A day in the woods

 This walk was recommended to me by a colleague at work. When I say a colleague of mine, technically, as my daughter and I work in the same place, it is a colleague of ours.  

I did ask my son and wife if they wanted to come, but both declined.  Which is a shame as it was a lovely walk. With a bit of up and down, it was actually more exhausting than my normal walks which are a lot flatter. My daughter came and we talked about matters, including how she coped with having to do much harder walks on her travels. Leia, our Cockapoo, loved it. This is almost certainly a place we will return to and I will need to thank our colleague for the recommendation.

On to Arsenal and their draw. It was disappointing after our midweek victory, but fans like me would prefer a midweek win, and if we go through to the next round, this draw will be tolerable.

China, Taiwan, the peace dividend and tariffs

Growing up in the UK, I have had to live with the threat of terrorism thanks to the IRA.  In Northern Ireland, once The Troubles ended, the peace dividend has helped communities.  When I was in Sri Lanka, I saw how thanks to peace, how the infrastructure of the North of Sri Lanka was developed and how peace has made things better.  Nations who gain through peace have less reason to resort to war.

China, which has developed its military might, has benefitted from peace.  But it has its eyes on Taiwan.  It has seen the response of Europe and the USA towards Russia when it invaded Ukraine (again) and the cost to the nation.  But if the trade war between Trump and China escalates, we could see China being in a position where it has little to lose through western economic sanctions, if it decides to invade Taiwan.  

There are other ways that China can retaliate towards the USA, but it may decide that it is nothing to lose if things continue to get worse.

What a game

I was meant to go for a dog walk with my son today, but issues with our dishwasher meant that plan was scrapped. When I did go for a walk, Leia met of of her friends on the way back, so we went for a long walk together. That was Louie and his human, Nick. It was longer than I have done in a while and tired the dog out. 

During the walk, we talked about many things. Nick has stopped listening to politics podcasts as they are too depressing, thanks to The Orangutan. We also talked a little bit about football. While he is not a fan of the game, he appreciated the victory of Arsenal.  I discussed my view that few teams can play football against us and that this was the mistake Real Madrid made in the past, and how I feared playing against Athletico Madrid more as they would play a more tactical game.

The tie is not over. We have to travel to Madrid and they can turn us over there. But we have given ourselves a great chance of going through to the next round. 

Israel assassinated ambulance workers

For those who are unaware, Israel killed some emergency workers. They claimed that the ambulances were travelling without emergency lights and that some of them were Hamas members. However, one of the dead had recorded the drive, showing that they had their emergency lights on. As they pulled over when they saw the ambulance they had come to get, the Israeli troops waiting until they were out of the vehicles before opening fire in what appears to be a lethal ambush.

While the Israeli Defence Forces will claim to investigate this, we know their willingness to kill Palestinian civilians. Some may remember the hostages who were killed by the IDF trying to surrender, deaths which would not have been noted by the mainstream media in the west if they had been Palestinian.

As you may recall, I understood the desire of Israel to act after the horrors of October the 7th, a day where Hamas recorded the murders in a way reminiscent of the way the Nazi’s recorded The Holocaust. But there was a negotiated ceasefire which Israel decided to break when Hamas did not agree to new terms which were demanded by Israel. Sadly, this is going to continue without consequence for the next few years. Things may improve a bit if a Democrat takes Presidential office in four years, but Israel appears to have a free hand in the murder of Palestinians until then. 

Walking on Sunshine

Family first. My son is feeling unwell. He had been out on Friday and my wife is convinced that he picks up something every time he is out late. Apparently the band he went to see were not even worth it!  My daughter took part in vaccinations yesterday and was in a local care home and started to feel depressed afterwards. After watching the film with my wife, I took the dog out for a walk and bumped into her and a friend walking back from their night out on the town.  She sat down and cried about the residents there saying that she would never put us in a home. But she did not get to see the good things about this, something I will discuss with her later today.

Now, the film. It was definitely not the movie event of the year, but yes, it was similar to Mamma Mia. The odds are that if you like this film, which was made in 2014, that you will like Mamma Mia, which was made in 2008. However, the acting is not as good, and the singing it not up to the standards of Mamma Mia (if you erase Pierce Brosnan from the score). It has a very good selection of songs, the scenery is amazing and Leona Lewis’s voice is fantastic. But despite that, I do not think this film is worth watching. My wife enjoyed it and I got to spend time with her watching it. But I will never watch this again. 

Trump, Afghanistan and his deals

It is hard to follow what is happening with international politics when it comes to the USA.  But we can see how things are not going to be good for a while when we look at the deal Trump negotiated in Afghanistan.  

While Biden got the blame for the chaos that resulted, Biden had two poor choices.  Stick to the agreement made by Trump, or break it.  He took the long view in the best interests of America and stuck to the bad deal that his predecessor had negotiated.  

While we can mention how the Abraham Accords were negotiated by Trump, again a great deal for him, one which was terrible for the Palestinians, I think that it is important to remember the consequences of his deal in Afghanistan.

In the years before Trump, I would disagree with my mother about the issue of Afghanistan.  She argued that the west should leave it.  My view was that by staying, human rights in Afghanistan were better and we could help the nation move towards a more tolerant society.  But she got her way, the west pulled out of the nation and now the country is sliding backwards again.  Women's rights are being trampled on, but at least there is 'peace' in the country.  

So do I trust Trump to make a good deal?  For him yes, but his deals trample on the rights of those he considers beneath him. 

Trump and fixing his trade issues

People are trying to make sense of Trump and the tariffs he has imposed.  Basically, he has a government which is not known for intelligence.  Not just with the debacle with the Signal App, but other examples include who he has sent to negotiate with Russia.  

He has imposed a tariff on an island of penguins.  Some are talking about negotiating with him, but this is the man who renegotiated a deal with Mexico and Canada in 2020 and now has decided that they are taking advantage of the USA due to his deal!  

As you can see from the first video, there may be method in the madness that he has unleashed, but anyone who thinks that they can trust him to stick to his own deals is a fool.

In summary, I do not think that Trump realises the consequences of what he is imposing on the people of the USA.  After all, the USA is not able to produce its own coffee, tea or bananas. Even though many things are assembled in the USA, they still rely on components from abroad which means that the price of electrical goods such as mobile phones will increase.