Posts

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EDUCATION

Something I know a little about having taught for 27 years. Is there too much testing and reporting – of course, we do not make plants grow by measuring them! The testing regeime was enhanced during the reign of terror instigated by various, mainly, but not exclusively, Tory governments who were intellectually bereft, My daughter had to undertake 110 externally marked exams up to and including A Level, where she got 3 B’s and a D. Any competent teacher could have predicted this end result. She went on to get a 2.1 from Manchester University. At no point was she assessed for her research and analysis skills. I am not saying that all exams should be abolished – well maybe. Pay a school like Eton £60000 a year and they will coach your offspring to pass academic exams – that’s fair, not! Many politicans of all persuasion have great qualifications from private schools and OxBridge, but have shown intellectual stupidity when it comes to government of complicated issues. OFSTED also judge teachers and schools after a brief visit of amazing stress and paperwork. This could be made so much simpler by comparing exam results with socio-economic data of the students/and parents.

Parents can use OFSTED as an excuse for their offspring, and test results to berate te teacher – yet many homes are litary deserts with no written word in sight! And libraries have been closed (to save money? or as class vandalism?). I say this as someone who had a son aged 14 who only read the Argos catalogue! And before anyone comments on me being a bad parent and embarrassing my children, they never read this – to avoid the embarrassement that comes with every post! To ensure they all have been commented on, my eldest, who only did homework whilst watching neighbours, went on to get a PhD! I am not in favour of homework, in Geography it was pointless unless there was a natural disaster or some other big event, when I would ask students to watch news/documentaries – as any parent would.

So would I do away with exams totally – the answer is probably yes, they are designed to fail students, create stress and fail to provide the information that most employers want. Attendance records would be a help for many employers, but ultimately the best 2 appointments I made as Head of Geography were based on interview and personality, rather than academic results (I apologise for narrowing down to 2 – have have thought of several more since).

Back to the UK – farmers are alerting the government to potential food shortages due to the drought. It seems obvious that farmers should prepare for future droughts – and should recieve a grant for doing so, but some farmers abuse grants – so care should be seen, but also the retention of water on farms would reduce flood danger, enhance wildlife and be good generally.

At present fossil fuels are only providing 9.5% of our electricity. And there are still dumbasses out there who want to scale back on Net Zero. Even the car companies, if they are honest, want to comply!

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CEUTA

A warning? With major powers funding disputes around the globe and especially sub-saharan africa, there are many displaced people looking for a better life. The west cannot turn a blind eye to the atrocities in Sudan – they are being funded bypeople outside the region, possibly Russia, possibly Qatar or Saudi Arabia, and I suspect the weapons will emanate from America and Europe. So we can stop bleating about a problem for which we are, at least partially, responsible. Starmer cut the foreign aid budget to spend more on defence – a very short sighted measure. It is the instinct of the right wing populists to set up impenertrable borders (walls, fences or in our case patrol boats). These people are desperate (and whilst there may be assassins amongst them, most are just commiting everything to a better life), there are those in the UK who would shoot them on sight, and sink their boats – appalling attitudes to human life.

So Andy Burnham, what is needed here is not a pragmatic approach but an idealogical one. We should immediately stop all trade with the pariah state of Israel, Cut the arms trade to areas of conflict – however minor,; increase our aid budget and trade with impoverished regions., work with others to strengthen the UN and ICJ. The aid budget also needs careful examination to ensure it is aid, not hidden dodgy trade deals! With global warming – and AB do not enhance it by encourging drilling in the North Sea and Atlantic, the number of refugees is likely to increase. Before you condemn them try some empathy for a change.

Jodrell Bank maybe about to close due to pragmatism – whilst not washing nappies, or feeding the homeless, I personally think it would be a disaster for the UK. Surely there are a few billionaires whilling to chip in small change (for them) to keep eMerlin operational, where is the hope and pure interest? I am minded to remember Madrid Airport – fresco’s and modern art brightening the walls and corridors; arrive at Heathrow or Gatwick, or I guess anywhere in the UK and it is like walking into B&Q or a hypermarket – boring. I welcome AB’s educational initiative, but we must not lose sight of the stars, or the arts!

And Trump is uping the rhetoric by accusing any critics of being communists – quite why this has such resonance in the States is another thing I do not understand! I guess the DNA of migrants in the past was to be free of any government interference – hence the ability of psychopaths like Trump, Musk and the techbros to accumulate such paper wealth.

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THIS AND THAT – MAINLY THAT!

Driest July on record for England and the 3rd warmest for the UK , wildfires across Europe and a leading Spanish politician states that climate change is an agenda pushed by ‘lobbiests’ and ‘communists”. How. to these people cope with life in the real world. Our own looneys were hard at work with Farage claiming that the storming of Ceuta was …. actually who cares what he thinks or says anymore??? Reform came 2nd in the Manchester mayoral election with less than half Labour,47% versus 22% and on a 25% turnout – I would assume racists were more likely to vote (as shown by the turnout for Restore) than solid British folk! Apparently their highest vote was in areas of poverty (financial and seemingly educational too!), after all why would anyone on benefits vote for a priveleged creep facing claims of sleaze and dishonesty? Or are they just voting to fuck the system that they perceive has let them down. The Green Party was on 12.2% which is solid and were ahead of Conservative and LibDem, whilst the racist beyond racist Party Restore got 8.7% So the Burnham bubble has not burst yet (at least on home territory!).

Infantino has had to backdown completely, this will not please the Trump family, whether he will get re-elected is now in a modicum of doubt (he still has many federations in Africa in his pocket due to the bribery conducted by FIFA. I even had someone complain that Burnham had got in on the story – peoples double standards/stupidity are amazing!

Iran continues to defy US bombing and attacks to restrict movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, will Saudi attacks on Houthis rebel positions be any more successful – their war has been going on, under the radar of international press for a few years, so I doubt they will be able to claim an outright win anytime soon. 5 months now and counting, Trump has blown it again and needs something desperate if he is to salvage the mid-term elections (that he has been trying to rig in his favour). He may be desperate, a Democratic biased Congress would possibly pursue allegations of paedophilia, sex trafficking, corruption and many other aspects of his hegemony with greater vigour? Cost of living has gone up in the US so expect something drastic!

EU new regulations stupefy that AI content must be clearly shown with a possible fine of unto 3% of global turnover. AI giants have seen their shares fall in recents days – it appears that it may not be the panacea for humanities woes after all.

New housing apparently continues to ignore geographical knowledge. New housing will need a water supply, and sewage infrastructure, concrete does not allow infiltration and increases runoff, concrete increases the albedo of most areas, wildlife cannot go on being repeled from suitable habitats. So, and I know this is a bit right wing, we need to limit the spread of urban areas into the countryside, not to protect farmland (that is a separate issue) but to maintain public services, including electricity. That means a movement to a different style of living based around flats and terraces, rather than the 3bed detatched lauded by various Conservative Housing Ministers.

Almost finished now – sharks are being sighted further north in our hemisphere – but only 65 unprovoked shark attacks were recorded worldwide last year, but humans killed 100M of them.

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LABOUR

In 2 weeks Andy Burnham has done more to install pride in Britain again than any politican in this century. Education, defence, care homes, energy bills, pubs, even football have benefitted from his attention. I still wait for an announcement about the genocidal government of Israel though. But so far – so good!

Watered everything outside and greenhouse today – inside tomorrow! I might leave some herbs to seed – and then collect it – why? I guess the answer is because I can! Tomatoes – doing well, I should have a kilo tomorrow.

Council tax changes – introduced in 1993 there have been no significant changes to council tax since then. House prices have changed massively – so a need for change is obvious, why should a mansion in Kensington pay the same as a house in Bradford? This is an easier way to implement a wealth tax, the rich can move abroad if they wish, but their obligation to pay the tax is still the same, as is moving assets offshore. Stately homes with more than 250 days access should be allowed a discount if they agree to conditions! I am sure the RWPress would make hay about this – but fuck them>. I might have to pay a litte more, but I am ok with that, and by the way, houses left empty should be charged the same (some allowances made for bereavement!).

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WORLD CUP BOYCOTT

So FIFA want to make more money “to distribute to poorer nations’ – an honourable objective until it becomes apparant that FIFA is sitting on $4 billion at present. It is also offering a $20 million bribe for countries to agree (how is that legal). Further doubt on the ethicacy of the proposal is the insolvent of Trump and his money grabbing family. Football is a game of the people, unlike many others and UEFA have stated that all member nations in Europe will boycott the scheme unless it is withdrawn. The scheme would expand the size and number of FIFA tournaments with no oncern for players, who, whilst well rewarded, can have their careers ended in moments, who already play 70+ intensity matches per year. Do they get a say? And does the UEFA edict also include clubs and their players – if so, the idea is worthless to potential investors, 74% of the World Cup squads play in Europe (the % beccomes much higher if it includes top players). On the players fatigue element, Chelsea won the FIFA “World Club Champions” farce in America – and then ran out of steam in the League, finishing 10th. There was also no mention in the proposal for women’s football at all. So Infantino maybe able to enthuse ‘daddy Trump”, bribe poorer countries (many of whom’s FA’s are riddled with corruption), but without UEFA backing his plans are collapsing like castles in the sand as the tide comes in! (Poetic moi!).

Meanwhile back in the real world the papers – even The Guardian- made a headline of the wild fire in Suffolk being near (12 miles) to a nuclear power plant (Sizewell), no matter that there was no danger to Sizewell itself and the area between the heath that was burning was farmland (probably cereal crops that could be harvested early if necessary), just lazy journalism playing on peoples fears. Apparently disposable bbq manufacturers have got by the ban on disposable, by making them reusable, although very little difference! Maybe a registration system for buying should be introduced – it would not be perfect but could narrow down the culprits whose stupid causes the fire and sometimes deaths. Online purchases would be passed tonthe police too. Why is it that Public Schools and Dulwich College can water their fields of pitches, whilst community gardens can not! Britains class structure persists.

Eco-regions! I read a proposal in France to create eco regions. That makes a lot of sense – until one looks at the complicated geology of Britain, would the South and Noth Down regions combine – and the Weald between? Norfolk and Lincolnshire combine, maybe Essex and Suffolk, the middle of the country I have no idea about – but worth a discussion!. In economic terms most counties are economically eco friendly. County town and surrounding hinterland.

Meanwhile – Internationally Saudi Arabia have said they will strike against Houthi targets in an attempt to make the export of their oil safe. More posturing, it is unlikely that bombing would do more than several years worth would do? Houthis have to only hit 1/20 tankers to make oil prices rise! Oil taken from the ground has a given cost/profit/price – do Iran and the USA have an agreement to take it in turns to elevate the price of oil, and thus oil companies profits.

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PROACTIVE

With the mostly dry weather to persist for at least another month, some light rain is forecast next week, it would seem to be time to subsidise water butts, and possibly waste water schemes for houses. We obviously need to save water, but wildlife needs the floers and there pollen. Rewilding a garden also lowers the temperature (and raises it in winter), so a win-win situation. A large wildfire broke out on the Suffolk coast yesterday. The public needs to see justice handed out to those who are careless with their flames, As I said yesterday appropriate punishments should be imposed. It seems that most of Europe is at risk with susceptable areas stretching from Northern Sweden and including large swaithes of Central Europe. Fires also seem to be endemic in North America – whilst Trump claims that Canada is attempting to poison the air in the USA – fucking moron!

So proactive should be a watch word for water companies and politicians. Next summer could be worse. Data centres could be charged for the water and the money used to subsidize farmers to build dams and reservoirs, although with much of our geology being porous/pervious even building ‘leaky dams’ and ‘check dams’ to allow infiltration, every little helps.

Does Iran deliberately provoke Trump? It seems that every time he states that there is a ceasefire, they provoke him into more heieous activity! has he persuaded Sunni Islamic Saudi Arabia to come in against Shia Muslims (in Iran and Iraq, and possibly Yemen). However it seems that Trump cannot win without boots on the ground – which is not acceptable to the majority of Americans. Will the democrats fuck up an election they should not lose? Mandami is the most popular politician in the US, but many democrats (closet Republicans) are hesitating before backing him and his supporters and like minded individuals.

Tomatoes doing well!

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FUN

I love it when politicians make fools of themselves, and like Noah’s Ark they come in 2 by 2. Firstly the brave Chris Philp defies the might of France and a pistol discharged in the opposite direction to claim it was directed at him – pussy!; Then Zac Polanski – whom I like and admire, makes a fundamental error in reposting a t-shirt with Farage and a guillitine in juxtaposition – reposting is for imbeciles like Trump, not serious politicans- polanski and the Greens are losing in polls after the momentum created by Polanski and Hannah Spencer. They will not be the last, thats for sure.

Apple is the wotlds richest company at $5trillion – largely because it has not invested huge amounts in AI! Which is interesting? In the UK Andy Burnham continues to impress; his education plan has been widely welcomed by most; his plans for a meeting regarding care, with Badenoch and Davey is quite ground breaking, consensus politics rather than the adversarial ones of the last century at least (War coalitions exempt). Obviously there will be tax implications and the RW Press are getting ready to condemn any positive ideas. But a good start?

Meanwhile – earthquake in Japan is huge, but sensible building regs seems to have limited damage and loss of life. In Europe the flames continue. Gaia is obviously not happy.

Tomatoes are good and herbs thriving!

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NEWS BUT NOT THE NEWS

Wildfires in France and Spain and other countries are news – human suffering is always good news, especially if they are British tourists! But the serious bit is that this situation is potentially cataclysmic. The RW Press will still bang on about immigrants (potential numbers could spiral) and other trivia. We need to take action in a big way, like a war footing. Yes tax the rich to pay for it – Britain can be a world leader again – this country is too nice to leave!

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NHS

Our personal records have been acquired by a US private equity firm. Motivated by profit not patients, and from a country with an unstable leader I guess we should be concerned. There are all sorts of ways that the company, TPG, could monetise our data and sell it on to insurance companies and employers? At the same time a deal Starmer made with Trump is estimated could cost over 200000 lexcess deaths in the UK and cost the NHS $billions. There has to be a line between totally free foreign investment and what is best for Britain. The water companies are an excellent example – A large amount of Thames Water debt was created by an Australian company whilst at the same time failing to make investments to stop pollution. Incidentally with low flow in rivers it is highly likely that water firms will be discharging dangerous amounts of sewage (especially if we have storms before the river flows recover.

Evacuations across Europe due to devastating wild fires that continue to rage near Madrid and Bordeaux, are being matched by similar evauations across Asia due to devastating typhoons and flooding.; and we have not seen the worst of El Niño until next year. Incidentally – why can we still buy disposable bbqs in the UK – for as little as £2! At the very least they should come with a fire extinguisher. And lets see some punishment fitting the crime measures here – fines and prison are inappropriate when confiscation of vehicles or as an alternative 100’s of hours of cleaning up the mess they caused. Cigarette companies should be forced to provide free butt boxes to shops to give away 9free advertising?

My front drive has chicory and evening primrose and a couple of other plants growing in it – it would not be rocket science to stipulate that all driveways and paving over of lawns should involve a lattice that allows infiltration of rain, and can be a haven for wildlife (it needs all the help it can get!). It could still be mown, it would cut flooding risk in cities where of street parking ahs become endemic with former gardens concreted.

So the prediction is, and I hope I am so wrong, A wet autumn, followed in the New Year by a very cold spell, then a summer of heat waves – hopefully as we are an island the temperatures will be moderated. Britains housing also needs massive refurbishment – even houses built this year! Insulation, windows with shutters, that open inwards? Oh _ I am sure others have better ideas!

Meanwhile – Trump is playing Hokey Cokey with the world again on a destructive level – bombing Iran/being friends; tariffs on/off. I think it goes beyond business, we all like an element of stability – he is single handily destroying the worlds economy. And many Amricans still support the pervert!

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WILDFIRES

An unbelievable number of people are evacuated in Spain and France – where do they go? It might be for a short while, but for others whose houses burn it means change on a massive scale, childrens schools, pets, and all the junk we accumulate through the years. I really feel for these people; and the wildlife whose escape maybe more perilous.

And so the police are investigating Tice and the dodgy finances of Reform, and finally the presss are awakening to the bloody obvious realsisation that what policies Reform has are crap! What else to report? Nothing really – a burning fucked up world is more than enough for today!