History, Politics And Current Affairs

Simon, I don't suppose Dracula is related to Sherlock Holmes? https://www.amazon.com/Holmes-Dracula-F ... 0765399075

No, he is not, as he is the Vlad Tepes. Holmes is one of the very few he fears:

“He must still fear some things, some men.”

The old man’s face twisted in annoyance and he waved his arm expansively.

“Of course. Van Helsing’s son over in Amsterdam carries the old blood. The elves, naturally. The great among the paladins. The English detective. A doctor in London who acts the fool, but is really a master of time and space. The old relics that stop him from going to Rome, Constantinople and…that city on the Jordan.”

“You mean Jerusalem.” said Sergei bluntly.

The effect of the word was physical and Dracula recoiled in disgust. He rose from his chair, a hitherto fore unseen black cloak swelling out behind him.

“Yes, that one. Anyway, if you don’t mind dispensing with the rest of the charade, I’d like to get on with the business of killing you and drinking your blood. Now would be pleasant.”

Whilst I’ll hold back from specific notes expanding on the whole of January at this stage, I will venture a few observations:

- January 19, 20 and 27 provide different examples of the general British economic trajectory, which is as far apart from @ 1972 as chalk and cheese. This is a Britain which is not the sick man of Europe nor on the last legs of many aspects of traditional manufacturing industries. This isn’t just a consequence of personality and policy, though they play a role, but also a consequence of the long term trends in economic development and decisions made up to a century ago.
- January 22 shows another example of this in a different area, that of politics. There is substantial difference there in that a relative consensus exists amongst the three main parties with very little real difference between them. Ah, but was this not still the era of the postwar consensus/Butskellism in @? It was, but was already fracturing on both sides as, amongst other reasons, it didn’t seem to be working. It is a tale of two consensuses, if you’ll forgive the term.
- The DE consensus is based upon strong defence, a robust and imperial foreign policy, relatively dirigiste/protectionist instincts on trade (within the framework of the Empire Common Market), a traditionalist approach to social policy and moral issues, full employment, Keynesian economic policy, investment in education and a classically liberal line on welfare that would be familiar to Beveridge.
- What isn’t there is the question of nationalisation, different ideological approaches to education, the EEC, the role of trade unions, high taxes, heavy regulation and a broad and ever growing welfare state; nor is there a substantially hard socialist wing to the Labour Party (having been purged in the 1950s and now existing in the isolation of the Socialist Party) or a a contrasting mirror on the Conservative right (they haven’t split off, but don’t have any real practical basis for such leanings).
- Even the Liberals are orienting themselves to where they can appeal to the broadest possible cross-section of the swinging electorate whilst not alienating their traditional base. The centre of politics is the battleground, even if on some particular policy areas it may appear to be a bit more to the right than in @.
- As a further point, the consensus is also driven by another practical concern: reorganisation of the state and society is just too difficult to contemplate, so any policy difference is within the goalposts of consensus.
- For example, there is no scope for major reductions in defence spending to fund, for example, doubled welfare spending, as not only *are* there votes in defence, but such a measure would have seismic effects on large sections of industry (and jobs), along with very wide reaching foreign policy consequences.
- Campaigning on raising taxes when they have been consistently falling since the 1940s would be very, very ‘courageous’ and lead to backbench revolts by Labour, Liberal and the Conservatives alike. It would not get to election and, if it somehow did, would be electoral poison.
- Thus, major change is impractical, leaving the minor policy areas as those where there are differences between the parties. There is general consensus on health, pensions, defence, energy (including the nuclear shift) industry, education and foreign policy, leaving transport, housing, immigration and science as battleground issues
- Those don’t have the basis of a particularly heated campaign in them and indeed offer a much lower key contest than some of those seen in the @ 70s

Sorry I've not been able to comment much lately. Real life has been seriously cutting into my HPCA time.

I am amused by the "Raise the Lusitania". I am greatly looking forward to seeing details of why it was decided to raise her, rather than leave her as a war grave.

I have always been partial to the works of Wouk. Its nice to see that Dr. Jastrow survived and was able to complete his works.

Belushi TD

Simon Darkshade wrote: ↑Thu Jul 27, 2023 2:19 am No, he is not, as he is the Vlad Tepes. Holmes is one of the very few he fears:

“He must still fear some things, some men.”

The old man’s face twisted in annoyance and he waved his arm expansively.

“Of course. Van Helsing’s son over in Amsterdam carries the old blood. The elves, naturally. The great among the paladins. The English detective. A doctor in London who acts the fool, but is really a master of time and space. The old relics that stop him from going to Rome, Constantinople and…that city on the Jordan.”

“You mean Jerusalem.” said Sergei bluntly.

The effect of the word was physical and Dracula recoiled in disgust. He rose from his chair, a hitherto fore unseen black cloak swelling out behind him.

“Yes, that one. Anyway, if you don’t mind dispensing with the rest of the charade, I’d like to get on with the business of killing you and drinking your blood. Now would be pleasant.”

Simon - is this from a published story? Can’t recall it, so if there’s one I missed that would be a treat!

Yes, from the 1947 stories - ‘The Hunt for Dracula’.

I’ll have to add a bit more later, but I’m basically in the same general boat as Belushi, in that a combination of work and study gives me very, very little free time and thus, writing wars with other options such as sleep. I do mean to knock a few pieces off, as they are so close to completion, but time and life are the enemies, with apologies to TimeLife.

Belushi TD wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 5:04 pm Sorry I've not been able to comment much lately. Real life has been seriously cutting into my HPCA time.

I am amused by the "Raise the Lusitania". I am greatly looking forward to seeing details of why it was decided to raise her, rather than leave her as a war grave.

I have always been partial to the works of Wouk. Its nice to see that Dr. Jastrow survived and was able to complete his works.

Belushi TD

Belushi,

Not a problem at all. As said to Bobbins, I don’t really have any time myself for much of anything. I don’t have a single day off until September.

Time will tell on the Lusitania. I do want to do a bit of a story on that, but have a large amount of other stuff in the queue.

The Wouk/Jastrow bit came from me doing my irregular rewatch of The Winds of War a few months back; watch is probably the wrong term, as I oft have films or YouTube stuff playing in the background so that I hear it, but rarely watch any of the moving pictures. Multi-tasking.

Simon

Tracked 1947 stories down and really enjoyed them.

Thanks. I do plan to knock off the last few ones at some point.

February
February 1: Nazi hunters capture the wanted Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner in in Northern Syria, bundling their quarry into a helicopter and flying to an offshore yacht bound for Israel. Brunner, responsible for the deportations and murders of tens of thousands of Jews in Eastern and Southern Europe, is to be tried in Jerusalem for his crimes.
February 2: Death of former Governor and long time U.S Senator for Lousiana Huey Long at the age of 78. Long, a notable populist and isolationist prior to the Second World War to the point of being briefly regarded as a threat to President Franklin Roosevelt, had built himself a firm reputation as a loyal (if maverick) Democrat after US entry into the conflict.
February 3: Opening of the XI Winter Olympics in Lahti, Finland by King Carl II. His Majesty, himself a winter sportsman of no small prowess, had been influential in the campaign to win the right to host the Winter Games for Finland in 1966, where the Nordic kingdom narrowly beat out the highly favoured Japanese bid for Sapporo.
February 4: An Argentine court sentences serial murderer Carlos Puch to death by hanging for a dozen slayings, seventeen robberies and two rapes. The widespread outrage at his crimes, without parallel in the Argentine for decades, leads to his sentence being expedited, with his execution proceeding on February 28th.
February 5: The 33rd, 37th, 38th, 46th, 47th and 51st Infantry Divisions of the United States Army National Guard are formally returned to state control after their period of active service during the Vietnam War mobilisation, reducing the number of active National Guard divisions to six. The last Army Reserve combat divisions called upduring the war were deactivated in November 1971, whilst the three remaining Army of the United States divisions are due to follow them by October.
February 6: The Royal Air Force begins fielding of new mobile medium range strategic missile squadrons in Malta, Minorca and Cyprus, in the first wave of modernisation of Mediterranean based deterrent and defensive missiles. The deployment of Black Arrow II MRBMs to the Mediterranean island bases not only provides coverage for much of Soviet Central Asia, but also provides for a reinforcement of deterrent options over the Middle East and North African shore. They are scheduled to be followed by squadrons equipped with Violet Friend anti-ballistic missiles and the new very long range Bristol Broadsword multi-role surface to air guided missiles; discussions are underway regarding further deployment of certain weapons systems to the British bases on Crete.
February 7: Establishment of the Pawnee National Laboratory on the outskirts of the Indiana city as a sister facility to the long standing and highly secret Hawkins National Laboratory. The selection of Pawnee is described as being based on the confluence of local facilities, water, power and transport links and its position almost diagonally opposite Hawkins on the other side of Indianapolis is described as purely coincidental.
February 8: Professional hockey goalkeeper Bruce Gamble suffers a heart attack after the NHL game between his Philadelphia Fliers and the Vancouver Canucks and is rushed to hospital, where new medical treatments result in his successful recovery. Recent advances in the treatment of heart disease, including, the use of aspirin, specialist drugs developed from Amazonian plants, arterial stents and innovative arcanely augmented surgical techniques promise to greatly increase survival rates and recovery over the coming decade.
February 9: Ending of a terrible week-long blizzard in Persia that had seen dozens of villages buried by up to two dozen feet of snow. Coming after four years of drought, the snowstorms, which appear to have a natural origin, have resulted in thousands of missing or dead people, with the Shah committing a substantial part of the Imperial Armed Forces and all of his personal mages to the rescue and recovery process.
February 10: An international archaeological expedition discovers the long lost ruins of an ancient temple in the depths of the highland jungles of Sumatra, the latest in a number of finds that increase the evidentiary weight for a suspected antediluvian civilisation in the ancient lost continent of Sundaland. The cooperation between the Indonesian government and the expedition is seen as a sign of the thawing relations between Djarkarta and the West.
February 11: USAF FB-111Cs escorted by F-15 Eagle fighters strike a suspected communist insurgent camp in northern Cambodia, marking the combat debut of the F-15. The air strikes come as US forces in South East Asia continue to wind down to a sustainable peacetime level.
February 12: Publication of Je l'ai fait pour la France, the first volume of the memoir of wartime hero Rene Artois, recounting his numerous hair raising adventures and narrow escapes whilst running both a Nouvion cafe and a highly active Resistance cell. Now largely retired, Monsieur Rene leaves the day to day operation of his cafe to his sons and enjoys his fortune, largely derived from the postwar sale of a Van Gogh masterpiece, 'The Cracked Vase'.
February 13: The Volkswagen Beetle becomes the top selling automobile of all time, passing the Ford Model T with the 20,364,757th car produced at the Wolfsburg plant in Germany; it is also produced at facilities in Mexico, Brazil and Ottoman Turkey. North American sales had markedly increased over the 1960s, driving demand for further Beetle production as one part of the ongoing so-called 'German postwar economic miracle', although its success in Europe and the Americas has not yet be matched elsewhere in the world.
February 14: President Kennedy becomes the first American head of state to visit Taiwan, landing in Taipei on the first leg of a series of state visits to American allies in Northern Asia, including Japan and Korea. The President, accompanied by Mrs. Kennedy, Presidential Scientific Advisor Chien-Shiung Wu and Secretary of Transport James Woo, is met by the Premier of the Republic of Taiwan, Sun Fo, and President Chiang Kai-Shek at the airport. Kennedy's whirlwind stopover in Taiwan is thought to be substantially motivated by the official signing of an agreement for the purchase of 18 Boeing 2707 supersonic airliners by China Airlines.
February 15: A fabled historical diamond reputed to be among the five most valuable diamonds in the world, the Pink Panther of Lugash, is apparently stolen at a mysterious break in at the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC. MPD's finest sleuth, Inspector Jonathan Gadget, is assigned control of the investigation, and enlists the help of famed French detective Jacques Clouseau and SFPD Commander Harry Callahan, both of whom happened to be staying at the Watergate.
February 16: Opening of a new Austin car factory in Regency Park, Adelaide by South Australian Premier Sir Thomas Playford, with it being hailed by Playford as the latest example of industrial growth in South Australia, joining the automotive Rootes, Holden and Morris plants Woodville, Elizabeth and Tonsley, the RAN Navy Dockyard at Port Adelaide, the ICI chemical factory at Gillman, the Armstrong-Whitworth Australia aerospace plant at Parafield, the Phillips and Kelvinator electrical goods manufactories at Hendon and Finsbury, the Weapons Research Establishment at Salisbury and Hills Industries in Edwardstown as some of the major industrial facilities in Adelaide.
February 17: Beginning of Exercise REFORGER 72, the eighth annual NATO exercise for the reinforcement of American, Canadian and British forces to Western Europe and largest Western Alliance military exercise of any sort since the British Exercise Warhammer in 1963. The REFORGER airlift is the first such exercise to feature both the Boeing C-240 Skylord ultraheavy strategic transport airlifter alongside the Lockheed-Martin C-150 Galaxy eight engine superheavy military cargo aircraft C-150 Galaxy (each capable of carrying eight MBTs or 250t of cargo).
February 18: A terrorist gang attempts to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to France in an ambush in Paris, but are driven off after an intense gun battle with the ambassador's bodyguards. Subsequent investigations by the Sûreté Nationale and Interpol into the outrage identify the head of the gang as an international terrorist with the nom de guerre of Carlos.
February 19: Publication of Citadel of the Sky, the first novel in a new historical fantasy series for children and young people by renowned English author C.S. Lewis.
February 20: The RAF Red Arrows aerobatical display team completes its transition from English Electric Lightnings to the new Supermarine Spitfire, with the supermaneuverability of the advanced jet fighters providing an additional attraction for airshow audiences in Britain, the Empire and the wider world and providing an interesting contrast to the innovative capabilities displayed by the Hawker-Siddeley Harriers of the Royal Flying Corps' White Lions and the variable geometry de Havilland Vanguards of the RN Blue Eagles.
February 21: Completion of a new level of the top secret deep level nuclear shelter beneath the White House amid regular revisions of plans for continuity of government, with the new facility providing equivalent protection to Strategic Air Command’s Deep Underground Support Centers.
February 22: The Club of Rome publishes its study on The Future of Growth, incorporating the work of the World2 'super computer' in its forecast on the interaction between finite resources, growing populations and demand and the potential for further variables, such as the current concern over global cooling.
February 23: Signing of the Antarctic Seals Preservation Convention and the Convention on the Prohibition of Dumping at Sea is Oslo, Norway, along with an agreement in principle to extend the moratorium on whaling for another ten years. The general international mood among the delegates is one generally positive towards regarding the preservation of marine species, with the role of whales and seals far different from the monstrous megalodon and great white shark, both of which are thought to have been successfully exterminated.
February 24: A fire aboard the Soviet Hotel class SSBN K-19 causes the submarine to surface and the crew to abandon the boat 650nm southeast of Newfoundland. Royal Navy aircraft and surface ships operating from Floating Fortress 2 move to provide aid.
February 25: Ceylon plays its inaugural Test cricket match against Rhodesia in Salisbury on the same day as the First Test between India and the United States at Eden Gardens in Calcutta. The Indian team under the Nawab of Pataudi is favoured to win its first series against the mighty Americans, with a strong line up of Sunil Gavaskar, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Pataudi, Shatrusalyasinhji, Imran Khan, Wasim Bari, Safraz Nawaz and three of the four members of the 'spin quartet' in Venkataraghavan, Bishan Bedi and Chandrasekhr, with Prasanna as twelfth man.
February 26: Birth of twins, a daughter and a second son to Princess Victoria and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace, with both mother and children in the bonniest of health. The joyful occurrence of male and female twins does not provide the possible complication to the line of succession that so concerned elements of the court upon the birth of Prince Richard and Prince George to Her Majesty the Queen in 1966, given the presence of the firstborn heir Prince William.
February 27: Publication of an article in The Spectator entitled The Future of National Service?. It outlines the recent British debate, not on the utility of conscription (which is accepted as a sine qua non of the defence of the British Empire by all major parties), but rather on its mechanics. The article's author, unusually writing under the pseudonym of John Bull, argues for a modernisation of the mobilisation and deployment wave system along with reforms to the structures of the Army Reserve, Territorial Army and mobilisation cadre regiments; his main contention is that the best use of National Servicemen would be in direct service in reserve formations. An editorial note at the end of the article states that a reply from A.N. Other will follow in the next issue.
February 28: A special joint operation by the FBI and the Bureau of Narcotics to arrest a gang of notorious Mexican marihuana smugglers fails to net its intended quarry, instead nabbing two bohemian young men driving a strange fibreglass van.
February 29: The United States Joint Intelligence Committee issues a Top Secret Majestic report on follow up to the interstellar signal and recent UFO activity, including the Indianapolis Incident.

Why am I picturing a football being tossed between the two national labs?

Two famous detectives just happened to be staying at the place where a major burglary took place? I suspect the gang had a leak.

I honestly don't know; stranger things have happened and I guess the distribution of American gridiron balls is a form of recreation common in parks. The actual reason for the position of the new lab comes down to a combination of ley lines and something to do with the Indianapolis UFO Incident...

The circumstance of the Watergate was coincidence in the case of Commander Callahan.

Julian: "Don't tell me you don't believe in coincidences."
Garak: "I believe in coincidences. Coincidences happen every day. But I don't trust coincidences."
— Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

As I've never watched any Star Trek television programmes, the names are rather meaningless to me. This is a case of coincidence here, without any further layers of intrigue or subterfuge.

Simon Darkshade wrote: ↑Mon Sep 11, 2023 3:09 am As I've never watched any Star Trek television programmes,

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As said, I’ve never watched any of the television series of Star Trek; I don’t watch much television full stop. I’ve seen the films with Shatner and Nimoy, which are of varying quality, and that was enough for me.

I can’t remember, but with it being 1972, has a crack commando squad been sent to prison for a crime they didn’t commit yet?

May 19 1970 was that fun event, with subsequent discussion on the second half of Page 3 from November 2022.

Great stuff, as usual, Simon.

A few comments to rile up the masses...

Glad to see Cheech and Chong are up to their expected hijinks.

I am glad to see a country that is not one of the well endowed fiscally ones hosting an Olympics. Is this going to be a common thing, or was this a one off? I've always felt that the big, populous and rich countries have a serious advantage when it comes to hosting. I wonder if it would be possible to set things up so that the richer countries pay some of the facilities costs for the poorer countries.

I missed Inspector Gadget the first time I read through this post! I picked up on Callahan and Clouseau but not Gadget.

I am interested in the superheavy transports mentioned as part of REFORGER 72. Do you have any drawings or photoshops or any kind of visual aids for them?

Carlos the Jackel rears his ugly head.

The US has a national cricket team? And they're considered mighty? Is that a sarcastic mighty? I seem to recall that Baseball did not become the national pastime in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Any idea who's on the American team?

As far as the UK succession goes, its gotten a little foggy to me. I recall that Charles married much earlier, and not to Dianna. He DID marry Victoria, right? Or was Charles butterflied away for an earlier heir for QEII?

Thanks
Belushi TD

Thank you kindly, my good fellow.

Messrs Cheech and Chong have a bit more trouble as there isn’t a Mexican-Californian border of the same kind, taking their route into Sonora. They don’t get the maximum penalty, being seen as hapless bohemian jazz freak goons.

Finland had held the Summer Games in 1952 both in DE and @. As to the wider point you make, yes, there will be some emerging differences where we will see smaller states make an appearance.

Gadget here is a bit less haplessly comic than his 1980s manifestation; his presence also implies that Dr. Claw is nearby.

As it so happens, the interwebs can supply us with just what we need: Google Saunders-Roe P.192/Queen for what the C-240 generally looks like, albeit with a few engines less than 24! The intent and role is similar - carry 1000t across the ocean at jet aeroplane speed. The C-150s are big chaps in their own right, coming from a need for range and payload. In 1960, the general requirement for the C-X/C-150 was described in From Sea to Shining Sea: a superheavy transport that could carry 4 MBTs or up to 250t across the Atlantic (~6000 miles from the Eastern Seaboard to Western Germany).

Carlos is going to continue to rear, giving Che Guevara a challenge for world’s most wanted.

Yes to the US cricket team and to them being mighty. Cricket is around third as a U.S. national sport behind baseball and gridiron, but still in front of basketball and ice hockey. I’ll dig out some stuff on their team.

Charles is the firstborn son and heir and married Princess Victoria of Ruritania in 1970, having a son some 9 months later. The differing social mores militated for an earlier match and securing the succession vs having a prolonged bachelorhood, but the main reason comes from the case of his great uncle, the Prince of Wales. He didn’t wed in the early 1920s when there was a chance, was shot by a Soviet inspired Red crazy and badly injured, causing him to die young from TB in 1930. Thus, in a very different way to the @ Abdication Crisis, David still plays a role in future family developments.

Simon