26 Jul 2006
Germans set up an apartheid-like society in Britain

Here's a prime example of a "researcher" pulling modern political prejudices into "science". Why, I had no idea that the (heathen) Anglo-Saxon conquerors of Britain were channeling P.W. Botha! Maybe I'm getting too thin-skinned in my dotage, but I think this comes from the same strain of academic political correctness that paints modern heathens, and indeed, white people in general, as racists - never mind that the "victims" here were white, too! And it's bad science, to boot! You'd think they could at least get that part right.

First off, Britain was not settled by "Germans" - the "invaders" were Angles, Saxons and Jutes, mostly from what we would not call the Low Countries. There were "Germanic" in language and religion, but "German" as a nation or an ethnic identity didn't exist for nearly another thousand years.

Secondly, "apartheid" is a modern political structure characterized by a caste-like stratification of society based on race. This was, of course, most associated with South Africa, where "blacks", "coloreds" (mixed race and South Asians) and "whites" were treated differently by law. The Anglo-Saxon law codes had nothing to do with "race" whatsoever (as a "Welshman" (Celt) was physically indistinguishable from an Anglo-Saxon) and everything to do with social class. The author comes close to admitting this:

In this society, people lived together in a servant-master relationship in a system akin to the apartheid system more recently found in South Africa.

Apartheid was not a "servant-master" system: it was a legal caste system that went into extraordinary detail to keep the various peoples from mingling in any way, much less interbreeding. I dare the author here to show me an ancient law code that forbade an Anglo-Saxon from marrying a Welshman. Their own research proves this: if there was no interbreeding, how did Anglo-Saxon Y-chromosomes become so allegedly prevalent?

We don't need to drag 20th century African politics into this, as there's a commonly known name for this ancient system: it's called "feudalism". Since the Anglo-Saxons were the "winning" invaders, they more likely had higher social status than the natives ("Welsh"), hence the higher weregelds. The only table of weregilds that I can find is here: note that the weregild for a "Welsh with five hides (of land)" is equal to that of a "Landless Thegn (Anglo-Saxon nobleman)". The weregild for a "King's Welsh Horseman" was actually higher than that for a Anglo-Saxon ceorl! This was based on class as well as language and nativity: it was a pre-feudal system of conquest law, very typical throughout the world in this period. But it was not racially based.

But leaving all this aside, there's the question of the science itself: the authors did a statistical survey with computer simulations to reach their conclusions:

Statistical analysis carried out by Dr Thomas and colleagues in previous studies suggested that the English gene pool was made of between 50 and 100 per cent Anglo-Saxon Y-chromosomes.

However, actual measurement of the Y-chromosomes of modern Brits done in 2003 paint a somewhat different picture:

A new genetic survey of Y chromosomes throughout the British Isles has revealed a very different story. The Celtic inhabitants of Britain were real survivors. Nowhere were they entirely replaced by the invaders and they survive in high proportions, often 50 percent or more, throughout the British Isles, according to a study by Dr. Cristian Capelli, Dr. David B. Goldstein and others at University College London.

Apparently, this new study did a computer enhanced statistical analysis on one part (the Y chromosome part - the original also studied mitochondrial DNA passed by the female) of the old ones and came out with a radically different conclusion. Given the deep understanding of politics and history shown by the authors of this new study, methinks that conclusion might have been a bit pre-determined. I find it like the glass that contains 50% of it's capacity being described as "half full" by one party and "half empty" by another. What was it Mark Twain said about this? He was quoting Disraeli, I think: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics!".

I think I'll put my money on real science and an understanding of history, as opposed to the kind of rabid (and very modern) political correctness that this Study in Stupidity represents.

An apartheid-like system existed in early Anglo-Saxon Britain, which wiped out a majority of original British genes in favor of German ones, according to research led by UCL (University College London).

(link) [EurekAlert! - Breaking News]

11:13 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link

Creamy, Healthier Ice Cream? What’s the Catch?

Ya know, there's something seriously wrong with folks that think this is a good thing:

Almost all commercial ice creams contain industrial ingredients that mimic the luxurious effects of butterfat and egg yolks: some are natural, like carrageenan, extracted from algae plentiful in the Irish Sea; others are synthetic, like mono- and diglycerides.

They want a creamy texture but they don't want to use cream. They want a rich flavor, but they don't want to use eggs. Some of the motivation for this travesty has to do with the "low fat = must be good for you" myth, but a lot of it has to do with the bottom line. But the latest in ice cream technology is a real mind-bender: genetically engineered protein from fish, grown by yeast, to stop ice crystals from forming:

The other new method for making supercreamy ice cream was caught up last month in the global debate over genetically modified foods. In June, Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch conglomerate, applied to Britain’s Food Standards Agency for permission to use a new ingredient in its frozen desserts — a protein cloned from the blood of an eel-like Arctic Ocean fish, the ocean pout.

In Britain, where labeling of GM food is mandated, this has already come to be called "vaneela" ... but in the US, well, was there something fishy about your last ice cream cone? You'd never know - labeling is not required.

But the statement that really gets me here is from H. Douglas Goff, professor of dairy sciences at the University of Guelph in Ontario:

“The ice creams produced with the new methods are simply better than any ice creams have ever been,” Professor Goff said. "Quite definitely better in texture, and much better tasting."

I just don't believe that. I've (unwittingly) tried a product made with this (Breyers Light Double Churned Ice Cream Bars) and I thought they sucked. So I'd like to issue a personal invitation to Professor Goff to stop by the farm on a warm summer day. We'll run over to Kevyn's if he's still milking Cherry (or out to the barn if we have a cow in milk) and get a gallon or two of fresh milk. Then we'll hit the hen house for some fresh eggs, pull out the ice cream maker, some kosher rock salt, a bit of vanilla and some ice and crank away for an hour or so.

And if he can tell me with a straight face that his "vaneela" ice cream tastes better, I'll become a believer in better living through playing god genetic engineering.

For those who crave ice cream as voluptuous as butter and as virtuous as broccoli, there is fresh hope in the freezer case.

(link) [New York Times]

09:17 /Agriculture | 3 comments | permanent link

Tents Simulating High Altitude Could Be Grounded

Maybe they should just make all athletes live at sea level. And follow the same exact training regimen. And be genetic clones of each other ... that'd make the games ultimately "fair", eh?

The World Anti-Doping Agency is considering a ban on athletes’ use of altitude tents and rooms.

(link) [New York Times]

08:56 /Politics | 1 comment | permanent link

New Monopoly game uses debit card, no cash

This photo provided Tuesday, July 25, 2006, by Hasbro Inc., shows a British version of the classic Monopoly board game released this week which abandons traditional paper money, right, for an electronic debit card system. Hasbro, the game's maker, says it's considering similar changes in future editions. (AP Photo/Hasbro, Inc.)A true sign of these sick times... no need to learn to add and subtract, let the machine do it!

AP - A British version of the classic Monopoly board game released this week substitutes a Visa-imprinted debit card for the stacks of yellow, blue and purple play money long hoarded by children worldwide.


(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

08:41 /Home | 3 comments | permanent link

Which Is It?

Here's an interesting Thought from the Middle of Nowhere: Which Is It?.

I'm 110% with Sam on this one, by the way: I want more trees, and more shade for my animals, and cannot understand the drive the industry feels to squeeze more production out of the critters at any cost, and damn the geography or the weather.

California needs dairy cows like Florida needs ski slopes.

08:01 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link