Author: Major Dan

A Brief History On January 24, 2017, we pick this date at random to celebrate a little explored aspect of police work, that of the dreaded nickname!  Most readers would be familiar with “Dirty Harry” Callahan of (fictional) movie fame, or perhaps “Prince of the City” (NYPD Det. Robert Leuci played by Treat Williams) of the 1981 film by that name.  Richard Cain of the Chicago PD was also known as Richard Scalzeti, perhaps because of his association with the Chicago Mob.  Who could forget fictional “Sperm” Whalen of the book and movie, The Choir Boys?  Even other countries get…

A Brief History On January 23, 1879, the British Army in South Africa ended its second major battle in as many days against Zulu warriors known as Impis in the British  war to seize Zululand.  The Battle of Rorke’s Drift followed the Battle of Isandlwana by only a matter of hours, but fortunately for the British had a different conclusion. Digging Deeper Yesterday we discussed the Battle of Isandlwana, memorialized in the 1979 movie Zulu Dawn, and today we address the Battle of Rorke’s Drift, memorialized in the 1964 movie Zulu. In 1879, the British under Sir Henry Bartle Frere,…

A Brief History On January 22, 1879, the British Army got a taste of colonial medicine when it suffered its worst defeat in its history against a native force armed mostly with archaic weapons.  The British numbered about 1800 soldiers counting colonial and native troops, and were accompanied by about 400 civilians.  A Zulu force of perhaps 20,000 warriors, armed mostly with indigenous weapons (spears, etc) and some obsolete firearms (muskets) attacked the British column that was invading Zululand, resulting in a resounding defeat of the British in the area of Isandlwana. (Note: There are various spellings of Isandlwana.) Digging…

A Brief History On January 21, 1908, the New York City Board of Alderman passed the Sullivan Ordinance, a law that banned women from smoking in any public establishment.  Mayor George McLellan Jr. vetoed the ordinance 2 weeks later, and only one woman was fined $5 for disobeying the law.  When she refused to pay the fine, she was arrested, but released the next day. Digging Deeper Laws targeting women separately from men, including those that demean or belittle the public stature of women are nothing new, and unfortunately are far from unknown today.  Here we list 10 Laws That…

A Brief History On January 20, 1972, Pakistan started a nuclear weapons development program in a bid to become the first Islamic country to possess a nuclear bomb.  Coming on the heels of embarrassing losses in the Liberation War for Bangladesh (aka East Pakistan), and then failure in the 1971 war with India, Pakistan vowed to have a nuclear weapon by 1976. Digging Deeper Although Pakistan missed their timeline goals, by 1998 Pakistan became the first Islamic majority country to possess a viable nuclear weapon, and the 7th country to officially possess nuclear weapons (after the US, UK, USSR, France,…