A European Union army

People in Europe are becoming increasingly wary of the outcome of the next American Presidential Election.  Conscription has been discussed in the UK, people forgetting that the reason we might need this is if the USA pulls out of NATO.  

If the USA does elect Trump, there will then be a risk of Russia being able to liberate Russian people in the Baltic states in the same way that Russia has done in Crimea, Transnistria (also know as Pridnestrovie), Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well as what Russia is trying to with parts of Ukraine.

A European defence force without having to rely on Trump would be a great idea.  Issues do arise about what to do with Hungary, the greatest ally of Russia within the block, and also, a replacement for a NATO where Trump cannot be trusted to help its members would probably exclude the UK. 

Palestine and Israel (again)

The world waits to find out if there is to be a ceasefire or not in Gaza.  What happened in October to Israeli civilians was inexcusable, but that does not justify the huge death toll of Palestinian civilians since. While the Israeli government claims to be safeguarding civilians, we know that they are not from the way that three escaped hostages were murdered by the IDF who thought they were just Palestinians. 

These videos are great however. The second one was shown to me by my daughter and sums up the issues there quite well. 

36 points

We did not do that well in the pub quiz last night.  

Yesterday, I did got for a dog walk with my son which I would say was the highlight of my day as it does not happen that often.  We had the son of some friends round and took him to our local pub quiz.  Our usual team, which won last week, was not intact as two were watching Jazz.  Our main rivals sat on the table next to us and got thirty eight points out of sixty, but the wining table romped home with a points score of fifty.

We did have a good night though.  Not sure if Ben will continue to join us, but he would be welcome if he chose to.  

Islamophobia

Apparently, the UK, London and/or Sadiq Khan, is in the hands of Islamists.

Just for the record, I am going to go out for a drink later today and am about to eat some pork sausages.  

In London, while protests against the massacre of civilians in Gaza have taken place, there also have been marches against anti-Semitism.  I have drunk alcohol in London and have eaten pork there as well.  So when people say that elected politicians are in the hands of Islamists, they need to look at nations like Afghanistan and the human rights records of nations like Saudi Arabia.

I know why this has been taking place.  It is to score political points.  I work with a Catholic and I live next door to some.  It would be wrong to blame them for the acts of Catholic terrorism that I grew up with (I actually treated the victims of such terrorism when younger).  My neighbours are from Ireland, they should not be judged on the vile actions of a minority.  

The same applies to Islam and Muslims.  Those on the right are fixating (mostly) on Muslims for now.  If they got their way, it would be other groups next.  

So to put it simply, I think that the comments of Suella Braverman and Lee Anderson are Islamophobic.  If someone made the same comments about how the UK or London are in the hands of Zionists, that would rightly be considered to be anti-Semitic.  But being Islamophobic, while not racism, is based on prejudice and is wrong.  Sadly, it appears to be acceptable in the Conservative party, rather it is unacceptable, but they are unable to accept that these statements are Islamophobic.     

Alabama, IVF and abortion

Until this week, I was convinced that Donald Trump would win the US Presidential election later this year.  But then Alabama made an interesting decision on when human life begins, or specifically that IVF embryo's are to be considered extrauterine children.  

There is no doubt in my mind that human life begins at conception.  But I do not think that we should consider the rights of the unborn until there is the possibility of the unborn child surviving outside the womb.  Loads of women miscarry and this is devastating to many, many of these miscarriages are of pregnancies that would not have had a child that survived after birth, or for very long afterwards.  The use of the coil in women is to ensure that a fertilised embryo does not implant in the womb of a woman.  

While Donald Trump has called for Alabama to protect IVF, as has Nikki Haley, the simple fact is that this decision was made by Republican judges.  This reminder that a Trump victory means the appointment of judges who will back his view for years to come may swing the election in favour of Sleepy Joe.  Assuming he lives long enough to feature in the election!

Kemi Badenoch and the truth

Listening to More or Less yesterday, I noted that the Conservatives have an interesting definition of the truth.  It appears that this has struck again, this time with Kemi Badenoch. Her tweet earlier this week was an interesting one. I did not expect her to be challenged so well on this. Though she may be able to dodge this challenge to her perception of the truth, the intervention of Canada on another claim that she has made has been quite interesting. I missed PMQs yesterday where this was brought up.  It will be interesting to see how this works out.

Alexei Navalny and strength

Listening to The News Agents yesterday, I heard a guest claiming that Putin killing Alexei Navalny was a sign of weakness. He was wrong. Putin learned from the fall of the USSR. The 1991 Soviet coup attempt would probably have succeeded if not for Boris Yeltsin. Putin, a fan of history (though with his own soin that distorts reality) is aware that if Yeltsin had been dealt with sooner, he would not have been present to help organise effective resistance against the coup. By killing potential rivals including the late Boris Nemtsov, he is ensuring that there is no figurehead to take advantage of any instability, should it happen. Remember that this almost came to pass when The Wagner Group marched on Moscow last year. 

At least his rivals are not dismembered while still alive, unlike what has happened with our friend and ally, Saudi Arabia. The ally we have continued to sell arms to despite their use in Yemen. 

Yesterday

Yesterday was fun. After having a lie in, I took my daughter for a drive to Brightlingsea, or rather, with her learning to drive, she took me. We had an interesting discussion about some household chores, but she relented. The drive was a good one, I only had a few concerns with her. She does not like the way I like to stalk other learner drivers, but I do it so that if it happens to her, she will not be too stressed.

The burger van where we normally eat was closed, so we ate at the Lido, where a Leia met a racist dog who did not like black dogs! It was not just Leia as another black dog came in later. But as they forgot our order, we were there for longer than we had hoped. The walk along the front was windy, something I did not consider when I saw rain in the distance. I thought we had about thirty minutes, instead it was on us while walking along the old rail tracks. By the time we got to the end of the walk, we were soaked, but the rain then passed and we were left with sunny skies. Leia had loads of fun running about with another dog on the walk, but needed a bath when we got home, something she does not enjoy.

My daughter had a friend over, so our Sunday dinner had an extra person. My son like the guest so he was happy. He spent the day recovering from his mock exams earlier in the week. After dinner, other than my son, we went to the pub quiz. Our main rivals were not there in force which meant, for the second time ever, we won! We did not expect it and were very happy to do so. But my wife may have volunteered herself to run one of the quizzes this year! 

Alastair Campbell will not be happy

What a result! We can only play who we play, but how we play is up to us. Arsenal needed a big win to overcome the goal difference that the team with City have, or had. However, with the draw they got against Chelski, once they win their game in hand, they will be a point ahead of us. I doubt we will win the league, but at least we are still in the title race. 

Alexei Navalny

I do not mourn the death of a far right politician in Russia. However, his death was wrong, and while I strongly disagree with many of his views, his imprisonment and previous attempts to kill him were wrong. I considered him to be insane to return to Russia when he could have lived in exile, but his decision while brave, has made him into a martyr. But to be fair, living abroad has not saved others.

There have been many who have defended Russia and Putin after his interview with Tucker Carlson. I do wonder if they are to defend yet another assassination in Russia. 

Voter ID laws will help the Conservatives

Recent elections in the UK have shown a huge swing to Labour, but this is not something Labour should be complacent about.  Too many people chose to stay at home, and in absolute terms, Labour did not gain many votes in the areas.

I think that Labour should work to get people to register for free voter ID.  Turnout is going to be a factor in the next election along with Voter ID. With job-centres being told to stop referring benefit claimants to food banks, Labour should be helping people get free ID outside job centres and also at foodbanks.  The danger is that too many people will be disenfranchised and that Labour will be the party that will lose out the most.

Senility in American politics

In the USA, both the candidates for the presidency are making gaffes.  Both have done so before, but Biden is looking more frail than Trump when he does so. 

Personally, I think that Trump is going to win the elections this year.  His attack adds work, and Biden is doing himself few favours.  If Nikki Haley was standing, the outcome would be even more certain, but when have Americans chosen the best person for the job of leading them?

Trump for some reason mixed up Obama with Biden.

For the record, the husband of Nikki Haley is serving in the military.

There are loads of others, but these are two of the more recent and memorable ones.

NATO expansion

It appears according to Putin that NATO expansion is the cause of Russia invading Ukraine.  

An agreement about NATO expansion apparently had been made in 1990, this being that NATO would not expand beyond the reunified Germany.

After this agreement, in 1992, Russia aided in the 'liberation' of Transnistria from Moldova as well as Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia.  Both areas had a substantial Russian population which some would argue was the reason for Russian intervention.  Since then, Russia has helped to 'liberate' Crimea from Ukraine, an area of Ukraine with a large Russian speaking population. Following this, other areas of Eastern Ukraine sought independence, which is when the frozen conflict started which resumed in 2022. 

Nations on the borders of Russia, watching how Russia had helped with the liberation of parts of Moldova and Georgia understandably became concerned that they would be next.  So when someone blames NATO for its expansion, ask them if those new nations should have trusted a nation which invaded, and still occupies, old parts of the USSR to create a Greater Russia.

And if people feel that Russia has a right to obtain its ancestral lands, does China have that right with territory that now belongs to Russia?

Poor Melania Trump is being compared to Taylor Swift

There are those on the right of US politics who are comparing Taylor Swift and Melania Trump.  I think it is unfair to compare a woman who has won a Grammy Award for album of the year four times (something no one else has done) to a woman who married rich (or not depending on who you believe).

There has been a degree of slut shaming, some pointing out or tweeting naked photos of the former First Lady, others referring to Taylor Swift’s record when it comes to romance, specifically, the number of men that she has dated.

I do know that I admire talent and hard work. Though to be fair to Melania, it takes a certain amount of hard work to keep a marriage going when your husband repeatedly cheats on you. 

I had to pinch myself

I would never have thought that Arsenal would have won as they did yesterday by such a big margin.  Needless to say, West Ham fans were quiet at work.  We can only play the teams which we are to play, if they do not play well, that is not our fault.  But whereas we would make it hard work to beat them, we took them apart, and more importantly, improved our goal difference. 

If we win all our games now, we can finish in second place.  But that is if we win all our games...

On a different note, on Friday, there was a 'pub quiz' which was held at the Rugby ground.  Two teams from work went, we beat the other team and came seventh out of 43 teams.  But at the end of this, two of the ladies went into town to continue to party.  They did ask the rest of us to join them and I declined.  Today, I found out that they did not get back until six in the morning!  My stamina for that is non-existent and all I could think about was how I was asleep by midnight!

American Fiction

This was another film which I watched, not knowing what it was about.  I had heard about it and my wife was keen to watch it.  I really liked it. 

It told a story, not often told, and while it was not the best of stories when told, it was well put together.  Today, there are many shows and films where characters happen to be black, sometimes the issue of racism is addressed, and example being Criminal Record. I love the characters, and it makes me consider visiting Boston if I ever return to the USA.

My wife loved it and I am very glad that she made me go to watch it with her.  

Defunding the BBC

There are those on the right who wish to defund the BBC.  Many, both on the left and the right consider the BBC to be biased.  It is hard for any news organisation to remain impartial, and while the BBC does engage in propaganda at times, it is less partial to this than other parts of the media which tend to parrot the messages of the right. 

The BBC is a way of projecting soft power.  The World Service is listened to across the globe and has been important in letting those in nations where the media is very controlled, another perspective on life. Cuts mean people are then listening to the media that states that Everything is Awesome, even when it is not.  Cuts have been made in the past, and that means the voice of our nation is not as loud.  

When people watch shows like Dr Who, they view the UK in a better light.  After Brexit that is even more important. 

Argylle

I try to know as little as possible when I watch a film.  Normally, I will want to know somethings so I can tell if I want to watch it.  My wife wanted to watch this and we went, me not knowing anything about the film.  

I enjoyed it. I would not say I loved it, this being more comedy rather than spy film.  I you are watching it expecting a film like Kick-Ass, you will be disappointed, but if you are after something like The Kingsman, then this is a film for you to watch.  

Would I watch it again?  No.  But it was nice watching it with my wife.  And I would watch any sequels.