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CONSULTING IN SUSTAINABLE TOURISM & HOSPITALITY DEVELOPMENT, LECTURING ON CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT MITIGATION, TRAINING, PUBLIC SPEAKING & MARINE CONSERVATION
- HELPING OTHERS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE -
Well, I've tried doing a magazine (with page turners) and I've tried doing videos and putting them on Youtube. I even tried doing it live, but the general feedback seems to be that this format is the most popular. So here we are again with another traditional GRUMP!
And my goodness, there really continues to be so much to be grumpy about. This issue will see some new subjects covered, such the nonsense concerning test cricket tours and the vibrancy of the British economy, I don't think! The ongoing determination to upset the French, this time with a cozy submarine deal, deserves a special mention and there is fresh news from Kabul. There's a new take on 'freedom', as
THE GRUMP
Issue 8 - October 2021
questioned by some of America's youth, and while variations on past grumps will also feature, the main thing that is really upsetting me at the moment is the appalling situation in the Faroe Islands, first referred to in Grump 4, and to a lessened extent, in Taiji, Japan. Even Captain Ahab would be horrified at what's going on in the North Atlantic, and he wasn't a bundle of cuddles! So if you're wondering about the 'sea of blood' backdrop to this edition, go straight to the end,
MASS SLAUGHTER IN THE FAROE ISLANDS,
but brace yourself; it's quite upsetting and it's not going to be nice!
Friedrich Nietzsche was right; "Man is the cruelest animal."
WHATEVER'S GOING ON IN THE UK?
I have to say, I'm really glad to be living where I am in Pakistan, as opposed to the UK. There is no shortage of food and supplies are mostly home produced, changing with the seasons. There is no fuel shortage and prices are a small fraction of those being charged in the UK. There is a plentiful supply of willing labour and at least the corruption here is transparent! Covid has been well managed and free vaccinations, in a variety of flavours, are available for all in a structured and organised manner. Climate is a concern like everywhere else, but I know I'd rather be here than almost anywhere else these days.
Boris's BIG RED BUS being put to good use once again.
"I'm fixing the obesity crisis via food shortages, the climate change crisis via fuel shortages and sorting the pension deficit by killing all the old people. What's more, I've just upset the French again. I just don't know what more I can do, Laura?"
"The public are just ungrateful bastards, Prime Minister, don't you worry."
Now winter is around the corner and gas is going to become unaffordable for many - the government should be ashamed of itself.
THE TALIBAN
If you ever feel useless, take comfort from this essential truth; it took 20 years, trillions of dollars and 4 US Presidents to replace the Taliban with the Taliban. But who are the Taliban and how do they define themselves?
I asked one and he responded as follows:
"You are a Taliban," he replied, "if you refine heroin for a living but at the same time have a moral objection to beer." He then rattled off a list...
1. You own a $3,000 machine gun and a $5,000rocket launcher but you cannot afford shoes.
2. You have more wives than teeth.
3. You wipe your butt with your bare hand but consider bacon 'unclean'.
4. You think vest come in two styles: bullet-proof and explosive.
5. You cannot think of anyone you haven't declared jihad against.
6. You consider television dangerous but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.
7. You are constantly amazed that cell phones have other uses aside from detonating roadside bombs.
8. You have nothing against women and believe that every man should own at least one.
9. You've always had a crush on your neighbour's goat.
The 'New Taliban' leadership are working hard at presenting a positive spin on their activities and trying to hide their regressive practices.
Unfortunately, the facts on the ground do not support their assertions. Girls are NOT attending secondary school and above and jobs for women are few and far between, even when they are better qualified than men (which actually, is more often the case!). And in a photograph taken of a committee in the US to discuss the absence of women in the new Taliban government, there were mutters of righteous indignation!
Talking of women having jobs at men's expense, I thought this example of women in the workplace was a classic...
…and this one too is a great example of female entrepreneurialism.
But in the meantime, the US and India, along with some of their other remaining allies, tremble at the prospect of China's friendly engagement in the region.
NEW ALLIANCES
I can't help feeling that we are witnessing a titanic change to the balance of power in the world. New alliances are forming as old ones teeter on the brink before crumbling into the depths of history.
Consider, for example the implications of the recent Submarine pact between the US, the UK and Australia.
This has left some very grumpy nations who are now considering alternative security pacts and arrangements.
The global dependance on oil is diminishing, perhaps not as quickly as the planet needs, but nonetheless, the heady days of indulgence for the major oil producing nations is coming to an end. Already we can see the US loosing it's love interest with Saudi Arabia, and the broader Middle East in general. They've never understood the region and their unconditional support of Israel has made enemies on a scale never before seen.
Middle Eastern nations are in turn making overtures to Asia; can we envisage a pact between Sunni nations including Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Kuwait and Qatar.
The insensitivity of the United States to vanquished or weaker nations is nothing new…guess which conflict this cake celebrated!
The Covid pandemic has shown us that the world's leadership is completely unable to work together over major global issues. What hope have we for meaningful action over the coming climate change talks, where we are already seeing at least one major and critical nation, China, threatening to pull out?
Time will tell, but sadly I am not optimistic.
CRY FREEDUMB
I'm afraid that yet again, the GRUMP is focussing on the USA. I mean, just how many ways can they find to keep pissing us off. Their mis-handling of the Pandemic is an obvious example.
The right to bear arms is another. I mean, if you don't think you need a mask because God will protect you, why do you need a closet full of guns?
Just exactly what young people today must make of all this nonsense is beyond me and don't get me started on their views on abortion (mainly mens).
CRICKET, LOVELY CRICKET
The New Zealand cricket team has called off its tour of Pakistan, minutes before the first match was due to begin in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, citing security concerns.
Shortly afterwards, England followed suit and it now looks as though the Winkies will also pull out.
So just what are these so-called security concerns, that even the British High Commissioner in Pakistan says are non-existent?
Sad to say, the whole thing was fabricated by the India's external
intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. Extensive investigation revealed that the 'security threat'
came in emails, addressed to certain cricketers and their families, emanating circuitously from Singapore. They threats purported to come from the terrorist organisation, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, a group loosely associated with al-Qaeda and ISIS based out of Afghanistan. Following military engagements from Pakistan's armed forces on the border over recent years, the group is now somewhat diminished.
So once again, the muck-spreading, evil hand of India's leader, Narendra Modi, can be seen causing further disharmony in an already troubled region. Nation States, NOTA BENE - this man is highly dangerous!
Needless to say, the British government have distanced themselves from the fray...they and their masters across the pond, are angry that Pakistan will not allow them to use the country for military activities and fear the strengthening of her alliance with China.What a depressing and monumental nonsense!
A QUICK SMILE
There's no category for this, but since the GRUMP has been somewhat full-on so far, I thought these two old guys might provide some welcome relief...
MASS SLAUGHTER IN THE FAROE ISLANDS
On September 12th 2021, a gruesome record was set in the Faroe Islands, notably what was possibly the largest single slaughter of whales and dolphins in recorded history. The lives of 1428 Atlantic White-Sided Dolphins were brutally snuffed out. Ten days later, they slaughtered a further 52 Pilot Whales and the killing continues unchecked. Check out this short video, which I offer as evidence of a practice and culture for which there is no place in our so-called civilised society. Please be warned, it is very graphic.
People often express disgust and revulsion by this barbarity and agree that the slaughter should stop, but while the Danish government and the EU take no action, it is difficult to know what can be done. Shouting loudly through your social media is a good start or attending a protest march on Parliament in London on 16th October from Trafalgar Square is a further option. Signing petitions also carries a lot of weight; the more people to speak out, the harder it will be to ignore them. https://www.stopthegrind.org is a most worthwhile place to go. Those overseas, can also write to the Danish and EU Ambassadors and express their opinion.
A similar story is being enacted in Japan, in the notorious coves around Taiji. The annual dolphin hunt began there at the beginning of September but less well publicised are the culls of Peru and Nigeria, where it is estimated that around 15,000 and 10,000 respectively are killed each year.
We think we are intelligent, but a species that so wantonly destroys others is not worthy of the description. Albert Einstein was right when he said, "There is a major difference between intelligence and stupidity; intelligence has its limits."
You've probably had enough of this particularly grumpy edition, so I will leave you now with a sobering quote from the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis - The Book of the Dead.
"The book served as a passageway to the evil worlds beyond.
It was written long ago when the seas ran red with blood."
Keep safe
Charles
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