The Russian Federation moves to restore the balance and solve the problems created by US Foreign Policy

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the fundamental imbalance in Foreign Affairs led the USA to believe that it could do whatever it wanted, wherever it wanted, to whoever it wanted, without any kind of accountability.

This is why in 2013, the USA carried out the illegal invasion of Iraq that led to the de-facto partition of Iraq and the spread of instability that today affects Africa, Middle East and Asia Minor and creating wave after wave of refugees that firstly flooded neighbouring countries and are now reaching Europe and threatening to destabilize Europe.

The Russian Federation, always mindful of the risk involved, always played the diplomatic card and search for solution via the Organization of the United Nations. Having reached a limit when what is happening in places like Syria, Iraq and others are becoming a potential risk for the Russian Federation and for former Soviet Republics, the Russian Federation decided to act to prevent the escalation of instability and war promoted by the actions of the United States of America.

The fall of Muammar Gaddafi did not produce the so much announced Democratic Stability the US and other governments including the UK government were talking about to justify their actions in the same manner that the invasion of Iraq did not produce Democratic Stability. Mistake, after mistake, the United States of America has transformed what were previously relatively stable areas of the world into a Hell that is now reaching Europe.

I fully support the actions of the Russian Federation and welcome Russian intervention to support a sovereign nation called Syria that has been under attack because of US agenda that has nothing to do with the well being of Syria nor of any other of the countries affected by US Foreign Policies.

Those of us who witnessed the actions of the United States of America supporting coups d'état, supporting political assassinations, detention without trial, torture and murder know that, unfortunately, the United States of America is being ruled by a clique that driven by greed is destabilizing the entire world.

On September 11, 2001, the American people suffered a catastrophe that was the direct consequence of decades of interference and ill advised Foreign Policy. People from all over the world sympathize with the sufferings experienced on September 11, 2001. Unfortunately, the actions that followed ever since after September 11, 2001 have dramatically damaged US interests and the interests of many countries across the world.

Once again, I salute and congratulate the Russian Federation for doing the right thing to try and restore some kind of normality.

Karl Gerhardt HOHENSTAUFFEN

Tube Strikes: not too much, not too little

I guess most people are unaware of the fact that transport workers have worked round the clock for many many years. When transport services stop, teams of workers start maintenance work checking tracks and signals and doing everything necessary to ensure that a few hours later when services start again the network will be safe to operate and transport millions of passengers across London.

The conflict now is about increasing the number of hours when trains are driven across the network. Forcefully, working conditions will change and this will mean that eventually there is going to be less time available to maintain the network and that those in charge of doing repairs will be under increasing pressure when doing jobs that are absolutely necessary to ensure that the network is safe to run.

Of course Mayor Boris Johnson wants to change working patterns. He has in his mind the idea of getting rid of all tube drivers replacing them with robots and computers. This has serious implications. On the one hand, theoretically, services will be extended and more people will travel. In practice, the chances of breakdowns occurring will increase and the time available to deal with breakdowns will be reduced.

One fundamental issue affects Underground Services: lack of space. This is why we have now railway services, bus services, underground services and so called overground services complementing each other to increase capacity and transport alternatives within the little space available.

The situation we face is not about workers being unreasonable. It is about having a safe and sustainable network. Most people should know by now that certain branches of the service would be under water had not been for constant pumping. The tunnels are old and without proper maintenance that can only be done when services are not running the network would eventually come to a halt not because of strikes but because of critical physical damages.

After welcoming parties, come metallic fences, barbed wire, tear gas and water cannons

After welcoming parties, political expressions of support, street rallies calling for immigrants to be welcomed, come metallic fences, barbed wire, tear gas, water cannons and stringent border controls.

Suddenly, the demagogy of leaders like Angela Merkel, gives way to the reality of what flood immigration actually means.

The quota system was rejected and was bound to be rejected. The diktats of EU bureaucrats and politically correct politicians are faced with the realities of member countries that on this issue and on many other issues don't seem to see eye to eye.

As I was listening to Jeremy Corbyn on his maiden appearance in the House of Commons coming face to face with Prime Minister David Cameron, comments about cuts of Housing Benefits that led to an exodus from central areas of British cities, the question came to me: if they are complaining about a housing crisis, about people being thrown out of homes because of cuts of Housing Benefits, where do people think that the tens of thousands that will be arriving in coming months are going to live?

David Cameron, the Prime Minister that says No on Monday, Yes on Tuesday and Maybe on Wednesday, promised to accept tens of thousands of immigrants. How is this compatible with the realities of the Housing Crisis, the lack of GP surgeries, the lack of school places, the burden being imposed on public services? Well, it isn't.

You listen then to the rise of unemployment and the fact that employers are going to be taking in less employees as the new Living Wage comes into place. Less jobs and more people looking for jobs, many of whom not even speak the language of the country? They will need a place to live in. They will need a job or otherwise they will be locked up in the cycle of welfare dependency. Have any of the aforementioned concerns been taken into account?

Demagogy can please many people that sooner than later will end up terribly disappointed, desperate and angry, and anger is what we must be very afraid of because discontent will flock into the streets of Britain and then the scenes of fences, water cannons, tear gas and police deployment with riot gear will also be seen in the United Kingdom.

Time for Principled Politics regardless of Ideology

You might agree or disagree with what Jeremy Corby stands for. Personally, what matters to me is Principled Politics regardless of ideological labels.

I am fed up to the back of my teeth of all the talk about Middle Ground. I am fed up of Middle Ground. I want politicians that stand for what they believe and tell things as they are.

For decades there has been the discussion about occupying the Middle Ground. What is the Middle Ground? A figure of speech, an invention to try and please everybody even if people don't have a clue about what is being promised. Get rid of Middle Grounds and give us the real McCoy. What do you stand for Sir/Madam? I look at the record of votes in the House of Commons of the last 25 years and I see a very disappointing reality with politicians pleasing their public and then doing exactly the opposite of what was promised.

They say that the new generations don't care about politics. Wrong. The new generations care about politics but they don't want demagogues. They want the real thing. The don't want scaremongers that tell them that the world is going to come to an end if the vote for this or for that. They want and they entitled to make their own mistakes, follow their own paths wherever those paths can take them to.

The British political system has been suffering from paralysis. The system has been clogged with professional politicians that stand for what is convenient for their own personal interests and their kind of politics has become a bit of the same wherever you look. Whether it is Conservative, Labour of Liberal Democrat, you know that they represent exactly the same interest groups and they are very comfortable switching chairs every four or five years to try and maintain the status quo, a status quo that has been a recipe for disaster.

Here comes a new face of politics. A man that challenged his own political party more than 500 times voting in the House of Commons and on the streets, talking about what he cares about and about what he believes. Once again, you might agree or disagree with Jeremy Corby but he is on record as being somebody who truly stands for what he believes.-

Karl Hohenstauffen