Crime and migration

JD Vance, the man married to an American woman of Indian descent, the US vice-president, blamed the appalling murder of the British teenager Henry Nowak on mass migration.  Technically, immigration causing murder is something that Native Americans would have every right to agree with. So, when it comes to the USA, he is right.

I have discussed race and migration before. In summary, our Royal Family are descended from immigrants. Immigration benefits our nation and countries with low immigration rates then not to do as well as those which make the most of managed migration. 

Soon, England will be playing in the World Cup. Many of our players are not ethnically white British. But few would want Saka out of the team.  Our nation is stronger thanks to immigrants and their descendants. Not just with The Royal Family, not just with sport, but with so many areas.  

I want our nation to take advantage of the Trump presidency to attract talent to the UK. And of JD Vance becomes President, I want to take advantage of that as well. 

Soft power and The Royal Family

I have been outspoken with my support for The Royal Family. I do not want an elected head of state, as I would much rather have King Charles in charge as the democratically elected alternative would be Nigel Farage.

Many have refused to accept the soft power that The Royal Family brings, but the state visit to the USA showed the importance of this.  

The Monarchy has flaws, not just Prince Andrew, but the way it did not speak out in defence of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, when double standards were shown to her, something many consider a sign of racism. 

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested!

It is an interesting day, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested.  I am surprised that the same has not happened with Peter Mandelson though. It is right that one is being investigated for giving (or trading) information to Epstein but I wait to hear why both have not been brought in.

The Kings Speech

It was the first Kings Speech that we watched today. One which would be viewed by many as being political. I felt his speech referred to the cost of living crisis and also could be viewed as taking care of refugees. The last point is especially important considering how today is celebrated by many as the birth of the most famous refugee of all. 

Long Live The King

 Long live the king! Two friends and their son came over to watch the Coronation with us, but while my wife and prepared a feast for us, I felt guilty that we had not put up anything to celebrate the day.

My son was not interested in the event at all, he did not watch it and instead went into town to meet a friend. Later we bonded watching Greys Anatomy and even going on a drive together. His views is that the Monarchy should be judged on its past. He is aware that I am in favour of it, and while I do not like the way the Monarchy did not defend Meghan from racist double standards from aspects of the media, I do admire the views of King Charles on how the deportation of asylum seekers is appalling, as well as his views on climate change and sustainable farming. 

My daughter did watch it as well with us before going out with a friend at the end to Fingringhoe by bus and needing a lift once they got lost in the rain. She also would end the Monarchy though she disagrees with me that the alternative would be President Farage. Her commitment to democracy when it has given us Brexit and thirteen years of Conservative mis-rule is admirable for a post that in essence is a figurehead at present, but could usher in the Far Right if made democratic.

Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council was very impressive though she was called an air hostess by on or two watching it. Overall it was an event that the nation could take pride in.

I do understand that not everyone did so, and I think that this is one of the few occasions where the right for peaceful protest should not take place in earshot of the once in a lifetime event (for our new Monarch) when so many people who wish him well want to be able to see the even themselves. Comments by those who should know better that people should emigrate if they do not like the event are stupid and fail to reflect that one of the strengths of our nation is the ability to question authority. 

King Charles comes to town

King Charles came to town yesterday (or rather the city). My son was at school, but my daughter, being at the Sixth Form College, saw him as she waited in the centre and he passed by her. She, and her friends, waved at the snipers who were in town as well.  She wore a burger king crown and waved a flag. I found all this out when I had sent a text on the family group chat asking if she had been with the banner crowd or had been using the megaphone.

 

Many do not like the King, but I admire his views on Climate Change and also the deportation of refugees which he has has to remain silent in now he is our monarch. I do wish he had spoken out about the racist double standards his daughter-in-law had been subjected to however.

Issues about racism and refugees were in the news today thanks to a tweet by Gary Liniker. I think that a better choice of words would have made things clearer, but there is no doubt that the language used about asylum seekers is designed to incite hatred and has resulted in lots of the electorate blaming them for many issues in our nation.

In PMQs, the government reminded us how many refugees were taken in from Ukraine, Hong Kong and Afghanistan. But the fact remains that many crossing the channel to get to the UK, have no safe and legal route to get here. It would be easy to process applications in France rather than housing asylum seekers in hotels in the UK, and once there is a decent safe and legal route, then we can deport those crossing the channel. Instead many are now blaming this issue for the way the government have underfunded the NHS (and other public services).

Needless to say, issues of asylum and refugees were brought up in PMQs, the government who has failed to deport failed asylum seekers has been stating that it is Labour that are in favour of open borders. One thing that many Labour supporters will not like, will be the way that when this is sorted out when Labour come to power, deportations will take place.

Prince Harry is a credit to our nation.

My wife and I had a bit of a disagreement about how Harry and Meghan Markle are being portrayed in the media following the Netflix documentary.  For the record, I am not going to watch it and have no interest in doing so.

I have commented on the double standards shown to the Duchess of Sussex before.  To put it simply, it appears racist when one person who is white is commended for actions that one person who is not white is condemned for the same actions.  Such things are not the fault of the rest of the Royal Family, but rather is the fault of the parts of the media that engage in it.  The media have not been nice to the Royal Family and action taken about this when their privacy has been intruded upon is right.  I understand that The Royal Family cannot comment each time an inaccurate article is published because they would constantly be firefighting.  However, they can and should comment when they see racism.  The inaction of the Royals to condemn the double standards which many see as racist is inexcusable.  

I do not think that King Charles or Prince William would intentionally be racist, but as seen with the recent case with Ngozi Fulani being asked by Lady Susan Hussey where she was really from, people can be unintentionally racist and as seen with Prince Harry when younger, can cause offence.  But too many people have been the victims of double standards, an example is how ethnic minority police officers have faced such issues.

There are calls for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to be stripped of their royal titles, but many of these people are happy for Prince Andrew, the man who did not meet or have sex with a women who had been taken from a state where sex with her would have been considered under age to a nation where sex with her could be legal, to remain a royal.  If Prince Andrew is stripped of his titles first, then we can consider the same for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

In addition to this, there are people who have claimed that Prince Harry hates Britain. This is a man who has served on the frontline for our nation. If he hated it, he would not have served it, or promoted The Invictus Games after he left. Like all those who love their nation, there will be things that he wants to improve. I consider myself to be patriotic and feel that our nation can and should be better. 

Those who can remember are aware how stories about Princess Diana were leaked to the press. People in the media who deny that negative stories have been leaked, are either ignorant or are lying. I suspect that there may be some truths in at least some of these stories, as we saw with Princess Diana, but considering these stories tend to be about Meghan rather than Harry, it appears that even in the couple, one gets an easier deal than the other from the press.

The bottom line is that too many in the media have shown appalling double standards in dealing with the couple. I disagree with the way that the couple are making money from their experiences, but they appear to have no fair way of getting their side of the story out. So far, at least, it appears that some allegations will not be addressed in the documentary, but I doubt the couple will be credited for that either. 

In a way we’re ALL in a massive queue leading to a coffin

Today is a historic day with the funeral of The Queen taking place. I am not sure if my wife and I will be watching history as it happens, being on holiday, but leaders from across the globe have come to pay respects at her funeral.

I am in favour of The Monarchy, not because I consider them to be better than me (I do not do so BTW), but I prefer them to be Head of State. The option of an elected head of state has no appeal for me. In 2019, the Brexit party got the highest percentage of votes in the European Elections which are, or were, our only elections held under Proportional Representation which meant that Nigel Farage won it. In 2014, Brexit supporting parties won over 50% of the vote (a combination of UKIP, the Conservatives and the DUP equalling 50.5% of the vote, Nigel Farage getting the most votes again. If those elections had been for Head of State, we would have had Nigel Farage in office since 2014. The role is essentially ceremonial, The Monarch in essence doing what they are told, keeping their views private. King Charles, when Prince Of Wales, was outspoken on environmental issues, campaigning for this when it was not a big issue for the political mainstream (i.e. before the electoral performance  of The Green Party in the 1989 European Elections). In addition to this, he has reportedly spoken out in private about being against the deportation of refugees and migrants to Rwanda, a policy that would have seen Paddington being sent to the jungles of deepest Africa and Jesus being housed in an inn in Kigali for fleeing The Massacre Of The Innocents. Now, as head of state, he is going to have to appear to speak in favour of policies that will probably increase our contribution to global warming and may include even more radical proposals on deportation. Nigel Farage, in such a position would have a more prominent platform to spread his lies designed to stir up hatred and division in our multicultural nation.

The fact that so many have come to the funeral is a sign of how Britain is viewed and respected across the globe, Biden is risking death to do so by having to meet Liz Truss (though this has been postponed).  Few have sent representatives other than the head of state. 

I am not ashamed to have a Royal Family. I do understand the anger of republicans that so much money is spent on them when so many are facing a cost of living crisis, and it has been pointed out that the Dutch Royal family are housing Ukrainian refugees while ours are not.

What I am ashamed about when it comes to the Royal Family is the double standards shown (again). The Duchess of Sussex held the hand of her grieving husband and faced a backlash from many about this. I suspect that those who felt that she was wrong to do this will not speak out when other wives do the same on official visits to our nation. It just so happens that those couples are not mixed race and both are white. 

Should protests take place as people mourn?

This issue has come up recently in the UK. There has been an outcry that those who wish to protest have been prevented from doing so where people are mourning or paying respects to the late Queen Elizabeth the Second.

I want to know if people should be allowed the right to protest at funerals in the manner that you could in the USA. The Westboro Baptist Church had become famous for this though the law changed to prevent this at funerals.  Please note that I have no objections to such protests away from mourners. 

I did try discussing this with my daughter who thinks that protests against Prince Andrew should be treated differently and should be allowed (I do not know if she thinks the same for anti-Monarchy protests), but she did not elaborate on her views as she was too busy or tired as the day went on.

I do not think that The Westboro Baptist church or similar homophobic groups should be allowed to protest at funerals or where mourners are present. I would be interested to know if there should be a legal distinction between one type of protest and another though.  Please leave comments about this as I do want to hear views on this.

King Charles and the Greenest Government Never

Yesterday, before the Queen became ill, our Prime Minister was extolling the benefits of increasing the contribution of our great nation to Climate Change.  Our Queen has died and our King, Prince Charles, a campaigner for the climate, will have to make a Kings Speech were he is going to promote policies which will harm our planet and country.  

And that is ignoring any issues with immigration, as he is the son of an immigrant himself and has commented on the process of sending asylum seekers abroad before.

The Queen is dead, long live The King

I am not shocked that we have a change in monarch.  I am surprised that it has happened so soon after a change in Prime Minister, to quote Twitter, I’ve got a bottle of milk in the fridge that has seen two Prime Ministers and two monarchs. My son earlier today asked if he would get a week of school if she should die. I told him no. My daughter debated the monarchy in her politics class today, though I have yet to hear what she thought on the matter.

I am glad that it is Liz Truss who is Prime Minister though, the thought of Boris Johnson, the man who partied on the night of the funeral of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, talking to the nation about our late Queen would have been an insult to her memory.  And let us not forget how he lied to her when it came to the prorogation of Parliament. 

 

May she rest in peace, and may her son, also the son of a man born in Greece, reign in peace. 

RIP Phil The Greek

I am sure that there will be some who are offended by the title of this post.

But, despite his racist comments (which I suspect were not meant to cause as much offence as they did), I do think that it is important to remember what this man, an immigrant to our nation, did for it.

He was a war hero serving, like many (Ralph Miliband included) during World War Two.  In wartime, promoting an officer beyond their ability means death, and this was the case during the Second World War.

He created the Duke of Edinburgh awards and I know people who are grateful for the opportunities this offered to those who would not have had them.  

He was not perfect, but he reflects the multicultural heritage of our nation.  His son, the man who is most likely to be the next Monarch is the son of an immigrant, an issue that The Far Right cannot be seen to be against, despite the hostility seen towards those from Eastern Europe.

Meghan Markle and THAT interview

I am in the surprising position of siding more with Piers Morgan than with Meghan Markle over her interview.  Before I watched it, I was not, and was a lot more sympathetic to her.  Issues like the way her father has cashed in to berate her in public disgust me, not just the father for doing so, but the way some of what has been said has been manipulated to frame her in a worse light. But since watching it, I have changed.

There is a difference in how Harry came across in his interview on the bus about what happened.  He talked about the appalling way that elements of the media treated his wife, he talked about how this affected his mental health.  Of course, with Meghan being pregnant, she is not able to go on an assault course, or be taken to the house of the Prince of Bel Air.

There is always going to be an issue about who has said what and how it was said.  The issue of who made who cry is going to be a matter of perception.  There are ways to ask about the skin colour of a baby which are innocent, and there are ways to ask which are racist, and I can see how she will take offence when hearing about the comment.  But the facts are that Archie has not been discriminated against when it came to being called a prince based on his skin colour.  

I do not agree with everything that Piers Morgan has said, but I am not going to trust someone in an interview who has got an issue about royal titles wrong.  Saying that, while wrong, I understand that Meghan Markle will have issues about joining the Royal Family when so many elements of the press have been so cruel about her.

The sad thing is that now, people are focusing on her insinuation of racism from a member of the Royal Family rather than ignoring how she was so harshly judged on the same matters where her sister-in-law was praised.  

Meghan Markle and balance

I know that this is a bit late to blog about this, but I have to mention this.  Meghan Markle has been discussed in the media again thanks to the way that Prince Harry and her have split from the Royal Family.

There are two sides to every story, and we are never going to know the truth about what has happened to result in the couple taking their son and leaving for the USA.  What I do know though is that too many in our media have treated them appallingly.  Fortunately, there are some who are willing to speak up for the truth and discuss the double standards that exist as well as how some of the views that people have about the couple have no rational justification.

There may be reasons other than skin colour to explain the differences in what appears to be double standards.  I would be grateful if someone could explain them to me.