It's 2024 and I'm admittedly unsure how to feel about that. 2023 came and went with both highs and lows. But I haven't done a State of the Thatcher Address for a few months, so I think a new year calls for one.

I'm behind on writing already this year, but mostly because my writing efforts at the end of last month were less than successful. The holidays really messed with my head this year. I'm playing catch-up from the beginning, but I've got four months of bimbo fun planned for all of you. And I'll talk about about my upcoming plans below.

This is a good moment to remind you that my books are available on Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Everand (formerly Srcibd), Kobo, and Ream. I'm too lazy to link every single one of those retailers, but I will point everyone to Ream, which is a subscription site similar to Patreon, but for authors. I post every story I write there, even the ones I can't publish to Amazon. And I also post pictures, like the one above, that were considered for my covers. I'm always looking for new ways to make Ream valuable to my readers.

Here's the link to Ream: https://reamstories.com/sadiethatcher

In addition to my erotica writing, I also write fantasy, urban fantasy, and paranormal fiction under the name Libby Feron. I've got six novels and a series omnibus published so far with the goal of writing and publishing another series this year. In fact, my January is packed, because I need to write the first book so I can deliver it to my editor and publisher for a late winter/early spring release. For those who have read or followed the Magic's Most Wanted Series, Tempest's little sister is getting her own series as she heads off to a college for magic. The new series is called Magical Misfits Academy and the first book is titled Clash of Souls. For updates free content, check out my website and sign up for my email newsletter at https://libbyferon.com.

And now let's talk about upcoming projects I'm working on. I wrote a series about a bimbo retrovirus way back in 2014 and now I'm returning to the virus idea ten years later. It will be a completely different story concept this time and I'm in the middle of writing the first book. It should be fun, sexy, and spicy.

Other projects I'm working this month include a special commission called Bimbo Legal. It will feature TG content and be a long novella or short novel. I also have plans for a series about a bimbo power up (inspired by Mario) although unlikely to have any video game references. And at the end of the month I've got plans to write about an evil corporation that bimbofies people who protest against it as a means of reversing PR problems. And that's just January.

As you can see, I have a lot to write this month, which is one reason I opted not to hunt down links for every retailer my books are on. I trust that you have a search engine that can help you. And assuming I don't have an interruption in my schedule like I did in January of 2023, you'll be seeing a lot of great content from me very soon. Now it's back to writing.

Have a happy and sexy 2024!

What did Reagan do that caused America to slowly decline on itself?

Reagan was horrible for a lot of reasons, but one of his biggest contributions to America's decline was his propagation of "Reaganomics" and neoliberalism in general. You can look up more on Reaganomics to get more details, but basically Reaganomics slashed government spending, reduced government regulation, cut taxes (especially for the wealthy), and advocated for "trickle-down" economics. You'll notice that all of these are typical Republican positions today, but it was a lot less common before Reagan and Margaret Thatcher took office.

Income inequality became significantly worse during the Reaganomics years, and because he helped propagate these policies to the GOP they're still repeating them ad nauseam. Most recently, Trump initiated similar tax cuts for the wealthy. That wealth is gonna trickle down any day now!!!

Reagan was also very anti-union. In one infamous event, he fired over 11,000 government employed air traffic controllers who went on strike to demand better working conditions. Having an anti-union president isn't exactly great for unions.

There's also his infamous handling of the AIDS crisis; he and his administration didn't start addressing the disease until thousands of Americans had already died and their response was lackluster at best. The Reagan administration is also hugely responsible for helping turn the Middle East into the mess it is today via their funding of terrorist groups that opposed Soviet Russia. Osama bin Laden was literally our ally for a time.

Another awful thing Reagan did was how he handled mental health. When he was governor of California, he signed a law which made forced institutionalization or medication of people who might be suffering from mental illness significantly more difficult. That sounds great on paper, but it resulted in many severely mentally ill people becoming homeless and without treatment.

Jimmy Carter signed the Mental Health Systems Act in 1980 with the intention of fixing our rapidly declining mental health system. Ronald Reagan repealed it in 1981.

Oh, and he also popularized the myth of the "welfare queen" and generally advocated for slashing social safety nets and while also making the country look down on those receiving federal help.

There's more, but hopefully that's enough to help you understand why Reagan's legacy is still awful for the United States. But he’s been deified by the right so good luck criticizing him.

Marketplace feminism is in many ways about just branding feminism as an identity that everyone can and should consume. That's not bad thing in theory, but in practice it tends to involve highlighting only the most appealing features of a multifaceted set of movements. It kicks the least sensational and most complex issues under a rug and assures them that we'll get back to them once everybody's on board. And it ends up pandering to the people who might get on board—maybe, possibly, once feminism works its charm—rather than addressing the many unfinished projects still remaining.

Feminism's uncanny valley brims with facsimiles of familiar ideas, objects, and narratives that are, on closer inspection, almost exclusively about personal identity and consumption. Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In is so successful in part because of how seamlessly it leads women into what appears to be feminism in every way—except for the part where it asks those women to mold their individual selves to an existing, unequal corporate culture rather than collectively endeavoring to change that culture. Numerous news outlets, meanwhile, stumbled into the uncanny valley when they unquestioningly reported on the 2015 rebranding of Maxim magazine as "”feminist” based on its new female editor putting a self-described feminist (Taylor Swift) on the cover and not even making her wear a bikini. In the uncanny valley, those granny panties are feminist because they say so on the butt.

The feminist uncanny valley is the result of a larger neoliberal framework that over the past five decades has come to unite politics, economics, and culture in a web of individualism, privatization, and decreasing focus on both community and compassion. As a theory, neoliberalism privileges free trade, corporate deregulation, and privatization; as a practice, it took specific hold in the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher joined forces to enact policies that shifted economic power from the government to the private sector.

Neoliberalism holds that we don't need government because we've got the free market, in which we're all theoretically equal and which will sort out what's valuable and what's not. Its social message, meanwhile, is that underclasses—the poor and economically disenfranchised—are not oppressed, but just insufficiently motivated—or, less charitably, unwilling to do the bootstrap-pulling that's required to get ahead. American culture, perhaps more than any other, prizes individualism. Our narratives of art, politics, and business idolize the person who triumphs against the odds, with only himself or herself to answer to. The lone wolf. The stranger in town. The maverick. The plucky kid. The Final Girl. You've only got yourself, in the end. Its all up to you.

Neoliberalism is significant to contemporary feminism in quite a few ways, but one in particular is that both emphasize consumer choice and individual power in a way that can narrow to tunnel vision. Much as "trickle-down" economic theory was a linchpin of Reaganomics, "trickle-down feminism"—a term coined by sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom —has become central to mainstream feminism: both propose that entitlements and benefits will flow downward from the citizens richest in those resources, and ultimately benefit everybody. Trickle-down economics was a roaring failure for almost everybody but the already-rich; the stakes for trickle-down feminism are not that much more hopeful. "Powerful people," writes McMillan Cottom, "will act in the interest of power, not in the interest of gender (or, race, for that matter)."

Where neoliberalism meets the feminist uncanny valley is in the unquestioning celebration of, for instance, women in powerful positions—even when they use their powerful positions in ways that do most women very little good. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, for instance, was a powerful woman in a powerful position, but did not use that power in the interest of other women. Ditto for the Republican women who voted, along with every one of their male colleagues in the Senate, against the Equal Pay Act—twice. Yahoo's Marissa Mayer took the helm of the tech giant and promptly cut the company's work-from-home policy, a decision that stood to affect families in particular. And the less said about Sarah Palin, the better. On the way down into the uncanny valley, we've decided that images of women in power, in the abstract, are as important as people of any gender who are actually working to make equality a reality for everyone.

-Andi Zeisler, We Were Feminists Once

Not sure if that's the route you're going with , but considering what you just said , I think it's important , even if it is horrible and very sad , to make light of what abused and trans children go through or might go through on a daily basis and how it affects their ability to grow up :(

And if you or any other fan in this blog needs to hear this : don't let the people who hurt you control your life! You are an amazing person and they did not deserve to have you in their lives!

My plan is to shine a light on that. Whilst it's only a part of Dave's character in this au, it is still a significant one, and needs to be addressed. In much the same way as Mark's internalised homophobia is handled, I will be ensuring that all potential trigger/content warnings are made clear in the author notes before any chapter where it is present. It likely won't be very explicitly handled as Good Samaritan is mostly from Mark and Thatcher’s perspectives, but from what I have in my drafts currently, it will be touched on through the things Dave says and the thoughts/reflections Thatcher has about them (I'll make it clear now that Thatcher is completely supportive of Dave and so is Ruth, but Thatcher is the only one out of the two of them who has further detail on how Dave was actually treated growing up). I also promise that Dave does heal and grow as the story progresses, much the same as Mark and Thatcher and other characters who have/had a bad or strained relationship with their parents and family. I don't like it when queer stories are solely tragic because the characters are forever stuck/held in a state of misery for simply being who they are.

Whilst I am very fortunate to have parents and siblings who have been nothing but supportive and loving towards me coming out and transitioning, some of what Mark and Dave think about themselves privately is based on some of my own experiences. A lot of this AU is based on things I went through growing up or am still going through now.

And absolutely as you said, to anyone that needs to hear it: You are loved, you are valid, and you are worth so much more than those who have hurt you. You are yourself, and you are perfect, and no one can take that from you.

Like basically I still consider myself a mass-org anarchist communist, even though I'm not, really.

I think that mass-org anarchism was the idea of its time (from Bakunin to the second world war) in Europe. It's a fantastic body of theory that accurately understood the conditions it analysed and laid out sensible action to take to address it. For various reasons (Marxism eclipsing anarchism as the default communist ideology, the war, the post-war welfare state, the failure of the revolts in the late 60s, crushing defeat at the hands of Thatcher) we both kept getting our arses kicked and also (being charitable here) not really having the space to step back and take stock of the changing conditions. After all that, the old-school crowd assumed they'd just have to wait for the next upswing of class consciousness, even if it took thirty years - but that hasn't happened, and everything has changed. So we're left with anarchist orgs that haven't substantially adapted their politics in almost a hundred years!

Now, if you're in India or China, for example, where the class composition of the country and the political situation are more like they were in Europe in the "glory" days of mass-org anarchism, I do expect that that's basically the correct analytical and tactical framework to adopt, if you want to achieve communist revolution. (This is because I think that's the only framework that'll actually get anyone there!) Unfortunately in the UK, there just is no way that we're going to have a revolution in a short enough time frame that it can happen before the point at which climate change -related disruption makes predicting the future impossible.

You have to ask, who is going to make a revolution? and, like, I'll do my best - "by striving for the impossible..." etc etc, I'm not advocating giving up! - but the base for that kind of movement simply is not here. So we have to accept the fact that we're not going to have a revolution and start 1) acting for ourselves in the present, and 2) preparing to weather what's coming.

hey why do you think harry's political stand is problematic? am i missing something?

Hi anon

I’m not really keen on ‘problematic’ it’s not how I would usually frame any of my thoughts on someone’s behaviour or views. I don’t think Harry’s politics are worse than a lot of peoples, it’s simply that his politics when he shares them aren’t very good and most of the time they show a very different world view than mine.

I can give you a couple of examples but I think it’s worth thinking about what matters to you, and this shit both matters and is of great interest to me so I like to talk about it.

Harry’s political views are on the most basic level, conservative (small c) and individualistic - which is not a political view I share. The things he has said over the years point to limited to no understanding of how social change happens or the reality of the world in which I, and most of his fans, live.

I find his political statements when he makes them both surface level and infuriating. ‘End gun violence’ is not radical, I think most celebrities would agree and probably a large chunk of his fans, and I find that kind of statement close to meaningless.

‘No one can tell you what to do with your body’ is both incorrect and shifts the focus onto the individual and away from the state which is legislating and mandating on what you can do with your body. It’s not a ‘rallying cry’ or whatever other nonsense someone has tried to suggest.

When Harry frames these issues, he never acknowledges that there is a fight going on, or that collective action is how you can achieve change. Instead he tells individuals that no one can tell them what to do, despite governments making it socially, legally and economically impossible for them to access healthcare that they want or need.

He wears t-shirts that say things like ‘women are smarter’ or goes on BLM marches and says he’s reading books by Black women but continues to write misogynistic song lyrics and make business choices that benefit almost only White men, and he’s never addressed the mocking picture he took in a Native American headdress. He brings Union Jack’s on stage and asked fans to have a round of applause for the Queen after she died a few weeks ago.

And the last thing I’ll say, I grew up working class in a little mining village in Scotland with a grandparent who was a miner and four siblings born in the 70’s/80’s whose lives were shaped by the miners strike and the subsequent closures and the impact that had the local economy and jobs. It’s not just mines, Scotlands steel industry was destroyed and unemployment grew, the police response to the miners strikes in Scotland under her government and the callousness with which people were treated is as unforgivable today as it was in 1985. That’s without starting on the poll tax which was introduced a year earlier in Scotland than England, or wider than Scotland the response to Hillsborough, introduction of section 28, response to HIV/AIDS and miners strikes across the UK, and the police brutality that came with it. I could talk about Thatcher all day, that’s not what you asked - but Harry has done nothing to suggest to me that he wouldn’t repeat his ‘RIP Baroness Thatcher’ in some form if she died again today.

There’s plenty more I could go on about but I’m going to stick to what I said yesterday, Harry is far more likely to vote Tory than I ever am so we’re never going to be close to being in the same book nevermind on the same page politically x

Joe Biden's State of the Union Address was more effective than what most people were expecting.

Veteran journalist Jeff Greenfield in the linked article above had a reaction similar to that of other pundits.

Here’s an opening line I did not expect to write an hour or so ago: President Joe Biden gave a pretty good State of the Union address — indeed, one of the better ones I’ve heard.

What made it work was not just that Biden was in a buoyant spirit, with an energy that’s often lacking, but that it was a clearly political speech with a clear political goal: to define Biden as the guy who is on your side, going after the big boys who were flourishing at your expense.

While he didn't say so in so many words, Biden indicated that the era of Reagan-Thatcher unregulated global capitalism is over.

“‘Buy American’ has been the law of the land since 1933,” Biden said. “But for too long, past administrations, Democrat and Republican, have fought to get around it. Not anymore. … On my watch, American roads, bridges and American highways will be made with American products.”

Mention of 1933, the first year of FDR's New Deal, was no accident. Biden is clearly aiming at an update of the Roosevelt-Truman Keynesian form of regulated capitalism whose abandonment in the 1980s led to soaring economic inequality and the departure of tens of millions of manufacturing jobs to other countries.

“I’m a capitalist. But pay your fair share. I think a lot of you at home agree. … Look, the idea that in 2020, 55 of the largest companies in America, the Fortune 500, made $40 billion in profits and paid zero in federal taxes? Zero? Folks, that’s simply not fair.”

Reagan era "trickle down" doesn't work because the mega corporations and filthy rich refuse to trickle. Greed only feeds upon itself.

When and if he kicks off his reelection campaign — and tonight’s speech made the “when” way more likely than the “if” — expect to hear a lot more like this from Biden from now until November 2024.

I still think the conventional wisdom is right — that these moments rarely if ever affect the political terrain. But the president and his team deserve some credit for trying to speak more plainly and clearly to the country.

While Biden may not be our most eloquent politician, he certainly didn't sound mealy-mouthed on Tuesday.

Republicans were not expecting such a forceful performance. The only intelligible comment Trump was able to make about Biden's SOTU speech is that he used the word "folks" too much in it.

Later this year, a fleet of distinctive yellow and black buses will begin to make their way through Wigan, Bolton and parts of Salford and Bury. Publicly owned, with fares initially capped at £2, the franchised Bee network will be operating throughout Greater Manchester by 2025. Fought for by the city region mayor, Andy Burnham, this will be the first bus service outside London to come under local control since Thatcherite deregulation in 1986.

It is a sign of the times that Mr Burnham’s flagship policy has been given the green light by a Conservative government. As the next election looms, both of England’s major parties are embracing greater devolution as a means to address the regional inequalities that helped drive the leave vote in the Brexit referendum. The secretary of state for levelling up, Michael Gove, and his shadow, Lisa Nandy, made a point of speaking at last week’s Convention of the North in Manchester, in front of a phalanx of metro mayors. During the 1980s, successive Tory administrations used a legislative wrecking ball to demolish local government powers, privatise public services and centralise political control in Westminster. But Tory backing for another mayoral combined authority in the north-east means that three-quarters of the north of England will soon be included in some kind of devolution deal.

Redistributing political power away from London and the south-east is a necessary part of any future growth strategy, and a much-needed response to a loss of faith in Westminster politics. But meaningful devolution requires fiscal as well as political firepower. In the absence of the former, the government’s anaemic levelling up programme has thus far offered only piecemeal and inadequate pots of Westminster funding, delivered on a shamelessly pork-barrel basis.

There are indications that in “trailblazer” deals being negotiated with Mr Burnham and Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, the Sunak government may do more. A departmental-style single grant to local authorities would allow flexibility in determining priorities and strategic goals. But there is a strong case for going further and faster. Currently, around 95p in every £1 paid in tax goes to central government, compared with 69p in decentralised Germany. Granting greater revenue-raising and borrowing powers to local government would be good for democracy and ensure accountability. Comparative research by the OECD has found that decentralisation is positively linked to GDP growth and local investment.

For Labour, which has a rich tradition of municipal radicalism to draw on, there are other compelling reasons to take ownership of a radical devolution agenda. The decision to put Greater Manchester’s buses back under public control followed an extensive consultation that found the policy to be overwhelmingly popular. In a similar vein, Labour-run city regions can become the vehicle for a belated reversal of the privatisation and hollowing out of the public realm, which began in the Thatcher era.

In his new year speech, Keir Starmer astutely redeployed the Brexit slogan “take back control”, promising greater local powers over transport, employment support, energy, housing, culture and childcare. That message was reiterated last week in Manchester by Ms Nandy. An election commitment to end an era of destructive competition and outsourcing in the provision of public services would be both radical and popular. Combined with ambitious state investment in postindustrial regions to drive the green transition, it can become the cornerstone of a new political settlement for England. Labour should ensure that Greater Manchester’s impending bus revolution is only the start of its own devolution journey.

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Sore throat, smoking anyway. Absurd behaviour for one’s 30s. But I am in Sloane Square, visiting my psychiatrist, and am just one of many smoking women. They fall cleanly into two categories - the rich and lost teenagers who haven’t yet learned to hold a cigarette without affectation, and the older Margaret Thatcher doppelgängers with gravity-defying hair. C and I discussed recently how good Thatcher’s Wikipedia photo is in a sea of unflattering celebrity thumbnails on that site. She seemed to know someone who knew someone at Wikipedia, the photo is that stately. It’s still funny to me that she proudly told the public she needed no more than 4 hours of sleep a night, only to develop life-altering dementia. “She did die in the Ritz, though”, C added, “chic as hell”

There is no good time to take a further step down in SSRI dosage and inflict withdrawal symptoms on loved ones. All I know is that I’d rather it not happen during a trip abroad, because I’d like to be able to paint my feelings, which rules out the tail end of every month til July. There is also no real fool-proof strategy, and visiting a psychiatrist is almost totally useless in this regard. But sometimes it’s nice just to be witnessed by a pro, ready with the scales and a prescription pad if I show sudden signs of emaciation or psychosis. She tells me my whole former eating disorder team has retired except for her, and that they’re all owners of multiple dogs. I hope for everybody’s sake that a new set of specialists comes to take their place. But hopefully this is no longer any of my business. I tell the psychiatrist I’m going knife shopping, and that she shouldn’t worry, which makes it sound like she should worry. I wonder if I stabbed a bunch of people as a result of the next decrease in milligrams, whether my psychiatrist would fight my corner in court. I also make a mental note to ask V or someone else to confiscate my bank cards for a few key days. Who knows what I might buy to score some off-label serotonin. Perhaps it’s a conservatorship I want, after all

There are no knives I like in the end, and instead I buy a knife sharpener to make the most of what I have. I ride the high of how sensible this was all the way home. By the time I’m back it’s both too late to go to the studio and too earth to unwind for the evening. I plug in and learn how to use the TV in my bedroom, mainly checking that Curb Your Enthusiasm is watchable at the click of a button. I read, I update computers, I practice playing my own songs on guitar. A is in a session with an electronic musician so I go without a call, and instead search for the exact address of a childhood friend’s house using her father’s name and Companies House records. I remember every inch of the home’s interior and grounds since it was the biggest and fanciest house I’d ever been in at the time. I threw up there due to food poisoning, and I drove a small motorbike into a hedge that scratched me up very badly. In the end I find the house, predictably on a street that Google street view refuses to cover. It was sold in 2007, shortly after my friend’s mother died of cancer. It hasn’t been sold since, and the only picture online is a grainy one from the English historical buildings website. It is 2am when I am through, but I have no regrets, only a vague urge to move to Hampshire because that mansion is valued at half what I paid for my current home

By Friday I still feel like garbage and I sleep til noon. I cold plunge and drag myself to the studio, paint for an hour, and gratefully welcome V over. She tells me the Venice Biennale headlines, relays the hellish nature of what she calls “art flights”, where everybody from our industry books the same itinerary to and from a big event, and so the plane cabin is full of people you do your best to avoid at sea level. She found herself on the dance floor with two professional enemies at two separate parties, and this prompts a bit in which we pretend to be dancing seductively while loudly chastising someone for their shady art dealing behaviour. “YOU RESOLD YOUR MURILLO IN 2012”, V yells while doing the Macarena. “THE CONSIGNMENT DIDN’T REFLECT YOUR BEST WORK”, I scream while twisting my body around with my arms in the air. We collapse in laughter. V leaves to go to a collector’s house and I walk to the tube between rain showers. I still do not feel good, and I wish whichever virus plans to develop would take hold before New York

Later at night, the police are at my door investigating an “incident” that took place in the square an hour prior. Did I hear any screaming? the police officer asks. I tell him no more than usual, and that the one time I did hear real screams it was an independent film being shot. He takes my name and date of birth, and I forget how strangely good it feels to talk to a policeman when you haven’t committed a crime. I suddenly want him to ask me more questions, as many questions as he can. I also notice that he is younger than me, and I can’t recall when I became older than law enforcement. I guess I could find someone in every branch of the public sector that I was born before. But then again these jobs are so legitimate compared to mine, they will probably always feel like the grown ups

Introduction As NATO approaches its 75th anniversary, the importance of this alliance has never been more evident. From countering the Russian threat to addressing the evolving challenges posed by China and Iran, NATO remains a cornerstone of global security. In this blog post, we delve into the critical role NATO…

It's time for another State of the Thatcher Address. I tried writing this earlier, but I just ran out of time. But now you get it here, with my latest updates on what's happening in the Thatcherverse.

Last month I talked about being behind on my writing. The good news is I've caught up. And I've got a lot of fun stuff planned for you, which I'll mention specifically below.

This month I need to lead off with the fact I have books up for several awards and you can help me win. The 2023 Golden Pigtails is a series of erotica awards hosted by Alexa Sommers. The categories aren't necessarily great fits for my books, but this is my first time being involved. Check out the awards and you can vote for your favorites. This is the semifinals. Voting in this round goes through February 14.

2023 Golden Pigtails: https://alexasommers.com/the-golden-pigtails-2023-semifinals/

A quick reminder that you can find my books on Amazon, Smashwords, Google Play Books, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Everand. You can also read everything I've published under my Sadie Thatcher name since last May on Ream, which is a subscription platform built specifically for authors. You can check out my Ream page below.

Ream: https://reamstories.com/sadiethatcher

And speaking of Ream, I have a Ream exclusive novel called The Muse (extreme dollification) that is approaching completion. I've set new chapters to release twice per week (Tuesdays and Fridays). When not writing new stories, I'm spending my time writing The Muse.

However, as soon as I finish The Muse, I will redirect that free time toward my other pen name, Libby Feron. As Libby, I write modern fantasy romance. I'll have a free novella available to prepare for a new trilogy that I hope to publish this year. The trilogy will be focused on a previously introduced character as she heads off to a college for magical people. I don't talk about my fantasy writing often, so checking out https://libbyferon.com/ and signing up for the email newsletter is the best way to stay informed. And that free novella will be exclusive to newsletter subscribers, so you'll want to sign up for that.

Now to focus on this month's upcoming books. In addition to the ending of The Muse, I will be finishing the Protest Babes Series. At the time of this address, the third book hasn't been published yet, but it will be called Vexing the Vixen. I've also just started an auction themed series, understandably titles the Bimbo Auction Series with Ring in the Bimbo. A ring plays an important role. A pair of panties and a hairbrush will be important in the other books in the series.

Some of the other upcoming books I've got in the pipeline for this month is a series based on a future glimpse that will lead women toward bimbodom. And then the one I'm really excited for, which won't see the light until the very end of the month is a series inspired by the time loop in the movie Groundhog Day. I considered moving it up to coincide with the holiday, but I decided against it, because other than the time loop inspiration, the movie and the series will have little in common.

So that's what you can expect in February. It's a packed month, especially because there are only 29 days (yay leap year). My favorite part is how sunset occurs later every day. That's true in January, too, but it's less noticeable.

Have a sexy and bimbo-filled February!

Defending Britain in a More Dangerous World

Grant Shapps' Vision for National Security

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps recently delivered a compelling speech at Lancaster House in London, addressing the evolving threats facing Britain and the measures needed to ensure national security. Reflecting on the past, Shapps drew parallels with the optimism of the post-Cold War era, noting how contemporary threats differ significantly from those of the past.   The Following is the Exact Speech as Delivered Thirty-five years ago, Margaret Thatcher gave a short speech here in Lancaster House. She spoke of her optimism about the changes taking place between East and West. Barely two weeks later the Berlin Wall fell. It was the dawn of a new era. Existential threats were banished. And a new global feel good factor spread to Defence. This was the age of the peace dividend. The notion that while our defences should be maximised at times of tension they could be minimised in times of peace. Conflict didn’t disappear of course. But with no great power menacing the continent, peace gave the impression of being just around the corner. Yet, not everyone got the memo. In fact our adversaries were mobilising. The belligerent autocratic state was making a comeback - havin got away with the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Putin launched his brutal invasion of Ukraine eight years later. And as Russia continues its illegal campaign in Ukraine, China is assessing whether the West loses its patience. Today, Russia and China have been joined by new nuclear, and soon to be nuclear, powers. North Korea promising to expand its own nuclear arsenal. And then there is Iran, whose enriched uranium is up to 83.7%, a level at which there is no civilian application. Back in the days of the Cold War there remained a sense that we were dealing with rational actors. But these new powers are far more unstable, and irrational. Can we really assume the strategy of Mutually Assured Destruction that stopped wars in the past will stop them in future, when applied to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard or North Korea? I am afraid we cannot. Particularly since there is now another new worrying consideration: Our adversaries are now more connected with each other. For example, we have seen how Iranian proxies are causing havoc from Israel to the Red Sea. That Russia has what the two countries describe as a “no limits partnership” with China - with whom they conduct regular joint exercises. Meanwhile, Putin is relying on Iranian drones and North Korean ballistic missiles to fuel his illegal bombardment in Ukraine. With friends like these, the world is becoming more dangerous and has done in recent years. But the other threats that plagued the start of the 21st century haven’t gone away. The spectre of terrorism and threats from non-state actors, as October 7 showed, still haunts the civilised world. Put it all together, and these combined threats risk tearing apart the rules-based international order – established to keep the peace after the Second World War. Today’s world then, is sadly far more dangerous. With the UN reporting that we are facing the highest number of violent conflicts since the Second World War. Now some argue these threats are not existential to the UK. And yet, what happens elsewhere, quickly happens here. In the past few years we’ve seen terror attacks on the streets of London, attempted assassinations in Salisbury, theft of Intellectual Property, attempted interference in our political processes, a cost-of-living crisis, brought to you by Putin, that’s hurting families here at home. And now, our trade. 90 per cent of which comes by sea, is the target of terrorists. Proving that not only do our adversaries have the intent to target us but they have a widening array of weapons with which to wreak havoc. In our online world our adversaries don’t need to jump in a tank board a sub or strap into a fighter jet to hurt us. Cyber warfare simply means hacking into our networks and watching the economic carnage unfold. Last year, almost a third of businesses in the UK suffered a cyber breach or attack. And the total cost to the UK economy runs into billions. We know significant numbers of these attacks come from Russia and China where they are also developing satellite killing technology, capable of degrading us from space. Even mass migration can be cynically used against us as a weapon of war, as Poland, Norway, and Finland have been experiencing. In other words, nation states plus non-state actors with greater connections between them plus more creative weapons all adds up to more trouble for the world. Over the last decade this government has made great strides to turn the Defence tanker around. The refreshes of the Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper have been instrumental in ensuring Britain is defended in this more dangerous world. We’ve uplifted our defence spending – investing billions into modernising our Armed Forces and bringing in a raft of next generation capabilities, from new aircraft carriers to F35s; from new drones to Dreadnought submarines; from better trained troops; to the creation of a national cyber force. And when the world needed us, we have risen to the moment. Giving Ukraine our unwavering support and galvanising others to their cause, including with our biggest ever funding package, announced last week. Taking action, we work to stamp out the global ambitions of Daesh. We’ve acted at the forefront of global responses to maintain regional stability after October 7th by sending a Royal Navy Task Group, a company of Royal Marines, surveillance planes and lifesaving aid to Gaza. And taking a lead role within global forces to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. Not only that but we’ve strengthened Britain’s place in the world with expanded partnerships from the Gulf to the Indo-Pacific. We’re playing a major part in stirring the West into a renewed commitment to defence, using our 2014 NATO summit in Newport to bring Alliance nations together to stop the rot, by committing to spending 2 per cent of GDP on Defence. Today, for the very first time this government is spending more than £50bn a year on Defence in cash terms, more than ever before. And we have made the critical decision to set out our aspiration to reach 2.5% of GDP spent on defence. And as we stabilise and grow the economy, we will continue to strive to reach it as soon as possible. But now is the time for all allied and democratic nations across the world to do the same. And ensure their defence spending is growing. Because, as discussed, the era of the peace dividend is over. In five years’ time we could be looking at multiple theatres involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Ask yourselves – looking at today’s conflicts across the world - is it more likely that the number grows, or reduces? I suspect we all know the answer – it’s likely to grow. So, 2024 must mark an inflexion point. For Ukraine, this will be a year when the fate of their nation may be decided. For the world, this will be the greatest democratic year in history with nearly half of the world’s population going to the polls. And for the UK it must also be a moment to decide the future of our national defences. The choice is stark. Some people, especially on the left, have a tendency to talk Britain down. They believe Britain can no longer have the power to influence world events. That we should somehow shrink into ourselves and ignore what’s happening beyond our shores. I passionately believe these unpatriotic, Britain belittling doom-mongers are simply wrong. Their way would lead us sailing blindly into an age of autocracy. So we must make a different choice. And the history of our great island nation shows us the way. Britain has often accomplished the seemingly impossible before. Our history is littered with moments when we faced down the threat and triumphed. But looking ahead, we are in a new era and we must be prepared to deter our enemies, lead our allies, and defend our nation. In terms of deterrence, it’s about the UK gaining a strategic advantage over our enemies. The foundation of that advantage is, of course, our nuclear enterprise. At a time of mounting nuclear danger, our continuous at sea deterrent provides the ultimate protection. And that’s why we are spending around £31bn to bring in next generation Dreadnought submarines and upgrade our deterrent. In a more contested world, we need to bring that same goal of deterrence to our conventional forces – so we have made modernisation a critical priority. Taking the long-term capability decisions we need to transform our Armed Forces into a formidable deterrent. Enabling them to maintain the UK’s strategic advantage and empowering them to be able to deliver the outcomes we need in multiple theatres at once. The growing success of that work was powerfully shown last week when, in less than 24 hours, the UK was able to both take action to defend ourselves against the Houthis and uplift our support to Ukraine to new record levels. If Putin thought we’d be distracted by the events in the Middle East then last week, because of the long-term decisions this government has taken, his hopes were surely dashed. In a complex world, no nation can afford to go it alone, so we must continue strengthening our alliances so the world knows they cannot be broken. Defence is in many ways the cornerstone of our relations across the world. Our world leading Armed Forces, cutting-edge industrial base and willingness to support our allies is the reason why Britain is the partner of choice for so many. And among our partnerships, NATO remains pre-eminent. 75 years after its foundation, today NATO is bigger than ever. But the challenges are bigger too. That’s why the UK has committed nearly the totality of our air, land and maritime assets to NATO. But, in 2024, I am determined to do even more. Which is why I can announce today that UK will be sending some 20,000 personnel to lead one of NATO’s largest deployments since the end of the Cold War, Exercise Steadfast Defender. It will see our military joining forces with counterparts from 30 NATO countries plus Sweden, providing vital reassurance against the Putin menace. Our carrier strike group will be out in full force, with our magnificent flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth leading the way. And flying from her decks will be the fifth generation F35 lightning jets, accompanied by a fearsome phalanx of frigates, destroyers and helicopters. We’ll also have a submarine patrolling the depths and one of our Poseidon P8 aircraft conducting surveillance from the skies above, and more than 400 of our brilliant Royal Marines will be training in the Artic Circle, contending with some of the toughest environments anywhere on the planet. On land, we’ll be deploying over 16,000 soldiers, led by our 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team which superbly led our recent response in Kosovo. All of which, makes this our largest deployment of land forces to NATO for 40 years. But NATO is only part of our rich tapestry of partnerships. And this government has taken bold decisions to embark on the partnerships we need to defend ourselves from a more dangerous world. We are rapidly building our AUKUS partnership. And last month I signed our Global Combat Air Partnership (or GCAP) with Japan and Italy. These projects are not just about building nuclear powered subs, sixth generation fighter planes, and innovating in all forms of Defence. They are about sharpening our strategic edge so we can maintain our advantage over our adversaries. They are precisely the deep relationships needed to preserve national and regional security. And they’re emblematic of the way we will work in the future. But it’s not enough to deter. We must lead. Standing up for our values around the world. And Ukraine is a test case. This year, its future may well be decided. Valiant Ukrainian warriors have had incredible success pushing back invading Russian forces, retaking 50 per cent of the territory stolen by Russia, opening up a maritime passage in the Black Sea. But the West must not let them down. British leadership has already had a galvanising effect. We’ve convened some 10 countries to help Ukrainians train here in the UK. And today I can announce that our programmes have now trained over 60,000 Ukrainian troops since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Last month, I launched a new maritime coalition with Norway to defend Ukraine’s maritime flank. Since then, over 20 partner nations have joined that coalition. But the international community cannot let this support slip. Putin believes the West lacks staying power. And since the future of the world order is at stake, we must prove him wrong. Rewarding his war with victory would only increase the risk of escalation. Not only because he’s hell bent on rebuilding the Russian empire. But because it would signal weakness to other would-be aggressors. That is why on Friday the Prime Minister signed the historic UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation. The start of a 100-year alliance that we are building with our Ukrainian friends. It sees us increasing our military support to £2.5bn – taking the total of UK military aid to more than £7bn. With even more gifted directly from the UK’s equipment inventory. £200m will be pressed into producing and procuring thousands of drones, including surveillance and long-range strike drones. This continues the UK’s proud record as a leading donor - always being the first to get Ukraine exactly what they need. The UK was the first to provide Ukraine with weapons training, the first to provide NLAW anti-tank missiles, the first to give modern tanks, the first to send long range missiles. Now we will become the largest provider of drones too. These will be manufactured here in the UK in tandem with international partners, helping to enhance our unmanned vehicle capabilities at home too. But our new agreement with Ukraine is about so much more than money. It formalises our support in everything from intelligence sharing and cyber security to medical and military training. And it sees us taking the first giant step towards a century long partnership. Britain understands that the battle in Ukraine is existential, it proves there is no such thing as an isolated conflict. And that to shore up the international order, we must be able to act globally. So, just as we were there to help evacuate British citizens from Sudan last year, just as we are working with partners to ensure the territorial integrity of our Commonwealth ally Guyana, we have also been a critical part of the US-led international operation to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Some 15 per cent of the world’s shipping passes through these narrow shipping lanes. But the Houthis have persistently violated the law by menacing commercial vessels in the region. In the Red Sea we have seen how our brilliant Royal Navy had to act to defend itself against the intolerable and growing number of Houthi attacks. And earlier this month the world sent a very clear message to the Iranian-backed Houthis. End your illegal and unjustified actions. Stop risking innocent lives. Cease threatening the global economy. We could not have been clearer with our warnings, which they chose to ignore. And enough was enough. So last Thursday, the Prime Minister and I authorised RAF precision strikes using four RAF Typhoon FGR4s and supported by two Voyager air refuelling tankers. The result is the Houthis have been dealt a blow. Our decisive response in the Red Sea and our uplift in support for Ukraine offer a direct blueprint for how the UK must continue to lead in the future. Offering our unwavering support to our allies, and in times of struggle galvanising global responses to any malign actor seeking to break the rules based international order, and acting decisively when the moment calls for us to defend ourselves. So, deter and lead, which brings me to the final essential element of being prepared. Defending our nation. If we are to defend our homeland, we must ensure our entire defence eco-system is ready. Firstly, we must make our industry more resilient to empower us to re-arm, re-supply and innovate far faster than our opponents. There’s a huge opportunity here for British industry. The UK has long been a by-word for pioneering technologies. We gave the world radar, the jet-engine and the world wide web. We’ve not lost that spark of creativity. On the contrary, today the UK is one of only three $1 trillion tech economies. But just imagine what we could do if we managed to better harness that latent inspiration, ingenuity and invention for the Defence of our nation? Just think about the game-changing tech we could supply to our brave men and women. From the pilots ready to scramble at a moment’s notice to the soldiers protecting NATO’s flanks from Putin’s fury. To the sailors deployed across the seven seas to secure our prosperity. To our absolutely essential Royal Marine Commandos, without whom we could not properly defend our nation. To those you will never see and never know but who are out there, giving their all, on your behalf. They are the cornerstone of our defence and we owe them an unimaginable debt of gratitude. Which is why my commitment to getting them what they deserve is iron cast. After all, our greatest resource has always been the men and women who work tirelessly to protect our great nation. But to defend our nation from the increasing dangers of tomorrow, they must have what they need to do the job. That’s why this Conservative government has always and has already taken vital steps to increase defence spending, approving the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War – injecting a further £5 billion last year to replenish our stocks and modernise our nuclear enterprise. Delivering the largest cash terms defence budget ever. Spending over £50 billion on the defence of our nation. And just last week, not only maintaining our support to Ukraine but increasing it to its highest level ever. To some the costs may seem steep – but Britain cannot afford to reverse the spending gains we have made. And under this Conservative government we never will. And we will use our influence to ensure other allies and friends, faced with this new reality, and match our commitment. So, we find ourselves at the dawn of a new era. The Berlin Wall a distant memory. And we have come full circle. Moving from a post-war to a pre-war world. An age of idealism has been replaced by a period of hard-headed realism. Today our adversaries are busily rebuilding their barriers. Old enemies are reanimated. New foes are taking shape. Battle lines are being redrawn. The tanks are literally on Europe’s Ukrainian lawn. Read the full article

Addressing a plenary session of the International Russian People’s Council, Putin warned of Western attempts to sow division in the country and attempts to break its territory up along ethnic lines. We have all the Yugoslav’s case in memory when the West started to sow division among the different ethnicities composing the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia mostly after the death of his founder Marechal Tito. By denouncing Russophobia and other forms of racism and neo-Nazism becoming almost the official ideology of the Western ruling elites, Russian president aims right and names the things by their names. Russophobia doesn’t date from today, it is going back to the Bolshevik Revolution, and to the era of the USSR viewed as real threat to centuries of western hegemony and colonialism. Racism doesn’t date from today, it is going back to the end of the 19th century and even before, to the so called the century of Enlightenment (Siècle des Lumières) in the 18th century. The revival of neo Nazism goes back to the early 1970s with the nihilist surge of American conservative Revolution incarnated by Pinochet’s Chicago boys, the seizure of power by neo conservatives forces and parties, Reagan in the USA and Thatcher in GB. Concerning the western project to dismember Russia, it is not new as the plan to dismantle Russia goas back to the Bolshevik revolution, the support of the counter revolutionary forces of the White Russians (not to be confused with cocktail based on Vodka and Kahlua, coffee liqueur) to foreign intervention to crush the nascent Bolshevik revolution, and to proceed to the dismemberment of the Soviet Russia. As clearly explained by Alfred Sohn Rettel, who witnessed the rise of Nazi Germany, Hitler’s advent to power was supported by American and European bankers, industrials, corporations and multinationals who had lusted huge Russian underground and its raw materials used for the industries. During the USSR’s era, the collective West established plans aimed at the dismemberment of the big country in the world and the late Helene Carrère d’Encausse from Russian descent, whose family was White Russian, published her book, “L’empire éclaté” “the broken Empire” explaining the way leading to the dismantlement of the USSR by pitting the 130 ethnic groups composing Russia, each against other. Since the launch of the Russian military special operation in Ukraine, numerous meetings organized by US and European think thank, took place in the USA AND Europe, especially in Poland and the Baltic states, with the main objective, how to implode the Russian federation by sowing ethnic discord as it was the case in Yugoslavia, in Iraq, in Libya and in Syria.      

Events 11.15 (after 1970)

1971 – Intel releases the world's first commercial single-chip microprocessor, the 4004. 1976 – René Lévesque and the Parti Québécois take power to become the first Quebec government of the 20th century clearly in favor of independence. 1978 – A chartered Douglas DC-8 crashes near Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 183. 1979 – A package from Unabomber Ted Kaczynski begins smoking in the cargo hold of a flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C., forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. 1983 – Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declares independence; it is only recognized by Turkey. 1985 – A research assistant is injured when a package from the Unabomber addressed to a University of Michigan professor explodes. 1985 – The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed at Hillsborough Castle by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Irish Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald. 1987 – In Brașov, Romania, workers rebel against the communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. 1987 – Continental Airlines Flight 1713 crashes during takeoff from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, killing 25. 1988 – In the Soviet Union, the uncrewed Shuttle Buran makes its only space flight. 1988 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: An independent State of Palestine is proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council. 1988 – The first Fairtrade label, Max Havelaar, is launched in the Netherlands. 1990 – The Communist People's Republic of Bulgaria is disestablished and a new republican government is instituted. 1994 – A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits the central Philippine island of Mindoro, killing 78 people, injuring 430 and triggering a tsunami up to 8.5 m (28 ft) high. 2000 – A chartered Antonov An-24 crashes after takeoff from Luanda, Angola, killing more than 40 people. 2000 – Jharkhand officially becomes the 28th state of India, formed from eighteen districts of southern Bihar. 2001 – Microsoft launches the Xbox game console. 2002 – Hu Jintao becomes General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and a new nine-member Politburo Standing Committee is inaugurated. 2003 – The first day of the 2003 Istanbul bombings, in which two car bombs, targeting two synagogues, explode, kill 25 people and wound 300 more. 2006 – Al Jazeera English launches worldwide. 2007 – Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 5,000 people and destroying parts of the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. 2012 – Xi Jinping becomes General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and a new seven-member Politburo Standing Committee is inaugurated. 2013 – Sony releases the PlayStation 4 (PS4) game console. 2016 – Hong Kong's High Court bans elected politicians Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung from the city's Parliament. 2020 – Lewis Hamilton wins the Turkish Grand Prix and secures his seventh drivers' title, equalling the all-time record held by Michael Schumacher. 2022 – The world population reached eight billion.

A-T-3 228 Project Future - Ray-Gun-Omics

Ray-Gun-Omics by Project Future is probably best known in the UK for its appearance on Electro 1 the beloved Street Sounds compilation series

It was written and produced by the team behind George Clinton's Atomic Dog and Loopzilla, namely David Spradley, Ted Currier, and Rahni Harris, along with David and Debbie Sandridge of the Dayton funk group Dayton. Rahni Harris and Ted Currier had worked on Dayton's Hot Fun and Feel The Music albums and before Atomic Dog the Xavier project (Work That Sucker To Death) with Bootsy Collins and George Clinton

Sadly Ted Currier passed away the other day. Before was a writer, arranger, and producer Ted Currier had been an influential radio DJ in New York. His innovative mixes were the inspiration for Shep Pettibone's Mastermixes

Ray-Gun-Omics is a riff on Reaganomics, Ronald Reagan's disastrous economic policies of increased defence spending and reduced government spending as preached by Milton Friedman. Grand Master Flash And The Furious Five's global hit The Message had come out the year before, it wasn't the first conscious rap record but it was the first to sell well. From Gill Scott-Heron to The Last Poets overtly political tracks like Ray-Gun-Omics were well established

The other week I read Robert Lekachman's Capitalism For Beginners comic book, I've read the series since I was a kid and I was surprised I'd not read Capitalism, what interested me was it had been published in 1981 (and it only cost 50p) which was Margret Thatchers first term and the year Reagan becomes 40th president of the United States

Before I get into why I believe Capitalism For Beginners is still relevant (for beginners) I want to mention another book, albeit an unfinished one. In the 1920s and throughout the 30s at roughly the same time Fredrick Hayek is writing papers that will influence monetarism, the economic policy of Thatcher and Reagan, Walter Benjamin is working on his Arcades Project. Benjamin saw the Paris arcades, the city's first shopping malls built not long after the French Revolution in the early nineteenth century to serve the burgeoning middle-class and upper-class, as the origin of and a way of seeing the present (Benjamin was influential in the work of John Berger.) Benjamin identifies the heyday of the Paris arcades as birthplace of consumerism and ephemerality, the arcades sold fashions to service our dreams and seduce our momentary desires. What the people who walked the Paris arcades in the early nineteenth century wouldn't have known at the time was that most of the arcades would be demolished within fifty years, 24 of over 150 remain, this was just a fleeting moment necessary for capitalism, fashions become passé, the once highly fashionable arcades that were left soon became old fashioned. Historical enquiry can reveal something about ourselves. In the last two or three decades property developers have realised the two hundred year old Paris arcades can achieve premium rents. Nostalgia, uniqueness, and 19th century grandeur are all assets to tourism in an age of irresponsibly cheap flights and weekend get aways, when most cities look remarkably like each other (the arcades are featured in magazines and newspapers around the world.) The tarting up of the façades of the Paris arcades are also the result of financialisation that begun in the 1980s and the consequential deindustrialization of many European cities (especially France and the UK)

I write a blog about music from 40-years-ago I do this because I want to understand the present. The same can be said for why I enjoyed reading a super simple comic book on capitalism written over 42-years-ago. As I've mentioned Capitalism For Beginners was written as Thatcher was implementing monetarism in the UK to deal with stagflation, like today inflation was high, it had been rarely below 10% for a few years and was at 15% when Thatcher got in. The book tries to address the future of capitalism and it predicts what happened while Thatcher was PM pretty well, privatisation, corporate government partnerships, increased profits to investors, offshoring and exploitation of tax loopholes, new private monopolies, tax benefits and securities for corporations, the destruction of unions, rising unemployment, the bare minimum of welfare if you're not already rich or a corporation, redistribution of income away from labour towards property leading to abundant supply and inadequate purchasing power, the myth of trickle-down economics. Blair's reforms are also predicted as a hybrid form of monetarism and even Brexit and Trump and the immigrant shaped scapegoat. Lekachman didn't foresee the full damage of monetarism though, over a decade of austerity, short term planning and long term defunding; revolving doors between government, financial institutions, and the media; precarious job security, zero hours contracts, fire and rehire, and the gig economy; abandonment of unprofitable infrastructure maintenance; risks and costs paid for by the public and profits funnelled board members, shareholders, corporations and consortiums; a sluggish often hostile response to climate uncertainty. As a final caveat the writer comments that when capitalism can no longer satisfy the interests of working people they will become more politically engaged and demand for better. But Lekachman didn't count on news reporting becoming entertainment, serious mainstream journalism disappearing, and the public becoming increasingly politically illiterate. Monetarism is commonly associated with neoliberalism. It's astonishing to think we've had almost fifty years of neoliberalism, despite regular crises. Capitalism's golden era after WW2 didn't last much more than twenty years

Project Future

With a general election sometime in the next 17 months and inflation still high both the UK's main political parties are laying out economic visions for the country. These visions are weak and uncreative. It sounds to my ears that the leaders of our political parties are saying there is no alternative than make everyone poorer and the rich richer. There is an alternative though, tax the rich. Why has this been thrown out by both Sir Keir and billionheir Sunak? Talk of a wage-price spiral is convenient for a government faced with angry doctors, nurses, teachers and all the other professions who are now demanding wage increases inline with inflation after years of seeing their wages fall to the point where they are not covering the cost of living. The reality is the vicious circle is between prices and profits, to say that we are in a cost of living crisis is as helpful as Sunak saying the credit card has been maxed out, we are in a profit crisis, where's the fiscal responsibility in that Sir Keir?

Like the monetarists Sunak believes in market freedom (which isn't really free if you take in all the tax breaks and lobbying, offshoring, second jobs by members of parliament etc) he's not about to intervene and do the sensible thing by introducing price controls and enforcing regulatory action to curb monopoly power and financial speculation. I've heard people say maybe Labour will do this in their second term but that sounds suspicious

The City says we need to squeeze more out of the public. After thirteen years of austerity is there anything more to squeeze? Jeremy Hunt has admitted a recession is an acceptable price to pay to to bring inflation down and both the government and Bank of England have no qualms about deliberately putting peoples livelihoods at risk... that Sunak's approach to the economy is called Market Moralism is a sick joke

Explain how ecocide is causing genocide, particularly on-going colonial racial genocide in UKanada today.

Canada's tar sands destruction so vast and deep it challenges the existence of land and people

Inside Climate News Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonpartisan reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet. Nicholas Kusnetz 21 November 2021  

"Ecocide refers to the destruction of ecosystems and the natural environment, often as a result of human activity. The consequences of ecocide can be far-reaching and devastating, and one of the most severe impacts is on human populations. In Canada, ecocide has been linked to the ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples, who are disproportionately affected by the destruction of the natural environment.

Indigenous peoples in Canada have a deep connection to the land and rely on the natural environment for their physical, cultural, and spiritual survival. The destruction of ecosystems, such as the loss of forests, rivers, and wildlife, has a direct impact on Indigenous communities, affecting their ability to hunt, fish, gather medicines, and practice their traditional ways of life. Ecocide has also been linked to the contamination of traditional foods and water sources, leading to significant health issues for Indigenous communities.

The impact of ecocide on Indigenous peoples is compounded by systemic racism and colonialism, which have led to the dispossession of Indigenous lands, the forced removal of Indigenous peoples from their traditional territories, and the suppression of Indigenous cultures and languages. This has created a context in which Indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to the effects of ecocide and other environmental issues.

In addition to the impact on Indigenous peoples, ecocide also contributes to the wider issue of climate change, which has been linked to an increase in extreme weather events, natural disasters, and displacement of populations. Climate change disproportionately affects marginalized communities, including Indigenous peoples and racialized communities, who are often the most vulnerable to the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change.

Overall, ecocide is a significant contributor to the ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples in Canada, as well as to wider issues of racial injustice and environmental degradation. Addressing ecocide requires recognizing the rights and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples, supporting Indigenous-led initiatives to protect the environment, and transitioning towards sustainable and equitable modes of development."

LINKS

https://lnkd.in/e8r6wWSX https://lnkd.in/e3BktvW2 Explain how ecocide is causing genocide, particularly on-going colonial racial genocide in UKanada today. AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 9 April 2023

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQeVSEbl25uUd3-kSMj64tj87wY_mpJDjnBXWXnF3slad1qMYArXt2MWwJ1nf--VnPDsMFateajHmY3/pub Explain how in the socio-economic divisive tradition of selection underlying State education in the UK, for example by the introduction of State funded, unethical, immoral, inequitable, tripartite Secondary Education, ‘justified’ by the Spens Report 1938, the introduction of The National Curriculum under the Margaret Thatcher Conservative Party ideological regime has continued a similar degrading effect on the moral development of children and society in general by 2023 and has contributed to a Tory-ruled, oppressed population’s worsening social-economic legal inequalities and opportunities in glaring contrast to private, public school, more financially privileged educational provision. AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 27 March 2023

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTkDxqG005OEgby_Noa5SakxcbEa2538YjJN47GcQ_-uj0yW_LP4yXW8yx2gb4jEzWD1G5WWR-diGxw/pub Explain the Institute of Education's perspective about the National Curriculum AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 27 March 2023

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQVVRikrhzEDdkRSpW3ka5DXddhHqwwKCyVZwLpNpBwTR_8uQVSz1hOujlp1YHvs3R-YdZNRkzeNIC7/pub Explain Constitutional Corrosion UK AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 25 March 2023 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/extract-32-evidence-house-commons-may-have-been-ways-pritchard-ma/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vT7TRiznxApuDO-xI8bWMNGFn0gsJai4smtJ0Jp_YMClJiY-1wb_WtlG03SMBOnj2IZ0F00Syfd_e3X/pub EXTRACT "32. There is evidence that the House of Commons may have been misled in the following ways which the Committee will explore: ... Summary of issues to be raised with Mr Johnson. This is a House of Commons Committee report. Fourth Report of Session 2022–23 Matter referred on 21 April 2022 Author: Committee of Privileges inc, Footnotes 21 March 2023 MY INSERT IMAGES

https://unitedforclimate.blogspot.com/  https://labradorleadstheworld.blogspot.com/  https://landprotectorshumanrightsmovement.blogspot.com/ https://muskratfallscivilrightsmovement.blogspot.com/ amplification EXTRACT "32. There is evidence that the House of Commons may have been misled in the following ways which the Committee will explore: ... Summary of issues to be raised with Mr Johnson. This is a House of Commons Committee report. Fourth Report of Session 2022–23 Matter referred on 21 April 2022 Author: Committee of Privileges inc. Footnotes 21 March 2023

Explain The House Of Commons Privileges Committee https://chat.openai.com/  AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 18 March 2023

Explain the integrity of the House Of Commons Privileges Committee AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 18 March 2023 #ai #opensource

9. Harriet Harman @HarrietHarman and Sir Bernard Jenkin @bernardjenkin publish joint article in The Times rebutting press criticism. 16 August 2022Boris Johnson r. at a leaving gathering in the vestibule of the press office of 10 Downing Street in November 2020. Photograph Cabinet Office PA Boris Johnson makes a last-ditch bid to discredit Partygate inquiry.

10. Boris Johnson r. at a leaving gathering in the vestibule of the press office of 10 Downing Street in November 2020. Photograph Cabinet Office PA Boris Johnson makes a last-ditch bid to discredit Partygate inquiry. Ex-prime minister due at televised Commons committee hearing, with legal team about to publish new evidence backing his claims. Michael Savage and Toby Helm 18 March 2023 NOTE Parliament TV on Wednesday 22 March, from 14:00

11. Explain why and in what sort of circumstances an ex-Prime Minister of the UK, whose behaviour is being investigated by the House Of Commons Privileges Committee @HoCPrivileges, should decide to undermine the integrity of that Committee by the actions of his followers. https://chat.openai.com/ AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 19 March 2023 #ai #opensource

12. https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSNTDlVXxak3QfFiECJES8vtw2-ib2jSkjbChn9hzEGNeiqLc5leEx-LdJ_jU4_C1ojCYwYBTP2oPat/pub Explain when an untrustworthy member of the Conservative party is appointed to the post of prime minister it is evidence of a general, corrupt pathocracy that is unfit to govern. AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 19 March 2023 #JohnsonLies #PeopleDie #UnfitForParliament 

13. https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vT1qEQfl1E6Vv-mH12OOnXhRxAWm6OYtfj6FXoecZzO2j9Yvuc-Ll3X5SINLKIm8IPxuEOKVDnjZiDW/pub Explain “Pathocracy” https://chat.openai.com/ AI Open Source GPTchat  Llewelyn Pritchard MA 9 March 2023

14. https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRsidsZXIgvpi4MyYGTyndi1NvOxmOFaVo4jl1YY5Wjq3yDV2VK9WoIpp9Ex5P9VWT7uN6SCet6b6-q/pub Explain in what binding or non-binding circumstance can a serving Conservative Prime Minister of the UK obtain a legal judgement in his favour when the overwhelming burden of proof shows that, for example, by deliberately attending an illegal so-called ‘lockdown party’, by stating that it was the ‘most socially distanced party in the UK’ and as PM not showing due regard nor respect for the ‘lockdown sacrifices’ made by others how he must have known in advance that he would not be following and/or not be legally bound to follow his own Tory government’s parliamentary legislation. 

How, of his own volition, selfishly, unlawfully, willfully, deliberately, irresponsibly he must have known in advance of his attendance at the said party or parties that he could be found guilty of either intentionally, or unintentionally, misleading other Members of Parliament in the House of Commons.  https://chat.openai.com/ AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 15 March 2023 

15. https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTS0o8YZLC7spjMl2eb0B7PYzdgAZwvsD_0wiosTMgXFHxQrZuiWCEnshFFzjJf5_06aH1VCAyUnQq4/pub How can a former prime minister of the UK legally justify his claim that he did not mislead Parliament by claiming he 'didn't know' he was breaking any law by his confirmed attendance at more than one legally forbidden so-called 'Lockdown Parties' where, at one party, he joked about being at ‘UK’s most unsocially distanced party’ during lockdown? The former prime minister made the remarks to No 10 staff at a alcohol-fuelled leaving do claiming the rules and guidance he was responsible for implementing as Prime Minister were followed at all times.  https://chat.openai.com/ AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 15 March 2023 

16. https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRa7JT7H6ntCHAc1CRE70iipwlGUSoIzgXtfSxIrO5vwH5s03QX0g6nDWKCz7yNkbKMsWCQi985REnO/pub Explain what “Misleading Parliament” as interpreted by the House of Commons Privileges Committee, consisting of a Conservative majority of committee members means in the UK.  https://chat.openai.com/ AI Open Source GPTchat  Llewelyn Pritchard MA 9 March 2023 

17. https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQVGF9kKXRTC5ckx0baIfeHU-mBIVocihJRQhY163Qj7DU4LvkSUnlGlsOXwCggW_mnseJ4gN9LyhBX/pub i)  What does “In Contempt of Parliament” and ii) What does any Conservative MP being “In Contempt of Parliament”as interpreted by the House of Commons Privileges Committee, consisting of a Conservative majority of committee members mean in the UK? AI Open Source GPTchat  Llewelyn Pritchard MA 9 March 2023

18. https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSmgY_jXBaK8kGl2uS4LZwGaLyMQKFyyPr3OTXVdmfNusH2PsuxqJs4fMhyCxkYPE_umOfPh4mdjVvf/pub "Tory Sleaze" in Context of Boris Johnson's Government Explained with Evidence https://chat.openai.com/  AI Open Source GPTchat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 9 March 2023 @HoCPrivileges

19. https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQVVRikrhzEDdkRSpW3ka5DXddhHqwwKCyVZwLpNpBwTR_8uQVSz1hOujlp1YHvs3R-YdZNRkzeNIC7/pub Explain Constitutional Corrosion UK AI Open Source GPT Chat Llewelyn Pritchard MA 25 March 2023

20. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/johnsons-contempt-could-his-undoing-boris-johnson-has-pritchard-ma/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS9DwcqEF7RnOGvPpRwtvLG4YnKCMu-KQ46ZFtqVIwSK1BUYsYD74jzfgvda2524RZYGK60PSmy0ggK/pub https://lnkd.in/e7bQpr5v https://lnkd.in/ea2BYWdN JOHNSON'S CONTEMPT COULD BE HIS UNDOING: Boris Johnson has dug his own political grave with his and his cronies unforgivable attack on Parliament. However, an even worst threat to Johnson comes as a result of his own unethical, criminal behaviour when Foreign Secretary regarding Russian interference in our EU referendum and from his evil efforts to achieve a ‘Constitutional Corrosion’ of Parliamentary Standards taken straight out of the Donald Trump playbook.

Acknowledgement Ian Dunt @IanDunt 24 March 2023