Duck and Cover! There are many aspects of the Civil Defense program that may seem funny today, but the period after World War II was a very scary time. Civil defense officials and volunteers during that time were very serious about their work and I believe they deserve respect for their efforts. They rendered emergency services after natural and man-made disasters and would have had an impossible task had there ever been a nuclear war. This virtual museum is dedicated to the Civil Defense and emergency workers of the United States who worked to protect the public from nuclear attack.
posted by Ruthless Bunny on Oct 27, 2009 - 44 comments

Build giant steam powered robots to defend the Union in the American Civil War.
posted by Lord_Pall on Mar 16, 2009 - 24 comments

Chanukkah is the story of a group of warriors (the Maccabees, later the Hasmoneans, led by Mattathias) who rose up against the Greeks (the Seleucids), united the Jews, reclaimed the Temple (Beit HaMikdash), and then lit one day's supply of oil which miraculously lasted for eight days, started a brand new holiday called Chanukkah, and brought Jewish sovereignty and peace to the land of Israel. Except that almost every part of that story is either wrong or completely misleading. [more inside]
posted by andoatnp on Dec 21, 2008 - 66 comments

The Devil's Whore is a tale set in the English Civil War about a fictional woman, Angelica Fanshawe, and how her life intersects with the real events and key figures of the time, including Charles I and Oliver Cromwell. (Featuring a welcome return to the small screen for John Simm as the mysterious Edward Sexby) [more inside]
posted by chuckdarwin on Nov 22, 2008 - 31 comments

20 photos from the Civil War via listverse
posted by lobstah on Nov 19, 2008 - 16 comments

Black Confederates are becoming the subject of a growing argument on what will be the legitimate history of black men in the confederate states. [more inside]
posted by unpoppy on Aug 7, 2008 - 63 comments

On October 28, the Pope will beatify (certify as Blessed) several martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, among them Gabino Olaso Zabala. Only thing is, Zabala is known to have participated in the torture of a fellow priest. Disturbingly, some Catholics are rallying behind a man who never publicly regretted his abusive past.
posted by micketymoc on Oct 17, 2007 - 62 comments

The Battle of Glorieta Pass is considered the turning point of the Civil War, in terms of the New Mexico Territory. It happened March 26-28th, 1862. Initially Charles L. Pyron and William Reed Scurry's Confederate force, based at Johnson's Ranch, thought that they had won the battle. They would soon learn that the Union troops, lead by John P. Slough, had circled and destroyed their supplies, leading to Scurry's retreat towards San Antonio. More detailed battle info: [1] [2]-Some site photos.
posted by rollbiz on Mar 27, 2006 - 27 comments

U.S. Can Detain Padilla Indefinitely. President George W. Bush was handed a major victory on Friday in his effort to assert sweeping presidential powers in the war on terrorism as a US appeals court upheld his authority to imprison indefinitely a US citizen captured on American soil.
posted by solistrato on Sep 9, 2005 - 76 comments

Civil War Richmond: an online research project designed to collect documents, photographs, and maps pertaining to Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War.
posted by breezeway on Apr 22, 2005 - 8 comments