Irene

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I have such mixed feelings about the proscription of Palestine Action in the UK. I absolutely cannot stand the organisation itself -- and I'd said that even before the ban -- which has often come over as one of those self-indulgent middle-class "look at meeeee!" groups (see also Just Stop Oil). I'd go so far as to say PA has probably harmed the case by putting off so many moderate people, just as happened when fringes on Palestine marches started actively supporting the Iranian regime recently. It's also ludicrous to say, as I've already seen happen, that the ban on PA makes it "illegal to protest the genocide". That's ridiculous and no more true than saying the Provisional IRA's proscription made it illegal to protest against British forces' brutality in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

What gives me pause is that, unlike for example the Provisional IRA, Palestine Action have not actually been violent in their actions. The best known thing was when they broke into an air base and trashed the engines of some planes. As far as I can see, all the other groups who have been proscribed -- PIRA, various neo-Nazi thugs, and indeed Hamas -- are actively violent or repressive. I tend to feel that in a democracy the bar for making it illegal even to express support for an organisation (and doing that with PA is now a criminal offence) should be extremely high. As it happens I don't want a US-style near-free-for-all when it comes to free speech. I wouldn't, for example, want to allow the level of commentary on ongoing trials that exists there.

But yeah. I deeply dislike PA and think they've done far more harm than good to their avowed cause. I also deeply dislike the arrogance of some on that slice of Palestinian protest who insist on pushing their way into so many other protests and marches (even some unrelated ones such as LGBT or disability-rights events) "because genocide". I'm deeply suspicious about these "grannies being arrested" stories, because I suspect that was what PA wanted to happen. As I've said before, it's also curious that so many of these people just happened to be against providing support for Ukraine. There's at least a suspicion that they just shout for anyone who's against Israel/the US/"the West" in the same way ultra-lefties lionised Stalin in the 1950s.

But even all that said, actually making it a criminal offence not just to join PA but to express support for them? However much I dislike them myself, that's where I get uneasy.

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153/365: J. F. Kennedy memorial mosaic mural, Birmingham
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I was in Birmingham again today for some cardiology screening at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Routine stuff and nothing to worry about, but it did mean a bit of a trek on the trains. The city centre was very busy with Black Sabbath fans from all over the world who'd come for the band's last-ever concert tomorrow, so I walked down to Digbeth (where the coach station is) and passed the J. F. Kennedy memorial mosaic mural. This isn't the nicest part of town and I wasn't keen to linger, and as you can see the mural surrounds have sadly seen better days, but it seemed appropriate to post it on 4th July! The text on the right is a JFK quote: "A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on." The Presidential Seal on the mural incorporates real gold. The original mural by Kenneth Budd was commissioned by Birmingham's Irish community and appeared in another location in 1968; because of major road developments it was removed in 2007, but this new version was unveiled in 2013 with the help of Kenneth Budd's son Oliver.

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I feel sorry for Rachel Reeves, which I know isn't a particularly fashionable opinion to hold at the moment. But she's clearly under immense stress and apparently her miserable appearance at PMQs today was due to a personal issue on top of that. Now, there is the uncomfortable truth that Chancellor of the Exchequer just isn't a normal job where the boss can authorise a week's compassionate leave without millions of people talking about it. While Reeves' personal privacy needs to be respected (that means you, Daily Mail) I think it is in the public interest to want to know whether she is currently able to cope with doing one of the most demanding jobs in the country, one which absolutely requires that you be on top of your brief each and every day.

Of course, there's a wider issue here, that the 24/7 news and social media spotlight means that politics is becoming an ever less appealing career path, with the obvious results in terms of quality of politicians and by extension quality of governance. But while without doubt we should be kinder and more compassionate, that's not going to cut it politically in the short term with Reeves specifically. The markets, who in the end in a capitalist setup are the ones with the power, simply won't stand for it. Kwasi Kwarteng, albeit in another context, found that out the hard way. I suspect Keir Starmer will now be even less popular with his backbenchers than he was already, though to be fair to him if he'd asked Reeves not to attend PMQs that would have set tongues wagging as well.

Who'd be a politician? To be brutally honest, are we really surprised so many of them are of poor quality when we make politics a career path that increasingly many very able people will run a mile from?

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150/365: Hop Pole Inn, Bewdley
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It reached 31 °C today, and I wasn't too pleased about that as it was far too hot to do anything. Sadly there were things I had to do. At least it wasn't the 34 °C one forecast had suggested a few days ago. The sunshine was hot, but I still preferred it to the overcast humidity of yesterday. I had an ice cream cone (toffee and vanilla) in town, but walking back home was still a pretty unpleasant experience. Today's photo is of the Hop Pole Inn, a popular and mildly gastro pub on the western side of Bewdley. I've been there, but only rarely. It's not that big inside but has a fairly large beer garden. Note weather!

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149/365: Sunset towards the Wyre Forest
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A very warm (27 °C) day today, but disappointingly cloudy, which made it feel very humid and uncomfortable. I had enough time for a pint of perry at lunchtime, which was nice -- Wetherspoons is doing a Craft Cider Festival, and perry qualifies as it's pear cider. Specifically, I drank Midnight Special from Mr Whitehead's, a Hampshire company. A new one on me: medium-sweet and easy drinking, and although you wouldn't call it especially complex it did slip down well on a very warm day in the beer garden. My photo from today is of sunset during a short walk I was taking on the western fringes of Bewdley. This photo was taken at 9:56 pm, and I'm looking towards the Wyre Forest on the horizon.

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148/365: Derpy Hooves on a muffin, Worcester
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If you've been here a while then you'll probably know this first bit -- but if you're newish to this journal and are surprised by my subject line, then please read on: in the very specific context of the My Little Pony fandom, "Derpy" is the appropriate term here. It's the first name of the grey pony standing on my chocolate muffin. Although you can't see it in this profile view, she has wall eyes (originally an animation error) and is generally considered the fandom's mascot. There's a fairly detailed story behind why "Derpy" is almost universally accepted, which I'll happily repeat if anyone would like me to. But suffice it to say that in an MLP fandom context as applied to this specific pony, it is not only not a slur, it is the preferred name for her for the large majority of disabled Pony fans -- including for use by us non-disabled fans. I don't use the word anywhere else, but I do use it in Pony fandom without qualms.

As to why she's standing on my chocolate muffin... this is a photo from the MLP fandom meetup I went to today in Worcester. Derpy canonically loves muffins. I am very fond of them as well. I am also very fond of Derpy, though that's pretty much universal in the fandom. "Bolero" is the name of the café we use, a place which has been extremely good to us for some years now and which I thoroughly recommend. By the way, the character you can just see on the bag to the top left is Nightmare Moon. She was banished to the Moon (canonically "in the Moon", in fact) by her sister for a thousand years after trying to impose eternal night. Because, you know, kids' cartoon. :P

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146/365: Windy Ridge house sign, Bewdley
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Although quite warm, it was really pretty gusty today. I didn't get out for much of a walk as I had too much to do, but I did at least manage to get a photo to keep the 365 going! Given the weather, I felt this house sign was a reasonable choice. Not very exciting, I know, but it's what you're getting. :P The forecast currently suggests another short heatwave is possible imminently, albeit more likely in the east -- there could be quite a big temperature gradient, with the west being much cooler. The east meanwhile seems certain to get up into the low 30s. The question which side of the line I in Worcestershire will fall!

Every time I look at American politics beyond the Preposterous Kumquat in the White House, I realise how little I know about it. From a British perspective Zohran Mamdani comes across like, let's say, Zarah Sultana -- and she'd be considered too left-wing to win the mayoralty even in liberal London. (The incumbent, Sadiq Khan, is generally fairly moderate.) But then New York City's Democratic majority is far higher than London's Labour lead, and the existence of Trump may be persuading lefties that they need radical politicians. Of course, what's popular in NYC won't necessarily win a Presidential election, and that (as when Corbyn was Labour leader here) may cause tensions down the line.