The Golden Gate Bridge that connects San Francisco, California, with Marin County to the north was built from 1933 to 1937. Once upon a time it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at 1.7 miles. It remains a major transportation segment for the San Francisco Bay Area drawing millions of commuters and tourists […]
THE DAY THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE FLATTENED Read More »
During the 10th Century, a group of Vikings landed on Greenland and in time developed settlements there. About 400 years later they vanished from the island. No one outside of Greenland even knew that they were gone until 1721 when some missionaries arrived at the sites and found only the ruins of their settlements. Their
WHY DID THE VIKINGS DISAPPEAR FROM GREENLAND? Read More »
In 1877, France colonized the land in southeast Asia now known as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. With this occupation came Catholicism, Western Culture, and some economic growth and industrialization. It also brought about a movement of groups of the local population to seek a removal of these Western influences. Here is a timeline of pertinent
A TIMELINE OF EVENTS THAT MARKED THE VIETNAM WAR Read More »
In Ancient Rome in the year 68 A.D. the emperor Nero committed suicide. A civil war followed, and Titus Flavius Vespasianus rose to the top and became the emperor Vespasian. One of Nero’s generals, Vespasian was the first of a dynasty of three emperors including his two sons: Titus and Domitian. The rise of the
WHAT WAS THE ARCHETYPE OF TODAY’S FOOTBALL STADIUMS? Read More »
In 1803, President Jefferson negotiated a major land transaction with the First French Republic and its First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. Known as the Louisiana Purchase, the land acquisition nearly doubled the territory of the United States, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. Jefferson sent a military expedition to explore this territory and
WHAT WAS THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION? Read More »
Is inflation over? Will interest rates be coming down soon? Some economists reading their stat sheets and perhaps their tea leaves are pointing to future trends that will be bringing inflation in many of the G7 countries under control by the end of the year. However, central bankers have thrown a damp towel over investor
INFLATION AND HIGH INTEREST RATES MAY BE HERE FOR A WHILE Read More »
Since the famous ship sank in April, 1912, there have been at least seventeen attempts to put together an expedition to find the wreck. Many of these attempts seemed credible at the time, but most of them failed owing to a lack of funding. Finally, after failing to find the sunken ship in a 1977
THE TITANIC PART II: DISCOVERING THE WRECKAGE Read More »
Recent headlines have pointed to the apparent use of espionage balloons by the Chinese over U.S. airspace. Other parts of the world, including Latin America and China itself, have reported sightings of high-flying balloons drifting over their airspace. All these balloons may or may not have been involved with espionage, but they did demonstrate the
WHO WERE THE FIRST TO USE BALLOONS FOR ESPIONAGE? Read More »
Much has been made in the media lately about classified government documents turning up in the homes and offices of two presidents and one vice-president. These documents were supposed to be turned over to the National Archives for proper retention and disposition after their use. The handling and retention of classified documents in a special
HOW IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS ARE CLASSIFIED Read More »
He’s been called the world’s greatest lover. He was certainly a major womanizer, having over a hundred affairs with different women. In many cases his partners were what would be considered underage by today’s standards, and some of his liaisons involved women who were emotionally or psychologically unstable. He was an adventurer looking for pleasure
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GIACOMO CASANOVA Read More »