The major United Artists motion picture On the Beach came out in 1959. It was based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Nevil Shute. The book and the movie depict a post-apocalyptic world in the aftermath of a nuclear war. It was the first major movie about nuclear conflict and it threatened to … Continue reading More on preparing for the release of “On the Beach”
Until the mid-twentieth century, civilian personnel files as we now understand them did not exist. Nevertheless, there were some earlier records of a personnel-type that existed. Among them are the records relating to applications for service in agencies of the U.S. government. This type of file, which can be found in the records of multiple … Continue reading Now Available Online: Department of State Letters of Application and Recommendation for Public Office, 1797-1877
Noted journalist Jim Hoagland died in early November 2024. He spent most of his career working for the Washington Post, where he began working in 1966, receiving the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 1971 and for commentary in 1991. Over the years, Hoagland had postings in Africa, Lebanon, France, headed the Post’s foreign desk, … Continue reading The Press: Friend and Foe
On March 24, 1908, the Rev. Dr. Wallace Radcliffe, representing a committee of like-minded people, sent a letter to President Theodore Roosevelt as a follow-up to a meeting the day before. Their concern - government agencies working on Sundays. They were complaining, specifically, about work at Giesboro Point in Washington, DC, but noted “that recent … Continue reading Designating a Day of Rest, 1908
In the early 1970s, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) undertook a covert operation, code-named AZORIAN, to raise a sunken Soviet submarine 16,500 feet from the floor of the Pacific Ocean using a commercial vessel known as the Glomar Explorer. The effort was only partially successful. When word of the mission eventually leaked out, the CIA … Continue reading “Neither Confirm Nor Deny” Before the Glomar Explorer
This is the tenth, and final, in a series of blog posts. When we last left our pilots they had returned to North America at Icy Tickle in Labrador. From there, they flew to Hawkes Bay, Pictou Harbor, and returned to U.S. soil with an unscheduled stop at Mere Point, Maine, on September 5. Their … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part X: Congratulations and Thank You
All U.S. Government employees are, or should be, familiar with the provisions of the Hatch Act. Enacted in 1939, and amended several times since, the Hatch Act (formally titled “AN ACT To prevent pernicious political activities”) limits certain political activities of federal employees. The law was enacted to ensure that federal programs are administered in a … Continue reading Before the Hatch Act
This is the ninth in a series of occasional blog posts. Throughout the weeks and months of the Army’s flight around the world, it received a great deal of attention in the press, both domestic and foreign. Previous posts have provided a peak at the foreign attention. That notice was almost always positive. As the … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part IX: An Interlude: Conflict With the Press
The unclassified IT budget for civilian agencies in 2024 is about $74 billion dollars and, in some agencies, virtually every employee works at a computer - be it a tablet, a laptop, a desktop, or even a supercomputer. There are probably millions of computers of various types in use in the U.S. Government. In 1966, … Continue reading Computers in the U.S. Government
This is the eighth in a series of occasional blog posts. So far this series of posts has made stops in Tokyo, Shanghai, Amoy, Calcutta, and Baghdad. The Army Around the World Flight, flew out of Baghdad on July 9 and flew west to Aleppo. Over the next four days the flight passed through the following … Continue reading Around the World in 175 Days, 1924: Department of State Contributions to the U.S. Army Flight Around the World: Part VIII: Confusion and Intrigue in the Balkans
