Are Neanderthals Human? ETC ETC

The experts talk about Neanderthals and Sapiens as distinct species. And it used to be that Sapiens did ethnic cleansing and rid the world of Neanderthals. Last couple of years things seem to be changing. First of all I read about Neanderthal DNA in the Sapiens genome. Then interbreeding.

2020 Sep, This really is shaking long help assumptions
Y chromosomes of Neandertals and Denisovans now sequenced | EurekAlert! Science News

2015 Dec
The Archaeology News Network: Study differentiates facial growth in Neanderthals and modern humans which to me is very strange analysis... Waffle about facial growth being sufficiently different

However, our findings, based upon facial growth patterns, indicate they are indeed sufficiently distinct from one another.

Read more at: http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/study-differentiates-facial-growth-in.html#.VmdB5xDpxGM
Follow us: @ArchaeoNewsNet on Twitter | groups/thearchaeologynewsnetwork/ on Facebook

However, our findings, based upon facial growth patterns, indicate they are indeed sufficiently distinct from one another.

Read more at: http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/study-differentiates-facial-growth-in.html#.VmdB5xDpxGM
Follow us: @ArchaeoNewsNet on Twitter | groups/thearchaeologynewsnetwork/ on Facebook

However, our findings, based upon facial growth patterns, indicate they are indeed sufficiently distinct from one another.

Read more at: http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/study-differentiates-facial-growth-in.html#.VmdB5xDpxGM
Follow us: @ArchaeoNewsNet on Twitter | groups/thearchaeologynewsnetwork/ on Facebook

However, our findings, based upon facial growth patterns, indicate they are indeed sufficiently distinct from one another.

Read more at: http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/study-differentiates-facial-growth-in.html#.VmdB5xDpxGM
Follow us: @ArchaeoNewsNet on Twitter | groups/thearchaeologynewsnetwork/ on Facebook

However, our findings, based upon facial growth patterns, indicate they are indeed sufficiently distinct from one another.

Read more at: http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/study-differentiates-facial-growth-in.html#.VmdB5xDpxGM
Follow us: @ArchaeoNewsNet on Twitter | groups/thearchaeologynewsnetwork/ on Facebook

However, our findings, based upon facial growth patterns, indicate they are indeed sufficiently distinct from one another.

Read more at: http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com.au/2015/12/study-differentiates-facial-growth-in.html#.VmdB5xDpxGM
Follow us: @ArchaeoNewsNet on Twitter | groups/thearchaeologynewsnetwork/ on Facebook

And these examples come from one week in September 2012

Neanderthals and human lived side by side in Middle eastern caves and even interbred, research finds | Mail Online

Europeans did not inherit pale skins from Neanderthals - life - 26 September 2012 - New Scientist

NOVA | Are Neanderthals Human?

Neanderthals ... They're Just Like Us?

March 2013
 Tiny monkey teeth suggest Flores hobbit was a dwarf - life - 06 March 2013 - New Scientist

 The way we weren't: U of Minnesota biologist debunks myth that humans peaked in Paleolithic era

First early human fossil found in Africa makes debut - quite clearly it is really saying Yes we have worked it out and then but no we haven't

This one is fun The Neanderthals May Have Died Out Because of ... Bunnies? - Megan Garber - The Atlantic


And finally a fairly in depth discussion of DNA aspects -
Interbreeding With Neanderthals | DiscoverMagazine.com
 good work  the data is being collected and analysed

25 March more ....

 Neanderthal brains focused on vision and movement leaving less room for social networking so they didn't do Facebook?

Human Fossil Reveals No Genetic Bone Disorder | Human Evolution | LiveScience so the original research on Turkana Boy was all wrong the bones were assembled badly - sounds like The Brontosaurus never existed: A tale from the Bone Wars | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News - in essence the wrong skull

German team sequences full Neanderthal genome for the first time and makes it available to scientists for FREE | Mail Online

 Neanderthals: Facts About Our Extinct Human Relatives | LiveScience
 There is some debate as to whether they were a distinct species of the Homo genus (Homo neanderthalensis) or a subspecies of Homo sapiens

2014
'Neanderthal' Remains Actually Medieval Human | LiveScience 


Neanderthal speech - hyoid bone hypothesis - : Archaeology News from Past Horizons

Diabetes Risk May Come from Neanderthal Gene | LiveScience



And now N's weren't stupid
Study questions Neandertal inferiority to early modern humans

and
Modern humans left the home continent in at least two waves  


2015 and still High Imagination at work
Dogs bred from wolves helped humans take over from Neanderthals in Europe | Daily Mail Online
Wolves hounded large animals like mammoths etc and then when animal exhausted the homo sapiens moved in for the kill.... This meant the Neanderthals missed out on the prey and so died out....
Questions: Evidence that only Sapiens domesticated dogs? and that Neanderthals didn't use dogs and couldn't find anything else to eat.

Joshua and the Conquest

It is clear that Joshua and the Israelites conquered Canaan. Some archaeologists want to minimise it
Here is an article discussing some aspects
Conquest Confusion at Yale

Remembering September 2001

Well 11 September already here in Sydney. 11 years ago our family was celebrating the birth of dear Jarvis. I had just spent a month in hospital after massive DVT attack.
And Emma rang in early morning and said turn on the television. Whilst we slept a disaster had happened in USA. I just could not believe what I saw on the news. I'd been in New York just a couple of years before and have friends over there and they were all touched by what was happening.
It still shakes me to see the videos of 9/11.

Today a friend sent me an email on The Search Dogs of 9/11 Today
Here are the photos on line
The Search-and-Rescue Dogs of 9/11 - Slide Show - NYTimes.com

I do not know if those wonderful dogs are still around as this from Sep 2011 says Abby is The Last Remaining Search Dog | Dogster
"I love owner and handler Debra Tosch's description of how the dogs didn't realize they were being heroes. They were just having fun doing the job they knew made people happy."

It is a heart touching story and I had not heard of these dogs before. But what lovely servants to people.

Another aspect of that awful day

King David - what has been found mentioning him

The question was which is the earliest proven Biblical person meaning an archaeologist has found a text that shows the Biblical person lived.

The Tel Dan Stele has

"7. riots and thousands of horsemen (or: horses). [I killed Jeho]ram son of [Ahab]

8. king of Israel, and [I] killed [Ahaz]iahu son of [Jehoram kin-]
9. g of the House of David. And I set [their towns into ruins and turned]"

So Ahab etc are given existence whereas it is argued that House of David does not mean there was real David. I think House of David is pretty clear evidence that these kings saw themselves descended from King David and we are talking some 150 years so that sounds like they would know what they were talking about.

Click for an excellent article on the Tel Dan, Mesha and Shoshenq inscriptions and the relationship to King David:

Of course without Ahab etc being mentioned then they would still be considered fictional characters.



So I will be following the Eilat Mazar work with interest on what she says is King David's palace http://www.bib-arch.org/Mazar.pdf

As of Oct 2007 no sign of any updates as above is from end 2005

Eilat Mazar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2012 Did I Find King David’s Palace? – Biblical Archaeology Society

see also David Rohl - books and websites on his NEW Chronology

and some stuff on the Temple Mount as of October 2007

'Western Wall was never part of temple' The very extreme Muslim claim by Mufti and also said to have been held by Arafat| Jerusalem Post

And then actual traces of First Temple found

WorldNetDaily: Claim: Israel covering up Temple Mount destruction

Finds on Temple Mount from First Temple - Jewish World - Israel News - Arutz Sheva
including a contrary to the Mufti's claim

Moslem claims to the Temple Mount, on the other hand, have been debunked even by other Moslems. A commentator for the official Egyptian government weekly, of all places, has written that the entire Moslem claim on Jerusalem and the El-Aksa mosque is based on a mistaken reading of one chapter of the Quran. Ahmed Mahmad Oufa wrote that the verse that mentions a night journey by Muhammed to a mosque has nothing to do with Jerusalem, as is generally claimed, but with a mosque near the holy Moslem city of Medina.

November 2007 The Thinkers: The Bible and history of Israel shape a life
They have a Hebrew stone wall back to Solomon time.

October 2008
Find of Ancient City Could Alter Notions of Biblical David - NYTimes.com

KHIRBET QEIYAFA, Israel — Overlooking the verdant Valley of Elah, where the Bible says David toppled Goliath, archaeologists are unearthing a 3,000-year-old fortified city that could reshape views of the period when David ruled over the Israelites. Five lines on pottery uncovered here appear to be the oldest Hebrew text ever found and are likely to have a major impact on knowledge about the history of literacy and alphabet development.
..............But the archaeological record of that kingdom (David and Solomon) is exceedingly sparse — in fact almost nonexistent — and a number of scholars today argue that the kingdom was largely a myth created some centuries later. A great power, they note, would have left traces of cities and activity, and been mentioned by those around it. Yet in this area nothing like that has turned up — at least until now.

A good article on the site Bloomberg.com: Middle East

Did David and Solomon Exist? - very good analysis of current knowledge and comments of recent archaeology

Has Noah’s Vineyard Been Discovered? | Dr. Claude Mariottini – Professor of Old Testament

We have often discussed at Bible Studies the story of Noah starting wine making and getting drunk and what happens with his sons.....
Now could it be the storage area has been found..... Very close to Mount Ararat.... hmmmmmm
check what my good friend Claude has to say ............
Has Noah’s Vineyard Been Discovered? | Dr. Claude Mariottini – Professor of Old Testament

A very good blogger - check other stuff on his pages example Who Killed Goliath? | Dr. Claude Mariottini – Professor of Old Testament

Claude was recently on a vacation cruise and visited places I will be at next month
No Dollars Accepted Here | Dr. Claude Mariottini – Professor of Old Testament
including the excursion to Ancient Corinth and the podium as used by St Paul

And today Claude posted
The Wall Paintings at Catalhoyuk | Dr. Claude Mariottini – Professor of Old Testament
Probably the earliest Town in the world - do visit and follow the link - I've posted my thoughts

Pessah in Jerusalem: 1882, 1935 and 1948

Pessah in Jerusalem: 1882, 1935 and 1948

Amazing British Princes visited Jerusalem in 1882 - one the future King George V
I never knew that

David Fromkin’s new book: The King and the Cowboy

David Fromkin's new book: The King and the Cowboy

"The King and the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and Edward the Seventh: The Secret Partners".

Actually I think it should be "The King, the Cowboy and Autocrat" or whatever you want to call Kaiser Willie.
The book suggests that the King and the President colluded to stop the Kaiser's plans in the Moroccan crisis of 1905 and this set the stage for WW1 and hence WW2 etc.

It is very well written history and short as well so well worth reading to understand what happened in Europe at the transition from Queen Victoria into the 20th century. Goes into how Victoria and Albert tried to educate Edward and that Victoria may well have hated him. Similarly explores the strange upbringing of Willie and his personality problems. Willie was actually visiting his grandmother when she died and he loved British uniforms etc. And yet he set out to oppose Britain - even though many protest that his expansion of the German Navy was not to oppose Britain.

From this book a case is well established that Edward had much more say in policy than the subsequent Kings of England.

A very good read

Taj Mahal is now in Bangladesh

Ah you thought it was in India

India irritated by Taj Mahal copy | The Daily Telegraph

INDIA'S embassy in Bangladesh has voiced its displeasure over a life-size copy of the Taj Mahal, saying it would investigate to see if any copyright laws had been breached.

"You can't just go and copy historical monuments," a spokesman at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said.

"Someone will go out there and have a look. The reports we are reading say it is an exact replica. This is a protected site we are talking about so we need to find out if it really is the exact size.

Bangladeshi film director Ahsanullah Moni unveiled his $US58 million ($A88.35 million) replica, located about 30km north-east of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, this week.

Mr Moni began building it five years ago but came up with the idea in 1980 when he first visited the real "Monument to Love" in Agra, India.

He imported marble and granite from Italy, diamonds from Belgium and used 160kg of bronze for the dome.

"Everyone dreams about seeing the Taj Mahal but very few Bangladeshis can make the trip because it's too expensive for them," he said.

The Taj Mahal was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth in 1631.

Sweeney Todd: The Real Story of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I just read
Peter Haining - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
book on Sweeney

I just do not know when I first heard of Sweeney Todd. There was also Maria Marten and the Red Barn. Melodramas from Victorian times that were supposed to be fact!
I am sure my parents would have understood Sweeney to be real. The famous police force the Scotland Yard Flying Squad is known as the Sweeney. Todd rhymes with Squad. In London rhyming slang you drop the rhyming word. Aussies says Captain Cook for a "look" Londoners say Butcher's (hook assumed).

I was never sure when Sweeney was supposed to have been running his barber shop - I supposed early 19th century. Well Peter tells me 1785. And that he was born 1756 and has a complete life story leading up to the murders and how the Bow Street runners responding to complaints about foul smells from St Dunstan's investigate and find out it is due to all the all the bodies.
Peter has a number killed like 160 - due to all the clothes found. But Sweeney is only charged with killing someone called Thornhill. And in the trial a doctor identifies Thornhill's bone - due to some breakage that the doctor treated and the way it has healed. The whole case against Sweeney in Peter's "research" sounds very vague and it sounds like a good defence would have squashed it.

Trouble is Peter never gives sources for his findings. Except he quotes a paragraph or so found in material from a Broadway play in 1940s. Hardly an actual source.

Peter starts the book with a coverage of legends from Middle Ages time frame about "demon barbers" and human flesh eating murderers - some in France and one called Swaney Bane in Scotland. How strange that Peter tells us the story is a legend and then treats the 1785 events as genuine history.

Wiki article is quite clear Sweeney was fiction

Sweeney Todd - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  I just checked the 17/19th century newspapers at Australia National Library eResources - List item and not hit on Sweeney until 1852 when Llyod's weekly has the "string of pearls" story as a serial. Which Peter tells about in his book. He has an excellent coverage of Penny Dreadful writers and all the books and plays about Sweeney.  Peter Haining - Wikipedia whilst disparaging his work on Sweeney does acknowledge his research into literature and Sherlock Holmes.   Very strange that he should produce a book with so much research and resource quotes. without any resources for the his main story the actual existence of Sweeney  Todd.      

Flinders Ranges creature had eight arms

Flinders Ranges creature had eight arms - Science - Specials - smh.com.au

WHEN Jim Gehling first came across fossils of a strange, eight-armed creature in ancient rocks in the Flinders Ranges he was astonished.

Researchers had been combing these famous hills for 50 years, cataloguing evidence of the earliest known animals on Earth - soft-bodied sea creatures called the Ediacara biota that lived about 550 million years ago.

"We thought that by now we had found most of the different kinds of Ediacara fossils that existed," said Dr Gehling, of the South Australian Museum.

But not only was the extinct eight-armed creature, with its dome-shaped body, new to science, it was also unusual among all lifeforms: "Creatures with eight-fold symmetry are rare."

Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia and Anna Anderson/ Manahan and Ingrid Bergman and Grand Duchess Olga - the Aunt

I was always interested in events of 1917 and have a LP of Shostakovich's symphony

I think I always thought the suggestion that Anna Anderson was Anastasia was nonsense - how could the Bolsheviks have missed her in that fusillade of Mauser automatics and rifles in the cellar.

The 1956 film with Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brynner introduced me to the idea that some of the people who knew Anastasia did accept Anna as her. So I read more and it did seem so. Then recently I thought the whole business had been solved with a clear DNA test on the royal bodies found in Russia compared to Anna's DNA and that they were not related.

However now I hear there is doubt about that sample - it disappeared and then was found again - so was it actually from Anna. The sample tested might not have been Anna's so if not her then naturally it would not be Romanov. However apart from showing the sample's (whoever it belonged to) was not Romanov the tests did show that the sample was related to Franziska Schanzkowska - the Polish woman who was reputed to be Anna's real identity. I can accept that the sample was not Anna's but if she was was really Franziska and the sample was from Franziska then it seems proven that the sample was from Anna and the lack of links to Romanov's settles it. Unless there was a real conspiracy in 1994 when the DNA was proposed and a Franziska sample was switched - who got that sample - no that is too wild.

BUT what kind of test proved she was Franziska - mtDNA - and see the quote from
http://www.geocities.com/anastasiagrandduchess/

"In 1994, mtDNA matches were believed to prove identity, and to be unique to related individuals. Last year, an extensive UK study showed that out of a random 100 persons, four completely unrelated subjects shared exactly the same mtDNA profiles; extrapolate that here, on a board with 400 members: of the 400 of us posting here, 40 of us-unrelated to each other-would have identical mtDNA profiles, thus "proving" that we're related. The odds of a random mtDNA match between the Manahan sample and the Maucher profile are indeed considerable given the size of the world population and the numbers involved. I suspect, based on the continuing evolution of the science, that future studies will show mtDNA profiles to be even more common than this."

There is a lot on above site re why the Romanov DNA tests were not conclusive but as I said if the sample being actually Anna's is doubtful - it is the Franziska connection that makes it Anna's - however the statistics of DNA may cast doubt on that - but it could be considered a considerable statistic that the sample tested just happened by accident to be in the 4% of the population who share the same mtDNA as Franziska and her family.

More bizarre is that Franziska and Anna had different heights - Anna appeared in February 1920 and Franziska disappeared in March - the site above and the next one give a lot more detail on their differences.

http://members.ee.net/ahartsook/

The above is very good on all the reason why Anna might be the Grand Duchess -

and this is a very good on the whole business
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Anna+Anderson

The DNA testing is now under suspicion and looking at all the original evidence about her - marks on her body known to be like The Grand Duchess and scars consistent with the violence in the Ekaterinburg cellar including a bayonet wound in the foot all bring me back to thinking the impossible again.....

If Anna was Franziska and had been tutored to be Anastasia then the tutoring involved as far as I can make out knowing members of the Romanov on sight, knowing passwords and bank accounts (it seems the Tsar told his daughters) and very personal information about family events and people including that her uncle the Grand Duke of Hesse a German was visiting the Tsar in 1916 in WW1 which would have been treason and he always denied the visit but the Soviets published books which had records of this visit - this indicates the impossible visit did happen and that the so called impostor knew about it . As well as her having all this information she had to physically resemble the Duchess and have body markings like hers and on top of all that she had to learn Russian and English. And over what time frame did all this take place - a couple of weeks

I don't know - the most fascinating mystery of the 20th century and the jury is still out

Well then along came 31 May 2007 and ABC Sydney has a show on Grand Duchess Olga - the Aunt of Anastasia. Olga divorced the Prince they made her marry so that she could wed a commoner. She went to Denmark and later Canada and lived a lovely life. Everyone remembered her with great affection and you could just tell what a really caring person she was.
The show was quite plain she said Anna was not Anastasia. Wiki entry on Anna has a lot on Olga and you can see that she went to see Anna just in case she was Anastasia and found she was not. Her sister Xenia also was clear that she did not accept her either. The WHOLE family did not accept her. Anastasia's tutor did not accept. There were strange likeness and things that she knew. But it looks like seem of these are exaggerations.

Yup I think the jury has given a verdict......

AND this looks to be the final verdict

Remains of tsar's heir may have been found | Russia | Guardian Unlimited

The Royal family were found and buried in 1998 - except Alexei and one sister were still missing. They did say that Anastasia was there and Maria was missing - but that did not seem to be a confident assumption. Now they have found the missing pair. And the whole family can be buried together. Bless them all.

But how did Anna Anderson so confuse so many people.

Always nice when a "mystery" is solved

Chronology - sites I am reading

The Age of the Earth

Akhenaten - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Immanuel Velikovsky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ever since I read Immanuel back in 1970s I have been concerned about Egyptian conventional dating

The Revision of Ancient History: Revised Chronologies SIS has a great summary and actually is leading back to Velikovsky's theories

The Immanuel Velikovsky Archive


A CHRONOLOGICAL MODEL FOR THE 1st AND 2nd MILLENNIUM BC Part 1: THE CHRONOLOGY OF EGYPT AND ISRAEL


Old Testament Studies - Reliability and Chronology


NewChronology : David Rohl

Synopsis of David Rohl's book "A Test of Time" by John Fulton

ISIS - Journal of the Ancient Chronology Forum


Centuries of Darkness by Peter James, I. J. Thorpe, Nikos Kokkinos, Robert Morkot & John Frankish

The Megiddo Expedition


Bernard Newgrosh at Troubador Publishing
Bernard is a major contributor at the list at NewChronology : David Rohl
and he has published a book on NC
Chronology at the Crossroads - The Late Bronze Age in Western Asia - Matador Non-Fiction - Bernard Newgrosh

Not saying I agree with them just that I am reading

Some great reference material

The Jewish Theological Seminary - JANES

10/2008 I now am watching DVD by David Rohl on test of Time and Bible is it myth or reality

and have a look at Charles Kimball on Chronology
A Biblical Interpretation of World History, Chapter 1

Ramses II by Christiane Desroches Noblecourt

Ramses II : an illustrated biography by Christiane
Desroches Noblecourt
1996 - English language edition 2007.
The illustrations are magnificent.

I read this re my interest in Chronology - and posted this to Yahoo list on NC

I thought some dates that "the preeminent specist
on Ramses II" per jacket blurb provides might be
of interest.

Horemheb 1327-1295
(an illustration immediately alongside that text
says "reigned 1333-1306" I cannot understand that
as in text she goes on to say died 1295)

1295 Ramses son of Seti and Tuya would have been
in fifth year and would have seen crowning of Ram I

Seti takes 7 year old Ram II on expedition into
Canaan and Ram I makes Seti co-regent and then
dies just under 2 years after Horemheb with whom
he shared the rule.

Year 7-8 of Seti a peace treaty with Muwatallis
and in the ensuing time of peace Seti makes Ram II
co-regent

Year 14-15 of Seti when nearly 50 he dies and Ram
II just turned 25

Fifth year of Ram II when 30 his second Syrian
expedition and Battle of Kadesh

69th year when 92 he dies in 1213 - she discusses
up to 14th Jubilee celebrations.

Perhaps her opinion of events and years of reign
help discussions

--------
Christiane tries to discuss placing Exodus at time
of Ram II and suggests year 7 when he and
Imenherkhepeshef (eldest son) were on a dual
punitive expedition into Edom and Moab. "Clues
though are few and far between". (I'd agree with
that I just cannot see Ram II the Great as Pharaoh
of Exodus)

Much discussion in book on eldest changing name
later as Imen... disappears from the record. Of
course if he was the first born at the time of
Exodus then he was not around ......

Motya : unearthing a lost civilization. by Gaia Servadio

Motya : unearthing a lost civilization. by Gaia Servadio


Gaia is an Italian journalist who wrote for L'Ora who bravely tackled the Mafia . Her book is about her personal trips to Motya. A Punic city destroyed by the Greeks on an islet off Sicily with a sea covered road connected to the main land. Her story covers Joseph Whitaker who inherited a wine firm trading in Marsala - a very heavy dessert wine. Joseph purchased Motya and started digging for Carthaginian remains as well as collecting and stuffing birds. The family had some trouble with the mafia and the fascists . A rambling book but very interesting on the British running businesses in Sicily.


Gaia has a theory that the Carthaginians practised sacrifice of first born children because young women had to become temple prostitutes and when they married the father was not always clear. No wonder the Bible condemns the Canaanites.

Assignants

In essence bring back the assignants


A History of Money: From Ad 800 - Google Book Search

The French Revolution

Nous sommes tous des assassins

Many years ago I saw Nous sommes tous des assassins (1952)
which was about the horror of using the portable guillotine

And in England a man was hung because an accomplice in a crime shot someone but as he was underage he lived.

Capital punishment is not good

George Orwell - (Eric Blair) 1903-1950

Neil has just blogged on: George Orwell exposed!
Mainly that conservtives often quote Eric and how he changed from being a communist whereas he may have rejected dictators like Stalin but he did remain a Socialist and supporter of the Labour Party.

Do read George Orwell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am pleased to say I own at least one first edition of something and it is:
George Orwell: The English People. Publisher: 'Collins'. GB, London. 1947
A wonderful short essay on the English as he saw them.

A quote follows

during the Jubilee (George V) the rather servile slogan "Poor but Loyal." Other
slogans, however, coupled loyalty to the King with hostility to the landlord,
such as "Long Live the King. Down With the Landlord," or more often,
"No Landlords Wanted" or "Landlords Keep Away." It is too early to say
whether royalist sentiment was killed outright by the Abdication (1936) , but
unquestionably the Abdication dealt it a serious blow. Over the past four
hundred years it has waxed or waned according to circumstances. Queen
Victoria, for instance, was decidedly unpopular during part of her reign,
and in the first quarter of the nineteenth century public interest in the
Royal Family was not nearly as strong as it was a hundred years later. At
this moment the mass of the English people are probably mildly republican.
But it may well be that another long reign, similar to that of George V,
would revive royalist feeling and make it-as it was between roughly 1880
and 1936-an appreciable factor in politics

George wrote that in 1943 I suppose as surely by 1947 it was clear that George VI had revived royalist feeling with his two lovely daughters and the way the family behaved in WW2. And here we are 60 years after the book with a Queen who has reigned 54 years. I wonder what George would say now about republican position in England.

His great book was Nineteen Eighty-Four which in many ways was set in the dismal England of 1948 under rationing and with a Labour government . Recently we had a discussion on Movies and Neil and I both set Brazil (film) high on our lists. Made by Terry Gilliam in 1985 and obviously based on Eric's 1984 even though Terry says he never read the book. The office computers are modeled on 1948 Television sets and even show black and white cowboy films. An enormous romp of a film. See it. And perhaps first read the book and the Richard Burton film of

I got to the book through television the 1954 TV programme in which Peter Cushing was brilliant as Winston Smith - alas then Peter went on to a career as vampire killer.

The other well known book from George is Animal Farm- well worth reading - don't bother with the cartoon film. In this parody of Stalin and what happened to the Russian revolution Eric shows what changed his attitude to politics.

Of course Eric died at age 46 - at that age I myself was still supporting the ALP - if he had lived would Eric have changed?

On Neil's comment "The Road to Wigan Pier" is mentioned that and other books are on line from that link

Poll shows only 70% of Germans are sane

Just as Neil was discussing at One Salient Oversight: Hitler was not an Atheist
up comes this terrible poll
Nazis not all bad, 25% of Germans say - World - smh.com.au
"Those who grew up directly after World War II, now aged 45 to 59, were the least enthusiastic about the Nazi era, with only 15 per cent responding "yes"." But that's still 1 in 6.!!!

It seems it all started because some "a popular talk show host was sacked for praising Nazi Germany's attitude towards motherhood."
That is unless she was Jewish or a Gypsy or a Slav or anyone else the Nazi hated.
Hitler decided to show high regard for "traditional" values so people could say stupid things like "but he loves motherhood".

Don't young Germans understand what happened back then.
A year ago just to remind myself of what it must have been like. I read
The Third Reich in Power, 1933-1939 - Richard Evans - Penguin UK

'Do you know what fear is?' an elderly worker asked an interviewer some years after it was all over: 'No. The Third Reich was fear.' Yet terrorism was only one of the Third Reich's techniques of rule. For the Nazis did not just seek to batter the population into passive, sullen acquiescence. They also wanted to rouse it into positive, enthusiastic endorsement of their ideals and their policies, to change people's minds and spirits and to create a new German culture that would reflect their values alone.

It seems many people are still deluded.

General Custer and Errol Flynn and soldiers in battle

Recently re-watched Errol Flynn as Custer see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Died_with_Their_Boots_On

Always like an Errol Flynn movie - what a great Robin Hood and his exciting "The Charge of the Light Brigade". But strangely all these films were historical nonsense. The Wiki article recounts what was wrong with the Custer film. Although I do think the section on the Civil War was fairly on the ball - he did succeed because he was flamboyant.

Last year I saw Battlefield Detectives on the Archaeology of the Custer Little Big Horn battle and also read
Legend into history ; and, Did Custer disobey orders at the Battle of the Little / Kuhlman, Charles, 1872-1959. which discussed the topography of the battle in great detail. No I don't think Custer disobeyed orders. He would have been expected to attack if he came across the Indians. He just did not realise how many there were.

This is a great narrative on Custer and the course of the Battle

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-vetscor/1643759/posts

Note in the Flynn film the Indians make a final charge on mass across the circle of Custer's men. It did not happen. I remember seeing that "clip" from the film being used in other films. One was in colour and the battle was being looked at through a telescope which showed the old "clip" in B&W - I was most amused - I did not know telescopes did that......

Years ago I remember reading that the Indians had better rifles than the Cavalry. One surviving officer recounting that his saddle was struck by a bullet even though as far as he was concerned the Indian who fired was out of range of the Cavalry's carbines.

Yet the modern data is the single shot Springfield carbines did out range the Winchester repeating rifles that many Indians had. Perhaps the officer was mistaken and the Indian who fired at him had a longer range Sharps. Yet the article above credits the Winchester with greater range than the following articles which seem to me to be fairly definitive on the weapons and their effectiveness
http://www.lonestarrifle.com/Custer.html

http://www.westernerspublications.ltd.uk/CAGB%20Guns%20at%20the%20LBH.htm

The first also goes into the confusion and chaos of battle and how reluctant men are to kill even the enemy. It contains comments on the Battle of Gettysburg - in which it well known weapons were found after the battle which had been reloaded on top of undischarged rounds. The soldiers concerned did not even know their weapons had not fired and loaded again.

As I was composing this blog - our friend Neil published a general comment on war
Soldiers-who-dont-shoot-and-those-who-do

His source continues the point that soldiers don't really want to shoot and kill.

So Big Horn - Custer split his force and attacked an overwhelming number of Indians who were armed with rifles that could hurt his force. Custer's 7th Cavalry was not the elite highly trained force that Flynn's film implied. There is a strange comment on one of sites that the Springfield which was a single shot with a funny find of extractor ejector could with training be fired at 15 shots a minute - I find that hard to believe and the number of rounds found by archaeologists around the firing positions does not bear that out. The Cavalry did take up their planned firing lines - not a mass group altogether as in the Flynn film. But I think it was more individual fire not the controlled volleys the British used so effectively say at Rorke's Drift as seen in the Zulu film see Zulu: The True Story

The British won the Battle of Quebec because their training enabled musket fire at three shots a minute versus the two of the French army. Soldiers have to be trained to fire fast - it is the number of shots that decide battles.

A classic film "The Three Feathers" had a nonsense re Kitchener at the Battle of Omdurman in the Sudan. (Sudan was a problem a 100 years ago and still is). Kitchener says the immortal words 'Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes". In fact the British rifles at that time were effective at a long range and they were killing the enemy horsemen when they were over 1000 yards. If Custer's men had had such weapons and training they would most likely have won. But their government armed them with a cheap single shot carbine so as to save money on ammunition. The Americans obviously do not make that kind of mistake nowadays.

Zulu: The True Story

Recently ABC TV in Sydney repeated "Zulu: The True Story"
The Battle of Isandlwana and Rorke's drift 1879

This is the BBC summary of the show
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/zulu_01.shtml

First part
"A dangerous mix of self-confidence and contempt for their foes infected many in the British Army during the Zulu War. This misjudgement led to thousands of deaths - and an unsavoury, high-level cover-up - "

I found the show interesting as it showed the places etc in which the battles happened but quite sad in its conclusions about the " high-level cover-up"

Let's look at the opening "thousands of deaths " - a later BBC page says
"The culmination of Chelmsford's incompetence was a blood-soaked field littered with thousands of corpses. Of the original 1,750 defenders - 1,000 British and 750 black auxiliaries - 1,350 had been killed." Now 1350 is not thousands its several hundreds yes but surely "thousands" implies at least 3000. Of course a lot of Zulus died also but that does not seem to be what the program was concerned about.

In the program part of the cover up was said to be the award of the V.C. to Lieutenants Melville and Coghill for their escape with the Queen's Colour of the 24th Foot. These officers were said to be cowards who deserted their men and perhaps so but the program was trying to make a point about spin doctoring in 1879. Let us see - these officers died and their VCs were awarded posthumously but not when the cover up was "needed" back in 1879. They were only awarded the medal in 1907 after the law was changed to allow this high honour to be awarded posthumously. Note: Chelmsford died in 1905 before the award was made which was supposedly done to draw attention from his failure.

Colours were highly important to British regiments - the 24th had lost colours in India and a further loss in Africa would have been bad for prestige - here is a good account of the battle http://www.britishbattles.com/zulu-war/isandlwana.htm
down the page is a photo of the troop who retrieved the colours from the river - obviously a major event

What was amazing in the TV show was the big jump between the battle and Chelmsford arriving back in London and conspiring with Queen Victoria to stay in his job. Hang about what happened to the rest of the Zulu War leading up to the Battle of Ulundi when the Zulus were defeated outside their capital. Why were these events not covered in some detail. Except that I knew Chelmsford's role in the Zulu War I don't think I would have understood that from this program. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ulundi
"The day after the Battle of Ulundi, Lord Chelmsford received indication that Sir Wolseley was taking over command. Chelmsford replied to both the Secretary of State For War and Wolseley that he took his supersession as criticism of his conduct, and since he had now defeated the Zulus he requested permission to return home, which he did.". So what was the cover up - Garnet was sent to take over - did the program mention this. The program was not good history.

Now some other BBC statements on Chelmsford
"Even more significantly, he tried to push blame for the defeat onto Colonel Durnford, now dead, claiming that Durnford had disobeyed orders to defend the camp. 'Many generals blunder in war, but few go to such lengths to avoid responsibility.'The truth is that no orders were ever given to Durnford to take command."

Versus
http://www.britishbattles.com/zulu-war/isandlwana.htm
"Colonel Pulleine was left in camp with the 1st Battalion of the 24th Foot. Orders were sent to Colonel Durnford to bring his column up to reinforce the camp." and later "At about 10am Colonel Durnford arrived at Isandlwana with a party of mounted men and a rocket troop.
Durnford promptly left the camp to follow up the reports of the imminence of the Zulus and Pulleine agreed to support him if he found himself in difficulties"

It seems that orders had been given to Durnford but he did not stay in the camp but moved out - perhaps his men and the rocket troop might have made a difference if they had been in the camp when the Battle took place

Wiki sums up the battle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Isandlwana
But I don't see a lot of complaints about Chelmsford tactics etc.

In the film "Zulu Dawn" he got a serve but now the TV has forced me to re-think I am more inclined to see Pulleine at error in placing his firing line and Durnford in charging off with his men.

The spin doctoring of Rorke's drift
You could almost infer that Chelmsford organised the defence of the farm to take the heat off his "failure" at Isandlwana.
BBC - "Few, however, remember that it was fought on the same day that the British Army suffered its most humiliating defeat at nearby Isandlwana. Why? Because it suited those responsible for the disaster to exaggerate the importance of Rorke's Drift in the hope of reducing the impact of Isandlwana"

No I don't see that - are they saying the Press did not report the battle and loss of such a large number of men.
And of course the men of Rorke's drift deserve honours - they held the place against a very large force and stopped them advancing into Natal . Of course our modern understanding of the event is influenced by the 1964 film but the film was not organised by Queen Victoria.

From http://www.britishbattles.com/zulu-war/rorkes-drift.htm
"Sir Garnet Wolseley, taking over as Commander-in-Chief from Lord Chelmsford, was unimpressed with the awards made to the defenders of Rorke’s Drift, saying “it is monstrous making heroes of those who shut up in buildings at Rorke’s Drift, could not bolt, and fought like rats for their lives which they could not otherwise save"
versus
"The medical consequences of the battle: It seems likely that a number of the defenders of Rorke’s Drift subsequently suffered from what is now classified as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Corporal Schiess fell “on hard times” and died in 1884 aged 28 years; Pte John Fielding’s hair is said to have turned white shortly after the battle; William Jones in old age suffered from nightmares that the Zulus were about to attack; Robert Jones shot himself in 1896"
so was Wolseley right - I don't think so

The BBC program did not like that Bromhead and Chard were awarded VCs as they were officers and it was an upper crust award - what about the 5 other VCs were they upper crust - NO. The program then went on to say other people should have also got VCs - mainly a sergeant whose grandson was in the show - on one hand it was a cover up that VCs were awarded and then there were not enough.......

Other quotes from the show re the " Zulu" film - "they are using rifles captured at Isandlwana to shoot at us" - quote this could not be as the Zulu's were a reserve force who had not been at main battle - certainly the Zulu used such rifles in other battles http://www.britishbattles.com/zulu-war/khambula.htm
and I think it is underestimating theZulu to say they would not have taken rifles to Rorke's drift
There was a complaint about the Zulu film regarding the Welsh bias - however to me in the film the men in the film seemed to be a mixture of Welsh and English as it also shown by lists of those taking part.
again from http://www.britishbattles.com/zulu-war/ulundi.htm
The Zulu War was one of the last campaigns fought by the old numbered infantry regiments of the British Army. In 1882 the Cardwell Reforms brought in the system of two battalion regiments, by combining the single battalion regiments in pairs and assigning formal regional titles. The regiments up to the 25th Foot already had two battalions and simply took the new titles. The 24th Foot, which had both its battalions in the Zulu War, fighting at Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, from being the South Warwickshire Regiment became the South Wales Borderers; the shift in focus from the English West Midlands to Wales being a nod to the Welsh origins of the soldiers of B Company of the 2nd Battalion who had held Rorke’s Drift.

I am glad to get this off my chest - I was not happy with Zulu the True Story