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~~ Pipers

On July 27, 1921, researchers at the University of Toronto, proved that the hormone insulin regulated blood sugar. The original researchers and others, originally reluctant to obtain a commercial patent, agreed to obtain one and transfer it to the University of Toronto for a buck to prevent predatory pharma company Eli Lilly from gaining a patent and gouging for insulin. This is not why a vial of insulin costing $300 in the US only costs $30 in Canada, however. That is due to the fact that the US lacks any healthcare system, or, for that matter, anything vaguely resembling healthcare. Instead, the parasitic corporate-government symbiote running the country has established a for profit fee based medical crisis creation and management model that creates medical crises and then charges exorbitant prices for medical goods and services. Essentially, every aspect of health care, like every other human necessity, is a targeted weakness to be exploited for the purpose of extracting the wealth represented by the work product of the citizenry and transferring it to the oligarchs, usually in the form of periodic rents.

On this day in 1789 Congress created the very first government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs. This was not focused on war, the War Department was a separate entity created later. This body was concerned with stuff like diplomacy, diplomatic missions, International affairs and such. At the time, the fledgling nation thought stuff like that was important. It has since devolved into the State Department, which is concerned with things like fomenting color revolutions and regime changes, abrogating treaties and ordering other countries' governments around.

On this day in history:

1663 – The English Parliament passed the second Navigation Act. a colonial casus belli.

1694 – The Bank of England was granted a Royal Charter.

1775 – The Second Continental Congress passed legislation creating "an hospital for an army consisting of 20,000 men."

1789 – The first U.S. govt. agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, was created.

1866 – The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable was successfully completed.

1890 – Vincent van Gogh shot himself and died two days later.

1919 – The Chicago Race Riot erupted leading to 38 fatalities and 537 injuries

1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto, proved that the hormone insulin regulated blood sugar.

1929 – The Geneva Convention of 1929, on prisoners-of-war, was signed by 53 nations. Though it was difficult for the US to pretend to abide by it, they did so pretend until GWB's interpretation of the term "enemy combatatant" allowed the US to openly ignore all of the otherwise applicable Geneva conventions.

1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.

1953 – The US, China, and North Korea signed an armistice ending Korean War combat.

1964 – Five thousand more US "military advisers" were sent to South Vietnam raising the number of non-CIA US forces fighting to prevent elections in Vietnam to 21,000.

1974 – The US House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend the first article of impeachment against Nixon.

1976 – Former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka was arrested on suspicion of violating foreign exchange and foreign trade laws in connection with the Lockheed bribery scandals. Well Duh

1996 – In Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Some people who were born on this day:

Neil Harbisson (born 27 July 1984) is a Spanish-born British-Irish[18] cyborg artist and activist for transpecies rights based in New York City.[19] He is best known for being the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull[20] and for being legally recognized as a cyborg by a government.[21][22] His antenna sends audible vibrations through his skull to report information to him. This includes measurements of electromagnetic radiation, phone calls, and music, as well as videos or images which are translated into audible vibrations.[23] His WiFi-enabled antenna also allows him to receive signals and data from satellites.
~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Harbisson
The World's First Cyborg Speaks

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1667 – Johann Bernoulli, mathematician and academic
1740 – Jeanne Baré, explorer
1768 – Charlotte Corday, assassin and politician, or vice-versa, whatever
1848 – Loránd Eötvös, physicist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary
1867 – Enrique Granados, pianist and composer
1870 – Hilaire Belloc, writer and historian
1881 – Hans Fischer, chemist and academic,
1882 – Geoffrey de Havilland, pilot and engineer,
1890 – Benjamin Miessner, radio engineer and inventor
1916 – Skippy Williams, saxophonist and arranger
1924 – Vincent Canby, historian and critic
1927 – Guy Carawan, singer and musicologist
1929 – Harvey Fuqua, singer, songwriter, and producer
1929 – Jack Higgins, author and academic
1933 – Nick Reynolds, singer and bongo player
1938 – Gary Gygax, game designer
1942 – Édith Butler, singer and songwriter
1944 – Bobbie Gentry, singer, songwriter ,and guitarist
1944 – Barbara Thomson, saxophonist and composer
1945 – Edmund M. Clarke, computer scientist
1948 – Henny Vrienten, singer, songwriter ,and bass player
1949 – Rory MacDonald, singer, songwriter, and bass player
1949 – Maureen McGovern, singer and actress
1954 – Mark Stanway, keyboard player
1955 – Bobby Rondinelli, drummer
1960 – Conway Savage, singer, songwriter and keyboard player
1962 – Karl Mueller, bass player
1964 – Rex Brown, bass player and songwriter
1967 – Juliana Hatfield, singer, songwriter and musician
1967 – Hans Mathisen, guitarist and composer
1974 – Pete Yorn, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1975 – Fred Mascherino, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1982 – Neil Harbisson, painter, composer, and activist, CYBORG
1990 – Cheyenne Kimball, singer, songwriter, and guitarist

Some people who died on this day:

One must dare to be happy.

~~ Gertrude Stein

1675 – Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, general
1759 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, mathematician and philosopher
1844 – John Dalton, physicist, meteorologist, and chemist
1946 – Gertrude Stein, novelist, poet, and playwright
1948 – Joe Tinker, shortstop
1948 – Dorothea Bleek, anthropologist and philologist
1963 – Garrett Morgan, inventor
1988 – Frank Zamboni, inventor and businessman,
1990 – Bobby Day, singer, songwriter, pianist, and producer
1999 – Harry Edison, trumpet player
2001 – Leon Wilkeson, bass player and songwriter
2012 – Darryl Cotton, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor
2015 – Rickey Grundy, singer, songwriter
2017 – Sam Shepard, playwright, actor, author, screenwriter, and director

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Cross Atlantic Communication Day
Gary Gygax Day
Bagpipe Appreciation Day
National Scotch Day
National Crème Brûlée Day
Walk On Stilts Day
National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day (United States)
Martyrs and Wounded Soldiers Day (Vietnam)

Today's Tunes

Bagpipe Appreciation Day

Van Gogh

Skippy Williams,

Guy Carawan,

Harvey Fuqua,

Nick Reynolds

Édith Butler

Bobbie Gentry

Rory MacDonald, singer, songwriter, and bass player

Maureen McGovern
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Bobby Day,

Harry "Sweets" Edison

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

Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com

Open Thread, Bagpipes, Insulin, Van Gogh, Gertrude Stein, Guy Carawan, Harvey Fuqua, Bobby Day, Harry Edison