Leaders Facing Justice.

As far as I can see from research there have been judicial cases against leaders of 15 different countries between 2000 - 2020. (9 of them in Africa). Between 2020 - 2024 I have found 11 more. My list may well not be exhaustive. My point is that this is not isolated behaviour. It is becoming more & more prevalent. The increase starts to become much more evident in 1993 with the Jugoslavian war tribunals. It is becoming learned behaviour by unscrupulous & greedy leaders. They know that they can get away with it. 

2000 -2020 - East Timor, Sierra Leone, Italy, Cambodia, Peru, Congo, Sudan, Libya, Kenya, Tunisia, Egypt, Guatemala, Chad, Ivory Coast, Kosovo.

2020 - 2024 - Croatia, Argentina, France, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, South Africa, South Korea, Pakistan, Russia, USA.

To my mind this pattern, which seems to be endemic, matters because of what is now happening in Ukraine, Gaza & the West Bank & possibly even more crucial, the American presidential elections. Putin, Netenyahu & Trump, if he is elected, are not leaders intelligent & caring people want to be in charge of wealthy & powerful countries. 

The problem is that although there is International law & there are International courts, bringing transgressors to justice isn't easy. For a start you have to be able to get the leaders into an International courtroom. They aren't going to volunteer, so they have to be extradited if there is regime change, or they have to be forcibly brought to court. They can be tried in absentia, but not sure that really puts them off. 

Then there is the difficulty posed by gathering a verifiable evidential trail & credible witnesses prepared to risk testifying. In addition, the Prosecutors & Judges face intimidation & worse from supporters of the criminals. It takes courage to go against incredibly powerful & usually wealthy men, (mostly). Not only the people trying to enforce the law themselves are at risk, but also their families. Not sure I would put my head above the parapet. 

It's a quagmire. Law is important, but it does have to be enforceable & have consequences for the perpetrator. Especially when it involves death, destruction, genocide, starvation, crimes against human rights & humanity & complete corruption.

The really startling thing is that there are so many men, (usually), prepared to behave in this inhumane way to retain power & accumulate obscene levels of wealth.

We need to find a solution that works.

 

Putins Palace

I really didn't think I could be shocked anymore by the excesses of dictators. But I've been following the story of Alexei Navalny for quite a long time. He did a documentary on Putins Palace amongst other investigations & posts. This link is not Navalny's, but it is very detailed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQbCOYnp_fA

There are several "security" services operating in Russia. The SBP is the presidential security service. The FSO is the federal protection service. Intelligence services are the GRU, FSB & SVR. Putin is known to be paranoid, probably with good reason - If I were a Russian I'd probably think I would be doing the world a favour if I helped bring him down. The measures he takes to avoid anyone having the chance to get to him are amazing. He has had a lot of time to refine the techniques he uses to remain safe & in power.

https://www.quora.com/How-secure-is-Vladimir-Putin-in-his-position

As of 2023, Russia's economy is forecast to be among the largest in the world by nominal GDP, with a value of approximately USD 1.9 trillion. Russia remains a significant economic power with a strong resource base and a diversified economy. However, the ongoing war in Ukraine and Western sanctions will weigh on GDP growth ahead - Focus Economics - Russia's Economy.

According to NDTV World Putin is said to be worth $200 billion. What is it with these corrupt leaders? Just how much money does any one person need? It simply isn't possible to spend it in a lifetime, no matter how many palaces, yachts & aeroplanes you've got.

My conclusion is that it's the "Little Man / Napoleon" Syndrome. A psychological pattern in which people, often men, feel inadequate due to their height and may overcompensate with aggressive or domineering behaviors. It's thought to derive from anxiety & feelings of inadequacy & inferiority. Causes include being bullied or teased about physical appearance, leading to insecurity. Some people respond by constantly attempting to prove themselves, leading to hostility & aggression.

Life for average Russians is not wonderful. 

https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/russian-federation/

I imagine that living in a dictatorship, with huge variations in wealth, power & influence must be very hard indeed. Not having any access to truth, only propaganda - defined by Lenin as the "reasoned use of historical and scientific arguments to indoctrinate the educated and enlightened", must make you feel very powerless to change anything. 

So those brave people who do stand up to people like Putin deserve our help. Not just words, but action too. 

 

AMOC - The Climate Change Impending Disaster you've never heard about.

Actually you do know what AMOC is - it's the Gulf Stream. But you probably don't know just how important it is. You almost certainly don't know what would happen if it stopped working properly. Therefore, if you are quite a bit younger than me, you aren't aware just how it's failure may well affect you. I'll hopefully be long gone.

 

It's a "conveyor belt bringing nutrients, oxygen and heat north from tropical waters, while moving colder water south — a balancing act that keeps the Northern Hemisphere warm". It has switched off in the past & the scientific concensus is that it is dangerously close to doing so again with massive consequences. Climate Change is causing it to slow now. 

This week a report was published saying "the risk of collapse has been "greatly underestimated" and will have "devastating and irreversible impacts" for the world". There are 2 possibilities;-

• Dansgaard-Oeschger events, leading to a sudden warming over Greenland, 10 to 15 degrees Celsius [18 to 27 F] within a decade

• Heinrich events, big ice discharges into the northern Atlantic 

The science is beyond my pay grade, but it is real & there has been a concern for over 50 years. I can remember it in the 60's.

The effects would be far reaching. " Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Iceland, would likely get several degrees colder and also drier. Southern Europe would still be warm and Northern Europe would be cool. These temperature differences drive extreme weather events, bringing a lot more variability and storms. The sea level would also rise by up to half a meter [1.6 feet] in the northern Atlantic in addition to the global average rise that is happening anyway".

Ocean carbon dioxide uptake would be affected. "If the overturning circulation stops, that CO2 will stay near the surface and quickly equilibrate with the atmosphere. That would make [C02 concentrations] rise faster in the atmosphere".

"An oxygen-depleted ocean it would disrupt the entire web of life in the northern Atlantic, and that would disrupt fisheries".

"In the Southern Hemisphere, greenhouse warming would get worse".

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/rivers-oceans/we-dont-really-consider-it-low-probability-anymore-collapse-of-key-atlantic-current-could-have-catastrophic-impacts-says-oceanographer-stefan-rahmstorf

We have messed with our planet heedlessly for decades. Ever since we stopped being nomadic & settled. But the huge unsustainable rape of resources that I have seen in my lifetime has been exponential. 

We humans are literally destroying our habitat & everything in it. 

We really do need to wake up & understand what our children & grandchildren are facing if we don't take serious action.
 

Offsetting & Greenwashing - A Modern Fairy Tale

Offsetting Source "How Bad are Bananas" - Prof Mike Berners Lee 

"Can carbon be offset? - it is a nonsense - cheap offset options (are) fatally flawed - we can't just use them to counterbalance our emissions. The only genuine offset is removal of CO2 or other greenhouse gases, taking them out of the atmosphere & storing them permanently. There is no substitute for cutting our carbon footprint". 

"We should not fall for the idea that we can offset our footprint, as is often offered by airlines, often at absurdly low cost. The test for a legitimate offset is that it must actually remove carbon".

We need to have a realistic conversation about what "necessary flights" are.

Greenwashing Sources - https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/greenwashing  Shout Out U K - SOUK 

"Claims are often based on questionable plans, including emissions offsetting and “insetting” – rather than actual emission cuts. As such, the transparency and integrity of such claims remain critically low and risk creating a failure to deliver urgent climate action".

"Greenwashing is a marketing tactic where a company makes misleading claims about its environmental impact or the environmental friendliness of its products. The goal is to convince consumers that a company is more environmentally conscious than it actually is". 

"In 2020, a suit of consumer protection agencies gathered to carry out the survey that would turn to evidence of the wrongdoings of large UK businesses undertaking greenwashing practices. Hence, the study discovered that four in 10 international companies made deceptive statements. Greenwashing promotes false solutions to the climate crisis that distract from and delay concrete and credible action".

10 worst greenwashing companies Source - Earth.org;-

Volkswagen

BP

Exxon Mobil

Nestle

Coca Cola

Starbicks

Ikea

Plastic Bottle Water Companies

Major Banks

Fast Fashion Brands 

 

We have all the evidence we need, but we desperately need more action. But it isn't enough to say our politicians are not doing enough. They aren't. But neither are we on an individual level. Every single one of us needs to look at our lives & assess what we are doing, regularly, to stop the escalating & devastating effects of climate change. 

We will only solve this if we are all really well informed & are prepared to change our unsustainable habits.  

News! - Speculation, Repetition & Interruption

I listen to BBC Radio 4 & World Service news & also watch TV news. It seems to me that insidiously, in order to provide content, interviewers often ask speculative questions, or even questions that they know the interviewee will not answer. For example, what will happen now that Yahya Sinwar has been killed in the Gaza / Palestine conflict. Similarly, politicians & pundits are asked to guess what will happen to tax in the budget.

I find this very frustrating & needlessly time filling. I want news programmes to tell me what has actually happened, where, & how it has affected people & the environment. If there is certainty about what will happen as a result, that's fine too. I want that news to be accurate & verified as far as possible. It may well be useful to ask someone with real experience or expertise to comment, that isn't what I'm talking about. If an interviewee can contribute evidenced information which suppliments the facts, then I'm all for it. 

What I really find objectionable is unsubstantiated waffle which is little more than guesswork. 

I've lived long enough to feel fairly confident that this is a relatively new phenomenon. The world was not filled with people who make a living from giving their opinion on everything & anything. It goes along with the whole PR, special advisors, influencers, celebrity, ethos we have now. I really don't feel that we benefit from any of it. 

News is very important. The public do need to be informed about what is happening in the world because we are all affected in some way by what happens almost anywhere. I also do think that we need to hear other points of view than our own. We do need to be challeneged & possibly be able to change our minds if appropriate, based on factual knowledge we may not have known.

While I'm having a rant I also find repetition really annoying. The presenter will outline a story & then bring in an often on the spot correspondent. Fine. But what I don't need, in a minimal timeframe, is a repetition of exactly the same outline of the story by both. Surely the job of the correspondent is to add detail to the bare bones of the introduction?

Finally I really hate the interview techniques of some presenters. The interruptions, the talking over in order for the interviewer to make a point. Surely if you ask a question you should have the courtesy to actually listen to the answer? I realise that the media think that we have the attention span of a gnat & each section of news is very time limited. I also realise that politicians are trained not to answer the question but to put across their party points of the day. But this can all be very counter productive to the listener. 

I'm coming to the conclusion that listening to the news is less & less the best way to be informed. Longer, in depth interviews can be much better, depending on the interviewer. 

No wonder so many people are reading the news on their phones & computers. 

  

  

Evidence & the Gaza War

RUSI - the Royal United Services Institute has done an interesting piece about the IDF's use of AI for military targeting & says it's "more about speed than accuracy". RUSI "outlines broadly how targeting cycles operate, including the critical points where technology could limit or expand civilian deaths". It's a long read & you may not want to read it all. But the conclusion is that the IDF use it's systems  " not to refine targeting, but to expand & expedite it's target cycle...which constitutes a systematic devaluation of Palestinian lives, which could be reasonably considered collective punishment."

https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/israel-defense-forces-use-ai-gaza-case-misplaced-purpose

I have followed the creation of the state of Israel since I was in my teens & read "Exodus" by Leon Uris, published in 1958. No one should minimise the history of Jews around the world. They have suffered more than most. Notably at the hands of the Nazis. The creation of a Jewish state after the Holocaust seems necessary & inevitable. 

I do have a huge issue with the way that the Israeli very right wing government & the IDF have conducted the war against the Palestinians. I have tried to find evidence supporting the claims of the IDF that Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields & justification for bombing hospitals, schools & refugee camps. I am struggling to find any. In addition they have killed aid workers & journalists. 

"Oxfam and Human Rights Watch have observed or documented that the Israeli authorities have carried out indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks in violation of international humanitarian law following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in Israel, imposed collective punishments on the civilian population, deprived the civilian population of objects indispensable to its survival, and used starvation of civilians as a weapon of war. These are all grave violations of the Fourth Geneva Convention and customary international humanitarian law. The vast majority of Gaza’s population has also been forced to flee their homes, many as a result of Israeli actions that amount to war crimes". 

Amnesty International says the IDF are creating a "buffer zone” along the eastern perimeter of the occupied Gaza Strip (which) should be investigated as the war crimes of wanton destruction and of collective punishment." This is 16% of the entire occupied Gaza Strip. Also "Israeli military has unlawfully destroyed agricultural land and civilian buildings, razing entire neighbourhoods, including homes, schools and mosques". 

There is so much evidence to support the conclusion that what the Israeli government & IDF is doing, not to mention what they are tolerating settlers doing to Palestinians in the West Bank, you would imagine that they would would be committed to providing plentiful evidence to support the claims they make about Hamas & Hezbollah (in Lebanon).  But although I understand that what is effectively a guerrilla war is very difficult to win - Afghanistan is a prime example, I haven't seen the Israeli information machine provide very much evidence at all to justify it's actions.

In the absence of evidence I have to conclude that they are behaving illegally, the death & destruction is completely unacceptable & the USA & UK need to stop supporting this onesided war. There also does need to be a legal holding to account.

One of the worst things about this war is that although the IDF do not allow any journalists into Gaza, which to my mind speaks volumes for the fact that they can not justify it, there is plentiful verified evidence from brave journalists & NGO's, plus from Palestinians themselves, which we see daily on our TV's.

We all know what is happening.

 

We don't need no education....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iITFrcNLcA  Pink Floyd "The Wall" 1979. The year I became the head of a primary school at 34.

I had been trained in the 60's. I espoused, Montessori, Piaget, Steiner. I believer in child centred education & learning by doing, not by rote. Since then the world has changed immensely. So have I.

I still believe the child should be the centre of what is taught. They should have a really broad based education & learn by experiencing. No one learns to drive a car from a book or how to play football from a video. But we have AI. We have sophisticated technology. We have interactive whiteboards & computers. The rate of change is exponential.

Even more importantly than that the world is simply not the same place it was in the 70's. We have mass consumerism, but many of the old industies & jobs have gone. We have limited natural resources & need to find different ways of doing things. Family structure & parenting has changed out of all recognition. Populations are more mobile. In many ways we are more fortunate, but we have also lost reliability & structure. The needs of individuals & society are worlds away from the 70's.

But although education has changed I really don't think it has been given the time to really think about the needs of modern children, the state, the world & the system. What's more, I think we desperately need to do that or our children won't be prepared for an uncertain & changing world.

Education is both individual & societal. Both need to benefit. If we don't equip our children with the skills to be happy, balanced & productive individuals at whatever level, our society will not flourish. Most educational change is imposed from the top. From politicians. The world & it's wife thinks that they know what education should be because they went to school. But by definition their education is out of date. 

We need people with real experience & expertise to look at educational trends around the world & select the really good tested methods. We also need an open public discussion about what we as a society want education to be. We are in the 21st century, but education isn't. It's all about testing, examinations, administration & box ticking, putting huge pressure on the teaching force who are leaving in droves. No one wants to be a head now. 

A good education depends on good teachers who are well trained, creative & dedicated. It's a caring profession. It runs on goodwill. That has been eroded away by bureaucracy & overwork. 

But the most important thing is that our children need to enjoy school & feel that it is relevant to their lives now & in the future. I seriously doubt that it is.