Category Archives: History

9/11, George W Bush and Dirty Harry

Posted on April 24, 2015 by odeboyz

“Go ahead, make my day.” Harry Callan (Clint Eastwood) in Sudden Impact (1985)  Harry Callan, (‘Dirty Harry),’ made a coercive threat to a ‘punk’. The threat is effective because he understands the punks fear self-preservation and risk-aversion. George W Bush … Continue reading →

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The Absolute Importance of Luck

Posted on April 14, 2015 by odeboyz

It must have been late 1941 or early 1942. Jews were required to wear the Star of David and to obey a 6 p.m. curfew. I had gone to play with a Christian friend and had stayed too late. I … Continue reading →

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Adolf Eichmann, Train Drivers and Crimes Against Humanity: Auschwitz 1944

Posted on April 13, 2015 by odeboyz

Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhuman acts committed against civilian populations, before or during the war; or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, … Continue reading →

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Raise The Flag

Posted on March 31, 2015 by odeboyz

My words to a familiar tune. Lets raise our banner way up high, the working man will never die As labour is a might of force, we are the hope, the fighting cause. Then raise again – our standard true, … Continue reading →

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Lord Kitchener: his impact on 20th Century Warfare

Posted on March 27, 2015 by odeboyz

Britain was in its zenith in the Edwardian period. The British controlled the world’s greatest empire. Both the army and navy were enormous. British grandeur and greatness were universally acknowledged. The Scramble for Africa was ‘won’ by Britain with other … Continue reading →

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Existentialism and Hiroshima (6th August 1945)

Posted on March 24, 2015 by odeboyz

You’re you and nothing but you You do what you do and you do it You’re a person who does knows what to do And you’re the man who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima You dropped that bomb no- one … Continue reading →

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Auschwitz and Complicity in Mass Murder

Posted on March 13, 2015 by odeboyz

Rudolph Hoss, the commandant of Auschwitz, was executed on the 16thApril, 1947 for ‘crimes against humanity’. Hoss was a fervent Nazi and ran Auschwitz with brutal enthusiasm. Auschwitz was the end of a long process where very many people made … Continue reading →

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Shock and Awe: Parts One and Two

Posted on March 10, 2015 by odeboyz

      (Chris)

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How to Succeed in Politics

Posted on March 10, 2015 by odeboyz

Getting High Office “What I want is men who will support me when I am in the wrong.” Lord Melbourne, British Prime Minister, 1834 (and every Prime Minister since then) Not offending anybody “Work hard, keep your mouth shut, and … Continue reading →

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The Old Curiosity Shop

Posted on February 20, 2015 by odeboyz

On attending a seminar at the L.S.E. (London School of Economics) at Lincoln’s Inn Fields (12th February 2015), Jan (my wife) and I got to the venue 30 minutes before we were due to register, so, as you do, we set … Continue reading →

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