January 22, 201016 yr This would be an interesting and stimulating thread {or not}, as I'm aware that there is a wealth of membership that examine historiography from a different angle. Print or electronic, common or rare, conventional or controversial.......commentary and reviews are quite welcomed. Books, articles, dissertations, and lectures from more questioning circles. Please, don't be shy - contributions are welcomed. Thanks!
January 22, 201016 yr Different perspectives of history? There was a discussion in Bedlam....."Books of the Decade" if I recall, that digressed to views on the Chinese fleet of the 1400's supposedly discovering Australia and beyond, well before any Europeaqn voyagers.
January 22, 201016 yr We have to remember that history is considered to be written by the winners. It's more importantly shaped by the media, our descendants are going to have a major job sorting out truth from fiction as there will a wealth of sources to wade through when reading of the last hundred years. The foremost political ideology of the day is protected by the myth of the liberal press. This cherished lie has been repackaged as the truth and repeated over and over until people believe it. The media barons of the day are among the richest people on the planet and have little to gain in promoting Socialism but go out of their way to be seen to be doing so. Why? For a start it sells more newspapers. Secondly and most importantly it keeps the followers of it's preferred ideology in a state of constant anxiety, fear is the key to controlling peoples minds. The threat of Communism, Muslims, Blacks, immigrants, atheists, anarchists, the young, must be kept constantly in the forefront of our thinking in case we forget we are afraid of them. The new censorship is the drowning of the truth in an avalanche of skilfully crafted lies.
January 22, 201016 yr History is difficult and complicated. I read a novel called 'Winter in madrid' on holiday, made me realise that things are never easy and the historical perspective never really reflects the truth. Is it sort of 'to the victors the spoils'?
January 22, 201016 yr Historical events are hard to deny Tigger, it's the interpretation of them that matters.
January 22, 201016 yr Nothing is ever that clear cut! There are 3 sides to every story, your side, my side, and the truth.
January 23, 201016 yr Author Different perspectives of history?There was a discussion in Bedlam....."Books of the Decade" if I recall, that digressed to views on the Chinese fleet of the 1400's supposedly discovering Australia and beyond, well before any Europeaqn voyagers. Yep. Know the broad and diverse material....controversy and debate. Quite fascinating, actually. Mr. Menzies is a newbie regarding these studies of ancient Chinese seafarers, as there is a wealth of material regarding this surface obscure subject matter. Research leads one door to open twenty more...
January 23, 201016 yr Author CHINA HISTORY FORUM.....http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/ Easily, one of the most respected and deeply diverse "Asian" history forums to be found. Been around for some time, as it models of examinations of Chinese and Asian history {all periods/eras}. Worth a check if you're stimulated buy such things.
January 23, 201016 yr CHINA HISTORY FORUM.....http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/ Easily, one of the most respected and deeply diverse "Asian" history forums to be found. Been around for some time, as it models of examinations of Chinese and Asian history {all periods/eras}. Worth a check if you're stimulated buy such things. I'm quite fascinated by the Zheng He story. One reason is that near where I lived in Fiji is a stone with glyphs carved in it. I say glyphs for want of a better word. Plainly writing or symbols of some sort. Nobody knows what it is. Fiji had no written language and no stone carving habit. It would be nice to aquire an opinion on it, and I suspect knowing about Zheng He might provide a clue.
January 23, 201016 yr We have to remember that history is considered to be written by the winners. It's more importantly shaped by the media, our descendants are going to have a major job sorting out truth from fiction as there will a wealth of sources to wade through when reading of the last hundred years. The foremost political ideology of the day is protected by the myth of the liberal press. This cherished lie has been repackaged as the truth and repeated over and over until people believe it. The media barons of the day are among the richest people on the planet and have little to gain in promoting Socialism but go out of their way to be seen to be doing so. Why? For a start it sells more newspapers. Secondly and most importantly it keeps the followers of it's preferred ideology in a state of constant anxiety, fear is the key to controlling peoples minds. The threat of Communism, Muslims, Blacks, immigrants, atheists, anarchists, the young, must be kept constantly in the forefront of our thinking in case we forget we are afraid of them. The new censorship is the drowning of the truth in an avalanche of skilfully crafted lies. So sayeth the prophet Dylan: "All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie". The LRB corollary states that the opposite is true as well. As Mega Media goes global I expect further consolidation into "social media". NewsCorp will buy Google or Facebook or Wikipedia and then after a confusing decade or so of contradictory information everywhere, it will start getting edited to the "true" version. My guess is that version will promote war, taxation and consumption. Just a hunch.
January 23, 201016 yr Author CHINA HISTORY FORUM.....http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/ Easily, one of the most respected and deeply diverse "Asian" history forums to be found. Been around for some time, as it models of examinations of Chinese and Asian history {all periods/eras}. Worth a check if you're stimulated buy such things. I'm quite fascinated by the Zheng He story. One reason is that near where I lived in Fiji is a stone with glyphs carved in it. I say glyphs for want of a better word. Plainly writing or symbols of some sort. Nobody knows what it is. Fiji had no written language and no stone carving habit. It would be nice to aquire an opinion on it, and I suspect knowing about Zheng He might provide a clue. Try http://www.1421.tv and http://www.gavinmenzies.net .......among the number of more popular books that explore this controversy are: "The Island of Seven Cities: Where the Chinese Settled When they Discovered America", by Paul Chiasson. "Secret Maps of the Ancient World", by Charlotte Harris Rees {http://www.asiaticfathers.com}. "When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne, 1405-1433", by Louise Levathes. "The 1421 Heresy: An Investigation into the Ming Chinese Maritime Survey of the World", by Anatole Andro. "Gods From the Far East: How the Chinese Discovered America", by Henriette Mertz. Zheng He: China and the Oceans in the Early Ming Dynasty, 1405-1433", by Edward L. Dryer. Apart from these surface references, there has long been debate amongst social scientists as to the mysteries of ancient Asiatic contact, influence, and contributions to the Western Hemisphere as well as other parts of the world. Read Mr. Menzies latest effort, "1434".
January 23, 201016 yr Author The late James M. Blaut's, "The Colonizer's Model of the World", logically challenges the misgivings of a Eurocentric interpretation of world history.
January 23, 201016 yr The late James M. Blaut's, "The Colonizer's Model of the World", logically challenges the misgivings of a Eurocentric interpretation of world history. Ooooo. I like the sound of that.
January 23, 201016 yr So sayeth the prophet Dylan: "All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie". The LRB corollary states that the opposite is true as well. I did read in Rolling Stone that Dylan was one of Little River Band's influences....but I'm not sure which lyrics you refer to.
January 23, 201016 yr So sayeth the prophet Dylan: "All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie". The LRB corollary states that the opposite is true as well. I did read in Rolling Stone that Dylan was one of Little River Band's influences....but I'm not sure which lyrics you refer to. I wouldn't know. In this case LRB = lrb = lannarebirth
January 23, 201016 yr We have to remember that history is considered to be written by the winners. It's more importantly shaped by the media, our descendants are going to have a major job sorting out truth from fiction as there will a wealth of sources to wade through when reading of the last hundred years. The foremost political ideology of the day is protected by the myth of the liberal press. This cherished lie has been repackaged as the truth and repeated over and over until people believe it. The media barons of the day are among the richest people on the planet and have little to gain in promoting Socialism but go out of their way to be seen to be doing so. Why? For a start it sells more newspapers. Secondly and most importantly it keeps the followers of it's preferred ideology in a state of constant anxiety, fear is the key to controlling peoples minds. The threat of Communism, Muslims, Blacks, immigrants, atheists, anarchists, the young, must be kept constantly in the forefront of our thinking in case we forget we are afraid of them. The new censorship is the drowning of the truth in an avalanche of skilfully crafted lies. So sayeth the prophet Dylan: "All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie". The LRB corollary states that the opposite is true as well. As Mega Media goes global I expect further consolidation into "social media". NewsCorp will buy Google or Facebook or Wikipedia and then after a confusing decade or so of contradictory information everywhere, it will start getting edited to the "true" version. My guess is that version will promote war, taxation and consumption. Just a hunch. But on a serious note... It could be the other way around. The NewsCorps of this world have their money invested in media that is being outmoded by internet technology. Google or Facebook may be the ones buying out NewsCorp. One of the advantages of today's communication technology is that it is becoming harder for the standard media to skew information to an agenda because the "truth" so often surfaces elsewhere. I think the public are becoming more savvy. There is a cadre of truth seekers out there, willing to promulgate their findings. The trick is to sort them from the conspiracy nutters (nutters as opposed to theorists ) .
January 23, 201016 yr Today's liberals are tomorrow's conservatives. Merely by achieving change and defending it they move to the right.
January 23, 201016 yr Today's liberals are tomorrow's conservatives. Merely by achieving change and defending it they move to the right. Does it follow that today's conservatives are tomorrow's liberals. Weary of their wicked ways, they move to the left?
January 23, 201016 yr We have to remember that history is considered to be written by the winners. It's more importantly shaped by the media, our descendants are going to have a major job sorting out truth from fiction as there will a wealth of sources to wade through when reading of the last hundred years. The foremost political ideology of the day is protected by the myth of the liberal press. This cherished lie has been repackaged as the truth and repeated over and over until people believe it. The media barons of the day are among the richest people on the planet and have little to gain in promoting Socialism but go out of their way to be seen to be doing so. Why? For a start it sells more newspapers. Secondly and most importantly it keeps the followers of it's preferred ideology in a state of constant anxiety, fear is the key to controlling peoples minds. The threat of Communism, Muslims, Blacks, immigrants, atheists, anarchists, the young, must be kept constantly in the forefront of our thinking in case we forget we are afraid of them. The new censorship is the drowning of the truth in an avalanche of skilfully crafted lies. So sayeth the prophet Dylan: "All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie". The LRB corollary states that the opposite is true as well. As Mega Media goes global I expect further consolidation into "social media". NewsCorp will buy Google or Facebook or Wikipedia and then after a confusing decade or so of contradictory information everywhere, it will start getting edited to the "true" version. My guess is that version will promote war, taxation and consumption. Just a hunch. But on a serious note... It could be the other way around. The NewsCorps of this world have their money invested in media that is being outmoded by internet technology. Google or Facebook may be the ones buying out NewsCorp. One of the advantages of today's communication technology is that it is becoming harder for the standard media to skew information to an agenda because the "truth" so often surfaces elsewhere. I think the public are becoming more savvy. There is a cadre of truth seekers out there, willing to promulgate their findings. The trick is to sort them from the conspiracy nutters (nutters as opposed to theorists ) . It doesn't really matter which buys which. The corporate imperatives remain the same.
January 23, 201016 yr Today's liberals are tomorrow's conservatives. Merely by achieving change and defending it they move to the right. You're right, but depending on which country you're talking about, some of today's fascists have come in the guise of liberals. Is there some already agreed upon outcome that we just don't know yet?
January 23, 201016 yr Today's liberals are tomorrow's conservatives. Merely by achieving change and defending it they move to the right. Does it follow that today's conservatives are tomorrow's liberals. Weary of their wicked ways, they move to the left? No, they become liberals by demanding society changes back to the "good old days".
January 23, 201016 yr Historical events are hard to deny Tigger, it's the interpretation of them that matters. putting it that way, its sort of like religion isnt it??
January 23, 201016 yr Historical events are hard to deny Tigger, it's the interpretation of them that matters. putting it that way, its sort of like religion isnt it?? Now lets not be TOO flexible in what we call a historical event.
January 23, 201016 yr Today's liberals are tomorrow's conservatives. Merely by achieving change and defending it they move to the right. If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain. Often attributed to Winstin Churchill.
January 23, 201016 yr Author The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation, by John M. Hobson............another tome that contradicts the fashionable Eurocentric model of interpretation.
January 23, 201016 yr Winstin Churchill. He was a good bloke, but I thought it was Winston who was actually a member of the Conservative Party at the age of 25 and a member of the Liberal Party at age 35.
January 23, 201016 yr Wrong guy Moss, Winstin was the cousin of Winston and ran for parliament in the electorate of Mornington Crescent a number of times but never quite got there.
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