Browsing: Society

A Brief History On October 12, 1216, King John of England capped off what had to be one of the least glorious chapters in the history of Britain by losing his crown jewels.  Conducting a campaign across his country in an effort to retain his crown, some of John’s baggage train was lost in “quicksand and whirlpools” of the “Wash,” an estuary in East Anglia (a squarish bay of about 15 miles by 15 miles into which 4 major rivers flow). Digging Deeper John and his brothers, including Richard the Lionheart, later Richard I, King of England, etc., took part…

A Brief History On December 22, 1965, one more bit of personal freedom went the way of the passenger pigeon when a 70 mph speed limit was set on all British rural roads.  Prior to this law, there had been no speed limit in Great Britain, a country that had the most cars per mile of road than any other country in the world. Digging Deeper Before Anglophiles get all upset, this article is not a slam on the island of Great Britain or the country known as the United Kingdom.  It is merely a lamentation of some past glory that seems lost forever. A while…

A Brief History On October 10, 1967, the Outer Space Treaty, formally known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (we will stick to the short version!) went into effect. Digging Deeper The treaty had been signed on January 27, 1967,  by the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom, while in the years since over 100 other countries have subsequently signed. The basic idea of the treaty is to declare outer space, the Moon and other celestial bodies (planets,…

A Brief History On October 9, 1966, the war torn nation of South Viet Nam was the scene of not one, but two notable massacres you may never have heard of.  While much scorn has been heaped on alleged massacres and atrocities by Americans, by the forces of South Viet Nam, by the Viet Cong, and by the North Vietnamese Army, these massacres were committed by another entity entirely. Digging Deeper On this fateful day, the Republic of Korea (ROK) forces (aka South Korean) allied with the US and South Viet Nam perpetrated massacres at separate locations, Binh Tai and…

A Brief History On October 8, 2013, a 66-year-old Denver, Colorado man and his 35-year-old female partner were accused of felonious child abuse in a sickening case of neglect and mistreatment.  The four boys, ages two to six, were malnourished, did not speak or have any sort of education and were kept in filthy conditions, with cat feces and urine throughout the insect-infested house.  Only able to communicate through grunts to the horrified child authorities, the filthy children could not even describe their mistreatment.  Unfortunately, police have to confront terrible crimes like this on a regular basis, a depressing and…