“The Vatican Bank scandal primarily refers to the 1982 collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, where the Vatican Bank (IOR) was the main shareholder and implicated in laundering over $1 billion for the Mafia and illegal organizations. Known as “God’s Banker,” Banco Ambrosiano head Roberto Calvi was found hanged in London in 1982. The Vatican denied wrongdoing but paid $244 million to creditors” (www.worldfinance.com)
That’s before even looking at the Chicago crook who followed Bergoglio.
9. Moo corner
8. Steve corner
Trump exposes the British-run Strait of Hormuz extortion racket, rolls up Iran's financial pipeline from Dubai to London, and forces Britain's military chief to confess the Empire has no war plan. @SJKokindapic.twitter.com/yN4HIvXJ1R
b. JH: sometimes I need to “bury”. If I tell you where it’s buried, it involves no work on your part, which is against our philosophy here, nor could it be called “buried” … it’s instead a waste of time on my part.
What we’d expect is that if you see it in the sidebar, that gives you about two days to bookmark it for yourself. There are regular places I archive it to, known-known, but also this new set of pages from time to time. There’s another place … remember what date N.O. was stolen by ggl blgr? I was there a few days back at NOWP … yes, it does require you to use the sidebar archive.
c. JH posts IYE on bugs and plandemics:
“Just remember not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth until you get chance to wash your hands first.”
5. Jeanne is one of the constant Xers in our sphere
Great idea, yes, in a high trust society. Do the western nations have one any more? Why not?
4. Martin Sellner
… is Identitarian movement Austria leader, here on Hungary:
3. Steve at 1353
EU’s Epic Hypocrisy on Full Display: Demands the World Keep Oil Flowing While Cementing Its Own Wells and Flooding Coal Mines – Straight Out of the Cultural Marxist Playbook
Trump Calls British Labour Government ‘Crazy’ for Banning North Sea Oil Exploration
Trump Torches Italy’s Meloni for Her Defense of Pope Leo XIV and Stance on Iran War
Nicaragua Bans Several Christian Groups As Persecution Worsens
USS George H.W. Bush Carrier Is Travelling Around Africa To Avoid Attack By Houthis
Too little too late! (Irish) Government faces new level of scrutiny despite throwing a few crumbs to fuel protesters
Trump and the US MIL Setting Sights on Strait of Malacca
Much more.
2. The reference to Noelia Castello below
… is it already too late for her to be remembered?
1. DAD at 1353
a) The Baron and Jombo agree. Adequate vetting a chronic weakness of the Trump Administration.
b) That’s the way the money goes: Pop goes my Bentley. Kiev has become one of the strongest Bentley markets in Europe, according to Richard Leopold, Bentley regional director for Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.
c) The new frontage for Angers Cathedral – [I hate it].
… with so many things happening … not sure how to even write it (unusual for me) and all of them were good, after a very good day, all up … on top of one’s tasks is as much as one can ask … abode good, food good, training was good, MMutR and I chewed the fat, as did Toods and I, came back to the blog and there were Steve, Andy, IYE … uh huh, checked X and was hit by something I wonder if X itself or coincidence.
If X, then kudos, because my timeline was flooded by “good” people, some with six or seven posts, even photos of themselves, whilst at the same time, there was a really hard “groove” going on where we were all hitting the things in Hungary, Ireland (colleens were flooding the timeline), plus old friends, e.g. Wolfie who used to host N.O., people were coming from everywhere … Russia, Canada, US, UK, antipodes, Greece … on and on and on.
One lady from Alberta was picking up on it and was rapid firing comments, while another lady I know from France was rapid fire posting photos. Went to youtube for a break from too much choc and there was the reaction vid below. Why not just play the bleedin’ song and be done? Well, I don’t like the album cover but I do like her for two reasons … her voice is in a lower register (mature), plus she’s a classical musician listening to a 1972 prog rock song …
… which, sadly, will lose most of you with your tastes. We have run it before but I don’t think with her analysis, plus she paused the song (a compulsory youtube imperative) at the right places, with sympathy. And right from the get-go was illustrated the importance of a great rhythm section who can play, plus an excellent writer and arranger, plus something else … an overlaid almost mania over the pulsing rhythm and she commented on what I was thinking.
Song finished 13 mins into 25, back to HQ … there’s IYE and “island matters”. Tell you what, chaps and chapesses … I’m cream-crackered … but in a good way.
21. They’ve rolled out the April flu it seems
20. We really MUST do due diligence on sources, supposed supporters
19. Moo corner
18. IYE
Ah, seems there’s a lawsuit pending – probably in the next couple of weeks. Michael Wolffe is suing Melania. Using Anti- SLAPP Legislation. Not sure of the basis of his case but one thing he is claiming is Melania and Trump do not live together. Apparently she spends most of her time in NYC and her business interests are there too. She is contracted to be seen with Donny when required. 🤷
a. Hearts of Oak: Jamie Glazov – United in Hate: The Left’s Romance with Tyranny, Terror, and Hamas
b. Blockade Sitrep:
The first oil tanker has been refused passage through the Strait – did a 180 back to Kharg Island oil depot. The United States Navy had interdicted the Chinese tanker ‘Rich Starry’ and threatened to board it. With no crude oil leaving three weeks from now the depot on Kharg Island will be filled to capacity. Job done.
16. TPA rich council bosses stats
“Our 20th annual Town Hall Rich List has revealed a record number of local council bosses receiving over £100k a year – 4,733, in fact. 320 even had salaries bigger than the Prime Minister!”
There’s just that something about the 30s and early 40s in film, think you not? After 85-95 years, unless the film is heavily restored, making it either unembeddable or costing an arm or a leg, it’s pot luck if we find a good one.
“In 1935 Leslie Howard made one of his finest films in the historic romance, THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL. He played the hero, Sir Percy Blakeney, who was a society leader but also a society twit, who spent time staring through an eyeglass criticizing the way a man’s cravat was tied, or a sleeve was cut, or how Romney was painting his wife.
But when alone with his intimates he was “The Scarlet Pimpernel” who planned the rescue of French aristocrats from the guillotine. He and his gang are fighting a war to the death against Citizen Chauvin (Raymond Massey), the Jacobin agent/minister to Britain, who is seeking to end the rescues. In between is his beloved, but seemingly tarnished wife (Merle Oberon) who is trying to save her captured brother, and unknowingly reveals her husband’s secret to Chauvin. The conclusion of this adventure film was very exciting and surprising.
But there was and is a problem with THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL. Despite Baroness Orczy’s marvelous writing ability (try her detective tales of THE OLD MAN IN THE CORNER as a good follow-up), she was deeply impressed with the old order of aristocracy. Only once, in the film, did a sense of balance come through – and oddly enough out of the mouth of the villain.
Merle Oberon had testified for the French Revolutionary Court against some aristocrats, dooming them (by her testimony) to death. She has never forgiven herself (and it has blackened her reputation). In bemoaning this, Massey gets disgusted and spits out, “Why is it that everyone is always condemning what happened to the poor aristocrats and never think of what they did to us?!”
It’s a good point, but because we dislike Massey and his boss (Robespierre, of course) we never stop to consider it for long.
Howard was able to repeat and improve on the original film in 1941 with PIMPERNEL SMITH, where as Professor Horatio Smith he uses his archaeological digs in Germany (for proof of an Aryan civilization before Greece or Rome) to rescue intellectuals and victims of the Nazi Reich. Here his opponent is General Von Graum (Francis L. Sullivan) who is like Chauvin in his sharpness and pomposity.
He is an obvious knock at Hermann Goering (who was obese like Sullivan) and has Goering’s sham bonhomie and his totally vicious streak. The writer of the screenplay must have had some discussion with German refugees in the know (notice the bits about Von Graum throwing a tantrum and then turning about and offering German chocolate to someone who has come through for him).
The film also uses Howard to brilliant advantage in one sequence, disguised as a bureaucrat, whom he himself states was the most disagreeable person he ever thought up. The ultimately efficient German bureaucrat is totally inhuman – a talking machine of bossy efficiency. Percy Blakeney was disguised several times, as an old crone and a soldier, but never someone so disagreeable.
And that is the difference. THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL deals with the 1790s and the Reign of Terror. It was a century and a half in the past, and really could not annoy the French too much (though one wonders what it’s box office was like in France).
Britain and Germany were at war in 1942, and the film could not present even one moment where Von Graum could make a comment like Chauvin’s outburst. As a matter of historic record, Chauvin had some point about the sins of the Ancien Regime as opposed to the Revolutionaries. Knowing what we know now about Von Graum’s buddies, he would not have been able to say much.
The closing of the movie has a memorable speech by Howard, about how Germany’s entrance into war was not the start of its road to glory but to its destruction. True enough in 1945 – 1950 or so.
And when he manages to take advantage of Von Graum’s brief distraction to vanish into the night, the Nazi fires his gun into the empty space. “I’ll be back,” we hear Howard repeat twice.
It is haunting, because of his real fate in being shot down in the war by a Nazi plane. Howard physically did not return, but spiritually he did with the men at D-Day all the way to V.E.Day.”
Having thrown out a few films which were not up to scratch, I’m needing a short for elevenses and guess what comes along … about five interesting films (to save up for over the next few days, starting this afternoon, later).
Here’s a short in the style of Twilight Zone, though it might precede The TZ.
7. What rock band has played for the largest crowd?
“My first thought was that it had to be the bands that played at Woodstock, where an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people came to hear the music. I was wrong, and Woodstock barely makes the Top 10. By most estimates, the biggest audience for a rock concert was on December 31, 1994, when Rod Stewart played an outdoor concert at Copacabana Beach in Brazil for an estimated 3.5 million people.” (from Quora)