Category Archives: History

Nice people don’t become Nazis: Dorothy Thompson 1941

Posted on June 6, 2017 by odeboyz

Kind, good, happy, gentlemanly, secure people never go Nazi. They may be the gentle philosopher whose name is in the Blue Book, or Bill from City College to whom democracy gave a chance to design airplanes—you’ll never make Nazis out … Continue reading →

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The MCC, social-class and English Cricket in the 1960s

Posted on June 2, 2017 by odeboyz

The MCC* ruled English cricket with an iron fist in the 1960s. County cricket administrators were a version of the MCC, using their social-class and status as Gentlemen to control cricket. Professional cricketers were regarded as social inferiors because they … Continue reading →

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William Tyndale School: Returning after 64 years

Posted on May 25, 2017 by odeboyz

On the 16th of May 2017 I returned to the brick lined alleyway, which led to the school building. There were two entrances one for boys and the other for girls. This was historically true but obviously, in 2017, sexual … Continue reading →

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Lenin’s cushy exile in Siberia 1897-1900

Posted on May 16, 2017 by odeboyz

He… received a steady stream of books on extended loan from libraries in St Petersburg and Moscow, via the good offices of his sisters, to supply his voracious appetite for reading. Despite his frustrations with the speed of the postal … Continue reading →

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The importance of the battle of Mukden (1905)

Posted on April 21, 2017 by odeboyz

The carnage of the first world war wasn’t inevitable. The horrendous losses suffered could have been avoided by high commands sensitive to the evolution of warfare techniques. Their ‘war games’ were a hapless iteration of previous obsolete military experiences. Nine … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Technology, War | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Theresa May: will she deliver a Brexit paradise on June 8th 2017?

Posted on April 21, 2017 by odeboyz

“On the day that Theresa May triggered article 50, YouGov published a survey of the things people whould like brought back after Britain has left the EU. Top of the list was the death penalty, with 52% of those who … Continue reading →

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 Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy, published in 1844: Friedrich Engels

Posted on April 7, 2017 by odeboyz

“Malthus, the originator of this doctrine, maintains that population is always pressing on the means of subsistence; that as soon as production increases, population increases in the same proportion; and that the inherent tendency of the population to multiply in … Continue reading →

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Thomas Malthus and The Andover Workhouse Scandal 1845-6

Posted on April 7, 2017 by odeboyz

Deuteronomy 15:11 “There will always be poor in the land. Therefore I command you to be open handed…. Mark 4:25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even … Continue reading →

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A philosopher contemplates death: Voltaire (1770)

Posted on March 28, 2017 by odeboyz

In any case, Voltaire* added jocularly, he expected to die shortly and would soon find out who was right concerning immortality of the soul— Plato or Spinoza, Saint Paul or Epictetus, Christianity or Confucianism. *This is jocular because Voltaire was … Continue reading →

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Pollution in the ‘Good Old Days’: New York 1880

Posted on March 14, 2017 by odeboyz

By 1880, there were at least a hundred and fifty thousand horses living in New York, and probably a great many more. Each one relieved itself of, on average, twenty-two pounds of manure a day, meaning that the city’s production … Continue reading →

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