Category: Polemology

The Fashion Police of North Korea

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In North Korea, music that is not state approved is illegal, international telephone calls are illegal, smiling in public upon the anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s death is illegal, and perhaps most bizarre, leather coats are illegal, with this last law passed in December of 2021 to dissuade North Korean citizens from imitating Kim Jong Un who wore a black cow hide coat in public on numerous occasions. This style of black leather coat became massively popular after Kim wore it in news media coverage in 2019 and because of this, imitation coats have become more readily available in North Korea. Surprisingly, fashion police are employed by the North Korean state to patrol and search for anyone wearing this style of garment as well as to search and help take down companies found manufacturing the coat

Large Technology Corporations Purchasing Competition to Monopolize the Marketplace

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Large technology corporations have the ability to analyze potential competitors and acquire them before they have a chance to compete. This is detrimental to consumers as it eliminates competition in the marketplace. Facebook has acquired more then 75 companies (e.g. WhatsApp, Instagram, Lightbox etc. ), Amazon has acquired more than 100 (e.g. Audible, Whole Foods, Ring etc.), and Alphabet, the umbrella organization which owns Google, has acquired more than 200 (e.g. Picasa, YouTube, Songza etc.). In 2010 and 2011, these technology juggernauts were acquiring competition at a rate of more than 1 company per week

The Origin of the Ku Klux Klan Uniform

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Surprisingly, it was not the Ku Klux Klan that created the insignia of the ghostly white hooded robe as the uniform of the Ku Klux Klan as Hollywood was the first to portray this ensemble in the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. The film was directed by David Wark Griffith, who wanted to portray the infamous Ku Klux Klan as modern Knights of the Round Table, directing his costume department to invent a rather frightening, single piece outfit with knight insignia (e.g. the Knights Templar crucifix etc.). These costumes were based upon the Christian flagellant society of Spain, who donned the capirote (pronounced “kah-pee-row-tay”), a pointed hooded headware worn during Easter processions as a means of penance. The costume became immensely popular and could be ordered from a catalog which Griffith setup to sell within. Shortly afterward, the Ku Klux Klan adopted these textiles as their official uniform

The Ancient Roman Torture Method of the Roman Candle

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The term “Roman Candle”, most commonly used within the fireworks industry, is in reference to a horrible execution method used most commonly by the Roman Emperor Nero. Nero would instruct his soldiers to forcibly coat the bodies of enemies and victims within pitch, oil, wax, and other flammable materials before lighting the feet of these victims to be used as human candles during formal parties, purposeful in its design to create the most prolonged and agonizing torture possible

 

The Most Important Intervention to Avoid Suicide During a Mental Health Crisis

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In the U.S., most firearm related deaths are not homicides but rather suicides, and more people commit suicide by firearm then by all other methods combined. The timeframe of a suicidal crisis is typically 1 – 10 minutes in duration, and having a firearm at close reach increases the likelihood of a successful suicide attempt by 95%. If a firearm is not present during a moment of suicidal crisis, and another method is used to attempt suicide, this statistic plunges dramatically to become a 5% – 10% success rate. This is important as the means by which someone takes their life matters. Living in a firearm free home is a critically important aspect of suicide prevention for those who are at risk. It is recommended that during a crisis event, all firearms are unloaded and taken to a trusted friend, with all prescription, over the counter medications, and household poisons (eg. Draino etc.) locked away as well

The Craft of Venetian Mask Manufacturing for the Italian Festival of Carnival

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Masks have been part of Venetian culture since at least the 12th century A.D. as it was in 1162 that the first Carnival festival occured, a city wide celebration which marks the period prior to Lent. Up until 500 years ago, classic Venetian masks were constructed of papier-mâché, a medium that some Venetian mask artists still utilize during the modern day. Strips of papier-mâché are laid into a mold made of resin and layer by layer they are covered in glue. All materials are designed to be non-toxic. When a mask is complete, artisans use scalpel blades to cut out the eyes and any rough pieces remaining (e.g. edges etc.). Once a mask dries, it is decorated with beautiful colors and artwork (e.g. floral arrangements etc.). This is often performed freehand with a pencil. Masks are then painted using beautifully ornate colors (e.g. blue, red, yellow etc.) and finished by adding accoutrements (e.g. 24 karat gold leaf etc.). The craft was almost lost when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice, Italy in 1797 and banned Carnival and Carnival masks as he believed the event could spark rebellion. Benito Mussolini banned the celebrations once again in the 1930’s. Until the late 1970’s, Carnival was a largely forgotten relic but it has since observed a resurgence within popular culture

The Reason the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Was Created in North America

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It was the Fatality feature of the Mortal Kombat videogame series that prompted the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, a non-profit organization tasked with reviewing and rating all videogames (e.g. console, online, mobile etc.) made available to North American consumers. The concept of the Entertainment Software Rating Board was created within the U.S. Congress in 1994 and the original intent of the agency was and continues to be, to provide caretakers of minors with pertinent in game information so that they are able to make informed decisions as to the type of content these minors consume

The Development and Repeal of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” Red Poster Campaign During World War II in Britain

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The Publicity Division of the U.K. Ministry of Information developed a propaganda campaign prior to World War II in August of 1939. Part of this collection was the iconic red “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster which was designed to be issued at a later date when morale was in need of a boost after destruction and conflict had begun to take place. It is believed that the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan is the best known of all war time campaigns in Britain. The Home Intelligence agency, tasked with monitoring public sentiment and morale, commissioned a survey to study how effective the red poster campaign was at increasing the confidence of the public within the British government. The British government quickly discovered that contrary to expectations, the public found the red posters patronizing and with overtones of an out of touch ruling class pressuring the working class to rise up and defend the state, the very same narrative which was felt by the majority of the public during World War I which was in recent memory for the majority of the British population. Because the red poster campaign was considered a failure, in early 1940, the Keep Calm and Carry On poster among all others were shelved indefinitely with virtually all 2,400,000 (2.4 million) copies rescinded and destroyed

The Imaginary Concept of Acquiring a “License to Kill”

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Everything performed during espionage is illegal as the act of espionage itself is by definition illegal which is why the imaginary concept of a “license to kill” is irrelevant and redundant as any execution performed during a spy operation is considered a legal act by the state of the officers nationality (e.g. the U.K., the U.S., France etc.), as these actions are always considered prudent and necessary of an officer in the field being that officers have extensive training for situations which they may encounter during a mission

The Rationale Behind the Iconic Mask of Anonymous

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In 2008, the Anonymous hacktivism group staged mass protests across multiple cities worldwide. Because participating members were in need of adopting a physical disguise as they would be shifting from the online world into the physical world, early members of Anonymous spent the proceeding 48 hours calling comic book retailers, costume retailers, toy retailers etc. looking for identical disguises which could be purchased en masse for a reasonable price point. As it turned out, each one of these retailers had overstock of Guy Fawkes masks, most of them sitting in external storage and heavily discounted as no one wanted them after the release of the V for Vendetta film released in 2006, a rare miscalculation by manufacturers and retailers. Strangely, the iconography of the Anonymous organization was birthed out of an accidental fluke of overstock