19 October 2013

brinkmanship

[bringk-muhn-ship]

noun

– the technique or practice of maneuvering a dangerous situation to the limits of tolerance or safety in order to secure the greatest advantage, especially by creating diplomatic crises.

Also, brinks·man·ship [bringks-muhn-ship]

Origin:
1955–60; brink + -manship, with brink(s) – by analogy with sportsmanship, etc.

Today’s aphorism

Ideas that enter the mind under fire remain there securely and for ever.

– Leon Trotsky

On this day

19 October 1924 – Leo Trotsky, one of the founders of the Soviet Union and founder of the Red Army, is thrown out of the Soviet Politburo and his followers persecuted after he opposed Stalin. Trotsky was eventually expelled from the Communist Party and in 1929 was deported from the Soviet Union. He continued his opposition to Stalinism from his base in Mexico.

19 October 2001 – 353 asylum seekers drown when the boat they are on sinks 70km south of Java. The victims included 146 children, 142 women and 65 men. They were travelling from Indonesia to Australia and were predominantly Iraqi. Australian authorities labelled the boat SIEV-X (SIEV is short for ‘Suspected Illegal Entry Vehicle’). The incident became a major political issue and coupled with other incidents, such as the ‘Tampa crisis’ and the ‘Children Overboard affair’, resulted in major changes to Australia’s migration laws, including excising 4,600 islands from Australia’s migration zone and introduction of the controversial ‘Pacific Solution’.