Browsing: Society

A Brief History On June 9, 1667, the Dutch Navy handed the British Royal Navy its worst defeat in its history in what is known as the Raid on the Medway.  The Dutch burned 13 British ships, including 3 of the largest (“capital ships”) and towed away 2 more large ships, including the Flagship of the Royal Navy, the HMS Royal Charles.  This raid was done in England, far up the river Thames and then up the river Medway at Chatham.  Bold raids such as this are sometimes spectacularly successful, and sometimes not so much.  Raids are surprise attacks of short duration,…

A Brief History On June 9, 1959, the USS George Washington was launched, the first ballistic missile carrying submarine, creating a new class of nuclear delivery weapons that would virtually guarantee mutual destruction in time of nuclear war.  Here we list 10 such milestones in modern  (19th through 21st Centuries) weaponry that can be considered “game changers.”  (The order listed is not necessarily by importance.) Digging Deeper 10. Ballistic Missile Submarine, 1959. Almost impossible to keep track of an entire enemy submarine fleet, either side in the Cold War would be subject to a surprise attack with much shorter notice…

A Brief History On June 8, 2001, and then again on June 8, 2008, Japan was terrorized by a mass stabbing.  The first occurred at an Osaka elementary school, and 7 years later the next rampage took place in Tokyo. Digging Deeper The first perpetrator was a mentally unbalanced man who had been a juvenile delinquent.  Mamoru Takuma was known to roll cats in flammable material and light them on fire or throw them in a furnace.  As a sophomore in  high school he assaulted a teacher and was a drop out.  His father tried to get him psychiatric help,…

A Brief History On June 7, 1942, the Battle of Midway ended, changing the balance of power in the Pacific.  Afterwards, the Japanese were on the defensive and the allies (mostly Americans) were on the offensive for the rest of the war.  The US Navy has won many great victories, and here we list 10 that we think are among the greatest.  (Note: Army-Navy football games do not count!) Digging Deeper 10. Navy 24- Army 0, 1890. Okay, we lied.  The first Army-Navy football game does count, at least it does to the US Navy!  Winning the first game in…

A Brief History Presumptive Republican nominee for President, Donald Trump, has made a campaign out of tough talk, telling us how he would bully foreign countries into doing his bidding and how foreign leaders would cower before him, as opposed to his opponents and the current President whom he considers a “wimp.” Digging Deeper Trump trumpets (what else would he do?) his intention of making the US military stronger and the best in the world, apparently oblivious to the fact that the US military is already by far the strongest and best in the world, with a budget that eclipses…