Three years of war between Ukraine and Russia

It feels longer in a way to me. I imagine it must feel like an entirety for those involved in one war or the other, including the refugees that I know are in my area.

I don't think anyone wants this war to go on; Ukraine just wants a peace that will keep its country secure in the long-term, because it seems that Putin wants at the least a client state and at most to end Ukrainian independence. They might want to do a mineral deal, but not at the price of becoming an American vassal.

Trump has done vast damage to European security in his first month in office. It appears that we will now have to defend Europe from Russia largely on our own, with implications for public spending in other areas, not to mention taxation.

In any event, it seems Putin is not willing to compromise on anything meaningful and produce a peace deal that Ukraine should accept, so I guess the suffering will continue on both sides for a while longer sadly. Many more people will die or suffer life-changing injuries because one man wants to recreate an empire, regardless of cost.

I just wish more people would accept that, on both far-right and far-left.

The name's Bond. Amazon Bond.

So, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have handed over the reigns of the Bond franchise to Amazon after 30 years in charge of it.

To be frank, it wasn't in a great place. The last film was in 2021 and only because it was delayed in release a year because of Covid.

The reaction to this change has been one of concern. Mainly about it turning into the MCU or the Star Wars franchise with oversaturation. Along with a lot of jokes. Even I've done a few and I'll do a lot more.

A lot will depend on the creative personnel. There are a lot of Bond fans in the business; some of them actually very good creatives. What we need is a highly competent head honcho with good ideas and a keen eye for picking talent. The studio needs to give them a decent enough rope, but not too much - a director can go too far and this is not a charity.

Of course, we need a good Bond. A sort of Brosnan-type is my personal preference for the character; humour and darkness in the right mix.

As for spin-offs, I'm fine with one or two, but let's not overdo it, shall we?

Anyway, it's the end of an era in more ways than one. Bond has a new boss and he'll have to adjust to that reality.

If nothing else, it will be interesting to watch.

Totes-a-Mazzy letdown (Review: 'A Sacrifice', 2024)

Don't mind me, I'm just here for the... What the actual... Get your hands off her, you [expletive deleted]!

This review contains spoilers for this film and all four seasons of Stranger Things aired to date. When Sadie Sink leads a movie, some things are inevitable.

In a rather fun coincidence, the trailer for O'Dessa dropped on the same day I started watching this.

It's Agent Dunham, you creepy pervert! (Review: 'Fringe' 1.14, "Ability")

So, I kind of forgot this person was in this... and of course, they are a really good actor to boot.

1, 2, 3, 4 - Trump declares a trade war

This is one of the stupidest things Trump has done and that is saying something.

The reason we don't take American food is because of the lower standards they have there. Improve those and maybe there wouldn't be such a trade deficit.

This is going to hurt an awful lot of people at the end of the day. For no good reason at all.

Death by Stupidity Squad (Review: 'Star Trek: Section 31')

Alternative titles are "Let's Hire Hitler", "I'd happily kill all of these except the haughty Starfleet brunette", "Alias but in the Star Trek universe and awful" and "There are better ways to spend a commute".

80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz

As someone who works in administration, the people I deal with are often just characters on a screen. I usually don't see their faces, I don't hear their voices.

People administered the Holocaust. They put together the transport lists, they ordered the Zyklon-B, they paid the invoices from the various companies that built the architecture of mass murder. They could distance themselves from it in a way.

However, there were clerks in the camps as well. People who typed up the death certificates with false causes of death so the Nazis could claim the estates of their victims. They would have heard, seen and smelt what was going on. Alcohol abuse was extensive, being used as a coping mechanism and fuelling violence itself.

But they were of course not the real victims in all this. They, mostly, got to survive and live out their lives, unpunished for their actions for many decades, if it all in this world.

The Nazis and their allies reduced people to creatures with numbers, exploited until they were of no further use and then killed. Indeed, many of those in Auschwitz-Birkenau never even got the numbers survivors still bear to this day, being gassed on arrival, cremated and then used as fertiliser.

It is still hard to believe even when you've been to two concentration camps and a cargo facility used to ship people to the camps, now memorials. If you've not been at all, then it is sadly easy to see it as fiction.

We're seeing a worrying rise in Holocaust misunderstanding and denial among younger people. We're also seeing the same rise in alt-right views, demonstrated by Donald Trump's recent election. I suspect those two are linked and it remains important to continue educating people, even when the survivors are all gone.

We need to remember that people are more than just a label a politician might stick on them for the sake of election. They have their dreams, their hopes, their fears, their foibles.

If we forget that, then that is the start of a very nasty road.

Never again.

An Officer and No Gentlemen (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.18, "The Lights of Zetar")

One has to remember that while Star Trek could be remarkably progressive, it was a product of the 1960s and so could be very much of its time. A time when women could be paid less than men and viewed as the "weaker sex".

People, the prosecution presents Exhibit A.

Gaza ceasefire

Five days before Donald Trump becomes President, in a move reminiscent of the ending of the Iranian hostage crisis in 1981, a ceasefire agreement has been reached.

15 months of war has resulted in a victory for neither side, but the Palestinians have lost far more. Hamas is a decimated force with much of its structure dead, seriously injured or captured. Hezbollah has gone the same way. The fall of the Assad regime has eliminated a major weapons supply route for both forces and Iran is much weakened.

Israel has badly damaged its international reputation. While it may not have sought to commit genocide, it has clearly committed war crimes in its quest to destroy Hamas and it is likely that only pressure from the international community stopped it from doing far more.

Palestinian extremism has become ingrained in their society by nearly 80 years of conflict and Israel isn't a great deal better; this war has probably hardened attitudes on both sides.

Unless some cooler heads enter the scene, there may well be another throw-down in a few years and I can't see that ending any better for the Palestinians if they're stupid enough to try that.

Of course, it could resume sooner if this ceasefire doesn't hold. The Palestinians should not give the extremists in the Israeli political world a chance to say "told you so".

In any event, a lot of people have suffered and died. For rather little. Thus is often the case for war.

'Fringe' 1.13, "The Transformation"

In this episode, another passenger aircraft gets destroyed by a piece of crazy science gone wrong as a man literally turns into a beast while in the toilet. Insert joke about EasyJet here.

The Return of Donald Trump

I could go a full analysis of all the various factors that led to Trump's narrow win in November, which shouldn't really have been the surprise that it was.

However, it's probably best to keep things fairly brief as others will have done far more than this. There are two main reasons for Harris losing.

Firstly, she was basically an unpopular incumbent in an economy many felt was performing poorly and so they voted for a change of government. Something happening in a good many countries at the moment. It is quite possible that if Trump mucks up the economy with his tariffs etc. that the Democrats will sweep back in come 2028.

Secondly, the left in general has become quite seriously out of touch with ordinary voters. Some frankly view anyone who would vote for Trump as beneath contempt, deserving of the pain that is about to come their way. They will not even associate with them socially, which means that they are rather unlikely to convert them or even present them with an alternative to the right-wing distortions that Elon Musk is happily amplifying right now. Also, they don't really look like "working class" people anymore. Who is the most working-class person in the government right now? Probably Angela Rayner.

Trumpism may collapse from its own internal contradictions, but the left needs to get its act together. It is no longer guaranteed the Latino vote or the working class vote; the black vote is better for them, but that could go with the right Republican candidate.

There is a decent chance, as two other politicians observed the other day - and it's happened in other countries with Thatcher and Merkel - that the first Madame President will be of the elephant persuasion rather than the donkey.

2025 Plans

My blog last year totalled a respectable 47 posts - not my biggest number, but not my smallest. Most of those were reviews of one form or another.

I'll definitely be doing more of those, but I also plan to cover some other stuff - it's going to be a rather "interesting" year, I'd say.

'Fringe' 1.12, "The No Brainer"

It's been eight years since I watched an episode of this show. Barack Obama was President, David Cameron was Prime Minister, Brexit hadn't been voted on and I had never heard of The Last of Us. We have also lost Lance Reddick to heart disease.

Anyway, I intend to resume watching this, especially as I am approaching the end of Star Trek with a plan for a fortnightly post.

As this show is from the same production company as Alias and shares a bunch of behind the scenes personnel - such as Shauna Duggins, who did some of the stunt doubling for Anna Torv here, comparisons between the two are inevitable.

Sydney Bristow and Olivia Dunham could have a fascinating lunch together.

Anyway, this one involves people's brains liquefying after they click on a pop-up and watch some weird video. In 2009, most of us already knew not to engage with strange pop-ups...

Nice View, Shame about the Air Conditioning (Review: 'Doctor Who' 2024 Christmas Special, "Joy to the World")

I wasn't able to watch this on Christmas Day due to a family gathering, but I managed to avoid any major spoilers for this. I haven't been on Gallifrey Base to discuss this episode, so I don't know what others thought of this.

Anyway, here we go:

• I imagine that pumpkin latte would have gone rather cold by the time the Doctor found Joy.
• Ncuti Gatwa has now settled into the role, with a great line in empathy and reassurance, but I found his blue-tinted buzz cut rather distracting at time.
• Nicola Coughlan just didn't work for me. Not that I've watched Derry Girls but she seemed a little one-note and flat for me. Not helping was her rather big coat, which rather reducing her ability to express herself through body language. It must have been uncomfortable too.
• The Doctor has spent a lot of time living days in order - including within the last few years of this show's run. Steven Moffat, why did you put that line in like that? You should know better.
• Moffat's hanging of a lampshade on the whole bootstrap paradox thing was OK, but he's done that idea to death now.
• Villengard make a good faceless corporate villain, although their whole plot in this was rather convoluted.
• They seem to have hired rather a lot of extras for this... which seems like a waste of money that have been spent on some bigger sets.
• Surprised the Doctor didn't have more of a go at the Time Hotel as a concept, as that sort of thing i
• The resolution of the dinosaur situation that was the ending of one of the preview clips was a bit of a cop out.
• Moffat basically lets everyone live here. Another one of his common shticks. Probably needed for a Christmas episode, but he's killed in the past in them.
• If Mary Whitehouse was still with us, I can only imagine her reaction to the ending of the episode. I can't say I was overly impressed myself.

Conclusion

Ncuti Gatwa saves this from being a clunker, but it's not exactly a great episode and definitely one of Steven Moffat's weaker ones.

6/10

Christmas 2024

I am probably in danger of repeating myself here, but Jesus gives me something to look forward to. In a world where justice seems far away for many, with widespread war and poverty, I know that one day - I do not know when - things will get better.

One day, Jesus will return, having already done so much good from his first visit, arriving as a humble baby in Bethlehem just over 2,000 years ago. Tears will stop, there will be no poverty or illness or fear. The righteous will be rewarded and those who willingly distance themselves from God will get their own rather different reward.

That is what keeps me going and stops me despairing at the news.

Merry Christmas to all my readers.

A thought on certain events

If you cannot condemn a murder without pivoting within the same sentence to the wrongdoing of the victim, are you really condemning that murder?

Reverse the polarity of the magnetic probe (Review: 'Star Trek' 3.17, "That Which Survives")

There are episodes of Star Trek that the fandom loves. There are ones that it hates. Then are the ones that are so forgotten, Lower Decks hasn't even made a joke about them.

I get a feeling that this one doesn't receive much attention... and is clearly that another cheap one. Anyway, here we go:

• I've said it before and I'll say it again... Starfleet really needs defences against random people teleporting in.
• Losira's hair and make-up look like some form of LSD was involved in their desire. While her top must have involved a lot of double-sided tape. Lee Meriwether had been Miss America in 1955.
• That's a rather unconvincing-looking earthquake in what is obviously a studio set with a purple backdrop. No-one ever thought to add a cloud?
• A planet with no accessible water or non-poisonous foodstuff is not really a good place to set up home. Even Rimworld gives you those.
• Sometimes redshirts don't have to wear red. Although one does here.
• Phasers must be powerful if they can create an entire grave; something that takes multiple hours to do, even for a shallow one.
• Listen to Scotty! He knows what he's talking about, even when he phrases it in a rather strange way. But he doesn't even put on safety goggles when going in the Jeffries tube and gets far too panicky in the climax.
• "Lt. Amato". That's how you're burying him? Doesn't he even have a first name? Also, are you going to recover his body afterwards? His family might want it back!
• "I am for you". What is this? A Donald Trump ad?
• Strange women in purple distributing death by the touch of a hand does not make for a good system of security.
• Spock is very funny in this, playing emotionless Vulcan to the hilt.
• If every cell in Sulu's shoulder was disrupted, how does he still have a functioning left arm?
• Reverse the polarity of the magnetic probe? This appears before Jon Pertwee became the Doctor. Mind you, it's not done as easily here as in Doctor Who.

Conclusion

Saved from being truly bad by the Spock and Scotty stuff, that still doesn't make the episode very good.

It's notable that D.C. Fontana was so unhappy about how how far the story changed from her concept that she had her credit changed to "Michael Richards".

4/10

Exit Assad

When this latest offensive began, I doubted that Assad would be in power at the next Islamic New Year in June.

He has now fallen faster than anyone really expected; his army deserting, his allies in Russia and Iran abandoning him. His current fate is unknown; at best he'll be living his remaining days in exile - there is a French warrant out for his arrest in any event.

Syria now faces an uncertain future; one hopes that the new government will be democratic and tolerant of religious minorities.

In the meantime, Assad's fate should serve as a warning to all tyrants, active or wannabe; when the fall comes, it can come very quickly indeed. 

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.

Assisted Dying Bill

The House of Commons is voting tomorrow on legalising assisted dying for the first time since 2015; it will be an unwhipped vote with MPs free to vote their conscience.

The details on the proposal are here.

I understand the desire of people to end their suffering and go out on their own terms, but it would be very hard to detect whether someone had been pressured or coerced to take the life-ending medication.

The restrictions are very tight; how many people would be in a position to actually go through this? Some terminal illnesses rob you of the ability to know what day it is, at which point you're not going to be able to have the presence of mind to take your own life. Others will be different.

In any event, I am personally not comfortable with suicide or helping someone to kill themselves. I am not sure I want the High Court deciding on these cases either. This is not a case where someone is brain-dead; they are still actively living human beings.

I would personally vote No on this, but I understand those who would support it. I trust if this were to pass, it would not be a slippery slope.

Sixty-One Years of 'Doctor Who'

Watched most of the Tales from the TARDIS version of "The Time Meddler" today. It's not bad, although very much of its time in terms of pacing, fight scenes etc. The Doctor/Monk stuff is fun though.

The show is in interesting place now; the Disney-funded "Season 2" is to air next year. There has been no official greenlight for a third season although scripts are being written for it. A lot will depend on the performance of Season 2 outside the UK and Ireland; a bad performance and Disney may well end up pulling the financial plug, which would put the show in serious trouble.

Also, we might end up going to a Sixteenth Doctor in 2026, depending on Ncuti Gatwa's feelings about continuing with the character; pretty much all of the leads bar one since 2005 have done three seasons then out.

Finally, it would be nice to have more than eight episodes in a run. Ten at least, please.

So, happy anniversary to the Doctor and long may it continue in some form!