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~~ Peace Flag #2

World Peace Day? Not Bloody Likely. Nobody even knows what it means any more. I recall once finding a Peace Flag online went to one of the various photo sites, typed in "Peace Flag" and was blinded by a screen full of US Flags. Since when has the US stood for peace? This country has been at peace for a grand total of 17 years since it was founded on July 4, 1776. That's Seventeen, like the name of a teen fashion mag, seven-freaking-teen, somewhere around 3% of its existence. I'm still flabbergasted. We now have a President who wants a peace prize even though he's committing acts of war as we speak. One of his predecessors got a peace prize and also created a committee to formulate the weekly kill list. There are really only two impediments, two things standing in the way of world peace; governments and religions, but I fear that we will never be free from either, let alone both.

Today is International Students' Day. On March 16, 1939, Hitler proclaimed the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia from Prague Castle, whereupon Czechoslovakia was occupied by the Wehrmacht. On the anniversary of Czech independence, October 28, 1939 the Czechs demonstrated against NAZI occupation and Jan Opletal, a student of the Medical Faculty of the Charles University in Prague, was shot. He died on November 15, 1939, which provoked widespread student demonstrations against the NAZIs. On November 17, 1939, nine student leaders were executed, all of the universities were closed, and 1,200 students were sent off to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany. This, sources say, was the origin of International Students' Day, which sources also say is celebrated in many countries. I suspect that this is a European thing, I've certainly never heard of it here; in Europe they have long had student unions as in unions of students, whereas here, student unions are buildings where students go for coffee and snacks, dances, and the like. We also aren't really that concerned with what the rest of the world does or does not do, and, lastly we don't shoot student demonstrators after the fact, only during the act, and we only send them to jail or prison and not concentration camps so it really isn't a thing for us, I guess.

It's National Take a Hike Today. On a weekday, in the fall, when hours of daylight get short. They should have made this a Saturday or Sunday and not a numrerical date. But sure, take a hike.

It is both Homemade Bread Day and National Butter Day. Clearly a miraculous coincidence. Don't know what to say.

On this day in history:

1558 – Queen Mary I of England died and was succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I.

1777 – Articles of Confederation (United States) were submitted to the states for ratification.

1800 – The United States Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C.

1810 – Sweden declared war on the United Kingdom starting the Anglo-Swedish War

1831 – Ecuador and Venezuela were separated from Gran Colombia.

1856 – The US Army established Fort Buchanan to help control land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase.

1858 – Modified Julian Day zero contrast with the real Julian Day Zero, 12:00 January 1, 4713 BCE

1858 – The city of Denver, Colorado was founded, Leroy

1869 – The Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, was inaugurated.

1903 – The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split into two groups: The Bolsheviks and Mensheviks

1939 – Nine Czech students were executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. All Czech universities were shut down and more than 1,200 students were sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students' Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic.

1947 – The Ronald Reagan led Screen Actors Guild implemented an anti-Communist loyalty oath.

1947 – John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observed the basic principles of the transistor

1950 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 89 was adopted.

1967 – LBJ sais "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...We are making progress."

1968 – NBC broadcast the infamous "Heidi game".

1969 – Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the US met in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations exactly as if the US were known to abide by treaties.

1970 – Fall guy Lieutenant William Calley had a show trial for the My Lai Massacre

1970 – The Soviet Union's Lunokhod 1 landed on Mare Imbrium on the Moon, the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world

1973 – U.S. President Richard Nixon told Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook."

1989 – A student demonstration in Prague was quelled by riot police,starting an uprising aimed at overthrowing the communist government

1993 – The US House of Representatives passed a resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement.

2000 – Alberto Fujimori was removed from office as president of Peru without a color revolution

2019 – The alleged first case of COVID-19 was allegedly traced to a man who had visited a market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, whereupon assorted persons began calling it "The China Virus"

Some people who were born on this day:

The question of souls is old—we demand our bodies, now. We are tired of promises, god is deaf, and his church is our worst enemy.

~~ Voltairine de Cleyre

1412 – Zanobi Strozzi, painter
1503 – Bronzino, painter
1685 – Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, commander and explorer
1749 – Nicolas Appert, chef, invented canning
1790 – August Ferdinand Möbius, mathematician and astronomer
1866 – Voltairine de Cleyre, author and activist
1878 – Grace Abbott, social worker
1899 – Douglas Shearer, engineer
1902 – Eugene Wigner, physicist and mathematician
1904 – Isamu Noguchi, sculptor and architect
1906 – Soichiro Honda, engineer and businessman
1916 – Shelby Foote, historian and author
1917 – Ruth Aaronson Bari, mathematician
1919 – Kim Heungsou, painter and educator
1920 – Camillo Felgen, singer and songwriter
1922 – Stanley Cohen, biochemist and academic
1925 – Charles Mackerras, oboe player and conductor
1927 – Robert Drasnin, clarinet player and composer
1938 – Gordon Lightfoot, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1939 – Auberon Waugh, journalist and author
1940 – Luke Kelly, singer, folk musician, and actor
1942 – Bob Gaudio, singer, songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
1944 – Gene Clark, singer, songwriter, and musician
1944 – Rem Koolhaas, architect and academic, designed the Seattle Central Library
1944 – Sammy Younge Jr., civil rights activist
1945 – Lesley Abdela, journalist and activist
1946 – Martin Barre, guitarist and songwriter
1947 – Rod Clements, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist
1948 – East Bay Ray, guitarist
1955 – Peter Cox, singer and songwriter
1957 – Jim Babjak, guitarist and songwriter
1962 – Dédé Fortin, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1965 – Amanda Brown, violinist and composer
1966 – Ben Allison, bassist and composer
1966 – Jeff Buckley, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1966 – Kate Ceberano, singer, songwriter, and actress
1966 – Richard Fortus,guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1967 – Tab Benoit, singer. songwriter, and guitarist
1967 – Ronnie DeVoe, singer, producer, and actor
1970 – Paul Allender, guitarist and songwriter
1972 – Kimya Dawson, singer, songwriter and guitarist
1973 – Andreas Hedlund, singer, songwriter, and producer
1981 – Sarah Harding, singer, dancer, and actress
1982 – Hollie Smith, singer, songwriter, and guitarist

Some people who died on this day:

Revolution is not a one time event.

~~ Audre Lorde

1558 – Hugh Aston, composer
1648 – Thomas Ford, viol player, composer, and poet
1776 – James Ferguson, astronomer and instrument maker
1780 – Bernardo Bellotto, painter and illustrator
1835 – Carle Vernet, painter and lithographer
1917 – Auguste Rodin,sculptor and illustrator
1929 – Herman Hollerith, statistician and businessman
1932 – Charles W. Chesnutt, lawyer, author, and activist
1936 – Ernestine Schumann-Heink, singer
1955 – James P. Johnson, pianist and composer
1959 – Heitor Villa-Lobos, guitarist and composer
1968 – Mervyn Peake, poet, author, and illustrator
1979 – John Glascock, singer and bass player
1990 – Robert Hofstadter, physicist and academic
1992 – Audre Lorde, poet, essayist, memoirist, and activist
1995 – Alan Hull, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
2000 – Louis Néel, physicist and academic
2001 – Michael Karoli, guitarist and songwriter
2003 – Arthur Conley, singer and songwriter
2006 – Ruth Brown, singer, songwriter and, actress
2012 – Billy Scott, singer and songwriter
(born 1942)

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Homemade Bread Day
National Butter Day
International Students' Day
World Peace Day (as if)
National Take a Hike Day

Today's Tunes

The US is on the verge of 250 Years old, while the peaceful US is on the edge of 17

Robert Darsnin