A Brief History On August 9, 1999, Russian President Boris Yeltsin fired not only his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, but also his entire cabinet. Firing an entire cabinet? Yeltsin had previously done just that 3 times before! Despite being the second most powerful country in the world (at least militarily), Russia has some less than modern political traits. Digging Deeper After the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia lost its de facto empire and began a new chapter in its history as its own country once again. Of course, many Russians were thrilled to be done with…
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.
Read More
A Brief History On August 8, 2000, the remains of Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley were raised to the surface 136 years after this pioneering vessel was sunk, probably by itself during the US Civil War. The Hunley joins the roster of famous or infamous vessels that have been discovered on the sea floor and either raised or with major parts of the vessel recovered. Today we list 10 of the most famous or interesting such shipwrecks (though 5 of them are from one incident!). Digging Deeper 1. HL Hunley, Confederate Submarine, sunk 1864, recovered 2000. We have previously discussed the…
A Brief History On August 7, 1942, US Marines landed on the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands chain, initiating the first US ground offensive of World War II (a subject we previously covered in our article “First U.S. Offensive of World War II Begins on Guadalcanal”). When those Marines hit the beach, they were equipped with the M1903 Springfield rifle, a classic bolt action rifle that first saw action during World War I. When the US Army soldiers later landed on the island to reinforce the Marines, the soldiers were equipped with the newer M-1 Garand semi-automatic rifle,…
A Brief History On August 6, 2001, a tragedy known as the “Erwadi fire incident” occurred in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. A fire broke out at the Moideen Badusha Mental Home in Erwadi Village, claiming the lives of 28 of the patients/inmates there. A fire and fatalities do not make for a strange tale, except in this case those poor mental patients were chained down! Run by a faith based organization, the mental home sought to “cure” its patients by caning and beating the patients while treating them with water from a holy shrine in the village. …
A Brief History On August 5, 2019, while the nation reels from recent mass shootings in Gilroy, California (3 dead), El Paso, Texas (22 dead), and Dayton, Ohio (9 dead), the calls for “common sense” gun control are ringing loud and strong. Problem is, what is “common sense” when it comes to gun control? Not everyone agrees! (Note: We sincerely want to stem the violence in the United States and decrease the number of murders and crimes by criminals with guns. We also advocate for measures that actually help, and not “feel good” useless laws that do not really address…