Unions and workers rights

On my YouTube feed, this video was suggested.  I though I should share it as a reminder why unions are important.  There are those on the right who are against workers having rights but they forget that unions want workers to have jobs.  A comparison of what can be done in the USA should be a reminder of the advantages of unions who have striven for workers rights and those victories should not be thrown away.  Lets face it, no one in a job in the UK wants to be treated like the employees of Twitter after Musk took charge of it. 

Arsenal lost

Getting into work today, two people greeted me by laughing about the result as soon as I stepped through the door.  It did not stop there.  Even patients have been talking about it.  The only thing I can say back to them is that we are still top of the league.  Hopefully that will last...

Labour, Andy Burnham and media bias

Andy Burnham has been blocked from standing as an MP for Labour. I do not know if it is the right or wrong thing to do, but what I do know is that him replacing Starmer as leader has risks as well as benefits.  The main advantages of having him as leader is that he has shown that he is capable in his role a Mayor of Greater Manchester but more importantly, he is a great communicator.

One big disadvantage is that Labour have financial handcuffs thanks to the dire economic legacy that they have inherited from the Tories.  The spending plans of Rachel Reeves are accepted by The City and any decision to spend more will result in debt repayments increasing, which means more money to bankers in interest and a smaller proportion to helping people of the country.  Also, like it or not, Starmer has managed to save many British jobs thanks to the way he has dealt with Trump.

But what people forget is the way the media is biased against Labour.  I have no issues with the media holding Labour to account.  Starmer has changed his views on many matters, some of which is right, some of which could be explained with better communication.  It is right that the media scrutinise the government.  What is not right is the way the media ignore Reform UK.  There are numerous examples of where Nigel Farage has been given a pass on matters.

As noted in the video above, Nigel Farage praised the nightmare budget of Liz Truss.  His trip to Davos to stick it to the global elites was not one.  The Guardian stated that he is listed on the programme for the World Economic Forum as a member of parliament and a representative of HP Trust, which describes itself as the “family office of Sasan Ghandehari” with a portfolio value in excess of $10bn (£7.4bn).  His views on how only some people should be jailed for social media posts have also not been challenged or raised either.  There are his dodgy finances where he has accidentally forgotten to declare financial interests on time as well has his views on duplicating ICE from the USA.  

In summary, Labour has to change the way it communicates, because the media bias against them is killing them in the polls.  And a change of leader risks the economic gains we have won. 

My wife meeting up with friends

Today, we went to London to meet up with old school friends of my wife.  We took my son, who had a friend with him.  While we went to a restaurant, my son and his friend went shopping and appeared to enjoy themselves.  I get on well with the friends and the husbands, and it was nice to meet up.  The dog was very good, even when one of them teased her a bit.  We are lucky to have such a placid dog, as is Robin who did not get bitten!  We had met up last year in the same place, then without the dog, our children shopping together back then.  Anyway, I need to rest.  It has been a long drive. 

The alleged ceasefire in Gaza

Trump is forming The Board of Peace. Originally thought to be the next step on the ceasefire process in Gaza, Trump has fashioned it to suit his ego.

While peace has not come to Gaza, the alternative, which is the continued war, is far worse.  There are many in Israel who want the war to restart so that Christians and Muslims can be removed from Gaza. I would love a just peace for Palestinians, one that had been agreed many years ago, but sadly this is not going to happen while Trump is in power.

Which Brings Me to You

My son, wife and I watched this last night. While described as a rom-com, there is not much comedy. But we liked the film. We all have different tastes when it comes to films, and when it started, I thought it was going to be the usual bland rom-com. It is not, it is a story that is not normally told in this way. It is best described as a romance and one that leaves viewers being able to discuss how the two main characters will go on with their lives afterwards.

Like many films, I doubt I will watch it again, but it was nice to watch it, even better that all three of use did so together.  The Guardian rated it three out of five and I would have to agree with it. 

The cost of occupying Greenland

There is understandable concern that Trump wants to occupy Greenland. In the event of an invasion, the US would quickly win. But how many American lives is Trump willing to give to occupy it? We saw quick invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan resulting in US troops being killed by those resisting their presence. If the USA invades Greenland, how popular would its occupation be if US troops were killed? Would the American public really back Trump in that situation?

But, it may not come to that. Some NATO members have sent troops to Greenland. Trump is not happy and wants them out. Preventing an invasion keeps NATO together, officially. Is it dead however?

My Mum wants to leave Labour

First of all, my wife and I dropped our daughter off in Bristol. We had intended to do this earlier in the day but woke up late.  Driving there is my car is the environmentally right option as my car is electric while my wife has a hybrid car. It means that we do get a chance to rest, but this also means the journey takes longer when it charges.  It has enough range to get to the services at Reading when driving there, or the services at South Mimms on the way back, but there are no services in between.  The dog was not happy when my daughter was dropped off and sulked, ignoring her as she said goodbye. My son did not come as he has a party.

On the way back, while charging the car, my mother rang, asking if she should leave Labour. She said that Labour are not doing anything for the environment. If that was the case, then Reform UK and the Tories would not need to complain, but they do oppose Labour on the environment. My EV was bought at a discount thanks to the stance of Labour on electric cars. 

While I can see why she is attracted to The Green Party, but the economic policies of The Green Party are from Planet Truss.  We saw the damage that fantasy economics did to the country under her. Polanski has not learned from history when it comes to his policies, not just Zimbabwe, but Germany in 1923.  

I don’t agree with Labour on everything. I can see why they have had to take decisions which offend many. I think Labour are wrong on immigration, I think that they were wrong to offer Junior Doctors the highest pay rise in the public sector when pay restoration applies to so many, such as nurses.

But I do think that Labour are the best to run our nation. I hope my mother can see that. 

Does it matter if Tommy Robinson likes to be intimate with men?

Last year, on one of my many long Twitter debates, the topic of Tommy Robinson spending time in jail was discussed.  During this, I suggested that he did not need to spend time in jail to meet men when there were other options. It turns out that I may have been right. 

Tommy Robinson has been outed as having an interest in gay love.  Personally, I have no issues with it.  But it appears that Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (his real name) has, as he deleted a tweet where his interest was exposed.  He should remember that there is nothing wrong with men who are intimate with other men and men should not be ashamed if they are.  

Should JK Rowling comment about everything on the planet?

As stated before, I do not go onto Twitter as much. Bluesky is so much nicer, quieter, but is a much nicer place to post.  

I have noted though that many have said that JK Rowling is wrong not to speak out about the execution of Renee Nicole Good.   But today, I watched a video from Novara Media commenting how she did not speak out against the war in Gaza.  

The thing is, JK Rowling did comment about the conflict referring to 'snivelling apologists for rape and murder' but there is a reason why Novara Media may not discuss that. Notably because of the crimes of Hamas against women in the attack. Some have denied that this happened but Hamas has form when it comes to discrimination.

Women's rights in Gaza have been curtailed under Hamas, an example of this is how the UN marathon was cancelled due to Hamas banning women taking part in it.

I did agree with the essay JK Rowling wrote about women and segregated spaces.  I do not agree with some of her views on this matter now as I think that she has been radicalised.  But she has been vocal in speaking out about women's rights in Afghanistan, Iran and also in the USA.  I challenge anyone to say otherwise.  

People We Meet on Vacation

This is a film that we watched as the family had wanted to.  My son has been revising for his mock exams and has been unwell recently, but is now better.

As a family film, it was enjoyable.  I would rate is as an average film.  It had a decent soundtrack and also had a memorable character.  As a romcom, it was predictable and unless it is on when I am channel hopping, I am unlikely to watch this again.  The rest of the family enjoyed it more than I did and it is spending time with them which was more enjoyable than watching the film.  

All in all, it was nice to watch it.  If you have not watched it, I would not go out of your way to do so, but it is not a film to avoid. 

Paedosky or Pedosky?

Last year, when I used Twitter more, I was told that Bluesky should be called paedosky. The post was made from an account that is now suspended (and I am not going to sign up for Twitter chat to share the conversation). 

The irony is that Elon Musk has allowed it to be used to alter images of women and children to undress them. Twitter has yet to take decent action on this, but as more leave it, I suspect it wants to keep features that will stop incels from moving to Truth Social. 

When it comes to banning Twitter (or X as my wife and much of the world calls it) over deepfakes, that is a decision I am against. Deepfakes have been around for a few years now and have been used to create sexualised images of women, and children but not to this extent.  I use an AI image generator for my hobby of role playing and when I have used it, it will rightly delete images that it considers too rude. Just for the record, I have not tried to create such images, but occasionally it will self censor images it deems inappropriate. In addition to this, the main AI engines I have used will not allow images of real people to be altered or created. But I have not tried Grok for my hobby as I don’t use Twitter that much. 

Sadly, I think that the only thing to do, to ensure that Twitter is punished for this, is for users to switch to Bluesky. Legislation has been suggested on this matter in the past, and acting now to single out Twitter when this matter has been ignored for years is morally and legally dubious. Actions against all software which do this is overdue.

Venezuela and the abduction of Nicolás Maduro

Let me first of all say that the abduction of Nicolás Maduro is wrong and is a breach of international law.  

He is rightly regarded as an illegitimate president and I shed no tears about the end of his regime.  However, due to the need for the UK to keep on the good side of Trump, I understand why Starmer has not condemned this. 

There are many who have called him out over this, and I see why, but when you peel back the layers of his decision not to do so, you can understand why.

One is the Trump Tariffs. If we annoy The Orangutan, then we risk having higher tariffs which will harm British jobs and affect the growth our nation needs.

The other is Ukraine. If Putin gets his way, he will be able to take what he wants of Ukraine, weaken it for the next invasion and will have sanctions dropped allowing him to prepare for the invasion of The Baltic States.

While there is concern that Trump will invade Greenland, I doubt the US Congress would allow this to happen without consequences.

Politics, Labour and the Democrats

I like Jimmy Carr.  I think that while he is very controversial (the rest of my family cannot stand him), he has some interesting views on life.  He has been doing a round of interviews and on one of them, he talks about how Labour are not the party of the working class.  He is wrong, they are.  Like in the USA where Trump has sold himself as representing the working class, Farage and Reform PLC have managed to pretend that they are the party of the workers when they are not. 

In the UK, Labour were given a growing economy built on undeliverable spending promises which had been made by the Tories.  Hard decisions had to be made and while Reform, The Greens and Your Party have economic polices from Planet Truss, Labour have got on with making our nation better.

An example of how Reform pretend to be the party of workers when they are not are the way they have opposed renters and employment rights. 

A big problem with Labour is communication.  They have been useless at communicating about the flaming turd of debt that they were given and Labour have been inept at stating what they have done.  But, like with the Democrats in the USA, Labour are the party of the working class.

Israel hates Starmer

I met one of my friends on a dog walk with my daughter.  He is someone who is responsible for my job change to what I do now, and while I do not see him as often as I would like, it is always enjoyable to see him.

We have similar views on politics, but I am more centrist than he is.  One issue where we disagree is about Starmer and Israel.  I do not back the appalling ethnic cleansing that Israel is carrying out in The West Bank, and considering the land grab in Gaza, there as well.  But I am aware of the pressure that Starmer is by both sides of the debate to pick one side over the other. 

What may forget is that Benjamin Netanyahu does not like Starmer and has spoken out against him over the recognition of a Palestinian State. Starmer said Netanyahu criticisms over UK export suspension were wrong, and in August 2025, said that Israel’s plans to escalate the "war" in Gaza would ‘only bring more bloodshed’ all of which has not endeared him to the current Israeli leadership. They would prefer it if Kemi Badenioch or Nigel Farage were in charge. Mind you, thanks to Labour, Benjamin Netanyahu cannot come to the UK to meet them for the support they have given his government. 

Like voters in the UK, Starmer has united most of those for and against Israel in the UK in their dislike for him over how he has dealt with the matter.