The failure of diplomacy involving Ukraine will benefit Putin

Well that was an interesting meeting.  The video analysis is one I disagree with in that I think that Vance made things worse rather than was trying to make things better.  It is a shame that so much has been thrown away after Macron and Starmer appeared to get Trump onside when it comes to the conflict.  

I suspect that the consequence of this is that aid from the USA to Ukraine will end.  If this includes stopping Ukraine accessing Starlink, Ukraine will not be able to defend its borders properly.  

We have already seen the US side with Russia over this conflict in the United Nations.  

The west is going to have to step up to replace artillery shells being sent to Ukraine.  On the plus side, doing so may create more jobs and stimulate growth.  

Cutting foreign aid

Starmer has announced cuts to foreign aid, this being to allow the UK to increase defence spending.  It is a horrible decision to make, but it is the least worst of the options.

We cannot rely on Trump to defend us, something I have posted about before.  He has shown that he is willing to ignore the Budapest Memorandum, an agreement signed to get Ukraine to disarm its nuclear weapons with a promise to respect and maintain its borders. His willingness to sell out Ukraine and follow, the line of Putin that Russia is not the aggressor shows that he is willing to ignore reality.

This means that in my opinion, the UK should move to a position where it is not dependent on the US. And that means no more US equipment. So instead of relying on F35’s, we need to produce our own fighters, like the Typhoon.  We will need to work with Europe on GPS navigation and an alternative to Starlink. 

Trump is hoping that the USA will benefit from the increase if defence spending. If we are to buy from abroad, it should be from nations like France, Poland and South Korea. We need more independence from the USA. 

Tik Toc and Darwin awards

Today, I learned about a trend called Vabbing.  Thanks that is to the video which I have attached to this post.  I know that people are under pressure to perform, but this surprised me.  It does make me think if the way to eliminate the world of gullible people is to flood Tik Toc with fatal fads...

I should be very, very angry

We are back at home. My son has college tomorrow and we spent some time watching Fresh Off The Boat together. My daughter, in Vietnam is looking after some of her travelling companions who have come down ill with gastroenteritis. Hopefully she will not get it.

Football, Arsenal lost against West Ham, which means I might be seeing a lot of West Ham fans this week.  We do not do well when we play before our rivals, this being no exception. Watching the highlights, I did not see the vigour that Arsenal normally play with. Which meant that while I was disappointed, I was not very very angry. 

Hambleton Bakery

Today is our last full day in Rutland. After breakfast I took our dog for a long walk. I had taken her on a bit of it yesterday. Today I took her on the rest of it. She loved it. Yesterday she came back a bit muddy but today there was a lot more mud. I guess that is what comes of the longer walk.  My wife was not too happy though.

Afterwards we went for a drive to get some lunch. My wife drove us to Oakham and while we did did somewhere to eat lunch, we could not eat there due to the parking restrictions. My wife and son found a record shop and may have bought a record. I took Leia to explore the town and started to explore Oakham castle, not that it is much of a castle, but the history that I did get to read was really interesting.

We returned to the Hambleton bakery which we had visited the day before. Then there was a lot more choice, but we arrived earlier yesterday. Today the first two dishes my wife wanted were sold out, but my son and I got what we wanted. After that it was a trip to a farm shop and then a drive to a supermarket to get items to clean our messy dog.

Our son is enjoying having a room to himself, and actually had loads of fun in the front of the car while my wife was driving. We have not heard from our daughter but we know she is alive as she responded to a message on the family WhatsApp group. She had been unwell earlier this week and we gave her some advice, but I presume that she is now better and is enjoying Vietnam, hence the silence from her.

Fingers crossed that dinner is a better experience at the hotel today! 

The art of the deal

First of all, the family. My wife, son and dog are taking a few days off in Rutland.  We arrived yesterday but today brought about some changes. We had arranged to have a room shared with my son, but he is taller than me now (just). He slept on a camp bed last night, but did not do well.  So we have paid for him to have a room of his own, but it is in a different part of the hotel.

Today we went exploring, getting some dog food for Leia (we had been told that the dog would be fed by the hotel when we booked it) as well as having lunch in a local bakery.  I went for a walk later with Leia, but came back with my shoes caked in mud.  Dinner has been nice, but my meals have not been as good as I had hoped. Yesterday my pasta was undercooked and today my son and I ordered steak to be served rare, for it to come as medium.  The steak was still good, but was not as good as we wanted it to be.

Now for Trump. He states that he believes Putin when Putin says he wants an end to the war. That is true, but Putin wants the capitulation of Ukraine, something he might get. With the relations between Trump and Zelenskyy worsening, the question arises as to if Ukraine will be invaded after all.  Trump stopping aid to Ukraine is one thing, ending the sanctions on Russia though will be even more damaging.  We saw what a great deal Trump agreed with the Taliban in 2020 about Afghanistan, a great deal that is for The Taliban. Back then he did not include the Afghan government in the talks, just as he has not included Ukraine in these talks.  Based on how well the last deal went, we can expect Ukraine to be speaking Russian in the next few years. 

Does The Manchurian Candidate think that the US started a war with Japan by attacking them at Pearl Harbour?

Donald Trump has done it again. He has grabbed headlines. This time, it is because he has agreed with Putin that Ukraine is at fault for Russia invading it.

There have been many on the left and the right who have argued that Putin is acting in response to the actions of the west, notably NATO expansion. I have discussed how this is wrong before, but am happy to do so again.  If any agreement was made about NATO expansion, the former nations of The Warsaw Pact would have become nervous once Russia liberated Transnistria from Moldova. Appeasement did not work then with Russia moving to liberate Abkhazia afterwards.  NATO expansion occurred after this, and there was a few years of peace before Russia liberated South Ossetia. The policy of appeasement lasted until Russia ‘helped’ Crimea liberate itself in early 2014, Russia starting the war in The Donbas afterwards.  During this conflict Russia shot down MH17 by accident but then denied doing so.  

Russia amassed troops on the border of Ukraine in 2022, and despite saying it would not do so, invaded. Though this time, they waited until after the Olympics (the Winter ones) before they invaded. Like Putin, I did not think that the war would last this long. I, like many across the globe, was surprised to see that Ukraine lasted. 

I want an end to the war, this being one where Ukraine regains its borders. I do not see anything close to that happening and the question now is if Trump will allow Ukraine to be invaded.

When Donald Trump complained about Mexico sending rapists to the US, I did not know that is because he wanted (alleged) rapists imported from Romania!

Apparently, Donald Trump wants the Tate brothers to be free to travel away from Romania.  I doubt he means that the extradition warrant that the UK has against them is to be enforced. 

We in the UK could send our people, not our best. We could send people that have lots of problems, and they could take those problems with them. There would be no need for them to be bringing drugs. And the Tate brothers would not be bringing crime as they have alleged been involved in criminal activity with US citizens already. They are considered rapists by some (though they are innocent until proven guilty). And some, I assume, think that they are good people.

I will admit to being surprised by this, but I suspect that I am going to be surprised a lot in the next four years. 

Leicester City vs Arsenal 2025

What a match.  I am hoping that we finish second.  Will I am hoping that we win the league, but I doubt that will happen. It is nice that we have more than three points between us and the chasing pack, but we have thrown away leads before and can give up this gap.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

My wife and I watched this for our Valentines date.  She had been out earlier to listen to an author she likes and from the sounds of it had a great time there.

As for the film, once I got over the face of Bridget Jones being almost fixed, I enjoyed it.  I know that this will not appeal to some, but if you liked the other three films, you will like this.  I know that I have missed out on some of the jokes as I cannot remember much of the second and third films, but I am sure my wife and I will catch up on them.

It made me appreciate being a father, being grateful for what I have, and yes, it did make me cry.  Yes it had flaws, an example being how quick it was for the school trip to take place, breaking and entering into a barn, and how it snows in London (yet rarely does).  But this film is in essence a fairy tale, and it is a very good one for adults. I am glad I watched it.  It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me grateful for what I have. 

Brexit failing the UK

I was surprised to find that the inheritance tax dodging Jeremy Clarkson has spoken out against Brexit.  I understand that many had fallen for the lies told about Brexit, an example being when Nigel Farage talked about how we could have a soft Brexit negotiating a deal like Norway or Switzerland.  

Like him, I find it hard to understand how people can say Brexit has been a benefit to the UK.  In fact, Brexit has been so bad, that many parties in Europe who had advocated leaving the EU, now do not do so (openly at least).  A big example of this is with the National Front in France.  And the reason for this is because those in Europe can see how we in the UK have harmed ourselves by voting to impose economic sanctions on ourselves. 

Illegal immigrants do the work that others are not allowed to do

Immigration and the stance of Labour towards illegal immigration is finally in the news today.  I was listening to The Newsagents about this and decided that Labour have gone too far. The person being interviewed said that immigration is unmanageable. 

It is right to listen to voters about immigration, it is right to ensure that bad employers do not exploit illegal immigrants. The RECORD numbers being deported should be publicised more, action on rogue employers should be taken and made public.

But, taking the Reform line that immigration is unmanageable is wrong and cannot be excused. 

My son is taller than me

Yesterday was a sad day for me. It was the day my son became taller than me.

For a little while, there has been a debate as to who is taller, but it is now settled. A few weeks ago, we met school friends of my wife and the consensus was I was taller, just.

Now I have to angle my neck (slightly) to look at him when we stand next to each other.  Needless to say, he is happier than I am with this. 

Farage and the NHS

 

Nigel Farage has stated that he wants to end the NHS. Let us look at an alternative…

Has Elon damaged the TESLA brand?

I love my EV.  I will admit that when it comes to fun, my previous Honda was better, but my current Honda EV is more practical for the family, just not for my job.  

My wife took a TESLA on a test drive a few years ago, and did not like it.  Friends of mine have refused to consider a TESLA thanks to Elon Musk, and they have been proven right as his politics have become more and more extreme.

The demographic of people who drive EV's are not really the parties that he has backed.  Admittedly, Musk has turned on Nigel Farage, but Farage has not been in favour of taking action against Climate Change.  But, the AfD in Germany are also Climate Change deniers. 

I do think that the world owes TESLA thanks for showing how electric cars can be so appealing.  But it does not owe anything else.  I wait to see if Musk will get Trump to try to make the EU buy more TESLA's but if he does, I can see that alienating people who wish to switch to electric cars. At least in Europe. His antics may not be an issue in other parts of the world.

Are we really going to remove Christians from The Gaza Strip?

Christians have lived in the Gaza Strip and from what I can understand, Donald Trump wants them to be removed and the land to be given to Israel. I understand that he does not care about the Muslim population of The Gaza Strip, but I am surprised that he wants to evict the Christian population, and also that his plans are supported by Christians in the USA. 

I also wait to see what stance Trump and his supporters have towards the Christian population of The West Bank. Jewish extremists want them removed. Will Trump allow them to be removed as well? 

Keir Starmer ate my hamster

The simple fact is that haters are going to hate.  And Starmer is going to be hated by a lot of people, unless he can show that he has changed our great nation for the better.  

He is hated by those on the right, that being before Musk joined in with this.  And he is hated by those on the left as well.  Needless to say, there are those who are going to love a book which sticks the knife into him.  I will admit that he should communicate better.  Labour has done a lot when it comes to immigration, which is not publicised as much as it can be.  Labour has ended many strikes which were harming our nation.  Hopefully, these changes will help bring about the economic growth our nation needs.

Brexit and the man who sold it to us

Driving into work today, I started to listen to his man telling us about the importance of not being too close to Europe.  He is the one who sold us Brexit.  And Brexit has been such a disaster for us, that parties in France who wanted a Frexit, have had to change their mind on this.  In Holland, the Far Right have had to pull back about Nexit as well. Basically, if Brexit was so good, other nations would want to follow us.  And they don't.

With Reform UK doing well in the polls, I think that they should be shown up for what they are.  The architects of Brexit, which has failed our nation.  

We should focus on what Nigel Farage wants for Britain, an example of which is a Free Trade Agreement with the USA (he said so in the interview), which would harm our farmers. Farmers which Farage says he wants to protect.  We should remind people about how free trade with Trump would mean allowing the US greater access to the NHS. Just a reminder, the US healthcare system and how it fails so many is an integral part of Breaking Bad and why the character turns to making drugs. It is the inspiration for the book (and later film) The Rainmaker, and of course the film John Q. Remind people of what Farage wants, and then they can decide if they want to vote for him.

Trump, NATO funding and Article 5

There appears to be a view that Trump would defend NATO nations in the event that US support was needed.

I think that it is insane to rely on him.  But, saying that, I think that the threat of invasion from Russia is low in the next few years, considering how many casualties Russia has sustained in Ukraine.  My issue is not if Trump would defend Europe (I do not think that he would), but more importantly, will US presidents who follow him decide to go along his populist line.  

Article 5 provides that if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each & every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members & will take the actions it deems NECESSARY to assist the Ally attacked. 

 

Many think that he would obey Article 5. I think that he would and would take the actions that he felt was necessary to assist the ally which had been attacked. Sadly I suspect that such actions would in essence, be nothing.  With this in mind, greater European cooperation on defence is needed, and I am glad Starmer has attended a meeting about this.  

Even Havertz scored!

What a game! The team did really well. I will be honest, I feared the worst.  We have not had the best record so far, but we won! I can go to bed, which will please my wife as I have been shouting while watching the highlights. 

And They're Off!

We woke up early today to take my daughter to the airport for her two months of travelling in Asia. As I type this, she is on a flight to Singapore. I think the dog has taken it the best out of all of us, but Leia has already been looking for my daughter around the house.

My son went though him missing her before, I have been more emotional in the past few days before she went, and it hit my wife at the airport itself.  The photo is what she sent to us from the plane before take off.

We all have our fingers crossed that she enjoys herself and returns safely.