Welcome! "What's Happenin'?" is a casual community diary (a daily series, 8:30 AM Eastern on weekdays, 10 AM on weekends and holidays) where you can hang out, talk about what is going on with you, listen to music, talk about the news and the goings on here and everywhere.
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Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind
Stephen Crane
Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind.
Because the lover threw wild hands toward the sky
And the affrighted steed ran on alone,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Hoarse, booming drums of the regiment,
Little souls who thirst for fight,
These men were born to drill and die.
The unexplained glory flies above them,
Great is the Battle-God, great, and his Kingdom -
A field wher a thousand corpses lie.
Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbled in the yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.
Mother whose heart hung humble as a button
On the bright splendid shroud of your son,
Do not weep.
War is kind.
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Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
Source
The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.
Source
Battleships USS West Virginia and USS Tennessee after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
Source
Naval photograph documenting abandoning ship aboard the USS California after the ship had been set afire and started to sink from being attacked by the Japanese in their attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Source
The terrific explosion of the destroyer USS Shaw when her magazine exploded after being bombed by Japanese aircraft in the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
Source
Keel of the capsized USS Oklahoma with the USS Maryland in the background during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.
Source
Photograph of hangar and planes damaged and set afire by Japanese bombs at Pearl Harbor.
"The fate of the Empire rests on this enterprise every man must devote himself totally to the task in hand."
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Commander in Chief of the Japanese Navy
December 7, 1941
Source
Captured Japanese photograph taken aboard a Japanese carrier before the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.
A Japanese Navy Type 97 Carrier Attack Plane ("Kate") takes off from the aircraft carrier Shokaku, en route to attack Pearl Harbor, during the morning of 7 December 1941.
News
Read the whole article....it's heart-breaking.
Pearl Harbor Still a Day for the Ages, but a Memory Almost Gone
For more than half a century, members of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association gathered here every Dec. 7 to commemorate the attack by the Japanese that drew the United States into World War II. Others stayed closer to home for more intimate regional chapter ceremonies, sharing memories of a day they still remember in searing detail.
But no more. The 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack will be the last one marked by the survivorsâ association. With a concession to the reality of time â of age, of deteriorating health and death â the association will disband on Dec. 31.
SNIP
Mr. Martinez said that Pearl Harbor Day was supposed to be marked everywhere and every year, not just here. âIt is supposed to be a national day of remembrance, with ceremonies across this country. Weâve noticed this is not happening.â
This is great! Draw attention to the fact that banks got a bailout while the people got screwed.
Occupy Oakland protesters focus on home foreclosure
The Occupy movement entered a new phase on Tuesday with a day of marches, rallies and direct actions in more than 20 cities nationwide, including Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose, to draw attention to the home foreclosure crisis.
With the "Occupy Our Homes" events, a movement sometimes criticized for lacking a clear message is focusing on issues - the plight of homeowners facing foreclosure and the lending practices of big banks - that showcase its message of economic inequality.
The Oakland protests, at which demonstrators "reclaimed" foreclosed properties, shouted down foreclosure auctions, waved banners outside banks, and held several rallies and marches, drew dozens of participants. The actions, some of them under the watchful eyes of deputy sheriffs or local police, were peaceful, although they included protesters entering and occupying foreclosed properties owned by banks or other institutions.
Another sign that the banks aren't going to get their sweetheart deal to sweep their misdeeds under the rug...
California, Nevada team up to investigate mortgage fraud
In the latest sign that some attorneys general are no longer pinning their hopes on a broad state and federal settlement with big banks, two states battered by housing foreclosures announced a plan Tuesday to combine forces to investigate mortgage fraud and related misdeeds.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said they intend to team up to look into a wide array of abuses, including mishandled documents, shoddy loan servicing, and the questionable ways in which mortgages were bundled and sold to investors.
The US is stopping progress on climate talks? I'm shocked, SHOCKED!
U.S. Climate Stance Is âBlowing Negotiations Apart,â Envoy Declares
The U.S. view that no new global climate deal is possible before 2020 is derailing negotiations aimed at slashing the worldâs oil and coal emissions, according to an envoy at the talks.
âThe present U.S. position of no new agreement until post- 2020 is really blowing negotiations apart,â Papua New Guineaâs chief climate delegate, Kevin Conrad, said in an interview in Durban, South Africa, where United Nations-led climate talks are divided over when to seek a new treaty to curb global warming.
The U.S. wonât begin talks until China and India agree to take on legally binding actions without preconditions. In the meantime, countries should focus between now and 2020 on a voluntary emissions-cutting pact reached last year, according to U.S. lead climate negotiator Todd Stern. Other countries say itâs crucial to pursue a stronger agreement now.
Barbara Walters really went after Assad in this interview.
Defiant Assad Denies Ordering Bloody Syrian Crackdown
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad defiantly denied any suggestion that he has ordered a bloody crackdown against protesters who are demanding that he resign, and claims instead that most of the people who died in the unrest were his supporters and troops.
Assad, whose regime has been condemned by the West, the Arab League and former allies, dismissed suggestions that he step down and scoffed at sanctions being imposed on Syria.
His defiant stance was on display in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters who confronted the Syrian dictator in Damascus with stories and evidence of civilians being tortured and killed, some of them children.
Cue Islamophobia and fear-mongering from the right...
Egypt's Brotherhood claims win in run-off vote
The Muslim Brotherhood's political party said Wednesday it had won a majority of the seats up for grabs in Egypt's run-off elections, which would give it at least 40 percent of the seats in parliament decided thus far.
The Freedom and Justice Party said in a statement that it won 36 of the 56 seats awarded to individual candidates in voting which concluded on Tuesday.
The Islamist group already won almost 37 percent of the vote in earlier polling, which awarded seats according to party lists.
Tsunami that struck Japan in March resulted from merging waves
The devastating wall of water that struck Japan in March was the result of at least two waves that combined to create a more powerful tsunami, U.S. scientists said Monday.
Ocean ridges and mountain ranges below the surface of the water channeled the waves created by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan, bringing them together far out at sea to form a "merging tsunami," according to researchers from NASA and Ohio State University.
The five healthiest states are blue states, and the five least healthy states are red states.
Vermont is healthiest state in U.S. - report
Vermont retained its ranking as the healthiest U.S. state, topping the list for a fifth straight year thanks in part to a high rate of education and low incidence of infectious disease.
New Hampshire, Connecticut, Hawaii and Massachusetts rounded out the rest of the top five healthiest states, according to United Health Foundation's 2011 America's Health Rankings.
New York, ranked 18th, and New Jersey, ranked 11th, showed the most substantial improvements over the last year, each moving up six spots largely because of gains made quitting smoking, the report said.