Friday, September 9, 2016

The Allied invasion as you've never seen it before: Stunning colorized photographs show battle-torn France in the aftermath of D-Day

Any men in these photos who still live are those feeble, doddering elderly veterans that many silly people laugh at when watching them walking slowly. Little do they know. TD
Previously black and white images have been colorized bringing to life key moments at the end of WWII
Photos show E-Company in Hitler's private residence after storming the Austrian town of Obersalzberg


  • Images also document the D-Day landing on Normandy beach and liberation day in Northern France

  • UK Daily Mail  "Striking color pictures have brought the struggle and victory of the Second World War's Western Front into the twenty-first century. 

  • "The images from June 1944 show USS LST-388 landing at Normandy Beach, US Army forces making a desperate bid to fight German forces on Utah Beach and marching through Po Valley.
    "Other amazing shots from under a year later show members of America's E-Company celebrating victory over the Nazis in Hitler's private residence in the Bavarian mountains as well as France during Liberation Day.
    "The wartime photographs were colorized by American emergency medical technician Jared Enos, 19, from North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
    " 'Some of the most famous, inspiring, and harrowing stories come from the Western Front,' he said.
    " 'I really wanted to capture the people in this collection, to allow you to glimpse into the past and think, 'What could have been going through their mind at a moment like this.'



  • Two color guards and color bearers of the Japanese-American 442nd Combat Team, stand to attention in the Bruyeres area, France, on November 12 1944.  The regiment was a fighting unit composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry. In total around 14,000 Japanese-Americans fought in World War II
    Two color guards and color bearers of the Japanese-American 442nd Combat Team, stand to attention in the Bruyeres area, France, on November 12 1944.  The regiment was a fighting unit composed almost entirely of American soldiers of Japanese ancestry. In total around 14,000 Japanese-Americans fought in World War II

    A shell fired by a 88 mm gun explodes on Utah Beach during the landing on June 6, 1944. The target 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword Beach. Up to 9,000 Germans and some 6,000 Allied forces died during the fighting 
    A shell fired by a 88 mm gun explodes on Utah Beach during the landing on June 6, 1944. The target 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword Beach. Up to 9,000 Germans and some 6,000 Allied forces died during the fighting 

    Video and photos at the link.
  • Obama Kept His Promise, 83,000 Coal Jobs Lost And 400 Mines Shuttered


    Daily Caller  "This Labor Day, America 

    has 83,000 fewer coal jobs and 400 coal mines than it did when Barack Obama was elected in 2008, showing that the president has followed through on his pledge to “bankrupt” the coal industry.

    "A 2015 study found the coal industry lost 50,000 jobs from 2008 to 2012 during Obama’s first term. During Obama’s second term, the industry employment in coal mining has fallen by another 33,300 jobs, 10,900 of which occurred in the last year alone, according to federal data. Currently, coal mining employs 69,460 
    "Americans, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Much of the blame for the job losses is targeted at federal regulations aimed at preventing global warming, which caused coal power plants to go bankrupt, resulting in a sharp decline in the price of coal." . . .


    Thursday, September 8, 2016

    Oh, man; not more of this silliness Updated

    Seattle Seahawks consider team-wide national anthem protest at NFL opener

    Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane said he will continue to sit.
    Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane said he will continue to sit during the national anthem.

    "The Seahawks kick off their regular season at CenturyLink Field against the Dolphins, on the 15th anniversary of 9/11."
    Downtrend reports on this as well
    On the other hand....
    Seahawks planning ‘pregame demonstration of unity’ to ‘honor the country and flag’  "Former Seahawk and Green Beret veteran Nate Boyer also gave a hint at what may be to come with a Tweet reading “Talked to the Seahawks. What the team will do is a powerful sign of unification + respect for the Anthem + those that fight for our Freedom!' ”

    Megan Rapinoe doesn’t get chance to kneel for national anthem. It was played with teams in locker room.   "In a preemptive move, the owner of the Washington Spirit, Air Force veteran Bill Lynch, ordered “The Star-Spangled Banner” to be played while the teams were in the locker room.
    "The Spirit took the action, the National Women’s Soccer League club said, “rather than subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent.' ”

    Incident in Hangzhou; Obama’s humiliation in China is a sign of global disdain for the president.

    Charles Krauthammer


    "The president of the United States lands with all the majesty of Air Force One, waiting to exit the front door and stride down the rolling staircase to the red-carpeted tarmac. Except that there is no rolling staircase. He is forced to exit — as one China expert put it rather undiplomatically — through “the ass” of the plane.
    ". . . Indeed, not one of the other G-20 world leaders was left stranded on his plane upon arrival."
    Image result for obama disrespected by china cartoons
    "Did President Xi Jinping directly order airport personnel and diplomatic functionaries to deny President Obama a proper welcome? Who knows? But the message, whether intentional or not, wasn’t very subtle. The authorities expressed no regret, no remorse and certainly no apology. On the contrary, they scolded the media for even reporting the snub.
    "No surprise. China’s ostentatious rudeness was perfectly reflective of the world’s general disdain for Obama. His high-minded lectures about global norms and demands that others live up to their “international obligations” are no longer amusing. They’re irritating." . . .
    Other nations know what we Americans all know: when Barack Obama rises to speak we are all going to be scolded for not pleasing him. His closing insult is usually "that's not who we are."  TD
    Image result for obama disrespected by china cartoons
    Cartoons added by TD

    Hillary's Performance at National Security Forum Was Atrocious

    Image result for trump and hillary presidential forum photos

    Weekly Standard

    "So why are the media focused on Matt Lauer instead?"

    "Wednesday night, NBC hosted a presidential forum on issues related to national security and the military where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were interviewed and took selected questions from military personnel in attendance. Today host Matt Lauer served as moderator.
    "If you read media reports about the forum, the event was a total fiasco. Not because Clinton did poorly—and she did—but because Lauer was totally unfair to her. A good summary of this bizarre take on events can be found on the Washington Post's Thursday morning under the headline: "Matt Lauer's widely-panned performance shows the perils for debate moderators":
    . . .  Much more here...
    "Both Paul Krugman and Nicholas Kristof were cited by Politico and CNN. Krugman authored a column on Monday before the debate whingeing that the media have been too hard on Clinton. The column was so shameless even commentators on the Left described Krugman's column as part of an "Unrelenting Pundit-Led Effort to Delegitimize All Negative Reporting About Hillary Clinton." Kristof's Twitter feed is similarly filled with defenses of Clinton that are at odds with the facts. And if nearly all of the criticism being cited comes from liberal columnists and Democratic operatives, how can we say Lauer was "widely panned" much less "universally" condemned?
    "Why are the media are piling on Lauer here? The answer was right there in the Post's headline about the "the perils for debate moderators." Hillary Clinton's performance Wednesday was abysmal, and it's easier to spin Trump's lesser lies about relatively inconsequential lies like whether he supported the Iraq War as a private citizen. Clinton's allies in the media are suddenly very worried that she's going to bomb in the debates, and the best way to improve her chances is to make the debate moderators afraid to answer tough questions about her many lies."
    John Podhoretz: Presidential forum proves no matter who wins, America loses  . . . "Listening to Clinton prevaricate about her emails and Trump prevaricate about positions he holds and doesn’t entirely seem to understand once again raises the unholy horror of the fact that out of 330 million people in the United States, these are the two who have ended up in the race for the White House in 2016."

    Vet Confronts Clinton and She Lies Again
    "A US Navy veteran confronted Hillary Clinton during the Commander in Chief forum Wednesday over her handling of confidential information."

    Debunking the Palestine Lie

    Youtube  The roots of Arab hatred for Israel.

    Work Begun on Underground Barrier along Gaza Border, Israeli Defense Officials Say

    And they will make Hamas pay for it!

    Wall Street Journal

    Heavy machinery is seen on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza Thursday Israeli defense officials said the government has begun work on a massive underground barrier along the border with Gaza.

    "JERUSALEM—Israeli defense officials on Thursday said the government has begun work on a massive underground barrier along the border with Gaza meant to block Hamas militants from tunneling into Israel.
    "The project is the hallmark of a huge Israeli effort to halt the Hamas tunnels, which military officials have identified as a strategic threat. Hamas militants have used underground tunnels to attack Israelis.
    "During a 2014 war, Hamas militants managed on several occasions to make their way into Israel through their tunnel network, though they didn’t reach nearby civilian areas.
    "Israel destroyed some 32 tunnels during that conflict and has announced the discovery of several more tunnels since then. As a result, the military has invested efforts in technologies to detect, destroy and block them. Israel has already surrounded Gaza with a sophisticated aboveground fence fortified with sensors, cameras, barbed wire and watch towers." . . .
    Salah Bardawil, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, said the group wouldn’t be deterred. “The Palestinian people and the resistance can overcome all the obstacles made by the occupation. The resistance is creative and advanced and doesn’t care about the occupation’s procedures,” he said.
    This is why Israel must have a wall.  "During the show, which features children aged 4-10, one young boy sings, “When I wander into Jerusalem, I will become a suicide bomber.” Afterward, other children stand to call for “Jihad! Holy war to the end against the Zionist enemy.' ”


    Trump Up, Hillary Down, Obama Out

    Political Cartoons by Ken Catalino
    "Without traditional battle lines to fight over, Hillary Clinton is lying low while a frenetic Donald Trump talks nonstop."

    Victor Davis Hanson  "Barack Obama, who less than two years ago dipped to 40 percent in approval rating, is nowhere to be seen. He seems to know that the more he is absent and quiet, the more the public likes the idea rather than the reality of him as president — and his approval rating has risen to 51 percent. 

    "In his self-imposed retreat, Obama makes no effort to defend the Affordable Care Act, which is all but disintegrating, as major insurers pull out and costs skyrocket.

    "Ditto the Iran deal. Obama is learning that it is better to be quiet about Iranian violations, ransom for hostages, and provocations than to explain them away. RELATED: The 2016 Political Event Horizon Obama months ago gave up mentioning how the crushing national debt has almost doubled to nearly $20 trillion under his watch. No one seems to be defending the Obama administration’s lax immigration and border-enforcement policies." . . .

    Colin Kaepernick: False rumors of conversion tied to Islamophobia

    USA Today

    USP NFL: PRESEASON-SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT SAN DIEG S FBN USA CA

    "Colin Kaepernick knocked down rumors that he has converted to Islam and that his girlfriend, who is Muslim, led him to protest social injustices by refusing to stand for the national anthem. He tweaked presidential candidate Donald Trump in the process.

    “ 'I have great respect for the religion, know a lot of people that are Muslim and are phenomenal people,’’ Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49ers' backup quarterback, said Wednesday. “But I think that (rumor of conversion) comes along with people’s fear of this protest, as well as Islamophobia in this country. People are terrified of them to the point where Trump wants to ban all Muslims from coming here, which is ridiculous.”
    "Kaepernick also addressed reports that he’s been heavily influenced by girlfriend Nessa Diab, a radio host.

    “ 'The impact is just conversations that we constantly have,’’ he said. “This is an open discussion that I have with many people, not just my woman. She is Muslim, her family is Muslim, I have great respect for them. I have great respect for people’s right to believe what they want to believe. And I don’t think anybody should be prosecuted for judged based on what their beliefs all.' ’’ . . .

    ‘What Is Aleppo?’ Gary Johnson Asks, in an Interview Stumble




    USA Today: Gary Johnson is confused about the civil war in Syria.
    . . . "When host Joe Scarborough questioned Johnson's lack of understanding about Aleppo, Johnson attempted to defend himself.
    "You asked 'what is Aleppo?' Do you think that foreign policy is so insignificant that somebody running for president of the United States shouldn't even know what Aleppo is, where Aleppo is, why Aleppo is so important?" Scarborough asked.
    "I do understand Aleppo. And I understand the crisis that is going on, but when we involve ourselves militarily, when we involve ourselves in these humanitarian issues we end up with a situation that in most cases is not better and in many cases ends up being worse," Johnson said.
    #WhatIsAleppo? was trending on Twitter shortly after the interview, as a broad swath of political commentators pilloried Johnson for being unprepared on foreign policy.
    "Johnson then apparently postponed and interview later Thursday morning on a New York talk radio program." . . .

    Ann Althouse gleefully posted this today 
    "Oh, Gary.
    "The dream is over.
    "Gary said "What's Aleppo?"

    Mr. Johnson expressed disappointment about the lapse in a brief follow-up interview that was broadcast on MSNBC and canceled some of his other scheduled interviews planned for later in the day.

    “I’m incredibly frustrated with myself,” he said. “I have to get smarter and that’s just part of the process.”
    "I've watched Gary Johnson in a number of debates and consider him famous for saying "I don't know." In the past, I've been able to admire him for that. But now... I don't know."

    Thought-provoking photos from WW2

    Hillary Gets The Dr. Seuss Treatment in Hilarious Cartoon Video

    Legal Insurrection  "This video spoofs Hillary Clinton appearing on the Jimmy Kimmel show, where she gets the treatment usually reserved for Republicans on late night shows."