Explaining Afghan War To The Families Of The Dead

From the start the Afghan War was wrong, despite an attempt by some to rewrite it since, the War was not about terrorist training camps, lack of human rights, female oppression or the blooming poppy fields which all became a belated justification afterwards, it was to punish the Taliban for not 'coughing up Bin Laden' as George W Bush put it at the time.
If they had handed him over at the time than America would probably have stepped back and left the Taliban in Government and we wouldn't be talking about the withdrawal of US and Nato troops nearly 20 years later.
What we can say with certainty is that the foreign troops were the only thing stopping the Taliban from taking back full control, they hold large swathes of the country already even with the troops there so we can be assured that they will soon shortly be picking up from where they left off in 2001.
So how to explain that to the families of the 111,000 dead Afghans, the families of the 460 dead British and 2,400 American soldiers not returning to their families sent to fight in an unwinnable war which will end in exactly the same position that it started?
It would be an insult to even try and would be worth remembering the next time an American President or British Prime Minister stands before a TV Camera and tries to explain why war is the only solution because since time immemorial, war has killed hundreds of millions and war is the ultimate failure of just plain talking to each other, it is never the only solution because there should always be more talking. 

Hot Canadians

I don't consider Canada to be a particularly hot country being that far North but it is bracing itself for extreme heat, approaching the temperatures seen at the end of last month when it reached 49.6C, breaking the country's highest recorded temperature and only 4.8C shy of the highest ever temperature recorded on Earth.
That is currently 54.4C and was recorded in August 2020 but was equaled yesterday in California's Death Valley although the depth and shape of Death Valley lends itself to higher than normal temperatures.
I was in Berkshire this week, inland and miles away from the cooling coastal breeze and the temperature hit an uncomfortable 28C but the highest temperature that i have ever faced was 40C in Southern Italy and i wilted instantly so what 49C feels like i wouldn't want to experience so sweaty Canadians have my sympathy but as the climate changes, higher temperatures are going to become a thing we need to adjust to.
Experts say that climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of heatwaves although linking any single event to global warming is complicated, you need to look at the trends rather than a one off event, but as climate change is taking what is already there and ramping it up, climate researchers are saying the heat that scorched western Canada and the US at the end of June was 'virtually impossible without climate change'.
We are just reaping what we have been sowing for the last 200 years although that will be very little comfort to Canadians who the only advice i can give is put the pillow case in the fridge 30 mins before you go to bed, that and drink lots of water.

A Prediction

Despite saying that the country is safe to reopen and once open following the Covid-19 outbreak, there is no going back and we will just have to live with it now, i am going to make a prediction.   
As i am say here at 18:00 on 10 July 2021, my app tells me that at present in Britain, we have 32,367 new daily cases, 34 deaths and 2,731 people in hospital and i boldly state that despite the vaccine success, by October 1st Britain will be back in lock-down again.
Experts are concerned that new cases will rise massively to somewhere between 100,000-200,000 per day and with a death rate from the new Delta variant of around 1%, 1,000 to 2,000 a day will be losing their lives.
Why such a gloomy prediction you may be wondering and i say just look at the UK Governments track record so far during the pandemic, and with the exception of the early vaccine procurement, they have got everything wrong at almost every step.   
They got the lock-downs wrong as well as the border controls, the eat out to help out, Christmas, test and trace, PPE, discharging hospital patients to care homes and face coverings and almost every medical expert from the World Health Organisation to The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies which advise the Government are saying the decision is wrong.
I hope i am wrong and that the current trend which is pointing towards another surge with all the precautions still in place is an anomaly but if it comes down to the decision of trained medical professionals or the guy who proudly stated that he was shaking hands with Covid patients before contracting Covid himself, i'm with the medical team.   
I'm sure the Government will be pouring over the daily figures and if they rise too high, they will drag us back into lock-down and that is where i expect us to be by the start of October, back to square one but with a population reduced by tens of thousands and the NHS overwhelmed going into the busy Autumnal and Winter months.
I sincerely hope i'm wrong and i will be happy to sit in this same seat on October 1st and hold my hands up and admit that i was hoplessly and woefully wrong and the UK Government got it absolutely right.

Johnson Saying Let It Rip

We all knew that at some point the Government would have to pull the plug and say enough, we will just have to live with Coronavirus and that day is going to be July 19 but how it was announced does not fill me with confidence.
With daily new cases standing at 28,000 cases, Boris Johnson said he expects it be be closer to 50,000 when July 19 rolls around and England becomes the most unrestricted society in Europe and today the Health Secretary, Sajid Javid doubled figure that to a possible 100,000 a day over the summer.
He also said the current 300 hospitalizations a day will increase and it remained possible that new variants of Covid could emerge, potentially with resistance to current vaccines.
The World Health Organisation have called the rush to lift coronavirus restrictions as ' very premature we could pay a price for' and encouraged a more cautious approach and scienbti9sts at the Imperial College London say that the 100,000 figure could surge to 200,000 a day if England abolishes most of the remaining coronavirus restrictions.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which advises the government, agreed that cases could hit 150,000-200,000 a day and called the high infection and some people getting very ill a politcal price to be paid for the ending of restrictions.
Modelling shows that at the peak of the second wave 50,000 cases would translate into approximately 500 deaths, but that’s going to be much lower this time, more like 50 for every 50,000 infections so with a rate of 150,000 new daily cases, that's 150 daily deaths, 1050 a week, and untold tens of thousands who are risking the debilitating long Covid.
I agree that we are going to have to find a way of living with the virus but throwing off all protections at the same time appears to be reckless and a return to the original Government plan of just letting it rip, a Government which has got pretty much everything wrong, pretty much all the way through.
Johnson may deny ever saying he would prefer letting the bodies pile high, but he certainly seems to be saying it now.

Don't Launch Any Sun Missions Today

At 11.27pm UK time tonight, due to it's elliptical orbit, the Earth will be at its aphelion which means it will be as far away from the Sun as it is going to get, 94.5 million miles or 152.1 million km.
The closest (perihelion) was in January and since then the Planet has shifted away by 3 million miles or 4,800,000 km from the Sun than when at its closest so you would think that as our little ball of rock is 3 million miles further out, it would be cooler but apparently it doesn't quite work like that.
As the Earth is on average 93 million miles away from the Sun, the 3 million miles is too small a distance to make a difference to the amount of the Sun's energy we receive, ranging from a 1.5% rise at its closest to a 1.5% dip when it is farthest away.  
A secondary consideration is that the Earth is predominantly water and water has a higher heat capacity than land so the water to land ration offsets the meager solar increase or decrease by the shifting Earth.
Obviously being the furthest point away it is the very worst day of the year to launch a mission to the Sun and not much comfort for the nations currently frying under a heatwave but the movement between Earth and Sun is all part of the elegant dance of Space objects and who doesn't love that.

Changing Capitalism

Around 250 years ago, Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations, in which he described the birth of Capitalism which would lead to the accumulation of wealth beyond anything we can imagine and undoubtedly it has reshaped the world and lifted people out of poverty over the last two centuries, increased standards of living and resulted in inventions that have radically improved our lives but it has come at a cost.
Making a profit has become the over-riding philosophy to the detriment of  society and inequality and probably the greatest threat we face, the environmental damage and devastating climate change.
With those with the most to gain from Capitalism making the decisions, Capitalism will not be replaced anytime soon but with a significant gap between the wealth of the richest and poorest people continuing to grow and nature fighting back with devastating droughts and sea levels rises, it may have to be rethought.
The 2007-2008 financial crisis exacerbated the capitalism problem, hitting the poorest hardest and leading to resentment of the politicians which led to the likes of Populists such as Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Jair Belsonaro rising to power and the polarisation of left and right wing political viewpoints.
A change may be coming, in a statement released by over 180 corporate CEOs including Wal-Mart, Apple, JP Morgan Chase, Pepsi and Yahoo acknowledged that they must redefine the role of business in relation to society and the environment, doing more than deliver profits to their shareholders and contributing to the improvement of the human, natural and society rather than the sole focus on financial capital.
If Capitalism is to survive, and Karl Marx described it as a necessary step towards Socialism as the workers would rise up and overthrow their corrupt leaders and install a fairer system which would distribute fairly the share of the profits, the future of Capitalism and the Capitalists driving it, depend on it changing into something a bit more fairer and less devastating to the planet.

Worrying Aspects Of Cosby Release

You would think that the Bill Cosby case was simple enough, he drugged women and then sexually assaulted them so lock him up and let him rot so i am a bit perplexed about the 'technicality' which has seen him released back into society.
From what i can understand, it stems from 2005 when Police were investigating a claim of sexual assault against Crosby and agreed that they wouldn't prosecute him if he confessed to the assault, which he did and paid the victim $3.4 million in some sort of 'sorry about the drugging and raping you' gesture.
Following the case, over 60 other women came forward speaking about the sexual abuse they allegedly endured at the hands of the actor and Cosby was arrested, charged and found guilty on counts of drugging, sexual misconduct, rape, child sexual abuse, and battery and was handed an ten year prison sentence.
Two years later, Cosby is free as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that evidence from the 2005 case was used in his conviction and as he had confessed free from the danger of being prosecuted, there had been a 'violation of Cosby’s due process rights' and released.
In a further blow to all the women he drugged and raped, they cannot simply retry the case without the 2005 evidence because the Court said that 'any future prosecution on these particular charges must be barred' as 'it is important that the constitutional rights of the people are vindicated'.
Why the Police gave a serial sexual offender a 'get out of Jail free' back in 2005 with an agreement if he admits to it he won't get prison time is worrying enough but now a dangerous predator is back in society 'on a technicality' but most concerning is the negative impact it will have on those who have been sexually abused and those who will be in the future who must look at this and wonder if it will be worth reporting it as the police and courts won't support them.

Lend Us A Tenner Jeff

Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos is stepping down as the CEO to become executive chairman and his wealth is put around $198 billion which according to the Observer Newspaper, makes him wealthier than 92% of the world's countries.
It breaks that down to Jeff Bezos making around $321 million per day, $149,353 a minute or $3,715 per second which is obscene by any standards but although it makes a great headline, i find that a bit misleading because he hasn't actually got that amount sitting in his bank account, his wealth is measured in stocks, and stocks are a kind of made-up value.
If i had a company which had a million shares with a value of £1, my company shares are worth £1 million in total, so my company is valued at £1 million.
If i sold you 100 shares at £2 each, the new stock price is £2 and my million shares are now worth £2 million so my company is worth £2 million but it doesn't actually have £1 million more in wealth than it did yesterday.
If my company does really well and more people want to buy shares then i could sell them for £10 a share and suddenly my company is worth £10 million but i couldn't pop off and buy a speedboat just yet because the £10 million is not real money at all and i am not personally any richer.
The only way i would personally make out of it would be if i sold some of my own shares, if i kept 10,000 from the original million and sold them at the £10 a share price, that would raise £100,000 from which approximately 45% would be lost to taxes so i'm left with about £55,000 which is a significant amount less than the £10 million my wealth was measured at originally.
That means that when we hear about Bezo's $198 billion, Elon Musk's $168 billion or Bill Gates $127 billion, it's money that doesn't actually exist sat in their bank accounts as we imagine it.

Special Guest Blogger: Donald Rumsfeld

There are things we know we know and there are some things we don't know but there are also unknown unknowns and one of those was where Saddam put his damned Weapons of Mass Destruction because we know he had them, i was one of the people who sold him shed loads of the stuff.
I probably came onto most peoples radars during my second term as Secretary of Defense after the 9/11 attacks but my first term was under Gerald Ford where i became the youngest person to serve in that role and then under George W Bush when i was the second oldest.
That photograph of me shaking hands with Saddam in the 1980's to seal the deal of the arms, money, satellite intelligence and chemical & bio-weapon precursors always bothered me, not that they were used on the Iranians, but that it should have given us the fig leaf to invade Iraq to destroy the WMD's but we were unaware that he had actually beaten us to it and rather ungraciously got rid of them years before.
Not that him not actually having the WMD's stopped me, i just went on claiming Iraq had Chemical, Nuclear and Biological weapons and threw in that he was pals with Bin Laden's gang anyway and luckily we had George W Bush calling the shots, a man who couldn't chew gum and walk because he was too stupid to open the gum wrapper in the first place.
Why we invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 was never really answered which is just as well really because we never really had one except the billions of tonnes of oil sat under Iraq but we couldn't admit it, so just made shit up instead and a million dead Iraqi's later we had it under our control, and our former pal Saddam was swinging from the end of a rope so go us. Iraq is a basket case full of terrorists but America is 5,000 miles away, so what did we care.
It almost never happened, the pussies at the UN were all NO WAY and their Weapons Inspectors were coming back empty handed so we told them to get out and launched a devastating shock and awe attack on them anyway.
Luckily the Iraq thing overshadows the fact that when i was on the Board of Asea Brown Boveri, we sold light-water nuclear reactors to North Korea and we know they still got them so no need to make stuff up this time if we find oil under the northern part of the Korean peninsula.
Anyway, i am proud to have given the World The War Against Terror (T.W.A.T.) against nations like Iraq, Libya, Venezuela and Iran which, as luck would have it, just happened to be filled to the gills with oil, that's a known known.

Good Riddance Rummy

Usually, when someone dies, all the nice things are wheeled out about their achievements, decent qualities and public service but when it comes to Donald Rumsfeld, its not so easy because whatever he did it is overshadowed by the catastrophic war in Iraq and the million Iraqi graves his lies led directly to.
We know that within hours of the attack on 9/11, he was plotting on how to pin it on Saddam, saying 'Best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit Saddam Hussein at same time. Not only UBL. Go massive – sweep it all up. Things related and not'.
The outright lies, the distortions, the deliberate misdirection all came from Rumsfeld and led to a war to remove Saddam and take over the nation and most importantly, the huge oil fields.
My quote at the time was Saddam said he never had the weapons, George W Bush and Donald Rumsfeld said he did so which of those proved to be the liars so it’s goodbye Donald, nobody will miss you but unfortunately the death and destruction continue in Iraq and Afghanistan so the results of your dreadful, vile, appalling lies will long outlive you.