Modern History (1800 – present)

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Re: Modern History (1800 – present)

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I learned BASIC when I was 9-10 years old, which would have been the late 1980s.

It was incredibly simple to learn. I made my own games (although they were pretty, er... basic).


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Re: Modern History (1800 – present)

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Hello world!
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Henry Kissinger at 100: Still a War Criminal
by David Corn
May 25 , 2023

Introduction:
(Mother Jones) Henry Kissinger is turning 100 this week, and his centennial is prompting assorted hosannas about perhaps the most influential American foreign policymaker of the 20th century.

The Economist observed that “his ideas have been circling back into relevancy for the last quarter century.” The Times of London ran an appreciation: “Henry Kissinger at 100: What He Can Tell Us About the World.” Policy shops and think tanks have held conferences to mark this milestone. CBS News aired a mostly fawning interview veteran journalist Ted Koppel conducted with Kissinger that included merely a glancing reference to the ignoble and bloody episodes of his career. Kissinger is indeed a monumental figure who shaped much of the past 50 years. He brokered the US opening to China and pursued detente with the Soviet Union during his stints as President Richard Nixon’s national security adviser and secretary of state. Yet it is an insult to history that he is not equally known and regarded for his many acts of treachery—secret bombings, coup-plotting, supporting military juntas—that resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands.

Kissinger’s diplomatic conniving led to or enabled slaughters around the globe. As he blows out all those candles, let’s call the roll.

Cambodia: In early 1969…

Bangladesh: In 1970…

Chile: Nixon and Kissinger plotted to covertly thwart the democratic election of socialist president Salvador Allende in 1970…

East Timor: In December 1975…

Argentina: In March 1976…

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2 ... riminal/
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Historic Great Plains Bison Slaughter Had Surprising Lasting Consequences for Native Americans
by Dr. Russell Moul
May 26, 2023

Introduction:
(IFL Science) Prior to the decline in the number of bison, the bison-reliant Indigenous populations were among the most well-off people on the American continent. There has been significant academic research to suggest that their living standards were equal to if not better than their European contemporaries. But the loss of the bison had substantial and lasting negative effects on these people.

It was well known at the time that communities of Native Americans faced significant malnutrition and hunger due to the loss of these animals. There is evidence that they had to resort to eating horses, mules, soiled food, and even old clothing to prevent starvation. The loss of this resource represented a loss in livelihoods and stability that had lasted for centuries.

According to a recent paper written by Donn L. Feir, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Victoria, and colleagues, the bison-reliant societies experienced a 2–3 centimeter (0.8–1.2 inch) decline in height relative to other Native American nations that were not dependent on the animals. This effectively eliminated a height advantage that had been present before the slaughter.

The data for this was collected by the physical anthropologist Franz Boas between 1889 and 1903, who recorded the height, gender, and age of nearly 9,000 Native Americans.

The team have also shown that the elimination of bison resulted in substantially higher rates of child mortality (nearly 16 percent higher) in the early part of the 20th century.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/historic-gr ... ns-69120
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Special Forces Parachuted With Nukes Strapped To Them During The Cold War
by Oliver Parken
June 9, 2023

Introduction:
(The Drive) For U.S. special operations personnel, conducting high-altitude parachute jumps are pretty much par for the course. Yet doing so with a nuclear bomb strapped between your legs is on an entirely different level.

That’s exactly what can be seen in the top shot above. Here, a U.S. Army Special Forces paratrooper is pictured free-falling during a training exercise with a Special Atomic Demolition Munition, or SADM, harnessed to them. A form of atomic demolition munition (ADM), SADMs were man-portable nuclear weapons, also known as "backpack nukes." These munitions were fitted into specially designed hard/cloth carrying cases for their transportation on the backs (or between the legs) of special operators. SADMs weighed in the region of 150 pounds, with their warheads – the W-54/B-54 – contributing around 50-55 pounds. SADMs were extremely small, just 24 inches long by 16 inches wide.

But why did special operations personnel train with these munitions? In order to unpack this question, we need to look back to the 1950s and 1960s when the U.S. began to diversify its nuclear weapons capabilities.

The atomic blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 imparted a level of devastation never before seen in the history of human conflict. Just a few years later, the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb in August 1949, codenamed “Joe-1” by the U.S. While the U.S. military conducted further tests of such weapons into the early part of the Cold War, a broader view emerged that smaller nuclear weapons for limited tactical purposes would likely prove critical for operations on the ground in future conflicts.

Indeed, the idea of using tactical nuclear weapons in a possible conflict involving the Soviet Union became an important component of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s ‘New Look’ policy during the early to mid 1950s and into the early 1960s. As such, scientists and technicians at the Los Alamos and Sandia nuclear weapons laboratories began miniaturizing the size of the warheads used in nuclear weapons.

Read more here: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ ... -cold-war


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In 1856 a Woman Climate Scientist Concluded that Elevated Carbon Dioxide in Our Atmosphere Would Have a Warming Effect
by Doris Elín Urrutia
July 17, 2023

Introduction:
(Inverse) Monday’s Google Doodle celebrates the life of Eunice Newton Foote, the woman who published the earliest-known scientific paper about climate change.

In 1856, Foote performed a simple but revolutionary experiment. She took two flasks, used an air pump to manipulate their moisture content and air density, and when they reached the same temperature, she set them in the Sun, then moved them to the shade. What makes her work so important almost two centuries later is that, in one round, she saw what would happen when the Sun shined on a flask containing carbon dioxide.

After two to three minutes had passed, Foote recorded the temperatures of her flasks. Across all her setups, she found that the round containing carbon dioxide registered the warmest temperature, and took the longest to cool down.

“An atmosphere of that gas would give to our Earth a high temperature,” Foote wrote in her study.
Read more here: https://www.inverse.com/science/google ... ailblazer
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Japan-South Korea Forced Labour ‘Deal’ Is Part of a Struggle to Heal Old Wounds
by Jinsung Kim
July 20, 2023

Introduction:
(Eurasia Review) On 15 March 2023, the South Korean government announced its plan to strike a ‘deal’ with the Japanese government regarding forced labour during Japan’s colonial period (1910–1945). Under the proposed arrangement, South Korean companies as the third party that benefited from Japanese economic cooperation in the past would provide compensation to the victims of forced labour.

As of 7 May 2023, 10 bereaved families of the labourers and one forced labourer have accepted the proposal. It is anticipated that this number will continue to rise.

The announcement stirred various responses, with some scholars criticising the plan for leaving many questions unresolved. But both the South Korean and Japanese governments anticipate that this plan will improve bilateral relations and help resolve some diplomatic conflicts. Still, the deal faces historical challenges from its inception, bolstering South Korean opposition.

The plan may reinforce Japanese politicians’ ongoing attempts to distort the history of Japan’s colonial rule over Korea. Prominent Japanese political leaders have consistently denied the Japanese Empire’s responsibility for war crimes and exploitation during the colonial period. Despite offering official apologies as prime minister, Shinzo Abe refused to accept Japan’s accountability, arguing that the ‘definition of aggression’ had not been established in 2013. Abe frequently contradicted his official statements through personal remarks, perpetuating the denial.

The Japanese government has also sought to glorify the past and conceal the dark history of Japan’s colonial rule. In 2015, the Japanese government succeeded in designating Hashima Island — also known as Battleship Island — as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The exhibit hall on Hashima Island primarily emphasises its contribution to Japan’s modernisation and rapid industrialisation, neglecting the forced labour endured by approximately 60,000 conscripted Korean workers. This stark contrast raises questions about the Japanese government’s commitmentto addressing forced labour issues as stated in its UNESCO application.
Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/20072023 ... analysis/
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