The Best

 (Konoba Vinica Monkovic Tavern outside of Dubrovnik. Croatia.)

The best Pizza I’ve ever had wasn’t when I was in Venice, Italy (it was actually the worst Pizza I’ve ever had) or even in New York City.

It was when I was at a place off the main road in a very small town near Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness in Scotland.

The best Cuban Sandwich I’ve ever had wasn’t when I was in Tampa or in Little Havana in Miami, Florida.

It was when I was at Boston’s Logan Airport waiting to fly to Iceland.

The best Shish-Kabab I’ve ever had wasn’t made by Turks when I was in Germany.

It was at a small Dacha outside of Yaroslavl, Russia in the dead of Winter.

The best Hamburger I’ve ever had wasn’t at a McDonald’s.

It was at a small Family-run Tavern outside of Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Sometimes, you have to go off-the-beaten-path to find the good things in life (food or otherwise.)

Saturday

I hope all you awesome people are having a great Saturday!

And for the non-awesome people: I hope you too are having a great Saturday!

Watching

 

75: Mark Hamill

 

Cookies

 

Sukkot

 

Happy Sukkot to all my Jewish Friends!

I was in Israel in October 2017 when Sukkot was going on and took this picture.

Friday

 

AfD Bans Memorials

From the DW:

“AfD, CDU ban new Holocaust 'stumbling stones' in Heidenau”

The town of Heidenau, near Dresden, has banned new Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) on public streets, with the center-right CDU and the far-right AfD voting together to stop the installation of new memorial plaques bearing the names of Holocaust victims.

The Stolpersteine are comprised of a concrete cube with a metal plaque on top that bears the victim's name. They are often seen in German streets, installed just slightly higher than the surrounding walking surface, often near the houses of people targeted by the Nazi regime.

German artist Gunter Demnig started the project in the early 1990s. While most of the 128,000 such paving stones were installed in Germany, they have also been placed in 30 other countries affected by the Nazi regime, making them the largest decentralized monument in the world. The initiators of the Heidenau ban argue that, while remembering Holocaust victims is an essential task, the placement of stones leads to "passersby walking over or even stepping onto the names of the victims." They suggested honoring Holocaust victims at one of the city's cemeteries instead.

Demnig, now 78, has rejected this argument. The artist said that remembrance must be visible where people used to live, and that stumbling stones make history tangible for local young people. At the same time, he said he saw the ban coming due to the outcome of recent state elections in Germany. "After the electoral successes of the AfD, something like this was completely expected," Demnig was quoted as saying by the DPA news agency. He expressed hope that the Heidenau ban would remain an exception and pledged to "push on now more than ever" with his work. Demnig also accused the center-right CDU (Christian Democratic Union) of abandoning Christian values. He said the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz "should maybe drop the C" from their acronym "because they have dropped Christianity already."

Many others also responded with outrage to the CDU's decision to join forces with the AfD to pass the motion. The move comes with Chancellor Merz already facing a political crisis over his party's poor electoral performance, and raises questions about the political "firewall" against the far right which mainstream political parties in Germany have maintained to keep the AfD out of power.

On Friday, one of the top two leaders of Germany's Green Party, Felix Banaszak, described the move as "a scandal." Banaszak pointed to the current debate on right-wing extremism and the rise of the AfD, saying that everything must be done "to keep alive the memories of those who were persecuted and killed."

The International Auschwitz Committee also slammed the CDU support to the motion as scandalous. "This is a transparent and despicable attempt to drive Nazi victims in Heidenau out of the city once again and dispose of them where, according to the AfD, their memory has belonged a long time ago — at the cemetery," said Christoph Heubner, the organization's executive vice president.

^ This is the beginning of Germany going back to 1933.

The AfD is a Neo-Nazi Party that is Anti-Semitic (ie. Anti-Jewish), that believe in Holocaust Denial (even though it is Illegal in Germany to do so), DO not Believe Germany should have any Memorials or Museums to the 6 Million Jewish Men, Women and Children that the Germans killed from 1933-1945, want to make Kosher Food illegal in Germany and making it illegal to have these Holocaust Memorials is only the start of their campaign to create Germany’s Fourth Reich (Germany’s Third Reich was under Hitler.)

That fact that the CDU helped the AfD in banning these Holocaust Memorials is just as disgraceful as what the AfD stands for.

The AfD should be banned inside Germany since it continuously breaks German Federal Law (ie. Holocaust Denial, being a Neo-Nazi Group, etc.) yet sadly the German Federal Government allows them to continue to spread their hate and discrimination across the country.

Some people may think this is only a small step, but it starts with a small step to see how far you are able to go and we saw that with the Nazis and we are now seeing that with the AfD.

Any German who doesn’t stand up against the AfD is supporting their hatred and any Anti-Jewish Violence that later comes from them. ^

  https://www.dw.com/en/afd-cdu-ban-new-holocaust-stumbling-stones-in-heidenau/a-79433919

Good Boy

 

Dolly Parton Day!

 

Maricarmen

From the BBC:

“Dramatic eviction of woman aged 87 highlights Spain's housing shortage”

The dramatic eviction of an 87-year-old woman from the home in Madrid where she lived for seven decades has drawn attention to the depth of Spain's housing crisis. The tenant of the flat in the Retiro area of central Madrid, Maricarmen, was unable to pay the rent set by the investment firm that owns it. Maricarmen's father first rented the property in 1956 and she continued as the tenant after her parents died, during which time there was a cap on the rent.

However, the company that bought the property in 2018, Urbagestión, cited a legal glitch allowing it to raise her rent from €500 (£428; $572) to €2,650. It subsequently lowered the new rent to €1,650 but Maricarmen was still unable to pay it with her monthly pension of €1,350. Three previous attempts to evict her were blocked by the courts and the case has received increasing media attention.

Supporters of Maricarmen camped outside the building on Tuesday night, joined by celebrities including Javier Bardem's brother, Carlos, and the singer Ana Belén, who read out the poem Desahucio (Eviction) by Rafael Alberti. Several hundred people, mostly youngsters, had gathered by the morning in a bid to prevent the eviction from taking place, chanting "Maricarmen stays". Some activists blocked the stairs inside the building.

In a video posted on social media, a tearful Maricarmen thanked those who had come out to support her against "this cruel struggle by someone who wants to earn money". Police cordoned off a section of the street and removed people from the entrance to the building, including members of the media, striking some protesters with batons.

A representative of tenants' organisation Sindicato de Inquilinas shouted at the police through a megaphone: "Think for 10 seconds about Maricarmen, who could be your own grandmother.""There is a police deployment as if this were a military operation," said Beatriz Duro, Maricarmen's lawyer. "This is the fourth time [they've tried to evict her] but the first time they've come right to the door of the property. It's completely disproportionate."

In June, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called for the pensioner's eviction to be halted and for her to be offered affordable alternative accommodation. The local government said she had declined its offer of a place in an elderly care home.The central government said Urbagestión had refused its repeated attempts to negotiate Maricarmen's situation. The BBC has attempted to contact the company.

The possibility of a last-minute reprieve for Maricarmen appeared when an anonymous donor offered to pay most of her rent. However, Urbagestión reportedly rejected the offer and the eviction went ahead. "Today is a very sad day, a very dramatic day, when it's plain to see the effects of unbridled speculation, of not wanting to control the market, of putting out the red carpet for the vultures and the speculators," said Housing Minister Teresa Rodríguez.

A shortage of available housing has been blamed for soaring rental costs in recent years, which have left millions of Spaniards struggling to find affordable homes.

In Madrid, rentals have increased by more than 100% over the last decade, according to property site Idealista, with a 10% rise over the last year. The Socialist-led government of Pedro Sánchez has frequently targeted companies whose investment pushes up housing costs. In January, the prime minister said he aimed to "protect those who are most exposed to that speculation and that greed". However, some critics of the government say it needs to work harder to build new homes, and others warn that its rhetoric discourages many owners from placing their properties on the rental market.

^ This is just plain disgusting and wrong. ^

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6vgy55lm8z1o

 

Julia Wallach

Julia Wallach

Julia Wallach was born Julia Kac on June 14, 1925 in Paris, France.

She was the only Daughter of Polish Jewish Immigrants living in France.

Julia was 14 years old when the Germans invaded and occupied Paris in June 1940.

Julia’s Mother, Marie, was arrested during the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup and Julia never saw her again.

The Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup (French:  la rafle du Vel' d'Hiv' and German: Rafle du Vélodrome d’Hiver) took place on July 16-17, 1942 in German-Occupied Paris.

French Nazi Collaborators including 9,000 Paris Policemen, arrested 13,152 Jews including 4,114 Children in Paris and kept them at the Vélodrome d'Hiver (an Indoor Bicycle Racing Track) in Paris before being sent to the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland.

Only 100 of the 9,038 Adult Jews arrested during the Roundup survived the War.

None of the 4,114 Jewish Children arrested during the Roundup survived the War.

On April 1943 Julia and were Father, Joseph, who were in hiding, were denounced as Jews and arrested.

They were imprisoned at the Drancy Internment Camp outside of Paris.

On June 23, 1943 both were deported to the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland on Transport Number 55.

Of the 1,008 Men, Women and Children deported from Drancy to Auschwitz on Transport Number 55 with Julia and her Father 518 of them were gassed immediately upon arrival at the Camp.

383 Men and 217 Women were selected for Forced Labor including Julia.

Her Father, Joseph, died (it is not known if he was gassed upon arriving at Auschwitz or from doing Forced Labor there.)

Julia was registered as Prisoner Number: 46645 at Auschwitz.

Julia survived in Auschwitz until she was made to go on a Death March in January 1945 (because the Soviet Red Army was close to liberating the Death Camp.)

She walked in the snow and cold with 58,000 other Prisoners.

Anyone who stopped was shot dead by the Germans.

Julia ended up in the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp 56 miles from Berlin.

As the Soviets again came close to liberating Ravensbrück Julia was sent on another Death March in April 1945 from which she escaped and eventually reached American Soldiers.

She was 19 years old when the War ended in May 1945.

After the War Julia went back to Paris and recovered her Family’s Apartment (which many Survivors in Postwar Europe were not allowed to do.)

On July 27, 1945 Julia married Marcel Wallach, another Holocaust Survivor, and had two Children.

From the 1960s onwards she regularly spoke about the Holocaust and what happed to her.

In  2022 Julia was awarded France’s Légion d’honneur.

Julia Wallach died on September 23, 2026 at the age of 101.

Restart

 

Doris Fedrid

Doris Fedrid

(Doris (center) and her Husband, Fred (far right), pictured in the front row of an English Class offered by the Hebrew Society for the Deaf sometime before 1963.)

Doris Fedrid was June 26, 1927, in Tarnopol, Poland (Present Day: Ternopil, Ukraine.)

She was born to a Jewish Family and was Deaf.

At 7 years old she went to live at a Jewish School for the Deaf in Lwów, Poland (Present-Day: Lviv, Ukraine.)

She described the School in the following way: “It was all lip reading … if they caught us signing, they would hit our hands with wood, or they'd tie our hands behind our back.”

When the Germans invaded her area of Poland in June 1941 (which had been occupied by the Soviets from September 1939 until June 1941) 14 year old Doris and her Family were imprisoned in the Tarnopol Ghetto (Polish: (Polish: getto w Tarnopolu, German: Ghetto Tarnopol.)

18,600 Jewish Men, Women and Children were forced into the Tarnopol Ghetto.

Jews from other, smaller Ghettoes were then sent into the Tarnopol Ghetto where 20,000 were murdered inside the Ghetto and at the Belzec Death Camp (124 miles away.)

Being Deaf, Doris had to work extra hard to understand the German Guards and the ever changing rules in the Ghetto otherwise it meant death.

In June 1943 Doris escaped from the Tarnopol Ghetto and went into hiding and survived the War.

In 1945 she learned that her Parents and Sister, Esther, had also survived.

The Family moved to New York in January 1947.

Doris found a vibrant Deaf Community and began to learn American Sign Language.

She met Fred Fedrid at an American Citizenship Class for Deaf Immigrants and they married.

He was also a Deaf Holocaust Survivor.

Fred died in 1963.

Doris Fedrid died on May 17, 2014.

She was 86 years old.

16,000 Non-Jewish Deaf People were murdered by the Germans under their T4 Program (the Mass Murder of the Mentally and Physically Disabled in Germany and Austria) from 1939-1945.

17,000 Non-Jewish Deaf People were Forcibly Sterilized by the Germans under their T4 Program) in Germany and Austria from 1939-1945.

25,000 Jewish Deaf People were murdered by the Germans during the War simply for being Deaf (being Jewish was secondary.)

An Unknown Number of Jewish Deaf People from across German-Occupied Europe were murdered for simply being Jewish and are included in the 6 Million Jews murdered by the Germans from 1933-1945.

3: NK Flee

 

3 Years ago today (September 24, 2023) 120,000 Armenians were stranded in Nagorno-Karabakh when it was completely occupied by Azerbaijan on September 20, 2023 and were forced to flee from Nagorno-Karabakh to the rest of Armenia due to Anti-Armenian violence by Azerbaijan.

Anti-Armenian Sentiment is widespread in Azerbaijan. A 2022 Poll found that 91% of Azeris perceive Armenians as the “biggest threat to Azerbaijan.”

This is not a modern trend:

From 1918-1920 when Azerbaijan was independent there were organized killings of Armenians in Baku and Shusa. 20,000 Armenians were murdered in Shusa and 30,000 Armenians were murdered in Baku.

February-March 1988 Sumgait Pogrom where 200 Armenians were murdered by the Azeris and an unknown number wounded during Soviet Times.

September 1988 Armenian Expulsion in Shusa where a 61 year old Armenian was killed and 33 Armenians were wounded by the Azeris during Soviet Times.

The January 1990 Baku Pogrom where the Azeris murdered 90 Armenians and wounded 700 Armenians in the Azeri Capital during Soviet Times.

From 1988-1990 250,000 Armenians were deported or forced to flee from Azerbaijan.

The Nagorno-Karabakh War has been going on since 1990 in different stages:

The 1st Nagorno-Karabakh War was from 1992-1994 with an Armenian Victory. 4,000 Armenian Civilians were killed. 500,000 Armenians were displaced from Azeri Territory.

The 2nd Nagorno-Karabakh War was in 2020 with an Azeri Victory. 85 Armenian Civilians were killed. 100,00 Armenians were displaced.

1,960 Russian Peacekeepers were sent to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, but were ineffective to stop the violence or to protect Civilians from the Ceasefire Breaches.

Blockade of the Lachin Corridor (connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia) forcing the layoffs of over 11,000 Armenians and extreme scarcity of electricity, water, food, medicines, etc.

The 3rd Nagorno-Karabakh War was in September 2023 with an Azeri Victory. 10 Armenians were killed and 120,000 Armenians were displaced.

The 120,000 Armenian Civilians stuck in Azeri-Controlled Nagorno-Karabakh and fleeing to Armenia in September 2023 had to undergo tight Azeri Military Checkpoints and searches (where many of their household goods were taken from them and many Armenians were arrested and kept by the Azeris

Only a few Armenian Elderly and Disabled stayed in Azeri-Controlled Nagorno-Karabakh (because they couldn’t physically flee.) Azeri Authorities took their Passports and have been monitoring their communications.

A Peace Treaty signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan in August 2025 aimed to end the Nagorno-Karabakh War and to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Note: Nagorno-Karabakh has had Armenians living there since the 7th Century BC and has many ancient Christian Churches and Monasteries - most of which have been destroyed or defaced by the Azeris. Armenians had always been more than 50% of the population.

Picture: Armenians trying to flee Nagorno-Karabakh - September 2023.

Friend

 

Dogs Are Family

 

300 Sign Languages

There are 300 different Sign Languages used around the World.

Each Sign Language is unique and not understood by Users of other Sign Languages or even by Users of the Spoken Language.

To illustrate, in terms of syntax, American Sign Language shares more in common with Spoken Japanese than with Spoken English.

A Person who knows American Sign Language doesn’t automatically know and understand Spoken English the same way a Person who knows Spoken English doesn’t automatically know and understand American Sign Language.

They are separate Languages and need to be learned separately.

A Person who knows American Sign Language doesn’t automatically know and understand British Sign Language the same way a Person who knows British Sign Language doesn’t automatically know and understand American Sign Language.

They are separate Languages and need to be learned separately.

Around 1 Million People know American Sign Language in the United States as either their Sole Language or as their Second Language (out of a Population of 330 Million People.)

70 Million People Worldwide know any sort of Sign Language as either their Sole Language or as their Second Language (out of a Population of 8 Billion People.)

430 Million People Worldwide are either Deaf or Hard-Or-Hearing. Most do now use an organized Sign Language, but use their own Homemade or Pidgin Sign Language that only they, their Family and Friends understand.

Mr And Mrs

If I met an Adult when I was a Child and called them Mr. or Mrs........ then I will continue to call them Mr. and Mrs....... even though I've been an Adult myself for many years.

War Reality

 

This is what every Ukrainian Man, Woman and Child has had to deal with for 4 1/2 years of Russia's War.

Sign Languages

Today is International Day of Sign Languages.

There are around 466 Million Deaf People around the World (even more are Hard-Of-Hearing.)

 1 in 20 Americans or 1,000,000 people are Deaf (10,000,000 are Hard-Of-Hearing.)

Collectively, these People use over 300 different Sign Languages.

A lot of people do not realize that Sign Languages are natural fully-fledged Languages.

While they may be different structurally to the Spoken Language, they should be given just as much credit and importance.

There is also an International Sign Language. This is used by Deaf People when they are socializing and traveling, as well as when they are in international meetings.

It is a pidgin type of Sign Language, which is not as complicated as Natural Sign Languages.

It should also be noted that Someone who knows American Sign Language does not automatically know Spoken American English and vice versa.

Or Someone who knows American Sing Language cannot automatically understand Someone who uses British Sign Language and vice versa.

Sign Languages Day

 

Cold But Hot

 

40: Alf

 

Sign On

 

2026 Holidays

 

Fall

 

Fall Twice

 

Tail Wagging

 

79: Stephen King

 

Good Exists

 

Denmark In WW2

Denmark During World War 2

(Picture: During the German Occupation, Danish King Christian X became a strong symbol of national independence. This picture was taken on the King's Birthday in 1940.)

From September 1, 1939 until April 9, 1940 Denmark was Neutral during World War 2.

That changed when on April 9, 1940 Nazi Germany invaded Denmark.

The Invasion was called Operation Weserübung (German: Unternehmen Weserübung or in English: Operation Weser Exercise.)

Nazi Germany wanted to occupy Norway to prevent the British from occupying it and they had to go through Denmark to get to Norway.

After less than 6 hours of fighting in which 39 Danish Soldiers died the Danish Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning surrendered Denmark to the Germans.

The German Occupation (Danish: Besættelsen) of Denmark began.

Unlike his Brother King Haakon VII of Norway, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, King George II of Greece, Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg, King Peter II of Yugoslavia and President Władysław Raczkiewicz of Poland, all of whom went into Exile during the Nazi Occupation of their Countries King Christian X remained in Denmark and on the Throne during the German Occupation of Denmark.

The Germans considered the Danes “Aryans” like themselves and so gave the Danes more control over Domestic Policies then they did anywhere else they Occupied.

Denmark Collaborated with the Nazis from April 9, 1940 until August 23, 1943 under a Policy known as Cooperation (Danish: samarbejdspolitikken.)

Thorvald Stauning remained the Danish Prime Minister from April 9, 1940 until his death on May 3, 1942.

Vilhelm Buhl then became the Danish Prime Minister from May 4, 1942 until November 2, 1942.

Erik Scavenius was the Danish Prime Minister from November 9, 1942 until August 29, 1943.

The Danish Parliament, Courts, Police and Civil Administration continued to operate, but under German Orders.

Danish Resistance Groups from April 1940 until August 1943 were mostly Non-Violent towards the German Occupation Forces focusing on spying and printing Illegal newspapers.

After the German Occupation of Denmark the British Occupied the Danish Faroe Islands (on April 13, 1940 until May 1945.)

The British and Canadians Occupied Danish Iceland (on May 10, 1940) and the Americans Occupied Iceland in July 1941until May 1945.

Iceland became a Republic in 1944 and left the Kingdom of Denmark.

The Americans Occupied Danish Greenland from December 11, 1941 until May 1945.

2,000 Danes joined the Volunteers of Free Corps Denmark (Danish: Frikorps Danmark, German: Freikorps „Danmark“) part of the Waffen-SS.

39,000 Danes joined The National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark (Danish: Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Arbejderparti; DNSAP) the Danish Equivalent to the German Nazi Party.

The Danish Government refused to discriminate against its Jewish Citizens (there were 8,000 Jews in Denmark at the time) from April 1940 until August 1943.

On June 21, 1941 (when Nazi Germany invaded its Former Ally the Soviet Union) Denmark arrested 246 Danish Communists including 3 Members of the Danish Parliament.

On August 22, 1941 the Danish Parliament created the “Communist Law” (Danish: Kommunistloven) and banned the Communist Party.

In October 1942, Hitler transmitted a long, flattering Birthday Telegram to King Christian.

The King replied with a simple "Spreche Meinen besten Dank aus. Chr. Rex" ("Giving my best thanks. King Christian") sending the Führer into a state of rage at this deliberate slight, and seriously damaging Danish Relations with Germany. Hitler immediately recalled his Ambassador and expelled the Danish Ambassador from Germany.

It was known as the Telegram Crisis (Danish: Telegramkrisen or German: Telegrammkrise.)

After the German Defeat at Stalingrad in the USSR in February 1943 Danish Resistance against the Germans began to pick-up.

In March 1943 the Germans allowed the Danes to hold a General Election where Voter Turnout was 89.5% (the highest of any Parliamentary Election) with 94% of the Votes for Democratic Parties (2.1% Voted for the National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark.)

After the Election growing Civil Disobedience and Strikes were held throughout Denmark.

The German Occupation Forces declared Martial Law in Denmark on August 29, 1943.

The Danish Parliament and the Danish Prime Minister were forbidden to meet.

The Germans now controlled every aspect of life throughout Occupied Denmark.

Danish Resistance went from being Non-Violent to Violent against the German Occupation Forces from August 1943 until May 1945.

In September 1943 German Diplomat Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz who worked at the German Embassy in Copenhagen learned that the Gestapo were going to arrest and deport all 8,000 Jews in Denmark on October 1, 1943.

He flew to Stockholm, Sweden (which was Neutral during World War 2) and received permission from the Swedish Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson to allow the Danish Jews entry into Sweden.

On September 28, 1943 Duckwitz informed the Head of the Jewish Community in Denmark, C. B. Henriques, and the Acting Chief Rabbi, Marcus Melchior, about the planned Deportation.

On September 29, 1943 (the day before Rosh Hashannah or Jewish New Year’s) the Church of Denmark (Danish: Folkekirken) issued a Pastoral Letter to all Danish Citizens to help the Jews of Denmark get to safety.

On October 2, 1943 the Swedish Government announced in an Official Statement that Sweden was prepared to accept all Danish Jews (after the Danish Physicist Niels Bohr, whose Mother was Jewish, had fled to Sweden and begged Swedish King Gustaf V to allow the Danish Jews into Seeden.)

7,500 of the Danish Jews went into hiding with the help of the Danish Resistance and Ordinary Danish Citizens.

They were then smuggled on boats over the Øresund Strait from Zealand, Denmark to Sweden (which took around an hour.)

The Danish Fishermen charged on average 1,000 Danish Kroner per Person for the transport, but some charged up to 50,000 Kroner.

The Average Monthly Salary at the time was 500 Danish Korner.

The Danish Resistance paid for half the expense (10 Million Danish Kroner) and the Jews themselves paid the other half (10 Million Danish Kroner.)

Of the 500 Danish Jews who didn’t leave Denmark 464 were arrested by the Germans.

They were sent to the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in German-Occupied Czechoslovakia (Present Day: the Czech Republic.)

The Danish Red Cross tried to keep track of the Danish Jews in Theresienstadt and even convinced the Germans not to deport them to the Death Camps in German-Occupied Poland.

Of the 464 Danish Jews arrested, 51 died in Theresienstadt.

In April 1945, Folke Bernadotte of the Swedish Red Cross used a Policy called “White Buses” to move 15,000 (8,000 Danish and Norwegian Jews and 7,000 French, Polish, Czech, British and American Jews) from German Concentration Camps (including Theresienstadt) to Sweden.

On September 14, 1944 the Germans arrested 1,960 Danish Policemen for refusing to help the Germans.

8,040 Danish Policemen were able to evade being arrested due to being warned beforehand.

 The 1,960 Policemen who were arrested were deported to the Neuengamme Concentration Camp in Germany then moved to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Germany then sent to a Prisoner-Of-War Camp in Mühlberg, German.

131 of these Policemen died during the War.

The British liberated Denmark on May 5,1945.

The easternmost Danish Island of Bornholm was liberated by the Soviets who remained there until April 5, 1946.

380 Danish Resistance Members were killed during the War.

900 Non-Jewish Danish Civilians were killed during the War.

6,000 Non-Jewish Danish Civilians were sent to German Concentration Camps during the War (of whom 600 died.)

Vilhelm Buhl was made the Prime Minister of Denmark again from May 5, 1945 until November 7, 1945.

40,000 Danes were tried for Collaborating with the Germans after the War.

Only 13,500 of those 40,000 where punished in any way after a Trial.

Over 200,000 German Prisoners-Of-War were made to demine the areas of Denmark that the Germans had mined during the War.

Half of them died from the mines.

By the time Nazi Germany was defeated in May 1945 there were 250,000 German Refugees living in Denmark – having fled the Soviets in East Prussia.

The first of these 250,000 Refugees returned to Post-War Allied (British, French, American and Soviet) Occupied Germany in November 1946.

50,000 Danish Women had Sexual Romances with the Germans during the War.

They were called “tyskerpiger” or “Pro-German Girls.”

At least 5,579 “War Babies” (with a German Father and a Danish Mother) were born from 1940-1945.

These “War Babies” were discriminated against by Danish Society after 1945.

On March 21, 1971 Israel’s Yad Vashem made Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz “Righteous Among The Nations.”

On March 21, 1979 Israel’s Yad Vashem made all the Members of the Danish Resistance “Righteous Among the Nations” for their work in saving the 7,500 Jews from Denmark during the War.

Old Tactics

Putin is using Old Soviet Election Tactics.

Only the Candidates he approved of are allowed on the Ballot and every Russian Adult and Ukrainian Adult in Russian-Occupied Ukraine has to Vote or they can be sent to a Forced Labor Penal Colony for 2 years.

Russia Votes

 

The Russian Parliamentary Elections are currently going on in Russian-Occupied Ukraine and in Russia itself.

This is the first Elections since Russia started its Full-Scale War in Ukraine in February 2022.

Putin and his Minions are using Soviet Tactics for this Election.

Every Russian Adult has to vote.

They get a Stamp in their Internal Passport stating that they voted.

If you don’t have the Stamp you can lose your Government Benefits, lose your Job and even be sent to a Forced Labor Penal Colony for 2 years.

The only Candidates allowed on the Ballot are Putin’s Allies.

Every Ukrainian Adult in Russian-Occupied Ukraine also has to vote.

Russia forced all the People in Russian-Occupied Ukraine to get a Russian Internal Passport or not be allowed to get Food Rations, Medical Help, go to School or University or Work.

You could also be sent to a Reeducation Camp in Russia where you are tortured and even killed.

Russian Soldiers, pointing guns, are at every Polling Station.

Nothing say a “Free Election” like being forced to Vote or having Soldiers pointing guns at you as you vote.

12 Minutes

 

Moscow Burns

 

(Moscow on fire today.)

Moscow, Russia is on fire today after Ukraine attacked the Russian Capital last night in the largest Air Raid on the City.

It also happened on the 3^rd day of Russia’s Parliamentary Elections (the first Elections since Russia’s War in Ukraine started in February 2022.)

While Ukraine targeted legitimate Military Targets (the  Gazprom-MNPZ Oil Refinery which produces 11 Million tons of Oil a year) the Russians continue to target Civilians in Ukraine (using Drones to “stalk” Teenagers and the Elderly before they are blown up and killed – the videos are then uploaded on Russian Websites.)

Dog Plans

 

15: Don't Ask Don't Tell

 

15 years ago today (September 20, 2011) the US Military officially ended its “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Policy making it legal for Homosexuals to openly serve in the US Military.

“Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” was created in 1993.

Before “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” Homosexuals were not allowed to openly serve in the US Military and it was even a Crime across the United States to be Gay or Lesbian.

From 1776 until 1921 there were no official Laws within the US Military making it illegal for Homosexuals to serve, but any Homosexual who was found serving was immediately Discharged.

The First Known Homosexual Discharged from the US Military was Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin, a German fighting with George Washington at Valley Forge, who was “drummed out” of the Continental Army on March 11, 1778 following his Conviction at his Court-Martial of Sodomy.

On February 4, 1921 the US Military the US Articles of War of the United States  of 1916 was amended to include Article 93 that made Sodomy or the Attempt to Commit Sodomy illegal.

It was the first time Homosexuality was made officially illegal in the US Military.

From 1921-1947 all the Branches of the US Military had their own, independent polices of what to do with a Homosexual serving within the Armed Forces.

For the most part when a Soldier, Sailor or Airman/woman was suspected or found to be Homosexual they could either deny the charge and be Court-Martialed (and 99.9% found to be guilty of Sodomy) or say they were Homosexual.

They then received a “Blue Discharge” which was a Discharge Without Honor, Neither Honorable Nor Dishonorable.

People discharged with a “Blue Discharge” were not eligible for the GI Bill Benefits or VA Benefits and were excluded from serving in the US Federal Government, as Teachers and in many other Civilian Occupations.

“Blue Discharges” were ended in 1947 and were changed to either a "General Discharge" or an "Undesirable Discharge.”

A General Discharge was considered to be under Honorable Conditions though distinct from an "Honorable Discharge".

An Undesirable Discharge was under conditions other than Honorable, yet distinct from a "Dishonorable Discharge."

In 1942, Military Psychiatrists warn that "Psychopathic Personality Disorders" make Homosexual Individuals unfit to fight.”

In October 1949 the Department of Defense created a uniformed Anti-Homosexuality Policy within the US Military.

The DoD stated “Homosexual Personnel, irrespective of Sex, should not be permitted to serve in any Branch of the Armed Forces in any capacity, and prompt separation of known Homosexuals from the Armed Forces is mandatory."

On May 6, 1950 President Truman created the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which became effective on May 31, 1951.

 It established a single Justice System for the Armed Forces.

Its Article 125 forbade Sodomy among all Military Personnel, defining an Offender as "any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite Sex or with an animal is guilty of Sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offence."

On April 27, 1950 President Dwight D Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450 which prohibited Federal Employees (including those in the US Military) from being Members of a Group or Organization considered subversive.

The Order lists "Sexual Perversion" (ie Homosexuality) as a security risk constituting grounds for termination or denial of Employment.

In 1957 the US Navy conducted the first Study of Homosexuals in the Navy.

The Crittenden Report found that “Homosexual People were no more likely to be a Security risk than Heterosexual People”, but nevertheless recommended that Homosexuals be excluded from Service because "Homosexuality is wrong, it is evil, and it is to be branded as such."

In September 1975 Technical Sergeant Leonard Phillip Matlovich became the first Openly Gay Active Duty Service Member when he appeared on “Time” Magazine’s Cover.

Matlovich, who served 3 Tours in Vietnam and was seriously wounded by a Landmine, was immediately Discharged from the US Air Force for being Gay.

On January 16, 1981 The Department of Defense issued Directive 1332.14, stating that "Homosexuality is incompatible with Military Service" and that any Service Member who has "engaged in, has attempted to engage in, or has solicited another to engage in a Homosexual act" will face Mandatory Discharge.

The Directive was reissued with updates in 1982, 1993 and 2008.

In December 1988 a Report commissioned by the Department of Defense, the Defense Personnel Security Research and Education Center supported the conclusions of the 1957 Crittenden Report that Homosexuals pose no significant security risk.

US Military Leaders and Politicians challenged its findings.

On June 12, 1992 The Government Accounting Office (GAO) released a Report estimating that the cost associated for replacing Service Men and Women Discharged for Homosexuality was $28,266 for each Enlisted Member and $120,772 for each Officer. The GAO notes that the estimates do not include investigation, out-processing and Court costs.

On November 30, 1993 President Bill Clinton signed the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Policy.”

The Policy defined Homosexuality as "an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of Military capability."

The Act (The Don’t Tell part of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell) prohibited any Non-Heterosexual Person from disclosing their Sexual Orientation or from speaking about any Same-Sex Relationships, including Marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

The Act (The Don’t Ask part of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell) specified that Superiors should not initiate an investigation of a Service Member's Orientation without witnessing disallowed behaviors.

The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Act specified that Service Members who disclosed that they are Homosexual or engaged in Homosexual conduct should be separated (Discharged) except when a Service Member's conduct was "for the purpose of avoiding or terminating Military Service" or when it "would not be in the best interest of the Armed Forces."

On November 30, 2010 The Department of Defense released a Report concluding that the Repeal of the Ban on Gays in the Armed Forces would “have a minimal negative impact on the Military's effectiveness.”

December 22, 2010 President Barack Obama signed the Repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell “into Law.

September 20, 2011 “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” officially ended and Homosexuals could now legally and openly serve in the US Military.

June 26, 2013 The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a portion of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which restricted Federal Employees in Same Sex Marriages — including Military Families —  from receiving Federal Benefits.

In September 2021, on the 10th Anniversary of the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” Repeal, President Joe Biden announced that the Veterans Administration would start providing Benefits for Service Members who received Other-Than-Honorable Discharges (before DADT was enacted and while it was in effect) because of their Sexual Orientation.

From 1940-2011 over 100,000 Homosexuals were kicked-out of the US Military (including 14,000 during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Era from 1993 to 2011.)

Homosexuals were forbidden to be Drafted (the United States had the Military Draft from 1862-1865 during the American Civil War, 1917-1918 during World War 1, 1940-1946 right before and during World War 2, 1948-1973 right before the Korean War, during the Korean War and during the Vietnam War.)

Same-Sex Marriage became legal nationwide in the US in 2015 (except for some Indian Reservations and the US Territory of American Samoa.)

There is currently a new Lavender Scare causing Unnecessary Mass Moral Panic across the United States (the same way it did in the 1940s-1970s.)

13 US States have Constitutional Bans on Same-Sex Marriage that would go back into effect if the US Supreme Court ever decides that Gay Marriage is Illegal.

30 US States have State Statues that Ban Same-Sex Marriage that would go back into effect if the US Supreme Court ever decides that Gay Marriage is Illegal.

43 US States have Anti-Homosexual Rights Restrictions currently in their State Laws or are trying to pass the Laws.

The US Federal Government is also looking into doing away with Gay Marriage and many other Federal Homosexual Protections.

Politicians and Groups of People across the United States are trying to cause panic and fear against Homosexuals so attention is deflected from the real issues and so People have a Scapegoat to blame all their problems on.