Histortweet Week in Review - W/E December 12, 2009

[SFX: CHURCHBELL] Greetings, History Lovers! Welcome to This Tweet in History, the Week In Review, podcasting to you on tape delay from our North American Studios.

Here are your top stories for the weeks ending December 12, 2009:

[SFX: SOUND827]World: DATELINE Montreal, December 6, 1989–Madman with gun massacres 14 in misogynistic spree at Ecole Polytechnique, finally offs self (good riddance): http://bit.ly/90gAQr
The Back-Story: [SFX: I'm a Loser; Raygun] Marc Lepine, perpetrator of the worst single-day massacre in Canadian history, fit the profile: an underachieving loner who had been abused as a child. In his case, he scapegoated women and feminism. Shortly before the last day of classes before Christmas break at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique, Lepine wrote a rambling, misogynistic suicide note, and, instead of just ridding the world of himself, went on a twenty-minute shooting spree at the Ecole, killing 14 women, wounding nine more women and four men. Quebecquois and others lined up by the tens of thousands outside the University of Montreal’s chapel in sub-zero temperatures for a memorial to the fallen, and the date is still designated as a national day of commemoration in Canada. [SFX: RESPECT; What's Going On]

[SFX: SOUND827]Sports: DATELINE Australia, December 6, 1956 – Blood in the water as on the battle field as Hungarian water polo team defeats Soviets: http://bit.ly/6hbRNg

The Back-Story: [SFX: Showdown; Smoke on the Water; Wade in the Water]Water polo powerhouses, Hungary and the Soviet Union faced off in Melbourne against the backdrop of Soviet tanks in Budapest. The Soviets had just brutally put down an uprising in the Hungarian capital, where thousands lay dead in the streets and many more faced show-trials and execution. In the pool at Melbourne, Olympic decorum soon flew out the window in a match that took the sport back to its violent roots of underwater jousting. Both teams traded punches from the start of the match, but, with a minute left to play and the Soviets trailing 4-0, Valentin Prokopov blindsided Hungarian Ervin Zador, causing hemorrhaging around his eye and blood in the water. The Hungarian ex-patriates among the spectators had to be restrained by Security from storming the pool, and the match was called, with the Hungarians declared victors. Almost half of the team defected after they won the next match and, with it, Hungary's fourth water polo gold. [SFX: Hit Me with Your Best Shot; How sweet it is]

[SFX: SOUND827]: Entertainment: DATELINE New York, December 8 1980 – Ex-Beatle, Lennon, shot dead by fool with a gun : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_John_Lennon

The Back-Story: [SFX: Abraham, Martin, and John] John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, returned from the recording studio at around 11:00, choosing to be dropped off at the main entrance of the Dakota, rather than the more secure courtyard, in order to oblige fans who often waited in long lines for autographs outside his home. As Lennon strode to his house, Mark David Chapman, one of the fans for whom Lennon had signed an autograph on his way to the studio, fired four hollow-point bullets into Lennon’s back. (A fifth shot sailed over Lennon’s head.) The Dakota’s doorman shook the gun from the assailant’s hand, shouting, “Do you know what you’ve done?” to which the lunatic calmly replied, “Yes, I just shot John Lennon.” Doctors at Roosevelt Hospital worked for 20 minutes attempting to revive the ex-Beatle, who was pronounced dead on arrival. Chapman is serving a life sentence in New York’s Attica State Prison, having been denied parole four times since he became eligible in the year 2000. [SFX: Imagine]

[SFX: SOUND827] This week’s birthdays:[SFX: In the Club]

December 6: Poet Joyce Kilmer
December 7:Baseball Legend Johnny Bench
December 8: Composer Jean Sibelius
December 9:Author John Milton
December 10: Poet Emily Dickinson
December 11: Stage and Screen Star Rita Moreno
And December 12: Painter Edvard Munch

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