Good Wednesday Morning January 3, 2024 Well the weather guessers were almost right on this morning. It was overcast and dark but I waited to long to go feed the chickens and got a bit soaked to and from. They are happy and I am wet. It is really coming down now. It will force a lot of the leaves to add to the piles on the ground.
We have a doctor appointment for my wife on Friday afternoon. She is still in pain but was able to sleep in the bed last night for the first time since the fall. Thank you all very much for your good wishes to her. It is much appreciated.
To All,
Regards,
Skip
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/
January. 3
1904 - Marines from USS Dixie arrive in Panama.
1909—USS Scorpion arrives to help the survivors of the Messina, Sicily earthquake. With the Great White Fleet making its way through the Suez Canal, President T. Roosevelt orders the U.S. Navy to assist.
1943—USS Humboldt (AVP 21) rescues 10 survivors from the Philippines motor-ship Dona Aurora, which was sunk by Italian submarine Enrico Tazzol on Dec. 25, 1942.
1944—Marine Maj. Gregory Boyington is shot down by Japanese and taken prison of war.
1945—Task Force 38, under Vice Adm. John S. McCain, begins operations against Japanese airfields and shipping in the Formosa area, with aircraft sinking six enemy ships.
1945—USS Kingfish (SS 234) attacks a Japanese convoy in the Bonin Islands sinking a Japanese army cargo ship and two freighters 200 miles north of Chichi Jima.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Today in World History January 3
1521 Martin Luther is excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.
1777 General George Washington defeats the British led by British General Lord Charles Cornwallis, at Princeton, New Jersey.
1861 Delaware rejects a proposal that it join the South in seceding from the Union.
1903 The Bulgarian government renounces the Treaty of Commerce tying it to the Austro-Hungarian empire.
1910 The Social Democratic Congress in Germany demands universal suffrage.
1912 Plans are announced for a new $150,000 Brooklyn stadium for the Trolley Dodgers baseball team.
1916 Three armored Japanese cruisers are ordered to guard the Suez Canal.
1920 The last of the U.S. troops depart France.
1921 Italy halts the issuing of passports to those emigrating to the United States.
1924 King Tutankhamen's sarcophagus is uncovered near Luxor, Egypt.
1930 The second conference on Germany's war reparations begins at the Hague, in the Netherlands.
1931 Hundreds of farmers storm a small town in depression-plagued Arkansas demanding food.
1933 The Japanese take Shuangyashan, China, killing 500 Chinese.
1946 President Harry S. Truman calls on Americans to spur Congress to act on the on-going labor crisis.
1958 The British create the West Indies Federation with Lord Hailes as governor general.
1959 Alaska is admitted into the Union as the 49th and largest state.
1959 Fidel Castro takes command of the Cuban army.
1961 The United States breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba.
1966 Cambodia warns the United Nations of retaliation unless the United States and South Vietnam end intrusions.
1977 Apple Computers incorporates.
1978 North Vietnamese troops reportedly occupy 400 square miles in Cambodia. North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops were using Laos and Cambodia as staging areas for attacks against allied forces.
1985 President Ronald Reagan condemns a rash of arson attacks on abortion clinics.
1990 Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to US forces.
1993 George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
1994 More than 7 million people receive South African citizenship that had previously been denied under Apartheid policies.
1996 The first mobile flip phone, the Motorola StarTAC, goes on sale.
1999 Mars Polar Lander launched.
2000 The last original weekday Peanuts comic strip is published after a 50-year run, following the death of the strip's creator, Charles Schultz.
1924 King Tut's sarcophagus uncovered »
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT Thanks to the Bear
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Skip… For The List for Monday, 25 December 2023 through Sunday, 7 January 2024… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT I (1968-1972)… Weeks 7 & 8…
From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for December 1968…
Christmas Season 1968: historic events, painful losses and heroic sacrifice…
Thanks to Micro
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and get what happened each day to the crew of the aircraft. ……Skip
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "Wednesday 3 January
3: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1531
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.
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
MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Servicemembers Killed in the Vietnam War
(This site was sent by a friend . The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )
Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War
By: Kipp Hanley
AUGUST 15, 2022
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
From the archives
Thanks to the Bear from last year . We are still sliding down the slippery slope
2023: Last Chance for Survival?
Greetings to All,
On the eve of a New Year, we are a nation falling out-of-control in the clutches of a tightening spin (or is it an increasingly slippery slope?)… What now?
Stick forward, power up, and full opposite rudder. Neutral ailerons. When the spin stops, neutralize rudders, and when the wings are level, gently ease the nose up to horizon maintaining flying speed. Accelerate to cruising speed. Climb. Thank Jesus.
Or, hold the stick and rudder where they are, kiss the republic goodbye, and pray.
The usual wish for our country and our people entering a new year is for Peace and Prosperity. This year everything must start with The TRUTH… Our government, our elected representatives, and every talking head that appears on a screen or writes for the media, must tell the truth and nothing but The TRUTH. That is the equivalent of moving the stick forward. In addition, countless of our leaders and commentators have abandoned INTEGRITY as a paramount driver of their personal and professional responsibilities. INTEGRITY must be restored. That's the opposite rudder. And finally, massive COMMON SENSE must be restored to their decisions. Cockamamie ideas must be abandoned (e.g. Green New Deal, Open Borders, and Free Money). That's the added power. With these corrections, recovery from the spin becomes possible…
Forget PEACE and PROSPERITY for 2023. What we need is TRUTH, INTEGRITY and COMMON SENSE restored in our government and the media. Without these essential qualities of character, the death spiral will continue and America will end up in a smoking hole on the trash heap of history.
2023: NOW or NEVER…. TRUTH, INTEGRITY and COMMON SENSE… That's my wish for 2023 and that's my prayer. Without these essentials health, happiness, peace and prosperity are unattainable… Bear🇺🇸⚓️
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to Interesting Facts
What ancient Greeks used for napkins
The first napkins were made of soft dough.
SCIENCE & INDUSTRY
The ancient Greeks unknowingly set the bar for environmentally friendly dining: The first napkins were edible pieces of soft dough, which were often fed to the dogs after a meal. Centuries before the widespread use of paper napkins, soft pieces of dough were cut into small pieces, rolled, and then kneaded at the table before being used to wipe people's fingers and hands after eating. This dough was called apomagdalia, which refers to the doughy bread inside the crusts, also known as "the crumb." Eventually, the practice evolved, and diners used sliced pieces of bread to clean their hands.
Since ancient Greeks ate with their hands, napkins of some sort were a necessity. At large banquets, towels and water were sometimes circulated among guests to tidy up between courses, but it wasn't until the Romans began using cloths at mealtime that the modern napkin found its footing. A large cloth known as a mappa was draped over the body when reclining and eating, and guests would often bring their own to fill with food to take home as leftovers.
The first paper napkins emerged in ancient China around the second century CE, when small pieces of paper were folded into squares and fitted into the bottom of baskets that held teacups. The word "napkin," meanwhile, originated in France: "Nappe" is the French word for "tablecloth," while "kin" was added to the end to note its smaller size.
By the Numbers
First known use of the word "napkin"
1384 CE
Americans who reported using paper napkins in 2020
241.61 million
Typical size (in square inches) of a cocktail napkin
5
Year paper napkins were first used in the United States
1887
DID YOU KNOW?
Etiquette expert Emily Post sanctioned the use of paper napkins in 1948.
In 1948, a New York department store asked author and socialite Emily Post whether paper or cloth napkins were better for entertaining. Her answer? "Fresh paper napkins, of course!" Post published her first book, Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home, in 1922, and went on to become an authority on good manners and behavior until her death in 1960. So, when she declared that paper napkins were cleaner and fresher than their fabric counterparts, her large audience listened. At the time, the changing social and economic landscape lessened the likelihood of families having a full-time staff available to launder cloth napkins after every meal — which, as far as Post was concerned, was a necessity, as she deemed "soiled" napkins "unthinkable."
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to Boris who opened up with this Question
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I can not find a single book on A-6 operations in Linebacker II. For sure there are stories included in books such as 'Launch The Intruders' about VA-75 or 'Not On My Watch' by Dave Snako Kelly VA-115 but none on the overall Intruder missions in Dec '72. Eleven Days of Christmas barely mentions! And so ???
The FB page on LB II has some great stuff, but all on B-52 ops.
The attached is from my website done in conjunction with Snako, Read Snako's story and tell me there's not something missing in the overall picture?
Christmas '72 Stories: (4) Snako's Two Night LB II Hat Trick
http://rememberedsky.com/?p=585
Happy New Year
Boris
Here are some responses
First from Barrett
The Naval History/Heritage Command website has back issues of NavAirNews. Here's the '72 links if they're helpful.
Barrett
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Then from Jim
BORIS-- Author Carol Reardon published "Launch the Intruders...A Naval Attack Squadron in the Vietnam War' in 2005. It profiled the VA-75 Sunday Punchers deployment on Saratoga...I thought the book was excellent in all respects...the story could have been about VA-115 on the Midway, and wouldn't have been much different.
I wrote a book called "A Different Kind of Courage" in 1998, and included a 22 page chapter on VA-115's deployment called "Welcome to the War". It is pretty much out of print although a few used copies are available on line from time to time.
I would highly recommend Reardon's book for those who are interested.
JIM
Then from Peter
John Sherwood has at least 2: "Fastmovers" and "Afterburner" both cover the mining of Haiphong and Op Pocket Money. But that was USMC Intruders flying from Coral Maru.
I'm sure the Morgan brothers covered it in "Intruder" or A-6 units of Vietnam by Osprey (been forever since I've read either though, so don't quote me)
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to Dr.Rich…I had an article in the List about this a while back but this adds a whole lot of information to this national tragedy. I would have thought that he would have had much better care and someone following his every step even if he just had a cold….skikp
Sad end for the first man to land on the Moon
Thanks to Ed ...
I never knew this -- incredibly sad story… Malpractice insurance and the hospital hid the story for 11 years … Accountability is disappearing from healthcare...
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to Brett
Daniel Greenfield - A Christmas Muslim Genocide in Nigeria
https://www.frontpagemag.com/a-christmas-muslim-genocide-in-nigeria/
A Christmas Muslim Genocide in Nigeria
4,500 Christians killed in 2023. 52,000 in over a decade.
January 2, 2024 by Daniel Greenfield
Muslims celebrated Christmas in Nigeria by massacring around 100 Christians across a dozen communities. The Jihadis hacked Christians to death with machetes and burned down churches as part of a genocidal campaign that has killed 52,000 Christians in over a decade and forced millions to leave their home and become refugees in the African nation.
In America, not a single person marched, rallied or protested over this actual genocide.
The rampaging mobs crying that Hamas is suffering genocide remained silent. Black Lives Matter had nothing to say about it and neither did any of the politicians and social media influencers who spend all of their time pushing fake casualty numbers out of Gaza.
According to the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), a local NGO, over 4,500 Christians were killed this year in Nigeria. Unlike Israel's defensive war against Hamas, this latest year of the ongoing Muslim genocide has resulted in no UN Security Council sessions or UN General Assembly votes. And the media has kept the killing off its front pages.
Every human rights organization that shouts "genocide" whenever a Hamas terrorist dies has yet to declare genocide over the killing of over 50,000 civilians by Muslim gangs aided and abetted by the Muslim rulers who have taken over Nigeria and waged war on Christians.
Earlier this year, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the 'Godfather of Lagos' educated in Chicago and once accused of ties to heroin trafficking, named "leader of warriors" by the Emir of Borgu, took power earlier this year, replacing the brutal regime of President Muhammadu Buhari, a former dictator backed by the Obama administration to usurp former Christian President Jonathan Goodluck.
Intersociety described the massacre of 700 Christians earlier this year as a "farewell gift" to outgoing President Muhamadu Buhari warning that 100 churches had been destroyed by Islamic Jihadists in just 60 days. Every time a terror mosque is bombed in Gaza, it's in the headlines, but how is it possible that 100 churches being destroyed in mere months isn't news?
Intersociety began its count of the over 50,000 murdered Christians in 2009. That's no coincidence. As part of the 'Arab Spring', the Obama administration had set out to 'flip' Middle Eastern countries from secular to Islamic rule, but in a less well known move, had also begun flipping African countries from non-Muslim to Muslim rule, resulting in the massacre of Christians. There is more Christian blood on Obama's hands than anyone in a long time.
The Obama administration staged a Muslim coup in Côte d'Ivoire leading to a civil war in which it indirectly intervened in favor of Alassane Ouattara who has remained in power since 2010. In Kenya, Obama backed efforts by his cousin, Raila Odinga, who like Obama claimed to be Christian, but had developed close ties to the country's Islamic population and ran as their champion, to take power. And in Nigeria, Obama had pressured the government to stop fighting Islamic terrorism. The end result of these efforts was a horrifying wave of Boko Haram terror.
Boko Haram, an Islamic Jihadist group dedicated to enforcing Islamic law, amped up the violence while the Obama administration insisted that the Nigerian military should avoid going after the terrorists and instead pumped a fortune in foreign aid to deal with "social inequities".
The money instead helped finance a genocidal wave of Islamic violence, much as it had in Gaza and Iran, but the Obama administration and its leftist allies went on lying about the genocide. The official position was that Muslims were killing Christians in response to oppression. If only they had better economic prospects and more political power, the violence would stop.
The Obama administration refused to add Boko Haram to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations which allowed the Jihadists to benefit from money coming out of the United States until mounting political pressure from Republicans forced it to do the right thing. But not until thousands had been killed while Obama officials falsely claimed that Boko Haram was not an Islamic terrorist group and that FTO designation would only alienate Nigerian Muslims.
In 2021, the New York Times published an op-ed claiming that, "there is no proof that a well-organized, ideologically coherent terrorist group called Boko Haram even exists today." But by 2014, Boko Haram's mass kidnapping of hundreds of Christian girls led to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. The efforts to deny that an Islamic terrorist group inspired, trained and financed by Al Qaeda, which had killed thousands, even existed, ended.
But the motives behind the lies that enabled the Christian genocide remained the same.
Obama got what he wanted with Muhammadu Buhari, but after two terms of the former Muslim dictator, the killing goes on. Boko Haram, an Al Qaeda ally, has gotten bogged down in fighting a local splinter group affiliated with ISIS, for the bragging rights to Christian genocide. And ordinary Fulani Muslim tribesmen and gangs have taken over campaigns of butchery like those that occurred over Christmas. And some Nigerian Christians say that the atrocities of these ordinary Fulani Muslims are even worse than those practiced by Boko Haram.
"The disembowelling of pregnant women and the butchering of the fetus is a specialty of theirs," the rector of a Nigerian seminary described.
Obama officials claimed that the real issue wasn't Muslim terrorism but Muslim oppression. A decade later as Fulani Muslims have gone on massacring Christians, the story hasn't changed even as the massacres continued under the regime of Buhari: a fellow Fulani Muslim.
Instead of addressing the Fulani Muslim genocide of Christians, human rights organizations and the media have claimed that members of the Fulani ethnic group are the ones facing "persecution" in Nigeria and elsewhere in the region for their Jihadist tendencies.
The massacre of Christians in Nigeria, like Oct 7 and Islamic terrorism around the world from India to America is part of a thousand year Islamic genocide of non-Muslims commanded by the Koran. Every time their victims fight back, the Islamists and their allies cry "genocide", but the true genocide is the one that has claimed countless millions across every religious group in every part of the world. It is a thousand year genocide that the world must fight back against.
Muslim terrorists are not the victims of genocide, they are its perpetrators.
We must stand with the Christian victims of Islamic genocide in Nigeria, with the Jewish victims of genocide in Israel, the Hindu victims of genocide in Kashmir, the Buddhist victims of genocide in Myanmar and with the atheists being murdered in Bangladesh.
If we do not, the final genocide will be our own.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
January 3
This Day in U S Military History
1777 – General George Washington defeats the British led by British General Lord Charles Cornwallis, at Princeton, New Jersey. On the night of January 2, George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek in Trenton. That night, he evacuated his position, circled around General Lord Cornwallis' army, and went to attack the British garrison at Princeton. Brigadier General Hugh Mercer of the Continental Army, clashed with two regiments under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Mawhood of the British Army. Mercer and his troops were overrun and Washington sent some militia under Brigadier General John Cadwalader to help him. The militia, on seeing the flight of Mercer's men, also began to flee. Washington rode up with reinforcements and rallied the fleeing militia. He then led the attack on Mawhood's troops, driving them back. Mawhood gave the order to retreat and most of the troops tried to flee to Cornwallis in Trenton. In Princeton itself, Brigadier General John Sullivan encouraged some British troops who had taken refuge in Nassau Hall to surrender, ending the battle. After the battle, Washington moved his army to Morristown, and with their third defeat in 10 days, the British evacuated southern New Jersey. With the victory at Princeton, morale rose in the ranks and more men began to enlist in the army. The battle (while considered minor by British standards) was the last major action of Washington's winter New Jersey campaign.
1945 – Third Fleet carriers begin a 2 day attack against Formosa destroying 100 aircraft with loss of only 22 aircraft. VMF-124 and VMF-213 from the USS Essex struck Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands in the first Marine land strike off a carrier.
1945 – In the Ardennes the fighting continues. There are desperate German attacks on the narrow corridor leading to Bastogne which manage to upset the timetable of the US attacks a little but achieve nothing else. Forces from the US Third and now also the First Armies are attacking toward Houffaliza from the south and north. In Alsace the German attacks and the American retreat continue. The US VI Corps is being pressed particularly hard around Bitche. Farther south there is also fighting near Strasbourg.
1951 – As massive numbers of Chinese troops crossed the frozen Han River east and west of Seoul, Eighth Army began evacuating the South Korean capital. The ROK government began moving to Pusan. In one of the largest FEAF Bomber Command air raids, more than sixty B-29s dropped 650 tons of incendiary bombs on Pyongyang. UN forces burned nearly 500,000 gallons of fuel and 23,000 gallons of napalm at Kimpo in preparation for abandoning the base to the advancing enemy. Far East Air Forces flew 958 combat sorties, a one-day record.1958 – The Air Force forms two squadrons of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) armed with medium-range ballistic missiles.
1959 – President Eisenhower signs a special proclamation admitting the territory of Alaska into the Union as the 49th and largest state. The European discovery of Alaska came in 1741, when a Russian expedition led by Danish navigator Vitus Bering sighted the Alaskan mainland. Russian hunters were soon making incursions into Alaska, and the native Aleut population suffered greatly after being exposed to foreign diseases. In 1784, Grigory Shelikhov established the first permanent Russian colony in Alaska on Kodiak Island. In the early 19th century, Russian settlements spread down the west coast of North America, with the southernmost fort located near Bodega Bay in California. Russian activity in the New World declined in the 1820s, and the British and Americans were granted trading rights in Alaska after a few minor diplomatic conflicts. In the 1860s, a nearly bankrupt Russia decided to offer Alaska for sale to the United States, which earlier had expressed interest in such a purchase. On March 30, 1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million. Despite the bargain price of roughly two cents an acre, the Alaskan purchase was ridiculed in Congress and in the press as "Seward's folly," "Seward's icebox," and President Andrew Johnson's "polar bear garden." Nevertheless, the Senate ratified purchase of the tremendous landmass, one-fifth the size of the rest of the United States. Despite a slow start in settlement by Americans from the continental United States, the discovery of gold in 1898 brought a rapid influx of people to the territory. Alaska, rich in natural resources, has been contributing to American prosperity ever since.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
TURNER, GEORGE B.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Battery C, 499th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 14th Armored Division. Place and date. Philippsbourg, France, 3 January 1945. Entered service at: Los Angeles, Calif. Born: 27 June 1899, Longview, Tex. G.O. No.: 79, 14 September 1945. Citation: At Phillippsbourg, France, he was cut off from his artillery unit by an enemy armored infantry attack. Coming upon a friendly infantry company withdrawing under the vicious onslaught, he noticed 2 German tanks and approximately 75 supporting foot soldiers advancing down the main street of the village. Seizing a rocket launcher, he advanced under intense small-arms and cannon fire to meet the tanks and, standing in the middle of the road, fired at them, destroying 1 and disabling the second. From a nearby half-track he then dismounted a machinegun, placed it in the open street and fired into the enemy infantrymen, killing or wounding a great number and breaking up the attack. In the American counterattack which followed, 2 supporting tanks were disabled by an enemy antitank gun. Firing a light machinegun from the hip, Pfc. Turner held off the enemy so that the crews of the disabled vehicles could extricate themselves. He ran through a hail of fire to one of the tanks which had burst into flames and attempted to rescue a man who had been unable to escape; but an explosion of the tank's ammunition frustrated his effort and wounded him painfully. Refusing to be evacuated, he remained with the infantry until the following day, driving off an enemy patrol with serious casualties, assisting in capturing a hostile strong point, and voluntarily and fearlessly driving a truck through heavy enemy fire to deliver wounded men to the rear aid station. The great courage displayed by Pfc. Turner and his magnificently heroic initiative contributed materially to the defense of the French town and inspired the troops about him.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for January 3, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
3 January
1933: General Douglas MacArthur ordered the Air Corps "to conduct the land-based air operations in defense of the US and its overseas possessions." (5)
1935: Lincoln Ellsworth and Herbert Hollick-Kenyon completed an Antarctic flight. (24)
1945: BATTLE OF THE BULGE: American and British forces counterattacked the Germans under the protection of American airpower. (4) TEST FIRE-BOMB RAID. In a test-bombing mission to determine the efficacy of fire bombing over conventional high-explosive bombing, 57 of 97 B-29s bombed Nagoya, Japan,. The results gave the Japanese the mistaken impression that their fire-prevention system was adequate. (17)
1949: Representative Carl Vinson of Georgia introduced a bill to speed guided missile research and to create a 70-group Air Force. (24)
1950 Jacqueline Cochran set a new Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) 500-kilometer close-course speed record of 444 miles per hour. This was only one of the many records established from 1947-1951 by Cochran for which she was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, "for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight from 1947 to 1951. During this period, Colonel Cochran piloted an F-51 aircraft in which she established six world speed records. At Coachella Valley, California, flying a closed-circuit 100-kilometer course, Colonel Cochran established a new speed record of 469.549 miles per hour. In other flights from Thermal, Indio, and Palm Springs, CA, Colonel Cochran established world speed records for the 3-, 15-, 500-, 1000-, and 2000-kilometer courses. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Colonel Cochran reflect great credit upon herself and the United States Air Force.1951: KOREAN WAR. In one of the largest Far East Air Forces Bomber Command air raids, more than 60 B-29s dropped 650 tons of incendiary bombs on Pyongyang, N. Korea. UN forces burned nearly 500,000 gallons of fuel and 23,000 gallons of napalm at Kimpo before abandoning the base. Altogether, Far East Air Forces flew 958 combat sorties, a one-day record. (28)
1960: American Airline Boeing 707s set records of 3 hours 39 minutes from Los Angeles, Calif., to Baltimore, Md., and 4 hours 24 minutes from Los Angeles to Boston, Mass. A Transworld Airlines 707 flew from Los Angeles to New York in 3 hours 57 minutes, while Eastern Airlines DC-8 completed a flight Long Beach, Calif., to Miami, Fla., in 3 hours 58 minutes (5)
1963: At Eglin AFB, Fla., a Boeing BOMARC-B missile successfully intercepted its first low-altitude aircraft. (5) PROJECT FARM GATE. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) augmented the Farm Gate detachment in Vietnam with an additional 10 B-26s, 5 T-28s, and 2 C-47s. (17)
1966: The No. 2 XB-70 flew for 3 minutes at 70,000 feet over Edwards AFB, Calif., for the first time. (16)
1978: Lockheed Missiles and Space Company received $34 million to build a spacecraft for the Satellite Infrared Experiment (SIRE) to measure long wave infrared signatures of objects against the stellar background. This craft also carried two secondary payloads, a space sextant and a sensor to measure the isotopic composition of solar flares. (5)
1993: President George Bush and Soviet President Boris Yeltsin signed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) to reduce nuclear bombers, missiles, bombs, and warheads. (16) (26)
2007: Through 4 January, a Wyoming Air National Guard C-130 Hercules and 10 airmen assisted the Colorado National Guard with a cattle feeding operation near Lamar in southeast Colorado after huge snowstorm blanketed the area. Colorado National Guard helicopters and the C-130 dropped hay to cattle. (AFNEWS, "Air National Guard Dropping Hay for Colorado Cattle," 4 Jan 2007.) (32)
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Thanks to Brett
Geopolitical Futures:
Keeping the future in focus
https://geopoliticalfutures.com
Daily Memo: What Red Sea Disruption Means for Global Supply Chains
It's far from business as usual for global shipping.
By: Antonia Colibasanu
Jan 3, 2024
The Red Sea is a vital waterway for commercial shipping that connects markets in Europe, Asia and Africa. In recent weeks, however, it has been the site of multiple attacks launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels in support of Hamas in its war with Israel. The group claims to target only ships leaving from or going to Israel, but others with no clear Israeli connections have been attacked while sailing through the sea. On Dec. 18, the U.S. announced that it would set up a task force to strengthen security in the area. But as Washington calls for more governments to contribute to the effort, the Houthis say the attacks will continue.
The Red Sea is a sort of junction between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea that separates the Arabian Peninsula from the Horn of Africa. It's connected to the Indian Ocean through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, one of the most critical chokepoints in the world. Three countries occupy the coastline along the strait: Eritrea, Djibouti and Yemen. Djibouti hosts military bases from several foreign countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Saudi Arabia, while Eritrea maintains close ties with China and Russia. (It voted recently against a U.N. resolution to stop the conflict in Ukraine.) Yemen, meanwhile, is engulfed in a brutal, eight-year war between the internationally recognized government, supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
In 2014, Houthi insurgents overthrew Yemen's government. The following year, the Saudis led a coalition of mainly Gulf Arab states to oust the Houthis – which was ultimately unsuccessful. The country has remained divided ever since, with the Houthis controlling much of the north, the government holding the seat of power from the southern city of Aden, and several other armed factions pursuing their own agendas. Peace negotiations have been held but have so far failed to result in a deal.
Iran's partnership with the Houthis, including its supply of weapons, has grown deeper since 2014. But this isn't a typical patron-client relationship. The Houthis are financially self-sufficient, earning revenue through taxation, customs charges and service fees, as well as smuggling operations. They're seeking international recognition as a legitimate military and political force in Yemen – a goal they can't accomplish solely with Tehran's help. Yet they're undeniably a proxy of the Iranian regime, which has supported them throughout the Saudi-led campaign. The group is thus an unpredictable force and major source of uncertainty, especially since the war in Israel began.
The danger to shipping through the Red Sea adds another layer to global economic challenges in 2024. An estimated 10-12 percent of global trade passes through the sea. While the Bab el-Mandeb lays on its southern tip, the Suez Canal sits on its northern edge as a pathway to the eastern Mediterranean. The 120-mile-long (190-kilometer-long) artificial waterway runs along the Isthmus of Suez, a small strip of land that connects the African and Asian continents. Approximately 14 percent of global oil exports pass through the canal, while more than 30 percent of global container traffic is conducted through the Red Sea.
Since the Houthi attacks began, some ships have tried to broadcast their neutrality in an effort to pass safely through the route. Others are now avoiding the area altogether. Oil giant BP recently stopped all Red Sea shipping operations. European shipping companies Hapag-Lloyd and MSC, as well as Japanese shipping firms Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nippon Yusen, are also avoiding the sea. On Tuesday, Denmark's Maersk announced that it would divert its container ships away from the Red Sea following an attack over the weekend on one of its vessels – though it had said late last month that it would resume transit through the region after the U.S. announced the establishment of a naval force to protect commercial shipping. France's CMA CGM said on its website that it would increase its container shipping costs from Asia to the Mediterranean region by up to 100 percent as of Jan. 15 compared to Jan. 1.
Either way, international shipping has taken a hit, fueling new concerns over the global economy. The most obvious worry is that the situation could cause a spike in energy prices, given that the region is a major exporter of oil to markets around the world. According to S&P Global, 24 percent of the vessels redirected from the Suez Canal since Dec. 15 were crude oil tankers. Bulk carriers accounted for about 35 percent and container ships were another 24 percent.
Approximately 90 percent of the oil that flows through the Bab el-Mandeb comes from the Persian Gulf and is destined for Europe and Africa. The other 10 percent is oil from the Horn of Africa. The Red Sea is also a transit route for roughly 80 percent of Russia's petroleum destined for Asian markets and 8 percent of the global liquified natural gas trade. In the first 11 months of 2023, 42 percent of Russian-loaded crude and products traveling through the Red Sea.
(click to enlarge)
However, the situation isn't as problematic for Moscow as it may appear; none of the attacks in December targeted Russian shipments, and Russia will benefit from the increased oil prices that will likely result from higher transport costs. The price of carrying oil through the Red Sea has jumped by about 25 percent, while the alternate route along the Cape of Good Hope is not just longer but also 10 percent more expensive than before the attacks. One industry analyst estimates that rerouting vessels destined for Europe from the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope could raise shipping costs by 80 percent.
Europe stands to lose the most from higher energy prices. As it tries to transition away from Russian energy, it's relying more heavily on LNG. Most of the LNG flowing through the Bab el-Mandeb and the Suez Canal is headed for Europe. The good news so far is that Qatari LNG supplies to Europe continue to pass through the Red Sea and Suez Canal without any diversions. European gas prices increased by more than 10 percent after BP ceased shipments via the Red Sea on Dec. 18, but prices have declined since then. European underground gas storage facilities are now 97.89 percent full, and the winter so far has been mild. However, the situation is still fluid as the Houthis continue to launch more assaults.
Supply chains for other sectors have also experienced disruptions. Given that the Red Sea is used for transporting commodities and other resources between large markets, disruptions in traffic here can have serious economic effects. This is especially the case at the moment because a severe drought has reduced traffic via the Panama Canal, causing U.S. grain shipments destined for Asia to take lengthy detours through the Suez Canal and southern Africa. The number of vessels passing through the Panama Canal daily has fallen by nearly 40 percent, resulting in significantly longer wait times – and longer journeys, which directly influences freight costs and product pricing.
The Panama Canal Authority said on Dec. 15 that it would increase daily transit through the canal from 22 vessels to 24 in January due to increased rainfall and water levels. But even this figure is well below normal volumes. Rerouting though the southern tip of Africa is also costly. A ship traveling from Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal would require an extra 15 days to make the journey via the Cape of Good Hope, plus additional time to navigate new operational costs, insurance and legal frameworks.
Shipping companies are now not only diverting their vessels from the Red Sea but will likely have to renegotiate insurance contracts due to the added risks. The lengthy alternate journeys are straining shipping capacity during the peak shipping season for U.S. grain – most of which was traveling through the Panama Canal but is now also rerouted because of the drought – aggravating the situation even more. The uncertainty will undoubtedly translate into higher costs and, if this continues, even higher inflation. It's also exacerbating the global supply chain disruptions that were already in effect throughout last year, making calls for deglobalization even louder.
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SkipsList" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to skipslist+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/skipslist/CACTjsm1dQmAXYVNEaC6Y%3DQggujm4tuAzq%3Dk%3DtxU0%3DbbRgi3KGA%40mail.gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.