I can't tell a German from an Italian. Also, it's the media who seem "wretched and bizarre"

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Sep 1, 2015 at 16:13

HI, Waz. Thanks for the info. Your first link said,

"Genetic study reveals 30% of white British DNA has German ancestry... People living in southern and central England today typically share about 40% of their DNA with the French, 11% with the Danes and 9% with the Belgians."

Note that the study is of N. Ireland, scotland, Wales and Cornwall, as well as England Proper. That "40% French" DNA is more concentrated in the outer areas; but most of England resembles Germany and Denmark in their DNA.

Your second link says much the same. It repeats the map of the first reference, which compares almost exactly with the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the Heptarchy.

As for the Scots and Irish, they also have a lot of Norse genes. So much for hair-splitting. Even considering the fine detail, Irish, Scots, Norse, Welsh, Cornish, English, Danish, German, Dutch, Belgian, French, Spanish, Basque, Portugese, North Italians and some others are all predominantly R1b in yDNA and H in mtDNA. The distinctions between them happened mostly in the Neolithic period and beyond -- relatively recently, in terms of genetic history. Even the Russians are similar, with mostly R1a and H, respectively. The real yDNA and mtDNA differences are between all of the above and the Finns and Lapps; but even there, the autosomal DNA presents a continuum.

In the US, where from the second generation on we have largely lost European speech patterns, I honestly can't tell one ancestral nationality from another. In Australia, I had the same experience; but of course, my Scottish roommates sounded quite different from the others.

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This is all in response to "The Iran Deal is Wretched and Bizarre". The latest headline I have seen on the matter is:

Chris Coons and Bob Casey back Iran deal, putting Obama one vote from major diplomatic victory

That's from the Washington Post. Notice that getting less than 34% support in the US House of Representatives is being hailed as a "major diplomatic victory" for Obama. That, in itself, is "wretched and bizarre".

Our drought, here in western Oregon, has been going on for many months now; though the temperatures have dropped a bit and the fire danger is back down to "moderate". That's good news for the Canadian, American, Australian and New Zealand firefighters who've been battling blazes and risking their lives from the Mexican border clear into Canada. It also means I have a pleasant day ahead of me, to go hack out a wasp's nest and do some landscaping. I'll let "wretched and bizarre" behavior continue to plague journalists and politicians, and go enjoy myself.

Shalom shalom :-)

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