Author Archives: odeboyz

Book Review: Robert J Shiller ~ Narrative Economics: How stories go viral & drive major economic events (2019)

Posted on October 12, 2020 by odeboyz

Shiller is a rock-star economist, Nobel Prize winner with an intellectual fan club. His books, lectures and interviews are eagerly looked forward to and this book is no exception. Unfortunately it’s a let down. The book reads like a series … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Harold Wilson: Britain’s greatest prime minister post-1945

Posted on October 8, 2020 by odeboyz
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Royal Navy’s Final Delusion

Posted on October 8, 2020 by odeboyz

Currently Trident missile submarines and Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers are being built for tens of billion pounds. Neither have a strategic purpose. Britain can’t initiate or repulse conflict independently. Since the Falklands war in 1982, all eleven conflicts where Britain … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

A response to the Depression in the USA 1930s

Posted on October 5, 2020 by odeboyz

The massive unemployment set off serious social problems. For example, in the United States it caused the forced deportation (then called repatriation) of a million workers of Mexican origin. The goal was to free up jobs for “real” Americans.31 The … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Book Review: Sven Hassel ~ The Legion of the Dead (Translator: Maurice Michael) (1957)

Posted on October 5, 2020 by odeboyz

Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet On The Western Front (1929)was the greatest anti-war book to emerge from the trenches of the first world war. Hassel’s book is in the same class.* It’s compelling style is deeply suggestive of fictionalised autobiography, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

A quip from Matt LeBlanc [a star of Friends]

Posted on October 1, 2020 by odeboyz

Why do you have to break up with her? Be a man. Just stop calling.

Posted in Humour | Tagged | Leave a comment

Two West Point* Speeches and American Foreign Policy

Posted on October 1, 2020 by odeboyz

The USA is the self-selected ‘policeman’ of the world. This has led to it being involved in conflicts every year since 2000. Consequently a significant part of the annual budget is devoted to military spending. Symbolic of this are two … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics, War | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“I forgot my surf board”… “Me too. What a shame.”

Posted on September 28, 2020 by odeboyz
Posted in Humour, photography | Tagged | Leave a comment

Book Review: Leif G W Persson ~ The Dying Detective (Translator: Neil Smith) (2016)

Posted on September 28, 2020 by odeboyz

Fans of BBC’s New Tricks* enjoy the idea that decades of experience can resolve unsolved crimes. Intuition, which can’t be taught, and informed common sense triumph over derided ‘modern’ methods. The Swedish author of this brilliant novel takes the genre … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Review | Tagged | Leave a comment

A good reason to go to a good tailor

Posted on September 24, 2020 by odeboyz

Joe went to his doctor complaining about terrible headaches. His doctor said, “It’s curable but it requires castration. Your testicles are pressing on your spine, which is causing your headaches.” Joe was shocked and depressed but felt had no choice … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Humour | Tagged | Leave a comment