France
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Review: Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order – by Bruno Maçães
The Belt and Road Initiative, launched by China in 2013, is a transformative foreign policy project aimed at enhancing China’s global influence through trade routes reminiscent of the Silk Road. While it has received mixed responses, particularly from Western nations, it offers countries alternatives to Western hegemony, promoting economic development but also raising geopolitical tensions,… Continue reading
Africa, Asia, Asia-PAcific, Australia, Beijing, Belt and Road, Belt and Road initiative, Bruno Maçães, CCP, Central Asia, China, Chinese, Chinese Communist Party, civilization, Communism, Communist, democracy, Europe, European Union, France, Geopolitics, Germany, gunpowder, Human rights, Hungary, India, International Relations, Japan, Kazakhstan, liberalism world order, Marco Polo, Middle Corridor, Military, mother country, Naples, One Belt One Road, Pakistan, paper, PLA, ports, Putin, Realpolitik, Red Army, Russia, Silk Road, trade, US hegemony, USA, Vladimir Putin, Western, Xi Jinping -
Christine and The Queens – Tilted
The author reflects on discovering Christine and The Queens, appreciating their bold Glastonbury 2023 performance. They draw parallels between French cultural norms and British prudishness while celebrating the band’s artistic expression. The author also highlights their fond memories of France, ultimately valuing empowering art, with a shoutout to DJ Laurent Garnier. Continue reading
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Review: Queens of the Crusades – by Alison Weir
I had previously read Alison Weir’s most excellent book specifically on Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine many years ago so the author was familiar to me. I chanced upon this title in my local library (Caldicot) and thought I’d give it a go. It covers the lives of several British Queens, or rather the historical period… Continue reading
1215, Alienor of Provence, Alison Weir, Aquitaine, barons, battle, Berengeria of Navarre, British Empire, British History, British Hostory, British Queens, Brittany, Caernarfon, Caernarfon Castle, Caldicot, Cardiff, Chepstow, consanguinity, Constantinople, constitution, Continental Europe, Cross, dominions, Edward I, Ekleanor of Castile, Eleanor of Aquitaine, English Queens, Europe, European Royal, France, French, Gerald of Wales, Geraldus Cambrensis, Henry II, Holy LAnd, hometown, Isabelle of Angoulême, King Edward I, King John, legislation, Llywellyn ap Gruffydd, Magna Carta, Military, monarch, monarchy, Normandy, Plantagenet, Pope, Prince of Wales, Queens, Queens of the Crusades, religion, Richard The Lionheart, Richhard I, royal, royal bloodlines, Royal Couple, Royal Family, St. Davids, taking the Cross, The Cross, Thomas Bek, U.K., UK, United Kingdom, US consitution, USA, Vatican, Wales, war, Welsh Independence -
Review: MI9: A History of the Secret Service for Escape and Evasion in World War Two – by Helen Fry
I randomly found this book on the shelves of Caldicot library. I read a lot of books on U.K. Intelligence services: MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. During the war…. Mt grandfather (GaGa) was in 618 Squadron RAF and 143 Coastal Command. He didn’t really speak to me much about World War 2 itself until quite late… Continue reading
#centuryofgaga, 100th birthday, 143 COastal COmmand, 618 Squadron, Alan Turing, army, Asia, Belgium, Bletchley Park, Brexit, Britain, Burma, Caldicot, Caldicot Library, Colditz, Comet Line, computers, D-Day, Dédée, Enigma Code, Esacape and Evasion, Escape from Colditz, Escape to Victory, espionage, France, gadgets, Gaga, GCHQ, Germany, God, Helen Fry, HighFlight, Holland, Ian Fleming, intelligence, IS9, James Bond, Japanese, John Gillespie Magee Jr., jungle, Kim Phily, library, Luftwaffe, MI5, mi6, MI9, Military, Naga, Naga Hills, Naga Queen, Nazi, Nazis, Paris, poem, poetry, POWs, Q, RAF, Rat Lines, Room 900, Royal Air Force, secrecy, secret, secret service, Sir Ian Fleming, SOE, South East Qasia, spies, spy, United Kingdom, veterans, war, war poem, war poet, war poetry, wigwam, William Gordon Gerrard, World War 2, World War 3, WW2 -
Review: Defending The Realm – MI5 and The Shayler Affair – by Mark Hollingsworth and Nick Fielding
This is just another one of the many books I’ve read on the security services / spies / intelligence agencies in general. I guess I have a morbid fascination. Non-fiction throws up some pretty weird stuff – Life itself is a lot stranger than fiction. This tale from a turncoat ex MI5 employee David Shayler,… Continue reading
Afghanistan, Beijing, Belmarsh, betrayal, Birtish Empire, Britain, British, British Empire, British Press, brokenbritain, bureaucracy, Capitalism, Chiona, CIA, City of London, civil service, cold war, Colonel Gadaffi, Commonwealth, Communism, commusit, computers, corporation, crime, criminal, Daily Mail, Dame Stella Rimington, David Shayler, Davy Jones' Locker, death penalty, Defending The Realm, DOnald Trump, DPRK, enemy of the state, espionage, execution, France, GCHQ, Government, Great Britian, Human rights, hung, hung drawn and quartered, injustice, intelligence, INTERPOL, IRA, Isalmic, Islam, Islamic Terror, Israel, IT, jail, James Bond, justice, KGB, kim philby, Kremlin, liberty, Libya, Lockerbie, London, management, Mark Hollingsworth, MI5, mi6, Microsoft, Military, Moscow, Mossad, national security, Nick Fielding, Nicrosoft Windows 95, non-fiction, North Korea, Official Secrets Act, parliament, Politics, poltics, Prince Harry, prison, Pyongyang, red top, Robert Maxwell, Rupert Murdoch, Russia, Russians, Scandal, security, security services, Shayler, SHayler Affair, spies, spy, tabloid journalism, tech, terrorism, Thatcher, treachery, treason, Twitter, U.K., United Kingdom, USA, war, whistelblower, Windows, Windows 95 -
Review: Adventure Everywhere – Pablo Picasso’s Paris Nightlife – by Dave Haslam
I like the art of Picasso, I like the city of Paris, and I like the books of Dave Haslam. I was therefore pleased to hear of the release of this book which studies the life and art of famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, in particular his séjour in the vibrant cultural capital of France,… Continue reading
absinthe, alcohol, Apollinaire, Art, Art Decades, Ballets Russes, Belle Époque, Café, chauvinistic, Cirque Medrano, clubs, Configo Publishing, Cubism, culture, Dave Haslam, DJ, erotic, famous artist, feminist, France, French, Hacienda, Love, Manchester, Montmartre, narcotics, nightclubs, nightlife, Nijinsky, opium, Pablo Picasso, Paris, Parisian, Picasso, Pigalles, prostitutes, prostitution, romance, Sacré Couer, séjour, sex, SoHo, Spanish, Spanish Art, toxins, Velasquez, waitresses, World War 1, World War I -
Review: Rights of Man – by Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine is an important writer at an important time that bequeaths us in his ‘Rights of Man’ a fundamental shakeup of what our democratic rights as citizens should be, drawing especially on the French Revolution and also American Revolution and the fundamental rights that their new revolutionary societies produced for their citizens. Paine delivers… Continue reading
1789, AMerica, American Revolution, Bill Of Rights, Britain, constitutional monarchy, democracy, Edmund Burke, enlightenment, France, French revolution, Government, guillotine, hereditary peer, Human rights, Jean-JAcques Rousseau, King, monarchy, Paris, parliament, philosophy, Politics, Queen, Revolution, Rights of Man, Rights of the Citizen, Ropusseau, royal, The Social COntract, The Terror, Thomas Paine, treason, U.K., United Kingdom, USA -
Review: War and Peace – by Leo Tolstoy
‘War and Peace’ needs no introduction. It holds its place in the minds of contemporary society as a literary classic. One cannot pick up a newspaper article on great books without a passing mention of Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece. Like other classical works such as the Bible, I think that their obvious fame means and their… Continue reading
1789, Adolf Hitler, Anna Karenina, Artitocracy, Austerlitz, battle of austerlitz, battle of borodino, Bezukhov, Bolkonsky, Bolshevik, Borodino, Bourgeoisie, Communism, Communist, Count, CrimeaN WAR, Czar, Denisov, dictator, Dostoyevsky, eating horses, enlioghtenment, European, fiction, France, French revolution, Grande Armée, history, hitler, Homer, Iliad, imperialism, Kulak, Lenin, Leo Tolstoy, Little Corsican, Military, Moscow, Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte, Naqzi, Natalya, Natalya Rostov, nationalism, non-fiction, Odyssey, old Boney, on mutatis, Paris, peace, Pierre, Pierre Bezukhov, Prince Andrei, Prince Andrei Nikolayovich Bolkonsky, Red Army, romance, Rostov, Rousseau, Rus, Russia, Russian, Russian Aristocracy, Russian Literature, russian revolution, serfs, society, Soviet Union, St Petersburg, Stalin, Steppes, Tolstoy, Translation, translator, Trotsky, Tsar, Tsar Alexander I, USSR, Voltaire, war, War and Peace, World War 2 -
Review: On War – by Carl von Clausewitz
In addition to Sun Tzu’s Art of War, this book authored by Prussian officer Carl von Clausewitz is the quintessential classic book on military theory. The book (although this edition was only an abridged version) puts forward in detail theory for all elements of war, from politics to military leadership, from defence to attack. It… Continue reading
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Review: The Near East Since The First World War – by M.E.Yapp
This book was written in 1990 and is thus a bit dated. The postscript announces the start of the first Gulf War after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Post World War 1 saw most of the current political boundaries drawn in the Near East or as we now most predominantly label it, the Middle East.… Continue reading
Arab, Arabic, Ayatollah, Ba'ath, Bahrain, Britain, British Empire, colonial, Egypt, empire, France, iran, Iranian Revolution, Iraq, Israel, Israeli, Jew, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, middle east, Near East, notables, oil, Politics, Qatar, religion, Revolution, saudi arabia, Suez, Syria, twentieth century, U.K., UAE, United Arab Emirates, war, World War 1, Yapp, Yemen
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