A Brief History On August 25, 1914, during the opening stages of World War I German soldiers burned the Library of the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, destroying a treasure of ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance works. Over 300,000 books were burned, many of them irreplaceable volumes now lost forever. Thousands of manuscripts of various types were burned, along with 1000 Incunabula (printed works made before 1501, the earliest works printed by machine). A specific work that was lost was the Easter Island Rongorongo Text E, a wooden tablet etched with glyphs made by Easter Island natives before invasion by…
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A Brief History On August 24, 2010, 72 bodies of illegal immigrants were found in a mass grave by Mexican military units that had just ended a shootout with the dreaded drug and crime cartel, Los Zetas. They had been blindfolded and handcuffed before being shot in the back of the head. Perhaps the most pervasive of the Mexican criminal gangs and drug-trafficking cartels, Los Zetas are known for their brutality and are quick to use force and terror instead of coercion and bribery. Digging Deeper The unfortunate illegal immigrants came to Mexico from even poorer countries in South and Central…
A Brief History On August 22, 1971, Cold War anti-communist zealots FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and Attorney General of the US John Mitchell announced the arrest of “The Camden 28,” anti-Viet Nam War protesters that had broken into a Camden, New Jersey draft board to destroy documents necessary for the administration of the military draft for that area. Digging Deeper The 28 anti-war activists included priests and former seminarians, and quite a few people that had experienced Catholic high school or college education, and some were involved in the priesthood (2 priests and a minister, plus a Franciscan Brother)…
A Brief History On July 13, 2013, self-appointed community watchman George Zimmerman, an Hispanic-American, was found not guilty of having murdered 17-year-old African-American Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012. The case was closely watched across America and prompted strong racial tensions. Digging Deeper Because of Zimmerman’s outward appearance, the public assumed, with help from the media, that he was white. He is white but also Hispanic and has some African background. The media also falsely portrayed the video and audio recordings of the incident where Zimmerman observed and then shot to death the unarmed black teen. The 911 call was altered…
A Brief History On June 29, 1972, the Supreme Court of the United States stunned the nation by ruling in Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty violated the 8th and 14th Amendments. This decision basically outlawed capital punishment until each state that wanted to reinstate it reworked their laws and procedures to meet Supreme Court guidelines. Digging Deeper It seems that over 200 years of previous experience had not perfected the procedure. The court found judicial practices so arbitrary and inconsistent that a grossly uneven administration of capital punishment was the result. So much so, that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment. In wake…