How the USA supported terrorism in the UK

Every now and then, the issue of how the USA allowed funds for terrorism to be collected comes up.  After the September the 11th attacks, they finally clamped down on this, and this could have been a factor in bringing about peace in Northern Ireland.

I suspect that if the USA cut funding to Israel, then Israel would agree to obey the Oslo accords.  But that is a different story.

Palestine Action and Ukraine

Palestine Action is a topic I have posted about before. It is a group that have been banned under terrorism laws, a ban I agree with.  I will first address how Ukraine has noted that a lot of its sabotage appears to be targeting them, before moving onto its other actions.

Palestine action have attacked firms that they claim are aiding Israel, but are in fact aiding Ukraine.  The Leonardo site in Edinburgh has donated equipment to Ukraine and that site was targeted by Palestine Action.  Another company that they have targeted is aiding Ukraine, though the site they attacked may not be doing so.  Also they have attacked RAF Brize Norton, which trains Ukrainian pilots to defend their country, damaging planes not involved in the aid our nation (sadly) offers Israel. and also had plans to target other airfields training Ukrainian pilots.  

Other attacks across Europe have damaged the supply efforts to aid Ukraine, again, this being Palestinian supporters who have accidentally harmed this.

But Palestine action have attacked Jewish businesses.  While they say that this has been linked to supporting Israel, and many consider such action acceptable, most will condemn similar action by the far right to attack hotels where asylum seekers are being held.

I think that Israel is in the wrong with how it treats Palestinians.  I think our government should not be aiding Israel as much as it is.  I think it is right to protest against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and The West Bank.  I do not think it is right to stand with Palestine Action, especially when there are loads of other groups protesting in support of the people of Palestine.  

The Online Safety Act

The Online Safety Act 2023 is something I have mentioned before. In our household, it may have caused a dispute. My daughter had complained to her younger brother had not liked some of her pictures on Instagram. It turned out that he was not able to see them, and while we do not know, it may be that it is because he is under the age of 18 and some of her mages have been screened by AI as being adult. Just for the record, none of her pictures are adult in nature.

I have discussed this with my daughter on a dog walk earlier today. We both agreed that action should be taken to protect minors from harm on the internet, but we disagree on the method. She brought up issues of people not being able to access information on periods or sexual health, and we agree that teenagers do need to be able to get that information. But while she thinks it should be perfected before rolling it out, I am off the opposite view. Roll it out and make the necessary modifications to allow teenagers to get health advice after it is put into place. The previous method of asking the user to confirm their age just did not work. 

Age verification is coming in abroad and there has been pushback about this in France. Australia plans to go further and ban social media for those under the age of sixteen, something which is not here, yet. 

Sex drugs and rock and roll

As I have discussed before, I think that sex work and drugs should be legalised and regulated.  Doing so would benefit the economy. 

As a teenager in a rough inner city comprehensive in the 1980’s, drugs were not available at school. My children grew up knowing where to get drugs. Basically, we are losing the war on drugs. I feel that drugs cause a lot of harm, but legalisation and regulation would allow the trade to be taxed, may reduce drug related crime and also may help get people into treatment to come off drugs. It has not caused major issues in Portugal.  Lastly, drugs are in effect legal for the wealthy, not for the poor. This double standard is unfair and is reflected in the help the wealthy can get for drugs which most people cannot access as easily.

The next matter is sex work. I mention this (again) due to Bonnie Blue being in the media for her work in this field. As mentioned by JK Rowling, sex work is an industry plagued by trafficking, abuse and this is an issue that has been raised by those who have worked in it.  But, people like Bonnie Blue are in effect working legally as a sex worker, while those who are not as famous are not as protected.  Already, thanks to women like her working in the industry, more and more women are looking at such work as a way of supplementing income. Regulation of sex work can protect the women who are in what is the oldest profession.  The line between what is sex work and what is not can be argued to be blurred with men finding love with women from other countries.  What I want is that women (it is mainly women) who make a choice to work in this area, are offered the help not to do so, and also the help and protection to do so in a safe manner.  I have seen how this can help women, working outside Ipswich.  When the murders happened in 2006, sex work in the area was in effect decriminalised to protect the women working in it.  

The second to last video is of a woman who regrets her work in the industry, one who since leaving it has found happiness.  I believe abortion should be safe, legal, and rare and I think that the same should happen to be an issue for sex work, though I accept that it is not going to be rare.  

NHS productivity

Jeremy Hunt (I have a huge desire to call him something else) has been on The Rest is Politics. I liked listening to him for the first part of his interview, but had to stop when he talked about the NHS. Specifically productivity. Rory Stewart has mentioned NHS productivity before, but they forget, or ignore an important issue. NHS waiting lists. When I stopped listening to it, Hunt was rambling on about performance targets, but they were out in place because when Labour were in power after electing Tony Blair, it was used as a political football by the Conservatives and their supporters in the media. 

When it comes to targets, while they are annoying, many benefit patient care, and this has been seen in primary care. A target on ambulance waiting times is important for those who need an ambulance, waiting times being higher under the time that Jeremy Hunt was. There are numerous other areas where performance faltered under the Conservatives and many put that down to a lack of decent funding. This chart was shown to my then MP, Will Quince, when he defended how the Conservatives funded the NHS. He appeared to be surprised when the graph was shown and while other versions of it existed before then, this is my favourite. 

I am to listen to the rest of the interview with Jeremy Hunt, but I am going to have to ensure I am in a place where I can swear and rant when I do so.  My children have memories of me shouting at the radio when he was on it, and other than football, this would be the few times that they would hear me swear. I suspect no one will get his name wrong on it. 

Later, I will edit this to include the video of his interview. 

Nigel Farage, internet censorship and free speech

Nigel Farage claims to be on the side of free speech, but it appears that this is only if it favours him. He has made insinuations before the Farage Riots, some have argued that he has campaigned for the rights of those like Jimmy Savile when it comes to his opposition to protect children on line. But in a discussion about free speech, he allegedly shut free speech down his opponent. Farage reportedly called Democrat Congressman Jamie Raskin 'pig-headed' after Raskin voiced concerns about free speech threats.

There are always going to be two sides to a story, but the facts are that under Reform UK, censorship has taken place, this being reported as a Reform lead council saying it has removed all transgender-related books from the children's sections of its libraries. 

For the record, I am in favour of the new online checks, but I do want to know if this does limit freedom of speech as its implementation may need to be modified, or it may need to be withdrawn.

Interview with a socialist

Corbyn has been interviewed.  An important question, which I am glad was asked, was about The Green Party.  Corbyn did answer it, but I am not sure I agree with his answer.  In the interview, Jeremy Corbyn states that The Green Party are not a socialist organisation.  It is a shame that there was no follow up question on that, notably, what he disagreed with when it came to their election manifesto from last year. Many who were dissatisfied with Labour before the last election complained about being politically homeless, but none answered me when I asked why they did not vote green.

I now think that unless an electoral pact is made with The Green Party, a split in the left wing anti-Labour vote may actually benefit Labour in seats which they lost such as Bristol.  But, it is a few years until the next election.  Corbyn is a decent human being. What you see is what you get with him. He is open and transparent with his views. But, Labour under Corbyn was riven by infighting and toxicity, something that The Greens have largely avoided, and that may mean that the Greens may be able to overtake the initial apparent lead that the new party has over them. 

It will be an interesting few years, or rather, an even more interesting few years till the next election. 

Are Labour and Starmer complicit in the horrors of Gaza?

Two wrongs do not make a right.  The atrocious attacks of Hamas do not justify the collective punishment of the population of Gaza through starvation.

Many people, myself included, want our government to do more to solve the crisis in Gaza.  Like it or not, our ability to speak out on this is limited by our need for trade with the USA, but, by not taking a harder line on what is happening, has meant that Trump appears to have listened to Starmer, at least until he got back to the USA and was told something else.  

The UK has taken some actions before and has offered to recognise Palestine.  But while many want the UK to talk about what is happening in Gaza, the UK, along with other nations, is planning to take action to try and limit the huge harm that is taking place. The aid drops will not meet the needs of the population of Gaza, but there is no other way for the UK (and allied nations) to deliver the food and water that Gaza needs.    

Personally, I would rather the UK fed the people in Gaza rather than just said strong words like Ireland and Spain.  Saying that, I would also rather that no strong words were needed and that Israel is sanctioned by the rest of the world until the Christians and Muslims in Gaza and the West Bank are treated properly.

It is a shame however that among the voices calling for restraint by Israel, one of them has referred to space lasers, and no doubt, this will be used by those saying that Israel should have a free hand to deal with the Palestinian problem.

What is in a name?

There is a new kid on the block when it comes to left wing politics. But it does not have a name. Yet. Despite this, many have signed up to it. I still do not know why it is being formed when there is The Green Party. My daughter says it is because too many people see them as a one issue party, but there is a lot of overlap when it comes to the two parties. 

With the start they have had, I suspect that all they will do is to split the votes of those to the left of Labour.  The votes they take away will harm Labour in elections, but it looks like Reform UK are going to win the next election anyway. But while Reform UK are organised, the party with no name do not appear to have that skill.

The left can be prone to infighting. Will the new party be as toxic as Labour was under Corbyn? Only time will tell if they follow the vision of Corbyn for kinder politics, or resort to the bile and hatred that cursed Labour before. 

A trip away for my daughter

My daughter has returned to France, she is back where she was this time last week. My wife and I dropped her off after the morning dog walk. We first drove to Langham to pick up a friend of hers who is also going, and then it was to Stansted.  Our dog came, though our son stayed at home in bed.

After it was a drive to East Bergholt for lunch and then we returned home to recharge. Right now, we are watching The Summer I Turned Pretty with my son, he was only able to watch some of it on Sunday. 

Patriotism is a good thing

Our diverse football team won Euro 2025 defending their title. When it comes to patriotism, we should remember how our nation has been multicultural for a long time. It is through diversity that we gain strength, and those who cannot accept diversity want to make our nation weaker. 

The demonstrations in Epping have been taken over by too many members of The Far Right. While I do think stronger action is needed to prevent people crossing the channel, I do think that this should involve international cooperation on how refugees should be dealt with along with who should qualify for asylum. Most importantly, we need safe ways for people to come here.

British values are why people risk death to get here. British values reflect our multicultural history. And British values are diverse and due to this, will be contradictory. When I think of British values, I think of democracy, tolerance, resilience and how our nation has welcomed refugees throughout our past. Talking about this is important as it should be left to those who wish to make our nation weaker to own the area on patriotism.  There are so many images that reflect how patriotism is not a bad issue, as well as images of how there is diversity when it comes to what people consider to be British Values. 

 

The Summer I Turned Pretty

The family are together and the dog loves it!  I collected my son on Saturday from his grandparents and later took him to see my mother.  Before then, I had collected our dog who was very happy to see me and ecstatic to see my son, however, she was a bit delicate, which is understandable considering it has been two weeks without us.  So she spent Saturday night in our room (my wife and I) keeping me company.  She did whimper and woke me up when she trotted downstairs, I presume to check no foxes were trying to break in and kill me, and then woke me up again when she got back.

My wife drove back from France and when she and my daughter arrived, we were all happy that we were back together.  As a family, after the two travellers had time to rest, we watched The Summer I Turned Pretty, the third series. I had watched the two before with my son, while my daughter had watched it with my wife.  

Needless to say, I ranted a bit.  All in the house know I am not a fan of Belly (Jeremiah can do better), but to be fair, as my daughter pointed out, she has been a lot better in this series.  Anyway, it is great that we are all back together.  The house seems whole again.

Starmer and Palestine

There is a lot of pressure on Starmer to recognise Palestine. I suspect the reason he has not is trade with the USA.

Since my last post on Israel, the violence against Christians and Muslims is continuing and the crisis with food is worsening. A soldier who was involved in distributing aid with the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has spoken out against the murder of civilians. Macron has stated that he will recognise Palestine as a nation, Starmer is under pressure to do so from his own parliamentary party and Israeli politicians openly discuss ethnic cleansing. 

But, doing so will anger the USA, and thanks to the nightmare of Brexit, the UK needs trade with it more than France does.  Starmer has managed to strike up a surprisingly good relationship with Trump (for now) which may benefit the economy, and if so, economic growth may follow. 

Immigration and the UK

Do you know which nation has low immigration? North Korea.

Yesterday I was talking to someone who will have to leave the UK soon as his visa will run out and I said this to him. He works in a skilled occupation and more people like him are needed for the economic growth that will enrich our nation. With the USA becoming increasingly hostile to immigration, we have the opportunity to capitalise on skilled workers coming here.

Starmer made his infamous speech on immigration, but has since said how he ‘deeply regrets’ his island of strangers speech. It is importance to acknowledge that illegal migration is wrong, this including economic migrants who are exploiting the asylum system to come here. We need international cooperation to ensure that genuine refugees get help, but action to ensure that the system is not abused. We need international cooperation to ensure that refugees can be returned to their home nation in the event that serious crimes are committed. But we also need to make genuine refugees welcome and offer them a safe way of crossing the channel.

Most importantly, we need to stress the advantages of immigration. Brexit has harmed our nation, it has led to a brain drain, an example of this is in medicine. We should be limiting immigration, but we should limit some aspects of it and we should INCREASE it in other areas. 

The Thames Water board of directors is like a septic tank. The really big chunks rise to the top.

The water companies are back in the news again. A while ago, I discussed this matter on Twitter where nationalisation was discussed. My view is that we should let the companies go bust, and then take them over, rather than pay shareholders for taking them over.

Changes are to be made, not appreciated by all.  What I do not like about the record of Labour with water companies is how they started to saddle themselves with debt while paying out dividends before 2010. Fingers crossed, there will be less sewage in our oceans and rivers in the near future.

Palestine Action (again) and a comparison to The Far Right

What level of criminal damage is acceptable when it comes to protests? Does the level change depending on what cause is being protested? 

Palestine Action has been in the news again. There are many who have justified their actions which include criminal damage. I am going to just mention the issue of how their actions have aided Russia in the invasion of Ukraine as that is not my main concern.

In Epping, there have been protests against asylum seekers due to the allegations made against one. The protests have been tarnished by violence and we know what has happened to those encouraging such acts last year.

My question to the supporters of Palestine Action relates to The Far Right. I would argue that people engaged in lawful protests do not throw smoke bombs and fire pyrotechnics around innocent members of the public. If it is acceptable for Palestine Action to do so, is it acceptable for the same to happen with the anti-refugee protests in Epping? If it is acceptable for protesters to damage our military hardware, would it be acceptable to damage places where asylum seekers are housed? Should those in Epping who have damaged police vehicles have their right to civil disobedience allow them to escape prosecution? My view is that the same standards should apply to all. 

Trump posts about the Late Show cancellation: “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired,”

While I was in France, Stephen Colbert returned to the Late Show. It was more interesting than his return from other breaks because of his take on how Paramount reached a settlement with Trump over an interview with Kamala Harris before the election which we all know he won. The company made a business decision as it wanted to go ahead with a sale which it knew would probably get blocked it if fought the allegations of Trump, mainly because they would have beaten him. But the business decision is viewed by a few people as a bribe and Colbert is one of them. I remember thinking at the time that while it was a brave decision by him to comment on the matter, the ratings and advertising his show brings in would probably protect him. (Fast forward to two minutes if you want to hear the dirt.)

Anyway, soon after this, and probably unrelated to his speech (cough), Colbert announced the end of his show next year. 

I am sad as he is my favourite of the US late night show hosts. He and Seth Myers posted during the pandemic and their humour was much appreciated by me. I rated them with Colbert and The Daily Show being top, then Samantha Bee, Taylor Tomlinson, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and finally Jimmy Fallon, Bill Maher and John Oliver being last but still very funny. 

Unless there is a change of heart, or unless Colbert is snapped up by another company, I hope that he will continue on YouTube, his shows must being revenue to the site.  But I do hope that none of the other late night shows are dropped due to political pressure. 

Day nine in France and my return to the UK

Am back on home soil. My last day in France was a wet one and I had to dial into a work meeting. It was timetabled for thirty minutes but went on much longer than that.

My wife and I went for a drive later, the weather being warm, but not warm enough to swim. I did feel sad to leave my wife and daughter there, but they are going to enjoy another week there. I will see my son on Saturday when I pick him up, the dog being collected first. My hours are too antisocial for him to be with me in Colchester, so he will stay with his grandparents for a few more days.

Day eight in France and the Clamouse cave

My wife drove my daughter and I to the Clamouse cave. Today has been the hottest day so far and being in the caves was very refreshing. My daughter had been in caves when she travelled to Vietnam but I think she liked these as well. Caves hold no appeal to my wife who went shopping instead. So she missed out on seeing these sights. 

Votes at sixteen

Labour, before the last election promised that they would lower the voting age. It looks like this will be another promise that is kept. Many years ago, I had a discussion with my (then) MP on Twitter, well several, when he convinced me that those under 18 should not be able to vote.

I was not aware that my then Conservative MP belongs to a party that allows those aged 16 to vote, and they did later vote to decide who our Prime Minister should be, as well. While I understand the reluctance of the Conservatives to allow sixteen year olds the right to vote as they are less likely to vote Conservative, the fact is they have allowed them to vote for Prime Ministers including Liz Truss. 

Which means I am now in favour of this change. 

Day seven in France

Today was spent relaxing at the pool, the evening was spent at a Michelin star restaurant which is quite close to us. My wife had this recommended to us by our host and this meal made up for our disastrous lunch yesterday. The setting was amazing, though the attack of the insects once sunset happened did take some of the enjoyment away. If there is one thing about the holiday that my son will miss not taking part in, it will be this meal.  

Diane Abbott and racism, again

Diane Abbott has made an interesting comment on racism, again. She was interviewed on BBC radio, and her words are eighteen minutes into it, but I think she could have been clearer about her views and the letter she sent.

Yes, she is right to state that different groups experience racism in different ways. It is easier to single out a person who is not white and treat them differently, and this has been an issue at university. But her consistency covers an area where many Jews do stand out. When she made her statement in the interview, it did relate to the letter she wrote to The Observer. Bringing that up without clarification now is even worse than it was in early 2023 considering how Hamas would later cross the border in Gaza and murder over a thousand Jews, many in a manner to evoke the collective memories of The Holocaust. 

Her comments about the abhorrent slave trade also forget how Barbary Pirates did manacle white-seeming people on slave ships. 

As for her comments on the Irish, she was politically active when anyone from Eire or Northern Ireland was judged for the actions of the IRA. And that is ignoring the racism they faced before then. 

Day six in France

Today, my wife and I had our worst meal in France, this being over the numerous trips we have had to France. When I say numerous, it is not that many, but our lunch today in Clermont-l'Hérault left a lot to be desired. The setting was great, live music from a busker, and a view where we could people watch. But while the waitress who served us was skilled and friendly, the food took ages to come and as not worth the wait. We had travelled there to enjoy the market, while I am not sure my wife liked the trip as much as I did, it was good to visit it.

Dinner was much better. We ate in a local place which brews its own beer. While it took time to get served, we were aware about this because they warned us. And the service was warm and lovely. I would recommend anyone trying the food here! 

Day five in France and the Afghan data leak

The holiday continues. My son has been volunteered to take part in gardening thanks to his grandfather but says he is enjoying his time outside London. I am sure that he is, but I find it hard to believe that he is enjoying himself as much as we are. 

The insect bites are healing and we have spent a lot of the day in the pool. We did go out for a meal in the evening where we were greeted by a puppy (who was taken away for eating the floorboards) and two other dogs.  My daughter too a photo of me cheating on our dog (she did as well) and is to show it to ours when she returns to the UK. 

Before I got to listen to The NewsAgents and heard an interesting story. It referred to a superinjunction about a data leak. I was sure I had heard about it before, but while I had, this turned out to be another one. Listening so far, it appears that the government initially did not want to resettle as many refugees as it has done since. I am concerned that this scheme is to stop. Those in Afghanistan risked a lot to help our troops there, I met one who is in a wheelchair for doing so. It may be that now the risk they face is low but I say we owe those remaining the chance of sanctuary in the UK. Forcing them to live in what is essentially The Republic of Gilead is not the thanks we should give.  

Saying that, I have yet to listen to the full story as a second episode dropped later, that will be interesting. 

Day four in France

Again another relaxing day, enforced due to the numerous insect bites that I have. My daughter has been sensible and has been using lots of insect spray but yesterday I did not and have payed the price. My wife has a lot of bites as well. I realised today that flies can inflict them when I saw one land and I had the pain on the bite.

While I rested, my wife was reading and my daughter enjoyed the pool. The covers are now off but we have been advised not to put them back on again.

Later in the day, we went to a nearby village where I bought some wine which I prepared dinner with. It was essentially bangers and mash which was improved by the tomato salad my wife made. The wine was nice, local, but had a little too much oak for me.

Our son says he is enjoying his stay with his grandparents. It would be nicer with him here, but it is his choice not to come and forcing him here would not have achieved much. 

My wife and I are hoping to be a lot better tomorrow and to be able to go out. We may just eat in the evening, but we are considering a day trip as well.

Day three in France

Another day in France. Today we had to do another supermarket run and my wife drove through stunning countryside to get there. My daughter and I tried to access the pool, but the mechanism to pull the covers back is not working. I was unsure if I may have broken it by accident or if it was broken before we got here. But, as tomorrow is bin day, I put our rubbish in the bin to see that the previous occupants have put items that should be recycled in the bin. I am hoping it still gets taken, if not, it will be a fragrant trip to the local dump! 

The down side of today is that I have been bitten, a lot. I need to get some decent insect repellent. And not scratch. 

Day two in France and discussing ethnic cleansing in Gaza

We are at the holiday cottage we have rented. It belongs to the parents of a friend of our daughter. It is amazing. The drive was not as bad as yesterday, and while it has rained since we got here, I am hoping for better tomorrow.

During the last two days, I have ensured that my wife sleeps by listening to podcasts. She hates the voice of Jon Sopel. My daughter has listened to some of them yesterday, less so today and this led to an interesting conversation, this being about Gaza. We were listening to The Rest is Politics and there was a discussion about if the horrors in Gaza met the international definition of a genocide. My daughter felt it did, I did not. We had to disagree agreeably about this, much in the same way that Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell had to do.  Like on the podcast, we both agreed that what is happening in Gaza is horrific and should be stopped. I compared the horrors of Gaza to the genocide in Rwanda, what happened to the Rohingya and the evils of the Srebrenica massacre. I stated my view that the actions of Israel meets the criteria of Ethnic Cleansing but does not meet the threshold of genocide. My daughter disagreed with me and I found myself trying to defend Israel of one charge but not another.  While we did discuss it briefly today, notably with the actions in China where we both consider the Uyghurs to be subject to genocide. I will return to the topic of how Israel appears to ending the conflict through ethnic cleaning later this week if I can though. 

We went out for a meal today at a local place, this being called El Rancho Larzac and it was great. My burger was almost as good as that which I ate yesterday, the chips, while amazing, again not as good, but this place is still better than most burger places in the UK. We will hopefully be returning before I leave on Saturday.  You never know, it might not rain, for today, after we arrived here, it rained and rained and rained.  It is meant to rain tomorrow, but it should not be as much. On the way in, we had stopped at a supermarket and loaded up on supplies, my wife being shocked that I bought myself some Frosties! 

Anyway, it is late, so it is time for me to sleep and tomorrow, our plan is to test and recharge!