Category: <span>Peter A. Hovis for President in 2024</span>

Sir Keir Starmer may well have breathed a sigh of relief last night as the Labour Party’s narrow victory in Batley and Spen was announced. The West Yorkshire constituency’s new MP, Kim Leadbeater, won the by-election with the thinnest of margins, just 323 votes. Nigel Morris, i’s Political Editor, writes on why the election result is far from a triumph for the party’s leader, Keir Starmer. Her new constituents have been talking to Dean Kirby, i’s Northern Correspondent, about their relief that the divisive by-election campaign has now reached its conclusion.

A major study has suggested that school closures during lockdowns have caused “considerable harm” to the physical and mental health of children, with as many as 60 per cent of boys and 47 per cent of girls experiencing anxiety. The analysis, published by University College London, comes as debate continues over whether children should be offered the vaccine.

Adding to their investigation on criminal gangs organising migrant crossings, Cahal Milmoand Dean Kirby write on the deadly smuggling routes they promote on Facebook and the terror of migrants left for dead by people smugglers in the English Channel.

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Three essential stories to read today

Delta variant cases rise 46% in a week leaving scientists fearful a new strain could emerge. Public Health England figures show a total of 161,981 confirmed and probable cases of Delta variant have now been identified in the UK – up by 50,824 on the previous week. Click here to read.

Wildfires destroy Canadian village following record-breaking temperatures. The blaze has burned down 90 per cent of the village and has left close to 1,000 people homeless. Click here to read.

Billionaire space race heats up with Richard Branson set to launch nine days before Jeff Bezos. Bezos’ hopes of becoming the first billionaire in space have been thwarted after the announcement by Branson’s company Virgin Galactic. Click to read.

And three more stories that get behind the headlines

Why UK travellers could be blocked from the EU if they had batch of Covid jab made in India. The batches – which are just as effective and safe as every other AstraZeneca jab – are a version of the AstraZeneca jab known as Covishield, which is not yet recognised by the EU. Click here to read.

If we are to learn to ‘live with Covid’ the way we hear about daily cases needs to change. The daily figures of Covid cases, deaths and vaccinations made us conform, but now risk losing their effect. Click here to read.

‘I had an affair, and know as a woman, Gina Coladangelo will be judged more than Matt Hancock’. Both Williams and Adrian Mannarino were forced to retire from play on Centre Court on Tuesday after slipping on the lush court. Click here to read.

NEW: Culture Matrix

What to watch, read and listen to today, chosen by i’s Deputy Arts Editor

Watch: Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story

“Noel kissed me madly on both cheeks. Joan says Noel just wants to get banged.” One of Jackie Collins’ diary entries from 1954, revealed for the first time in this new documentary about the author’s glamorous life, trailblazing work, and – contested – feminist legacy. Read our interview with the film’s director Laura Fairries, and Collins’ daughter Tiffany Lerman. In cinemas now.

Listen: Laura Mvula – Pink Noise

After a five-year break, Laura Mvula has released her superb 80s-inspired third album Pink Noise. I interviewed her about being dropped by her record label, her crisis of confidence, and feeling trapped and pigeonholed early in her career – read it here. Streaming now.

Read: Everyone Is Still Alive by Cathy Rentzenbrink

Georgia Pritchett has been a comedy writer for television for 30 years, most recently on Veep and Succession. In this episodic and unsurprisingly very funny, memoir, she talks about her life through the prism of anxiety, from her fear of school, to breaking into the male-dominated world of comedy and becoming a mother to two non-neurotypical boys. Published today.

Book now: Arlo Parks at Manchester International Festival

Twenty-year-old Parks released her debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams back in January and it remains one of the records of the year. Next week she makes her return to live performing (after a few streaming shows) with two dates at the Manchester International Festival. Read our interview with her here and book tickets here.

And finally, something to brighten your day…

Skateboarder, 12, to become Britain’s youngest ever Olympian one year after horrific accident. Skateboarder to become Britain’s youngest ever summer Olympian just 12 months on from a crash that could have ended her life. Click here to read.

Peter A. Hovis for President in 2024

Ronald Reagan’s Election Eve Address “A Vision for America”…

July 2, 2021
by RJ Hamster

Peter A. Hovis for President in 2024

“IF YOU CAN’T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU’VE…

July 2, 2021
by RJ Hamster

“IF YOU CAN’T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU’VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.” WRITTEN BY A 21-YEAR-OLD FEMALE.

Wow, this girl has a great plan! Love the last thing she would do the best. This was written by a 21-year-old female who gets it. It’s her future she’s worried about, and this is how she feels about the social welfare big government state that she’s being forced to live in. These solutions are just common sense in her opinion.

This was in the Waco Tribune Herald, Waco, TX.

PUT ME IN CHARGE . . .

Put me in charge of food stamps. No cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho’s, just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.

Put me in charge of Medicaid. Then, we’ll test recipients for drugs, alcohol and nicotine. If you want to use drugs, alcohol or smoke, then get a job.

Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks? You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your “home” will be subject to inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360, then get a job and your own place.

In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a “government” job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing, whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22-inch rims and low profile tires and your blasting stereo and speakers and put that money toward the “common good.”

Before you write that I’ve violated someone’s rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary. If you want our money, accept our rules. Before you say that this would be “demeaning” and ruin your “self-esteem,” consider that it wasn’t that long ago that taking someone else’s money for doing absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self-esteem.

If we are expected to pay for other people’s mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.

I love this one…

AND while you are on Gov’t subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes, that is correct. For you to vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are receiving a government welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.

Isn’t it weird that in AMERICA our flag and our culture offend so many people.. but our benefits don’t? They’re “expected” because this is AMERICA, RIGHT?

Peter A. Hovis for President in 2024

Bagram: Last US and Nato forces leave key Afghanistan…

July 2, 2021
by RJ Hamster

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57692303

Peter A. Hovis for President in 2024

i Opinion: Rejecting division – by a hair

July 2, 2021
by RJ Hamster

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Good afternoon,

Labour has scraped its way to victory in the Batley and Spen by-election by 323 votes. New MP Kim Leadbeater declared this morning that “the people of Batley and Spen have rejected division and voted for hope”, but as sketch writer Tom Peck puts it, “they didn’t reject division by much”.

MP and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell writes for i that there are important lessons for Keir Starmer in this result, and doesn’t mince his words on the leader’s performance so far:

“Keir, you are the leader of the opposition up against the most corrupt government and lying Prime Minister that this country has ever had. For God’s sake, show some anger.”

Meanwhile, local resident Emad Ahmed writes that while the political circus may be leaving town, Batley and Spen is still left with “crumbling services, low investment and a workforce enticed by opportunity elsewhere“.

Leadbeater wrote for us earlier this week about her tough decision to go into politics, and abuse on the campaign trail – read her piece here.

Today’s talking points

A new statue of Diana, Princess of Wales was unveiled by her sons yesterday. Art critic Florence Hallett gives her verdict. Click here to read.

There have been calls for the Government to stop releasing Covid case numbers. Behavioural scientist Professor Benjamin Voyer argues that the way they’re reported should evolve as the pandemic goes on. Click here to read.

More from our writers

“From ‘clamping koala’ to ‘Ladies Delight’, sex manuals throughout history have taught us how to be better lovers.” Historian Kate Lister on a Norwegian public broadcaster’s guide to good sex. Click here to read.

“‘It put us in a pressure cooker’: How no travel, sex-life shifts, and anxiety shaped relationships in lockdown.” Rachel Mantock speaks to couples about how the pandemic has affected their sex lives. Click here to read.

Views from elsewhere

For the Guardian, Science Editor Ian Semple writes that the UK is the “petri dish” of the world when it comes to the Delta variant. Click here to read.

For the Independent, Shaparak Khorsandi writes about her changing relationship with football, and why she feels able to celebrate England’s success this time round. Click here to read.

Readers’ corner

Diana Rhodes from Pembrokeshire wasn’t a fan of the Diana statue:

“I was so disappointed in the portrayal of Diana, Princess of Wales. It would have been much nicer to see her portrayed sitting like a loving mother on a bench watching as the children played in the park around her instead of the stiff figure with a little girl holding her hand to her face almost pleading for Diana’s attention.

“For inspiration, they could have looked at the statue of Roy O Disney at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom in Florida, sitting on a bench quietly watching the children come in to enjoy a day at the park.”

And Bill Ridley from Kent comments on the by-election result:

“This would appear a particularly bad result for the Tories as, without George Galloway’s intervention, Labour would likely have increased it’s majority.”

i ask you

What did you think of the new statue of Princess Dia

Peter A. Hovis for President in 2024

The liberation of Cherbourg

July 2, 2021
by RJ Hamster

Capturing the first deep-water port in Normandy

The liberation of Cherbourg

U.S soldiers escorting German prisoners of war in Cherbourg (Photo: U.S. Navy)

The city of Cherbourg is located at the northern tip of the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy, France. It has 35,545 inhabitants today. Its port welcomes many cruise ships per year. The city has been of strategic importance over the centuries. The famous 17th-century French military engineer, Vauban, called it one of the “keys to the kingdom”. Due to impressive maritime improvements and fortifications, it became a primary military port under Napoleon.

The coat of arms of Cherbourg (Photo: Wikipedia)

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During the American Civil War, on June 19, 1864, the Confederate ship, CSS Alabama, was sunk by the Union ship, USS Kearsarge, off the coast of Cherbourg. The wreck is still on the bottom of the sea but several items were recovered and restored, for instance a Blakely gun which can be seen in the Cité de la Mer naval museum. The French painter, Manet, painted the battle of the two warships under the name The Battle of the Kearsarge and the Alabamathe same year. It is on display in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Cherbourg became the first American Civil War Heritage Site designated by the Civil War Preservation Trust outside the U.S.

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The painting by Manet, The Battle of the Kearsarge and the Alabama (Photo: Wikipedia)

Cherbourg served also as an important stop for transatlantic liners in the early decades of the 20th century. For instance, the RMS Titanic stopped here on April 10, 1912 during its maiden voyage and sank five days later on its way to New York.

The map of the Cotentin Peninsula with Cherbourg located on the top in the middle (Photo: Wikipedia)

During the Second World War, the Germans arrived on June 17, 1940, close the end of the Battle of France. It was declared an open city by the City Council, and Generalmajor Erwin Rommel, commander of the 7th Panzer Division, accepted the surrender of the city. Following the surrender, the Germans further improved the fortifications with naval batteries and other strongpoints. They used the port as a basis of a flotilla of their E-boats. These highly maneuverable small ships were called Schnellboot (S-Boot for short) in German, literally “fast boats.” In Britain they came to be known as E-boats, with “E” standing for enemy. These German ships armed with torpedoes and guns and with a top speed of up to 40 knots patrolled the English Channel at night. During Operation Tiger, also known as Exercise Tiger, one of the large-scale dress rehearsals prior to D-Day in southern England at the end of April 1944, a small group of these E-boats launched from Cherbourg wreaked havoc among the unsuspecting Allied forces and caused the death of around 800 American servicemen.

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A German E-boat (Photo: Reddit)

A couple of years later, Cherbourg, the only deep-water port in the region, was the primary objective of the American troops who had landed at Utah Beach. It was supposed to ensure the continual arrival of supplies and reinforcements. The Germans were also aware of the importance of Cherbourg, and it was therefore turned into a fortress, just like Le Havre and Brest. Hitler declared it a Festung (Fortress in English) and ordered to hold out until the last soldier without surrender. He was convinced that the new German wonder weapons, like the V-1 flying bombs and the jet-powered planes, could change the tide of war. The task of defending Cherbourg fell to General Karl Wilhelm von Schlieben, a veteran of WWI and the Eastern Front. His deputy was Major General Robert Sattler who was the commander of Cherbourg until the appointment of von Schlieben on June 23, 1944. The naval commander of the German Kriegsmarine forces was Konteradmiral (vice-admiral) Walter Hennecke, who was responsible for the naval bases and coastal batteries in the sector, and later for the demolition of the port facilities. The 40,000 men of the three main units defending the Cherbourg area were from the 709th and 243rd Infantry Divisions, and the 91st Luftlande Division. The morale of the troops was low, many of the soldiers were inexperienced or over-aged or wounded and declared unfit for other fronts. Among their ranks, there were also several thousand former Soviet prisoners of war from Georgia and Ukraine held mostly untrustworthy by the Germans. The equipment and weapons were also mainly obsolete and taken from the French and the Russians, supplies were short and reinforcement by sea or land was hopeless due to Allied naval and air superiority. The divisions’ designated defensive lines were overstretched. Still, they were a force to be reckoned with, partially thanks to the battle-hardened German veterans from the Eastern Front.

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General Karl Wilhelm von Schlieben, commander of the German forces in Cherbourg in his battle-weary uniform (Photo: Ebay)

The task of liberating Cherbourg was given to the U.S. VII Corps led by Major General J. Lawton “Lighting Joe” Collins (he received his nickname after his radio call sign at Guadalcanal). After successfully securing the beachhead and taking Carentan, his troops moved to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula. Collins had four infantry divisions at his disposal for the operation: the 4th, 9th, 79th and 90th (the latter suffered from serious leadership problems leading to several changes in its leadership).

Major General J. Lawton “Lighting Joe” Collins (Photo: Wikipedia)

Taking the port became even more crucial when a huge storm almost completely destroyed the American artificial harbor, Mulberry harbor “A”, on Omaha Beach on June 19. The same day, the American divisions, with the help of the 82nd Airborne Division, managed to cut off Cherbourg from the rest of the Cotentin through reaching Barneville on the western end of the peninsula. In a couple of days, the divisions were advancing on Cherbourg. American troops encircled the city on June 21. After issuing a formal demand of surrender refused by the Germans, Collins launched a general assault on June 22. A large-scale Allied aerial and naval bombardment signaled the beginning of the siege. They were also helped with intelligence provided by the French Resistance. During the siege, two tragic friendly fire accidents occurred. 23 locals died when their shelter was hit by a bomb. Another 27 civilians were killed when they wanted to find a safe space from bombardment outside Cherbourg and were mistakenly bombed by American planes on a farm overlooking the city. The Americans had to use everything they had to fight the enemy. Their bravery is reflected in the two Medals of Honor earned during the battle. At the end of the house-to-house street fighting in the city and stubborn resistance from the 19th century hilltop fortification, Fort du Roule, the German commanders, von Schlieben and Hennecke with 800 of their men emerged from their bunkers and surrendered on June 26, first to Major General Eddy, commander of the 9th U.S. Infantry Division, then to Collins himself. Von Schlieben’s command bunker, located in a former French Navy bunker system, was found with the help of a German prisoner of war. When they refused to surrender, the Americans drove up two M10 tank destroyers to the armored entrance of the bunker and started to fire directly on the door. This was too much for the already exhausted Germans and they finally surrendered. Still, von Schlieben refused to order an overall ceasefire to his troops, thus further delaying the seizure of the city for a couple of days.

A postcard photo of Fort du Roule from 1930 (Photo: geneanet.org)

Despite the steady advance of Allied troops and the capture of von Schlieben, the harbor fortifications along with other scattered forces on the peninsula managed to hold out till July 1. Unfortunately for the Allied troops, the German efforts to render the port useless were highly successful. It took engineers weeks before they could turn it into operable condition. Colonel Alvin Viney, the American officer responsible for the reconstruction said: “The demolition of the port of Cherbourg is a masterful job, beyond doubt the best-planned demolition in history.” Hitler gave the Knight’s Cross to Konteradmiral Hennecke for the thorough demolition of the port. After a month of demining and repairs by engineers, the port, completely razed by the Germans and the bombing, welcomed the first Liberty ships on July 16 (for a long time they could not unload their cargo directly in the harbor but only by barges and DUKWs). The Americans could finally turn south to advance on St. Lo and to launch Operation Cobra to break out from Normandy.

The demolished interior of the port (Photo: Wikipedia)

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The harbor soon became the busiest port in the world, with traffic exceeding that of New York. It had also an important role in other logistics-related projects: firstly, the convoys of the famous Red Ball Express started from here, providing supplies to troops on the front, and secondly, fuel was supplied to its port through the underwater pipeline, codenamed Bambi, from the United Kingdom in Operation PLUTO (standing for Pipeline Under the Ocean).

U.S. personnel unloading railway cargo directly from ships (Photo: US Coast Guard)

Despite the liberation of the city, war still affected the life of Cherbourg. For instance, on December 24, 1944, the SS Léopoldville, a Belgian passenger liner converted to a troopship carrying soldiers of the U.S. 66th Infantry Division to the Battle of the Bulge, was torpedoed by a German submarine a couple of miles from Cherbourg killing 763 soldiers and the crew.

After the war, under the leadership of General de Gaulle, Cherbourg became a hub for nuclear ballistic missile submarine construction from 1964. The first submarine of this kind built here, Le Redoutable (“Formidable” in English), was launched in 1967 and can now be visited in the Cité de la Mer museum. Some scenes of the 2018 movie Kursk were shot on the submarine, telling the story of the disaster of the Russian submarine Kursk that sank in 2000. Fort du Roule, the former fortress, is now home to the Cherbourg Liberation Museum.

The submarine Le Redoutable in the Cité de la Mer naval museum (Photo: Smart-appart.fr)

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Category: <span>Peter A. Hovis for President in 2024</span>

Idea of the Day: Your job vs. your work

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Independence Day 2021

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Happy Independence Day, Friend! 🍔🌭💥

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Idea of the Day: Don’t fear change

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iOpinion

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Ronald Reagan’s Election Eve Address “A Vision for America”…

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“IF YOU CAN’T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU’VE…

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Bagram: Last US and Nato forces leave key Afghanistan…

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i Opinion: Rejecting division – by a hair

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The liberation of Cherbourg

Capturing the first deep-water port in Normandy

The liberation of Cherbourg

8-day BEACHES OF NORMANDY TOUR TOUR

From $3,590 / Person + registration fee
Book now without payment

9-day BAND OF BROTHERS TOUR

From $2,790 / Person + registration fee
Book now without payment

11-day BAND OF BROTHERS TOUR

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Category: <span>Peter A. Hovis for President in 2024</span>

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Capturing the first deep-water port in Normandy

The liberation of Cherbourg

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