Wreaths Numbers

 

European Currencies

 

Alaskan Flat Tire

 

John Langdon Down

Down Syndrome was named after John Langdon Down, a British Doctor who, in 1862, was the first to classify this Condition.

John Langdon Down was born in 1828.

Down started his career as the Chief Physician at the Earlswood Asylum where Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities were sent.

Down had no previous experience in caring for people with Disabilities.

At a time when many ignored the Disabled and even devalued their existence Down showed empathy for them.

He was outraged by the inhumane treatment they received at Asylums: physical punishment, poor hygiene and high mortality rates.

Down worked to change all of this at Earlswood. He hired new Staff, demanded proper care and strict hygiene, banned physical punishment and introduced activities such as Arts and Crafts for the Patients.

Down also became the first to describe Down Syndrome.

It is important to note that the name “Down” in Down Syndrome has no relation to delays or prognosis associated with the condition.

It simply honors the Doctor (Down) who worked hard to bring dignity and good care to People with Down Syndrome.

When he photographed his Patients (for Medical Observations) he did so with care and sensitivity portraying them in elegant attire and favorable poses.

In 1868 Down bought a mansion (called Normansfield) to house people with Down Syndrome.

Residents received private education and did activities such as horse riding, gardening, crafting and other creative practices. He also built a small theater which promoted the artistic and social development among the Residents.  

Besides his care for those with Down Syndrome and other Disabilities Down also promoted Higher Education for Women as well as paying them for the work they did and even petitioned the Lords of Earlswood to pay his Wife who was running Earlswood. The request was denied and helped Down leave Earlswood and open Normansfield.

Down died in 1896 at the age of 67.

Normansfield is now the Headquarters of Down's Syndrome Association.

Many people today are using DEI (which supports the Disabled and Women being included into society) as a means to use these groups as scapegoats to further their own ambitions the same way they did in the 1800s.

In the 1800s there were great men like Doctor John Langdon Down that fought to include the Disabled and Women into Society and not treated as sub-humans.

In 2025 there are great men and women who are still fighting to include the Disabled and Women into Society and not have them be treated as sub-humans and scapegoats.

Spoiled

 

8 Hostages Freed

Today Hamas Released:

Agam Berger- 20 years old

Arbel Yehoud – 29 years old

Gadi Moses – 80 years old

5 Thai Nationals

All held Hostage for 482 days in Gaza.

90 Men, Women and Children remain Hostages of Hamas.

Roundabouts

 

Linguistic Currency

 

In some places you have to be Currency Smart as well as Linguistically Smart.

When I was in Northern Ireland in June 2010 I had Euros (since we started and were ending in the Republic of Ireland), English Pounds (since we were going to London, England) and Northern Irish Pounds from the 3 different Banks there.

There are Northern Irish Pounds issued by the Bank of Ireland, Danske Bank and Ulster Bank (which are only accepted in Northern Ireland and a few Irish Border Towns or at any Bank in the UK for the local Pound at par.)

You can’t just use English Pounds anywhere since that shows you are a Loyalist/Protestant and you can’t use Euros since that shows you are a Republican/Catholic.

The same with the 3 different types of Irish Pounds by the 3 different Northern Irish Banks. Of course speaking with an American accent got me out of any kind of trouble for using the “wrong” Pound in the “wrong” Place (ie. a Protestant-Friendly Bank Pound in a Catholic Area or a Catholic-Friendly Bank Pound in a Protestant Area.)

I was once called a “Taig” which is a derogatory term for a Northern Irish Catholic.

I was also once called a “Prod” which is a derogatory term for a Northern Irish Protestant.

I know some Brits that use an American Accent when they travel to certain parts of the UK and NI so they can’t be “found out.”

I simply said I was an American and then everything was fine. I also tried to use my Credit Card as often as I could.

I will say that the people I met in Northern Ireland were friendlier and more helpful than the ones I met in the Republic of Ireland or in London – maybe because they knew we were Tourists and they got so few of them.

It was the same when I was in Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro in December 2010.

Even today there are Ethnic and Linguistic Rivalries between the: Slovenes, North Macedonians, Croatians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Bosnians, Kosovars, etc. stemming from Centuries-Old Issues, World War 2 and of course the different Wars in the Former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

All the different Languages (once Called-Serbo-Croatian) are largely mutually intelligible with one another so a person who knows Croatian (written in the Latin Alphabet) can understand a Serb (written in the Cyrillic Alphabet.)

When speaking there is no Alphabets and it is easier to know the Ethnicity of the person – for those that look for that kind of thing.

We had several individual private tours when in Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro and our guides would only speak in English even when speaking with the Locals so that the Bosniak Local couldn’t tell the Guide was Croatian or the Bosnian Serb Local couldn’t tell our Guide was Montenegrin, etc.

 

I also learned the Local Words for Thank You in Croatian (Hvala), in Bosnian Latin (Hvala), in Bosnian Cyrillic (Хвала) and in Montenegrin (Hvala.)

As for Currencies:

At the time Croatia used the Kuna (it now uses the Euro), Montenegro used the Euro and Bosnia used the Convertible Mark, but everyplace accepted the Euro.

I had no issues using my Kunas in Croatia and no issues using Euros in Montenegro or on Bosnia (almost no place accepted Credit Cards.)

I did have Bosnian Convertible Marks, but never used any while in Bosnia because the Serbian Part of Bosnia (called the Republika Srpska) had Convertible Marks with Cyrillic first and the Bosniak Part of Bosnia (called the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) had Convertible Marks with Latin first.

I didn’t want to have any trouble so just used Euros everywhere in Bosnia.

To be fair I met some of the nicest and most helpful people in Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. Maybe it was because they knew we were Foreigners.

When I went to Israel and the West Bank in October 2017 I had Swiss Francs (because we also went to Switzerland), Israeli New Shekels, Euros and American Dollars.

In Israel we could use the Israeli New Shekels anywhere, but not in the West Bank (even though it is technically allowed and the Israeli New Shekel is written in Hebrew, Arabic and English.)

I used either American Dollars or Euros in the West Bank and had no issues. Israeli Citizens are forbidden to go to the West Bank under both Israeli Law and Palestinian Law so the Palestinians there knew we weren’t Israelis.

In a lot of places in Israel you could also use American Dollars or Euros if you didn’t have any New Shekels.

I also learned to say Thank You in Hebrew: Toda - (תודה) and in Arabic: Shukran - شكر)

Those are just some of the places I have been to and had issues with Currencies or Languages.

Jacqueline Sanders-van Maarsen

96 years ago today (January 30, 1929) Jacqueline Sanders-van Maarsen was born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

She had a Dutch-Jewish Father, Samuel "Hijman" van Maarsen (1884–1952), and a French Christian Mother, Eulalie Julienne Alice "Eline" van Maarsen (née Verlhac) (1891–1992).

When the Nazis invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, she was forced to attend the Joods Lyceum (Jewish School) where she met Anne Frank.

On Monday June 15, 1942, Anne wrote in her diary: 'Jacqueline van Maarsen I only just got to know at the Jewish Lyceum and she is now my best friend.'

Unlike Anne Frank, Jacqueline was able to escape being deported and death thanks to her Mother, who was not Jewish, and survived the War.

After the war, Jacqueline learnt that Anne had not survived. Otto Frank, Anne's Father, got in touch with her, and she was one of the first People to whom Otto Frank showed Anne's diary.

“The Diary of a Young Girl” was published in 1947.

Jacqueline became an award-winning bookbinder. She married her childhood Friend, Ruud Sanders, in 1954.

They had three Children.

She wrote five books on her friendship with Anne Frank. In her books and when she visits Schools, Jacqueline talks about her friendship with Anne but also about the dangers of Antisemitism and Racism and where they can lead to.

 Jacqueline turned 96 today and still lives in Amsterdam. Happy Birthday!

What's DEI?

 

Dog Protector

 

43,500 Refused

 

Germany has had Border Checkpoints at all its Land Borders since September 2024.

Germany is a Member of the Schengen Area and the European Union and despite that has had checks with its Borders of other Schengen and European Union Member Countries: Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Austria.

That is the same as if New York State had a Border Checkpoint with New Jersey.

The Schengen Area Agreement turns 30 years old this March and sadly, it seems dead since Germany and other Schengen Area and EU Member Countries have imposed Border Checks with other Schengen Area and EU Member Countries.

I flew from Spain to Germany in November 2024 and they checked everyone's Passport or ID Card before we boarded the plane  - per Germany's request.

Not Understanding

 

Deferred Resignation

From the WP:

“What federal workers should know about Trump administration’s ‘deferred resignation’ offer”

The White House announced details Tuesday of a “deferred resignation” offer it made to federal employees that allows them to resign with pay through Sept. 30. Here’s what we know about the offer, which affects the majority of the 2.3 million workers employed by the government and was made in an email blast Tuesday afternoon. It is the latest step the Trump administration has taken to reshape the federal workforce - including ordering most federal workers back to the office, firing inspectors general at several agencies and directing the government to lay off staff working on diversity, equity and inclusion.

What is the offer? Federal workers who accept the deferred resignation offer will remain employed, retain all pay and benefits, and be exempt from in-person work requirements until their final resignation date of Sept. 30, according to the Office of Personnel Management. The deferred resignation letter shared by the office suggests that those who take the offer could see their duties changed - or be reassigned or placed on leave - before their resignation. Agencies may make “adjustments” in response to resignations including “moving, eliminating, consolidating, reassigning my position and tasks, reducing my official duties, and/or placing me on paid administrative leave until my resignation date,” the letter states. Under the offer, employees can accelerate their resignation date but not extend it. If a federal worker becomes eligible for early or normal retirement at any point before their resignation date, they may also elect to retire, according to the office.

What happens to those who don’t accept it? The offer expires Feb. 6, according to the office, and there is no penalty for civil servants who do not respond to the email with the offer. The announcement states that the majority of federal agencies will be downsized as part of the Trump administration’s overhauls, likely through furloughs and reclassifying employees to at-will status, which would make them easier to fire. For those who do not take the offer, “we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions,” the announcement states.

Who received it - and who didn’t? Not all federal employees are eligible. Agency heads may determine carve-outs within their agencies. Military personnel, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, and those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security are also exempt, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

Why is the Trump administration doing this? Trump pledged on the campaign trail to shrink the civil service, which he and his allies have cast as a liberal “deep state” that disrupted his plans during his first term. Billionaire Elon Musk, the head of the “Department of Governmental Efficiency,” previously vowed to slash the federal workforce as part of a sweeping plan to eliminate agencies and shrink the federal budget.

Has anything like this been done before? Trump made several attempts to weaken protections for federal employees in his first term, most significantly when he issued an executive order in 2020 to strip tens of thousands of civil servants of employment protections and allow his administration to fire them at will. President Joe Biden rescinded the order, but Trump reinstated it after assuming office this month. The Office of Personnel Management sent the offer to employees under the subject line “Fork in the Road,” invoking the title Musk used to offer employees severance as part of his overhaul of Twitter in 2022. He ultimately reduced the size of the company’s staff by around 80 percent.

What has the response to this been so far? Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday night, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) argued that Trump’s offer to federal employees overstepped his authority. “The President has no authority to make that offer. There’s no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work,” Kaine said. “If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you.” Likewise, the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents employees at 35 federal agencies, sent an email to members Tuesday urging them not to accept the resignation offer. “We are reviewing the email closely and will have more information tomorrow,” the note said. The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal workers, condemned the announcement Tuesday. “Purging the federal government of dedicated career civil servants will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government,” AFGE President Everett Kelley said in a news release, which also stated that “there are more Americans than ever who rely on government services.” “This offer should not be viewed as voluntary. Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to,” Kelley said.

^ I wonder if anyone will accept this offer. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/federal-workers-know-trump-administration-142156317.html

96: Guide Dog

96: Morris Frank

96 years ago today (January 29, 1929) Morris Frank founded the first Guide Dog School in the US.

Morris Frank, himself blind, founded The Seeing Eye in Nashville, Tennessee. Frank had brought the first U.S. Seeing-Eye Dog, Buddy, into the U.S. from Switzerland.

January 29th is National Seeing Eye Dog Day. Seeing Eye Dogs are service dogs specially trained to be the eyes for their visually impaired owners. Typically, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds are chosen as Seeing Eye Dogs, since these breeds are capable of complex training, and staying calm and focused when necessary.

Frank worked with Buddy until her death in 1938.

Between 1928 and 1956, Frank, as The Seeing Eye's Vice President, traveled throughout the United States and Canada, spreading the word about The Seeing Eye and the need for equal access laws for people with Guide Dogs.

He met with U.S. President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and with U.S. President Harry Truman in 1949.

Between 1954 and 1956 alone, Frank met with 300 Ophthalmologists and met with Seeing Eye graduates in all 48 States and throughout Canada.

Frank constantly championed for the right to be accompanied by his Guide Dog. In 1928, Frank was routinely told that Buddy could not ride in the passenger compartment with him; by 1935, all railroads in the United States had adopted policies specifically allowing Guide Dogs to remain with their owners on trains, and by 1939, The Seeing Eye informed the American Hotel Association that the number of hotels that banned guide dogs from the premises was small and "growing smaller constantly".

By 1956, every State in the country had passed laws guaranteeing blind people with guide dogs access to public spaces.

Frank retired from The Seeing Eye in 1956, at age 48, to found his own insurance agency in Morristown.

He died on November 22, 1980, at his home in the Brookside section of Mendham Township, New Jersey.

 

96: Morris Frank

 

Thank You

 

480 Days

 

^ 480 days and counting. ^

UNRWA Ban

Israel has announced it will cease all contact with the United Nations' Palestinian Relief Agency UNRWA on January 30, 2025.

In 1949 (1 year after Israel became an Independent Country) the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was created only to help Palestinian Refugees.

It is the first and only time that the UN has created an Agency to help a specific group of people – the Palestinians.

Even after the Holocaust and World War 2 the UN didn’t create a separate Agency to help Jewish Holocaust Survivors.

For reference after World War 2 ended in 1945 there were at least 60 Million Displaced Refugees throughout Europe (including Jewish Holocaust Survivors.)

The UN did not separate helping Jewish Holocaust Survivors with helping the Germans Displaced from East Prussia or those fleeing Soviet Communism.

Despite that massive number of Refugees by 1952 all but 2 United Nations run Displaced Persons Camps in Europe were closed with the final Camp closed in 1957. That means that in 12 years (from 1945-1957) the UN moved  over 60 million Refugees and helped them get resettled and rebuild their lives.

In 1949 the UNRWA helped 700,000 Palestinian Refugees.

In 202 (76 years later) the UNRWA is currently helping 5.6 Million Palestinian “Refugees.”

It would seem that after 76 years the Palestinians would be able to find their own work, find their own homes, get their own food and rebuild their lives but the UNRWA still officially supports 5.6 Million Palestinians and adds to that number every year.

The UN gives Refugee Status to the Descendants of Palestinian Refugees rather than on real Refugees.

One should also question the role the United Nations has had and currently has with the Hamas Terrorist Group (especially inside Gaza.)

Since 2006 Hamas has ruled Gaza. Gaza is only 25 miles long and 7 miles wide so logically one can assume that the UNRWA has to work closely with the Hamas Terrorists there on a regular basis.

There is only one Open Border Crossing (to Egypt) where all goods and people into and out of Gaza have to travel to/from. It makes one question what kinds of aid and supplies are being brought in from Egypt over the years, since 2006, since Hamas has modern weapons, rockets, missiles, etc. to bomb Israel every day.

It also makes one question what the UNRWA knows about all of this and whether the UNRWA and their Staff in Gaza and Egypt help Hamas bring in all these military weapons.

This is something people should think about when they blindly support the Palestinians in Gaza, Hamas or the United Nations - especially the UNRWA.

Pardoned Killed

From the BBC:

“January 6 defendant killed by police days after Trump pardon”

An Indiana man who was pardoned by US President Donald Trump over the US Capitol riot was killed by police during a traffic stop days later. Matthew Huttle, 42, was shot and killed on Sunday when police pulled his vehicle over, and he allegedly resisted and ended up in an "altercation" with an officer, an Indiana State Police (ISP) statement said. It remains unclear what he was being arrested for. Police added that Huttle had a firearm in his possession during the traffic stop.

Huttle was one of nearly 1,600 people who were last week given pardons or commutations by Trump for their roles in the riot on 6 January 2021 - when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building in Washington DC.

Indiana police said the officer involved in the shooting was placed on paid administrative leave. "For full transparency, I requested the Indiana State Police to investigate this officer involved shooting," Jasper County Sheriff Patrick Williamson said. Huttle, and his uncle Dale Huttle, were among the hundreds of people who sentenced for storming the Capitol more than four years ago.

Huttle was in the US Capitol for some ten minutes during the riot and was ultimately sentenced to six months in prison as part of a plea deal. He was released from custody in July 2024. His uncle previously said he had no regrets about taking part in the riot: "I'm not ashamed of being there. It was our duty as patriots."

This is not the first case of a 6 January rioter facing trouble with the law following their pardon. Another of the group, Daniel Bell of Florida, was rearrested on federal gun charges last week. Both Huttle and Bell were among the hundreds of 6 January defendants who had their charges dismissed by Trump during his first day back in the White House. Among those who had their charges dismissed were some leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers - far-right organisations at the forefront of the riot. "These people have been destroyed," Trump said while announcing the pardons. "What they've (the justice system) done to these people is outrageous. There's rarely been anything like it in the history of our country."

But some have been critical of Trump's pardoning of the rioters. Over the weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said it was a "mistake" to pardon or commute the sentences of "people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently".

^ This is not the first case of one of the 1,600 Pardoned by Trump committing more crimes and sadly it won't be the last case. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgp9jgp7m0o

60: Maple Leaf

From History.com:

“Canada adopts maple leaf flag”

In accordance with a formal proclamation by Queen Elizabeth II of England, a new Canadian national flag is raised above Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

Beginning in 1610, Lower Canada, a new British colony, flew Great Britain’s Union Jack, or Royal Union Flag. In 1763, as a result of the French and Indian Wars, France lost its sizable colonial possessions in Canada, and the Union Jack flew all across the wide territory of Canada. In 1867, the Dominion of Canada was established as a self-governing federation within the British Empire, and three years later a new flag, the Canadian Red Ensign, was adopted. The Red Ensign was a solid red flag with the Union Jack occupying the upper-left corner and a crest situated in the right portion of the flag.

Canada’s Long, Gradual Road to Independence Canada was granted the right to self‑government in 1867, but did not gain full legal autonomy until 1931.  The search for a new national flag that would better represent an independent Canada began in earnest in 1925 when a committee of the Privy Council began to investigate possible designs. Later, in 1946, a select parliamentary committee was appointed with a similar mandate and examined more than 2,600 submissions. Agreement on a new design was not reached, and it was not until the 1960s, with the centennial of Canadian self-rule approaching, that the Canadian Parliament intensified its efforts to choose a new flag. In December 1964, Parliament voted to adopt a new design. Canada’s national flag was to be red and white, the official colors of Canada as decided by King George V of Britain in 1921, with a stylized 11-point red maple leaf in its center. Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed February 15, 1965, as the day on which the new flag would be raised over Parliament Hill and adopted by all Canadians.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/canada-adopts-maple-leaf-flag

Canadian Flags

 

80: Remembrance

From the AP:

“Auschwitz memorial holds observances on the 80th anniversary of the death camp's liberation”

The 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops is being marked on Monday at the site of the former death camp, a ceremony that is widely being treated as the last major observance that any notable number of survivors will be able to attend.

Among those who traveled to the site is 86-year-old Tova Friedman, who was 6 when she was among the 7,000 people liberated on Jan. 27, 1945. She believes it will the be last gathering of survivors at Auschwitz and she came from her home in New Jersey to add her voice to those warning about rising hatred and antisemitism. “The world has become toxic,” she told The Associated Press a day before the observances in nearby Krakow. “I realize that we’re in a crisis again, that there is so much hatred around, so much distrust, that if we don’t stop, it may get worse and worse. There may be another terrible destruction."

Nazi German forces murdered some 1.1 million people at the site in southern Poland, which was under German occupation during World War II. Most of the victims were Jews killed on an industrial scale in gas chambers, but also Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, gay people and others who were targeted for elimination in the Nazi racial ideology.

Elderly camp survivors, some wearing blue-and-white striped scarves that recall their prison uniforms, walked together to the Death Wall, where prisoners were executed, including Poles who resisted the occupation of their country.

They were joined by Polish President Andrzej Duda, whose nation lost 6 million citizens during the war. He carried a candle and walked with Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum director Piotr Cywinski. At the wall, the two men bowed their heads, murmured prayers and crossed themselves. “We Poles, on whose land — occupied by Nazi Germans at that time — the Germans built this extermination industry and this concentration camp, are today the guardians of memory,” Duda told reporters afterward. He spoke of the “unimaginable harm” inflicted on so many people, especially the Jewish people.

In all, the Nazis regime murdered 6 million Jews from all over Europe, annihilating two-thirds of Europe's Jews and one-third of all Jews worldwide. In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Across Europe, officials and others were pausing to remember.

“As the last survivors fade, it is our duty as Europeans to remember the unspeakable crimes and to honor the memories of the victims,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is German, said on X.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who leads a nation defending itself against Russia's brutal invasion, placed a candle at the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial a day before in Kyiv, where tens of thousands of Jews were executed during the Nazi occupation. On Monday he arrived in Poland to attend the commemorations. “The evil that seeks to destroy the lives of entire nations still remains in the world,” he wrote on his Telegram page.

Commemorations will culminate when world leaders and royalty will join with elderly camp survivors, the youngest of whom are in their 80s, at Birkenau, the part of Auschwitz where the mass murder of Jews took place.

Politicians, however, have not been asked to speak this year. Due to the advanced age of the survivors, about 50 of whom are expected, organizers are choosing to make them the center of the observances. Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, will also speak.

Among the leaders expected to attend are Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Germany has never sent both of its highest state representatives to the observances before, according to German news agency dpa. It is a sign of Germany's continued commitment to take responsibility for the nation's crimes, even with a far-right party gaining increased support in recent years.

French President Emmanuel Macron will attend after paying his respects at the Shoah Memorial in Paris, a symbolic tomb for the 6 million Jews who don't have a grave, and meeting with a survivor from Auschwitz and one from the Bergen-Belsen camp.

Britain's King Charles III will also be there, along with kings and queens from Spain, Denmark and Norway.

Russian representatives were in the past central guests at the anniversary observances in recognition of the Red Army liberation of the camp on Jan. 27, 1945, and the huge losses of Soviet forces in the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany. But they have not been welcome since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message to participants saying: “We will always remember that it was the Soviet soldier who crushed this dreadful, total evil and won the victory, the greatness of which will forever remain in world history.” Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a briefing Thursday: “There is something that needs to be said to the organizers and all the Europeans who will be there: your lives, your work and leisure, the very existence of your nations, your children have been paid for by Soviet soldiers, their lives, their blood.”

^ This was a good and solemn event. I watched it online. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/auschwitz-memorial-holds-observances-80th-081329777.html

80: Pictures

80^th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz Pictures:

80: Zelenskyy

From Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Facebook:

On January 27, the world honors the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. It was the Nazis' deliberate attempt to erase an entire nation—to kill all its people and destroy everything that reminded the world of the Jewish nation. Six million victims.

The crime of the Holocaust must never be repeated, yet, sadly, the memory of it is gradually fading. And the evil that seeks to destroy the lives of entire nations still exists in the world today.

We must all fight for the sake of life and remember that indifference is the breeding ground for evil. We must overcome hatred, which leads to cruelty and murder. We must not allow forgetfulness to take root. And it is everyone's mission to do everything possible to ensure that evil does not prevail.

On the eve of this Day, together with rabbis, representatives of the diplomatic corps and the team of our state, we honored the memory of the men and women, adults and children—millions who were killed in the Holocaust.

27 січня світ вшановує памʼять жертв Голокосту. Це було цілеспрямоване намагання нацистів стерти цілий народ – убити всіх його людей, знищити все, що нагадувало про євреїв. Шість мільйонів жертв.

Злочин Голокосту ніколи не має повторитись, але поступово, на жаль, памʼять про Голокост стає слабшою. І зло, яке намагається знищувати життя цілих народів, досі залишається у світі.

Ми всі маємо боротися заради життя й не забувати, що байдужість – це добриво для зла. Ми повинні долати ненависть, яка породжує знущання і вбивства. Ми повинні не допускати безпамʼятства. І це місія кожного – робити все, щоб зло не перемогло.

Напередодні цього дня разом з рабинами, разом із представниками дипломатичного корпусу та команди нашої держави вшанували памʼять чоловіків і жінок, дорослих і дітей – мільйонів, убитих під час Голокосту.

80: Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

“Statement by the Prime Minister on International Holocaust Remembrance Day”

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day:

“Eighty years ago today, the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp was liberated. Within its confines, over one million Jewish people had been barbarically murdered. As the largest camp under Hitler’s regime, it became one of the most important symbols of the Holocaust. “Let me be unequivocally clear – the Holocaust was one of the darkest chapters of human history. The Nazi regime systemically and senselessly murdered six million Jewish people, accounting for two thirds of the Jewish population in Europe. They killed millions of others, including 500,000 Roma and Sinti peoples, political opponents, 2SLGBTQI+ people, and people with disabilities. They executed a genocide of unconscionable inhumanity and evil. “The pain inflicted onto Holocaust survivors is still felt to this day. We can never bring back the six million Jewish lives lost during the Holocaust. We can never reunite the families torn apart forever. We can never finish the stories left incomplete. But we can remember. We can and must remind ourselves and each other of our obligation to stop this from ever happening again.

“Over the past 15 months, in the wake of Hamas’ horrifying attack against Israel and with the rise in antisemitism, Jewish people in Canada and across the world have felt unsafe in their communities, workplaces, and places of worship. This is unacceptable, and we are doubling down on our commitment to combat antisemitism and hate: With the Canada Community Security Program to enhance security at community spaces at risk of hate-motivated crimes. With new investments in Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028 and Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate. With the efforts of our Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, Deborah Lyons, including the launch of the Canadian Handbook on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism last fall. With a National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism being held in March. And later today, we will be announcing a new set of projects funded under the National Holocaust Remembrance Program, with more to come, to help Canadians better understand the Holocaust and the ways antisemitism still affects us today. “As social media and those who control its platforms seek to distort the horrors of the Holocaust and platform Holocaust denialism, it is now more important than ever to remember. To remember the hate and the cruelty. To remember, listen, and re-tell the stories of survivors while they’re still with us. To remember those who risked and gave their lives to save countless others. To remember our solemn vow: Never forget. Never again.”

 

Premier ministre du Canada

“Déclaration du premier ministre à l’occasion de la Journée internationale dédiée à la mémoire des victimes de l’Holocauste”

Le premier ministre Justin Trudeau a fait aujourd’hui la déclaration suivante à l’occasion de la Journée internationale dédiée à la mémoire des victimes de l’Holocauste :

« Il y a 80 ans aujourd’hui, le camp allemand nazi de concentration et d’extermination d’Auschwitz Birkenau était libéré. Dans son enceinte, plus d’un million de Juifs ont été assassinés de façon barbare. Comme il s’agissait du plus grand camp du régime hitlérien, il est devenu l’un des symboles les plus importants de l’Holocauste. « Permettez-moi d’être très clair : l’Holocauste est l’un des chapitres les plus sombres de l’histoire de l’humanité. Le régime nazi a assassiné systématiquement et sans raison six millions de Juifs, soit les deux tiers de la population juive d’Europe. Il a également tué des millions d’autres personnes, dont 500 000 Roms et Sintis, des opposants politiques, des personnes 2ELGBTQI+, ainsi que des personnes en situation de handicap. Il a perpétré un génocide d’une inhumanité et d’une cruauté inadmissibles.

« La douleur infligée aux survivants de l’Holocauste est ressentie encore aujourd’hui. Nous ne pourrons jamais ramener les six millions de Juifs qui ont perdu la vie pendant l’Holocauste. Nous ne pourrons jamais réunir les familles déchirées à jamais. Nous ne pourrons jamais clore les histoires laissées inachevées. Mais nous pouvons nous souvenir. Nous pouvons – et devons – nous rappeler, à nous-mêmes et aux autres, notre obligation d’empêcher qu’une telle tragédie ne se reproduise.

« Au cours des 15 derniers mois, à la suite de l’horrible attaque du Hamas contre Israël et face à la montée de l’antisémitisme, les Juifs du Canada et du monde entier se sont sentis en danger dans leurs communautés, sur leurs lieux de travail et dans leurs lieux de culte. C’est inacceptable. Nous redoublons donc d’efforts pour lutter contre l’antisémitisme et la haine. Dans le cadre du Programme pour la sécurité communautaire du Canada, nous renforçons la sécurité dans les lieux communautaires susceptibles d’être victimes de crimes motivés par la haine. Nous réalisons de nouveaux investissements dans le cadre de la Stratégie canadienne de lutte contre le racisme 2024-2028 et du Plan d’action canadien de lutte contre la haine. Nous appuyons les efforts de notre envoyée spéciale pour la préservation de la mémoire de l’Holocauste et la lutte contre l’antisémitisme, Deborah Lyons, y compris le lancement du Guide canadien sur l’antisémitisme selon la définition opérationnelle de l’Alliance internationale pour la mémoire de l’Holocauste l’automne dernier. Nous allons tenir en mars un Forum national pour lutter contre l’antisémitisme. Enfin, plus tard aujourd’hui, nous allons annoncer une nouvelle série de projets financés par le Programme national de commémoration de l’Holocauste, ainsi que d’autres projets par la suite, pour aider les Canadiens à mieux comprendre l’Holocauste et les façons dont l’antisémitisme nous affecte encore aujourd’hui. « Alors que des acteurs sur les médias sociaux et ceux qui contrôlent ces plateformes cherchent à déformer les horreurs de l’Holocauste et à promouvoir la négation de celui-ci, il est aujourd’hui plus important que jamais de nous souvenir. Nous souvenir de la haine et de la cruauté. Nous souvenir des histoires des survivants et les répéter tant qu’ils sont encore parmi nous. Nous souvenir de ceux qui ont risqué et donné leur vie pour en sauver d’innombrables autres. Nous souvenir de notre vœu solennel : nous n’oublierons jamais. Plus jamais. »

https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2025/01/27/statement-prime-minister-international-holocaust-remembrance-day

https://www.pm.gc.ca/fr/nouvelles/declarations/2025/01/27/declaration-du-premier-ministre-loccasion-de-la-journee

80: Governor-General

From The Governor General of Canada:

“Message from the Governor General on International Holocaust Remembrance Day”

Eighty years ago, on January 27, 1945, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated. More than one million people were sent to their deaths at this camp during the Holocaust. Canada and the international community are marking this somber anniversary to remind us of the dangers of antisemitism, and all forms of hostility towards diverse communities. As we honour the memories of those who suffered, we must also confront the realities of antisemitism that persist today. We have a collective responsibility to foster a culture of respect in communities across our country, and online. As we are doing with Reconciliation, let us learn from history so that the unspeakable mistakes of the past are never repeated. Let us work together to build an equal society that values diversity and human dignity, and that celebrates the contributions of every Canadian.

La gouverneure générale du Canada

“Message de la gouverneure générale à l’occasion de la Journée internationale dédiée à la mémoire des victimes de l’Holocauste”

Il y a 80 ans, le 27 janvier 1945, le camp de concentration d’Auschwitz-Birkenau a été libéré. Pendant l’Holocauste, plus d’un million de personnes ont été mises à mort dans ce camp. Le Canada et la communauté internationale commémorent cet événement comme un rappel des dangers de l’antisémitisme et de toute forme d’hostilité à l’égard des différentes communautés. Tout en honorant la mémoire de ces personnes qui ont souffert, nous devons également combattre les pratiques antisémites qui persistent aujourd’hui. Il nous incombe, collectivement, de promouvoir une culture du respect dans les communautés de notre pays et dans le monde virtuel. Ainsi que nous le faisons en poursuivant nos efforts de réconciliation, tirons des leçons de l’histoire afin de ne plus jamais répéter les erreurs abominables du passé. Œuvrons ensemble à l’édification d’une société égalitaire qui valorise la diversité, respecte la dignité humaine et reconnaît les contributions de toutes les personnes qui forment le Canada.

https://www.gg.ca/en/media/news/2025/international-holocaust-remembrance-day

https://www.gg.ca/fr/media/nouvelles/2025/journee-internationale-memoire-victimes-holocauste

80: Trump

Not sure why Trump didn't attend the 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Auschwitz Death Camp today.

Isn't he a Friend of Israel and the Jewish People?

Barking Contest

 

Clay Model

Mieczyslaw Stobierski’s Clay Model of a German Gas Chamber at Auschwitz from World War 2 (the Model is found in many Holocaust Museums around the World.)

Model 1: The whole replica.

Model 2: The Men, Women and Children enter.

Model 3: The Men, Women and Children are murdered inside the Gas Chamber.

Model 4: A close-up of the people inside the Gas Chamber trying to fight and claw their way to the top where the fresh air is.

Model 5: The dead bodies being burned in the Crematoria.

Checking In

 

 

Show your neighbors some love and kindness today by checking in on them. Even if that neighbor is a grouch!

52: The Draft

 

52 years ago today (January 27, 1973) the United States ended the Military Draft.

It had been in place, in different forms, throughout most of American History.

In Colonial America (1492-1776) the Thirteen Colonies used a Militia System for Defense which required able-bodied White Males to enroll in the Militia, to undergo a minimum of Military Training, and to serve for limited periods of time in War or Emergency.

The same Militia System was used after the United States became independent in 1776, but was done at the State Level (not the Federal Level) until 1789.

During the American Revolutionary War, the States sometimes Drafted Men for Militia Duty or to fill State Continental Army Units.

This First National Conscription was irregularly applied and failed to fill the Continental Ranks.

Post Ratification of the Constitution in 1789, Article I.8.15, allows for Congress to Conscript. Giving it the power to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; Section 8.16 of the same article, allows Congress to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.

Article II.2.1 makes the President the Commander in Chief of the Militia.

Conscientious Objection was allowed and you could pay a fine instead of serving.

The Second Militia Act of 1792 defined the First Group who could be called up as "each and every free able-bodied White Male Citizen" between the ages of 18 and 45.

During the War of 1812 (1812-1815): President James Madison unsuccessfully attempted to Federally Draft 40,000 Men.

During the American Civil War (1861-1865) both the Union and the Confederacy used the Draft.

In The Confederacy South: The First Conscription Act, passed April 16, 1862, made any White Male between 18 and 35 years old liable to three years of Military Service.

On September 27, 1862, the Second Act extended the age limit to 45 years.

The Third Act, passed February 17, 1864, changed this to 17 to 50 years old, for service of an unlimited period.

From 1862-1864 those Drafted could hire a Substitute to fight for them.

There were exemptions to the Draft (most notably the “Twenty Negro Law” where any White Man that owned 20 or more Black Slaves couldn’t be Drafted.)

It lasted until the Confederacy was defeated in 1865.

Conscientious Objection was allowed and you could pay a fine ($500 or $9,141.41 in today’s money) instead of serving.

In the Union North: The Militia Act of 1862 authorized a Draft within a State when the State could not meet its quota with Volunteers.

The Act, for the first time, also allowed Blacks to serve in the Militias as Soldiers and War Laborers, but in Segregated Units headed by White Officers.

Anyone Drafted could hire a Substitute (someone not themselves eligible to be Drafted) to fight for them. 2% of the Union Soldiers who fought were Draftees and 6% of the Union Soldiers who fought were Draftee Substitutes.

Conscientious Objection was allowed and you could pay a fine ($300 or $5,484.85 in today’s money) instead of serving.

The Enrollment Act of 1863 also known as the Civil War Military Draft Act was the first genuine National Conscription Law. The law required the enrollment of every Male Citizen and those Immigrants who had filed for Citizenship, between 20 and 45 years of age, unless exempted by the Act.

The Act replaced the Militia Act of 1862. It set up under the Union Army an elaborate machine for enrolling and Drafting Men for Conscription.

Quotas were assigned in each State, and each Congressional District, with deficiencies in Volunteers being met by Conscription.

The hiring of Substitutes was still allowed. Draft Boards were local.

Once the Civil War ended in 1865 the Draft also ended and until 1917 the US Military had only Volunteers (including during the Mexican-American War 1846-1848, the Second Opium War 1856-1859, the Various Indian Wars 1860s -1920s the Spanish-American War 1898, the Philippine-American War 1899-1902, the Boxer Rebellion 1899-1901 and the Mexican Border War 1910-1919.)

The Selective Service Act of 1917 allowed for the Draft during World War 1. All Males aged 21 to 30 were required to register to potentially be selected for Military Service.

At the request of the War Department, Congress amended the Law in August 1918 to expand the age range to include all men 18 to 45, and to bar further Volunteering.

Unlike during the Civil War no Draft Substitutes could fight for you.

The US Military was still Segregated. Draft Boards were local.

Conscientious Objection was allowed, but you had to serve in Non-Combat Military Roles.

By the end of World War I, some 2 Million Men Volunteered for various branches of the Armed Services, and some 2.8 Million had been Drafted.

The Draft ended when World War 1 ended on November 11, 1918.

From 1918-1940 the US Military only had Volunteers.

The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, also known as the Burke–Wadsworth Act, was the first Peacetime Conscription in United States History.

This Selective Service Act required that Men who had reached their 21st Birthday but had not yet reached their 36th Birthday register with local Draft Boards.

From 1940-1942 there was a National Draft Lottery.

When the U.S. entered World War II in 1941, all Men from their 18th Birthday until the day before their 45th Birthday were made subject to Military Service, and all Men from their 18th birthday until the day before their 65th Birthday were required to register and those Drafted served for the “duration of the War plus 6 months.”

From 1942-1945 the National Draft Lottery was replaced with the Local Draft Boards.

Conscientious Objection was allowed, but you had to join the Civilian Public Service (working in Soil Conservation, Forestry, Firefighting, Agriculture, Social Services and Mental Health Services.)

12,000 Americans served in the CPS.

By 1945, 50 Million American Men had registered for the Draft and 10 Million were Drafted.

From 1946-1948 the US Military had all Volunteers.

The Selective Service Act of 1948, also known as the Elston Act, was a major revision of the Articles of War of the United States enacted on June 24, 1948 that established the current implementation of the Selective Service System.

The new Law required all Men of age 18 to 26 to register. The US Military also became Integrated in 1948.

During the Korean War 1950-1953 The Selective Service System used Local Draft Boards to Draft 1.5 Million Men.

In 1953 President Eisenhower ended the Paternity Deferment for Married Men.

In 1962 President Kennedy ordered that Men with Children be placed at the bottom of the Draft List and Married Men without Children be placed right above those with Men with Children.

President Johnson ended both of these policies in 1965.

During the Vietnam War 1964-1973 8,744,000 Americans served in the US Military of whom 3,403,000 were deployed to Southeast Asia with 2,215,000 of them Draftees.

Of the nearly 16 Million Men not engaged in active military service, 96% were Exempted (typically because of jobs including other Military Service), Deferred (usually for Educational Reasons), or Disqualified (usually for Physical and Mental Deficiencies but also for Criminal Records including Draft Violations).

On December 1, 1969, a National Draft Lottery was held to establish a Draft priority for all those born between 1944 and 1950.

This was done by President Nixon because the Local Draft Boards were seen as favoring the White and Rich. A National Draft Lottery was also held in 1970, 1971 and 1972.

Conscientious Objection was allowed, but you had to serve in a Non-Combat Military Role or go to Prison.

On January 27, 1973 the US officially ended the Military Draft (after the Paris Peace Accord between the US and North Vietnam – also signed on January 27, 1973.)

From 1973-1980 not only was the US Military All-Volunteer, but Men no longer had to register for the Draft with the Selective Service System.

In 1980, after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, President Carter started requiring all Men to register for the Selective Service System from the time they were 18 until they were 25.

This requirement remains in place today with many Federal and State Penalties for not registering (ie. a Federal Felony punishable by up to 5 years Imprisonment or a $250,000 Fine.)

Today, the Selective Service System continues to update its policies with Congress in case the Draft is ever brought back.

If the Draft was returned there would be a National Draft Lottery to ensure equality (although Women still won’t be Drafted even though they have been allowed in Combat Roles since 2016.)

College Deferments would only last until the end of that Semester and not when you graduated.

Current Change to any National Draft Lottery: The Men called first would be those who are or will turn 20 years old in the calendar year or those whose Deferments will end in the calendar year.

Each year after, the Man will be placed on a lower priority status until his liability ends.

For 52 years the US Military has been an All-Volunteer Force.

They have fought in: the last days of the Cold War 1973-1991, Lebanon 1982-1984, Grenada 1983, Libya 1986, Panama 1989-1990, the Gulf War 1990-1991, Iraqi No-Fly Zone 1991-2003, Somalia 1992-1995, the Former Yugoslavia 1992-1996, Haiti 1994-1995, Kosovo 1998-1999, Afghanistan 2001-2021, Yemen 2002-Present, Iraq 2003-2021, Pakistan 2004-2018, Somalia 2007-Present, Indian Ocean Pirates 2009-2016, Libya 2011, Uganda 2011-2017, Syria 2014-Present and Libya 2015-2019.

A Poll conducted in 1973 (when the Draft ended) found that 84% of every American either served or knew a Loved One that served in the US Military.

A Poll conducted in 2019 found that 0.01% of every American either served or knew a Loved One that served in the US Military.