Day two in France and discussing ethnic cleansing in Gaza

We are at the holiday cottage we have rented. It belongs to the parents of a friend of our daughter. It is amazing. The drive was not as bad as yesterday, and while it has rained since we got here, I am hoping for better tomorrow.

During the last two days, I have ensured that my wife sleeps by listening to podcasts. She hates the voice of Jon Sopel. My daughter has listened to some of them yesterday, less so today and this led to an interesting conversation, this being about Gaza. We were listening to The Rest is Politics and there was a discussion about if the horrors in Gaza met the international definition of a genocide. My daughter felt it did, I did not. We had to disagree agreeably about this, much in the same way that Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell had to do.  Like on the podcast, we both agreed that what is happening in Gaza is horrific and should be stopped. I compared the horrors of Gaza to the genocide in Rwanda, what happened to the Rohingya and the evils of the Srebrenica massacre. I stated my view that the actions of Israel meets the criteria of Ethnic Cleansing but does not meet the threshold of genocide. My daughter disagreed with me and I found myself trying to defend Israel of one charge but not another.  While we did discuss it briefly today, notably with the actions in China where we both consider the Uyghurs to be subject to genocide. I will return to the topic of how Israel appears to ending the conflict through ethnic cleaning later this week if I can though. 

We went out for a meal today at a local place, this being called El Rancho Larzac and it was great. My burger was almost as good as that which I ate yesterday, the chips, while amazing, again not as good, but this place is still better than most burger places in the UK. We will hopefully be returning before I leave on Saturday.  You never know, it might not rain, for today, after we arrived here, it rained and rained and rained.  It is meant to rain tomorrow, but it should not be as much. On the way in, we had stopped at a supermarket and loaded up on supplies, my wife being shocked that I bought myself some Frosties! 

Anyway, it is late, so it is time for me to sleep and tomorrow, our plan is to test and recharge! 

Day one in France

We are in the city of Orléans. By we, I mean my wife, daughter and me.  My son decided not to come, preferring to spend time with the parents of my wife. We met them near the M25 to hand him over to them. My Mum is not too happy that he did not want to spend the two weeks with her. She is not aware that a few weeks ago, when he has an argument with us, that he wanted to travel to London to spend a night there to calm down.

Anyway, it was an interesting drive as we drove through Paris during rush hour and I ended up getting slightly lost in the city after encountering a huge traffic jam. But we are now resting. We went into the city itself to have dinner and gaze upon the statue of Joan of Arc. Sitting down, is when I started to relax. The picture is one my daughter took. In the square, we sat at a French restaurant, enjoyed good food, and if we wanted to, we could watch the basket ball games taking place.

My son would have loved it. On the way, we stopped at a service station where my daughter had a raspberry macaroon which she loved. He missed out on it, my daughter saying that it was better than any she has eaten in the UK. He also would have loved the menu at the restaurant where we ate, the dish of tagliatelle and shrimp being the one I would imagine he would have gone for. 

Do Junior Doctors want Nigel Farage to destroy the NHS?

Junior Doctors are to go on strike.  Since 2010 they have had numerous real terms pay cuts.  But this year, when they are to get an above inflation pay rise, they are going to strike.  They have previously gone on strike in 2016, 2023, 2024 and I supported them with this.  There was no strike in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 or 2022 when they had pay cuts.  In 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020 Junior Doctors got an above average pay rise. 

The pay rise that they are to get is not only above inflation, but is more than other NHS staff are getting. The only reason that I can see why the BMA would recommend not striking during the many years what Junior Doctors got below inflation pay rises and to strike when they are to get an above inflation pay rise, is that they want to see Nigel Farage take power.  And we know what he wants for the NHS...

France trip in the balance

We are due to go to France this week, travelling on Friday.  Today, my son told me he does not want to go.  He has had an issue with my wife since they had an argument over a week ago.  This was before we were to take him to Manchester, my wife having booked a hotel for us to stay overnight before travelling back down to London.  On that Saturday, he was to see the university, but decided that he did not want to go.  Then he said that he had told my wife that he did not want to go, but as I pointed out, if that was the case and she was not listening, he should have mentioned this to me.

Today, my son and I went for a joint dog walk together.  I was really happy, as was the dog who loves it when she is taken out by more than one person.  It was during the walk, my son asked if he did not have to come with us on holiday.  Among his reasons, was the argument that he had with my wife. He was hoping to stay with friends and then later his grandparents.  Again, money has been lost, not loads, but some money.  We are to drive over two days to the holiday cottage and have booked two rooms with four beds there and rooms for the trip back.  If we had known that he did not want to come, we could have booked cheaper rooms.  The holiday itself is in a cottage, so there is no loss of money for that.

His excuse also included that he did not know if he was meant to be going, which he had been told that he would be coming.  When he was not speaking to his mother, we did say that his communication with her had to improve or he would be left with her parents for the two weeks.  His communication did improve so we reassured him he would be able to come. But now he wants to not enjoy a holiday in the sun with a pool, but instead stay just outside London with his grandparents.

I know from my work that other teenagers can be far worse, but this is annoying.  My wife and I are going to sleep on this and make a decision on the matter tomorrow morning.  

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.