Purportedly from a North Korean history book:
“In 1941, a magical hummingbird visited the People of North Korea foretelling the birth of Kim Jong Il.
Later that year, the hummingbird’s prophecy was fulfilled atop Mount Paektu, the highest mountain ever. Kim Jong Il emerged, walking out from his mother’s Patriotic and Revolutionary vagina six months prematurely and without the aid of a physician, thus rendering the Korean medical community irrelevant. In shame, all doctors fled our Great and Innovative nation never to return.”
Is that not some of the most batshit crazy “history” you have ever read?
Sand art story retelling of portions of the Pawłokoma massacre by Kseniya Simonova.
This is one of the most amazing displays of artistic genius I have seen in quite some time. The entire story is unfolds in real-time with Kseniya throwing sand on a table, drawing the scenes right before the audiences very eyes. How she can put these visuals together is nothing short of amazing.
The mix of Kseniya crafting the visuals on-stage coupled with the music leads to a heartbreaking, emotional story. This video is definitely worth watching.
A glimpse of North Korea from Boston.com.
All of the imagery is absolutely stunning.
Far from being a rarity, virtually every bill, every nominee for Senate confirmation and every routine procedural motion is now subject to a Republican filibuster. Under the circumstances, it is no wonder that Washington is gridlocked: legislating has now become war minus the shooting, something one could have observed 80 years ago in the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. As Hannah Arendt observed, a disciplined minority of totalitarians can use the instruments of democratic government to undermine democracy itself.
Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult. (via Thorne)
This is one of the more insightful commentaries on the current state of politics in America, focusing on the peculiar tactics in use by the current Republicans Party. If you feel as if you - an average American voter - have been disenfranchised then a lot of it has to do with the games our two political parties play. Much of it has to do with GOP tactics as outlined in this article.
We are at a juncture in the short history of our country where our entire political system has become almost completely dysfunctional. The only context in which our government could possibly be considered representative is from the corporate perspective; money talks, bullshit walks.
On Aug. 6, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped its payload on Hiroshima.…As Hasegawa writes in his book “Racing the Enemy,” the Japanese leadership reacted with concern, but not panic.…Very late the next night, however, something happened that did change the plan. The Soviet Union declared war and launched a broad surprise attack on Japanese forces in Manchuria. In that instant, Japan’s strategy was ruined. Stalin would not be extracting concessions from the Americans. And the approaching Red Army brought new concerns: The military position was more dire, and it was hard to imagine occupying communists allowing Japan’s traditional imperial system to continue. Better to surrender to Washington than to Moscow.
Why Did World War II End? Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, a Japanese historian, argues that it was not the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that were the catalysts for the Japanese surrender, but the Soviet Union attacking Japanese forces, ultimately destroying their strategy. While an interesting theory, trying to determine the cause and effect of these events, and which actually led to the end of WWII, is almost impossible at this juncture.
The speculation is absolutely intriguing, but unfortunately we will never know the true answer to why the war ended.
The true story of Thanksgiving is socialism failed. Of course we showed them gratitude! We shared our bounty with them, not because we didn’t know how to make it. It was because we first failed as socialists. Only when we turned capitalists did we have plenty. The Indians didn’t teach us capitalism.
Brontosaurus, RIP
Did you know the Brontosaurus isn’t actually a dinosaur?
I can unequivocally state that I had no clue this beast was not a dinosaur. Who knew?
37,000 year old fully intact baby woolly mammoth. (via jstn)
