A Brief History On January 3, 2002, an Israeli operation called “Noah’s Ark” resulted in the seizure of a ship load of munitions bound for Gaza to arm Palestinian militants. Digging Deeper The freighter, Karine A, had been purchased by the Palestinian Authority and renamed and crewed with Palestinian sailors, loaded with 50 tons of weapons, and sailed to the coast of the Gaza strip between Israel and Egypt, a territory set aside as a Palestinian homeland and home to over 2 million people. The purchase of the weapons had been arranged and facilitated by Iran and the Iran allied…
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 January 2, 1921, Czech playwright Karel Čapek premiered his classic play, R.U.R. in Hradec Králové, in what was then the First Czechoslovak Republic. The most important legacy of this famous play is the coining of the word, “Robot.” As used in the play, “robot” does not really mean the mechanical gizmo we think of today. Digging Deeper Prior to R.U.R., people used words such as “android” and “automaton” to describe what we think of as robots, but in the actual play, the “robots” were not the metal men the name evokes, but more along the line…
A Brief History On January 1, 2024, we have some highly recommended resolutions that people really need to adopt to make the world a better place. What suggestions do you have? Digging Deeper Average Americans: Learn something new every day, maybe a new word or new historical fact. Baby Boomers: Stop worrying and love computers! Learn how to use new technology to your advantage. Everybody: Remind yourself to treat others as you wish to be treated. Hoarders: Get rid of any clothes or shoes you have not worn in the past couple years. Give these items to charity. Older people:…
A Brief History On December 31, 2023, we take a look back on those notable people that died this year. Due to the limited nature of a “short” video or article, we have to omit many fine folks and only list the losses we feel the most. Feel free to mention anyone you believe needs mention. (This list is as of December 29th and will be updated after January 1st.) Digging Deeper Burt Bacharach, composer, age 94. Bob Barker, Price is Right TV host, age 99. Maryanne Trump Barry, Federal judge and sister of Donald Trump, age 86. Jeff Beck,…
A Brief History On December 30, 2009, the Lanzhou–Zhengzhou–Changsha diesel oil pipeline in Shaanxi, China, suffered a rupture and spilled about 40,000 gallons of fuel into the Wei River and on to the Yellow River. An environmental disaster, but at least nobody was killed. Digging Deeper Transporting oil, other liquids, and gasses that might be toxic or flammable is dangerous, regardless of the manner of transport. Trains, trucks, ships, and pipelines are susceptible to accidents, natural disasters, and sabotage, and have all suffered disasters. Some notable pipeline disasters include the LaSalle Heights, Quebec natural gas explosion in 1965 that left…