http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1520
Here are some one liners...
The Stockholm Bloodbath or Why Killing Off the Rebel Leadership Hardly Ever Works -- King Christian the 2nd acts in bad faith and sets himself up for the fall of the Union. I also talk about leaderless organizations like Al-Qaeda.
The Revolt of the Communities of Castile -- This is a fairly common revolt against the nobility but juxtaposed with the Stockholm Bloodbath, it is a lesson in what is allowed in war and what is not.
On the Freedom of a Christian -- Martin Luther is excommunicated and the printing business for his pamphlets is soaring. I also talk about how government rhetoric sounds a lot like a pulpit haranguing at times.
The Stockholm Bloodbath or Why Killing Off the Rebel Leadership Hardly Ever Works
King Christian the 2nd of Denmark has finally succeeded in putting down the Swedish rebellion. The King invites the rebel leadership to his palace to work things out, but this is the third time he has had to fight these rebels so he must have been thinking, "If I cut off the head of the snake then the body will die," Instead of negotiating, he has them all imprisoned or beheaded... including several bishops. What the King doesn't realize is that by acting in bad faith he has sown the seeds of destruction for his union of Scandinavian kingdoms. The sons of these rebels are still alive and they will remember this day. [1] [2]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Not all organizations have leaders who give orders. A good example is the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda. Whenever the #1 or #2 Al-Qaeda leader is killed does it EVER stop the organization? No. It's like the police breaking into a meeting of the self-help group Alcoholics Anonymous and shouting, "Who's in charge here?" All the police will hear is laughter because NO ONE IS IN CHARGE, yet here in Austin, Texas there are over 425 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings every single week. If you can't understand how that can happen without a leader then you can't begin to understand how Al-Qaeda is organized. I suggest reading the book "The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations" by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. I've provided a link below to a video lecture from one of the authors explaining how it works.[3] [4] [5]
Not all organizations have leaders who give orders. A good example is the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda. Whenever the #1 or #2 Al-Qaeda leader is killed does it EVER stop the organization? No. It's like the police breaking into a meeting of the self-help group Alcoholics Anonymous and shouting, "Who's in charge here?" All the police will hear is laughter because NO ONE IS IN CHARGE, yet here in Austin, Texas there are over 425 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings every single week. If you can't understand how that can happen without a leader then you can't begin to understand how Al-Qaeda is organized. I suggest reading the book "The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations" by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. I've provided a link below to a video lecture from one of the authors explaining how it works.[3] [4] [5]
The Revolt of the Communities of Castile
The communities of Castile have been uncomfortable with the King of Spain, Charles the 5th, because, frankly, he had been raised in Flanders, and when he took the throne he brought his friends and advisors from Flanders with him. The rule under his mother, Joanna the Mad, had been chaotic and with the death of her father, Ferdinand the 2nd of Aragon, the people felt like they were being ruled by a foreigner. When King Charles was elected Holy Roman Emperor, he moved to Germany, thus making him an ABSENT foreign ruler. Riots ensued and to add oil to this fire, they chose Joanna the Mad to rule them all. By next year the rebellion will turn against the landed nobles and the rebel leaders will be executed after the Battle of Villalar [VEE-yah-lar]. [6] [7]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
This same year, during the Bloodbath of Stockholm, King Christian the 2nd of Denmark had the leaders of the Swedish rebellion imprisoned and beheaded, so what is the difference? The difference is that the Castillian rebellion was a straight up battle. The rebels lost and naturally the leaders lost their heads. This was expected, if gruesome. King Christian had invited the Swedish rebel leaders with the implied promise of protection during negotiations. The King negotiated in bad faith and thus, his subjects found a good reason to be faithless in return.
This same year, during the Bloodbath of Stockholm, King Christian the 2nd of Denmark had the leaders of the Swedish rebellion imprisoned and beheaded, so what is the difference? The difference is that the Castillian rebellion was a straight up battle. The rebels lost and naturally the leaders lost their heads. This was expected, if gruesome. King Christian had invited the Swedish rebel leaders with the implied promise of protection during negotiations. The King negotiated in bad faith and thus, his subjects found a good reason to be faithless in return.
On the Freedom of a Christian
The Rev. Father Martin Luther is excommunicated this year after writing three scathing rebukes of the Catholic Church and Pope Leo in particular. All of these are in print and making the rounds in public. This third pamphlet contends that a Christian is both a free lord and a dutiful servant. Thus Christians are no longer COMPELLED to follow God's law but FREELY do so. To explain what he means takes many words so follow the link below and read the full text but one point he is making is that one is not saved by works alone. Thus compelling someone to perform a ritual to rid one of sin without first repenting in one's heart negates the ritual. In other words... sprinkling a little holy water on an evil person does not make him holy. Accepting money as if it were a sin sacrifice at the Temple does not absolve one of sin without the corresponding change of heart. [8] [9] [10] [11]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
While Martin Luther implies that the state has no business in the conscience of the individual in his faith in God, people will continue to think of the state as the embodiment of God's will right into the 20th century and beyond. Even with the modern secular state, if you substitute "God" for "government," the rhetoric sounds like the preachings from any pulpit... help the poor, the sick and the hungry. You are a steward of the earth, the waters, the plants and the animals. Nag, nag, nag. I'll take that from God, but not from government.
While Martin Luther implies that the state has no business in the conscience of the individual in his faith in God, people will continue to think of the state as the embodiment of God's will right into the 20th century and beyond. Even with the modern secular state, if you substitute "God" for "government," the rhetoric sounds like the preachings from any pulpit... help the poor, the sick and the hungry. You are a steward of the earth, the waters, the plants and the animals. Nag, nag, nag. I'll take that from God, but not from government.
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