King Arthur meets Robin Hood

 Are the Robin Hood and Arthurian Legends connected ....?

It might not seem so obvious, but on closer Scrutiny it looks like they are. Arthur obviously goes back to ancient times, sometimes pre-Christian and often at the same time the Romans withdrew from Britain. Indeed, some believe he was part-Roman. But why did later Kings and Queens hark back to him, and why was this concurrent with when the famous Robin Hood Stories were set? 

In the Search for a real Robin Hood or King Arthur there are many Candidates as we have seen via the myriad Books, Documentaries and Academic Researchers over the years. Some are quite valid, and a few probably very real - but it's not just about who they might have been, it's also what they represent, and that's far more important.

Historical Figures appear in Timelines and Biographies since History began after all, but do they represent anything?

The Arthurian Legend in its more recognisable Form appeared in the 12th Century when Chretien - under the Patronage of Eleanor of Aquitaine - wrote his Stories on the Subject. 

This was a time when Britain was in tumult. Henry 2nd was at war with his own Sons, who were at war with each other, while Eleanor even endured imprisonment at their Hands. The Country needed someone to unify it.

This wasn't that long after a Civil War called "The Anarchy" wracked the Country - when King David of Scotland supported Matilda's Claim to the Throne against the usurperous King Stephen. In what looks like a throwback to another Age her Claim was like that of a Celtic Queen, a latter Day Boudicca or anglo-celtic Maeve, legitimate regardless of Gender, unlike Stephens Patrimony. And that was the Problem, her Lineage, although far more representative, with Malcolm of Scotland and Margaret of Wessex in the Mix, was matrilineal. Matilda doing Girl Power 1000 years before the Spice Girls. Stephens Claim might have ticked all the Patrilineal Boxes, but none of his Ancestors were from this Side of the English Channel.

She prevailed in the end, Stephen died and her Son became Henry 2nd, the first Plantagenet King, but one from her Bloodline.

So who better to be a "once and future King" than a Descendant of both the Norman Angevin Plantagenets and the Britons, Scots and Saxons? What's even better was how he was called Arthur, Son of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Margaret of Huntingdon's Daughter - Constance, also descended from Alfred. While Richard was next in line after the deposed King Henry the younger, I suspect Eleanor thought her Son wouldn't last very long as he spent more time on the Battlefield than at Court. And very little time in Britain.

Thus, the next in line from him was Arthur, and what better way to promote him than to have the Courtly Poet of the Day write epic Stories about him!

The problem was that while he was the legal Heir should anything happen to Richard, he was also very young when his Uncle was killed at Chalus, being only 12. We are told the King reluctantly chose John as his Heir for that reason.

John immediately imprisoned his Nephew and In the Chaos that ensued during his Reign Arthur must have looked increasingly like a Threat. Someone who might bring unity to the Realm that he obviously couldn't. Arthur had the stronger Claim via his Mother's very anglo-british/scottish Lineage, and John had him murdered, although it's felt he did the dirty deed himself. Arthur effectively disappeared.

The thing was, Arthur being the Great Grandson of Henry of Scotland meant John had killed someone who was also a Cousin or Nephew of an Earl of Huntingdon.

Sound familiar?

Myths and Legends aside there are several instances where actual History supports the Story .....

The 1194 Siege of Nottingham.

David Earl of Huntingdon, with Ranulph of Chester (his future Brother in Law) and William Marshal were joined by the Armies of King Richard during the Siege of Nottingham Castle. Supporters of John were holed up there and after several days brutal Fighting finally surrendered. It was said Richard went hunting in Sherwood and met a certain Robin Hood. Could he and the Earl be one and the same?

After the King died and John took the Throne David's position became a difficult one. He was even said to have been outlawed for Debts and had huge Tracts of his English Estates seized by King John. In 1212 he was accused of a Plot to assassinate the King, and while this was never proved one of those who was was Robert Fitzwalter, Father of his Wife Matilda (who Anthony Mundy turned into Marion). He was also obliged to side with his Nephew King Alexander of Scotland during the Barons War that would lead to Magna Carta. So did Llewelyn of Gwynedd.

While David might have supported Johns Coronation in 1199 - probably to stave off any anticipated backlash against his Actions years before - all this happened anyway, and as it continued and facts became known about the fate of his Cousin/Nephew Arthur at Johns Hands the Legend starts taking root as maybe there was retribution somewhere in his Motives.

Quite a lot of very real historical Reasons why he would be regarded as an Outlaw fighting a Prince who became King John.

Bolstered by how Arthur might have been a better King instead of the Misery, Chaos and Disaster of John's Reign. Arthur might have been close to the Capetian Kings in France, but this might have prevented the disastrous Wars John had fought with them.

Then, of course David was also the Ancestor of a certain Robert Earl of Annandale - who we all know as Robert the Bruce.

But all that was a long way off, and in the interim we had the second Barons War and the appearance of Simon De Montfort.

At first the years after John seemed comparatively peaceful and Magna Carta was re-established. It finally looked like the Tumult had ended. Unfortunately Henry 3rd wanted to install his own Network of feudal Rulers and either own Britain's Castles himself or planttate loyal Barons in them. This effectively undid the Agreement made with the Charter at Runnymede and it's revised and updated version a few years later.

The 1258 Provisions of Oxford attempted to establish monarchial Accountability with the Barons which Henry reneged on, prompting the War, which De Montfort won in 1264. This was when we began seeing the emergence of a certain Edward Longshanks - who would be Edward 1st.

Prince Edward finally defeated De Montfort at the Battle of Evesham, rescuing his Father from Captivity and De Montfort was drawn and quartered, his Remains sent to supporters as a warning. Some of these retreated into the Forests and became Outlaws, one of whom was a Yeoman called Roger Godberd.

There was another Character called Robert who was Friends with a Sheriff of Nottingham called Reginald De Grey until they fell out and he had to go into hiding as another Outlaw. And on it went, with John and his Henchmen from the Story being replaced by Edward and his. 

Until the Scottish War of Independence, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.... hence the occasionally Scottish Claims to a Robin Hood, reinforced by some Welsh, due to their Battles with the very plantagenet Edwards. The Earls of Huntingdon being Kings and Princes of Scotland after all.

Then there were the Tudors .. or Tewdwrs!

These People really could claim British Kingship through their very British Ancestry, going back to the Prince's of Gwynedd and Deheubarth. Even after Edwards conquest of Wales they remained very aware of their Welsh Heritage. Owen Tudor - the progenator of the Line - had Family who fought for Owain Glyndwr. He became a Courtier and finally married Catherine of Valois, Henry Vths Widow. With her he had a Son called Edmund and he had a Son called Henry. More of him in a Moment. 

There was a time when Owen went into outlawry after Catherine died and he lost the Protection of the Dowager Queen. He was pardoned by King Henry Vl, reinstated with a Pension and Position in Court and given the Job of running an Estate in Denbigh. Another familiar Robin Hood Theme, the Outlaw pardoned by a King and given Title and Position.

The War of the Roses and the arrival of Henry Tudor. 

He was the Son of Edmund Tudor who was Henry Vl half Brother, so a blood Relative of the King. Being a Descendant of John of Gaunt via his Mother made him part of the House of Lancaster who fought a brutal and bloody War with the House of York for nothing less than the Throne of England and Scotland.

This culminated in the Battle of Bosworth and the defeat of King Richard 3rd. Henry became King

The War was terrible, engulfing the whole Country and forcing Nobles to take sides. It left the Country in a very parlous State with deep Scars in its Psyche.

Henry was very aware of this and rather like Eleanor two Centuries earlier wanted a Successor who would unify the Country and particularly the Houses of Lancaster and York.

Thus, his oldest Son, through his Wife Elizabeth of York was born. His name? Arthur. Because of his very Welsh Ancestry the young Prince had a better Claim to the Title Prince of Wales than Edward 2nd had - and a more legitimate Claim to the Throne.

Unfortunately, despite a healthy, happy and promising early Life with his Wife Catherine of Aragon he was struck down and died of Tuberculosis at Ludlow, Shropshire in 1502. He left no Heir so his younger Brother Henry would become Henry 8th.

The many Wives and contested Children of King Henry are common Knowledge, so is how he raised the most hated Queen of the Realm and most beloved. But before that there was his very own King Joffrey.... Edward Vl .... who like the young King in "Game of Thrones" was a Tyrant drunk on Power and wasn't really fit to rule. 

Mary 1 - despite fanfare and being an end to the terrible but brief Reign of her half Brother - rapidly became even worse and earned the Epitaph "Bloody Mary". People were certainly glad to see the Back of her and her half Sister appeared as a very welcome Change as Elizabeth became 1st of her name.

Unfortunately, North of the Border another Mary wasn't having any of it and conspired with Spain to remove her. Mary Stuart, in a fit of Pique, also banned the Robin Hood Plays, so when she was finally thwarted the Stage was set for Anthony Munday to immortalise Robin as the Earl of Huntingdon - harking back to earlier Battles against Tyranny - and the great Bard himself mentioning him in his Shakespearean Plays. 

So when you read the Robin Hood Stories, examine the Era they took place, and see that a common Thread wends its way through them all - you begin to realise that there is indeed a Connection between our two most famous Legends - Robin Hood and King Arthur. 

The most popular Theme of all is how Robin the Outlaw fights for the legitimate King, or Queen, against any who would usurp him or her.

Something we have seen many times in our History, from David's support of Matilda in the 12th Century, his Grandsons support of the Lionheart, the attempts to install a couple of Arthur's to the Throne and bring Peace to the Realm, and maybe even those who worked to support and protect Queen Elizabeth 1st.

A Night to remember!

HOW THE 90's REALLY STARTED

In what sometimes feels like a Lifetime ago a Bunch of People in Bristol did something quite extraordinary. It was the Cusp of the 1980's and 90's and the World was in Flux. The Warsaw Pact was about to - and then did - collapse, a Moderate was about to rule Iran after the Ayatollah Khomeini died, the Injustice of Apartheid was ending in South Africa and even Margaret Thatcher resigned. But while all this was happening a few People scattered across the Globe fought to ensure another Injustice wasn't forgotten. Beirut had been a Black Hole where People had been killed or disappeared since the mid 1970's and some were still there. In Bristol People watched TV as one of the Disappeared, John McCarthy, had a Girlfriend in Britain who had been keeping his Memory alive. It was seeing Jill Morrell pleading for someone to do something that prompted those People to create a Music Project called International Hostage Release.

There then followed some Campaign work, Sleep-outs, Vigils and an Album Project with some very famous Names on it. Yours truly wrote the Press Pack that got everyone from Tina Turner to Midge Ure, Dire Straits to Mike Oldfield, and Deep Purple, along with the Group who dedicated "Belfast Child" to Brian Keenan, to donate a Song to the Album.

We then had an awesome Press Conference at the Waldorf Hotel in London to launch it.

It turned out to be something of a Full Stop to the 1980's and the start of the 1990's.

(Cue; someone starts the Projector)

We hear the ethereal Sissel Vocal

                                           

Rather like that Intro to a certain James Cameron Movie from 1997 - here's an (almost) Sepia tinged    Article by yours truly............................

A Story that started on a Harbourside - Bristol Hostage Vigil 1989. This was when we did a 24 Hour Sleep out, and got People to sign a Petition.

Meet the DeWitt Bucketters

 This was here, a beautiful Sailing Ship, but shouldn't there be a Couple on the Bow somewhere being "King of the World" or something?

And then - from Article to Artefacts..............................

And here is the Venue, the Adelphi at the Waldorf, and just to give it that 1912 feel someone shot it in Sepia.

Project People bringing Stuff in for the Conference, all very exciting and a spirit of Optimism prevails......

You get the Feeling People could meet here. 

Want to come to a real Party...............?

These 2 look like they already have. You could "almost" think they were in a Film or something.......!

This was all from the Press Conference the Project did - and while John Jacob Astor was the wealthiest Man on the Titanic, the Conference was at his Cousins Hotel - built in 1908, the same year as the stricken Ship, by William Waldorf Astor. How little I knew then that an epic Film would be made about that "Night to remember" a few years later!

When I was at the Conference I met the Sisters of Belfast Hostage Brian Keenan whose resolute Determination was very inspirational. Their and our Work was finally vindicated when he was released a few Months afterwards - and he wore one of our T'Shirts.

The Keenan's - like most People in Belfast - probably had Family who worked at Harland and Wolff, building the Titanic 

Yes, it really did feel like a Movie!

I have been quite vociferous about how the 90's commenced within a few years of this, but in the early 2000's I connected up with a Bloke who was a Fan of Colin Woore whose "If you really want me" appeared on the Album. I contacted him, told him about the Campaign - sending him Stuff from it - and he put together a rather nice Web Page about it ......

http://www.theeuropeans.co.uk/IHR.htm

And as a sort of Certificate of Authenticity - here's the Email exchange I had with Mr Glasswell about sending him the stuff. While someone from Slovakia might have quipped about how People have only seen something on the Internet - some of us saw all this for real!

As I mentioned it was like things started going awry as the 90's continued, and a lot of the Stuff that was supposed to happen didn't, including a Trip to Czechoslovakia. In the "Titanic" Movie we see a Slovakian desperately trapped in the Depths of the Ship, while the Film was a fitting Metaphor for what came soon after we did the Project.

Because of that, instead of "King of the World" it began looking more like this .......

And while the Fixtures and Fittings of both the Ship and the Waldorf were contemporaneous with the early 1900's and each other it's like it became this .........

           Quite poignant as the Hotel was used to film Scenes for the 1979 Film "SOS Titanic".

James Cameron's "Titanic" went on to be the most successful Film in 100 years of Film making - and influenced a lot of Creativity that came after. Some of that turned out to be "Pirates of the Caribbean" where Will Turner takes up where Rose left off by being found floating on a Piece of Driftwood....

To illustrate this someone did this awesome Artwork showing how the Films dovetailed into each other

And from 100 years of Film making to the Centenary of the 1912 Disaster; ITV made their Mini Series with a Lady of Harlech - Pandora Colin - playing the Countess of Rothes, while the Series Writer Julian Fellowes created "Downton Abbey".......... which starts with a Titanic Storyline.

The Countess might be reading the News, but who's laughing?

Every time I watch those Movies or TV Shows or hear the Celine Dion Song I am quite often reminded of that Day in 1990 when it really felt like anything was possible!

Hostage Vigil/Conference Photos/Drawings by yours truly.

Fake Road Signs .......

Invasion of the Road Signs ........

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-6848139/amp/Councils-ordered-remove-pointless-road-signs-new-guidelines.html

At least, that's what the Policy says, except maybe the Law itself has been  - erm -redirected somewhere on the Motorways as it doesn't seem to have reached the Communities.

We had several which had been up at least a Week after the Road Scheme they presumably referred to was finished. Even when it wasn't, the Road wasn't closed and the Lockdown was in full tilt, so very few People were commuting to Bristol and no-one was going to the Shopping Mall.

I mentioned it here before, about 2 years ago when we had Signs appear intermittently for no apparent Reason. There were no Roadworks, no Utilities being laid, no Telecoms or Cable TV Upgrades, no Accidents, no Street Fayres and no wide Vehicles. I thought it wasn't only unnecessary Clutter but also dangerous because it caused distraction and confusion with Drivers in an increasingly busy environment.

Let's play Spot the Roadworks .......

Any here?

Here maybe .....?

How about here?

The Fact that we are told about a new Traffic System here suggests it has been finished.

And that one shows you the finished System.

So what's with this?

........ Or even this?

There were others too ......

"Pedestrian" Signs that had been there for at least a year. Like we don't know that it is a Footpath and Cycle Track and we need these very obstructive Signs to tell us!

Unless the Lunatics are on the Grass it's a bit difficult to socially distance!

These have since been removed, either by the Council or an irate Cyclist who crashed into them trying to keep 2m away from a Pedestrian.

This isn't the only Example of anomalous Traffic Phenomena.

How about the worst Pelican Crossing in the World ........?

Maybe this is another of these crappy Jokes ..... Y'know, why did the Chicken cross the Road ...... Drone, blah!!!! 

But you stand there after pressing the Button, and wait, and wait .... and on it goes. Then, look, everything has stopped. Cars from everywhere have stopped at all the adjacent Junctions, but ....... the Green Man hasn't appeared yet, or that "Bleep, Bleep" Sound. People in their Cars start glowering at you, tapping on their Steering Wheels, wondering why you haven't crossed yet. You look back at them, wondering why they have stopped, but you aren't being told to cross, and this goes on for ages. Then the Cars start again - continuing their Journey and you feel perplexed, wondering what all that was about. Then it all starts again ..... until either you, or the Drivers say "stuff it" and decide to act anyway. All very very dangerous!

Maybe it's a Ruse by the adjacent Macdonald's to make you buy a Burger!

And with even fewer Roadworks than before Weeks later we still had this one .....

As you can see, it is so pointless even the Bus Driver chose to ignore it.

And then, they reappeared .......

Except, rather like the previous one Buses are exempt, along with anyone else who decides to ignore it. The thing is, many years ago now there used to be another rather more useful Sign here telling you about an Accident Black Spot because People couldn't see Stuff coming into the Junction where Coombe Road and Slade Road formed a Crossroads. Either this is where we do fake Brummie Accents and pretend to be Slade and check into Meg Mortimer/Noel Gordon's tacky Midlands ATV Soap Opera Motel or this is a take on the Black Spot from "Treasure Island".

Whichever we choose it's very dangerous and completely unnecessary.

And, sure enough, yet more have appeared for some incongruous Reason. Photos will be posted in the next few days ......

Watch this Space.

Here's a nice friendly Roadsign ....

If it's still there in the next day or so I'll go on Recon to see what all the Fuss was about!

Maybe one night someone might replace them with this instead .......

Or even this .......

Another Brick in the Wall huh?

How lovely??????

And there's more...... In the last 2 weeks or so we've had these .......

Don't point, it's "rude" LOL!!!!!!

Then there was this one, since pinched/removed probably because of its complete and utter uselessness.

Why were these positioned at either end of the High Street? Maybe we're in Waitrose or even the BBC Library.

The Scheduled War on China?????

Worse than M.A.D?????

There are those determined to turn Covid19 into a sort of biological Pearl Harbour, and have been spoiling for a Fight with China for years. Unlearned from History repeats itself, sometimes quite horribly, but it's an American-Japanese Fleet off the Coast of China, not a Chinese Fleet approaching Hawaii.

I'm certain People in Manchuria can appreciate the Irony!

Should we be worried about this?

Not at all, unless we remember that this was preceded by an American Destroyer being turned from the Chinese Coast 5 days ago. Reminiscent of what happened in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1965. The USS Maddox was within a few Miles of the north Vietnamese Coast before being engaged by NVA Boats. No Damage was inflicted on the Ship except a single Bullet Hole - but this was the precursor to the Vietnam War.

I've just seen a Documentary which effectively accuses the Government in Beijing of creating the Covid19 Virus and either spreading it, or causing Inertia as it made its exponential Journey through Humanity. President Trump insists he has seen Evidence of this while Scott Morrison - Australian PM says he hasn't.

Is this "Axis of Evil" the Sequel?

The Program looks very slick, far more than anything else by professional Broadcasters and Reporters, including Channel 4, the tenaciously brilliant People at "4 Corners" and the BBC. The Journalist looks and sounds like an Actor while the closing Credit Sequence might have been done by Hans Zimmer. It all looks and sounds very Hollywood and seems like the 'Production' responsible for "Axis of Evil" is at it again.

The Interviewees are intriguing.

Why is that former NSA General saying that to the Camera and not his former Boss? Another sounds like he's got a Script from GWB or Dick Cheney.

How did a Production Team glean all that info in just a few Weeks when the Security Agencies couldn't seem to in Years?

So are we being conditioned for a War with China?

The thing is, while Saddam only had fictitious WMD's the Chinese have very real ones. So did Iran and North Korea in "Axis of Evil 1" but saner Voices just about cut through the Madness and War was avoided.

A War with China can only end in one Conclusion. The so called reassurances about Nuclear War - "Duck and cover", "Protect and survive" - Shelters, Food and Medicine Stocks - are all Bulshit. It isn't the Blast, the Fire, the Fall out, Radiation or lack of Civic Order or Infrastructure that will kill ALL of us. It's the Nuclear Winter that follows. Dust in the Stratosphere that causes Years of Darkness and Cold where no Sunlight reaches the Earth. Everything dies, Flora and Fauna, there is no Food, no Warmth no Photosynthesis, no Vitamins.

People are surviving Covid19, who have recovered and now immune, and then share that with others in the form of Transfusions and Serum. Treatments are being developed and a Vaccine isn't that far off. The Lockdowns are as much of an Inconvenience as Rationing during WW2, but we got through that hopefully a better People.

NO-ONE will get through a War with China.

I'm totally for People knowing what happened with this Virus, but there's a huge difference between what REALLY happened, and what 'really' happened.

If all they get is the latter then who is to say it won't happen again?

It's like, how many Islamic Terrorist Incidents have happened after Saddam was executed on December 30th 2006? We had the London Tube Bombing in July 2007 - just one of many everywhere. As soon as this happened GWB's Claim that he was responsible for Al Qaida was shown to be wrong.

According to someone on YouTube called Military Post the American Deployment isn't particularly huge compared to the Chinese. The USS Franklyn Roosevelt is in Guam because of Covid19 while China has built Warships on a 4 to 1 Ratio to the US. This means the current USN Presence in the South China Sea is provocative, but not overwhelming. If Xi Jinping is sufficiently irritated by it he could sent a retaliatory Force to drive it off.

The M.A.D Doctrine or "Mutually Assured Destruction" meant that each Force in the Cold War could inflict such terrible devastation on the other, the World would be incinerated, thus no-one would ever do it.

This isn't and could lull Beijing or Washington into thinking a Strike would be winnable and limited. There were other Nuclear Era Wars where they believed this, but 1950 North Korea and 1965 North Vietnam weren't Nuclear capable, and neither were Galtieri in Argentina or Saddam. Both America and the Soviet Union were, thus never warred with each other. The Soviets invaded Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia but the Americans kept out of it. They had Proxies in Afghanistan but History tells us what went wrong there.

Thus, either provoking the other as they are is even more dangerous than the Cold War, or even the Cuban Missile Crisis.

And can 90's Politicians be even worse and more incompetent than President War in Cambodia, "Strategic Withdrawal" Watergate, Richard 'Tricky Dickie' Nixon?

In 1972 Nixon visited China, ending 25 Years of Isolation and met Mao Tse Tong and Zhou Enlai. It was a defining Moment in History that began a strategic and economic Process that would be felt everywhere. The Positioning with Moscow changed because of it and it resolved a Problem that had existed since the Revolution of 1949.

Every President since has visited China, seen as possibly the most important of a Presidents Itinery.

What is astonishing is this wasn't acknowledged by more recent ones. While Russia and the other former Soviet Republics signed the CFE Treaty and ended the Cold War, no such Agreement was made with Beijing. Ironically, while business ties grew and were strengthened with the PRC no Treaty exists in dealing with the Military. While you bought American Musical Instruments made in China, Beijing had its biggest Arms building Program ever.

Why didn't Bush Senior or Bill Clinton continue what was achieved with Moscow in Beijing? This might have avoided the stand-off we have now, and limited American Presence in the western Pacific!

People should say to Trump "Those 10's of 1000's of  People died in America Mr President, not somewhere off the Philippines!" How much does all that cost and presumably every Sailor, Marine and Aviator have tested negative! Ahh, they didn't and Americas biggest Military Asset in the Region is quarantined!

While People see that how must they feel if they had to cancel a Holiday or an important Business Meeting?

But the pro-War Lobby persist ............

This time we are supposed to be outraged at how the Chinese Health Ministry held "secret Meetings" as long ago as January 14th 2020 to discuss an unusual Pneumonic Illness caused by a Corona Virus. That a Memo saying this was issued to City and Province Municipalities within 24 Hours, that another was instructing them to begin a Lockdown.

Through it all we are supposed to believe it was a Cover-up meant to hide the Existence of Covid19.

But weren't our Lockdowns implemented in a 48 Hour Sequence? A gradual Process that went from Wednesday to Friday of that Week in March? That the Saturday before saw the biggest Crowds in years, from Snowdonia to Beach Resorts everywhere? That while we did this our Government also had private Meetings to discuss Strategy?

No Government is suddenly going to get on Street Tannoy Systems announcing something like this without first developing a Strategy. What would happen if Boris got on the Microphone and suddenly blurted .....

"Don't want to worry you all but a lethal Disease has arrived in Britain that we have no Treatment for and it could kill Millions!"

So what do the Producers of "China in Focus" suggest?

We put Webcams in Downing Street, the Health Ministry and all those SAGE Meetings so they are all public? That they do same in America and elsewhere?

They don't and most certainly won't.

As I've said before, they knew about the Virus on January 30th after the World Health Organisation made its Announcement and waited another 7 Weeks before bringing in the current Emergency Measures. They need to look at their own Inertia before accusing others of theirs!

While "China in focus" are critical of Beijing, who they say knew about the Virus before telling the rest of the World, Wuhan was put on Lockdown on the 23rd of January. A Week before the WHO made the announcement, so not only were they quite prompt at acting against the Virus what exactly was the rest of the World doing when a mega-City of 11 Million People and a Province the size of Italy was effectively curfewed?

What would you ask if the same thing was done in the City and State of New York? Or London and the rest of England against the rest of Britain?

Wuhan is the Travel Hub of China, not the Cold War closed City of Gorky and a statewide Lockdown in the most populated Country in the World isn't something you see every day.

As much Culpability rests with World Leaders and Media whose Inertia failed to impress on their People just how serious this is as might a Chinese Government who they feel acted in Secrecy. Hubei is on Lockdown for nearly 2 Months - but no one seemed to notice.

So while Hubei and Wuhan started resembling something from Quatermass as long ago as January 23rd what exactly were our Media reporting or writing about? There's always the continuing Soap Opera called "Posh n Beck's" I suppose, the "Kylie n Jason" of the 90's-2000's, and heck, perish the thought that the Kardashians might be deprived of their Column Inches!

I don't know about you but if I had just tried to go to or from Scotland or Wales and was greeted by Troops and armed Guards in Gas Masks on Hadrian's Wall or Offa's Dyke I'd be a bit worried!

It's the same now, as Vietnam 2 seems to be played out in the China Sea. Maybe the trite shite of All3Media is more important, although Martine's "EastEnders" stopped filming more than a Month ago. It's good to see that our Media are telling us about the potential War with China so we might be able to lobby our MPs and protest to Grosvenor Square long enough in advance to prevent it .............................................. huh!

And how about that Complacency?

Politicians weren't exactly pressured in those 2 crucial Months from the Wuhan Lockdown to ours. The Media didn't exactly fall over themselves to show us what was happening in China, and during its busiest time, the Chinese New Year.

But heck, maybe the Iraq War Flak Jacket in the Closet is getting a bit Moth eaten and they're looking for the next War to be embedded into!

And then this ...............

There's an intriguing Documentary on YouTube called "China's Secrets" about a Chinese Spy who had defected to Australia and divulged what he used to do when working for Beijing.
It claims the Australian Government had been infiltrated by China.

The thing is, it was posted on YouTube 5 Months ago which in the current Context makes it prehistoric. Comments have been switched off too.

Were the Allegations true it would severely undermine the Credibility of Scott Morrison's Government. It hasn't, and the Australian PM is unflinching in the Crisis that has prompted America's Accusations that China deliberately created and spread the Virus. If the Program had any Gravitas wouldn't Morrison have to either resign or support the American Claims? Wouldn't Australian Media be calling for a Vote of no Confidence and an Election?

Wouldn't they be using any and every Opportunity to put this to the PM and his Cabinet?
They aren't either.

Is there a concerted Effort to turn Covid19 into a Pearl Harbour and prompt a War with the Chinese?
The thing is, if this apparent Spy is what he claims Morrison would have to resign in a Scandal that makes the Profumo Affair look tame by comparison. The Defence Minister might have had a Fling with a Call Girl, but Christine Kieler never infiltrated the Government.

The Fact he hasn't speaks Volumes about his scepticism about China's deliberate infliction of the Virus.

..........................................................

Meanwhile, as the Euro-American-Japan Fleet is scaring the Crap out of everyone by flexing off the Chinese Coast, closer to home People like Richard Branson are clamouring for a Bailout.

Instead of the War mongering going on in the South China Sea how about a Peace Corp Effort? If, during WW1 and 2 Ships were requisitioned to use for Troops and Hospitals - including the SS Canberra during the Falklands War of 1982 - People like Branson should be asked if they would donate their Infrastructure Resources to the anti-Covid19 Effort. Transport is essential and Flight has replaced Ships as the main form of international Travel.

Companies like Brakes have their Vehicle Fleets lying idle at Depots while Food Producers destroy Produce. Couldn't they, and their skilled Workers be used to collect and distribute that Produce instead? There was the War Bond System during WW1 and 2, and how you bought them and were repaid once the Conflict was finished, so couldn't something similar be done with all that? That their Services might be requisitioned during the Crisis and paid for after it?

What is astonishing is how the perceived Complacency People saw in the Politicians is concurrent with an Attitude that makes some People think they have the Luxury of being as selfish or acquisitive as ever, even during this.

The Response could be one of either....

Be like President Hoover after 1929 burying your Head in the Sand and pretending there's nothing wrong, while hoping that the same Mistakes made before the Crash will somehow save the Country.
Or like President Roosevelt - and be very proactive and innovative - with new Solutions and Ideas!

One thing is certain, no-one should be like they were in 2018 once this has ended.

...............................................

A bit more than just a Jack in the Box??????

To ease People's Minds about how the Virus could be sent via Freight Covid19 can only survive on Cardboard for about 24 Hours, while Glass and Stainless Steel only sustains it for about 2-3 Days at most. Unless you have received something from Wuhan that took less than either it's impossible to have imported the Virus via any Goods you might have received!

Anything via eBay takes at least 2 Weeks!

If most things sent from China to Britain take at least a Week, and many of them up to 4 Weeks, you stand a bigger Chance of catching Covid19 from a Letter sent first class at about 4pm which arrives at 9am the next day within Britain than anything from China. If the Virus can live on Paper for 24 Hours.

If the Government even thought it was transmissible via Post and Freight Services they'd have suspended all of it. Unless you had Bats fly out of your Parcel the chances of being killed by Post are very minimal!

Also, if Rumour Mongers do decide to spread 'Theories' that the Virus arrived here via Parcels - who stands to benefit? It wouldn't be the Chinese who would lose vast amounts of a very lucrative Business, so why would they somehow deliberately inflict it via this, or any other Means? Economic Prosperity is at the very Crux of the Jinping Government, whose People put up with the Authoritarianism so this can happen. If it became apparent that it won't that Government won't last very long.

In the growing Whodunnit Tit for Tat of Blame any Accusations made towards Beijing could back fire to the other Antagonist! Also, if there was any Truth to it People in Britain would have suffered as early as the first Week of January as all that Christmas Mail came from our former Colony Hong Kong the previous December.

Having mentioned that, it's a bitter Irony that no Military Treaty was brokered by Chris Patten in his last Week's as final Governor of Hong Kong before it was handed back to what used to be called Peking.

Xi Jinping owes his very powerful Position to the recent years of economic Growth enjoyed by China due to Reforms brought in by Deng Xiaoping many years ago. He inherited those from Le Peng and others and continued them quite successfully.

But in doing so he has to balance that with hard-line Maoist Communists who would like to say "hate to say we told you so" to the Millions not yet brought up in Life by that Prosperity. Maoists who would like to see a Return to the collectivised Great Leaps Forward and Cultural Revolutions that typified the 1950's and 60's. Then there's the Oligarch Economy that has to take second place to the Party. Money does not call the Shots in Beijing against the Regime, and there are some who feel stymied by that.

The Threat posed by either is fraught, while if the Maoists prevailed in a Coup it changes Beijing's Position with North Korea. The Alignment during the Korean War would be re-established, unlike the Situation now where China has been at the very most neutral towards Pyong Yang. North Korea's Ambitions have remained contained due to its Isolation. What would happen if that no longer applied?

What the World needs more than anything is someone to negotiate with the Chinese. The thing is, who?

Who might have enough Gravitas to have sway with Beijing? America at the moment doesn't seem capable of producing anyone who might as they are all falling over each other to see who can accuse China of any and every Malfeasance. The UN are limited in their Scope because no Military Treaty with China means China are in no Violations that could prompt Resolutions. Britain gave away her main Caveat with Hong Kong and the EU aren't exactly showing Unity at the moment.

Russia's Vladimir Putin could be the only Leader who has sufficient Leverage but Taiwan might object due to a Centuries long Dispute over Territory in Outer Manchuria (Now Russian, Taipei still claim the Area as Chinese).

Moscow have their Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship 2001, which further integrated the two Countries in mutual Co-operation and settled finally any Border Disputes. The thing is, in putting Putin in such a Position of Influence many Countries might baulk at feeling compromised with the Russians.

While all this goes on the World is stymied in creating a global Strategy in dealing with the Corona Virus. How can it if some persist in a culture of Recriminations? The Virus can not be negotiated with, whereas China can.

At the moment we are all looking down both Barrels of a Shotgun. One called Death by Disease, the other Death by Nuclear War.

I don't think Covid19 was created in any Laboratory. I think it was a natural Disease that the World was not ready for. Much has been made of things like the lack of PPE for Health Workers and that of any Treatment or Vaccine. How much less would continually updated PPE and Research into Treatment and Prevention have cost against the Military spending of recent years?

Meanwhile, in a Fit of Pique President Trump is relocating 2000 American Companies from China to India. Wonder how they're going to see that in Pakistan? The fragile Balance in the forgotten Cold War, that of India and Pakistan, has only been retained by the current Arrangement. Pakistan was poised to go to War with America a few years ago and the US installed Government in Kabul were going to support them.

What if they see India cozying up to America too much? Not only will it prompt anti-American Sentiment in Pakistan, it could also undo any Progress they made in Afghanistan.

This could throw the whole Region into catastrophe!

People might say that a Hillary Presidency could have provided the Medicare needed to deal with the Covid19 Health Crisis, except most of that would have been used up treating the Victims of her War with Russia and/or Iran. And that's assuming it didn't become Nuclear!

During the Flu Pandemic of 1918, which was concurrent with WW1 - and didn't even have the potential to be nuclear - the Federal Government were completely absorbed into dealing with the Disease in the armed Forces - at home and abroad. The Civilians had to rely on what Measures each Town, City or State implemented. It would have been the same now had the War been a conventional one. Had it been nuclear you wouldn't be alive to read this, no-one would, and I wouldn't be to write it.

Coronavirus ......

Coronavirus .....

Here's an Observation.

According to the World Health Organisation and our NHS the current Strain of Coronavirus that is causing all the Problems originates in Civix Cats and Dromedaries. Thus, Countries where Camels are as common a form of Transport as the Bicycle ought to be dropping like Flies. The thing is they aren't.

While European and North American Countries where you won't find Camels tied up outside a Bazar have reported Cases running into the 1000's and Deaths in the 100's Countries where you will don't.

Turkey, 670 Cases, 9 Deaths, Saudi Arabia, 344 Cases, 0 Deaths, Kuwait, 159 Cases, 0 Deaths, Jordan, 85 Cases, 0 Deaths, even Countries with severely crowded Cities like Pakistan, 519 Cases, only 4 Deaths, while War ravaged Iraq has only 208 Cases and 17 Fatalities.

Either People are missing something and maybe People from these Countries have an Immunity developed over Centuries of Contact with Camels or it didn't come from them at all.

If it's the former has anyone thought that they might be able to provide a Vaccine that spreads that Immunity?

Just a Thought!

Poster Campaign

Here is a brilliant WWll Russian propaganda Poster. I've decided to update it like it was Vassili Zaitzev in "Enemy at the Gates" in 1999, who -  after others seem to have been somewhat exclusivist for a very very long time - bursts in on their Party and says ........

The Caucasus - the most dangerous Place on Earth!!!!

This was something I wrote in about 2007 after the Georgian Conflict. It was originally posted on a Website at that time - but rather mysteriously disappeared, or at least seemed to have when I tried finding it to post here! It's an Analysis of the myriad Groupings, Ethnicities and Conflicts in the Region known as the Caucasus. After 'Operation Tidy Up' I found a printed copy - which I have scanned and posted in this Thread. I guess the Appearance gives it that archival Look and gives it an Authenticity that might not be apparent if it was just typed. Click on each in order of Appearance, using your Browsers zoom Facility if you have to .......

Some of the following appears as a Reply to a Comment someone on the Website made.......

Finally, having wrested back Control of some Work where a lot of Research. Writing and fact Checking resulted in this you can now read it here! 

Because of the ensuing Tragedy in the Ukraine, something that shouldn't be happening at all, here's a Poster you can print and display. Written in Russian Cyrillic, it was the Promise made to Gorbachev in 1990 by US Secretary of State James Baker saying; "Not one Inch Eastwards" with any NATO expansion into former Warsaw Pact and Soviet Countries. It was because this was ignored in more recent years the War in Ukraine broke out on February 24th 2022.....

This Post is continually updated with Comments current to Events as they happen, so scroll through to the end to read these!