This blog comments on news of interest, plus critiques new episodes of CBS’ TV shows, NCIS. Since the NCIS show is on summer sabbatical, we thought we’d comment on an interesting item of news and update NCIS fans on upcoming events.

This week’s article in the USA Today about President Obama avoiding the Waldorf Astoria hotel caught our attention. The article reports that a Chinese businessman has purchased New York City’s renowned luxury hotel, Waldorf Astoria, where U.S. Presidents since Herbert Hoover have stayed in the Presidential Suite when in New York. Even though the seller, Hilton Hotels, will continue to operate the hotel for the new owner for some years, the contract also permits the Chinese to make renovations. It has long been the practice of both Russia and China to put listening devices in hotel rooms in Russia and China so that unsuspecting American guests, including government officials, can be spied upon. The U.S. State Department has admitted that their employees will no longer be staying at the Waldorf Astoria while conducting business at United Nations headquarters. If unsafe for low-level State Department officials, it’s certainly unsafe for the President of the United States.

We find this an intriguing development because in the 2010 release of our international spy thriller, Hero’s Ransom, General Wu, Director of the Chinese Spy Agency, and his delegation stayed at the Waldorf Astoria. They were testifying at the United Nations and FBI Agent Griff Topping and CIA agent Bo Rider were spying on the Chinese delegation from a room across the hall from their suite! Readers of our novel will remember the excitement as the U.S. team enticed a member of the Chinese delegation to defect and the reprisal Griff Topping risked in doing so. While we’ve written things that have later come true and we’ve been accused of having inside information, we would never have dreamed that one day the Chinese would own the Waldorf Astoria and potentially be spying on the American president in his suite.

Moffett coversMeanwhile on the topic of NCIS, we have great news to share. Not only has Mark Harmon signed a new contract for this coming year (Season 13), filming started this week. As we travel around, we continue meeting many, many fans of the original show. What do you think? Which is your favorite NCIS show? Will you be glad to see Leroy Jethro Gibbs back in action? We need him more than ever, to protect our heroes!

 

Be Blessed, Diane and David Munson