tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-101569832024-03-06T19:34:23.633-08:00warwritingWriting on military history, war reporting, military book reviews, military publishers, army, navy, air force, world wars, military publications, military memoirs, historical novels, Great War, World War One, World War Two, Anglo-Boer War, combat, medals, militaria.
[Copyright Sidney Allinson 2010. May be re-printed on condition attribution is stated along with a URL link
to Warwriting.]Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-88909244370231459422011-10-07T21:24:00.000-07:002011-10-07T21:24:31.081-07:00"JEREMY KANE" now on Kindle.<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">'Pleased to say, another of my printed books has now been also published in a Kindle edition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"JEREMY KANE: A Canadian historical adventure novel of the 1837 Mackenzie Rebellion </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">and its brutal aftermath in the Australian penal colonies."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">See it here:</span><a href="http://www.1837rebel.info/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">www.1837rebel.info</span></a>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-66384405894795272302011-10-07T21:02:00.000-07:002011-10-07T21:02:35.588-07:00LIVE REMEMBERING YOU WILL DIE ONE DAY<span style="font-size: large;">The late great, Steve Jobs left many a thoughtful observation, but perhaps his most universal </span><span style="font-size: large;">piece of invaluable advice to each of us is this:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure -- these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-- Steve Jobs.</span>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-17276337853293174472011-10-07T20:43:00.000-07:002011-10-07T20:43:31.238-07:00Feeling sorry for yourself?<strong><span style="font-size: large;">If you think your life is tough</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">-- read some history books.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"> -- Bill Maher.</span></strong>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-78065935587373267162011-09-13T22:05:00.001-07:002011-09-13T22:06:33.613-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">A Sobering View Of Democracy</span></strong></div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">According to Alexander Fraser Tyler,</span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>a British contemporary of George </strong><strong>Washington:</strong></span></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It can exist only until the voters discover they can vote themselves</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">largesse (defined as a liberal gift) out of the public treasury. </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">From that</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">collapses over loose fiscal policy, always to be followed by a dictatorship."</span></strong></div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-35065932224746324352011-09-11T16:38:00.001-07:002011-09-11T16:41:07.062-07:00<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0766021181&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Attack-America-Collapsed-American-Disasters/dp/0766021181?ie=UTF8&tag=Ashantix&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Attack on America: The Day the Twin Towers Collapsed (American Disasters)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0766021181&tag=Ashantix" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=Ashantix&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0766021181" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/102-Minutes-Unforgettable-Survive-Inside/dp/0805094210?ie=UTF8&tag=Ashantix&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">102 Minutes: The Unforgettable Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=Ashantix&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0805094210" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTti8H4c4Y4oeofnLPoANM3-18gh-e5ZWKNbjAAc1qbyMoW6-Y_cqF3lpkOM6KPGPbxUwPvNwEw3bAZNXHpvL8QqmvyAu3G1FJI3tU5pyheCMHx4EwUXzWdrHGSLVSeVaPNyWK_A/s1600/plane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTti8H4c4Y4oeofnLPoANM3-18gh-e5ZWKNbjAAc1qbyMoW6-Y_cqF3lpkOM6KPGPbxUwPvNwEw3bAZNXHpvL8QqmvyAu3G1FJI3tU5pyheCMHx4EwUXzWdrHGSLVSeVaPNyWK_A/s1600/plane.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong>U.S. GOVERNMENT IGNORED FBI AGENTS' WARNINGS</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><strong>OF TERRORISTS TRAINING AT ARIZONA FLIGHT SCHOOLS AND MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY TO PREVENT TRAGEDY.</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">Two months before September 11, 2001, when Islamic terrorist attacks destroyed New York City's Twin Towers, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent in Phoenix, Arizona, named Kenneth Williams sent a memorandum to senior FBI officials in New York and Washington, DC.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">The agent warned about an unusually large number of Muslims taking training at American flight schools.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He wrote: "This is to advise the Bureau and New York authorities of the possibility of a coordinated effort by [UBL] Usama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda to send students to the United States to attend civil aviation universiities.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Phoenix office has observed an inordinate number of individuals of investigative interest who are attending or have attended civil aviation colleges in the state of Arizona.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The large number of such individuals attending these types of of schools, and fatwas issued by UBL, gives reason to believe that a coordinated effort is underway to establish a cadre of individuals who will one day be working in the civil aviation community around the world. These individuals will be in a position in future to conduct terror activity against civil aviation targets ..."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Agent Williams' warning was ignored at the highest levels of the American intelligence community and government; possibly as consequence of arrogant belief that Moslems were incapable of launching a sophisticated form of attack.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today, on this sad 10th. anniversary of destruction of the Twin Towers and horrific murder of 2,752 innocent men, women, and children, we can only hope there will never be a repeat of this official failure to respond preventively against the enemies still among us. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center"></div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-89325219679644717402011-07-09T10:52:00.002-07:002011-07-09T11:02:37.198-07:00<div align="center"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img height="300" id="il_fi" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQ6jB_UqIit-zpW6cCF343t5l51TgO91tishiKRl10fTGU0-wm1NVJ8ukxAgdYu-C9kwq9c4n0oDM9jps1Kl4m1dVMJHIdtJgc3T82wmaXeZJMqu3gHliSUVrawPX-ge01v_T/s400/canadian-soldiers-in-afghanistan-9b.jpg" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="400" /></span></div><br />
<div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri"; font-size: 12pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style;">CANADIAN SOLDIERS SAY "ADIOS, AFGHANISTAN!"</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style;">Pleased to say, Canadian troops are being withdrawn from Afghanistan, as of today -- July 8, 2011. After 10 years of service there, and suffering 157 dead Canadian soldiers, our part in that </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style;">lousy, stupid, futile war is at an end. Complete waste of good lives, waste of good money, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: Bookman Old Style;">and absolute waste of time.</span></strong></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-32253014308099486952011-06-20T12:30:00.007-07:002011-06-20T20:10:35.670-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1847970303&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JGEL49taDE_NIrtk56h_yhHwWV6myCPsqYWsnbK6fOKNktnJZ-sLR967Hf4NCSdxKPi2x1A6ZehTRzvh__37zXYHR8Iw84r2cnaHRntU1U-HWf3u9KRBYtHDKRBJX8OETnc3Qw/s1600/Maxim+with+his+m.g..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JGEL49taDE_NIrtk56h_yhHwWV6myCPsqYWsnbK6fOKNktnJZ-sLR967Hf4NCSdxKPi2x1A6ZehTRzvh__37zXYHR8Iw84r2cnaHRntU1U-HWf3u9KRBYtHDKRBJX8OETnc3Qw/s1600/Maxim+with+his+m.g..jpg" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Was Hiram Maxim's invention of the</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">machine-gun </span><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">sparked by a boyhood accident caused to his mother?</span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Countless millions of people have been killed by the machine-gun since its design by the American inventor, Hiram Maxin, in 1884. Improbable as it may seem, his idea for the weapon was literally sparked by an accident during his childhood. Late in life, Maxim reminisced about the incident: "When I was quite a </span><span style="font-size: large;">small boy, my mother wanted to shoot an owl she saw in a tree in the garden. So she got a gun from t</span><span style="font-size: large;">he house, an old flint-lock musket and loaded it, but it would not go off. I was siezed with the idea of </span><span style="font-size: large;">applying a hot coal to the powder while my mother aimed the gun. So I rushed into the house, </span><span style="font-size: large;">returning triumphantly with a piece of hot cinder in a pair of tongs. This I held to the gun, and as I did </span><span style="font-size: large;">so, the owl flew off and the red-hot cinder fell and set fire to my mother's dress, burning her badly. </span><span style="font-size: large;">This so upset me that I vowed I would invent an automatic gun which would fire itself."</span>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-50296462002307076432011-06-16T22:12:00.003-07:002011-09-23T15:21:02.430-07:00<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0719556376&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 40.2pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><strong>The spin doctors view of WW II</strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Recently, I watched a re-run of a National Geographic TV documentary called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Bombing Of Germany</i>. While emphasising the Allied aerial bombing campaign against Germany in WWII, the programme completely omits the context of it – the Nazi’s preceding merciless air-attacks against Warsaw, Belgrade, London, and virtually every other European country.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">It reminded me of t</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">he controversial "official" history of the RCAF - </span><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond;">The </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Crucible </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond;">of War, </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">1939-1945</span></i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">. Written by Brereton Greenhous and a gaggle of other trendy historians linked with Canada’s Department of National Defence, it included the assertion that Royal Canadian Air Force flyers in WWII were “terrorists.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The book re-awoke bitter controversy over a CBC-TV series, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Valor and the </i></span><i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond;">Horror. </span></i><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">All three of these revisionist viewpoints </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">claimed that Allied bombing of Germany in the latter stages of the war was "terror" bombing designed to break civilian morale. The obvious anti-British bias of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">V&H</i> series by Brian and Terry McKenna left the impression that there wasn't much difference between how our side and Germany waged war. They claimed that massive air raids ordered by Air Marshal "Bomber" Harris (whom the McKennas renamed "Butcher" Harris) had little effect on German war production and was mostly aimed at civilians.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">At the time, many veterans and others took exception to the McKennas' view. Unquestionably there was an aspect of revenge in the RAF bombing raids -- getting even for the indiscriminate bombing blitz on London and Coventry and many other British cities, aimed at crushing the British will to resist -- part of Adolf Hitler’s spoken promise of waging “total war.” Luftwaffe attacks killed 65,000 British civilians, but only strengthened British resolve and morale.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">Revisionists’ favourite resentment against Allied bombing of Germany focuses on the RAF/USAAF bombing of Dresden on Feb. 13-15, 1945, which killed approx. 25,000 Germans. This figure was concluded after a five-year research study conducted by the (German) Dresden Historians Commission, and confirmed the estimated casualty report by Dresden’s chief of police in 1945. This figure is far less than the 500,000 death-toll often claimed by far-left groups and sensationalist writers to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The fact is that British and German people share certain valiant characteristics, including that neither nationality collapses easily under pressure or adversity. So it should have been predictable that bombing German cities and inflicting an horrendous 600,000 civilian casualties would not completely break Germany's spirit to continue fighting on, even after it was obvious their defeat was inevitable. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">But as Hitler's minister of War Production, Albert Speer later pointed out that, while bombing didn't prevent German factories from producing guns and tanks, it reduced their numbers</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. </span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Air-raids also resulted in over 19,000 awesome 88-mm. flak-guns produced in 1942-44 being allocated for anti-aircraft defence of the Fatherland, instead of being used on the battle-fronts. And the need to defend cities against air-raids absorbed a million troops who would otherwise have been fighting at the front.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif";">The Allied bombing war on Germany in World War Two cost the lives of 50,000 Royal Air Force crew-members (including 10,000 Canadians) and 50,000 American flyers. A terrible toll, but it did save the lives of countless American, British, Canadian, Russian, and other Allied soldiers. No amount of attempts to re-write history can ever diminish their sacrifice and the rightness of the cause in which they died.<o:p></o:p></span></span>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-32208020898774232962011-06-16T20:16:00.000-07:002011-06-16T20:16:19.983-07:00<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The proliferation of e-mail that has almost done away with hand-written letters could have a harmful effect on the future of military history records. Newspaper columnist Naomi Lakritz makes a thoughtful comment on this:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">“<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">A </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span>couple of years ago, while wandering through a military museum, I stopped to chat with a soldier who was working on renovations to a gallery. He said the biggest problem museums face is being caused by new technology. Vast archives of private letters and photos will not exist for future displays, because these days nobody saves digital photos and e-mails. This will leave a huge gap in knowledge for future researchers and historians.”</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span>A sobering and disturbing thought.</span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-21387840823594276792011-05-26T10:26:00.001-07:002011-05-26T10:29:25.252-07:00<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b> <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">NAZI SABOTEURS<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B000XUDHSE&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> CAME</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>TO BLOW UP AMERICA</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">On June 13 and June 17, 1942, two groups of German sabotage agents landed from U-boats on shores of Long Island and Florida, as part of a German Abwehr mission, codenamed <i>Operation Pastorius</i>. The mission was named by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, chief of Abwehr, the German military intelligence organization, a sardonic reference to Francis Daniel Pastorius, leader of the first organized settlement of German immigrants to America.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Subsequent events of the sabotage attempt were summarized later in a 1943 report written by British Secret Service agent Victor Rothschild who was sent to United States to be briefed on the incident. His report covered the Nazi mission's objectives; The German personnel sent on the mission; information about the training the German agents received at sabotage school; and the equipment to be used during the operation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">During the first few months after the United States officially entered World War II, America's major contribution to the war was industrial. America was able to produce and supply weapons, ammunition, equipment, and supplies to Britain and other nations already fighting against Germany. This infusion of U.S. arms production so stung the Nazi war machine, that the German high command ordered direct aggressive action to reduce American war supply output. However, with the Atlantic Ocean separating Germany from U.S. facilities, the enemy's ability to use conventional military tactics was limited. So German Intelligence decided that sabotage would be the most effective means available to interrupt American production.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">"The task of the saboteurs was to slow down production at certain factories concerned with the American war effort," Rothschild wrote in his report. "The sabotage was not to be done in such a way that it appeared accidental," he noted. "The saboteurs were however told that they must avoid killing or injuring people as this would not benefit Germany."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">The saboteurs selected for the mission were eight Germans who had spent time in the United States, and two were American citizens. They were trained at a sabotage school near Berlin, where they studied chemistry, incendiaries, explosives, timing devices, secret writing, and concealment of identity. The U.S. targets planned for their mission included: hydroelectric plants at Niagara Falls, Aluminum Company of America's plants, Ohio River locks, the Horseshoe Curve railroad pass near Altoona, PA, Pennsylvania Railroad's rail yards, a cryolite plant in Philadelphia, Hell Gate Bridge in New York; and Pennsylvania Station in Newark, New Jersey.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">The first batch of saboteurs arrived by U-Boat U-202, at Amagansett, Long Island, New York. They wore German military uniforms, so that if caught they would be handled as POWs and not as spies. The second batch came aboard U-boat U-584 and landed at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">The first group included George John Dasch. Victor Rothschild perceptively wrote in his report, "It is abundantly evident that the leader of the first group of saboteurs, George John Dasch, had every intention of giving himself up to the American authorities and compromising the whole expedition, probably from the moment it was suggested to him in Germany that he should go to the USA on a sabotage assignment."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Dasch did exactly as predicted, promptly going to Washington, DC, to turn himself in to FBI headquarters. He simply telephoned FBI headquarters from his Washington hotel room and waited for Federal agents arrived to take him into custody. The FBI at first treated Dasch as if he was mentally unstable, until he showed them $84,000 he was given to fund the operation. His co-operation helped lead to the other seven saboteurs being taken into custody over the next two weeks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">They were put on trial before a secret military tribunal comprised of seven U.S. Army officers appointed by President Roosevelt. The trial was held in the Department of Justice building in Washington. The prosecution team was lead by Attorney General Frances Biddle and the Army Judge Advocate General, Major General Myron C. Cramer. The Defense team was lead by Colonel Kenneth C. Royall, who later became Secretary of War under President Truman, and Major Lausen H. Stone, the son of Harlan Fiske Stone, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">All eight</span><span style="font-size: large;"> would-be </span><span style="font-size: large;"> sabotage agents were found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death. However, because of their cooperation, President Roosevelt commuted the sentences of Peter Burger to life in prison and George Dasch to 30 years in prison. On August 8, 1942, the other six were executed in an electric chair on the third floor of the District of Columbia jail. Their bodies were buried in a cemetery potter's field called Blue Plains in the Anacostia region of Washington.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">In 1948, President Truman granted Burger and Dasch executive clemency, and they were deported to the American Zone of then still-occupied Germany.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-54638084920850847582011-04-28T13:56:00.001-07:002011-04-28T14:03:48.388-07:00<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0783107986&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">HISTORICAL IGNORANCE</span></strong></div><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">My favorite incidence of historical ignorance was told by my late friend, ex-Chief Master Sergeant Lucien Thomas DFM, (ex-RAF, USAAF, USAF)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Lucien had treated his two daughters to expensive university educations (including -- alas -- Berkeley, London School of Economics, and the Sorbonne.)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">One of his daughters and another mid-20s young woman came into the room while Lucien was watching a TV movie about the bombing of Nagasaki. <br />
"Who would do such a horrible thing?" his daughter asked.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Though stunned by her ignorance, Lucien said calmly, "America, of course."<br />
"But why? she squealed. "What did the Japanese ever do to us?"<br />
I would have given $50 to see Lucien's face that day ....</span></strong>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-63466796099956066172011-04-16T13:12:00.000-07:002011-04-16T13:12:56.887-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span> KRUGER'S GOLD<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0738865850&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span>:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A novel of the Anglo-Boer War</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">by Sidney Allinson.</span></div><br />
<em><span style="font-size: large;">Reader's review, by Renee Cox:</span></em><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Sidney Allinson's books are always surprises. They can start off unassumingly and build up to rip-snorting sagas of ceaseless adventure. In his finest work yet, Allinson doesn't even start off slowly. Kruger's Gold grips the reader at once and the pace never slows. As I read this action tale of the struggle a century ago between South Africa's Boers, and England and her "colonials," I was repeatedly struck with the idea this would be and should be a wonderful movie. Allinson's experience as a television producer may have given him that hot-shot cameraman's "eye" or it could simply be that any good yarn so stirringly told lends itself to theatre in the best sense.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">On these pages, a segment of history that was soon obscured by two ensuing, bloodier world wars leaps to life. It is really the twilight of an era, with Europeans jostling for power and position and, in this case in particular, South African gold. Allinson fills in the historical perspective while following a Canadian soldier and his colonial troops who, late in the war, have been assigned to find the legendary government cache of gold that departing Prime Minister Paul Kruger was said to have stashed before leaving in 1900 for exile in Europe.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Allinson writes sympathetically of the brilliant Boer commandos fighting to retain their homeland and their way of life. His story is not overly revisionist: the Boers have seized this land from the native tribes, after all, and even the most principled among them want to keep the blacks and "coloureds" in their place, lest their </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">vast numbers overwhelm the white settlers. Even through a more politically correct prism, we must admire the self reliance of these men whose surprise tactics and talented marksmanship enabled them to strike at the enemy, melt away into the bush, and return to attack another day. Many if not most of the men have lost wives and children to the war; yet, while they can be ruthless, they treat surrendered prisoners with a decency and respect that arouses a sense of nostalgia in the reader. Their English counterparts do as well with their own prisoners, for the most part.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The story he includes of the concentration camps where stranded Boer families and prisoners were placed to wait out the war is not as happy a one. (Those places were not "concentration camps" in today's Nazi sense of death-camps. Rather the British camps were set up to litrally "concentrate" Boer civilians who had been forced off their farms.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">However, Allinson paints a grim picture of the horrors where women and children and some men languished in filthy conditions with poor diets and disease and death dogging every step. A few selfless medical workers do their best, but there are no facilities and their supplies are woefully inadequate. The camps were not England's finest legacy to the history texts.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The romances in the book provide a lusty and pleasing counterpoint. Even the horses get to play a heart-warming role. His thorough grasp of military affairs, cavalry warfare, and soldierly detail adds to the feeling of authenticity. And throughout the book, Allinson has peppered the story with fascinating historical minutiae, such as the Boer heroine not being allowed to play ragtime music, then the rage, because it was produced by black performers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Read this book. It is a treat. </span><a href="http://southafricanwar.info/"><span style="font-size: large;">http://southafricanwar.info</span></a><br />
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Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-50738233384253441892011-04-07T20:24:00.000-07:002011-04-07T20:24:31.315-07:00<span style="font-size: large;">Soldiers don't start wars. Politicians start wars. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><em> --- William Westmoreland</em></span>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-10064173886545203362011-03-25T16:45:00.001-07:002011-03-25T16:46:35.649-07:00<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0738865850&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>SEX SCENES IN MILITARY-THEMED NOVELS</strong>.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">True, I included sex scenes in three of my military-themed novels, but without lingering on the obvious bodily details. I like to think my readers have sufficient imagination to understand what is going on.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">However, some new, younger, literary agents seem convinced that no manuscript is acceptable unless it is slathered with numerous sex scenes described in excruciatingly gross detail. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Typically, such “agents” are gormless, gauche, and quite unsuited to their job.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I treasure the memory of one such poor soul (female), who suggested that I change a WWII manuscript of mine to include a scene in which the soldier hero copulated with a woman war-correspondent aboard a landing-barge speeding through shot and shell while approaching an enemy shore fortress. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Evidently, the agent lacked my experience that when you are under fire, sex tends to be rather the last thing on your mind.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">-- Sidney Allinson.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<a href="http://www.southafricanwar.info/"><span style="font-size: large;">http://www.southafricanwar.info/</span></a><br />
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<div align="center"></div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-75003116483124315722011-03-20T15:18:00.001-07:002011-03-20T15:20:20.800-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">HOW TO CURE WIDESPREAD<br />
IGNORANCE OF MILITARY HISTORY</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Writers of military history and historical novels in general have a personal interest in encouraging public knowledge of history – and in rectifying the deplorably high level of historical ignorance. Fashionable anti-war posturing may lend social cachet in liberal circles, but nevertheless some knowledge of the history of warfare is essential to a broader understanding of all human history.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">See here why the widespread extent of the problem is inexcusable, and some suggestions how knowledge of history could be made more appealing:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2011/03/20/how-to-get-smart-again.html">http://www.newsweek.com/2011/03/20/how-to-get-smart-again.html</a></div><div style="text-align: left;">-- Sidney Allinson.</div><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0060760176&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-62133624299590095492011-03-20T12:57:00.001-07:002011-03-20T12:58:44.420-07:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">BRITAIN'S VIEW OF THE ALLIED</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">AIR-STRIKES AGAINST LIBYA.</span></strong></div><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">‘Turbulent world, lately, isn’t it? (2011)</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">To people my age, it seems quite like old times to see Libya in the news again. Benghazi, Tripoli, Tobruk ... Familiar scenes of WWII ding-dong battles back and forth between the British Army and the German Afrika Korps in 1941/42.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Interesting to see how the Allied forces' attack on Gadhaffi’s Libya is seen in Britain today:</span></strong><br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/iayP4w"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">http://bit.ly/iayP4w</span></strong></a><br />
<strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong><br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0016HLFXC&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-25086523437455000752011-03-20T12:27:00.005-07:002011-03-20T13:27:40.304-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh16CeBKohTJXlVn6QcGTefGH7uEXx8ISVhocp4soK8Bd40qOu-Rz2aZAS14B4eSL3WwUel_y88DdBYcG0-QZbb1mOSPbm1dg-asCG09FC6mNkCqTd8AboJUDuDRLG-B6R5WjK7rw/s1600/libya+map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh16CeBKohTJXlVn6QcGTefGH7uEXx8ISVhocp4soK8Bd40qOu-Rz2aZAS14B4eSL3WwUel_y88DdBYcG0-QZbb1mOSPbm1dg-asCG09FC6mNkCqTd8AboJUDuDRLG-B6R5WjK7rw/s400/libya+map.gif" width="371" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">ALLIED AIR-STRIKES AGAINST</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">GADHAFFI'S LIBYA.</span></strong></div><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Here we go again --- Western nations are once more allies in a thankless war. As we speak (March 20, 2010) a squadron of Canadian fighter planes is about to fly into harm’s way in Libya, alongside USAF, RAF, and French Airforce fighter-planes and naval ships that are already attacking Gadhaffi's forces.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;">I fear we have possibly just stumbled into yet another cataclysmic war. They all start with us busy-body-ing into “saving” a small nation -- Belgium, Poland, Iraq. Pray, Libya does not widen to pitchfork us into war with a resentful united Moslem world.</span></strong><br />
<div align="center"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0521615542&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-30218409503784896192011-03-17T13:40:00.005-07:002011-03-17T14:09:51.478-07:00<div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0771064810&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span></div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">MOST YOUNG CANADIANS ARE IGNORANT</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">OF THEIR NATION'S MILITARY HISTORY</span><br />
By Don Butler, Postmedia News March 14, 2011.<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">Most young Canadians know little or nothing about most of the wars and peacekeeping missions their countrymen have served in, according to a survey done one year ago for Veterans Affairs Canada.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">While a bare majority of the 13-to-17-year-olds surveyed claimed to know at least a moderate amount about the Second World War, their knowledge fell off rapidly beyond that.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">More than two-thirds said they knew very little or nothing at all about the First World War, and nearly as many were equally unaware of Canadian peacekeeping efforts since 1960.Their ignorance peaked with the Korean War, about which 82 per cent said they knew nothing or very little. Even for the best-known conflict, the Second World War, 37 per cent of the youth said they knew very little, and nine per cent knew nothing at all.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The 514 youth were surveyed last March by Phoenix Strategic Perspectives as part of a $47,600 project for Veterans Affairs designed to assess Canadians' awareness, engagement, and satisfaction with Remembrance Day programming.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"It's discouraging that young people don't know a lot about the events of our past," said Jeremy Diamond, director of development and programs with the Historica-Dominion Institute. But he said there's a real opportunity to use technology to bring these events back to life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">"We can do a lot more now, sharing those stories, than we could a generation ago. I think we're going to see that tide turn a little bit with young people's knowledge of Canadian history."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the past 18 months, the Historica-Dominion Institute has recorded the stories of more than 2,000 Second World War veterans, Diamond said. It's the largest oral history project of its kind ever in Canada.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Students and others can listen to podcasts of the interviews at <a href="http://thememoryproject.com/">thememoryproject.com</a>, Diamond said.</span><span style="font-size: large;">He added they can also invite veterans to speak at their schools, which provides a personal connection between veterans and young people.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As well, the approach of the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, in 2014, provides a "great opportunity" to help young people learn — perhaps for the first time — about that conflict's important events and individuals, Diamond said.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Phoenix survey found about eight in 10 of the youth participants expressed at least some interest in learning more about Canada's veterans, though their interest was likelier to be moderate than strong.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">About 80 per cent said websites were a good way for them to get information about Canada's military history. Significant numbers also mentioned books, libraries, talking to people, newspapers or magazines, television or radio and social-media sites.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">While the survey therefore cannot be considered representative of the youth population, Phoenix tried to ensure that the sample mirrored the regional, linguistic and gender characteristics of Canadian youth.</span><br />
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen</div><br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/gzb1Ly">http://bit.ly/gzb1Ly</a></div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-58657873933712199652011-03-16T16:37:00.001-07:002011-03-16T16:43:33.231-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTkcP7i57S8i9-42rqztr_w_tH80Dccp37hEdeNfRuO3m1tWXj3VtAFDDDBFWhaUxGX0tEzPybGc0WH_81cwGLyYri1BYWsq8MEugKIdV8nKPCdZ4wn8aGkFg2o__70lTbePWlw/s1600/MaxBrand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHTkcP7i57S8i9-42rqztr_w_tH80Dccp37hEdeNfRuO3m1tWXj3VtAFDDDBFWhaUxGX0tEzPybGc0WH_81cwGLyYri1BYWsq8MEugKIdV8nKPCdZ4wn8aGkFg2o__70lTbePWlw/s1600/MaxBrand.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">MAX BRAND -- AMERICA'S MOST PROLIFIC NOVELIST</span></strong></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Max Brand [Frederick Schiller Faust] probably was the most prolific American novelist ever; author of 500 novels -- 30 Million words. A highly popular writer of westerns, his<br />
books were also turned into movie-scripts, including the character of "Doctor Kildare."<br />
In the Second World War, Brand became a war correspondent for Harper's Magazine, assigned to Italy. Within just a couple of weeks of arrival, he insisted on accompanying a platoon of American infantry going into an attack on the village of Santa <br />
Maria Infante, because "I want to study men under fire." He was wounded in the chest by German shrapnel, and died before he could receive medical aid. Max Brand is buried in the American War Cemetery, Netuno, Italy.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&tag=Ashantix&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Max%20Brand%20" target="_blank">Search Amazon.com for Max Brand </a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=Ashantix&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /> </b></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Alcatraz-Max-Brand/dp/B003VRZF9K?ie=UTF8&tag=Ashantix&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"></a><br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=Ashantix&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003VRZF9K" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" />Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-3329153462053785502011-03-16T16:25:00.003-07:002011-03-16T21:25:26.696-07:00<div align="center"><span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/COMBAT-Van-Praag/dp/B001IVJT5M?ie=UTF8&tag=Ashantix&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">COMBAT</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=Ashantix&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B001IVJT5M" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAoXl1tWwFKP84F6KVGw3ANRXcXTVbs1JDeK-1nRf9frlWpmESG4cMmG_1Qf_QhCAOuczB_oqFo-QZ5BEiH-uMi_f2gzTfvaap9MvQJw_MCNrZ0zPZ4mQIg34ab9wEmVjk7YUXg/s1600/combat.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUAoXl1tWwFKP84F6KVGw3ANRXcXTVbs1JDeK-1nRf9frlWpmESG4cMmG_1Qf_QhCAOuczB_oqFo-QZ5BEiH-uMi_f2gzTfvaap9MvQJw_MCNrZ0zPZ4mQIg34ab9wEmVjk7YUXg/s400/combat.bmp" width="260" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>"COMBAT" -- A NOVEL OF WWII.</strong></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Several American novelists who had served in WWII wrote only a single book, </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>usually based on their war experiences. Van van Praag is a particularly good </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>example. His 1949 novel "Day Without End" [retitled "Combat" in 1951] is an </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>authentically-written story that follows a US Army platoon in Normandy, 1944. Its accuracy and characterizations are spot-on, unmistakeably a soldier's tale, more than likely based on actual incidents during the war.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Born in New York City in 1920, van Praag was a truck salesman, a World's </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Fair </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>lecturer, before he volunteered for miltary service. Van van Praag spent five years </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>in </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>the United States Army, was promoted up through the ranks, and commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>He fought in France as a platoon leader, was severley wounded, and returned home a </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>casualty.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>I read "Combat" many years ago, and I still remember it vividly. It sold </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>500,000 copies, </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>but far as I know, it was the only book van Praage ever wrote.</strong></span><br />
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<strong></strong></span>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-9541036276092177552011-03-12T23:37:00.007-08:002011-03-13T16:53:52.476-07:00<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"></span></span><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=httpwarwrblog-20&l=ur2&o=1" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br />
<div class="user_content" style="background-color: white; border-style: none; color: black; font-family: Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="299" src="http://o2.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/b1195757e8abd4e9c56b7dbc8644fd68" width="400" /></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">"Hachiko" Bronze Statue, Tokyo, Japan.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 16px;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">FAITHFUL JAPANESE DOG'S 9-YEAR VIGIL</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">FOR HIS HUMAN FRIEND </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are many accounts of the fidelity of dogs for their owners in peace and war, and sometimes their loyalty strikes a particular chord in its community. One poignant example began in Tokyo, Japan, in 1924, when a stray Akita breed street-dog was adopted by university professor Hidesaburo Ueno, who commuted by train to his job. He named the dog "Hachiko" and it would would meet the professor at the end of his commute every day and walk him home.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The dog met the professor at the same Shibuya Train Station exit every weekday evening, and continued greeting him until a day in 1925, when the owner did not arrive back at his usual time.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The reason was that Ueno had died suddenly at work that day, though the dog obviously did not know. For the next nine years, Hachikō patiently </span><span style="font-size: large;">met the same train, at the same station, at the same time, in the vain hope that his master would arrive to walk him home.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Soon, commuters who remembered seeing the professor and the dog walking together began to feed and care for Hachikō at his habitual place on the platform. When one of the professor’s students found out about the dog, he brought it to the attention of a local newspaper, which published the story.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The dog became a national sensation and symbolized the embodiment of Japan's cherished attribute of family loyalty. In 1934, a bronze statue in the dog's likeness was erected at Hachikō-guchi (as the Shibuya Station Exit was renamed in his honor) with Hachikō present at its unveiling.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 14px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">The loyal dog's vigil ended in March, 1935, when he passed away in the street near the station exit, still awaiting his master. Such was his fame, that Hachiko was stuffed and mounted on display at Japan's National Museum of Nature & Science. The still-famous Akita's monument remains to this day as a reminder of the faithful love given by man's best friend.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">[For centuries, the Akita was considered to be Japan's national dog. However, the breed was almost eradicated during World War Two, when they were officially ordered to be slaughtered to provide fur linings for military officers' coats. Only the efforts of one man, </span><span style="font-size: large;">Morie Sawataishi, rescued the Akita from extinction, which is now a widely available prized dog again.]</span></div></div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-80322772366744666192011-03-12T15:36:00.017-08:002011-03-12T20:37:44.437-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Tragic loss: Liam Tasker was on patrol with his dog Theo at the time of the attack in Nahr-e-Saraj, Afghanistan" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/03/article-1362275-0D71038F000005DC-41_468x643.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">TOGETHER FOREVER</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">In life, this brave British soldier, Lance Corporal Liam Tasker,</span></strong></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">and his devoted dog "Theo" were inseparable.</span></strong></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Now, in death, they will rest by each other’s side always.</span></strong></em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Serving in Afghanistan, the intepid pair uncovered 14 IUD's [Improvised Explosive Devices] and numerous hidden enemy weapons in just five months – a record total for an Army explosives-sniffer dog and his handler. It is deeply moving that they died within hours of each other and made their final journey home together in March, 2011. Theo, a springer spaniel cross, suffered a fatal seizure shortly after his master, L/Cpl Tasker, was shot dead by a Taliban sniper. The 22-month-old dog was said to have died of a broken heart after his Arms & Explosives Search soldier comrade was killed. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">During only five months in combat, the pair detected more concealed weaponry than any other dog and handler team during the war. The pair are hailed for saving the lives of countless British soldiers in Afghanistan. And when L/Cpl Tasker, 26, were flown home to Britain,Theo’s ashes were alongside his body in a casket on the RAF Hercules carrying the coffin. The casket containing Theo’s ashes will be handed over to their unit, the 104 Military Working Dog Squadron, then given to L/Cpl Tasker’s grieving family.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">L/Cpl Tasker, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, was the 358th member of the British armed forces to die since operations in Afghanistan began in 2001. He was killed taking part in a mission in the Nahr-e-Saraj district in Helmand. The pair served in Afghanistan as part of the Theatre Military Working Dogs Support Unit based at Camp Bastion. Theo was the ‘front man’ of a patrol, sniffing out IEDs, weapons, and bomb-making equipment hidden by the Taliban. Consideration is being made to honour Theo with the award of a Dickin Medal – the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dog handler: Liam was a member of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps. Theo also died after the attack" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/02/article-1362275-0D710BF7000005DC-485_468x365.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Dickin medal" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/4339979596_0a42b54d32_m.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dickin Medal For Brave Animals</div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-75303700672263734432011-03-09T14:32:00.016-08:002011-04-13T16:43:05.378-07:00<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilghJf-jJrKU_GXW1_CxYNE0pqicZRwHk2O0FdOBYObkOstscwERrso9VzZHv7_KVff0N8rtGGKl3ys5XrlTTJGFcOC-KbfoSYObF0is4OxW5c72A6mHa-VikQYRJUXfovPRRkw/s1600/Magee+and+Fred+001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilghJf-jJrKU_GXW1_CxYNE0pqicZRwHk2O0FdOBYObkOstscwERrso9VzZHv7_KVff0N8rtGGKl3ys5XrlTTJGFcOC-KbfoSYObF0is4OxW5c72A6mHa-VikQYRJUXfovPRRkw/s400/Magee+and+Fred+001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><pre><i><b> </b></i></pre><pre><i><b> </b></i></pre><div style="text-align: center;"><pre><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Famed WWII poet Pilot Officer John Magee (far right) with his</span></i></b></pre><pre><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">fellow pilot trainees: l-r: Fred Heather, Tom Gain, Duncan</span></i></b></pre><pre><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Fowler, at #9 Elementary Flying Training School, Royal</span></i></b></pre><pre><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Canadian Air Force Station St. Catharines, Ontario,</span></i></b></pre><pre><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Canada, Feb. 5, 1941.</span></i></b></pre></div><pre><b><i> </i></b></pre><div style="text-align: center;"><pre><b><i> </i></b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: blue;">HIGH FLIGHT</span></b></span></pre></div><div style="text-align: center;"><pre><span style="font-size: large;">
<i><b>Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air....
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
And, while with silent lifting mind I have trod
The high un-trespassed sanctity of space,
- Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.</b></i></span><i><b></b></i></pre><pre><i><b>
</b></i></pre><div style="text-align: left;"><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>HIGH FLIGHT remains the most evocative poem of the</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Second World War, which has be</b><b>come the most famous</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>flying poem of all time.</b><b> It was written by John Magee</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>in 1943, during his service as a Pilot Officer, Royal</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Canadian Air Force</b></span></pre><pre><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Air_Force"><span style="font-size: large;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Air_Force</span></a></pre></div><div style="text-align: left;"><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The son of an American father and an English mother,</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Anglican missionaries, Magee was born in China in 1921,</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>and was educated in Britain and the USA. Though he</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>earned a scholarship to Yale University, Magee chose</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>instead to volunteer for service with the Royal</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Canadian Air Force in September, 1940.</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>After training as a fighter-pilot, he was posted to</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Britain, where he joined a Spitfire squadron.</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The exhilaration of flying an aircraft inspired him to</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>write "High Flight" on September 3, 1941. Only three</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>months later, at the age of 19, John Magee was</b><b> killed</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b><b>when his Spitfire collided with a training aircraft</b></b><b>.</b><b> </b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>His grave is in Holy Cross Cemetery, Scopwick,</b></span></pre><pre><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lincolnshire, England. </b></span><b> </b></pre><pre><i><b> </b></i></pre><pre><i><b></b></i></pre></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgilghJf-jJrKU_GXW1_CxYNE0pqicZRwHk2O0FdOBYObkOstscwERrso9VzZHv7_KVff0N8rtGGKl3ys5XrlTTJGFcOC-KbfoSYObF0is4OxW5c72A6mHa-VikQYRJUXfovPRRkw/s1600/Magee+and+Fred+001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-75498985734855217482011-03-09T13:30:00.005-08:002011-05-14T15:18:36.293-07:00<div align="center"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=Ashantix&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0385474466&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpK2MNtN20XJr06efapISP2Qnne60nkv2v4EmQ5OdTnol5-OmWcKi6X3RMXW9CME0OSZny5R6ShGu8iWiqskYPSwcpZwAEnDw8aYTsC-1CaT-jl2_KrxZALgc1QmHXBbr5PwFMQ/s1600/lee-harvey-oswald3831d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpK2MNtN20XJr06efapISP2Qnne60nkv2v4EmQ5OdTnol5-OmWcKi6X3RMXW9CME0OSZny5R6ShGu8iWiqskYPSwcpZwAEnDw8aYTsC-1CaT-jl2_KrxZALgc1QmHXBbr5PwFMQ/s320/lee-harvey-oswald3831d.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><br />
Lee Harvey Oswald, lone assassin of US President John F. Kennedy.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>REVISIONISM -- CULT OF THE CREDULOUS</strong></span></div><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Writing about historical events often requires keen vigilance to record the actual truth of events. All too often, the determination to present interpretations which conflict with current popular acceptances is the most critical issue connected with historical research -- the problem of revisionism. Revisionism is a deadly and contagious condition which afflicts some researchers, and its chief characteristic is the need to "reveal" something extraordinary and new to the public. It particulary appeals to credulous folk eager for dramatic revelations, and self-consciously egalitarian youth. These interpetations often cause researchers to radically change their opinion about how and why certain events occurred. Revisionism is not to be confused with research which truthfully enlarges our knowledge and understanding of the causes and effects of history. Legitimate historical research can occasionally discover new evidence that overturns accepted beliefs, and the distinction between that and sensationalism can sometimes be subtle. True revisionism, however, can be clearly identified because its thesis is always shocking in quality and turns an accepted historical happening upside down; black becomes white, and vice versa.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Have you ever noticed the prevalent view that nothing of consequence ever happened the way it was originally explained? Lee HarveyOswald did not kill JFK -- the CIA did. Sirhan did not alone kill RFK; he was a planted 'Manchurian Candidate'. Amelia Earhart did not simply crash her aircraft into the ocean and die; she was shot as a spy by the Japanese. Rudolf Hess was not the person tried at Nuremberg or the one who committed suicide at Spandau in 1987; it was a substitute double, and he was murdered, not a suicide. Napoleon Buonaparte did not die of stomache cancer, he was "murdered by the British."</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>James Earl Ray did not alone kill Martin Luther King; he was the patsy for some unnamed national conservative conspiracy. Marilyn Monroe did not die of a drug overdose; (you supply the name) murdered her. The same for Elvis; he is now doing undercover work for the DEA. </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Although most of these examples are from the 20th Century, wise men throughout the ages have been well aware of this tendency by some to disbelieve the obvious.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Why is this belief in hidden contrarian truths so pervasive? For many members of the public, there seem to be many reasons -- an underlying distrust of anything said by authorities; a need to believe that bad things just do not happen to people in a simple or random manner; and finally, there may just be </strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>delight in gossip or sensationalism.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>For historians, it is even more complicated. As human beings, they are subject to the other motives, but additionally, the very validity of their field of study rests on their ability to revise. There is a fundamental presumption by some academics and media persons that what is known to have happened did not happen in the generally accepted manner or for the generally accepted reasons. Furthermore, their professional reputations and individual egos are based on their revisions. For instance, any journalist who puts the blame solely on Lee Harvey Oswald for shooting Pres. Kennedy is considered to be hopelessly naive, and any historian who teaches the French Revolution exactly as described in history books is professionally dead.</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>This drive to radically alter the accepted truth is not the only reason many historians change history. For the most part, revisionism changes facts for cultural or national self-interests.</strong></span>Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10156983.post-4357948006479435222011-03-04T14:59:00.005-08:002011-03-04T15:12:39.882-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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" 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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Why Americans Can't Help But Keep</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Playing Britain’s National Anthem</span><br />
</div><span style="font-size: large;">Americans are thoroughly familiar with the melody of <i>God Save The King</i> – though they sing the words of <i>My Country 'Tis Of Thee</i> to it. US citizens listening always feel their patriotic juices flow as they sing the moving stanzas of the song, also known as <i>America</i>. Few of them know the tune was written by an Englishman, in honour of the British monarch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Few still Americans realize the melody was written by Dr. John Bull, son of a London goldsmith. He began as -a choir boy in Queen Elizabeth Chapel in 1572. Ten years later, he was appointed organist at Hereford Cathedral. By 1589, he had earned a doctorate of music at Cambridge University and became one of the most famous keyboard musicians and composers in England.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bull wrote <i>God Save The King</i> in 1619, the same year English settlers arrived in America with an order from King James to celebrate their arrival with a day of thanks, leading the Jamestown colony to celebrate America's first Thanksgiving Day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">John Bull later moved to Belgium, where he became organist at Antwerp Cathedral. He died in 1628, and it was said the piece of music that become <i>God Save The King</i> was found among his papers. It would be over 100 years before his tune was published, in the 1744 English tune book “Thesaurus Musicus.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Sept. 1745, the leader of the band at the Drury Lane Theatre Royal arranged for a performance of <i>God Save The King</i> at the end of a play. It was a great success and was repeated nightly. The practice soon spread to other theatres and the custom of honouring the monarch with a finale of what evolved as Britain’s national anthem was born.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Even today, it is played and sung in the United Kingdom as a matter of tradition, though it has never been proclaimed so by any act of parliament or royal proclamation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Brahms used parts of the tune in some of his own compositions. After hearing it in England, Haydn was moved to write Austria's national anthem. Even Beethoven liked the melody. In his journal, he referred to one of his own compositions in which he used the tune. He wrote, "I must show the English what a blessing they have in God Save The King."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As the song's popularity grew, it spread to the European continent, where it was picked up and used in a German song-book.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Baptist clergyman from Boston, the Reverend Samuel Francis Smith, was given the book by a friend. In humming some of the tunes, he was struck by the melody of one (guess which). He thought it had a quality appropriate for a song of hope and inspiration. He sat down and put words to it and called it <i>America </i>(though more Americans probably know it best now as <i>My Country ‘Tis Of Thee</i>.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first time <i>God Save The King</i> was sung as <i>My Country `Tis Of Thee</i> was on July 4th, 1832, in Boston at the American Independence Day service at Park Street Baptist Church.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The song America made the Reverend Smith famous in his lifetime, but he seems sadly forgotten now. It is doubtful that he knew the tune was the National anthem off the British Empire. Most Americans still don't. Some remain convinced that the British stole it from them, but in all truth, it is the other way around. Regardless of its origin, the stirring melody continues to echo th</span>e two nations’ origins and shared values.Sidney Allinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12964381261115785634noreply@blogger.com0