Friday, June 30, 2017

Events Off California

TUE 30 JUN 1942
Naval vessels on hand (all types of ships and craft)--5,612. Personnel: Navy--640,570; Marine Corps--143,528; Coast Guard--58,998. Total personnel--843,096.

Pacific
XPBS-1* transporting Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet, and his staff to San Francisco crashes upon landing off Alameda, California. Nimitz suffers scratches and abrasions in the mishap but remains topside on the wreckage to direct rescue operations, refusing to leave that post until the wrecked flying boat has been searched for survivors.

Coastal minesweeper Hornbill (AMc-13) is sunk in collision with U.S. lumber schooner Esther Johnson in San Francisco Bay, California.

District patrol craft YP-270 sinks after running aground at Boca Santo Domingo, while en route from San Diego, California, to the Panama Canal Zone, 25°30'N, 112°06'W.

District patrol craft YP-128 sinks after running aground in heavy weather three miles northeast of Monterey, California.

Submarine Plunger (SS-179) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship No.5 Unkai Maru off the China coast near approaches to Shanghai, 30°04'N, 122°54'E.

Indian Ocean
U.S. freighter Express, en route from Bombay, India, to Cape Town, South Africa, is torpedoed and sunk by Japanese submarine I-10 at 23°30'S, 37°30'E; one lifeboat is swamped when the ship is abandoned, and two Armed Guard sailors and 11 merchant seamen are lost (see 6 July).

Atlantic
PBM (VP 74) sinks German submarine U-158 in western Atlantic, 32°50'N, 67°28'W.

U.S. steamship City of Birmingham, en route to Bermuda, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-202 about 250 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, 35°04'N, 61°01'W; six of the 113-man crew and two of 263 passengers are lost in the sinking. Escorting high speed minesweeper Stansbury (DMS-8), after depth-charging U-202, rescues 107 merchant seamen (one of whom dies of his injuries), 261 passengers and the 5-man Armed Guard.

Coastal minesweeper Courier (AMc-72) rescues 30 merchant seamen (four wounded men have perished in the lifeboats) and the nine-man Armed Guard from U.S. freighter Sam Houston, sunk by German submarine U-203 on 28 June. One crewman dies of wounds subsequently. Courier transports the survivors to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

Gunboat Surprise (PG-63) rescues survivors from U.S. freighter Sea Thrush, sunk by German submarine U-505 on 28 June. A second group of survivors reaches St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, on 3 July.

*There was only one XPBS-1. This is it, in 1938:
And now, the rest of the story:
On 17 December 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered Chester William Nimitz to duty as Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet (CinCPac) with the rank of Admiral, effective 31 December 1941. Nimitz directed the Pacific Fleet in the critical spring of 1942 that culminated in the victories at Coral Sea (7-8 May) and Midway (4-6 June). Nimitz nearly perished less than a month after Midway when the Sikorsky XPBS-1 (BuNo 9995) carrying the admiral hit a submerged log when landing at Naval Air Station, Alameda, CA, on 30 June 1942. The impact threw the men around inside the big flying boat like dice in a box, inflicting injuries on all on board, and they soon began struggling to escape as the aircraft filled with water. Nimitz, who suffered scratches and abrasions in the mishap, immediately showed concern for those who had been hurt in the crash (one of the flight crew, Lieutenant Thomas M. Roscoe, died in the mishap) and remained topside on the wreckage to direct rescue operations, refusing to move until searchers finished their grim task of investigating the wrecked flying boat for survivors.

You Have No Fucking Idea

Really, you don't.

Thursday, June 29, 2017

U-505 Again

MON 29 JUN 1942
Atlantic
U.S. freighter Thomas McKean, en route to Cape Town, South Africa, is torpedoed, shelled and sunk by German submarine U-505 at 22°00'N, 60°00'W. Three Armed Guard sailors are killed in the attack. U-505 provides medical attention to the wounded in the lifeboats before departing (see 4, 12 and 14 July).

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

U-Boat Rampage

SUN 28 JUN 1942
Pacific
Submarine Nautilus (SS-168) is damaged by depth charges off central Honshu, 34°34'N, 140°13'E.

Submarine Stingray (SS-186), attacking Japanese convoy, torpedoes and sinks gunboat Saikyo Maru about 190 miles north of Yap, Carolines, 12°41'N, 136°22'E; cargo ship Meiten Maru fires at Stingray's periscope without effect.

PBYs (VP 14) bomb Japanese base at Tulagi.

Atlantic
Unarmed U.S. freighter Raphael Semmes is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-332 at 29°30'N, 64°30'W; 18 men from the 35-man crew, and one of the two passengers, perish. U-332 remains in the vicinity of the sinking, providing medical assistance and supplies to the survivors before departing (see 16 July).

U.S. freighter Sam Houston is torpedoed and shelled and sunk by German submarine U-203 at 19°21'N, 62°22'W; three crewmen perish. U-203 briefly embarks the freighter's master for questioning but returns him to a lifeboat before departing (see 30 June).

U.S. tanker William Rockefeller is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-701 approximately 16 miles northeast of Diamond Shoals, North Carolina, 35°07'N, 75°07'W; escorting Coast Guard cutter CG-470 (which attacks the U-boat without success) rescues all hands: 44 merchant seamen and the six-man Armed Guard.

U.S. freighter Sea Thrush, en route to Cape Town, South Africa, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-505 at 22°40'N, 61°26'W. All hands survive the loss of the ship: 42-man crew, 11-man Armed Guard and 14 passengers (see 30 June).

U.S. freighter Ruth is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-153 about 100 miles north of Cape Maysi, Cuba, 21°44'N, 74°05'W. U-153 rescues one survivor and places him on a raft with three of his shipmates; they are the only survivors from a crew of 34 men. There are no survivors from the four-man Armed Guard unit (see 4 July).

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Free Kraut Cigarettes Again

SAT 27 JUN 1942
Pacific
Submarine Nautilus (SS-168) torpedoes and sinks Japanese auxiliary minesweeper Musashi Maru east of Nojimazaki, Japan, 34°38'N, 140°08'E.

Atlantic
Unarmed U.S. freighter Polybius is torpedoed by German submarine U-128 at 11°00'N, 57°30'W; ten crewmen perish. U-128's's officers briefly question the survivors before the submarine departs. The 34 survivors are rescued over the next three days: by Dutch steamship Dracos on 28 June; an unidentified Allied ship on the 29th, and British steamship Clarona on the 30th.

U.S. freighter Potlatch is torpedoed by German submarine U-153 at 19°20'N, 53°18'W; six crewmen perish. Of the 39-man crew, 33 survive, as do the 16 Armed Guard sailors. U-153 briefly questions the survivors and provides them with cigarettes before departing (see 29 July).

Monday, June 26, 2017

No Action?

FRI 26 JUN 1942
Atlantic
Naval Auxiliary Air Station (Lighter-than-Air), San Julian, Cuba, is established.

Germany announces unrestricted submarine warfare off U.S. Atlantic Coast.

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Atomic Age Made Official;
Eisenhower Empowered

THU 25 JUN 1942
General
President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill conclude conference in Washington; decision is reached for combined U.S.-British research and development of the atomic bomb.

Pacific
Carrier Saratoga (CV-3) ferries 25 USAAF P-40s (73d Fighter Squadron) to Midway to provide fighter defense for the atoll, after the heavy losses suffered by VMF 221 during the Battle of Midway on 4 June. Saratoga also brings in 18 SBDs to bring VMSB 241 (also badly battered at Midway) up to strength.

Submarine Nautilus (SS-168) torpedoes and sinks Japanese destroyer Yamakaze southeast of Yokosuka, Japan, 34°34'N, 140°26'E.

Submarine Grouper (SS-214) damages Japanese oiler No.3 Tonan Maru, 28°46'N, 136°36'E.

PBYs (VP 71) bomb Japanese base at Tulagi; Rear Admiral John S. McCain (Commander, Aircraft, South Pacific Force) is present in one of the flying boats to observe operations.

Europe
U.S. Army establishes European Theater of Operations under Major General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Manuela Sinks Under Tow

WED 24 JUN 1942
Pacific
Three PBYs bring out remainder of submarine S-27 (SS-132)'s crew from Constantine Harbor.

Atlantic
Unarmed tug John R. Williams, bound for Cape May, New Jersey, is sunk by mine laid by German submarine U-373 on 11 June. Only four men from the 18-man crew survive the sinking at 38°45'N, 74°55'W; they are rescued by district patrol vessel YP-334 and taken to Lewes, Delaware.

U.S. freighter Manuela is torpedoed by German submarine U-404 at 34°30'N, 75°40'W and abandoned. Three of the 36-man merchant complement perish in the attack. The survivors, 33 merchant seamen and the 6-man Armed Guard, are rescued by British armed trawler HMS Norwich City and Coast Guard cutter CG-483. Manuela sinks the following day while being towed to Morehead City, North Carolina.

Friday, June 23, 2017

Rescue Around The World

TUE 23 JUN 1942
Pacific
PBY on routine search spots submarine S-27 (SS-132) crew at Constantine Harbor; 15 men are transported out (see 24 June).

Caribbean
Destroyer Biddle (DD-151), directed to the scene by PBYs, rescues the 36 survivors of U.S. tanker E.J. Sadler, sunk the day before by German submarine U-159.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

More Musical History

The fascist horror & its reminders never end:

Bernstein, Copland, Seeger and others are named as Communists

The Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s famously ended the careers of numerous film-industry professionals and forced others to avoid blacklisting by repudiating their political beliefs and “naming names” of suspected Communist sympathizers to the House Committee on Un-Activities (HUAC). But Hollywood actors, directors and screenwriters were not the only victims of the Cold War anti-Communist purges in the entertainment industry. Prominent figures in the music industry were also targeted, including Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Lena Horne, Pete Seeger and Artie Shaw, all of whom were named publicly as suspected Communist sympathizers on this day in 1950, in the infamous publication Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television.

Red Channels was a tract issued by the right-wing journal Counterattack, the self-described “Newsletter of Facts to Combat Communism.” By 1950, Joseph McCarthy and the HUAC had already been at work for several years, and figures like singer Paul Robeson and the so-called Hollywood Ten had already been blacklisted, but Red Channels sought to go further, exposing what it called a widespread Communist effort to achieve “domination of American broadcasting and telecasting, preparatory to the day when…[the] Party will assume control of this nation as the result of a final upheaval and civil war.” Some even believe that the men responsible for Red Channels—including several former members of the FBI—were given illegal access to the confidential files of HUAC in preparing their report, which exposed 151 names in the entertainment industry to public scrutiny and the threat of blacklisting.

Joining famous names like Orson Welles, Lillian Hellman, Arthur Miller and Dorothy Parker on the Red Channels list were the aforementioned Bernstein, Copland, Horne, Seeger and Shaw and numerous other musical figures, including the legendary harmonica player Larry Adler, the folksinger Burl Ives, former Library of Congress folklorist Alan Lomax and The New York Times music critic Olin Downes. The evidence of Communist leanings offered in Red Channels included Lena Horne’s appearance on the letterhead of a South African famine relief program, Aaron Copland’s appearance on a panel at a 1949 Scientific and Cultural Conference for World Peace and Leonard Bernstein’s affiliation with the Committee to Re-Elect Benjamin J. Davis, a black, socialist New York City councilman.

In the end, Red Channels caused some of those named to be blacklisted—Pete Seeger, most famously—to fight publicly to prove their “loyalty” to the United States and still others to repudiate their political pasts and provide the HUAC with names of other suspected prominent leftists.
Fuck off & die, American Philistines.

Birthday Girl

"Blood Dunza" - Johnny Clarke; "Blood Dunza Version" - King Tubby;
"Blood,Sweat & Dunza" - Brad Osbourne

"There are no survivors ..."

MON 22 JUN 1942
Caribbean
Unarmed U.S. tanker E.J. Sadler is shelled by German submarine U-159 about 175 miles south of the Windward Passage, 15°36'N, 67°52'W, and abandoned. After the 36 survivors take to their lifeboats, a boarding party from U-159 sinks the tanker with demolition charges (see 23 June).

Gulf of Mexico
Unarmed U.S. tanker Rawleigh Warner is torpedoed by German submarine U-67 approximately 40 miles south of South Pass, Louisiana, 28°53'N, 89°15'W; ignition of the ship's cargo of 38,909 barrels of gasoline incinerates the ship and her crew. There are no survivors from the 33 merchant seamen who comprise her complement.

Birthday Boy

Shorter, w/ video.
Chris Willman / Variety:
With a New Collaborations Album, Todd Rundgren Talks About Loving Reznor, Fagen and Robyn... and Loathing Trump  —  Todd Rundgren's new album, “White Knight,” is a grab-bag of collaborations with fellow artists — among them, Trent Reznor, Daryl Hall, Bettye LaVette, Robyn, Donald Fagen …
Olivia Beavers / The Hill:
Songwriter: 'If you're a Trump supporter, don't come to my show'  —  Todd Rundgren, a singer and songwriter, warned fans not to attend his concerts if they are Donald Trump  —  supporters, saying “buyer beware.”  —  “If I had the power, I'd say: If you're a Trump supporter, don't come to my show …
And a double-disc dose, from 1972:

History Lessons

Just sayin':
In 1870, the United States Department of Justice was created.

In 1977, John N. Mitchell became the first former U.S. Attorney General to go to prison as he began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. (He was released 19 months later.)
I hope that little shit Sessions does all the time he'll get.

Feeling older now:
Today's Birthdays: Actress Prunella Scales (TV: "Fawlty Towers") is 85. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is 84. Singer-actor Kris Kristofferson is 81. Movie director John Korty is 81. Actor Michael Lerner is 76. Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer is 74. Fox News analyst Brit Hume is 74. Singer Peter Asher (Peter and Gordon) is 73. Actor David L. Lander is 70. Singer Howard "Eddie" Kaylan is 70. Singer-musician Todd Rundgren is 69. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is 68. Actress Meryl Streep is 68. Actress Lindsay Wagner is 68. Singer Alan Osmond is 68. Actor Murphy Cross is 67. Actor Graham Greene is 65. Pop singer Cyndi Lauper is 64. Actor Chris Lemmon is 63. Rock musician Derek Forbes is 61. Actor Tim Russ is 61. Rock musician Garry Beers (INXS) is 60. Actor-producer-writer Bruce Campbell is 59. Rock musician Alan Anton (Cowboy Junkies) is 58. Actress Tracy Pollan is 57. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is 57. Rock singer-musician Jimmy Somerville is 56. Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler is 55. Actress Amy Brenneman is 53. Author Dan Brown is 53. Rock singer-musician Mike Edwards (Jesus Jones) is 53. Rock singer Steven Page is 47. Actor Michael Trucco is 47. Actress Mary Lynn Rajskub (RYS'-kub) is 46. TV personality Carson Daly is 44.
Birthday boy David L. Lander w/ Harry Shearer, approx. 40 yrs. ago:Birthday boy "Eddie" w/ "The Phlorescent Leech" & the last "Mothers", 45 yrs. ago.
FLO & EDDIE - "Feel Older Now"

Today's Double Standard: Epically Trolled Or Ruthlessly Mocked?

Perfectly fine for Tim Tebow to open his yap about his "faith", but Gawd forbid anyone exercise their First Amendment rights concerning Tebow's outspoken idiocy.
Derrek Asberry / Post and Courier: Charleston RiverDogs: ‘Our intent was not to offend anyone’ by poking fun at Tim Tebow
I'd have a lot more faith in The Big Fucking Killer In The Sky if Tebow had been able to hold a gig on a National Football League team; instead he finds himself playing minor league ball for the Class A Columbia Fireflies in the South Atlantic League. Jesus loves you, right Tim?

The Weekly Standard thing is worth a click; by a RiverDogs season ticket holder, & politics-free.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

A Day In The Life

Seems nice.
A man who was caught urinating at a Metro Gold Line station in Pasadena Wednesday was found to be carrying a loaded high-powered weapon and an array of ammunition, sheriff’s officials said.

According to the sheriff’s department, the man was spotted Wednesday afternoon urinating in public at the Sierra Madre station. When he was contacted by sheriff’s Transit Policing Division deputies, they discovered he was carrying a “loaded, high-powered firearm,” the use of which is restricted to law enforcement personnel, sheriff’s officials said.

Sheriff Jim McDonnell was expected to release details of the arrest later.

The man’s name was not immediately released.

In addition to the firearm, the man was also carrying “two loaded high-capacity magazines, a suppressor and other dangerous items,” sheriff’s officials said.

City News Service
Hah, that literally reminded me of events mere hrs. ago:
In the parking lot of the Ralphs market at Third St. & La Brea Ave. Security at Ralphs wouldn't let anyone out the western door, where the action was. I noted one of the uniformed oinkers was holding an M-16, 'though not pointing it at anyone. As the sole suspect/victim was already in custody, I can only assume the heat is now scared of empty cars, as well as everything else that makes them nervous. All over by the time I left via the eastern door, ahead of the other security person who'd been sent to be sure no one got out through that door. The M-16 holder was putting it back in his trunk, & I decided it was safe to shoot. Pictures, that is. Ha ha.

Seeing the bottle-blond prisoner, & her new Jeep through which the undercover oinks are going, one must wonder W.T.F. Considering the size of the response, five or six police cars, & the threads the undercovers are sporting, I wonder if this was some sort of sting operation, w/ the coppers playing tourist. Third & La Brea is mere blocks (& La Brea is the next arterial east) from the tourist traps of the Farmer's Market & The Grove. Or the cops are just slobs. [PRO-TIP: When maintaining situational awareness of narcotics agents & like vermin, an untucked shirt, concealing badge & death-dealing weapon, is often a tell.]

Anyway, once I'd snapped the two pics of the ossifers looting the poor woman's/vicious criminal's wheels, the big bearded oaf started looking at me, so I said "Too bad you couldn't kill anyone in cold blood today" to him & went my merry way.

More Nip Outrage: Oregon Shelled!

SUN 21 JUN 1942
Pacific
PBY (VP 24) recovers two-man crew from Enterprise (CV-6) TBD (VT 6) 360 miles north of Midway. Their plane had to land in the water on 4 June; these are the last survivors of the Battle of Midway to be recovered.

Submarine S-44 (SS-155) sinks Japanese gunboat Keijo Maru 12 miles west of Gavutu, Solomons, 09°00'S, 160°00'E.

Japanese submarine I-25 shells Fort Stevens, Oregon.

North Russia
U.S. freighter Alcoa Cadet is mined in Kola Inlet, Murmansk, USSR, and breaks in two. Ships in the vicinity rescue the survivors (33 merchant seamen and 10 passengers).

Today In Nausea

That vegan bull is fading.

Santa Monica's Erven Is No Longer A
Vegan-Only Restaurant

Shove it, chef!

Not that I give one sweet fuck about restaurants in Santa Monica. And speaking of restaurants about which I don't give a fuck (All of them, really.) what's the deal w/ these Golden Corral dumps I see advertised all the fucking time all over the fucking telebision? Never seen one in real life, as I am an urbane sophisticate not likely to find himself in such down-scale shitholes as Bellflower & Downey. Corral? Do they serve horsemeat, or just the product one is most likely to find in a corral, road apples, deep-fried in grease & drowned in sugar before being served to the lower middle-class schlubs who eat there?

Today In Words

The phrase these assholes are looking for is "self-defense", not "assault" or "terrorism".
Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller: 
FBI Claims Attempted GOP Assassinations Are ‘Assault’ — NOT Terrorism

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Beginning Of The End Of Summer

[Northern Hemisphere Only]

Already going downhill ... the days grow shorter, as do our lives. Like sands through the hourglass, one could say. (Anyone use hourglasses now? Has even the egg-timer been replaced by an electromechanical contraption/robot?)

Vancouver Island Shelled By Submarine!

SAT 20 JUN 1942
Pacific
Japanese submarine I-26 shells Estevan Point, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Submarine S-27 (SS-132) crew reach deserted village at Constantine Harbor and inhabit it until rescue comes (see 23 June).

Atlantic
U.S. freighter West Ira is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-128 about 120 miles southeast of Barbados, 12°04'N, 57°35'W; one man of West Ira's merchant complement of 48 is killed, there are no casualties among the 10-man Armed Guard. Survivors are for the most part rescued between three and five days later; the last survivor comes ashore on 1 July at Barbados.

Jobs Report

Another Promise Kept

Bill Vlasic / New York Times:  Ford Chooses China, Not Mexico, to Build Its New Focus
media.ford.com: FORD INVESTS IN KY. PLANT TO BUILD NEW EXPEDITION, NAVIGATOR; SMART, SPACIOUS NEW FOCUS FOR N.A. TO BE GLOBALLY SOURCED
You've been had again, suckers! Why don't all you cracker chumps just O.D. on prescription opiods? Losers! Sad!

Monday, June 19, 2017

Ghormley In Charge!

FRI 19 JUN 1942
Pacific
Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley assumes command of South Pacific Area and South Pacific Force with headquarters at Auckland, New Zealand. [This lasted exactly four months. — M.B.]

Submarine S-27 (SS-132) runs aground off St. Makarius Point, Amchitka, Aleutians; all hands reach safety ashore. Crew, provisions, clothing, guns, medical supplies are ferried ashore by rubber boat (see 20 June).

Japanese water carrier Wayo Maru is damaged by aircraft (nationality unspecified), Rabaul.

Seaplane tender (destroyer) Ballard (AVD-10), directed to the scene by a PBY (VP 11), rescues 35 survivors (one of whom dies shortly after rescue) from Japanese carrier Hiryu that had been scuttled by destroyers Kazegumo and Yugumo on 5 June. They had been members of the engineering department, left below for dead in the abandonment of the ship.

Atlantic
District patrol craft YP-389 is sunk by German submarine U-701 five to six miles northeast of Buoy No.4, Cape Hatteras mine area, North Carolina.

Caribbean
U.S. schooner Cheerio is shelled by German submarine U-161 approximately eight miles southeast of Mona Island, Puerto Rico, 18°02'N, 67°40'W; patrol plane interrupts U-161's attack but not in time to prevent the U-boat from inflicting irreparable damage. All hands (nine men) survive the attack; Coast Guard cutter CG-459 rescues them with the help of a second patrol plane that arrives on the scene.

Tug Crusader Kingston rescues the last three survivors from a raft from U.S. freighter Norlantic, sunk by German submarine U-69 on 13 May.

This Date In Birthdays

Moe Howard (would have been) 120 today.Ernest Ranglin, Jamaica's guitarist, still kicking at 85, 'though allegedly ret'd. just last yr.

Another Adventure In Comparing & Contrasting

No idea what idiocy the above is, but here in these United Snakes we are committing actual suicide at a headlong pace. Don't let me stop any of you!
Speaking of nat'l. suicide, three little words: Opioid Overdose Epidemic! Keep on keepin' on, fly-over trash!!

Sensitive Sissy Snowflake Scared,
Seeks Secession

All it takes is one gun nut who's taken up left-wing ideology (instead of the usual move of the deranged to fascist/racist ideology) to make these sissies want to run & hide.
Erick Erickson / The Resurgent:
Let's Consider Secession

Today In The Zeitgeist

This guy (kind of our mascot) seems to embody what it be like, world-wide. Rats in a cage, every last one of you.
Remember, all you need is a motor vehicle. Axes & the like are strictly optional.

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Seattle Spirit Scuttled

THU 18 JUN 1942
Pacific
USAAF B-17s, B-24s, and an LB-30 (11th Air Force) bomb Japanese shipping in Kiska harbor, sinking fleet tanker Nissan Maru, 51°58'N, 177°40'E.

Japanese cargo ship Tairyu Maru is stranded and wrecked off Gyoji Island, Korea, 34°33'N, 125°53'E.

Atlantic
U.S. freighter Seattle Spirit is torpedoed by German submarine U-124 at 50°23'N, 42°25'W; four merchant seamen perish in the attack. Survivors (33 merchant sailors, the 11-man Armed Guard and seven passengers) are rescued by steamship Perth and Canadian corvette HMCS Agassiz. Agassiz scuttles the irreparably damaged merchantman with gunfire.

Cuban boats rescue survivors of U.S. freighter Millinocket, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-129 the previous day.

Naval Air Facility, La Fe, Cuba, is established.

Fathers Day Observation

Consider this: Donald J. Trump is the "father" of five children.
(Only one of whom, by the way, is a full-blooded American.)

Note to D.J. Jr.:
"Brown Shoes Don't Make It" - 1979, Munich

Saturday, June 17, 2017

More Nazi Spies Sneak Ashore

WED 17 JUN 1942
Atlantic
German submarine U-202 puts four agents ashore on Ponte Vedra Beach, south of Jacksonville, Florida; fishermen discover the landing. Subsequently, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents capture the Germans.

U.S. freighter Columbian is attacked by what she believes is a German submarine at 07°18'N, 41°03'W; although the ship is damaged by shell fragments and machine gun fire, Armed Guard gunfire drives off her attacker without further incident. Columbian suffers no casualties among her 42-man merchant complement or 17-man Armed Guard.

U.S. freighter Millinocket is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-129 off the north coast of Cuba, 23°12'N, 79°58'W; nine of 29 merchant seamen perish, as do 2 of the 6-man Armed Guard. U-129's captain briefly questions the survivors and then provides the Americans with a first aid kit for the wounded (see 18 June).

U.S. collier Santore, in convoy KS 511, strikes mine laid by German submarine U-701 off Virginia Beach, Virginia, 36°52'N, 75°51'W; three merchant seaman are lost. Survivors (34 merchant sailors and the 9-man Armed Guard) are rescued by the Coast Guard.

Caribbean
Survivors (37 merchant seamen and 13 Armed Guard sailors) from U.S. freighter West Hardaway, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-502 on 15 June, reach Margarita Island, Venezuela.

WITCH HUNT!

Masked Marauders - "Season of the Witch"

Friday, June 16, 2017

Give Me The List, Some Guns & Ammo; I'll Finish The Fucking Job!

Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:
EXCLUSIVE: Assassination List Found On James Hodgkinson's Body  —  James T. Hodgkinson, the shooter who opened fire on dozens of Republican congressmen and staffers at a baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday, had a list of Republican names in his pocket that was recovered by the FBI, The Daily Caller has learned.
 Mitch Smith / New York Times:
Minnesota Officer Acquitted in Killing of Philando Castile  —  ST. PAUL — A Minnesota police officer, whose fatal shooting of a black motorist transfixed the nation when his girlfriend livestreamed the aftermath, was acquitted of all charges on Friday.  —  The officer, Jeronimo Yanez …
RELATED:
 Mark Berman / Washington Post:
Minn. officer acquitted of manslaughter for shooting Philando Castile during traffic stop  —  The Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop was acquitted on all charges by a jury Friday, a decision that came nearly a year after the encounter …
Then I'll start on the fucking police. Off the pigs, already!

More From The Caribbean

TUE 16 JUN 1942
Caribbean
Submarine chaser PC-460 rescues 42 survivors from U.S. steamship Sixaola, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-159 off the coast of Panama on 12 June.

Gunboat Erie (PG-50) and destroyer Tattnall (DD-125), south of St. Andrews Island, rescue survivors of U.S. bulk carrier Lebore, which had been sunk by German submarine U-172 on 14 June. Among those rescued are the 8 Armed Guard sailors from Lebore, and the 49 survivors of the Dutch steamship Crijnssen, which Lebore had rescued on 11 June when U-504 had sunk the Netherlands-flag ship at 18°14'N, 85°11'W.

Provision storeship Pastores (AF-16) rescues 36 survivors of U.S. freighter Arkansan, sunk by German submarine U-126 the day before.

U.S. freighter Kahuku, torpedoed by U-126, sinks; six of her 36-man crew as well as three of her 10-man Armed Guard perish in the attack. Lost as well are nine passengers: six of the 46 survivors from U.S. freighter Scottsburg, sunk by U-161 on 15 June and three of the 17 survivors of Panamanian-flag steamer Cold Harbor, sunk by U-502 the same day. Coastal yacht Opal (PYc-8) and district patrol vessel YP-63 rescue the 91 survivors from the three ships.

Mediterranean
Operation HARPOON: of the six ships in convoy WS 12Z, only two reach Malta; two escorting destroyers are lost, while a light cruiser, three destroyers and a minesweeper suffer varying degrees of damage.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Dread In The Caribbean

MON 15 JUN 1942
Pacific
Submarine Seawolf (SS-197) sinks Japanese gunboat Nampo Maru off Corregidor, 14°00'N, 120°00'E.

Mediterranean
Operation HARPOON: convoy WS 19Z (Force X) is attacked by Italian light cruisers Eugenio di Savoia and Raimondo Montecuccoli and five destroyers. In this surface action, British destroyer HMS Bedouin is sunk and HMS Partridge damaged, but the screen for WS 19Z proves impenetrable and the Italians retire. At the same time, however, German JU 87s dive-bomb the convoy, damaging tanker Kentucky (she is later scuttled). U.S. freighter Chant suffers two direct hits, catches fire, and is abandoned, 36°25'N, 11°40'E; Ensign Regis J. Schaefer, USNR, Armed Guard officer, remains on board to supervise the abandonment of the ship, and is among the last men over the side. British minesweeper HMS Rye rescues Chant's survivors: 49 of the 52-man merchant complement, 10 of 11 Armed Guards, and 25 British Navy and Army sailors and soldiers embarked to man the antiaircraft battery. In related operations this day, a mixed formation of seven USAAF B-24s (Halverson Detachment) and 2 RAF Liberators, together with RAF Beauforts, attack Italian fleet; one USAAF B-24 scores a hit on Italian battleship Littorio (see 16 June).

Atlantic
Destroyer Borie (DD-215) rescues nine survivors (including the sole Armed Guard sailor to emerge from the ordeal) from U.S. freighter Merrimack at 20°48'N, 85°30'W, that had been sunk on 9 June by U-107. Earlier that same day, merchant ship Argentina had rescued the only other man to survive Merrimack's loss.

Salvage tug Relief finds tanker F.W. Abrams, mined off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, on 11 June, beyond salvage. The wreck is scuttled with demolition charges.

U.S. tanker Cherokee, in convoy XB 25, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-87 approximately 50 miles east of Boston, Massachusetts, 42°11'N, 69°25'W; 65 of the 103-man crew, as well as one of the 11-man Armed Guard and 20 of 46 passengers perish in the attack. Freighter Norlago rescues 44 survivors; Coast Guard cutter Escanaba (WPG-77) 39 more.

U.S. tanker Robert C. Tuttle,, in convoy KN 109, strikes mine laid by German submarine U-701 off Virginia Beach, Virginia, 36°51'20"N, 75°51'15"W; one merchant seaman is blown overboard and lost. Survivors (40-man merchant complement, a 6-man Armed Guard and a Navy signalman) take to lifeboats which are taken in tow by submarine chaser PC-474. U.S. tanker Esso Augusta, also in convoy KN 109, strikes mine laid by German submarine U-701, a half mile south of the Chesapeake Bay entrance lighted whistle buoy, 36°52'N, 75°51'30"W; she suffers no casualties among the 44-man merchant complement or the 13-man Armed Guard. Esso Augusta ultimately returns to service.

Caribbean
U.S. freighter Tillie Lykes is torpedoed (most likely) by German submarine U-502 approximately 150 miles east-southeast of Punta Herrero, Mexico, 19°00'N, 85°00'W; there are no survivors from the 29-man merchant crew and four-man Armed Guard.

Gunboat Erie (PG-50), off St. Andrews Island, rescues master and 22 survivors of U.S. bulk carrier Lebore, which had been sunk by German submarine U-172 the day before. Erie embarks the merchant sailors at 12°39'N, 81°20'W, and then sinks their lifeboat with gunfire as a menace to navigation.

U.S. freighter Kahuku rescues 46 survivors (35 merchant seamen and the 11-man Armed Guard) from freighter Scottsburg, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-161 the day before, and 17 from Panamanian steamer Cold Harbor, torpedoed and sunk by U-502 the day before. Later that same day, however, Kahuku is torpedoed by U-126 at 11°54'N, 63°07'W (see 16 June).

U.S. freighter West Hardaway is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-502 northwest of Trinidad, 11°50'N, 62°15'W, and is abandoned by all hands without loss (see 17 June).

Unarmed U.S. freighter Arkansan is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-126 west of Grenada, 12°07'N, 62°51'W; four of the ship's 40-man complement are lost (see 16 June).

Thursday's Excuse: The Presidunt
Don't Talk Good

Arizona doofus & elected federal representative of poor sun-damaged slobs in some part of Arizona opens yap:
"I'm at the point where we also have to be real careful from the standpoint that we have a President that's not from the political class," the Arizona Republican said. "The learning of the disciplined use of language and what certain words mean in our context -- if you're not from this world you may not have developed that discipline."
Or you might just be functionally illiterate.

Rep. Schweikert followed that w/ some odd usage of his own:
"This may be one of those occasions where we're going to have to go through several months of the news cycle and discomfort to finally figure out, saying, 'OK, this was just ill-used language. This is absolutely innocent, or here's something that's been wrong,'" he said.
As if the only issue under investigation was Trump's use of language.

Targets For Thurs.

Jerome Hudson / Breitbart:
Home Depot Co-Founder Bernie Marcus: I'm ‘So Worried About the Life’ of President Trump
Clutch your pearls & collapse on the fainting couch, pathetic sissy. Politics is hardball, not beanbag.

And fuck the goddamn Home Depot six ways sidewise 'til July.

Throw Back Thurs.

What the hep kats & kitties were digging about 66 yrs. ago.

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

And Don't You Forget It!

We'll see how you vote on that Health Care Act bullshit, Mr. Big-Talkin' Senator. Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis!

The official motto of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the shortened version, sic semper tyrannis. Ironic or what?

Gyrenes Invade Wellington

SUN 14 JUN 1942
Pacific
First echelon of 1st Marine Division (Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift) arrives at Wellington, New Zealand.

Japanese cargo ship Taizan Maru is stranded and sinks off southwest coast of Korea, 35°00'N, 125°00'E.

Caribbean
U.S. bulk carrier Lebore is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-172 about 200 miles north of Cristobal, Canal Zone, 12°53'N, 80°40'W (see 15-16 June).

U.S. freighter Scottsburg is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-161 at 11°51'N, 62°56'W; five men are killed in the attack (see 15-16 June).

Colombian schooners Envoy and Zamora rescue the 53 survivors from U.S. freighter Solon Thurman, sunk by German submarine U-159 on 13 June. One crewman, however, drowns when he falls overboard from schooner Envoy.

Mediterranean
Operation HARPOON continues as Force X is attacked by Italian planes; Dutch motor vessel Tanimbar is torpedoed by an SM 79 and sunk, but not before the Armed Guard gunners display "great courage and skill" and splash one of the attackers; British light cruiser HMS Liverpool is also torpedoed by another SM 79, and is towed to Gibraltar (see 15 June).

Flag Day

Photo by Aurelio Jose Barrera. From The Eastsider.

What Did They Expect? Open Season For Murderous Thug G.O.P.

The whole truth, & nothing but:
The office of Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) received a threatening email with the subject line “One down, 216 to go…,” shortly after a shooter opened fire on GOP lawmakers who were at a congressional baseball practice, according to her office.

The person who sent the email then wrote in the body of the email, "Did you NOT expect this?"

"Did you NOT expect this? When you take away ordinary peoples very lives in order to pay off the wealthiest among us, your own lives are forfeit. Certainly, your souls and morality were lost long before. Good riddance,” the email said.
From an e-mail sent to a piece of disposable Republican shit in N.Y.

America: Now striking blows for freedom & liberty, & not taking shit from fucking Nazis anymore. About damn time.

More Guns, More Murder,
Fewer Republicans!!

Self-defense. Works for this reporter.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Unlucky 13 For Nazi Agents & U-157

SAT 13 JUN 1942
Arctic
U.S. freighter Yaka is damaged by near-misses when German aircraft bomb Allied shipping at Murmansk, USSR. There are no casualties among the 38 merchant seamen or 11-man Armed Guard.

Mediterranean
Operation HARPOON: convoy WS 19Z (Force X) stands toward Malta, detected by Axis reconnaissance aircraft. Italian torpedo bombers flying from Sardinia fail to make contact, however, and Italian fleet units that sortie from Cagliari put into Palermo, Sicily, when their presence is reported by British submarines (see 14 June).

Atlantic
German submarine U-584 puts four agents ashore at Amagansett, Long Island, New York. Coast Guard beach patrolman, however, detects the landing and FBI men capture the agents.

Coast Guard cutter Thetis (WPC-115) sinks German submarine U-157 north of Cuba, 24°13'N, 82°03'W.

Caribbean
U.S. freighter Solon Thurman is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-159 off the Panama Canal Zone, 10°45'N, 80°24'W. The 44 merchant seamen and 9 Armed Guards all abandon ship; U-159's officers query the survivors and offer them aid before departing (see 14 June).

Monday, June 12, 2017

Action All Over The Oceans

FRI 12 JUN 1942
Pacific
USAAF B-17s and B-24s raid Kiska, damaging Japanese destroyer Hibiki.

Submarine Plunger (SS-179) is damaged when emergency identification flare explodes as she makes signal to friendly aircraft; she suffers no serious injuries and remains on patrol.

Submarine Swordfish (SS-193) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Burma Maru northwest of Pulo Wai, in the Gulf of Siam, 10°08'N, 102°34'E.

Atlantic
German submarine U-701 mines the waters off Cape Henry, Virginia.

Gulf of Mexico
U.S. tanker Cities Service Toledo, bound for Portland, Maine, with a cargo of 84,000 barrels of crude oil, is torpedoed by German submarine U-158, 20 miles east of Trinity Shoals Gas Buoy, 29°02'N, 91°59'W, and explodes; 11 of the 36-man merchant complement perishes in the inferno, as do four of the nine-man Armed Guard. Norwegian tanker Belinda, U.S. tanker Gulf King, and steamship San Antonio rescue the 30 survivors from among the merchant seamen and bluejackets.

Caribbean
U.S. steamship Sixaola is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-159 off the coast of Panama, 09°54'N, 81°25'W. Of the 87-man crew, 29 perish in the attack. The 58 surviving crewmen, together with the 6-man Armed Guard and the 108 passengers, take to five boats and six rafts. U.S. steamship Carolinian rescues 32 survivors and transfers them to motor torpedo boat tender Niagara (PG-52); Niagara herself rescues 75 more. Army tug Shasta picks up 23 (see 16 June).

Gunboat Erie (PG-50), at 10°12'N, 80°14'30"W, rescues master and 45 other survivors of British steamship Fort Good Hope, which had been sunk by German submarine U-159 at 10°19'N, 80°16'W. After salvaging the lifeboats, Erie joins with a patrol plane in prosecuting a submarine contact, ultimately dropping six charges with no result. Later, Erie transfers Fort Good Hope's survivors and their boats to submarine chaser PC-209.

Mediterranean
Operation HARPOON: Convoy WS 19Z (Force X) transits the Straits of Gibraltar. The ships are soon detected by German reconnaissance aircraft. Escort (Acting Captain Cecil C. Hardy, RN) for the five freighters (two of the five, U.S. motorship Chant and Dutch Tanimbar have Navy Armed Guard crews on board) and one tanker is provided by antiaircraft cruiser HMS Cairo (flag), nine destroyers (eight British and one Polish), four minesweepers and six motor gunboats; a covering force (Force W), formed around British battleship HMS Malaya, aircraft carriers HMS Argus and HMS Eagle, light cruisers HMS Kenya (flagship for Vice Admiral Alban T.B. Curteis, RN), HMS Charbydis and HMS Liverpool, and eight British destroyers. A second convoy MW 11 (Operation VIGOROUS) sets out from Alexandria and Port Said, Egypt, and Haifa (see 13 June).

Today In Trump & His Toadies,
Or, Latest In Lickspittlery

Short take from C.P. Pierce, or get all the deets. We actually read the C.N.B.C. item just below, it's short & simple.
John Harwood / CNBC:
Trump makes bizarre claims at press event as Cabinet members take turns praising him  — Trump said that few presidents have passed more legislation than he has, though Congress has passed no major legislation since he has been president  —  Since taking office in January …
RELATED:
 Chris Cillizza / CNN:
Donald Trump just held the weirdest Cabinet meeting ever  —  (CNN)Leave it to Donald Trump to reinvent the Cabinet meeting.  —  The public portion of these gatherings of all of the president's top advisers are usually staid affairs.  Photographers are let in to take pictures.
Gawd, what a sad joke. Are these fawning freaks physically afraid of Trump? I can't imagine any other reason to say
such things; then again, this reporter is a relatively normal American, not a Republican at the trough.