Disability, Poverty & Labour Values

Although I have several co-morbid health conditions I don't think of myself as disabled. Currently I'm having an unusually long flare up which is painful & makes walking & doing normal things diffficult. But I'm not defined by my conditions - Just frustrated by inactivity & fatigued by pain. It know it will improve in time.

It does make me empathise with genuinely disabled people though. Although I am too old to do paid work, I know that I would struggle, even with my level of incapacity. So I am at a complete loss to understand why the Labour government has been targeting the much less fortunate among the UK population to raise much needed money - The elderly, the disabled & children.

As a pensioner I do not need or want the winter fuel allowance. So I am delighted that it will be targeted at those who do. But Labour was forced to reconsider. Bridget Philipson has suggested cutting back universal free school meals for children. Maybe this should also be better targeted, I'm not sure. Disabled people need protection & essential support to live with dignity and independence.The Universal Credit & Personal Independence Bill was going to remove that from a substantial number of people & put thousands into poverty. Again the government has been forced to reconsider.

The high success rate at tribunals indicates a significant number of initial PIP decisions are already incorrect or not fully supported by the available evidence. Approximately 7 in 10 PIP appeals are successful at tribunal hearings, meaning the original decision to deny or reduce PIP is overturned in favor of the claimant. This translates to around 70% of appeals being won by claimants. Many disabled individuals don't appeal due to stress, ill health, or lack of faith in the process. This cohort are least able to be able to go through the process.  

My questions are why has the government made such difficult to justify choices, which were bound to be controversial at the very least? Was it hubris to think that with a big majority they could railroad anything through? Who on earth is advising them? 

There are always choices, but these choices targeted the wrong strata of society.

Taxation as a percentage of GDP was 33.5% in the UK in 2021. The Nordics are well known for high income taxes, with the highest rate of tax topping 50% in Denmark. In 2023, taxes in Sweden amounted to 40.7 per cent of GDP. 

See the 2025 chart - https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/eu/top-personal-income-tax-rates-europe/

The only reason I can see for not increasing income tax on everyone, simply & fairly distributed, is that politicians are afraid of losing their jobs. The decision is not about getting us out of the black, ever increasing, borrowing hole we are in. It is not about funding health, education & all the other necessary state run departments properly & efficiently. 

It's purely about political expediency. So the government, of whatever hue, always go for the low growing fruit. In this case it's the poor & disabled instead of the well off & wealthy. 

 

 

Taxation & the Welfare State

I have just watched "Scandinavia" with Simon Reeve. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002cg5l He is a travel journalist I admire far more than any celebrity travellers, because he is actually quite brave in facing difficult issues & situations. He is always informative & interesting.

Scandinavian countries are credited as being better run than the UK. Probably because of a combination of factors - a more robust welfare state, lower income inequality, & a focus on work life balance. These countries generally have higher levels of social trust, lower corruption, and stronger social safety nets. Universal access to healthcare, education, and social security is funded by higher taxes, but the benefits are widely distributed. There are shorter working hours, generous parental leave, and a strong emphasis on leisure and family time. 

The crux of success seems to be attitude, to eachother & to the government. There is a sense of communal welfare & willingness to pay for that through taxes. As a lifelong liberal socialist I would expect those values to be present in a Labour government. But the UK is not like Scandinavia. We have lost our way. 

We did not do what Norway did when oil & gas gave them a windfall. They established a substantial sovereign wealth fund. Instead of investing our profits for long-term benefit as they did, we used the revenue to fund tax cuts & government spending. We didn't diversify the economy and develop new industries. We privatized many state-owned assets, including those related to oil and gas, rather than retaining them for long-term national benefit. Thatcher's government inherited the emerging riches of North Sea oil & pioneered 'carbon neoliberalism' – a model of managing public goods for private interests. 

Nothing has changed as the recent 13 years of conservative government showed. 

I believe that the conservatives are responsible for the financial "black hole" we are in. They have decimated public services through cuts & underfunding. Privatisation has not worked. This was the inheritance bequeathed to Labour. 

But we need to accept that we choose our governments. We should be all prepared to pay higher taxes if we have a good income. The wealthy should be prepared to pay an equivalent proportion of their income to ordinary working people, rather than taking advantage of tax havens around the world. Data from the Office for National Statistics 2024 showed that the poorest 10% of households in the UK are still paying a higher proportion of their income in tax than the richest. 

The poorest 10% of households paid on average 48% of their income in tax in 2022/23

The richest 10% of households, however, paid on average just 39% of their income in tax

It's about fairness & community. It's about caring for the disadvantaged & providing equal opportunity for all. The UK has got a lot to catch up to, but we all need to be paddling in the same direction for the good of all.

 

Consequences

If I disagree with someone & I lose my temper & begin to shout & interrupt or override what they are saying there are consequences. What might be a simple difference of opinion escalates into a shouting match or real argument. If I canot control my emotions I might become violent & physically push them away. That is assault & they may well retaliate physically. The consequence of differing opinions is a fight which could result in real injury or worse. Road rage is a good example.

I once saw a young man shouting at a young woman & pinning her against a wall in the centre of Oxford late at night. I intervened & told him to stop, fearing for the girls safety. Both were possibly the worse for drink. The girl rounded on me & told me to mind my own business. Intervention in other peoples affairs has consequences. I walked away. 

Micro or macro actions, or even inactions have consequences. I would do the same again, but I would be more aware of the possible consequences. 

The consequences of argument & disagreement are much more dangerous on an international scale when individual leaders have huge amounts of power, armaments & money. The ultimate deterrent that is supposed to be keeping us all from the brink of annihilation is the nuclear bomb. I'm rapidly feeling that with the madmen in charge now, who have their fingers on the button, we are all in danger. The Doomsday Clock is currently at 89 seconds to midnight. Nuclear war can be triggered by both intentional and unintentional actions. Miscalculation of risk is a distinct possibility when you have volatile & unstable conditions & political leaders like today.

I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962.I was in the common room of my hall of residence in college. I was convinced that the world as we knew it would cease to exist. You would hope that Mankind learnt from experience, but no. Mankind simply repeats the testosterone fuelled patterns of behaviour over & over.

History tells us that war has dreadful consequences & does not work. In the end there has to be a negotiated settlement. That settlement may or may not be just & fair depending on who "won". There are usually compromises. The Treaty of Versailles after W W 1 is considered a poor settlement. Possibly  the consequence of that was W W 2.

 

We need to find a better way of co-existing as human beings & understand that we do not own the land. Humans are temporary occupiers & custodians. Fighting is often territorial, but we created the boundaries on maps. They don't exist in the real landscape.  

Instability

Currently I am very unstable. Yesterday was the first day for over a week I didn't use a stick. Fibromyalgia & Arthritis flare ups are a b......  But at least you do know that in the fulness of time things will improve.

I can't say that about the current state of international affairs. Instability really doesn't cover it, it's more volatility. When elected leaders like Trump, Netenyahu, Putin, the Ayatollahs et al are more interested in power grabbing & their own self interest than the people they supposedly serve we are in dangerous teritory. 

These are boys with big toys who will use those toys indiscriminately to further their ambitions. It's "willy waving" on a grand scale & it's their populations that suffer while they are in their palaces or bunkers. This is testosterone or religion fuelled autocracy that has no interest whatsoever in the devastation, death & injury they cause.

What makes men, and it is usually only men, behave like this? Is it their disfunctional childhood? Are they simply corrupted by wealth & power? They often seem to share personality traits like a strong desire for control, a preference for obedience, and a tendency to view dissent as a threat. High dominance, low agreeableness, and a tendency to be authoritarian are common traits. They consolidate power by undermining democratic institutions and silencing opposition. They weaken or dismantle democratic institutions like the judiciary, media, and civil society to consolidate power. They suppress or eliminate any form of opposition or criticism, often through intimidation or violence. 

They really are extremely unpleasant individuals with few if any redeeming features to their personality. 

In simple terms they are schoolyard bullies. On a micro scale if you allow bullies to get away with their bad behaviour they just carry on & get worse - Encouraged by the lack of opposition & sanction. In international terms this is magnified exponentially. The international community thus far has pussyfooted around these autocrats & allowed them to flaunt the rule of law. There have been sanctions, but they have not had any appreciable effect. 

Abasement, appeasement, & political cowardice have not worked. Modern warfare is technology based with drones & fighting men in bunkers, rather than face to face as used to be how wars were fought. Killing huge numbers of people without actually seeing them must be easier than shooting or knifing them. Especially for a generation who have grown up with gaming. Modern warfare is all about money & how big your arms supplies are.  

So where do we go from here? At the moment it is all escalation & the "willy wavers" digging their heels in regardless of consequences. 

It makes me sick to my stomach. If this carries on we won't have a population problem. Malthus viewed war as one of the "positive checks" that limit population growth. 

  

The world has many big problems to solve. If war takes our focus away from those, then we are all going to suffer the consequences. It really doesn't bear thinkng about. Our democratic leaders need to get off the fence or their backsides & act decisively together to stop this madness in it's tracks. 

Self Awareness - Bezos & Trump

Jeff Bezos is marrying Lauren Sanchez in Venice this month. Hundreds of their obscenely wealthy friends will occupy the best hotels – the Gritti, the Danieli, the St Regis and the Cipriani, each booked out in its entirety at an average of $500,000 a night. Some will be staying on Bezos's yachts. Water taxis have also been booked out. Venice already feels swamped by hoards of tourists who destroy it's charm & ambience. The nuptuals will go on for almost a week. The lavish, multi-million dollar ceremony could shut parts of the famous city down & the natives are not happy. Unsurprisingly they plan to demonstrate. They plan to disrupt the festivities by jumping into the canals to hinder the water taxis and blocking various calli, (Venice's narrow streets), to prevent the wedding guests from reaching the venue. 

 

I don't blame them. A better venue for this tasteless invasion would be Disneyland or Beverley Hills. 

Trump has just hosted a big parade, coincidentally on his birthday, supposedly to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the army. It was not as well attended as the "No Kings" parades across America. Possibly a couple of hundred thousand went to Trumps parade & the army refused to do the normal "lockstep" marching in protest. Millions protested at the largest mass demonstrations in the nation’s history. The parade was held while the conflict between Iran & Israel escalated dangerously & while Israel is breaking every international convention in Gaza & the West Bank. Both supported by the US. At home Trump sent the National Guard in to Los Angeles - a decision that should have been the Governors. Americans against Americans!

 

Both these men are powerful & excessively wealthy. They are not alone. Apparently there are 902 billionaires in America. The highest number in the world. Bezos is the world's third richest person, with an estimated net worth of $220.9bn. Trumps actual wealth is not publicly known, after all he has filed for bankrupcy several times. Obviously the "Art of the Deal" doesn't always work. 

The point is that in today's world of Climate Emergency, War, Famine, Homelessness, Lack of the basic necessities of life, (water, healthcare & education for example), Persecution.....there is so much good these individuals could do. But they don't. Why? Because they have no self awareness whatsoever. They are blind to the way ordinary people live & the difficulties they face. Or, maybe they simply don't care. 

But there is a groundswell in many countries against the powerful super rich because most of us are only too aware of how unbalanced & unacceptable this all is. Push people too far & they will rise up & make their voices heard.

I do hope I live long enough to see it.  

Crypto Currency & Self Destruction

My understanding of finance is fairly basic. In order to function in society you need to work to earn money, which you can then spend or save for a rainy day. Your money can be in a bank, in investments, or under the matress. Banks are there, backed up by collateral, to keep your money safe, accessible & earning interest. Investments may do well & earn you profit, or badly & you lose money.

Modern finance is way beyond my understanding. Since we sold off half our gold reserves between 1999 - 2002 at the lowest gold price in 20 years, we no longer have as much actual wealth to underpin banking. Stability is crucial for national economies, as gold helps preserve wealth and purchasing power when other assets may lose value. In addition, these gold reserves act as a safety net for Central Banks and help ensure they meet their obligations during times of financial crisis. 

Quantitative easing, where banks purchase financial assets, and essentially increase the cash flow in the economy, literally seems to me like printing monopoly money. But what do I know? It can lead to asset inflation, wealth inequality, and potential for long-term instability. It can also lead to distortions in the housing market, devaluation of currency, and difficulties in reversing the policy. 

Crypto currency is way beyond my skill set. Crypto exists digitally or virtually and uses cryptography to secure transactions. Crypto currencies don't have a central issuing or regulating authority, instead using a decentralized system to record transactions and issue new units. This is a public ledger called blockchain, a record of all transactions updated and held by currency holders. Bitcoin came first in 2009. Now there are thousands of crypto currencies. To me that is "mumbo jumbo". Individual cryptocurrency projects or platforms, but seemingly not all, can be fraudulent and resemble Ponzi schemes. Some cryptocurrency projects, particularly Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), have been falsely marketed as investments offering high returns with little risk, resembling Ponzi schemes. Warren Buffett called the digital currency Bitcoin “probably rat poison squared.”

 

Having said all of that, my major beef is that, along with Streaming & AI, Crypto is really bad for the environment. Each bitcoin transaction generates carbon emissions roughly equivalent to driving a gasoline-powered car between 1,600 and 2,600 kilometres.Crypto high energy use often leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change. In 2018 the level of emissions produced by Bitcoin sat between the levels produced by the nations of Bolivia and Portugal combined. Crypto's complex Proof of Work (PoW) process, requires substantial computational power. If electricity fails blockchains would be unable to verify transactions.

Basically, we are not Lemmings running over the cliff. We are human beings on the road to perdition & self destruction. 

Neurodiversity

 

In the UK it's estimated that 15 - 20% of the population is neurodiverse. That includes people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia. Around 6.3 million people in the UK, or about 10% of the population, have dyslexia. This means roughly 1 in 10 individuals experience difficulties with reading, writing, and spelling. It may well be more. That makes it normal in my view. Yet the majority of us don't really understand how dyslexia affects individuals.

There are 4 types of dyslexia include phonological (auditory) dyslexia, surface (visual) dyslexia, rapid naming deficit (difficulty naming a letter, number, color, or object quickly and automatically), and double deficit dyslexia (deficits in both the phonological process and naming speed).  

Dyslexics do not just have problems with reading & writing. They may struggle with navigation & map reading, they may be disorganised & forget instructions, they may suffer from anxiety, they may suffer from lack of confidence & self esteem. 

Dyslexia does not impact intelligence. Dyslexics may have a different cognitive profile, with strengths in areas like problem-solving, creativity, and communication. Famous individuals like Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Alan Turing and Leonardo da Vinci were dyslexic and demonstrated high intelligence and exceptional talent in their respective fields. UK intelligence agency, GCHQ, has valued Dyslexic Thinking for over 100 years. It recruits 4x as many dyslexics to its apprentice scheme than anyone else.

We all need to understand far more about neurodiversity & value difference. It seems that humans are fixated on being like everyone else. Being in a team, a clan, a group. That can lead to at best teasing & at worst bullying. We can see it everywhere, in all societies. 

Fortunately there is now more focus on neurodivergence & we know far more about it. When I was teaching it wasn't accepted that dyslexia even existed. There are books, dramas & documentaries about dyslexia. We also need to understand the other forms of neurodiversity better & be open to accepting & tolerating difference. We aren't all the same. Difference & diversity is beneficial.

Be Prepared - Emergency Planning

My husband was a Boy Scout. The Scouts aim is to help people aged 4-25 develop skills for life. Founded in 1908, their motto is "Be prepared"

https://www.scouts.org.uk/about-us/strategy/

 

It isn't a bad motto for all of us to follow in the current unstable world. In order to be prepared, you have to have some idea what you need to be prepared for. Because our world is so volatile, that isn't at all easy. There are things that are known & things that are unknown, both in the macro & micro. 

I know that I am ageing, so I can be prepared for the known fact that I will die. However, I don't know how, so the possibilities are quite wide. I can't be prepared for all of them - an accident for example. I can be prepared by leaving my life in order. Not hoarding, having a will & LPA's.....

I also know that we are in a climate emergency that threatens the existance of many species, including humanity. I can do as much as I can to mitigate my contribution to carbon emissions & try to live sustainably. I won't join the bunker mentality by living off grid. I don't feel that my individual life is that important.

Regarding big political decisions I have a vote & hopefully use it wisely. But politicians are possibly the least prepared people to make important decisions. They are short termist. They only think as far as the next election & trying to stay in power. Many become ministers with little or no experience, expertise or skills to bring to their position. They have to rely on the advice of civil servants, advisors & lobbyists. It's a deeply flawed system. They may only be in their position for a short time & then are moved on. "Churn" is a problem. 

Many chickens are coming home to roost in the UK, where decisions have been made which have had disastrous consequences. There are numerous commissions looking into the results of poor planning, short termism, protectionism....We do not have a Forward Planning Ministry set up to draw together all the information looking into future consequences, which is needed to make good decisions.

We are not prepared. So we suffer very poor outcomes which harm people, cost vast amounts of money & often take up years of time. We end up simply fire fighting because we weren't prepared. It is possible to give people the skills needed to be prepared. We just don't do it. 

 

Generating my own Electricity

I am quite excited. I feel I've done something really positive.

Last Wednesday scaffolders came & erected a complex network over my extension. They were very skilled. I thought it was quite difficult because the extension is clad with powder coated metal & the flat roof is covered with sedum. So the scaffolding couldn't touch any of it. 

On Friday a team of 3 came to install the solar panels, control box & battery. They too were very good at their job. The electrician in particular was really thorough & painstaking. He had to come back on Saturday morning. 

So around lunchtime on Saturday I started generating my own electricity. There is an app, of course, which tells you everything you need to know about the system & how it's working. It was generating even though it was cloudy. 

Because I live alone & don't use a lot of electricity I will be sending electricity to the grid which I will be paid for. The battery will just ensure that I use as little from the grid as possible.  

Yes it is expensive & I got nothing from the government to encourage me to do it. Yes, it is possible that I may not live long enough to recoup my investment. I'm willing to take that risk. I didn't do it to make a profit or break even. I did it because it is something positive I can do towards making the UK energy secure & combat climate change. It's important.

I simply canot understand why there has been no legislation or incentive from any government for householders to do this for years. It's a no brainer surely. Why would we willingly give up land for solar "farms" when that land is needed for both farming & housing? I actually think it's almost criminal. Even now the legislation making house builders install solar won't come in untill 2027. That could have been done decades ago.

It has been noisy & disruptive. It certainly is expensive. But my solar array will be there generating electricity long after I've gone. I would have to live to 105 before the guarantees end. 

It's worth doing something as an individual. None of us should sit back & wait for others to solve the energy & climate crisis. Mike Berners Lee says that "solar panels could be the best carbon investment you ever make" in "How bad are Bananas".

P S

https://theecologist.org/2025/may/30/ai-storm 

https://www.opportunitygreen.org/publication-data-centres-threaten-energy-systems-climate-goals 

 

Acceptance & Accepting the Unacceptable

I accept that my body is 80 & there are many things I can no longer do. I accept that I have learned so much in my life my brain struggles to remember a lot. I accept that birth & death is common to everyone. Most people have problems during their life. Most people suffer discomfort & pain at some point. Most people can deal with it & hopefully there is help for those who cannot.

Acceptance in some form is acceptable. There is no point in kicking against something you cannot control. 

What I do not accept is what is going on in so many countries in the world. The Israeli Palestine conflict. the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudan civil war....Also worrying human rights violations in China, North Korea, India....All of these are situations we see clearly played out on our screens daily, reported on by reputable sources. We cannot say we do not know. We should not say there is nothing I can do. 

We can all make our voices heard by demonstrating, by signing petitions, by lobbying politicians who do have power. We can use social media honestly & effectively. We can donate money to help, we can give things to charity as well as money. We need to stand up & be counted. We have the voice that so many people are denied.

We should not be passive observers allowing others to both do things that are not acceptable, or do things on our behalf about the unacceptable. There is huge power in numbers. We should use it. If we don't we are complicit. In the same way that governments selling arms to Israel are complicit in what they are doing.

Many things are not black and white. There are usually grey areas. But when something is so obviously wrong we should not be standing on the touchline complaining about the referee. There is law & it is being visibly flouted.

 

Evidence

I don't think I am a sceptic, but I don't simply believe what anyone tells me. Most of us have the tools to check what is written & said on our phones or computers, providing we use reputable & reliable sources. So I do. Routinely. Because I am aware of the propaganda, half truths & lies which permeate every level of our society today. I am also aware that even my friends & family may have inadvertantly told me something that isn't based on evidence & may be meant to mislead me or sell something that I really don't need & probably won't make my life better.

Evidence is particularly important when we try to understand what is going on internationally in the Middle East, Africa & between Ukraine & Russia. There are leaders in these countries who manipulate the truth to their advantage. They are masters of propaganda & prevarication whilst killing, maiming & devastating.

I've recently discovered that it is possible that I have Jewish heritage on my mothers side. I am not anti semitic. I am very anti what the Israeli government, the IDF & radical settlers have done, are doing & propose to do in the West Bank & Gaza. I have watched several reputable & harrowing documentaries & read a lot about the conflict, which has roots back to 1948, but has been sparked by the dreadful acts on October 7th 2023.

The point I would make is that although Israeli politicians & spokespeople argue vociferously & vigorously that Hamas is a terrorist organisation, (I can accept that), they repeatedly justify their actions by saying that they only bomb Hamas postitions & strongholds. They say that Hamas fighters are embedded in hospitals & schools, that there are tunnels full of arms stores & that is why these places are targets. Never mind that they are also supposedly safe places & refuges for ordinary people who are killed & injured in the raids. That is just collateral damage & is justified because Hamas uses them a human shields.

I lsten to brave local journalists actually in Gaza & very reputable & experienced foreign correspondents who have never been allowed into the zones by the Israeli's. What other reason than not wanting independent journalists to see what they are doing can there be for that decision? I can believe that Hamas does not follow the Geneva convention any more that Israel does. But the crucial thing to my mind is that there are many verifiable reports, for example from international doctors & NGO's, who say that the Israeli propaganda is not true. They are on the ground, they see & hear everything. I see no reason why they would lie. Especially as they put their own lives at risk by being there.

The critical thing for me is that all I hear from the Israeli war machine is bombast. I have never once heard or seen any evidence to back up the claims of the Israeli government or the IDF. I have, however seen evidence to the contrary, several times from Israeli dissidents. Not all Israeli's support what the extreme right wing are doing & believe. 

   

Wiping out Hamas entirely is the goal for the security of Israel. I don't believe it will ever work. If you were a child or a teenager living in Gaza or the West Bank & saw your family & friends killed & maimed & your home & country destroyed how would you react?

Israel is just creating more despair, terror, anger & desperation through the suffering. It's a recipe for more fighting, & more aggression. It's a vicious circle - all to keep Netenyahu in power & out of prison where he belongs. The evidence is there for I C C warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant.

A Pope & a President - Good v Evil?

There seems to me to be a circularity to the election of  a new American pope. It's very Dan Brown. A fight between good & evil staged between powerful Americans. The pope & Trump doing battle for control of the world.

Pope Leo has already spoken out against Trump voicing concerns for the poor and immigrants, he chose a name that references more liberal church leadership, and appears to have both supported the liberal-leaning Pope Francis and criticised the US president's policies on social media. Counter intuitively the Trump administration openly embraces advisers and officials who proudly say faith has shaped their views. I am amazed at how many politicians in America are religious.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_affiliation_in_the_United_States_Senate

I am even more amazed at just how many different churches there are in America. Scroll down to the comparison between the general population & politicians - very interesting. 

Personally I don't think religion should have anything whatsoever to do with politics. That isn't to say that religious leaders shouldn't speak out against the actions of politicians. They should. What I strongly object to is religion playing a part in the democratic process & influencing voting. Trump actually said his life was saved by god in his inaugural speech. 

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/20/politics/video/trump-inauguration-speech-saved-by-god-digvid

Absolute rubbish. If there were a god, s/he certainly wouldn't save someone as corrupt & self serving as Trump. 

Our politicians pussyfoot around openly condemning bad decisions & actions in the name of diplomacy. If church leaders don't do it who will?

 

Remembrance, Memory & War

Remembrance & memory are two different things. Remembrance is an action. Something we usually do deliberately. Memory is the mind storing something from the past. As I've aged I have realised that there have been many memories & a great deal of data stored in my brain over 80 years. Sadly remembrance is becoming more difficult as the years pass.

In the case of memories no one's life is filled with happiness & people or events that are good memories. There are usually things that we would rather forget. It seems that we have little control over what is remembered & what is forgotten. It might be good if we could chose which memories to store & which to erase. Apparently there are techniques to influence & improve memory. But I think it's a bit late for me to do that. The brain itself selects which memories to solidify & which to forget. A lot depends on the emotional impact of the event. 

We are currently celebrating 80 years since VE day. Personally I am very ambivalent about this sort of remembrance. Human history is littered with wars of varying magnitude from skirmishes to full blown world wars. England fought in over 120 wars across 170 countries post the Act of Union in 1707. Prior to 1707 England fought in the Hundred Years' War, the Wars of the Roses, and the English Civil War for example.

We do not celebrate anniversaries of all these wars I'm glad to say. I can see nothing to celebrate about war. It is pointless, cruel & destructive. It is generally brought about by men seeking territory, power & wealth. There is huge death, destruction & suffering. Often it is the weak & defenceless - women, children & the elderly who suffer most. What is there to celebrate? 

This week we are celebrating the end of the 2nd world war. All wars do end. History shows us that war achieves nothing positive. Over the years millions of people have been killed or maimed. Homes & infrastructure has been destroyed & rebuilt. 

Its a repeating, man made cycle. We now have ways of fighting that don't involve hand to hand fighting. It is done from control centres miles away from the actual conflict. Soldiers kill without even seeing the "enemy", led by powerful men in capital cities who have never been in harms way & have no concern for the "collateral damage" they instigate.

The only winners from war are the people & companies who profit from the clearing up & rebuilding after the devastation. Malthus had a theory that because population expands at a faster rate than the earths ability to provide what we need, we need events to control population. War, pestilence & famine.

 

If there is a god perhaps this is the inbuilt way of control & balance? If there isn't maybe we live in a self controlling universe that will carry on despite us & our pathetic ways of trying to be in control of something much greater than us. 

Responsibility & Opting Out - Individual or Corporate?

I have just had an email from an organisation called Swiftaid telling me that one of my major charity  donations has automatically been registered for Gift Aid. There are tax reasons, according to my accountant, why this shouldn't happen & I tell all the charities not to do it. My first thought was that this was a scam. But when I checked it out it wasn't.

I am really cross. Hopefully I have stopped this in it's tracks. But this is the first I have heard about this new change of responsibility, presumably by many charities. Moving responsibility away from organisations onto individuals isn't a new thing. Now there are several. The most well known is automatic organ donor registration, for which there was huge publicity & did not happen overnight. 

Now there is also National & GP Data opt out. The balance has switched from individuals giving consent to them knowing they have to opt out. In other words affirmative action is ending. The responsibility has shifted. I'm sure this is much easier for the organisations, It saves them time & money. I'm not convinced that it is beneficial for the individual though. Personally I want to be able to make a choice, whether to opt in or opt out.

Most people are perfectly capable of making choices as long as they are aware of the choice to be made. We can make a "pre-emptive opt out" or  "withdraw consent". However that relies on individuals being notified in advance of the choice to be made & given any relevant information. The big problem is that despite our advanced technological age often relevant information is hidden away in small print or a button or link that people may not notice. 

Additionally not everyone spends their time on computers as I do. Not everyone is tech savvy. Not everyone has the time to check things out on reliable sources.

This seems to be a growing trend. I really think it is a retrograde step & will cause confusion & individuals being opted in to things they do not want to be. I suspect it is not in the spirit of Human Rights, but I can't think which one it might infringe. 

Basically we are moving to a Big State & increased power away from the individual.    

 

Privatisation - Maggies Mistake?

"In the U.K., privatization accomplished wonders. By 1979, the borrowings and losses of state-owned industries were running at about £3 billion a year. But from 1989 to 1990, companies privatized by the Thatcher government fattened the government purse by some £2 billion" - Harvard Business Review 1992. The key phrase here is "fattened the government purse". As with so many political decisions the short term gain obscured the long term resulting problems. 

The initial premise was the concept of privatisation to propel innovation & efficiency & promote competition. It seems to me that where privatised companies are natural monopolies, like all the utilities, water & rail for example, this simply does not work. There is no competition in either example. The consumer cannot choose between price & service quality. It's a one stop shop. There is no alternative.

To my mind any profit should have gone to investment in both maintenance & improvement of service. Not to inflated salaries & bonuses & shareholder dividends.

I have just watched the BBC documentary "Thames Water - Inside the Crisis". It was illuminating. It changed my perceptions & made me very sympathetic to the people who actually work there trying to make a very inadequate system work adequately. What it revealed about the state of the infrastructure is shocking. The only reason it hasn't failed even more than the dreadful pollution of our rivers, lakes & seas is the dedication of the workers. Workers who don't know whether they will continue to have jobs given the state of the finances. They have a debt of around £19 billion.

How on earth could that happen if the company was being well managed? Obviously it couldn't. At the time of privatisation Thames Water had no debt.

Large companies have a duty to shareholders and have to keep increasing profits. That model will never work for essentials & is even more unsustainable when the owners of the companies are not British. They do not have the interests of the British public at the heart of their business model. 

At least 70% of the English water industry is controlled by foreign-based firms. This includes a wide range of investors, such as super-rich individuals, banks, hedge funds, foreign governments, and businesses based in tax havens.

Half of the "big six" energy suppliers are owned by foreign companies, including EDF Energy. Foreign-owned companies also have a significant stake in other utilities, such as electricity distribution and supply companies.

BT is owned by Bharti Overseas Pvt Ltd (Indian), Patrick Drahi (Franco Israeli), T Mobile Holdings (German), & Altice UK SARL.

There is only one set of railways, one water main, one gas line and one power grid. 

To my mind we are now paying the price of Thatchers privatisation. The chickens have come home to roost. I can accept that this is perhaps the benefit of hindsight. But it has been a catastrophic mistake. The only winners are the senior managers on inflated salaries & bonuses & the investors.

It is time to try to put this right.

 

Transgender & Body Dysmorphia

I was born a woman & have always thought of myself as a woman. So I am not able to imagine what it might be like experience BDD. I have seen the sexual landscape change enormously in my lifetime. The mores that I grew up with have largely disappeared. That can be both good & bad. It's not my job to judge. I would like to understand though.

The UK Supreme Court has just ruled that the legal definition of a woman should be based on biological sex. Because of my age & experience that does seem to me to be logical. The impact on trans people & many areas of life in the UK will be huge. But Trans people will still have their rights protected by the Human Rights Act.

I can clearly remember when being homosexual was illegal. Naively I didn't think I knew any homosexual or lesbian people at the time. But statistically I must have. Looking back I can identify people who were probably in that category. Thank goodness we have come to realise that being gay is part of being normal. Now I have several lovely close friends who are gay. We have moved on & are mostly more tolerant.

I find transgender a much more complex situation to deal with. So I googled to find out more - as you do.

Body dysmorphia, also known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), is thought to be caused by a combination of factors, including genetics, brain chemistry, & environmental experiences. A family history of BDD or other related mental health conditions, like OCD or depression, may be factors. Differences in brain structure & activity in individuals with BDD, particularly in areas responsible for processing visual information and regulating emotions exist. Some researchers also believe that low levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, may play a role. Bullying, teasing, abuse, or neglect, can significantly increase the risk of developing BDD. Western society's emphasis on physical perfection and beauty can contribute to negative body image and feelings of inadequacy, potentially triggering or worsening BDD. That is exacerbated by social media, which often portrays unrealistic standards of beauty. Perfectionism & low self esteem can also be factors.

I am wary of the current trend to over medicalising & over diagnosis of people today. I am not convinced that it helps. I'm not talking here about physical conditions like Cancer or Parkinsons. I'm talking more about the power of our brains to create thoughts & perceptions that may not be accurate. There is evidence that we humans have a tendency to live up to a diagnosis, particularly a mental one.

However, the fact is that humans are far more diverse that we knew. Medical science has moved on & there is very interesting neurological research that is producing evidence to explain much that should make us more accepting of difference.

 

Surely we can simply accept that we are different, not only in how we look, but what we believe, what our cultural norms are. If we can't do that we will just become more judgmental & adversarial.  

Role Models & Responsibility.

A role model is someone looked to by others as an example to be imitated. They are admired and their behaviour  is copied. Role models can be good or bad. I might admire someone who has good characteristics such as ethics, skills, experience, humanity. On the other hand many people follow role models that I would consider bad because their characteristics are misogynistic, self serving, unethical even cruel. I could easily name people in both categories, but maybe its better if you decide for yourself. 

The point is we humans do tend to follow other stronger, possibly more charismatic, or even dictatorial people. If we follow role models because they provide inspiration, guidance, and a blueprint for success and positive behavior that is a good thing. Our parents are our first role models. They shape our character. Good parenting is important to the healthy development of a child. 

People may follow bad role models due to many factors, the desire to fit in, the perception of being cool or successful associated with negative behavior, and the influence of peer groups or media. Some may be drawn to negative role models as a way to define themselves or seek validation from those who share their negative views. Again I could easily name some, but I'm sure you can too. 

The reason I'm posting about this is there needs to be a balance with the good role models outweighing the bad, because there will always be "bad actors" trying to achieve prominence. My feeling is that we are at a tipping point & I am going to use the words good & evil here. It seems to me that negative, undemocratic, unethical role models have far too much sway in our world today. Impressionable people worldwide are either voluntarily following them, or are too afraid to speak out against them. A lot of this is driven by the internet & social media. We cannot let that continue.

In order to stop this in it's tracks we all have to take responsibility. We have to be prepared to challenge & speak out against a great deal that is happening in our world. We cannot be passive & hope that others will act on our behalf. Individually we may not have much power, but collectively we can really change things. 

We must retain our freedoms to speak & to act. We must use that to influence decisions & actions.

My Trade Deficit v Trumps

I have a trade deficit with M&S & Sainsbury's among others. I buy most of my food & household goods from them. I must have spent a fortune over the years. But they don't reciprocate, they don't buy anything from me. So I'm really p..... off. I think I should operate tariffs against them. The fact that I don't make anything they might want to buy is immaterial. A trade deficit is unfair & annoying. I feel badly mistreated. 

That is the "logic" behind what Trump has done with tariffs worldwide. He certainly didn't base them on a combination of existing tariffs and other trade barriers (like regulations). He had a mathematical formula 

that no one had ever heard of which took the trade deficit for the US in goods with a particular country, divided by the total goods imports from that country and then divided that number by two. He simply thought he could eliminate the US's goods trade deficit with each country. Unbelievable!

Americans spend and invest more than they earn. The US buys more from the world than it sells. As long as that continues, the US will continue to keep running a deficit despite increasing tariffs with global trading partners. The "great deal maker" simply doesn't understand economics & trade. Worse still, if there are any dissenting voices, & there are, he doesn't listen. All he listens to is the sycophants who actually clap him in televised cabinet meetings. It's all about ego & image.

Thomas Sampson of the London School of Economics said: "There is no economic rationale for doing this and it will cost the global economy dearly." He is not alone.

The markets showed Trump exactly what they thought of his tariffs. Stocks plummeted. Trump panicked & there is a 90 day pause for everyone except China. He is in a trade war with China now. Good luck with that Trumpy. 

This is all very unstable & seat of the pants / back of an envelope stuff. The markets don't like instability. They want to plan years ahead. You don't invest in a new factory or new machinery if the world is unstable. You batten down the hatches.  

Meanwhile people lose jobs & things cost more. Just what America voted for!

 

Protectionism

Trump doesn't seem to understand that he is not protecting America by imposing tariffs. Quite the opposite, but more of that later. Tariffs are normally put on goods, not on entire countries. Trump is acting like a Mafia boss going round businesses for "protection money" so that he won't do something worse. Considering the harm already done it's hard to imagine what that might be, but I'm sure Trump will do his best.

To protect something is to preserve or guarantee it, often by legislation. Protectionism is shielding a country's domestic industries from foreign competition by taxing imports, using import tariffs, quotas on imports, or the use of subsidies. Protectionism raises prices on imported goods for consumers so causes inflation. Domestic producers may be better off if consumers buy alternative goods made at home. It may preserve some jobs, but considering what Musks DOGE has done, that seems very unlikely. Many American jobs have already gone. Generally it's a right wing, nationalist, way of doing economics. In Trumps case, he is completely re-writing the playbook & the markets are responding in horror.

China in particular is playing hardball. "Losing face"in China is equal to losing the respect of others, so avoiding this situation ("saving face") is very important in Chinese culture. The Chinese government prides itself on being strong & cannot afford to allow Trump to win this fight, however much it costs them, because it would make them look weak. The imposition of 125% on Chinese goods is frankly ridiculous.

I think I am fairly rational, so I find it impossible to imagine the reasoning, (I use the term loosely in Trumps case), or rationale, that led him to go down this self destructive route. Unless America can find a way to stop him, I think they are doomed & the world will suffer the consequences until he is booted out. 

I just hope that can happen before he serves his full term. Wake up America! 

Sycophants

A person who acts obsequiously towards someone important in order to gain advantage is a sycophant. In simple terms a leech, parasite or a toady. Sycophants are obsequious. They are too eager to help or agree with someone more important than them. As in my favourite Hans Christian Anderson story - The Emperors New Clothes, where the emperor is exposed before his subjects as a vain idiot wearing nothing.

https://andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheEmperorsNewClothes_e.html

I imagine, by now, you can see where I'm going with this. Trump is surrounded by sycophants who will tell him what he wants to hear, however bizarre. 

The latest tariff debacle is a case in point. The evidence over decades since the Wall Street crash shows that tariffs do not work. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act sparked the crash & everything that followed. Yesterday global stock markets were reeling as the worse-than-expected levies were seen to damage US and global economic growth even as they pushed inflation higher. Tariffs cause recession.

Consumers, both individuals and businesses, are negatively impacted by higher prices. Tariffs reduce demand for foreign goods which negatively impacts relations with other countries. A consumption tax costs less than a tariff if the goal is to lessen consumption of imported goods.

Only 35% of Trump's Cabinet graduated from "elite" institutions, where previous administrations ranged between 52% and 60%. Out of 28 members only 8 have degrees from elite institutions like the Ivy League schools and MIT, Stanford and Oxford. It's a definite shift away from expertise. Scott Bessant the treasury secretary seems well educated & qualified, so it is hard to understand why he would go against the consensus about tariffs. The key qualification is loyalty, which brings me neatly back to sycophants.

Speaking truth to power has never been more important. The capacity for Trump to do real harm internationally on so many fronts is enormous. We really do need world leaders to unite & challenge his unfounded & protectionist policies. America will suffer from them too. 

 

 

 

 

Tariffs & the Free Market

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum supposedly responded brilliantly to Trumps tariff policy against Mexico. Fact checkers don't seem to be able to verify what is circulating on social media is true. But even if it isn't, it's a brilliant put down & she achieved a months pause in the imposition of tariffs.

A tariff is tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of import or export. The historical consensus is that tariffs raise the price of the goods in the destination country. Near unanimous consensus among economists says that tariffs are self-defeating and have a negative effect on economic growth and economic welfare, while free trade and the reduction of trade barriers has a positive effect on economic growth.  

I will probably never understand economics. But it seems self evident to me that if tariffs are imposed on a country they are going to retaliate. Then there is a self defeating spiral of increased prices. The worst case scenario is a trade war.

Sheinbaums point seems to be that Mexico has a huge population who buy things, many of which come from America. All these consumers have choices & can stop buying American goods because there are always alternatives. The same is true of any country America chooses to target with tariffs. Lets take cars for example. The most popular American cars in the UK are Chevrolet, Dodge, Jeep, & Ford. Instead of buying those we have a huge choice of non American cars. For example - Toyota, KIA, Mazda, Honda, Hyundai, Volvo, Subaru, Renault, or BMW. Many of which out perform American cars. 

Trump, Musk & their largely unqualified appointees don't seem to understand the "quid pro quo" of tariffs. Countries are already retaliating. If they coordinate their actions it will be a very powerful response. There is a groundswell of opinion against Trump policy. Ordinary people are not happy with the aggressive way American politicians are behaving & are boycotting not just American goods, but services too. The "Star Spangled Banner" has been booed. 

Personally I think that the UK is wrong to imagine that we or anyone has a "special relationship" with the Trump administration. Trump is very binary & transactional. He can't be accused of overthinking anything. He simply doesn't factor in cause & effect. So our response, which according to Starmers team is apparently to be “pragmatic” if need be, suggesting he may not retaliate immediately, in the hope of talking Trump round over time and with the aim of creating the conditions for signing a wider UK-US trade deal, doesn't seem emphatic enough to me.

The "Free Market" is an economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses. Tariffs are completely counter to that. My only caveat is that there does need to be real competition. Our water industry is privately owned & is a complete mess because there is no competition at all. I have no choice but to get my water from Thames Water. There is no other supplier. So I am forced to pay for their years of mismanagement & lack of maintenance of infrastructure. Their profits have gone to huge salaries & bonuses & shareholders.

The world is paying a price for American "democracy". But I do believe that Americans will eventually realise that the price they pay for electing Trump for a second term will be higher. Goods & services will cost more & huge numbers of American jobs will go. Musks DOGE policy will make thousands unemployed. 

Annoying Filler Words

 The UK’s most annoying filler words:

1. Innit, 47 per cent
2. Like, 32 per cent
3. Basically, 22 per cent
4. Err, 21 per cent
5. You know, 20 per cent
6. Uh, 17 per cent
7. Umm, 15 per cent
8. Yeah, 13 per cent
9. Literally, 12 per cent
10. Oooh, 10 per cent

The UK’s most used filler words:

1. OK, 30 per cent
2. Err, 26 per cent
3. Right, 22 per cent
4. Umm, 20 per cent
5. Actually, 18 per cent
6. Anyway, 16 per cent
7. Basically, 16 per cent
8. Yeah, 14 per cent
9. Like, 14 per cent
10. Really, 13 per cent

The highlighted ones are the ones I most dislike. I would also add My Bad, So & Awesome. I also realise that I use the word "Absolutely" far too much. The sad thing is that repeatedly using these filler words makes people appear less intelligent, less educated and lacking in people skills. Apparently 23% of people don't realise they are using them. I'm surprised that statistic isn't higher. I have at times been tempted to count the number of times I hear people use the word "like" pointlessly in sentences or phrases  - But I do realise that would be a bit anal & weird.

Why do we do it? Why don't we realise that we are doing it? Sometimes, apparently it's to give us time to formulate what we want to say. But I don't think that applies to "like". I also don't think hesitation or uncertainty explains the over use of "like". I just think it's possibly nervousness, lack of preparation, or an  unconscious habit. I just find it really irritating.

We have been given a brain & a wonderful language. Why don't we use them?

Watchers & Doers

Are you a watcher or a doer? Do you live your life vicariously through the lives of others & not actually live your life? Do you let others influence what you think & do? 

I was watching a football match while changing after a swim today. Not much choice, the screen is always on in the pool changing room. It made me think of the fact that we now have wall to wall womens & mens football on TV & thousands of people actually go to matches. 

Then I thought of the plethora of people who watch cookery programmes on TV & buy millions of cookery books.

Its all relatively passive for a lot of people. Approximately 40.7% of male adults and roughly 31.7% of female adults participate in sports on a weekly basis in the UK. The % of physically active adults (19+ yrs) in the UK is 67.1%. Not dire statistics, but not good enough either. Watching doesn't get you fit.

Then there is cooking. Nearly one in five,19%, say they almost always prepare food using basic ingredients, while 23% cook from scratch most days. Another 21% do so a few times a week. A significant portion of the UK population regularly consumes takeaways or supermarket meals, with nearly half of Brits eating takeaway food up to four times a week, and a substantial amount of the population consuming takeaways at least once a week. So why do we buy so many cookbooks? Is it just food porn?

The psychological type of a doer is ESTP according to Myers - Briggs, which stands for Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving. Watchers probably tend to be supporters - they are loyal & have a team approach. There are loads of sites on the web about personality if you are interested.

My point is that although we all have our own distinctive personality, we humans are changing a lot. We no longer live in caves & have to hunt & forage or even farm ourselves. We are all much more sedentary & time poor. We have stopped getting enough exercise to remain healthy & mobile. We have stopped eating a healthy diet that is good for us. As a result we are becoming more & more unhealthy.

In 2022, an estimated 64% of adults in the UK were classified as overweight or obese, with 29% specifically living with obesity. The largest impairment groups in the UK are people with a mobility impairment (48%). Those statistics are ever increasing with the impact on both the NHS & peoples lives.

We are all responsible for ourselves & our families. No one can make us healthy however skilled. I'm sure almost everyone could do something to not only be healthier, but also enjoy actually living life more. Then possibly there wouldn't be such a huge upswing in mental illness. 

In 2023, about 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 25 years had a probable mental disorder. Life expectancy of people with a severe mental illness is about 15-20 years shorter than those without. My generation cannot understand why this is happening. Life has always been problematic - shit happens. Were we more resiliant? If so why? I heard a programme on radio 4 recently postulating that over diagnosis is part of the problem. Simply put, if a medic tells someone they have a medical problem they live their lives accordingly. 

Whatever the truth is - we are not a healthy society & we all need to do something about it.  Life expectancy of people with a severe mental illness is about 15-20 years shorter than those without. 

The largest impairment groups in the UK are people with a mobility impairment (48%)

Tax Should be Taxing

I truly don't mind paying tax. It is important that tax should be commensurate with income though. So I do think that the wealthiest should pay the same proportion of their income as the poor. Most income groups are taxed at 20% in the UK after a tax free allowance of £12,570. (Your allowance is zero if your income is £125,140 or above). If you are better off tax increases, but not proportionately. Over £125,141 you pay 45% 

Countries in Scandinavia pay quite a lot more basic tax & get better services. 

Netherlands – 49% ...

Sweden – 50% ...

Belgium – 53.7% ...

Austria – 55% ...

Denmark – 55.9% ...

Japan – 55.97% ...

Finland – 56.95% ...

Those in the lowest decile of income earners in the UK pay tax at around 44% on their  income and gains in financial wellbeing, whilst those in the top decile pay at 21.5%, less than half that rate. Why? What is the logic?

There isn't any that I can see, other than making the wealthy even more wealthy & the poor poorer. Wealth inequality is ever increasing in the UK. In 2021 the richest 50 families in the UK held more wealth than the bottom 33.5 million people. The wealthiest 1% of households had wealth of at least £3,121,500, while the least wealthy 10% had £16,500 or less. 

That can't be acceptable surely. Nor can placing the biggest tax burden on the least wealthy.There are several arguments -

• Taxing the wealthy excessively could discourage investment, entrepreneurship, and economic growth, potentially leading to job losses and a decline in overall prosperity. 
• High taxes could cause wealthy individuals and businesses to relocate to countries with lower tax rates, leading to a loss of tax revenue and skilled labor. 
• Strong opposition from the wealthy themselves, although there is a group of 250 wealthy individuals, (Patriotic Millionaires), who are actually asking to be taxed.

I struggle to have much sympathy with any of that. The wealthy have advisors who utilise the loopholes in our ridiculously complex tax system to minimise what they pay. The big four accounting firms not only advise taxpayers, they also have their fingers in the pie of advising HMRC. Unbelievably they sit on tax advisory panels and also second staff to government to provide technical advice when tax legislation is amended or created. I simply cannot believe they are impartial & unbiased. Talk about letting foxes into the henhouse.

The whole thing is a mess & it's the majority of ordinary taxpayers who don't get a fair deal.