Katsura Taro (4 January 1848 – 10 October 1913) was an Imperial Army General and Prime Minister of Japan. He was born into a Samurai family and took part in the Boshin War of 1868 that restored the Meiji Dynasty.

Showing great potential as a military leader the Meiji government sent Katsura to Germany as a military attache. After two terms he was promoted to Major General and became the Vice Minister of War. He led a division in the First Sino-Japanese War and received the title of shishaku (viscount).

As Prime Minister he oversaw the alliance with Great Britain during the Japanese Russo War that elevated Japan to the status of a world power. The peace treaty (Treaty of Portsmouth) was not popular with the Japanese public. Although Japan was able to annex Korea and gained mining and port concessions in southern China, the people felt the government should not have signed due to the string of Japanese victories. It caused the downfall of Katsura’s government.

His second appointment of Prime Minister was also unpopular. The country invested in military development it could barely afford. Many felt Katsura elevated the interests of the military over the citizenry. He again resigned and received an appointment of kōshaku (prince).

Katsura’s third appointment lasted 2 months. Riots began in Japan by people believing his reception of the post was an effort by the genro (royalty) to end the Meiji Constitutional government. He died of stomach cancer 8 months later.

Irving Kristol (January 22, 1920 – September 18, 2009) was an American journalist considered the brain father of neo-conservatism. He received a BA in History from the City College of New York where he was a member of the Young People’s Socialist League (later known as the New York Intellectuals) as a Trotskyist. He was also associated with the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an anti-Communist CIA organization active in 35 countries.

A wise man once told me “If I want you to go to the left, I will shove you as hard as I can to the right, then you will overcompensate.”

The Neo Con movement began with a political defection from the Democratic part to the Republican Party by those who were disaffected by the anti-Vietnam movement and political radicalism. The movement emphasized traditional religious values and dangerously unregulated economic policies with catchy names like “trickle down.”

Kristol died of lung cancer in 2009.