My blogs

Submarine Matters

About me

Gender	Male
Industry	Communications or Media
Occupation	Writer via political, intel & military blogging.
Links	Wishlist
Introduction	Pete has an MA (Strategic Studies, High Distinction average); more than 40 years experience on international political, military and intelligence matters. Lived in Australia, what was West Germany, Fort Hood Texas, Washington DC, travelled through most US states eg. Pease FB-111 nuclear bomber base in 1985. London, most of UK. Visited most NATO countries in Europe, never Warsaw Pact, Mumbai when it was Bombay, Southeast Asia, Hawaii, Tahiti during the nuclear tests, etc.
Interests	Even Peaceful history & politics worldwide. Centrist politically. Atheist irreligiously. Am conditionally a constitutional monarchist, care about poor ill King Charlie and Princess Kate. Here's Zadok the Priest - the Coronation Anthem https://youtu.be/HG2UMO6rZd4?si=fqqzk5BPozs8HgHX : I admire the polymath Professor Alice Roberts https://youtu.be/px0LIhPIWXs?t=15s and Princess Kate, of course :) https://youtu.be/oFr4jmAVUn0?si=ZeK6GY2zCWmFZ4t- . Love all sports as long as they're Grand Slam Tennis and the Tour de France.
Favorite movies	"Spies of Terror" great French DGSI / DGSE series; "The Crown" series: "The Angel" Egyptian-Israeli double agent extraordinaire: "Queen's Gambit" & "Bodyguard" both on Netflix. "The Spy" (great series, where "Borat" plays dead serious character) : "Baghdad Central" series; "The Right Stuff"; "The Graduate" https://youtu.be/grSyetZVOD0 : "Dr. Strangelove" https://youtu.be/A9ihKq34Ozc : "West Side Story" https://youtu.be/j7TT4jnnWys?si=o6O_GOkyaFVS8jlE ; "Dr Zhivago" https://youtu.be/vXtFRl1nSs4 : "The Deer Hunter" https://youtu.be/9Bbm-7vdlbs ; "Forrest Gump" https://youtu.be/w4qINY8KYpM : "Young Frankenstein" https://youtu.be/RyU99BCNRuU : "Das Boot" (movie & TV series); "Darling" with lovely, still living, Julie Christie; "Amadeus" https://youtu.be/th_ro9CiASc ; "Letterkenny" & "Shoresy" ; "The Bureau" (DGSE series, brilliant), "The Looming Tower" (AQ, but mainly FBI vs CIA); "Peaky Blinders" series; "Outlander" (TV, time travel), "Killing Eve", "The Americans" (Sov illegals series); "Berlin Station" series; "Homeland" shows people with bipolar can succeed in intelligence, if handled properly...! ; "Mad Men" series; "Life of Brian" ; "Bridge of Spies"; "Master and Commander"; "Good the Bad and the Ugly"; "Lawrence of Arabia"; "Empire of the Sun" https://youtu.be/i_WiDVA1kLY?si=g-DKptJeIKjyKrUf ; "Zero Dark Thirty"; "Year of Living Dangerously" https://youtu.be/IL6BqLMZJyA?si=MZUhc5rnBCJNuDsO ; "Young Einstein" https://youtu.be/WtP4yQNpNF4?t=17s ; "National Lampoon Christmas Vacation"; In memory of my late Dad, a true soldier scholar who was interviewed 25 seconds into this Video https://australiansatwarfilmarchive.unsw.edu.au/archive/667-henry-john-coates
Favorite music	Dreams https://youtu.be/Y3ywicffOj4?si=ExglCIH3usBZfFWJ ; Kath Jenkins https://youtu.be/6x_jgWm0QFA?si=jkljB0FOgZPaCnxP : Unchained Melody https://youtu.be/UQI5lGQ7G4c?si=9_NK_cDy2jt8m7Qx : Beatles https://youtu.be/CGj85pVzRJs?si=MMszWXAGx8qn-KUM : Corrs https://youtu.be/_GIT-ee4Pzw?si=T3_nzFC5pVW-8XwQ ; Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring https://youtu.be/yLZu-aPtqio?si=kQ10NCsLb5LRtlBa&t=20s : Bach’s BWV 1056 https://youtu.be/zc5lhK00GSg?si=k8E7HVoG5lJBJSCV ; Call Me Maybe https://youtu.be/uCeMZccDMA0?si=ppzE2yGVUajK74SC : Classical Gas https://youtu.be/EEzyrpfrPEI?si=O--NGFy5ariN4hyq : Solitary Man https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAtwg1BwKek ; Echoes https://youtu.be/QnC6l56g_V4 : Cute Russian lass in jeans https://youtu.be/70hG3JrAS5E : Ukraine https://youtu.be/einTXaSeGAI : Cheryl https://youtu.be/55YrUmhhW14 : Streets of London https://youtu.be/SpLMpu2-MXo ; Farewell Aunty Jack https://youtu.be/1c8XootJfSA?si=ycGWyv1IZcVsB0O6 ; Stevie Nicks https://youtu.be/WM7-PYtXtJM?si=Kzx76et1ACgrsnvL ; Seekers https://youtu.be/wZf41UudAbI?t=30s : LedZep https://youtu.be/QkF3oxziUI4?si=Rn1JASa0SPj7fs5Q : Beatles 10 Arias https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPMWJx91sxY : US Civil War https://youtu.be/78SOjurJkHk?si=oVQA7clFP9Y-uhEL ; Babooshka https://youtu.be/6xckBwPdo1c?si=E-RNaaKU2SqQjknd : Peter, Paul and Mary (a Mezzo-soprano Goddess :) https://youtu.be/Ld6fAO4idaI ; "Jet Plane" https://youtu.be/IVEATF7VNTk ; Wagner's Pilgrims https://youtu.be/xALV8Er0Mf0?t=2m : Dido https://youtu.be/ryaDOcEej2Q : Unofficial Aussie Anthem https://youtu.be/rjkrjYitgeA ; Louis Armstrong's What A Wonderful World https://youtu.be/p-T6aaRV9HY ; Cheryl again https://youtu.be/iWBebX4M-Nw?si=7wqiFRaVAz9KzJGU&t=1m4s
Favorite books	"Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter (APDR)" magazine; Charles McCarry's "Tears of Autumn"; "Chinese Espionage: Ops & Tactics" 2nd Ed by Nicholas Eftimiades; "Revealing Secrets" [Australian SigInt]; Tracy Walder's "The Unexpected Spy"; Vipin Narang's "Seeking the Bomb"; "The Hacker and the State" by Buchanan; "Queen of Spies" by Park (probably much still current on SIS); "History of the Five Eyes" by Richard Kerbaj : [SOE/OSS/CIA] "Woman of No Importance" by Sonia Purnell, "The China Mirage: The Hidden History of American Disaster in Asia" : "Warrior Elite" by Robert Macklin : "Super Nuke!" by C.C. Jett, (best example of Australia's huge future SSN project) : Most novels by UK's Stella Rimington (ex-DG MI5) : "My Beautiful Spy" by Colin Falconer ; "Agent Storm: My Life Inside al-Qaeda" ; "In the Enemy's House" by Howard Blum ; Man Without a Face" (autobiog by Stasi-External's long-time boss, Markus Wolf): "One Crowded Hour" fictionalised in "Highways to a War" by Christopher Koch; "Agent Running in the Field" last le Carré, "On Her Majesty's Nuclear Service" by Eric Thompson; "In Extremis" by Hilsum; "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" by T E Lawrence; "Under Pressure" by Humphreys (very funny); "Che Guevara" by Jon Lee Anderson ; "The Skripal Files" by Mark Urban, "Nine Lives" (MI6 agent in AQ); "Monkeys in the Dark" by Blanche d'Alpuget ; "Hemingway's Secret Adventures" by Reynolds; "Gideon's Spies" (Mossad); "The Spy and the Traitor", "Agent Sonya" and all other books by Ben Macintyre; "Family of Spies" (Walker ring); Adam Brookes' "Night Heron, Spy Games & Spy's Daughter"; "Stasiland" & "All That I Am" both by Anna Funder; "Deep Under Cover" by Jack Barsky; "Running Critical" (Rickover); "The Rickover Effect" by Rockwell; "Year of Living Dangerously" by Christopher Koch; "Blind Man's Bluff"; Run Silent Run Deep; "Agents of Innocence" by David Ignatius; Polmar & Moore's "Cold War Submarines"; all novels by Tom Sharpe eg. the anti-Apartheid "Riotous Assembly".