...and the Socialists, and the Anarchists, is May Day. Read and see why the following phrase is so revered amongst those groups:

We’ll see how these “boycotts” of the Illegals and their supporters turn out...yes, even the Muslim activist groups are supposed to take part.

The following verses from the Book of Revelations appears as the introduction to Frederik Pohl’s fictionalization of this event:

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
— Revelation 8:10-11

Although it is said that the translation of the word “Wormwood” to ”Chernobyl” is controversial, it nevertheless made me pause and reflect about the true magnitude of this disaster. It hastened the downfall of the Soviet Union because the initial reaction of the Soviet government was that of secrecy, in stark contrast to Mikhail Gorbachev’s public statements calling for openness and restructuring. The legacy is staggering; the lives affected: hundreds of thousands. And the firefighters who gave their lives to stop the contamination from getting worse were true Heroes and are honored as such.
Twenty years later, we are beginning to see how the area surrounding the plant has adapted; how everything which was abandoned still lies there as a silent testament. Kidd of Speed has ridden her motorcycle through the exclusion zone on multiple occasions, and her photos are part of the legacy. And there are some, who were forced to leave back in 1986, who are returning to rebuild what little is left of their lives, with nowhere else to go. We will not see the end of this story, but it is only now beginning to be written.

I stand with the People of Israel, when I say to you NEVER AGAIN.
SO SAY WE ALL.

I hope my friends Marian and George, who celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary this weekend, won’t kick my a** for this....
One hundred years ago, on April 18, 1906, San Francisco was struck by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the defining disasters of the 20th Century. The quake lasted about a minute and resulted in fires destroying 28,000 structures and in total, leveled 3/4 of the city. To this day, there is still a dispute as to the number of people killed in the disaster.
Yet, San Francisco rebuilt. Even though I don’t agree with the political views of a significant number of its residents, not to mention the high cost of living, I still think it’s a great place to visit. The “Earthquake Time” clock (click on the thumbnail), located at Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon in Oakland, taken in March 1999, is a silent reminder of what happened. The City of San Francisco has a virtual museum dedicated to the Quake, which includes photographs and many other items of interest.

“But, Your Honor, I FORGOT Armed Robbery was Illegal!”

Twenty years ago on April 15, 1986, we bombed Libya in general, and Muammar Gaddafi (now how many times has the MSM changed the spelling of this name!) in particular, in retaliation for the bombing of the La Belle disco in West Berlin on April 5, 1986. Gaddafi lost his adopted daughter in the attack, and we missed the Colonel himself by 15 feet! Of course, President Reagan was branded a baby-killer for this, just as many Americans have been branded as such over the years. Like President Bush is labeled today.
So how do the Libyans commemorate the attack? By holding a special ”Concert for Peace,” that’s how. And guess who performed at that concert?

Yep, Lionel Richie. Scratch him off the list.

Let’s face it, all Presidents have made mistakes during their time in office. Even Dubya. But the one who was in office on this day in 1949 made one which, as well-meaning as it was, turned out to be the beginning of the endless spigot of funds which flows to this very day.
Not to the Russians, but actually to the Palestinians:

On this day in 1949, President Harry S. Truman signs a U.S. resolution authorizing $16 million in aid for Palestinian refugees displaced and facing starvation as a result of Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.
Truman’s resolution contributed U.S. funds to a $32 million United Nations (U.N.) aid package. At the signing, the president stated his hope that before the relief money ran out, “[the] means will be devised for the permanent solution of the refugee problem.” Truman argued that U.S. aid would contribute to the long-term stability of the Middle East through “[integrating] Palestinian refugees into the economic life of the [underdeveloped] area.

So much for integration and development. And the relief money still hasn’t run out either. What a waste of Taxpayers’ Money!

HAT TIP: Ranting Right Wing Howler

Today is, or course, St. Patrick’s Day, where everyone gets to play an Irishman (or Irishwoman), kiss the Blarney Stone, drink green beer, see the normally-polluted Chicago River dyed a very bright green, blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda. At least I don’t have to play Irish, as I already have Irish blood in me!
Anyway, I thought I might share the lyrics to a recently-written Gaelic song which appears on this album. A good drinking song, nevertheless. It’s called “Wander My Friends.”

(in Gaelic)
Siulaigi a chairde, siulaidh liom
Mar cheo an tsleibhe uaine ag
imeacht go deo
D’ainneoin ar dtuirse leanfam an tsli
Thar chnoic is thar ghleannta
go deireadh na scrib’

Seo libh a chairde is canaidh liom
Lionaigi’n oiche le greann is le sport
Seo slainte na gcarad ata imithe uainn
Mar cheo an tsleibhe uaine,
iad imithe go deo

(English translation)
Wander my friends, wander with me
Like the mist on the green mountain, moving eternally
Despite our weariness, we’ll follow the road
Over hills and valleys, to the end of the journey

Come on my friends and sing with me
Fill the night with joy and sport
Here’s a health to the friends who have gone from us
Like the mist of the green mountain, gone forever

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY EVERYONE!

It’s been almost a quarter-century since the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. Many believe that the Soviet Union was behind the shooting. Now, an Italian Parliamentary Commission has reached the same conclusion:

A final draft of the report, which is due to be presented to parliament later this month, was made available to Reuters on Thursday by the commission president, Senator Paolo Guzzanti.
“This commission believes, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the leadership of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate Pope John Paul,” the report said.
“They relayed this decision to the military secret services for them to take on all necessary operations to commit a crime of unique gravity, without parallel in modern times,” it said.
The report also says “some elements” of the Bulgarian secret services were involved but that this was an attempt to divert attention away from the Soviet Union’s alleged key role.
A 36-page chapter on the assassination attempt was included in a wider report by parliament’s Mitrokhin Commission, which probed the revelations of Vasili Mitrokhin, a senior Soviet archivist during the Cold War who defected to Britain in 1992.

It was obvious that Pope John Paul II’s election to the papacy in October 1978 had a tremendous galvanizing effect to those Poles who opposed Communism, as well as millions of other Roman Catholics and Christians living behind the Iron Curtain. Consequently, the KGB (and, by extension, the Soviet leadership) perceived him to be a threat to their order. Perhaps that is why, shortly thereafter, Soviet leaders started dropping like flies.
Besides, God had other plans for John Paul II....

HAT TIP: Stop The ACLU

There was a time, twenty years ago, where I had experienced such an emotional high that even made me impervious to 20 degrees below zero…
followed within 48 hours by a national descent into the depths of grief. My elders would probably have likened this to the Kennedy assassination of November 22, 1963.
On January 26, 1986, the Chicago Bears won Super Bowl XX by defeating the New England Patriots, 46-10. The following day, I spent two and one-half hours outside, welcoming the Bears back to Chicago, along with a quarter-million Bears Fans who braved the bone-chilling weather that day.
And then the next day was Tuesday, January 28, 1986. I was working my morning courier rounds when, along the return route to the office, I found out the space shuttle Challenger blew up, taking seven brave astronauts from us. I was shocked...and so was the rest of the world. The office basically stopped what they were doing, and just sat there...stunned, trying to ask What Happened? Why? It was such a day that we all hoped would never experience again...until 9/11.
Remember them as they were. Heroes who slipped the surly bonds of Earth, and touched the Face of God:

Front Row (L-R): Pilot Michael J. Smith, Mission Commander Francis “Dick” Scobee, and Mission Specialist Ronald McNair.
Back row (L-R): Mission Specialist Ellison Onizuka, Payload Specialist Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist Gregory Jarvis, and Mission Specialist Judith Resnik.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor began at this moment, sixty-four years ago. This deliberate and dastardly act awakened the sleeping giant named the United States of America, and filled her with a terrible resolve.

REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR!

On the Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month, we commemorate those Veterans who made the Ultimate Sacrifice defending our country, and extend a grateful thanks to those living Veterans who have put their lives on the line.
ALWAYS REMEMBER. NEVER FORGET.

“The Beginning of the end of War lies in Remembrance.”
– Herman Wouk


At this exact moment, sixty years ago, at 0900 hours Japan Standard Time on 02 September 1945, a ceremony took place aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63), where the representatives of the Allied Powers formally accepted the surrender of the Japanese. The ceremony began at 0900 hours, with opening remarks from General of the Army Douglas Macarthur; the ceremony lasted approximately 25 minutes. After that, World War II was officially OVER.
The translated Documents of Surrender can be found here. All photographs courtesy of the Department of the Navy - Naval Historical Center.

A New Blog is setting sail on the seas of History. Its name is Voyages of the ArgoKnot and it already looks to be quite deep in content, which is why I’ve already added it to my Blogroll.
Welcome Aboard, Plato!

“降伏します. WE SURRENDER.”
At this exact moment, sixty years ago, at 1200 hours Japan Standard Time on 15 August 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced to the Japanese People the acceptance by the Japanese Government of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, ending World War II, the bloodiest war in the history of the world. This day is known in the Allied nations as V-J Day, in the same manner V-E Day took place three months before. Believe it or don’t, this day is still celebrated as a state holiday in Rhode Island on the second Monday in August.
The single most famous photograph of V-J Day was Alfred Eisenstaedt‘s timeless snapshot of The Sailor kissing The Nurse (click on the thumbnail). No other photo could have captured the joy of the war’s ending. And it’s pretty amazing that sixty years later, there’s still some form of controversy as to who exactly these two people are.

Domo arigato to Amritas for his translation from English to Japanese. 

At this exact moment, sixty years ago, at 1102 hours Japan Standard Time on 09 August 1945, the city of Nagasaki, Japan was destroyed by the second combat use of a nuclear weapon. The ”Fat Man” Pu-239 implosion device was carried to the target by the B-29 bomber Bockscar, piloted by Major Charles Sweeney and yielded 25 kilotons on detonation.
Nagasaki was destroyed one day after the Soviet Union invaded Manchuria, entering the Pacific Theater of World War II.
One day before the bombing of Nagasaki, the following paper leaflets were dropped:

TO THE JAPANESE PEOPLE:
America asks that you take immediate heed of what we say on this leaflet.
We are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man. A single one of our newly developed atomic bombs is actually the equivalent in explosive power to what 2000 of our giant B-29s can carry on a single mission. This awful fact is one for you to ponder and we solemnly assure you it is grimly accurate.
We have just begun to use this weapon against your homeland. If you still have any doubt, make inquiry as to what happened to Hiroshima when just one atomic bomb fell on that city.
Before using this bomb to destroy every resource of the military by which they are prolonging this useless war, we ask that you now petition the Emperor to end the war. Our president has outlined for you the thirteen consequences of an honorable surrender. We urge that you accept these consequences and begin the work of building a new, better and peace-loving Japan.
You should take steps now to cease military resistance. Otherwise, we shall resolutely employ this bomb and all our other superior weapons to promptly and forcefully end the war.