Saturday, August 31, 2019

Whole Lotta Sinkin' Goin' On

THU 31 AUG 1944
Pacific
TG 38.4 (Rear Admiral Ralph E. Davison) attacks Iwo Jima and Chichi Jima (strikes will be repeated on 1 and 2 September) to neutralize Japanese installations there and provide a diversion in advance of planned operations in the Palau, Morotai, and Philippine areas. Off Iwo Jima, F6Fs from Franklin (CV-13) sink auxiliary minesweeper No.8 Toshi Maru, 25°00'N, 141°50'E, and merchant cargo ship Suruga Maru, 24°46'N, 141°19'E.

U.S. submarines attack Japanese convoy bount for Manila. In Luzon Strait south of Formosa, Barb (SS-220) sinks auxiliary minesweeper No.20 Hinode Maru, 21°21'N, 121°11'E; and army cargo ship Okuni Maru, 21°14'N, 121°22'E. Queenfish (SS-393) sinks army tanker Chiyoda Maru, 21°21'N, 121°06'E, and damages army tanker Rikke Maru, 21°30'N, 121°19'E. Sealion (SS-315) sinks minelayer Shirataka, 21°05'N, 121°26'E.

Submarine Redfish (SS-272) lands supplies and evacuates people from Palawan Island.

PBYs sink small Japanese cargo vessels No.2 Kairyu Maru and Kabuchi Maru off Ceram.

RAAF Mitchells sink small Japanese cargo vessel No.8 Sanko Maru off north coast of Alor Island.

Other Japanese casualties include guardboat No.2 Kyoshin Maru sunk by U.S. aircraft off Halmahera; merchant cargo ship Suruga Maru sunk by aircraft off Iwo Jima, 24°46'N, 141°19'E.; and merchant cargo ship Hoyo Maru damaged by aircraft, Tayeh, Yangtze River.

All-American Wknd.

Last Night

Police in Mobile, Ala. have arrested a 17-year-old in connection with a shooting incident that injured 10 teenagers at a high school football game Friday evening. The suspect has been charged with nine counts of attempted murder.

According to a statement from the Mobile Police Department, the shooting occurred at approximately 9:25 p.m. on Friday night at the Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile. Nine people were shot, and according to the Associated Press, one additional person had a seizure shortly after the shooting. The department said none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.

In a press conference on Saturday, police chief Lawrence Battiste said of the nine victims who had been hospitalized, six had been released and three remained in local hospitals.

Killer On The Road

MIDLAND/ODESSA, Tx. (KOSA) -- From the City of Midland: We believe there are two shooters in two separate vehicles. One suspect is believed to be at the Cinergy in Midland and the other is believed to be driving on Loop 250 in Midland. The two vehicles in question are: gold/white small Toyota truck and a USPS Postal Van. Please stay away from these areas and stay indoors.

USPS has recalled its vehicles to help authorities track down the suspect.

From the City of Odessa: 20 injuries have been reported in connection to the shooting. No other details are available at this time.

From DPS: The public is urged to avoid I-20 in Odessa, Midland and Big Spring as authorities search for a suspect who has shot several people including an officer.

The City of Odessa is urging the public to stay inside their homes.

According to the City of Midland, a suspect shot a trooper in the westbound lanes of I-20 and shot several people afterwards.

Authorities are searching for a second suspect who may have taken a U.S. Post Office vehicle.

Authorities are responding to reports of an active shooter in Odessa on Saturday afternoon.

The Midland Police Department shared on its Facebook page that there are reports of an active shooter in Odessa near Home Depot.

The UTPB campus has gone into lockdown.

No other details are available at this time.
[NPR/KOSA]

Another Meaningless Exercise
In Composition

Giant Inuit Air.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Fri. X Freak-Out

"Landlord landlord landlord" was earworming me & Google's first offering was this condensation of a (late '40s?) juvenile delinquency flick matched to X's best (i.e., fastest) tune.
Trabalho final de Expressão por Imagens e Sons II | Maria Kauffmann Audiovisual 2011
Excelente, Maria.

Jacksonville Blows Up

WED 30 AUG 1944
Pacific
Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) lands men and supplies on east coast of Luzon.

Atlantic
U.S. tanker Jacksonville, steaming in convoy CU 36, is torpedoed by German submarine U-482 while en route to Loch Ewe, Scotland, at 55°30'N, 07°30'W; the gasoline cargo explodes, giving little chance for the 49-man merchant complement or the 29-man Armed Guard to abandon the blazing ship, which breaks in twain at the second massive explosion. Destroyer escort Poole (DE-151) rescues a fireman and one Armed Guard gunner, Jacksonville's only survivors. Escort vessels use depth charges and gunfire to scuttle the after section of the ship; the forward section sinks on its own accord.

Liberation 1944

Lowell Thomas describes the death of a Nazi. Then they get his gun.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Krauts Surrender To Marines

TUE 29 AUG 1944
Pacific
Destroyer escort Conklin (DE-439) accidentally fires upon U.S. freighter Dominican Victory because of unfamiliarity with recognition signals north of the Marshalls.

Infantry landing craft LCI-566 is damaged by grounding, south of Oahu, 20°56'N, 157°00'E.

Submarine Jack (SS-259) sinks Japanese minesweeper W.28 and army cargo ship Mexico Maru northwest of Menado, Celebes, 02°15'N, 122°50.

PBY sinks Japanese auxiliary sailing vessel Toyokuni Maru at entrance to Ambon Bay, 03°22'S, 129°39'E.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Koryu Maru is sunk by aircraft, Kiukiang, China.

Japanese tanker Kaiko Maru is damaged by mine in Strait of Malacca, 03°40'N, 100°06'E.

Arabian Sea
Dutch freighter Sanetta and U.S. freighter Benjamin Bourn between them rescue the 66 survivors from the U.S. freighter John Barry, which had been sunk by German submarine U-859 the day before.

Mediterranean
Marine detachments from heavy cruiser Augusta (CA-31) and light cruiser Philadelphia (CL-41) accept the surrender of two German-held islands in Marseilles Harbor and disarm the garrisons.

U.S. motor torpedo boats PT-302, PT-303, and PT-304 attack two corvettes and one destroyer off Cap Mele, compelling the enemy ships to reverse course and steam for Genoa, Italy. The PTs will continue their patrol into the next morning but make no further sightings.

Gettin' Meta W/ It

Chris Cillizza / CNN:
The Trump team is now lying about lying  —  Cuomo to Trump press secretary: He lies and you know it  —  (CNN) On Wednesday night, Trump reelection campaign press secretary Kayleigh McEnany did an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo.  It was, uh, contentious.  But one part of the back-and-forth between the two really -- and I mean really -- stood out. Here it is:
CUOMO: You don't think this President has lied to the American people?
MCENANY: Let me finish, Chris.
CUOMO: You--
MCENANY: No, I don't think the President has lied.
CUOMO: --have to answer that question, first.
MCENANY: I don't think the President has lied.
CUOMO: He has never lied to the American people?
MCENANY: No, I don't think the President has lied.

That exchange comes hard on the heels of a Washington Post interview with White House communications director Stephanie Grisham in which she said this of President Donald Trump's lies: "I don't think they're lies. ... I think the President communicates in a way that some people, especially the media, aren't necessarily comfortable with. A lot of times they take him so literally. I know people will roll their eyes if I say he was just kidding or was speaking in hypotheticals, but sometimes he is. What I've learned about him is that he loves this country and he's not going to lie to this country."

So. Here we are. Or, here we are again. After all, White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway made this same argument in the earliest days of Trump's presidency, when she told NBC's Chuck Todd this about the false claim that Trump's inauguration drew the largest crowd ever: "You're saying it's a falsehood. And they're giving -- Sean Spicer, our press secretary -- gave alternative facts."

Make no mistake about what is happening here. This is lying about lying. Plain and simple.

Let me prove that -- anecdotally and with bigger data.

First, an example from just the last few days. During a press conference at the G7 on Monday, Trump was asked about his previous claim that there were phone calls being exchanged by top-level US and Chinese aides over a possible end to the trade war. Here's how he responded: "You've had many calls over the last 24 hours but certainly over the last 48 hours. We've had many calls, not just one. This isn't one. And these are high-level calls. They want to make a deal."

Except, it turns out that wasn't true. Here's CNN's White House team on the phone call claims: "Though Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin insisted there had been 'communication,' aides privately conceded the phone calls Trump described didn't happen they way he said they did.

"Instead, two officials said Trump was eager to project optimism that might boost markets, and conflated comments from China's vice premier with direct communication from the Chinese."

So, the Chinese vice premier said in a statement that he hoped they could find a way to have a "calm" negotiation, and Trump turned that into "many ... high level calls." So, that's a lie.

Now, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. CNN's own Daniel Dale reported Wednesday that Trump made 48 false claims in the past six days alone -- including almost two dozen about the economy. Step even further back and the picture is even clearer. The Washington Post's Fact Checker blog counted more than 12,000 false or misleading statements from Trump in his first 928 days in office, an average of 13 inaccurate claims a day.

The simple fact is that Trump -- in his presidency and in his life before politics -- has never put any value in facts or truth. Trump is far more interested in creating the reality he prefers -- whether or not that comports with established facts. Let's remember that this is a man who impersonated a non-existent staffer in the Trump organization -- John Barron! -- to chat up gossip tabloids in New York City about his own love life.

That willingness to say whatever serves his interests at the moment trickles down. In his businesses. And in the White House. If the boss has no qualms about lying, then why would anyone underneath him worry about it?
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:   Nobody around Trump has ever seen him lie
Peter Weber / The Week:   Trump made up those ‘high-level’ Chinese trade-talk calls to boost markets, aides admit
Digby / Hullabaloo:   Which family members did he tell in advance?
Dana / Patterico's Pontifications:   Trump Team Lies About Trump's Lies

U.S. 28th Infantry Division
Marches Through Paris

On 29 August, the U.S. Army's 28th Infantry Division, which had assembled in the Bois de Boulogne the previous night, paraded 24-abreast up the Avenue Foch to the Arc de Triomphe, then down the Champs Élysées. Joyous crowds greeted the Americans as the entire division, men and vehicles, marched through Paris "on its way to assigned attack positions northeast of the French capital".
American heavy metal on the move.Corn-fed American meat on the march.

Tragedy

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Further Evidence There's Never Been A "Democracy" On The Face Of This Earth

All over but the anarchy now.
The Guardian:  ‘Stop the coup’: Protests across UK over Johnson's suspension of parliament  —  Organisers say in London thousands marched from Commons Green towards Downing Street  —  Aamna Mohdin, Maya Wolfe-Robinson and Marvel Kalukembi — Within hours of Boris Johnson's decision to suspend parliament, impromptu protests were being held in major city centres across the country, including in front of the Palace of Westminster in central London.

Demonstrations were scheduled to be held from late afternoon onwards in areas including Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Cambridge, Brighton, Durham, Milton Keynes and Chester.

Protesters gathered at Commons Green, just outside Parliament, and marched towards Downing Street. Organisers claimed the crowd numbered in the thousands.

The demonstrators described the move to suspend parliament as a coup and called for Johnson to resign. At one point, the traffic at Downing Street was at a standstill as protesters chanted “save our democracy, stop the coup” and sang “No one voted for Boris”.

Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green party, was one of many opposition politicians present. She said: “We’re here to stand against Boris Johnson’s coup. We have a representative democracy and by suspending parliament, you are removing people’s democratic right.”

Speaking of the decision to prorogue, she said: “I feel like we’ve been expecting this for a while but I didn’t think he would make such a brutal move that showed such a disregard for our parliamentary procedures.”

She added: “I think what he has done is unite parts of the country who don’t support a no-deal and his form of process that is denying democracy.”

Jane Keane, 54, said she had been protesting every day since Michael Gove announced the government would start making preparations for a no-deal. “It is a complete contradiction to what parliament has said three times. They’ve said no deal is unacceptable. My understanding is parliament is sovereign not Boris Johnson.”
Financial Times:  Boris Johnson's suspension of parliament is an affront to democracy
New York Times:   Boris Johnson Shortens the Fuse on Brexit
Kate Proctor / The Guardian:   Boris Johnson's move to prorogue parliament ‘a constitutional outrage’, says Speaker
Alex Wickham / BuzzFeed:
Boris Johnson Is Planning A Series Of Extreme Measures In The Coming Weeks To Force Through Brexit
Tim O'Donnell / The Week:   Boris Johnson might reportedly attack Parliament with a slew of national holidays
Anne Applebaum / Washington Post:
Boris Johnson's constitutional crisis now resembles America's
Benjamin Kentish / The Independent:   Boris Johnson's plan to suspend parliament branded ‘constitutional outrage’ by John Bercow
BBC:
Government asks Queen to suspend Parliament
The Guardian:   Suspension of parliament: MPs react with fury and Davidson set to quit after Johnson move - as it happened
Guy Davies / ABC News:   Queen approves UK government's request to suspend Parliament during crucial Brexit period
GOV.UK:   Queen's Speech: invest in NHS, attack violent crime, cut the cost of living
David A. Wemer / Home Page Rotator:   Will Suspending Parliament Strengthen Boris Johnson's Brexit Hand?
Charlie Cooper / Politico:   Boris Johnson vs. parliament
James Delingpole / Breitbart:   Brexit Is Happening. Savour Those Remoaner Tears!
John Plunkett / The Poke:   The Queen has consented to Boris Johnson's request to prorogue Parliament - 24 favourite responses
Benjamin Soloway / Foreign Policy:   Around the World, Forests Are on Fire
Elliot Hannon / Slate:   Boris Johnson Moves to Suspend U.K. Parliament Ahead of Brexit, Sparking Outrage and Possibly an Election
Dave Brockington / Lawyers, Guns & Money:   Destroying British Democracy to Save Democracy, or Something.
"Must these Englishmen live that I might die? Must they live that I might die?"

Weds. Wig-Out:
Double-You Two-Time

This reporter did three semesters in Walla Walla.
Bonus Track:
Just For Fun Track: Don't be so literal, it's a figure of speech!

Last Krauts At Toulon Surrender

MON 28 AUG 1944
Pacific
USAAF B-25s sink auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 77 at south entrance of Paramushiro straits, Kurils, 50°31'N, 150°12.7'E.

Arabian Sea
U.S. freighter John Barry en route from Aden to the Persian Gulf, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-859 at 15°10'N, 55°18'E. Two members of the merchant crew are lost during the abandonment, but 39 of the 41-man merchant complement and the entire 27-man Armed Guard survive (see 29 August).

Mediterranean
German garrisons at Marseilles, including outlying islands and St. Mandrier battery (the sole remaining enemy pocket in Toulon), surrender at 1100.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

More Seamanship

SUN 27 AUG 1944
Pacific
Submarine Guitarro (SS-363) attacks Japanese convoy bound for Coron Bay, sinking merchant tanker No.25 Nanshin Maru, damaging No.3 Nanshin Maru, and forcing tanker No.25 Nanshin Maru aground, 12°26'N, 119°55'E.

Submarine Stingray (SS-186) lands men and supplies on northwest shore of Luzon.

PVs sink Japanese vessel Tensho Maru between Odomari and Onnekotan Island, Kurils.

High speed minesweeper Boggs (DMS-3) and submarine chaser PC-783 are damaged in collision, San Diego, California.

Atlantic
Tank landing ship LST-327 is damaged by mine, while en route from Cherbourg to Southampton, England.

Mediterranean
Destroyer Ericsson (DD-440) captures fishing vessel attempting to escape Toulon, France, and takes 50 German submariners as POWs. Motor torpedo boat PT-552 sinks four German explosive motorboats at entrance to Toulon, harbor, but control boat escapes.

A Modest Proposal: Just Jokin', Ha Ha

STERILIZE EVERYONE, IMMEDIATELY!!

We can start w/ Rep. King.
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
Rep. Steve King jokes China should sterilize Uighur women and force the Muslims to eat pork  —  Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) joked at a town hall in Audubon, Iowa, Tuesday about sterilizing Muslim women in China “so there's no more Uighurs to be born,” and “trying to force them to eat pork,” the Sioux City Journal reports.
David Edwards / Raw Story:   Steve King jokes about forced sterilization and Muslim concentration camps: ‘Everyone should eat pork’
Rafi Schwartz / Splinter:   Nothing Will Ever Stop Steve King From Being Racist as Hell
Bret Hayworth / Sioux City Journal:   At western Iowa town hall, Steve King jokes about forced feeding of pork to Muslims
Just a joke, ha ha. Next forced feeding will be of the Jews. After all, they killed Jesus, didn't they? Then, “so there's no more Uighurs to be born,” we can start killing them, right? Ha ha, joke. Ha ha ha. C'mon, laugh. Waht's wrong w/ you?

Earthquake Weather & Wind

If It's A Windy Day When A Big Quake Hits, Parts Of LA Could Burn To The Ocean

In movies, when a big earthquake hits, the main danger always seems to be crumbling buildings. But in real life, the fires that follow earthquakes can be even more destructive.

When a quake shakes the ground, gas lines can be severed, power lines can collapse and electrical arcs can start fires as everything smashes together.

In San Francisco, in 1906, the resulting conflagration leveled 22,400 buildings. In 1995, in Japan's Kobe quake, 6,900 structures were damaged by fire. Even in the 1994 Northridge quake, which was relatively small, 110 fires started across the area, contributing to severe damage of 12,000 buildings.

"Any densely built up part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area is at risk of fire following earthquake," said Charles Scawthorn, co-president of SPA Risk, one of the world's leading fire-following-earthquake experts.

However, according to a study conducted by Scawthorn's company for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, some of the most vulnerable parts of the city might not have enough water to fight the number of fires that break out when a big earthquake hits.
Further (more than you can handle or need) detail.

QAnon Up-Date

Sick fucks George Nader & Donald Trump.
Steven Nelson / Washington Examiner:
Child predator George Nader visited White House at least 13 times to meet with Steve Bannon
All the fault of The Left & "Hollyweird", of course. They're the Satanic pre-verts.
“Years ago, these people would have gone to prison for this sort of stuff, exposing children to obscene material, grooming children, exposing them to sexual and indecent material. That’s a crime.”

“The government schools all across America are still exposing the children to this stuff,” he continued. “It’s getting more and more obscene. And I think, quite simply, they have accomplished a radical transformation of the culture using the government school system with kind of air support from the far-left media, and from Hollyweird; the Satanic propaganda, the filth, the LGBT agenda that comes out of all of these places.”

“We can already start to see what is happening,” Newman added. “The breakdown of the family, skyrocketing abortion numbers, school shootings, the collapse of our society … It is an abomination. It is a tragedy of immense proportions and, honestly, I don’t think our society is going to survive another generation or two of this.”
Fingers crossed it doesn't.

Killing A Nazi

The AP covers the Liberation anniversary.
Long the jewel of European cities, Paris suffered relatively little damage in World War II, but its citizens were humiliated, hungry and mistrustful after 50 months under the Nazis.

The liberation of Paris was both joyous and chaotic. It was faster and easier for the Allies than their protracted battle through Normandy and its gun-filled hedgerows. But the fight for the French capital killed nearly 5,000 people, including Parisian civilians, German troops and members of the French Resistance whose sabotage and attacks had prepared the city for the liberation.

After invading in 1940, the Nazi hierarchy ensconced themselves in Paris’ luxury hotels, and hobnobbed at theaters and fine restaurants. Collaborationist militias kept order, and French police were complicit in the most dastardly act of the Occupation: the 1942 roundup of around 13,000 Jews at the Vel d’Hiv bicycle stadium before their eventual deportation to the Auschwitz death camp in German-occupied Poland.

The Parisians who weren’t deported or didn’t flee used ration tickets to eat, wooden soles on shoes to replace scarce leather and sometimes curtains for clothes. The black market thrived.

The D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, helped change the tide of the war, allowing the Allies to push through Normandy and beyond to other German-occupied lands around Western Europe.

The message went out to the French Resistance in Paris that the Allies were advancing. Resistance member Madeleine Riffaud, now 95, described to The Associated Press killing a Nazi soldier on July 23, 1944, on a Paris bridge. Riffaud was spotted as she escaped on her bicycle, then arrested, tortured and jailed before being freed in a prisoner exchange days before the liberation of the city.

Seventy-five years later, she doesn’t take the killing lightly.

“To carry out an action like that isn’t playing with dolls,” she said.

On Aug. 19, 1944, Paris police officers rebelled and took over police headquarters. On the night of Aug. 24, the first Allied troops entered southern Paris. The grand entrance of Gen. Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division followed by Allied forces would come the following day.

The German military governor of Paris, Gen. Dietrich von Choltitz, was arrested at his headquarters at the Meurice Hotel and signed the surrender.

Paris buildings still bear the bullet holes of fighting.
And plaques honoring the fallen.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Insects in The (Musical) News

Bringing Up Father. Possibly still under copyright. Fuck 'em if it is.

Untouched

The sky was not this lovely color in meatspace, nor was the image manipulated.
Fucking robot didn't focus either, but that's another complaint.

Dumb-Ass Lawyer Quote Of The Day

How Long Have Republicans Thought Guns Were "Dangerous", Anyway?

Matt Keeley / Newsweek:
Devin Nunes' attorney argues @DevinNunesMom, @DevinCow parody accounts as dangerous as guns  —  Republican Rep. Devin Nunes from California is suing Twitter as well as a GOP strategist and two anonymous parody accounts.  According to the lawsuit, the Twitter parody accounts …
Matthew Chapman / Raw Story:   Lawyer for Devin Nunes argues parody cow making fun of him on Twitter is as dangerous as a gun
Lisa Needham / Shareblue MediaDevin Nunes' attorney says parody Twitter accounts are as dangerous as guns and fires
Eric Ting / San Francisco Chronicle:   The first hearing in Devin Nunes' cow-related Twitter lawsuit was an udder circus
I would pay (or accept) money for an opportunity to demonstrate the relative differences between a Tweet from a parody acc't. &, say, a round delivered from a Desert Eagle (or even a mere punch from a fist, for sheer visceral fulfillment) to Nunes &/or his cretin att'y.

Bad Seamanship Day From Oz To Dago

SAT 26 AUG 1944
Pacific
Submarine chaser PC(S)-1404 transports a marine reconnaissance party to Aguijan Island; after recovering the leathernecks, she bombards the island.

Light cruiser Boise (CL-47) is damaged when rammed accidentally by harbor tug Heroine, Sydney, Australia.

Submarine tender Pelias (AS-14) is damaged by grounding in San Francisco Bay.

Submarine Batfish (SS-310) causes further damage to grounded destroyer Samidare on Velasco Reef, Palau, 08°30'N, 134°37'E (see 18 August). Submariners observe Japanese blowing up the remainder of the wreckage.

Submarine S-18 (SS-123) is damaged when accidentally rammed by medium landing craft LSM-135, Naval Repair Base, San Diego, California.

Europe
Motor torpedo boats PT-511, PT-514 and PT-520 take part in night engagement (that lasts into the following day) that turns back the last German attempt to reinforce the besieged garrison at Le Havre; the PTs sink German artillery ferries AFP 98 and AFP 108.

It Was 80 Years Ago Today

W2XBS

History.

Custody Up-Date

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE INCARCERATED
IN THE UNITED STATES IS FAR HIGHER THAN 2.5 MILLION

This reporter's estimation is that well over 300 million are being held, & most of them are too dense to notice.
[Shadowproof]

'Bout Time You Morons Wised Up

Kinder, Küche, Kirche

Chad Day / Wall Street Journal:
Americans Have Shifted Dramatically on What Values Matter Most
That's right! Fuck America, fuck Jesus, Moses & Muhammad, & fuck your mom & dad. They've all been lying to you since you were born, & your species is pathetically stupid if it took you this long to realize it. Fuck you all to hell.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

U.S. & French Troops Liberate Paris

FRI 25 AUG 1944
Pacific
Submarine Picuda (SS-382), in attack on Japanese convoy at the western entrance to the Babuyan Channel, sinks destroyer Yunagi 20 miles north-northeast of Cape Bojeador, P.I., 18°45'N, 120°44'E, and merchant tanker Kotoku Maru, 18°46'N, 120°46'E; later, submarine Redfish (SS-395) comes upon the convoy attacked earlier by Picuda and damages army cargo ship Batopaha Maru north-northeast of Cape Bojeador, 18°31'N, 120°32'E; Manshu Maru tows the crippled Batopaha Maru to Bangui Bay where she is beached.

Submarine Tang (SS-306) sinks Japanese merchant tanker No.8 Nanko Maru off Honshu, 33°55'N, 136°18'E.

General stores issue ship Talita (AKS-8) is attacked by accident by U.S. merchant tanker Amatilla en route from Eniwetok to Espiritu Santo.

Europe
U.S. and French troops liberate Paris, France.
The liberation of Paris didn’t have Allied priority, but an uprising of the population against the Germans on 19 August made it necessary. Thus the 2nd French Armoured Division was sent to Paris and entered the city on 24 August. On 26 August a huge triumphal parade was held on the Champs-Élysées.
Tl;dw.Unissued/unused material.
Motor torpedo boats PT-513, PT-516, and PT-519 engage German coastal craft off Le Havre; PT-513 and PT-516 are damaged.

Musical Commentary

So much awfulness we only bother if there's a musical statement to be made.

Nearly 900,000 asylum seekers living in limbo in EU, figures show

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Metro Ridership Down

Seriously.
Westbound on Melrose Ave., 1941 hrs. on Sat. night. One other rider when I boarded, but not for long.
These illiterates don't scare this reporter one effing bit.
Photography and videotaping is only permissible in public areas and is not permitted in inside [sic] trains or buses for privacy and safety reasons.

Harder On Eternal Patrol

THU 24 AUG 1944
Pacific
Submarine chaser SC-1009 is damaged by grounding off Kahului, Maui, T.H.

Submarine Harder (SS-257) is sunk by Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No. 22 off west coast of Luzon, 15°50'N, 119°43'E.

Submarine Ronquil (SS-396) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking army cargo ship No.3 Yoshida Maru off Keelung, Formosa, 25°29'N, 123°15'E, and merchant cargo ship Fukurei Maru off Sankaku Island, 25°13'N, 121°49'E.

Submarine Sailfish (SS-192) attacks Japanese convoy in Luzon Strait, sinking transport Toan Maru, 21°23'N, 121°37'E.

Submarine Seal (SS-183) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Tosei Maru off southeast coast of Hokkaido, 42°30'N, 144°05'E.

British carrier force attacks Padang, Sumatra, sinking Japanese merchant cargo ship Shiretoko Maru off the harbor and damaging Senko Maru and Chisho Maru.

Japanese casualties include minelayer Itsukushima, damaged by aircraft off Menado, N.E.I.

Japanese auxiliary vessel Senko Maru is damaged by aircraft north of Boetoeng harbor.

Japanese army cargo ship No.21 Kongo Maru is sunk by aircraft, Philippine location unspecified.

Mediterranean
Destroyer Rodman (DD-456) is incapacitated by inoperative 5-inch director, off southern France.

Motor torpedo boat PT-555 is damaged by mine at Cap Couronne bouy; a French vessel attempting to
rescue crew is mined as well, 43°19'N, 05°30'E.

Feliz Quincé

Friday, August 23, 2019

Finally, Surface Action.
(Mostly Collisions.)

WED 23 AUG 1944
Pacific
Destroyer Cassin (DD-372), destroyer escort Cabana (DE-260), and infantry landing craft (gunboat) LCI(G)-346 and LCI(G)-438 bombard Japanese installations and positions on Aguijan Island, Marianas; ships repeat bombardment (LCI(G)-348 replaces LCI(G)-438 on 24 and 25 August) daily until 26 August.

Battleships Tennessee (BB-43) and California (BB-44) en route from Eniwetok to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, collide; damage to California will prevent her from participating in upcoming Palau operations.

Submarine Haddo (SS-255) torpedoes Japanese destroyer Asakaze as the enemy warship is escorting tanker Niyo Maru, 20 miles southwest of Cape Bolinao, Luzon, P.I., 16°06'N, 119°44'E. Asakaze sinks near Dasol Bay after attempts at salvage fail.

Submarine Tang (SS-306) attacks Japanese convoy off Honshu, sinking cargo ship Tsukushi Maru off Hamamatsu, 34°37'N, 137°52'E.

USAAF B-24s sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.5 Shonan Maru northwest of Chichi Jima, 27°07'N, 142°06'E.

Mediterranean
German garrison on Isle de Porquerolles, except isolated stragglers, surrenders to Commander TG 86.3 in light cruiser Omaha (CL-4); the island will then be occupied by Senegalese troops.

Destroyer escort Solar (DE-221) is damaged by collision with underwater object., [WHERE]. [Sic. No kidding. WHERE?]

High speed transport Tattnall (APD-19) is damaged by collision with underwater object off southern France.

Europe
U.S. freighter Louis Kossuth, bound for Utah Beach, Normandy, is torpedoed by German submarine U-989 at 50°16'N, 01°41'30"W. Of the 334 embarked troops, 13 are injured; there are no casualties to either the merchant complement (40 men) or the 28-man Armed Guard, and the ship is towed to Cowes, England, by British tug Empire Winnie. [Churchill or The Pooh?]

You Are HEREBY ORDERED To ...

... put a lip-lock on my love-muscle. Or at least fix me a sammich.

Another Troll Noticed

Although this one may have already given himself away.
Right-wing agitator Mike Cernovich said he knows of young staffers in the White House who are fans of Bronze Age Pervert’s Twitter account — where the author posts photos of buff, shirtless men and promotes far-right positions on the culture war — though he does not know if they have read the book.

The 200-page book mixes Nietzschean philosophy with critiques of contemporary Western society, denigrating homosexuality, Judiasm, Islam, feminism and much else along the way. “Inside every noble Greek was an unquenchable lust for power,” is one fairly typical statement. “Modern world not bad just because modern,” is another, displaying the author’s habit of lapsing into broken English by dropping articles. The book claims that the leaders of the European Union have “tiny moleman eyes.” Many of its passages are profane and unprintable.

[...]

In his book, Bronze Age Pervert describes Western societies as ruled by “bug men” and “lords of lies,” urging readers to pursue a life of “sun and steel” — that is, tanning and weightlifting.
Nice work if you can get it, & not gay in the least.

[POLITICO]

Summer's Almost Gone ...

Thursday, August 22, 2019

As Usual, I Have A Better Idea: MANDATORY STERILIZATION NOW!

Behavioral Sink Report

Southern California must plan for 1.3 million new homes in the next decade, Newsom says

Stop it breeder scum, just stop it!!
“The governor has said California must use every tool in its toolbox to combat the state’s housing affordability crisis,” Newsom spokesman Nathan Click said in a statement. “This is part of that approach.”
Tool number one should be a gawd-damn scalpel.

And w/ even more humanoid scum on the loose, prepare to lose more of your empty, post-meaning life in traffic.
Yet another study was released Thursday ranking the Los Angeles area as worst in the nation for road congestion, with the average commuter wasting 119 hours a year sitting in traffic.

According to the 2019 Urban Mobility Report prepared by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, the Los Angeles-Anaheim-Long Beach region also topped the nation in total annual delay, with commuters spending a combined 971,478,000 hours stuck in traffic.

The national average for the number of hours commuters spend stuck in traffic was 54, according to the report, which is based on figures from 2017, the most recent available.
Plus ça change ...[L.A.Times/mynewsLA.com]

A Candid Lament

TUE 22 AUG 1944
Pacific
Submarine Bowfin (SS-287) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking army cargo ship Tsushima Maru in the Nansei Shoto, 29°30'N, 129°30'E.

Submarines Haddo (SS-255) and Harder (SS-257) encounter three Japanese escort vessels off the mouth of Manila Bay. Haddo sinks Sado 35 miles west of Manila, 14°15'N, 120°05'E; Harder sinks Matsuwa and Hiburi about 50 miles west-southwest of Manila, 14°15'N, 120°05'E. Loss of the trio of escorts in one day prompts the Chief of Staff, 1st Surface Escort Unit, to lament candidly: "Escort vessels, whose prime duty it is to attack and sink enemy submarines, have themselves been being sunk by enemy subs. This year alone a total of 13 have been sunk and three badly damaged. In addition, the Kusagaki, Matsuwa, Sado and Hiburi have been sunk one after the other just recently." The situation mirrors the plight of Japanese anti-submarine operations.

Submarine Pintado (SS-387) attacks Japanese convoy, sinking merchant tanker No.2 Tonan Maru (see 10 October 1942) 200 nautical miles southeast of Shanghai, 29°52'N, 125°22'E.

Submarine Spadefish (SS-411) attacks Japanese convoy, damaging tanker No.2 Hakko Maru in Luzon Strait, 18°48'N, 120°46'E; the tanker takes refuge in Passeleng Bay. Subsequent efforts to salvage her prove unavailing as the tanker will break up in heavy swells on 18 September.

Submarine Tang (SS-306) sinks Japanese army cargo ship No.2 Nansatsu Maru off Mikizaki, 34°01'N, 136°21'E.

British submarine HMS Statesman sinks Japanese army cargo ship No.5 Sugi Maru (ex-Panamanian Gran) off Port Blair, 11°41'N, 92°47'E; escorting torpedo boat Kari and submarine chaser Ch.9 carry out unsuccessful counterattacks.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Kanzaki Maru is sunk by aircraft off east coast of Korea, 36°01'N, 129°41'E.

Only The Best People, Part Yada

Liar cheat thief drunk. A perfect fit.
Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:
Stephanie Grisham's Turbulent Ascent to a Top White House Role  —  WASHINGTON — Stephanie Grisham doled out fast food and tracked lost gear as a press wrangler on President Trump's 2016 campaign, far from the in-crowd flying on the gold-plated Trump jet.  An early and hard-working convert …
Taegan Goddard / Political Wire:   Behind Stephanie Grisham's Turbulent Ascent  —  The New York Times profiles
Stephanie Grisham, who “occupies one of the most prestigious roles in American politics, as White House press secretary
and communications director for both the president and the first lady.”

“Her career history contains red flags that most administrations might deem troubling. They include losing a private-sector job
after being accused of cheating on expense reports, a later job loss over plagiarism charges and two arrests for driving under
the influence, the second while working on Mr. Trump’s campaign.”
Walter Einenkel / Daily Kos:   The new press secretary who doesn't hold press briefings has a history filled with ‘red flags’
Connor Mannion / Mediaite:   NYT: Trump's New Press Secretary Has Two DUI Arrests and Lost Two Jobs For Cheating on Expenses and Plagiarism
Jake Thomas / The Intellectualist:   Trump's New WH Press Secretary Has Arrest Record, Shady Employment History

Sixties Slideshows

Sorry, these look like '70s vehicles.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Tribal War Planet

The Kashmir Crisis Spotlights What A Civilizational World Looks Like

In dealing with recent conflicts, US President Donald J. Trump, Israeli and Indian prime ministers Benyamin Netanyahu and Narendra Modi and Arab and Muslim leaders have put flesh on the skeleton of a new world order that enables civilizational leaders to violate with impunity international law.

It also allows them to cast aside diplomacy and the notion of a nation-state as the world has known it since the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia and ignore national, ethnic, minority, religious and human rights.
I simply cannot wait until you stupid jerks have blown your shithole planet into tiny pieces.
[The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, via Lobe Log.]

Also: Earlier theorizing on the subject.

"Armenian Prisoners"?

MON 21 AUG 1944
Pacific
Off Mindoro, submarines Guitarro (SS-363), Haddo (SS-255), Harder (SS-257) and Ray (SS-271) carry out series of attacks on Japanese convoy: Guitarro sinks merchant cargo ship Uga Maru, 13°21'N, 120°18'E; Haddo sinks merchant cargo ships Kinryu Maru and Norfolk Maru and damages merchant tanker Taiei Maru, 13°22'N, 120°19'E; and Ray sinks Japanese merchant tanker Taketoyo Maru 13°23'N, 120°19'E.

Submarine Muskallunge (SS-262) attacks Japanese Manila-to-Singapore convoy, sinking Japanese army transport Durban Maru off Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, 11°45'N, 109°46'E.

PB4Ys damage Japanese guardboat No.10 Sumiyoshi Maru and small cargo vessel Shinyama Maru northwest of Marcus Island.

PB4Ys damage Japanese cargo vessel Tateishi Maru in Davao harbor.

RAAF Beaufighters and Kittyhawks attack Japanese shipping off Kaimana, 03°40'S, 133°50'E.

Japanese army cargo ship Tokuhei Maru is sunk, probably by USAAF aircraft, Tayeh, Yangtze River.

Mediterranean
Destroyer Eberle (DD-430) takes 140 Armenian prisoners from Porquerolles, France.

Still 1969

Fifty Years Of Manson Month Continues

Don't let the mug shot scare you. It starts w/ Miss Pamela, & some period footage.Here is the westbound drive down the Strip, at greater length.

Rage To Live

Tasneem Nashrulla / BuzzFeed News:
A Mom Said Her Son Was “Just A Little Boy.”  Police Said He Could Be The Next “Kid From Parkland.”  —  A 15-year-old high school student was arrested at his home in Volusia County, Florida, on Friday for allegedly making an online threat to shoot up a school.
Long Beach Marriott Worker Arrested for Alleged Threat of Mass Shooting
Police took weapons from the home of 37-year-old Rodolfo Montoya. (Long Beach Police Department)
Rodolfo Montoya, 37, was arrested Tuesday at his Huntington Beach home, according to the Long Beach Police Department. He was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, according to jail records.

“He was an employee at the hotel and he was upset about some recent workplace activity having to do with H.R.,” Long Beach police Chief Robert Luna told reporters at a news conference announcing the arrest.

Luna said Montoya allegedly spoke to a fellow employee on Monday and threatened “that he was going to shoot up fellow employees and people coming into the hotel.”

That employee told the hotel’s general manager, who called police.

Luna said police found a variety of weapons and ammunition in Montoya’s home. He said Montoya does not appear to have any criminal history, so there is no indication he is prohibited from purchasing firearms. The chief noted, however, that some of the firearms found at Montoya’s home “may be illegal to possess,” along with some of the high-capacity ammunition magazines.
Added Local Gun Fun:
Gunman opens fire at Lancaster sheriff's station, wounding one deputy
The gun shoots both ways, coppers.

The ManyTwo Faces Of The G.O.P.

Dog Bites Man Again

GOP leaders suddenly silent on 'anti-Semitism' as Trump bashes Jews for two days straight

Republicans previously said anti-Semitism should be condemned, but they're not saying a word against Trump now.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not speak up about Trump. Yet in his speech to AIPAC in March, McConnell warned about dual loyalty attacks, describing them as "anti-Semitic slurs" and condemning anyone who uses them.

"For many years, such slurs and tropes were limited to the fringes," McConnell said at the time. "Sadly, they have recently received new prominence, having been repeated and retweeted by a sitting member of Congress."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently visited Israel and his social media accounts are filled with pictures of his trip. But he has also said nothing about Trump's comments.

In February, though, he had plenty to say about anti-Semitism.

"Anti-Semitic tropes have no place in the halls of Congress," McCarthy tweeted. "It is dangerous for Democrat leadership to stay silent on this reckless language." He also released a statement, declaring that "Republicans will take action this week to ensure the House speaks out against anti-Semitic hatred. We stand with Israel and the Jewish people."

[...]

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), chair of the House Republican Conference, claimed in May that there are "so many anti-Semitic members of the House Democratic Caucus."

During an appearance on Fox News, she insisted that members of Congress have an "obligation" to condemn anti-Semitism.

"We have a situation today where those of us who are elected officials and particularly elected officials in the House of Representatives where this anti-Semitism is rising within our body have an obligation to stand up and to stop it," she said.

She accused "House Democratic leadership of "enabl[ing] anti-Semitism in their ranks." She has repeatedly invoked the Holocaust to try to shame Democrats she accuses of being anti-Semitic. (She is not Jewish.)

Since Trump's attacks, however, Cheney has gone silent.
We're sure they'll all have plenty to say about the "King of Israel" any time now.[Shareblue MEDIA]

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Hebrews In The News

People sho' nuff like to type, don't they?
Philip Klein / Washington Examiner:
Trump's ‘disloyalty’ comment about American Jews who vote Democrat was disgusting and worrisome  —  President Trump, on a tirade about Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib on Tuesday, claimed that American Jews who voted Democrat were either ill-informed or were exhibiting “great disloyalty.”
Jacob Kornbluh / Jewish Insider:
Jewish groups react to Trump's latest comments on American Jewish voters  —  On Tuesday, President Donald Trump dropped another bombastic claim in his campaign to paint Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) as the face of the Democratic Party.  “I think Jewish people that vote for a Democrat …
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:   ‘This is how he gets us killed’: American Jews and allies horrified after Trump blurts out anti-Semitic trope
Philip Bump / Washington Post:   Trump decides that Democratic-voting Jewish Americans are either ignorant or ‘disloyal’
Matt Margolis / PJ Media Home:   Trump: 'I Don't Buy Rep. Rashida Tlaib's Tears... She Hates Israel and All Jewish People'
Robert Mackey / The Intercept:   Trump Accuses Most American Jews of “Disloyalty” to Israel, Deploying Anti-Semitic Trope
Maegan Vazquez / CNN:   Trump mocks Tlaib's tears, says she ‘grandstanded’ over grandmother visit
Orion Rummler / Axios:
Trump says Jewish-Americans who vote Democrat show “great disloyalty”
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:   Donald Trump Is Bad for the Jews
Sister Toldjah / RedState:   Trump Says He “Doesn't Buy” Tlaib's Tears, Reminds People That the Squad Are the Faces of the Democratic Party
Tom Tillison / BizPac Review:   Rashida Tlaib breaks down at presser, but Trump calls her out, says he doesn't ‘buy’ the tears
middleeastmonitor.com:   Trump: I do not ‘buy’ Tlaib's emotional claims
Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:
Trump Accuses Jewish Democrats of ‘Great Disloyalty’
Bess Levin / Vanity Fair:   Trump Has Some Predictably Anti-Semitic Advice for America's Jews
Jason Easley / POLITICUSUSA:   Trump Calls Any Jew Who Votes For A Democrat Stupid Or Disloyal
Al Jazeera:   Trump slammed for saying Jews disloyal if they vote for Democrats
Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
Trump: Jewish people who vote Democratic show ‘great disloyalty’
Brandon Morse / RedState:   Rashida Tlaib's Tears Over Border Checkpoints Get Shamed In the Face of a Mother Who Lost Her Child
Neo / The New Neo:   The growing acceptance of anti-Semitism by the Democratic Party
Amber Athey / The Daily Caller:   Trump Says He Doesn't ‘Buy’ Rep. Tlaib's Tears Over Spat With Israel: ‘Live With It!’