The Ironist

ISSN 2817-7363

Differing Perspectives

Ramblings #3 – Shanghai Surges

Ramblings #3 – Shanghai Surges

“Meet me at the gate to Yu Garden”   –   Anonymous My neighbour across the street ran the ‘Maple Leaf Express’, one of the exit routes from Hong Kong when the British returned it to China in 1997. He regaled with me stories of incompetent Canadian government officials...

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Ramblings #2 – Disconnect

Ramblings #2 – Disconnect

The picture above has a touch of unexpected colour. A different angle and a picture can be transformed. Change a word and a poem will be remembered. We work for years at what is important to us, be it family, work, or, sadly, (for far too many people), starting wars....

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Choices

Choices

Be skeptical, and think afresh... Flying Fish Services Ltd. The Editor of The Ironist has long asked me for my views on the war in Ukraine. For me it is a long way to Europe – let alone across the Atlantic – as I haven’t left the Black Sea. But sturgeons live longer...

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Ramblings #4 – Our Values

Ramblings #4 – Our Values

Enjoy life more with a little reflection. It’s almost November; a cool breeze blows. Frail, yellowing leaves flicker on branches; their brethren, dried and curled, toss aimlessly as they roll down the street. I need an escape from this coming cold…India! The red dust...

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Ramblings #5 – Miracles, Dreams and False Idols

Ramblings #5 – Miracles, Dreams and False Idols

"Granddad, granddad! Book, book!" Nothing matches a baby’s smile. Watch it slowly spread, then burst into a gurgling laugh! That laugh! It’s an infectious laugh that reaches deep into your soul and rips your heart open. Nothing in life prepares you for it. This last...

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AI Hasn’t Won Yet!

AI Hasn’t Won Yet!

I have been reading so much nonsense about the American election. The so-called ‘experts’ don’t get it. It is not so much about who is in power, or who is out of power, or what the consequences were, or are, or will be. It isn’t about who was or will be good or bad....

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Le Mot Juste : Words Matter

Le Mot Juste : Words Matter

The story is told by his son Dylan of a memorable exchange between Dylan’s father, the Canadian writer William Bell, famous for his novel Forbidden City, and Dylan’s sister Megan. Megan had been reprimanded for some unspecified childish misdemeanour or other, and had...

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Forgotten Horror is a Sin

Forgotten Horror is a Sin

The Real Cost of War My father’s Combat Report, after responding to a raid on Teignmouth, England, in which six were killed, many injured, and 183 homes and a school were destroyed. „Absturz in See,“ the note said, “ditched in the sea“. Someone wanted the truth to be...

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Forgotten Heroes #4 – Antonov von Anchovy

Forgotten Heroes #4 – Antonov von Anchovy

Many people know the great-grandson of Antonov von Anchovy, the popular musician Bonjovy, who, despite promising to be there for the family, proved to be livin’ on a prayer, and ran from his family after being wild in the streets, hunted and wanted dead or alive. It...

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