PUTIN, NETANYAHU AND WORLD WAR 3.

What is going on in the world ?

In the middle east, we have the Israelis launching the full might of their considerable military strength against a hugely inferior Palestinian force and killing hundreds of civilians in the process, all in the pursuit of what they claim to be 'protecting their citizens'. In the Ukraine, we have a civilian aeroplane shot down and almost 300 people killed; the Russian President, the dictator Putin, claims that the fault lies with the Ukrainian authorities while he's also been backing and supplying the Ukrainian rebels who probably shot down the craft.

The rest of the world makes noises but does nothing of real note. Benjamin Netanyahu, the war mongering and viciously anti-Palestinian Israeli president seems to do whatever he wants with no one prepared to really challenge him; he carries the badge of the historic NAZI atrocities on his arm as a protective shield that no one feels able to breach. The world is terrified of offending the Jews for fear of being accused of being racist, anti-Semitic and like the NAZIs. The Jews exploit this reticence and attack their 'enemies' at will and without fear of any real condemnation or even anything much more than a mild rebuke.

As for Putin, he does have real power but he also has real vulnerabilities, and yet the UN and others just let him carry on. They rebuke him and impose sanctions, but they do very little that will actually stop him. This  man is a monster, every bit as evil as his Soviet era predecessors, and we largely ignore his atrocities. While the days of the 'Iron Curtain' and 'Berlin Wall' are behind us, it seems that a new 'Cold War' is brewing as Russia vies with the western powers for control of eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Will Putin actually goes as far as to invade another country ? If he did, what would the West do about it ? The answer is 'Probably nothing', for fear of what might then happen. Meanwhile, Putin exploits the weakness of Western leaders and does what he likes, exactly as the butcher Netanyahu does in Israel.

Roll on World War 3. At least that might rid us of these disgusting individuals and allow the few who remain to start the human race over again. If no one's left, does it matter ? The earth would undoubtedly be better off without us.

TREDINNICK : LET'S HAVE ASTROLOGY ON THE NHS !

I have read with some astonishment that David Tredinnick, the Conservative Member of Parliament for the Bosworth constituency in which I live, has spoken today of his belief in astrology. Tredinnick is a member of both the Health and Science and Technology Committees of the House of Commons and has not only said that he believes in this tripe but also that he wants it to be made use of in the NHS. He's been quoted as saying "There is no logic in attacking something that has a proven track record".

Pardon me for choking on my lunch but where is the proof that astrology is anything but a load of tosh which gives an occasional bit of amusement to some while sometimes being used to con gullible others ? Astrology is a hangover from primitive times when humans knew nothing of science and believed that the lights in the sky represented gods and other 'heavenly' creatures. No one with any intelligence has believed in this rubbish for many years.

Tredinnick is well to the left of the Conservative Party and has a reputation for rather outlandish beliefs; he has also expressed belief in the nonsense of homeopathy, and has suggested that surgeons should not operate at the time of a full moon due to its influence on on blood clotting, but this latest comment really takes the biscuit. He rarely makes any meaningful appearances in the Commons chamber; although he's nearly always there at Prime Minister's Questions, I've only heard him ask a question once and that was nothing to do with his constituency or, indeed, anything else of either interest or relevance. Having been an MP for more than 27 years, during which his contributions on behalf of his constituents have been minimal, it must now be time for him to go.

Perhaps, after this latest outburst of insanity, the local party will finally get the message that this man is an idiot and useless, and look for someone else to represent them next year. If they don't, it must be likely that voters will desert them in droves in a search for someone who lives on the same planet as they do.

CAMERON DUMPS OLD MEN FOR INEXPERIENCED WOMEN.

In his desperate, unseemly and ludicrous pursuit of 'equality', David Cameron has reshuffled his cards and come up with some right royal nonsense.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, Kenneth Clarke, a man just past 74 years of age, has gone and some might say it's about time. A little bit of a surprise is the departure of William Hague from the Foreign Office and, next year, from Parliament altogether; in the meantime, he'll take on the role of Leader of the House of Commons though it's clear he really wants out. Hague gives every impression of a man thoroughly disillusioned with his career and he'll be replaced as Foreign Secretary by the immensely wealthy Philip Hammond whose one saving grace is the extent of his Euro-scepticism.

A real surprise is the departure of Michael Gove from the Education department, while the name of his replacement takes some believing. Gove has upset many while in his role which surely is a mark of the success he's had in attempting to breathe some life into our moribund schools' system, beset as it is with trendy, lefty teachers and educational theories. It seems that Cameron simply doesn't have the stomach for the fight and, no doubt egged on by Gove's cabinet rivals, Osborne and May, has despatched poor Michael to the office of the Chief Whip, a position which carries a reduced salary and is not even a full member of the cabinet. His replacement is the wide-eyed Nicky Morgan, who qualified as a solicitor in 1994 and worked as a corporate lawyer while trying to get into Parliament. She eventually managed this in 2010, after years of lower level politicking, but her rise since has been staggeringly fast; whether or not the is the 'man for the job' as the new Education Secretary may be debatable but it seems unlikely that she'll be as forceful or abrasive as Gove. Of course, she does have one outstanding attribute as far as Cameron is concerned - she's a woman.

Another man to bite the dust is Owen Paterson, now the former Environment Secretary. Paterson hardly distinguished himself during last year's floods and must have known that his time was likely to be up but, again, the name of his replacement makes one wince somewhat. Liz Truss, for that is she, first stood for Parliament in 2001 but only gained entry in 2010. As with Morgan, her rise since has been eye-wateringly fast; she became an Education minister after little more than 2 years and now, at not quite 39, she's to be Environment Secretary. While she appears to have particular interests in and knowledge of the education sphere, what she knows about the environment has yet to become clear though, as with Morgan, her greatest attribute in Cameron's eyes is her gender which is undoubtedly female.

Elsewhere, Cameron has somewhat unceremoniously dumped Sir George Young, Andrew Lansley, Alan Duncan, David Willetts and former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, all of whom appear to have been seen as being too middle aged and too male. They may, of course, also have needed to be sacked but such a sweeping clear-out carries the danger of being seen as an attempt to be trendy and modern regardless of any other considerations. When allied to the influx of pretty young women the changes appear to be much more about appearance and perception than anything else. In addition to the 2 new cabinet appointments, former television performer, Esther McVey, will now 'attend cabinet' whatever that means, Penny Mordaunt, who made a spectacle of herself on some silly television game show, becomes a junior minister as does Amber Rudd; all three have been Members of Parliament only since 2010, raising questions about their readiness for such rapid advancement. Yet another former television presenter, Anna Soubry, who was already a minister, has been promoted as has Claire Perry, both of whom also entered the House only in 2010. Are all these women really properly qualified to take decisions on behalf of the nation ?

Notwithstanding all this advance of equality, what actually matters is the competence of those in the cabinet. Before she became leader, Margaret Thatcher was Education Secretary and was not particularly highly rated. We all know where that one ended. The trouble with the women Cameron's now promoting is that the main reason for their promotion is his belief that there should be more women in government and in cabinet, almost regardless of their abilities. It is an adherence to a horribly misguided notion that institutions such as Parliament should 'reflect' the population at large which is, of course, ridiculous. Everyone has different talents and abilities as well as ambitions and drives. Should our hospitals be staffed by equal numbers of male and female nurses ? Of course not, most men don't really want to be nurses any more than most women don't want to be company directors or members of Parliament, but we are plagued with nonsensical plans to bring about 'equality' in these spheres anyway. The result is the elevation of a lot of women to jobs for which they are may well not be suited, while very able men are pushed aside. This is not to say that men should be preferred over women but that jobs should be awarded strictly on merit and not on other spurious criteria such as gender, age, race, religion, disability or any other basis that can be dreamt up.

Where the manic drive for 'equality' will eventually lead is anyone's guess, but my guess is that the result won't be good.

ISRAELI FANATICS AT IT AGAIN.

The murder of 3 Israeli teenagers whose bodies were found on Sunday was a shocking thing, but no more shocking than the reaction of the Israeli authorities.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the fanatical Israeli Prime Minister, has announced immediately that the Palestinian organisation 'Hamas' is to blame and that they will be made to pay for the atrocity. That there is no evidence to link Hamas with the killings seems to be of no interest to Netanyahu who now appears to have started up another round of government sponsored violence against the Palestinian Arabs whom he sees as infesting his country. At the time of writing, the abduction and brutal killing of a Palestinian teenager, presumably in response to the earlier event, has drawn a somewhat lesser condemnation from the Israeli government and no promise to apprehend the perpetrators or make anyone 'pay'.

Netanyahu and his ilk operate a regime which is every bit as ghastly as that which used to exist in South Africa under apartheid, while professing a degree of religiosity which surely makes decent people vomit. Hiding behind the cloak created by the NAZI's treatment of the Jews, they have persecuted the Arab population, the original inhabitants of the land, for decades, treating them with utter disdain and contempt. Anyone who dares criticise them is branded racist and anti-Semitic, and shouted down; they are untouchable, whatever they do. 

That the rest of the world has allowed this shameful situation to persist has to be one of the most disgraceful failings of modern times.