Is It True More Mines Were Closed By Left-hero Harold Wilson In His 2 Terms Than In Thatchers 3

Is Tony Blair becoming a latter-day Tony Benn? I heard him speaking on Brexit today and thought he was the most credible commentator yet.

Tony Benn and Tony Blair were at opposite ends of the EU spectrum. Benn believed in direct democracy and did not support the way decisions were proposed by the EU Commission. He wanted MEPs or Member States to have a direct input and suggested that omission is undemocratic. It's a somewhat pedantic argument because proposals have to be ratified by member states before they become law. The argument against giving the power to propose legislation to MEPs or member States is that it would be too cumbersome and cause too much delay. Someone compared it to going into a restaurant where there's no menu and ordering what you fancy. The restaurant would find it impossible to satisfy everyone whereas if there's a menu you can choose what you prefer.Jeremy Corbyn is in Benn's corner and that's why he can’t bring himself to support a second referendum. Benn lived through two world wars and could see the advantage of close cooperation with Europe but he also loved power and was not one to share it. An excellent orator but his inability to see the bigger picture prevented his ever reaching the top.Blair had the quality Benn lacked and had flexibility and ability to see a problem in the round. The Good Friday Agreement is a good example whilst the Iraqi War was not. The latter is the one he's remembered for and gives his detractors an endless supply of ammunition. Despite that I prefer Blair because of his flexibility whereas Benn was set in his ways and never accepted representative democracy .

What are some of the best movies based on true events, that are educational as well?

Adding some more movies, I don't know whether they have added already or not.Catch Me If You Can based on  the life of Frank Abagnale JrSchindler’s List A true story of Oskar Schindler during World War II – a man who saw the Jewish Holocaust in Holland and changed from corrupt businessman to a concerned employer. American Gangster Based on the true story of drug lord Frank Lucas and the detective who brought him downRaging Bull based on Italian American boxer we all know as Jake LaMottaErin Brockovich based on Erin BrockovichRemember the Titans based on African-American football coach Herman Boone8 mileCharlie Wilson's War based on the biography of  U.S. congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone , a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afganistan.The Fifth Estate as all know based on wikileaks.Rescue Dawn A Christian Bale movie based on the true story of German-American pilot Dieter Dengler who was shot down and captured by villagers sympathetic to the Pather Lao during an American military campaign in the Vietnam War.The Bank job based on 1971 baker street robbary.Public Enemies based on John Herbert Dillinger an american gangster and bank robber.Bombay The film is centred on events, particularly during the period of December 1992 to January 1993 in India.Dr.Prakash Baba Amte (Regional Movie-Marathi). The life and work of Dr. Prakash Amte, a selfless doctor who devoted his life to helping the tribal people in the forests of western Maharashtra.I am Sindhutai Sapkal (Marathi movie) based on a woman who became a social activist after a traumatic life.Thanks Mangesh Honale Sourab Agarwal for more suggestions.

Is it true that Stalin became a pacifist in his last years of life?

That is so far from the truth it’s likd saying up is down. After the war we had at Yalta in February 1945 agreed to return all Russian POW’s back to Russia, and they were considered cowards and scum for surrendering. The majority were sent too the gulags or executed for their crime. This is how Stalin thought.Whole minority’s like the tatars who Stalin deemed as collaborators were shipped to Siberia, and I mean all of them.In about 1951 or 1952 Stalin was ready too start another purge, Jewish doctors who Stalin thought were trying to poison him. If he hadn’t died in March 1953 lord knows how many innocent victims would have suffered at Stalin’s hands. He was even more paranoid near the end of his life, so pacificist not even close.Marshal Zhukov who earned I think 3 or 4 hero of the Soviet Union medals was suspected of getting to chummy with the West, and was sent to the Far East because Stalin was jealous of this brilliant man that basically saved the Soviet Union. The only reason he wasn’t executed was, he was too popular to kill.Whatever they say about Hitler, Stalin was 10 tines worse, his paranoia was so extreme it can’t be put into words. He probably caused 20 million deaths of his own people.It’s hard to find a book about him that is an easy read, but there was a movie made during the war starring Walter Huston who was the American ambassador to Russia, it is so glossed over so as not to offend our ally that we needed during the war, but the movie is such a farce you almost want to throw up. It’s called Mission to Moscow about Joseph E Davies.