Graphic of the Day - The MOABing of ISIS

Yesterday, we dropped a Massive Ordnance Air Blast (GBU-43/B MOAB) on a cave complex in eastern Afghanistan inhabited by dozens of ISIS guerrillas. It is assumed they are all dead. I'm not sure this was a practical application of this device when the entire spectrum of cost vs. benefit is figured, but rather perhaps this is more of a publicity stunt, message sender, and bit of psychological warfare.

Wehrmacht Amputation Image

Earlier last month I encountered this image on Google Images while searching for something else Wehrmacht-related which I can no longer recall. Anywho, I found this image strangely compelling and powerful. This image was shot in Russia in 1942 and shows a German soldier being treated by comrades after taking a high energy hit from a piece of metal (bullet or shrapnel) which amputated his left arm which rests in the foreground. It is highly probable none of the these men pictured survived the conflict. What a waste of fine infantry and humanity. If anybody can tell me more about this as a result of their own prior knowledge I am quite welcome to more information. Photographer unknown.

The Great Martian War (1913-1917)

Yesterday and today, I executed my second consecutive and second-ever fully original lesson plan created by me for all six 85-minute block periods of standard tenth grade world history that I and my co-operating teacher split this quarter. He is gone this week due to a family health emergency so instead of doing what I did the first two weeks of the quarter and of my student teaching career which was follow the general game plan of my co-teacher with my own spin on it, this week I created wholly original and organic lesson plans. In the just-ending today lesson plan, I used THIS World War One - War of the Worlds mash-up video as an anticipatory set in our current World War One unit. You might notice I posted that blog piece back in 2014. While researching it, I found this longer clip (below) from whence its footage was derived which is a faux preview of a full-length "mockumentary" for which I have heard conflicting reports as to if its existence is fictional or real, such as that would be.

My Favorite Pearl Harbor Attack Image

Today marked the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It is somewhat difficult for me to wrap my mind around that fact as it does not feel like it has been that long. Perhaps that is partly due to my growing older. When I was born it had only been 29 years since the attack. It is also somewhat strange to consider that the two most closely-associated navies in the world are the two navies that clashed that day.

Do You Know The Significance Of Today?

Today is Pearl Harbor Day a.k.a. Pearl Harbor National Day Of Remembrance ~ A Day That Shall Live In Infamy!

It happened 72 years ago today and was the 9/11 equivalent for those alive then.

It is wise to remember that epic things of these sorts can happen at any time. Thus it is wise to be prepared all the time all the while living life fully. Perpetually existing on a perpetual war-footing is NOT living.

A Tank's Death From Two Perspectives

It seems tonight is tank death night on Eclectic Arcania. While researching details of the previous tank death story I found this video sequence from the current Syrian Civil War taken earlier this year. It is "dash-cam" footage or rather, armored personnel carrier and tank turret footage from a Syrian Government armored mechanized forces' offensive operation in the Damascus suburb of Darayya. There, they clash with rebel forces whom are utilizing urban warfare techniques sans any heavy weapons. We see footage of the death of a Syrian Government T-72 tank (at least that is what it is identified as by various different sources) as viewed from the aforementioned type of film. We also see spliced into this mostly government footage near unto the end the same tank being hit but from the perspective of the Syrian rebels whom killed that tank and its three-man crew. Fascinating (to the point of mesmerizing) stuff and there is nothing graphically gruesome for those of you who are squeamish and like to be forewarned. Note: I have now seen quite a bit of Syrian Civil War battle footage. It seems the rebels are always Al Akbar-ing after every damned thing they do that works out from blowing up an occasional tank to downing an occasional chopper or jet. Something tells me they need to leave God out of this unholy business.

Death of a Tank

I found this the other night while looking up something else on Youtube. You know full well how one can easily get distracted and lost on Youtube following one interesting link after another. This is a very haunting short film showing the immediate aftermath of a USMC M4 Sherman Tank flipped over and on fire after driving over a Japanese tank-killing landmine on Okinawa on the morning of May 14, 1945. You see fellow marines try to put the fire out and dig out their trapped and endangered comrades but it is to no avail and they (and you) must watch the crew get "brewed" alive as the British called it when a tank crew got burned in their rig.