The last day was, of course, back in December. But for some reason these photos slipped down my mental rabbit hole. So here goes, the memory has not gone completely.
I start with the US elections and then as to what is happening and what will happen in the Ukraine war. On both counts the British media are lying to us all. Russia is winning but it is making ground so slowly and at such a cost that threats that it will be in Kiev, let along Poland, if we do not hand over more cash and arms are just untrue. Meanwhile Trump is still a hot favourite to win.
As you may have guessed it is, in fact, my youngest kids Jaya and Joshua. They had a great old time while I looked at all the unhealthly food on offer with diabetic envy. I have, however, said to the Mrs that if Ireland win today in the rugby I shall have a small celebratory drink, a Bushmills, “protestant whiskey” which would be my first booze since early January.
If, or should that be when, President Putin stops an opponent being on the ballot the world rightly cries foul. The Iranians try the same trick and we are united in condemning this bastardisation of democracy. But in the USA Democrats are prepared to cheat to steal the biggest election of all. Who says so? The Supreme Court said just that today.
If you fancy a holiday in the Greek countryside, two miles from the nearest house in a luxurious poolside villa, I can help you. The Eco palace we have restored over the past decade, in the Mani will be 100 years old this year and has, as you can see below, been completely renovated. The pool will be warm by May and will stay warm until late October so the smart holidaymaker still has six weeks of off peak bookings available and here are direct flights to Kalamata throughout that period. As of now there are still vacancies in May, two weeks in June and a week free in both August and September with 12 days unbookedin October.
Nikki Haley has won a primary contest, the first woman ever to win a Republican Primary. The BBC, where all reporters suffer from acute #TrumpDerangementSyndrome, had a collective knicker wet and pondered whether this meant the Donald Trump bandwagon was off the rails. Fear not. It is not. The BBC, as you might expect, ignore little things called facts.
In this podcast i cover what is happening on the front line in Ukraine, the panicked and illogical reaction in the West, how a Trump win would force Ukraine’s hand, the Michigan Primaries and the latest polls all of which point more and more to a Trump win in November, what could derail that and what could make it more certain.
If one listens to the political and media classes there have now been five days of non-stop coverage of Islamophobia which, we are told, is the big issue we must deal with. Of course, it is wrong and must be condemned but here are a few statistics for you to ponder. Let us start with anti-semitic incidents recorded in the wake of the October 7 pogrom.
What a pathetic country we have become. Someone living entirely on welfare in the UK is in the top 2.5% of global earners but today we read that 15% of UK households were so poor that last month they had to skip at least one meal a day. Really? 4.5 million households? 11 million people?
In the spring of 2022 Ukraine and Russia were ready to start Turkey/Israeli brokered peace talks. But, facing the partygate crisis at home, Boris Johnson bullied Ukraine to fight on. Almost two years later the Ukrainians have lost nearly all of the meagre gains they made in the much vaunted 2023 “counter offensive.” And on all fronts Russia is now advancing, taking out the“fortresses” Bakhmut and Avdiivka and village after village across the line. The gains are measured in hundreds of metres a day in each area where fighting is underway. They are not huge on a daily basis and each day sees body bags shipped home to both Kiev and to Moscow on a horrible scale. But Stevie Wonder can see that it is Russia that is advancing. However…
Ghastly lawyer and academic and, almost, permanent guest on low grade daytime TV Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu loves the controversy that comes with her professional race baiting. But at some stage you would hope that her outbursts would be so vile that media bosses will deny her the oxygen of publicity. Maybe the tweet below is that tipping point as she suggests a moral equivalence between ISIS and the IDF, the Israeli Defence Forces. Her cause is Shamima Begiim who ran away agead 15 to join ISIS where she was a willing participant in evil.
I suggest that Call Me Dave does indeed think that we oiks are just plain stupid and bring you, as evidence, a tweet he sent yesterday. It is just such nonsense, such a total canard, but I suspect he thinks if he repeats it often enough, the masses will fall for the lies of the media and political class GroupThink. Yes it is Russia again.
If you have attended for either of the past two years you know what fun it is. My plan is to do at least two more years but we shall see. There are so many variables in life. Anyhow we are all set for 2024 and the date is fixed at Saturday 7th September. We now have a nearly complete speaker line up and it is top notch!
For St. David’s Day, the Pest, aka my son Joshua, has a choice of three Welsh tasks for a school contest. No sheep jokes, he is only seven. And fear not, any English person owning a second home in the village won’t be “coming home to a real fire” though Joshua is a fierce nationalist. That reminds me, it is Ireland vs Wales on Saturday which we will be watching with an Irish family though the Mrs says she will join the kids in rooting for Wales. Traitor. Back to the contest: the task we have chosen is making Bara Brith, a Welsh sort of fruit cake.
I am back with these bonus video shows, this is number 34. In this show I interview one CEO: Ed McDermott of Seed Innovations (SEED) where I am a loyal shareholder with no intention of selling. There are also a stack of macro musings. I hope that you enjoy the show.
