Category: Uncategorized

Are facing death threats in the USA! We know that the internet is populated by idiots but this goes further! A far right congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that “they can control the weather”, whilst a former national security advisor to Trump states’ Hurricane Helene was an ATTACK caused by Weather Manipulation”. Trump has also been making false claims about FEMA money going to illegal migrants. The truth does not matter when appealing to fuckwits!

Meanwhile extratropical storms have caused flooding in southern Morocco with 100mm of rain in 24hrs. Whilst a 50 year record it is in itself not overly strange. What is more worrying is the increasing unpredictability of weather across the globe. It is inevitable that rising temperatures cause increased precipitation. This will impact ecosystems and and agriculture. Crops in the UK have been way lower than usual which could havwe impacts on food production in the future. 170 ski resorts in France have closed due to a shortage of snow and snow cannons are normal at many resorts. My research reveals that Bristol has received the average for a year in the first 9 months of 2024, so we can expect at least a 25% increase?

But the Republicans in the US not only deny climate change, but refuse to even utter the words!

A lovely word I use to avoid swearing, sometimes! I also like the phrase’ they walk amongst us’. Until they both apply to me! I realised a while bck that I was still paying a chunk of money via my contract to pay for the actual phone. So feeling clever I amended my contract, but also decided to get a new phone – one of the grandchildren can hve the old one! So new swanky phone arrives with instructions in multiple languages, all of which are too small to read. But no worries Parish has done this multiple times before. So after a struggle I get the box opened (Round 1 Parish). Eventually after a while I manage to transfer the data from my old phone by following the very cler instructions on the phone itself. (I think this was a draw as I had multiple wrong turns). but I got there. Then I activated my bank details, easy-peasy! I also installed SIRI in my favorite Irish voice – the finish line and the trophy is mine!

Is the Nation State obsolete? In many ways the answer has to be yes. Multinational companies proliferate bleeding money from economies and into the pockets of a very small number of incredibly rich and usually men. They pay minimal tax and I wonder how many small businesses have been ruined by the likes of Amazon and McDonalds, etc. The mega tec companies have the power to influence elections. Taking back control was a theme often used to camoflage Brexit’s undoubted racism, ut was never a practical solution to the lack of control felt by impoverished in the UK. Indeed taking back control is only possible in a trade bloc the size of the EU. I think Labour are coming to realise that it is not them who control the economy – they can only tinker with the edges! I will refer to AI later!

Conflicts are pursued in the name of nationalism/tribalism. Russia invaded Ukraine to salve the needs of old score Soviet communists. Israel is pursuing tribal tendencies to create an ever growing area. Similar disputes are occuring in Myanmar, Sudan/South Sudan, China and elsewhere. In the two most publised conflicts the flags of the combatants are very conspicuous. Both are conflicts about control and territory. Would Hamas have committed its atrocity if Israel had not been persecuting Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank? Were Russian speaking Ukranians being persecuted against?

Would the world be a better place without tribes/nationalism? I believe so, but I also believe that the world would be a better place without the likes of Musk, Gates, etc. amassing vast wealth as individuals. I have often wondered how the world would have developed without the vast expenditure in the Middle Ages on churches, cathedrals and monasteries; and in other parts of the world on similar religious edifices. Now they rich spend the money selfishly on super yachts and multiple houses/apartments with an array of servants/employees! The Royal Family of the UK are exemplars of this (and perhaps more transparent, as they are publically funded! The latest nouveau riche are behaving like the brats they are! Forget the supposed altruism of Gates and Warren Buffet – they have pledged to give 90% of their wealth when they die to charities. Who choses which charities? I will bet that it will not be based on the most in need of help. PS> Bill Gates is still worth $100 billion according to the internet! (he still has shares in Microsoft).

Can these fuckers be reigned in? It has always amazed me that companies do not follow the example of John Lewis and profit share! An article in yesterdays paper discussed how investors! had taken $160 millin from Toy’srUs before it went bankrupt – and how many local shops were driven out of business before bankruptcy.

‘Small is beautiful’ was written in 1973 and is possibly becoming more relevant by the day!

So Blowjob Johnson and 5 former foreign secretaries say that the UK should basically declare war on Russia! Was the statement that 5 former foreign secretaries had called for this declaration meant to imply some gravitas? No Conservative Minister stayed in job long enough for them to even remember what they were taking the money for!

JDVance says that school shootings are a fact of life (or DEATH)? The American election gets weirder by the second. Vance claims that school deaths from shootings are basically inevitable! Unfortunately he may be correct – American society is so fucked up that it has more weapons in the publics hands than there are people! It is obviously too late to withdraw these weapons – but not too late to make their ownership a matter of pride or necessity! I have been to the states a couple of times, and been out in downtown Chicago – but never felt I needed a gun! Is it a small cock syndrome?

So the Harris – Trump debate is around midnight in the UK on Tues/Weds. The Guardian suggested that Harris would ridicule Trump – an easy option, and he is likely to lose the plot! However she needs to do more than that – Trump is vulnerable on international issues, and his economic pronouncements, let alone his verbage about democracy and even his confusion about abortion. Being an advisor to either side must be horrific at the moment!

Personally I would advise Harris to keep it simple! The more she talks about his age, the more of a total fool he looks. However I have absolutely no comprehension of how the American people are so indoctrinated! True red Republicans I can comprehend. The fanatics who attend his rallies are …. fuck….. . How could anyone support an arrogant rich fucker, also accused of rape, fraud, with a criminal conviction, American society is even more fucked than ours!

So Trump is planing for a regime of increased tariffs on imports. He might think he is clever but most do not! A tarriff will rapidly develop between USA and China and probably the EU. LEDC’s will probably be stuffed too!

The USA can produce enough food and products to withstand isolation. However any tarriffs are bound to be reciprocal. Regarding products China would probably be a beneficiary of countries looking to trade with a trriff free partner. Economies also react relatively quickly when needs must – the Russian invasion of Ukraine showed that disruption of even products like oil can be coped with. So economically I believe it would be an act of massive self harm – like Brexit was for the UK.

Politically it could cause the checks and balances that sustain a relatively free world to crumble. If China gets a boost economically it may feel less constrained in its efforts to exert its presence in the Pacific region.. Trump has hinted at less support for NATO – which will possibly embolden an domestically less secure Putin to take further action in Europe (personally I doubt this, but never say never!). Americas support for Israel (along with Starmers) amazes me. The Jews have a huge influence that makes conspiracy theories vaguely relevant? The death of an American woman by the IDF may cause a glimmer of regret in America but will soon be forgotten.

I am also aware that the American prescence in other parts of the world is dominant to the maintainece of the status quo (for good or bad!). And whilst ambilivent on the issue – would Herbozlah and Hamas be restrained if US aircraft carriers were not in the vicinity. But also does American hegmony allow the destruction of settlements in the West Bank? Israels continued destruction and genocide in Gaza is setting the area up for a traumatic finale? Already Iran is a treat with a religious theocracy, Israel is surrounded by very rich Muslim states and that America may not always be its protector?

I am also sure that the main losers with Trumps Tarriffs would be LEDCs. He is just a very rich K. Starvation of poor people does not concern him. So I expect greater alliance between him and tec giants like Musk. However whilst social media is world wide via the web, the contacts of most are local. This means a competitor can be created and thrive in the face of opposition from twitter, Facebook, instagram, etc. TBH – if I post on twitter I am more than happy for my posts to be read in the UK and nowhere else! I would guess that most teenagers are hoping to reach others nearby. So the USA hegmony on social media may well crumble? TikTok has become a norm. But I suspect there is room for more local artisan products!

The elephant in the room, people claim failure or “too early to say” regarding its success/failure.

So I thought I would try and do an analysis of the reasons people voted for it.

Firstly migration – driven by latent racism. The small boats basically started with Brexit and migration has reached record highs. So for those who voted for Brexit for that reason – total abject failure.

Secondly, take back control of our borders – again a total failure as above.

Thirdly, take back control. This was always an interesting one! Did the EU really dictate policy to the UK. From what I have seen, it appears that the UK had amasive impact on all EU legislation. I accept that there may be a democratic element regarding the ability to contact ones own MP. However MP’s like Dorries, Johnson and Farage have blown that one away. The return of control was seized on with ridiculous zeal by Tory ministers to pursue their own agendas. We live in an economically globalised world – as Labour are finding with Thames Water. Take back control is no longer easy, not even with a drastically failing privatised company.

Everything else seems to be negative – Erasmus, student exchanges, trade, science, status.

Interesting proposal by the Government has got the usual suspects getting their knickers in a twist and throwing teir toys out of the pram! I am not sure what I think! I was a smoker for 50 years and gave up totally 4 years ago. Is it a personal freedom issue when the smoke impinges on the enjoyment of others? The4 ban in inside areas was excellent and only diehards complained with conviction (A former Minister fro Health amongst them!). Maybe pubs and venues should be able to, and encouraged to, offer smoke free areas/times. I would certainly back the banning of smoking within an area open to, and used by children. Pub gardens could be smoke free until 9pm? Some pubs could decide to be totally smoke free, others could ban children!. This would appease the freedom of personal choice (and fuck the rest of you) cohort. But then there are still morons who complain about using seat belts – but they are not the ones scraping remains of humans from the bonnet!