No to June 14, 2025.
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
80: Bonhoeffer
80 years ago today (April 9, 1945)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran Pastor and Anti-Nazi Resistance Member, was
hanged by the Germans at the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp in Germany.
He was 39 years old.
Bonhoeffer was born on February
4, 1909 in Breslau, Germany (today Wroclaw, Poland.)
He had a Twin Sister, Sabine.
He took Hebrew has an Elective in
School.
He studied at both the University
of Berlin and Humboldt University (graduating Summa Cum Laude.)
In 1930 Bonhoeffer moved to the United States to with
the intent of attending New York City's Union Theological Seminary, but instead
taught Sunday School at the Abyssinian
Baptist Church in Harlem and became aware of the Social Injustices of Black Americans
in the US.
He returned to Germany in 1931 where he was a Lecturer in Systematic Theology
at the University of Berlin.
At this time he underwent a
personal Conversion, as he changed from being a Theologian primarily attracted
to the Intellectual Side of Christianity, to being a dedicated man of personal
faith, resolved to literally carry out the teachings of Christ, revealed in the
Gospels.
Bonhoeffer was ordained a Pastor
on November 15, 1931.
In January 1933, two days after
Hitler was installed as Chancellor, Bonhoeffer delivered a radio address in
which he attacked Hitler and warned Germany against slipping into an idolatrous
cult of the Führer (Leader), who could very well turn out to be Verführer (Misleader,
Seducer).
In April 1933 Bonhoeffer raised
the first Church Resistance to Hitler and the Nazis’ discrimination of the
Jews.
In August 1933, Bonhoeffer was
deputized by opposition Church Leaders to draft the "Bethel
Confession," as a statement of faith in opposition to the Deutsche
Christen Movement.
It is notable for affirming God's
Fidelity to Jews as His Chosen People, the "Bethel Confession" was
eventually so watered down to make it more palatable that ultimately Bonhoeffer
refused to sign it.
In September 1933, the Nationalist
Church Synod at Wittenberg voluntarily passed a resolution to apply the Aryan Paragraph
within the Church, meaning that Pastors and Church Officials of Jewish Descent
were to be removed from their posts.
Regarding this as an affront to
the principle of Baptism, Martin Niemöller founded the Pfarrernotbund (Pastors'
Emergency League). In November, a rally of 20,000 Deutsche Christens demanded
the removal of the Jewish Old Testament from the Bible, which was seen by many
as heresy, further swelling the ranks of the Pastors Emergency League.
It was the forerunner of the
Bekennende Kirche (Confessing Church), which aimed to preserve historical,
Biblically based Christian Beliefs and Practices.
Bonhoeffer joined the Confessing
Church in opposition to the Nazis.
When Bonhoeffer was offered a Parish
Post in eastern Berlin in the autumn of 1933, he refused it in protest at the
Nationalist Policy, and he accepted a two-year appointment as a Pastor of two
German-speaking Protestant Churches in London: the German Lutheran Church in
Dacres Road, Sydenham and the German Reformed Church of St Paul's, Goulston
Street, Whitechapel.
In 1935, Bonhoeffer was offered a
coveted opportunity to study Non-Violent Resistance under Mahatma Gandhi in his
ashram.
However Bonhoeffer decided to
return to Germany instead, where he was the head at an Underground Seminary in
Finkenwalde for training Confessing Church Pastors.
August 1936, Bonhoeffer's
authorization to teach at the University of Berlin was revoked after he was
denounced as a "Pacifist and Enemy of the State."
In 1937 the Nazis declared the Confessing
Church to be illegal.
Bonhoeffer had just published his
best-known Book, The Cost of Discipleship, a study on the Sermon on the Mount
in which he attacked "cheap grace" as a cover for ethical laxity
against the virtues of "costly grace".
Martin Niemöller was arrested in
July 1937 by the Nazis.
Bonhoeffer spent the next two
years secretly traveling from one eastern German Village to another to conduct
a "Seminary on the run" supervising the continuing education and work
of his Students, most of whom were working illegally in small Parishes
In 1938, the Gestapo banned
Bonhoeffer from Berlin.
Bonhoeffer's Twin Sister, Sabine,
along with her Jewish-classified Husband Gerhard Leibholz and their two Daughters,
escaped to England by way of Switzerland in 1938.
In February 1938, Bonhoeffer made
an initial contact with Members of the German Resistance when his Brother-in-Law
Hans von Dohnányi introduced him to a Group seeking Hitler's overthrow at the
Abwehr, the German Military Intelligence Service.
In June 1939 he went back to the
United States but returned two weeks later.
Back in Germany, Bonhoeffer was
further harassed by the Nazi Authorities as he was forbidden to speak in public
and was required regularly to report his activities to the Police.
In 1941, he was forbidden to
print or to publish anything.
He then joined the Abwehr to
fight the “enemy from the inside.”
It is here that he learned of the
Nazis’ Atrocities against the Jews.
Under cover of the Abwehr,
Bonhoeffer served as a courier for the German Resistance Movement to reveal its
existence and intentions to the Western Allies in hope of garnering their
support.
In May 1942 he tried to meet with
British Government Officials, but the British Government refused since they
believed all Germans to be the enemy.
He also helped German Jews escape
the Nazis and flee to Switzerland.
On January 13, 1943 Bonhoeffer
had become engaged to Maria von Wedemeyer, the Granddaughter of his close Friend
and Finkenwalde Seminary Supporter, Ruth von Kleist Retzow.
On April 5, 1943 Bonhoeffer was
arrested by the Nazis.
For a year and a half, Bonhoeffer
was imprisoned at Tegel Prison awaiting trial.
There he continued his work in Religious
outreach among his fellow Prisoners and Guards. Sympathetic Guards helped
smuggle his letters out of Prison
One of those Guards, a Corporal
named Knobloch, even offered to help him escape from the Prison and
"disappear" with him, and plans were made for that end; eventually
Bonhoeffer declined it, fearing Nazi retribution against his Family, especially
his Brother Klaus and Brother-in-Law Dohnányi, who was also imprisoned.
On April 4, 1945, the diaries of
Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr, were discovered, and in a rage
upon reading them, Hitler ordered that the other Abwehr Members be executed.
Bonhoeffer was sentenced to death
on April 8, 1945 by SS Judge Otto Thorbeck at a drumhead Court-Martial without Witnesses,
without any evidence against him, with no records of the proceedings or a Defense.
Bonhoeffer was led away from
prison just as he concluded his final Sunday Service and told an English Prisoner,
Payne Best: "This is the end—but for me it is the beginning of Life” and
sent to the Flossenbürg Concentration Camp.
On April 9, 1945, Bonhoeffer was
stripped of his clothing and led naked into the Execution yard where he was
hanged with five others.
His remains were most likely
cremated by the Nazis.
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Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Americans Leaving
The U.S. is withdrawing troops
from a key Ukraine aid hub in Poland.
U.S. Army Europe and Africa
Command has announced the relocation of American military personnel and
equipment from Poland’s Rzeszów–Jasionka Airport.
It seems that everything is being
set up for the U.S. to hand Ukraine over to Russia through so-called
“capitulation negotiations.”
Awareness Day
Today is Roma and Sinti Awareness Day:
Study of Anti-Roma and Sinti
Feelings (2019):
Italy: 83%
Bulgaria: 68%
Czech Republic: 66%
Hungary: 61%
Russia: 54%
Poland: 51%
Spain: 40%
France 44%
Germany: 37%
Roma and Sinti Populations Around
the World (as of 2024):
United States: 1 Million
Spain: 800,000
Romania: 1.8 Million
Turkey: 2.7 Million
Bulgaria: 700,000
France: 1.2 Million
United Kingdom: 200,000
Russia: 205,000
Italy: 120,000
Germany: 105,000
Roma & Sinti Day
Today is International Roma and Sinti Day.
It is a Day to raise awareness of
the Sinti and Roma (often called Gypsies)
The Roma and Sinti originally
came from the Indian Subcontinent and arrived in Europe between the 7th
and 15th Centuries and in North America starting in 1498 when Spain
shipped their Romani Slaves there.
Most Roma and Sinti are either
Christian (Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox) or Muslim – depending on the region
they live in.
(Roma and Sinti Men, Women and
Children waiting near the Gas Chamber at the Belzec Death Camp in
German-Occupied Poland in the 1940s not realizing they are about to be
murdered.)
History:
Most Roma and Sinti were used as
slaves in Europe and the Middle East from Roman Times until the 1850s.
In 1545, the Diet of Augsburg
declared that "whosoever kills a Gypsy (Romani), will be guilty of no
murder."
In England, the “Egyptians Act
1530” passed by the Crown in Parliament banned Romani from entering the country
and required those living in the country to leave within 16 days.
In 1660, the Romani were
prohibited from residing in France by King Louis XIV.
In 1695, Charles II restricted
Spanish Romani to certain towns.
In 1710, Joseph I, Holy Roman
Emperor, issued an edict against the Romani, ordering "that all Adult Males
were to be hanged without trial, whereas Women and young Males were to be
flogged and banished forever."
In 1749, The Great Gypsy Round-up
was a raid authorized and organized by King Ferdinand VI of Spain in that led
to the arrest of 120,000 Romani in Spain. Although a majority were released
after a few months, many others spent several years imprisoned and subject to Forced
Labor.
In 1774, Maria Theresa of Austria
issued an edict forbidding marriages between Romani.
In 1866, During the US Congressional
Debate over the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which
would subsequently grant Citizenship to all persons born within U.S. Territory,
an objection raised (by Pennsylvania Senator Edgar Cowan) was that a
consequence of enacting the Amendment would be to grant Citizenship to Roma and
other groups perceived by some as undesirable. It was passed with no exclusions
of groups.
In 1899, the Nachrichtendienst
für die Sicherheitspolizei in Bezug auf Zigeuner (Intelligence Service for the Security
Police Concerning Gypsies) was set up in Munich under the direction of Alfred
Dillmann and catalogued data on all Romani Individuals throughout the
German-speaking lands. It did not officially close down until 1970.
From 1906-2013 Sweden Forcibly Sterilized
many Groups, including 30,000 Roma and Sinti.
From 1934-1977 Finland Forcibly
Sterilized Romani and Sinti.
World War 2:
From 1933 the Germans
systematically persecuted the European Roma and Sinti first through forcible
Internment and Compulsory Sterilization and then through Forced Labor,
Deportation and Mass Murder in Concentration and Death Camps.
1.5 Million Roma and Sinti were
murdered by the Germans (out of a total European Population of 2 Million at the
time) during the 1933-1945 “Porajmos” or “Destruction.”
From 1945-1982 the Roma and Sinti
were not considered Victims of Nazism – even those murdered by the Nazis - by
most European Governments.
In 1982, West Germany formally
recognized that Nazi Germany had committed Genocide against the Sinti and Roma People.
In 2011, Poland officially
adopted August 2nd as a Day of Commemoration of the Romani Genocide.
In Communist Countries:
1917-1991:
The Communist Governments
Officially and Openly Discriminated against the Roma and Sinti by forcing them
to stop their traditional traveling lifestyle and stay in one place forever, by
imprisoning them in Prisons and Gulags and by Forcibly Sterilizing them.
Present-Day:
In 1999 the Czech Republic,
Slovakia and Romania started building “Roma Walls to segregate the Roma from the
Czechs, Slovaks and Romanian Non-Roma.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II issued
a formal public apology to, among other groups of people affected by Catholic Persecution,
the Romani People and begged God for forgiveness.
In 2005, Germany deported 50,000
Roma to Kosovo despite the majority of People having lived in Germany over 10
years (and coming to escape the Kosovo War.)
From 2009-2010 France deported 10,000
Roma to Bulgaria and Romania despite both Romania and Bulgaria joining the
European Union in 2007 (like France) and the Roma being EU Citizens.
A 2011 Report found 10 Million
Roma and Sinti face open discrimination from both Governments and Ordinary People
throughout Europe.
In 2019, Pope Francis
acknowledged during a meeting with members of the Romanian Romani Community the
Catholic Church's history of promoting "discrimination, segregation and
mistreatment" against Romani people throughout the world, apologized, and
asked the Romani people for forgiveness.
According to the latest Human
Rights First Hate Crime Survey, Romanis routinely suffer assaults in city
streets and other public places as they travel to and from homes and markets.
In a number of serious cases of
violence against them, Attackers have also sought out whole Families in their
homes or whole communities in settlements predominantly housing Romanis.
The widespread patterns of
violence are sometimes directed both at causing immediate harm to Romanis,
without distinction between Adults, the Elderly, and small Children and
physically eradicating the presence of Romani people in towns and cities in
several European Countries.
The practice of placing Romani Students
in Segregated Schools or classes remains widespread in Countries across Europe.
Many Romani Children have been
channeled into all-Romani Schools that offer inferior quality Education and are
sometimes in poor physical condition.
Many Romani children are sent to
classes for Pupils with Learning Disabilities.
They are also sent to so-called
"Delinquent Schools", with a variety of Human Rights Abuses.
Own Words
Those who fell for this are now
experiencing being fired from their Jobs for no reason, the smallest Paychecks
(if any at all) and the worst economic future the world has ever seen.
Pretty soon these same People
won't even be able to afford the Kool-Aid he sells them (and I'm sure there's a
Tariff on it.)
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30: Ryan White
35 years ago today (April 8, 1990) Ryan White died.
He was 18 years old.
Ryan was born on December 8, 1971
in Kokomo, Indiana.
When he was 3 days old Ryan’s Doctors
diagnosed him with severe Hemophilia A, a Hereditary Blood Coagulation Disorder
associated with the X Chromosome, which causes even minor injuries to result in
severe bleeding.
For treatment, he received weekly
infusions of Factor VIII, a blood product created from pooled Plasma of Non-Hemophiliacs,
an increasingly common treatment for Hemophiliacs at the time.
On December 17, 1984, when he was
13 years old, Ryan was diagnosed with AIDS.
Ryan had received a contaminated
treatment of Factor VIII that was infected with HIV, as did thousands of other
Americans with Hemophilia and Hemophiliacs around the world.
At that time, because the AIDS Virus
had only recently been identified and there was no screening of blood products,
much of the pooled Factor VIII concentrate was tainted.
Doctors predicted Ryan only had 6
months to live.
Despite Doctors telling Ryan and his
School Board that Ryan poised no risk to other Students he was denied returning
due to Angry Parents, Students and Teachers who didn’t understand that AIDS
wasn’t Air-Borne.
In the School of 360 total Students,
117 Parents and 50 Teachers signed a Petition encouraging School Leaders to ban
Ryan from School.
A lengthy Administrative Appeal Process
ensued, and news of the conflict turned Ryan into a popular Celebrity and Advocate
for AIDS Research and Public Education.
When Ryan was permitted to return
to School for one day in February 1986, 151 of 360 Students stayed home.
He also worked as a Paperboy, and
many of the People on his route canceled their subscriptions, believing that
HIV could be transmitted through newsprint.
Ryan attended Western Middle
School for 8th Grade during
the 1985–1986 School Year.
He was deeply unhappy and had few
Friends.
The School required him to eat
with disposable utensils, use separate bathrooms, and waived his requirement to
enroll in a Gym Class.
Threats continued. When a bullet
was fired through the Whites' Living Room window (no one was home at the time),
the Family decided to leave Kokomo.
After finishing the School Year,
his Family moved to Cicero, Indiana, where he began 9th Grade at
Hamilton Heights High School, in Arcadia, Indiana.
On August 31, 1986, a "very
nervous" Ryan was greeted by School Principal Tony Cook, School System Superintendent
Bob G. Carnal, and a handful of Students who had been educated about AIDS and
were unafraid to shake Ryan’s hand.
While isolated in Middle School,
Ryan appeared frequently on National Television and in Newspapers to discuss
his tribulations with the disease.
Eventually, he became known as a Poster Child
for the AIDS Crisis, appearing in Fundraising and Educational Campaigns for the
Syndrome.
Singers John Mellencamp, Elton
John and Michael Jackson, actor Matt Frewer, Diver Greg Louganis, President
Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan, Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop,
Indiana University Basketball Coach Bob Knight and Basketball Player Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar all befriended Ryan.
His Celebrity Crush, Alyssa
Milano of the then-popular TV show “Who's the Boss?”, met Ryan and gave him a
friendship bracelet and a kiss.
In 1989, ABC aired the Television
Movie “The Ryan White Story”, starring Lukas Haas as Ryan, Judith Light as
Jeanne and Nikki Cox as his Sister Andrea.
Ryan White had a small cameo appearance as
"Chad" in the film, playing a Boy who also has HIV and later
befriends Haas.
Nielsen estimated that the movie
was seen by 15 Million Viewers.
Ryan died on April 8, 1990 in
Indianapolis, Indiana.
Over 1,500 People attended Ryan's
Funeral on April 11th, a standing-room only event held at the Second
Presbyterian Church on Meridian Street in Indianapolis.
Ryan’s Pallbearers included Elton
John, Football Star Howie Long and Phil Donahue.
Elton John performed "Skyline
Pigeon" at the Funeral.
The Funeral was also attended by Singer
Michael Jackson, and then-First Lady Barbara Bush.
On the day of the Funeral, Ronald Reagan wrote
a tribute to White that appeared in The Washington Post. Reagan's statement
about AIDS and Ryan’s Funeral were seen as indicators of how greatly Ryan had
helped change perceptions of AIDS.
The U.S. Congress passed a major
piece of AIDS Legislation, the Ryan White CARE Act, shortly after White's
death, which was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in August 1990
and reauthorized twice.
Through the "Ryan White Programs" it
funds, the Act has become the largest provider of services for people living
with HIV/AIDS in the United States.
In 2024, over half of the People
diagnosed with HIV in the United States (more than 550,000) were provided care
and treatment from the funded programs, and 57,000 Health Care Professionals
treating People with HIV received education and training.
Monday, April 7, 2025
Patrick Rooney
August 14, 1969 in Belfast,
Northern Ireland a 9 year old Catholic Boy, Patrick Rooney, was killed in his bedroom
by the Royal Ulster Constabulary – RUC - (the Pro-Protestant Police Force of Northern Ireland
at the time.)
From August 12-16, 1969 Northern
Irish Protestants went across Northern Ireland burning Norther Irish Catholic
Homes and Businesses – hoping to force them to move to the Republic of Ireland.
1,505 Northern Irish Catholic
Families had their homes bombed and were forced to leave their neighborhoods.
While Patrick and his Family of 8
huddled in their house against the violence outside the RUC fired bullets at
their house.
Patrick Rooney was the first
Child murdered during The Troubles (1969-1998.)
From 1969 until 2018 the RUC, the
British Military and the London Government did whatever it could to blame the Catholic
Victims for their own Deaths and Woundings – including hiding evidence and
giving Awards to those who Shot the Victims.
The 2018 Scarman Report found
that there had been no justification for the firing which killed Patrick.
The Police Ombudsman also stated
the use of machine guns by Officers to deal with rioting in Belfast in 1969 was
"disproportionate and dangerous".
As with most Cases involving the
RUC and the British Military in Northern Ireland - no Former Officers were brought
to justice for their crime of killing 9 year old Patrick Rooney.
Background: In 1922 the UK
broke-up a united Ireland and created Northern Ireland (and along with it the
official 3 Tier Discrimination Policy: British (English, Welsh and Scots) at
the top, Northern Irish Protestants in the middle and Northern Irish Catholics
at the bottom.
Catholics in Northern Ireland did
not receive the same equal and basic Civil Rights that every other citizen of
the UK held until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 (77 years after N.I. was
created) that ended the 30 Year violence that was The Troubles.
The Troubles started when
Northern Irish Catholics peacefully started using civil disobedience (following
Martin Luther King's example in the US) in 1966. The Northern Irish Protestants
did not want to give up what little power the British gave them and so attacked
and killed the Northern Irish Catholics (the same way American White
Southerners did to American Black Southerners in the 1950s-1960s.)
The British sent in their
Military in 1969 and at first the Northern Irish Catholics saw the British
Military as a buffer between them and the Protestants and welcomed them
(Northern Irish Catholics hoped the British Government and the British Military
would be like the American Federal Government and the Federalized National
Guard who went into the American South and stopped the White Southern Racists
and the violence.)
That support changed after the
British Military openly sided with the Northern Irish Protestants and started
massacring unarmed and peaceful Northern Irish Catholics (ie. The 1970 Falls
Curfew, the 1971 Ballymurphy Massacre, the 1972 Bloody Sunday, etc.)
After Bloody Sunday, the Northern
Irish Catholics and the world had direct proof that the British Government and
Military fully supported the Northern Irish Protestants and sought to keep the
Northern Irish Catholics “in-their-place” through any means - including murder. The British Government
and the British Military covered-up and lied about their role for decades, but
have since openly admitted their crimes.
From 1972 until 1998 it was
open-warfare with the British Government, the British Military, the Police and
the Northern Irish Protestants on one side and the Northern Irish Catholics on
the other. The death and violence hit not only Northern Ireland, but the
Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, West Germany, Gibraltar, the
Netherlands, Germany, etc.
The Troubles only ended when the United States stepped-in to get all the sides together (the same way we did in the Former Yugoslavia around the same time.) 1,935 civilians were killed and over 50,000 wounded, injured or permanently disabled.
The Pro-Protestant and
Anti-Catholic Royal Ulster Constabulary was replaced by the Police Service of
Northern Ireland in 2001.
Sunday, April 6, 2025
96: Nanette Blitz Konig
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Happy 96th Birthday Nanette
Blitz Konig!
Nanette was born on April 6, 1929
in Amsterdam, the Netherlands to Martijn (a native of Amsterdam, the
Netherlands) and Helene (a native of Kimberley, South Africa.)
In 1940 the Germans occupied the
Netherlands.
In 1941 the Germans forced all
Jews out of the Public Schools and so Nanette went to the Jewish Lyceum where
she met and became Friends with Anne Frank.
In September 1943 Nanette and her
Family were arrested by the Germans and sent to the Westerbork Transit Camp in
northern the Netherlands.
On February 15, 1944 Nanette and
her Family were deported to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany and
kept in a Special Section of the Camp that was to be used to barter for German Prisoners
Overseas.
Her Father died in November 1944
and the rest of the Family lost their “Special Status.”
Her Mother and Brother were
deported from Bergen-Belsen to different Camps in 1944 leaving Nanette all
alone at the age of 15.
Her Mother was sent to the
Beendorf Salt Mines in Germany where she worked as a Forced Laborer. She died in
April 1945 while on a train headed to Sweden for recuperation after her Liberation.
Her Brother was sent to the Orangeburg Concentration Camp in Germany where
he died.
In January 1945 Nanette was transferred
from the Special Section to the Regular Female Section of Bergen-Belsen where
she reunited with Anne Frank and Anne’s Sister, Margot.
She also said that she had seen
Anne and Margot shortly before they died:
"When I found Anne and
Margot in Camp 8, that was the original Camp 8, which was then a women's camp,
[...] they were both skeletons and I, I know about Anne that she was wrapped in
a blanket. Margot I can't remember if she was also wrapped in a blanket, but
she was also very weak, completely, well, consumed so to speak. And maybe she
was wrapped in a blanket too, the clothes were impossible to wear because they
were full of lice."
Nanette was liberated from Bergen-Belsen
by the British Army and spent 3 years in a Hospital with Typhus (the disease
that killed Anne Frank.)
Nanette moved to England where
she met and married John Konig in 1953 and they moved to Brazil where they had 3
Children.
John died in 2022.
In 2015 Nanette published her Memoirs
in Portuguese with an English Version published in 2018.
Following the death of Jacqueline
van Maarsen in February 2025, she is one of the last living People to have
known Anne Frank.
Nanette is also the last living
person who saw Anne Frank closest to her death.
Reciprocal Tariffs
I am so sick of all our American
Products being made in Middle-Earth with all the Hobbits getting rich and
costing Americans so much extra money.
Saturday, April 5, 2025
No Weakness
After a Russian Ballistic Missile
killed 18 People—including 9 Children—in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih, President
Zelenskyy demands accountability: "Staying silent about Russia killing
children only emboldens the scum in Moscow."
The strike comes as the Trump Administration
continues pushing for a Ceasefire that Analysts warn could give Russia time to
prepare for a new War.
Zelenskyy appeared to criticize
US Ambassador Brink, whose statement on the attack avoided explicitly naming
Russia as responsible—calling such Diplomatic ambiguity "wrong and
dangerous."
Collasping Economy
Protests are happening across the
United States, the Stock Market is Crashing, Prices on Everything are Rising, a
Recession is Looming, Russians continue to kill Ukrainians because Putin is
playing Trump, DOGE continues to not be efficient and randomly firing Thousands
of People with no worry about the effects on the American People, Tariffs have
caused unnecessary harm and expense to Ordinary Americans, etc.
Trump ran on fixing the American
Economy and so far he is only destroying the American Economy.
While the Country falls apart
because of his Direct Rule (ie. Executive Actions) Trump goes golfing while
Americans struggle to feed their Families.
Friday, April 4, 2025
80: 1st Camp
80 years ago today (April 4, 1945) the US Military liberated their first Concentration Camp: Ohrdruf (south of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany.)
It was a sub-camp of Buchenwald.
It housed 20,000 Russians, Poles,
Hungarians, Jews, French, Czechs, Italians, Belgians, Greeks, Yugoslavians and
Germans.
From November 1944 until April
1945 7,000 people were murdered by the Germans here.
The Camp was liberated by the 4th
Armored Division, led by Brigadier General Joseph Cutrona, and the 89th
Infantry Division.
When the soldiers of the 4th
Armored Division entered the camp, they discovered piles of bodies, some
covered with lime, and others partially incinerated on pyres.
The ghastly nature of their
discovery led General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied
Forces in Europe, to visit the camp on April 12th, with Generals George S.
Patton and Omar Bradley (pictured.)
After his visit, Eisenhower cabled General
George C. Marshall, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington saying
“I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give first-hand
evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to
charge these allegations merely to 'propaganda.'”
On April 19, 1945, Eisenhower
again cabled Marshall with a request to bring members of Congress and Journalists
to the newly liberated Camps so that they could bring the horrible truth about
German Nazi atrocities to the American public.
That same day, Marshall received
permission from the Secretary of War, Henry Lewis Stimson, and President Harry
S. Truman for these delegations to visit the liberated Camps.
80: Ohrdruf
80 years ago today (April 4,
1945) the US Military liberated their first Concentration Camp: Ohrdruf (south
of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany.)
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Axis Of Evil
This is how Iran, North Korea,
China and Russia support each other and how Iran gets the missiles it uses to
bomb Israel and how Russia gets the drones and missiles it uses to bomb Ukraine
as well as using North Korean Troops to fight the Ukrainians.
Helping any of these countries
(especially Russia) is helping all of these countries commit their Crimes.
50: Babylift
50 years ago today (April 3,
1975) Operation Babylift started.
Operation Babylift was the Mass
Evacuation of Children from South Vietnam to the United States, Australia,
France, West Germany and Canada at the end of the Vietnam War.
On April 4, 1975 a plane carrying
Children flying from Saigon, South Vietnam to the Philippines crashed during an
Emergency Landing shortly after takeoff.
Of the 314 People on-board the
death toll included 78 Children, 35 Defense Attaché Office Employees and 11
U.S. Air Force Personnel; there were 176 Survivors.
When American Businessman Robert
Macauley learned that it would take more than a week to evacuate the surviving Orphans
due to the lack of Military Transport Planes, he chartered a Boeing 747 from
Pan American World Airways and arranged for 300 Children to leave the country,
paying for the trip by mortgaging his house.
When it ended on April 26, 1975
3,300 Vietnamese Babies and Children had been airlifted to safety from the
Communist North Vietnamese.
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
UKETA Expanded
United Kingdom Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
Required Since: January 8,
2025
Required For Citizens Of:
Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Andorra,
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,
Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, The European
Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden), Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong,
Iceland, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, the
Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, New Zealand,
Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts
and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino,
Seychelles, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan,
Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, the United States, Uruguay and Vatican
City.
Exemptions For: Ireland,
British Subjects with right of abode in the United Kingdom and British Overseas
Territories Citizens.
Cost: 16 British Pounds ($21
US Dollars)
Procedure: You have to go
to the ETA Website (available in English) fill out the online form, pay the
fee, print the Confirmation Page and bring that with your Foreign Passport when
travelling to the United Kingdom.
As of today (April 2, 2025) all
EU Citizens except the Irish need an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)
before they travel to the United Kingdom.
Note: American and
Canadian Citizens have needed a UK ETA since January 8, 2025.
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160,000
Putin has called for 160,000 Russian
Men (18-30) to be Conscripted into the Russian Military this Spring.
This is the largest number of Conscripts
since 2011.
Russia Drafts Men every Spring
and Fall.
That means 160,000 will be
Drafted this Spring and another 160,000 in the Fall for a total of 320,000
Russian Men Drafted and sent to fight in Ukraine (despite the Official Line
that no Conscripts are sent to Ukraine.)
918,180 Russian Soldiers have
been killed or wounded in Ukraine since February 2022.
They are dying as Putin’s Cannon
Fodder and so he needs to replace them quickly so more can die.
Less Money
Trump has called today “Liberation Day.”
Do you feel liberated?
I don’t.
The only thing that Trump is liberating
us from is more of our hard-earned money since his Tariffs on nearly every single
Country will cost the Ordinary American an extra $1,200 Dollars a year on just
the basics.
Add to that buying electronics,
cars, houses, etc. and the Ordinary American pays even more money for the same
items that were cheaper before January 20, 2025.
Holidays Off
Easter Holidays
While most of the Countries of
the World get either Good Friday, Easter Monday or Both (Catholic, Protestant
or Orthodox Christian) off the United States only gets Easter Sunday off as a
Federal Holiday – and we only get it off because it’s a Sunday.
Easter Sunday Only:
Albania, Kosovo, Moldova, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Ukraine and the United States
(Federal)
Good Friday Off: Angola,
Argentina, Bermuda, Bolivia, Cameroon, Canada (Federal), Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, East Timor, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Island (Denmark), Honduras,
Indonesia, Lebanon, Macau, Malta, Marshall Islands, Nicaragua, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri
Lanka, Tanzania, the United Kingdom (the Falkland Islands, Scotland), the
United States (Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, US
Virgin Islands and Wake Island)
Easter Monday Off:
Austria, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Canada
(Northwest Territories and Quebec), Central African Republic, Chad, Cote
d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Gabon, Guinea, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Madagascar, Mali, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, San
Marino, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain (Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Rioja, Navarre,
Basque and Valencia), Togo, Tonga and Vatican City
Good Friday and Easter Monday
Off: Andorra, Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados,
Belize, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Eswatini, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia,
Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guernsey (UK), Guyana, Hong Kong,
Hungary, Iceland, Isle of Man (UK), Jamaica, Jersey (UK), Kenya, Kiribati,
Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Malawi, Namibia, Nauru, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Kitts & Nevis,
Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Serbia, Seychelles,
Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland,
Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, the United Kingdom (Anguilla, the
British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, England, Gibraltar, Montserrat,
Northern Ireland, Saint Helena, Turks & Caicos Islands, and Wales),
Vanuatu, Venezuela and Zimbabwe
Passover Off: Israel
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
April Fool's
April Fools’ Day
April Fools’ Day—celebrated on April 1 each year—has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, though its exact origins remain a mystery. April Fools’ Day traditions include playing hoaxes or practical jokes on others, often yelling “April Fools!” at the end to clue in the subject of the April Fools’ Day prank. While its exact history is shrouded in mystery, the embrace of April Fools’ Day jokes by the media and major brands has ensured the unofficial holiday’s long life.
Origins of April Fools' Day
Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France
switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by
the Council of Trent in 1563. In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar,
the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1. People who were slow to get the news or
failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and
continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became
the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” These pranks
included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as
“poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish
and a gullible person.
Hilaria in Ancient Rome
Historians have also linked April Fools’ Day to festivals such as Hilaria
(Latin for joyful), which was celebrated in ancient Rome at the end of March by
followers of the cult of Cybele. It involved people dressing up in disguises
and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by
the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.
Vernal Equinox and April
Fools' There’s also speculation that April Fools’ Day was tied to the
vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother
Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.
History of April Fools’ Day
April Fools’ Day spread throughout Britain during the 18th century. In
Scotland, the tradition became a two-day event, starting with “hunting the
gowk,” in which people were sent on phony errands (gowk is a word for cuckoo
bird, a symbol for fool) and followed by Tailie Day, which involved pranks
played on people’s derrieres, such as pinning fake tails or “kick me” signs on
them.
April Fools’ Day Pranks In
modern times, people have gone to great lengths to create elaborate April
Fools’ Day hoaxes. Newspapers, radio and TV stations and websites have
participated in the April 1 tradition of reporting outrageous fictional claims
that have fooled their audiences.
In 1957, the BBC reported that
Swiss farmers were experiencing a record spaghetti crop and showed footage of
people harvesting noodles from trees. In 1985, Sports Illustrated writer George
Plimpton tricked many readers when he ran a made-up article about a rookie
pitcher named Sidd Finch who could throw a fastball over 168 miles per hour.
In 1992, National Public Radio
ran a spot with former President Richard Nixon saying he was running for
president again… only it was an actor, not Nixon, and the segment was all an
April Fools’ Day prank that caught the country by surprise.
In 1996, Taco Bell, the fast-food
restaurant chain, duped people when it announced it had agreed to purchase
Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and intended to rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In
1998, after Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper,” scores of clueless
customers requested the fake sandwich. Google notoriously hosts an annual April
Fools’ Day prank that has included everything from “telepathic search” to the
ability to play Pac Man on Google Maps.
Holidays
April 2025 Holidays - Monthly Celebrations
National Card and Letter Writing
Month
Global Astronomy Month
International Guitar Month
Keep America Beautiful Month
Lawn and Garden Month
National Frog Month
National Humor Month – Spread a
little laughter.
National Kite Month
Pecan Month
Poetry Month
Records and Information
Management Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Stress Awareness Month
Welding Month
April Weekly Events
First Week of the Month – Library
Week
First Week of the Month – Read a
Road Map Week
Second Week of the Month – Garden
Week
Third Week of the Month –
Organize Your Files Week
Third Week of the Month – Medical
Labs Week
Fourth Week of the Month –
Administrative Assistants Week
Fourth Week of the Month –
National Karaoke Week
April 1
April Fool’s Day
Atheist Day
International Fun at Work Day
International Tatting Day
April 2
Children’s Book Day
National Peanut Butter and Jelly
Day
National Walking Day
Reconciliation Day
April 3
Don’t Go to Work Unless it’s Fun
Day
Find a Rainbow Day
National Burrito Day –
Tweed Day
World Party Day
April 4
Hug a Newsman Day
National Walk to Work Day
School Librarian Day
Tell a Lie Day
Walk Around Things Day
World Rat Day
April 5
Deep Dish Pizza Day
Go for Broke Day
National Dandelion Day
Read a Road Map Day
April 6
California Poppy Day
National Tartan Day
New Beer’s Eve
Plan Your Epitaph Day
Sorry Charlie Day
Teflon Day
April 7
Caramel Popcorn Day
International Beaver Day
National Beer Day
National Coffee Cake Day
No Housework Day
World Health Day
April 8
All is Ours Day
Draw a Picture of a Bird Day
International Be Kind to Lawyers
Day
National Library Workers Day
Zoo Lover’s Day
April 9
Bookmobile Day
Name Yourself Day
Winston Churchill Day
April 10
Golfer’s Day
National Farm Animals Day
National Siblings Day
Safety Pin Day
April 11
Barbershop Quartet Day
Eight Track Tape Day
National Pet Day
National Submarine Day
April 12
Big Wind Day
Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
International Day of Human Space
Flight / Russian Cosmonaut Day
National Licorice Day
Passover
Walk on Your Wild Side Day
April 13
International Plant Appreciation
Day
National Peach Cobbler Day
Palm Sunday
Scrabble Day
April 14
Ex Spouse Day
International Moment of Laughter
Day
Look up at the Sky Day
National Dolphin Day
National Pecan Day
Reach as High as You Can Day
April 15
Income Taxes Due
Rubber Eraser Day
Take a Wild Guess Day
That Sucks Day
Titanic Remembrance Day
World Art Day
April 16
Bean Counter Day
Eggs Benedict Day
Mushroom Day
National Librarian Day
National Orchid Day
Save the Elephant Day
Stress Awareness Day –
April 17
Bat Appreciation Day
Blah, Blah, Blah Day
Herbalist Day
International Haiku Poetry Day
National Cheeseball Day
National High Five Day
April 18
Good Friday
International Juggler’s Day
Newspaper Columnists Day
Pet Owners’ Independence Day
April 19
Husband Appreciation Day
National Garlic Day
National Hanging Out Day
Record Store Day
World Circus Day –
April 20
Chinese Language Day
Easter Sunday
Look Alike Day
Volunteer Recognition Day
April 21
Dyngus Day
Kindergarten Day
Patriot’s Day
April 22
Earth Day (U.S.)
Girl Scout Leader Day
National Jelly Bean Day
April 23
Administrative Professionals Day
Lover’s Day
English Muffin Day
National Picnic Day
National Zucchini Bread Day
Take a Chance Day
World Laboratory Day
April 24
Pig in a Blanket Day
Take Your Daughter to Work
April 25
Arbor Day
East Meets West Day
National DNA Day
National Teach Children to Save
Day
World Penguin Day
April 26
Hug an Australian Day
National Pretzel Day
Richter Scale Day
April 27
Babe Ruth Day
Morse Code Day
National Prime Rib Day
Tell a Story Day
April 28
International Astronomy Day
Great Poetry Reading Day
Kiss Your Mate Day
April 29
Greenery Day
International Dance Day
National Shrimp Scampi Day
National Zipper Day
April 30
Hairstyle Appreciation Day
Honesty Day
International Jazz Day
National Raisin Day
National Mahjong Day
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