Month: February 2025

The man who does deals! I have heard praise for him from unlikely sources saying that he gets things done! Actioons have consequences! America will find this out in the next few months – trade tarrifs will cause a rise in inflation. American products will be shunned, greater reliance will be made on home grown products in Europe and elsewhere. Will US deals for minerals in Ukraine be met by China increasing its deals in Africa?

And our king, the turncoat, invites him to Scotland – not London! Hopefully the Scottish Parliament will shun him! And then the Tate brothers who must be amongst the most vile people on the planet are released to the USA. They should be told that if they come to the UK they will be arrested – whether we would want the hassle involved in extraditing them is debateable.

As he flies out to meet with the Bully Keir has a stark choice. He either sucks up to him and alienates pro-Europe groups and possibly pro-Ukrainian groups or; he tells him that he will not be bullied, that the USA, as the richest nation on Earth has responsibilities that extend beyond renaming areas like The Gulf of Mexico and risks alienating the right wing press and Brexiteers who still yearn after a trade deal with the USA (whatever the cost!).

We may not have the power and even respect of the rest of the world after Truss and Johnson trashed us, but enough remains for Keir to stand tall, tell Trump to man up and stop playing silly power games with his techie pals. Has Ukraine done a mineral deal with Trump? Regretable but probably a sensible way to get America to keep Putin out!

Putin has little to gain or play with here! He wants Trump to stop supporting Ukraine, has dodgy support at home (although if push comes to shove it will solidify), and knows that even without American support he will have problems taking Ukraine IF the EU and and UK are supportive of Zelenskii. I am not sure he has recovered from the fact that Kiev did not just cave in when invaded. Funding by Moscow of RW groups has only been moderately successful with support less than 30% in the west of Europe. And this is based on racist migration policies rather than economic values. Putins economic wealth is based on raw materials and oil/gas. These can be sold to the east as well as west – but the west is decarbonising despite the pro-carbon body and mis-information. Militarily the loses faced by Russian troops have been serious (as are the Ukrainian ones) – but if NATO is willing to put troops on the ground (or even European ones the table would become weighted towards the Ukrainians.

I guess Putin will settle for Donesk and regions taken, with a return of the area taken by Ukraine. EU/NATO troops with USA ones if Trump gets mineral deal. And then peace and Trump will have achieved one goal. This is not to be decried – ask the Ukrainians who lose family membars and property to Russian strikes on a daily/weekly basis. Is Crimea a happy place – I have no idea!

So Trump may get a peace deal, but the likelyhood of one in Gaza is very remote. Firstly because he made the mistake of totally siding with Israel (Russia did not comply it appears); Secondly the rest of the world is appalled at his suggestion (even with AI images); Thirdly I doubt it makes economic sense is mainly for pro-zionist propaganda purposes.

So the Aid budget is cut to fund the defence budget. Of course as a liberal green voter on the left I am not keen on this, but Trump must not be allowed to destroy Europe! If Trump cuts the defence of Europe then the retaliation must be to make American firms pay their taxes. Putin must not be allowed to exert his influence over Eastern Europe.

Cutting the aid budget could be counter productive – Aid is is a minor way of addressing the disparity in wealth around the world. Will migration increase with greater wealth inequalities. Aid is also a simplistic generalisation for a myriad of projects from education and development to disaster relief. The big IF here is that if it was worth spending on Aid in the first place, it is still worth it today. Just as Labour needs to ignore those claiming that we should cut back on our Net Zero commitments, the government should stand firm on this. National Health England is to cut many of its 13000 jobs. I suspect there are many more admin style cuts to come in many areas. Local councils employ chief executives at inflated salaries whhen much of their work is out sourced. Schools are the same – Heads out source everything from meals to trips, so why pay them so much? It seems that we have a duplication of roles by Whitehall and local government and even schools. Just because funding for schools is largely central government, that does not need micromanagement of the individual finances. Why does any head teacher need to be paid more than the Prime Minister. If it can be justified by work load or pressure/responsibility – then the system is wrong.

Major hair cut was overdue, and the birds need nesting material! But it is cold without a hat!

A quick read of the new Crie Bill makes sense. Your phone is nicked and you track it, why should police then wait for a warrant to search? The only proviso is that the police are still racist and have dishonest elements. There are similar concerns regarding off the road vehicles – who determines it to be a nuisance? There are regular offenders with no respect for the countryside and environment, but whilst off roading is not an offence per se (a thought!). Child grooming reporting is also fraught with difficulties; as a teacher I had doubts about one girl who always looked tired – but she was bright and got great grades and attendance was excellent – no other indications. Should I have formally reported my suspicions, I did mention it to the HoH but only in a passing comment? Would a formal report have caused unnecessary trauma for no reason or …. These are dilemmas that teachers can do without. Child abusers are by nature aggressive and often violent. Whenever there is a horrific case of child abuse the press are quick to accuse professionals of incompetence but rarely praise the dedication those same people show. In my teaching career I had two instances where girls confided that they had been raped – both were not straight forward cases and despite being able to pass on to someone else to deal with the experience was exhausting on each occasion. So please do not let the balance between common sense and dedication be come ruled by the gutter press.

Changing the law on shoplifting is again common sense but where will the extra police come from? Maybe just like the security vans that collect and deliver cash to shops, maybe there should be mobile security officers with training to a lower level than police, but with powers of arrest and detention. A family member was arrested for blatant shoplifting and the police were brilliant, time in the cells and a fine line between threat and sympathy worked wonders. But then good people have guilt and a feeling of humiliation – others seem to care not a jot.

So in general I am in favour of the law change, but it must be matched by rehabilitation where appropriate. Street crime and anti-social behaviour are a problem with causes beyond the crimes themselves. A society that deals only with the acts of crime is a failing society.

There is an underlying theme here! Trump wants Greenland for rare minerals, Ukraine basically being threatened with $500 billion demand for rare minerals, Canada has rare minerals. Trump has courted Musk and other techies who need – wfmsideways – rare minerals. Peace in Gaza if the territory is signed over to the orange bastard.

Bullies beware of what you wish for! Trump believes he has all the cards for a winning hand. But consider. The EU is too big to bully. Airbus when started was a minnow compared to Boeing – but where are they now? The same fate could befall te tech companies. China has already shown that it can innovate and produce EV cars cheaper and better than TESLA. TikTok uploads something ridiculous like 16000 videos per minute. America does not have a monopoly on innovation and tech. ARM was a UK company that designed the chip in most phones (now owned by Japanese bank but up for sale again.

Threats to companies and countries will result in innovation and competition. OTTO is already competing with Amazon as is Cdiscount in France. Personally I am happy to pay 3 or 4% more to thwart the mega rich (maybe more!).

Much has been said about the German election swinging to the right – but the very RW Extremist group AfD still only received 20% of the vote. The left and Greens collapsed due to past mismanagement so not the glorious begining that the RW Press world wide have stated. Germans have more to be concerned about with the migration instigated by Russia having an impact. The AfD despite endorsements and support from Trump, Musk and Putin are still at 20%. Their hate against muslims and jews is however popular – the question I have is – WHY?

I am not sure I am impressed with his domestic performances – however he is proving his worth on the international scene. He is showing negotiating skills way above others who trade sound bytes! Whilst Trump trills away about having done nothing to end the war (technically correct) Starmers measured responses have been welcome. Trump may believe he can bully his way to a financial dividend up of Ukraine but Europe may not be as divided as he seems to assume.

At home the press are still banging the tired BREXIT Drum, this time regarding migration of young workers within the EU. Farmers still whinge about the end of farming (I still think putting no sale inheritance notices would work – if subsequent generations sell land then they have to pay back dated inheritance tax at the full rate paid by everyone else.

Papers have conflicting information about the economy- tax income was lower than expected; firms are hiring more than expected or not hiring due to Nationl Insurance increase. This last one seems to imply that companies have a god given right to maintain/increase profits regardless of societies needs. I get that a farmer reliant on labour to pick crops may have to increase pices to remain in business, but I will shed no tears for the likes of Tesco’s bemoaning the fact that their profits have taken a hit – one which is unlikely to be reflected in executives pay or shareholders dividends!

Trade Wars – should Trump start our response should be easy. A money made by trading in the UK will be taxed according to UK Law – no loopholes. Tax will be due on sale/transaction. This would be true for Amazon, and tech companies like Apple and Meta. Attempts to hike prices should result in fines.

Water companies have been allowed to syphon money off and fail to meet legal commitments. Prosecutions should ensue and companies allowed to go bust. Re-Nationalisation should ensue with commercial style commitments. Perhaps making every homeowner an owner of the companies on a regional basis, with larger companies broken up. Current shareholders could be given a 10% share in lieu of debt. (which they could not sell for 10 years _ and then only by offering shares to current homeowners first!

What else – sun is shining – new washing machine in, car sorted. I will plant some chilli tomorrow although it might be a bit too cold still? and is the day long enough?

And as no one reads this nonsense I might as well go personal! I an 71 (birthdays matter less now days). At this age one considers ones mortality although one does not have the medical care of royalty! I can honestly say that I regret nothing – yes I made some fucking awful decisions but how can I regret the mistakes that lead to Maz and Mart and Tams and then Erin, Adam and Corinne and Ottilie? Would my life have panned out differently – of course, for better or worse is irrelevant. Maybe I should stop here! No regrets

What is his game? Let Russia crush Ukraine and then divi up the wealth?

Some of the weird things he has said “Ukraine was to blame for the invasion” (Ukraines push to join NATO was possibly enough to cause relations to deteriorate, but surely not enough to cause an invasion). “Zelenskyy is a dictator” – he was voted in and remains popular. “Zelenskyy has made personal profit from the war” – absolutely no evidence of this. “The USA gives more financial/military aid than Europe” – a blatant lie! Both are around the $115billion mark although many countries have given a higher proportion of GDP like Denmark, and the Baltic States. “Russia wants peace” – at no time has Russia expressed this. “Russia is capable of wiping out Ukraine militarily”. – again bullshit! Russia has had to deploy North Korean missiles and soldiers whilst their loses have been huge.

Meanwhile our very own buffoon (BlowJob Johnson) posts on twitter (X) that Trump is joking and that Russia and Trump want Ukrainian wealth to rebuild the country. Hopefully any comments from Truss have been ignored for the silly whining it has become – like an elusive gnat that just irritates as you are trying to drop off asleep!

Some facts from Eurostat, UK Office for National Statistics. Lots of good stats https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/feb/19/the-rise-of-the-far-right-global-trade-and-ukraines-future-why-the-german-election-matters-visual-explainer

The key ones for my argument are that the total pop of the EU will fall to 419m by 2100, UK will rise to 86 million. However without migration the numbers are 295m and 48m. Stats for Spain and Italy(pop with no migration would halve!) and Germany are equally large. On the face of it, for the planet and its environment this is good news. However without migration the number of over 65’s increases from 21% today to 32%. This comes with commensurate health and care issues. With AI perhaps resulting in a dumbing down of jobs will we see a growth in care type jobs for those unable to achieve doctor status?

Whatever, the topic needs addressing – many hospitals across Europe rely on migrants to function (and heir own countries would benefit from their prescence at home!). It is not just health and care sectors – the UK seems to have a work problem? 3 million UC claimants not looking for work? My immediate reaction is. that maybe the right sort of jobs are not out there? Maybe neighbourhood office style centres with support and cafes could provide an answer? ZOOM calls do away with the need for commuting. I have no idea of the skill sets of these people.

Again – we need a proper discussion without workshy accusations.

Next day! Discussing this in the shop A made the comment that only the rich and the poor can afford children. I think it is more complicated. Yes the cost of mortgages makes the traditional set up more difficult, but the trend is across Europe! Other factors must come into play. 1.- smaller families – one or two children is definitely the norm. 2. -Getting married later (or not getting married at all, so starting a family later. 3.-Thus having the one or two children later. 4. -Job security is diminishing. 5. Then there is social media, it is not designed to be family friendly? 6. – fears for the future, it was a factor back 50 years ago, but the future has not got brighter? 7. – decline in the extended family makes it more difficult to raise a family. 8. -Women needing to work to pay the bills (this hits the middle classes