Browsing: Society

A Brief History On May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe was declared by the victorious Allied Powers, which included Canada and Nova Scotia. The Port City of Halifax, Capital of Nova Scotia, was the scene of the Halifax Riot, an event simmering just under the surface waiting for the War to end in Europe for the War to begin at home. Digging Deeper Nova Scotia, Canada’s second smallest province, is on the Atlantic Coast and its Capital, Halifax, served during World War II as the important Western terminus of the vital ship lanes to and from England. The influx of…

A Brief History On May 7, 1937, while Europe watched the prelude to World War II develop during the Spanish Civil War, the German “volunteer” Condor Legion was deployed with the Heinkel He-51 biplane fighter, an anachronism already obsolete when it was built. More like a relic of World War I, that is exactly the opposition the He-51 first had in the Nieuport biplane fighters flown by the Spanish Republican Air Force. Digging Deeper Monoplanes and all metal planes were definitely not unknown when the He-51 made its combat debut, but the older fabric covered fuselage and wings, upper and…

A Brief History On May 6, 1882, the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, banning any further immigration of Chinese workers to the United States for the next 10 years. This Act followed previous agreements imposed on China, the Burlingame Treaty of 18689 and the Angell Treaty of 1880 that also sought to limit Chinese immigration to the US. It seems xenophobia was alive and “well” even back then! Digging Deeper The Chinese Exclusion Act was supposed to last 10 years, but was renewed in 1892 by the Geary Act of 1892, which was made “permanent”…

A Brief History On May 3, 2017, France is facing an upcoming contentious and momentous election that largely revolves around the national character of the country and the issue of immigration, especially Muslim immigration in the wake of terrorist incidents. Digging Deeper Emmanuel Macron, born 1977, is running for President of France on a secular and liberal platform that is pro-immigration (open door policy) and pro-European Union.  His opponent, conservative Marine le Pen is running on a nationalistic platform against accepting further Muslim refugees from the Middle East and with an eye for pulling the country out of the European…

A Brief History On May 2, 1964, before even the Gulf of Tonkin Incident that heralded major US involvement in the Vietnam War, a Viet Cong or North Vietnamese frogman placed an explosive charge against the hull of the USS Card (USNS Card at the time of sinking), blowing a hole in the ship and sinking 48 feet as she lay berthed at the dock at Saigon. Digging Deeper The USS Card started life in 1942 as ACV-11 (Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier) after being laid down as a cargo ship.  Just under 10,000 tons and just under 500 feet long, the…