Stuffing the Passer - The Berlin Conference

The Berlin Conference marked an interesting inflection point in the international system, marking the moment when the tact and skilled diplomacy that strung together a hundred unprecedented years of peace during the Concert of Europe was unceremoniously tossed aside when it became apparent that there was enormous money to be made scrapping the shopworn ideas of independence, sovereignty, and autonomy and instead yoking the entire planet under brutal colonial rule designed to expropriate wealth off the backs of unpaid, enclosured serfs.

I don't know why the recent spate of conference expansion, defection, and realignment got me thinking about this historical event -- maybe it's all the absinthe we've been chugging at the House Rock Built Studios. We've seen some wild things... like Notre Dame playing somewhat competent football against Michigan State at home. Damn, that's wormwood's freaky. So buckle up your seatbelts, strap on your spiked pith helmets, and enjoy this week's installment. And on a personal note to my high school guidance counselor who said I could never work Otto Von Bismarck, puppets, POGs, and college football into one video: read it and weep.

Because I'm Bismarck, that's why!