POLITICAL BELIEFS

There is an alternative to all this profligacy and waste and collectivisation (the nanny state).

We can see, instead, a small state but a strong and united kingdom, strong both at home on law and order and abroad on defence. 

A state that outsources needed public services, regulating with a light touch a market economy tipped in favour of the individual and small company.

A low-tax laissez-faire economy.

A state that believes in entrepreneurship, deregulation, favours "negative" freedom more than human rights,  interests of native-born first, competition to set standards for price and quality.

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HOW TO STAY IN POWER FOREVER

Normally friendly, funny, relaxed, Johnson is overwhelmed with problems of state and hearth and has taken to expeditiously stamping each dossier, "there, solved forever, next case please".

He surely isn't looking to be re-elected with that face ...but perhaps this clever and unpredictable man has more tricks up his sleave....

One thing Johnson could do to fill his unpopularity gap and assure eternal power, is to recruit a network of say 2 to 5% of the approved population to participate more actively in government, go beyond simple periodic elections as that's not where the action is anymore, with democracy not working like intended. 

This new Citizens' Hierarchy would be permanent focus groups, neighbour watch groups, high street shop-based information centres replacing the old black police phone boxes; with regular jamborees and various concessions like travel passes or priority treatment on the NHS, a small stipend why not, as rewards for good behaviour. All paid for with a special ring-fenced Citizenship Tax.

All these people would need to do is contribute their ideas for change, approve the party line, inform on their neighbours, and vote for The Totalitarian Party at quarterly conferences.

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HOW TO DEAL WITH VACCINE REFUSENIKS

Those that do not wish to be vaccinated should be tested. Every day? Every three days? Needs more consideration.

Those that do not want to be tested? Ok too. They cannot come into work, so their contract of employment should be suspended (no need to sack 'em) and they can stay at home without pay. 

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NOTES ON THE WITHAWAL AGREEMENT

Parliament was held to ransom by the Remainers, aided and abetted by Speaker Bercow,  when they passed the Benn law that prohibited leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement.

The only way to get the EU to agree to a withdrawal agreement was to include the NI protocol dreamed up by Mrs May.

Only now that we have left the EU, and as a sovereign country, are we able to negotiate changes to the WA or revert to WTO rules.

At that time Boris did not have an 80 majority in Parliament. And once the WA was signed we were bound by international law to stick to it, unless it is found to be unworkable when Article 16 can be invoked.

The facts were that the UK was honour bound to try and make the WA work, which we did. However, it is clearly not working and the EU are playing games to try and keep the UK subordinate to the EU. Lord Frost is currently trying to break the 'Gordian Knot' without much success at the moment.

If he fails, then Article 16 looks likely to be invoked.

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PROBLEMS WITH DEMOCRACY

Once upon a time, there was one culture and our homogenous society represented by two parties, each offering a clear take on more-or-less agreed problems.

These days, society isn't so much divided as split into many many little groupuscules. And politicians have to appeal to all this heterogeneity and assemble them all into one voice. It's impossible!

You can't expect a first-past-the-post, meant for two parties, to be successful at finding the common answers. 

You can't expect this version of democracy to produce leaders any more.

We don't have leaders any more, we only have liars.

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PROPERTY OWNERSHIP IN ASIA : CHINA

China is not a normal market economy. There is no private ownership of land in China. Land is owned by the government or by the collectives. 

Hence, when someone purchases an apartment in China, they are only purchasing a share of the building, not a share of the land. More to the point, they do not own the apartment - they are only purchasing a lease on the property, usually for 70 years, although shorter terms are possible. 

Chinese property speculation is not the same animal as property speculation in market economies. In effect, people in China are speculating on property leases.

Property developers purchase a right to use the land from governments or collectives. This means the Chinese government can much more easily and quickly turn off the flow of construction than a government in a market economy, which typically uses interest rates to subdue developers' appetites. 

Hence, unlike market economies, the effect of subduing construction is comparatively cauterised, although obviously still significant in the broader economy. The construction industry has a similarly prominent role in most economies.

The Chinese Government can turn its policy "on a dime" as  the Americans say. This is their regular practice. It would be prudent to watch for signs of a reversal in the Chinese government policy on the construction industry, before concluding the world economy is going to be derailed. One of the reasons the Chinese government often reverses its policy is that it just doesn't know what effect its policies will have. It's a living experiment with adaption from empirical results, not models.

In UK, a management company often owns the freehold and this, in turn, is often owned by the leaseholders. In flats, leasehold makes more sense if there is no ground rent etc as it enables the freeholder to enforce positive convenetats re decoration, common parts and the like.

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AL QAEDA, THE TALIBAN, ISIS

Must make the difference between al Qaeda, the Taliban and Daesch (ISIS or whatever, IS-K in this case).

Al Qaeda are OBL's group after he directed the mujahideen to evict the Russians. They went regional across the MENA.

The Taliban are sourced ideologically and financially by the Saud family, who occupy Arabia; and practically by Pakistan, who fear Indian influence, a fear going back to partition in 1947, Kashmir and Jammu were Muslim majorities run by Hindus. Should also say the Taliban enjoy much local support as preferable to endless bloodshed between warlords.

ISIS are Saddam's rump.

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BENEFITS OF BREXIT

One freedom I quite appreciate is the freedom to vote for my own representatives who'll make the laws that interest me and not have them corrected by some judge in a far off land who knows nothing about my people.

Another is to have the borders of my country respected and take in people based on my moral sensibilities or need for their skills rather than their desire for my welfare state benefits, my job and free English classes.

Another is to make customs rates and rules that suit my economy.

And another is to negotiate free roaming charges to use my phone where I like.

Free to spend my taxes my way on my people and not on eg failing agricultural subsidy systems.

One day, free to look out over the sea and not see pesky foreign boats hoovering up my fish.

Free to sleep at nights knowing that I still live in a nation state, my independent homeland as my sense of home goes from my front gate to the border and no further and includes incidentally Northern Ireland and Scotland and Gibraltar

 

I was hoping I'd be free to practise my profession cz vous and you cz nous; and buy and sell without reams of paperwork, but ...

Free flow of data to support trade, but ...

Free to cooperate on areas of common interest without intereference from some pretentious higher layer of government. Eg on security (but ...).

Free to support, subsidise and direct my industries according to needs of my economy and not your economy.

I'd like to think we'll all be free to work together and evolve common objectives in a positive spirit, unfettered and equal, but ...

 

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MUTT STORY

Maybe it isn't true May. Maybe it is a diversionary tactic to throw us off the scent. A smokescreen to cover our disappearing trick. We are being led up a red herring. It's tinfoil to the heat seeking missiles.

Can you see a pack of 200 mutts making a run for the airport - Tally baaaaan !!! - and bedding down in the hold? Pooooh!!! I can't.

Then off to quarantine for six months, all at tax payers' expense? 

Still, Penny Farthing is a bit of a wheel  He might pull it off. But it'd make Crufts a toughie next year, wouldnt it.

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THE TROUBLE WITH THAI TOURISM

Well, there isn't any:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1228374-thailand-strives-to-elevate-tourism-industry-striken-hard-by-pandemic/

The TAT sits in its bunker and makes its marketing projections and plans. They won't happen because the pressure is to be always positive and optimistic, not realistic.

But the deeper problem is there is no coordination. They sit alone in their bunker making their nowhere plans.

What could happen is:

- Make an inventory of the things tourists come here to see and do and send to the Ministry of Public Building and Works.

- The Ministry assesses the condition of the country's tourist infrastructure and what work is needed to create first class world appeal.

- This rehab plan is sent to the Ministry of Social Affairs to work with the Ministry of Finance to mobilise all those people unemployed in the tourist industry, to get to work and renew the tourist infrastructure.

- The TAT needs to put pressure on the Ministry of Health to get those people in the top 12 tourist destinations vaccinated. This is urgent, firstly for the people themselves.

- The TAT also needs to pressure their bosses at the Ministry of Transport and Tourism to properly organise low cost quality flights and accomodation. 

 - And finally, the government must accept that with or without covid, the current bureaucratic demands on visitors will always ensure that there is no viable tourist industry anymore in this country. Whatever other countries do or don't do, Thailand must cut all the bureaucratic requirements: expensive insurance, long stay quarantine in dirty expensive government hotels, complex expensive visa requirements and so on ... all gone.

The culture of the people is wearing thin - not happy kind, but greedy clawing. This needs to be reversed and ex-pats encouraged to return too, so that tourists feel safe and that they are genuinely getting value for money.

In summary, we need a joined up approach to mass tourism and if it is high quality tourism attracting wealthy tourists, then a considerable effort must be made to upgrade the infrastructure on offer. 

Fear is that this is way beyond the abilities and resources of the country and so it will lose its tourist industry and 1/5th to 1/4 of its GDP. Civil unrest will follow on a hitherto unimagined scale.

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AFGHANISTAN RETREAT: IMBECILIC

It is true, the West couldn't impose a fair system of justice, didnt create a functioning state, corruption was the usual way to get things done, elections did not produce accountable acceptable leaders.

Although there was peace, no recent Western loss of life, some progress on human rights, women, and with Western support the Afghan army kept the warlords in place.

It took more than 20 years to create local versions of a democratic state in Malaysia, Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Nigeria, South Africa ... 

To the advantage of the Western powers, Afghanistan could not be used as a base to train bombers or send them to our homelands. China could not enter Afghanistan and Pakistan with its Belt and Road, its usurous loans, to begin extracting the trillion dollars of minerals.India was kept on side balancing the other local nuclear power always fearful of Indian influence. Russian influence was restricted  Poppy cultivation could be at least measured and should have been encouraged and bought by the West for legitimate purposes - it's their only crop.

Most importantly, America kept its place as world hegemon, and its respect. Keep the terrorists and China out.

So for very little, the West could at least maintain the stalemate. Talk of a "forever war" is a complete mischaracterisation of a low cost maintenance and security job, the 83b$ is a sunk cost. It is maintenance of Western influence and homeland security.

Where are we now? The frontier between China and us, between political Islam and us, has moved nearer our front gate. The West has lost and emboldened its enemies.

Big big mistake to withdraw. Looks like the States is bankrupt, bankrupted printing money for its banks and stockmarkets. Withdrawn into isolation and decline  Preparing its own death. 

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