Tag Archives: History

70 Years Ago — Hemingway Wins Nobel Prize (October 28 1954) [Was Hemingway pushed to suicide by the FBI?]

Posted on October 28, 2024 by L

“Hemingway may have said ‘yes’ to the Soviet recruitment pitch, but unless there is some additional trove of material in the NKVD archives that argues otherwise, it is clear Hemingway was never a productive Soviet agent.” CIA website — Intelligence … Continue reading →

Posted in Hemingway | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The CIA Memorial Wall : David Lee Konzelman (October 24, 1940 — October 24, 1971)

Posted on October 24, 2024 by L

“I heard one day that one of our local operations had gone awry, that a helicopter had been forced to make an emergency landing, hurting someone in the process. It turned out to be much worse than that. Dave had … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

On This Day — Soviet Union Launches SPUTNIK (October 4 1957)

Posted on October 4, 2024 by L

“On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the Sputnik-1 earth satellite into space—an achievement that stunned the American public and press, but not the U.S. policy and intelligence communities. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported the advancements that … Continue reading →

Posted in Sputnik | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

40 Years Ago — Stanislav Petrov Saves the World from Nuclear War (September 26 1983) [UPDATE]

Posted on September 26, 2024 by L

“The siren howled. But I just sat there for a few seconds, staring at the big, back-lit, red screen with the word ‘LAUNCH’ on it.” Colonel Stanislav Petrov September 26 2023 — On September 26 1983 — just three weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear False Alarm, Stanislav Petrov, This Day in History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reflection on the Role of the U.S. Vice Presidency

Posted on September 25, 2024 by L

“The vice presidency is not worth a bucket of warm piss.” John Nance Garner September 25, 2024 — Winter is coming soon, and I have decided to embark on a fun project: writing a short book on the early days … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

CIA Annual Ceremony — 50th Anniversary of the Memorial Wall (May 17, 2024) [UPDATE — Earliest known photo of the CIA Memorial Wall]

Posted on August 30, 2024 by L

“We never take for granted the safety of our people, and we go to great lengths to prepare for every eventuality. But danger is part of the job, and it has never deterred us from our vital mission…From our very … Continue reading →

Posted in CIA Book of Honor, CIA Memorial Wall | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

CIA Annual Ceremony — 50th Anniversary of the Memorial Wall (May 17, 2024) [UPDATE — PBS NewsHour : ‘Every star’s a life’: The personal stories behind the stars on the CIA Memorial Wall]

Posted on August 23, 2024 by L

“We never take for granted the safety of our people, and we go to great lengths to prepare for every eventuality. But danger is part of the job, and it has never deterred us from our vital mission…From our very … Continue reading →

Posted in CIA Book of Honor, CIA Memorial Wall | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

CIA Annual Ceremony — The Mystery of the Higos Four [And a surprising link to Havana Syndrome]

Posted on June 5, 2024 by L

“We never take for granted the safety of our people, and we go to great lengths to prepare for every eventuality. But danger is part of the job, and it has never deterred us from our vital mission…From our very … Continue reading →

Posted in CIA Memorial Wall, Havana Syndrome | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

On This Day — Italian Physicist Ettore Majorana vanishes (March 25, 1938) [What Elon Musk does not know…]

Posted on May 31, 2024 by L

“There are several categories of scientists in the world. Those of second or third rank do their best but never get very far. Next, there is the first rank, those who make important discoveries, fundamental to scientific progress. And then, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elon Musk, Ettore Majorana, Nuclear Physics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

CIA Annual Ceremony — 50th Anniversary of the Memorial Wall (May 17, 2024)

Posted on May 20, 2024 by L

“We never take for granted the safety of our people, and we go to great lengths to prepare for every eventuality. But danger is part of the job, and it has never deterred us from our vital mission…From our very … Continue reading →

Posted in CIA Book of Honor, CIA Memorial Wall | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment