I heard this morning that one of the worst communist dictators

in modern history died. Due to circumstances I've been concentrating on trying to sleep instead of listening to news, so I wonder: have any of the major media weenies talking about his assumption of ambient temperature mentioned the 'communist dictator' part?
(someone just said about reports of people 'wailing in the streets' over the death: "Yeah, tear gas does that to you.")


Speaking of that part of the world, ran across this on the current 'mass incident' in China.
...since farmers are neither allowed to negotiate directly on the compensation package, nor are they allowed to develop their own land for non-agricultural purposes. They have to sell their land to local government first, which defines the price then leases the land to industrial and commercial/residential users for a profit. As land prices keep rising in China, it is not surprising that farmers with rising expectations are becoming increasingly unhappy. As a result, mass incidents, sometimes as violent as in Wukan, are inevitable. Local authorities in China, in their pursuit of revenue via aggressive urbanisation and industrialisation, are also undermining the country's grassroots democracy.
He says that almost like he's surprised a bunch of communists would screw up a move toward actual representative government.
A little further along,
One township party secretary I interviewed in Fujian province said: "If election rules are followed strictly, [we] will lose control of the rural society. Village cadres will be afraid of villagers, not the township government. They can put off assignments from the township government and compromise the tasks during implementation. Therefore … local officials are willing to introduce rules that subvert the true meaning of village democracy. This is also the case in Wukan in which farmers are protesting not only against local governments, but also against villager cadres who worked with the authorities in abusive land requisition.
Gee, that sounds like communists and corrupt officials wanting to keep running things, doesn't it?


In opposition to the dictator, Vaclav Havel died the other day; I doubt he'll get as many good mentions as the Nork dictator, since he opposed communism.


Rep. Nancy Pelosi: corrupt bitch.


On this day in 1944 a bunch of under-equipped troops in absolutely effing lousy weather were stopping the last major German attack in the west. Some units, with lots of replacements fresh out of training, broke; a bunch of them in small groups still kept annoying the nazis. And they stopped them.

I read a couple of years ago that Patton didn't want to move to relieve Bastogne; he wasn't really worried about the Airborne holding it. He wanted to drive something like 15-20 miles up the German left flank and THEN turn west, and cut them off. Experience had shown that troops unable to receive supplies and replacements were a lot easier to convince to surrender, and easier to kill if they didn't. And he was still pissed about the number of German troops who escaped from the Falaise Pocket and had to be fought again later because he wasn't allowed to close it off completely*.


Speaking of dealing with enemies: Joe Biden; is there any level of stupidity he can't stoop to? 'The Taliban is not our enemy' my ass.


No, that is NOT a comforting thought


War dogs. One question: how the HELL did a Yorkie wind up in the bloody New Guinea jungle?


*Until I read about some of this, I didn't realize just how badly a lot of people, including a lot in the British Army, despised Montgomery. Apparently the only thing keeping him from getting thrown off the Staff was political considerations; he tended to write checks his troops couldn't cash. Tough, experienced, GOOD troops, but if you get them into something they can't do in the time allotted...