The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War, and the World Anti-Fascist War. Russian WWII veteran Viktor Krivashov

How the Red Army Liberated China – a 100-Year Old Soviet Veteran – Viktor Krivashov – Remembers! (31.8.2025)

In Moscow, Harry Puyi learned to dress himself, hold his own penis when urinating, and clean himself whilst defecating. Puyi also learned to feed himself, and make his own bed – whilst helping others as an ordinary person. In his spare-time, Puyi studied Marxist-Leninism and Maoism. When he finally returned to his homeland – he could understand exactly what was happening – and why it had happened. He gave-up his four wives and endless concubines and settled-down with a businesswomen as a wife whilst he earned a living as a common gardener. Meanwhile, Stalin handed the entirety of Manchuria to Mao Zedong and the Communists – together with all the Japanese industrial machinery and captured munitions and weaponry. This boost gave the Chinese Communist the impetus they needed to finally defeat the US-backed Nationalists (who were just as fascistic as the Imperial Japanese) and liberate the whole of China. When the Trotskyite – Khrushchev – betrayed Stalin in 1956, the Sino-Soviet Split developed (Mao stayed loyal to Stalin) and the Soviet contribution to the Chinese Revolution was pushed into the background and discussed less openly in public. It is ironic that it is a capitalist Russia which has been pushed closer to a Socialist China – and that it has become expedient for both sides to brush-off elements of their shared history for mutual political benefit. Until recently, many young Chinese people were not taught that the Soviets had any part in their eventual liberation. As Marx said – history often repeats itself twice…

Adrian the Monk - 2025

Report: Ghost Hunting in North Devon! (29.8.2025)

With most of the lights off by 11pm, I sat on my religious chair (the Church dates back to the 14th century – and so does the chair). I cleared my mind and immersed myself into the ancient nature of the stone-work. The stone was cool to the touch – I went bare-foot to ground myself – and felt the calm structure of the place. No fear, no deception, and nothing to worry about, Although I neither support or oppose theology – I sensed the spiritual feel that all the attendees developed and projected into rge physical structure of the place. In many places in the UK, the Christians deliberately built their Churches on already existing Pagan sites of ancient spirituality – with nothing to do with a Christian god. The mistake that Christians make is that their own mind creates the religion they believe in – but they mistakenly believe that their religion exists “outside” their heads, independent of the mind that generates it. The perception is inverted and the wrong way around.

Author Diane Wyles 2023

Diane Wyles [Author] – a Ghost Story – “An American Airmen in Oxford”! (28.8.2025)

My father ran into the room and found no one there. From what I remember – it was not dark – so I suppose it must have been a Summer’s evening. The room was clean, tidy, and painted in a bright colour – probably off-white, or something like that. It is a curious event as I have never seen anything similar in my life. Whatever the case, the Editor – HE Bulstrode (a friend of mother) – gathered all these stories together and I think the original author’s should have been credited. Still, this is just what I am doing in this post. Did I imagine an event that other people I do not know (or have ever met) experienced exactly the same delusion? How could this happen? Why would this happen? Interesting.

A square commemorating peace is pictured at a museum transformed from the Weihsien concentration camp in Weifang, east China's Shandong Province, on May 2, 2025. (Weihsien West Civilians Concentration Camp Site Museum/Handout via Xinhua)

China: Legacy of WWII Concentration Camp honours Friendship & Peace! (28.8.2025)

During the event, Stanley met Han Chongbin, an 80-year-old whose father once aided expatriates at the Weihsien concentration camp.

“At that time, out of pity for the internees, my father spent his own money to buy candy and brought eggs from home, managing to send them into the concentration camp. In return, the internees dismantled an iron bed and sent it out,” Han said. “He never expected that his help would be ‘rewarded.'”

In 2019, Han donated the iron bed to the museum. Now a museum volunteer, he shares stories about that period of history with visitors.

With the help of translators, he and Stanley shared a heartfelt conversation, holding hands like old friends. “Peace is our common aspiration,” Stanley said.

“Remembering suffering is not perpetuating hatred; it is igniting the beacon of hope for the future,” said Ayo Ayoola-Amale, vice chair of the governing council of International Cities of Peace.

“Weifang’s commitment to preserving this legacy — establishing the camp’s memorial museum, inviting descendants of survivors to return, and educating younger generations with truth — epitomizes the deepest practice of peace. Such courage deserves global recognition,” she said.

Respect for God!

North Devon: St Peter’s Church – Bratton Fleming! (26.8.2025)

This must be the most spectacular integration of religion and secularism. I never thought I would live to see the Church of England finally give-up their last line of sanctity and allow all and sundry to stay as many nights as they can afford – and do whatever they like during their stay – providing the interior of the Church is not damaged. As an academic who uses the average Church as an early form of a search-engine – I find this a fascinating opportunity – albeit slightly disturbing and a little bizarre. Theravada Buddhist Temples, of course, allow practitioners to stay within their interiors – being fed and cared for free – providing there is space. Absolutely NO money is asked for or required (a Buddhist monastic must not touch money of any type). Not all Buddhist Temples follow this idea outside of Thailand, Sri Lanka, or Laos, etc, but they should do.

I Can See Your Thoughts...

Dialectical Materialism & Rebirth for Marxists! (26.8.2025)

In a moment – things dialectically change forever. When the axe fell on the neck of Charles I in 1649 – the ancient convention of an absolute monarch in England ended forever. How could this have happened? Well, there was a Revolution which saw tens of thousands fight and die in England so that the emerging bourgeois class could usurp political power from the aristocracy. There was no future for the absolute monarchy. And yet the agency of the “moment”, despite its nature, continue to manifest unabated. Rebirth is not reincarnation – the Buddha hinted about the former but rejected the latter. Rebirth may not be what the average Marxist thinks it is. An effective Marxist regime must be replicated effectively from one generation to the next.

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