Category Archives: History

The End of Nazi Germany

Posted on January 21, 2024 by odeboyz

The toll of the final struggle was immense, for Germans as well as for their victims and the Allies. Of the 5.3 million German soldiers killed in the war, half died in the final ten months. The Nazis threw Hitler … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Ben MacIntyre ~ Agent Sonya (2020)

Posted on December 20, 2023 by odeboyz

Historians often write beautifully and are highly literate. But they don’t create new genres. MacIntyre has pulled off the feat of writing biography, history and thrillers: simultaneously. He chooses remarkable and well documented stories. This provides a structure to work … Continue reading →

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Film Review: Napoleon (2023) (Joaquin Phoenix)

Posted on December 6, 2023 by odeboyz

I shouldn’t go to historical biopic films. I tut-tut and nit-pick and definitely don’t enter into the spirit of the thing. Oppenheimer lulled me into a false sense of security. Disaster! I hated it and nearly walked out. Why? The … Continue reading →

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Crimea, 2014: Vladimir Putin’s Triumph

Posted on November 15, 2023 by odeboyz

Russia’s annexation of Crimea was textbook perfect. Putin gained the tacit approval of the international community. This was essential for an unqualified success. A consequence was that the Ukraine itself was undermined. Putin’s justification for the annexation, the correction of … Continue reading →

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Elvis Presley’s ‘In The Ghetto’, 1969

Posted on November 2, 2023 by odeboyz

As the snow flies On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’ A poor little baby child is born In the ghetto (In the ghetto) And his mama cries ‘Cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need It is another … Continue reading →

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Film Review: The Great Escaper (2023) (Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson)

Posted on October 18, 2023 by odeboyz

Two great actors come together to make a wonderful film. It’s a biopic of Bernie Jordan who, aged 89, ‘broke’ out of his care home to attend – as an unofficial guest – the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings.1 … Continue reading →

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Education, Education, Education

Posted on October 9, 2023 by odeboyz

Ask me my three main priorities for Government, and I tell you: education, education and education. Tony Blair’s speech at the Labour Party Conference, 1 October 1996 “[Gove] apologised, however, when the list of terminated school-building projects he had released … Continue reading →

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The Tragedy of the West Bank Conflict

Posted on September 7, 2023 by odeboyz

It’s internationally accepted that Israeli sponsored settlements in the West Bank are illegal. Israel have, nonetheless, made them a central policy for their coalition government. Settler townships only exist because of this political commitment. The full panoply of surveillance drones … Continue reading →

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A KGB* joke

Posted on August 19, 2023 by odeboyz

The regional KGB headquarters in Arkhangelsk suffered a major fire and was almost completely destroyed. Shortly after, a man phoned. “I’m sorry, we can’t do anything,” said the receptionist. “The KGB has burnt down.”Five minutes later, the receptionist received another … Continue reading →

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How Wars Are Won

Posted on August 17, 2023 by odeboyz

Conventional war is more-or-less equal armies slugging it out. The paradigm is the First World War. This ended when Germany was outnumbered with the entry of the USA. The European Second World War ended with Germany outnumbered once more. Japan … Continue reading →

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