Sunday, March 13, 2011

Eagle watching and Japan disaster.

March 13, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
March 13 is … Jewel Day. Is this for bling or grocery stores?

Go to the web site I have listed below. It is a live streaming of a bald eagle sitting on her eggs high atop a tree on the Mississippi River near Decorah, Iowa. Obviously, it is easier to see during daylight. I was watching her the other morning and she got up showing she is sitting on three eggs. The camera and web site are sponsored by The Raptor Resource Project. At any one time, there may be 3,000 people watching with you. It is very interesting and heart-warming. The dedication of this mother eagle, as most mothers, is amazing. She is out there 24/7, in the weather. She cannot go inside to warm up or get out of the wind. The warmth of a cozy fire burning in the fireplace is unknown to her but she carries on. You can go to The Raptor Resource Project web site at;


                        OR

                        http://www.ustream.tv/channel/decorah-eagles

Recently, Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, received a lot of grief for having hearings on fanatical Muslims. The same thing has been done to Italians i.e. Mafia, the Japanese i.e. WWII, southerners i.e. the KKK, Germans i.e. Nazis, and Communists plus others. Below is a short speech given by Winston Churchill in 1899. Rep. Peter King is thinking along the lines of a great man. Instead of chastising him, we should listen to him and learn.

“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy.  The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity.  The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.  Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith.  It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome."

Winston Churchill lived in a different time but he was a great man and would be no matter when he lived.

A bus in New York City, on its way to Chinatown from a Connecticut Casino crashed early Saturday morning, killing at least thirteen passengers. Nearly every one of the thirty-two passengers on the bus was killed or injured. The accident, which caused the bus to flip on its side, occurred when most on board were sleeping. It took place on Interstate 95 in the Bronx. A tractor-trailer that swerved in front of the bus just before the accident did not stop. Police are looking for the truck and the driver. The police are not sure if the truck’s maneuver was a contributing factor in the accident.

In Japan, the official count of the dead was 574, but the government said the figure could far exceed 1,000. It has been reported that 9,500 people are unaccounted for in Minamisanriku, roughly half the town's population. The town, located along the Pacific Ocean on the northeast coast of Japan, has a population of 17,000 residents. This is in the hardest hit area of Japan. Reports also have spread that four entire trains are missing but many reports since the earthquake have proven to be wrong or grossly over-stated and in some cases understated.

As is normal in situations like the Japanese earthquake/tsunami natural disaster, the exact numbers of dead will not be known for weeks or months, if ever. The death toll in Japan's earthquake and tsunami will likely exceed 10,000 in one state alone, an official said Sunday, as millions of survivors were left without drinking water, electricity and proper food along the pulverized northeastern coast.

The Japanese authorities are giving mixed signals about the nuclear power plant problems. One agency says everything is under control while another agency says differently. Over 100,000 people have been evacuated from within a 12 mile radius of the power plants. Two power plants are in the same general area and both have sustained damage. Japan is the only country to have been attacked by nuclear weapons. The government is likely taking this fact into account before releasing exact information that could start a panic. Many Japanese people are still alive that lived through the 1945 bombings that ended WW II.
Hey! Let’s take the day off! It’s Uncle Sam Day! On this day back in 1852, the New York Lantern newspaper published an Uncle Sam cartoon for the first time. The drawing was the work of Frank Henry Bellew. Through the years, the caricature changed with Uncle Sam becoming symbolic of the U.S. being just like a favorite uncle. One prime example of this symbolism was the U.S. Army posters that portrayed Uncle Sam pointing and saying, “I want you!” As a result, many of us joined his ranks.  Uncle Sam always wore a nifty suit of red, white and blue, a hat with stars and stripes down the trousers of both of his long legs. The origins of how he became known as Uncle Sam are varied, but include a dock worker wondering what the words “From U.S.” meant on shipping crates. Reportedly, he was told jokingly, “Oh, this is from your Uncle Sam.”



BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011

VISIT ANY OF THE SITES LISTED FOR REVIEW, RESEARCH, ORDERING MY WRITING PRODUCTS OR TO CONTACT ME.
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase any of my books. The books are interesting and inexpensive reads. My third book should be available later this year, in late 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)
www.smashwords.com Do a Title or author search.

And the day came when the risk
to remain tight in a bud was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom.



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