Two Zero Two Zero – 2

Two Zero Two Zero – 2

It is approaching the end of the year end so what has happened?

It has been an abysmal year. Anything that may have been taken as, social society and overall commerce continues as usual, has been put under some considerable pressure by that abused precedent of the ‘passage of time’ into which falls a concoction of ‘Events’. And within ones relative attached assumptions, looking at some ‘notable events’  it would be extremely presumptive to offer that this selection of the  year’s events are in any order of prescriptive importance if one has to take a predictive view on which will have the most long lasting or disruptive influence into the future; good or bad.

So by way of just having a narrow role call on what this 2020 has created, one will start with the most obvious event as it does seem to be the most prominent contender for the title of the astonishing -“shit happens” .

 Sars-Cov-2 (Covid-19)

 As expected Covid 19 is still fouling everything, it has not gone away and is likely to be in the human pool for many decades; rather like other persistent viruses.  Deaths thus far attributed to it have in the UK reached 67K + from an infection rate of 1.80m at mid December, with many other neglected additional ‘seasonal’ deaths in dispute. This figure is bound to rise up to and well into the New Year; a 100K deaths may be a probability onto next December. Globally some 69milion have been infected and deaths total approx 1.58million. Some might say it is a little on the lenient side and as such too close a miss for it to be called a global pandemic, which it probably is compared with past ones but it is a new variation to humans and the disruption it caused in an integrated modern technological era should be a warning not to be complacent again. Governments’ indecisiveness, conflicting political objectives, miss-judgment, miss handling, contagion secrecy, corrupted financial largess to cronies (1) and multiple failings on defensive actions has together propagated a spectacular evaporation of businesses norms and practices, jobs and economic future prospects. This event is rolling into the medium term and likely decades beyond into the days of little englands regained ephemeral sovereignty to inconsequentiality.  The one immediate remarkable issue that has come out of this mess is; for the first time in history, the ability to produce a number of vaccines to attack Covid19 (3 thus far) has been achieved in under a year! A remarkable success driven by many Governments underwriting investment into pharmaceuticals, dedicated ‘Experts’ using new methods of  virus splicing and fast tracking test and regularity controls. It has not happened before and would not have been undertaken, at speed, without effective pump-prime funding.

 Another thing to note, as a short term plus for the uk, was the establishment of 7 Nightingale field hospital with 3/4K beds available, built by secreted companies at a hidden cost of £100m + in 2 months without any procurement protocol being followed even though it was an emergency panicked action. They were in the main unused; general hospitals were pressurised to decamp beds and cancel ongoing health care provision as a better proactive Covid administrative care option based in hospitals. The build of these nightingale hospital was pre-emptively wasted, as was overlooked the essential fact, they needed qualified staff to operate the ventilator care for seriously ill Covid patients; staff which were not available!

 There is much more to be assessed at a later date on the handling of this (faux?) pandemic but being prejudicial, from the very start, is it true to intimate that there was not enough balanced contradictory views expressed within the whole media and expert spheres re the measures being enacted against Covid19? It is worrying to see how easy it is for the population to become acolytes of hysteria, to be controlled, deigned ‘rights’ to object and effectively made terrified that they will die the moment they get inflected. The pandemic has imbued within the population shades of psychosis, those that want to be controlled, to be told what to do, to collaborate, to not question, to carelessly ignore, to be created into “Milgram” sheep; all extremely useful indicators of (future) applications to shape society. The government’s managerial stance was duplicitous and insipid due to a more imperative policy (below); but coalesced with “any lost to Covid19 is a death too much”, largely overlooking the greater (long-term?) incidental deaths that occur due to the negligence of cancelled health provision as the NHS resources are transferred to Covid19 patients aided with doctors surgeries many of whom are using this event as a cover to streamline (telemetric – online care) their obligations to the detriment of needy patients. Some have never had it so easily good, similar to the experience of hospitals A&E departments denuded of the usual volume of “service users” and hospitals cancelling or extensively delaying care.

 In a crude related historic term, with Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest, perhaps in this time it does not apply; people expectations of being kept alive at any cost is understandably apparitional but is it not economically sustainably rational. Is any price worth paying to save a life? How much is a life worth? Who pays? Does it depend on whose life it is? Is the inflicted live saved also saving the syndrome? Is it that there is reluctance to accept an end to life? Is it that everything that can be done should be done to save life, especially one own? All moral contextual questions and in a social caring society everybody should contributes to carry the cost but is it really valued, to not see as a counterbalance? The failures to support end of life, support social care, the governments 12 year convenient defunding the NHS, hindering services, peoples casual acceptance of health provision decline and the numerous lockdowns restrictions for Covid that were applied over this year highlighting the fragility of the whole NHS; has resulted with unforeseen billions being borrowed from the magic money tree to avert the deplorable(s) painful affects which has as yet to cause uncounted future harm. Read all about it; eventually.

 VE Day

For the uninformed this day was initially being hyped by the government as a great (diversionary) event but in the light of reality with a greater story (above) it was just a londonstani pomposity event.  For little englanders, this year so far had nothing to recommend it as their sovereignty is still not achieved, so this one and only element gave them some fading historic prominence to prance around on, VE day 8th May 2020; but for what? VE means Victory in Europe, it still has relevance to those of a diminishing generation, least one does forget, as so many have that it was gained on the bones of many souls from many countries. Without which commitment, there was no chance of the plucky bulldogs retaining huts to sleep in, even one pitched on the rescued deserving land lord’s estates.  So VE Day was a rather Covid necessary low pomp event , an expression of the diminishing power of the bulldog era that helped build the European Union and as an indicative meaning to building a valid future with strength; it is to be soon as a commemorate day, largely irrelevant.

 But in assessing the failure in having an ‘uplifting’ event, as above and expecting too early relief from the toil of covid19 actions, gave rise to the pushing July 4th. Symbolically it was portentously borrowed as the day when the easement of covid19 restriction started, with limited opening up of some retail activities. The date was chosen for its symbolism linked to the yanks own Independence Date but now used as a beginning of victory over covid19 even though it did seem somewhat premature as covid19 has not gone away; just biding its time. This redemptive relaxation was proved a mistake for by August to December it was taking its death toll again so at November another 4 week national shutdown was implemented. It is to date, doing ongoing unspeakable harm.  

 BREXIT

The Great sovereign easy Deal has not materialised and it is increasing likely that despite the verbosity of many MPs on the simplicity of getting a great deal, rolling over the EU, all dead-line dates have been passed with the final ejection still fixed for the 1st January 2021. On which date then perhaps the little englanders can have their own novel VoE day – Victory over Europe but for others on this issue, this is one of the two most regretful days of the past four years, for them it is nothing to celebrate. Despite all the mendacious hype, blusters, misconceptions and lies on membership and withdrawal from the EU, it was unfortunately obvious in July that no agreements could be reached dragging tawdry negotiations onto October / Nov / Dec. A last minute fudge arrangement is possible to save BoJo’s bacon however by no stretch of fabricated veracity overriding lies, can any compromise be considered to offer anything comparable with what has been wantonly thrown away. So effectively the UK (entirely england) aided by manipulative powers, is likely to get hung onto some verbal dexterity skill to a debatable no beneficial deal, or none, or on World Trade Organisation terms and hardship (or fabulous future say Brexiteer) to follow. Yet they all continue on their path of fervent self delusion to deliver all their desires of the Brexit dogma; immigration, getting borders & laws back (sovereignty) fund the NHS instead of the EU and lifting the “left behinds”, free of Europe!

 None of the prominent supporters of this accursed self inflicted mess have the moral fibre, life experience, or overall knowledgeable competence, to resist their own sycophantic tendency for the greater good. All of which (the greater good) they neither see nor care about but are only obsequious to ensure their own future is made comfortably safe and the 'light at the end of the tunnel leading to the green pastures' is clear of detritus of the useful pandemic dead under which Brexit can be hidden. As indeed will be the overall the state of the economy, lifeless. There is nothing good one can say about this decade period of state craft, having never recovered from CC and the Conservative Democratic Unionist Party’s austerity plan, The UK’s (england) shafting of Europe and shattered fighting Covid19, is now moving into a dire terminal economically sovereign situation. In this it is only ones educated prejudicial opinion of course but if ever the history is written on this era there will be many personalities reformatting their leading handy work, so again read all about it; eventually.

 USA

“America is back”. After 5 years of absence as the US elections have taken place and Trump is out with Biden In. Trump continues to display the sort of strange man he is refusing to concede the win to Biden pressing the inane belief that he and his supports were defrauded by the way the election was run. What can one add, he had his day and with spectacular egocentric panache fucked it all up and also showed the republican establishment to be comprised of  complicit ‘wo/men of straw’ bent on retaining their own positions against the serious needs of the nation. Biden has assembled an impressive experienced group of people to lead key departments. Biden also is making the observation that the Good Friday treaty for Ireland with its open Ireland borders must be maintained and not cast aside as BoJo had intended to do, with wanting to break the law that supports it, to get his sovereign Brexit deal. Overlooking the stance the US would take on this severance and the impact on a hoped for USA trade deals. Biden has little option but to continue with “America First” with trade issues, the UK is not going to be any more important on this score than Europe.

But perhaps one thing that Biden has taken full note of from this attempt of law abiding exclusion and also how Trump has behaved is 'where the law ends or is cast aside, tyranny begins’ and there has been plenty of examples that this direction has taken place both in the US and in the UK. In this, as it is germane to the UK, when there is effectively NO allowed dissent to the steps and actions taken to enforce Covid compliance, no effective parliamentary opposition, no allowed public demonstrations, no angry counter views to government braking established precedents, no critical assessment of official modules behind new laws and far too much paid up cronyism with their snouts in the money trough and shown qualitatively and consistently failed to portray good governance, has to weaken trust.

The point here is, if one considers the quality or experience of Biden’s office holder’s matched against the UK cabinet, never mind what Trump had, it is for the UK an outstanding disgrace to assemble such an overall lack of competence ability of governmental personalities, all willing to break agreed laws, deals, and protocols and draw back from parliamentary oversight, may be considered a signature tactical warning.

 Environment.

It is still on the international talking agenda moving onto the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 to be held in Glasgow in November 2021 and hosted by the UK. Most countries now agree that action needs to be taken but as usual; what and by whom and by how much and when? One own opinion on the problems wrapped in the whole environmental debates, is irrelevant, other than to note; the easy, quick nudge, short term fixes, are being rolled out gunning for the soft targets with energy replacement via electrification to private transport, heating and taxation underplaying the more effective longer term two-part solution to climate issues that requires committed audacious financial, policy clarity and leadership.(Energy source and Populations) Also in some reports it is indicated that the global CO2 transition point has been reached and the environmental switch has been thrown, so nothing to worry about there.     

In passing it might be worth a mention that in July also, the world’s largest nuclear fusion project began its five-year assembly stage in southern France, with the first ultra-hot plasma expected to be generated in late 2025.The £18bn ITER project funded by many countries aims to demonstrate that fusion power can be generated at a usable viable scale. It is a long term aim being chased by all the major countries with China doing a small version of its own with some cooperation into the ITER project. For the future saps, one can only hope.

 Final

As a conclusion to this trip through 2020 events, there are some issues that one is sure has been overlooked, events that stem from internal or external sources that will have a influential impact on the Twenty Twenty decade to come but as an end to a nearly intolerable year, from ones perspective, these are the integral hydra issues that will not go away. Over the past year, just on its own, it has shown that the nation's soul has been exposed on a number of integrating factors that should form the social civil foundations of a good healthy society. The integrated good social structures are reliant on good governance based on democratically accepted flexible liberty, meshing into a driven gestalt unity for the aim and benefit of all; none should have been “left behind”, why was it not seen? But the reality is an anathema within the Great Britain illusion. The country is not whole; it is not ‘together’, it has tolerated raising inequality, it has a created a financial cast system, it is fractured into discordant tribal dogmas and possibly political irrational ideology that fail to see the structural poverty it has tolerated. (2) The excuses offered to avoid responsibility stem from different views accumulated for obscurity overlay, which appears designed to counter factual information on pertinent issues in the face of overall, often impartial, evidence. As a little cameo to the drivers of this situation; UNICEF is to give financial support to charities (£700K) to help feed poor hungry children in the UK starting in London! This was quickly denounced by a prominent millionaire MP as a “disgraceful political stunt” and the money should be placed in more needy countries. It is not clear what charity he does (not) support as no-one has seen him in any charity food-line up dishing or receiving! With the expansive prevalence of such attitudes in a political party, little within it will culturally change to a defeat it; the “Nasty Party” remains “The Nasty Party”.

 

(1) NYTimes.com: Waste, Negligence and Cronyism: Inside Britain’s Pandemic Spending.

(2) See: ohchr.org/en ‘statement on Visit to the United Kingdom, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights’.

© Renot

191217302020