The Election and Young People...what happened?

Quite a few TV reports after the election were talking about the failure of the Labour party to put together a coherent plan or plans. It seemed that their manifesto was cobbled together over a few beers in one of the smokey pubs in Islington, London. It was mentioned quite a few times that young people, in particular those who worked hard at the door calling, could not understand why the Labour manifesto was rejected. Well in my opinion it is that young people have no memory of things that happened in the past. I remember the 1970’s when I lost my house because of the incredible interest rates due to mismanagement of the economy by Labour. The interest rate I had to pay was nearly 10%! The mortgage was no longer affordable. The Labour party has a definite problem with economics which was pretty visible in their promises. But the young people, in particular students, only saw the free university fees promise. I don’t blame them but one should think how that would be paid for? Then there was the promise to cut Universal Credit but no detail or idea what would be replacing it. Other promises and ideas, in particular the need for increased borrowing were so impossibly idiotic that I hoped young people could see that, but I think they glossed it over, covered their eyes and plugged their ears. I have said it many times before, the basic tenet of economics is still as it always has been. You cannot spend money you haven’t got unless you borrow someone else’s. I know that many governments just print more money from time to time but that fuels inflation. As such a strong set of regulations are needed to control that and yes in these times, after the last Labour government’s failure (again!) to control spending the Conservatives had no option but to reduce spending and bring the deficit under control. That did reduce the need for borrowing. However as we know, the amount of debt is still just over a trillion pounds. In the past this was taken to be a figure with 18 zeros but now (since the 1970’s) apparently a trillion is a million million so £1,000,000,000,000. A huge amount. Whatever you see promised, look at the invisible background and start the grey matter between the ears. I would have thought students were good at that but I think I could well be wrong. Therefore all considered the Labour party’s manifesto and promises were just put aside. Brexit too was a problem for Labour, the refusal to state their position was taken that they did not know what they wanted to do about it. For any party to indicate that they are not certain how to proceed about an important issue would be a death sentence. And so it proved to be!

After the election...

Don’t you just love the days after a general election? Especially after a result that no-one predicted? What with all the newspapers full of interesting stories about what went right and what went wrong. Reading Twitter and Facebook will tell you all about the various idiots that we have here. The Labour supporting celebrities in particular are an absolute hoot. Who doesn’t love Hugh Grant? Or Lily Allen? Ah yes, these champagne Marxists want to tell us all about how we should live and adore their mediocre performances. I would say to Mr Grant, go and live in Venezuela, they will adore you there. Anyway, champagne celebrities don’t ever seem to understand that their ‘fame’ is only possible because of the system we live and abide by. General elections like these will always bring recriminations, especially from the losing side. But that is the way elections are, aren’t they? One wins, the other loses.

Looking a bit deeper into this, it seems to me that yes, we have quite a division of society in the UK. This needs sorting and I am happy to hear that Boris actually accepted that. And will visit the North and other poorer areas. It is time that the Conservatives started to realise that London alone is not the UK. Now that the euphoria will subside we need to hear which promises can materialise. Surely, the NHS needs money, it always does, it is basically a bottomless pit. It needs reform. HS2 will need to be finished. The borders need strengthening, in fact an Australian type points system needs to be in place before the summer. Everyone coming in needs to be registered and have the right papers. When I came to Britain in the 70’s I was not allowed in despite being married to a Welsh girl. Until she was hauled back (we still had UK citizens entry and Non-Uk citizens booths) and confirmed our marriage – we luckily had a marriage certificate. We lived in Holland for a year or so and decided to come back. They gave 6 months to remain, which after that became indefinite time. But I decided I love Wales and the UK and so became a British subject. I voted to Leave the EU. Why? Because Brussels is an even deeper money-pit than the NHS. Europe is at the mercy of unthinking, big-spending, champagne guzzlers. Unlimited expense accounts coupled with exorbitant salaries have made the Belgian capital look like Shanghai. Buildings to house all the employees, mostly doing very little, have risen out of the ground like toadstools. That is why I want the UK to keep their money rather than waste it on such frivolity. So, now we are finally arriving at the time we should have been three years ago. Thanks to MPs who did not understand the term ‘Democracy’ and how democracy works we had delay after delay. This has finished. So, on to a bright future when we can make deals with anyone.

Political woe or joy? Hmmm, good question...

Well, well, a good result for the UK. I say that because the alternative, a Labour government propped up by Scottish nationalists would have been a disaster. Financially as well as socially. That is not to say that the Conservatives will carry out major changes. The financial position of the country is still not good. However, the indications are that work will start or continue to strengthen the police and the fight against crime will probably intensify. Now that the Brexit issue seems settled we can look forward to a year of strong negotiations to get the best situation out of leaving the EU. Many people did just not understand that leaving the EU meant that after that the REAL negotiations would start. To be very fair it is the Conservatives who would make a better deal of that. Jeremy was not sure as to what he wanted, what he wanted to do. In my own constituency, a Labour stronghold, the Conservatives came second! That’s unheard of, the Cons were practically non-existent around here. But one has to remember that the ‘Leave’ vote in Wales was quite strong. The party I belong to Plaid Cymru, was really out of its depth I think. It was fighting against the strong Leave vote in the referendum of 2016 and did not manage to break that. It really is not looking too good for the future nationalist vote in Wales.

But what now? I do think that we should begin to look at changing the way we vote. To install a type of proportional voting. To have a look at how other continental countries have done. It will mean coalitions as majorities would be rare occasions. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. The argument that no proper policies could be attained is a fallacy. What it would mean is that strong policies as we have had in this country would be made more acceptable to everyone. Not watered down but subtly altered.

What now for Corbyn? I think he will be ousted before John McDonnell an even greater Marxist, gets to the leadership. The Momentum rabble need kicking into touch. There is no appetite in the UK for a Soviet style Marxist government or dictatorship. It might mean that if Labour cannot or will not change we will see the emergence or should I say re-emergence of the Social Democratic party! As the Liberal Democrats have been proved a total failure this might be the moment when that party will split, as well as Labour and this will be the core of the Social Democrats. I will pray for that! (And bring a toast with my favourite cognac!).

Environmental woes...

There is a lot of talk about the environment. Especially the meeting in Madrid, Spain at which the Swedish lass, Greta will speak. The various reports I hear seem to suggest that quite a few nations play politics. In other words try to get the best out of it for themselves. That is to say they will try to lower their efforts to attain the CO2 reduction as previously agreed. Yeah, very useful. But it is not the only thing that bothers me. It is the behaviour of people generally. It is not uncommon to drive behind a car whose window will suddenly open and a load of empty McDonald’s packaging thrown out onto the road. Yes, whilst driving at 80 miles an hour! These are the selfsame youths who in college or school pontificate about global warming. Or can be found being part of some sort of demonstration! This is just in one small part of South Wales. Multiply that throughout just in this country and you have found part of the problem. Coupled with the various happenings around the planet the future looks pretty dire indeed. 

Not so long ago one bit of news about a South Wales beach, in Barry close to Cardiff, it being left with tons of rubbish after people had left to go home including used nappies,a picture of this was shown in the Dutch newspapers. Truthfully, I personally have seen this on Dutch beaches as well although not as bad as what happened in Barry. There you go, it is people who are the problem and until we change our attitude completely towards the environment, we simply deserve what we are going to get. 

I will leave it to you to think about what that will mean. 

Just as an addition to my comment about Greta - I know she is young but if you are going to speak about important issues, issues that concern the whole world, the planet; you must know the possible ways climate change can be combatted. In other words don't just give us the negatives, where are the positives? 

Thinking big, perhaps even a bit bigger....

Thanks to TV News the various reports about fires in Australia, draught in Africa, the plastic poisoning of the oceans and seas, deforestation just to name a few, there now should be no doubt that global warming is a fact. Whether we as humans are guilty or whether volcanism or even the sun itself are responsible I leave to the experts to discuss but humans without doubt are responsible for the greater part. I say this because we now know the sharply increased amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. OK guilty as charged but what are we as humans going to do about it? What can we possibly do? Relying on feuding politicians is not much good as we know. Even protesting violently in the streets will not do us much good but will ruin many houses and businesses. We need to think BIG! There have been reports by the media about various politicians talking about planting millions, billions even, of trees. As it stands it is a ludicrous suggestion and was just designed to start a political manifesto fitting in sound-bites like this because it neatly fits in with the global warming fears of humanity. The trouble with politicians is they open mouth before thinking how to achieve what they say.
But obviously, the idea of planting trees is good. So, big projects should start now to germinate thousands of seeds in carefully controlled environments as we will have to do this for the tropical and sub-tropical environments. We will need to tap the underground reservoirs that lie beneath the Sahara and start greening the largest desert on Earth. We will need to look at how we use water. Contrary to popular thinking of us as a water world, yes we are a water-world but 90% is not usable. We will need to look at how we generate electricity. Electricity will have to be the main power source for warming homes. Solar energy must become much more usable. New ways have to be found as blanketing green fields with solar panels is not much good. So yes, thinking big but in a controlled way, we have to start right away. Our car industry as it is will not last, we have to plan for its demise, similar for house building. We cannot continue blanketing all soil with concrete. We need to invest big in a farming transformation. Land suitable for agriculture needs improvement, other land not suitable will have to be used to create large super forests. We need farms to produce fruit, nuts, everything has to look at how we feed our populations. Less meat, more greens. As you can see I have started to think big. Got to end now because thinking big gives you a headache. But it’s worth it!

What a sham of an interview!

Andrew Marr to be deported? I saw the interview on the BBC channel last Sunday – if you can call it an interview – with Mr Johnson. What a farce. The Prime Minister might as well have stayed home and let Andrew Marr just keep on questioning because that’s all we heard. Questions, questions, questions. The man must just be in love with his own voice! I still haven’t an idea what the Prime Minister actually said or managed to say. Sorry Mr Marr, I think forget about being an interviewer, you did a great disservice to political discussion. We don’t want your type of ‘chat’, and keep your dislike of Boris Johnson which was very plain to see, under wraps! Impartiality? The BBC should let you go for a retirement in a far-off country. Bye-Bye.

Edit 6/12/2019
Just read that even Mr Edwards, kingpin and doyen of the BBC interviewers has been guilty of burbling on, in writing on these august social media platforms, about his predilection for socialism and the Labour party. Well, in his case he is Welsh like me, most Welsh people tend to vote for the Labour party. This has historical connotations of which we will not go into now but if you are inquisitive have a look at the miner's revolt of the early twenties or the social deprivation of the 1800's and the Victorian age. 
The only thing which I will say now is that interviewers should at all times keep their political views to themselves. They can vote for whatever or whoever they want to vote for but keep cakehole shut. (Cakehole is a dialect word around here for mouth - just to let my foreign readers know).

Edit 10/12/2019
And since we are on the subject - who in the BBC decided that interviews should be as aggressive as possible? I like to know! And having mentioned Mr Marr, he interviewed that Scottish virago, the one who continually screams - Independence!!!! and lo and behold not a single interruption. Even more he let her fully, yes FULLY, reply. I think it is a disgrace and he should totally apologise to Boris Johnson, right now.

Two-faced politicos? Believe it...

Great stuff, the NATO summit has come to the UK, just before Father Christmas arrives! It is great to see that the front the leaders show is actually a sham. The US president calling the leader of the neighbouring state, Canada, two-faced. Well, he might be or maybe not, I wouldn’t know. He’s a politician. Show me one who is not two-faced? There is Mr Macron, who reckons that NATO is pretty useless. And then there is the on-going problem of all the members who had agreed to contribute 2% of GDP for defence purposes obviously not doing it. The Russians and Chinese must be smirking whilst downing loads of vodka and sake or whatever else they drink in China.

The problem is this, we have depended on NATO to keep our freedoms and not having to learn Russian. It seems to me that we have learned nothing from the past. With an absolute shallow minded UK politician burbling on about ‘reducing tensions in the world’ thinking he can do that. Yes? Shacking up with political terror organisations will be helpful?

Islamic terror groups haven’t gone away either, not as far as I can see, and this guy, burbling Grandpa Corbyn, thinks they have a right to exist. We had chaps like that in the thirties who thought Mr H was a great guy. I would agree it is great to have peace all around but the danger is, it is one-sided. We want peace but unfortunately the lions have not gone away and are looking at us with hunger in their eyes. The problem is, as it has been from times past, the great majority being silent. We only hear reports of the thoughts and actions of the 5% who wish to harm. The 5% who come what may, want to establish their own idea of what a nation should be and it usually incorporates total control over body and mind. If NATO is floundering it is because leaders have little idea about how divided and dangerous the world really is. All have restless populations because of their actions and sometimes no-actions. Politicians subscribe to political correctness because they think all feel alike. No, they do not, 10% do, the rest stays silent. It is about time we all start to be realistic and look at what we have produced. A nation that is tearing itself apart, mostly due to half-baked PC ideas. Let’s stop it before we will be speaking Russian!

Political Ideas gone berserk...

There is a saying that goes as follows: Those who fail to learn the lessons from the past are doomed to repeat them. It is quite something to see Labour doing just that. There have been so many social experiments, just look at Russia and its satellite states, Venezuela just to name a few. On top of it all the misery and death that seems to follow these systems when established are beyond belief. Socialism tends to be just another word for a type of despotism. It seems to be a human condition to always look for power, one way or another. To govern a country is not about power, it should be about looking after well-being, proper economical systems bearing in mind the land, water and air.

It should be about establishing proper infrastructure, infrastructure that does not overburden the land by building too many houses and roads. It ought to be clear that building roads just begets more and more cars. Every action we take will have a reaction somewhere. Concreting over the land for more housing and roads will have a detrimental effect on wildlife. Also air fouling through fumes from cars and heating systems. Unbridled growth in population will almost certainly have an effect on water quality. Every action we take has a consequence.

Unfortunately as so clearly shown today in the UK undergoing a general election campaign, politicians have little idea about the real issues. Burbling mostly utter nonsense. One even stated that he would ensure 2 billion trees planted by 2040. It just defies logic. These words are so idiotic as to think the perpetrator needs to have an urgent appointment with a psychiatrist.

Because if you work it out then you will notice this. There are 20 years to go to 2040, there are 24 hours in a day, there are 365 days in a year (let’s forget a leap year for now), then we can easily calculate 365x24x20=175,200 hours. So in that time we will plant 2 billion, that is written fully as 2,000,000,000 trees. Dividing that by the hours 2,000,000,000/175,200=11,416 (rounded up) trees to be planted every hour for 40 years! You heard it here! Besides all of that what about the land? If you think of an acre you could possibly plant 20 trees? Trees like spruce or larch, no oaks or beeches these are too big! Well, that then would take 20 million acres. Wales where I live is about 5.1 million acres so four Wales sized areas will be planted by the Labour party. It shows though that politicians before opening mouth should avail themselves of the facts! Or go back to school to learn proper Maths!

Edit 30/11/2019
It may be that the report I read in a national newspaper concerning tree planting could be an exaggeration. If it is then no matter because there have been a few other parties who have said similar ideas. There was one with a promise of 30 million trees. If that was to be done by 2030, that's only ten years we're talking about 88,000 hours day and night. You'll see the same idiotic argument there.

State Terror? Who knows...

With the Labour party’s policies outlining its stance on immigration and coupled with their insistence on calling anyone who disagrees a racist, a xenophobe or worse I am sorry to have to tell you I could be a racist, a racist just because I am white, a Caucasian but in the summer I get another colour so I ought to despise white people. That is according to Labour. It is of course one of the reasons I will never vote and never have done so, vote Labour. Today it is basically a totalitarian party akin to Russian examples. Total State control and any well thinking person knows it might also mean State terror. Looking back at history you easily note the terrible damage totalitarian states did inflict on their own people. Millions died in Russian gulags, millions died in the German concentration camps. And as far as concentration camps are concerned, apparently it was Britain who invented them. 

Millions are still dying today. 

To be very frank the collective human history is one of continual war, extortion, power struggles, starvation and disease. If humanity stood in front of its teacher, like schoolchildren today, the report would be a resounding failure on all accounts. We would be lucky to get a D! Or in the new education systems, a 3! This is the situation that Labour intends to continue, in fact to enlarge. It is easy to become despondent, although we should not. We should always try to be better. So, this time I would say let’s look at the future, what type of world do we want to leave for our children, grandchildren. Will it be a desert? Will it be an ocean and seas devoid of fish? Will it be a world where humanity will have to live below ground, because of the summer heat? Or can we, will we, make a start finally to make all of humanity equal in all respects and through that save the planet for all creatures inclusive. The choice is ours today!

Policy makers? Yeah, in your dreams...

We should ask at this time, facing a General Election, who pulls the strings? I am referring to those people who stand next to and behind the party leaders. Going by last night’s TV debate between Boris and Jeremy, these two are not the shakers or the makers!

For those learning English it means these two are not the thinkers and makers of policies.

They are just the mouthpieces of the two main parties in the UK. OK, so far so good but what to make of John McDonnell, now that to me seems to be the guy to watch. If he gets his hands on the reins you will find the horse will be steered so far to the left it will be in danger to derail the state coach! Most likely disappear into the fast-flowing Thames. It sounds good doesn’t it, a pay limit of no more than £350,000 annually. Now that seems to me a carrot of great proportions! But it means nothing. There are so many ways to circumvent that stupid rule. Foreign payments to non-British banks, share options just to name a few of the hundreds of ways to pay people. It shows though a complete misunderstanding of the systems. These sayings are sound-bites to confuse the gullible. The danger is that we have too many gullible people in the UK, most of the students we have do not think further than where the next party will be. I remember an article from the Guardian (see excerpt below) -

An unofficial biography of David Cameron written by the Conservative donor Lord Ashcroft contains a series of allegations. They include that the prime minister spent time in a drug-taking environment at university, that he took part in a bizarre dinner club initiation ritual, and another claim about Cameron’s knowledge of the peer’s offshore tax status.

Which shows clearly the standard of student behaviour, generally speaking. It might make you wonder which University Mr McDonnell went to. In short, the standard of MPs is pretty low. In a way it reflects the general standards of behaviour in the country as a whole. It has become a more aggressive, self-seeking celebrity cult. Sad? Yes, it is but there is always time to turn round the ship.

Buildings and floods...

Just been listening to this Sunday morning's TV prog the Andrew Marr Show, one item got my interest. That of housebuilding and the present Yorkshire floods. It is a fact that floods mainly tend to happen in low-lying areas, such as floodplains of river systems. We don't have to be clever to figure that one out.
So, the point about government being slow to react and the failures to build adequate flood defences although fair on the face of it, it must be understood that planning is the remit of local councils. It is they that approve or disapprove planning applications. It is funny how things get interpreted in discussions, local as well as national. It is funny because in the main the councils in question are mainly run by Labour! Even so, whatever council it is the practice of building on floodplains needs seriously looking at. The demography of Britain is changing and changing fast. More single people, with and without children, the dispersal of people from the London/Kent conurbations (the great westward and northward  migration) all have begun to impact on local governments. As I have mentioned before looking at the largest city in South Wales, Cardiff, having begun a massive house building programme encompassing the farms to the west and north-west. This is not a flooding area but it shows the westward migration from England as local demand is not particularly high. Again, I must say that planning in this country and most likely in other places and countries as well, tend to be done via LDP's (Local Development Plans) but are there sufficient searches made as to suitability of the land, the needed upgrading of the infrastructure; doctor's, dentists, shops, roads in and out, sewerage and more. Sewerage is still of the Victorian era and has great difficulty in accommodating the demands now put on it. It is really high time to look at our country, how we want to use land, and how we need to be ready to accommodate the expected 80 million inhabitants! 

Bidding war, come and join!

Come and join the bidding war now raging in Britain! Great stuff, I am offering £10 to support the buy-out of BT! In reality this is a ludicrous situation. 

Some party offers to plant 30 million trees by 2025 and immediately another increases that to 60 million. Oh yes, you have heard it here. OK then, who offers 90 million? Let me know because I fancy D.Trump will want a piece of the action! 

This is how idiotic General Elections can be and usually are, loads of promises that are not going or just cannot, be kept. The problem though is that good ol’ Britain is full of brain-dead people who only hear the words ‘free’ and ‘tax the rich’. Actually everybody will pay more tax. Either in increased rates or less benefits or increased prices because companies have to fund these extraordinary actions and pay more tax as well. So, Mr McDonnell let me tell you to go back and learn proper Economics.

But he doesn't or needs to care. He is just another brain-dead rich kid who fancies himself a statesman by nationalising everything. It sounds so appealing to the students in universities and colleges, a real change in politics. Indeed it would be but not with the benefits they expect!

Insofar the trees are concerned, anyone know where we can buy 30 or 60 million trees before Christmas? This is what makes these promises so ludicrous, a soundbite for those who listen to the BBC with wondering eyes, thinking actually Prince Andrew is an alien. So much for improving education. Besides which nursery do we know have so many trees at such short notice? Trees from cuttings or seed need at least 5 or so years to become available for proper site planting.

Friends, it is really time to get to grips with our political systems. Let’s get real, if we want proper democracy a two party system (forget the LibDems, they are just an irritant) needs to transform into a proper proportional system. No voting for individuals in the main but just vote for a party. I have said before, look over the water. They have had such systems for over two hundred years. In that respect I would agree with Plaid, the Lib-Dems and all other small parties. It would be better for the country to have a sound coalition where such excesses as we hear now being promised are not possible or needed!

Majestic issues

Blimey, it never just rains but it pours. You might have noticed that we have a royal family here in the old UK. Like most families, including my own, there are differences of opinion or even rows. But they tend to get resolved or if very serious, people will just run away. That is what seems to be the case in HRH households. The problem a new husband faces is how to protect the sanctity of the marital home. It cannot be easy to live a stone's throw away from granny with all that includes. On top of that there will be the inevitable media intrusion. It would be much better to just ignore all that, unfortunately the little lady is an actress and used to calling on the media to 'show' off her inevitable good looks. You cannot have it all. A choice might need to be made. So, remember people, peace within the family is a precious thing. Worth keeping it.

A One-Issue Election...

I feel pretty let down, politically speaking. I used to be a member of the Lib-Dems until their policies about gender, i.e political correctness, became so weird that I left. Looking at their present range of ‘ideas’, ‘twas a good decision. But I wanted to be represented by a good party so I joined Plaid Cymru. Now it seems history is repeating itself. The party is anti-Brexit and now has made a ‘deal’ to step aside in constituencies it thinks it cannot win, in favour of either the Greens or the Lib-Dems. I am sorry I would have thought that a political party would fight to be seen and heard to showcase its ideas, particularly in a General Election! So in effect, it is NOT a general election, but a one issue election – BREXIT. This alliance has only one aim, stop BREXIT. What about the myriad of problems in this country? All I hear and see on TV, radio and other media is the amounts to be borrowed but no proper plans as to why! Then we have that Scottish virago (look that word up in the Oxford Dictionary) with plans to break-up the Union. In my mind that is treachery. I can’t remember what the punishment was for that but probably not pleasant. Why do we let this go on? Plaid now too has leapt onto the bandwagon of Independence. I agree that within the present political climate it is a lip-smacking idea. Mostly for those who are disillusioned with the weak system that allows corruption on a grand scale, cannot control crime and have misinformed ideas about human rights. Plus to top it all, is pretty powerless on the world scene. Well, I wonder how much a ticket will be after the General Election. A ticket to a sunny uninhabited Caribbean island. Probably will cost £2billion, yep supply and demand!

Election promises? Yes, believe it!

Yep, election time! And friends, we already have begun hearing the most ludicrous political statements. The (male) co-leader of the Green Party wants to borrow 100 billion pounds every year for 10 years and thinks this will save the planet. Sounds good? Yes, I think it sounds too good. In fact I will have a look at my bank account to see if I can help. God help us for this kind of idiocy. Apparently hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created, in other words a type of social engineering as these jobs will then be paid from the borrowing? Where in all honesty do these people live? Oh yes, we will concrete over the UK. This guy has evidently forgotten the UK is not just the only country combatting climate warming. It would be much better to reign in the likes of the US, Russia and China. Asia is still mostly powered by coal in huge, gigantic quantities. I would agree one thing he said, we need to combat climate change and we need to do it now. Forget targets like 2050, that’s too late. But also we cannot just borrow those eye-watering sums. Still with one MP why worry? Nevertheless I want to see and hear the good Boris say and speak more about the need to combat and how to pay for combatting climate change. 

Ed 7/11/2019
It is deeply worrying to hear all the parties' ideas that include borrowing hundreds of billions.
If the Labour party wins the election or wins because of a hung parliament we will borrow so much that our repayments of the interest  annually will exceed the £54billion we pay today.  
Interest payments for £100billion extra borrowing would be £ 2billion at 2%, more if the interest rates are rising because of our weaker position as far as the money markets are concerned.
But even more worrying is the debt we will put on to the backs of our children and grandchildren because the debt one way or another has to be paid back as well. Perhaps in stages but nevertheless it has to be done sooner or later.
I am afraid that we will begin to think of an eye-watering debt of up to £3 trillion!!!!  Some politicians we have in this country, they must have taken lessons from the Americans. Another simple question is - where does all that money come from? Yes, investors but there has to be an end somewhere? Anyone?

Ed 9/11/2019
And talking of borrowing through the medium of Govt Bonds they forget one of the most important issues. How can it be guaranteed investors will actually buy them? The amounts mentioned by the relevant political parties, we are talking billions upon billions assumes that the amount  of bonds to be produced will be taken up. Also one of the rules of commerce, supply and demand will come to the fore. Many bonds, lower returns and higher interest to make them interesting! Wow, some financial experts we have in political parties.

Democratic or what...

Are you or will you be unhappy about any decision made by others? Are you unhappy that the Liberal Democrats are not invited to speak in a debate that was organised for the two main parties in this country? Are you unhappy that Sir Lindsay was elected Speaker? Or are you even more unhappy with the local weather? Yes? I think you should take legal action. Well, everybody else does. The legal profession is wringing its collective hands in glee! Holding the political power now, yeaaah!

To be frank, I think the establishment has gone a bit potty. It is a show of powerlessness. Also probably an effect of the media storms all around. It is my belief that the present aggravation is media orchestrated. They probably don’t even know it, that’s the funny thing. The BBC has been called one-sided. When you look at the programmes you cannot help but think that it is the BBC in the forefront of political correctness. Rightly or completely wrongly! The newspapers are not far behind either. I read the main left-centre papers but do not hold my nose at a right-centre paper. Some of the editorials are pretty close to the mark. But it is fun. My favourite amongst the article wizards has to be Rod Liddle. He at least writes in a comical style that appeals to me. ‘Taking the mick’ as they say. Nevertheless he puts in a pretty serious note as well. Politicians generally speaking have been guilty of one thing – misunderstanding what democracy means. You can shout about it, cry even but democracy is in the end a political way to ensure the majority view and wishes prevail. May that long continue and politicians come to their senses because if they do not the situation if this country could become ‘treisgar’ (look it up in a Welsh dictionary or Google it!) Siŵr i fod.

Ladies of Westminster, going, going, gone...

So, the latest news from that glorious place, the Commons, is that most of the lady MPs are stepping down, or not standing for re-election. In a way that is sad and the level of vitriol directed at them deplorable. But I have to say it is not entirely strange, some of the MPs, actually quite a lot, have demonstrated that voting for something political has no meaning whatsoever. Whatever they say now, it is entirely a situation of their own making. They have held the electorate in contempt for over three years. If you look at the situation in the UK today, in particular the political situation, you will notice how the actions of MPs have contributed to the malaise. Trust in the system has been totally lost, MPs once held in high esteem have become no more than the next door neighbour you do not like because they don’t trim the hedges. Of course, it is sad and to be very frank, it is probably for the best that they do not intend to come back. Let’s renew the whole lot, vote in fresh bodies with a renewed vigour. We need it.

Deselect all present MPs, make them go through the selection of candidates’ process again. The system needs a strong boot up the backside as a wake-up call. Don’t mess it up yet again people. Do it right!

Mae'r tywydd yn braf,,,

Diwrnod hyfryd arall! Glaw a fwy glaw. Ro’n i wedi gweithio yn yr afon nesa fy nhŷ, pam?

Achos llawer o ddŵr geisio yn erydu cloddiau’r afon. Fy nghardd yw nesa i’r afon. Yn ffodus roedd fy ŵyr gymorth dda iawn. Mae dŵr sgraffiniol iawn, yn enwedig nesa fy nhŷ, rydym ni agos tro’r afon. Beth bynnag, ynghyd byddwn ni llwyddianus y gaeaf hwn (gobeithio!).

Gol 16/11/2019
Ah, mae'n oer nawr. Ar ôl y newyddion glywes i am y llifogydd, a llifogydd o ddeigryn ar hyd yr afon Don yn Sir Efrog. Meddwlwch am problemau gyda yswiriant!

Democratic principle? What is that...

One of the funniest journalists, Rod Liddle, writing in the Sun newspaper mentioned that he was not a Conservative but would vote Conservative. Firstly I feel exactly the same way and I tell you why. There should be no doubt that if Labour under Corbyn get their hands on power we will be the next Venezuela. The next world’s basket case. You might not agree with all the issues confronting us due to the unbridled laissez-faire system, or free trade but at least it has given us a reasonable lifestyle. Certainly, it is not perfect, lots need looking at but we cannot just open the borders to every person who wants to come whether because they think it will give them a better lifestyle, or benefits or whatever. But we do need the well-educated, the medical staff, the business entrepreneurs, the scientists. Indeed an Aussie style points system is a must. We must not go back to this State control idea from the likes of Corbyn or McDonnell. These ideas are absolute poppycock. Even so, we might have to consider looking at the way we run essential industry or services. Water, power might need better supervision as will the transport system. These though will not get better by complete state control. But as said before - let’s find the golden centre route. I am not a Conservative either but will vote Conservative. Why? I abhor the failure of the political classes to honour a vote cast in 2016. Especially as all parties stated they would abide by the result. This is why it is strange that so many seem to have very little idea what democracy actually entails. I think they looked at the result and saw a slight majority for leaving the EU meaning that the remain faction was close. Hence the idea that the result could easily be overturned. In other words Parliament mirrored the referendum result. But they should not have been able to do that and express these type of views as politicians should abide by the voting systems and results. Referenda are won by simple majority, it could have just been one person! Yet, this was the fact forgotten by most politicians, particularly those who are called Remainers.

The question now is how do we solve this blatant disregard of democratic principles? This is why politicians of all colours have had to endure the torrents of abuse. I am not surprised. It may well be that this country needs 5 years of total state control to come to its senses? The problem though is when something like that is started it may turn out to be for a very long time. Ultra-left people do not believe in self-regulation or free-thinking. So think carefully otherwise we might not get what we wish for.

Election fever!

According to the newspaper(s) I read a Welsh town – Merthyr Tydfil – is full of nitwits. Actually a slightly different good-old word was used. Well, whatever. It is a town run by the Labour party? I don’t want to tell you my opinion, it is already well-known. The Labour party is an anachronism and far removed from what is was set up for. So, Merthyr we now know is full of Labour nitwits? Right, that’s put that to bed. Good o'l Methyr.

Speaking of politicians and political parties, the shenanigans performed now on a daily basis in Westminster has made me accept that the above statement about nitwits is basically correct, there is no solution to Brexit. Mainly because too many politicians have forgotten who they represent. Although I voted to leave the EU on the basis made by a certain Mr Cameron who did, in his words, reform Europe which was and is needed badly; it became obvious we were fed whopping lies. However, now the good Boris (Mr Johnson to you) seems to get more of a grip we might see Parliament kicking and screaming put back in the straightjacket. The Speaker will be gone because he alone has been culpable of the mistakes many make and that is feeling he is above everyone else. No mate, we sitill have a Queen. So, it is anyone’s guess what we will end up with. If the upcoming election will get the Conservative party a decent majority, well and good. If not, we will simply continue with the rubbish we see now. Or it might turn out as another coalition. Although the differences between the parties are extreme, if the Brexit party gets 10 or 15 MPs we might have a coalition comprising the Cons and the Brexes. We are in interesting political times. Even so it might turn out that the Labour party will be able to govern as a minority party in a hung parliament. In which case join the queue at the ferry terminal in Dover. If Labour gets a whiff of power we will end up as a pre-60’s socialist state, possibly worse than Russia or Venezuela today. It is one of the reasons I think we need a strong royal family just to keep it all together. So, stop your warring, brothers!

We need to ditch provincial assemblies because we have seen how this ends up. Calls for independence despite possible financial break-down. We would save billions. Boris my friend, just ditch them, send them home, no pension, no pay-out, no certificates. Good riddance. Next have a look at power needs. We need ever more power, electricity in particular. Support the sciences so that we will find new ways of generating enough to keep the lights on and factories working. Furthermore clean-up, clean-up our attitudes to waste, clean the seas, stop the discharge of foul water (sewerage) into our coastal waters and deal with the enormous mountain of plastic floating around almost everywhere. Indeed, we must or we go under. Pob hwyl i gyd!

It's a mad, mad world...

I might have said it before, so apologies but with the present state of the government and indeed the whole Westminster lot you might be forgiven to think you have landed in the Middle East. A third world country. You might be right because at this moment in time we certainly look like that. The newspapers are full of sex stories, Boris Johnson’s escapades, John Majors pathetic ramblings and much more. Although I believe that we all have become a bit deaf and blind to all these goings on we will have to draw a line somewhere. Again the few things Boris did or not did don’t really interest me. Frankly I think most of us men probably think ‘Blimey how does he do it’? Looking at it I see a blonde good-looking lady who needs support for a business project. Sidles up to the mayor and uses her undoubtedly good charms. Has Boris fallen for that? May be he has, maybe he hasn’t. Whatever, it is not really important but what is important is how he will manage to get Brexit done. I wish him the best of luck. In all of this we can easily see how politics have changed. We do no longer have these bowler hatted black clad fairies floating along Whitehall. Those who classed themselves way above everybody else. In fact these were a different type of human being altogether, perhaps not really human at all. Would there be a planet close by full of black suited, bowler-hatted, Eton tie wearing bipeds? Well could be, but now we have full-blooded, whisky guzzling, jeans wearing, Marx readers. We have an emerging very young un-experienced University educated(!?) newcomers and so on. Westminster has become ‘normal’.

Whatever normal is nowadays. Not many see that the real problem is not the common market, not the customs union but the establishment of yet another empire. The European state run by a load of unelected megalomaniacs. Our wonderfully educated university students with degrees in Home Economics, or Media Studies who pontificate about world peace, perhaps quite rightly, are actually working towards that goal of another superstate. Which incidentally is why the US is supporting the UK so openly. Not because they love us but to stop the establishment of the European superstate. The UK still, on its own, believes it has an empire. Now called the Commonwealth. Whatever, these are interesting times and it is fun to look behind the smoke-screen!

Oh by the way, did you know that Boris touched a lady’s thigh 20 years ago? No, I didn’t either. Twenty years ago I was ogling beauties on the beach. Just now wondering what he did 30 years ago? Was he at Woodstock smoking pot perhaps? Salivating at the thought of how to stroke a thigh or two? Or 40 years ago at school looking at the nudist summer-camp magazine? What a shower, the UK is just like a Christmas panto!

Turmoil in the West...

What we see in the Commons, the UK Parliament, is a load of self-indignation. They all and sundry are guilty of having brought on this situation where respect has gone out of the window. We are witnessing the spectacle of the end of empire and we are beginning to realise we don’t matter in the world. One would have thought that MPs would have some recall of historical events but they seem to have already forgotten what they said and did three or so years ago! I remember it – we shall have a referendum, we will abide by the result. Yes, Parliament voted as such but ever since some half of them have tried to reverse what the public voted for. So, it is not really strange to find this aggro in Parliament. I’ll wait for the moment when the Scottish SNP members lose their cool and whack a few on the chins of the PM or the Leader of the House. It’ll come. Or poor Ian the SNP leader in the Commons will walk in with a claymore down his left trouser leg. Culloden all over again. Yeah, let’s have revenge, baby! You will agree with me that our political system thanks to some pretty bad previous managements has gone down the drain. It needs overhauling. The problem is that the Speaker, an overbearing half-wit is also of the opinion that Brexit is alike to drowning the baby in the bathwater. Talking about how not to manage a gathering? Anyway, hopefully Boris will not lose his drive because if he does we might get a country where the state will decide when we will die. And that’ll be sooner than you think!

Besides all these things, bad as it is, a question in my mind goes like this – looking at all the political unrest almost everywhere, Trumpy baby under pressure in the US, British politics in turmoil, the EU basically under constant attack, the Middle East still in a bad way, should we ask whether a foreign power or powers are meddling about?

Anyway, it will take some time to sort all this out, so keep strong normal people, keep your head and just smile ruefully and think of your next holiday with a company that will not go bust!.

A bit of everything...

 

If you thought the world was a funny, a bit of an idiotic place, it has just gone a bit further. The Canadian prime minister has had to apologise for dressing up as a black (can we still use this word?) man complete with turban in a party held in 2001. Can I remember what I did 18 years ago? Not really much but I must have said all sorts of now unacceptable words and have had ideas of blowing up something or the other. Will I apologise? In my part of Wales, no-one apologises for anything anytime. So, Mr Trudeau don’t worry you’ll be welcome in the Valleys!

The next idiotic thing that happened recently is the furore about the memoirs of that glorious politician the previous prime minister Mr Cameron. Why would somebody who virtually ruined his country write his memoirs? Good question. If it was me I would have gone on a very long trip and get lost on an uninhabited island. Well, he was a politician, Eton educated, do we need to say any more?

In the mean time we are trundling on with Brexit. By now I think everyone has forgotten what it is about. The question is what really do MPs want? There are 650 of ‘m in that rat-infested place, so I presume there are 650 ideas of how to deal with the people of Britain. Make no mistake, politicians are NOT for the people. They only need us, the voters, to elect them to a life of Riley. Once they’re in you will rarely see them. They will have ‘surgeries’, an apt name indeed. They will cut you to pieces. Listening with a sickly sweet smile on their faces but that is as far as it goes.

Anyway, Brexit will never go away. Believe it because no ‘deal’ will ever pass through Westminster. It is either stay or leave literally with ‘no-deal’. There aren’t many people, certainly not MPs who understand that the ‘real’ negotiations will start after having left!

All this talk presently is designed for one thing, to create mayhem in the UK so that we will revoke Article 50. So far the political class in Brussels have the upper hand. The Brexit idea is to them the beginning of the end of the unification plan.

And lastly, climate change is now gaining more notice due to the many protests now across the world. High time too! We can justly deduce that it has not been high on many government agendas. The reason for that is the governments have a high stake in not doing anything but the most necessary. The tax income from diesel and petrol sales is so high that without it the economy as it is will collapse altogether. The problem also is that building more and more offshore wind-farms is not quite as carbon neutral as we are led to believe. In fact tonnes of carbon are released through building each and everyone of these monstrosities. Yet here in Wales a very good alternative, the Swansea barrage, was voted down. This barrage could provide most of Wales’ power needs. But we rather build wind turbines. Why? Because it provides loads of employment. The truth is that governments are in a cleft stick. Yes, we need to tackle climate change but we also need to provide for 60+million people!

So far no end in sight, we are merrily carrying on. The world will be a bit warmer next year. Will my heating bill be less though?

French chateau - time to relax?

Oh yes, I am a great fan of a television programme named ‘Escape to the Chateau’. It portrays a British former lieutenant-colonel and TV presenter Dick Strawbridge and his family moving to a French chateau. Now, most Brits would not attempt that you’d think? But no there are quite a few. It is interesting to see how they cope with these crumbling edifices. From rotten windows to having to input complete new heating systems and corresponding plumbing. Including taking out the old lead rubbish. The programme is good but there is one irking thing that can be heard over and over again. The shortage of time to do things. Yes people, here is a whole family that attempts to restore a building bigger than my house by 1,000 and they appear to work in strict time, even have a wedding with hundreds of guests while installing toilets in the garden. I am not buying that, obviously the producers have thought we need a bit of pressure here to make it interesting. Oh Jeesh are they going to complete this smoker in the cellar just because Dick likes smoked cheese? To complete before the rain starts perhaps? Or President Trump will output another tweet? I think the programme is great, I admire their courage to attempt such tasks but please have less of the ‘There is no time to do this, but let’s do it anyway’ stuff.

A dream is just a dream, is it?

I had a dream last night. No, I am not a dreamer or a depressive type guy but isn’t it funny that thoughts or visions sometimes make you think? I dreamt I was on holiday, great but it was a landscape from the past. Probably picked up from a picture or so I must have seen somewhere. A Dutch landscape of never-ending vistas, heather fields interspersed with here and there shrubby trees. Now I know Holland I lived there but these wide landscapes are no longer there. In my youth I roamed over the meadows just outside Amsterdam, now a concrete monstrosity. It made me think how we humans are actually changing our world. Even here in Wales the changes are enormous. New housing estates are springing up everywhere. Why? I was not aware there was a big problem in Wales as far as housing was concerned? The landscape I dreamt about is certainly no longer there. The last time I had received a picture from the Dutch family (yes I keep in touch!) you can see nothing but houses. It is not talked about much I suppose but in a land-area not much bigger than Wales, there are over 16million people in Holland (The Netherlands). They call that ‘wonen bij hutje en mutje’ (living on top of one another). Yes, that is the way the whole world is going. And it has started in Wales. The 3.5 million will soon be 5 million, the floodgates have opened. Friends you see how a dream opens the thought process. You dream about something from the past and then you see the present all around you and you no longer recognise it because you walk around with closed eyes. I suppose it is because we do not see the minute changes that happen every second of the day. We just get used to them without noticing the impact they have on our existence. Take the new furore about SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride) a gas apparently so powerful as being capable to ruin the atmosphere. Great, together with carbon dioxide, methane et all we will leave a world fit for mosses and lichens, the rest has died. I just cannot get it into my head how thoughtless we are. We apparently have ideas but instead of looking at possible implications eg thinking it through we just implement these ideas without further thought. Remember a (in)famous parliament? Plenty of hot air, ideas by the thousand but most of them when carried out are so wrong they had to be cancelled. That is the way most governments work, I call it ‘stop-gap’ government. A problem arises, they find a solution(!) and that opens up another ten problems. Apparently science works like that as well. So, what will take the place of SF6? Hold your breath it could be carbon dioxide making a comeback. God help us all.

Gwyliau!

Dw i wedi bod ar fy wyliau yng Ngorllewin Cymru. Mewn gwirionydd Amroth. Castell Amroth. Lle wych. Mae'r traeth yn llydan iawn, ar lanw isel wrth gwrs. Os mae’r haul yn tywynnu ac mae gen i gwrw yn fy llaw, ie NEFOEDD. Mae’r daith yn hawdd os ydych cael yr amser yn iawn. Yn gynnar yn y bore neu’r ôl deg o’r gloch. Ychydig o draffig ond welais i llawer o giwiau ar y ffordd ger Caerfyrddin (Trafford A48). Yr un peth, dw i ddim glywed am y broblemau gyda’r Ty’r Cyffredin yn Lundain (Senedd). Nawr wedi pleidleisio o blaid cymryd rheolaeth o amserlen y Senedd! Byddet ti’n ei gredu? Na? Wel, mae’n wir! Efallai byddwn yn meddwl tybed beth nesaf? Wn i ddim! Felly, beth am yr wyliau nesa’? Siŵr i fod, rhaid iddo fod Amroth eto. Ac hefyd rhaid i fi ymweld â’r Iseldiroedd oherwydd fy nheulu yn byw ger y maes awyr. Dw i’n garu bwyd ‘herring’, pysgod yn halen. A hefyd os mae’r tywydd yn iawn fe fydda i’n ymweld â ‘Keukenhof’. Castell ydy e gyda gardd mawr, llawer o ‘tulpen’ (tiwlipau). Wrth gwrs, rhid ini ddim anghofio Amsterdam, y ‘Rijksmuseum’ (Amgueddfa Cyffredinol). Paentiadau gan Rembrandt fel ‘Nachtwacht’ (Gwylio’r Nos). A nesaf cymryd taith trwy’r gamlesi. Wych!

Gobeithio dw i wedi defnyddio’rr iaith yn iawn! Dysgwr ydw i a fynd i’r coleg yn y Rhondda.

Wel, pam lai dw i’n byw yng Nghymru nawr. Hwyl am y tro.

Join the madhouse?

We have mentioned the state of politics in the UK quite a few times. Every time we thought that it could not get worse but every time it did. Now in early September 2019 the political hothouse or should I say ‘mad house’ has gone another step further. Where are the political parties? MPs are seen crossing sides everyday according to the latest whim. One day they are Conservative, another day they fancy being Labour and on a Friday they are Lib-Dems. Obviously Britain at the moment is ungovernable, in fact has not got a government. Only one in name only. It seems we are led by grandstanding idiots, Marxists and God knows what else all trying to shout as loud as they can. I have said before Westminster is out of date, has no purpose and should be shut for ever. Make it a museum as those who are in it right now are no more than waxworks anyway.

It is a sorry state, they talk about Boris doing a coup, in fact we have a dictatorship. Eh? As it appears to me it is not Boris who is the dictator but those who accuse him of being so. The question now is this – what next? An election seems the obvious way but will that solve the issue? If Boris wins a decent majority as is likely will the Conservative party as it is right now stay behind him? I think perhaps Boris should call their bluff and indeed shut Parliament and go for it. Become what they have accused him of – a dictator! Or call the army in and suspend all political activity until people regain their senses. But do it quickly. Get the generals to decide what to do next! This is not strange to us, we've had a dictatorship before and it worked (for a time).

Is democracy a lost cause?

It is beginning to look like the whole of Britain has lost the complete plot. The nation voted to leave the EU and ever since then the political class and mediocre liberal London elite has machinated against it. There is a simple question – what does democracy really mean? To me it seems that we have lived in a dream, continually being fed lies but in reality the public might as well get to the beach on voting days and forget all about it. Why spend billions on preparing voting papers and such when our vote means absolutely nothing? We have MPs, even some from the Cabinet who are just self-serving megalomaniacs. Take the erstwhile Chancellor – nice man in his underpants I’m sure but as a politician he might as well go home. The trouble is that MPs no longer abide by party policies and that is shown very clearly indeed by MPs clamouring for another referendum. Moreover we now have calls for another no-confidence vote coupled with Jeremy Corbyn wanting to be care-taker PM. How stupid is this going to be? MPs seem to have forgotten that it is they who rejected a ‘deal’ three times! It must be obvious, except to them it isn’t, that there is no consensus at all and therefore a ‘No deal’ is the best way forward out of the impasse. Boris is right, get it over the line and then start talking business with the EU. MPs need to remember that all this talk about a ‘deal’ means absolutely nothing. It is afterwards when heads get together to thrash out all the finer details. Secondly we here in the UK need to seriously look at how we want to be governed. It has become a bit obvious, well at least to me, that two-party politics is no longer viable. Also the way prospective MP candidates are selected. We simply have far too many Eton and Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge Universities) in the bag. As a result we have a political class. If you want to be a MP, it will most certainly help if you have come from the aforementioned background. It also aids the ‘brotherhood’ syndrome where those who come from the same background are preferred. The result has been a liberal aristocracy. The Labour party has adopted a view that can only be called ‘Marxist’. For those who have read Marx’ (Engels) ‘The Communist Manifesto’ will have seen the way things are going there. The class struggle is alive and well and it shows in the present situation. From where I am standing if we want a healthy system we must adopt proportional representation. Simply take out the voting for persons of whatever party you prefer. We will henceforth vote for a party. For those interested have a look at the Dutch or Belgian systems. Let’s hope that we have the courage to change and are not prepared to carry on with a system that is so wrought with problems and yes, also corruption. The act of ‘Voting’ needs to have more importance and therefore fines must be introduced for not voting. All citizens must take it as an absolute honour to be able to vote. Well, interesting I think but whatever will happen, let’s hope it’ll be good!

Infrastructure - problems? You decide...

There is a word that is used frequently in the media, infrastructure. I live in an area of Wales, not far from the capital Cardiff where an enormous amount of building is taking place. Whole farms have been taken over, flattened, and made ready for hundreds if not thousands of dwellings. These are private houses by the large building companies. The question is twofold – firstly why, do we need so many new houses? And why private dwellings and very little social housing? Secondly, has the infrastructure been updated or renewed? The first question is an interesting one because in my opinion, yes we need some new houses simply because of the altering demography. But this house building is happening everywhere. The Rhondda has a decaying housing stock, simply because of past grave mistakes and omissions made by respective governments. But owners and landlords do update the dwellings and frankly there wasn’t a big problem. Tonyrefail a smallish village of about 18,000 people has a LDP (Local Development Plan) with some 1,000+ new dwellings. That would equate to 4,000+ new inhabitants. So, quite a development in South Wales. One might ask what the rationale is? It has everything to do with movement of people westward. People moving out of the Home Counties, in particular the London/Reading areas, selling their expensive homes and relocating to Wales where housing is up to 20% cheaper! It probably stems from the rising criminal activity and lawlessness now prevailing due to government/EU policies. The Rhondda now acts as a 'sleeper town'  to take up the poorer people displaced from the richer southern Welsh areas. Whatever the cause, I am looking at areas full of houses and people but no proper infrastructure, no more doctors, dentists, or improving roads. People will want in the end use their cars to go to work and for leisure. In Tonyrefail there is just one road in and cars parked both sides of the street. It is the major bus route from the upper valleys to Cardiff. At times traffic comes to a standstill. Now all this occurs with 18,000 people, what will happen if we put another 4,000 or so on top of that? 

In the Cardiff region we talk of many more new inhabitants, up to 5,000 or even more. Apparently doctor’s appointments make waiting times of up to three weeks a normal occurrence. Local dentists said their patient registers are closed. Friends, this is just happening in a small area of Wales. We as tax payers are paying thousands for people to ‘govern’, to ensure a decent living for all. By all accounts the council chiefs can earn anything up to £200,000 per annum. With corresponding salaries for those below grades. In private firms if a manager fails they get the boot. In council/government terms, you get promoted.

Indeed, the original two questions have a bearing on that latter statement. It all circles around the quality and competence of public servants. Instead of people going to university to study home economics or pop culture (pop music that is, not lemonade) and apparently there is a university somewhere that offers studies in Harry Potter (don’t mention his underwear). Please start to study the subject of the INFRASTRUCTURE of inhabited environments, as a matter of urgency.

Social Media a scourge on humanity...

Reading the Daily Express’ political article a few days ago about social media by Mr Pollard is quite revealing. Yes, SM is a problem, particularly for 10-17 year olds. But as he said ‘Let’s not forget the adults’.

Using ‘sneering’ language is too easy. The US president governs through tweets which is not how to govern, methinks. But the genie is out of the bottle now, we have to find ways of putting it back without corking the wine. Part of the problem of course is the fact that social media shows up the bad side of humanity. It shows how powerless the lower and middle classes are in real terms. The continual reporting of ‘bad news’ is a factor as well. When politicians elected on promises of ‘I will change the way we live for the good’ forget that the public purse is not their personal purse and showing their every word good or bad then the SM gates are thrown open and the horse bolted. That is the problem, we the great unwashed, adults and kids alike can now vent our ire and disgust about our shabby lives. And with some gusto we do! But unfortunately it also takes away common sense. It warps our sense of reality. It also will make a lot of us aspire to a life unsuited generally. Just look at the celebrity cults. The only thing really is to begin anew. Yes, SM is here to stay so let us belatedly teach children how to use it properly. Starting with school.

Mass extermination or mass extinction?

There is not a great deal of difference in the outcome of both. In the first instance it means someone or ones are doing it, in the second instance some accident or happening is the cause. I saw a TV programme just called Mass Extinction that looked at the two that have happened in the far off past. One in the Permian epoch and one that put paid to the dinosaurs, the Triassic epoch. The outcome of both was that 90% of life just disappeared. The Permian extinction was attributed to an enormous volcanic upheaval somewhere what is now Siberia and the Triassic calamity was supposedly caused by a 50 kilometre asteroid plunging in the Caribbean /Mexico. In both cases it seemed that the enormous amount of gases freed coupled with darkened skies due to dust and smoke killed off plants everywhere. The Earth warmed up considerably due to carbon dioxide, sulphur and other gases. The point made was that today, humanity is taking the place of these natural disasters. We are degrading the land surface of the planet to such an extent nothing can grow. Trees are felled by the million, plastic is poisoning the oceans permeating all life within it. The funny thing is that although warnings have been coming fast and frequent, no-one is taking a blind bit of notice. We are merrily carrying on. We might have thought politicians would be more aware of the reasons why the Earth is warming up and the possible problems that will come with it.

I have said before and mentioned some research that was carried out in species’ density. In other words they wanted to see what the density of species could be in a defined living area. Obviously, food availability and space were the main issues. The same rules will count for us humans. When space gets thinned out, humans like rats will turn on each other. Food and or water becoming scarce will start a great calamity as seen many times in Africa already. Let’s hope that common sense will prevail and that we will not degrade our land by too many houses, roads and concrete over land we will need for future food production. Let’s hope that common sense will prevail and all of us will curtail our nasty habit of over-consumption in almost everything. It should now be obvious that economic growth is no longer sustainable and other ways for living need to be found and developed. How? Well, I’m not a politician or environmental scientist. But through showing my views and possible compound them with other views it will help to redress the balance.

Political class disappointing?

A report in a national newspaper today stated that the Queen (Elizabeth II) is rather disappointed in the political class and their inability to govern. No, really? Well, normally the Queen stays out of politics or rather, refrains from making public political comments. But I think that’s wrong. The Queen albeit the titular head of the nation should be able to talk about the present situation. The situation of our political class to properly govern and direct the affairs of the nation to the benefit of all. I am not sure what people think about the Theresa May government but despite all the ‘upbeat’ messages of ‘We will do Brexit because that’s what we voted for’ she was totally powerless to do so. Instead of immediately resigning she muddled on for three years together with a host of liars and people who saw a chance to further their own agendas. As I have mentioned before we needed a ‘strong’ man or woman to break the impasse. By all accounts Boris has started well, no results yet but if the rhetoric and promises come to life we will finally get back on the right track. Despite well-meaning idiots like the Green Party now trying to set up an alternate government with only women or the Labour party suddenly veering to disband the Union, yes believe it because this is Britain 2019! So, carry on Boris whip ‘m into shape, there is not much time left! Have a little snifter on me.

(For those who do not know what a snifter is – it is found in a bottle, pretty alcoholic and poured into a small glass and enjoyed drinking it, usually served in countrywide pubs).

What now for the human race?

Despite so many signs that the human race has arrived at the precipice, staring into uncharted waters and possible oblivion, it just carries on as nothing has changed. More cars, more planes, more deforestation, just to name the easily defined causes of carbon release. The warming up of the oceans and seas now release tonnes of methane gas into the atmosphere and frankly there is nothing we can do about that. In the UK we seem to be proud of our control of burning fossil fuels. True but in the context of the world environment it means very little if anything at all.

These are all already well-known causes. The world’s population has reached a border, to overstep it is just to hasten the finale. What the finale will be like we do not know but I’m sure it won’t be pretty. If the snowfall in winter in the UK empties every shelf in the supermarkets as it occasionally has done, you will begin to understand what will happen if we have to stop car and lorry driving, ground all planes among others. The infrastructure of social life will have collapsed. It sure is worrying. However it may not happen at all, we just need excellent leadership from the political establishment which to say in truth has been completely missing. Every MP needs to gear themselves up to serve the good of us all and not act as complete misinformed idiots. There is a lot of work to be done and done fast! It was good to hear Boris say just that. I know people do not rate him. I think they are mistaken. I am not a Conservative, I support Plaid Cymru with this exception I do not agree with the idea of independence for its own sake. The Scots and Welsh will be better off together with the English except to say the English need some thought to be given to cooperation and a fair distribution of wealth. A massive task is ahead of us all. We might go into the sunset, the planet will probably be better off although that is unclear. A runaway climate might in the end produce another Mars/Venus type planet and devoid of life as we know it or rather as it should  be. 

Ed: It is becoming clear that the ice on the poles and glaciers are melting faster than expected. It means higher sea-levels. Are the Dutch doing anything? What about the Polynesian low atols? If rising water is going to be only a metre higher the sun drenched atols will be gone. and the Dutch dykes need to be 5 metres higher and concrete re-inforced. Wow, thinking about puts hair on my teetth! 

Hello Boris, goodbye EU, it was nice knowing you..

So, it is Boris. Well, good luck to him, he will sure need it. I have never understood the MPs, there are those who are absolute in their determination to stop Brexit. But they seem to have forgotten that they as a Parliament had sanctioned the vote taken in 2016. They were going to abide by the result. Obviously that was a lie. Ever since we have had personal opinions, which mostly changed every time the wind blew in from a different direction. We have had endless posturing in front of TV and endless reams of paper with thousands of reasons why this or that MP said what they said. There has been enough hot air to power 20,000 homes and untold factories.

So, what next are we, can we leave as said by 31^st October? I don’t see a majority for any deal in the House. So, yes we can leave but there will be no deal. Unless the EU will change its also idiotic attitude. They have been complicit in making a deal with Mrs May which to be fair was very one-sided. Now, this might have been Mrs May’s lack of negotiattng powers or her team was more interested in the quality of the lunch and wine? Who knows. That deal included an agreement to keep the Irish border open. Well, that I have to agree is impossible! You cannot be out of Europe and then let all goods in irrespective of checks or taxes due. The only thing that could be done is border checks. But you could set up a free port on the mainland, both Ireland and the UK for goods in transit from Ireland to Europe. Goods, would be transported in sealed containers to the Channel coast. But it will be a sticky point. It needs careful thought as to how this is to be done. We don’t want Ireland to descend once more in total mayhem.

Words galore...

WE should have a very strong look at the prevalence of strange words used by all of us in the UK, indeed in the whole world. It seems that whatever way and however words are used, someone or other feels aggrieved. Politics today is no longer an activity where people can say what I would term words of ‘normal’ usage.

For instance even ‘descriptive’ words are now circumspect. Words like Jew, Christian and other of that ilk are virtually unusable for fear of being called racist. Then you have words like ‘black’, ‘white’, ‘color’ (forgive me the American spelling or take me to court if you are offended), that are now taken as an affront to human existence. Almost all politicians now use the words ‘deeply offensive’, not just offensive, no ‘deeply offensive’. The use of adverbs is now pretty wide-spread in politics. Making descriptive words even more dramatic! I suppose in the end what is wanted is a dramatic response by the public, possibly orchestrated by the media. The thing is this, it all has little meaning. Facebook is full of ‘offensiveness’ (if that is a proper word) and Twitter can be even worse. I think we all have to learn to use words in their proper context and tone. If I said to someone face to face – ‘John, I am deeply offended by what you just said’, he would not say ‘How deep is deep?’ He would most likely just laugh and so would I. You would most likely say something like ‘Get away, you silly moron’, or words to that effect and we all would go home happy. But put them in writing and thousands will climb in the pen to say they are deeply incredibly, stupendously, and incredibly offended’. Take poor Donald from over the pond – his use of the wrong words to describe an action or event are legendary, yet he should have the right to do so, just as his adversaries have the right. About he persons he mentioned, they are pretty anti-everything. I would agree if you’re not happy where you are you have two options -1. Leave, and 2. Leave. But if you want to change something then propose your scheme of things, the things that need altering, the things that need to be disposed of etc etc and see if you can get anyone to agree and support. That’s democracy and don’t be surprised if there will be a clamour to get you keelhauled. So, the point is this, if you do not mind to say a few unpalatable words then clad yourself in some proper steel armor as what will be directed back will almost certainly be worse. Cheers and if you find it hard to turn the other cheek, just turn your back.

Ransomware again in Florida? Seems so...

According to BBC News a Florida town has decided to pay some half a million quid to hackers who had made their systems unusable. If this is true and not ‘fake’ news purportedly put on the web by some friendly Russian or Chinese web manipulators, it shows an incredible lack of cyber management. One could easily say – Hey what happened to the back-ups then? Not backups that are attached to your mainframe but kept separate? Even I do that. I backup all the time but use a single USB drive that is kept somewhere else, away from the main system. On top of that I will have access to four separate backup dates at all times. Once a month I keep the latest on yet another drive. Yes I know I am paranoid but it works. To heck with ransomware, if it comes, hello just re-install the OS and use one of the backups for all your precious personal data! I know it works because I have had to use it a few times due to my own mistakes. So, sorry Florida town if you did not bother to use the simplest of work safety practices you deserve to be sacked. It is frightening to think how data amassed by such a council can fall into the hands of criminal groups. On top of that to pay money to such groups is an affront to public responsibility. I will now drown my sorrows and have another tot of rum. Cheers.

Being thrown out is not so bad...

It sure is funny how people react to men ushering out ladies from a meeting to which I suppose they were not invited. Yes, this is about reports of an ecology protester infiltrating a meeting at which the Chancellor of the Exchequer was the speaker. It is funny to read the lady now complains about being manhandled, widely now shown on the media. TV, newspapers.. Yeah, sure she would be, dragging this out (sorry about the pun here!) for maximum effect to whatever her cause is. Indeed, I do believe we should be more assertive about the need for environmental issues to be highlighted. After all it concerns every living being, plants, or animals on this planet! But she was not invited and therefore ejected. Yep, with some force. She must have expected that, surely. Let’s be fair, if you march in anywhere to which you are not invited or even welcome, you can expect to be asked to leave in no uncertain terms. You cannot really complain. So, why would the man apologise, the lady appeared to resist quite busily! Obviously being thwarted in her attempt to throw something at the Chancellor? For all we know she could have carried a weapon of some sort, although where in that skimpy dress I don’t know. So, well done the guy for throwing her out, he should be awarded the Military Cross for Valour, but that wont happen because we have become politically correct! That says some can do whatever they want to do in the name of ‘humanity’ and that we, the ‘great unwashed’ shut it. It is a strange world.

War on drugs... about time?

Well, well, well, the reports in the media now tell us that many politicians have taken drugs in their youth. No, really? It seems endemic with the ruling classes and not to forget the rich upper middle classes who sent their children to those private schools where drugs are so common that they are now are thinking to build hospitals close by so that collapsed noses can be repaired quickly and without fuss. I have always believed from well into my youth in the Dutch capital that drugs were NOT OK! Frankly it shows very clearly the degenerative effect. Taking drugs in your youth will make you a politician in later life. It is becoming clear, isn’t it, that there is a rule for us clodhoppers and a different rule for the ‘hoi-polloi’. I am sorry but drug-taking to me is an affront to society and the world. It may have escaped your notice but drugs in all forms and yes that includes tobacco, are detrimental to health. Alcohol is slightly different, in large quantities it acts as a drug and also is pretty detrimental to health, but in small amounts it can be beneficial to overall health. The health effects of an occasional glass of wine or a tot of whisky before going to bed are well known.

It is remarkable how many people ‘try’ drugs, it does not mean they will be ‘druggies’, just try it for the fun and ‘everyone does it’ pressure. However, I am not going to declare war on drugs, I do believe however that everyone of us humans should have enough intelligence to stay away. We simply need to clean up human behaviour and certainly those who want to be an example, to lead us, need to be drug-free. It is a lot to ask, I know but we must start somewhere.

In fact, if we want to have a proper and well-governed society by 2050 we need to seriously take to task quite a few problems. Plastic, refuse, air pollution, water fouling, land degradation (deforestation), drug use just to name a few. This is what I want to hear from our politicians, it is time to look at our world as one unit. A Russian Eskimo or a Chinese is as human as I am. Those that have a faith should remember the demands it poses. Any that believe in death as a way to get power is not fulfilling its creed. Human life on this planet has not been particularly peaceful. In fact we have been and are guilty of misunderstanding what life actually means. The interactions, the preciousness of life in a mostly empty universe. It is time to re-think our raison d'être!

Ed: Empty universe? Listening to Brian Cox on the BBC it is teeming! And I suppose we mean intelligent life. Well, what is intelligence, not here on Earth, me thinks. No, the universe is a lot of 'space' with here and there some fungus on a round rock. Some fungi have developed a taste for weapons because it doesn't like its neighbours. Oi, do I think we are a fungus? You decide!

Ed2: Think about it, do not start by just coalescing space to a little ball  within our solar system in it and all around a few interesting stars. Space is EMPTY! The nearest star is 4 light years away. That means its light takes 4 years to get to us as a speed of some 300,000 kms per second. So work it out. The nearest galaxy is Andromeda and  2.5 million light years away and it is part of our local group of galaxies. Sorry Brian - space is empty as far as humans are concerned! With obviously here and there a fluffy few bits of a light fog. This makes it all the more important to view our life here on Earth as precious. All life. Forget interstellar travel, it is not possible. We might however visit a few of the solar planets, that means the Moon and Mars and possibly Titan, the rest are pretty inaccessible. It is nice to dream and unless humans will develop into something now unknown, like a thought transference method of travelling, I would say - Stop dreaming.