Author Archives: odeboyz

Wittgenstein as a school teacher

Posted on February 17, 2020 by odeboyz

Jonathan Rée writes insightfully about Wittgenstein’s life and work, but he does skate over one crucial detail (LRB, 21 November). After six years working in village schools in the Austrian Alps, Rée remarks, Wittgenstein ‘gave up teaching and returned to … Continue reading →

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Why the Labour Party is middle-class: George Orwell 1936

Posted on February 13, 2020 by odeboyz

I am struck again by the fact that as soon as a working man gets an official post in the Trade Union or goes into Labour politics, he becomes middle-class whether he will or no…. by fighting against the bourgeoisie … Continue reading →

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Medieval Routes to Heaven

Posted on February 13, 2020 by odeboyz

Medieval Christians accepted, as fact, Mankind’s inherent sinfulness. They also accepted, as fact, that Heaven existed. The aim of life was to enter Heaven and share eternal life with Jesus. Squaring this circle had a dramatic impact on their lifestyles. … Continue reading →

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A CIA spy enters the Soviet Union

Posted on February 10, 2020 by odeboyz

The CIA spy was fluent in Russian, had perfect Cyrillic handwriting and could drink buckets of vodka. He was dropped on the outskirts of Moscow and spoke to a man in the street, “Hello comrade, can you direct me to … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Abhijit V Banerjee and Esther Duflo ~ Good Economics for Hard Times – Better answers to our biggest problems (2019)

Posted on February 10, 2020 by odeboyz

It’s easy to feel intellectually intimidated by a book by two Nobel Prize winners and perhaps that’s the right response sometimes. On this occasion it isn’t.* This is a readable and homely book written in an accessible way. The ‘biggest … Continue reading →

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Washington, Nixon, Trump

Posted on February 6, 2020 by odeboyz
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The price of paranoia

Posted on February 6, 2020 by odeboyz

“On Friday, we received a 911 call from Ronald Cyr’” a police spokesperson told reporters in Van Buren, Maine, “who said that he’d been shot. Officers arrived at his house, along with Van Buren Ambulance Service, and the US Border … Continue reading →

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Theresa May’s hypocrisy

Posted on February 3, 2020 by odeboyz
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Book Review: Robert Harris ~ The Second Sleep (2019)

Posted on February 3, 2020 by odeboyz

Harris leaves me gasping. He’s so prolific and intelligent that it’s almost intimidating. The Cicero trilogy was a triumph on which his entire reputation could have stood but, of course, there’s more, much more. The Second Sleep is a reverse … Continue reading →

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The generosity of billionaires

Posted on January 30, 2020 by odeboyz

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos made headlines earlier this month with his donation of $690,000 to the Australian wildfire relief effort- a sum roughly estimated to equate to less than five minutes* of his earnings. * For someone on £40,000 this … Continue reading →

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