UK: Arming a country that is at war with another country is asking for retaliation

 

Russian Federation is not threatening United Kingdom. Russian Federation only makes announcements.

For several years, United Kingdom has been providing resources to kill Russians and to cause damage to Russian infra-structure. So, understandably, if the war has been declared or not is totally irrelevant.

So from now on, anything could happen in the United Kingdom. And, most importantly, United Kingdom is totally incapable or not willing to control its own borders.

Britain is a country in crisis. Whatever you touch, you discover quite a few things that are wrong. Britain is only kept alive borrowing increasing amounts of money with higher and higher interest rates. In spite of that, there seem to be no limits in terms of mismanagement and waste. An oversized budget is a problem, but cutting down could create even more problems. So, it is effectively a catch 22 situation. A country with little or no manufacturing is not a fit country. We could do well stepping away from warmongering. But, unfortunately, politicians of whichever political colours seem to be reading the same disastrous score.

 

Andy Burnham: UK General Election in October or November 2026?

The talk about a General Election in October or November 2026 might be just talk or there could be justifiable reasons to mention the possibility of such election taking place. Andy Burnham inherited a historic majority from Keir Starmer but it is still Keir Starmer´s majority. 

If the idea is to introduce measures in the Autumn Budget that many in the Labour Party might not like or would be tempted to vote against, then the threat of a General Election in which they could lose their seats might make many Labour MPs reconsider any kind of opposition to the Autumn Budget. What does the Labour Cabinet think about it? Being a Member of the Cabinet is not only about prestige and about the challenges of the job. It is also about financial issues. If you are a Member of the Cabinet, you often get paid both as Member of Parliament and as a Secretary of State. A General Election means taking the risk of losing both positions at once. 

How ready are political parties to fight a General Election? By-Elections are one thing, but a General Election is a different cup of tea.

How will Britain be able to cope with rationing?

 

This is an image or rationing during World War Two. If crops fail and if importing foodstuff from other parts of the world is incrreasingly difficult, how will more than 70 million people in the United Kingdom be able to cope with rationing?

Britain is by far not the same country. So called Diversity will not allow the authorities to control mass disorder if the struggle to get foodstuff becomes tribal. Britain is already divided along racial and religious lines, with people that see each other as declared enemies. In normal circumstances it is all hush-hush. In extreme circumstances when the need to survive is on the table, it is not going to be nice.

The fields are burning hot. There is not enough water to protect crops. So what is the choice? Water for irrigation or water for human consumption? Entire blocks of appartments with families with children living in them have had serious difficulties to have water supplies to meet the most basic needs. Once crops fail, there is not much point in spreading water resources around, but then comes the need to distribute foodstuff.

Shop-lifting is already at record levels. It does not take too much to understand what will happen when foodstuff runs out. Big food chains like Marks and Spencer have asked Police for support and Police has denied support. If in normal circumstances, workers working for big supply chains are on their own to deal with violence and widespread theft, what will happen in extreme circumstances?

How much it costs to rent a one bedroom flat in London? A British pensioner cannot afford it.

 

Today´s state pension can be about 1,000 Pound a month. The rental price of a one bedroom flat is about 1200 Pound, minimum. Then you have to account for other expenses apart from rental payments. So, really, the state pension does not allow pensioners to rent a one bedroom flat anywhere in London, capital city of the United Kingdom,

It usually assumed that by the time somebody retires the said person would own his or her own accommodation. This is not the case and it will increasingly not be the case as more and more people cannot afford to buy property and would have virtually no assets. This a ticking bomb. It is not by chance and/or by choice that more and more adults do not leave the home of their parents. Marriage as an institution if vanishing. Today, more and more parents are not married. It is also the case that vegetatve growth is below replacement rates. There are less and less children. Coupled with unemployment is the fact that there are less and less active workers and more and more people depending on welfare payments.

Monies to pay for pensions are disappearing and pension payments are not enough to have proper living standards. Once again, the clock is ticking. A consumer market that does not have spending power, combined with businesses that do make enough to manage to stay afloat with increasing taxation and other rising operational costs is not the way to Paradise. In spite of annual adjustments, retirees are getting a lot less in terms of that whey need to keep living standards.

Everybody should be talking about these issues, but most people live in cuckooland, oblivious in terms of what lies ahead.

Labour Tax: More and more tax as an alternative to less and less economic activity?

Lord Kinnock, former Labour Leader, tells Andy Burnham to get 12 Billiion Pound more by increasing tax. The former Leader, known for having celebrated electoral victory on the very evening when the Labour Party was crashed on the polls, is now suggesting that increasing the burden on wealth creators is the solution for a battered economy and exhauted Treasury. So Mr Kinnock´s solution to cure the patient: Kill the patient.

Britons have less and less disposable incoe or afraid to spend whatever they have left. Caution when it comes to spending is justifiable, especially when more and more people are losing their jobs or can hardly get a new job.

When businesses scale down their operations is not due to increased optimism, but to growing uncertainty. With so many unsolved conflicts and more conflicts on the horizon. When Autum comes, energy consumption will go up at a time when energy prices go up and down. How can you foresee what is happening next? 

We heard the headlines about "we are gong to do this, we are going to do that". Can the new Labour government deliver? Right at the time when Andy Burnham was appointed Prime Minister, pundits were saying "He is Labour´s last chance." Having obtanined a historical majority in 2024 with a lower percentage of the votes, Labour appeared to be an invincible force. A series of mishaps and bad decisions, brought down Keir Starmer, the leader that got the said historical majority. Andy Burnham will be touring across Britain in an effort to gather support, but he is starting from a very low point. He was not chosen by the Electorate in a General Election. He was appointed after winnng a local election. 

The Autumn Budget could prove to be the downfall of the Labour government. With limited options, under pressure from a very demanding and impatient Labour Party, every decision the newly appinted Prime Minister takes is bound to be controversial. 

 

 

The Axe Pakistan-Turkey-Saudi Arabia. Muslim countries get together.

 

Just a few weeks ago, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a Nuclear Deal. This was long before President Trump mentioned the possibility of a Nuclear Deal with Saudi Arabia on condition that Saudi Arabia recognized Israel. It did not go through for obvious reasons, at a time when Israel is taking over Muslim Holy sites in Jerusalem. 

Turkey is also a NATO country. Would Article 5 of the NATO agreement be implemented. This can have potentially catastrophic consequences. There are two ways to prevent a disaster. One - getting Turkey out of NATO or two - creating a new agreement for Europe without Turkey by breaking away from NATO.

Whatever happens will have to happen very fast to avoid another World War. The present deal draws the lines between Friends and Foes. We still have to hear from non aligned regional countries that will be massively affected should such a war happen.

BBC: Far from former glories, BBC is fighting for its own survival as audiences move away

 

The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC is fighting for survival

When a formerly reputable mass media organization contracts the services of a 26 year old "business prodigy" to save a mass media patient that has been in Intensive Care for a very long time, the announcement speaks for itself.

There was a time when "I heard it on the BBC" was more than enough to inspire respect. Those were the days when accuracy was more important than speed, when the BBC used to report news, not make news, when real content was more important than agenda, when balance was more important than partisan views. The public broadcaster was financed with what we call in the United Kingdom the TV License. TV License is a tax for all intents and purposes, but the BBC counts on the income produced by its commercial branch. In the era of big mass media organisations, it has often been said that BBC has had unfair advantage. But despite any financial advantage, the fact remains that the BBC has been losing audiences in both television and radio networks.

Some years ago, the BBC World Service ceased to exist for all intents and purposes. Its flagship headquarters at Bush House were left behind and whatever was left of the BBCWorld Service after the closure of one language service after another was transferred to Broacasting House in Central London. The BBC World Service used to have its own budget. After the transfer to Broadcasting House, budgets were amalgamated. And we cannot forget other BBC services like the ones operated from Caversham, a monitoring service that kept track of whatever was said or printed across the world. 

From time to time, BBC staff numbers were reduced. More and more was not actually made by the BBC, but for the BBC by private companies. So staff numbers, including presenters, editors, producers, have been coming down. 

At one point, the idea came of moving operational resources from London to other locations within the United Kingdom and part of the operation is done from Miami, Florida ie satellite rebrodcasting. A series of scandals, both political and due to sexual issues, did not help. There has also been a generational change and this has made the BBC less and less relevant. Would the BBC survive without a national tax called TV License? How much can the BBC rely on its commercial branch? Many well known BBC stars moved out or were thrown out.

The BBC is now seemingly looking for miracles, but how far is too far? BBC, like much of Britain, lives in the past. Jo Redfern, a former BBC insider and digital media expert talks about a sence of urgency, about audience participation.

The reputation of the BBC was built on accuracy and quality. Gimmicks will not do. If this turns out to be yet another gimmick then the prospects are not very encouraging.