Utopia, you are standing in it!

With the collapse of the old ruling class in Europe came a string of familial despots who governed under the heel of Napoleon Bonaparte and his empire which stretched from Spain to Poland. The shadow of France had descended almost all of Europe –Britain stood almost alone against the upheaval. And at this critical juncture, the kingship of Britain fell from the mad King George III to his pompous, hedonistic son Prince George, who served as regent until his insane father finally gave up the ghost in 1820. Today, despite certain revisionist historians, George IV is not remembered fondly and with good reason. With vague pretensions of being “the first gentleman of Europe,” in truth George IV was a feckless, indulgent, roly-poly dandy –a “preposterous preening prince.” Lord Byron dubbed him “Fum the Fourth” and other writers poked fun at his girth dubbing him “Prinny.” From a young age “Prinny”…

On December 7,1941, 80 years ago today, a hurried dispatch from the ranking United States naval officer in Pearl Harbor, Admiral Husband Edward Kimmel, Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, was sent to all major navy commands and fleet units provided the first official word of the attack at the ill-prepared Pearl Harbor base. It said simply: AIR RAID ON PEARL HARBOR X THIS IS NOT DRILL.

Later that day Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii Territory, killing over 2,300 Americans. The U.S.S. Arizona was completely destroyed and the U.S.S. Oklahoma capsized. A total of twelve ships sank or were beached in the attack and nine additional vessels were damaged. More than 160 aircraft were destroyed and more than 150 others damaged.

The day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, President Roosevelt appeared before a joint session of Congress and declared…

Nov 22, 2021

EThis episode was produced in partnership with The Gettysburg Museum of History. See how you can support history education & artifact preservation by visiting their website & store at https://www.gettysburgmuseumofhistory…

Part 3 of the “Normandy 1944” Series Along the Normandy coastline, there are a few iconic locations from D-Day that stand out above the rest. One of those is undoubtably Pegasus Bridge, which was the first objective to be taken on June 6, 1944 by Major John Howard and the men of the British 6th Airborne Division. In this episode, we’re taking a visit to the location where Howard and his men assaulted this key position over the Caen Canal as well as the museum nearby which houses some fascinating artifacts associated with the attack. We’ll also get the story about how a piece of Pegasus Bridge ended up with Erik Dorr at The Gettysburg Museum of…

That wind turbine will make sure that we stay in poverty

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Dr. Bjørn Lomborg is the Director of Copenhagen Consensus Center and Adjunct Professor at Copenhagen Business School and conducts research into the smartest ways to improve the environment and the world. According to the UK Guardian, he is  one of the 50 people who could save the planet.

Here he writes how the burden of ineffective ‘green’ technologies for generating electricity, such as wind energy, has fallen to the poorest of our community, ensuring they stay in poverty.

The Poverty of Renewables
Bjørn Lomborg
17 March 2014

According to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “Climate change harms the poor first and worst.” This is true, because the poor are the most vulnerable and have the least resources with which to adapt. But we often forget that current policies to address global warming make energy much more costly, and that this harms the world’s poor much…

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins a few years ago reacted to Donald Trump’s shock election victory in the United States by urging fellow scientists to move to New Zealand.

He called on this country to offer British and American academics citizenship following the “catastrophes” both countries had suffered at the hands of “uneducated, anti-intellectual” voters.

He might have changed his mind since then, although the mainstream media here either haven’t noticed or don’t think it’s a matter of public interest. 

Dawkins is troubled by what is happening to some of our scientists and is supporting colleagues around the world who contend that myths do not belong in science classes.  He has posted on Twitter the letter he emailed to the chief executive of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

He wrote to Roger Ridley, unaware that Paul Atkins (paul.atkins@royalsociety.org.nz) has succeeded Ridley as CEO.

Dawkins’ letter was prompted by another…

Henry VI (December 6, 1421 – May 21,1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, and Catherine of Valois was the youngest daughter of King Charles VI of France and his wife Isabeau of Bavaria.

Henry succeeded to the English throne at the age of nine months upon his father’s death, and succeeded to the French throne on the death of his maternal grandfather, Charles VI, shortly afterwards.

Henry inherited the long-running Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453), in which his uncle Charles VII contested his claim to the French throne. He is the only English monarch to have been also crowned King of France, in 1431. His early reign, when several people were ruling for him, saw the pinnacle of English power in France, but…