Browsing: Crime

A Brief History On April 9, 1948, events in Palestine brought to the forefront the adage that “One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.”  (An adage of uncertain origins, but dating back well over a century, or more.)  On that fateful day about 120 Zionists from the Irgun and Lehi groups attacked a Palestinian town called Deir Yassin outside Jerusalem, killing about 107 of the Palestinian inhabitants of the village of only 600.  In the massacre, 4 Zionists were also killed. Digging Deeper The Civil War in Palestine conducted by Jewish Zionists (those intent on establishing a Jewish state…

A Brief History On April 8, 2019, we take a look at the history of hacking.  Nowadays, hacking is considered one of the most serious threats faced by governments, organizations, and individuals alike. As more and more aspects of our daily lives are conducted online or thanks to the help of internet-connected devices, the fear that someone might gain unauthorized access to our personal information or gain control of our systems is one of our biggest concerns. But hacking is not always about the bad guys – and it certainly did not start out as such a nefarious undertaking. Digging…

A Brief History On April 7, 1868, one year after he helped Canada achieve a measure of independence in the formation of the Canadian Confederation, Irish immigrant to the United States and then Canada, Thomas D’Arcy Etienne Grace Hughes McGee, was assassinated by Patrick J. Whelan, a Fenian Irish nationalist.  McGee goes down in history as one of the Founding Fathers of Canada, what they call the Fathers of Confederation. Digging Deeper Ironically, McGee, born and raised in Ireland as a Catholic that hated the British rule over the Emerald Isle, fought against that British rule for Irish independence and…

A Brief History On April 3, 2017, an alleged Uzbek/Russian terrorist set off a suicide bomb on a Russian rapid transit train (called the Metro), killing himself and about 15 other people, as well as injuring another 4 dozen or so.  Luckily, a second bomb failed to detonate and was later defused by police bomb technicians.  Once again, a deranged, homicidal person proved that such people do not need guns to commit mass murder. Digging Deeper The suspected terrorist, Akbarzhon Jalilov, was born in Kyrgystan and was of Uzbek ethnic nationality.  He was reportedly upset with the Russian involvement in…

A Brief History On April 2, 1863, Southern women in Richmond, Virginia were at their wits end and had had enough, or more accurately had NOT had enough, because they and their families were starving for lack of food (aka, bread).  Rioting in the Confederate capital ensued, with men, women and children destroying property and looting stores.  Bread riots had become all too common in the American South during the Civil War (what my Southern friends call “The War of Northern Aggression.”), and the Richmond riots were the worst.  (See our article “10 Goofy Named Riots” for more riot history.)…