Comments by "" (@craigkdillon) on "Extra History" channel.

  1. Yi's story is an example of the reason why I stopped reading fiction. The real stories from history are more exciting, and more drama filled than are thought up for fiction. The characters and people we find in history are greater, more wicked, and even sillier than can be found in fiction. After all, look at today - who would have created for a story a character as strange & unique as Donald J Trump?? If the writers of West Wing had written such a character, they would have been laughed at, for no such character would be seen as possible. Basically, history is more fun than fiction. Even more fun than Game Of Thrones, IMO.
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  2. According to Norma Goodrich, Arthur was called The Hammer. Camelot was "Caer Mallot", or Fort of the Hammer. Camelot was wherever Arthur was, not a fixed place. Ex Caliber was not a fighting sword, but a symbol of authority. Arthur fought with a war hammer. According to Norma.
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  3. You have to tell the tale of the Peter Hand Brewing Co. in Chicago. It developed Meister Brau, the top selling brand in Chicago in the 60's. It was very innovative. It developed the first Draft Beer in can, using Millipore filtration instead of pasteurization. Then it developed Lite Beer, which was lower in calories and directed at the female market. Peter Hand over-extended itself financially, and went bankrupt. THEN....Miller Brewing Co. of Milwaukee swooped in and bought the formulas and brands for canned draft beer, and Lite Beer. And thus was born Miller Draft Beer, and Miller Lite. Innovative marketing made those brands big winners, and made Miller the biggest brewery in America. I know all this is true. I worked at the Brewery every summer going through college.
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  4. I pronounce his name DUN-sunny, not dun-SANE-ee
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  5. Labor history is suppressed.
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  6. We NEED an HBO mini-series on Garibaldi. Like a Greek God, he was gifted, great, and flawed.
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  7. In France, slaughtered rabbits could only be sold with their paws still attached.
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  8. If Sweden had won, how different would our world be?? Would Russia have expanded to the Pacific?? Would Sweden be a larger nation dominating the North?? Would defeat have encouraged change and modernization??
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  9. Wrong Wrong Wrong. He did not outwit Scipio Africanus, the person B H Liddell Hart called the GREATEST GENERAL, EVER. FYI, B H Liddell Hart is one the foremost military historians of the 20th Century. Read his book on Scipio. 1. Scipio NEVER lost a battle. Hannibal lost several after his initial run of success. 2. Scipio BEAT Hannibal, on Hannibal's home ground, AND while being outnumbered. 3. Hannibal LOST to several Roman generals in different battles. I am so sick of hearing how great he was, when a better general beat him in that war.
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  10. I am glad you separated the Great Depression from the Wall Street Collapse. I think the GD truly started with the banking collapse. For, with the collapse, solvent companies lost their money and could not pay workers or buy raw material. Many good companies went under. With them, their employees lost their jobs. The ranks of the poor and unemployed exploded --- and that became the Great Depression. At least, that is how I understand it. An analysis by Extra Credits would be great.
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  11. My impression is that the Ottoman Empire was economically and financially weak. It could hardly stand on its own. As for military - a modern military required a modern economy, industry, railroads, and infrastructure --- none of which it had. Britain had already taken Egypt (by foreclosing on it). France had colonized Algeria. So, yes it was sick. Very sick. Time to kill the patient.
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  12. Until the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover was considered a great man - a great humanitarian. He had organized the feeding of Europe after WW1. His failure to effectively respond to the Great Depression destroyed his reputation for all time.
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  13. BTW...this is why I love history. Things that really happened are better than what is thought up by writers for movies.
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  14. Confederate leaders were TRAITORS and should have been treated as such. Anyone today, flying the Confederate Battle Flag, should be accused of sedition, tried, and sentenced to several years in federal prison. Anyone who flies it is anti-American, anti-democratic, and anti-equal rights.
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  15. The United States of America is the greatest accident that ever happened. Just look around. It is so different from other countries. It's Amazing!!!! The world is lucky this happened.
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  16.  @jennypin8895  Oh, really? I suppose the forcing Korean women to be sex workers during WW2 never happened. Japan has never acknowledged or apologized for that. I suppose the horrific inhumane treatment and slaughter of POW's in WW2 also never happened. Regarding Yi, I suppose Japan lost those battles out of kindness. If you want to be a reader of history, you have to learn two things --- read many sources, not just one, and no one has "truth". "Truth" is what you come to accept after reading sources, and doing what you can to determine their veracity. One more thing, the official histories of countries will expand their "great" achievements (like Korea's celebration of Yi) but also hide or lie about their shameful episodes (like Japan's stupid and cruel invasion of Korea, or WW2 for that matter.)
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  17. In all of history, Joan's story is the most amazing, unexpected, and inexplicable of all. It all seems so impossible. Yet, it happened. Joan's story is the best evidence to support the "Great Man" theory of history.
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  18.  @andrzejwilk7316  Brown's actions in Kansas were justified, IMO. Attacking the Federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry was illegal, and an act of treason itself. His hanging, though regrettable, was correct, IMO.
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  19.  @The_king567  Who is my people ?? And, who are your people??
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  20. Wrong. It was lifted about 20 feet actually. Go to Chicago. Go to State St. Walk to the river. You don't decline down to it. In fact, the river is way down there. In fact, many stores got goods from streets under the city. Wacker drive is below the level of the city.
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  21. Cracking the Japanese code "Purple" by America was no mean feat, either.
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  22. Up until the end, it was a farce. But, in this farce, no one laughed.
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  23. Interesting. But, where was Tom Cruise??
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  24. WRONG...WRONG...WRONG.... IMHO, that boundary between Frankia & Germania was created by the Roman Empire. Even the disputed lands west of the Rhine were defined then. So, the future battlegrounds of The Netherlands, Alsace & Lorraine, Piedmont/Genoa/France borders, were all created during the Roman Empire. So, the division of the Carolingian Empire just re-established what had been before Charlemagne's conquests. The Carolingian Empire was the aberration. In fact, it even predates that. France was Celtic Gaul for centuries. Then came the Germans, who kicked the Celts out of Germany. The division is a language/cultural division, as well as geographic. Think about it... French make good wine --- Germans make lousy wine. French make lousy cars -- Germans make great cars French make great clothes -- Who buys German clothes??? (Maybe that's why nudism is popular there) French make great bread -- Germans, not so great French make great cheeses --- Germans make lousy cheeses (Limburger anyone??) Do French even make beer?? -- Germans make great beer French are obnoxious tourists -- Germans are obnoxious tourists (OK, so they have one common point. It does not invalidate my thesis --- they are obnoxious in different ways.) Then there is the Dutch, who drink Dutch beer, eat Dutch cheese, drive German cars, wear French fashions, speak both languages, and mock them both.
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  25. You are saying that Faeries prove that the Catholic Church is the ONE true church. I agree.
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  26. Taking my earlier example further... A bank with $100,000 at 10% reserve rate, lends out $1,000,000 to 5 people who bought 5 houses at $250,000 each, creating $1,000,000 in newly "printed" money. If the government wants to stimulate the economy, it can do that easily by lowering the reserve rate. For instance, in this case, if the government lowers the reserve rate to 5%, this bank could now lend out $2,000,000 total, thus enabling 5 more people to buy 5 more similar houses, and creating $2,000,000 in additional dollars. Now, there are limits to this During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve was allowing some banks to have 0% reserve rate. Now, theoretically, that meant that they could lend out an infinite amount. The Financial Collapse that caused bank failures was probably our good fortune, because if those banks had been allowed to do that, then we would have had hyper-inflation and a collapse of the dollar. That would have taken 25 to 50 years to recover from. Look at 1920 Germany, Argentina, and other countries that had hyperinflation and currency destruction -- a banking collapse is preferred, IMO.
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  27. Again, I am left hanging in anxious tension from this episode of "The Perils of Joan". Will she raise the siege? Will she be accused of heresy? Will she be believed? What will happen to this poor innocent girl?? Tune in next week for the next exciting episode of "The Perils of Joan".
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  28. Who the heck is sardar vallabh Patel??? Never heard of him. If he did that, then he is someone I would like to know more about.
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  29. Such a great story - it has been made into many movies and TV series. With all that competition -- You did a great job.
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  30. Teutonic gods are the most dysfunctional family -- EVER. I thought mine was bad. Sheesh.
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  31. The politicization of Pellagra sounds a lot like what is going on with Climate Change.
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  32. WOW. Why has no movie been made of this? It has drama, heroism, and poignancy. SIkhism is a truly admirable religion. As far as I know, it is the only religion which directs its believers to defend believers of OTHER religions from persecution.
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  33. Discussed? I didn't know it had any. I got the part where it separates from India, which then sails north and crashes into Asia (lousy drivers, the Indians) And then Madagascar is colonized by the Portuguese. Don't know what happened in between.
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  34. No NO...The Romans had flying ships....Right???
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  35.  @OlaftheFlashy  Ooooh...what you said.... naughty, naughty.
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  36. Also, can two entangled Qubits ever lose their entanglement?? Do they get divorced??? Who gets custody of any baby Qubits??? These are important questions.
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  37. Illinois is pronounced -- illinoy.....DO NOT PRONOUNCE THE "S", or you sound like an ignorant bum.
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  38. Boy oh boy. I sure wish England had watched your video in 1917 when they cut up the Ottoman Empire, or in 1948 when they cut up India, or Nigeria, or Rwanda, Kenya, etc etc etc.
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  39. I thought it was "Nazarene", not "Nazarite".
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  40. You didn't explain how bunnies lay chocolate eggs.
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  41. Concert of Europe??? Too much dissonance, not enough harmony for my taste.
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  42. For once, you guys need to do better research. The Hero of the Berlin Airlift was General Lucius D. Clay, the head of Quadripartate Germany, and the architect of the phenomenal increase in military production in 1942 and through the war. He was the one who knew the logistics. He was the one who gathered America's logistical resources, and knew them intimately. It was NOT the Brits, this time. I suggest reading the Biography of General Lucius D. Clay. It is a good read.
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  43. I thought Moses was the first human rights activist. At least, that is how Charleton Heston played him "Let my people go!"
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  44. I reject Buddhism. It is totally inwardly motiviated. Buddha's abandoning of hsi child and family is the start. It says nothing about kindness, charity, or obligation. Buddha, according to the stories, abandons his parents, wife, and child. Disgusting person, IMO. PLUS -- Karma teaches that when people suffer, it is because of their Karma. Therefore, to be kind and to help a person interferes with their "karma" and should not be done. Buddhism teaches fatalism, isiolation, and numbness. To avoid all suffering it teaches avoiding all joy.
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  45. Okay, for the first time, a serious blunder of history for Extra History.... Breaking the Japanese code is central to the telling of the Battle of MIdway. Also, breaking German's Enigma code is central to telling the story of the Battle of the Atlantic. Similarly, the Battle of Kursk was decided by the success of Soviet Intelligence stealing the German's battle plans. Zhukov's "brilliance" came from the fact that he knew what Manstein was going to do. Very good, otherwise.
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  46. How kissing under the mistletoe became a thing. The Gauls worship Druidic beliefs. The gathered under the Holy Oak tree for meetings and marriages. The Holy Oaks were tended by the Druidic monks. The mistletoe was an epiphyte that grew on the Holy Oak, under whose branches marriages would take place. So, people would kiss under the mistletoe as they made their vows. Also, the Druids would annually remove the sacred mistletoe from the Holy Oak. I believe they sold it for its magical romantic qualities. So, to this day, you can buy mistletoe to put over a doorway, for people to kiss under and find their beloved.
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  47. Why do you ignore Easter, herself?? Easter, as far as I know, was a Celtic Goddess of Fertility. In fact, Christianity had a habit of incorporating traditions and rituals of absorbed people (I don't want to use the word "conquer"). For instance, "Christmas" absorbed the mistletoe and holly rituals and beliefs from the Druids of Gaul. The Christmas Tree was either a Celtic or Germanic symbol for how life survives the death of winter. Holly, an evergreen, also represented the continuation of life to Pagans. What I find interesting, is that the northern peoples of Europe kept the name "Easter" for the spring, along with the symbols of fertility - the bunny and the egg. In places, Christianity is very thin. Scratch, and you will find Pagan beliefs, traditions, and origins hiding just beneath.
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  48. Makes one wonder about how Putin's reign will end. Russia does not have a defined and accepted institution for succession. Even China may have a problem. China has competing institutions, each vying for control. What else explains China's schizoid policies?? In the long run, democracy's stabiliity gives it great strength. Look at how gracefully America has weathered presidential assassinations and deaths.
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  49. http://www.theonion.com/graphic/august-5-1914-10615 The Onion's take on the start of WW1 sums up the situation. The map showing the arrows of conflict is hilarious - but accurate.
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  50. Well the states are definitely unstable. Egypt is stable, since its people have a clear identity as Egyptian. But, Libya may fall apart. Syria may fall apart. Lebanon? who knows. Iraq may fall apart. Yet, Mesopotamia is an ancient region, with an ancient identity, so it might survive. IMO, Islam has lost its power as a unifying force because of all the violence done in its name. If you actually talk to Muslims, you will find that many have lost faith in it. They don't accept the intolerant extreme and violent form being promoted by the Wahabbist Saudi Regime. The peaceful forms of Islam are marginalized. Hence, in the US and Europe, a high percentage of "Muslims" are now practicing Christians, Atheists, and Agnostics.
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