The only way is up

Posted on by El_Numerito

After 5 years living and working in Spain, I have decided to ditch the sun and come home.   Well, not quite ditch the sun but rather return to a land of greater opportunity than my current adopted home offers.  There are many things that the Spanish do that really get my goat, their love affair with red tape and bureaucracy, societal divisions, working practices and delays on top of delays.

I must however admit they do also do many things better than us.  Firstly, public healthcare in Spain is rated 4th best in the world and having been through it I can attest to its efficiency.  Secondly, they really utilize outside space, even in the not so clement north where it rains quite frequently.  But, the area of envy as far as I am concerned is how they plan their towns and cities.

The Spanish, like most Europeans live in apartments in cities, towns, and villages alike.  They range in size from a modest two bed dwelling to rather large opulent homes with views from every window.  What the modest and the luxurious have in common is the neighbourhood and its convenience.  Convenience that can be reached without the need for any form of transport other than your own two feet.

Take my neighbourhood in Valencia, within 2-5 minutes of my own front door there is a veritable bazaar of shops, restaurants, and services available.  On the corner is a rather quaint Italian trattoria that sells the most delicious pizza, on the other end of that street a minute walk is the neighbourhood gym.  Across the street is a hospital, which is next to the church that faces the shoe repairers two doors up from the picture framers.  At the end of that street, after you pass two café bars, is an Argentinian take away grill which sells all sorts of roasted meats. 

Cross the street and you’ll come to a typical ‘anchor to a needle’ type shop next to the perfumery which is two doors up from the Indian supermarket on the way to the big supermarket.  Schools, bars, cafés, garages, clothes shops and even a book binder.  There is absolutely no reason to leave the neighbourhood and even if you do, there are bus stops and a metro station within walking distance. 

The reason they can so this is because they live in apartments, 5-8 stories high with 2 – 4 apartments on each floor.  Under all these apartments are the businesses I mentioned, all with in a hop, skip and a jump of a resident’s front door.  The sense of vibrancy and life in the neighbourhood is fantastic, cheerful, and full of life.  Why? Because the build upward and not outwards.

I have had this conversation on many occasions with Irish people and in particular Dubliners whose only point of reference is Ballymun.  Ballymun was a disaster, but why?  Bad planning.  Huge tower blocks, in what was then a remote location, no shops, no services and no jobs – cram the place full of unemployed people and teenagers who have nothing to do and what do you expect?  It is no wonder that in our collective psyche that neighbourhoods that go up are only for the poor, unemployed classes who can’t control their kids.

It is a sad but real reflection of Ireland’s poor vision when it comes to planning.  Imagine what our cities would be like if we had built upwards rather than outwards.  I’m not talking high rise but up to 5 floors perhaps.  So instead of housing one family we house 5 comfortably on the same plot of land.  From the modest to the luxurious, imagine the life, the business, the comfort, and the convenience of our neighbourhoods. 

While their have been some modest strides made in building the apartments in Ireland, many people view them as only places to rent rather than to buy and settle and certainly not a place to raise children.  The mindset must change if our cities are to be sustainable and if we as workers are to have sustainable lives.  How can we have sustainable lives if we have to travel 1.5 hours each way, every day to work?  How can we have sustainable lives if we need to drive to a supermarket or to the shop to buy a loaf of bread or a litre of milk? How can our children live sustainable lives if school is not within walking distance from home?

As Yazz sang in 1988, “the only way is up” and although in Ireland’s case it is not for lack of space that we should do it, it is for sustainability, better planning and better use of land and better distribution of resources and services.

Entre dos aguas

Posted on by El_Numerito

It truly is a sign of the times, not seen since the boom, that there are now more jobs than people to fill them – or so it would seem. What was once an almost desolate jobs market where a job would roll by like a tumble weed, has transformed into a tropical rain forest of jobs. Job seekers are overwhelmed with what is on offer, it is literally like walking through a Marrakesh souk being harangued by traders.

So what is the problem? The problem is knowing where to start. For graduates who are unsure of what they want to do there are the graduate programs. Nice work if you can get it. For the not so recent graduates there still are plenty of opportunities to get work in a reputable firm. The problem is finding the one for you.

Looking on the recruitment websites is like going into a library to get a book. You can’t look at every book in the library, it would take forever, so you select one, bring it home and wonder if there was something better in the library that you missed.

When you do find a job or jobs that you like you first need to cross the minefield of the dreaded application process.

I get it, HR invented it to make their own jobs lighter, god knows hard work and low pay are not compatible. Some of these application processes are as time consuming as writing that first draft of your dissertation. Page after page after page – designed to make people give up an not continue with the process because if they really wanted your skills, they wouldn’t impede you with such nonsense and time wasting.

If however, you do make it this far, and your application is picked up by HR, you’ll generally receive one of two things. Number 1, “thank you for applying, however we won’t be proceeding further …. ” , or you’ll receive the screening call. This is the first in a 3 step process and you can generally deduce how you are doing by the length of the call. This is usually followed by two interviews and then the initial offer.

The initial offer may not arrive for at least 2 months, in the mean time you need to continue to look while still pinning your hopes on that one horse. Then a job becomes available, do you take it or do your trust your gut. You are, as the Spanish say, ‘entre dos aguas’.

¿Y por qué es tan difícil? Por qué en un país donde hay tantos trabajos y menos trabajadores es una locura encontrar trabajo hoy, y no en 2 meses? ¿Qué harias sí fueras tú, sí tuvieras familia, niños or gastos? Tantos oficios pero trabajos para nadie . . hoy. 

“Por favor rellenas este forma y uno de neustras dependientes te ayuda en tiempo, estas en cola y eres muy importante a nosotros”.

No me digas que hay trabajo cuando el proceso muestra que no. No me digas que es fácil de encontrar cuando la aplicación fue escrita por un creador de acertijos. No me digas que este es el salario cuando más valoro.  

If you want employees, don’t make it so difficult on them to find or secure the jobs. Why else would we stay here if it wasn’t for the jobs market? Not for the weather, not for the prices, for the jobs.

Protecting our free, liberal democratic values cannot be taken for granted.

Posted on by El_Numerito

The suicide bombing attack on the Ariana Grande concert must be seen for what it is, an act of cold, calculated terrorism. Regardless of whether the bomber acted on behalf of a terrorist cell or was a ‘lone wolf’ he remains a cold blooded terrorist.
Exploding a bomb at an event full of teenagers strikes right to the core of any nations sense of security. Those who perpetrate attacks such as this walk freely among us, yet we do not see them because for the most part their faces are familiar. Just what does a terrorist actually look like?
In an age of habitual terrorist attacks, is it time for all nations in Europe to strengthen their domestic security arrangements? People need to be identifiable.  EU states should share information relating to known criminals on a pan European database and people in every EU state should be obliged to carry an official form of identification at all times.  Yes civil liberties campaigners and anarchists will decry this as an invasion of our privacy, but can we really afford that luxury anymore?  Is it that much of an imposition if it means our streets could be safer?
22 people lie dead today with countless more injured and maimed. And for what? Ideology? Revenge? Hatred?  Doubtless this attack will buoy far right elements in Europe and encourage even more hatred, more revenge and more ideological bile that will only deepen the already growing schism between nations.
As Europeans we need to strengthen our resolve, stand resolute against terrorism and extremism in all segments of society. As the American political satirist PJ O’Rourke said  “any terrorism is an attack on libertarian values”. Protecting our free, liberal democratic values cannot be taken for granted.

Who are the oppressed and who are the free?

Posted on by El_Numerito

vice.com
Fidel Castro, seen here in 2001 (Photo by Paul Faith/ PA Wire)
The death of the communist Cuban leader Fidel Castro has been acknowledged by many world leaders with contrasting views of his stewardship of the country since 1959. Since he seized power, the Castro administration transformed the lives of the poor in Cuba, providing social services, education, healthcare and food for those who had until then lived a life of abject poverty under the regime of General Fugencio Batista.
Many people have called Castro a dictator, and if I am honest I cannot disagree with this assertion entirely.  During his leadership Castro imprisoned scores of human rights activists, brutally suppressed political decent and imprisoned his detractors in appalling conditions in some of Cuba’s most infamous detention facilities.  He denied access to many international observers and human rights organisations, banned the free press and freedom of speech and denied the Cuban people their most fundamental human rights.
Notwithstanding this it must be acknowledged that Cuba is the only country in the Americas without infant malnutrition and has the lowest rate of infant mortality (UNICEF).  Since 1961 over 130,00 doctors have graduated from university and the country has developed four vaccines against cancer.  The Cuban health system is an example to the rest of the world.  Over 54% of the annual budget is spent on providing social services to the population of Cuba.
For people like us in the west with our venerated liberal democracy, capitalism and consumer based society the Cuban system seems totally alien to us and brutally oppressive.  While we vilify the Cuban government for this, over 6000 Irish people are homeless and 750,000 people live in poverty. Our healthcare system is a shambles, the consumer price index is rising faster than salaries, public transport outside of the capital is substandard, our schools still discriminate on the basis of religion and the Irish tax payer is still paying for the reckless actions of Irish and European banks.
I am not suggesting for one minute that Ireland should be like Cuba, on the contrary I abhor communism, but one must ask the question, between our two island nations, who are the oppressed and who are the free?

The misery of Syria’s damned generation

Posted on by El_Numerito

On September 6th in Syria, it was reported that the forces loyal to Bashar Al Assad, attacked an opposition held neighbourhood in Aleppo using chemical weapons.  Government forces indiscriminately dropped chlorine gas bombs from helicopters on a heavily populated neighbourhood in the city.  Unsurprisingly Assad has denied any involvement, even though the only belligerents capable of such an attack are his forces and those of his allies, The Russia Federation.
The casualties are of course innocent children, who have been suffering with the agonising effects of chlorine gas, not least suffocation.  The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has said it will investigate, but we all know that these investigations lead to nothing when the culprits are supported by a member of the Permanent Security Council of the United Nations.
It is impossible for any of us to even comprehend the psychological trauma that those children must endure on a daily basis. Syria is full of children who know nothing but war. Running for shelter when helicopters fly overhead or being forced to scavenge for food is part of their miserable existence.  Most have lost a family member through violence. Many are orphans, alone in a war zone, abused, tortured and maimed.
The most infuriating aspect of this conflict is that the five member Permanent Security Council of the United Nations could end this conflict, remove Assad and unite the country against one common enemy.
Unfortunately for the traumatised children of Syria, geopolitical interests are far more important to the Big 5 than the miserable lives of Aleppo’s little boys and girls.  In the meantime there will be no laughter, no fun, no happiness. There will however, be further chemical attacks, bloodshed and orphans, little victims of little consequence to the desktop war mongers who have already decided their fate with the stroke of a pen.

How long more will Erdogan actually last?

Posted on by El_Numerito

When I tuned in to Euronews last Friday night to see that Turkey was in the midst of a coup, my first reaction was of the expletive kind, as you can imagine.  The reports we so conflicting that I could not quite get my head round what was happening.  Were the army in control, were they out numbered by police, it was all very unclear.

I have to admit that as the news broke, I was quietly happy. Happy for ordinary Turks.  I had no doubt about the discipline of the Turkish Army.  I didn’t think for one minute that they were going to cause any harm to the population.  After all, what is an army in a Democracy than a defender of the constitution, which the ‘Peace Council’ said had been eroded by the Erdogan regime.

I use words like regime because that is exactly what Erdogan is running.  Turkey masquerades as a democracy but there is nothing democratic about the the erosion or civil rights, silencing of freedom of speech, nationalizing newspapers and sacking people for civil service jobs for jumped up reasons.

As the news became more clear and it was obvious that the coup had failed, I began to ask questions of the the events that were unfolding in front of my eyes.  Firstly how did the government know who to arrest, so soon after the failed coup, secondly, why were over 2000 members of the Judiciary sacked, thirdly what was the rational behind the sacking of over 15000 teachers?

There is a newly formed conspiracy theory doing the rounds, that Erdogan orchestrated the entire coup to consolidate his power and fulfill his egotistic ambitions.  Only history will reveal the answer to this.

Turkey is a democracy in erosion, every day the citizenry are becoming more and more disenfranchised.  Like a cancerous tumor, it starts off small, growing everyday,  until one day it kills you.

It is certainly worth watch over the next number of weeks to see exactly how the Erdogan Coup attempt pans out.  Who will actually be blamed and how long more will Erdogan last as president of Turkey?

To be continued….

Chilcot report is a damning indictment of Tony Blair

Posted on by El_Numerito

 

The publication of the Chilcot report is a damning indictment of Tony Blair’s judgement and his entire career in politics. The report found that “all peaceful options were not exhausted” before the UK joined the US in declaring war on Iraq. It also found that further sanctions and monitoring would have curtailed any alleged ambitions Saddam Hussein had to develop Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The principles of jus ad bellum, clearly define that the aim of war must not be to pursue narrowly defined national interests, but rather to re-establish a just peace. This peace should be preferable to the state of peace had the war not occurred. It also states that there must be a Probability of Success and most importantly only as a Last Resort.

The reality is that the USA with the UK were pursuing narrowly defined national interests. It is no coincidence that Iraq has oil resources. This war completely unraveled the economic, social and religious fabric of Iraq and plunged it into 13 continuous years of war. Most notably it gave birth to one of the most barbaric terrorist organisations to have existed – ISIS.

That invasion sowed the seeds of revolution in the Arab world and brought civil war, conflict and destruction to millions of innocent people. The refugee crisis currently being witnessed in Europe is a direct result of American and British jingoism and the lurid ambitions of two egotists. It cannot be attributed to anything else since the reasons people are fleeing the Middle East have their roots firmly in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The question now is, if Tony Blair will face any charges for his role in the 2003 invasion or is the International Criminal Court reserved for 3rd World despots who have fallen out of favour with their 1st World financiers? The reality is that Blair’s decision to take the UK to war in Iraq in 2003 falls outside the Court’s jurisdiction. In other words Blair will walk away scot free, as will George W Bush.

If justice is ever to be served, if the victims of neo-imperial violence are ever to be acknowledged, then Tony Blair and George W Bush should be held accountable and stand trial at the ICC. No man should be above the law. No state, no matter how powerful should determine the fate of another or the future of its unborn generations.

Twelve Months On, Are We More Equal?

Posted on by El_Numerito

Twelve months have passed since Ireland voted to extend the right of civil marriage to same sex couples. One of the most fundamental expressions of love and loyalty between two people, Marriage, had up until then, been the preserve of opposite sex couples. One year on, civil marriages are becoming more and more common place, and religious marriages continue for opposite sex couples who chose to follow that path.

Polling day came and I, like all responsible, dutiful citizens went to the polling station to cast my vote. I went with my niece, who like many others was voting for the first time, having registered a few weeks previous. As we both placed our ballots in the box, I felt for the first time since the 2002 general election, that I was making a difference that my vote was actually going to affect change.

It did affect change, because on the 22 of May 2015 to a thronged Dublin Castle, the Returning Officer announced that 1,201,607 had voted Yes. The referendum was passed, the crowds erupted with elation. Tears of joy were shed, hugs and kisses were plentiful and the jubilant crowd created the greatest street party Dublin had ever witnessed – and what a party it was.

To get to this point, the LGBT community had to fight a long and difficult battle, ever since brave people like David Norris dared to call for Gay Rights and former Presidents Mary Robinson and Mary MacAleese took on the role as legal counsel to the Gay Rights movement. The state had to be brought to the European Court of Human Rights where it was forced to decriminalise homosexuality, something that did not happen until the Labour Party were in government some 5 years later.

Many may think that this battle is now over and that LGBT people are as equal as straight people, it is not over by a long shot. LGBT people in Ireland still face discrimination on a daily basis, in giving blood donations, in employment, in bars and restaurants etc. Only recently did then Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan, remove the rule that prevented openly LGBT people from being teachers. The wall is being dismantled, but one brick at a time.

Ireland has changed fundamentally in the past 12 months. It is now common place to see LGBT couples holding hands on our streets, but perhaps only in major urban areas and probably not in Strokestown. Most importantly, the LGBT community approach life and society with a renewed sense of vigor, strength and confidence. No longer would elements in society walk all over them, pretend they didn’t exist or ridicule those who raised their voices.

One year on, the Constitution has been amended, legislation has passed and enacted and more importantly same sex couples have been married. Not surprisingly the sky has not fallen down, civil society has not disintegrated and society is all the better for it.

Even though the past is very had to forget and our own experiences of growing up LGBT are eternally embedded in our memories, for good or bad, the future is bright. Irish children are now growing up in a society that is increasingly more tolerant. LGBT children feel a sense of acceptance in society and thankfully the numbers of those finding the courage to come out to their families and friends has increased. The fear and shame imposed upon them has abated. There is a feeling of love out there.

I am reminded of what Panti Bliss said in her speech on the announcement of the Yes result.

“In a way it’s like we asked the whole country to marry us; and they said yes!”

With that in mind I think it is appropriate to say thank you to everybody who voted in favour of equality on that day, thank you for giving us the opportunity to marry the ones we love, thank you for telling us how much you love us as you do all of your children.

John F Kennedy once said “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them”.

Interpret this as you will, but get booking your venue, because I think it is going to be a busy year for weddings.

Ireland’s growing obesity problem – pandemic?

Posted on by El_Numerito

Walk down Grafton Street in Dublin, ST Patrick’s Street in Cork or O’Connell Street in Limerick and you will find an array of fast food emporiums selling the very best (and worst) in artery clogging food.  The colours, adverts and livery grabs our attention.  The aroma, with its hypnotic charm sends our taste buds into a frenzy and before we know it we are sitting with a big greasy burger in our hands.  Temptation has won again, but it is ok, I will start again tomorrow.  The words of an addict right?

Fast food is without doubt one of the most dangerous risks to humanity in the 21st century.  I say this with conviction because on my jaunt home I witness the daily mobbing of the high street trans fat dealers to cholesterol junkies.  They gorge and devour, sip and slup the sugar, salt and fat laden food until they cannot eat another bite.

People are entitled to eat what ever they want, in fact they are entitled to eat what ever they can afford. The food we eat, like many other things in life, is a personal choice that is made by the person who consumers it.  Yes prisoners, people in reception centres and those begging have to make do with what they are given, but for the most part, what we eat is voluntary.  Prior to this we are at the mercy of our parents who, as a matter of circumstance are charged with our nutritional welfare.

Ireland has seen its fair share of famine and starvation.  Yes there were times in the last century where Irish people were starving for lack of food.  Contemporary Ireland does not only bare witness to food poverty, on the contrary contemporary Ireland is baring witness to food ignorance on an unprecedented scale.

What is food ignorence?  Food ignorance is not being able to feed your family, but for avoidable reasons.  People have gotten into the custom of checking the nutritional, salt, fat and sugar content of any of the processed food they buy.  Food ignorance is throwing box, sachet and can of processed food into your basket without even considering these important indicators.

Why do people do it?  Many theories suggest that people do this for a number of reason, first and foremost because the perception is that it is cheaper, people on a budget can scarcely waste their finite cash resources.  Secondly, it is easy to prepare and people with less time want something that is fast.  Thirdly if fills the stomach and that is the only purpose food has – to make us full.

Therein lies the fundamental problem.  Food ignorance suggests that people do not realise that eating is about more than the feeling of satisfaction we get when we are full, rather than how many nutrients were consumed.  Laziness also,  believing that a person has no time to cook is an absurdity.  An absurdity that has become the norm for many Irish children who emulate their parents lack of cooking skills.

Children today eat far more than we did when we were children.  Portions are bigger, salt has become an essential addition to all meals, especially deep fried foods.  All of this is washed down with copious amounts of sugar laced soft drinks and juices. After all the energy expended eating all this feast of fat, they sit on the couch or in front of the laptop in the company of their parents.

We as a nation are giving our children and slow and painful death.  Apart from type two diabetes they are developing heart disease, high cholesterol and all the other problems which manifest themselves in the overweight.  All of this is likely to be passed on from generation to generation, creating a fatter, unhealthy society with massive pressure on our healthcare system.

In our secondary schools we teach two subjects that are underestimated and under-appreciated.  Both Home Economics and Physical Education are probably the most important classes any adolescent can take.  But here is the problem, they are not compulsory per-se.  Yes PE is something you must attend, but how many students forget their trainers or have a note from mum excusing them from PE?  This is the same mum who cannot boil an egg or make a dinner unless it comes in a box and has reheating instructions on the back.

Physical education is 100% more important than any form for spiritual education, it is also more important than most other subjects we are teaching in schools.  How can we expect a student to be happy and attentive in class if they cannot produce serotonin.  How can they produce endorphin’s if they do not exercise?

Equally with food and cooking.  How can a young person be expected to learn how to cook a nutritious meal if their main teachers (Mum and Dad) cannot?  Home economics is essential at giving young people the tools they need too look after themselves into adulthood, when they will need to be able to cook, clean, budget and perform house maintenance tasks.

Our children today are going to be the adults of tomorrow who will take care of the adults today.  How can that be expected of them if they are morbidly obese, with no understanding of how to cook or even change a fuse?

Minister Jan O’Sullivan has introduced a new compulsory ‘Wellness’ class in the junior cycle.  While this may go some way at encouraging a healthier, happier lifestyle, schools need to go further by increasing the frequency of P. E. and Home Economics.

Home Economics and Physical Education are essential subject that must be made compulsory and examinable if we are to affect any change on society.  Our children are our future, if the parents cannot teach them then the burden falls on us as teachers, communicators and society in general to guide our children on a healthy path of nutrition and fitness, rather than a mine field of obesity, heart complaints and aching joints.

To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.Buddha.

 

Like father like son? Is Hilary Benn the exception to the rule?

Posted on by El_Numerito

Last night, MP’s in the British House of Commons, held a marathon debate on whether Britain’s Royal Air Force should join a bombing campaign against Daesh in Syria and Iraq.

The Rt. Hon. Jeremy Corbyn MP, leader of HM opposition made his feeling clear that he did not support the proposals and is vehemently opposed to war.  Corbyn however, did not use the whip, but instead allowed a free vote.  I suspect that this was certainly to avoid a very public and humiliating revolt by members of his shadow cabinet and backbenchers.

The free vote did not save Corbyn from humiliation however, when 66 of his MP’s, including 11 members of his shadow cabinet voted in favour of war.  This is Corbyn’s first loss since his election to the role of party leader suggesting that there is disgruntlement within the parliamentary party’s more centrist and Blairite MP’s. No shock there.

The greatest betrayal came from within his shadow cabinet, from the son of Britain’s most prolific and respected left wing politicians, Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn.  Last night Mr Benn gave a speech that received rapturous applause from both sides of the house.

Interestingly it would seem that Hilary’s point of view is diametrically different from that of his late father Tony Benn, who was up until his death vehemently opposed to the evils of war.

In a very powerful oration Hilary Benn certainly stirred the consciences of those who were undecided or uncertain.

Hilary Benn speech to the Commons on joining the fight against IS

“… I hope the House will bear with me if I direct my closing remarks to my Labour friends and colleagues on this side of the House. As a party, we have always been defined by our internationalism. We believe we have a responsibility one to another. We never have and we never should walk by on the other side of the road.

And we are here faced by fascists. Not just their calculated brutality, but their belief that they are superior to every single one of us here tonight, and all of the people that we represent. They hold us in contempt. They hold our values in contempt. They hold our belief in tolerance and decency in contempt. They hold our democracy, the means by which we will make our decision tonight, in contempt. And what we know about fascists is that they need to be defeated.

And it is why, as we have heard tonight, socialists and trade unionists and others joined the International Brigade in the 1930s to fight against Franco. It’s why this entire House stood up against Hitler and Mussolini. It is why our party has always stood up against the denial of human rights and for justice. And my view, Mr Speaker, is that we must now confront this evil. It is now time for us to do our bit in Syria. And that is why I ask my colleagues to vote for this motion tonight.”

In stark contrast, his father Tony Benn delivered a speech to the Commons on the debate of whether or not to participate in the 1992 Gulf War.

Tony Benn in the House of Commons – Iraq Bombing speech

“War is an easy thing to talk about. There are not many people of the generation that remember it here… I was in London in the Blitz in 1940.

Every morning, the Docklands on fire, 500 people killed in Westminster by a landmine one night, it was terrifying. Aren’t Arabs terrified? Aren’t Iraqis terrified? Aren’t Israelis terrified? Don’t Arab and Israeli women weep when their children die? Doesn’t bombing strengthen their determination?

What fools we are, to live in a generation, for which war is a computer game for our children, and just an interesting little Channel 4 News item.

Every member of parliament tonight that votes for the government motion will be consciously and deliberately accepting your responsibility for the deaths of innocent people, if the war begins as I fear it will.

The words of [the founding UN charter] are etched into my mind and move me even as I think of them. ‘We the people of the United Nations determine to save future generations, succeeding generations, from the scourge of war which twice in our lifetimes has caused untold suffering to mankind.

That was the pledge of that generation, to this generation, and it will be the greatest betrayal of all if we vote to abandon the charter and take unilateral action and pretend we are doing it in the name of the international community”.

While Corbyn may be damaged by the betrayal, his principles, policies and ethics remain resolute.  Corbyn is from a different Labour Party, the Labour Party of Tony Benn and Clement Attlee.

Hilary Benn, educated, articulate and intelligent, pinned his flag to the mast with his speech, a speech that would have made Tony Blair proud.  The speech is the very embodiment of Blairite politics.

In a very public disapproval, shadow chancellor John McDonnell, speaking to BBC Radio 4 said “It reminded me of Tony Blair’s speech, taking us into the Iraq war.  I’m always anxious that the greatest oratory is going to lead us to the greatest mistakes”.

His words come as RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus launch a bombing campaign in Syria.  A bombing campaign that will ultimately involved the deaths of civilians, a hatred of the west and an increased move and support towards Daesh.

Looking back on the past 14 years of ‘War on Terror’ it is near impossible to see how this new ‘War on Terror’ will actually make a positive difference.

Daesh cannot be beaten without winning the hearts and minds of those who support, embrace and fear them.

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