Wednesday, October 21, 1943. Indian declaration.

The Provisional Government of Azad Hind ("Free India") was declared with Subhas Chandra as president.  Its territory, such as it was, were those portions of Indian occupied by Japan.

It immediately declared it was entering the war on the Japanese side, an example of really not grasping the direction things were headed in, and in fact already well advanced towards.

On the same day, Japan began drafting high school and university students.

The Germans began liquidating the Minsk Ghetto as they were retreating from Belarus.

The RAF made a highly destructive raid on Kassel.

Algerian Jews, 140,000 in number were restored French citizenship, which had been restricted, along with the same for Algerian Arabs, on March 17, 1942 by Gen. Henri Giraud.  Arabs had to apply for restoration of their French citizenship.

Sunday, October 21, 1923. Trouble in Germany.

The Reichswehr moved heavy weapons into Saxony.

The Rhenish Republic was proclaimed in a part of occupied Rhineland. Aachen was its capital.

German Communist leader Heinrich Brandler called for a general strike as a prelude to revolution, but the call received little support.  A courier for Hamburg sent earlier with a call for the uprising was not in attendance, so he carried the message forward to that city.

Blog Mirror: 1914: A Key Juncture for an Innovative Camping Trailer

 

1914: A Key Juncture for an Innovative Camping Trailer

Southern Rockies Nature Blog: What the Hunter Said to the Dog, and What the Dog ...

Southern Rockies Nature Blog: What the Hunter Said to the Dog, and What the Dog ...: Long ago in the Ice Age, a rough fluffy Dog lay down on the Hunter's reindeer-skin pack. When the Hunter returned, he spoke: "Hey, ...

Biden addresses the nation on Ukraine and Israel

 Good evening, my fellow Americans.

We’re facing an inflection point in history. One of those moments where the decisions we make today are going to determine the future for decades to come. That’s what I’d like to talk with you about tonight.

Now earlier this morning I returned from Israel. They tell me I’m the first American president to travel there during a war. I met with the prime minister and members of his cabinet, and most movingly, I met with Israelis who had personally lived through the horrific horror of the attack by Hamas on the 7th of October. More than 1,300 people slaughtered in Israel, including at least 32 American citizens. Scores of innocents from infants to the elderly, grandparents, Israelis, Americans taken hostage. As I told the families of Americans being held captive by Hamas, we’re pursuing every avenue to bring their loved ones home. As president, there is no higher priority for me than the safety of Americans held hostage.

The terrorist group Hamas unleashed pure unadulterated evil in the world, but sadly, the Jewish people know, perhaps better than anyone, that there is no limit to the depravity of people when they want to inflict pain on others.

In Israel, I saw a people who are strong, determined, resilient and also angry, in shock and in deep, deep pain. I also spoke with President Abbas, the Palestinian Authority, and reiterated that the United States remains committed to the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and to self-determination. The actions of Hamas terrorists don’t take that right away.

Like so many others, I’m heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life, including the explosion at the hospital in Gaza, which was not done by the Israelis. We mourn every innocent life lost. We can’t ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace and have an opportunity.

You know, the assault on Israel echoes nearly 20 months of war, tragedy and brutality inflicted on the people of Ukraine, people that were very badly hurt since Putin launched his all-out invasion.

We’ve not forgotten the mass graves, the bodies found bearing signs of torture, rape used as a weapon by the Russians, and thousands and thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly taken into Russia, stolen from their parents.

It’s sick.

Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common. They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy — completely annihilate it. Hamas’ stated purpose for existing is the destruction of the state of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, and innocent Palestinian families are suffering greatly because of them.

Meanwhile, Putin denies Ukraine has, or ever had, real statehood. He claims the Soviet Union created Ukraine. And just two weeks ago, he told the world that if the United States and our allies withdraw — and if the United States withdraws, our allies will as well — military support for Ukraine would have, quote, a week left to live.

But we’re not withdrawing.

I know these conflicts can seem far away, and it’s natural to ask: Why does this matter to America? So let me share with you why making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed is vital for America’s national security.

You know, history has taught us that when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going. And the cost and the threats to America and the world keep rising.

So if we don’t stop Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won’t limit himself just to Ukraine. He’s — Putin’s already threatened to remind, quote, remind Poland that their western land was a gift from Russia. One of his top advisers, a former president of Russia, has called Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Russia’s Baltic provinces.

These are all NATO allies. For 75 years, NATO has kept peace in Europe. And has been the cornerstone of American security. And if Putin attacks a NATO ally, we will defend every inch of NATO, which a treaty requires and calls for.

We’ll have something that we do not seek. Make it clear — we do not seek — we do not seek to have American troops fighting in Russia or fighting against Russia.

Beyond Europe, we know that our allies, and maybe most importantly our adversaries and competitors, are watching. They’re watching our response in Ukraine as well. And if we walk away and let Putin erase Ukraine’s independence, would-be aggressors around the world would be emboldened to try the same. The risk of conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world: in the Indo-Pacific, in the Middle East, especially in the Middle East. Iran is supporting Russia in Ukraine, and it’s supporting Hamas and other terrorist groups in the region. And we’ll continue to hold them accountable, I might add.

The United States and our partners across the region are working to build a better future for the Middle East. One where the Middle East is more stable, better connected to its neighbors, and through innovative projects like the India, Middle East and Europe rail corridor that I announced this year at the summit of the world’s biggest economies, more predictable markets, more employment, less rage, less grievances, less war when connected. It benefits the people. It would benefit the people of the Middle East, and it would benefit us.

American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliances are what keep us, America, safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. To put all that at risk if we walk away from Ukraine, if we turn our backs on Israel, it’s just not worth it.

That’s why tomorrow I’m going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America’s national security needs, to support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine. It’s a smart investment that’s going pay dividends for American security for generations, help us keep American troops out of harm’s way, help us build a world that is safer, more peaceful and more prosperous for our children and grandchildren.

The prospect of a prolonged war could pile economic havoc atop a devastating human toll.

In Israel, we must make sure that they have what they need to protect their people today and always. The security package I’m sending to Congress and asking Congress to do is an unprecedented commitment to Israel’s security that will sharpen Israel’s qualitative military edge, which we’ve committed to: the qualitative military edge. We’re going make sure Iron Dome continues to guard the skies over Israel. We’re going to make sure other hostile actors in the region know that Israel’s stronger than ever and prevent this conflict from spreading.

Look, at the same time, President Netanyahu and I discussed again, yesterday, the critical need for Israel to operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can. The people of Gaza urgently need food, water and medicine.

Yesterday, in discussions with the leaders of Israel and Egypt, I secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance from the United Nations to Palestinian civilians in Gaza. If Hamas does not divert or steal this shipment, these shipments, we’re going to provide an opening for sustained delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance for the Palestinians.

As I said in Israel, as hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. We cannot give up on a two-state solution.

Israel and Palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, dignity and peace.

You know, and here at home we have to be honest with ourselves. In recent years, too much hate has given too much oxygen, fueling racism, a rise in antisemitism, Islamic-phobia, right here in America.

It’s also intensified in the wake of recent events that led to the horrific threats and attacks that both shock us and break our hearts.

On Oct. 7, terror attacks have triggered deep scars and terrible memories in the Jewish community. Today, Jewish families worried about being targeted in school, wearing symbols of their faith walking down the street, or going out about their daily lives. And I know many of you in the Muslim American community, the Arab American community, the Palestinian American community and so many others are outraged and hardened saying to yourselves, “Here we go again with Islamophobia and the distrust we saw after 9/11.”

Just last week, a mother was brutally stabbed. A little boy here in the United States, a little boy who just turned 6 years old, was murdered in their home outside of Chicago. His name was Wadea. Wadea, a proud American, a proud Palestinian American family.

We can’t stand by and stand silent when this happens. We must without equivocation denounce antisemitism. We must also without equivocation denounce Islamophobia.

And to all you hurting, those of you who are hurting, I want you to know I see you. You belong. And I want to say this to you: You’re all America. You’re all America.

This is in a moment where — you know, in moments like these, when fear and suspicion, anger and rage run hard — that we have to work harder than ever to hold on to the values that make us who we are. We’re a nation of religious freedom, freedom of expression. We all have a right to debate and disagree, without fear of being targeted in schools or workplaces or in our communities.

We must renounce violence and vitriol, see each other not as enemies, but as fellow Americans.

When I was in Israel yesterday, I said that when America experienced the hell of 9/11, we felt enraged as well, and while we sought and got justice, we made mistakes. So I caution the government of Israel not to be blinded by rage.

And here in America, let us not forget who we are. We reject all forms, all forms of hate, whether against Muslims, Jews, or anyone. That’s what great nations do. And we are a great nation.

On Ukraine, I’m asking Congress to make sure we can continue to send Ukraine the weapons they need to defend themselves and their country without interruption, so Ukraine can stop Putin’s brutality in Ukraine.

They are succeeding. When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he would take Kyiv and all of Ukraine in a matter of days. Well over a year later, Putin has failed, and he continues to fail.

Kyiv still stands because the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Ukraine has regained more than 50 percent of the territory Russian troops once occupied. Backed by U.S.-led coalition of more than 50 countries around the world, all doing its part to support Kyiv.

What would happen if we walked away? We are the essential nation.

Meanwhile, Putin has turned to Iran and North Korea to buy attack drones and ammunition to terrorize Ukrainian cities and people.

From the outset, I have said I will not send American troops to fight in Ukraine. All Ukraine is asking for is help, for the weapons, munitions, the capacity, the capability to push invading Russian forces off their land. And the air defense systems to shoot down Russian missiles before they destroy Ukrainian cities.

Let me be clear about something.

We send Ukraine equipment sitting in our stockpiles. And when we use the money allocated by Congress, we use it to replenish our own stores, our own stockpiles, with new equipment. Equipment that defends America and is made in America. Patriot missiles for air defense batteries, made in Arizona. Artillery shells manufactured in 12 states across the country, in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas. And so much more.

You know, just as in World War II, today patriotic American workers are building the arsenal of democracy and serving the cause of freedom.

Let me close with this:

Earlier this year, I boarded Air Force One for a secret flight to Poland. There I boarded a train, with blacked-out windows for a 10-hour ride each way to Kyiv to stand with the people of Ukraine ahead of the one-year anniversary of their brave fight against Putin. I’m told I was the first American to enter a war zone not controlled by the United States military since President Lincoln.

With me was just a small group of security personnel and a few advisers. But when I exited that train and met Zelensky, President Zelensky, I didn’t feel alone. I was bringing with me the idea of America, the promise of America, to the people who are today fighting for the same things we fought for 250 years ago: freedom, independence, self-determination. And as I walked through Kyiv with President Zelensky, with air raid sirens sounding in the distance, I felt something I’ve always believed more strongly than ever before: America is a beacon to the world, still, still.

We are, as my friend Madeleine Albright said, the indispensable nation.

Tonight, there are innocent people all over the world who hope because of us. Who believe in a better life because of us. Who are desperate not to be forgotten by us. And who are waiting for us.

But time is of the essence.

I know we have our divisions at home. We have to get past them. We can’t let petty, partisan, angry politics get in the way of our responsibilities as a great nation. We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win. I refuse to let that happen.

In moments like these, we have to remind — we have to remember who we are. We are the United States of America. The United States of America. And there is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity, if we do it together.

My fellow Americans, thank you for your time. May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.

Saturday, October 20, 1973. The Saturday Night Massacre, Sydney Opera House, and Arab Oil Embargo.

Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox was dismissed by the Administration, and attorney General Elliot L. Richardson and deputy attorney General William B. Ruckelshaus resigned.  Cox was dismissed by Robert Bork, who later became an unsuccessful Supreme Court nominee, but who nonetheless was influential in the philosophy of the current Supreme Court.

The Sydney Opera House was inaugurated and opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

Saudi Arabia and Algeria halted petroleum exports to the U.S., the embargo now becoming a full-blown disaster.

Wednesday, October 20, 1943. Naval events, Polish hero.

A Navy PBY and a Japanese Navy G4M exchanged fire off of Attu.  The unlikely exchange by two non fighter aircraft was the last combat action off of Alaska and the last off of any U.S. territory that would be part of the present fifty states.

Two gasoline tankers collided off of Palm Beach, Florida and exploded, killing 73 people on board one and 43 on board another, far more people than modern ships carry of the same type.  There were 28 survivors.

The United Nations War Crimes Commission was established.

The U-378 was sunk by U.S. aircraft.

From Sarah Sundin's blog:

Today in World War II History—October 20, 1943: 80 Years Ago—Oct. 20, 1943: Germans arrest Polish social worker Irena Sendler for smuggling 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto.

As she notes, Polish resistance bribed camp guards to release her and mark her down as executed. She lived until 2008.

Saturday, October 20, 1923. Kittens at the White House, Cover Art, Coolidge and Girl Scouts.

 

BLM Rock Springs plan. The politicos weigh in.

 

Meanwhile, one local politician from the area says "M'eh" in a Tribune op ed, entitled:

Chestek: Beyond the hyperbole: A rational analysis of BLM’s proposed resource management plan

Proportionality.

Everyone has the right to defend themselves.  Even Pope Francis, who is on the rather liberal end of many things, agrees with this.

But what is proportional to an enemy who has vowed to murder the populace and demonstrated that intent with murdering babies?

And let us be honest.  The claim, "the majority of Palestinian people do not support Hamas" is pretty much equivalent to "most Germans weren't Nazi's", isn't it?  It's thin.  Indeed, maybe for those in the Middle East today, it has even less credibility.  Certainly here in the US, in spite of separation from the artificial boundaries of the legacy of the Ottoman Empire and the Great War, plenty of Palestinians and their first generation descendants have rallied to the bloody cause as so many Palestinians have in the past, demonstrating that lamenting the results of bad decisions seems to be an intergenerational habit.

Congressman Rashida Tlaib, who was quick to accuse the IDF of rocketing a Palestinian hospital that in fact Islamic Jihad, which would regard her as an abhorrent example of a woman who should be out of government, accidentally rocketed.

But does that matter?

And did it in 1945?

And let us be further honest. The concept of proportionality is a Christian one.  No other culture worries about it to the same extent that Christian ones do, and if it is now a global concept, it's' due in no small measure to Christianity.  Everyone protesting for proportionality does so in hopes that it reaches a Christian audience. The historical global norm, outside of Judaism and Christianity (and I'll confess ignorance on Islam), was for slaughter.

It's the Christian influence that's made it unacceptable.  For pagan people, and non-Abrahamic people?  Well, that was what was done.

So we are left, then, with what is proportionality?

Was destroying Berlin in 1945 proportional to the Nazi genocidal imperial regimes?  Or would it have been better to say, well, not all Germans were Nazis?  Or did that, with a threat like Nazism, not really matter that much?

Questions that have to be answered. And the namby pampy "let's condemn overreaction" have to answer them most of all.

Or does it?

Does staying a hand, display more strength than using it? Turn, as it were, the other cheek?

And can we, even with the descent into liberal secularism, which seems to solely involve what's under our Fruit of the Looms, avoid answering them, in real, bloody, terms, rather than platitudes?

I offer no solutions, or answers.

I'm only posing the questions.  With, of course, the proviso that if you answer wrong, there's blood on your hands, one away, or the other.

Echoes in eternity.

Quod in vita facimus, in aeternum resonat (What we do now echoes in eternity).

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Mid Week at Work: The Aerodrome: Helicopter lifting linemen.

The Aerodrome: Helicopter lifting linemen.: 

Helicopter lifting linemen.

You have to look carefully to see them, but this helicopter (I don't know the model) is lifting two linemen to check the power line in the photograph.

Friday, October 19, 1973. The Oil Embargo spreads.

Libya announced that it would completely halt oil exports to the United States.  The U.S. Federal Reserve regards this as the beginning of the full Arab Oil Embargo.

President Nixon rejected the Appeals Court decision that he turn over tapes to Federal investigators.  Instead, he proposed to have them transcribed, and then reviewed by Democratic Senator John C. Stennis.  Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox rejected the offer and resigned the following day.

Solutions for the Yom Kippur War were being discussed on an international level.

Elizabeth II, on a trip to Australian, signed the Royal Styles and Titles Act and assumed the title of "Queen of Australia".  She had previously been "Elizabeth the second, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom, Australia and her other realms and territories, queen, head of the Commonwealth.".

Sunday, October 19, 1943. Prisoner Exchange.

For the first time in the war, the United Kingdom and Germany engaged in a prisoner exchange.  4,340 Allied POWs, all sick or injured, were exchanged for 835 German POWs.  The Swedish Red Cross supervised the exchange, which took place in Sweden.  Seventeen Americans were included in the group.

On the same day, Allied aircraft sank the German-controlled cargo ship MS Sinfra in the Mediterranean.  Ironically, the 2,000 casualties were mostly Italian internees.

The Red Army broke out of the Kremenchug bridgehead.

Paul Robeson.

Paul Robeson made his Broadway debut, portraying Othello.  Robeson was a great singer, and a great, if tortured and misguided, intellect.  He obtained a law degree from Columbia Law School in 1923 while playing for hte NFL, which was integrated far earlier than baseball was.

Streptomycin was first isolated in a laboratory.

Blog Mirror: A guide to every beret worn by American service member

 

A guide to every beret worn by American service member

Blog Mirror: LSAC Will Eliminate Logic Games From LSAT In 2024!

 

LSAC Will Eliminate Logic Games From LSAT In 2024!

Cry Havoc, and let slip the cats of war.

 Ukrainian drone pilot and cat.

Random snippets. Another thing that Biden will oddly not get any credit for.

 

As an aside, Sinaloa has ordered its fentanyl producers to stop making it under penalty of death in order to avoid increasing U.S. law enforcement.

Thursday, October 18, 1973. Creeping embargo and I go Pogo.

The IDF recrossing the Suez Canal.  The artillery pieces are M107's, a heavy US artillery piece much loved by the IDF. Amos1947, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Saudi Arabia cut its oil production by 10% and threatened to halt all of its oil shipments to the United States unless the US halt aid to Israel.  The United Arab Emirates completely stopped shipments to the U.S.

The Chilean Army's Caravan of Death, led by General Sergio Arellano, arrived in Antofagasta and summarily executed 56 left wing prisoners.  Military Governor of Antofagasta, General Joaquin Lagos, resigned in disgust, which actually brought to an end the Caravan.

Walt Kelly, cartoonist who started his career with Disney and the created Pogo, died of a cerebral thrombosis.

Pogo often dealt with serious themes and famously coined the phrase "we have met the enemy and he is us", a phrase truer now than ever.  "I go Pogo" was a bogus election phrases making fun of Eisenhower's "I like Ike" that also was associated with the cartoon.

Monday, October 18, 1943. Jewish Romans transported to Auschwitz.

Germany transported Roman Jews to Auschwitz.   Rome had one of the oldest Jewish populations in Europe.

Japan transferred four provinces of British Malaya to its ally Thailand.

Perry Mason was broadcast on the CBS Radio Network for the first time.  It would run until December 20, 1955.

Thursday, October 18, 1923. Country music

Wendell Hall, popular early country music artist.  October 18, 1923.

The Saxon government rejected the Müller ultimatum.

Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist. 48th Edition. Freaking out over the Polish election.

Goodness we live in strange times.

Lex Anteinternet: 2023 Elections In Other Countries.

: 

October 16, 2023

Left and center left parties took   248 seats in the 460-seat lower house of the Polish parliament, compared to the 200 taken by the governing Law and Justice party and 12 by a right wing partner.  

The government of Poland will accordingly change in the first European defeat of the king of right wing populism/National Conservatism that most notably emerged in Hungary and recently can be imperfectly argued to have gained ground in several other European countries.  It had made statements about openly following Hungary's lead.  As recently as 2019 it was gaining ground.

And it might still be.  Parliamentary politics are not the same as republican politics. The Law and Justice Party still was the largest vote getter, and the number of votes for it increased.  Effectively, it has 212 seats to 248 seats held by various other opposition parties that cross a political spectrum.  A government still has to be assembled and it will remain a major voice in the parliament.

If you read Twitter, amongst a certain group this is being portrayed as the end of the world, or more particularly Europe.  Now Muslim hoards and liberal sworms will eliminate European civilization from the face of the earth.

For goodness’ sake, no matter what you think of this, this is a pretty closely run election, and the Law & Justice Party has lost the government before.  To at least some degree, it seems some Poles feared it was going down Trump Lane, or more particularly Orvan Lane, towards contempt of democracy itself, and it lost for that reason.

Blog Mirror: As ominous threats rise, the U.S. is mired in moronic, clownish politics

 

As ominous threats rise, the U.S. is mired in moronic, clownish politics

Wednesday, October 17, 1973. The Arab Oil Embargo begins.

OPEC having doubled prices the day prior, Arab oil producing nations, led by Saudi Arabia, now went further and cut production overall by 5% and then placed an embargo on the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, West Germany,  Japan, Rhodesia, South Africa, and Portugal.  Western oil producers Venezuela nor Ecuador refused to join the embargo.

This causes us to recall part of what we recently posted here:

Friday, October 12, 1973. President Nixon commences a transfer of military equipment that leads to a Wyoming oil boom.

Congressman Gerald Ford was nominated to be Vice President by Richard Nixon.  

Also on that day, President Nixon authorized Operation Nickel Grass, the airlift of weapons to Israel.

 

M60 tank being loaded as part of Operation Nickel Grass

The operation revealed severe problems with the U.S. airlift capacity and would likely have not been possible without the assistance of Portugal, whose Azores facilities reduced the need for air-to-air refueling.  The transfer of equipment would also leave the United States dangerously short of some sorts of military equipment, including radios, something that was compounded by the fact that the U.S. was transferring a large volume of equipment to the Republic of Vietnam at the same time.

This would directly result in the Arab Oil Embargo, which had been threatened. The embargo commenced on October 17.  

U.S. oil production had peaked in 1970.  Oil imports rose by 52% between 1969 and 1972, an era when fuel efficiency was disregarded.  By 1972 the U.S. was importing 83% of its oil from the Middle East, but the real cost of petroleum had declined from the late 1950s.

The low cost of petroleum was a major factor in American post-war affluence from the mid 1940s through the 1960s.  The embargo resulted in a major expansion of Wyoming's oil and gas industry, and in some ways fundamentally completed a shift in the state's economy that had been slowly ongoing since World War One, replacing agriculture with hydrocarbon extraction as the predominant industry.

We often hear a lot of anecdotal information about this topic today.  

In this context, it's interesting to note that petroleum consumption is not much greater today in the U.S. than it was in 1973, but domestic production is the highest, by far, it's ever been.  Importation of petroleum is falling, but it's also higher than it was in 1973, but exportation of petroleum is the highest it's ever been, exceeding the amount produced in 1973.  If experts are balanced against imports, we're at an effective all-time low for importation.  In effect, presently, all we're doing with importation is balancing sources.

People hate this thought locally, but with renewable energy sources coming online, there's a real chance that petroleum consumption will fall for the first time since the 1970s, which would have the impact of reducing imports to irrelevancy.  Any way its looked at, the U.S. is no hostage to Middle Eastern oil any more.

It turned out that Europe wasn't hostage to Russian hydrocarbons either, so all of this reflects a fundamental shift in the world's economy.

Price has certainly changed over time.

Juan and Isabel Person were sworn into office as the elected president and vice president of Argentina

Judge John Sirica ruled that the Senate Watergate Committee was not entitled to have access to President Nixon's tape recordings, but that the U.S. Department of Justice special prosecutor, Archibald Cox, could subpoena them as evidence.

Motorola Corporation's engineer's filed for a patent on the DynaTAC, the first hand-held cellular telephone.  It would be issued two years later and our long modern nightmare would accelerate.

The DynaTAC would not enter production until 1983.

The Mets took game four of the World Series against the A's.  I surely would have watched that on the television with my father.

Sunday, October 17, 1943. The Burma Railway completed.

The German surface raider Michel was torpedoed and sunk off of Japan by the USS Tarpon.  On the same day the German's lost the U-540, U-631 and U-841 in the Atlantic.

The Burma Railway, constructed with Asian slave labor and Allied POWs, was completed.

Tamils working on the bridge.

The railway may be best remembered today due to the fairly inaccurate movie, The Bridge On the River Kwai, which is nonetheless a great movie.

POW illustration of the construction of Bridge 227 across the Kwai.

A second concrete bridge replaced the original wooden bridge shortly after its construction. It was destroyed by the RAF in February 1945.  Shortly after the war, most of the original railway was dismantled and only the original 81 miles remains in use.

The Third Moscow Conference begins.

It would begin to work on the post-war world.

Chicago began running its subway for the first time.

Wednesday, October 17, 1923. Germany acts against the Proletarian Hundreds.

The Reichswehr was ordered into Saxony and Thuringia and the Saxon police force federalized.  It's commander,  General Alfred Müller demanded that Saxon Prime Minister Eric Zeigner order his economics minister Paul Böttcher to disavow a statement that called for the arming of the communist paramilitary organization Proletarian Hundreds.

Mrs. Coolidge enjoyed some cookies with the Girl Scouts.

Reality and platitudes.

 Years ago, mostly on neo-hippy cars, I'd see bumper stickers that said; "Free Tibet".  The same cars would be festooned and bedecked with all sorts of liberal stickers, such as "Save the whales" and the like.

In the real world freeing Tibet would take a military effort of gigantic proportions, if not an outright nucelar war.

You can choose to deal with reality, but anyway you look at it, reality is going to deal with you.

There's a lot of unrealistic thinking going on regarding the current Hamas Israel War outside the country.

One thing that we're seeing a lot of are pleas that Israel not do anything that harms average Palestinians.  More sophisticated thinkers, which most of these people are not, would argue the law of proportionality, which is that a violent armed effort against you does not invite a disproportionate response.

To put it uncomfortably for Americans, the Japanese attacking a U.S. Navy installation at Pearl Harbor does not invite murdering thousands of people through a nuclear device.

Having said that, nations, like people, have a right to self-defense, and Hamas clearly intends to murder the Jews in Israel.

They have to address that, and therefore they have to address Hamas. That means they have to go into Gaza and that action will kill civilians no matter what.

The real world.

I'm glad that I'm not the one who has to try to balance the moral scale here.  Some will argue that the solution is to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza, but that would be wrong.  Some would argue that the solution is to resume the administration of Gaza to preclude it from reviving as a terrorist enclave.  Is that wrong?

And in terms of right and wrong, it's interesting how the appeal is largely from people in Christian societies regarding a largely Islamic society.  Overall, concerns that the response will be disproportionate came from Christians, Christian influenced people, and Jews.  There isn't very much Islamic concern about proportionality.  Rather, it's "we've been occupied . . . " which is an accusation against an Israeli punitive action by a terrorist intervention done on their behalf, which they seem reluctant at best to disavow.  On the ground, Islamic societies aren't doing anything obvious to make this better.  They aren't opening their borders to Palestinians impacted by the war. Iran is threatening to "become involved" in the war which they went a long ways to helping bring about.

None of this is a reason not to be concerned, let alone to pray for peace, but it's also not a excuse to consider the grim realities of this sitaution.

Blog Mirror: Do you have to be a thug to be speaker or president?

 

Do you have to be a thug to be speaker or president?

Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land

The Diocese of Cheyenne is asking Catholics in the Diocese to pray for Peace in the Holy Land, and has issued this prayer.

Pray for Peace in the Holy Land

Lord God, merciful and strong,

     who crush wars and cast down the proud,

     who extend mercy and tenderness to all,

we pray to you for the Holy Land, for the people of Israel and Palestine

     who are under the grip of unprecedented violence,

     for the victims, especially the children and their families.

Be pleased to grant healing for the wounded, the release of hostages,

     protection for the innocent, and eternal peace to the dead.

To all those affected by war, grant healing, consolation, and the grace to forgive.

Almighty God,

     guide the minds of world leaders to act with wisdom, prudence, and justice,

     and to promote the common good.

Lord of Justice, help us to commit ourselves to building a fraternal world

     so that these peoples and all those suffering similar conditions of

     conflict, instability, and violence may walk together as sisters and brothers.

Help us to be peacemakers by practicing justice, dialogue, and reconciliation.

O God of Peace, who are peace itself,

     grant that those in conflict may forget evil and so be healed.

Help those who have experienced violence to forgive their enemies,

     as Christ taught us and after his example on the cross.

We pray that the whole of humanity may be reconciled as one family,

     without violence, without absurd wars, and with a fraternal spirit,

      and live united in peace and concord.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Extremism.

However, the siren song of extremism is seductive. It offers a sanctuary where the human mind can take it easy and just go with the flow of some belief system imposed by others. Extremism requires no mental labor, just blind obedience.

Rod Miller. 

Tuesday, October 16, 1973. Doubling the price of oil and false peace.

OPEC doubled the price of oil from $2.18/bbl to $5.12/bbl.  It didn't consult with the oil companies before doing so, and in some ways initiated in the modern, post, post World War Two, economy.

$5.12?  Yes, that's what it was.

That would be $33.75 adjusted for inflation.

The UK and Iceland came to an agreement to end the Cod War.

Henry Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  The North Vietnamese negotiation, however, did not accept it, stating:

However, since the signing of the Paris agreement, the United States and the Saigon administration continue in grave violation of a number of key clauses of this agreement. The Saigon administration, aided and encouraged by the United States, continues its acts of war. Peace has not yet really been established in South Vietnam. In these circumstances it is impossible for me to accept the 1973 Nobel Prize for Peace which the committee has bestowed on me. Once the Paris accord on Vietnam is respected, the arms are silenced and a real peace is established in South Vietnam, I will be able to consider accepting this prize. With my thanks to the Nobel Prize Committee please accept, madame, my sincere respects.

Saturday, October 16, 1943. Arrest of Roman Jews.

German police arrested 1,259 Jews in Rome. 252 were subsequently released.  Unlike in France, the Germans did not attempt to use Italian police, as they were deemed unreliable.

News of the impending arrest had caused many others to previously take refuge with non-Jewish friends or in Catholic churches and institutions.

Approximately 1500 people from the US and 1500 people from Japan were at the start of a repatriation process as the  MS Gripsholm and theTeia Maru, docked alongside of each other at the Portuguese Indian port of Mormugao.

The U-470, U-533, U-844 and U-964 were  sunk.

The B-25D 'Red Wrath' of the 498th 'Falcons' Bomb Squadron, 345th 'Air Apaches' Bomb Group bombing Japanese anti-aircraft sites, Wewak & Boram, New Guinea, October 16, 1943.

Today in World War II History—October 16, 1943: After transfer from Italy, US Ninth Air Force is re-formed as a tactical force at Sunninghill, England, under Lt. Gen. Lewis Brereton . . . 

From Sarah Sundin's blog, which also includes a variety of other interesting events not noted here.

Tuesday, October 16, 1923. Disney formed.

Early Disney character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

Walt and Roy Disney signed a contract with Alice Comedies to produce cartoons and formed Disney Brothers Studios to do the work.

The patent for a dropped ceiling was issued to Eric E. Hall.

Bavaria banned Communist organizations.

Saint Porphyrius of Gaza

 

Friday, October 15, 1943. Flight 63.

American Airlines Flight 63 crashed near Centerville, Tennessee, killing all ten people on board.

The aircraft involved.

The CAB found:

Inability of the aircraft to gain or maintain altitude due to carburetor ice or propeller ice or wing ice of some combination of these icing conditions while over terrain and in weather unsuitable for an emergency landing.... Weather conditions which, had their nature been anticipated, should have precluded the dispatch of the flight in an aircraft not equipped with wing or propeller deicing equipment.

 Civil Aeronautics Board, CAB File No. 4889-43

The British 8th Army took Vinchiaturo.

The British also reestablished their base at Spitzbergen.

The Japanese staged an air raid on Oro Bay, New Guinea, but sustained heavy losses.

Monday, October 15, 1923. The Declaration of Forty Six. Teapot Dome Hearings begin.

The Yankees won the World Series, beating the Giants in game six 4 to 2.

Germany issued new currency, scheduled on the prewar gold backed Mark, but backed by land and businesses which were subject to a forced mortgage.

Forty Six members of the Soviet Communist Party signed a declaration regarding their concerns about the party.  It stated:

15 October 1923

Top Secret

TO THE POLITBURO OF THE CC OF THE RCP(b)

The extreme seriousness of the situation forces us (in the interests of our party, in the interests of the working class) to tell you openly that continuation of the policy of the majority of the Politburo threatens the entire party with grave misfortune. The economic and financial crisis beginning at the end of July this year, with all the political consequences flowing from it, including those within the party, has mercilessly revealed the inadequacy of the party leadership, both in the economic realm, and especially in the area of inner-party relations.

The haphazard, poorly thought through, and unsystematic decisions of the CC, which hasn't made ends meet in the economy, have led to a situation where, given the presence of undoubtedly major successes in the realm of industry, agriculture, finances and transport, - successes which were achieved by the economy of the nation spontaneously, not thanks to but in spite of the inadequate leadership, or, to be more precise, the absence of any leadership, - we are faced not only with the perspective of the halting of these successes, but with a severe crisis of the economy as a whole.

Chervonets 1922

We stand before the approaching break-down of the chervonets currency, which spontaneously turned into the basic currency before the liquidation of the budget deficit; we face a credit crisis in which the State Bank cannot, without the risk of severe shocks, finance not only industry and the trade of industrial goods, but even the purchase of grain for export; we face the cessation of the sale of industrial goods because of high prices, which can be explained, on the one hand, by the complete absence of planned, organizational leadership in industry, and on the other, by incorrect credit policy; we face the impossibility of carrying out the grain export program because of the inability to purchase grain; we face extremely low prices for food products, which are ruinous for the peasantry and which threaten massive cutbacks in agricultural production; we face the interruption of wage payments, which evokes the natural dissatisfaction of the workers; we face budget chaos, which directly creates chaos in the government apparatus; "revolutionary" means of cutbacks in drawing up the budget and new, unplanned cutbacks during its realization have gone from being temporary measures to a permanent phenomenon, which relentlessly jolts the state apparatus and, as a result of the absence of planning in the cutbacks - causes accidental and spontaneous shocks to it.

The Scissors: retail and wholesale prices of agricultural and industrial goods in the Soviet Union July 1922 to November 1923.

All these are elements of an economic, credit and financial crisis which has already begun. If we do not immediately take extensive, well thought out, planned and energetic measures, if the present lack of leadership continues, we face the possibility of unusually sharp economic shocks, inevitably bound up with domestic political complications and with the complete paralysis of our foreign activity and capability. And the latter, as everyone understands, is now more necessary than ever before; upon it depends the fate of the world revolution and the working class of all countries.

In precisely the same way, we see in the realm of inner-party relations the same incorrect leadership, paralyzing and demoralizing the party, which is particularly clearly felt during the crisis we are passing through.

We explain this not by the political incapability of the present party leaders; on the contrary, no matter how much we differ with them in evaluating the situation and in choosing the methods to change it, we think that today's leaders under any conditions couldn't help but be appointed by the party to leading posts in the workers' dictatorship. Rather we explain it by the fact that, under the guise of official unity, we actually have a one-sided selection of personnel, who can adapt to the views and sympathies of a narrow circle, and a one-sided direction of activity. As a result of the party leadership being distorted by such narrow considerations, the party has to a significant degree ceased to be that living, independent collective which is sensitive to the changes in living reality, precisely because it is connected with thousands of threads to this reality. Instead of this, we observe an ever progressing, barely disguised division of the party into a secretarial hierarchy and into "laymen", into professional party functionaries, chosen from above, and the other party masses, who take no part in social life.

This is a fact which is well known to every member of the party. Members of the party who are dissatisfied with this or that directive from the CC or even a provincial committee, or who are plagued by doubts, or who have noted "to themselves" various mistakes, things out of line or disorder of some sort, are afraid to speak about it at party gatherings; even worse, they are afraid to talk to one another unless they consider their interlocutor to be absolutely reliable, in the sense of not being "talkative"; free discussion within the party has virtually disappeared, party public opinion has been stifled. Now it is not the party, it is not the party's broad masses who nominate and choose provincial conferences and party congresses, which in turn nominate and choose provincial committees and the Central Committee of the RCP. On the contrary, it is the secretarial hierarchy, the party hierarchy which to an ever greater degree chooses the delegates to the conferences and congresses, which to an ever greater degree are becoming the executive conferences of this hierarchy. The regime which has been established within the party is absolutely intolerable; it is killing the independence of the party, replacing the party with a selected bureaucratic apparatus which functions smoothly during normal times, but which inevitably misfires during moments of crisis, and which threatens to become absolutely helpless when confronted with the serious events which lie ahead.

The situation which has developed is explained by the fact that the regime of fractional dictatorship within the party which unfolded after the Xth Congress has outlived itself. Many of us consciously chose not to resist such a regime. The about-face of 1921, followed by Lenin's illness, demanded, as far as some of us were concerned, a dictatorship within the party as a temporary measure. Other comrades from the very beginning reacted to it skeptically or opposed it. In any case, by the XIIth Party Congress this regime had become obsolete. It began to show the other side of the coin. The inner-party bonds began to weaken. The party began to wither. Extreme oppositional, even openly unhealthy, tendencies within the party began to take on an anti-party character, for there was no inner-party, comradely discussion of the most acute questions. And such a discussion could have revealed, without any difficulty, the unhealthy character of these tendencies, both to the party masses, and to the majority of their participants. As a result, we have seen the formation of illegal groupings, which draw party members away from the party, and we have witnessed the party losing contact with the working masses.

If the situation which has developed is not radically changed in the very near future, the economic crisis in Soviet Russia and the crisis of the fractional dictatorship within the party will strike heavy blows to the workers' dictatorship in Russia and to the Russian Communist Party. With such a burden on its shoulders, the dictatorship of the proletariat in Russia, and its leader, the RCP, cannot enter the field of the impending new international shocks in any other way than with the perspective of failure along the entire front of proletarian struggle. Of course, it would at first glance be easiest of all to resolve the question in the following sense: in view of the situation, there is not and there cannot be any place now for raising the questions of changing the party's course, of placing on the agenda new and complex tasks, etc., etc. But it is absolutely clear that such a point of view would be a position of officially closing one's eyes to the actual situation, since the entire danger lies in the fact that there is no genuine ideological or practical unity in the face of exceedingly complex domestic and foreign situations. In the party, the more silently and secretly the struggle is waged, the more ferocious it becomes. If we raise this question before the Central Committee, then it is precisely in order to find the swiftest and most painless resolution of the contradictions which are tearing the party apart, and to rapidly place the party on healthy foundations. We need real unity in discussions and in actions. The impending ordeals require the unanimous, fraternal, absolutely conscious, extremely energetic, and extremely unified activity of all the members of our party.

The fractional regime must be eliminated, and this must be done first of all by those who have created it; it must be replaced by a regime of comradely unity and inner-party democracy.

In order to realize all that has been outlined above, and to take the necessary measures to extricate ourselves from the economic, political and party crisis, we propose that the CC, as a first and most urgent step, call a conference of members of the CC with the most prominent and active party cadres, in order that the list of those invited include a number of comrades who have views concerning the situation which differ from the views of the majority of the CC.

E. Preobrazhensky

B. Breslav

L. Serebriakov

While not agreeing with certain points in this letter explaining the causes of the situation which has developed, and feeling that the party has come up against problems which cannot fully be resolved by the methods employed up until now, I fully endorse the final conclusion of the present letter.

A. Beloborodov 11 October 1923

I am in complete agreement with the proposals, although I differ with several points concerning motives.

A. Rosengolts

M. Alsky

In general, I share the thoughts of this appeal. The need for a direct and open approach to all our sore points is so overdue, that I fully support the proposal to call the indicated conference, in order to choose the practical ways capable of leading us out of the accumulated difficulties.

Antonov-Ovseenko

A. Venediktov

I. N. Smirnov

G. Piatakov

V. Obolensky (Osinsky)

N. Muralov

T. Sapronov

A. Goltsman

The situation in the party and the international situation are such that they demand the extraordinary concentration and unity of party forces more than ever before. While ascribing to the declaration, I view it exclusively as an attempt to create unity in the party and to prepare it for upcoming events. Naturally, at the present moment there can be no talk of inner-party struggle in any form whatsoever. It is necessary for the CC to soberly assess the situation and to adopt urgent measures to eliminate dissatisfaction within the party, as well as within the non-party masses.

12 October 1923. A. Goltsman

11 October 1923. V. Maksimovsky

L. Sosnovsky

Danishevsky

P. Mesyatsev

G. Khorechko

I do not agree with a number of assessments in the first part of the declaration; I do not agree with a number of characterizations of the inner-party situation. At the same time I am deeply convinced that the state of the party demands the adopting of radical measures, for things are not well in the party at the present time. I fully share the practical proposal.

A. Bubnov 11 October 1923

A. Voronsky

V. Smirnov

E. Bosh

I. Byk

V. Kosior

F. Lokatskov

I am in complete agreement with the evaluation of the economic situation. I consider the weakening of the political dictatorship at the present moment to be dangerous, but things must be aired out. I find a conference to be absolutely necessary.

Kaganovich

Drobnis

P. Kovalenko

A. E. Minkin

V. Yakovleva

I am in complete agreement with the practical proposals.

B. Eltsin

I sign with the same reservations as comrade Bubnov.

M. Levitin

I sign with the same reservations as Bubnov, sharing neither the form, nor the tone, which all the more convinces me to agree with the practical part of the given declaration.

I. Poliudov

O. Shmidel

V. Vaganian

I. Stukov

A. Lobanov

R. Farbman

S. Vasilchenko

Mikh. Zhakov

A. Puzakov

N. Nikolaev

Since during recent times I have been somewhat removed from the work of the party centers, I abstain from the judgements of the two leading paragraphs of the introductory part; I agree with the rest.

Averin

I am in agreement with the part outlining the economic and political situation of the country. I feel that in the part which depicts the inner-party situation, a certain exaggeration has been allowed. It is absolutely necessary to immediately take measures to preserve the unity of the party.

M. Boguslavsky

I am not fully in agreement with the first part, which speaks about the economic situation of the country; the latter is indeed very serious and demands great attention, but up until now the party has not advanced people who would have been able to lead better than those who have been leading until now. Regarding the question of the inner-party situation, I feel that there is a significant portion of truth in everything which has been said, and I consider it necessary to take emergency measures.

F. Dudnik

Most of them would end up with bullets in the back of their heads during Stalin's long reign.

Jal P. Bapasola, Rustom B. Bhumgara and Adi B. Hakim set out from Bombay with the goal of bicycling around the world, which they would achieve by March 18, 1928.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Public Lands and Surveys began hearings on California and Teapot Dome oil leases.

Equine transport, Ireland, October 15, 1923.