Browsing: Society

A Brief History On June 7, 2021, we have had the opportunity to read and review a great new historical examination of “the Roman campaign to crush the Jewish revolt,” as the book calls itself.  Conquering Jerusalem, by Stephen Dando-Collins, is just about 200 pages long, long enough to address detail while compact enough to keep the reader engaged.  (By the way, this reviewer has personally been to Jerusalem, a fascinating place.) Digging Deeper We found the text highly readable, while retaining academic accuracy and serious addressing of facts and events, the flow of the book is more like a…

A Brief History On May 31, 1942, the Japanese Imperial Navy commenced an attack on the harbor (harbour for you British types) at Sydney, Australia, using three Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarines.  With a 2-man crew and armed with a pair of torpedoes, the little subs had the potential to create tremendous damage to any ship afloat.  Japan was not the only country to employ midget submarines during World War II, and midget subs were just one of many truly innovative attempts to adapt weapons for special purposes during that war that spawned so much in the way of technological progress.  Today…

A Brief History On May 24, 2002, emissaries of the United States and Russia signed a treaty to reduce each country’s nuclear arsenal to between 1700 and 2200 warheads.  Called the “Moscow Treaty,” the official name of the pact was much longer, “Treaty Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Strategic Offensive Reductions (SORT),” another step in a long line of treaties and agreements to limit nuclear weapons between the premier wielders of such devices. See our other articles concerning nuclear weapons! Digging Deeper Going into effect on June 1, 2003, the Moscow Treaty was meant…

A Brief History On May 14, 2021, we finally got to watch the latest Angelina Jolie action film, Those Who Wish Me Dead.  The film looked really cool on the trailer, and Jolie has been in several action films we enjoyed immensely, so we were anxious and eager to see this flick. Digging Deeper Despite the cynical headline for this article, the movie was ok.  Falling short of our high expectations, sure, but still entertaining and kept our interest throughout the 100 minute running time.  Acting was generally good, cinematography and special effects were excellent, and the plot was generally…

A Brief History On May 10, 1946, at the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico the US Army made the first successful launch of a German designed V-2 rocket, the same sort of weapon the Germans had used to terrorize England and Holland during World War II.  V-2 technology was not the only German inspired technology to be eagerly scooped and later used by the Allies after World War II, and today we take a look at some of those items (keeping the list short and therefore not all encompassing).  As always, feel free to nominate such items as…