General Lee

Statues to General Lee, the commander of the Confederate forces during the American Civil War, have been pulled down in parts of the southern USA. Plans for such a demolition led to deadly clashes in Virginia over the weekend.

I do not believe in sanitising history. A statue to Gen Lee is, to my mind, not glorification of slavery (which he sought to defend), but a marker of history. Going on the ferocity of the clashes this weekend, the subject of racism is still very much alive in the USA of 2017. Pulling down a statue or two won't make that go away.

I shall add that the presidency of Donald Trump, who was very late in condemning the violence in VA, has not helped the situation. Rather than seeking a fight with a tinpot dictator in North Korea, he would be better advised to attend to matters at home. I thought that was the ticket on which he sought to be elected.

Putin and the Koreans

It has occurred to me that the regime of Kim Jong-un in North Korea (PRNK) is no longer propped up by China. Instead, Vladimir Putin's Russia appears to be their main supporter. Following the first alleged ICBM test by PRNK, the UN Security Council was preparing to condemn these tests - a condemnation that Russia vetoed. Moscow and Pyongyang seem to maintain warm relationships, and that is something that should worry the world. PRNK is not a signatory to the non-proliferation treaties, or anything to do with reducing the threat from nuclear weapons. We should take it as read that Putin can use Kim Jong-un as a lever for blackmail - anyone who threatens to do anything about PRNK nuclear weapons will face Putin's wrath and his own arsenal of nukes. We can also take it as read, if uncorroborated, that Russia will be involved in the further development of the North Koreans' weapons programme.

If it was the case that Putin was involved in manipulating the US Presidential elections of last November, then we can certainly see why he wanted Donald Trump in. Apart from being a disgrace to his Hebridean heritage, he is a danger to world peace. Whilst governing (or more to the point, feuding) by tweet, the world is going down the pan in a handcart. A weak USA leaves the door open for dangerous leaders like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un.