PROFILES IN
POMPOUS PROFLIGACY
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Joshua 6 |
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The Fall
of Jericho |
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1 Now,
the gates of Jericho were tightly shut, because the people were afraid of the
Yisra’elites. No one was allowed to
go out or in. |
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2 But,
the LORD said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king and all its
strong warriors. |
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3 You
and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. |
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4 Seven
priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day, you are to march
around the town seven times with the priests blowing the horns. |
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5 When
you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the
people shout as loud as they can.
Then the walls of the town will collapse and the people can charge
straight into the town.” |
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6 So, Joshua called together the priests and
said, “Take up the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant and assign seven priests to
walk in front of it, each carrying a ram’s horn.” |
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7 Then he gave orders to the people: “March
around the town and the armed men will lead the way in front of the Ark of
the LORD.” |
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8 After Joshua spoke to the people, the seven
priests with the rams’ horns started marching in the presence of the LORD,
blowing the horns as they marched; and the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant
followed behind them. |
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9 Some of the armed men marched in front of the
priests with the horns and some behind the Ark, with the priests continually
blowing the horns. |
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10 “Do not shout, do not even talk,” Joshua
commanded. “Not a single word from
any of you until I tell you to shout.
Then shout!” |
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11 So, the Ark of the LORD was carried around the
town once that day; and then everyone returned to spend the night in the
camp. |
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12 Joshua got up early the next morning and the priests
again carried the Ark of the LORD. |
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13 The seven priests with the rams’ horns marched
in front of the Ark of the LORD, blowing the horns. Again the armed men marched both in front of the priests with
the horns and behind the Ark of the LORD.
All this time the priests were blowing the horns. |
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14 On the second day, they again marched around
the town once and returned to the camp.
They followed this pattern for six days. |
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15 On the seventh day, the Yisra’elites got up at
dawn and marched around the town as they had done before. But this time, they went around the town
seven times. |
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16 The seventh time around, as the priests
sounded the long blast on the horns, Joshua commanded the people,
“Shout! For the LORD has given you the
town!” |
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17 Jericho and everything in it must be
completely destroyed as an offering to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and the others in her house will be
spared, for she protected our spies. |
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18 “Do not take any of the things set apart for
destruction or you yourselves will be completely destroyed and you will bring
trouble on the camp of Yisra’el. |
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19 Everything made from silver, gold, bronze or
iron is sacred to the LORD and must be brought into his treasury.” |
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20 When the people heard the sound of the rams’
horns, they shouted as loud as they could.
Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed and the Yisra’elites charged
straight into the town and captured it. |
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21 They completely destroyed everything in it with
their swords – men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, goats and
donkeys. |
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22 Meanwhile, Joshua said to the two spies, “Keep
your promise. Go to the prostitute’s
house and bring her out, along with all of her family.” |
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23 The men who had been spies went in and brought
out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers and all the other relatives who were
with her. They moved her whole family
to a safe place near the camp of Yisra’el. |
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24 Then the Yisra’elites burned the town and
everything in it. Only the things
made from silver, gold, bronze or iron were kept for the treasury of the
LORD’s house. |
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25 So, Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her
relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies that
Joshua had sent to Jericho; and she lives among the Yisra’elites to this day. |
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26 At
that time Joshua invoked this curse: “May
the curse of the LORD fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of
Jericho. At
the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At
the cost of his youngest son, he will set up its gates.” |
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27 So, the LORD was with Joshua and his
reputation spread throughout the land. |
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1572 August 24 |
“Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre”. Catholic mob violence across France
begins, lasting for several months, killing 5,000 Huguenots. |
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1724 December 7 |
“Blood Bath of Toruń” Polska authorities execute city's mayor and 9 other Lutheran
officials following tensions between Catholics and Protestants. |
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1781 November 29 |
“Zong
Massacre” The crew of the overcrowded Britain slave ship Zong murdered 133 Africa
slaves by dumping them into the sea in order to claim insurance. |
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1782 March 8 |
“Gnadenhutten
Massacre” “Moravian Massacre”. American
militia from Pennsylvania kill 96 Christian Native Americans near
Gnadenhutten, Ohio as they knelt, their skulls crushed with mallets. In all, 28 men, 29 women and 39 children
were murdered and scalped. |
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1798 July 14 |
John Adams,
2nd president of United States, signs Sedition Act limiting free
speech. 10 people are convicted. |
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Thomas Jefferson,
3rd president of United States, proposes removal of Native Americans whose homelands
are east of the Mississippi River and to relocate to lands in the west. |
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1819 August 16 |
“Peterloo Massacre”. Cavalry
charges into crowd gathered at meeting at Saint Peter's Field, Manchester,
England to demand the reform of parliamentary representation, killing 15,
wounding 400 civilians. |
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1829 December 8 |
Andrew Jackson, 7th president of
United States, in his State of the Union message, calls for an
Indian Removal Act. |
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1830 May 26 |
Andrew Jackson,
7th president of United States,
signs into law Indian Removal Act to implement removal of Native Americans whose
homelands are
east of the Mississippi River. 46,000
Native Americans are forced to relocate to lands in the west. 4,000 die of cold, hunger and disease on
the way. |
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1857 September 7-11 |
“Mountain Meadow Massacre”. Mormons give Arkansas farming families known as the Baker‑Fancher
party, traveling from Arkansas to California, misguided directions that lead
down a dead end meadow in Washington County, Utah, United States along
the portion of the Old Spanish Trail that becomes the overland wagon road to
California. Mormon militia attack
party, force them to surrender their weapons and march in single file back up
the meadow. Once the escort is
underway, a call of “Do your duty!” is given, whereupon Mormon militia open
fire, killing entire wagon train of 120 unarmed men, women and children. Two young girls, out picking flowers, are
spared and raised by Mormon families. |
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1861 April 27 |
Abraham Lincoln,
16th president of United States, suspends habeas corpus, the right that
safeguards the individual’s freedom from arbitrary government imprisonment
without a trial. |
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1864 November 29 |
“Sand Creek Massacre”
A 700-man Colorado Territory militia
attack a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho, killing 133 Cheyenne and Arapaho
men, women, and children. |
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1897 September 10 |
“Lattimer Massacre”.
Sheriff’s posse fires upon peaceful labor demonstration near Hazleton,
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, killing 19 unarmed
immigrant miners. |
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1905 January 22 |
“Bloody Sunday”. Imperial guards open fire on peaceful demonstrators outside the Winter Palace at Saint Petersburg,
Rossiya, killing 596, wounding 333 civilians. |
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World War I 1914 – 1918 |
Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill,
first lord of the admiralty. His plan
causes 44,072 Allied soldiers to be killed at Gelibolu, Türkiye within a ten
month interval. |
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1914 April 20 |
“Ludlow Massacre”. Colorado National Guard attacks tent
colony of 1,200 unarmed striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow,
Colorado, United States,
killing 6 miners, 2 women and 12 children. |
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1915 April 24 |
“Armenian
Genocide” begins at Constantinople with the arrest and deportation of 250
prominent Armenians. The total number of Armenian deaths in Ottoman Empire is
generally held to be between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000. |
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1917 June 15 |
Thomas Woodrow Wilson,
28th president of United States, signs Espionage Act limiting free
speech. Anyone could be and is
arrested for speaking out against the war, conscription or Wilson’s policies. |
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1918 May 16 |
Thomas Woodrow Wilson,
28th president of United States, signs Sedition Act limiting free
speech. It forbids the use of “disloyal, profane, scurrilous
or abusive language” about the United States government, its flag, its armed
forces or that causes others to view the American government or its
institutions with contempt. The act
also allows the Postmaster General to refuse to deliver mail that meets those
same standards for punishable speech or opinion. It applies only to times “when the United States is at war.” It is repealed 1920 December 13. |
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1919 April 13 |
“Jallianwala Bagh Massacre” “Amritsar Massacre”. Britain and Gurkha troops (Dyer) open fire on peaceful political gathering at Amritsar, Punjab Province, killing 1000, wounding 1800 Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. |
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1935 June 18 |
Britain signs secret naval pact with Nazis. |
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1938 September 15 |
Arthur Neville Chamberlain,
prime minister of Britain, meets with Adolph Hitler at Berchtesgaden,
Deutschland and asks if Nazis would be satisfied by the cession to them of
Sudetenland, Československá. |
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1938 September 18 |
Édouard Daladier,
prime minister of France, and Georges‑Étienne Bonnet meet with Hitler at
Berchtesgaden and agree to the cession to Nazis of Sudetenland,
Československá. |
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1938 September 22 |
Chamberlain meets with Hitler
at Godesberg to confirm agreement regarding the cession to
Nazis of Sudetenland, Československá. |
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1938 September 26 |
Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
32nd president of United States, appeals to Hitler to negotiate with
Europeans regarding Sudetenland, Československá. |
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1938 September 29 |
Conference and Pact at
München, Deutschland cedes Sudetenland, Československá to Nazis. Chamberlain signs for Britain. Daladier signs for
France. |
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World War II 1939 – 1945 |
Britain deciphers Nippon Naval
Code JN-25. Does not give to
United States. |
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1940 September 25 |
United States
cryptanalysts crack most secret code of Nippon that Tokyo uses to communicate
with its embassies and consulates, including those in Washington DC and
Honolulu, Hawai’i. The code, known as
“Purple”, is so complex that it is enciphered and deciphered by machine. United States cryptanalysts devise
facsimiles of the Nippon machines.
Utilized by the intelligence sections of the United States War
and Navy Departments, these swiftly reveal Tokyo's secret diplomatic
messages. The deciphered texts are
nicknamed “Magic”. Copies of Magic are always
promptly delivered in locked pouches to Roosevelt, the Secretaries of State,
War and Navy. They also are sent to
Army Chief of Staff General George Catlett Marshall and the Chief
of Naval Operations Admiral Harold Rainsford Stark. A Purple decoding machine
is sent to our military in the Philippines and three are allotted to
Britain. None are sent to Pearl
Harbor, Hawai’i. Intercepts of Nippon
ciphered messages radioed between Tokyo and its Honolulu, Hawai’i consulate
have to be sent to Washington DC for decrypting. The Hawai’i commanders,
Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel and General
Walter Campbell Short, are at the mercy of Washington DC for
feedback. A request for their own
decoding machine is rebuffed on the grounds that diplomatic traffic is not of
sufficient interest to soldiers. |
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1941 January 27 |
United States
ambassador to Nippon Joseph Grew sends message to Washington DC,
“The Peru minister has informed a member of my staff that he has heard from
many sources, including a Nippon source, that in the event of trouble
breaking out between the United States and Nippon, Nippon intends to
make a surprise attack against Pearl Harbor, Hawai’i with all of their
strength.” |
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1941 July 26 |
United States freezes assets of Nippon. |
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1941 September 4 |
United States closes Panama Canal to Nippon shipping. |
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1941 October 16 |
After meeting with
Roosevelt, United States Secretary of War Henry Lewis Stimson
writes in his diary, “We face the delicate question of the diplomatic fencing
to be done so as to be sure Nippon is put into the wrong and makes the first
bad move – overt move.” |
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1941 November 5 |
Tokyo notifies its
Washington DC ambassadors that November 25th will be the deadline for an
agreement with United States. |
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1941 November 11 |
Tokyo notifies its
Washington DC ambassadors, “They were warned, the situation is nearing a
climax and time is getting short.” |
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1941 November 16 |
Tokyo notifies its
Washington DC ambassadors that the deadline is moved ahead to November
29th. “This new deadline absolutely
cannot be changed. After that, things
are automatically going to happen.” |
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1941 November 25 |
Roosevelt confers with
Stimson and other advisors. Stimson
writes in his diary, “The question was how we should maneuver them [Nippon]
into the position of firing the first shot.”
“Roosevelt said that Nippon was notorious for making an attack without
warning and stated that we might be attacked, say next Monday, for example.” Hawai’i is not
warned. It did not require a genius
to diagnose the situation. On three
different occasions since 1894, Nippon had made surprise attacks coinciding
with breaks in diplomatic relations.
This history is not lost on Roosevelt. Nor was it lost on United States senior military officers,
all of whom were War College graduates. |
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1941 November 26 |
United States and
Nippon diplomats begin conferences.
United States delivers ultimatum demanding, as prerequisites to
resumed trade, that Nippon withdraw all troops from China and Indochina and
abrogate its Tripartite Treaty with Deutschland and Italia. |
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1941 November 28 |
Tokyo notifies its
Washington DC ambassadors that a rupture in negotiations is
“inevitable”, but the leaders in Nippon “do not wish you to give the
impression that negotiations are broken off.” |
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1941 November 30 |
Tokyo directs its Berlin
embassy to inform the Nazis that “the breaking out of war may come quicker
than anyone dreams.” |
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1941 December 1 |
Tokyo notifies its
Washington DC ambassadors that the deadline is again moved ahead. “To prevent the United States from
becoming unduly suspicious, we have been advising the press and others that
the negotiations are continuing.” |
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1941 December 2 |
Tokyo directs its
embassies in non-Axis nations around the world to dispose of their secret
documents and all but one copy of their codes; and that, if a break in
United States relations are forthcoming, Tokyo would issue a special
radio warning. This would not be in
the Purple code, as it was intended to reach consulates and lesser agencies
of Nippon not equipped with the code or one of its machines. The message, to be repeated three times
during a weather report, was “higashi no kaze ame”, meaning “east wind rain”;
“east wind” signified the United States, “rain” signified a diplomatic
split – in effect, war. The prospect
of this message was deemed so significant that United States radio
monitors were on constant watch for it and the United States Navy
Department typed it up on special reminder cards. |
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1941 December 4 |
The message “higashi no
kaze ame” is broadcast and picked up by Washington DC intelligence. Using the Purple code,
Tokyo sends a formal statement to its Washington DC ambassadors. It is to be conveyed to the
United States Secretary of State on Sunday, December 7th. The statement terminates relations and is
tantamount to a declaration of war. |
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1941 December 6 |
Britain declares war against Suomi. |
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1941 December 6 |
The United States War
and Navy departments have already decrypted the first 13 parts of this
14-part message. Although the final passage
officially severing ties had not yet come through, the fiery wording made its
meaning obvious. Later that day, when
Roosevelt receives his copy of the intercept, he is heard to say to his
advisor Harry Lloyd Hopkins, “This means war.” |
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1941 December 7 |
On the morning, the final
portion of the Nippon lengthy message to the United States government is
decoded. Tokyo adds two special
directives to its ambassadors. The
first directive, which the message calls “very important”, is to deliver the
statement at 1:00 PM. The second
directive orders that the last copy of the code and the machine that went
with it be destroyed. The gravity of
this is immediately recognized by the United States Navy
Department. Nippon has a long history
of synchronizing attacks with breaks in relations. Sunday is an abnormal day to deliver diplomatic messages, but
the best one for trying to catch United States armed forces at low
vigilance; and 1:00 PM in Washington DC is 7:00 AM in Hawai’i. Nippon
naval strike force (Yamamoto) attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawai’i and declares war
on United States and Britain. |
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1942 January 1 |
Britain Raj
authorities arrest Mahatma Gandhi and various leaders of the Congress Party,
beginning the suppression of the Bhārat Chhodo Andolan. |
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1942 November 8 |
“Operation Torch”. United States military forces invade
at Algiers and Oran.
United States does not notify Free France in advance and
consequently are resisted. |
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1942 November 8 |
Instead of landing near
Dar el Beida and proceeding overland, United States military
forces should have landed near Tunis in order to cut off Nazi military
forces. |
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1943 July 9-10 |
“Operation Husky”. United States military forces under
command of George Smith Patton, Jr. and Britain military
forces under command of Bernard Law Montgomery invade southern
Sicilia. Should have landed near
Messina in order to cut off Nazi military forces. |
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1944 June 4 |
Allied military forces
liberate Roma, Italia. Should have cut
off retreating Nazi military forces instead. |
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1944 June 6 |
“Operation Overlord” “D-Day”. Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme
Allied Commander of Expeditionary Forces.
Bernard Law Montgomery, commander of Britain Army Group with
operational control of all Allied land military forces during initial phase
of Overlord.
Omar Nelson Bradley, commanding general of
United States land military forces for invasion of Europe. Allied invasion of Normandy begins. |
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1944 June 6 |
“Operation Neptune”. All Allied naval ships should have been
ordered to turn broadside and shell beaches for two hours prior to landing of
military forces. Montgomery had made
such an order for Britain military forces.
When United States Navy determines status on beaches, they,
without orders, fire shells over heads of United States military forces. |
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1944 June 30 |
United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Suomi. |
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1944 July |
Bernard Law Montgomery,
general of Britain, poses for portrait painting in France. |
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1944 December 5 |
Britain soldiers clash with local resistance at Athēnai, Ellas. |
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1945 June 1 |
“Peggetz Massacre”. Britain soldiers kill 700 Cossacks in
Österreich in an attempt to force their repatriation to Sovyet zone. Britain says Cossacks were trampled or
committed suicide. |
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1945 September 2 |
Việt Nam
declares independence from France.
Harry Shippe Truman, 33rd president of United States,
refuses to recognize. |
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1945 September 19 |
Britain and France
military forces suppress Saigon, Việt Nam nationalists. |
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1945 September 29 |
Britain military forces suppress Java Isl, Indonesia nationalists. |
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1953 – 1961 |
Dwight David Eisenhower,
34th president of United States, sends military advisers to South
Việt Nam. |
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1953 August 19 |
“Covert Operation Ajax”. Britain and
United States intelligence agencies organize pro-monarchy coup to
overthrow the democratically elected government of Iran and Prime Minister
Mohammed Mossadegh and restore exiled dictator Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
to the throne. |
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1954 June 18 |
“Covert Operation PBSUCCESS”.
United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) organizes coup to
overthrow the democratically elected government of Guatemala and President
Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán. |
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1955 September 6-7 |
“Istanbul Pogrom (Riots)”.
Allegedly orchestrated by Demokrat Parti-government of Türkiye Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, an overwhelming Türkiye mob, most of them are trucked into
the city in advance, attacks ethnic Ellas (Greece) community at Istanbul for 9 hours,
killing 13, wounding 30 civilians, damaging more than 5,000 ethnic Ellas
owned homes and businesses. |
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1956 November 4 |
Sovyets send military
forces into Magyarország.
United States does nothing. |
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1960 March 21 |
Police at Sharpeville,
South Africa open fire on group of unarmed black demonstrators protesting
pass laws, killing 70, wounding 180 civilians. |
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1961 – 1963 |
John Fitzgerald Kennedy,
35th president of United States, sends soldiers to South
Việt Nam against advice of
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle, president of
France, and Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army of
United States. |
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1961 October 17 |
“Paris Massacré of 1961.” Préfecture de Police
(Papon) attack peaceful demonstration of 30,000 citizens protesting Al‑Jaza’ir War, killing between 40 and 200. |
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1968 August 20 |
Sovyets send military
forces into Československá.
United States does nothing. |
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1970 May 4 |
National Guard opens fire on students protesting
Việt Nam War and U. S. invasion of Cambodia at Kent State
University, Ohio, United States, killing 4, wounding 9. |
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1970 May 14 |
National Guard opens fire on students protesting
Việt Nam War and U. S. invasion of Cambodia at Jackson State
College, Mississippi, United States, killing 2, wounding 9. |
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1974 August 8 |
Richard Milhous Nixon,
37th president of United States, resigns after United States
House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes to recommend articles of
impeachment: obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of congress. |
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1977 – 1981 |
James Earl Carter, Jr.,
39th president of United States, gives away the Panama Canal. Will not let athletes of
United States participate at Moskva Olympics. Will not sell wheat to Rossiya, a market that is still lost to
United States farmers. Asks
Federal Reserve Board Chairperson Volcker to raise the discount rate which
intern raises interest rates. The
prime rate reaches 21.5%. Junk bonds
come on the market, savings and loans go broke, foreign countries are
impoverished trying to pay interest on their debts and the United States
Federal debt skyrockets. As a
preferential peanut farmer, he receives federal subsidies. Nonpreferential peanut farmers not only do
not receive these subsidies, they must sell their peanuts outside of the
United States. |
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1979 July 19 |
Sandinista
rebels in Nicaragua overthrow the United States backed Somoza family
dictatorship. |
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1981 – 1989 |
Ronald Wilson Reagan,
40th president of United States, believes in a strong dollar, free trade
and supply side economics. The
importation of illegal drugs increases.
United States Congress, in its final report on the
Iran-Contra affair, states that United States President
Ronald Wilson Reagan bore “ultimate responsibility” for wrongdoing
by his aides; and his administration exhibited “secrecy, deception and
disdain for the law.” |
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1981
December 11 |
“El Mozote Massacre”. El Salvador
soldiers kill an estimated 900 civilians. In 1992,
as part of the peace settlement established by the Chapultepec Peace Accords
signed at Mexico City on January 16 of that year, a United Nations (UN)
sanctioned Truth Commission investigating human rights abuses committed
during the war, supervised the exhumations of the El Mozote remains by
an Argentina team of forensic specialists on 1992 November 13-17. The
Salvadoran Minister of Defense and the Chief of the Armed Forces Joint Staff
informed the Truth Commission that they had no information that would make it
possible to identify the units and officers who participated in Operación
Rescate. They claimed that there were
no records for the period. |
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The Truth Commission Stated in its final report: |
There
is full proof that on 1981 December 11 at El Mozote, units of the
Atlacatl Battalion deliberately and systematically killed a group of more
than 200 men, women and children, constituting the entire civilian population
that they had found there the previous day and had since been holding
prisoner. |
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It added: |
There
is [also] sufficient evidence that in the days preceding and following the
El Mozote massacre, troops participating in “Operation Rescue” massacred
the non-combatant civilian population at
La Rancheria, Jocote Amatillo y Los Toriles, Cerro Pando
Canton and La Joya Canton. |
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1982 July 18 |
“Plan de Sánchez Massacre”. Guatemala military forces and their paramilitary
allies slaughter an estimated 250 Maya campesinos
at the village of Plan de Sánchez, Rabinal,
Btaja Verapaz. |
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1982 September 16 |
Christian Phalangists
(Hobeika) massacre 3000 Palestine refugees at Sabra and Shatila camps near
West Beirut, Lubnān. |
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1983 September 1 |
Sovyet jet
interceptors shoot down Korea Air Lines flight 007 from Anchorage to Seoul
near Sakhalin Island in North Pacific Ocean, killing all 246 passengers, 23
crew members. |
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1985 July 10 |
France
intelligence agents bomb and sink Greenpeace vessel
Rainbow Warrior I in New Zealand, killing 1 civilian. |
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1989 April 9 |
Sovyet Army (Rodionov,
Lebed) quashes anti-Sovyet demonstration at Tbilisi, Georgia, killing 20,
wounding 4,000 civilians. |
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1989 June 4 |
“Tienemen Square Massacre” in China. |
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Persian
Gulf War 1991 |
H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.,
general of United States, says that illness of Gulf War Veterans is all
in their minds. |
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Ruby Ridge, Idaho United States BACKGROUND |
Bureau
of Alchohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) agents use a confidential informant
to solicit Randy Weaver to saw off the barrels of two shotguns. It is disputed between the BATF and Weaver
as to who exactly shortened the barrels to below the minimum legal length of
18 inches. He fails to appear in
court to answer the charges, due to being told an incorrect date for the
hearing. It is not known why Weaver
was given the wrong court date and it has been explained away as a
typographical error. Even though they
were both made aware of the date ‘mix-up’, Judge Harold Ryan agrees with
United States Attorney Ron Howen and issues an arrest warrant for
Weaver. However, the
United States Marshals Service delays executing the warrant while,
according to official accounts, attempting to negotiate Weaver’s surrender
for more than a year, by sending messages through Weaver friend
Alan Jeppeson. Convinced it is a
government conspiracy against them, Weaver sends a letter to the Boundary
County Sheriff stating that he refuses to leave his property. Vicki Weaver sends letters to various
government agencies also stating they refuse to leave their property and
making threatening statements such as, “The tyrant’s blood shall flow” and
“Whether we live or die, we will not obey you…war is upon our land.” |
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1992 August 22 |
Several
armed United States Marshals go to the Randy Weaver property near
Ruby Ridge, Idaho to clandestinely survey it. The group has strict orders that they are to avoid all contact
with the Weaver family. According to
a Department of Justice report on the incident, the Marshals are detected by
the Weavers’ dogs and begin to retreat.
Randy Weaver, his 14-year-old son Sam and his house guest, family
friend Kevin Harris, leave the house to investigate, all carrying
firearms. The Department of Justice
report corroborates this with a statement dictated by Randy Weaver to
his daughter, in which he says that “Approximately 11:30 Friday morning...the
dogs started barking like they always do when strangers walk up the
driveway. Randy, Kevin [Harris]
and Sam ran out to the rock with their weapons.” Eventually the Marshals stop retreating and take up defensive
positions in the woods. During the
ensuing exchange of gunfire, Sam is fatally shot in the back and Harris
shoots and kills United States Marshal William Degan. The
next day, while Weaver, Harris and Weaver’s 16-year-old daughter are outside,
attempting to visit the dead body of Sam Weaver, which had been placed in a
shed after being recovered the previous day, FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi
shoots and wounds Weaver. As the
three people run back to the house, Horiuchi fires again in an attempt to
shoot Kevin Harris, but the shot goes through the open door of the cabin
killing Weaver’s wife Vicki and only wounding Harris. Vicki Weaver is holding a baby in her
hands when shot. Much controversy is
later generated by the fact that, after the first day’s events, the FBI has
changed the rules of engagement.
Specifically, that “deadly force could be used against any armed adult
male if the shot could be taken without a child being injured.” A
stand-off ensues for 10 days as several hundred federal agents surround the
house in which Weaver and his three surviving children remain with Harris and
the dead body of Vicki Weaver.
The FBI engages in psychological warfare, saying over a bullhorn such
things as “Good morning Mrs. Weaver, we had pancakes this morning, what
did you have for breakfast? Why don’t
you send your children out for some pancakes, Mrs. Weaver?” The FBI later maintains that they were
unaware that Vicki Weaver lay on the floor of the cabin, dead. The
area is surrounded by protesters angered at the heavy-handed nature of the
authorities' actions.
James “Bo” Gritz, then a third-party presidential candidate
who had formerly been Weaver’s commanding officer during the Vietnam War,
serves as a mediator between Weaver and the government. Eventually, Weaver elects to abandon the
stand-off and trust his case to the judicial system. |
|
OUTCOME |
At
his trial in 1993, Weaver faces an array of charges, including the original
weapons violations as well as murder.
He is represented by noted trial lawyer Gerald L. Spence. Spence successfully argues that
Weaver had acted in self-defense, winning Weaver's acquittal on all charges
except missing his original court date, for which he is sentenced to 18
months and fined $10,000. He is
credited with time served and spends an additional 3 months in prison. Harris is acquitted of all charges. At one point in the trial, the judge
admonishes the FBI for withholding name-clearing evidence. Later
investigations criticize the federal agents.
The United States Department of Justice's report recommends
criminal prosecution of federal agents, though nothing becomes of this. The surviving members of the Weaver family
receive a $3.1 million settlement. The
United States Senate in September 1995 holds hearings on the
Ruby Ridge incident and, in December, releases a report criticizing the
FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies. Idaho
State authorities indict Horiuchi for involuntary manslaughter, but the
indictment is removed to federal jurisdiction based on the Supremacy
Clause. The indictment is dismissed
first by the Federal District Court.
The dismissal is affirmed on appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals. The 9th Circuit Court states
in its ruling in State of Idaho v. Horiuchi (98-30149), “Horiuchi reasonably
believed that shooting Harris was necessary and proper under the
circumstances. Given the
circumstances at the time, Horiuchi made an objectively reasonable decision
and Horiuchi's testimony that he never saw Vicki Weaver and did not know
she was behind the door was not disputed.” |
|
Waco, Texas United States 1993 February 28 |
Bureau
of Alchohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) agents raid the Branch Davidian
ranch at Mount Carmel, a rural area near Waco, Texas. The raid results in the deaths of 4 agents
and 5 Davidians. The subsequent
51-day siege by the FBI ends on April 19 when fire completely consumes the
complex, killing 26 people, including Davidian leader David Koresh. Helicopters
have been obtained from the Texas National Guard on the false pretext that
there is a drug lab at Mount Carmel.
During the telephone calls between the FBI and David Koresh
throughout the siege, the government admits armed agents are shooting at
Davidians from the helicopters. During
the raid, a Davidian calls 911 pleading for them to stop shooting. The resident asks for a cease-fire and
audiotapes clearly catch him saying, “Here they come again!” in reference to
the helicopters, and “That’s them shooting, that’s not us!” The sheriff, in audiotapes broadcast after
the incident, says he was not apprised of the raid and did not know how to
contact the BATF agents involved. The
raid itself ends when the BATF runs out of ammunition and calls off their
attack. At
some point after they fail to rapidly secure the scene and retreat,
government officials establish contact with Koresh and others inside the
compound. The FBI takes command of
the scene soon after the initial raid, placing FBI Special Agent in Charge
(SAC) Jeff Jamar in charge of the siege. The tactical team is headed by Richard Rogers, whose
actions at the Ruby Ridge incident had been criticized earlier. |
|
1993 – 2001 |
William Jefferson Clinton,
42nd president of United States.
When asked about sexual affairs, a gentleman is supposed to say
“no”. His biggest mistake is
admitting the affair. If he had
ignored the grand jury subpoena, he would have been a hero to the citizens. If he cannot keep his sexual affairs a
secret, how can he keep secrets of military and certain affairs of
state? Gossip is also a sin, it is
the Republican Party’s persecution that puts the incident before the world
and its young citizens. The term
fellatio is never used by the media. |
|
1994 December 11 |
Rossiya
military forces invade Chechen. United States
does nothing. |
|
1995 November 10 |
Nigeria military government executes by hanging playwright
and environmental activist Ken Saro‑Wiwa and 8 others from the
Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People. |
|
2001 October 26 |
George Walker Bush,
43rd president of United States,
signs Patriot Act limiting free
speech, human rights and right to privacy. |
|
2005 September 12 |
Yisra’el military forces
complete withdrawal from Gaza after 38 years of occupation that had been
financed with $58 billion in United States foreign aid specifically
designated for military purposes. |
|
2006 September 25 |
United States
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld comes under siege from his own military
as he faces a growing rebellion over his handling of the Iraq war. Retired United States Army chiefs
break rank to demand Rumsfeld be fired, accusing him of bungling the invasion
and sending troops into battle with sub-standard equipment and hiding facts
from the public. One described
Rumsfeld as “incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically.” In the clearest sign yet of a disturbing
split between the White House and the military over the Iraq quagmire, the
army’s top serving officer, General Peter Schoomaker, clashes with
Rumsfeld over funding for the war.
The army’s chief of staff refuses to present his 2007 budget to
Pentagon leaders, claiming he needs at least an additional $15 billion
to maintain the current troop levels in Iraq. It is an unprecedented move and comes just a day after
United States spy chiefs turn on President Bush to claim the Iraq war
has fueled Islamic terrorism around the world, rather than lessened the
threat, as the administration has consistently claimed in recent months. |
|
PROFILES IN POMPOUS PROFLIGACY by Robert A. Kroboth www.citizengadfly.com Please
print and distribute copies of this publication and put this link on your web
site. |
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