January was Australia’s hottest month on record, with the country’s mean temperature exceeding 30C for the first time since records began in 1910.
The Bureau of Meteorology released its climate summary for January on Friday and said the widespread heatwave conditions and daily extremes were “unprecedented”.
“There’s been so many records it’s really hard to count,” said Andrew Watkins, a senior climatologist at the Bom.
January was Australia’s warmest month for mean, maximum and minimum temperatures.
Large parts of Australia received only 20% of their normal rainfall, particularly throughout the south-east in Victoria and parts of New South Wales and South Australia.
Tasmania, which has been battling bushfires throughout the past month, had its driest ever January.
Watkins said Borrona Downs in north-west NSW broke the record for hottest minimum temperature, registering one night at 36.6C.
Port Augusta recorded the country’s highest ever temperature in January, reaching 49.5C.
“We’ve also seen records in many states set including places like Victoria where Swan Hill and Kerang got up over 47.5C,” Watkins said.
Marines and Army troops (Major General Holland M. Smith, USMC) land on atolls of Kwajalein and Majuro, in the Marshalls, in Operation FLINTLOCK. The operation is under the overall command of Commander Central Pacific force TF 50 (Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance) and is composed of Southern Attack force TF 51 (Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner), Northern Attack Force TF 53 (Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly), and Reserve Force and Majuro Attack Group TF 51.2 (Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill). Landings are supported by carrier-based aircraft TF 58 (Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) and land-based aircraft TF 57 (Rear Admiral John H. Hoover).
Aircraft from fast carrier group TG 58.3 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) bomb aircraft and airfield facilities at Engebi Island, Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls. Attacks by this carrier group continue on the first three days of February and afterward by Rear Admiral Samuel P. Ginder's carrier group TG 58.4 through 7 February. TG 58.3 aircraft and destroyer Harrison (DD-573) sink Japanese auxiliary netlayer Katsura Maru off Eniwetok.
U.S. air strike on Nauru, in support of the Marshalls operations, sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 25 and Cha 33.
Cargo ship Enceladus (AK-80) is damaged by storm, Solomons, 08°09'N, 157°38'E.
Submarine Trigger (SS-237) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine depot ship Yasukuni Maru northwest of Truk, 09°21'N, 147°02'E, and damages destroyer Michisio, 09°50'N, 147°06'E.
Submarine Tullibee (SS-284) sinks Japanese auxiliary netlayer Hiro Maru north-northwest of Saipan, 15°23'N, 145°35'E.
USAAF B-24 sinks Japanese guardboat Seisho Maru off Celebes.
Japanese plane carries out high-level bombing raid on U.S. shipping in Langemak Bay, New Guinea; freighter Stephen Crane is damaged by bomb that glances off her stack and explodes in the water nearby. One Army passenger is killed; 22 men (including one merchant seaman and one of the 29-man Armed Guard) are injured.
Drugs and syringes have become such a problem in Starbucks bathrooms that the company is installing needle-disposal boxes in certain locations — Starbucks is installing needle-disposal boxes in some bathrooms, as well as exploring other solutions to workers' concerns regarding improperly disposed …
SUN 30 JAN 1944 Pacific
PB2Ys (VP 13, VP 102) from Midway Island carry out nocturnal bombing raid on Wake Island to neutralize Japanese airfield installations there that could threaten the imminent Marshalls operations. Motor torpedo boats Gyoraitei No.5 and Gyoraitei No.6 are sunk during the raid. The strike marks the first time that Coronados are used as bombers, and strikes are repeated on the nights of 4, 8, and 9 February.
During preinvasion bombardment of Wotje, Marshalls, destroyer Anderson (DD-411) is damaged by shore battery, 09°33'N, 170°18'E.
SBDs and F6Fs from TG 52.8, comprising carriers Enterprise (CV-6), Yorktown (CV-10) and Bunker Hill (CV- 17) and small carrier Belleau Wood (CVL-24) sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 18 and Cha 21 at Kwajalein Atoll, Marshalls; auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 14, Cha 19, and Cha 28 at Mili; and damage cargo vessel Katsura Maru at Eniwetok. Destroyer Phelps (DD-360) subsequently finishes off the crippled enemy merchantman.
Carrier Planes Are Launched For Roi-Namur Island Strike, Marshall Island Invasion, 30 JAN 1944
Battleships Washington (BB 55), Indiana (BB 58) and Massachusetts (BB 59) and destroyers Ingersoll (DD- 652), Knapp (DD-653), Caperton (DD-650), and Cogswell (DD-651) bombard Japanese installations at Kwajalein.
Battleship North Carolina (BB 55) sinks transport Eiko Maru off west coast of Roi, 09°10'N, 167°20'E (see 14 February).
Destroyer Burns (DD-588) sinks Japanese transport Akibasan Maru and guardboat Nichiei Maru off Ujae Atoll, Marshalls.
Navy SBDs and TBFs, supported by Allied fighters, bomb Japanese shipping at Rabaul, sinking water supply ship Iwata Maru and damaging auxiliary vessel Juzan Maru, 04°12'S, 152°12'E.
TG 31.8 (four destroyers, three high-speed transports, and two motor torpedo boats) lands 30th New Zealand Battalion and U.S. Navy personnel on the Green Islands, north of Bougainville, to locate areas suitable for airstrips and landing beaches. The reconnoitering force is recovered the next day.
Submarine Seahorse (SS-304) attacks Japanese convoy on the Palau-Rabaul track, sinking army cargo ship Toko Maru southeast of Palau, 06°10'N, 138°14'E.
Submarine Spearfish (SS-190) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking transport Tamashima Maru about 400 miles north-northeast of Saipan, 21°15'N, 149°18'E.
Deep space radio waves baffle astronomers; aliens not ruled out — Aliens! — Astronomers can't rule out that possibility after an exciting new discovery. A team in Canada recently stumbled upon ultra-brief repeating waves from deep space for only the second time in history.
SAT 29 JAN 1944 Pacific
Aircraft from fast carrier force TF 58 (Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) begin series of strikes to destroy Japanese air power and shipping in the Marshalls. Aircraft from TG 58.1 sink Japanese auxiliary netlayer Uji Maru. Attacks continue daily until 6 February.
Submarine Bowfin (SS-287) lays mines off southeastern coast of Borneo.
Submarine Tambor (SS-198) attacks Japanese convoy in the Nansei Shoto, sinking merchant cargo ship Shuntai Maru north of Okinawa, 27°51'N, 128°24'E.
During Japanese bombing raid on U.S. shipping off Cape Cretin*, New Guinea, freighter George Sterling is damaged by near-miss, 06°41'S, 147°52'E. There are no fatalities among complement (including the 26-man Armed Guard).
Mediterranean
German planes bomb U.S. shipping off the invasion beaches at Anzio and Nettuno; off the former place, rescue tug ATR-1 is damaged by near-miss of bomb, 41°27'N, 12°40'E. freighter Alexander Martin is damaged by strafing but there are no fatalities among the ship's complement (including the 24-man Armed Guard). Off Nettuno, freighter Samuel Huntington† is sunk by bombs; three merchant sailors die in the explosions, one will die of his wounds later. Her survivors are rescued by tank landing craft LCT-277. There are no casualties among the 39-man Armed Guard; the ship will later be written off as a total loss. LCT-198 rescues survivors from British light AA cruiser HMS Spartan [along with HMS Dido and HMS Delhi, among others.]
Upcoming EventsWhere to heckle this chickenshit asshole. If he's not man enough to run as a Democrat, he should go fuck himself. (Well, he should do that on general principles alone.)
MOMENTS LATER: Asshole is now the arbiter of "American", which gives Breitbart & The Daily Caller the chance to channel their inner McCarthy.
If 2020 doesn't work out for President Trump, the next commander-in-chief may want [sic] keep him in the White House as a tour guide.
With an atypical yet "gregarious and charming" demeanor, the president spices up history-laden White House tours with some very colorful commentary that noticeably "acknowledge[s] his reputation as a television addict," former Trump staffer Cliff Sims details in his forthcoming book Team of Vipers.
Trump's first tour stop for "senators, New York friends, or other guests" is the Oval Office, quickly followed by a step through a side door, The Washington Post details from an advance copy of the book. That's where Trump frequently verges off into "lengthy, sometimes crass conversations" about former President Bill Clinton and ex-White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the Post confirms. Next up is the Lincoln Bedroom, where Trump has questioned how former President Abraham Lincoln slept on such a short bed. "He was a really tall guy!," a tour attendee recalled Trump saying.
But the highlight of the trip is a private dining room, where Trump reportedly suggests former President Barack Obama "watched basketball all day," the Post writes. Trump also claimed there was a hole in the room's wall when he took over the White House — all of which a former Obama staffer denies. As the tour continues, Trump "brags about how many television sets there are in the West Wing," the Post writes. He also touts what he calls a "Super TiVo" channel-switching system made just for him, Sims' book and White House aides say.
FRI 28 JAN 1944 Pacific
Submarine Bowfin (SS-287) damages Japanese oiler Kamoi off Makassar, N.E.I., 03°25'S, 118°15'E.
USAAF B-24 (13th Air Force) and USN PBYs sink Japanese transport Neikai Maru south of Kavieng, 03°45'S, 150°38'E; midget submarine Ha.49, carried on board Neikai Maru, is lost as well.
Atlantic
PB4Y-1 (VB 103) sinks German submarine U-271 off Limerick, Eire, 53°15'N, 15°52'W.
Mediterranean
Off Anzio, motor torpedo boat PT-201--that has Lieutenant General Mark Clark, Commanding General of the U.S. Fifth Army, on board--is damaged by friendly fire from minesweeper Sway (AM-120); submarine chaser SC-534 is damaged by near-miss of bomb.
THU 27 JAN 1944 Pacific
Submarine Swordfish (SS-193), in attack on Japanese convoy about 130 miles south of Tokyo Bay, sinks gunboat Kasagi Maru, 33°31'N, 139°36'E.
Submarine Thresher (SS-200) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking transport Kosei Maru and merchant cargo ship Kikuzuki Maru about 70 miles southwest of Formosa, 22°11'N, 119°12'E.
SBD & TBF Strike On Kwajalein Atoll, Invasion Of Marshall Islands, 27 JAN 1944
Mediterranean
German air opposition to landings at Anzio begins to increase; submarine chaser SC-534 is damaged by near-miss of bomb. Adverse weather conditions there cause damage to one large infantry landing craft (LCI[L]) and eleven tank landing craft (LCT).
WED 26 JAN 1944 Pacific
TG 74.2 (Rear Admiral Russell S. Berkey), consisting of two light cruisers and three destroyers, bombards Japanese installations in Madang-Alexischafen area of New Guinea.
Motor torpedo boat PT-110 is sunk by depth charge explosion following collision with motor torpedo boat PT-114,Ablingi Harbor, New Britain, 06°17'S, 150°09'E; PT-114 is damaged.
Escort carriers Suwanee (CVE-27) and Sangamon (CVE-26) are damaged in collision while en route to the Marshalls.
Submarine Crevalle (SS-291) sinks Japanese gunboat Busho Maru in South China Sea, about 175 miles southeast of Cape St. Jacques, French Indochina, 08°30'N, 109°10'E.
Submarine Hake (SS-256) sinks Japanese auxiliary netlayer Shuko Maru off Ambon, N.E.I., 05°50'N, 126°00'E.
Submarine Skipjack (SS-184) sinks Japanese destroyer Suzukaze 140 miles northwest of Ponape, Carolines, 09°00'N, 157°27'E, and transport Okitsu Maru 150 miles northwest of Ponape, 09°22'N, 157°26'E.
British submarine HMS Templar damages Japanese light cruiser Kitakami southwest of Penang, Malaya, 04°54'N, 98°28'E.
Mediterranean
Off Anzio, mines sink infantry landing craft LCI-32 and damage tank landing ship LST-422. During German air raid on shipping off the invasion beaches, U.S. freighter John Banyard is damaged by near-miss of aerial bomb. While there are no casualties to those on board (including the 27-man Armed Guard), the ship will later be written off as a total loss. Off Nettuno, a German fighter plane crashes into freighter Hilary A. Herbert shortly before the freighter is further damaged by the near-miss of a bomb. Beached to prevent her loss, Hilary A. Herbert is later repaired and returned to service.
Arctic
German submarines continue attacks against Murmansk- bound convoy JW 56A. U.S. freighter Andrew G. Curtin is torpedoed and sunk by U-716, 73°25'N, 25°16'E; two of the merchant crew and one Armed Guard sailor (of the 43-man merchant complement and the 28-man Armed Guard, respectively) perish. British destroyer HMS Inconstant rescues the survivors.
Indian Ocean
U.S. freighter Walter Camp is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-532 at 10°00'N, 71°40'E; all hands (40 merchant crew, 28 Armed Guards and one passenger) survive. British light cruiser HMS Danae rescues them four and a half days later.
Ben Collins / NBC News: 4chan trolls flood laid off HuffPost, Buzzfeed reporters with death threats — The threats are part of a coordinated campaign organized on the far-right message board. — Shortly after he tweeted the news of his own layoff, Nick Wing checked his inbox at the Huffington Post and saw an email with a few pictures from a troll.
And in conclusion, fuck everybody & everything to Hell. Twice.
“Roger Stone, a longtime informal adviser to President Trump who has spent decades plying the dark arts of scandal-mongering and dirty tricks to help influence American political campaigns, was indicted Friday in the special counsel investigation,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Stone was charged with seven counts, including obstruction of an official proceeding, making false statements and witness tampering.”
That's all we have so far. Don't stay tuned, we're off to sleep.
Bigger question: Is Putin setting the stage for Trump to set the stage for a "Military Intervention"? (There's a euphemism.) "Venezuelan Missile Crisis", here we come.
Davos is a microcosm of the world — and the outlook is grim
led to this Fareed Zakaria load, from which we excerpted this, to put in the "Ha ha ha. Fuck you." file. Shorter: More office drones to be made redundant. Bigger picture shorter: Whimper-not-a-bang grim. Incessant entropy & ennui, no end to any of it.
The one area of consistent optimism among the attendees remains technology. Executives from multinational corporations such as Novartis and Cargill spoke about the next great technological opportunity — leveraging artificial intelligence to make their companies far more efficient and productive. This is a trend that they see as inexorable, forcing them to adapt or watch the competition grow. Executives and experts alike foresee that another layer of white-collar jobs could be at risk — those involving routine analytic skills. But chief executives here voiced optimism that it will all work out.
No doubt everything will be fine for the chief executives. It always is. But don't you count on finding another job, disposable human resource.
The family is the foundation of Western Civilization. This should give you an idea of the shape of Western Civilization.
Woman Fatally Stabbed, Husband Wounded in Santa Monica; Adult Son Suspected
A woman was fatally stabbed Thursday morning and her husband wounded, allegedly at the hands
of their adult son, in a home in Santa Monica.
Officers responded about 6:20 a.m. to an assistance call in the 1200 block of Sunset Avenue and
upon arrival located two men and a woman, all suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to
Santa Monica Police Department Sgt. Roberto Villegas.
Firefighters arrived and treated the wounded, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene, Villegas said.
Both men were taken to a hospital, one with critical stab wounds to the chest and the other with
stab wounds to the lower body, the sergeant said.
“The preliminary investigation revealed the three individuals are related: mother, father, and
adult son in his 40s,” Villegas said.
The son is considered a suspect but has not been booked because of his medical condition,
Villegas said, adding the violence “stems from a family issue.”
Anyone with information was urged to call (310) 458-8943 to speak with Detective Elias;
(310) 458-8992 to speak with Sgt. Skogh; or the Santa Monica Police Department at (310) 458-8491.
MON 24 JAN 1944 Pacific
USMC TBFs, supported by large concentration of USN, USMC, USAAF and RNZAF fighters, attack Japanese shipping at Rabaul, sinking water tanker Koan Maru, aircraft transport Lyon Maru (previously rendered unnavigable on 17 January) and army cargo ships Taisho Maru and Yamayuri Maru, 04°13'S, 152°11'E.
PB4Ys damage cargo ship Ogashima Maru south of Kwajalein, 08°14'N, 168°02'E; deemed beyond salvage, Ogashima Maru is scuttled by auxiliary minesweeper No.5 Tama Maru. PB4Ys also sink auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 14 70 miles east-southeast of Eniwetok, 11°10'N, 163°25'E.
USAAF B-25s bomb Japanese shipping and harbor installations at Manus, sinking transport Heiwa Maru and auxiliary minelayer Tatsu Maru, and damaging auxiliary minelayer Matsu Maru.
USAAF B-25s (14th Air Force) sink Japanese ship Liu Hsing in Lishen Bay, China, 26°58'N, 120°04'E.
Submarine Sturgeon (SS-187) attacks Japanese convoy in eastern approaches to Bungo Suido, sinking army cargo ship Chosen Maru, 32°28'N, 132°23'E.
Japanese planes bomb U.S. shipping in Dreger Bay, New Guinea, damaging freighter John Muir at 06°32'08"N, 147°53'05"E, with one direct hit and at least four near-misses that injure 2 of 42 merchant sailors, one of the 28-man Armed Guard and 13 of the 40 Construction Battalion stevedores embarked to work cargo.
Mediterranean
Tank landing craft LCT-185 founders and sinks in heavy weather off Bizerte, Tunisia.
German planes attack invasion shipping off the Anzio beachhead: bombs damage destroyer Plunkett (DD-431), 41°15'N, 12°37'E, and minesweeper Prevail (AM-107), 41°00'N, 12°00'E; aerial torpedo damages destroyer Mayo (DD-422), 41°24'N, 12°43'E;
During German air raid on Allied shipping at Naples, Italy, U.S. freighter F.A.C. Muhlenberg is damaged by bomb and by near-miss of bomb; ship's crew and port firefighting crews extinguish the fires thus started. Of the ship's complement, 6 of 46 merchant sailors die; 1 of the 31-man Armed Guard perishes in the blaze.
Arctic
German submarines attack Murmansk-bound convoy JW 56A. U.S. freighter Penelope Barker is torpedoed and sunk by U-278 about 115 miles from North Cape, Norway, 72°23'N, 23°10'E; 10 merchant sailors and 5 Armed Guard men (of the 43-man merchant complement and the 28-man Armed Guard, respectively) perish in the explosions. British destroyer HMS Savage rescues the survivors (see 26 January).
Kudlow: Federal employees working without pay are "volunteering" because of “their love for the country and the office of the presidency and presumably their allegiance to President Trump.” (H/t @girlsreallyrule) pic.twitter.com/sYKwBzqYmF
Shouldn't this objectively fascist son-of-a-bitch Kudlow still be doing hard time for all the drug crimes he committed, rather than getting a pass on his security clearance?
It is not clear at this time that HUD will have adequate resources for March payments should the current government shutdown stretch into March. HACLA receives most its funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which is one of the federal branches directly affected by the shutdown.
I've typed it before & I'm typing it here, now: If I am evicted (again) I will be in full nothing-left-to-my-life-&-I'm-nothing-anyway mode, & blood will flow. My blood won't be the first to leave its container, either.
The national media, iNternet, yada, are not that concerned w/ my plight & that of the approximately two million other households that receive vouchers. One hand-wringer from one or two nat'l. outlets. Also of great concern: The "housing market" & how this will affect developers.
Hey, fuck us, right? We're nobodies, w/ neither money nor influence. Don't count, don't exist, will not be missed.
Giuliani's media blitz draws ire of Trump and some allies — NEW YORK (AP) — Rudy Giuliani's latest media blitz, which was filled with a dizzying array of misstatements and hurried clarifications, agitated President Donald Trump and some of his allies, who have raised the possibility …
4 arrested in plot to attack Muslim community in New York
Police in New York Tuesday announced the arrest of four suspects in an alleged terror plot. They described the plan to attack a group of Muslims in central New York state as serious and real.
Brian Colaneri, 20; Vincent Vetromile, 19; Andrew Crysel, 18; and a 16-year-old suspect whose name is being withheld, were arrested Friday in the town Greece.
"If they had carried out this plot, which every indication is that they were going to, people would've died," said Chief Patrick Phelan.
Investigators said the suspects, who knew each other from the Boy Scouts, were targeting Islamberg, a rural community that's home to several hundred Muslims and the headquarters for The Muslims of America organization.
According to court papers, the suspects had built three improvised explosive devices "in the shape of a mason jar wrapped in duct tape." Investigators said they had access to 23 rifles and shotguns.
"We found firearms in almost every location that we searched and once again the bombs were all in one location. That was the home of the 16-year-old," Phelan said.
CBS NEWS
The bombs are being sent to FBI labs in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis where investigators will try to determine if the devices were viable.
Islamberg was the target of another planned attack in 2015 when Robert Doggart, a former congressional candidate from Tennessee, was arrested. He was eventually sentenced to 20 years in prison for plotting to burn down a mosque, a school and a cafeteria in the community.
In this case, the tip that led to the arrests came from a local school. Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that there could be more arrests and that the suspects could face federal charges.
Police said the 16-year-old suspect was showing suspicious pictures on his phone and another student passed along the information. Police began the investigation, and quickly made the arrests.
Lessons learned: Trust no one; if they aren't idiots they're rats. The only people who'd want to conspire w/ me are obviously idiots or mental cases anyway. And how did I forgot the parts of the Scout Oath & Scout Law about killing ragheads?