A Brief History On July 27, 2002, a Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 fighter jet crashed into a crowd of spectators, killing 77 and injuring 534, the worst air show disaster ever. The crowd was watching a demonstration by the Ukrainian Falcons, the Ukraine acrobatic military flight team, at Sknyliv airfield (near Lviv). The jet being flown was the Sukhoi Su-27, a modern, cutting edge fighter jet, roughly equivalent to the US F-15. It is a 2 seat plane, with experienced pilots flying at the air show. Digging Deeper In what was later ruled to be pilot error, the fighter got…
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A Brief History On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which ordered the desegregation of the US military. At times presidents cannot or will not wait for congress to act on a subject and they take it into their own hands by issuing an “Executive Order.” President Obama is currently under attack by Republicans for using this non-legislative authority, somewhat hypocritically when in fact George W. Bush used many more executive orders than Obama (291 to 183). Franklin Roosevelt holds the record for the most executive orders with a whopping 3721. Second place is Woodrow Wilson with…
A Brief History On July 26, 1767, Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, and one-time mistress of King George II of England, died. Henrietta has the distinction of probably being the only mistress in history to be unwanted; George II much preferring the company of his wife to her. Digging Deeper What also sets Henrietta Howard apart is that she was a different nationality from her royal lover. This article will list 10 women who slept with emperors, czars, kings and princes but were not their subjects. Mistresses such as Cleopatra or Wallis Simpson who eventually married their lovers will not…
A Brief History On July 26, 1945, the leaders of the major Allied countries fighting Japan in World War II met in Potsdam, Germany to issue the conditions by which the Japanese were to surrender to the Allies. Also known as “unconditional surrender” the Allies left no room for negotiation, which soon became a point of controversy and is debated to this day, as the declaration is seen by some as having prolonged the war by leaving Japan no honorable way to stop the fighting. Digging Deeper President Truman, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, and Chinese premier…
A Brief History On this day, July 25, 2014, Universal Pictures releases Lucy in theaters in the United States of America. The film stars 29-year-old superstar Scarlett Johansson in the titular role. Here is the first edition of what could be an annual list of the current hottest young actresses gracing big and small screens alike. For the purpose of this list, by “young”, I am including women who portrayed girls. Also, as a 34-year-old myself, anyone who is younger than I am is considered “young” by me! Moreover, by “hottest”, I do not necessarily mean “most attractive”. Yes, these are all…