Rapid prosecutions worked with the Farage Riots, just as they did in 2011

Those on the right are in outrage over the conviction of Lucy Connolly. Connolly posted a call for hotels housing migrants to be set on fire which is what she was jailed for. Not for "mass deportation now" or adding, "If that makes me racist, so be it," which is a view that many on the right appear to agree with. In court, the prosecutor stated "She then goes on to say that if she were to get arrested she would 'play the mental health card'." Sadly, she lost a child before, and there are those on the right referring to the mental health card which she played.  This is despite how the wife of a Conservative councillor admitted stirring up racial hatred. Of course, those journalists and politicians who argue for her case on social media ‘forget’ these issues so that they can encourage outrage. 

Those in favour of the Farage Riots have complained about the speed of prosecutions, this being something that helped (Keir Starmer) to stop the riots in 2011.  There have also been complaints that people have been prosecuted for posts on social media, again, this happening in 2011, people being jailed back then even when no disorder arose. 

Others have complained about human rights, but the UK is part of the European Court of Human Rights and that protects us, including the rioters, from having our human rights abused. 

The bottom line is that the methods used to end the riots in 2011 worked this year. The only people I will listen to about this are those who raised concerns back then. 

A bet with my son about the US election

 

I have had a bet with my son about the US elections.  He is sure that Kamal Harris will win.  I am certain that she will win the popular vote, but I think that Trump will win the Electoral College, again.  

While changes to voting laws have been made, and appealed, too many of those on the right are determined not to let the Democrats win again, by fair or foul means.  But, that may not be needed.  Trump is making progress with voter groups which previously voted for the Democrats.  And this will be crucial in the swing states.  An example of this is with Michigan where there are large numbers of Muslim voters who will vote for neither candidate, which means lost votes for Harris in a state she needs to win.  

BTW, the bet is for £10.  And I already owe him money. 

The Gathering

A great cast, but a bad film. It starts of below average and goes downhill before returning to its previous levels. The basic plot was good but failed as the film progressed, the acting was adequate, but that is as good as it gets. In summary, do not watch this film. Watch the trailer instead. 

Newcastle

My wife and I had a few days in Newcastle last week.  We went up on Tuesday night.  I got into a bit of trouble as I was late from work.  We actually went to Durham first, but the hotel she had booked was locked up!  There was a note on the front telling us to ring a number, but there was no answer.  It was just before midnight when we arrived and we ended up booking another much nicer place to stay (my wife got her money back about the stay).  

Come the morning, we saw some of the sights of Durham as we went to Newcastle for her conference.  I had to do a little bit of work and we checked into the amazing room she had booked.  It was a club room, which meant that we had access to the Club Lounge.  We appreciated that on Thursday morning as breakfast was packed and the lounge served breakfast as well.  Not as good as that in the main restaurant, but a good one and one where there were no queues. I spent Thursday exploring Newcastle and I was going to explore the Keep when my wife called me and I walked back to the hotel to have lunch with her instead.

On Friday, I did get to explore the Keep.  While it was a bit pricey to explore it, it is in essence a historical charity and I thought the experience was worth it, and much better than seeing the Black Gate, which was also included in the ticket price.  I was concerned that I would not understand people there as I have had some bad experiences with the accent, but once people listened to me talking, they dropped out of Geordie.  And they were so nice there.  If it was not so cold and wet, it might be a nice place to live!  I say that as we are spoiled living in Colchester which is much dryer than most of the country.

The kids were glad to see us, as was Leia who has been a lot more clingy as she was left at the dog sitters over this time.  

Never Forget

On this day last year, Hamas launched an attack on Israeli civilians designed to elicit a response from Israel. I was shocked and appalled at the attack, and as more details came out, even more so.

Israel is wrong to steal Palestinian land in The West Bank. Israel was wrong to impose the blockade on Gaza (just as Hamas was wrong to fire missiles into Israel). But the barbarity of the attack, designed to murder civilians was inexcusable. Worse, the way that the murders were live-streamed, or recorded and uploaded on Social Media was designed to rekindle the collective memory of The Holocaust and bring about a response from Israel, and also the world afterwards.

There is no longer any reasonable justification for Israel to continue its war in Gaza, other than a desire to bring about Ethnic Cleansing. While Hamas went out of its way to kill civilians, Israel is not targeting civilians, but cares little for civilian casualties. We saw that when they killed Israeli hostages who had escaped, deaths of civilians which would have never been reported if they were not Israeli, as the excuse of them being terrorists would have been accepted by the west. 

Some will think it is silly for me to post these images, but Jews know what happened to them under the Nazi’s when they were subjected to genocide. Hamas wanted to remind the Jewish people of this when they carried out their appalling atrocities last year. 

Penny Mordaunt knew how bad the state of government finances were when she debated Angela Rayner

In June last year, a debate took place which included Penny Mordaunt making a claim about how much Labour would have to raise taxes. Angela Rayner disputed the figures, but there was a difference between the two.  The party who was in government at the time knew the state of the economy, even though they hid it from Labour.  The Conservatives claim ignorance now, but the debate shows that they knew the truth before the election.

The video above is an interesting take on how the Tories have ruined things over the 14 years in government, but as you can see from some of the photos that they have used, they have included a bit too much creative licence and have got a few things wrong as well. 

In summary, I think that the Conservatives broke the economy and I also think that they hid what Labour would have to face once in power.

Not in Clacton

We have not been in Clacton.  

My wife has had her cousin come from abroad with his wife and two children.  We both like him, having looked after him when he was at university and we genuinely got on with him then, and still do now.  What is nice, is that the children all get on, even though ours are teenagers and his have yet to reach that milestone.  His wife is lovely and I spent time on walks with her and our dog Leia.  On one of the walks, which my daughter came along with, my daughter noted that the signs implied that we were in Clacton, which my wife was adamant that we were not in!

To be fair, if we walked far enough, we would have been in it, and my cousin got an idea of what it was like when he and my wife and got a takeaway from the outskirts of Clacton.

Anyway, now time to rest and relax.