My frank reaction is, "so what"?
A large scale air raid on the 400 year old Monte Cassino involving B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s reduced the abbey to rubble, but highly defensible rubble. Not a single German defender was injured in the raid.
It was an example of the gross overestimation of the effectiveness of air power in this context, and a human tragedy as well.
The Soviets commence the first Narva Offensive.
The Japanese cruiser Agono was badly damaged north of Truk by the USS Skate. It would sink two days later.
U.S. Marines landed at Ampala, Honduras, during the Honduran Civil War.
U.S. Senator Frank L. Greene was wounded by a stray bullet when he was walking on Pennsylvanian Avenue in Washington, D. C. The shot had been fired in a shootout between bootleggers and Federal agents. He never fully recovered.
The jury in Joe Jackson's case against the White Sox awarded him $16,000 in back pay. The Judge, however, decreed that the award was based on perjured testimony and set the verdict aside. Jackson nonetheless felt himself vindicated.
German emergency powers, which had existed since December 8, lapsed, returning the government to its normal procedures.
The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company renamed itself the International Business Machines Corporation.
IBM.
Mexican Federal troops defeated rebels near Paloverde.
A Soviet court revoked Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's citizenship and ordered him expelled from the USSR. He was placed on an Aeroflot flight to West Germany with only the clothes on is back.
His family was left in the Soviet Union.
The following day, the Soviet Ministry of Culture directed libraries containing One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich to remove them.
The novel is one of my favorites.
Last prior:
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The Norwegian cargo ship Henry and passenger ship Irma were sunk off Kristiansund by two ships of the Royal Norwegian Navy due to their not having markings, according to the Royal Norwegian Navy.
The sinking became controversial, and remains so.
The USS Macaw ran aground at Midway and sank.
The U.S. 14th Air Force raided Hong Kong.
The Germans assassinated Cretan resistance fighter Yiannis Dramoutanis.
The Red Army took Luga, Polna and Lyady. Trapped German units pulled out of Korsun-Sevchenkosky late in the day, but did not break out of encirclement.
Winnie the Pooh debuted as Mr. Edward Bear in the pages of Punch. The work was When We Were Very Young.
Congress decided to try to regulate the employment of very young labor.
And this in the form of a Constitutional Amendment called the Child Labor Amendment.
It would pass Congress, but it failed to secure the necessary state ratification. Most of its provisions were later incorporated into law in any event. It'd likely be regarded as obsolete today, and the fact that the same provisions were adopted by law provides a lesson to later day supporters of the moribund ERA. Having said that, recent runs at child labor by some members of the GOP provide a bit of a lesson as well.
German nationalist attacked the headquarters of Rhineland separatists in Pimassens. Thirty-six people were killed in the event.
British fascists met at the Hotel Cecil in London.
Former Chicago White House outfielder Oscar "Happy" Felsch was arrested for perjury, following his prior day's testimony in Shoeless Joe Jackson's back wages trial. White Sox lawyers in the intervening 24 hours produced letters that contradicted Felsch's testimony.
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Only the dead have seen the end of war.
Executive Order on Imposing Certain Sanctions on Persons Undermining Peace, Security, and Stability in the West BankBy the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) and section 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 8 U.S.C. 1185(a)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, find that the situation in the West Bank — in particular high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction — has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East region. These actions undermine the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution and ensuring Israelis and Palestinians can attain equal measures of security, prosperity, and freedom. They also undermine the security of Israel and have the potential to lead to broader regional destabilization across the Middle East, threatening United States personnel and interests. For these reasons, these actions constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat. Accordingly, I hereby order:Section 1. All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in:(a) any foreign person determined by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:(i) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, any of the following:(A) actions — including directing, enacting, implementing, enforcing, or failing to enforce policies — that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the West Bank; or(B) planning, ordering, otherwise directing, or participating in any of the following actions affecting the West Bank:(1) an act of violence or threat of violence targeting civilians;(2) efforts to place civilians in reasonable fear of violence with the purpose or effect of necessitating a change of residence to avoid such violence;(3) property destruction; or(4) seizure or dispossession of property by private actors;(ii) to be or have been a leader or official of:(A) an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, any of the activities described in subsections (a) or (b) of this section related to the leader’s or official’s tenure; or(B) an entity whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order as a result of activities relating to the leader’s or official’s tenure;(iii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, any person blocked pursuant to this order; or(iv) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person blocked pursuant to this order; or(b) any foreign person determined by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury:(i) to have committed or have attempted to commit, to pose a significant risk of committing, or to have participated in training to commit acts of terrorism affecting the West Bank; or(ii) to be a leader or official of an entity sanctioned pursuant to subsection (b)(i) of this section.Sec. 2. The prohibitions in section 1 of this order apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the date of this order.Sec. 3. The prohibitions in section 1 of this order include:(a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.Sec. 4. (a) The unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of noncitizens determined to meet one or more of the criteria in section 1 of this order would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and the entry of such persons into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, is hereby suspended, except when the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, determines that the person’s entry would not be contrary to the interests of the United States, including when the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, so determines, based on a recommendation of the Attorney General, that the person’s entry would further important United States law enforcement objectives.(b) The Secretary of State shall implement this order as it applies to visas pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may establish.(c) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement this order as it applies to the entry of noncitizens pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may establish.(d) Such persons shall be treated by this section in the same manner as persons covered by section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to United Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).Sec. 5. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.Sec. 6. I hereby determine that the making of donations of the types of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 of this order.Sec. 7. For the purposes of this order:(a) the term “entity” means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization;(b) the term “noncitizen” means any person who is not a citizen or noncitizen national of the United States;(c) the term “person” means an individual or entity;(d) the term “United States person” means any United States citizen, lawful permanent resident, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States; and(e) the term “terrorism” means an activity that:(i) involves a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, property, or infrastructure; and(ii) appears to be intended:(A) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;(B) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or(C) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, kidnapping, or hostage-taking.Sec. 8. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked or affected by this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds and other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render those measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in this order, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to this order.Sec. 9. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of these functions within the Department of the Treasury. All executive departments and agencies of the United States shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to implement this order.Sec. 10. Nothing in this order shall prohibit transactions for the conduct of the official business of the Federal Government or the United Nations (including its specialized agencies, programs, funds, and related organizations) by employees, grantees, and contractors thereof.Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is authorized to submit recurring and final reports to the Congress on the national emergency declared in this order, consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).Sec. 12. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.THE WHITE HOUSE,February 1, 2024.
More Border Support: Governor Ron DeSantis Sends Additional Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard to Assist Texas.
On February 1, 2024, in News Releases, by StaffNational Guardsmen and State Guard Soldiers will join FHP, FWC and FDLE officers already assisting Texas at the southern borderTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida is deploying members of the Florida National Guard (FLNG) and members of the Florida State Guard (FSG) will be deployed to assist Texas in its efforts to stop the invasion at the southern border. Florida is offering up to a battalion of National Guard members (approximately 1,000 soldiers) to Texas, who will be deployed based on Texas’ needs. For more information about the announcement, click here.These deployments are in addition to the more than 90 officers from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) that are currently deployed to the border. Additional law enforcement resources are standing by and ready to deploy as requested by Texas state officials. In December, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data showed that more than 302,000 illegal immigrants were encountered attempting to cross the southern border – the highest month ever recorded.“States have every right to defend their sovereignty and we are pleased to increase our support to Texas as the Lone Star State works to stop the invasion across the border,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Our reinforcements will help Texas to add additional barriers, including razor wire along the border. We don’t have a country if we don’t have a border.”“This is not a new mission for us. For several years we have supported border security missions in Texas, to include both federal and state deployments,” said Major General John D. Haas, The Adjutant General of Florida. “Last spring the Florida National Guard was one of the first in the nation to deploy rotations of soldiers to support Operation Lone Star in Texas, and we have proudly and readily supported our own state’s efforts in similar roles here in Florida.”“The Florida State Guard is prepared to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with state agency partners in direct support of our brothers and sisters in Texas grappling with an unprecedented surge of illegal immigration along their border,” said Florida State Guard Director Mark Thieme. “The Florida State Guard is postured to deliver rapid emergency response, public safety operations and humanitarian assistance — wherever the need arises.”Since 2021, Florida has provided direct law enforcement and military assistance to Texas, including FLNG, which supported the Texas Military Department through mission sets including static observation points, roving patrols and engineer assistance with obstacle improvement. FHP has made contact with nearly 150,000 illegal aliens, conducted over 27,000 traffic stops, resulting in 2,102 Human Smuggling or Human Trafficking charges with 2,278 overall arrests.FDLE has sent rotations of officers to assist the Texas Department of Public Safety with arrests of violent felony suspects including gang members. Suspects were arrested on various Texas state charges including human smuggling, burglary, firearms, smuggling of persons, smuggling of persons with a firearm, child endangerment, escape from federal custody and possession of controlled substance. FWC has deployed a total of 540 FWC personnel, 525 four-wheel drive patrol trucks and 24 vessels.In Fiscal Year 2023, CBP recorded 2.5 million encounters – surpassing last year’s record. This includes 169 illegal immigrants on the terror watch list attempting to cross the southern border. Since Biden took office, more than 10 million illegal immigrants have crossed the border, including more than 1.7 million known gotaways. In December alone, roughly 260 million lethal doses of fentanyl were seized at the border.
Russia v. NATO
General Gheorghiță Vlad, Romania's chief of defense, issued a war warning in an interview with the Press, joining General Patrick Sanders, the United Kingdom's army chief, and Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in having recently said the same, and in urging their countries to prepare for war. They are not alone in this and this has been a common European theme in recent weeks.
Iran v the West
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force commander Brigadier General Esmail Qaani visited Baghdad to meet leaders of the Iraqi groups to try to stop military action against U.S. forces. The fear that the US is going to launch major strikes, which the US has said its preparing,and that this will lead to a wider war is clearly impacting Iran.
February 2, 2024
Iran v. the West
The US hit 85 targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for an Iranian backed militia strike that killed three U.S. Servicemen tin Jordan.
Nigeria
Unknown attackers killed Segun Aremu, the Olukoro of Koro, in Nigeria and kidnapped his wife.
February 4, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
It appears the Ukrainians assassinated a Tu-95 pilot inside of Russia.
Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk, I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election the US will remain a strong and committed NATO Ally.
Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated; "I am still Putin’s press secretary, but not Trump’s".
Trump's cavalier comments were reckless and frankly weird, which is hardly an unusual thing for him. It does point out, however, the extent to which he's a reckless isolationist, perhaps in the early stages of dementia (he cannot seemingly control what he says) and bizarrely a Putin fanboy. The latter has never been adequately explained.
February 13, 2024
Russo Ukrainian War
From ISW:
Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that elements of Lebanese Hezbollah (LH) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are training Russian drone operators at the Shayrat Air Base in Syria.
Wilhelm Canaris was dismissed as head of the Abwehr. Technically the Abwehr, the German military intelligence ministry, was abolished on the same day and its functions were taken over by the Ausland-SD, but this doesn't seem to have been really the case to some degree, and most sources show the Abwehr continuing on until the end of the Third Reich.
Canaris was opposed to the execution of Jews and registered complaints regarding it. He also passed information on to the Allies and was involved in efforts to overthrow Hitler. He was one of the most highly placed sources of intelligence for the Allies inside the Nazi regime. An Abwehr deputy, Hans Oster, was also a figure in the German resistance.
His role would ultimately cost him his life, as he'd be arrested and executed later in 1944. His wife, Erika, would relocate to Spain, where she would live until 1970. Halina Szymańska, a Switzerland based Polish spy working for the British, whom Canaris used to pass on information, and who was also Canaris' paramour, and who was a widow of a Polish officer, would move to the UK after the war, marry an exiled Polish officer, and lived until 1989.
Canaris has always been a very difficult personality to grasp. Some regard him as being very heroic, as he was in fact carrying out resistance efforts from the very heart of Nazi Germany. Others find him less so, wondering why he didn't go further given his central position. He had briefly supported the Nazis, given their anticommunism, but had parted from them very early. He had used his position to shield Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and he seems to have been motivated in his opposition to the Nazis partially by faith. Regarding that, he was a Lutheran in keeping with a conversion from Catholicism that his grandfather had made, but he had referred to himself as a "Catholic Mystic" and was fascinated with Spanish castles. Neither faith would condone carrying on an extramarital affair. He believed himself to be of Greek descent, but in fact he was of Italian descent.
The German III Panzerkorps took Vinograd and Lysianka in its effort to relieve the Korsun pocket.
Marines captured Gorissi on New Britain. Allied forces landed on Rooke Island in the Bismark Archipelago as well. In the Marshalls the US landed on the Arno Atoll.
The German ship Oria sank in a storm in the Mediterranean, taking over 4,000 Italian prisoners of war down with it.
The New Zealand Corps replaced the US 2nd Corps at Cassino.
Defenses at Anzio were reconfigured given recent German successes, but no major fighting occured on this day.
The British troopship Khedive Ismail was sunk by the I-27 in the Indian Ocean, taking 1,297 troops down with it. One of them was Kenneth Gandar-Dower, age 35, who was an English sportsman, explorer and author. He was on board as a war correspondent.
Wendell Willlkie announced his candidate for President, back in an era when the Presidential election cycle didn't begin insanely early. No Democratic candidate had yet been announced, although his name had been put forward for some primaries.
A lawyer by profession and the child of two lawyers, Willkie had been in the Democratic Party until 1939, and indeed Roosevelt had considered him, even after that, as a Vice Presidential candidate. By 1944 his health was rapidly declining, something accelerated by heavy drinking and smoking, and he would, in fact, not be alive by the November election.
Margaret Woodrow Wilson, age 57, the daughter of Woodrow Wilson, died on this day of uremia. She was living in India, where she had become a devotee of a Hindu sect.
Arrived last night.
It is the Vietnamese Year of the Dragon. The Vietnamese years cycle in the following fashion:
Rat Tý
Water buffalo Sửu
Tiger Dần W
Cat Mão
Dragon Thìn
Snake Tỵ
Horse Ngọ
Goat Mùi
Monkey Thân
Rooster Dậu
Dog Tuất
Pig Hợi
This is similar to a cycle used by some larger country to the north, whose cycle is the following:
Mouse 鼠, shǔ (子)
Ox 牛, niú (丑) Yin
Tiger 虎, hǔ (寅) Yang
Rabbit 兔, tù (卯) Yin
Dragon 龙/龍, lóng (辰) Yang
Snake 蛇, shé (巳) Yin
Horse 马/馬, mǎ (午) Yang
Goat 羊, yáng (未) Yin
Monkey 猴, hóu (申) Yang
Rooster 鸡/雞, jī (酉) Yin
Dog 狗, gǒu (戌) Yang
Pig 猪/豬, zhū (亥) Yin
These calendars match, so this is the Year of the Dragon on both. Last year, of course, was the Year of the Rabbit on that calendar, while on the Vietnamese calendar, it was the Year of the Cat.
As with China and other Asian lands, dragons have a long connection with Vietnam. In Vietnam, they were used as dynasitc symbols nad national symbols at various points in time.
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As a mythical beast, dragons are bizarrely widely spread in terms of appearance, with nearly every culture on earth, save for North and South America (in so far as I'm aware) having some variant of them. This has lead to quite a bit of academic speculation as to how this came about.
The Germans took "The Factory" from the British 1st Division at Anzio.
The Red Army took Shepetovka, Ukraine.
I was leading squadron in leader position of red flight, providing escort and target support for bombers with targets at Oschersleben and Halberstadt. 2nd Lt. Wau Kau Kong was my wingman. Enroute to target area, Northeim and Wernigerode, at 1350 hours I attacked a ME-410 which was pressing attack on a straggling B-17 at 16,000 feet. I fired a long burst from 300 yds, observing parts flying off the tail assembly and smoke pouring out of the right engine. All my guns stopped except one and I broke off attack to let my wingman finish off E/A. I circled and saw Lt. Kong fire at E/A from close range. The right engine of E/A burst into flames. As Lt. Kong broke off over the E/A the rear gunner must have hit him as his plane exploded and disintegrated in the air.
From Sarah Sundin's blog:
Today in World War II History—February 11, 1944: First mission of the US 357th Fighter Group in P-51 Mustangs from England—this group would produce the most aces (42) in the US Eighth Air Force.
The U-424 was sunk off the Faroe's by a Wellington piloted by the RCAF.
Father Claude H. Heithaus, S. J. delivered a homily in what must have been a week day Mass at Saint Louis University denouncing racism. It ended up getting him forcibly transferred out of state, but the school started admitting African Americans six months later, the first historically white Southern university to do so.
A photographer visited the USS Saratoga.
The Senate began to move against Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby.
The vote was 47 to 34 to remove Denby, which would actually be something that Coolidge, not Congress, could do.
The Negro Sanhedrin, an attempt by the City of Chicago to have an all race congress to address racial issues, convened with representatives of trade unions, civic groups and fraternal organizations. The specific goal was to devise a program to protect the rights of African American tenant farmers.
