Maudlin Monday

Once again we note that that nice US president has been watching 'Fox News' again.  We can tell be cause he has discovered that Iran is a problem and he must declare war on that ancient land.  The war he is now working on, between MacDonald's and Coke, is one that continues the Syrian war the Saudi's and that nice Israeli president started and failed with.  They had intended to curtail Iran by attacking the proxy Syria but having failed, thanks to Russia's intervention, another nice man the Mr Putin, the Middle East rulers now wish a direct US attack on Persia.
The Persians will tell you they go back to Cyrus the Great which means they have been around since he died, at war, in 530 BC.  As such they consider all nations around bar China and India and newcomers and the variety of Arab states they treat with undisguised contempt.  This is not helped when Iran takes the Shia Muslim line and the majority of the rest take the Sunni line, something ignored when Britain and France and the rest divided up the middle east after the Great War.
Today the west's interference has removed almost all Christians from the area, most Jews and all those of lesser faiths either diminish or suffer according to passing fashion.  Such interference continues, with Trump following whatever he is told, a 'hawk' or two in the White House demanding action similar to that dealt to Iraq and again uncaring re the millions who will suffer and die, including their own men of course, they have never been considered by leading politicians.
World War 3 will begin on Twitter...

Getting away from that I have put aside all my other reading and become captive to this small book.  This is one of several found in Waterstones, the 'Penguin Monarchs' series, and so far I have rushed through this easy to read history of William the Conqueror.  Ideal for train journeys, flights, sitting in the loo, the short easy chapters inform, educate and bring to life well known monarchs, all from the past obviously, and appear worth the £4:99.
I have got one or two others to read also and I think this is a good way to get to know the past.  One thing I wonder concerns the rumours of how he married his wife Matilda.  Nothing is said re him pulling her off a horse or battering her or raping her to ensure a marriage.  Maybe these rumours were out of place or too much of a rumour to put into a short book?  Being short it cannot cover all ground right enough.
Enough good information is given however to review the character of the man.  Usually we hear a little half hearted basic information concerning some great man and once we investigate for ourselves we quickly discover things are not quite as we have been told.  William was indeed a religious man, not just for show either.  He placed reforming Archbishops into Canterbury and Rouen  and listened to their spiritual counsel.  This enabled him to rule humanely and judge justly.  We forget or know little about what went before but William improved life for many, even when treating this who opposed him severely.  One aspect unknown to me was the vast degree of slavery in England and Wales at the time, this William outlawed!  Once again a foreigner came to England and freed the English from themselves!  His piety was real but his wrath no less real, opponents felt this but I suspect the reason many disliked him in England was the tax he raised, mostly from those who had the money to spare.
I have finished this book, unputdownable and quickly read. 
I like this one.

Guardian

It is most unfortunate that the Electoral Commission, a somewhat tardy organisation today, has been forced by one time Prime Minister Gordon Brown to step in and investigate the flow of money onto the Brexit Party coffers.  It appears money is coming from outside the UK via PayPal which converts the cash into £s from whatever source and in Brexit eyes does no wrong.  Foreign cash as you know is not acceptable in funding political parties at an election.  It could be our man might be forced out, tsk the 'establishment' again!

Trump Cruising...

Apparently World War Three broke out last night.  A handful of spare cruise missiles fell on parts of Syria and Russia has now declared a 'Red alert.'  I suppose it would be a 'Red alert' wouldn't it?  
In fact, according to a BBC man whom I usually don't believe, this was stage managed for the people. The Syrians, well the Russians, would have been told where the missiles would land, no Russian, almost no Syrian would be hurt, little real damage would occur and, as the last time the west responded to chemical weapons being used, nothing changes.
However the media will shout and scream with almost as much ignorance as I, political lightweights will appear spouting the party line and most folks will go out and enjoy the sunshine, such as it is.
I was impressed by the appearance of our local MP spouting the Boris Johnson line, he is one of Boris's lackeys and now has a good job out of this, he was telling us we do not require a vote in the house by MPs who have no information on the circumstances of the situation. That means MPs are ignorant or info is withheld, I don't know which.  Either way the MP ought to spend more time answering constituents letters, which he does not, and less time brown nosing for promotion.

With the Heart of Midlothian taking the weekend off as it is cup semi final weekend I have spent time listening to the end of season promotion and relegation battles featuring teams with delightful names from out of the way places. The image offered by football team names is intriguing, 'Queen of the South' is a famous name even amongst people who have no idea they come from Dumfries in the Scottish borders.  'Partick Thistle' are much better known even though they do not play in the 'Partick' area of Glasgow.  At the end of the 19th century they moved between two or three grounds, as most clubs did, until they received help from Rangers football club to move to the new district in the north of Glasgow called Maryhill.  This allowed Thistle a good crowd in the new area and Rangers then obtained all the fans in the shipbuilding parts of Govan.  This also gave them the 'Ulster loyalist' approach as pretend protestants which in itself meant little until Celtic arrived in Glasgows east end and made a play for the Catholics in that area.  Both clubs have used sectarian bull to gather crowds ever since.  But you ask why is the name pronounced 'Celtic' with a soft 'C' and not 'Keltic' with a hard 'C,' nobody appears to know but stupidity might play a part.
Based in Paisley 'St Mirren,' pronounced and spelt 'St Mirn' by many,  are named after a man called Mirin who founded a church where Paisley Abbey now stands, he became the Paisley patron saint.  On the other hand 'St Johnstone' did not get their name from a saint directly but from the church in Perth where they originated.  This was dedicated to St John the Baptist and Perth was often referred to as 'St John's Toun' and the name came from this.  
Raith Rovers come from Kirkcaldy on the Fife coast but there was no town called Raith in times past.  Instead there was an area stretching across a few miles across Fife reaching to the west of Kirkcaldy area.  A Battle of Raith took place here in the late 6th century and a Raith Tower and Raith House sit close by.  'Raith' itself comes from old Scots and means a 'fort.'  A common tongue in cheek comment is to refer to 'Dancing in the streets of Raith' as this was said to have been announced by a sports commentator years ago, he might have been using sarcasm.
'Brechin City' come from Brechin a small town in Angus with a population of under ten thousand.  However having a cathedral, once a Roman Catholic and now belonging to the 'Episcopal Church' allows the townsfolks to make use of the word 'City' although this has now no official use.     
The Heart of Midlothian I must point out were not named after a book by Walter Scott!

One day I will be fit!  Since the turn of the year every time I attempt some form of exercise something, the bug, funeral, sloth, gets in the way, however this time I will get on with it and improve life.  For a start I have actually cleaned the fridge, as I said, and the oven is next, maybe, and as the weather appears to be improving I must get out and about making use of the bus pass and rail card.  I need to see the sea again, I forget what it looks like.
Of course last week was a washout but as the kids were on holiday it was not a time for wandering abroad.  From Monday, or Tuesday most of them will be locked up inside where they ought to be  allowing decent people to prowl the land upsetting other decent people doing similar.  
One problem here is that all the best attractions to visit are not on the bus line or train line, this is great of you have a car but not if you are impoverished and inept like me.  I also don't as yet feel like walking miles to see things but we will get out soon and find some better pictures than what we find now.

 

Book

It gives me a strange satisfaction to find that I have finished another book that sits on the pile in front of me.  That pile anyway is one less the other piles of books still to be read have not gone down much.  
I have always liked Henry Canova Vollam Morton in spite of his rather bullish nature.  I suspect that is a requirement in journalism and he got off to a good start not only by being the son of an editor but by announcing the scoop of Tutankhamen's tomb being opened before the 'Times' man who had the rights could do so.  He then became famous for his travel books, around London then England, Scotland and elsewhere.  In the 30's he travelled through the Holy Land, a much easier enterprise then than now as the British Mandate allowed travel across borders in a manner impossible today.  Having discovered books about Jesus and Paul sold well he then decided on a further expedition in the late 30's. 

'While I was travelling in the Holy Land...the desire grew on me to make a Christian pilgrimage from the Euphrates to the Nile, and into Sinai, and to tell the story of the Christian life of the Near East,'

It had nothing to do with making money, honest guv. 
I looked forward to this book as I love the ancient lands, especially those usually ignored in the far south of what is today Iraq, the ancient land of 'Sumer,' often classed as 'Babylonia.'   It was a book I wished to read years ago.

Landing at Alexandretta in French controlled Lebanon Morton travels to Aleppo the town today thrashed by civil war intending to visit once popular pilgrimage sites including the pillar upon which sat one Simon Stylites.  Simon early chose a severe form of asceticism which saw him barred from monastic life and he ended up sitting high up on his pillar apart from the world, continuing his austere life but constantly queried by people wishing answers to problems.  He remained there for 37 years.  I must say while many followed him or ventured into monastic or hermit style life I see no biblical reason for this and wonder about those who chose this life.  Morton appears fascinated by them and as he travels follows his normal routine of discovering historical connections with each place, some of these are intriguing and others just worrying!

   James Gordon

Continuing to Palmyra an ancient city made famous by ISIS destroying it Morton came upon a bus! 
Intrepid travellers who hitch a lift from a sheik (or claim to - he is a somewhat romantic writer) then discover a bus that just happens to have stopped to pick up passengers in Palmyra are doing very well I say. 
The Nairn Transport Company began in 1923 when a couple of New Zealanders who had served there during the war began a car service between Haifa and Beirut.  By the late thirties they were driving cars and then buses across the desert roads from Baghdad to Damascus.  The French and British authorities were delighted as many personnel were thus able to travel the vast distances in some degree of comfort, camels can be a bit slow.  
Half way across they stopped at Rutba Fort and eat an English dinner in an impeccable English dining room in the middle of the desert, this brought out the xenophobia in Morton!  The Empire had some advantages.
In Baghdad Morton again waxes lyrical about English influence on Iraq especially when he notices an 'English' bookshop.  What sort of 'English' bookshop would have the name 'MacKenzie' above the door escapes me.  It does appear British influence was stronger in Iraq that French influence in Syria, at least according to our author.
In Baghdad he watches from the window, lights out, of the Shia flagellantes as they pass by late at night.  The house belongs to Chaldean Christians, a type almost unknown now after years of needless war.  Morton is fascinated by the intricacies of these worshippers marching by slowly and as he does elsewhere goes into details we often see on our TV, if the news can show many dead alongside.

 M. Lubinski

 
From his hotel our hero takes a taxi to Babylon passing the noticeable railway station 'Babylon Halt.' 
Clambering over the then dusty mounds he appraises the mud brick remains and reminds the reader of the biblical history found in Jeremiah where in 586 BC the people of Judah were taken to Babylon.  The fact that Jews have been found in this are up to recent times speaks much of their ability to live alongside other faiths.  Since the Great War however Jews, and most Christians have fled this apart of the world leaving a huge Moslem space almost devoid of any other.  British, French and now US policy has done this and with Trump topping it off today by recognising Jerusalem as capital of Israel another step down may have occurred.  Jerusalem will never be like Babylon however it will suffer more warfare and terrorism, possibly sooner rather than later.   
This to me is the most interesting part of Morton's book.  Babylon then Ur of the Chaldees, again mud bricks and knowledgeable guides, mostly educated when assisting archaeologists in times past, and fascinating history all combined to make me wish to travel there today.  The ease Morton travelled in his day compared to now appeals but I suggest tourism might be possible but costly.

 
For me the book descends into a rather boring read once Morton arrives in Egypt.  While there are some interesting episodes, such as taking a ferry which turns out to be a sinking small boat that slowly struggles to get anywhere, for the most part his many, oh so many descriptions of Coptic Churches, monasteries and their monks and the tales of so called 'saints' from the distant past did not dwell well with me.
The flamboyant Coptic ceremonies may well go back into the distant past, well until about the 400's and hermits and monks may well consider they are seeking salvation by their lifestyles but to me there was a sad outlook for them at that time.  I am not convinced God calls people to live like this, I am not one for fancy outfits or bejewelled clergy and I have no need to live on the hard black bread these monks lived on, the Coptic clergy appeared better fed.  
His visit to Mount Sinai was interesting and the monk with him also and the questions as to whether this is the mount or not is intriguing.  However we do not know for sure and if we did we would worship the mountain not the God!  This was a problem in the middle East in many places, saints are worshipped not the risen Christ.

St Sebastian Catacomb

At least in Rome our man found plenty of interest down in the five hundred miles of catacombs that lie there.  It is possible many famous early Christians mentioned in the letters of Paul may lie there, though it is not possible to be sure.  Certainly the history, the need to hide for the authorities (a bit like it is becoming today) and the sheer adventure of wandering in the near dark at that time through such places was enlivening the book.
Less so his adoration of the pope in all his splendour canonising saints.  The description reveals a side to Morton his womanising nature would find surprising.  Possibly it was ceremony he liked and the connection to history, that connection to history cannot be but joy to the bright mind, however while he knew his scripture we wonder how well he obeyed it no matter how many times he gets VIP seats in the Vatican.

The history from a man in the 1930's is always worth a look.  His fascination for ceremony much less so as is his fawning over 'saints' from the past.  Anyone who becomes a Christian becomes a 'saint' it merely indicates they are 'set apart for God' and not someone with a record of miracles once he is dead!  Morton's history is interesting, his writing style also.  Beginning with the transport and description of the area his book, divided into chapters within chapters, then visits something, description follows and the last small chapter describes the end of day or plan for moving on.
It is easy to understand how his columns in the London press became popular, it is easy to understand why his books still sell today, it is less easy to understand his thinking.  After writing a book on South Africa he moved there with his second wife and his diaries reveal the somewhat fascist ideas he held, his womanising and the flaws in his character.  What however I dwell on is the books he left these describe his world very well a world that no longer exists but is so close to us still today.
 

 

H.V.Morton

Tuseday Tittle-Tattle

Last night I sat entranced at the bright red sky as the sun went down.  Had I not been otherwise occupied I may have tries to get outside and capture the sky.   Around half nine the sky was still stunning and I attempted pityfully to capture the night.  It was almost like this.  I awoke at ten past four this morning and found the sky lighter and still stunning.  How wonderful this time of the year can be, if it doesn't rain or cloud over.    
Of course as the sun shone I was inside the museum meeting good people and watching the boss work three peoples jobs.  I could not help while working the shop, most unfortunate.  The school was good, cheery kids.  
I had to rush home because the man was coming to check out the sink that had sunk.  Naturaly he came after two as planned, around five actually as not planned.  They had been working in Camoludunum.  Once here they quickly decided the job would entail replacing the entire unit, this meant a big job in a narrow space and both agreed it was time for going home.  So this will be replaced in time, probably a long time, and I will struggle on with the damaged tap until he can work up the courage and time to do the job. 
I might leave home while they do it!

Another outrage in Manchester, not the first they have suffered.  The media are filling spaces with masses of speculation and little substance so I am avoiding them. When I awake at four this morning I heard the early news and the guesswork as to what was happening.  I gave up as they began the tedious repeating of the same question to different people to get the same story over and over with little understanding of what was going on.  This is not journalism just filling air time.
 So what are we to do, what are we to make of this killing of around 22 people and wounding of dozens of others?  The rest of the audience, mostly adolescent and teenage girls, will be somewhat traumatised for years after this.  The apparent lack of stewards to guide or control them after the event was worrying and a greater disaster was avoided by luck it appears to me.
Today everyone is 'standing with Manchester' as you might expect.  This is good but we must ask will it happen again and why does it happen?  

The UK and the French, then the USA have been kicking Arabs about for over two hundred years.  The needs of Empire, or just greed, have ensured the woshes of what was considered the backward Arabs was of no importance to London or Paris.  The greater game was their concern and the dying Ottoman Empire and Arab opinion dd not count.  
Britain and France under the Sykes-Picot agreement, with Russian acceptance, divided the dead Ottoman Empire between themselves after the Great War.  The only Arabs considered worthy of discussion were lied to and their understanding of the situation totally amended to suit the agreement.  They were not happy.  
The resultant creation of several new nations, not all split thoughtfully enough it must be said, has led to nothing but war, assassination and bad feeling ever after.  
Now in more recent times to save the west from the nasty Iranians under the Ayattollah the Americans (That nice Mr Rumsfeld again) gave the Iraqis help when fighting Iran and ignored the million or two dead and dying because they were not 'us' and anyway far away.  What could possibly go wrong?
Well Saddam did not play ball for a start, the first Gulf War causing many thousands of deaths, but mostly Arabs, the second, needless, war cost more and being badly managed by Rumsfeld and Cheney led to the break up of Iraq, the growth of Al-Queda and Islamic State and how many other Islamic type groupings.
Now add Obamas desperate attepmt, an attempt desired by most in the US, to bring his troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan and see the fear rise in Saudi Arabia at the growth of Iran and their nuclear weapons.  Result?  The war against Syria led and paid for by Saudi's using ISIS and all the others to break up a peaceful and more tolerant state than Saudi Arabia. The result of this is the growth of ISIS and their attempt to build up and take over Saudi!  
It gets confusing from here on so I will let you guess the rest.

Now we have young men in many places convinced they ought to be strict Muslims fed a diet of radical teaching by persons unknown.  Those less competent as well as those who should know better respond to this as young men do who wish to change the world.  Many have died fighting in the Middle East.  Others have attempted action in the UK with only police action defeating them and usually with information from Islamic sources.  Fed a belief that dying makes you a martyr and glory awaits encourages many to enlist.  Young men respond to this and some take action.  
Whoever took action last night considers his act worthy of his faith.  With Muslim men, women and children killed by the west he considers his actions defending his faith.  Any Muslim killed would be seen as a martyr also, others merely unbelievers.  The fact that most were young girls will not deter him, the Middle East has seen many such suffer terribly over the years from Muslims and a few westerners would not cause the conscience much trouble.

We cannot defeat this behaviour by force.  It requires propaganda and actions to stabalise the Middle East and deal with each nations fears.  There appears little suggestion of such happeneing these days.  The US has just sold billions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, no doubt also to Israel, and anyone else who toes the western line.  That will not ensure peace.  
I thought I had a conclusion to put in here and I discovered I have none.  All that is in my mind remains the thousands of Muslims who die this way and we care not.  Baghdad, Beirut, Kabul anywhere in Pakistan all suffer outrages and most are not reported in the west.  We stand with one another in the west heightening the separation of two sides, each outrage polarising opinion and killing sensible debate on both sides. 
No wonder people read the media for easy answers.

  

'Setting the Desert on fire'

My best looking and most intelligent niece only ever made two mistakes, she married a Hun and bore his son.  That said she appears to be quite happy about all this in spite of my opinions and the son has turned out to be the only member of the family with the ability to read books.  Since he learnt the art of reading he has always had a book in his face although drink and women have lessened his reading abilities somewhat in recent years.  However when Christmas arrives and the two are together long enough for a briefing re presents he has clearly advised her regarding a book for me.  It is not possible she, wise though she be, would consider such a work as suitable.  Indeed the last book she chose by herself was 'Grumpy Old Men,' a book with which I could not begin to comprehend the reason she sent to me and then could not see any 'grumpy men' within, indeed they appeared quite commonsensical for the most part. 
This year once again she has returned to him for advice and clearly his advice has been good.  "Setting the Desert on Fire" by James Barr is a wonderful fast moving narrative concerning the details of 'Lawrence of Arabia' and his Middle Eastern adventures during the Great War.
Having read so many Great War books I was going through one of those moods when any more offerings were not seen as urgent reads, naturally I have four more lined up after this one all demanding my attention!  However once I opened the book I could not put it down.  Everyone has heard of 'Lawrence of Arabia' British propaganda and tabloid newspapers half truths saw to that but few including myself know the real deal.  This book, the result of four long years trawling through documents, diaries and letters scattered across the globe, enlightens us as to the reality of the popular myth.  Creatures found in Hollywood movies usually bear no relation to the facts I find.

The political problems faced by London were simple enough.  The Royal Navy was now powered by oil rather than coal so guarding the oil fields in southern Mesopotamia was urgent.  The Turkish threat to the Suez Canal could lead to uprisings in Egypt which may lead to loss of the Canal and cut the lifeline to India, the so called 'Rose in the Crown.'  France was desperate to control Syria and the Brits were desperate to avoid any interference from them in that area.  Here also two forces fought for control of the region, London and India.  The Indian end was afraid upsetting the balance in Arabia could lead to disturbances in India and their solutions cut across much of what London, or their people ion Cairo wished to see.  Political games are of ten delicately balanced and strong forces often care little about the harm others may suffer.
The Arabs were of course not asked their opinion.
This is not quite correct as Arab opinion was important, that is getting Shaikh Hussein and Ibn Saud the two most powerful Arab leaders, to follow British wishes in removing the Turks.  Politically this led to vague promises that in reality meant little in western diplomacy however in the Arab mind many steadfast promises were made.  Often this was exaggerated by translation promises and lack of comprehension of the other sides views.  This still causes resentment today.     
Lawrence, or Captain Edward. T.E. Lawrence as we should call him was an intelligence officer in Egypt.  Before the war he had travelled widely in the region working as an archaeologist and just happening to note Turkish positions in the region.  During 1916 he got his way for more action by transferring to the Arab Bureau and entered the Hijaz region to assess the situation.
In Arabia hew as able to convince the Emir of Mecca Shaikh ibn Ali Husein to follow British will and provide men to help deal with the Turkish railway that ran to Medina the then capital and birthplace of the prophet Mohammad.  
For the next two years Lawrence developed the various factions into an army of sorts and indulged in 'Boys Own' type adventures attempting to destroy the railway line.  As time passed they progressed form cutting small sections soon repaired to blowing bridges and long lengths of line.  Each occasion hindered Turkish movements of men and supplies destroying equipment and men.  On occasion the Arab nomadic approach of looting and taking no prisoners caused some degree of disagreement as this cut across the normal British approach to prisoners.
Difficulties with tribes fighting with one another rather than Turks, of shaikhs demanding large sums of money which appeared to disappear, with Husein fear of ibn Saud taking his place from the rear, and above all problems between London, Cairo, and India and the personnel involved each working from his own position all added to Lawrence's struggles.
For political and personal reasons Lawrence's aim was to enable the Arabs to be seen as fighting the war, not a Briton leading them.  This was to stop the French moving into Syria and to encourage the British to allow Arab rule over the land.  Treaties were signed unknown to those in the field, and often hidden for months, promises from one, vague or not, flew between various peoples, all to often Lawrence would no little of these or in some cases be found responsible for them.  It was that kind of situation.

The final victory brought more confusion as one promise or another was pushed aside to suit worldwide requirements.  All to often consideration for the Arabs themselves were considered unimportant.  The Arabs of course were not one nation, they remain today a variety of tribal and sectarian groupings forced together into political states invented by more powerful nations and their requirements.  Political turmoil in itself is not the fault of the west, that would occur anyway but it is always good to have someone to blame, especially if you have oil and money.  
For most of the war Lawrence's role, along with that of many other British officers and men who joined as time went by, remained a secret back home.  It was the French, in an attempt to prove their position, that revealed his work.  A great hero was created and common myth keeps this going for years afterwards.
Lawrence was not in my opinion a man you could get close to.  He was certainly affected by the war but appears to have been a troubled soul before this time.  he claimed in his 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' that he had entered the town of Dara then in Turkish occupation and been arrested as a deserter from the Turkish army and roundly whipped and abused by the commander of the town.  Much of this appears from this book to have been an invention of his mind.  The 'Seven Pillars' was not meant for popular publication and given only to friends and this may have allowed him the freedom to express his rather unusual desires more openly.  He certainly indulged them after the war.  The settlement saw Lawrence back in 'England' and later he went on to join the RAF as a lower ranked airman.  Captain W.E. Johns famous for his 'Biggles' books was working at the RAF recruitment office when this strange character entered to sign on.  Orders from above came through and it was only later did he realise what was going on, the purpose of his enlistment was never clear.
Lawrence died a hero by crashing his motorbike at high speed in 1935.  His influence on the Middle East must have hung heavy with him as he saw the major powers mishandling the situation there.  At least some of those he worked with were inspired by their actions there, one Francis Stirling was to join him and later became the leader of the 'Long Range Desert Force' in the North African campaign, this was the beginning of the SAS. 

The book is well researched and a racy read.  My knowledge of that aspect of the war was limited to General Allenby's push up through Palestine and the actions of the Arabs against the railway line did indeed go a long way to helping him by disrupting Turkish movements and greatly hindering the Turks in their operations.  The suffering of Turkish prisoners is not something to consider however but the Turks had followed the usual Middle Easter approach and treated all peoples badly.  The book does not gloss over the good and bad aspects of Arab and political behaviour, it shows the British in a poor light all too often and exposes the confused mix of Arab politics.  
Well worth a read and a change from the Western Front!    

Thoughts...

This old boy was sitting on this sign early this morning as I entered Sainsburys.  He was cawing in a somewhat tired manner and while a bit wary made no attempt to fly away as long as I kept my distance.  He looked world weary and possibly did not wish to move unless forced to, I know how he feels!  Later in the day he and his mates were soaring high above in the sunshine making the most of the sun before it disappears for the winter.

 

Independent 

The Middle East is indeed the place to look for confusion.  The Sunni Saudi's, along with the Sunni Qatari's, have spent much encouraging Syrians to rise up and fight Assad. How much US & western support that was given for this is hard to define.  Iran & Russia have supported Assad, Shia Iran knows the Saudi's are in reality attacking them, and by encouraging the rise of various groups, now interspersed with a variety of Islamic groups, we see ISIS coming into prominence in northern Sunni Iraq.  Southern Shia Iraq merely imports Iranians to help defend their bit.

Because they are a danger to us here we bomb ISIS, we give no support to Kurds fighting them as this upsets Turkey, our friend, who bomb Kurds because they are not their friends.  Bombs have been falling all over the place occasionally on the right people and the total effect is near enough nil!

Now Russia has added their men to the fight informing the world they will bomb ISIS and instead bombing all the opponents of that nice Mr Assad.  

One mistake with all these planes bombing this group and that is the chances of a US or Russian aircraft being downed by the other.  That will be nice.  Who to blame, what will be the result?  We sit and wait.

Possibly Putin just wishes to be accepted in the Big World, possibly he is just a thug pushing his luck, possibly WW3 will arrive any time now.  Naturally the media have taken the sides the government has told them to take, naturally much that is written is speculation.  Naturally the people suffer, die and disappear into oblivion and nothing changes.  David Cameron has spoken, no one listens.

Washington Times

While the Middle East fills the pages of the press wars elsewhere do not.  This old story of the Central African Republic I note has not changed since it was written in January.  The violence has been interrupted by the UN and French troops arriving but it continues yet.  More refugees, more flooding into Europe - if they can get there - more violence, death and homelessness.  The European press does little.  Many places suffer in this world only some are worth mentioning it appears.

Mixed Bag Monday

Our power drunk incompetent PM is doing it again.  He has in his mind the idea that to be a great leader he must be seen as a war leader, therefore he has been striving these past few years for a war he can win.  Encouraged by politicians taking cash from gun running types he has proposed bombing Assad in Syria, before being told not to be stupid by almost everybody, he forced the yanks to help him bomb Libya and remove Gaddafi leaving Libya in a mess with several governments almost all of which are led by gun-toting murderers, and then he went to bomb ISIS in Iraq, now he wishes to bomb them in Syria also.  The situation is therefore the men he wished to help bomb Assad he now wishes to bomb for being in Iraq. Clear?

Once again this mans PR failure is evident.  Screaming loudly about bombing Muslims while telling the British Muslims to do something about their home grown possible terrorists just increases the numbers of home grown possible terrorists.  His 'five year plan' to defeat the 'Caliphate' as he calls it shows all the understanding of the Iraq situation revealed by Bush and Blair some time back, let alone the British and French after the first world war!  

This sort require sensible propaganda to defeat, intelligence and thought are a must.  Shouting loudly about killing them off will not work and just increase the problem.  Intelligence and thought are of course the two things least available in this government.  Thoughtful consideration is less important than joining with the US in a bombing campaign (which has not stopped IS so far) rather than working on the ground creating divisions within the group.  

Clearly both the US and UK wish to put boots on the ground, clearly all this is leading up to this idea, clearly that is unpopular in the country and will be a disaster for all concerned.

Colin Smith

The Carron Fish Bar claims to be the place where the 'Deep fried Mars Bar' was born.  This luxury did not exist when I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital city.  However since the inception of this delight it now appears Scots eat only such delicacies and almost anything else is ignored.  Somehow  I feel this may not be true.  I myself have never had one, nor have I had the desire to eat one and I doubt the somewhat limited chip shops in this part of the world would never be capable of offering  such a treat.  Whether the idea for such treatment of a chocolate bar originated at this particular shop I know not.   This is one of those things that I have never studied myself, however this has become successful and all fish and chip shops now offer the same in Scotland, alongside other typical Scots fare, Haddock & Chips, Pie & chips, Kebabs & chips.

There is however a problem, isn't there always?  The banner outside the shop has come under scrutiny of the council who are going through one of those 'clean up the town' periods.  The feeling there is that this particular banner is somewhat ugly and requires amendment.  Naturally the shop has rushed to the media to make publicity defend their right to use this banner.  Personally I would agree the banner is unsightly and a more considered display could easily be arranged.  However there is nothing like publicity and this woman will see people drive for miles to the shop for a deep fried Mars Bar!  The council do have powers others do not possess and I suspect changes will be made eventually without hampering this chip shops viability.

Interestingly Mars themselves wrote to this shop stating:-

 The company said it could not authorise or endorse the product which went against its policy of promoting a "healthy lifestyle."

Quite how a company that makes billions selling a wide variety of chocolate could make such a statement is beyond me.

Stonehaven itself rests just south of oil rich Aberdeen and dates far back into prehistoric times.  It is thought to have been established as an Iron Age fishing village.  In the late 1200's William Wallace the noble hero took back Dunnotter Castle from the thug Edward 1. King of Englandshire and later the noble Covenanters were crowded together in Dunnotter Castle before being shipped to the Americas, those that survived that is, some being executed or died of misuse.  Nothing much happens today as most pass through on their way north or south.  They can however stop off for lunch at the Carron Fish Bar, easily identified by the banner above the shop.

 

UPI

 

Mitsubishi, the Japanes giant, have decided to apologise for using American servicemen as slave labour during the second world war. How nice of them seventy years later! I notice this apology not only fails to offer compensation but also avoids any reference to the hundreds of British servicemen also enslaved at this plant. This feeble apology clearly has a hidden meaning. Mitsubishi, famous for their 'Zero' fighter at the time, clearly are aiming for some big money making deal with the US. What this may be we might find out later, clearly the British, nor the Australian, Indian and other, dead will not make them cash.

Here We Go Again!

One of the ideas that entered David Cameron's head some time ago was the one that said a successful Prime Minister was a strong 'war leader.'  He has been looking for his war in order to show himself strong ever since.  We have seen him act in Libya, pushing Obama into an action he attempted to avoid and we now see that country divided amongst several groups, none of whom we intended to allow such freedom.  He wished to intervene in Syria but was put off by Obama and his own defence people.  For some undeclared reason he avoided intervening in the Ukraine difficulty except by mouthing words against Putin and offering solace but nothing else to Kiev. Cynic I may be but the billions of Russian money, taken from the people in a style admired by the Conservative Party of which Cameron is the head, could possibly have influenced him.  The Russian's having all that gas amongst other things we need certainly coloured his thoughts. Cameron will not have noticed any conflict in Africa, or indeed any other poor nation with no oil or other item we require, but he will possibly send them a Christmas Card, if he remembers.

We are about to involve ourselves against this weeks bad guys, ISIS, or whatever the name is this week.  We do this party for humanitarian reasons and we are told, and Scots recognise how the media is used for propaganda purposes, we do this because ISIS are a danger to us and need to be dealt with. Therefore the RAF will join in with bombing whatever the targets provided happen to be.  

Now the interesting thing here is the participation of both Saudi Arabia and Qatar (both Sunni) the very people who provided weapons and cash to encourage the Sunni rebels to break up Syria (Mostly Shia) and yet now joined in this bombing!  Other Arab states such as Jordan are indeed unhappy and willing participants but Saudi and Qatar, really?  Call me a cynic but.....

"No boots on the ground," is the cry.  Our soldiers, or what is left of them after the stringent cuts, will not be 'on the ground in Iraq.'  We know the SAS types are there, this is where they show their worth, but with little understanding of what will happen tomorrow can Cameron really believe that troops will never be put into Iraq?  I doubt it as I do not expect any Arab or Iranian force to be capable of dealing with ISIS face to face.  The Iraqi's ran away last time!  

Once again we enter the unknown, watch this space.

  

Once a week, if the timetable permits, according to the unwritten (and better) 'British (that means English) constitution the Prime Minister meets with the monarch and discusses affairs of state.  This may be a long or short meeting depending on the importance of the issues and whether the monarch is in a hurry to go to watch her horses racing at Newmarket.  Now these meetings are always confidential, no PM has ever uttered a word concerning the exchanges as far as we know.  This when the meetings have not always been enjoyable. Disraeli flattered Queen Victoria and was popular with her but even he ion occasions wished to strangle the stubborn woman (stubborn woman? Surely not?).  She disliked Gladstone who addressed her, she said, like she was a public meeting, and he was around a long time! In recent years no PM has gone beyond cautious courtesy when referring to meetings with the monarch but recently blabbermouth Cameron could not resist boring some foreign leader with his victory over the Scots, a victory achieved by cheating, lying and the aid of the media.  'The queen was, he said, 'purring' at the news.  Well she would be as she owns half off it!  He could have asked her to send donations to the many foodbanks by Barmoral!  However, the point is he discussed the discussion with the monarch, this is a bad thing to do and this idiot PM gave no thought to the cameras, microphones or the devious nature of the two faced media who instantly blasted this story to the world.  Now the PM has to go cap in hand and apologise to her for his blemish.  One hopes she will indicate her opinion properly, possibly by allowing Prince Philip to get his gun out! If a premier cannot be trusted with such a small thing can he be trusted with military action?

  

The World Tonight

Unknown Photographer

The world tonight shows Scotland's capital Edinburgh along with the rest of the nation on tenterhooks as they approach the day of reckoning.  Tomorrow the historic decision must be taken to break the stranglehold of England upon Scotland and become an independent nation once again.  It is not possible to understand how anyone, bar those making money from London or the sectarian bigots in  the west coast can bring themselves to refuse independence.  No other nation has ever done that!  The lies of the BBC and the London media, the slanted news coverage, the friends of London lining up to spout lies for their own advantage surely have been seen through?  Even tonight the 'Telegraph' offers a major headline concerning a pensioner attacked while supporting the NO vote.  At no time have the many YES folk attacked been given publicity by this foul paper. It also ignores the owner offering the Scots editor £20,000 to encourage a NO vote!  The twisted facts and false promises that will never come to pass must ensure the Scots take the step we must all desire in our hearts, independence.  The nation awaits, the world watches on, and I wish I was there!

In some places Scotland's trials mean little.  The people of Utter Pradesh watch the Hiindu nationalists trawl through the villages seeking to force Christians and Muslim to return to the Hindu religion.  This has led to many problems for Christians with leaders being harassed and attacked as they go about their day. The ability to start a riot must be one of the easiest thing to learn in India, they happen almost daily, and when the Hindu's turn on Christians dwellings are destroyed and people seriously damaged and killed.  This will of course get no coverage in the media.

In Syria and Iraq there will be little possibility to acknowledge Scotland's peaceful vote.  They will be cut off from electricity in most places and dodging bullets and madmen elsewhere.  It makes me glad to be where I am sometimes when I see how folks live elsewhere.  major wars we hear about to some extent but smaller conflicts, especially those that are ongoing for some time are less important to our news providers, they wish new action, loud explosions, crying women or some sex story involving someone famous.  The media feed up bread and circuses daily and we cannot see it!

Some of course are enjoying their own Garden of Eden, and I am not in the least jealous of them, my skin has an unfortunate green tint anyway with all the green stuff I now eat!  The sufferings in one place do not stop us having good times in another.  It has always been thus and will remain so until the end.  Enjoy while you can, the bill arrives at the end of the month!

I attended a talk at the museum this afternoon on how the Great War affected Essex.  This was interesting and naturally afterwards I was surrounded by attractive young women asking me for information.  The interesting thing at these events is the offhand information that comes out. Two men spoke to the speaker and later he said both had relatives who died at Gallipoli and lie in the same graveyard there.  Naturally he did not collect their names or pass them on to me! Tsk!  It did mean I had yet more info to search tonight for the pretty young blonde woman looking for a granddad who survived but the relevant information has been lost.  

Whatever happens look up, the sky is always there, even if it is under a cloud!

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Confusion?

Not that long ago Winston Churchill, he of the champagne breakfasts and half smoked cigars, talked of the 'special relationship' between the 'English speaking peoples.'  What he meant of course was Britain and America, and Churchill's mother was American and he had indeed a special relationship with the country. Since then many British Prime Ministers, and loud newspapers, have kept this 'special relationship' in the public eye.  Whether Churchill really believed it I know not, no other PM believed it!  However what they did recognise was the two nations have a lot in common, not language as we know they cannot speak it properly, but basic understandings of life, who the good guys are and what should be done about things.  Today both intelligence services work together in many ways, mostly listening in to you and I as we phone our family, scribble a blog and send emails.  These poor men must be helluva bored that's all I can say!  
However it was quickly learnt in Britain that the USA under Harry Trueman did not appreciate this 'special relationship,' as they hopped it back to after the war, ignoring the Soviet takeover off half of Europe and ignoring the threat to the rest.  I think it may be down to Churchill's speech off an 'Iron Curtain,' cutting Europe in half that allowed General Marshall to produce his 'Marshall Plan' to rebuild Europe.  Marshall was not a great warrior General but he was a wise diplomatic one and understood that not only was Stalin a threat but the US could not export to a dead Europe.  The dead Europe would have seen some nations tempted to Communism and US cash, well spent, would aid the USA also.  And so it was, and I admit I generalise freely here.

Come George W Bush and his needless invasion of Iraq we find the UK government led by an admirer of all things American, Tony Blair.  Bush, and especially those strange men behind the scene, were motivated not just for oil, if indeed that was the reason, but because Israel wished Saddam out of the way.  They feared his threat, real or imaginary, to their state and the compliant people who actually run the States followed on.  Tony Blair spoke of the 'special relationship' which he knew meant 'follow the US at all times or they might turn against you' and he did not wish to spoil that relationship.  A more courageous leader might well have done so with no break in the 'relationship' for Harold Wilson, then the Labour PM, refused to send even a military band to Vietnam when urged to do so by Lyndon Johnson.  Certainly that would have produced problems at home but in the end we still borrowed cash from America, amongst others, and life continued.  
This morning we read of David Cameron who, I kid you not, is actually Prime Minister of the United Kingdom!  Indeed you rub your eyes but it is true, he is the PM, the most important man after which ever singer/filmstar/footballer has committed suicide/got married/found with drugs. Incredible as it seems he is once again following on the one lesson he learned during the Blair years, you get votes if you prove you are a tough war leader!  He forgets Iraq is Blair's legacy, one he cannot ever evade.  
Our bright, keen 'Dear Leader,' has already urged Obama in action in Lybia where the nasty Gaddafi was removed and the people set free to kill one another while gangs of gunmen roam around for political/religious/banditry reasons.  His next move was more intricate, he wanted to join the war on Assad in Syria.  Now Saudi Arabia(our friends who buy our guns etc, Sunni Muslims who produce bin Laden) and Qatar ( our friends who buy our guns etc to keep their population under control, Sunni Muslim rulers of a Shia state) both supplied arms (bought from UK, US, France etc) to the Sunni's fighting against Assad.  Both states are afraid of Iran (Shia state that is not sold anything by anyone bar North Korea and those who don't admit selling stuff) so get at Iran by breaking up the stable state that was Syria.  Obviously the west allowed this to occur as nothing was done to stop it.  Obama rightly may not wish to be involved in the Middle East but the US must have allowed this to happen.  The proof is Cameron's desire to join in. Now we see the 'rebels' are dominated by Sunni 'extremists,' armed by our friends in the Middle East now taking over the northern parts of Iraq which as we all know are Sunni dominated.  The southern part of Iraq, Shia dominated and badly led, now finds its capital under threat from the 'rebels' who not only are Islamic extremists they are so violent they claim al Quaida (spell it your way) have distanced themselves from them!  The threat to the Kurds is real enough and the ISIS mob, or is it Islamic State mob I don't know, have better weapons than the Kurds (who may be Shia or Sunni I know not but are Kurds first when this lot are about) so Cameron is talking not just about arming the Kurds but taking military action against this 'real danger' to the UK.

So what this means is the people supported by our 'friends' are now our enemies but the arms they posses were given by our friends when they were also our friends but are not friends any more but our friends who armed them are not opposing them in northern Iraq but we are, and while opposing our friends friends we take help from our friends enemy who is our enemy except when aiding us against our enemy who once was our friend but isn't any more but remains friends of our friends just the same while our friends enemy is no longer our enemy but our friend.
Simple really.
What it comes down to is another PR stunt by the slimy Cameron telling us that Obama, against his wishes, has to aid the Kurds, we support him in this and use air power, something our friends friend who is our enemy does not posses, to attack his heavy weapons and drop aid to the folks he is killing for no reason. We will also supply heavier weapons (who pays Cameron?), SAS troops on the ground, although they may already be there, and according to this mouthpiece troops will soon follow.  
Cameron is following the 'special relationship' much loved by the Conservative Party, even though it is one sided, and it may well be attempting to drag Obama rather than follow.  
By all means stand by our friends, and the US are 'friends.'  By all means oppose tyranny everywhere and at all times.  The one thing missing is long term consideration of what is going on in the middle East.  This problem grew out of the aftermath of the Great War when Britain and France carved up the middle East between themselves taking no account of religious differences. Ignoring the people we find that after Saddam the place was left, under Israeli instruction, to fall apart.  What has happened has brought a greater danger, to Israel and the wider world!  Folly at all levels has allowed the situation to explode and the politicians in the west are struggling to cope.  In the meantime many die.

Cameron stayed very quiet while Israel bombed Gaza, merely stating they had a right to defend themselves, he was very reluctant to leave his holiday in Portugal while the Yazidi's were being forced out of their homes, he has only now surfaced to play the war leader.  He has certainly never mentioned the many types of Christian who has suffered in the Middle East, especially under ISIS, where death for thousands has occurred.  He cannot mention them as he is afraid of the Muslims at home.  A bit late for that Prime Minister!  He is also afraid of the gay lobby and the secularists who he is desperate to run after.  
This man is not a leader, he merely runs after whatever grabs the headline and reaches for a vote. The 'special relationship' will be used here as a reason to follow the US, 'for our own protection,' while a wider vision of what is actually happening will be seen as unnecessary. 
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Arab Uprisings

Book Depository

If you wish to understand the Syrian situation, or indeed the Middle East today in any way you need to read this book.  The BBC Middle East correspondent Jeremy Bowen has 12 years experience of the region, sometimes in great danger, occasionally being shot at and occasionally hit.  
Bowen takes us through the last few years of 'revolution, from the beginning in Tunisia, through Libya, Egypt, Yemen, and of course a great deal of the book covers the Syrian situation.  The whole area is split into many factions, religious and political.  In some states such as Tunisia a 'secular' approach is found even though the majority call themselves Muslim.  In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood won the first election because they had a well ordered organisation that had been working since the time of Nasser, the middle class secular city dwellers did not possess such and lost out through squabbling amongst themselves.  A violent uprising in Libya, supported by the western air forces, removed Qaddafi from power but has not led to a peaceful settlement.  Militias, Islamist''s and criminals hold much power yet.  Saudi has thrown £100 billion at avoiding rebellion in the state, more on offer in an attempt to keep the Kings position safe. Yemen alone has begun a six month 'conversation' to decide the future of that troubled state. Some secular people find themselves at odds with Al-Qaeda types from the mountains in the north. Iraqis seek to go their own way in spite of being allies but not lackeys of Iran, and Iran aids Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon while saying little.  
Iran finds itself Saudia Arabia's main enemy, and the Saudi's have attempted to invite a US invasion.  This has not found much support in Washington where foreign adventures are harder militarily and public opinion opposes violently!   Iran is of course Shia Muslim, Saudi Arabia Sunni. That sectarian divide runs through the region threatening to explode and involve many nations. Syria, led by 'Alawite' Assad who finds himself supported by rich Sunni businessmen and minority Christians now is being opposed by Sunni extremists who are proving stronger than the original rebels, who just wanted a more prosperous and safe life without the secret police beating them. This conflict falls over into Lebanon where the delicate balance is under threat. Here some 18 groupings share power.  Already sections of some towns are unreachable because of the conflict there and almost anything could lead to this part of the world giving us a war of First World War proportions.  That conflict was savage enough, this would be much, much worse! 
Bowen provides no answers here.  This book merely covers the ground, explaining the background, allowing us to see from both sides and here the words, often truthful in spite of the dangers, exposing the immense difficulty anyone has in producing peace quickly in this area today.   The west has little understanding of what to do, William Hague the UK Foreign Secretary spouts comments often but Bowen leaves us in no doubt as to the limited information and government double speak on offer here.  The west wish to support the good side and now, after Iraq, find they have an Iraq government that is friendly to Iran the west's enemy, support by the million given to rebels in Syria, the strongest of whom are Al-Qaeda types, the types that threaten our troops and encourage bombs and murder on UK streets!  The confusion does not stop there just look at the Islamist's in Libya who we provided air cover for!  
To understand the Middle East it is imperative to read a book like this.  No doubt there are others around but I found this book full of clarity on the situation from a man who risks his life, carefully, to meet the people and report the situation.  One of the BBC's better journalists his writing enlightens the minds of those who wish to see the Middle East as she is today.  
  
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