Monthly Archives: May 2018

SOLO: BOOK REVIEW

SoloSOLO (1980) – Written by Jack Higgins. Solo is not exactly one of my favorite espionage novels but it is definitely my favorite by Jack Higgins. It’s the story of efforts to catch an international assassin code-named the Cretan Lover. Luckily that ludicrous codename is often shortened to just “The Cretan” throughout the novel. I’ll use the same review format that I used for my look at The Top Seven Robert Ludlum Novels.

TIME PERIOD: From approximately 1960 to the late 1970s.

MAIN CHARACTER: John Mikali, a Greek concert pianist of much renown who leads a double life as the aforementioned Cretan Lover aka The Cretan. Mikali is descended from a fictional naval hero of the Greek War of Independence in the 1800s. His family remains wealthy and prominent, with his grandfather being an erudite and outspoken critic of the Colonels who seized control of Greece.

Young John himself is a gifted pianist but after getting drawn into a vendetta against the man who accidentally killed his beloved grandmother he fled into the French Foreign Legion. Despite his fey background John Mikali thrived in the Legion AND in the Algerian War, proving to be a ruthless, cold-hearted man who could kill enemy soldiers or non-combatants with equal skill and nonchalance. Continue reading

10 Comments

Filed under opinion

MUSLIM RAPE GANGS UPSET THE BRITISH GOVT LESS THAN A JOURNALIST COVERING THE TRIAL

Tommy RobinsonObviously I still encourage everyone who has not yet signed the FREE TOMMY ROBINSON petition to do so if they care about the British government’s ridiculous and repeated instances of clamping down on the public’s right to know the full story about the Muslim rape and grooming gangs of Rotherham and elsewhere.

If only the British authorities would show the same concern for the young ladies – some of just SINGLE DIGIT AGES – getting raped and groomed. I’ve covered this topic plenty in the past, especially the excuses used by the police and government reps who looked the other way to – in their own words – “avoid being accused of Islamophobia.”

As I pointed out long ago the new version of “I was only following orders” is “I didn’t want to be accused of Islamophobia.” Both excuses boil down to “I didn’t want to risk embarrassment or trouble by speaking out about the outrages I witnessed.”

Since I’ve written plenty on this topic here’s another man’s perspective, put brilliantly and unflinchingly. The link is below but first some excerpts:

“I observed, as I have before, how in almost the entirety of the western world, whenever anyone draws attention to some of the more problematic aspects of Islam, the state cracks down not on the problematic aspects, but on the guy who draws attention thereto.”

Free Tommy“On Friday, Robinson was livestreaming (from his telephone) outside Leeds Crown Court where last week’s Grooming Gang of the Week were on trial for “grooming” – the useless euphemism for industrial-scale child gang rape and sex slavery by large numbers of Muslim men with the active connivance (as I pointed out to the Sky guys) of every organ of the state: social workers, police, politicians. Oh, and also the media. Me last year, on my time in a certain municipality about thirty miles south of Leeds:

Tracking down the victims of Rotherham required a bit of elementary detective work on my part, but it’s not that difficult. What struck me, as my time in town proceeded, was how few members of the British media had been sufficiently interested to make the effort: The young ladies were unstoppably garrulous in part because, with a few honorable exceptions, so few of their countrymen have ever sought them out to hear their stories.

 “So on Friday he was outside the Crown Court in Leeds. He was not demonstrating, or accosting or chanting, or even speaking. He was just pointing his mobile phone upon the scene from a distance. Within minutes, seven coppers showed up in whatever they use instead of a Black Maria these days, tossed him inside it and drove off. In other words, these were not “investigating officers” called to the scene: They showed up with the intent to take him away. Within hours, he was tried, convicted and gaoled – at HM Prison Hull, a Category B chokey, or one level below maximum security. The judge in the case, one Geoffrey Marson, spent all of four minutes on trying, convicting and sentencing Robinson.” 

“Rod Liddle notes another aspect – the contrast between the urgency of the flatfeet when it comes to Tommy Robinson and their utter lethargic indifference when it comes to the young women I spoke to in Rotherham and the thousands of others like them in Leeds, Telford, Oxford, [Your Town Here]… West Yorkshire Police in Leeds are not to be confused with South Yorkshire Police in Rotherham. The latter are institutionally corrupt and depraved. As I told (readers) last year of my meeting with the victims of Rotherham:

“To Mad Ash and his fellow ‘Asians’, the likes of Jessica and Katie are ‘white slags’. To Her Majesty’s Constabulary, they’re mere ‘Paki-shaggers’, and thus unworthy of valuable police resources. The girls recall the night Mad Ash’s brother Bannaras was in his car having sex with a twelve-year-old. A ‘jam sandwich’ – a police cruiser – pulled up alongside, and the officer rolled down the window. ‘She’s just sucking my c**k, mate,’ said Bannaras Hussain.

The cops drove away…

Jessica kept a detailed diary of what had happened to her. She took it to the cops. It ‘disappeared’. There was one kindly officer, but the others told him to back off, and, when he didn’t, he died in an accident. Katie puts the word ‘accident’ in air quotes. Rotherham is a land of coincidence. ‘Some of these things can happen, but not all of them, not in one town.’

A couple of years after taking them her diary, Jessica went back to see the police. This time the detective told her none of the officers who’d witnessed her abuse would support her story because if they gave evidence at trial they’d wind up ‘getting in the shit’. She left the room having taken the precaution of covertly recording the conversation. And thus the cover-up began to unravel…” Continue reading

6 Comments

Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion

TWO MORE COLLEGE BASEBALL CHAMPS CROWNED

NCCAA

Campbellsville Tigers logoCHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The 3rd seeded CAMPBELLSVILLE UNIVERSITY TIGERS did battle with the Cinderella 7 seeds – the WARNER UNIVERSITY ROYALS.

The Royals seized a quick 2-0 lead in the 1st Inning but by the end of the 2nd the score was knotted up at 3-3. In the 4th Inning Warner University went on top 4-3 but in the 5th the Tigers tied things up again at 4-4. The 7th Inning saw Campbellsville U tack on 3 more runs while the Royals could muster just 2 more in the 9th as the Tigers won it 7-6. Justin Phillips pitched for the Save. * THE TIGERS ARE NCCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS * Continue reading

6 Comments

Filed under College Baseball

SUPERNATURAL (1933): TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT

Supernatural 1933Before MST3K there was … The Texas 27 Film Vault!

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of this neglected cult show from the mid-1980s.

EPISODE ORIGINALLY BROADCAST: Saturday April 19th, 1986 from 10:30pm to 1:00am.

EXTRAS: This episode featured footage of our Film Vault Technicians First Class Randy and Richard’s promotional appearance at Six Flags Mall in nearby Arlington, TX. Supernatural 2

HOST SEGMENTS: One particular Host Segment featured one of the show’s behind-the- scenes people portraying Commando Cody complete with helmet and rocket pack. He was portraying the character because the Commando Cody serial Radar Men from the Moon was the current serial being shown before the movie each week on The Texas 27 Film Vault.

Since Randy Clower still outranked his co-host Richard Malmos (at least until a few episodes later) in the fictional Film Vault Corps (“The few, the proud, the sarcastic”) their relationship often featured the type of abusive “Host and Second Banana” dynamic like that between Dr Morgus and his lab assistant Chopsley or Zacherle and his wife My Dear or Dr Forester and TV’s Frank.  Radar Men from the Moon

At any rate this Host Segment featured “Commando Cody” befriending Randy and setting out with him for a night of partying on the town while the two leave Richard behind to do all the grub work in their barracks.

SERIAL: As noted above Radar Men from the Moon was the current serial being shown. This episode featured Chapter Ten titled Mass Execution.

THE MOVIE: Continue reading

5 Comments

Filed under Bad and weird movies, Movie Hosts

MEDALS OF HONOR FOR THE 1871 KOREAN EXPEDITION

Medal of HonorHAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! As always Balladeer’s Blog marks the event with a few looks at neglected conflicts from America’s past. The servicemen who fought in those actions are just as deserving of being memorialized as those who fought in more familiar wars.  

KOREAN EXPEDITION OF 1871 – A Diplomatic Mission was sent to Korea that year, with the time period’s usual military escort of war ships on such ventures. The U.S. expedition was snubbed on the diplomatic side and then Korean shore batteries opened fire upon the military escort. The Americans launched reprisal raids for a few days then departed, leaving U.S. – Korean relations somewhat cold for years afterward. Medal of Honor Winners:

William F LukesWILLIAM F LUKES

Navy Rank: Landsman 

Citation: June 9th – 10th, 1871 – During the assault on the Han River Forts on Ganghwa Island, Lukes came to the assistance of injured Lieutenant Hugh McKee. The Landsman fought his way through heavy resistance to the fallen McKee’s location and refused to abandon his comrade.

Through swordplay, bayonet charges and hand-to-hand combat William received a severe sword cut to the head, a wound which would cause him to suffer convulsions for the rest of his life from the brain damage. When American reinforcements arrived they found the unconscious Lukes had suffered 18 bayonet wounds in the fighting.   

JOHN ANDREWS Continue reading

16 Comments

Filed under Neglected History

TRANSGRESS WITH ME: MAY 28th

mascot new look donkey and elephant heads*** It’s another installment of Transgress With Me. Like so many people here in the U.S. I used to consider myself a Liberal until American Liberals became nothing but cowardly hypocrites, pompous snobs, hilariously pretentious asses and political robots who show mindless, unquestioning obedience to the Democrat Party.

I certainly don’t fit into the category of Conservatives either, so, since neither of the two most out-of-date and increasingly meaningless political labels don’t apply to me, feel free to consider me a Socialist or a Populist or an Anarchist if you absolutely have to have a quick descriptive term.

I still wish more people would abandon these kinds of labels anyway. The best conversations I’ve had in recent years – either real-life OR online – have been with other people who set aside the outdated “shirts vs skins” attitudes of the past and simply communicate as human being to human being.

*** Never believe white Democrats about how women, people of color and gay people feel about various issues. They have a DIVERSITY of opinions and are not the monolithic “mobs with a single mind” like Democrats always try to depict groups they pretend to “own.”

*** If the Democrat and Republican Parties splintered into multiple smaller parties it might be the most peaceful way of subverting the cesspool of corruption that masquerades as our government. Continue reading

10 Comments

Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, opinion

THE HAN SOLO OF THE 1930s: NORTHWEST SMITH

Northwest Smith

Northwest Smith

With the movie Solo: A Star Wars Story in theaters now what better time for my profile of the Han Solo of the 1930s. Female author C.L. Moore wrote a series of pulp adventures about her often neglected science fiction figure Northwest Smith.

THE HERO: Space traveling anti-hero Smith was created by the female writer C.L. Moore in the 1930s. Four decades before Han Solo, Northwest Smith was a ruthless swashbuckling smuggler, thief and all-around mercenary. Smith’s less than sterling character made him a refreshing change from the usually wholesome pulp heroes of the time.

THE STORIES: Northwest Smith’s adventures take place in the far future, when regular trade exists between Earth and the native inhabitants of Mars and Venus. The other planets in the solar system have been colonized by those Big Three worlds, providing a backdrop that combines elements of westerns, seagoing adventures and colonial-era war stories.

Wielding a blaster like a six-gun and piloting his deceptively fast and maneuverable spaceship The Maid Smith and his Venusian partner Yarol roam the solar system making a living by plying various illegal trades. Though Northwest and Yarol are career criminals they often find themselves forced by circumstances into taking actions similar to those of traditional heroes. Their motive is usually their own survival rather than altruism. Continue reading

10 Comments

Filed under Pulp Heroes

SLADE: ORIGINAL 1973 VERSION OF CUM ON FEEL THE NOIZE

Balladeer’s Blog’s Give Them A Shoutout Before They’re Dead returns with this rare footage of Slade’s original version of Cum On Feel The Noize. Call me crazy but I prefer it to the better known 1980s revision by Quiet Riot. 

12 Comments

Filed under opinion

AVENGERS: THE KREE-SKRULL WAR PART SIX

FOR PART ONE OF THIS LOOK AT THE KREE-SKRULL WAR (1971-1972) CLICK HERE 

Avengers 94THE AVENGERS Volume One, Number 94 (December 1971)

AVENGERS ROSTER: THOR (Donald Blake, MD), IRON MAN (Tony Stark), CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers), THE SCARLET WITCH (Wanda), GOLIATH (Clint Barton), QUICKSILVER (Pietro), THE VISION (Not Applicable), CAPTAIN MARVEL (Mar-Vell, Kree Captain)

NOTE: CAPTAIN MARVEL IS THE HERO THAT NICK FURY SUMMONED TO FIGHT THANOS IN THE POST-CREDITS SCENE TO AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.

BEHOLD THE MANDROIDS

Yes, this is the very first appearance of the Mandroids, the S.H.I.E.L.D. combat suits designed by Tony Stark to defeat the Avengers themselves if they ever turned bad. X-Men fans will remember that years later Moses Magnum used stolen Mandroid technology in his bid to conquer Japan.

MandroidsSynopsis: Our story this time picks up just over an hour after the Avengers defeated the three Skrulls who were simulating the powers of the Fantastic Four. During that same battle Super-Skrull, the Skrull agent with ALL of the Fantastic Four’s powers in one defeated his Kree archenemy, the Avenger called Captain Marvel, and fled in a spaceship with Mar-Vell, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch as captives.

Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Goliath and Rick Jones have taken the captive Skrulls back to Avengers Mansion where they have subjected them to sedatives that will keep even those three alien agents unconscious for an extended period.

That accomplished, the Avengers contact Reed Richards – Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four – on their visi-screen. Since the Fantastic Four had Earth’s first several encounters with both the Skrulls AND the Kree the Avengers want to know if Reed has any idea what kind of strategy the Skrulls may be pursuing with the captive Avengers now that both alien races are fighting over possession of the Earth.

Reed promises to scour the Fantastic Four’s extensive records on the Kree and the Skrulls and get back to our heroes. While waiting to hear back from Mister Fantastic the Avengers turn their thoughts to what became of the Vision after the earlier battle. He was not defeated by any of the Skrulls so they are not sure where he disappeared to. 

We readers now learn that the Vision stowed away on the Super-Skrull’s spaceship in order to keep close track of the captive Avengers – especially the Scarlet Witch, with whom his romance has barely begun. As it develops the Super-Skrull is using advanced Skrullian technology to leech off the “X-Waves” (named for Professor Charles Xavier) that emanate from the mutant brains of the unconscious Scarlet Witch and her brother Quicksilver. Continue reading

10 Comments

Filed under Superheroes

DANIEL GREENFIELD: CIA OR CNN? THE MEDIA DEEP STATE’S ECHO CHAMBER

Mascot with demo and repub headsHere at Balladeer’s Blog I am STILL fascinated by the ongoing exposure of exactly how corrupt and rotted the Democrats and Republicans have made the American political system. De facto Third Party President Donald Trump calls the latest revelations “Spygate” but no matter what you call it it is nauseating to see partisan zealots defending the misconduct of America’s rightfully hated “Intelligence Community” – the CIA, FBI ,NSA, etc.

Daniel Greenfield has a terrific piece on it – click HERE

1 Comment

Filed under LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion