Category Archives: History

Harold Hill: created by the Attlee Government

Posted on June 29, 2016 by odeboyz

I didn’t start living on Harold Hill until 1980 but lived there for eighteen years. For twelve of those years I was a Labour Party Councillor. So the following narrative is based on what I have been told and my research from … Continue reading →

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Hannah Arendt* Escapes Nazi Germany

Posted on June 21, 2016 by odeboyz

(Hannah and her mother) crossed to Czechoslovakia (then still safe) by a method that sounds almost too fabulous to be true: a sympathetic German family on the border had a house with its front door in Germany and its back … Continue reading →

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Harry S Truman: War Criminal

Posted on June 9, 2016 by odeboyz

The American bombing of Tokyo (March 1945) and Hiroshima (August 1945) were war crimes (see addendum) promoted by President Truman. Both raids were criminal because the slaughter of civilians was intentional. Civilian deaths occur during bombing raids. They are unavoidable … Continue reading →

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Girolamo Savonarola and the bonfire of the vanities

Posted on May 13, 2016 by odeboyz

The Franciscan monk Girolamo Savonarola was the antithesis of Pope Alexander VI. Savonarola was an ascetic monk who preached against wealth and conspicuous consumption. Pope Alexander devoted his life to power, wealth and the pleasures of the flesh. As Savonarola’s … Continue reading →

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Anchorites: The Search for Perfection

Posted on April 29, 2016 by odeboyz

St. Benedict’s Rules (530 AD) were the first to be widely adopted by monasteries . These governed every aspect of a monk’s life. Intensely religious people, both men and women, wanted a purer religious experience without distractions. These people wanted … Continue reading →

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The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact 1939: Bismarck’s Final Triumph

Posted on April 15, 2016 by odeboyz

The most audacious diplomatic pact of the twentieth century was between Nazi Germany and the USSR: the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (23rd Aug 1939). It was audacious but stood in the tradition of German foreign policy established by Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck’s … Continue reading →

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Lyndon Johnson’s driver and the actuality of racism*

Posted on April 5, 2016 by odeboyz

“Well Senator …. we drive for hours and hours. We get hungry. But there’s no place on the road we can stop and go in and eat. We drive some more. It gets pretty hot. We want to wash up. … Continue reading →

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A pen portrait of Winston Churchill

Posted on March 22, 2016 by odeboyz

The prime minister was undoubtedly born too late. By nature he is an adventurist on an historical scale, strong-willed and resolute, a romantic of British Imperialism and war. Had he lived in previous centuries, he would have been a match … Continue reading →

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Religious fanaticism and the normality of ISIS (aka Daesh)

Posted on February 19, 2016 by odeboyz

Religious fanaticism takes many forms sharing one thing: malevolence. War, theatrical brutality and a desire for religious conformity are part and parcel of religious fanaticism. ISIS is simply another example of the gruesome reality of intolerant certainty attempting to enforce … Continue reading →

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The greatest post-war British prime minister: Harold Wilson

Posted on February 4, 2016 by odeboyz

Harold Wilson created modern Britain. Between 1964 and 1970 Britain was changed into a caring, tolerant society, a civilised society. Every aspect of British life was touched, for the good, by Harold Wilson. Ranging from prison reform, to dealing with … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, Prison reform | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments