In 1917, as this cutting shows, the German navy shelled Margate and Broadstairs. Nothing strange in that, you might think, they had done much worse to Scarborough and Great Yarmouth.
The Times 27 February 1917 p6. Right click for the whole article.
However, this raid was a bit different. Far from causing general mayhem and tweaking the tail of the Royal Navy, on this occasion the target was one man: Lord Northcliffe, proprietor of The Times, The Daily Mail and – I kid you not – The Daily Mirror. Not that you would know it from this heavily censored report.
Northcliffe had attracted the ire of the German government by – apparently, I get little impression of this from The Times itself – being the main cheerleader of anti-German and pro-War sentiment in Britain. In 1918, doubtless aided by the Kaiser’s ringing, if unintentional, endorsement, Northcliffe became Britain’s Director of Propaganda.
I appreciate that in writing this article I may be giving the God-Emperor some ideas. So, Donald, if you’re reading, just remember: sailing a battleship up the Hudson, shelling the New York Times building and turning it into a smoking pile of rubble just so you can wipe the smile off the faces of a bunch of smug, arrogant, conceited, snobbish, self-satisfied, aloof, out-of-touch, blockheaded, group-thinking, bubble-dwelling, histrionic, paranoid, lying, devious, dissembling, childish, cry-baby, bitter, vindictive, divisive, conspiratorial, freedom-hating, progress-denying communists… is not nice.
It may even be wrong.
I like Donald, he is far exceeding my expectations, and I do wish people would not project onto him what the Democrats really have in mind for people like us 🙂
And for all this talk of Putin, President Trump is not showing any sign yet of copying Yeltsin in dealing with troublesome legislators.
And with the new DNC chairman elected, I hear that Hillary has a new campaign video ready for 2020.
And btw, I’m pretty sure the bastards also shelled Hartlepool, ostensibly seeking revenge for the monkey.
I thought the monkey was French?
No, they thought the monkey was French in Hartlepool, but he was a just a monkey.
The Kaiser was presumably smarting over the loss of his African colonies, and so Hartlepool was an obvious target, a bit like Belgium earlier on….
I cannot for the life of me see why shelling the New York Times would be all that bad.
Are we not told that every cloud has a silver lining?
Besides it would not need a battleship as the modern Arleigh Burke class destroyer would adequately do the job.
smug, arrogant, conceited, snobbish, self-satisfied, aloof, out-of-touch, blockheaded, group-thinking, bubble-dwelling, histrionic, paranoid, lying, devious, dissembling, childish, cry-baby, bitter, vindictive, divisive, conspiratorial, freedom-hating, progress-denying communists
Now, That’s Nice, or at least nicely done.
I genuflect.
Paying the reparations to Carlos Slim would be galling. Better to let it continue to die its own natural death.
I think you mean:
Invoicing the cost of the shells and billing a 50% commission on foregone losses for 7 years to Carlos Slim would be great
Oooo, now this has possibilities.
Even better if Slim’s repayment instructions could include making his check out to The Wall Fund.
So much schadenfreude, so little time.
A Go Fund Me page could probably raise enough money to refurbish the New Jersey for the job with conning tower accommodations for the biggest donors. They should be able to raise the necessary funds in about 2 weeks.
Yes Mr Ed – the left are “projecting”.
It is the left (the education system and the “mainstream” media) who wish to crush Freedom of Speech.
Both by selecting what news is reported (many stories are either not reported or reported in an utterly distorted way – the New York Times has specialised in such things or many years, and much of the media follows it), and in suppressing opinions it does like.
The Corporate Cowards are themselves brainwashed at school and universities – it does not take much pressure for them to agree to censor conservative opinions.
As for Germany in 1917 – full “War Socialism” had been established by then.
Even before the First World War both the German Emperor and (more importantly) the German academic elite were committed to unlimited conquest and unlimited statism.
Attacks on the military strategy and tactics of the Allies must not be confused with attacks on the war itself.
The Allied cause was just – and the great error was not to go on till real victory had been achieved. The breakup of the artificial creation called the Empire of Germany – only created in 1871.
The failure to break up Germany (restoring the independence of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Kingdom of Hanover and so on) led to the Second World War – after the “20 year truce”.
OK, I’m confused. In 1917 you were in the middle of a war. Why would “anti-German and pro-war sentiment” be unexpected or annoying to the Germans?
Oh, and shelling the New York Times building probably wouldn’t be nice, but it certainly wouldn’t be wrong!
Laird, for heaven’s sake. It might not have been unexpected, but surely you will admit that it must have hurt Mr. Hitler’s feewings.
Julie, this was WWI, so I don’t think Corporal Hitler’s feeling counted for much!
CharlieL, you may also be interested in the Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks if you like that kind of thing.
I find it fun to consider the ways in which past insults were similar and different, too.
*Some translations have “drunkard”.
I really hope Trump isn’t reading this. I can just see his next Note to the Iranians.
The Iranians might wonder why he was sending them a note clearly intended for the Turks.
Oh dear. You got a point there, Laird. I’ll go quietly now, no need for that funny white jacket.
Well, I’d thought he might address it more clearly, but the tone is what I feared. I can even see his version edited for the press:
“Thou Washingtonian scullion, Huffington wheelwright, drunkard of The Nation, goat-fucker of Truth, swineherd of Greater and Lesser Journolist, pig of the Beltway, Northeastern thief, catamite of bias, hangman of balance, and fool of all the world and underworld, an idiot before God, grandson of the Serpent, and the crick in our dick. Pig’s snout, mare’s arse, slaughterhouse cur, unchristened brow, screw thine own mother!”
Unfortunately shelling the NYT building would also hit a Muji store and a Wolfgang Puck steakhouse.
Put me down in favor of the natural death option.
Erik, bobby b, thank you both.
The folks at the NY Times have never given a fuck about the victims of communism:
why should we give a fuck about their miserable lives?
“Will no one rid me of this pesky newspaper editor?”