vivweb01

  The new occupant of No 11 has a thorny problem on his hands…it's a significant one, and not one he or his new boss can ignore.... We’re all feeling the pinch as a result of the most recent economic shock – Trump’s ill-advised Iran War, and this comes on top of a succession of shocks from Covid onwards. We all knew the economic pain the hostilities would cause; even before they started, a large slice of our population, on low wages but not entitled to benefits were really not able to make ends meet without taking out additional high-interest loans or cutting their outgoings to the bone. For some of them, yet another economic shock could well bring them to the brink of bankruptcy. The excessive electricity and gas price rises imposed by the supplier ‘cartel’ to maintain their profit margins, and sanctioned by an over-compliant OFGEM, have been particularly injurious. This trend was apparent well before the start of the Iran war, so cannot be blamed on higher world prices ...

  A midst all the discussion about the perils of global warming, there has been no mention recently of when we might expect the start of the next Ice-Age.... This was a topic that hit the headlines some years ago and was all the rage for a year or two before fading into obscurity. It is probably no coincidence that this media fade-out coincided with the increased coverage about global warming and its wider implications for our future well-being. But should we be so quick to dismiss the possibility of  a much cooler future ? There are 2 reasons why not...but first, some background to the debate. There is now no doubt that our global climate is warming – and doing so quite rapidly. There is also little doubt that our large-scale release of greenhouse gases since the dawn of the industrial era in the early 1800s will have contributed significantly to this process. However, despite the views of some environmentalists, our planet's atmosphere is a chaotic and unpredictable ...

  As someone with a lifelong interest in ‘The Beautiful Game’, I must confess to being somewhat alarmed at a recent rumour emanating from the US concerning possible changes to its rules….particularly since FIFA will be keen to 'keep Trump on side'...while the current tournament is in progress, at least. The problem, as I understand it, is this.  Fresh from his 'triumph' in getting the Iranians to agree a deal ‘The Donald’ seems to have found time in his busy schedule to address the subject of sport reform. He appears to have decided to adopt a flagship campaign to ‘Make Soccer Great Again’ (already christened as MSGA) as a first step in this important aspect of his legacy. According to recent reports, high level discussions last week within the administration concerning promoting the MAGA agenda have apparently spawned a 'Grand Plan' for sports reform, both in the US and worldwide. The start of his administration's campaign was designed to coincide with the ...