Author: rrn69

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Pragmatic solutions over political dogma!

rrn69

Vicky Pryce and Andy Ross chart UK’s economic trajectory from industrial superpower to an IMF bailout. In 1976 m the global financial crisis, Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, is a wake-up call to politicians and policymakers of all stripes. How did the UK transition from being the world’s workshop to having the dependent, service-driven economy of today, prone to severe negative shocks and daunting economic challenges? Mismanaged Decline gives an urgent reality check that will embarrass politicians from all parties, and track the forces that have shaped the UK economy since the Industrial Revolution. The authors tackle complex issues such … Continue reading Pragmatic solutions over political dogma!

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Critical Thinking for problem solving

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BOOK REVIEWS – HELPFUL BUSINESS AND SELF IMPROVEMENT BOOKS.“Think Better: an innovators’ guide to productive thinking” by Tim Hurson (McGraw Hill, NY), was released in the US in October 2007and now it’s available on Amazon and of course in major bookstores everywhere. There are thousands of books on thinking, creativity or innovation, but very few books provide clear how-to information that can actually help people Think Better.Tim states “Think Better is about Productive Thinking – why it’s important, how it works, and how to use it at work, at home, and at play. Productive thinking is a simple, but powerful … Continue reading Critical Thinking for problem solving

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Social media appearance a form of “coercive control”?

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Jeanette Winterson weaves together memoir, manifesto and a feminist reimaging of One thousand and One Nights in this impassioned exploration of the power of reading. A woman is filibustering for her life. Every night she tells a story. Every morning, she lives one more day. One Aladdin Two Lamps cracks open the legendary story of Shahrazad in One Thousand and One Nights to explore new and ancient questions. Who would we trust? Is love the most important thing in the world? Does it matter whether you are honest? What makes us happy? In her guise as Aladdin- the orphan who … Continue reading Social media appearance a form of “coercive control”?

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Self taught social empathy

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Would you predict that a British aristocrat would so energize American antifascist and civil rights struggles that Time magazine would crown her “Queen of Muckrakers”? Jessica Mitford, known as Decca, was brought up by eccentric English family to marry well and reproduce her wealth and privilege, not to advocate for the rights of others. Her beautiful sisters have been subjects of books and movies dedicated to their naughty, glamorous lives. Decca ran away to America to forge a rebel’s life. As this richly researched book details, Decca broke the Mitford mould. Instead of setting for life as a professional Beauty, … Continue reading Self taught social empathy

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Power to break her heart

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In the summer of ‘77, Victoria Leonard’s world changes forever when Caitlin Somers chooses her as a friend. Dazzling reckless Caitlin welcomes Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha’s Vineyard, an enchanting place where the two friends become “Summer Sisters”. Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin begs Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honour. … Continue reading Power to break her heart

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Irish restaurant charges Ryanair CEO for extra legroom and priority seating

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Sauce for the Goose is sauce for the Gander, the ethic of reciprocity, is often stated as “Do unto others as you wish to be done for you”, What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Consistency is a virtue and it’s best to step back and think a little before you take a position that will seem in the light of the day to be purely self-serving and hypocritical. Many bargain hunters for no-frill holidays are often pissed off when they were charged for extra leg room and priority seating. One Irish restaurant charges Ryanair CEO O’Leary … Continue reading Irish restaurant charges Ryanair CEO for extra legroom and priority seating

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Captivating generational saga

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Patrick Ryan conjures a vanished America with deep insight and lyrical intelligence about war and adultery, the mysteries of sexuality and family life, and the strange paths we have to travel to forgive or at least begin to understand the people who’ve hurt us the most.  A small-town novel about two midwestern families across generations, from World War II to the late twentieth century.  In Bonhomie, Ohio, a stolen moment of passion, sparked in the exuberant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe, binds Cal Jenkins, a man wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, to Margaret … Continue reading Captivating generational saga

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Western classical music and minds of all its greatest composers

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“Let me be your Ruskin or Baedeker, suppose a first visit, only a week, to Florence or Burges, what must absolutely not to be missed” Robin Holloway offer himself to as a master guide for this voyage. “My aim in this book is to offer an invitation to the glorious long voyage of western classical music for all those who enjoy and love it, and seek to deepen their enjoyment and love without getting caught up in musicology and technicalities: an entry to Aladdin’s cave, an injunction to taste and see re-angled for the sense of hearing in all its … Continue reading Western classical music and minds of all its greatest composers

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Lonely and adrift in Manhattan

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Gish Jen is the award-winning author of The Resisters returns with an autobiographical novel tracing a tumultuous mother-daughter relationship. Gish’s mother Agnes Jen – Loo Shu-hsin – born in 1925 to wealthy Shanghai family where the chauffeurs wore leather gloves, expensive Persian opium was served to society women via a sous chef, and girls are expected to behave and be quiet.  No domestic chores were required of her as a child, but the sudden disappearance possibly sacking of her beloved nurse-maid Nai-ma caused an open wound, potentially poisoning her future maternal facility, combine this with the Cultural Revolution, a famine, other … Continue reading Lonely and adrift in Manhattan

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Ultimate will power

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Today, Europe is fast changing, polarised world dominated by Chinese- American rivalry.  European Union despite its initial successes after the fall of the Berlin Wall, have failed to implement a strategy for success in the twenty-first century. Britain’s exit from the EU has weakened both sides and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown these shortcomings into sharp relief.  How should states across the continent position themselves in the decades to come? David Marsh investigates Europe’s present crisis, from a march of populism, Franco-German malaise and the breakdown of relations with Putin’s Russia. Fault lines are emerging in the monetary union, while the … Continue reading Ultimate will power