Author Archives: odeboyz

A Good Nazi: Denmark 1943

On September 28, 1943, a high-level Nazi attaché serving in Copenhagen, Denmark wrote these words in his diary as he made the boldest decision of his entire life. Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz had served the Third Reich in its occupation of … Continue reading →

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The lowest form of wit?

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An Awkward Question

Harpurhey, north Manchester, is a poor area, and was in the 1950s and 60s as I grew up. Rows and rows of terraced houses, with no bathroom or indoor toilet, straddled the Rochdale Road. There were no luxuries, but my … Continue reading →

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Reasons to vote Conservative

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Book Review: Donna Tartt ~ The Little Friend (2002)

This is the third Deep South novel I’ve read in the last few months and probably the best. S A Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland, was a terrific read but this one hits literary heights. The storyline is based on the impact … Continue reading →

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Texas Abortion Laws

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Anthony Eden’s Mental Map: the Suez Canal Débâcle, 1956

Napoleon commented, “to understand the man you have to know what was happening in the world when he was twenty.1 Background As a young officer, Eden aged 18, led troops in the battle of the Somme, 1916. This vicious battle … Continue reading →

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Bertrand Russell on Religion

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The pacifist and the soldier: Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein

Bertrand Russell had been jailed for his anti-war activities but his close intellectual friend Ludwig Wittgenstein was in the Austrian army as a private soldier. By March 1919 Russell had been released but Wittgenstein was still in a prisoner of … Continue reading →

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Ever met one like this?

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