#Public Service Medal of Merit

[aduialel]

Three times a year I go through the same motions and frustrations with high level events - last minute sign ups even after reminders, cancellations and no show-ups. It's a rabbit hole every single time!

Trade union strike added its spice to the last this year's event last Thursday as it affected public transport on large scale in my country. Taxi would have been my only option to get my well-rounded derriere to that event if it were not for my absolutely awesome colleague who gave me a ride, just because he knew the importance of the event - and he wasn't even going to the office or attending the event!

So, I have been stressed beyond the usual, work related mostly but I have had some health issues too, nothing serious but exhausting, which is why I have been absent.

@lathalea @sotwk who have tagged me in their work, thank you lovelies. 🙏 I will get to them as soon as possible.

And then some good news. In the middle of all the stress and negativity, I have been awarded a decoration on Independence Day, Medal First Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland by the Grand Master of the Order, non other than the President of the Republic.

I was absolutely blown away when I got the news and still can't truly comprehend it. I know I am good what I do but in my opinion not that exceptional it warrants for such an honour.

The decorations are conferred to those who have distinguished themselves in the service of my country. They have demonstrated merits which are above average on their professiomal field. A good reputation is also a prerequisite.

[mariacallous]

Meet Artemy Lebedev—a Russian designer, traveler, and blogger who has also acquired a new role. Unlike many other prominent Russian proponents of war who have faced Western sanctions, Lebedev has managed to escape such repercussions.

"My opinion has never changed; I have always been against any wars, violence, aggression,” a man tells his YouTube audience in Russian. But then his speech takes a turn, “Russian troops are conquering Russian territories that have always been Russian. They were mistakenly given to Ukraine, and Ukraine decided that now Russians can’t go there. Of course, I support Russian troops taking Odesa, removing Zelensky from power, opening borders, and canceling visas." 

This is one of many statements made by Artemy Lebedev, a prominent member of Russia's creative class, justifying the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Lebedev is a well-known Russian designer, traveler, and blogger who has long positioned himself as apolitical and has gained a large following. However, he has recently taken on another critical role—as one of Russia’s leading propagandists.

While most other influential propagandists have been sanctioned by the West, Lebedev has managed to avoid that fate. In 2023, he even traveled to Switzerland to attend a watch exhibition and then complained to his online audience about how expensive the country was. 

Not only does Lebedev publically support the war and the shelling of peaceful Ukrainian cities, but he also continues to receive money from Russian budgetary structures or those associated with them. Behavior like his in Russia is generously rewarded with positions and state contracts worth millions of dollars. 

Coming from an intellectual family of philologists and writers, he was one of the pioneer designers on the Russian internet. In 1995, Artemy Lebedev opened his first internet design studio, which three years later was named "Artemy Lebedev Studio." Since then, his company has created logos for many Russian clients, including Gazprom, Beeline, Russian Railways, Alfa-Bank, Yandex, and more. The studio developed logos for Russian cities, metro navigation, and more.

In Russia, he became known not so much for his design work but for his active blogging since the early 2000s. From the beginning, he was provocative, often using obscene language and easily insulting others. On the Russian internet, Lebedev positioned himself as an "apolitical" professional who watched politics with some curiosity, although he insisted it was not crucial to him.

"We don't work with priests, politicians, and assholes," Lebedev would assert, while each year increasing the number of government contracts in his portfolio. The millions of dollars from state contracts were accompanied by rhetoric like "corruption is not the main problem," "kickbacks are good," and so on.

The apolitical Lebedev started discussing politics more often in the early 2010s when the few Russian political opposition groups began facing increased repression. He called Russian liberals "infantile slackers who came to ruin his creative motives."

Lebedev finally decided to abandon his apolitical stance in 2020 when he appeared in a promotional video supporting amendments to the Russian Constitution, the main goal of which was to formalize Vladimir Putin's participation in the next presidential elections.

After that, Putin awarded Lebedev with an Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" in the II degree. He was given this medal "For services in the establishment and development of the Russian segment of the information and telecommunications network Internet."

In 2021, the designer turned into an investigator and published a post on his Telegram channel about Yulia Navalnaya, in which he claimed, based on a fake document, that she was a German citizen.

Since then, the "apolitical Lebedev" began criticizing Alexei Navalny and his organization FBK almost every week, commenting on his poisoning and making predictions that ultimately did not come true.

"In prison, as we know, no one dies. He'll sit, sew mittens, and then come out just in time for the next presidential term, becoming popular. This is not Nelson Mandela, who sat in prison for 30 years; three years is very compact and good," he said about Navalny, a few years before Navalny's suspicious death in a colony.

On the eve of the full-scale invasion, Lebedev became more interested in geopolitics. "All week long, they just f***ed up, with every iron broadcasting that Americans were warning that Russia was going to invade Ukraine... but no one needs Ukraine with its clownish government," Lebedev predicted.

Ultimately, after the start of the full-scale invasion, the once apolitical designer firmly established himself among Russia's top propagandists. On his Instagram, he posted photos from a trip to Donbas and the territory of the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, occupied by Russian troops.

Judging by the photos, Lebedev visited Donetsk, Mariupol, where he stood near the destroyed drama theater and the Azovstal plant, as well as the city of Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Visiting the captured territories of Ukraine, where thousands of civilians died, brought him much satisfaction. "I love traveling and visiting rare and interesting places. I also have another weakness—I love to disrespect authority. Here’s a super combo—to get to a nuclear power plant (which is always not easy) on the territory of Ukraine, where Zelensky's personal decree has banned me from entering since January this year for another five years! A full life should consist of such small joys," said Lebedev.

Artemy also spoke approvingly of the shelling of Ukrainian cities. "In Odesa, there was a hotel for many years that no one needed, built in the late 90s, a monument to late Soviet idiocy, a shitty building, it looked terrible, in general, we can thank the Russian army for saving Odesa from this madness," he commented on the destruction of the hotel in the city center.

This designer's behavior continued to pay dividends. In addition to government orders worth millions of dollars, in October 2023, he was appointed design director of Vkontakte, Russia's "Facebook analog." This social network actually came under state control ten years ago. 

Its former owner, Pavel Durov, had to sell the social network and leave Russia because of a conflict with the FSB. Lebedev seems to have a much warmer relationship with the latter.

[petervintonjr]

Born in 1919 South Carolina into a family of sharecroppers, WWII veteran Isaac Woodard knew struggle and poverty from a very early age --dropping out of school at the age of 11 and then leaving home altogether at 15, in search of better prospects than Fairfield County. After some years laboring in a lumberyard, Woodard joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal public work relief program. In 1942, Woodard was drafted into the U.S. Army, along with an estimated 675,000 other Black Americans. He was eventually deployed to the South Pacific in 1944, serving with the 429th Port Battalion --a segregated unit. During the brutal New Guinea campaign, Woodard saw a great deal of action and was promoted to Corporal, and then ultimately to Sergeant, earning a battle star for combat service, along with a number of other medals. Thusly decorated, Woodard was honorably discharged from service and flew home to Augusta, Georgia, where on February 12, 1946, he caught a bus back to South Carolina and his family --literally the very last leg of his long journey home.

Enroute, a stray comment from Woodard to the bus driver about rest stops swiftly led to an altercation --the bus driver deemed Woodard's "attitude" to be insufficiently deferential, resulting in a call to the Batesburg-Leeville, South Carolina police department. In very short order Woodard found himself arrested and severely beaten by police, gouging out both of his eyes. Still in his uniform, Woodard was left sightless overnight in a jail cell, only to be formally charged with "drunk and disorderly conduct" the following morning. Woodard spent the next 2 months in a VA hospital, ultimately rejoining his family in New York, where they had decided to move.

Unprepared for a life of blindness in an unfamiliar city, Woodard reached out to the NAACP, who took up his case and turned him into something of a cause célèbre for a time --even meriting publicity from such luminaries as actor Orson Welles, and musicians Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday. Woodard found himself crisscrossing the very nation he had served, recounting his story and garnering some measure of fame, though this would be of no practical help during two failed attempts to bring his attackers to trial. The ultimate measure of Woodard's notoriety came in 1948 when President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, desegregating the U.S. Armed Forces (see Lesson #68 in this series).

Woodard's time in the national spotlight soon faded and he was faced with the more immediate problem of obtaining benefits from the VA --on a technicality, since his assault and blinding happened after his term of service, he did not qualify for full benefits nor payments. Woodard was forced into public housing in the Bronx but with his family's help was ultimately able to buy the building and became a landlord, living quietly and mostly forgotten for the next decade. In 1956 an article in Jet magazine brought some measure of national attention back to his plight and eventually led Congress to pass an amended piece of legislation that would now award full disability benefits to any veteran injured between their time of discharge and their arrival at home. Further legislative improvements to VA benefits followed in the 1970s, and Woodard was able to purchase additional property in the Bronx and lived there with his sons until his death in 1992. He is buried with other U.S. veterans at Calverton National Cemetery and a plaque now marks the site in Batesburg-Leeville where Woodard was attacked and dragged from his bus.

[lboogie1906]

General Roscoe Robinson Jr. (October 11, 1928 – July 22, 1993) was the first African American to become a four-star general in the Army. He served as the US representative to the NATO Military Committee. He served as commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division and Army, Japan.

Born and raised in St. Louis, he attended Stowe College for one semester. He studied at Saint Louis University for a year and transferred to the US Military Academy at West Point. He graduated with a BS in Military Engineering. He graduated from the advanced course at the US Army Infantry School. He graduated from the Command and General Staff College. He received his MA from the University of Pittsburgh in Public and International Affairs. He graduated from the National War College.

He served in the Korean War as a platoon leader and rifle company commander. He received the Bronze Star. He became an instructor in the Airborne Department of the Army Infantry School. He served as commander of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. He received the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, 11 Air Medals, and two Silver Stars.

He served at the National War College as the executive officer to the Chief of Staff. He served on the headquarters staff of the US Pacific Command in Hawaii before becoming commander of the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

He was promoted to major general and assigned to command the 82nd Airborne Division. He was the first African American to command the 82nd Airborne Division. He served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, US Army Europe and Seventh Army. Promoted to lieutenant general, he served as the commanding general of the US Army, Japan, and IX Corps. He was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal.

He completed 34 years of service in the military when he retired (1985). He was awarded with the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and a second Army Distinguished Service Medal.

West Point named the “General Roscoe Robinson Jr. Auditorium” in his honor. The Roscoe Robinson Health Clinic at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg is named in his honor. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Ormond 'Report' Held Up To Light Effort To Deceive Public Expose," Toronto Globe. September 2, 1933. Page 1 & 2. --- W. M. Nickle Tears Off Mask; Tells How Ormond Sat Silent As Inmates Cited Cruelties ---- Son of Former Attorney- General Directs Attention to Misleading Statements of Penitentiary Superintendent and Discloses Facts as He Learned Them at Riot Trials and on Visits to Prison - One Convict in "Close Confinement," Without Trial, for Over Two Years ---- URGES OPEN PROBE (Special to The Globe by Staff Writer.) KINGSTON, Sept. 1. - "Mr. Daniel Ormond, Super-intendent of Penitentiaries, was subpoenaed as a witness for the defense in the Kirkland trial for the sole purpose of making him available as a witness for the Crown, so that he could not say afterward that evidence of cruelties and brutalities and other grievances had been given in his absence, or claim that, had he been in the court, he could have refuted this or that particular evidence. It is interesting to note that Mr. Ormond did not go into the box and refute one single statement made on oath by any inmate during the Kirk- land trial.

"Why?

"Mr. Ormond sat in court and heard the full text of Judge Deroche's judgment in the Kirkland case, in which his Honor stated he was convinced that there was some merit in the demands of Kirk- land and others as to inhuman treatment-not years ago, but at the time of the disturbances - adding, from the Bench, the assurance that a number of rules, under which such treatment as was complained of became possible, had, since the riot, been ameliorated by certain amendments."

A Soldier Speaks. So spoke W. M. Nickle. K.C., who, with his father, Hon. W. F. Nickle. K.C., former Attorney-General of Ontario, defended the inmate Kirk- land at his trial-when interviewed by The Globe and asked for his view, as one closely associated with what occurred, as to the intrinsic honesty and truth of the statement recently issued by Superintendent Ormond from Ottawa, alleging that there had been no inhuman treatment of prisoners since his appointment, and that eighteen changes in regulations, improving conditions for them, had been instituted "between Aug. 1, 1932," and the date of his report.

Mr. Nickle speaks with incisive directness. Evidently he has no use for the evasive and the deceptive. It may be that his experience in wartime overseas service helps him in getting to the root of things. For Mr. Nickle was a real soldier, and, unlike Superintendent Ormond, he holds the men who fought in the ranks in respect, admiration and affection. He was their comrade and colleague, for Private W. M. Nickle went overseas in April, 1915, in the ranks of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, won his commission with the 21st Battalion from Kingston on the field and later had the distinction of being the youngster Major in the Canadian Corps. He was wounded three times and won the Military Cross from Britain and the Medal of Honor from France-altogether the sort of man with whom public service is regarded as an obligation and a responsibility. It was characteristic of him -and of his father - that, believing ugly wrongs to have been suffered in the penitentiary, they gave their legal services without remuneration to the prisoners they defended at the recent court trials for rioting.

"Distinctly Misleading" Statement. "It would appear, then," The Globe suggested, "that the Ormond statement is not a straightforward, four- square one, such as might be expected from official sources?"

"According to press reports of it," replied Mr. Nickle, "it is distinctly misleading. The headline in The Globe of Aug. 28 to the effect that Superintendent of Penitentiaries Daniel Ormond alleged that the evidence of convicts concerning cruelties, sworn at recent trials, was untrue is, as I have said, distinctly misleading, In that his Honor Judge George E. Deroche, in the convict trial of Murray Kirkland, which lasted for nine days, when much evidence was given as to the brutalities and cruelties prac- ticed on the inmates between Jan. 1. and Oct. 17, 1932, found as a fact that the inmates had for months and possibly years-been asking for the removal of certain grievances, with little or no response. They then decided, on Oct. 17, at 3 p.m., that they would walk out of the shops and make a peaceful demonstration.

Pronouncement From the Bench. "I use the word 'peaceful," Mr. Nickle continued, "in the sense that there was no intention on the part of the men to do violence to either person or property, and no intention to escape. Such was the finding of the Judge. The words of his judgment are:

"This peaceful demonstration which developed into a riot was for the purpose of emphasizing the demands of the men for redress of certain grievances which long and repeatedly had been denied them. Many of the grievances for which this demonstration was staged have already been granted to the men, proving conclusively to my mind that these demands have been reasonable."

"Dealing with the charge of inhuman treatment in the penitentiary," Mr. Nickle proceeded, when question- ed further by The Globe, "his Honor found that, as he put it in his judgment, he was satisfied from evidence produced that the men had some reason to believe that there was in- human treatment, but, he added. there had been certain amelioration in rules since the riots, certain amendments in regulations since the riots."

"Forced upon the system since the riots?" asked The Globe.

"The Judge stated that the reforms had taken place since the riots."

"And was Ormond aware of this before he issued his statement?"

"As I said," reiterated Mr. Nickle, "Mr. Ormond was subpoenaed by the defense in order that he should be present and could not afterward allege that evidence of brutalities and cruelties had been given in his absence. Mr. Ormond did not attempt to refute the testimony given, and he sat in court and heard the full finding of the Judge."

Questioned concerning inaccuracies in the Ormond statement, published as an official document. Mr. Nickle related an amazing story. "Мг. Огmond," he stated, "alleges that wide circulation has been given to the statement that one convict had been kept in solitary confinement for two years, adding that the rumor was without foundation.

The Facts for Mr. Ormond. "Mr. Ormond, unfortunately, has been wrongly advised in reference to this particular case," Mr. Nickle proceeded. "The case is that of John Price O'Brien. Now, what are the facts?

"In August, 1931, inmate J. Maurice (No. 1744) wrote a letter to Warden Ponsford stating that O'Brien, with several other inmates whom he did not mention by name, was conspiring to escape. As a result of this communication, O'Brien was promptly put in the 'hole' in the Prison of Isolation, where he has remained from that day to this, except when he attended the trial of Murray Kirkland as a witness for the defense.

"When I saw O'Brien in his cell at the Prison of Isolation, I found on one side of him a raving drug addict from Windsor, and, on the other side of him, an inmate by the name of Slugess, who was prattling and pacing up and down his cell like a caged lion. Each of these inmates was separated from O'Brien by some five or six cells. Outside of O'Brien's cell gate was an extra safety steel gate, resembling a baseball catcher's face mask.

"O'Brien," continued Mr. Nickle, "is kept in his cell for twenty-three and a half hours out of the twenty-four. The drug addict takes no exercise and one cannot imagine a mental case being much company for an active-minded, healthy Inmate like O'Brien.

"With a view to showing the court the way O'Brien had been treated. I subpoenaed Slugess as a witness for the defense. Three or four days before the trial was resumed, on the recommendation of Dr. Cumberland of Rockwood Hospital, Slugess was taken to Penetang, an institution for the criminally insane.

"O'Brien had been offered a knitting machine by Mr. Ormond. This he refused. O'Brien had a skipping rope, and the guards took it from him because another inmate had hanged himself in his cell. Skipping was O'Brien's form of exercise since he was confined to his cell, which faces the west windows of the Prison of Isolation, these windows being painted a heavy, dull white. He gets little or no sunshine.

"Mr. Ormond, in his report on the disturbances at the Kingston Penitentiary in October, on page seven, states that O'Brien had never been tried and his case would eventually be the subject of a special investigation.

"A Killer," Says Newcomer. "What was the 'Investigation'?" asked Mr. Nickle, and proceeded to tell the interviewer. 'On Jan, 18 Mr. Ormond wrote to Mr. Megloughlin, the Warden, asking for a full report on O'Brien, Mr. Megloughlin, experienced to a degree in prison matters in that he only took over his duties about Oct. 24, made a prompt reply to the Superintendent's letter on Jan. 20, stating that O'Brien was a 'killer.' It seems far-fetched to imagine how Mr. Megloughlin could make such a serious statement about O'Brien in such a short space of time. My experience has been that an investigation meant a thorough inquiry.

"In any event, Mr. Megloughlin's letter must have had tremendous weight with the department, for the reason that, on Jan. 30, O'Brien received memorandum from Warden Megloughlin notifying him that Ottawa had approved his 'continued detention in close confinement."

Mr.. Nickle produced the original memorandum, a photographic copy of which appears on the front page of this issue of The Globe.

"A friend of mine on the staff at the penitentiary," he continued, "in- formed me in the last day or two that O'Brien is still spending twenty-three and a half hours out of every twenty-four in his little cell in the Prison of Isolation.

"Moreover, it is interesting to note that the inmate Maurice, on whose letter O'Brien was put in the 'hole' in the Prison of Isolation over two years ago, was moved to St. Vincent de Paul Penitentiary by Guard Thomas Clark on Tuesday, Aug. 8, last.

Worse Than Solitary Confinement. "O'Brien has been in worse than solitary confinement," declared Mr. Nickle, indignantly. "He has been locked up alone and has had to listen to the ravings and prattlings of demented men. Perhaps the public will be able to judge better than Mr. Ormond whether or not O'Brien is in solitary confinement.

"Is the institution, which had only 88 guards at the time of the disturbance in October, and which now has 140-odd guards, so inefficiently manned that O'Brien cannot be given the ordinary work of an ordinary inmate? At the present time, after the lapse of over two years, I am advised that O'Brien has yet to be tried as a result of the charges level- led against him in the Maurice letter."

A Broken Agreement. Discussing the disturbances of October last and the damage done, Mr. Nickle said: "I have often wondered why Crown Counsel Keiller MacKay prosecuted the inmates only for what took place on the seventeenth, at which time $450 in damage was done to the doors of the shops, when, as a matter of fact, on Oct. 20, $3,600 in damage was done by inmates breaking up their cells after Mr. Ormond had locked the men up and broken the agreement arrived at with Acting Warden Smith that the men would go back to their shops on the eighteenth and carry on as if nothing had happened. This the men did. One would have thought the men who broke up their cells would have been charged under the Criminal Code with damaging Government property. Whose instructions prohibited prosecutions of this nature and kind? Judge Deroche found that the men on the seventeenth had grievances; that there was inhuman treatment, and that since the disturbances changes have come into effect for the better. If one man were guilty for what happened on Oct. 17 three hundred and fifty were guilty. In- mate after inmate in the convict trials went into the box and stated he did thus and so, which made him just as guilty as the accused in the dock charged with rioting. The men, on the seventeenth, could have injured $118,000 worth of machinery, and not as much as a wire was bent or a screw broken. It has always seemed to me ridiculous to punish twenty-eight men because they acted. reasonably, when they had grievances which, an extent, were rectified by Mr. Ormond after the disturbances.

The "Hole." "The 'hole' under the Keeper's Hall is not fully described by Mr. Ormond," continued Mr. Nickle. "There is no ventilation through the cells when the wooden doors are closed. There is a pipe that goes from the top of the cell into the Keeper's Hall, into which is fitted a wooden plug. An inmate in the 'hole' is not sup- posed to speak, and all a guard has to do to find out if any Inmate is breaking the rule is to pull out the wooden plug and put his ear to the pipe.

"The 'hole' is the most foul-stinking place I was ever in. In each cell is an old latrine bucket. I have seen inmates in the 'hole,' and the foul atmosphere from the buckets in question is sickening and disgusting. There is no running water in the cells in the 'hole,' and the body smell in the Penitentiary is bad enough, but is many times worse in the 'hole.' where men are kept day and night, according to the term of the sentence imposed by the Warden. The worst condition existing in the Kingston Penitentiary is in reference to the venereal patients. Samuel Stein, at the Kirk and trial, swore that he was suffering with syphilis. His file and records were produced by Crown Counsel, and they showed that such was the case. Stein testified that there were pussy sores on his body and in his mouth. He was admitted to the hospital of the Kingston Penitentiary. There are no toilet arrangements except the latrine bucket in the cells of the patients, and no running water. The dishes of the patients in the hospital were washed in the bathtub three times a day, which bathtub Stein (and other patients) used when allowed by the prison doctor to take a bath and cleanse his body from dry and infectious pus. His underclothes and towel were washed with the laundry of the other inmates. He asked for a colored drinking cup so as to keep it separate from the ordinary steel mug. His request was refused.

"Such conditions," Mr. Nickle add ed, "exist today." Ormond's Statements Challenged. "Inspector H. C. Fatt, in giving evidence in the Kirkland trial, was asked this question: 'I suppose you will agree that it was an inhuman treatment? A.-Mr. Fatt: I agree to nothing of the kind. It is amusing to read the Ormond statement that eight incorrigible convicts were shackled to the bars. The fact of the matter is that men were shackled to the bars according to the whim and humor of the Warden. If any impartial citizens were to inquire carefully into the record and character of those who were shackled to the bars, they would, without doubt, come to this conclusion. The statement by Mr. Ormond on this matter Is inconsistent with the facts. Mr. Ormond, in his statement, gives a number of changes authorized since Aug. 1, 1932. What are the facts? Take a sample case. When Mr. Ormond took office he received a letter from Acting Warden Smith of the Kingston Penitentiary, recommending cigaret papers and more recreation for the inmates, On Sept. 7 Inmate Albert Garceau (No. 1965) had an Interview with the Superintendent at the North Gate and urged upon him the importance of changing some of the rules and regulations at the Institution and working out proper employment for the men. Mr. Ormond did nothing, and it was not until after Oct. 17 that any change was made in reference to any rule or regulation. It seems to me there is far too much research and too little action."

What Is Needed. Asked for constructive suggestions as to necessary reforms, Mr. Nickle spoke with emphasis. "What is needed first at the Kingston Penitentiary is proper segregation of the lads from 15 to 18 years of age from the older and hardened individuals. There are only three shops at the Kingston Penitentiary which are any good at all-the machine, engineer's and carpentry. The others are useless and simply serve as a purpose for the assembling of the inmates until their time is up. The first three shops mentioned can look after, only from 125 to 150 inmates. There are over 900 men in the institution. In other words, 750 men are wasting away. To make the Kingston Penitentiary efficient there should be responsible and fair officials, who possess tact, firmness and dignity. What is needed today at the Kingston Penitentiary is a Royal Commission comprised of fair, courageous, broad-minded citizens to fully investigate the present system, methods and administration so that when the inmate leaves the Institution he will be better instead of worse; so that he will have some qualifications for a particular trade or calling rather than be turned out, and he is at the present time, as many= years backward as has been the length of his term."

[felipeandletizia]

Felipe and Letizia retrospective: December 2nd

2003: Funeral ceremony for seven intelligence officers who were killed in Iraq at the Madrid headquarters of the secret service CNI.

2004: VIII Edition of ‘the Foundation for Cooperation and Development of Assistential Activities’ awards (CODESPA)

2005: Commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the YMCA in Spain

2007: Funeral for Civil Guard agent Raúl Centeno Bayón

2008: Visit to A Coruña

2009: Inauguration of His Excellency the President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sánchez, as Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Salamanca

2010: Closing of the 13th State Volunteer Congress

2013: National Sports Awards

2014: Official Visit to Germany

2015: Delivery of Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts 2014 in Sevilla &  Meeting with the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón

2016: “International Symposium: Sustainable Food Systems in Favor of Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition” at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, Italy

2019: Received the presidents of Ecuador and Costa Rica & Offered a reception to Chiefs of State visiting Spain to take part on COP25

2021: Visited Colombia to attend the World Law Congress Colombia 2021 & Event of reopening to the public of the collections of the “Real Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales”

2022: Meeting with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the IMF Headquarters in Washington DC, USA; Held a meeting with Georgetown University’s president, John J. Degioia and attended a lecture & Dinner celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Masters of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) Program

F&L Through the Years: 1096/??

[electronicwriter]

#Repost @deptvetaffairs • • • • • • Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Marine Veteran Ruth Streeter, who served as the first director of the U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. Streeter was born in October 1895 in Brookline, MA. She grew up attending schools abroad and graduated from Bryn Mawr College in PA in 1918. Out of college, Streeter met her husband and moved to New Jersey to raise her four children with him. During the Great Depression, Streeter began humanitarian aid efforts, volunteering in public health, unemployment relief and care for the elderly in her community. In 1940, Streeter transitioned out of welfare development positions and pursued a lifelong dream of attaining her pilot's license. Streeter at the time had two sons in the Navy and one in the Army, and desired to join the military like them and put her flying skills to use. However, after being rejected several times from WAVES and WAFS due to her age, she applied for the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, where she subsequently became the director. As director, Streeter sought to promote more opportunities for women in the @marines other than clerical and administrative roles. Streeter, and other female officers, faced backlash from many male Marines and public skepticism about women serving during WWII. The public attitude had shifted from an “early enthusiasm for women in uniform” to “a nasty, demeaning smear campaign that started as a whisper and grew to a roar.” Streeter toured the country with her public relations officer to ease public concerns and advocate for women’s right and place in the #military. Streeter remained firm in her beliefs and developed the formal goal to have 18,000 women in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve. In June 1944, shortly after Streeter was promoted colonel, the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve reached its goal of employing 18,000 women. For her service, Streeter was awarded the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and the Legion of Merit, the highest award received by a female Marine during the war. Streeter passed away September 1990 in Morristown, NJ. We honor her service. #womenshistorymonth #womenshistory #women #veterans #herstory #USMC #Semperfidel https://www.instagram.com/p/CptIE5BPRCv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[sexypinkon]

~Sexypink~ It is with great sadness that this amazing gentleman has passed through senseless violence. May he rest in peace and justice be served.

[usnatarchives]

Original caption: “arriving in Australia, the first Negro nurses to reach these shores try bicycle riding near their quarters in Camp Columbia, Wacol, Brisbane.” 2nd Lts: L-R: Beulah Baldwin, Alberta Smith, and Joan Hamilton. 11/29/1943. NARA ID 178140880.

“First Negro WAVES to enter the Hospital Corps School at Nat'l Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD.” L-R Ruth C. Isaacs, Katherine Horton and Inez Patterson. 3/2/1945. NARA ID 520634.

BLACK (military) NURSES ROCK!

By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs

For National Nurses Day we highlight Black nurses who served with courage and distinction in WWII. “In the European Theater… are the first units of Negro nurses and WACS to go overseas… They are described by their Commanding Officer as being the equals of any nurses in the area…”—Truman Gibson, Jr, chief adviser on racial affairs to Secretary of War Henry Stimson

Statement by Truman Gibson, Jr., Aide on Negro Affairs to Secretary of War Stimson, 4/9/1945. NARA ID 40019813 (full doc below). Gibson was the 1st Black awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit, for advocating for black soldiers during WWII.

Capt. Della H. Raney, Army Nurse Corps, head of nursing at hospital at Camp Beale, CA, “has the distinction of being the first Negro nurse to report to duty in the present war…” NARA ID 535942.

“American Negro nurses, commissioned second lieutenants in the U.S. Army Nurses Corps, limber up their muscles in an early-morning workout during an advanced training course at a camp in Australia. The nurses will be assigned to Allied hospitals in the southwest Pacific theater.” 2/1944. NARA ID 535782.

Commissioning ceremony: Phyllis Dailey, 2nd from right, became the 1st Black nurse in the Navy Nursing Corps 3/8/1945. NAID 520618.

See also:

We honor WW2’s #InvisibleWarriors! Black Women in WWII

Pictorial History of Black Women in the US Navy during World War II and Beyond, by Dr. Tina Ligon, Rediscovering Black History.

The Closed Door of Justice: African American Nurses and the Fight for Naval Service, by Alicia Henneberry, The Text Message.

Black Female WWII Unit Gets (Congressional) GOLD! WWII’s 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion

Their War Too: US Women in the Military During WWII, The Text Message

Pictures of African Americans During World War II

African American Women in the Military During WWII

African American Activities in Industry, Government, and the Armed Forces, 1941-1945).

African Americans and the War Industry by Alexis Hill, The Unwritten Record blog

I too, am Rosie by Dr. Tina Ligon, Rediscovering Black History

Women’s History Month and African American History National Archives News special topics pages.

Mary McLeod Bethune to Return to Capitol Hill

[readreadbookblog]

To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy

https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Back-Audie-Murphy/dp/0805070869

Audie Murphy was the most decorated American soldier of the Second World War, essentially making him the most famous non-general soldier of the war. With his young and innocent looks and willingness to fight in dangerous situations, he was akin to WWII’s version of Sergent York. His fame even allowed him to star in some Hollywood films. This book, From Hell and Back, is Murphy’s post written memoir about his time in combat in the European and African theater.

First thing that I noticed on reading this book is how blunt Murphy is at times. Considering that he was probably the most famous soldier of the war that Americans knew of, his propaganda value most have seen as quite valuable to the U.S. Armed Forces. So it is a bit shocking reading how he talked about the lack of comfortable quarters/living spaces his group experienced, the casual mention of fellow soldiers falling in combating, the constant soliciting of sex work from women even with Murphy personally paying a minor to do so, and the disregard to army authority at times. I wondered how these events that Murphy wrote about could be allowed to be published without the U.S. government intervening, especially during the time the book was released the Korean War and Cold War were in effect. But perhaps with the large amount of combat veterans that serviced during WWII, the government maybe thought that readers would be more mature and ready to read, understand, and even relate to Murphy’s time in the war especially the soldier. One does wonder if this was just the tame stuff he published and had even more gruesome stories to tell, and was either censored/self-censored himself or how much he personally contributed to this book and how much a ghost writer wrote/edited of this book.

With all that he wrote, it is a very action packed book. Combat scenes are short but very fast pace material akin to watch a short movie. Characters, for how ever short they live, are memorable and thus more tragic when they died. I would have personally like to have had more information on his life before and after the war. Murphy’s pre-war life is discussed very shortly, a page or two, and his post war views I would have like to have heard. What did he consider of the overall war? What about his propaganda value that the army placed on him? Did he feel anything towards the public on veterans’ treatment after the war? What did he suggest the army do to improve combat readyiness after  having served? I also seem to have missed what actions he did that merited his medals. To be fair, all these questions could be answered in a straight biography of Murphy, especially considering that he lived another twenty years after the war ended.

I think that this was my first combat/soldier memoir that I’ve read. I can’t say what I think of it compared to others, if it is too ghost written, fake, lacking in details, combat focused or lacking in combat focused or military terms, etc. I did enjoy it, a welcome change to World War II books that I often read, which are usually either biographies or social history books. This one being more ‘boots on the ground’ everyday man story is a different story. I’ll consider watching the movie that this got made into in which Murphy also stars in.

[gstqaobc]

🇨🇦🇬🇧🇨🇦THE MONARCHIST LEAGUE OF CANADA🇬🇧🇨🇦🇬🇧

FLASH OFFER: TODAY IS THE 10th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY OF THE CAMBRIDGES.We have a limited as new supply of a newspaper of the day after,  with full coverage of the happy event in a special section provided by the Times of London. We're giving these away to members on request for the cost of the postage.  Please request by return email and provide your mailing address (can also be a gift to someone if you want) so we can quote postage and let you know how to pay online. COMPLETE TEXT OF STATEMENT BY THE QUEEN APRIL 21 I have, on the occasion of my 95th birthday today, received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate. While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world. My family and I would like to thank you all for the support and kindness shown to us in recent days. We have been deeply touched, and continue to be reminded that Philip had such an extraordinary impact on countless people throughout his life NO PLATINUM JUBILEE MEDAL? CHAIRMAN FINCH WRITES: Should the League take this on? Members’ opinions sought. I have recently been informed that in a recent virtual Honours and Awards presentation on The Queen’s birthday, LCol Carl Gauthier, DND Honours and Awards, stated that  there will not be a Canadian Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022. There is still time to reverse this decision, but it will need a groundswell of public opinion which is perhaps difficult to engender.  To the uninformed, advocacy for issuance of “gongs” can seem an emphasis on reward for loyalty, of seeking  recognition and of something superficial rather than, for instance, promoting the sort of excellent grass-roots community and organizational projects that still echo the real pride and excitement during our country’s centennial year, 1967. But perhaps is there is an aspect arguing for the awarding of Jubilee Medals - as in the past - that people will understand. That is, that the life of any nation is not determined only by the great and the good - the folk who receive major Honours such as the Order of Canada, the Order of Military Merit and their lesser though no less deserving cousins, the Meritorious Service Awards and the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteer Service. Their distribution is, rightly, kept controlled in terms of numbers; and while to deny that “politics” play any part in the selections of the senior Orders, most would agree that many extremely deserving Canadians receive this special level of recognition. However, less nationally notable people every day make a sustained difference, in modest ways usually unsung. We think of the feeding program volunteer who every Friday toils in a church or synagogue basement to prepare, serve and clean up after meals for homeless people. The innumerable families who made welcome  our new fellow Canadians who made their way here from, say, Syria. The organizer of patrols to pick up and bring to care and shelter abandoned pets. The Scout, Guide or 4-H leaders who inspire responsibility and skill among their charges. The driver who takes patients to and from chemo or dialysis - and provides an ear for them which no drug can afford.  And so on it goes. These people form the fabric of a civil society. They fill in the cracks and provide the personal touch that “official” and overtaxed social services cannot always show. They do their good works down the decades, seek no recognition and at most are given a round of applause when they ‘retire.” Those knitters of the warp and woof of our nation are precisely the ones for whom receiving a Platinum Jubilee Medal would come as an amazing surprise, and a cherished reminder that they “made a difference” - mirroring the life of service of our Queen. Canada is a blessed country. Most of our natural wealth - be it oil or diamonds, wheat or cod - we harvest from the Earth.  But we ignore at our peril the human wealth we often take for granted. A Jubilee provides a wonderful opportunity to shine a spotlight, however briefly, on 70,000 of  those good Canadians who, as our Sovereign urged us all to do, “represent all that is best and most admired in the Canadian ideal.” What do you think? What should the League do? LEAGUE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN CONTINUES The next League advertisement will appear in this coming Saturday's London Free Press, followed by an ad and editorial matter in Vistas (Ottawa).  We are in the middle of resuming advertising across the country, in a variety of daily and weekly newspapers, to alert folk as to the League's existence at a time when the Canadian Crown has been in the news, in ways both  moving and unhelpful. The response has been excellent, and many new members have joined. These ads have been made possible thanks to you, our generous members, who know that education and outreach is the core of our work - and more important than any clubby sense of self-satisfaction (to which all of us fall prey from time to time!). This sort of publicity also reminds both members and potential members that it is easy to make excuses about what one can't do; but now is the time for "can do"!  As well, the golden rule of advertising is repetition - most of us don't buy insurance every day, but when we do we sure remember the frequent  airing of crazy situations in the Farmers' ads and the nutty characters in the Progressive commercials, not to mention our favorite Gekko! Which leads to the importance of this and similar advertising as the League prepares to rejuvenate its branch organization with a master plan to be released in late Spring, and then a gradual dissemination of its action across the country, with fresh leadership, visible metrics and common expectations - while of course allowing for adaptation to local needs. Thus, our sincere thank you for making this modest publicity appear from the Victoria Times- Colonist in the West to the Halifax Chronicle Herald down East, and many outlets in between.  We always like to receive feedback about these efforts, and especially suggestions for community papers, mainly weeklies, which tend to remain around for a week, are closely read and charge far more affordable rates that the dailies.

GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

[yobaba30]

Stolen from Twitter

I owe my Trump-supporting friends an apology.  I’ve been critical of the Trump presidency these last four years, and am still exhausted from the experience. But to be fair, President Trump wasn’t that bad, other than when he incited an insurrection against the government, mismanaged a pandemic that killed nearly half a million Americans, separated children from their families, lost those children in the bureaucracy, tear-gassed peaceful protesters on Lafayette Square so he could hold a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church, tried to block all Muslims from entering the country, got impeached, got impeached again, had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history, pressured Ukraine to dig dirt on Joe Biden, fired the FBI director for investigating his ties to Russia, bragged about firing the FBI director on TV, took Vladimir Putin’s word over the US intelligence community, diverted military funding to build his wall, caused the longest government shutdown in US history, called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate,” lied nearly 30,000 times, banned transgender people from serving in the military, ejected reporters from the White House briefing room who asked tough questions, vetoed the defense funding bill because it renamed military bases named for Confederate soldiers, refused to release his tax returns, increased the national debt by nearly $8 trillion, had three of the highest annual trade deficits in U.S. history, called veterans and soldiers who died in combat losers and suckers, coddled the leader of Saudi Arabia after he ordered the execution and dismembering of a US-based journalist, refused to concede the 2020 election, hired his unqualified daughter and son-in-law to work in the White House, walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl, called neo-Nazis “very fine people,” suggested that people should inject bleach into their bodies to fight COVID, abandoned our allies the Kurds to Turkey, pushed through massive tax cuts for the wealthiest but balked at helping working Americans, incited anti-lockdown protestors in several states at the height of the pandemic, withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords, withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal, withdrew withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership which was designed to block China’s advances, insulted his own Cabinet members on Twitter, pushed the leader of Montenegro out of the way during a photo op, failed to reiterate US commitment to defending NATO allies, called Haiti and African nations “shithole” countries, called the city of Baltimore the “worst in the nation,” claimed that he single handedly brought back the phrase “Merry Christmas” even though it hadn’t gone anywhere, forced his Cabinet members to praise him publicly like some cult leader believed he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, berated and belittled his hand-picked Attorney General when he recused himself from the Russia probe, suggested the US should buy Greenland, colluded with Mitch McConnell to push through federal judges and two Supreme Court justices after supporting efforts to prevent his predecessor from appointing judges, repeatedly called the media “enemies of the people,” claimed that if we tested fewer people for COVID we’d have fewer cases, violated the emoluments clause, thought that Nambia was a country, told Bob Woodward in private that the coronavirus was a big deal but then downplayed it in public, called his exceedingly faithful vice president a “p---y” for following the Constitution, nearly got us into a war with Iran after threatening them by tweet, nominated a corrupt head the EPA, nominated a corrupt head of HHS, nominated a corrupt head of the Interior Department, nominated a corrupt head of the USDA, praised dictators and authoritarians around the world while criticizing allies, refused to allow the presidential transition to begin, insulted war hero John McCain – even after his death, spent an obscene amount of time playing golf after criticizing Barack Obama for playing (far less) golf while president, falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote, called the Muslim mayor of London a “stone cold loser,” falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote, called the Muslim mayor of London a “stone cold loser,” falsely claimed that he turned down being Time’s Man of the Year, considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller on several occasions, mocked wearing face masks to guard against transmitting COVID, locked Congress out of its constitutional duty to confirm Cabinet officials by hiring acting ones, used a racist dog whistle by calling COVID the “China virus,” hired and associated with numerous shady figures that were eventually convicted of federal offenses including his campaign manager and national security adviser, pardoned several of his shady associates, gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two congressman who amplified his batshit crazy conspiracy theories, got into telephone fight with the leader of Australia(!), had a Secretary of State who called him a moron, forced his press secretary to claim without merit that his was the largest inauguration crowd in history, botched the COVID vaccine rollout, tweeted so much dangerous propaganda that Twitter eventually banned him, charged the Secret Service jacked-up rates at his properties, constantly interrupted Joe Biden in their first presidential debate, claimed that COVID would “magically” disappear, called a U.S. Senator “Pocahontas,” used his Twitter account to blast Nordstrom when it stopped selling Ivanka’s merchandise, opened up millions of pristine federal lands to development and drilling, got into a losing tariff war with China that forced US taxpayers to bail out farmers, claimed that his losing tariff war was a win for the US, ignored or didn’t even take part in daily intelligence briefings, blew off honoring American war dead in France because it was raining, redesigned Air Force One to look like the Trump Shuttle, got played by Kim Jung Un and his “love letters,” threatened to go after social media companies in clear violation of the Constitution, botched the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans when he finally visited them, pressured the governor and secretary of state of Part 2 cont… Georgia to “find” him votes, thought that the Virgin islands had a President, drew on a map with a Sharpie to justify his inaccurate tweet that Alabama was threatened by a hurricane, allowed White House staff to use personal email accounts for official businesses after blasting Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing, rolled back regulations that protected the public from mercury and asbestos, pushed regulators to waste time studying snake-oil remedies for COVID, rolled back regulations that stopped coal companies from dumping waste into rivers held blatant campaign rallies at the White House, tried to take away millions of Americans’ health insurance because the law was named for a Black man, refused to attend his successors’ inauguration, nominated the worst Education Secretary in history threatened judges who didn’t do what he wanted, attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, promised that Mexico would pay for the wall (it didn’t), allowed political hacks to overrule government scientists on major reports on climate change and other issues, struggled navigating a ramp after claiming his opponent was feeble, called an African-American Congresswoman “low IQ,” threatened to withhold federal aid from states and cities with Democratic leaders, went ahead with rallies filled with maskless supporters in the middle of a pandemic, claimed that legitimate investigations of his wrongdoing were “witch hunts,” seemed to demonstrate a belief that there were airports during the American Revolution, demanded “total loyalty” from the FBI director, praised a conspiracy theory that Democrats are Satanic pedophiles, completely gutted the Voice of America, placed a political hack in charge of the Postal Service, claimed without evidence that the Obama administration bugged Trump Tower, suggested that the US should allow more people from places like Norway into the country, suggested that COVID wasn’t that bad because he recovered with the help of top government doctors and treatments not available to the public, overturned energy conservation standards that even industry supported, reduced the number of refugees the US accepts, insulted various members of Congress and the media with infantile nicknames, gave Rush Limbaugh a Presidential medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address, named as head of federal personnel a 29-year old who’d previously been fired from the White House for allegations of financial improprieties, eliminated the White House office of pandemic respon used soldiers as campaign props, fired any advisor who made the mistake of disagreeing with him, demanded the Pentagon throw him a Soviet-style military parade, hired a shit ton of white nationalists, politicized the civil service, did absolutely nothing after Russia hacked US falsely said the Boy Scouts called him to say his bizarre Jamboree speech was the best speech ever given to the Scouts, claimed that Black people would overrun the suburbs if Biden won, insulted reporters of color, insulted women reporters, insulted women reporters of color, suggested he was fine with China’s oppression of the Uighurs, attacked the Supreme Court when it ruled against him, summoned Pennsylvania state legislative leaders to the White House to pressure them to overturn the election, spent countless hours every day watching Fox News, refused to allow his administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas, hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer, tried to punish Amazon because the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post wrote negative stories about him, acted as if the Attorney General of the United States was his personal attorney, attempted to get the federal government to defend him in a libel lawsuit from a women who accused him of sexual assault, held private meetings with Vladimir Putin without staff present, didn’t disclose his private meetings with Vladimir Putin so that the US had to find out via Russian media, stopped holding press briefings for months at a time, “ordered” US companies to leave China even though he has no such power, led a political party that couldn’t even be bothered to draft a policy platform, claimed preposterously that Article II of the Constitution gave him absolute powers, tried to pressure the U.K. to hold the British Open at his golf course, suggested that the government nuke hurricanes, suggested that wind turbines cause cancer, said that he had a special aptitude for science, fired the head of election cyber security after he said that the 2020 election was secure, blurted out classified information to Russian officials, tried to force the G7 to hold their meeting at his failing golf resort in Florida, fired the acting attorney general when she refused to go along with his unconstitutional Muslim travel ban, hired Stephen Miller, openly discussed national security issues in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago where everyone could hear them, interfered with plans to relocate the FBI because a new development there might compete with his hotel, abandoned Iraqi refugees who’d helped the U.S. during the war, tried to get Russia back into the G7, held a COVID super spreader event in the Rose Garden, seemed to believe that Frederick Douglass is still alive, lost 60 election fraud cases in court including before judges he had nominated, falsely claimed that factories were reopening when they weren’t, shamelessly exploited terror attacks in Europe to justify his anti-immigrant policies, still hasn’t come up with a healthcare plan, still hasn’t come up with an infrastructure plan despite repeated “Infrastructure,” forced Secret Service agents to drive him around Walter Reed while contagious with COVID, told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by,” fucked up the Census, withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic did so few of his duties that his press staff were forced to state on his daily schedule “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings,” allowed his staff to repeatedly violate the Hatch Act, Part 3 continues… seemed not to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, stood before sacred CIA wall of heroes and bragged about his election win, constantly claimed he was treated worse than any president which presumably includes four that were assassinated and his predecessor whose legitimacy and birthplace were challenged by a racist reality TV show star named Donald Trump, claimed Andrew Jackson could’ve stopped the Civil War even though he died 16 years before it happened, said that any opinion poll showing him behind was fake, claimed that other countries laughed at us before he became president when several world leaders were literally laughing at him, claimed that the military was out of ammunition before he became President, created a commission to whitewash American history, retweeted anti-Islam videos from one of the most racist people in Britain, claimed ludicrously that the Pulse nightclub shooting wouldn’t have happened if someone there had a gun even though there was an armed security guard there, hired a senior staffer who cited the non-existent Bowling Green Massacre as a reason to ban Muslims, had a press secretary who claimed that Nazi Germany never used chemical weapons even though every sane human being knows they used gas to kill millions of Jews and others, bilked the Secret Service for higher than market rates when they had to stay at Trump properties, apparently sold pardons on his way out of the White House, stripped protective status from 59,000 Haitians, falsely claimed Biden wanted to defund the police, said that the head of the CDC didn’t know what he was talking about, tried to rescind protection from DREAMers, gave himself an A+ for his handling of the pandemic, tried to start a boycott of Goodyear tires due to an Internet hoax, said U.S. rates of COVID would be lower if you didn’t count blue states, deported U.S. veterans who served their country but were undocumented, claimed he did more for African Americans than any president since Lincoln, touted a “super-duper” secret “hydrosonic” missile which may or may not be a new “hypersonic” missile or may not exist at all, retweeted a gif calling Biden a pedophile, forced through security clearances for his family, suggested that police officers should rough up suspects, suggested that Biden was on performance-enhancing drugs, tried to stop transgender students from being able to use school bathrooms in line with their gender, suggested the US not accept COVID patients from  a cruise ship because it would make US numbers look higher, nominated a climate change sceptic to chair the committee advising the White House on environmental policy, retweeted a video doctored to look like Biden had played a song called “Fuck tha Police” at a campaign event, hugged a disturbingly large number of U.S. flags, accused Democrats of “treason” for not applauding his State of the Union address, claimed that the FBI failed to capture the Parkland school shooter because they were “spending too much time” on Russia, mocked the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, obsessed over low-flow toilets, ordered the rerelease of more COVID vaccines when there weren’t any to release, called for the construction of a bizarre garden of heroes with statutes of famous dead Americans as well as at least one Canadian (Alex Trebek), hijacked Washington’s July 4th celebrations to give a partisan speech, took advice from the MyPillow guy, claimed that migrants seeking a better life in the US were dangerous caravans of drug dealers and rapists, said nothing when Vladimir Putin poisoned a leading opposition, never seemed to heed the advice of his wife’s “Be Best” campaign, falsely claimed that mail-in voting is fraudulent, announced a precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria which not only handed Russia and ISIS a win but also prompted his defense secretary to resign in protest, insulted the leader of Canada, insulted the leader of France, insulted the leader of Britain, insulted the leader of Germany, insulted the leader of Sweden (Sweden!!), falsely claimed credit for getting NATO members to increase their share of dues, blew off two Asia summits even though they were held virtually, continued lying about spending lots of time at Ground Zero with 9/11 responders, said that the Japanese would sit back and watch their “Sony televisions” if the US were ever attacked, left a NATO summit early in a huff, stared directly into an eclipse even though everyone over the age of 5 knows not to do that, called himself a very stable genius despite significant evidence to the contrary, refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and kept his promise, and a whole bunch of other things I can’t remember at the moment. But other than that. . . Please share. This is how history books will read, because these are PROVABLE FACTS! Truth

[lboogie1906]

Lieutenant General James Reginald Hall, Jr. (July 15, 1936) is a retired senior officer in the Army and was born in Anniston, Alabama. He pursued a BA at Morehouse College in Political Science. He pursued a BA in Public Administration from Shippensburg College. He joined the Army.

He had basic training in Fort Chaffee and continued to Individual Training in Colorado. He entered Officer Candidate School and earned his commission of Second Lieutenant.

By the mid-1960s he was Commander of Company C, 2nd Battalion (airborne), 503rd infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade in Okinawa (Japan) and South Vietnam. He served as Commander of 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. After returning from duty in South Korea, he became Commander of the 4th Regiment, United States Military Academy Corps of Cadets at West Point.

He was promoted to Brigadier General and Major General. He reached his highest rank on May 31, 1989, when he was promoted to Lieutenant General. He served as Director of the Enlisted Personnel Management Branch at the Army Military Personnel Center in Alexandria and as Commanding General of the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Carson. He was stationed at the Pentagon as Deputy Inspector General for the Department of the Army.

He served as Executive Officer to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel and Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in Fort McPherson. In his final assignment, he served as the Commanding General of the Fourth United States Army at Fort Sheridan. He became the first African American to be the Army’s highest-ranking officer in the Midwest.

He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Renaissance Medallion Award from Morehouse College.

He retired from the Army (1991) to spend more time with his wife, Helen, and their three children. He served on the organizing committee for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and he became President of the Morehouse College National Alumni Association. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[bigmacdaddio]

Trump

Trump will never be forgotten because he incited an insurrection against the government, mismanaged a pandemic that killed over half a million Americans, separated children from their families, lost those children in the bureaucracy, tear-gassed peaceful protesters on Lafayette Square so he could hold a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church, tried to block all Muslims from entering the country, got impeached, got impeached again, had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history, pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, fired the FBI director for investigating his ties to Russia, bragged about firing the FBI director on TV, took Vladimir Putin’s word over the US intelligence community, diverted military funding to build his wall, caused the longest government shutdown in US history, called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate,” lied nearly 30,000 times, banned transgender people from serving in the military, ejected reporters from the White House briefing room who asked tough questions, vetoed the defense funding bill because it renamed military bases named for Confederate soldiers, refused to release his tax returns, increased the national debt by nearly $8 trillion, had three of the highest annual trade deficits in U.S. history, called veterans and soldiers who died in combat losers and suckers, coddled the leader of Saudi Arabia after he ordered the execution and dismembering of a US-based journalist, refused to concede the 2020 election, hired his unqualified daughter and son-in-law to work in the White House, walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl, called neo-Nazis “very fine people,” suggested that people should inject bleach or disinfectant into their bodies to fight COVID, abandoned our allies the Kurds to Turkey, pushed through massive tax cuts for the wealthiest but balked at helping working Americans, incited anti-lockdown protestors in several states at the height of the pandemic, withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords, withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal, withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership which was designed to block China’s advances, insulted his own Cabinet members on Twitter, pushed the leader of Montenegro out of the way during a photo op, failed to reiterate US commitment to defending NATO allies, called Haiti and African nations “shithole” countries, called the city of Baltimore the “worst in the nation,” claimed that he single handedly brought back the phrase “Merry Christmas” even though it hadn’t gone anywhere, forced his Cabinet members to praise him publicly like some cult leader, believed he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, berated and belittled his hand-picked Attorney General when he recused himself from the Russia probe, suggested the US should buy Greenland, colluded with Mitch McConnell to push through federal judges and two Supreme Court justices after supporting efforts to prevent his predecessor from appointing judges, repeatedly called the media “enemies of the people,” claimed that if we tested fewer people for COVID we’d have fewer cases, violated the emoluments clause, thought that Nambia was a country, told Bob Woodward in private that the coronavirus was a big deal but then downplayed it in public, called his exceedingly faithful vice president a “p---y” for following the Constitution, nearly got us into a war with Iran after threatening them by tweet, nominated a corrupt head of the EPA, nominated a corrupt head of HHS, nominated a corrupt head of the Interior Department, nominated a corrupt head of the USDA, praised dictators and authoritarians around the world while criticizing allies, refused to allow the presidential transition to begin, insulted war hero John McCain – even after his death, spent an obscene amount of time playing golf after criticizing Barack Obama for playing (far less) golf while president, falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote, called the Muslim mayor of London a “stone cold loser,” falsely claimed that he turned down being Time’s Man of the Year, considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller on several occasions, mocked wearing face masks to guard against transmitting COVID, locked Congress out of its constitutional duty to confirm Cabinet officials by hiring acting ones, used a racist dog whistle by calling COVID the “China virus,” hired and associated with numerous shady figures that were eventually convicted of federal offenses including his campaign manager and national security adviser, pardoned several of his shady associates, gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two congressman who amplified his batshit crazy conspiracy theories, got into telephone fight with the leader of Australia(!), had a Secretary of State who called him a moron, forced his press secretary to claim without merit that his was the largest inauguration crowd in history, botched the COVID vaccine rollout, tweeted so much dangerous propaganda that Twitter eventually banned him, charged the Secret Service jacked-up rates at his properties, constantly interrupted Joe Biden in their first presidential debate, claimed that COVID would “magically” disappear, called a U.S. Senator “Pocahontas,” used his Twitter account to blast Nordstrom when it stopped selling Ivanka’s merchandise, opened up millions of pristine federal lands to development and drilling, got into a losing tariff war with China that forced US taxpayers to bail out farmers, claimed that his losing tariff war was a win for the US, ignored or didn’t even take part in daily intelligence briefings, blew off honoring American war dead in France because it was raining, redesigned Air Force One to look like the Trump Shuttle, got played by Kim Jung Un and his “love letters,” threatened to go after social media companies in clear violation of the Constitution, botched the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans when he finally visited them, pressured the governor and secretary of state of Georgia to “find” him votes, thought that the Virgin islands had a President, drew on a map with a Sharpie to justify his inaccurate tweet that Alabama was threatened by a hurricane, allowed White House staff to use personal email accounts for official businesses after blasting Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing, rolled back regulations that protected the public from mercury and asbestos, pushed regulators to waste time studying snake-oil remedies for COVID, rolled back regulations that stopped coal companies from dumping waste into rivers, held blatant campaign rallies at the White House, tried to take away millions of Americans’ health insurance because the law was named for a Black man, refused to attend his successors’ inauguration, nominated the worst Education Secretary in history, threatened judges who didn’t do what he wanted, attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, promised that Mexico would pay for the wall (it didn’t), allowed political hacks to overrule government scientists on major reports on climate change and other issues, struggled navigating a ramp after claiming his opponent was feeble, called an African-American Congresswoman “low IQ,” threatened to withhold federal aid from states and cities with Democratic leaders, went ahead with rallies filled with maskless supporters in the middle of a pandemic, claimed that legitimate investigations of his wrongdoing were “witch hunts,” seemed to demonstrate a belief that there were airports during the American Revolution, demanded “total loyalty” from the FBI director, praised a conspiracy theory that Democrats are Satanic pedophiles, completely gutted the Voice of America, placed a political hack in charge of the Postal Service, claimed without evidence that the Obama administration bugged Trump Tower, suggested that the US should allow more people from places like Norway into the country, suggested that COVID wasn’t that bad because he recovered with the help of top government doctors and treatments not available to the public, overturned energy conservation standards that even industry supported, reduced the number of refugees the US accepts, insulted various members of Congress and the media with infantile nicknames, gave Rush Limbaugh a Presidential medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address, named as head of federal personnel a 29-year old who’d previously been fired from the White House for allegations of financial improprieties, eliminated the White House office of pandemic response, used soldiers as campaign props, fired any advisor who made the mistake of disagreeing with him, demanded the Pentagon throw him a Soviet-style military parade, hired a shit ton of white nationalists, politicized the civil service, did absolutely nothing after Russia hacked the U.S. government, falsely said the Boy Scouts called him to say his bizarre Jamboree speech was the best speech ever given to the Scouts, claimed that Black people would overrun the suburbs if Biden won, insulted reporters of color, insulted women reporters, insulted women reporters of color, suggested he was fine with China’s oppression of the Uighurs, attacked the Supreme Court when it ruled against him, summoned Pennsylvania state legislative leaders to the White House to pressure them to overturn the election, spent countless hours every day watching Fox News, refused to allow his administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas, hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer, tried to punish Amazon because the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post wrote negative stories about him, acted as if the Attorney General of the United States was his personal attorney, attempted to get the federal government to defend him in a libel lawsuit from a women who accused him of sexual assault, held private meetings with Vladimir Putin without staff present, didn’t disclose his private meetings with Vladimir Putin so that the US had to find out via Russian media, stopped holding press briefings for months at a time, “ordered” US companies to leave China even though he has no such power, led a political party that couldn’t even be bothered to draft a policy platform, claimed preposterously that Article II of the Constitution gave him absolute powers, tried to pressure the U.K. to hold the British Open at his golf course, suggested that the government nuke hurricanes, suggested that wind turbines cause cancer, said that he had a special aptitude for science, fired the head of election cyber security after he said that the 2020 election was secure, blurted out classified information to Russian officials, tried to force the G7 to hold their meeting at his failing golf resort in Florida, fired the acting attorney general when she refused to go along with his unconstitutional Muslim travel ban, hired Stephen Miller, openly discussed national security issues in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago where everyone could hear them, interfered with plans to relocate the FBI because a new development there might compete with his hotel, abandoned Iraqi refugees who’d helped the U.S. during the war, tried to get Russia back into the G7, held a COVID super spreader event in the Rose Garden, seemed to believe that Frederick Douglass is still alive, lost 60 election fraud cases in court including before judges he had nominated, falsely claimed that factories were reopening when they weren’t, shamelessly exploited terror attacks in Europe to justify his anti-immigrant policies, still hasn’t come up with a healthcare plan, still hasn’t come up with an infrastructure plan despite repeated “Infrastructure Weeks,” forced Secret Service agents to drive him around Walter Reed while contagious with COVID, told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by,” fu**ed up the Census, withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic, did so few of his duties that his press staff were forced to state on his daily schedule “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings,” allowed his staff to repeatedly violate the Hatch Act, seemed not to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, stood before sacred CIA wall of heroes and bragged about his election win, constantly claimed he was treated worse than any president which presumably includes four that were assassinated and his predecessor whose legitimacy and birthplace were challenged by a racist reality TV show star named Donald Trump, claimed Andrew Jackson could’ve stopped the Civil War even though he died 16 years before it happened, said that any opinion poll showing him behind was fake, claimed that other countries laughed at us before he became president when several world leaders were literally laughing at him, claimed that the military was out of ammunition before he became President, created a commission to whitewash American history, retweeted anti-Islam videos from one of the most racist people in Britain, claimed ludicrously that the Pulse nightclub shooting wouldn’t have happened if someone there had a gun even though there was an armed security guard there, hired a senior staffer who cited the non-existent Bowling Green Massacre as a reason to ban Muslims, had a press secretary who claimed that Nazi Germany never used chemical weapons even though every sane human being knows they used gas to kill millions of Jews and others, bilked the Secret Service for higher than market rates when they had to stay at Trump properties, apparently sold pardons on his way out of the White House, stripped protective status from 59,000 Haitians, falsely claimed Biden wanted to defund the police, said that the head of the CDC didn’t know what he was talking about, tried to rescind protection from DREAMers, gave himself an A+ for his handling of the pandemic, tried to start a boycott of Goodyear tires due to an Internet hoax, said U.S. rates of COVID would be lower if you didn’t count blue states, deported U.S. veterans who served their country but were undocumented, claimed he did more for African Americans than any president since Lincoln, touted a “super-duper” secret “hydrosonic” missile which may or may not be a new “hypersonic” missile or may not exist at all, retweeted a gif calling Biden a pedophile, forced through security clearances for his family, suggested that police officers should rough up suspects, suggested that Biden was on performance-enhancing drugs, tried to stop transgender students from being able to use school bathrooms in line with their gender, suggested the US not accept COVID patients from  a cruise ship because it would make US numbers look higher, nominated a climate change sceptic to chair the committee advising the White House on environmental policy, retweeted a video doctored to look like Biden had played a song called “F**k tha Police” at a campaign event, hugged a disturbingly large number of U.S. flags, accused Democrats of “treason” for not applauding his State of the Union address, claimed that the FBI failed to capture the Parkland school shooter because they were “spending too much time” on Russia, mocked the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, obsessed over low-flow toilets, ordered the rerelease of more COVID vaccines when there weren’t any to release, called for the construction of a bizarre garden of heroes with statutes of famous dead Americans as well as at least one Canadian (Alex Trebek), hijacked Washington’s July 4th celebrations to give a partisan speech, took advice from the MyPillow guy, claimed that migrants seeking a better life in the US were dangerous caravans of drug dealers and rapists, said nothing when Vladimir Putin poisoned a leading opposition figure, never seemed to heed the advice of his wife’s “Be Best” campaign, falsely claimed that mail-in voting is fraudulent, announced a precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria which not only handed Russia and ISIS a win but also prompted his defense secretary to resign in protest, insulted the leader of Canada, insulted the leader of France, insulted the leader of Britain, insulted the leader of Germany, insulted the leader of Sweden (Sweden!!), falsely claimed credit for getting NATO members to increase their share of dues, blew off two Asia summits even though they were held virtually, continued lying about spending lots of time at Ground Zero with 9/11 responders, said that the Japanese would sit back and watch their “Sony televisions” if the US were ever attacked, left a NATO summit early in a huff, stared directly into an eclipse even though everyone over the age of 5 knows not to do that, called himself a very stable genius despite significant evidence to the contrary, refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and keep his promise, and a whole bunch of other things I can’t remember at the moment.

[richardnasti-blog]

About Richard Nasti

Based in New York, Richard Nasti has served as executive vice president of H.J. Kalikow & Company for more than three decades, providing solutions in the real estate development, construction, and management spheres. Also with an extensive track record of public service behind him, Richard Nasti engaged as U.S. Senator Alfonse D’Amato’s chief counsel in the early 1980s and informed numerous legislative and compliance initiatives.

Prior to joining his current firm in 1987, Richard Nasti held a position in the Urban Mass Transportation Administration under President Ronald Reagan as regional administrator. In the mod-1990s, Mr. Nasti achieved appointment by New York’s governor to chair of the Stony Brook University Council. His sustained efforts boosted the institution’s research capacities to world-leading levels, and in 2009, he headed the presidential search committee.

Richard Nasti presently engages with the university to enhance fundraising efforts as a member of the Stony Brook Foundation. He also chairs the school’s Center for Italian Studies, with a focus on furthering Italian-American scholarship. In 2012, Richard Nasti received the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Cavalieri or Knight, from the Italian government. He is also a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Freedom.

[felipeandletizia]

Felipe and Letizia retrospective: December 2nd

2003: Funeral ceremony for seven intelligence officers who were killed in Iraq at the Madrid headquarters of the secret service CNI.

2004: VIII Edition of ‘the Foundation for Cooperation and Development of Assistential Activities’ awards (CODESPA)

2005: Commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the YMCA in Spain

2007: Funeral for Civil Guard agent Raúl Centeno Bayón

2008: Visit to A Coruña

2009: Inauguration of His Excellency the President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sánchez, as Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Salamanca

2010: Closing of the 13th State Volunteer Congress

2013: National Sports Awards

2014: Official Visit to Germany

2015: Delivery of Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts 2014 in Sevilla &  Meeting with the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderón

2016: “International Symposium: Sustainable Food Systems in Favor of Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition” at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, Italy

2019: Received the presidents of Ecuador and Costa Rica & Offered a reception to Chiefs of State visiting Spain to take part on COP25

2021: Visited Colombia to attend the World Law Congress Colombia 2021 & Event of reopening to the public of the collections of the “Real Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales”

F&L Through the Years: 881/??