Naughty Boy - Boris

 Naughty boys are often perceived to be full of charm and to have beguiling smiles. That is, until they burn the house down, and then........

That's right, use the shotgun to protect game birds

 The law has been changed to allow gamekeepers, who breed game birds to be shot for money, to kill crows and jackdaws who might predate the landowners property.

This is crass and inhumane, crow species such as carrion crows, rooks, magpies and jackdaws are naturally occurring indigenous species They hardly do any harm. There is no need kill them or prevent them from carrying out their natural lives.

Pheasants are an introduced species so what harm does it do if a carrion crow or a jackdaw takes a pheasant chick?

I am not an animal rights activist so I won't be making a protest but I hope that readers will see the reason for my objections. Why should the gun be used to overcome a minor problem for landowners whose game animals will be killed anyway?

The whole idea of culling species which are part of the natural environment is completely egregious and shows what a vindictive animal we have become. The survival of the human race relies upon maintaining a natural equilibrium with all the other species that we share the planet with. There is no need to reach for the shotgun.

I won't be going out on the streets to protest but I shall vote accordingly and I hope that you will agree with me when you next cast your x at the ballot box.

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/03/law-change-allows-wild-birds-killed-protect-game-birds-england

Cop26 cop out

 The press releases coming out of the COP26 climate conferences make it feel like the climate crisis is over and that we can all enjoy the 1.5 degree centigrade rise in average global temperatures by 2050. Far from it there have only been pledges and there really is no action plan.

The COP26 climate conference has already failed; we need to reverse global waring and quickly. The world's average temperature has risen by 1.1 degrees centigrade since the start of the industrial revolution , we are now starting to see the results with our very own eyes. There is now no doubt that the intense forest fires across Australia , California and Europe in recent years are the result of global warming. So have the floods in the Indian sub-continent, China and Europe. Now the world is starting to see the direct result of climate induced famine in Madagascar.  An extra 0.5 degrees of global warming will make matters worse not better.

Cop26 has not tackled the taboo subject of over population which is a driver of both global warming and species extinction.

James Hansen the famous client scientist warned about dangers of climate change to the US congress in 1988, and all his concerns have become true.  Since, 1988 the world has done precious little to curb climate change, and global warming has only got worse. Lets hope that Cop26 is not going to be the cop out that I fear it will be. After listening to James Hansen's presentation back in 1988, I did not believe that the world would become threatened in my lifetime, and now I can hardly believe believe that the warnings have become true, but they have: this is a rather metaphorically chilling thought.

You can easily buy James Hansen's book, from 2011, "The Storms Of My Grandchildren" here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Storms-My-Grandchildren-Catastrophe-Humanity/dp/1408807467

Social Media madness

 I rather agree with this opinion piece in the Independent today from Sean O'Grady. https://www.independent.co.uk/author/sean-ogrady. I think that there is only a tenuous link between hate speech on the internet and political assassinations. However, I would also agree that research should be done as to what influence that hate speech and abuse on the internet has on political and other forms of violence.

The problem with the internet is anything can say anything they like when it comes to abuse and threatening language nd get away with it. This abuse can come directly into your house; unhindered. If I invite someone into my home they come on the condition that they do not use hate speech or abusive language in front of anybody. I can control the situation. I can't easily control what comes into my house by way of the internet and neither can anybody else.

Political violence has always been on the agenda for the feeble minded,  the dis-affected or the tyrant. Tyrants throughout history did not need the internet to induce political violence. Airey Neave and Ian Gow were two British politicians who were murdered, in recent times, before the internet existed as a public means of communication;  their murders were organised by pen and paper and word of mouth assassins. The internet, however, has added a new dimension to how political and other murders can be organised by anonymous propogandists. The internet needs to have no pen and paper audit trail or even word of mouth inspiration. The internet is the perfect tool tool to allow malignant politically motivated conspirators to influence the feeble minded or mentally deranged to commit murder.

There is a case for social media companies to regulate themselves, they can easily scan their communications, by computer software,  to look for hate speech and violent or abusive language or images; instantaneously. They can also watch out for those political propagandists who are attempting to influence followers to commit murders or terrorist crimes. The perpetrators could be warned that their activities are being monitored, and if they persist then their hate speech will be reported to the police or the secret services. I do not allow such abuse to be disseminated in my house, so why should "Big Tech Companies" allow it on their social media sites. This will not be an affront to free speech as political and other opinions can still be expressed. In fact, it might improve the quality of the  expression of opinions, as people will have to think more carefully before they open their mouths.

No-one deserves to be murdered for their political views especially the two recent MP-victims, Jo Cox and  Sir David Amess. Both these politicians were in different ways and with different views trying to make life better for their constituents. They were both innocent and no-one had the right to take their lives or induce others to do so. No-one has the right to abuse someone or use hate speech on-line or anywhere else for that matter. Social media sites have the power to stop this, and they should  do it before the public demands heavy handed legislation to regulate their activities. 

Immigration madness

 Britons who have married foreign spouses are experiencing difficulties obtaining permanent residence status for their families when they return from abroad to the UK. These problems have recently come to light, when Britons try to return to the UK from EEA countries, even though they are in genuine partnerships with their legal spouse.  This means that some families have to migrate separately whilst waiting for the paperwork to clear. It has resulted in disruption to work and school life and has meant that some families have not been able to return to the UK at all.

This problem has only come to the fore because of Brexit, but formerly it was experienced by some Britons  who had married  Americans, Moroccans, Thailanders and Indians etc., when the British spouse could not prove that they were  exercising EU free movement rights. It is time for the law to be changed to allow Britons who have foreign families to return with them to the UK on the basis of permanent residence. The returning family members should then be given British citizenship. The same should be said for British people who form legal and genuine partnerships with foreigners, within the UK. The genuine and legal spouse and children should then be deemed to be British. This has nearly always been the case until recent Immigration acts.

The British people have long held the view that if someone marries a Briton then they are British too. Close families should not be separated or denied their human right to a family life, this is one of the core rights granted  to citizens by membership of the EU, and Brexit should not have affected this. I am not expecting any movement on this soon, given the way that successive Labour and Conservative governments have treated the Windrush generation and their successors.

 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/14/no-queue-jumping-for-britons-seeking-to-return-to-uk-with-eu-spouses

https://www.freemovement.org.uk/surinder-singh-immigration-route/

It's the Northern Ireland protocol, let's not show ourselves to be stupid

The British government has badly mis-calculated, its foreign policy. It has allowed itself to be sidelined by Brexit. It has given way to the clamour of a substantial minority of the British public for their nation to act with complete independence when it is not possible to do so. Brexit is a severe diplomatic problem. The UK has upset the European Union, China and the USA. Brexit was always a stupid idea which will not have any long term benefit for our country. 

There is no point upsetting the US by not implementing the Northern Ireland protocol in its entirety. The US helped Britain to organise the peace in the province. It is not just the US president who supports the protocol but both sides of Congress too. Equally, there is no point in upsetting the EU over this issue. Britain could end up friendless, diminished and powerless to influence world events, and this would be a great shame.

Citizens who truly support their country should see the need not to upset their best friends. They should also be realistic about what their country can and cannot do. Britain is no longer a world power that can act alone. It needs allies and friends to work with. It should have been glad to share its sovereignty with its closest neighbours in Europe. We need to do this for our economy, our peace and security and to manage the climate crisis. One day the electorate of Britain will see that Brexit was a mistake. If we offend our neighbours they might not let us rejoin the club. We also upset the US at our peril, it is time for a change of attitude. Britain is a much better country when it gets involved with and co-operates with its greatest friends.

Afghanistan and Global Britain

 The British failed to conquer Afghanistan, so did the Russians and now the Americans. There are some lessons to be learnt here. It is clear that the Taliban were able to  to bide their time, and were able to take conquer Afghanistan not by just the use of force, but with guile, diplomacy and political nous. They must also, have enjoyed popular support. They fooled the Americans who initially supported them when they fought against the Russian invasion in the 1990s. The Americans gave them modern arms and plenty of money. They then turned the tables on the Americans who deposed them from power after 9/11. The might of America has been defeated and American sovereignty has been diminished after an humiliating defeat. Britain tagged along with the American invasion of Afghanistan after 9/11: it hardly had a choice as American sovereignty is much more powerful than British sovereignty.

When America decided to pull out Britain had no choice but to follow. Britain is now dependent upon America to secure Kabul Airport so that British citizens can be evacuated along with some but not all of the Afghanis who helped the British cause. It should be noted that France and Germany and other  Western states are able, with the help of the Americans, to  evacuate their citizens without sending troops. The British contingent of troops are insufficient to secure the Airport alone. It is a sad fact that Britain cannot act alone to save anyone if the Taliban insist on taking back the Airport. Real Politics have hit Britain in the face  to show the British people that "Global Britain" is an illusion and absolute sovereignty is another illusion.

In the British parliament, yesterday , the government came in for intense criticism from not doing enough, but Britain has neither the power or influence to alter the decision to retreat: but what could it do? The British government was condemned for doing nothing even though it was virtually powerless to act alone. The whole situation is a national embarrassment but the British government is not solely to blame for this. However, many countries  will now be smiling at Britain's chagrin and some will be sneering at Britain: schadenfreude now meets realpolitik.

It was even suggested in Parliament that Britain should intervene militarily where America left off, and that some multi-national force should be organised by Britain without American support. This is "pie in the sky". Who will support Britain? Germany, France , Italy and Spain, but after the 2016 referendum that is wishful thinking. Who will join Britain in a military pact, when it reneges on its international commitments over the Northern Ireland protocol? Lives could be lost again for nothing the stakes are much higher. 

Britain has also decided to cut its foreign aid budget but now this must be reversed, the only influence we have left now is  Money.

It is time for the British people to wake up to the fact that the UK is no longer a world power and has not been since before the Second World War. Our future lies with Europe,  as the only way we can influence world events is by co-operating with France and Germany. We will have to share our sovereignty with Europe again to regain influence with the US. "Global Britain"  was just an empty slogan. Sooner or later, the public will recognise this and their political parties will have to change tack and develop a new policy.