Simon Wiesenthal dies

HOLOCAUST survivor Simon Wiesenthal, an untiring campaigner who helped track down hundreds of Nazi war criminals, has died in Vienna aged 96, his pressure group has announced.

Mr Wiesenthal was the world’s most intrepid hunter of Nazi war criminals, bringing more than a thousand to trial in a global campaign to ensure no one forgot the horror of Adolf Hitler’s treatment of the Jews.

I always agreed with his premise… there is no statute of limitations on mass murder and he never forgot or forgave the obscenity that was the Holocuast.

He did his best.

For those interested in world matters you will find more details about Simon Wiesenthal at the Simon Wiesenthal Center

Terri at rest

I chose not to enter the debate on Terri Schiavo and only do so now to report the poor woman’s death. At peace at last. The Washington Post has the details

The Gipper has gone

We win and they lose. Ronald Reagon getting the USSR problem down to one line. Far too simplistic for the left but it worked. By the end of his watch the wall had come down. The obscenity that was Communist USSR joined the civilized world. There will be a lot written and spoken over the next week or two. The left will call him simple and dumb. The rest of us know he changed the world for the better. Crenkhoff has the best take. He was behind the wall. Duty done – Rest in Peace.

Another Great Aussie dies

To prove I’m not Army-centric It is with regret that I announce that Air Commodore William Henry ‘Bull’ Garing (Rtd), CBE, DFC, DSC has died
One of Australia’s most respected World War Two Air Force commanders, Air Commodore William Henry ‘Bull’ Garing passed away on New Year’s Day at the age of 93. AIRCDRE Garing played a key role in the allied successes at Milne Bay and the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, which finally saw the threat to mainland Australia subdued.
Lateline mentions ‘Bull’ Garing in their treatment of The Battle of the Bismarck Sea. Before the Pacific campaign he won a DFC in the Atlantic when he single handedly attacked 5 Luftwaffe Bombers that were attacking an unarmed merchant ship. He was flying a a heavy Sunderland flying boat at the time and any pilot or would-be pilot should know that attacking bombers with a Sunderland redefines aggression. More>> Defence (RAAF) has an article on ‘Bull’ Garing here. Once again he did it well and we owe him.

Tom Daly dies

General Sir Thomas Daly has died aged 90. The ABC have a brief report here. They mention his being a Brigade Commander at Tobruk during WW2 and Commander of the 28th Commonwealth Brigade in Korea. What they can’t bring themselves to mention is that he was commander of the Australian Army during the Vietnam War when the Army, under his very capable command, killed thousands of communists, the very people that the ABC were supporting. All other news sources quote the following line. ?Sir Thomas period as Chief of General Staff, from 1966 until his retirement in 1971, covered the height of the Vietnam War,? Mr Anderson said. The Australian has more details None of these early sources give his post nominals. Daly’s full title is Lieutenant General Sir Thomas J Daly KBE, CB, DSO. A man amongst men – Brigade Major at Tobruk, Brigade Commander in Korea and Army Commander (CGS) during Vietnam. This pretty well covers the last 60 years of Australian military history from such positions of power and responsibilty that few could even begin to imagine. He did it well and we owe him a lot.