08 Oct 08 Another new start

Yesterday I had an idea.  I’d start a new blog.

Because of that idea, this post will remain close to the top of the pile for sometime to come.  I am going to start the worlds oldest blog.

Obviously, I can’t time travel, but what I can do is write a blog about current affairs, but lets for sake of argument say its started in 1953.  Why 1953?  I have no idea, I wasn’t even born yet - I had to pick a day!  So, each blog post will be for all the subsequent days afterwards.

Anyone care to have a guess how long it takes me to get to 2008?

Tags: Blog of Ages, worlds oldest blog

07 May 54 Typical French: Surrender!

Nothing much happening today that affects me.

I did hear that the French surrender to Vietminh after 55-day siege at DienBienPhu. The battle began on March 13 and marked the end of French imperial ambitions in the Far East.

However, when I heard the word “communist” I thought I’d take a look at what was actually going on.

The French were not in a strong position to immediately reassert their authority in their former colony, French Indochina, after the Japanese invaders withdrew at the end of World War II.

In the north, the Vietminh, a political party led by Ho Chi Minh, proclaimed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam. France agreed to recognize Vietnam as a free state within the French Union, but negotiations dragged on. In December 1946, Vietminh forces attacked French garrisons, and during the ensuing years guerrilla activity increased in the countryside.

In 1949, a Vietnamese provisional government, headed by Emperor Bao Dai, was established, which was recognized by France and, in 1950, by the United States. The communist-dominated Vietminh rejected any remnant of French authority and consequently attacked French outposts along Vietnam’s border with China, from whom they received substantial military aid.

In 1951, the Vietminh created a common front with communist groups in Laos and Cambodia (Kampuchea) and became more and more aggressive. They were led by General Vo Nguyen Giap, who launched an attack on March 13, 1954, against the strategic French stronghold at Dienbienphu in northwestern Vietnam. Giap’s siege lasted 56 days; his Vietminh troops continually attacked with artillery and mortar fire until the French defenders, short of ammunition, surrendered on May 7, 1954

Tags: Cambodia, china, communist, Emperor Bao Dai, french, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Ho Chi Minh, vietnam

06 May 54 First sub 4 minute mile(3:59.4) by Roger Bannister at Ifley Road Athletics track Oxford.

I’m sure I once heard that it would never be done.

Roger Bannister, who we are being told is a 25-year-old British medical student, has become the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes.

I’ll admit to not knowing the name before, but I’m guessing he’ll now forever be remembered as the first bloke to do this!

His time was 3mins 59.4 seconds, achieved at the Iffley Road track in Oxford and watched by about 3,000 spectators.

They must have been aiming for this though, because the race was carefully planned and he was aided by two pacemakers, Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway.

Nice to see an English athlete breaking a record!

Tags: Chris Brasher, Chris Chataway, Ifley Road atheletics track, Roger Bannister

18 Apr 54 Colonel Nasser achieves power in Egypt overthrowing King Farouk

More news from around the world!

I can’t wait until the BBC get their world news website online, but that still won’t be for some decades, until then I have to pick things up on the wireless!

Only thing of note today is Colonel Nasser overthrowing King Farouk in Egypt. The Eqyption revolution has been going on since 1952 so it was probably on the cards anyway.

Anyway, not knowing much about this whole situation (I was finding the whole cold war stuff far more interesting!) I did a little bit of research. King Farouk was the tenth ruler, apparantly from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty. He was the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, His full title was “His Majesty Farouk I, by the grace of God, King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, of Kordofan, and of Darfur.”

The causes of the revolution? Well….

* The Egyptian monarchy was seen as both corrupt and pro-British, with its lavish lifestyle that seemed provocative to the free officers movement who lived in poverty. Its policies completed the image of the Egyptian government being a puppet-figure in the hands of the British government.
* Promoting the feeling of corruptness of several Egyptian institutions such as the police, the palace and even the political parties by the free officers.
* The loss of 1948 war with Israel led to the free officers’ blame of the King and their promotion of that feeling among the Egyptian people.

As a result, a group of army officers who named themselves ‘the free officers’ movement’ was formed by a young officer,  namely Gamal Abdel Nasser.

In the warning that General Mohammad Neguib conveyed to King Farouk on 26 July upon the king’s abdication, he provided a summary of the reasons for the revolution:

In view of what the country has suffered in the recent past, the complete vacuity prevailing in all corners as a result of your bad behavior, your toying with the constitution, and your disdain for the wants of the people, no one rests assured of life, livelihood, and honor. Egypt’s reputation among the peoples of the world has been debased as a result of your excesses in these areas to the extent that traitors and bribe-takers find protection beneath your shadow in addition to security, excessive wealth, and many extravagances at the expense of the hungry and impoverished people. You manifested this during and after the Palestine War in the corrupt arms scandals and your open interference in the courts to try to falsify the facts of the case, thus shaking faith in justice. Therefore, the army, representing the power of the people, has empowered me to demand that Your Majesty abdicate the throne to His Highness Crown Prince Ahmed Fuad, provided that this is accomplished at the fixed time of 12 o’clock noon today (Saturday, 26 July 1952, the 4th of Zul Qa’ada, 1371), and that you depart the country before 6 o’clock in the evening of the same day. The army places upon Your Majesty the burden of everything that may result from your failure to abdicate according to the wishes of the people.

Anyway after all this malarky going off,  King Farouk  was forced to abdicate in favor of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who succeeded him as King Fuad II.

I know I will sleep easier tonite now!

Tags: bbc, Cold War, colonel nasser, egypt, king farouk, website

14 Apr 54 Robert Oppenheimer “the father of the atomic bomb” is removed from alll nuclear test projects due to the suspicion of communist sympathies

The world is going Communist and Atomic mad! Robert Oppenheimer “the father of the atomic bomb” has been removed from all nuclear test projects due to suspicion of communist sympathies.

All this talk of a “Cold War” must be true then?

We’ve seen the power of atomic energy in the news already this year.   The American government must be running scared of this man passing on his knowledge to the Soviet Union who have already themselfs detonated an atomic bomb in 1949.

Though stripped of his direct political influence Oppenheimer will continue to lecture, write, and work in physics.

He is well known for his role as the scientific director of the Manhattan Project: A project during World War II which was hoped would develop the first nuclear weapons.  It is because of this reason he is will probably be remembered as “the father of the atomic bomb”

Tags: atomic energy, Cold War, Manhattan Project, Robert Oppenheimer, soviet union

12 Apr 54 Bill Haley and the Comets: Rock Around the Clock

Today Bill Haley and the Comets recorded the song “Rock Around the Clock”

its not bad, but I’d never believe you if you told me in the future that it sold an estimated 25 million copies worldwide, at the time the second biggest-selling single behind Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”

Nah, its another fad! Rock ‘n’ roll is virtually an underground movement and I can see this disappearing, along with that other kid, Elvis Presley!

Just in case though, here is what led up to this moment!

July 6, 1925: William John Clifton Haley (a.k.a. Bill Haley) is born in Highland Park, Michigan.

June 1951: Bill Haley records a cover of Jackie Brenston’s “Rocket 88,” possibly qualifying it as the first rock and roll record by a white artist.

1952: Bill Haley records a rocking version of the R&B song “Rock This Joint,” which had been a theme song for disc jockey Jimmy Preston.

1953: Bill Haley records “Crazy, Man, Crazy,” one of the first times a performer incorporated teen slang into a popular song.

April 12, 1954: Bill Haley and His Comets record “Rock Around the Clock” at Pythian Temple, a New York studio.

Tags: Bill Haley and the comets, Elvis Presley, R&B, rock around the clock

05 Apr 54 Elvis Presley records his debut single “That’s Alright”

I’m writing this actually on July 8, 1954, after hearing the song, but will file it under April 5th, 1954 as it was that day when this song was recorded.

Elvis Presley’s debut single “That’s Alright” was written by Arthur Cruddup for Sam Phillips at Sun Records.

I can’t see this guy making it big though. The kid sounds like he’s not sure if he’s white or black, nope, can’t see his brand of music making it big at all.

Tags: Elvis Presley

02 Apr 54 The first TV soap opera “The Grove Family” is shown on British TV

Named after the BBC’s Lime Grove Studios,’The Grove Family’ is Britain’s first soap for adults.

I have no idea what the BBC expect from this series, the first twenty-minute story went out today on Friday 2nd. April 1954 at 7.50pm

showing a lower-middle-class couple who’d worked hard to build a home for themselves and their family after the war and were just beginning to feel comfortably off after years of hardship.

As if anyone will get into programs like this, we aren’t a nation of Voyeur’s who want to watch things like this! Whatever next, who knows, maybe we’ll put camera’s in a real house and watch people go about there every day life……now that might be an idea for a TV show eh?

Tags: bbc, soap opera, the grove family

25 Mar 54 RCA manafactures the first colour television set

We’ve got one of those black and white TV’s.  I don’t think it will ever really take off though, not like the wireless which is on pretty much all the time in our house.

Anyway, some clever bugger has made a television that is in full colour now!  I have to admit it would be nice to see things in the correct colour!  I can imagine a television pundit in later years remarking something along the lines of “For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow strip” - having said that, at time of writing the young John Motson is only 9 years old!

Tags: black and white tv, colour tv, john motson, rca, spurs

13 Mar 54 Senator Joseph McCarthy resigns from office

I heard something on the wireless today - Senator Joseph McCarthy resigns from office.  living in Sheffield I have no clue who this guy is or why its a big deal so I did a bit of research.  This research took some digging up as Larry Page won’t be born until March 26, 1973 and Sergey Brin won’t be born until August 21, 1973 -  Google hasn’t even been thought up yet!

1908, November 14. McCarthy is born in rural Grand Chute Township, Outagamie County, Wisconsin, the fourth of seven children to Timothy and Bridget Tierney McCarthy.

1922 Drops out of school at age 14; works on a farm; later runs a grocery store in Manawa.

1929 Returns to high school in Manawa, finishing in a year.

1935 Graduates from Marquette University Law School.

1935 Opens a law office in Waupaca.

1936 Joins the law firm of Michael Everlin; runs unsuccessfully — as a Democrat — for district attorney.

1939 Elected judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit in Appleton thanks to energetic campaigning. Quickly earns a reputation for cutting the judicial backlog and awarding quick divorces.

1942, June 4. McCarthy enlists in Marine Corps, although his status as a judge exempts him. He left the service as a captain. As an intelligence officer with a bomber squadron in the Pacific, McCarthy sometimes went along on flights. He was not a tail-gunner as he later claimed.

1944, August 16. Still in uniform, McCarthy runs for U.S. Senate and is defeated in the Republican primary by incumbent Alexander Wiley.

1945 McCarthy resigns from the Marine Corps and returns to Appleton judicial post.

1946, March 17. Wisconsin Progressive Party votes to rejoin the Republicans and Senator Robert La Follette, Jr. plans to run for re-election in that party’s primary, but he campaigns very little.

1946, August 13. McCarthy, the endorsed Republican candidate, defeats La Follette in the Republican primary by campaigning very hard and attacking La Follette.

1946, November 5. McCarthy defeats Democrat Howard J. McMurray in the general election.

1947 McCarthy establishes a lackluster record in the Senate, with anti-communism apparently only a minor issue for him.

1946 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) made a permanent House committee charged to investigate Communist subversion. HUAC is often confused with McCarthy; but because HUAC was a House committee, Senator McCarthy was not involved its investigations.

1946, November 5. Cold War jitters elect numerous candidates on strong anti-Communists platforms such as Charles Kersten and Alvin O’Konski in Wisconsin.

1947, November 24. Ten movie screenwriters and directors, the Hollywood Ten, are cited for failing to testify to HUAC about their Communist associations. Later the careers of many in Hollywood are ruined by blacklisting.

1948, August 3. At a HUAC hearing Whittaker Chambers charges that Alger Hiss, a highly respected former State Department official, is a Communist spy. Congressman Richard Nixon plays a key role in obtaining evidence to convict Hiss while also winning national attention for himself.

1949, August 5. State Department releases a White Paper on China. It concludes that the deteriorating situation in China is beyond American ability to fix. Secretary of State Dean Acheson draws fire from the conservative China Lobby.

1949, September 23. President Truman announces that the Soviet Union had detonated an atomic bomb, ending the American monopoly. Klaus Fuchs confesses having passed atomic secrets to the Russians. He implicates others including Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

1949, November. McCarthy attacks Cedric Parker of the Madison Capital Times for his left wing associations, a harbinger of McCarthy’s later methods.

1949, December. Nationalist China falls to Communists, and Chaing Kai-shek flees to Taiwan.

1950, January 21. Alger Hiss convicted of perjury, the statute of limitations for spying having expired.

1950, June 17. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are arrested for stealing atomic bomb secrets for the Soviets. Their conviction on March 29, 1951 enforces credence to McCarthy’s espionage charges. Still maintaining their innocence, the Rosenbergs are executed on June 19.

1950, February 9. McCarthy delivers speech in Wheeling, West Virginia and displays a list of 205 Communists in the State Department apparently harbored by Communist sympathizers in high places. Because his charges seem specific, McCarthy wins national headlines.

1950, March 8. Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee headed by Democrat Millard Tydings begins hearings on McCarthy’s charges. McCarthy skillfully uses the committee to win further public attention. He later campaigns for Tydings’ defeat.

1950, March 21. McCarthy charges that Owen Lattimore, former State Department adviser on the Far East, is a top Russian agent. On April 20 testimony of Louis Budenz, former editor of the Daily Worker, convinces many that McCarthy is correct.

1950, March 29. Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herbert Block (Herblock) coins the phrase “McCarthyism.”

1950, June 25. Communist North Korea invades South Korea. President Truman sends in the Army and appoints Douglas MacArthur the supreme commander.

1950, November. McCarthy campaigns in 15 states in behalf of anti-Communist candidates. Conservatives’ victories further increase his power and influence.

1951, April 11. President Truman relieves General MacArthur as supreme commander in Korea after the general repeatedly calls for an escalation of the war and invasion of mainland China. McCarthy and Republicans support MacArthur who returns home to great adulation.

1951, June 14. McCarthy criticizes former Secretary of State George C. Marshall in a Senate speech, declaring him an instrument of the Soviet conspiracy.

1951, September 28. Senator William Benton, a Democrat, testifies before the Gillette Subcommittee on Privileges and Elections calling for McCarthy’s expulsion for many instances of deceit and misconduct. McCarthy fails to cooperate with the committee.

1952 October 3. Antipathy of Dwight Eisenhower toward McCarthy becomes apparent during Presidential campaign stops in Wisconsin.

1952, November 4. McCarthy is reelected, having defeating Len Schmitt in the Republican primary and Thomas Fairchild in the general election. McCarthy claims that the voters of Wisconsin have endorsed his drive against Communist subversion.

1953, January 20. As a member of the new Republican majority, McCarthy becomes chair of Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, previously an innocuous post. He skillfully uses the committee to further his campaign to expose Communists in government and draw personal attention.

1953, August 31. McCarthy shifts anti-Communist focus from the State Department to the Army and begins looking for espionage in the Signal Corps Radar Lab at Fort Monmouth, N.J. Closed-door hearings in New York City allow McCarthy to control release of information.

1953, November 24. McCarthy criticizes the government for not halting trade with Red China.

1953, November 3. G. David Schine, a McCarthy aide and an Army draftee, is inducted at Fort Dix.

1953, November 13. Secretary of the Army Robert Stevens announces that Army’s own investigation found no espionage at Fort Monmouth.

1953, December 3. McCarthy begins investigation of Army dentist Irving Peress at Camp Kilmer who had been promoted despite refusal to answer loyalty questions.

1954, February 14. McCarthy questions General Ralph Zwicker, commandant at Camp Kilmer to learn who promoted Peress. He charges that Zwicker is unfit to wear a uniform.

1954, March 9. Republican Senator Ralph Flanders of Vermont begins public campaign against McCarthy. CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow broadcasts the first of two episodes of “See It Now” devoted to McCarthy

1954, March 11. Army report about McCarthy’s attempts to win favors for Private Schine is leaked to the press. McCarthy counters with charges that Army is trying to blackmail him in order to halt his investigations.

Tags: atomic energy, Cold War, Klaus Fuchs, Larry Page, Senator Joseph McCarthy, Sergey Brin