Ukraine – Jac o' the North

The Slide Into Authoritarianism ‘To Defend Democracy’

Jac — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 07:00:15 +0000

There’s a saying wrongly attributed to an old Chinese sage that runs, ‘May you live in interesting times’. Well, we do; and just as phoney as the provenance of that maxim are the statements we’re fed daily by our politicians and their media. Much of what follows may be updates of what’s gone before; but …

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An Open Letter To President Donald J Trump

Jac — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 14:42:21 +0000

Mr President, As you are aware, there’s a lot of sabre-rattling in Europe at the moment. Certain countries, having encouraged Ukraine to wage war on Russian civilians in the Donbass and elsewhere following the 2014 coup – and provoking the desired response – are now determined to draw Russia into a wider conflict. I’m referring …

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How The Trump Revolution Will Affect Europe

Jac — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 08:30:58 +0000

What a week that was! President Trump’s executive orders exceeded my expectations. Everybody (and perhaps more so those on the left) now realises that what Trump has set in train will not be limited to the USA. After thoughts on what’s being achieved in the USA I’ll consider how the changes in the USA might …

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The Left: Lost, Found, Re-purposed, Finished

Jac — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 09:00:09 +0000

Let me start by explaining that the title does not refer to the sad buggers in forgotten communities who vote Labour out of force of habit, nor the careerists they vote for. I’m dealing with those who bring city streets to a standstill waving terrorist flags and shouting anti-Semitic slogans. Antifa, BLM, and all the …

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Miscellany 30.01.2024

Jac — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 09:00:42 +0000

For the first time in quite a while I’m putting out a Miscellany, an assortment of unrelated stories. There’s one from Wales and then we’re off to the USA, Ireland and the Eastern Front. This is longer than recent posts but it’s four separate pieces with a wee monologue to end. So it should be …

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Miscellany 27.07.2022

Jac — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 08:00:20 +0000

This week’s offering kicks off with assorted musings from here and there before returning home to focus on issues that have caught my eye. And if these have a theme then it’s assorted companies and individuals pretending to be what they’re not. In this case, Welsh. This is another biggie, just over 4,000 words, but …

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Climate Change – That Old Time Religion!

Jac — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 07:30:58 +0000

As you may have guessed, I am somewhat sceptical of the claims made by those who insist we’re heading for a climate catastrophe . . . unless of course we do as they tell us. ♦ THE ADVANTAGE OF HINDSIGHT I’m an old bugger and I’ve been hearing horror stories about climate change all my …

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Ukraine: A Personal View

Jac — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 08:20:26 +0000

Anyone expecting an armchair strategist’s take on the fighting in Ukraine should look elsewhere. This is a very personal attempt to explain how I believe we arrived at war between Russia and Ukraine. This is a litany of lies, mistakes, personal failings, and geopolitical manoeuvrings. ♦ HISTORY AND RUSSIA Perhaps the only time Russia enjoyed …

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