May, 1915
There is no specific date, but any history of WWI that didn't mention it would be incomplete. The genocide perpetrated against the Armenians by the dying Ottoman Empire. In a bid to return the empire to it's glorious past as a world power, it was decided that Christians were first to be taxed, then enslaved, finally murdered without mercy, sometimes by gun or sword, sometimes by overwork and exhaustion. The world war, with Muslim Turkey on one side and Christian Russia on the other provided the perfect pretext for incredible violence against innocent bystanders caught between the two combatants. One of the greatest crimes against humanity, which has gone unpunished and is even being denied to this day, is getting underway 100 years ago today. Let's pause to remember their horror.
And reflect also on the evils of unbridled nationalism and religious chauvinism that the human race is so undeniably subject to.
Meanwhile, on May 25-26, the first submarine to reach the Aegean Sea torpedoes and sinks the British battleships Triumph and Majestic. The other six British battleships are withdrawn and render impossible any further naval assault in the Dardanelles.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Sunday, May 3, 2015
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders Fields Canadian Lt. John McCrae
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Remember the Lusitania
May 2, 1915
Today the Passenger ship Lusitania is sunk by a German submarine torpedo. The British story is that the ship was an unarmed passenger liner and by international treaty, was not a legitimate target of war. The Germans maintained that she was carrying significant war material and as such was not exempt from action. 128 Americans went to the bottom with her.
Today the Passenger ship Lusitania is sunk by a German submarine torpedo. The British story is that the ship was an unarmed passenger liner and by international treaty, was not a legitimate target of war. The Germans maintained that she was carrying significant war material and as such was not exempt from action. 128 Americans went to the bottom with her.
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