Category Archives: Economics

Why did so many Germans support Hitler?

Posted on May 10, 2021 by odeboyz

A well-respected German historian has a radical new theory to explain a nagging question: Why did average Germans so heartily support the Nazis and Third Reich? Hitler, says Goetz Aly, was a “feel good dictator,” a leader who not only … Continue reading →

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The Gaza Strip and Israel, 2014

Posted on February 18, 2021 by odeboyz

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has condemned the blockade of the Gaza Strip, describing the territory as a “prison camp”.1 Israel controls Gaza’s territorial waters and maintains exclusive control in the air space…[It] controls the entire ….border including the Erez … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Covid-19’s Death Rate: A Consequence of Austerity?

Posted on September 10, 2020 by odeboyz

The political consequence of the 2008 banking crisis was a Conservative led coalition, whose principal economic policy was austerity. This meant a dramatic reduction in the size of the state, especially local government and Britain’s welfare system. Unexpectedly there was … Continue reading →

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Canary Wharf Housing Opening Soon

Posted on September 3, 2020 by odeboyz
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The Politics of Obesity in Britain, 2010-20

Posted on August 13, 2020 by odeboyz

“purpose of government is not to do good,” but to “secure the rights of human beings to go about their lives peaceably, knowing that they will not be aggressed against by others.” “eat, drink and be merry” [for tomorrow we … Continue reading →

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Why the west is stagnant

Posted on July 6, 2020 by odeboyz

Thomas Piketty, the French economist, calculates that more than half of total wealth in Germany today is inherited — an estimate confirmed by German economists. In the 1960s and 1970s, the share was just a little over 20 per cent. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Tim Harford ~ Messy: How to be creative and resilient in a tidy-minded world (2016)

Posted on July 6, 2020 by odeboyz

Britain had a TV show whose catch phrase was, ‘The computer says no’ and it reflected a stifled uncreative world. It satirises the mechanistic attempt at deleting risk from everyday life looking for monochrome ‘perfection’. A hideous uncreative world doomed … Continue reading →

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The Mozart Problem: Educating Exceptional Children

Posted on July 2, 2020 by odeboyz

He was playing the harpsichord and the violin at the age of five, and writing little pieces of music.* Introduction Mozart’s father was a musician and realised Wolfgang was exceptional. Leopold home schooled his son, constantly expanding his musical frontiers. … Continue reading →

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A very brisk Mother Superior in a French convent

Posted on June 25, 2020 by odeboyz

[Her] account includes being told by the [Mother] Superior that if a doctor advised a surgical operation, “your Superiors will decide whether your life is of sufficient value to the community to justify the expense. If it is not, you … Continue reading →

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