Should the British Museum only have items from the UK?

Yesterday, Rishi Sunak declined to see the Greek Prime Minister because he answered a question about The Elgin Marbles.

I understand the desire of Greece to have them back, but as has been pointed out, many nations want items in The British Museum to be returned to them.  I guess it can be argued that no nation should have items in a museum that do not belong to that country.  I am of the opinion that this is not of any use in teaching people about history of other nations.  I do think that there could be more sharing of the more mobile items across borders but when it comes to the treasures looted by The British Empire, they should stay.  

However, it is silly for Sunak to act in the manner that he did.  I would expect our politicians to speak to nations like China and Saudi Arabia about human rights.  I think it is right for the Greek Prime Minister to bring up an issue of importance to Greece.   

Leading and The Holy Land

I have listened to two amazing podcast episodes (47 & 48 if you wish to listen to them) on the current issues with Israel and Palestine.  

My views on them have been tempered by a good friend of mine, who while he agrees what is happening in Gaza is terrible, appears to have fallen for Israeli propaganda.  This is probably because of friends of his who live in Israel, who have to live in the shadow of rocket attacks from Gaza.  What was interesting was his claim, told to him by his friends, that such attacks have been launched from the West Bank.  Those who have read my other posts on this are aware that Labib Dumaidi was murdered when settlers attacked the Palestinian town of Huwara before Hamas went and murdered over 1000 Israeli civilians.  When I mentioned this to him, he said that it was wrong, but so were the rocket attacks on settlements.  He said it was not reported on due to the media in the UK being biased.  While no rocket attacks from the West Bank have taken place, attacks on settlements have occurred.

The podcast episodes do not look at how America and the Palestinian Authority tried to overthrow the (then) democratically elected government in Gaza, but they do look at how the chance of peace that was won in 1991.  I like how they did comment that while there are extremists on the Palestinian side, there are also too many in Israel.  What was interesting was a solution of a return to the Oslo Peace Accords but with the settlements remaining, but being under control of the Palestinians with Jews being allowed to live there. 

If you do get a chance, have a listen to them and let me know what you think in the comments below.       

Mafia Mamma

 

The best thing about this film was watching it with my wife, the scenery and the fact that she liked it. I honestly did not think that Toni Collette could be in a bad film. I was wrong. One review states the film is “Riddled with stereotypes, fatally unfunny, and a total tonal mishmash, Mafia Mamma is a criminal waste of Toni Collette." Rotten Tomatoes is right about this. It has made me want to visit it again, maybe next year… 

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

First of all, Arsenal are top of the league again. I am going to enjoy saying this at work tomorrow. I had said that I thought that David Raya (on loan from Brentford) is the better goalkeeper but that Aaron Ramsdale was the more reliable. Yesterday he tried to prove me wrong on this matter. But we still won. It took a late goal, but it is the three points that count.

As for the film, we all watched it as a family. My son had wanted to watch it last weekend, but we said no due to his mock exams which he is going through. We all liked the film. I had a few issues with so much land not being used for farming in a world riven by hunger, but it was enjoyable. When it is out on streaming, I may watch the entire series again.

Ode to Joy

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that Ode to Joy sums up Labour. If this is a political move, it is genius. It will not bother most voters, but it will enrage those Brexiteers who despise him and may endear him to those who voted remain.

International men's day

It was International Men's Day on the 19th of November.  When I first learned about this, I thought it was a stupid idea to have one, but over the years, my view on this has changed. 

I think that such a day is important to promote health changing behaviour, and also to challenge toxic masculinity, including what is and is not consent. 

We saw the need for change in the media in September when the failure of Dan Wootton to say Maaate to Laurence Fox resulted in both making the news for the wrong reasons. Since the original comments, Dan Wootton has been sacked by the MailOnline, and Laurence Fox has (finally) apologised for his comments.

I have posted before about the pressure on men to be toxic. We see those like Andrew Tate venerated by other men, but we also see people like Russell Brand being defended by some women. When it comes to toxic behaviour in men being tolerated, it is the 'right type' of man who is able to get away with this. While it is not with most woman, there are enough women who are attracted to bad boys which makes men see such behaviour as the right thing to do.

There are so many things that we can do to help society become better, but that includes addressing the issues that men face, not just to their own health, but how they affect others. Examples of this include teaching men how to act in relationships to reduce rates of domestic violence, ensuring that women do not have to fear being killed by men (or boys) due to an actual or perceived slight. And of course, reducing the numbers carrying knives.

The Creator

Visually and emotionally, this is a great film. However as a science fiction nerd, it is crap. Do not read this post if you wish to watch the film.

I watched it with three normal people, and by this I mean that they do not love sci-fi as much as I do. My wife, who was one of them, liked it.

The sci-fan in me dislikes how the base did not defend itself properly. How when the village above it was discovered, that alarms were not set off. When it came to taking out the base, a missile would have done. Alternative/Artificial intelligence will be able to manage computers better than we can and we will not be able to hack them, it would be the other way round. Why do people shoot weapons in the future which are less effective than the ones we have now

Why robots would take up human religion is beyond me as well. But the three normal people loved that touch.  In summary, if you love science fiction, do not watch it.