Random News and Notes 7 October

On this date:

• 1571 – In the last great clash of galleys, the Ottoman navy is defeated at Lepanto, Greece, by a Christian naval coalition under the overall command of Spain’s Don Juan de Austria.
• 1765 – elegates from nine of the American colonies meet in New York to discuss the Stamp Act Crisis and colonial response to it.
• 1780 – During the American Revolution, Patriot irregulars under Colonel William Campbell defeat Tories under Major Patrick Ferguson at the Battle of King’s Mountain.
• 1849 – Edgar Allan Poe, aged 40, dies a tragic death in Baltimore. Never able to overcome his drinking habits, he was found in a delirious condition outside a saloon that was used as a voting place.

• 1864 – A Confederate attempt to regain ground that had been lost around Richmond, Virginia, is thwarted when Union troops turn back General Robert E. Lee’s assault at Darbytown Road.
• 1870 – French Minister of the Interior Leon Gambetta escapes besieged Paris by balloon, reaching the French provisional government in Tours.
• 1913 – In attempting to find ways to lower the cost of the automobile and make it more affordable to ordinary Americans, Henry Ford took note of the work of efficiency experts like Frederick Taylor, the “father of scientific management.” The result was the assembly line that reduced the time it took to manufacture a car, from 12 hours to 93 minutes.
• 1943 – Rear Adm. Shigematsu Sakaibara, commander of the Japanese garrison on the island, orders the execution of 98 Americans POWs, claiming they were trying to make radio contact with U.S. forces.
• 1944 – Prisoner uprising at Birkenau concentration camp.
• 1949 – Der Deutsche Demokratische Republik is formed. The Soviet satellite state would remain until reunification with West Germany on 3 Oct 1990.
• 1949 – Iva Toguri D’Aquino, better known as Tokyo Rose, is sentenced to 10 years in prison for treason.
• 1957 – A fire in the Windscale plutonium production reactor (later called Sellafield) north of Liverpool, England, spreads radioactive iodine and polonium through the countryside and into the Irish Sea. Livestock in the immediate area were destroyed, along with 500,000 gallons of milk. At least 30, and possibly as many as 1,000, cancer deaths were subsequently linked to the accident.

• 1976 – Hua Guofeng, premier of the People’s Republic of China, succeeds the late Mao Zedong as chairman of the Communist Party of China.
• 1985 – Four Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) hijackers seize the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro and demand the release of 50 Palestinians held by Israel.
• 1993 – The Great Flood of 1993 on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers ends, the worst US flood since 1927.
• 1996 – Fox News Channel begins broadcasting.
• 2001 – US invasion of Afghanistan in reaction to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 begins; it will become the longest war in US history.
• 2003 – California voters remove Democratic governor Gray Davis from office in the state’s first successful recall of a sitting governor (only the second successful recall of a governor in US history); a Republican candidate, bodybuilder/actor Arnold Schwarzenegger wins the election to replace Davis 17 days later.
• 2023 – Hamas launches an attack on Israel by land, sea and air, killing nearly 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals, and taking about 250 hostages into Gaza. Z”L.

In case some of you haven’t seen this one, the Army has set the date, time and method for the execution of the Fort Hood shooter. Acting Secretary of the Army Adam Telle confirmed the execution by U.S. Army firing squad at 1300 CT, 3 December. This marks the military’s first execution since 1961 and the first Army firing squad since World War II. President Trump approved the method on recommendation from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

I have to ask, is the Army taking volunteers? Cuz✋ And I still fit in my uniform.

A Baltimore youth stole a car and hit and killed a cyclist on 30 September. Why am I telling you? He is not being charged. Like at all. The crash happened around 1 p.m. on September 30 at North Dukeland Street and West North Avenue; video captured the car swinging around a stopped vehicle before fatally hitting Wright, who later died in the hospital. The boy and his 15-year-old female passenger fled, but police found them nearby—the girl now faces motor vehicle theft charges at juvenile detention, while the driver, under 13, received only a supervision referral. I’ll let you guess the races of those involved.

We don’t have to live like this.

Janieka Amber Marie Ellington, 35, from Steilacoom Washington, faces six counts of first-degree attempted murder after she caused a crash near DuPont on Monday. She then pursued her 9- and 15-year-old daughters with a knife, trying to stab them. The younger suffered broken bones and a stab wound before two uniformed soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and a combat medic disarmed and restrained her until troopers arrived.

The WSP sergeant on the case said that if those soldiers hadn’t stepped in, “we can assume the worst.” Troopers say she’ll be booked on suspicion of DUI, vehicular assault, and first degree assault once she’s released.

This one is kinda funny. On 5 October, 67-year-old Lorraine Wilkerson of North Vernon Indiana allegedly drove her car in continuous doughnuts on the courthouse grass while intoxicated. She faces misdemeanor charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and having a blood alcohol level of .08 or more, then was released on bond.

The sheriff’s office shared the video online with a clear message: if you’ve had too many drinks, don’t drive—especially not onto the courthouse lawn—and always plan a safe ride home.

A quick note about the potential pneumonic plague outbreak in Russia. Do not take everything you read at face value. I am seeing a lot of posts on SocMed that are intended to induce panic. Most of them can be traced to a couple of sources with a bit of effort. Take this one for example:

Exact same wording, all posted within hours of each other. There are indications that particular message is being amplified via bot farms. Do I know for sure, no, but my confidence interval is north of 80%. Regardless, no lockdown has occurred in Leningrad today and it doesn’t look like one is on tap any time soon.

Now a bit about the plague itself. Yersinia pestis infections, whether pneumonic or bubonic, are relatively easy to treat when they are caught early. Both types respond to common antibiotics. The issue is the very short incubation time for both. If antibiotics are not administered within a day or two of symptoms appearing, pneumonic plague is nearly 100% fatal. You can read more about Y. pestis infections here:

https://www.cdc.gov/plague/signs-symptoms/index.html

Incidentally, if you ever come across a news item but aren’t sure about the accuracy or provenance, hit me up. I enjoy chasing down stuff like that.