Welcome

Welcome to my wargaming blog,
I'm Dave and live in Morpeth, Northumberland in the UK.
This may or may not be a regular thing, we'll just have to see how it goes.

I am a painter/collector of figures first and a wargamer second. My thrill in this great hobby of ours is to place that final well researched & painted unit into the cabinet. The actual gaming with the figures is an important but secondary experience, we all like to win, but it isn't the be all and end all of it, being with good friends and having fun is.
Hope you will enjoy reading this blog as much as I will writing in it.
Just to remind the visitor to scroll down the various pages and click on 'older posts' to see more.
Dave.

Friday 30 August 2013

Another 'little war'

This is a blog about collecting, painting and playing with model soldiers, usually nothing more and usually not serious.
I am most certainly not a political animal. I follow with interest what happens both in my country and throughout the rest of the world, from time to time I feel the need to have a rant and this is one of them.
The vote against some form of intervention in Syria in Parliament last night was I feel a game changer. The MPs voted with the views of the people of this country in the back of their minds, they knew that if yet another intervention in a foreign country was sanctified and given the green light that they would not get the votes of their constituents in the next election. Gassing and killing of innocents, oil, stability in that region played a part, but don't kid ourselves keeping their jobs was the primary motive.
The reasons for the people of this country rejecting involvement in Syria are I feel obvious and nothing to do the horrendous situation of the local populous in that area.

1) In 2003 the west's invasion of Iraq was in the main justified by Saddam's development of WMDs. This justification was found to be wrong, politicians  telling lies.

2) Afghanistan, always an un-winnable war (the only person to subdue the area was Alexander the Great who killed 30% of the population to do it, and then it took him five years!) was invaded. They then pulled troops out and invaded Iraq, then went back to Afghanistan while trying to nation build in Iraq and found they couldn't do either. Then intervention in Libya and now Syria, all the while cutting back the armed forces making it impossible for them to do their jobs. The people of this country are sick of politicians standing up and patronizing the men and women in our armed forces saying what a fantastic job they are doing while tying one hand behind their backs!
One small war after another, the United Kingdom is not part of the worlds police, do the Germans, French Japanese etc do all this, no they do not. Let the Arab League start solving the crisis in their own back yard, These oil producing countries have been screwing us into the ground since the seventies and are now crapping themselves because the people they have been screwing (the public in this country, us.) have told them where to go The days of empire are long gone, politicians get real, the public have.

3) The financial crisis. This has been going on since 2007-8 six years of cutbacks and uncertainty and it's along way off being finished, this country will be in the doldrums for at least another eight to ten years. The people of this country are appalled by their reduction in actual income during this time, the uncertainty over jobs and the loss of businesses. Make no mistake the cause of this crisis lies firmly at the door of politicians who allowed the banking sector to continue on making vast profits without regulation of any substantial kind. Over forty years the economic eggs of this nation have all been concentrated in the banking and service sector in London, we make little when compared to other countries and therefore had no flexibility to move in other directions when it all went to hell. These self same bankers and their friends and colleagues were allowed to waltz off into the sunset with large bonuses and payoffs in their back pockets while the rest of us could go hang and the old boys network did nothing to stop them.
Because of this all trust in politicians has gone, we all know that a large percentage of them simply look to the next election and go for the short term policies to get them re elected.
So all in all politicians take heed, the people of this country will not be taken for granted any longer.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
P.S. 'special relationship', does that consist of us jumping when the Americans snap their fingers?
Dave.

10 comments:

  1. Well said, I couldn't agree more.

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  2. Morning Dave,
    Originaly I thought exactly the same as you. I actually watched about three hours of the debate yesterday, and found it interesting. I was struck by the irony from the Labour side,who were basically against any intervention. Especially as a lot of them were the same people who rushed to support Blair in his quest to leave a legacy.
    While ignoring the wishes of the people and buying the blatant lies created by Blair's creature Alistar Cambell.
    After the vote however I watched the latest news where the Syrian air force dropped napalm on an infants school as they are prone to do when they see any group! forming on the ground.
    I suddenly felt ashamed of the no vote. I know we are no longer a world power, but I have always been proud of our sense of fair play and support for an underdog.
    Perhaps I am being too simplistic. Unfortunately Blair's true legacy was to destroy our trust in government.
    Anyway,back to playing and painting soldiers.
    Sorry to go on,
    thanks,Robbie.

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  3. Thanks lads,
    Robbie I, like you, would guess that any right minded person who sees anything like the horror we witness on a daily basis in Syria and any other country would wish our country to do something about these things, but where do you draw the line. Would 100 cruise missiles do the trick, would they change the Assad regime and prevent them doing it again. Would they cause any collateral damage killing civilians and beginning the cycle of young Syrian children hating the west for killing their parents, I think not
    Did we do anything in Rwanda when the massacres took place, no there's no oil there.
    Don't apologize for going on mate, your views are as important as anyone else s.
    Dave.

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  4. Well sais Dave, feel better to get that off your chest. Like you I feel we can no longer keep getting ourselves in others affiars.

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  5. Good one Dave - loud and clear enough to be heard over here on the other side of the Atlantic!
    Agree 110%

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  6. Interesting developments yesterday, President Obama has in effect put off a decision regarding a missile strike on Syria by saying that he (like the British government and Parliment) will consult congress. A clever move on his part me thinks, especially as they don't gather together for nine days giving him considerable wriggle room.

    1) He will get the support of the primary legislative body for the missile strikes, therefore not shouldering all of the decision himself, (we all did it!)

    2)If they vote against then it was their decision, not his.

    3)He flies to Russian soon to 'consult' with President (dictator) Putin. Either way the pressure is on Putin to come up with some compromise with the threat of missiles raining down on Russia's ally.

    3) The rumor is (I must emphasis that it's a rumor)that it was Assad's brother in law, in charge of the Division of troops in the area of the gassing who retaliated for an assassination attempt on the Assad family off his own bat. The nine day delay before congress meets may just give Assad time to clip this guy round the ear and say that it wasn't official government policy.

    I may be miles off the mark, but any thoughts welcomed.
    Dave.

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  7. Keeping out of Syria is obvious- Its not our Balliwick but I notice that in the US 2003s "cheese eating Surrender Monkeys" have now become "our oldest Allies" .
    Alway remeber its NEVER about what its says on the tin but ALWAYS about furthering a politiians careers/ lining his skys- whichever is the least obvious.
    Also I wonder why the chattering classes think the lives of our lads are woth less than those of rampant jihadist loonies
    Mind you I do agree largely with Robbie here BUT American Governmwnt is more "personally based" than our parliamentary and committee base one. The Prez has a lot more power than our PM and going to Congress can make him look weak not clever- especially in the eyes of the largely consevative US media. (Fox news anyone or CBS???)

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  8. Dave Have Just read your piece again and you may be confusing a politician with someone who gives a s***. They don't have to care- its not a survival trait in their world they only have to tell us they care- different animal. Nobody gives a flying **** - with the possible exception of a few older"Gentlemen of the Left" eg Ronnie Campbell (Lab BLYTHEVALLEY) and of course the Beast of Bolsover himself- but 2 out of 600 - poor odds - thoug there may be a ferw more.
    But remebr we get the goverment we deserve- thats the price of "democracy" especially when only about half the electorate actually vote
    Serves 'em right- now where did I put those ladsknects......

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  9. Believe me mate I am under no illusions regarding the morals of the vast majority of the politicians of all parties and all types of government throughout the planet, hence my comment "but don't kid ourselves keeping their jobs was the primary motive."
    Agree with his politics or not (and I'm not saying that I do) you can't argue with the fact that Tony Ben stuck to his principles, but there aren't many like him.
    Even when I was a youth (many moons ago I admit)more people did go out to vote. Now the mighty unwashed state it's 'nowt to do with me mate'.
    Morons, it's exactly to do with you.
    Because the plebs (and I don't mean this in the derogatory way) don't in the main bother to vote it means that politics has become more concentrated in the center, not much on the right, very little on the left. I'm not saying which way I would go but it would be bloody nice to have the choice instead of having to go for the politics of the all consuming center parties led by upper class nobs from Oxbridge, Eton et all.
    Enough politics. This is the last, the final comment on this. I shall post pictures of more soldiers soon.
    Dave.

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