Well, New Zealand won the rugby union world cup, and so in celebration I have changed my name back to Captain Haddock, but it was sad to hear of the death of the great all black - Jonah Lomu.

However, this week has been overshadowed by the terrorist attacks in Paris, and as I write this now in Bamako, Mali. The attacks in Paris were shocking, horrific and completely unjustifiable on  any level. It is though important to remember that nearly all muslims do not believe or support this warped toxic view of the world, also that Syrian refugees do not equal terrorists, whatever Sky news or the Daily Mail claim - the evidence of their propaganda is flimsy at best. It's sad to see how the right wing media, alongside this Tory government have jumped at the opportunity to put forward an argument to bomb Syria. I cannot see how dropping more bombs on a country already devastated is going to help the situation, apart from radicalising more young people throughout Europe. You defeat an ideology like IS through argument and debate, showing what a lot of shit it is, alongside trying to stabilise the whole region of north Africa, Iraq and Syria, and stopping Israel from pouring petrol on the burning flames of Palastine - a mess Israel has created with the tacit support of the West.

It is interesting how Saudi Arabia (the West's so called friend) sits silently, as it allegedly funds IS, an organisation supposedly full of Saadam Hussein's former Ba'th Party members!

UTM,
Captain Haddock