‘Merrill's Marauders': A Brutal Struggle With the Jungle
The grueling jungle conflict in Burma was oddly neglected in films about World War II. There were few exceptions, such as, 'Objective, Burma!' (1945), 'The Purple Plain' (1954), and the epic '
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Chicago Tribune
4 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse assassinated
Today is Monday, July 7, the 188th day of 2024. There are 177 days left in the year. Today in History: On July 7, 2021, a squad of gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and wounded his wife in an overnight raid on their home. Also on this date: In 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C. for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln: Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt, the first woman to be executed by the federal government. In 1898, President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, approving the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii. In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (known today as Hoover Dam). In 1976, the United States Military Academy at West Point included female cadets for the first time as 119 women joined the Class of 1980. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1990, the first 'Three Tenors' concert took place as opera stars Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras performed amid the brick ruins of Rome's Baths of Caracalla on the eve of the FIFA World Cup final. In 2005, terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 people and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II. In 2010, Los Angeles police arrested and charged Lonnie Franklin Jr. in the city's 'Grim Sleeper' serial killings. (Franklin, who was sentenced to death for the killings of nine women and a teenage girl, died in prison in March 2020 at the age of 67.) In 2013, Andy Murray became the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final. In 2016, Micah Johnson, a Black Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, opened fire on Dallas police, killing five officers in an act of vengeance for the fatal police shootings of Black men; the attack ended with Johnson being killed by a bomb delivered by a police robot. Today's Birthdays: Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 98. Former Beatle Ringo Starr is 85. World Golf Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin is 81. Actor Joe Spano is 79. Actor Roz Ryan is 74. Actor Billy Campbell is 66. Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson is 65. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 62. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 59. Actor Amy Carlson is 57. Actor Jorja Fox is 57. Actor Robin Weigert is 56. Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie is 53. Actor Kirsten Vangsness ('Criminal Minds') is 53. Actor Berenice Bejo (Film: 'The Artist') is 49. Actor Hamish Linklater is 49. Olympic figure skating medalist Michelle Kwan is 45. Guitarist Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold) is 44. Pop singer Ally Brooke (Fifth Harmony) (TV: 'The X Factor') is 32. Pop musician Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds to Summer) is 31. Country singer Maddie Font (Maddie and Tae) is 30.
Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Buzz Feed
75 Extremely Rare And Fascinating Pictures I Found Last Month That Will Completely And Totally Change Your Perspective On The World
Michelangelo's David is VERY, VERY big: Very big, indeed. And even the statue of Honest Abe at the Lincoln Memorial's ears need to be cleaned now and then. Here's what that looks like: I bet it feels so good. The Michelin Man not only used to be absolutely terrifying, but he used to run with a gang of several other musically inclined Michelin men: Chet Baker is shaking. During World War II, the USS Trigger got close enough to Japan on patrol to take a picture through its periscope of Mount Fuji: This is from 1943. Fascinating stuff! This is the cross-section of the 1,300 year-old Mark Twain sequoia tree, cut down in 1892 for display in New York: The unfortunately maimed tree measured 16 feet across. Here's that same cross-section with some important dates in the tree's life: Would love to hear the tree's thoughts on Leif Ericson. And, for good measure, here's what the stump of old Mark Twain looks like: RIP. Last month, a container ship ran aground and almost crashed into a random house in Norway: THIS is how close it came: I don't know what's worse: someone honking the horn really loud outside your home or this. The Pacific Ocean is covers a HUGE portion of the Earth: Over 30% of Earth is covered in that salty spew. Tourists in Egypt used to be able to climb on top of the Great Pyramid all willy-nilly: Let's be thankful there are some stricter rules about visiting the landmark. This thing is a "road printer," a machine that quite literally PRINTS roads: So satisfying. This is how much it cost to give birth at an Indiana hospital in 1956: Fun fact: It does not cost that little in 2025. On June 17, 1939, France held its last public execution via guillotine. Here's what the "hysterical" scene looked like: Apparently, actor Christopher Lee, who you might know as Saruman from The Lord Of The Rings, was in the crowd. This is what the bathroom from a nuclear missle launch site looks like: No jokes about bombs being dropped, please. This is what the inside of a cooling tower looks like: Would love to play Balatro here. There's rich... and then there's VERY rich. These two houses show the difference: Got to think the house on the right is a two fridge household. This is what sand looks like under a microscope: Neat! Before airplanes were pressurized for commercial use, flyers had to wear oxygen masks at higher altitudes: This picture is from 1939 and taken while 20,000 feet in the air. These gigantic contraptions are apparently one of the first life preservers ever made: They're made out of mattresses but something tells me they aren't comfortable. This is frogman Courtney Brown towing a 55 scale model of the Titanic during the filming of the movie Raise The Titanic: The movie was, well, about raising the Titanic from the ocean floor. Interestingly enough, because the movie was made in 1980, the wreck of the ship had yet to be found. That's why "the wreck" is in one big piece here. Here's what the wreck of the model of the wreck of the Titanic looks like today: Slightly worse than the one in the Atlantic, I'd say. This is Robert Earl Hughes, the one-time world's heaviest man and his pet dog: At his heaviest, Robert weighed over 1,000 pounds. Eleven days in October had to be skipped after the Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1582: A wise person on Reddit hipped the internet to the fact that if you scroll back in your phone long enough, you can see it for yourself. Here's what gorilla's fingerprint looks like compared to a human's: Gorillas: they're just like us. This is what a whole bunch of wind turbines look like from way above: Like they're floating! This is a replica of what was apparently the world's largest polar bear, standing tall at 12 feet and weighing over 2,200 pounds: That, and I don't say this lightly, is one big bear. This is the crew of the USS Hunchback, taken in Virginia at the end of the Civil War. Unlike the army, the Union's navy was actually integrated: I think I would have also been the banjo player during the Civil War. This is a list of the causes of death of everyone who died in London in 1632: Me, personally? I'm dying from "Planet." This is what one gram of gold looks like. As of today, this little thing is worth over $109: Imagine swallowing that. Would feel great. This awe-inspiring sight is a potato storage facility. That's a five-foot shovel, for reference: Nature is so beautiful. This is Robert Wadlow, the tallest man who ever lived, towering above everyone else at 8'11'': Can you tell which one is him? This is Dr. James Naismith, the man who invented basketball at the age of 32: He was a graduate student at Springfield College, tasked with getting young men to be active. Let this be a lesson to you: if you don't invent a sports by the age of 32, you are BLOWING IT. And here's what is apparently the first EVER basketball team: Dr. Naismith is there in the suit. Surrounding him is John G. Thompson, Eugene S. Libby, Edwin P. Ruggles, William R. Chase, T. Duncan Patton, Frank Mahan, Finlay G. MacDonald, William H. Davis and Lyman W. Archibald. Now THOSE are some old-timey names. I think the Raptors would hang 1200 on them. And this picture, from the early 1900s, shows an early basketball game, kneepads and all: Josh Hart would make that man CRY. This is a detailed map showing just how far the Mars Opportunity Rover traveled in its 15 years on the planet: While we're on the subject, this is the first picture Opportunity took on the surface of Mars... And this is the last: Well, one of the final few. Goodnight, sweet prince. This is how some scientists tested the effectiveness football helmets in the 1950s — by banging themselves in the head with a heavy object: I'd imagine it's always a long, long day at the heavy-object-head-banging factory. This is what an elephant's tail looks like up-close: Would love to floss my teeth with one of those strands. Right folks? This is Diane Stopky, winner of International Posture Queen in 1957, posing with her award-winning spine: Diane — congrats on the spine. This is what 1000 shirts stacked on top of each other looks like: This was the scene aboard the ship The Queen Elizabeth as it brought soldiers back home to New York after World War II ended: I hate to say it... but imagine having to use the bathroom? Nightmare. In case you didn't know, braces can do some incredible things: This post is NOT sponsored by any orthodontists. Chile is very, very long: Over 2600 miles, to be exactish. English has changed a whole lot: Quiz: Which Version Of English From The Last 1000 Years Are You? Those black dots you see? They don't exist. It's an optical illusion: Do not attempt to adjust your phone's settings. Here's another optical illusion for you. This car is not floating: Sheesh! Some pills are just filled with little circles: It's called a Sitz Marker Study and it's for people with digestive issues. The rings are observed via x-ray as "tiny 'markers' to estimate how fast or slow food/stool travels through the intestines." Here's what those rings look like in an x-ray: Yup, that's them all right. This, in all its glory, is the longest tapeworm ever recovered from a human: It measured over 28 feet and was probably caused by some sashimi. Soap technology has come a long, long way: Some call this "waste reducing," others a joke waiting to happen. This is what the cross-section of a painter's stir stick looks like after some heavy use: That's a lot of paint. Would love to chomp right into it. This is what's underneath the fire hydrants you see on the street: That fire hydrant could play center for the New York Knicks. This picture, taken in 1942, shows a New York Times employee creating that day's layout of the Sports page: "Boy, this Mort Cooper guy can really slang it." This is selection of prosthetic face parts designed for World War I veterans: Here's what one of those prosthetics looked like in action: This is Australian javelin thrower Reg Spiers, best known for literally mailing himself in a big giant box from London to Australia in the 1960s: Spiers was broke and needed to figure out a way home to his family, so he did what any person would have done: he posted himself. This is the 5x3x2.5 foot box Spiers mailed himself in: The journey took over two days. Spiers stuffed himself in the box with some "tinned food, a torch, a blanket and a pillow, plus two plastic bottles - one for water, one for urine." You can read more about the whole ordeal here. This is what British World War I victory medal looks like: Too bad there would be another Great War for civilization less than two decades later. This is the first computer Apple ever developed: It looks nothing like an apple. Not even like an orange. This is a Corinthian helmet and the skull that wore it from the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC: Chilling stuff. This is the eight-year-old bodybuilder Patricia O'Keefe, carrying a 200-pound man on her back: For reference: she's 64 pounds, he's 200. This is what a pick-up truck from 1985 looks like compared to the behemoths that are modern pick-up trucks: Poor l'il guy. Owls have big ol' long legs: Check out the gams on Birdie. This assortment of nails, buttons, safety pins, and more is the stomach content of a patient with pica, a disorder that causes a strong urge to eat nonfood items: They were all found inside a patient post-autopsy. This, in all its glory, is a meeting of the US Board of Tea Experts. They're, well, testing teas for sale in the USA: Oh, to be a fly on the wall at the old-dudes-tasting-tea party. Some ladybugs are born without spots: Not so lucky now, are ya? In 1918, over 30,000 soldiers came together to make a giant human-shield: This is what life before the Nintendo Switch was like. Before exposure times were significantly reduced, people sitting for photographs sometimes used a small device to support their head and ease neck strain: Need to bring these back. This is what happens if you put a highlighter in the microwave: In case you were wondering. This is what a frozen egg looks like without its shell: Incredible. Some grasshoppers are pink! This is due to erythrism, a condition where an animal's coloring is especially red due to excess red pigmentation: Neat! High voltage lines are, well, really high voltage. They can even melt concrete if they hit the ground: That would probably hurt. Probably. And, finally, this is what Nicolas Cages' father, August Coppola, looked like: Incredible stuff.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
Is Hollywood inspired by the CIA, or the other way around?
LANGLEY, Va. — At CIA headquarters, beyond the handsome granite seal on its lobby floor and a wall of stars carved in honor of the agency's fallen, experts are at work in the complex tasks of spycraft: weapons-trained officers, computer engineers, virologists, nuclear scientists. But there are also storytellers, makeup artists, theater majors and ballerinas — Americans who probably never thought their skills would match the needs of a spy agency. Yet the CIA thought otherwise. Though it rarely gets the spotlight, there's a revolving door of talent between the country's premiere intelligence agency and its entertainment industry, with inspiration and influence often working both ways. The agency is targeting professionals at the intersection of arts and technology for recruitment, CIA officers told The Times, and continues to cooperate with entertainment giants to inspire the next generation of creative spies. This month, the agency is assisting a New York Times bestselling author on a young adult book examining the foundations of the CIA laid during World War II. Scenes from a major upcoming film production were just shot at its headquarters, a logistical feat at an intelligence campus tucked away in the Virginia suburbs behind rings of security perimeters, where officers roam cracking down on Bluetooth signals. Another popular streaming TV series will be back at Langley to film this fall. But their collaboration goes far deeper than that, officers said. Creative minds in Hollywood and the entertainment industry have long had a role at the Central Intelligence Agency, devising clever solutions to its most vexing problems, such as perfecting the art of disguise and harnessing a magician's ability to cast spellbinding illusions. Indeed, in the 1950s, a magician from New York named John Mulholland was secretly contracted with the agency to write a manual for Cold War spies on trickery and deception. These days, the officers said, creative skills are more valuable than ever in such a technologically complex world. 'You're only limited by your own imagination — don't self-censor your ideas,' said Janelle, a CIA public affairs officer, granted the ability to speak under her first name at the request of the agency. 'We're always looking for partners.' David McCloskey, a former CIA analyst and author of 'Damascus Station' and other spy thrillers, offered several theories on why the agency might be interested in fostering a robust relationship with Hollywood, calling it 'a two-way street.' 'There definitely have been operational applications for espionage,' McCloskey said. 'It's probably the exception to the rule, but when it happens, it's compelling.' It's easy to see why CIA leaders would be interested in Hollywood, he said, in part to shape impressions of the agency. 'But their bread and butter business is receiving people to give secrets,' he continued, 'and part of that is getting close to people in power.' 'The closer you are to Hollywood,' McCloskey added, 'that's a really interesting 'in' to having a lot of interesting conversations.' Some of the CIA's most iconic missions — at least the declassified ones — document the agency's rich history with Hollywood, including Canadian Caper, when CIA operatives disguised themselves as a film crew to rescue six American diplomats in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, an operation moviegoers will recognize as the plot of 'Argo.' ''Argo' was almost too far-fetched to even believe,' said Brent, an in-house historian at CIA headquarters. 'It's almost more Hollywood than Hollywood.' Canadian Caper was both inspired by Hollywood and relied on Hollywood talent. Agent Tony Mendez had been a graphic artist before joining the agency and helping craft the mission. Another key player was John Chambers, the makeup artist who gave the world Spock's ears on 'Star Trek' and won an honorary Oscar for his trailblazing simian work on 'Planet of the Apes.' He was awarded the CIA's Intelligence Medal of Merit for his work on the covert rescue effort. Just a few years before, Howard Hughes, then one of the world's richest men and a tycoon in media, film and aerospace, agreed to work with the CIA to provide cover for an effort by the agency to lift a sunken Soviet nuclear submarine off the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Deploying Hughes' Glomar Explorer under the guise of mineral extraction, the CIA was able to salvage most of the sub before The Times broke a story blowing its cover — 'the story that sunk our efforts,' in CIA parlance. And another mission was made possible thanks to a device invented by a professional photographer — a gadget that later became the inspiration of an over-the-top scene in the blockbuster Batman film 'The Dark Knight.' In Project Coldfeet, CIA agents gathering intelligence on a Soviet station erected on a precariously drifting sheet of ice in the Arctic needed a reliable extraction plan. But how does one pick up an agent without landing a plane on the ice? The answer was the 'skyhook': Balloons lifted a tether attached to a harness worn by an agent high into the sky. A CIA plane snagged the tether and carried the agent off to safety. In 'The Dark Knight,' Batman makes a dramatic escape deploying the same kind of balloon-harness contraption. CIA leadership often says that acceptance into the agency is harder than getting into Harvard and Yale combined. Yet the agency still has challenges recruiting the type of talent it is looking for — either in reaching those with unconventional skills, or in convincing them that they should leave secure, comparatively well-paid, comfortable jobs for a secretive life of public service. It is no easy task managing work at the agency, especially with family, CIA officials acknowledged. Deciding if and when to share one's true identity with their children is a regular struggle. But Janelle said the CIA tells potential recruits there is a middle ground that doesn't require them to entirely abandon their existing lives. 'People don't have to leave their companies to help their country and to work with CIA,' Janelle said. 'People come here because they love their country and know they can make a difference.' Janelle is part of a team that regularly engages with creatives who want to portray the agency or spies as accurately as possible. 'Some producers and directors reach out and they do care about accuracy,' Janelle said, 'but they ultimately pick and choose what's going to work for the film or show.' CIA analysts have also been known to leave the agency for opportunities in the entertainment industry, writing books and scripts drawing from their experiences — so long as they don't track too closely with those experiences. Joe Weisberg, the writer and producer behind the television series 'The Americans,' and McCloskey, who is working on a fifth novel focused on U.S. and British intelligence, were both part of the agency before launching their writing careers. And as CIA alumni, they had to submit their works for review. 'There's a whole publication and classification-review process,' Brent said. That process can be a bit of a slog, McCloskey said: 'They quite literally redact in black ink.' But it is far more difficult for nonfiction writers than novelists. 'There could be bits of tradecraft, or alluding to assets, or people at the agency, which are clear no's,' McCloskey said. 'But with novels, it's not that hard to write them in a way to get them through the review board.' Try as they may, studios often repeat the same falsehoods about the CIA, no matter how often they are corrected. Officers and agents aren't the same thing, for one. And as disappointing as it may be for lovers of spy thrillers, the majority of officers are not licensed or trained to carry weapons. 'One thing Hollywood often gets wrong is the idea that it's one officer doing everything, when it's really a team sport here,' Janelle said. 'Zero Dark Thirty,' an Oscar-winning film released in 2012 about the hunt for Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was widely acclaimed but criticized by some within the intelligence community over the credit it lends a single, fictional CIA analyst for tracking him down. McCloskey sympathizes with the writer's dilemma. 'I can't have 35 people on a team. From a storytelling standpoint, it just doesn't work,' he said, acknowledging that little in the field of espionage is accurately captured on screen, even though there are plenty of former spies available to work as consultants. 'There's no lack of sources to get it right,' he said. 'It's that the superhero spy — the Jack Ryans and Jason Bournes — are pretty much the Hollywood representation of espionage.' However inaccurately glorified and dramatized, the agency hopes that Hollywood's work can keep the revolving door moving, inspiring atypical talent to join its ranks. 'We have architects, carpenters, people who worked in logistics,' Brent said. 'People might not realize the range of skill sets here at CIA.' And as Canadian Caper showed, sometimes spycraft requires stagecraft. It's possible that what's needed most to complete the next mission won't be oceanography or data mining, but costume design. Or maybe another ballerina.
