Morning music
On this day a year ago
Southend West by-election result
Hardly worth blogging about the result of the Southend West result but, for the record, the Conservative Party candidate won as expected, and with 86.1% of the vote, though on a pathetic turnout of 24%, and without the other main System parties standing: Labour, LibDem, and also Greens, absented themselves from the contest.
All other candidates lost their deposits. The second-placed was some character who wants drug decriminalization, and called himself the Psychedelic Party. His vote-share was 3.4%.
As for the “nationalist” candidates, Steve Laws (UKIP)— 2.7%; Catherine Blaiklock (English Democrats)— 2.2%; Jayda Fransen— 2%. Bearing in mind that this was the ideal chance to pick up protest votes, pretty unimpressive.
The real “protest vote” was the fact that 76% of those eligible to vote abstained. In fact, the abstainers together with those who voted for candidates other than the Con candidate comprised over 90% of those eligible to vote in the by-election.
Hardly “democracy’s” finest hour.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Southend_West_by-election#Results
Other thoughts arising: as noted previously, that England does not have any credible social-national or even conservative-nationalist party, and that, that being so, the voters treat the underwhelming candidates that do exist (and stand in elections) with, not even contempt, but indifference.
Tweets seen
As I blogged a day or two ago, unlikely but not impossible.
A puzzle. Reach for the sky!
Inflation
When the present UK government started to throw money at the “panicdemic”, paying millions to stay home, paying businesses which otherwise might go into insolvency, the msm “experts” all applauded Indian “clever boy” Rishi Sunak and, of course, Boris-idiot. A few voices worried about the inflationary effects, but they were treated as near idiots. Peter Hitchens was one of the few inthe ranks of msm scribblers.
Almost everyone seemed to think that the “furlough” holiday season was cost-free. Now look. True, energy prices are from another direction, but the rest can be laid at the door of the effective devaluation of the currency. Now we read that inflation may reach 7%! A couple of years ago it was 2%.
Still think that all those furlough payments, “eat out to help out”, and business support schemes came at no cost? If you do, what can I say or suggest? That you should stand outside your house and clap until told to stop?
Historical discovery
Chaos at Downing Street
What interests me about the latest nonsense around Boris-idiot is that, as the “advisers” depart, how few are English, or even really British. Just as in the Cabinet. I note the names: Rosenfield, Narozanski, Mirza…
More Tweets
Clever of the Russian Government to focus on the weakest point of the present UK Govt., i.e. competence or, more pointedly, incompetence.
If so, Moscow must have changed much since I was last there. On my (only two) visits there (1993 and 2007), the same thought occurred to me: Moscow is not a comfortable or convenient city. It is not even a question of money spent; whether you pay out plenty or not, everything conspires to make you feel dissatisfied.
As a matter of fact, I found it easier to get by there, on a daily basis, in 1993, than on a later fairly brief visit in 2007.
The post-1945 order in Europe fell to pieces after 1989. Russia now has the chance to reset the post-1989 agenda, but that means, inter alia, seizing Eastern Ukraine, Kiev, and the Black Sea littoral. So far, the tanks have not started to roll. It is now —within the next weeks— or never, probably.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.“
[Shakespeare, Julius Caesar]
Literary note:
“Brutus and Cassius are discussing the final phase of their civil war with the forces of Octavian and Marcus Antonius. Cassius has been urging that they group their forces at Sardis and take advantage of the secure location to catch their breath. Brutus, however, advocates heading off the enemy at Philippi before Octavian can recruit more men. Brutus’s main point is that, since “the enemy increaseth every day” and “We, at the height, are ready to decline” (lines 216–217), he and Cassius must act now while the ratio of forces is most advantageous. “There’s a tide in the affairs of men,” he insists; that is, power is a force that ebbs and flows in time, and one must “go with the flow.” Waiting around only allows your power to pass its crest and begin to ebb; if the opportunity is “omitted” (missed), you’ll find yourself stranded in miserable shallows.” [Shakespeare Quotes]
London (zoo)
More tweets
Russia today is not the old Soviet Union, with its worldwide hegemonic aims, and its Marxist-Leninist ideology; it is basically defensive. However, a basically defensive strategy can include specific offensive capabilities and operations. The point is that the “West”, particularly Western Europe, and Central Europe, has nothing to fear from Russia unless Russia is attacked or provoked too far.
Late tweets
Late music
Ian Robert Millard 