WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ARGENTINA ?

I know many people have already  made   comment about the about the disgraceful way in which Argentina played in the World Cup, but I feel impelled to add to that commentary. I cannot understand where that appalling violence exhibited by the Argentinian team came from.  This is a squad whose players ordinarily play in Europe, and many who play in the English League, including Aston Villa, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Liverpool. On the European mainland we have Marseille, Benfica, Strasbourg, Inter Milan and four of their forwards play for Atletico Madrid.  

The European leagues are not known for violence. Strong uncompromising play maybe, but not outright thuggery and violence. There is a will to win, but to win at all costs  regardless of rules of the game? The number of times I saw opposing players pushed and pulled to the ground, virtually knee capped and deliberate elbowing in the body and neck, was outrageous. How the referees let that sort of behaviour continue on the pitch is stupefying. I appreciate they can’t have eyes everywhere or see through people, but there are four linesman who are not there just to flag offside. They also have a role as referees to spot infringements and seriously dangerous play. That is what the Argentina teamed produced throughout theses games, seriously dangerous play. 

I am baffled by a team which has some very gifted players, who would ordinarily coordinate their team play for strategic effect and flow, and instead became so desperate to win back to back world cups, that they threw away everything they know about real football and resorted to punching and kicking the opposition off the park, rather than playing them off the park. The after game, appalling sportsmanship, bad faith resentment, spilling over into deliberate attack of opposing players, was an outrage and should result in the team being admonished though some sort of suspension from world cup qualification in the future and a heavy financial penalty. 

I am not an avid football fan, but I do like to watch and admire the skill exhibited by the players. Not only the balletic forwards and midfielders, but the defenders who do not score as many goals, but save the day in many different ways.

Last night's shameful display by Argentina against a truly unified Spanish ensemble was shocking, and the thought that Argentina might actually score a fluke goal and/or win on penalties was deeply disturbing. It is no wonder most of the rest of the world watching were overjoyed at the Spanish win. If ever skill over thuggery was destined to triumph, last night’s event proved it. I’m pretty sure the Argentinian fans, deep down, were ashamed and embarrassed by the spectacle they watched despite their obvious adoration of their international team. They certainly made their feelings felt for Mr Messi who was clearly moved by the support for him. Tears in his eyes were not for losing the match, but for the emotion he experienced looking up at that crowd of supporters showing their appreciation and respect for him, despite the loss.

Few people  get to experience that kind of popular approbation in life. It’s a shame it had to be expressed in such sadly shameful circumstances. 

NEWS FROM CALIFORNIA AND A WASHINGTON DIVERSION

I received an email from my friend Bob in California in response to my Optimistic Thought of the Day:

Ah, yes! DJT is trying his best to corrupt our mid-term elections. It's an all-out effort, which includes pushing a bill on limiting voting in national elections to be passed by Congress, and the threat of either national guard units in the states being activated to mess with the voting, using ICE to intimidate voters, and/or using the Jan 6th criminals he pardoned to hang around the polls in the swing districts while displaying their firearms.

He's pulling out all of the stops, because if the House becomes Democratic, they'll certainly impeach him. That will put a great deal of pressure on the Republican senators, who have to run in 2028, if they don't remove him. Dems may not get a majority in the Senate after the mid-terms, which means, due to a change in the filibuster rules by Republicans, that the Republican senators can approve DJT's departmental appointments and judges by a simple majority. Now, that's tilting the playing field.
Bob

It is clearly difficult to maintain any kind of optimism in the United States, given the current psychotic leadership in Washington DC. 

As to the United Kingdom, we have a very nice, if difficult, weather system hovering over the South of England. It’s a bit like living in Southern California. I am enjoying that immensely. Tee hee.

I have recently been watching the BBC War & Peace serial from 1972, adapted by Jack Pulman, and directed by John Davies, with Anthony Hopkins as Pierre Bezukov, Morag Hood as Natasha  Rostov, Alan Dobie as Andrei Bolkonsky. Angela Down as Maria Bolkonsky, David Swift as Napoleon, and loads of other great actors. Anthony Hopkins won a BAFTA TV award for Best Actor, but they all deserved an accolade. 

There are a number of dramatised versions of War and Peace including Sergei Bondarchuck’s Russian version from 1965 which is excellent and very Russian. There is a rather odd version from 2007 with Clemence Poesy as Natasha, Alexander Beyer as Pierre and Alessio Boni as Andrei, and in the cast Malcolm McDowell and Brenda Blethyn. It is a very international cast of actors; however I found some changes in the adaptation of the novel by the three main writers quite wrong and mistaken. They distracted rather than added to the work. Unfortunate. 

There is also a 2016 version with Paul Dano, Lily James, James Norton, Greta Scacchi, Adrian Edmondson, Tom Burke, Stephen Rea, Jim Broadbent among others. Although very well done and adapted by Andrew Davies in 6 episodes, does not quite match up to the 1972 version.  There are some very good performances though. Nonetheless if you want a binge treat, the 20 episode 1972 version is a great view.  

In keeping with a theatrical theme, Oliver Cotton’s Play The Score, will be opening at Harman Hall in Washington DC on the 11th September 2026 until the 18th October 2026. Tickets will be gong on sale soon. Herewith picture promo:

I would strongly advise anyone in the US who can get to Washington DC on those dates makes an effort to see the play. The Tag line “How does art survive when despots rule” is particularly applicable in the USA of today.

MY OPTIMISTIC HOPE FOR THE UK TODAY

I am afraid it is impossible not to comment on current events in the light of a new Prime Minister starting the job on Monday next. That there should be such a seamless transition of leader in such a volatile climate is extraordinary. There are of course complaints galore as well as anger or even outrage, but little in the way of actual explosive noise or panic in the streets. Andy Burnham it is.

How he will fare is keeping many on tenterhooks, but I believe the general anxiety is one that wishes him well. Indeed is it in all our interests that he succeed in establishing himself as a leader of consequence at this time. It is also, in all our interests, that it be recognised that he has no magic wand and that he be given the time to establish his framework, and that framework should be given time to show positive results. If it does not, in what should be a reasonable amount of time, then, by all means, there should be a general election, although to what end I am not sure. 

Should this Burnham led government fail, then I cannot see that there is any current political party that has the quality or personnel fit to lead the United Kingdom into what is left of the 21st century. Sadly that seems to apply to the rest of the world as well. Consider that what we have now is a flurry of leaders and would be leaders who are under investigation by the courts or convicted felons. Note: 
1- Marine le Pen, convicted fraudster having to wear an ankle bracelet during a prospective general election in France.  
2- Benjamin Netanyahu, still awaiting criminal trial in Israel and wanted by the International Criminal Court Court.
3- Donald Trump, convicted felon and adjudicated sex offender, with more indictments yet to come as he is already in breach of international law with his illegal war and activity in the Gulfs of Hormuz and Mexico. 
4- Vladimir Putin, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity
Etc…

These are only four of the major nations, three of which are causing havoc across the globe. The gangsters have completely taken over world politics, and the general public appears not to care. I would have included Nigel Farage in the above list but he is not in power, and the rate at which he seems to be exposing himself to the public as a scrounger and extremely venal politician, he may well be set aside. Nothing is certain and the fact that many of the voting public, in loads of countries, are prepared to vote for criminals and fraudsters, he may well stay the course. Who can tell?

So we are left to hope for Mr Burnham’s success as one of the better leaders in the free world. I do hope he makes his mark and that he has the acuity to do so effectively and within a reasonable amount of time. Remember, there is no magic wand and do not hold to impossible expectations. He has a history of working hard and trying hard. I’m informed that he wants to be liked by everybody but then who doesn’t. He will not be, and he will have to get used to that if he isn’t already. Just give the man a break and hope for the best. My optimistic thought for the day.

OPTIMISM FOR 2026

I woke up quite early yesterday. I tend to wake up quite early these days. It is a sign of age. I plugged in the iPhone to charge for the day and read a couple of news items on the BBC, the Guardian and a couple of subtitled pieces on YouTube. Nothing brought any kind of solace but rather made me want to scream at the top of my voice, the internal rage became so intense. I did not do so. I had decided that I would no longer indulge in venting about politics, either local or foreign. The image of Edvard Munch “The Scream” came to mind and I knew exactly what the artist intended.

Munch had begun the painting in 1893 some time around the month of May when there was a quick clay slide in Norway’s Verdal Municipality which destroyed 1054 farms and killed 116 people. Not that that was the only catastrophic event in the world of the 1890’s. The 1893 Panic was an economic depression in the United States which deeply affected every sector of the economy and produced various political upheavals. 

The noted Norwegian writer Arne Garborg is quoted as saying:

"It is said that with money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine but not health; knowledge but not wisdom; glitter, but not beauty; fun, but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; leisure, but not peace. You can have the husk of everything for money, but not the kernel.”

I am sure there were many incidents around the glob that prompted Munch to contemplate the work, of which he had painted some 4 versions; however, Munch himself wrote: 

I was walking along the Road with two Friends. The Sun was setting. The Sky turned / blood red and I felt a wave of Sadness. I stood still tired to Death, above / the blue-black Fjord and City blood and Flaming Tongues hovered. My Friends walked on. I / remained behind shaking with Angst. I felt the great Scream in Nature.

Just what is this Great Scream of Nature? I believe there is no doubt that the stress caused by this current ambience is clearly something we all feel at various times. It is not fear but a very significant anger that causes this internal shriek. Indeed, it is something that comes with almost every generation. Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, from 1954/5 is an instance in point:


I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by 
madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn
looking for an angry fix,
angel-headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly 
connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,
who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat 
up smoking in the supernatural darkness of 
cold-water flats floating across the tops of cities 
contemplating jazz, 
who bared their brains to Heaven under the El and 
saw Mohammedan angels staggering on 
tenement roofs illuminated, 
who passed through universities with radiant cool eyes 
hallucinating Arkansas and Blake-light tragedy 
among the scholars of war, 
who were expelled from the academies for crazy &
publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull, 
who cowered in unshaven rooms in underwear, 
burning their money in wastebaskets and listening 
to the Terror through the wall,
………etc…….(it goes on a bit)

That howl becomes even more resounding because it has been going on for so long, as if the lessons of our past are of naught. Why does such unequivocal knowledge fail to connect and fall away to nothingness? 

However, when I ask my desktop Mac “Causes for optimism in 2026” I get the following:

 

It speaks of 64 Global Developments Heralding a Flourishing Future, including
1- Global mental health support system
2- Wellbeing beats GDP in Policy
3- Historic Breakthroughs in Global Health (Malaria Vaccine)
4- Polio on the brink of extinction
5- Childhood malnutrition at all-time lows
6- Smoking and tobacco use plummet
7- Global COVID solidarity and resilience
8- Women’s leadership reaches new heights
9-  Marriage equality becomes a global norm
10- Death penalty becoming obsolete
Etc…

These are the first ten in the list. You will note topics 8, 9 and 10 are very much open to question. I suggest you go to the website for further information on remaining optimistic:
https://worldhappiness.foundation/blog/community/a-world-of-happytalist-progress-64-reasons-for-optimism-in-2026/

You may find some of the suggestions a bit odd. At 21 we have “Drones delivering hope and health” I presume the Ukrainians and others in the Middle East may need to rethink hope and health. Nonetheless we must maintain some sense of hope and stay healthy. What else can we do?
Good luck with that.

WHOSE FOURTH OF JULY ?

It being the 4th July it is not possible not to make political comment. There are events which occurred on this day which require comment or at least a recognition that these events had some significance. Two years ago on this day in 2024, in the United Kingdom, the Labour Party headed by Keir Starmer won a general election with 411 seats in Parliament, giving it a clear majority of 172 seats. This is not an insignificant number. 

Another event of historical note is that on the 4th July 1776, at a meeting of worthy colonial citizens known as the Second Continental Congress, the United States Declaration of Independence was adopted, formally announcing and explaining separation from Great Britain and the creation of the United States. Again, not an insignificant turn of events. 

That country was almost incinerated during a civil war which lasted 4 years. The most significant battle of that war occurred at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania between the 1st and 3rd of July and on the 4th July 1863, the Confederate Army under General Robert E Lee withdrew from the battlefield, signalling the beginning of the end of the Civil War. In that same year, five months later 163 years ago, President Abraham Lincoln delivered an address over the burial of those who had fallen during the battle. He began by saying: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”  He ended his speech with the comment: “…we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

The deep divisions that slowly grew from the foundation of the new nation, which exploded into that vicious conflict 87 years later, were quelled with Lincoln’s notion of a new birth of freedom which has persisted for the last 163 years, and the nation has not perished - yet. 

I say, yet, because that nation is in great peril. Never before has any President of the United States been such a divisive figure. Never before has any President been so crass and venal as well as being a psychotic narcissist. He seeks nothing but his aggrandisement by putting his name on every cherished edifice in America and by attempting to associate his image with that of the Presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore. The obsessive vanity is without parallel as is his stupidity. He has pissed on real American values and is going boldly around the United States in full bullying braggadocio manner, spouting crap, abusing and embarrassing the United States with every utterance. This is a gangster charlatan in full flow with his acolytes of lick spittles. 

His catastrophic effect on the world is intolerable and yet he remains unchecked.  When will he be told, in no uncertain terms, by the rest of the world’s leaders that his time is up. Which brings me back to Mr Starmer and his own 4th of July reminiscences. He has managed, with other European Leaders, to  reach some sort of modus operandi in dealing with Mr Trump. He has dealt with the United Kingdom’s foreign affairs as best he can, yet somehow has been unable to galvanise or uplift the British population out of its current doldrums. Perhaps the less than aggressive European accommodation towards Mr Trump is symptomatic of that lack of brio. Well meaning but too straight. 

So, the United Kingdom, after two years, with the Labour Party still in possession of that huge majority gained on the 4th July, is perhaps about to have its own new birth of freedom  with its appointment of a new Prime Minister. Whoever that person is, they should, without question, first make it clear to Mr Trump that any cajoling or mollycoddling is over. The United Kingdom is a sovereign nation and is taking back control. The United Kingdom’s special relationship is with the people of the United States and not the executive horror that purports to lead it at the present time. The Prime Ministers of all European countries should make it clear to the entire Congress of the United States that it is through them there will be dialogue and future discussions. Make the United States Congress stand up and be the effectual representative body it once was. If the 4th of July’s Declaration of Independence, established by that Second Continental Congress, is to have any meaning, then it should now stand up and be counted. 

While the new Prime Minister is doing that, perhaps he or she can spend some time sorting out the United Kingdom using that 172 seat majority obtained by Mr Starmer on the 4th July 2024. 

 

WHAT'S ON THE HOME FRONT ?

In keeping with the latest trend on the World Cup, I wish to make the following observation. The England team is about to play against one of the hosts of the games, Mexico in their own home stadium in Mexico City. The game will be televised in the UK at 1:00 am on Monday 6th of July 2026. There is a minor debate going on in the UK as to whether parents should allow their children to stay up late to be able to watch the match which is likely to go on until possibly 3:30 am or later. Indeed, the England Team manager Thomas Tuchel has expressed the view that children should be allowed to stay up to show support of the team. It is however a school night and the children are expected to be in school on Monday morning as normal. Views have been expressed from a variety of sources both for and against the proposition. The Education Secretary has stated that she expected the children to be at school and alert on Monday morning. What individual parents intend to do is another matter. I’m sure it will be a mixed bag. 

My own view is that, given the style of play the England team are exhibiting, the children are more than likely to fall asleep in no time and surely after the first 15 minute of play. They will all be safely tucked up by 1:30 and ready to attend school by 8:45 AM. So perhaps a bit shorter sleep than 8 hrs, but enough to get through the school day at 3:00 or 3:30 pm. They will be saved the depression that will most probably prevail as Mexico progresses to the quarter finals against either Brazil or Norway. 

I note that, according to various bookmakers and odds checkers, that England are very slightly favourites to win the match.  I put this down to wishful thinking or just the usual economic skullduggery of the gambling industry. Assuming that most people will back the favourite, most bets, and therefore money, will go the bookie’s way - sufficient to pay out on the slightly better odds for Mexico and still make a very good profit. 

Is this a cynical approach to the goings on in the Americas? I suppose it is, but then, swindling and shenanigans seems to be at the very heart of America. This is not a political statement but merely factual. Conflicts of interest and chicanery abound from the very top, so why should we suppose it should be any different elsewhere at this time when money is being made hand over fist on gambling transactions. 

   

I could be very wrong of course and Mexico’s  extraordinary home advantage at the Estadio Azteca will amount to nothing but noise. The England squad may well show flare and initiative, precision and fluidity, and come out on top. It is not as if the team lacks individual football excellence, it is just that a cohesive ensemble seems to evade them.  We wait and see. 

As to the manager’s plea for youth support on the home front, huddled around their family widescreen smart teles, with crisps and Ribena, I’m not sure that image will be at the forefront of the players’ minds, spurring them on to glory; but, who knows?

BRAVO LES BLEUS

The World Cup was providing something really special last night. Some sports commentators called it mesmerising and indeed it was. France -v- Sweden was a joy to behold. No disparaging Sweden who are a very strong team, but the French squad put on a display reminiscent  of the American Basketball Olympic Dream Team of 1992.  No other team has even come close so far. If they continue there display of excellence there is no doubt who will take home the trophy. I would recommend seeing for yourself. It is not often one has a chance to see a sport being played at its best, with all the joy and and sometimes magic that professional sport can convey, not only for the spectators, but for the players themselves.

Recently, the New York Knicks gave New Yorkers a similar uplifting feeling on a national level. Thirty four years ago, on a world stage, the United States Olympic Basketball team provided just such an experience. Those of us who watched it at the time marvelled at the precision and fluidity of that ‘dream team’ going about its business.  Last night in New Jersey, the French 'dream team' gave us that same kick.

Although I stated that I would no longer comment on politics, 1992 was the year Bill Clinton was elected for his first term as President. Bush Senior had lost, essentially because of his boast to the American People “Read my lips, no new taxes” and Clinton campaigned on the slogan “It’s the economy, stupid”. I could draw some parallels here, but I will refrain from doing so. Suffice it to say that it would be so nice if the unending joy of the French World Cup football team were spread around the world. Bravo France - Long may it continue.