History
Got It In One, John
Capitalist As we approach ANZAC Day for another year, and with yet another failed socialist government crashing around like a bull in a china shop destroying the living standards of the working man, it is important to note they are in good company – following a long, long Labour Party tradition.
Where the Smart Neolithic Shopped
In modern times, the world capitals of fashion are almost all in Europe: Milan, Paris, London. As it turns out, Europe as the hub of world fashion is not exactly new. Five thousand years ago, the fashion capital of the prehistoric world was also in Europe – at a site in
Just like the Good Old Days!
As H G Wells said, anyone who pines for the “Good Old Days” would change their mind as soon as they got their first toothache. They’d change their minds even faster if they fell afoul of the law – or at least the ruling classes. There’s a reason the
Book Review: The Shortest History of the Soviet Union
For most of the 20th century, Russia dominated world history. Then, at the end of the century, history supposedly ended and the Russian spectre apparently faded away. But now Russia is back in the news in the worst possible way. Just as suddenly, everyone has an opinion on Russia – usually
How Tall Was Jesus?
In his A Short History of Christianity, Geoffrey Blainey points out that, “by the standard of the times, his life is astonishingly documented”. A man of unremarkable background who only emerged from complete obscurity in the last years of his life, and even then, only in a backwater province of
The BFD Nightcap
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Name a Better Time and Place
There’s a strange disease that seems to be transmitted by a modern university education: an almost reflexive, self-loathing of the Western and White. It’s not particularly new — Orwell, for instance, wrote about how “a derisive and mildly hostile attitude… is more or less compulsory, but it is an
Who Would Admit to Being a Socialist?
I once saw a young man wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with Che Guevara’s iconic image. Which wouldn’t be at all memorable, were it not for what was written under the image: “Because my Hitler, Stalin and Mao t-shirts are in the wash”. Well played, young man: well played.
The Sinking of the HMS Hampshire
JM White On 5 June 1916 the HMS Hampshire – a Devonshire class armoured cruiser – was en route from Orkney to Archangel in Russia taking Lord Kitchener on a secret mission to bolster support for the Tsar, when it hit a mine and sank, west of Orkney, less than two miles
Pakeha Vote Worth 58% of a Maori Vote
Makeha Paori Racism and hypocrisy are stepping up another level with the attack on voters in Rotorua. The value of a Pakeha vote will be reduced to 58% of a Maori vote. Ardern’s government is justifying this attack with unwritten “Treaty principles” about partnership. This is astonishing because Rotorua
How Medieval Times Have Influenced Easter Food
Giles Gasper Durham University Giles Gasper’s main fields are in the history of medieval culture and religion: medieval science and natural phenomena; the making of medieval theology and the understanding of creation; monastic life; the influence of classical and patristic thinkers on later centuries; and medieval food and drink.
Soon It Will Be the Time of Pascha
Colin Parkinson It is now approaching the time of Pascha, the time also referred to as “The Passover” in the Old Testament of the Bible. Pascha is a transliteration of the Greek ‘Pascha’, which is itself a transliteration of the Hebrew word ‘Pesah’/’Pesach’. The Jewish festival of Pesach (Passover)
Call It the Covid Crazies
Call it the Covid crazies I suppose, I don’t know for sure. Perhaps the vaccine nano-particles are channelling through the microwave across the room to some circling spacecraft returning me subliminal messages, but I find myself dog-tired at 2pm and awake at 2am, a relatively slow time for news
An Effective Tactic Used by 18th-Century Writers
Adam J Smith York St John University In the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, London society is set alight thanks to a newsletter penned by an anonymous writer whose sharp pen captures all the pomp, circumstance and gossip of the season. Fans of Bridgerton will recognise this writer, Lady Whistledown, as
NATO and the War in Eurasia
The background of the Russian-Ukraine Conflict… and Oceania. Information Opinion By JM White NATO was established during the Cold War in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. That threat ended when the Berlin Wall came down 33 years ago, yet the NATO alliance has remained in place