“A man wants to be a woman’s first love, a woman wants to be a man’s last love”-Oscar Wilde (also attributed to Madam De La Rochefoucauld)

Originally written in 1947, this was the first comprehensive account to the trial of the major Nazi leaders after World War II.  The desire to create some type of trial (there was no international precedent) in a speedy manner (the beginning of the Cold War and the normal desire of the average citizen to get on with life) were two of the major challenges facing the judges and attorneys who had their own motives and goals.  Although the Nazi regime kept efficient records, the sheer volume of those records and the seemingly complex relationships between departments and organizations made errors unavoidable.  No one even within the Nazi regime could always explain the power differentials between the State and Party organizations, for example, responsible for the administration of any given area (the SD was a party organization while the Reich Foreign Ministry was a State organ but they each had administrative duties in some of the occupied territories).  Add in the duties of the Wehrmacht, the SS, the Todt labor organization, etc., and the judge’s confusion is understandable.

This is a handsome cigar, rich in dark color but pleasing and not harsh. A new cigar for Montecristo and the first in a new line up and it is a winner! I chose the 6×54 which runs about $12 through the mail. It burns evenly and smoothly all the way to the end and easily lasts a good hour or more. I don’t claim to have a developed “taste” but even I could enjoy the taste of coffee and leather in this all Nicaragua tobacco treat. This is a cigar I would save for a nice evening along with a bit of liquid refreshment (for something different, try a Calvados that is at least 12 years old) while reading a book. At the end you will feel you have accomplished something.

While historians believe that after the victory at Midway Island the course of the war in the Pacific was set, this excellent history of the naval battels around Guadalcanal shows that had the U.S. navy not prevailed, the marines on the island would have been defeated, displayed in captivity and a serious setback handed to the overall strategy.  That the U.S. naval forces were not defeated was not due to the brilliance of the naval leadership, but rather due to luck, a technological advantage that was nearly thrown away, sheer luck and the misunderstanding of the Japanese military which was focused on tactics instead of logistics.

This is one of those rare books which gives excellent descriptive detail of a battle that is little known, but which had a major impact on World War I.  There were actually two sieges of the fortress city of Przemysl; the first unsuccessful while the second did much to break both the physical and morale back of the Hapsburg army. Largely forgotten today, these sieges helped to bring to a head the nationalistic feelings of the mixed communities in the area and was a precursor to the killing fields by the Nazi and Soviet regimes.

There are still some among us who believe that something can be had for nothing. There are some among us who fail to carefully consider the true cost of something. These two groups can be found in those who look for “easy” answers, who hear the claims of the messiah of the moment and who rush head long into joining the masses. But, nothing is free and as this article points out, we should be more skeptical and demanding of those who lead us. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tilakdoshi/2020/08/02/the-dirty-secrets-of-clean-electric-vehicles/#3ebc3ecd650b

In the West, we have a tendency to forget about some of the basic building blocks of our societies which have allowed us to create the richest and most stable societies in the history of the world. One of the most important aspects of Western law is that of the right to own property. When one owns property, one has a vested interest in the society; with land ownership, we take pride in what we have and work to make it better. It is not like that in much or the world and until the private right of ownership of land is secure, no society can progress. That is the difference between the West and Capitalism, and much of the world and Marxism. Enlightened self interest starts with stability and the rule of law. This article from The Economist reviews the lack of enforceable property rights in much of the world. At the very least, after reading the article, you shall appreciate the rights you have and take for granted. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/09/12/who-owns-what

Our polite recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves-Ambrose Bierce

Years ago, when China was beginning to come out of its Maoist straight jacket, and inviting in foreign capital and expertise, I was discussing the process with some Japanese engineers who had been to China as part of the investments by Japan.  I asked them how it was to deal with the Chinese, and they said with a very straight face, “they are very difficult to understand”.  I thought that if the Japanese could not understand the Chinese, woe to our business and government leaders who were making the pilgrimage to China. 

A minute segment of males are putting larger numbers of girls and women in harms way. Gone are the days of men protecting and defending women as a special interest group demands that men who “identify” as women be allowed to participate in women’s events. As a result, girls and women will suffer injuries, be denied honors and have scholarships denied them as bigger, stronger, more aggressive males push them off the playing field. To allow this is so absurd and yet we see this happening everyday. Leave aside the question of what type of male feels a sense of achievement by beating a weaker opponent (politely they were called bullies, but there were other names not mentioned in polite society), think of the time, effort and dedication wasted by females when they find their opponent out weighs them, has more muscle mass, is faster, etc.. Sorry, you may identify as a female, a gazelle or whatever you want, I really don’t care; you are not a female so get off the sport field and let the girls and women complete against their own real gender. https://quillette.com/2020/09/27/keeping-male-bodies-out-of-womens-rugby/