The Crusades are largely forgotten, but they left a mark

 Some of my previous blogs dealt with the Mid-East, the Holy Land, but they were pretty much contemporary times.  The Crusades happened over 1400 years ago, but have left a mark.  

We are all tied to the past. The Third Crusade in the 12th century revealed a serious conflict between Christians and Muslims.  When the Papacy learned that the holy sites inside the most holy Christian city, Jerusalem were ruled by Muslims a campaign to restore it began.

At this time Muslims looked at Europeans as relatively uneducated.  Literacy and science were more developed in the Mid-East.

We think of Richard as the English King Richard, but he saw himself as French.  He was religious and agreed to take part.  Throughout the Crusades he recognized his actions were needed to protect Christianity and at times it was his religiosity that turned him to focus on the task.  He was truly a magnificent fighter.

Saladin proved himself capable and commanded the Ottoman military, even though he was a despised Kurd.  The Byzantine Empire was still strong, but the Ottoman Turks had control over what is now Turkey, but extended into Egypt and Israel and Jordan.   The Crusaders were able to maintain Cyprus as a Christian nation.

Jerusalem is also a holy city for Muslims, but they allowed Christians to visit holy sites.

Saladin was older than King Richard, and not as physically intimidating.  They both were good as tacticians, but the author concedes King Richard was the better.  The two never met, but communicated through messengers including Saladin's brother, Safadin.  Saladin died in 1193.

Geoffrey Regun recounts several battles that the combatants took turns winning.  One advantage the Turks had was the heat.  The longer the Crusaders endured it, the weaker they became which Saladin stretched to his advantage.

King Richard received messages that all was not well in England or his French territories.  Along the way back home he was captured and put in a German dungeon with demands for a ransom.  This resulted in heavy taxes, but finally after a year and 6 weeks, was enough.  No connection to Robin Hood.  In the end King Richard had a minor wound, an arrow to his neck, but two surgeons botched removing it and gangrene set in.  Knowing he was dying he arranged his will and demanded that his followers pay allegiance to Prince John.  He died in the presence of his mother in 1199.  

The influence of the Crusaders lingered for awhile with Muslim mothers warning their children if they didn't behave, the King of England would be coming.  The Ottoman Turks ruled the Holy Land for several centuries.  It was after WWI, with the help of Lawrence of Arabia that the Turks were forced out and Arabs under the British made headway.

For later historical developments check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/12/lawrence-in-arabia.html  

The photo at the top is of a jacket cover with an aquatint of Richard I and an engraving of Saladin courtesy of Mary Evans Picture Library.

Romance Disrupted by India/Pakistan Partition

 After WW II, England prompted by rebel forces and their own economic difficulties decided to get out of India.  As planning began Muslims made a strong demand for their own country.  This complication was handled expeditiously with little concern as to how complicated it was.  It was easy enough to draw lines creating two parts to Pakistan out of India.  The problem was that Hindus and Muslims were spread across the lines and little attention paid to the Sikhs who were also distributed on both sides of the line.

"Main Vaapas Aaunga" (2026) is spread over about 80 years.  We see a bedridden man suffering from a stroke, heart concerns and creeping dementia.  A grandson is visiting India from England.  Death seems approaching and the old man is rambling and for some reason the grandson pays more attention to the words of a dying man than all the other relatives.  

The viewer is taken to what the old man is trying to articulate going back to just before Partition and his relationship with his love.  He is a Sikh and assures her he is not leaving despite rumours of Partition. One joke was they could both convert to Christianity and get married in a church.  Keenu, to reassure Jiya has her name tattooed on his wrist which we can also view on the old man's wrist.

We are shown men fleeing and many not able to board extremely overcrowded trains.  We see enemies killing the Sikhs with Keenu barely escaping.  More frightening is the plight of the women following who were separated by mutual agreement as it was thought they would slow the men down.  However as enemies (could have been Muslims or Hindus) the women realized they not only could be beaten, but also raped.  Young girls had their hair cut to appear as boys, but as the fear became more imminent some girls had their throats slit to avoid the shame.

The old man gradually makes sense to the grandson while the rest of the family just feels his dementia is getting worse.  We learn that Keenu had made an early attempt to revisit his lover, but was discouraged about the prospects of her being alive.  Still as he approaches death he retains hope and the desire to read a poem he wrote for her.  We see a grandson wanting to help and the old man deteriorating.  I will leave it there.

Another theme was the grandson had become a Non Resident Indian, but not one able to hold down a job.  He marvels at his grandfather's desire to go home and wonders if that is something he has lost.

"Main Vaapas Aaunga" is likely to be involved with awards as it has a lot of top notch cast and crew.  Here are some of them.

Imtiaz Ali was director and script writer.  He has 18 writing credits, 11 directing and 6 for producing. including "Ahista Ahista" (2006),  "Love Aaj Kal" (2009), "Jab We Met" (2007), "Rockstar" (2011), "Highway" (2014), "Tamasha" (2015) and "Amar Singh Chamkila" (2023)  Check   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/04/amar-singh-chamkila-used-dirty.html

A.R. Rahman provided the music.  He had done commercial jingles when Mani Ratman invited him to write for a film "Roja" (1992).  I had not realized that Rahman wrote for the Tamil market, but has expanded to Bollywood,  American, English etc.  With the encouragement of  Andrew Lloyd Webber he wrote for a stage musical, "Bombay Dreams" that had long runs in both London and New York.  He has 221 composing credits and 90 for the music department (often backup singer) including "Bombay" (1995), "Fire" (1996), "Lagaan Once Upon a Time in India" (2001), "Swades" (2004), "Water" (2005), "Rang de Basanti" (2006), "Ghajini" (2008), "Slum Dog Millionaire" (2008), "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" (2012), "Highway" (2014), "100 Foot Journey" (2014) "Tamasha" (2015) "The Goat Life" (2024) and Maidaan (2024)   Check http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/07/the-making-of-laga and http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/08/the-goat life.html  and   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/06/maidaan.html  Elsewhere Rahman had commented that he often gives producers a difficult time in order to get what he wants and feels the film benefits. 

Sylvester Fonseca was the cinematographer.  He has 32 cinematography credits and 2 for the camera &  electrical department including "Sacred Games" (2018-19) and "Amar Singh Chamkila" (2023).

Aarti Bajaj was the editor.  She has 56 editor credits including "Jab We Met" (2010), "Udann" (2010), "Karthik Calling Karthik" (2011), "No One Killed Jessica" (2011), "Ishaqzaade" (2012), "Highway" (2014), "Tamasha" (2025) and "Amar Singh Chamkila" (2023).   See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/02/tamasha-wonderful-story.html

Naseeruddin Shah played Ishar Singh Grewal, the old dying man.  He once formed a traveling theatre group and has done a Hollywood movie.  He has 271 acting credits, 6 for the music department and 2 for producing including "Hey Ram" (2000), "Monsoon Wedding" (2001), "Maqbool" (2004), "Omkara" (2006),  "Amal" (2007), "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara" (2011) and "Gehraiyaan" (2022), "IC814:  The Kandarhar Hijack" (2024).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/09/ic-814-kandahar-hijack.html 

Diljit Dosanjh played Nivair Singh, the grandson and was also a playback singer.  He has 101 acting credits and 41 for the music department including "Udta Punjab" (2016), "Phillauri" (2017), "Soorma" (2018), "Good Newwz" (2019) and "Amar Singh Chamila" (2023).   See   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/02/good-newwz.html 

Vedang  Raina played the young lover Keenu.  He has 3 acting credits and 2 for the music department.

Sharvari played Jiya, the young lover abandoned.  She has 8 acting credits and 3 for assistant directing including "Bajirao Mastani" (2015) and "Maharaj" (2015).  See   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/07/maharaj.html

Rajat Kapoor played Iqbal.  He has 84 acting credits, 14 for directing and 10 for writing including "Dil Chahta Hai" (2001), "Monsoon Wedding" (2002), "Khoya Khoya Chand" (2007), "Beja Fry" (2007)"Dasvidaiya" (2008)"Midnight's Children" (2012), "Ankhon Dekhi" (2013), "Drishyam" (2015), "Kapoor & Sons" (2016), "Drishyam 2" (2022), "Saare Jahan Se Accha" (2025), "Raat Akeli Hai:  The Bansal Murders" (2025) and "Raid 2" (2025).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/11/driishyam-bollywood-remake-masterpiece.html and   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/12/a-nawazuddin-siddiqu-sequel-is-very-good.html

Dolly Ahulwalia played Keenu's grandmother.  She has 32 acting credits and 18 for costume design.  As a costume designer she worked on three films with Deepa Methta, "Fire' (1996)"Earth," (1998) "Water," (2005 also acted)  and "Midnight's Children" (2012).  She won costuming awards for "Bhaag Milka Bhaag" (2013) and "Haider" (2014).   She also won supporting actor awards for "Vicky Donor" (2012).   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/04/vicky-donor-cf-dharala-prabhu.html 

"Main Vaapas Aaunga" is an important movie as it concerned with the Partition which many of our westerners have long forgotten.  There is a short gruesome scene illustrating extreme desperation.  It is also an enduring love story.  It is available subtitled on Netflix.  I do recommend it

Do Americans realize Trump is a traitor?

 Up front there are a lot of reasons to find Trump disgusting, but so far too many Americans accept his leadership.  He has Congress members under control as they fear how he can hurt them and his staff has been picked for loyalty, not expertise.  What could tip the scales?  How American do you think you are?  

Americans are right to be concerned about the cost of groceries, housing and gas, but international affairs are intertwined with domestic expenses.  

We are not certain if Trump just admires Putin as a fellow kleptomaniac or if Putin has incriminating evidence.  Either way he seems to do a lot of Putin's bidding.

Go back a few years to just after when the Soviet Empire was broken up.  The deal was for Ukraine to give up nuclear weapons.  United States was to protect Ukraine against a Russian invasion and Ukraine was never to join NATO.  Doesn't carry any weight today.

He calls accusations that he was helped by Russia in 2016 a "hoax", but there is a lot of evidence otherwise and even that he was aware of it.   See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2019/06/house-of-trump-house-of-putin.html and  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/10/freezing-order.html

In Helsinki he said he believe Putin against 16 American agencies regarding Russian influence in the 2016 election.  During his first term he made decisions regarding Syria and Afghanistan that probably benefited Russia as much as the United States.  He also criticized NATO with a hint he could do without them.

In his second term he was better organized.  He humiliated Zelenskyy in the White House while previous administrations including Republican would have helped Ukraine against Russia.  Although many in Congress wanted to help Ukraine, Trump was able to minimize any aid and although promising he could end the conflict preferred to let it drag on.

The complaints against NATO continued having one definite outcome.  Members were encouraged to increase their military spending.  Dwight Eisenhower had pointed out that military spending detracted from health care and education, but Trump emphasized the military.  He threatened to take over Greenland, currently controlled by NATO member Denmark.  They already had a military base on Greenland and the Danish government was willing to allow more bases.

All previous American administrations had heavily supported Israel and Trump went further.  After the Hamas attack on October 7th, 2023, European and American students began to protest what turned out to be a genocide of Palestinians.  The students were branded anti-semitist.  One suggestion of his was to clear Gaza and turn it into a tourist area.  Military armaments continued.

More importantly, although previous American presidents had resisted a Netanyahu request to attack Iran he went ahead and to this point lowered American military resources that it affected its military readiness. NATO and others were condemned for the lack of support of his (illegal) attack.  Iran had supported Russia with drones and Russia has supported Iran to hold against overwhelming American forces.  Trump's decisions have led to an increase in gas prices which in turn pump up inflation.  Another long term complication is much fertilizer comes through the Strait of Hormuz.

A later development was a Trump announcement that a joint military exercise with South Korea would not happen.  At the same time we learn North Korea plans to send 50,000 soldiers to fight against Ukraine.  Surely it is no coincidence that North Korea would not want to be distracted by the American troops.   In reality, South Korea has been a useful ally--keeping an eye on both China and Russia.

Within the past two weeks Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have formed a defensive alliance as they feel the U.S. is not reliable.

Unless Americans want to ally with Russia they need to investigate instead of investigating voter fraud and political opponents.  Russia and Israel will do what they can to influence the elections later this year.

Do You Like Brahms?

 It was news to me that there was a love triangle among classical music composers.  Robert Schuman married Clara, a concert pianist while Johannes Brahms pined for her.  Apparently some modern musicians took sides.  For some fans the two composers had personal attachments that interfered with romances.

"Do You Like Brahms?" (2020) is similar in plotting to a soap opera.  Girl and boy stumble to discover love and then circumstances conspire against them before a happy ending.  Chae Song-ah had graduated from business college, but decided to pursue the violin, even though disadvantaged by her late start.  Park Joon-young was established as an international concert pianist.  A few colleagues felt there was too big of a talent gap.  

Lee Jung-Kyung was a violinist of the same age, but more experienced.  She had been the girl friend of Joon-young who was tired of her, but she had a hold through her wealthy family and helped pay off his family debts.  She had also dated Han Hyung-ho, a cellist and friend of Joon-young.

Previous love affairs, heavy debts incurred by a father cloud prospects and a cheating teacher conspire for a complicated plot.  Joon-young generates a good income from international performances, but unknown to Song-ah it mostly goes to pay debts and an ex girl friend with money exploits his vulnerability.  She is not liked by many and has her ups and downs.

Song-ah is quiet and became attracted when Joon-young played a version of Schuman's "Treumari" that plays a role in the film involving others.  Joon-young found himself in conversations with Song-ah and felt comfortable.  He asked her to be a page turner for one of his performances.  They are both introverted and eventually they decide to date.

The relationship moves slowly with a few complications to spice it up.  Song-ah is very uncertain about her future career and is advised she will never be a solo performer or even accompany solo performers.  An agent for Joon-young is very candid with Song-ah saying she is not good for Joon-young.  He keeps his debt problem secret from Song-ah, but others know about it.  The other young musicians are intertwined and the staff have their own politics.

You do hear snippets of classical music, but even more of Korean romantic film songs.  Classical music for most of us is something only refined or weird people take any notice of--I am one of them, not sure which one.  For some viewers they will feel comfortable with the culture.  Stirring contemporary Korean songs may appeal to a wider audience.  The two main characters are very likeable.  

It takes a good cast and crew to make a series work.  Here are a few.

Young-Min Jo was the director.  He has 3 directing credits and 1 for editing.

Ryu Bi-Ro was the writer.  He has 4 writing credits including "Trolley" (2022-23).  See   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/02/the-trolley.html

Jay Kim was the composer.  He has 54 composing credits and 13 for the music department including "You and Everything Else" (2025).   see  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2026/03/you-and-everything-else.html

Park Eun-Bin  played Chae Song-ah and re-learned to play the violin  She has 30 acting credits including "Hot Stove League" (2019),"The King's Affection" (2021), "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (2022) and "Castaway Diva" (2023).   See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/08/extraordinary-attorney-woo.html and also http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2026/07/baseball-lovers-will-find-hot-stove.html  While watching this I also started watching her latest series, "Spooky in Love" (2026) which is very different, but demonstrates her versatility with two more episodes to go.

Kim Min-jae played Park Joon-young and learned to play the piano.  He has 20 acting credits and 2 for soundtrack including a voice role in "Swing Kids" (2018).

Park Ji-hyun played Lee Jung-Kyung.  She has 23 acting credits and 1 for the camera and electrical department including "You and Everything Else" (2025).

Kim Sung-cheol plays Han Hyun Ho. a cellist, friend to Joon-young, a boyfriend to Jung-Kyung.  He has 23 acting credits including "Vincenzo" (2021) and "The Wind Blows" (2023).  see   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/11/the-wind-blows.html 

Ye Soo-jung plays Na Moon sook, wealthy director of the music institute and grandmother of Jung-Kyung.  She has 48 acting credits including "Along with the Gods:  The Last 49 Days" (2011), "The Thieves" (2012), "Train to Busan" (2016), "Black Dog" (2019-20) and "Spooky in Love" (2026).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/01/black-dog.html

Seo Jung-yeon played Cha Young-in, an advisor to Song-ah.  She has 79 acting credits including "Live Up to Your Name" (2017), "Something in the Rain" (2018), "Black Dog" (2019), "Trolley" (2022), "Castaway Diva" (2023) and "You and Everything Else" (2025).  See   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/07/live-up-to-your-name.html

Choi Dae-hoon played Park Seong-jae.  He has 32 acting credits including "Flower of Evil" (2020), "Melancholia" (2021), "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" (2022), "Decision to Leave" (2022) and "When Life Gives You Tangerines" (2024).  see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/10/flower-of-evil.html  and http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/04/when-life-gives-you-tangerines.html

Joo Suk-tae played Joon-young's agent who pushed for deals not wanted.  He has 75 acting credits, including "Tunnel" (2006), "A Hard Day" (2014) and "The Age of Shadows" (2016). 

Kim Jeong-yeong played Joon-young's mother.  She has 44 acting credits, including "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and... Spring" (2003), "Signal" (2016) and "The Glory" (2022-23).

Kim Seon-hwa played Song-ah's mother.  She has 31 acting credit including "The Glory (2022-23) and "Teach You a Lesson" (2026).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2026/06/teach-you-lesson.html

Korean romance lovers should enjoy "Do You Like Brahms?" available subtitled on Netflix.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  Some of them are among my favourite Korean films and a big part of my Korean obsession.  If you follow the links you should be able to determine if any film is worth following up.

Israel: What went Wrong?

It must be said this situation is under change, but this post is intended to reflect the current circumstances and how they came to be.   "Israel  What Went Wrong" is the most comprehensive book I have come across dealing with this particular global crisis.

Jews were expelled from Palestine by Romans and scattered in many directions.  They were seen by many Christians as Christ killers.  Many were poor, but others served the elites in Europe causing resentment among the lower class workers.  The Bible forbade lending money for profit and thus some Jews were allowed to be money lenders causing further resentment.  Jews gravitated to positions requiring academic training.

There has been a serious lack of awareness about the beginning of Israel.  Most of the world is deeply aware of the Holocaust.  Jews trying to escape the Nazis had found many countries very restrictive and afterwards it induced guilt feelings.  In much of the world the Jews were very conscious of serious discrimination and a few developed the idea of Zionism long before the Holocaust.

The Holocaust was a genocide, but far from the first.  Colonizers were exploiting the resources of poor countries and sometimes found the natives could be very troublesome.  One of the early genocides was in 1904 in an area now known as Namibia under German control  One tribe the Herero fell victim to a genocide and later in 1915 Armenians also fell victim.  These and other examples of genocide did not concern Westerners, but the Holocaust was much closer to home and created repercussions unknown before.

After WW II Britain and the United Nations negotiated the setting up of Israel and Palestine.  Starting in 1947 until 1949 the Jewish military forced over 400,000 Arabs to flee Israel territory in order to assure a Jewish majority.  It is still illegal for them to return with most of their property confiscated for Jewish settlers. 

<from an earlier post:  Albert Einstein gave his support to the Hebrew University, but became concerned over Jewish attitudes regarding Arabs.   As far back as 1929 he voiced such opinions as "Should we be unable to find a way to honest co-operation and honest pacts with the Arabs then we have learned absolutely nothing during over 2,000 years of suffering." >

A constitution was promised back as far as 1947, but prominent politicians wanted to avoid it and religious elements felt it would lessen their control.  Secular Jews feel restricted.  There is still no constitution although some politicians such as Menachem Begin felt it was a necessity to protect human rights.  

Over the years there were several attempts to overturn Israel, but they all failed as United States and others provided massive military assistance.  

Settlers are a major problem as I write this.  Increasingly despite western protests settlers have moved into the West Bank and have more rights than the native Palestinians.  They have been aggressive to the point of killing significant numbers.

Then October 7th, 2023 with the focus at first on the murders, rapes and hostage taking.  It truly was a grisly event that horrified the whole world.  It was probably a small fringe of Hamas that wanted to brutalize the Israelis, but also true that many others approved the fighting back, realizing diplomacy wasn't practical. 

The author feels Biden could have stopped the escalation by refusing to provide arms, but probably felt the public would not support.  Others felt Netanyahu helped flame the resistance, feeling it would solidify his power.  Personally I feel the western protesters have opened a few eyes, but it is still an up hill battle.

Israel set out to curb Hamas and over time flattened hundreds of buildings and killing tens of thousands.  Both sides publicized the brutality towards children.  Palestine, per capita has the most child amputees in the world.  Children as young as 12 were classified as terrorists and imprisoned.

Journalists were killed in their coverage.  Israeli media minimized the brutality towards the Palestinians, much like Germans kept the horrors of the Holocaust from their citizens.

Protests around the world began against the Israeli genocide.  Initially most western politicians cried out antisemitism was the cause and took steps to punish protesters.  Undoubtedly antisemitism increased, but others were able to separate Jews, Zionism and Palestine.  Trump is now horrified by the killings, but once suggested Gaza should be emptied of Palestinians and turned into a tourist centre.  

Israeli soldiers have suffered PTSD with an increase in suicides.  Academics and professionals have started leaving.

The author brought up many suggested solutions, even conceding that Trump's 21 points have some merit.  Without discarding his suggestions I offer the following below.  All solutions will be considered radical by somebody.

Those nations that would like to see a solution can band together to offer reconstruction money, materials and efforts instead of weapons or money to buy weapons.  The contingent requirement would be that Israel must contribute to the reconstruction.  In return the banded nations could also agree to defend against outsiders, including Iran and its allies excluding with restrictions, Palestinians.  Palestinians would have to agree to curb violence in order to speed up reconstruction.  Discussions between the governments of Palestine and Israel would decide the many details under guidance from the banded nations.  If the Israeli public cannot be brought on board they would lose support of the banded nations and be subject to sanctions.  All this requires good will on all sides as well as the willingness of nations to change their contributions from weapons to reconstruction.  Best bets might be the U.S. (under a new regime), and NATO nations.  Germany has been caught in an awkward situation while they feel a need for atonement they have picked up any criticism of Israel as anti semitic, but perhaps a truer atonement could involved reconciling the Jews and the Arabs.  There are sane people on all sides and as others see what a mess has been created would appreciate peace as a goal.  

Trump allowed himself to be persuaded to attack Iran alongside Israel.  The high price of energy causing food and many consumables is a price Americans and most others are paying.  Reason might gain some ground if enough suffer.  Hopefully renewable resources are seen more practical.

Hope that attitudes will change.  Westerners have accepted one side of the conflict for decades, but now some realize that has not been fair.  Encouragingly Abdul El-Sayed, an American Senator prospect has gained significant support for the Palestinians.

In the end some courageous man or woman will have to make a big move.  See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/09/we-need-another-nelson-mandela-and-fw.html

The crisis has caused personal hardships, splitting Jewish friends.  One example is  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/02/peter-beinarts-being-jewish-after.html

"Israel  What Went Wrong?" is pretty comprehensive and I think reasonably balanced.

The jacket cover is by Violet Dine.

The Vendetta against Dr. Fauci

 The Republicans have initiated one of their more disgusting actions when accusing Dr. Fauci of mishandling the Covid Crisis.

The covid pandemic was grossly mishandled by their regime and voters should be demanding an accounting.  Start with their leader, Donald Trump who in an effort to make room for a counter productive tax reduction dismantled protections that had been set up by the Obama/Biden team.  Nobody knew much about it, but some precautions seemed reasonable such as social distancing and masks.  Lockdowns certainly worked in other countries.  Vaccinations also worked in other countries.  Bleach did not work, and in fact would endanger others.  The lack of respect for science was underlying the fight.

Did Dr. Fauci make mistakes or take too long to figure things out.  Possibly.  The search for information was intense and it is human to make mistakes.  He did not mislead.

Did American funds allow Chinese labs to manufacture the pandemic?  Where is the proof?  It would seem counterproductive for the Chinese government, but maybe somebody in the lab was careless or short sightedly vindictive.  

Lockdowns may well have hurt the economy, but not as much as the unchecked pandemic would have.   Education is critical, but schools are a gathering of young people who interact.

The current Trump administration has made many mistakes.  One over riding one is their lack of respect for science, particularly when it goes against established businesses.  To many, climate change should be the number one priority, but Trump has told a United Nations audience that "climate change is a hoax" and his staff act as if it were true.

His minister of health, Robert F Kennedy has a long record opposing vaccinations which helped boost a recent measles epidemic.

Trump does not admit mistakes and may have felt Dr. Fauci over shadowed him (he indeed did) during the pandemic.  He is looking for distractions from such things as the Epstein files and the disastrous tariffs combined with an unnecessary invasion of Iran to further add hurtful inflation.

Dr. Fauci was correct to use the Fifth Amendment and his explanation was very accurate.  They wanted him in prison to hide their guilt.

I believe the attack on Dr. Fauci will be another nail against Republican election prospects.  Don't let the voters forget this disgusting attack on a national hero.

Nelson DeMille's Last Book: The Tin Men

After the death of Nelson DeMille it was thought that "Blood Lines" was his last novel.  Not so.  He had begun "The Tin Man "with his son Alex and it leaves a fitting conclusion.

Why do we readers get started on a particular author?  Then, why do we stick with them?  With Nelson DeMille I learned he was related to my mother in law (first cousins) and shortly after I learned that he had a book of the month club selection. and my habit began.  More on the family connection:   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/05/tribute-to-nelson-demille-real-writer-i.html

There are a few differences from most of his previous books, for instance, that it is set entirely in the United States.  More of a domestic conspiracy.  More modern in that the main issue is about a contemporary concern.

It starts with a mysterious brutal death at a military camp.  It is all very top secret and Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor, familiar to DeMille's fans are brought in to investigate.  The camp is set up to research a future warfare strategy using "lethal autonomous weapons" i.e. robots.  These robots are all equipped with all sorts of fail safe protections.  They are engaged in pretend battles with human troops and have won every single battle.  

Checking on the safeguards seems impressively secure, but checking into more details reveals that all is not as it seems.  One camp leader is out to prove that humans can defeat the machines, but has been frustrated with results.  The readers gradually learn that all the personnel are not uniform in their acceptance of the project.

What can go wrong?  I would say the two authors are skeptical about claims that robots can be controlled.  Somehow the robots are able to overcome the restrictions and start to kill some humans.  They seem organized and able to think with more sophisticated thinking than they had been designed for.

Of course, bottom line,  it is some humans who have their own motives.  Perhaps I imagined it, but it seemed the authors felt people desiring power are always looking for ways to develop their power. 

Another danger alluded to is the dangers of recreational drugs.  It seems soldiers restricted to isolated areas are under stress and some will seek comfort they believe can be found in drugs.  Psilocybin made from mushrooms was supposed to be especially good at handling stress.  

Robotic warfare is justified by the notion that our enemies are developing it, therefore we need to keep pace.  This goes through all history starting with sticks and stones.  There will always be those who want to use whatever tools are available to develop their personal greed and power. 

Scott Brodie, the hero has been carried forth from a few previous novels and in some ways seems more mature, but he is a bit of a maverick who at some point defies convention to do something he thinks is right.  Often the reader might agree, but recognize actins ae not not acceptable to many others.    

One habit of Nelson's was auctioning off character names for charities.

This has been an enjoyable path circumstances have guided me through.  Once I joined a Nelson DeMille fan website that led to a Facebook friend who recommended some books and films that became blog posts.  One can never be sure what path you are embarking on that could make life more meaningful.