Good & Evil - Truth & Lies - Ukraine matters

We live in an age when it is difficult to differentiate between the basic tenets of our humanity & our society. Almost universal instant communications mean that we know more about what is happening than ever before. But when politicians are self serving, power & wealth grabbing & utterly unscrupulous what we can't always be sure of is what is true & what is propaganda.

Each individual has the capacity to be good or evil within themselves. Each of us can be truthful or deceitful. It is a choice we all have to make, regularly. Both in our daily ordinary lives & in the huge global questions. That choice is always important, even more so now as we watch, in chilling detail, what Putin is doing in Ukraine. We cannot say we don't know.

The choice is important for the future of world order. Each of us has a responsibility to make the right choice, even if it means that we individually pay a high price. I have a daughter & grandchildren. The world they have to live in depends on what we chose to do now. Individual morality & action counts & is powerful. Ordinary people should not simply expect politicians to make the important decisions. We each have to make clear what we want them to do.

I want the democratic, free world to do absolutely everything possible to stop Putin from succeeding. Not just mealy mouthed, protectionist, sanctions. If that doesn't happen Putin will win. If Putin wins he won't stop at Ukraine. Other dictators will have a free pass to also do what they want. The world will descend into chaos. Evil will triumph. Truth will be defeated.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-update-9

My daughter & my grandchildren will not be safe. Neither will yours.

International Law & Dictators.

Law should be protection against wrongdoing. Law is only effective if it is enforceable."International Law is the body of legal rules, norms, and standards that apply between sovereign states and other entities that are legally recognized as international actors" - Jeremy Bentham 1748 - 1832. Modern international law now includes individuals & international organisations. "It is a rapidly developing complex of rules and influential—though not directly binding—principles, practices, and assertions coupled with increasingly sophisticated structures and processes...including human rights" - Britannica.

President Putin & dictators like him do not think law of any sort applies to him. In a way he is right. He appears to act with impunity.  

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/has-vladimir-putin-always-been-corrupt-and-does-it-matter      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Putin._Corruption  

He is thought to be worth over $200 billion. You don't amass that sort of money as a politician legally. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin 

You have to wonder how dictators justify to themselves the havoc they wreak & the wealth they steal. Their mindset & personality cannot be "normal". That makes dictators very difficult to predict & deal with. Most human beings have a pretty good idea of right from wrong & a societal moral code.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. Currently made up of 193 member states including the Russian Federation. It is supposed to be the place that "all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity". "The strong preference for consensus often shapes negotiations on a proposal. A formal objection by a single delegation is sufficient to block consensus, every delegate has that power and many try to use it to extract concessions from other delegations". That, in my view makes the UN a "paper tiger". 

The current situation in Ukraine & other places around the world demands action. Populations have a right to protection against aggressors. Talk is not enough. Financial sanctions will not stop innocent people being maimed & killed. Dictators need to know that retribution for human rights violations will follow.

Understandably the US & Europe don't want to get involved with a dirty war & soldiers coming home in body bags. Although there hasn't been a world war in my lifetime, there have been many serious conflicts. The thing that seems obvious to me is that unless we challenge dictatorships effectively, all we do is store up problems that come back to haunt us in other ways than being actively involved in armed conflict.

 

This Ukrainian situation will affect every country in the world in one way or another. If we allow Ukraine to be occupied by Russia the consequences are unthinkable. It will be yet another example, like Assad in Syria, that gives dictatiors the confidence to do anything they like in future. Safe in the knowledge that democratic countries will " huff & puff, but not blow their house down".

If bullies win, everyone loses.

 

 

Upheaval, Disruption & Nietzsche

I'm moving again in 11 days. This will be the 14th place I have lived during my life & the 6th house I have owned. With any luck this will be my final resting place apart from the obvious one!

This move will hopefully be fairly straightforward. Most of my things are in storage & I can choose when I'm ready to have those. There isn't that much to pack in my rental & I can get settled in the new house & wait until it is completely finished inside before cluttering the house with everything. Some builders are quite likely to still be working when I move in. The house is full of mess & dust at the moment so it needs a really good clean.

Synchronising everything is tricky. Although I can get by with a microwave & a kettle upstairs, a kitchen would be really nice. 

 In the same way I can manage with the clothes rail & furniture I have in the rental, but it would be really great if the fitted wardrobes were done. The carpet upstairs can't be fitted until they are anyway.

Given the weather at the moment, heating would be good. I do have a functioning bathroom though.

The point is life doesn't always run smoothly. A certain amount of disruption, uncertainty & tribulation is inevitable. The important thing is how we deal with that, how well we are able to put it into perspective. So I'm not facing the imminent posibility of a war with a neighbouring country, or a life threatening illness or injury. I'm not a refugee or migrant searching for a safe place to call home. I have the basic necessities of life, shelter, food, reasonable health, enough money, family & friends.

I have learned what is important in life & what isn't. I do get frustrated, stressed & even annoyed. But I know that I can face almost anything now & deal with it, because there isn't much that I haven't had to cope with in 77 years. This last 10 months has been very difficult. Renovating my house has been far more of a challenge than I thought, but I think I will be quite pleased with what we have achieved with the wreck of a house that I bought. 

German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche said  “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” I couldn't agree more.

Delivery Woes - Ikea

Never, in the whole of my life, have I researched so many products, visited so many showrooms, talked to so many salespeople, ordered so many things & spent so much money. Apart from the actual building materials, everything in my house has been sourced by me. I know more about every product & building process than I ever thought possible. I also know more about the things that can go wrong on a build like this than I could have anticipated. 

Each step forward has been matched by problems. One of the main issues is delivery. Some companies are excellent. They communicate well, they are flexible, they respond positively to the clients difficulties. When a house is uninhabited & the builders are generally only there between 8 - 4 on weekdays, receiving goods can be a nightmare.

Mobile phones are a godsend. Delivery companies should be able to phone, text or email the customer giving notice about delivery slots. Preferably 24 hours in advance & then perhaps 30 minutes before arriving. Taking a photo of the goods at the premises proves delivery. Also taking photos of damaged goods & packaging provides proof for the customer.

Sometimes this all goes completely wrong. Ikea has been a nightmare to deal with. I ordered a lot of Pax wardrobe frames & fittings for 2 bedrooms in December. The products I ordered showed available on the website. So I ordered, paid & got delivery dates. That to me is a contract. Then, often close to delivery, I got emails saying that some products were unavailable & I had been refunded. There is no reliable system for the customer to be notified when these products become available. You just have to keep checking on the website. Your order isn't given any priority & you are in competition with everyone else who might want to buy those items. In fact you might order & pay & go through the whole loop again.

Ikea don't give you information about the time slot until a 6am text on the morning of delivery. My mobile is normally switched off overnight. There may be very little time between the text & arrival. This doesn't work if a house is unoccupied. You can't contact anyone at Ikea. Their whole communication system is not customer friendly or fit for purpose.

I was given the first delivery date after Christmas. In fact they tried to deliver, very early in the morning, just before Christmas day, on a date I hadn't been notified about. So then on the date I did know,  half of the stuff went to my house & half went to Bristol! Why wasn't everything on one van? They told my builders it would arrive the next day. It never arrived. It was all supposed to arrive yesterday. No contact & no delivery!

I found the email of the CEO Europe & complained. He put someone in charge of sorting this mess out. I am still without all of the wardrobe frames & most of  the shelves & some fittings. 3 of the shelves I have got are broken. I've had to pay for delivery more than once. I don't want money. I want everything I ordered & paid for. Ikea seems completely unable to do that. Their system & communication is useless. 

I can't cancel the order. It's too late. I'm committed because I have some items & ordered sliding doors from another company. I move into the house in just over 3 weeks. 

A big international company like Ikea should have better systems in place than this. I'm a fan of the furniture. It's well made. The customer service is abysmal. I understand all of the supply chain problems, but Ikea have had plenty of time to respond to Brexit & Covid & ensure that their website is up to date & communication & delivery is effective.

Ikea says 

"finding solutions to “impossible” challenges is what made us successful". I haven't seen any evidence of that.

"We want to challenge conventions and drive positive changes in our industry and sometimes even in the world. We are restless doers, driven by curiosity, enthusiasm and a desire to create a better world". My dealings with Ikea have wasted huge amounts of time & caused me huge stress & frustration.

"Our vision (is) to create a better everyday life for the many people". Sadly, not for me. It's been a journey of incompetence.