19th Century
The Continental System
One of the Corsican Corporal’s big things was what was known as the Continental System. This was him forcing all the countries he controlled and as many others as possible not to do business with [more…]
History
19th Century
The Scrapbook of Sherlock Holmes, 3/6: The Purloined Pincushion. Part 1 of 2
It was my friend’s custom every day after breakfast to peruse the newspapers and cut out any articles he found interesting, to preserve them in a scrapbook for future use. However, these excisions made the [more…]
Fiction
Elementary, my dear Watson – the Group 19 elements
After a rather extended respite hiatus, welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends… wending our way through the elements and the Groups of the Periodic Table (a.k.a. the Periodic Table of the [more…]
20th Century
The War we think ended in 1945
Most people believe World War II ended in 1945. In reality, its most important consequences were only beginning. The fighting stopped. The maps were redrawn. The narrative was presented as settled—and fixed in place. But [more…]
20th Century
Afghanistan as it was (1973)
After several requests from fellow Puffins, I finally got off my arse to rummage around in the attic and miraculously unearthed a bunch of diaries from over fifty years ago, and most importantly the one [more…]
19th Century
The Scrapbook of Sherlock Holmes, 2/6: The Missing Archbishop. Part 2 of 2
The Archbishop’s housekeeper, who had been watching us from the edge of the room as we made the horrid discovery, was trembling and trying to restrain her tears. ‘Mrs Armitage,’ said Holmes, ‘we are depending [more…]
20th Century
A History of Pop Music – Albums 1960
Featured Album: Elvis is Back This is a series of articles looking at albums from 1960 to whatever year we end up in. I will select a featured album for each year and the link [more…]
20th Century
Kenya’s Austerity Loop
For the second time, Kenya has pressed its palms against the cold marble of the IMF and the World Bank, asking the same architects of global austerity to diagnose wounds we have spent time inflicting [more…]
21st Century
Was the US/Israeli Attack on Iran Necessary?
The primary reason given for the joint US/Israeli attack on Iran was that Iran would not give up its nuclear program, which it claimed was for peaceful purposes only. The US and Israel viewed this [more…]