Comment: Preston & Child - The Cabinet of Dr. Leng.

 

This is the latest novel of the Agent Pendergast series, following Bloodless. The authors write:

Ideally, this novel fits into a sequence one might call the Leng Quartet: The Cabinet of Curiosities, Bloodless, The Cabinet of Dr. Leng, and a fourth, concluding novel which we are writing as fast as possible.

It's been so many years since reading The Cabinet of Curiosities, followed years later with Bloodless, I really hoped that The Cabinet of Dr. Leng would wrap everything up in a nice satisfying bow. Spoiler Alert: the Leng novel ends with a disappointing line:

TO BE CONTINUED...

Admittedly, I'm quite the nerd when it comes to the Pendergast novels. Reading them since 2005, my connection to all the characters has almost become personal. 

I remember reading the Sherlock Holmes stories in middle and high school. I was devastated when Sir Arther Conan Doyle killed Holmes and his nemesis, Professor Moriarity, plunging into the abyss over the Reichenbach Falls.  Over about a week, I discovered Holmes had been resurrected, and the stories continued. I later read that when Doyle killed Sherlock, the city of London came close to shutting down. Doyle was forced to bring Sherlock back to life. I feel the same way about the Pendergast characters as if they were real people. Lame and nerdy, I know. 

Once you think a particularly evil character is dead or has disappeared completely, they seem to pop up at inopportune times. Another surprise in Dr. Leng...the novel leaving you hanging by your fingernails on the proverbial cliff. Wonderful, really.

Writing a brief summary of the series would be a disservice to the new reader. 

It would be beneficial for the new reader of this Quartet to begin at the beginning with The Cabinet of Curiosities, followed by Bloodless and Dr. Leng. 

I don't work for the authors or their publishers, though reading the novels sequentially will be a much more rewarding experience for the new reader. 

If you like gothic/mystery/science fiction novels, the Pendergast series will not disappoint. 

I don't know when the fourth novel will be published, though I know it will be worth the wait. 

Comment: MSM & IC combine to Influence 2020 Election.

One of the biggest stories over the last few years was the intentional censorship of the Biden Lap Top story. Among other things, the emails revealed Hunter Biden making under-the-table deals with Ukraine and China using the influence of the Biden name. This week, a congressional committee revealed that Antoney Blinken contacted his connections in the Intelligence Community to assert it (laptop) was purely Russia disinformation. Indeed, the MSM ran with it, claiming that 50 people in the IC signed a letter stating it was Russian propaganda. This is election tampering and a criminal act at the highest levels of government. We currently have our spook organizations influencing domestic politics. 

Our mainstream media has been losing their audience base for a long time. President Trump tweeted that the media's statistics and advertising revenue would plummet once he left office. (paraphrased). Ironically, the president was correct. After lying to the American people and the world that Trump was a traitor and in league with Russian President Putin in the 2016 campaign, trust in corporate media plummeted. 

Looking into stories on MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, etc., repeatedly shouted from the rooftops that the Hunter Lap Top was a hoax and followed the Russian 'playbook' (whatever that is) of disinformation to influence the 2020 election. 

(Video)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEdEEkFoUvE

Again this cover-up or misdirection by the DNC in coordination with the IC and MSM is a cancer on American democracy. If journalists like Glenn Greenwald were allowed to publish their story about the authenticity of the Biden laptop (Greenwald left the Intercept as a result), this might have swayed the 2020 Presidential election for Donald Trump. 

This story should be big news, but as usual, as MSM works for the corporate establishment, it's getting little coverage. 

What is frightening is the IC working in tandem with the DNC to spread disinformation while attempting the most significant censorship campaign in history. The disinformation is coming from our own governments and not the Russians. This kind of corruption is mind-boggling. 

This corruption goes further with the government giving Matt Taibbi a letter threatening him with jail time for lying to Congress. Nothing about the censorship by the government was revealed in the Twitter Files. An independent journalist, Lee Fang, debunked all the lies on Mehdi Hassin's lame show on Peacock. Similar to the Stalin regime in the Soviet Union, the messenger of Truth was imprisoned and sent to Siberia or shot by firing squad. 

By observing Western governments around the planet, the growing tyranny in many of these governments is steadily getting much worse. Including the "beacon on the hill" democracy, the United States of America. 

To speak one's point of view in the public square (now social media) is the bedrock of democracy, as demonstrated by the Greeks during its golden age. No matter how much you're offended by an individual's view on politics and the planet, they have the right to express it. Criminality and racism, including any form of "hate speech," should not be tolerated, per a Supreme Court Ruling some years ago. 

Our governments are lying to us to sway our political and world views. 

Terrifying though interesting times.

 

   

Comment: Viktor E. Frankl - Man's Search for Meaning.

 

Decades ago, my sociology teacher in high school (extra reading) handed me Man's Search for Meaning. He said, "I know you have a big load; take the time to read this small volume...it just may change your life." I read through the text at seventeen and remember the sadism and cruelty of the concentration camp guards and the intense suffering these men, women, and children experienced. This began my proper antiwar stance....all wars. Yet, rereading the text so many years later, it felt like a different book. So many years ago, I missed the doctor's central points. 

The notion of pure evil and the "banality of evil" is described by philosopher Hannah Arendt writes:

Evil comes from a failure to think. It defies thought, for as soon as thought tries to engage itself with sin and examine its origins' premises and principles, it is frustrated because it finds nothing there. That is the banality of evil.
― Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil.

Frankl's descriptions of his experiences in the concentration camps are horrific. But as he says in the 1992 Edition Preface:

I had wanted simply to convey to the reader by concrete example that life holds a potential meaning under any conditions, even the most miserable ones.

These "concrete examples" reveal the cruelty and utter sadism of man's inhumanity to man. There have been many accounts of the Nazi atrocities inflicted on Jews during WWII. Frankl, though, in Part One, needed to relive these moments to describe his psychology and philosophy on suffering and one's individual realization of meaning in his life through hell. 

There are two instances where Frankl found some relief through the violence laid upon him and his fellow comrades. Walking in 2-degree snow and wind without any shoes. Once working on some railroad, he spotted a young bird standing on a pile of dirt, staring directly at him. This followed an intense inner vision of his beloved wife. Where he would talk to her and receive answers about life. 

One's inner life, dreams, and memories help one survive this hell, but early in the text, Frankl realized it is love for one's beloved, a deep, universal love that pushed him through the continuous torture. The vision of his beloved wife was more real than reality. This was the turning point in his efforts to survive the camps. 

Summarizing Part Two of the text is unnecessary because the experience of reading his psychology as an individual is essential. We all have different lives, and what you take away from the text is yours and yours alone.

Rereading a text that was read decades ago will seem to be an entirely different book.

Man's Search for Meaning should be on every school reading list in English and literature. 

 

Comment - Seymour Hersh - Reporter- A Memoir

 Seymour Hersh's memoir should be compulsive reading for anyone considering going into journalism. The number of essential stories he has broken throughout his career is staggering. 

As a young man, he began working at his father's laundry, and when his father passed, he grabbed the reigns and kept the business above water - all the while studying at school. He attributes this time to his persistence and doggedness as a future news reporter. 

Hersh started at the bottom, writing dispatches and learning his craft on various beats or anything his superiors would assign him to. This is where he learned the basics and never jumped to conclusions on a story until all the facts were available.  

Hersh's first and most known breaking story was the My Lai massacre during the Veitnam War. I remember this story as a 10-year-old living in Colorado. We would later talk about the incident in high school with our few progressive teachers. After rereading the specifics, the brutality and carnage of what these young American soldiers afflicted on these innocents continue to feel disturbing to this day. This reporting certainly contributed to the antiwar effort and the final end of this war. 

It takes a particular type of personality to run down sources and keep those sources over many years. The memoir only names sources that have passed and refuse to name them in the present time. I believe the 80's term "networking" describes Hersh's methods. The bottom line is trust and nurturing one's sources to expose their experiences and knowledge that our governments prefer to remain secret. 

The crimes of Nixon and Kissinger are revealed through Hersh's reporting. Bob Woodward, then at The Washington Post, and Hersh, working for the Times, collaborated on the Watergate scandal. They continue to be good friends to this day.

The illegal bombing of Cambodia and Laos was also a story that Hersh broke, making him enemy number one for Nixon and particularly Kissinger. The millions of unnecessary deaths of these civilians are a war crime. Those responsible for the atrocity at the top never paid for these crimes. This is a common occurrence when it comes to American Wars.

I'm not a journalist; however, this text showed me the importance of a good editor. Hersh's relationship with editor A.M. Rosenthal of the Times was constantly confrontational, testy, and in instances, absolutely hilarious. Two hard-headed newsmen, passionate about their trade bucking heads, were insightful and entertaining. Rosenthal believed in Hersh and went out on a limb countless time for a "Hersh story." Over a story that both men disagreed about, Hersh stormed back into his office and threw his typewriter through the window. Hersh returned the next day to find the window replaced and a clean desk. This story ended up being published. 

The news of Abu Ghraib hit the world hard. Bush and Cheney's insistence on torture was taken seriously. Apart from Hersh's reporting, the images speak for themselves. When attempting to track down one of the female guards at the facility, he spoke with her mother, who said she is totally withdrawn, tattooing her entire body in black. (The young woman was trying to disappear).  

Hersh's writing in his memoir is accessible and riveting. 

Mainstream media has dropped its mask over the last week. Tracking down the leaker of secret documents the young man uploaded online. Doing the FBI's job, a "journalist" tracked him down and turned him in, the authorities arresting him in a display of force similar to the IDF in the Gaza Strip. 

We are currently experiencing a massive censorship campaign by the government. A journalist "punching up" to power is their job. Hersh continues to reveal government crimes while these young Mainstream journalists are merely collaborators with the corrupt establishment. 

Any writer/journalist should read Hersh's memoir...and learn what a reporter is about. 

Comment. The MSM are now 'Rats', Hunting down Sources.

  

Yesterday, a 21-year-old US airman, Jack Teixerie, was arrested for publishing secret documents discussing the Russian/Ukraine war. The young man is currently being charged with the antiquated Espionage Act. Mainstream outlets like NYT and The Washington Post compared the disclosures with Wikileaks and the Snowden revelations. (ridiculous). When one reads these documents, there is nothing those familiar with the war didn't already know. For example, the US has Special Forces on the ground. As expected, the CIA provides battle advice and information all over Ukraine. The only other revelation is that those higher-ups in the military and government expect the war to drag on into 2024. Other revelations like spying on American allies like South Korea.  Again, information that those following the war (and the NSA) knew already. Though it's the media response to this story that is troubling. 

I'm not even a journalist, and I know that the golden rule of any journalist is to never give up their sources. This case is worse than giving up sources, The Washington Post and the government-funded Bellingcat tracked down the "leaker" (doing the FBI's job) and reported his address to the authorities.  Within hours, a SWAT contingent resembling the IDF stormed his home and arrested the young man. 

When has it become the media's job to play cop and track down 'leakers,' who are the very lifeblood of journalism? 

In a press conference with the DOD, all questions to the general was how could this happen? More so, what are you going to do about it? Are going to advance your technology to prevent this from happening again? For sure, not one journalist asked about the substance of the leaked documents and why it was a breach of National Security. These are not journalists but spokespeople for the military and the intelligence community. 

Our governments lie, commit crimes and keep them secret. Only those on the 'inside' disagree with their government's actions and have a conscience that they'll contact a trusted journalist and leak information. 

The greatest example in the 20th century was the Pentagon Papers. Daniel Ellsberg released these documents to the NYT and The Washington Post. The documents revealed that our government lied about the Veitnam War. He knew he would go to jail, but he did it anyway because he genuinely believed it was in the public interest. This 'leak' contributed to the end of that egregious war.

What the hell is going on? When you have a significant news outlet track down a leaker and hand over the details to the authorities? Protecting whistleblowers and leakers is part of the journalism handbook. Many real journalists have gone to jail for refusing to reveal their sources. Now they help the establishment hunt them down. We also imprison the journalists who print secret documents and leave them to rot. See Julian Assange. 

I'm currently reading a memoir of Seymour Hersh. To this day, he will not name his sources unless they have passed away. This journalist revealed the American government and military's lies and machinations: The My Lai massacre.  The methods, means, and utter doggedness of Herch to unearth this war crime is astounding and incredible reading.  This is journalism. Unfortunately, today, the media world is a different animal and cannot be called 'journalism.' 

The mainstream media is not the Fourth Estate anymore. It is the arm of the American Security State, spreading propaganda and promoting war. And now hunting down sources and handing them over to the authorities. When government and corporate interests combine, it's called fascism. Every mainstream outlet in the US and Australia should be labeled 'state-affiliated media.' 

Thank our lucky stars that independent journalists are still interested in the truth and confronting the government on their corruption and crimes. The number of these real journalists is dwindling. 

Once these journalists are silenced or canceled, we will no longer have a working democracy but a totalitarian state. 

  

A Falling Accident to beat all Accidents

 

Most people would agree that we all have good and bad days. However, last Tuesday, no exaggeration, having pure luck on my side, came close to death. I deliver an older family member's groceries once every week. She lives in the Dandenong Ranges, which are considered big hills or small mountains. I'd not explain why I no longer drive and prefer public transport. (traveling by bus and train gives me much reading time). Her place is about 1 hour from my current dwelling. 

Trains are a perfect mode of transport because mostly the passengers are either reading newspapers or have their faces planted in their cell phones. Nothing is better than reading a good book amongst a silent crowd and admiring the passing scenery through the window. 

My family member lives on a hill. Carrying bags of groceries up her driveway is a difficult task. Finally arriving, putting all vegetables and coffee away, we had our traditional chat. Two subjects we always talk about are politics and music. She is conservative (would have voted for Trump), and I have been a left-wing union man for many years. Our political discussions can become heated. Music is a different story. We love hard rock, 70's, 80's, and 90's, including jazz and the 18/19th-century classics: Mozart, Bach, Chopin, and Rachmaninov. Anyway, I stayed there longer than usual. Due to daylight savings time, the sky was turning into night. I thought, 'I'll take the shortcut out the back.' Bad decision. 

A steep trail up the back ends at the main road. This was a logical choice because the bus stop was only a kilometer away. I managed to get to the top. Then, reaching for a minor traffic pole, the damn thing gave way, and going backward, I tumbled down a very steep hill. The problem is that a 7 (feet) by 3 hard rubbish skip was buried in the ground at the bottom. I fell right into it, crashing my head against the edge, then all went black. 

Loss of time. Absolute darkness. I must have been unconscious. It felt at the time I was in a coffin. Coming to my senses, I reached into my pocket and found my lighter. Old lawnmowers and car parts surrounded me. Looking up, I could see the trees. 'How do I get out of here?' 

Feeling my head and face, blood was everywhere, and I was still bleeding. Pulling my shoe off, I removed my sock and held it to my head to stop the bleeding. Looking for a way out, a 7 feet climb after an hour, I escaped my coffin. There is no light in the hills. So I listened for any traffic, finally heard a car, and headed easterly. After about 30 minutes, I found my family members' house. Her door was unlocked, so I walked in. Because of the blood and my injuries, she freaked out. I said, 

'I need some help.' 

Cleaning the blood off my wound, she stated she would call an ambulance. 

'No!' I said. 'I don't have my backpack: no ID, debit cards, or Medicare card.'

In and out of sleep all night, once first light, I retraced my steps and found my backpack halfway down the ravine. Grabbing a large stick, I fished the bag out. ( I couldn't find my hat). Then, I called a taxi and went to the nearest Emergency Room rather than call an ambulance.  

After 6 hours, an MRI, and 2 eye examinations, my eye socket, nose, and cheek were fractured. Because of the fall, my whole body is bruised, and my left arm requires physiotherapy. 

Like 99% of humans, I despise pain. 

This is certainly not my best Easter.

I needed to write about this experience. 

There are good and bad days, which for me, is undoubtedly the latter.