Moonhowlings

The Iraq War is over.  President Obama announced the end of the war at Fort Bragg yesterday.  The official date of the end of the war is today, December 15.  The colors have been cased.  Secretary Panetta addressed Iraq and remaining troops.  Iraq is a fully sovereign nation without military occupation.

 The Iraq War is one of our longest wars.  It started off as the shock and awe bombing of Baghdad and Americans were glued to their TVs, watching the spectacle.  We watched our troops enter Iraq and begin their long trek across the desert.  We honored our dead, those early victims of the war like Hopi warrior Lori Piestewa and captive Jessica Lynch who was rescued.  We donned our Support the Troops attire  and we saw anti-war icons like Code Pink and Cindy Sheehan on TV nightly.  But something detached.

Us.  We, the civilians, never really were a part of this war.  Unless we were a military family, we didn’t participate.  We didn’t sacrifice.  We didn’t alter our every day lives.  The war was 8 years, 8 months and 25 days long.  We didn’t engage our souls or follow the troops.  It was ‘their’ war, not ours.  

So it is over.  The players have all changed.  Very few great ‘stars’ came out of this war.  There were no Ikes, Pattons,   ‘Chestys’ or Westmorelands.  To my knowledge, former President Bush has not commented or spoken of the end of the war.  I saw no headlines, no nurses being kissed in Times Square and no ticker tape parades. 

How many lives were lost?  Over 4,000?  How many of our troops suffered life- altering injuries during that war?  Over 30,000?  How many mothers and fathers  missed seeing their children grow up because of a war that refused to be over?  How many kids felt the absence of a parent?  Unless we were a military family, we didn’t feel those things.  We barely feel them as a nation.  These are things that are out of our sight, sanitized, barely trotted out on Veterans Day.

There is just something quietly still and quietly dead wrong.  Our military deserves more recognition, more of our thanks.  More notice, more fanfare, more SOMETHING.  Are all those people who served in the Iraq  War going to just merge back in to society without missing a beat?  Will there be jobs for them?  Will the VA be there for them with full support for their injuries, both psychological and physical at a time when our politics are fighting every penny spent and the national debt is on everyone’s tongue? 

We, as a nation, need a National Day of Recognition for those who have given so much.  We who barely gave at all need a special day to say thank you and to honor those who gave given 8 years, 8 months and 25 days so that we didn’t have to give at all.  We need to do it sooner rather than later. 

The destroyer USS Shaw explodes after being hit by bombs.

  Most of the people who lived, first hand,  through the attack on Pearl harbor  are nearly 90 years old.  That’s very hard to believe.  The surprise attack left young men, barely more than boys, running for guns, weapons, anything to fight back with.  Many heroes arose that day.  Not all of the heroes lived to bask in the glory.  Some died and some were sealed in a watery tomb at Pearl Harbor. 

About 100 of the survivors will attend the ceremony at Pearl Harbor.  The ashes of one of the sailors will join the rest of his crewmen who never made it back from December 7, 1941. Approximately  2,390 Americans were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor. 

According to Voice of America:

Memorial events marking the December 7,1941 attack are being held throughout the country, the largest being on the Pacific island of Oahu, Hawaii, where the attack took place.

A dwindling number of Pearl Harbor survivors and World War Two veterans are among the 3,000 attendees expected at the event overlooking the USS Arizona Memorial, where the submerged remains of the fallen battleship rest. A moment of silence will be held at 7:55 in the morning , the exact moment Japan’s Imperial Navy began the surprise attack.

If you know someone who was at Pearl Harbor, run, don’t walk to talk to them and ask them to tell you of their experience.  Even if you know someone who was an adult on December 7, 1941, talk to them.  Find out what they were doing when they first heard the news.  Where  were they?  What did they think?  Did they ever think how much the news would alter their lives and the lives of their family and friends?  There is so much I now want to ask my parents and grandparents.  Opportunity knocked and I didn’t go to the door.  They are no longer living so I can’t ask them. 

From what I could gather from my relatives, they really were innocents who had no idea what the impact a world war would have on them, the family,  and America.   Pearl Harbor Day is much more than the 9-11- like attack on an unprepared nation.  Pearl Harbor marks the change of an isolationist, fairly agrarian country into a world super power.  The change was  almost instant, and we were never to return again to those times before Pearl Harbor. 

What memories do you have of your family members telling you about that day?  Did you have family members who served?  Did they all make it home? 

Let’s not forget Pearl Harbor and those who who were wounded or died.  Let’s not forget those who altered their lives and threw themselves in to a war movement unequal to anything this country has ever seen before or since.  There is a reason that the ‘greatest generation’ got its name.

 Huffingtonpost.com:

Tatyana Limanova, one of Russia’s most popular and respected newscasters, has been fired from her job at REN TV, after a video of her appearing to give President Barack Obama the middle finger on live TV went viral on the internet.

The incident occurred on Nov. 14, during a segment about Russian President Dmitry Medvedev assuming the chairmanship of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. Obama had held the position previously, and Limanova raised her middle finger as she read Obama’s name.

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Walter Isaacson’s ‘Steve Jobs’ Interview, Part 1

 Walter Isaacson’s ‘Steve Jobs’ Interview, Part 2

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From The Daily Beast,:

It’s the only one of the three major 9/11 memorials that’s still not fully funded, and many are wondering why. The final resting place of the 40 people on United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., will have a low marble wall carved with the names of the passengers and crew. The memorial will be officially dedicated Saturday in time for the 10th anniversary of the terror attacks, and be open to the public the next day. But the funding is still $10 million short of the $62 million needed, and Congress has allocated only about $14 million. The site still looks like it did 10 years ago on the morning of Sept. 11—a rolling meadow of grass and wildflowers.

$10 million short?  Holy cow.  Those people on that plane saved Congress’s bacon that day.  The object was the Capitol.  Had those brave souls not brought that plane down, every member of Congress present that day, not just at the Capitol but also in the surrounding area, could have very well become vaporized.  It is time to find the funds.  Perhaps they could give up some of their salary to help with funding.  Perhaps they could put up pay pal on all congressional sites.  This situation is inexcusable.  I feel confident the American people would be more than willing to donate towards a memorial at Shanksville, Pennsylvania to honor the dead. 

John Thompson III’s quick reaction to a melee on the court probably saved the day. His staff sprang in to action and removed the Hoyas from the court. As they left, they were pelted with water bottles and water. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior. It is uncertain if the Georgetown Hoyas will move on to the next round of games in Shanghai or not.

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Its time.  I resisted.  Now I have caved.  Time to start the Royal Wedding hype.  I hate myself for it also.

The Royal Wedding will take place Friday, April 29, 2011 at some ungodly hour like 4 am est.  Meanwhile the press is going absolutely nuts.  And as we all know, the Brit press is far worse than hours.  Every detail about the royals will be scrutinized.

Since Sarah Fergie Ferguson and I neither one got an invitation I checked out an article of Who’s Who with the Royals. The Brit royals now have all sorts of glamor designer names for their children.  Apparently they are no longer content naming their children, Charles, Elizabeth, Margaret, Andrew, Phillip or those other old fashioned names.  Now we find Camilla, Savannah, Zara, Autumn  (in-law and untitled),  Serena, Margarita, Columbus and Cassius.    The bride -to-be is a commoner.  When she marries Prince William, she becomes royalty.  According to Time:

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An 8.9 earthquake hit Japan near Tokyo during the night.   It was around 2 in the afternoon in Japan when the earthquake hit.  The epicenter was right off the coast.  Tsunamis have hit Japan.  Hawaii and the entire Pacific Basin are under tsunami warning meaning imminent danger.  Our entire west coast line, Canada and Alaska are under this warning. 

Pictures coming in of the tsunamis already hitting Japan have been in TV all night.  This earthquake is the largest in Japan since such data has been recorded. 

We will use this thread for updates. 

Much has been said about peaceful demonstration and the Egyptian people just wanting to be free.  Perhaps we need to re-examine how peaceful the revolt really was.  The Cairo Museum was broken in to and artifacts from antiquity were damaged or stolen.  There were hundreds of deaths.  Supposedly nice people were hurling stones.  Anderson Cooper and Fox News crew Greg Palkot and Olaf Wiig  were  beaten up pretty badly.  And on Friday, as it was all supposedly coming to an end, the Huffington Post reported:

On Friday February 11, the day Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a 60 MINUTES story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy.

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Anderson Cooper reports from an undisclosed location in Egypt.  He and his crew were attacked by an angry mob.  Katie Couric and Christiana Amanpour have also been jostled about.  Frankly, it is not safe.  No American should be in Egypt right now.

These folks are luck to have survived. Is any American safe?

On a serious note, Jon Stewart interviews Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to discuss the middle east situation.  It was an informative interview. 

Its hard to sort out the Egypt politics. What should the US do? What position should we take? Is there any reason we would send our military into Egypt?

From the Daily Beast:

Many of the world’s great archaeologists and art scholars fear they are about to relive a nightmare.

Eight years ago, they watched in horror as looters raided Iraq’s National Museum in Baghdad and carted off thousand of artifacts representing much of the archaeological heritage of the Arab world.

Now looters and vandals are threatening a museum that holds treasures that are among the most iconic on earth—the Egyptian Antiquities Museum in Cairo, home to the golden death mask and gem-encrusted jewelry found in the tomb of King Tutankhamen, among tens of thousands of other priceless items that capture 4,000 years of Egyptian history.

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From the News & Messenger:

BEDFORD, Va. (AP) — The National D-Day Memorial plans to reinstall a bust of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that drew opposition from veterans groups, local officials and some lawmakers.

 Memorial President Robin Reed told The News & Advance that the bust will be included in a new Allied leaders section. The new exhibit also will include busts of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, Charles de Gaulle, Clement Attlee and Chiang Kai-shek.

 The exhibit is expected to open in 2011. Reed says memorial officials are still working on the design.

 The Stalin bust was originally installed at the memorial in June. The bust was removed in September after veterans groups and others protested its display.

I dislike Stalin as much as the next guy.  My father, a WWII vet, also hated Stalin.  The family joke around the house was always if only people had listened to Churchill, Patton and my father, we would not have the problems we are having (cold war).  However, to deny his existence in WWII is a little much.  There is also the point of view that we might not have won had Stalin not been in the picture. 

Countries are often morally compromised in wartime.  They often find themselves in alliance with dubious characters.  In times of war, most countries aren’t in the position to take the high road. 

This new area of the D-Day Memorial sounds like a good plan and a compromise.  Donations were down significantly because of the Stalin bust.  It was removed after much controversy.  We can’t  ignore the fact that the dictator was an ally((well, sort of)   and we also don’t want to allow his wretched presence to stand over a memorial  to our heroes and our war dead. 

Stalin was a killer.  Historians make a good case for him being worse than Hitler in sheer number of people killed under his orders.  No glory or honor for him is deserved.  Let there be a ‘leaders’ section.’    That will just have to do.  Perhaps the controversy has been good for the country.  We need to not forget the evil that some men do.

(The removal of the bust of Stalin was in 2010.)

National D-Day Memorial

As we bid adieu to 2010 and welcome 2011, perhaps it is appropriate to review the last decade and our last century, since most of us were born in the 20th century.  It’s difficult to believe we are fully into the second decade of the 21st century. 

Kenny G will take care of 1900-1999.  We will have to fill in some remembrances from 2000-2010.  As I listened for an appropriate Auld Lang Syne, I wondered if those who want to go back in time really want to relive the past 110 years and the turbulence. 

The preceding century was none too easy either, with the American Civil War piercing  the very soul of our nation.  No one who lived here free or enslaved escaped the ravages of those times.  More men were killed in the Civil War than in all our other wars combined.  Yet we prepare to commemorate that war this summer, in 2011–the Sesquicentennial.

We have had an election crisis in 2000.  We have suffered an attack on our homeland, 2 wars that still go on, and a financial crash that is only surpassed by the Great Depression in the last decade.  Yet we are Americans and we have survived.  Let’s look at some of the most significant accomplishments of the past 110 yearsm with emphasis on the past 10.

First question…should you chose to voice an opinion–what inventions or events most affected mankind in the past 110 years?  What would the top 3 be?

The Winter Solstice has been observed in most cultures since time began.  It signaled the shortest day of the year.  The growing season had stopped in the northern latitudes.  Early people looked on winter as a time of dread.  In ancient times, many people didn’t make it through the winter.  They died or their loved ones died.  They battled the elements, faced starvation, ran out of fuel, and were often ravaged by disease.  Winter was deadly to early people.  Even as late as last century, winter could spell destruction  for people.  Depending on where you live and your circumstances, winter can be deadly even in our modern culture. 

Today we know that the solstice is caused by the tilt of the earth’s axis.  For the unscientific, we say that solstice is the shortest day and the longest night  of the year.  The ancients celebrated.  They knew something was up celestially.  They knew that the days had been getting shorter since what we know think of as June 21.  And they knew that now they had hard months ahead but that the days were going to get longer and there would be more sunlight. 

Non-pagan peoples also have their roots in this seasonal event.  Jews, Christians and Muslims all have festival days associated with the Winter Solstice.  Hanukkah and Christmas nearly always occur around the same time.  Perhaps early Christians used this time to convert pagans to Christianity.  After all, they were celebrating hope. 

It was critical to early man to renew.  That fear that the sun might never reappear gave way to great joy near the Solstice that the sun would come back and life would begin anew.  Meanwhile, the ancients prayed to their gods to make it happen. 

The ancients underwent Herculean efforts to mark and observe the Solstices.  Stonehenge, Maeshowe in Scotland and Newgrange in Ireland all align special light during  the equinoxes and solstices.  Each structure highlights an important aspect of astronomical light.  The fairly new field of archaeo-astronomy has thousands of examples of ancient man observing these celestial turning points.  North America has its own sites, the most famous being the Sun Dagger of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. 

Generally we think of solar and lunar architecture as being druid or celtic.  However, there are examples all over the world and on every continent except Antarctica.   In America many people incorporate the ancient symbols of the Winter Solstice in Christmas or Hanakah.  Observers of pagan based religions practice the old ways.

While most cultures celebrated the Winter Solstice, one might ask, why celebrate?   Good question.  All sorts of superstitions and rituals were performed for good luck and to ward off bad things and evil that could happen.  Of all early people, the Celts are probably the group many of us are most familiar with who celebrated Winter Solstice.

In Celtic myth, the Holly king and the Oak king, twins,  were in a continual struggle for  domination.  At the Winter Solstice, the Holly King is overpowered and the Oak King rules until he is overthrown at the Summer Solstice.  Winter Solstice is a time for celebration because it marks the beginning of the days getting longer.  The cycle of the year is represented by this turmoil of continual struggle.  Neither can exist without the other.

Many of our Christmas traditions include pagan ritual involving Winter Solstice.  Yule logs, Christmas trees, Santa Claus, Mistletoe,  the date of Christmas,  holly, the colors red and green, wreaths, and ivy all have roots in pagan culture or in other religions.  Religions do not just spring up in isolation.  They merge and infuse and often take the old beliefs and remodel them into newer ones. 

So regardless of your religion or culture, you are sure to find a fit somewhere in the winter holiday season around the Winter Solstice.  Most of us are fortunate enough to be able to throw another log on the fire and sit back and let the winds howl outside.

Winter Solstice Information

Music Tributes under the fold

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