#235 – Forging The Alliance
In the second last episode of our NATO series, where we are trying to understand the real story about WHY and HOW NATO came into existence, we look how the US and European ambassadors finally overcame the balance of power issues. There something secret here that only...
#234 – The Vandenberg Resolution
Everyone is trying to figure out a model for European co-operation. Secret meetings at the Pentagon between the US, UK and Canada in March/April 1948 explored three possible extensions of the Brussels pact. Churchill’s son-in-law, Duncan Sandys then put together a...
#233 – Big Stick Diplomacy
During 1947-48, England and France had been working on their own treaty as well as one involving the so-called Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg). That became the basis of discussions about a broader treaty creating a United States of Europe,...
#232 – Norway Wants The Money
The Soviets and Finland had a complex history including a non-aggression pact and a false flag operation used to break it. But the President of Finland after WWII, Paasikivi, signed a new one anyway. Norway, on the other hand, was reluctant to sign one. They went with...
#231 – Finlandization
The other countries that lead to NATO being formed were Norway and Finland. One signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR. The other did not. We discuss the reasons and history behind each decision. There something secret here that only members can see. Probably an...
#230 – The Communist “Coup”
As the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia dominated the 1946 election, former Catholic fascist Slovakia ministers conspire to overthrow the Benes government through acts of terrorism. This leads to a series of purges, protests, strikes, and finally the Communist...
#229 – Peak Communism
After Benes took control of Czechoslovakia again after WWII, with the support of the Allies, he ran a program of ethnic cleansing, mostly targeting people of German ancestry. And the Czech Communist party became the most popular political party of any country in...
#228 – Czechoslovakia
Let’s talk about the history of Czechoslovakia. The anti-semitic founder of the modern state was well connected in the USA, all the way up to POTUS. His list of important American friends included a Nazi-lovin’ industrialist. But the state he founded was friendly to...
#227 – Something Wicked This Way Comes
Significant electoral victories and strikes by domestic socialist parties in France and Italy pushed the UK to insist on American military support for the Marshall Plan’s rollout. In the United States, there were divergent views on whether or not that was a good idea...
Happy birthday to my brother from another mother, my 4th wife, my man crush, my longest suffering business partner, and the guy who makes me laugh the mostest, seen here contemplating his life choices and weighing up whether or not he should jump, sitting on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
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