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Skip to comments.How the Atomic Bomb Saved 4,000,000 Lives
Posted on 09/25/2006 1:20:44 PM PDT by pabianice
Invasion Not Found in the History Books
Deep in the recesses of the National Archives in Washington, D.C., hidden for nearly four decades lie thousands of pages of yellowing and dusty documents stamped "Top Secret". These documents, now declassified, are the plans for Operation Downfall, the invasion of Japan during World War II. Only a few Americans in 1945 were aware of the elaborate plans that had been prepared for the Allied Invasion of the Japanese home islands. Even fewer today are aware of the defenses the Japanese had prepared to counter the invasion had it been launched. Operation Downfall was finalized during the spring and summer of 1945. It called for two massive military undertakings to be carried out in succession and aimed at the heart of the Japanese Empire.
In the first invasion - code named Operation Olympic - American combat troops would land on Japan by amphibious assault during the early morning hours of November 1, 1945 - 50 years ago. Fourteen combat divisions of soldiers and Marines would land on heavily fortified and defended Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese home islands, after an unprecedented naval and aerial bombardment.
The second invasion on March 1, 1946 - code named Operation Coronet - would send at least 22 divisions against 1 million Japanese defenders on the main island of Honshu and the Tokyo Plain. It's goal: the unconditional surrender of Japan. With the exception of a part of the British Pacific Fleet, Operation Downfall was to be a strictly American operation. It called for using the entire Marine Corps, the entire Pacific Navy, elements of the 7th Army Air Force, the 8 Air Force (recently redeployed from Europe), 10th Air Force and the American Far Eastern Air Force. More than 1.5 million combat soldiers, with 3 million more in support or more than 40% of all servicemen still in uniform in 1945 - would be directly involved in the two amphibious assaults. Casualties were expected to be extremely heavy.
Admiral William Leahy estimated that there would be more than 250,000 Americans killed or wounded on Kyushu alone. General Charles Willoughby, chief of intelligence for General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific, estimated American casualties would be one million men by the fall of 1946. Willoughby's own intelligence staff considered this to be a conservative estimate.
During the summer of 1945, America had little time to prepare for such an endeavor, but top military leaders were in almost unanimous agreement that an invasion was necessary.
While naval blockade and strategic bombing of Japan was considered to be useful, General MacArthur, for instance, did not believe a blockade would bring about an unconditional surrender. The advocates for invasion agreed that while a naval blockade chokes, it does not kill; and though strategic bombing might destroy cities, it leaves whole armies intact.
So on May 25, 1945, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, after extensive deliberation, issued to General MacArthur, Admiral Chester Nimitz, and Army Air Force General Henry Arnold, the top secret directive to proceed with the invasion of Kyushu. The target date was after the typhoon season.
President Truman approved the plans for the invasions July 24. Two days later, the United Nations issued the Potsdam Proclamation, which called upon Japan to surrender unconditionally or face total destruction. Three days later, the Japanese governmental news agency broadcast to the world that Japan would ignore the proclamation and would refuse to surrender. During this same period it was learned -- via monitoring Japanese radio broadcasts -- that Japan had closed all schools and mobilized its schoolchildren, was arming its civilian population and was fortifying caves and building underground defenses.
Operation Olympic called for a four pronged assault on Kyushu. Its purpose was to seize and control the southern one-third of that island and establish naval and air bases, to tighten the naval blockade of the home islands, to destroy units of the main Japanese army and to support the later invasion of the Tokyo Plain.
The preliminary invasion would began October 27 when the 40th Infantry Division would land on a series of small islands west and southwest of Kyushu. At the same time, the 158th Regimental Combat Team would invade and occupy a small island 28 miles south of Kyushu. On these islands, seaplane bases would be established and radar would be set up to provide advance air warning for the invasion fleet, to serve as fighter direction centers for the carrier-based aircraft and to provide an emergency anchorage for the invasion fleet, should things not go well on the day of the invasion. As the invasion grew imminent, the massive firepower of the Navy - the Third and Fifth Fleets -- would approach Japan. The Third Fleet, under Admiral William "Bull" Halsey, with its big guns and naval aircraft, would provide strategic support for the operation against Honshu and Hokkaido. Halsey's fleet would be composed of battleships, heavy cruisers, destroyers, dozens of support ships and three fast carrier task groups. From these carriers, hundreds of Navy fighters, dive bombers and torpedo planes would hit targets all over the island of Honshu. The 3,000 ship Fifth Fleet, under Admiral Raymond Spruance, would carry the invasion troops.
Several days before the invasion, the battleships, heavy cruisers and destroyers would pour thousands of tons of high explosives into the target areas. They would not cease the bombardment until after the land forces had been launched. During the early morning hours of November 1, the invasion would begin. Thousands of soldiers and Marines would pour ashore on beaches all along the eastern, southeastern, southern and western coasts of Kyushu. Waves of Helldivers, Dauntless dive bombers, Avengers, Corsairs, and Hellcats from 66 aircraft carriers would bomb, rocket and strafe enemy defenses, gun emplacements and troop concentrations along the beaches.
The Eastern Assault Force consisting of the 25th, 33rd and 41st Infantry Divisions would land near Miyaski, at beaches called Austin, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Ford, and move inland to attempt to capture the city and its nearby airfield. The Southern Assault Force, consisting of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 43rd Division and Americal Division would land inside Ariake Bay at beaches labeled DeSoto, Dusenberg, Essex, Ford, and Franklin and attempt to capture Shibushi and the city of Kanoya and its airfield.
On the western shore of Kyushu, at beaches Pontiac, Reo, Rolls Royce, Saxon, Star, Studebaker, Stutz, Winston and Zephyr, the V Amphibious Corps would land the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Marine Divisions, sending half of its force inland to Sendai and the other half to the port city of Kagoshima.
On November 4, the Reserve Force, consisting of the 81st and 98th Infantry Divisions and the 11th Airborne Division, after feigning an attack of the island of Shikoku, would be landed -- if not needed elsewhere -- near Kaimondake, near the southernmost tip of Kagoshima Bay, at the beaches designated Locomobile, Lincoln, LaSalle, Hupmobile, Moon, Mercedes, Maxwell, Overland, Oldsmobile, Packard and Plymouth.
Olympic was not just a plan for invasion, but for conquest and occupation as well. It was expected to take four months to achieve its objective, with the three fresh American divisions per month to be landed in support of that operation if needed.
If all went well with Olympic, Coronet would be launched March 1, 1946 Coronet would be twice the size of Olympic, with as many as 28 divisions landing on Honshu.
All along the coast east of Tokyo, the American 1st Army would land the 5th, 7th, 27th, 44th, 86th, and 96th Infantry Divisions along with the 4th and 6th Marine Divisions.
At Sagami Bay, just south of Tokyo, the entire 8th and 10th Armies would strike north and east to clear the long western shore of Tokyo Bay and attempt to go as far as Yokohama. The assault troops landing south of Tokyo would be the 4th, 6th, 8th, 24th, 31st, 37th, 38th and 8th Infantry Divisions, along with the 13th and 20th Armored Divisions.
Following the initial assault, eight more divisions - the 2nd, 28th, 35th, 91st, 95th, 97th and 104th Infantry Divisions and the 11th Airborne Division -- would be landed. If additional troops were needed, as expected, other divisions redeployed from Europe and undergoing training in the United States would be shipped to Japan in what was hoped to be the final push.
Captured Japanese documents and post war interrogations of Japanese military leaders disclose that information concerning the number of Japanese planes available for the defense of the home islands was dangerously in error.
During the sea battle at Okinawa alone, Japanese kamakaze aircraft sank 32 Allied ships and damaged more than 400 others. But during the summer of 1945, American top brass concluded that the Japanese had spent their air force since American bombers and fighters daily flew unmolested over Japan.
What the military leaders did not know was that by the end of July the Japanese had been saving all aircraft, fuel, and pilots in reserve, and had been feverishly building new planes for the decisive battle for their homeland.
As part of Ketsu-Go, the name for the plan to defend Japan -- the Japanese were building 20 suicide takeoff strips in southern Kyushu with underground hangars. They also had 35 camouflaged airfields and nine seaplane bases.
On the night before the expected invasion, 50 Japanese seaplane bombers, 100 former carrier aircraft and 50 land based army planes were to be launched in a suicide attack on the fleet.
The Japanese had 58 more airfields in Korea, western Honshu and Shikoku, which also were to be used for massive suicide attacks.
Allied intelligence had established that the Japanese had no more than 2,500 aircraft of which they guessed 300 would be deployed in suicide attacks.
In August 1945, however, unknown to Allied intelligence, the Japanese still had 5, 651 army and 7,074 navy aircraft, for a total of 12, 725 planes of all types. Every village had some type of aircraft manufacturing activity. Hidden in mines, railway tunnels, under viaducts and in basements of department stores, work was being done to construct new planes.
Additionally, the Japanese were building newer and more effective models of the Okka, a rocket-propelled bomb much like the German V-1, but flown by a suicide pilot.
When the invasion became imminent, Ketsu-Go called for a fourfold aerial plan of attack to destroy up to 800 Allied ships.
While Allied ships were approaching Japan, but still in the open seas, an initial force of 2,000 army and navy fighters were to fight to the death to control the skies over kyushu. A second force of 330 navy combat pilots were to attack the main body of the task force to keep it from using its fire support and air cover to protect the troop carrying transports. While these two forces were engaged, a third force of 825 suicide planes was to hit the American transports.
As the invasion convoys approached their anchorages, another 2,000 suicide planes were to be launched in waves of 200 to 300, to be used in hour by hour attacks.
By mid-morning of the first day of the invasion, most of the American land-based aircraft would be forced to return to their bases, leaving the defense against the suicide planes to the carrier pilots and the shipboard gunners.
Carrier pilots crippled by fatigue would have to land time and time again to rearm and refuel. Guns would malfunction from the heat of continuous firing and ammunition would become scarce. Gun crews would be exhausted by nightfall, but still the waves of kamikaze would continue. With the fleet hovering off the beaches, all remaining Japanese aircraft would be committed to nonstop suicide attacks, which the Japanese hoped could be sustained for 10 days. The Japanese planned to coordinate their air strikes with attacks from the 40 remaining submarines from the Imperial Navy -- some armed with Long Lance torpedoes with a range of 20 miles -- when the invasion fleet was 180 miles off Kyushu.
The Imperial Navy had 23 destroyers and two cruisers which were operational. These ships were to be used to counterattack the American invasion. A number of the destroyers were to be beached at the last minute to be used as anti-invasion gun platforms.
Once offshore, the invasion fleet would be forced to defend not only against the attacks from the air, but would also be confronted with suicide attacks from sea. Japan had established a suicide naval attack unit of midget submarines, human torpedoes and exploding motorboats.
The goal of the Japanese was to shatter the invasion before the landing. The Japanese were convinced the Americans would back off or become so demoralized that they would then accept a less-than-unconditional surrender and a more honorable and face-saving end for the Japanese.
But as horrible as the battle of Japan would be off the beaches, it would be on Japanese soil that the American forces would face the most rugged and fanatical defense encountered during the war.
Throughout the island-hopping Pacific campaign, Allied troops had always out numbered the Japanese by 2 to 1 and sometimes 3 to 1. In Japan it would be different. By virtue of a combination of cunning, guesswork, and brilliant military reasoning, a number of Japan's top military leaders were able to deduce, not only when, but where, the United States would land its first invasion forces.
Facing the 14 American divisions landing at Kyushu would be 14 Japanese divisions, 7 independent mixed brigades, 3 tank brigades and thousands of naval troops. On Kyushu the odds would be 3 to 2 in favor of the Japanese, with 790,000 enemy defenders against 550,000 Americans. This time the bulk of the Japanese defenders would not be the poorly trained and ill-equipped labor battalions that the Americans had faced in the earlier campaigns.
The Japanese defenders would be the hard core of the home army. These troops were well-fed and well equipped. They were familiar with the terrain, had stockpiles of arms and ammunition, and had developed an effective system of transportation and supply almost invisible from the air. Many of these Japanese troops were the elite of the army, and they were swollen with a fanatical fighting spirit.
Japan's network of beach defenses consisted of offshore mines, thousands of suicide scuba divers attacking landing craft, and mines planted on the beaches. Coming ashore, the American Eastern amphibious assault forces at Miyazaki would face three Japanese divisions, and two others poised for counterattack. Awaiting the Southeastern attack force at Ariake Bay was an entire division and at least one mixed infantry brigade.
On the western shores of Kyushu, the Marines would face the most brutal opposition. Along the invasion beaches would be the three Japanese divisions , a tank brigade, a mixed infantry brigade and an artillery command. Components of two divisions would also be poised to launch counterattacks
If not needed to reinforce the primary landing beaches, the American Reserve Force would be landed at the base of Kagoshima Bay November 4, where they would be confronted by two mixed infantry brigades, parts of two infantry divisions and thousands of naval troops.
All along the invasion beaches, American troops would face coastal batteries, anti-landing obstacles and a network of heavily fortified pillboxes, bunkers, and underground fortresses. As Americans waded ashore, they would face intense artillery and mortar fire as they worked their way through concrete rubble and barbed-wire entanglements arranged to funnel them into the muzzles of these Japanese guns.
On the beaches and beyond would be hundreds of Japanese machine gun positions, beach mines, booby traps, trip-wire mines and sniper units. Suicide units concealed in "spider holes" would engage the troops as they passed nearby. In the heat of battle, Japanese infiltration units would be sent to reap havoc in the American lines by cutting phone and communication lines. Some of the Japanese troops would be in American uniform, English-speaking Japanese officers were assigned to break in on American radio traffic to call off artillery fire, to order retreats and to further confuse troops. Other infiltration with demolition charges strapped on their chests or backs wold attempt to blow up american tanks, artillery pieces and ammunition stores as they were unloaded ashore.
Beyond the beaches were large artillery pieces situated to bring down a curtain of fire on the beach. Some of these large guns were mounted on railroad tracks running in and out of caves protected by concrete and steel.
The battle for Japan would be won by what Simon Bolivar Buckner, a lieutenant general in the Confederate army during the Civil War, had called "Prairie Dog Warfare." This type of fighting was almost unknown to the ground troops in Europe and the Mediterranean. It was peculiar only to the soldiers and Marines who fought the Japanese on islands all over the Pacific -- at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Prairie Dog Warfare was a battle for yards, feet and sometimes inches. It was brutal, deadly and dangerous form of combat aimed at an underground, heavily fortified, non-retreating enemy.
In the mountains behind the Japanese beaches were underground networks of caves, bunkers, command posts and hospitals connected by miles of tunnels with dozens of entrances and exits. Some of these complexes could hold up to 1,000 troops.
In addition to the use of poison gas and bacteriological warfare (which the Japanese had experimented with), Japan mobilized its citizenry.
Had Olympic come about, the Japanese civilian population, inflamed by a national slogan - "One Hundred Million Will Die for the Emperor and Nation" - were prepared to fight to the death. Twenty Eight Million Japanese had become a part of the National Volunteer Combat Force. They were armed with ancient rifles, lunge mines, satchel charges, Molotov cocktails and one-shot black powder mortars. Others were armed with swords, long bows, axes and bamboo spears. The civilian units were to be used in nighttime attacks, hit and run maneuvers, delaying actions and massive suicide charges at the weaker American positions.
At the early stage of the invasion, 1,000 Japanese and American soldiers would be dying every hour.
The invasion of Japan never became a reality because on August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was exploded over Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. Within days the war with Japan was at a close.
Had these bombs not been dropped and had the invasion been launched as scheduled, combat casualties in Japan would have been at a minimum of the tens of thousands. Every foot of Japanese soil would have been paid for by Japanese and American lives.
One can only guess at how many civilians would have committed suicide in their homes or in futile mass military attacks.
In retrospect, the 1 million American men who were to be the casualties of the invasion, were instead lucky enough to survive the war.
Intelligence studies and military estimates made 50 years ago, and not latter-day speculation, clearly indicate that the battle for Japan might well have resulted in the biggest blood-bath in the history of modern warfare.
Far worse would be what might have happened to Japan as a nation and as a culture. When the invasion came, it would have come after several months of fire bombing all of the remaining Japanese cities. The cost in human life that resulted from the two atomic blasts would be small in comparison to the total number of Japanese lives that would have been lost by this aerial devastation.
With American forces locked in combat in the south of Japan, little could have prevented the Soviet Union from marching into the northern half of the Japanese home islands. Japan today cold be divided much like Korea and Germany.
The world was spared the cost of Operation Downfall, however, because Japan formally surrendered to the United Nations September 2, 1945, and World War II was over.
The aircraft carriers, cruisers and transport ships scheduled to carry the invasion troops to Japan, ferried home American troops in a gigantic operation called Magic Carpet.
In the fall of 1945, in the aftermath of the war, few people concerned themselves with the invasion plans. Following the surrender, the classified documents, maps, diagrams and appendices for Operation Downfall were packed away in boxes and eventually stored at the National Archives. These plans that called for the invasion of Japan paint a vivid description of what might have been one of the most horrible campaigns in the history of man. The fact that the story of the invasion of Japan is locked up in the National Archives and is not told in our history books is something for which all Americans can be thankful.
Uh-huh. But it might in the future take 4 billion lives. Particularly if it gets into the wrong hands, which I think may already have happened.
Link? Who is "Davis"?
More importantly the BOMB was a message that instantly said, WE BEAT YOU..and THE WAR IS OVER.
"JUNE 18, 1945 - When A Democracy Chose Genocide
The United States government decided on June 18, 1945, to commit genocide on Japan with poison gas if its government did not surrender after the nuclear attacks approved in the same June 18 meeting. This was discovered by military historians Norman Polmar and Thomas Allen while researching a book on the end of the war in the Pacific. Their discovery came too late for inclusion in the book, so they published it instead in the Autumn 1997 issue of Military History Quarterly.
Polmar & Allen ran across references to this meeting in their research and put in a Freedom of Information Act request for related documents. Eventually they received, too late for use in their book, a copy of a document labeled "A Study of the Possible Use of Toxic Gas in Operation Olympic." The word "retaliatory" was PENCILED in between the words "possible" and "use".
Apparently there were only five of these documents circulated during World War Two. The document was requested by the Chemical Corps for historical study in 1947. In an attempt to "redact" history, another document was issued to change all the copies to emphasize retaliatory use rather than the reality of the US planning to use it offensively in support of the invasion of Japan.
The plan called for US heavy bombers to drop 56,583 tons of poison gas on Japanese cities in the 15 days before the invasion of Kyushu, then another 23,935 tons every 30 days thereafter. Tactical air support would drop more on troop concentrations.
The targets of the strategic bombing campaign were Japanese civilians in cities. Chemical Corps casualty estimates for this attack plan were five million dead with another five million injured. This was our backup to nuking Japan into surrender. If the A-bombs didn't work, we were going to gas the Japanese people from the air like bugs, and keep doing so until Japanese resistance ended or all the Japanese were dead.
Genocide is defined by treaty as the murder of a large number of people of an identifiable group, generally a nationality or religion, which number comprises an appreciable percentage of the total group. Five million dead is 6.4% of then 78 million people in the Japanese Home Islands, so this proposed gas attack would certainly have qualified as genocide.
What brought the United States government to that decision was the prospective casualties of a prolonged ground conquest of Japan against suicidal resistance, after Japanese Kamikaze attacks and suicidal ground resistance elsewhere had thoroughly dehumanized them to us.
The American people certainly would have supported such tactics at the time, especially as Japanese Imperial General Headquarters issued orders a month later, provided to us courtesy of code-breaking (MAGIC), to murder all Allied prisoners of war, all interned Allied civilians, and all other Allied civilians Japanese forces could catch in occupied China, the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), Malaya, etc., starting with the impending British invasion of Malaya in late September 1945. The Imperial Japanese Army was every bit as evil as the Nazi SS, and more lethal. They'd probably have killed at least an additional 50 million people, more than had died in all of World War Two to that point, before Allied armies could eliminate Japanese forces overseas.
The horror would not have stopped there. An estimated ONE THIRD of the Japanese people (25-30 million) would have died of starvation, disease, poison gas and conventional weapons during a prolonged ground conquest of Japan. The Japanese Army planned on locking up the Emperor, seizing power and fighting to the bitter end once the US invasion started. Thank God for the atom bomb - killing 150,000 - 200,000 Japanese at Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved 75-80 million lives. One of whom would have been the writer's father, an infantry lieutenant who survived Okinawa.
So the United States has within living memory made a decision to commit genocide on a whole people as a matter of state policy. We didn't have to do it because the Japanese Emperor knew we'd do it."
Our soldiers would have had to kill massive numbers of these irregulars. Of the 28 Million, very few would have survived.
To me, 4 Million dead seems wildly optomistic. Dropping the bombs was a no-brainer.
bump for later read.
On March 11, 1958, at 3:52 P.M. (EST), a B-47E departed Hunter AFB, Georgia, as number three aircraft in a flight of four en route to an overseas base. After level off at 15,000 feet, the aircraft accidentally jettisoned an unarmed nuclear weapon which impacted on a sparsely populated area approximately 6 miles from Florence, South Carolina. The Bomb's high explosive material exploded on impact. The explosion caused property damage and several injuries on the ground.
Does anyone have the link?
Truman had no choice in dropping the bomb, his predecessor and the military had already made that decision for him. Japan was seeking terms of surrender at the time. The bomb was dropped for Uncle Joe to see.
I saw a documentary once with some Japanese officials from that time period, older now of course, and they were asked what caused them most to shudder, and they all agreed that the atomic bomb didn't scare them HALF as much as they Russians, who of course were planning their own invasion.
If the Russians had come, their Islands would have been called "Russia #2". So they said that they weighed being taken over by the Russians, and surrendering to the Americans, and we didn't look so bad.
As an Army brat with my folks in Japan in the 1950s I can testify to the great number of fortifications in the sandstone bluffs around Yokohama. As a little kid, my buddies and I played in those caves.
Thanks for posting this article pabianice.
I wonder how many lives could have been saved if we had the balls to drop 1 or 2 after 9/11.
"Truman had no choice in dropping the bomb, his predecessor and the military had already made that decision for him. Japan was seeking terms of surrender at the time. The bomb was dropped for Uncle Joe to see."
A good friend of mine was in the Marines on one of the islands south of Japan at the time that the invasion was to start. He was told to write his last letter home as he and his fellow Marines would not survive their initial landing on Japanese soil.
My father was on his way to a troopship that would take him and his unit to Japan to fight with the newly trained mountain units. His unit, already back from Europe and the Battle of the Bulge had a survival rate of 24%. The mountain fighting was to be spectacularly bad.
The estimate of four million is the lightest that I have heard. The most reliable estimates have been 6 million soldiers and as many as thirty million Japanese civilians who would die from battle or starvation and disease.
You probably have never experienced or thought about what the phrase "Total War" means and the meaning is simply this:
Kill or be killed.
Your contention that the bomb was for Joe Stalin is absolutely wrong. We dropped the bomb to save the lives of our soldiers as well as the lives of the Japanese. Harry made the decision, no one else and it was a good humanitarian decision.
Had we not dropped the bomb, we would have had to burn Japan to the ground. Every home, every factory and every tree. Leveled and burning.
It can save a billion lives now if we just give it a chance. The Muslim world is just screaming for it.
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There are even more pics focusing on the Barcelonan beauty over at the NudoStar forum! Hurry up!
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subset: commoncrawl


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Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Finally, I understand why so many people love the works of Frida Kahlo. I have to admit they were a little lost on me previously. You know - the works where she has her unborn son son levitating above a bed. A little too much information, perhaps. And a little too surreal. But I think once you have more of an appreciation of her life story - and what a tragedy that was - her paintings can be seen in a completely different way.
This new appreciation is thanks to the film Frida, which I finally watched the other night on DVD. At first I regreted my choice. The acting seemed a little contrived and the script a little cheesy. But once it got going, I was enthralled. Of course, I am a bit of a sucker for stories about artists. But I loved the more surreal edges to the film - when the paintings become the action and vice versa. I was also fascinated to learn of her relationship with Trotsky. I studied the Russian revolution at high school for what seemed like an eternity. But what perhaps won me over was her determination to keep painting no matter what obstacles she faced during life. A true inspiration.
10 comments:
- Fifi Flowers said...
I REALLY liked that movie! I appreciate her art though many of her works do not appeal to moi. It is great that she was able to express her tragedies through her painting.
- 20 January 2009 at 07:56
- Eloise said...
This is one of my favorite films! I'm so glad you enjoyed it x
- 20 January 2009 at 09:04
- Natalie Walton said...
Fifi, it does often seem that the truly great, great artists have some sort of "event" or "tragedy" that pushes them to achieve greater and greater things. Of course, they're incredibly hard workers too. I'm always amazed by Picasso's output. He was painting in his 90s!
- 20 January 2009 at 21:21
- Natalie Walton said...
What did you love about the film, Miss Lady Finger?
- 20 January 2009 at 21:22
I never saw that film, but I'll go and rent it soon!
- 22 January 2009 at 00:43
- gemma @ loz and dinny said...
I love Frida Kahlo - I once drove from Melbourne to Canberra just to see the exhibiiton of her work ... truly inspiring and beautiful. While I am here - thank you - I really enjoy your blog :)
- 22 January 2009 at 21:41
- Natalie Walton said...
Thanks Loz. Or is it Dinny? ;-)
I would love to see an exhibition of her works. The film has definitely sparked my interest.
- 23 January 2009 at 08:38
- erika said...
I really like her work and think the film was great, we are planning a Frida themed birthday party for my daughter.
- 26 January 2009 at 20:15
- Natalie Walton said...
Ooooh, Miko. Sounds like a great idea. Are you basing the party on her colours? artworks? Would love to know more!
- 27 January 2009 at 13:43
- anja said...
I love Frida, last year i saw her exhibiton in Vienna and I was absolutely amazed!
- 25 April 2011 at 21:43


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Parks and Recreation
Mission Statement
- Protect, plan, enhance, and maintain a Parks, Major Public Open Space, and Trails System that gives Albuquerque its sense of place.
- Promote economic development and tourism by continuing to provide quality, affordable facilities and programs (e.g. Golf, Recreation, Swimming Pools, Parks, Open Space, Balloon Fiesta Park, Shooting Range, and Sporting Events).
- Assure quality educational programs for youth to encourage positive behavior towards a conservation ethic and therefore combat "Nature Deficit Disorder."
- Provide quality recreation programs to encourage healthy, active lifestyles for all ages.
- Encourage and develop a healthy and safe work environment, ethical management practices, and a spirit of teamwork for all Parks and Recreation employees.
Parks & Recreation Department Goals
- Promote and Market Albuquerque's Recreation Programs, Parks, Golf Courses, and Open Space
- Develop New Strategies to Improve Albuquerque's Leisure, Recreation, and Sports Facilities and Programs
- Conserve and Sustain Albuquerque's Natural and Cultural Resources for Future Generations
- Meet Youth Entertainment and Sports Needs and Expectations
- Maintain Harmony with Community and Neighborhood Associations
- Ensure Every Visitor has a Quality Experience
- Involve and Empower Community Groups
- Increase Customer Confidence
- Respond to Customer Needs Every Day of the Week


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Baby Gobble
A year of Farm Photos ago:
3/25/06: Well Somebody Has To Eat It
WCB #42: Smudge On The Old Well House Roof
I love your website and your farm ! It is a breath of fresh air to see some down to earth, uncomplicated cooking and life living. Congratuations ! I'll be back for more. LouiseReplyDelete
Hi FG, I know you said their spots fade, but speckled one should be "Atlas", at least right now. Purty babies. Hope you get some rest between lambies.ReplyDelete
The second one looks like it has a mickey mouse head on its back.
Too cute!
I thought the same thing. It sure looks like mickey mouse.ReplyDelete
I am loving all the "baby" pictures! Thy are so sweet.ReplyDelete
well for heaven's sake...
on quick glance...this pic looks like an overhead shot of elephant trunksj!
and no--i haven't been drinking...
so cute i can't stand it...
I just love coming here to get that wonderful reassurance that, even though I dwell in Cubicle World 5 days out of 7, that others are enjoying the glory of Springtime, and of new lambs.
I love this photo, too - the different colors are just wonderful.
Thank you so much for having a blog I can come to and keep my dream alive of having my own small farm one day!
Gee, that reminds me of the buffet at a local Chinese eatery down the street from here. I have never really cared for buffets but they seem to think it's just fine!ReplyDelete
The babies are just gorgeous...you don't know how badly I just want to hold each one and snuggle it! I don't know what it is about baby lambs - but it's the overwhelming feeling of just wanting to hug them...thanks for all the baby pics...ReplyDelete
Okay, I gatta know, when are you gonna start knitting? Where does your wool go?ReplyDelete
Hi Susan - so many babies! What fun.
I've been making your Spicy Pumpkin Raisin Muffins - they are SO tasty and we have about 35# of frozen pumpkin puree in the freezer, so... But sunday I made them using bananas instead of pumpkin - cut back on the spices and used 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla - best banana bread I've ever made
Lambs coming here soon too - probably a week or so - only two ewes bred - but optomistically I have all girls names picked out.
They look adorable!ReplyDelete
December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.
Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.
Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and I especially love hearing about your experiences with my recipes. Comments on older posts are always welcome!
Please note that I moderate comments, so if I'm away from the computer it may be a while before yours appears.
I try my best to answer all questions, though sometimes it takes me a few days. And sometimes, I'm sorry to say, they fall through the cracks, and for that I sincerely apologize.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy your e-visits to our farm!


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GBP 0.8678 See all »
RIX Marks the Spot for Expansion
By Amy Bryzgel. 27.08.2008
It is amazing to think that, if the timing is right, travelers can leave the city centre for Riga's International Airport and be sitting at the gate, all checked in, just twenty minutes later. But is all that about to change?
What is soon to be the second-largest airport in Northern Europe is currently large in what it has to offer, but compact enough to be convenient and manageable. The Riga International Airport, or RIX, as it is known by its code, has been growing exponentially over the last several years. Not only is it an international hub for the Baltics, but it has also become somewhat of a gateway to the East, what with its direct flights to the Caucuses and Central Asia.
This year brought with it perhaps the most dramatic change for RIX since the 1990s: Latvia's entry into the Schengen Agreement, which means that for passengers coming from other Schengen countries in Europe, no passport control is necessary. While Latvia officially became part of Schengen on the first day of 2008, it only became applicable to airport traffic as of March 30, when the flight schedules were updated. Now "Arrivals 1" services all those arriving from countries located in Schengen, while "Arrivals 2" is used for those from other areas.
It's difficult to live in Riga and not be aware of the airport's constant expansion. Billboards and advertisements remind us of new direct flights that are added to the airport's destinations virtually every month. And it is not only the discount airlines, such as Ryan Air and Easy Jet, which offer cheap fares. Air Baltic's e-desserts are internet-only fares, sometimes for as little as 2 Lats for a single flight, plus taxes. Fares out of RIX are by far the cheapest in the Baltics, and many Estonians and Lithuanians use Riga as their main airport, not only because of the price, but also because of the many destinations that can be reached directly from Riga. According to Krišjānis Peters, Chairman of the Board of the Riga International Airport Board of Directors, "statistics show that the number of passengers that pass through the Riga Airport each year is nearly the same as the number that pass through the Tallinn and Vilnius airports combined, which makes the Riga International airport the definite leader among the Baltic countries."
While RIX serves mostly European destinations, some as close as Liepāja in Latvia and Stockholm in Sweden, one can also fly directly to such faraway places as Kazakstan and Uzbekistan in the East, or New York in the West. But more destinations are being added frequently; for example, three new direct flights will open in October to Dubai, Amsterdam and Tampere, Finland. Once the new runway is completed this November, it will be possible to open up the airport to more inter-continental flights. "There are already airlines that have expressed an interest in operating inter-continental flights to Riga, for example, to Thailand. We are already working with certain airlines to open a direct flight to and from the USA, but of course that will depend on the implementation of the non-visa regime. There is also interest from Japan. The challenge, with regard to all of these requests, is simply to keep them at pace with our infrastructure," says Peters.
More flights mean more passengers, and RIX is well underway with plans to handle this increase. In June of next year, the airport will commence phase 5 and 6 of its development. Once complete, it will become the second largest airport in Northern Europe, after Copenhagen. The exponential expansion of the airport's passengers is impressive, to say the least. In 2007 RIX handled 3.16 million passengers, which was 26.7 percent more than in 2006. According to statistics for the first half of this year, 1,659,185 passengers passed through the airport, a whopping 17.4 percent more than the same period last year. And where were all of these people going to? The majority of the total volume flew to London; the second most popular destination was Dublin. After phases 5 and 6 of the airport expansion, the complex will be able to handle a staggering 12 million passengers. In actuality, the airport is focused on a long-term plan that will enable the airport to handle up to 50 million passengers per year. That's more than London Gatwick currently handles (approximately 30 million), and slightly less than London Heathrow (approximately 67 million).
As for the structural additions to RIX, phase 5 will include a new 510-meter long terminal with 23 gates. Phase 6 will include a new check-in terminal for departures, as well as a baggage-handling centre for arrivals. Andris Kronbergs, head of the architectural firm Arhis which is in charge of the development, had this to say about the design: "the project presents an integrated complex of airport structures providing a new architectural vision of form and style. It is characterized by simple, laconic lines, carefully considered functionality and interplay with the Latvian landscape and the characteristics of the environment." Peters adds, "knowing that the airport is like a calling card for the country, it is important to tell people where they are arriving and from where they will depart." In this sense, the airport expansion will serve another purpose – that of promoting Latvia as a tourist destination and travel gateway.
The development plans are not only geared toward expanding the buildings on the airport territory. Increasing access via both road and rail is being considered. Peters informed us that there will be a new rail station at the new terminal, which will be part of the Riga-Jurmala (Tukums) line, connecting the airport both with the capital and the seaside. Furthermore, the inroads to the airport will also be reconstructed, allowing for greater ease of access to Riga's micro-regions, as well connection to the motorways in the direction of Lithuania and Estonia.
The improvements and expansions to the airport aim to provide passengers with the ultimate comfort and convenience. As Peters has stated, "the airport is the start of one's journey, which is why it is important to have the possibility of the shortest and most convenient transfer distances." As of this summer, the airport offers a "twilight check-in," from 19:00-22:00 the night before one's flight. Customers can check-in for the flight, receive their boarding passes, and check-in their bags, so that they can go directly through security the next day. This will conveniently serve transit passengers. Jānis Baļķens, Vice President of Riga International Airport, also adds that this is "a good solution for families traveling with children who usually have many items of luggage," and is also useful for those without internet access, who cannot check-in online. Air Baltic is also offering its own special deal for those passengers connecting through Riga for flights between East and West, who don't have same-day flight connections. Named the "stopover" package, it includes flight tickets, a one-night stay at the Reval Hotel Latvija and transfer by the Airport Express Shuttle Bus to and from the airport. Sample fares for a package from Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad) via Riga to Western Europe would be €219, or if heading to Tel Aviv, Tbilisi, Baku or Yerevan from Scandinavia or Finland, the price of the package would be €359, plus airport taxes and surcharges.
"My vision," says Peters, "is for the Riga airport to become a real competitor in Northern Europe. This will not be an easy task, of course, but we have all of the prerequisites to become one of the major players in Northern Europe, and we will no doubt successfully achieve that."
The face of Riga is rapidly changing, with skyscrapers and modern buildings altering the city skyline every year. It is only logical that the gateway to the country changes along with its capital. Current visitors to Riga who come back to Latvia after several years may not recognize the airport, let alone the rest of the country, upon their re
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text:
Unleash student math success with this collection of 1000+ open questions from Marian Small. Open Questions for the Three-Part Lesson: Geometry & Spatial Sense, Data Management & Probability (Grades 4–8) ncludes questions and sample responses that cover all of the expectations in the Geometry & Spatial Sense, Data Management & Probability strands of the Ontario curriculum.
This title is aligned to the Ontario Curriculum.
To view titles aligned to the WNCP Common Curriculum Framework for K–9 Mathematics (National version excluding Ontario), please click here.


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|PostgreSQL 9.0.23 Documentation
|Chapter 8. Data Types
The money type stores a currency amount with a fixed fractional precision; see Table 8-3. The fractional precision is determined by the database's lc_monetary setting. Input is accepted in a variety of formats, including integer and floating-point literals, as well as typical currency formatting, such as '$1,000.00'. Output is generally in the latter form but depends on the locale. Non-quoted numeric values can be converted to money by casting the numeric value to text and then money, for example:
SELECT 1234::text::money;
There is no simple way of doing the reverse in a
locale-independent manner, namely casting a money value to a numeric type. If you know the
currency symbol and thousands separator you can use
SELECT regexp_replace('52093.89'::money::text, '[$,]', '', 'g')::numeric;
Since the output of this data type is locale-sensitive, it might not work to load money data into a database that has a different setting of lc_monetary. To avoid problems, before restoring a dump into a new database make sure lc_monetary has the same or equivalent value as in the database that was dumped.


text:
each week a reader – that's YOU – gets to pick and post their favorites from the link party – here we go…
Hello to all my Fellow Sugar Bee Craft Readers! My name is Lindsey, I'm the blogger over at Happy House of 5, where I love to share our Coast Guard life, faith, sewing, recipes, crafting, DIY and more!
Let's take a look at some of the GREAT ideas shared at this weeks "Take-a-Look Tuesday"
Do you have a football fan in your house? Check out Mom on Time Out's Blog for some yummy Football Party Food!


text:
Some venues are checking IDs against Facebook on your phone, Google News gets the social treatment, and a judge informs his colleagues that an IP address is not a person.
- Bouncers 'Checking Facebook on Phones' as Identification: Clubgoers across the UK report being asked to flash their Facebook alongside official ID cards, to weed out fake or borrowed ID. [BBC Newsbeat]
- Updates to Google News US Edition: Larger Images, Realtime Coverage and Discussions: News is the latest Google service to get Plussed, displaying Google Plus comments from notables and your circles alongside stories, and updating new stories in real time. Like many Google services, the new features require users to sign in to a Google account and "upgrade" to Google Plus. [Google News Blog]
- Judge: An IP-Address Doesn't Identify a Person (or BitTorrent Pirate): In one of many cases brought by adult filmmakers naming only a long list of IP addresses as defendants, a NY judge found that those addresses cannot identify specific users and recommended all such cases be thrown out. He cited the proliferation of wireless networks and devices as cementing the inadequacy of IP addresses as identification. [TorrentFreak]
- Music Subscription Service Rdio Now Available In The U.K. And France: Users are discovering for themselves that seven day Rdio trials are now available, though the company made no announcements and the album offerings are still limited. [Cult of Android]
Title image remixed from jon gos (Flickr).


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Man attacked his ex-partner and threatened to bite her face off
Andrew Paul Hoyle (40) had also knocked a mug of tea towards Theresa Cummins's face, almost using it as a weapon in the violence at her home.
Burnley magistrates were told Hoyle and the victim had argued over one of their teenage children and the defendant had become abusive. He hit her in the right eye and asked his victim: "Do you want me to hurt you? I will bite your face off."
Hoyle, who has a record for violence, but not domestic-related, admitted assault by beating at Burnley, on November 23rd last year. The defendant, of Boundary Street, Burnley, was given a 12-month community order, with a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 40 hours' unpaid work. He also received a year-long restraining order and must pay £50 compensation, a £60 victim surcharge and £85 costs.
Prosecutor Dominic Howell told the hearing the defendant and victim ended their relationship about five years ago, but he went to her house several times a week to see the children.
Mr Geoff Ireland (defending) said: "There's an element here of perhaps the defendant not fully accepting what he did."


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Have you seen this? I typically watch Ellen while babies nap and I blog. I like Ellen, she seems sincere. Yesterday I look up and see her literally crying and a mess. Basically, she adopted a dog from a animal placement center (I will not name them since they are now getting death threats). She adopts a pup. Pup doesn't work out in her home, she finds a loving home for pup. Apparently she violated some rule about animal placing and they took the pup from the new family. Isn't the point here to find good homes for animals with no home? I understand they must have rules so poor little animals don't get dumped if things don't work out. Couldn't the shelter have handled it better than this? Apparently they have a rule about not letting families with children under 14 years of age having the pup. I don't want to give special treatment to celebs., but couldn't they bend the rules depending on the situation? The shelter sure comes out smelling like sh*t. If they had handled this with a little TLC, everyone could have come out happy and they would have looked like champs. Instead everyone is unhappy, and I come out feeling bad for the pup, the family, the shelter and Ellen. Just a bummer. What do you think?
What Do You Think???
31 comments
I agree. I was stunned yesterday watching her show. At first I thought she was doing a joke instead of her monologue, then I realized she was really crying. Her reaction afterwards when she talked about what a great show they had was also what convinced me...in that moment, she was so very "real" to me.ReplyDelete
I think the shelter messed up. I understand that they have rules, but at this point they have a very valuable dog that it looks as if they're going to use for personal gain (I hope they're not, but really, they have "Ellen Degeneres' dog" now). She spent over $3000 on the dog before discovering it wouldn't work out, and you could tell those girls were crazy about that dog. Its insane to say they won't adopt out to animals with children under the age of 14. What happens if the family has a child down the road? Do they then have to give up the pet? Insane!
ya i read about this and it makes me sad that the agency is being this way...i mean if they really were smart if they would have left the dog with the family im sure ellen could have like become some kind of spokes person thingie or would have at least said on her show that there great and im sure it would have helped a lot...now because of this im sure its gonna look bad on the agency and the poor animals are gonna be the ones who suffer:(ReplyDelete
oh and to post videos there are certian codes...im sure youtube codes should work.
Good point, I hadn't though about what they do if an adopting family then has a baby...ReplyDelete
It is terrible, like this agency is having a power trip. No wonder there are so many animals in shelters and being put to sleep.ReplyDelete
Although the shelter may be following it's guidelines, it seems that there are times when exceptions should be made.ReplyDelete
I would suggest that donors to this shelter complain to the shelter and hold back on donations until they modify their rules.
I heard about it on the radio as I was getting ready for work..it's a terrible shame, for all involved...Ellen, the kids and the dog. I totally agree with you Nap, isn't the whole purpose to find a home for the dog? Very unfair...ReplyDelete
To post from YouTube and have the video in your post, look the right of the video and you'll see the word "Imbed". Copy the script next to it into the HTML version of your post. It should now just show up on your page.ReplyDelete
Hope that helps!
Ugh. I think it's all publicity, honestly. They wouldn't do that to a non-celeb, would they? Oh, and money too, they didnt get a 2nd adoption fee.ReplyDelete
I really, really hope they just let the dog and the family be.
i see you got the video to post!!ReplyDelete
yes, I saw this and it made me so sad. they will regret this...they are getting such bad publicity.ReplyDelete
How very sad. We have a rescue dog, and also had to sign a paper saying we would keep the dog or return her to the shelter. I never really thought of the ramifications should we not keep her, but then no one has ever followed up with us, either. Hope the family somehow gets the dog back.ReplyDelete
At first glance, I thought the rant was a bit strange (especially being aired on evening news) but the message was sincere.ReplyDelete
The dog so needs to go back home. End of story.
Yeah I feel bad for Ellen. She is a good person just trying to do the right thing. I feel that they are trying to get something out of it. I would take it to the courts even though she did sign the papers then have her pay for the fines instead of taking the poor puppy away. I bet now it feels like it must have done something bad and now that it has that done to it. It might not trust people again.ReplyDelete
Seeing celebrities cry usually makes my day...but this was a sad situation...they should let the poor kids have the dog...sheesh :)ReplyDelete
The Egel Nest
By the way...oh warden of naps...ReplyDelete
You got a shout out today for blog of the day over at Author Blog...I have a link to it in my blogroll if you don't know it...
It was for a post your wrote a few days ago...but congrats :)
The Egel Nest
Yeah, it's so sad. And I can't bear seeing people cry like that.ReplyDelete
Ellen is such an animal lover--she donates so much to animal-related charities, and all of her animals are rescued animals--that for them to treat her like she did something terrible to that dog by placing it in another home is cruel. I really hope they bow to the majority opinion on this and give the dog back to those girls.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 17, 2007 at 4:03 PM
i am completely and utterly stunned. as someone who loves animals as much as Ellen does, i just can't understand this. isn't the point of these animal RESCUE shelters to RESCUE the animals by means of finding good homes for them? why would they not just check out the new home to see if everything was okay rather than yanking the puppy out of their loving arms? i think this is ridiculous, and i feel so sorry for the guilt Ellen feels, and especially for the little girls who got their new little puppy taken away...ReplyDelete
I didn't see it but the whole thing sounds so awful. Just like the red tape of the Foster/child welfare system. So many times it's not in the best interest of the kids or in this case the animals because the strident rules get in the way of individual circumstances. We need to restructure both these systems, start paying more for training and paying more in general so the people with a brain and who care don't get burnt out! sorry to get on my soapbox!ReplyDelete
omg, I cried watching this... it's so sad that they took the pup away from the family where he was loved and happy...ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 17, 2007 at 6:14 PM
Agreed, the shelter 'stinks' on this one.ReplyDelete
Okay, Ellen was wrong to not follow the rules of the shelter. But she didn't deliberately violate the agreement.ReplyDelete
I agree that the dog should stay with the family Ellen found for them -- Ellen and Portia are clearly animal savvy people. The shelter ought to pay THEM a part of the adoption fee. And return the pup to the adoptive family.
OMG, I just saw on the news...Not only is the shelter woman NOT giving the dog back to the family, but they have already replaced it in another home! Way to blow that one shelter folks...ReplyDelete
How sad :( I really haven't paid much attention to this whole thing, but her crying was extremely sincere. I'm not sure I've ever seen a celebrity be that transparent on TV before.ReplyDelete
There's probably a reason for the rule at the shelter, but there still has to have been a much better way to have handled this...ReplyDelete
I can't believe they're getting death threats!
I agree that the crying was sincere and not just a celeb looking for special treatment. I'm feel so bad for Ellen and her friends. I can't image losing something/someone I love so much.
- AnonymousOctober 17, 2007 at 8:29 PM
Hi there firstly thanks for your comment on my blog. Secondly, for once I was sitting down watching ET and saw this clip, I was blown away and for the first part of the outburst was actually trying to work out how the dog had died. But yes I am stunned at the way the shelter handled it and now apparently its worse, they have found another home for the dog but are too scared to give it to them in case it gets dog napped. Dog was better off in the home Ellen had found for it, its not as if she hadn't put some thought into it!! I feel sorry for all involved, but honestly not putting a puppy into a home with kids um duh, thats the whole point of childhood, get a puppy and raise it, life long friends and all that!ReplyDelete
I saw this clip earlier today and I feel like there needs to be some perspective. This is a dog. How many foster kids are without permanent homes? How many soldiers died in Iraq today? How many kids are without health insurance because Bush vetoed S-CHIP?ReplyDelete
I don't doubt Ellen's sincerity and do not consider this a publicity stunt. I do however wish the press would focus on news that matters.
Great comments though. Your blog is terrific.
The real loser here is the puppy, unfortunately.ReplyDelete
I feel bad for Ellen, the family and the dog. :(ReplyDelete
I just wanted to let you know you've been gifted with a 'sweet treat' on my blog! Thanks for your comment!
I think the whole situation is ridiculous.ReplyDelete
Not adopting to a family with kids under 14. What the?
And seriously, would they have ever checked in or known if it hadn't been Ellen's dog? I've adopted countless pets from shelters and no one has ever checked up on us.
How completely heartbreaking. I feel so bad for all involved.ReplyDelete