Pete2
My blogs
| Industry | Communications or Media |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Writer via political and military blogging. |
| Introduction | I, Peter Coates "Pete2" have an MA (Strategic Studies, High Distinction average) more than 40 years experience on international political, military & intel matters. I have written more than 2,300 reports, which remain available on this website for free. If you've arrived at an old article, to get to the latest article, just click on the largest blue blog title up top. Best way to navigate this site is to put a keyword in the search box, top left corner. This blog is also stored at the Australian National Library's Trove webarchive at https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20170323141737/http://gentleseas.blogspot.com/ . For my complete profile click on the "B Pete2" above. Shawn C. is an excellent author. |
| Interests | Even Peaceful history & politics worldwide. Centrist politically. Atheist irreligiously. Monty Python fan eg. Bruces' Philosophers' Song https://youtu.be/a1sn0ZSfnMo?si=lsp2BM73vTOOo0ly or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_OIs49m56E . Am conditionally a constitutional monarchist, unless King Charlie stuffs up. Charlie burnt out many staff when he was Prince! Here's Zadok the Priest with Monarchs through History https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIvy-gqTOvc : Have crush on the polymath Professor Alice Roberts https://youtu.be/px0LIhPIWXs?t=15s . Love all sports as long as they're Tennis or 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 Capture" 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); "Enemy at the Gates" [Stalingrad sniper]"; "Darling" with lovely, still living, Julie Christie; "Amadeus" https://youtu.be/th_ro9CiASc ; "Letterkenny" Canuckistanis https://youtu.be/NXpmR4V78Fo ; "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", "Informer" UK series, "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 | Bach’s BWV 1056 late Glenn Gould on piano https://youtu.be/a0n99OopdpA?si=UmKWooH2G0MLlKPn&t=3m37s ; Classical Gas https://youtu.be/EEzyrpfrPEI?si=O--NGFy5ariN4hyq : I can dance https://youtu.be/Cb_f9DHbgG8?si=YZx1jp7CRGmcwjpv : 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 ; I'm too sexy https://youtu.be/sQNDXjdsQHo?si=rZ1NG43hcBKC025e ; Farewell Aunty Jack https://youtu.be/1c8XootJfSA?si=ycGWyv1IZcVsB0O6 ; Corrs https://youtu.be/yJnHrKMKg9I ; Seekers https://youtu.be/wZf41UudAbI?t=30s : Beatles https://youtu.be/Qyclqo_AV2M & https://youtu.be/kc1DVyZ_t20 : Shutupayouface https://youtu.be/sFacWGBJ_cs?si=bHyNImE73zPWefcc ; US Civil War https://youtu.be/1VK1KcZoDu0 ; Maxine https://youtu.be/wp43OdtAAkM : ; 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 |
| Favorite Books | "Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter (APDR)" magazine; "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 Australia's Judy Nunn and UK's Stella Rimington (ex-DG MI5) : "The Palace Papers" by Tina Brown : "My Beautiful Spy" by Colin Falconer ; "Agent Storm: My Life Inside al-Qaeda" ; "In the Enemy's House" by Howard Blum ; "The World's Greatest Submarines" by David Ross; "Man Without a Face" (autobiog by Stasi-External's longtime 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". |