Octopodial Chrome

Apparently European Union school calendar omits Christian holidays but retains Sikh, Mohammedan and Jewish ones . On what rational basis are Christian holidays struck but non-Christian ones preserved in Europe?

Absolutely disgusting and abhorrent: a London museum removed the cigar from Winston Churchill’s mouth. What sort of perverse historian thinks this is appropriate?

I think the text of the President’s speech tonight (not up at the White House yet, hence the news link) was excellent. It struck exactly the right notes and was eminently presidential; it was fitting for both the head of government and the head of state.

Here’s one for my sisters-in-arms: photos of women aiding effort to win the Second World War.

Colonel William Bower passed away today. He had flown Fickle Finger of Fate in Doolittle’s Raid and was the last surviving pilot therefrom (only five from the crews are now left). Not enough folks remember the raid today: less than six months after Pearl Harbor, USS Hornet and the Army Air Forces took the war home to the enemy, striking ten targets in Tokyo, two in Yokohama and one each in Kobe, Nagoya, Osaka and Yokosuka.

Unable to land their bombers on the carriers, the crew knew it was a one-way mission; their goal was to land in a friendly base in China, but due to the friction of war they were unable to do so, instead bailing out in Japanese-controlled territory and helped by friendly Chinese to safety. The Japanese murdered approximately 250,000 civilians in retaliation for that assistance.

Although the raid wasn’t materially significant, it served a valuable psychological purpose, putting the Japanese on notice that they were not invulnerable. Less than two months later we won the Battle of Midway and Japanese had lost the war: the next three years were spent explaining the fact in precise detail.

Col. Bower was an honest-to-goodness hero. May his memory be eternal!

2,059 years ago today (if I got the year difference right…) Julius Cæsar crossed the Rubicon and started the Roman Civil War. Under Roman Law, an appointed general from the provinces was forbidden to exercise power within Italy (only elected magistrates were allowed to do so); it was in fact a capital crime to do so, or to obey orders thus given. By leading his army across the Rubicon which marked the northernmost Italian border, Cæsar and all his soldiers irrevocably became outlaws under Republican Roman law; they had passed the point of no return. As he noted at the time, the die is cast.

As it turns out, this worked out well for him and them, and rather poorly for the Republic. The city which once cast out its king now found itself with an emperor.

Byron York notes that officialdom and the commentariat that called for caution after the Ft. Hood murder spree leapt to unwarranted conclusion regarding the recent Arizona shootings. The same folks who couldn’t find it within themselves to blame radical Islamism for the actions of a radical Islamist have no problem blaming the Right for the actions of someone who is apparently about as far from the right wing as is possible to be.

What’s particularly annoying to me are the folks who keep calling, now, for civility in politics, despite two inconvenient facts: first, that this murder appears to have nothing to do with politics; second, that (to my knowledge) not one of them complained when it was the Left openly advocating violence and assassination. What’s sauce for the goose is apparently not sauce for the gander.

Regarding the topic of strident language directed at one’s opponents, I can’t see how it will be avoided. It seems like a basic part of human nature, for good or for ill.

This may ruin your day, or even week: ærial photographs of Floridan housing developments. What was beautiful rolling land, shaped by the hand of God, is now rolled flat and constrained by straight strets; where once the paths might have followed the natural curve of the land, now the developer cuts a road along a line. Instead of homes laid out in a reasonable fashion, it’s row after row of identical buildings. Instead of walkable neighbourhoods in which one can live, all there are, are residences connecting to the street. It’s a monument to the car.

I remember that great moment in Prince Caspian when the river cast off the bridge which had enslaved it. Florida could use Aslan and Silenus…

Here’s a list of 97 essays for programmers, each written by a different author. They look pretty interesting, and the ones I’ve read seem pretty smart.