STRIKE THE TRUTH

Violette Szabo’s name might not be as universally recognized as some other wartime heroes. However, her story of courage, resilience, and sacrifice during World War II stands as a powerful testament to the human spirit’s capacity for heroism. As a British-French secret agent, Szabo's efforts in the fight against Nazi oppression not only demonstrated exceptional bravery but also left a lasting legacy. This blog explores the life of Violette Szabo, delving into her early years, her path to espionage, her daring missions, and her enduring legacy. Violette Szabo EARLY LIFE Violette Reine Elizabeth Bushell was born on June 26, 1921, in Paris, France. Her father was English and her mother was French. She was the second child of the family, and the only daughter. Violette had four other brothers who influenced her to be strong, independent and courageous. Her parents met during the First World War, when her father Charles George Bushell, met her mother, Reine Blanche Leroy. She was a dres...

Sefton Delmer, a British journalist turned master propagandist, played a shadowy yet pivotal role in the Allied efforts during World War II. Fluent in both German and English, Delmer's early career saw him rubbing shoulders with Hitler, gaining unique insights that he would later weaponize against the Nazis.  During the war, Delmer led secretive black propaganda missions, creating fake German radio stations that broadcast misleading information to undermine Nazi morale. In this week's post, we delve into his cunning strategies and mysterious broadcasts that sowed confusion among enemy ranks. These efforts cemented his legacy as a pioneering force in psychological warfare. Sefton Delmer was a master at propaganda against Germans in WWII  EARLY LIFE Born on May 24, 1904, in Berlin to Australian parents with Jewish roots, Denis Sefton Delmer was immersed in a bicultural environment from an early age. His father, Frederick, was a professor of English literature at Berlin Universit...

As we get into the second week of the Ukraine - Russia conflict, concerns are rising that the aggressors will deploy harmful thermobaric weapons, or so called ''vacuum bombs''. If these are used, the human cost and environmental damage will be insurmountable. Fears are that the Kremlin is getting increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of the conflict and will escalate offences to make Ukraine fall. In this post we will have a look at these awful explosives, which have been dubbed the ''poor man's nuclear weapon''. WHAT ARE THERMOBARIC WEAPONS? Also known as aerosol bombs or fuel air explosives, thermobaric weapons are two-staged munitions designed to use the oxygen in the air to explode. Fuel air explosives are the worst type of thermobaric weapons. A Russia thermobaric MRLS system Unlike typical explosives, that have a mixture of fuel and oxidizing agent that would cause them to ignite, these vacuum bombs are just filled with fuel and r...

The destruction of Ukraine is now in its third day. The horrors that Russia keeps inflicting on this independent country keeps shocking the world more and more. If we thought that first and second day were bad, the third day is even worse.  The Russian forces are getting closer to Kyiv, in fact some are in the capital, destroying it with bombs and mass shooting. United States predicts that the Ukrainian capital, and seat of the government, will fall in the next few days.  A residential building in the suburbs of Kyiv that was damaged in the conflict After Kyiv will fall, Russia is free to install its puppet government and fully take over Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could be executed. What kind of horror are we, in the West, allowing to happen in Europe?  I, for one, knew about the existence of Zelenskyy in a joke conversation about how a young comedian became president of Ukraine, and now I am writing about his impeding death. That is a too sick thought to bear...

In this series, we have covered the poisonings of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal. We explored the events that led up to the pair comatose on a park bench and fighting for their lives. In Part 3 , we looked at how two individuals, Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, where responsible for the attack. Eventually, investigative journalists found that Ruslan Boshirov was GRU Colonel Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga, and Alexander Petrov was, in fact, Alexander Mishkin. He is a doctor in the GRU.  In the final instalment of this series, we will have a look at the devastating death of Dawn Sturgess. A British national that thought she got some nice perfume as a present, but instead it was a death sentence. We will also check what the international and British reaction was to these tragic events.  DAWN STURGESS  On June 30th, Charlie Rowley found a bottle of perfume called Premier Jour by Nina Ricci. It was wrapped up in plastic, so he thought he scored a goo...

In Part 2 of the series, we had a look at the family moving to England and finished with Sergei and Yulia lying on a park bench, foaming at the mouth and comatose. They have been exposed to the deadly nerve agent, Novichok. In this post, we will take an in-depth look at Novichok and also at the two perpetrators of this crime, and the events that transpired.  NOVICHOK AGENTS  Novichok agents are a group of deadly nerve agents that have been developed in the Soviet Union, under their poisons program. ( We covered this in THIS post.) They were developed under a programme with the codename FOLIANT.  Examples of structures of Novichok agents  The Novichok agents first came to media awareness when a Russian chemist, Dr Vil Mirzayanov reported on their existence to Russia media in the 1990s. He wrote about it in his book, State Secrets, and even published the chemical formula. He moved to the USA around the same time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the s...