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petemonks.bsky.social
Boring Australian suburban dad. Recipient of participation awards for Kosovo, East Timor, Afghanistan and a few other things and places. Militantly centrist and firmly opposed to authoritarianism. Going by @Pete_Monks back at the old place. #NGFHQ
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I’m revisiting the excellent “Fire and Fortitude” by John C. McManus - the first volume of his three-volume history of the US Army in WW2’s Pacific Theatre - for #histbookchat and #photofriday this week

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

Five favorite b&w films: The Battle of Algiers Twelve Angry Men The Cruel Sea Dr. Strangelove Psycho

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

It’s a well-written and detailed WW2 regimental history for #histbookchat and #photofriday this week - “Target Tank”, the history of the 2/3rd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery. Raised in Sydney, it fought at Tobruk, first and second El Alamein, New Guinea and Borneo 1/5

submitted 11 days ago • 1 comment

If you see this quote with energy you bring to Bluesky

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

Visiting Rome and the Vatican City with my wife about 25 years ago, I confidently told her “no, we’re not seeing the Sistine Chapel here, we’ll see that with all of Michelangelo’s other stuff when we get to Florence” I still get to hear about this at regular intervals.

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

Give or take a year, this was my grandfather’s timeline. I don’t think he really enjoyed growing up in a slum, being wounded at Passchendele, having an infant son die during the Great Depression, or going back to war in his forties. 1/2

submitted 16 days ago • 1 comment

As a (completely unremarkable) ex-professional soldier I generally pick holes in this genre and don’t find a lot that is really impressive of revelatory (or even particularly well-written) 1/2

submitted 19 days ago • 1 comment

My nightmare scenario for the US involves ICE co-opting/deputising some of the less professional local sheriff and police departments (and even parts of the National Guard from red states) to get the sort of mass it needs to be a de-facto Browhshirts force.

submitted 23 days ago • 1 comment

About halfway through “Vanished Kingdoms:The History of Half-Forgotten Europe” by Norman Davies for #histbookchat and #photofriday this week

submitted 25 days ago • 4 comments

If you are military, ex-military, or defence-adjacent the easier question to answer is “which movies DONT do that?”

submitted 30 days ago • 0 comments

It’s as simple as “redirect money from actual capability to throwing money to vapourware and chimeras that techbros will promise but won’t actually deliver anything useful”

submitted 32 days ago • 0 comments

There are people who will see this as an upside of creeping fascism. Don’t like having a woman as a boss, working with a minority, or even a neighbour with a nicer yard and truck? Good news, you are only a phone call of having them picked up by goons with guns for no real reason.

submitted 32 days ago • 3 comments