Malcolm Blair-Robinson's Blog, page 168
May 30, 2015
May 29, 2015
Gothic Crime from Tor Raven
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An English village slumbers on the Surrey/Sussex borders, but the pastoral exterior hides a number of nightmare secrets. The return of a young man, Philip, after a long absence stirs memories of the horrific murder of his mother and uncle years earlier and of an ancient curse delivered upon the family in Napoleonic times. The villagers’ unease grows as Philip embarks upon an affair with the local farmer’s daughter, and a series of mysterious deaths seem to follow in his wake. Soon their anxiety turns to fear as they feel evil in their midst. Could Philip be in league with the Devil? Set in the 1920s and full of authentic period detail, this is a tale which will haunt readers long after the last page has been turned.
Purple Killing: Paperback or Download
nd a best-selling author. She has a British connection through her estranged father Saul, an English thriller writer. Saul, whose parents were of Anglo-German origin, has spent much of his life plotting to expose secrets from World War Two, which are so sensitive they have been subject to an extensive cover-up lasting seventy years. As the time approaches for him to make his move to expose duplicity, murder and lies at the heart of the British State, he seeks Rachael’s help. This provokes a killing spree as parts of the security services of both Britain and the United States become engaged in the drama, with one side determined to get the secrets out and the other determined to keep them hidden.
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FIFA : A Clash of Cultures
If Sepp Blatter is re-elected it will underscore the culture gap between Europe and the developing world. FIFA pours big money into developing countries to support football infrastructure which helps to develop backward economies and give their populations hope and motivation. If you are a delegate from parts of the world which are at a marked disadvantage to and exploited by the prosperous West, you may consider a few sweeteners a small price to pay for all that this old man has brought to your country.
UEFA should stay in, no matter what the outcome. From within it can, with all its constituent national football associations and crime agencies, ensure that in future FIFA respects the law of honesty and fair dealing. It is also important to ask, as the reports and evidence of corruption are so widespread and of long standing, why it is that no European country has had its crime agencies carry out any kind of formal investigation as to what is happening within their own borders involving FIFA. That needs to change too. Behavioral patterns are hard to shift but when large numbers of FIFA officials dare not fly anywhere without fear of arrest on landing, those patterns will change to a more acceptable format.
May 28, 2015
Hitler’s First Lady: Nazi Era Drama
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Lise Bauer is born in Africa in 1906, brought to England by her parents from where she is expelled with them in 1914, because her father is an East Prussian. They settle in America and become Americans, but return to Europe in the 1920’s. Here Lise is involved in the rise of the Nazi party, marries one of Hitler’s closest associates and later has a relationship with Hitler himself, before divorcing her husband and marrying an English friend of Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess. She settles again in England with the consent of the security services and she and her husband establish a cell to act as a secret communication channel between Hitler and Churchill at the critical period of WWII.
The novel offers a new view of Hitler’s sexual relationships, a plot to overthrow Churchill and the flight to Scotland by Rudolf Hess. Using historical characters often portrayed in a new light, this dramatic account challenges the accepted view of recorded history.
Hess Enigma By Tor Raven: Paperback or Kindle
Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy and right hand man, flew to Scotland on a mysterious peace mission in 1941, which has never been convincingly explained, to meet unidentified politicians who wanted to end the war. The truth has been covered up for generations because to reveal it would somehow undermine the honour and constitutional fabric of the United Kingdom. Who was plotting against Churchill? What were the peace terms on offer? What happened to Hess? Was he killed in the War? Was the prisoner in Spandau a double?
There are many questions to which in the modern day one man, Saul Benedict has all the answers, because his parents were players in the drama involving Churchill, Hitler, leading politicians and an important Royal. Saul is an author and declares his intention to write a book to reveal all, but he is shot dead, apparently accidentally by a poacher. But was it an accident? Rick Coleman an investigative journalist determines to find out and in doing so to uncover the mystery.
Taking place in the modern day but with flashback chapters which gradually unfold the hidden secrets, the novel is a fast moving and compelling read based on the family knowledge of the author whose parents had connections to both Hess and Hitler and to British Intelligence.
The United Kingdom Has Cracked.
This new parliament is going to be a whole lot more interesting than at first appeared. The signal was the sinking of the flagship Bill of Rights even before it put to sea. Up till now the UK has been one solid mass controlled by and from Westminster and the constituent nations had to do as they were told. This is no longer the case as the muddle of our unwritten constitution which invests all power and authority with the government which can change it at any time, begins to emerge. Because parts of are written in the form of statutes which cannot be taken away, whatever Westminster says, without breaking up the Union in the process.
I refer to the fact that the Human Rights Act is part of the devolution settlements for all three nations and very much a red line for Scotland. No way would it allow the ultimate guarantee of the freedoms to be transferred from the collective guarantee enshrined in perpetuity at Strasbourg, to the flexible constitutional vacuum of London, subject to amendment at any time by a Tory majority. So the plan has been put on hold to save face, but in reality it is over. The narrowness of Cameron’s majority was the explanation, but the legal challenges were ultimately the cause.
Thus it will be over the referendum on leaving the EU. The SNP are already saying that a No vote must occur in every country in the UK in order for the UK to leave. This reflects the devolution of political authority to empower the people of the nations. Of course the massive inbuilt dominance of the populous England could enable it to override Yes votes of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all of whom want to stay in the EU, but to do so would guarantee that the Union would bust apart and like Humpty Dumpty would be bust for good.
The same Europhobes who clamour for exit are also the most committed unionists. In a million years they never thought they would end up here. Because by muddle and misunderstanding and a lack of strategic vision now common among English politicians, the UK can no longer be governed as one. It can only remain intact through the agreement of its constituent parts. Issue by issue. And as time goes on the issues will multiply.
May 27, 2015
Human Rights: Change On Hold
This is just a quick post as off out for the day, but the most significant thing about the Queen’s Speech may well be what is not in it. News that the proposal to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace with a British Bill of Rights, so much trumpeted in recent days, is ‘on hold’ tells you something very interesting about the vulnerability of Cameron’s majority and the cracks already widening in what was once a rock solid United Kingdom. More on this later. This is a much more interesting parliament than I had thought.
May 26, 2015
The New Parliament
The new parliament will be interesting. We will know more after the Queen’s Speech tomorrow. Much of it has been trailed in advance, but there will be some surprises. What will be really interesting is the dynamics of the parliament itself. Because this is the first parliament in which the United Kingdom is truly aware that the whole is made up of four constituent nations, and each of those is dominated by a different political party. So the term opposition will mean different things at different times and the scope for an opposition coalition to cause problems as the parliament advances could be quite significant. ‘We will back you against this if you support us against that.’
Overall Cameron has a majority of twelve , but he has more than a hundred in England alone. Prophesies that it will all turn pear shaped for him are not likely to be realistic, but the rise of the Scot Nats as a unifying force of the left should not be underestimated either. For the moment neither Labour nor the Lib Dems have a leader; in the latter case there is little left to lead. But watch Harriet Harman.
