Five Most Pivotal Military Conflicts In History

The history of man contains a number of pivotal battles. These conflicts are also some of the most bloody, expensive and important fights to have ever transpired. The top five include:

Stan Lee Media Sues Disney for 5.5 Billion Dollars.

In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Inc., a comic franchise, and all of its properties for 4.3 billion dollars. Marvel's primary asset was its rights to the roster of fictional characters created by Stan Lee. Rather than idly sitting on the income potential available through the Marvel acquisition, The Walt Disney company instead took advantage of their newly purchased rights to produce many profitable franchises. The movies "The Avengers," "Thor," "The Amazing Spider-Man," and "X-Men: First Class" made more than 3.5 billion dollars at the box office while other merchandising such as "Spider Man Turn Off the Dark" tickets are estimated to be worth around 2 billion dollars. "The Avengers" grossed over $1.5 billion in box office receipts in 2012. Now, many years later, Stan Lee Media Inc., a company that Stan Lee no longer has a position with, has filed a complaint against The Walt Disney Company alleging that they are in fact the true owners of the rights to the characters developed by Stan Lee.

US: Political Approach to Same Sex Marriage [Infographic]

Same sex marriage is no stranger to politics, but politicians have taken great steps to avoid making statements regarding the issue in the past. With the election coming up in November, many voters may find themselves swayed by political statements regarding same sex marriage. Barack Obama is one of the most significant figures to come out in support of same sex marriage earlier this year, following Joe Biden’s similar statement. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, however, expressed his opinion that same sex marriage should not be legal.

This year, seven states have chosen to vote about the issue of same sex marriage. North Carolina voters chose to ban same sex marriage. While some claim that banning same sex marriage is morally righteous, others express that it is detrimental to issues of equality to ban these unions. Only a few states support same sex marriage, including Connecticut, Washington and New York.

The One About Ian Fleming - James Bond's Creator

Ian Lancaster Fleming (1908-1964), the author of the James Bond 007 novels,

was the grandson of a Scottish banker and the son of a Conservative MP

(Member of Parliament). His father died in the first world war. In his will,

he bequeathed his property to his widow on condition she never remarries.

50 Years of James Bond 007 Movies [Infographic]



With James Bond 007's return to the silver screen with SKYFALL and, of course, 2012 being the year for the famous British secret agent's 50th anniversary, we're delighted to join the... err.. bonding celebration and publish one or two James Bond related posts through LoupDargent.info.

Today's one is an infographic on 50 years of James Bond movies from the peeps at hrblock.com who kindly let us use it. Good times!

Enjoy!

Loup Dargent

The True Expense of Military Equipment Spending [Infographic]

The cost of US military operations is nearly incalculable when we consider the loss of life and how many families have been shattered directly by current and recent conflicts that the US has been involved in. While we may all wish that these events had never happened, it would be unrealistic to think that we do not require a military to protect what we hold dear. Many Americans however would agree that the Department of Defense’s spending is in many cases quite excessive.

The following infographic depicts the actual cost (in USD) of various military equipment, vehicles, and programs. While this list of items that the US military purchases is far from all-inclusive, it aims to give you an idea of just how much money is spent on them and what that money could be used for instead of more equipment for war. While some figures such as equipping one soldier may not be mind-blowing, remember that we have hundreds of thousands of active duty, guard and reserve troops that need to be equipped, and we never buy cruise missiles one at a time.

Where Now For The British Far-Right?

As many of you already know, I totally despise the far-right groups in general and the British National Party (BNP) and the English Defence League (EDL) in particular. And, yes, I've been known to make fun of them time to time (either on YouTube or Twitter)...

But, even so they're very easy to make fun of, we should never forget the fact that, given a chance, they still could manage to gain political power one way or another and then, that freedom of speech they're allowed to have (and abuse on a daily basis) would not exist anymore for those who, like us, openly oppose them. 

So yeah... The EDL and the BNP are a joke at the moment, but they're also still dangerous.

Here is an email from Nick Lowles of HOPE not hate I've received today and would like to share with you. If you have time, please do check out the article he mentions in the email.

Thanks in advance.

Loup Dargent

US: Not Allowed to Vote?!

The following is an email (and a cool video) from our friends of Brave New Foundation regarding the attempts made by some rather anti-democratic kind of people to roll back the clock and take away people’s right to vote in America... Yes, it is happening in the US, not in the UK (yet) but we do know that if those people succeed there, that will encourage some like-minded peeps to try that here as well. Hence why I'm very happy to share them (the email and video) with all you guys.

Enjoy!

Loup Dargent

 

Michael Moore: '"President Romney" – How to Prevent Those Two Words From Ever Being Spoken'

Friends,

In two months we Americans will go to the polls once again to decide who the president will be for the next four years. We will not be allowed to vote on those who wield the true power in this country. On November 6th we will not vote for the chairman of ExxonMobil or JPMorgan Chase or Citibank or the Premier of China. That day will come, but not this year.

Settling The Age Old Argument: Star Trek Vs. Star Wars [Infographic]

Science fiction fans seem to be divided as to which franchise has the superior technology: Star Wars or Star Trek. When comparing the two technologies, one must judge technology according to what overall purpose it serves. This can allow for easier side by side comparisons of technology from these two different universes.

The first category of technology one considers should be weaponry. In Star Wars, the Empire had access to the Death Star, which was capable of destroying an entire planet. Fearsome as it was, it was unique. On the other hand, in Star Trek, no such beam weapon has such awesome power. However, the mundane weaponry of spacecraft seem more or less equal among both universes.

The next category of technology should be the mind. In Star Trek, human mind has advanced little, but similar species have been encountered who display remarkable psychic abilities. In Star Wars, any human can master the Force, which provides them psychic and magical powers.

4 Most Famous Guns In Movie History

There are lots of movie fans who just love to root for the guns in a movie from western to science fiction or gangster flicks. Here in no particular order are four of the most famous guns in movie history:

Top 3 Deadliest Science Fiction Battles

Science fiction movies wouldn't be complete without climactic battle scenes that leave viewers on the edge of their seats wanting more. From the classics of the 50s to today's modern blockbusters, sci-fi fans have always counted on their favorite movies to deliver the most gruesome and horror-filled combat scenes. Here are the three deadliest science fiction battle scenes to ever grace the big screen.