Ant-Man and the Wasp

While this came out a while ago, I have watched this only recently. When I say that, I think that I have watched it before, well at the very least, most of it. Overall, it is a good film, and I would consider watching it (yet) again. For those who wish to watch it, it is set just before The Blip and after Captain America: Civil War. You do not need to have watched the previous films to enjoy this, but obviously this will help. But the main reason I watched it is because I want to watch the latest film in the series. If any others wish to do the same, enjoy it. Ant-man is a hilarious superhero, not my favourite, as that is probably Spider-man, or Deadpool. If you love Marvel films, you will probably like this. 

Musk failed to buy Texas

It has been an interesting twenty four hours when it comes to politics in the USA. I will be honest, I expected the Republicans to retain control of at least one of the two chambers of power, after all they did win the elections in 2024 against predictions. And I expected Elon Musk to have won Texas. Like many, rather than stay up to listen/watch it live I went to bed and was surprised today on seeing the results. 

For those of my political views, this is reassuring. Lula won in Brazil due to people power. Reform UK Ltd have taken huge donations which may buy them power, but these results indicate that dirty cash may not talk. It may be that this does not stop Operation Epstein's Fury, it may not stop the economic blockade of Cuba. In addition to this, Trump still has the power of the Presidential veto. But it does mean there is more of a chance that Trump and his administration will be held to account. 

AI cyber-attacks

Concerns have been raised about cyberattacks on our infrastructure.  Already hacking has taken place to disrupt food storage.  The government has warned us about this, telling us to stock up on essential supplies, including bottled water and wind up radio's.  I am confident in the ability of governments across the globe to take action, notably, to ensure that some systems are not networked together.  

In the remade series Battlestar Galactica, networked defence systems were taken down by a hack and malware, the sole surviving Battlestar only surviving as it had not no networked system.  Networks are used in many parts of the UK however, an example being the NHS so hackers will have tempting targets to strike at.  It maybe that the only solution if it is hacked is literally to take things off line for a period of time.  

The rise of AI in a world where there are too many people with no, or few morals is concerning, but sadly, I do not think that people will act to reign things in, for now at least.

Learning lessons from Londonistan

Elections in the USA appear to be taking an Islamophobic turn.  Or rather more of one. Abdul El-Sayed may fail to keep the US Senate seat a Democratic one.  Things have taken a turn for the worse for him when his Democrat rival to challenge for the seat decided to endorse his Republican opponent.  He has faced Islamophobia including rants from Donald Trump.  Fear of Islam is something that has been spread a lot.  While I understand that many associate the religion with terrorism, people are wrong to do so.  I grew up in London during the time that the IRA (with funds from the USA) were blowing things up, helping to treat survivors of one attack (though I have to admit, I ended up doing next to nothing as most the casualties were sent elsewhere).  I also had friends who faced danger when a member of the Far Right went about trying to kill and maim.  I do not judge all far right supporters, Catholics or the Irish to be terrorists.  

I think that Abdul El-Sayed should be judged on his eloquence, notably when asked about The Muslim Brotherhood.  I do not think that he should be judged with the bigotry that has been shown to Zohran Mamdani.  Sadly Sadiq Khan has faced such bigotry as well, but while London can be so much better, many things have improved with him in charge and he has not turned it into an Islamic Emirate. 

The rights of rich entitled white men

The US elections are coming up and people will get to vote about a lot of issues. BlueSky has given be a selective view of politics in the USA, but there are some from the right who are now posting on the site. JD Vance had done so previously, but has not posted in a while. One of the people who post has raised case of a previously deported illegal immigrant to the USA, named Gerardo Miguel Mora.  My view is that if found, illegal immigrants (not those seeking asylum) should be deported, especially if they abuse the hospitality of our country by committing crimes. The outrage at the crimes this man has committed is understandable. The acceptance (by too many on the right) of some of those crimes if the accused is white is not.

I have posted last month about how many in the GOP appear to excuse paedophillia. I have also posted about Donald Trump and his adultery. For those who do not remember, that was his affair with Karen McDougal and his fling with Stormy Daniels. That does not include the numerous allegations of sexual assault, both adults, and if the emails are true, thanks to Jeffrey Epstein, minors. But while these are allegations, Trump himself has boasted about sexually assaulting women. 

I am shocked with how so many on the right of American politics excuse or ignore this. While they are hot on the topic of segregation of women and transwomen, they appear to have a problem condemning privileged white men when they are accused.  We saw Brett Kavanaugh get appointed to the US Supreme Court despite the allegations made by Christine Blasey Ford or rather, despite his defence. But we have seen it all too many times since, including now with the Cornell seven. That Trump backs them is not surprising, but these way Megyn Kelly has defended them, when she herself has been the victim of unwanted advances is even more shocking to me. 

To me the choice is simple as I do not have one as I am not a US citizen. But the man in the video says it best when he talks allowing your daughters to be around the rich, as there is the risk that if anything happens, justice will not happen.  I suspect many, who consider themselves to be moral, will vote for politicians who are alleged of, or have ignored, sexual assault.  

Cinderella

For those who know what kind of films I like most of the time, they will probably be surprised to find out that I liked this film.  It flowed well, had decent acting and an amazing Fairy Godmother. 

It is a film for children, notably girls.  I am sure my daughter may have liked to watch it when she was younger, but by the time it came out, I am not sure it would have appealed to her.  In fact, this was a film that I watched alone.  My son did see me watching it, but the film held no appeal to him, which is not surprising.  Being a fairy tale it will not appease all, but it is not aimed at adults, it is aimed at girls.  And while other films have more girl power, this is not the wet blanket of a film that I expected.  While it would be interesting to see a Brothers Grimm version, I do not think it would perform as well at the box office!

The Purge: Election Year and an honourable mention about Sir Patrick Stewart

I have to say, I like this franchise, as did my daughter who decided to watch this one next in the series.  However, I did not like it enough that I am going to watch it again. It has been surprisingly not awful.  The acting in this film was suspect in places, but again, this is another worthy addition to the Purge Universe.  I do not watch many films like this, and it is refreshing to see one which does not focus on middle class white people.  Well, one which does not just focus on middle class white people.  If you liked the other films in the series, this will be one to watch as well.  

On the topic of middle class white people, Jean-Luc Picard is dead, specifically Patrick Stewart. I have to admit, I did not like The Next Generation, but the films from it were better, notably what I consider the second best of them, Star Trek: First Contact. He is also known to many as Professor Xavier, again a character who served as a role model for many. However while he was a celebrated Shakespear actor, I will remember him for his video on the ECHR. I was not aware about the way he spoke out against Domestic Violence until today.