Ukraine crisis and how far we have not come

 If anyone had any illusion that the world was becoming a better place then they should think again. We are faced with another unjustified war with the invasion of Ukraine, and coupled with threats to use nuclear weapons. The threat and actual use of force is nothing new in the 21st century, just as it was in the 20th century and much further back.

In recent times we have seen the invasions of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen and now Ukraine; all of these wars could hardly be justified by objective truths. The justification of these wars is often based on lies. 

Western governments really cannot claim the moral high ground anymore than Russia can. The West  chose to arm Iraq against Iran. Then when this policy failed they chose to invade Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein on the basis of lies. Similarly, Russia has no cause to invade Ukraine and its justification is based on lies.

This latest war is embarking on dangerous territory, there is the veiled threat of the use of nuclear weapons. The USA, Britain and France, which are nuclear armed countries, are facing up to Russia which has a considerable nuclear arsenal. No nation can afford to let this cruel and brutal war get out of hand and escalate to nuclear confrontation.

I often ask myself what would happen if nuclear weapons become controlled by a psychopathic tyrant who would actually be prepared to use them; we are not in that position yet but it is a distinct possibility. It would have been better if nuclear weapons were not developed in the first place, but it seems that the human species cannot control itself either from making these weapons and in the final analysis using them. They have been used before, albeit against a nation that could not retaliate. The human species is a danger to itself. Let's hope that peace can be restored not just in Europe but everywhere: we need this as it appears that humans are unwilling to give up weapons of mass destruction.

Ukraine crisis and patriotism.

 The Ukraine crisis shows how important that there is unity in the Western World as our security, peace, democracy and wealth depends upon it. Since 2014 the people of Ukraine have sought the same values as the Western nations and to a certain extent they have succeeded. They knew that joining the EU would be key to meeting their objectives. The Ukrainian people were concerned about really important issues.

What were substantial numbers of British people worried about at the same time: the free movement of labour and keeping EU workers out of the country? They were also believing lies that the the EU was imposing straight bananas upon the British nation. They were also opposed to the standardisation of vacuum cleaner motors. Such is the decadence of Brexit thinking.

The decision to leave the EU was a big mistake and it has left the UK without a substantial voice to influence international events. It has also weakened our economy when it needs to be strong during the Covid 19 Pandemic and now European war.

Who are the true patriots?

May peace, democracy, wealth and security return to the people of the Ukraine.

There is something wrong with our political life

Once again I despair about our political life. Yesterday we saw the leader of Britain's opposition party being mobbed by a crowd who were shouting insults at him and repeating slurs and lies about him. These slurs and lies have been repeated by government politicians. The mob has been wound up. It goes to show how easily people who hate can be stirred up into taken violent action. We need to be careful that we don't fall into a populist hatred of one another.

It's my opinion that no-one should be shouted out or abused, be it a politician, medical officer, policeman, the man or woman in the street, your family member or friend.

I am on friendly terms with people who have political opinions which are diametrically opposed to mine and we handle those differences by showing respect for one another. Some of my best friends had opinions which were opposite to mine but one thing we had in common was that we had respect for one another and were opposed to abuse and mob rule.

I have been on a number of large demonstrations all of which were peaceful. I did not feel the need to shout abuse at anyone. When these demonstrations got near Downing Street  some of the crowd felt the need to shout at the Prime Minister, I didn't do this; the discourse could and should be better than that.

We need to be careful, the recent Balkans war saw politicians inciting the mobs to abuse people who were once their neighbours. We don't want Britain  to descend to that level or even worse.

It is time for all politicians to recognise the dangers of slurs and incitement to abuse , if only for their own self-preservation as the anger could be re-directed towards them.