A week at school

In the last week, my son has had some fun at summer school which was around the corner from where we live, and he appeared to enjoy it.  This has allowed my daughter to enjoy social media and at times the hot weather as well.  Last night, after a blazing hot day it rained for the first time in ages and while this meant that we missed the lunar eclipse, it meant that my daughter spent time dancing in the rain.  Anyway, back to my son, over the last week he has been learning about crime and there was a court case yesterday. Today we got to spend some time together which we both liked, and neither of us were fed to crocodiles,

Chess update, July 2018

I have realised that I have forgotten to post an update on how I have been doing at chess.  Which is not that good.  I have to get the kids to play it with me over the summer holidays.  But here are the online competitions that I have played in.
336 hours to make up your mind - finished 3rd, but there were only six players
33rd Chess.com tournament 1201-1400
A07 Kings Indian Attack - finished top, out of three players
39th Chess.com quick knockouts 1201-1400
36th Chess.com tournament 1303-1403
Chess.com University's 2015 World Cup - I used to be a member of this group but dropped out
Kings Indian Attack (I finished last)
Kings Indian Attack A07 - a tough tournament and finishing 8th out of 12, I felt was very good
30th Chess.com Thematic Tournament - Catalan (1401-1600)
32nd Chess.com Thematic Tournament - Sicilian (1201-1400) - finishing 12th considering the number of players was a big thing for me. I have never gone so far in one of the Chess.Com tournaments before.

Only a fool fights in a burning house

Labour is facing an interesting time.  There are calls from those considered far left to purge the party of Brownites and Blairites. In addition to this, there are calls by some who feel as if they are to be purged to leave the party and set up a new socialist party, but one that is more centrist.  I guess that this party would be the new SDP. 

What those who are calling for defections, or a purge, forget is that the party needs to work together to bring about a United Kingdom that is FOR THE MANY. A party that cannot accept differences within itself in a civil manner is one that will not be able to convince those that have not voted for it in the last election, to vote Labour.  In the UK, we already have a centrist party, they are called the Liberal Democrats.  We do not need another.  Any spilt, or purge will result in another Conservative government, and we know what that will mean for the armed forces, the NHS, the police, those on benefits, the disabled...

Why Labour should accept the international definition of antisemitism

Of late, there has been allegations that Jeremy Corbyn is antisemitic.  He is not, and his actions to combat this have been posted before.   However, considering the atmosphere in the Labour party, I do understand why the allegation was made.  But I think that this allegation is wrong and flies in the evidence showing the support that Corbyn has given to Jews and also in fighting all forms of racism.  And remember, Corbyn has repeatedly spoken out against all forms of religious discrimination, not just that against those who are Jewish.

With the issues that Labour have faced though, I do think it is right for it to adopt the international definition of antisemitism.  

Labour has mostly adopted the IHRA definition in its new code of conduct but has not directly included four of the organisation's 12 examples of antisemitic behaviour, including comparing Israeli policies to those of the Nazis and suggesting the creation of the Jewish state was a racist endeavour. The other two examples refer to accusing Jewish people of being more loyal to Israel than their home country, or holding Israel to higher standards than other countries.

If Labour is allowed to continue with the definition proposed by the leadership, then the comparisons that Oona King made of Gaza to the Warsaw Ghetto (before the extermination of anyone considered to be Jewish within) would not be considered to be antisemitic but under the international definition, her comments would be so.  And for the record, she is Jewish by birth and if the Nazi's were in charge, would be executed for this.  The comments that Red Ken made about the Nazi's and Jews would be allowed, and while many consider his comments to be hateful, similar comments were also stated by the Israeli Prime Minister.

While it is right to point out that the oppression of Christians and Muslims in Palestine is wrong, we should also remember that the oppression of women's rights in Gaza is nothing to do with Israel and that LGBTQ rights exist in Israel which are not present in Gaza, or the West Bank.  In addition to this, Arab citizens of Israel have more rights than those who live in most other Middle Eastern nations.

But rather than argue these points, it would be help to resolve the fears of antisemitism in the party if Labour did accept the international definition and fully implemented the Chakrabarti report, just because it would give less ammunition to those who want to smear the party with this allegation, despite the work that Labour has done in working for equal rights for all.  

Welcome to the NHS Matt Hancock

The NHS has a new Secretary of State (also in charge of social care) after Jeremy Hunt was promoted to become Foreign Secretary.  And he has written about this along with some of the challenges that the NHS faces.

Before I talk about the challenges (again), I would like to talk about what many find interesting which is the background of Matt Hancock. 

I have stated before that I am not against the involvement of the private sector in the NHS, but that is with the proviso that they provide services as good as (or better) than what the NHS does.  Sadly, due to the issues with funding and staffing that the NHS faces, this has not always been possible.  Concerns have been raised by many opposed to privatisation with the alleged financial links of Matt Hancock to a charity that is thought to be anti-NHS.  The NHS has recently had its 70th birthday, in the hands of a man who has taken money from those who wish to end it, is it safe?

The issues with staffing the NHS with enough doctors and nurses arose before him, but this is an issue that affects patient care when it comes to those involved in radiology as well as paramedics as well.  The government had cut the NHS bursary to increase the numbers of nurses being trained, but just as had been warned before these cuts came into place, the number of people training to become nurses has fallen as a result of these improvements.  The numbers of doctors being trained is to increase, but this number was cut earlier by the Conservatives.  The cuts will be affecting the numbers of doctors graduating now and the increases in medical school places will take at least five years to make up the shortfall of junior doctors.

When it comes to the use of new technology, the NHS has not got the funds, and as mentioned earlier, the staff needed to make use of what it has now.  Some of the outdated technology that some complain about is present as a backup in case of an IT failure as happened earlier (after funding to protect from this was cut).  But while the increased funds for this is needed, there are more pressing financial issues facing the NHS.

I do wish Matt Hancock the best in this job, but it will be interesting to see if he addresses the concerns that have been raised about this links to the private sector.  And hopefully he will not make inaccurate claims like Jeremy Hunt did which resulted in a challenge for a debate, which Hunt did not accept.  Or take his children to A&E for an issue a GP could have addressed.
  

And we bid goodbye

The cousin of my wife, and his better half has left.  They were only here for a few days, and it was good to see them again.  Yesterday we travelled to London where we ate at Maltby Street and then we took them to see the Tower of London.  That was a walk and a bit, and while I could have spent longer there, we came back.  We took them around London on a drive afterwards and then back. The food, history, weather and company made the day very memorable and an enjoyable one as well.

I am not sure when we will see them again but we hope that it will be next year.

School is out

It has been an interesting series of days since my last post about the family. Both children did really well in the end of year reports that they brought home, in fact, one won an award for reading!  But school is over for now.  My daughter had her last day yesterday and in addition to that, a cousin of my wife came over with his better half.  They have looked after us in the past and it was our turn and pleasure to entertain them. I collected them from the airport last night and drove them home. It has been too long since we last saw them and my son, who had school today was not able to stay up to see them, though my daughter did so (and we arrived very late).  It was a disappointment for both children as they were looking forwards to seeing them.

Today, after my son went to school, it was a big breakfast for all, and then a quick trip.  I had wanted to show them Dedham, my wife took us to Lavenham instead, and it was lovely there.  The pictures are from there.

Should our politicians vote how they feel, or based on what they are told to do?

Last week, there was a big vote about the expansion of Heathrow.  The Conservatives were told to vote to back the view of the party and Labour MP's were given the freedom to vote how they felt.

And to me, this is how democracy should work.  I think that MP's (or councillors) should be able to listen to and debate facts and opinions on proposals that they have to deal with.  And a famous example of this is how Jeremy Corbyn did so.

I disagree with his views on military intervention in Kosovo, and my views on Iraq have been discussed before.  (I also disagree with his views on NHS reform, though we agree it needs a lot more funding, and while I disagree with him on Nuclear Weapons, that is a hard decision where I am not 100% certain.)  But the reason that he is admired by so many of the new (as well as the old) members of the Labour Party, is his honesty and integrity.  And that includes the way he has voted for what he thinks is right.

I think other politicians should be allowed the same freedom, unless that is, if they have agreed to serve in the cabinet, or shadow cabinet.