Post: #1

Allow me to share:


First is The Men Who Built America. This is a fascinating series I originally caught on The History Channel. The wealth of America's early industrialists dwarves the fortunes of the likes of Gates and Buffett today - moreover, the legacies of Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Ford are still acutely felt today; their philanthrophy is evident in the construction of some of the greatest buildings in the United States. These men will teach you about what it means to dream big. It was never just about the money. It was about 'winning' and taking big risks to get ahead, and many of their strategies, although brilliant, were totally unscrupulous. Unfortunately I can't find the first episode in the series but this one is very good covering the machinations of Rockefeller, Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and Ford, as well as Presidents McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt.






Second is Soviet Storm: WW2 in the East. This is the best WW2 documentary series I have watched, very well produced and gives a keen insight into the decisions confronting Hitler, Stalin, the Generals and the ordinary soldiers in the greatest theatre of conflict the world has seen. A 6 part series that commences with Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 and concludes with the Soviet Invasion of Manchuria in August 1945. Music is dope too. I have put down my favourite video : The Battle of Moscow. My 2nd favourite is The Rzhev Meat-Grinder, which covers the aftermath of the failed German attempt to capture Moscow - throughout 1942 the Soviets repeatedly attempted to repulse the Germans from the central front with elementary tactics and catastrophic results. This series will prevent you from complaining about your lot in life ever again.

Post: #2

I'll definitely be giving the WW2 one a watch. My knowledge of the Nazis and the fronts on the West is excellent, however my knowledge of Soviet Russia and that front is poor.

Post: #3

(12-28-2013 02:58 PM)Teedub Wrote:  I'll definitely be giving the WW2 one a watch. My knowledge of the Nazis and the fronts on the West is excellent, however my knowledge of Soviet Russia and that front is poor.

The Allied invasion on D-Day was almost irrelevant to the course of WW2 but instrumental in shaping Cold War Europe. Had the Americans not invaded in 1944 the Soviets would have taken all of Germany. The war was decided in the East.

Battlefield deaths:

Eastern Front:
Stalingrad: 1.8 million
Siege of Leningrad: 1.5 million
Moscow 1941-42: 700,000
Smolensk 1941: 500,000
Kiev 1941: 400,000
Vorenesh 1942: 370,000
Belarus 1941: 370,000
2nd Rzhev-Sychevka: 270,000
Caucasus 1942: 260,000
Kursk: 230,000
Lower Dnieper: 170,000
Kongsberg: 170,000
Rostov: 150,000
Budapest: 130,000


Western Front & Nth Africa:
Battle of France 180,000
Normandy: 132,000
El Alamein: 70,000
Battle of the Bulge: 38,000

Post: #4

This series made me less racist:

Post: #5

Yeah they say the Nazis deliberately chose to face west and surrender to the Allies out of contempt for the Soviets, even though the latter front was nearing.

I liked this recent one I saw called Operation Entebbe. It was about the daring and covert Israeli special forces operation to rescue passengers of a plane that was hijacked after leaving Tel Aviv and steered to Uganda.

Post: #6

^Violating sovereignty in the process, but that's just something done on a daily basis for the IDF.

Post: #7

(12-28-2013 07:02 PM)MHaes Wrote:  ^Violating sovereignty in the process, but that's just something done on a daily basis for the IDF.

I think it was fair game. The alternative would have been the deaths of innocents. You have to consider the fact that a head of state - Idi Amin - allowed hijackers to use his country as a safe harbor so to speak. Don't think sovereignty has any value as a concern at that point.

Post: #8

^True, and I could agree on principal, but the IDF's actions routinely resemble those of the Nazi's that they were given land to escape from.

Post: #9

Haven't seen the 'Soviet Storm' documentary, but I have seen 'The Men Who Built America' atleast a couple of times, and will vouch for it.

Post: #10

Regardless of where you stand on politics of the Israel/Palestine issue, there's no denying that the mission to rescue hostages in Uganda was the right one.

More importantly, despite some deaths, it was well executed and designed to minimize the chances for larger scale conflicts or loss of innocent life.

Idi Amin was one of the worst leaders of the 20th century, in so many ways, however his reign seems to be glossed over by many textbooks and students of history.

His brutal methods and destructive decisions put him in the company of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, etc. even though the stats may not be on the same huge scale.

Post: #11

(12-29-2013 12:19 AM)MHaes Wrote:  ^True, and I could agree on principal, but the IDF's actions routinely resemble those of the Nazi's that they were given land to escape from.

Israel has certainly been responsible for a lot of mischief in the Middle East but comparing the IDF to the Nazis is ludicrous to the max. The Israelis are not committing or preparing a genocide against the Arabs. There is discrimation against them just like there is racism in any other nationstate. However, Muslims in Israel are a million times better protected in their religious freedom than Jews, Christians or Bahais are in most Muslim countries. To single out Israel as the worst culprit in that region is fucking retarded. Go visit Egypt, Algeria or Saudia Arabia and afterwards Israel and then tell me where you would prefer to live and where individual and minority rights are better upheld.

Post: #12

love this. epic score.

Post: #13

The Men Who Built America was phenomenal! I've watched it several times. I'm very interested in all those men who created such outrageous wealth.

Post: #14

(01-01-2014 09:32 PM)Biz Wrote:  The Men Who Built America was phenomenal! I've watched it several times. I'm very interested in all those men who created such outrageous wealth.

One of the more fascinating men, to me, was Andrew Carnegie.7 of Cincinnati's public libraries were Carnegie libraries, opened in 1902. His philanthopy wealth was used to build thousands of libraries in the United States.