We lost, but is it all over?

Yes, Arsenal lost. Any semifinal is a tricky tie, and while we have a good record against PSG, it is the result on the night that counts. And we were wanting. I only got to watch the highlights as I had work to do, but I am still hopeful that we can get through to the final. And if we do, I hope we face Inter Milan as I think that Barcelona will tear us to bits. 

Elections in Ukraine and a UN government

Peace is being discussed (again) in Ukraine.  Putin has now agreed in part to the latest plan from Trump, but I think that we should accept the plan from Putin.

Late last month, Putin had proposed that Ukraine was placed under a UN mandate and that elections were held.  I think that this is an excellent ideas and we should work towards the UN taking over all of Ukraine, with elections being held across Ukraine, these being run and supervised by the UN, this including it taking place in areas occupied and/or annexed by Russia.

In addition to this a free and fair set of referendums can be held rather than the fixed ones that Russia held which have been accepted as valid by some in the Trump administration. I suspect that Putin did not have this in mind, but what he said he meant sounds good. 

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

Today, I watched this film with my son in the cinema.  It has been a few years since I last watched it. I still love Star Wars, and while the prequels are not as good as the original three, it was good to watch this. I have to remember that this is a children’s film, though a dark one, a very dark one. I may have commented before that these films have a better plot than the sequels, and that is the case. But episodes seven to nine have better acting and direction, but the plot is wanting. 

Before I watched it in 2020 when Trump was in power, but he did not succeed in destroying democracy. Will he be lucky the second time, a thought which was present when this film charted the descent of he Galactic Republic into the dictatorship of The Empire. 

I think that my son enjoyed the film, it was great to spend time with him. I would like to think that he enjoyed time with me as well. 

Cutthroat Island

This is a terrible film. Do not watch it. I saw it was on Amazon Prime and as I am running an adventure which is sea based, I thought that I would watch it to get some ideas.  Also, it has a decent cast, so I thought that it would probably be good.  It was not.  The Twilight series should have warned me that having a decent cast does not guarantee a decent film, Cutthroat Island predating that awful film series.

The overacting is not as bad as the plot, which is not as bad as the direction.  When it comes to people learning how not to make a film, this is one of the lessons which should be learned from.

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.

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.