The Rumble in America

When We Were...Presidents?

The election contest of 2012 bears some interesting parallels to the famous Rumble in the Jungle in 1974 between Muhammad Ali and Gorge Foreman that was depicted so well in When We Were Kings  (www.amzn.com/B00007ELEK).  No, I am not referring to the commercialized "twit race" between Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly that was streamed on the Internet in October.

Ali, like Obama, had more charisma than Romney.  Though neither Ali nor Foreman really knew that much about Africa before the fight, it was Ali who worked the crowd to get the populace of Zaire on his side.  By the time the fight occurred, the mass of spectators were loudly chanting "Ali Boombaye" or "Ali Kill him!"

Foreman and his dog

Foreman brought his beloved dog to Zaire.  He used to jog and train with his dog.  This might have been endearing except for the fact that these types of dogs (German shepherds) were associated with the Belgian colonial masters that had recently departed the Congo after years of exploitation.  Foreman's dog incident recalls both Romney's strapping his dog to the roof of his car and also his costly 47% remark.  Both George and Mitt had dog problems!

Ali was more handsome and a better public speaker than heavy-weight boxing champion George Foreman.  George Foreman is, without question, the better businessman.  Outside of boxing, he became a successful entrepreneur and is known for his promotion of the George Foreman Grill, which has sold over 100 million units worldwide.  In 1999 he sold the naming rights to the grill for $138 million.  George Foreman has worked hard all his life and is squarely in the 1%.  Ditto for Romney.

George Foreman is a job creator while Ali is...a celebrity.

Liberals such as Norman Mailer and East coast elites such as George Plimpton adored Ali, particularly for his anti-war stands during the Vietnam war.  The left came to love Obama for his anti-war stands on Iraq during the Bush administration.

Mitt Romney has five sons.  George Foreman has five sons -- all named George!  Foreman also has 6 daughters.  Both Romney and Foreman are pastors in their respective churches.

Ali has had mostly daughters while Obama has had only two daughters. Born "Cassius Clay" the fighter changed his name to "Muhammad Ali" after converting to Islam.  While Barrack Obama is Christian, his middle name is "Hussein", he had a muslim stepfather and he spent part of his childhood in Indonesia -- a predominantly Muslim country.


During the Rumble in the Jungle Foreman backed Ali up against the ropes.  Romney scored big points in this electoral contest, especially in the first debate.  Foreman punched himself tired and Ali swooped in for the kill knocking him to the ground.  "Ali Boombaye!"

Ali called himself "The Greatest".  Obama said in the third Presidential debate, "This Nation. Me."

Commander Kelly concludes, "Ali won the fight.  Obama won the election.  Who is happier today Ali or Foreman?  Who would you really rather be...'The Greatest' or the creator of the George Foreman Grill?"

When We Were Kings

Money and Politics

Money and Politics

Commander Kelly says it again, "Every four years in the USA there is a transfer of wealth from those who have political opinions to those who own television stations."

"Money is the Mother's Milk of Politics" Jesse Unruh

A record-shattering $5.8 billion dollars was projected to have been spent in 2012.  For details see this link...http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/.


"An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought."
Simon Cameron, Secretary of War in the Lincoln Administration during the US Civil War.

A Bi-Partisan (though perhaps not Tri-partisan) Joke!

Unconditional Surrender!

Question: What do FDR and Ron Paul have in common?

Answer: They both called for Unconditional Surrender; FDR by the Axis, Ron Paul by the Allies.

Spirit of Chartwell, Triumphant

A Simple Question

"The Business of America Was Business"
Coolidge Updated for 2012

Commander Kelly asks, "Why would anyone want to own or start up a new business in the USA now if they did not absolutely have to?"

No, QE is not really an answer.

I note that Forbes recently (pre-election) downgraded the USA from #9 to #10 in their list of the best countries to do business.  Canada and New Zealand lead their list.  High taxes, about to get higher still, hurt the USA ranking and also monetary freedom.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2011/10/03/the-best-countries-for-business/

Capital goes where it is treated best;  that will not be the USA for the foreseeable future.

Comments most welcome!

Special thanks to Jon Shields for pointing out the Forbes article.

No More Business Time?

A More Dangerous World

Obama versus The Spirit of Chartwell

Americans woke up on 11/7/12 after the re-election of President Obama to a more dangerous world.

In the South Atlantic Ocean, Obama's policy of neutrality between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands represents a reversal that increases the likelihood of regional armed conflict and pits the USA against our oldest ally (Yes, I know the UK's oldest ally is Portugal.) and the principle of self-determination (see earlier post, http://americanconservativeinlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/queen-elizabeth-endorses-romney.html).  The discovery of offshore oil and the absence of an aircraft carrier in the Royal Navy also increase the possibility of a renewed war over the Falklands/Malvinas which our President seems to confuse with the Maldives  (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9207183/Barack-Obama-makes-Falklands-gaffe-by-calling-Malvinas-the-Maldives.html).

In the Pacific, China is rattling its sabres over the Senkaku islands (more off-shore oil see video below) and sending out more naval patrol boats probing the ocean in a test of will (http://www.newsday.com/news/world/china-japan-island-dispute-continues-1.4190876).  President Obama's failure to stand with our ally Japan seems to have emboldened China in its aggressive posturing.  We, therefore, face a potentially devastating conflict between the #2 and #3 largest economies in the world.

In Syria over 20,000 people have been killed while Obama has dithered (see earlier post, Syria Burning 10/12/12).  The Assad dictatorship is supported by weapon's from Obama's buddy Vladimir Putin (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/26/syria-russia-arms-idUSL6E8HQ0X620120626).  Thousands of refugees spill into Turkey and Jordan.  Mortar attacks into our NATO ally, Turkey, are greeted with silence by this administration (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9588575/UN-condemns-Syrian-mortar-attack-on-Turkey-in-the-strongest-terms.html).

In Iran the centrifuges continue to spin as the sanctions prove ineffectual.  America's inability to check Iran's strongest ally, Syria, has emboldened the Mullahs in Iran.  They assume that Obama's America is a 'paper tiger" determined to pull back from its obligations throughout the world.

Our closest US ally in the Middle East, Israel, has yet to receive a Presidential visit from Obama.

The tragedy that occurred in Libya with the death of Ambassador Stevens, who was a classmate and contemporary of mine at UC Berkeley, has, at a minimum, shown up the incompetence of American foreign policy under President Obama.  The apparent cover-up of Benghazi by this administration will continue to fester in the months to come.

Putin's Russia welcomed the return of Obama to the White House with his promise of renewed flexibility.

Commander Kelly says, "The "Spirit of Chartwell" has been banished from the White House (http://english.sina.com/world/p/2012/0603/473162.html).  Obama's pursuit of neutrality and unilateral disarmament makes the world a more dangerous place than making principled stands with our remaining allies.  I shudder now for America and the world given the US election result.  'Four more years' means many more tears".

A Surpisingly Good Primer on Senkaku

th

The MSM Covers for Obama on Benghazi

You can now purchase Commander Kelly's first book, America Invades here...www.americainvades.com or on Amazon...www.amzn.com/1940598427

Full Reverse!

Obama wins, 11/6/12

The election of 2012 is now over and we now know who caught "the greased pig in the field game of American politics" (Ambrose Bierce's definition of "presidency" in The Devil's Dictionary).  Congratulations to Barrack Obama.

Yes, I plead guilty to suffering from confirmation bias which blinded me to the outcome of the election.  All hail Nate Silver!

H.L. Mencken wrote that, "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."  The people have spoken and now under President Obama we are all likely to "get it good and hard" over the next four years.

The House remains in Republican control.  The Senate has a narrow Democratic majority.  We are, therefore, stuck in gridlock for the foreseeable future.  On the horizon we will see more debt, more economic difficulties, more incompetence and more cover-ups.  We will now get to see how a lame duck flies.  We will be led by a President with an out-sized ego who will never again face the voters and who bathes ever in the warm glow of media flattery.  We seem now to be headed, not Forward, but into Full Reverse.

All the pundits on the right are asking the question "What went wrong with the Romney campaign?"

My answer derives from a careful study of James Bond and the recent movie "Skyfall"!  In the opening scene of Skyfall (see my review, Skyfall, 10/27/12) James Bond is struggling with a killer on board a speeding train.  Another MI6 agent, Moneypenny we later learn, is armed with a sniper rifle which she trains on the two struggling men.  She is urged by Bond's boss "M" to "take the bloody shot."  She does and Bond is hit and plunges into the abyss which, fortunately for him, turns out to be the movie's opening credits!

Why is this relevant for the recent election?

In 1980 President Carter tried to "take the bloody shot" and missed leaving American hostages stuck in Tehran and dead soldiers in the desert.  He was defeated that fall by Ronald Reagan.

After 9/11 George W. Bush "took the bloody shots" in Afghanistan and Iraq and we are still living with the consequences both good and ill (Arab spring and many casualties).  He left office under a cloud in 2009.

On May 2, 2011 President Obama, to his credit, "took the bloody shot" on Osama Bin Laden.  Yes it was really the work of two administrations and many intelligence and military personnel but it was the right call by or Commander in chief.  He was narrowly re-elected yesterday.

In my view, it was Obama's good call on targeting Osama bin Laden that was ultimately the difference in this election.  This one action gave Obama the illusion of being an expert in foreign policy and polished his image as a 'tough guy".  Romney shied away from even trying to confront Obama in their third and final debate on foreign policy.

Those who are in a position of authority to make executive actions, whether they are Presidents, Intelligence chiefs or soldiers on the battlefield act on the best information that is available to them at the time. They make judgement calls. Sometimes they miss, sometimes they hit the target and sometimes there is a whole bunch of collateral damage or friendly fire.  Such are the fortunes of war.

President Obama has now received his reward from the electorate for hitting the Osama target.  Their was very little that Romney or his team could have done differently to avoid that outcome.

We Americans have a "bias for action" (see earlier post, the American Bias for Action, 3/12/12) which sometime serves us well (e.g. Marshall Plan) and sometimes lands us in a heap of trouble (e.g. Fort Sumter).

GO VOTE!

Flight 93, They Voted!

If you are an American who is over 18, I would strongly encourage you to VOTE!  Exercise your responsibility as a free American in the greatest nation on earth.  Even if you disagree with me on anything or everything, I still think YOU should vote.

If you happen to live in a battleground state then your impact may be enormous in this very close election.  Everyone remembers Florida in 2000.  If you do not live in a battleground state there are still many other candidates and issues on which you can express your views.  Eight years ago in my home state of Washington the gubernatorial contest was ultimately decided, after three recounts, by less than 150 votes!

Your vote does count and could make a difference.

Pause for a moment to think about those American heroes on board Flight 93 on 9/11/01 (see video below).  Those passengers knew that their plane's cockpit was occupied by terrorists and they knew from cell phones what had happened earlier that morning in NYC.  What did they do?  They did the quintessentially American thing -- THEY TOOK A VOTE TO DECIDE THEIR COURSE OF ACTION.  A lot was riding on that vote.  If they had not voted the way they did, the White House or Capitol Hill could have been destroyed.  Thousands more might have perished making 9/11 even grimmer than it was.  Instead they forced the plane down into a farm field in Shanksville, PA.

America's many veterans throughout her history fought and died so that you could have this privilege.  Honor them all by not being "too busy" to vote.

In America we resolve political disputes with ballots and not with bullets.  Transitions of power take place peacefully in our blessed country.  We do not always appreciate just how fortunate we are in this respect.

You will, if nothing else, have earned a license to complain for the next four years!

Go Vote!  You will feel better for having done so.

God Bless America!

Let's Roll!

"From the sublime to the Ridiculous is but a step..."

Queen Elizabeth II Endorses Romney!

November Surprise!
Queen Elizabeth II Endorses Romney!

The media enjoys reminding us that most nations through the world support the re-election of President Obama this next Tuesday (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20008687).  About two thirds of  the UK is alleged to favor Obama according to the BBC.

But this begs the question about Her Majesty's own personal preferences.

Who would the Queen support for President if she were voting the in the USA?

1)  CHURCHILL
We know that Winston Churhcill (see earlier post, Winston Churhill Quotes, 6/2/12) was her favorite prime minister.  In 2012, the 6oth Jubilee year of her reign, she dubbed the boat that took her down the Thames in celebration of her reign THE SPIRIT OF CHARTWELL in Honor of Churhcill. http://english.sina.com/world/p/2012/0603/473162.html

President Obama, on the other hand, swept Churchill out of the White House returning a bust of Churhcill to Britain after entering the oval office.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/4623148/Barack-Obama-sends-bust-of-Winston-Churchill-on-its-way-back-to-Britain.html

Queen Elizabeth honors Churchill while President Obama treats his memory with an ignorant contempt.

2)  POLAND
As a young woman Queen Elizabeth II served as a truck driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II,  This past June she unveiled the RAF Bomber Command memorial in Green Park (see earlier post, RAF Bomber Command Memorial, 10/13/12) that pays tribute to the Poles who served in the RAF alongside the Commonwealth pilots and crew....(http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/104335,Poles-among-those-remembered-in-UKs-WWII-bomber-memorial).

President Obama, on the other hand, refereed to "Polish death camps" betraying an appalling ignorance of history and a lack of respect for a NATO ally. (http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/words-polish-death-camps-cut-deep-article-1.1087670?localLinksEnabled=false)

Queen Elizabeth honored our World War II allies, the Poles, while President Obama treats them with an ignorant contempt.

3)  "ENGLISH EMBASSY"
Queen Elizabeth II is a master of the art of protocol.

President Obama recently referred to the "English Embassy" in spite of the fact that there has not been one for hundreds of years.  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2068137/President-Obama-blunders-condemns-attack-English-Embassy-Tehran.html

4) FALKLAND ISLANDS / MALVINAS / MALDIVES?
In 1982, Her Majesty's Government fought a war with Argentina to keep the Falklands British.  President Reagan, recognizing force of the "special relationship" between the USA and the UK, assisted the British government with vital intelligence information including satellite photography during this conflict

Just this year President Obama weighed in on the Falkland Islands issue and suggested that the USA would remain neutral between the UK and Argentina in any future conflict over the disputed islands. Making a speech in South America President Obama actually referred to them as the "Maldives" confusing the South Atlantic islands with the vacation spot in the Indian Ocean!  (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9207183/Barack-Obama-makes-Falklands-gaffe-by-calling-Malvinas-the-Maldives.html

Here is what Dinesh D'Souza, the Producer of the brilliant film 2016 (www.amzn.com/B009PI8DFC), writes, "The British position on the Falklands is that the islands belong to the U.K. The Argentine position supports negotiations over the control of the islands. Despite the special relationship between America and Britain, and despite the fact that Republican and Democratic presidents have supported the British position, the Obama administration has switched sides and now supports the Argentine position calling for negotiations. This is reflected in resolutions passed by the Organization of American States and backed by the United States."  (http://www.thewrap.com/movies/blog-post/dinesh-dsouza-fact-checking-aps-fact-check-2016-obamas-america-54491)

Stephen Edwards of Canada's National Post has called Obama "a lousy ally"...http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/06/27/stephen-edwards-falklands-dispute-yet-more-proof-that-obama-is-a-lousy-ally/.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II would like to keep the Falklands free and British.  President Obama is not quite sure where they are, but he is "playing it safe" by staying neutral!  Obama's neutrality, of course, only increase the potential for armed conflict between Argentina and Britain in the South Atlantic.

Commander Kelly says, "There's now a Queen in Romney's deck!  We are not amused!  Let's bring Churchill and the Spirit of Chartwell back to the White House this Tuesday!"

Armstrong

Neil Armstrong, 1930 -- 2012

Commander Kelly says, "I don't care what the tests seem to prove, I refuse to believe that Neil Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs when he walked on the moon!"

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, London 2012

Commander Kelly wishes a belated Happy Halloween to all!

Did you happen to see this video on Trick or Treating?

Be of Good Cheer!

The Cake is Baked

To all those who support Mitt Romney this fall I say simply, "Be of Good Cheer!  Next Tuesday will be our opportunity to make a positive change for the country that we love.'

Rasmussen has Romney up by 3 in CO, up by 2 in OH and tied in WI.  Romney is in striking distance in blue states such as PA, MI and even MN.  The electoral map has widened in Romney's favor.  Gallup continues to show a significant national lead for Romney.  The Obama campaign is on defence.  His "firewall" continues to crumble.  Obama's incompetence and deceitfulness over Benghazi continues to fester.

The tragic storm that hit the East coast is largely a non-event in terms of the election, though it did stop Obama's negative advertising for a couple of days.  Governor Christie's reaction is understandable and will not carry much weight outside of NJ, which was never in contention.  Bloomberg's endorsement was predictable and will, similarly be of little value outside of NY.

THE CAKE IS BAKED for victory next week.  The enthusiasm gap persists in Romney's favor, the momentum continues to grow for Romney, Republicans have a money advantage, most independents are leaning towards Romney.

Finally, consider this video which is a Romney parody...

Hey, wealthy ladies, wouldn't you really rather have a Prosperous America rather than the Misery we have endured for the past four years?

Commander Kelly says, "Don't let the mainstream media buffalo you into despair.  VOTE AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME! On to Victory on November 6!"

Edith Cavell...the First "Bond" Girl?

Commander K. and Edith, St. Martin's Place , London

Edith Cavell, 1865 - 1915

The American Conservative tour of London continues with a stop just north of Trafalgar square in St. Martin's Place.  Here you will find a statue of Edith Cavell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Cavell) that was unveiled by Queen Alexandra in 1920 and lies just between the National Portrait Gallery and St Martin in the Fields. Edith Cavell was an English nurse who was working in a hospital in World War I.   She was executed  by a German firing squad on October 12, 1915. 

She immediately became a propaganda coup for the allied side who used the poignant death of an innocent nurse to help bring the USA into the war on the Allied side.  There were three incidents that moved President Wilson to act in 1917 to bring the USA into the war on the side of the Allies: 1) the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, 2) the Zimmerman telegram (Germany conspiring to have Mexico invade the USA in the event of America joining the allies)  and 3) the execution of Edith Cavell.

After Florence Nightingale, she is likely the most famous nurse of all time.  She was "the matron of the Berkendael Institute of Brussels who stayed at her post when it became a Red Cross hospital after the war broke out.  Miss Cavell, the 49-year old unmarried daughter of a Norfolk vicar was formally tried and shot by a German firing squad in Brussels for the crime of helping Belgian, British and French soldiers to escape from German-occupied territory into neutral Holland."

What is less well known about Edith Cavell is she was herself an agent of British Intelligence--an unrecognized "Jane Bond."  The historian M.R.D. Foot wrote, "a story on which I have had to sit for a generation: that Edith Cavell, shot by the Germans in Brussels in 1915 for having helped scores of British soldiers to escape into Holland, had, in fact, been an exceptionally well placed spy, despised in the Secret service for having turned aside from her duty as a spy to perform a work of mercy."

"Patriotism is not Enough, I must have no
Hatred or Bitterness for Anyone"

Nicholas Rankin continues, "Cavell's work could not be acknowledged for the usual reason: the secret services have to stay secret in order to be effective.  She probably also suffered because of her sex and the popular view of it in the media.  Women did not have the vote then and they did not serve in the armed forces; feminine heroism was mostly framed in terms of self-sacrifice.  Thus to call nurse Cavell anything like a 'spy' (with all its lurid connotations then) would mean sliding her down the scale of female achievement, away from worthies like Florence Nightingale towards houris like Mata Hari.  Compromising her virtue might have diminished her propaganda value."  Source all quotes: Churchill's Wizards, Nicholas Rankin, 2008, (www.amzn.com/0571221963).

Edith Cavell statue, London

Long before James Bond was conceived by Ian Fleming, Edith Cavell was spying for the British in occupied Belgium.  Could Edith Cavell have been the model for the "unlucky" Bond girl (Severine's fate in Skyfall is not dissimilar to Edith Cavell's)?  We do know that many girls in Allied countries were named "Edith" after the war in Cavell's honor including the famous singer Edith Piaf.

Edith Cavell's dog Jack, IWM, London

Edith Cavell had a dog named "Jack" who was not executed by the Kaiser's firing squad along with his mistress and lived an additional eight years.   Jack is now stuffed and mounted in the collection of the Imperial War Museum (http://www.iwm.org.uk/) -- though sadly not on public display at this time.

Meet Edith's dog Jack

Edith Piaf...Named After Cavell, Also Gloriously Defiant

American Espionage...

You can now purchase Commander Kelly's  America Invades 
here...www.americainvades.com or on Amazon...www.amzn.com/1940598427

You can now find signed copies of Italy Invades: How Italians Conquered the World here...www.italyinvades.com

or regular copies on Amazon...

www.amzn.com/1940598729

A Solution for Syria

Bashar al-Assad

A timely Suggestion from Commander Kelly...

I note that both US Presidential candidates support the use of drone weapons against terrorist targets and that President Obama has already disclosed the existence of a "Kill" list.

The "problem" of Syria (see earlier post Syria Burning, 10/12/12) could, perhaps, be solved effectively and efficiently with the launch of two drone missiles.  One would have Bashar Al Assad's name on it; the other would have the name of his British wife, Asma al-Assad, who grew up in Acton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asma_al-Assad).  Any collateral damage done at Harrods with the second drone would surely be acceptable in the long run! In sha Allah!

Harrods, London

Skyfall

Skyfall - The Latest Bond
Premieres 11/9/12 in USA

In an earlier post (Commander Bond in London, 2/23/12) I wrote that the James Bond "movies are, while more PC than the books, to the right of most Hollywood productions--a key to their long-standing success."  Does Skyfall, the latest Bond movie, validate that thesis or contradict it?

The role of the intelligence services has, of course, become highly controversial in our own day and age.  We all recall George Tenet's unfortunate assurance to President George W. Bush that finding WMD in Iraq would be a "slam dunk" and the disastrous and tragic consequences of poor intelligence ("Don't worry, it's a slam-dunk" according to Bob Woodward's book, Plan of Attack, (www.amzn.com/0743255488).

The Jason Bourne movies, which play off of cynicism aroused by real-life intelligence failures, are essentially "James Bond for liberals".  The equivalent(s) of the "M" character in the Bourne films is/are clearly deranged.  The intelligence chiefs in these movies have run amok.  They are sinister forces who do not merely make mistakes, but have become malignant forces for evil in our midst.  The Bourne films suggest that those in the highest levels of the Shadow world of intelligence are utterly corrupt betraying the interest of their nation for their own selfish ends.

The Bond movies, on the other hand, suggest an entirely different narrative in regard to the world of intelligence.  The principal reason for this has less to do with James Bond who is, after all,  a mere policy tool (a "blunt instrument") and much more to do with Bond's boss -- "M".

Rear Admiral John Godfrey, 1888 - 1970
The Original "M"

Ian Fleming based the "M" character in his novels on his boss during World War II the Director of Naval Intelligence, Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey.  He was a competent and conscientious public servant.  "The Naval Intelligence Division was responsible for collecting analyzing and distributing intelligence for the Admiralty, and providing security and counter-intelligence to the Royal Navy for the war at sea." (For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming + James Bond, Ben Macintyre, 2008 www.amzn.com/1596915447).  At the NID, Fleming essentially played "Bond" to Godfrey's "M" (see earlier post Ian Fleming's Commandos, 10/14/12).  Fleming's father Valentine had been killed in the trenches in World War I and Godfrey became something of a father figure for Ian.

Judi Dench, "M" for Magnificent

SkyFall, the most recent addition to the Bond series, places the "M" character, portrayed by Judy Dench at the very center and heart of this film.  Is her record perfect?  No.  Does she and MI6 make mistakes?  Unquestionably the answer is, "yes".  Nevertheless, she is like Admiral Godfrey -- a conscientious selfless and caring servant of the state.  She is, in fact, invaluable in the face of a threatening Shadow world of evil that lurks.  Politicians prattle on about "transparency" while the the real world of terrorist threats becomes increasingly opaque.  In spite of the influence of technology with its vast array of satellites and cell phone tracking the value of accurate human intelligence has never been greater than today.  We desperately need gifted devoted professionals like "M" and, of course James Bond -- because sometimes as Skyfall reminds us  "a trigger does need to be pulled" (see earlier post, Yvonne Fletcher RIP and Commander Bond?, 3/6/12).

Judy Dench is superlative as "M" or the "Bond-mommy."  Just as Admiral Godfrey was a surrogate father for Ian Fleming, she becomes the surrogate parents for the orphaned James Bond.

Next year will mark the official "Diamond Jubilee" of James Bond as Ian Fleming's Casino Royale (www.amzn.com/1612185436) was the first published in 1953 sixty years ago.  The 2006 film Casino Royale (www.amzn.com/B000MRA5NS) introduced Daniel Craig, the blonde Bond, as a new MI6 agent making his very first "licensed" kills in the opening scene.  In 2012's Skyfall, Bond is no longer a novice, but rather an aging middle-aged single man with a shaky employment record and severe health challenges.  Bond is now "an old dog learning new tricks".

Turner's Fighting Temeraire, 1838, National Gallery, London

Early in the movie, Bond meets his new callow Quartermaster, "Q", in the National Gallery in front of a painting of the most popular painting in England--Turner's the Fighting Temeraire (see earlier post, The Fighting Temeraire, 1/16/12).  The choice of this particular painting near Trafalgar square to provide the backdrop for James Bond's own professional challenges is inspired.  The full title of Turner's painting is The Fighting Temeraire Tugged To Her Last Berth To Be Broken Up.    The Temeraire fought under Nelson in the Royal Navy's decisive victory over the Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar in 1805.  Now in 1838, when Turner observed her, she is headed for the scrap heap pulled by a satanic-looking steamboat that is belching black smoke.  Is Bond too destined for early retirement?  Is the Aston Martin headed for the wrecking yard?

It is remarkable to note that Skyfall debuted in the UK the very same week that the President of the United States disparaged the use of "horses and bayonets" in modern warfare -- in spite of the fact that the US Marine Corps still trains with and uses bayonets in the field -- Semper Fi  (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/23/bayonets-still-standard-issue-despite-obama-debate-jab/).  The demise of Skyfall's villain, played brilliantly by Javier Bardem (the fortunate husband of Penelope Cruz), is a powerful argument for the continued relevance of "cold steel".  The traditional, conservative message is clear -- "Old ways (gun, knife, radio) are often the best ways."

Ian Fleming famously said, "Everything I write has a precedent in Truth."  Does Skyfall remain true to its Fleming heritage by having a "precedent in truth"?  I believe that its gritty portrayals of the London Underground, its use of glossy settings in contemporary China (see earlier post, China Today, 9/11/12), its depiction of feckless politicians and even its use of the favorite weapon of the US Marine Corps allows us to answer happily in the affirmative.  President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, acting on the best Western intelligence available at the time, "took the bloody shot" on Iraq; we live with the consequences.

Skyfall ultimately advances the traditional and, ultimately, Conservative notion that public service undertaken by our military and intelligence forces at great personal risk is 1) necessary in a dangerous world 2) highly honorable and, at times, even 3) heroic.

Commander Kelly says, "Three Cheers for Skyfall, sailing ships, MI6, the Royal Navy and cold steel!"

You can now purchase Commander Kelly's first book, America Invades here...www.americainvades.com or on Amazon...www.amzn.com/1940598427

Napoleon...an Enemy of Love?

"Time for Love?", Wallace Collection, London
"Have you got three minutes?"

Napoleon was an "Enemy to love" to his siblings as he forced his youngest brother Jerome to divorce his American wife and tried unsuccessfully to do the same with his brother Lucien (see earlier post, Napoleon and the Rebel, http://americanconservativeinlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/napoleon-and-rebel.html).  Moreover, Napoleon sacrificed his own happiness as well divorcing the only woman that he ever loved, Josephine de Beauharnais, for "reasons of state".  He adored his wife Josephine de Beauharnais, but in order to perpetuate his dynasty the Empire required a fertile womb.  He divorced Josephine in order to marry the 19 year-old Hapsburg Princess Marie Louise in 1810.  When they first met on March 27, 1810 she is said to have remarked, "You are much better-looking than your portrait."  Napoleon's only legitimate offspring, Napoleon II or the King of Rome, was born to much imperial fanfare on March 20, 1811.  A 101- gun salute was fired to let Parisians know that the Emperor now had a son and heir!

Commander K. with Napoleonic Cannon, Holland and Holland, Northwood, England

Stendhal wrote one of the very first biographies of Napoleon in 1818, A Life of Napoleon, while the Emperor was still alive in exile on St. Helena.  Stendhal was a staunch Republican who viewed Napoleon sympathetically and regarded his Empire as a continuation of the ideals of the French Revolution.  Stendhal describes Napoleon "the lover" as follows:

Napoleon Cameo, Wallace Collection, London
"You look so much better than this, dear" Marie Louise

"When, in his youth, Napoleon had been poor and completely devoted to serious matters, he had nevertheless been very far from indifferent to women.  His extremely thin appearance, his smallness and his poverty were not likely to give him confidence or to gain him many successes.  It had required courage in small doses.  It would not surprise me to think of him as having been shy with women.  He feared their ridicule and this man to whom fear was unknown, revenged himself upon them in his heyday by constantly and crudely expressing a fine contempt for them to which he would not have referred had it been true.  Before his elevation to power, he wrote to his friend Director Rey, about a passionate love affair in which Lucien was entangled:

'Women are like muddy sticks: one cannot pick them up without being soiled.'  By means of this inelegant image he sought to point out the errors of conduct to which they led; it was a prophecy.  If he hated women it was because he had a supreme fear of the ridicule which they dispensed.  Finding himself at dinner with Madame de Stael, whom it would have been so easy to have won over. He said coarsely that he only liked women who attended to their children."

Napoleon and Josephine, Wallace Collection, London

Here is how Stendhal describes Napoleon's "close encounters" with members of the opposite sex:

"Seated at a small table, his sword by his side, the Emperor would be busy signing decrees.  The lady would enter the room.  Without moving he would tell her to get into bed.  Shortly after, carrying a candle he would show her out and would then return to reading his decrees, correcting and signing them.  The essential part of the interview had lasted no more than three minutes.  Frequently his Mameluke was behind a screen.  He had sixteen such interviews with Mademoiselle George, and at one of them gave her a fistful of banknotes: there were ninety-six in all.  This had been arranged by the valet Constant.  Sometimes the lady would take off her shift and then, without troubling to move, he would send her away.

Mademoiselle George, "Fistful of Francs"

Such conduct on the part of the Emperor drove the women of Paris to despair.  To send them away after two minutes so as to sign his decrees and frequently without even removing his sword, seemed to them frightful, as it amounted to making them eat dirt."

A Life of Napoleon, Stendhal, 1818  www.amzn.com/0749296046

Countess Marie Walewska, 1786 1817

On January 25, 1814 Napoleon saw Empress Marie Louise and his son, the King of Rome, for the very last time.  She returned with her son to the Austrian Imperial family in Vienna.  On April 11, 1814 Napoleon abdicated and proceeded to exile on the island of Elba.  The Empress Josephine, ever a victim of fashion, died of pneumonia on May 29, 1814 after having caught a chill while walking dressed "a la mode" in the gardens of Malmaison with Tsar Alexander I.  Napoleon's beautiful Polish mistress, the Countess Marie Walewska, with whom he had an illegitimate son in 1810, visited him on Elba, but did not accompany him to St. Helena after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815.

Commander Kelly says, "Napoleon worshipped, not at the altar of Venus, but rather that of Mars;  he sacrificed private love for public power and ultimately ended his life with neither, haunted by memories of his faded grandeur on the barren rock of St. Helena."

Special Thanks to Holland and Holland in Northwood (http://www.hollandandholland.com/) for use of their cannon!

Napoleon and the Rebel

Napoleon and Lucien Bonaparte

It was not easy to be a member of the Bonaparte clan.  Napoleon was the second child out of 8 siblings born to Charles Bonaparte and his wife Letizia in Ajaccio on the island of Corsica.

When Napoleon made his meteoric rise from corporal to Emperor, his family members were pulled up as well.  Napoleon's oldest brother Joseph became King of Naples and later Spain.  His brother Louis was made King of Holland.  His sister Elisa was a made Grand Duchess of Tuscany.  The beautiful Pauline, sculpted by Canova, was Duchess of Guastalla.  His sister Caroline became Grand Duchess of Berg.  Even Napoleon's youngest brother Jerome became King of Westpahalia.

Being related to Napoleon may have been good for one's social and economic mobility, but it was often hell on interpersonal relationships.  Napoleon sought to arrange marriages for his siblings as if they were mere pieces on the chessboard for his conquest and domination of Europe.  Consider the case of Jerome, Napoleon's youngest brother:

Jerome Bonaparte, 1784 - 1860

"The youngest of the Bonaparte siblings had married without Napoleon's consent, at the end of 1803.  The bride was an attractive, well-born American woman from Philadelphia, Elizabeth Patterson, whom Jerome had met in Maryland.  Napoleon refused Jerome's request to recognize the marriage.  But unlike Lucien, Jerome would give in to the political and emotional pressure.  Napoleon barred Elizabeth's ship from docking at a European coasts, and Jerome divorced her while she was pregnant with their son (who was born in London in 1805, before Elizabeth returned to Baltimore with he baby).  Eventually, in 1807 he married the German Princess Napoleon had chosen for him, Catharina von Wurtemberg, and became prince of Westphalia."  Napoleon and the Rebel: A Story of Brotherhood, Passion and Power, Simonetta and Arikha, 2011, www.amzn.com/B006LWEHNW

The Sleep of Venus Lucien Bonaparte and Alexandrine de Bleschamp by Guillaume Guillon Lethiere

Napoleon and the Rebel, co-written by Marcello Simonetta and Noga Arikha, (www.amzn.com/B006LWEHNW) is a remarkable book that tells in detail the story of Napoleon's turbulent relationship with his rebellious younger brother Lucien Bonaparte, 1775 - 1840. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Bonaparte)  Lucien believed sincerely in the Republican values of the French Revolution -- Liberté, égalité, fraternité.

Lucien is best known to history for the political role that he played on November 10, 1799 (18 of Brumaire) when his intervention as President of the Council of the Five Hundred may have saved his brother's life and certainly did preserve Napoleon's political reputation.   Napoleon had impulsively decided to burst in upon the deliberations of the Council with a small armed guard of four Grenadiers.  Many members of the council were convinced that Napoleon would be a tyrant who would undo the work of the revolution.  There were angry shouts of "Down with the tyrant!  Down with the dictator!"  some men approached Napoleon with their knives drawn.  Punches were thrown.  At this point Lucien intervened on behalf of this brother.  He declared famously, "I swear that I will stab my own brother to the heart if he ever attempts anything against the liberty of Frenchmen."

French Grenadier, Wallace Collection, London

Simonetta and Arikha write, "Upon hearing this rousing promise from Lucien, the soldiers marched into the Orangerie and chased away all the protesters, some of whom escaped by jumping out of the windows.  By nightfall, Lucien had passed all the necessary resolutions, and Napoleon Bonaparte became first consul of the French Republic."  Napoleon and the Rebel, Simonetta and Arikha, 2011, www.amzn.com/B006LWEHNW.

Lucien was rewarded by Napoleon with the position of Minister of the Interior.  He was deeply involved with cultural affairs and amassed a huge and valuable art collection.  He later became the French Ambassador to Spain where he helped to negotiate the transfer of the Louisiana territory from Spain to France (later sold as the Louisiana Purchase to the United States).

General Bonaparte Reviewing Troops, Wallace Collection, London

Lucien's first wife Christine, by whom he had two daughters, died at age twenty-eight.

Napoleon's gratitude towards his younger brother was evanescent.  In the spring of 1802 Lucien the widower met and fell in love with a beautiful 24 year-old Parisian woman named Alexandrine de Bleschamp.  She was married to a Banker and had one child, but he was away on Napoleon's ill-fated expedition to Santo Domingo and would soon die leaving Alexandrine a widow (see Toussaint L'Ouverture Champion of Freedom and...Conservative?, 4/27/12).  Napoleon wanted Lucien to marry Princess Maria Louisa Bourbon, the daughter of the King of Spain, who would help him consolidate power in his empire.  Napoleon beseeched his brother to marry not realizing that Lucien had already married his love Alexandrine.

Lucien Bonaparte - Tea party member?

Napoleon later used threats as well as bribes in a vain attempt to coerce Lucien into divorcing Alexandrine.  Lucien refused, thereby ending a promising political career.  Lucien fled with his wife to Italy where they soon had nine children.    They lived for a time in Florence where he lived a s private citizen.  Simonetta and Arikha write, "Lucien's good manners and generosity made him popular with the Florentines.  the Italian states under Napoleonic control had been ravaged by war and welcomed a peace-loving, enlightened patron of commerce and the arts such as Lucien, who was opposed to the heavy taxation imposed by local administrators (italics added by Commander Kelly)."  Napoleon and the Rebel, Simonetta and Arikha, 2011, www.amzn.com/B006LWEHNW.  Could Lucien perhaps have been an early member of the tea party?

While in Florence, Lucien tried to buy and restore Michelangelo's house.

Frustrated by his Emperor brother, Lucien decided in 1810 to attempt to flee to America.  He made it to Malta where he was captured by the British who sent him with Alexandrine and their family to exile in England.  Lucien bought a castle in Thorngrove near Worcester where he and his family were comfortable prisoners of the English government.

Lucien was only able to return to the continent after the fall and exile of Napoleon to Elba in 1814.  After Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo, Lucien lived in Italy near Tusculum where he contributed considerably to the archaeological excavations which were first uncovered in 1828 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tusculum).

I must note one small error in the book.  The authors suggest that Napoleon-Louis Bonaparte (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Louis_Bonaparte), the son of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense, was "killed" as a result of  the bloody repression of a plot against the pope.  In fact, he died of natural causes while suffering from measles.

Excepting Napoleon himself, the untitled Lucien was the most gifted Bonaparte sibling.  Lucien Bonaparte was a poet, an astronomer, a statesman, a diplomat, a patron of the arts; he was also a husband and the father of 11 children.

Napoleon's final verdict on Lucien was, "Of all my siblings, he is indisputably the most gifted one, but he has hurt me the most.  His marriage has been a terrible thing.  Marrying a bourgeoisie, a beautiful Parisian woman, right at the moment when I wanted to found a dynasty!  I did everything in my power to prevent him, but unfortunately he had always had a soft spot for women."  Napoleon and the Rebel, Simonetta and Arikha, 2011, www.amzn.com/B006LWEHNW.

Commander Kelly says, "For a fascinating examination of the eternal conflicts between public and private life, between duty and love, between love of family and romantic love check out Napoleon and the Rebel."

Special Thanks to the Wallace Collection (http://www.wallacecollection.org/) in London where you will find a wonderful selection of Napoleonic themed art works and also Velázquez Lady with a Fan which once belonged to Lucien Bonaparte.

Lady with a Fan, Velázquez, Wallace Collection, London

You can now purchase Commander Kelly's 

first book, America Invades here...www.americainvades.com or on Amazon...www.amzn.com/1940598427