The first is a co-Principality, and the second a Grand Duchy. Both are tiny, but significant in questions of tourism and politics. Andorra lies between France and Spain,…
Category: Today
War Crimes
This subject arouses all kinds of passions in men’s hearts. Historians are right when they say that subjecting leaders defeated in a war or wars to a tribunal…
The Double Negative – Articulate or Annoying?
The double negative is a peculiarly English device very much used in what might be called ‘literary’ English. It is designed to give more emphasis to a phrase….
The Crusades in brief
They were a series of military expeditions ranging from the 11th to the 14th centuries, meant to secure Christian rule over the holy places of Palestine controlled by…
Conscription may not be a relic of the past
Conscription means compulsory enlisting for military service. With several countries engaged in sabe-rattling at the moment, compulsory enlistment may be revived in the present. China, India and Russia…
The Communist Parties
The word itself – ‘Communist’ – was certainly first heard as long ago as the 1840s. Both Karl Marx (q.v.) and his promoter Engels used the word, but…
The Battenbergs and Mountbattens
With Prince Philip heading for his century, the Battenberg/Mountbatten dynasty is well worth examining. Who were they? Why were they related to everybody? How did a penniless, sharp-witted…
A message from Dean Swift
I apologise to this website’s watchers for the fact that I have not posted anything for a couple of days. I and my family have been struck down…
Separatism for all!
I am becoming all fired up with enthusiasm for the Pandora’s Box of separatism. In Cataluña, Catalunya and Catalonia, Mr Arthur More y More says Cataluña etc. is…
Anti-Semitism
My inspiration to write more on this spiny subject came from one of the published Comments on this site. The Comment can easily be found under the subject…