A review of “Horror in the East: Japan and the Atrocities of World War II” (BBC)

Warning: This blog post contains several disturbing pictures. One of them shows the body of a child.

The Japanese were racist against other Asians and Pacific Islanders, not just Whites …

Apologists for the Imperial Japanese seem to have multiplied in recent years, even in the West. They do have some valid points, including that there was some real racism against the Japanese in the West – including in my home country of the United States. But there was also racism in Japan as well, and not just against the “White Westerners.” They were racist against anyone who was not Japanese – including the Chinese and other fellow Asians and Pacific Islanders, whose countries the Japanese would soon be invading. Some of the Japanese officers interviewed on camera here admit to such racism, as do some of the Western officers fighting against them. Japanese propagandists used the slogans of “Asia for the Asians,” and a “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.” But the truth was far different from these grossly misleading slogans, because they wanted an Asia exclusively for the Japanese. No other Asian groups benefited from Japanese imperialism, as the record shows.

A review of “Swiss Gnomes and Global Investing” (audiobook)

So I was recently listening to some additional presentations from an audio series about investment. This particular installment was called “Swiss Gnomes and Global Investing.” I found out that it was actually two presentations: one about “The Swiss Gnomes,” and one about “The Global Investors.” Both were as interesting as I expected them to be, and brought back fond memories of my days as a business major.

A review of the BBC’s “The Crusades”

The Crusades are one of the most infamous episodes in all of medieval history. More than 700 years later, they are still extremely controversial. This may be why the BBC decided to examine them in 2012. At that time, the British and Americans (plus many others) were still fighting in Afghanistan, and would soon be returning their troops to Iraq. Even after the Allies’ departure from Afghanistan, Islamic terrorism remains a hot topic, and it will likely continue to be so. Islam holds many grudges against the West, many of which go back to this turbulent period. Thus, I will review the BBC’s coverage here, and see how it compares to the earlier coverage of the History Channel in 2005.

A review of the BBC’s “The Stuarts & The Stuarts in Exile”

“… all and every person and persons, who shall or may take or inherit the said Crown, by virtue of the limitation of this present act, and is, are or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with, the See or Church of Rome, or shall profess the popish religion, or shall marry a papist, shall be subject to such incapacities [to rule], as in such case or cases are by the said recited act provided, enacted, and established …”

– “An Act for the further Limitation of the Crown and better securing the Rights and Liberties of the Subject” (better known as the “Act of Settlement”), as passed by the Parliament of England in 1701 – later amended by the Perth Agreement in 2015

During the English Civil War, one king from this dynasty was executed …

During the English Civil War, one of the Stuart kings of England was executed. Specifically, Charles the First was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell and his allies in 1649. This was probably the most dramatic moment of the entire Stuart dynasty, but there are many other such moments. The Stuarts have a fascinating history, and left an indelible mark upon the history of the British Isles. Thus, the BBC decided to examine this story in the 2010s, by engaging Clare Jackson to make this documentary. It must have been reasonably popular, because they later added two bonus episodes to the original three in that same decade. More about those later. For now, let me examine the original three episodes, which were simply marketed as “The Stuarts.” I will cover “The Stuarts in Exile” somewhat later in this post.

Charles the First

A review of “Duns Scotus and Medieval Christianity” (audiobook)

The Scottish philosopher Duns Scotus got a bad rap after his death. The English word “dunce” comes from the name of “Duns Scotus.” By extension, so does the English phrase “dunce cap.” But there’s a lot to learn about with Duns Scotus, and from the other medieval Christian philosophers. This audiobook is marketed as “Duns Scotus and Medieval Christianity,” but the introductory narration for this audiobook calls it “Duns Scotus and Medieval Christian Philosophy.” To me, this sounds like a more appropriate title, since the focus of the audiobook is on philosophy – and, more specifically, religious philosophy.

A review of PBS’s “War of the Worlds” (American Experience)

Note: This post contains some science-fiction images, which are used to dramatize the story. Thus, not all of the pictures in this particular blog post are strictly historical; nor are they meant to be taken as such.

This broadcast made people think that a Martian invasion was really happening …

In 1938, there was a radio broadcast about a Martian invasion, based upon the 1898 science-fiction novel by H. G. Wells. The novel “War of the Worlds” was a milestone in the history of science fiction, but the broadcast has since become famous for another reason. That is, this broadcast made people think that this “Martian invasion” was really happening. This is why PBS decided to cover it in this program. As worthy as the history of science fiction might be, it would seldom receive the documentary treatment of PBS. But the 1938 panic was a case study in mass psychology, which showed how suggestible people are – some would say “gullible.” People dispute the extent of the panic, but there were certainly people who believed that it was really happening. This film uses audio from the broadcast, and photographs and real footage from the time. I suspect that it would be nearly impossible to get a CD or a DVD of the full radio program as it was first broadcast – although I have not looked for such discs myself, so I don’t know this for certain. Suffice it to say, though, that this documentary occupies a small niche, and is worth having in and of itself.

The Constitution of Massachusetts influenced the national Constitution

“We, therefore, the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the goodness of the great Legislator of the universe, in affording us, in the course of His providence, an opportunity, deliberately and peaceably, without fraud, violence or surprise, of entering into an original, explicit, and solemn compact with each other; and of forming a new constitution of civil government, for ourselves and posterity; and devoutly imploring His direction in so interesting a design, do agree upon, ordain and establish the following Declaration of Rights, and Frame of Government, as the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

– Preamble to the original Constitution of Massachusetts (ratified 1780), as written by John Adams

The Constitution of Massachusetts was originally written by John Adams …

In 1787, John Adams was serving as the American ambassador to Britain. Thus, he was not present at the (federal) Constitutional Convention, which was held that year. But he had more influence upon the federal Constitution than one might be tempted to conclude from this. This is because, eight years earlier, he had attended the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention held in 1779. Thus, he was the principal author of the Constitution of Massachusetts. This is among the oldest written constitutions to remain in effect today. It was also the first constitution anywhere in the world to be “created by a convention called for that purpose, rather than by a legislative body” (as one source puts it).

John Adams, the principal author of the Constitution of Massachusetts

… and remained unchanged until the 1820s, long after the founding era

This constitution remained unchanged until the Second Massachusetts Constitutional Convention. This latter convention was held from 1820 to 1821. At this time, the first nine amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution were all passed simultaneously. Thus, all of the amendments to that constitution were well after the founding era. I will be focusing here on how the Massachusetts Constitution influenced the federal Constitution. Thus, all of the amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution (even the very first one) are too late to be relevant to our present subject. Thus, I will be focusing here on the original text of the Massachusetts Constitution – as drafted in 1779, and presented and ratified in 1780. This will showcase the ideas of John Adams, and how they influenced our federal Constitution.

The title page of the first published edition of the original 1780 Massachusetts Constitution