Does Anyone Really Remember Current History?

 I know I am getting old, but I don't think I am that old that I have forgotten everything I learned in school or everything I experienced growing up. I say that to preface my rant. Today is Pearl Harbor Day and I am wondering if anyone alive even remembers what that means?

It seems to me that the current generation of youth either are not taught about the past (as in, history) or they simply choose to disbelieve that any of the past every occurred. This is very troublesome to me.  If you ignore history, you are going to repeat it for yourself. There is a philosopher that said that better, but you get my drift.

note:[philosopher George Santayana: “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” most likely writer and philosopher George Santayana who originally wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”]

Anyway, my point is that there are things that have happened in our past history that were absolutely horrible. Things that went totally against humanity. There were people (men) who caused so much pain, damage, and distress to millions of other people without a care in the world. This is a fact. How can you, in good conscience, tell yourself that these things did not happen?

I try really hard not to be political here, but it is becoming more and more difficult to do. I will really try to get a handle on my thoughts and feelings about the current state of affairs in America. However, I will continue to make my distaste known; I know I am just one person, but my humanity does count.

Today, I would like to posit a test. If I post a 20 question quiz here about World War II, do you think you would get the answers correct? Would you even try to answer the questions? Do you care?  I don't know. But, anyway, I am going to post this quiz and see if anyone will participate.

World War II Quiz

1. Question: What year did World War II begin?

2. Question: Who was the British Prime Minister at the start of World War II?

3. Question: Which country did Germany invade to start World War II?

4. Question: What was the largest Nazi concentration camp?

• 5. Question: What was the name of the British operation to evacuate troops from Dunkirk?

• 6. Question: Who was the President of the United States at the end of World War II?

• 7. Question: What was the name of the project that developed the atomic bomb?

• 8. Question: Which battle is considered the turning point of the Pacific War?

• 9. Question: What was the last major German offensive campaign in World War II?

• 10. Question: Who was the leader of the Soviet Union during World War II?

11. Question: What was the code name for the Battle of Normandy?

12. Question: Which Japanese city was the first to be hit with an atomic bomb?

13. Question: What was the main reason for the Japanese surrender in World War II?

14. Question: Which agreement divided Germany into zones of occupation?

15. Question: What was the primary role of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in Britain?

16. Question: Which country was annexed by Germany in the Anschluss of 1938?

17. Question: What was the name of the German air force?

18. Question: Who was the U.S. general in charge of the Western Front in Europe?

19. Question: What was the main objective of the D-Day invasion?

20. Question: What was the codename for the German invasion of the Soviet Union?

If you want the answers, just comment below "answers" and I will get them to you.

Tik Tok and all the Hullabaloo around it!

 Today's ramblings are courtesy of the internet and all the articles about banning Tik Tok due to possible use by China as a means to spy on Americans and cause undue influence on Americans beliefs and actions.

First, I have Tik Tok on my phone, but rarely use it.  I downloaded it so I could see the shorts that my youngest sends me from Tik Tok.  Otherwise, I am not on the platform. As I stated, my youngest daughter spends almost all of her free time watching Tik Tok videos and claims that she learns interesting and useful things all the time just by watching them. So, I am not on the ban the platform bandwagon as yet.

The US Government has tried before to ban this platform and failed.  I am not really sure that our government has the power to ban an app from existence.  There are still ongoing talks to ban Tik Tok from government phones, which I agree with.  Why do you need a social media platform on a work phone anyway?

This action is quickly being followed by other nations.  The UK and the EU both have enacted bans of Tik Tok on government phones due to the possibility of surveillance and safety of user information. 

Tik Tok is located in Beijing, China and is owned by a private company called ByteDance.  The company denies any sharing of information with the Communist Chinese Government. This company is doing quite a lot to try to show the world that using the platform is safe and secure.

They are moving the customer information servers to other countries; they have engaged with the US Government and are diligently trying to meet their requirements to assure the safety of the platform.  There are, however, still many politicians who fear the company and the possibility of using the stored information about its users for covert intelligence and policy determination, as well as the possibility of making the younger users believe false information that is pro-China and anti-US.  Since the demographic of this platform is mostly teens and young adults, this is not a silly concern.

Overall, this is an issue that is yet to be resolved and is getting major coverage in the news media, so you can't help but see it or read about it, unless you live under a rock.

I am still making up my mind.  I can see both sides of this issue and will wait to make a permanent stand once I see what the Tik Tok Company does to ease the political concerns of our government as well as the other governments.

What do you think about this issue? Have you any thoughts on the matter?  If so, please, let's talk about it.  Leave me a comment and we can begin a conversation (as long as we both can do so civilly).

Now, totally unrelated to this topic, I want to tell you that today is National Panda Day!  Can you think of anything cuter?

  Resources for further reading:

• https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/16/uk-bans-tiktok-on-government-devices-following-us-move.html
• https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/23/eu-commission-bars-employees-from-using-tiktok-citing-security-risks.html
• https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/13/lawmakers-unveil-bipartisan-bill-that-aims-to-ban-tiktok-in-the-us.html
• https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-eu/sharing-an-update-to-our-privacy-policy

With Easter coming upon us, you might enjoy a previous post about my attempts to make Easter decorations for work here.