This is one of those historical stories that I occasionally tell, and it reflects upon how people view the event.
Some people call this a 'battle'. Some call it a 'ruckus'. Some call it a 'riot'.
There is a neighborhood over in Cario, Egypt by the name of Wagh El Birket. If you asked folks now about the neighborhood....no one would recognize the name. It's now called Al Azbakeya. It's on the eastern side of the Nile, in the center of town.
On 2 April 1915, about nine months into WW I....there were Australian and New Zealand troops who'd been brought in....to be part of the front up at Turkey. It's safe to say that they weren't yet into the war, and things were pretty relaxed.
This area of town is interesting....being mostly saloons and brothels.
Somewhere on the 2nd....this ruckus starts up with around 2,500 Australian and New Zealand soldiers involved. They were.....wasted.
What is laid out as the beginning part of this...is some Brit in the middle of this...finding his sister as a 'pole' girl, and he attempted to 'rescue' her. This led to a fight, where Aussies and NZ guys were in the mix.
History will write that the Army guys were a bit hostile already. Prices for drinks had gone up. Along with this....the quality of the booze had slipped. And adding to the fury....there just was an awful lot of venereal disease going on.
Toward the end of this night....what you can say is that several brothels had burnt to the ground. Some of the Egyptian firefighters had attempted to stop the fires, but they were fought off by the soldiers.
By the late evening hours, local police helped by the MPs....the 'battle' had finally been put down.
The curious side of this is that it's generally described by historians as a 'battle'.....mostly over a Brit 'pole' dancer.
Tuesday 9 June 2020
Fake News Chatter
The chatter around this comment.....'you can buy a home in America, but statistics show that a black dude is three-times more likely to be denied a home loan than a white white dude.....yet both have the same exact credit score.'
I heard this comment here today, and pondered upon it. Forbes magazine has covered this, and a few other news folks over the past five years talk about this.
There are several problems with the commentary, the news focus, and the data.
First, they always want to talk about in the national sense.....NEVER state-by-state.
In California, the average basic house (in the central region of the state) is $350k, and that only gets you to a starter home. You'd need $500k to really have a decent place.
If you were marginally only making $40k a year in California....no one would talk to you unless you walked up with $100k minimum in your hand for the down-payment. It wouldn't matter on your skin color.....in that state, you are screwed.
Second, walking into a bank in Florida....showing them your score and admitting your yearly income is only $48,000 a year (as a teacher).....then hyping your idea of buying a $400k home, with only $30k in a down-payment? The bank will laugh and say....downsize this to a $200k house or we will refuse your loan request.
Third and final, if you walk in and display your debt...admitting that you still owe $35k on college debt (at age 30), have $50k in credit card debt, and still owe $9k on your car loan....then trying to get them to approve a stupid $150k loan for a condo, but almost no down-payment money? What idiot bank would sign up for that deal?
Banks basically want business....they are begging for people to come in and sign up for a 20-year loan. But reality falls into play.....they need to see minimal debt and a decent history. The news people fail to grasp this part of the discussion.
I heard this comment here today, and pondered upon it. Forbes magazine has covered this, and a few other news folks over the past five years talk about this.
There are several problems with the commentary, the news focus, and the data.
First, they always want to talk about in the national sense.....NEVER state-by-state.
In California, the average basic house (in the central region of the state) is $350k, and that only gets you to a starter home. You'd need $500k to really have a decent place.
If you were marginally only making $40k a year in California....no one would talk to you unless you walked up with $100k minimum in your hand for the down-payment. It wouldn't matter on your skin color.....in that state, you are screwed.
Second, walking into a bank in Florida....showing them your score and admitting your yearly income is only $48,000 a year (as a teacher).....then hyping your idea of buying a $400k home, with only $30k in a down-payment? The bank will laugh and say....downsize this to a $200k house or we will refuse your loan request.
Third and final, if you walk in and display your debt...admitting that you still owe $35k on college debt (at age 30), have $50k in credit card debt, and still owe $9k on your car loan....then trying to get them to approve a stupid $150k loan for a condo, but almost no down-payment money? What idiot bank would sign up for that deal?
Banks basically want business....they are begging for people to come in and sign up for a 20-year loan. But reality falls into play.....they need to see minimal debt and a decent history. The news people fail to grasp this part of the discussion.
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