2015 Egypt Delusional old men fail and threaten their country

I wrote the substantial part of what follows before switching on the television to confirm my impression of the latest situation in the capital of Egypt as I updated my previous reporting and assessment. I was hit by the atmosphere of excitement which was sweeping the main assembly area in the capital now known as Liberation Square. The cause of the mounting excitement was the appearance of an army officer who announced to the crowd that before the day was out all their aspiration would be satisfied. It is now not clear if this was a genuine statement of belief or a calculated manoeuvre on the part of the army or elements within the army to tell the protestors and through them the international media that would was to happen later was without their support and that they would ensure that the democratic wishes would be supported. There was also a more sinister aspect that the army were trying to defuse feelings, divide opinion in preparation for the final action of the regime to reassert its authority.

The likelihood that the President was to stand down rather than step aside was further reinforced when pictures were shown on the national TV stations of a meeting of the Council of the military which includes the airforce and navy senior commanders before a spokesman said that the Council had met, significantly without the presence of the commander in chief or deputy (President and Vice President) to announce it was making communiqué one to the people that they had reviewed the situation and their aspirations would be met, and that they were remaining in open Council session. There was then official news that the President would again address the people and the news media on Satellite TV returned to continuous transmission from the Square, interviews, analysis and assessments. There were interviews with the Minister of Finance, the new head of the main political Party and other figures in the present regime and who comments were on the whole interpreted by Western media as supporting the belief that the President would say he was stepping down. I saw their statements differently as jockey for position after the revolution got rid of the President and their attention was then directed and the rest of those who had held power. In order to reinforce that there was to be change, three former Ministers were told they were being investigated regarding corruption and could not leave the country or remove their financial assets. by early evening here the mood in the square was one of mounting excitement as the people came into the streets and filled the square and all the roads leading to it. The occasion was joyous but there was also a strong underlying current expressed that they would only believe it when it happened and that nothing short of regime would be acceptable or promises. They would continue to occupy the square and surround key public buildings

There appeared to be further concessions when state TV showed pictures of the demonstrations and there were several references to the aspirations of the young people with a demographic that 70% of the population were under 30. However my impression of the army council is that like the President and Vice President they are all old men and by the time I went to bed it was evident to me that these are delusional old men and therefore pose an immediate danger to the people and to the long term future of their country.

It was 8.45 here in the UK when the President spoke and in truth we had been prepared for what he was to say and its tone by the Minister for Information and a leak to an Arabic station that the President was not standing down but would announce further actions including responsibility to the vice President. The vice president has been ominously saying that the country and to return to its previous stability and the situation could not be allowed to continue as it was doing.

The President commenced by emphasising his position as President and father of the nation, how he had earned that position in service to his country over the past sixty years and 30 as its President and although he went on to appear to make concessions and to recognise the legitimacy of the what the people were saying, his patronising tone was such that it was quickly evident the crowd were not just unimpressed by horrified and voiced their disapproval in the most dramatic way of shoes their shoes to the President.

Even before the Vice President added fuel to the fire some of those in Square were setting out to surround the Presidential Palace and the TV station and to make the long journey to the Presidential compound. What the Vice President was distinctly alarming. He told the people to return to their homes and he appeared to appeal to supporters and people in the centre to take action to prevent the country falling into chaos.

Today it was previously planned that 20 million men should take to the streets around the country and over the past few days there have been strikes of workers including those working on the Suez canal. There was also the indication that the Army Council would make their second communiqué to the people, but it never came. The reaction from the White House and Downing Street during the day was muted emphasising that the matter was one for the Egyptian people and that the hope that there would change but an orderly momentum established.

A feature of the Presidential speeches was he continued attack on external influences and telling the people not to pay attention to the satellite media thus making the appeal to nationalism and united against foreign interference. This did not work as later President Obama made a written statement it was necessary that for the Egypt Government to make clear the steps which were being taken and the time table and that the statement should be made before the end of prayers to day. The fear is that then the people will take the law into their own hands and as the man who had returned to Egypt warned, the country was ready to explode.

The question still to be answered is the role of military and will they attempt to stop the millions if they start to attack government buildings and or go for the Presidency as happened in mid European countries following the coming down of the Berlin Wall The next 12 to 15 hours will reveal.

I wrote this earlier

Mr Hague is also making visits to Israel and West sympathetic Arabic states in the light of the developments in Egypt, Meanwhile the biggest demonstration so far has taken place in Cairo and other cities as the opposition continue to grow and remain more open and defiant. The USA has woken up that the present concessions of intent are no more of smokes screen in which the ruling autocracy and its supporters hope the demonstrations will peter out along with media interest leaving them to reinforce their power by dealing with the opposition.

Having mentioned my concern that the Chinese would step into any vacuum there was an interesting programme about the Cheese in Africa visiting several countries and interviewing Chinese entrepreneurs and the local population. What emerged is that the Chinese government and private developers are interested in countries with energy assets and base resources such as copper. They l fund major structure developments such as roads and railways and also commercial undertaking such a large supermarket entertainment and accommodation. However most of the construction workers are Chinese, prepared to be separated for several years from their families and who work significant harder than the indigenous people.
As a policy the Chinese do not interfere in how the nations’ rulers operate inside their country as long as they cooperate with their needs and those of their countrymen. However their arrival in Africa is being welcomed by the local because there are some regular and better paid work opportunities. The railway has also provided the opportunity for traders to sell their wares to outlying districts with demand and profits significantly greater. My belief is that the Chinese will have no scruples about playing off the politicians to gain entry and win contracts.

It is said that the President of Egypt and his family have removed out of the country tens of billions, yes billions, not millions. There are reports of leading politicians here and in the West being given expensive trips to Egypt to see the sights or relax on the red sea. Sometimes I wish I was relaxing in a warm climb by water although not at the moment. If I was younger then going to Cairo would be more likely. An even bigger demonstration is being planned tomorrow according to Al Jazeera.

So the good intentions at 6.30 have commenced to evaporate by 8 45 and an enjoyable bacon roll as I commence part 2 but the outbox at the ready remains untouched. I will wash and shave and do my hair and attend to my teeth in a moment as a wrestle over which of the subjects will I cover next, the most interesting and challenging which will take time, the easy bur boring or something in between?

I will settle for TV review because it contains a mixture but will take time as I begin with first examining what is in store for to day having already set the programme repeat for the later night political banter with Andrew and Michael and co. I have watched and listened to the news and to sniper of the thoughtful and erudite post new radio four programme with Lord exploring our understanding of sensory experience while I undertake daily ablutions

It 11.50 and I have given attention to my emails as well as write two long emails back and one short.

Yesterday I took further interest in the Sky Atlantic channel with first the second episode of the series Blue Brothers which is commencing from the first series. The subject of the second episode was intervention by a member of the public to stop a crime which leads to that individual being prosecuted.

In the UK there was the case of man who went to prison after killing someone who had broken into his home and this led to considerable public debate. There are instances of criminals taking civil action against those taking the law into their own hands. Over the past few days considerable attention has been given in to UK to a pensioner in her 70’s who used her shopping bag as a weapons to prevent what she thought was several youth on motorbikes attacking another only go find they were about to make a smash and grab on a jewellers store window. They retreated empty handed with members of the public getting hold of one of the young and which led to four of the six being now in custody. The women has a history as a community warden of intervention previously in relation to drug misuses and prostitution on her estate,

In the USA TV series, the crime involved a manic leader with others who commenced to terrorise passengers on the underground network which has over 400 stations. There was some reservation when the Commissioner ordered one man per train and two watch over every station in the hope of catching the gang leaders. In the incident a passenger had intervened when a young woman was being threatened with rape. He had obtained he gun illegally because an offence in his youth prevented entitlement to register for a weapon. He had been robbed a couple of times and bought the gun for self defence after his earnings had been taken and having a wife and child to support. He had shot and killed one of the attackers. He is then stabbed when in custody. The family of the police Commissioner is split between those who think action should to be taken against the man and those who believe the law is the law. However there is a compromise reached in which the man will appear in court and be given probation. Meanwhile the detective son works out how to successfully catch the gang leader while the latest recruit son continues to be ambivalent over whether he should spy on his colleagues to find out what happened to the elder brother. The time spent was worth while.

I must almost admit I enjoyed the first two episodes of the 4th season of Weeds a programme with outrageous direct language and questionable morality. Young sexy widow Nancy Botwin (Mary Louis Parker) and her two sons, Silas and Shane, are engaged only in marijuana growing and selling(Weeds!!), but she has burnt the home in which she was living following a decision to leave Agrestic California for a fresh start. The series created by Jenji Kohan has a strong Jewish humour. The opening song is the famous one about little boxes made of ticky tacky. Writer and actress have won various awards including Golden Globe.

I read (Wikipedia) that the husband dies before the fictional series commences with his younger son age 10 and the older 15. To support her upper middle class life style she starts to deal in marijuana among her wealthy neighbours, well you would wouldn’t you? She is helped by her husband’s younger brother, Andy whose performances also earned awards. In this first series she runs a bakery as a front for the drug sales. A sub story is the relationship with an image conscious, manic and manipulative neighbour Celia and her family. She expands sales to the local college campus and recruiting a young man Sanjay for this purpose. She had affairs, with the latest someone working for the Drug Enforcement agency.

My understanding that season two had a more darker tone as the two sons set up their own drug business renting a house to grow their own, The boyfriend admits he knows what she is doing but that she is too small time to bust and they marry protect their situation. There is much tooing and frooing in relationships with both Nancy and Celia having major problems with their spouses and with the drug traffickers including Armenian mobsters. Apparently season three commences with various sub plots including Sanjay admission he is gay and then has sex with a woman who becomes pregnant. Celia’s war with Nancy results her destroying the entire harvest. Nancy has a new relationship with a crooked developer to pay off her debt arising from the loss of the harvest. As the season progresses Nancy turns to Guillermo the leader of a Mexican dealer’s group. The drug baron burns down the crop of some low quality ditch weed run by a local group of bikers and it is as this point that Nancy decides to burn her house and have a fresh start which is where Season four commences. The intention us to destroy evidence of their illegal drug activities.

The language of the first two half hour episodes of season four is intended to shock with it direct and fruitiness and is unusual by average USA sit com standards. The sons are now 17 and 13. The fresh start involves Nancy descending on the home of her father in law and his severely disabled wife who is immobile on a drip and incontinent.

Nancy moves there because of her plan to run drugs across the border for Guillermo. Although it was her intention just to burn down the house and its evidence because of the large fire the police take understandable interest in the role of the owner of the property, Celia, who denies involvement in the fire or in the drug growing and trade operated from the premises. She is in prison in custody under physical attack from her cell mate who has designs on her becoming her special friend! The police discount her story until at the end of the second episode when Nancy is seen with Guillermo drug dealer and begin to believe that Celia is a victim..

The second episode is mainly concerned with Nancy taking what is a dry run across the border in which unknown to her she is being tested as to how she copes with immigration and customs before being entrusted to with actual drugs. She is asked to collect inhalers from a local medical store which are confiscated because she could not show a prescription (obtainable at the drugstore for an additional fee) I was previously aware that USA Americans go over the border to Canada for their medication because it is significantly cheaper than in the states so a similar operation over the Southern border appears a sound story line to cover the trade as well as it taking two hours to get through the line at the border. She pees into a drinks cup because there are no toilets on the waiting line which indicates the style of the show..

The sub story of these two episodes in the relationship with father in law who was never happy with his sons relationship preferring an early prospective daughter in law and doubts the paternity of the sons and is not surprised that she is on the run. He is a gambler who has not forgiven his younger son for not placing the only bet, a triple, which would have brought $20000. Nancy keeps him happy by giving him a few hundred dollars to continue his gambling interests. The series looks fun and is rated above the Boardwalk and certainly above the revival of Hawaii Five 0, the previous long standing series set in Honolulu and which ran for ten or more seasons with Steve McGarret played by Jack Lord and Kam Fong as Shin Ho the local police assistant. Apart from the likeability personalities of these two and the location scenery the episodes covered stock cops and robbers stories.

The new series is a remake some 42 years after the original and the first episode was as stock as before with Garret played by Alex O’Loughlin a long way short of Lord. However I was delighted to see Daniel Dae Kim in the role of Chin Ho, after his excellent performance in Lost. Pleased to see there is life after Lost. However I will only watch again when I am at a loose end of something light to see which is rare.

Now to the serious. I watched the Chancellor and the Minister for Business make their statements arising from negotiations with the Banks. The Chancellor was said to have caused anger among the Bankers by announcing that he was increasing the levy by just under 1 million this year yesterday. This was to offset the limited success of the other negotiations. He tempted that we had the most open system in the world which amounts to the identification of the top nine paid executives to the independent no executive Director There appears to be little progress in the proposal to spilt banks between High Street and gambling activities. The approach of the Opposition was to allege failure to achieve objectives and this results in the unanswerable charge that those who were responsible in government for the situation arising, non other that Mr Balls and the Opposition leader who worked at the Treasury, a charge with the Prime Minister and Chancellor propose to raise time and time again. The Business Secretary was effectively subdued and conciliatory after his recent drubbing and loss of face arising from the journalist scam posing as attractive loyal constituents. The charge which the Coalition is yet to rebut is that in tackling the debt and trying to modernise institutions they have not just failed to restart the economy but are at risk of creating a double dip recession.

There was subsequently a good exchange about whether some Councils are taking party political decisions when making cuts, which from experience they will do, but where often the decisions relates to the prejudices of individual leaders, Chairs and some backroom advisers and influential Party supporters.

The issue is the extent to which local authorities are reducing senior and middle management and other back office jobs particularly by sharing functions with other local authorities and also joining purchasing partnerships and putting other services to tender at lower costs. It is also a way for forcing local authorities to free schools from the local education responsibility and to encourage others to transfer services to the proposed new local social partnerships.

Today the issue the vote for prisoners which middle England and the far right are opposed to despite the European wide legal view that to deprive prisoners is to remove basic democratic rights. The are also problems with the progress of the legislation to introduce the alternative voting system with are referendum this April. Mr Clegg has had to cancel a trip he was making as a consequence. he will also announce a Bill protecting citizen freedoms.

2014 10th February notes part one

Honour they father and thy mother, creativity and spirituality, passivity and aggression, control and submission, control and addictions self indulgence and self sacrifice, life and death, immortality and afterlife, originality and repetition

New beddings coverings, washing and cleaning, work completions, Wills and preparations, Cry Egypt, Sports review, Insurance postings, weight and food, game play, houses of ticky tacky Weeds, little boxes Hawaii Five O not McGarrets. Bankers and risk, the Chinese are coming.

Hopefully someone out there someday will guess, everyone sees more than I do and I see what others do not. Well it makes sense to me.

It is exciting and depressing that as I approach my 72 birthday I want to create, write, experience more than I have ever done and know that what I do is better than the best has been, which may not be saying a lot.

I am settling for going for the swim sauna four rather than five times a week as on those days I tend not to recover until after lunch reducing the time spent on creative activity and which in turn reducing the inclination and time available to spend on the day today basics of living. However on the swim sauna free days the sense of being alert and having unlimited time in which the day commences on rising early does often result in frittering away hours playing games. There have been two mishaps recently, not paying sufficient attention to details or carrying on as if I am not tired which results in turns the results game play at chess to zero so that I am starting virgin like all over again and in Mahjong Egypt I overran the record, albeit recently created with that of swims and saunas so I have to begin again. I commenced the record as I moved from the in game record of 16 millions completions through to 17 million which fortunate remains with six to seven completions todate. I have commenced a new game of Mahjong Egypt antiquity search and acquisition reaching gaining the Golden Threaded net at 2007200 stage four after the Gemstone Udiat at 1496600. I then played three games 50-53 of level one chess where I take an average of five minutes to win while I eat a bowl of cereal. The need to attend to detail helps to understand and therefore be in control and doing so brings me closer to creating the kind of individual work within a work which I long to produce.

Beginning work on George VI and politics has been postponed for a day or more depending on my progress today and the news. I need to intersperse writing with other activity although this usually results on lost thought trains and dissatisfaction with the output of both as bouts of tiredness quickly come over me as the day progresses, despite as to day having had eight hour of disrupted waking dream of mixed impact sleep, but eight hours against the usual six to seven. One reason for this was the decision to replace the bottom bed sheet with a new spare purchased two to three years ago and which led to making the bed really well so that it felt cool and flat and inviting when I went up tired just after 10 p,, and the decided not to get up at 4.30 and slept on waking at a few minutes past six for the third successive day of this pattern and deciding to stay in bed so that it is 7,45 now as the morning progresses, Lots of ordered brain activity makes be hungry so I will break for some cereal.

I enjoyed the cereal making a good judgement about the quantity of milk. This brings me to me to the milk dilemma. I should buy two pints at a time but cannot resist the present Morrison bargain of two four pint containers for £2 which is nearly half price that of 4 of the two pints and better value than eight of the single pints. Apart from the cereal it is only used for coffee and tea so that i throw away an average of a pint from any four pint container which still makes it better value but I have to live with the waste. I do not like throwing away food of any kind given the struggle that many beings have to acquire the basics. I did the washing up before enjoying the cereal, noting that I need it devote time to the cooker surface. I replenished the nut and fruit cereal yesterday, after forgetting that I had intended to use up the cornflakes before doing so. I also added two packs of Taylor’s ground decaffeinated coffee when I went to Asda to see if they had more of the three set soft cover black folders at £1.50 and they had so I acquired 9 leaving two where the pockets had become crumpled. I will make myself a bacon roll now which means I will drink more diet caffeine free coke that I should although I did find that I still had a twelve pack on inexpensive bottled water which I tend to use by keeping a bottle in the bathroom to cope with the Ice Cold in Alex mouths I experience when I wake at night but also need a comfort visit to the toilet. After the bacon roll I will attend to the outbox after sorting out last night. I needed to check the position of my latest credit card but could not find the paperwork for the online info as the card does not send out paper statements. This took me in several direction of sorting and the determination to get on with these before moving to King George and his political interests or the sports review writing which had been the plan for today.

2013 Three more John Wayne's. a Gangster movies and one without a title

I am having a lazy lay in day because I felt like it.

I had intended to combine my notes on True Grit with Fort Apache the second John Wayne film experienced once more over the weekend together with the third film The High and Mighty. I came over tired and decided to recommence the following morning. It was only then that I saw that the sequel to True Grit was showing during the day. The ingredients are much the same in that Rooster lives with his cat at the store of the man from China. However his constant state of inebriation has led to losing his main means of employment with the consequence he has to take on commissions.

His job is to track and capture a gang who have terrorised a village in the Indian Territory, killing an aged preacher whose spinster daughter is played by Katherine Hepburn in a reprise of her role in the African Queen. The two assisted by an Indian young man no more than a boy managed to capture a wagon which the gang want because it contains a Gatlin gun and cases of nitro-glycerine. The trio appear to be cornered at their overnight camp but manage to spook the horses of the gang and contrary to expectations are able to use the Gatlin Gun because of the prior knowledge of the missionary’s daughter who is also a great shot.

Their next obstacle is when they borrow a cross river raft to go down stream and they over come the eight men of the gang in three confrontations and also overcome the white water rapids. They persuade the last four to come towards the raft claiming that Rooster is badly wounded and having released some of the cases of nitro in the water ahead of them. These Wayne ignites blowing the remaining men to pieces. This may well seem a great end but Roster had agreed to bring the men back to be tried before bible quoting Judge Parker without killing them if he was to be trusted to be reinstated. Fortunately the Judge is no match for Hepburn who is able quote the bible back at the judge(John McIntire) with greater dexterity but what clinches the argument is when she claims to have been responsible for the killing and not Rooster, subsequently quoting again that the end justifies the means, which of course it rarely does and never if the means are similar to those which the end is seeking to remedy.

Hepburn off with the Indian boy back to help the village recover from its recent trauma and has the last word over Wayne as he goes back to his old job. They both have complimentary things to say to each other but as with the first film words of affection is the closest they get to a relationship. This was the last but one film Wayne was to make before his death.

The third film, Fort Apache is the first part of a John Ford Cavalry trilogy with She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande, This 1948 film is reputed to have been the first to begin to show the true story of what happened to the North American indigenous population as the new arrivals exploited, slaughtered, manipulated, deprived and betrayed one way or another the land owners and nationals for their own betterment and greed. What the European settles was no different from the Nazi and Communist occupations in Europe in the last century There was much applause with the election of President Obama to the White House. The real challenge is for a native American to be elected.

The story of the film is the clash between a Captain (John Wayne) as an experienced officer having commanded his own regiment in the civil war, overlooked for the command of an isolated outpost by a northern West Point graduate Lieutenant Colonel and Civil War General (Henry Fonda). The problem is that Fonda has been sent with a mission to get the Indians Apache in the film Sioux in reality to return to their reservation from Mexico where they have taken shelter he has no previous knowledge of their culture and fighting skills. Wayne volunteers to approach the Indians with a Spanish speaking officer as interpreter and persuade them to return offering peace and a negotiated resettlement.

The Indians have left their Reservation because of the corrupt government Indian agent and Wayne promises that their grievances will be addressed. Fonda responds by seizing the opportunity for a take it or leave ultimatum and then charges four abreast into trap which results in his men being slaughtered.
Before then we have the drama of the commander refusing to allow his teenage daughter to marry the young officer son of a Sergeant Major non commissioned officer simply because of social inequality and personal prejudice. There is also the usual boys will be boys drink and fighting and the formal dance arranged by the non commissioned officers at with the officers and their families are invited. The daughter is played by Shirley Temple.

Although stubborn, incompetent to the point of irresponsibility Fonda is a man of honour so when Wayne rescues him, he goes off on a individual charge back into the valley where the remaining men are facing death against what were overwhelming forces. Previously he has ordered Wayne to stay with the supply wagons after his attack plan is questioned but eh also insisting that the Sergeant’s boyfriend accompanies him.

The film ends with Wayne un charge of the fort with Fonda’s daughter now married and with a child adn the slaughter men replaced by new recruits, A number of journalists are present as Wayne is about to go off to try again an negotiate a settlement with the Indians. The newsmen noting a painted portrait of Fonda above the fireplace in the Commander’s office comment that he had become a national hero. Wayne does not refute the popular view uttering sentimental nonsense about the regiment always living on. Among others in the cast is Victor McLaglen

A film that was also something of a first, is The High and the Mighty, with a specially create opening tune which became a best seller and where I carry the notes in my head although unable to reproduce tunefully! The Oscar winning score was created by Dmitri Tomkin. This was one of the first, if not the first, suspense potential plane disaster movies and guess who stars as the hero?
You are right it is none other than John Wayne.

He is the second in command to flight captain played by Robert Stack. Robert Newton, he of Long John Silver, plays a calming philosophical passenger and other well known names are Clare Trevor and Jan Stirling.

The first part of the film introduces us to all the passengers which includes a school boy returning home on this trans orient pacific Douglas DC4 from Honolulu to San Francisco. There is the Jewishman with a large family waiting for him and a business full of bluster and threats to mask his fear; An actress in decline and an experienced woman looking for a long term relationship has pretended through the use of make up to be at least ten years younger than she is. A couple where the wife is terrified and in a panic worries about her preschool children at home and so on so that we cover all the passengers on board as well as the crew

Then after the plane has reached the point of no return in severe weather conditions, one of the engines catches fire and there is a loss of fuel. At first the navigator believes they have enough fuel to get home without having to ditch in the sea but then realises he has made a mistake using kilometres rather than mile or vice versa. This is discovered only when they have not reached the contact position with a USA aircraft which comes out to meet and escort them back in the event of trying to make a landing in the sea. They have prepared for the ditching by jettisoning luggage including on board food. This involves reducing height and speed to be able to open the door in mid air flight. It is also hoped that by this action to reach land by conserving fuel. However it is a gamble with the risk of crash on land and killing those on the ground as well as themselves.

I missed if it was revealed why Wayne had become second in command having been a captain in the past. It is however evident that he is more confident and experienced than the captain who panics and wants to ditch without trying to make land. However he gets his act together as do passengers and crew and guess what the plane reaches the airport safely and the passengers disembark hounded by reporters to be greeted by their friends and families. This includes a man in a wheel chair who has made friends with a stewardess and the passenger in the seat, an oriental woman who have both accepted his invitation to go immediate for meal with him.

The crew look at the damaged aircraft in wonderment and respect together with the airline boss who indicates to Wayne that they must have a chat about his future. The plane used in the film had previously been the personal aircraft of Juan Peón and was named the Argentine Queen. A similar aircraft experienced a similar in flight problem later and was lost with no survivors thus revealing the difficult of a craft being able to land safely in high seas to launch the life raft. Many leading actors of the day were offered parts but refused because of ensemble nature of the story, including Barbara Stanwyck, Dorothy McGuire, Dorothy McGuire, Ginger Rogers, Ida Lupino and Joan Crawford. Jan Stirling was awarded the best supporting actress Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar together with Claire Trevor. The film is based on the book by Ernest K Gann who had flown a commercial airline from Honolulu to Portland in Oregon.

Putting a group of widely different characters together in a challenging situation is also a major ingredient of a film I watched because of the promise of the sight and sounds of Greece and where although hotel based in Athens I participated in several coach trips to the main sites including the Oracle at Delphi. the site of the battle of Marathon, a boat trip to nearby islands, a couple of days on the beach, a visit to a tourist night club, to the Acropolis and to Sounion. I remembered one American couple where the wife mentioned to all who cared to listen the virility of her middle aging husband and the English couple returning only for the second time after their honeymoon where the wife was distraught at the changes that had taking place including the mixed bag of tourists in our party.

She would have hated the fellow travellers in the film, the loud Americans, teh just as loud Australians, the older woman in a couple who spent her time stealing souvenirs which then distributed around the coach gaining popularity and he bored teenage daughter who I thought was Scarlett Johansson and would lead me to the film title from her flexography. The star of the film is a young woman who had come to Greece because of her academic enthusiasm of the history and historical sights. Unfortunately she is considered boring boring by the majority of the participants on previous trips so she is warned her days are numbered. She is given the worst passengers and the worst coach and the worst overnight accommodation in order to hasten her departure, assisted by an obnoxious male courier who plans to make this the last trip by playing to the worst instincts of her group and giving his group what they want. The film is silly and absurd because fo the contrast between the two coaches and accommodation and the basic premises that people who enjoy the Spanish costas with drunken beach parties and night clubs and visits to the bullfight will also sign up for historical cultural trips.

The second story is that all that is wrong with the female guide is that is not having an adult relationship and this is the cue for the hairy coach driver to shave and cut his hair and reveals an English speaking and understanding man of her own age who before the film does his duty and helps to achieve her transformation. However the catalyst is another passenger, a familiar actor who if could remember his name should enable the identification of the film. He is the joke a minute traveller masking the fact that after a lifetime of making holiday coach trips with his wife he has become a widower. His role is to become the glue which bonds he party together and leads to sorting out the opposition and ensuring that their courier gets rave reviews in the end of holiday assessment forms. I will not be satisfied until I found out the title so to be able to say you have been warned unless this kind of alleged comedy is your kind of fun.

The provision of entertaining fun is not the intention of the film about the St Valentine’s day Massacre selected for showing along with the start of the Boardwalk Empire here in the UK. The massacre involved the shooting of five members of the Irish North side Chicago gang led by Bugs Moran by other gangsters working on behalf of Al Capone’s Italian Mafia. Two others were murdered. One a self employed mechanic who accepted jobs with the gang to feed his wife and seven children and someone who can be described as a gang groupie. The intention of the raid had been to kill Moran after Capone lost his temper with the intrusion of the North side gang in what he regarded as his territory.

One of the historical mysteries is the identities of two men who posed as policemen to gain entry to the location where the those murdered were assembled in preparation for an attack on Capone. The film creates two individuals who remain unknown, The film also shows Capone personally executing a Mafia senior after he had connived in the murder of a top Mafia boss in Chicago because he was a friend of Capone. Joe Aiello was turned by Moran in his attempt to take over Capone before Capone took over him. It was Capone’s men who did the killing and the event occurred after the massacre. The massacre took place in a Canadian nightclub and not against the wall of a garage in Chicago.

The film does recreate Moran’s attempt to kill Capone as he was dining at his favourite restaurant when a score of cars went by the front of the restaurant in groups of three or four from which gunmen with Tommy gins showered the entrance doors and widows with bullets. Amazingly no one is shown to have been killed in the film. There is also one of those amazing funeral scenes in which their huge banks of flowers including one from Capone who had arranged the killing. A voice in the background tells the cinema goer basic facts about the various gangster what happened to them with the exception of two whose details were removed at the request of surviving family members(Wikipedia).

I watched the film despite my reservations about such films and the glorification of murderers and their criminality for entertainment purposes because of making my assessment of the first two episodes of the award winning Boardwalk Empire and where the third episode, reduced to one hour including adverts, was shown on Saturday evening.

When Nucky finds out that one of the New York’s mob’s men killed by his protégé Jimmy has been found alive he arranges for the man to be killed by his police chief brother. The killing is stopped as Federal agents arrive and bluff their way to taking the man with them out of the clutches of the locals. The man initially refuses to “rat” on his killers, a feature of era when the law was the common enemy and the gangsters preferred to settle their disputes themselves. However the information is provided which enables Jimmy to be identified but when the information is communicated upwards it is sat on passed back to Nucky who arranges for Jimmy to leave his “wife” and children and go West. The information is also passed on to the New York gang led by Rothstein. Rothstein shares the information with Lucky Luciano that it was Jimmy and one other who killed the nephew of his sister in law and suggests that Jimmy is captured and made to reveal the other individual.

Before this Jimmy had become incensed on finding that while he was away in the way his wife and son had become friendly with a photographer and his wife and she had taken an alluring photo which had been sent to him. He now goes off as instructed by Nucky without explaining to his wife and children why or giving her the money for her care. Instead of going West Jimmy heads for Chicago.

Nucky has also arranged for the Irish widow he fancies to get a job in a French dress salon. She is required to wear the dresses and aid he customers in trying them on and this enables shots of underwear and flesh. Nucky’s current show girl/actress whore cones for a fitting and realises that her man has a new interest. The man who ran the funeral home whisky diluting scam goes to see his bosses to say that Nucky gave away their racket to his black friend. They say that the man remains financially accountable.

Nucky has been forced to strike a hard deal with the new owner manager of the scam. They then find one of the employees killed in what appears to be a race murder. However they do not want an escalating race in election year so the hanged employee is shot and the situation made to look that he was killed by a jealous husband. Nucky unintentionally leaves a potential damaging set of footprints behind. . As before does anyone care about any of this? I do not but will continue to at least flip through in the hope of finding out its critical popularity.

2012 True Grit in Egypt and weekend overview

I had planned to commence the reading of a book about the political involvement of King George VI a week ago but became so affected by the events in Cairo and Egypt that it will now be next Wednesday at the earliest. I have used today in a workmanlike way getting up todate in the artwork project and tomorrow I shall attend to outstanding correspondence, financial matters and plans for two trips one in March and the other in April.

Events in Egypt have reached what appears to be stalemate with the President refusing to step down and to give up any powers according to one report in which he has said to have lost his temper when this was suggested to him by his long time closest associate and now the new Vice President. He has not stepped down as head of the his political party as was rumoured although the rest of its executive committee has resigned including his son. The banks have reopened for the most past although the maximum amount that can be withdrawn is fixed and Traffic in Egypt has reached returned to grid lock which suggests that the looting and need for street checks has been withdrawn. I always thought this was a stunt by the ruling autocracy and even the burning down of the main Party building could have been carried out by the Party to blacken the uprising and with sympathy from the middle roaders. Meetings have taken place with many if not all of the main opposition groups and this is said to have included the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The Square appeared full again today including the presence of more women and children with more organisation of food and facilities. However the barricades at entrance roads have been maintained including at one area which results that an important government building cannot still be used. Panorama BBC 1 has a 30 minute special which I shall watch tonight.

BBC Panorama provided a commendable visual summary this evening. There was some additional information with interviews most reflecting the protestors but not exclusively. A Mubarak adviser put forward a reasonable case for stability, the problem being the nature of the regime which clearly cannot be trusts although there are signs of some progress. Among the position meriting attention is that recent deaths is out at 11 plus one journalist and at least 100 journalists have been held for a time, attacked or threatened, The programme claims that the State TV was the instigator of the attacks. The report attended a meeting with the leading opposition figure and then nine of those attending were arrested. One a cardiologist who was featured in the film before has been released and allowed to return to the Square. The army did send phone texts to the demonstration organisers say they were there to protect them but then took no action when the Mubarak mob attacked them. An attempt to contact the family of one of those killed was prevented by secret police who were in evidence in the area of the house and presumable had been ordered to do likewise around the homes of all those killed to prevent contact with journalists. The most moving aspect was the contribution of two beautiful and education young women, sisters training to be doctors and who father works abroad in order too maintain the family in their middle class home and environment. The young women although fearful of what will happened if the revolution fails, have returned to the Square despite the events over the weekend. Pro Mubarak people had torn off what they had written from a placard which they turn over to show what they had written again in English, saying that they will return until there is regime change. It is evident that the two young women are as far from Muslim extremism as the far right in in UK and the USA. We all have a responsibility not to let those young women down.

I have watched five films over the past three days, St Valentine Day’s Massacre, the High and the Mighty, Fort Apache and True Grit and a silly film about a travel guide in Greece which I watched because of some splendid scenery and the forgot the title which I have failed to find despite several checks on the Internet.

I enjoyed watching one football match on Saturday lunch time when Sunderland went to Stoke and then listened to part of what became the most exciting and unusual game between Newcastle and Arsenal which again made the club international headlines although this time for the best of reasons. I watched an excellent Superbowl today but the less said about the rest of the one day series between England and Australia the better. I enjoyed the first of this seasons six nations Rugby Union ,match between England and Wales at Cardiff on Friday and found the much heralded class between Chelsea and Liverpool yesterday evening, boring.

I enjoyed as usual Lark Rise to Candleford on Sunday evening and was disappointed to find that the Wallander was re run although I continued to watch with attention. Over the past two weeks I have enjoyed Michael Portillo’s Travels with last week five journeys in Scotland bringing back many good memories. I recorded for a quick run through to Performances and mark allocation of Dancing on Ice and did similarly with the latest audition of American Idol. I watched the third episode of Boardwalk Empire and the last part of the daily antique games show at lunchtime as well as the Sunday Roadshow.

I have returned to morning Swims with a sauna as well as a swim although missed out on Saturday morning and having reached 101 games at level 1 chess again I unintentionally wiped out the record as a I though I was erasing the second level record.

I have enjoyed some good food.

So I cannot hope to cover everything in grater depth in just one writing so will spread to a sport and general and to films or some fo both as my mood and fancy now takes me.

I begin with the weather as it has been cold and wet over the weekend with more of the same forecast but hopefully the snow is restricted to Scotland. I eventually found out that my order for Snow grippers has been delayed because it is said that the on line credit card number was rejected. I have now provided one online which went through and will and see how long it is before they arrive.

I cannot remember if I have recorded that towards the end of last week I had an unpleasant disturbing waking dream which churned me up and if it has been mentioned then this demonstrates how much it affected me. I do have waking dreams several times most nights and usually understand their cause and significance. They are often about loss and rejection and most of all about being lost thinking I no where I am and that I get to where I want and then finding it is not so.

I am eating a hot breakfast again on a regular basis, mostly a bacon roll but occasionally Sausage and Mash (5 for £4) or an all day breakfast (£1.57). The wholemeal bacon roll with two thin slices about 50p , I had the second of the gammon shanks yesterday which with the one the week before was better value than the lamb but still only provided one meal compared to a gammon joint for the same price. I will have the lamb shank next Sunday and then go back to previous choices for the following Sunday although with the quantity of meals in the freezer this is likely to be three lamb cutlets. Overt the first two weeks of the re stock i have enjoyed the spicy chicken wings, used one of the double chicken breasts from the earlier purchase for a curry and from a second pair for a stir fry. Last Saturday was Chinese Food Day when I enjoyed one tray with two dishes for lunch and the other for the evening meal using some of the Chinese starters with Indian held over since Christmas, using the spicy sauce for the lunch meal. I did over do the cans of coke because of the gammon yesterday and have been average more than ne can a day recently together with making custard fir the bananas as afters. I have enjoyed some pears recently and the occasional melon slices. The grapes have become more and more expenses. I enjoyed a prawn salad yesterday evening to day had individual Quiche from Morrison’s (£1) with the salad which included a mixture of Feta cheese and onion with black olives, some ham pieces with pasta shells, rice with more black olives and chicken pieces and a new salad which includes strips of bacon more chicken and something else I have yet worked out what.

Now for a film. A remake of True Grit created by the Coen Brothers has been released in British Cinemas this week and like the original is in the running for Oscars. John Wayne achieved his only Oscar success with the film given more as reward for his long career rather than the specific acting performance which should have gone to the 14 year old Teenage daughter of a murdered rancher played by Kim Darby then aged in her early twenties. The girl lived with her father, mother, younger brother and baby sister and ranch hand circ 1880. Another rancher has killed her father, stolen cash in hand, a couple of gold coins and a horse. She goes into the local town to arrange for father to have a better coffin grave stone and sent back to the ranch and to find get the Sheriff to go after the murderer.

Bearing in mind she is only fourteen she appears confident, feisty, determined and courageous. She does a deal with Rooster Cogburn (John Wayne) to go after the man for $100 with a down payment of $25. He is a Federal Marshal able to travel in Indian reservation territory where as the local Sherriff has no jurisdiction. She then talks to the local horse dealer forcing him to pay for four geldings sold as breeding horses to her father and also compensation for other items involved in the actions of the murders, making a total of $300. She had threatened him with her lawyer as she also threatened Wayne when he started to renege on the deal between them.

The girl stays a local rooming house where also arrive Texas Ranger Le Boeuf played by the sing songwriter Glen Campbell. He plays a straight role although sings the opening ballad. The music for the film was composed by Elmer Bernstein. Campbell is also after the man whose killed her father who killed a Texan politician whose family has employed the Ranger. He is a rival with Rooster for the reward money but agree to join forces, including that they should make the venture alone when the girl insists in travelling with them. They have a lead that their man has participated in a railway hold up with a gang whose leader is someone Rooster has been after for sometime. This is Luck Ned Pepper who survived being show by Rooster in the past. The man is played by a young Robert Duvall. Also a member of the gang is Moon played another young star in the making, Dennis Hopper.

After several days they plan to spend the night in a cabin only to find it occupied by two horse thieves (one is Hopper) waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive for the fresh horses the two have stolen. Eventually these two die, one at the hands of the other, and two of the rest of the gang of four but not the two most wanted men. The four men are brought into the nearest town for reward and burial.

The trio then go off after the rest and the girl accidentally comes across her father’s filler as she goes to wash in a near river when they have camped for the night. The exciting climax results in her father’s gun misfiring and in her capture until rescued by Wayne and Campbell and they capture her father’s killer. However Wayne becomes involved in a shoot out with the other man and three of his henchmen and is then trapped under his dead horse. Campbell is the overcome by the remaining killer and in the struggle the girl falls into a pit with lethal snakes. She is then rescued as first the father killer is himself gunned down. However Campbell who has been shot dies after helping Wayne to get her out fo the pit. Wayne then has to d ride and drive fast as the girl is bitten by one fo the snakes. He gets her to the nearest town to her home where she remains very ill for some time. Wayne then finds that the lawyer she talked about is real when he calls to settle the hire and also to give a bonus for saving her life. He then visits her when she is still recovering from the broken arm sustained in the fall and she shows him the family plot. She offers him a place which he says he may well take up, in time.

The film is based on a novel by Charles Portis published only a year before. The novel is in the form of the girl who has become an old woman recounting her story. La Boeuf survives his head injury in the novel. In the book the girl has to have her arm amputated. Rooster is supposed to be 40 years of age in the book with Wayne aged and looking is 61. The book is set in winter to communicate a harsher reality than the autumn of the film. While the film does follow the place names of the book it shows a different environment. In addition tot eh remake there was a sequel in which Wayne is the centre of attention called Rooster Cogburn

Although Kim Darby came to international fame as a result of the film, her subsequent career in film and TV never brought her the same attention. She married five times, some briefly as well as known to have affairs with two known actors. Her last film role was in 2007 (Dead Letters) and on TV in an X files production in 1999. She continues to make guest celebrity appearances.

2011 Egypt Fact and Opinion

Slowly the reality of life in Egypt for the majority of citizens unfolds on the television screen across the world for those who are able and willing to pay attention to what is being said and shown and what is not. It is not just a revolution of the people on the streets for democracy and the rule of law we are witnessing but a fundamental change in the position of the governments of the United States of America, here in the UK and of the original and new members of the European Economic Community.

These are now changes which must not fail because of the inevitable impact on those on the street whose identity has been broadcast across the world on the various news media’s. There is the risk of the regime reasserting its authority and retreating to its old ways and of the regime looking to China for political and financial support.

The form of the changes is a matter for the Egyptian people to collectively determine such as the powers and length of term of the head of state and the balance of power between the head of state and Parliament. There should be contested elections for the Presidency and Parliament and such elections should be free from individual bribery, intimidation and violence as well as accurate voter registration and vote counting. There also needs to be greater attention to the rule of law and a major curb on the activities of internal security and police forces. Present controls on the domestic and overseas media must be abolished. My assessment is also that President Mubarak needs to relinquish all power quickly and a time table for the implementation of change agreed with all the principle interests within Egypt.

I believe there are several dangers arising from this people’s revolution. The most worrying is that while the President, Mubarak, maintains his position, in fact as well as in name, a point which the new Vice President has said on international TV more than once, the secret forces for maintaining his power will remain and those who have been interviewed expressing the aspirations and their concerns will be systematically rounded up, tortured and imprisoned or worse as they have been over the past sixty years of autocratic regimes led by military trained individuals.

It has to be noted that while Western governments have called for an enquiry into the organised murderous attacks on peaceful democratic protestors the new Vice President said that the President had ordered an investigation into the uprising and the forces behind it and that those responsible would be severely punished. Several of the main TV channels misinterpreted his words in the same way and it has looked as if many media editors, analysts and presenters have forgotten the history of the regime.

It is vital that that media is not intimidated and remain in situ until occupation of the Square ends and then maintains a close watch until the agreed changes begin to be implemented and their effectiveness monitored. I have in mind what happened in Hungry when the tanks rolled in and again in Tiananmen Square. It is also vital Egypt avoids a rapid descent into civil war followed by years of revenge and repression by one side on the other

I am also concerned that without some immediate settlement between the parties and interest, there will be those willing to switch allegiance from the USA to China which is anxious to gain a stronghold in the North Africa and the Middle East as they have been doing in the rest of the world. The Chinese already have a regime similar to that in Egypt and are as strongly opposed to religious controlled states. There are also those in the USA and the West who will favour this option as preferable to idealistic democracy or a religious controlled state. It also has to be remembered that Egypt switched dramatically once before from the USSR to the USA.
Thirdly there is the danger of the emergence of an fundamentalist anti USA and UK Muslim autocracy in Egypt as it quickly developed in Iran.

I am told that the structure of Muslim faith in Egypt is different from that in Iran and that those Muslims who are members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt accept that in any change they will become active partners in the development of mixed society. First is has to be noted that 90 percent, yes ninety percent of the Egyptian born population of over 80 million are of the Muslim faith by birth and that the majority observe the call to prayer five times a day. The majority of the remainder are Coptic Christians.

It has to be said that the Muslim brotherhood is presently the strongest organised political force in Egypt second to the ruling political party. Recent events, especially the martyrdom of several hundred, will have already enhanced their position and while the majority are genuinely peace and partnership wanting, in reality it is the minority of activists with their agendas and missions which always dominate the majority.

The Egyptian Government with the support of Israel was right to learn the lessons of Iraq and immediately deploy substantial military forces along the borders to ensure there is no infiltration of” trained armed fighters into the country. President Mubarak and his Vice President, the USA President and Secretary of State Clinton, Prime Minister Cameron and Foreign Secretary Hague have all been right in expressing the need for orderly, planned and considered change.

Fourthly there is the danger that the expressions for an idealistic democracy and idealist expression of human rights will spread not just to neighbouring Arab autocracies but to Europe and to the UK in particular in such a way to create international instability and domestic chaos.

The issue of student loans has already been used by some extremists to bring violence to the streets of central London. Recently there have been moves to clear the activist camp from Parliament Square prior to the Olympic games next year. It is easy to imagine that if this proposal is carried out the result could be a similar outburst of popular support for the principles involved. Whereas the actual Square in Cairo is more akin to St James or Green Park, Parliament Square with the link along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square would bring the British Government and its administration to a halt as well as road traffic movement in central London. I can see Mr Cameron or any British Prime Minister and Home Secretary allowing that to go on for more than one day without forcibly removing participants who exceeded the original permission.

I have written separately about my concerns that with the dramatic changes in the composition of London and other cities and some towns, and the extremes of wealth which the financial system pursued by the Brown Bush era encouraged, that the present requirement, however necessary and essential for our economic future, to reduce employment and wages in real terms and through additional taxes and price rises, was creating a dangerous and potential revolutionary situation, especially if legitimate and desirable letting off steam protests on the streets, was allowed to become violent towards people and towards property.

The tactic of fermenting trouble to identify the extremists and introduce new controls is an established method used by all governments with the only differences that British Governments have been more skilled and effective than most, if not all others. We had an organic system which successfully enabled idealists go through the process of protests into political and administrative management, and sometimes leadership, counterbalancing the feudal tendencies of the land owning aristocracy and the amoral personal wealth acquisitiveness of the global entrepreneurs who are without national loyalties or social consciences.

It has been heartening to hear both opposition and supporters of the regime in Egypt talking of their love and loyalty to their country. I suspect that only a small percentage of English born men and women would genuinely talk in such terms whatever their political outlook. Since writing the above Mr Cameron has echoed my thoughts with his speech on the shortcomings of a multicultural society. What is needed is a balance between the dictatorial autocratic police state of the extreme right and lift or conservative militarism and the ungovernable and unstable anarchy of uprisings. Multiculturalism can work if there is an overall sense of identity and loyalty, but without it there is the potential for disaster.

I say all this as someone who has never visited Egypt or talked to Egyptians and who has had no inside knowledge of the workings of national and local government for close on two decades, but who would nevertheless be surprised if at their core things had significantly changed.. I have also has kept a constant eye on Parliamentary debates, the 24 hour news channels including Al Jazeera and Fox. and on newspapers such as the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph.

In this respect I suspect I have greater knowledge of the present and past situation in Egypt than most of the millions of tourists, with over one million from Britain, who visit the country each year, the majority staying at resorts along the Red sea, taking trips to the Valley of the Kings at Luxor and along the Nile river will know or care about the lives of those they encounter.

They may find out that those employed in Tourism will use part of their income to provide a life above subsistence for their relatives, living elsewhere in the country. This is not a criticism of the holiday maker but a reality of holidaying as it has become.

There are also those British Citizens who have married Egyptians and moved there, maintaining contact with their family and friends in the UK, who may also make visits and therefore have a good understanding in relation to the lives and position of the person married.

There will also be those who conduct business or have employment, usually on a limited contract basis. There will also be Egyptians who work in the UK and those who have requested and obtain political sanctuary. They will have made contact with some British citizens communicating something of daily life and the issues confronting the people in general and themselves in particular.

I do not know the overall numbers involved in this way except that there is an estimated 2.7 million Egyptian citizens living abroad (and said to contribute over £5 billion in 2009 from remittances). The majority of these have moved to other Arabic speaking countries with in Europe Italy having a large concentration. They will have already influenced public opinion in the countries where they reside and work.

Educated people all over the world will also know that Egypt was one of the early civilizations with a history of over 6000 years. I have Ancient Egypt in the Time Life Books series, and Ancient Civilizations by John Hayward covering the Near East and Mediterranean.

For many in the UK their knowledge of more recent history is based on the stories of Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony and Cleopatra from Shakespeare and the Cinema. In 1972 there was the Exhibition in London of the treasures and remains of Tutankhamen and I briefly looked at the catalogue and pictorial reminder before commencing this writing. Another source which has brought Egypt into British consciousness is the Agatha Christie work Death on the Nile

I also have a splendid Time Life Picture and prose book on the sights and sites of Cairo and only a few days before the present uprising, I mentioned my intention of re reading the quartet of novels by Lawrence Durrell and set in the Egyptian second city and port of Alexandria, created and named after Alexander. This work provides an interesting dimension to the normal lives of the people in that city before military rule became entrenched.

For people of my generation our “factual” knowledge of recent history commenced at school with the creation of the Suez canal and the British involvement at first financial which developed into the political. The country became independent in 1922 with a democratic constitution implemented in 1924. I became more aware of the country the year after I left school with the coming to power of Colonel Nasser and his nationalization of the Canal which led to the brief war and a petrol crisis and petrol rationing again not long after the rationing imposed as a consequence of World War II had been brought to an end.

Following the six day war with Israel Sadat took over following the death of Colonel Nassar and dramatically ended the alliance with Russia, by expelling their advisers and turning to the United States who helped finance the army and indirectly helped to establish the present day regime. Egypt effectively became a dictatorship one party state. This suited the USA in terms of having access to oil, keeping the Suez canal open and creating a buffer between Israel and more hostile Arab countries. It can be assumed that should the present regime reassert its way of doing things the mob will be organised to protest and ransack the USA and British Embassies and I noted that the wife and family of the British Ambassador was among those leaving Cairo as the week of developments progressed

The USA, UK supported strategy, appeared to fail when in 1973, Egypt motivated by wanting to regain land lost in the six day war, joined Syria in a surprise attack on Israel and with the USA and Russia both intervening before a mandated UN ceasefire. While technically Israel won the war, Egypt won the peace. Sadat visited Israel in 1977 and signed the peace Treaty in 1979 which although gaining back the Sinai territory, horrified the rest of the Arab world and led to the country’s expulsion from the Arab League of nations. This was only temporary and the Headquarters of the League is now based in Cairo.

A Muslim fundamentalist then assassinated Sadat in 1981 which is when Hosni Mubarak took over. This background is essential to understanding the outlook of Mubarak and his trusted military and political establishment and the acceptance of his domestic policy and police state controlling any opposition and limiting the economic development of the agricultural and urban working classes. It was a good life for those who were educated and obtained government positions, including the officer class in the funded and weapons supplied army by the USA.

However this is an oversimplification of the position of what happens when such a regime is allowed to flourish and where the dictator is feted in the USA and in Europe over three decades, especially, since the revolution in Iran and the rise of a Fundamentalist Islamic state and the crushing of its secular middle class and followed by 9/11.

The constitution recreated to ensure that there was only one agreed candidate for the Presidency with each term lasting six years. While in theory the power is divided between the President and Parliament, the President has the final say, and often the first say, on everything, moreover he controls the one political party allowed to have power, and he appoints the Prime Minister and Ministers in the government individually as well as regional governors. The country also operates under emergency law and used international concern on individual acts of Terrorism to give the police, open and secret, more power to maintain, surveillance, torture and imprisonment without fear of being challenged. Similar but not to the same extreme and outcome as what has happened in the UK in that the anti terror legislation resulted in local and other authorities gaining significant powers over individuals and their rights.

It is not accurate to say that the West and the USA in particular ignored the domestic tortures and suppression of political opposition but there was de facto acceptance of the situation in Egypt and in several other friendly Arab countries, because of increasing dependence on their oil and the fear of Muslim extremism.

A domestic movement for change commenced in Egypt in 2003 with the objective of democratic reform and greater civil liberties. The President decided to hold a multi candidate Presidential election in 2005 and then convicted and imprisoned the main opposition candidate who accused the regime of vote rigging and election fraud, of violence by pro Mubarak supporters and police brutality. The regime intimidates and bribes people into defending its interests. The outcome is that the overwhelming majority of voters, some 75% did not vote, and many of those who did were required in order to keep their government contracts and individual jobs. The regime also has complete control over all forms of media and with the military having the latest spy planes and spy satellites it can control the Internet and the telephone system, including mobile phones by monitoring everything and everyone or closing down to suit its interests.

This is why Presidential/Government/political Party tactics towards the uprising was not a surprise to those involved, or its capacity to say one thing to the other countries especially the USA, and to present a different view to its people via the media and anticipate that it will work as it has done for decade upon decade.

However the genie is now out of the bottle in such a way and which will impossible for things to go back as they were before without risk of achieving the very thing that is feared most, another revolutionary Muslim autocracy next door to Israel with a military capacity better than Israel. I have tried to explain why Western style democracies, particularly the USA and the UK are between a rock and a hard place when considering how to react to the latest developments and the TV coverage..

While democratic reforms and civil rights are important to the educated and the middle class Egyptians, its the basics of human survival and the opportunity to progress which is the interest of the majority, and why political and religious radicals have and will continue to be successful because they address these issues, providing social care for those who are deprived, sick and disabled.

Egypt had been able to make economic progress since World War 2, in five ways: Transit tolls from the Suez Canal, petroleum and gas productions, the maintenance of a large army who have nothing to do but train, the creation of the Aswan dam and the development of Tourism with the creation of the Red Sea holiday resorts and visits to the ancient sites such as the Valley of the Kings and the Pyramids and trips along the Nile river and to the museum of antiquities in Cairo.
The Canal remains important because the alternative around the South African Cape of Good Hope takes such greater time and is therefore that more expensive. However it is not wide and deep enough to accommodate the latest super tankers whose size compensates for the extra costs. Closure of the canal as happened for six months 1956/57 and between 1967 and 1975 hit the Egyptian economy as it did the international trading nations. The closure for 8 years reveals how stubborn the President and his regime can be.

Just as the Canal remains a national government operation so does the National oil company and which in turn owns 70% of natural gas which with petroleum products is a major export. While total production of oil and gas is only a small percentage of that required by China, the USA and Europe we would be badly affected if the supply is reduced, halted or directed to one country such as China. Until alternative energy sources are developed on the same scale petroleum and natural gas will continue to make a major contribution to the economy

To understand the significance of the military in Egypt all I need to say is that Britain with its ongoing involvement in Afghanistan and Europe together with its recent involvement in Iraq has a force of 175000 men and women while Egypt which has not needed to fire a shot in anger for over three decades has a force of nearly 1 million in fulltime and reservists with some 800000 eligible for national service each year aged 18 and continuing for three years

It is also important to understand that there are 5 military headquarters including Cairo, Alexandria and Suez and several active armies equipped with the latest arms and technologies provided by the USA and which includes the separate Presidential Guard. Only China with two and a quarter million, the USA one and a half, India, Russia and Korea with over million together with Iran, Turkey and Pakistan have more military in active service. Israel has the same as the UK.

In addition to the Presidential guard, there are a further 350000 individuals employed in the Internal national security service, including riot control, and which has several command Headquarters, and these are additional to the official police service. I do not have police numbers but it can be assumed there are half a million involved and like the army they need something do in addition to ongoing training. They are paid for and provided with weapons and equipment by the USA

These structures together with the war fighting equipped airforce with a spy plane and Satellite surveillance and Navy (ships previously provided by Russia and China) provides the opportunity to educate the 800000 national service entrants each year in the ideology of the regime as well as Egyptian national history and culture.

By my reckoning there is one soldier, security or police man for every 60 people in the country so that most families will have someone involved or has been involved. While the hierarchical authoritarian structure implies an obedient chain of command, the existence of different command structures and a substantial national service involvements means that the position of the military leadership is crucial to how the political and civil state functions.

The creation of the Aswan High Dam between the 1950 and 1970’s together with the earlier embankment dams protected the land from flooding, provided significant new growing farming lands, provided 12 additional generators of electricity, improved river travel and launched a new fishing industry in Lake Nasser. The economic impact has been substantial and significant
The final development issue is tourism, particularly, the development of the Red Sea Resort with its own International airport. The figures I have seen indicate that 500000 people are flying in or out of Egypt every week to see the historical sights or leisure at the Red sea. The impact of this number in terms of employment, provision of services and purchasing power is of increasing importance to the economy.

The tourist industry has been hit before with the Muslim extremist attacks at Luxor killing 58 people in 1997 and bombings and other attacks 2005-2007 including in Cairo and the Red Sea resort. Just when it looked as if the pressure was off tourism, the beach at the Red Sea resort had to be closed last year because of shark attacks and now this. It is understandable that those who run the tourist industry as well as those employed will have become angry and frustrated at the turn of recent events. The violence against peaceful protestors has done great damage which only a new and stable regime will begin to change international public opinion.

The government has denied responsibility although it is noted that the denial does not include the President or his Political Party. IT is interesting that to day the President and the executive Committee of the political Party have announced their resignation. The attack was planned and co-ordinated. It is also possible that army soldiers may have been hoodwinked by the advancing pro Mubarak people into thinking they had come to join the protestors and it looked as if two of the deaths came from the tanks who may have misjudged and hit protestors instead of shooting above their heads.

While rising food prices and the international monetary crisis has impacted on Egypt as elsewhere and its internal and external debt has more than doubled during the past decade and brief look at the percentages in terms of gross domestic product and international trade appears to me to indicate that over the past decade there has been variable management with better control of the external debt over the years 2005-2007. There was major denationalization a decade before followed by the encouragement of small and medium size private enterprise which has been increasingly successful. All the progress in coping with the international capitalist crisis together with the significant increases in foreign investment is now in peril with each day of the non violent insurgency continues.

I was aware that the country had a large population than the UK over 80 million and 60 million but no concept of its comparative size, twice that of Spain or Texas and California combined and 30th in the world overall dwarfing many of its neighbours. However the nature of the land means that 99% are concentrated on 5.5% which obviously has implications for industrial and manufacturing development and the economy of the greater number of the urban population.

The population has been increased with refugees from the Sudan where the number is believed to be anything from half a million to 3. There are said to be 70000 refugees from Palestine and 150000 recently arrived from Iraq, The position of refugees has already be questioned by human rights and aid organisations and will be a matter of concern as the President and Vice President have started to accuse foreigners for causing and trying to effect the outcome of the uprising.

Earlier I identified the threat of the uprising turning into a Muslim fundamentalist autocracy. The facts are that 90% of the population are Muslims with the majority of the remainder Coptic Christians. The present law does not provide for a religious based political party and this will have to be amended under any level of democratic reform.
The media has had a negative impact having been strictly controlled and censored so that the expression of anti President and anti government views is forbidden. The development of technology in surveillance with monitoring, postal, telephone and internet communications gained from impetus with the additional measures brought in after 9/11. The government is now able to close phone and internet communication as well as use to its own advantage and detriment of any opposition. The sad aspects of this is that Egypt has been regarded as being in the vanguard of Arabic art and culture.

So what is to happen next as the country cannot afford the continuing disruption and fear? For me the issue is not whether Mubarak stays as President but the extent to which there is immediate change visible to those insisting on controlling the central square, combined with stopping the violence against protestors and the taking of action against individuals, opposition parties and allowing the domestic media to report a balance account of what has and is happening. The rest of the world will also need convincing that real change is underway.

2010 New programmes on new Sky Channel

I am delaying my writing about events in Egypt and neighbouring nations as the situation worsens until there is a clear indications of what will happen. I have spent this week watching and listening to the various news channels but not exclusively

Sky Atlantic is a new drama channel which opened on Tuesday evening 1st of February 2011. The channel has exclusively acquired some current highly regarded drama series from the United Sates together with the re-showing of other favourites from Sky channels such 24 and the excellent Soprano’s.

I recorded to view later two of the most heralded new series and report than one has so far proved a major disappointment while the other, although geared for mainstream USA has potential because the focus is on one family of law enforces who have been written and acted as real people. Interestingly both series feature men affected by their involvement in war, one in the trenches of the first world war and the other in Iraq.

I begin with the best of the two, Blue Bloods, subtitled, New York, Finest, featuring Tom Selleck as the Police Commissioner who is widowed but has been spotted appearing with a date by one of his surviving three children. One a son has been killed, apparently in the line of duty, but the suspicion is that he was investigating a secret vigilante society within the service which has some 35000 officers with additional auxiliaries and school safety agents which brings the combined total to 45000. The Commissioner, unlike his counterpart in Greater London is expected to make press statements on the hoof although similar to police chiefs on both sides of the Atlantic they are subjected to continuous political scrutiny and pressure.

Unlike the Boardwalk Empire the Police Commissioner appears dedicated and uncorrupted whereas the police boss in 1920 Atlantic City is hand and glove with his criminal brother who is also the city Finance Chief. More of that later.

On Blue Blood a second son has returned from Iraq and his father suggests he needs counselling for his anger and use of illegal methods to catch criminals. The third son, the youngest, is the brightest who has been to college and has a girl socialite girl friend from a wealthy and influential family who approved of the relationship because the young man is a graduate of the Harvard Law School. However the situation is reported to have changed with his decision to become a basic grade trainee in the police force. The series opens at the training graduation ceremony presided over by his father and watched with pride by his fiancée. The other family member is an assistant District Attorney whose function is to prosecute those apprehended by her brothers. To add to the dynasty, Selleck is following in the footsteps of his father who from the first episode appears was forced into retirement as Police Commissioner for reasons yet to be disclosed.

In the first pilot episode we are introduced to family, wives, children and girl friends but the main story centres on a nine year old Latino girl who is snatched on her way home or to school. Does any responsible and sensible parent let 9 year olds go anywhere unescorted by an adult these days? The added problem is the girl requires a daily insulation injection and will comatose and die if she is not found in less than 24 hours. The major flaw in this story line is that not only does the kidnapper leaves the doll he used to attract the attention of the girl as she passed his white van by the roadside but inquiries reveal that this is a prototype test doll where only three have been sold in the state of New York and therefore the addresses of he purchasers are known. The odds on this be true are as good as my winning the national lottery.
They eliminate two and find the wife of the third who says she does not know his whereabouts and is divorcing him, having moved to the state from Miami Florida. The camera lets us know that she plays with a gold cross when talking and doing so in a somewhat guilty fashion. When they track the man down to a rooming house they find a blue van outside were a little scrape shows it has been repainted from white. That the kidnapper was able to arrange or do this himself within the time frame is also questionable. When the Detective son and his partner finds the man in a rooming house adjacent to the parked van he sends his partner out to radio in the arrest. He then water boards the man in the toilet, a feat unlikely to be possible in British made toilet bowls.

He is successful in finding out the location of the girl and she is rescued alive and reunited with her mother after a medical check. The mother visits the police HQ to deliver a cake with the girl to give their thanks for saving her life comparatively unharmed. The Detectives had found a communion dress and candles in their investigation. There is a scene where his assistant prosecutor sister berates him for the action which in addition to an Internal Affairs inquiry is bound to result in a failure to convict because evidence obtained under torture is inadmissible in court.

A district judge then gives the police the weekend to establish additional evidence to justify holding the man in custody in view of the allegations of torture. In attempting to help his son, Kelleck raises looking at cold cases across the country to see any similar characteristics as a 50 year old does not suddenly get the urge to kidnap a girl and act on it with such calculating organisation.

There is a family lunch at which the tensions between family members of the three generations emerge.

The new son policeman is at a dinner with his girl friend and two others and she becomes upset when he tells about his day which brings vividly to her the risks of injury and death he faces every day. They become quickly reconciled on his desire to be a policeman although this is a reality which all families of police, fire, and military personnel have to face when they are on active duty..

Later the son is approached by a secret FBI team investigating the secret vigilante organisation within the force and after rejecting their interest he reconsiders on being told that his brother may have been killed by these criminals within the present day force. In the Boardwalk Empire senior police offices are responsible for beating up before killing and framing an abusive husband for murders committed by a relative of the local crime lord.

Selleck also visits his father to report on professional and family matters and gain advice.

Colleagues going through cold case files come across the death of a nine year old girl in Florida with similar characteristics to the situation prevented in New York. On examining the files he sees a missing cross worn by the girl which looks similar to the one worn by the estranged wife of the kidnapper. On the reverse of the cross he finds the name of the murdered girl. By implication this means their will be a conviction for murder in Florida at which the kidnapping in New York will be taken into consideration thus reducing the pressure on the Detective regarding water boarding. It raises the issue of complicity on the part of the wife which is not raised in the episode.

Against the background of an organised conspiracy of vigilante police there is the issue of the moral justification or not of taking action to prevent the unnecessary death of a nine year girl. What if there a bomb set to go off within a limited time period. What action is or is not legitimate to force someone to reveal its location?
My understanding is that the series is devoted to each episode raising issues of what is right and wrong, how far should or can the justice system be stretched to cover such situations in getting the balance between the rights and interests of the victims of crime and the rights and interests of people suspected of crime?

There is nothing grey about the award winning Boardwalk Empire, directed in the pilot episode by Marin Scorsese. The series covers the commencement of prohibition and its lucrative addition to the wealth of the crime lords in Atlantic City, Chicago and New York.

The first two 90 mins period episodes 50 to 60 mins of actual drama, were hugely disappointing as they add nothing to our existing knowledge of the period and the acting and script is no better than OK. Despite the awards it is third rate Scorsese. Ok there is female flesh, sex and gratuitous violence to entertain, but what else?

In fairness I did some additional information about those times from the research undertaken before commencing the writing.

The story is based on the life of Enoch Lewis Thompson, known as Nucky, the criminal boss who controlled Atlantic City and County, its local government the ruling Republican Party machine, prostitution, gambling, extortion and bootlegging during prohibition. Born 1883 he came to power in the City in 1911 and held on to power until 1941 when he was sent to prison. He died in 1968.

When he was three his parents moved to the County where his father became alternating Sheriff and Under Sheriff living at two locations for two decades. His father and the County Clerk dominated the County and City Government with one other in an unholy triumph rates. There is no reference to their morality.
Nucky became Under Sheriff to his father and the following year, aged 23 he married a teenage girl from one the locations his family had lived. He became secretary of the local Republican Party and when the local political boss was convicted of corruption charges Nucky took over his position.

Atlantic City was dependent on Tourism and to give it the edge the Republican Party decided to allow gambling, prostitution and drinking on Sundays with the operatives paying tribute to the Party. This was his inheritance added to which there were personal payments for contracts and for jobs. Within five years his wife died and unfortunately I have no knowledge of the circumstances but a previous teetotaller he turned to drink. He switched official position according the most profitable and useful including publisher of a weekly paper and a bank director and once established he was approached to get a number of appointees into the State Governorship and US State Senate.

The TV series commences with Nucky established and in full control as Prohibition is put into effect and he speaks movingly to a temperance organisation and affects a pregnant young woman in the audience who unknown to him drinks heavily and beat hers which also distresses their two children. She seeks help and he gives her sufficient money to see her through the Winter. Her husband spots her arrive in the Rolls Royce of the Crime Lord so she gives a cover story but he finds and takes the money from her accusing her of prostitution although she is heavily pregnant.. When Nucky finds him gambling the money he takes it from him and the man goes home and beats his wife to the extent she needs the hospital. Nucky visits her in hospital and when he needs someone to take the rap for the killing of four bootleggers, he contacts his brother who arranges for the man to be beaten and killed and then blamed for the killings.
The real Nucky lived in a suite of rooms at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on the boardwalk, had a butler man Friday and a Chauffer and gave lavish parties. He was also very generous especially to poor voters particular the black community who did the domestic and service jobs

He built a convention Hall so the city could host all round conferences, including of crime bosses such as Al Capone (in 1932) although in the series Capone is a young man about to make his way.

From 1930 the Federal authorities were pointed in the direction of Thompson by the Hearst newspapers, because Thompson had taken too close an interest in the medial mogul‘s steady date showgirl. In 1933 with the end of Prohibition the City lost its attraction and his income fell substantially. His indictment was on tax evasion and he married a show girl ten days before starting a ten year sentence. He was 58 and she 33 years. He was paroled after four years and appeared to live a much quieter life with his wife and living with his brother. When he died the local paper admitted he was a big eater and drinker, womanizer and a lover of all fine things. It described him as political ruthless and amoral as well as remaining popular. There is no reference to responsibility for violence including killings.

In addition to Nucky and the Irish now widow with two children, the third central character in the series is Jimmy Darmody who is a protégé of Thompson and not a relative as I first thought. The effects of World War I service have left him ambitious and prepared to do anything to gain wealth and power and as the chauffer, he requests a greater role. He has a common law wife and child. He is also said in the TV production to be the natural child of Commodore Louis Kaestner : The real predecessor of Thompson who in the series is financial supported by him and appears to exercise power over him.
Nucky has set up a deal to provide a regular shipment of alcohol to other real life characters from New York and Chicago. One became head of the Jewish Mafia in New York, Arnold Rothstein, whose most notorious action was to fix the result of the 1919 world baseball series. His education and cultural style had great impact especially on Lucky Luciano who also features. His interests were gambling, and bootlegging during prohibition. He also controlled the important Maryland horse racing track and the outcome of races.

Rothstein comes to Atlantic City to commence a regular weekly deal on imported alcohol but instead of paying in advance wins $90000 from Nucky’s casino by cheating and then insists on using the money to buy the alcohol and to take the balance in cash. He was a millionaire by the age of 30. He used a corner of a famous restaurant on Broadway to transact business. He was shot dead with several theories that he was killed by or on the orders of his associate Dutch Schultz or because of a gambling debt he refused to settle.

In the first episode, with the same name as the series, Nucky and Jimmy visit a Funeral home where there is also a business making diluted whisky with added ingredients to make it taste original. The owner/manager gives Jimmy a glass of whisky looking Formaldehyde as a joke but Jimmy wants to kill him as a consequence. Later after the establishment of the special Prohibition FBI team they pick up Jimmy and he gives them the Funeral home in retaliation and to occupy their attention while he and Al Capone hijack the shipment of Alcohol intended for New York and which they sell to the Chicago crime bosses.

Al Capone loses his head when a deer comes out of the neighbour woods and they start to shoot Rothstein’s men. Al Capone is still a young pun as they say at this point, another driver general assistant like Jimmy. who works for the Fox - Johnny Torrio, an Italian American. It was Torrio who pressed the idea of a National Crime Syndicate. In addition to profiting from alcohol during prohibition, gambling and numbers, and prostitution, he was also into loan sharking, extortion and drugs. He also advocated conservative dressing and behaviour and the provision of legitimate businesses. An associate was Big Jim Colosimo whose interests were brothels, his restaurant and the voice of Caruso.

In real life Colosimo abandoned his wife and the aunt of Torrio who after the divorce married a young actress and singer These aspects are not in the TV series. He also disagreed with Torrio over the expansion into alcohol. In real life and in the TV series he is assassinated in his restaurant. His killer was never brought to justice.

Two gangs dominated Chicago in the 1920’s and the turf and activity war led to the downfall of Torrio who survived a major assassination attempt. He was watched over by Capone before going to prison when he recovered for Prohibition violations. He returned and went with his family back to Italy. The Turf War led to Capone’s St Valentine’s Day attempt to eliminate the opposition. Torrio returned to the USA to give evidence at the trial of Al Capone. He is featured in various Capone films and the Untouchables.

In the second episode, The Ivory Tower, reporters approach Torrio and Capone at the funeral of Colosimo asking if they are responsible for his death.

A man called George Baxter, I am not yet sure who he is, introduces Nucky to his teenage “clippie friend who so far has not yielded to his sexual advances. Nucky tells her she should enter the beauty competition and her companion is one of he judges. I assume to show another aspect of Nucky’s role as a Godfather

After the raid on the Funeral home Mucky tells the owner manager he is it of business and replaces him with Chalky White, the black criminal boss.

With his share of the proceeds from the sale of the alcohol, after giving Capone and Nucky a share he buys his wife a 100 dollar bracelet, his son toys and provides the family a belated lit Christmas tree. He then give his mother, a show girl (I thought she was his mistress at first!!!!) a necklace similar to one she sold to help bring him up. Nucky tells him that if he is to be his own master gangster he has also to pay him tribute of $3000. He has this amount left less 500 which he tries to borrow from Capone who secretly laughs at him. He then steals back the necklace to meet the debt.

In New York Luck Luciano brings another gangster Frankie Yale to see Rothstein who is convinced that Yale was responsible for the assassination of Colosimo. The fat man and young girl are on the way home when they find one of the Rothstein’s men still alive. The FBI man goes to see the Irish widow with two sons to say that he does not believe her husband was involved in the killing of Rothstein’s men. He was a patsy.

2009 Do not hug a Hoodie

Harry Brown is a film which every politician, policeman, media worker, social and community worker should see, not because it is a great film or because of the questionable morality, but because it paints an accurate picture of the teenage gang world on particular local authority run estates of flat block tenements. Although not a great film there is a brilliant performance of Michael Caine, one of his finest.

He is Harry Brown an ex marine with decorated service in Northern Island who suffers from emphysema and is struggling on his own as his wife lays dying in hospital. Apart from visiting her he plays chess with a friend at the estate pub close to a canal. At the pub his friend notices that the Inn keeper is allowing a young thug drug trafficker to trade on the premises, One night he observers the estate gang of hoodies beat up a visitor who complains about the youths damaging his car. Harry observers but takes no action. Harry also avoids the quick route traffic safe underpass to the pub because it is controlled by the hoodies. Harry wants to live and let live and warns his chess playing friend about talking out loud about the behaviour of the youth in the pub.

The friend joins Harry at the cemetery as Harry visits the grave of his wife after she dies. The Friend asks Harry about his service days and did he ever kill someone. Harry says this is something he has not talked about since meetings and marrying his wife. The reason for this question is that his friend, played by the also excellent David Bradbury, has become scared and stressed by the estate gangs who had put excrement through his letter box and scrawled graffiti and then pushed through lighted papers cause a minor fire. He shows Caine a bayonet which he is now carrying in self defence. Caine is concerned at this and tells him to report the situation to the police. He says he has done this with no change in the situation.

A short while afterwards his friend is hacked to death with the bayonet and later the same female police Inspector calls with her sergeant who advised of the death, to say that because it looks as if the Bayonet belonged to the friend and they will have to reduce the charge from murder to manslaughter. Caine comments that’s if the case ever gets to court.

From the vantage point of the trashed flat of his friend he observes the underpass gang beating up another young man attempting to go through the passageway with his girl friend who they start to assault. The young man and the girl manage to get away but unable to continue their planned journey.

This in retrospect in the incident where Harry says to himself enough is enough. The trigger for taking action occurs after he leaves the pub and goes along the canal path and is stopped by a drug addict to demand the money he has on him brandishing a knife. Caine manages to turn the knife back onto the man who dies. Caine returns home and takes off all his clothing which he bins. The police assume the death of a known addict is the result of some dispute. Caine now goes to a drug suppliers who are also known to sell guns. They appear crazed and dangerous and lead Caine through a cannabis growing area to where they keep the weapons. There is a girl in a drug stupor who appears to be in a coma. Caine expresses concern but this is ignored and he is invited to abuse the girl and they offer to sell him Viagra if required.

When they produce the weapon, Caine stabs one of the two men in order to get hold of the gun and then kills the two mean setting fire to their place as he leaves, but taking the unconscious girl out to the trafficker’s four wheeled vehicle and leaving the girl outside the accident and emergency unit of the nearest hospital.

He had taken away the supply of weapons and ammunition and also finds several thousands pounds. He leave £1000 with the girl and gives the rest to a local church. The female Inspector who asked to work in the area begins to have suspicions about Caine and has undertaken some work about his background. The situation comes to a head when Caine watches one of the underpass gang get drugs from a dealer in car. There is a row about payments with the consequence that one of the gang goes with the man in a car to bring him sexual relief. Caine manages to track them down (this is least plausible aspect of the film) and shoots the drug dealer and takes the young man prisoner. He takes him to the home of his former friend and starts to torture him. To save his life he gives Caine his mobile phone on which there is film of the killing and the killer.

This is one of the young men who was interviewed by the police and who behaves aggressively especially to the police Sergeant who was responsible for getting the conviction of the youth’s father. Caine uses the youth, he has taken prisoner, as a shield to approach the killer and another who are at the point of having sex with two local girls in the underpass. There is a shoot out and two of the three youths are killed but the killer runs off along the canal bank where Caine collapses from his lung condition, throwing the gun into the canal.

The local police commander believes that a drug war has broken out and decided on zero tolerance approach planning a raid on the homes of a dozen suspects from the estate and calls a meeting to plan the action. Instead of attending the meeting the Police Inspector and her Sergeant calls in at the hospital to see Caine where he has been kept since discovered on the tow path. She believes he is responsible for the spate of deaths and this is reinforced when she smells cordite on some clothing. The area commander is not interested when the two return late for the briefing and announces that he has arranged for the Inspector to be transferred to a different type of police work.

The films then reaches its climax. Caine decides to leave the hospital and makes his way home. The police raid commences and local youth riot as the arrests begin. They use petrol bomb against he police with riot shields. The Police Inspector and the Sergeant have also gone to the raid and their vehicle is ambushed and badly damaged. Caine arrives and gets them out where the Sergeant is wounded and needs hospital treatment. He takes him and the Inspector to the local pub where he asks the landlord to call for an ambulance. He goes to find what is keeping the landlord while the Inspector calls for help on her phone. He finds that the landlord is not making the call and that the landlord is not only the uncle of the killer but hiding him. There is a fight and Caine appears to be knocked out. The landlord then kills the injured Sergeant with his hands and tells his nephew to get rid of the police Inspector in the same way. Caine revives and has a second gun at his ankle and shoots the young killer before he is able to kill the police inspector. However the landlord is able gain control of the situation until we the audience can see that a police marksman has targeted him and he is shot dead.

The film ends with the area commander holding a media conference to comment on the results of the inquiry into the situation. He announces that bravery medals have been awarded to the Sergeant and the Police Inspector who is present. He then goes on to dismiss rumour about a vigilante being responsible for some of the killings. The Inspector leaves the briefing satisfied or keeping her mouth shut as Harry had saved her life. The final scene is Harry using the underpass which is clean, quiet and safe.
The film has a better quality than the Dirty Harry series for example. No civilised person will support the taking of the law into ones own hands in the way of Caine in this film although we can understand his frustration. In addition to excellent acting performance of Caine I felt the portrayal of the young men was authentic from my experience of such individuals. Apart from the weekend teenage audience I cannot think many will regard this film as entertaining but it will remain an important social document.