George Smiley at In From the Cold ("Musings on Life, Love, Politics, Military Affairs, the Media, the Intelligence Community and Just About Anything Else that Captures Our Interest") had some important news.
Important quote(s):
"We were saddened to learn of the recent passing of Major Bert Bank, U.S. Army (Retired). Bank, a World War II veteran, died last month in his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama at the age of 94."
"(H)e survived the Bataan Death March and nearly three years of hellish captivity in a Japanese POW camp. Many of his comrades weren't as fortunate; thousands perished during the march to the camp, or during their years as "guests" of the Emperor."
"Bank joined the Army ROTC program at the University of Alabama. After graduation and commissioning, he spent a brief stint with a coastal artillery unit before transferring to the Air Corps, with an assignment as a B-17 bombardier at Clark Field in the Phillippines. He arrived in the fall of November 1941, just a few weeks before the Japanese attack.
Mr. Bank's flying career was cut short on December 8, 1941, when Japanese aircraft destroyed most of the B-17s at Clark and other airfields in the Philippines. The few surviving bombers--and trained crew members--were dispersed to other bases and eventually moved to Australia. Other personnel (including Bert Bank) were reassigned to the infantry for the defense of Bataan, the narrow peninsula where General Douglas MacArthur planned to fight a holding action against superior Japanese forces.
Working as a G-2 (intelligence officer), then-Lieutenant Bank was given the task of determining the enemy's location. "But that wasn't hard to figure out," Bank later told Hampton Sides, "The enemy was everywhere."
As the battle raged, the situation on Bataan went from bad to desperate. U.S. and Filipino troops were desperately short of food, ammunition and medical supplies--with no hope of resupply from the United States or Australia. Despite exhortations from Washington to "hang on," General Edward King, the senior commander on Bataan, surrendered his forces on April 9, 1942. It was the largest capitulation in U.S. military history.
Mr. Bank was among those Americans who passed into captivity with General King's surrender. A few days later, he became one of the thousands of sick, emaciated men who were force-marched to prison by their enemy."
"Mr. Bank's eyewitness account of the march and the camps affirms all of the atrocities associated with those events. Walking towards Camp O'Donnell--the former U.S. military post that Japan converted into a POW camp--Bank saw the worst of it. A Lieutenant Colonel he had been holding up slipped from his grasp and fell into the road; instantly, a Japanese solider ran him through with his bayonet. He was later forced at gunpoint to bury several Filipino prisoners who were severely wounded, but still alive.
Conditions in the camp were equally grim. Thousands of prisoners died from beatings, illness, malnutrition or a combination of those factors."
&
"Mr. Bank and his fellow POWs were finally liberated in early 1945 during a daring raid by the U.S. Army's 6th Ranger Battalion. The story of that mission--and the men who carried it out--form the other half of Ghost Soldiers, and it's a compelling read. The Rangers, led by their charismatic leader, Lt Col Henry Mucci, marched 30 miles into Japanese territory, freed more than 500 Allied POWs, and escorted them back to American lines."
Read the whole post here.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
re: "Ms. Nancy Redeems Herself ... Just a Little Bit"
The Consul's Files ("Where U.S. consular officers can ...
... ask questions, answer questions, question answers, express frustrations, tell their favorite consular stories, uncensored and anonymous.") has a good memory for legislative inconsistency.
Money quote(s):
"I'm fairly certain that it was Ms. Pelosi who berated CA for attempting to collect payment from Beirut evacuees in 2006; people who had moved to and lived in a place we'd been warning them for years to stay away from. As it was the same Ms. Pelosi who had earlier voted against earmarking funds for Amcit emergency evacuations."
... ask questions, answer questions, question answers, express frustrations, tell their favorite consular stories, uncensored and anonymous.") has a good memory for legislative inconsistency.
Money quote(s):
"I'm fairly certain that it was Ms. Pelosi who berated CA for attempting to collect payment from Beirut evacuees in 2006; people who had moved to and lived in a place we'd been warning them for years to stay away from. As it was the same Ms. Pelosi who had earlier voted against earmarking funds for Amcit emergency evacuations."
re: "DeMint: Wafer Thin"
Charles J. Brown at Undiplomatic ("dedicated to covering the intersection of foreign policy, global issues, U.S. politics, and pop culture") doesn't like Senator DeMint's views on immigration.
Money quote(s):
"He’s the principal sponsor of the effort to get English declared the official language of the United States. He wants a fence on the border. He opposes effort — including those of former President Bush — to grant amnesty to some of those currently in the country illegally. He even favors requiring some visa applicants to know English."
Check. Check. Check.
Aaaaaaaaaand check.
Who do we see to get this guy to run for president?
Money quote(s):
"He’s the principal sponsor of the effort to get English declared the official language of the United States. He wants a fence on the border. He opposes effort — including those of former President Bush — to grant amnesty to some of those currently in the country illegally. He even favors requiring some visa applicants to know English."
Check. Check. Check.
Aaaaaaaaaand check.
Who do we see to get this guy to run for president?
Friday, August 7, 2009
re: "Clinton remembers embassy bombing victims"
Preeti Aroon at Madam Secretary ("An obsessive blog about Hillary Clinton") shows us a SecState doing the right thing.
To wit:
"Secretary Clinton lays a wreath of flowers today at the site of the bombing against the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya."
_____
For those who thought she traveled to Kenya "suddenly" to quash a supposed birth certificate:
To wit:
"Secretary Clinton lays a wreath of flowers today at the site of the bombing against the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya."
_____
For those who thought she traveled to Kenya "suddenly" to quash a supposed birth certificate:
For Shame.
re: "Germany reintroduces Iron Cross"
James Downey at PASSPORT ("A blog by the editors of FOREIGN POLICY") has some news from the Bundeswehr.
re: "A British military expert tells truth to prejudice"
Melanie Phillips at The Spectator (UK) ("Champagne for the brain") notes a speech of significance.
Money quote(s):
"Britain, America and Israel are up against the same type of enemy which operates under a new and very different set of rules"
Money quote(s):
"Britain, America and Israel are up against the same type of enemy which operates under a new and very different set of rules"
Thursday, August 6, 2009
re: "Obama and the new template"
Neo-Neocon is trying to make sense of something.
Money quote(s):
"I’m not advocating some sort of armed insurrection. I believe Obama can, and must, be defeated at the polls, and that the same thing has to happen to a significant number of Democrats in Congress. It seems an urgent matter to work for this."
"(T)he blogosphere represents only a small minority of the population. What we have in common here is that we pay more attention than the average person to political and world events; otherwise, we wouldn’t be spending all this time at our computers reading and writing. Whether as a group we’re more intelligent or wiser than people who don’t do this is unknown and unknowable, but we are at the very least more well-informed and more strongly motivated."
&
"(W)hat is “the worst?” For some of us, it’s that Obama is a puppet run by others on the Left who have nefarious plans of various sorts. For some (and again, I’m in this group I’m about to describe) he is mostly his own man, an ideologue of the Left who has grandiose ideas of how he will make this country into something between a European welfare state and Chavez’s Venezuela, grabbing greater and greater power for the executive branch, and cooking the election rules (through redoing the census, relaxing voter registration laws even further, and enlisting the help of ACORN in outright fraud) so thoroughly that he hopes that his wing of the party will never lose control. As for foreign policy, whether Obama be the pawn of others or the master of his own fate, his plan appears to be to weaken the US and its influence on the world stage, bowing to international groups such as the UN and other organizations that feature a preponderance of tyrannies, as well as selling out Israel.
To most people in this country, however, this sounds not only absurd but unhinged."
(Bold type added for emphasis.)
Money quote(s):
"I’m not advocating some sort of armed insurrection. I believe Obama can, and must, be defeated at the polls, and that the same thing has to happen to a significant number of Democrats in Congress. It seems an urgent matter to work for this."
"(T)he blogosphere represents only a small minority of the population. What we have in common here is that we pay more attention than the average person to political and world events; otherwise, we wouldn’t be spending all this time at our computers reading and writing. Whether as a group we’re more intelligent or wiser than people who don’t do this is unknown and unknowable, but we are at the very least more well-informed and more strongly motivated."
&
"(W)hat is “the worst?” For some of us, it’s that Obama is a puppet run by others on the Left who have nefarious plans of various sorts. For some (and again, I’m in this group I’m about to describe) he is mostly his own man, an ideologue of the Left who has grandiose ideas of how he will make this country into something between a European welfare state and Chavez’s Venezuela, grabbing greater and greater power for the executive branch, and cooking the election rules (through redoing the census, relaxing voter registration laws even further, and enlisting the help of ACORN in outright fraud) so thoroughly that he hopes that his wing of the party will never lose control. As for foreign policy, whether Obama be the pawn of others or the master of his own fate, his plan appears to be to weaken the US and its influence on the world stage, bowing to international groups such as the UN and other organizations that feature a preponderance of tyrannies, as well as selling out Israel.
To most people in this country, however, this sounds not only absurd but unhinged."
(Bold type added for emphasis.)
re: "A Foreign Policy Insurgency?"
Cheryl Rofer at WhirledView ("A Look at World Politics & Most Everything Else") posted an interesting book review.
Money quote(s):
"Connectivity, a central concept in Barnett’s thinking, is changing the world. The connectivity provided by fax machines and primitive e-mail helped to undercut the Soviet Union and got the Tianmen Square rebels’ story out in 1989. Now we get tweets as Mumbai is being attacked. We have hardly begun to exploit that connectivity. "
"I belong to a cluster of bloggers who discuss foreign policy and other topics. We read each other’s blogs and link among them. Barnett calls us, if I understand him correctly, superempowered individuals. I’m not entirely happy with the jargon aspect of that phrase or what Barnett seems to mean by it. I have access to a great many things through the internet, true; but there are limits to the power that gives me. One of thosee limits is being heard. If I write a blog and nobody reads it, does it really exist?"
&
"Very Special People. That term, abbreviated VSPs, refers to those whose ideas Count, who are listened to by the media and the political class. The requirements for entry into VSP status include credentialization by a university (Ph.D. preferred) or holding a high position in an appropriate government organization. And, of course, to be okayed by the VSP community."
Money quote(s):
"Connectivity, a central concept in Barnett’s thinking, is changing the world. The connectivity provided by fax machines and primitive e-mail helped to undercut the Soviet Union and got the Tianmen Square rebels’ story out in 1989. Now we get tweets as Mumbai is being attacked. We have hardly begun to exploit that connectivity. "
"I belong to a cluster of bloggers who discuss foreign policy and other topics. We read each other’s blogs and link among them. Barnett calls us, if I understand him correctly, superempowered individuals. I’m not entirely happy with the jargon aspect of that phrase or what Barnett seems to mean by it. I have access to a great many things through the internet, true; but there are limits to the power that gives me. One of thosee limits is being heard. If I write a blog and nobody reads it, does it really exist?"
&
"Very Special People. That term, abbreviated VSPs, refers to those whose ideas Count, who are listened to by the media and the political class. The requirements for entry into VSP status include credentialization by a university (Ph.D. preferred) or holding a high position in an appropriate government organization. And, of course, to be okayed by the VSP community."
re: "Honduras and Democracy"
Jerry Pournelle at Chaos Manor ("The Original Blog") captured the essential issues.
Money quote(s):
"The most important news is from Honduras, where the army, the courts, and the legislature are united in opposing a change in the Constitution that would allow the country to have a president for life as they have had in Cuba and Venezuela.
Much of the world seems to see the expulsion of the president -- Constitutional and done with a supreme court warrant so far as I can tell -- as an attack on "democracy." That raises the question of what is democracy?"
&
"(O)ne needs to think hard about what means by democracy. In Honduras there is an attempt to make it mean "one person, one vote, for one man for life." The Honduras Supreme Court, its army, and its legislature have said that it must not mean that. Given the location of Honduras it's probably inevitable that the US take a stand on this. Which side should we be on? And should we choose that by national interest or by some kind of political principle? And if the latter, what is that principle? Is it that a majority may choose whatever it likes? If there are to be limits on what the majority may choose, what shall those limits be?"
Money quote(s):
"The most important news is from Honduras, where the army, the courts, and the legislature are united in opposing a change in the Constitution that would allow the country to have a president for life as they have had in Cuba and Venezuela.
Much of the world seems to see the expulsion of the president -- Constitutional and done with a supreme court warrant so far as I can tell -- as an attack on "democracy." That raises the question of what is democracy?"
&
"(O)ne needs to think hard about what means by democracy. In Honduras there is an attempt to make it mean "one person, one vote, for one man for life." The Honduras Supreme Court, its army, and its legislature have said that it must not mean that. Given the location of Honduras it's probably inevitable that the US take a stand on this. Which side should we be on? And should we choose that by national interest or by some kind of political principle? And if the latter, what is that principle? Is it that a majority may choose whatever it likes? If there are to be limits on what the majority may choose, what shall those limits be?"
re: " "You're nothing special" "
EURSOC had some commentary on the UK gifts gaffe.
Money quote(s):
"(I)f the new administration is eager to reach out to its traditional enemies and rivals, it is less interested in its oldest allies. Regular readers will be aware that we hold no brief for British PM Gordon Brown: However, the disdain Brown received from Obama's office during Brown's visit was appalling, not only as a breach of diplomatic etiquette, but as a calculated snub to one of the few major nations the US can rely on."
&
"(L)et us allow the gifts to pass. Obama and Brown are not tribal chieftans meeting in the desert, exchanging golden swords, dancing girls and eunuchs. Obama's people are new to this game and, besides, they have a lot on their plate."
Money quote(s):
"(I)f the new administration is eager to reach out to its traditional enemies and rivals, it is less interested in its oldest allies. Regular readers will be aware that we hold no brief for British PM Gordon Brown: However, the disdain Brown received from Obama's office during Brown's visit was appalling, not only as a breach of diplomatic etiquette, but as a calculated snub to one of the few major nations the US can rely on."
&
"(L)et us allow the gifts to pass. Obama and Brown are not tribal chieftans meeting in the desert, exchanging golden swords, dancing girls and eunuchs. Obama's people are new to this game and, besides, they have a lot on their plate."
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Hiatus continues
June hiatus went so well it's been extended through July.
Thanks to all you visa applicants who're helping me keep busy this summer; I couldn't do it without you!
Thanks to all you visa applicants who're helping me keep busy this summer; I couldn't do it without you!
TDJ - Tips for US-Canadian border travelers during summer holidays
From my archive of press clippings:
The Daily Journal
Tips for US-Canadian border travelers during summer holidays
Submitted by Journal Staff on July 1, 2009 - 9:51am.
Steps travelers can employ to cross the border more efficiently
CBP Staff Report
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reminding both Americans and Canadians planning their holiday travel for Canada Day, Fourth of July and summer vacation season that there are a number of steps they can employ to cross the border more efficiently.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative was implemented on June 1 and requires U.S. and Canadian citizens age 16 and older to present a valid, acceptable document that denotes both identity and citizenship when entering the U.S. by land or sea. WHTI acceptable documents include a passport, U. S. passport card, enhanced driver’s licenses (EDLs) — now produced by the State of Washington and Providence of British Columbia — or a Trusted Traveler Program card (NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST). For more information, visit www.GetYouHome.gov. "
The Daily Journal
Tips for US-Canadian border travelers during summer holidays
Submitted by Journal Staff on July 1, 2009 - 9:51am.
Steps travelers can employ to cross the border more efficiently
CBP Staff Report
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reminding both Americans and Canadians planning their holiday travel for Canada Day, Fourth of July and summer vacation season that there are a number of steps they can employ to cross the border more efficiently.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative was implemented on June 1 and requires U.S. and Canadian citizens age 16 and older to present a valid, acceptable document that denotes both identity and citizenship when entering the U.S. by land or sea. WHTI acceptable documents include a passport, U. S. passport card, enhanced driver’s licenses (EDLs) — now produced by the State of Washington and Providence of British Columbia — or a Trusted Traveler Program card (NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST). For more information, visit www.GetYouHome.gov. "
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
2009 Virginia Renaissance Faire
There are still two weekends of Faire left in Virginia this year:
June 6-7 are "Celtic Heritage" weekend; and
June 13-14 are Midsummer Night's Dream weekend.
Location:
5621 Courthouse Road
Spotsylvania, VA - Get Directions.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
7NB - Illegal Chinese Nationals Deported to Guatemala
From my archive of press clippings:
7 News Belize
Illegal Chinese Nationals Deported to Guatemala
posted (April 16, 2009)
For three weeks we’ve been telling you about the nine Chinese nationals who came into Belize without visas, and have been detained at the Hattieville Prison. Well, tonight, finally, we can report that they’re gone. After two weeks when they should have gone, but somehow never did, they were loaded up at the Hattieville Prison today and sent, not to the airport, but to the western border.
Read the whole article here.
7 News Belize
Illegal Chinese Nationals Deported to Guatemala
posted (April 16, 2009)
For three weeks we’ve been telling you about the nine Chinese nationals who came into Belize without visas, and have been detained at the Hattieville Prison. Well, tonight, finally, we can report that they’re gone. After two weeks when they should have gone, but somehow never did, they were loaded up at the Hattieville Prison today and sent, not to the airport, but to the western border.
Read the whole article here.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
JO - With travel to Cuba lifted, how will JA fare?
From my archive of press clippings:
Jamaica Observer
With travel to Cuba lifted, how will JA fare?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Dear Editor,
For sometime now I wondered what would be the strategy of the Jamaican government to protect its share of American tourists who visit the island now that America has reduced the restrictions on travel to Cuba from the USA.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Cuba, and not Jamaica, was the popular getaway for Americans headed for the Caribbean. Many rich Americans in particular had vacation or second homes in Cuba where their wealth made a lot of difference.
The fact that Cuba was off-limits to Americans for so long and is now open will make it very attractive to the American visitors, especially the millions of Cuban-American citizens."
&
"(H)ow will Jamaica maintain its market share in American tourist arrivals, now that the USA is lifting the embargo for USA citizens to travel to Cuba? Please let us hear from the minister of tourism and others on this matter."
_____
LA Bert Ramsay
Atlanta, USA
Florissano1@hotmail.com
Jamaica Observer
With travel to Cuba lifted, how will JA fare?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Dear Editor,
For sometime now I wondered what would be the strategy of the Jamaican government to protect its share of American tourists who visit the island now that America has reduced the restrictions on travel to Cuba from the USA.
Read the whole article here.
Snippet(s):
"Cuba, and not Jamaica, was the popular getaway for Americans headed for the Caribbean. Many rich Americans in particular had vacation or second homes in Cuba where their wealth made a lot of difference.
The fact that Cuba was off-limits to Americans for so long and is now open will make it very attractive to the American visitors, especially the millions of Cuban-American citizens."
&
"(H)ow will Jamaica maintain its market share in American tourist arrivals, now that the USA is lifting the embargo for USA citizens to travel to Cuba? Please let us hear from the minister of tourism and others on this matter."
_____
LA Bert Ramsay
Atlanta, USA
Florissano1@hotmail.com
Friday, May 29, 2009
JO - Ask the US EMBASSY
From my archive of press clippings:
Jamaica Observer
Ask the US EMBASSY
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I want to make a group appointment
Q: I would like to make visa appointments for a group. What is the group appointment process?
A: The US Embassy has a Self-Service Group Process that allows sponsors to co-ordinate appointments for groups efficiently. The process assists many kinds of groups, including performers and athletes who are travelling together. For more information on scheduling a group appointment, please send an email to JAMGroups@csc.com.
Once your group has been authorised, you will receive an Access Code and be able to schedule your group's appointments through the website. The self-service website is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www.usvisa-jamaica.com. The cost of this service is US$5.00 per applicant, payable only by Visa or MasterCard. An applicant who pays the US$5.00 fee does not pay the US$13.00 fee that is charged to make an individual appointment.
Read the whole article here.
Jamaica Observer
Ask the US EMBASSY
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I want to make a group appointment
Q: I would like to make visa appointments for a group. What is the group appointment process?
A: The US Embassy has a Self-Service Group Process that allows sponsors to co-ordinate appointments for groups efficiently. The process assists many kinds of groups, including performers and athletes who are travelling together. For more information on scheduling a group appointment, please send an email to JAMGroups@csc.com.
Once your group has been authorised, you will receive an Access Code and be able to schedule your group's appointments through the website. The self-service website is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www.usvisa-jamaica.com. The cost of this service is US$5.00 per applicant, payable only by Visa or MasterCard. An applicant who pays the US$5.00 fee does not pay the US$13.00 fee that is charged to make an individual appointment.
Read the whole article here.
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