A Brief History On December 11, 2012, an Alawite village in Syria, Aqrab, was the scene of horrific tragedy as terrorist bombs went off and killed about 125 people and injured an additional 200. Known as the Aqrab Massacre, this sad series of events were but a smaller part in the ongoing Syrian Civil War that began in 2011. Other estimates of fatalities in the Massacre range up to 300 dead. In the West, the Islamic religion is often portrayed as a monolithic entity, and when differences in Islamic theology are recognized it is usually in the context of the…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On December 10, 1936, King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (Britain, et al), signed the Instrument of Abdication, basically his resignation letter. King George VI followed him onto the throne and life went on for all involved, especially for Edward who allegedly never really wanted to be King and was free to marry “the woman I love” now that he was not constrained by Royal obligations. Today we list some national leaders that resigned, either in defeat, in protest, or in disgrace. As hard as it must be to quit a top tier corporate job (such…
A Brief History On December 9, 1872, P. B. S. Pinchback became the first ever African American governor of Louisiana, and in fact the first ever African American governor of any US State. Pinchback came to the governorship via the death of the serving Lieutenant Governor, a post to which he ascended from his position as President Pro Tempore of the Louisiana Senate, and then stepping up to the governorship when the elected governor, Henry Clay Warmoth was suspended from that office due to impeachment proceedings. Pinchback served only 34 days as Governor of Louisiana. Digging Deeper Born Pinckney Benton…
A Brief History On December 7, 1941, a date that US President Franklin Roosevelt said “would live in infamy,” the Japanese navy attacked the naval and air bases on Oahu, Hawaii, most notably at Pearl Harbor, in a surprise attack (or sneak attack in the vernacular of the time) that devastated the American Pacific Fleet. While the Pearl Harbor raid captures most of our historical attention, the Empire of Japan was up to plenty of other shenanigans on that same day (also December 8, 1941 for those areas West of the International Date Line), kicking off a wider war intended…
A Brief History On December 6, 2019, we reflect back on our marathon movie watching experience of the previous night, namely the 209 minute long epic blockbuster film from Netflix, an historical crime film supposedly based on real events. Not only is the movie a long one (3 hours and 29 minutes), it is also an expensive one, with a budget of $159 million, an incredible amount for a streaming app film. Digging Deeper Directed by Martin Scorcese, he of such notable films as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Cape Fear (remake), The Aviator, Casino, Shutter Island and The Wolf…