Masterplan

Not as bad as I thought it would be. But first of all, our day. We had a lazy day. My son has not been well and my wife is only just starting to get better after two weeks of being ill, which started with my cousins wedding two weeks ago. My wife does not like to stay at home and needed to get out, so we went for a drive to Eye to visit a shop. While there we also met with David. We have not seen him in ages and Leia got to meet his dog (again). The shop we went to see literally was a small shed, and we can get the produce where we live, but we have been there now and have seen what it does, and does not, offer. 

Later in the day, my wife played Boggle with my son, she was not too happy with his skills at the game. At the time I was doing some work so did not join them.  After that, we went to get some food, but got caught up in a large queue after a traffic accident on the A12. We had been stuck for ages when the passengers from one of the cars ahead got out and started to walk on the grass to the right of us. We were wondering what they were doing when they got back into it and drove across the grass to the other carriageway. Other cars followed, and we joined them as well. My wife wanted to drive a bit more in Colchester, but I convinced her otherwise. With traffic for Bonfire Night as well as the A12 closure I felt we would be late home. Reluctantly, she agreed and we returned home.

Once at home, we ate the takeaway that we had collected, put an order in for a further delivery (which we had not got due to the traffic) and watched Masterplan. My wife chose it and I will admit that at first, I was not keen on this. But it was not as bad as I thought. The plot had some holes and did not make sense at times, but for a film to watch with a takeaway, it was good enough. I doubt I would watch it again and while it was not my choice, I am glad I watched it with my wife. 

The Land That Time Forgot 2025, not the USA

This is an awful film. The plus points are the scenery, but only at times though. Also, it makes you appreciate other films. I have heard actors explain how hard it is to act when the other character will be added in later and that may be an excuse for the terrible acting. Overall, I would have to say that the best part about this film is the poster. And that it ended. Do not watch this film. 

Moving onto politics in the USA. People have been getting a few things mixed up. One is that JD Vance, who blamed the results on what has been called Operation Epstein’s Fury, had advised against attacking Iran earlier this year.

The other issue relates to Trump asking people to pretend he was on the ballot. He did so because he knew he was not,

As those who follow my blog know, I am no fan of Trump, but he and his accomplices should be judged on what they have done and said, not on things they have not done. 

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.