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>
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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>
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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>
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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>