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Pamela Harriman – bedding her way to success
Pamela Harriman, daughter-in-law of Winston Churchill, described as a “European geisha” and “The Last Courtesan” was supposedly, according to a new biography, pimped out by her father-in-law (and Lord Beaverbrook) to seduce key Americans to ensure support for the UK war effort. She did bed W. Averell Harriman, Roosevelt’s representative in London and in later … Read more
Lebanon and Israel – intractable conflict
The Lebanon has had an illustrious history stretching back several millenia being a major centre under the Byzantine Empire and ultimately under the Ottoman Empire. In the colonial carve up after World War 1 it was handed as a mandate along with Syria to France, who made a botch of their ultimate withdrawal with 22 … Read more
Alan Cumming – a man for all seasons
The versatile Alan Cumming has added yet another award from the recent Emmys to join his previous BAFTA Award, previous Emmy, Tonys and an Olivier. This recent accolade was for his hosting of the reality show Traitors, which is a tense psychological adventure competition where 22 strangers in a castle in the Scottish Highlands aim … Read more
Netanyahu, Smotrich – any hopes of peace recede
Another day and the tit-for-tat atrocities pile up. Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the death of nine people after the simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers used by the terror group in Lebanon yesterday. Thousands were injured in the attack, with 200 people said to be in a critical condition. Hezbollah said Israel would get … Read more
Afghanistan – fear of women intensifies
The Afghanistan Taliban government’s increasingly repressive measures, described by one woman living there as Islamic fascism, are causing growing dissatisfaction among the Afghan population and continuing international isolation. Despite promises to the contrary when the USA withdrew in 2021, stricter morality laws have been enforced with girls and women banned from attending secondary school and … Read more
Lunar Eclipse Scheat – flooding and drowning
Disaster by water is being experienced with a vengeance in eastern Europe with several deaths from flooding and an entire Polish city being told to evacuate. With transiting Neptune and the Fixed star Scheat both falling close to this week’s Lunar Eclipse in Pisces it highlights the nature of Scheat associated with misfortune, floods, shipwrecks … Read more
Ursula & Thierry – an EU flare up
France’s European commissioner, Thierry Breton, has resigned, citing “questionable governance” at the EU executive led by Ursula von der Leyen. His hissy fit comes after she had asked Paris to withdraw his name for reasons unknown. None of which amounts to a hill of beans but the astrology is fun. He was born 15 January … Read more
Richard Gadd – turning trauma into drama
Richard Gadd, creator of the hit Netflix, black-comedy TV series Baby Reindeer about his experiences with a stalker has been showered with awards at the Emmys. There was no mention of the defamation lawsuit filed against Netflix by the real-life woman who allegedly inspired the stalker character which was billed as “a true story” though … Read more
French village – De Sade to Pelicot
The unthinkable crimes of Dominique Pelicot against his wife being paraded in a French courtroom take on an added frisson of revulsion with the knowledge that the village of Mazan where it took place contains a chateaux that once belonged to the Marquis De Sade’s family. Pelicot is charged with drugging his wife for a … Read more