of Voldemort's downfall. Unaware of the full nature of their assignment, they torture Frank and Alice Longbottom, thinking they may have information on what happened. When they get nothing out of them, they torture them to insanity. The gang is caught shortly afterward and dispatched to Azkaban until Barty Crouch Jr. escapes with aid from his parents.
An interesting theory and one that could very well be true. Only Fudge's complicity with Malfoy is unknown. But given his closeness to Malfoy throughout the period of peace between Vold War I and II and his stonewalling at the beginning of Vold War II, it would be somewhat surprising to learn that Fudge is as naive as we are initially led to believe.
If you're curious about other theories posed, be sure to check out some of his other articles. They're quite interesting.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
History Under Revision
Have you ever wondered just how much of the history you read actually happened? Mrs. X has a book that I’ve been meaning to read called Lies My Teacher Told Me. It covers various points of history that have been glossed over/revised/truncated by our history books. This has popped in my mind because some of the conservative blogs to which I frequent like citing instances where people claim they were either for or against the war from the beginning when the public record actually shows them being on the other side of the fence.
Revision can come as simple as via the sin of omission. For example, did you know that the Vatican did not recognize the state of Israel until 1994, but was the only government in the world to officially recognize the government of the Confederate States of America? Obviously Rome doesn’t like to be reminded of the sins of her past, just like the rest of us (Trail of Tears or Wounded Knee anyone?). But without knowing the whole story, things get lost and crucial historical facts are obscured.
Another major aspect of historical revision comes through developing hypotheses about the past and sticking with that despite evidence to the contrary. Example: textbooks tell of the great campaign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III where he captured the great city of Kadesh on the plain of Meggido. Except that if you read Thutmose’s description of the geography of the campaign and compare it to that of Meggido, you realize that there is no way that the battle could have ever been fought there. The mistake came from a hypothesis formed about the translation of the text of the campaign in the early twentieth century and then archeologists sticking with that hypothesis despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary. I’ve been reading a number of theories that speculate that Thutmose actually conducted the battle around Jerusalem and may have even been King Shishak who raided the Temple during Rehoboam’s reign. But this theory would screw up the Egyptian timeline and isn’t readily discussed in historical circles.
The whole point is to never truly assume that you know anything about history just based off a textbook you read in school. One must read multiple sources, the closer to the time period, the better. Histories and chronologies written after the fact are biased based on the agenda (deliberate or not) of the author. Vigilance and study are the only ways of knowing the true history of ourselves and then we must apply it forward so that we can truly learn from the mistakes of the past.
Revision can come as simple as via the sin of omission. For example, did you know that the Vatican did not recognize the state of Israel until 1994, but was the only government in the world to officially recognize the government of the Confederate States of America? Obviously Rome doesn’t like to be reminded of the sins of her past, just like the rest of us (Trail of Tears or Wounded Knee anyone?). But without knowing the whole story, things get lost and crucial historical facts are obscured.
Another major aspect of historical revision comes through developing hypotheses about the past and sticking with that despite evidence to the contrary. Example: textbooks tell of the great campaign of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III where he captured the great city of Kadesh on the plain of Meggido. Except that if you read Thutmose’s description of the geography of the campaign and compare it to that of Meggido, you realize that there is no way that the battle could have ever been fought there. The mistake came from a hypothesis formed about the translation of the text of the campaign in the early twentieth century and then archeologists sticking with that hypothesis despite a great deal of evidence to the contrary. I’ve been reading a number of theories that speculate that Thutmose actually conducted the battle around Jerusalem and may have even been King Shishak who raided the Temple during Rehoboam’s reign. But this theory would screw up the Egyptian timeline and isn’t readily discussed in historical circles.
The whole point is to never truly assume that you know anything about history just based off a textbook you read in school. One must read multiple sources, the closer to the time period, the better. Histories and chronologies written after the fact are biased based on the agenda (deliberate or not) of the author. Vigilance and study are the only ways of knowing the true history of ourselves and then we must apply it forward so that we can truly learn from the mistakes of the past.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Brain Teaser
Here's a fun little teaser to wrap your brain around:
Three men are staying overnight for a conference. They check into a hotel and are told that the room is $30 a night. The men pool and give the front desk $10 each. After they check in, the guy working the front desk realizes that the hotel is running a special for the conference and the room is only $25 a night. He gives $5 to the bellhop and tells him to take it to the room with the three men. The bellhop realizes that he won’t be able to divide the $5 between three men and pockets $2. He knocks on the door and tells the men the hotel was running a discount and he gives them $1 each.
In summary, the three men paid $9 each for the room and the bellhop stole $2 for a total of $29. Where did the extra dollar go from the original $30 spent by the men?
Three men are staying overnight for a conference. They check into a hotel and are told that the room is $30 a night. The men pool and give the front desk $10 each. After they check in, the guy working the front desk realizes that the hotel is running a special for the conference and the room is only $25 a night. He gives $5 to the bellhop and tells him to take it to the room with the three men. The bellhop realizes that he won’t be able to divide the $5 between three men and pockets $2. He knocks on the door and tells the men the hotel was running a discount and he gives them $1 each.
In summary, the three men paid $9 each for the room and the bellhop stole $2 for a total of $29. Where did the extra dollar go from the original $30 spent by the men?
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Heute Europa, Morgen Das Weld
For your ultimate world conquering pleasure, this wonderfully nationalistic song from Cabaret. You may adapt is necessary to suit your particular needs:
The sun on the meadow is summery warm.
The stag in the forest runs free.
But gather together to greet the storm.
Tomorrow belongs to me.
The branch of the linden is leafy and green
The Rhine gives its gold to the sea.
But somewhere a glory awaits unseen.
Tomorrow belongs to me.
The babe in his cradle is closing his eyes
The blossom embraces the bee.
But soon, says a whisper:
"Arise, arise,”
Tomorrow belongs to me.
O Fatherland, Fatherland
Show us the sign
Your children have waited to see
The morning will come when the world is mine
Tomorrow belongs
Tomorrow belongs
Tomorrow belongs to me.
Probably the worst is just how annoyingly catchy this song is. I've found myself humming it at random times ever since I first heard it a few days ago. Thus, I must find an equally annoying song to get stuck in my head to drive this one out.
The sun on the meadow is summery warm.
The stag in the forest runs free.
But gather together to greet the storm.
Tomorrow belongs to me.
The branch of the linden is leafy and green
The Rhine gives its gold to the sea.
But somewhere a glory awaits unseen.
Tomorrow belongs to me.
The babe in his cradle is closing his eyes
The blossom embraces the bee.
But soon, says a whisper:
"Arise, arise,”
Tomorrow belongs to me.
O Fatherland, Fatherland
Show us the sign
Your children have waited to see
The morning will come when the world is mine
Tomorrow belongs
Tomorrow belongs
Tomorrow belongs to me.
Probably the worst is just how annoyingly catchy this song is. I've found myself humming it at random times ever since I first heard it a few days ago. Thus, I must find an equally annoying song to get stuck in my head to drive this one out.
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Checkmate
So in the fourth game I played in the last two weeks with a friend at work, I finally won a game of chess. My first three games were all lost on account of complete idiocy by me. In fact, the second game I played, I was up in material and in a good attack position when I made two or three bad moves in a row that allowed my opponent to take my advantage and advance one of his pawns unopposed to the back rank and regain his queen. But I won today so hooray me.
Concerning Lost, we finally had the promised death of one of the fourteen primary cast members in the form of Boone. But, in true TV style, it was coupled with the birth of Claire’s baby. Boone himself is no great loss as his plots were somewhat redundant and only echoed that of Locke or someone else. In other words, he was expendable and the writers showed him the door.
The remaining previews indicate that we’ll be going through another stretch of reruns (Mrs. X says that they’re supposed to be a clip show coming up) and then the grand finale where we may see a rebellion against Locke. He may be the only one who understands the island, but his lack of communication about it has rendered him a marked man in the eyes of certain tribe members. Jack is out for his blood as will Shannon (so by proxy, might Saayid).
West Wing was pretty predictable and even more boring than I thought it would be. Santos gives the big speech that gathers everyone to him while the remaining three candidates look on in stunned disbelief. Then to top it all off, Leo is picked to be Vice-President less than a year removed from a massive heart attack (smacks of Dick Cheney). Meanwhile, CJ may be heading for prison for exposing military secrets to the press.
If Vinick (Alan Alda) wins, the entire show will have to be revamped with a new cast. If Santos wins, then you get to keep Josh, Leo, Donna, and maybe even Will. Donna will either be kept on as Josh’s love interest or be hired into the staff (my pick would be press secretary). Will’s a little harder since he and Josh don’t really see eye to eye and he was Russell’s man for quite a long time. But around half the cast will be allowed to stick around.
For this reason and several others, I fully believe that Santos will win the election. Everyone keeps saying that Santos can’t win so we get a more Bartlett like feel from him. We’ve also had far more character development with Santos than we’ve had with Vinick. Of course, there’s always the writers’ natural bias of knowing how to write likable Democrat and nasty Republican. Either way, I’m very curious as to how long Wells will continue to deny that Santos is going to win, even though all the evidence points toward a Democratic victory.
Concerning Lost, we finally had the promised death of one of the fourteen primary cast members in the form of Boone. But, in true TV style, it was coupled with the birth of Claire’s baby. Boone himself is no great loss as his plots were somewhat redundant and only echoed that of Locke or someone else. In other words, he was expendable and the writers showed him the door.
The remaining previews indicate that we’ll be going through another stretch of reruns (Mrs. X says that they’re supposed to be a clip show coming up) and then the grand finale where we may see a rebellion against Locke. He may be the only one who understands the island, but his lack of communication about it has rendered him a marked man in the eyes of certain tribe members. Jack is out for his blood as will Shannon (so by proxy, might Saayid).
West Wing was pretty predictable and even more boring than I thought it would be. Santos gives the big speech that gathers everyone to him while the remaining three candidates look on in stunned disbelief. Then to top it all off, Leo is picked to be Vice-President less than a year removed from a massive heart attack (smacks of Dick Cheney). Meanwhile, CJ may be heading for prison for exposing military secrets to the press.
If Vinick (Alan Alda) wins, the entire show will have to be revamped with a new cast. If Santos wins, then you get to keep Josh, Leo, Donna, and maybe even Will. Donna will either be kept on as Josh’s love interest or be hired into the staff (my pick would be press secretary). Will’s a little harder since he and Josh don’t really see eye to eye and he was Russell’s man for quite a long time. But around half the cast will be allowed to stick around.
For this reason and several others, I fully believe that Santos will win the election. Everyone keeps saying that Santos can’t win so we get a more Bartlett like feel from him. We’ve also had far more character development with Santos than we’ve had with Vinick. Of course, there’s always the writers’ natural bias of knowing how to write likable Democrat and nasty Republican. Either way, I’m very curious as to how long Wells will continue to deny that Santos is going to win, even though all the evidence points toward a Democratic victory.
Monday, April 04, 2005
End Times Hysteria
A couple of months ago, Mrs. X and I were flipping through and we caught a History's Mysteries program that had originally aired in 1999 dealing with end times prophesies. It was rather amusing just because it was so pointed towards the hysteria of the world coming to an end in 2000.
However, it did mention something of which I was unfamiliar. It was the so-called "Prophesies of St. Malachy (Malachi)." According to legend, Malachy was an Irish bishop who lived in the middle of the 12th century. He went to Rome to have a meeting with the pope and while there, fell into a deep trance. When he woke, he had a vision of more than 100 popes to come in the future. He wrote down his descriptions, which were mostly 4 word phrases, and gave the scroll to the pope. The scroll was lost for nearly 400 years when it turned up again in a search of the Vatican archives.
Much debate has been centered on the authenticity of such "prophesies" but they have been eerily applicable to each pope for the most part. With the death of John Paul II, who was referred to as De labore Solis, or Labor of the Sun we move on to the second to last pope on the list - Gloria olivae or Glory of the Olive. After this, the only one mentioned is one called Peter the Roman, who is supposed to be pope during the tribulation.
Now, this may all be a great deal of hogwash. But, I believe we will be seeing a huge surge in doomsday cultists in the next 7 years. Consider this, the average reign of a pope is around 6 or 7 years. That takes us up to 2012, the same year that several Native American tribe's calendars end at. If we get additional developments out of the Middle East that seem to spin in ways similar to the unfulfilled prophesies of Ezekiel and Isaiah, then I would definitely watch the news for stories of people sitting on hills waiting for the world to end. Of course, it didn't happen in 1994 or 2000 so I wouldn't go about planning my life around the end of the world.
However, it did mention something of which I was unfamiliar. It was the so-called "Prophesies of St. Malachy (Malachi)." According to legend, Malachy was an Irish bishop who lived in the middle of the 12th century. He went to Rome to have a meeting with the pope and while there, fell into a deep trance. When he woke, he had a vision of more than 100 popes to come in the future. He wrote down his descriptions, which were mostly 4 word phrases, and gave the scroll to the pope. The scroll was lost for nearly 400 years when it turned up again in a search of the Vatican archives.
Much debate has been centered on the authenticity of such "prophesies" but they have been eerily applicable to each pope for the most part. With the death of John Paul II, who was referred to as De labore Solis, or Labor of the Sun we move on to the second to last pope on the list - Gloria olivae or Glory of the Olive. After this, the only one mentioned is one called Peter the Roman, who is supposed to be pope during the tribulation.
Now, this may all be a great deal of hogwash. But, I believe we will be seeing a huge surge in doomsday cultists in the next 7 years. Consider this, the average reign of a pope is around 6 or 7 years. That takes us up to 2012, the same year that several Native American tribe's calendars end at. If we get additional developments out of the Middle East that seem to spin in ways similar to the unfulfilled prophesies of Ezekiel and Isaiah, then I would definitely watch the news for stories of people sitting on hills waiting for the world to end. Of course, it didn't happen in 1994 or 2000 so I wouldn't go about planning my life around the end of the world.
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