It’s October 10 2016, and, ironically, National Tic Tac Day (did Trump declare this or something?). It’s also World Mental Health Day and World Homeless Day. On this day in 1871, the Great Chicago Fire, started in a barn (supposedly by a lantern kicked over by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow) ended after two day. By October 10, the fire had gutted 9 km² of Chicago and left 100,000 people homeless. On this day in 1938, Chamberlain continued his spineless capitulation to Hitler, allowing der Führer to annex the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. And, in 1971, London Bridge, sold to the Americans and moved to the U.S., opened in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Notables born on this day include Henry Cavendish (1731), Thelonious Monk (1917), and Julia Sweeney (1959). Those who died on this day include Jack Daniel (yes, that Jack Daniel; 1911), Edith Piaf (1963), both Yul Brynner and Orson Welles (1985), and Joan Sutherland (2010). Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili, like Sherlock Holmes in His Last Bow, senses an ill wind blowing from the East. Look at that face!
Hili: I have a feeling that a New Era is coming.A: I’m afraid of it too.
Hili: Mam wrażenie, że nadchodzi Nowa Era.
Ja: Też się tego boję.
Apparently, no one has more respect for women than Trump!
My disbelieving ears found it hard to comprehend, but he did say that…
I thought the fire was 2 days & 145 years ago – the 8th?
I also heard (on the grapevine!) that peg-leg Sullivan was in the barn looking for beer & that he kicked the lantern then blamed the poor cow… 🙁
Ah! It ended on the 10th…
http://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/chicago-fire-cow2.htm
Sorry, it ended on this day.
…um, the bridge was 1971! 😉 xxx
It’s Thelonious, with an “o”.
Yes, fixed, thanks.
It is also Columbus Day but who cares. Unless you are looking for a three day weekend it’s just another day.
Ill wind, indeed.
I”m already seeing media reports that say since Hillary didn’t give a “kill shot” to Trump and strip away his supporters, she didn’t win the debate, and since Trump didn’t go totally apeshit, he won. The media seems too willing to accept him when he says something crazy, then in a debate says “I didn’t say that”. It is just mind boggling that the bar is set so high for her, but so low for him. It’s almost as if the media doesn’t want this nightmare to end…
panem et circenses…
and it appears that Billy Bush has been suspended from the Today Show, so we have our scape goat…
and according to Mathew Cobb, via tw*tter, it’s World Porridge Day.
Me thinks you worrying about nothing. Please go ahead and stick a fork in him. The buzzards are circling.
Well, if and when the metaphorical buzzards begin stripping away that orange flesh on November 9th, then and only then will I stop worrying.
Yikes…graphic but probably toxic.
“On this day in 1938, Chamberlain continued his spine[le]ss capitulation to Hitler, allowing der Führer to annex the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia.”
I rather object to that characterisation. I wasn’t aware that Britain, in fact, had any standing in the matter. What, exactly, did any other leader e.g. FDR do about it?
And in practical terms Britain was quite unprepared militarily to do anything about it at that time anyway.
cr
You are quiet right. In the early 1930’s, Britain had embarked on unilateral disarmament, hoping that her example would be followed by other countries. When that proved a forlorn hope, re-amament started in 1936, and was far from complete by Munich. Chamberlain was certainly naive and guilty of wishful thinking, but realistically he had little choice.
I would second the appeasement of Chamberlain from my understanding of the Hitler handling. The opposite of appeasement is not declaration of war. Example: Are we going to go to war with Russia over Syria – No. But it does not mean kissing up to Putin – example Donald Trump.
What was FDR going to do? You must be kidding. Your understand of the climate in the U.S. for any intervention in Europe must be missing.
I think that the Obama administration did appease Assad and Putin, and this is why Putin is now giving to the USA an ultimatum including compensations:
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-10-04/putin-s-ultimatum-to-the-next-u-s-president
I was being a bit sarcastic about FDR, but my point is, why should Chamberlain specifically have been expected to “do something” about a bit of territorial annexation a thousand miles away and not even near any territory that Britain might have had a legitimate interest in?
Do you suppose ‘the climate in Britain’ for interventions in Europe was any different from that in the US?
cr
As far as I know, Britain was presumed to be “the European policeman” of this time. Also, it was likely to be among the next victims of Hitler’s aggression.
Americans of that time wanted to isolate themselves from the atrocities of the Old World, quite as they want now.
“[Britain] was likely to be among the next victims of Hitler’s aggression.”
Actually, not so. Hitler really didn’t want to declare war on Britain.
I’m not so sure Americans want to isolate themselves from the atrocities of the old world now, since they keep invading bits of it.
cr
From my corner (you know I live in Europe) it doesn’t look so.
I wish they had invaded Syria and sold arms to Ukraine. But apparently some thousands or tens of thousands of victims of some butcher dictator or repeat aggressor aren’t worth the trouble. On this blog, I have repeatedly expressed wish for Americans to have done this or that, and American commenters repeatedly reply that this is none of America’s business, particularly in light of the world’s discontent about earlier invasions.
(I have to agree about the last one. If you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t, it is easier not to and just bake some popcorn.)
As for what Hitler wanted or didn’t want to – his mind is impenetrable to me, but the fact is that he went on a war with Britain, Britain had a hard time and, to my opinion, was permanently changed.
I think that Hitler just wanted to have (temporary) peace with Britain because he had plans or suspicions concerning the Soviet Union, but in the long run, Britain was anything but safe.
I think there’s plenty of contemporary evidence that Hitler would much prefer to have had Britain remain neutral, at the least.
In the long run, Hitler might have decided to invade Britain anyway (but presumably much later on if Britain hadn’t declared war) – but all that was well in the future at the time of the Sudetenland crisis. And at that time Britain was absolutely not ready for a war and needed to gain time probably more than Hitler did.
cr
London Bridge was 1971, not 1871. The same day as the Chicago fire was the Great Peshtigo Fire burned 4,860 km² of forest, several small towns and killed between 1,200 and 2,500 people. The Peshtigo fire is largely forgotten, having been overshadowed in both news and history by the Chicago Fire.
Also born on this day: composer G. Verdi (1813)
By the way, today is also World Day against Death Penalty.
Today is also Thanksgiving in Canada. Happy “turkey day” to all our Canadian readers.
While I have you attention, I might as well apologist for the debate last night. We folks in the banana belt are not at our best just now.
Thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes! It was a snowy and cold one here in Calgary, where I am visiting from Ontario.
On debate night, we all gathered around the TV to watch. And there were drinking games. Every time Trump sniffed, or said ISIS or something about Bill. Some people got snackered. (Not me, as I’m not much of a drinker.) It was great sport though. But also scary and surreal. Worse than reality TV.