mad world

The insane world outside antarchia...
See all nuggets together here.
Of course, a lot of the insanity is intentional - and then it becomes not merely mad, but mad and bad. The distinction is not always very clear.
One of the founding fathers of the modern British military suppliers was Sir Basil Zaharoff. Born in rural Turkey, he worked as a brothel tout, counterfeit currency dealer, banker, private arms trader and, finally, the respected director of Vickers, the British armaments manufacturer that was the forerunner of BAE Systems. He spared no effort in sabotaging his competitors’ products, bribing foreign military leaders and arming both sides in a war. Britain made him a baron and he died in 1936, laden with honours.
On 25 October 2005, [Milan] Rai was arrested opposite Downing Street with vegan chef Maya Evans, after the pair read out the names of Iraqis and British service personnel who had been killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. Mr Rai was subsequently convicted of organising an "unauthorised" demonstration within 1km of Parliament, fined £350 and ordered to pay £150 in costs.
In May 2007 the pair were convicted again, this time for organising and participating in an "unauthorised" demonstration within 1km of Parliament, namely the "No More Fallujahs" weekend of nonviolent resistance marking the 2nd anniversary of the US/UK onslaught on the Iraqi city of Fallujah. At least 550 women and children are believed to have been killed during the latter attack, during which US forces used white phosphorus - a substance that burns down to the bone on contact with human flesh - as a weapon.
JNV (Milan Rai was later jailed for a month for not paying his fines)

The insane world outside antarchia...
See all nuggets together here.
Of course, a lot of the insanity is intentional - and then it becomes not merely mad, but mad and bad. The distinction is not always very clear.