Tag: Tanka

Gathering clouds

.

Centralising all

Whitehall communications

mimicking POTUS

 

time for all to be worried

an absence of scrutiny

.

by Scooj

 

… on the news that Dominic Cummings, er, (coughs) I mean Boris Johnson is going to centralise (control) all government communications departments so that instructions (news) can be given direct to the public, avoiding media (and therefore scrutiny), also involving many job losses. He wants to start holding Presidential style daily news conferences with hand picked journalists, who will be barred if they cause trouble. This is all leading the country in a very troubling direction, and what is most worrying is that these moves (‘sacking’ of Sir Mark Sedwill, Head of the Civil Service, removal of treasury advisors, merging of DFID with the Foreign Office) are happening while the nation is distracted with coronavirus or EU exit and so on.

well we voted for this as a nation so we will have to suffer the far-reaching consequences. The damage that is being done to honour, credibility, decency, openness, transparency, capacity and competency of our parliamentary system and governance is incalculable. Once again hard working decent folk will pay for it and have to pick up the pieces.

I reject Cummings and his cabinet. They do not represent me or have the best interests of The Many in this country. Well with the Mekon (DC) in charge what do you expect.

Dirty, rotten scoundrels

Without contrition

without dignity, honour

or integrity

 

The self-styled ‘king of the world’

shows his true colours again

 

by Scooj

 

I didn’t think that I could be upset by Boris Johnson any more. He represents nothing that I believe in, but by jingo he has done it again by his pathetic and snivelling defence of Dominic Cummings’ wrongdoings. Remember this lot will ‘win at any cost’. Well sometimes good governance is not about winning, but is about learning from mistakes and moving on, bringing the people with you for the greater good. I am so saddened by what is going on.

 

An untimely and sad end

 

Peace interrupted

sickening thud behind me

robin hits the door

 

instantly falls to the floor

circumstantial accident

 

by Scooj.

 

* a terrible thing happened this lunchtime when my children and I were sitting outside the kitchen enjoying the sunshine. Our conversation was interrupted when one of our dear little robins flew into the open kitchen door, the top half of which is glass. This was about a foot behind my head.

The three of us were utterly shocked. The robin died moments later in my hand. It was traumatic to say the least, and I feel so responsible. I keep singing ‘who killed cock robin… I said the sparrow with my bow and arrow’.

The interaction between humankind and nature is so delicate. Our impacts are everywhere, but I suppose in many ways some of our interactions benefit wildlife.

This all feels so much more painful because of the amazing experience of watching a pair of robins raise five chicks successfully in our greenhouse only days ago. Oh dear.

How dare you?

 

Humiliated

world leaders get dressing down

for complacency.

It takes determination

and courage to do these things.

 

by Scooj

 

Greta Thunberg is an extraordinary young woman. She has managed to bring a difficult message to the world stage and has been given tremendous exposure. I believe her when she says that she will not give up, and I believe that what we are witnessing is the beginning of a movement for change the likes of which we have not seen before.

Her speech is here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2019/sep/23/greta-thunberg-to-world-leaders-how-dare-you-you-have-stolen-my-dreams-and-my-childhood-video

Of course there are those who say that they agree, BUT (remember everything before the but is bullshit) that it can’t be done, that her demands are unrealistic. Those people are in my view wrong and this excuse has been used as a reason for inertia for decades. Had we been taking action 30 years ago, the urgency of action now would not have felt so acute.

The best Donald Trump could come up with on Twitter was this sarcastic comment

‘She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!’

How immature, but then we know all we need to know about Donald Trump. On the other hand Greta Thunberg has behaved with utter dignity and has so much more credibility than any politician I can think of.

I subscribe entirely to Greta Thunberg’s mission and have been waiting for leadership on this issue for decades – little did I think it would come from a Swedish school girl, but then maybe that’s exactly where it needed to come from, from somebody outside the establishment.

The hard work begins now as changes to our learned way of life begin to gain traction. It doesn’t necessarily mean sacrifice, rather it means change, and much of that change will be for the better. Anyhow in its simplest form, the changes are necessary so that our children and their children can live in a world like the one we grew up in (or even better). Do we need any greater incentive than that?