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This article will cover world history events that had a significant impact on people and the entire planet.. 

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(The Last Hug) This happened on 29th of October 2013 in the Netherlands (in Ooltgensplaat to be more precise).

A crew of four was conducting routine maintenance to the 67 meter high turbine. They were in a gondola next to the turbine when a fire broke out. The fire quickly engulfed the only escape route (the stairs in the shaft), trapping two of the maintenance crew on top of the turbine. One of them jumped down and was found in a field next to the turbine. The other victim was found by a special firefighter team that ascended the turbine when the fire died down a bit. The cause of the fire is unknown, but is believed to be a short circuit. Firefighters are fairly powerless to do anything to fight fires on wind turbines, and due to high costs maintenance crews have limited means and training to escape an emergency situation.

The tragedy in Ooltgensplaat has lead to a political inquiry ('kamervragen' in dutch) into safety precautions for wind turbine maintenance crews. Could parachutes of saved there lives? What makes this incident even more gut wrenching is that the two engineers that died were only 19 and 21 years of age respectively.. Would a second set of stairs attached to the outer column have saved there lives.. The turbine was a 1.75 megawatt Vestas V-66.  Troublingly, these turbines are being sold by secondhand dealers online to buyers who may have no knowledge about the potential fire hazard. 

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Too bad they didn't have a rappel rig set up for this kind of emergency. Seems like there would be plenty of time to clip in, and get out of there. It's an easy enough skill to learn, and simple enough to set up.

With wind farms rapidly scaling up across the world, it is hard to find a measure of the number of birds being killed each year that will still be accurate, but Joel Merriman, a wind specialist at charity the American Bird Conservancy, modelled the death rate at the start of 2021. He accounted for the fact that many of the bird death studies were published earlier in the decade and the numbers will have increased since then. He also factored in that many deaths of smaller birds will escape the notice of studies. Merriman concludes that 1.17 million birds are killed by wind turbines in the US each year.

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A flock of barnacle geese flies past a wind farm in East Frisia, Germany. (Getty Images)

This is a lot of birds, but it is only 0.016% of the estimated 7.2 billion birds that live in the US. It is also significantly less than the 5–6.8 million killed each year by communication towers, the 60–80 million killed by automobiles, the 67–90 million killed by pesticides, or the 365 million to one billion killed by cats each year in the US, according to a study published in Nature.

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Canadian family physicians can expect to see increasing numbers of rural patients reporting adverse effects from exposure to industrial wind turbines (IWTs). People who live or work in close proximity to IWTs have experienced symptoms that include decreased quality of life, annoyance, stress, sleep disturbance, headache, anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction. Some have also felt anger, grief, or a sense of injustice. Suggested causes of symptoms include a combination of wind turbine noise, infrasound, dirty electricity, ground current, and shadow flicker. Family physicians should be aware that patients reporting adverse effects from IWTs might experience symptoms that are intense and pervasive and might feel further victimized by a lack of caregiver understanding.

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A wind turbine turns wind energy into electricity using the aerodynamic force from the rotor blades, which work like an airplane wing or helicopter rotor blade. When wind flows across the blade, the air pressure on one side of the blade decreases. The difference in air pressure across the two sides of the blade creates both lift and drag. The force of the lift is stronger than the drag and this causes the rotor to spin. The rotor connects to the generator, either directly (if it's a direct drive turbine) or through a shaft and a series of gears (a gearbox) that speed up the rotation and allow for a physically smaller generator. This translation of aerodynamic force to rotation of a generator creates electricity.

A nacelle is a cover housing that houses all of the generating components in a wind turbine, including the generator, gearbox, drive train, and brake assembly. A notable feature now found on some off-shore wind turbines is a large sturdy helicopter-hoisting platform built on top of the nacelle, capable of supporting service personnel and their tools, winched down to the platform from a helicopter hovering above it. Wind turbine rotors are stopped, feathered and locked before personnel are dropped down to or picked up from the platforms.

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The blaze at the wind turbine station in Isselburg, Germany started around 6am this morning (Picture: AP) Wind turbines catch fire at a rate of 1 in 1,710

The terrible fire that occured on 29th of October 2013 in the Netherlands (in Ooltgensplaat is not an isolated incident.. 

A wind turbine had caught fire around 6am this morning in the town of Isselburg in North Rhine-Westphalia Monday 29 Aug 2016  .

Forty emergency responders and six cars attended the scene but they were not able to tackle the 100m blaze because they didn’t have a long enough ladder. 

They were then forced to watch the turbine burn out itself and the rotor blades falling to the ground.

Investigators believe a lightning storm may have started the blaze on the turbine, which costs more than £2 million.

The damages are expected to cost several hundred thousand euros.

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Wind turbines catch fire for the same reasons as other heavy machinery – components inside the turbine fail, generating heat or sparks and igniting flammable materials such as plastics, resins, fiberglass and hydraulic lubricants. Most turbine fires originate in the nacelle, typically at three points of ignition: converter and capacitor cabinets, nacelle brake and transformer.

The most common location for an electrical fault in a wind turbine is the converter cabinets and capacitor cabinets in the nacelle. When an electrical fault produces an arc flash or sparks, surrounding plastics in the electrical cabinet can quickly ignite other sources resulting in total loss of a nacelle.

Offshore wind turbines are at particular risk of severe damage from fire, due to the remote nature of offshore project sites. Since many sites are situated at least 45 minutes from shore, in the event of a fire, an emergency response team is unlikely to arrive in time to prevent significant and irreparable damage. If I was an engineer working at the top of a wind turbine and a fire broke out, I would want to get down as quickly as possible.. Wind turbines burn quickly and if there is no fire suppression a serious accident is waiting to happen.. A 2020 article in Wind Power Engineering Magazine also estimates that 1 in 2,000 wind turbines catch fire each year. When a fire does occur, the typical action is to wait for it to burn out. Without suppressing the fire, significant structural damage and total loss result in nearly all cases (90%).

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 Elliot Rodger 

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The 2014 Isla Vista killings were two misogynistic terror attacks in Isla Vista, California. On the evening of Friday, May 23, when 22-year-old Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured fourteen others—by gunshot, stabbing and vehicle ramming near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), before fatally shooting himself. Rodger stabbed three men to death in his apartment, apparently one by one on their arrival. About three hours later, he drove to a sorority house and, after failing to get inside, shot three women outside, two of whom died. He next drove past a nearby deli and shot a male student inside to death. He then began to drive through Isla Vista, shooting and wounding several pedestrians from his car and striking several others with his car. He exchanged gunfire with police twice, and he was injured in the hip. After his car crashed into a parked vehicle, he was found dead inside with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

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January 20th 2014 - Elliot Rodger.. Police have admitted Elliot Rodger was "severely mentally disturbed" - so were opportunities missed to stop his killing spree?

Elliot Rodger's Unreleased Videos: An Analysis

Elliot Rodger's Unreleased Videos: An Analysis

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Elliot Rodger's Unreleased Videos: An Analysis..

Before driving to the sorority house, Rodger uploaded a video to YouTube titled "Elliot Rodger's Retribution", in which he outlined his planned attack and his motives. He explained that he wanted to punish women for rejecting him, and sexually active men because he envied them. He also emailed a lengthy autobiographical manuscript to friends, his therapist and family members; the document appeared on the Internet and became widely known as his manifesto. In it, he described his childhood, family conflicts, frustration over his inability to find a girlfriend, his hatred of women, his contempt for couples (particularly interracial couples) and his plans for what he described as "retribution". In February 2020, the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism at the Hague retroactively described the killings as an act of misogynist terrorism. The US Secret Service describes it as "misogynistic extremism."

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Elliot Rodger began his attacks at his apartment on Seville Road, where he killed three men by stabbing them multiple times: first he stabbed Weihan Wang, then Chen Hong, then George Chen. Elliot's last victim in the apartment, George Chen, incurred a total of 94 stab wounds. Bloodstains later found in the building's hallway suggest that Rodger had attacked one or more of his victims as they entered; a bloody bath towel and paper towels in the bathroom suggest Rodger had attempted to clean the hallway. The men's positions suggested that each was killed separately as they entered. Two of the victims were confirmed to be Rodger's roommates according to an apartment lease, while police were investigating whether the third was also a resident or visiting the apartment on the night of the killings.

More victims - Katherine Breann Cooper left - Middle Chris Michael-Martinez - Right Veronika Weiss

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Elliot Rodger's victims included his college roommates Weihan Wang, left, and Cheng Yuan Hong, far right. Rodger's victims also included George Chen, center..

A friend of Elliot Rodger’s two roommates who were slaughtered on Friday, May 23rd 2014 night, has revealed that the students had planned to stop sharing there rooms with the killer because they found him so ‘strange.’ Weihan Wang, 20, of Fremont, and Cheng Yuan Hong, 20, of San Jose, were both stabbed to death by Rodger on the Friday in 2014 at the apartment they had shared with him. The body of another UCSB student, George Chen, 19, of San Jose, was also found at the apartment He didn’t live in the apartment. He was found with a total of 93 stab wounds..

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Law enforcement removes one of the victims from 6598 Seville Road late Saturday afternoon. Rodger stabbed three people there before murdering another three and injuring 13 in drive-by shootings. (Kenneth Song / Daily Nexus)

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After the stabbings, Rodger purchased coffee at a coffee shop. At around 8:30 p.m., he was seen working on his laptop in his car in the parking lot of his apartment building. He uploaded his "Retribution" video at 9:17 and sent his manifesto e-mail at 9:18. After receiving a copy of the manifesto, Rodger's therapist phoned his mother, who – finding the "Retribution" video on Rodger's YouTube channel – contacted Rodger's father. In separate cars, his parents left Los Angeles for Santa Barbara, calling Isla Vista police en route.

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George Chen was one of Elliot Rodger’s roommates who was among the first to die in Rodger’s twisted rampage.

Rodger drove to the Alpha Phi sorority house at Embarcadero del Norte and Segovia Road near UCSB, where he knocked on the front door for a few minutes. After no one answered the door, he then began shooting people nearby. Two women were killed and a third was injured. Rodger then began driving again, firing into an unoccupied coffee shop on Pardall Road, then several times into a delicatessen; a man was struck seven times and killed.

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Alpha Phi sorority house at Embarcadero del Norte and Segovia Road near UCSB

Rodger drove south on Embarcadero del Norte on the wrong side of the street, striking a pedestrian and firing at two people on the sidewalk, missing them. He shot a couple exiting a pizzeria and a female cyclist. He drove south on El Embarcadero and shot at and missed a woman, turned east on Del Playa Drive, and made a U-turn to drive west. He then exchanged fire with a sheriff's deputy responding to a telephone report, and struck two pedestrians.

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People look through a window pocketed with bullet holes at the IV Deli Mart in Isla Vista, near UC Santa Barbara. 

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Customers in an Isla Vista, Calif., deli market can be seen in newly released surveillance video ducking for cover as a gunman opens fire outside the store near UC Santa Barbara on Friday night May 23rd 2014 , killing one man, bringing the number of his victims to six. Surveillance video obtained by CNN shows customers -- some with items still in their hands -- quickly dive to the ground while others cowered in place and crawled away from the store’s entrance. The glass front of a refrigerator appeared to be shattered by a barrage of bullets. A woman, who is seen cowering and gripping herself during the shooting, immediately removes a cellphone from her pocket and appeared to call 911 as she points toward the store’s exit, CNN reported.

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Turning north on Camino del Sur, Rodger shot and wounded three people at Sabado Tarde Street, and struck a skateboarder and two cyclists with his car. Turning east on Sabado Tarde, he struck another skateboarder with his car and shot two other men at the intersection with Camino Pescadero. On Sabado Tarde near Little Acorn Park, Rodger exchanged gunfire with three sheriff's deputies, and was shot in the hip. Pursued by police, he turned south a second time onto El Embarcadero, then west again on Del Playa. He struck a cyclist, then crashed on the north sidewalk just east of the intersection of Del Playa and Camino Pescadero. At 9:35, police found Rodger dead inside his car from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. In the car were three pistols, knives, six empty ten-round magazines, and 548 rounds of unspent ammunition.

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“It all has to come to this,” Mr. Rodger says, his voice at once placid and chilling. “Tomorrow is the day of retribution. The day I will have my retribution against humanity. Against all of you. For the last eight years of my life, ever since I hit puberty, I’ve been forced to endure an existence of loneliness, rejection and unfulfilled desires. Girls gave their affection and sex and love to other men but never to me. I’m 22 years old, and I’m still a virgin. I’ve never even kissed a girl. I have been through college for two and a half years, more than that actually, and I’m still a virgin. It has been very torturous. College is the time when everyone experiences those things such as sex and fun and pleasure. All because girls have never been attracted to me. In those years I’ve had to rot in loneliness.”

“I do not know why you girls aren’t attracted to me,” he said, “But I will punish you all for it.”

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Deputy sheriffs inspect the vehicle of the shooting suspect.Credit...Diego Robles for The New York Times

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Born in London, England, he moved to the United States with his parents at age five. He was raised in Los Angeles. His father is the British filmmaker Peter Rodger, and his paternal grandfather is the photo-journalist George Rodger. His mother is a Malaysian Chinese nurse who served as a first aid practitioner and research assistant on several major film productions. A younger sister was born before his parents divorced. After Peter remarried, he and his second wife, Soumaya Akaaboune, a Moroccan actress with whom Elliot had a strained relationship, had a son together, Elliot's half-brother.

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Richard Martinez (L), the father of 20 year old Christopher Martinez who was killed by 22 year old Elliot Rodger, talking with Rodger's father Peter Rodger CREDIT: Photo: EPA

Elliot Roger stands behind Sylvester Stallone at an event for the 2012 movie The Hunger Games..

Rodger attended Crespi Carmelite High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Encino, Los Angeles, and then Taft High School in Woodland Hills, which he attended for only a week due to severe bullying. He last attended Independence Continuation High School in Lake Balboa from where he graduated in 2009. Rodger briefly enrolled in Los Angeles Pierce College and Moorpark College before transferring to Santa Barbara City College in 2011. Thereafter, he resided in Isla Vista. After his attack, the school said he had not taken any classes since 2012.

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According to his family's attorney and a family friend, Rodger had seen multiple therapists since he was eight years old, but the attorney said he had never been formally diagnosed with a mental illness. He was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, an autism spectrum disorder, in 2007.

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By the ninth grade, Rodger was "increasingly bullied", and wrote later that he "cried by [himself] at school every day"; at this time he developed an addiction to the online game World of Warcraft, which dominated his life for most of his teenage years, and briefly into his 20s. At Crespi Carmelite High he was bullied; in one incident his head was taped to a desk while he was asleep. According to Rodger, in 2012, "the one friend [he] had in the whole world who truly understood [him] ... said he didn't want to be friends anymore" without offering any reason. Rodger had a YouTube account, and a blog titled "Elliot Rodger's Official Blog", through which he expressed loneliness and rejection. He wrote that he had been prescribed risperidone but refused to take it, stating, "After researching this medication, I found that it was the absolute wrong thing for me to take."

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Side effects

The United States National Library of Medicine lists several side effects to Risperidone, including:

  • Nausea and vomiting

  • Constipation

  • Stomach pain

  • Diarrhea

  • Increased appetite

  • Weight gain

  • Muscle or joint pain

  • Involuntary muscle movements

  • Dry mouth

  • Fatigue

…and more.

Serious side effects may include the potentially permanent movement disorder tardive dyskinesia, as well as neuroleptic malignant syndrome, an increased risk of suicide, and high blood sugar levels.

After turning 18, Rodger began rejecting mental health care and became increasingly isolated. He said that he was unable to make friends, although acquaintances said that he rebuffed their attempts to be friendly. A family friend, Dale Launer, said that he counseled Rodger on approaching women, but that Rodger did not follow the advice. Launer also commented that when he met Rodger at eight or nine, "I could see then that there was something wrong with him ... looking back now he strikes me as someone who was broken from the moment of conception."

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Family and friends attend a candlelit vigil for the victims of Elliot Rodger.

Rodger claims in his manifesto that in 2011 he threw coffee on a couple he was jealous of. He also claims he splashed coffee on two girls for not smiling at him. In 2012, Rodger used a Super Soaker filled with orange juice to spray a group playing kickball at Girsh Park.

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Referring to an incident in July 2013, Rodger wrote that after being mocked at a party, he tried but failed to shove some girls over a ten-foot ledge; instead, other boys pushed him over and his ankle was injured. When he went back for his sunglasses he was again mocked and beaten. A neighbor saw Rodger come home crying and vowing to kill the men involved and then himself. He wrote in his manifesto that the incident was the final trigger for his planning the attack.

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In January 2014, Rodger accused Cheng Yuan Hong, one of his roommates, of stealing some candles; Hong pleaded guilty to petty theft. On April 30, Rodger's parents contacted police after becoming alarmed by his behavior and YouTube videos. Sheriff's deputies who visited Rodger determined that he did not meet the criteria for an involuntary mental health commitment; Rodger had told them he had a "misunderstanding" with his parents.

Veronika Weiss was killed when Elliot Rodger went on a shooting spree. FACEBOOK

Rodger emailed his 107,000-word manifesto, My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger, to 34 people, including his parents and other family, former teachers, childhood friends, and his therapist Charles Sophy. In it, he said he had originally sought to carry out an attack on Halloween of 2013, but reconsidered because he thought there would be too many police present. In his last YouTube video, "Elliot Rodger's Retribution", Rodger complained of being rejected by women and envying sexually active men, and described his planned attack and the motives behind it.

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In one online post, Rodger wrote:

Full Asian men are disgustingly ugly and white girls would never go for you. You're just butthurt that you were born as an Asian piece of shit, so you lash out by linking these fake pictures. You even admit that you wish you were half white. You'll never be half-white and you'll never fulfill your dream of marrying a white woman. I suggest you jump off a bridge.

In his manifesto, Rodger made a racist comment regarding another boy, outlining some of his plans:

How could an inferior, ugly black boy be able to get a white girl and not me? I am beautiful, and I am half white myself. I am descended from British aristocracy. He is descended from slaves. On the day before the Day of Retribution, I will start the First Phase of my vengeance: Silently killing as many people as I can around Isla Vista by luring them into my apartment through some form of trickery.

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Jewish women from Ukraine who were selected for forced labor at Auschwitz Birkenau, march toward their barracks after disinfection and headshaving. Photo credit: USHMM #77367

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Female guards at Ravensbrück (picture taken about 1940)

A "War on Women" was the second phase of his plan:

The Second Phase will take place on the Day of Retribution itself, just before the climactic massacre ... My War on Women ... I will attack the very girls who represent everything I hate in the female gender: The hottest sorority of UCSB.

Rodger stated in his manifesto that, in his ideal world, he would

quarantine all [women] in concentration camps. At these camps, the vast majority of the female population will be deliberately starved to death. That would be an efficient and fitting way to kill them all off ... I would have an enormous tower built just for myself ... and gleefully watch them all die.

Female prisoners were largely kept in separate camps or specific compounds but were still subjected to dreadful conditions and extreme violence. Approximately 34,000 female prisoners died in the women’s camp of Auschwitz Birkenau between 1942 and 1943..

He also dreamed of

a pure world, [where] the man's mind can develop to greater heights than ever before. Future generations will live their lives free of having to worry about the barbarity of sex and women, which will enable them to expand their intelligence and advance the human race to a state of perfect civilization. He said that he planned to kill his half-brother and stepmother, but was not mentally prepared to kill his father.
 

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In September 2012, Rodger visited a shooting range to practice firing handguns. In November, he purchased his first handgun, a Glock 34 pistol, in Goleta, choosing it as "an efficient and highly accurate weapon". In early 2013, Rodger bought two additional handguns, both SIG Sauer P226 pistols, writing that they were "of a much higher quality than the Glock" and "a lot more efficient". He purchased the weapons legally in Oxnard and Burbank, California.

Rodger claimed to have saved at least $6,000, in order to purchase the weapons and supplies for the attacks. Gun law experts in California have said that there was nothing in Rodger's known history that prevented him from making legal firearm purchases.

In regards to the manifesto, Rodger's father, Peter, was aware that he had been writing prior to the shooting, while being unaware of the subject matter. In a hike prior to the shooting, Peter asked him "'Can I please read it? Can you please just send it to me?", and Elliot replied "Oh, no, no, no. I'll send it to you soon enough." Rodger's mother, Li Chin, told authorities that Elliot told her his last day of school was on May 23, 2014 and he would be taking a test at SBCC. Elliot told Chin he would call her when he finished his test, and when she tried to call him, he didn't answer. She also texted him, but he still didn't respond.

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Rodger frequented online forums such as PUAHate and ForeverAlone, where he and other men posted misogynistic statements, and described himself online as an "incel" – a member of an online subculture based around its members' perceived inability to find a romantic or sexual partner. Rodger wrote that after purchasing his first gun he "felt a new sense of power. I was now armed. Who's the alpha male now, bitches? I thought to myself, regarding all of the girls who've looked down on me in the past." He also described his plan to invade a sorority house, writing, "I will slaughter every single spoiled, stuck-up, blond slut I see inside there. All those girls I've desired so much. They have all rejected me and looked down on me as an inferior man." According to the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism at the Hague, these attacks were an act of misogynist terrorism.

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Jake Davison, who killed five people in August 2021, had strongly misogynistic views and made ‘disturbing’ online posts, jury told.

In some incel communities, it is common for posts to glorify violence by self-identified incels. Rodger is the most frequently referenced, with incels often referring to him as their "saint" and sharing memes in which his face has been superimposed onto paintings of Christian icons. Some incels consider him to be the true progenitor of today's online incel communities. It is common to see references to "E.R." in incel forums, and mass violence by incels is regularly referred to as "going E.R."

A man who killed five people including his mother and a three-year-old girl was fascinated by mass shootings, serial killers and violent heroes of “incel” ideology, an inquest jury has heard.

The jury also heard that Plymouth gunman Jake Davison expressed strongly misogynist views and despair about his own life in the months before he killed five people.

Plymouth gunman Jake Davison says 'I am a terminator' in final YouTube video before death

Plymouth gunman Jake Davison says 'I am a terminator' in final YouTube video before death

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Plymouth gunman Jake Davison says 'I am a terminator' in final YouTube video before death.

Plymouth mass murderer Jake Davison seen wielding gun in newly released video

Plymouth mass murderer Jake Davison seen wielding gun in newly released video

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Plymouth mass murderer Jake Davison seen wielding gun in newly released video.

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Floral tributes for the victims of the Keyham shootings, (clockwise from top left) Sophie Martyn, her father Lee, Stephen Washington, Maxine Davison and Kate Shepherd (Image: PA)

Another example, Alek Minassian, who killed 11 and injured 15 in Toronto, Canada, posted on Facebook before the murders: "Private (recruit) Minassian Infantry 00010, wishing to speak to Sgt 4chan please. C23249161. The incel rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!

Alek Minassian reveals details of Toronto van attack in police video

Alek Minassian reveals details of Toronto van attack in police video

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Alek Minassian reveals details of Toronto van attack in police video

A terrorist vehicle-ramming attack occurred on April 23, 2018, when a rented van was driven along Yonge Street through the North York City Centre business district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The driver, 25-year-old Alek Minassian, targeted pedestrians, killing 11 and injuring 15, some critically. The incident is the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history.

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The attack started at the intersection of Yonge Street and Finch Avenue and proceeded south along the sidewalks of Yonge Street to near Sheppard Avenue. Nine of the eleven deceased victims were women. Minassian was taken into custody just south of the crime scene, after leaving the van and reportedly attempting to commit suicide by cop. The arrest was made at 1:32 p.m. EDT, seven minutes after the first 9-1-1 call reporting the incident was made.

Footage from Yonge St. van attack of Alek Minassian’s path of destruction

Footage from Yonge St. van attack of Alek Minassian’s path of destruction

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New police video shows Alek Minassian arrest

New police video shows Alek Minassian arrest

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New police video shows Alek Minassian arrest

Footage from Yonge St. van attack of Alek Minassian’s path of destruction

The attack is characterized as misogynist terrorism because it was motivated by revenge for perceived sexual and social rejection by women. At the time of his arrest, Minassian described himself as an incel to the police and in prior social media postings, and described the attack as the continuation of an "incel rebellion", started by the late Elliot Rodger. Minassian pleaded not criminally responsible to the 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder in November 2020, but was found guilty on all counts in March 2021. Anne Molloy, the judge of the case, stated in Minassian's guilty verdict that "working out his exact motivation for this attack is ... close to impossible" but she "was inclined to accept" assessments by multiple expert witnesses that Minassian likely lied to the police and that notoriety was his main motivation, although misogyny or incel ideology may have played a role. On June 13, 2022, Minassian was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

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Beutis Renuka Amarasinghe, 45, nutritionist

Andrea Knafelc Bradden, a graduate of Robert F Hall Catholic Secondary School, was one of the pedestrians killed in a vicious van attack on Yonge St. on April 23rd 2018. 33, Slovenian-Canadian account executive

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Ji Hun Kim, 22, Seneca College student from South Korea

Anne Marie D’Amico was killed in the April 23, 2018 van attack on Yonge Street in Toronto. PHOTO BY FACEBOOK 30, financial analyst

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Chul Min "Eddie" Kang, 45, chef

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So He Chung, 22, University of Toronto student

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Dorothy Sewell, 80, retiree

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Geraldine Brady, 83, Avon saleswoman

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Amaresh Tesfamariam, 65, nurse (She initially survived the attack, but was paralyzed from the neck down and never left the hospital. She died on October 28, 2021, as a result of her injuries.)

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Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Forsyth, 94, retiree

Munir Najjar, 85, Jordanian retiree visiting family[

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The Brazil vs Germany football match (also known by its score as 7–1) that took place on 8 July 2014 at the Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte was the first of two semi-final matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. If you want to see the one photo that represented every Brazil fan after their team got absolutely annihilated by Germany in the World Cup semifinal game, look no further than this photo of this man in the crowd, tearfully clutching a World Cup replica trophy as he watched his players loser 7-1. He was Brazil. And Brazil was he.

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Germany 7-1 Brazil 2014 world cup semifinal all goals and highlights

Germany 7-1 Brazil 2014 world cup semifinal all goals and highlights

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Germany 7-1 Brazil 2014 world cup semifinal all goals and highlights

The Brazilian fan was happy to pose with a couple of Germany fans after their big win. He had no grudges to bare and was still happy given the whopping 7-1 defeat..

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Both Brazil and Germany reached the semi-finals with an undefeated record in the competition, with the Brazilians' quarter-final with Colombia causing them to lose forward Neymar to injury, and defender and captain Thiago Silva to accumulation of yellow cards. Despite the absence of these players, a close match was expected, given both teams performed comparably well throughout the tournament. Also, both were regarded as two of the biggest traditional FIFA World Cup forces, sharing eight tournaments won and having previously met in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final, where Brazil won 2–0 and earned their fifth title.

Though Brazil lost his dreams lived on and he accepted an honourable defeat.. Devastated embarrassed but he showed no signs of distress..

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This match, however, ended in a historic loss for Brazil; in a massive show of dominance, Germany led 5–0 within 29 minutes, with four goals being scored inside a six-minute span, and subsequently brought the score up to 7–0 in the second half. Brazil scored a consolation goal in the last minute, ending the match 7–1. Germany's Toni Kroos was selected as the man of the match.

The game marked several tournament records. Germany's win marked the largest margin of victory in a FIFA World Cup semi-final. The game saw Germany overtake Brazil as the highest-scoring team in World Cup tournament history and become the first team to reach eight World Cup Finals. Miroslav Klose scored his 16th career World Cup goal and surpassed Brazil's own Ronaldo as the tournament's all-time record goalscorer. Brazil's loss broke their 62-match unbeaten streak at home in competitive matches, going back to the 1975 Copa América (where they lost 3–1 to Peru in the same stadium), and equalled their biggest margin of defeat in a match alongside a 6–0 loss to Uruguay in 1920. It was also Brazil's worst margin of defeat in a World Cup match, with their previous worst loss in that category being their 3–0 loss to France in the 1998 final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris.

Brazil 1-7 Germany: Fans in Rio react to humiliation - Brazil World Cup 2014

Brazil 1-7 Germany: Fans in Rio react to humiliation - Brazil World Cup 2014

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Ultimately, the match was described as a national humiliation. The game has subsequently been dubbed the Mineirazo in reference to the Mineirão stadium, evoking a previous "spirit of national shame" known as the Maracanaço in which Brazil unexpectedly lost in the de facto final of the 1950 FIFA World Cup on home soil to Uruguay. Brazil subsequently lost 3–0 to the Netherlands in the third-place play-off, while Germany went on to win the World Cup for the fourth time, defeating Argentina in the final.

Brazil 1-7 Germany: Fans in Rio react to humiliation - Brazil World Cup 2014

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Lyndon B Johnson yelling at the pilots of a nearby plane to cut their engines so John F Kennedy could speak. JFK is seen trying to calm him down. Taken during the presidential campaign of 1960. Amarillo Texas..

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President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, the year his reputation was ruined. Photograph: Bob Daugherty/AP

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Lyndon B. Johnson 1964

John Dominis / The LIFE Picture Collection

Lyndon Baines Johnson August 27th, 1908 – January 22nd, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of President Kennedy under whom he had served as vice president from 1961 to 1963. A Democrat from Texas, Johnson also served as a U.S. representative, U.S. Senator and the Senate majority leader. He is one of the few presidents who served in all elected offices at the federal level.

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Born in a farmhouse in Stonewall, Texas, to a local political family, Johnson worked as a high school teacher and a congressional aide before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1937. In 1948, he was controversially declared winner in the Democratic Party's primary for the 1948 Senate election in Texas and won the general election. He became Senate Majority Whip in 1951, Senate Democratic leader in 1953 and majority leader in 1954. In 1960, Johnson ran for the Democratic nomination for president. Ultimately, Senator Kennedy bested Johnson and his other rivals for the nomination, then surprised many by offering to make Johnson his vice presidential running mate. The Kennedy-Johnson ticket won in the 1960 presidential election. Vice President Johnson assumed the presidency on November 22, 1963, after President Kennedy was assassinated. The following year, Johnson was elected to the presidency, receiving 61.1% of the popular vote in the 1964 presidential election, the largest share won by any presidential candidate since the 1820 election.

Image left including all images..Ceremony marking Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson's (LBJ) departure on a good-will trip, 3:30PM August 22nd 1962

Johnson's domestic policy (termed the "Great Society") was aimed at expanding civil rights, public broadcasting, access to healthcare, aid to education and the arts, urban and rural development, and public services. He sought to create better living conditions for low-income Americans by spearheading a campaign unofficially called the "War on Poverty". As part of these efforts, Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965, which resulted in the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. Johnson made the Apollo Program a national priority; enacted the Higher Education Act of 1965 which established federally insured student loans; and signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which laid the groundwork for U.S. immigration policy today. Johnson's opinion on the issue of civil rights put him at odds with other white, southern Democrats. His civil rights legacy was shaped by signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Johnson's presidency took place during the Cold War, thus his foreign policy prioritized containment of communism, including in the ongoing Vietnam War. He launched a full-scale military intervention in South East Asia, dramatically increasing the number of American military personnel deployed; casualties soared among U.S. soldiers and Vietnamese civilians. In 1968, the communist Tet Offensive inflamed the anti-war movement and public opinion turned against America's involvement in the war. In Europe, Johnson maintained the postwar policies of his predecessors, by continuing to promote and foster political integration and economic cooperation among Western European nations.

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President John F. Kennedy walks with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson to a helicopter on the South Lawn, prior to Vice President Johnson’s departure for a good-will trip to Lebanon, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, and Italy. Also pictured: Ambassador of Nicaragua and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Dr. Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa; White House Secret Service agents, John Campion and Win Lawson. The Executive Office Building is visible in the background. White House, Washington, D.C. 22nd August 1962

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Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964..

During his presidency, the American political landscape transformed significantly, as white southerners who were once staunch Democrats began moving to the Republican Party and black voters who sporadically supported the Democratic Party prior to 1964 began shifting towards the party in historic numbers. Because of his domestic agenda, Johnson's presidency marked the peak of modern liberalism in the United States in the 20th century. Johnson faced further troubles with race riots in major cities and increasing crime rates. His political opponents seized the opportunity and raised demands for "law and order" policies. Johnson began his presidency with near-universal support, but his approval declined throughout his presidency as the public became frustrated with both the Vietnam War and domestic unrest. Johnson initially sought to run for re-election; however, following disappointing results in the New Hampshire primary he withdrew his candidacy. Johnson returned to his Texas ranch and published his memoirs, dying of a heart attack in 1973.

Public opinion and academic assessments of his legacy have fluctuated greatly ever since his death. Historians and scholars rank Johnson in the upper tier because of his accomplishments regarding domestic policy. His administration passed many major laws that made substantial changes in civil rights, health care, welfare, and education. Conversely, Johnson is strongly criticized for his foreign policy, namely escalating American involvement in the Vietnam War

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Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964..

Lyndon B. Johnson’s first year as president was one for the history books: it began with President Kennedy’s assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, and ended almost exactly a year later with Johnson’s reelection to the White House, in a major victory over Republican candidate Barry Goldwater.

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Lyndon B.Johnson 1964

President Lyndon Johnson and VP Hubert Humphrey the morning after winning election, 1964 (John Dominis The LIFE Picture Collection)

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Crowd on election night 1964..

John Dominis / The LIFE Picture Collection

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Pictures of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn backstage at the RKO Pantages Theatre, as they wait to present their categories at the 28th Academy Awards, March 21, 1956. Hollywood, California.

Audrey Kathleen Hepburn (née Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Hollywood cinema and was inducted into the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List.

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Grace Kelly

Kelly grew up in a small, close-knit Catholic community. She was baptized and received her elementary education in the parish of Saint Bridget's in East Falls. Founded in 1853 by Saint John Neumann, the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, Saint Bridget's was a relatively young parish, with families very familiar with one another. While attending Ravenhill Academy, a Catholic girls' school, Kelly modeled fashions at local charity events with her mother and sisters. In 1942, at the age of 12, she played the lead in Don't Feed the Animals, a play produced by the Old Academy Players also in East Falls. In May 1947, she graduated from Stevens School, a private institution in nearby Chestnut Hill, where she participated in drama and dance programs. Her graduation yearbook listed her favorite actress as Ingrid Bergman and her favorite actor as Joseph Cotten. Written in the "Stevens' Prophecy" section was: "Miss Grace P. Kelly – a famous star of stage and screen". Owing to her low mathematics scores, Kelly was rejected by Bennington College in July 1947. Despite her parents' initial disapproval, Kelly decided to pursue her dreams of becoming an actress. Her father was particularly displeased with her decision, as he viewed acting as "a slim cut above streetwalker" at the time. In 1947, Kelly signed with the Walter Thornton Model Agency gracing the covers of magazines. In 1954, Kelly dated and was engaged to Oleg Cassini after his divorce from Gene Tierney.

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The photo has been reprinted, posted and passed around for decades: Two grinning brothers, hair standing on end, unaware that they were minutes away from being struck by lightning while climbing Moro Rock in California’s Sequoia National Park. “We were from San Diego and really stupid,” says Michael McQuilken, who was a long-haired 18-year-old when the snapshot was taken on Aug. 20, 1975. His brother Sean was 12. “We thought it was something funny.” But now, nearly 38 years later, McQuilken says he recalls that deadly afternoon in the Sierra Nevada mountains vividly: The flash of white light as bright as arc welding, the deafening explosion, the feeling of becoming weightless and being lifted off the ground. Most of all, McQuilken says, he remembers the sheer power of a bolt from above.

Sean and Michael McQuilken compose a selfie not realizing that they were moments from a large lightening strike.. Location California's Moro Rock - Year 1975.

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“I never was cautious before that,” says McQuilken, now 66. “Now, if I’m out to climb a peak, I’m the first person to bail if clouds gather.” The shocking experience attracted new interest this month July 2013 when John Jensenius, the lightning safety specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, discovered McQuilken’s blog post about the incident and shared it with a wide audience. Jensenius, who keeps track of the nation’s lightning deaths for NOAA, says he’s been asked frequently about the photo, which was once used in brochures to help warn campers about the potential for danger. Contrary to rumors and some published reports, both brothers survived the strike, although another hiker was killed.

There were 19 deaths reported in August 1975, in a year that saw a final toll of 91, Jensenius says. Back then, however, lightning deaths weren't well reported or tracked, he says, and the Moro Rock death wasn't included. Still, the photo serves as a gripping reminder of Jensenius' ongoing mission to help keep people safe from lightning, which has killed an average of 53 people a year over the past 30 years. Fewer deaths have been reported in recent years -- there were 28 in 2012 -- largely because of better awareness and prevention efforts. So far this summer 2013, 14 people have been killed by lightning. Every death means there's room for improvement, Jensenius says.

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It turned out that Sean was one of at least three people hit directly that day by the triple-pronged bolt, including one man who died and another who sued the U.S. government for not warning about lightning danger, Jensenius noted. The lawsuit was dismissed.

Sean was knocked unconscious and suffered third-degree burns to his back and elbows, Smoke bellowed out from his back. hair standing on end and tingling skin may be signs that a lightning strike may be imminent, experts say. If that happens, the best advice is to seek shelter immediately. If that's not possible, squat low to the ground on the balls of your feet, making yourself the smallest target possible and minimize contact with the ground. Then, as soon as possible, get out of the area.

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Dumped at the airport - Jimmie Nicol sits alone in the Melbourne airport, after playing with the Beatles for 10 concerts substituting Ringo, waiting to return to his non-celebrity life. June 1964 - Jimmie played 10 shows as Ringo's replacement from June 3 - 15 1964 after the Beatles drummer suffered a bout of tonsillitis.

James George Nicol (born 3 August 1939) is an English drummer and business entrepreneur. He is best known for replacing Ringo Starr in the Beatles for eight concerts of the Beatles' 1964 world tour during the height of Beatlemania, elevating him from relative obscurity to worldwide fame and then back again in the space of a fortnight. Nicol had hoped that his association with the Beatles would greatly enhance his career but instead found that the spotlight moved away from him once Starr returned to the group, and in 1965 his subsequent lack of commercial success culminated in bankruptcy. In 1975, after having worked with a number of different bands which included a successful relationship with the Spotnicks, and several more while living in Mexico, he left the music business to pursue a variety of entrepreneurial ventures.

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John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Jimmie Nicol who was standing in for Ringo Starr who was sick for their 1964 world tour (Image: Mirrorpix) Jimmie Nicol went from super stardom to obscurity in the space of 12 days..

Over the decades, Nicol increasingly shieded away from media attention, preferring not to discuss his connection to the Beatles nor seeking financial gain from it. He has a son, Howard, who is a BAFTA award-winning sound engineer.

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Seoul, South Korea : North Korea's women national soccer team players hug with South Korean womens players during a celebrate after winning the 2013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup soccer match at Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea on July 27th, 2013. (Photo by Lee Young-Ho/Sipa USA)

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Formerly a single nation that was annexed by Japan in 1910, the Korean Peninsula has been divided into North Korea and South Korea since the end of World War II on 2 September 1945. The two governments were founded in the two regions in 1948, leading to the consolidation of division. The two countries became opposite and engaged in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 which ended in an armistice agreement but without a peace treaty. North Korea is a one-party totalitarian state run by the Kim dynasty. South Korea was formerly governed by a succession of military dictatorships, save for a brief one-year democratic period from 1960 to 1961, until thorough democratization in 1987, after which direct elections were held. Both nations claim the entire Korean peninsula and outlying islands. Both nations joined the United Nations in 1991 and are recognized by most member states. Since the 1970s, both nations have held informal diplomatic dialogues in order to ease military tensions. In 2000, President Kim Dae-jung became the first President of South Korea to visit North Korea, 55 years after the peninsula was divided.

President Kim Dae-jung

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Under President Kim, South Korea adopted the Sunshine Policy in pursuit of more peaceful relationships with North Korea. The policy established the Kaesong Industrial Region, among other things. This policy was continued by the next president Roh Moo-hyun who also visited North Korea in 2007 and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Through this meeting both leaders signed a declaration to pursue peace and recover inter-Korean relations. However, faced with growing criticism, the Sunshine Policy was discontinued under the next two governments. During Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-Hye's presidencies, the relationship between North and South Korea became more hostile.

President Roh Moo-hyun

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In 2018, beginning with North Korea's participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics, the relationship has seen a major diplomatic breakthrough and become significantly warmer. In April 2018, the two countries signed the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula. In 2018, a majority of South Koreans approved the new relationship. The summits between North and South Korea have also facilitated positive relationships between North Korea and the United States. However, tensions between the two countries remain.

President Lee Myung-bak

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Korean Peninsula - Similar to Russia that considers Ukraine Russian territory, China that claims Taiwan is Chinese territory, And North and South Korea that both deem the territories theres. 

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A garbage truck driver's thousand yard stare after accidentally running over and killing a young woman who tripped and fell on a pedestrian crossing this morning.

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About a garbage truck's worth of plastic enters the ocean every minute.

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Shellshocked marine during the Battle of Hue vietnam 1968.. Photo by Don McCullin..

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Until 1945, the Vietnamese city of Hue was the capital of the country and a shining jewel in its history. The old imperial capital stood largely untouched after 150 years, even as the United States ramped up its involvement in Vietnam.

On Jan. 30, 1968, Hue became the site of one of the longest, bloodiest battles the Americans would fight against the North Vietnamese Army, or NVA, and its Viet Cong guerrillas living in South Vietnam. As part of a much larger and costly offensive, it became a turning point as public opinion in the United States began to turn against the war.

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Hue, Vietnam: 1968

Although the Viet Cong -- also known as the VC, they were South Vietnamese who actively supported the communist north -- had their share of peasant soldiers, North Vietnam's armed forces were much more sophisticated than popular perception allows. The north had a talented air force, weapons supplied by China and the Soviet Union, tanks, APCs, artillery and more.

More importantly, the Vietnamese had been at war against outside rule for so long, they could boast multiple generations of veteran soldiers fighting on their home turf.

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"1st Marine Division Vietnam February 6, 1968 - Pfc D. A. Crum of New Brighton, Pa. 'H' Platoon, Second Battalion, Fifth Regiment is treated for wounds by D. R. Howe, USN, of Glencoe, Mn. During Operation Hue City. Photo by Sgt Dickman."

On Jan. 30-31, 1968, North Vietnam launched a massive, coordinated assault on nearly every city, town and military installation in South Vietnam. The communists believed it would be followed by a massive uprising against the corrupt, repressive South Vietnamese government of President Nguyen Van Thieu. Thieu's mismanagement of the military made it much easier for the North Vietnamese Army to surprise and hit the south. As a result, Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) forces took the brunt of the casualties. Still, it was the first time the north brought the war to the cities in any meaningful way. Some 14,300 civilians were killed, with another 24,000 wounded and 630,000 forced to flee their homes. With his disgraceful response to the Tet Offensive, Thieu's government lost popular support in the countryside, which leaned toward the communists.

North Vietnam massed 80,000 troops and the supplies needed to launch the Tet Offensive in the days before Jan. 31, 1968. That kind of reinforcement and troop movement is hard to hide, especially when the CIA is watching the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In their history of the war, Clark Dougan and Stephen Weiss wrote that the commander of American forces in Vietnam, Gen. William Westmoreland, told Washington that he expected a "countrywide effort" from the NVA soon. Despite the mounting evidence, in the last months of 1967, the United States and South Vietnam didn't believe an attack of the scale and scope of the Tet Offensive was possible, and were caught completely off guard.

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Vietnam has its own calendar, a lunar calendar, in which Tet marks the first day of the year. It's also one of the most important holidays in the country, on which most Vietnamese people return to their homes and immediate families to celebrate together and pay homage to their ancestors.

Launching a major offensive during the Tet holiday meant that many ARVN soldiers wouldn't be at their regular posts, and many were actually on leave at the time. When the attack came, leave was canceled, but the cancellations came too late and many soldiers went on leave anyway. To make matters worse, Westmoreland believed the focus of the attack was on Khe Sanh, when it was really Saigon.

South Vietnamese soldiers in Saigon during the Tet Offensive, 1968

As far as traditional military thought goes, the North Vietnamese were soundly beaten. Almost overnight, the tide turned against the communists. American and ARVN forces pushed them out of most major cities and towns. Within two weeks, an estimated 32,000 NVA troops had been killed. No South Vietnamese uprising ever came, and the Americans and South Vietnam suffered only around 1,500 and 2,700 casualties, respectively.

But not in Hue, the ancient capital city and the least likely target of an NVA attack. American and South Vietnamese defenders were caught completely off guard, and the North Vietnamese quietly captured the city with few major firefights. In journalist Mark Bowden's book "Hue 1968," the author says the city was captured in four hours, save for a small ARVN contingent inside the city's citadel and the American Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) base, where "400 American troops ... were basically holed up like the Alamo."

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Marines A Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines fire from a house window during a search and clear mission in the Battle of Hue (Sgt. Bruce A. Atwell/U.S. Marine Corps photo)

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Battle of Hue Vietnam 1968..

According to Bowden's research, the Americans believed Hue was held by a handful of die-hard communist troops and sent small units of U.S. Marines to clear them out. The Marines were instead facing a dug-in and heavily armed NVA stronghold -- and took heavy casualties doing it. The Marines were able to come to the aid of the MACV compound and other MACV elements, but not all of them.

For an entire month, U.S. Marines and soldiers, along with ARVN troops, waged battles throughout the city, often going house to house to remove Hue from North Vietnamese control. It was the first time Marines had engaged in urban combat since the Korean War. They were so unprepared for fighting in a major city that Col. Ernie Cheatham, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines in Hue City, had to look up how to do it in an old Marine Corps field manual.

Even Americans who initially supported the war in Vietnam were shocked by the bloodiness of the Tet Offensive, especially the fighting in Khe Sanh (which raged on for months) and in Hue. One of those Americans was journalist Walter Cronkite, who had accepted what the government told him about the war.

It was after he landed in Hue to see the war for himself that he delivered the broadcast that many believe is the reason the United States could not achieve its objectives in Vietnam:

"[I]t seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate. … [I]t is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could."

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Leathernecks of "H" Co., 2nd Bn., Fifth Marines were equipped to meet any type of resistance as the combed the streets and alleys of battle-torn Hue, February 1968. (Official USMC Photo by Sgt. W. F. Dickman)

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Retired Sgt. Maj. John Canley's actions during the battle of Hue City, Vietnam, in 1968 have him one step away from receiving the nation’s highest award for combat valor, the Medal of Honor. (Courtesy of the office of Julia Brownley)

“We’d all be dead if it wasn’t for the gunny,” said a former Marine private first class who served under Medal of Honor nominee retired Sgt. Maj. John Canley. Canley’s actions during the battle of Hue City, Vietnam, in 1968 have him one step away from receiving the nation’s highest award for combat valor, the Medal of Honor. The former private first class, John Ligato, and others who served under Canley, then a gunnery sergeant during the infamous battle, have led a nearly 13-year effort to upgrade Canley’s Navy Cross to the Medal of Honor. A formal recommendation for that upgrade is now on President Donald Trump’s desk. Facing nearly impossible odds, then-Gunny Canely’s undersized company with the 1st Marine Division headed into Hue City at the outset of the Tet Offensive.

Huey Helicopters UH-1 - Compilation of genuine Vietnam War color footage

Huey Helicopters UH-1 - Compilation of genuine Vietnam War color footage

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Huey Helicopters UH-1 - Compilation of genuine Vietnam War color footage

“I don’t know if you know the actual odds going in,” Ligato told Marine Corps Times Tuesday. “The intel was off. They told us for several days there was only an undersized company of NVA [North Vietnamese Army], and historians have later determined that number at 10,000 NVA.” The city was completely under enemy control when Canley’s unit entered the city, and the company commander was injured early in the fight. “We didn’t have any officers at the time because the company commander was seriously wounded right away, and I basically took charge,” Canley told Marine Corps Times Tuesday. From Jan. 31- Feb. 2, 1968, gunny kept his men alive by “sheer will,” Ligato said. 

Canley rarely slept during the battle, and was seen repelling multiple attacks almost single-handedly on his unit’s position.

He was “literally charging machine gun positions with law rockets and hand grenades” on several different occasions, Ligato recounted.

Sgt. Maj. John Canley — Fearless Marine to be Awarded Medal of Honor

Sgt. Maj. John Canley — Fearless Marine to be Awarded Medal of Honor

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Trump presents the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Major John L. Canley

Trump presents the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Major John L. Canley

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Trump presents the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Major John L. Canley

Sgt. Maj. John Canley — Fearless Marine to be Awarded Medal of Honor

Canley said, “For a leader, basically the only thing you’re thinking about is taking care of your people and defeating the enemy.” Canley’s efforts saved the lives of many of his men. “He’s a national treasure,” Ligato said. Canley will be in attendance at Tuesday night’s State of the Union on Capitol Hill 30 January 2018 . The retired Marine will be there as a guest of Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., who helped Canley and his men spearhead through bureaucratic red tape that left the gunny’s upgrade in limbo for more than a decade. On Monday, 29th Jan 2018 President Trump signed a bill lifting a five-year time restriction on awarding the Medal of Honor, allowing the upgrade to proceed. Secretary of Defense Mattis still has to present the award and citation to Trump so that it can be signed and awarded to Canley. “My love for the Marine Corps was leading Marines in combat and training Marines in that order,” Canley said.

Paul Hardcastle - 19 (The Final Story)

Paul Hardcastle - 19 (The Final Story)

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Paul Hardcastle - 19 (The Final Story)

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