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Fort Walsh: Horses, Whiskey, and Murder
South West of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan Canada is a national historic site that not many know exists. However, the events that occurred in this area changed life on the Canadian Prairies forever. South West of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan Canada is a national historic site that not many know exists. However, the events that occurre... more
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Texas Governor's mansion burned down
Arson is suspected in Sunday morning's fire. The Governor and his wife were in Europe when the fire hit. They moved out in 2007 to make way for $10 million in renovations. The mansion was completed in 1856, make it one of the oldest Governor's mansions in the country.
Parts of the mansion will be salvaged, but most of it was severely damaged by the fire. Arson is suspected in Sunday morning's fire. The Governor and his wife were in Europe when the fire hit. They moved out in 2007... more -
Pearl Harbor a national monument?
"President Bush has asked his defense and interior secretaries to look into designating Pearl Harbor and other historic World War II sites in the Pacific a national monument.
A May 29 presidential memo to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said such status could offer the sites additional protection.
"These objects of historical and scientific interest may tell the broader story of the war, the sacrifices made by America and its allies, and the heroism and determination that laid the groundwork for victory in the Pacific and triumph in World War II," Bush said.
The letter, posted on the White House Web site, doesn't say what specific places Bush has in mind aside from Pearl Harbor.
Parts of the naval base are already under some form of protection or have historic designation.
The USS Arizona, an underwater grave for over 1,100 sailors and Marines unable to escape the ship before it sank during the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack, is currently part of the USS Arizona Memorial run by the National Park Service.
Ford Island, where several of the Navy's battleships were moored during the attack, is a National Historic Landmark.
The island, located at the center of Pearl Harbor, is home to historic airplane hangers that survived the aerial assault. A red and white striped airplane control tower on Ford Island delivered the first radio broadcast of the attack.
Next door to Pearl Harbor, the top Air Force commander in the Pacific today has his headquarters in a building that served as barracks for Army airmen in 1941. Bullet holes left by Japanese machine guns are still visible on the outside of the structure's concrete walls.
Outside Hawaii, crucial battles were fought at Midway, Wake and Guam islands. All are still U.S. territory.
Today, Midway is mainly a wildlife bird refuge and key node in the island chain making up the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument that Bush established in 2006. The former naval base, where the U.S. defeated Japan in June 1942 to turn the tide of World War II in the Pacific, was named a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Many areas — particularly Pearl Harbor, Hickam Air Force Base, and Guam — that would likely be eligible for inclusion in the monument are still actively used today by the U.S. military.
Making them part of a monument could complicate daily operations for the services. But Bush's memo told Gates and Kempthorne that national monument classification shouldn't interfere with the military's business.
"Please consider in your assessment that any proposed actions should not limit the Department of Defense from carrying out the mission of the various branches of the military," Bush said.
The Antiquities Act of 1906 gives the president the authority to make national monuments of "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest." The president doesn't need Congressional approval to do designate monuments.
Other national monuments include the Statue of Liberty, designated by Calvin Coolidge in 1924, and the Grand Canyon, made a national monument by Herbert Hoover in 1932".
By Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press Writer
With all this negative talk about Bush I thought it would be nice to add something to make it a little balanced. Maybe. "President Bush has asked his defense and interior secretaries to look into designating Pearl Harbor and other historic World War... more -
China/Three Gorges Dam: Hydropower At Huge Human Cost
For me, weighing an option also means that the negative repercussions must be truthfully weighed in proportion to the positive. In the case of Three Gorges Dam which the Chinese government has touted as a marvel of engineering in it's quest to satisfy its rapacious need for energy, it is turning into an ecological disaster with the negative outweighing the positive. And therein lies the dilemma of our age. How can we address the climate crisis effectively if we do not or refuse to address the moral questions involved in our decisions? When we continue to prefer the old ways which are expensive and destructive to new ways which can actually improve the quality of life? Do those decisions need to always lead to displacement of millions of people? To the destruction of traditional and sacred lands? To the extinction of other species and intrusion upon their ecosystems? This is also where we see the intersection of morality and politics, and as we see with the construction of this dam as with so many other projects like this in other countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, and India when the politics overtakes the moral considerations. If we are to see any real progress in mitigating the effects of climate change, we cannot continue to rely on old ways to deal with new situations. For me, weighing an option also means that the negative repercussions must be truthfully weighed in proportion to the positive. In the... more
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Coal Creates Legacy for China's Past, Future
It is sad to see history tarnished this way.
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Historical Sites
