The African-American detective who infiltrated the KKK

Jun 20 2021

Ron Stallworth is a retired African-American police officer who successfully managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in Colorado Springs, Colorado in the 1970s. The first African-American detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department, Stallworth managed to reveal that his investigation showed how several members of the KKK were on active duty with the US Armed Forces.

How did Stallworth achieve this? In 1979, he found a classified advert seeking members to start a new chapter of the KKK in the city. He posted a response via mail, only to receive a phone call by a member. The detective pretended to be a racist white man who hated various minority groups. He set up a meeting and sent a white undercover narcotics officer to stand in for him at the meeting.

The mission was a success, with Stallworth pretending to be a racist interested in joining the Klan for nine months. He even ended up phoning Klan Grand Wizard David Duke to ask for his membership application. Duke apologised for the delay and was promised that he would see to it personally that Stallworth get his application. The certificate was sent and Stallworth framed the certificate and hung it on his office wall.

The detective kept his investigation a secret and transferred to the Utah Department of Public Safety. He retired in 2005 after working as an investigator for nearly 20 years. In January 2006, he described his infiltration and unveiled how some members were active armed forces members. A book was published in 2004 by Stallworth himself titled Black Klansman.

The book was eventually transformed into a film called BlacKkKlansman, with Spike Lee signing on as both director and co-producer. The movie won the Grand Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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Everyday phrases Shakespeare invented

Jun 20 2021

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘let’s break the ice’ when being introduced to a new group of people. Or shrugging off an incident with ‘what is done is done.’ But did you know that these, and many more, phrases were invented by the bard William Shakespeare himself? Here are some of them and their origin;

‘Wear my heart upon my sleeve’

Meaning to be completely truthful and vulnerable, the phrase was used by Iago during Shakespeare’s play Othello. The villain says:

‘But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at. I am not what I am.’

(Othello, Act 1, Scene 1, 64-65)

‘In a Pickle’

By far one of the more bizarre phrases, a variation of the phrase is used in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. A jester named Trinculo is asked, ‘How came’t thou in this pickle?’

To which he replies ‘I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last […]’. In this context, Trinculo was very drunk, making his body so preserved with alcohol that his body will not be eaten by maggots and decay when he dies.

‘Break the ice’

The metaphor of ‘break the ice’ made its first appearance in ’The Taming of the Shrew’ (Act 1, Scene 2).

In this context, a character called Tranio is trying to court the ice cold Katherine, and suggests breaking the ice and getting to know her father first. Katherine’s icy demeanour could also play along with the metaphor.

‘What’s done is done’

Lady Macbeth, in trying to calm her husband says;

’Things without all remedy
Should be without regard; what’s done is done.’

Here, Lady Macbeth is telling her husband to pay no attention to deeds already done and which cannot be changed. Therefore, worrying about them would be of no use. When she herself however succumbs to dreams of guilt, she repeats ‘what’s done cannot be undone’ as she sleepwalks.

‘All that glitters is not gold’

This saying comes from a line from ‘The Merchant of Venice’ read from a note in Act 2, Scene 7. The full quote requires some in depth explanation. When young Portia’s father dies, he creates a test which all suitors will have to go through should they desire her hand in marriage. The men have to choose from three caskets which contain Portia’s picture – with one made of gold, one silver and the last of base lead. The first suitor picks the golden one, but fails the test, finding instead a rejection letter with the ‘glitters’ quote along with a skull.

‘Fair Play’

Fair play was allegedly one of Shakespeare’s favourite idioms as one can find it in three different plays. We can find the phrase in The Tempest, King John and Troilus and Cressida. In the last, Troilus complains that, during the Trojan War to save their homeland, ‘fair play’ is ‘fool’s play’, indicating the requirement of being cunning and finding an unfair advantage.

‘Wild Goose Chase’

For the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ fans out there, the phrase Wild Goose Chase makes its appearance in this romantic tragedy. The phrase pops up in a battle of wits, but the meaning is not used exactly as it used nowadays. It actually refers to a horse racing practice popular in Elizabethan England wherein horsemen followed a lead horse which, from a distance, would look like wild geese flying in formation.

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1 COVID-19 case registered with 3 recoveries

Jun 20 2021

Malta has registered 1 new case of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours from 1,839 swab tests, while 3 patients have recovered. No deaths were registered in the past 24 hours. This information was announced by the official Facebook page of Malta’s Ministry for Health.

As of Sunday 20th June 2021, 625,844 vaccine doses were administered of which 351,962 were 1st doses. 285,817 people are currently fully vaccinated.

To date, Malta has registered 30,589 COVID-19 cases in total, of which: 30,142 have recovered, 420 died and 27 are still active.

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Trash left on St. George’s bay due to illegal mass gatherings

Jun 20 2021

St. George’s Bay has been receiving hundreds of people over the weekends following the closure of bars and clubs at midnight. However, the illegality also brings with it large amounts of rubbish left behind by people who take to the beach to keep their night out going.

Many have called out to authorities to fix the situation by allowing entertainment venues to be allowed to operate later than midnight. This would not only be a controlled environment where the spread of COVID-19 would be mitigated, but will also have the added benefit of keeping the beach clean. If not, beach goers are highly encouraged to not leave rubbish behind as they leave the area – even though the mass gatherings are in themselves should not be occurring.

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