Weasel Of The Week Nominees!!

Virginia Right!  "It’s time again for the Watcher’s Council’s ‘Weasel Of The Week’ nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for Award the famed Golden Weasel to a public figure who particularly deserves to be slimed and mocked for his or her dastardly deeds during the week. Every Tuesday morning, tune in for the Weasel of the Week nominations and check back Thursday to see which Weasel gets the votes and walks off with the statuette of shame!  Here are this weeks’ nominees:" ...
Here is one sample:
"The Razor : My pick of the litter this week is Sen. Elizabeth “Stands With Fistfuls of Corporate Cash” Warren."

The Battle of the Bulge: St. Vith

Youtube
 

 

"This remarkable documentary combines eyewitness testimony from an all star cast of key participants on both sides of a critical engagement in the Battle of the Bulge with outstanding archival footage, detailed maps, and a return to revisit the actual terrain where each phase of battle was fought." Zeno, Zeno's Warbird Videos http://zenoswarbirdvideos.com See this video & more full screen on our "The Bulge: The Battle at St Vith plus Mastering the Bazooka Rocket Launcher" DVD http://bit.ly/14yoNiR

Operation Wacht am Rhein, the surprise attack launched on Dec 16th, 1944, was Hitler's desperate gamble to shatter the Allied advance by striking with a Panzer fist through a "quiet"sector in the Ardennes Forest, northwest to the vital supply port of Antwerp. A linchpin of the offensive was the early seizure of the road and railroad crossroads of St. Vith on the first day of the offensive. The Battle at St. Vith shows how a hastily formed, ad hoc group of American units manged to delay an overwhelming Panzer force for five critical days before being forced to withdraw, dealing the German plan an insurmountable delay.

From the German side, you'll hear frustration in the voices of Von Runstedt's Chief of Staff, General Siegfried Westphal and General Hasso von Manteuffel, whose 5th Panzer Army was tasked with seizing St Vith, when they give lengthy reports on the battle. On the American side, you'll hear vivid accounts of an aggressive defense from Gen. Robert Hasbrouk, Commander of 7th Armored, Col Gusten Nelson (28th Infantry), Gen William Hoge (9th Armored), Colonels Oliver Patton & Thomas J Riggs (106th Infantry), and General Bruce C Clark, Commander Combat Command B, 7th Armored, who led the spirited deference of the St Vith perimeter. In a series of memorable face-to-face conversations, Generals Clark and Von Manteuffel compare notes on the battle . Among several first hand combat accounts, Lt Will Rogers Jr tells the dramatic story of his bazooka attack on a a German Panzer as part of "Task Force Jones" successful rearguard action. And don't miss rare late war footage of advanced German weaponry, including "King Tiger" tanks in action.

There is no better account of the critical role played small, determined units in the outcome of a major battle than "The Battle at St, Vith." This video was digitally restored and additional explanatory text was added.

16 Dec 1944 in WW2

World War II Database

American prisoners marching along a road somewhere on the western front, Dec 1944

 

Mauthausen Concentration Camp's satellite camp Gusen III began operations in the town of Lungitz with 262 prisoners; it would eventually grow to house 67,667 prisoners before the end of the war, about half of which would not survive. [Main Article | CPC]

Royal Indian Artillery Sergeant Umrao Singh won the Victoria Cross for defending his advanced gun battery against a determined Japanese attack in Burma. The fighting was frequently hand-to-hand and when Sergeant Singh was found wounded and exhausted, ten enemy bodies surrounded his gun. [AC]

A German V2 rocket fell on the Rex Cinema in Antwerp, Belgium which was packed for the matinee performance. The blast killed 567 people, 296 of them Allied servicemen, and injured 291, half of them soldiers. It took six days to dig out all the bodies, many of which were still sitting upright in their seats. It was the highest death toll from a V-weapon attack during the entire war and resulted in the cinemas and theatres of Antwerp being closed "for the duration" and gatherings of more than 50 people in any one place being banned. [AC]

The US Navy Fast Carrier Task Force retired from Philippine waters after three consecutive days of air operations. [Main Article | CPC]

USS Finback attacked a Japanese convoy in the Western Pacific, firing a total of 20 torpedoes but making only 2 hits, sinking a transport. [Main Article | CPC]

Dwight Eisenhower learned that he was about to be promoted to the rank of 5-star general. [Main Article | CPC]

Caroline Islands

• USS Astoria set sail for Ulithi, Caroline Islands. [Main Article | CPC]

Germany

• German troops launched Operation Wacht am Rhein, crossing the German border toward Belgium, opening the Battle of the Bulge. [Main Article | TH, CPC]
• German Army engineers were awarded at the Peenemünde Army Research Center in Germany. [Main Article | CPC]

Dead American soldiers laying face down at a crossroad in

 Belgium, Dec 1944

Lone wolf attacks; just a nut, folks. Nothing to see here; move on

http://terrellaftermath.com/

 

The Sydney hostage situation ended in bloodshed, of course "Could it have ended any other way? No."

"When the guns stopped firing, a man and woman lay dead, four more were rushed away with injuries, and Australian authorities were left with the task of scraping up what was left of Monis. "

 

..."As the scene calmed down, a bomb disposal robot was seen entering the café."

"The dramatic end to the siege came as the gunman holding the remaining captives was revealed as a self-proclaimed Islamic cleric Man Haron Monis. "

 

Lindt Cafe Terrorist called Obama out as an Apostate back in 2008

MSNBC: Sydney Terrorist A “Phony” Muslim, “May Just Be A Violent Criminal”…
"It’s rather amusing to watch the left trip and fall over themselves in a mad dash to defend Islam after a terror attack."

ARI MELBER, MSNBC: Let me ask Jim about the point Mikey is raising. I think people at home can relate to which is, well, maybe the profile here is an overlap between someone who’s deranged but also sympathizes with enemies of Australia and the United States. Now that the actual live conflict is over, how do you disentangle that? Doesn’t it matter a great deal whether this was a person who was just basically a low-level criminal, Abby called him a thug. He may just be a violent criminal. Isn’t that very different as a criminal who latched onto something than a person who’s actually an operational ally of our enemies?

"Motives become mixed"?

The Sydney Siege and the Lone-Wolf Copout  "The phenomenon of “lone-wolf” terrorism is vexing to policymakers because it is so hard to predict and prevent. But it also has too often provided an excuse–a way for the political class or security forces to avoid any blame for a successful domestic attack. Even worse, anti-anti-terrorism commentators use lone-wolf attacks to cast doubt on the whole war on terror enterprise as doing more harm than good, or at least not doing much good. Something similar seems to be taking shape in the wake of the Sydney, Australia siege this week."

Pakistan School Attack: Taliban Militants Kill More than 130 in Peshawar

NBC News
 

 

"PESHAWAR, Pakistan —Taliban militants laid siege to a Pakistan school in a brazen hours-long attack on Tuesday, killing more than 130 children in an atrocity condemned by the White House as "heinous" and "horrific."

 

"More than eight hours after uniformed militants struck the school, the Pakistani military said the assault was finally over. Shortly thereafter, another loud explosion was heard in the city. It was not immediately clear where the explosion originated or what it was caused by.

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"Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa, a military spokesman, told NBC News that at least 132 children were killed in the attack, along with 10 staff from the school — including the principal. Seven militants were killed, he added. " ...

UPDATE: Taliban? What Taliban?   ... "This can only be speculation, but one wonders whether the Obama administration prefers not to mention the Taliban due to our impending withdrawal from Afghanistan. Once we are gone, similar atrocities by the Taliban’s Afghan branch are likely inevitable. Perhaps the administration would rather not say anything that might lead others to suggest, when the time comes, that similar attacks on Afghan schools were the foreseeable consequence of our withdrawal. That is the only reason I can think of why President Obama would denounce the attack on the Army school in Peshawar, without denouncing those who carried it out." ...

Words Not Used By Obama In Statement Condemning School Attack In Pakistan: Taliban, Islam, Muslims, Jihad…

 

"Just a bunch of nuts with no religious affiliation or motivation killing people for no reason."

Thomas Sowell: It’s hard to see how the country benefits from Senate Democrats’ report on CIA interrogations.

The Taliban appreciated the Democrat CIA report

The True Victims of Torture; The Democrats, suddenly shocked by the CIA’s tactics, dishonor the people who died on 9/11.    "Democrats’ highly convenient collective amnesia has erased their memories of being briefed on these probes.

 

"As a giant hole replaced the World Trade Center and Americans feared follow-on attacks, top congressional Democrats did not wail that interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects “are a stain on our values and our history,” as Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) now moans. Instead, top Democrats told the CIA to squeeze these scum even harder.

 

"As the December 9, 2007, Washington Post explained, congressional leaders from both chambers and parties — including then-House Democratic boss Nancy Pelosi of California — received “graphic and detailed” updates on the CIA’s questioning efforts, including waterboarding, as early as September 2002. While then-representative Jane Harman (D., Calif.) counseled caution, the overwhelming response was applause.

 

“ 'Among those being briefed, there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing,” Porter Goss, former House intelligence chairman and then director of Central Intelligence from 2004 to 2006, told the Post. “And the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement.”...

Deroy Murdock

 

http://www.investors.com/editorial-cartoons/michael-ramirez/730651

 

 Thomas Sowell: Tortured Reasoning    "Critics and defenders of the harsh interrogation methods applied to captured terrorists can argue forever over whether those methods were “torture.” But any serious discussion of a serious issue — and surely terrorism qualifies as serious — has to move beyond semantics and confront the ultimate question: “Compared with what alternative?' ”...

 

Photos from the Battle of the Bulge

NRO Slideshow

"On December 16, 1944, eight German infantry divisions and five armored divisions comprising more than 200,000 troops struck Allied forces across an 85-mile front in the Ardennes forest of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. (German Federal Archives)"

Dec 16, 1944: the Germans launch attacks on the US 106th Division

From the Jewish Virtual Library:  Germany & the Nazis Maps: German Counterattack in the Ardennes - The Battle of the Bulge  

German 1944 Propaganda Film From Battle of the Bulge  "The German troops refer to this area as the battle for Ardennes. It's interesting to see the news on the battle from the German perspective. The Battle of the Bulge was very hard on both the Germans and Americans is commonly referred to as the turning point of the war."\

The Nazi film shows US troops of the 106th Division surrendering after the initial attack on the Schnee Eifel.  More videos here
 

 

Pictured below:  "A silent reminder of the war in the Ardennes. A shallow foxhole dug by members of the 422nd Infantry Regiment. " 

 

The German attack opens on the 106th Division  "The frontline to be covered by the 106th extended for 21 miles and bulked some 8 miles into Germany.  This was a lot of ground to cover, about three times the normal distance.  Fact was that the division was spread to thinly.
"Prior to the 16th, movement could be heard by men on the frontlines.  Sounds of tanks, trucks and heavy equipment assembling on the German side.  GI's of the 422nd regiment reported the movement promptly to their commanding officers, who did the same thing to divisional HQ.  Little response followed, the men were told that the Germans were playing phonograph records to scare the young, green Lions.  The warning was dismissed.  The testimony of a Russian deserting Volksgrenadier also ended up discarded in the bin of the higher echelons.  But there was action on the "Ghost front."....
The Schnee Eifel photo gallery


The 106th: The Story of the 106th Infantry Division  " 'The 106th: The Story of the 106th Infantry Division" is a small booklet covering the history of the 106th Infantry Division. This booklet is one of the series of G.I. Stories published by the Stars & Stripes in Paris in 1944-1945. "

Ken Beaton: 70th anniversary of first day of Battle of Bulge  ... "The Battle of the Bulge was the largest [Western front] battle during the war from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 31, 1945, and 610,000 American GIs fought. We had 89,000 causalities which included 19,000 telegrams sent to parents/spouses, “The Secretary of the War regrets the loss of your son/husband.” Thousands of families and tens of thousands of friends grieved. Nineteen thousand new gold stars replaced the blue stars that were proudly displayed in a front window in the US. A gold star was the symbol for the loss of a son, daughter or spouse in the war.

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, is the 70th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Bulge. Visit with a World War II veteran, firmly shake their hand and tell them in a firm voice while maintaining eye contact, “I want to thank you for your service. I speak English today because of you and 16 million GIs who served. Thank you, sir /madame.”...

US veterans of Battle of Bulge join 70th anniversary commemoration  ... "Restored vintage American war machines rolled up and down the streets under strings of Christmas lights. The mellow sounds of the Glenn Miller Orchestra belted out of a sound system in the town’s McAuliffe Square.

"The square was named for Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, who refused the Germans’ request to surrender here after they’d surrounded the town, famously responding “Nuts,” which an officer explained to the Germans meant they could go to hell."

 

"In the besieged town, along with the villagers, were the bulk of the forces of the 101st Airborne Division and the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion.

"The siege of Bastogne is among the most remembered battles of the war and for many in Belgium a symbol of the American sacrifice for the country’s freedom.

"A disabled U.S. Sherman tank, a shell hole bitten cleanly into its left flank, sits on a corner of McAullife Square to remind people what the Americans sacrificed to ensure Belgium’s freedom." ...

Great song in a mediocre movie: the Wermacht Panzer song.  Said to be Erwin Rommel's favorite song 

70 years ago today: The Battle of the Bulge

The United States Army Center of Military History

"Early on the misty winter morning of 16 December 1944, over 200,000 German troops and nearly 1,000 tanks launched Adolf Hitler's last bid to reverse the ebb in his fortunes that had begun when Allied troops landed in France on D-day. Seeking to drive to the English Channel coast and split the Allied armies as they had done in May 1940, the Germans struck in the Ardennes Forest, a seventy-five-mile stretch of the front characterized by dense woods and few roads, held by four inexperienced and battle-worn American divisions stationed there for rest and seasoning.

"After a day of hard fighting, the Germans broke through the American front, surrounding most of an infantry division, seizing key crossroads, and advancing their spearheads toward the Meuse River, creating the projection that gave the battle its name." ....

More to come on this.

Late comments on the Sydney jihadist and peace activist. No joke.

Terror in Sydney "It’s time to get serious about destroying the Islamic State."   ... "Third, while standing against bigots who would spread terror against law-abiding Muslims, we should empower Muslim leaders to wage a war of ideas against the Islamic State’s ideology and the rot within political Islam that it represents."

I doubt that this form of Islamism so deeply ingrained into the culture and psyche of the Muslim world can be stopped by means at our disposal at present.  This is a threat to the world that I feel can only be controlled by the One who directs the course of  History; the One who guides the thoughts of humanity. TD

The man himself who claimed Islam is the “Region of Peace” and called on Muslims to become “peace activists”:

Slideshow of the hostage crisis.

MSNBC’s Race Baiter Toure On Sydney: “Is This Really About Islam?”…

Vox: “Asking Muslims To Condemn Terrorism Is “Bigoted And Islamophobic”…
... "This sort of thinking — blaming an entire group for the actions of a few individuals, assuming the worst about a person just because of their identity — is the very definition of bigotry." ...
However if one idiot who seems right-wing shoots up a school, every conservative or gun owner will be condemned by these very same people..

Where’s the Condemnation?

 

Muslim terrorist Sheikh Haron’s girlfriend, Amirah Droudis, admits to being a terrorist in video  "He was out on bail on a charge of colluding with girlfriend, Amirah Droudis, to murder his ex-wife, who was stabbed 18 times and set on fire in 2013, allegedly by the girlfriend."

Islamic preacher: ISIS beheads 'to save American lives'

WND

"The Islamic State’s bloody campaign of public beheadings is actually intended to save American lives, Britain’s most notorious Islamic cleric declared in a radio interview Sunday.

“ 'One of the primary reasons why you see what you are seeing on your own television and Internet is to try to end the war quickly,” stated radical preacher Anjem Choudary when asked to justify the ISIS beheadings.

“ 'This kind of terrorizing and horrifying the enemy is saying to them, ‘Look don’t engage with them. Stay away.’ This is supposed to be something which drives the enemy away and therefore saves many lives.”

"Choudary was speaking on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio” on New York’s AM 970 The Answer, audio of which was obtained in advance by WND.

"Choudary, founder of the banned terrorist supporting group Al Muhajiroun, attempted to use the Quran to justify the ISIS beheadings, which until now include the public executions of two American journalists as well as one American and two British aid workers.


"On Friday it was reported ISIS beheaded four Christian children in Iraq for refusing to denounce Jesus and convert to Islam, according to the leader of the Anglican church in Baghdad.

"Speaking to Klein, Choudary quoted chapter 8 verse 60 of the Quran, which states:
“And prepare against them whatever you are able of power and of steeds of war by which you may terrify the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you do not know [but] whom Allah knows. And whatever you spend in the cause of Allah will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.”

"Choudary continued: “I mean, you may see in Somalia with the film ‘Black Hawk Down’ that the Americans withdrew because they could not tolerate what was taking place to their own soldiers.
“And you now however gruesome it may seem, you know, the propaganda element and the kind of terrorizing effect of this cannot be denied … it is intended to have that effect. To say, ‘Look don’t come to the area.’”

"Choudary praised France, Italy and Turkey for engaging in hostage exchanges.  And yet,” he added, “the Americans and British refused and obviously you can see the consequences of that.”

 

Dramatic end to Sydney siege as police storm cafe with guns and stun grenades as terrified hostages run for their lives

Gunman said to be killed

Jewish community ‘in lockdown’ following Sydney attack  "Jewish schools across Australia sent students home in the wake of an ongoing hostage crisis in a Sydney cafe Monday morning, where at least one gunman took multiple people captive in an apparent politically motivated attack."
 Times of Israel

UK Daily Mail

Man Haron Monis was named as the gunman.

 Arriving as a refugee in Australia in 1996, the hostage-taker was charged as an

 accessory  to the murder of his ex-wife - who was allegedly stabbed and set

 on fire on a flight of stairs in her western Sydneyapartment block in 2013

 

"Police stormed the cafe in central Sydney where a gunman held hostages for more than 16 hours"

•  Police moved in firing automatic weapons and throwing grenades as hostages were seen fleeing in terror from the café
• Live TV footage showed hostages running frantically from the cafe at shortly after 2am in small groups 
• It came hours after Man Haron Monis was named as the gunman holding people hostage in a Sydney café
• The 49-year-old man lives in southwest Sydney, but is originally from Iran and a self-proclaimed sheik 
• He was charged with accessory in the murder of his ex-wife - who was allegedly stabbed and set on fire on a flight of stairs in her western Sydney apartment block
• He was also arrested for the sexual assault of a 27-year-old woman in 2002 in April this year after luring her to his clinic following claims he was as 'spiritual healer' 
• Monis was slapped with an additional 40 charges in October after more victims to come forward 
• Monis received 300 community service hours for sending hate mail to the families of Australian dead soldiers  (Somewhat like the Westboro Baptist Church does)
• The seige follows an unsuccessful attempt to have these charges overturned in the High Court on Friday   
• He stormed the Lindt cafe in Martin Place during the morning rush hour on Monday stopped anyone fro
• He forced hostages to hold up black flag with white writing in Arabic, an emblem linked to terror groups 

 

"Police firing automatic weapons and lobbing stun grenades stormed the cafe in central Sydney early on Tuesday where a gunman had been holding more than a dozen hostages, bringing a dramatic end to a siege lasting more than 16 hours.

 

"There were reports that two people were killed and at least three others were injured, but this could not immediately be confirmed.

 

"Live television coverage showed at least two people being taken away from the scene on stretchers. One hostage was seen being carried out of the building. She appeared to be in pain, and blood flowed down her legs.

 

"Nine News reported that eleven hostages had been accounted for after the police raid, which occurred shortly after 2am."