Remembering: VE Day

May 7, 1945 Germany is at the peace table with Allied forces.

General Alfred Jodl is representing the forces of Germany, and tries to only gain a surrender with the western Allies, so that they may try and fight off the Russians.

But General Dwight D. Eisenhower demands complete and total unconditional surrender of all German forces.

Grand Admiral Karl Donitz, the current leader of Germany, authorizes Jodl to accept the terms.

Russian General Ivan Susloparov and French General Francois Sevez sign as witnesses, and American General Walter Bedell Smith signs for the Allied Forces.

The war in Europe was officially over, Victory in Europe had come.

Most of the world celebrates May 8 as VE Day, but it was May 7 when peace came.

The Art of Hypocritical Thinking

The amount of hate directed at George Zimmerman never ceases to amaze me. Do a Google search of "kill Zimmerman" and you will see the extent of the hate/threats of violence directed at him.

The irony is that those who are upset/angry with what happened to Trayvon Martin are conducting themselves in the way that had originally upset them, but can’t comprehend that. They only care that their version is perceived as the right one whether they are right or wrong.

They act in a mob mentality, where they will vocalize their hate for Zimmerman and others will join in with them. There seems to be a sense of being able to do and say anything they want and no one should be able to shut them up.

At one point there was a Twitter account "killzimmerman", which was set up by someone shortly after the killing of Trayvon Martin so that they and others could tweet their hatred and threats of violence against George Zimmerman.

Then there are those like Spike Lee who tweeted what he thought was Zimmerman’s address which gives those who are inclined to go there and harass/threaten Zimmerman. Unfortunately, the address was wrong and innocent parties were harassed.

Then there is Twitter itself. They are basically silent on their service being used to threaten people. I do believe in freedom of speech which means you take the good with the bad but there are limitations to that free speech such as you can't yell "fire" in a theatre, etc.


Below is the correspondence I had with Twitter.

How can we help?: Offensive content Reported user(s): @ killzimmerman
Offensive Tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/KillZimmerman/status/185114089876488192
How long ago did this begin?: within the week How many times has this happened?: daily Blocked user(s): No

Description of problem: This username and what is being posted is just disgusting and I can’t believe this has been allowed to go on for so long. I did not join Twitter to see this kind of crap.

This was their response back.
Hello,

This is a message to let you know that we’ve received your report and we’re taking a look into your issue. If we find that your report can be resolved through our help articles, you may not hear back from us. Below are common issues that can be resolved through our Help Center articles:

Reporting for another Twitter user: Whether they are a friend or a celebrity, we’ll need to be in contact with the person directly involved. If you are a friend of the person affected by this issue, please have them file a ticket.

Reporting bullying or harassment:  As a policy, we do not mediate content or intervene in disputes between users. This means that users are allowed to post potentially inflammatory content, provided that they do not violate the Twitter Terms of Service and Rules.

Here is some additional information about dealing with bullying: 
http://support.twitter.com/articles/15794

Reporting offensive content:  As a policy, we do not mediate content, including potentially offensive content. Twitter provides a communication service that allows controversial posts even though some may disagree with the content. We understand that everyone has different levels of sensitivity towards content, and that you may feel uncomfortable with the posted content. If there is something that you don’t agree with, or find insulting, it’s best to block that user.

This help page has instructions on blocking other users:  http://support.twitter.com/entries/117063

Thanks,
Twitter Trust & Safety

This was my response back:
Thank you for your reply, although I am not impressed with the response. I do understand what free speech is but there IS a difference between free speech and speech that promotes violence (free speech does have limitations to it such as you are NOT allowed to yell fire in a theater). Taking the route that you have is a cop out. Having the handle @ killzimmerman is way different than getting upset and posting a comment.

 Sincerely A Current Twitter User,

There were also two separate instances where NBC employees were caught selectively editing audio/video to make it look like Zimmerman was racist/guilty. When you have companies like Twitter and the media being in cahoots no wonder people feel entitled to behave any way they believe. There were those in leadership roles taking advantage of the situation inflaming the situation. There is now a lawsuit against NBC, Al Sharpton, and the lawyers for the Martin family by George Zimmerman.

How is the relationship between different races helped by this? Where is the outrage when it is for instance black on black attacks? Are those victims any less important and where is the outrage when it happens? The race baiting does no one or any community any good. What is the sleight of hand for? What is really being hidden from us when those in the know push the hatred buttons?

We deserve better starting from the top down. Isn’t it time for them to be held accountable!

Salafist Riot in Bonn, Germany Injures 29 Police

A protest in Bonn, Germany, of thirty people, was attacked by 500-600 rioting Salafist Muslims, on Sunday.

Police, separating the two groups, saw twenty-nine of their own go down to injuries sustained in the violence.

Over one hundred people were arrested, including a twenty-five year old Muslim, who is accused of stabbing two of the officers.

The protesters had been decrying the recent handing out of Koran's, translated into German, in their neighborhoods.

North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Ralf Jaeger said he would lead a search to identify all Salafists who wanted to cause violence. He and other authorities hope that such a move would help identify trouble before it happens.

Deadly Tornado Strikes Japan

Tsukuba, Japan has been struck by a tornado, which lies about forty miles north east of Tokyo.

The twister came through, destroying businesses and homes, knocking cars and power poles about.

One death was reported, and fifteen injured. Thirty to fifty houses were destroyed. Over 100,000 people are without power.

Tornadoes are rare in Japan, but no unheard of. They are most commonly seen in the US where they've been particularly deadly the last couple years.

George Lindsey; Dead at 83

George Lindsey, the actor who made Goober Pyle famous, has died at the age of 83.

Born in Alabama, he graduated college in 1952 and then served in the Air Force for three years. He then went to acting school and was on Broadway. Lindsey would go on to appear on many TV shows and in some movies, including voicing for Disney.

But it was his portrayal of Goober for which he was, and will always be, remembered by the public. Lindsey played the character of Goober from 1964-1968 on The Andy Griffith Show, 1968-1971 on Mayberry RFD, and on Hee Haw from 1971-1993.


During an interview in 1985 he said, "America has grown up with me. Goober is every man; everyone finds something to like about ol' Goober. There's a residual effect of knowing I've made America laugh. I'm not the only one, but I've contributed something."

Hollande Wins French Election

Socialist Francois Hollande has won the French election. He beat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy with 50.8% of the votes. Sarkozy took 49.2%, clearly a closer race than the French and international press had previously suggested.

Segolene Royal, who lost to Sarkozy in the 2007 election, and is the mother of Hollande's four children, said that she has a "feeling of profound joy to see millions and millions of French renew the tie to the left. The French can be confident. We will need everyone to help the country recover."

Hollande has pledged to greatly increase government spending, despite the country's huge debts. He also plans to increase the size of the government, promoting more control over the country's infrastructure. His plans also include the down sizing of the French military, and pulling it out of foreign commitments.

South Korea Attempting to Stop Smuggling of Flesh Capsules

South Korean customs officials are strengthening inspections in efforts to stop the smuggling of human flesh capsules.

Since August of 2011, when the first capsules were found, authorities have caught 17,451 capsules in thirty-five attempts to smuggle them into South Korea.

The Chinese pills are made from the crushed bodies of dead babies and infants, and taken by men hoping to increase their sexual performance. They are often contaminated with bacteria and other disease carrying organisms.

Remembering: The Hindenburg

The Hindenburg was the fastest, largest, and most luxurious blimp. More than eight hundred feet long, it could travel eight thousand miles, carrying ninety-seven passengers, with speeds nearing one hundred miles per hour. It was filled with hydrogen, instead of the safer helium, for better handling. During 1936 it handled ten cross Atlantic journeys.

On May 6, 1937 it was flying into Lakehurst, New Jersey. Weather conditions delayed it's arrival from morning to evening. When it was finally cleared for docking, the captain brought the ship in way too fast, and an emergency reverse was required.

Within moments of the reverse, leaking gas was noticed by the crew. Moments later there was fire, and then the whole ship was ablaze. Spectators awaiting the arrival said they could feel the heat from a mile away. Thirty-five of the ninety-seven people on board, died from the fire or in attempts to jump from the blimp; one grounds crew man also lost his life.

On WLS radio, announcer Herbert Morrison, gave a live account of the disaster, one which still rings through history. Cameras were rolling as well, so some of it was recorded visually for posterity.

Remembering: The Four Minute Mile

May 6, 1954 Roger Bannister does what had thought to be impossible. On that day he ran the mile in under four minutes, with a time of 3:59.4.

Born March 23, 1929 in Middlesex, England, his family was poor, and he had wanted to study medicine, so he ran trying for scholarships. Oxford gave him one, and there he went.

He caused a stir, when he declined an offer to run the 1500 meter in the 1948 London Olympics. To him studying was more important. Running in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he placed fourth. After taking ridicule from the English press over not being first, he decided to go after the four minute record.

At the annual Amateur Athletic Association in Oxford, Bannister showed the world what he was capable of. In August at the British Empire Games in Vancouver, British Columbia he would do it again with 3:58.8.

After finishing at Oxford he became a neurologist and a neuroscience researcher. Later he served as director of the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in London. In 1975, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

Remembering: Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in the United States as a day to drink and celebrate Mexican culture. Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada; the Cayman Islands; Malta; and Brisbane, Queensland, Australia all celebrate it as well. Yet in Mexico, only a small area of Puebla does.

The origin of any kind of cinco de Mayo celebration starts in 1862. In 1861, the French began invading Mexico. On May 5, 1862 an 8,000 strong French army, that was extremely well equipped, was badly beaten by a poorly equipped Mexican army of around 4,000, in the state of Puebla.

The area celebrated the French loss, but over a year later France had conquered Mexico City and established Maximilian I as Emperor of Mexico. Though in 1867 Mexico ousted Maximilian and had him executed. Mexico once was again free.

Yet cinco de Mayo had spread. Mexican immigrants in California celebrated it, and continued to do so every year. In the 1940s the Chicano movement helped spread it further across the US, and the civil rights movements in the 50s and 60s did so as well. Then in the 1980s beer companies started capitalizing on the celebration and it became instituted as an American drinking holiday.

Since then it has grown bigger each year, and spread internationally. Tis now one of the top drinking days in the US, and almost comparable to St. Patrick's Day. On cinco de Mayo, most Americans celebrate being Mexican, or at least drinking Mexican beers, even if in Mexico it is just another day.