Two wrongs don't make a right.

What Hamas did is both unacceptable and against international law. 

Israel has the right to fight back but not to also go beyond international law.

There can be no victory for either side, only civilians suffering both Israeli and Palestinian.

It's not right to punish a whole population for a terrorist group within. While the current Hamas organisation may be defeated it will only create a new generation of terrorists.

In the past the UK suffered many IRA terrorist atrocities because of Northern Ireland. Would the world have allowed the UK to bomb Northern Ireland?

We must remember that Jewish people are not all the Israeli government nor are the Palestinian people all Hamas. It's not right to blame either or attack them for the actions of a government or terrorist organisation.

We have come so far as a human race yet we haven't left the starting line in many regards.

Mental health

Mental health is an ongoing battle. Much like physical health you have to keep on top of it. I have been struggling lately.

Autism has always been part of my life. I've always known I was different but not why until 14 years ago I was diagnosed.

Trying to fit into a world that I struggled to understand has led to periods of depression and poor mental health throughout my life. I have had a breakdown, been through counselling and medication.

I changed my work shifts last year which has helped enormously. I was on sertraline for depression. I weaned myself off before Christmas but two weeks ago recognised I needed to go back on it. 

I'm posting this so that other people, no matter what the reason for their mental health struggles, can see they aren't alone.

There are no wrong answers. Do whatever helps. Talk to people especially your family, meditate, yoga, running, exercise,seek counselling, get medication but don't suffer in silence. You are not alone.

Election lost on the battlefield of culture wars?

I stated a while ago that I thought culture wars were sending the Tories down a cul de sac with ever diminishing returns.

People want answers to paying energy bills, putting food on the table & seeing a Dr etc. Not culture wars.

The local elections to this point, far from showing me this is wrong, have only fortified my thoughts on this.

But I think there is more to it than that.

A lot of people are looking at the Tories and seriously wondering what they have to offer if they were to get another five years.

You look at the front and back benches which are devoid of any heavyweight politicians. There are some more competent than others but overall they are extremists and ideologues. 

Even Sunak comes across as an over promoted school prefect.

They have no policies, solutions or ideas that will solve the current problems. The policies they do offer are only performative. Designed to create division and distraction rather than solve the issues they are supposed to address.

People have rumbled this and do not want another five years of destruction and decay.

Government, BBC, Culture wars and Lineker.

The most important thing to realise is that the BBC is simply the monkey not the organ grinder. The government is the organ grinder.

The government has applied political pressure to create division and a distraction. But in doing so they have not only exposed the blackness at their own heart they have created a platform which shows how many people dislike this government's divisive rhetoric.

They think culture wars will get them re-elected. I think this Lineker episode exposes the cul de sac that the tories are fast heading down.

In the cold light of the voting booth what will come to people's minds? Culture wars? Or energy bills? Rising rent/mortgages? Energy bills? High food bills? 9Struggling to get a doctor's appointment or access to a dentist? That long wait for treatment on the NHS? Pension moving ever farther away? The struggle to find a job? The worry about your job security due to economic mismanagement?

I think any culture war is going to be very low on the list. 

The local elections in May will show where things are on the list.

Does your mind ever wonder to the bigger picture?

It's easy to get caught in the immediate stuff like the Tory Brexit or the cost of living crisis.

Does your mind ever wonder to the bigger picture? By bigger picture I mean the biggest picture. Mine does.

The human race. Where are we going? The answer to me cannot be separated from where we came from.

Everything we know including ourselves is made of matter. Matter that was created in the birth of stars.

In other words we are born of the stars. Our destiny, if we are to survive as a race, lies one way or another in the stars.

One likely possibility is that we will be stupid enough to burn through all the natural resources on our planet. Therefore we will have to journey to the stars to find another planet for human life to continue.

Even if this scenario, or another scenario, does not occur one day our sun, like all stars, will burnout and explode. Resulting in the same journey to the stars, beforehand, to find another planet if we are to survive as a race.

Our journey as a human race therefore started in the stars and unavoidably will end in the stars.

The Tories are the problem.

Sunak has a deal. The real question is whether he is prepared to take on the extremists in his party or rely on Labour votes? Or will he fold entirely and leave things as they stand?

Sunak is a weak leader in charge of a split party. 

The dance around the NIP this week illustrates why the Tories need to be removed from power if this country is ever to repair some of the economic and social damage they have caused.

This deal was needed to kill the NIP bill now in the Lords. This would have been a key step to build trust with the EU. In turn that could have led to.a closer relationship benefiting the economy.

The factions and individuals within the Tories may have dealt a fatal blow to their fading electoral hopes. The economy will now carry on scraping along ar the bottom. More importantly their blind ideological stubbornness and, in some cases, individual entitlement have solidified the damage in this country.

At every turn since and including the referendum individuals within, factions within and the Tory party itself have put it/themselves before the interests of the country.

Reflections

 Sat in the window seat of a coffee house this morning. The perfect position to watch the world go by.

Yet my attention is drawn to the bulb just above my head.

The glowing pleasingly shaped filament. 

The warm colours in the glass. Warm like a real fire.

The reflection of the world around me. The window bar where I am sitting and my cappuccino at the bottom of the bulb. 

The street outside with people moving to and fro on the left of the bulb.

All the while my world sits next to me in conversation, Mrs J and my Son, while my autistic mind wonders…..

Running and ageing.

A personal outlook on this as it is a very individual thing.

I look on it as you can either rage against the dying of the light or accept it and make the most of it.

I'm nearly 55. I could take the position that I am still 25 and try to run and train like I am. Or, I can accept I am nearly 55 and train and run to do the best for my age and circumstances.

I choose the latter.

Ageing is something we can't change. We will all get older. But we can alter our running and training to allow us to continue and still enjoy running.

I find a combination of running, yoga and pilates works for me. My race personal bests are behind me. But, I do get some PB's for my age and occasionally a PB on my garmin for shorter distances.

I enjoy running these days for the sake of running. I appreciate the fact I can run when many, for various reasons, cannot. I enjoy simply participating in a race rather than the competition.

My next race, first since the pandemic, is the Chester Metric Marathon in October. Looking forward to this for a number of reasons. Firstly just to enjoy participating and appreciating the countryside as it passes by.

Secondly to meet up with people, from my running website/club, who I haven't met.

I record my runs on www.fetcheveryone.com which also has a UK athletics affiliated running club - FERC. As anyone, anywhere can use it there are members far and wide "Fetchies". It will be good to finally have a chance to meet some of them in real life.

There is also the bonus of a PB. I haven't run 26k specifically so will be guaranteed a PB 😀 There's more than one way to still get a PB as you get older 🤣🤣

So to sum up, for me as I get older it is about just appreciating and enjoying the journey 🏃

EU law bill folly

Firstly there are no EU laws left. Since we left the EU all our laws are just that - ours. EU laws were incorporated into our statute. Why? Because either they are useful or would cause too much damage if removed.

Secondly if, as this bill requires, they are removed overnight it will cause chaos within business and therefore more massive economic damage.

So why do this? Because they have the letters E U linked with them? Possibly but more than likely only slightly. 

Scorched earth policy knowing they will likely lose the next election. Again possible but only slightly likely.

Doing it in the full knowledge the Lords will alter it substantially. In this case it keeps the eternal excuse going that if so and so had only done or allowed this Brexit would have been a success. A lot more probable than the other reasons.

The question is if they remove them what do they replace them with? It's unlikely they would remove these laws, causing all the ensuing damage, just to replace them with something similar. 

So you have to reason they want a clean slate to remove the rights we enjoy but inconvenience them. 

All the roads from Brexit far from leading to 'sunlit uplands' seem to lead downhill for the majority of us.

The tale of "under"....

Doctors, Nurses, Ambulance crews, Civil servants and transport workers ETC taking strike action.

University lecturers and now thousands of teachers across England and Wales.

Underfunded…

Under-resourced…

Underpaid…

Undervalued…

For 13 years. It is no wonder the final straw has broken the camel's back in so many public services.

Underfunded…

Under-resourced…

Underpaid…

Undervalued…

Also applies to their workplaces. Ten years of austerity and now even more austerity removing resources and funding. Expecting the workforce to hold everything together with lack of staff and old equipment.

The unnecessarily hard Brexit negotiated by this government leading to staff shortages.

This crisis is the child of this government's policies. A self inflicted crisis they have created.

Underfunded…

Under-resourced…

Underpaid…

Undervalued…

Brexit: Hearts and minds changing.

Polls are more and more showing hearts and minds changing regarding Brexit. But why?

Because during the referendum the Brexit proponents "over promised". We were told we were heading to "sunny uplands". There would be no downsides, only upsides. We held all the cards. There would be £350m a week for the NHS etc.etc,etc.

In reality there have been many factors that have made life worse - Covid and Ukraine to name but two. But Brexit played its part by weakening our economy and making the other factors worse comparable to other countries.

While not everyone will have appreciated the intertwining factors they will have noticed everything in decline both directly in their lives and wider. The cost of energy and food. Mortgages and rents rising. Inability to access a doctor. The NHS in crisis. Transport strikes and rising costs to use etc,etc,etc.

People then compare this to the afor mentioned Brexit "promises" and just see everything getting worse not better. Hence the change in minds and hearts. This will only increase as the decline drags on.

The only solution is a closer relationship with the EU. This will take a lot of time but is the inevitable direction of travel.

🎆Highlights of 2022🎆

Shift change - changing shifts after 34 years from continuous shifts with nights to days/afternoons ( Mon - Fri). Probably the biggest and definitely the most life changing alteration.

A job - for my Son. Finally getting a job after five years of trying. Defying expectations due to his autism left school with good qualifications going on to get a degree in IT. Now doing several hours a week working from home and earning. Finally a start and a foot in the door.

Changes….

2 Monarchs

2 Deputy PM's 

3 PM's

3 Secretaries of state for work and pensions 

3 Secretaries of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

3 Home Secretaries 

4 Chancellor's

And still stuck with the Tory party 🎶

Feel free to sing along to the tune of Twelve Days Of Christmas 🎶🎶😉

Discovering Mastodon - a social network that is just that - Social. Somewhere I can be myself, engage with others and post about my various interests in one place. Liberating.

Entering a race - entering a race for the first time since before the pandemic. The Chester Metric Marathon in October 2023. Done the Chester marathon but always fancied this as it is a unique distance.

An artificial construct.

The government peddles the narrative, which Labour and other parties go along with, that the country's finances are akin to household finances. But the truth is the country cannot go bust and there is no national credit card.

We are money users, the government are money issuers (creators) and owns its own bank. The BoE is only in essence independent on paper. The government own it and the treasury holds all of its assets.

We cannot create money to pay our debt but the government can. The ability of the government to create money isn't unlimited. Creating too much will fuel inflation and overheat the economy. But the scope is very large before that happens.

Government borrowing actually pays for government expenditure. Tax is to control inflation and maintain social balance. Austerity is a political choice. The current "black hole" is also part of the narrative. For instance the calculation of the "black hole" is, among other things, based on assumptions the chancellor himself controls and has set. If instead of using the assumption we will "pay it back" over 5 yrs he say changes that to 10 the "black hole" shrinks massively.

The household narrative is one way to look at government finance; another is MMT (Modern Money Theory) , some of which I have illustrated here.

I took a step back from the government financial/ economic narrative to look at it through MMT.

What if we take a further step back? The arguments between the household finance narrative and MMT are part of a bigger picture.

The financial system/economy are, as they would say in The Matrix, an artificial construct. They are man made. As such we have full control over them. With enough collective will we can do as we please with them. We could end poverty and hunger. Tackle climate change etc. 

Two reasons we don't - Power and control. 

Just my crazy thoughts on a small piece of this crazy world.

Reasons to run 🏃‍♂️ ♥️ 😌

Why do we run? Why do I run?

We all have many shared and varied reasons to run. Chasing PB's, entering races, fitness, stress relief, mental health & being amongst nature to name but a few.

We may run for all, some of or just one of these reasons. I think no matter what the reasons we must all share one thing - an enjoyment of running. If we didn't enjoy it on some level we would quickly lose motivation and stop.

The great thing with running is that no matter what the reason, how fast or slow we are or wether we are elite or walk/run, first, middle or last, we are all runners.

It's funny how you can enjoy something you shouldn't have on the face of it enjoyed. I have only done one marathon. The training was hard. The race was hard and mentally sapping. I ached for days afterwards. But I remember it all and think I bloody well enjoyed that!!!

I am happy with 5k - 8k and 10k - 12k these days. I do it for stress relief, fitness and the peace I find when I'm out amongst nature. I enjoy stopping to take photos on route.

My dad, before he passed, used to love walking. In his later years he couldn't walk far due to an old back injury which resulted in the use of a stick. He used to love seeing my running photos. I think it allowed him to see places he otherwise wouldn't. Hence the reason I still take photos while out running. It keeps that connection with my dad alive.

So no matter the reason or reasons for running I think the most important thing is to simply enjoy it.

🏃‍♂️😀🏃‍♂️😀🏃‍♂️😀🏃‍♂️😀🏃‍♂️😀🏃‍♂️😀🏃‍♂️😀🏃‍♂️😀🏃‍♂️😀