Trump and racism (again)

Allegations about Trump and racism have surfaced. Again.

A while ago, there were allegations that someone in the White House was referring to COVID-19 by the racist term of 'Kung-flu' and these allegations were put to Kellyanne Conway.  Quite rightly, she asked for more information to investigate these allegations and the press did not act on them.  She also was correct (in my view) in saying that term would be racist.  And guess who has been saying it...

This Is The End

First of all, the film.  An interesting one, but one meant for men mostly.  It was meant to be terrible in points, melodramatic with terrible effects, but I loved the all star cast (well, almost).  I watched it with my wife who also liked it, but I like some ‘chick flicks’ as well.  Of course, watching a film about the end of the world is ‘interesting’ during the COVID lockdown.

Today was our street party which was a socially distanced one.  For most as some would get too close for comfort.  Though none appeared to be offended when we moved away to ensure correct social distancing.  Or when I referred to COViD-19 as The Plague.

As we are watching David Bowie at Glastonbury right now, I guess I will not be watching the victory of Arsenal over Sheffield United.  I was not sure that we would be able to win, but despite a scary end to the game, we are through.  Not sure how long form but you have no chance of winning it if you are not in the competition. 

Return of the Jedi

Today was a busy one.  It started with a trip to Primark.  While we have one in Colchester, despite being big, it has not got the choice of that at Lakeside.  So we went for an early morning drive there.  While I had wanted to get there before 0900, I think that it was because of me that we arrived late.  We queued in a socially distanced manner, made use of the hand sanitiser that was at he entrance and split up for a speed shop.  I was able to get some boxers, but no socks.  My daughter got some much needed items of clothing, but the main recipient was my son, who has had a growth spurt and since lockdown began, has grown out of most his clothes.

After an afternoon nap, I watched Return of the Jedi with my daughter.  I still love the film and remember my father taking me to watch it in the cinema when I was young.  My daughter has watched it before, but was not able to remember all that had happened.  Of course, when I was a teenager, once recorded, my brothers and I watched it over and over again.

I finished watching the Clone Wars film with my son, but have realised that we need to watch Solo before Star Wars Rebels.  The film was good, but there is no way Anakin would have bonded with and trusted Ahsoka Tano so much and so quickly.

I had a bike ride by myself. I should have taken my son, but the advantage of forgetting to ask him until I got back was that the ride was far longer and more gruelling than it would have been with him.  I do want my daughter to ride her bike, but we went for a walk instead.  We also saw a friend, Michelle which was nice.  So overall, a fulfilling day.

Congratulations to Liverpool

Congratulations to Liverpool. They won the league in an amazing manner.  Of course, I am grateful that they were beaten this season as that means that Arsenal still hold the title of The Invincibles.

And on the topic of Arsenal, our manager thinks that we may qualify for European competition thanks to our win yesterday. I do not think it will happen, but I hope he is right and that we win tomorrow. 

Rebecca Long-Bailey

Do I think that she is anti-Semitic? No.
Do I think that the article she re-tweeted was anti-Semitic? No.
Do I think that Maxine Peake, based on the article is anti-Semitic? No.
Do I think that the views expressed by Maxine Peake in the article were wrong? Yes, but only about how the technique that killed George Floyd was taught by Israeli police.
Was the Independent wrong to publish it? No.
Should Rebecca Long-Bailey have been sacked because of the article? Sadly, and reluctantly yes, even though she has clarified why she did this and how this was not endorsing the entire article.

The issue of Israel and Labour has surfaced again.  Rebecca Long-Bailey retweeted an article by Maxine Peake in the Independent.  Sadly, part of it linked the killing of George Floyd to Israel.  Allegations of Labour members being anti-Semitic have been weaponised, but the reason that this has happened has been because of the question of Israel and the inaction taken over the way that Jewish MP's have been abused, and driven out of the party if they have supported the right of Israel to exist.  Some would argue it is because they did not show Jeremy Corbyn loyalty when he was leader of the party, but my view of this is that Corbyn could only expect the same loyalty as leader that he had shown to other Labour leaders, and that members of the party should have accepted that.  Inaction before the publication of a report on antisemitism would be inexcusable.

Sadly, Islamophobia is more acceptable in the country, and while the Conservatives have taken some action on members who have been Islamophobic, they as a party have gotten away with a lot more intolerance than Labour have.  But Labour are not meant to be intolerant, while I expect prejudice to exist within the Conservatives.  Labour are meant to take the high ground on this.  

The problem with Israel is that the situation there is not black and white.  I do not consider the state of Israel to be apartheid, but the way it governs the occupied territories is akin to that.  I did not consider Israel to be racist, but changes to language laws have made me doubt that.  However, Christians in Israel have more rights than they have in Gaza (though Christians face more issues in the Occupied Territories from Israel than other Palestinians), and LGBTQ+ rights are better in Israel than in the Palestinian territories along with the rights of women.    

But going back to that article, it was wrong about how Israel taught the police officers involved in the killing of George Floyd the technique.  And retweeting the article would be used to harm Labour if no action was taken.

So it was right to sack Rebecca Long-Bailey, but I think that it will be right to allow her back into the Shadow Cabinet at a later date as well.

The Empire Strikes Back

Turns out that the Clone Wars film on Disney is not the only series, but rather is the first episodes featuring Ahsoka Tano, in order.  My son and I have started to watch it, though it is not the film we are looking for.

As for my daughter, we watched The Empire Strikes Back today, but he best bit was going for a long walk earlier.

Anyway, good night.  I am tired and would love to type more, but need my beauty sleep.

Clone Wars Series 7

Have finished watching the seventh series of Clone Wars with my son.  He insists on watching all of Star Wars in order.  So we watched Revenge Of The Sith.  I do like the film, it is just that the chemistry between Padmé Amidala and Anakain is very lacking.  It was only after that when we remembered to watch the original Clone Wars film.  But that will need to be for another day.  Saying that, this series ties in quite well with Revenge of the Sith, the last few episodes more so.  But Anakin is quite likeable in the series, including this one, while in both Revenge of the Sith and Attack of the Clones, he is not.    

It was nice going for a walk with my son in the evening, almost as good as spending the rest of the day with my wife earlier when I drove her to get some vinyl that she had been looking for.