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On June 7, 1942, Japanese forces assaulted occupied the Alaskan territorial islands of Attu and Kiska, part of the Aleutian Islands chain. Its geographical placing puts it closer to Japan than to the Alaskan mainland or actual US mainland territory, but it was a violation of the US homeland none the less. It was the […]
The Sailors Life Rations The diet of almost all sailing vessels was the same. The men subsisted on salted pork, fish, or beef, ships biscuits, and a limited supply of vegetables such as peas. Additionally, sailors received unwanted calories from the weevils and other insects that burrowed their way into the ship’s biscuits while the […]
Zeebrugge is located in Belgium on the north coast of Europe. The port provided quick access to the North Sea for the Imperial German Navy throughout the First World War for their U-boats and light shipping, which the German navy was trying to threaten the Allied-controlled English Channel and the North Sea with. As the […]
The way that society today consumes news and information is ever changing with the influx of social media and less direct channels of information through podcasts and a plethora of broadcasters all vying for attention in a saturated market. Many of these information sources have different validation processes or have multiple eyes on ensuring that […]
In modern secular societies, relativistic views prevail. Truth is often determined by one’s preferences and feelings. If believing something feels good or makes you happy, ipso facto the belief is true and valid. Thus, freedom of speech is an inalienable right given to all people and all opinions are correct; right or wrong and absolute […]
As the Nazi forces of fascist Germany ravaged Europe, Britain and the commonwealth stood alone upholding the ideas of freedom, until the USA entered the war on December 7, 1941, against Japanese imperialism and European fascist brutality, after the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. Britain then curtailed Hitler’s plans to invade Britain (Operation Sea Lion), […]
In a 2012 “documentary” film and book titled The Untold History of the United States, filmmaker Oliver Stone contended that there would have been “no Cold War” had Henry Wallace, FDR’s third-term vice president, not been forced off the ticket by reactionary Democratic Party leaders in 1944.[1] Wallace, rather than Harry Truman, would have become […]
A new book? I hear you cry. Yes! And it’s one that you’ve helped me write. Relearning to Read: Adventures in Not-Knowing is my second non-fiction book and it draws on a new approach to reading that I’ve developed over the twelve years of writing this blog. Among the many challenges I had to face […]
Elizabeth “Eliza” Fenning was born on June 10, 1793 in the Caribbean island of Dominica. Her parents William and Mary Fenning had a total of ten children, but only Elizabeth survived to adulthood, a common occurrence due to the high infant mortality rate at the time. Her father had been a soldier. Upon his discharge, […]
This book was one of two sent to me by Colin. He was going on a trip to Kosovo and volunteered to go to some bookshops on my behalf to see what Kosovan booksellers would choose for me as standout books from their nation. Kosovo wasn’t included in my original year of reading the world. […]