u/Confident-Echidna-87

Anybody else think it's definitely his best? And I'm a massive fan of Le Carre in general.

Hi, looking for some advice about whether or not to enlist in the army. I have a-levels and a degree. I had no idea what to do after that, so have spent some time doing a mix of jobs, but none are very interesting.

I've always been really interested in warfare, and reading up about the army there is masses that makes me genuinely excited about joining as an officer. The main things include: extensive travel, exciting work, being part of strategic planning for war, learning new skills (languages, electronics, problem solving etc.), excitement and being part of a fantastic culture and community.

The cons: spending a lot of time doing shit and mindless jobs (clearing up rubbish, filling out boring paperwork - all I'm assuming without the ability to put on a podcast while I'm doing it), and obviously I'd feel dumb if I got a crippling injury off-duty by driving a jeep into a ditch. ALSO - while I know it's an interesting time geopolitically, I really can't see any obvious places Britain will be fighting a major war any time soon.

Being completely honest, I don't want to spend my life sitting in a barracks wondering if I should have tried a corporate job. But I also feel like there are some fantastic job opportunities after the army - and that those kinds of job wpuld be WAY more interesting to me than your typical corporate job.

Is this true? Based on what I've said about my life and motivations, do you think the army is for me or is it a big no no? Please be candid.

Listening to Rory and Alistair's interview with Pedro Sanchez. He says, with brazen modesty "The Spanish way of doing things... works".

Erm... what? Spain has problems, just like any country. Eg. Unaffordable housing (especially for young people), high public debt, a massive power grid outage last year, increasing political tensions, 60,000 migrants surging into Ceuta recently. It's far from a hell-scape but still.

Of course, Sanchez was referring to legitimate successes in employment growth, economic growth etc. Credit where credit is due.

But I really think Rory and Alistair should have leaped on that particular phrase. Imagine if a British politician said 'The British way of doing things... works' in reference to a success story, like our financial sector, aerospace industry or university research. They would be laughed at for ignoring our housing crisis, lack of economic growth, ongoing political crisis.

I think this episode is an example of a broader trend in Rory and Alistair's behaviour towards certain politicians. So-called 'centrists' get their arses licked - bonus points if you pissed off Trump. Sometimes I get the feeling they're a bit giddy just to be in the same room as these incredibly accomplished and important figures Did they just not do their homework on Spain? I honestly suspect so - there's nothing in either of their CVs to suggest they would be familiar with Spanish politics.

Hi guys! I'm really interested in the careers of German soldiers after WW2. There's just something so weird about these soldiers who took part in some of the most vicious battles in history, some of them committing horrendous war crimes, suffering from wounds and hunger etc., most of them strongly affected by Nazi ideology in some way - then creating new lives for themselves in the post WW2 world. I've been looking at Otto Skorzeny and Klaus Barbie, who are both pretty horrible. Any good diaries/memoirs of soldiers covering both WW2 and interesting post-war careers?

I think I just saw Prigozhin in Tashkent posing as a basket-weaver. Looks like he's transitioned and wearing a wig, but it was definitely him.

He noticed me staring, put a finger to his lips, then drew his hood down low. The unquenchable fire of revenge burned red hot in his eyes.

I, for one, cannot wait to see what comes next.

I think people underestimate how fortunate we are to be alive at the same time as Gary Stevenson.

LSE mathematics and economics, Oxford MPhil, former Citigroup trader. He must be the only person alive to complete all three.

Most economists spend their careers debating models and publishing papers. Gary went one step further: he actually made money in markets and then explained why everyone else was wrong. The combination of an oxford intellect, city experience and the courage to tell uncomfortable truths.

There are very few people who can explain monetary policy, inequality and financial markets with his level of certainty. One of the most impressive things about Gary is his humility. Despite possessing one of the sharpest economic minds of his generation, he still devotes his life to helping people.

Real people.

Can we all agree on this? The man is so vain and I hate how everybody fawns over him.

I bought Anthony Beevor's Stalingrad recently in large part because Dicky has it in his office in season 1. It's f*cking brilliant - anyone else read this?

I love Le Carre. But I've never understood how George Smiley, a short nerdy fatman, bagged Lady Ann Sercome.

She's meant to be seriously hot right? And probably a fair bit younger than George. Don't tell me it's his personality. Is Le Carre maybe hinting that George is a sex god?

Listening to Rhinestone Cowboy, which I absolutely love. Seems gay, right? He's talking about strutting out in a star-spangled spandex (yoga pants? disco jumpsuit? Leotard?). Getting applauded in a definitely gay costume - maybe he was into drag?

I have a strong image of him as a gay diva and I love it!

https://preview.redd.it/ss5sy2zom1bh1.png?width=1485&format=png&auto=webp&s=c0b8f80ea3186adb6dc13b24cb518b267a29971f

What do people think about this book? I'm starting to question if Hobsbawm was even a Marxist. He is very undogmatic - most of the time I feel like it could be written by a capitalist. There is a sense throughout that the intellectual drift of the age is going to culminate in Marx but he never says that outright. Should I be reading him or will he corrupt my thoughts?

Sorry but someone has to say it. Torturous read. I hated all the characters and they weren't even interesting. Cathy is toxic and Heathcliffe is boring. Interminable book. I kept praying for the end.

Thoughts?

1. Anyone else skip any scenes between Rupert and Taggie? I don't care about the age difference, I just find them boring.

2. Why have Venturer spent so long on the Yeats documentary? This is 1 hour of TV right - or am I missing something? Venturer seem to have blown their entire budget on a 1 hour documentary which, let's face it, isn't going to attract huge crowds.