A Salute to 2016

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

First, the apologies. I am sorry that I have no preditioning talents, so I do not know what 2017 will bring. I can only hope that 2017 spares all of us any sadness that can not be understood, all pointless rage, or a further coarsening of attitudes into an blank-faced acceptance of hate.

I know that all of the above is not possible without work, and that all I can offer is some hope in my immediate neighborhood, which includes this website right here.

When I started this website in December 2013, no one on this planet was waiting to read what I had to write about anything at all. No one was holding their breath.

Thank you to more than 25,000 visitors to this website in 2016. You tallied up 43,000-plus visits this year, which strikes me as 42,999 more than I understand.
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Today in History: December 31

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

U.S. Patent No. 2,026,082 was granted to Charles Darrow on this date in 1935 for his creation of the board game Monopoly. Parker Brothers, the game manufacturer, was included in the patent. (A 1935 game box is at the top.)

The game was (and is) a variation of a board game called The Landlord’s Game, which had been around for decades by 1935. That game was created by Elizabeth Magie, who earned a patent (number 748,626) for her creation in 1904. Monopoly bears more than a passing resemblance to her creation: The Landlord’s Game included “Chance” cards.
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The Importance of Raif Badawi

Posted on by Mark Aldrich

Over the last twenty-four months I have published a few dozen articles about the imprisoned Saudi Arabian writer and thinker Raif Badawi, who was caned for his thoughts; his wife, Ensaf Haidar; and Saudi Arabia. He was arrested on June 17, 2012; 1657 days ago. As 2016 concludes, one wonders: What will 2017 bring Raif Badawi?

Raif Badawi is a symbol; for much of the world, his is the face of the Arab Spring. In his essays, he compares the Arab Spring to the French Revolution, and his comparison is not extreme. His ongoing imprisonment—and the sight of him being whipped on January 9, 2015—is the image of what certain governments want to do to the Arab Spring.

This post lists all the articles that I have written and published about Raif Badawi. This website is the only one on the planet to have had insider’s reports from verified sources on conditions in Raif Badawi’s prison.
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