Everyone Loves China Now

Pew Research surveyed more than 42,000 people across 36 countries and asked them 'Who do you find less alarming, the Communists or Donald Trump' and the result was that the world now views China more favourably than the United States and have more confidence in President Xi to do the right thing than President Ding-a-Ling in the White House.
Americans’ nearest neighbors Canada and Mexico,  the poor sods actually bordering the Trump led insanity, viewed China more positively than the U.S. as did almost every European nation asked such as France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the UK.
Of the 36 only 6 (Poland, Philippines, South Korea, India, Japan and Israel) preferred the child-like Tangerine Tyrant. 
The Mango Moron has single handedly done more for the global image of the Chinese Communist Party than 75 years of Beijing propaganda, a million little red books or every panda they ever loaned out and all Xi Jinping had to do was stand there quietly while the orange wrecking ball did his thing.
The reasons cited by those interviewed was that America interferes in the affairs of others (75%), it is an unreliable partner (52%) and doesn't contribute to the peace and stability (52%) and specifically America's reputation went spinning down the toilet due to the Iran war, the demands to take Greenland, kidnapping Maduro, the backing of Israel and the handling of Gaza and tariffs
Asked about the poll, the White House trotted out a flunky to declare that Trump has done more for global stability than anyone else, citing among his triumphs having obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities which means that in the Trumps Governments eyes, responding to a poll that says the world thinks you’re destabilising the planet by bragging about the bombing campaign the pollsters literally identified as a reason the world thinks you’re destabilising the planet is a winner.
China didn't have to win hearts and minds, it just had to stay quiet and not be the loudest lunatic in the room and allow the dysfunctional Americans to do their work for them.
Maybe Xi should send them a bottle of something fizzy and a thank you card for making their Authoritarian regime seem more cuddly than the current one in Washington.

Special Guest Blogger: Greek God Ares

I know what you’re thinking. Ares, why are you here? Shouldn't you be out there inciting a riot or sharpening a spear with your teeth?
First of all, mind your own business. Second of all, being the God of War in a family of intellectuals is a nightmare. My father, Zeus, who, let’s be honest, spends 90% of his time turning into various farm animals to ruin someone’s marriage, once told me to my face that I was the most hateful of all the gods on Olympus.
The most hateful? Really, Dad? Have you met your wife? But no, I’m the problem because I like a little hullabaloo.
Growing up was tough. While Apollo was learning the lyre and Artemis was practicing her archery (from a safe distance, like a coward), I was out there getting my hands dirty. I don’t do strategy or long-term planning. I do war. The messy kind. The kind where you wake up in the morning, scream at the sun, and run toward the nearest Sharp Thing.
Two giants, Otus and Ephialtes, stuffed me into a bronze jar for thirteen months. It was a long time ago. It was cramped, it was dark, and I didn’t have a snack. If you think you could handle thirteen months in a jar without losing your edge, you try it. Artemis had to bail me out, which honestly, was more painful than the jar itself.
We have to talk about my sister, Athena.
If war had a Teacher’s Pet, it would be her. She’s the Goddess of Strategic War. Do you know what that means? It means she sits in a tent with a map and a juice box while I’m out there doing the actual work.
She’s beaten me a few times. Big deal. She uses wisdom and tactics which is just a fancy way of saying she cheats. In the Trojan War, she literally hid behind a cloud and helped Diomedes stab me in the stomach. A mortal! Stabbing a god! Do you know how much that hurts? Not the wound, the embarrassment.
I’m the god of the bloodlust, the roar, the adrenaline. She’s the goddess of did we bring enough supplies? Boring. If I wanted to think about logistics, I’d be the God of Middle Management. War isn't supposed to be a chess game, it's supposed to be a mosh pit with consequences.
Look around you. Everything you love is because of me. Civilizations? Built on the ruins of people I helped kick over. Technology? You wouldn't have the internet if you hadn’t first invented better ways to throw rocks at each other.
And yet, where is my statue? Where is the Ares Day parade? You’ve got Valentine’s Day for my girlfriend, Aphrodite (which, by the way, is a total commercial sham)but nothing for the guy who keeps the world spinning through pure, unadulterated conflict.
Now, let’s talk about the state of humanity today. Humans, what are you doing?
You guys are fighting wars with buttons. A guy in an air-conditioned room in Nevada presses a key, and a drone three thousand miles away drops a missile. Where’s the sport? Where’s the eye contact? Where’s the part where you get covered in the other guy’s sweat and gory bits? You’ve turned war into a spreadsheet. It’s pathetic. If you’re waging war while sitting in an ergonomic chair drinking a smoothie, you aren't a warrior. You’re a librarian with a grudge.
Back in my day, if you wanted to destroy a city, you had to roll up your sleeves and do it brick by brick. You really got to know the architecture. Now? You just drop a bomb and the whole thing is gone in a mushroom cloud. It’s lazy.
I’m not saying we need to go back to the Bronze Age but we need to put the passion back into conflict. Stop trying to justify everything, just admit you’re angry and admit you want to hit something! It’s much more honest.

Special Guest Blogger: John Prescott

I led my life believing that a proper breakfast involves a full English and a strong cup of tea but that was the kind of man I was, born  in a modest council house in Grantham, the kind of place where the smell of boiled potatoes was a constant and I entered the world with a yowl and a plan.
My dad was a miner, my mum a cleaner, and I grew up in a house with parents who thought moderation was a type of sandwich.
Fast forward to the early ’80s. I’d already been elected as a Labour Councillor and I’d decided it was time to actually do something with my knack for shouting at people.
I was elected MP for Kingston upon Hull East in 1970, a constituency whose residents taught me the value of hard work, humour and the unbridled joy of a properly cooked fish and chips.
I quickly learned that Parliament was a bit like a giant, stuffy pub where underneath the silk ties and polished shoes was a collective yearning for a decent pint and a decent argument.
My first real highlight came in 1997, when Labour won a landslide victory, and I was appointed Deputy Prime Minister (and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions). Suddenly I was the guy who was no more being the guy who yelled at the bus driver for taking the wrong route, now I could make the routes.
I introduced the Cycle-to-Work scheme, which, helped thousands of people cycle to work and it gave me a clear run in my Jag to the office.
Working alongside Tony Blair and Gordon Brown was like being in a band where everyone thinks they’re the lead vocalist. We managed to rewrite the party’s manifesto, bring the UK into the era of digital connectivity and on one rare Sunday, I found myself in a small Yorkshire pub, debating whether to support a proposal for a expansion of the port when a local farmer, visibly agitated, shouting at me and hurled a raw egg straight at my head and I responded with a calm smile, a measured nod, and a purposeful, punch to his face to underscore the seriousness of my point.
The incident made the front page of The Sun the next day under the headline, 'Rambo Smashes Egg-Throwing Nutjob!' but looking back, the episode taught me If you’re going to punch a protester, make sure you have a reason that can be turned into a catchy headline.
When you stand at a podium, you often wonder what will echo through the corridors of history. Will it be the policies you championed, the speeches you delivered or the scandals you survived? Sometimes it just involves an egg.

Being Honest About Ann Widdecombe

A 28-year-old white male suspect has been arrested after former Tory minister and Reform UK politician Ann Widdecombe was found murdered in her home in Dartmoor, Devon.
Absolutely awful but to anyone under 40 she is best known for her appearances on Reality TV where she came across as a fun old lady game for anything, but to anyone over 40, before she became the cuddly national treasure, she was firstly a Conservative and Reform MP with some awful far-right and homophobic views.
Widdecombe built a political career on bigotry and religious zeal and repeatedly used her platform to oppose same-sex marriage equality and during her 23 years as an MP, took every opportunity to block gay rights, including the repeal of Section 28.
According to vote monitoring website, Public Whip, Widdecombe opposed every single equality measure for LGBT people and supported 'gay cure therapy' for:  'gays who do not want to be gay' and said that trans-inclusive policies were 'lunacy'.
She recently stated that Israel's Genocide in Gaza was: 'A just War', compared being in the EU to Slavery,  opposed abortions, left the Church of England at protest at the CoE decision to ordain women as priests, supported the reintroduction of the death penalty and was a Climate Change denier.
Her views aside she didn’t deserve what happened to her, nobody does, but to only concentrate on the nice things she said and did and avoid mentioning the more controversial, wicked things she said and did doesn't paint a fair picture because in my eyes, if your wicked before they went, they’re still wicked after they’ve gone.

Your Own Fault America

I got sent this so it is nothing i have found myself and it has not been verified or checked but it does seem to ring true.

Iranian spokeman on Al Jazeara:

Donald Trump has nothing to be afraid of when it comes to Iran harming him.
Trump's Presidency has caused more damage and humiliation to America than any Iranian Bomb or nuclear program could ever have done.
Iran only wishes Trump good health and that America could have Trump as their leader for another decade
Trumps presidency has truly been a gift for Iran as we have never been more unified and strong as well as now having friends worldwide that we never knew we had.
The world is not laughing at Iran, they are laughing and mocking Trump and what America has become under his stupidity and arrogance.

As i said above, how true this is remains unknown and i have been unable to find another source for it but it certainly is true that America, under Donald Trump, has been damaged and humiliated by his idiotic words, lies and deeds.
The World is laughing at Donald Trump and America, we look over the Atlantic and think what the hell is going on there?
Can you not see the creeping totalitarianism and why are you allowing a man who was found liable for  sexual abuse and is almost certainly soon to be exposed as a pedophile to write his name all over the buildings on your country?
That would be like us Brits voting Gary Glitter into Office and allowing him to build monuments and stick his name all over them, which would never happen but it is there.
I guess once he is safely out of Office or dead, whichever comes first, all his supporters currently shielding him in the in the Republican Party will come out and condemn him although it will take a generation to repair the reputational damage he has done to his country around the World and that is how it should be because the first time he was voted it could be quite correct to say they didn't know how bad he would be but to vote for him again, and stand back and watch him ruin their country, that's very much on you Trump supporting America.  

Burnham Learning On Left's View Of Israel

The Genocide in Gaza by Israel with the grim death toll of at least 75,000 has been taking place with military, political and diplomatic backing from the US who continue to back the nation run by a War Criminal wanted for War Crimes while they ethnically cleanse the Palestinians and Lebanese from their land where the death toll sits currently at  4,300 people, 569 in a single day on 23rd September.
By not outright condemning the Israeli Genocide, the current British Prime Minister Keir Starmer set himself immediately against the Labour Party Members and supporters who called for the mass slaughter to be strongly criticised by the British Government but after appearing to approve the immoral actions of Israel, he was forced to walk this back after much criticism and said that he had merely meant that he was only backing Israel’s right to defend itself, not how it was doing it in what was an expression of mild criticism of Israel’s most violent actions.
What he did next further distanced him from his own Party when he made it illegal to support Palestine Action and watched as elderly protesters demonstrating against that ban dragged away as as terrorists.
There are many things you could throw at Keir Starmer, his delivery was stunted, his lack of Socialist policies after a decade of right wing austerity was galling for Labour voters and attempting to take away the Winter Fuel Allowance from pensioners but when questioned why so many Labour supporters were deserting, one of the top reasons was his lack of forceful voice on the Israeli actions were cited and damaged him among core Labour voters, driving many to defect to the Greens who did shout loudly about what Netanyahu was doing in the Middle east.
The PM Elect, Andy Burnham, has obviously noted this and was swift to apologise for Labour’s attitude to Gaza and to Israel under Starmer, saying this week that the party got it wrong and how he was: 'Absolutely appalled by what I’ve seen and read about the destruction of Gaza. There’s increasing evidence that war crimes appear to have been committed.' he said. 'There must be accountability for the depth of the suffering the people of Gaza have experienced.'
A good start but words don't amount to much unless they are backed up by actions such as sanctions on Israel and support for the ICC and ICJ in bringing Netanyahu and his warmongers to justice for War Crimes.
That would go a long way to bringing back into the fold the many who left in disgust that we failed to call out a nation who have been committing the most horrific Genocide since the Nazi's.

Special Guest Blogger: Greek God Hermes

Listen, I’m a man of brevity. I’m the god of the quick text, the short-range herald but I have notes. I have many, many notes.
First of all, let’s address the the wings on my feet. Being the Messenger of the Gods is not the glamorous gig the poets made it out to be. Homer really glossed over the chafing. Do you have any idea what kind of aerodynamic drag you get from a brimmed hat when you’re breaking the sound barrier? It’s a nightmare for the neck muscles.
And the sandals? Let’s talk about the Talaria. You think your fancy carbon-plated running shoes are high performance? Please. My footwear has a mind of its own. They don’t just cushion the impact but occasionally decide to chase a hawk mid-delivery because they think it’s a game. I’ve spend half of eternity trying to steer my own feet while Zeus screams at me to deliver a very important lightning bolt to some king in Phrygia who forgot to say bless you after a sneeze.
I’m basically the universe’s most overworked delivery driver, except I don’t get tips, and if I’m late, I get turned into a shrub.
Before we get to my main grievance, let’s talk about my resume. People see me and think, Oh, look at the cute guy with the wings, he’s like the ancient version of ther Royal Mail.
Excuse me? I am the God of Commerce. If you’ve ever bought something on sale, that was me. I’m the God of Travelers. If you’ve ever found a shortcut that saved you five minutes, you’re welcome. I’m the God of Language. If you’ve ever used a double entendre to make a colleague laugh, that’s my bread and butter.
I also invented the lyre out of a tortoise shell because I was bored at four hours old. Then I stole Apollo’s cows just to see if I could. I’m the patron of thieves, liars, and politicians (usually the same thing to be honest).
I have a legacy of speed, wit, and high-stakes negotiation. So why, in the name of my father’s lightning-scarred glutes, is my face, specifically my staff, plastered all over the American medical system?
It’s a lot of emotional labour which is why, when I finally get a break, I like to look down at Earth. And what do I see? I see my staff on your pharmacies. I see my wings on your health insurance cards.
America. We need to talk about the Caduceus.
You know the one. My beautiful staff. Two serpents entwined in a lovely symmetrical dance, topped with a majestic pair of wings. It screams elegance but it does not scream, I am a trained medical professional who knows how to remove an appendix.
Somehow, around the turn of the 20th century, the US Army Medical Corps looked at both and said, The one with two snakes and wings looks way cooler. Let’s go with that.
Guys. You picked the symbol of the God of Thieves and Merchants to represent your healthcare.
Do you realize how funny that is to us on Olympus? I’m literally the god who guides souls to the Underworld. That is my job. I meet you at the finish line and walk you to Hades. If I’m showing up at a hospital, it’s usually because someone is leaving.
When I’m not being misidentified by the Surgeon General, my life is a blur of high-speed errands. People think being a god is all ambrosia and harp music. No. It’s mostly logistics.
Zeus would tell me to tell Poseidon to stop making the earthquakes and I would zip down to the Mariana Trench and tell Poseidon who would send me back with a message to tell Zeus to stop letting his eagles poop on his dolphins.
Then there’s the Underworld shifts. Do you know how depressing it is to spend your Tuesday afternoon explaining to a ghost that, no, they can’t bring their emotional support peacock into the Elysian Fields and to leave it at the Styx and that happens more than you would think.

Iran Targeting Trump?

According to Israeli intelligence, Tehran is hatching an alleged Iranian plot to kill Trump and mourners at the funeral for slain Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, did call for the assassination of Trump with a banner that said, 'We Will Kill Trump' and others held signs calling for his death.
Trump and his group of sycophants had no grounds to justify their actions when they attacked Iran and in the first move bombed a girls school which killed 185 and also assassinated the Supreme Leader Khamenei which could very well create a precedent for other countries seeking to resort to force without consideration for the rule of law.
Donald Trump has often boasted of the assassination of the 86-year-old Iranian Leader but makes no mention of the killing by his side of his daughter, daughter-in-law and a 14-month-old granddaughter in the attack which is illegal under International Law which prohibits the: 'Targeted assassinations of political leaders in peacetime unless during armed conflict' and as the assault has been called 'Pre-emptive', which is also illegal as there was no armed conflict until Trump and Netanyahu decided to start it by assassinating the Leader so the legal ground is non-existent.
National leaders should quite rightly be hesitant to target their counterparts in other states, in case it leads to their own targeting and if Israel is to be believed, this is what is happening.
Obviously any intelligence coming from Israel should be taken with a whole bucket of salt rather than a pinch but if Iran does manage take out Trump, it would indeed be very, very wrong and should be loudly condemned but it would be hard to not say so without triggering objections of double standards and hypocrisy.

Count Binface

Facing increasing scrutiny and tough questions over his finances, Nigel Farage has made the decision to resign and call a snap by election in Clacton, seemingly frustrated by all the unwelcome attention and bad press over that fat gift of £5m from a billionaire supporter that he failed to declare on becoming an MP.
Obviously hoping to avoid the two investigations, he has thrown his toys out of the very expensive pram (paid for by someone else) but  what he wasn't planning on was all of the main parties agreeing to not standing any candidates against him which not only makes him look a wally but leaves him facing just one opponent, a man who is named Count Binface (a name which also works for Farage without that 'o' in the name) and who could soon find himself parking his bottom on the House of Commons benches as a newly elected MP.
To make it even more hilarious, the House of Parliament have said that even if Farage is reelected, the investigations will only be paused and would restart once he is back in Parliament meaning it would all would have been for nothing and the probes and questions into the millions he received will just carry on afterwards.
As he is friendly with the almost certain pedophile in the White House, maybe he should ask him to give Keir Starmer a call to get them cancelled like he did with that red card at the World Cup although the answer would be two words and the second would be 'Off' so if things work out, we could see a man with a bin on his head sitting behind the Conservative Benches and Nigel Farage sitting in the new home which he refuses to say how he paid for and crying into his pint about how it all went wrong.   
Got to love British Politics sometimes.

Norway V England

One of the most brilliant bits of Sports commentary came in 1981 after Norway beat England 2-1 in a World Cup Qualifier and the commentator, Bjørge Lillelien, went on a fantastically and slightly unhinged rant where he named a long list of England's most well known people such as Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper and Lady Diana and ended with....Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of a beating.
The joy of beating England with players like Bryan Robson, Kevin Keegan, Trevor Francis and Glenn Hoddle is understandable because back then Norway were just not very good and hadn’t qualified for anything since the 1952 Olympics but now it is Norway V England in the World Cup Quarter Final to play either Argentina or Switzerland in the last four.
It is a real shame we are playing our North Sea neighbours because i would be cheering for them if they were playing anyone else but it is the likes of Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard who will be standing on the other side tonight so we can only hope that by midnight we can say: 'Roald Amundsen, Edvard Munch, Morten Harket, Erik the Red, Ada Hegerberg, King Harald V, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Leif Erikson, Edvard Grieg...Your boy's took one hell of a beating'.