Category Archives: Challenge

Try Not To Do Selective Outrage. (An Appeal)

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Sudan a nation riven by internal conflicts from more than since the 1950s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudanese_Civil_War

And on the 15th April 2023 things became even worse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudanese_civil_war_(2023%E2%80%93present)

A land where mass killings, rape and roving brutal gangs masking as militias do as they please, preying on hapless civilians. These are daily events  heart-breaking horrors which basically the Western populations have not bothered about much. You can even be told off for mentioning it, as distracting from other calamities.

Consider these figures taken from the Wikipedia link:

  • Likely significantly more than 150,000 total killed
  • More than 700,000 children with acute malnutrition (with 522,000 likely being dead)[
  • 8,856,313 internally displaced
  • 3,506,383 refugees

And now between 250,000 to 300,000 are trapped in El-Fasher while militia forces close in, forces that see these people as foes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8wzzjze8xo

Now the thorny part.
We know full well about the horrors which are taking place in Gaza. We see that a right-wing nationalistic fundamentalist government backed by an ultra violent section of the population are running free of most restraints and are taking war to the ultimate most extreme sort – elimination of the foe from its land. And people have taken to the streets and social media in protest. Because Israel and the Middle East always attracts news headlines and attention.   
People are naturally horrified by what is taking place.
So I will ask of you. Why doesn’t Sudan warrant the same reaction?
Why are there no marches or protests?
The BBC News (much maligned by some activist groups) has kept up a steady stream of items. So has Al -Jazeera. PBS, CNN, ABC in the USA have reported on it. Newspaper columnists have drawn attention to it. There is a steady output of appeals from Aid Agencies and Charities on Social Media. The campaigning group Avaaz is currently running an appeal for signatures.
And yet…and yet..
Where is the Western Public Display of Outrage and Horror? 

And there are more out there, maybe not as large but as equally horrifying for the people living through them.
Need to know more? Here’s one window.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/armed-conflict/ 

Of course you my dear reader cannot be everywhere physically marching, you can’t contribute to every appeal, you can’t be emotionally invested in every one of the conflicts across this world, you’d be frazzled out in a month.
Spare a thought once in a while for those suffering, everywhere across the globe, day in day, lament for them from time to time and if you have a spare few ‘coins’ choose one charity to donate to. Make it your business to have at least an idea of the series of conflicts taking place. You don’t have a working knowledge of each one, that’s not possible unless you are a professional.

But at least care. And stay Woke.

Taking the Protest to Where It Stings (To all my dear and Valued American Friends)

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An Easy Way to Protest: Don’t Buy Anything on Friday, February 28! (With an addendum about Ukraine)

This cheered me up to no end. What a truly American Way to strike back.
Best wishes to all involved in this

Uncle Sam

The fight back has started. Are you of the 70,000,000 who saw the danger? If not, have you now seen the writing on the wall. Join with the People’s Union.

Best wishes to you all from the UK.

20th January 2025. A Most Infamous of Days (From Across The Water)

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These will indeed be times which will test your own individual spirit. An era when everything you have believed in, worked for, held to be true, has been trampled on, mocked, derided and cast away for some 21st Century version of the biblical Golden Calf.

If ever your belief in Hope or Justice or a Theistic message will be subject to unimaginable strains it will be the years ahead.

Some will give up and withdraw into their own small, treasured domesticity. Understandable, but sadly there will be no refuge there. The forces which have been unleashed will not content with a lack of opposition, they will come to places of work, leisure, worship, even  homes and require attendance at their false altars.

Some small in number will seek satisfaction in acts of violence. A sterile act of angry desperation one which will have its own opposite reaction and therein lies disintegration.

Look first to yourselves therefore, into the deepest part of your spirit, your soul, your heart. Swear an oath unto yourself that you will not give up Hope. You will resist in the spirts of Compassion, Respect and Tolerance and never surrender.

   Bless you, The Real Patriots of The USA. The True Bearers of the Flame of Hope

A Spectre to be Exorcised (Communal Violence)- A Repeated from 2022

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Uncle Sam

I Am Looking To You To Do Your Patriotic Duty

Precursor: I originally wrote this post on the 8th May 2022. It featured in another blog of mine where I deal with grim subjects – The World As It Is. Not As It Should Be. Now it seems that WP’s response to my posting a recent link to this post has result in WP saying it cannot find it….. Ah well, let us not get diverted in the various whimsies that are WP’s speciality.

Thus here is a Copy & Paste of that post is here for your consideration. It may be too late to do anything about what might happen in the USA on and after the 5th of November 2024, and the subsequent ramifications across the world- for you are one of three largest and most globally influential nation states. Instead think of this as either a warning to keep to the legal and civil side of resistance against the tide of Ignorance, Hate and Falsehoods, or worst case a preparation for Discord.

Foreword

This post has to be long. Histories have to be considered. Social tides and trends examined. That most troublesome of all factors Human Nature faced. It is hoped you find this grim reading, but not sensationalist. This is a precursor for you to discuss in your homes, your blogs, your meeting places. These words are based on histories of communal violence throughout the world. Including the USA. I have tried to be apolitical, most of the time. It is not always possible. Blame has to be laid in places.

Introduction

The present view that so politically polarised the USA has become, a civil war could take place has moved from blog site discussion onto the mainstream where more sober assessments are. For example:

Brookings in the following assessment of September 2021 concluded there was a sizeable proportion of the USA population who were of this mindset:

Is the US headed for another Civil War? (brookings.edu)

In January of 2022 an article in the UK Guardian raised this possibility along the lines of the UK’s own experience in Ulster

Is the US really heading for a second civil war? | US politics | The Guardian

Overview

It should be borne in mind that Racism, Intolerance, Profiling and Subjugation  are regrettably part of the Human Construct. No race, people, community, grouping, belief system have been free of it. So it is within the USA.

Although legislation and more constructive outlooks made moves to minimise the effects of these corrosions it requires a mammoth task of social engineering to purge them. Something which would challenge even the most efficient and established of authoritarian states.

Thus not the passing phase of the 1960s counter-culture whose short tenure could reduce it to arguably a fashion. Instead it was in the deep-rooted places of a Human Insecurity in sections of The White Community fed by the fear of loss of position in society where the nascent rebellions would grow.

The US involvement in Vietnam with a cost of wasted blood and treasure, left on one side a sense of worthless loss, on the other an anger at some sort of betrayal at home; possibly the first cultural fracture line in The White Community; the dominant group within the USA. These would be played out in the Culture Wars. Not enough attention being given to the mindset which gave rise to the Oklahoma City Bombing of 19th April 1995; this was the warning.

Then in the opening years of the 21st Century came two tipping points:

9/11 and the election of an African American into the Whitehouse, twice with majorities. The former had shaken America and set loose more of those toxic fantasies Conspiracy Theories, for the long term trust in government of the USA as dangerous as any handgun. In the case of the latter, the fact he was a Democrat made the backlash easier for one element of the White Community. Had Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice accepted a Eisenhower type draft and won, the Republican Party and Fundamentalist Right would have suffered a truly existential crisis. But they had a black democrat. This made everything much easier.

Civil Discord (The Path to Communal Violence)

It is now necessary to move from the historical to consider the dynamics of civil discord  which lead to a break down in the common currency of discourse, bargaining, and the tacit, sometimes humorous acceptance of tribal lines.

Firstly the notion that ‘There is no Democracy’ has to be put aside, for people are able within the USA take to  the streets, the airwaves, the internet to give voice to their feelings. Thus there is freedom of speech and action, however in an atmosphere of heightened feeling this freedom comes with  tensions and reactions. The first tension arises when people feel their views are not being listened to, or being stifled. The second tension arises when those frustrations are inflamed by the feeling ‘The Other Side’ are not just ignoring, but are seen to be imposing. At this point there occurs a fault line when a shared perception results in ‘The Other Side’ being seen as a threat and there can be no discourse, the only facet shared by both sides being this mindset. At this stage both sides will feel the need to demonstrate, one will feel it is defending, the other will perceive this as aggression, engendered through the fault line affect. Initially it will be seen one side is more aggressive and assertive thus encourage within them a certain sense of triumphalism. This adds to the danger as in playing to its own support it fails to take into account that the very forces which placed it in this position will also work within the opposition. There is made a fundamental error that the triumphant side  can use Democracy and the Other Side will adhere to that rule. In addition some of its more strident supporters will feel the leaders are not strong enough and perceive the need to be ready to defend or if necessary attack with unconstitutional force. The stance sets within The Other Side the feeling they had better prepare. You need only scroll the internet to see that the ridiculously named ‘Snowflakes’ have been starting to own guns.

2016 to Today

To support my views in the previous section it is necessary to consider the last two presidential elections. In 2016 the victory went not to the candidate with the most votes but the electoral college votes. Thus from Day One the losing side felt robbed. A more astute winner in 2016 would have sensed the issue and navigated. By 2016 this was not wanted by the winning side and the other side were willing to take up the fight. By 2020 the lack of discourse had reached such a pitch that the losers of that election believed they had the right to seize back power because of a fraudulent election. This theme continues even now as a backdrop in the 2024 election.

The Republican Reaction as seen from The Other Side

Although cast out of the Whitehouse and seeming to fail in the courts of law, aside from the Supreme Court, the political machines now holding control of the Republican Party have been working at a pace to unravel the social, legal and communal trends of the past 50 years as they seek to defend their own ground. Instead of the usual slow, methodical  approach in this heightened tension they have sought to dismantle the processes of The History of Race Relations, Sexual Orientation and Abortion with no effort in trying to convince the opposition of their causes, they pass a simple edict. As they see it, this was done to them, it is now time to undo it. This is against the wishes of the Executive branch, the Whitehouse. Another layer of  confrontation therefore plays into the dynamic of continuing Civil Discord. In both cases ‘The Other Side’ are a threat.

Update: As it will have been noted in the schools, against the Abortion Clinics, the LGBT+ community and the refugees, the Right has seen fit not to use the politics of reasoned argument but of extreme language. Which is turn has resulted in similar response. Thus rather than try to calm down the situation, the temperature has increased so by this year 2024 the polarisation is wider.

The Acceleration of Civil Discord

In this frenetic atmosphere attention must be given to the structure of the USA at federal level. In use of the three office system: Executive (The Whitehouse). The Legislature (Congress/Senate) and Judiciary (Supreme Court) mirrored at State Level it was believed enough checks and balances had been built in. However with Conspiracy as deadly to the body politic as Covid to the population; dismay raised to horror by one group or another at the result of the last four presidential elections, the legislature abrogating its traditional and beneficial wheeler-dealing to consensus and the Supreme Court no longer perceived as a body above The Common Brawl another layer of toxicity has arisen. Belief that the system is no longer working. Either dread for the future, anger at The Other Side,  grim preparation to defend the home becomes a norm, or violent intention to impose The Will of Our Side(s).

The Tipping Point into Communal Violence

One action leading to a sudden call to or inexorable slide to fully conventionally armed groups is not how this will start. In a nation nearly inured to gun crime you might even miss the start; another shooting, unless of course it is between two groups. The next tranche of violent confrontations, would be by the bombs,  IEDs, the murder of prominent activists or journalists, politicians and any combination. These will be the signals the Tipping Point has been reached. This will lead to the ‘No Go Areas’, the latter being underscored by some very unwise incursion by one group into another and the subsequent ambush. It would appear police are already experiencing these; the next step in this will be the targeting of individual officers. From here will come the targeting of official buildings of government, of one party or another, and then for some twisted thought process a hospital, parents might well start to keep children away from school, seeing the history of school killings this would hardly be surprising.

In this atmosphere although groups will be surveyed, there will be the under the radar individuals for each person has their own tipping point. In recent years I have read the remarks of avid anti-war believers and pro-gun control supporters intimating or outright suggest a violent response is a feasible solution. You will never know when the normally placid person will take a gun with the specific purpose of solving a problem, or the group who decided to investigate how to make bombs, because they’ve been pushed too far. Of course each of these actions will bring the reaction.

The Institutionalisation of Violence

One fatalistic view is, considering the level of gun crime, this state is already in place. However the level can become more intense, once armed groups with names and agenda become seen by one community or another as legitimate alternative police or local guard. There is another level though, this being when the group imposes upon the community a code of behaviour and underground tax to support them, the tax does not have a right of appeal either. With this comes disputes within the group and rivalries with other groups. Hardened now by violence and fuelled by suspicion the violent solution is seen as the norm. And of course wherever there is chaos and violence goes crime, gangs would quite naturally seek to impose their own will either to take over a group or keep a group out of their activities. Those who felt it was only necessary to parade in paramilitary style in a threatening way will find themselves quite out of their depths as a fearful natural selection takes place.

The Official Response.

This is where matters are not so predictable. The National Guard would of course be called in to areas where the police are losing control. Being in a local part-time force with local affiliation it has to be assumed that members or groups within the guard will have sympathies, or feel a certain intimidation. Direct and open large scale mutinies would be very unlikely but expecting all The Guard to be a faceless, emotionless unified body acting only for the defence of Stability and safety of all is naïve, there will be fractures.

The Security Services be they Police, FBI, NSA etc would face the same pressures from within. Also they being closer to the body politic and the civil viewpoint would be in the position of doing deals or reaching accords with whichever group or groups they feel they can work with. In all civil discord this is an ugly fact. Whether in a federal system such as the USA this would be a uniform approach is again highly unlikely.

Whether or not the Armed Forces become involved would depend on whether the nation is still governable as a working state comparable with the pre-violent situation:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”  Is open to interpretations, if some decide ‘The President’ is not legally ‘The President’. One thing would be certain, the element of internal security and supervision of members of the armed forces would be increased. Forget Conspiracies. Think of Factionalism.

The Resulting Political Overview

In this area prediction is near impossible, as a great deal would depend on the strength of character of individuals around which groups marshal. There are many possibilities. One of the least worst outcomes would be the fragmentation of the current USA into states which have autonomy. Washington, The Whitehouse and Capitol Hill being reduced to places of symbolism and the possible headquarters of Americanised versions of The EU and NATO, in an attempt to shore up America from outside influences while making workable the large armed forces and corporation based trading systems onto the world stage. How workable this would be is beyond the scope of this post.

Conclusion

Whereas The Ulster Conflict was conducted under a higher level of government the situation in the USA has the potential to reach up to the highest levels as already demonstrated and this is a most distressing situation. Thus what can a US citizen fearful for this scenario do? My suggestion is to voice your concerns, not in a partisan way from your own standpoint but as an appeal to stop this slide. Raise this spectre which everyday seems to draw an inch nearer. Demand of your representatives a return to consensus. Warn them, that they in the final analysis in any failure to bring discourse and consensus to the issues; that they in pandering to, or failing to confront the extremist levels will be complicit in the deaths of their fellow citizens. Raise this in conversation. Not as a warning to prepare, but as a concern as to what might come. The concern must become a talking point in the run up to the next elections. The violent minorities must be marginalised and the conspiracies put back in the toy box.

An Update in Late October 2024

A Formulaic View of The Acceleration of Civic Discord

Regrettably what passes as rhetoric by the republican candidate and his running mate suggests that neither have much concern about what effect they are having on any opposition, in that they are playing only to their own and on the fears of the undecided. They are therefore playing with matches in a forest in a high summer’s drought. And the groups feeling the subject of hate and discrimination I will repeat this formulae for you based on a possibility of the result of the presidential election, itself based on current polls:

160 million votes cast
Trump wins by 82 millions to 78 million. That’s 78,000,000 folk upset about the result.
10% are very, very angry . That’s 7,800,000 angry folk.
10% of that 7,800,000 are so angry they feel their way of Life and Democracy is seriously threatened, the feeling parallel to if the nation was invaded. That’s 780,000.
1% of the 780,000 feel the new administration and its supporters in the states are now viable targets. That’s 7,800. A very small number, but how many of the others tucked away the previous number have a sympathy that ‘does not yet speak it’s name,’ .
The 7,800 start to go public and as stated above with it make those inflammatory statements and acts. A similar reaction arises within the ranks of the supporters of Trump.

And so it begins. Not ranks as in the Civil War, but the covert groups as we in the UK saw in Northern Ireland, no central control, agendas within agendas and legal access to so many guns.

Violence be it is war or communal discord contains its own grim logic and thus inevitability.

Take heed. But look not to the gun. Look to Democracy while it still gasps for breath. Look to the Law. Look to the Passive Civil Disobedience. Cling to and nurture Hope. Never give up. Support the Persecuted. Speak with those who are only broadly conservative. Defy The Hate-Mongers. Convince or Warn the Uncertain. Keep on.

Prove my unhappy words to be just written out of Fear and not out of Histories.

13th July 2024- Butler, Pennsylvania. The Age Just Got Darker -Ramifications and Observations

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ITALY-FRANCE-WEATHER-FEATURE

“Dark now my skyThe sea of peace has left my shore” – ‘Dark Now My Sky’ by Barclay James Harvest (1970)

13th July. It was about 11.00 pm BST UK; I was using my phone to listen to an audio book, when there came this alerting sound and the banner headline about an attempt on Trump’s life. So I think  ‘That’s it. The campaign is over. Unless someone tries again Trump has got the election,’  Another depressing piece of news. On top of the evidence on Facebook’s charity pages’ comments section to prove that innocent idiots and political illiterates be they Right or Left were still proliferating. Time to watch either Netflix or Amazon Video Prime for a while then go to bed with earbuds in and sounds of computer generated rain to lull me off, with the feeling there was an irony somewhere in there, but so what? The thought will keep for another day.

Daytime and sliding out of bed; the theme of a Blog Battle post stirring, rudely nudged out of the way by last night’s news.
‘Aww fudge. There’s a post about this which just will not settle,’
‘Are you sure? There will be lots of posts. Will yours matter?’
‘In the scheme of things probably not. But this one is really tempting fate, a real What Was I Thinking About? sort. And maybe if I write it I could be proven wrong, because sometimes Fate and Probability just hate a Human sounding off, then do their level best to proven the smart-mouth wrong,’
‘That’s very metaphysical. Go for it then. Knock yourself out,’

We have been a long time living in the Age of Image. With each swiftly accelerating interlude of time, Image gains more and more currency, although like financial markets the value is variable. Right now the one of Donald Trump fist raised, blood trickling from one ear and looking defiant- that stock is riding high and you can be fair certain some folk will be looking to make a swift profit on poster version; they’ll sell by the million and if you are a Republican then you’d better have one up in your living room otherwise some will want to know why. A diamond solid Image certain to ensure the wavering voters will join hands with the dedicated true believers and march rank on rank to vote on the 5th November 2024. Tough luck on those Republicans who were bravely starting to build up a coalition against the fellow. You’ll all be traitors now, if there were not threats against you before they will be coming soon. A vote for Trump is a vote against terrorism well that’s a relief, wipes out in one fel swoop the 2021 ‘A vote for Trump is a vote for treason’ . Sleeves up folks and jaws set tight, it’s harvest time! And Praise The Lord what a harvest it will be!

Oh yes there were casualties in the crowd as well and unless you are family or friends they will soon be forgotten. Well there will be some regret, but let us concentrate on the deliverance of our saviour.

Democrats. What can you do? I mean constructively do. Yes of course you can be stalwart and you can firmly resolve come what may to vote Democrat. You can take your stand in the tavern brawl that is social media. You can Hope that between now and the closing weeks of October Fate and Probability will have a few twists of their own to play, because they always hold the top cards. You can even play the Conspiracy Game, Lord knows that one is easy enough to manufacture, Only a ear nicked, Trump not looking shocked, the shooter already dead. Should be a snip. After all those on the Right are busy steaming up a few, straight to Biden’s door. Better do it from the corners and the dark though, whispers in such sensitive cases always work better as a start off.
What you must no longer do. Unless Biden falls seriously ill, he cannot not be replaced now. Think about it, there’s Trump bloody but defiant, and Biden stepping down; a Republican dream; Biden hasn’t got the guts. He’s frightened it will happen to him etc, etc. This is it. Dice has been cast, Rubicon crossed and so forth. Time to close the ranks and attack. No not Trump, no he is currently sacrosanct, it’s The Republican Party who have become the target, I mean there’s enough evidence, if used forecfully and eloquently. There is a slender chance, not much of one, true. That said The Democrats owe it to the United States of America, you are the only hope of salvation now. Unite and fight. No holding back. Careful though, choose your ground and go for the softer targets. You can even ignore what Trump says. If challenged about this attempt on his life, ask the gleeful accuser if they would have been so concerned had Biden been the target, get that hook in and don’t let go. At least go down fighting, and leave a mark. And you have that damn 2025  moaist communist style trash to combat

And yet I fear the odds are against Reason, Rationality and of course The National Good. Somewhere along the way the contageon which has taken hold in lands run by a theocracy or the cult of personality has slinked across by a social media blight into the mindset of parts of the USA. Going back to my initial thought on hearing the news, my second one was to paraphrase Prime Minister William Pitt’s remark on hearing of Napoleon’s victory at Austerlitz; I, looking sadly at the US Constituion and saying ‘Roll Up That Charter. It Will Not Be Wanted These Next Ten Years’ . What was needed in a nation roiling since arguably 2008, certainly since 2016 was stability and a little dullness, not the high drama of a shooting at a high profile political figure, with a cult following. As much as I want currently I cannot see any other path this drama plays out than for Trump on a trip wave of fanatical determination, misguided sympathy and defeatist ‘What Is The Point’ to get back into the Whitehouse. Not on the evidence of the recent years. Not with the wiliingness of part of the nation to buy into this Kafka-like Reality Show version of politics. Not with another section either giving up or thinking that not voting for Biden is going to save one Palestinian life. The script was finished and printed when someone pulled a trigger 13th July 2024 Butler Pennsylvania.

Now go out there and resolve to show in November that I was quite, quite wrong.

Elections Beckon. A Series. Part III. Three Days into The Aftermath and I am still not inclined to be Singing and Dancing

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Parliamentary election in Britain

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer greet supporters outside Downing Street 10, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

It takes a singular mix of incompetence, arrogance and unsatisfied (or unsated?) ambitions to go from an 80+ parliamentary seat majority to losing 251 of those seats in the space of less than five years. Whereas Labour did make substantial gains; 211 seats, and a majority of 86 the results seems only to fortify the quirks of the UK’s First Past The Post (FPTP) voting system.

For those not familiar with the UK system and to be brief. A General Election is based around winning a parliamentary seat in a constituency, the candidate who polls the most votes wins and legally all the other votes ‘get binned’. Thus the party which wins the most seats and not the most votes will be the one which forms a government, assuming it has an overall majority, simply having the largest number of seats is not sufficient, as the 2010 and 2017 elections showed; that is where deals have to be done and later on promises reneged. Simple yes? Right now onto the quirks. 

The Conservative Government Party had become unpopular, since the Labour share of the vote remained in the region of 32-34% with an increase of 1.6% the result was a substantial vote against the Conservatives and not for Labour. In previous Conservative regions the moderate Liberal Democrats profited to a great degree and although they polled 3,519,199 votes to win 72 seats, it must be borne in mind that the Right Wing Reform polled 4,117,221 and yet only gained 5 seats. Therefore an overall move to Reform away from the Conservatives opened the door for Labour and The Liberal Democrats to profit. It can therefore be argued that aside from severe disenchantment with The Conservatives, the other factor which decided the election result was the FPTP system. Results however need to be considered in the light of percentage of votes cast. In rough terms there were 48,000,000 voters but only 28,000,000 cast, which in itself is not a vote of confidence in the system. With questions on the futures of parties, Government’s ability to turn around the current situation and the low turnout, the future is not set to be one of Bright Hopes and Sunny Uplands. We must however turn to look at the parties in the aftermath. 

Labour- Whereas Keir Starmer brought a long needed discipline back to the one credible alternative governing party in the UK  and his willingness to make compromises or ditch policies for the overall image of Credibility shows, like it on not, a theme of Realism and Practicality. Thus the very small increase in the overall percentage of the vote and the strong showing of the Liberal Democrats in terms of seats with Reform enjoying 5 seats and those 4,000,000+ votes will be facts not lost on Stammer and his team. Nor the fact that whereas a lot of folk are saying it’s a Tory(Conservative) Free Wales- all seats lost, the Reform vote increased in the Principality of Wales.
One outcome Labour will be celebrating is the defeat in Scotland of the ‘Auld’ foe, The SNP,  the ‘ruling party’, lost 39 seats, 36 of them to Labour. ‘Thus the balance is resorted.’ Small wonder Starmer is off to Scotland Sunday the 7th, to ensure that what was once Labour Heartland remains that way. 
As for how this Labour government will work remains to be seen. Rachel Reeves the UK’s first woman Chancellor of the Exchequer has the most unenviable task amongst a whole room full of them. Deputy PM Angela Rayner with left of centre credentials and battle-hardened also has the role of ‘Levelling Up’ (basically fair shares for all regions). One relatively minor role which brings a promising sunbeam is the appointment of James Timpson as Prisons Minister, CEO of a company with a policy of hiring ex-prisoners; whereas not an elected MP, he gets to be made a Lord, which says he can sit in the House of Lords and thus in the Starmer’s Cabinet (That is a quintessentially UK ‘thing’- it’s all you need to know for the purposes of this post).
It bears repeating, there will be little time for celebrating and how many holidays will be cancelled on re-scheduled is anyone’s guess. Labour will have a very short time scale in which to be seen to be turning things around. And the bane of many a Labour set-up, party discipline will be something of a priority. There may well be something of a ‘wartime’ mentality.
It bears repeating. We shall see. We shall see.   

Conservatives- Ever since the day when Margaret Thatcher was effectively told by those about her in government  ‘It’s All Over Now Baby Blue’. There has been an air of more than the normal atmosphere of unsettlement you’d find in a political party. The rift was initially between Thatcherites and those they thought traitors, this morphed into pro and anti-European sentiments, but as time went on the Right Which Should Not Speak Its Name, grew bolder and finally the ill-equipped Boris Johnson was made Prime Minister, deft in some respects but woefully inadequate when it came to the grim, hard calls, however his tendency to appetites caused his downfall.  There was the brief flirtation with the Ridiculous in Liz Truss and then back to the traditional ‘Rather Decent Sort of Chap’ with Rishi Sunak who played the role quite well. Even so the damage had been done and no one in the UK likes a party prone in-fighting, mixed with incompetence and in this case the Conservatives out-did even Labour on a bad day.
The aftermath may turn into something entertaining for the neutral and a useful distraction for the Labour Government when it moves into the area of bringing controversially minor but important details. The scale of the sheer disaster for the Conservatives suggests a line up between the traditional near moderate conservatives with a small ‘c’ and the activist-prone those who would be king/queen on the hard wing; as demonstrated by Labour in post 2019. Battle lines have already been drawn between those already saying ‘More Like Reform’ and the ‘Utter Tosh’ response. To write off the Conservatives as a spent force would be folly, they have an in built resilience, although with That Reform there could be a very messy four-way fight for the Heart and Soul of the basically Not Labour / Liberal (as in Lib-Dem) wing of society. Rishi Sunak will continue to play the ‘Jolly Decent Chap’ caretaker role in the meantime and many a moderate might mourn his passing. It will be a time when new names will rise.     

Liberal-Democrats – It is hard not to view Ed Davy as someone who bought a strip of lottery tickets and found he’s the winner of the multi-million currency prize. Back in 2010 ignoring history, leader Nick Clegg made a catastrophic formal coalition with David Cameron’s Conservatives, was gently pushed aside by their machine and earned the ire of a hard-built up support, dooming the party to single figures, which was its fate, until now. No doubt the beneficiaries of Conservative-Rejection, the current grouping of 72 MPs will be in a totally understandable parliamentary mindset of ‘Golly-gosh. What do we do now? Oh my. Oh my,’. It will take some very cool and pragmatic heads to lower the temperature to a ‘This is promising’ constructive level and use the bounty as a foundation for a possible long haul back to taking the centre-ground. If the Conservatives do slide to an entrenched Right wing stance, such a re-positioning with the Liberal-Democrats could be possible. The Liberal-Democrats had been written off either as ‘Nice Folk but…‘ or ‘Total Sell-Outs’ . Maintaining their composure and producing a solid and believable platform could well resonate amongst moderate folk, particularly across England who are weary of the ‘Old Two Sides’. They will need to set their sights firmly on the years ahead though and stick to the No Coalitions strategy. Another thorny issue for them; for years they have campaigned for Proportional Representation and not FPTP, now since they have greatly benefitted from the latter, how loud will their voice be?  

Reform UK – 5 MPs and 4,000,000+ votes, with hard-line Conservatives desperate to hang on saying ‘Perhaps we should chat to them’ and Farage finally getting in Parliament. It is folly to ignore this grouping, even though they attract unpleasant folk who despite and maybe because of their nasty comments did not affect the voting bloc. It has to be accepted anti-immigration and  the associated ‘R’ word (despite denials) played well. This said Reform has its own problems some of which will have occurred to its more astute followers or observers, and other issues which lurk for every party at some stage.
First- Its leader. Farage is a consummate salesman, for he has kept the Right-Wing anti-immigration,’ Out of Europe’ policies alive and thrashing throughout the years and in several forms. And yet in debate with other politicians he is a light-weight and tends to form a party which should be all about him. He was sharp enough to ditch some very nasty characters who slithered out during the campaigns and tried to distance Reform from the vile White Supremacist thugs. That said, does he have the stamina for the Long Haul? It’s one thing to be on the side lines banging a drum, it’s quite another task to work in Parliament. He will face debate after debate there, and it is a brutal place.
Second- What is Reform? Extreme Right- White Power? Social Revolutionaries intent on truly reforming the entire system? Folk looking to take over from a moribund and divided Conservative Party? Are those Five MPs truly united, and will they live up to voter expectations. It should be borne in mind amongst all their expected rightest policies there was the very Left Wing re-nationalise The Public Utilities. 
Third- The Conservative question. As stated earlier some Conservatives are fluttering eyelashes at Reform; there again Farage appears to have sniffed very dismissively at the thought. Thus in the coming Conservative turbulence, will Reform be drawn in and thus find its own internal pressures to say ‘Yes’ ‘No’ or ‘Maybe’. A four-way very arcane struggle could take place.
Four- The question which they would rather not discuss. A very wealthy Asian, Islamic business man Zia Yusuf donated a very large sum to the Reform coffers (figures vary). Now actually there is nothing unusual about someone who is not white thinking a Party like Reform would be a could thing for the UK. The previous Conservative Government had a wider ethnical base than the new Labour version. Mr. Yusuf has made his fortune in the UK and would like things to stay ‘as they were’ when his parents arrived in the UK. How is that going to play with the very unpleasant wing of Reform is another matter. Also it has been noticed that Mr Yusuf is quite the public speaker. Just saying, that’s all.   

SNP-   Brits reading could well be thinking on the classic TV sit-com ‘Dad’s Army’ and the Scots character Private Frazer with his catch phrase ‘We’re doomed’. The SNP were always in danger of suffering a backlash as a result of their recent years’ tenure as Government at the Scots Parliament at Holyrood, Edinburgh. Failure to push policies through, debates over deliverance on Independence, scandal and the collapse of a coalition with the Scots Greens over environmental issues. On the whole the feeling they were taking the Scottish vote for granted played into Labour’s hands. An additional factor would have been that the Conservative Government could overrule SNP legislation, such as in the case of recent Gender Recognition, therefore the idea in Scotland that a complete Labour overhaul across the UK might be a better option would have played well.
It’s a long hard road back for the SNP, and they must be looking to the Scots election in 2026 for a revival of fortunes hoping discontent has set in at Labour by then. A lot can happen in one and a quarter years.    

Plaid Cymru- Have to be feeling just a bit pleased. They now have four seats, and the whole of the western part of Wales, which looks good on a map. They polled nearly 200,000 and their percentage of the Welsh vote went up slightly now at 14.7% Whereas not earth shaking by any means, it will prove that they have not faded back in obscurity, and will look to make inroads into the Eastern Vote. Their current opponents would be Reform who have increased their vote in Wales. So forget that ‘Tory Free Wales’ triumphant message; the Right is alive and festering. Plaid are the ones to take it on.  

Greens (England and Wales)– This party must be feeling very happy. One extra seat, taken from a Conservative rural heartland which must be a optimistic rune. 1,841,388 votes 6.39% of the vote increased by 3.9%. Another party which suffered from the FPTP system but must feel they have befitted from scandals over sewerage being pumped into rivers and coastal sites, along with concerns over rural lands being turned over the building and roadways, then there are the environmental issues. For various reasons the Greens of Scotland and Northern Ireland are two separate parties, neither made any inroads, but they are both battling against entrenched issues. Overall though the Greens will look to build on this, if only to continually come second or third. 4 seats in the House of Commons is not to be sniffed at.    

Overview

To begin I apologise to any readers in Northern Ireland for not mentioning their results and the implications. As stated previously Northern Ireland has it’s own particular take and traditions and to make some overall statement from ‘The Mainland’ is simply just not right and proper. If anyone from the region wishes to write their own post on those implications from their perspective, please do so.  

In the Mainland UK the numbers, therefore do not tell the complete story. It can be argued that even Labour had mixed fortunes, losing two contests. One to Reform and another to an Independent standing as a result of the war in Gaza. With this in mind it would appear the Muslim community in at least substantial part will currently expect a pro-Palestinian stance by parties to earn their vote. That said Labour has won back the Jewish vote previously lost either deliberately or by fearful incompetence. 

The main concern amongst parties, (aside from Reform and paradoxically The Green Party) will be the lack of votes. The results seem to have demonstrated that a truly representative election system will be a Proportional System (PR), normally the preserve of liberal and left of centre parties. However the idea of Reform, The Greens and The Liberal Democrats united on the issue is an interesting concept. Meanwhile for many the thought of Reform getting seats on the basis on their share of the vote will have them thinking that maybe FPTP is not so bad for Britain, after all.

There is therefore still much to be concerned about. Studied disillusionment. A turbulence in many an overseas location. The continued progress of the Far Right. The wreckage that is the Nation, is this beyond repair in less than a decade and can folk accept that price and strain? And for those of us who support Labour, will this be a victory strong enough to handle the strain or just another paper one?

Even after this election it is still We Shall See.

4th July. USA. A few Words on Patriotism

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USA Flag

Patriotism: The love of one’s nation? A fair enough statement I guess. Love comes with a certain price though, doesn’t it?

Let’s consider love of one’s nation then.

Firstly that love will have a certain wish all will prevail, be nurtured, grow, flourish. Make you happy to be in that love of your nation. Look to each day with at least Hope.

So what is a True Patriot?

A True Patriot looks to the stability and continuation of their country.

A True Patriot works, as best they can, to ensure that stability and continuation remains.

A True Patriot realises their nation is composed of a variety of folk and communities, and whereas some of those may mystify or even annoy them, the True Patriot accepts the dictum It Takes All Sorts.

A True Patriot will grumble a great deal about what is wrong, but will support the infrastructure, while working somehow to help to improve it.

A True Patriot will realise there is not just One Way to improve but many notions and whether they like it or not will have to work with and in some measure respect others they disagree with in a spirit of compromise.

A True Patriot does not resort to violence to change things, in that The True Patriot realises  each action has its reaction. A True Patriot accepts defence with a heavy heart.

A True Patriot celebrates the kaleidoscope of communities and innovations that makes up their nation.

A True Patriot regrets but is not afraid of the errors made by the nation in the Past.

A True Patriot is an optimist.

A True Patriot thinks for themselves and does not accept at face value what they are told, but ponders on the variety and makes a judgement for the good of the nation.

A True Patriot rejects Conspiracies but looks for The Incompetence and Complacency.

A True Patriot accepts they have been gifted this existence in this land and works to ensure it is not abused.

A True Patriot does not deny flaws in their leaders or spokespeople

A True Patriot if they have been fortunate to have been given an opportunity to vote takes part in that process  as a duty.

A True Patriot cares about the well being of future generations.

A True Patriot does not try and limit the mindset nor cultural diversity, for therein lies growth.

A True Patriot does not condemn another solely on the basis of their theistic or atheistic stances, or anything in between.

A True Patriot is always alert to and rejects opportunism, profiteering, hate-mongering, and hypocrisy.

A True Patriot accepts Disappointment, but Hopes and Works for Improvement.

A True Patriot accepts things will not always go their way.

A True Patriot concerns themselves for the overall good of the nation.

A True Patriot is someone who does not need a special day or a flag or a badge or a weapon to prove the love for their nation.

A True Patriot will be voting on Tuesday The 5th November 2024 to ensure 2016 is not repeated.

Defend this:

130306205822-the-bill-of-rights - Copy

Make Her Proud Again:

Statue of Liberty

I’m counting on you:

Uncle Sam

and by the way, being A True Patriot is not easy.

Elections Beckon. A Series. Part I. The USA – Stark Reality

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Statue of Liberty

Foreword: Although the US and the UK elections are the main attractions on both sides of the Atlantic, it bears reminding that France is, this day, involved in the first part of a parliamentary election, the next taking place next Sunday. The style and nature of French politics does not lend itself to established parties of long histories; more a question of Right, Centre and Left forming groupings- and that I fear is an anglicised over-simplification. Suffice it to say, at the time of writing this UK morning time there is an indication that the Far Right under the name of Rassemblement National (National Rally) has a strong lead in the polls. French politics are a quite different matter from those you and I are used to so I elect to say no more on the subject. Just bear in mind as a backdrop what is going on on Europe’s mainland.

Oh and by the way, this will not be analytical. This is an unashamedly partisan post. I will not stand by and let my adopted nation be dragged into ruin.

My attention should be focused on the 4th July because there is a UK General Election, and yet there is the constant worry that whatever result comes to pass in the UK our stability and overall well being will be conditional on the result of the US Presidential Election. For to understand how this world works it is essential to be realistic, and the fact is that whatever comfort and stability we have grown used to has been because of the overall world stature of the USA. We are fortunate, us in the UK that through a combination of factors we are been able to indulge in our way of life, thanks to those dynamics.

At least that was how it was. US governments of various shades and intentions rose, stayed, declined and took their place in history, and yet the USA with its own myriad particular collection of flaws and abuses carried on while adhering to a set of conventions. Some seemed to outsiders a given. There might be odd laws in some states but they stayed in those states and anyway someone was always challenging them in either the state’s supreme court or the country’s version. There politicians who caused eyebrows to be raised, but if they were found out to be going too far, with their hand in the cookie jar, or ending up in court, their colleagues and public shied away from them, leaving them lost or humbled to re-invent. There were dangerous extremists, but like most they had a self-destruct button and the majority of the media could be guaranteed to take a condemnatory stance. And on the whole The USA was making it own stumbling, far from shortest route towards a more open and flexible society. The danger there was, those forces opposed to progress and flexibility never rest. Humanity’s flaws of Intolerance, Suspicions, Conflict, Greed and Ignorance never rest, these offer excuses for a person’s own shortcomings, inadequacies and guilty sectarianism and how many gratefully accept those toxic gifts.

The route and advancement taken by these corrosive factors ran parallel with those of progress and tolerance but since most folk prefer Sunny Stories with Happy Endings the grim alternatives were in general not noticed, or thought of as a minority or treated as a source of entertainment. All was well, you could see it in the media, in entertainment; after all there were plenty of folk of different races and different sexual identities in major roles and look at all those action-type women. Yes, the nation was getting better.

Except it wasn’t. The warnings had been there in the Culture Wars. The hysterical outrage at ‘one of those people’ winning the Presidential Election not just once but twice, with unarguable majorities, and all the Right could do was quibble over where he was born and his name. Then ferment conspiracies about the national army holding manoeuvres in various Republican strongholds.

And then came the direst warning, although most of us including professional shrugged it off at first. Trump had decided to play at politics. Despite the sight of mocking the disabled, Vietnam War veterans and encouraging his followers to attack demonstrators his progress continued, despite the fact that more voted for Clinton that him, he reached the Whitehouse. Despite the chaotic 4 years, the vote was still close. Despite his tantrum and incitement to a mob attack, despite a guilty verdict in an open court, he is still here, with a following urging him on the greater excesses.

And he should not. By all the conventions of politics his campaign should have floundered at the first attempt. Only by the fervour and fanatical urges of his followers to see all that has been accomplished swept away does he endure. He dances to their tunes. This is bad enough. But his presence has encouraged and emboldened those with more focused minds and agendas. The loss of Women’s Rights to Abortion and the attendant respectability of misogyny. The banning of books in schools and public libraries. The campaigns against LGBT+ communities. The complete halt of any progress on Race Equality. An unpromising imposition of Christian teachings up in public again in a stark intimidating way.  And all of these conducted against a backdrop of physical intimidation by mob or by gun, by hate mail on social media, by stalking and threats. What these folk who revel in all of this do not seems to realise is that for their actions there will be reactions, by folk who embrace the same mindset as them, who will decided that they can intimidate, attack and level their own guns as justifiable responses. Those who take away Rights, who would endeavour to limit or indoctrinate somehow expect the opposition to meek and servile to knuckle down because they say so. This situation is the principal concern. Trump one day will be gone, but the force that put him there unless challenged and exposed will not, and worse unless challenged by civil and legal means, consistently will in turn encourage that worse alternative.

This the fundamental issue. There is a movement stalking the USA which will demand more than attention, it will require adherence to a Right-Wing doctrine into the every aspect of Life. It will not be content to live alongside a freedom of movement or expression. It will expect acceptance, submission and dutiful obedience. It will withdraw in upon itself and enclose everyone into an isolationist mentality. It will try an achieve the impossible, complete domination over a five time zone 300,000,000+ population. It will face opposition and then will be frustrated and will seek more intimidation. And there will be conflict on many levels.

All the above have been discussed and written about. You all know what the alternatives are if this Extreme Right-Wing Agenda is allowed to continue. Not just you personally, but those you will hold dear by family or friendship will be under threat. Folk who are moderate conservatives, who are true to a solid but quiet Christian faith will feel the pressure too, for they will be expected to join ‘the ranks’. No one will be secure.

Now, in the past days there has been disruption in the ranks of the Democrats, the fear that Biden is not up to the task of dealing with the fury of the Republican Dis-Information Machine has brought into question confidence in him. There will be a debate, which I can understand. But

Let the debate be short, and precise

Once the decision is made, stand by it and without a second thought turn all your energies upon discrediting the Republican Machine. The time for the discussions on the niceties of Economics, Overseas, Health Care, to name but a few have passed. You know full well how The Red Machine currently works. It will lie and it will distort. Let that be your target. They are vulnerable. Go for their weaknesses. Highlight the hypocrisies, the inconsistencies, the downright law breaking, the danger to the Constitution, the threat to The Individual. Those are the issues of this campaign. There is no hope for a delicate and reasoned debate. This is a brutal contest. You will be fighting for the heart and soul of America. The true America which grows on variety, which is  not afraid of the Future, which rejects the failures of the Past.

Shake out those who feel there is no point in voting, alert those who say ‘it will all blow over’, demand of those who think not voting for Biden will save the life of one Palestinian. And once the decision has been made on who will be the Democrat Candidate, be loyal, be united and insist upon it with others who oppose Trump. Only in that Unity will there be strength.

The USA requires, you the true patriots to rescue the nation.

USA Flag

They Have Done Their Part. Now They Look To You USA

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Statue of LibertyLady Justice

Yesterday a fellow who thanks to a freak of the voting system occupied the Whitehouse between 2016 – 2020 was convicted of a number of felonies. Of course being the spoiled brat that he is he did  not conduct himself throughout the trial with any dignity and now throws a tantrum at the verdict.

He can consider himself fortunate he was not in 2021 arrested on charges which cover sedition and treason.

And yet the media show is not yet over. Nor do the ranks of those who by a communal effort elevated the fellow to a position far beyond his capabilities and certainly not his sense of maturity, if any, rest. There will be howls of protests, the social media will be filled with their vitriol and everyone who took part in the trial will be targets for them. While those whose politics thrived on this episode of American history will seek out ways to personally profit and advance.

Twelve American citizens have displayed great courage. They did not falter, they did not try to avoid their duty. They sat with great patience and fortitude through what at times was stripped of the dignity of court procedure. (You might have to go back to the trial of the Chicago Seven to see something comparable as a media hoop-lah.). They sat then in a small room and deliberated amongst themselves and then took a unanimous decision which they knew full well would impact on their personal lives and those of their families. They and those closest to them will know always have a concern that some individual or group will be trying their heaviest to seek them out, harass, abuse or subject them to worse. They did not flinch though, they did their duty.     

Uncle Sam

 And now what shall be done for them?

If House Speaker Mike Johnson’s doublespeak hypocrisy about a shameful day for America is anything to go by then this indicates there is one wing of the Republican party which has no respect for the due process of Law. This wing will say anything to suit its purpose; what limits it has on the ‘doing’ is a grim question indeed. One thing is certain of a grouping that stands by a person who tries a clumsy coup to stay in power, who insults servicemen and refuses to display any dignity in a court process they have no great concerns for the nation has a whole.

Therefore what shall be done for that jury and court officers. How shall they be protected by the vitriol of The Right? For this grouping has proven it has no respect for the ballot box either. It is a menace to any American who simply wishes to get on with their own lives for it will demands obedience. It will now turn of those involved in the trial and will do all it can to make their lives miserable.

We owe them. Not just respect but support. 

I leave that to each and every one of you to consider how best to formulate that to your own ways and means.

We, whether we are American or not owe them.

Looking Through A Perspective of Rational Understanding

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My Thoughts On Recent Campus Protests

Brief foreword: I was this going to write a post on this subject. I am glad I did not because Jill pulled the rug completely from under a post potentially heavy with judgemental stuff that would not have been truly fair and deserved to the majority of protesters. A very hard line of socialism was getting hold again. As the saying goes….My Bad. Thanks Jill for holding me back.

Jill has taken a supportive, but balanced view of these protests which have been taking hold in USA places of education. Whatever your views are it is worth a read and a reflection. Her words from the heart should make you step make and draw breath and think just for a moment. There is already a great deal of Sound and Fury on this topic. Read Jill’s take on this and ponder.