Lord Elgin and His Marbles

The acquisition (some would say looting) of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century remains a contentious issue, with Greece consistently calling for their return. 

Drawing parallels with the repatriation of Nazi art treasures offers a cogent and compelling argument for the restitution of the Elgin Marbles to Greece. 

Firstly, the acquisition of the Elgin Marbles bears similarities to the plundering of art by the Nazis during World War II. Both instances involved the removal of cultural artifacts from their rightful owners without their consent. While the circumstances surrounding Elgin's acquisition may not be as blatantly exploitative as Nazi looting, the underlying principle of taking cultural treasures from their country of origin remains questionable. 

Secondly, the return of Nazi art treasures has set a precedent for the repatriation of cultural artifacts. The international community has recognized the importance of restoring these looted treasures to their rightful owners, acknowledging the deep cultural and historical significance they hold for the original communities. This precedent reinforces the call for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, where they can be reunited with the Parthenon and serve as a tangible connection to the nation's heritage. 

Thirdly, the continued retention of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum raises concerns about the institution's role in preserving and representing global cultural heritage. The museum's refusal to return the marbles despite Greece's persistent requests can be perceived as perpetuating a colonial mentality and disregarding the cultural ownership of these artifacts. Repatriation would demonstrate the museum's commitment to responsible stewardship and cultural sensitivity. 

In conclusion, the repatriation of Nazi art treasures serves as a powerful precedent for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece. The parallels between the two cases highlight the importance of respecting cultural ownership and addressing the legacy of colonial practices. Restoring the Elgin Marbles to their rightful place would not only reunite them with their cultural context but also contribute to a more equitable and inclusive approach to the management of global cultural heritage.

Imagine, for a minute, that the Nazis had invaded Britain for a period during WWII and sold a few stones from Stonehenge, along with the Magna Carta, to the Italians or Greeks. What would be the reaction of the British once the Nazis had been defeated?

Something that's not widely known is that Lord Elgin's descendents retain some of the lesser Marbles that the British Museum thought were not of sufficiently high quality to be displayed. The current Lord Elgin does not wish to relinquish his rubble.

Rishi Sunak has said the UK will not return the Marbles. On the basis of his success on NHS waiting lists, stopping small boats and the tax burden, it would appear they will be returned shortly.

On a personal level, I have visited the Acropolis more times than I have visited the British Museum, and I lived in London for a number of years.

Tabloid Politics

I've coined a term, or I think I have, as I can't find a reference to it anywhere.

Similar to tabloid journalists who condense multifaceted stories to fit limited column space, populist politicians streamline nuanced issues, presenting facile answers that appeal to specific audiences. This approach, marked by its ability to capture attention and resonate with certain segments of the population through the use of emotion rather than logic, raises legitimate concerns about the depth and feasibility of the proposed solutions. I call this Tabloid Politics.

While these simplified messages may gain traction and generate popular support, they often lack the depth necessary to address the intricacies of the problems at hand. This oversimplification can lead to policy decisions that, while appealing on the surface, may prove facile, impractical or even detrimental when applied to the complex, multifaceted realities of governing. 

A more nuanced and thoughtful approach is crucial in navigating the intricate web of contemporary issues. Politicians should strive to engage with the complexities of challenges and acknowledging that real-world problems rarely have one-size-fits-all solutions. Emphasizing a more nuanced discourse is essential for fostering informed public debate and promoting policies that stand up to the complexities of our ever-evolving societal landscape.

I also think that those who engage in Tabloid Politics would like to get everyone in uniforms, preferably designed by Hugo Boss, and looking as if they're prepared to invade Czechoslovakia.

Difficult Choice

It strikes me that, given the Gaza ceasefire is temporary and, given the number of women and children being killed in Gaza by the bombing and missile attacks, the women and children in Israeli prisons would be better off staying exactly where they are and refusing to go back to Gaza.

They may be in jail, but they have food, medication and are not being bombed. They're even getting paid by the PLO while inside and one male prisoner did actually refuse for this reason - he'd be going back to Gaza destitute.

What's Netanyahu's end game? It can only be to remain in power to avoid the 3 corruption tials he's facing. It's the only thing that explains his actions to date. He's said Israel is in it till the end. without defining what that end is.

Assuming 1,500 Hamas operatives killed (Israel estimate 1,000 - 2,000) out of a 14,800  total, that's 8.9 civilians per Hamas operative. Given it's estimated that there are between 40-50,000 Hamas fighters, that means between 350k and 440k civilians will die if Netanyahu delivers on his promise to eliminate Hamas.

That civilian death toll, of course, will increase as Hamas attracts more fighters from among the relatives of those killed. Assuming that for every 5 civilians killed one addition is made to the Hamas number, it will not end. The end game of Netanyahu means the only people left in Gaza will be Hamas fighters.

Netanyahu will not negotiate with the PLO, as they have not condemned Hamas, so who will run Gaza when there are no people left there? The only conclusion is that it will become an extension of Israel.

Netanyahu is not really interested in Hamas' hostages, else he wouldn't be bombing the hell out of Gaza while not knowing where they're being kept and the released hostages have said as much. He has obviously been leant on by Joe Biden, who he has to keep sweet, to engage in the ceasefire. Once the hostage releases dry up, he will resume his campaign.

Understanding Boris

Boris is getting a bit of a raw deal in respect of the Covid Inquiry. 

When all's said and done, he obviously had is eyes on the benefits of Covid, which are comparable with the benefits of the Black Death.

Labour Shortage and Higher Wages: The Black Death caused a massive loss of life, leading to a shortage of workers. This increased demand for labour resulted in higher wages for those who survived. This change in the labour market gave workers more negotiating power and improved their economic situation. 

Land Redistribution: The drop in population meant there was more available land. Land prices decreased, allowing many peasants and labourers to acquire land they couldn't before. This redistribution of land helped create a fairer distribution of wealth. 

Technological Advancements: The shortage of labour prompted innovations to compensate. This drive for efficiency led to improvements in farming techniques and technology, positively impacting agriculture in the long term. 

Increased Demand for Skilled Labour: The reduced workforce created a need for skilled workers who could perform specialized tasks. This increased opportunities for craftsmen and artisans, as their expertise became more valuable.

See - Boris foresaw all this when he said; "Let the bodies pile high." He was thinking about the economy AND the survivors. It's simply hope and optimism based on historic reality.

Art Kitic

I think we may have to change the art on our walls; Kitty was inspecting it yesterday and, by the look on her face, she wasn't very impressed.

I fully expected some catty remarks along the lines of the late, great Brian Sewell.

I'm more with Sewell than Kitty. She probably would favour the salmon. Sewell was talking about the Sarah Lucas 'work', below.

GT6 Mod

 I spotted this modification to a Triumph GT6 the other day - a Targa top.

Here's another.

OK, so it's not original and a Webasto sunroof would be more in keeping with the era, but I do like it; however, probably a bit ambitious for me.

I guess it requires a Spitfire windscreen and, given the roof front on mine has a repair insert, I'd need a new roof panel to play with. Also, there's limited space to store the Targa when not in use.

I doubt it interferes much with the structural strength, as the Spitfire has no roof at all and is the same, basic construction.

A Man With Two Watches

It's said that a man or woman with two watches doesn't know the time.

It seems it's also true that a man or woman with two weather forecasts doesn't know what the weather will be, except for the temperature.

One is from the BBC and the other from the Met Office, both for yesterday. The Met Office was more accurate.

When is a Hostage Not a Hostage

According to news media, Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal for the release of 50 women and children hostages held in Gaza in return for 150 Palestinian women and children to be freed from Israeli jails.

All reports use the same words. What are women and children doing in Israeli jails in the first place? Those held by Hamas are called hostages, but not the women and children held in Israeli jails. 

Analyse and discuss.

It seems to me, when trawling X (formerly known as Twitter, and still known as Twitter) there's a concerted effort by some parties to portray any criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism as a way of shutting down a conversation. 

Accusations of Islamophobia don't land as well, probably because there's no collective guilt of a Holocaust behind it and the Crusades were a long, long time ago. There are individuals on Twitter who openly celebrate the fact they're Islamophobic without any irony or realising that Islamophobia and anti-Semitism come from the same, dark place - ignorance and stereotyping, fear of the 'other', media influence, blaming others for one's misfortunes, etc. 

It's the same with the River to the Sea chants. They're abhorred by those supporting Israel, yet almost the same words are used in the original Likud (Netanyahu's party) founding charter (click to enlarge the page below from the Jewish Virtual Library). The wording is; "...between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty". A blatant example of the pot calling the kettle black.

Slogans can have many meanings and it's a general rule of thumb that alleged facts that require numerous assumptions to justify their veracity are not as factual as is at first claimed.

Bond Lost

In from the 60s to the 90s, Bond was battling against villains who were trying to control the world - the very type of people who are indeed now controlling the world through their mega-corporations.

It strikes me that the Bond villains won!

Watcher of the Skies

Received a couple of A9 video cameras I ordered - not very impressed with them, but they do the job I wanted them for, which is to replace the light sensor for controlling the Air-Source Heat Pump during winter.

For a start, they're very low bitrate, meaning they're useless for capturing much in the way of motion, but that's not really what I bought them for. Also the USB power inlet is at the bottom or the camera, which means you're limited in the positioning, as the cable gets in the way of sticking it on a flat, horizontal surface. 

The supplied USB charging cables are pitifully short, so I had to find some that are at least half a metre long, although longer would have been better, as they need to be close to a domestic socket. The onboard battery is only good for about an hour, so they need to be permanently plugged in.

They have IR, but it's garbage - you can't see a thing at night.

One I've called WeatherCam, which is positioned upstairs, facing the northern sky (and a bit of the workshop roof). Not ideal, but the only available position with the cable length limitation.

The other I've called KittyCam, being a replacement for the video camera I used to have, but couldn't manage to reconnect after buying a new TV table (tried everything, but it just wouldn't reconnect).

While it's trained on where Kitty tends to sleep, it's a makeshift WeatherCam, as I can see whether the sun is streaming into the living room in the morning. However, on the strength of the two I purchased, I've ordered a couple more, along with 2m USB cables. They're not expensive - just over a tenner each.

Iron Birds

Spotted these in a shop in Wotton-Under-Edge the other day.

Birds made from fork'n spoons.

May give it a go, but have to find some cheap cutlery first.

Santa's Ghetto

 Santa's Ghetto was being erected in Yate on Wednesday.

Can't help feeling it's a bit early; however, he may not be taking up residence for a couple of weeks, he may be having problems getting a mortgage this year.

A Late Idea

Rather than designating an area of land in the Middle East as a Jewish homeland, would it not have been better, and less contentious at the time, to carve out a contiguous bit of Allied and Russian controlled Germany in 1945, equating to an area that would support 6m people, and hand it to the Jews as eminently justifiable reparations?

The area of land required to support 6m people would equate to between 0.087% and 0.0175% of Germany - a very small percentage and about the same size as Israel is. Germany had been soundly beaten in WWII and was in no position to complain. Germany was partitioned anyway (East and West), and another, much smaller partition would have been a mere formality, plus it would have benefitted from the Marshall Plan.

Agreed it would necessitate some mass migration, but that happened anyway in Palestine and would need more for a 2 state solution where neither state was cut in half. That said, a lot of people migrated from east to west in Germany before the Berlin Wall went up.

However, plans to use Palestine were already far advanced, having started in 1922, and Germany didn't finish paying reparations to Israel till 2022.

I know that the Ottomans were soundly beaten in WWI, but it was a long time between the end of WWI and 1948 and the remnants of the Ottomans were quite tolerant of the Jews, until they wanted to create a state in their midst.

There was actually a novel in which this was the premise.

Walking Backward for Christmas

The day before yesterday I listened to a Michael Mosley radio programme about the benefits of walking backwards, so I set up the treadmill I rescued in the workshop and gave it a go.

The objective is to work up to 5 minutes of backward walking - a woman who did a trial for Mosley took a week to get up to 5 minutes. Naturally, I thought 5 minutes would be easy at the first attempt - it wasn't. On my first attempt I managed 3 minutes before having to stop. However, by my 3rd go yesterday I was up to 5 minutes at 2.5 mph, and could have doubled it - but it's a tad boring. I need a book to read while doing it.

You use a completely different set of leg muscles when walking backwards - bigger muscles, which results in more energy being used and more calories being burned than walking forwards, and you know it, even after just 5 minutes.

There are also meant to be benefits in terms of balance and, believe it or not, memory and cognition. I suppose the cognition and memory improvements come from open air walking, rather than simply doing it on a treadmill, as there's more to think about when trying to keep upright and navigate.

There is also a benefit from walking downhill, for exactly the same reason (different muscles come into play), so the objective must be to walk up a hill backwards and come down forwards.

Halving Inflation Bullshit

I'd love to know what policy of Rishi Sunak has resulted in the fall in inflation.

It's not as if he can control international oil and gas prices, nor does he have control of interest rates, the latter being the traditional, blunt tool with which to tackle demand driven inflation (although this episode is not caused by consumers over-spending, but supply side problems).

Inflation always burns out at some stage, so it's a self-fulfilling prophecy that requires no action whatsoever. It's a bit like making a policy that promises that the sun will rise tomorrow and, when it rises, claiming that it's as a result of government policy.

In any case, reducing inflation has attendant laws of unintended consequences, especially when interest rate rises are used. 

Increasing interest rates (which he didn't, but the BoE did) results in investment drying up and businesses going to the wall. The rate of business failures has shot up dramatically. That also produces increases in the unemployment rate.

The housing market has suffered from increased mortgage costs with some no longer being able to afford their mortgage.

Increasing interest rates affects currency value, which adversely affects exports but helps imports.

Interest rate increases bring attendant recession dangers due to all the above. The UK has experienced no growth and it bumbling along on the edge of recession.

Rishi would be better saying that inflation will burn out and we have to grin and bear it, rather than risking being attacked on all the above if voters believe he actually had hands on the levers, which he didn't.

The key factor having reduced inflation is the fall of global energy costs - not anything that Rishi did or can do.

Grinder Accident

Had an accident with the grinder last week while working on the GT6. A thin cutting disk came apart and flew into my body. It didn't hurt and didn't penetrate the jumper I was wearing, but the next day Hay noticed a hideous bruise on my stomach.

I never noticed it. However, it was enough of a warning to fix the guard to the grinder.

At least the welding on the near side wheel arch of the GT6 is now finished and the wing is firmly attached to the inner wing.

between n

My recurring nightmare with this rebuild is competing the car and, on its first test drive, panels start pinging off as welds part. However, I think I've gone for overkill.

The body is now ready to come off the chassis, but space dictates that I can't really achieve that till after winter so, between now and then, I'll just focus on reworking aby welds I think require a bit more beef and ensuring the bodywork is really, really smooth.

It doesn't, however, preclude me from starting work on the bonnet and cropping out the rot. Lack of funds means I can't buy any replacement panels yet though. I know what I want for Christmas presents.

One Nation Tories

David Cameron, whose ineptitude paved the way for May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak, is now Foreign Secretary.

I have a theory - Sunak wants to appeal to the old style, One Nation Conservatives, but the talent pool is so thin that he's trapped into having to believe that sleaze is far more preferable to ex Tories than blatant corruption and lunatic, fascist ideology.

It's a gamble, especially as not one of Cameron's policies while PM was a success and he was mired in the Greensill affair, but the Tory faithful may just go for that. They've gone for dafter things, when all is said and done.

The bind they're in is that they spotted the drift of their lunatic fringe to Ukip and, to stop it, they had to out-Kipper the Kippers. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, but at a cost - terminal factionalism as the Kippers wanted to take over.

Basically, Sunak is ditching the Kipper, Brexiteer, crypto-fascist contingency (not to forget the thugs, bully-boys, psychopaths, sacked policemen, security guards, sacked security guards, racialists, etc) tail that's wagging the dog, realising they are never going to win him an election and are indeed a liability, hoping to turn an utter rout into a lesser rout, retain at least a few key seats and rebuild the party in its original form without the lunatic, entryist, Kipper baggage from the Johnson era.

Here's Reggie Perrin and Jimmy talking about it all.

Air-Source Heat Pump

Regular readers will know that I installed a Smart Switch with which to remotely control my Air-Source Heat Pump, so I could switch it on under varying circumstances, such as, between 12 and 1pm on a sunny day, taking advantage of free solar PV to heat the domestic hot water.

Well, the switch being in the engine room, I had a helluva job getting it to connect to the house Wi-Fi and it kept dropping the connection. Even a repeater wouldn't facilitate a reliable connection. I eventually gave up and resorted to manual control, but had to be home to switch it on.

However, I remembered I had a Vodafone Mi-Fi dongle that I'd given to No.2 Son for use at university. He told me he hardly ever used it, so I repatriated it. I discovered that the SIM had been cancelled in April, although I don't remember cancelling it, but I did have a review of all my various mobile and broadband contracts in April, so it may have been cancelled accidentally.

Anyway, I resurrected it with the cheapest data-only SIM contract I could find, at £8.50 a month for 4Gb, and connected the ASHP to it. Works a treat on Tuya and I now have full, remote control of it again, wherever I happen to be.

Switching it on for an hour at midday on a sunny day enables me to heat the water to 60 degrees, which will retain enough heat to have a hot shower the next morning - and it's free through the solar PV. Of course, I can only do that on sunny days, but the fact I get free electricity even on dull days means I still save some money on whatever I use.

I'm always tempted to switch it on before 12:00 on really sunny days, but it would be a waste of money, as the solar thermal takes the initial strain, so leaving it till 12:00 (13:00 in summer) reduces any potential bill if it's partially cloudy.

When away, the automation feature can be a bit iffy, as the light sensor I use isn't granular enough and can switch the ASHP on even when quite cloudy, or off if a cloud blocks the sun. With a 1 minute starting cycle, just a few clouds in the sky can result in it never switching full on.

To overcome this I've ordered a couple of Smart CCTV cameras which will be trained on the sky, allowing a bit more subjectivity (but not automation). I can simply check the CCTV cameras when away and make a decision as to whether to switch the ASHP on remotely or not.

The 6 Weeks of Christmas

Well, the Christmas decorations in Yate were put up earlier last week and the shops have been bursting with Christmas fare for over a fortnight.

Why do we have this obsession with a 6 week (often longer) preparation for Christmas? It wasn't like this when I was a kid - mind you, we didn't have quite as many supermarkets pushing us to buy, buy, buy.

I remember my mum buying the Christmas presents a couple of day before Christmas and my dad, if he was home on leave, buying the Christmas tree the weekend before Christmas, but not putting it up till the 23rd.

There again, in the 60's you couldn't buy frozen or shrink wrapped food that kept for ages; you went shopping two or three times a week and just bought enough to last you a couple of days at most. Most fridges had a tiny freezer section which was invariably filled with Ice and frost, rendering it entirely unsuitable for placing anything larger than a matchbox in it.

So, was the Christmas period shorter simply because we couldn't make it longer anyway?

As for the 12 days of Christmas. Decorations in the past rarely lasted beyond the 2nd of January and many were taken down the day after Boxing Day. The whole idea of 12 days of Christmas was a myth. In fact you'd be lucky if the Christmas tree made it as long as New Year's Day - the bloody things started to drop the minute you put them up and the non-drop Nordmann Fir was still a long way off. You'd still be finding pine needles in the vacuum cleaner detritus on Easter Sunday.

Bah, humbug!

Bloody Toolboxes!

A couple of weeks ago I had occasion to help a friend remove a locking wheel nut by welding the rotating ring to the main nut, thus enabling him (hopefully) to remove said nut with another tool. As a possible aid, I took my stilson wrench, which had been in the motorhome.

On getting home I thought I'd put the stilson in in my tool box, as I've never had cause to use it in the motorhome. Thinking it would be a very long time before I ever used it again, I emptied the tool box and put the stilson in the bottom.

Later that day I came across my old spray gun, but the nozzle had become firmly stuck.

"What would be the ideal tool to encourage it to free up?" I thought. "A stilson!"

Out came all the bloody tools, once more, to retrieve something I thought I wouldn't use in many a month.

That's the problem with tool boxes - Murphy's Law seems to rule them. Whatever tool you urgently need, you can guarantee it's in the bottom of the tool box.

What I need is a proper toolbox, like this one advertised on Facebook Market.

However, at £87 it has to be a scam, of which many infest Facebook Market at present.

I remember my father having several, wall-mounted peg boards on which he laid out his tools. He carefully drew around them so he could instantly see where a tool had to be returned to or whether one was missing. 

Unfortunately, after a while, gaps started to appear where tools had gone missing. The vacant spots remained vacant, as any replacement tool never conformed exactly to the shape of the original. It ended up almost empty, except for the tools he never had occasion to use. The replacements were put into a toolbox, with the usual problem associated with toolboxes.

I've made great strides in improving the ergonomics of the workshop by reassessing the use of corners. I tend to use corners as a dump for stuff I don't think I'll need for a while, but without giving thought to the shape of what I'm putting there and the shape of the corner. I end up with a jumbled pile of things that are actually useless, but not in the most space saving order.

When I say useless, I mean there may be some use for them at some time in the future - like when I'm building a time machine - but nothing I can pin down at the present time.

Here's another gripe - tool boxes for specific tools that have those flimsy, clip on latches.

They break off at the drop of a hat.

The Benefits of War

Reading Yanis Varoufakis' latest book - Technofeudalism, the premise of which is that manufacturing as the driver of capitalism has taken a back seat to the tech entrepreneurs.

He does look a bit Spock, doesn't he? the Leonard Nimoy version.

He highlights key economic dynamics that often occur during and after a war. During wartime, governments often enter into guaranteed price contracts with industries to produce war materials and equipment, creating a surge in production. This increased production can lead to increased profits for those industries. 

After the war, there is a need to find alternative markets for these products to sustain the economic gains achieved during wartime. Export markets are a common solution, leading to an export boom in certain industries. 

The aftermath of World War II, for example, saw the United States, which was a major wartime producer, engage in the Marshall Plan to help rebuild war-torn Europe and open up export markets. This contributed to the recovery and growth of the U.S. economy during the post-war period. 

The exact outcomes can vary depending on the specific circumstances, and not all nations experience the same degree of economic benefit. Additionally, there are ethical and political considerations when it comes to the global arms trade and the export of war materiel.

Needless to say, this export boom applies to the nation that wins the war, not the losing side. That said, the British scramble to repatriate to Britain what it thought was A1 German manufacturing plant, enabled Germany, through the Marshall Plan, to invest in brand new technology, which enabled its economy to leapfrog that of Britain, while we were saddled with antiquated, pre-war German technology. 

However, Britain also experienced a postwar export boom for machinery, textiles, steel, coal and chemicals.

An Ethical Framework for the Hamas / Israel Conflict.

Here are some ethical considerations in respect of the Israel/Hamas conflict:

• How one treats enemy non-combatants should be no worse than one would treat one's own non-combatants. This obviously is an ideal state and cannot be achieved in reality because of human nature; however, it should not be many hundreds of percent different. 
• The justness or unjustness of a conflict should be independent of, and have no material effect on, the treatment of non-combatants. 
• Atrocities committed by enemy combatants should not impact how one treats enemy non-combatants. This is especially pertinent if the enemy combatants' leader lacks a democratic mandate and is a dictator. 
• It should be borne in mind that when one participant feels totally isolated, it may necessitate any means whatsoever to accomplish an objective. If a conflict is existential, then ethics and morals necessarily take a back seat. 
• Does Israel have a right to exist? Legally, yes. Additionally, it indubitably does exist and will not disappear. Pragmatically, Israel has a right to exist.
• Does Israel have a right to exist as a Jewish state? That's more complex, as it contains an ideological element that necessary degrades the status of non-jewish citizens in order to ensure a Jewish state. There will necessarily be an element of discrimination against non-Jews. That questions whether Israel is a fully participative democracy, or an engineered democracy by, for example, allowing dual nationality (along with voting rights) for non-domiciled Jews through the Law of Return, which allows any Jew to become an Israeli citizen without ever having to take up residence. It can be argued that this is necessary.
• Is armed resistance in the face of oppression justified? If there is no recourse to other methods, then yes, but that does not condone atrocities. Passive protest alone rarely achieves anything; there has to be, at the very least, the potential threat of violence or massive disruption in order to have agency with an oppressor. 
• In considering whether to bomb an enemy area, the ethical consideration should not be whether the inhabitants have been warned, but how many are actually left there. It is not sufficient to merely warn non-combatants, as many will be immobile.

Analyse, discuss and add.

Milk of the Poppy

Suella Braverman - I'm surprised no-one has charged her with incitement. She's literally engaging in hate speech by calling a peace march a hate march and egging on far right thugs. 

Methinks she's had too much milk of the Remembrance poppy. I'm certain she's hoping to rally trouble from the far right, flag wrapped knuckle-draggers in order to justify herself. If you look on Twitter and the feeds of the likes of Fuhrage and Richard Tice, their supporters, who have their bulldog avatars draped in St George's crosses, are certainly all riled up and itching for a fight.

I had an anonymous comment on yesterday's post; "It isn't about military superiority. It's an occasion to remember those who gave for freedom. Yes that includes protests but don't use that freedom to to disrespect those that gave it to you. That's not Islamophobia... That's just called respect."

For this person who commented - I totally agree it's an occasion to remember those who gave for freedom, but why, when the protest is away from the Cenotaph and 2 hours after the Armistice ceremony on Saturday (and has been taking place regularly on Saturdays), do you call it disrespect? 

Why, when they're literally protesting for peace during a time when thousands of civilians are dying, do you call it disrespect? The marchers include people from all walks of life and all religions.

Also, I know that, for the vast majority, Remembrance is not about military superiority; however, if you're far right it is, and calling it a hate march, when the purpose has been made abundantly clear, is very definitely Islamophobia and designed to stir up hate. 

Would you also wish to ban a peace march in support of peace between Russia and Ukraine and, if not, why not?

Had it been before 1995 and it was a peace march against IRA and Loyalist violence, would you have wanted that banned too? If not, why not?

I eagerly await your reply. I really do - I want to understand your logic process considers a protest away from the Cenotaph and at a different time is disrespectful. 

Talking of imbibing too much milk of the poppy, I heard Claire Coutinho, the Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero, being interviewed about the licencing of new oil and gas fields in the North Sea the other day.

She stated that the gas storage had increased by an enormous 30% since last year. When asked how many days supply there was storage for now, she couldn't answer. She's the Secretary of State for Energy, for God's sake! You'd expect her to be at least half way across her brief - especially after what happened last year.

I suspect she didn't want to answer, as it was 15 to 16 days in January 2022. A 30% increase takes it to 21 days.

Here are the figures for elsewhere.

Austria - 186 days

Denmark - 132 days

France - 126 days

Germany - 108 days

Netherlands - 107 days

The only EU countries with capacity similar to the UK are Bulgaria and Portugal, and even they are higher than 21.

Whenever you hear a government spokesperson say; "What I can tell you is.....," it's a prelude to utter incompetence and an attempt to divert from the question.

Ceasefire!

The call for a ceasefire, whether a pause or permanent, is rather futile when both sides show no inclination for having one. When called for by politicians it's advisable to enquire whether it's merely political posturing or genuine concern for what's happening.

If one side in a conflict has the upper hand, it's unlikely to heed calls for a ceasefire that could give the other side a chance to regroup - it would just be silly. However, it will put it on the moral high ground in the PR battle of the international stage and, by God, Israel needs some positive PR at present!

There have been many instances in the past where a ceasefire in a conflict was thought impossible, but one nevertheless took place against the odds. There are many strands to peace negotiations and not all of them are, by any means, exhausted.

The type of ceasefire is causing concern within the Labour Party, but it seems to me that this has little to do with humanitarian concerns and more with settling scores on the part of the Corbynist wing of the party - anything to embarrass Starmer seems to be the order of the day. Starmer is going to suffer exactly the same problems that a huge majority gave the Tories - an ungovernable rabble in Parliament that will be out to cause problems.

However, even with all the above baggage, no-one should shut down anyone calling for a ceasefire, whether temporary or longer. It's possibly idealistic to expect one to happen in response to the calls, but it's an inalienable right to express that desire. The argument over the type of ceasefire is political - it's an argument over something that is extremely unlikely to happen.

We are also seeing the weaponization of Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day by the right-of-right-of-centre and far right, who don't seem to get it that the call for peace is synonymous with the ethos behind remembrance. Imagine - calling for peace on Armistice Day - what an affront to peace...

The far right seem to interpret Remembrance Sunday as a triumphalist expression of British military superiority, the chance to march around in uniforms or medals and to worship a flag that the vast majority of them mistakenly refer to as the Union Jack (it's only a jack when flown from a ship's jack staff - you'd expect ultranationalists to know that). It's rather sad, actually, and very divisive. That, however, is the stock-in-trade of populists.

I spotted a Remembrance Day warrior on X (formerly known as Twitter - you have to say that these days) bemoaning the fact that there wasn't a cordon of steel around the Cenotaph to prevent peace protesters getting anywhere near it on Sunday, not that they've said they'll be going anywhere near it in the first place and the fact it will be Saturday anyway and starts 2 hours after the Saturday Armistice Day ceremony. In any case, 1.5m Muslims on the Allied side died just in WWII - they have as much right to participate as anyone. The incongruity of wanting to ban an armistice protest on the day of an Armistice Day ceremony is surely lost on many people.

I wonder what he'd think if the protesters wore a poppy? I suppose he'd simply find another reason to hate them - they'd be wearing it on the wrong side or disrespectfully or some such nonsense that the Poppy Nazis espouse. It's simply Islamophobia in all its glory.

The irony of his alias was obviously lost on him - he called himself Hereward the Wake, a Saxon freedom fighter who battled an invader. The Normans (and Suella Braverman) would have called him a terrorist. I guess Robin Hood is also a terrorist. Many of our folk heroes are, by definition, terrorists. Oh, the irony! He should perhaps use the alias of The Sheriff of Nottingham.

Personally, I haven't worn a poppy for decades. I still put money in the collection box, but am intensely uncomfortable with performative poppy wearing. There's an obsession in some quarters about whether someone is or isn't wearing a poppy and, even if they are, whether they have the leaf at the correct angle or whether it's exactly the right colour.

Truism

I heard the philosopher Slavoj Zizek come out with a statement that really struck home.

"If you want to avoid importing terrorists or wave after wave of refugees, perhaps it would be a good idea not to engage in, or condone, actions that create them."

That's just so true.

Here are some of the conflict the UK has been involved in since the 1980s.

• Gulf War (1990-1991): The UK was part of the international coalition that responded to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. 
• Bosnian War (1992-1995): The UK participated in peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts during the Bosnian War. Kosovo War (1999): 
• The UK was part of the NATO intervention in Kosovo. 
• Afghanistan War (2001-2021): The UK was involved in the conflict in Afghanistan, primarily as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and later in the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission. 
• Iraq War (2003-2009): The UK participated in the U.S.-led coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003. 
• Libyan Civil War (2011): The UK was involved in the military intervention in Libya to protect civilians. 
• Syrian Civil War (ongoing): The UK has been involved in the conflict in Syria, primarily in the fight against ISIS.

Ask yourself where the majority of refugees arriving in the UK are from and where we have problems with terrorism.

The problem is the conflict between getting involved for humanitarian reasons and the consequences. If you get involved, you have to accept the consequences. That's not an argument for not getting involved. It is, however, an argument for accepting the consequences and not blaming others.

An Unfortunate Juxtaposition

Saw these two headlines on the same news webpage. Admittedly the one on the right was from July, but it was one based on 'similar stories'.

So Cruella is taking on the Royal Family with her divisiveness...

I wonder if she's intentionally making the Conservatives unelectable?

Performance Farts

I want to talk to you about a serious subject - one which affects everyone as they age. One that delights your children when they're small, but becomes an embarrassment as they become teenagers and adults and makes then want to disown you. That subject is farts.

The older one gets, the more one tends to fart due to gut leakage and a slackening of the sphincter muscles. However, I also think it's because one becomes less self-conscious about farting. 

It seems to coincide with the transition from dressing for style to dressing for comfort and practicality.

I know that in my case it's a case of performance farting. It's both an act of rebellion against convention and a statement or territory marker; however, its use has to be calculated.

Performance farting was a fairground attraction in the 19th century, with performers who could send jets of water long distances. They were flatulists. The most famous, Joseph Pujol, performed at the Moulin Rouge.

I haven't yet been able to form a recognisable tune, but I'm sure I could, with practice. I happen to remember the tunes I played on the bugle in the school military-style band - I could aim for one of those.

Early Christmas Present

Hay needed some new walking boots, so we went to WH Thomas & Son in Wotton Under Edge yesterday, the best shop in 100 miles for excellent priced walking gear, workwear and the kind of stuff you could get in Rawcliffe's in the 60s and 70s - gentlemen's jeans, flat caps and all manner of farmer regalia.

I was having a mooch around and found some beautiful, Black Yak, brushed cotton dressing gowns that are handmade in Nepal. 

Very long, all-embracing and with a hood - perfect for winter. Not only that, but WH Thomas sell them for £35, which is a fiver cheaper than Black Yak sell them on their own website. 

I was ecstatic about them, so Hay got me one for Christmas. Absolutely love it - there's something Qui-Gon Jinn about it. Need to look for a lightsaber next.

As an aside, have you noticed that it's a lightsaber (American spelling) and not a lightsabre (English spelling)?

These are not the droids you're looking for, by the way.

What's in a Name?

Storm Ciarán!

There's a battle on amongst TV presenters as to how it's pronounced. One presenter says Keer-an and another says Keer-on, although the consensus seems to be moving toward Keer-on.

Any Irish readers out there who can settle the question?

Some Lessons from Gaza

Here are a few things I've observed or learned over the last 3 weeks, plus a few universal thruths.

One's reaction to murder is inversely proportional to the distance from which that murder is perpetrated. Close quarters murder viscerally affects us more than aerial bombing or missile strikes. 

Accepted collateral damage to unarmed civilians will be higher for enemy civilians than your own civilians, unless you're a member of Hamas, in which case you don't care about your own civilians anyway, as they're no more than a means to an end. 

It would appear to be counterproductive to use actions against those one seeks to destroy that function as a recruiting sergeant among those suffering collateral damage, especially given the average age of the Gazan population. 

So long as there is no solution to the Palestinian problem, terrorism will be exported to the West. It is therefore in the West's interests to promote a solution that gives Palestinians national sovereignty. 

As a conflict becomes existential, morals and ethics will necessarily recede into the background - both sides see it as existential, although Israel is unlikely to disappear, as it has US support. 

While the Gaza conflict has essentially been political, and one where Israel lost the moral high ground through state-sponsored illegal settler activity and refusal to define a 2 State Solution border, it's in Israel's natural, strategic interests to portray it as religious by invoking anti-Semitism and the Holocaust whenever it can, thus taking advantage of collective, Western guilt to garner support for retaliatory overreach. 

 One can therefore expect a concerted effort by the Israeli government to amplify anti-Semitism where it can (or even invent it, in the case of Antonio Guterres). The words of many Israeli government spokespersons to date support this willingness to see everything anti-Israel as anti-Semitic, regardless of the objective intention. There is great danger of the Israeli government taking this too far and it rebounding on them.

Iran's covert actions, by infiltrating pro-Palestinian demonstrations, actually assists Israel with this strategy. 

It is not Islamophobic to detest Hamas for the murder of Israelis. It is not anti-Semitic to detest Netanyahu’s government for its treatment of Palestinians. It is Islamophobic or anti-Semitic to attack Muslims or Jews in general for the actions of Hamas or Netanyahu’s government. 

Even-handed and unbiased reporting will be seen as biased by the opposing sides, much like the BBC comes under fire from both the far left and the far right for being biased toward the other side. When both sides attack a media outlet for being biased, the truth is that its reportage actually lies in the middle.

This conflict is being waged on the internet, as much as it is on the ground. People should be wary of repeating political slogans or images in respect of this conflict, as they are double-edged swords.

People should also be wary of committing firmly to one side or the other when both sides have serious questions to answer.