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Every morning I go to local shop and sort the papers – only a task really on a Saturday – but I get a cup of tea and a chat, and usually a short quiz game. But sad at the ignorance of Mail, Sun and Express readers I have decided to print and insert the following in these papers. I will add the url for this web site so it is not anonymous!
The regieme change in Iraq resulted in an estimated 122,000 civilian deaths. Israel and. the USA do not respect civilian life, nor international law. It is also clear that the Trump attack was not based on firm evidence, just as Sadam Hussain did not have weapons of mass destruction. There is also no evidence that the bombs were successful in destroying the nuclear complexs hit.
Interesting phone in where a scientist said that tthe centrefuges needed to enrich uranium would cost £500 each! So Iran can build new processing facilities relatively easily. So all Trump will have done is to increase the likelyhood of Iran creating a nuclear bomb; and crucially by withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran and now bombing it, will have increased the possibility of a bamb being used.
I need to reiterate that Iran’s government is not a nice democratic one according to the model I have been indoctrinated (correctly I believe!) with. But there are many that also would not pass my test (including our own at times). But destroy the Republican Guard and ISIS and other fanatics will quickly fill the vacuum – as happened in Libya, Iraq, and possibly Syria.
Iran does not need to fire huge number of missiles – just threaten boats going through the Gulf – which is a very long way!
The Arabian Gulf (also known as the Persian Gulf) is approximately 615 miles (990 kilometers) long. It stretches from the Shatt al-Arab in the northwest to the Strait of Hormuz in the southeast. Its width varies, ranging from 210 miles (340 km) to 35 miles (55 km) at the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices are also going through the roof. Iran could relatively easily cut off 20% of the worlds oil supply, or at least make it difficult. Oil has gone up $10 a barrel today.
Who would line up with Iran? Perhaps more pertinently is who will stand against them? This will pan out over the next few weeks.
Is anyone? The illegal bombing of Iran has made the world a less safe place. Who is the proxy here, USA or Israel? Is the Iranean regeme any better or worse than Pakistan, India, North Korea, China, USA or Israel. The main reason I would have to negotiate a nuclear safety programme with Iran is that one more bomb is one too many. The regeime is nasty and vindictive, but Israel has slaughtered at least 40000 innocents and has set out to drive a population out of Gaza – genocide. The oft quoted statement that Iran wants to extinguish Israel is not verified and open to interpretation. There is little doubt that this will be their objective from now on.
Despite some geriatric former general stating that America was correct I am pleased that no British bases were used by the planes. Trump has demanded a surrender by Iran – difficult unless there actually is a war, which he has not declared to avoid scrutiny by Congress. Who should they surrender to? It can’t be the USA as they have not declared war, so it is between Trump and Israel. WTF! 90.1 million people should surrender to the orange flea ball? It is unlikely that many Iranians would welcome Trump with open arms, even with their dislike of the government. It seems to me that in many countries there is a 3 way split. A hard conservative right (in this case the Iranean government and its mullahs: Then a liberal leftish third (mainly the young and educated): and a third who go with the flow, believe what they are told to and want to be left alone in peace.? And there will always be a hard core of activists who will sacrifice for their cause – Israel beware!
We can move on from the military action of the bombs – Trump has demanded surrender. Quite what this means is to be seen. Isrel has already ‘taken out’ ‘killed’ at least 2 dozen military leaders and government officials. This did not work out well in Libya, or Iraq, or Syria, or even Persia! The future does not look bright and hopefully not orange!
tbc
OK I am sitting in the garden looking at all the jobs I ought to do -deadhead a rose bush, clean the patio, sort out the brambles (although that can wait for a month to see if the blackberries are lush or not!), and then the apple tree – lots of new shoots, should I cut them back? And then sticking stickers on the apples for the sparkles – peel them off and they have apples with their initials on! I was thrilled to see a bright red moth, which I think was a cinnabar moth as I saw a couple of cinnabar caterpillars on some ragwort. Also I have never planted evening primrose but am pleased to see it back again – a goldfinch spent several mornings last winter harvesting the seeds. And the chickory is back, growing out of the driveway. Is my garden a mess? Most – I would go for 96% would say so, but the mown laawns are like deserts up and down the street, I have even seen the application of chemicals – but they do not sit on their lawns or play on them, or even camp on them. Green wastelands.
This is a Pretty Woman Lily – smells gorgeous and is by my patio door, so I have to go in and out as much as possible. I think I will put some outside in the garden next year rather than a pot.
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/feast is well worth a look today!
Private investors and hedgefunds want imunity from environmental laws to enable them to pump shit into our rivers and seas with impunity. They also want to be able to raise prices.
So lets be honest – the public has allowed the privatised water companies to raise fund via debts to pay shareholders and executive wages/bonus. Nationalisation will require government funding to replace the infrastructure neglected by greed for 46 years. Nationalisation is not a cheap option – it could have an impact on foreign investment, BUT it is the moral and sensible investment. If nationalised the government should offer ownership to the bill payers, like John Lewis or the co-op. Each £500 paid = 1 share. Not paying dividends at present, but guaranteeing a payout if the companies were ever sold off again?
There are a host of vultures willing to take on Thames Water if the government gives them a free ticket – well tell them to fuck off, and then go further.
Hot again – I have 2 problems I need your help with regarding the METO forecast. Firstly it always quotes the temperature and then say ‘feels like’ – this is always lower but friends maintain that it could feel like higher. Personally I do not think it can! The actual temperature can be higher due to surroundings but even with no wind and high/low humidity it not possible. The only exception would be sunbathing, but again would the ‘feel like’ temp be lower than a thermometer on the ground next to you?
Secondly – humidity. At present it is a bit muggy and 25C in my living room with the doors and windows open. But the METO says humidity is 58%. I am aware that humidity decreases with temperature as warmer air can hold more moisture – so in winter 90-95% is common without rain. So would it maake more sense to have a feels like humidity, rather than temp on hot days?
Of course I have sunbathed – but logically it is very stupid! Basically baste yourself like roast meat, turn regularly and increase chance of melamona! Oh and get sweaty and a crusty skin.
I am watering the greenhouse 2x a day but still no ripe tomatoes! Roses need constant dead heading, and I am trimming the grass round their base. Pretty woman lily in flower. Raspberries for breakfast and the occasional wild strawberry. – basil doing ok but parsley refuses to even shoot out a little green leaf. I was looking at cook books yesterday – but too hot to cook!
It appears that Israel is acting as a proxy for America in the war with Iran. I know that Trump has a reputation as TACO but his words are frightening. Why is he demanding unconditional surrender when it is Israel doing the fighting. Israel is demanding a regeime change which brings to mind “be careful what you wish for!” . Deposing Saddam and Gadafi in Iraq and Libya has been an unmitigated disaster. Both countries have descended into lawlessness and the civilian population is less safe than it was before.
Another key question is whether the UK could be dragged into the conflict? American airbases may be used to refuel American bombers which could be construed as UK backing if their is an American offensive. The status of Diego Garcia remains uncertain – American base but is it leased by Britain after the recent treaty. British planes have been involved in attacks on te Houtis in Yemen who are/were dependant on Iranian arms. Starmer should tell Trump that he cuts US tariffs to zero or he can fuck off and take his American bases with him.
Will Trump use his on/off tariff war to garner support for military action against Iran -I have no confidence in Starmer being able to stand up against the orange monster. Will America ue its monster concrete busting bombs to destroy Iranian nuclear sites. On the fnancial side it seems that governments can always find the money for war, but not for social reform and support. It took a century to repay loans made during the Napoleonic Wars, and 61 years for WW2. So when Trump boasts about ‘winning WW2″ he was presumably talking about the finance. Does he see Iran in the same way as Gaza – let Israel bomb the fuck out of it, then American finance moves in to rebuild? Who knows what comes next – death and destruction guaranteed – war>diplomacy.
On a positive note it is sunny today – already 22 in my sitting room. I have a pretty umbrella and table on the patio – so fucking middle class! So I will sit out there this afternoon – too hot to do much until the evening. I was going to make a pizza, but too hot – so I bought a quiche – so lazy! Forecast for the next week is sunny and dry with max temps here on Friday. My water butts should last out until the next forecast rain. Apples are looking good and I will get some stick on stencils to put kids names or at least initials on them. I might also thin them out a bit.
As ever not black or white or bipolar. I understand why governments did not wish to fuel right wing hatred fed by the the horrific media. But ultimately the welfare of the girls and boys involved should have been paramount. The hypocrisy of the Conservatives is, once again astounding, 14 years of doing nothing – one has to assume that they thought the girls were at fault (if white males involved) or that they were as frightened about racist accusations as Labour). I am not sure the inquiry will come up with anything other than a reson to riot. What should happen is an emphasis of how we introduce love into the lives of children abandoned for whatever reason. Pakistani grooming gangs seem to exist – and all the perpertaators should be prosecuted. If there seems to be a cultural problem it needs to be addressed with, not force or law, but compasion and education.
Was Iran moving towards a more liberal/democratic future? We will never now know.
Israel claims that it has destroyed Iranian air defence systems and can thus bomb with impunity. However in a conflict of this size a military advantage does not equate to conquest. Israel said it was taking out Iran’s nuclear facilities – but now it seems that a formerly hidden agenda is coming into play. Attacks on Iran’s infrastructure have increased, including attacks on oil refineries/depots. So the price of oil will rocket and poor nations in particular will suffer. Fuel costs will rise in the UK and the numbskulls will campaign for more oil wells around the UK. However a sensible government will accelerate green energy initiatives – especially home based (that is in and on houses) that are not subject to attack – cyber or otherwise. The National Grid may make sense economically for the big companies, but is vulnerable to attack. Small is beautiful.
The Israeli ‘Shield” may be good – but has been penetrated. I fear the war will escalate – with Trump’s approval.
Lots of hype – BT announces that AI could cut even more jobs than the 50000 they had announced. So I have done some homework! Yeah – not much but enough to make me happy (the guy who was happy with D,E,N in his A levels). Firstly, there seems to be a lot to still sort out – National Rail AI advised that under 15 tickets were ok for adults, etc. I am sure that large companies will sort this sort of thing out. Big companies – may also come under attack from cyber crime using AI – M&S have not fully recovered after an attack months ago.
But the real cost is “our Research team estimates that data centres account for 3.5% of US electricity consumption today, and data centre electricity use could be above 5.5% in 2027 and more than 9% by 2030”. With a move to electricity rather than fossil fuels this becomes a huge factor. In a power outage where does the priority lie? Hospitals, houses or AI computers? The latter could be controlling our infrastructure? Governments have a duty to protect the public and this means placing restrictions on big corporations and infrastructure providers.
I omitted the immense use of water for cooling the compters involved in AI. All of which make the Orkneys and Shetland ideal places for the large computers necessary. Cooler temperatures, regular windy days, a tidal rush between islands, and cool water for cooling. Or off the coast of Pembroke. One of the worst places would be Lincolnshire- but the latest plans I have seen are for. ….. of course – presumably on prime farmland too?