Principality of Liechtenstein

Ahoy!

Today we welcome the Principality of Liechtenstein to the Parade of Nations. Liechtenstein is the 217th country to provide at least one unique visitor to PhilosFX.

When I was a lad, I read the Cold War satirical novel, The Mouse That Roared. At about the same time (the early '70s), I remember obtaining my first Liechtenstein postage stamps. As they do, the stamps piqued my curiosity. In my imagination, the tiny Principality of Liechtenstein was the basis of the fictitious Duchy of Grand Fenwick: small, isolated, exporting wool and wine and eschewing technology. Years later, while stationed in Germany with the US Army, I had the privilege to visit Liechtenstein. I quickly learned that the resemblance ended at "small." Liechtenstein is wealthy, sophisticated, and technologically advanced.

According to the CIA's World Factbook, "The Principality of Liechtenstein was established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1719. Occupied by both French and Russian troops during the Napoleonic Wars, it became a sovereign state in 1806 and joined the Germanic Confederation in 1815. Liechtenstein became fully independent in 1866 when the Confederation dissolved."

Principality of Liechtenstein

From Google we learn that, "Liechtenstein is a German-speaking, 25km (15.5 mi) long principality between Austria and Switzerland. It’s known for its medieval castles, alpine landscapes, and villages linked by a network of trails. The capital, Vaduz, a cultural and financial center, is home to Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, with galleries of modern and contemporary art. The Postmuseum displays Liechtenstein’s postage stamps."

Wikipedia states that, with Uzbekistan, "Liechtenstein is one of only two doubly landlocked nations in the world."

Note: A country is doubly landlocked when it is surrounded entirely by one or more landlocked countries, requiring the crossing of at least two national borders to reach a coastline.

Wiki continues: "There were no doubly landlocked countries from the unification of Germany in 1871 until the end of World War I. Liechtenstein bordered the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had an Adriatic coastline, and Uzbekistan was then part of the Russian Empire, which had both ocean and sea access."


An updated Flag Counter and Table of Missing Countries is available here.

Cheers!

The Kingdom of Bhutan

Ahoy!

On Jan 3, 2019, The Kingdom of Bhutan tripped the Flag Counter to become the 216th country to visit PhilosFX.

Flag Counter cites CIA's The World Factbook for some interesting details about Bhutan

The beautiful flag of Bhutan

Bhutan is a landlocked country in the Himalaya mountains

The Kingdom of Bhutan has made at least one earlier appearance here on PhilosFX.

The recent flurry of traffic seems to be tied to an interest in our recent post about Marcus Aurelius. An updated Flag Counter and Table of Missing Countries is available here.

Cheers! 

Christmas Island, Vatican City, and North Korea

Ahoy!

On Dec 31, 2018, Christmas Island, Vatican City, and North Korea have tripped the Flag Counter to become the 213th, 214th, and 215th countries, respectively, to visit PhilosFX

I'd like to encourage readers to follow the posted links to CIA's The World Factbook to explore these countries.

Christmas Island

Vatican City

North Korea

The recent flurry of International traffic seems to be tied to an interest in our post about Marcus Aurelius. An updated Flag Counter and Table of Missing Countries is available here.

Cheers!

One Final "Mattis Sends" Memo

Outgoing SecDef Mattis and his replacement, former DepSecDef Shanahan.
Photo: Democracy Now

On the last day of 2018, Secretary of Defense, GEN (Ret) James Mattis turned over the mantle of leadership to his former Deputy, HON Patrick Shanahan. Shanahan is most well-known as a Boeing executive with no military service. However, I know him from his monthly update memos. I enjoy reading these concise summaries of Department priorities and action plans. I always feel informed and inspired after reading the view from his perch. I am sorry to see Mattis depart, and I wish Shanahan well. We live in tumultuous times. I have a nephew in Afghanistan, and a friend preparing for his 9th (count them--NINE!) deployment since the wars began in 2001. I want a capable leader in the office of SecDef.

On December 20, the day after President Trump announced plans to remove U.S. military personnel from Syria, despite the contrary recommendations of his military advisers, Secretary of Defense James Mattis tendered his resignation, to be effective at the end of February 2019--the culmination of 2 years of service in the position. Mattis' resignation letter has been widely disseminated.

Themes in the concise letter echoed themes that are also found in Mattis' December 19 Christmas letter to the troops, and in his final transition note: holding the line, serving the Nation, defending the Constitution, and keeping the American people safe at home.  

President Trump accepted the resignation, agreeing that their values were not aligned, and selected DepSecDef Shanahan to be the interim SecDef. Subsequently, Trump moved up the transition date to December 31. This move signals that Shanahan will likely be confirmed by the Senate to permanently fill the position. It also deprives Mattis of the opportunity to attend the NATO ministerial meetings and to testify before Congress in the posture hearings.

Below, printed in its entirety, appears Mattis' transition message as it was transmitted through official channels across the U.S. Department of Defense. You may have seen edited versions on the major news media outlets. I wanted to share the ALLCAPS version that we see in official distribution. Note: ALDODACT means All Department of Defense Activities.  

FM SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
TO ALDODACT
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//SECDEF COMMS// BT UNCLAS 

SUBJ/FAREWELL MESSAGE ALDODACT 28/18

ADDRESSEES PASS TO ALL SUBORDINATE COMMANDS

1. ON FEBRUARY 1, 1865, PRESIDENT LINCOLN SENT TO GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT A ONE SENTENCE TELEGRAM. IT READ: "LET NOTHING WHICH IS TRANSPIRING, CHANGE, HINDER, OR DELAY YOUR MILITARY MOVEMENTS, OR PLANS."

2. OUR DEPARTMENT'S LEADERSHIP, CIVILIAN AND MILITARY, REMAINS IN THE BEST POSSIBLE HANDS. I AM CONFIDENT THAT EACH OF US REMAINS UNDISTRACTED FROM OUR SWORN MISSION TO SUPPORT AND DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION WHILE PROTECTING OUR WAY OF LIFE. OUR DEPARTMENT IS PROVEN TO BE AT ITS BEST WHEN THE TIMES ARE MOST DIFFICULT. SO KEEP THE FAITH IN OUR COUNTRY AND HOLD FAST, ALONGSIDE OUR ALLIES, ALIGNED AGAINST OUR FOES.

3. IT HAS BEEN MY HIGH HONOR TO SERVE AT YOUR SIDE. MAY GOD HOLD YOU SAFE IN THE AIR, ON LAND, AND AT SEA. 

MATTIS SENDS.

Without distracting fanfare, the era of the Warrior Monk has ended. Nothing more needs to be said. After 40 years of service, call-sign Chaos has signed off of the net.

Eritrea, Sierra Leone, and Somalia

Ahoy!

On Dec 27, 2018, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, and Somalia have tripped the Flag Counter to become the 210th, 211th, and 212th countries, respectively, to visit PhilosFX

Eritrea

Sierra Leone

Somalia

The recent flurry of traffic seems to be tied to an interest in our recent post about Marcus Aurelius. An updated Flag Counter and Table of Missing Countries is available here.

Cheers!

Congo (Brazzaville), Swaziland and South Sudan

Ahoy!

On Dec 27, 2018, The Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), Swaziland and South Sudan have tripped the Flag Counter to become the 207th, 208th, and 209th countries, respectively, to visit PhilosFX

The recent flurry of traffic seems to be tied to an interest in our recent post about Marcus Aurelius. An updated Flag Counter and Table of Missing Countries is available here.

Cheers!

Flag Counter Update

Ahoy!

We've enjoyed a flurry of International visitors lately. The Top 48 countries have not changed much for weeks, but what has changed--dramatically--is the situation at the other end of the spectrum. Countries which had not visited these pages previously are visiting in droves. The list of "never" countries is diminishing! Before this flurry, the most recent new country was Fiji in Feb 2018. Then on Dec 25, we had our first visit from Vanuatu. In the past two days (Dec 25, 26), we've seen 8 more "never countries" join the Parade of Nations, leaving only 36 of 242 countries that have yet to send their first visitor our way.

To what do we owe the honor and privilege? We had no new countries in 10 months, and then what--Santa Claus filled my stocking?! How has this phenomenon come to pass? If I knew for certain what caused this activity, I'd do more of it!

One clue: Someone has "liked" one of my posts enough to share it. And now that post has caught some wind and is swirling around the globe on ethereal currents. I typically see about 50 visitors per day, most of them from English speaking nations, and most of them interested in the popular Road King post. For some reason, the recent post about Marcus Aurelius garnered 250 visits in 2 days, double the views of my most popular post (Road King). At the same time, the traffic shifted and diversified. Traffic from Russia was four times that of the USA, and a total of 95 different countries tripped the Flag Counter.

These numbers absolutely floored me. Forgive the uncharacteristic hubris. I have good reason to be humble about the content on my blog and no reason to think that this flirtation with something like a viral post is an indicator of anything but luck. Yet I do hope readers can appreciate how thrilling this is for me! To think that something I created has been seen, appreciated, shared, and seen again by people all over the world... it's immensely gratifying.

Fig. 1. The Flag Counter is located near the bottom of the page

Fig. 2. A closeup of the Flag Counter, showing the number of unique visitors from the top 48 countries.

Since August 2015, I have been updating an older Flag Counter post. At that time, there were 53 never countries. I went back and updated the list as new counties joined at the rate of one or two per month. But then, after our 10-month dry spell, there have been so many changes lately that the old post just doesn't reflect reality. I decided to update the maps and the list of never countries. I will return to this post to count down the countries until at least one unique visitor from every one of the 242 recognized countries on this planet has stopped by for a little Philosophy + Special Effects.

Table 1. Distribution of Visitors Across the Globe

0 visitors = 36 countries
1 - 9 visitors = 108 countries
10 - 99 visitors = 58 countries
100 - 999 visitors = 34 countries
1000 - 9999 visitors = 5 countries
over 10,000 visitors = 1 country (so far!)

as of 2018 12 27

Fig 3. Map of the globe, with 206 of 242 flags on display

Fig 4. Closeup of The Americas

Fig 5. Closeup of Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia

Fig. 6. Closeup of Southeast Asia and Oceana

As of 11:00 AM Dec 27, 2018, 206 of 242 countries of the world had tripped the Flag Counter, meaning that we were down to only 36 countries who had yet to visit PhilosFX. Table 2. The "Never" Countries
American Samoa		Liechtenstein 1/5		Sierra Leone 12/27/18
Bhutan 1/3		Marshall Islands		Sint Maarten 3/2
British Indian Ocean Terr.		Mauritania		Somalia 12/27
Cabo Verde		Niue		South Sudan 12/27/18
Central African Republic		Norfolk Island		Svalbard 1/31
Christmas Island 12/31/18		North Korea 12/31/18		Swaziland 12/27/18
Comoros		Palau		Tokelau 2/16
Equatorial Guinea 4/18		Rep. of the Congo 12/27/18		Tonga
Eritrea 12/27		Saint Barthelemy		Turkmenistan
Falkland Islands		Saint Helena		Tuvalu
Greenland 12/18/2019		Saint Pierre and Miquelon 7/21		Vatican City 12/31/18
Guinea-Bissau 4/26		Sao Tome and Principe		Wallis and Futuna

Note: Updates are posted to the above table as they occur. As of December 18, 2019, we have 224 of 242 flags, and we are now down to only 18 remaining countries! The previous update occurred on July 21, 2019. When will the next new country visit PhilosFX?

Ladies and Gentlemen, by way of concluding this post, I certainly hope you occasionally find something of genuine interest here on these pages. Most of the content I provide has some redeeming value beyond self-congratulations. I blog mostly because I want to leave myself and my friends a catalog of interesting and thought-provoking posts that we can enjoy in our dotage. I trust that some social benefit comes from my effort--some greater good beyond my own entertainment. So, thank you for reading! Thank you to the creators of Flag Counter for enabling us to enjoy this mystery together. Thank you for sharing and commenting--these interactions inspire me to continue exploring, writing, and posting.

Please feel free to introduce your website in a comment. I will drop in for a visit sometime. We're all connected...

Cheers!