Monthly Archives: September 2022

A Right Wunch of…

“I make no apology for attacking spivs and gamblers who did more to the British economy than Bob Crow (the RTM union leader) could achieve in his wildest Trotskyite fantasies, while paying themselves outrageous bonuses underwritten by the taxpayer”. —UK … Continue reading

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Low Budget

“I can’t be broke; I still have plenty of cheques.” —Eric Sykes in BBC’s Sykes,1972 Citing events of a half-century go is not as irrelevant to Friday’s “mini” budget as you might think. In a three-hour session in parliament when … Continue reading

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C’est Magnifique, mais Ce n’est pas la Gloire

With apologies to Le Maréchal Pierre Bosquet’s observation on the Charge of the Light Brigade, this seems an apt comment on today’s spectacle of the Queen’s funeral. There is no question that it was spectacular, nor that the Queen had … Continue reading

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Ivan to Go Home—V

“The Russian Army is a boxer who has a great right hook and a glass jaw.” —Phillips O’Brien, Prof. of Strategic Studies, St Andrews University The Ukrainian offensive that began around Kherson in the South at the end of August … Continue reading

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Ivan to Go Home—IV

By April, it was clear that, despite bumptious pronouncements on Russian TV that “The Ukraine Special Operation” against the fascists in Kiev was going to plan”, somebody in the Kremlin worked out they were getting nowhere. Casualties were far higher … Continue reading

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Ivan to Go Home—III

A five-part article on Russian military misjudgements in Ukraine “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” ­ —Otto von Clausewitz Although the Russians stoically denied it, there was a blatant amount of warning before the attack on Ukraine actually happened … Continue reading

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Ivan to Go Home—II

A five-part article on Russian military misjudgements in Ukraine “Confusion amongst Russian soldiers over their mission and poor morale due to inadequate training and uneven leadership explains their poor performance.” — Curtis Scaparrotti, US four-star general (rtd) Put simply, modern … Continue reading

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Ivan to Go Home—I

A five-part article on Russian military misjudgements in Ukraine “Our country is officially and directly declared the main threat to North Atlantic security. And Ukraine will serve as a forward springboard for the strike.” —Vladimir Putin, February 24th 2022 The … Continue reading

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Leadership vs Tyranny

The remains of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev were taken from Moscow’s Hall of Columns, where all Soviet leaders had once lain in state after their death. But all were buried with a State Funeral. Gorbachev was not. This, and Putin’s diary … Continue reading

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