Category Archives: History

Black Lives Matter: Jesse Owens Olympic Champion 1936

Posted on April 18, 2022 by odeboyz

Jesse Owens on the podium after winning a gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics. A month after the Olympic Games, Owens told a crowd, “Hitler didn’t snub me—it was [Roosevelt] who snubbed me. The president didn’t even send me … Continue reading →

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The problem of being a dictator

Posted on April 14, 2022 by odeboyz

In the span of a couple of weeks, Vladimir Putin….managed to revitalize NATO, unify a splintered West, turn Ukraine’s little-known president into a global hero, wreck Russia’s economy, and solidify his legacy as a murderous war criminal. How did he … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Viet Thanh Nguyen ~ The Sympathizer (2015)

Posted on April 11, 2022 by odeboyz

This superb book won the USA’s Pulitzer Prize. Nguyen is brilliant and the real thing: a great author. Opening sentences are important, I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces.1 The unnamed hero/anti-hero is a … Continue reading →

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Who was Oliver Cromwell?

Posted on April 4, 2022 by odeboyz

He was courageous, devout, resolute, principled, intelligent, eloquent, able, adaptable and dedicated, but also self-seeking, unscrupulous, dishonest, manipulative, vindictive and bloodthirsty: definitely not somebody to be simply taken at his word. Ronald Hutton The Making of Oliver Cromwell p338

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Woody Guthrie discovers Catholic hypocrisy

Posted on March 28, 2022 by odeboyz

“Son, I have been in this service [Roman Catholic priest] all my life. I have seen to it that thousands of men just like you got to work for a meal. But, right at this moment, there is no kind … Continue reading →

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Definition of a Puritan

Posted on March 10, 2022 by odeboyz

…..someone who worries that somebody, somewhere might be enjoying themselves.

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Queen Victoria and Childbirth

Posted on March 3, 2022 by odeboyz

Queen Victoria, 1837-1901, had nine children and numerous grand-children.1 The 19th century was an era of large families but many babies didn’t survive into adulthood. Childbirth was dangerous for both mother and child. Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, wanted her to … Continue reading →

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Garry Kasparov’s phenomenal memory

Posted on February 24, 2022 by odeboyz

“I was to be tested by seeing if I could identify each game by looking at the position on the board….. I said, ‘I’m honoured you are interested in understanding the human mind, but I hope you will forgive me … Continue reading →

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Three German Generals, 1906-16

Posted on February 17, 2022 by odeboyz

During the Great European Peace, 1871-14, German generals were redundant. There hadn’t been a German army on a battlefield since 1871. To compound their misery, German society was militaristic. Kaiser Wilhelm II wore full military uniform on every occasion. He … Continue reading →

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Putin visits Estonia

Posted on February 10, 2022 by odeboyz

Immigration officer says: “Name?”.“Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin”.“Address?”“Kremlin, Moscow, Russia”.“Occupation?” “I’m just visiting.”

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