Browsing: September 18

A Brief History On September 18, 1997, Atlanta billionaire Ted Turner (aka, Mr. Jane Fonda from 1991 to 2001) donated a massive one billion dollars to the United Nations.  His donation was used to create the United Nations Foundation, of which Turner serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Having become super wealthy through his media businesses, including a billboard and advertising business, CNN (the first 24/7 cable news network) and television station WTBS, a cable pioneering giant “super-station.”  His 2017 net worth is estimated at $23 billion, so he could afford such an enormous gift.  We list 10…

A Brief History Action spy comedy fans, here is your chance to be among the first in Cleveland to see Kingsman: the Golden Circle before it opens in theaters on September 22, 2017. Digging Deeper Director: Matthew Vaughn Written By: Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn, based on the comic book The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons Produced By: Matthew Vaughn, David Reid, Adam Bohling Cast: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Halle Berry, with Sir Elton John, and Channing Tatum, and Jeff Bridges SYNOPSIS Kingsman: The Secret Service introduced the world to Kingsman – an independent, international intelligence…

A Brief History On September 18, 1944, the British submarine, HMS Tradewinds, torpedoed and sank the Jun’yo Maru, a Japanese cargo ship transformed to carry prisoners.  Over 5000 people died in the tragedy, of which 1377 were Dutch prisoners of war, another 64 victims were British and Australian prisoners of war, and 8 were American prisoners of war.  Most of the rest of the victims were Javanese slave laborers, around 4200 of them. Digging Deeper Obviously, the skipper of the Tradewinds did not know the targeted ship was carrying prisoners, as the Japanese did not mark POW ships in any…

A Brief History Today, on September 18, 2014, Scotland is voting either yes or no on the topic of independence from Great Britain and the United Kingdom.  Only a simple majority vote is needed, that means 50% + one person. Update: As of July, 2020, Scotland is still part of the UK, although the Brexit fiasco looms over the union and the issue of the independence of Scotland is still a realistic possibility at some point. Digging Deeper Formally united in 1707 by the Act of Union which was ratified by both the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland is now seeking…

A Brief History On September 18, 2001, in the wake of the terror attacks of September 11, people in the United States were jumpy and on edge, not knowing if another attack would occur.  They did not have to wait long.  Just one week later, the first “Anthrax Letters” were mailed.  Believed at first to be “weaponized” Anthrax, that is Anthrax enhanced with silica to facilitate infection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ultimately refuted this claim. Digging Deeper Called the “Amerithrax Case” by the FBI, a series of letters laced with powdery Anthrax were sent in two batches in September and…