Miscellaneous Facebook posts & comments in October 2020
When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer).
To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers will have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link.
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1930s John Wayne movie with storyline based in Canada with villains being French Canadian outlaws! [Actual shooting seems to have been in California, USA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trail_Beyond, with some great scenery and some quaint canoe (boating) scenes, including canoe chasing and fight scenes.]
A short movie description is put up here: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trail_beyond.
It was a surprise for me to see French Canadians being shown as villains with English speaking Canadians as the good guys. I think it is the first such film that I have seen. Perhaps French movies of that time, may have the reverse stereotype 🙂.
I was happy to be able to catch (understand) most, if not all, of the very little French spoken in the movie: e.g. Bon jour (Good morning/hello), Oui Monsieur (Yes sir) and Je ne sais pas (I don't know). That's thanks to my efforts to pick up bare minimum French in my mid-1980s days in Brussels, Belgium.
I should also say that the French as well as some English in French accent, spoken in the movie reminded me of my late 1980s visit to Montreal in Quebec, Canada where I enjoyed hearing/seeing the French language environment/culture there.
The Trail Beyond (1934) JOHN WAYNE, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TnYb-I5ugM, around 55 mins.
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Interesting movie about the supposedly first organized band of peacetime train robbers in the USA (1860s) - Reno Brothers
Some background about the history of Reno Brothers/Gang from wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reno_Gang :
Reno Gang
Founded 1864
Founded by Frank Reno and John Reno
Founding location Seymour, Jackson County, Indiana U.S.
Years active 1864-1868
Territory Southern Indiana, Missouri, Iowa
Ethnicity European-American
Membership (est.) 10-11
Criminal activities Bounty-jumping, murder, counterfeiting, robbery, train robbery
...
The Reno Gang, also known as the Reno Brothers Gang and The Jackson Thieves, were a group of criminals that operated in the Midwestern United States during and just after the American Civil War. Though short-lived, they carried out the first three peacetime train robberies in U.S. history. Most of the stolen money was never recovered.
The gang was broken up by the lynchings of ten of its members by vigilante mobs in 1868. The murders created an international diplomatic incident with Canada and Great Britain, a general public uproar, and international newspaper coverage. No one was ever identified or prosecuted for the lynchings.
--- end wiki extracts ---
The detailed info. in the wiki page (not included in extracts above) shows how the legal process could not stop the Reno gang members from their crimes. That seems to have led to residents of Seymour town form a vigilante group to kill the gang. Ultimately there were many lynchings of Reno gang members that seems to have led to the gang getting finished.
The movie seems to be ***loosely*** based on this history.
Rage at Dawn (1955) RANDOLPH SCOTT, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbTBCHJV3iA, 1 hr. 26 mins
[I thank Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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A timepass movie showing 1950s Las Vegas and nearby areas (including the desert)
The wiki page of the movie has the storyline: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_Dragnet
Highway Dragnet (1954).mp4, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LvuSP_g3MQ, 1 hr. 10 mins.
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Geronimo!
I had come across that word/name in my readings many years ago (around three decades back I think) but I had not known, or at least I don't recall knowing/noting, that the name was that of an American Indian (Native American) Apache warrior. I think in at least one book that I had read then, Geronimo was a code word for some project/secret project.
I came across that name again a few days back when I saw an old John Wayne movie where Geronimo and his fellow Apache warriors are painted in a negative stereotype way. Stagecoach - Movies 1939 - John Ford - Action Western Movies, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0w_d3aiUnU, 1 hr. 35 mins.
But that's where I came to know that Geronimo was an Apache warrior who was feared by his enemies.
I looked up the net for more info. on Geronimo. Some extracts from his wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geronimo:
Geronimo (Mescalero-Chiricahua: Goyaałé Athabaskan pronunciation: [kòjàːɬɛ́] "the one who yawns", June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Apache tribe. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Chiricahua Apache bands—the Tchihende, the Tsokanende and the Nednhi—to carry out numerous raids, as well as fight against Mexican and U.S. military campaigns in the northern Mexico states of Chihuahua and Sonora and in the southwestern American territories of New Mexico and Arizona. Geronimo's raids and related combat actions were a part of the prolonged period of the Apache–United States conflict, which started with American settlement in Apache lands following the end of the war with Mexico in 1848.
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Geronimo married a woman named Alope, from the Nedni-Chiricahua band of Apache when he was 17; they had three children. She was the first of nine wives. On March 5, 1858, a company of 400 Mexican soldiers from Sonora led by Colonel José María Carrasco attacked Geronimo's camp outside Janos (Kas-Ki-Yeh in Apache) while the men were in town trading.[18][19] Among those killed were his wife, children and mother. The loss of his family led Geronimo to hate all Mexicans for the rest of his life; he and his followers would frequently attack and kill any group of Mexicans that they encountered. Recalling that at the time his band was at peace with the Mexicans, Geronimo remembered the incident as follows:
"Late one afternoon when returning from town we were met by a few women and children who told us that Mexican troops from some other town had attacked our camp, killed all the warriors of the guard, captured all our ponies, secured our arms, destroyed our supplies, and killed many of our women and children. Quickly we separated, concealing ourselves as best we could until nightfall, when we assembled at our appointed place of rendezvous — a thicket by the river. Silently we stole in one by one, sentinels were placed, and when all were counted, I found that my aged mother, my young wife, and my three small children were among the slain.[20]"
[Wiki References:]
18. Haugen, Brenda (2005). Geronimo: Apache Warrior. Capstone. pp. 9–12.
19. "Geronimo His own story". American History – From Revolution to Reconstruction and what happened afterwards. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
20. Sweeney, Edwin R. (1986). Sonnichsen, Charles Leland (ed.). Geronimo and the End of the Apache Wars. University of Nebraska Press. p. 36.
--- end wiki extracts ---
I was really glad to see this seemingly fair account of American Indian (Native American) history and about how Geronimo became a ferocious warrior and enemy of those who were trying to take away Apache Indian land (and succeeded due to their being militarily more powerful).
It is very hard to read about the tragedy that Geronimo faced when his family was massacred by the Mexican army at a time when there was supposedly, a peace declaration between the Apaches and Mexicans.
I have watched the first 28 minutes of this documentary: "Geronimo" Complete 1993 TNT TV-Movie - Legendary Apache Warrior, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRMvRvYUBTc, 1 hr. 38 mins.
I stopped watching it (around 28 minutes) as it shows a horrendous scene of the Mexican army leader using the name of God, to create a frenzy among his men to attack and kill the people in the Apache camp of Geronimo and others, while most of the warriors including Geronimo were away. I just could not stomach that. But I have to say that perhaps this documentary is portraying Mexican army in a negative light and so I don't know how accurate its portrayal of the Mexican army's role in this massacre, is.
I don't know whether I will be able summon up the stomach (I have a sensitive stomach to start with) to watch the scene of the massacre of the Apache camp and other parts of the documentary. Perhaps I will take the easier route of just avoiding watching the rest of the documentary.
But now I know that Geronimo, an Apache of North America, rose to be a ferocious warrior who fought against those who were trying to take away the lands of his tribe, and I am very glad to know this.
[I thank Wikipedia and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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Some parts of USA history are really horrific. Today I came across a reference to "Pitchfork Ben Tillman", a former governor of the state of North Carolina from 1890 to 1894, and a US Senator from 1895 to 1918. Note that these terms were some decades ***after*** the USA Civil War which freed African-Americans (black Americans) from slavery across the whole of the USA.
Two small extracts from his wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Tillman, which show his horrific attitude towards African-Americans:
A white supremacist who opposed civil rights for black Americans, Tillman led a paramilitary group of Red Shirts during South Carolina's violent 1876 election. On the floor of the U.S. Senate, he defended lynching, and frequently ridiculed black Americans in his speeches, boasting of having helped kill them during that campaign.[1]
...
Although his workers were no longer slaves, Tillman continued to apply the whip to them. By 1876, Tillman was the largest landowner in Edgefield County. He rode through his fields on horseback like an antebellum overseer, and stated at the time that it was necessary that he do so to "drive the slovenly Negroes to work".[16]
[Wiki References:]
1. Simkins 1944 (Simkins, Francis Butler (1967) [1944]. Pitchfork Ben Tillman, South Carolinian (first paperback ed.). Louisiana State University Press.), pp. 396–397.
16. JBHE ("'Pitchfork' Ben Tillman: The Most Lionized Figure in South Carolina History". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (58): 38–39. Winter 2007–2008), pp. 48–49.
---- end wiki extracts ---
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Interesting and useful video!
MESSAGE FOR CHILDREN (COVID 19) - Dr Anil Suchak, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Lo8jDiO9E, 5 min. 49 secs, published on 27th Oct. 2020 by SUCHAK HOSPITAL.
BTW Suchak Hospital is in Malad, Mumbai, and I (or rather my body 🙂 ) was born there in 1962.
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My comment on the post: Wonderful to see USA provide more support for India's security needs, especially in the context of recent military aggression India is facing from a neighbouring country. Many thanks to USA for this support.
Shared FB post: https://www.facebook.com/India.usembassy/posts/3670681143047888
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[In response to a comment, I wrote:] My view is that I support India and USA and other democratic countries like Japan and Australia working together to jointly protect themselves from countries that use military aggression to do land and sea grab (e.g. China) in their countries and neighbouring areas. Upholding rule of law and sovereignty of nations is important to maintain a peaceful world.
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Good work. Democracies need to be united against anti-democratic and imperialistic forces of these early 21st century times.
Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/narendramodi/posts/10164422138700165, "Pleasure meeting Mike Pompeo and Dr. Mark T. Esper. Happy to see tremendous progress made in India-US relations and the results of the third 2+2 dialogue. Our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership stands on a firm foundation of shared principles and common strategic interests." [post has pics].
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Great rendition in 2019 of 1981 Hindi film song - Apni toh jaise taise - from the film Laawaris. In my view, the words of the song embody the spirit of underdog survivors (e.g. in cities like Mumbai) who can survive on little money that they earn through their hard work (sweat labour) as their needs are simple/minimal, challenging some rich crooks who became rich through exploitation of the poor but who now are soft and are dependent on the comforts ( and habits like liquor and cabarets) their money buys.
It was a hit song in the 1980s and I liked it a lot then for its underdog survivor challenging rich crooks theme. The video has a cabaret dancing scene where the cabaret dancer is entertaining the villain (a rich crook). The hero (played by Amitabh Bachchan) joins in on the dance, with the song's words challenging the rich crook, and so the music is fast at times.
In this orchestra rendition, the singer does some (aggressive) dancing too 🙂 .
Apni toh jaise taise...by Alok Katdare, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXhoH_3EWGo, 6 min. 14 secs.
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Great to see this, and in particular, great to see USA Defense Secretary Mark Esper and USA Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speak about USA support for Indian defence needs in the face of aggression (and land-grab attempts) from another country. India's defense minister Rajnath Singh as well as foreign minister Jaishankar spoke about how India-US relationship is progressing well. It was great to hear about USA-India co-operation in the fight against COVID pandemic as well, from some of these top leaders of USA and India.
Joint Press Briefing post 3rd India-US 2+2 Meet | 27 October, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHR3f9PnIEo, around 30 mins
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Great rendition in 2013 of the 1977 Hindi film song - Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyar Kya Kare, from the film Amar Akbar Anthony. One of the two original music directors of the film - Pyarelal - gives interesting history of how Lata Mangeshkar sang the song in three different styles for 3 heroines (implying that it was a solution to other female lead singers not turning up). The male singers of the original song are Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Mohd. Rafi. Four titans of Hindi film song world had assembled together to deliver on this song.
Pyarelal also shared that originally the movie's Christian character was named Anthony Fernandes. Pyarelal requested the film director, Manmohan Desai, to change it to Anthony Gonsalves, the name of Pyarelalji's music guru, and Pyarelal also mentioned that in the song - My name is Anthony Gonsalves - the name Anthony Fernandes did not fit in all that well 🙂.
Pyarelal goes on to mention that in the recording of the My name is Anthony Gonsalves song, he had invited his guru, the real Anthony Gonsalves, to be present! Fascinating bit of historical info. on that song from this film which song was a super-hit, perhaps more popular than this Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyar ..
The male singers of this rendition do a great job of singing in Kishore, Mukesh and Rafi's voices and the lady singer also does a great job of singing in Lata Mangeshkar's voice.
I enjoyed this song rendition.
Hum Ko Tum Se Ho Gaya He Pyar | Sarrika Singh Live ,Srikant,Pankaj & Mukhtar, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acWRDwMQIH4, 10 min. 33 secs.
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Warning: Readers who dislike reading about war and violence may please skip the rest of this post.
Attack drones seem to be the future of low intensity conflicts/battles. That is very disturbing as the drones themselves do not have any humans.
The very tragic conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is showing how attack drones can do huge damage if the side being attacked does not have the ability to quickly bring down the drones.
Attack Drones Dominating Tanks as Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict Showcases the Future of War, https://www.thedailybeast.com/attack-drones-dominating-tanks-as-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-showcases-the-future-of-war, 26th Oct. 2020.
These drones do not have any humans in them and, if they are being controlled by humans, their human controllers are very far away. So this drone warfare is very terrifying. The article uses the word DYSTOPIAN, next to the title of the article. I entirely agree - this is horrible dystopian stuff.
My prayers to Almighty God for early peaceful end to this horrific conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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I first came across the word 'litigious' (which means "tending or too ready to take legal action to settle disputes") in the context of USA, in some article I read a few years ago. The article, which I think was authored and published in USA, said that USA is a litigious country.
And so it is no wonder that a legal case of willfully causing COVID has been made against a person, in the USA. Of course, whether the case succeeds or not, is a different matter.
A Florida nurse is accusing her boss, a doctor, of coughing on her at work when he had COVID-19, https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/a-florida-nurse-is-accusing-her-boss-a-doctor-of-coughing-on-her-at-work-when-he-had-covid-19/articleshow/78863833.cms, 26th Oct. 2020.
The article states: "A nurse practitioner in Florida is taking legal action against her boss who she says willfully coughed on her when he had coronavirus in the workplace, local news reported."
The nurse said that she was "hounding" the doctor for not wearing a facemask and following other guidelines for COVID. She also asked him to take a test.
The nurse alleges that the doctor then coughed on her (with, it seems, both the doctor and nurse not wearing masks then). The article states that the nurse said (He refers to the doctor), "He just went 'Ahhh,' and he said, 'Well, if I have it, now you have it, too. Now, leave me alone"!!!
This pandemic is stressing people out, and driving some people nuts! What a horrible thing this coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is!
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Tragic!
Even in my international travel days in the past, 80s and early 90s, this was a real fear. If I recall correctly, I would avoid taking packages of others and if I did, I would insist on seeing what's inside. ... Tragic that a relative tricked this Mumbai couple into this trip by sponsoring the trip, and where she used them as unsuspecting courier for sending hashish (narcotic drug) to Qatar. They got caught by the police there and are in prison now.
Shared article: Mumbai couple gifted honeymoon land in Qatar jail, NCB to their aid, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/78839929.cms
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Nice 2013 rendition of 1968 Mohd. Rafi oldie goldie: Wadiyan Mera Daman - वादियाँ मेरा दामन from Abhilasha (1968) by Javed Ali, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGSh9AxAVmY, 4 min. 17 secs.
...
The original song - Mohd. Rafi sahab is just too good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpIfvQ-9BXQ, 4 min. 6 secs.
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Have seen first part of this USA presidential debate. Plan to see the rest of it shortly. So far, no shouting match. I also read reports that the entire debate did not have shouting matches like the first debate. That's good.
Second 2020 Presidential Debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPiofmZGb8o, video is around 2 hours but the debate starts around 25 minutes into the video, published by C-SPAN.
Please note that I am publicly neutral in USA politics.
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Just before assuming office of President of USA in 1933, FDR survived an assassination attempt!
After a gap of many months, due to me adapting to COVID pandemic life where I do a lot housework myself and so have much lesser time for such reading as compared to earlier, I have started reading books again.
Yesterday night, I restarted reading FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt) by Jean Edward Smith, from where I had left off. That was after FDR had won his first US presidential election but before he was sworn in. The book was describing how FDR chose his cabinet members (pages 294-295).
The book immediately engrossed me, like it had earlier on! I guess I am a book worm, pandemic or no pandemic 🙂.
Prior to taking up the onerous job of President of USA, in very challenging times of the economic depression then, FDR went for a cruise holiday on a yacht named Nourmahal (owned by founder and owner of Newsweek) with some wealthy and powerful friends. They sailed from New York eventually reaching Miami.
[Today morning I looked up the Internet on this matter. It largely corroborated the account in the book and gave additional details.]
Based on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Zangara :
In Miami, (on 15th February 1933) FDR briefly addressed the annual encampment of the American Legion from the backseat of his open car. That's when the assassination attempt happened! A brick-layer immigrant (from Italy) who was not having a regular job, was doing odd jobs and living off his savings, and suffered from chronic stomach pain almost through out his life, fired 5 shots. He had bought a pistol (for $8 which would be $160 in 2019 value) from a local pawn shop a few days ago. After the 1st shot, a brave lady who was near the assassin, along with others, grabbed the assassin's arm which led to four more shots that he fired not being aimed properly. Fortunately the president-elect of USA, FDR was unharmed. But others got hit by the bullets, including Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak who was standing next to Roosevelt.
Cermak was rushed to hospital, cradled in FDR's arms. Cermak later died. The assassin was apprehended by secret service agents and others, and eventually charged with Cermak's murder and executed.
The assassin said (as per above wiki page): "I have the gun in my hand. I kill kings and presidents first and next all capitalists." The assassin was unrepentant and when he was sentenced to be executed, said to the judge, "You give me electric chair. I no afraid of that chair! You one of capitalists. You is crook man too. Put me in electric chair. I no care!".
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Here's a TV news clip of the assassination attempt (youtube is an absolutely awesome knowledge resource): Assassination Attempt on FDR - 1933, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUNrv1F09-g, 3 min. 34 secs, published by British Movietone.
I was stunned to know about this assassination attempt. USA politics has a very disturbing history of violence including assassination attempts. But then perhaps that's the reality of political power.
On the positive side, FDR displayed no fear when the assassination attempt was going on. Note that he was afflicted by polio and so could not move easily. The FDR book describes the assassination attempt as follows (on page 297) 'Suddenly, from a distance no more than forty feet away, five shots rang out in quick succession. Blood spurted from the hand of a nearby Secret Service agent, Mayor Cermak crumpled to the ground, a woman standing behind FDR was hit twice in the abdomen, and two other people were wounded. Roosevelt sat immobile and unflinching, his jaw set, ready for what might follow. He had been spared by inches. At the critical moment an alert spectator, Mrs. Lilian Cross, had hit the assassin's arm with her handbag, and spoiled his aim.
"I heard what I thought was a firecracker; then several more," Roosevelt wrote later.'
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FDR stayed at the hospital for some time before returning back to the yacht, and was calm.
The book goes on to say (on page 298): "Roosevelt's matter-of-fact reaction to his brush with death, his cheerful contempt for danger, brought forth a national surge of confidence. It was abundantly clear that FDR lacked physical fear, and his courage rallied the country behind him. It provided a tonic on the eve of the inauguration; a vital pickup for a nation grappling with unprecedented unemployment, widespread hunger and need, and a banking system that teetered on the brink of collapse."
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Ravi: Hmm. My God! What a tremendously challenging time for FDR to become president! And then to have to face an assassination attempt just days before inauguration as President by an unhappy and mostly-unemployed brick-layer who suffered from chronic stomach pain! I mean, there is no proper logic or sense to such assassination attempts. It is just that people in political power (or about to assume political power like in this case), become even assassination targets for all sorts of disgruntled people. And in USA, buying a gun is not difficult at all, and many people are trained in firing guns!
And then FDR went on to do astonishing work for the poor and unemployed and underemployed with his New Deal (for USA)! How ironic that the president-elect who did great things for the poor, unemployed/under-employed in USA after becoming president, was shot at by a poor, unemployed/under-employed person who wanted to kill the president-elect! Fortunately for the poor, unemployed/under-employed in USA then, the assassin did not succeed in his attempt.
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Quite fascinating! 172,000 years ago! And now that area is a desert.
Shared article: Lost’ river that ran through Thar desert 172k years ago discovered, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/78791601.cms .
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Interesting 1936 Western movie starring the young John Wayne: KING OF THE PECOS - John Wayne, Muriel Evans, Cy Kendall - Full Western Movie / English, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGBlk62zYo4, around 55 mins.
Movie wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Pecos
I think this must be the oldest Western movie I have seen so far, or at least the oldest one I recall seeing.
The movie claims to be set during some Land Rush type period in Texas (and New Mexico), USA, in the 1870s. A message in the movie (around 1 min. 15 secs into the video) claims: "In the seventies (1870s), Texas and New Mexico constituted a vast, open cattle range. Land laws and water rights were indefinite and millions of acres of range were often claimed thru a so-called "right of discovery".
This is the background of the movie where a bad guy who has a big group of guys obeying his orders, becomes wealthy and powerful by "right of discovery" in an area in Texas, as well as by cornering a key water source for the area, killing those who refused to sell out to him (including a young boy's parents, which horror the young boy lives through and is only beaten by the bad guys but not killed), and forcing ranchers in that area to raise cattle as per the bad guy's contract which is heavily loaded in favour of the bad guy.
The young boy grows up with his grandfather in Austin (Texas) and becomes a lawyer as well as good gunman - this role is played by the young and handsome John Wayne. The lawyer-gunman comes back to the area where his parents lived and where the bad guy is now boss, and first wins a legal battle against the bad guy for the ranchers freeing them from the dependence on the bad guy and his contract. Later the bad guy uses the gun power route to try to finish off John Wayne and some of the other ranchers but then John Wayne displays his gunman skills and leads the other ranchers in a gun fight and horse chase against the bad guys, and wins.
So evil is defeated, good guy wins, and there is some romance with the hero marrying the heroine in the end.
But I was not aware of such land rush in Texas (and New Mexico) as claimed by the message in the movie I mentioned earlier. So I tried looking up the Internet for it but could not find any mention of it in wiki pages of History of Texas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Texas , and History of New Mexico: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_Mexico .
It is in the USA state of Oklahoma that land runs happened: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_run .
So the background of the movie may not be in line with history of Texas and New Mexico.
I must say that historically it is Native Americans (American Indians) of Texas and New Mexico whose land was taken from them by force and redistributed among various foreign settlers (Spaniards seem to be the first settlers in late 16th century - 1598). Very tragic! There is a lot in human history that is tragic where the mighty and powerful have dominated and exploited the weak. But perhaps this level of land redistribution (of Native Americans to settlers) that happened in USA, is unprecedented in human history of at least the last millennium.
European powers colonized large parts of Asia and even when they did not colonize (like in case of China), they dominated it militarily, for a century or two or slightly more in some cases, and exploited the colonies to benefit their empires. But they had to eventually leave and go back without any significant land area under their control (except some small islands I think). So the native Asians never fully lost their lands to European colonial powers like what happened in USA where Native Americans lost huge amount of territory they controlled prior to settlers taking it away from them by force.
The bow and arrow was no match for the rifle!
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As a citizen and resident of India, I fully support this move of the Indian government. Authoritarian Communist China is behaving like imperialist powers of the past by flexing its military muscle to grab territories of other countries. USA, Japan, Australia and India are open democracies which do not indulge in such behaviour.
Of course, as China is attempting land grab in India in this year itself, India needs support of other countries to resist China's land grab. So it is great that India has invited Australia to this year's Malabar exercise and it seems that Australia has accepted, or is expected to accept, the invitation.
I look forward to seeing pics of the upcoming exercise involving navies of USA, Japan, Australia and India.
Shared article: Strengthening Quad: Eye on China, India invites Australia to join Malabar drill, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/strengthening-quad-eye-on-china-india-invites-australia-to-join-malabar-drill/articleshow/78748973.cms
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Interesting to note that US President Trump is on "special antibody therapy" and Remdesivir as treatment for COVID. The doctors say that he is doing very well. That's good to know.
Walter Reed Medical Center News Conference on President Trump, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5xCVovC80E, 12 min. 42 secs, published on 3rd Oct. 2020.
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One can see for oneself in this video that US President Trump tweeted: https://twitter.com/realDonald.../status/1312525833505058816. He looks good in the video. And that's good.
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Awesome rendition of the sad romantic heart-tugging 1960s Hindi film song of Mohd. Rafi - Patthar ke sanam. This awesome rendition is in 2018: Pathar ke sanam (by) Mohammed Salamat, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL3KcGpInc0
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The original song: Patthar Ke Sanam Tujhe Humne | Mohammed Rafi | Patthar Ke Sanam 1967 Songs| Waheeda Rehman, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij20-IEUTjg, around 4 min. 40 secs (rest of video is adverts of other songs).
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History is a very, very great teacher about life. We may feel that our times are completely different from life in past centuries and millennia. While on the surface, there surely may be great differences between life today and what it was in past centuries and millennia. But when one goes below the surface, one finds great similarities btw the past and today! Many facets of life, especially illness and the possible impact of illness on people, have not changed at all, over centuries and millennia!
Now what I am going to share is about a century old matter. What happened then, need not happen now. In fact, if we understand better what happened then, we may be able to avoid it happening now.
Woodrow Wilson downplayed the 1918 flu pandemic. Then, he got violently sick., https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/10/03/trump-covid-1918-flu-struck-woodrow-wilson-pandemic/3607579001/ , 3rd Oct. 2020
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Lots of violence but theme of good winning over bad and how a town that comes under the power of a bad man, becomes a dark town. The movie has the good guy killing the bad man and those on his payroll with the unspelt understanding that the town would be back to be a regular (not dark) town as the bad boss and those on his payroll, have been eliminated. The bad boss comes across as a mixed guy but whose fatal failing is the crime(s) he committed for wealth and power, and the coverup of that.
And God Said to Cain | SPAGHETTI WESTERN | Horror | Klaus Kinski | Full Length Western Movie, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUxHirnvVWc, 1 hr. 36 mins.
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Hmm. Quite courageous of the man who pulled the crocodile by the tail and got it to go towards the river! Eventually the croc. did go into the river.
[Shared FB video: https://www.facebook.com/123Nellore/posts/1829720167175849 ]
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How Does a Pandemic End? Here's What We Can Learn From the 1918 Flu, https://time.com/5894403/how-the-1918-flu-pandemic-ended/, 6th Oct. 2020
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Just finished watching, in parts over the past couple of days or so, this debate: Vice Presidential Debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_G0ia3JOVs. The debate starts at around 15 mins into the video.
Please note that I have a PUBLICLY (POLITICALLY) NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about USA politics. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me having voted in USA elections. I am a well-wisher of the people of the USA.
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Somehow I had thought that Europe had got the COVID pandemic under control. So sad to see that there is a resurgence of COVID in parts of Europe. The economic implications of the virus spread control measures some European countries are using, threatens livelihood of some.
It is heart-breaking to see the economic hardship that COVID pandemic has caused to many in India. Tragic to see that even Europe is struggling in this regard.
2020 has been a horrible, horrible year! The vaccine is still not ready for use in most of the world - Russia, and perhaps China too, have claimed that they have vaccines for it already.
Covid-19 cases are rising sharply in parts of Europe, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFk0z8iaejg, 8 min. 19 secs, published by CNN on 12th Oct. 2020.
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Interesting to see that even USA White House seems to use a Rapid Antigen test (less accuracy as compared to RT-PCR test) along with no symptoms for few days, and 10 day period after onset of infection, to arrive at negative determination for COVID 19 in US President Trump's case. USA Congress also seems to follow similar approach.
Trump Has Tested Negative For Coronavirus: White House Doctor Sean Conley, https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/trump-has-tested-negative-for-coronavirus-white-house-doctor-sean-conley-2309222, 13th Oct. 2020.
The above article quotes US President Trump's doctor, Sean Connely, saying in a memo released to the public: "I can share with you that he tested negative, on consecutive days, using the Abbot BinaxNOW antigen card".
So it seems that President Trump has not had a repeat RT-PCR test.
USA Senator Mike Lee has a similar recovery and negative COVID determination though he may not have had even a Rapid Antigen Test to help make that determination (his case was mild and perhaps that made the Rapid Antigen Test unnecessary).
This webpage: Sen. Lee Posts Attending Physician Letter Recommending End to Isolation, https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=press-releases&id=C9046579-DE9A-4A91-9942-89836A7FAC4F links to a copy of the letter from Attending Physician of the United States Congress Dr. Brian Monahan, https://www.lee.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/05b40ed5-3ea6-4029-a48b-8445fc6f3a7e/doc001.pdf, letter dated 12th Oct. 2020. I found the letter to be very useful in clearly understanding the approach used.
The key points in the US Congress physician's letter are:
1. Lee contacted this doctor's office on 1st Oct. (2020) about COVID symptoms he had starting from 30th Sept.
2. SARS-CoV-2 (official name of virus causing COVID) RT-PCR test was done on Lee which came out positive.
3. Lee's isolation recommendations were extended to minimum of 10 days from onset of symptoms (he was told to isolate even before test results had come in). The letter says that this is in accordance with USA CDC guidelines.
4. Lee's symptoms remained mild and could be managed in the home setting.
5. It says, "Your last reported temperature greater than 100.4 Fahrenheit was on October 8, 2020, and you have not taken fever-reducing medications since October 9, 2020. Apart from some remaining but improving fatigue, you reported all other symptoms resolved as of October 11, 2020. Twelve days have passed since initial symptom onset."
6. It goes on to say, "Based upon current CDC guidelines, you have met criteria to end COVID-19 isolation for those with mild to moderate disease. Specifically, it has been greater than 10 days since symptom onset, you have had no fever in absence of fever reducing medication for at least 24 hours, and your other symptoms have improved. The CDC does not recommend repeat SARC-CoV-2 PCR testing if these criteria are met."
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So that's why Senator Lee did not have to go through an RT-PCR test, and perhaps even a Rapid Antigen Test, to be medically determined as able to end COVID-19 isolation.
I thank US Senator Mike Lee for publicly sharing this letter from USA Congress doctor as that helps us understand medical protocol followed by USA Congress for mild COVID cases which, as per the letter, is in conformance with USA CDC guidelines.
From what I have heard over the past couple or so months, I think even in Puttaparthi for mild COVID cases where there are no symptoms for some days, a repeat Antigen test is not performed.
Further, it seems that the first COVID test that is done in Puttaparthi is the Rapid Antigen Test. If that turns out positive then the (medical determination is that the) person has COVID. But if it turns out negative then only if the person has symptoms, is the RT-PCR test (higher accuracy than Rapid Antigen Test) done (by perhaps sending the nasal swab sample to Anantapur RT-PCR testing lab.). I guess these norms would be in conformance with guidelines by ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research), the key national agency in India for such matters.
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On an non-public FB post I wrote (slightly edited):
Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing your experience. Let me share the other side of such experiences. I have had at least two occasions where I had zero memory of a person who had clear memory of me.
The first time it happened was in the second half of 1980s when I was in my mid twenties or so. A childhood friend who I simply did not recall then, or am able to recall (childhood friendship days) now, joined the same company I was working with and got on to the same project I had been on, but after I left the assignment location. He contacted me through a mutual friend about us being childhood friends and I think he was very excited by that. I simply could not remember him. My mind was blank about him though I could recall other childhood friends of that period. I did not know how to handle it. I felt odd to tell him that I don't recall him. So I think I just kept quiet. I asked my mother about him and she recalled him very well and said that I and he were friends then! A year or so later he came back to our main office in Bombay and we interacted but I said nothing about our childhood friendship days as I felt very embarrassed about not being able to recall that friendship.
Over the past 2 to 3 years, I have re-connected with many of my software industry colleagues of the 1980s and early 1990s. I tried hard to re-connect with him but was not able to locate him on LinkedIn and other sites. I believe he is settled in the USA somewhere. If I do get to reconnect with him now, I will surely explain to him my memory gap and even apologize for it. Now I think I have the maturity to understand and accept these memory gaps of my childhood days. In the 1980s when this incident happened, I just did not have that level of maturity.
The second such incident happened perhaps around a year ago as I reconnected with my schoolmates. I had clear recollections of some and somewhat dim recollections of others, and zero recollection of some. On a phone call with some of them (they in Mumbai and me in Puttaparthi), one school mate spoke to me and said he remembered me well but I could not recall him. I straight away apologized to him for that and I think that sort-of cleared up the matter, and we were able to have a nice short conversation about our lives now.
Hope my above childhood memory gaps experiences will help you to perhaps get a better understanding of your experiences written in your post above.
And then did you know that there are some people on the other end of the scale who can recall events of every day of their lives since a particular age (little after childhood)? I put up a post on a TV program on that, some days back. If you have not seen such stuff and would like to see my post, do let me know - I can dig up the link and pass it on to you.
...
I have clear recollection of that, including a visit to your home in Ambernath then. ... I think for me, the lack of recollection of some persons/events issue is more about my childhood and boyhood days (prior to turning 18).
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India's Dr. Soumya Swaminathan who is WHO's chief scientist, answers CNN's Becky Anderson's questions on COVID, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQpiowIUKdc, around 11 mins, published by CNN on 15th Oct. 2020.
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Richard Quest's interesting and humourous article on having recovered from COVID some months ago, getting antibodies protection and now having much lesser protection
Richard Quest is the oldest TV journalist that I can recall having watched on TV, who is still on TV. I first saw him on BBC TV in 1985-86 when I was in Brussels, Belgium for a software development assignment. I quite liked his style and his excellent English language ability even then, and continue to do so now. Though as I do not follow business shows much nowadays, I rarely watch his shows nowadays.
He moved to CNN somewhere down the line. Besides business he also covers aviation which involves a lot of travelling. He seems to now be based in New York City. He is an English guy, born and raised in England. His wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Quest, says he was born in 1962, the same year I was born!
Here's his article: Richard Quest: After recovering from Covid-19, I thought I was safe. Now my antibodies are waning, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/14/health/quest-covid-recovery-antibodies-intl/index.html, 14th Oct. 2020
A small extract from it that shows his humourous style:
Whenever the question of catching it again has come up since, I airily and hubristically said, "Oh, I've had it, and have antibodies to prove it." At least I did until Friday, when my third antibody test came back negative.
I was in shock. Even though it's not clear antibodies do actually offer immunity, I had treated my previous AB positive tests as a shield I could wave, crying, "Been there. Done that. I'm OK." Rightly or wrongly. Now my precious protection had vanished.
--- end extract ---
I thoroughly enjoyed this article of Richard Quest. May God bless this guy!
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Rough justice is delivered at the end of this Wild West movie. Interesting! However there is the standard negative stereotype portrayal of a Native American (American Indian) tribe. One has to overlook or swallow that. Otherwise I found the movie interesting as the hero delivers justice.
1959 movie: Ride Lonesome, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Jn2vieXdA, 1 hr. 9 mins.
Movie wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ride_Lonesome
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Good to see USA New Jersey state former governor Chris Christie say that he was wrong not to wear a mask: Chris Christie says he was in ICU for 7 days battling Covid-19, urges Americans to wear masks, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/chris-christie-says-he-was-icu-7-days-battling-covid-n1243589, 16th Oct. 2020.
A small extract from the article:
"I believed that when I entered the White House grounds, that I had entered a safe zone, due to the testing that and I and many others underwent every day. I was wrong. I was wrong to not wear a mask at the Amy Coney Barrett announcement and I was wrong not to wear a mask at my multiple debate prep sessions with the President and the rest of the team," Christie said in a statement obtained by NBC News.
--- end extract ---
Ravi: My view on the matter is that, as of now when a safe and effective vaccine is not yet available for general use, it is foolish for somebody to think that he/she is a great macho person who is specially endowed such that he/she will not get infected by Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) (unless they have short-term immunity that comes after a person recovers from moderate to severe COVID infection).
One thing that the tiny not-visible-to-human-eye virus has shown to the whole world is that no matter how physically strong and vital a person may be, and no matter how rich and powerful a person may be, the virus can infect the person if the circumstances are in the virus's favour. Yes, a very healthy person may not suffer much, or perhaps not suffer at all (be asymptomatic), when infected by the virus, but he/she may still get infected and while being infected, at least for some of that time, is a virus replicating machine that spreads the virus in the air around him/her, which may infect others who are in contact with him/her unless they are protected by PPE!
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Garden of Evil (1954 Western starring Gary Cooper, FULL MOVIE, English), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_n0eanOlMY, 1 hr. 34 mins.
Movie wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Evil
The theme of the movie is about the great trouble that greed for gold (or wealth in general) can get people into. A beautiful woman's greed for gold leads her husband, a mining engineer, to go with her to a dangerous and remote place in Mexico that is controlled by Native American Apaches, to mine for gold. He gets trapped by debris in the mine.
His wife manages to get 3 American fortune hunters from a coastal village who are forced to be there due to engine trouble on their ship, and also a Mexican from that village, by offering them good money but who also seem to be attracted to her beauty.
They reach the remote place after travel on horseback over a few days and rescue the husband of the woman. But the husband shows a lot of anger and hatred towards his wife, blaming her greed for gold that led him there.
The wife tries to defend her desire for gold by saying that (I have paraphrased here as I don't recall her exact words in the movie) most people want to buy the things they want and lead a good (material) life.
The lure of the gold there mesmerises one of the American fortune hunters and the Mexican, who fill their bags with gold.
Eventually the Apache Indians attack them, killing them off one by one. The group flees for their lives with the Apache Indians in pursuit. The hero and the woman reach safety with one of the fortune hunters sacrificing his life to enable them to reach safety.
Unfortunately, the usual negative stereotype of Apache Indians is shown in this movie, at least partly. And the plot seems to be quite an exaggerated one (far from reality). I think the portrayal of the Mexican coastal town and the Mexicans there may also be a negative stereotype portrayal - I don't know enough of Mexico and Mexicans and their history to know for sure.
But overall the movie portrays the weakness of men and women for gold (or wealth in general) and how that weakness can lead them to great danger and sometimes death. It also shows the mix of human feelings where there are nicer sides of sacrifice and nobility but mixed up with greed for gold. I liked that portrayal as I think that reflects the reality of life.
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Superb rendition of 1965 Hindi film Khandan ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khandan_(1965_film) ) song Tumhi Meri Mandir Tumhi Meri Puja (original song sung by Lata Mangeshkar) by somebody who seems to be a Pakistani singer - Shaista Zafar - in what seems to be an Islamic religious gathering in Pakistan perhaps in 2015 (as that is shown along with some Urdu letters in some parts of the video),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlZ2-zDUFOM, 6 min. 14 secs.
....
The original song video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJEAh1shFV4
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Nice to see this tweet from USA former vice-president, and candidate for President, Joe Biden: "As the Hindu festival of Navratri begins, Jill and I send our best wishes to all those celebrating in the U.S. and around the world. May good once again triumph over evil — and usher in new beginnings and opportunity for all.", https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1317472937159610373 .
Note that I am publicly neutral in USA politics.
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