Armistice Day 11/11/21

In this country we call this day Veterans’ Day and take time to honor all those who have served or are serving in our armed forces. It was originally called Armistice Day which commemorated the cessation of fighting on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o’clock in the morning—the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918. in much of Europe it is now called Remembrance Day.

On this day in 1918, the armistice between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage in Compiegne Forest.

Clairière de l’Armistice

In November 1918 the Engineer in charge of the North Region Railways: Arthur-Pierre Toubeau, was instructed to find a suitably discreet place which would accommodate two trains. By coincidence on the outskirts of Compiègne in the forest of Rethondes lay an artillery railway emplacement. Set deep within the wood and out of the view of the masses the location was ideal.

Early in the morning of the 8th November a train carrying Maréchal Ferdinand Foch, his staff and British officers arrived on the siding to the right, nearest the museum. The train formed a mobile headquarters for Foch, complete with a restaurant car and office.

At 0700 hours another train arrived on the left hand track. One of the carriages had been built for Napoleon III and still bore his coat of arms. Inside was a delegation from the German government seeking an armistice.

There were only a hundred metres between the two trains and the entire area was policed by gendarmes placed every 20 metres.

For three days the two parties discussed the terms of an armistice until at 0530 hours on the 11th November 1918, Matthias Erzberger the leader of the German delegation signed the Armistice document.

Within 6 hours the war would be over.

Initially the carriage (Wagon Lits Company car No. 2419D) used by Maréchal Foch was returned to its former duty as a restaurant car but was eventually placed in the courtyard of the Invalides in Paris.

An American: Arthur Fleming paid for its restoration, and the wagon was brought back to Rethondes on 8th April 1927 and placed in a purpose built shelter (Since destroyed).

Numerous artifacts were obtained from those who had been involved in 1918 and the car was refurbished to its condition at the time of the Armistice.

At the entrance to the avenue leading down to the memorial site is a monument raised by a public subscription organised by the newspaper Le Matin.

The monument is dedicated to Alsace Lorraine and consists of a bronze sculpture of a sword striking down the Imperial Eagle of Germany it is framed by sandstone from Alsace.

The Clairière was inaugurated on 11th November 1922 by President Millerand.

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The Breakfast Club (Constituents)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

This Day in History

An armistice ends the fighting in World War I; Pilgrims sign Mayflower Compact; Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat dies; Author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. and actor Leonardo DiCaprio born.

Breakfast Tunes

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

As constituents, we’ve become lazy in terms of what we want and how to get it. If we, as a constituency, don’t like what Congress is doing, but 90 percent of incumbents get reelected every year, that’s a problem.

Emma Gonzalez

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29 Bells for The Edmund Fitzgerald

When the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America’s Great Lakes. Today, we mark the 46th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald taking her 29 crew members with her to the bottom of Lake Superior during one of the worst of the legendary November storms. She remains the largest ship ever to have sunk there.

During last year’s pandemic the memorial service and beacon-lighting were moved to an online-only event. This year the memorial at the Split Rock Lighthouse beacon, located along the Lake Superior shore near Beaver Bay, MN will be, once again an in person event. The lighthouse will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 10 — a Wednesday this year — with the ceremony set to begin at 4:30 p.m. For those who want to watch online, video will be streamed on the Minnesota Historical Society’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

the annual Nov. 10 ceremony is held on the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, it also remembers those lost in other shipwrecks.

The names of the lost Fitzgerald crew will be read as a bell rings 29 times. After that, lighthouse staff will ring the bell once more — a 30th time — to remember all lost mariners.

Then the Split Rock lighthouse beacon will be lit, shining out over the cold, dark waters of Lake Superior.

 

Final voyage and wreck

Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin on the afternoon of Sunday, November 9, 1975 under the command of Captain Ernest M. McSorley. It was en route to the steel mill on Zug Island, near Detroit, Michigan, with a full cargo of taconite. A second freighter under the command of Captain Jesse B. “Bernie” Cooper, Arthur M. Anderson, destined for Gary, Indiana out of Two Harbors, Minnesota, joined up with Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, being the faster ship, took the lead while Anderson trailed not far behind. The weather forecast was not unusual for November and called for a storm to pass over eastern Lake Superior and small craft warnings.

Crossing Lake Superior at about 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), the boats encountered a massive winter storm, reporting winds in excess of 50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) with gusts up to 86.9 knots (160.9 km/h; 100.0 mph) and waves as high as 35 feet (11 m). Visibility was poor due to heavy snow. The Weather Bureau upgraded the forecast to gale warnings. The freighters altered their courses northward, seeking shelter along the Canadian coast. Later, they would cross to Whitefish Bay to approach the locks.When the storm became intense, the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. Marie were closed.

Late in the afternoon of Monday, November 10, sustained winds of 50 knots were observed across eastern Lake Superior. Anderson was struck by a 75-knot (139 km/h; 86 mph) hurricane-force gust. At 3:30 pm, Captain McSorley radioed the Anderson to report that she was taking on water and had top-side damage including that the Fitzgerald was suffering a list, and had lost two vent covers and some railings. Two of the Fitzgerald’s six bilge pumps were running continuously to discharge shipped water.

At about 3:50 pm, McSorley called the Anderson to report that his radar was not working and he asked the Anderson to keep them in sight while he checked his ship down so that the Anderson could close the gap between them. Fitzgerald was ahead of Anderson at the time, effectively blind; therefore, she slowed to come within 10 miles (16 km) range so she could receive radar guidance from the other ship. For a time the Anderson directed the Fitzgerald toward the relative safety of Whitefish Bay. McSorley contacted the U.S. Coast Guard station in Grand Marais, Michigan after 4:00 pm and then hailed any ships in the Whitefish Point area to inquire if the Whitefish Point light and navigational radio beacon were operational. Captain Cedric Woodard of the Avafors answered that both the light and radio direction beacon were out at that moment. Around 5:30 pm, Woodward called the Fitzgerald again to report that the Whitefish point light was back on but not the radio beacon. When McSorley replied to the Avafors, he commented, “We’re in a big sea. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”

The last communication from the doomed ship came at approximately 7:10 pm, when Anderson notified Fitzgerald of an upbound ship and asked how it was doing. McSorley reported, “We are holding our own.” A few minutes later, it apparently sank; no distress signal was received. Ten minutes later Anderson could neither raise Fitzgerald by radio, nor detect it on radar. At 8:32 pm, Anderson was finally able to convince the U. S. Coast Guard that the Fitzgerald had gone missing. Up until that time, the Coast Guard was looking for a 16 foot outboard lost in the area. The United States Coast Guard finally took Captain Cooper of the Anderson seriously shortly after 8:30 pm. The Coast Guard then asked the Anderson to turn around and look for survivors.

The Edmund Fitzgerald now lies under 530 feet of water, broken in two sections. On July 4, 1995, the ship’s bell was recovered from the wreck, and a replica, engraved with the names of the crew members who perished in this tragedy, was left in its place. The original bell is on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in Michigan.

 

The Witch of November I am a sailor. Blessed Be

 

 

Cartnoon

The Power Grid: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

John Oliver discusses the current state of the nation’s power grid, why it needs fixing, and, of course, how fun balloons are.

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The Breakfast Club (New Vision)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

This Day in History

The Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior; Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev dies; Henry Stanley finds David Livingstone in central Africa; Film composer Ennio Morricone born; ‘Sesame Street’ premieres.

Breakfast Tunes

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.

Edith Wharton

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The Breakfast Club (Bad Officials)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

This Day in History

Germans dance on top of Berlin Wall as communism crumbles in Eastern Europe; Nazis target Jews during ‘Kristallnacht’; A massive blackout hits the Northeast; Poet Dylan Thomas and Actor Art Carney die.

Breakfast Tunes

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

Bad officials are the ones elected by good citizens who do not vote.

George Jean Nathan

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The Breakfast Club (Unwritten)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

This Day in History

Adolf Hitler makes his first attempt to seize power in Germany; Democrat John F. Kennedy wins the presidency; Ronald Reagan is elected governor of California; Bonnie Raitt is born; Led Zeppelin releases the album ”Led Zeppelin Four.”

Breakfast Tunes

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

Citizenship is a tough occupation which obliges the citizen to make his own informed opinion and stand by it.

Martha Gellhorn

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Why Is Conservative Comedy So… Not Very Good? – SOME MORE NEWS

Cody Johnston: Hi. In today’s episode, we discuss Gutfeld, Dennis Miller, Babylon Bee, and why conservatives aren’t funny.

Chapters
0:00 – Introduction
1:39 – Why Isn’t Gutfeld Funny?
11:33 – Dave Chapelle, Gender and Sex
16:33 – Why Isn’t Dennis Miller Funny, Babe?
21:54 – Conservatives Would Rather ’Trigger The Libs’ Than Be Funny
31:03 – How Steven Crowder and Conservatives Use “Trolling” To Avoid Criticism
43:90 – Cruelty Is The Punchline And Also Pretty Boring
47:35 – It’s Not Hard To Make Fun Of Liberals, You Guys
49:34 – Conservative Are Funny
56:13 – How Trump Changed Comedy
01:01:48 – The Babylon Bee Identifies As Not Funny
01:05:56 – Conservatives Have Been Trying To Weaponize Comedy For Years

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The Breakfast Club (Bananas)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club!

AP’s Today in History for November 7th

Bolshevik Revolution takes place; America’s 2000 presidential vote faces limbo; Nixon loses Calif. governor’s race; Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses; Evangelist Billy Graham and singer Joni Mitchell born.

Breakfast Tune Here’s the song. ‘Hard Ain’t It Hard’

Something to think about, Breakfast News & Blogs below

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Biden Social Spending Bill Whittled Down To $10 Billion Check To Joe Manchin

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