Tet Offensive
(VIETNAM HISTORY) Major effort by the National Liberation Front ("Viet Cong") and the PAVN to defeat the US-backed puppet regime in Saigon (the putative Republic of Vietnam"). The Tet Offensive began 31 January 1968 and was suppressed around 24 February.
In Saigon, NLF forces attacked the presidential palace, the airport, the ARVN headquarters, and US Embassy. The US and ARVN forces, who were caught off guard, quickly responded and within a week had recouped most of the lost territory. The NLF held out the longest in the pre-colonial capital of Hue, fighting back with great tenacity.
(VIETNAM HISTORY) Major effort by the National Liberation Front ("Viet Cong") and the PAVN to defeat the US-backed puppet regime in Saigon (the putative Republic of Vietnam"). The Tet Offensive began 31 January 1968 and was suppressed around 24 February.
In Saigon, NLF forces attacked the presidential palace, the airport, the ARVN headquarters, and US Embassy. The US and ARVN forces, who were caught off guard, quickly responded and within a week had recouped most of the lost territory. The NLF held out the longest in the pre-colonial capital of Hue, fighting back with great tenacity.
Prior to the Tet Offensive, the US military could claim it was well on its way to winning the war. Afterward, Gen. William Westmoreland admitted 200,000 more troops would be required to win the war, and US opposition to the war ballooned.
However, the NLF was nearly annihilated in the Offensive, with almost 60,000 killed.
However, the NLF was nearly annihilated in the Offensive, with almost 60,000 killed.
by Primus Intra Pares July 25, 2010
(ECONOMICS) a shock to the industrial system caused by massive errors in investment decisions. In essence, financial crises are failures of the capital markets (stock exchanges, etc.) to do their job.
In the lead-up to a financial crisis, money entrusted to capital managers to invest is spent instead on bolstering the plutonomy. Then, when those same capital managers are overleveraged, it becomes obvious that the economy has been producing the wrong stuff; its corporations are therefore worth a lot less than everyone had supposed they were.
Then people sell their shares of stock, causing a liquidity crisis for many firms, which react by firing people and dumping anything of value at reduced prices.
This requires a lot of expensive genius to do well.
In the lead-up to a financial crisis, money entrusted to capital managers to invest is spent instead on bolstering the plutonomy. Then, when those same capital managers are overleveraged, it becomes obvious that the economy has been producing the wrong stuff; its corporations are therefore worth a lot less than everyone had supposed they were.
Then people sell their shares of stock, causing a liquidity crisis for many firms, which react by firing people and dumping anything of value at reduced prices.
This requires a lot of expensive genius to do well.
While there is little evidence so far that the 2008 financial crisis was engineered by any one perpetrator, the very same economic elites who caused it are now poised to benefit from it by imposing "disaster capitalism."
by Primus Intra Pares July 11, 2010
(US GOVERNMENT) Former agency of the US government responsible for the enforcement of immigration law, and the processing of visa/permit requests. After the attacks of 11 September 2001, Congress passed a bill creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); the INS was split up into its enforcement functions (which became part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its processing functions (Citizenship and Immigration Services, or CIS).
Prior to its dissolution in 2003, the INS was part of the Department of Justice. The CIS and ICE are both part of the DHS.
Prior to its dissolution in 2003, the INS was part of the Department of Justice. The CIS and ICE are both part of the DHS.
Because of its extraordinary power over the lives of millions of US nationals and residents, the Immigration and Naturalization Service gained lasting notoriety. Seven years after it was superseded by the CIS, most people associated visa regulations with the INS.
"Brother from Another Planet" was a brilliant parody of INS agent behavior.
"Brother from Another Planet" was a brilliant parody of INS agent behavior.
by Primus Intra Pares June 17, 2010
(IRANIAN HISTORY) alternative spelling of Muhammad Mossadegh, democratically elected prime minister of Iran (1951-1953).
Because Iranian names are spelled with a modified version of the Arabic alphabet, there is some controversy over how to spell names like "Muhammad Mussadegh." Sometimes, for example, his name is spelled "Mohammed Mossadegh."
Muhammed Mussadegh struggled all his life to free Iran from colonial rule.
Muhammed Mussadegh struggled all his life to free Iran from colonial rule.
by Primus Intra Pares July 18, 2010
(MULTILATERAL GOVERNMENT) International court created in 2002 to try criminal cases (as opposed to civil cases) in international law. Criminal charges may include: genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Ultimately, the ICC is supposed to be able to try crimes against the peace (or aggression), something it presently cannot do.
The three basic categories of international crimes were defined in the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi officials. However, because the Nuremberg Tribunals only tried citizens of Axis nations for crimes against Allied or neutral states, their moral authority was greatly weakened.
The ICC complements the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which tries civil cases.
The three basic categories of international crimes were defined in the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi officials. However, because the Nuremberg Tribunals only tried citizens of Axis nations for crimes against Allied or neutral states, their moral authority was greatly weakened.
The ICC complements the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which tries civil cases.
Even before the International Criminal Court commenced operations in 2002, it was critically weakened by the vociferous opposition of China, the USA, Israel, Iraq (then under the rule of Saddam Hussein), and Libya. These countries went so far as to vote against the Treaty of Rome (1998). The US government subsequently signed the treaty (December 2000), but "unsigned" it in May 2002.
One other country to do this has been Sudan.
India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and China have never signed the treaty; Russia, Egypt, and Israel have signed it, but not ratified it.
One other country to do this has been Sudan.
India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and China have never signed the treaty; Russia, Egypt, and Israel have signed it, but not ratified it.
by Primus Intra Pares July 19, 2010
(MULTILATERAL GOVERNMENT) United Nations entity created in 1982 (entered operation 1994); arbitrates disputes related to the oceans, seas, and minerals underneath. It is based in Hamburg, Germany.
The International Tribune for the Law of the Sea has jurisdiction over those areas of the ocean floor that are not clearly delineated national waters. It was created by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The International Tribune for the Law of the Sea has jurisdiction over those areas of the ocean floor that are not clearly delineated national waters. It was created by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is in the news a lot these days because of growing controversy over possible mineral rights to the Arctic Ocean.
by Primus Intra Pares July 19, 2010
(VIETNAMESE HISTORY) complex network of mountain roads and trails leading from the mountain highlands west of Hanoi to the Mekong river delta. This was used by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) between 1959 and 1975 to infiltrate the putative "Republic of Vietnam" (South Vietnam). The network had some 16,000 Km (10,000 miles) of roads.
The road was named for Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Viet Minh and Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV); construction began on his birthday (9 May 1959).
The road was built at enormous sacrifice by the Vietnamese and their allies in the Lao & Khmer peasantry. During most of the Second Indochina War, it was a primary target of US bombing raids. After creating a puppet state in Saigon, the US military sealed off the 17th parallel between the two sectors of Vietnam; so PAVN forces bypassed the DMZ and cut through Laos and Cambodia. The US military thus intervened militarily in Laos (against the pro-Communist Pathet Lao) and in Cambodia (against the Khmer Communist Party, or Khmer Rouge).
The road was named for Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Viet Minh and Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV); construction began on his birthday (9 May 1959).
The road was built at enormous sacrifice by the Vietnamese and their allies in the Lao & Khmer peasantry. During most of the Second Indochina War, it was a primary target of US bombing raids. After creating a puppet state in Saigon, the US military sealed off the 17th parallel between the two sectors of Vietnam; so PAVN forces bypassed the DMZ and cut through Laos and Cambodia. The US military thus intervened militarily in Laos (against the pro-Communist Pathet Lao) and in Cambodia (against the Khmer Communist Party, or Khmer Rouge).
The Ho Chi Minh Trail was a constant target for B-52 bombers, but bombing failed to stop traffic on it. As a consequence, the US organized the ouster of the Cambodian monarchy in 1970, so it could use the puppet junta to get permission for invading Cambodia.
The USA dropped an astonishing volume of high explosives on Cambodia in the hopes of shutting down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The National Liberation Front (NLF, or "Viet Cong") was supported by supplies from the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The USA dropped an astonishing volume of high explosives on Cambodia in the hopes of shutting down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The National Liberation Front (NLF, or "Viet Cong") was supported by supplies from the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
by Primus Intra Pares July 24, 2010