I read somewhere (not sure where) that Putin would wait until the Winter Olympics finished and then act. And that is exactly what happened as the Olympics ended on Sunday and the next day Putin recognised the independence of the two disputed areas in the east of Ukraine, the Donetsk
Ukraine – which way will it go? And where’s the ladder?
We hear that Europe is living in perhaps the most dangerous of times, certainly since the end of the Cold War and maybe even longer, since the Second World War. And why have we reached this extraordinary moment, when we think that there might be a dangerous conflict involving a
An update – the Sue Gray report
Well, it wasn’t that bad, the report. I’ve read it and will give you the link as it’s an easy read of only 12 pages, two of which are blank. She doesn’t (can’t) give the details but even so she’s pretty damning. Hell, yes. See the quotes below. So it
The corruption of the polity
Yes, the corruption of the polity And by polity I mean – an identifiable political entity or a group of people organised for governance such as a corporate board, the government of a country, country subdivision, or a sovereign state. And in this instance, our current government, which is corrupted, note
A tragedy – but what can be done?
I had a lovely holiday in Dungeness, it’s a bleak mostly unspoilt spit of land made up mainly from pebbles. I found it beautiful but it’s a harsh environment and the shifting tides bring more and more stones and pebbles to the beach, so much so that apparently old Dungeness
Do you think mask-wearing should be mandatory in England?
Hi everyone I have picked up my pen (metaphorically) and attempted so many subjects for this blog Afghanistan, climate change, this government and Covid and I have not been able to find the time to do the research so there’s been a long gap between this and my last post
The results of the recent local elections
It is ironic that the Tories’ policy of austerity that has cut public funding to the bone and ripped the heart out of so many towns does not appear to deter the voters, as the electorate seems to blame Labour, or perhaps it is that they blame the Labour councillors
Covid-19 Part 1 The UK vaccine roll-out. Is this a good news story?
Introduction This post is Part 1 of three on the Covid-19 pandemic. Part 1 is focused on the UK vaccination rollout and looks at whether it is a success, Part 2 will be on the catastrophic mistakes that the UK government made that has led this country to have the
Are we living in a kleptocracy – yes we are!
As I wrote this piece the toxic adviser of our great leader, plus his mate, was booted out of Number 10 in a cloud of acrimony and fisticuffs. But I am not going down that rabbit hole – yet. Because that actually is a side show. Yes, despite this news,
Brexit – the latest developments
What news now of the last few weeks of negotiation before the end of our transition period on 31 December 2020? Well, all I can say is that there’s a lot of, he said, she said, they said, going on with one side (the UK) saying on Friday (16th), that’s