Great to have a chat with Andy Logan after quite a while. We do not agree on much but his different perspective is always interesting. An example, he believes the Greens should concentrate on water and climate change rather than Gaza, where we have no influence. On Gaza and Jews generally he pointed out that they have a siege mentality, whilst he condemned the actions of the Israeli military. In many ways understanding the root mentality is the only chance of getting a peaceful settlement. On Burnham we generally agreed, although his potential for actually delivering is minimal. On Trump we agreed that he is insane. We did not get onto the bigger issues! Of whether capitalism “as we know it” is doomed, and of course football- although we of course touched on it. Other topics missed were migration/demography, and the EU. Next time.
News today – the Environment Secretary has said that Britons should stock up with food and prepare for power cuts and a new word on the political scene – resilience. Most, 83%, of the pop of UK live in urban areas – so with neighbourhood schemes should be ok, and I guess the majority of the rest live in villages with shops and therefore should be ok. But there are still thousands who live in isolated settlements or hamlets – councils should have a duty too prepare lists of these people and their needs. (Medical, dietary and other). Is El Niño over blown, and being used for political uses? Reform and Restore would think so, and the Tories are as ever, following their lead. I do not care if the scientists are wrong, I hope they are, but the warning signs are there; Pacific Ocean temperatures already close to records (2.6C at present, 3.1C is the record, but the peak is set to reach 4C), some areas have subsurface temperatures at a record 8C above normal.
At best it would seem that at least 50million will be forced into food poverty, food prices will escalate and the poorer will suffer most. I know that Musk’s fortune is largely a paper one, but it surely does not help that the mega rich hoard so much of the earths wealth.