The art of forecasting is falling out of favour. Its usefulness as a prediction of the future has come under severe pressure. This is especially true in the world of political forecasting and for one reason, forecasts in this sense are invariably wrong. They have now become synonymous with the other meaning of the word, … Continue reading Forget forecasts
Pants on fire
In politics these days, the truth is a very fluid concept. Time and time again, leading politicians have been shown to say things that are wrong. This is understandable as we live in a highly dynamic world where no one can be expected to get everything right. What is unacceptable however, is when these ‘facts’ … Continue reading Pants on fire
Failing state
Grayling has managed to live up to his reputation again. He has failed to secure the lead of the Intelligence and Security Committee. At least this time he managed to fail before being given the job instead of during it. Instead, another Conservative MP, Julian Lewis has won the position. This is not the real … Continue reading Failing state
Anti-maskers
No doubt you’ve heard of anti-vaxers but just in case, this is what Wikipedia says: Vaccine hesitancy, also known as anti-vaccination or anti-vax, is a reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated or to have one's children vaccinated against contagious diseases despite the availability of vaccination services. It is identified by the World Health Organization as … Continue reading Anti-maskers
Why do you want to be world beating?
Brits were told in April by Hancock and Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the NHS's IT wing, NHSX, was working with tech providers to produce a homegrown "world beating app" Despite app delay, Johnson says UK will have ‘world-beating’ contact tracing. We’re all aware of the story by now, Britain was going to lead the … Continue reading Why do you want to be world beating?
Vanishing briefs
Excuse me but I wrote this a few weeks back. I can’t begin to imagine how busy the Prime Minister is. It must be a full on twenty four hour a day job and of late you can see the strain on his face as he tries to grapple with global events. it would seem … Continue reading Vanishing briefs
Why statues?
In all the furore over the statue of Colston in Bristol and the subsequent threat to that of Churchill in Whitehall I am left pondering one question. Why do we have statues? They are something I have never really thought about. They stand there unnoticed by most of us, in public parks, city centres and, … Continue reading Why statues?
Why voting should not be mandatory
Voter turnout in this country is not great. At the 2019 general election 67% of the people that are eligible actually put their mark on a ballot paper. So what happened to the other third? Why did they not vote and what can be done about it? One way of solving the problem would be … Continue reading Why voting should not be mandatory
Are COVID-19 regs discriminatory?
After nine or so weeks in lock down, tempers are fraying. Frustrations are bubbling over even though there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Slowly some of the restrictions are being lifted yet I am left asking myself the question. Are the COVID-19 restrictions discriminatory? Unfortunately I think the answer is yes. … Continue reading Are COVID-19 regs discriminatory?
When democracy isn’t enough
In my recent blog The existential threat of nationalism, I touched on how nationalism and populism are an existential threat to humanity and that I would explore what is to be done in another blog. Well, this is it. I would like to go further and add that democracy is an existential threat to humanity, … Continue reading When democracy isn’t enough
Thoughts from a Retired Guerrilla Worker 