As expected the Democrats have lost the House but the Senate is going to the wire. I am surprised the Democrats have not done worse as Joe Biden seems one of the least charismatic Presidents for a long time, and the world’s economic problems have had an impact on the American economy. So it looks like a political paralysis for the next couple of years. Trump sponsored candidates appear to have done less well than predicted – although predictably he is claiming great success. It looks likely that he would have problems in getting the Republican nomination.
PRIORITIES
The Gammons on the right waste Parliamentary time talking about migrants. Those coming across the Channel represent the equivalent of about 65 per constituency in the UK. Meanwhile in the UK millions are facing a cold hungry winter. But the narrative has moved from the important to the trivial. 12/13 years of Tory rule has left this country in dire straights.
LA NINA
For the second successive year La Niña is expected to exert an influence on the worlds climate patterns. In the UK the Environment Agency is predicting rainfall at 180% of normal in February; the dry summer may also result in drier surfaces and less infiltration than normal, thus exacerbating flood danger. If the current weather pattern persists through the next couple of months flooding would seem to be inevitable.
MIGRATION
It is not illegal to migrate, therefore there is no such thing as an illegal migrant. It may be illegal to cross borders without the correct paper work, so an illegal act has been committed. If you break the speed limit you have committed an illegal act, but you do not become an “illegal”.
FIFA WORLD CUP
I will boycott and not go! However if anyone would like to join in with a free/no prizes very competitive game please leave your email and player name. Or if already a player just let me know via email.
Rules will be 1 point for correct result, 4 points for correct score. If there is a need for a tie break I will add together all your predicted scores and see who has the closest total.
Predictions can be changed up to kickoff times. I will collate results.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1umGPoC7T5eFxJFZm6LVDteQ5N5KQMAoDmdxYC7MtzBo/edit#gid=0
BEYOND INEPTITUDE!
In a crisis the country needs quick and effective policies. What we have is a scramble to show the least compassion regarding migrants; a U turn on climate change where Sunak has adopted Labour Policy (for the moment); nurses voting for strike action; teachers being balloted for strike action; railways in chaos; energy bills have doubled and may do so again in April; mortgages rising steadily.
What policies have we seen the government come up with? Scrapping EU Laws that protect us and our environment. U turns on “On-line Safety Bill” – now dropped, NI elections. Not so much U turns but a governement spinning like an out of control top – Gavin Williamson writing rude emails, Dorries acting like a wild card spreading dissent. Braverman snarling at every opportunity. I wonder who they will wheel out to justify the unjustifiable and indefensible in tomorrow’s TV slots.
We need a government for the people, of the people: Not just the corrupt Tory Party.
Who is the 10th biggest landowner in the UK? The state of Qatar, and that is without the investments of their Ruling Family. Who owns the Shard, Harrods, hotels in Park Lane and Mayfair? Do you wonder why the Government is keeping quiet about the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the accusations of slavery, exploitation, homophobia, and bribery to get the damn thing in the first place. Well done Jurgen Clop for speaking out.
COP27
Time has probably run out to prevent major changes in Earth’s ecosystems. The world’s temperatures are already 0.8C warmer than 40 years ago. CO2 emissions continue to rise steadily as does methane. Warmer temperatures also means more water vapour (another greenhouse gas). Rainforest destruction continues steadily. Ice melting in the Arctic results in lower albedo, thus more heat absorption in the oceans which in turns leads to higher sea levels (a process which takes a while to get going, then decades to reverse. Byebye London is not going to happen soon, but may become an inevitability. Whilst the rate of population growth is slowing, it is still growing. World poverty has decreased, but this results in greater consumption and more methane and CO2.
It is not all bad news however. Solar and wind power combined has almost matched coal in creating power. Projections could mean that renewables produce 6x that of coal in the next 30 years. Lithium Battery costs have fallen to 10% of costs 12 years ago.
It seems that we have made good progress in the UK on the easy bit – increasing wind and solar power. With government assistance this could probably double by 2030. More difficult will become the need to reduce transport journeys – electric cars must be made to last, but public transport will need to take people off the roads. Air travel could be by electric planes, but will again need to change to shorter flights. It is the rich who have the greatest proportional impact – private planes should be heavily taxed. Most of the publics holiday flights could be achieved with short hop (2/3 hours) to holiday destinations. People will have to accept that there is a difference between “I need to go to …” and “I would like to go to ..”. Maybe more people should stay at home as they gain little from, and give nothing to the cultures they visit.
Diets will need to change. As the world population gets richer and moves out of poverty, so meat and protein consumption soars. Personally I am happy to reduce my meat consumption radically, but cheese would be more difficult! But I will have a concerted effort soon. Eating more local food is a no brainer, but we should not forgo the benefits of International trade, just stop abusing it. Using poly tunnels to grow fruit and veg in the UK can be more harmful than transporting them from Spain, etc. But why we need apples from NZ and Australia (same for lamb) is beyond me! Economics gone mad. In fact any economic plan that does not factor in the true cost of the project to all aspects of the environment is a. joke.
THE SYSTEM IS BROKE
CORRUPTION
This government is basically like a cess pit of sleaze, misogynism, racism, incompetence and corruption. It has managed to move the focus from its abysmal economic performance to migrants. However, whilst the ageing Torygraph and Daily Fail readers may be enraged and going red in the face, most intelligent people will realise that the Home Office processing of just 4% of migrants is yet more evidence of incompetence.