Nuclear Energy Madness

 The cost of cleaning up the Sellafield Nuclear facility, in the north west of England, is predicted by the National Audit Office to increase to £136 billion. This is a colossal sum of money. How many, schools and hospitals could be built or refurbished for this sort of money?  How many frigates could be supplied to the Royal Navy which is short of ships? What about a new electricity grid to supply renewable energy to the whole country? What about the prison crisis?

I am beginning to think that nuclear power has been a disastrous waste of money. Nuclear power is an offshoot of the nuclear bomb industry. Using nuclear power helped to make the development of atomic weapons more economically feasible. However, what was the human race thinking of when it invented the doomsday bombs, which have blighted our lives? There was never a need for such destructive weapons in the first place. How could we have contemplated using a single bomb which could wipe out 100,000 people at the press of a button, and then further increase the power of the bomb to wipe out millions. The nuclear arms race was and still is madness, and there is little chance that sanity will prevail. 

The human race is capable of wiping itself out easily from nuclear or chemical warfare and climate change. It is no use thinking about escaping to another planet as we will probably take the destructive madness with us. It is now, probably best, to live out your remaining life as best and as happily as you can, and hope that you live and die peacefully before Armageddon strikes.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/oct/23/sellafield-cleanup-cost-136bn-national-audit-office

Middle East Madness

 One again war has flared up in the Middle East: Jews and Muslims are massacring one another. They are also accusing one another of being the first to start the killing and the wars. They are both wrong both sides started the war together. The war started in 1948  with the establishment of the state of Israel and the partition of Palestine, which lead to deportation of both both Muslims and Jews.  A war resulted between the new Israeli state and its Arab neighbours. The partition of Palestine was organised by both Britain and the UN. The latest "war" is really a very bloody and malicious  battle within a continuous conflict. The war is set to continue unless someone stops it. It is not a question of who started the war and its battles but who is going to stop it. Neither of the belligerent sides seem willing to negotiate a peace settlement. The Iranian government should ask itself the question of why the Israelis are so fearful of them and hate them so much. Equally, the Israeli government should ask itself the same questions. Both governments seem immune to acting rationally and this is why there are massacres where innocent people suffer.

Israel has the right to exist as a sovereign and independent state. Western governments should help Israel protect itself from attack and destruction, therefore Iran and its allies should face the facts and desist from their attempts to destroy Israel. Likewise, there cannot be peace in the Levant whilst Israel illegally occupies the West Bank and Gaza. The recent revenge attacks by Israel only serves to create a band of angry and hateful young men who are prepared to carry on the hostilities and massacres. Revenge attacks, which kill thousands of civilians and non-combatants, are counter productive. 

If the belligerents won't negotiate a peace then the US should organise a peace settlement which once and for all settles the conflict. Iran must renounce its desire to eliminate Israel, and Israel must withdraw from Palestinian territory as all its activities there are simply illegal. A two states solution must be imposed. More than likely, China must be involved to pressurise Iran and the US must pressurise Israel.

 An agreement is possible, but looking at the bad state of relations between the super-powers it seems unlikely and the merciless cycle of revenge will continue.  How could the human race get itself into such a mess and why do we allow religious and political fanatics to hold sway? Surely, it is time for some rational thinking to be applied. The innocent Jews and Muslims deserve better.