Zarah Sultana and The People's Front of Judea

Zarah Sultana has stated that she and Jeremy Corbyn are to create a new left wing party.  What I want to know is why.  We already have left wing alternatives to Labour, Plaid Cymru in Wales, the Scottish National Party in Scotland, in Northern Ireland we have Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party while nationally we have the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats.  We also have the Workers Party of Britain (with George Galloway at its head) and the Socialist Workers Party (which did not stand at the last General Election).  Most in England who are to the left of centre, but do not wish to vote Labour, decide to vote Green or Lib Dem.  The Greens are felt to be more left wing than Labour, and the Liberal Democrats are more left wing in some areas, and not as much in others.    

So when someone wants to create a new party, I want to know if it is a good idea for them to take left-wing anti-Labour votes away from The Green Party. 

Rachel Reeves and austerity

This week may have been better for the nation than it is feared. Welfare needs reform to help those who can work back into work. But, it is easier said than done. In places like Jaywick, it is harder for those who live there to find work than it is in Colchester due to travel times to work and the availability of public transport.

My ideal solution would be a basic income, but the issues with that relate to how much money should be given to help those on it.  The facts are simple, we have too many people being forced to use foodbanks. Also, reducing the money available in the system is just risking the return to Tory austerity and the effects many said it had on economic growth in the UK.

Which means that the failure to cut welfare may turn out to be better for economic growth as it means that there is more money being spent in the system. Time will tell…

The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling

Produced a few years ago, I thought I would listen to this again now that JK Rowling has been radicalised by Twitter. Back then, I would defend the author from arguments that she was transphobic on Twitter, until the person I was debating would block me rather than continue the discussion. It is not just me that feels that JK Rowling has become radicalised, Stephen Fry (who has left Twitter) has as well. 

At the time, some considered this to gloss over transphobia, referring to a rapist who identifies as a woman in a more flattering light than I would. The article, from 2023, also states that JK Rowling implicitly conflated being trans with being a predator, despite her essay specifically stating otherwise. It also deals with the concerns that JK Rowling raised about how transitioning pre-puberty has a risk/benefit ratio that needs to be researched in more detail (but apparently it is transphobic to suggest this) and also the interview of Milo Yiannopoulos on it.

 I have discussed this with my daughter who refuses to listen to it in case any money goes to JK Rowling.  She loved the books, but now considers them tainted.  Needless to say, my daughter and I disagree on this matter, but she has promised me a discussion when she has researched this in more detail.  Sadly, this promise has been one that has been around for over a year and has yet to happen.  

In summary though, this is more interesting considering how JK Rowling has gone back on her promise to respect pronouns.  

28 Days Later

After making my post yesterday, I realised that I had forgotten to review the first film! I watched it on iPlayer and the quality of it was dated, but I would say that this film was better than its sequel. At the time it was released, there were few zombie films about and since then I have watched the amazing The Last Of Us.

So in a way, it is a shame I had not watched it at the time, because I have been spoilt by a series which has built on it. But I liked it. I doubt I will watch it again, but I do think that it was worth watching, something I cannot say for certain with its sequel. 

I may take the time to watch the films that resulted from this, or even the series The Walking Dead. But I am glad that I have seen it, even if it is no longer a great film. 

28 weeks later

I have to say, that other than two big plot holes, this film was okay. I doubt I am going to watch it again though. Compared to the Night of the Living Dead, this falls short, but it is okay for a Zombie plague film.  I have been watching the series The Last Of Us with my daughter and the human side of the apocalypse is presented much better there.

The film however has its good points. I am always a sucker for films set in London. And for those who watched the first film and enjoyed how the army decimated zombies, watching the same again, but on a larger scale would have appealed to them.

It has some great scenes, notably the helicopter in Regents Park, but the two plot holes I do not like are how one character had a security pass, and how Scarlet was able to outrun zombies despite her wound.

But as I said, I will not be watching this again. 

JK Rowling and censorship

As time goes on, I find that the radicalisation of JK Rowling has made her less appealing to me.  As posted before, while I agree with many of her views, her insistence on misgendering people, is rude and I find myself disagreeing with her more often. 

Like her, I do not consider Transwomen to be women, any more than I consider Rachel Dolezal or Ali G to be black, even though they identify as so.  For the record, while I know it is considered transphobic by many, I consider transwomen to be transwomen, and then I subdivide them into those with or without a penis. Due to this view, others consider me to be transphobic, and I accept that label, though I do so reluctantly.

Anyway, back to the reason for this post. A bookshop has made the news for censoring JK Rowling. It has chosen to do so due to her support for certain legal cases and her views on certain aspects of transgender rights. It has every right to do so and continues the tradition of censorship of her work which precedes her essay, when those on the religious right wanted to restrict access to her books.  Book burning took place back then and has continued since. In fact she topped a leaderboard for censorship attempts befoe…

It is interesting how many tran-rights activists who disagree with JK Rowling now agree with some religious groups that censorship is needed.  The ultimate irony of course being that JK Rowling would decline to censor those who disagree with her on transgender issues even if she had the power. 

Farage and helping the rich

This week, Nigel Farage has proposed a policy to help the rich.  Not the poor, the super rich.  To be fair, I do think that his plan the Britannia Card, has some merit, but I think that the fee that he suggests the rich pay is way to small.

While ideally I would like the super rich to be taxed more, when nations do that, they leave. Nations have agreed on coordination on this, but later, not now.