WEATHER

The cold spell continues for at least until the end of January. We had only a smattering of snow whilst Blagdon and Bristol Airport had a worthwhile covering for a while. After a year of persistant rain this makes a change!

USA meanwhile has massive fires in California (insurance bill will be astronomical!). and heavy snow in the East and south. Trump blames the fires on the Green initiative diverting funds – the guy is unreal! and our conservative and Reform MP’s echo him like lemmings! Muskrat is harping on about rape gangs as he is soo heavily committed to young girls welfare! Facebook has done away with fact checking in the name of democratic freedom and freedom of speech. The world is fucking insane!

XMAS 2024

Well another fucked up year is nearly over. Russia continues to bomb Ukraine and seems to have the upper hand. Israel bombs the fuck out of Gaza and seems to bomb other countries with impunity. Labour is finding government difficult; Water industry is a shambles; NHS in dire straights; education meandering; the environment suffering; Migration still a mess; EU negotiations fruitless.

Basically, having lost support the government needs to go for broke. Ignore the RW Press, reorganise the BBC and implement real change – like NOW. Borrow the money, tax the rich and block loopholes. Renationalise water and rail and the parts of the NHS privatised. Sort out the national grid and get wind turbines built using UK steel. Sort out political funding and introduce Levensme.

SYRIA

It seems that it was all a little bit too quick?

Russia may be finding the war in Ukraine stretching its resources too much; Iran may be suffering from the defeats of Hamas and Hezbollah; whilst Türkiye who have fought the Kurds for decades. seems to be the power broker in the region.

HTS is making a bid to be the de facto leadership post-Assad. How this will pan out will be interesting. Kurdish groups backed by USA hve large areas under control and are distrusted by Türkiye. The Islamist fighters will be hoping for a fundamentalist regime. Israel will have an influence by default. Russia has 2 large bases in the west of Syria which it will want to hold onto. HTS appears to be largely self-funded by oil and trade with Türkiye.

The west will be hoping to avoid the power vacuums that left Libya and Iraq in such dire straits that neither have recovered. Will Saudi Arabia or Qatar step into the vacuum? The joy at Assad’s departure maybe tempered by concerns for the future that the next few months will reveal.

ANACHRONISMS

Much has been said about the ridiculous anachronism used by President Biden to pardon his son unconditionally. This goes against all aspects of a democratic society. However we should not criticise too much when we have our own anachronisms. The departing P.P.’s honours list for s start! And then the state of land ownership in the UK where most is owned by a few a aristocrats. And the Royal Family itself. And the presidence given to pivately educated people throughout society. And the precidence given to men over women in all wals of life.

MASTERCHEF

I find the Greg Wallace affair interesting! I am absolutely certain that it does not deserve to be on the front pages for a week though. I have conflicting views though! Perhaps that is why!

I wonder if fame and power addles the mind of men? I went 30 years as a teacher without behaving like him! However I was not rich and famous!

I do not have sympathy but wonder if I can understand. To become rich and famous I would assume that one needs a huge ego matched by massive confidence. He was also likely to have been surrounded by people massaging his inflated ego. The Programme was also one where innuendo and bantering were common place – even a requirement. He also has not been accused of anything other than comments – which were inappropriate and uncalled for. However it does seem that the media has a campaign against the BBC.

Yes it is correct that he should not be retained as a presenter, but I suspect that many more people are guilty of much worse! The last government was full of misogynists and bullies!

Public life and prominent celebrities should set an example – President Biden has just set a truly awful example in the USA which will be compounded, no doubt, by Trump.

PETITIONS

Of course I have signed many a petition. I never expected them to be successful though. A petition is a way of showing discontent in a democracy, not a way of enacting change. Badenoch showed great naivity by raising it at PMQT. In the UK we have a thing called General Elections. Labour won with a huge mandate. This petition calling for the Government to resign is not even been run properly with recommended post codes to be used by those abroad!

Sp rule by petition would be a disaster for democracy – we have Parliament to guide civil servants who run the country. In turn these civil servants provide Parliament with information with which to make decisions. Knee jerking ejaculation via the Daily Mail and GB News is to be resisted at all costs. Having lost at the ballot box the right wing seem to be trying to create a situation for a coup? Farage is stupid enough and egoistic enough to go along with this.

Meanwhile Johnson blames the Chuch for Britains obesity problem! Oh well!! Britains children are the worlds unhealthiest! Of course nothing to do with fast food advertising and housing costs that mean both parents need to go out to work. Putting advertising restrictions on is said to be “nany state”, but the same people need telling that it is pissing down outside!

BULLSHIT

Can the bullshit come to an end please. The inheritance tax adjustment to what the rest of us have (but not as bad) is being used to vent frustrations that the likes of Clarkson and Farage (looking like a ferret!) are quick to inflame. In France farm owners have to prove their capability to farm, not sure how? In this country the vast amount of our land is owned by a tiny number of people, like the Duke of Westminster (who I bet does not pay much as he has an army of lawyers working on tax avoidance). Land equal to the size of Greater London is set aside for shooting Red Grouse! How many people can afford to go shooting?

The small scale farmers (most) should be quite rightly complaint about the prices paid by supermarkets, about chlorinated chicken from the USA (hang on though – the intensive chicken farms in the Wye Valley have numbers counted in 100000’s and pollute the river), So not them then! The consumer must be prepared to pay for environmentally produced meat – and then eat less of it!

So keep the inheritance tax, but also close loop holes that make buying agricultural land that makes it attract pension funds and investors.

UKRAINE

Russia deploys North Korean troops and then a blitz of drones against utilities and housing in Ukraine. Biden then gives Ukraine permission to use Atacms missiles with a range of 180 miles – i.e. into Russia. Is this a last fling before Trump takes over? Will UK give permission for Storm Shadow missiles to be used?

Whilst Trump supporters are correct that wars like this never end in victory, only compromise, it appears that neither side is prepared to concede anything yet. Russian troop loses are estimated at more than 60000, but the Kremln through history has shown distain for human life. Ukraine has shown a depth of resistance that certainly surprised Putin. The financial cost to Russia is possibly less than expected as `India and China amongst others have replaced the west as purchasers of Russian raw materials.