Back to the Past, Which Is, Of Course, the Future of the Past Which Was Past When the Past Was the Present or....
Sept. 28th In History:
551 BCE: Traditional birthday for Confucius. The name Confucius roughly translates as "Master Kong". But he didn't "monkey around". Go ape over the following:
The Analects of Confucius are available online at http://etext.library.edu.au/c/confucius/c748a . The Analects are considered one of the "four great books" of Confucius. The others are:
1)The Great Learning
2)The Doctrine of the Mean
3)The Mencius (compiled by Confucius' disciple Mencius)
There are also the 'Five Classics' said to have been either written or used by Confucius. They are as follows:
1)Classic of Changes- The I Ching
2)Classic of Poetry
3)Classic of Rites
4)Classic of History
5)Spring and Autumn Annals.
There is also a sixth classic that has been lost, the 'Classic of Music'. History may indeed be the search for the lost chord.
1820:Friedrich Engels born. Patron saint of suckers in the Church of Mollymew. Despite being far more educated in a real sense (as opposed to Hegelian wordspinning) with much greater knowledge of various subjects he lowered himself to be the toady and unappreciated "bank" of second rate philosopher and perpetual mooch Karl Marx. Apparently he didn't "know all the Engels". Historical proof that simple intelligence is insufficient to leave a lasting influence. Made the mistake of writing much more clearly than his leech friend. bad news if you want to be "interpreted" by academics for a few centuries.
1850: US Navy abolishes flogging on naval and merchant marine vessels. Leads to total breakdown of respect and the end of Western Civilization.
1864:Formalization of the founding of the First International (see previous mention of proposal of French delegates at commemoration meeting) at a meeting at St. Martin's Hall (where a lot of English radical history seems to have taken place).
The ancient Persians had an unique method of arriving at decisions. First they would make a decision at a drinking party where the wine was flowing freely and creativity was at its height. Then they would review the decision in the cold light of the hangover. If it still looked good---well on to the races. I wonder if the foundation of the First International was similar ?
1868: Uprising in the French city of Lyons suppressed. Bakunin, who had arrived on Sept 15th gets the hell out of town. Being as he was Bakunin I'll bet that he also left a lot of unpaid bills behind.
1895: French scientist Louis Pasteur dies. Famous for many different discoveries in vaccination, microbiology, etc.. Disproved "spontaneous generation" and laid out the theory of "pasteurization". Even today there are many that simply "don't get it" and assert that there is some mysterious "life force" that is destroyed by Pasteur's process. For those interested in horrible diseases please google both TB and Brucellosis.
1901: Philippine guerrillas ambush US troops on the island of Balangiga, killing 48 American invaders. In retaliation US General Jake Smith orders his troops to kill everyone on the island. Never one to abandon a good thing later in Samar he orders the killing of everyone over the age of ten. I guess he either got "merciful" or he realized that total extermination would leave nobody to appreciate the value of American "civilization". The good General was eventually courtmartialled in 1902, but he was allowed to retire with no punishment.
The Philippino people rebelled against the Spanish colonial power in 1896, but their struggle was caught up in the Spanish American War. The resistance of the Philippino people has become known as the 'Philippine-American War' (1898-1913). The American troops were particularly brutal, and the estimated death toll for the Philippinos was anywhere from 250,000 to 1 million (some leftist sources put it higher). Most of these were civilians who were deliberately starved to death or died in American concentration camps of disease. For a general overview of this war see the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/Philippine_American_War .
1905: Directorate of the Mexican Liberal Party (Partido Liberal de Mexico) formed in exile in St. Louis, MO. despite the name the PLM was anarchist in orientation. For a collection of the writings of one of their leaders, Ricardo Flores Magon, see the Anarchy Archives at http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/magon/home.html , and also 'Writings of Ricardo Flores Magon in English and Spanish' at http://www.waste.org/~roadrunner/writing/magon/main.htm
1906: US troops reoccupy Cuba and stay until 1909. They liked the cigars I presume.
1917: 166 Wobblies indicted for interfering with the war effort. No arms manufacturers indicted for interfering with the "life effort".
1923: Tuli Kupferberg of 'The Fugs' born. Author of such all time classical music as 'Coca Cola Douche'. See the Fugs' web page for more info http://www.thefugs.com . eat your heart out Mozart.
1936: National Plenum of Regions of the Spanish CNT. Horacio Martines Prieto argues for collaboration with the national government of Republican Spain. Big mistake that still reverberates today.
1964: "Harpo (Arthur) Marx dies at 75 years. Part of the Marx Brothers who rescued the family name from "the tapeworm of socialism" and made it something that could be mentioned in decent company. See the Marx Brothers Website, http://www.marx-brothers.org for many more details. A few quotations from the founders of Marxist One Lineism:
"I find television very educational. Everytime somebody turns on the set I go into the other room and read a book"
Groucho Marx
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception"
Groucho Marx
Chico Marx: "Can he live in NY on $3 ?"
Groucho Marx: "Like a prince. Of course he can't eat, but he can live like a prince"
"Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes ?"
Chico Marx
Many more available at the website.
1966: French Surrealist Andre Breton (1896-1966) dies. See 'The Manifesto of Surrealism' at http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/SurManifesto/ManifestoOfSurrealism.htm
1968: Brazilian anarchist Edgard Leuenroth (1881-1968) dies. His archives are held at the Universidade Estudial de Campinas, and they are the largest anarchist archives in South America. See the Edgard Leuenroth page at The Daily Bleed at http://recollectionbooks.com/bleed/Enclyclopedia/LeurenrothEdgard.htm .
That's about it. Nothing spectacular on this date for the next 38 years.
Molly