Category: Environment

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DONATIONS

Am I jealous that. Reform has received £72m in 2 donations, just offended. TBH I am not, but I do not have the answers to what is a real problem. Apparently Musk has said that Restore can have whatever it takes, he will find a way past the law that prohibits it. We have seen in the USA how elections are bought via copious TV ads. In the UK without union donations Labour would be finished, especially in a post industrial phase. Of course the rich will donated to a party that promises less tax for the rich, and if that means lower spending on welfare and the NHS – so be it – they do not need either, they have private health care, their children have a private education and they have over generous pensions. Not jealous, just offened by the ability of the rich to manipulate the system, especially when it benefits cryptocurrency billionaires. Maybe total donations should be capped at £1 for very vote received in the last election (with modifications for local council elections (being fair to Reform!), and the usual 5% of the vote minimum. That would allow parties to be on a more even keel come election time. I would introduce it retrospectively, and any past donations above this level confiscated for the Treasury. If someone is so selfish to encourage a party to follow their views – then they should pay more tax.

SAND BAGS – The Environment Agency does not provide sand bags for individual properties, whilst the council may have a stock of them to use in emergencies, usually for vulnerable people. So if you want to be prepared for an El Niño autumn/winter you need to get online and order some. Be aware that taking sand off a beach is usually illegal and if prolific can cause flood damage to nearby properties.

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CLOWN

So America has a clown or a liar for President- probably both. First he says that he was saved from the possible collapse of One Liberty Plaza by two firemen (he was nowhere near – fact, and I am certain he would have mentioned it before, he has never been short of self aggrandisement); then he makes a speech stating that he would make $5000 come to every American as long as they spent it in America – is he going to increase the national debt by another $1.3billion.? and how will he know how the money would be spent.

However it is not only Americans who are really, really stupid (for continuing to support the idiot), we too in the UK have our morons. If any group of people ever warrant the upmost praise it is the crews (unpaid) and staff of the RNLI charity who volunteer to risk their lives at any time of day or night, or conditions at sea to rescue anyone in need regardless of race, religion, creed or lack of intelligence (the last often being the case in summer!). These undoubted heroes are being targeted by the knuckle dragging moron brigde both online and physically. the police are having to patrol to protect boats and buildings and crew members. People like that make me ashamed to be a member of the human race! Whilst I vaguely understand that the knuckle draggers feel hard done by society, I have no sympathy or empathy with them – If their jobs/or lack of are are impinging on their perception of what their lifestyles should be, then there are plenty of jobs available – 111000 vacancies in care for starters. Oh but they think they are too good for those jobs, they will leave them for the ‘foreigners’. Ignorant twats.

Attacks on the RNLI have a personal touch for me, when I got married we had the reception in the Red Lion, Newlyn where I was a part time bar staff, we had the reception in the bar but it was still open to the public, afterwards I learnt that 6 of the crew of the Mousehole Lifeboat were present – all died later in attempting a rescue at Lands End. My granddaughter is also a lifeguard on a beach in Cornwall.. I fucking hate the selfish, ignorant yobs who think they have a right to terrorise others .

The sun is shining and rain looks unlikely for the next 10 days, but if in the south-west have an umbrella handy just in case! I guess the hosepipe ban will not end soon! My water butt is running low, but no worries as the tomatoes are just about finished. Senior rabbis have spoken in favour of the governments action on the West Bank, despite the Chief Rabbi, the Board of Deputies, and the Jewish Leadership Council condemning it.

£1839 – the cost of gaining British Citizenship. Surely it would be better to mitigate this cost with evidence of employment and tax receipts. it seems that racism is ingrained in our society and institutions.

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ISRAEL

The Israeli government is explicitly supprorting settlers who kill and maim Palestians (including children on the West Bank) and has the audacity to tell the governments of the UK, France and Canada, that they are on the wrong side of history. The British Consulate in East Jerusalem has been closed and the US Ambassador to Israel threatened retalitory sanctions – bring it on! Unfortunately Badenoch sought to make a political jibe at the government of the UK – she is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Various Jewish groups have condemned the Governments move on the grounds that it encourages anti-semitism. Instead they should be applauding the government and condemning the Israeli Government and the settlers who are commiting ethnic cleansing. Sir Edward Leigh and a long standing member of “Friends of Israel” said he wholeheartedly supproted the government thus supporting the argument that not all tories are complete morons!

Monty Don has called an end to his stint on Gardeners World – I am not a great fan of the programme as it points out my deficiencies as a gardener (or should I be more honest and say ‘in the garden’, but I have watched bits and appreciated his calm voice and practical advice.

A ‘technical issue’ halted flights into and out of the UK yesterday – a multibillion £ business. My first thought was not how/why the issue occured – but why did they not have back up – it reeks of cost cutting and profit margins! I was once phoned during the school holidays with a marketing questionnaire – and being the holiday I accepted the call; one of the questions was which airline do consider the safest! My reply was that I would not consider getting on a plane without feeling that it was 100% safe (I did not really think about safety when boarding a Fawcet Airlines plane from Lima to Cusco! despite seeing a mechanic giving the engine some wellie with a hammer!). However whistle blowers and passengers almost being sucked from planes do make me suspicious! My passport has run out and I have no intention of renewing it or getting on a plane again. And yes I do know that planes are safer than cars! (although that statistic, like many, is flawed!

At least 100 golf clubs breached their licences for the extraction of water but no prosecutions or fines have occurred – it make me want to get my hosepipe out and spray the road! Golf is just a way of spoiling a good walk. But this revalation proves that the agencies set up by the last government have no teeth, are possibly stuffed with compliant board members (paid by our taxes). A challenge – name one government regulatory agency that has any evidence of doing its job properly!

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WEATHER

the British are renowned for talking about our changing weather – but how many actually feel the weather. A dash from the house to a car and similar at the other end of a commute is the only exposure most people have to weather. Perhaps that is why many people are so complacent about the changes we are experiencing. Twat writers in the Mail, and presenters on GB’News’ are revealing that they have no connection with the weather – as we ourselves have not. If I asked a 100 people when was the last time they had experienced a storm in the flesh I would be surprised if it was above 1%! Many children refuse to wear a coat as it ‘is not cool’, in fact how many have coats ‘fit for purpose’ rather than style? Many may find out in the net couple of months what extreme weather means to individuals who are basically immune to weather. Heat is difficult to avoid without aircon contributing to the causes; but cold can be countered by central heating which has become ubiquitos since my childhood (I remember thick ice on the inside of bedroom windows when in my pre-teens), But how many people experience driving rain, snow, hail, high wind other than for a short car journey or from a warm shelter?

A government minister has stated that we should be prepared for power cuts – I am reliant on gas for heating – so I might find out first hand how to survive in the cold! I have food, blankets and hats – so should be ok! But I return to my thesis – most people are inurred regarding the weather and take little notice regarding it other than in a polite conversation.

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MAPS

The United Nations has voted to use an equal area map projection in future, replacing the Mercator projection which distorts the size of countries making the African continent the size of Greenland, when it is actually 14 time bigger. There was only one vote against and 6 abstentions – which country voted against? USA of course without any sense of irony it called the move ‘superfuous’. Renaming the Gulf of Mexico ad Lake Ontario were not mentioned – fuckwits! Maybe Trump ws surprised to find that Greenland was smaller than he thought!

Staying international Badenoch attempts to score points against Burnham in a comment headlined by the Daily Shite “Argentina smells Burnhams weakness” – just what this is supposed to mean is beyond me! The Telegraph obscurely leads with ‘Stop the boats and the hecklers” – perhaps leading with a deal made by Farage with the leader of French fascists – the only deal that Farage can meaningfully make is with the Police!

Meanwhile Cambridge University has stated that it will conduct a review into the death of Jason Arday, who it subsequently appears to have done nothing wrong, having been hounded and misquoted by the evil right wing media. Some journalists should at least be fined or dismissed for their shameful behaviour.

And an environmental alert – please report any sightings of yellow-legged hornets as they may disrupt the UK’s food supply system in the future, as they displace pollinator bees.

Breaking news – masked men dressed in black have halted traffic to and from the port od Dover – the BBC has not reported on what they are demonstrating about – but the 30 or so men will presumably be arrested and prosecuted and jailed in a similar way to “Just stop Oil’ protestors. Presumably they are right wing extremists – will the police act forcefully and arrest? Doubtful.

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LOGAN

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.

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UN WARNING

The worlds global temperature is likely to increase by 1.8C and there are no good outcomes. Although GB News and Talk TV presenters have a different view from the 99% of scientists who actually study the data. When the UK Health Security Agancy reported that deaths had been 2877 higher than last year during the May/June heat wave, the reporters said this was absolute poppycock and the people were diving anyway, and also that warmer winters would reduce the larger number of people dieing in the cold – this is absolute lies and should not be allowed. These people are just talking bullshit to make political gains amongst the very stupid and gullible!

Meanwhile the Trump administration has apparently done a deal with Venezuela puppet government for 65m barrels of oil, that will help stop sea level rising and the melting of glaciers! Whilst Israel wants to oust all Palestinians from Gaza with American support. A did you know …. that Trump has used the 5th Amendment 440 times – so much for transparency!.. And the richest nation on earth has given just $3.6m to the Nepal appeal which is taking the piss! – probably less than the President pays to go golfing every month/week. What happened to Christian virtuals of humility, empathy and help thy neighbour? I am not religious but surely every sane person should abide by these maxims.

In the UK DEFRA is considering an extension of animal welfare rules to pheasant shoots – oh please, the Telegraph will be apolexic at this and the Mail and Express will follow. The rules would also prevent anyone associated with the killing/murder of protected birds of prey from holding a shoot. Like all cruel animal sports this has been going on too long. I really do not care about the loss of, possibly a few thousand jobs in rural areas. Alternative occupations could be found. Rewilding grouse moors would help control flooding and allowing public access would enable more urban dwellers to enjoy the great British Countryside. Hey you upper class twat, ever heard of clay pigeon shooting? And I am sure manufactures of clay pigeon machines could get inventive! However to balance thing a little, maybe deer could be culled sustainably and safely to ease the pressure on beef and livestock farmers – the population of deer is probably higher than at anytime in the last 2000 years, or ever!

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HOW THE RIGHT WORKS

As relatively sane person I am interested in how the right creates such virulent aggressive people. I blame the News outlets. They run a never ending diet of depressing stories and put a negative twist on others. This creates an of depression and ‘who shall we hate today’. The victims of this hate campaign are often women who they perceive as incapable of fighting back (Meghan and Angela Rayner are examples). Then they promote someone who pretends to offer reform and a better future (often by appealing to the hazy mists of years gone by. Minority groups are also easy targets, migrants, people of different skin colour, the disabled, the unemployed, and sometimes just the young – never the old, they have the money and power. Fortunately for them the people attracted to this vision of the futurebased on the past are generally not very bright, lacking empathy for others, selfish and not very bright! (the bright ones are in charge of the narrative and making money out of it (Trump,Farage). If the youths in the car that killed 2 police officers had been black/migrants there would have been riots in Middlesbrough – insstead the area is left to stew in its crime and poverty, Brawn manipulated by brains. Why else would people vote for rich twats living abroad and funded by dodgy money? Oh my god – what a rant for early on Sunday morning1. So a positive – lovely article in the Observer on St,Gary Lineker, he really does seem to be a nice guy, but also ordinary.

But I have more venom to air! This time the Met.Office. I am fully aware that weather forecasting is a notoriously difficult task. That said – why publich a rainfall radar map if it is palpably wrong1. I will illustrate – Friday morning I looked at the map, I dismissed small pods of light rain, but it looked like decent rain at 11.15’ish – it did not rain until the evening. Tody the map shows little rain until this evening, but the forecast has 80-90% rain all afternoon. And what does the 80% bit mean, I am told that it means there is 80% chance of rain in the area – but it does not say what the area is! The site lets me pinpoint my location to within a kilometre, the map marks my locatioon accurately. I would rather that they used statistics to predict the certainty of their prediction, or better use words! “Todays forecast is a bit iffy, there is rain about for North Somerset but exactly where is difficult’. Or even analogies – like ‘a good day to put washing out, go for a long walk or have a picnic’ or stay in and get a good book to listen to the rainfall”. Temperature wise they are almost always accurate. So should I do the washing? It is 16.22 and it has not rained!

My herbs are all doing well on the patio and its table – I have trouble finding room for my chair and a glass of wine on the table! They should be fine for another month or so – then I will bring them in, or put into greenhouse cleared of tomato plants. Then next spring I will try and sell some offshoots at the shop.

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LIES, DAMN LIESS AND STATISTICS

South West water has been named as the most polluting water company with574323 hours of sewage spills – crap pumped into rivers and beaches. Their spokesperson talked bollocks for a while, overflow spills down 17% etc. but refrained from talking about the 39% increase in water billssince 2024. The highest bills in the UK at £726 – have their executives and profits reduced – of course not, the present system is a gift for rich people to get richer. Come on Burnham, if you have to change the law to fuck these bastards, do so.

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TIBET

The scale of the disaster is becoming more apparant with every day – now over 1000 dead and the possibility of further horrendous floods are possible. Of course the trash press are only interested in the 30+ Britons who have been killed, why when every loss of life is to be mourned, the press no longer report the executions of Children and medics in Gaza and the West Bank and Lebanon. Is this due to the lack of ‘Brits” killed or the Israeli/Jewish influence. Yes I include ‘Jewish’ as there are many Jews who support Israeli actions, or chose to stay quiet – i.e. complicit. Tens of M.P.s have accepted donations from pro-israeli bodies including any Labour (and Ministers). Burnham promises positive action, but we wait and see; just like we do on proportional representation and donations to parties where he seems to have back tracked after Union pressure, donations from abroad should be a straightforward ban? But politics is a messy business.

I hve a suggestion, as the UN seems to be ever more toothless, why not create an international brigade, made up of a mixture of troops and civilians, who can intercede when dusters occur. All countries would be invited to aprticipate and pay for it, It would have ‘blue hat’ status and ability to call up experts to aid difficult situations (nuclear accidents). TBH it is pathetic that we rely on charities to aid (even with government funding). Unfunding by Trump has probably led to many thousands of deaths – despicable apology for a human!

Beans and pulse sales are up over 7% in the last year. This has to be good for both our selves and the planets, Eating meat will always be an option, but a reduction hs to be welcomed by the NHS.