Flo & Joan - A Song for Anti-Vaxxers

Yesterday, vaccination was in the media gain, thanks to Trump and his picks for people to run the USA.  I was talking about this with my daughter.  

She had not seen this video.  So we watched it together last night. I am going to miss her as she travels next month.  I did not really appreciate it, until last night and then she got loads of hugs, today as well.  I think I am irritating my wife more than my daughter now with how much I am going to miss her.  

Learning from history

Today was a day to remember from history.  Sadly, at times, it seems that the wrong lessons have been learned, an example of which is when Hamas decided to record the murder of Israeli civilians to remind Israel about the Holocaust.

On a more personal note, the rise of the far right across the west, with people like Musk trying to make it more acceptable, is another reason why we should never forget what the forces of hatred and intolerance did in the past.  I do not want to be sent to a camp in the future.  

It was not a red card

Arsenal won a game yesterday.  With our injuries, the win was more important than normal, even more so considering we should not have had a man sent off. I know that we are not going to win the title, but finishing second is better than third.

As for the family, yesterday my son and daughter went for a dog walk together.  It is the first time my son has joined us and Leia loved it.  She loves to walk, and loved Gosbecks which is where we took her, but loves it even more if several of us walk with her.  Hopefully, when my daughter travels next week, my son will keep me company on these walks.

Elon Musk and fascism

There is an argument that too many people on the left call those they disagree with, fascist. I agree with this and for a while, I felt that people like Rory Stewart were wrong to call people like Elon Musk fascist. And then Musk gave that salute. Twice. He knew what he did. He knew it would get people talking about it. And that was the straw that broke me.

In the UK, he has supported Tommy Robinson, famously calling out Nigel Farage because Stephen Yaxley-Lennon is too toxic for him. In Germany he has been supporting the AfD. I am not sure I would consider him to be racist (I have suspicions), but he does seem to be suffering from Islamophobia. 

Politics has become more right wing in the UK with Reform UK doing well in the polls. We have seen what has happened in America where they voted an adulterous abuser of women in the office of President over a woman. And I fear that Germany is going to go the same way as Austria and Italy. 

So, Rory Stewart, I was wrong about Elon Musk, and you were right. 

The stance of the US towards undocumented migrants

I do not like the double standards of those on the left in the USA towards immigration and the plans of Trump towards undocumented migrants working in the USA.

Based on the video, they have less pay, worse working conditions with a higher rate of death and disability at work.  If those on the left were so concerned about them, they should have helped them to become legal.  Instead, undocumented workers in the USA are people who are limited to what jobs they can do.  When they say illegal immigrants do the jobs that US workers will not do, they are right, because it would be illegal to employ US workers on those terms and conditions!

Starmer and deportations

There are those on the left who are not happy with the record of Keir Starmer on deporting those considered to be illegal immigrants.  Record numbers have been deported, but there is little in the news about this.  Which is silly considering how immigration is a major issue when it comes to how people have voted.  

Birthright Citizenship and Gun Controls

Trump wants to end Birthright Citizenship for the children of illegal (undocumented) migrants in the USA.  Is has decided to do this using an executive order, which from what many say, is not legal due to the constitution of the US.

What will be interesting is if this is allowed to happen.  If Trump is able to change the constitution using an Executive Order, then the next US president will be able to change Gun Control laws doing the same thing.  

It will be interesting to see how this plays out as I am not sure if those on the right realise the implications of this...

Blitz

Nominated for many awards, after watching this film with my daughter, I will be surprised it if does not win anything.  When it comes to looking at a film, a film should be judged on a few things, including how well it tells a story, as well as if that story is new. And I cannot remember many films which reflect how the UK was multicultural during the war.  

I trained in Whitechapel and when there, I learned about its long history of immigration. At the time, the immigrant population was mainly Bengali, but earlier, it had been Jews and before that the Huguenots. Set in The East End, the film reflected that. Many have said that the film is too woke because of this, and it may be that the numbers of non-white faces are too many. But I have not seen this issue of the UK reflected in many films. In fact, I feel some of the reviews of the film forget to reflect how the film addresses this.

I would certainly recommend watching this, and I may watch it again. 

Day one, second time around

I have been listening to the News Agents and some of what President Pee Pee (not that this matters anymore) has been saying, along with how many lies have been taken up by so many.

I know that in the build up to today, many people have tried to work out what Donald Trump is going to do, but one journalist summed it up best.  The bottom line is that Trump will do what he thinks is best for him, and that will also depend on who spoke to him last about an issue, so long as he likes them. 

Anyway, there is a lot of left wing anger about him including with this video...

Seeing my mother

I forgot to post about seeing my mother yesterday.  My wife had a school reunion to attend in London, and also had to meet friends back in Colchester later in the day.

As we were to travel to London, we took the children with us.  Sadly, due to roadworks, we were not able to spend as much time with her as I would have wanted and we were late to meet up for the reunion.  It was good to meet the friends of my wife.  I get on with the other husbands, and her friends as well.

Afterwards, we froze a bit on the way up.  I did not get a chance to charge my car and we had to wait while the car charged.  My son wanted to leave before it had a decent amount of charge, which meant that I could not use the heater, which meant we were very cold on the way up. 

But it was good to see my Mum, and one of my cousins who was looking after her.  It has been too long since I saw my cousin.  It was interesting seeing my mother trying to rest by watching Trump on the TV, but her anger must have got her blood pressure into the normal range!

On getting back, I did get to watch the Arsenal match.  But while I thought we were going to lose before the match, I was annoyed that we gave away a two goal lead.  

Texas Chainsaw 3D

When it comes to watching this, I have not watched the original, so cannot compare this film to it.  Overall, I liked the film, but it had some glaring errors.  One was the age of the character of the main character, Heather Miller who should have been close to 40 in age, but appeared to be in her 20's instead.  There are some other issues, but I cannot really discuss them without giving away a lot of the plot.  But despite these huge errors, I liked the film.  However, I doubt that I will watch it again.  

The Brighton penalty award

It was a disgrace.  Arsenal drew this weekend and we should have won.  While we lost a goal thanks to a penalty which should not have been given.  To be fair, when I saw it in real time, I though that the decision was a penalty, but we have VAR for a reason and the decision should have gone our way.

I have given up on the idea of Arsenal winning the title, but I would like Arsenal to finish in second place if we do not win a trophy.  

When it comes to the family, we took our Christmas decorations down today.  My daughter and I also went for a dog walk today.  She does not do this that often and considering that she will be leaving next month, I should treasure walks like this more.

Jess Phillips, Elon Musk and Stephen Yaxley-Lennon

 

I think that Jess Phillips is amazing. I love the way she communicates, I love her honesty and I love the way that she stands up against intimidation and injustice.

Elon Musk disagrees. Instead, he backs a stalker who has convictions for assault. Tommy Robinson has other convictions as well including fraud and travelling on a false passport. 

When it comes to British values, I know who represents our nation best and I am proud to be born in the same nation as Jess Phillips.

Should the Conservatives blame themselves for not investigating child abuse in Oldham?

The organised abuse of children in Oldham is in the news. What happened was horrific and evil. One of those involved was meant to protect the children who were vulnerable and abused. A report was published after this, detailing how the victims were failed.

But thanks to Elon Musk, a man who is supporting a convicted stalker, it is in the news again. The Conservatives have jumped on the bandwagon, but it turns out that the Conservatives decided not to commission the investigation that they are now calling for. 

Musk has been honest in what he wants. He wants Starmer to be out of office. He has managed to weaponise Twitter (sorry, X) and a lot of people now hate Starmer and probably will not vote Labour again in the next election, unless Labour can make the change they have promised, and more importantly, show the benefits of the changes. 

For now, I think that more attention should be paid to how Musk is supporting Tommy Robinson. Remember that this man, who is also called Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who has convictions for assault, fraud and travelling illegally using a false passport. A record that people should be reminded of. 

Nosferatu

Yesterday was a busy day. We went down to see my mother for her birthday l which meant we also got to see my youngest brother and his partner as well. The older of my two brothers has communicated with me on WhatsApp but has not spoken to me in a while, which is better that what has happened with my Mum as he has not spoken to her in ages.  

My Mother did ask me to get my brother to speak to her, but gave up when I told her not to keep annoying him. She then asked my wife to get him to speak to her, but my wife explained why she could not do so.  But is was a nice get together.

Later, when back at home I went out to watch Nosferatu. I only knew it was a film about a vampire.  I do like watching films knowing little about them, but I should have learned before that this was a remake of a film based on the book Dracula, which explained the many similarities to the film (I have read the book decades ago and cannot remember all its details to compare).  

It was shot very well, the plot essentially is the same as Dracula, but there are some differences. When comparing this to the film from 1992, there are some bits which are better, and some which are not. In fact, I would find it hard to pick which film I would rather see. 

It was interesting that many of the people who went to watch it met a stereotype, which I do not meet, well, to look at anyway. I had asked the rest of my family if they wanted to watch it and they declined. That was just as well as when I booked my seat, there were just a few left and if they came, we would have been sitting in different parts of the screen, or would have been right at the front. And not meeting the stereotype, we would have stuck out like sore thumbs! I know my wife would not have liked it as much as I did. My kids may like it in years to come, but again, I doubt that this is a film for them. 

Happy new year

Greetings all! It is the first day of 2025 and I am the only one awake in our house. Weather permitting, we are to travel to London later today to see my mother for her birthday. We had friends round to see in the new year, Leia having Louie round and they two got on mostly, until I set them off!

My wife had been in Elvedon the night before and I slept badly as a result, which meant that I passed out after midnight. But, I made it till then. My son had friends round and they left in the early hours of the morning, my daughter is probably sleeping off her celebrations last night!

I hope that all goes well this year. While everyone can say that the last one could have been better, I am grateful for the last year for others across the globe have had a worse time than me.

Anyway, happy new year to you all!