Day one in Greece

My wife and I have taken a few days holiday. My mother is looking after the children and we have just arrived at our hotel and are having food on our terrace looking over the pool.  She needs a break from the kids, and while I appreciate a break as well, I have a gaping hole in my heart as I miss them so much.  I am surprised at how much I do miss them, but hopefully they will miss us and appreciate us more when we return. 

Should protests take place as people mourn?

This issue has come up recently in the UK. There has been an outcry that those who wish to protest have been prevented from doing so where people are mourning or paying respects to the late Queen Elizabeth the Second.

I want to know if people should be allowed the right to protest at funerals in the manner that you could in the USA. The Westboro Baptist Church had become famous for this though the law changed to prevent this at funerals.  Please note that I have no objections to such protests away from mourners. 

I did try discussing this with my daughter who thinks that protests against Prince Andrew should be treated differently and should be allowed (I do not know if she thinks the same for anti-Monarchy protests), but she did not elaborate on her views as she was too busy or tired as the day went on.

I do not think that The Westboro Baptist church or similar homophobic groups should be allowed to protest at funerals or where mourners are present. I would be interested to know if there should be a legal distinction between one type of protest and another though.  Please leave comments about this as I do want to hear views on this.

Morale in the Russian Army

Part of me feels sorry for Russian soldiers. Not those who have engaged in war crimes of looting, rape, torture and murder. But those who are trying to do what their government says they are doing. Russia has been pushed back in the Kharkiv region. By pushed back, it appears to be a rout. That must lead to further problems for a Russian soldier. 

 

When they fight, they do not appear to be being paid, let alone getting the pay for serving in a conflict zone as officially, they are in Russia. Which means that if they die, despite claims by the government, their loved ones will not get the financial compensation they are due. 

 

In addition to this, can they count on other units to hold the line, or should they do what others have done and retreat? We saw such routs happen in Afghanistan when The Taliban quickly took the towns and cities (using the road infrastructure the west built) as well as in Iraq when Unislamic State swept across the nation. 

 

It may be that Russia will be able to prevent this from happening in the Luhansk Oblast, but if they fail to do so, what will happen to the Donetsk Oblast? If that falls, Russian forces in Southern Ukraine will only be supplied by a bridge to Crimea.

We live in a parliamentary democracy

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The reason I mention this is because of the complaints by some that Liz Truss has been elected leader by a small number of the population, and how our head of state has been appointed. 

 

First of all, King Charles. We have the right to become a republic and can bring this about through democratic means. If we want no Royal Family, we can elect a government who will make our nation a republic. This has happened in many Commonwealth nations were Queen Elizabeth was head of state, examples being India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. When it comes to who appointed the King, that was the Accession Council. Put simply, if we want to be a republic, like many other nations that had our Monarch as head of state, we can become so. 

 

Second, Liz Truss is appointed by MP's. When we vote in a general election, while many cast their vote based on the leader to the party they are voting for, they are actually voting for the MP. The MP's in Parliament decide who is to be Prime Minister, which is why they were responsible for Boris Johnson resigning, and why they have elected Liz Truss as Prime Minister. We have had the chance to change our electoral system in the past and decided against this. If we want to change this, we can, though the ballot box.

A negotiated peace in Ukraine

Ukraine appears to be fighting back against a superpower in a manner that few expected possible, possibly even the people of Ukraine themselves.

Yesterday, I snapped at my mother when she had talked about how a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Ukraine should take place.  Part of my annoyance is because there is to be a Stop The War meeting later this month were people are to discuss how the war should end.  Many blame NATO expansion for this war, but forget how Russia has invaded other nations before this, Russian troops continuing to occupy Transnistria (‘92), Abkhazia (‘93), South Ossetia (‘08), also the way it invaded and annexed Crimea and the conflict the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine which resulted in Russia accidentally destroying MH17.  Those in the Baltic states are nervous of Russia and have joined NATO to prevent what happened to Moldova happening to them.   

Before this war, in the build up to it, the intention of Russia to annex both Luhansk and Donetsk was discussed in a socially distanced meeting with Putin, though he denied that this was to happen, referenda into this were planned and have now been delayed.  

The irony of course is that the Stop the War meeting would be banned in Russia, Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Russian occupied Ukraine.

So my question to those who want a negotiated peace, is should this involve Russia keeping the parts of Ukraine it occupied in 2014, or should more of Ukraine be given to Russia now?  

Love Sarah and grandparents

Yesterday, we went to visit my mother and my in-laws. We have not seen them for a while so this trip was overdue. However, on Wednesday, my mother had a fall when in the street. She waited for an hour but no ambulance came, but fortunately, some kind passers by helped her and she got home. She is in pain and our visit I hope lifted her spirits, though she did make some interesting statements on the War in Ukraine (she wants negotiations to take place which in essence means negotiating for Putin to gain more Ukrainian territory) and women leaders including Liz Truss. I try not to snap, but there is only so much I can take!  While she was glad to see both children, it was my daughter who was the main attraction after her exam results.

After this, it was a trip to see my in-laws.  Again, the star of the show was my daughter as this was the first time that they have seen her since her exam results but both were still happy to see my son.  My father-in-law appears ambivalent about Leia but now accepts that she is part of the family.  

Once we got back home, my son went to spend some time alone (he had been around us for a long time) and my wife picked a film for my daughter and I to watch her with her.  This was Love Sarah.  It started off in a depressing manner, but improved afterwards.  We liked the film, though I felt that the story arc did not have to employ the romantic end which involved a cad being turned by a lady.  However, like many films set in London, it is part fairy tale, and this rose tinted view was picked up by the Guardian.  It was a nice film for use to watch, but I doubt I will ever watch it again.  Apparently it was meant to have been released in cinema's, but I am not sure if this took place over the lockdown.  What was interesting was to see a pilot from The Phantom Menace feature in it, though many will remember the person as the Vice Chancellor from Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Back at school

The kids have been back at school, or in the case of my daughter, now at the Sixth Form College.  Both have had some issues with their peers and I suspect would follow the example of Anakin Skywalker, sorry, Darth Vader, in the Jedi Temple if given the chance…