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Sunday, 22 December 2024

Syria, North Korea ............. Anywhere else?

I posted some updates in a Post I wrote about the escalation of War in the Levant a few years ago. This was a compendium of Comments Id made on the Subject elsewhere on the Internet a few years earlier.


Such is the Gravitas that is happening as Conflict spreads like a Contagion I decided to create this so you could read recent Comments here.


 As Reports emerge that Syrian Leader Bashar Assad has fled to Moscow after he was toppled by HTS the Future for Syria looks very uncertain and maybe even very bleak.


One only has to see what happened in Iraq after Saddam was deposed, which went through several Civil Wars - including the establishment of Islamic State in Cities like Mosul and Fallujah, and this was with the large presence of Coalition Forces.


What this means for the myriad Groups who fought the Regime in Syria now that Regime has apparently gone is as yet unknown. The only thing unifying them was their War against it, while there have been skirmishes and conflicts between them.


Kurds under Massoud Barzani fought to protect non-Sunni Minorities and Christians from Islamist Forces, and against the SNA (Syrian National Army) backed by Turkey. Supposedly moderate Free Syrian Army Soldiers gradually became part of the Islamist Factions and other Forces have been at work with/against each other during the Civil War.


Assad himself guaranteed Protection to all Citizens in the Country.


As the Kurds will probably have to concentrate guarding against the Insurgents, particularly any backed by Turkey, and Assad has gone can we trust HTS who tell us they have changed and are no longer the Al Qaida/IS People they were?


And how about the remnants of the Syrian Army?


Will they just down Guns and go home, or will they form up yet another Faction in the fractured Country that was Syria?


How long could HTS maintain what they claim will be a 'moderate' Regime if Insurgents start turning on them, and how will this further brutalise those involved?


This isn't a western backed Government like Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan after the Taliban was defeated, while there are Rival players in the Region, each with their Proxies in a Syria that has no actual Leadership. Iran would back the Remnants of the Army and Syrian Hezbollah while Turkey and others support those opposed to these.


And how might any of this look to a People who saw and even fought a "War on Terrorism" since 2001, only to see an offshoot of Al Qaida seize Power in Damascus?


As all this goes on Syria itself and the Region generally might conclude they were better off with Assad!


I think some People are being dangerously naïve if they believe post-Assad Syria will begin towards Human Rights and open Society.


The SNA had committed terrible Crimes against Kurds in northern Syria - including the public Murder of Kurdish Politician Hevrin Khalaf. The UN have cited many instances of Rape, Murder, Kidnappings and Theft by them against Kurds.


Yazidis fled from them to Kurdish Regions in their 1000's.


Others, including Islamists, used Chemical Weapons in a false Flag Attack that was blamed on the Government - while all will vie for Influence in the Ruins of what remains of the Country.


There's very little difference between some of them and those we saw in Iraq conducting public Executions of Iraqi Soldiers during the Camp Speicher Massacre and dozens of Mutilations in the Streets of Mosul.


Do they assume Hayat Tahrir Al Sham or their Leader Abu Mohammed Al Jolani will call free and fair Elections if or when things settle down?


As I said, these aren't even the likes of Ahmed Chalabi in Iraq or Hamid Kharzai in Afghanistan, while HTS have been dubbed a Terrorist Organisation.


They are also committed against Kurdish YPG or Peoples Defences Units Forces, supported by Western Governments - who want a federal secular Country rather than an islamist Caliphate.


Also, how open will they be to Shi'ite Moslems who they deem as heretical?


So, Syria won't suddenly become a cute and cuddly Bastion of Peace and liberal Democracy now the Assad Regime has gone, while there will be those from the Regime who will probably form yet another Militia in the huge network of Fighters there, supported by former Ba'athist Party Members.


Now that Regime has gone there's nothing stopping any of the above committing further and even worse Atrocities than those done during the years long Civil War.


And what makes it worse is how any former Government Weapons and Materiel has fallen into the Hands of who knows what in the subsequent free-for-all!


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


You ain't seen nothing yet......


As the West loses it's Stomach for War - particularly after the humiliating Rout in Afghanistan and the "War on Terrorism" Rhetoric long outstayed it's welcome years ago, what might things be like now Al Qaida 2 seems to have seized Control in Syria?


One thing is certain, they now have access to equipment once owned by the most heavily armed Force in the Arab World. Second only to Saddam before he was deposed.


Then, what if they decide to export their form of Wahhabism to the rest of the World? That Syria becomes the new Afghanistan, but with far more Weapons, for any Terror Group that makes Osama look tame in comparison?


Anyone remember what happened after a former Western (read American) Proxy went rogue and flew Planes into Buildings? They fought the Soviets, HTS fought the Russian's Ally in Damascus, then what happens?


If we did have another '9/11' how could the Politicians sell the response to us after the last Go-Round?


And if that happened how many more Civil Liberties will be eroded by yet another Patriot Act, and then another?


America is about to have a President who is known for potential Authoritarianism and disdain for Civil Liberties. A President who faces very little Opposition that could effectively curb some of his wider excesses.


How many more Patriot Acts will we see?


Also, as reported, Executions are already starting in Syria despite Jolani's reassurances, what will happen there as 1000''s then millions try to flee? Who is going to invest in a Country with that sort of Leadership and rescue it's shattered Economy, rebuild it's ruined Infrastructure and reapply essential services?


These are all very good reasons to ask if Syria and the World that will feel the Ramifications of it is better off without Assad - or is the euphoria at his demise very misguided


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

Has the Leopard changed his Spots?


If Reports are true and Scenes reminiscent of what happened in Iraq are repeated as I write then maybe not. Allegations circulate that before they mounted their Insurgency HTS - who ran an Enclave in the Idlib Province - administered public Stoning's of Women for Adultery while the whole War has seen Excesses that were even worse than the darker days of the Taliban.


And what if he appears too friendly to the West and even Israel?


President elect Trump has made no Secret that he covets Syrian Oil in the resource rich eastern region of the Country. How will it sit with Jolani's Peers and those opposed to him if that Region becomes an American Colony? During the War it was always possible it would be returned to full Syrian control. What if that no longer applies?


How about the Israelis, and if they decide to settle into Syria beyond the Golan Heights? The Heights has been contentious enough since they were captured in 1967. How long will Jolani last if he does nothing to prevent it?


Then there's the Turkish occupation of the Region on its Border. Will they withdraw or will they decide to cash in on their Support of the SNA and keep it? Kurds in the Region must be very apprehensive about any of that after what they were subjected to.


Syria enjoyed considerable regional Influence for a very long time and I can't imagine many Syrians would be prepared to give any of that up to other Players in it or western Proxies.


And if, in Assad's absence, the Country is off limits to Russia and Iran who will sponsor the Countries physical, fiscal and economic rehabilitation after more than 10 years of War?



And if Israel doesn't think Syria is more dangerous after Assad was toppled why have they done what they never did during the whole Assad Era .....?


Bomb all Syrian Military Assets, or at least those they could get to.


They never did anything as all encompassing as they did a few Days ago.


So they obviously know that these who have replaced Assad would have been far too dangerous if they had access to the same Equipment Assad's once powerful Army used.

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

More airbrushing of History .......?


Rather like all the post 2014 reports of Azov Excesses in Ukraine including Human Rights Articles about their Treatment of ethnic Russians, and the general Narrative about neo-Nazis in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Reports of the many 1000's killed and displaced by Islamist Rebels and Turkish backed Forces in Syria before Assad was toppled seem to have disappeared.


Now we are being fed a continuous Narrative that every Death, Injury and Injustice was firmly the fault of the former Regime.


This is completely wrong and as inaccurate as saying the same things in Iraqi Cities like Mosul and Fallujah were done by Saddam. Not that either Dictator was a Bastion of liberal Democracy - because they weren't - but then, neither are many of those who choose to replace them.


Syria's interim Prime Minister has announced there won't be Elections in Syria probably for another 18 Months, and as we have seen, a lot can happen in that time. Including positing the necessary People in all the crucial Posts before hand.


Any innocence of spontaneity we might see now will completely disappear in that time.


And while a lot can happen in Syria in that year and a half - one of those is Civil War, which could very easily happen as the anti-Assad Unity fades and each player - and their Sponsors jostle for influence in the new Syria. Afghanistan collapsed into terrible Civil War after the Soviets left and it wasn't until the Taliban seized Power it ended. The most powerful Faction in Syria is the HTS - who are just revamped Al Qaida, so will we begin seeing the same thing in Syria we saw in Afghanistan in the late 1980's?


And with a similar Conclusion?


That those who end up running Syria won't be western backed Rebels, rather like those who ended up running Afghanistan in the 1990's.


Whatever happens in Syria now won't be attributed to Assad who is currently in exile in Moscow. Every incident now will be done to, and by, the Rebels who now run the Country.


I'm wondering how much of this will be reported as we are sold a Syria that isn't like the one the Assad Family ran.


Except he can watch all this go on in a Country during his absence!


And while he can now say; "I didn't do it" from Moscow how - I wonder - did these 'Rebels' feel when Israel promptly set out to destroy most of their Equipment (otherwise being the captured Spoils of War) and indulged in a Land Grab of Areas east of the Golan Heights?


How does that look to anyone asking what the Motive for any western Support might have been?


What becomes of the Millions of Refugees who are spread the length and breadth of Europe, Scandinavia, Arabia and North Africa?


Refugees who didn't flee Assad, but fled what came after 2011! They lived in Syria for hundreds of years before then.


And while, it seems, even Israel regards the new Forces that prevail in Syria as more dangerous than Assad to the point where they felt they had to destroy captured Syrian Military Assets rather than let them be used by the likes of HTS there are other things that might not be quite as certain now.


Those 1980's Beirut Hostages who didn't come home via Cyprus did so via Hafez Assad's Syria.


They would be handed to Syrian backed Lebanese Militia (usually Amal) before being given to Syrian Officials - who would then take them to Damascus.


They didn't come home via Israel, while there's very little chance they would so via the new Syria.


Also, during the 1990/1 Gulf War SAS Soldiers who had been operating deep inside Iraq had suffered Casualties through Firefights, Injuries and the Cold Weather before making it to the Syrian Border. After asking a Goat Herder where they were and learning they were in Syria they knew their Ordeal was over.


Could they say that now?


While Executions of Assad's Henchmen began a few days ago will they be restricted to these or extended to others? Ba'ath Party Members, Iranian Officials, Supporters of Hezbollah, Kurds who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, Shia and Alawite Moslems? Anyone else who doesn't comply with their Doctrine?


Then there's the Betrayal that will be felt by those Syrians who supported HTS, only to see yet more Land appropriated by Israel. Something that didn't happen during the Assad Era.


So, what might happen in the 18 Months Syria's interim Prime Minister said would elapse before any Elections?


As there is potential for all sorts of manoeuvring's and subterfuge the Euphoria will fade very quickly if it wasn't misguided to start with.


Then, what happens if host Governments decide to repatriate the millions of Refugees who fled the Country during the Civil War, who had otherwise lived in Syria for 100's of years before?


What will they be going back to, and just how welcome would they be by the new Regime after spending so long in the West?



And those Millions of Refugees who fled Syria didn't flee Assad, many had lived there for Decades during that Era, and they fled the War. They aren't Wahabi'ists or other forms of Extremists, but regular Syrians whose Lives had been destroyed by Conflict. How much of those Lives would still exist if they returned to Syria, and how much of the Country and Society would they at all recognise?


Of anyone who should understand this it ought to be a People whose Lives and Villages across eastern and central Europe were erased by WW2, but how many descendants of the Ashkenazim Diaspora empathise with the Plight of those Syrian Refugees?


Or are they merely replacing one Diaspora with another?


Also, if Money and Resources sent to Ukraine so Kiev could fight Russia was funnelled into Syria to train and equip the HTS War against Assad's Government isn't that constitutionally illegal? That the American Legislature passed Laws allowing it be sent to Ukraine - not Syrian Rebels?


Shouldn't someone be asking this on Capitol Hill?


Any Legislator or Representative worth their Constituents on Capital Hill, and maybe those in Westminster, and other western Countries who have sent Weapons and Resources to Ukraine should be asking why some of those things ended up in Syria.


It was discovered that some had even wound up in Kosovo, and a poignant Question to those who sent them, and even Zelenskiy, is whether there's an Intention to spread the War into Syria and maybe even Serbia? There were increasingly anxious Reports about a year and a half ago about manoeuvring's in the Balkans by NATO Countries anathema to Serbia's Interests.


Is Ukraine a sort of distribution Hub to other Forces at War (actual or potential) with Russia's Partners and Allies?


The proverbial "Guns of August" where Barbara Tuchman shows the causes and effects, alliances and enmities, that led to WW1 being played out again for yet another World War?


It's like those Lunatics in Seoul who staged a Coup and Martial Law in South Korea earlier this Month. Some speculated they were trying to provoke a "local War" with the North. President Yoon acting like a sort of 21st Century Joseph McCarthy, accusing members of his and other Political Parties, of being infiltrators by the North. The old Cold War era Paranoia revisited.


Given the current geopolitical Climate any "local War" with North Korea wouldn't remain "local" for very long .......... and wouldn't remain a conventional one either.


Zelenskiy - who has also staged a Coup by cancelling Elections in May this year - did something similar with his Politicians and those of the Opposition, the Military and even the Orthodox Church on suspicion of being Russian Agents. Even People who took part in the Istanbul Negotiations fell under similar Suspicion and died, disappeared or were imprisoned.


Any Journalist working in Washington should ask how Resources sent to Ukraine ended up in west Asia and the Balkans.


Ukrainian Corruption - one of the worst in the World - and it's Reputation for Black Market Activity does give People very plausible Deniability.


"Oh, those Weapons ended up in Kosovo because of Ukrainian Corruption" provides a convenient Veil to anyone wanting to equip a People for some future War with Serbia.


The War in Ukraine merely adds to it by distracting Attention from what was happening in Syria a couple of Weeks ago - and the months before - when HTS prepared for, then launched, their Offensive against Syrian Government Forces.


And the Ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel was another Smokescreen as the Offensive was being planned and executed. The Conflict was merely transferred elsewhere, but with a similar Result.


Hezbollah have lost a crucial logistics Conduit of Support while Lebanon - already reeling from the recent Hezbollah War with Israel - now has to deal with 10's of 1000's of Syrian Refugees and guard it's Border against potential HTS Incursion. This could cause it to collapse completely.


So, is Ukraine merely a Hub of supply and support to any anti-Sino/Russian Axis? A Conduit to spread the forever War?

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

A Korean Conflict - the War that could break the Worlds Back .....


Since the Nuclear Arms race began - or at least not long after - it was always agreed that each Nuclear Power would notify the other of a scheduled Test - which might be either a Launch or Detonation. The idea being to avoid the Risk of a retaliatory response by one if they mistook a Test by the other to be an actual Strike.


But despite this, there have been many near misses with what is dubbed a close Call. This could be prompted by an encounter between Aircraft, one of which might be nuclear capable, the Soviet Submarine that was moments away from firing a Nuclear Torpedo in 1962, a malfunction in either sides Detection equipment, and even someone mistaking a training Video for the real thing.


Here is a chronology showing you many examples of all of these and some ....


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_close_calls


And this is with comparatively stable, communicative Governments, with firmly established procedures.


But what about North Korea - who don't notify anyone of any impending Test? They have fired many Missiles in Test scenarios in close proximity to Japan, South Korea and even Alaska.


What if President Yoon did get his War with the North earlier this Month and Pyon Yang chose to do yet another Test during it?


With the increased tension in the Region and US military gradually becoming an omnipresence - particularly in the China Sea and Philippines - what would the Response have been once it had been detected? They would have just a few Minutes to react before they would be destroyed, so there is a very narrow margin of Error.


Like the interactions, alliances and enmities of those "Guns of August" each would have their Allies and Proxies who would feel obliged to join in in support - particularly as both Ukraine and west Asia are already on the boil.


And if there were attempts at pressuring Serbia Russia would have to support it like they did in 1914.


A horrible History no one learned from repeating itself - but with even more deadly Weapons.

Monday, 11 September 2023

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.


Saturday, 2 September 2023

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.





Saturday, 6 June 2020

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.






















Tuesday, 12 May 2020

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.