Israel's Troubles: Hamas and the Blowback from October 7th and Hamas

There was a time that whenever Israel was attacked, most of the free (ish) world would rally around the beleaguered little country. But now, it seems nearly everybody, especially the youth, are out protesting and chanting "Free Palestine" or "Stop the Genocide" when it was Israel that was the victim. They (illegally) block highways, streets, and prevent free movement of individuals. They disrupt anywhere they can. They engage in vandalism. They also strike out against anyone who disagrees with them

They charge into shops, disrupt business, knock over merchandise, etc.  They make an ass of themselves at graduation services. They've interfered with wedding and church services. They prevent fellow students from attending class. While these individuals like to wave Palestinian flags, wear a Arab Keffiyeh, I have to wonder just how familiar they are with the history of Israel or Palestine?

Do they know, for instance,  that the region had been under control of the British? As a colonial power, Britain acquired control of what was called the "Palestinian Territories" after  the collapse and breakup of the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I ( the breakup was engineered by the British and  French which also acquired a large swath of land along with Germany's colonies).

 It was called the "British Mandate for Palestine", and included the Emirate of Transjordan, They also acquired Arabian Peninsula, including what is now Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the Mandate of Mesopotamia (Iraq).  Egypt had been under British control since 1882.  

In 1917, the British published a statement in support of establishing a Jewish homeland called the "Balfour Declaration".  The declaration favored a dual state, one Jewish and one Palestine. It specifically said that there would be no interference with anyone's religious or civil rights.  In 1939, the British published a "White Paper" or policy statement in response to massive Arab revolts (1936 -- 1939).

The paper was published by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (of the infamous Munich Accords). Its aim was to appease the Arab nations by limiting Jewish immigration into the Holy Land, restricted the sale of land to Jews, and the establishment of a Jewish homeland within ten years---1949 in violation of the Balfour Declaration. Of course during that ten year period there was an event which changed everything. It was called the Holocaust.

The Holocaust officially began in 1941, although anti-Semitism wasn't strictly a "German disease" as it was called. It  had been rampant in most European countries for centuries. The Holocaust didn't end until  Nazi Germany's surrender in 1945. It resulted in the deaths of over six million people plus  thousands more forced to live in starvation conditions in dumps known as "ghettos" (as an aside, percentage wise, more Roma gypsies were murdered by the Nazis than Jews).   

While there had been rumblings of reneging on the promise of a Jewish state, but global sympathy for Jews everywhere practically insured the establishment of a new Jewish homeland.  For politicians,  to do otherwise would have been political suicide. Meanwhile, Jews who had earlier settled in Palestine formed their own terrorist units such as Haganah, Irgun and the Lehi or "Stern Gang" in response to attacks on Jewish farms  by Arabs as well as on British authorities in order to keep the Jewish cause in the news and to push British officials back in London.

On November 29th, 1947, the United Nations adopted a plan, originally submitted by American, British, and French, known as "Resolution 181 (II)". It called for a two state solution, one Jewish and one Palestinian. Palestine would compose 42% of the land  or about 6,900 square miles (the proposal was amended to put the town of Beersheba and a strip of land along the Negev Desert into Palestine). 

The new Israeli state would cover 56% of the territory or the equivalent of  8,761 square miles. Israel would get the coastal region from Ashdod to Akko and would include what was the small port city of Haifa. The Palestinians received the central and western Galilee as well as Be'er Sheva and the Jordan Valley. As an aside, this would be the first Jewish nation since its destruction in 79 AD.

The Romans, tired of Jewish revolts and attacks on Roman soldiers and officials, decided that the Jewish state had to go. Accordingly, the main temple (allegedly built by King Solomon) was leveled as where a number of other institutions throughout Judea. Jews were rounded up and taken as slaves or executed (especially the priests and officials). The rest were scattered to the winds with a warning never to return. Thus began the Jewish Diaspora.

As for the remaining 2% comprising the areas around Bethlehem and Jerusalem, would become international zones to be administered by the UN. The Resolution also called for the gradual withdrawal of the British presence from the region. Authority over the respective territories would gradually  be transferred to Jewish and Palestinians officials to run. The actual partition was based primarily on Jewish and Arab population distribution.

When the vote came on November 29, 1947, just two years after the end of WWII, 33 nations, including the United States and the Soviet Union, voted in favor of the plan. 13 nations voted no, and 10 nations refrained. When the plan was submitted to the Jewish People represented by the World Zionist Organization and the existing Jewish communities (called the "Yishuv") it passed unanimously.

However, things weren't so upbeat on the Arab side. Nearly all of the Arab nations voted unanimously to reject the plan on behalf of Palestine (at this point it should be pointed out that Palestine was never a nation state. It was a territory without a central government. It existed mainly as a geographic area on a map).

So, here was the UN offering not just the Jews a state of their own, they were offering the Palestinians the chance to have their own nation as well, which was rejected by other Arab nations (later were known as the "Arab League"). Instead of putting the issue to a vote by the Palestinian people, the matter of a actual Palestinian state which arrogantly rejected by a group of unaffected autocrats.

Worse, these same Arab states, which consisted of Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia,  along with two mercenary groups, the "Holy War Army" and Al-Najjada, emphatically said  they would snuff out the newborn Jewish state if it declared independence. So, on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel came into being after some 2000 years. The following day, May 15, the five armies of the Arab League invaded. While the Arab nations had a relatively modern military with tanks, heavy artillery, and fighter planes, the Israelis had virtually nothing.

At the outset, Israel's "tank corp" consisted on two WWII era tanks. Their air force was more like a "air farce".  It was made up of mostly WWII era surplus, including some German and British planes. It's army was mostly members of the various paramilitary forces such as Irgun and Haganah, and volunteers from elsewhere. What small arms they possessed either homemade from parts commonly found in hardware stores. Other were WWI and WWII vintage (and one small cannon which dated from the late 1800's!).

Nevertheless, after ten months of bitter fighting, a truce was finally agreed on...and Israel was larger than before. Egypt and Jordan retained control over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank but Israel's population also more than doubled.  The Arab League, despite its strength on paper, couldn't rid itself of Israel. However, what it did manage to destroy was any hope of there ever being a Palestinian State.

In 1956, the Arabs, under the leadership of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, decided to try it again. The "Suez Crisis" had mixed results. Prior to the war, Egypt had nationalized the Suez Canal, which had been jointly operated by the French and British. As a result of the nationalization, Egypt effectively controlled all traffic into and out of this vital waterway.  The nationalization was seen by the Arab world as slap in the face of France, Great Britain, and the United States for their support of Israel.

While Israel was attacked by Egypt and elements from other Arab nations, they found themselves defeated in a matter of one week and two days. Israel, along with the British and French and support from the U.S., defeated the Egyptian Army in the Sinai and seized control of Sharm al-Sheikh, thus gaining access strategic control of the Straits of Tiran and forced the Suez Canal to reopen.  It's worth noting that while Egypt had lost on the battlefield, it had won on the all important public relations front, especially among the other Arab nations.

President Nasser was viewed as not just an Egyptian hero, but as a Arab hero, creating what could only be called "Pan-Arabism", uniting all the Arab nations under one banner.  Egypt's loss also resulted in the creation of the "Fedayeen Insurgency Movement", which was a multi-national organization of Arab guerrillas. Their aim was to constantly attack and harass Israelis, particularly civilians, which only added to Nasser's fame and reputation as Israel's deadliest foe.

In June of 1967, Israel found itself at war again. This time it was the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq all contributed troops and equipment. By the time it was over six days later (and thus became known as the "Six Day War"), the Arab coalition had again been soundly defeated.

The Arab armies lost more than a war. As a result of their defeat, Israel gained substantial amounts of territory which included both the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the strategic Golan Heights from Syria along with Gaza and the entire Sinai from the Egyptians.  Nevertheless, despite another loss, the Arab League weren't quiet finished yet. Later that same year began the "War of Attrition", which would continue for three more years.

The "War of Attrition" was a pseudo-war conducted by Egypt (with Soviet backing), Jordan, Syria, and a new player to the conflict, the Palestine Liberation Organization, better known as the "PLO"  and led by a civil engineer by the name of Yasser Arafat. The war was an intended to recover lost Egyptian land, yet  once again Egypt found itself on the losing end.

In 1972, a PLO splinter group, "Black September" seized a number of key facilities in the Olympic Village  during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Its goal was the capture and murder of the Israeli Olympic team. The credibility of Germany was at stake too. The 1972 Olympics marked the first time Germany had hosted the games since the 1936 Berlin Olympics under Adolf Hitler and the German Olympic Committee was determined to put Germany in a positive light.

The German police and special units of the German military made several botched rescue attempts (with the help of the media which was broadcasting live every movement of the German rescue attempt). 20 hours later, all 11 Israeli Olympians were dead along with the terrorists in what become known as the Munich Massacre"

In 1973 came the infamous "Yom Kippur War" which nearly resulted in not just defeat for Israeli forces, but the destruction of Israel itself. The war, led by Syria and Egypt and the usual compliment of multi-national Arab volunteers, attacked Israel on its most sacred day---the "Day of Atonement", or Yom Kippur.

After a frantic and bloody 20 days of fighting, Israeli forces were able to recover land taken in the earliest days of the fight and went on to decisively defeat their enemy, coming within miles of the capitals of both Syria and Egypt. While a victory for Israel, it was hard fought and Israel came to the razor's edge of defeat. The result was a complete reorganization of the Israeli government, its army and General Staff, and its intelligence services, the Mossad and Shin Bet.

Since then, Israel has continued to fight numerous wars and conflicts including the 1982 Lebanon War, the terroristic Abu Nidal Organization, two Intifadas, a second and third conflict in Lebanon, which included a new terrorist organization, the Iranian backed Hezbollah, and numerous military engagement in and around Gaza. 

There was some success however. In 1979, Egypt and Israel concluded a peace and trade agreement in exchange for Israel returning the Sinai. Jordan signed a similar agreement in 1994. By 2020, four other Arab nations---United Arab Emirates (UAE), Morocco, Sudan, and Bahrain agreed to recognize Israel and normalize relations. The "land for peace" policy seemed to be working.  Even the PLO mellowed.

That all changed on October 7, 2023, when some 3000 members of Hamas's paramilitary suddenly attacked and murdered thousands of innocent men, women, and children who were attending a concert. They beat, mutilated, incinerated, and brutally raped almost as many.  Then there's the bloody 252 hostages they took, intending to hide behind them like cowards and to use them as bargain chips. Hamas had previously been lobbing missiles into Israel on a weekly, if not daily, basis.  Who can truly fault Israel for trying to protect its people and rid the world of this plague?

But this is the Middle East, where peace is fleeting and hatred runs deep. It's where the cult of death is valued  more than the love of life. Somehow, it's coming here to our shores. Naive and  idealistic youth, coached by their professional protest organizers, spew  unimaginative slogans demanding a "free" Palestine and an end to Israeli's "genocide" at the top of their lungs while being totally unaware of the past.

Where were the protesters when Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization that even the Palestinian Authority dislikes, murdered, starved, and bullied the people of Gaza for years or when they used schools and hospitals as cover to launch rockets at Israel in the hopes Israel would retaliate so they can use their bodies as propaganda? Where's the outrage now against rape or threat of rape being as a weapon?  Where the anger for the innocent Israels murdered in cold blood or those taken hostage?

They say knowledge is power. I hope the facts presented to you in this article makes you one powerful individual. At least, I hope it opens your eyes. It will, at the very least, enlighten you about how the Arab League, not Israel,  allowed their hatred of the Jews to deny the Palestinians a homeland. How Arab nations repeatedly attacked Israel directly and indirectly.

 

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Partition of the Ottoman Empire

 

White Paper of 1939

British Mandate for Palestine

List of wars involving Israel

Suez Crisis

 

Casualties of the Israeli - Hamas War

Massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games

Hamas

 

The 'Conspiracy Theorists' Were Right About Covid-19? The Origin of the Pandemic

 

Remember when Covid-19 pandemic first made its mysterious appearance?  Do you recall all the different state and federal government mandates ranging from self-quarantining, mandatory masks, maintaining a distance of at least 6 feet, or the defacto looting of stores of their toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and practically anything that could be consumed (and that doesn't even include the price gouging)? It must be pointed out that there were no natural shortages of these items. It was hoarding motivated by greed which kept products off the shelves and drive up prices. 

Some of us found a little smug satisfaction and sardonic amusement at the self-proclaimed "preppers" who were caught off guard materially and mentally for the ensuing chaos just like the rest of us. Nevertheless, many of us promised ourselves then and there that we would never be caught short like that ever again.

Then came the government's body count as government officials would hold afternoon press conferences to update the public with the latest death counts due to Covid, or the number of individuals officially diagnosed with Covid,  often simultaneously showing images of bodies being stored in outdoor cooling units until they could be properly handled by a funeral home, hospital personnel running around in hazmat suits, and horror stories about ventilator shortages. It was a grim display aimed at showing us the seriousness in which the government wanted us to take the situation.

I clearly remember representatives from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) explaining to us how the virus mysteriously exploded on the world from a bowel of Chinese "bat soup" consumed by some unassuming tourist in Wuhan China, wherever that was.  Instinctively, I knew something wasn't quite right with that story. Coronaviruses rarely jump from animals to humans as we've observed from the recent past with other viruses.

I also vividly recall the Centers for Disease Control announcing that not only has a vaccine been produced, but there were actually a number of vaccines available, and not just that, but how quickly they were green lighted for human inoculation.  Typically it takes years of exhaustive research before any vaccine was ready for human trials, but here we were in just a matter of a couple months and we just don't have a single vaccine, but at least four worldwide!

Thousands lined up to get the "jab" as it was called in the hopes of staving off the deadly virus. Meanwhile, it was mandatory that we continue to wear our masks, regularly use our hand sanitizer, and of course, maintain proper "social distancing". After receiving the vaccine, we were encouraged by government and health officials to carry our vaccination cards  and be prepared to show them as proof of our compliance.

For some reason, that just seemed so "Nazi" to me.  It was so sterile and regulated. It was reminiscent of the old Nazi Era "Ihre Papiere bitte" ("your papers please") which would be uttered by the dreaded Gestapo in their sinister chic black leather coats and matching black fedoras to unsuspecting passersbyers on the streets of Berlin, Paris, or Prague.  

With so many vaccines suddenly available, it seemed to me that there was either an army of seriously brilliant "Doctor Strange"  type of scientists doing nonstop viral research using supercomputers or there was already a vaccine prototype worked up.  If that were the case, then there had to be a biochemical "fingerprint" of the virus available to study. But for that to happen, it meant that "someone" already knew what the deadly Covid virus looked liked at a molecular level , and that meant the mysterious "bat soup" virus had to be man made.

Apparently though I wasn't the only one who reached that conclusion! Quite a few people around the world who were much more familiar with the topic of virology than me came to the same conclusion. However, it wasn't long before the media started labeling these individuals "conspiracy theorists" or worse, "conspiracy nuts" for questioning the official narrative despite having some seriously impressive credentials. Others soon joined in to question the government's explanation of events in a cascading loss of official credibility.  To many things simply didn't add up whether Dr. Fauci or anyone else said otherwise.

A growing number of people kept pointing out the similarity of Covid was to the flu or the fact that we seemed to be missing our normal "flu season". Many people started treating the Covid virus like the flu, albeit  a more serious one for those with health preconditions which affected their immune system. Oddly, many of those people seemed to do just fine thank you.  How could that be?

Meanwhile, in what had the earmarks of an orchestrated response, many of those who refused to get the shots, wear masks and so forth were being ridiculed, ostracized, and even threatened with violence. Some employers refused to allow individuals to come back to work while several large restaurant chains, banks, and retail stores denied service to anyone without a vaccination card or mask.  

Although Covid has largely disappeared from the headlines and officials have quietly suspended their nightly death toll report, the issue of Covid's origin and the government's response still continues.  Many of the "conspiracy nuts" looked to the supposedly secret Chinese medical research center in Wuhan Province as ground zero for the virus leakage, which many claimed was intentional.

Others decided to follow the money which appeared to show billions in U.S. funds being routed to Chinese research facilities for years  from U.S. government agencies, including the CDC while it was under Fauci's watch. Was that true? Why would the CDC and other agencies work with Chinese on weaponizing the flu virus? A number of individuals was determined to find out, especially Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) launched a full on assault  into the official records (which many of us don't have access to). He  conducted a series of government hearings in ways that only a U.S. senator could do to get at the truth, which included subpoenaing key individuals and their records. While it's taken a number of years, it appears that many of the "conspiracy nuts" were largely right after all.

Dr. Paul reported his findings in a speech he delivered on November 1, 2023 at the Allan P. Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship on Hillsdale's Washington D.C. campus entitled "Deception: The Great Covid Cover-Up". The speech was also published in a edited version in Hillsdale's "Imprimis" newsletter (December 2023 Volume 52 Number 12).

I've provided a link Dr. Paul's speech below. I strongly recommend that you read it, especially if you lost a friend, a family member, or if  you or someone you were acquainted with had Covid. This also goes to anyone who was laid off, lost their job or forced to close their business due to Covid-19 enforced mandates. So, what, if anything, have learned from the pandemic?

Hopefully we've learned that there was quite a bit of truth uncovered by those individuals who were disparagingly  referred to as "conspiracy nuts", "troublemaker" or much worse. Some of what they confirmed ranged from the likely origin of the virus from a Chinese military lab in Wuhan Province, the striking resemblance of Covid to the flu virus,  the virus being man made or it  having a possible weaponized application, which would be illegal under the UN's Biological Weapons Convention, and a great deal of "under-the-table" funding by the U.S. government.

I also want to point out a serious object lesson we should have learned as we delve further into an expanding AI, more sophisticated facial recognition software, data mining,  supercomputers, human like robots and their self-awareness, declining privacy, and a growing surveillance state under the control of elite plutocrats, plus the strong likelihood of more enhanced viruses or diseases.

The Covid-19 pandemic (or scare if you prefer) taught us that ordinary people of all walks of life can easily be coerced into "self-isolating" with little effort. All that's required is a little manufactured fear generated by the government and cast to the winds by a willing media.  We learned how individuals can be intimidated into wearing a nearly ineffective mask with the same ease as making group of individuals don yellow felt Stars of David to their clothes.

We should have learned that it's just as easy to persuade people to get a injection of some unknown substance into the arm as it was to demand a people to assemble in the middle of a town square and board cattle cars for a destination unknown.

People are quite pliable and gullible. We tend to react as a herd animal, little different from sheep, cows, or pigs. Most of us are afraid to step very far out of line for fear of being singled out or losing the perceived protection of the herd. The conspiracy theorists (or "nuts") were the ones who spoke out the loudest. They tried to rouse the herd into looking up. They were the voices in the wilderness that the Status Quo tried to silence.

There's no doubt that Covid-19 was a "live fire" exercise on a global scale. Real people died. Many of the immune compromised were hospitalized. Was this intended to "thin the herd" or merely to see how we would react despite our anti-government rhetoric? Well, the masses did dutifully obeyed. They covered their faces.  They self-incarcerate. Those who didn't may have inadvertently self-identified as most likely to challenge authority next time and bear monitoring. 

But perhaps what mattered the most to the ruling elites in this little exercise  was just how easily people the world over, regardless of religion, culture, or politics could be made to willingly obey with very little effort.  All that's required is a little fear and some gentle, but firm guidance from sympathetic sounding  authority figures. I truly hope you all will check out Dr. Paul's link below.

 

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Lessons From the Great Covid Cover-Up by U.S. Senator Dr. Rand Paul (R-KY).

May 8th: Remembering "VE Day" and the End of War in Europe

May 8th. Remember the date? How many of you recall hearing anything much about it on the news? I sure didn't, yet it's a very important date in world history and its impact still affects today. You see, May 8th marks the end of the war in Europe---VE Day or Victory in Europe Day---in 1945, 74 years ago. I think it's important to remember the significance of VE Day or May 8th.

World War II involved some 102 countries, making it a true global war. The principal players in drama set on the world stage were Germany, Italy, and Japan on the Axis side with supporting roles provided by Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Turkey, Spain, and Slovakia. On the opposing side, the Allies were comprised of Great Britain and her Commonwealth nations (Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada, Hong Kong, and a few others), the United States, and France. It had the support of pretty much everyone else, but notably China, Vietnam, Korea, Philippines, Denmark, Burma, and Norway (some of these countries were occupied at the time and provided support via underground resistance movements.

As for the Soviet Union, which was under the iron fist of Joseph "Uncle Joe" Stalin. In the beginning, Stalin threw his support behind Hitler. It wasn't because he particularly liked Hitler, although it could certainly appreciate a fellow dictator when he saw one, rather it was out of self preservation. Hitler had long proclaimed that he would invade the East (Russia and Ukraine) in the search for Lebensraum or "living space" for the Germanic Peoples of Europe. He also vowed to rid the world of Communism. Together, they divided up Poland and Hitler give Stalin a free hand in the Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. They also entered into a trade deal whereby Russia would provide Germany with key ores and oil which it needed for its war efforts. However, after the surprise invasion of German forces in July of 1940, Russia changed sides and allied itself with Allies (which at that time was mainly just Great Britain and her Commonwealth nations).

During the course of the war, approximately 60 million people died, which equated to around 3% of the world's total population based on 1940 estimates. Some figures put the total killed as high at 80 million people. This figure breaks down the number of deaths as between 50 - 55 million civilians, including around 18 million who died of war related famine and diseases, with some 21 - 25 million military, including 5 million prisoners of war. Of course, a true figure will never be known.

German estimates placed the number of dead and missing at between 6.9 million and 7.4 million, which was around 8.5% of its total population. France lost roughly 600,000 people or 1.4% of its population, whereas French Indonesia lost between 1 million and 1.2 million people. Italy lost about 1.6% of its population, which was around 514,000 people. Japan lost between 3.5% and 4.34% of its population (not including colonies, such as Korea) which totaled a high of 3.1 million people.

Poland suffered an enormous loss of six million people, which equaled just over 17% of its total population. The UK (including its colonies) lost 451,000 lives or .94% of its total population. The United States losses amounted to 419,400 souls, or roughly just .32% of our total population. China's losses were equally horrific. It's estimated that the Chinese lost somewhere between 16 million and 20 million souls at the hands of the Japanese. This amounted to about 3.86% of its population.

However, the most overlooked (or ignored) number of causalities doesn't go to the Axis nations or even to Western Allies...in aggregate. It went to the Soviet Union. Russia suffered a mind numbing loss of 20 million people during the "Great Patriotic War" as they call World War II. When Soviet Republics are added, that number jumps to 26.6 million lives. Belarus, which buffers between Poland and Russia, lost 25% of its total population. So the south, the Ukraine lost 16.3% of it populace.

Of course, we can't forget the Holocaust (nor should we ever). As most already know, approximately six million Jews died at as result of the extermination and concentration (or work) camps. But this wasn't all. Roma gypsies also suffered, though they tend to be overlooked by historians. Nevertheless, some 285,650 gypsies died in the same extermination and concentrations camps. As an aside, in terms of population, a higher percentage of gypsies died than did Jews. In addition, 200,000 disabled or mentally handicapped people were executed, beginning with the "Action T4 Program", which was intended to rid the Reich of physically and mentally "inferior" individuals.

Germany's ally, Croatia, is believed to have been responsible for the deaths of around 340,000 ethnic Serbs, gypsies, and Jews. The Jewish population in Greece was nearly completely wiped out. Finally, some 5000+ Roman Catholics, Jehovah Witnesses, various Protestant denominations, as well as a Social Democrats, trade unionists, academics, political dissidents (such as the "White Rose") and Communists were believed to have been executed during the war. Again, the exact number will never be truly known.

World War II, which most historians consider to simply have been a continuation of World War I, with a 20 year pause to change players on the world stage, was the most brutal of all wars yet experienced by Mankind. The repercussions of the war led directly to the rise of Communism as a world ideology, the division of the world into basically two warring camps, and to the Cold War, with all its proxy wars down through the decade not to mention coming to the brink of nuclear annihilation on more than one occasion. Despite the tragedy of the war, there's another tragedy which is unfolding, for which no one is blame and there is nothing we can do to stop.

During World War II, the US committed some 16,112,566 men and women to the war, not including millions of civilian personnel who worked in factories and shipyards. As of September 2017, there were only around 588,000 left, and they are dying off at a rate of 362 every single day based on 2016 estimates by the Department of Veterans Affairs.; the youngest of whom are in their late 80's.

At that rate, the "Greatest Generation" will be all gone within the next 20 years. In the UK, there are only about 100,000 WWII veterans left. Canada has about 150,000 WWII veteran still with us, while Russia has approximately the same amount remaining (the last Soviet soldier who took part in the seizure of the Reich Chancellery, Nikolay Belyaev, died at the age of 93 in 2015. He was part of the feared 756th Regiment of the 3rd Shock Army). As an aside, there are around 250,000 veterans of the German Wehrmacht or Armed Forces still alive as of 2015.

Personally, I find it a shame that we don't make a bigger effort to celebrate the deeds and lives of these incredibly brave men and women. These were the young adults and children of the Great Depression, whose lives were molded by hardship, self-sacrifice, and self reliance. For many, it was also marked by poverty the likes of which most of us have no clue about. They were, and are, some amazingly resilient individuals.

Through my Disabled American Veterans Chapter, I have had the honor to know and befriend many of these men and women. I have had the distinct privilege to speak with them about their lives; to hear firsthand their stories of what life was like in places like North Africa, Sicily, Anzio, Crete, Normandy, Caen, Holland, Bastogne, over Berlin or Tokyo, not to mention Bataan, Midway, the Coral Sea, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, and dozens of other places which were once just names on page in a book or grainy, sometimes colorized, newsreels or combat footage on TV.

For them, these were very real places full of heat, mosquitoes, sweat, hunger, fear, pain, adrenaline, compassion and hatred where they lost friends, met new ones only to lose them a few days, hours or minutes later. It was the places where lifelong friendship were made...with those who survived; bonds closer than anyone could possibly imagine and will last to the grave and beyond as well as indelible memories mixed with both relief and guilt for having made it home.

Their reality bears no resemblance to the mass produced Hollywood movies many of us have used to shape our vision of war where the hero's hair is never out of place, the uniforms are clean, and there's never any blood or gore, and there's always a happy ending. It also bears little similarity to the sanitized newsreels of the period which provided only the briefest of glances at war's outcome.

This past May 8th marked the 74th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, however, the war would continue another three months in the Pacific before ending onboard the battleship, USS Missouri, on August 15th 1945. Victory in Japan or "VJ Day" as it would become known, would be officially celebrated on September 2nd. So, if you happen to see a an elderly man or woman wearing a hat or emblem identifying them as a WWII veteran, be sure to shake their hand and say "Thank you for all you did" (though you may have to speak up). What they endured for you and me is beyond measure.

Remembrance

I would like to tell you a few stories which I hope you find interesting; perhaps even enlightening. Let's take "Karl". Karl was elderly man of around 70 years of age. He was a plumber by trade and spent his days walking the streets of his small town in search of his next job, which would hopefully earn him enough to pay for his and his wife's next meal, not to mention the rent! Years of a hard work and poor health care had left its mark on Karl. His back was bad, as were his hands and knees. He walked the dirty and smelly streets from sun up until sun down hawking his skills. His clothes were threadbare but always clean, well, for a plumber that is, and his shoes were well-worn hand-me-downs---third time.

But still, Karl was never bitter. He had a loving wife who took in laundry, which she did by hand every day. She also did some mending. On good days, she may get a job cleaning house for a few days while the regular maid was off on holiday. Then one day, Karl came home, extra tired but very proud of himself. He had had a good day---three jobs and the promise of a fourth! Outside the rundown and rat infested hovel which he called home stood his landlord. He stared at Karl with a look of hatred, curiosity, and more than a little trepidation. There had been visitors that day; very special visitors. Upstairs, waiting just inside their door of their apartment stood his wife. She greeted him with tears and a letter. Karl took it and with a quick glance handed it back. Karl couldn't read, but his wife could, a little. The letter, which was very official looking, instructed Karl and his wife to be waiting outside their apartment building promptly at 8:00 AM the next morning. They were to bring just enough clothes for a few days. Their key should be handed over to their landlord for safekeeping. Karl would not be needing his tools.

The purpose of the trip wasn't given, but rumors were that they're going to a special center for evaluation; perhaps to even see a doctor (his wife had been complaining about a bad tooth anyway and maybe someone would be kind enough to look at his hands which were so important in his line of work). Some said it's a resort they were going to, but who would send them---two old miserable wretches to a resort? It must be to a doctor. Maybe he could find some work there too, after all, even doctors have occasional plumbing problems! So the next morning, Karl and his wife waited patiently outside as instructed; having given their landlord their key...and his promise to look after everything (not that there was that much to look after). They didn't have to wait very long...

"Walther" as we will call him was a good man of about 20 years old, though he was what some would call "slow". His mother was an

older woman, way past her prime when she unexpectedly became pregnant and his father, a housepainter, was no "spring chicken" either. Walther was her fifth child; her third son. Walther always seemed different. As a child he could never keep up with other children his age. Often, he would sit in the corner by himself silently rocking himself, or he would go off alone while other kids played. Occasionally, he would sit in the kitchen looking longingly out the window and watching as the others played. They teased him unmercifully, and not just about being slow but about how he looked too. Walther was a different turned child, and a lonely one too.

One day during a routine office visit to the doctor, Walther's mother was told by their doctor that there was now a special place for children like Walther. There are doctors and nurses on site, so he would get good medical care, along with three healthy meals a day and even snacks like oranges or apples. He could be with other children that were like him; it would be an opportunity for him to make friends, and it was free. All that was needed was his referral to a specialist, another doctor; someone from one of the new government health agencies, and of course, the permission of her and her husband.

It wasn't a hard decision to make. Life had been hard, and not just since Walther came along. The economy has been doing badly and there just hasn't enough work to go around, and costs of taking care of Walther's special needs, well that too has been a burden on the family. Besides, the facility the doctor mentioned wasn't that far away and the family could visit every few weeks, and he would finally have friends. Oh, how the boy longed for a friend. So, a few weeks later arrangements were made for Walther. It was a sad trip, but it held so much promise, especially for Walther.

The family visited every few weeks just like they promised to do. Walther was always so happy to see them; happier still to introduce his parents to his latest new friend (although he often introduced them to the same individuals each time, he was happy...truly happy for perhaps the first time in his life). Then, about six months later, his parents received a rather unexpected letter from the government doctor at the special facility. Good news they hoped about Walther's treatments. He seemed to be making such good progress...

Seventy years ago, the notorious death camp at Auschwitz was liberated. It was January 27th, 1945. The liberation was at the hands of Soviet troops advancing from the east. It would prove to be the opening chapter of a unimaginable horror; a blight on not just the German People, or the Nazis, but on all humanity which still echoes today. Some six million Jews, perhaps more, died in these camps---by gas, execution, exhaustion, injection, disease, and starvation. They were experimented on like guinea pigs, and without the benefit of sedatives. They were allowed to feel nothing but raw pain. What most people don't realize today is the Allied leadership, including Roosevelt and Churchill, had known about these camps years earlier through various intelligence reports and smuggled photographs but chose to do nothing.

Prior to the war, the Nazi government shipped hundreds of Jews to both America and South America as a means of "cleansing" Germany, only to be rejected at the behest of the US government. They were returned to Germany where death greeted them at the ports. The Nazi Government has also repeatedly proposed finding them a possible new homeland outside of Europe; places like Ethiopia (Abyssinia), British Rhodesia, and especially French Madagascar were discussed. However, each of these proposals were rejected by the English and French. Meanwhile, Stalin had murdered tens of thousands of his own people, including fellow Slavs, Jews, and gypsies before the war even started.

There's also another story which most people don't know about. In addition to the six million Jews who perished, approximately five million gays, Slavs, political and religious dissenters, and gypsies--mostly Romani---were also murdered. In terms of percentage, the Romani gypsies lost a larger percentage of population than the Jews. But percentages only mattered to the Nazis who kept detailed records of every soul taken--from name and ages to location to the value of gold recovered from items such as jewelry or teeth, or in the amount of reusable leather recovered from luggage, wallets, purses or shoes. Badly needed resources were diverted from the war effort to expedite the delivery of these "undesirables" to concentration and extermination camps. The "Final Solution" was nothing if not efficient.

During the remaining months of the war, which ended in May, 1945, the Allies would push through Germany and occupied lands to liberate others held in these factories of death. For many it would be too little too late. For those that survived, life would begin again, albeit slowly; it would never be as they knew it before. Too many wounds. Too many memories. The once thriving Yiddish culture, with all it sounds and flavors, had all but ceased to exist. Only a remnant would continue to flourish in places like Chicago, Philadelphia, or New York. Of course, there was a certain irony. Had it not been for the persecution of the Jews, there would have been no international push for the creation of a Jewish homeland, but that's another story. As for the gypsies, without a public advocate, they were largely forgotten and faded quietly into the background of history and familiar ways. The others too gradually reintegrated back into society. Those not being able to bear the memories or face those who just a short time before had turned a blind eye to their suffering, simply chose to immigrate and start life anew. At the time of Stalin's death, he was preparing a new purge, which included members of the Jewish population under Russian control. By the time of his death in 1953, Stalin had murdered an estimated 20 million people.

Though the world pledged never to allow something like this to ever happen again, it has; many times over. It's happened in Bosnia, throughout Africa, parts of Asia, and it is currently happening in the Middle East to groups like the Kurds and Syrian Christians, and as before, the world has done little except for the occasional self-righteous admonishment. It has never ceased to amaze me the lengths humanity will go to in order to appease its gods in the name of "love" or "compassion" or racial purity; how many people must be sacrificed before their god is satisfied? Of course, in truth, it's rarely about a god or religion. Those are just handy tools. No less dangerous in the wrong hands than a gun. Ultimately is and has always been about power, wealth, and control. I can't help wondering when humanity will finally grow up. John Kennedy once said "Mankind must put an end to war, war would put an end to mankind".

As for Karl and Walther, Karl and his wife were taken to Auschwitz where the elderly couple were separated and murdered the same day

they arrived. For the Nazis, they were too old to be of any value. Many were murdered using a form of gas call Zykon B which was manufactured by the Bayer Corporation. The letter Walther's parent's received from the government doctor who had befriended them and their mentally handicapped son, read that Walther suffered an seizure and died unexpectedly. In reality, he was euthanized along with his new friends. Apparently, the Nazis didn't believed his life was worth living either. The program to murder those with inheritable disabilities, mental illnesses (which was classified as including so-called "deviant" or non-conforming behavior, depression, homosexuality) or the mentality handicapped was known as Action T4 and funded in large part by the Rockefeller Foundation. Approximately 270, 273 individuals died in this fashion. Not all were murdered however. Some 400,000 were sterilized for reasons like chronic depression or epilepsy. Finally, I would like to point out something else about Karl and Walther. They were relatives of mine, and there were others. I've added two links below which tell the story of two other relatives who faced the Holocaust---the Shoah as the Jews refer to it. One managed to survived. One did not.

We continue to turn a blind eye to what's happening around us. We're too wrapped in our video games and so-called "reality TV" to notice. We're always "to busy" to be involved in our children, our communities or even to vote. We've lost our democratic republic. In its place now stands an oligarchy. What will it take to get us to stop and look up?


Malchen Berlin
http://www.stolpersteine-hamburg.de/en.php?MAIN_ID=7&BIO_ID=1416

The Doctor's House (in German)
https://www.sprockhoevel.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Texte_Stadtarchiv/Das_Doktorhaus_in_Hasslinghausen.pdf



First They Came

In keeping with the topic, I would like to share one of my favorate poems about political apathy. It was written by Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892-1984) who was but one of the voices who spoke out against the rise of rise of evil which he saw slowly rising all around him. For speaking out, Pastor Niemoller was arrested in 1937 and sent to first to Sachsenhausen Consentration Camp and then later to Dachau where he was held until being liberated in 1945.


First they came for the Socialist and I did not speak out-
because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists and I did not speak out-
because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out-
because I was not a Jew.
They they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.