2023 - Page 7 of 8 - Richard M. Langworth

Q&A: Human Rights Tried by European Court

27 February 2023 Comments 0 Comments

"The European Assembly is now on the point of being achieved.... We have now to take the second step forward and try to establish, as the practical result of our meeting here, the setting up of a European Court of Human Rights." —WSC, Brussels, 1949

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Reflections on the Birthday of George Washington

20 February 2023 Comments 1 Comment

"George Washington holds one of the proudest titles that history can bestow. He was the Father of his Nation. Almost alone his staunchness in the War of Independence held the American colonies to their united purpose. His services after victory had been won were no less great. His firmness and example while first President restrained the violence of faction and postponed a national schism for 60 years." —WSC

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Pat Buchanan and the Art of the Selective Quote

14 February 2023 Comments 1 Comment

No animus toward Pat. I admired him and even voted for him in a NH Primary. I helped him with a couple of items during his research (while lampooning his beliefs in friendly banter). “I like a man who grins when he fights,” as Churchill said. But a problem with his book is the rampant use of selective quotes. Partial quotations edited to distort reality, or to fit a predetermined conclusion are out of bounds.

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Nashville (6): The Myth of Dresden and “Revenge Firebombing”

8 February 2023 Comments 2 Comments

The Martin Gilbert Learning Centre offers a free Zoom presentation by Lady Gilbert herself, on the 1945 bombing of Dresden. The date is Monday 13 February 2023 at 2pm Eastern, 11 am Pacific, 7pm Greenwich Mean Time. Email Deputy Director Dr. Bethany Gaunt to be put on the Zoom invitation list. Lady Gilbert will include Sir Martin's story about how a Soviet general corroborated the truth about who ordered the bombing—in Moscow!

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Speedsdter — 1930 Packard Eight Model 734 Speedster Roadster at the 2018 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance. (Photo by Mr. Choppers, Creative Commons)

“One Brief Shining Moment”: Packard’s 1929-30 Speedster

4 February 2023 Comments 0 Comments

“For those who love speed coupled with utility features of general motoring, Packard builds its Speedsters. Perhaps it is the inherent flow of speed joined to the swift grace of smooth design that suggests these interesting body treatments. But Speedsters they all are, from test car to Runabout. For those who thrill to the maximum speed of an open car on an open road.” —Packard Motor Car Company

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ChatGPT on Churchill Quotes: Yes, We Have No Bananas

30 January 2023 Comments 2 Comments

They may have slipped on a banana, but ChatGBT has only been at this for a few years. "Give them another five years and they'll probably have picked up every word Churchill wrote." So, before we lazily laugh at the tech boffins' failure accurately to pinpoint the Great Man's every word, we might stop to consider: They are just getting started. As Churchill was wont to say on occasion: "Let not the slothful chortle."

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Q&A: Churchill Libeled by Lord Alfred Douglas

25 January 2023 Comments 1 Comment

Lord Alfred Douglas, friend of Oscar Wilde, was involved in several scandals, one of the more unfortunate being his accusation that Churcill manipulated press announcements about the Battle of Jutland in order to favor Jewish investors on the New York Stock Market.

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Churchill, Ripka, Appeasement and the Czech Debacle

20 January 2023 Comments 0 Comments

When Ripka said the Czechs would defend themselves, Churchill waxed emotional: “Tomáš.Masaryk was right,” he cried. “Death is better than slavery.” If war did come, he continued, mopping his eyes, this time they must wage it against the Boche so thoroughly that he wouldn’t recover for generations.... After a while he spoke of “Herr Beans,” as he pronounced the name of Czechoslovakia’s president, Edvard Beneš, Ripka continued: "Churchill called him one of the greatest men of our epoch, and praised the resolution of the Czechs to fight for freedom with such vehemence that he began to cry all over again."

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Why was Churchill Named Winston?

15 January 2023 Comments 0 Comments

The pat answer is the first Sir Winston, but this is unlikely. Why would Lord and Lady Randolph Churchill name their son for a 17th century ancestor, and a fairly dubious one at that? No, it was someone more recent: his grandfather, John Winston, 7th Duke of Marlborough.

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How “Goeben” Changed History, by Dal Newfield

10 January 2023 Comments 1 Comment

An obscure "What-If" of history: Had Goeben not passed the Dardanelles, it was very possible Turkey would have remained neutral in WW1. Absent Turkey, the Allies lost their only supply route to Russia. This loss was so serious that in 1915 Churchill felt it imperative to assault the Dardanelles. The resulting debacle was the principal reason Churchill was ousted from the Admiralty. Because of Goeben, the Russian armies starved for food and materiel. The Czar fell and the Bolsheviks took over.

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