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Milestones

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One hundred fifty-seven years ago, the great climatic charge that that marked the end of the greatest battle ever fought on American soil took place. Properly know as Longstreet's Assault, it is forever remembered as Picket's Charge. Preceded by the largest cannonade ever in North America, which was heard as far away as Philadelphia (111 miles away), the charge was made by almost 15,000 Confederate soldiers in three divisions against 6,500 United States soldiers on Cemetery Ridge, just over a mile of open ground away. Approximately 1,500 US casualties and more than 6,000 confederate casualties resulted. It is generally conceded to have been General Robert. E Lee's biggest military mistake.

A different way to remember it is in the words of William Faulkner, born in Byhalia, MS in 1897. He grew up knowing many Confederate veterans of the War. Widely considered the greatest writer to come out of the Old South, Faulkner often struggled in his writing with the ghosts of the War.

In his 1948 (the year I was born) novel "Intruder In The Dust, he wrote this:

For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is still time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances...
 
Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, which had utterly ravaged my country which was barely recovering from the sufferings of the Japanese colonization period.

I have never met my grandfather, but I still have his photograph in the empty room of my late grandmother, who passed away just a few years ago. He was wearing a military uniform in the picture, and he was sent to a battle not long afterwards and got killed in action.

S. Korea was completely outmatched in military strength by its northern brethren at that time. And within a few months, the N. Korean army drove our forces to a tiny patch of land at the southern end of the peninsula.

More than 40 countries sent their troops to help us fight back the invading force. And it was because of the sacrifices like my grandfather's and of those foreign soldiers who had fallen alongside him that now I can enjoy my freedom, well, the freedom to create renderings of naked slave girls, for example.

I don't know if our northern friends use Daz or Blender to create inspiring renders of their venerable leader. I find Kim Jung Eun's sister to be quite good-looking, so I wouldn't be too unhappy to feature her in my renderings if I don't have other choices.

But I have a feeling that I would be granted a change to experience the horrors of being a mine slave in a very realistic manner if I don her in my usual preferred costume (or lack thereof) used in my renderings. So I feel thankful for all who have fought in the war to save me from having to sacrifice such artistic freedom that I enjoy now.
I was stationed in Korea in 1955/6,in Inchon and up on the 38th parallel.I was fortunate that the war had been over for 18 months but the threat from the North was ever present,and the country had been almost completely destroyed.
It is amazing the progress that has been made,and when I see how prosperous S Korea is now,I believe that we actually were doing something useful being there.
 
Wasn’t Longstreet against the attack, and continued to be critical of Lee for ordering it long after the war?
Yes. In his memories, he wrote that he said to Lee:
General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know, as well as any one, what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men ever arranged for battle can take that position.

He described that when Pickett came to him for the order to advance, he could to speak, but only nodded.

George Pickett was honored to lead the big charge but disillusioned when he lost half his division, as casualties.
When Lee told Pickett to rally his division for the defense, Pickett allegedly replied, "General Lee, I have no division.
Later, he was reported to have said (though not well documented), "That Old Man (Lee) murdered my division."
 
I was stationed in Korea in 1955/6,in Inchon and up on the 38th parallel.I was fortunate that the war had been over for 18 months but the threat from the North was ever present,and the country had been almost completely destroyed.
It is amazing the progress that has been made,and when I see how prosperous S Korea is now,I believe that we actually were doing something useful being there.
It feels incredible to meet a person on this kinky corner of the vast internet, who had the first-hand experience of the dark period that my country has come through - only a couple of years after the war, and a few years before the beginning of the series of military dictatorship, which would last more than two decades.

And yes, you really did something beneficial to so many people, including myself. Even though I'm increasingly getting frustrated about certain aspects of this country, I know that if it were not for the help of those people like you, the complaints I have today would be about something very different, such as the difficulty of finding food or the fear of being sent to a prison camp, for instance. (Of course, I love forced labour in a prison camp... but not so much when I can experience it in person :p)

So, thanks much @twonines. And please stay healthy as I hope to see you for a long time to come. :)
 
It's already evening of the 4th of July here, it must be ready to begin in the US soon.

So, happy Independence Day to our US members

ps is this the traditional way to celebrate?
"It's a grand old flag" etc etc :)
US Tem.jpgNikki5.jpgass.jpgFlag689.jpgFlag65.jpgflag22.jpg_flag.jpg
 
My way to honor this day.
In 1861, a month after the start of the American Civil War, a Boston regiment premiered a song using two folk tunes. One tune and chorus was Glory, Hallelujah, which had originated in Southern US religious camp meetings in the early 19th century. A later account of the authorship of the words:
“We had a jovial Scotchman in the battalion, named John Brown. ... [A]nd as he happened to bear the identical name of the old hero of Harper’s Ferry, he became at once the butt of his comrades. If he made his appearance a few minutes late among the working squad, or was a little tardy in falling into the company line, he was sure to be greeted with such expressions as “Come, old fellow, you ought to be at it if you are going to help us free the slaves,” or, “This can’t be John Brown—why, John Brown is dead.” And then some wag would add, in a solemn, drawling tone, as if it were his purpose to give particular emphasis to the fact that John Brown was really, actually dead: “Yes, yes, poor old John Brown is dead; his body lies mouldering in the grave.”
The song became widely popular in the US Army and was often improvised, but two standard lines were:
“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave, His soul’s marching on.”
And,—
“He’s gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord, His soul’s marching on.”
During a public review of the troops outside Washington, D.C. Company “K” of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, sang the song. In the audience was Julie Ward Howe. Howe was a fervent abolitionist and tireless advocate for women’s education and suffrage. She went back to her room at Willard’s Hotel and went to bed. Early the next morning, she awoke with lines in her hed. She sprang from bed, found a small stub of a pencil and jotted down the words in the near darkness. Comparing Slavery to the Biblical judgement of the end times, she drew references to Isaiah and Revelations. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic became the anthem of the anti-slavery forces of the North.

Howe's original lyrics.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

(Chorus)
Glory, Glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.

(Chorus)

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal";
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on.

(Chorus)

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

(Chorus)

In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Our God is marching on.
 
When Lee told Pickett to rally his division for the defense, Pickett allegedly replied, "General Lee, I have no division.
To understand what he meant. He had lost one half the men in his division. The rest were scattered and disorganized. The Generals commanding his three brigades were dead. Of the 40 field grade officers in his division (majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels), 26 were casualties
 
Today, July 10, is National Kitten Day in the US.
Studies have shown that having a pet can help with coping with stress. Even watching videos can relieve stress.
You're welcome.
 
On this day in 1945, scientists at Los Alamos led by J. Robert Oppenheimer detonated the world's first nuclear explosion in a test dubbed "Trinity." Less than a month later, the United States dropped a very similar weapon on the city of Nagasaki in Japan, leaving 66,000 people dead and injuring even more.
The code name "Trinity" was assigned by Oppenheimer, inspired by the poetry of John Donne.
The bomb exploded with the force of 22,000 tons of TNT.
The Trinity explosion, 16 ms after detonation. The viewed hemisphere's highest point in this image is about 200 metres (660 ft) high.
Trinity_Test_Fireball_16ms.jpg
Trinity_Detonation_T&B.jpg
Trinity_shot_color.jpg

Oppenheimer later recalled that, while witnessing the explosion, he thought of a verse from a Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita (XI,12)
"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one ..."

Years later he would explain that another verse had also entered his head at that time:

'I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.'"
 
Just recalled, it is 150 years since the start of the Franco Prussian war, an event whose effects still are felt today.
Next year will bet the 150th anniversary of the final act of the Franco Prussian war, the Fall of the Commune, an event which actually did not involve the Prussians at all!
They just stood by and watched while the french slaughtered each other!

https://www.britannica.com/event/Commune-of-Paris-1871
 
Oppenheimer later recalled that, while witnessing the explosion, he thought of a verse from a Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita (XI,12)
"If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one ..."

Years later he would explain that another verse had also entered his head at that time:

'I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.'"
Indeed, the Hindu holy book - of course there are many,
but I think if asked to name one, most Hindus regard the Gita as the book.
Oppenheimer slightly misquoted XI.32, Sri Krishna says
'ka:lo'smi loka-kshaya-krit pravriddho
loka:n-sama:mhartum iha pravrittah'
'I have become time, the mighty world-destroyer
now busy wiping out the world'
A little later, Arjuna responds by declaring Krishna to comprise all the Hindu pantheon,
naming all the main deities, including including Yama, the God of Death.
 
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