The Jam Jam

Basically there are 2 options – try to stop the worst impacts of climate change by changing our use of fossil fuels; or we try to mitigate against the worst impacts of climate change; nn there is no ostrich option. The first option means investing in alternative energy resources – those of you bang on about China’s coal power stations can shut the fuck up – only the USA has a policy of dig/drill and burn! Yes there will be a cost to changing over 200 years of fossil fuel dependency, but the alternatives are more extreme temperatures, more and bigger floods and droughts, rising sea levels and storms, glaciers melting causing mass hunger in Asia, mass extictions of wildlife. How can I know these things – of course I bloody don’t – but then I also do not cross roads blindfolded! I do not eat food that is way past its sell by date and going mouldy! Oh the second option; to me a no starter – is there a tipping point would be my first question. Then we have to ask if the population of earth could adapt to the change? A report out last week which I mentioned before stated the need for aircon in schools, hospitals and care homes. We know that is not going to happen – the rich will get aircon whilst the poor can suffer! Was ever the case. Farage and co want to cut back on employment laws – he would probably advocate sex with employees (yes your wives and daughters, and maybe sons!) if he could retain his wealth.

Back to adaptation. I am reasonably sure that wealthy countries in the mid-latitudes could adapt – Cornwall would be the Costa Brava, even the Scottish Islands could become the archipelago of the future – but again there is no certainty – if the North Atlantic Drift current ceases the waters would be cold, and the winters brutal. Grapes are growing in the south of England with huge international acclaim, but what about wheat and potatoes? How will London and other cities cope with rising sea levels. I totally find climate deniers to be mind bogglingly stupid or avaracious money grabbing arseholes.

Oh well back to the real world – Labour are being blamed for the youth job crisis – I doubt they have helped much but this is a result of Tory austerity, with maybe a little Ukraine and Iran chucked in for flavouring, oh and an overdose of Trump (salt).

Where are the jobs that we want our youths to have? Where are the jobs that are not being done?

1stly it is my birthday toady – 73. But more importantly I want to talk about demography, a topic it seems that our politicans ignore – do they even teach Geography in Public Schools? So some stats to start with; number of babies born last year UK= 585000 (the lowest for ages; number of deaths UK = 568000; Net migration = 171000, the lowest for ages; unemployed under 25’s predicted to be 1.25 million by 2030; healthy life expectancy falling, apart from London 18.5% population is retired; average age of mothers is 31.1; % mothers born outside UK is 40.2%; fertility rate is 1.39.

So what to make of this? Fewer babies means fewer workers in the future, but a good thing if youth unemployment is rising. Or is it rising due to crap education – we really need to move away from the Victorian model of education and archaic exams. With births and deaths about equal do we need the 171000 migrants – the answer is probably as it seems the British population are not prepared to work in the fields and for zero hours contracts. We also seem to have a shortage of doctors, nurses and teachers? The last I have some experience of – is the growing prevalence of single children leading to a ‘little emperor syndrome”, parents questiioning and not supporting teachers who have a very enjoyable and rewarding, but difficult job. Schools in areas with generally young people will be forced to close, but local governments should use the opportunity to provide facilities that benefit the local community.

My friend Aaron states that he believes it is the cost of living that has caused the fall in numbers of births. I think he is wrong and heres why! 1. Couples have babies when they are settled in a relationship (generally) and have the ability to avoid pregnancy until ready. 2. We live in a world that has changed over generations. Women have to work to support the rent/mortgage. (yes this is a cost of living aspect, but I believe it to be a seperate issue). 3. Life is increasingly materialistic and socially shared. People put off parenthood until they have had their holidays, got cars, watched netflix, etc. These are cost of living aspects, but not essential – most couples wait until their late 20’s and early 30’s to have children (this will have a major impact on the statistics of children born. 4. Later births and the ability to chose, results in smaller families., not due to economics, just the desire for a smaller family 5. A higher divorce rate/ lower marriage rate also has the tendancy to delay pregnancy. And finally the birth rate declined with Covid, being at home did NOT lead to more pregnancies.

Oh and Aaron, there is no way that we are not better off than our parents – yes I have the stats to prove it! There is no way the majority of people delay childbirth for more than a few years due to financial matters (and if they do they are basically not fit to be parents). I think both Kate and I would agree that economics has very little to do with it!

The liar who led us into a war with Iraq at the behest of a right wing US President has called for a shift to the right; abandonment of Net Zero, cutting welfare payments and backing Trump. What a pathetic numpty. I bet he still takes his office allowance of over £100.000. And the MSP love it to bits, they forget the visual hurled at him when PM and intrducing SureStart amongst others. He was not all bad, although the Iraq lies were enough for me to relegate him to the charlatans (Johnson), deviants (Cameron), and plain useless (Truss). He is and was a good talker – I would buy a used car from him happily; but also would not be surprised that it had a known fault and the insurance was invalid!

A headline ‘ One in five arrested over 2024 riots have since been reported/arrested for domestic abuse”. The 5 is 54% with Cumbria police. And these figures are for the period since August 2024! The knuckle draggers and flag shaggers protesting to protect women and children from migrants should look in a mirror occasionally – and think “this is what a vicious, ignorant, stupid, misogynistic arsehole” looks like! As stated – the danger to women does not come from strangers on the street but from within the confines of their own homes. And please note that these figures are for the time since the riots – not all time history.

As we have seen recently even convicted rapists who posted the fact online, and led in court are treated with sympathy and care, protest against genocide and climate change and it is long jail sentences for you. What a fucked up society we still live in! Blair does not reveal the tax he pays on £millions of earnings, Farage lies incessantly to get of tax payments.

Suggestion – those convicted of shoplifting should be sentenced to community projects where the value of what they stole is reimbursed to the shopkeeper. I am sure there are many jobs with shortages that could be filled.

I am not going to blame climate change for the hot weather – it is just a normal high pressure system. However it may be a precursor of temperatures to come. Temperatures above 30C are not uncommon but we may get more of them and for longer, a report last week, which I criticised for being sensationalist, may have pointed out some realities for the future. Hospitals, schools and care homes should be fitted with aircon – powered by solar (which happily and fortuistically coincide). Architects may have to rethink their normal expanse of glass buildings. When at school a couple of classrooms were unbearable. On one occasion it was so hot that I registered under a tree – kids had had a water fight in the toilets and SMT was looking for the culprits. One of my tutees (Katie Pearce I think?) poured a jug of cool water of my head, and I was dripping – a deputy head took one look at me – dripping- and went to the head teacher to complain – the kids and me just laughed!

I have bought a couple of fans – the desk one was so effective yesterday that when I got up and away from the desk I had to check that the heating had not come on – the difference was so marked. A neighbour commented that my abundance of vegetation in the garden must keep my house coolle – the same neghbour who sprays even wall flowers growing in the wrong place with herbicides – no wonder my garden is not buzzing with insects. And it is salad weather – not bbq’s! I basically do not like burgers and prefer eating at a table!

Up and out at 05.30 this morning to water greenhouse and hanging baskets, tomatoes and chillies looking good. Hanging baskets also doing well, And herbs and mints are fine, I am waiting to see if evening primrose and chicory reappear (I think EP are there?), Wild strawberries are also looking good as are the raspberries, I wonder if the mulberries will be ok this year?

NHS services. Haiving been a smoker for 50+ years I was keen to take advantage of a MRI scan , and relieved that I was clear – phew! And I relaxed, but then started getting emails calling me for a follow up – they became slightly threatening and telling me they would make the appointment on my behalf! I basically avoid doctors and hospitals – and wonder why, if not for profit I should be recalled? I was told it would only take a couple of minutes – what to bill the NHS for an unneeded check?

It is always sad when people make monumental errors of judgement – it is even sadder that they do not admit their mistake. So we are seeing the MSP attempting to castigate Starmer for attempting to redress some of the harm caused by Brexit, a move widely supported by majority of the public. However the EU will have its own terms and freedom of movement is one the timid Starmer might shy away from. Presumably the EU would want a guarantee that the toad faced liar, Farage, could not repeal any agreement if he should come to power – ( I would pay for any of my children who would like to emigrate if that catastrophe occurs.

Trump threatens another war – this time with Cuba, stating he is willing to invade! Is he bullshitting or just appeasing the Cuban diaspora with words? Would the world look on, in trepadition and fear, if the lunatic started another war. It is unlikely the Cubans would welcome the US forces with roses and teacakes, or even Mojitos! China has presumably warned him off, but he looks at Taiwan on a map and thinks there is a similarity – fool. He also has said he will not attend his sons wedding in the Bahamas; presumably beause it it going to be a small scale affair and he would not be centre stage!

Ebola has trebled the number of victims in a week. Vaccines are under development, but the world needs to take preventative action – now. The Taliban in Afghanistan is imposing laws preventing the education of girls past the age of 11. This law has also led to the number of forced or early marriages increasing to 70%. War with Afghanistan has failed by the British, Soviets, and Americans – a newer kinder approach is needed to halt this exploitation of women.

Further evidence of Israels piracy and inhumanity continues to surface, particularly the evidence of abuse by those victims of piracy by Israel – and Starmer says – nothing! Also funding for Primary School Sport is being cut. Perhaps councils should ensure that all facilities offer free membership for under 16’s, or a maximum charge of £5per session to cover costs?

Finally – from me today! – climate change is increasing coastal erosion; which affects many parts of the UK, but also flood risk – watch out for reports over the summer.

So three 15 year old boys raped 2 14 year old. girls and film themselves laughing and joking as they do so. Where are the riots and ‘keep our women safe’ protests? Obviously the childrens identities are being withheld – but we can guess that they are white or someone would have triggered race riots. The boys have not received custodial sentences. this is probably ok as prison would just radicalise them even more in their misogynisticism (is that a word?). But can we have a reeducation punishment/training. I also wonder about the boys parents – they have obviously done a shit job – should they be punished/reeducated

Sadiq Khan stands out as a politican of principal in blocking the Met.Police deal with Palantir. A £50 million deal with a company whose CEO implied some cultures were inferior. But regardless of their Israeli supporting stance – why is it that we do not have the ability to support the development of computer experts to do the job?

Single sex toilets must exclude transgender people. I understand this, but not the furore over it! I would ask a dfifferent question – why do we have single sex toilets at all? Public toilets are fast disappearing anyway. Is there a problem with transgender people in toilets? Women I know say they regularly used mens toilets in nightclubs when the queue for the Ladies was too long! Is this another thing the media can get women upset about – ask any woman when was the last time they used a public toilet, or even a toilet in a store or restaurant! And controversially, why is there not a campaign about gay men using urinals where they can see other mens dicks!

274 climbers reached the top of Everest yesterday. Climbing Mount Everest costs between $40,000 and over $300,000, with the average expedition running around $61,267. This total covers permits, logistics, guides, and gear. The massive price discrepancy depends primarily on the level of support and luxury you choose. Too many over rich people? Whe even has a spare $40000? Should the mountain be given dignity and left alone but for those will to test their skill and endurance?

Israeli continues to breach international law by intercepting and aid flotilla in international waters, and then humiliate and basically torture its members. And Starmer and other politicians are … silent! Fuck Israel – I will not buy anything that has been near the contaminated land!