BS: England's Evil Empire

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 11:28 AM

The English are all beyond contempt.

They invented the smelly fart in a confined space, the out of tune guitar string, and it was English Labrador who made widespread the practice of shitting on footpaths.

To this day if you see an English Labrador shitting on the footpath - they always have a guilty, furtive look about them. They know that they started it.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 08:42 AM

Who cares? Seriously.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Scrump
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 07:53 AM

Let me get this straight - the suthor blames England, not Britain, for this 'evil empire', right? Does he absolve Scotland and Wales (and Northern Ireland) from any blame?

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Gurney
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 01:58 AM

Factory labor (Labour)
From memory:   It was a London clockmaker who is credited with mass-production-line techniques. However, the workers were time-served clockmakers and trade apprentices.
When factories became the norm in the industrial revolution, the owners provided housing for the workers that they needed. These were not at that time 'slums,' but houses for respectable families who would not otherwise have been able to be there, and workers flocked from the farms and workshops to live in them. they were 'tied' houses, and if you lost your job, out you went.
These houses may have become slums later, with factory closures and private ownership, but no-one 'invented' them.


If we consider semi-skilled workers, then possibly the first mass-production was of Springfield rifles, so America can take a bow for that.
This is from memory of a book I read once. I stand to be corrected.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 11 Mar 07 - 06:41 PM

"I think I have succesfully defended my points that A) The British invented the concentration camp".

No Lox, I don't think you have. What you have proved is that the British invented a new name (even the article you use as authority says only that they were the first to use that name) for a type of incarceration that was mentioned in historical writings as far back as ancient Egypt, Greece, Persia, and Rome.

Apart from the name, concentration of potential enemies in confined areas was nothing new.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 11 Mar 07 - 11:23 AM

I can't really see how the Italians would have given us fish and chips. You really do need a cold water sort of fish. You go these med countries and they really haven't got it right.

I think the Irish potato shop sounds a more likely source. Can't be the Scots - they're still cooking Haddock, which I suppose is okay if you're really hungry.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: folk1e
Date: 11 Mar 07 - 09:28 AM

Allas and Allack! It was us! We didn't mean any harm to you. Our "chippy's" were meant to be harmless. How did we know the problems they would cause?    But wait a second, with all this global warming we have the answer "Chippy Biofuel"! Call in and get your fish chips and 40 litres of chip fat converted to green diesel! Smell? what smell?

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: ard mhacha
Date: 10 Mar 07 - 04:37 PM

Teribus we stole the Triple Crown to-day,it must have been the soggy chips the Irish team had before the game,the All-BLacks will have no bother in the World Cup.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: bubblyrat
Date: 10 Mar 07 - 12:24 PM

It is no good blaming England for machine -guns ( although they probably invented the name, which was used to officially describe the twin-barrelled,lever-operated Gardner-gun when it entered British army service )------ Doctor Richard Jordan Gatling must take the credit for that, at least as far as the first mechanical,or hand operated ( cranked ) machine-gun was concerned.Later on,of course, another American, Hiram Maxim, gave the world the first practical,automatic-firing,belt-fed machine gun. Then followed ever more American " machine " or "sub-machine " gun inventors-----Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss, whose guns were widely used and copied in France and Japan. Isaac Newton Lewis, whose guns were used by all the allies in WW1 EXCEPT the Americans !! ( Because US Chief of Ordnance ,General Tozier, didn"t like Lewis !! ) Brigadier -General Thompson, and his famous "Trench Broom " Tommy -Gun , John Moses Browning, and his also famous .30 calibre "potato-digger" and the immortal BAR squad light -machine gun-----the list goes on !! So ,please, do NOT blame the Brits, or the English, for the Machine-Gun , OK ????   This is all out of my head, not off the internet, so sorry for any mistakes !! ( like I can"t remember Thompson"s first name ! )

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Gurney
Date: 10 Mar 07 - 02:11 AM

As it was rumoured to be the Poms who introduced the spud, along with many other vegetables, into Europe, it seems unlikely to be anyone else who first cooked them, in any fashion. Although it could have been the Spanish, or Portugese.

Of course, this discounts the efforts of the native South Americans, who grew the things since day one.

Further, to cook a chip properly, it has to be done in animal fat, and that lets most of the Europeans out.

To add further confusion, I live in a country that calls both chips and crisps 'chips.'

To be the first to be recorded as opening a chip shop does not mean that you are the one who invented or introduced fish-n-chips, any more than being the introducer of pasta means that you invented that. (Marco Polo, I understand.)

"Listen, Sir Walter, you stand there, smoking that potato...." Michael Flanders.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Captain Ginger
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 05:51 PM

Certainly nearly every decent chippie I've come across in Scotland has an Italian name - and Capaldi seems to rank among the best of them.
And, it has to be said, the deep-fried creme egg I was persauded to try (don't ask - it was vile) was from a Turkish-run kebab shop masquerading as a pukkah McEyetalian chippie.
As for the rest of the thread (having stumbled upon it somewhat late after being away in a splendid place far beyond the reach of this internet malarkey) - is there anything one should worry about other than the usual suspects?
Terry - I trust your judgement on this - should one saddle the horses?
Though, to be honest, is there anything more important to Englishness that decent chips?

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Stu
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 12:20 PM

". . . chipped potatoes which, until then, had been found only in the Irish potato shops . . ."

Crikey. So the Irish invented chipped potatoes and whoever compsed 'The Kid on The Mountain' comes from there.

Now that's what I call a contribution to civilisation.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 12:18 PM

How typocal.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Penny S.
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 12:01 PM

All the sources seem to have the same typo....

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Ruth Archer
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 11:55 AM

My uncle Nick, from Naples, assured me that it was where pizza came from. But he said it was flat breasd with oil, salt, and oregano - not tomatoes or cheese. He always reckoned that Americans had "spoiled" it with these additions.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: folk1e
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 11:26 AM

If I remember my Greek mythology correctly it was them what did the Piza! They were short of crockery and made plates out of dough. After they had finnished all the food they were still hungry so ate the plates (as was foretold). This was the sign to build the city of Rome!
Mine is a peperoni special, ta.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: GUEST,Bardan
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 08:19 AM

Marguerita-named after a princess (don't see many of those in america)
red white and green. (Unless made with some rare breed of blue basil...hmmmm, maybe it is American.) I rest my case. (And no doubt get it demolished within seconds, but there you are.)

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 08:16 AM

"Indeed, in a post to It.Hobby.Cucina, the Italian general cooking newsgroup, RoDante da Fano traces pizza's origins from Ancient Egypt to Imperial Rome, where there were a number of different kinds of flat baked breads with a variety of sweet or salty toppings, and goes on to say that the descendents of these proto-pizzas were common throughout the peninsula in the 1700s. In 1835, he continues, Alexandre Dumas noted in his diary that "in Naples pizza is flavored with oil, lard, tallow, cheese, tomato, or anchovies…" Other chroniclers listed other common toppings, also noting that pizza was a cheap food that Neapolitans ate for breakfast or lunch; in the 1870s things stabilized to a degree, when a Neapolitan pizzaiolo created the Margherita, which he named after Italy's beautiful queen, by sprinkling a few fresh basil leaves over a pizza topped with mozzarella and tomato -- red, white and green, the national colors. "

http://italianfood.about.com/od/breadspizza/a/aa042205.htm

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Scrump
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 08:10 AM

I met a guy once who assured me the Americans invented the pizza. I laughed for quite a while

I've certainly heard the claim that the pizza was invented by Italians living in the USA, but I have no way of knowing whether that's true or false.

God this message me sound like a boring pedantic git. I'm not boring damnit!

I have no way of knowing whether that's true or false, either :-)

...I'll get me coat!

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: GUEST,Bardan
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 08:01 AM

I met a guy once who assured me the Americans invented the pizza. I laughed for quite a while.

I presume Hamburgers are from Hamburg originally although they could easily not be I suppose. Sort of thing that different people might think up independantly though isn't it. As for kebabs, turks? Iranians? no idea.

PS. I mentioned Mongolia cos they'd have to make serious reparations after all the conquering and the pyramids of skulls etc. not just randomly, still, who cares at the end of the day?

God this message me sound like a boring pedantic git. I'm not boring damnit!

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Scrump
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 07:55 AM

I thought it was the Spanish who introduced fish and chips to Britain, although if this thread keeps going, I'm sure it will actually turn out to have been the Mongolians....

I gather it was the Mongolians who invented the burger, the pizza and the kebab.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Teribus
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 07:32 AM

Sorry Penny!!

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Teribus
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 07:31 AM

A typo Jenny it was a Jew called Joseph of Milan not Joseph Malin.
;-)

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Penny S.
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 07:23 AM

I thought it was Jewish. so does the Observer.

From the Observer, online.

"In 1860 a Jewish immigrant from Eastern Europe called Joseph Malin opened the first business in London's East End selling fried fish alongside chipped potatoes which, until then, had been found only in the Irish potato shops. In 1968 the National Federation of Fish Fryers even presented a commemorative plaque to Malin's of Bow, recognising their founding role in the chippie business."

Apparently, the fried fish was originally brought by Portuguese Jews expelled from Portugal.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Teribus
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 06:09 AM

As a Scot Ard, good luck to your guys tomorrow. I sincerely hope that they take the Triple Crown, it's a great shame that but for a couple of minutes they would be looking at a Grand Slam.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 05:48 AM

I thought it was the Spanish who introduced fish and chips to Britain, although if this thread keeps going, I'm sure it will actually turn out to have been the Mongolians....

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: ard mhacha
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 05:17 AM

Teribus hang out the flags, I agree with you that the Italians introduced the fish and chip dish to the UK, they certainly were the first in my home town in Ireland.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Dazbo
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 04:21 AM

Actually, as a descendent of all those English people who were enslaved, disposessed, starved, beaten and ethnically cleansed can I get my share of the dosh too? Just because I live in England I don't see why I shouldn't get my fair share (especially as I've got a car to pay off)

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Gurney
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 04:08 AM

Another pack of bastards claiming that the modern Briton is responsible for every peccadillo committed by previous residents of that group of islands.

Fair enough. So, by that reasoning, many Americans, Kiwis, Aussies, and Canadians are also descended.

Since the islands were settled by Celts, Saxons, Danes (and other Vikings, particularly Normans) Dutch (who came to work and wouldn't go home again), French (who came because of religious intolerence) and divers other nationalities, then surely these nationalities bear just as much responsibility.

However, since many modern Britons are descended from none of the previous immigrants, why should they pay?

Obviously, before blame can be apportioned, then everyone in the world must be racially assessed, back about, say, 40 generations.
After all, the Poms are noted for their sense of fairness and justice.

Good luck getting that done.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 Mar 07 - 12:29 AM

And then....there's Liechtenstein. You ain't seen nothin' yet.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: GUEST,Bardan
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 11:25 PM

If we're all going to have to start paying reparations for every bad deed attributable to our countries, Mongolia must be seriously worried at the moment.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Les from Hull
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 04:32 PM

If this guy wants reparations for the evil things that he thinks England (or Great Britain or whatever) has done, does that mean he's going to pay us for the many inventions, creations, innovations that England (or Great Britain or whatever) have given the world? I think that we might be a few quid up!

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: GUEST,lox
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 03:58 PM

"kendall

"To disagree with another's opinion is not intolerent. Trying to shut them up is. "


Absolute agreement."

Me too.

I liked the humour of BB's dig at mudcatters.

Though generally I find him hard to tolerate ... 8-P

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: DMcG
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 03:23 PM

I was struck that either Steven, or his reviewers, or both, seem as confused as the rest of us between England and Britain. Play.Com, for example, thinks his book is "101 Way Britain ..." whereas Amazon thinks it is "101 Ways England ..."

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Paul from Hull
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 03:22 PM

*G* Penny S.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Penny S.
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 03:15 PM

Just thought of another turned round response. If it hadn't been for the Empire, the United Sates would have been speaking German.

Probably with their own spelling for the Conservapedia.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Penny S.
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 03:13 PM

I thought we had just finished paying the US back. Is that why he's worried?

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 01:18 PM

It's a tricky business deciding where the vehemence of anyone's strongly-held opinions crosses over into what could be termed "intolerance"....

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 01:18 PM

I posted a comment which seems to have disappeared..it was that this thread is full of bad history.It drives me mad when people confuse history and opinion. Many of you need to study a bit more history before you go off on these silly rants.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: GUEST,Crazyhorse
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 01:15 PM

Old news. He reckons England owes the whole world money; get your share at
http://britishreparations.org/index.php

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: beardedbruce
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 12:43 PM

kendall

"To disagree with another's opinion is not intolerent. Trying to shut them up is. "


Absolute agreement.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: kendall
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 12:42 PM

To disagree with another's opinion is not intolerent. Trying to shut them up is.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: GUEST,lox
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 12:33 PM

Bearded Bruce

ROFL

Yeah, at least a room full of fascists can be relied upon to agree with each other.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: beardedbruce
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 11:36 AM

Amos,

"tolerant of his opponent's opinions"



Please don't make me laugh. Or will you state that the people here are NOT "liberal"?

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Amos
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 11:32 AM

Definitions of liberal on the Web:

broad: showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; "a broad political stance"; "generous and broad sympathies"; "a liberal newspaper"; "tolerant of his opponent's opinions"

having political or social views favoring reform and progress
tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition

a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties

big: given or giving freely; "was a big tipper"; "the bounteous goodness of God"; "bountiful compliments"; "a freehanded host"; "a handsome allowance"; "Saturday's child is loving and giving"; "a liberal backer of the arts"; "a munificent gift"; "her fond and openhanded grandfather"

a person who favors an economic theory of laissez-faire and self-regulating markets

(Just in case there is any confusion about what the word means. See also this thread on the origins of liberal thought.)

A

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Scrump
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 10:57 AM

Don't you yhink thet your definition is rather an insult to the bastard offspring of the shavings from Thatcher's dangleberries?

LOL - you beat me to it W.

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 10:24 AM

The Belgians may have invented chips but we cooked them in far too much grease, covered then in salt and vinegar and served them up in newsprint...

:D

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: The Walrus
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 10:15 AM

Teribus,

"...Fish and Chips - English?

Sorry they were an Italian introduction to the UK like the Ice Cream Parlour and from around the same time..."

That's fair enough! Wasn't it last year (or the year before) that it was discovered that the earliest receipe for Lasagne was English?

W

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: The Walrus
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 10:11 AM

stigweard,

"...It also has sod-all to do with the current government who are not so much socialists but the bastard offspring of the shavings from Thatcher's dangleberries. In my opinion... "

Don't you yhink thet your definition is rather an insult to the bastard offspring of the shavings from Thatcher's dangleberries?

W

Subject: RE: BS: England's Evil Empire
From: Scrump
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 10:08 AM

Maybe then there should be a knockout competition between all nations who claim to have invented chips.