February 6

307 - China's 'War of the Eight Princes' ended.

This was a 15-year civil war in China, between eight princes vying for control of the Jin Dynasty.  It's important to remember at this time China was a loosely controlled empire, and each portion of it was ruled by different warlords...Also during this time, China was under constant pressure from outside 'barbarian' invaders - similar to the events in the West which broke up the Roman Empire.

China did not break, however...It's leadership may have been in flux, but its civilization was much too strong to fall apart.

It is also important to know China has had many civil wars, which is more a fact of its 4,000 year existence than due to any flaw in its civilization. Every great nation has had them, and the longer they are around the more they will have...What makes China so exceptional is Chinese civilization and culture has been able to stand the test of time - unlike most ancient nations, which have either been transformed or destroyed.

1778 - The United States won official recognition from France as the nations signed a treaty of aid in Paris. The Franco-American Treaty of Alliance bound the two powers together “forever against all other powers.” It was the first alliance treaty for the fledgling U.S. government:  American Revolutionary War.

It's undeniable the U.S. owes many thanks to the French for helping defeat the Brits in the American Revolutionary War...It's also undeniable the U.S. has more than paid back it's debt of gratitude to the French - specifically in WWII.

1899 - A peace treaty between the United States and Spain was ratified by the U.S. Senate, ending the Spanish-American War.

The Spanish-American War was extremely one-sided, and the final nail in the coffin of the Spanish Empire, wiping out what little remained of the once proud empire - with Cuba receiving independence and the U.S. gaining the territories of the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico.

Equally important, the results of this war began a period of American prosperity and influence on the world stage.

1929 - Germany accepted the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

HAHAHAHA!!! This agreement was a Utopian joke, and everyone who signed it knew it.

For those who don’t get the joke: The 'pact' was an international agreement outlawing war.

I guess no one told Adolph, Tojo and Mussolini the world previously agreed to ‘make love, not war.’

1992 - Democrat presidential candidate Bill Clinton denied he'd tried to avoid the Vietnam draft, saying he gave up a draft deferment in the fall of 1969 because he "didn't think it was right to keep it."

What a complete jackass...How we elected a draft-dodging POS as Commander-in-Chief will always be beyond my understanding.

1998 - President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair redoubled their pledge to use military force against Iraq if necessary.

Bill triangulated the meaning of the word 'is.'  It's a safe assumption he did the same with the word 'if' in this instance.

2007 - In France nearly 60 nations pledged not to use children to wage war and to disarm and rehabilitate underage soldiers. The Paris Commitments Agreement was seen as a strong moral step against the problem, though it carried no legal weight. They also signed a treaty banning governments from holding people in secret detention, but the United States and some of its key European allies were not among them.

And then the world sang Kumbaya!!

Kind of funny how this joke of a pledge was passed on the same date as Germany accepted the Kellog-Briand Pact.  I'm assuming it wasn't an accident...It was an equal joke, regardless of the timing.