Pearl Harbor Day Forever

"December 7th will live forever as a day of infamy." President Roosevelt predicted before Congress in his declaration of war on Japan.

Infamy in Thai is cheu sia and last year I asked several Thais about Pearl Harbor. My question stumped them all and I repeated the question to several British friends, "What does December 7th mean to you?"

"Is it your birthday?"

Roosevelt's Day of Infamy has been losing its power to the more modern 9/11.

Even 9/11 meant little to Thais.

"9/11 New 7/11?" The corporation had announced a price increase on over 500 products.

"No. Not new 9/11." I didn't bother to explain about kreung-bins crashing into the World Trade Towers or Japanese planes sinking the US Fleet. It was all so long ago and so much has happened in the meanwhile like the Red Shirt rebellion and Britney Spears getting divorced from K-Fed.

Pearl Harbor Day was not my birthday, but it was for my younger brother Michael and it always felt funny celebrating December 7th with a cake and candles. My baby brother Michael didn't care. "Makes it easy for people to remember my birthday."

12/7 will always be Michael Charlie Day for me.

Tora-Tora-Tora.

My mother loved that movie too.

Hypocrisy Of The Endless War

A bomber struck a Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

Over twenty young people were killed by the explosion.

The destruction was horrific.

Young innocents.

Dead.

Why?

Israel attacking a Palestine beach.

Yemeni children killed by a drone missile strike ordered by Obama.

Bloody Sunday by the Brits.

When will there be peace.

Beautiful Weekend

The sun is shining on Fort Greene. The sidewalks are crowded with young people. The bars are serving drinks to football fans. There is not a cloud in the sky. New York is at peace. Syria is at war. cnn.news headlined 'Men sprawled on a tile floor, shirtless and convulsing. Children, too, seemingly unable to control their flailing. These are the images Obama has shown some senators in closed-door briefings.' Having been burned by GW Bush's WMD and two long brutal wars Americans are as desirous of isolation as a Trappist monk. Silence. The Huffington Post reported that 'a decent society would put people to work -- even if this required more government spending on roads, bridges, ports, pipelines, parks and schools....yet while attention is focused on Syria, food stamps for the nation's poor are being cut. House Republicans would eliminate food stamps for more than 800,000 Americans who now receive them but still do not get enough to eat or have only a barely adequate diet.' This is all true. The Atlantic published a badly-written article on Arab thinktanker William Polk's view on the civil war. The venerated politician cast doubt over blame for the gas attacks and asserted that the insurgents are corrupted by Al-Qaada, echoing the opinions of naysayers in the Land of the Free. No one wants another war. Not me and neither do most generals in the Pentagon, because the military's fragility matches that of the USSR after Afghanistan. Mutiny. Defeat. Dissolution. And then Putin, but no one can believe the truth, until they are ready to reject their belief in lies. And the truth is more obvious than a dog's balls. Someone bombed Syrians' with gas. My money is on Assad. Why? Once scum, always scum. FREE SYRIA, FREE PALESTINE, FREE THE WORLD

A State Of Alert

On the evening of 9/11/12 unknown forces assaulted the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. A fierce mortar and RPG barrage forced local security forces to abandon their position, as attackers stormed the nine-foot walls topped by barbed wire and set fire to the diplomatic residence. Ambassador Stevens and Information Specialist Sean Smith perished from smoke inhalation in the lock-down room after an attempt to break out of the consulate after Libyan militia members told the security team, "We've got to leave, we can't hold the perimeter." The morning sun rose over Benghazi with four dead Americans. The government initially announced that the deadly attack came as a reaction to the outrageous film THE INNOCENCE OF MUSLIMS, however ensuing information cause the White House to reiterate this report and at the UN General Assembly President Obama vowed to avenge the fallen. This was not good enough for the GOP who have demanded for an honest accounting of the mistakes at the U.S. consulate in Libya. California Congressman Daniel Issa led the charges against Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice for misleading the populace as to the safety of the nation from al-Qaada. At this point those that know what happened aren't saying that those that don't know are saying too much as usual, but Mitt Romney has battered the President on this issue in stump speeches throughout the swing states, bolstered by the congressional testimony of a. Lt Col. Wood, who said that at the US diplomatic special security teams had been downsized since August, but diplomats have long been at odds with their security teams, which like to play it very safe with good reason, but also interfere with the daily business of the embassy. Last year I lived at a diplomatic mission in Europe. A fierce English bulldog and I were the only security at the residence at night. Dido was eternally alert, although I tended to sleep deeply on the top floor. Drink might have had something to do with that lapse. Despite that the ambassador and I felt very safe. Then again we weren't in Libya or the American embassy. Tuesday night Mitt Romney will meet to debate President Obama. This issue will be big. Nothing will bring back the dead and my thoughts go out to their families. They fell in service to this country. We may never know the whys, but the guy in the above photo will get his. And that is a given.

Who Done It

Violent protests against the film trailer INNOCENCE OF MUSLIMS continue to plague the Muslim world and US officials have attempted to find out who made the incendiary fourteen-minute movie that resulted in the death of the US ambassador to Libya along with two of his fellow countrymen. The blame has shifted from a fictitious filmmaker to a far-right Christian group called Media For Christ, which had filed for a film shot on a Paramount set. Police are questioning its anti-Islamic president, Joseph Nassralla, but a spokesman of Media For Christ swore that the charity had nothing to do with the movie. Ex-film student Karam El Masry has yet to be interrogated by the LAPD. No one wants to admit their involvement with this horrid film and I doubt anyone will come forward to claim responsibility. They live in the shadows and have retreated back into them, leaving behind some sucker to hold the bag. And it won't be Sam Bacile.

DoomsDay On Its Way

Last week Iran marked Defence Industry Day with the unveiling of a new accuracy of short-range defensive missiles with the range of 300 kilometers. The distance between Tehran and Jerusalem is 1561 km or 970 miles. The Aerospace Force of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution has several rockets capable of greater distances such as the Fajr-3, Shahab-3, and Ghadr-110, although military experts question whether the Iranians are overstating the capabilities of these weapons a la Saddam of Iraq. For days ago the Iranian president stated that Israel's existence is an "insult to all humanity." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to this statement by admitting that Israel is ready to strike at Iran, despite President Shimon Peres saying that Israel could not “go it alone” and should depend on the US when dealing with Iran and the head of the Labor Party said, “The entire Iran debate is reckless, truly reckless." Harratx reported that Israeli Defense officials have visit with the ultra-Orthodox Shas party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, to discuss a possible Israeli attack on Iran. The 91 year-old rabbi is reputed to be against such an aggressive posture, but also told his followers over the radio, "You know what situation we're in, there are evil people, Iran, about to destroy us. ... We must pray before [the almighty] with all our heart." "Torah Torah Torah." The attack depends entirely on US support, for the Israeli Air Force cannot attack Iran without re-fueling from US tanker planes, but Netanyahu is pressing for action before the US election to force Obama from office and even called for the President to come to Israel to pledge his support for an assault on Iran. The Jerusalem Post quoted Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who said on Monday that Israelis were "afraid of their own shadow (and are ) therefore trying to control this disappointing atmosphere by brouhaha and psychological warfare, but should know that propaganda will not resolve their problems." The Jerusalem Post came out against the attack; see url http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=281943 Smoke and mirrors can reflect whatever the illusionist wants to project to his audience, if the crowd are sufficiently prepared to accept a mirage. ps Mitt Romney has entered the fray by saying, “As I said recently when visiting Jerusalem, ‘We have seen the horrors of history. We will not stand by. We will not watch them play out again.” Torah torah torah indeed.