THIS DAY IN WW2 - Death of a Dictator

On this day, April 28th, 1945, Fascist Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini was executed by Italian Communists in the town of Mezzegra.

A rain-soaked and very haggard Mussolini on the left.

Benito Mussolini, the dictator who had led Italy's government since 1922, was facing dire straits by 1943; The Italian War Machine had been embarrassed and defeated at the end of their lackluster campaigns in the Balkans and North Africa, and all gains made on foreign soil had been conceded by this time, pushing the Italians completely back into their homeland. This concentration of forces was not enough to protect them from the Allied Invasion of Sicily, which ended in a costly but resounding victory for the Allied forces.

Under the crushing weight of these compounding defeats, The Grand Council of Fascism in Italy finally decided they'd had enough. In July 1943, Benito Mussolini was officially ousted by his Grand Council, and subsequently put under arrest by reigning Italian monarch King Emmanuel. However, Mussolini was rescued by Nazi Special Forces less than 2 months later, and was quickly re-instated by Adolf Hitler as the dictator of the Italian Social Republic, mainly consisting of what Italian lands were not yet occupied by the Allies. For the next 2 years, Mussolini would continue to wage what he knew was a hopeless and bleak battle against the encroaching Allies.

The flag of the short lived Repubblica Sociale Italiana.

Come April 27th, 1945, Mussolini himself decided he'd had it with, er... dictating. Knowing full well that the Axis' defeat was imminent, Mussolini and his entourage set out in a secret attempt to escape to Francoist Spain. Mussolini even wore a Nazi military uniform, in an attempt to mask his identity; this proved an impotent measure, however, as a roving band of Italian Communists (of whom Mussolini had spent years violently repressing) recognized the disguised dictator instantly. The Communists seized Mussolini and his entourage, and absconded with them to the nearby village of Mezzegra.

The communist National Liberation Committee of Italy debated for an evening on what to do with their new found trophy, before settling on good ol' execution. The next day, April 28th, communist Walter Audisio drove Mussolini and his lover Clara Petacci to a secluded area, where he promptly shot and killed Petacci after she tightly hugged Mussolini and refused to move away. In a bold final act of dictatorial control, Mussolini ripped open his jacket and screamed, "Shoot me in the chest!" Audisio wasted no time in pulling the trigger, planting lead into Mussolini's chest but not killing him. Audisio approached Mussolini to nearly point-blank range and shot him again, this time fatally, before turning and remarking to his driver, "Look at his face, the emotions on his face don't suit him."

Afterwards, Mussolini's body was ritually disgraced by the Italian communists, being spat upon, kicked, and dragged through the city. To prove to the world that Mussolini had indeed been deposed and that the end of the Fascist era was upon them, the communists hung Mussolini upside-down from a nearby Esso Gas Station. For the next few days, passers-by were encouraged to closely examine the body for verification purposes and to take photographs for all the world to see.

Mussolini dangling from the Petrol Station, 2nd from the left.

TSA ruins little girl's life.

Well, I guess saying her life is ruined is kind of an overstatement (I may have just been trying to get your attention). But you're reading this now, so read the article!

A 4 year-old girl was detained at the airport in Wichita, Kansas, after she was apparently declared a "high-security threat" by Transportation Security Administration officials for hugging her Grandma. She was promptly taken away by officials with her mother in tow, crying in bewilderment through the whole egregious pat-down. As Hugo Gye of the Daily Mail reports:

Four-year-old Isabella's horrific experience in Wichita earlier this month was recounted on Facebook by her furious mother Michelle Brademeyer.

The family was in Kansas for a wedding, and was travelling home to Montana with Ms Brademeyer's mother.

Ms Brademeyer and her two children had passed through security when the grandmother was detained after triggering an alarm on the scanners.

Isabella then, according to her mother, 'excitedly ran over to give her a hug, as children often do. They made very brief contact, no longer than a few seconds.'

The young girl was immediately detained by security agents, who apparently shouted at her that she would have to be frisked too, and refused to let her mother explain what has happening.

Ms Brademeyer wrote: 'It was implied, several times, that my mother, in their brief two-second embrace, had passed a handgun to my daughter.'

The girl in question...Terrorism evolved. America, prepare yourself.

Indeed, those little girls hugging their Grandmas have always seemed pretty suspicious to me. This has Islamic Extremism written all over it; but wait, there's more:

In her terror, Isabella tried to run away rather than face a full body pat-down, which unsurprisingly enraged the TSA officers further.
One officer even told the girl's mother that the airport would have to be shut down and every flight cancelled if the four-year-old did not co-operate.
They also apparently described the little girl as a 'high security threat'.
As Isabella was taken into a side room for a pat-down, accompanied by her mother, she could not stop crying and refused to let the agents touch her.
An officer repeatedly said she had 'seen a gun in a teddy bear' in the past, in an apparent attempt to justify the situation.
Ms Brademeyer continued: 'The TSO loomed over my daughter, with an angry grimace on her face, and ordered her to stop crying.
'When my scared child could not do so, two TSOs called for backup saying, "The suspect is not cooperating."
Isabella continued to cry, and officers said the family would have to leave the airport as the TSA was unable to frisk the four-year-old.
When a manager was called, he decided that the distraught Isabella could be checked alongside her mother, and let the family pass through security at last.
But their nightmare was not yet over, as on a connecting flight in Denver, an airport employee demanded to know which of the family was Isabella - and 'looked really confused' when the girl was pointed out to her.

The TSA is a joke. It seems like every week, a new tale of TSA hi-jinx arises, whether it's borderline molesting young disabled kids or stealing iPads from passengers.

As it stands, TSA personnel are accountable only to historically uncaring and lazy Government Officials. Transfer airline security responsibility to the Airlines or Airports themselves, so that buffonery on this scale by Security Personnel holds their employers commercially accountable. Believe me, if the Airlines were accountable for the behavior and effectiveness of Security Personnel, not only would Airline terminals probably be twice as secure, but the Airlines would make DAMN sure that Security Personnel were not scaring away customers.

A wise man once said, in reference to the TSA: Fire 'em all and Privatize.

 

White House declares White House innocent.

In what was surely a thorough and rigorous 72-hour investigation, the internal White House review pertaining to allegations of misconduct by White House Advance Staff determined that the White House is innocent of any wrongdoing. As you've probably heard by now, members of the Secret Service and Presidential Military Attache have been implicated as trafficking in Prostitution and general taxpayer-money-wasting hooliganistics while scouting out a hotel for Obama's upcoming visit to Cartagena, Colombia. As Obama Press Secretary Jay Carney declared in a press conference on Monday:

 “There have been no specific credible allegations of misconduct by anyone on the White House advance team or the White House staff. Nevertheless, out of due diligence, the White House counsel’s office has conducted a review of the White House advance team and in concluding, that review came to the conclusion that there is no indication that any member of the White House advance team engaged in any improper conduct or behavior...”

Well, I'm glad that's settled. 

Good to know that the White House has itself taken care of; Heck, they don't even need to be up-front with us citizens about it. As Devin Dwyer of ABC News reports:

[Carney] would not discuss specifics about how the investigation was conducted or whether the findings would be shared with any contacts outside the White House.
The internal inquiry followed days of questions from the press and by some congressional leaders about whether any White House staff may have been involved in the misconduct, which so far includes 11 Secret Service members and 12 members of the military.

 Indeed.

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China in turmoil?

The Chinese Politburo, the nine-man crew at the top of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, is experiencing their worst crisis since the Tinanmen Square Massacre of 1989, according to experts on Chinese Government and Policy.

It really is quite the soap opera... as Anton Wishik from the National Bureau of Asian Research reports:

"China currently faces a daunting political crisis, due to the ongoing scandal riveting the country as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) prepares for its upcoming leadership transition. Bo Xilai—formerly party chief of Chongqing and a member of China’s Politburo—has been stripped of his posts due to an investigation stemming from Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun’s February 2012 visit to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu. During his conversations with U.S. officials, it is believed that Wang revealed damaging information about Bo and sought refuge due to his fear of persecution. After spending a night at the consulate, Wang was taken into custody by Chinese officials, a fate later shared by Bo and his wife Gu Kailai. Wang is currently being investigated, while Bo has been accused of various transgressions and Gu is suspected of involvement in the death of British citizen Neil Heywood in late 2011.
            Bo, the son of a famous Chinese revolutionary, came to national prominence during his time as party chief of Chongqing due to his charisma, his ruthless crackdown against organized crime, and his promotion of Maoist songs and imagery. Before being assigned to lead Chongqing, Bo served as minister of commerce and mayor of Dalian in Liaoning province. In the months prior to this scandal, Bo was viewed as a rising star and a candidate for promotion to the nine-member Politburo Standing Committee."

Bo Xilai and his wife, Gu Xilai.

In a nutshell: Bo Xilai, the leader of Chongqing Province and rising star in the Maoist "New Left" faction of the Chinese Communist Party, is in serious trouble. The evidence brought forth by Wang Lijun apparently implicates Xilai in serious corruption and political misdeeds. Furthermore, Bo's wife Gu Xilai was implicated in the poisoning death of British citizen and chinese business liaison Neil Heywood. Heywood, a Hong Kong businessman who worked closely with Gu on a number of business dealings, apparently was helping Gu Xilai embezzle millions of Yuan from the Government through crooked financial practices, and is thought to have been murdered after he threatened to expose her following some type of disagreement between the two.

The accusations put forth by Wang Lijun don't stop there... According to unnamed sources within the U.S. Diplomatic mission in China, Lijun implicated numerous high-ranking Communist Party members, even those within the Politburo, of serious corruption.

Wang Lijun, Chief of Police for Chonqing Province, and all around hip-looking dude.

Wang Lijun tried to defect to the U.S. while at the consulate. Unfortunately, China was VERY unwilling to let him go, and forced his return to Chinese Authority (probably the right decision on our part, at the time... this could have sparked an incredibly tense international incident). He was quickly denounced as a traitor to the Communist Party, one of the most dire charges a Chinese defendant can face, and will likely face execution or life imprisonment.

Bo and Gu Xilai, meanwhile, have also seen less-than-favorable outcomes; Bo was immediately placed on leave, soon followed by a complete dismissal from his role in the CCP, effectively ending his career. Gu is reportedly under criminal investigation, and is predicted to face significant punishment. This poses a stunning blow to the Maoist "New Left", who considered Bo and Gu to be leading figures in the movement. Since the accusations have come to light, numerous figures within the New Left have accused the reigning State Capitalist CCP of framing the Xilais in order to undermine their growing influence and discredit the growing resurgent Maoism.

Maoist Propoganda from the 60s, known for it's violent imagery.

The reigning factions of the CCP have made it clear that they are uncomfortable with the return of Maoist Populism under figures such as Bo Xilai. Indeed, for all the modern claims of socialist dogma, the world's most arguably successful Socialist nation has some pretty serious social issues. Economic inequality is staggering; rural communities live in objective poverty while ignored by the CCP, and the inability of a vast majority of Chinese to improve their conditions due to the oppressive government bureaucracy is producing significant tension within the populace. Politicans such as Bo Xilai have been able to exploit such tension using Maoist rhetoric, known for it's revolutionary and fiery imagery.

As Premier of the CCP Wen Jiabao warned in a March 14th Address to the Chinese Parliament:

"We must press ahead with both economic reform and political structural reform, especially reform in the leadership system of our party and country...
"Reform has reached a critical stage. Without successful political structural reform, it is impossible for us to fully institute economic structural reform and the gains we have made in this area may be lost."
"The new problems that have cropped up in China's society will not be fundamentally resolved, and such historical tragedies as the Cultural Revolution may happen again."

 The Cultural Revolution was a period of great social upheaval in the 1960s instituted by Communist Revolutionary Mao Zedong, in which hundreds of thousands of Chinese were brutally murdered by Communist Partisans for harboring even the slightest association with capitalist or bourgeois elements. Even further, millions were persecuted for what many historians say was practically no reason at all. In my opinion, the Chinese Cultural Revolution is one of the great overlooked tragedies in human history, ignored in modern times partly because people are afraid of China but also due to a lingering sympathy for Communist ideas harbored amongst annoying Western Politicians and Academia; but I digress....

An example of glittering genius from an American College Student at an OWS rally.

At any rate, this is a serious crisis. Not since the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 has the Politburo faced such embarrassment and scrutiny by the Chinese Public. Furthermore, experts say the Bo Xilai Crisis has finally brought long-hidden tensions in Chinese society to the forefront, namely the attachment some Chinese still have to Maoist ideology vs. the newer brand of State Capitalism that China has largely adopted in modern times. To boot, many high-ranking members of the Chinese military establishment have been heard complaining that the current administration neglects them, citing the relatively diminishing influence of China in Asia compared to the growing U.S. influence. In fact, some foreign experts speculate over the possibility of a joint coup d'etat, in which the Maoist elements promise a new refocus on the military in return for support to overthrow the reigning Politburo.   

What will become of all this? China has been able to weather some tough times in the past... many thought that the CCP had reached it's end at the Tiananmen Protests, only to have the CCP overcome and even punch back twice as hard. I will continue to follow this juicy bit of foreign intrigue closely, and keep my few readers abreast of any startling developments.

"Imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever."

The Daily Dose.

Despite what you may think, I'm not above this.

Kurzweil, Transhumanism and You.

Some people already find reasons to get a little more intimate with their computers than they should (I'm looking at you, Bang Bros). Author, scientist, and inventor Ray Kurzweil takes the notion in that vein even one step further. 

Ray Kurzweil speaking at the Stanford Singularity Summit in 2009.

Kurzweil, a major figure in the Futurist and Transhumanist camps, foresees an eventual age where computers themselves reach a level of complexity and intelligence that they are as such accepted by humanity as one of our own. As he lectured a crowd of over 3,000 nerds at the South by Southwest Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas:

"We are a human-machine civilization. Everybody has been enhanced with computer technology... If we can convince people that computers have complexity of thought and nuance ... we'll come to accept them as human."

Kurzweil cites the rising number of smart phone users in the world as an indication of a continued trend towards true Transhumanism, wherein humanity begins to literally merge itself with technology and computers to the point where it's nearly impossible to tell where the human stops and the technology begins.  

Kurzweil also points to the empowering aspects recent technology has given to the average human as indicative of emerging Transhumanism, especially concerning the massive developments in how modern humans communicate and interact using high-speed Internet and social media. As Kurzweil also stated at the same conference:

"You can start world-changing revolution with the power of your ideas and the tools that everyone has... A kid in Africa has access to more information than the president of the United States did 15 years ago."

WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!

Even the dreaded "Skynet Scenario", where computers become TOO intelligent and take over the world, is no sweat off Kurzweil's back. When asked about the chance of computers coming to dominate humans, Kurzweil replied that he is more concerned about what humanity might use this technology to do to itself, and sees it as not "us vs. them", but rather "us vs. us".

These are certainly some insanely interesting ideas. I totally agree that communication technology has allowed humans to interact and organize in ways never thought possible, and is in fact extremely empowering. I especially like the bit about the kid in Africa... indeed, anyone on earth with a computer and an Internet connection has access to the collective knowledge of all humanity, and of course, knowledge is (or at least can become) power. 

Personally, though, I do think that hardcore Transhumanism is a little misguided. In my opinion, Transhumanists often suffer from either a God Complex, an overzealous desire to see technology overrun human nature, or both. In this case, I suspect Kurzweil wants to see computers "become" human in an attempt to replace our current social problems with different ones.

At any rate, I do think that the emergence of nanotechnology is going to produce some very interesting uses for humans, some of which may give us abilities that we can only dream of right now. Whether or not it's going to produce the deeply intrinsic effects on Humanity that Kurzweil describes will be another matter entirely, one that remains to be seen.