There has been talk of an end to the child benefit cap. Personally I would keep it, until economic conditions are better, but change the limit to three or preferably four children, or reduce the amount for the fourth child. There are many families who start working and due to a change in circumstances end up on benefits. In fact this happened with my own mother who had to leave my father when pregnant with my second brother. We had gone from a family, not on benefits with two children to a family with a single mother and later, three children.
In my job, I have encountered the odd family where they appeared to be only too happy for the state to pay for their children, but these are few. Most those who I encounter where I work who are on benefits, work with benefits supplementing low wages.
Israel cannot be trusted to tell the truth. There are two issues which out this beyond doubt. One is the murder of Israeli hostages by the IDFwho had a white flag, because it was thought they were Palestinians. If they were, the deaths would not have been investigated, because they were deemed to be terrorists. The only reason this was investigated as because they were Israeli. The other is the assassination of Palestinian paramedics, a story which was only challenged after footage if what happened was found on the corpse of one of the murdered.
I do not want to post that much about Trump, but I had to do this. Trump has tried to cancel Sesame Street, a show my brothers and I watched when younger and we have fond memories of it. Fortunately for many children across the globe, it has survived. The possible reason for this has been noted back in his first term, and I think it should be shared.
My wife has booked us a break of a few days, which started yesterday with a trip to the cinema to watch this film. I enjoyed it. However, I am not sure the kids liked it as much as my wife and I did. It made reference to Captain America: Brave New World, a film that we missed out on seeing, but is enjoyable despite that. Like The Guardian, I would rate it three out of five. Like many films, it is predictable but it is put together well. I suspect one reason that my wife and I liked it more than the children is thanks to the character The Red Guardian. That may be because it reminded me how lucky I am to have them, and considering the absence of the mother in the film, my wife as well.
Anyway, we are in a holiday cottage and are probably going to explore one of the nearby towns later today.
After watching the sequel, I had to return to this film. I was sure that this was much better than the sequel, and I was right. While The Guardian only rated this three out of five, this is a far more enjoyable film than the travesty that followed, strangely rated the same three out of five. This film had chemistry, an evil twist, a decent story with unexpected turns, the plot itself descending into areas that few films explore, which is understandable considering the areas.
While I am never going to re-watch the sequel, I might return to watching this again. I would highly recommend this, which I would give a high four out of five.
Starmer has made a speech on immigration. I have not listened to it but I have read reports about it. He is right to encourage immigrants to speak English (though it can be argued they should also speak Welsh if in Wales). But the rest of the speech, not too sure about it. The UK benefits from managed migration. The NHS is reliant on it, as is care work. Our economy benefited from immigration when we were part of the EU. Immigrants came in, worked, contributed to the economy and paid the the taxes needed for public services. Immigration has enriched the culture of the UK. It is normal for many to eat Chinese food for example. Robin Cook made a speech about Chicken Tikka Masala, a dish made in the UK, thanks to immigration. Immigration has also contributed to sports, and with Rishi Sunak, politics as well. While there are many other examples of how immigration has benefited our great nation, I will remind people that the Royal Family are descended from immigrants.
What Labour should have learned from the local elections is to broadcast what they are doing with deportations. Labour, or the Conservatives, cannot beat Farage when it comes to limiting immigration, legal or otherwise.
Arsenal who had a small chance at winning the title earlier this season are now facing the possibility that they may not even finish in second place. After an exciting season where we will have an empty trophy cabinet, that would be a kick in the teeth.
One thing that Trump has taught the world is that you cannot ignore the markets in a capitalist system. Liz Truss taught the UK that when she was (briefly) in power. We have seen what happens in nations like Venezuela (though many will blame western sanctions for that).
This is important as Labour have limited room for movement when it comes to the economy. The Conservatives ruined it and as shown in the deputy leader’s debate last year, knew that Labour would have to raise their nickel or make cuts to spending.
There have been calls for Labour to increase debt and spend, but the people calling for this forget the damage this caused when Truss wanted to increase the amount the nation owes.
I enjoy a good, and ideally, polite debate. Now that I use Bluesky more than Twitter, it can be harder to find one. But there are some topics where I disagree with others, notably my views on gender and JK Rowling.
What I do find interesting are the arguments that she is racist or that she is right wing. Yes, there have been issues with the name of Cho Chang for example, others have complained about the name of Kingsley Shacklebolt a character described as highly efficient and "gets through twice the work of the rest of them" in the series. JK Rowling defended the casting of Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger and her books included British people of colour in positive roles.
As for JK Rowling being right wing, people forget the money she gave to Labour before the defeat of 2010. In the UK the issue of gender identity is debated across the political divide. Yes, more of the right are critical, but the MP Rosie Duffield is more left wing than many of her peers, and she is someone who is considered transphobic for her views.
I was to make a post about NATO expansion and the promise not to do so, and I still will, but before I get onto that, Putin has said that Romania and Bulgaria are partly to blame for his invasion of Ukraine. This is in part linked to the issue of NATO expansion. Apparently, there was a verbal agreement made that NATO would not expand after the unification of Germany. As you can see from the video's below, there is a lot of evidence to back this up.
But after that verbal agreement was made, Russia invaded Moldova to liberate Transnistria in 1992 and the following year, invaded Georgia to liberate Abkhazia. To be fair, to Russia, violence had erupted before the two invasions, that in Abkhazia being especially brutal. The invasions did bring about peace, but they also in effect have expanded Russian territory to include areas with Russian speaking people.
So yes, Russia did think it had an agreement that NATO would not expand. Russia then caused nations to want to join NATO by invading (and still occupying) parts of Georgia and Moldova.
Am sad at our loss tonight. I had watched the highlights for the other semi-final and while I had been confident that we could beat Inter if we faced them after we had beaten Real Madrid, I was not sure after watching the thrilling match against Barcelona. But it was not to be, we were beaten, but we went down fighting.
I am just hoping that the team that rhymes with City does not pip us to second place as they are only three points behind us.
Thanks to Elon Musk, I have moved to Bluesky, mostly. I still visit Twitter, but tend to see what a few people have tweeted, including JK Rowling. As more and more people make the switch, it has left a huge number of people there who I consider toxic.
Bluesky has very few right wingers on it, most of the time, I do not encounter posts that I disagree with. But using it is a much calmer experience than Twitter. The downsides have been that I have had more issues accessing it, that there are some accounts on Twitter who have not moved over and that there are still lots more people on Twitter.
What has been interesting is to read the comments on two identical posts from Fesshole. The Bluesky one has polite responses to it, but on Twitter, the comments there are full of bile and hatred. If you are interested, click on the links to read them, and if you want, you can leave a comment on this post below.
This is a poor attempt at a comedy and a whodunnit. The plus side is that we all watched it as a family, though as you may guess, I was the one who liked it the least. The film was set in Capri. With the stunning scenery, it is a great advert for the island. Not sure how this film would have been made if it been produced in a way to appease Trump and his film tariffs, as it would require major changes to the plot.
Would I watch it again? No. Would I have been happy if I had paid to watch it in the cinema? No. I would rate this as two out of five, but I must have missed whatever it is that means that others consider this to be an average film. I suspect that the other star was given for the scenery.
I joke about how The Empire were not that bad, but we are in danger of seeing this happen in the Republic that the USA is, for now. Comparisons have been made to Bush and Episode Three of the Star Wars franchise in the past, and even with Trump in his first term. We will get more of an idea if democracy is threatened after the midterms in the USA. While freedom of speech is being nudged in the USA, repeatedly, no laws forbidding improper thought for American citizens have been passed. Yet.
Anyway, back to the enjoyable parts of Star Wars. I hope that any who have not seen this video like it.
Reform UK have done really well in the local elections. I think that they are there because they have not been challenged in the correct manner. Some arguments are valid, notably the scrapping of winter fuel payments which have driven people away from Labour. Other methods, notably calling Reform voters racist and thick, are wrong.
Labour have taken decisions that I think are wrong, another example being the rise in National Insurance which will harm the economic growth our nation needs. Labour has also alienated core supporters with some actions, such as cuts to foreign aid and the rising number of people being removed from the country. An example of how supporters are losing faith with Labour is with the recent changes to immigration. Labour have a hard time getting the publicity they need to make people aware of this, but one way to get that spotlight is to debate such matters with those who are more left wing. Doing so on channels like Novara Media will mean that more mainstream news channels might be willing to debate the issues.
In summary, Labour need to debate some issues with the left in a public forum, they need to point out the further harm Farage will cause to our great nation if he takes power and Labour needs to shout out about how things like NHS waiting lists are falling and how potholes are being repaired nationwide.
Sorry to bang on about gender again. But I have had some interesting discussions with my daughter and son over this, and there have been some recent interventions.
When watching The Last of Us with my son, he asked me about what I thought about Pedro Pascal and his view on JK Rowling. My view is that he appears to have been taken into the toxicity about what JK Rowling has not said, rather than what she has said. In February, Pascal shared the quote: “A world without trans people has never existed and never will,” on Instagram, dividing his followers. After some threatened to unfollow him, he reiterated his stance, writing: “I can’t think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorising the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist.” I have been on record saying that I do not agree with all that JK Rowling has done, notably the way she misgenders people. I suspect that she has been radicalised on this by social media and I would like to concentrate on the things she said in the past that I agree with. But while I used to defend her when people called her transphobic, I am reluctant to do so now.
My daughter and I have discussed this, but she is not keen on reading the essay that Rowling wrote five years ago. I do hope this changes, but she is to discuss this with me further.
But while the debate is often toxic, it does not have to be. David Tennant, when asked about JK Rowling spoke out in a manner which I think was quite pleasant. I wish that debate on this matter could occur in a civil manner. Others have done so.
I accept that many are to consider me to be transphobic, a label my children do not agree with. But I think it is important to summarise my current views. I say current as they have changed over time.
Just because you identify as something does not mean you are it. Rachel Dolezal identified as being black, despite having two white parents. Very few people accept the way she identifies herself as correct.
Communal changing areas should be subject to segregation based on genitalia. I have been to shops where changing areas are unisex and there was an attendant to ensure no theft took place who also would have been a witness if anything untoward happened.
A child who wishes to socially transition at school without informing their parents should be allowed to do so, but just as this applies to a teenager seeking an abortion, that child should be encouraged to involve their parents. But, that child should still use facilities based on biological sex.
