Too little, too late.

 The prime minister has got himself in a terrible pickle over - whether or not to support the American attack on Iran. According to Tim Shipman in The Spectator magazine, he was bullied by his cabinet colleagues in the National Security Council (NSC). Ed Miliband, Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper, didn’t want to support the US and moreover - not to allow our bases in this country to be used by American aircraft. In addition countries in the Gulf region are incandescent, that we have been ‘asleep at the wheel’ and ill prepared for battle. We therefore have managed to infuriate Trump and let down important allies and as a consequence have caused unnecessary damage to these important relationships. It’s a lack of political nouse that bedevils Starmer - he is naive, gullible and an ingenu. The bogeyman in the background is the attorney general Lord  Hermer - who is pedantic and something of a bete noire. He is a close legal friend of the prime minister, which exacerbates the crisis. 

One crisis after another.

 We are finding it difficult to give the - band width to so many crises across the globe. Christina Lamb of The Sunday Times - says on Wednesday on the Media Show, BBC Sounds. She said referring to Ukraine that “all the journalists have left” they have go to the Middle East to cover the war. The general fatigue about so many international problems is so - daunting for the average person in the UK. We have forgotten about Afghanistan and the political problems there - where girls and women are marginalised - because of the religious Taliban. It’s emotionally impossible to follow each of these problems. 

Putting the clock back.

 An international survey of some 23,000 people across 29 countries published in The Guardian today has found a depressing statistic. Generation Z those born between (1997-2012) think that - a wife should obey her husband - a staggering 33% of men think this in a global survey. How has this nightmare occurred? It’s impossible to allocate - cause and effect, but my intuition says it’s probably linked to a number of factors like: women since the 1970’s - are more well educated compared to men of their age, have improved their financial and employment prospects, are in a position to make choices about their husbands, greater and improved self esteem, an increasing number of women who say they are either bisexual of guy, the relative decline in good working class skilled jobs, women put off by the heavy drinking lad culture of many men. It’s also part of the Incel phenomenon, both nationally and internationally. I’m sure there must be other causes, This may in part explain the - attraction of misogynistic men like Andrew Tate and his brother - who emphasise toxic masculinity and are virulently anti-women. I find this survey very depressing as it seeks to - put the clock back to the 1950’s - where a women’s place was seen as exclusively in the home and attending to their husbands needs in a servile way. 

Leaped frogged by the Green Party - according to the latest opinion poll.

YouGov and Sky News for The Time today suggest a - nightmare scenario has happened for the Labour Party. They have been - leaped frogged by the Green Party. The results indicate Reform on 23 per cent, Greens on 21 per cent, Labour on 16 per, Conservatives on 16 per cent and Lib/Dems 14 per cent. Moreover the prime minister is uniquely unpopular at this stage in the political cycle. This is now a major challenge for the Labour Party, otherwise it’s going to be in opposition again. In addition there is the political crisis with Trump - where he said on Tuesday, that the prime minister was ‘no Churchill’. A terrible assessment and what does this say about the so called ‘special relationship’? It’s not been this bad since the - dark days of the Suez debacle in 1956. Can it recover or is the dye cast? With this mercurial president in the White House, it’s not easy to predict. 

A brilliant and bizzare film.

 At the Cannes Film Festival, back in 2025 a brilliant and bizarre film won the Jury Prize. Entitled Sirit it’s about a middle aged father trying to find his daughter, who is lost. He thinks she has come to a Rave in the Moroccan desert. He has his other young daughter with him as they go from tent to tent in their search and hand out photos of the lost girl. The couple eventually team up with a gang of assorted Ravers, in the desperate search. This motley crew - set off in a variety of old vehicles to find the - reportedly second big Rave, again in the desert. They go through a variety of terrible nightmare scenarios and experiences and he loses his - beautiful young daughter. I won’t say more about this incident. This film is definitely worth making a detour for. It’s a crazy film, but delightful one. 

Bonfire of the vanities.

 The war against Iran is quickly escalating into a regional crisis. Many neighbouring countries to Iran have been attacked and many of their citizens have been killed. For some countries like Saudi Arabia, there is - little loved lost between these two intransigence and bellicose nations. In addition there are also many British citizens living and working in the region - who are now caught up in the war. The political situation has rapidly changed and Starmer has agreed to allow American forces to use British facilities in the UK for defensive purposes. This is a dramatic volte face by the prime minister and his procrastination on the issue hasn’t pleased Trump. Moreover the - shadow of the failures of Iraq in 2003 - hang over the whole process. The world hasn’t felt this uncertain for many years and we are also dealing with a capricious, purblind and narcissistic president. 

From one crisis to another.

 It’s impossible to predict - how this war against Iran will develop. Trump and the prime minister miniter of Israel BB, are optimistic that it will be over in 4 to 5 weeks. It unlikely to be over by then, as other parties join the conflict. In Lebanon at least 52 have been killed in Israeli attacks.There have been attacks on British facilities in Cyprus, but so far no fatalities. The whole region is now in a parlous condition and it could easily escalate. It’s very easy to start a war, but more difficult to stop it.