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.

Naughty Boy - Boris

 Naughty boys are often perceived to be full of charm and to have beguiling smiles. That is, until they burn the house down, and then........

That's right, use the shotgun to protect game birds

 The law has been changed to allow gamekeepers, who breed game birds to be shot for money, to kill crows and jackdaws who might predate the landowners property.

This is crass and inhumane, crow species such as carrion crows, rooks, magpies and jackdaws are naturally occurring indigenous species They hardly do any harm. There is no need kill them or prevent them from carrying out their natural lives.

Pheasants are an introduced species so what harm does it do if a carrion crow or a jackdaw takes a pheasant chick?

I am not an animal rights activist so I won't be making a protest but I hope that readers will see the reason for my objections. Why should the gun be used to overcome a minor problem for landowners whose game animals will be killed anyway?

The whole idea of culling species which are part of the natural environment is completely egregious and shows what a vindictive animal we have become. The survival of the human race relies upon maintaining a natural equilibrium with all the other species that we share the planet with. There is no need to reach for the shotgun.

I won't be going out on the streets to protest but I shall vote accordingly and I hope that you will agree with me when you next cast your x at the ballot box.

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/03/law-change-allows-wild-birds-killed-protect-game-birds-england

Cop26 cop out

 The press releases coming out of the COP26 climate conferences make it feel like the climate crisis is over and that we can all enjoy the 1.5 degree centigrade rise in average global temperatures by 2050. Far from it there have only been pledges and there really is no action plan.

The COP26 climate conference has already failed; we need to reverse global waring and quickly. The world's average temperature has risen by 1.1 degrees centigrade since the start of the industrial revolution , we are now starting to see the results with our very own eyes. There is now no doubt that the intense forest fires across Australia , California and Europe in recent years are the result of global warming. So have the floods in the Indian sub-continent, China and Europe. Now the world is starting to see the direct result of climate induced famine in Madagascar.  An extra 0.5 degrees of global warming will make matters worse not better.

Cop26 has not tackled the taboo subject of over population which is a driver of both global warming and species extinction.

James Hansen the famous client scientist warned about dangers of climate change to the US congress in 1988, and all his concerns have become true.  Since, 1988 the world has done precious little to curb climate change, and global warming has only got worse. Lets hope that Cop26 is not going to be the cop out that I fear it will be. After listening to James Hansen's presentation back in 1988, I did not believe that the world would become threatened in my lifetime, and now I can hardly believe believe that the warnings have become true, but they have: this is a rather metaphorically chilling thought.

You can easily buy James Hansen's book, from 2011, "The Storms Of My Grandchildren" here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Storms-My-Grandchildren-Catastrophe-Humanity/dp/1408807467

Social Media madness

 I rather agree with this opinion piece in the Independent today from Sean O'Grady. https://www.independent.co.uk/author/sean-ogrady. I think that there is only a tenuous link between hate speech on the internet and political assassinations. However, I would also agree that research should be done as to what influence that hate speech and abuse on the internet has on political and other forms of violence.

The problem with the internet is anything can say anything they like when it comes to abuse and threatening language nd get away with it. This abuse can come directly into your house; unhindered. If I invite someone into my home they come on the condition that they do not use hate speech or abusive language in front of anybody. I can control the situation. I can't easily control what comes into my house by way of the internet and neither can anybody else.

Political violence has always been on the agenda for the feeble minded,  the dis-affected or the tyrant. Tyrants throughout history did not need the internet to induce political violence. Airey Neave and Ian Gow were two British politicians who were murdered, in recent times, before the internet existed as a public means of communication;  their murders were organised by pen and paper and word of mouth assassins. The internet, however, has added a new dimension to how political and other murders can be organised by anonymous propogandists. The internet needs to have no pen and paper audit trail or even word of mouth inspiration. The internet is the perfect tool tool to allow malignant politically motivated conspirators to influence the feeble minded or mentally deranged to commit murder.

There is a case for social media companies to regulate themselves, they can easily scan their communications, by computer software,  to look for hate speech and violent or abusive language or images; instantaneously. They can also watch out for those political propagandists who are attempting to influence followers to commit murders or terrorist crimes. The perpetrators could be warned that their activities are being monitored, and if they persist then their hate speech will be reported to the police or the secret services. I do not allow such abuse to be disseminated in my house, so why should "Big Tech Companies" allow it on their social media sites. This will not be an affront to free speech as political and other opinions can still be expressed. In fact, it might improve the quality of the  expression of opinions, as people will have to think more carefully before they open their mouths.

No-one deserves to be murdered for their political views especially the two recent MP-victims, Jo Cox and  Sir David Amess. Both these politicians were in different ways and with different views trying to make life better for their constituents. They were both innocent and no-one had the right to take their lives or induce others to do so. No-one has the right to abuse someone or use hate speech on-line or anywhere else for that matter. Social media sites have the power to stop this, and they should  do it before the public demands heavy handed legislation to regulate their activities.