Monthly Archives: September 2022

Sunday Lunch

Ben disliked his brothers’ wife but occasionally he would go for Sunday lunch. He always brought two decent bottles of wine which smoothed things over. One Sunday he saw his niece, Sarah, staring at him every time he drank his … Continue reading

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The Purchase of Commissions in the British Army, 1683-1871

The 17th century was transformative. It began with the attempted assassination of James I and ended with a successful invasion and three quasi-legitimate monarchs. The century included three civil wars, the execution of a king, a warrior class seizing power, … Continue reading

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Godfather Wisdom for everyone

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Miles Davis on racism in classical music, 1940s

“…I knew that no white symphony orchestra was going to hire a little black motherfucker like me, no matter how good I was.” Note Miles attended the Julliard School of Music, which is world renowned and for a black student … Continue reading

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Slacker philosophy!

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Book Review: Mike Davis ~ Planet of Slums (2006)

For a smug Westerner like me this book is a punch in the face. Britain is currently, September 2022, obsessed by massive increases in energy bills. I too whine and demand support from the government to maintain my entitlements. Clearly, … Continue reading

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Protect the NHS

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A scene from ‘The Likely Lads’

Bob: When it comes to women you’re hardly Omar Sharif. Terry: If Omar Sharif lived in Gateshead I doubt he’d be Omar Sharif. A TV show set in north-east Britain of two working-class men

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Hitler copied the USA’s segregation policies…and then some

‘Segregation Forever’ documents the legal establishment of a racial purity regime as strict as any of its 20th-century European competitors. North Carolina required not only separate schools for black and white children but segregation of textbooks (‘Books shall not be … Continue reading

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Liz Truss: ‘Shirkers and Strivers’ part 2: Cabinet 2022

The UK “rewards laziness”, does not encourage risk-taking and must strive to emulate the work ethic and low-tax culture in parts of Asia, the five MPs argue in a book due out next month. The authors include Elizabeth Truss and … Continue reading

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