It seems Al Jazeera is instructing its reporters to not use the words Islamist Terrorists to describe the errrrrrr ....Islamist Terrorists wreaking murder and mayhem around the globe.
Take a look:
Al Jazeera adopts the White House stylebook
Jan. 28, 2015 - 4:18 -
Leaked e-mails show broadcaster banning use of 'terrorist'
Unless we ALL call these terrorists what they ARE, we will never defeat those sworn to destroy us. Here we follow the Bratville Style Guide: If it looks like a Terrorist, walks like a Terrorist, beheads like a Terrorist, it IS a Terrorist! PERIOD.
In the midst of all the usual msm noise this past few days, five horrific murders - by terrorists - in Israel are again showing the blatant media biases against Israel. From The Algemeiner:
I don’t own a television and I don’t buy newspapers. I do so mainly to save money, but also because I think that I end up better informed by seeking out information on the internet. A particularly striking example of this happened this week. Like many people I heard about the grizzly murders in Itamar on motzei Shabbat and I assumed that, since the brutal stabbing of children is something of a rarity, and matters Israeli are a veritable obsession for the British press, everyone else would have too. However, two conversations on Sunday with people who are neither ignorant nor apathetic quickly produced the response: ‘what murders?’
So I did some scouting. The killings were reported by some newspapers, though by no means all and always far from the front page. Nowhere on the news or in print were any pictures of the deceased shown, which is unusual for a media usually so keen to get footage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that they accept fairly obvious fakes. However, things only got really bad when I went onto the BBC website. Almost unbelievably, ‘Aunty’ (as people insist on calling it) reported the story as ‘Israel approves new Jewish settler homes in the West Bank’, mentioning down in paragraph three that this had followed the murder of the Fogels. It’s sometimes darkly joked that the world is more concerned with Jews building houses than Iranians building bombs, but it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that Britain’s state-funded broadcaster is more concerned with Jews building houses than Arabs breaking into a house and stabbing a three month old girl to death....
Thus far, I have chosen not to add my own commentary, because the outrage I feel for this butchery prevents me from being any sort of articulate. Israeli Soldier's Mother wrote from her outrage, and her eloquence in the midst of this latest atrocity battering the Israeli family, is a must read:
A Choking Anger
"Did you hear?" Elie said when I came to the table moments after the Sabbath had ended.
"No, what?" I asked.
"Bad news," he said. And then he told me. "Two parents and three children. Stabbed. Itamar."
"Killed?" I asked, already feeling the horror starting to mount inside me.
"Yes," he answered quietly...
[...]
The anger, the rage that comes is almost more than I can stand. It chokes you. It fills you, infuriates you....
[...]
There are no words that can adequately describe the anger and the rage I am feeling and so there is no comfort. The world will forget, as it always does - each orphan, each infant. It sickens me beyond words....
Right now I have NO words to describe MY anger, my sorrow, at this latest evil, so go read the rest of Israeli Soldier's Mother's column here.
As you read, remember this: the innocent people of Israel live with these atrocities every.single.day. The msm is a willing accomplice in their part of the willful ignorance about the lives - the deaths of innocents - of the people of Israel.
And the world shrugs.
[Update:
As the world shrugs, and looks away, Israel National News is reporting on Yamar, the Fogel's 12 year old daughter.
"I Will Be Their Mother" Says 12 Year Old Tamar Fogel
by Uzi Baruch
The eldest daughter of the Fogel family, 12 year old Tamar, promised her relatives: "I will be strong and succeed in overcoming this. I understand the task that stands before me, and I will be a mother to my siblings". The orphaned youngster's words were quoted in the Hebrew daily Yisrael Hayom.
In their home in the town of Neve Tsuf in Samaria, Tsila and Chaim Fogel, parents of Udi, are sitting on low benches for the traditional “shiva” week of mourning alongside his three brothers and sister. There is a constant stream of comforters going in and out of the house, VIP's and ordinary citizens from all over Israel, whose hearts go out to the bereft family that lost son, daughter-in-law, and three young grandchildren in a barbaric terrorist slaughter on Friday night.
Chaim Fogel continues to retell the story of terrible hours from 3 a.m. on, when he received the horrific news, drove to Itamar, met his 12 year old granddaughter and then entered the family’s home. The authorities were forced to ask her to tell what she saw when she returned from her youth group activity to find her family’s bloodsoaked bodies at 12:30 a.m. Chaim himself had the heartbreaking task of identifying the bodies.
"We came to take the surviving grandchildren out of the Valley of Death, he said. I don’t wish on anyone in the world the sight I saw. It is horrendous, beyond description, beyond comprehension".
The grandparents recalled the last time they saw Udi, Ruti and the children, a week and a half ago on Saturday night. They celebrated the start of the month of Adar Bet in Itamar, danced, sang and laughed....
This was the question posed by the Washington Post's and formerly Commentary blogger Jennifer Rubin. As opposed to staking out a clear position as he had done in the Egyptian crisis, the president of the United States has been surprisingly reticent on Libya. The restrained comments that were issued on Libya have been delegated to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the new Press Secretary Jay Carney.
Libya was ostensibly a no brainer, since Libyan strongman Qaddafi is universally loathed in the United States. The level and ferocity of the repression that he has launched against what he calls 'the rats' invites a strong response.
Whereas in Egypt, American politicians were cautious, on Libya they have been more up front. Republican Senators John Kyl and Mark Kirk released a joint statement calling upon Obama to speak out clearly in support of the Libyan people. Some Republicans, such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich enjoyed goading the president. Gingrich accused Obama of practicing a conspiracy of silence when dealing with anti-American governments such as Libya and Iran....
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is urging Americans to leave Libya:
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Americans to leave Libya immediately and said the U.S. will examine “all possible options” to respond to the violence of the Qaddafi regime.
“Everything will be on the table,” Clinton told reporters at a joint news conference today at the State Department in Washington with Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota.
Before taking punitive measures such as economic sanctions, Clinton said, the U.S. wants to consult with other countries to better evaluate a “fluid” and “uncertain” situation in Libya.
“First, we have to get the international community together,” Clinton said.
She urged Americans in Libya “to depart immediately” and to contact the U.S. embassy for assistance if needed...
UK forces transfer responsibility for security in Sangin to US
September 20, 2010
ISAF has today announced that British forces in southern Afghanistan have handed responsibility for security in Sangin to US forces.
The transfer of authority, first announced by the Defence Secretary in July this year, is the last move in the current rebalancing of ISAF forces across Helmand. It follows an increase in ISAF and Afghan security forces in Helmand over recent months and will ensure an equal distribution of ISAF forces amongst the Afghan population living there.
Handing over Sangin will allow UK forces to focus their effort in central Helmand where they will continue to deliver effective counterinsurgency operations, working alongside the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
Major Richard Forsyth, OC, C Company, 1 Scots says goodbye to the man he has advised for the past six months in Sangin, Captain Nadri, of the ANA’s 3/215 Brigade.
British forces have been in Sangin, a key economic and transport hub, since 2006. Alongside the ANSF, they have provided vital security for the local population on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan, enabling development and preventing the insurgency from using Sangin as a base from which to mount attacks across Helmand.
40 Commando Royal Marines, currently deployed with 4 Mechanised Brigade, have handed over to the US Marine Corps (USMC).
Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, said:
“British forces have served in Sangin over the last four years and should be very proud of the achievements they have made in one of the most challenging areas of Afghanistan.
“The level of sacrifice has been high and we should never forget the many brave troops who have lost their lives in the pursuit of success in an international mission rooted firmly in our own national security in the UK.
“The handover of Sangin by UK forces represents sound military rationale and reflects the increase of both ISAF and Afghan forces across Helmand over the course of the past year. British troops will redeploy to central Helmand, in support of ISAF’s main effort, where they will continue to lead the fight against the insurgency and assist in building a stable and secure Afghanistan that can stand on its own two feet.”...(HelmandBlog here)
The Beeb, of course, has their analysis:
Pain and reflection for Sangin troops
By Ian PannellBBC News, Helmand
Control was handed over from UK forces to the US Marine Corps at 0630 BST
"There've been really bad days, especially when one of our lads got killed. That was hard to carry on."
Those were the words of Marine James "Ned" Kelly, as he and his comrades prepared for one of their final patrols in the dangerous Sangin area in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province.
British troops have been fighting for five summers across Helmand. So far 337 have died - nearly a third of whom died here in Sangin.
Today Britain handed over control of Sangin to US forces. The occasion marked a time to reflect on what had been achieved, and also for some hard questions about sacrifices made.
Lt Col Paul James, the commander of the 40 Commando Royal Marines Battle-group in Sangin, insisted progress has been made and that the losses have not been in vain.
He said: "I won't say is it worth the loss of life because of course the loss of life is always extremely traumatic. I'll certainly say it's never been in vain. We recognise the job's not done, there's a long way to go. But actually it's certainly on the right course."
I joined British and US Marines as they prepared for one of their last joint patrols. Commanders were keen to show us what they have achieved; how Sangin has prospered and how much safer it has become. But for marines like James Kelly it remains a dangerous place to serve.
He said: "It's crazy, because you can have weeks when quiet and mellow, serene almost. But then it can switch so quickly to getting in contact with the enemy; two, three hour fire-fights. Sangin has lived up to its reputation, massively."...(BBC here)
Back in 2006, The Times gave insights into British efforts into one of the harshest areas of all Afghanistan:
... The Sunday Times has obtained detailed accounts by officers of the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment of operations in Sangin. The accounts record the leading role played by A Company, which was based in the government district centre in Sangin, and of 1 Platoon in particular.
One of the platoon’s section leaders was Corporal Bryan Budd, the posthumous winner of the VC. It also included Private Peter McKinley who won a Military Cross. The platoon was commanded by Lieutenant Hugo Farmer who won a Distinguished Gallantry Cross, second only to the VC.
British servicemen deployed in southern Afghanistan during the summer have won more than 70 awards, including Budd’s VC, a George Cross, three Distinguished Gallantry Crosses, 11 Military Crosses and four Distinguished Flying Crosses....(Timesonline here)
The tone of this article is what we came to expect from the msm, and the 'reporter' conceded that he wasn't actually there (the MoD was keeping the media out of the area.) However, it does give a glimpse of what our British troops have faced, day in, day out for the last five years, and is worth the read.
For a sobering look at the cost the British have paid as part of their contribution to this GWOT, go here.
On a day when the MoD announces that a member of the Queen's Royal Lancers and a soldier from the Royal Engineers, let us never forget that the price of freedom is high.
As another chapter closes for the British in Afghanistan, my gratitude to ALL our troops and their families.
About 2,500 candidates are standing for 249 seats in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of parliament...From the BBC, thumbnail sketches of three of the candidates:
THE STAND-UP COMEDIAN
Mr Kabuli is known for satirising politicians
Zamir Kabuli has old ties with Afghanistan's ruling establishment. He made a living imitating and satirising politicians. But at 39, this stand-up comedian says he has had enough of their incompetence.
"We gave them (the politicians) the job to run this country. And see what they have done," Mr Kabuli says, pointing to a pot-hole in the street.
''No-one bothers about the people. Disaster - be it natural or man-made - politicians neither have the time nor the inclination to help the masses. So I decided to run (for parliament)."
[...]
"Send me to parliament and I will solve your problems. I won't run away from you.
"Like that mountain, you will all know where to find me," he says, pointing at a snow-covered peak in the Hindu Kush range and generating laughs from the crowd....
THE TALENT SHOW STAR
Ms Tarana became popular after appearing on the Afghan Star TV show
Farida Tarana, 29, challenged religious hardliners when she appeared on Afghan Star, a popular talent contest on the private Tolo television network.
Some people in her home province of western Herat said she was a "bad Muslim" and brought shame on the region. She even had apples thrown at her.
But none of this deterred her from singing.
"Singing is my passion. I believe in what I do," she says....
[...]
Ms Tarana says the election campaign reminds her of the time when she was appearing on Afghan Star.
"There were supporters and fans that were ready to do anything to see me sing.
"And then there were detractors who were willing to go to any length to see me shut up," she says.
THE ENTREPRENEUR
Ms Anjila wants to push for laws which benefit women
Najila Anjila, 30, runs a logistics firm and gets major contracts from the international forces, charities and firms based in Afghanistan.
A few years ago, Najila was an employee, working for a few hundred dollars a month. But today she is a successful entrepreneur.
When the Taliban came to Kabul, Ms Anjila ran away to Karachi in Pakistan because of their treatment of women.
''There was little hope (in Afghanistan). Women were not allowed to study or work."
In Karachi, Ms Anjila studied for a master's degree in business administration (MBA), but says she was yearning to return to her country..
[...]
Ms Anjila says if elected, she would push for laws that advance the prospects of Afghan women.
"The Taliban phase was a dark period. We can't undo it.
"What we can do is ensure that women are never treated like chattel again. We owe this much to Afghan women," she says.
These are excerpts. Go read more on these three candidates at the BBC here.
Security Concerns Loom Ahead of Afghan Vote
Musadeq Sadeq/Associated Press
Ballot materials are carried by men and donkeys to polling stations in
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections on Saturday could determine whether a viable opposition remains in the legislature, but turnout — and the legitimacy of the second election in a year — hangs in the balance as voters fear waning security and brace for fraud.
The Parliament that is leaving office has gradually become an independent force, often challenging the government of President Hamid Karzai and blocking his nominees for ministerial posts.
Eager for a more pliant legislature, Mr. Karzai and his political allies have recruited candidates and backed their campaigns, according to local leaders in several large provinces who asked not to be named because they did not want to anger the president. Mr. Karzai is seeking support on issues like how to bring the Taliban into the political structure and whether to amend the Constitution to allow him to retain power beyond his second term, according to Western diplomats.
Worried that this year’s election could provoke the kind of brazen fraud that marred the last one, Afghanistan’s recently appointed chairman of the Independent Election Commission made a passionate plea on Thursday for all election officials to police fraud.
“Last year the elections got defamed,” said Fazil Ahmad Manawi, chairman of the commission.
“Public trust towards elections was severely affected,” he said. “The bad experience of last year must not be repeated. No polling center must be opened where its security is not ensured.”
[...]
Areas that are insecure will be the most vulnerable to fraud because there will be few observers and potentially few voters going to the polling places, making it easier for local power brokers to stuff ballot boxes.
That was the pattern that election experts observed in the 2009 presidential elections, where more than a million ballots were thrown out because of voting irregularities. The fraud was so extensive that it forced Mr. Karzai into a runoff. Ultimately, his opponent withdrew and Mr. Karzai was declared the winner.
This year, the election commission has made strides by removing several provincial election officials who oversaw areas where extensive fraud occurred, shuffling others and cutting the number of polling stations to prevent abuse in remote and insecure regions. But many election districts remain insecure, and some people worry that turnout in such places may end up being so low that it could raise questions about the legitimacy of the elections. “Is an election with 5 percent turnout a valid election?” asked a Western diplomat in Kabul...
[...]
Johann Kriegler, a member of the Electoral Complaint Commission, which sorts through complaints about election improprieties, said, “Of course there will be fraud, but this election is not about fraud, it is about the Afghan people in extremely difficult circumstances; it is about letting honest people feel they have a say in the government of their country.”...
More at the New York Times here. And from ISAF, an article about technology which seeks to address the security issues:
New Security Measure in Place for Afghanistan Elections
By Capt. Anthony Deiss Task Force Rushmore Public Affairs
CAMP PHOEINX, Afghanistan– While the world will be watching Afghanistan's parliamentary elections on Saturday, Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) officials will be keeping an eye on the capital with the help of a new security measure; the Persistent Surveillance System (PSS), which took flight this week at Camp Julien in south Kabul.
100914-A-5891V-040: A new Persistent Surveillance System (PSS) begins its assent above Camp Julien Sept. 14, 2010, to provide the Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Force officials with an extra level of surveillance capability for security operations around Kabul, Afghanistan. The PSS, a floating aerostat (or blimp), has high-tech camera equipment able to provide 360 degree views of the city. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Travis Vallery)
The PSS, a floating aerostat (or blimp), has high-tech camera equipment which will provide an extra level of surveillance capability for security operations around the city.
“The system has the ability to provide instant situational awareness for security forces throughout Kabul,” said Maj. Todd Bartunek, director of Plans, Training and Mobilization for Task Force Rushmore, Kabul Base Cluster Installation Command. “The elections are just around the corner and a lot of time and effort has gone into ensuring that polling centers and voters are safe.”...
Read more on this here. (Also an interesting article from the UK Forces via Helmand Blog here.)
It is pretty amazing to me that such twenty-first century technology is being used to ensure the integrity of what we consider a most basic of rights here in the west, in a country many consider still stuck in the primitive dark ages. We here in the west are always casual, cavalier even, about voting in elections. Voters are more often than not apathetic when it comes to being involved in our election process. The Afghanistan people risk their lives to cast a ballot.
The world is, indeed, watching, as Afghanistan takes yet another step towards a functioning democracy.
On this day 70 years ago, the Blitz of London began. On that night, Germany began what would be the first of 57 nights of continuous bombing, in an effort to bring England to her knees in World War 2.
Service at St Paul's to remember the Blitz 70 years on
Pilots, firefighters, nurses and ambulance workers who battled through the bombing raids of the Blitz came together at St Paul's Cathedral to commemorate the ordeal.
A service at St Paul's marked the 70th anniversary of the start of the raids.
Thousands of people across the UK were killed and injured in the raids by German forces in 1940 and 1941.
The Dean of St Paul's described the cathedral as "a national icon of defiance and hope amidst conflict".
The City of London Salute celebrated those who worked to protect Britons.
The Dean, the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, told some 2,500 people who had gathered for the ceremony: "As we stand in this building, which itself stood as a national icon of defiance and hope amidst conflict and uncertainty, we pray for all those who hold memories of a campaign which protected this island from invasion.
"We give thanks for the bravery and service of the members of the Royal Air Force as well as those who supported them from the land, especially for those who gave of their time to protect the life and heritage of our homes and cities. (more, with many great links, here)
Produced by the British Government in October 1940, 'London Can Take It' is narrated by American journalist Quentin Reynolds and pays tribute to London and its people during the Blitz on the capital.
The film's huge impact at the time, especially in the USA, makes it historically one of the most important of the Ministry of Information's wartime films.
One source puts the number of civilians killed that first night at almost 1,500, with casualties at over 1,600.
Winston Churchill gave a great speech following that first night of bombing, and you can listen to it here. Within that short speech, Churchill made it clear that Britain would never be cowed by the 'monstrous...product of evil..."
1940: London blitzed by German bombers
The German air force has unleashed a wave of heavy bombing raids on London, killing hundreds of civilians and injuring many more.
The Ministry of Home Security said the scale of the attacks was the largest the Germans had yet attempted.
The first raids came towards the end of the afternoon, and were concentrated on the densely populated East End, along the river by London's docks.
About 300 bombers attacked the city for over an hour and a half. The entire docklands area seemed to be ablaze as hundreds of fires lit up the sky.
Once darkness fell, the fires could be seen more than 10 miles away, and it is believed that the light guided a second wave of German bombers which began coming over at about 2030 BST (1930 GMT).
The night bombing lasted over eight hours, shaking the city with the deafening noise of hundreds of bombs falling so close together there was hardly a pause between them.
One bomb exploded on a crowded air raid shelter in an East London district.(BBC here)
Of course, this was before my time, but all of my family took active roles in WW2, both on the frontlines and on the home front.
Blitz 70th anniversary: Night of fire that heralded a new kind of war London Blitz: 7 September 1940 was the first day of the German bombardment of London that lasted 76 consecutive nights
St Paul's cathedral in London during the blitz in World War II. Credit: Popperfoto
It was late in the afternoon of an early September Saturday 70 years ago when the German bombers came, flying low, in formation, up the Thames, their engines roaring as they headed for London to start eight months of bombing the capital.
"It was the most amazing, impressive, riveting sight," wrote Colin Perry, a lad cycling that afternoon on Chipstead Hill, Surrey, in a memoir years later. "Directly above me were literally hundreds of planes … the sky was full of them. Bombers hemmed in with fighters, like bees around their queen, like destroyers round the battleship, so came Jerry."
Mavis Fabling, now 80, remembers that afternoon of 7 September 1940 just as clearly. She said: "I can still remember it very vividly. We lived in Abbey Wood, three miles from Woolwich Arsenal. My mother was baking in the kitchen, I was playing outside and my father was digging in the garden. Suddenly he rushed inside. He'd seen the planes overhead. 'Quick, quick, quick, get into the air raid shelter.' We ran down into the shelter in our garden.
"There were awfully frightening sounds, of bombs dropping and then there was one ghastly, thunderous sound. It was a direct hit on our neighbour's shelter. They were all killed, the whole family, except the father who was out. My mother had taken his wife shopping the day before to buy clothes at the Co-op. I can remember looking out of the window at the coffins being brought out and my mother very distressed.
"Then my father got the car from his work and took us down to my grandfather's house in Kent and I can remember looking back out of the window and seeing the sky glowing red behind us."
The records of the London fire brigade for that day, now kept in the metropolitan archives office in Clerkenwell, tell the story of the first major raid of the blitz in meticulous and sober detail. Neatly typed official green slips record each incident and a separate bound volume lists all the fires attended. (Followthis link to go read those records, and find many more stories of the heroic civilians.)
Thousands of children were evacuated from London - and other big cities across England - as part of Operation Pied Piper.
Yes, there are first person accounts by some of those children from different cities, who were evacuated:
Surviving World War Two: The Bristol Evacuees
By David Garmston Last updated 2009-11-05
The evacuation of children from cities to the countryside during World War Two was traumatic for many of them. David Garmston tells the stories of some of those sent away from their families to live with strangers.
Sad parting
Ray Chaffey's father kissed him goodbye and gave him his final instructions. No matter what happened he must look after his little sister and not be separated from her. Sixty years on from that emotional parting at a railway station in Bristol, Ray has been remembering the war when he was sent away as an evacuee. He was only eight years old and did not want to go. He would rather the family stayed together, even died together, than face a future with strangers.
Ray and his sister joined hundreds on the train that was taking them into the safety of the countryside. He remembers they were both wearing new Burberry raincoats. At Ilfracombe, they were taken to a hall and the locals arrived to pick which children would stay with them. 'I was hoping that a nice looking lady walking through the hall would chose us but she walked right past. Soon there were children getting up from the floor and walking off with complete strangers.'
The room steadily emptied while Ray and his sister patiently waited for someone to take them. Eventually a woman announced that she would take the little blonde girl.
However, Ray knew his duty. I stood up and said to her: 'You'll have to take both of us.' The woman told him not to be silly. However, Ray insisted and held onto his sister for grim death. Finally the woman gave up.
Later that afternoon, a 13 year old girl picked them out and took them home to a two up two down cottage occupied by a married couple and their five children. The exhausted evacuees shared beds with the other brothers and sisters. They were safe, but far from home and far from happy.
Ray Chaffey is now 68 but the memories of those war time years are as sharp as ever. It is clear that thousands of children who were evacuated in the war are still living with the psychological consequences of a traumatic parting.
Two months earlier, there had been a daytime raid on the aircraft works on the outskirts of Bristol. The factory was near the large new public housing estates in Filton and Horfield. They were home to thousands of children and they were effectively in the front line.
In those days, there was no talk of 'smart bombs' and 'collateral damage'. The only way to avoid seeing children killed was to move them. Other cities had already evacuated youngsters to safety, and now it was decided that Bristol was also no place for children.
The plans were put into action. Speed, safety and efficiency were the requirements. Perhaps, the nightly explosions of falling bombs had de-sensitised the authorities about the feelings of children. Everybody believed that they were working in the children's best interests but many of the children thought that they were being abandoned.
It seems incredible now that four-year-olds were sent off to stay with strangers - for what could be years at a time. The trauma has never been properly assessed, but it is now becoming clear that some of those young lives were seriously blighted.
"... many of the children thought they were being abandoned..."
By the end of May 1941, over 43,000 civilians, half of them in London, had been killed by bombing and more than a million houses destroyed or damaged in London alone.
London was not the only city to suffer Luftwaffe bombing during the Blitz. Other important military and industrial centres, such as Aberdeen, Barrow-in-Furness, Belfast, Bootle, Birkenhead, Wallasey, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Clydebank, Coventry, Exeter, Glasgow, Greenock, Sheffield, Swansea, Liverpool , Hull (Hull was the most heavily bombed city after London with 85% of its buildings being destroyed or affected), Manchester, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Nottingham, Brighton, Eastbourne, Sunderland, and Southampton, suffered heavy air raids and high numbers of casualties. Birmingham and Coventry were very badly affected with the Spitfire and Tank plant being based in Birmingham and many other munitions factories in Coventry. Coventry was almost totally destroyed.
Smaller bombing raids were made on Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Exeter, and Bath. Oxford was not bombed because Adolf Hitler wanted it to be his capital; Blackpool also escaped heavy bomb damage as Hitler wanted to use it for his entertainment. Hitler's aim was to destroy British civilian and government morale.
Its intended goal of demoralizing the British into surrender unachieved..(Wiki here)
LONDON—An elderly couple refuses to move from a badly bombed parish, 1940.
The bombing of London continued for 57 consecutive nights. While it caused devastation in that city, it meant that the grinding pressure was taken off the RAF. The British were soon recovered from the Losses received over the previous months and had quickly gained the upper hand over the Luftwaffe, destroying some 380 aircraft for a loss of just 178 of their own. The bravery and tenacity of the RAF pilots prompted Churchill to utter perhaps his most famous words ; ‘Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.’
As mentioned, the German switch of objective from British fighter bases to mass daylight raids on London lost them the Battle of Britain. But the human cost to Londoners was enormous. What follows are diary excerpts from a survivor of the Blitz:
“Shortly after we’d gone to bed there was a violent explosion as a thousand pound bomb landed about a quarter of a mile away. . . the next morning we learned that London was still standing. Miles of East End houses had been destroyed, however, and thousands of people were homeless. . . Germany’s main aim was to spread alarm and despondency by knocking out all the saloons and pubs. . . a bomb landed in the middle of the street and there was a shower of glass and debris from the houses on either side. The whistles blew and A.R.P workers and special police deputies were on the job almost immediately.”
Despite the chaos that was being rained down on their city, Londoner’s were determined to carry on life as usual. The diary account continues . . .
“ The next morning the sky was blue and innocent. If you hadn’t seen the craters and the wreckage, you might have thought that you dreamt it. Traffic was normal, the shops were full, old ladies sunned themselves in the park, and soldiers and their girlfriends strolled down Piccadilly Square arm in arm. I lunched at the Berkeley restaurant. Suddenly there was a bang. The room shook as a time-bomb exploded a few blocks away. A pretty girl in a saucy hat turned to the young army subaltern with her, and said, in a voice that rang across the restaurant: “Did you drop something.”(More here)
Edward R Murrow reported from London.
American radio journalist Edward R. Murrow was stationed in London at the time of the Blitz, and he provided live radio broadcasts to the United States as the bombings were taking place. This form of immediate live news broadcasting from a theatre of war had never been experienced by radio audiences before, and Murrow's London broadcasts made him a radio celebrity, launching his career. His broadcasts were enormously important in prompting the sympathy and support of the American people for Britain's resistance to Nazi aggression. (here)
(source) There is another great audio clip - with videos which I don't know how to download- of Murrow here.
There is a list of all the major sites in London destroyed during the Blitz here.
The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces, and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date. From July 1940 coastal shipping convoys and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth, were the main targets; one month later the Luftwaffe shifted its attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed the Luftwaffe also targeted aircraft factories and ground infrastructure. Eventually the Luftwaffe resorted to attacking areas of political significance and using terror bombing tactics.
The failure of Germany to achieve its objectives of destroying Britain's air defences, or forcing Britain to negotiate an armistice or an outright surrender, is considered its first major defeat and one of the crucial turning points in the war. If Germany had gained air superiority, Adolf Hitler might have launched Operation Sea Lion, an amphibious and airborne invasion of Britain. (here)
By necessity, this is but a thumbnail sketch of London and England during those dark days. All of England rallied together, as our brave RAF answered the bombing of England with many bombing missions over Germany.
The switch from the tactical objective of eliminating the RAF to the strategic objective of pounding the British into surrender was not a task the Luftwaffe was well prepared for. Unlike the other major combatants in World War II, the Germans did not develop a heavy bomber for strategic operations....
[...]
...the Americans and the British had developed “heavies” — four-engined, heavily gunned aircraft that could fly great distances to attack the enemy at home. The Allies believed that the heavies were capable of winning a war alone. The fighter aircraft were a secondary adjunct to the bombers. ...
Bomber Command started daylight operations early in the war. Until London was bombed in September 1940, RAF planes dropped leaflets. Even these raids had high losses, and the RAF switched to night raids early on. After the Germans bombed London, retaliatory raids on German targets embarrassed Hermann Goering, who had promised that Germany would never be bombed. The first targets for the RAF were the submarine bases at Lübeck and Rostock in September 1940. Precision bombing required daylight, and the losses were so high that the British did not wish to sacrifice their expensive aircraft. Harris himself admitted that a large force sustaining five percent losses could not remain operational for longer that a few months. Unlike the prophets between the wars who promised high accuracy and a war-winning weapon, the RAF was lucky to achieve bomb drops within five miles of their targets. Random damage to schools, houses, hospitals and nonmilitary targets were given much press by the Germans.
[...]
The ideology surrounding bombers prevailed in the West. Starting in 1942, Harris organized massive raids involving all the resources the RAF could muster. The “1000-plane raids” were as much publicity stunt as they were actual military operations. If Britain, standing alone against Germany, had the audacity to send in massive numbers of aircraft, she could be seen as still fighting back. Before the Americans arrived in large numbers Harris mounted the first 1000-plane raid against Cologne on May 30, 1942. Harris had to pull students out of bomber training programs and fly every aircraft, even damaged and obsolete ones, to get 1158 aircraft into the air. During the briefing, the planners claimed that even with 1000 planes over Cologne, aircraft collision was not a threat and only two aircraft were expected to be lost. One aircrew officer raised his hand and asked, “Have they determined which two serial numbers will collide, Sir?” Everyone laughed, as much out of nervousness as humor.
The raid was devastating to Cologne. 600 acres were destroyed by 1500 tons of high explosives. 500 people died and 4,000 were injured. 13,000 homes were destroyed. Other 1000-plane raids were mounted the next few weeks. The raids marked a major shift from precision to area bombing. The first success for heavy bombing, the thousand-plane raids formed the core doctrine of the RAF for the rest of the war: large masses of aircraft bombing large areas by night. (a fascinating, lengthy, insight into RAF doctrine of the era, here)
Today, seventy years on, I celebrate the brave men and women who fought against the evil rampaging across the land during World War 2. Then, as now, freedom for all of us won the day, because of the dedication of many allied countries coming together as one.
For as long as we remember and honour our past history, and our heroes, there'll always be an England, because of the brave.
Last Updated: Tuesday, June 22, 2010 | 11:57 PM ET
CBC News
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently met with members of the Air India Victims Families Association in his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.(Chris Wattie/Reuters)
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will mark the 25th anniversary of the Air India bombing by saying "we are sorry" to families of the victims.
"Some wounds are too deep to be healed even by the remedy of time," Harper will say on Wednesday in Toronto in a speech he wrote himself. "We are sorry."
An excerpt from the speech was obtained by CBC News.
Harper will say the destruction of Air India Flight 182 "was, and remains, the single worst act of terrorism in Canadian history."
He will describe terrorism as "an enemy with a thousand faces, and a hatred that festers in the darkest spots of the human mind."
"This was evil, perpetrated by cowards. Despicable, senseless and vicious," Harper will say.
The prime minister will discuss compensation, but will not mention an amount.
Harper's apology follows a scathing report released last week by former Supreme Court justice John C. Major. He blamed a "cascading series of errors" by government, the RCMP and the country's spy agency for failing to prevent the disaster.
Harper called the report a "damning indictment of many things that occurred before and after the tragedy" which the government is "determined to avoid in the future."
There is more, here. Also check out the links in the sidebar on that page.
There is a massive archive on this terrorist act, and the aftermath in the subsequent years:
(AP Photo/Jane Wolsak)
IN DEPTH: AIR INDIA The Bombing of Air India Flight 182 CBC News Online | September 25, 2006
On March 16, 2005, a B.C. Supreme Court judge acquitted Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri on eight charges related to the bombing of Air India Flight 182 on June 22, 1985. It was Canada's worst mass murder - 329 people were killed. Two baggage handlers at Tokyo's Narita Airport died in another connected bombing.
The investigation and prosecution of the accused have been the costliest in Canadian history, estimated at about $130 million.
An inquiry into the bombing of Air India 182 — how it occurred, why the law has failed to find those responsible and whether in could happen again — began on June 21, 2006. The first three hearings were held on July 18, 19 and 20. The inquiry began hearing evidence on Sept. 25, starting with the relatives of some victims.
It all started more than 20 years ago.
Ajaib Singh Bagri [left] (CP Photo/Chuck Stoody) and Ripudaman Singh Malik (CP Photo/Richard Lam)
June 22, 1985. Airline agent Jeanne Bakermans checks in two pieces of luggage at Vancouver International Airport that will change the course of history.
Hours later, the first suitcase explodes inside the baggage terminal at Tokyo's Narita Airport while being transferred to an Air India flight. Two baggage handlers are killed. Exactly 55 minutes later, the other bag, a dark-brown hard-sided Samsonite suitcase, explodes in the forward cargo hold of Air India Flight 182 as it approaches the coast of Ireland.
Some passengers actually survive the 747's fall from 31,000 feet only to die in the frigid waters of the Atlantic. (For more on the background, go here)
The BBC has this:
1985: Air India jet crashes killing 329
A passenger jet has disintegrated in mid-air off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people on board.
The Air India flight was only 45 minutes from London Heathrow when it suddenly disappeared from radar screens at 0816 BST.
Airline officials said they do not know the cause of the crash, but suspected it was caused by a bomb planted by Sikh extremists.
The Boeing 747 plunged into the sea from 30,000 ft (9,144 m) and rescue officials said they did not expect to find survivors. The pilot had no time to issue a mayday message, according to the coastguard.
Flight AI 182 was flying from Toronto to London with a stopover at Montreal. Most of the passengers were of Indian origin and intending to fly on to Bombay or Delhi.
There is a large slick of fuel about 4.5 miles long and a lot of wreckage on the surface
RAF pilot Paul Redfern
The plane had already been delayed at Mirabel Airport, Montreal, where Canadian Mounties removed three suspicious packages.
The rescue operation is being co-ordinated by the coastguard in Plymouth and Falmouth, and four RAF helicopters are being used to search for bodies. ..
I love to laugh. Really, I do! Recently, I asked a friend if I laugh with an accent. I am frequently told that I speak (and type!) with an accent. Canadian is not my native tongue. So I wondered if we not only all have different accents when we speak, but do we laugh - or cry - with a specific accent. Wouldn't you know it, there has been a study released on this very topic! Back at the end of last year, when the study was released, the Beeb did a story on it. Read on:
Babies 'cry in mother's tongue'
Babies' cries imitate their mother tongue as early as three days old
German researchers say babies begin to pick up the nuances of their parents' accents while still in the womb.
The researchers studied the cries of 60 healthy babies born to families speaking French and German.
The French newborns cried with a rising "accent" while the German babies' cries had a falling inflection.
Writing in the journal Current Biology, they say the babies are probably trying to form a bond with their mothers by imitating them.
The findings suggest that unborn babies are influenced by the sound of the first language that penetrates the womb.
Cry melodies
It was already known that foetuses could memorise sounds from the outside world in the last three months of pregnancy and were particularly sensitive to the contour of the melody in both music and human voices.
Earlier studies had shown that infants could match vowel sounds presented to them by adult speakers, but only from 12 weeks of age.
Kathleen Wermke from the University of Wurzburg, who led the research, said: "The dramatic finding of this study is that not only are human neonates capable of producing different cry melodies, but they prefer to produce those melody patterns that are typical for the ambient language they have heard during their foetal life...
There is more on these findings (which make perfect sense to me,) here. Isn't that fascinating? I thought so.
The failed Detroit airliner bomb attack on Christmas Day awakened the world to the threat from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a group that until then was hardly a household name.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was formed in January 2009
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a young Nigerian who allegedly came within an ace of killing almost 300 passengers and crew with a bomb hidden in his underwear, said he had been trained and sent by its leaders.
US President Barack Obama's embarrassment and anger at the potentially catastrophic failure of intelligence which allowed Mr Abdulmutallab to board the plane has been compounded by the revelation that two of AQAP's founders, Said al-Shihri and Mohammed al-Awfi, were both former Guantanamo detainees.
Several AQAP foot soldiers are also former Guantanamo prisoners.
This only confirms the fears of critics vehemently opposed to Mr Obama's promise to close the prison camp by the end of this month...
Newsflash: Britain is at war. Could somebody please tell the BBC this news? As of today, Afghanistan has claimed the lives of 246 British troops and civilians.
In Iraq, Britain has - to date - lost 179 of its finest men and women. Check out The Telegraph for a breakdown of the statistics here.
Every one of these families, and most of Britain, seems to be aware that Britain is an ally in the Global War on Terror. The BBC, however, seems to feel it's okay for them to ignore this fact. Not just ignore the facts, and the many sacrifices being made, but to actively choose to not support the British troops fighting - and dying - overseas.
The video above, "We Will Remember Them" was created in November 2009 by musicians who wanted to show their support for the troops, and as a fundraiser for a British charity called Help for Heroes. Despite repeated approaches by people involved in this production, both BBC tv and radio has refused to add this song to ANY of their playlists. Disgraceful.
Since reading about this BBC decision here, (an American site by the way,) I have listened to the video many times, and I have asked myself why the Beeb would be so intransigent in their unwillingness to promote this song, and support our troops.
In WW2, Vera Lynn became the 'forces sweetheart,' and her music was widely played as a morale booster for the troops. To this day, BBC still has programmes profiling Dame Vera and the songs she sang back then still get airplay.
Obviously, that was a different time and a different war. Today, most of the BBC acknowledgment of the GWOT seems focused on the statistics of the fatalities. That's it!
WW2 was - I suppose - seen as a politically correct war, by the media. Nobody needs me to tell them that the current GWOT has not been supported in the msm. And the Beeb IS the msm. In Britain, the BBC is taxpayer-funded, and as the public broadcaster seems to enjoy special priviledge, latitude, in what they choose to broadcast. However, as with any public, tax-payer funded broadcaster, I suggest that their mandate is to reflect all facets of society. Our troops - and their families - are an important part of British society. Yet, the BBC has chosen to refuse to play this video anywhere on their airwaves.
Meanwhile, as the Beeb makes the executive decision to NOT play the above video, and thereby really support our troops, the executives themselves are doing very well for themselves financially. Found an article that shows the top executive earns over 600,000 English pounds per annum. That is tax money. Just sayin'...For more details on these fat cat, out of touch, BBC executive salaries, go here.
Could their decision be based on the musical quality of the song? I think not. Whether you support the troops or not, this song is beautiful, musically. What's not to like about any philharmonic orchestra? Children singing? Michael Bolton? I hear tell he is a world class singer.
BBC decision? NOT so world class. Even as the BBC maintains silence on this issue, and refuses to play this video that supports our troops, the world community IS supporting our British troops. American journalist Susan Katz Keating has taken notice here. American milbloggers have also written about this song, and the glaring lack of support from the BBC.
So what is it about this song, and this cause, that the BBC finds unacceptable for the British airwaves, and the British public? Could it possibly be political? *gasp* Most discerning watchers of the msm on both sides of the Atlantic have long known that the msm is no supporter of the allies' work in this GWOT. We know, as we watch the bad and the ugly news reports, that bodies like the BBC really do NOT give a damn, never mind even pretend to support, our men and women who are fighting to maintain the very freedoms that allow groups like the Beeb to pick and choose what they share with their employers (ie the tax payers.)
The BBC's refusal to play this video - for ANY - or no reason - really IS a WTF moment as another friend of mine wrote:
... Yes, it's another one of those moments when you have to shake your head and wonder "What the F...!" This one was brought to our attention by my dear friend and long time journalist; Susan Katz Keating.
Here, let me fill you in on a few details.
Seems back in November, there were a bunch of famous musicians (very famous) who wanted to pay homage to their own Warriors; The British Troops. They assembled at Abbey Road Studio. They produced a very special soundtrack and video that will bring a tear or two to your eyes. That is, if you understand what 'Our Guys' have been doing. And you do know there are British Soldiers who are fighting bravely in Afghanistan, don't you? You can follow one such bunch by reading their blog over yon on the right. You see it, don't you? Visit them often, please.
But I digress... After making the music CD and video, this group of musicians asked the BBC to help get the word out in support of the troops and the music. Most distressingly, they refused. There's where that "WTF" moment comes into play. Jeezle Pete! Are they all that daft?...
Did I mention that "Little Drops..." is also an American? She is, and you can read the rest of what she has to say right here. In case you missed it, this song, in support of our British troops, is garnering more than a little support in America (and Canada...) Even as the Beeb displays its ignorance and lack of patriotism, our American friends have stepped up, and are actively promoting a song, and cause, that the BBC choose to ignore.
Little Drops says above "...They produced a very special soundtrack and video that will bring a tear or two to your eyes. That is, if you understand what 'Our Guys' have been doing...."
Obviously, the BBC has no clue what our guys have all been doing, ARE doing. Obviously, the BBC is becoming irrelevant to the British taxpayers. They use mega inches of print, and much airspace to report on every little soundbite of hatred that Islamic extremists spew forth, yet do NOT give exposure to the troops serving the flag above. To answer another of the questions Little Drops asks: Yes, the BBC really IS that daft - and worse!
What can we do about that? Well, I have included this song on my every day playlist, and I plan to contact the BBC..Maybe there is a reason for their unpatriotic stance in this issue? I can think of NO reason why they made this choice, but I DO plan to complain. I have looked all over the BBC site for contact informatio0n. Alas, no addresses for the highly paid BBC decision-makers. Fortunately, Little Drops, mentioned above, does have links to the official BBC complaints department: http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/homepage/
And she also gives the link to the feedback department within the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback/
My regular readers know that I am the last person to tell anyone what to do (no, really, I am!) but can I ask you to at least listen to the above song, please? If you feel that the BBC should reconsider their decision to not play this song, you might like to let them know that.
Meanwhile here is what the accompanying blurb on YouTube says about this GREAT song:
We Will Remember Them' Stars Record Tribute to Troops
A cast of 200 Donate their Time to Raise Money In Abbey Road Studios Biggest Ever Recording Session
"We will remember them, Give thanks and honour them, For our tomorrow, They gave their today"
Released on Sunday 8th November on iTunes and various other download stores.
Music stars have gathered to record a moving tribute to British Armed Forces past and present.
On Sunday 1st November 200 people spilled into Abbey Road Studios, donating their time and talent to record an Anthem as a Thank You to all our Military personnel who have served our country protecting our freedom.
This was the biggest ever 1 day session to be staged at Abbey Road in the history of the famous recording studios.
Multi-million selling artists from Michael Bolton to Robin Gibb, to Hayley Westenra contributed to the song, written by A1's Mark Read and Robert Hart (Bad Company, Distance, The Jones Gang).
They performed alongside The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Pipes & Drums from the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Drumming, Bugles from The Academy of Music at Kneller Hall, a Choir of Celebrities and the Carmel Thomas Youth Choir.
Paul Carrack, Kenny Jones, Paul Rodgers, Lee Mead, Mark Read, Mica Paris, Natasha Hamilton, Haley Westenra, Carol Decker, Nell Bryden and Liz McClarnon also starred.
"I never miss an opportunity to thank our troops," said Michael Bolton, who dropped everything while rehearsing for performances at the Royal Albert Hall this week to take part. "They are the bravest people you'll ever meet."
'We Will Remember Them itself goes back to the the first world war', explains Robin Gibb, 'but it's very significant and it makes people stop and think just what these guys are doing for their country'.
Be sure and go read the rest of the stars quoted, and find links that lead to direct support of our troops here.
We will remember them Give thanks and honour them Won't let their memories fade...
For our tomorrows Gave their todays...
Stand proud and strong and say We will remember them...
Hello, BBC? WHEN will you stand proud and honour them? Our soldiers - and their families - deserve nothing less from the British Broadcasting Company.
UPDATE: I just got the following email from a British soldier who read this column. One of MY guys, and he gave me permission to quote him. And no, do NOT ask who he is. I CAN vouch that he is a serving member of the military:
You get used to it, as a serving member of the uk forces we appear to be marginalised by our own govt and it's institutions. It is a sad reflection that the man who appears to have done more for our troops is not an MP or a member of our govt, but a former soap star turned journalist by the name of Ross Kemp. He has done much to embarass the upper echelons of our country andshame them into actually putting some thought and effort into supporting ourtroops.
It is sad that help for hero's even needs to exist. Look at the waste and the criminal fraud of the mp's expenses that made recent headlines. Surely instead of claiming for cleaning moats and duck houses our illustrious leaders should have been asking the question. Is there any way we can support our troops better, any way we as representatives of the people can show our gratitude to these men and women who put there lives on the line day and night.
Shameful.
Yes, it damn well is shameful, and I am so embarassed - and more - that any one of our troops needs to feel this way.
Thank you, Sir, for your service. There are some of us out here who truly DO appreciate your service. God bless all our troops.]
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently met with members of the Air India Victims Families Association in his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)
