I do not think that someone resisting an ICC arrest warrant should be allowed to nominate someone for the Nobel Peace Prize

Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he will nominate Donald Trump for the Nobel peace prize. The man who is wanted by the International Criminal Court has no place in nominating anyone for the award.  He has continued to speak about his plan to "encourage" Palestinians to leave Gaza, which is Ethnic Cleansing. I have listened to The World at One on the radio and someone described the plan as creating concentration camps.  It will be interesting if the BBC is castigated for that as it has been over other matters despite its attempts to try and stay unbiased as the murder of Palestinians continues.  Comparisons will be made to what the Nazi's did, and when it comes to that, Palestinians will not be sent onwards to gas chambers, but the term Concentration Camp can be used to compare the plan to how the British used them during the Boer Wars.

Russian windows and The Handmaid's Tale

I have posted before about suspicious Russian deaths before, but not for a while.  My last post was in December 2022, and the one before that was in September 2022.  Well there appear to be a spate of new accidents and suicides.  I am not sure if the exact interpretation of the cause is going to be accurate in the video, but I am glad to live in a nation where those who object to our nation do not end up dead.

On a different note, I got home late from work but spent the time watching the last episode of The Handmaid's Tale.  The end of the series was overdue.  I loved it when I started to watch it, but then the plot started to fork.  It became unnervingly accurate with how refugees are hated, but the final episode was just too fanciful.  Gilead would have driven the insurgents out and would have used brutal force, the Commanders would not have flown out if enemy planes were in the area, and also would have left the area of combat as soon as danger started.  

But it is also disturbing to watch how the USA has drifted towards authoritarianism.  It is one thing to deny entry to the USA for those who do not like Trump, it is another thing to detain and/or deport those legally in the USA for exercising the right to free speech, but the administration is now targeting Americans. 

When I started to watch The Handmaid's Tale, I saw how people compared the USA to it.  I felt that was an exaggeration.  I still think that it reflects Afghanistan more than the US, but the US is becoming more like it now.

Banning Palestine Action

Banning Palestine Action sounds terrible. However I suspect few of their supporters are aware of how they destroyed equipment destined for Ukraine in Tournai, aiding Russia in the process. The direct action which had been carried out did not help Iran or Gaza. If the UK was happy with the USA breaking international law by attacking Iran, Diego Garcia would have been used to launch the attack. Instead, the US had to fly its bombers from the US to launch the attacks. 

Do I agree with banning a group that has helped Russia in its invasion of Ukraine? No. But they had a chance to present their side of the argument that they are not a terrorist organisation, and lost. 

While some will decry the limits on free speech, we can still protest our opposition to the continued murder of civilians in Gaza. And many, quite rightly, will continue to do so. 

Zarah Sultana and The People's Front of Judea

Zarah Sultana has stated that she and Jeremy Corbyn are to create a new left wing party.  What I want to know is why.  We already have left wing alternatives to Labour, Plaid Cymru in Wales, the Scottish National Party in Scotland, in Northern Ireland we have Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party while nationally we have the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats.  We also have the Workers Party of Britain (with George Galloway at its head) and the Socialist Workers Party (which did not stand at the last General Election).  Most in England who are to the left of centre, but do not wish to vote Labour, decide to vote Green or Lib Dem.  The Greens are felt to be more left wing than Labour, and the Liberal Democrats are more left wing in some areas, and not as much in others.    

So when someone wants to create a new party, I want to know if it is a good idea for them to take left-wing anti-Labour votes away from The Green Party. 

Rachel Reeves and austerity

This week may have been better for the nation than it is feared. Welfare needs reform to help those who can work back into work. But, it is easier said than done. In places like Jaywick, it is harder for those who live there to find work than it is in Colchester due to travel times to work and the availability of public transport.

My ideal solution would be a basic income, but the issues with that relate to how much money should be given to help those on it.  The facts are simple, we have too many people being forced to use foodbanks. Also, reducing the money available in the system is just risking the return to Tory austerity and the effects many said it had on economic growth in the UK.

Which means that the failure to cut welfare may turn out to be better for economic growth as it means that there is more money being spent in the system. Time will tell…

The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling

Produced a few years ago, I thought I would listen to this again now that JK Rowling has been radicalised by Twitter. Back then, I would defend the author from arguments that she was transphobic on Twitter, until the person I was debating would block me rather than continue the discussion. It is not just me that feels that JK Rowling has become radicalised, Stephen Fry (who has left Twitter) has as well. 

At the time, some considered this to gloss over transphobia, referring to a rapist who identifies as a woman in a more flattering light than I would. The article, from 2023, also states that JK Rowling implicitly conflated being trans with being a predator, despite her essay specifically stating otherwise. It also deals with the concerns that JK Rowling raised about how transitioning pre-puberty has a risk/benefit ratio that needs to be researched in more detail (but apparently it is transphobic to suggest this) and also the interview of Milo Yiannopoulos on it.

 I have discussed this with my daughter who refuses to listen to it in case any money goes to JK Rowling.  She loved the books, but now considers them tainted.  Needless to say, my daughter and I disagree on this matter, but she has promised me a discussion when she has researched this in more detail.  Sadly, this promise has been one that has been around for over a year and has yet to happen.  

In summary though, this is more interesting considering how JK Rowling has gone back on her promise to respect pronouns.  

28 Days Later

After making my post yesterday, I realised that I had forgotten to review the first film! I watched it on iPlayer and the quality of it was dated, but I would say that this film was better than its sequel. At the time it was released, there were few zombie films about and since then I have watched the amazing The Last Of Us.

So in a way, it is a shame I had not watched it at the time, because I have been spoilt by a series which has built on it. But I liked it. I doubt I will watch it again, but I do think that it was worth watching, something I cannot say for certain with its sequel. 

I may take the time to watch the films that resulted from this, or even the series The Walking Dead. But I am glad that I have seen it, even if it is no longer a great film.