NANJING

Yes, I know Nanjing is half a world away from Bay Ridge but I wanted to mention the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre

BEIJING, Dec. 14 -- Sirens wailed and a giant bell tolled Wednesday as residents of, Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, along with people in other parts of the nation, marked the 70th anniversary of one of the darkest days in China's history: The Nanjing Massacre.

On Dec. 13, 1937, Japanese troops marched into the then national capital, Nanjing, and started a six-week orgy of killing, raping, burning and pillaging, during which at least 300,000 Chinese were slaughtered and 20,000 raped.

There's been a lot of controversy about the Massacre, from how many were killed to whether it actually happened.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese must spread the word that they committed no massacre at Nanjing, a film director told a symposium on Friday, a day after China marked the 70th anniversary of the incident in which it says 300,000 died.

There are tragedies everyday. There are tragedies of war. But the worst kind of tragedy is the tragedy that is forgotten.