Posts

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A SORRY PLACE

The UK is a sorry place at the moment, racism and sexism are on the rise. Reform and Restore are blatently racist and senior Conservatives have joined the band wagon, even Labour have been afraid to criticise for fear of losing the racist which used to form its base. The police have been slow to pursue rapists and domestic abusers of women. How is thiss happening? The racist ideology of the right wing wankers has been promoted across the media, including the BBC, most people on social media are in echo chambers where there outlandish and horrid thoughts are supported and amplified; I forget how many times I have heard that something is “all over the internet”, where in reality it is only their friends and most used sites, most of the time I have to actually search to find out what it is that “is all over the internet”. People are more isolated than before – the pub’s are shutting or rarely used (and Westminster Council want to ban ‘vertical drinking’! the social interaction is disappearing, individual conversations become “everyone says …”. Empathy has receded as we, as a society, become more selfish and people become more bigoted. How many people actually know meghan and and Harry>. yet that did not stop a phone in from airing the veiws of the bigoted and small minded from repeating the lies pedalled by the Mail, Express, Telegraph and Sun. Basically I could not give a shit about royalty, I wish they did more, for the less endowed and perhaps were a humble example for everyone.

Solar panels and heat pumps and batteries could be rolled out cross the country quite cheaply with 90% low interest loans repyable via the energy bill (to avoid non-payment). With savings in excess of £900 per year repayments could be manageable for the majority of home owners and landlords.

Trump is not wining the war against Iran, Israel contnues to be despicable, and mid-term elections are looming. What ridiculus prank will he pull next? Invasion of Greenland is an easy option militarily but has dire consequences diplomatically,; invading Cuba might be difficult, militarily and politically.

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PARKING TICKETS

It is reported that motorists have been issued with 16.9 million parking tickets in the last year costing them £4.6 m per day, no wonder the High Street is dying. Parking is expensive enough anyway, and free parking virtually non-existant. With bus fares capped at £2 it would make sense for more use of public transport? Cheaper train fares would also help!

OK – so most politicans are on holiday so the ‘news’ of their stupidity is restricted. However 55% of the public think that government should be doing more to combat climte change. Dickwit Tice says we should embrace climate change and enjoy the English Champagne whilst baskinking in the high temperatures and fumes created by wild fires – damn nature reserves and moors – concrete over them (my neighbour would!). How do these people get elected to Parliament? The British public can be very stupid with opinions based on almost religious fervour. However a fairer system would allow bigots to proliferate! Most voters have access to at least a mobile phone- so individual decisions could be made? Like bringing back capital punishment and cutting health care and benefits for the poor and disadvantaged. Basically that is Reform and Restore politics in a nutshell. Ask what people want and then promise to deliver it (however outlandish and cruel – selfishness seems to know no bounds).

Raining again, water butts full again. My apples that are late harvesting are still small, but reports say they should be sweeter. Is it a co-incidence that my local cider factory Thatchers, made profits equal to motororists fines last year? Just sayin’! They have also just increased their cost in local shops.

I had the misfortune to tune into a phone in, and it was about royalty and Megan and her man, but I was amazed by the stupid of people phoning in with considered comments based on absolutely no knowlege based on only media bollocks. Do these people have no relatives or friends who advise them not to air their ignorance and stupidity on national media.

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PUTIN THREATENS THE UK

Should we be worried? I suspect not at the moment – Russia has enough problems trying to protect itself from Ukranian drones, which are increasingly effective. However we should not be complacent – the UK is also allowing US Military to use airfileds in the UK on bombing missions to Iran. So a double threat and Trump is capable of not passing on intelligence via NATO.

In the USA Meta are defending a case brought by 29 states that allege that Facebook and Instagram collected data on children under the age of 13. The case will obviously go to the Supreme Court and the predicted fine is likely to be in the region of $200 billion if Meata are found guilty. The real question should be why is it that they can afford a fine even 3x as big!

North Sea gas supplies will run low in 10 years a report states. So we need to to move quicker on alternatives. It would seem that we have the capability to prove electricity from alternative sources to fill the gap, but not the storeage capacity – yet. I suspect that I could be just about self sufficient in energy with decent battery storage.

We had some rain, which I would classify as Goldilocks Rain! Not too heavy, not too light, just right. Enough to water the garden, but not much runoff – except on the roads! A report states that some of our ancient oak trees over 9m in circumference maybe at peril – just water them then! There are only 114 in England and 98 in the rest of Europe (including Scotland and Wales). An oak tree supports over 250 species of insects.

Meanwhile a study of children in Ulez areas has shown a significant improvement in lung recovery and basically death – So well done Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and I hope that those who took action against the ULEZ are suitably ostrasized by their communities.

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TRUMP

Totally lost the plot; He has threstened to bomb the shit out of Oman ‘if they get in his way!” whatever that means; he has reduced collaboration in a military exercise with Soth Korea because he likes the President of totalitarian North Korea (my very good friend); He has said that sailors complaining about conditions on USS Abraham `Lincoln, “have not had long enough at sea”; whilst equipping ICE operatives with gloves that deliver an electric shock; whilst appointing Kennedy to be Head of Health; whilst obsessing about vanity projects in Washington. Our own looney duo. Jenprick and NotNice said we should forget about climate change and just enjoy the warm weather as it definitely is not caused by human activity and approximately just under 30% of voters will still vote for the wankers!.

I just had a free eye test (NHS) and despite being bored silly and not reading the bottom line, my glasses prescription is the same – although the optician was fascinated by my Christmas condition (like a snow dome). Tens of thousands of non-racists attended a vigil for Jason Arday who was found dead after a relentless hate campaign by the shit press.

The UK water regulator Ofwat is considering rule changes to allow water companies to trial “surge pricing” and seasonal tariffs during droughts, charging higher rates in summer or when usage passes high thresholds to curb demand. Burnham said he will stop this. OFWAT should be renamed OFRIP – not content with letting the water companies may executives and shareholders money taken from customers, they have also accrued vast debts – nationalise with no compensation – NOW!

We had a little wetness this morning, which may keep my neighbours at bay. More overnight and tomorrow hopefully. I did not realise that we were not under a hosepipe ban – Wessex Water do the sewage, but Bristol Water provide the cool stuff. I think I may need to double my present water butt capacity to 700ltrs,

https://www.facebook.com/reel/856988710039555
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NEIGHBOURS

I just had a neighbour complain about my front garden being a fire hazard! Oh well, another one who will not send me a Christmas card! Yes, I could, and should cut back the longer bits of grass, but she wanted me to clear the herbs and roses, the rosemary just itching to ignite, the bay tree was full of oil! The Daily Mail hs a lot to answer for – the wild fires are apparently due to the nature reserves rather than people!

I will of course do what I usually do – nothing! I may strim the longer grass? But wildlife needs some shade from the sun too.

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FIRE

The severe alert continues to agitate the ignorant. So far there have been 1017 wildfires recorded by the fire service, given that 99% are caused by humans that is at least 1000 caused either maliciously or by ignorance. These fires are not like a building fire, they move very quickly and cover huge areas – just one fire in the Peak District covers an area the size of 900 football pitches. Across the world an area equivalent to Spain, France and Germany combined has been burnt. The estimated cost in Europe is £16.3 billion with up to 1.5 million deaths due to smoke inhalation. And the Army has been called in to aid the fire service in the UK. Andy Burnham has also had a COBRA meeting. It has taken me a while to suss out why so many people are getting their knickers in a twist and their hackles up. At first I thought it was a political thing, lets knock the government ‘even if we do not have any facts’; but there is a deeper anger based on selfishness. Wild fires do not affect most people and empathy for others was destroyed by Thatcherism. Personally I do not have a BBQ (do not like greasy burnt food! ), no longer smoke and am intelligent enough to avoid situations where I might cause a wildfire. So should I be incandescent with rage over the governments severe alert (although I agree that it was rather loud!). Fortunately I do not consider myself to be selfish or egoistic, and neither are my family and friends – which is why they are all appalled at the ignorance of the moaners.

Andy Burnham is ‘minded’ to allow the development of Jackdaw and Rosebank gas/oil fields. This might make some sense, but only if it is accompanied with a supercharged environmental programme (actually I think opening up the fields would be abhorrent.

Another interesting statistic is that the triple lock on pensions was £10 billion more for the tax payer than if pensions had been linked to wage inflation. That is ridiculous. I get some arguements regarding pensions and poverty, but again the real problem is rent and property prices. I am fortunate enough to have paid off my mortgage and have 2 supplementary pensions, but the state pension, to which I contributed for 35 years (late starter!), is an entitlement that I paid for. The triple lock is ridiculous as there are many who rightly claim a state pension they paid in for, but should it reward above wages ? We have a welfare state to combat poverty, not supplement the wealth of the rich!

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DAILY MORON

Leads on the severe alert saying thousands have switched the alert off. With the fire service not coping and calling in the Army, just what do they expect a severe alert to consist of? If 1205 wild fires so far this year with 43 in the last 24 hours, 38 homes burnt, 9 destroyed in Stourbridge, and no comments on the polluting impact of the fires. I am genuinely puzzled. An invasion of flying saucers orchestrated by Count Binface? Ok, but I genuinely cannot think of a better use of the system? I think we should now have a weekly Climate alert programme, accessible on all phones, there is too much ignorance. In the last year we produced 43.6% electricity from renewables and just 27.2% from fossil fuels. I am sure we could double the amount using renewables by sensible planning legislation. Announcing new initiatives for insulation measures, the number of EV charging points, together with weather events from around the world. Initiatives by countries like China, and an idiot of the week slot reserved for Trump, Farage, Badenoch and acolytes! It could be financed by a special tax on fossil fuel companies.

And with 2 trains derailed in the last couple of days there are still morons who buy ridiculous papers and beleive every word, even when they are reading shit about issues created by Brexit and the last government (very short memories regarding these issues by the aged!) nb. small boats (none prior to Brexit!), NHS waiting lists spiralled under tories, despite privatisation of swaiths of services. Why is water so expensive?- privatisation. And with AI likely to guzzle more energy than ever – maybe they should pay for new infrastructure?

European Athletics Championships have been spellbinding, not just for the niceness of the athletes, the near lack of nationalistic bollocks (the crowd clapping in time for a Bulgarian or basically any athlete). Maybe I was wrong in decrying the absurdly high ticket prices – it kept the knuckle draggers away! The crowd seemed generally enthralled by the exertions of the athletes before them!

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JASON ARDEY

I have no knowledge of the correctnous of allegations against him, but I am sure the press would not have been so voracious in their condemnation of him – and now he is DEAD. Is the right wing press now content? He might have been employed due to ‘woke’ ideologies, but how many in the past have been employed due to fascist philosophies? Whatever, it seems that Cambridge University has not shown a duty of care to an employee. So what if a dumb kid from a working class background got promoted beyond his worth, it happens all the time with institutions favouring those from Eton and Harrow, etc. So the papers and CU should have to pay out millions to his family and community. Racism perfades British Society.

A third of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland , achieved A or A+ grades. Basically what is the fucking point! If treated like a driving test, fine, but as a measure of ability it is shite! The exams can be duped, private tuition or an expansive public school can guarantee a pass, but not an element of intelligence or empathy. Universities are desperate for newcomers, having had their budgets slashed by the Tory migrant policies – they are becoming more evil the more I look!

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UNBELEIVABLE

Some people are complaining about the severe warning put out by the Government. I am not sure why? Apart from an attempt to make a political point. With fires breaking out and destroying houses in this country, there is obviously a need – 99% of fires are caused by humans, mostly, and I am being generous here, accidentally through stupidity or ignorance. We discussed this at the shop this morning. It was pointed out that many people now have no access to the news, they do not watch news programmes, or listen to radio stations with news. So ignorance is an explanation, not an excuse. Some have said that the warning was over the top, but with the Army enrolled to help fight the fires because the fire service is being overwhelmed by the number of outbreaks. the government would be negligent to do nothing. One old lady even said it was inappropriate whilst we had small boat crossings , a crisis in the NHS (both Tory legacies). I am only aware of the government using the system once before regarding severe weather again, but wind/rain? One guy even said it was wrong because it frightened his child – presumably he has banned all fairy tales, and mention of Farage or Thatcher?

OK the brittle diva himself. Having claimed to have put two fingers up to the establishment (personified by himself) and forgeting the 10000 votes cast for anti-esstablishment figures like a guy wearing a trash can on his head. One can almost hear him sobbing in the corner, complaining that ‘it’ is not fair and ‘don’t they know who I am”. – I guess 22000 people in Clacton do not!

But Burnham is not innocent himself, he has watered down EV requirements and been positive to the development of Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. Is there any touch of irony?