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and download it if you have a Kindle.

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Who is The Little House of Horrors?

Posted on March 5, 2016 by richarwb

This week I saw an amazing live stage production of the cult classic rock & roll musical THE LITTLE HOUSE OF HORRORS. It is about a weird hybrid plant from China that almost dies until they find it flourishes on human blood. On this diet it grows into a huge monster of a plant that eats people live. Cuttings of the plant are sold around the world and the resulting monster plants end up consuming whole societies – and the world.

Years ago I saw Frank OZ’s movie version with my young daughter, and, with our advanced sense of the ridiculous, we loved it. But we loved it on a superficial level as a showbizzie rock musical, with great music, and a monster that really rocked – and some delicious horror trimmings. Now older, sadder and hopefully wiser – while my daughter and I still sat there with huge silly grins on our faces at the Doo Wop shrillness of the Harpies Chorus (The Supremes they are not), and rocked to the monster’s Rock & Roll – I realized that it is allegorical.

Just under the surface it is about how FAME (remember that musical and its tag “I’m gonna live forever”), and celebrity, sucks the blood out of people, consumes them, and destroys families and cultures. And going deeper again, it is an allegory for America, cynically using Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll to debauch youth worldwide in order to push their free-market laissez faire capitalism agenda under the false banners of freedom and democracy in order to rule the world.

And if you think that my paranoia is showing, then read EVERY MAN IN THIS VILLAGE IS A LIAR, by Megan Stack. She is a well-educated American journalist who at 23 was sent to cover the wars in Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq, and she reached the conclusion that at best American Foreign Policy is delusional, and at worst it is a cynical ploy to try and dominate the world. And she believes that the War on Terror is fake, and has failed.

One chapter in her book has particular resonance. Superficially she enjoyed Israel; and modern, bright and safe Tel Aviv in particular. But she could not shake off the knowledge that all the youngsters prancing in the discos had had weapons training, had done compulsory military service – and she had seen them as teenage soldiers taunting and humiliating elderly Palestians at check points, refusing to give them priority for urgent medical treatment. And pregnant women frequently gave birth in taxis waiting in endless gridlocks to get to hospital, and not allowed on fast roads reserved for West Bank settlers. And she knew that sweating in the restaurant kitchens were illegal Eritrean refugees, and that most of the strikingly pretty single girls dancing in the discos were East European whores. Now matter how hard she tried she could not ignore the dark underbelly of Israel.

And nor could she ignore the fact that it was American taxpayers money that funded the mighty Israeli military machine that enables them to keep the Palestinians in subjugation. She makes the point “You can recover from what people do to you: you cannot recover from what you do to others.”

It resonates for me because she is like Mick, the protaganist in my book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind”. He too is a young journalist sent to the Middle East in the early 60s, and he is shocked by the Feudal barbarity of the region, and by the corruption and cynical exploitation of those feudal societies by slick Western governments desperate for cheap oil.

Just like Megan, Mick cannot pass through and enjoy the airconditioned and gleaming marble citidels of modern shopping malls and international airport terminals that oil wealth brought – with their shops full of the finest duty free luxury goods the world can offer, staffed by lovely young maidens with dazzling smiles – without noticing the tired old Amahs mopping the urinals, and the coolies sweating in 100 degree heat and 100 per cent humidity of the baggage halls.

And beyond that, modern cities that have the latest motorways and satellite communications, and no sewerage systems. And refugee camps where the sewers run open in the road and kids play there. Kids without hope, and without a future.

I am not, not ever have been a journalist, but I did keep journals throughout my 40 years in and out of The Arabain/Persian Gulf, and Mick is a construct, an alter ego designed to tell the stories of events that I witnessed, or were reported to me by reliable sources, expatriates like me, washed up there in the oil patch from 1960 to 2001.

Preview my book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind” at:

and download it if you have a Kindle.

Or if you prefer a real book you can order the paperback edition with free delivery worldwide from:

Using the ISBN number is 978-1908147097

or direct from my publisher

The Four Horsemen

Posted on February 24, 2016 by richarwb

In the skeptical Western World, Biblical prophecies are treated with scorn – the territory of born again creationists, and overwrought screenwriters short of new ideas.

No such skepticism or irony exists in The Middle East. The People of The Book (Jews, Christians and Muslims) believe that The Scriptures are true – and there will be a day of reckoning. There will be an Apocalypse.

And this idea is gaining traction in The West because of the horrific events coming out from The Middle East.

At the moment I seem to be spending my time promoting other peoples’ work – but I have ulterior motives.

Last week I promoted Dan Smith’s STATE OF THE MIDDLE EAST ATLAS. But that was because it forms an excellent background to my book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind”. He provides the facts and figures. I provide the stories of the shattering effects of the conflict between Oil, God and Gold (where Oil is the Arabs, God is the USA, and Gold is the Jews) on the lives of ordinary people trying to survive in extra-ordinary times.

Now I have found a documentary film THE FOUR HORSEMEN, that is an excellent background to new book I am writing, GULF II “The Beginning of Sorrows”. My book is based on the biblical reference:

“Ye will hear of wars – and rumours of wars: see that ye not be troubled for all these things must come to pass – but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in divers places.

All these are the Beginning of Sorrows”

THE FOUR HORSEMEN film (available free on YOU TUBE) posits that the first Horseman of the Apocalypse has already appeared. He is on a White Horse carrying a bow and is generally seen as the Conquerer – and the thesis of this film is that he represents the modern banks who have taken over the world, and are beyond the control of governments (Too Big to Fail?). And this is in line with my own narrative for GULF II.

Money has now replaced oil as the most valuable commodity traded in the World. And to quote The Bible again:

“The love of money is the root of all evil.”

In a very human way my new book explores the effects of 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq have had on the lives of normal people, and ends with the GFC of 2008.

If you want insights into the Middle East and its harsh and barbaric societies, after WWII, from the perspective of weird and wonderful expatriate oilfield trash, characters washed up there in the oil patch from 1960 to 2001, preview my book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind” at:

and download it if you have a Kindle.

Or if you prefer a real book you can order the paperback edition with free delivery worldwide from:

Using the ISBN number is 978-1908147097

or direct from my publisher

Was Einstein Wrong?

Posted on January 21, 2016 by richarwb

Not about Relativity. I don’t understand that theory anyway so how can I challenge it?
But Einstein defined madness as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
In 1827 the Jewish population of Curacao, a small island that was a Dutch colony in The Caribbean, was “encouraged” by the government to leave the island because the local Creole population was rioting to protest the Jews’ grip on the island’s commercial life.
Numbers of them left and made the short sea journey to Venezuela. They settled in small towns along the coast, and in particular were welcomed into CORO, a delightful Spanish colonial town of cobbled streets and red tiled roofs.
Three years later the local population rioted to protest the Jews’ grip on the commercial life of the town. They survived under government protection by paying a special tax. But in spite of this, 25 years later they were all driven out by rioting locals, and had to return to Curacao.
As that other heavyweight Jewish intellectual Karl Marx said, “(Economic) history repeats itself . . . First time tragedy . . . second time farce.”
If you spend any time in the Arab Middle East you will certainly be asked what you think of the Jahud (The Jews). And you will be told that “although they are our cousins” they are not to be trusted. The Arabs believe that the Israelis are driven by greed. They want the whole of the Middle East and its oil wealth. And they point to the invasions into South Lebanon, the occupation of The Golan Heights, and the continued building of settlements on The West Bank.
If anybody reads this blog I will of course be accused of anti-Semitism. That is the smoke screen that is always used to hide Israel’s brutal occupation of Palestine and the repression of its people. This is a standard tactic in The West to divert attention from the real issue, and is supported by lazy jounalists.
Recently I saw the movie TRUTH about the 60 Minutes investigation of George W Bush’s notional service in the Alabama National Guard that saved him from being drafted to VietNam. The documents that brought this to light were possibly forged, and all subsequent invstigations focussed on this possible forgery and those responsible. It did not investigate whether or not he was a draft dodger, although there was plenty of evidence unrelated to the documents that pointed to the truth.
My book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind” opens with a story of how the Israeli Defence Force deals ruthlessly with activists who support The Palestinians. Like all the stories in my book it is not pure fiction but has a strong basis in fact.
All 10 stories are character driven from the perspective of weird and wonderful oilfield trash, expatriates who washed up in THE GULF oil patch from 1960 to 2001. My stories are not all grim: they are sometimes humorous, sometimes entertaining – and always informative with an authentic context from my 40 years experience working in the international oil industry centered on The Arabian/Persian Gulf.
My book has had four 5 star reviews and one 4 star review, and you can preview THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind” at:
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.amazon.co.uk
and download it if you have a Kindle.
Or if you prefer a real book you can order the paperback edition with free delivery worldwide from:
http://www.thebookdepository.co.uk
Using the ISBN number is 978-1908147097
or direct from my publisher
http://www.feedaread.com

Paris & Pandora’s Box

Posted on November 17, 2015 by richarwb

The tragic events that have just unfolded in Paris, and the rise and rise of ISIS, the perpetrators of the atrocities, are a consequence of The West’s foreign policy blundering in the Middle East driven by the desire to control and exploit the vast oil wealth of the region. And the invasion of Iraq, and toppling of Saddam Hussein, opened Pandora’s box in that volatile arena.

In Greek mythology when Pandora opened her box all the EVILS of the World flew out, leaving HOPE inside. How prophetic were the ancient Greeks!

Very briefly in the Arab Spring, HOPE did come out of the box – but was driven back by naïve US State Department tragics trumpeting the benefits of Freedom, and the free market (a.k.a. Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll), and even more naïve adultlescents (a la Charlie Hebdo and The Danes) who think that life is a twitter of LOLZ where you can mock people’s deeply felt beliefs and customs without any thought of the consequences.

When will we learn that you cannot impose a liberal, free thinking, sceptical and decadent Western society on deeply religious, tribal societies that are essentially feudal in their make-up? I have lived and worked in the Middle East for over 40 years, and I can assure you that the majority of Muslims are decent, deeply religious people who want to live a good and quiet life within their family. But the extremists in their midst have learned their lessons well. Terrorism pays dividends.

The main cause of The West’s conflict with Islam in The Middle East is their unconditional support for the State of Israel – a state founded on the back of Zionist terrorism (IRGUN and the STERN Gang, the bombing of the King David Hotel etc.). There is no hope of peace in the Middle East until the question of Israel is resolved to the satisfaction of The Arab nation. Even if ISIS is defeated another,and more extreme, movement will rise from the ashes, just as ISIS rose from Al-Qua’eda’s demise.

Pandora’s box is wide open and we will never force the lid back on.

If you want insights into the Middle East, and its harsh and apparently barbaric societies, and its corruption, from the perspective of weird and wonderful oilfield trash, expatriate characters who washed up there in the oil patch from 1960 to 2001, preview my book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind” at:

and download it if you have a Kindle.

Or if you prefer a real book you can order the paperback edition from:

Using the ISBN number is 978-1908147097

(They offer free delivery worldwide)

or direct from my publisher

RULE BRITANNIA

Posted on March 10, 2015 by richarwb

Britannia Rules the Waves:

I have just returned from an extended holiday in Tasmania. Not a place I really wanted to visit – but I am glad I went because it is a well preserved microcosm of British Empire building.

Raised as I was to despise the jingoism, racial predjudice and blind patriotism of the colonialists, the more I travel the World, the more I have come to admire the energy, the vision the bravery of those Empire builders. Just 22 million people from a small mist shrouded island whose maritime skills and initiatives dominated the World, and left in many cases an admirable legacy.

Port Arthur, Tasmania was founded as a penal colony in 1833 and was closed in 1877. In that short 44 years using convict labour it was a timber cutting facility, a coal mine, a flour mill, a foundry and a pententiary for some 2,000 convicts. But even in those far off days while the regime was brutal it was not as primitive as you might imagine.

The penitentiary was a solid 3 story structure of sandstone with shared cells. There was a separate psychological prison for hardened criminals beyond redemption in solitary confinement, and a separate Boys’ prison on an island to keep young offenders away from adult criminals. And later there was a rest home for elderly prisoners that could not be rehabilitated and returned to society that was possibly the model for Britain’s welfare state. How enlightened is all that?

The rehabiltation program was a well established 4 step procedure. A period of hard labour, a period as a trustee, a period as a parollee – and finally release into society with sometimes a gift of free land. So how enlightened was that.

There was a model village with a Governer’s mansion, a house for the Surgeon General, and a lovely sandstone Anglican church – and housing for the military and civilian personnel who ran the settlement. There were frequent dinner parties and social functions (horse racing and whale boat racing) to create a home from home and keep people from “going bush” – an important discipline in the British Empire.

Port Arthur is set in a lovely sheltered bay on what is essentially a heavily wooded island surrounded by rough seas only connected to the Tasmanian mainland by a very narrow strip of land (Eagles Neck). It was easy to defend and almost impossible to escape from because in those days most people could not swim and to enter the bush meant disoreintation, snakes and spiders and eventual death.

I am gobsmacked by how these enterprising people found these wonderful and lovely sites for their developments. The Dutch came first (hence the name Van Diemans land), and French botanists and zoologists later, and both moved on – but it was the British who settled and developed it. Just one small development in a World with a plethra of developments.

Think India, the jewel in The Crown, with the British heritage of a common language, a judical and educational system, and the largest parliamentary democracy in the World . Think Malaysia and Singapore and even Burma, now slowly returning to democracy. And think the USA, also founded by the British (look at the names of the founding fathers and the first Presidents).

So how is it that the American imperialists, and the British before them, have not been able to establish a stable legacy in the Middle East?

If you want insights into The West’s relationship with the Middle East and its complexity from the perspective of the weird and wonderful oilfield trash, expatriate characters who washed up there in the oil patch from 1960 to 2001, preview my book THE GULF “Reaping the Whirlwind” at:

www.amazon.com and download it if you have a Kindle.

Or if you prefer a real book you can order the paperback edition from: