Chinese Cultural Revolution 2.0

Have you noticed the blank spots on store shelves? Things are getting scarce. If you are buying for Christmas, you should do it now. Things are really going to get scarce. China has started the Cultural Revolution #2. Years back the country was destitute, everyone starving and poor. At that point they decided to let in Capitalism. We went in and our money built their factories, their infrastructure and their military. Now they are far enough ahead and no longer need us. Time to take on the west. 

They are doing away with all forms of decadence, movie stars, pop stars and some billionaires have disappeared. They have already started closing down factories. And of course they sent us the virus which has yet to come to full bloom.

Our political leaders are really dumb and our Captains of industry are so greedy. The factories are all gone and they can't be built overnight. We can't build a darn thing.

Saw a film yesterday telling us that the U.S. government is offering farmers 1 1/2 times the value of their crops if they destroy them. If they don't, they won't be getting subsidy payments next year. Trying to create a food shortage? Somebody has sold out to somebody. 

The NEWS broadcasters spend most of the TV hours talking about the virus. Telling us every possible combination of patients, one province after the other, hours and hours, determined to scare the shit out of us. Except for forest fires or floods, you don't know one other thing that is going on. Riots in France, protests in England and don't even think about Australia. We are all in deep shit and you are to blame. 

My 9/11

On that day, I was at work at the airport watching the screens in the Security Control Office. My son called me from Florida where he was at work and told me to turn on the TV. Then seeing the twin towers, I called my boss who was head of security and told him to look. A few minutes later the airport was in lockdown and all the planes started arriving. 

The strange thing is that this was my last day at work before my vacation. The next morning I was flying out to Florida to visit my son. I would be at  Newark airport at 09:30. A day earlier and I would have seen the attack. Can you just imagine me among the hundreds trying to rent a car. 

Lie Down With Lions by Ken Follett

 This a love triangle with a background of the Afghan war, further complicated wit the men on opposing sides. It is well written with exceptional work on the lives of women in an Afghan village where our main character uses her wiles to survive. I did get tired with the continual emphasis on breast feeding. This was the least of my problems, when half-way thru the book I thought it had changed to a porn novel. I found this section an unnecessary addition to the book. The story seemed to have lost its purpose. After that wasted section the book was back on track with a great ending. 

The Afgan war is on a respite

 

New World Order

 

The New World Order is upon us. It is surprising hat Australia has been the first to fall. They say Canada will be next. Only the election holding us back. The U.S. is slower because of their history of rebellion. They rebelled against the British while Australia & Canada did not.

Rothschild: 'New World Order' will be in place by 2018

I see Canadian Club is taking on beer as the drink of choice for meals and sports games.

 

What amazes me is filled fridge shelves that never collapse.

 

Richard Bolitho — Midshipman (Richard Bolitho, #1) by Alexander Kent

This is the first of the Bolitho series. It is more of a short story than a novel. Being short, it doesn't waste a lot of time on dressing, although some explanations seem to be left out, making you wonder. As the story starts he already has a four year career behind him. A career that seems to have been easy going as it now takes a turn for the worse. He suddenly becomes aware of the prejudices and cruelty that surround him. The story seems to lack strength.   

Corsican Gold by Dave Bartell

 

This is a youthful attempt to write an adventure story. Darwin, a graduating college student, returns to his roots in Corsica and reminisces about his past and hopes it will help mould his future. A meeting with an English woman leads to an immature attempt for a sexual encounter. While exploring caves they come upon a lost treasure which no one seems to have noticed in the last four hundred years. A short story suitable for the teenage market. An excellent cover.

Pompeii by Robert Harris

I wanted to read this book because I've been to Pompeii. I am familiar with a lot of the buildings and walked on their mosaic floors. For the most part it is about the workings of the water system, the aqueduct. In modern terms we would say it is about a bunch of plumbers trying to fix a watermain. We are mesmerized by the story of Pompeii and tend to forget that it is a town of ordinary people, going about their business, confronted by greed, lust and murder. It provides us with great insight into the lives of the Roman citizens especially the rich. The mention of historical figures brings a realistic touch to the story. 

My son mowed the lawn. It looks like it has been cut by Picasso.

It's amazing how many people think that if they get the vaccine they won't get COVID.

Death in the Andamans by M.M. Kaye

This is a murder mystery with the background of the Andamans Islands, another British enclave in the Indian Ocean. Three couples, Christmas house guests, have their love affairs interrupted by a number of murders. Isolated by a hurricane, fortified by endless brandy & sodas, they take on the solving of these murders as a parlor game. 

When the murders solve themselves, the story, awash with political incorrectness, reverts back to the three couples and the inevitable happy ending.   

Can you imagine? Biden falling asleep while talking to a visiting diplomat.

SeaFire (John Gardner's Bond, #14)

The author writes a good James Bond story and this is one of the best. Ian Fleming must be smiling down on him. We know Bond's lifestyle and this book will point out his vanity, letting us see that he is far from perfect.

This book is written as the last of the Bond series and it was a good endeavor. We are told his weak points, his strong points, that he does not have a heart of stone and can shed tears. Although there are other Bond stories, they will not move his life and career further on. 

For those who don't know it, Don Juan is a work of fiction.

Nightblind (Dark Iceland #2) by Ragnar Jonasson

 

It was a bit difficult at first, getting used to the names and places but one gets used to it. When the story started out with a new detective, I thought the last one was finished. It wasn't until I finished the story and read some of the reviews, did I find out that the books are not in sequence. The story did take a leap forward, omitting a few years of the main character's life. 

There are two story lines going at the same time and I was unable to put them together till near the end, intentionally written that way. The main character is weak, easily taking offence at any small remark to the point that it overwhelms him. 

Dead Man's Footsteps (Roy Grace, #4) by Peter James

This is a story of multiple threads and as you read the chapters, you wonder what they could possibly have to do with each other. Each incident is a story in itself and I didn't know what to expect. This author is excellent at running different storylines, bringing them all to a page turning end. Very appropriate title. 

Population Control

It is possible that the virus is being used as a means of population control. Not the quantity of population but rather its acceptance of ideas. 

John Wayne used to Fetch Wyatt Earp’s Coffee

 “Earp was the man who had actually done the things in his life that I was trying to do in a movie. I imitated his walk; I imitated his talk” – said the famous actor John Wayne.