Gender and PMQs

PMQ's was interesting.  As many would have guessed, the judgement of the Supreme Court stating that the Equality Act definition excludes transgender women was brought up. I thought that Starmer dealt with it quite well when he called for the debate to be calmer, this link being from Bluesky, this link from Twitter.

There have been lots of different views on this, some of it good some of it not so.  As posted before, I disagree with the interpretation that means that people have to use bathrooms based on biological sex, but it appears that having that view is wrong.

These videos are quite good. I often disagree with Novara media, and while I do not agree fully with their video, I think that this is quite good.  Notably the issue where trying to discuss matters about inclusion and addressing concerns about prisons and sports was and is viewed by some as being transphobic.  The Rest is Politics have brought up the issue of Trans-Men and the issues they face.  In addition to which they have also discussed how toxic the debate has become.  I would love parliament to debate this so that we can have more guidance on where people who do not conform to their chromosomal make up do when it comes to single sexed spaces.  But I suspect that the reasons that Labour are not keen on this is because of how some vested interest groups would act. 

It will be interesting to see how this progresses.  I do hope that debate about the concerns of this will be civil.  There are many examples of where it can be so.

Brexit is failing the UK

Those who have read my blog may be aware about my views on the insanity that is Brexit.  We have seen how many Eurosceptic parties in EU nations have no longer advocated leaving the EU, or are a lot quieter about it, since they have seen how Brexit has harmed the UK.  The reason for this post is that I was watching this video and thought that it needed to be shared.  That and we need a reminder about Farage told about how we could have a deal like Norway or Switzerland as he is now telling lies that he never said such a thing.

Maybe we should all wear nappies

This was a solution mentioned in jest by my manager at work when I was discussing the recent court case on gender and the interview on Radio Four by Bridget Phillipson. I am viewed by many as being transphobic and I think that the law needs clarity on issues such as the use of toilets and communal changing areas by Transgender people. 

As I have stated before, I am of the view that segregation in toilets, when it happens, should be based on genitalia, but this being a don’t ask, don’t tell rule. Communal changing rooms and showers should also be segregated by genitalia, but for obvious reasons a Don’t Ask Don’t Tell would not apply here. Bridget Phillipson stated that it should be on biological sex, and to be fair, the recent interpretation of the law seems to back her with this.  I do understand the concerns of women, I know of one who speaks out on this after being sexually assaulted in a female toilet by someone with a willy, and in my job, I have spent time treating someone who was a repeat offender with a willy, who identified as female.

But, we do need a fairer system for transgender individuals, notably ones who have completed the surgical transition. It is sad that debate on this is shutdown by many people (on both sides) deciding that the rules on this complex issue are binary. 

The Family Plan

The Guardian and I agree with this film. Forgettable.  My wife and I watched it on Apple TV and while we have watched worse films, there are better ones out there.  Do I regret watching this? No. Would I watch it again? No. Even if channel hopping, this is a film I would move on from.

When it comes to directing and plot, they are fine for an action film. The plot could be better, but this film does not aim to be a blockbuster. It is an easy film to watch, it is enjoyable, it has some laughs, but it is nothing memorable.

Can a woman have a willy?

To start off this post, in my opinion, no.  

There are many gender identities, but my view is that a woman cannot have a penis, however a trans-woman can. As I have posted before, I do not think that it is right, or polite, to misgender someone. Many will consider me rude and wrong for refusing consider India Willoughby to be a woman, but I do consider her to be a transgender woman, not as JK Rowling as tweeted, a man.  I have tried to debate this, but sadly ended up blocked (repeatedly). My views on this have evolved with time and I will summarise them.

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. 

Other than in schools, the use of toilets by someone who identifies as a different gender is fine. The only time I have seen genitalia in toilets was using the urinals as a child (as an adult, we do not look). However, if women are exposed to male genitalia in that situation, the perpetrator should face the full weight of the law.

It should be up to each sport to decided if transgender competitors can compete based on the gender they identify with. 

Communal changing areas should be subject to segregation based on genitalia.  I have seen 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.

No sex offender with a penis should be in a female jail.

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. 

I thought The Newsagents covered this really well.  Not everyone does. But as has been stated before, I am transphobic for having my views. But if anyone is happy to debate this, I am happy to do so on BlueSky. 

We did the double against Real Madrid!

I knew we could beat them, but I also knew this tie could still turn against us. The advantage we had in this tie was the desire of our opponents to play football against us. As under Arsene when we beat them before, few teams can play football against us and if they play a tactical game, it is harder for us to win.

I watched the highlights not knowing the score and took a while to calm down afterwards. While we have beaten PSG before, they will be hard opponents, but I consider us to be the favourites for that game. 

An open day

Today was busy. I went to work to try to catch up on paperwork before taking my son to his open day at The University of Essex. He doubts that he will go here, but it gave him the opportunity to find out about courses.

We met one of his friends for part of it and got to tour the campus. He has been using the library for revision, much like his sister did, but has started to come here at an earlier stage in his A-levels.  I have brought the dog here on several occasions for her walk and my wife studied here for her Masters.

Still it was a nice day. I am not sure how useful it was for him, but it was better to go rather than not. What was noticeable was how well it was organised. The only open day I attended with my daughter was in Bristol and that included a terrible presentation. This was much better, all those presenting to the audience being enthused and being great adverts for the university. It is easy to see why it is a popular place to come when it is sold so well. 

Anyway, I need to keep my fingers crossed for the game tonight.

A day in the woods

 This walk was recommended to me by a colleague at work. When I say a colleague of mine, technically, as my daughter and I work in the same place, it is a colleague of ours.  

I did ask my son and wife if they wanted to come, but both declined.  Which is a shame as it was a lovely walk. With a bit of up and down, it was actually more exhausting than my normal walks which are a lot flatter. My daughter came and we talked about matters, including how she coped with having to do much harder walks on her travels. Leia, our Cockapoo, loved it. This is almost certainly a place we will return to and I will need to thank our colleague for the recommendation.

On to Arsenal and their draw. It was disappointing after our midweek victory, but fans like me would prefer a midweek win, and if we go through to the next round, this draw will be tolerable.

China, Taiwan, the peace dividend and tariffs

Growing up in the UK, I have had to live with the threat of terrorism thanks to the IRA.  In Northern Ireland, once The Troubles ended, the peace dividend has helped communities.  When I was in Sri Lanka, I saw how thanks to peace, how the infrastructure of the North of Sri Lanka was developed and how peace has made things better.  Nations who gain through peace have less reason to resort to war.

China, which has developed its military might, has benefitted from peace.  But it has its eyes on Taiwan.  It has seen the response of Europe and the USA towards Russia when it invaded Ukraine (again) and the cost to the nation.  But if the trade war between Trump and China escalates, we could see China being in a position where it has little to lose through western economic sanctions, if it decides to invade Taiwan.  

There are other ways that China can retaliate towards the USA, but it may decide that it is nothing to lose if things continue to get worse.

What a game

I was meant to go for a dog walk with my son today, but issues with our dishwasher meant that plan was scrapped. When I did go for a walk, Leia met of of her friends on the way back, so we went for a long walk together. That was Louie and his human, Nick. It was longer than I have done in a while and tired the dog out. 

During the walk, we talked about many things. Nick has stopped listening to politics podcasts as they are too depressing, thanks to The Orangutan. We also talked a little bit about football. While he is not a fan of the game, he appreciated the victory of Arsenal.  I discussed my view that few teams can play football against us and that this was the mistake Real Madrid made in the past, and how I feared playing against Athletico Madrid more as they would play a more tactical game.

The tie is not over. We have to travel to Madrid and they can turn us over there. But we have given ourselves a great chance of going through to the next round. 

Israel assassinated ambulance workers

For those who are unaware, Israel killed some emergency workers. They claimed that the ambulances were travelling without emergency lights and that some of them were Hamas members. However, one of the dead had recorded the drive, showing that they had their emergency lights on. As they pulled over when they saw the ambulance they had come to get, the Israeli troops waiting until they were out of the vehicles before opening fire in what appears to be a lethal ambush.

While the Israeli Defence Forces will claim to investigate this, we know their willingness to kill Palestinian civilians. Some may remember the hostages who were killed by the IDF trying to surrender, deaths which would not have been noted by the mainstream media in the west if they had been Palestinian.

As you may recall, I understood the desire of Israel to act after the horrors of October the 7th, a day where Hamas recorded the murders in a way reminiscent of the way the Nazi’s recorded The Holocaust. But there was a negotiated ceasefire which Israel decided to break when Hamas did not agree to new terms which were demanded by Israel. Sadly, this is going to continue without consequence for the next few years. Things may improve a bit if a Democrat takes Presidential office in four years, but Israel appears to have a free hand in the murder of Palestinians until then. 

Walking on Sunshine

Family first. My son is feeling unwell. He had been out on Friday and my wife is convinced that he picks up something every time he is out late. Apparently the band he went to see were not even worth it!  My daughter took part in vaccinations yesterday and was in a local care home and started to feel depressed afterwards. After watching the film with my wife, I took the dog out for a walk and bumped into her and a friend walking back from their night out on the town.  She sat down and cried about the residents there saying that she would never put us in a home. But she did not get to see the good things about this, something I will discuss with her later today.

Now, the film. It was definitely not the movie event of the year, but yes, it was similar to Mamma Mia. The odds are that if you like this film, which was made in 2014, that you will like Mamma Mia, which was made in 2008. However, the acting is not as good, and the singing it not up to the standards of Mamma Mia (if you erase Pierce Brosnan from the score). It has a very good selection of songs, the scenery is amazing and Leona Lewis’s voice is fantastic. But despite that, I do not think this film is worth watching. My wife enjoyed it and I got to spend time with her watching it. But I will never watch this again. 

Trump, Afghanistan and his deals

It is hard to follow what is happening with international politics when it comes to the USA.  But we can see how things are not going to be good for a while when we look at the deal Trump negotiated in Afghanistan.  

While Biden got the blame for the chaos that resulted, Biden had two poor choices.  Stick to the agreement made by Trump, or break it.  He took the long view in the best interests of America and stuck to the bad deal that his predecessor had negotiated.  

While we can mention how the Abraham Accords were negotiated by Trump, again a great deal for him, one which was terrible for the Palestinians, I think that it is important to remember the consequences of his deal in Afghanistan.

In the years before Trump, I would disagree with my mother about the issue of Afghanistan.  She argued that the west should leave it.  My view was that by staying, human rights in Afghanistan were better and we could help the nation move towards a more tolerant society.  But she got her way, the west pulled out of the nation and now the country is sliding backwards again.  Women's rights are being trampled on, but at least there is 'peace' in the country.  

So do I trust Trump to make a good deal?  For him yes, but his deals trample on the rights of those he considers beneath him. 

Trump and fixing his trade issues

People are trying to make sense of Trump and the tariffs he has imposed.  Basically, he has a government which is not known for intelligence.  Not just with the debacle with the Signal App, but other examples include who he has sent to negotiate with Russia.  

He has imposed a tariff on an island of penguins.  Some are talking about negotiating with him, but this is the man who renegotiated a deal with Mexico and Canada in 2020 and now has decided that they are taking advantage of the USA due to his deal!  

As you can see from the first video, there may be method in the madness that he has unleashed, but anyone who thinks that they can trust him to stick to his own deals is a fool.

In summary, I do not think that Trump realises the consequences of what he is imposing on the people of the USA.  After all, the USA is not able to produce its own coffee, tea or bananas. Even though many things are assembled in the USA, they still rely on components from abroad which means that the price of electrical goods such as mobile phones will increase.  

Free speech, the White House correspondents' dinner, Amber Ruffin and deportations

Free speech was going to be the topic of one of my posts, but today I found out that Amber Ruffin, a comedian, I like listening to (who I prefer to Seth Meyers) has been dropped from hosting White House correspondents' dinner.  She is hilarious and despite what those who support Trump may say, would have been a great choice to present it. This is an interesting (or alarming) development in a nation where people are being deported for having improper views.  

While free speech is being discouraged in the USA, we, in the UK are under increased scrutiny and it is rumoured that any free trade deal will be dependent on the UK implementing free speech in a manner deemed suitable to Trump and his supporters.  

At this rate, it will be interesting to see if late night shows which are critical of Trump will be allowed to continue to be so. 

One Day

This film is good, but not anywhere near as good as the series.  I both liked and disliked Anne Hathaway in it however.  At the beginning, she is able to hide her looks as she portrays Emma really well.  But, towards the end of the film, her looks are apparent.  While a similar transformation took place with Ambika Mod, I am sorry to say this, but the end result is different.  I have not read the book, but I think that both acted the part of Emma really well, but the character was best played by Ambika Mod.  I do not think that it is as bad as the reviews of the time, but it is not as good as the series.  But comparisons are unfair, as the series was produced and acted brilliantly, but also had more time than the film can offer.  

Bridget Jones's Baby

After watching the latest instalment in the film series, I realised that I could not remember much about the second and third films. So I have watched them.  You know my views on the second film and this is about the same.  An enjoyable film, which warms my heart as it features London.  But in essence, it is a feel good film.  If you are after intricate plots, beautiful cinematography and the like, this is not the film to watch.  Basically, if you like the other films, you will like this one.  I love the characters and am glad that I watched it again.  Would I watch it again?  I guess so, if it was on TV, but I doubt that I would go out of my way to watch it again, not unless they produce a fifth film!

The Best People

Sorry, I do try to ignore the Orangutan in The White House, but this story has to be commented on. Top Trump cabinet members added The Atlantic editor to a chat discussing strikes on Houthis and did not seem to realise until he shared the story.  The person who added the Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of the Atlantic magazine, may have been Michael Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser.  Though Pete Hegseth is being touted by some as the moron who did so.

In the last Trump administration, many of The Best People went to jail.  The incompetence of this administration was to be expected considering the backgrounds of the people he has appointed, but this level of stupidity may be hard to beat.  But I suspect that they will do their best.  And we have almost four more years of this for them to do so. 

Mississippi Burning

Before my daughter left for her travels we watched films together. My son tends not to watch films with me, instead we watched TV shows and are watching Fresh of the Boat. Anyway, she is back and we watched a film together.

We had been for a walk earlier in the morning, taking the dog to Gosbecks (Leia gets very impatient if we do not park quickly) on a different route to normal. During the walk, she talked about her time travelling and one of the topics discussed was The Vietnam War. So when we got back I suggested we watched Platoon before it leaves Amazon Prime. While searching for it, I noted that Mississippi Burning is also due to leave and mentioned that it was a film worth watching. So she decided to watch that instead. I have watched this many years before. Watching it now has a special relevance considering what is happening in the USA. So many of the issues it brings up could be issues faced today with the resurgence of racism and white nationalism as well as the way Trump has views on how the law should be.

She is back!

My daughter is back after almost two months away.  The dog is very happy, as are the rest of us. There was a worry yesterday when we work up to this message. I relaxed more when I found out that the airport itself was not on fire and I was confident that the airport would be open the next day and that she would get back, but there was always a worry. 

I was under the mistaken impression that as the volcano was to the east of Bali, that flights to Singapore, which is to the west of Bali, would be unaffected, but again this was not the case as some flights were cancelled.

We all missed her, but the dog has expressed it the most.  Anyway, she is asleep on the sofa so I need to wake her up so she can sleep in her own room, 

The oldest profession should be legal

I have discussed this before, notably after Lily Philips had filmed her exploits.  Since then, her 'body count' has been surpassed by Bonnie Blue.  But this is not about that.  It is about how I think that prostitution should be legal.  And not just prostitution, but other forms of sex work as well.

As I have stated before, I do not want any woman (or man) to have no choice but to resort to working as a prostitute, but like it or not, for some men and women, this is how they earn money. What I want is a system to support sex workers, so that they can get the help and support to work in a safe manner, but more importantly, the help and support to get out of the trade if needed. Making sex work legal may also help to reduce sex trafficking as sex workers would be given rights. 

 

There are websites for men to be sugar daddies and many men seek ‘love’ from abroad in a way that many consider to be transactional for too many women. 

In a nation where we are looking at having to cut payments to the most vulnerable, legalisation and regulation of sex work may actually help the economy.  After all, lets face it.  Keeping the current situation has not stopped things.

Abortion and Savita Halappanavar

I watched an interesting video today.  It reminded me of the case of Savita Halappanavar, a dentist who died in Ireland due to the laws it had on abortion.  Her unnecessary death was the catalyst which brought about the change in Ireland which ended the laws banning abortion there.

When the US decided to allow states to make their own choices, many banned or placed huge restrictions on abortion.  And since then, women have died.  

We in Europe do find it strange that the pro-life lobby are willing to allow mothers to die.  But then this is the nation which prefers to have school shootings rather than decent gun controls...  

The Railway Tavern Kelvedon

My wife and I had a pleasant afternoon here.  I had been for a walk with Nick and on the way back, my wife, who was driving back home asked about lunch together.  We discussed different options.  It being a sunny day, one option was to eat in the garden after getting some food locally, but we settled on going somewhere new.  

The location was pleasant, or would have been but for the ducks, or rather Leia, our dog, wanting to kill the ducks.  I enjoyed my food, but my wife chose poorly and did not enjoy hers as much.  But parking was easy and I would return again.  

The best bit was spending time with my wife though. 

Reforming welfare

The government want to cut welfare and reduce the cost to the state of supporting people.

I agree and disagree with them. In my job, I do come across a few who can work and do not seem to want to. But most of those who are on benefits need them, either because they are in low paid jobs, or because they are not able to work.

Poverty increased under the Conservatives, not just for those out of work, but for those working as well. Yes, the government is right in that we should be helping people to come off benefits and back into work, and yes the government is right in that too many need “encouragement” to do so. BUT the Conservatives oversaw a huge rise in Foodbanks, and too many people have health issues preventing them from working properly. While waiting lists are coming down, it is hard to get people back into work when it takes so long to have health issues (that limit the work they do) addressed.

What I would like to see is a Universal Basic Income for adults born in the UK. 

The pub quiz

Nick and I presented our local pub quiz last night. My wife did not attend as she was tired from a weekend of spring cleaning. Sadly I did not present it as well as I would have liked. In general the quiz was too hard, something I will need to rectify if we get to present it again.

And doing this meant that I did not get to watch the highlights of the Arsenal game. We won, which is good, but the question of if we would have beaten better opposition comes to mind. Like us, Chelski has no striker, but we adapted to that better than they did.

It was good to score again from a set piece, this time it was a corner. That may be how we defeat Real Madrid when we face them in the European Cup. 

Captive

There are several films with this name. This film was made in 2023 and is not worth going out of your way to watch. 

When I watch a film, I am looking for several things. Is it made well? Does it tell a different story? Those are just two things I look for, there are others, but basically this film offered next to nothing new.  There are many better films out there, and while there are also worse ones, few horror films have so little scares. This review gave it two out of five and I would have to agree.  I would not go out of my way to watch it, but if there was nothing else to watch, it is an almost adequate time filler. 

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

This film is not too bad.  In fact, if you consider that this is a silly Rom-Com, it is made quite well.  I can see that many are not going to like it, but this is not a cerebral film.  It is one where the character is lovable but annoying with the two main characters being stereotypes, but well executed ones.  If you do not like the other films in the series, you are not going to like this one.  I would not go out of my way to watch it again, but I would watch it if I found it on television while channel hopping.  

The look of love

Another interesting film. Not one I would watch again, and one where it would have been more interesting to have a female perspective when it came to making it, considering the topic relates to pornography (and related matters). 

The Guardian rated it three out of five, and I would say that is fair as is the description of it being “shallow but watchable” which is surprisingly accurate.

I am not sure that anyone who is not interested in the area of Soho, or remembers the influence that Paul Raymond had with publishing. It is amazing to see so many British stars making the film. So, yes, shallow, but watchable.

King Kong

Watching this last night brought back memories of when I had watched King Kong before.  I like this film but never got round to watching it on the big screen, probably because my daughter was only a few months old.  I do remember talking to a friend of my wife who was upset when "the monkey died" (which was my words) but I had not watched the film and did not realise just how good it was.

Yes, the film has some stereotypes which would probably not be in film now, especially as I suspect that the inhabitants of the pacific ocean do not look like the natives on Skull Island. And the CGI is dated.  But it is by far the best of the more recent King Kong films.  

Yes, even with it being so long, I would watch it again, but if I had to make a choice, I would watch it until the capture of King Kong.

Anyway, while I do not want to focus on the insanity of Trump for the next four years, this is a clip I had to share, because it made me laugh so much!  It is the best line on this tariffs that I have heard.  

Picture This

As a family (without my daughter) we watched this. I did not think that I was going to like it as I did not think that it flowed well at the beginning, but it improved.  The ending of the film was predictable, but the journey to that point was not the usual one that a RomCom takes. Needless to say, not everyone likes it, but the three of us did. I would say that the weakness was the predictable love interest, but the strength of the film is some of the other characters.

Next to Arsenal. What a game. We should have scored more than the amazing goal that Rice did score, but we were also lucky not to concede loads as well. We are not going to win the title, and I doubt that we will win in Europe, but I think that we can beat Real Madrid, if we face them in the next round.  

A Quiet Place: Day One

First of all, family. My son went to London yesterday with friends and had a great time. My wife was a bit nervous as it was his first time doing so, but as I pointed out he was with friends and would be doing his soon anyway. With my daughter in Bali, this helped her anxiety, and s being busy cleaning the house distracted her as well.

Now onto the title of this post.  This is an enjoyable film. I have yet to watch the second film in the series, and the first was much scarier, but I would recommend this to science fiction fans who liked the first film.  I love the different lead character (compared to other science fiction films), though the pet on a lead does annoy me as I am sure it would make a noise.

If you want a film to scare you, this is not it. But despite that, it is enjoyable with a decent script, characters and direction.  I would not compare it to the first film in the series, but would compare it to another science fiction “end of the world film” that film being Cloverfield. 

An Alliance With China?

Novara Media have done a piece on how Europe should consider getting closer to China now that America and its America First policy is leaving Europe to fed for itself.

It forgets several things.  One is the way that China has been accused of engaging in genocide.  

The other relates to the concerns that China has been linked to the damaging of undersea cables in the Baltic. 

Europe needs to look to itself, not China when it comes to ensuring that Russia does not invade yet more nations. 

Star Trek: Section 31

It is not often that I come across a film that is so bad, but it is.  It has some plus points, it has good special effects and it means that Star Trek V; The Final Frontier is no longer the worst Star Trek film.  

The plot was predictable, the characters were unimaginative, but the worst bit, was how they ruined the character of the evil Terran Empress Philippa Georgiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius.  The series Star Trek Discovery has lost its appeal to me, but while that lacks inspiration, it is not awful like this film.   

Section 31 in Star Trek is known for amazing operatives, which means that they would not have a moron on the team, like the film had.  Also when it come to how Philippa Georgiou came to rule the Terran Empire at the beginning of the film, that made no sense when you see how career advancement takes place in Mirror Mirror and the other Star Trek episodes which feature the Mirror universe. 

I made a mistake in watching this film.  Take my advice and do not watch it.  

The Gorge

A very disappointing film.  I liked the horror themes in it, how The Hollow Men would come and how the land in The Gorge looked, but that was about it.

The film starts well, but rapidly starts to fail.  Normally, I do not include spoilers in my review, but I am going to have them now so I can get my rant over. The character is dropped away from The Gorge, making their way to the place that they are meant to guard.  But, when there, they have food, and have to work to restock ammunition.  Which leads to the question of how the ammunition gets there.  Somewhere that well stocked will need people to stock it up, which means that they fly the supplies in, and if so, why not fly the replacement guards in.

Also at the end, when the characters escape by getting up the cavern wall, why do the defences not kill them the way they kill The Hollow Men?

There are very few reasons to watch this, and considering that there are much better films out there, watch them instead. 

Who needs a striker?

I should have posted yesterday about how Arsenal may not need Saka as much. Nwaneri is amazing. While I do not think that he is as good as Saka, he is almost as good.  But Saka is 23, while Nwaneri is only 17.  Both should improve as they get older, but Saka has been doing this and while Nwaneri should do the same, Arsenal has seen talent not reach its potential before and I hope that Nwaneri learns from the mistakes of those before him without repeating them.

Anyway, what an awesome result.  For those, like me who missed it, the highlights are on the links below.  I would favour playing Real Madrid in the next round as they are more likely to play football against us, which means we have more of a chance to beat them.

And just for the record, I do think that we need to play with a striker.

This weekend

Yesterday we took my son to London for a treat. He had wanted to go to a particular restaurant there and do some other things. As the restaurant was not dog friendly we had to take Leia to the dog sitter before we left. The drive down was interesting due to fog, but that cleared up when we were in London.

We returned to Maltby Street market and had some breakfast before taking him to the shops he wanted to go to.  We made it to the restaurant in good time and had an amazing meal. We all loved the chicken, but our views diverged when it came to other dishes.  We also got to have an interesting cocktail (mocktail for me) before our lunch.  My Mum was not happy that we did not see her, but there was no time as after Lunch, we took my son to Spitalfields market where he loves to shop.

Today, we rested, though my son was working for his A-Levels. Sadly I have come down with a viral infection so I was  not able to do the long walk I usually do on a Sunday. Fingers crossed that I will be better for tomorrow! 

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.