Gillo Pontecorvo, RIP

The "Red Hand", coincidentally the Irish family motto on my mother's side, was the secret denomination of a faction of the FLN in Algeria, active in terrorist efforts to expel the French. On September 30, 1956, either the "Red Hand" or a similar group exploded a bomb in Algiers' chic Milk Bar, killing a few Europeans and wounding many. It's remembered as Bloody Sunday. Late that morning, in Algiers, I was born, and my parents, who accompanied me to the hospital, but who otherwise were in the habit of going to the Milk Bar on Sundays, were saved. As was I. It's an interesting story which has the added benefit of being true. Thus I note the death of Gillo Pontecorvo, the Italian director, who in his classic movie "The Battle of Algiers" memorialized this struggle.