Knowledge can improve the world we live in

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!

She very expertly broke down the situation with the George Clooneys of America, who now think they are King-makers! Whilst George Clooney May mean well, he knows he can afford to jet off to the UK or elsewhere if Trump returns as President, thanks to Clooney & a fey other ill-advised idiots questioning Biden’s suitability. The timing of these comments, these interventions couldn’t be worse! What the heck are these buffoons playing at?????

Americans say their president is the most powerful person in the world. Yet, they also want him to be a performing seal!

He has to give the ‘performance’ of his life at the NATO summit this week, to quell demands for him to step as the presidential candidate. The poor 81 year old will now need to come out all forceful, finger-wagging, ready to crush everything with NATO, in a supposed show of strength, to demonstrate he can still be the presidential candidate

His party had 4 years and they still put him forward and he won the primaries. So, why should he now step down? The process is there for a reason. The democrats are about to tear themselves apart, with the unthinkable outcome being the return of the very guy that a 77 year old Biden put himself forward to defeat! The irony of it all….

Those in the Democratic Party asking Biden to step down really should look themselves in the mirror and stop being so stupid!!!!!

When you look at the 400+ Labour MPs, I can’t see any one of them who would call any section of public “Tofu-eating Wokerati”.

I am sure some of then will err. I am sue Labour will make many mistakes, BUT I am equally sure they will retain and maintain decency. They will try to do their very best and I hope they succeed! The country deserves better than the sufferings of recent years and non-stop attempts to turn us all against each other! Divide & rule should be a thing of the past!

We can build more homes, we can deal with the immigration crisis – without insulting migrants or demonising them. We can be decent. Good luck labour & Godspeed

The man is 81!!! How many 81 year olds out there can make a fully coherent speech??

Leave the guy alone!!!

As long as he surrounds himself with sane, normal folk, he can get through 4 more years. However, what on earth was the Democratic Party thinking??? They should have nominated someone else in 2021!! Now that they are where they are, get behind Biden and stop being so silly!!!

For the very first time in our history, we have entered the uncharted territory of having individuals who are solely intent on ripping everything up, entering parliament as MPs. This is no longer about some rogue MPs using awful, unbecoming choice of language in Parliament or indeed in public – with MPs taking second jobs and spewing bile all over the place – this is something a lot more serious!

We witnessed the ill-advised Brexit saga, where people with absolutely no idea what the impact of Brexit will be – individuals who will not themselves be impacted as they can afford to ride such impact – championing what they scarcely understand. But in fairness to them, the government at the time and subsequent governments appear to treat brexiteers with disdain and didn’t bother to explain to them – and still haven’t – that the working class folk asking to quit Europe are the ones who will suffer the most from such exit. But the EU saw how their organisation was about to be torn up from the inside and knew they simply had to rid themselves of those individuals and cut Britain loose – but the EU chose to do so in such an undignifying manner – they sought to punish Britain. Thistle was the most unfortunate aspect of it all. Britain have done enough over the last century, for Europe, to be afforded a dignified exit from the EU, if as it were, there was a free and fair referendum and those looking to keep Britain in the UK simply didn’t do enough to explain why, they thought thee was no need to do so – they felt the core Brexit support was from the poor, working class people whose opinion doesn’t count – they thought wrong and now, the rest is history. Are we about to witness similar scenes to those dark days in the European Parliament here at Westminster, with the same folk who have now turned their post-Brexit attention to supposedly ridding Britain of anyone who isn’t a direct descendant of Henry the 8th!??

As I have written several times over the years, there is absolutely nothing wrong with loving your country and wanting a return of litter-free streets, reduction of stabbings, elimination of practices that are not British etc. But we cannot be using vile language in doing so, denigrating unfortunate people, dehumanising them. There is a fine line between supporting your country at a football match and rampaging through street, destroying property. There are decent, civilised ways to debate the rise in immigration and why it needs to be at levels that society and existing infrastructure can cope with. We do not have to take the country back to the 50s!!

It is going to be a tough few years for the incoming government but hopefully their massive majority in parliament will help save democracy from the crazies!

Apparently for Biden to pass the test, he just has to avoid a senior’s moment! Seriously!?? The guy is 81 years old! Most of us will be overjoyed if we can still stand on our feet at 81! Being president should be about surrounding yourself with the right choice of people and doing the right things for the country, SERVING the country! What part of that has an 81 year old not done?!!! Biden isn’t doing any of this for himself is he? At 81, he is putting himself through all this pain, BECAUSE he knows he cannot possibly leave the country to be taken over by MAGA! He is SERVING!
He can have as many senior moments as he wants! The guy is 81!!!!

If Trump and his MAGA crowd actually only wish to put America first and make America great, who would object to that? But not at the expense of decency and the kind of rhetoric they have going! The world needs to come together not get torn apart even further!!

But to expect an 81 year old to stand there and be totally with it and not have a seniors moment, is just simply idiotic!!! Even if he managed it, do anyone think he can keep that up backstage? His work is all about surrounding himself with normal people who are there to serve America, a country that never stopped being great. What is there to make great again? When exactly did America stop being great?

Troubled times ahead, but I trust Americans to avoid another mishap. 81 or not, Biden is the only choice available to sane Americans

…. as it takes the spotlight off the simple fact that he is not presidential material.

He can’t take briefings, won’t read important documents, appoints only those who worship him, can’t make up his mind about anything and has to be constantly reminded that he isn’t on The Apprentice.

Having Trump as a protest candidate and stunning a complacent Hilary Clinton who saw a buffoon and didn’t take his chances seriously, must be a one-off. I do not believe majority of Americans want a return of a twitter-President and his selection of leadership teams.

If the country is supposedly split 50:50, then one would expect the jury in Trump’s hush money trial to at least have a couple of his sympathisers? Yet, when confronted with the facts, the judgement was unanimous…

Personally, I still cannot see any logic in prosecuting Trump. Why? Because he was enabled. He is the embodiment of what many Americans want. An America that remains in an era where only ‘they’, can afford houses, live the American dream etc. Many of them find it impossible to comprehend the fact that all Americans – with the exception of the native indigenous tribes – came to America from elsewhere. They feel that their privileges are being stripped away and they see in Trump, a man willing to say & do horrible things to champion their cause.

There now appears to be no limits. Folk like Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon who ignore Congressional committee requests to participate in the January 6 attack on congress, are now condemning the judicial system that has brought them to heel.
Similarly, Trump, a guy who has played the legal system to his advantage for decades, now says the system is rotten?

Supposed lawmakers in America (members of congress) are now wilfully desecrating the American legal system because it is holding Trump responsible for his actions. He needn’t have been in contact with Stormy Daniels and there wouldn’t have been the matter of paying her the hush money.
It is worrying that now, Americans are expected to accept that any wrongdoing from Trump or any of his supporters must go unpunished for their legal system to be deemed fair? A system that has had juries convicted many innocent people over the years, which is how the system in: can’t be right all the time. It’s about evidence and how a jury of your peers see it.
You know have individuals such as Steve Bannon tying himself to Trump and trying to say his conviction for not responding to congress – which was his own decision – is tied to persecution of Trump. His name is now a get out of jail ploy? Well, ok if it works

Trump is very worried; if 12 random Americans on a jury didn’t believe his version of event and found him guilty, he is not going to convince enough Americans to re-elect him into the White House. He knows that. But he intends to drag the entire Country down with him!

The greatest tragedy however, is what these folks are doing to America. If Americans lose faith in their justice system – imperfect as all justice systems are – and lose faith in their electoral system etc., just because Trump and his supporters are not getting their way, that will lead to chaos and that is indeed a tragedy!

Unquantifiable debt of gratitude to those who gave their lives.

Unbelievable that 80 years on, we still allow wars to occur!

We must find ways to abolish wars!!!

I have never understood it and perhaps never will.
Today I had a chance exchange with a colleague who was in his prime when I started working and thought he was immortal. He turned 75 yesterday, long retired, long forgotten. None of the other 4 graduates on our team back then, can remember his surname.

Age is just a figure. It’s a convenient way for humans to limit themselves and place silly expectations on themselves and on others. On the commercial side of the fence, it’s a huge asset; selling clothes that are said to be suited to some age group but not the other etc.

I never ask people I come across for their ages as quite frankly, I couldn’t care less. I see ages in blocks: children (anything from 0 to 12), teenagers (13 to 19), then it’s the 20 – 39 group, 40 – 69 group and the 70 – 100. Those are the 5 groups I see and it is that simple in my view.

We try to map achievements to age and put a sense of “no big deal, the person’s old enough to be a boss or own a car, house etc” or “wow! at that age?”. It really is a conveyor belt. Today you’re the youth, well, give it a wee bit of time and….

It is widely assumed that the Labour Party will be back in power for the first time in 14 years after the upcoming July 4 general election. However, for a party to make any real change, it requires a minimum of 2 terms in office (i.e. at least 8 years). To do so, you need a first term that avoids rocking the boat.

Improving quality of life and reducing poverty is a major issue at present. Many erroneously think that the few £millions we spend on illegal migrants is the reason behind their poverty. Erroneous or not, the incoming government will need to address poverty by either generating more wealth more evenly – by creating more jobs – or they will need to address the small boats problem and also bring net migration down.
None of those objectives will be achieved via slapping VAT on private schools.

This warped notion that the rich send their kids to private schools is quite simply put, warped! Many of Labour’s leaders grew up on council estates, believing the rich must pay! While also aspiring to get out of the rat race to become….. (yes, you guessed correctly)… Rich.

A large percentage of parents who send their kids to private schools are not rich. Far from it. They are hard working people with just about as much money to stay afloat. They sacrifice going on holidays and other luxuries, to pay the school fees because private schools offer extra hours, which allow those parents to work longer days. This sacrifice also helps reduce the number of children fighting for state school places, which is a great help to the supposedly poor folk who can’t afford to send their kids to private schools.

It is the type of move – by the Labour Party – that shows they have still not learnt how to take in the bigger picture, which is what’s required to last in power. Such a move, is what you propose after your second term in power, not during a first return after 14 years in the wilderness!

There is no doubt that the Labour Party mean well. They are a bunch of individuals who truly want to help. They want to better the lot of poor people and improve the standard of living across the board. Sadly, they are going about it in a manner that is likely to result in failure and a short, single term in power.

… must be a General Election round the corner! 😝

It seems that ship has sailed, never to return…

When you have a senior politician who is paid by the people, to keep the country safe, waking up in the morning heading off to parliament to condemn “tofu-eating wokerati” as she said (this was our former Home Secretary i.e. the minister in-charge of the police, law & order etc). I don’t typically eat tofu, but if someone else does, I ain’t going to label and condemn them. And I’m not a politician paid by the same people she’s insulting.

It’s the stuff of kids!
How a senior minister can get out of bed and deem that line as the line to go and deliver in public, really does sum up just how low, we have allowed our politics to descend!
Politicians now openly attack whichever sections of society they deem unsuitable for their agenda. These folk are the ones paying your salary madam!

The lack of finesse is what I find particularly revolting!

It has taken me several months since those words were uttered, for me to get over the shamefulness of it, to be able to speak of it! It really takes our politics right down into the gutter!

Said it before, saying it again!

The result of London’s Mayoral Election says it all! We won’t give up on London! Never!!

Yes, London isn’t as I remember it from the 80s or what we all want it to be. But that is life! Things change. The daily knife crimes and littering, reverse of integration & harmony replaced by enclaves isn’t great. But we just have to keep working at it!

Khan should come out strong against crime and show strong support for every Londoner, be it those of Jewish, Muslim or other affiliation, ALL Londoners are Londoners and can coexist.

But what makes London great – as I have stated previously – will never be destroyed! London will always be the greatest City on earth. I don’t spend much time in London nowadays, but every time I am in London, I can’t help feeling the fun & excitement of London!

Yes, it ain’t exactly what we all want it to be (safe, bubbly, clean..) but we will keep working at it!

I just watched footage on the BBC of police men & women approach a sword wielding guy in North East London who had earlier seriously injured two other police officers who had tried to stop him. It must be brave, knowing what he had just done to their colleagues and still have to do the job. It was later confirmed that one of the people he stabbed, a 14 year old boy, died!! Really awful!

Yes, some will say the police officers chose that job and they have been trained and get paid, but the reality is simple: society, in particular, today’s society cannot do without the police. When you see and listen to how people behave & what they say, you wouldn’t want to experience a minute with the deterrent that the police represent. We have so many awful people who, if unchecked, will rampantly do really awful things.

I came to this conclusion and realisation several years ago, well before the particular incident that I have used to illustrate this realisation, but an incident that do indeed aptly portray the reality of what we must accept, whether or not we like to.
The incident: it was a few years ago that I was attending a home football match as I did every other Saturday morning. A chap sat in front of me (of South East Asian origin) received a barrage of very crude, racist abuse from a couple sat to his right. This was in the mid 90s, when few flinched at such occurrences. But our section of the stadium was usually filled by seasons ticket-holders and most of us had known each other for years. About 6 of us leapt from our seats and told the abusive couple to shut up! We called the stewards over, explained what they said and they were promptly escorted out of the stadium. The chap who was abused thanked us and enjoyed the rest of the game. Right after the match, we all trooped off to the local pub and as we always did, stopped by a kebab cafe to grab a quick takeaway to munch. As we entered the cafe, we could hear loud yelling and a male voice repeatedly yelling racist abuse at the server (a lady of African descent) and calling her a b***k slut and the manager had just come out from behind the counter to intervene. The abuser turned around and lo & behold, it was the chap we had defended when he himself was being racially abused less than an hour earlier, at the match! We were shocked. He was embarrassed and apologised profusely, but really, how can one begin to understand that??!

But indeed, that is the reality of what the world has always been and will always be.

There are no ‘hard lines’ to be drawn as we try to: good and bad, lies and truths, right and wrong. If we can each just try to be decent, it probably is as good as it gets. Of course there are states of mental health or dysfunction that could cause people to knowingly do really awful things, but saying those are “pure evil” is just words: can evil be pure? and what is impure evil? Decency used to be easier for most to grasp, but that’s all history now..

Instead, we try to seek equivalences!

We try to condemn

Yes, slavery was an awful, awful thing. Cruel beyond words or understanding. But there were churches at the time, with people singing praise to God etc., even as their workers bought & sold humans. Well, read the bible and you may be surprised to find that there were eras in there where it was the right thing to conquer your enemies, make slaves of their wives & kids etc. There is even guidance on what you can do with your slaves e.g a man whose wife can’t bear children is ok to grab one of her slaves, have a baby that way and hand it over to his wife. I am not religious but have read most holy books, to see what it is, that gets people so fired up!!? And how someone can follow a Donald Trump while saying they are Christians. Well, go and read the bible and you will see exactly why. They simply have to convince themselves that he is an instrument of God. Front that point on, it matters little, what he says or does, they will continue to support him. It is all about points of view.

The world is completely messed up. It always has been. The only difference today, is that majority of the good only controls e.g. religion, the constitution… standards that many used to adhere to, are being ridiculed and set aside by a supposed new generation who want law & order but intend to secure it via violent rioting. People form organisations that set out to do good, but then the stories of embezzlement stat to filter out. I watched a BBC clip on Haiti yesterday, in which a gang leader who looked like he hadn’t had a chance to take a bath in weeks (perhaps out of fear one of his own cutthroats will murder him in the bath) lives in a mansion (your guess as to how he got it) with golden coffee tables, while the rest of the country looks like a dung hill! But he says he is fighting corrupt politicians…

We are all complicit. All of us. The world is as it is, because that’s exactly how we have made it. We have created a monetary system that is so skewed. Is it geniuses who become billionaires?
You see politicians who claim to champion the poor, end up rich and hold the poor in contempt. You suddenly hear the same politicians speak of a lazy population who are apparently poor due to their lack of application!
Half the world is in abject poverty.

But I do not have any answers, no practical solutions! But what I do, is to try not to be perfect. What I am, is what I am: bits of it is good, bits of it is awful. I get on with life. I only have a single motto: do not set out to deliberately make others unhappy.

There are no hard lines to draw! It is and likely to always be, a messy world!

This week’s calls for the Met Police Commissioner to resign should be worrying to all of us. What exactly is that going to achieve?
I am always the first to speak of the need for consequences, but for goodness sake! the incident in question was a very clear & deliberate provocation.
Most of us agree 100% that every Londonder must be free to go about their business, but similar to Michael Gove strolling about at Victoria Station during a tense weekend, it just exhausts police resources when such situations turn nasty! Avoidance is always best, even if it inconveniences one a little (and yes, it isn’t always fair and we should be free to go wherever we please, but we also do need to be a little realistic at times). I’m a football supporter (Arsenal) and free as I may want society to be, I won’t wear my arsenal jersey to stroll into a Spurs pub be it match day or not….

Kari Lake has discovered this stroke of genius! 😄

When you are trying to win any election, be it class President at high school or a seat in the senate and you find yourself in a situation where you have ample support but simply not enough support to win. If there are 20 pupils in your class and there are 2 candidates and 11 pupils have said they will never vote for you regardless. If you are sane, you would likely give up or keep working hard on your likeability to see if one or two of them will change their mind?

But if you are Kari Lake, you go around saying you won! It’s easy, it’s lazy, it’s taken over America! It’s now even got a name: Election Denialism! 😄

…. unfortunately, we are in a world that rejects live & let live! no interest in co-existence, it seems one ideology has to dominate the other…

If the could steal the election in 2020 when they were not the party in power, why would they not be able to rig it in 2024? So, why is Mr D J Trump running for President again?

It is a valid question right?

I do not believe the Biden government have made any election-steal prevention additions to the electoral system since they legitimately won in 2020. So, what is Trump’s reason for running in 2024?

Lest we forget, Trump was in power during the last election and many of the states he lost to Biden had Trump’s party (Republican) in power and they oversaw those ballots.

There have been no changes to the polling system and the organisations Trump’s supporters accused of orchestrating “the steal” e.g. Dominion, will still be the ones in place for the 2024 election. So, why would Trump continue his run for the presidency?

ANSWER: because Mr. Donald J Trump knows that the 2020 election was not stolen! He knows the US electoral system is not compromised (and certainly not to the extent that would alter the outcome). He knows he was fairly defeated in 2020.

That, is the only logical reason he would be running again.

He also knows he is going to lose again in 2024, as he has not increased his appeal to anyone who chose not to vote for him in 2020. You don’t need to be a genius to work this out. It will take a significant low turnout of Democrat voters in key states, for Trump to win, and the thought of him winning, is enough to ensure there will be a high turnout. He knows all that.

So, why is he still running?
Well, it’s the only choice he has left to delay his various criminal trials, claim political persecution and whip his supporters into a frenzy in the hope that threats of violence and chaos that could be unleashed by his supporters (as was orchestrated on Jan 6) would pre-empt his incarceration. He will definitely be found guilty on some of the charges, because they are so blatant, and he knows that, but the sentencing he receives will be lenient (that’s why he is running for President) in the interest of avoiding needless unrest. He clearly isn’t quite as daft as some suggest….

It is all just a ‘stay out of jail’ tactic

The UK’s version of MAGA.

So melodramatic!

When exactly did we lose our country? and to whom? The circa 5% of the population who are not direct descendants of Henry the VIII?

Whenever you get to speak to anyone who would make statements such as “we want our country back”, you know you are speaking with an ill-advised troublemaker who is either seeking profit from hate or just intent on spewing hate

We have never lost our country. The same folk who have been in-charge for the past 5000 years are still in-charge! We have hereditary peers (Lords and Dames) making our laws and those who are not hereditary e.g. our politicians are all largely descendants of wealthy, affluent Brits. Same goes for all walks of life in the UK, Cara Delevigne, Benedict Cumberbatch, you look up any of the known personalities in pretty much every field in the UK and they are descended from affluent folk. 99.9% of influential jobs and key positions of power are held by people of British descent. So, the country has clearly not been lost!

The folk who go around saying they want their country back, never had the country to begin with! (the folk who had the country, still have it and have never lost it) I suppose nobody cared to inform them. They just had access to their monthly benefits and remained in their delusion

Do we now have some folk who are yet to understand our norms & behaviour (e.g. littering)? Yes. Do we have thousands crossing into the UK in small boats from France? Yes we do. Do we have a number of issues relating to uncontrolled migration that needs to be sorted? Yes we do. But, do any of these come anywhere close to the notion of losing our country? Certainly not! We have never lost our country.

It’s exactly the same as Make America Great Again! You think human beings made the Grand Canyon? America’s greatness has very little to do with what Americans do or do not do. So, how can anyone suggest they can make it great again? It’s all just gobbledegook!

America can do it! Americans can do it! They can come together and agree to disagree on their differences: abortion, immigration etc. These challenges will never disappear, so, COMPROMISE is the only way forward.

The everyday American should sit up and say no to those talking about another civil way (madness!) or creating a hermit America (when the real America is a country made largely of immigrants).

Sort it out Americans! You can…