Gaza crisis

 The violence and hatred between Israel and Palestine needs to stop immediately. There needs to be rapprochement and the "tit for tat" revenge needs to end. It does not matter who is individually to blame for the war. The Jewish and Palestinian victims are simply the victims of war. 

I am not a religious person but there is one religious maxim which is pertinent and that is "turn the other cheek".

It is time for both sides to introduce a change of thought and moral perspective, otherwise this conflict could go on forever. The international community must work together  with the warring parties to arrange a two states solution where both Israeli and Palestinian citizens can live in peace and without  the endless cycle of  revenge.

Stirring up prejudice

 A couple of days ago I was walking towards our local high street when I heard a white woman direct a foul mouthed invective towards two women, nearby, who were wearing hijabs. "Go home" she shouted. "Fuck off back to where you came from". The two ladies looked shocked by her obscene and violent outburst. I was shocked too, and it took me a couple of seconds to finally understand what she was saying. She disappeared quickly before I could challenge her. The two victims were too far away for me to  approach them to tell them that not everyone indulges in this form of hate speech, and anyway they may not have appreciated me approaching them for fear of being subjected to further abuse. Under these circumstances it is difficult to know what to do for the best.

The woman shouting the obscenities could not have known where her victims were born; they could have been as British as she was. The white woman just assumed that  they were foreigners because they were wearing hijabs and had slightly darker skin than her. The white woman doing the shouting just displayed her ignorance and vile prejudice, she was committing a hate crime and probably would have been arrested had the police been around.

I have never witnessed this sort of abuse before in our local community. I cannot prove it but I suspect that recent speeches by our politicians criticising multi-culturalism and so called "illegal migrants" is stirring up not just unhinged characters, but also more sane, but prejudiced, people into orally attacking citizens who they assume to be immigrants. Worse, some people are being subjected to "racist" and bigoted violence. 

Even if there is no causal connexion between the  outpouring of politicians and racist hate speech and violence on the streets, then political leaders have a duty to appeal to the population to restrain themselves. Without this we could be on a slippery and dangerous slope. 

Women's World Cup Football Madness

 We have all seen and read about the controversy related to the Rubiales kiss and his crotch-grabbing triumphalism. It is my opinion that his behaviour was more crass than criminal. He should resign even if he  and his mother feel that he did nothing wrong: and before the public clamour, for something to be done about his behaviour, leads to his dismissal. 

In my opinion the football authorities are more to blame than Rubiales, because Rubiales should not have been on the stage in the first place and neither should any other of the dignitaries from the winning or losing states. It would have been sufficient for prominent women of both the hosting states , Australia and New Zealand,  to be handing out the cup and the medals: this would have lead to a more dignified occasion.

Football has lost its way because it is being run by men who are unable to resist the temptation of commercialism, jingoistic triumphalism and egoistic exhibitionism.

Footballers have been encouraged to dance around platforms when they win and embrace the blatant commercialism and the public relations jamboree. There must always be a winner, so much so that football has to have a penalty shoot-out when there is a draw. This does not select the best team of the tournament. Knock out competitions rarely do. There must be a winner demanded by commercial interests and the  TV and social media schedules. A draw is unacceptable for them.

The pressure to win, at all costs, has lead to teams cheating and fouling and generally bringing the game into disrepute.

The growth of the women's game gives women the opportunity to make the sport better. However, I fear that the female version will be dragged down to the level of the men's game. It is time for women to take charge and prevent this from happening just for the love of sport.

There are lots of things wrong with our political system

 There have been some disturbing reports with our political system reported recently.

One MP has been using foul language about asylum seekers and immigrants, he was was quoted as saying that asylum seekers should "f*** off back to France" if they do not like being accommodated on a barge. I would never vote for any prospective MP if they use such language, no matter what party they stand for or opinion being cast. I expect every MP to be more respectful and intelligent in their choice of language when making public statements.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lee-anderson-asylum-seekers-bibby-barge-b2389327.html

There have been disturbing reports that hackers have stolen the names and addresses of every voter in the UK from the electoral commission. This is egregious. How could this have happened? It seems that none of our data is safe and secure in the  UK whether they are in the hands of government bodies or corporations? How can we now trust future plans to have electronic voting if the electoral systems are not safe from hackers and bad actors? Anyone who holds our data should redouble their efforts to improve to ensure that any information held is secure.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/hack-cyber-attack-uk-voters-b2389523.html#comments-area

The Russia and Ukraine war

 The war between Russia and Ukraine is an unjustified scourge. So many innocent civilians and conscripted soldiers have died or have been wounded.  There are thousands of people who have lost their homes or have become refugees. The cost is running into billions of dollars.It is all for nothing and no side will ultimately benefit. There was a Minsk 2 agreement which, if implemented ,would have formed the basis of a lasting peace. There could have been a rapprochement based on joint sovereignty of the Donbass and the Crimea. But, no, both sides failed to implement the agreement by preferring war to achieve their aims rather than by using diplomacy. 

There is an increasing stalemate on the battlefront and both sides are using cluster bombs which many states, including the UK, regard as unacceptable if not a war crime. A war of attrition could go on for years. 

In any war there is a temptation to destroy infrastructure as both an offensive and defensive tactic, this tactic is exacerbating the problems of Ukraine and its people.

It is possible that Ukraine will recover the Donbass but I doubt that the Crimea will ever be recaptured. If there is a peace agreement to be negotiated ,when one side starts losing, there will have to be provision for the human rights of ethnic minorities in both Ukraine and the Crimea. Sanctions should be maintained against Russia if they do not agree to this, and, likewise, Ukraine should not be allowed to join NATO or the EU if they do not agree. Any negotiated settlement must be implemented by both sides.

Eventually, there will have to be a peace agreement so why not stop the war, and start negotiating now? What is so wrong with the human race that we cannot solve international problems by diplomacy rather than by war.  We have the madness of nuclear weapons hanging over our heads, and one day a psychopathic dictator might decide to use them if he starts  losing a war. The climate crisis could erase the human race from the planet; we should all pool our efforts into fighting man-made global warming rather than pursuing useless and dangerous wars.

Hubris

 The perennial problem that Britain suffers from is Hubris or the arrogance of  excessive pride. It is not just politicians that suffer from this, but it is also  a considerable proportion of the general population. Many politicians from all sides of the political divide use the belief of excessive pride to manipulate the population into voting for them.

When I was young in the 1950's we were taught that Britain was best at almost everything, that we the British made the best chocolate, had the best police and health services, we had the best mountain climbers and military forces, and above all we had the best democracy. Our society was better organised than anyone else's, as after all we had civilised the "backward nations" in our Empire. Above all, we had liberated Europe from the Nazis; US, Canadian, Russian and Free French forces were but a sideshow. Our erstwhile allies might have a different opinion, but of course they got it wrong.

All of this crowing, that Britain is best, is of course tosh. As a nation and people, we are no better or worse than anyone else. It is not declinist  or unpatriotic to be realistic enough to think that sometimes your country can get it wrong and that it is not all powerful. In fact, it is a complete mistake to believe that your country is perfect and exceptional in everything it does as it leaves no room for improvement or co-operation with other countries.

We have seen politicians banging the hubristic drum this week. One politician in parliament today quoted some cherry-picked economic facts to claim that everything is better now that we have left the EU, when clearly it is not; our economic woes are a result of the pandemic, the Ukraine war and  Brexit. Above all, however, our long term economic problems are the result of Hubris; as a perfect society is believed to not require improvement.

The Financial Times is at pains to work out why Britain performs badly as compared to our neighbours and the US,  when economic conditions get tough: they only have to look at our Hubristic attitude that a perfect Britain is so great that it can go-it-alone and does not need to work with our neighbours to create an improved economic, social and environmental order. It's time for politicians from all political sides to tell the British the truth and convince them that "go-it-alone exceptionalism" is not always the best course of action.

https://www.ft.com/content/497543ea-5f85-4522-a4df-b15ff416cca8

Sometimes you are responsible for your own safety

 I have every sympathy for the British nationals marooned in Khartoum to face their fate without their government or anyone else helping them. They must be terrified. However, the British government is obliged to help its citizens to escape. It seems that it was relatively easy for the British government to organise a military force as part of a coalition to defeat the Iraqi army and depose Saddam Hussein in the early part of this century. Equally, Britain was able to organise a force to liberate the Falkland Islands from powerful opposing forces in the 1980's,and to do this on its own. Is Britain now so weak as a military power that it is unable to mount a rescue or provide some form of assistance to its citizens in deep trouble?

Any rescue would be fraught with danger for both the armed forces and the Britons who are stranded. Soldiers and Civilians could be taken hostage, tortured or subject to guerilla attacks .But what would happen if  British citizens were subject to murder, torture or hostage taking while waiting for a ceasefire which may not come for many years? Public opinion would demand intervention, we can only hope that there is a better contingency plan than that for the  Afghanistan evacuation.

French, German and Spanish forces have evacuated some of their citizens who were not part of Diplomatic community, and they have reportedly rescued some Britons, but they could have been dual nationals.

Britain is in a weak position as it has thousands of citizens awaiting evacuation but it does not have the military power to easily organise a rescue mission. We have thousands more citizens in Sudan than other European nations. Britain's position would have been better if we had stayed in the EU, as there would have been a moral obligation for France and Germany etc. to provide military help. The pretence of Britain being a military power than can act on the world stage on its own, and as a completely sovereign power is exposed. Those who have respect for their country should acknowledge this and should adjust their political and diplomatic opinions accordingly.

As for the individual citizen, then you should consider that you could simply be left alone to fend for yourself if you travel to a potential war zone, as a gunboat won't be on its way. You are simply responsible for your own safety. However, lets hope that help will be come shortly.

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/sudan-evacuation-british-doctor-elderly-father-khartoum-2293983?ITO=msn