February 4th 2020 - MAKE A PROMISE BUT MAKE SURE YOU WON'T BE THERE WHEN IT HAS TO BE FULFILLED
Tremendous news. I am going to win the Olympic Gold Medal for the 100 metres at the 2036 Olympics. Now, besides the fact that I will 87 at the time, this is completely worthless information. Sixteen years time. Really. I must be an idiot to announce I will do something like this so far in advance. However I would be an even bigger idiot to announce it in 2035 from a mobility scooter in the presence of my carer.
Nevertheless, our illustrious PM, BOJO, has announced that any new cars sold after 2035 will be electric or hydrogen powered. This is the UKs contribution to solving climate change. Sounds wonderful. Well done the UK. Leading the way. Brilliant BOJO. This could well be another Do Or Die Offer (so BOJO the DODO is back)
The problem is, and where the sceptics may tut and the realists laugh their heads off, the infrastructure is not there, electric cars are far more expensive and the car industry may not be able to meet this absurd deadline. The lack of a problem is that the target is fifteen years away and so it is not a particularly brave or useful thing to say. Say it in 2034 and I would applaud such bravery while laughing my head into the nearest available ditch.
Words are meaningless, especially when used to announce something so far in the future. Being seen to be doing something is worthless if, in fact, you are not really doing anything to achieve it.
Climate change, and the inevitable death of our planet, has reached a crunch point now. Transport is a major polluter. We MUST change the way we all travel starting now not in fifteen years. To do this we need more public transport. We need more rail lines and more trains. Not high speed ones running between major areas but little ones linking small communities where people can only get around by cars. Oh Doctor Beeching what did you do? Removing all diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2035 is probably too late as well as being impossible. To do it we would need investment in the car industry now, incentives for buyers now, deterrents for users of the petrol and diesel vehicles now (yes, I do mean an increased fuel duty) and the provision of alternative means of getting around now.
In the immortal words of Messrs McGuinn and Hillman “Change is now, change is now
Things that seemed to be solid are not”. Sadly BOJO seems to have taken his line from a Bob Dylan song and says “Let me forget about today until tomorrow.” BOJO thinks tomorrow will never come so let's all do something by tomorrow.
February 6th 2020 - LET'S MAKE ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR NON-SEXUAL
The controversy surrounding the Labour MP Tracy Brabin has annoyed me on two counts. Firstly, and most importantly, the comments that were made about her dress were wrong. Now I need to explain at this point that I haven't read any of them but I think it is sufficient to believe the reports that many of them were repulsive. I also have no idea if they were made by men or woman. I am fairly certain that many of them were made by that growing number in society who sit at their phone, tablet or laptop, linked to one of the social media platforms, and file off comments about everything and anything because it makes them feel important.
I suppose it is not unlike the stupid terrorists who want to kill somebody, anybody, to make their cause known or even just to die as a martyr. Sadly, a bit like yesterday's post, by the time they are dead they never learn that they died as a complete and utter prat. If you are trying to promote a cause it is actually quite useful to be alive to do it.
So these social media “heroes” make comments that only show their lack of manners and their complete disdain for the feelings of other humans. From the pictures I saw, Tracy Brabin's dress was a bit more off the shoulder than she probably intended but, so what. We all dress differently and should be allowed to do so.
Let's concentrate instead on condemning, even outing, the stupid, brainless people who post such comments. Not everyone is able to take such comments. To some, they hurt, they linger, they can even cause suicidal feelings and sadly, some such feelings result in an actual loss of life.
The new social media world can be a fantastic way of people staying in touch but it also allows those anonymous bullies to ply their trade. Don't worry about what is said, worry about why the imbecile that said it, did just that.