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Milestones

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Fifty years ago today, Richard Nixon closed the "gold window" at the US Federal Reserve under which foreign governments could exchange their dollars for gold at the fixed rate of $35/ounce. This effectively brought to an end the system of fixed exchange rates established under the Bretton Woods Agreement in the waning days of World War II, ushering in the current system of floating exchange rates. Was this a good or a bad thing? Damned if I know...
there is a book just out on this: "Three Days at Camp David". What I've read so far ties the decision to trade and the fact that the dollar was the de facto reserve currency and couldn't be devauled. The rest of the world had caught up economically, so the US was running trade deficits. The author is a professor at Yale, formerly in the Clinton commerce department, and formerly a director of "the Blackstone Group" (which IMHO is one of the sharkiest private equity firms around, responsible for lots of bankruptcies). Everything Nixon did was political (even the EPA), so whether it was a good or bad thing was irrelevant to him.
 
August 28 1833 the Slavery Abolition Act receives royal assent outlawing slavery throughout most of the British Empire. Some dubious articles such as those mandating 6 year 'apprenticeships' for some slaves would not be repelled until August 1838 but the act is widely regarded as a dramatic step forwards in Britain's relationship to the slave trade.
 
August 28 1833 the Slavery Abolition Act receives royal assent outlawing slavery throughout most of the British Empire. Some dubious articles such as those mandating 6 year 'apprenticeships' for some slaves would not be repelled until August 1838 but the act is widely regarded as a dramatic step forwards in Britain's relationship to the slave trade.
"Men! Attention! From tomorrow on, we no longer say : 'let's enslave these savages!'! From toworrow on we say 'Let's close a trade agreement with these savages!'"!
 
August 28 2005: Hurricane Katrina made landfall - caused over 1,800 deaths and $125 billion in damage, particularly in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas.

And now Hurricane Ida has hit Louisiana with at least equal force ... :eek:

I hope any of our members down that way are in safe places.
 
There is some confidence that all the money spent on new, higher flood barriers and gates will make this strike less damaging. There was so much "confidence" that mandatory evacuations were only issued for areas outside the protected perimeter (although it was also said that time was a factor, and they didn't want to hopelessly clog the roads.) Also, apparently people have gotten the message and got the hell out--the roads and the airport were jammed. The flow meters on the Mississippi showed that the river reversed course because of the storm surge. The wind is going to be bad, and the storm made landfall at the main port for the oil rigs in the Gulf, which means that gas prices are going up for a while in the U.S. A lot will depend on how fast it moves and how much water it dumps. The water in the Gulf is very warm this time of year--good for hurricanes. Some parts of the state--the low-lying areas in the delta--are "likely to be uninhabitable for months", mostly because of flood damage and the height and force of the "storm surge" from the ocean. Last time I looked, almost 400,000 people are without power. The hospitals jammed with COVID patients (lots of antivaxers in Louisiana) were not evacuated, and staff are going to live there and use generators until the power comes back on and the roads are clear. The halls are being utilized to avoid windows. It's a hell of a thing.
One thing that shocked me was that the emergency services said that people who are staying should plan to be on their own for three days--no one will be able to get to them.
 
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Today marks the 50th anniversary of the formation of the modern Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys), the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British Army. Forever famous for their charge at the Battle of Waterloo:
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Another painting by the same artist is sadly more timely

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'Remnants of an Army' by Elizabeth Butler portraying William Brydon arriving at the gates of Jalalabad as the only survivor of a 16,500 strong evacuation from Kabul in January 1842. (Actually there were a few more survivors who managed to escape and eventually straggled back, but he - the regimental medic -was the only one released by the Afghans and sent to tell the British authorities what had happened to their army)
 
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Think of the poor artist! It’s not easy doing an oil painting while riding backwards on a horse in the middle of a battle! :eek:
 
Think of the poor artist! It’s not easy doing an oil painting while riding backwards on a horse in the middle of a battle! :eek:
Scotland Forever! is an 1881 oil painting by Lady Butler. Although Butler had never observed a battle, she was permitted to watch her husband's regiment during training maneuvers, positioning herself with her easel in front of charging horses in order to observe their movement.
The title comes from the battle cry of the soldiers—the Greys called "Now, my boys, Scotland forever!" as they charged.
-wiki -
A better image
1920px-Scotland_Forever!.jpg
Look closely at how she painted the horses' eyes. You can tell she saw them charging up close!
 
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