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!