CONSULTING IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM & HOSPITALITY DEVELOPMENT, LECTURING ON CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT MITIGATION, TRAINING, PUBLIC SPEAKING & MARINE CONSERVATION
- HELPING OTHERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE -
Let's think; there are around 40 armed conflicts taking place in the world right now, with 50 countries being run by dictators. There are over 80 million displaced people around the world with more being added all the time and the seas are toxic with heavy chemicals and plastics. There are 41,415 endangered species, 16,306 of which are now facing extinction and between us, we have been heating up the planet by 0.18 degrees C a year since 1981.
So if you were the head of HR for the Galaxy, would you give a job to humans?
Issue 4 - June 2021
Thought for the month:
God invented wars so that Americans would learn geography.
Boris seems to be heading the nonsense ratings these days with his Cummings and Goings, Cathedral wedding, Interior Design quandary (I don't think we'd mind so much if it had been a bit more tasteful!), Covid-19 vacillations (sounds disgusting) and goodness only knows what else.
"Be sure to wash your hands and all will be well."
The next wave...
The long arm of the law...
THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE
Two brazen leaders have again made the news recently. Our cuddly favourite dictator from Belarus and best mate of Vlad, Al Lukashenko, came up with a novel idea to catch his enemies. This has been so well received, that people all over the world are sending him fan mail.
Then of course there's Bibi who, in effort to refocus public opinion away from his 'irregularities', did what all Israeli heads of state do at such times, and provoked another ugly bash with the poor old Palestinians.
Also as usual, America has been backward in coming forward, giving tacit approval to the Israeli right of self-defence. I mean really, does anyone buy this BS? Certainly not the North American Indian community!
Jo Biden seems to be somewhat less bold on this topic than on others he is addressing. Well, no surprise there...
...while Vladimir Putin seems to have made Netanyahu cry!
In other news, France has once again attempted to conquer England, this time by creeping up on the Channel Islands and seeking to blockade Jersey, holding the island and its people for ransom. Not altogether sure why, but probably something to do with fishing. Anyway, the usual result was announced, with Macron having to eat humble fish pie.
PAPAL PRONOUNCEMENT
At last the Pope is getting to grips with the delicate subject of sexual misbehaviour in the church, and about time too.
THE PANDEMIC
I have to confess to being a little confused. Are we actually getting on top of the pandemic now or not? It seems to me that in most countries, cases are soaring once again, nicely coinciding with their respective leaders sounding the all clear...or am I missing something?
And those countries that really do seem to have a grip on things are not allowing anyone in or out, so where does that leave us looking ahead?
Here, I suppose!
Many are advocating that fully vaccinated people must carry a 'passport', or some equally incontestable, globally recognised document to allow them to travel, go into restaurants and hotels, attend large events, etc. This is inevitably meeting with much controversy;
"I know my rights," can be heard echoing around the legislature buildings of most democratic nations.
Offers of support to finding solutions have been tendered by such worldly statesmen as Kim Jong-un,
giving the benefit of his wisdom from his position of strength as being the only country in the world to have so far recorded zero cases of Covid 19. However, only the agricultural industry has so far put forward a practical proposal - tagging.
In the meantime, poorer nations are fighting for vaccines and for the meagre handouts that wealthy nations are drip-feeding them. What an appalling reflection this all is on our species and how little hope there is in the future, if a really nasty virus gets stuck in.
And as the new British Etonian Variant rages, coordinated global leadership is still not to be found.
BEASTIES GROWING UP
A little different to the usual slapstick format, here is a small compilation of nonsense for your pleasure (I hope).
But as they grow up, they develop their own sense of self, becoming more self-assured, even if we cannot always understand them.
Above all else, though, they need reassurance.
Then it's time for them to go out into the world and get a job. Interview can be just as scary though for the interviewer as the interviewee..
Then they become really grown up, live their own lives and become an even bigger pain in the backside than they have been up until now, as exemplified by the Markle Debacle .
...and finally, this may be silly, but doesn't it really hack you off when you buy a product and then you've got to go and get the batteries separately. Well, here's a new twist on this knotty issue.
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT
IN THE BEGINING THERE WAS ‘CORONAGRUMP’ AND THEN THERE WAS ‘THE GRUMP’. I NOW WELCOME YOU TO ‘GRUMP LIVE!’, WHERE READERS OF THE BLOG, GRUMPY OLD MEN AND WOMEN, WILL BE JOINING ME FOR A LIVELY AND SPIRITED MOAN ABOUT THE THINGS THAT ARE TICKING THEM OFF. EACH EVENT WILL HAVE DIFFERENT ‘GUESTS’ AND THE DEBATES WILL BE ESSENTIALLY COMICAL, REFLECTING THE NATURE OF ITS PREDECESSORS. ‘GRUMP LIVE!’ WILL BE POSTED ON YOUTUBE AND CIRCULATED TO YOU AS BEFORE.
THE FIRST ‘GRUMP LIVE!’ IS AVAILABLE TO SEE NOW.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE AS A PANELLIST ON AN EDITION OF 'GRUMP LIVE!',
OR SIMPLY JUST WRITE IN WITH YOUR FEEDBACK, PLEASE CONTACT ME HERE.
Now, before you go, it's time for the serious stuff...
ENVIRONMENT
Last time we discussed the terrible issue of plastic pollution and the way that some western countries are dumping their plastic waste on third world ones. The video that follows may seem comical but the underlying message is anything but...
FAROE ISLANDS SHAME
On the 16th of August, 1967, Louis Armstrong first recorded his classic song ‘What a Wonderful World’. And he was right, it is a wonderful world. The problem is, most people and far too many nation states haven’t got the message yet.
After a respite due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Faroe Islanders are back to their murderous ways. Just recently, approximately 250+ pilot whales and white-sided dolphins were cruelly slaughtered. Both these species are protected by EU law and the Faroe Islands are an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark - an EU country.
Another 'Grindadrap' is the perfect excuse for a nice family day out in the Faroe Islands once again.
Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd, commented:
The Sadistic Depravity of the Danish Faroe Islands
“Is Denmark content with their association with such medieval barbarity, of decapitated heads stuck onto poles and hooks, of children poking out the eyeballs of calves and the ripping of fetuses from the wombs of pregnant females?Are the Danes and the Faroese proud of this atrocious atrocity?
And for those who are not, how do you allow this vile depravity to continue in all its blood-spattered ugliness?....
….What the perverse whalers are doing is a gross violation of European laws and their pathetic excuse that they are exempted from this law is negated by those who hold Danish passports and by this entire Danish colony being bestowed with huge Danish and European subsidies.
As someone of Danish descent I am appalled and mortified, ashamed and repulsed by the depraved debauchery of the violent and abject cruelty that these whale killers indulge in under the guise of culture and tradition….
… The putrid stench that continues to rise from the malodorous blood-soaked beaches of this remote collection of scenic rocks in the North Atlantic undermines the moral legitimacy of the entire Danish nation.”
The islanders claim that the Grinds are both a necessary source of food and a tradition. If it really was a source of food, then surely killing so many animals would lead to an oversupply. In any case, there are now many more sources of much more acceptable foods than this, readily available in international markets.
As for tradition - no - that is NOT an excuse at all. That would be like allowing modern day descendants of vikings (which the islanders essentially are) to rape and pillage because it is part of their heritage and tradition. These people can't be allowed to keep doing things that destroy the environment, drive intelligent creatures towards extinction and affect the world we all share.
EU - THIS MUST BE STOPPED!