25 September 2022There's an expression that says the road to hell is paved with good intentions:Abandoning fossil fuels to halt climate change was one, but the coal mines are being reopened, the EU is shutting its nuclear power stations and there'll be fracking in the UK within six months.The West thought it could collapse the Russian economy with sanctions within weeks, in fact Russia's revenues and the rouble have soared.We've given up cheap energy, grain, fertiliser and metals to buy Russian oil off the Saudis and Indians and dirty gas at five...
Sunday, 25 September 2022
Friday, 23 September 2022
THE MANAGEMENT OF DISSENT
23 September 2022
I don't know about you, but I find that everywhere, current affairs gets a more and more insistent pro-western gov.ts swing.What used to be my preferred channels are dishing up gov.t slops, whereas I used to find them interesting. Even the data is just wrong!We are being pushed into an opposition anti-Western camp, where I become cynical, but this is not at all where I want to be. I have big interests in proper order...
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
WHY DID AMERICA START THIS WAR?
19 September 2022...as told through the war in Ukraine. Or better still, as told by Putin himself.https://youtu.be/rm5icaLbUMAPROBLEMSIt looks to me as if the real problem is the end of the American Order, as precisely described by Ray Dalio. The goal is to assure continued American hegemony - this is pretty obvious, it is about security and survival, nothing more important.Another reading is that the suffering the Jews endured during...
Tuesday, 20 September 2022
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ROMAN CHURCH
20 September 2022Go back to Diocletian's decision to divide the empire into the Western and Eastern wings in around 286, two domains—the Western Roman Latin-speaking empire and the Eastern Greek-speaking empire. Constantine founded Constantinople on the existing city of Byzantium in 330. This Wrst-East split was made permanent on the death of Emperor Theodosius in 379. This split separates what we call the Rome of Antiquity from Medieval Rome and the sacking of Byzantium by the Ottoman Turks marks the end of the so-called Middle Ages.Or back...
Wednesday, 14 September 2022
PROBLEMS OF THE UK ECONOMY
14 September 2022KNOWLEDGETo understand what's going on in the economy at the moment you need a basic understanding of economics ...which I don't have!INDICATORSWhat's needed is to understand the relation between GDP growth, productivity, employment and wages, inflation, interest rates and the supply of money and credit.With this knowledge you can build wonderful models of the economy and pretty little gearings linking the chains of cause and effect.Without this knowledge, we are left swimming in a pool at night.GOALSWe can say that what we want...
WHAT COULD BE PUTIN'S OBJECTIVES?
14 September 2022
Putin's primary concern is the security of his country and that means not letting NATO into Ukraine, which is the weakest link in that long and costly-to-defend Western frontier of Russia's with Central Europe.Security should include Transnistria for sure, and also to be safe Moldova and Romania - the latter being impossible without starting a third world war.Sentimentally, Russia should be looking to recover Novorosia,...
Tuesday, 13 September 2022
FRENCH NUCLEAR POWER
13 September 2022
Golfech Nuclear Power Plant on the Garonne river, providing the water for its cooling plant, 90 kms upstream from Toulouse and 30 kms downstream from Agen*."France is heavily dependent on nuclear power for its electricity needs, while Germany is planning to shut down its last three reactors this year and until recently relied strongly on imports of Russian gas."
The history of nuclear power in France is full...
Sunday, 11 September 2022
CHANANG
11 September 2022
These banana leaf boxes of offerings are scattered everywhere and fresh every day.There are temples big and family size, thousands, and the people light ajoss stick or two every morning and say a prayer.It's estimated these rituals take up 40% of their income and their time, which is extraordina...
Saturday, 10 September 2022
FAMILYNESS
This is what I just sent to my kiddies:"Incidently, very pleased that you are setting goals, making a budget for things - like renovating the apartment, like the move to the new job - and making and monitoring a work plan to achieve what you want, within your resources.I do think that over time you will start generating quiet considerable amounts of money and the thing there is to know how to invest so as to a) preserve what you make and to b) create further wealth.So you are independent, standing on your own feet, and successful. You are happy...
Thursday, 8 September 2022
Wednesday, 7 September 2022
THE PRICE CAP
7 September 2022
Officials from the U.S. Treasury and the British cabinet look at oil and gas futures and see them lower and stable, and conclude that markets are already anticipating that the price cap will work.The idea of the cap is to keep Russian oil gas and refined products flowing but at a lower price so as to reduce the Kremlin's profits.Countries will have an incentive to co-operate not just because the cap will lower prices,...
Sunday, 4 September 2022
WILL THE OIL PRICE CAP BRING RUSSIA TO ITS KNEES?
4 September 2022
As to the Western plan to cap the price of oil, we remember that the original idea was to weaken Russia and have a colour Revolution that would put out Putin and put in a government sympathetic to the West.The three strategic axes have been military, economic and network. MILITARY DEFEAT STARING AMERICA IN THE FACEThe military looks like a big failure for Ukraine, with Russia gradually encrcling, kettling, cauldroning...
WHAT IS GADOO GADOO?
4 September 2022I'm here in Bali for a month. Do I escape a routine and stressful home life? Not really - I bring my routine with me : excel, blogg, correspondance, chat with family and friends, politics, airbnb, Youtube .... And I can hardly describe my life as stressful.But the routine activity volumes are down because a new destination means local activities to explore. Beach burn, walking round town monuments galleries temples museums, shopping...
Friday, 2 September 2022
WHY IS STERLING COLLAPSING?
2 September 2022It's about inflation, the current account balance, the govt budget, the national debt and prospects for growth in the UK economy. They are all moving in the wrong direction and everytime a forecast is published, it's worse than the previous....could there be still worse to come? Result: stirling is hardly a safe haven for people wondering where to invest and as exports fall so does the demand for the pound.Last time I looked at inflation it was supposed to hit 18% by January '23, but today when I looked, Goldman Sachs are saying...
