Tuesday, December 31, 2019

2019 In Review

2019 Hell, This Neatly Recaps The First Two Decades Of This So Far Horrid Millenium

22+ yrs. later, everything's still made of shit & we're all dying. (At least my toilet's newer.) Down the drain, bit-chezz, & Happy New Yr.!

Shakespeare Attacks On New Yr.'s Eve

SUN 31 DEC 1944
Pacific
U.S. freighter Juan de Fuca is torpedoed by Japanese plane about 20 miles off Mindoro, and runs aground off Ambulong Island; there are no casualties among the 41-man merchant complement and the 27-man Armed Guard (see 1 January 1945).

British submarine HMS Shakespeare attacks Japanese convoy and sinks merchant cargo ship Unryu Maru east of Port Blair, 11°40'N, 093°15'E.

During December (date unspecified), car float YCF-42 founders in heavy weather, 34°47'N, 75°5'W.

Atlantic
USAAF heavy bombers pound Hamburg; in the massive raid, German submarine U-906, minesweeper M 445 and cargo vessels Faro, Mannheim and Rival are sunk.
—30—

Monday, December 30, 2019

Big Sky Country

Burbank, Montana.

Porcupine Scuttled

SAT 30 DEC 1944
Pacific
Japanese air attacks continue on Mindoro-bound convoy; kamikazes damage destroyers Pringle (DD-477), 12°18'N, 121°01'E, and Gansevoort (DD-608), 12°21'N, 121°02'E; motor torpedo boat tender Orestes (AGP-10), 12°19'N, 121°04'E; and auxiliary Porcupine (IX-126), 12°21'N, 121°02'E. Porcupine is ultimately scuttled by Gansevoort. Freighter Hobart Baker is sunk by bombs off Mindoro, 12°17'55"N, 121°04'47"E; two of the 26-man Armed Guard are wounded and of the ship's 38-man merchant complement, there are one dead and one wounded. Also off Mindoro, freighter Francisco Morozan is damaged when kamikaze is shot down by U.S. fighter and explodes over the ship; there are, however, no casualties to the 38-man merchant complement and the 29-man Armed Guard.

Submarine Razorback (SS-394) attacks Japanese Manila-to-Takao convoy about 60 miles southeast of Formosa, sinking destroyer Kuretake in Bashii Channel, 21°00'N, 121°24'E, and damaging cargo ships Brazil Maru and _i [sic] Maru.

USAAF B-25s, A-20s and P-40s (5th Air Force) attack Japanese shipping in approaches to Lingayen Gulf, off coast of Luzon, sinking Coast Defense Vessel No.20, 6°30'N, 120°18'E; submarine chaser Ch 18 off Santiago Island, and army cargo ships Aobasan Maru, Muroran Maru, and Teikai Maru north of San Fernando, 17°18'N, 119°25'E.

Sunday, December 29, 2019

U-Boat Won't Quit

FRI 29 DEC 1944
Pacific
Submarine Hawkbill (SS-366) sinks Japanese merchant Lighter No.130 in Java Sea, 05°35'S, 113°29'E.

Europe
German submarine U-772 attacks convoy TBC 21 in the English Channel, 50°28'N, 02°28'W. Freighter Arthur Sewall is torpedoed and the explosion in the engine room kills one man and wounds 5; there are no casualties among the 29-man Armed Guard. Towed to Weymouth, England. Arthur Sewall is later written off as a total loss. Freighter Black Hawk is also a victim of a torpedo from U-772; the blast wounds four of the ship's 41-man merchant complement (one of whom dies later) but there are no casualties among the 27-man Armed Guard. Black Hawk is abandoned, the survivors being taken on board British corvette HMS Dahlia. Towed subsequently to Warboro Bay, England, Black Hawk is written off as a total loss.

Not Much Of A Day For Clouds

šŸ› ETERNAL DEVOTION⚒

Saturday, December 28, 2019

No Survivors

THU 28 DEC 1944
Pacific
Japanese air attacks commence against Mindoro-bound TG 77.11 (Captain George F. Mentz); kamikazes crash tank landing ship LST-750 and U.S. freighters William Sharon and John Burke. John Burke, carrying ammunition, explodes, the cataclysmic blast damaging auxiliary Porcupine (IX-126) and motor torpedo boat PT-332. There are no survivors from among John Burke's 40-man merchant complement and 28-man Armed Guard.

Fragments from John Burke also hit freighter Francisco Morozan 100 yards away, wounding three of that ship's merchant complement. William Sharon, set afire by the kamikaze and gutted by fires that are ultimately controlled, is abandoned, the survivors transferring to destroyer Wilson (DD-408), whose assistance proves invaluable in extinguishing the blaze that has consumed the freighter. Salvage vessel Grapple (ARS-7) later tows the merchantman to San Pedro Bay for repairs. LST-750, hit subsequently by aerial torpedo, is consequently scuttled by destroyer Edwards (DD-619), 09°01'N, 122°30'E. Enemy air attacks continue the following day.

Submarine Dace (SS-247) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking supply ship Nozaki off Cape Varella, French Indochina, 12°36'N, 109°38'E, and damaging Chefoo Maru.

USAAF B-24 sinks Japanese motor sailboat No.38 Tachibana Maru off Flores Island.

Friday, December 27, 2019

Everything Turning To Shit

Niha Masih / Washington Post:
India's Muslims and activists face mass arrests, beatings amid unrest over citizenship law  —  LUCKNOW, India — When Sadaf Jafar headed out with hundreds of others on Dec. 19 to join a demonstration against India's contentious new citizenship law, she told her children she would be home that evening.
Yascha Mounk / The Atlantic:
Why Trump's Second Term Will Be Worse
Brad Reed / Raw Story:   Trump will only grow ‘more radical and more dangerous’ if he wins a second term: political scientist

Darryl Fears / Washington Post:
On land, Australia's rising heat is ‘apocalyptic.’ In the ocean, it's worse.  —  BRUNY ISLAND, Tasmania — Even before the ocean caught fever and reached temperatures no one had ever seen, Australia's ancient giant kelp was cooked.  —  Rodney Dillon noticed the day he squeezed …
Fuck you jerks & your world of shit & pain. That gawd-damned giant meteor/asteroid/comet cannot arrive too soon.

It's Time: Check-Up From The Neck-Up

Igor Derysh / Salon:
Pelosi “has the right” to submit Trump to an “involuntary evaluation”: Yale psychiatrist Bandy Lee  —  “I am beginning to believe that a mental health hold . . . will become inevitable,” Lee tells Salon in an interview  —  A Yale psychiatrist who has repeatedly sounded the alarm …
Nate Church / Breitbart:   Yale Psychiatrist Claims Pelosi Can Subject Trump to ‘Involuntary’ Mental Health Evaluation
WND:   Yale prof: Pelosi should order Trump to ‘involuntary evaluation’
Bradley Cortright / IJR:   Psychiatrist Suggests Pelosi Can Submit Trump to an ‘Involuntary Evaluation’
High crimes nothing, it's all misdemeanors: That dummy Trump just dunno how to act in public.

Cam Ranh Bay In The War News

WED 27 DEC 1944
Pacific
TG 94.9 (Rear Admiral Allan E. Smith) follows up USAAF strikes with cruiser and destroyer bombardment of Japanese installations on Iwo Jima and shipping offshore. Destroyer Dunlap (DD-384) is damaged by shore battery, but not before she teams with Fanning (DD-385) and Cummings (DD-365) to sink fast transport T.7 and landing ship T.132, 24°47'N, 141°20'E.

Japanese planes bomb shore positions and auxiliary shipping at Mindoro; attacks are repeated on 28, 29, and 30 December.

Submarine Baya (SS-318) locates Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara, light cruiser Oyodo, and destroyers Asashimo and Kasumi, part of the "Intrusion Force" on its return passage to Cam Ranh Bay. Baya's attack (12°51'N,113°27'E), however, is unsuccessful.

Submarine Barbero (SS-317) is damaged by aerial bomb, Lombok Strait, 08°20'S, 115°55'E, and returns to base on starboard shaft only.

Japanese cargo ship Daicho Maru is sunk by accidental bomb explosion, Batavia, Java, 06°06'S, 106°53'E.

Missed It By That Much

Hollywood Freeway (& Hollywood under a cloud) from Western Ave. overpass, Tues. 24 Dec. 2019, 1631 hrs.
About two hrs. earlier:
At least one person was hurt Tuesday afternoon in a crash on the Hollywood (101) Freeway involving a motorcycle and a van, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The collision occurred on the southbound 101 at Western Avenue about 2 p.m. 1400.

Paramedics transported at least one patient to a hospital, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

A SigAlert was briefly in effect until the number 1 and 2 lanes were cleared at 2:49 p.m. 1449.
The southbound lanes are closer in the photo; did not look at the other side of the overpass.

TIGER JOO PERSONAL TRAINER

Blue & Gold

Thursday, December 26, 2019

"PT-77 is damaged, probably accidentally bombed by friendly aircraft."

TUE 26 DEC 1944
Pacific
Japanese "Intrusion Force" (Rear Admiral Kimura Masanori), consisting of heavy cruiser Ashigara, light cruiser Oyodo, three destroyers and three escort destroyers, approaches Mindoro to bombard the beachhead. USAAF B-25s, P-38s, P-40s, and P-47s and Navy PB4Ys and PBMs successively attack the force. These damage Ashigara (near-misses), Oyodo, destroyers Asashimo, Kiyoshimo, and Kasumi, and escort destroyers Kaya and Kashi. Kimura's force carries out its bombardment mission, then encounters U.S. motor torpedo boats; PT-77 is damaged, probably accidentally bombed by friendly aircraft*. Subsequently, PT-223 sinks the already damaged Kiyoshimo off San Jose, 145 miles south of Manila, 12°20'N, 121°00'E.

As the "Intrusion Force" approaches, freighter James H. Breasted is ordered to seek safety in Ilin Strait; anchoring there, she comes under fire, being damaged by shell fragments during the Japanese bombardment. The ship is later bombed by what is probably a U.S. plane, touching off her cargo of gasoline. James H. Breasted is abandoned (only one of the 33-man merchant complement requires treatment for injuries; there are no casualties to the 27-man Armed Guard) but the survivors come under friendly fire that causes no further casualties. U.S. motor torpedo boats tow the three boatsful of survivors toward shore; the freighter is later written off as a total loss.

Destroyer Fanning (DD-385) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.7 Kyo Maru off Okinomisaki, Bonins.

Submarine Swordfish (SS-193) departs Midway for thirteenth war patrol. Contact is made with Swordfish on 3 January 1945, but she is never seen again.

USAAF B-24 sinks Japanese cargo vessel No.104 Nany_ [sic] Maru off south coast of Boeroe Island, 03°49'S, 126°51'E.

Australian destroyer HMAS Quickmatch rescues the 40 merchant sailors, one passenger and the 26-man Armed Guard of freighter Robert J. Walker, that had been torpedoed and sunk in the Tasman Sea by German submarine U-862 the day before.
*Surely I'm not the only one who sees the hand of Cap't. Binghamton in this "accident".

Here's What You Fucking Morons Are On About Today

Screw every sub-human cretin asshole who gives a fuck about this either way.
 Rebecca Klar / The Hill:
Trump ‘Home Alone 2’ scene reportedly cut from Canadian Christmas broadcasts  —  President Trump's cameo scene in the holiday classic “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York” was reportedly cut from showings of the movie on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) this month.
 JK Schmidt / Comic Book:
Donald Trump's Cameo in Home Alone 2 Cut From Canadian Television Broadcast
Discussion:
Look at all the bandwidth used. Complete waste of pixels, you stupid jerks. Inane bullshit like this is precisely why your awful species deserves to be wiped from the face of the planet. Not only are you idiots, you're boring idiots.

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Yet Another Chrismus At War

MON 25 DEC 1944
Pacific
Naval Air Station, Samar, is established.

Submarine Barbero (SS-317) attacks Japanese convoy and sinks transport Junpo Maru 130 miles west-southwest of Kuching, Borneo, 00°51'N, 108°08'E.

British submarines HMS Trenchant and HMS Terrapin sink auxiliary minesweeper Reisui Maru, cargo vessel No.23 Hinode Maru, and auxiliary sailing vessel Wakamiya Maru in Strait of Malacca, 03°19'N, 99°45'E.

TF 38 aircraft attack Japanese shipping off Masinloc, sinking landing ship T.113, 15°30'N, 119°55'E.

USAAF B-24s sink small Japanese cargo vessels Chokyu Maru and Sumiei Maru off Sandakan, Borneo, and badly damages Asahi Maru and Nichifuku Maru.

U.S. freighter Robert J. Walker is torpedoed by German submarine U-862 in the Tasman Sea, 36°35'S, 150°43'E; Armed Guard 20-millimeter gunfire explodes a second torpedo, but a third hits the ship and causes irreparable damage. Two of the ship's 42-man merchant complement are killed. The ship is then abandoned and sinks (see 26 December).

Xmas Over; Back On Your Heads!

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Traditionally Obligatory & Well-Seasoned Greetings

Ten yrs. past.
From '56.
Did not know of this "inspiration"/source material from 90 yrs. ago.

STOP PRETENDING DEP'T.:

Web Of Evil urges you all to live life to its fullest: Get drunk as coots, get behind the wheel & slaughter yourselves & others this happy holiday season. Do it for our planet!

"V-1 or V-2 explodes overhead"

SUN 24 DEC 1944
Pacific
TG 94.9 (Rear Admiral Allan E. Smith) follows USAAF bombing raid on Iwo Jima by shelling airstrips and other installations there; destroyers Case (DD-370) and Roe (DD-418) sink Japanese fast transport T.8, 25°10'N, 141°00'E, and landing ship T.157, 24°47'N, 141°20'E.

Submarine Barbero (SS-317) sinks Japanese submarine chaser Ch 30, 02°45'N, 110°53'E, and damages transport Junpo Maru, 01°10'N, 108°20'E (see 25 December 1944).

USAAF B-25s sink Japanese fishing boat Shinei Maru off Timor.

Aircraft sink Japanese army cargo ship Goro Maru, Yangtze River.

Japanese tanker Ryusho Maru is damaged by grounding, 14°28'N, 109°07'E.

Europe
U.S. freighter Timothy Bloodworth, anchored at Antwerp, Belgium, and awaiting formation of a convoy to proceed to the United States, is damaged when one V-1 or V-2 rocket bomb explodes overhead and a second lands nearby. There are, however, no casualties among the 41-man merchant complement, the 26-man Armed Guard and one passenger.

Christmas Cinema

Quentin Tarantino's grindhouse.

Eclectic Xmas Music

At NotionsCapital. You didn't think I could be arsed (to research anything, that is; I'm happy to lift an item or two) did you?
This one recommended by YouTube.

IT BEGINS: Deep State Comes For "Pardon Me" Bevin


Courier-Journal:
The FBI is asking questions about former Gov. Matt Bevin's pardons  —  The FBI is asking questions about the pardons Matt Bevin issued during his last weeks as Kentucky governor, The Courier Journal has learned.  —  State Rep. Chris Harris, D-Forest Hills, told reporters …
Mary Papenfuss / HuffPost:   FBI Probing Ex-Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's Controversial Flood Of Pardons: Report
Good. Nail his corrupt kiester to the wall.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Hell On Earth

Monday, December 23, 2019

Comedy Relief

Christianity Today is not the only religious enterprise questioning Trump. Here's some weirdo Mary-idolator drooling over his keyboard. (Read the first part too.)

‘God’s Chosen Christian’ President Trump’s Administration Orders Sixty-Nine Countries To Bend Over And Open Up For The Sodomite Agenda Or Else

Trump is a morally failed man who continues to embrace and boast of his persistence in failure as though it was a sign of social righteousness, and in a time of extreme corruption, it is a sign of social acceptance. That said, it does not change the nature of the act just as a law against gravity does not release one from the effects of it, for one can deny the existence of gravity, but one will still fall to his death if he jumps from a high building because of the effects of gravity.

One may debate about Trump and keeping his promise to “build the wall” by various form of rhetorical sophistry. The same can be said about many of his actions and claims. But if there is anything, just one thing, that one cannot debate about when it comes to Trump, it is his absolute embrace of the sodomite agenda and how it is on his administration that he has gone around the world- far more than under all eight years of Obama -and is demanding that countries bend over in submission and open the way for the sodomite agenda to be forced into them.

This is not the action of a Christian at all. Trump was arguably never a Christian. In fact, there is far more evidence that if anything, Trump is a Jew because if questions about his family relations are not enough as well as his many associations with persons in major positions of power and who do evil things who are also Jewish, to reference the statement of Otto Weninger, Trump holds to the same philosophies of post-Christ Judaism, noting that Judaism can be either both or one of a tribal affiliation or a way of thinking, and as such Trump values worldliness, power, money, and his own interests and those of his associates over any promises that he makes. Ethnicity, while important, is less important than the philosophy, because it is out of a philosophy that a man acts and paralleling the words of Christ in the New Testament, it is out of the mouth that the heart speaks.


There is so much criticism of how Pope Francis associates in the worst way with people tied to sodom and will remain questionably silent in the face of too much evidence or activity that suggests a support of sodom. This is not good and needs to be pointed out. Yet when ‘God’s chosen Christian’ President Trump attempts to use his political position- the leader of the world’s most powerful nation in history -to force mostly poor nations with lots of Christians to accept sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance and are some of the most evil things a man can do and which called down the wrath of God upon those wicked places by fire from Heaven as a sign for all times, what does that say about Trump?

Even if one wants to be a sodomite in the worst way in the US, why does the leader of the same country have to make others accept his particular form of anal masturbation? I am aware and have discussed this reason and why sodomites act in such a way, but it is to pose the question because from a political viewpoint, it does not make sense to do this to others so far away unless one has not merely a political aim, but also an evangelical desire to spread a religious philosophy- the religion of sodom -just a Christian missionaries spread Christianity. This is the great irony that the nation faces. American Christians- many of them Evangelicals -voted for Trump to rightly give him a chance, and one cannot deny that Trump had a special opportunity under the conditions. He was given his chance, and he proved himself to be a failure, and now he is marketing himself to the world not just as the leader of the US, but as practically and ambassador and evangelist for sodom, yet so many of the same Christians are supporting him.
Entirely sic, btw.

Almost Nothing

SAT 23 DEC 1944
Pacific
Submarine Blenny (SS-324), despite proximity of escort vessel, sinks Japanese merchant tanker Kenzui Maru off San Fernando, 16°40'N, 120°16'E.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Nazis Shoot Back

FRI 22 DEC 1944
Pacific
Tank landing ship LST-563 sinks after grounding off Clipperton Island.

Destroyer Bryant (DD-665) is damaged by kamikaze off Mindoro, 12°00'N, 121°00'E.

Submarine Flasher (SS-249) attacks Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, and sinks fleet tanker Omurosan Maru and merchant tankers Otowasan Maru and Arita Maru about 250 miles north of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, 15°07'N, 109°05'E.

Submarine Tilefish (SS-307) sinks Japanese torpedo boat Chidori southwest of Omaezaki, 34°33'N, 138°02'E.

USAAF B-24s attack Japanese shipping off north Borneo, sinking small cargo vessels Nitto Maru, Sumiyoshi Maru, Kanju Maru, Kojin Maru, and Hashiro Maru and damaging Chosiu Maru.

RAF and Dutch Mitchells attack Japanese shipping off Koepang, Timor, sinking cargo vessel Nanyo Maru.

Mediterranean
Destroyer Gleaves (DD-423) is damaged by shore battery fire as she shells German troop concentrations on the Franco-Italian border.

Yesterday & Today

I.C.Y.M.T. & wanted to see them in greater detail.
Savannah Xmas
Imprisoned Moon

Wild Wild East Hollywood

A man shot in the head and killed Saturday morning in East Hollywood was a Los Angeles resident, authorities said.

Roberto Hernandez was 53, coroner’s officials said. [Heard on the news he was the father of five. — M.B.]

Police responded at 12:20 a.m. to the 800 block of North Mariposa, just north of Melrose Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim now identified as Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene.

A motive for the shooting was under investigation and a detailed description of the shooter was not available, police said.
Damn. Less than ten blks. from the Web of Evil (& Ennui) bunker. And earlier last night this reporter was on Melrose just a few blks. west of the murder scene, 'though he wasn't aware of it at the time.

Helluva Christmas.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Words On The Street

Get Out, Stay Out;
We Don't Like Your Type*

That's right, no damn room at this inn for outside agitators or quitters.
Los Angeles Times:
California population growth slowest since 1900 as residents leave, immigration decelerates  —  The Golden State remains stuck in the slow lane when it comes to population.  —  The number of Californians increased to 39.96 million, with new data from the Department of Finance showing mostly downward trends.
Adam Beam / Associated Press:   California still most populous, but stalls at 39.9 million
Tracykbloom / KTLA:   California's Population Stalls at 39 Million as State's Growth Rate Slows

*W/ apologies to the late Bob Marley.

Now Winter In Bigger Part Of Planet

Days alleged to lengthen from here. We'll see.Pretty damn vivace alreet. On the slower side ...

This Is Your Country. Sickening, Innit?

What lovely ladies: Attempted murder & sedition.
Johnny Diaz / New York Times:
Woman Ran Over Girl Because She Was ‘a Mexican,’ Police Say  —  The police charged a Des Moines woman with attempted murder after she told investigators she intentionally ran over a 14-year-old girl with her vehicle.  —  An Iowa woman was charged with attempted murder after running …
CNN:   Iowa woman said she ran over a 14-year-old girl because she ‘was a Mexican,’ police say
Christen McCurdy / UPI:   Woman admits to hitting a teenage girl with her car because ‘she was Mexican’
myfox8.com:   Woman said she ran over a 14-year-old girl because she ‘was a Mexican,’ police say
Shea Johnson / Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Fiore tied to report alleging domestic terrorism by Washington lawmaker  —  Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore (Erik Verduzco/Las Vegas Review-Journal)  —  Findings that a Washington state lawmaker participated in domestic terrorism during a high-profile armed standoff in Oregon has drawn new attention to Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore’s ties to the so-called Patriot Movement.

The investigative report commissioned by the Washington Legislature found that Republican Rep. Matt Shea’s actions before and during an armed takeover and standoff at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon in 2016 constituted “an act of domestic terrorism against the United States.”

Shea did not respond to a message seeking comment on Friday but vowed, “I will not back down,” before the report’s release Thursday. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for his resignation.
Bob Brigham / Raw Story:   Republicans in Nevada and Idaho linked to Washington legislator in domestic terrorism scandal: reports
WCBI-TV:   Wash. lawmaker accused of “domestic terrorism” refuses to resign
From when we gave enough of a shit to type actual thoughts (or had actual thoughts) two takes on Councilwoman Fiore in 2014 & 2015, when she was a Nevada Assemblywoman. (Why do Nevadans continue to vote this sort of person into office? Nuclear waste?) And how much & for how long has Russia been paying her to subvert our country? It would be very irresponsible not to speculate.

Kamikaze Attacks

THU 21 DEC 1944
Pacific
Off Mindoro, kamikazes damage destroyer Foote (DD-511), 11°05'N, 121°20'E, and tank landing ships LST-460 and LST-749, 11°13'N, 121°04'E. Off Panay, freighter Juan de Fuca is crashed by a suicide plane; the explosion and resultant fire kills ewo and wounds 14 of the 65 embarked Army troops, as well as wounding two of the 27-man Armed Guard. Juan de Fuca, although damaged, continues on to Mindoro (see 31 December).

Submarine Sealion (SS-315) carries out second attack on Japanese supply ship Mamiya, and sinks her in the South China Sea, 17°55'N, 114°11'E.

Mines damage Japanese escort vessel Amakusa 680 miles from Kanameiwa and gunboat No.2 Hiyoshi Maru off Etorofu.

Recently (Unofficially) Released

Unofficial Release:
Live FM Broadcast Recorded At Jenison Fieldhouse, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 23 November 1974

White People, White Xmas

This dump sells wigs, not clothing, hence the hairpeices on the mannequins.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Actual McCarthyite Witch Hunt!

And "fake news". Note the usual gang of useful idiots.

Matthew Cole / The Intercept:
Former NSA Director Is Cooperating With Probe of Trump-Russia Investigation — Retired Adm. Michael Rogers, former director of the National Security Agency, has been cooperating with the Justice Department's probe into the origins of the counterintelligence investigation
Tobias Hoonhout / National Review:   Former NSA Director Michael Rogers Cooperating with Durham Investigation into Trump-Russia Probe
Sundance / The Last Refuge:   Bad News For Coup Crew - Former NSA Director Mike Rogers Working With John Durham For Several Months...
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:   HUGE!  Hero Admiral Rogers - Who Secretly Met with Trump After Election - Is Assisting John Durham in Investigation
Chuck Ross / The Daily Caller:   Former NSA Director Cooperating With Durham Probe Of Russia Investigation: Report
Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:   Will John Brennan be indicted?
Julia Musto / Fox News:   McCarthy: Watch for indictments in Durham's probe of Trump-Russia investigation's origins
Mark Sumner / Daily Kos:   Barr announces that Durham is looking beyond the FBI, and a former CIA director is in their sights
Frieda Powers / BizPac Review:   John Durham reportedly digging into John Brennan's part in FBI's Russia collusion probe
Katie Pavlich / Townhall:   U.S. Attorney Durham Is Focusing in on John Brennan
Nicole Lafond / Talking Points Memo:   Barr-Appointed Prosecutor Probing Russia Origins Seeks Brennan Communication Docs

Organized Resistance Ends On Leyte

WED 20 DEC 1944
Pacific
Organized Japanese resistance ends on Leyte.

Submarine Sealion (SS-315) damages San Fernando-bound Japanese supply ship Mamiya in the South China Sea about 450 miles northeast of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, 17°48'N, 114°09'E, and escapes the attention of escorts, destroyer Kari and Coast Defense Vessel No.17 (see 21 December).

Dutch Mitchells sink Japanese netlayer Shoeki Maru in Flores Sea, 07°00'S, 120°00'E.

Atlantic
Tank landing ship LST-359 is sunk about 440 miles southwest of Cape Finisterre, 42°04'N, 19°08'W, and destroyer escort Fogg (DE-57) damaged, 43°02'N, 19°19'W, by German submarine U-870.

Recently In Other Realms

Click photos for fuller impact bigger.

Rule of Thirds
Ominous

Memento Mori

Pigeon taking a rest two blocks from the world-famous intersection of Hollywood Boulevard & Vine Street.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Nothing New

TUE 19 DEC 1944
Pacific
Submarine Redfish (SS-395), despite presence of escorting destroyers, sinks Japanese carrier Unryu 200 nautical miles southeast of Shanghai, China, 28°19'N, 124°40'E. Redfish is damaged in the resultant depth charging, and is forced to terminate her patrol.

PB4Y-1s (VPB 104) attack Japanese convoy in South China Sea, and sink transport Shinfuku Maru, which had survived attack by submarine Segundo (SS-398) on 6 December 1944, 30 miles west of Manila, 13°40'N, 115°50'E.

USAAF P-51s (14th Air Force) attack Japanese shipping at Hong Kong and sink cargo ship Hida Maru, 22°17'N, 114°10'E.

Aircraft sink army cargo ship No.3 Hiroshi Maru in Kurils, 44°56'N, 147°39'E.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

TYPHOON!

MON 18 DEC 1944
Pacific
Third Fleet (Admiral William F. Halsey Jr.) encounters a typhoon 180 miles northeast of Samar. Destroyers Hull (DD-350), Monaghan (DD-354), and Spence (DD-512) are sunk, 14°57'N, 127°58'E. Destroyer escort Tabberer (DE-418), which herself sustains storm damage, rescues 41 Hull survivors and 14 from Spence (remaining men will be rescued on 20 December). Ships that suffer varying degrees of damage include small carriers Cowpens (CVL-25), Monterey (CVL-26), Cabot (CVL-28), and San Jacinto (CVL-30); escort carriers Altamaha (CVE-18), Nehenta Bay (CVE-74), Cape Esperance (CVE-88), and Kwajalein (CVE-98); light cruiser Miami (CL-89); destroyers Dewey (DD-349), Aylwin (DD-355), Buchanan (DD-484), Dyson (DD-572), Hickox (DD-673), Maddox (DD-731), and Benham (DD-796); destroyer escorts Melvin R. Nawman (DE-416), Tabberer (DE-418), and Waterman (DE-740); oiler Nantahala (AO-60); and fleet tug Jicarilla (ATF-104).

Motor torpedo boat PT-300 is damaged by kamikaze off Mindoro, 12°19'N, 121°05'E.

Other Japanese casualties include auxiliary submarine chaser Keisho Maru sunk by aircraft, Nagoya, Japan; merchant ship No.1 Nikko Maru sunk by TF 38 aircraft, 14°48'N, 120°16'E; and merchant ship Hokko Maru is damaged by aircraft, Changchia Chow.

Europe
U.S. freighter Steel Traveller is mined in the Schelde River, and sunk; survivors are rescued by French destroyer La Combattante. There are no casualties among the 26-man Armed Guard, but two of the ship's 45-man merchant complement perish.

Third In A Series

"It only takes a minute girl ..."

Here is the image, bigger & probably at a higher resolution.
Also, yesterday's image (The one I should have posted, but I'm an idiot.) that had to be resized because I'm an idiot (& redundant) & had the camera set to XXL. Stupid camera.

Flesh & The Devil

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Small Vessel Action

SUN 17 DEC 1944
Pacific
Motor torpedo boat PT-84 is damaged by suicide plane off Mindoro, 12°19'N, 121°04'E.

Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.19 is damaged by aircraft south of Cam Ranh, French Indochina.

Mediterranean
U.S. and British motor torpedo boats and armed British trawlers attack eight-ship convoy in vicinity of Mesco Point; they claim three F-lighters sunk.

Again

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/mikes-blog-round-14

Monday, December 16, 2019

P.O.W.s Sunk

SAT 16 DEC 1944
Pacific
Submarine Dace (SS-247) lays mines off French Indochina.

Submarine Finback (SS-230) in attack on Japanese convoy, sinks transport Jusan Maru I-Go about 50 miles northwest of Chichi Jima, 27°24'N, 141°04'E.

British submarine HMS Stoic, despite presence of escort, sinks Japanese gunboat Shoei Maru west of Sunda Strait, 05°45'S, 104°43'E.

TF 38 planes sink Japanese merchant cargo ship Oryoku Maru, escorted by destroyer Momo [Sunk the previous day by the Hawkbill.] and submarine chaser Ch 60, in Subic Bay, 14°45'N, 120°13'E; aviators are unaware that Oryoko Maru is carrying over 1,600 Allied POWs (one of whom is Commander Francis J. Bridget, former commander of the Naval Battalion on Bataan in 1941-1942, who is killed). Those POWs who survive the ordeal of the loss of Oryoku Maru will be again helpless and unwitting victims of U.S. planes at Takao, Formosa, on 27 December 1944 and 9 January 1945. When the draft of POWs reaches its ultimate destination, Moji, Japan, only 497 of the original 1,600+ men remain.

Mediterranean
Destroyer Niblack (DD-424) fires first of three shore bombardment missions she will carry out between 16 and 19 December; she targets troop concentrations, rail lines, barracks, and motor convoys. Motor torpedo boat PT-310, in company with a British motor torpedo boat, attacks four north-bound F-lighters a mile off Point Sestri; the allied craft claim one F-lighter probably sunk and one damaged.

Oh, Look

Aggregation & composition time: 'Bout two hrs.

Moonday Musicale

Big Swifty
and Big Willie.
WAR ON CHRISTMAS

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Promotions

FRI 15 DEC 1944
Admirals William D. Leahy (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), Ernest J. King (Chief of Naval Operations) and Chester W. Nimitz (Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet) are promoted to the rank of fleet admiral.

TG 78.3 (Rear Admiral Arthur D. Struble) lands Army forces on southwest coast of Mindoro under cover of carrier-based aircraft (Rear Admiral Felix B. Stump). Mindoro operation, conceived and undertaken to secure an all-weather airfield to support large-scale landings on Luzon, is regarded as a hazardous venture deep into Japanese-controlled waters. Tank landing ships LST-472 and LST-738, damaged by kamikazes off southern tip of Mindoro, 12°19'N, 121°05'E, are scuttled by destroyer Hall (DD-583). Elsewhere off Mindoro, suiciders damage escort carrier Marcus Island (CVE-77); destroyers Paul Hamilton (DD-590) and Howorth (DD-592), 12°19'N, 121°02'E; and motor torpedo boat PT-223, 12°19'N, 121°05'E.

Miscellaneous auxiliary Argonne (AG-31) is damaged by explosion of depth charge accidentally dropped by submarine chaser SC-702, Kossol Roads, Palaus.

Submarine Dragonet (SS-293) is damaged when she runs aground 12,000 yards off Japanese seaplane base, Matsuwa Island, Kurils.

Submarine Hawkbill (SS-366) sinks Japanese destroyer Momo west of Luzon, 16°40'N, 117°42'E.

TF 38 planes sink Japanese landing ship T.106, which had escaped destruction by submarine Pintado (SS-387) on 12 December 1944, in South China Sea off Luzon, 15°30'N, 119°50'E, and damage Coast Defense Vessel No.54 north of Calayan Island, Luzon Channel, 19°25'N, 121°25'E.

Atlantic
Command designated Naval Forces Germany (Admiral Robert L. Ghormley) is established with headquarters at Rosneath, Scotland.

Spin-Off Podcast Tour

If I didn't leave the house (I damn well could have virtually all I consume delivered, & don't think it isn't tempting.) I'd have no fucking idea, & here's something/someone of which/whom I was previously unaware.
Turns out Stassi is a "reality telebision* star" who's parlayed her fifteen mins. into a podcast & a book that made an NYT best-seller list.

The Haves & The Have-Mores

Even among those who have enough to spend their Saturday night watching this (Anecdatally, mostly honky women in perhaps their later 20s; saw one male hipster in the tow of a date.) there are distinctions being made:

*I was aware there is/was a tee vee program called Vanderpump Rules, but had & still have no fucking idea. Is it an MTV reality deal? I'd as soon just not know.

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Grade Inflation

THU 14 DEC 1944
Rank of Fleet Admiral, U.S. Navy, is established.

Pacific
Submarine Blenny (SS-324) sinks Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.28 off Dasol Bay, Luzon, about 100 miles northwest of Manila, 15°50'N, 119°45'E, and guardboat No.5 Taisho Maru, 16°27'N, 119°43'E.

Planes from carrier Hornet (CV-12) sink Japanese landing ship T.109 off Vigan, P.I., 17°35'N, 120°20'E.

British submarine HMS Shalimar sinks auxiliary minesweeper No.7 Choun Maru off Belawan, Sumatra, 03°55'N, 98°50'E.

Friday, December 13, 2019

FRI 13 DEC Two Days Early

WED 13 DEC 1944
Pacific
Japanese suicide planes damage light cruiser Nashville (CL-43), 08°57'N, 123°28'E, and destroyer Haraden (DD-585), 08°40'N, 122°33'E, Mindanao-Negros area.*

Submarine Bergall (SS-320) battles Japanese heavy cruiser Myoko off Royalist Bank, South China Sea, 08°09'N, 105°40'E; both ships emerge from the encounter damaged. Although Bergall damages her heavier adversary in that battle off French Indochina, she is hit by a dud 8-inch shell from Myoko and is forced to terminate her patrol.

Submarine Pintado (SS-387) sinks Japanese fast transport T.12 and landing ship T.104 in South China Sea, 19°30'N, 118°40'E. Although Pintado claims her destruction, the third ship in the convoy, landing ship T.106, continues on to Manila (see 15 December).

Mediterranean
Destroyer Charles F. Hughes (DD-428) fires first of three shore bombardment missions, targeting troop concentrations and artillery positions along the Franco-Italian border, that she will carry out between 13 and 16 December.
*Rear Admiral Arthur D. Struble, commanding TG 78.3, consequently shifted his flag from the damaged Nashville to destroyer Dashiell (DD-659).