Some may notice that I try not to post that much about US politics now Trump is in charge. He changes his mind so much that it is not worth posting. But the shutdown in the USA, or more importantly, how it has ended needs to be commented on.
The Republicans want to improve healthcare in the USA by ending subsidies to insurance companies, allowing money to go to the consumers so that they have more choice about insurance. Many think that this will mean higher costs for the consumer which means people being priced out of the market. I understand their anger. But I think that the Democrats have played this right. They have made a stand for healthcare and I honestly think when it comes to a vote, many Republican politicians will decide not vote for higher bills for voters.
Actually, most of the time, the BBC tries not be be biased, and most of the time, it succeeds.
Last week, I was talking to someone about the BBC. They did not like it. In the discussion I talked about how it is soft power, not just BBC news being seen abroad in every hotel I have been in, but also the BBC world service and TV shows like Doctor Who and so many others. I forgot to mention how the BBC is also seen as biased by many on both the left of politics as well as the right.
The bottom line is that the BBC, even with its current board, has an ethos of trying to be unbiased. Those on the left and right of politics who wish to defund it or get rid of it are fools, not just because of how it promotes Great Britain, but also because most of the time, it is a balanced source of news.
Labour are in a terrible position in the polls. At present, they are so toxic that nothing they can do will win over the public. Which means that they can take advantage of this to break the promises they made to get elected. That means, among other things, raising income tax.
Come the next election, the only salvation Labour have, be this with or without Starmer in power, is to deliver on making people feel better. I have discussed how I think that Labour should stick with Starmer, the main reason being what he has done for the nation when it comes to trade talks, but also how The City has faith in him and Reeves as borrowing costs would be higher without her in charge. (Yes I know one of the video's is about how Labour are likely to get rid of him.)
Labour are going to fare poorly in the elections before the General Election unless people feel better about themselves and the nation. Labour do need to talk better about what they have done, they do need to point out the economic nightmare that the Tories left them, but the most important thing that Labour needs to do is to actually deliver a nation that is in a much better place in 2029.
Sunderland fans may be thinking of how Leicester won the Premier League. I knew it would be a tough game and I would have grudgingly accepted a point if you asked me about this on Friday. But we drew and we still have a six point cushion at the top of the table, but that will only be so if Liverpool are able to take points from the team that rhymes with City. Fingers crossed…
I normally do not know the score before I watch Match of the Day, but we had guests round for food, drink and a game of Linkee. Later their son joined us, a Chelski fan, who told me the result after I sang about being to of the league.
Like it or not, a lot of the UK economy is dependent on thing which are not as ideal as we would like. Some of that is finance, which despite Brexit, still contributes huge amounts to the finances of the nation.
Another contributor to the finances, both in taxes and jobs is defence. I do not like how we supply arms to nations like Israel (other than F35 parts) or how British weapons have been used to murder civilians in Sudan. An ethical foreign policy is hard to enforce however.
Your Party and the Greens feel that less should be spent on defence. My concerns are our ability to defend ourselves, but more importantly, our ability to defend our NATO allies. We cannot rely on the USA to protect us anymore, which means sadly, that I feel we need a nuclear deterrent, however one that does not depend on the USA.
An example of how our weapons have been used to protect human rights and democracy is how they have been used in Ukraine. Without it, Russia would be finding it easier to invade its neighbour.
I am interested to hear the views of others on this and feel free to comment if you wish.
Nigel Farage, along with other politicians, want us to have less human rights than those in Europe. The ECHR has been used to win cases for those seeking justice. The Hillsborough families were able to get justice because of our membership of the court.
I like having human rights. I do not want to have more human rights when on holiday in France, Italy or Spain than I have living in the UK. I do think it needs reform, but that is best done with other members of the court, not by leaving it.
Farage brought about Brexit, which has damaged our nation. He should not be allowed to harm our great country again.
On Wednesday last week, my son and daughter were watching Scooby Doo. My wife and I joined them offering to watch the film from the beginning, the sequel or another film. They decided on Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. I have to admit that I watched it with low expectations, but my wife and I enjoyed it. I think that it was true to the cartoons, my wife did, and the children were both surprised that we liked it. It is not a clever film, but it is true to Scooby-Doo. If you like the cartoon, you should like the film.
As for family, our daughter returned to Bristol on Friday. The kids got on well, it was nice to have her back at home, but the house appears quieter without her in it. If my son goes to university next year, I don’t know how we will adapt.
Last of all, Arsenal, we are top of the league still. I went to work for a few hours yesterday and found this message on my desk. Someone was using the room for the flu clinic earlier in the day and must have loved the Arsenal clock and picture in the room! I have posted this on the work group chat but no one has owned up to this. Yet…
Zarah Sultana is reported as saying that she hopes Your Party will ultimately replace Labour and that the party is a vision for bringing about change in the long term. That is just as well considering that it has been attacking itself again. It may be that this is the last bit of drama, and I honestly hope it will be, but I suspect that there will be more issues to come.
It is sad that they have fallen into infighting, an issue that plagued Labour under Jeremy Corbyn. Though this time, people cannot blame Starmer for disloyalty and they need to think if there is a common denominator. I feel mean making that point as I honestly view Jeremy Corbyn as an honourable and decent man, but he is one who is just misguided on many issues.
Update - after making this post, this video came out which I feel should be added to this blog post.
As predicted, Labour lost the election in Wales, coming third. Reform UK did very well, coming in second, though some argue that tactical voting meant that many loaned their vote to Plaid Cymru. Labour are going to keep losing elections until it has managed to show that it can make the nation better. I understand that many want the party to be more radical, but Labour was left a flaming turd of an economy by the Tories. Things are also going to be terrible in the local elections next year.
Labour have been terrible and stating what they have done for the nation, but few will believe them now. Few politicians would be able to get the Trump Tariff rate that Starmer has without giving up a lot more. The only way I can see Labour remaining in power in the next General Election is to stick with Starmer and Rachel Reeves and deliver on change to improve our nation.
A change of leader would indicate a change in the economic path that the UK is following. Doing so would scare the markets, and that would mean even larger debt repayments. I would rather that the money I pay in taxes went to helping our nation as opposed to going to bank shareholders. Due to this, no matter how bleak things will look, Labour needs to Stay on Target and complete the mission with the team they have.
Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin said seeing adverts of black or Asian people ‘drives me mad’ in a comment that has been seen (rightly) as being racist. I have listened to people argue that no offence should be taken as she did not mean to be racist. In fact, I have listened to too many people trying to minimise the racism in her comments.
I think that it would be wrong to have lots of people of colour in historical drama’s but shows like Bridgerton and My Lady Jane are fiction. I do not understand how people can be annoyed with a series which has a black King but are okay with it having a lot of the population being able to turn into animals! I think that the TV adaptation of The Witcher missed out on having a more realistic take as they could have had different nations having people of different colours.
I do think that it is okay to say or have the view that there are too many darkies on the television, in that someone who states that is allowed to be racist. But rather than deny their racism, they should be proud of it, not ashamed.
Today, our dog and I joined the weekly protest in favour of Gaza in Colchester. When there, different people spoke about matters. I have to disagree with how they view certain events, an example being how they said JD Vance was in favour of the Israeli Knesset voting in favour of the annexation of The West Bank, when he actually spoke out against it. Other issues of contention include Trump having a plan. The the mercurial Trump is best viewed as a pigeon playing chess. He struts around, knocks pieces over, and thanks to the economic and military might of the US, wins. While he has some ideas about the world that he sticks to, this including his insane views on tariffs, immigration, people have tried, and succeeded about changing his view that Gaza should be ethnically cleansed. The last bit was that Israel just does the will of the USA. There is no doubt the two aid each other a lot, but that forgets how Netanyahu attacked Qatar and we can see that about how he was forced to apologise for it. But there was a lot to learn from it. One lady in a wheelchair pointed out how that many of the population in Gaza will be disabled now, something I have to admit, I had forgotten.
I am amazed that the US has forced Israel to slow down the murder of those in Gaza and allow aid in after the release of the living hostages. We saw what happened to the ceasefire deal earlier this year when Israel got what they wanted. I am tempted to attend the demonstration while the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in The West Bank is continuing.
As for family, our daughter has returned for a few days. She had been to Cheltenham yesterday and this week is meant to be spent reading, so like many at university, she has decided to return to Colchester. It was nice to have the family together around the dinner table. We will be sad when she returns to Bristol on Friday.
My son had wanted to watch this, so we did. My wife hated it when she wanted it over twenty years ago and still did not like it, so left. There was a lot violence which is me of the things she had against it, more so than previous ones. She also pointed out that it lacks the humour and the dialogue seen n Pulp Fiction and True Romance. My son liked it more than Pulp Fiction, which is in contrast to my view of the film.
I do like it, but have to agree that while it is still funny, it is not as funny as True Romance and Pulp Fiction. But this is not meant to be the usual sort of Tarantino film, it is his homage to Japanese martial arts films/comics. And I do miss the dialogue of the previous films of Tarantino, but he has some very memorable characters!
If you don’t want to watch it, or don’t mind spoilers, this review from The Guardian may be of interest. I am looking forward to it being released again.
Come Friday, I predict that the by-election to the Welsh Parliament in Caerphilly will result in the demolition of Labour. I also think that this will continue for a year or two. Labour are toxic. They have been seen to fail on immigration, they have been seen to fail on helping the most vulnerable and they have been seen to fail on Israel and Gaza (depending on which side you are on).
When it comes to immigration, I think that Labour are wrong. I think that we need more immigration to help our nation, not just taking advantage of those who are leaving or are prevented from going to the USA, but also people to work in the care sector, the health service and other areas. However, the One-In-One-Out policy is working and is much more ethical than the Rwanda policy of the Conservatives. Reform and the Conservatives hate the policy as it involves taking refugees from France in return. If it is able to be expanded, it will bring about an end to those crossing The Channel as those who make the crossing will be sent back to France.
The benefits system does need to be reformed. Most people I see on benefits work or have genuine reasons why they cannot work. But I see too many people who could work, but do not. A lot can be supported into work, but that will require a carrot and stick approach to do so. However, we still have huge levels of poverty, and any reform to the benefits system needs to ensure that we take more people out of poverty as opposed to pushing more into it. And we will be able to see this when there is less of a need for foodbanks.
Gaza and Israel divides the nation, people picking one side as the villain and the other as the victim. We need to remember that Israel has been stealing Palestinian land since the Oslo accords, but also that there was no excuse for the October 7th attacks. There can never be any justification for the atrocities that took place in Gaza afterwards however.
But Labour have done a lot. Roads are improving with less potholes being an issue. The NHS, which I work in, is slowly getting better. And the economy, despite it being hamstrung by Brexit, is doing surprisingly well. Starmer basically has got down on his knees in front of Trump and 'earned' 10% tariffs, something few other leaders would be able to do. While Farage could do the same, he would sell out a lot more to reach the same goal.
What Labour are terrible at doing is communicating what they have done. Starmer should be honest and say that Labour are going to have some terrible years, but if Labour can continue to deliver, and more importantly, deliver more, then it can retain power at the next election. A change in leader would result in even higher debt repayments and I want tax payers money to go to making our nation better, not to bank shareholders.
Cheese eating surrender monkeys was a term that appeared to originate in The Simpsons. I would argue that we have a new term now, that being Tofu Eating Surrender monkeys.
After the end of The Cold War, a peace dividend took place. After German unification, NATO promised no further Eastern expansion, but after the Russian invasions of Moldova and Georgia to liberate Transnistria and Abkhazia, which happened to have a large Russian population, other former Warsaw Pact nations wanted to join NATO.
When it comes to people who are concerned about out climate, I agree that more action needs to be taken on this. However, if people argue that we should not increase our readiness to defend our NATO allies against Russia, or get rid of our nuclear weapons (as Ukraine did), I consider them fools.
Just in case anyone is wondering, my wife has an alibi. Of course it depends what time the break in happened. Last night we went to Nadu, a restaurant in Bristol. My son, wife, dog and I had been there before, my daughter had not. We loved the experience before, we loved it this time, and of course, we loved watching my daughter see the sharing dosa that they serve.
We returned to the hotel where my wife and daughter slept with the dog. My son woke early, the rest of us slept in, the dog enjoying having her older sister back. But the weekend had to end and after getting some shopping for us and our daughter, we drove back. We had used by electric car for the journey. We needed to stop once on the way to Bristol, the change over being at Reading to charge. On the way back, although it was raining, I would have been happy to drive a lot more, but we needed to charge again.
Now it is time to wind down, and for my wife, dream about what could have been if she was part of the gang who stole from The Louvre.
We have returned to Bristol and brought the dog along. This hotel is more central than where we stayed before and last night I did not sleep as well due to the noise outside. It is dog friendly, but also is not. The room has a dog bed but the rules here are strange. You are not allowed to take the dog to the indoor restaurants, which was the same when we stayed in Bristol before, but they will not accommodate you to eat just outside the restaurant.
Before, the place we stayed allowed us to eat in the bar area. Also, you have to sign to state that you will not leave the dog alone in the room! Which means that the only way to eat in the hotel is to pay extra for room service!
However, the hotel is a nice place to stay.meeting up with our daughter was great, we went a dog cafe where both children told me off for stressing out our dog by talking to others. Our dog even got stressed when I went to stroke the dog statues! She is very affectionate, loves other dogs and humans, but I am not allowed to pay attention to other dogs! After this, it was lunch and we returned to the pub where we had been to before. For dinner tonight, we are going to a Tamil restaurant. My son, wife, dog and I have been there before, it will be the first time for my daughter and we are sure she will enjoy it.
I have been watching vampire films for inspiration when it comes to being a Games Master and running Curse of Strahd. So I watched this as part of my homework.
What a terrible film. I had heard that it was a bad film, I should have listened, but a review of the sexiest film vampires had mentioned this, so I thought I would give it a try, but I should not have bothered. It had a few lines and ideas that showed a glimpse of what the film could be, but an overly complicated plot and terrible direction made this a film worth missing. It was not truly awful, the ballroom scene was beautiful, the brides are alluring, but cannot be compared to classics like Dracula, or From Dusk Till Dawn.
This is a film I cannot see me watching again, ever. If you are ever tempted to watch it, don’t. There are loads of other films to watch instead.
My son felt this film was overrated. My wife and I think that he was wrong.
I remember watching it when it first came out. I was apprehensive that I would enjoy it as much as Reservoir Dogs or True Romance. Remember liking the film, until Uma Therman woke up. After that, I loved it. As with all Tarantino films, it has great dialogue and memorable characters. While my wife and I disagree about other productions by Tarantino we both love this. Like any classic film, this is one I would watch again, and have done several times.
I suspect that he will not like many of the films which I consider to be classics. I do not know if this is a generational thing, but time will tell. He is keen to watch Kill Bill, my wife hates it, so I will he watching it with him. It will be interesting to see if he wants to watch the second instalment afterwards.
Over the last few days, there has been speculation that Trump has ensured that a ceasefire takes place in Gaza so that he can win the peace prize. The idea of this is ludicrous, especially with how he has backed Israel since they broke the last ceasefire this year. Since then starvation has hit Gaza with the murder of those seeking aid after the UN was banned from helping those n Gaza.
What Hamas did on October the 7th was horrific but does not justify what is happening now.
I hope that this peace will last. I suspect that Israel will find an excuse to return to violence once the hostages are released though.
Saying that, if Trump can force Israel to return to The Oslo Peace Accords, then he will deserve that prize.
I almost feel sorry for Kemi Badenoch. She is a woman in politics which means that she is under more scrutiny than a man would be. She is a woman of colour which means that she will be judged on that. Both however will not be overt, there will just be something off about her.
This may be her first and last conference as leader. I imagine that she is hoping to last until Reform implode, infighting being an issue with Nigel Farage and his tribute acts in the past. It may not happen, but I hope it does, as do those who have stood by the Conservatives.
For those who would like to listen to her in some easy interviews, I hope this post is of interest.
Two years ago, an attack was launched from Gaza that brought about a response from Israel. The attack was intended to remind Jews in Israel what happened to Jews during the Holocaust. Images were taken of Israelis being murdered and hostages (though not all of them being Israeli or Jewish) were taken. Israel responded, initially with the backing of much of the world. But Israel went too far and openly worked towards the Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza, its actions now being considered by many to be genocide.
I do not think that there is any justification for the attacks two years ago, just as there was no justification for Israel breaking the ceasefire that had been previously negotiated and would have freed people on both sides.
Other than the production of parts for the F-35, I think that the UK should be offering no aid or support to Israel. And the F-35 parts being produced can only be justified due to the role of the UK in the production of the fighter. I think that I understand why Starmer has not cut off all support, I suspect this being that he can try to influence Donald Trump, the only man who can actually force Israel to stop the continued murder of so many Palestinians. That and doing so may cause Trump to raise his tariffs on the UK.
While the world is focused on the brutality in Gaza, it is important to remember how Palestinian land is being taken for Living Space (I know the use of this term will open me to accusations of antisemitism) by settlers in The West Bank. Palestinians have been attacked BEFORE the horrors of two years ago, little or no action being taken by the IDF to stop settlers from doing so.
My wife, our son and I went to Bristol yesterday to see our daughter. Sadly, she and I are now unwell. While I would love to blame my daughter, I started to feel unwell in the morning before we left.
We are getting used to the drive and our son ensured we were entertained by talking to us and picking music to play on Spotify. As we approached her halls of residence Leia, our dog, realised where we were. The dog and my daughter were overjoyed to see each other. When there, we got to meet the two girls she stays with in her flat and later, one of the boys.
We went out for a meal (which was great and we will return), took down some items that my daughter wanted and after spending some much appreciated time with her drove back. Unlike last time, the drive back was relatively event free, as usual, there was a lot of traffic on the M25 between the M4 and the M40, due to an accident this time.
It was after I handed over to my wife that our virus hit me. When at home, I went to bed, with a fever though later I did get to watch the Arsenal game, before passing out on the sofa!
The world we live in is becoming a joke. A sad tragic one for many as they are to die sooner than they should. People in power should not be claiming that paracetamol (Tylenol/acetaminophen in the USA) causes Autism when the overwhelming evidence states that it is safe.
But this is from an administration that is spreading lies and half-truths about vaccines. And a president who commented about using bleach in bodies to cure COVID.
Labour have the conference this week. A lot has been in the media about a possible leadership challenge. Labour are failing in the polls. Labour have spoken out against the racist policies of Farage and Reform UK but I think that they are still sending the wrong message on immigration and that Labour should capitalise on the actions of Trump to attract highly skilled immigrants to the UK, in addition to others who can help our companies work.
And Labour communication is terrible. Labour have gone a lot, but a lot more needs to be done.
But, Labour are only a year into their term. I would emphasise that and stress that a lot of damage needs to be undone. Rachel Reeves is right to talk about the cost of borrowing, something that people forget. I do think that an asset tax should be considered, but taxing the income of the wealthy (as many on the left want) can lead to capital flight and a reduction in how much money taxation brings in.
Things look bleak now, and the message of Labour should reflect that, but also how things are going to get better later. So just like the rebel pilots at the end of Star Wars, no matter now hopeless things seem, we have to have faith that Labour will be able to deliver more and also that people will appreciate that.
Since my post yesterday, I have found out about some of the differences between Zarah Sultana and the Independent Alliance MP’s who may become part of Your Party. One of them is about TransRights and I suspect that I am on the side of the Independent Alliance MP, Adnan Hussein, who tweeted his views on the matter.
For those who do not know, I am a transphobe. I consider a TransWoman to be a TransWoman, not a woman, just as I consider a TransMan to be a TransMan and not a man.
Cisgender individuals do not spend their lives experiencing Gender Dysphoria the way that those who are non-binary do. Men need to be taught not to rape, something that is not as much of an issue for TransMen who are more likely to be raped than rape. A TransWoman has to grow up with a penis, this brings about experiences that a woman will not have. Equating the experiences of someone who is non-binary with a cisgender individual minimises what that person has had to go through. Yes, in addition to this, there are the UK statistics about how prisoners who are TransWomen are much more likely to be sex offenders than cisgender men or women, but this population does not reflect the transgender community at large.
The transgender community face discrimination and worse, action being needed to address this, but the rights of women should not be eroded by such changes.
Getting back from work late, I as not aware of the fiasco involving some of the left of British politics. I watched BBC News on BBC One to find out what happened with the second visit of Trump to the UK this year. And then the story about Your Party was mentioned.
At the time of posting this, I am watching the video below. I suspect that few will ever know the truth of what has happened between Corbyn and Sultana, politicians who I respect and who would be great in leading a utopia, but sadly we do not live in one. In an ideal, I would want the government of the UK to be more left wing, to make more radical changes, but we do not live in an ideal world. Labour under Starmer have had to make a series of bad decisions, trying to pick which one is the least worst option. They have had to sacrifice what they would ideally like to do, due to the economic constraints that the Conservatives left for the national. The difference between Labour now and the Tories of 2010 is that the Conservatives used the world wide economic crash to justify austerity, that and be effective in blaming the predecessor for the economy.
Jeremy Corbyn, despite being a decent and honourable man, presided over a Labour Party riven by infighting and which created a toxic environment which drove many away. It appears the same has happened with Your Party. Personally, I do not see the need for Your Party. I think that the left would be better suited by backing The Green Party instead of fragmenting into different parties. Corbyn and Sultana as part of the Green Party would make it an even more powerful electoral force.
While I do find this hilarious, it is sadly predictable as noted by Monty Python in The Life Of Brian. Many groups on the left split as they seek their own vision of Socialism rather than working together for the betterment of the people.
I just hope the same will happen (again) to Reform UK.
Another game and another victory. Watching the highlights, it appeared to be an easy game, at least until the substitutes came on. It is too early in the season to comment accurately on how it will end, but victories like this are important for team morale.
I managed to watch the highlights of the Arsenal game. It was great to win again, even more so against the old manager of The Scum. Our second position in the league is on goal difference. I know I should be grateful that we have finished second, a position other teams would love to have finished in, but I cannot help but be envious at the trophies other teams have won.
When Djed Spence played for England, I had mixed feelings. I was glad to see the first Muslim player take the field, and annoyed that a Spurs player was on the pitch. When we were in Bristol on the weekend, the hotel we stayed in hosted the England (Women’s) Rugby team. There was no racism about them representing our nation. The Union flag and the flag of St George was flown outside the hotel as it has been for ages, but the roundabout near it had lampposts adorned with Union flags, but like with many places in the country, due to where they are, it is like they are at half mast.
The Union flag is one of inclusion, taking in languages other than English, the same with the flag of St George. Those who insist that only English is spoken on our shores are not aware how Cornish is a native language along with Scottish Gaelic and of course Welsh. Yiddish and Hebrew have also been an important part of our nation, with speakers being back on our shores in large numbers since the 19th century.
The flag of our nation represents values and ideals that people literally risk death to be part of. It was welcomed refugees for centuries and intolerance to them has been present in darker parts of our history as it is now. If you like the music of Queen, remember that Freddie Mercury was a refugee. Rita Ora, singer and actress, was a refugee as was Mika, another singer. And of course, our nation has Christian values, and Jesus was a refugee from The Middle East.
I have met some Asylum Seekers. Many have terrible tales and we should accept those, but I have met a minority whom I would argue could seek refuge within their nation, with no actual need to travel to the UK. A change in European law is needed to ensure that those who need to come here do, while those who do not have to are not given asylum, for there is no doubt that our generosity is being abused.
Last of all, we housed the homeless during the COVID pandemic. It is right that we offer shelter to asylum seekers, but we should be doing the same to the homeless as well.
