>On 27 Dec 2010, at 21:53, Geoffrey Heard wrote:
>
>>Not forgetting that the C of E clergy were catspaws (and often 
>>younger brothers of) the aristocracy.
>
>Humble folk like Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Mao Tse Tung and 
>Adolf managed to kill off a lot more of their compatriots than the 
>aristocratic Winston Churchill and FDR.
>
>It's called class solidarity.

yes, indeed, but we *were* talking about WWI -- my reading would 
suggest that the only one of those named who had a significant input 
into that conflict was Churchill, and he certainly made his 
blundering contribution to the WWI bloodshed. In addition, of course, 
I was speaking historically. One mustn't forget the starvation and 
privation that led to mass deaths following the enclosures and the 
shifting of the population to factory work, to say nothing of the 
genocidal slaughters in foreign lands by the conqueror taking over 
productive lands from the people living on them in order to convert 
them to feed England.

Monstrous as later numbers were, in proportion these were, in fact, worse.

By the way, for a bit of more modern stuff of that ilk (but reaching 
back into history too), Joe Bageant's newest book, Rainbow Pie: a 
redneck memoir, is well worth a look. As usual, his writing is lively.

Cheers, geoff