The grim life of a galley slave

In 1690 the standard price for a slave was 1,500 reales - a slave capable of rowing for hours, days or even weeks in the open air. But despite his 22 years, Maraut, "son of Yusuf, dark, with small mouth and thick lips, wart on his head by the ear, stain on right ear, sign of injury on the same hand," was sold for just 400 reales on account that he was "useless."

Being unfit and useless for combat must have helped the distinguished Cervantes avoid a similar fate to Maraut after he was captured on his way back to Spain after surviving a great many skirmishes and the greatest naval conflict between galleys in history: the Battle of Lepanto (1571).

Cervantes' adventures - five years held captive in Argel - do not figure in the 25 Galleys Books preserved by the Spanish navy because they cover a later period (1624-1748), featuring slaves, prisoners and enlisted soldiers and sailors. The restoration of these gigantic volumes will provide valuable information for the historians of today: written using the circumlocutions of the time, they reveal biographies of common people at the service of royalty.

"When the king needed rowers he provided incentives for [the courts to give out] galley sentences," says Carmen Téres, technical director of the navy archives.

For having deflowered María Rosa Borrell" in 1727, Josep Almarall got four years at the oars

Maraut was one of the king's thousands of slaves - the brute force that propelled several almost flat boats, ideal for coastal skirmishes, around the Mediterranean. We do not know if leaving the galley bettered Maraut's life, but it is difficult to imagine conditions worse than those on board. A shackle kept him tied to his seat, where he ate, slept and went to the bathroom. He was barefoot and his head was shaved to prevent the accumulation of lice and to make identifying him easier in case he escaped. Nothing more lay ahead for a slave than the sea, battles with the boats of their (probably) Turkish or Berber compatriots, and the very real option of ending up at the bottom of the Mediterranean, trapped in their rocking prison.

More @ El Pais

Seven Fulton County Commissioners charged with Criminal Acts in Atlanta, Georgia

Last August 2011, William M. Windsor gave an impassioned presentation to the Fulton County Georgia Board of Commissioners.

The presentation made quite an impact on the audience seated behind me, but there was no response at all from the seven Fulton County Commissioners that I addressed.

I have now notified each of the Fulton County Commissioners that I am charging them with criminal violations....

After I was threatened with arrest as employees of the Fulton County District Attorney and Fulton County Sheriff committed jury tampering and obstruction of justice, I stopped to think who is the boss of the DA and Sheriff. Fulton County is run by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, and they are where the buck stops. I immediately made plans to attend their next Coimmission Meeting and speak.

I emailed each Commissioner in advance with evidence of corruption by their employees and the federal judges. No response.

When I was called, I got straight to the point:

Six years ago, I was sued here by some people from New York. The entire lawsuit was completely made up. I obtained deposition testimony from the Yankees in which they admitted everything in the lawsuit was false. Judge Orinda D. Evans ignored the undeniable evidence and said I lost. I have been fighting this for six years, and it has cost me over $1.5 million.

As a result of this, I’ve discovered that the federal court system in Atlanta is a corrupt operation in which the judges commit crimes on a regular basis. I set out to document the corruption. I have massive proof. I have an envelope for each of you with a CD containing evidence.

I want each of you to be aware of the crimes because this forces you to report this to law enforcement – felony if you don’t (18 U.S.C. 4).

The federal judges are doing everything they can to stop me to avoid indictment, conviction, imprisonment, disgrace, and impeachment. A federal prisoner has reported that he was approached with a deal to get out of prison if he killed me. So, this may be a matter of life or death for me.

More @ Fight The Power

The Man Who Broke Atlantic City

Via The Feral Irishman

Don Johnson won nearly $6 million playing blackjack in one night, single-handedly decimating the monthly revenue of Atlantic City’s Tropicana casino. Not long before that, he’d taken the Borgata for $5 million and Caesars for $4 million. Here’s how he did it.

More @ The Atlantic

Bob Barr's Liberty Guard sues TSA

A group led by long-time Transportation Security Administration critic former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) is suing the TSA for allegedly violating the Freedom of Information Act.

Barr's Liberty Guard group alleges that the TSA refused to comply with FOIA requests from the organization in November 2010, when the group was encouraging airline passengers to opt out of body scanners used by TSA .

Critics have contend that the TSA scanners invade passengers privacy, and Barr said the lawsuit from Liberty Guard, which considers itself nonpartisan, would be good for all Americans.

"This lawsuit will help empower all those who travel by commercial air carrier, to be protected against arbitrary and privacy-invasive techniques employed by the federal government that are of questionable constitutional validity," Barr, who served in Congress from 1995 to 2003, said in a news release.

More @ The Hill

Tan Son Nhut & Bien Hoa were the two busiest airports in the world

Some Tet '68 results near the end.

Via Billy

A Small, Small World!

Tet '68 Bien Hoa/Long Binh, RVN

Freeloading welfare queens

- “I’m here trying to get some Obama bucks. That‘s what I’m doing, trying to get some Obama money.”

- “I want a check.”

- “Tell me why you like Obama.” — “Because he gives me stuff.”

- “Who you going to vote for?” — “Obama.” — “Why?” — “Because he’s black.”

- “When was the last time you actually worked?” — “About half a decade”

- “You’re a perfectly healthy young man, why aren’t you working right now?” — “My background. Once you go to jail it’s hard to get a job.”

- “Why should my tax dollars be going to you?” — “My ancestors came here to help build this place — my ancestors, slaves.”

- “Do you really want to work, or do you just want to get a free check?” — “I just want to get a free check.”

More @ The Blaze

House Budget Trailer: America Deserves A Better Path

What Happens if Someone Nukes D.C.?

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Washington, DC, suffered a nuclear attack? Apparently, some of DC’s higher-ups were wondering the same thing and, like everything else they’re curious about, they decided to conduct a study.

Turns out, 10-kiloton nuke would be very, very bad for D.C., Northern Virginia, and Maryland (shocker, I know).

“The study—‘National Capital Region: Key Response Planning Factors for the Aftermath of Nuclear Terrorism’—simulates and prognosticates a nuclear strike at 16th and K Streets, the heart of downtown DC and only a couple blocks from the White House. The kind of spot a terrorist would want to plant a bomb,” Gizmodo’s Sam Biddle writes.

However, as easy as it is to snicker at the study’s findings (What? D.C. would be destroyed? You don’t say!), the report also “paints a horrifying, incredibly detailed radioactive portrait” of what would most likely happen should someone detonate the nation’s capitol.

“Unlike the Cold War-era bombs of yore, which were designed to erase entire capitals, a ‘smaller’ bomb like the one in question here would, hypothetically, leave survivors. What happens to us?” Biddle asks.

First, as the 2011 study shows, there would be “Three Layers of Destruction”:

More @ The Blaze

When Elites Depart

One of the benefits of having a son that is a scholar of ancient warfare, from Alexander the Great to the Byzantine Empire to the Mongols, is that we can have wide ranging discussions on very deep topics. Of perennial interest to us: why do complex societies/civilizations collapse?

One of interesting working theories we have is that while complex societies can be in decay for a long period of time, they only collapse when its favored elites abandon it/betray it.

Here's an example from Roman history written by Joseph Tainter:

The Collapse of The [Western] Roman Empire

One outcome of diminishing returns to complexity is illustrated by the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.

More @ Global Guerrillas

Starting Next Month, the U.S. Will Have the Highest Corporate Tax Rate in the World

Via Cousin Bill

On April 1, Japan will cut its corporate tax rate to 36.8 percent from 39.5 percent.

You know what that means, right?

It means the United States will officially have the highest corporate tax rate in the world, with average combined federal and state profit levies of 39.2 percent.

“Yes, that’s higher than Sweden,” The Wall Street Journal reports. “Higher than Russia. And China, Mexico, Denmark and even France. Doesn’t it make you want to break out in a chant: U-S-A, U-S-A?”

More @ The Blaze