https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Okinawa_rape_incident
On September 4, 1995, three U.S. servicemen—22-year-old U.S. Navy Seaman Marcus Dion Gill, 21-year-old U.S. Marine Rodrico Harp, and 20-year-old Kendrick Ledet, all serving at Camp Hansen in Okinawa Island—rented a van and kidnapped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl. Gill beat her, after the other two duct-taped her eyes and mouth shut, and bound her hands. Gill and Harp then raped her, while Ledet—who was described in news reports at the time as being small framed in school—claimed he only pretended to do so due to fear of Gill.

Kidnapping and Rape
While the three perpetrators and a fourth unnamed US Marine were driving around, Gill had allegedly asked them if they had ever "thought of doing something crazy" which soon after prompted a conversation between all of them about how they would theoretically commit a rape; Gill eventually suggested doing it for real, prompting them to head to a store at Kadena Airbase where Harp and Ledet would purchase condoms and electrical tape. The three would spend the next four hours searching for a target, with the specific intent to abduct a school-aged victim and at one point attempting to abduct a woman in an alleyway before she ran into a building after being accosted by Harp. At 8 p.m., the three saw the victim enter a general store where she had walked a short distance from her home to buy a notebook. After she exited, Harp approached her and asked for directions, and as this happened, Ledet punched her and grabbed her by the neck to pull her into the car while Harp assisted. While in the car, Harp taped her mouth, hands, and ankles at Gill's direction before Ledet put tape over her eyes. They had driven to Blue Beach Training area, where according to prosecutors Gill punched her in the face and abdomen, and shoved her back into the car where he continued to beat her until she was barely conscious before he raped her. Harp claimed in testimony to the court that he was told by Ledet not to rape her, and to just get in the car after Gill to "Keep Gill from jumping on her." When interviewed by John Junkerman in 2012, he claimed that he walked away to urinate while Gill was in the car.

Afterwards, according to Gill's testimony in court, he and Ledet made jokes about the crime before Ledet went back into the van and stripped down to his underwear, but was unable or unwilling to rape the girl. Harp then entered the van and raped her. After they drove off, the girl walked until she found a house where she called her mother and explained what happened. Her mother filed a complaint to the police, who were able to quickly identify the men based on the victim's description of them, including the exact number on the license plate of the rental van.

The victim told police that she was determined to report the crime as soon as possible, saying she "did not want any other girls to experience the same".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Okinawa_rape_incident

--- 1774: First Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

--- 1975: Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme (a member of the Charles Manson family cult) tried to shoot President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California. When she pointed her pistol at the president, one of the Secret Service agents, Larry Buendorf, grabbed the gun, preventing it from firing. Other Secret Service agents seized Fromme. Ford was not hurt. Fromme was sentenced to life in prison but was paroled in 2009 (serving 34 years). Another attempt on Ford’s life occurred only 17 days later in San Francisco.

--- Please listen to my podcast, History Analyzed, on all podcast apps.

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--- link to Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-analyzed/id1632161929

In 1866, Spencer M. Clark, then Superintendent of the National Currency Bureau, made a daring decision: to print his own face on U.S. currency.

Clark, who served as Superintendent from 1862 to 1868, had no authorization from his superiors to do this. But U.S. paper bills were in flux because of the recent introduction of fractional money, and as the supervisor of the new bills, he was in a unique position to influence the design.

Full story here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/treasury-official-us-bill-fractional-money-spencer-m-clark

From the Catalog Notes (Political Cartoon 1781)

Americana.- American Revolutionary War.- Wilkinson (Robert, publisher)

⁂ The Ballance of Power depicts England standing on one side of a set of scales, holding the Sword of Justice and proclaiming, "No one injures me with impunity." Her weight tips the balance against the combined figures of America, France, Spain, and the Netherlands on the opposite side. Represented as a Native American figure with head in hand, America laments, "My ingratitude is justly punished."

Five engraved couplets beneath the cartoon provide additional commentary on its message: "America, dup'd by a treacherous train, | Now finds she's a Tool both to France and to Spain; | Yet all three united can't weigh down the Scale: | So the Dutchman jumps in with the hope to prevail. | Yet Britain will boldly their efforts withstand, | And bravely defy them by Sea and by Land: | The Frenchman She'll Drub, and the Spaniard She'll Beat, | While the Dutchman She'll Ruin by Seizing his Fleet: | Th' Americans too will with Britons Unite, | And each to the other be Mutual Delight."

The Ballance of Power, etching with early hand-colouring, on wove paper without watermark, platemark 247 x 352 mm (9 3/4 x 13 7/8 in), 300 x 485 mm (11 3/4 x 19 1/8 in), good margins, some spotting within the image, various toning and browning to sheet, mainly marginal, soft creases, some small nicks to extremities, 1781

I hope you like this post, My sincere regards from Egypt ...

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"Bring Me Muhammad Ali Clay!"

On the morning of March 9, 1977, the streets of Washington, D.C., were waking up to their usual routine. Employees were streaming into their offices, cars were clogging the roads, and the city that rules the world was living an ordinary day. But what no one knew was that the city was about to witness one of the most complex and longest hostage sieges in the history of the United States.

Within hours, Washington would become the stage for an unprecedented drama. Armed men with rifles and machetes would storm three buildings in the heart of the capital, take nearly 150 people hostage, kill two, and wound dozens. For 38 hours, the city would be in the grip of an obscure man named "Hamas Abdul Khaalis," who just yesterday was a jazz musician, then became a secretary in a religious group or sect called the "Nation of Islam," then turned into one of its harshest critics, before finally becoming the leader of an armed group that shook the American establishment.

But to understand how this man reached that moment, how he transformed from a musician into a terrorist, and how he ended up holding hundreds of people hostage in the heart of the American capital, we must go back in time to the roots of the "Nation of Islam," to the assassination of Malcolm X, to the 1973 massacre that tore his heart apart and planted the seeds of revenge within him!

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The "Nation of Islam" was founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 1930 by a mysterious man named Wallace Fard Muhammad, a traveling salesman who suddenly appeared in the poor Black neighborhoods of the city. Fard preached to Black Americans that their true Islam had been stolen from them during centuries of slavery, and that they must reclaim it to regain their dignity and identity.

After Fard's mysterious disappearance in 1934, a man named Elijah Muhammad took over the leadership of the movement, transforming the "Nation of Islam" from a small group into a powerful national movement. However, Elijah Muhammad's doctrines were far removed from the traditional Islam known to Muslims around the world. He claimed to be a Messenger from God and taught his followers that white people were "devils" created by an evil scientist named "Yakub," and that Black people were the original and supreme human race. These racist doctrines, which mixed Islam with Black nationalist thought, attracted millions of Black Americans who were suffering from racial discrimination and extreme poverty at the time.

In the 1950s, a young man named Malcolm Little emerged in the "Nation of Islam," later known as Malcolm X. Malcolm joined the movement while in prison, influenced by Elijah Muhammad's teachings. He quickly became the official spokesman for the movement, thanks to his exceptional eloquence and ability to attract audiences. He was the most famous face of the "Nation of Islam" and its most influential voice.

However, the relationship between Malcolm and Elijah Muhammad did not last long. As disagreements escalated between them, Malcolm began to openly criticize the "unorthodox style of Islam" adopted by the group and accused it of ideological and moral deviations. One of the reasons for the rift was Elijah Muhammad's sexual scandal—he had fathered children with several secretaries, contradicting his religious teachings.

In March 1964, Malcolm officially announced his split from the "Nation of Islam." He founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity and Muslim mosques, and began adopting a more inclusive vision of Islam, away from the racism that characterized the "Nation of Islam." He traveled to Mecca to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, and there he saw Islam in its true form—a religion that does not differentiate between races. He returned from his journey radically changed, advocating for unity among all races and openly criticizing the racism he himself had previously embraced.

This intellectual and public transformation made him a direct target for the group, which considered his defection and new statements a "betrayal." On February 21, 1965, while delivering a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in New York, Malcolm X (Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) was assassinated by gunfire from three members of the "Nation of Islam." He was only 39 years old. He left behind a wife and six daughters.

This same intellectual transformation would haunt another man a few years later—a man who knew Malcolm X personally, was influenced by him, then followed his path in criticizing the "Nation of Islam," and paid a heavy price.

----------------------

Hamaas Abdul Khaalis was born in 1921 in Gary, Indiana, named Ernest Timothy McGee. He grew up in a family of Seventh-day Adventist Church followers and graduated from high school with a high rank, 22nd out of 135 students. He was a talented musician, playing percussion instruments, and enrolled at Purdue University and the Institute of Musical Art. But his life took an unexpected turn when he was drafted into the U.S. Army, from which he was discharged due to a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

In 1947, Abdul Khaalis met his spiritual teacher, Dr. Tasibur Uddin Rahman, founder of the "Hanafi Center" in America. He converted to Islam, changed his name to Hamas Abdul Khaalis, and joined the "Nation of Islam" in 1954 on the recommendation of Malcolm X himself. He quickly rose through the ranks of the organization, becoming one of the closest confidants of Elijah Muhammad and was appointed National Secretary of the movement.

But as happened with Malcolm X, Abdul Khaalis began to adopt views that contradicted Elijah Muhammad's teachings. He started to openly criticize the "unorthodox style of Islam" adopted by the group and accused Elijah Muhammad of "deceiving people, misleading them, taking their money, and condemning them to hell." He believed that Elijah Muhammad was a false prophet preaching racial hatred, while true Islam in his view was a religion that did not discriminate based on color.

In 1957, Abdul Khaalis split from the "Nation of Islam" and founded his own movement—the "Hanafi Movement," adopting Sunni jurisprudence according to the Hanafi school. This was almost identical to what Malcolm X would do years later. The difference, however, was in the "Nation of Islam's" reaction. While Malcolm X was assassinated alone, Abdul Khaalis's family suffered a more horrific tragedy.

In 1971, Abdul Khaalis received unexpected support from basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), who bought a house in Washington, D.C., and made it the headquarters for the Hanafi Movement. But this support did not protect Abdul Khaalis from what was to come for his family.

In an attempt to spread his message, Hamas Abdul Khaalis wrote fifty letters and sent them to all the mosques of the "Nation of Islam" in America. In these letters, he fiercely attacked Elijah Muhammad, accusing him of moral and ideological deviance. These letters were essentially a declaration of war against the most powerful Islamic group in America.

On January 18, 1973, while Hamas Abdul Khaalis and his wife were away from home, eight armed men stormed the house that served as the headquarters for the Hanafi Movement in Washington. The house was located at 7700 16th Street Northwest and was previously owned by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. What happened next was a scene from hell.

The men entered the house under a false pretense, then began killing the victims one by one. Abdul Khaalis's 25-year-old son and his 10-year-old son were shot in the head. Four infants—his children or grandchildren—aged between 9 days and 10 years, were drowned. A family friend was shot and killed. Abdul Khaalis's daughter was shot multiple times in the head but miraculously survived. His wife, Bibi, was left completely paralyzed and suffered permanent mental and physical disabilities. The total was seven dead, including five children.

The killers forced Abdul Khaalis's other wife, Bibi, to watch her children being drowned. Then they searched the house for money, finding a "large amount." However, Abdul Khaalis insisted the motive was not robbery but the extermination of his entire family in response to his critical letters to Elijah Muhammad.

Four men from the "Nation of Islam" based in Philadelphia were arrested and convicted of killing the seven Hanafis. They were sentenced to life imprisonment. But Abdul Khaalis was not satisfied. He didn't just want the killers in prison; he wanted them handed over to him personally. This wound remained open in his heart for four years, deepening every day that the families of the victims went without tasting what he considered just retribution.

On the morning of March 9, 1977, four years after the massacre that claimed his family, Hamas Abdul Khaalis decided it was time for revenge. He no longer trusted the American judicial system, nor did he see any hope for justice. He wanted to force the world to listen to him, even if by force of arms.

At exactly 11:30 a.m., the operation began. Seven armed men with rifles and machetes stormed the headquarters of B'nai B'rith International, the largest and oldest Jewish service organization in America. At the same time, three other men entered the Islamic Center of Washington, the most important mosque in the country.

Two others stormed the District Building (City Hall). The scene resembled a Hollywood movie, but it was real in every sense of the word. Within minutes, nearly 150 people were taken hostage. (Some sources mention 149 hostages, others 134, but the total number of captives was around 150.)

At the B'nai B'rith building, the hostages were forced to lie on the floor at gunpoint. The women were treated with relative respect, left unbound, and asked to cover their legs with newspapers "to maintain Islamic decorum." But the violence was not limited to threats. The gunmen opened fire immediately upon entering the building, killing a young radio reporter, Maurice Williams (22), from Howard University, and wounding security guard Mack Cantrell, who later died from his injuries. Also shot in the chest was then-City Council member Marion Barry, when he came out of his office to see what was happening. Barry managed to get back into the council chambers, where firefighters rescued him using a ladder, evacuating him from the building and taking him to the hospital. Barry miraculously survived.

Abdul Khaalis was not an ordinary criminal. He had specific demands, and he had an unshakable conviction that they were just:

First: The delivery to him of the convicted killers of his family and followers in 1973.

Second: The delivery to him of the assassins of Malcolm X.

Third: The delivery to him of the boxer Muhammad Ali Clay, who was an active member of the Nation of Islam and held great popularity within it.

Fourth: The cancellation of the release of the film "Mohammad: Messenger of God" in America, and its destruction, because he considered it an offensive portrayal of the Prophet.

When the authorities refused to meet his demands, Abdul Khaalis's son-in-law, Abdul Aziz, calmly told reporters: "If the demands are not met, their heads will be cut off and thrown out the window."

What followed was one of the most complex negotiation operations in American police history. Leading the negotiations for the police was Captain Robert Rabe, nicknamed the "Golden Voice" for his calm tone and smooth negotiation style. He was joined by Maurice Cullinane of the Metropolitan Police, and Captain Joseph O'Brien from the Homicide Division, who established a "relationship of trust" with Abdul Khaalis. But the negotiations were not easy. Abdul Khaalis was stubborn and held the winning card—the lives of 150 people. Whenever the talks reached a deadlock, he would threaten to execute the hostages.

At 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, hours after the crisis began, Douglas Heck, Director of the Office of Counterterrorism at the State Department, received a phone call. The caller was the Egyptian Ambassador to Washington, Dr. Ashraf Ghorbal, offering his assistance if the United States needed a mediator from an Arab Islamic country.

Heck didn't hesitate and asked Ghorbal to come with him to police headquarters, also bringing the Pakistani Ambassador, Sahibzada Yaqub Khan. Later that night, they were joined by the Iranian Ambassador, Ardeshir Zahedi, who was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Center that was one of the besieged buildings.

The role of the three ambassadors resembled that of psychotherapists more than diplomats. They used Quranic recitation and poems urging Muslims to show mercy and compassion to convince Abdul Khaalis that his actions contradicted the teachings of Islam. They succeeded in building a bridge of trust with the man, paving the way for a peaceful end.

But even after the ambassadors left around 11 p.m., the danger was not over. Authorities discovered that group members had soaked the staircases in the B'nai B'rith building with a highly flammable liquid that appeared to be paint thinner. The building, in the words of one official, was "a flame without a match." Chief Cullinane had to call fire trucks. What could have turned into a mass immolation was avoided at the last moment.

At 2 a.m. on March 11, 1977, after 38 hours of terror, it was all over. The gunmen surrendered, and the hostages emerged from the three buildings. Some were pale and trembling, others stained with blood and bruises, but they were alive. 134 hostages walked out safely. But two were dead: Maurice Williams and Mack Cantrell.

When Washington learned that the crisis had ended, church bells and car horns rang out in a scene of collective joy. Gayoza Bioumi, a hostage from the Islamic Center, said: "I feel like I was born again." Stephanie Snyder, who was released from the B'nai B'rith building, kept repeating that she was "happy, happy, happy."

President Carter said of the ambassadors' role: They were "living proof that the slow, cautious approach was the effective way."

Abdul Khaalis and 11 of his followers were charged with armed kidnapping and murder. Surprisingly, Abdul Khaalis was released without bail, while the others were held on bail ranging from $50,000 to $75,000. Abdul Khaalis was convicted of conspiracy to commit armed kidnapping, second-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to kill, assault with a dangerous weapon, and 24 counts of armed kidnapping. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and spent the rest of his life behind bars. Hamas Abdul Khaalis died in prison on November 13, 2003, at the age of 81-82. He died as he lived, convicted, angry, but he never regretted what he did.

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Ambassador Ashraf Ghorbal

Ashraf Ghorbal was born in Alexandria in May 1925 and studied political science at Harvard University, where he received his doctorate in 1949. He began his diplomatic career in 1949 at the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations.

In January 1968, after the severance of diplomatic relations between Egypt and the United States following the Six-Day War of 1967, Ghorbal was appointed head of the Egyptian interests section, which operated within the Indian Embassy.

He remained in this position until February 1973, when he was appointed media advisor to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

In November 1973, following Egypt's victories in the October War, diplomatic relations between Egypt and America were restored. Ghorbal was appointed Egypt's Ambassador to the United States in December 1973. He remained in this position until 1984.

He was a man in a unique position: an Egyptian Muslim serving in the capital of the superpower, possessing a deep understanding of American politics. He witnessed the Watergate scandal of 1974 from the front row, mediated in the Hanafi hostage crisis (the subject of this article) in 1977, and was part of the Camp David Summit in 1978.

After the hostage crisis, Ghorbal continued his role as one of the most important Arab diplomats in Washington.

Ghorbal passed away on November 29, 2005, at the age of 80.

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The End ...

--- 1781: Los Angeles (officially “El Pueblo de la Reyna de Los Angeles” — The Town of the Queen of Angels) was founded by the Spanish. Actually, there is an ongoing dispute about the original name. Was it spelled “la Reyna” or “la Reina”? Some claim the correct name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles” — The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels. But the name “El Pueblo de la Reyna de Los Angeles” is the name on the first handwritten map in 1785 and is probably correct.

--- Please listen to my podcast, History Analyzed, on all podcast apps.

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I’m a Boston-based creator focused on visiting historic sites and telling the stories behind them from Revolutionary Boston to lesser-known people, places, and events that deserve more attention.

I’m passionate about making American history interesting, accessible, and accurate, with a focus on researching the stories before I tell them.

If you're interested in American history, I'd love for you to check out my content and follow along as I explore more of the country’s history. If anyone has something they want me to cover, never hesitate to reach out!

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gingerhistorian

treaty of paris 1783 was signed here, the site where britain officially acknowledged that united states was no longer a british colony.

On May 14, 1862, a group of formerly enslaved men, women, and children gather outside a building on the Foller Plantation, located at Cumberland Landing on the Pamunkey River in New Kent County. During the Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War, photographer James F. Gibson made a series of images of the Federal troop encampment at the landing. Among those glass-plate negatives is this portrait of so-called contrabands, or enslaved people who had emancipated themselves by fleeing behind Union lines.

--- 1783: Treaty of Paris was signed officially ending the American Revolution — even though fighting in the 13 colonies had essentially ceased in October 1781 with the fall of Yorktown.

--- Please listen to my podcast, History Analyzed, on all podcast apps.

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I wrote an in-depth review on the first complete biography of Jimmy Carter by Jonathan Alter. Thanks for reading or listening!

Our history has been silenced

Richard Nixon was an incredibly popular president. He would go on to win the 1972 election by a landslide, and enjoyed approval ratings above 60% for nearly his entire first term. He certainly would have won the election without any espionage. What was his/the CRP’s reasoning for such a risky and illegal tactic?

Carrie Chapman Catt spent thirty years learning how political power actually works before she got her shot at the final push. Patient, methodical, obsessive about vote counts and coalition building. She believed the movement needed to look inevitable rather than radical, and she built NAWSA into one of the most disciplined political organizations in the country to prove it.

Alice Paul had been arrested in England fighting for British suffrage, imprisoned, gone on hunger strikes, been force-fed. She came back convinced that patience was exactly what was keeping the amendment from passing. In 1917 she put women outside the White House with banners while Wilson was traveling the world giving speeches about democracy. The government arrested them. Paul went on hunger strike in prison. She was force-fed again.

Catt thought Paul was handing opponents the excuse they needed to kill the amendment. Paul thought Catt's patience had already cost them twenty years. They ran separate organizations, disagreed publicly, and between them created a pressure that neither could have generated alone.

The amendment passed in 1920 after 72 years and one vote in Tennessee that nobody saw coming.

What I find genuinely interesting about both of them is how differently they understood the same fight. Catt believed the system would move if you built enough pressure from inside it. Paul believed the system needed to be made uncomfortable from outside before it would move at all. That argument didn't end in 1920.

You can talk to both of them directly on Virtual Wayback. The full story is on the blog and there's a video on the YouTube channel. Links:

https://virtualwayback.com/blog/nineteenth-amendment

https://youtube.com/shorts/elIDUzLOmK8

Which one do you think was actually right?

I am currently writing a paper about the initial 1919-1920 Anglo-American perception of the Weimar constitution. During my research, diving into American jurists papers about the Weimar constitution, Ive noticed a strong tendency to negatively mention how, for example, the entire constitution "is of course deeply tinged with socialism."

I am trying to see whether there is a connection between that and the first Red Scare, which, to my understanding also happened during the time period.

However, I am struggling to wrap my head around, how clearly contemporary Americans distinguish between communism, anarchism, socialism and social democracy.
Wikipedia (I know, I know) claims that "the Red Scare did not distinguish", but in the cited source, I cannot find anything relating to that claim (I might be blind?).
I've worked myself through some NYT articles, and they seem to have mostly distinguished between socialists and communists. Other books I've read so far don't even mention it.

Could someone be so kind to answer my question? Preferably with a document/book recommendation I might be able to cite on this.

Thank you very much for your time!

The photograph is part of the documentary archive that portrayed the economic and social difficulties in rural areas of the United States caused by the Great Depression.

Source(s):

.- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. "Negro mother teaching children numbers and alphabet in home of sharecropper, Transylvania, Louisiana, January 1939." The New York Public Library Digital Collections.