The above flag is the flag of the short lived Kingdom of Hawaii which was formally recognized as an independent state by Joint declaration of Both England and France on November 28, 1843. The US, of course, refused to join with England and France. This day, then, bacame celebrated ad Hawaiian Independence Day — Lā Kūʻokoʻa. The Kingdom of Hawaii thereafter entered into treaties with a substantial number of other "major countries". It should be noted that it probably wouldn't have changed anything even if the US had entered into a treaty with Hawaii because the US doesn't have a habit of honoring them, choosing to ignore, violate or abrogate them at the drop of a hat. For example, it violated over 350 treaties with indigenous peoples of North America, many more than once.

The US State Department pretends that there was a treaty between the US and Hawaii claiming, in part:

On December 23, 1826, the U.S. signed articles of arrangement in the typical form of a treaty of friendship, commerce, and navigation with the Kingdom of Hawaii in Honolulu, which confirmed the peace and friendship between the peoples of the two countries. ...

https://history.state.gov/countries/hawaii#:~:text=Great%20Britain%20iss....

(Elsewhere it claims that this "treaty" indirectly recognized Hawaii's independence) But later in the quoted paragraph, it notes that this so-called "treaty" was never ratified and then alleges that both the US and Hawaii abided by its terms all the same.

Notwithstanding the above, the US formally annexed Hawaii on August 12, 1898, driving a stake through the heart of the Kingdom of Hawaii, which had already been overthrown by the US's minions and elites including, naturally enough, the US
Marines.

Regardless of the State departments twaddle, The US congress enacted:

-
UNITED STATES PUBLIC LAW 103-150
103d Congress Joint Resolution 19
Nov. 23, 1993

To acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the January 17, 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, and to offer an apology to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

which reads, in part:

The Congress -

(1) on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii on January
17, 1893, acknowledges the historical significance of this event which resulted in the suppression of the
inherent sovereignty of the Native Hawaiian people;

(2) recognizes and commends efforts of reconciliation initiated by the State of Hawaii and the United Church
of Christ with Native Hawaiians;

(3) apologizes to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United States for the overthrow of the
Kingdom of Hawaii on January 17, 1893 with the participation of agents and citizens of the United States,
and the deprivation of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-determination;

(4) expresses its commitment to acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii,
in order to provide a proper foundation for reconciliation between the United States and the Native Hawaiian
people; and

(5) urges the President of the United States to also acknowledge the ramifications of the overthrow of the
Kingdom of Hawaii and to support reconciliation efforts between the United States and the Native Hawaiian
people.

It further states that there was no plebescite or consent, etc. etc., etc. and was actually signed into law by the President.

On this day in history:

1520 -- Ferdinand Magellan's micro-fleet became the first European ships to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
1660 -- Twelve Britons founded the Royal Society.
1785 -- A con known as the Hopewell Treaty was perpetrated on various peoples.
1811 -- Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, was premiered.
1814 -- The Times (in London) became the first newspaper printed by automatic, steam-powered presses.
1821 -- Panama split from Spain and joined Gran Colombia.
1843 -- Hawaiian Independence Day; recognized by both the UK & France as an independent nation. Sadly, not by the US or some of its elites
1893 -- New Zealand let women vote in a national election, becoming the first country to do so.
1909 -- Sergei Rachmaninoff debuted his Piano Concerto No. 3
1919 -- Lady Astor was elected to be the first woman to sit in the House of Commons.
1942 – A fire in Boston's Cocoanut Grove nightclub killed 492 people.
1943 – The World War II Tehran Conference
1958 -- Chad, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon became autonomous republics.
1958 – First successful flight of the first Atlas ICBM
1960 -- Mauritania becomes independent of France.
1967 -- The first pulsar was discovered
1971 -- Fred Quilt, a Tsilhqot'in First Nation leader suffered fatal abdominal injuries at the hands of the RCMP.
1975 – East Timor declared its independence from Portugal.
1989 -- The Czech Velvet Revolution
1991 -- South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia.

Some people who were born on this day:

To generalize is to be an idiot.

~~ William Blake

Souldn't that have a snark tag?
~~ Enhydra Lutris

1628 -- John Bunyan, preacher, theologian, and author
1681 -- Jean Cavalier, Camisard (Huguenot) rebel leader
1682 – Betty Parris, Salem murderer who accused others of being witches
1757 -- William Blake, poet and painter, not much of a speller
1772 – Luke Howard, English chemist and meteorologist, namer of the clouds
1805 – John Lloyd Stephens, archaeologist and explorer
1810 – William Froude, English engineer and architect
1820 -- Friedrich Engels, philosopher, economist, and journalist
1866 -- Henry Bacon, architect, designed the Lincoln Memorial
1881 -- Stefan Zweig, author, playwright, and journalist
1891 – Mabel Alvarez, painter
1895 -- Jose Iturbi, pianist and conductor
1904 -- Nancy Mitford, journalist and author
1908 -- Claude Levi-Strauss, anthropologist and ethnologist
1910 -- Elsie Quarterman, ecologist and academic
1925 - Gigi Gryce, aka Basheer Qusim, jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger
1929 -- Berry Gordy, Jr., songwriter and producer, founded Motown Records
1932 -- Gato Barbieri, saxophonist and composer
1936 -- Celin Romero, guitarist
1940 – Bruce Channel, singer and songwriter
1943 -- Randy Newman, singer, songwriter and pianist who disliked short people
1944 -- Rita Mae Brown, author, poet, and screenwriter
1944 -- R. B. Greaves, singer & songwriter
1949 -- Paul Shaffer, singer, keyboard player, and bandleader, Letterman foil
1950 -- Russell Alan Hulse, physicist and astronomer,
1962 -- Jon Stewart, comedian, actor, and television host
1962 – Matt Cameron, drummer and songwriter

Some people who died on this day:

Wherever I found religion in my life I found strife, the attempt of one individual or group to rule another in the name of God. The naked will to power seemed always to walk in the wake of a hymn.

~~ Richard Wright

1680 -- Gian Lorenzo Bernini, sculptor and painter
1680 -- Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi, painter and architect
1694 -- Matsuo Basho, Japanese poet and scholar, wrote awesome haiku
1794 -- Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, general, instrumental in creating Continental Army
1859 -- Washington Irving, short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, pumpkin head
1870 -- Frederic Bazille, soldier and impressionist painter
1872 -- Mary Somerville, astronomer, mathematician, and author; first female appointed to Royal Astronomical Society
1890 – Jyotirao Phule, philosopher and activist
1901 – Moses Dickson, abolitionist, soldier, minister, founded The Knights of Liberty
1939 -- James Naismith, physician and educator, credited with inventing basketball
1953 – Frank Olson, biologist and chemist (US biological warfare dude, MK Ultra victim, probably murdered)
1954 -- Enrico Fermi, physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1960 -- Richard Wright, novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet
1994 -- Jerry Rubin, Yippie, stockbroker, businessman and capitalist sell-out
2001 – Kal Mann, songwriter
2011 – Lloyd J. Old, immunologist and academic

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
Panamanian Independence Day
Hawaiian Independence Day

Today's Tunes

Beethoven

Rachmaninoff

Jose Iturbi

Gigi Gryce aka Basheer Qusim

Barry Gordy - later, below

Gato Barbieri

Celin Romero

Randy Newman

With Ryland Cooder and Linda Ronstadt

R. B. Greaves

Paul Shaffer (and The World's Most Dangerous Band)

Kal Mann

While we're at it, just for grins, a hat tip to Barry Gordy:

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?

I will not be here when this posts