Knowledge can improve the world we live in

I could easily be labelled as a liberal. But although I am anti-war, I am not naive, I know why we sometimes end in such unsavoury situations. Placation hasn’t always worked. I am all for people respecting each other and everyone being treated equally, but again, I am not naive enough not to see the reason why we must have borders in today’s world (because at present, we do not all share the same culture, beliefs etc., and we shouldn’t allow those intent on changing us, to do so. Brits wish to remain as we have always been). So, if people who supported the Biden government (a well-intended government that wanted decency by the way, but unfortunately, ignored major issues such as sorting their border out or getting the country to understand the truths around why you can’t just go and build a silly wall..) for 4 years, and contributed to this situation where millions of Americans were left feeling that what they care about is being ignored – which is what has returned Trump to the White House – these same folk, who can afford to then waltz off to the UK…..

If our government in the UK do not learn from this and begin grassroot engagement with the discontent folk in the country – to get them to see the real, honest situation regarding the mass flow of people across the English Channel, and explain to them what actions are indeed being taken, and the the refusal to use dehumanising language doesn’t mean this government doesn’t recognise this issue is critical and must be addressed. What the current government is doing (and what they will do) will be a lot more effective in addressing this issue, than what the previous government did in 13 years. However, the current government will achieve nothing, if they do not engage with the disavowed and discontent folk in the country, to get them to see exactly what is being done. It is so easy for governments to take a high ground and see no reason to explain themselves, but with this particular situation, if they don’t engage, whatever they do achieve, will not have the desired effect. It is so much easier to go about calling migrants “Invaders” and promising to dump them in Rwanda – even though you know the practicalities of it makes such a scheme pointless and it won’t even be an effective deterrent either – or to keep shouting ‘stop the boat’ without any practical means of doing so. But it appeals to the folk who rioted in the UK last summer. They don’t do detail or practicalities, they just want to hear tough words, even if ineffectual. But the present government wants to be decent. They do not wish to use denigrating words, they do not want to tout empty, useless slogans. They want to fix the problem. BUT attempting to do so quietly, without telling the country how and showing real data etc., is not going to keep the rioters at bay. Toughening the laws and imprisoning rioters is not the solution. Yes, there must be consequences for people who throw chairs at the police and injure the police, BUT, what the government really needs to do, is talk to the people in the country who are concerned about the influx of migrants across the channel. Walk them through what can and is being done. YES, many of them will never be satisfied with whatever the government does, and prefer the dehumanising words and ‘stop the boat’ slogans, even if those achieve nothing!

But to those elites now waltzing in from the US., where were you over the last 4 years??? Why didn’t you ask the Biden government to at least pretend to address the border crossings in the south?

We don’t want to end up as America have. We want to retain decency and decent language in our politics and how we deal with matters. Yes, the illegal migration must be addressed and robustly, BUT not with empty slogans and dehumanising words…

I just read a report this morning by one of our news channels in the UK, lamenting the sudden appearance of many hotels housing illegal migrants & asylum seekers, at a cost of £8million a day to UK taxpayers. I am not sure if the intention of the report is to stir up more tension, but will give the reporter the benefit of doubt that he just wanted to report and that he simply doesn’t understand that this supposed £8m a day cost is not paid to an alien on planet Mars right?

Now, I have written several articles on here, about the need for migration to follow due process and how it is simply not ok, for people to start flowing into a country by boat across the channel, presumably knowing we can’t just shove them back. It is an exploitation of our system. And it must end. Technology has to be the solution. The silly deterrents previously proposed (Rwanda), ain’t going to work. I can also understand that the government must be exhausted; no matter how hard they try to explain the situation, those seeking to cause hate & division (for personal gain) will remain unrelenting. We could all work together, to solve this problem: beginning with those who illegally employ illegal migrants, those related to people smugglers and know exactly what they do, those who put these inaccurate reports out there and do so deliberately, without context. It seems nobody wants this problem solved??

But the government cannot afford to tire. We face anarchy (and we saw a glimpse of it this summer, with the awful rioting in the UK, which is simply unimaginable, in a developed country!!!). The government must communicate effectively with the people. The report this morning stated that one of the hotels where nearly 300 of the illegal migrants have been dumped (many of them young unmarried men) is within close proximity of two all-girls schools. Now, there is no history of this being an issue, but locals raising concern is quite understandable; surely, it is worth looking at any potential risk and explaining – to those raising concerns – how such risks are mitigated.

But most importantly, back to the matter of the £8m a day cost that’s being reported and if you read the hundreds of angry comments on the report, you can see that they are individuals riled by what they perceive as a waste of taxpayer money and that this £8m a day spent on these hotels, is a big issue. Now, let’s delve into this – and setting aside the wider issue of illegal migration for a minute – this £8m is not paid into an offshore account or to an alien on Mars! These hotels housing these migrants, are hotels that employ Brits! The food they feed the migrants are probably made by some companies employing Brits right? The produce used to make the food is from British farms or retailers right? The report say they hand money to the migrants for upkeep: presumably the clothes worn by these migrants are bought somewhere? The hotels are also owned by someone? They pay taxes….? If a news outlet wants to report on £8m a day spent on hotels housing migrants, why not provide some truthful context? Why not pick just one of such hotels and breakdown the details: who owns the hotel? How much tax do the hotel pay into the UK purse? How much of the £8m a day goes to pay the salary of British people who work for these hotels, work for the companies that provide the food and other supplies etc. How much of this £8m per day is actually money that isn’t staying in the system?

Yes, there are concerns and issues and impact on the NHS etc, impact on housing, schools etc. If we can’t plan for how many people come into the country due to this alarmingly high number of people (and the number is indeed truly alarming) rowing in by boat daily! BUT for goodness sake, let us stop this awful process of whipping up hate and division by putting out lies and leaving out the context just to put out over-sensationalised drivel! There is no £8m per day loss of money UK taxpayers!!! Most of that money heads straight back into the system! We are GREAT BRITAIN for goodness sake! Stop the mindless hate-mongering! If we want to deal with the illegal migration, look to technology! Fix the problem! But the government needs to URGENTLY up its communication with the people, to stop misinformation and disinformation or we it will be anarchy! People are being whipped into a hate-filled frenzy as they continue to be fed lies and poor context!

Take a quick glance around the world…..

Africa – supposed cradle of humanity? Now used as a deterrent! Centuries of misery, strife, hunger, manipulation and they are still trying to find a way out.

North America – populated by immigrants seeking a new, supposedly better life. Found it? Now fighting tooth & nail, to keep other immigrants out.

Europe – unending history of wars. Centuries on, still at war. Claims to have enlightened the world, but the legacy is difficult to grasp

Asia – always seeking to offer an alternative to ‘the west’. It is however difficult to see the positives. Can’t all be down to western propaganda can it?

The rest – depending on where you sit Oceania, the Middle East…. You have the return of issues in New Zealand, Australia, the European enlightenment seems to be in question. Nations formed from immigration, now grappling with immigration. As for the Middle East, tough to follow the various conflicts from Syria to Iraq, to situations in Yemen, Gaza, Lebanon, Israel etc.

You wonder what has been achieved? or rather, what are we trying to achieve?

Is it possible for the world to just take pride in being human, and leave it at that? It would seem, the moment we begin to take pride a step further, the problems begin to build up. Pride in planting a flag here or there, a religion, enlightenment….. etc.
It’s always one ideology trying to suppress another ideology. We then try to explain it all away, with weasel words such as: values, culture, beliefs etc.

’Live & let live’ appears to be unachievable.

Too much history. Pain. Scores to be settled. And indeed, ideologies still trying to take over other ideologies.

Where did it all begin?

It seems impossible to draw a line and try to restart…

Each to their own?

Each left to be as they prefer?

But who’s to blink first? You can see the dilemma. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? History can’t help us, as it depends on where you choose to begin and whose account you accept. If you say: let’s disarm the world, so that we use arm-wrestling to settle disputes, with nobody needing to die. Well, who gets rid of their weapons first? And how do you trust the others not to then seize that advantage? Not going to happen. It’s all a tangled web. Human being appear to need conflict. We appear to need to hurt each other, dehumanise each other etc. It’s been like that forever. You’ll be hated if you suggest things could be different and that we could try to hit restart and not be this way.

Perhaps too late….

I’ve always found it puzzling that when a group of people say they’ve found something that’s the best, something that’s the shining light; be it a belief, an ideology or whatever, the trouble starts when they want everyone else to have a taste of it! (whether or not the others say they want it). If you’ve found something great, how about you just carry on enjoying it. Perhaps others see what they have as great too. But oh no! ours is the greatest and others must have it! enlightenment, education, religion, way of life. We must spread it! It must be accepted by all….

Where did it all begin?

I don’t know.

But it is what’s left us as we are: with kids starving some place, others having a supposedly awesome life elsewhere and with more than they can eat. Strife and conflicts everywhere you look.

Who is right? Who is wrong?

Why must we always have good or bad?

Each side seem to have an explanation. Defending our way of life……

I try to avoid passing judgement. Perhaps it’s all just so complex!!??

It seems that is just what we are. Imperfect humans.

You look at some of our politicians today. They just want to find fault in each other, find negatives. Tear each other apart. No attempt at actually being decent (if that means anything anymore? or ever did?).

Sadly, can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel…..

Wouldn’t it be great, if we could just all leave each other be? And people can opt for what they wish for? But that’s too simple, too naive. Can’t happen….

Life goes on I suppose…..

You only have to look at the current UK government; led by decent individuals who truly want to help the country, but unfortunately, does the country wish to be helped? All you hear is: oh, they are increasing taxes! Oh, they want to do this or that! Well, ask yourself this: why do you think they are taking such action? Is it so they can wreck the economy? How would that benefit their hope for re-election?

It is not that difficult to say you want to disrupt, as the incoming Trump government appear to be doing. Appoint individuals who won’t be the norm! Stir it all up etc. Well, as I said in my previous article, when all you can say the government they are replacing did, was ‘be normal’ and ‘be decent’, while achieving very little else, you can partly see the reason they lost the 2024 election, with so many millions seeming to want to see what an opposite arrangement would look like. But running a government is not exactly the same as running a business, because with businesses such as Tesla, you have a lot longer than 4 years to get things done. With government, particularly in the US, you spend the first year in transition; getting appointees ratified by congress, reversing a lot of the policies of the last government etc. By the time you get to year 2, you are already facing a number of elections such as the mid-term, when you could suddenly lose control of the House of Representatives or the Senate, and suddenly, you are having some tough challenges and year 3 is spent fighting that. Before you know it, you’re back in an election year (year 4) and you’re off on your bike! As such, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy for America. Come January, if the intention is to go in a tangent to the norm and do stuff, the outcome is likely to be as many are already predicting. But of course, for the sake of Americans and the ripple effect on the rest of the world, I certainly hope we are all pleasantly surprised and the disrupters are proven right and they open the eyes of the world to their genius/this bold new way to govern….

Global peace? End of conflicts (Sudan, Middle East etc.)? Reduction of child poverty? Reduction of prison population/reoffending?

Have any of the above ended?

Over the years, people with medical training e.g. doctors, have been given a chance to lead health administration and failed. They were said to lack the administrative expertise. The we got an army of administrators in, who lacked the basic understanding of what it takes to provide healthcare. That ended up in a mess too. I guess you need a mix of both?

Today’s reality is quite simple: not much has been achieved. We have needless wars – even in Europe – we have people trafficking that’s now on a mass scale, with borders now meaningless and people assuming they can just walk into any country at will – essentially exploiting the civility of those nations. The helplessness that’s led to some of these folk making these perilous journeys should not be glossed over, but the lack of regard for borders and due process, is frightening!

So, is there honestly any sensible reason not to try “supposedly” unimpressively qualified people at the helm of government??? What have the supposedly impressively qualified folk achieved to date???

The folk who should be sitting quietly, figuring out how they blew it so badly, do not appear to have learnt any lessons. But honestly, some of the appointments are poacher turned gate-keeper! May end up an absolute soap-opera…

… “Woke”? What is it? What does it mean? Should I treat it with derision like many choose to treat rap music?

I am as guilty as the next person, for uttering statements such as: “what is this woke nonsense?”

Today, I learnt a very poignant lesson..

Some Americans (of African descent) are only just, in 2024, finding out, via documents that were only just made available through recent declassification from the federal records, how the Grandma whose picture has graced their wall at home for decades, died. One was a mother who was in her 40s in 1945, when she was arrested for selling alcohol – which was prohibited in her state at the time, under the Jim Crow laws – and she was beaten so badly, that her neck broke and she vomited profusely and died in the back of the police van. It has taken her granddaughter nearly 50 years of requesting information relating to her death.

Now, a guy like me can sit about here in the UK and question why these black folk in the US can’t just move on and get on with their lives. You hear politicians here, casually saying “woke”, “wokeness” and bandying those words about, without as much as a clue as to why these folk coined the term and what it means to them.

I am determined from today onwards, to refrain from commenting on this topic. I simply do not know enough about it.

Yes, a great deal of horrible, unthinkable stuff happened over the years, and if we look away, if we say “woke is crap” and we get complacent, there are still many people in today’s world, who can drag us right back to terrible eras such as the Jim Crow era in the US. There are still many capable people out there who wish to dictate to women, who wish to dehumanise other human beings just because they are in unfortunate circumstances e.g. in the hands of people smugglers or seeking refuge or migrating illegally – they are still human beings and much as their form of migration (illegal) has/needs to be controlled and they must apply for legal entry, they should not be dehumanised.

People must move on, YES. Talk of reparation for slavery for instance, in terms of payments, is just silly and unworkable. The folk asking for it should be looking for industrialisation, development that gets them up the ladder to become developed nations. Receiving payment ain’t gonna do anything long term for them.

Going forward, I will not comment on ‘Woke’ again. I do sincerely hope that those in society, who still feel like they are not getting a fair shake, see improvements soon, so that we can try to progress to times when people can get a fair shake

Democracy bought? Nonsense!
It is exactly what it’s always been…

We (human beings) are despicable!
We are what we are….

If you follow the money trail, you will find that the obscene amount of money raised by those vying to be president of the United States, is not spent on aliens! It is spent on, and earned by, the same people complaining about it. They buy merchandise, adverts, event venue rentals etc. So, in essence, the money is poured back in…

If you have a 2-party system (i.e. the main parties), one will win some, the other will lose some. As such, the claim that democracy is bought, is not accurate. It is just bizarre that they can’t place a firm limit of say, $100m on each election cycle, be it from directs or PACs and Super PACs, they should say that no candidate can exceed a combined spend of $100m. It really is, most unfortunate, if people are visiting food banks and there are homeless people on the streets of America, while candidates vying to be president, raise and spend heinous amounts of money. Albeit, if you follow the money, most of it probably filters back in. Same for the complaints about the £millions the UK government are said to be spending on illegal migrants: well, follow the money! Who owns the hotels that they are paying £millions to house those migrants? Who owns the catering companies feeding them? List all the other services tied to and are earning fees from all that? And the ordinary people those firms hire…..

Sadly, nobody wants to get those facts in the open, as it kills the arguments that they want to push e.g. democracy is being bought!

When you read some of the divisive (no reason makes it acceptable) rhetoric that’s now been normalised in today’s society, Remembrance Day becomes increasingly poignant. Most of those who gave everything for us (gave their life for us) were barely boys. We must find a way to honour their sacrifice by warding off future wars! War should never be an option. We must find other ways to settle matters.

Divisive folk should be reminded of the hundreds of thousands who gave their lives, and they did so regardless of their politics or preferences; we must honour their sacrifice by saying no, firmly, to divisiveness. We always say: “lest we forget”. But indeed, the best way to remember these fallen heroes, is to banish hatred of others from our words & actions. It is such divisiveness that led to the wars that claimed those lives that we now remember on Remembrance Day. When are we going to learn?

It’s so easy to just gloss over Remembrance Day and carry on. But we must never forget the sacrifice of those who gave their life for us; they would have had children, grandchildren etc., we sit here today, moaning about all sort, they gave their lives for us!

I watched Brighton demolish Man City in the second half of their match today. Their manager is barely in his 30s.

There’s a long, long list of these foreign managers doing so well in the league here. And we still query the appointment of a foreign manager for the English national team??! That said, as a Brit, it is painful for me to see a German managing the three lions. But it is clearly what will get us a trophy

The only reason I can come up with, for foreign managers doing so well – even the inexperienced ones – in the premiership, is the respect they are afforded. In England we seem to find it difficult to respect our own. You look at the constant abuse that Lewis Hamilton receives, in any other country, with his achievements, he would be a respected idol. Same for Emma Raducanu; we just love to tear them apart. I don’t know why. Andy Murray is Scottish but resides in England, won the Olympics twice! Yet, he is ripped to shreds for no reason. Sam Allardyce the former Bolton (and other clubs) manager famously said – and with good reason – that if his name was foreign (Allardici) he would have been better respected for what he achieved over so many years.

We need to start giving our own, a little bit of respect and encouragement. It will of course never happen, but we can live & hope!?

There are a number of laudable norms out there e.g. saying thank you when someone does something for you. And there are some non-negotiable norms set in law e.g. abiding by law & order. I’m happy with all of that.

But going forward, and in addition to some silly norms e.g. Valentine’s Day celebrations, Christmas (with some even venturing as far as to say it’s “holidays” and not religious; well, it is, and it is based on religion and we should not try to bend it to our own respective interpretations; ‘Christ-mas’ it is, the birth of ‘Christ’, leave it be as it is, if like myself, you’re not interested in religion, then just opt out. Not try to change it to suit. At least that will be my stance going forward: i will simply opt out)..

Birthdays? utter rubbish. We are in a world that’s so twisted; children dying left, right and centre, and we look the other way and try to explain that wars are a necessity at times? Well, what’s there to celebrate on a birthday? Going forward, I will make the first day of each year (Jan 1) my birthday and I will use it as a day of reflection and anyone looking to wish me a happy birthday can very well do so on Jan 1 each year, as this is my birthday going forward.

I have always tried to be someone who isn’t led by what others do and what society tell us we should do (well, other than those useful norms mentioned above e.g. being polite). This year has been a real eye-opener, including the most recent debacle of the year, where the 4 years of Biden normalcy in the US, have now ended being pointless really. What is the point of those 4 calm years? Many are now out in force predicting doom in the next 4 years, but would it not be more productive, to just try to be positive and constructive: after all, we say we subscribe to democracy, it is what it is. Thee were 4 years (2020 – 2024) to have convinced Americans to give the democrats another 4 years; why couldn’t they do so? People can put whatever excuses and reasons (it’s because she’s a woman, it’s because she it white etc… all are just excuses…) they want, the way this works, is you get people to vote for you….

I’m done with silly norms!!

The good cower and whisper their goodness in the background. The nasty folk are brazen and shout their nastiness from the rooftop. Well, which would prevail?

There is of course always a philosophical take on it, that goodness quietly prevails.

Who knows?

At the end of the day, what is good? and what is bad?
Perhaps all just a figment of our imagination?

You look at El Salvador, thousands of heavily tattooed gang members spent years terrifying the public. Their streets were unwalkable day & night. Now, many of those gang folk are banged up in prisons without due process, without trial. But the streets are safer. Murder rates are down. Some of those heavily tattooed folk banged up in prisons probably never committed a crime and in any case, their guilt hasn’t been legally proven. That is indeed how complex the concept of good & bad is….

We can sit here and say, well, you let the law run its course, but with years of nothing happening in a place like El Salvador, they had to do something…

When good people whisper goodness in the background but are not willing to take the heat and stand for what they believe in, we end in situations we are in today, across the world, where people are dying left, right and centre, regardless of who is right or wrong, we all look the other way. There are so many excuses put forward by both sides, but the end point always seems to be needless, avoidable deaths of so many innocent people.
Illegal migration is a crucial example: when bodies of children wash up on the shores of rivers, all sides defend an indefensible position. People smugglers, governments & reasons for displacement, be it conflict, economy etc. What does it matter what the reasons are? You have a dead innocent child…

I do not believe we’ve ever been able to grasp the meaning of good or bad. Perhaps it’s not a tangible concept. What’s clear though, is that we are in perilous times. People marching to protest all sorts. Organisations formed to make things right and then their finances reveal embezzlement of epic proportions…

We were so, so close in the 90s (at least, here in the UK) to ‘live & let live’, where everyone just wanted to get along and just do the best we could each do…

…. presumably the Democrats simply decided 2024 was not worth stealing…??

It is clear that one must wish Trump well (for the sake of America and indeed, the rest of the world); he has to succeed and hopefully, surprise us all this time around with less twitting and more president behaviour. Many people have started with the criticism, negativity, concern etc., since the result was announced. But the reality is simple: Trump will be President of the US for the next 4 years. So, as Kier Starmer has done, hypocritical or not, it is the only sensible thing to do: you wish him well! And hopefully, he rewrite his legacy in office and surprises everyone by actually focusing on improving their economy and doing positive stuff

America (or rather, Americans who have never doubted the integrity of their electoral system) do deserve an apology from Trump, his sons, his family and all the politicians who spent the last 4 years saying the 2020 election was stolen. Many of those folk who are in government, should resign in shame. They have tarnished their own electoral system, but now rejoice that the very same system has returned their man (Trump) to power?

Honestly, you couldn’t make it up even if you tried! A supposedly fraudulent electoral system that can supposedly be so readily manipulated, has now suddenly and miraculously become fraud-free and the supposed cheating Democrats who stole the election 4 years ago, all of them still in office in 2024, decided not to bother stealing it this time around? It’s now suddenly quiet on the ‘stop the steal’ front….

Sadly, no lessons will be learnt. There will be no apologies and the shameless folk who tarnished the country’s image by claiming 2020 was a fraudulent result, will slither away and quietly carry on.

…. everytime you hear of an individual or group complaining that their freedom of speech is being impaired, when you read the supposed speech, it is always one that targets the helpless.

Why are these defenders of ‘freedom of speech’ not going for speech directed at the wealthy and/or groups who can afford to defend themselves? Well, the answer is quite simple: because those folk will defend themselves and make you pay for your loose speeches!

Fair game for these ‘speeches’ tend to be defenceless people….

The quickest way to end up as a one-term government is by offering nothing innovative!

I like to think that any party that gets into government in a democracy, has what it takes. Even if it isn’t to everyone’s taste. In the US today, there will be all sorts of inquisition and doom-mongering. But the reality is actually quite simple: how much did the Biden government impact? I believe it was a well-intentioned government that came with minimal drama, no late night twitting etc. But the hysteria around Trump returning is not necessary: after all, he did run the country for 4 years not so long ago didn’t he? And even if his style & what he did was not to everyone’s taste and if what he will do, over the coming 4 years isn’t to everyone’s taste, it is hardly the end of the world is it? Over 75million Americans voted him in. It is what the system is, and anyone going around now, trying to convince anyone of what’s coming, need to pipe down! The democrats had 4 years to make their case, instead, they fumbled all over the place (well-intentioned or not), didn’t have an electable Plan B (which could have been Gavin Newsom or even Pete Buttegieg) and last minute, AFTER the primaries, decide to dump their past saviour (rather unceremoniously) and put forward someone who was never going to win. But the fact is: were they able to make a case for a second term?
The democrats are very decent, well-intentioned folk, but what they are trying to sell to their fellow Americans ain’t what those folk with to buy. For example, AOC’s green new deal; very noble, it will get her re-elected to congress etc., but for it to help and not be a hindering talking point at national level, it has to come with additional clarity on what those who will lose their jobs if certain sectors are impacted, what do they move on to? e.g. if I propose shutting down a diesel engine manufacturer who employs 500 people and I open up a wind turbine manufacturer on the same site, who employs 1000 people, that could be an understandable position…

The Labour Party have come in, on the back of widespread frustration with the previous government. They (Labour) must secure some very tangible wins. They have already annoyed pensioners (and pensioners have voting-age children, voting-age grandchildren etc); so, similar to Kamala Harris and the Democrats in the US, you can’t afford to alienate too many other groups. Kamala from the get go, already had a bunch of men who won’t vote for a woman to deal with, then there are a bunch of women in the US who still believe men must lead. Then her government, which she was a VP in, got on the wrong side on the ongoing Middle East issues and she lost a whole bunch of additional votes. Add to that the MAGA folk who weren’t going to vote for her anyway, and you think: what is the point of raising hundreds of billions of dollars from George Clooney and co. to campaign etc.? It was a fait accompli.

Now, the Labour government in the UK is facing similar challenges; they must deal with the illegal migration issue (regardless of how complicated it is) and must be seen to have a viable solution, which they really must get in place, with tangible results before the end on 2026. They (Labour) are very decent, well-intentioned folk, but as a government, you really can’t get much done in a single term. They need to have at least one more term and I believe they can do a great deal of good for every Brit. But they won’t get a chance to do so, if they end this first term, without having achieved some very notable wins. It won’t be enough for them to have been no worse than the previous government or more decent, with decent words etc. All that is clearly no longer enough. Americans were saying this morning, following Trumps victory, that they look forward to buying groceries for cheap. Essentially, they are not bothered by the rest. Not surprising really. How the Democrats thought the messaging around Trump being called a Fascist or some comedian at his rally calling Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage, was going to be the winning message, is quite frankly dumb! The people are saying they can overlook that stuff, if they get their groceries cheaper! Sad reality, but that’s what the majority are now stating as their reason. So, why were the democrats so oblivious of that???

Labour (in the UK) will need to take seriously, whatever it is, the population is saying is their priority. Saying the previous government got the numbers wrong as you hike up the tax, take money off pensioners etc., may well be the correct thing to do, but it is going to be their undoing, if they do not very urgently deal with some other issues that many in the country are hacking on about e.g. uncontrollable influx of illegal immigrants. This is not about taking a moral high ground; politics is about correctly gauging what matter most to the numbers you need, as Trump has made clear to the Democrats today

Yes, there are handicaps when you are elected and it isn’t easy to just get things done. But when politicians are elected and nothing appears to get done, it is a huge handicap and that is exactly what got Kamala Harris today.

The Labour Party in the UK should take note. I have said this over & over again, there must be a technological solution to ensuring that people cannot just row a rubber boat in droves, into the UK, without due process. I do not have a solution, but the people we elect into office must find the solution. It doesn’t matter what the reasons are – be it people fleeing conflict zones or economic migrants – the UK cannot be a country that people come into, without undergoing due process. Due process is the only way we can make necessary provision for those coming in, ensuring they are able to integrate and live the way we live. It is the only way to quell the intolerance and discontent felt by people who feel we have become a country that people feel they can just row into and it makes a mockery of our sovereignty, border and due process. Yes, any solution must be humane and use of abusive, denigrating words is not necessary, BUT, it is very clear that this issue needs to be fixed or the Labour Party will end up exactly as Kamala Harris has tonight.

My personal hope for the world, is that we get to a point where all human beings share the same objective – to live & let live – and we don’t need borders and people are not driven by desperation to migrate, but choose to, if they wish to. We are far from that period – and will probably never get there – and as such, the existing requirements must be observed (you apply for a passport, visa etc. And if you are seeking asylum/refuge, you apply for it, not pay a people-smuggler to row you in). Why? Because as of today, people do not all see things from the same perspective, be it mundane stuff such as littering or major issues such as religion and respecting a circular state. We have countries like the UK as a safe haven for many, because of certain principles e.g. the rule of law. That is why the control of migration remains necessary. That is why many local folk here are dissatisfied with seeing so many people rowing in via the English Channel, with thousands (crazy really!) being able to just row in. It means that we are not able to ensure that those coming in accept our laws and principles etc., this makes integration impossible. It is what has done Kamala Harris in, in the US presidential election.

One key lesson that the democrats will need to learn – whether they like it or not – is that in politics, to win, you must be sure you have the right numbers in the right places. I thought they had those numbers, but the Middle East issues perhaps hit harder than anyone imagined. Illegal migration into the US is of course just a nonsense, for a nation built by migrants, but regardless of what anyone thinks, if you want to be in politics and so many millions say an issue is of importance to them, you need to either persuade/convince them otherwise or you do need to fix it. Either way, you need to be seen to be actively trying to do something about it. It doesn’t matter whether the said issue is spurn out of intolerance or prejudice or whatever, if you have so many millions hacking on about it, then, as an elected government official, you do need to address it. Taking a moral high ground or saying those folk are not correct ain’t gonna cut it, unless you have an equal or higher number of people on your side of that argument

Some of it was so predictable in America; if Liz Cheney lost her seat in Congress, how could she be a political asset to convince Republicans – who didn’t vote for her – to vote for Kamala Harris? When you’ve got George Clooney deciding who runs for President, you know you’re in a clueless mess – this isn’t acting folks. These so-called celebrities mistake wealth for brains. If the Democrats wanted to ditch Biden, they should have had an electable alternative ready from day 1, even if as just a Plan B; not a belated decision after Biden had duly won the nomination, to then slot in – via the whims of celebrities – a candidate that America was simply not going to elect (as we saw with Clinton).

The world is always fixated with the US election for a variety of reasons, the reality is that failure to listen to what the electorate are saying is necessary. It is the last time I will write about US politics, because it is simply too exhausting. British politics is less exhausting and less vicious and we spend a lot less on the process.

I do not believe Americans are as far apart, ideologically, as they think they are. One side wants cheap groceries and want to be great again & be free to use colourful language in congress (because they say freedom of speech allows for that), the other side want to be heard and want an America that is seen as the land of opportunity for all-comers. Both sides think they are correct; that is indeed what pitches them closer than they think. With a bit of give & take, they may just be ok…

America has made its choice. We’ll see how it goes…..

… which afflicts one of his friends. That is how the world should live. It is the way we should each see others: as human beings. Instead, it’s carnage everywhere you look: children dying of hunger, killings left, right and centre. Needless wars. People trafficking. This weekend was people calling Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage, viewing migrants as trash (they are still human; regardless of whether or not many of them are exploiting the system instead of trying to come in by legal means). We are forever trying to incite division, hatred…. all for what exactly????

Shattered to hear that Sir Chris Hoy has terminal cancer! Such a decent guy! Terrible news…

The only person who has previously defeated Donald Trump, is Joe Biden.

He was the only viable option to defeat Trump.

These ain’t deep thinkers. They are movie stars. Celebrities as they like to be called. They donate money etc., but are rarely ever the sharpest tool in the box. The ability to put on a Batman cape and swoon around is not necessarily the makings of a political strategist. They saw Biden in a moment of weakness – which is of course to be expected from someone of his age – and unanimously decided to chuck him aside. I am sure Kamala Harris is awesome, but the some reality is that she hasn’t previously beaten Trump in a presidential race (she was simply on the Biden ticket as a VP). If you ask me, I do not see how Kamala wins this.

Trump never had the numbers to win against Biden. He would have huffed, puffed but he would certainly have lost again, just as he did in 2020. He has a huge following, but not enough in the key electoral areas to win. But against Kamala, I’m afraid Trump has just about enough numbers to win. It’s 2016 all over again, and Clooney just ain’t bright enough to see it…

I am not a fan of politics and I try to avoid commenting on politics, but we are in such dire times, that it is virtually impossible to avoid speaking about politics.

Earlier this year, we had an incoming Labour government. There is absolutely no doubt that they are well-intentioned. They are decent individuals who mean well and truly wish to help people. They want to reduce poverty in the UK and help the downtrodden. Unfortunately, they have a tough job to do. It also doesn’t appear that in their 14 years in opposition, they have been able to find alternative solutions. They have come in and so far, have not been able to avoid making many of the very same mistakes past government that they have criticised made.

It is very saddening. It is looking less and less likely, that they will be able to turn things around. That is indeed truly sad, as they do really mean well and would like to do well for the country. Sadly, it looks like they do not know how.

Their immediate fixation on fixing issues that they need a longer-term fix for, has become their undoing. Coming in and slapping VAT on independent schools, without as much as a clue of the wider implications, has really been damaging for them. Same as the removal of winter fuel payment to some pensioners. But most damaging so far, has been the lack of real, new ideas. Their key people taking gifts & freebies is trivial. Not having any real ideas to put to the table, after 14 years of sitting in opposition, is inexcusable!
They’re cancelling infrastructure projects, saying there isn’t funds. Well, was that not the very same excuse the last government put forward for cancelling HS2 Phase 2? So, what exactly is the point of having a new government? They must have better ideas, or at worst, better or fresh excuses.

I will remain hopeful that they surprise us by turning this around. So far, it has been a truly awful start!!!

People who have never been in a position of power do not realise just how tough it is, for politicians not to accept freebies. Many of those freebies come in totally innocuous formats that they could easily be overlooked, until you then have to declare it in the register, and by then, it’s too late

Whichever way you look at it, this new labour government is trying to be forthright. They are not and cannot be perfect, simply because there is no perfection out there. It doesn’t exist. But if you look at some of their early missteps e.g. Jess Phillips said some dodgy stuff and she apologised. Keir Starmer has now refunded some of his freebies. The only unfortunate aspect of this freebie saga – and I am sure that with a little bit of reflection, he would see it as such – is him not immediately apologising and explaining that he got it wrong and although, he hasn’t done anything wrong, the optics isn’t great, so, here’s a refund, won’t accept other freebies and end of story.

Surely, we simply need civil servants who can get their jobs done well right? The subjective tag of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ cannot, must not come into it.
The calibre of individuals we now have running for the highest office in the land (Prime Minister) is shocking. Honestly shocking!
It is most unfortunate that we have allowed standards to drop this low..

This week in the UK has been all about this topic, thanks to the Labour Party’s conference, where the party’s leadership have been questioned about their claims to understanding the people better, because of their own personal working class upbringing. But are they or have they in recent years been working class??

It all hinges on a quest to fit in. Quest to belong. The minute someone opens their mouth, we’re judging their accent, their mannerism etc.

Few decades ago, I spent nearly 2 years travelling across West Africa and I spent the first year, intensely trying to belong, not wanting to stick out like a sore thumb. I wanted to be a writer, writing about how the poorer parts of the world can set aside their past and quit moaning about slavery (which strangely enough, West Africans that I came across, very rarely spoke about) or the ills of colonialism (which is what they frequently talked about and linked pretty much all their present-day plight to) and focus on them working together and taking advantage of the advantages they do have e.g. solar. I didn’t want to be seen as foreign. I fully immersed myself, worked intensively on my accent to acquire as much of an African accent as possible (spending night after night mimicking my two guides) and by the second year, I had blended in perfectly (and to this very day, I have proudly retained an element of that accent, which I claim as my own!). When I spent the final months of that soul-searching period travelling across South East Asia, it was amazing how welcoming the locals were, now that I spoke to them in a less pompous accent. I could immerse myself into their cultures, I was welcomed into their homes and it was just such a completely different experience to my previous visits to Hong Kong and Thailand as a kid with a British accent; you try to engage and get close to the people but they only see you as a tourist, a visitor, a foreigner.
It is no different from where we are in the UK today, where the class war appears to be well alive & thriving. People are not able to blend in, as the working class want to associate with the working class and the new government spent years criticising the entitled demeanour of the posh folk of the Tory party, with their upper class accents. The middle class on the other hand, have been taxed out of existence! When the (previously) working class try to blend in, they are accused of hypocrisy

But essentially, everyone’s just trying to fit in!

The Labour Party leaders who are now being heavily criticised for accepting freebies such as using a millionaire donor’s New York and London home for their holidays etc., are in essence all just trying to fit in. They were raised working class but in truth, now that they are in high-salaried jobs and positions of power, they aspire to the lifestyle they deem better? Well, I have news for you: that is indeed, the lifestyle of the wealthy, upper class. There is nothing wrong with that attempt to blend in, perhaps it is the perceived hypocrisy that’s causing the present furore. They have come in, attacking private schools, slapping VAT on them, stating it will fund the addition of teachers to state schools, even as data affirms the impact will be detrimental across the board. But it would seem that if offered the freebie of having their kids at Eton, they would have accepted. So, all a bit confusing to many. But quite understandable to me, when I recall those couple of years when I worked so hard to blend in, on my trip across West Africa. It is indeed a profound experience, when people try to fit in; it sometimes take on that perception – as it is today, with the Labour Party – of hypocrisy. The Labour Party folk mean well. Their intentions are noble. They are trying to do the right thing. But, they need to realise and accept that the right thing is to bring everyone UP, not drag the whole country DOWN in the name of creating a fairer society

Politicians who get that, are usually the ones who go on to last longest at the top!

It is always more expedient to issue an apology (even if it is halfhearted) and move on…

With so many knives sharpened and waiting for them, even before they won the election, it was always going to be tough for them. However, after 14 years in opposition, I was hoping they would at least avoid the very missteps they had spent 14 years criticising the previous government for. Jess Phillips one of the Birmingham MPs did; she got something wrong and she promptly apologised. She will no doubt misspeak again over the coming 3 years, but if she continues to know when to pull up and say sorry, she would at the very least, have demonstrated how to be different

There is nothing wrong with making mistakes. Knowing you are making a mistake but ploughing on, is what’s wrong. The winter fuel saga is a major error of judgement by this new government and they know it. The intention is right, but the execution should have started with a request to pensioners; many of them may have actually volunteered to give it up. Many of them do not need it. But some clearly do. To make such a unilateral decision has opened this government to such collateral damage that could cost them the next election. Pausing and saying sorry, proposing an alternative, would have been the wise thing to do. Similarly this unending stories of freebies accepted by labour MPs, including the Prime Minister; why is it ever so difficult for politicians to say sorry??? It is NOT a sign of weakness, if handled properly. They have not done anything wrong. But, the apology is not to accept wrongdoing, it is for the perception of hypocrisy. Taking winter fuel payments off pensioners and whacking on VAT on private schools, while staying in freebie accommodation in NYC (albeit in the past) and the rest, at the time they were heavily criticising the previous government, is indeed worthy of an apology and then promptly drawing a line under it. Instead, just like the government they replaced, they are making the exact same mistake of stubbornly dragging it out. Then I am sure a belated apology will come, by then, the damage is done. They will now be seen as no better than the government they replaced. A label that’s likely to prove costly at the next election

I am quite saddened by this, as I had high hopes for this government and I believe they could have indeed done well, but it appears power does indeed get to people’s heads, regardless of preparations. Can they do a sharp turnaround, do the decent thing and apologise, then try to avoid this needless adversarial approach? I hope they can. They are of course not getting much help as many are simply waiting to see them fail, which is most unfortunate, as their failure is to no one’s benefit and we should all help them succeed, which to to everyone’s benefit! They should pause the removal of winter fuel assistance, stop the VAT on private schools (it is a grave error of judgment that appears increasingly to be solely out of misplaced envy and a lack of understanding of the dynamics of CHOICE and sacrifice. An overwhelming majority of parents who send their kids to private school are not wealthy. They make sacrifices that some poorer folk choose not to make e.g. not going abroad on holidays), stop taking excessive freebies etc.

I sincerely hope they can make this change.

Yes, it’s never been perfect. But the intention is to have one party in power, in government and a strong opposition often with a differing approach, but both clearly seeking to make the country better!

Unfortunately, we have descended into an abyss! Our politics is now solely about individuals looking to prove themselves right.

We have a new government after 14 years of the conservatives in power, with the latter years burning through 4 Prime Ministers in less than 4 years. How can you get anything done amidst such revolving doors?! The new government is of course lacking in experience of governing, as 14 years in opposition is a long time without a taste of leading. They needed to come in without criticising their predecessors too much, get both parties working together (albeit one in opposition) for the country. The departing party (Conservatives) should forget about themselves for a moment and put the nation first, by helping the new government govern. Unfortunately, both parties are already looking to the next general election, and sadly, the nation is the pawn stuck in the middle of a new government that feel the need to keep blaming the previous government and a previous government that’s keen to see the new one fail, so that they can return. An unfortunate reality of democracy.

Solution: an intelligent electorate. The only way to get a government working well and for the good of the nation, is for the electorate to wisen up! Stop voting emotionally! Vote based on what’s before you and not slogans! (e.g. Stop the boats). Slogans are very easy to come by. If the voting-age members of the public demonstrate a real intelligence of the key issues e.g. Immigration: you can’t just ‘stop the boats’! there’s no legal nor decent way of just doing it. It can be done, only by doing some of the things the new government is trying to do (try to get some of the gangs or at least close in on them, work with other countries etc.). If the electorate fail to up that degree of understanding, and remain driven around by slogans and false promises, then we will never get a government & opposition that will focus on improving the country. All that will happen is that Labour will try their best but won’t be able to get anything done, and the Conservatives will not be an effective opposition and May then return to power and won’t be able to get anything done either. And the awful spiral will continue. We must break that cycle. Whichever party is in power, must be able to get some basic things done and the opposition should help. The only difference should how each party go about making life better for the country. Both should be able to do so.

I actually do feel some sympathy towards key members of the new government in the UK who are now being accused of receiving gifts such as holiday use of apartments provided by wealthy donors etc.

It is very easy to sit in opposition and criticise the folk in power. Labour is starting to find out just how difficult it is, to turn down freebies when you’re in government! The freebies will keep coming. Are these freebies just from kindhearted well-wishers? Is there any such thing as a kindhearted well-wisher? I think we all know the answer to that

Human beings are driven by a thirst for wealth, power, but we all repackage that by using words such as: comfort, stability, providing for our kids or just trying to build a future

The poor criticise and quietly envy the rich. If/when they (the poor) gain wealth, their behaviour simply mirror those of the folk the6 have spent their entire lives criticising

People enter politics and display the meagre earnings and imply they are doing it just to be of service to the public. Ok. Then a few years later, they step out of politics and straight into the private sector and into high-salaried jobs that they would never have been considered for, had they not held the public sector political positions prior.

There is no selflessness out there. Nobody is doing anything just for the love of the public.

Selflessness (or close to it) is when you see a retired person getting out there on a Saturday, picking up litter in their neighbourhood. But even so, it is still an action taken for the satisfaction of dwelling in a litter-free environment.

It’s the reason socialism has never worked anywhere. I would love to see people who save lives in their jobs e.g. nurses, doctors etc., and those who put their lives in danger for the rest of us e.g. the police, firefighters, those who get conscripted into armed forces etc., get paid significantly by taxing footballers who earn £300,000 a week for plating football or musicians etc., the very wealthy, using a progressive scale: you earn more, you pay more. So others can earn more. Unfortunately, it just simply doesn’t work like that. The wealthy can afford the best accountants, lawyers etc. Some will say, do the poor need to do more? Just like those politicians who were in opposition criticised those in government for taking freebies and now, they are in government and finding it hard to say no to freebies. And perhaps even now starting to think they deserve those freebies. Quickly forgetting the years they spent criticising the past government

I doubt society will ever find a way to get close to creating some form of equity. Human being are too self-centred for that..

We prefer the label: ‘pure evil’ or similar. But what exactly is ‘pure evil’? To begin with, how can evil ever be pure?
The answer has to be more scientific. What is sanity? If an individual’s senses are working correctly or normally or ordinarily, it should surely be clear that having political differences with someone doesn’t and should not lead to you crouching in a bush, waiting to shoot them dead!!!! There is a very simple process to exercise your disagreement: it’s called an election! You simply cast your vote against them and if many others agree with you, then you defeat them at the polls. At no point in that cycle, should a functioning brain suggest violence!

But I do understand the reluctance of the baying mob, seeking punishment, to accept that such actions are not those of a sane person. We want them thrown in jail and punished. But the reality, whether we choose to accept it or not, is that such individuals are simply not well in the head. It is indeed a mental health issue

Call it pure evil or unadulterated evil or whatever else we prefer, it still all boils down to a malfunctioning of the mental faculties of those individuals that would lead them to commit such heinous crimes. How else can one explain a 17 year old boy picking up a knife and stabbing girls under 10 years old to death?!! I mean, that is not normal is it?
You can be as pure evil as you want, that action is not born out of being evil, there is clearly something not right up there! It is abnormal. The perpetrator is not and couldn’t have been with his senses!

If we don’t get down to it and begin looking for early signs and treating it, sitting about calling it pure evil ain’t solving anything! It’s the same for the seemingly unending school shootings in America. The perpetrators cannot possibly be sane! To do that to your schoolmates, knowing full well, the impact on their parents, friends etc., is not pure evil, it is the action of the unwell.

The police and government are doing what they can, with knife amnesties, changes to the law, stiffer sentencing etc. But this really is a depressing societal issue isn’t it???

We all can recall our youthful years, you would hope to come out on top in a push & shove with teenagers you disagree with. The occasional punch up. But you would never wish to see your worst enemy at school die. Let alone be the one to kill them by carrying a knife!

We have a cowardly generation on our hands. These teens say they carry those zombie knives out of fear! Seriously?

But where are the parents??? Where is the training at home??? Do these knife-carrying teens understand just how much horror taking a life causes?! The misery for the parents and the hundreds of lives that each loss affects!
How did we get to this juncture, where a teenager feels it is ok to pull out a knife and kill someone?
To have so many of these stabbings and deaths in the country, is truly depressing. This is not for the police nor government to solve! It is a parental issue. Parents must do more, much more, to appeal to their teenage children: killing someone cannot possibly be the option, regardless of how angry or scared you say you are. Unfortunately, we are at a time where everyone wants the government, the police to fix everything. But when the police try to stop & search (and yes, perhaps it is done in a way that some groups feel targeted. One hopes that is improving as it does help if society feel these measures are applied evenly) they are faced with resistance but we still expect them to miraculously end stabbings!

But where do these sword-like knives come from? Who is selling them? Hunting is hardly a popular pastime in the UK?!
Sad way to make money!

Is there such thing as ‘Western Hypocrisy’? Probably. But can hypocrisy be outdone by hypocrisy?
The continued rise of the tit for tat tactic is not going to get us anywhere is it?

Read about the Jannik Sinner (World number 1 male tennis player) situation. The Italian was confirmed to have failed 2 drug tests but was cleared and carried of with his tennis. The accepted reason he gave for his failed tests? Well, he claimed that his physio must have used the drug – which is sold over the counter in Italy to treat cuts & bruises – to treat a cut on his hand and then inadvertently transferred the drug to Sinner (aptly named by the way 😁) when he worked on Sinner. Seriously?! Now, imagine if that was an African or Chinese or Russian athlete providing such an explanation?

Right across the news and articles, there was collective acceptance that he was honest and nothing to see here…

The reality is simple though: if some countries allege Western Hypocrisy, it would be good if they can provide a better way of doing things and lead by example. Instead, what we see is a race to do the same and then say: “well, they did it”. There doesn’t appear to be the will nor interest to find a better way. We see countries wilfully attacking others and claiming that others have done the same in the past. We see people being imprisoned just so they can be used in swaps. We see the rise in disinformation and use of misinformation to try to cause chaos.

If someone has an alternative to democracy, and alternative to the western way of life, surely, it has to be demonstrably better, for it to be a viable alternative right?
At present, the alternatives out there are just simply scary! So, perhaps we just have to believe Jannik Sinner is telling the truth & it was indeed his Physio….

United States of America is supposed to be ‘land of the free’!

So, when a traffic cop stops Miami Dolphin’s Tyreek Hill on Sunday and asked him about not wearing his seat belt, I didn’t hear the usual respectful language the American cops are known for. And as the Miami Dolphin said in the statement they released after the episode; the cops forgot their responsibility and role, which is to serve. There was nothing wrong with taking his licence and issuing him with a ticket. Commanding him to roll down his window or step out of the car has little to do with the traffic offence he was stopped for. He had handed his licence over. Now, if the cops deemed him to be uncooperative, take his details down, pass it to the DA and sue him for that and fine him.

Instead, they dragged him out of his car, manhandled him, slapped him on the tarmac, pushed him about etc. This is the guy who pays their salaries (along with other tax paying folk of Miami). Some respectability needs to come back into policing. The cops need to think about what these videos look like, to the rest of the world and how it impacts how people see America. They (American cops) need to put America first. Not so hard to show respect to the civilians they are there to protect. Now, if Tyreek had been abusive or refused to stop his car, that’s understandable but he didn’t. Commanding him to leave his window open (why? the cop already had his licence) was not a necessary step.

But to be honest, Tyreek was playing with fire. He could have been shot. So, in fact, those policemen perhaps should also be commended for not doing what many have now come to expect in America i.e. whipping out their guns!

But in truth, what kind of life are Americans living? When they have to be terrified of their own police force? The police are supposed to be protecting them. And when stopped for such a flimsy, minor, non-violent act such as speeding or not wearing a seat belt, for goodness sake, it should have been a very friendly 2min chat, ticket and good bye (with the usual “have a nice day sir”). To get into the “you shall do as we tell you” mode, is a truly worrying scenario. The police are there to serve and protect. We are very lucky here in the UK that a vast majority of encounters with police here, are very respectful and certainly, for such a flimsy situation such as a traffic stop, it is highly unlikely to lead to this needless fiasco that Tyreek got dragged into

The country needs a bit of peace and quiet following the atrocious riots of this summer. We have stupidly held a referendum on Brexit and the leave vote won.
It was a most unfortunate result and we should never have had a referendum in the first place, as the whole purpose of voting MPs in to represent us, is for them to debate and make such decisions in Parliament. The public do not have access to enough detail to be taking a deciding view on such matters.

But seeing that a referendum was indeed held and there was a result, that result MJST be upheld and we all have to find a way to make it work as best as possible.

There should be no mention – even if in jest – of a return to the EU this generation. To attempt rejoining the EU would be tantamount to treading over the result of the referendum and it will lead to chaos and self-inflicted chaos at that

Behave!!!

It would seem that the Nigel Farages of this world managed to teach their kids that hurling bricks at the police and injuring scores of police officers, is not the way to get your point across…

I am still waiting to see a medical doctor, engineer, dentist, lecturer or their children, named as one of the rioters. None so far. So, where were all these folk in suits & ties who turn up on TV saying the if only politicians had listened to the rioters, it’s just frustration boiling over etc.? Why didn’t these folk (or their children) join the rioting? Well, I’ll tell you why: because they know that violent disorder is wrong, is unlawful and you get sent to jail for it! That’s why. But it would seem that they are very ok with seeing others do it and face the consequences.

I do not believe we are yet at a time where these brick-hurling, violent folk are the ones who are somehow the ones with the master plan on how to run the country. Their “we want our country back” shouts are as hollow as their brains, if they believe injuring the police is how you set about getting your country back. It is quite similar for America, when you speak to a MAGA person who couldn’t tell you what the capital of the USA is. Or the name of the states that border his/her state, you have to wonder how on earth those folk are possibly going to make America Great??? They couldn’t make their own back-gardens great, if their lives depended on it. The folk who are repeatedly exploiting these poor people, feeding them lies and whipping them into a frenzy, seem to know how to hold themselves and their children back from the front line, while they cast these sheep out like lambs to the slaughter.

I sincerely hope that at some point, these poor fools who are the ones going to jail (many of them appear to have had previously brushes with the law) will see that they are being used and they can ask the folk whipping them up, to join them during the next outing and stand shoulder to shoulder, so that they all face the consequences together. I daresay, that the next protest will be an orderly, non-violent signing of petitions to be delivered to their local MPs, which is what anyone with a grievance should do, not hurl bricks at the police or intimidate others.

The truth about immigration is that there’s no truth out there.

The lies and manipulated statistics about immigration, used by whoever wants to spin it whichever way they want to spin it, has been built up in so many layers that it will take a lifetime to peel those layers back.

The stories prey on our basic fear of anything different to us.

If you ask Donald Trump about illegal migration into the USA, he will tell you it’s largely via the southern border – this means Hispanic folk coming in droves from Mexico and the human caravan from Central & South America. Yet, when he issued a contrasting picture of the American dream he says he’s bringing back versus Kamala Harris’ America, the picture he used was a gathering of black refugees who are definitely not the folk you see at the US southern border. So, why did he pull in that photo, which is more like a pic of the folk crossing the English Channel. Well, he did so, for maximum impact.

The reality is that American Natives could pull a similar picture of America prior to the arrival of immigrants, and put the Mayflower ship in there. So can the natives in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil…. the list is endless. Countries populated via European migration.

Migration works. It is necessary. There’s nothing evil about it: be it legal migration or the illegal migration. In the case of the illegal migration, the way to control it, is to stop wars and displacement of people, crack down on the people-smugglers who are profiting from exploiting those unfortunate people, get cross-regional agreements in place to end the misery and generally help the rest of the world do better so that people can do well wherever they are, without wanting to endanger their lives crossing the channel or trekking through deserts and falling prey to people-smugglers.
There is absolutely no direct link between the current sorry state of our economy in the UK and the recent influx of illegal migrants or the net migration that has shot through the roof. But instead of fixing the economy, to drag Brits out of poverty, some charlatans have decided to use migration as the scapegoat, to whip up populism and manipulate the general British population into believing their woes is a result of migration. These charlatans did this systemically over several years and are still at it.
Even after the horrible riots earlier this month, they continue to peddle their lies and continue to sow those seeds of hatred.

The truth is that the UK can very easily take in migrants, get services in place to integrate them and get them living the British way. But that will not help nor aid populism. It will not deliver easy votes, and it will end the hate that they rely on and wish to explode onto our streets. And it is so easy for them to achieve those aims, because at present, if you take housing as an example, we have a huge backlog, with many Brits waiting on long lists to secure housing. Instead of sorting the economy and creating wealth for those folk, so that they can go and buy their own homes and not have to depend on the government for housing, we just tell them that the refugees coming in are being prioritised and are getting the housing aid quicker from government, while Brits wait in line. Which really is, just an opportunistic lie. But it is one of many available and hugely effective lies that these charlatans use to whip up anger and hatred towards migrants and that has steadily spread to being anger and hatred agains anyone who isn’t white-British, as it is simpler for them to just generalise.

The total number of illegal migrant boating it across the channel, should never ever be anything to cripple the UK. We should pick them up, take good care of them, and sort out their paperwork – deporting those found not to be genuine – and that should be that. There really is, nothing to be hysterical about. Nothing to go rioting and injuring the police for!
Yes, treating migrants well, will encourage more and more. Well, then resource the processing with more people, and move them out quicker. Integrate that who are to stay. And more importantly, explain all this to the British people, eradicate poverty here so that Brits can get off reliance on benefits.

Yes, some of the migrants will be horrible people; a good example is the Romanian man who stabbed a mother & daughter to death in London recently. It was confirmed he is an asylum seeker who cannot presently work in the UK but his wife just had their third child here. Many have jumped on that incident to point out that had he been removed, that murder could have been prevented. Ok, true, if he wasn’t here, that horrific murder could have been averted, but that is only one of thousands of asylum seekers and refugees. There will always be the odd rotten apple. It is the same with the millions of migrants whose descendants now run the USA, Canada, Australia and all those countries. Many of them are now the loudest voices asking that those countries build walls, shut borders, dehumanise migrants etc.

If we can put an end to wars, end mass displacement of people and work together to industrialise third world countries (and stop handing out bank accounts to those embezzling in those countries), majority of human beings prefer their home countries and probably not look to migrate. And for the few (as it is still really just a few) who decide to migrate, they can do it in a safer manner than paying people smugglers and crossing dangerous territories to get here

But the truth is: migration is really not the crisis the charlatans have made it out to be. But Pandora’s box is now open and there’s no easy fix. It is such a straightforward topic to whip up crowds, get emotions running high and manipulate the masses. And the world is not short of charlatans! They will continue to tell you it is about patriotism, saving our culture & values (ironically it’s the same culture that has survived for centuries and evolved countless times and survived without the aid of hatred and intolerance), taking our country back or making it great again etc…

The BBC article: US police officer charged with fatally shooting pregnant woman

Ta’Kiya Young, 21, was around 25 weeks pregnant at the time of her death last August. Her unborn daughter also died in the police shooting.

On Tuesday, a grand jury in the city of Columbus found sufficient evidence to file charges against Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb for murder, involuntary manslaughter and assault. 

Bodycam video of the fatal encounter released last year showed police attempting to stop Ms Young from driving away so they could question her about alleged shoplifting.

In the video she appeared to drive toward the officer who fired the fatal shot as he commanded her to exit the car.

Ms Young was suspected of shoplifting alcohol from a Kroger grocery store, investigators say. 

Lawyers for Mr Grubb say he fired in self-defence.

“When viewed through the eyes of a reasonable police officer, the evidence will show that our client’s actions were justified, when there is video evidence that Officer Grubb was being hit by a moving vehicle,” said his lawyers Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stephens.

The local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) labour union on Tuesday slammed the indictment as “politically motivated”.

“We stand firm in advocating for an impartial justice system that focuses on truth and facts, not politics,” said chapter president Brian Steel.

“Like all law enforcement officers, Officer Grubb had to make a split-second decision, a reality all too familiar for those who serve to protect our communities,” he also said, adding decisions were often made under “extreme pressure and often in life-threatening situations”………….

…… If anyone was asked to guess the colour of the dead individual and that of the police shooter, I doubt any of us would guess incorrectly. But for me, that’s actually not the point. The point is: when you watch the video, there were two policemen and they both felt the need to draw guns against a woman? It could be interesting to see the statistics of how many women have ever killed a police offer in the US’s history. This was no Bonnie & Clyde standoff. The store have her on CCTV, the police have her on their bodycam, including her car reg etc (even if they may feel she could have also stolen the car). She pulled forward from a parked position, so, she was hardly flying at 100km/hr! To begin with, this was never a ‘draw your gun’ situation! It was a shoplifting, not a knife-wielding spree! This is where policing in America is quite farcical! Can these folk not assess that a shoplifting allegation, and by a woman, does not require pulling out your gun?!!! For heaven’s sake, it isn’t a goat at the wheel of the car (and goats don’t deserve that either), it is a human being, and as it turns out, a pregnant one – and even if she wasn’t pregnant, it is a human being who has friends, family….. to just snap that life out so callously is reprehensible and it THE POINT. Would it be so difficult for the policemen not to draw guns, get out of her way, let her drive away????!!! They had all the evidence needed. In the UK, our properly trained police officers (setting aside the fact that they are unlikely, in this situation, to be gun carrying) would let her drive away, and at 5am the next day, there will be a knock on her door at her home, and she will be quietly arrested in her pyjamas. That is how policing should work.

The murder charge is of course a waste of time in the US, as that policeman will win in their court. Why? because they do not wish to accept that the principle of how they police, is the problem.

Given the countless similar situations in the US (all ending up in death to the civilian), the woman was clearly suicidal. She only had to have sneezed and she would have been shot dead, nevermind attempting to drive away.
They need to disband the entire US police force, sit down and redefine what policing is and explain that civilians are taxpayers – regardless – and as such, they employ these cops. The training has to be that each situation must be assessed e.g. woman reported to have stolen nappies and a can of tomatoes, sat in a car. Caught on multiple cameras. DO NOT DRAW YOUR GUN! She attempts to drive over you, WELL, MOVE YOURSELF! Let her drive away! Go get her later in the evening!!

But that is just not how America see it. She is dead, her unborn baby is dead, and majority will say she deserved it and she won’t be the last….

What exactly is the left accused of? What are these supposed leftie villains all about?

If you say: “we are all human beings” so, let us be human to asylum seekers and those seeking refuge, even if some of them are economic migrants mixing in. YOU ARE A LEFTIE!

If you ask for social equality and for a system where all the wealth does not sit in the hands of a few, with everyone else living in poverty. YOU ARE SAID TO BE THE LEFT

If you speak against forced separation of children from their parents at the borders – as America recently did. YOU ARE A LEFTIE

If you ask that the world try to avoid rushing to war at every opportunity. You are said to be naive and ARE A LEFTIE

If you advocate for a system where everyone can access a minimum level of health service, not live in poverty, you are apparently a LEFTIE

If you plead that public discourse and all conversations avoid insults and abusive language that demonise others, you are definitely a LEFTIE

If ask that the police in America try not to always draw their guns and shoot people dead (perhaps they can try shooting a lot lower e.g. feet?) and try to reduce the number of incidents of minorities ending up dead even when they are the ones who call the police for help. You are a LEFTIE

If you ask for some thought with regards changes we are all witnessing relating to the climate. You are a LEFTIE

If you ask that countries, especially the larger one like the USA, try to see the world as a whole and not always just about America, you are slapped with the LEFTIE tag

So, perhaps one could conclude that in order to avoid being called a LEFTIE, one just needs to be horrible, use foul language, dehumanise the unfortunate migrants, be self-centred, be ok with the police in the US bumping off any number of unarmed civilians and not give a damn about the climate changing before our very eyes. Simple…

That good old cornerstone of our democracy. The one people like to abuse and exploit.

It is RFK Jr (whoever the heck that is!) railing today from his perch in America, about the UK’s police force stating that there will be consequences for people who feel they can sit in America while using online platforms to spread hate in the UK.

If you ask many of these folk who claim to be the defenders of free speech, if the tenets of free speech include no consequence, they won’t have a coherent answer.

I am all for free speech and freedom of speech. But causing violence a disorder with your speech will and should lead to consequences. I do not know of any period in human history, where anyone can got out there and just say anything – including inciting a riot – without consequence. There will always be consequences

Moreover, whoever crafted the laws we are applying today, did not envisage times like this, where individuals can have 50, 100 million followers on a social media site and can influence them with a few taps of a keypad and off they go. The laws will have to – and have gradually been – be updated to deal with what we are faced with today. For example, it was some guy sat in Romania (awaiting trial for a long list of sex crimes) who deemed it fit to spread lies online and inaccurate details about the horrific incident in the UK, and that fanned the flames that led to the rioting. There will need to be cross-border provisions in law, to ensure we can deal with such acts of criminality when the impact could be some acute here in the UK.

Freedom of speech is great and must be preserved. So is the rule of law. So, if you go around online or elsewhere, saying things that lead to violence or impact others negatively in a criminal manner, there must be consequences and the law must act. You can go and exercise all the hateful free speech you wish for, in prison!

The few who did not previously have a criminal record and now have one, will suddenly find the impact truly astounding, for a few minutes of madness on their part!
It is never worth it

There is nothing wrong with being frustrated with government or issues or whatever it is these rioters say they are miffed about. But you simply cannot express such frustration by injuring police men and women who are themselves parents and members of society; they are simply doing their jobs. And to intimidate other citizens – whether they are foreigners or not direct descendants of the celts & angles – is deplorable and brings such shame on the country these idiots say they are fighting for. It is much more shameful to see Britain televised around the world as a country of rioters. There is simply no tenable excuse for it.

It would be nice if any of them that show real remorse, can later – after completing their prison sentences – apply for a pardon if they can demonstrate true remorse and their understanding of the enormity of what they did, both in terms of disgracing our country as well as causing fear and hatred to escalate in society. Nobody has the right to intimidate others in this country.

Moment of madness. But the people who egged them on and continued to state that disorder could occur, will escape any punishment and are already out there mouthing off again, as if we haven’t had enough silliness! Give it a rest!!

If the Labour government in the UK intend to stay decent, then they have to find a way to communicate effectively with the country.

Indecency, dog-whistling, and slogans that promise a lot, yet deliver nothing, is what sells. The last government (Conservatives) lasted 14 years, delivered very little, but there was no rioting by the far-right. Why? Well, it’s quite simple: the conservatives were very happy and willing to give the far-right what was music to their ears: calling asylum-seekers an invaders, saying anyone that wants decency is a wokerati. Using awful slogans such as ‘Stop the boats’ (which the far-right have now adopted), promising deportations to Rwanda (while knowing they were never really going to do it) etc. All that kept the far-right drooling in glee and they were ok with the Conservatives delivering nothing and even when net migration shot through the roof, it was ok with them.

Now we have a Labour government who isn’t willing to give them that satisfaction. A government whose MPs do not label people as Wokerati and will not seek to demonise asylum-seekers. So, result: violence, rioting.

Labour will need to find a compromise. I suggest they connect better, get communicators out there into communities to explain what net migration means and the reasons we are forced to take some people in, in order to sell our goods etc. It’s checks and balances. Yes, the core far-right people will not listen, but Labour must try. They may succeed in reducing the far-right support, right back down to fringe elements who cannot organise the kind of chaos & rioting we suffered a week ago.

There’s no amount of counter-protests and show of community spirit that can undo the terror & fear that minorities were put through in the UK over the past week. It will impact them for a generation. Knowing you’re in a country where a group of people can suddenly take over the streets and burn things down just because they claim they are not being listened to, is not something anyone can forget quickly. And to know that those same people didn’t come from Mars, they are teachers, shopkeepers, neighbours etc. And they will always hold those hateful beliefs.
It is great to know that the overwhelming majority of people in the UK do not share those repugnant views and will always stand up to the haters, but at the end of the day, minority communities should not have to rely on others shielding them. They should be able to live without fear in the UK.

For those politicians and celebrities and other influential people who have continued to say: “well, it was always coming, people are frustrated with the level of immigration and do not feel the government is listening to them”. OK. Fine. But we are a DEMOCRACY! If people have a grievance, we have a process. You go to your MP to register your grievances. If your MP do not listen or take action, you get to vote them out of office every 4 years. If your vote doesn’t affect the changes you want, it simply means it is not what the majority want. That is how democracy works. There is no option for violent rioting and intimidation. The excuse above, is not tenable and should never be a reason put forward by a Member of Parliament. It is totally unacceptable and there should be significant consequences (those MPs should face a recall and deselection).

The job of an MP should be to diffuse situations such as what occurred in the UK last week. The violent riots should have been roundly condemned by everyone. There cannot be any equivocation about it. Issues that people say they are concerned about, needs to be raised in parliament by their MPs. Protests should be registered with the police and done lawfully. Any other impromptu gathering should be immediately dispersed by a specialist unit the government is now putting in place, albeit after the fact. But it will likely come in handy again, as it is unlikely that last week will be the last time racism will manifest in form of violent riots in this country. We need to – in schools & homes – begin teaching the next generation to understand that nobody in the UK (white, black, brown of whatever other colour) is allowed to intimidate others. Frustrated or not. We are not a third world country. The embarrassment – to our image globally – caused by last weeks’ yobbery, is going to stick for decades. It really is most regrettable. It is one thing for people to choose to be hateful and chat about it at their dinner table, it is quite another, to take it to the streets and send us, as a nation, back to the 1960s! We must not stand for it. We cannot tolerate it. And the government now has a responsibility to make sure it never happens again! The government must monitor all the far-right sites, infiltrate the various groups, must be a step ahead, to snuff out any attempt or plans for public violence. It simply cannot be allowed to happen ever again in the UK

Most of us enjoy watching the summer olympics as is remains enjoyable. But overall, a laughable debacle where rich countries are not just content with putting forward athletes who have had all the time to train in superior training facilities, but some of them can also afford to dope and they do so rampantly!

When you watch athletes like Kenya’s 800m runner, Wanyonyi who is racing to feed his family; can barely afford his racing shoes, yet he works hard and wins gold! Hats off.

The context of the Olympics has long become laughable as you have countries whose athletes are fulltime athletes and receive huge sponsorships, can train all day, all year round, competing against countries whose athletes have to work fulltime to make ends meet and only have a few hours in the evenings to train, and do so at awful facilities and rarely have experienced coaches. It is what it is, I suppose.

It is definitely not an open playing field by any stretch of the imagination.

When you have about 70% of rioters – arrested after the horrific week we have just had in the UK – confirmed as ex-convicts, then the threat of them heading back to jail is only effective if it was a scary place the last time they were there, and as such, do not wish to return there.

This is most unfortunate as so many people leave our prisons to reoffend a few weeks later and their offences appear to increase in degree of violence, due to the experiences they have added from being in prison. But if prison isn’t scary, then these hooligans will continue to flaunt the law. So, a dilemma…

Separating those who have committed non-violent crime and rehabilitating them is also not an effective deterrent as the prospect of them ending up in a cell with a deranged murderer is of course a more effective deterrent.
For these UK rioters this past week, the swift justice being handed out to them may deter the few who are not career criminals.

Well, no surprises there.

This is why politicians who are trying to excuse these riots are a disgrace. We spend so much time & money running General Elections. Do we now have to allow mobs to dictate the direction the country takes?

If you have an issue, vote for a government that sides with you. If that party fail to win, it means not everyone see it as you see it. You live with it. But oh no! They want to burn and loot, take over by force? Well, we’ll see just how tough these yobs are, when their doorbells ring at 6am and the police turn up to arrest them. Without their mob, they tend to be very cooperative 😁

Absolute fiasco that must never ever be allowed again in the UK

The UK has been thoroughly humiliated by the ongoing rioting that began last week.

Yes, does need a bit of perspective. UK population is around 69.9million people. The rioters number roughly 20,000 of which about 10% have been involved in criminality and violence. There may well be another couple of millions who agree and encourage their behaviour. But whichever way you look at it, roughly 97% of the country would not seek nor opt for violence. Of course, it is scant consolation for those who are presently afraid to leave their homes, in the country where their parents were born, where they were born, where they have paid their taxes (and their parents before them) and contributed as much as anyone else. It is unimaginable that we would create such a situation for anyone in the UK, regardless of the reasons put forward by those defending it.

We will have to see how the government responds.

The politicians and so-called influencers who come out with lines such as: “I find it appalling, but we need to talk about the root cause” or “people are just fed up and frustrated”…

Well, we all face frustrations of a variety each and every day. None should lead to us going out and hurling bricks at the police or burning cars and buildings down etc. Making others scared to even leave their homes!

One of the key reasons I went to school abroad was because I grew up in an era of several race riots in the UK and racist groups such as the National Front marching regularly on London streets, with various skirmishes! They don’t stop to ask questions. So, these non-white politicians in the UK who are stoking these actions should think twice because your kids and family can get caught up and these mobs won’t wait to ask any questions before punching and headbutting them. There are already videos of a number of such incidences this past week. Is this where we should be as a society, in 2024??

There must be TOTAL and ABSOLUTE condemnation of thuggery and these violent disorder on our streets. No conjecture. It doesn’t matter how frustrated people say they are or how many small boats are crossing the channel or levels of migration etc. You go and register your opposition or frustration with your local MP. That is the process. The same must also apply to all other grievances, be it support of Palestinians or anything else. These idea of just getting out on the streets and forcing those who do not agree with you to cower at home and be scared of going out – in case they get accosted – is totally unacceptable. There can be no accommodation or excuses for the injuries to the police by member of the public just because they say they wish to voice their frustration.

The issues and root cause etc., can be looked into, BUT first and foremost, we must condemn and end the violence, get these idiots off our streets and mete out fast justice and ensure this never, ever happens again. Rioting can never and must never be an option that anyone or groups should be able to resort to, in 21st century Britain.

The incessant labelling: far right etc. is pointless! Not everyone showing up at these silly gatherings is a member of a far-right group. These are largely misinformed people going with the flow and ending up supporting what they do not understand.

The government (largely the last Tory government should have) must get a lot better at communicating. Why has legal migration, which they can control, risen sharply to a point where net migration is such that we have let so many more people in than Brits exiting the country? There must be reasons for that. Why not explain it?
Legal migration should be brought down to mitigate the illegal migration that’s less easy to control. Or at least, the situation should be explained clearly to these groups who say they are compelled to riot.

Protesting is well and good. But the minute you begin to hurl rocks at police and injuring them, that is not a protest, it is criminal behaviour and violent disorder. When you look at some of the video recording, it really is appalling. These police officers are human beings too right? They have kids at home, who wouldn’t wish to see their parents battered right?! How can anyone even attempt to excuse such behaviour??? It is reprehensible!

I can partly understand why governments have never really tried to explain the immigration situation, as I find it difficult to see how some of these rock-hurling goons, could understand such explanations. If you’re dumb enough to run around mindlessly attacking the police and burning cars etc., you are highly unlikely to be bright enough to understand any explanation the government could provide. But I believe that notwithstanding, the government should try to explain it anyway.

The reality is that the economic detriment is very, very low. It’s the resulting impact, with pockets of communities who do not appear to be taking in the British way of life, which is a result of integration stalling, probably due to intolerance and low funding. To offer little in terms of shedding light on what’s been going on, isn’t going to work going forward or these mindless riots will become a regular, unending occurrence. Any excuse they get, they will be at it again, regardless of whether or not it is disinformation. Once it’s in motion, it’s like a runaway train.

The government has a responsibility to improve communication while indeed taking a zero tolerance approach to violent disorder. The perpetrators of this weeks’ rioting will soon get early morning knocks on their doors. But given that our prisons are already full, this really is a situation that needs to be preempted in future. It is so unnecessary

It seems people just can’t help themselves these days..

Donald Trump attended what they billed as a Black Journalists of America event in Chicago this week and much as I can understand the eagerness to quiz him on issues such as some of his acolytes saying Kamala Harris is a DEI hire, it all could have been done with a bit more nuance! The moderator’s repeated use of the word “Sir” as Americans do – without it actually implying any ounce of respectfulness – is ok, but going at him in a manner that was so obviously intended to provoke him, and then we see headlines saying he questioned Kamala’s heritage, was indeed beyond the pale. There was absolutely no need for it and it was totally unnecessary.

Was Trump ever going to kick back against what his acolytes had been saying? Would anyone?

If the legitimate question to him, was whether or not that’s the way he also sees it? Well, if it wasn’t, would his closest allies be strutting around saying that stuff? And if it was just a simple matter of getting it on record, then, why not just politely ask him if he could just say so?

I believe it is discourteous to get someone over as a guest, and then aggressively question them in that manner. He already knows he’s in a tough territory given all the crap he utters about black people, but they should have taken a moral high ground, made him very welcome, and them calmly put those questions to him, without the hysterics.

The question in itself, is just idiotic. Lay Kamala Harris’ qualification, be it in terms of her education or experience as a lawyer or senator, against that of Donald Trump or Marjorie Taylor Green or Lauren Boebert and others, it should be quite clear that the question is totally baseless. She isn’t a DEI hire. And in any case, people get hired for several reasons and if someone is hired because amps employer wants to mix things up by not having a men-only office, what is wrong with that being a reason to hire a competent, educated and suitably qualified person????

The entire topic is just so juvenile, so pathetic. On all levels. DEI was created exactly to end up with some people being DEI hires. It doesn’t mean there are less qualified but it does mean that they were hired for the reason: to force diversity as employers are not naturally hiring some folk, even though they are as equally suitable for hire as others. So, both the folk labelling others as DEI hires (which is dumb) and the folk taking offence about being called a DEI hire, are silly. Why was Kamala selected as Biden’s running mate? Why was the crazy Alaska woman selected as John McCain’s running mate? And indeed, JD Vance: why was he selected as Trump’s running mate (was it not to lure the working class rural folk? WELL, that in itself is an attempt at inclusivity —- the ‘I’ in DEI)

Good gracious!!!

It has been a most awful week in the UK, with the unthinkably cruel, lunatic killing of 3 young girls is Southport by a teenager who must surely have lost the use of his senses, as it is unimaginable how anyone young or old, can take a knife to children! It really doesn’t matter what religion or ethnic background or whether he is British or arrived on a dinghy the day before: all that is immaterial. The only thing that matters is the fact that 3 young girls are dead and their parents are devastated.

If investigations conclude that the teenager has had a history of violence, then we really must look into what’s led to this tragedy and horror

This is no time for anyone to be rioting and injuring the police! What have the police done wrong in this? Why are they now having to face such harassment and danger???? It really is unbelievable! We are not in a third world country. While the internet can be a lawless platform with hate being spewed willy nilly by humans and bots controlled by humans, and they get away with it, we cannot accept that on our streets!! The announcement today by Sir Kier, on a new unit of the police to be mobile and robust in immediately preventing such mindless carnage on our streets, is indeed where the focus needs to be. Hate will never lead to satisfactory results and the parents & family of those 3 children will not want the death of their children to be sullied by such stupidity as rioting, at a time when they just need some time to try to find some peace, in this absolute tragedy that has befallen them. Nothing can replace their children. But the least we can do as a country, is try to show these families that we are with them and are in pain. Not having hooligans tearing up our streets, injuring our police officers.

The world is in such a bad, bad place right now. We must find a way to bring back a little bit of decency. A little bit of humanity. We cannot have children getting hacked to death in the UK for goodness sake!
Hate of all and any kind, must be expunged from our society

Terrible times!

There’s been videos circulating in the past week, if an incident at Manchester Airport, where a policeman was seen kicking a prone mane in the head and also appearing to stamp on his head. An action that has been roundly condemned, regardless of the circumstances, members of the public are the taxpayers funding the police; you don’t kick your employer in the face!

However, one key fact that has been missed by many, is that this was the UK armed response unit. They are the UK’s gun-carrying police unit. They are called in when necessary. At no point during the altercation – even as they (the police) were being punched in the face – did they think to draw their guns, let alone fire! That is what UK policing is all about. They are trained to recognise that human life is not to be snuffed out just on a whim. At that incident, they were willing to take a beating (even though they shouldn’t be taking a beating at their job) to try to taser those guys and arrest them. There have also been occasions where the UK’s armed response unit allow armed criminals to get away (knowing they can pick them up at 5am the next day in their PJs and with nobody getting shot). That is what policing should be about. Yes, the officer who kicked the man in the face got frustrated and yes, that is a taxpayer (his employer) and someone’s son/husband/friend and it was awful to watch and should not have happened, BUT had this incident been in the USA, within the first 30seconds, the police would have shot 3 to 4 people dead.

It is very likely that the guy who got kicked in the face would prefer that to being riddled with bullets and lying in a morgue. Also likely his family are grateful he’s still alive – which he definitely wouldn’t be, in the USA.

Respect has to cut both ways. Lashing out and punching a police officer is total disregard of what they represent, which is all of us. It cannot be accepted regardless of what the circumstances was. You just don’t do that! But then, if a police officer is a type who could kick a defenceless person in the face and stamp on their head, then you can imagine his approach, when he first got in contact with them, was unlikely to have been courteous.

Thank goodness for the training we give to our firearms officers in the UK! It would have been several dead members of the public, which would be a total waste of human life.

We of course hope to avoid incidents where the police kick people in the face, but lashing out to punch a uniformed officer, is definitely not acceptable in any shape or form. But the fact that none of the officers once considered drawing their guns, is something we must be proud of in the UK! And something the US and others should learn from. Each and every human life touches on so many others and should not get snuffed out so willy nilly

If you have a leader whose followers believe they must do truly horrible things in order to please that leader, you know it’s a hopeless situation. Each and every time you read about Trump’s followers, it’s never about them offering support to the homeless or work to the jobless. It’s always about doing awful stuff to others, as if that automatically leads to good results for those they say they wish to help.

This morning I read the CNN article about Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert saying she demands Joe Biden get himself on a camera before 5pm to prove he is still alive. Essentially suggesting that Biden was incapacitated and someone else issued his letter withdrawing from the presidential election. The sheer indecency of saying the supposed most powerful individual on earth “get himself to a camera” to prove himself to some silly congresswoman is just laughable really.

But when you go back in time and you read of situations such as the Nazi execution of Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and 8 others who tried to remove Hitler, you begin to see just how despicable human beings are. They slowly suffocated him and resuscitated him several times to strangle him over and over again, recording every second of it, apparently so that Hitler can watch the tape. Now, the issue is not whether or not Hitler asked for the recording or watched it, the issue is that, if you are the type of leader whom your followers believe would enjoy watching such a tape, then you have led by such example.

In today’s society, it is not about an individual in leadership, it is more about what the followers do in their attempts to please that leader. It is also the reason why Biden’s ages and frailties was not and should not have been a reason to shove him aside. He has already set out the type of leader he is and his key followers would have led with decency.

A leader whose followers believe – unruliness, use of demeaning language, enactment of horrible policies aimed at mass deportations, separation of children from parents at the border etc., – is the way to gain favour from that leader, paints a grim, hopeless situation for the country. Americans must stand up to say no to that.

It is a most unfortunate situation the Democratic Party has allowed George Clooney & Co, to walk them into. Kamala Harris is ok and will try her darndest, but the numbers are not stacking up. We will have to hope for a miracle and that she surprises us all by beating Trump in November

Guy in his late 70s put himself through hell just to give us four years of normalcy, ending 4 years of non-stop twitter rants and name-calling.
The Democratic Party have decided to implode and we are now about to face 4 years of twitter rants and craziness!

A right shame. Ageism has always been and will always be such a scourge!