The Oppenheimer security hearing, conducted by the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in 1954, explored the background, actions and associations of J. Robert Oppenheimer (pictured). He had headed the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II, playing a key part in the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb. Doubts about Oppenheimer's loyalty dated back to the 1930s, when he was associated with Communist Party USA members, including his wife Katherine. He was involved in disputes over the types of nuclear weapons the country required, technical disputes over the feasibility of the hydrogen bomb, and personal conflict with AEC commissioner Lewis Strauss. The panel found that he was loyal and discreet, but did not recommend that he regain his security clearance. This ended his role in government, and he became an academic exile, cut off from his former career and the world he had helped to create. The findings were seen as fair by some and as an expression of McCarthyism by others.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppenheimer_security_hearing

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1948:

The Finnish Security Police was established to remove communist leadership from its predecessor, the State Police. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Security_Intelligence_Service

1967:

Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming near Portsea, Victoria; his body was never recovered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Harold_Holt

1970:

Polish soldiers fired at workers (memorial pictured) emerging from trains in Gdynia, beginning the government's crackdown on mass anti-communist protests across the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Polish_protests

2010:

Arab Spring: Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire in protest against police harassment, triggering the Tunisian Revolution. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Bouazizi

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

croon: 1. (transitive) 2. To hum or sing (a song or tune), or to speak (words), softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing (a popular song) in a low, mellow voice. 3. To soothe (a person or an animal) by singing softly. 4. (intransitive) 5. To hum or sing, or to speak, softly in a low pitch or in a sentimental manner; specifically, to sing a popular song in a low, mellow voice. 6. (Northern England, Scotland) To lament, to moan. 7. (Northern England, Scotland) To make a continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; to bellow, to low; also, of a large bell: to make a low-pitched sound. 8. A soft, low-pitched sound; specifically, a soft or sentimental hum, song, or tune. 9. (Northern England, Scotland) A continuous hollow low-pitched moan, as of cattle; a bellow; also, a low-pitched sound of a large bell. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/croon

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Do you know how many children have died in Gaza in this last war? More than 3,000. It is incredible, but it is the reality … And in Ukraine there are more than 500, and in Yemen, in years of war, thousands … Their memory leads us to be ourselves lights for the world, to touch the hearts of many people, especially those who can stop the whirlwind of violence.   --Pope Francis https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pope_Francis