It's hard not to have sympathy with South African athlete Caster Semenya after she lost her appeal against The Court of Arbitration for Sport which has has rejected Semenya's appeal against athletics' governing body's regulations which found that forcing athletes with high levels testosterone to lower them is 'discriminatory but necessary'.
Unlike may of the drug cheats in Athletics, Semenya has done nothing wrong, she was born with her condition, raised as a woman and continues to identify as a woman and her high levels of testosterone are naturally occurring.
The problem is that the high level of testosterone gives Semenya 'a significant and unfair advantage' and the testosterone level should be reduced to ensure fair competition in women's sport.
The IAAF says that most female athletes have testosterone levels in the range of 0.12 to 1.79 nanomoles per litre (nmol/l) while Semenya has the levels of a normal adult male, from 7.7 to 29.4nmol/l.
The International Olympic Committee states 99% of women have testosterone levels less than 3.0nmol/l and Semenya must reduce her levels to 5nmol/l to protect the other 99% of female competitors.
I understand the opposite argument that testosterone is a naturally occurring body hormone but the ruling seems fair to me because to allow someone to compete against women with such a staggering disadvantage is unfair.
Thursday, 2 May 2019
Sunday, 28 April 2019
Childbirth: UK v US
Not being much of a Royal fan, the imminent birth of the Duchess of Sussex's first child is not very far up my agenda but there was an interesting, and eye opening, conversation on the radio today about the differences between pregnancy and childbirth in the UK and in the USA.
Firstly, Meghan's friends in New York threw her a huge, £150,000 baby shower but they are still relatively rare in the UK, not even so much as a KFC Bargain Bucket between friends to congratulate the new soon-to-be Mum and the popular gender-reveal parties are rarer still over here, one of those things we have heard about but nobody has ever been to one.
The next difference is at the actual delivery with UK Mums almost exclusively being dealt with by Midwives while in the States it is almost always a doctor who attends to the business of the delivery.
The next difference is after the little bundle of joy is bought home where and the issue of maternity leave with the US being the only country in the developed world not to offer nationwide paid maternity leave entitlement, instead US mothers are entitled to 12 weeks unpaid leave whereas in the UK, women are entitled to 39 weeks paid statutory maternity leave, and fathers two weeks.
When it comes to feeding, breast is certainly best in US where 50% exclusively breastfeed their babies after birth, a figure which is at 25% in the UK but there is one huge, breath-taking difference to giving birth in the UK and in the US, the cost.
The vast majority of UK women opt for free care under the tax payer-funded NHS so all the above costs nothing, the premis being that the mother would have paid for the cost by the tax they have paid, and will pay, into the system.
In America, the bill is between £2,501 and £28,254 for an uncomplicated, natural birth, the cost rising to between £6,315 to £53,817 for a Cesarean section according to the BMJ.
Americans are far more likely to rely on private insurance to fund their health care. However, many millions don't have health insurance, according to the US Census Bureau and for those who have, insurance companies shell out for only a third of the charges so they still have a massive bill to take home along with their baby.
I would guess the thought of the rapidly dwindling bank balance before you even leave the hospital is an effective contraceptive to many American families and just makes you appreciate and want to fight the Conservatives creeping privatisation of the National Health Service even more.
Firstly, Meghan's friends in New York threw her a huge, £150,000 baby shower but they are still relatively rare in the UK, not even so much as a KFC Bargain Bucket between friends to congratulate the new soon-to-be Mum and the popular gender-reveal parties are rarer still over here, one of those things we have heard about but nobody has ever been to one.
The next difference is at the actual delivery with UK Mums almost exclusively being dealt with by Midwives while in the States it is almost always a doctor who attends to the business of the delivery.
The next difference is after the little bundle of joy is bought home where and the issue of maternity leave with the US being the only country in the developed world not to offer nationwide paid maternity leave entitlement, instead US mothers are entitled to 12 weeks unpaid leave whereas in the UK, women are entitled to 39 weeks paid statutory maternity leave, and fathers two weeks.
When it comes to feeding, breast is certainly best in US where 50% exclusively breastfeed their babies after birth, a figure which is at 25% in the UK but there is one huge, breath-taking difference to giving birth in the UK and in the US, the cost.
The vast majority of UK women opt for free care under the tax payer-funded NHS so all the above costs nothing, the premis being that the mother would have paid for the cost by the tax they have paid, and will pay, into the system.
In America, the bill is between £2,501 and £28,254 for an uncomplicated, natural birth, the cost rising to between £6,315 to £53,817 for a Cesarean section according to the BMJ.
Americans are far more likely to rely on private insurance to fund their health care. However, many millions don't have health insurance, according to the US Census Bureau and for those who have, insurance companies shell out for only a third of the charges so they still have a massive bill to take home along with their baby.
I would guess the thought of the rapidly dwindling bank balance before you even leave the hospital is an effective contraceptive to many American families and just makes you appreciate and want to fight the Conservatives creeping privatisation of the National Health Service even more.
Saturday, 27 April 2019
Paying The Man What You Owe America
The US National debt website shows the countries national debt stands at an eye watering $22 trillion but the US Fed have said that the true figure, once corporate borrowings, consumer loans along with debts being added by state and local government is included, is $72 trillion.
The Fed said that over the past 40 years, the US Treasury has been borrowing at a rocketing rate with the state debt soaring from less than $5 trillion during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, to $54 trillion when George W. Bush left office and Obama and Donald Trump adding another $18 trillion to reach the figure of today.
Using a calculator and my Grade D maths qualification, with a current US population of 328,675,066 according to the World Population Review, every American owes $220,000 each to Uncle Sam.
Better get that overtime bid in sharpish Mr and Mrs America.
The Fed said that over the past 40 years, the US Treasury has been borrowing at a rocketing rate with the state debt soaring from less than $5 trillion during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, to $54 trillion when George W. Bush left office and Obama and Donald Trump adding another $18 trillion to reach the figure of today.
Using a calculator and my Grade D maths qualification, with a current US population of 328,675,066 according to the World Population Review, every American owes $220,000 each to Uncle Sam.
Better get that overtime bid in sharpish Mr and Mrs America.
Shooting The Messenger
Theresa May's Government is the leakiest of any Government in recent times, mainly as she has so many enemies surrounding her desperate to undermine her at every turn that they look to make her look weak at every opportunity.
It is with this in mind that the briefing at the top secret National Security meeting regarding the security implication of the Chinese firm, Huawei, running our 5G network, was leaked to the Times newpaper.
MI5, MI6 have gone apoplectic at the leak which could only have some from inside the Governments higher echelons who in turn have blasted the newspaper for printing the leak they received.
A classic case of shooting the messenger and an attempt to deflect that someone close to Theresa May, a signatory of the The Official Secrets Act, leaked notes from a meeting which was highly sensitive and highly confidential.
The larger implications are that members of the council have now warned that they will not freely share information if they fear it will leak out which is will hinder the government in their job.
No journalist worthy of the name would turn down such information if handed to them on a plate and the case could easily be made for the public interest that they know the implications of Huawei running crucial UK infrastructure.
To try and direct outrage about this leak at the press is to miss the point when the rage should be aimed at Ministers leaking top-secret meetings on national security as a way to harm the Prime Minister.
It is with this in mind that the briefing at the top secret National Security meeting regarding the security implication of the Chinese firm, Huawei, running our 5G network, was leaked to the Times newpaper.
MI5, MI6 have gone apoplectic at the leak which could only have some from inside the Governments higher echelons who in turn have blasted the newspaper for printing the leak they received.
A classic case of shooting the messenger and an attempt to deflect that someone close to Theresa May, a signatory of the The Official Secrets Act, leaked notes from a meeting which was highly sensitive and highly confidential.
The larger implications are that members of the council have now warned that they will not freely share information if they fear it will leak out which is will hinder the government in their job.
No journalist worthy of the name would turn down such information if handed to them on a plate and the case could easily be made for the public interest that they know the implications of Huawei running crucial UK infrastructure.
To try and direct outrage about this leak at the press is to miss the point when the rage should be aimed at Ministers leaking top-secret meetings on national security as a way to harm the Prime Minister.
Anti-Vaxxers Health Time Bomb
There were stories a few months ago of vaccination workers in Pakistan and Nigeria who were trying to save children from polio, being attacked amid rumours, fuelled by Islamist militants, that the vaccine was actually a western plot to sterilise Muslim children.
Where the Islamic Militants are condemning their own to suffer easily treatable infectious diseases through ignorance and misadvice, the West have their own version in the Anti-vaxxers movement.
Measles cases have hit a high in US, Italy and Australia amid the movement which advises resistance to the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) jab basing their claims on Andrew Wakefield’s discredited study linking autism to the triple injection published in 2000.
Countless studies have shown the link is a fiction, but Wakefield’s theory continues to exert an unhealthy influence despite not one single medical study since ever being able to replicate any of the claims Wakefied makes about the link.
In the UK, the NHS has urged Brits to take the medical advice that the jab is essential and warned of our own public health time bomb, with half a million British children missing their MMR dose, resulting in Measles cases quadrupling in a year.
As Measles is highly contagious and can spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes and in severe cases leads to pneumonia, deafness and brain damage, there are now plans to ban unvaccinated children from attending schools and nurseries, a plan which is supported, somewhat ironically, by the parents of unimmunised children.
In the US, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that the return of Measles may be an early warning sign of resurgences in other vaccine-preventable diseases such as rubella, chickenpox and bacterial meningitis due to parents who seemingly have little sense of the risks they are running with their own, their children's and other people’s lives.
The conspiracy theorists on the Internet are being blamed and it is true that it is awash with some incredible nonsense but some theorists, such as those arguing that the Earth is flat or for creationism are daft but mostly harmless, but not so climate change deniers and anti-vaxxers.
The overwhelming scientific evidence is that the vaccination is a massive plus for health and is safe so why would anyone take the advice of a Youtuber or someone on Facebook with little or no medical credentials basing their beliefs on a single medical report that been debunked multiple times over regarding the safety, and in some unfortunate cases, the survival, of their children?
Where the Islamic Militants are condemning their own to suffer easily treatable infectious diseases through ignorance and misadvice, the West have their own version in the Anti-vaxxers movement.
Measles cases have hit a high in US, Italy and Australia amid the movement which advises resistance to the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) jab basing their claims on Andrew Wakefield’s discredited study linking autism to the triple injection published in 2000.
Countless studies have shown the link is a fiction, but Wakefield’s theory continues to exert an unhealthy influence despite not one single medical study since ever being able to replicate any of the claims Wakefied makes about the link.
In the UK, the NHS has urged Brits to take the medical advice that the jab is essential and warned of our own public health time bomb, with half a million British children missing their MMR dose, resulting in Measles cases quadrupling in a year.
As Measles is highly contagious and can spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes and in severe cases leads to pneumonia, deafness and brain damage, there are now plans to ban unvaccinated children from attending schools and nurseries, a plan which is supported, somewhat ironically, by the parents of unimmunised children.
In the US, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that the return of Measles may be an early warning sign of resurgences in other vaccine-preventable diseases such as rubella, chickenpox and bacterial meningitis due to parents who seemingly have little sense of the risks they are running with their own, their children's and other people’s lives.
The conspiracy theorists on the Internet are being blamed and it is true that it is awash with some incredible nonsense but some theorists, such as those arguing that the Earth is flat or for creationism are daft but mostly harmless, but not so climate change deniers and anti-vaxxers.
The overwhelming scientific evidence is that the vaccination is a massive plus for health and is safe so why would anyone take the advice of a Youtuber or someone on Facebook with little or no medical credentials basing their beliefs on a single medical report that been debunked multiple times over regarding the safety, and in some unfortunate cases, the survival, of their children?
Friday, 26 April 2019
Spider-Man 2 Game Pizza Theme
I overheard a student talking about how he had found the Spider-Man 2 Game Pizza Theme on his little brother's toy guitar and then played it a recording he had made of it on his phone and his friends all agreed that it was the tune from Spider-man game and how weird that it was on an infants toy.
I guess it is no surprise that a bunch of 18 year olds didn't know the Funiculi Funicula was one of the most famous tunes around and if they are introduced to it through a Spider-Man game then better than not knowing it at all.
I always found Funiculi Funicula a brilliant tune but as it is sung Italian i didn't find out until years later it's a song written to commemorate the opening of the first funicular cable car although there is an English version called 'A Merry Life' which is about the world being made for fun and frolic and not being melancholic.
I do put it in my book of 'Songs that is just waiting to be sung properly' which will turn it into a classic along with 'The Impossible Dream' and Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', two other songs just waiting to be picked up and done justice.
I guess it is no surprise that a bunch of 18 year olds didn't know the Funiculi Funicula was one of the most famous tunes around and if they are introduced to it through a Spider-Man game then better than not knowing it at all.
I always found Funiculi Funicula a brilliant tune but as it is sung Italian i didn't find out until years later it's a song written to commemorate the opening of the first funicular cable car although there is an English version called 'A Merry Life' which is about the world being made for fun and frolic and not being melancholic.
I do put it in my book of 'Songs that is just waiting to be sung properly' which will turn it into a classic along with 'The Impossible Dream' and Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', two other songs just waiting to be picked up and done justice.
Tuesday, 23 April 2019
Get The Big Baby Blimp Ready, Trump's Coming
Blimey, that didn't take long. Within hours of being told Donald Trump was visiting Britain on 3 June for an official visit, a petition was going around the House of Commons to ban him and MP's were lining up in front of TV camera's to tell him to bugger off before he even gets here.
Labour said it 'beggars belief that the government is offering the red-carpet treatment to Trump given his attacks on British and American values' while backbenchers have began gathering signatures for a petition to force the cancellation of the trip.
This time, Trump is likely to dine with the Queen, attend discussions with Theresa May in Downing Street and join an event in Portsmouth to mark the D-day landings.
Plans for demonstrations are being made with groups preparing for a huge mobilisation and Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, issued a strongly worded statement against the visit noting that it came on the same day that 'Donald Trump is threatening to veto a UN resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war'.
The Scottish government said it wants no part of the visit as it would mean compromising their 'fundamental values of equality, diversity and human rights'.
A group of Labour MPs began organising an early day motion calling on May to ask Buckingham Palace to rescind the invitation, saying the invitation was 'bonkers' and called Trump a 'racist, sexist, extremist' while MP David Lammy went with Trump being a 'deluded, dishonest, xenophobic, narcissistic not worthy of the UK’s highest honours' and 'Theresa May is selling out the UK to a serial liar and a cheat'.
John Bercow, the Speaker, has said that he would not want to allow Trump to address both houses of parliament while Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the Liberal Democrat leader of Portsmouth city council said that he was disappointed that Trump was coming to Portsmouth.
Someone may need to give the Big Baby Blimp a dusting down, it may be needed in June.
Labour said it 'beggars belief that the government is offering the red-carpet treatment to Trump given his attacks on British and American values' while backbenchers have began gathering signatures for a petition to force the cancellation of the trip.
This time, Trump is likely to dine with the Queen, attend discussions with Theresa May in Downing Street and join an event in Portsmouth to mark the D-day landings.
Plans for demonstrations are being made with groups preparing for a huge mobilisation and Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, issued a strongly worded statement against the visit noting that it came on the same day that 'Donald Trump is threatening to veto a UN resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war'.
The Scottish government said it wants no part of the visit as it would mean compromising their 'fundamental values of equality, diversity and human rights'.
A group of Labour MPs began organising an early day motion calling on May to ask Buckingham Palace to rescind the invitation, saying the invitation was 'bonkers' and called Trump a 'racist, sexist, extremist' while MP David Lammy went with Trump being a 'deluded, dishonest, xenophobic, narcissistic not worthy of the UK’s highest honours' and 'Theresa May is selling out the UK to a serial liar and a cheat'.
John Bercow, the Speaker, has said that he would not want to allow Trump to address both houses of parliament while Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the Liberal Democrat leader of Portsmouth city council said that he was disappointed that Trump was coming to Portsmouth.
Someone may need to give the Big Baby Blimp a dusting down, it may be needed in June.
Renting Celebrities
How much does it cost to get a celebrity to turn up to your Birthday Party? Well if it is Brian Blessed it would set you back £10,000 you could get a sprinkle of celebrity dust on your Birthday Cake by hiring Jimmy Cricket for £3,000 instead.
And what if you want a former Olympian to open your new office toilet? Eddie The Eagle Edwards Duncan will do it for £3,000 Duncan Goodhew and Sharon Davies will declare the bog open for £5,000 or you can have Daley Thompson for £15,000 while £20,000 will get you either Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy or Michael Johnson.
The Gordon Poole Agency lets you 'rent' celebrities for private events and prices run from £3,000 up to £20,000 plus and includes politicians in the £5,000 range (Anne Widdicombe, Christine Hamilton, David Mellor, George Galloway), £10k (John Prescott, Michael Portillo, Alistair Campbell) or you can spend £15k on Eammon Holmes or blow £20k on James May who would probably have a look at that squeaky clutch pedal as he is there.
Footballer available are Neil 'Razor' Ruddock and Paul Merson (£5k), Kevin Keegan, Stuart Pearce (£10k), David Seaman, Glenn Hoddle (£15k), Ruud Guillet (£20K) or Ryan Giggs (20k plus) while you can discuss googlies and whipping off bails with Phil Tuffnell for just £10k.
There really is a celebrity available for every occasions and every pockets ranging from chefs including Anthony Worral Thompson (£5k) and Paul Hollywood (£20k) or snooker players like Jimmy White and Steve 'Interesting' Davies (£5k) or a game of tennis in the local park with Boris Becker (£20K).
The top celebrities, costing £20k plus are Al Murray, Bear Grylls, Dara O Briain, Emma Willis, Frank Skinner, Graham Norton, Greg Davies, Jack Dee, Jeremy Paxman, Jimmy Carr, Joana Lumley, Lenny Henry, Michael McIntyre, Nigella Lawson, Rob Brydon, Russell Howard and Vic Reeves.
If i start saving now maybe i can get the £3,000 to get Paul Sinha onto our next Pub Quiz Team.
And what if you want a former Olympian to open your new office toilet? Eddie The Eagle Edwards Duncan will do it for £3,000 Duncan Goodhew and Sharon Davies will declare the bog open for £5,000 or you can have Daley Thompson for £15,000 while £20,000 will get you either Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy or Michael Johnson.
The Gordon Poole Agency lets you 'rent' celebrities for private events and prices run from £3,000 up to £20,000 plus and includes politicians in the £5,000 range (Anne Widdicombe, Christine Hamilton, David Mellor, George Galloway), £10k (John Prescott, Michael Portillo, Alistair Campbell) or you can spend £15k on Eammon Holmes or blow £20k on James May who would probably have a look at that squeaky clutch pedal as he is there.
Footballer available are Neil 'Razor' Ruddock and Paul Merson (£5k), Kevin Keegan, Stuart Pearce (£10k), David Seaman, Glenn Hoddle (£15k), Ruud Guillet (£20K) or Ryan Giggs (20k plus) while you can discuss googlies and whipping off bails with Phil Tuffnell for just £10k.
There really is a celebrity available for every occasions and every pockets ranging from chefs including Anthony Worral Thompson (£5k) and Paul Hollywood (£20k) or snooker players like Jimmy White and Steve 'Interesting' Davies (£5k) or a game of tennis in the local park with Boris Becker (£20K).
The top celebrities, costing £20k plus are Al Murray, Bear Grylls, Dara O Briain, Emma Willis, Frank Skinner, Graham Norton, Greg Davies, Jack Dee, Jeremy Paxman, Jimmy Carr, Joana Lumley, Lenny Henry, Michael McIntyre, Nigella Lawson, Rob Brydon, Russell Howard and Vic Reeves.
If i start saving now maybe i can get the £3,000 to get Paul Sinha onto our next Pub Quiz Team.
Monday, 22 April 2019
Disgrace Behind Governments Fitness For Work Assessments
Since the Conservative Party bought in their welfare reform in 2013, campaigners, MPs and charities have repeatedly warned that disabled people are dying as a result of the way the Government now assess disabled people's fitness to work.
Occasionally we hear stories of Government incompetence and cold-heartedness such as the person with Down’s syndrome being asked when 'they had caught it' and the young woman who was told that her mental health problems couldn't be that bad because she hadn't killed herself yet.
The United Nations has even dubbed the UK’s treatment of disabled people 'a human catastrophe' and while over 70% of disability benefit rejections are overturned at tribunal, that process can take up to a year which brings us to Stephen Smith.
The name may not be instantly recognisable but his photo is hard to forget, 64-year old Smith, who had just had his disability benefits stopped, sitting in a hospital gown, his bones protruding from his withered six stone frame, wracked with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, osteoarthritis and an enlarged prostate that left him barely able to walk but had just been found 'fit for work' and told to look for a job.
It took a year for Smith’s case to be heard at Tribunal and the decision to be overturned and his benefits to be reinstated after the tribunal judge saw he could barely walk down the street to the court let alone hold down a job and the DWP issued a statement that said: 'We are sorry for the experience Mr Smith has had and we are committed to ensuring that people with health conditions get the support they're entitled to'.
Stephen Smith died last week and it is shameful that he spent the last months of his life fighting to regain the benefits he needed to live on, and that he was put under incredible strain while severely ill by this incompetent and inhumane government.
Some people put it down to the ongoing austerity measures, this being the eleventh year of such drastic cuts, but the Government have been targeting the poorest and sickest in society for all of those years.
The Conservative's are truly the nasty party and the 'fit for work' assessments are a national disgrace but no Government Minister will be held responsible or be held to account for what is an ideological disgrace.
Occasionally we hear stories of Government incompetence and cold-heartedness such as the person with Down’s syndrome being asked when 'they had caught it' and the young woman who was told that her mental health problems couldn't be that bad because she hadn't killed herself yet.
The United Nations has even dubbed the UK’s treatment of disabled people 'a human catastrophe' and while over 70% of disability benefit rejections are overturned at tribunal, that process can take up to a year which brings us to Stephen Smith.
The name may not be instantly recognisable but his photo is hard to forget, 64-year old Smith, who had just had his disability benefits stopped, sitting in a hospital gown, his bones protruding from his withered six stone frame, wracked with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, osteoarthritis and an enlarged prostate that left him barely able to walk but had just been found 'fit for work' and told to look for a job.
It took a year for Smith’s case to be heard at Tribunal and the decision to be overturned and his benefits to be reinstated after the tribunal judge saw he could barely walk down the street to the court let alone hold down a job and the DWP issued a statement that said: 'We are sorry for the experience Mr Smith has had and we are committed to ensuring that people with health conditions get the support they're entitled to'.
Stephen Smith died last week and it is shameful that he spent the last months of his life fighting to regain the benefits he needed to live on, and that he was put under incredible strain while severely ill by this incompetent and inhumane government.
Some people put it down to the ongoing austerity measures, this being the eleventh year of such drastic cuts, but the Government have been targeting the poorest and sickest in society for all of those years.
The Conservative's are truly the nasty party and the 'fit for work' assessments are a national disgrace but no Government Minister will be held responsible or be held to account for what is an ideological disgrace.
Sunday, 21 April 2019
The Tricky Extinction Rebellion Second Protest
From an idea debated around a kitchen table to bringing Central London to a standstill for a week in a few short months is impressive by any measure but that is exactly what the climate change protest group 'Extinction Rebellion' have achieved.
Making the decision for more to be done by the British Government to tackle Climate Change after marches, demonstrations and petition singing was getting them nowhere, ER took a leaf from the styles of Gandhi and Martin Luther King and used the tactics of 'mass non-violent civil disobedience' by sitting in streets, chaining themselves to street furniture and gluing themselves to public transport.
As the ER group are made up of men, women and children, the authorities that to go in mob handed and cracking heads as they usually do would look terrible on a group of the elderly or mothers carrying children, so they have been gently carrying away the non-resisting protesters for arrest, 936 at the last count.
The protest has been a huge success and grabbed the media, public and Governments attention and most importantly put Climate Change on the agenda but ER should not carry it on too long because they may have the public support but that can be a fickle thing.
The hundreds of thousands estimated to have been affected by the disruption could soon turn against them if they are unable to get to work or school or hospital for a second week so ER need to quit while they are ahead.
The problem they now face is that after such a huge first success, how will they follow it up because they won't be able to jam up London again.
Short of a major climate catastrophe to drive home the point they have been making about the consequences of our actions, ER need to go back to the kitchen table and come up with another way of keeping the non-violent civil disobedience but find another way to push home their valuable agenda.
Making the decision for more to be done by the British Government to tackle Climate Change after marches, demonstrations and petition singing was getting them nowhere, ER took a leaf from the styles of Gandhi and Martin Luther King and used the tactics of 'mass non-violent civil disobedience' by sitting in streets, chaining themselves to street furniture and gluing themselves to public transport.
As the ER group are made up of men, women and children, the authorities that to go in mob handed and cracking heads as they usually do would look terrible on a group of the elderly or mothers carrying children, so they have been gently carrying away the non-resisting protesters for arrest, 936 at the last count.
The protest has been a huge success and grabbed the media, public and Governments attention and most importantly put Climate Change on the agenda but ER should not carry it on too long because they may have the public support but that can be a fickle thing.
The hundreds of thousands estimated to have been affected by the disruption could soon turn against them if they are unable to get to work or school or hospital for a second week so ER need to quit while they are ahead.
The problem they now face is that after such a huge first success, how will they follow it up because they won't be able to jam up London again.
Short of a major climate catastrophe to drive home the point they have been making about the consequences of our actions, ER need to go back to the kitchen table and come up with another way of keeping the non-violent civil disobedience but find another way to push home their valuable agenda.
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