Nikitin-Shevchenko IS-1

Perhaps the most innovatory single-seat fighter to undergo flight testing in the late 'thirties was the IS-1. Polymorphic in concept in that it could translate from biplane to monoplane configuration and back again in the air, the IS-1 (Istrebitel Skladnoi or folding fighter) was conceived by Vladimir V Shevchenko and designed in collaboration with Vasili V Nikitin. The IS-1 was intended to take-off as an unequal-span biplane, subsequently retracting its main wheels pneumatically into the lower wing and then folding this wing (again pneumatically), the centre section into recesses in the fuselage sides and the outer panels into shallow depressions in the upper wing. Theoretically, the lower wing could be extended during combat to increase manoeuvrability. The IS-1 was powered by a 1,100hp Shvetsov M-63 nine-cylinder radial and carried an armament of four 7.62mm ShKAS machine guns. Construction was all metal and the prototype was flown for the first time on 6 November 1940, the lower wing being successfully retracted and extended within 7-10 seconds during subsequent trials. Refinement of the basic design for series production had meanwhile re- suited in the IS-2, only one prototype of the IS-1 being completed.

5 Legendary Military Units

 Julia Dzhak

Lifting of the Siege of Malta by Charles-Philippe Larivière (1798–1876). Hall of the Crusades, Palace of Versailles.

From the beginning of the 13th till the end of the 18th centuries, we can safely pick these five legendary units. These warrior units participated in numerous battles and proved time and time again they were a force like no other. Some of them even met each other in battle.

Anti- Brexit snd Eduationευ (collection of aricles)

Α)Post-war fantasies and Brexit: the delusional view of Britain’s place in the world

Claims about Britain’s past are made regularly in the referedum debate. But claims about Britain’s historical place in the world – courageously standing alone, being outnumbered and outgunned but in the end outperforming everyone – are not based on fact, writes Mike Finn. These myths could nonetheless have very real consequences: this is the self-image that the Brexit campaign portray and which many think they will revive by voting to Leave.

It is perhaps unsurprising that Michael Gove, who as former Education Secretary trumpeted the virtues of ‘our island story’ in the history curriculum, should have emerged as a leader of the Brexit campaign. Nor is it surprising that Boris Johnson, who penned a book to situate himself in comparison with Winston Churchill, should do the same. Both consider themselves to be historians of sorts, articulating Britain’s place in the world in historical terms. But the visions of Britain’s past they draw on are rooted in myth, not history, and this has implications for the decision they are asking us to take.

The ‘standing alone’ myth

For Gove and Johnson, Britain is the nation who stood alone in 1940, a great nation, heir to Anglo-Saxon culture and ‘first in the world for soft power’, owing to Britain’s supposed ‘invention’ of representative democracy. For Johnson, Churchill was a man of ‘vast and almost reckless moral courage’, the encapsulation of all that is good about Britain, not least British pluck. As Gove puts it, those who believe that the prospect of Brexit is a terrible idea are actually arguing that Britain is ‘too small and too weak…to succeed without Jean-Claude Juncker looking after us.’ Johnson went further, comparing the European project to Hitler’s attempt at territorial domination. Both agree that, as in 1940, Britain can, and should, stand alone.

Hidden Boneyard in Greece with German Ju-52, Stuka, C-47 and Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

 Hans Wiesman

 

 

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In this Dakota Hunter Blog, you will read about a weird boneyard aka a Museum collection of aircraft to be restored in Tatoi, Greece. Until recently, this unique collection of wartime and post-wartime aircraft was kept strictly “closed” or only accessible with a special permit.

For years, it seemed that the Greek Military Authorities had a near- paranoia approach toward “Peeping Toms” who with cameras tried to film/photograph the vintage aircraft on Greek Air Force bases (AFBs).
It was since long time known to me that the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) still had a fleet of aging, out phased C-47s/ Dakotas standing there on their AFB, rotting away in open air.
I even tried once via the Military Attache of the Dutch Embassy to launch a serious effort to visit their AFB and hoped with that to get an entry to purchase their surplus parts.
All those efforts were in vain and I lost my interest, as I could harvest with more ease the C-47 surplus stocks of other Air Forces in the world.

Byzantine Empire—or Republic?

The Byzantine Republic: People and Power in New Rome, Anthony Kaldellis, Harvard University Press, 312 pages

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Nikephoros III Botaniates, Byzantine emperor / Wikimedia Commons

The textbooks say the Byzantine Empire was a theocratic autocracy uniting church and state under an all-powerful emperor believed by the Byzantines to be God’s viceroy and vicar. Nonsense, says Anthony Kaldellis, professor of classics at Ohio State University. The Byzantine Empire was a continuation of the Roman Empire and even of the Roman Republic. Its political ideology was fundamentally secular and grounded in the ancient Roman republican belief that government exists to serve the common good. Its people no longer had a legal role in the election of leaders or legislators, but they often played an extralegal role in the making and unmaking of emperors, whose legitimacy depended on popularity and not on a claim of divine right or constitutional correctness. Emperors therefore ruled pragmatically and not fanatically, often disappointing the Church to please the people.

Dimitros: The Greek ghost shipwreck floating abandoned for 30 years …

Dimitrios is a Greek shipwreck famous due to its picturesque location on an easily accessible sandy beach near Gythio, Greece.
Dimitrios (previously named Klintholm), a small, 67-metre (220-foot) cargo ship of 965 gross tons cargo capacity built in 1950, was registered in the Prefecture of Piraeus, registration no. 2707. The ship belonged 76.75% to the Molaris Brothers (Greek: Αφοί Μόλαρη) and 23.25% to the Matsinos Brothers (Greek Αφοί Ματσινού). Dimitrios has been stranded on the beach at Valtaki (Greek Βαλτάκι) in today′s Evrotas municipality in the prefecture of Laconia, Greece, since 23 December 1981.

Source Zeitfixierer/Flickr

Archaeologists have possibly discovered the largest ancient settlement in South Caucasus

: Dattatreya Mandal 

Last year in 2015, archaeologists were surprised by their findings at the Didnauri complex, in southeast Georgia. Their excavations within the parameters of the ancient site, which encompasses a substantially long 1-mile wall (around 23 ft wide), revealed a wealth of artifacts – ranging from stone weapons, ceramic objects to bronze tools. In fact, the sheer scale of the urbanized area (gauged by satellite images), dating from around 10th-11th century BC, convinced the researchers that they were dealing with the largest ancient settlement in South Caucasus. And now the archaeologists have further established the significance of the Didnauri site, as evidenced by the discoveries of an entire water supply system, buildings specifically created for ritualistic purposes, and a grave of ancient military commander who had an arrowhead sticking to his thorax region.

AMX-10 PAC 90

Tank destroyer

The AMX-10 PAC 90 fire support vehicle was capable of taking anti-tank combat

 

 

Entered service 1979 Crew 3 + 4 men Dimensions and weight Weight 14.5 t Length (gun forward) ? Hull length 5.87 m Width 2.83 m Height 2.73 m Armament Main gun 90-mm rifled Barrel length 52 calibers Machine guns 1 x 7.62-mm Maximum rate of fire ? Elevation range - 8 to + 15 degrees Traverse range 360 degrees Ammunition load Main gun 30 rounds Machine guns 3 200 rounds Mobility Engine Hispano Suiza HS 115 Engine power 280 hp Maximum road speed 65 km/h Amphibious speed on water  2 / 8 km/h Range 600 km Maneuverability Gradient 60% Side slope 30% Vertical step 0.7 m Trench 1.6 m Fording Amphibious

   The AMX-10 PAC 90 is a dedicated fire support and anti-tank variant of the AMX-10P infantry fighting vehicle. Its production commenced in 1979. This vehicle is in service with France, Brazil and possibly some other countries.

   This fire support vehicle was designed to operate alongside the main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. At the time of its introduction it was capable of taking anti-tank combat, however by current standards its armament its too week to knock out a modern MBT. It was also intended as a reconnaissance and infantry support vehicle.

AMX-10P

AMX-10P
AMX-10P
Type	Infantry fighting vehicle
Place of origin	France
Service history
Wars	Gulf War
Production history
Produced	1973–present
Specifications
Weight	14.2 tonnes
Length	5.85 m
Width	2.78 m
Height	2.57 m
Crew	3 crew + 8 troops
Armour	Frontal armour resistant against 23 mm API from 300 m
Main armament	20mm automatic cannon M693 F1 (800 rounds)
Secondary armament	7.62mm co-axial machine gun (2,000 rounds)
Engine	Hispano-Suiza HS 115 280 hp (210 kW)
Power/weight	19.7 hp/tonne
Suspension	Torsion bar
Operational range	600 km
Speed	65 km/h

The AMX-10P is a French infantry fighting vehicle. It was developed after 1965 to replace the AMX-VCI in French service; the first prototypes were completed in 1968. It has NBC protection and amphibious capabilities, with hydro jets to swim in water. The AMX-10P has been operated in the past by France, the United Arab Emirates, Greece, Indonesia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Mexico.

Byzantine Transfer of Population policy

"In 941 the entire Arab tribe of Banu H'abid, discontented apparently with the (ruling) Hamdanids, emigrated from the region of Nisibis in Mesopotamia and came to settle in the Byzantine Empire. The new arrivals numbered 12,000 horsemen and brought with them, besides their families,  their slaves, flocks and all their transportable goods. They were followed, in addition, by many of their neighbors. Once in Byzantine territory, they embraced Christianity, enrolled in the Byzantine army, and in return were given lands, animals, clothes and even some precious objects" -

DNA of ancient Phonecian boy suggests a new model of human migration

The findings of a recent study backed by DNA evidence is shedding new light on the genetic origins of perhaps the most celebrated civilization that once thrived in the Middle East. The researchers have successfully sequenced the first complete genome of 2500 years old remains of a young man discovered in Carthage. The Sequencing revealed that the ancient boy’s genome contains a rare European hunter gatherer genes; the finding has the potential to trigger the rewrite of the migration pattern of ancient Europeans into the North African region.

Location of Phoenicia.Source

Researchers claim that the finding is significant as it could shed light on the scope and tendency of ancient people’s movement across continents.

Stilicho

07.25.2016 3288888804
	"The celestial gift, which Achilles obtained, and Alexander envied, of a poet worthy to celebrate the actions of heroes, has been enjoyed by Stilicho in a much higher degree than might have been expected from the declining state of genius, and of art." -Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Magister Militum Flavius Stilicho was the last great hero of the Western Roman Empire.  At a time when all of the noble Patrician fat cat losers around him were busy being a bunch of obnoxious, lazy, back-stabbing sycophants more obsessed with slaves, jewelry, and top-shelf hair products, this old-school stoic honor-bound barbarian-smiting warhammer of Imperial justice was out there proving that even though she was dying and decaying from the inside, the blood of Caesar, Scipio, Marius, and Agrippa still coursed through the veins of Roman Empire.  He rose from the rank-and-file of the Roman Legions to serve on the Emperor’s bodyguard, marry the Emperor’s daughter, take command of all Roman armed forces, and then defended the Eternal City from barbarian invaders at the gates not once but twice despite being underfunded, outnumbered, and having every single logistical problem in the Ancient World kicking him in the balls every time he tried to take a leak.  In twenty years of military service to the Empire this dude fought off unstoppable hordes of rampaging enemy soldiers with a handful of legionnaires cobbled together at the last minute, and he defended the realm without ever sacrificing his personal honor or his duty to the Emperor.  Nowadays he goes down in history as the last great warrior of Rome, and his tragic death marks the end of the Western Empire as we know it.

Nakam – The Jewish Revenge Plan to Kill off Six Million Germans

 Nikola Budanovic

The origins of Nakam, or Revenge in Hebrew, comes from the United Partisan Organization that was based in the Vilna Ghetto, Lithuania, during WWII. Established in January 1942, this was also the first clandestine resistance organization, in a Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Their motto was: “We will not allow them to take us like sheep to the slaughter”, which became the basis of their struggle against the systematic elimination of the Jews in Lithuania and Europe. The leading figure of the movement was a Jewish poet and writer, Abba Kovner.  His first lieutenants were Rozska Korczak and Vitka Kempner.

5th-Century Mosaic Adorned with Elephants and Cupids

By Elizabeth Goldbaum, Staff Writer |

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A section of the mosaic showing an elephant discovered in 2013. This section is part of the larger mosaic exposed in summer 2015.

Credit: Jim Haberman

Stunning mosaics have turned up during an archaeological dig of a fifth-century synagogue in northern Israel.
Tiny earth-hued stones in the mosaics swirl to form images of women surrounded by cupids holding discs, mythological creatures, a rooster, expressive theater masks and symbols of Dionysus (Bacchus), the Greco-Roman god of wine. And painted ivy crawls up columns covered with plaster. These recent discoveries add context and scenes to previously uncovered mosaics and inscriptions on the same and adjacent panels.

Detainees beaten, tortured and raped after failed Turkey coup, Amnesty says

Tens of thousands of supporters of Turkey's ruling and main opposition parties rallied together in support of democracy

People kick and beat a Turkish soldier, who participated in the attempted coup, on Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge AP

Human rights group Amnesty International says it has received credible evidence of detainees in Turkey being subjected to beatings and torture, including rape, since last week's failed coup attempt.
"It is absolutely imperative that the Turkish authorities halt these abhorrent practices and allow international monitors to visit all these detainees in the places they are being held," said Amnesty's Europe director John Dalhuisen in a statement.

UK Brexit: Could Cyprus inspire pro-EU Scotland?

By Laurence Peter BBC News

An experience from the opposite end of Europe might influence Scotland's bid to remain in the EU during the UK's Brexit negotiations.

Cyprus joined the EU in 2004. Yet the island's breakaway, Turkish-controlled north is not internationally recognised, and EU laws don't apply there.
The UK's sovereign military bases in Cyprus are also outside the EU and have a special status.
The EU showed flexibility for Cyprus. It might do the same for Scotland and Northern Ireland, where majorities voted Remain (62% and 55.8%, respectively).

2 Αυγούστου 1944:Το Ολοκαύτωμα των Τσιγγάνων

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Από N. on 02/08/2016 

Από την Ελένη Καρασαββίδου
Βερολίνο 1933. Η Νύχτα των Κρυστάλλων.  Το ναζιστικό καθεστώς προωθεί μια κοινωνική συνοχή στηριγμένη στο ναρκισσισμό του «εθνικού εμείς», καθιστώντας την κοινωνία πρόθυμη να υπερασπιστεί με κάθε τρόπο τη φυλετική της καθαρότητα. Τα πρόσωπα (και άρα οι πολίτες) κρύβονταν συχνά πίσω από την απρόσωπη άρεια συλλογική ψυχή, επενδύοντας στα γυμνασμένα σώματα των μαχητών και στην αδρή «καθαρότητα» του δημόσιου χώρου βασικές κοινωνικές και ψυχολογικές προσδοκίες τους, αλλά και τις εξατομικευμένες ευθύνες τους.
Στο καθεστώς αυτό συνοδεύουν λίγο λίγο τους Εβραίους στη φρικιαστική πορεία του «αποδιοπομπαίου τράγου» οι αριστεροί, αρκετοί φιλελεύθεροι, οι ομοφυλόφιλοι, τα άτομα με ειδικές ανάγκες και οι Αθίγγανοι. Μια κοινωνία καθαρών που στο όνομα της καθαρότητας βρωμίζει πιο πολύ από κάθε άλλη φορά, πετώντας «ακάθαρτους»(!) ανθρώπους στα στρατόπεδα όπως τα άπλυτα ρούχα σε μια βιαστική επίσκεψη στο πίσω μέρος της ντουλάπας.

For 59 Days 30 Russian Soldiers Were Under Siege In This House, They Never Surrendered

 Nikola Budanovic

 

Left: Pavlov's House. By Unknown - Russian State Military Archive, Public Domain. Right: Yakov Pavlov, By Soviet military photographer - Public Domain

 

The Battle of Stalingrad might be one of the best-known battles of WWII. The siege of the city that lasted from 23rd of August, 1942 to the 2nd of February, 1943 saw several power shifts between confronted sides. The Soviets declared it their definitive mission to withstand the Axis push at Stalingrad ― the city that bore the name of their leader, Joseph Stalin. Hitler saw the symbolic potential too and insisted on capturing the city, no matter the cost. Street fights raged for months while snipers scanned the devastated landscape in search of any sign of life. Every house was a battleground. Apartment buildings were taken and lost by storm, in a matter of hours, even minutes. Life lost all value on the streets of Stalingrad as the Soviets believed in their superior numbers and pushed forward, losing hundreds of thousands of soldiers. On the strategic chessboard, those were the days when it was all or nothing.

12 things you should know about the ancient Roman gladiators

Posted By: Dattatreya Mandal

Often viewed as the working class heroes of the Roman society, the gladiators have surely seen their fair share of screen time in our modern-day popular media. However, beyond grand spectacles and bloody feats, the very nature of gladiatorial contests alluded to the ‘institutionalization of violence‘ ingrained in the Roman society since its tribal days. So, without further ado, let us take a gander at twelve such incredible things you should know about the Roman gladiators that go beyond the realm of glitzy fiction to account for brutal reality.

Mία γενιά από ηλίθιους; – Εξαιρετικό άρθρο ενός 14χρονου νέου που όλοι πρέπει να διαβάσουν

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Όσο και αν είναι επώδυνο για μένα, δυστυχώς ανήκω σε αυτήν τη γενιά. Αναφέρομαι βεβαίως, βεβαίως στη γενιά ανθρώπων που έχουν γεννηθεί στην Ελλάδα την περίοδο από 1998 και πάνω. Μια γενιά που μεγάλωσε με σύντροφο την τεχνολογία. Μία γενιά που πήρε τελείως διαφορετικό δρόμο από την προηγούμενη, μια πορεία που ίσως δεν είναι αναστρέψιμη. Τι συμβαίνει λοιπόν με αυτή τη νέα γενιά;
Ποιος ή τι ευθύνεται τελικά για αυτήν την κατάληξη; Ευθύνεται η υπερβολική «δόση» τεχνολογίας που έχουν λάβει τα σημερινά παιδιά, χωρίς να γνωρίζουν πως να την χειρίζονται και να την αξιοποιούν ώστε να αποκομίσουν τα οφέλη της; Ή μήπως ευθύνεται η στάση και η διαπαιδαγώγηση των γονέων προς τα παιδιά; Γιατί σίγουρα δεν φταίει μόνο το διαδίκτυο και το Facebook για αυτήν τη κατάσταση που επικρατεί σήμερα. Γιατί πραγματικά είναι τρομακτική… Ας αρχίσουμε λοιπόν…

Unique Soviet T-34 tank recovered from river in south Russia

6 Αυγούστου στις 10:14 π.μ. ·

The armored vehicle that had stayed at the river bottom for more than half a century endured the operation well.

tass.ru

6 Αυγούστου 1945 – Ο χρόνος σταμάτησε στη Χιροσίμα.

Ώρα 8:15. Το πρωινό της 6ης Αυγούστου για την Ιαπωνική πόλη Χιροσίμα 

των 300.000 κατοίκων είναι πολύ διαφορετικό από τις υπόλοιπες 365 μέρες του χρόνου. 

Ένα εκτυφλωτικό φως και μια λάβα από καυτό σύννεφο καπνού που ταξίδευε 

με απίστευτα μεγάλες ταχύτητες συνέτριψε και απανθράκωσε 

σε κλάσματα δευτερολέπτου πάνω από 70.000 αθώες και ανυποψίαστες ψυχές  προκαλώντας τον μεγαλύτερο όλεθρο στην ιστορία της ανθρωπότητας.

«Μείνετε πιστοί στην Πατρίδα και πιστοί δούλοι του Θεού» – Επιθανάτια λόγια του Μάρκου Μπότσαρη 8 Αυγούστου 1823

Σαν σήμερα έγινε η Μαχη στο Κεφαλόβρυσο Καρπενησίου – την νύχτα της 8ης Αυγούστου 1823 – κατά την οποία τραυματίζεται θανάσιμα ο Μάρκος Μπότσαρης, ο οποίος απετελούσε σύμβολο ενότητας των αγωνιζομένων Ελλήνων, και πεθαίνει την επόμενη μέρα. Τα τελευταία λόγια του ήταν«Αδέλφια, εγώ έκαμα το χρέος μου και πεθαίνω ευχαριστημένος. Μείνετε πιστοί στην Πατρίδα και πιστοί δούλοι του Θεού. Αφήστε με και τρεχάτε εκείνα που εγώ άρχισα»

Η ΜΑΧΗ

Οι ταρσανάδες της Σάμου – Τα καΐκια που έφτιαχναν οι Έλληνες τεχνίτες

Οι Σαμιώτες φημίζονταν για τη ναυπηγική τους τέχνη. Σε κάθε σαμιώτικο λιμανάκι, στο Πυθαγόρειο, το Κοκκάρι, το Καρλόβασι, στον όρμο του Μαραθοκάμπου, στον Άγιο Ισίδωρο και σε διάφορα άλλα σημεία του νησιού, υπήρχε και ένας ταρσανάς όπου ναυπηγούνταν τρεχαντήρια, βάρκες και καΐκια.

Titanic’s last lifeboat: Contained three rotting bodies – including a man still in his dinner jacket – was found 200 miles by passing liner a month later a …

 

Collapsible Boat B, found adrift by the ship Mackay-Bennett during its mission to recover the bodies of those who died in the disaster. source

Reported in the newspapers as the ‘unsinkable’, the Titanic perished on April 15, 1912 leaving a trail of death and destruction. The unfortunate disaster took place in the middle of North Atlantic Ocean some 400 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada.
When the wreckage of the doomed ship was first discovered in 1985, a new research commenced into the disaster opening new avenues, uncovering more details about the disaster. James Cameron’s blockbuster with a number of academy and Oscars brought the Titanic into the pop culture, and ever since it has become an integral part of new age.

If only I had known what he would turn out to be’- A VC hero who held Hitler at gunpoint – and let him go

The military code of conduct changes over time. During WWI, one would expect that despite the horrifying circumstances, wounded enemies should not be shot down like clay pigeons. Nevertheless, that is exactly what had happened most of the time. Private Henry Tandey thought otherwise.

Henry Tandey was born into a military family in 1891. On 12 August 1910, he joined the Green Howards line infantry regiment of the British Army. Prior to the outbreak of WWI, he was posted in Guernsey and South Africa.

His achievements made him the single most decorated private soldier in WWI. In October 1914, he took part in the battle of Ypres in Belgium, where the British forces suffered great casualties from the German enemy. The ending scene with Tandey carrying a soldier wounded in this battle with no clear outcome was later depicted by an Italian artist, Fortunino Matania. Years later, this picture will be in the spotlight of an international controversy that will haunt Tandey for the rest of his life.

Matania’s painting shows Henry Tandey carrying a wounded colleague (Trustees of the Green Howards Museum). Source

Two years later, in August 1916, he fought in France, in the Second Battle of Cambrai during the Hundred Days Offensive. His resoluteness in storming across the no man’s land in order to bomb the German trenches and the subsequent capturing of 20 prisoners earned him the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Two weeks later, he repeated the scenario, returning with a bunch of prisoners yet again. This earned him the Military Medal.

Reign of terror

Queen Elizabeth c. 1592, after Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger

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ANNA WHITELOCK

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The focus of this “partial” biography is the final two decades of Elizabeth I’s reign. Elizabeth’s biographers have, John Guy claims, tended to examine these years only fleetingly; beyond the Spanish Armada of 1588 they run out of steam or merely accept unquestioningly the image of Gloriana and her enduring popularity and success. That narrative, Guy argues, remains heavily influenced by the work of William Camden, Elizabeth’s first biographer, whose hagiographical Annales (or The History of Elizabeth), completed in 1617, together with Sir John Neale’s highly influential Queen Elizabeth (1934), published more than three centuries later, represent an enduring tradition of uncritically celebrating “Good Queen Bess”. Guy’s intention is to puncture this mythmaking and build directly on the work of Lytton Strachey, whose bestselling Elizabeth and Essex (1928) sought to present a very different, emotionally tortured Queen, whose reign falls into two distinct parts. After twenty-five years of rule, Strachey observed, “the kaleidoscope shifted; the old ways, the old actors, were swept off with the wreckage of the Armada”. It is from where Strachey “blazed a trail” that Guy aims “to strike out”.

"The machine guns mowed down almost all of them": July 19, 1916, in the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry

Ox and Bucks Light Infantry soldier KIA, 19 July 1916

AT 5.40pm on July 19, 1916, 100 men from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry filed out into No Man's Land and lay down.
Twenty minutes later, with a cheer, they leapt up and threw themselves on the enemy's trenches. The machine guns mowed down almost all of them.

2 Αυγούστου: Ημέρα μνήμης για το ολοκαύτωμα των Ρομά από τους ναζί

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Τη νύχτα 2 προς 3 Αυγούστου του 1944, στάλθηκαν μαζικά στους θαλάμους αερίων οι τελευταίοι 3.000 Ρομά κρατούμενοι στο στρατόπεδο συγκέντρωσης Άουσβιτς-Μπίρκεναου. Συνολικά, υπολογίζεται ότι στη διάρκεια του Ολοκαυτώματος θανατώθηκαν από τους ναζί περίπου 250.000 Ρομά (άλλες εκτιμήσεις ανεβάζουν τον αριθμό στο μισό εκατομμύριο).

Ακολουθεί ένα animation που συνοψίζει την ιστορία των Ρομά:

Vatican Digitizes a 1,600-Year-Old Illuminated Manuscript of the ‘Aeneid’

• by Carey Dunne

From the Vatican Virgil (c. 400) (all images courtesy the Vatican Library)

In Rome, around the year 400, a scribe and three painters created an illuminated manuscript of Virgil’s Aeneid, illustrating the ancient hero Aeneas’ journey from Troy to Italy. 1,600 years later, the Vatican has digitized the surviving fragments of this manuscript. Known as the Vergilius Vaticanus, it’s one of the world’s oldest versions of the Latin epic poem, and you can browse it for free online.

Η απόκρυφη αρχαιολογία των Ναζί

Περίεργες ιστορίες από την ανασκαφική κρύπτη της ναζιστικής λαίλαπας

Οι εθνικοσοσιαλιστές ήταν παθιασμένοι όπως ξέρουμε με τις ρατσιστικές φυλετικές θεωρίες τους και προσπαθούσαν λυσσασμένα να επιστρατεύσουν την αρχαιολογία ώστε να αποδείξουν τη στρεβλή πεποίθησή τους για την καθαρή ράτσα των Αρίων αλλά και την πανάρχαια καταγωγή τους.

Οι Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες στο Βερολίνο των ναζί…

by earkas

Πριν από ογδόντα χρόνια οι Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες στο Βερολίνο, πρωτεύουσα της ναζιστικής Γερμανίας, εξελίχθηκαν σε ένα μεγάλο προπαγανδιστικό θέαμα. Ένα βιβλίο φωτίζει τις 16 ημέρες του Αυγούστου 1936.

Ο Χίτλερ βρίσκεται ήδη εδώ και τρία χρόνια στην εξουσία, ωστόσο οι πινακίδες που απαγορεύουν την είσοδο των Εβραίων στα καταστήματα έχουν εξαφανιστεί. Αντί για τον ύμνο του Εθνικοσοσιαλιστικού Κόμματος ακούγονται παντού στο Βερολίνο χαρούμενοι ήχοι σουίνγκ. Και σύμφωνα με τις οδηγίες της κυβέρνησης προς τα μέσα ενημέρωσης του Γ΄ Ράιχ «δεν θα πρέπει να θιγεί η ευαισθησία των μαύρων» κατά τη διάρκεια των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων του Βερολίνου το 1936.
Η ναζιστική Γερμανία με τον Χίτλερ στην κορυφή της ιεραρχίας, ο οποίος τον Μάρτιο του 1936 παρήλαυνε θριαμβικά στη Ρηνανία, θέλει να παρουσιάζεται ως ανοιχτή και ανεκτική χώρα. Ακριβώς αυτή την καθημερινότητα εκείνης της εποχής καταγράφει στο βιβλίο του «Βερολίνο 1936 – δεκαέξι ημέρες του Αυγούστου» ο Όλιβερ Χίλμες. Ο ιστορικός παρουσιάζει τις ημέρες των Ολυμπιακών Αγώνων στο Βερολίνο με τη μορφή ενός ημερολογίου. Αναμιγνύει αρχειακό υλικό με στοιχεία μυθοπλασίας, για να ανασυγκροτήσει τη «μαρτυρία» ενός αυτόπτη και να προσφέρει στον αναγνώστη ένα αληθοφανές βίωμα.

US F-35: Coming to Russia's Doorstep

 

Dave Majumdar

07/14/2016

The United States Air Force might deploy the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the Baltics for an air-policing role once the new stealth aircraft becomes operational later this year.

The United States Air Force might deploy the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the Baltics for an air-policing role once the new stealth aircraft becomes operational later this year. The new fighter is to enter service with the Air Force with an interim software capability called Block 3i that offers limited combat capability

Τι έγινε πριν 66 εκ. χρόνια, την ημέρα που εξαφανίσθηκαν οι δεινόσαυροι- Οι έρευνες και η σχέση τους με το σήμερα

Εξήντα έξι εκατ. χρόνια πριν, ένας αστεροειδής προσέκρουσε  στο ανατολικό Μεξικό και εξαφάνισε τους δεινόσαυρους. Τώρα οι επιστήμονες, χάρις στη νέα τεχνολογία, έχουν πολύ καλύτερη εικόνα του τι συνέβη εκείνη την πολύ-πολύ μακρινή ημέρα.

Bronze figure of a gladiator found in Arles, France Roman 1st century BCE - 4th century CE

2 ώρες ·

Photographed at the Musèe de l'Arles Antique in Arles, France.

flickr.com

A7V

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A7V
Replica A7V in Panzermuseum Munster, Germany.
Type	Tank
Place of origin	German Empire
Service history
In service	21 March 1918 – 16 October 1918
Used by	German Empire
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designer	Joseph Vollmer
Designed	1916
Number built	20
Specifications
Weight	33 t (32 long tons; 36 short tons) battle weight
Length	7.34 m (24 ft 1 in)
Width	3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
Height	3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)
Crew	18
Armor	Hull – Front: 30 mm (1.2 in), rear & sides: 15 mm (0.59 in), top:6 mm (0.24 in)[1] Command copula – Front: 20 mm (0.79 in), rear & sides: 15 mm (0.59 in), top 5 mm (0.20 in)[1]
Main armament	57 mm gun (initially with 180 rounds; later 300)
Secondary armament	6 × 7.9 mm machine guns 36,000 rounds
Engine	2 × Daimler-Benz 4-cylinder 200 hp (149 kW) total
Power/weight	6.5 hp/tonne
Transmission	Adler gearboxes and differentials
Suspension	Holt track, vertical springs
Operational range	30–80 km (19–50 mi)
Speed	15 kilometres per hour (9.3 mph) on roads 4 mph cross-country

Sturmpanzerwagen Oberschlesien

Sturmpanzerwagen Oberschlesien
Place of origin	Germany
Specifications
Weight	~19 t
Length	6.7 m (7.3 yd)
Width	2.34 m (2.56 yd)
Height	2.9 m (3.2 yd)
Crew	5
Armor	14 mm (0.55 in)
Main armament	1 x 57 millimetres (2.2 in) or 37 mm (1.5 in) cannon
Secondary armament	2 x 8 mm machinegun
Engine	Argus As III[1] 190 hp (140 kW)
Power/weight	10 hp/t (7.3684 kW/t)
Operational range	60 km (37 mi), ~100 km (62 mi) paved road(s)[2]
Speed	16 km/h (9.9 mph) on roads 9 km/h (5.6 mph) off road

Αυτά είναι τα 18 μνημεία πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς στην Ελλάδα

Με την ένταξη του αρχαίου θεάτρου των Φιλίππων τα μνημεία πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς στην Ελλάδα είναι πλέον 18. Η ομορφιά και η σπουδαιότητά τους είναι μοναδική.

Η Ελλάδα έχει συνυπογράψει από το 1981 τη Συνθήκη της UNESCO για την προστασία των μνημείων και χώρων παγκόσμιας κληρονομιάς. Στόχος της UNESCO είναι η προστασία από κάθε είδους φθορά και καταστροφή, προκειμένου αυτά να κληροδοτηθούν στις γενιές του μέλλοντος. Με την ένταξη του αρχαίου θεάτρου των Φιλίππων τα μνημεία πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς στην Ελλάδα είναι πλέον 18. Η ομορφιά και η σπουδαιότητά τους είναι μοναδική.

ΝΑΟΣ ΕΠΙΚΟΥΡΕΙΟΥ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΟΣ - ΒΑΣΣΕΣ

(Χρονολογία ένταξης 1986)

Ο φημισμένος ναός αφιερωμένος στον θεό της ίασης και του ήλιου, χτίσθηκε στα μέσα του 5ου αιώνα στα απόκρημνα βουνά της Αρκαδίας. Ο ναός, με το παλαιότερο Κορινθιακό κιονόκρανο, που έχει βρεθεί ποτέ, συνδυάζει τον Αρχαϊκό ρυθμό με την ρώμη του Δωρικού, με ορισμένα τολμηρά αρχιτεκτονικά χαρακτηριστικά.

ΑΡΧΑΙΟΛΟΓΙΚΟΣ ΧΩΡΟΣ ΑΚΡΟΠΟΛΕΩΣ

(Χρονολογία ένταξης 1987)

Απεικονίζοντας τους πολιτισμούς, τους μύθους και τις θρησκείες, οι οποίες άνθισαν στην Ελλάδα για μια περίοδο μεγαλύτερη των χιλίων ετών, η Ακρόπολη περιλαμβάνει τέσσερα από τα σπουδαιότερα αριστουργήματα της κλασσικής Ελληνικής περιόδου, τον Παρθενώνα, τα Προπύλαια, το Ερέχθειο και τον ναό της Αθηνάς Νίκης, τα οποία μπορούν να θεωρηθούν σύμβολα της ιδέας της παγκόσμιας κληρονομιάς.

VIEWPOINT: Brexit, Class and British ‘National’ Identity

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Gurminder K. Bhambra
On the day before the referendum on our continued membership of the European Union, I was wondering about what the result would be and how I would respond. While I hoped that Remain would win, I couldn’t say that, even at that point, it would have felt like a victory given what it had already cost us. What had been unleashed in the weeks prior to the vote was the most toxic discourse on citizenship and belonging, and the rights that pertain as a consequence. This discourse provided a context for the brutal killing of a socialist and progressive MP before the vote followed by increasing racist and xenophobic attacks on migrants and minorities after the decision for ‘Brexit’.