Monday, August 24, 2020

TheList 5423B

I had to resend sorry it is late….skip

The List 5423B     TGB

Good Sunday Afternoon August 23, 2020

Some bits and pieces trying to catch up with all the email

Regards.

skip

In order to get this out I had to delete the Sounds of Silence song. But the write up below is still there… I have a limit on the size of the list and this one got kicked back……skip

 

 

 

Thanks to Mike

Tribute To An F-4 Crewman Lost In Viet Nam

Robert Apodaca is a Retired LASD LT....

 

This is from one of my National War College classmates and a graduate of the third class of the Air Force Academy.  Great story and video.  

 

The 5-minute video (attached) is by Robert Apodaca, the son of one of my Academy classmates (Vic Apodaca) who was shot down in Vietnam in the 1960s.  He had been flying an F-4. 

 

I think you will like the message in the video.  As a side note, Vic was a full-blooded American Indian, the first to attend our Air Force Academy.

 

https://youtu.be/PqHFgOEAh1A

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Thanks to Richard

Subject: Fw:  Kelly Johnson talks about his greatest creation the SR-71, Uncut interview.

 

https://youtu.be/n8kBiy6RkOs

 

Good stuff. Nothing new, but cool to see the genius, Kelly Johnson personally explain the aircraft.

 

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Thanks to Clyde

WOW  Why it's called Lake Superior.-----  this is good info!!

Some Interesting Geographical Facts about Lake Superior!

 

 

Why it's called Lake Superior . . . Pretty amazing.  Did you ever realize just how big this lake is?


  
 Lake Superior contains ten percent of all the fresh water on the planet Earth. 
  

 It covers 82,000 square kilometres or 31,700 square miles. 
  

 The average depth is 147 meters or 483 feet. 
  

 There have been about 350 shipwrecks recorded in Lake Superior

 

 Lake Superior is, by surface area, the largest lake in the world. 

 A Jesuit priest in 1668 named it Lac Tracy, but that name was never officially adopted. 
  

 It contains as much water as all the other Great Lakes combined, plus three extra Lake Erie's!
  

 There is a small outflow from the lake at St. Mary's River (Sault Ste Marie) into Lake Huron, but it takes almost two centuries for the water to be completely replaced. 
  

 There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover all of North and  South America with water one foot deep. 
  

 Lake Superior was formed during the last glacial retreat, making it one of the earth's youngest major features at only about 10,000 years old. 
  

 The deepest point in the lake is 405 meters or 1,333 feet. 
  

 There are 78 different species of fish that call the big lake home. 
  

 The maximum wave ever recorded on Lake Superior was 9.45 meters or 31 feet high. 
  

 If you stretched the shoreline of Lake Superior out to a straight  line, it would be long enough to reach from Duluth, Minnesota (at 46th parallel near Canadian border 49th parallel) to the Bahamas.
  

 Over 300 streams and rivers empty into Lake Superior with the largest source being the Nipigon River.
  

 The average underwater visibility of Lake Superior is about 8 meters or 27 feet, making it the cleanest and clearest of the Great Lakes Underwater visibility in some spots reaches 30 meters.

 

 In the summer, the sun sets more than 35 minutes later on the western shore of Lake Superior  than at its southeastern edge. 
  

 Some of the world's oldest rocks, formed about 2.7 billion years ago, can be found on the Ontario shore of Lake Superior. 
  

 It very rarely freezes over completely, and then usually just for a few  hours. Complete freezing occurred in 1962, 1979, 2003 and 2009.

 

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FW: No wonder it is hard to learn English

Thanks to Bill

A reminder that one word in the English language that can be a noun, verb, adjective, adverb and preposition.  


UP      
   
     Read until the end ...  you'll laugh.  
   
         This two-letter word  in English has more meanings than any other  two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.'  It is listed in  the dictionary as an [adv.], [prep.], [adj.], [n]  or [v].  



      It's easy to  understand UP, meaning toward the sky  or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in  the morning, why do we wake UP?  

      At a meeting, why  does a topic come UP?  Why do we speak  UP, and why are the  officers UP for election and why is  it UP to  the secretary to write UP a  report?  We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish  UP  the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.  We  lock UP the house and fix  UP the old  car.  

At other times, this  little word has real special meaning.   People stir UP trouble, line  UP for tickets, work  UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.       

To be dressed is one  thing but to be dressed UP  is special.  

      And this  UP is confusing:  A  drain must be opened UP because it is stopped  UP.

We open  UP a store in the morning  but we close it UP at night.  We seem  to be pretty mixed UP about UP!  

 

To be knowledgeable  about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary.   In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost  1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty  definitions.  

   
If you are  UP to it,  you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is  used.  It will take UP a lot of your time, but  if you don't give UP, you may wind  UP with a hundred or  more.  

   
When it threatens to  rain, we say it is clouding UP.  When the sun  comes out, we say it is clearing UP.  When it rains,  the earth soaks it UP.  When it  does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. 

 

One could go on  and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now . . . my time  is UP! 

Oh . . . one more  thing:  What is the first thing you do in  the morning and the last thing you do at  night?  

U  

 

P  

!  

Did that one crack  you UP?  

      Don't screw  UP.  Send this on to  everyone you look UP in your address book .  . . or not . . . it's UP to you.  

 


     Now I'll shut  UP

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Also from Bill

15 Insane Photos from Northern California's 2-Day Lightning Storm


https://activenorcal.com/15-insane-photos-from-northern-californias-2-day-li
ghtning-storm/


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Thanks to Mike

HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND Simon and Garfunkel: College roommate who went blind reveals untold story

 

If you don't read and listen to anything else today, this will make your day. This song should be on everyone's hit list.  Hopefully it will give people some insight and understanding of others who live with a disability.

Cheers   

 

IT is one of the best-loved songs of all time. Simon & Garfunkel's hit The Sound Of Silence topped the US charts and went platinum in the UK.

 

It was named among the 20 most performed songs of the 20th century, included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and provided the unforgettable soundtrack to 1967 film classic The Graduate. But to one man The Sound Of Silence means much more than just a No 1 song on the radio with its poignant opening lines: "Hello Darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again."

Sanford "Sandy" Greenberg is Art Garfunkel's best friend, and reveals in a moving new memoir, named after that lyric, that the song was a touching tribute to their undying bond, and the singer's sacrifice that saved Sandy's life when he unexpectedly lost his sight.

 

"He lifted me out of the grave," says Sandy, aged 79, who recounts his plunge into sudden blindness, and how Art Garfunkel's selfless devotion gave him reason to live again.

 

Sandy and Arthur, as Art was then known, met during their first week as students at the prestigious Columbia University in New York.

 

"A young man wearing an Argyle sweater and corduroy pants and blond hair with a crew cut came over and said, 'Hi, I'm Arthur Garfunkel'," Sandy recalls.

 

They became roommates, bonding over a shared taste in books, poetry and music.

"Every night Arthur and I would sing. He would play his guitar and I would be the DJ. The air was always filled with music."

 

"Still teenagers, they made a pact to always be there for each other in times of trouble.

 

"If one was in extremis, the other would come to his rescue," says Sandy.

They had no idea their promise would be tested so soon. Just months later, Sandy recalls: "I was at a baseball game and suddenly my eyes became cloudy and my vision became unhinged. Shortly after that darkness descended."

 

Doctors diagnosed conjunctivitis, assuring it would pass. But days later Sandy went blind, and doctors realised that glaucoma had destroyed his optic nerves.

Sandy was the son of a rag-and-bone man. His family, Jewish immigrants in Buffalo, New York, had no money to help him, so he dropped out of college, gave up his dream of becoming a lawyer, and plunged into depression.

 

"I wouldn't see anyone, I just refused to talk to anybody," says Sandy. "And then unexpectedly Arthur flew in, saying he had to talk to me. He said, 'You're gonna come back, aren't you?' "I said,: 'No.There's no conceivable way.'

 

"He was pretty insistent, and finally said, 'Look, I don't think you get it. I need you back there.  That's the pact we made together: we would be there for the other in times of crises. I will help you'."

 

Together they returned to Columbia University, where Sandy became dependent on Garfunkel's support. Art would walk Sandy to class, bandage his wounds when he fell, and even filled out his graduate school applications.

 

Garfunkel called himself "Darkness" in a show of empathy. The singer explained: "I was saying, 'I want to be together where you are, in the black'."

 

Sandy recalls: "He would come in and say, 'Darkness is going to read to you now.'

 

"Then he would take me to class and back. He would take me around the city. He altered his entire life so that it would accommodate me."

 

Garfunkel would talk about Sandy with his high-school friend Paul Simon, from Queens, New York, as the folk rock duo struggled to launch their musical careers, performing at local parties and clubs.

 

Though Simon wrote the song, the lyrics to The Sound of Silence are infused with Garfunkel's compassion as Darkness, Sandy's old friend.

 

Guiding Sandy through New York one day, as they stood in the vast forecourt of bustling Grand Central Station, Garfunkel said that he had to leave for an assignment, abandoning his blind friend alone in the rush-hour crowd, terrified, stumbling and falling. "I cut my forehead" says Sandy.

 

"I cut my shins. My socks were bloodied. I had my hands out and bumped into a woman's breasts. It was a horrendous feeling of shame and humiliation.

 

"I started running forward, knocking over coffee cups and briefcases, and finally I got to the local train to Columbia University. It was the worst couple of hours in my life."

 

Back on campus, he bumped into a man, who apologized.

 

"I knew that it was Arthur's voice," says Sandy. "For a moment I was enraged, and then I understood what happened: that his colossally insightful, brilliant yet wildly risky strategy had worked."

 

Garfunkel had not abandoned Sandy at the station, but had followed him the entire way home, watching over him.

 

"Arthur knew it was only when I could prove to myself I could do it that I would have real independence," says Sandy. "And it worked, because after that I felt that I could do anything.

 

"That moment was the spark that caused me to live a completely different life, without fear, without doubt. For that I am tremendously grateful to my friend."

Sandy not only graduated, but went on to study for a master's degree at Harvard and Oxford.

 

While in Britain he received a phone call from his friend - and with it the chance to keep his side of their pact.

 

Garfunkel wanted to drop out of architecture school and record his first album with Paul Simon, but explained: "I need $400 to get started."

 

Sandy, by then married to his high school sweetheart, says: "We had $404 in our current account. I said, 'Arthur, you will have your cheque.' "It was an instant reaction, because he had helped me restart my life, and his request was the first time that I had been able to live up to my half of our solemn covenant."

 

The 1964 album, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM, was a critical and commercial flop, but one of the tracks was The Sound Of Silence, which was released as a single the following year and went to No 1 across the world.

 

"The Sound Of Silence meant a lot, because it started out with the words 'Hello darkness' and this was Darkness singing, the guy who read to me after I returned to Columbia blind," says Sandy.

 

Simon & Garfunkel went on to have four smash albums, with hits including Mrs Robinson, The Boxer, and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.

 

Amazingly, Sandy went on to extraordinary success as an inventor, entrepreneur, investor, presidential adviser and philanthropist. The father of three, who launched a $3million prize to find a cure for blindness, has always refused to use a white cane or guide dog.

 

"I don't want to be 'the blind guy'," he says. "I wanted to be Sandy Greenberg, the human being."

 

Six decades later the two men remain best friends, and Garfunkel credits Sandy with transforming his life.

 

With Sandy, "my real life emerged," says the singer. "I became a better guy in my own eyes, and began to see who I was - somebody who gives to a friend.

 

"I blush to find myself within his dimension. My friend is the gold standard of decency."

 

Says Sandy: "I am the luckiest man in the world."

 

THE WORDS TO THIS SONG ARE BEYOND FABULOUS!

 

 

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Thanks to Carl

EXCLUSIVE: Private company offering "contract air support" using military jet fighters located in Lakeland, FL where live air-to-air missile was just found

Saturday, August 22, 2020 by: Mike Adams

 

https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-08-22-private-company-offering-contract-air-support-lakeland-missile.html

 

Deep state forces could try to hijack Draken aircraft to launch a missile against Air Force One

Our concern here isn't about Draken itself, but rather the possibility that deep state forces plan to perhaps steal a Mirage fighter jet or kidnap family members of Draken board members in order to force the company into giving up a fighter jet that could be armed with missiles to attack the targets of the deep state (such as the White House).

When it comes to the deep state, there's nothing too lawless or evil for their people to pursue. What we are pointing out is that the resources to acquire a fighter jet, mount a live French missile, and fire it at Air Force One to assassinate President Trump are suddenly converging in the same city: Lakeland, Florida.

This cannot merely be a coincidence.

We believe someone may be targeting Draken and planning to hijack Draken resources to achieve a kinetic attack against the United States of America.

Draken's top people are the who's who of military aircraft and weapons experts

https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-08-22-private-company-offering-contract-air-support-lakeland-missile.html

 

 

 

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TheList 5424

The List 5424     TGB

Good Monday Morning August 24, 2020

Regards.

skip

 

Today in Naval History

Aug. 24

1814 During the War of 1812, the British invade Md. and burn Washington, D.C. Commodore Thomas Tingey, superintendent of the Washington Navy Yard, burns the Navy Yard to prevent British access during the invasion.

1862 During the Civil War, Capt. Raphael Semmes takes command of CSS Alabama at sea off the island of Terceira, Azores, beginning his career of raiding American commerce.

1912 The collier, USS Jupiter, is launched. The vessel is the first electrically-propelled Navy ship. She is renamed USS Langley in April 1920 with the designation of aircraft carrier CV-1 and a few months later becomes the Navys first aircraft carrier in March 1922 following conversion.

1942 Task Force 61, commanded by Vice Adm. Frank J. Fletcher, engages the Japanese First Carrier Division, Third Fleet, commanded by Vice Adm. Nagumo Chuchi, during Battle of Eastern Solomons. Planes from Japanese carrier, Ryujo, bomb U.S. positions on Lunga Point but SBDs from VB-3 and TBFs from VT-8 off carrier USS Saratoga (CV 3) sink Ryujo. Additionally, USS Enterprise (CV 6) is damaged by carrier bombers from Japanese carrier, Shokaku. As a result of this battle, the Japanese recall the expedition to recapture Guadalcanal.

1943 TBF aircraft from USS Core (CVE 13) sinks the German submarine (U 185) southwest of the Azores.

1992 USS Essex (LHD 2) is commissioned without ceremony from Pascagoula, Miss., in order to take part in an emergency sortie to avoid Hurricane Andrew. After transiting through the Panama Canal, USS Essex is officially commissioned Oct. 17 at Naval Air Station, North Island, San Diego.

 

Thanks to CHINFO

Executive Summary:

•           The Day reported on SECNAV Kenneth Braithwaite's visit to Electric Boat as Rep. Joe Courtney leveraged the visit to promote the funding of a second 2021 Virginia-class submarine.

•           The Associated Press and local media reported on the end of a nine-week strike at Bath Iron Works.

•           The Kitsap Sun reported on USS Carl Vinson's departure from Bremerton for its new home port in San Diego after an overhaul at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

 

 

Today in History: August 24

 

0079 Mount Vesuvius erupts destroying Pompeii, Stabiae, Herculaneum and other smaller settlements.

0410 German barbarians sack Rome.

1542 In South America, Gonzalo Pizarro returns to the mouth of the Amazon River after having sailed the length of the great river as far as the Andes Mountains.

1572 Some 50,000 people are put to death in the 'Massacre of St. Bartholomew' as Charles IX of France attempts to rid the country of Huguenots.

1780 King Louis XVI abolishes torture as a means to get suspects to confess.

1814 British troops under General Robert Ross capture Washington, D.C., which they set on fire in retaliation for the American burning of the parliament building in York (Toronto), the capital of Upper Canada.

1847 Charlotte Bronte, using the pseudonym Currer Bell, sends a manuscript of Jane Eyre to her publisher in London.

1869 Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York, patents the waffle iron.

1891 Thomas Edison files a patent for the motion picture camera.

1894 Congress passes the first graduated income tax law, which is declared unconstitutional the next year.

1896 Thomas Brooks is shot and killed by an unknown assailant beginning a six year feud with the McFarland family.

1912 By an act of Congress, Alaska is given a territorial legislature of two houses.

1942 In the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the third carrier-versus-carrier battle of the war, U.S. naval forces defeat a Japanese force attempting to screen reinforcements for the Guadalcanal fighting.

1948 Edith Mae Irby becomes the first African-American student to attend the University of Arkansas.

1954 Congress outlaws the Communist Party in the United States.

1963 US State Department cables embassy in Saigon that if South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem does not remove his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu as his political adviser the US would explore alternative leadership, setting the stage for a coup by ARVN generals.

1975 The principal leaders of Greece's 1967 coup—Georgios Papadopoulos, Stylianos Pattakos, and Nikolaos Maarezos—sentenced to death for high treason, later commuted to life in prison.

1981 Mark David Chapman sentenced to 20 years to life for murdering former Beatles band member John Lennon.

1989 Baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti bans Pete Rose from baseball for gambling.

1989 Colombian drug lords declare "total and absolute war" on Colombia's government, booming the offices of two political parties and burning two politicians' homes.

1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union; Ukraine declares its independence from USSR.

1992 Hurricane Andrew makes landfall in Florida. The Category 5 storm, which had already caused extensive damage in the Bahamas, caused $26.5 billion in US damages, caused 65 deaths, and felled 70,000 acres of trees in the Everglades.

1994 Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) create initial accord regarding partial self-rule for Palestinians living on the West Bank, the Agreement on Preparatory Transfer of Powers and Responsibilities.

2004 Chechnyan suicide bombers blow up two airliners near Moscow, killing 89 passengers.

2006 Pluto is downgraded to a dwarf planet when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines "planet."

2010 South America in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico.

 

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This Day in Aviation History" brought to you by the Daedalians Airpower Blog Update. To subscribe to this weekly email, go to https://daedalians.org/airpower-blog/.

 

Aug. 23, 1948

The XF-85 Goblin parasite fighter first flew at Muroc Field, California, now known as Edwards AFB. The Goblin was designed to be carried inside another aircraft.

 

Aug. 24, 1942

Flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Marion Eugene Carl, a 27-year-old fighter pilot assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron 223 (VMF-223) based at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal Island, shot down four enemy airplanes. They were a Mitsubishi A6M "Zeke" fighter, a Mitsubishi G4M1 "Betty" medium bomber and two Nakajima B5N2 "Kate" torpedo bombers. Carl had previously shot down an A6M during the Battle of Midway, less than three months earlier. He now had five aerial combat victories, making him the Marine Corps' first ace. He was awarded the Navy Cross (his second) for his actions in the Solomon Islands from Aug. 24 to Sept. 9, 1942. To learn more about Captain Carl, visit HERE.

 

Aug. 25, 1932

Amelia Earhart flew her Lockheed Model 5B Vega, NR7952, from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, a distance of 2,447.74 miles, in 19 hours, 5 minutes, becoming the first woman to fly nonstop across the U.S. Her average speed for the flight was 128.27 miles per hour.

 

Aug. 26, 1967

Then-Maj. George E. "Bud" Day, F-100 Forward Air Controller pilot, was forced to eject from his aircraft over North Vietnam when it was hit by ground fire. His right arm was broken in 3 places, and his left knee was badly sprained. He was captured by the enemy, but escaped despite his injuries. He was shot in his left thigh and left hand when he was recaptured. As a POW, Colonel Day suffered the most brutal conditions. He was imprisoned for 2,028 days before being released March 14, 1973. On March 4, 1976, he was presented the Medal of Honor by President Gerald Ford. Colonel Day was a Daedalian Life Member. He passed away on July 27, 2013. He was posthumously advanced to the rank of brigadier general by order of the president on June 8, 2018. The former Seagull Flight in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was renamed the George E. "Bud" Day Flight 61 on Dec. 18, 2012, in his honor.

 

Aug. 27, 1941

William R. Dunn, flying with Eagle Squadron 71 (RAF), shot down his fifth enemy plane to become the first American Ace in Europe. He served in Europe, Burma, and China, and ended the war with 15 aerial victories and credit for 12 destroyed on the ground. Learn more about him HERE.

 

Aug. 28, 1972

Capt. Steve Ritchie and Weapons System Officer Capt. Chuck DeBellevue, leading Buick flight with their F-4D Phantom II, shot down a North Vietnamese MiG 21 interceptor. This was Ritchie's 5th confirmed aerial combat victory, earning him the title of Ace. DeBellevue would later be credited with 6 kills. Flown by 5 different crews, F-4D 66-7463 shot down six enemy fighters from March 1 to Oct. 15, 1972, and is now on display at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Ritchie and DeBellevue are both Daedalian Life Members.

 

Aug. 29, 1944

Maj. Gen. Curtis E. LeMay became commander of the XX Bomber Command. LeMay, a hard-hitting strategist, was determined to wring out the best possible performances from his new and expensive B-29s.

 

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Thanks to Al..Very interesting read

The harrowing story of the Nagasaki bombing mission - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists


https://thebulletin.org/2015/08/the-harrowing-story-of-the-nagasaki-bombing-mission/

The harrowing story of the Nagasaki bombing mission

By Ellen Bradbury, Sandra Blakeslee, August 4, 2015

 

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Thanks to Paul

Operation Eagle Claw

Skip,

It was quite the documentary. It can now be accessed at https://watch.eventive.org/desertone/play/5f317894adcb2f0029507de5

after entering email, password and $9.99 payment 

Deuce

On Aug 21, 2020, at 4:26 PM, Paul Honeycutt <paulh@honeycuttsmith.com> wrote:



Skip,

 Operation Eagle Claw comes to life as "Desert One"  "It's an investigation, and resourceful re-creation, of the clandestine, ill-fated special forces mission that President Jimmy Carter launched four decades ago in an attempt to free 52 Americans taken hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in late 1979"

 

The easiest way to figure out how to watch the doc is by going to the official Desert One website and entering your city on the "Get Tickets" page; the website will then populate a list of local theaters that are showing the film either virtually, or at a set time.

 

Deuce

 

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This Day in U S Military History

1814 – On the 19th of August British Major – General Robert Ross had landed his troops and started marching up the Patuxent River, with Rear – Admiral George Cockburn and a naval division of light vessels in support. On the third day, Commodore Joshua Barney, U.S.N. had to destroy his own flotilla of gunboats to prevent them from being captured; he then withdrew his 400 seamen to defend the road leading from the village of Bladensburg to Washington. Brigadier – General Winder was in charge of the troops here. There were 120 dragoons and about 300 regular infantry as well as 1,500 militia. On August 24th, almost 5,000 additional American militia started to arrive on the battlefield that General Winder had selected to be on the Washington side of the village. The American defensive position looked impressive; they were formed up in two lines on the heights. The advanced U.S. forces occupied a fortified house, and Marine artillery covered the bridge that the British would have to cross. Many of the militia are poorly trained and armed and their officers are lacking leadership skills. The British open the engagement by unleashing their secret weapon, Congreve rockets. Though highly inaccurate (no American was reportedly injured by one) they caused great noise and smoke, creating panic in the militia ranks. Almost as soon as the British infantry started their assault, some militia routed off the field. However some units, like the 5th Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Militia (today the 175th Infantry) and the Hartford Dragoon's fought a delaying action long enough to cover the retreat of other troops. The British entered Washington with no further problem this evening and burned government buildings including the White House and Capital. Commodore Barney and his seamen and Marines attempted to make a real fight of it until ordered by their badly wounded commander to withdraw to avoid being captured. The U.S. cannon took its toll on the advancing British troops and cut large holes in the British lines crossing the bridge. But the British kept on advancing filling in the ranks where soldiers fell. The charging British had 64 killed and 185 wounded while the U.S. forces lost 10 men killed and 12 wounded at what became known as "The Bladenburg Races" After a few hours rest the British formed up and continued on toward Washington

1814 – British forces under General Robert Ross overwhelm American militiamen at the Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland, and march unopposed into Washington, D.C. Most congressmen and officials fled the nation's capital as soon as word came of the American defeat, but President James Madison and his wife, Dolley, escaped just before the invaders arrived. Earlier in the day, President Madison had been present at the Battle of Bladensburg and had at one point actually taken command of one of the few remaining American batteries, thus becoming the first and only president to exercise in actual battle his authority as commander in chief. The British army entered Washington in the late afternoon, and General Ross and British officers dined that night at the deserted White House. Meanwhile, the British troops, ecstatic that they had captured their enemy's capital, began setting the city aflame in revenge for the burning of Canadian government buildings by U.S. troops earlier in the war. The White House, a number of federal buildings, and several private homes were destroyed. The still uncompleted Capitol building was also set on fire, and the House of Representatives and the Library of Congress were gutted before a torrential downpour doused the flames. On August 26, General Ross, realizing his untenable hold on the capital area, ordered a withdrawal from Washington. The next day, President Madison returned to a smoking and charred Washington and vowed to rebuild the city. James Hoban, the original architect of the White House, completed reconstruction of the executive mansion in 1817

1942 – The Battle of the Eastern Solomons. US Task Force 61, commanded by Admiral Fletcher is comprised of the American aircraft carriers Saratoga, Enterprise and Wasp. The Japanese split their forces into two, Admiral Nagumo commanding the Zuikaku and Shokaku and Admiral Hara, the Ryujo. Both forces are attempting to cover the ferrying of supplies to the respective forces on Guadalcanal. American scout planes discover the Ryujo and Admiral Fletcher dispatches a strike force. When the other two Japanese carriers are sighted, he attempts to redirect the attack, but most of his planes do not receive the new orders and proceed to sink the Ryujo. Admiral Nagumo's planes find the USS Enterprise inflicting damage, however planes can still land on the carrier. Both carrier groups disengage at the end of the day without a clear result.
1942 – U.S. forces continue to deliver crushing blows to the Japanese, sinking the aircraft carrier Ryuho in the Battle of the East Solomon Islands. Key to the Americans' success in this battle was the work of coastwatchers, a group of volunteers whose job it is to report on Japanese ship and aircraft movement. The Marines had landed on Guadalcanal, on the Solomon Islands, on August 7. This was the first American offensive maneuver of the war and would deliver the first real defeat to the Japanese. On August 23, coastwatchers, comprised mostly of Australian and New Zealander volunteers, hidden throughout the Solomon and Bismarck islands and protected by anti-Japanese natives, spotted heavy Japanese reinforcements headed for Guadalcanal. The coastwatchers alerted three U.S. carriers that were within 100 miles of Guadalcanal, which then raced to the scene to intercept the Japanese. By the time the Battle of the Eastern Solomons was over, the Japanese lost a light carrier, a destroyer, and a submarine and the Ryuho. The Americans suffered damage to the USS Enterprise, the most decorated carrier of the war; the Enterprise would see action again, though, in the American landings on Okinawa in 1945. As for the coastwatchers, Vice Adm. William F. Halsey said, "The coastwatchers saved Guadalcanal, and Guadalcanal saved the Pacific."

1969 – Company A of the Third Battalion, 196th Light Infantry Brigade refuses the order of its commander, Lieutenant Eugene Schurtz, Jr., to continue an attack that had been launched to reach a downed helicopter shot down in the Que Son valley, 30 miles south of Da Nang. The unit had been in fierce combat for five days against entrenched North Vietnamese forces and had taken heavy casualties. Schurtz called his battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Bacon, and informed him that his men had refused to follow his order to move out because they had "simply had enough" and that they were "broken." The unit eventually moved out when Bacon sent his executive officer and a sergeant to give Schurtz's troops "a pep talk," but when they reached the downed helicopter on August 25, they found all eight men aboard dead. Schurtz was relieved of his command and transferred to another assignment in the division. Neither he nor his men were disciplined. This case of "combat refusal," as the Army described it, was reported widely in U.S. newspapers.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

 

*ANDERSON, RICHARD A.
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company E, 3d Reconnaissance Battalion, 3d Marine Division. Place and date: Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, 24 August 1969. Entered service at: Houston, Tex. Born: 16 April 1948, Washington, D.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an assistant team leader with Company E, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy. While conducting a patrol during the early morning hours L/Cpl. Anderson's reconnaissance team came under a heavy volume of automatic weapons and machine gun fire from a numerically superior and well concealed enemy force. Although painfully wounded in both legs and knocked to the ground during the initial moments of the fierce fire fight, L/Cpl. Anderson assumed a prone position and continued to deliver intense suppressive fire in an attempt to repulse the attackers. Moments later he was wounded a second time by an enemy soldier who had approached to within 8 feet of the team's position. Undaunted, he continued to pour a relentless stream of fire at the assaulting unit, even while a companion was treating his leg wounds. Observing an enemy grenade land between himself and the other marine, L/Cpl. Anderson immediately rolled over and covered the lethal weapon with his body, absorbing the full effects of the detonation. By his indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and selfless devotion to duty, L/Cpl. Anderson was instrumental in saving several marines from serious injury or possible death. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.

By virtue of an act of Congress approved 24 August 1921, the Medal of Honor, emblem of highest ideals and virtues is bestowed in the name of the Congress of the United States upon the unknown American, typifying the gallantry and intrepidity, at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, of our beloved heroes who made the supreme sacrifice in the World War. They died in order that others might live (293.8, A.G:O.) (War Department General Orders, No. 59, 13 Dec. 1921, sec. I).

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for August 24, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

24 August

1918: Maj William R. Ream became the first flight surgeon to die in an aircraft accident at Chanute Field. (24)

1935: Brig Gen Frank M. Andrews set three world seaplane speed and payload records from Langley Field to Floyd Bennett Field and back in a Martin B-12A bomber with pontoon floats. (24)

1938: The Navy flew the radio-controlled JH-1, the first powered drone target in the U.S., to test the USS Ranger's anti-aircraft batteries. (21)

 1940: Boeing received a contract for three B-29 prototypes. (12)

1951: KOREAN WAR. Through 25 August, B-26's claimed over 800 trucks destroyed in the new campaign of night anti-truck operations. (28) General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, CSAF, disclosed the development of atomic tactical weapons for use against armies in the field. (24)

1959: The USAF launched an Atlas-C over a 5,000-mile course. Later, the USAF recovered a data capsule containing movies taken from 700 miles up that showed one-sixth of the earth's surface. (16) (24)

1961: At Edwards AFB, Jacqueline Cochran flew a Northrop T-38 Talon to a world speed record for women, 842.6 miles per hour. (24)

1962: Donald L. Piccard set a FAI record for subclass A-2 balloons (250-400 cubic meters). At Sioux City, Iowa, he flew a Sioux City Sue Raven Industries balloon to 17,747 feet. (9)

1965: A 341 SMW crew from Malmstrom AFB, Mont., launched the 100th Minuteman I test missile from Vandenberg AFB. (8: Aug 90)

1974: Alexander P. de Seversky, airpower advocate and an inventive genius whose life and career followed the evolution of aviation, died in New York at 80. He developed the P-35, the Army Air Corps' first single seat, all-metal pursuit aircraft with retractable landing gear and a closed cockpit. He also developed inflight-refueling techniques.

1978: The 81 TFW, 92 TFS, at RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge received the first three A-10s destined for USAFE. (4)

1979: Full-scale development of the Global Positioning System authorized. (12)

1989: The Voyager 2 Space Probe completed its tour of the solar system by flying within 3,000 miles of Neptune. (20)

1994: HURRICANE JOHN. Through 25 August, as a hurricane approached AMC aircraft evacuated 1,107 military and civilian personnel from Johnston Island, located 740 miles southwest of Honolulu. Six C-141s, 2 DC-8 charters, and 1 C-130 brought everyone to Hickam AFB. Although most evacuees returned to Johnston on commercial flights in early September, an AMC C-141 and a few C-130s returned some residents in late August. (16) (18)

2001: At Grand Forks AFB, contractors imploded Minuteman III missile silo H-22 near Petersburg, N.D. It was the last silo of 450 ICBM silos to be destroyed under the START I agreement. Contractors imploded 14 silos in 1999, 86 in 2000, and 49 in 2001. (21) An EC-18B Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA) made its final AFFTC flight, ending that mission at Edwards AFB. For 30 years, the aircraft recorded and relayed telemetry information from ICBMs and manned spacecraft, both U.S. and foreign. The USAF intended to use the two EC-18Bs in the JSTARS program. (3)

 

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World News for 24 August thanks to Military Periscope

  USA—IBCS Passes Another Test Northrop Grumman | 08/24/2020 The U.S. Army's Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) successfully shot down cruise and ballistic missile targets in the second of two live-fire events as part of limited user testing, reported Northrop Grumman, the manufacturer. On Aug. 20, soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, confronted a cruise missile and a ballistic missile target at the same time. Their defensive system consisted of two battery and one battalion IBCS engagement operations centers; two Patriot and two Sentinel radars; and four launchers with a mix of PAC-2, PAC-3 and Missile Segment Enhanced (MSE) interceptors connected to the IBCS Integrated Fire-Control Network (IFCN). The target missiles were fired from two different directions toward the defended area. The IBCS integrated target data from various sensors to create a composite track of each missile and developed engagement solutions. A PAC-2 interceptor was launched against the cruise missile threat and a PAC-3 against the ballistic missile. Unlike the first limited user test earlier this month, the trial did not involve jamming, noted Breaking Defense. Army officials said that both tests involved similar levels of difficulty. The Army has also conducted multiple simulations testing the IBCS against hundreds of missile threats of various types at the same time as part of limited user testing, reported Breaking Defense. The limited user test is scheduled to conclude in September, with a production decision anticipated in November, reported Defense News. If approved for production, initial operational testing and evaluation would begin around 13 months later. The Army plans to equip its first unit with the IBCS in the third or fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. 

USA—AI Defeats Human Pilot In Simulation Breaking Defense | 08/24/2020 An artificial intelligence (AI) system handily beat a human pilot in a simulation as part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) development program, reports Breaking Defense. The final phase of the AlphaDogfight trial was held on Aug. 20, during which the AI software beat the human pilot, a recent graduate of the Air Force Weapon School F-16 Weapons Instructor Course, in five simulated dogfights, reported Air Force magazine.   Heron Systems, headquartered in California, Md., developed the AI algorithm. It beat out seven other competitors, including Lockheed Martin, for the right to take on a human pilot. The demonstration was a risk-reduction effort for DARPA's larger Air Combat Evolution program, which is designed to gather information on how humans and machine pilots share operational control of a fighter jet to successfully complete missions. During the mock dogfight, the AI and human pilot attempted to shoot down the other using the internal gun on the F-16. The simulation mimicked the real-world limitations of the Fighting Falcon, including g limits.   The Heron Systems AI was extremely aggressive during the games, exhibiting "superhuman aiming ability" and the ability to turn and score kills on the opposing F-16 before the human pilot could get a shot off, said officials. The AI often made mistakes in basic fighter maneuvers by turning away from the opposing aircraft to where it thought the other pilot would go, but was able to recover due to its superior aiming ability and the competitor aircraft taking the bait, reported C4ISRNet. Officials emphasized that the trials were not definitive of any future AI pilot's capabilities but demonstrated that the software worked for this specific scenario. Future testing will focus on developing AI capabilities for other air combat missions. 

USA—Air Force Inspector General Finds Numerous Errors In Use Of ISR Aircraft To Monitor Protests Air Force Magazine | 08/24/2020 A report by the U.S. Air Force Inspector General has found that reconnaissance aircraft employed by the National Guard over demonstrations in June did not track individual protesters, reports Air Force magazine. The redacted report released on Friday covered Air Force National Guard RC-26B flights over demonstrations in Arizona, California, Washington, D.C., and Minnesota from June 1 to June 4. The Air National Guard aircraft did not collect personal information of those protesting the death of unarmed black civilians at the hands of police, says the report, in part because the RC-26s were not equipped with sensors capable of gathering such information. However, under some circumstances, the aircraft could have been used to track individuals who could be later identified by law enforcement. In addition, police in Phoenix, Ariz., used information from the ANG aircraft to break up peaceful, lawful protests, according to the document. The Guard also failed to obtain the necessary approvals from the National Guard Bureau chief, defense and Air Force secretaries for such missions. 

United Kingdom—Little Progress Seen in Trade Talks With E.U. British Broadcasting Corp. | 08/24/2020 The latest round of trade talks between the U.K. and European Union has not brought the sides closer with time running out before the current arrangement expires, reports BBC News. The talks that concluded on Friday made little progress, with differences remaining in areas such as fisheries policy and state aid rules, said David Frost, the lead U.K. negotiator. A deal at this point seems unlikely, according to Michel Barnier, the head E.U. negotiator. The U.K. officially left the E.U. on January but has remained within its trading area under a transitional agreement that expires on Dec. 31. Brussels says a new trade deal must be in place by mid-October to ensure all 27 member states can ratify it before the end of the year, reported CNN Business. If an agreement cannot be reached in time, trade would revert to World Trade Organization rules, significantly increasing costs and other barriers to trade. The British economy has been hard hit by a recession due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. London has also failed to make any new trade deals with other countries, analysts said. The next round of talks is scheduled to be held in London on Sept. 7. 

United Kingdom—Rolls-Royce, Reaction Engines Announce Strategic Partnership Rolls-Royce Press Release | 08/24/2020 British firms Rolls-Royce and Reaction Engines have finalized a new strategic partnership to work together on high-speed aircraft propulsion systems and evaluate applications for thermal management systems developed by Reaction Engines, reports Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce and Reaction Engines have been working together since 2018. Under the latest agreement, Rolls-Royce will invest 20 million pounds (US$26 million) in Reaction Engines over the next two years, reported Defense News. Reaction Engines has developed a heat exchanger system that can function in hypersonic conditions at temperatures approaching 1,800 degrees F (1,000 degrees C). The system has potential applications in civil and defense gas-turbine and hybrid-electric powerplants, said Rolls-Royce. The companies have also been working with the British Defense Ministry to develop advanced propulsion systems that might be available for the Tempest sixth-generation fighter. 

Turkey—Deal Inked With Russia For More S-400 Air Defense Systems Tass | 08/24/2020 Turkey has signed a contract with Russia for another batch of S-400 air defense systems, according to Russian arms export officials cited by Tass news agency (Moscow). On Sunday, Rosoboronexport chief Alexander Mikheyev said that a contract had been signed and that talks were underway on financial arrangements to implement it. The timeframe for executing the contract depends on Turkey, said Mikheyev. The value of the deal and number of systems involved was not disclosed. Ankara signed a US$2.5 billion deal for a regiment of S-400s (two battalions) in September 2017. Delivery of S-400 launchers began in July 2019. The acquisition has been condemned by the U.S. and Turkey's NATO allies and resulted in Ankara's expulsion from the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter program.

 Russia—Navalny Likely Poisoned, Say German Officials The Moscow Times | 08/24/2020 German officials say that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was likely poisoned, reports the Moscow Times. On Monday, a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said that it was "fairly likely" that Navalny was poisoned and, accordingly, that he would need special protection. Navalny was transferred from a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk to a hospital in Berlin on Saturday, two days after he fell ill after drinking what his supporters say was tea laced with poison. He has since been placed under guard, reported Reuters. Doctors at the hospital in Omsk that initially treated Navalny have denied that he was poisoned. Supporters of Navalny say that he was held in Russia for two days to allow the poison to leave his system. Navalny fell into a coma on a flight to Moscow on Aug. 20, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. The Kremlin critic is said to be in stable condition in Berlin, reported CNN.

 China—6 Maritime Exercises To Be Held Simultaneously South China Morning Post | 08/24/2020 China is holding several naval and coast guard exercises this week, reports the South China Morning Post. On Saturday, the Hainan bureau of the Maritime Safety Administration said that waters around Hainan island in the South China Sea would be closed for naval maneuvers from Aug. 24-29. The following day, the Guangdong bureau announced another exercise would be held off the southern coast of the province during that same time period. Meanwhile, a naval exercise in the Yellow Sea is underway and scheduled to wrap up on Aug. 26. The coast guard is holding a major drill off the coast of the northeastern Hebei province that will run until the end of September. Two more exercises are taking place in the Bohai Sea, one on Monday and Tuesday, and another that concludes on Aug. 28. The overlapping training comes amid stepped up maritime activities in the South China Sea by both China and the U.S. Last week, the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group returned to the South China Sea for air defense training and the destroyer USS Mustin made a freedom of navigation passage through the Taiwan Strait. 

Philippines—14 Dead In Pair Of Blasts In Jolo Rappler | 08/24/2020 Bombing attacks have killed at least 14 people and wounded 75 in the southern Philippine city of Jolo, reports the Rappler (Manila). On Monday, an explosive device detonated near a military vehicle in the Walled City neighborhood, reported the Philippine Daily Inquirer. About an hour later, a female suicide bomber set off her explosive device in the same neighborhood as police set up a perimeter, reported Agence France-Presse. The second bomber is suspected to be linked to a suicide bomber from the ISIS-affiliated Abu Sayyaf Group, said a spokesman from the 11th Infantry Division. A lockdown was enforced in the area for about three hours to allow security forces to search for the perpetrators, reported the Minda News (Mindanao). At least seven soldiers and a police officer were killed in the blasts. 

India—No Progress Made In Latest Round Of Border Talks Indian Express | 08/24/2020 The latest round of talks between India and China have failed to produce an agreement on disengaging their respective forces along the border between Ladakh in India and the Tibet Autonomous Region in China, reports the Indian Express. The videoconference on Aug. 20 was the fourth meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs since the start of the crisis in May and its 18th meeting overall, reporting the Times News Network (India). The main sticking point is China's reluctance to withdraw its troops from a ridgeline in the Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot Springs areas, said Indian officials. The meeting involved a candid and in-depth exchange of views and both sides agreed that restoring peace in the area was necessary, said an Indian statement after the meeting. A Chinese statement indicated a more positive view of the discussions and said that Beijing had agreed to "conscientiously implement the consensus" reached by the two sides. 

Iran—Natanz Fire Caused By Sabotage, Officials Say British Broadcasting Corp. | 08/24/2020 Iranian officials say that a fire at the Natanz nuclear facility last month was the result of sabotage, reports the BBC News. An initial investigation indicated that an explosion caused the fire, a spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization told the Al Alam state TV channel on Sunday. No further details were provided about the fire or who may have been behind the alleged sabotage, reported Reuters. Some officials have blamed the July fire on a cyberattack. The fire caused significant damage that could hinder the development of advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges in the medium term. The spokesman said that the damaged building would be replaced with a more advanced facility. Earlier in August, Bloomberg News published portions of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report indicating that Iran was seeking to boost uranium enrichment at the site. 

Syria—Territory Granted To Russia For Medical Center In Latakia Province Enab Baladi | 08/24/2020 The Syrian government has agreed to provide additional territory to Russia in the western Latakia province, reports the Enab Baladi news website (Syria). According to a document published by the Russian government on Aug. 19, the parties initially signed an agreement on June 21 in Damascus covering the transfer of land and coastal area in Latakia to Russia for the construction of a medical and rehabilitation center for Russian air force personnel. The document was signed in Moscow on July 30. The area comprises 8 hectares (20 acres) of land and 8 hectares of coastal waters, reported Reuters. The land is being transferred on a temporary basis and at no cost, according to the document. Moscow will pay for all construction, water, communication and sewage networks as well as engineering infrastructure.

 Senegal—With Beirut Blast In Mind, Dakar Port Officials Seek Removal Of AN Stockpile British Broadcasting Corp. | 08/24/2020 Senegalese officials say they are seeking to move a large stockpile of ammonium nitrate (AN) from the port of Dakar, reports BBC News. The move comes after the compound was identified as the cause of the massive explosion that devastated Beirut on Aug. 4. Some 2,660 tons of AN are now in a warehouse in Dakar. It is part of a larger shipment of 3,000 tons that was destined for Mali. Around 350 tons have already been transported to Mali. The owner of the chemicals has asked to move it to a new storage location about 20 miles (30 km) outside of Dakar. The Senegalese Environmental Ministry has not yet approved the request, saying the new site has not yet met the necessary conditions. It is not clear who owns the AN and what its intended use is in Mali. Further transport may be made difficult by last week's coup, which overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. For more on the explosion in Beirut and ammonium nitrate, please see Military Periscope's latest special report, "Deadly Beirut Blast Reveals Chemical Dangers." 

Mali—ECOWAS Seeks Civilian Transition In Talks With Junta Reuters | 08/24/2020 The military junta in Mali that overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita last week and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have made some progress in talks on returning power to civilians, reports Reuters. Nine hours of discussions were held on Sunday in Bamako, the Malian capital, with the goal of returning the country to civilian rule. Some outstanding issues remained, with talks set to continue on Monday. The junta has proposed a transition plan that includes a three-year transitionary period, during which time the government would be led by a body consisting of mostly military officials, reported Agence France-Presse. The morning session on Sunday covered sanctions placed on Mali by ECOWAS following the coup, said a source close to the junta. The junta is also prepared to release ousted President Keita and permit him to return to his home or leave the country, reported Radio France Internationale. Following the coup, ECOWAS suspended Mali from its decision-making bodies, closed its borders with Mali and halted financial flows. 

Sudan—PM Urges Accelerated Trials For Top Bashir Regime Figures Sudan Tribune | 08/24/2020 Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok has called on Sudanese prosecutors to accelerate trials for members of the ousted Bashir regime, reports the Sudan Tribune (Paris). His remarks on Saturday coincided with the one-year anniversary of his appointment and come amid growing popular dissatisfaction with delays in trials of former regime leaders accused of war crimes and other serious abuses. More than 35 investigations are underway, he said. Trials of regime figures and corruption cases must be expedited. Hamdok also reiterated his support for trying members of the Bashir regime at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for crimes committed during the conflict in Darfur in western Sudan. In February, the government and rebels reached an agreement to try Bashir and four others at the international body but Hamdok had yet to publicly confirm that position, noted Reuters. 

Venezuela—Caracas Seeks Iranian Missiles, Duque Says Colombia Reports | 08/24/2020 Colombian President Ivan Duque says that the Venezuelan government wants to purchase medium- and long-range missiles from Iran, reports Colombia Reports. On Thursday, Duque said that "international intelligence agencies" had uncovered information that Caracas had discussed such a purchase with Tehran, but that no missiles had yet been sent to Venezuela. The president made his comments days after meeting with top U.S. officials, including National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino was in charge of the effort to purchase the missiles, Duque said, as reported by Agence France-Presse. On social media, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza denied the allegations, calling them "fiction," reported Reuters.  

 

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