To All,
Good Tuesday morning February 14, 2023.
Regards,
Skip
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History February 14
1778—Continental ship, Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones, receives the first official salute to a U.S. Stars and Stripes flag by a foreign government (the French fleet) at Quiberon, France.
1813—The frigate Essex, commanded by Capt. David Porter, becomes the first U.S. Navy warship to round Cape Horn and enter the Pacific Ocean.
1814—The frigate Constitution, commanded by Capt. Charles Stewart, captures the British Lovely Ann off Guiana, the first of four during a five-day period.
1945—USS Gato (SS 212) sinks Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.9 in the Yellow Sea and USS Hawkbill (SS 366) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 4 and Cha 114 in the Java Sea.
1945—Water Tender Second Class Elmer C. Bigelow heroically fights a blaze after USS Fletcher (DD 445) is hit by enemy shelling. Bigelow dies the next day from his injuries. He is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity." USS Bigelow (DD 942) is named in his honor in 1957.
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This Day in World History
February 14
Happy Valentine's Day! Today is St. Valentine's Day, the feast day of two Christian martyrs named Valentine: one a priest and physician, the other the Bishop of Terni. Both are purported to have been beheaded on this day. The custom of sending handmade 'valentines' to one's beloved became popular during the 17th century and was first commercialized in the United States in the 1840s.
1349 2,000 Jews are burned at the stake in Strasbourg, Germany.
1400 The deposed Richard II is murdered in Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire.
1549 Maximilian II, brother of the Emperor Charles V, is recognized as the future king of Bohemia.
1779 American Loyalists are defeated by Patriots at Kettle Creek, Ga.
1797 The Spanish fleet is destroyed by the British under Admiral Jervis (with Nelson in support) at the battle of Cape St. Vincent, off Portugal.
1848 James Polk becomes the first U.S. President to be photographed in office by Matthew Brady.
1859 Oregon is admitted as the thirty-third state.
1870 Esther Morris becomes the world's first female justice of the peace.
1876 Rival inventors Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell both apply for patents for the telephone.
1900 General Roberts invades South Africa's Orange Free State with 20,000 British troops.
1904 The "Missouri Kid" is captured in Kansas.
1912 Arizona becomes the 48th state in the Union.
1915 Kaiser Wilhelm II invites the U.S. Ambassador to Berlin in order to confer on the war.
1918 Warsaw demonstrators protest the transfer of Polish territory to the Ukraine.
1920 The League of Women Voters is formed in Chicago in celebration of the imminent ratification of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.
1924 Thomas Watson founds International Business Machines Corp.
1929 Chicago gang war between Al Capone and George "Bugs" Moran culminates with several Moran confederates being gunned down in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
1939 Germany launches the battleship Bismarck.
1940 Britain announces that all merchant ships will be armed.
1942 Japanese paratroopers attack Sumatra. Aidan MacCarthy's RAF unit flew to Palembang, in eastern Sumatra, where 30 Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed A-28 Hudson bombers were waiting.
1945 800 Allied aircraft firebomb the German city of Dresden. Smaller followup bombing raids last until April with a total death toll of between 35,000 to 130,000 civilians.
1945 The siege of Budapest ends as the Soviets take the city. Only 785 German and Hungarian soldiers managed to escape.
1949 The United States charges the Soviet Union with interning up to 14 million in labor camps.
1955 A Jewish couple loses their fight to adopt Catholic twins as the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to rule on state law.
1957 The Georgia state senate outlaws interracial athletics.
1965 Malcolm X's home is firebombed. No injuries are reported.
1971 Moscow publicizes a new five-year plan geared to expanding consumer production.
1973 The United States and Hanoi set up a group to channel reconstruction aid directly to Hanoi.
1979 Armed guerrillas attack the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
1985 Vietnamese troops surround the main Khmer Rouge base at Phnom Malai.
1989 Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini charges that Salman Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses, is blasphemous and issues an edict (fatwa) calling on Muslims to kill Rushdie.
On this day in history (February 14,):
1876: Inventors Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray applied separately for patents related to the telephone. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled Bell the rightful inventor.
1929: The "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" took place in Chicago. Seven gangsters who were rivals of Al Capone were killed.
1946: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was unveiled.
The device, built at the University of Pennsylvania, was the world's first general purpose electronic computer.
And today is:
National Cream Filled Chocolates Day
278 St. Valentine beheaded
. 1973 Release of U.S. POWs begins »
A History of Valentine's Day ( one of many)
The lover's holiday has its beginnings in the 4th century B.C. in Rome. The Romans held an annual lottery wherein young men would draw a young woman's name from a box. The couple would be assigned to each other the entire year for entertainment and pleasure. (Now, I can see where this could be real dangerous!) This celebration, traditionally held on February 15, also included banquets, dancing and foot races run in the nude.
Around A.D. 496, early church fathers sought an end to the pagan practice, but knew better than to upset the citizens by removing the lottery completely. Instead, they had teenagers pull the names of saints from the box. The teen was supposed to spend the year emulating that saint's life as much as possible, which was probably not as much fun as naked marathons. (Right! It's no wonder they fed Christians to the lions!) St. Valentine was chosen as the patron saint of the new event, and young Roman men resorted to courting females by sending handwritten notes delivered on February 14.
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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…
… For The List for Tuesday, 14 February 2023… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 14 February 1968… Valentine's Day in the Red River Valley…
This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip
Vietnam Air Losses
Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at: https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.
This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM
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Off the wall
Thanks to Felix ... and Dr. Rich
(26) Lost '50s Cult Film Made by Real Fighter Pilots is Hilarious - YouTube
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Thanks to Carl
https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/272865/just-say-no-valentines-day-deborah-weiss
JUST SAY 'NO' TO VALENTINE'S DAY
Celebrating love on February 14th is "un-Islamic."
February 14,
Deborah Weiss
While many of those in the West are celebrating Valentine's Day with the exchange of roses, chocolate, and candlelight dinners, lovers in Muslim countries must go into hiding to express their affections.
Though Valentine's Day has Christian roots, honoring a Christian martyr named St. Valentine, over the years its religious connection has become attenuated and it is now considered a secular holiday, celebrated by all who want to express amore to their special someone on this day. However, in much of the Islamic world, Valentine's Day is not just frowned upon, but is illegal, sometimes coming with dire consequences for those who ignore the "unIslamic" nature of this day of love.
Pakistan, for example, outlawed Valentine's Day in 2017, when Islamabad's High Court ruled that the holiday goes against Islamic teachings. The ruling came in response to a petition by Abdul Waheed, a Pakistani citizen, who believes that any Valentine's Day promotions in the mainstream or social media are un-Islamic. His petition further argued that while Valentine's Day is advocated in the language of love, this is merely pretext for the promotion of nudity, immorality and indecency. He won his case.
Subsequently, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) was ordered to monitor all media and send out advisory notifications warning the media against reporting Valentine's Day celebrations or promoting the holiday. Additionally, Pemra officials declared that "No [Valentine's Day] event shall be held at the official level or at any public space."
Over 60 percent of Pakistan's population is under the age of 30, and many of them commemorated the holiday prior to the ban. Commercial outlets also benefitted by selling flowers, chocolate and Valentine's Day hearts. Now, they do so at their own risk.
In recent years, the more stringent within the religious Islamic ummah have become politically active and denounce the holiday as being immoral. Specifically, the Taliban-linked group Jamiat ulema-e-Islam opposes Valentine's Day. Surprisingly, even the women who belong to this group can be seen in full burkas burning signs that read "Happy Valentine's Day."
In 2012, in Indonesia, the highest Islamic clerical council announced that Valentine's Day is contrary to Islamic teachings. In 2017, nationwide rallies were held to bring awareness to the fact that the holiday is a western concept. Protestors held signs reading "Muslims say no to Happy Valentine's Day." Last year, police gathered and arrested couples that were publicly affectionate. Indonesian fundamentalists believe that Valentine's Day encourages premarital sex, which is a crime in Indonesia.
In Malaysia, Islamic authorities issued a fatwa in 2006 which banned Valentine's Day. In 2011, the JAIS (Islamic morality police) arrested 80 couples for celebrating the holiday. Officers raided hotels in major cities during an anti-Valentine's Day crusade. Then, in 2017, the National Muslim Youth Association issued a statement the day prior to Valentine's Day, advising women not to wear perfume on Valentine's Day and to refrain from using emoticons in their text messages.
In Iran, though the holiday isn't technically illegal, much of the associated activity is banned. The morality police order shops and restaurants to remove hearts, flowers, and decorations, including pictures of couples embracing. They are prohibited from selling heart-shaped balloons, red roses, heart-shaped boxes, or Valentine's Day cards. If they have the audacity to sell Valentine's Day gifts, they are threatened with prosecution. Despite this, numerous restaurants in Tehran defy the law, employing lookouts to give advance notice of inspectors on Valentine's Day patrol.
However, the country where celebrants of Valentine's Day suffer the most, are those in Saudi Arabia. There, open celebration of this holiday can result in harsh criminal penalties. For example, in 2014, five men were caught on Valentine's Day dancing with women who were not their wives. They were arrested and thrown in jail, and sentenced to 4500 lashings split among them.
The Commission on the Promotion of Virtue and Vice, otherwise known as the Religious Police, monitor store shelves to ensure that nothing is displayed in the verboten color of red. Red roses go on the black market, drastically increasing their price due to the risk of sale and their unavailability on the open market. The forbidden items are legal during the rest of the year, when Valentine's Day is not in the fore. This, however, is little consolation for those who want to celebrate on this special day.
Yes, clearly the Islamic religious police are very concerned about the "immorality" that Valentine's Day inspires. Given their concern about morals, what exactly are the religious police doing to stop the gang rape of women without hijabs, forced marriages of little girls, the jailing of those who engage in "blasphemous" speech, or the beheadings sanctioned by their own state? Oh, never mind. These activities aren't western; they are "Islamic" so apparently they are A-OK -- so long as you don't give your girlfriend flowers on February 14th. Islamic morals indeed.
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Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
https://geopoliticalfutures.com
Daily Memo: Russia's New Tax Plans, Italy's Energy Future
The Kremlin is looking for ways to stem the growing budget deficit.
By: GPF Staff
Plugging the gap. The Russian government will reportedly introduce changes to the energy sector to help plug a growing gap in the federal budget. Taxes on oil producers will be calculated based on the price of Brent crude rather than the traditional Urals, the price of which has fallen due to sanctions and a Western price cap. Moscow will also reduce subsidies for gasoline and diesel fuel. It expects to bring in about 25 billion rubles ($340 million) for the budget with the changes. Moscow reported last week that its oil and gas revenue plummeted by 46 percent in January from a year ago, contributing to a $25 billion budget deficit that month.
Italy's energy plans. Italy will be able to completely stop buying natural gas from Russia in 2023, Italian minister Adolfo Urso said ahead of a trip to Azerbaijan to discuss energy supplies. Italy received 40 percent of its gas from Russia before the Ukraine war, but that figure has declined to just 16 percent so far this year. Urso also said Italy will become a gas hub in the future using supplies from Azerbaijan and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, through which it expects supplies to double to 20 billion cubic meters annually by 2027.
Russian concerns. Moscow will respond to any threat posed by Japan to the regions of the Far East, including the deployment of hypersonic missiles on nearby islands, according to Russia's deputy foreign minister. He expressed concern about Tokyo's military modernization plans and large-scale exercises with the United States and other countries. Moscow is especially concerned about the U.S.' interest in deploying long-range hypersonic missiles, as well as land-based Tomahawk cruise missiles, in Japan.
Burgeoning ties. Relations between Azerbaijan and Israel have reached a new high, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Israel said at a business forum. The two countries are reportedly working on projects to strengthen economic cooperation. Their improving ties are sure to concern Iran.
Chinese diplomacy. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will arrive in China on Monday for a state visit. The two countries are expected to advance their comprehensive cooperation plan. Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry confirmed that top diplomat Wang Yi will visit France, Italy, Hungary and Russia from Feb. 14-22. Wang will also attend the Munich Security Conference during the trip.
Britain and India. Britain's defense procurement minister, Alex Chalk, was in India over the weekend to attend the Global Investor Summit. Chalk said the U.K. will invest in the defense, aerospace and medical sectors in Uttar Pradesh state. Britain's business and trade secretary, meanwhile, said his government expected to reach a free trade deal with India and enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership by the end of this year.
free trade deal with India and enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership by the end of this year.
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Little Barbarians
This one reminds me of a woman who came to my class one day a few years ago. With her was a 10 year old boy with a sour disposition. She asked me if I taught discipline in my classes. I told her that the martial arts is built on discipline and we would tell him the rules and he would abide by them. A couple weeks later she started coming in and telling me all the things he was doing at home. I would talk to him and give him my best look and ask him about what he did. It finally got to the point where he was doing well and liked what he was learning so if I threatened to not allow him to do them he would straighten up real fast. Then one day she brought in his little sister and the whole thing started over again. By the end of a couple of months they were doing well and the mother was amazed. Their grades in school went up and home was good. They had been with me for about 3 years when the mother came in and said they had to move to another state because of the father's job. I was sad to see them go. Roll it forward about 3 years and she showed up with the boy who was older but the same boy I had seen on the first day. He did not last but about two weeks and was gone. I never saw him or his sister again. Roll forward about 14 years and I was in the class and getting things ready when I heard a young woman talking to a young man and telling him that this was the place where she had trained. I asked her when she had been there and she told me that she and her brother had trained and then had to leave. I knew who she was and asked her why she did not come back when she moved back to town and she said since her brother did not want to go back she could not. It was great to she had turned into a nice respectable young lady. Her brother not ao much.
Skip
Our Little Barbarians - American Thinker
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/02/our_little_barbarians.html
February 14, 2023
Our Little Barbarians
By Selwyn Duke
Recently, an establishment called Nettie's House of Spaghetti in New Jersey announced they will no longer allow children under 10 to dine at their restaurant.
The move caused controversy, with some respondents applauding the policy and others accusing Nettie's staff of being "child haters." But the top commenter at MSN.com summed the issue up succinctly:
"We don't hate your kids," she wrote. "We hate your parenting."
Congratulations, madam, you won the Internet today.
If this seems a tempest in a teapot, know that it has implications for our entire society, because it reflects a deadly modern problem:
Too many Americans are failing to civilize their children.
It should be obvious that no restaurant would take such a decision lightly, as you want as many customers as possible coming through your doors. But Nettie's management explained on social media that while they love kids, because of the "noise levels, lack of space for high chairs, cleaning up crazy messes, and the liability of kids running around the restaurant, we have decided that it's time to take control of the situation."
O.K., a parenting pro tip: If your kids are running around a restaurant as if it's a playground, you're doing it wrong.
My parents took me to eateries for as long as I can remember. Yet it never occurred to me, ever, to bound about and treat the establishment like an amusement park. It's not that I was a saint; in fact, I had a bit of a temper and a low threshold for frustration. But my mother (this was her domain) enforced discipline and behavior standards. So certain actions were just beyond consideration.
Speaking of which, consider the 2018 video below of a young boy, 10 to 12 years old, getting in a grown man's face, refusing to relent, finally throwing punches at him and then — upon getting pushed to the ground when the victim finally defends himself — crying like a baby and acting aggrieved.
No well-raised child would even think in his wildest dreams about initiating violence with an adult stranger. What's more, that the boy was so shocked at receiving a mild comeuppance indicates that consequences for misbehavior were alien to him. Why, he might even have gotten away with hitting his parent (I'm guessing there was no father around).
As should be obvious, I'm not criticizing the "youth" with a fuddy-duddy, "Kids today!" lament; in fact, many of the people responsible for their behavior are my age or older. The point is this:
If you're wondering why our civilization is in steep decline, coming apart at the seams, with liberty imperiled, this is the reason.
"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom," Benjamin Franklin observed. "As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." Failing to recognize this truth is deadly. President Ronald Reagan once warned that "[f]reedom is never more than one generation away from extinction"; focusing on freedom, however, as so many today do exclusively, is to put the cart before the horse. For Reagan's statement is only true insofar as virtue is never more than one generation away from extinction.
"Virtue" is the word, too. No, this has nothing to do with "virtue-signaling," an appealing but misguided term that simultaneously flatters leftists and demeans a noble, necessary and divine concept (so I instead say "value-signaling"). Leftists are opponents of "virtue," which is defined as that set of "objectively good moral habits"; in reality, liberals have traditionally called their faux virtue "values," though it actually is vice.
Now, babies are born little barbarians; some even describe them as tiny "sociopaths." Regardless, parents' job is to civilize them, make them the kind of people who can sustain civilization. This involves modeling virtue and cultivating it, the latter via moral teaching; incentivizing good behavior; and, yes, punishing misbehavior.
The last concept is especially unfashionable today (except when punishing politically disfavored people for politically incorrect "transgressions" {i.e., "hate" crimes}; then the punishment can't be harsh enough). But there's a reason why the Bible tells us, "Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him."
The point is that if the above civilizing process is effected successfully, the child will have sound moral habits. Moreover, after being repeatedly compelled to act rightly, he will perhaps learn that it feels better to be good than bad — and then voluntarily choose to be good.
Saving or Scuttling Civilization
Ancient Greek philosopher Plato spoke about this when saying that a child should ideally be raised in an atmosphere of nobility and grace (i.e., our modern culture's antithesis) so that he can develop an "erotic" — as in emotional, not sexual — attachment to virtue. Once accomplished, he'll be more likely to accept the dictates of reason upon reaching the age of reason.
Tragically, though, far easier is "developing" (our fallen state makes this personal slouch toward Gomorrah natural) in children an erotic attachment to vice. In fact, our society, with its sexually, ideologically and morally corruptive schooling and entertainment, appears as if it's designed to do just that. Then when the child reaches the age of reason, he'll be quite unreasonable. He'll have misbegotten emotional attachments that will — and this must be understood — correlate with evil ideologies. The consequence?
Well, if you want to know why leftists generally cannot be reasoned with — why you can marshal the facts and present an airtight argument and they'll just dismiss it with an emotion-driven response — the aforementioned is the explanation. They have an emotional attachment to evil.
By the way, the "age of reason" is considered seven, and with good justification: "Show me a child at seven and I'll show you the man," the old Jesuit saying informs, expressing a developmental reality. Consequently, there isn't much time to mold that little sociopath into a saint.
So take heed, because the brats running around in restaurants today will be running, and ruining, the country tomorrow — and those who've not mastered themselves will be mastered by tyrants.
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Thanks to Al
From the archives from last year
Monday Morning Humor--Valentine's Day
If men ruled the world, Valentine's Day would be moved to February 29th so it would only occur once every four years.
Valentine's Day Scorecard for Guys--How do you rate?
Simple Duties
· You go out to buy her flowers: +5
· But return with beer: -5
· You check out a suspicious noise at night: 0
· You check out a suspicious noise and it's nothing: 0
· You check out a suspicious noise and it's something: +5
· You pummel it with a six iron: +10
· It's her cat: -10
Social Engagements
· You stay by her side the entire party: 0
· You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with a drinking buddy: -2
· Named Tiffany: -4
· Tiffany is a dancer: -6
· Tiffany has implants: -8
Saturday Afternoons
· You visit her parents: +1
· You visit her parents and actually make conversation: +3
· You visit her parents and stare vacantly at the television: -3
· And the television is off: -6
· You spend the afternoon watching college football in your underwear: -6
· And you didn't even go to college: -10
· And it's not really your underwear: -15
Valentine's Day
· You take her out to dinner: 0
· You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar: +1
· Okay, it is a sports bar: -2
· And it's all-you-can-eat night: -3
· It's a sports bar, it's all-you-can-eat night, and your face is painted the colors of your favorite team: -10
· You give her a gift: 0
· You give her a gift, and it's a small appliance: -10
· You give her a gift, and it's not a small appliance: +1
· You give her a gift, and it isn't chocolate: +2
· You give her a gift that you'll be paying off for months: +30
· You wait until the last minute and buy her a gift that day: -10
· With her credit card: -30
· And whatever you bought is two sizes too big: -40
Thoughtfulness
· You forget to pick her up at the bus station: -25
· Which is in Detroit: -35
· And the pouring rain dissolves her leg cast: -50
A Night Out with Your Pals
· You have a few beers: -9
· For every beer after three, -2 again
· And miss curfew by an hour: -12
· You get home at 3 a.m.: -20
· You get home at 3 a.m. smelling of booze and cheap cigars: -30
· And not wearing any pants: -40
· Is that a tattoo? -200
A Night Out, Just the Two of You
· You go see a comic: +2
· He's crude and sexist: -2
· You laugh: -5
· You laugh too much: -10
· She's not laughing: -15
· You laugh harder: -25
Driving
· You lose the directions on a trip: -4
· You lose the directions and end up getting lost: -10
· You end up getting lost in a bad part of town: -15
· You get lost in a bad part of town and meet the locals: -25
· She finds out you lied about having a black belt: -60
Communication
· When she wants to talk, you listen, displaying a concerned expression:+20
· When she wants to talk, you listen, for over 30 minutes: +5
· You listen for more than 30 minutes, without looking at the television:+10
· She realizes this is because you've fallen asleep: -10
Here's a list of the least appreciated Valentine's Day gifts:
A box of chocolates, clumsily rearranged in an attempt to hide the fact you ate all the caramel ones.
Lingerie that you think will look almost as good on her as on the Victoria's Secret model.
Any clothing item with the words "push-up" or "slim-down" on the label.
Any food item with the words "diet", "light", or "high fiber" on the label.
Any video starring Sylvester Stallone, Jim Carrey, or Pamela Anderson.
Flowers from a hospital's gift shop--or worse, a mortuary's.
Poetry, no matter how heartfelt, that starts out "There was once a girl from..."
Anything you ever gave another woman, including your mother.
Any household appliance, power tool or other item from the harder side of Sears.
A gift certificate.
Cash.
Anything you could have bought at the gas station mini-mart on the way over, even if you didn't.
An apologetic look and the words "That was today?"
He loved her very much. He wanted this Valentine's Day to be special, So he had ordered a bottle of her favorite liquor imported from France and it had arrived in time for the occasion. On his way home, he stopped at the local florist. He had planned to have a bouquet made with her favorite flower, white anemones. But to his dismay, he found that the florist had sold all her flowers and had only a few sterns of feathery ferns left for decoration.
In a moment of inspiration, he had the answer. He asked the florist to make a bouquet using the flask of liquor instead of flowers and what she produced was magnificent well beyond his expectations. He added a card, and proceeded home. When he arrived, his wife was beautiful in her most elegant gown, and it was apparent that she had spent much of the day preparing a romantic candlelight dinner for the two of them. He presented her with his gift, and she opened the card to read, "Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder."
With a tear in her eye, she whispered to him lovingly, "Yes, and with fronds like these, who needs anemones."
I remember one Valentine's Day I had to be away on a business trip. I wired flowers for my lovely wife, but she found the fuse.
A university student fell in love, and dropped out of school to marry her young love. She wrote her parents to say that she had put the heart before the course.
If love is blind and marriage is an institution, does that mean that marriage is an institution for the blind?
Infatuation is when you think he's as sexy as Robert Redford, as smart as Henry Kissinger, as noble as Ralph Nader, as funny as Woody Allen, and as athletic as Jimmy Connors.
Love is when you realize that he's as sexy as Woody Allen, as smart as Jimmy Connors, as funny as Ralph Nader, as athletic as Henry Kissinger and nothing like Robert Redford -but you'll take him anyway.
A young woman was taking an afternoon nap. After she woke up, she told her husband, "I just dreamt that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's Day. What do you think it means?"
"You shall know tonight", he said.
That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it. She found a book entitled "The Meaning of Dreams".
Submitted by Skip Leonard:
The Spatula Act
It was rumored that the 'split a raw egg with knife act' could only be seen in the Jinjiang Hotel in old Shanghai, and only one master could do the stunt. Before Nixon visited China in 1972, General Al Haig first came to Shanghai and requested to see the act. At that time, almost no one knew what it was all about. See this video today and realize what an amazing Valentine's Day act it is!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KPnUfYRK2g
Remember today is Valentine's Day.
Have a great week,
Al
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Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
https://geopoliticalfutures.com
Daily Memo: Mysterious Balloons
By: George Friedman
February 14, 2023
The relationship between nations is always complex and sometimes difficult to understand. Sometimes it enters the realm of the bizarre. And then, at the most extreme level, it enters the world of balloons, unidentified objects and F-22 fighters – all converging on, as they say in Washington, lies, damn lies and press briefings. This is compounded by the fact that the likely villain, China, claims that the U.S. has intruded on Chinese territory with balloons (their word) at least 10 times. This is possible but also raises the question of why Beijing permitted so many intrusions without a whisper of rage.
According to the Pentagon, China's spy balloons have entered the airspace of more than 40 nations in recent years. Given that these flying objects are somewhat visible from the ground, it is strange that no one noted them at least loudly enough to be noticed. The question is what the Chinese were looking for – and the Americans too, if Beijing's counteraccusations are correct. Both countries have many spy satellites, conceived of and used to map out the locations of nuclear-capable aircraft and missiles and deployed in constellations that would detect an enemy launch. These satellites evolved into systems that can detect a wide variety of objects on the ground as well as some that can detect electronic signals.
The satellites certainly appear to be helpful in their primary mission: There has been no nuclear exchange. But as many commentators said, satellites cannot detect everything effectively. The U.S. government has not described everything the suspected Chinese balloons spied on, which is reasonable, but it leads me to wonder what additional objects China was looking for and why slow-moving high-altitude systems were needed. Obviously, they were not tasked with detecting a range of objects in real time. To provide broad coverage, large numbers of these objects – they ought to be called objects rather than balloons, since they are at least partially steered – would have to blanket the sky, remaining relatively immobile (and utterly defenseless), broadcasting data to their home base, and therefore visually and electronically detectable.
They could have been taking a closer look at objects on the ground detected by satellites. Their targets would have to be static for an extended time, since the craft are slow moving. In addition, they would have to be outdoors. Most such things are better surveyed by humans in cars or, better yet, riding bicycles and changing a tire at a strategic place.
The problem I have is imagining the mission these objects could carry out, one that would be invisible, allow loitering if needed and be able to avoid detection. There could be some highly specialized targets, but the fleet that the Chinese appear to have, and that they claim the U.S. has, seems excessive to the task. One Chinese craft was over a U.S. Air Force base that is doubtless loaded with secrets, but how many of the secrets would be visible or broadcasting in the clear?
One theoretical mission would be to divert attention. Russia is much closer to Alaska than is China. It is engaged in a war where the United States has a role, to understate it. Having large, weird craft flying over the continental United States could, in this thinking, generate panic, with the public demanding that the government focus on national defense and not Ukraine. There are a hundred diversionary functions these objects could serve for a limited time, although the result of this episode is low panic and high confusion.
The fundamental question is how objects this large, at altitudes allowing enhanced visibility, could go unnoticed if U.S. and Chinese charges are even close to true. From available information, the craft move with the grace of an elephant and could be shot down by aircraft, missile or a well-aimed slingshot. They must be stunningly advanced, which would explain why the U.S. government is withholding answers. If national security requires it, then it should be. But the price is that the U.S. government is shooting down aircraft and, knowing from the beginning that they are Chinese, is unable to tell us what it found in the wreckage.
I don't believe these questions can be answered by assuming the relevant actors are stupid or treasonous. The objects need explaining and thus far are incomprehensible. Those favoring explanations based on stupidity or treason are welcome to. I prefer to think I am simply not capable of understanding the complex truth.
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[Thought about this just a few hours ago !! … Is there a self destruct in Sidewinder and other missiles if you miss - over friendly territory??
Else SNAFU!! - RS]
They have yet to find that missing active missile
Tam
REVEALED: Air Force's $400k F-16 jet missile MISSED its first attempt to shoot down Lake Huron UFO - as it's revealed the 'small metallic balloon' gunned down near Michigan had PAYLOAD underneath and flew over 'sensitive sites….
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This Day in U S Military History
February 14
1945 – 521 American heavy bombers flew daylight raids over Dresden, Germany following the British assault. The firestorm killed an estimated 135,000 people. At least 35,000 died and some people place the toll closer to 70,000. The novel "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut was set in Dresden during the firebombing where he was being held as a prisoner of war. US B-17 bombers dropped 771 more tons on Dresden while P-51 Mustang fighters strafed roads packed with soldiers and civilians fleeing the burning city.
1945 – American USAAF B-24 and B-29 bombers raid Iwo Jima in preparation for the landings later in the month. They drop a daily average of 450 tons of bombs over the course of 15 days (6800 tons).
1945 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations.
1949 – The United States charged the USSR with interning up to 14 million in labor camps.
1951 – Operation ROUNDUP officially concluded and the 30-day battle of Wonju began as the 2nd Infantry Division repelled repeated attacks from seven Chinese divisions.
1953 – U.S. Air Force Colonel Royal N. "The King" Baker, 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing, downed his tenth enemy aircraft and became the third double ace of the war. (An ace has five enemy kills.) His F-86 Sabre was called "Angel Face & the Babes."
2007 – Operation Imposing Law, also known as Operation Law and Order, Operation Fardh al-Qanoon or Baghdad Security Plan(BSP), a joint Coalition-Iraqi security plan conducted throughout Baghdad, begins. Under the Surge plan developed in late 2006, Baghdad was to be divided into nine zones, with Iraqi and American soldiers working side-by-side to clear each sector of Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents and establish Joint Security Stations so that reconstruction programs could begin in safety. The U.S. military commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, went so far as to say Iraq would be "doomed" if this plan failed. Numerous members of Congress stated the plan was a critical period for the U.S. presence in Iraq.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken this Day
ARTHER, MATTHEW
Rank and organization: Signal Quartermaster, U.S. Navy. Born: 1835, Scotland. Entered service at: Boston, Mass. G.O. No.: 17, 10 July 1863. Citation: Served on board the U.S.S. Carondelet at the reduction of Forts Henry and Donelson, 6 and 14 February 1862 and other actions. Carrying out his duties as signal quartermaster and captain of the rifled bow gun, S/Q.M. Arther was conspicuous for valor and devotion, serving most faithfully, effectively and valiantly.
IRWIN, BERNARD J. D.
Rank and organization: Assistant Surgeon, U.S. Army. Place and date: Apache Pass, Ariz., 13-14 February 1861. Entered service at: New York. Born: 24 June 1830, Ireland. Date of issue: 24 January 1894. Citation: Voluntarily took command of troops and attacked and defeated hostile Indians he met on the way. Surgeon Irwin volunteered to go to the rescue of 2d Lt. George N. Bascom, 7th Infantry, who with 60 men was trapped by Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise. Irwin and 14 men, not having horses began the 100-mile march riding mules. After fighting and capturing Indians, recovering stolen horses and cattle, he reached Bascom's column and help break his siege.
BONNEY, ROBERT EARL
Rank and organization: Chief Watertender, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Hopkins. Place and date: Aboard U.S.S. Hopkins, 14 February 1910. Entered service at: Nashville, Tenn. Birth: Tennessee. Citation: While serving on board the U.S.S. Hopkins, Bonney displayed extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of the accident to one of the boilers of that vessel, 14 February 1910.
CLARY, EDWARD ALVIN
Rank and organization: Watertender, U.S. Navy. Born: 6 May 1883, Foxport, Ky. Accredited to: Kentucky. G.O. No.: 59, 23 March 1910. Citation: On board the U.S.S. Hopkins for extraordinary heroism in the line of his profession on the occasion of the accident to one of the boilers of that vessel, 14 February 1910.
*BIGELOW, ELMER CHARLES
Rank and organization: Watertender First Class, U.S. Naval Reserve. Born: 12 July 1920, Hebron, 111. Accredited to. Illinois. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving on board the U.S.S. Fletcher during action against enemy Japanese forces off Corregidor Island in the Philippines, 14 February 1945. Standing topside when an enemy shell struck the Fletcher, Bigelow, acting instantly as the deadly projectile exploded into fragments which penetrated the No. 1 gun magazine and set fire to several powder cases, picked up a pair of fire extinguishers and rushed below in a resolute attempt to quell the raging flames. Refusing to waste the precious time required to don rescue-breathing apparatus, he plunged through the blinding smoke billowing out of the magazine hatch and dropped into the blazing compartment. Despite the acrid, burning powder smoke which seared his lungs with every agonizing breath, he worked rapidly and with instinctive sureness and succeeded in quickly extinguishing the fires and in cooling the cases and bulkheads, thereby preventing further damage to the stricken ship. Although he succumbed to his injuries on the following day, Bigelow, by his dauntless valor, unfaltering skill and prompt action in the critical emergency, had averted a magazine explosion which undoubtedly would have left his ship wallowing at the mercy of the furiously pounding Japanese guns on Corregidor, and his heroic spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of almost certain death enhanced and sustained the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.
*SITMAN, WILLIAM S.
Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Company M, 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Chipyong-ni, Korea, 14 February 1951. Entered service at: Bellwood, Pa. Birth: Bellwood, Pa. G.O. No.: 20, 1 February 1952. Citation: Sfc. Sitman distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against an armed enemy of the United Nations. Sfc. Sitman, a machine gun section leader of Company M, was attached to Company I, under attack by a numerically superior hostile force. During the encounter when an enemy grenade knocked out his machine gun, a squad from Company I, immediately emplaced a light machine gun and Sfc. Sitman and his men remained to provide security for the crew. In the ensuing action, the enemy lobbed a grenade into the position and Sfc. Sitman, fully aware of the odds against him, selflessly threw himself on it, absorbing the full force of the explosion with his body. Although mortally wounded in this fearless display of valor, his intrepid act saved 5 men from death or serious injury, and enabled them to continue inflicting withering fire on the ruthless foe throughout the attack. Sfc. Sitman's noble self-sacrifice and consummate devotion to duty reflect lasting glory on himself and uphold the honored traditions of the military service.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for February 14, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
14 February
1914: Lt Townsend F. Dodd and Sgt Herbert Marcus set an official nonstop American duration and distance record for pilot and passenger when they flew a Burgess H tractor 244.18 kilometers in 4 hours 43 minutes. (5)
1931: Congress created the Air Mail Flyers Medal of Honor, retroactive to 15 May 1918. (24)
1932: WOMEN'S EVENT. Using a Lockheed Vega, Ruth Nichols set a new world altitude record of 19,928 feet for diesel-powered aircraft at Floyd Bennett Field, N.Y. (24)
1939: In Boeing's XB-15, Major Caleb V. Haynes flew from Langley Field, Va., to Chile in 29 hours 53 minutes flying time with 3,250 pounds of medical supplies for earthquake victims. (24)
1945: 450 B-17s staged a follow-up raid on Dresden, Germany. (4)
1951: The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak with a Wright J-65 Sapphire engine made its first flight at Edwards AFB. (5)
1955: The Killian Report from the Technological Capabilities Panel of the Science Advisory Committee, Office of Defense Management, recommended assigning the highest national priority to the ballistic missile program. It also urged the simultaneous development of intermediate-range ballistic missiles. (6)
1983: Operation EARLY CALL. In Egypt, the Strategic Air Command's KC-10 demonstrated its dual importance as a tanker and a cargo carrier in operational activities through 24 February,. Three 3 KC-10s at Cairo West Airport refueled the E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft that monitored Libyan air traffic and Libyan preparations for a possible attack on Sudan. In the 10-day deployment, the KC-10s flew 21 sorties to refuel American and Egyptian aircraft and transported 832 passengers and 1,340 tons of cargo. (18)
1989: In its first launch, the McDonnell-Douglas Delta II space booster lifted the first operational NAVSTAR Block II GPS satellite into orbit. (20)
1991: An unusual air-to-air victory occurred, when Capts Tim Bennett and Dan Bakke of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing from Seymour-Johnson AFB, N. C., shot down an Iraqi helicopter with a GBU-10 laser-guided bomb dropped from their F-15E. (20)
1996: Operation JOINT ENDEAVOR. A Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System E-8A flew its 50th mission in support of Operation JOINT ENDEAVOR, surpassing the E-8s record of 49 missions in Operation DESERT STORM. (26)
2003: Global Hawk (AV-7), a first production-representative sample, landed at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., after its maiden flight from Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif. It was the last advanced concept technology platform, but the first vehicle that incorporated all of the improvements made in the platform to date. (3)
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