History

wow, did not know this one about a horrific mistaken attack on concentration camp survivors. Just, wow .......

the link takes you to the right spot, but the whole thing is interesting

https://youtu.be/rN8FUqmI_aw?t=376

There is a thing where when viewing history, you can wind up admiring the wrong side, the side you would never root for. But you can be caught up in the realization that the side you should be rooting for is just going to get its butt kicked, often largely through bad leadership, strategy and tactics that should have been long abandoned ... hard to admire, in other words.

In WWII you have to remember the bad guys got themselves well prepared for war, while the rest of the world was trying to push disarmament and wanted peace

In any case it seems to me that today we don't realize how much the Japanese were head and shoulders above all the rest in strategy, equipment, and tactics for the first phase of the war. Before radar was fully developed by the Allies, the Japanese were absolute ass-kickers in night fighting. Additionally they had their 'long lance' torpedoes that were light years ahead of all others, with a prepared strategy to use them well.

Even today I think we just want to forget some of that early war action. The Battle of the Java Sea is one such that I knew nothing about till recently. The video is set to start at the right spot, but the whole longer video is good.

https://youtu.be/ekTTnSJVqCU?t=490 .

President Abbas of the State of Palestine will not be allowed to speak at the UN again. He is a successor to Arafat

It occurred to me how often it is said that there is no State of Palestine

googlebot response to the question of whether there is a State of Palestine or not

"How to Square the Two Concepts
As a political goal and legal status, the State of Palestine is real because a large part of the world says it is. As a functioning, independent country, it does not yet exist because it lacks the borders, unified government, and independent power required to function fully on its own.

In short, it exists as a diplomatic aspiration and recognized entity, but it remains unfulfilled as a sovereign nation-state on the map."

Sounds sort of like "The Jews, Redux: a People WIthout a Homeland."

Ironic?

It goes back to the Ottomans, what we now call the Palestinians had no rights at all under that empire.