What is not a sham nowadays?

Does anyone ever think the political world is a bit of a sham? For instance, the continuing hype about nuclear war. There are many films, mostly American, that portray nuclear war and its aftermath. Then there is the idea that the West, i.e America of course, has to have the most up-to-date weapon systems costing billions of dollars every year. But of what are they, or we, afraid of? There was the Soviet Union, now just Russia, and that nation has been continually projected as the ‘baddie’. Now, there is some truth in that from a political view, but I am beginning to see that it is just a sham! Russia has never been a nation that in any way could have threatened the free Western nations with a military escapade! Western soldiers, even conscripts, do have a exacting training regime plus up-to-date weaponry. The British armed forces, though smallish compared to the million or so Russians, would very quickly decimate the opposing army. 

This view is strengthened today by seeing what a mess the Russians have made of their incursion into Ukraine. All that is shown is a continual indiscriminate artillery barrage and failing infantry escapades from conscripts who do not want to be there in any way shape or form. In infantry being thrown into battle without adequate support resulting in thousands of needless deaths. The Russians are just like those of old, the Mongols. They count on multiple rushes of soldiers onto the bayonets of the enemy. Costing thousands of deaths. Now it seems that we, the West, have discounted the Russians and now need a new enemy in order to justify our incredibly costly arms expenditure.

So, up have come the Chinese. It is rather an interesting debate that has come about. First, we spend billions if not trillions, to bolster the Chinese economy by allowing them to become probably the largest manufacturer of goods to be exported. With thanks to their enormous cheap labour market. No wonder the Chinese economy has moved in only a few decades from a basket case to the second richest nation on Earth! Soon to become the richest. It is of course looking at the size of the country, and the number of different ethnicities, it is necessary to rule with an iron fist. Not allowing opposition in any shape or form. I expect that in the future these countries, large and having a multitude of different ethnic people and religions, will begin to fall apart.

The funny thing is people from history have written about the human condition. The condition of freedom, of repression, the continuing need to be numero uno. European history in particular will show that tendency. So many wars of conquest, defeats, collapse, starting again, right up to the 20th century! And now the 21st century still showing us that things have not changed. This time it is the Russian belief they need a buffer-zone between them and the West. A sphere of influence. But it could also be that Ukraine has recently developed oilfields and in fact has quite a better economic level than Russia. Even though Russia has possible great resources in its Siberian backyard. It is just that – a backyard. From where I am sitting I would say that Ukraine will be a major force in Europe, even more prosperous than Germany!

We’ll see but I have already told my children to watch out.

Where are purple-headed, ring-nosed entities?

Sometimes interesting journalism reaches our eyes. One of such did on last Thursday in the Sun newspaper. An article by Piers Morgan. Piers is well-known for having upright strong views. Nothing wrong with that because it engenders a proper debate. Well, at least it should. But unfortunately, here in the UK, debate about gender issues is virtually impossible. Let me put here some of the things Piers said: We have allowed a bunch of purple-headed, ring-nosed, humour-devoid, permanently howling woke fascists to bully and shame us (i.e the rest of us ‘normal’ people) into believing their insane views are the only ones to be tolerated.

Oh yes, that’s putting it mildly! If I put down my own views the computer on which you would read it would burst into flames. As Piers said: By kowtowing to this vile, censorious, cancel culture mob, we have created a society fearful to defend even the most basic principles and values of a free and open democracy. Yes, exactly right! We are in danger of marching – again – into a society which is run by vile, hate ridden extremists. What is incredible to say is that most of this seems to be originating in our universities! Students today stand in the forefront of gender-neutral politics and no-one knows exactly where these views come from. Perhaps this is the result of years of universities dumbing-down courses in order to have more mediocre students into the door. Just look at some of the subjects now ‘taught’. We love to garble on about ‘human rights’, LBGT+ rights, rights to call yourself non-binary (what does that mean for heaven’s sake?) amongst other phobias. People like Ms Rowling of Potter fame, the MP Ms Duffield are shouted down, vilified, hounded and are literally in fear of the lives. It is us the great silent majority who are now guilty of allowing such garbage to continue. 

The government such as it is today, weak and powerless, nevertheless should take a stand and as Piers headline stated, MAN UP, GROW A PAIR AND FIGHT BACK! Until we do this country will continue to slide down a steep slope. In fact the whole of western society should take this to task. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech. I am a big supporter of freedom of speech but surely we should, at all times, use propriety, sensibility and refrain from using inflammatory language or actions. Things like ‘chopping off heads’ for instance. In the end we need to be sensible,the facts are that all mammalian entities and that includes us, have only TWO genders. They are either born female or male. Some unfortunate things do occur due to our habits of meddling with chemicals and such. But these are not the norm. Even so if and when these happen we do need to rectify medically or look after such individuals. Any other genders are made up fantasies just to promote a particular view or opinion. It should be stopped forthwith, and a heavy fine imposed. Something like £1,000 and if not stopped the next fine to be quadrupled. Thank you Piers, now let’s weed out the idiots.

What about the cost of supporting football?

Sometimes I get a bit flustered, not because I won the Lottery but thinking about the cost of living. We hear day in, day out the news about the cost of heating our homes, that we also must buy new lights of a much lower wattage. And spend thousands on triple glazing. Just for starters. So, yes it would make anyone get flustered! Then we have to listen to the garbled messages from politicians about these issues whilst knowing they have voted themselves some increases in allowances. Free this and free that. Well, OK it is what it is. It might not be quite fair but who wants to disagree? For one I want to disagree because when I was young my parents always said if you want fairness make sure you are a fair person. Do the things that are fair and deal with others in a fair manner. But there is a thought in me about hearing about these very high costs of living, hearing about the difficulties of people to make ends meet and how the social allowances are never enough. But something does not entirely add up. Like watching the football matches shown on a Sunday morning with that wonderful (!) pundit Gary Lineker. 

Well, OK he is not quite the standard of the late Brian Moore or Gabby Logan but he’ll do if only because the bodies sitting next to him make him look good. Watching the matches I am astounded by the shots showing the full stands! Matches in the Premier League drawing up to 50 to70,000? The average ticket price according to the Internet being £50 with the most expensive being Arsenal at £97! Then loads of supporters buy the club shirts as well or even splash out on season tickets. Now bearing in mind there are 24 clubs in the Premier League that alone might account for 1,000,000 or so people. Then also the Championship League and Leagues One and Two. The Sports Gazette website stated that on average every weekend 834,724 people went to watch live football from one of England’s top six tiers. I think that is low, I believe it is well over one million and if we also calculate the other tiers it will be close to two million. You see the money? That’s how you will notice the strange situation of attendances at a cost of millions overall and the rising cost of living. 

It seems that many who profess difficulty paying household bills have no problem shelling out for the weekly football match coupled with a few pints of beer afterwards. Mark, I am not complaining I just want to highlight the interesting facts. Facts that no-one really talks about. However, I do believe that the money now running too many sports, like football (called Soccer in the US) is ridiculously high. Millions to transfer players and an interesting question is, do the players still receive a cut of the transfer fee? Then the weekly sums spent by the clubs on their players with some receiving nearly half a million pounds a week. Can anyone say that is normal? I just wonder if the gate receipts will cover the money spent on players. Surely, this is a recipe for a future disaster? Some players cannot seem to get to grips with such high levels of income and simply waste it. Just read the newspapers of crashed Lamborghinis or Maseratis. Besides the accusations of mistreating nubile ladies. It is a strange world, for sure.

Wanna be a dictator? Why not...

From time to time, as readers will know as I have mentioned it before, I read some of the Internet chat programs and their many contributions. Most of it is absolute rubbish and more or less based on hearsay and fake news. It is difficult to pick out fake news because it is incessant and as we know what Mr Goebbels said during WW2, tell people often enough your lies, they will begin to believe them. So, it was interesting to read an article by a Canadian lady of possible Russian descent, Ms Nickell. This was on a Quora platform discussing facts – “Truth about Russia” with as subheading- “We challenge Kremlin’s propaganda”. The article was basically about dictators and why people followed them. Not just dictators like Hitler or Stalin but also people like business supremos. In fact anyone who aspired to lead an organisation, even a charity. The question asked was - how and what was necessary to attain the top of the pile? She wrote – “Tyrants or would-be dictators manipulate and intimidate people into believing things that don’t exist”! Like patriotism or nationalism. Today the fear of WW3 is brought on by whom? Exactly, politicians. This is a fear that is exacerbated by politicians to justify certain expenditure for which taxes have to be increased. She also said - “If, in former times, Governments were necessary to defend their people from other people's attacks, now, on the contrary, Governments artificially disturb the peace that exists between the nations, and provoke enmity among them”. Rather interesting because I have asked myself many times how wars and conflict arise. A book by Mr R Greene an US author of 1998 “The 48 Laws of Power” might throw some light of people’s innate will to lead, such as wanting power. He outlined 5 steps to be followed:

Step 1. Keep It Vague; Keep It Simple.

Step 2. Emphasize the Visual and the Sensual over the Intellectual.

Step 3. Borrow the Forms of Organized Religion to Structure the Group.

Step 4. Disguise Your Source of Income.

Step 5. Set Up an Us-Versus-Them Dynamic.

Familiar? I did not have to read the book to figure it out, just listen to any politician, yes also here in the UK, and you will have no trouble pointing out any or all of the above points. But worse, the run-of-the-mill person, the man/woman in the street who believes the rhetoric will find it difficult, if nigh on impossible, to abandon the thought processes instilled. Hence the American storming of the Capitol, the Russian belief that Ukraine is run by Nazis and in this country, the UK, the belief that borrowing money will solve all problems. Yes, it is an interesting life to say the least and I hope to see that some sense will prevail before the lies force us to confront yet again the possible demise of the human race. 

Similarly the case now playing out in Romania - Mr Andrew Tate's lust for power over the ladies - or so it seems. I say seems because the courts still need to decide. We'll see but again this shows what is outlined above. The will to have power over people. The problem is when this goes wrong and desires get out of hand. Money and sex generally. Let me ask a question - what makes people like our erstwhile PM, Churchill like Mr Johnson seek power? Is it his idea that somehow he is better? A belief his background made him suitable for political power because his dad had it? His whole family? Or is it because of money and sex? Just asking, thinking about step 2, perhaps an innate belief it was in his genetic make-up? Mr Tate's apparent belief he was the answer to any woman's dreams made him in real terms disrespect the same people. A good question to ask is  why did he leave to live in Romania? A country with great social inequalities? Hmmm, interesting. But I am not a judge, I leave that for the educated in that profession, I just observe and smile ruefully hoping that somehow we will get on the right road. The road of better understanding how the world really is. That perhaps there are no easy answers.  

Water, water all around but I could not drink that!

It was gratifying to learn as reported in WalesOnline that the leader of the RhonddaCynonTaf Council, Mr Morgan has an opinion on global warming. This because of the enormous amount of rain that has fallen on the council area over the past few days. He sort of said this was terrible and we should watch out for floods and the like. No, really? It defies common sense that a councillor cannot see the link between development and the weather warming and why that should be. RhonddaCynonTaf has not so long ago issued a LDP (Local Development Plan) for my area. Whilst the area due to haphazard development on steep hillsides already suffers run-off problems, this plan would increase the problem quite significantly. So here we have a council leader who simply does not seem to know what he is talking about. Or if he does know, he is simply ‘slotting in’ with the fears of the general population. Sort of ‘I know of your problems, I commiserate’. The normal gobblydigook. What the good councillor has not even noticed is the link up between his Planning Department’s failures and the flooding problems in the valleys of the county. When you build estates of hundreds of houses with associated roads and practically no gardens the rainwater will just accelerate down the hill gauging out lovely channels and depositing that in smallish rivers like the river Ely. Plus clogging up the manholes. Resulting in floods further downstream (see reports on Peterston-super-Ely).  

As I live next door to the river Ely I have noticed a hundredfold increase in the amount of water in winter time. It only has rain to start and anyone can see the water level rising within a few minutes. The volume of water now raining down, the river level can and has, risen by quite some height. Also attacking the banks, eroding these quite significantly, depositing more rubble to go downstream. This is not really new. These things have been happening for an aeon. Although now with a heck of a lot more water. What is news however is the political view on the problem. They are aware but simply continue to erode the fabric of the land by allowing housing developments on what can only be called ‘green fields’. Not just housing either, in RCT there is also a concentration of wind turbines and increasing rapidly. The Rhondda valley seems a magnet because it has steep hillsides and second-rate land quality. Bare hilltops only used by grazing sheep. The Council obviously discounts such land as not worthy to even preserve. The farmers themselves have reported approaches by developers to place wind turbines on their land and being promised ‘handsome’ returns. As a result with farming in the doldrums locally as well as nationally, planning applications are flooding in. Through all of this I have to remember councillors have been elected to look after the interests and well-being of the area they control. My question to Cllr Morgan is this – Are you absolutely sure you do? Please no need to answer, I already know it.

Don't tell the truth, tell what they want to hear...

Sometimes you glean some interesting facts from that scourge of today, called the Internet. Like most things, the Internet has a good side but also a bad side. It goes along with what people want. Anyway, I read something interesting about fascist teaching. Mussolini, the dictator of Italy from the Twenties to WW2, according to him the foundation of fascist ideology is two things:

1. People are intelligent individually, but are hypnotized in a group.

2. To manipulate a group of people, don’t tell them the truth, tell them what they want to hear.

This is rather interesting as I have thought very similar things, especially about point 1. I am a member of a political party and when I compare what I feel to what I hear, I must admit from time to time you will note a change of ideas. Take Independence. Independence of Wales. I just felt for a long time that Wales could not be independent, since there were no industries of note except coal and iron. Coal mines galore including what I call ‘rape of the country’ and one or two iron/steel manufacturing plants (Port Talbot). Rape of the country meaning the enormous environmental impact of mining and its spoil heaps. I could easily see that this was not sufficient to declare independence. But in group political discussions you would quickly hear the emotional side of things. The ‘nasty’ English who down-changed Wales, trying to destroy the language (Welsh NOT), who even today are infiltrating Wales. Simply because housing is far cheaper. Plus so-called holiday-homes attainable to more prosperous people from over the border. 

Whilst true it would not make a fair base for independence, I think. But the blood gets hot and yes, some hypnotic action makes the brain accept that perhaps independence is a must. Throw the English out, let’s take charge of our own affairs. When you look at point 2 this is exactly what happens, because as it stands you do not hear the truth from any politician, merely platitudes. Just what the group wants to hear and then go home happy. So, what is the reality? Has it changed? Well, the mines have gone, iron/steel is tottering, the economy is weak all over the UK. Comparing income levels and standards of living you would quickly note quite a difference! The income levels in Wales are some 15% lower than in England. I hasten to add that it is rather difficult to obtain a fair idea as some of the governmental websites are incomprehensible and you would need a Cambridge degree in Mathematics to understand them.  

London and its immediate environs has a completely different economic view than the richest South Wales area (the Cardiff-Newport-Swansea line). Talking about those differences in a group quickly will become emotional, particularly when highlighting the Coal mining era and accompanying public deprivations. However, it also has to be said that most Welsh people are pragmatic, dealing with things sensibly and realistically. That sounds good you might think, but it can also mean to submit too quickly to someone else’s demands or ideas. In other words subservient thought processes. In the end we might have to consider that the two points made above are true, especially viewing the actions and words of people like Mussolini and Goebbels but in the end will completely fail when people compare the words with the actions and results! Hence, the political state in the UK will now be more understandable.

PM's Question Time worthwhile? Hmmmm, not sure....

Today’s Prime Minister’s Question Time once and for all showed that MPs have no idea what causes the NHS problems. According to many Conservatives there are no problems except the waiting lists and that is because of the Pandemic of two years ago. According to Labour MPs it is just the government’s inability to stump up more cash and satisfy the wage demands of the public workforce. The government’s or rather the Prime Minister, keeps mentioning 5,000 new nurses and loads more doctors. Yet it seems not to make any difference. Perhaps the PM ought to also look at how many nurses and doctors have left the NHS? I am certain that the number is quite high. The other thing never highlighted is the health situation of the population at large. It is quite obvious to anyone just walking the street that far too many are obese and way out of condition. This is also shown by the numbers now contracting Type 2 diabetes and other conditions such as cancers, heart disease and strokes. These are serious conditions and incredibly time consuming and costly to treat besides the costs of the equipment. I have said many times before, the NHS is a money guzzling entity. Not surprising but with the medication, the equipment and upkeep of the hospitals plus the newer and improved methods of care it is not strange to know that throwing billions at such a service will never be enough. The question also asked of the PM was about one of the problems with obtaining GP appointments as well as dental services where the books have closed to new patients. Again, what has changed? It is true even where I attend, the dentists are not accepting new patients. There are two points, firstly the demands put upon the service by fashionable ideas like teeth whitening amongst others. No longer is it just to look at decay and filling cavities. Secondly, it is the noticeable increase of the general population in numbers. In my area we have doubled if not tripled the numbers, since the Sixties.

In Wales there have been a number of years of haphazard housing development which has attracted people from England to buy the cheaper homes. One area where I live, there are more people now from Western England, Bristol etc than original Welsh born persons. This will give more problems which I will not mention now but one of them is losing the oldest language in Europe. Watching PM’s Question Time one is always hoping for concrete answers to today’s problems but it never does. It is basically platitude time. In one way funny to watch the spat between the PM and the Leader of the Opposition but it does not answer the needs of the nation. Just a spectacle for the masses who will promptly forget everything that was said and go back on the phone to try to get a doctor’s appointment.This is also one of the reasons A&E are incredibly busy. People just go to A&E rather than the local GP. Well, I have no easy answers. I just want to point to the probable reasons. Hoping that people including our local MP, will see more clearly the reasons behind the problem. Through that make decisions that will really help! Now that would make a change!

Where will my landline go to?

So, I just learned BT (British Telephone) is to ‘switch off’ its analogue landlines. All copper cables will be ‘ditched’ and replaced with digital signals. This obviously means everyone will need an Internet connection. Whilst I believe this is good, it does seem a bit like a money-making exercise. What will ISPs (Internet Service Providers) do because the income from landlines will disappear? Broadband deals will abound I think, either that or with mobile phones. It is a bit fuzzy at the moment but there are only two years to do some hard thinking and work so that what is called VoiP will work for everyone inclusive for old-age pensioners. In my area we still don’t have the fibre cables laid. The best you can get is FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) meaning you still have copper cables linking your system to the telephone exchange or nearest street cabinet, after which fibre cables are used. We could have satellite connection but that is pretty expensive and not very fast either. The other thing that bothers me is you might have to obtain or buy a new router as well. It is not clear whether ISPs will supply the new equipment for free. Somehow I doubt it. Also your present telephone equipment might not be compatible although I understand BT might be forced to supply a free digital phone. Again, not sure about that. If you have FTTC then with the proper router and digital phone you might be OK. I am sure the ISPs will be re-evaluating prices and we, as users, might be better off by looking for a new router now. You will need one with the right connecting slots for the fibre cable connectors. Again, the cable into the premises will need to be installed by a proper technician (when the fibre cables finally arrive in your surroundings). In Wales the cities are being done but places like the Rhondda are probably last on the list. For myself I am looking at all the options and will probably purchase my own router at the time. My experiences with supplied routers have not been good. They work but that is as far as it goes. Security does not seem too brilliant. However, for those without loads of cash to spare, supplied routers will have to do. One thing that always amazes me is how few people take their personal security seriously. They just switch on, link all the equipment as needed and away they go. Some do not even change the password ‘admin’ which most routers come with. Coupled with regular checking of updates and ensuring they are installed properly, these are the least things that must be done. Well, keep the eyes and ears open as the deadline is December 2025 for the landline switch to digital. Ensure you are prepared and know what to do.

NHS? Yes, what about it?

First of all, please accept my best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year! For myself it has started well. After waiting two years for a few moles to be removed from my back, it was done yesterday! Very professionally, the female surgeon also was quite the good looker and a pleasure to have her hands all over my back. Well, OK the hands had a scalpel in them but hey, we cannot have everything, can we? Even so, brilliant job and thank you NHS. But let me also put a few observations down. I do not think there is anything wrong with the NHS itself! For those readers abroad, by NHS I mean the National Health Service, or for me in Wales, the GIG ((Gwasanaeth Iechyd Gwladol) literally Service Health National). The Welsh put words in a strict order – verb, subject, object. The NHS as a body is under pressure, seemingly from mis-management by the administration (non-medical staff) and an ageing, and chronically unhealthy population. The general belief of this population, is that medical services are available 24-7 and at just a phone-call away. The population expects an ambulance to turn up within 5 minutes and to be carried to the nearest hospital where a bed awaits surrounded by two doctors and six nurses. All this at no cost. Quite obviously anyone with any sort of brain would see that these things do not add up! The national government also has quite a responsibility as the paymasters. It has become apparent that the main government in London has let things get out of hand by believing a few more billion pounds will solve the problem. Money alone never solves any problem, it only delays them and then as it has shown with the NHS, just exarcebates it. There will be no easy solutions, the ageing population will not go away, at the present time it just keeps growing. In years past old people would be gone by about 75 and those were called ancient. As the Bible indicated, three score and ten was the limit. A score meaning 20 years. So, if you reached 70 you were doing OK. Are there any answers? Well, looking at the country I was born, the Netherlands, has a three tier compulsory insurance system. The lowest is tier 1 which will give access to GPs, tier 3 will include dental services and all hospital access. So, a fully paid-up insurance system, individually tailored. There is however a part of that system which will allow those registered as destitute to receive medical help, minimal medical help. There are, however other issues that bother me and that is the public’s need for cosmetic surgery and it appears the NHS just wants to accommodate that, despite the cost. It should stop immediately. Also the woke industry must be halted their influence on the NHS. The woke industry meaning trans surgery, surgery to augment body shapes (aka the Katie Price shape!), GP time wasted, unnecessary time spent on so-called mental health issues. Perhaps as far as mental health is concerned dedicated units could be set-up. There are real issues with mental health, mostly due to the way we all live today, so dedicated units would take up some of the pressures put on general hospitals. However, this is something the government has not really taken to task yet. Maybe 2023 will see a change of heart. All in, we need a good thinking session as how to approach the needed changes. As said, more money is not the issue although everyone mentions it. That shows the shallow thinking. Some of the things will hurt but if we want a proper and working NHS, there is no alternative but to grin and bear it.

The State of Everything?

Very often now we hear about the state of the planet, like global warming, the melting icecaps and that’s just for starters. I suppose there is no point in denying that these things happen and are accelerating as well. So, our existence as humans will be in ever increasing danger. To be frank, as a species we might have come to the end of our tenure. I have been a fan of nature programs on TV, series like hosted by Steve Backshall, naturist and explorer. The last issue I watched was a ‘trip’ into the Suriname forest on an unexplored river. The other program was about a exploration of a fjord in the Arctic. All very interesting and informative. But permit me to make one observation - what about the pressures put upon the environment by such programs? It is not just Steve, because with him are a host of others. The accompanying film directors, cameramen, helicopters to place the crew where they started the exploration and the pick-up. The pressures on the environment itself, the campsites, the alterations made to the environment as they travel along the river. Yes, the ice is melting in the Arctic, we could see that. But with the increasing “tourist” activity surely the warming will increase? Steve is showing a pristine world which now everyone else wants to see as well. I know that it is not Steve’s intention to help tourism along, neither does Sir David Attenborough but these programs as shown do not help the issue of global warming. In fact I believe we have already gone past the point of no return. All of us now must get used to vastly altered weather, caused by our insatiable appetites. There should be no doubt that humans have caused this and so the whole planet is now altering to a different ‘modus operandi’. Whether we can ‘weather’ these changes or not does not matter. If we can adapt, and to do so having to minimalise our numbers and ‘house’ people to livable areas, remains to be seen. If not, we will simply be just another species having gone extinct.

I am constantly surprised by the short-sightedness of people. We all know the problem of rubbish. Our household waste, plastics, metals (tinned foods), paper, and tonnes of left-over food, all of it clogs up the societies we have built. The waste is just mostly dumped on vast tracts of land to rot away for eons. There is more recycling but not enough. Young people who just love to protest about the environment have no problem with throwing away used Chinese food cartons, empty cans of Cola or other soft drinks and still more such as cigarette butts. All of it can be found on the street where I live. The truth is simple – we cannot and do not change.

Yet, people like Steve Backshall do point to a way where we can start to seriously protect the areas that we need to keep because they provide fresh oxygen and a safe haven for species under threat. We should stop tourist trips into the Arctic altogether. Cruising ought to be banned. Also cruising to the tropics or even further. In fact we need to re-examine the ‘holiday’ lifestyle. It may be hard but if you could give me an alternative way? Please explain how we could ensure that our children, grandchildren and further up the ladder will have a good life and that we can live on as a species? I’ll be most interested. But do not come to me if you are a politician because I simply don’t trust you to give a fair account on anything. It is sad but if you would only see the mess they have created, the endemic corruption, the totally inconsistent actions, then you might begin to understand the mess. I just wonder what our epitaph on the communal gravestone will say. It might be something like this – They came, they think they won, but did not conquer. They went to try their luck in Heaven. Happy New Year to all! May 2023 be better than 2022.