France is a country which has spent hundreds of billions of euros on nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction, and hundreds of billions of euros on other military capabilities. France possesses the technological capability to utterly flatten a city the size of Paris in minutes. Yet it does not possess the technological capability to prevent one of its greatest buildings from being destroyed by fire.
If the many trillions spent all around the world on the research, development and production of instruments of destruction had been devoted to peaceful purposes instead, what new technologies might we have now? It is not a huge step in lateral thinking to imagine that in such a world, more might have been available to save Notre Dame – and Grenfell – than too short ladders and hoses squirting water.
I posted this simple idea on twitter a couple of hours ago. As with all my twitter posts, right wing trolls came in to dispute my point very quickly. Their posts are worth reading because they so stunningly miss the point. They talk about standard lengths of firefighting ladders and about water pressure. They appear completely unable to even register, let alone extrapolate from, the notion that had the resources mankind has squandered on agents of destruction been better used, we might have different technologies.
John Stuart Mill once stated in parliament: “I did not mean that Conservatives are generally stupid; I meant, that stupid persons are generally conservative. I believe that to be so obvious and undeniable a fact that I hardly think any hon. Gentleman will question it.” I have always believed that right wing “thought” is a misnomer, and right wing views are rather characterised by absence of meaningful intellectual activity. Furthermore, those touted as right wing “thinkers”, such as Roger Scruton, Patrick Minford or David Starkey, if studied with any rigour, are the greatest proof of this. But it is seldom that you see such clear evidence as the responses to that little tweet. If I had devised that tweet as an experiment to demonstrate the hypothesis of the intellectual incapacity of the conservative mind, it could not have worked better.
My condolences to all for the loss of a great building. One day, perhaps mankind will learn that we do not in reality defend what we have by spending vast amounts of our available resources and capacity for communal activity in preparing to destroy as much as we are physically capable of destroying.
have been watching Milord Patten of Barnes holding forth to the Foreign Affairs Committee (chairman Tugenhadt) on China’s Domestic and Foreign Policy. It was mostly anti Chinese rhetoric. He holds a typically superior Western view. Kept hearing the word ‘regime’ being mentioned.
I see he is no longer on Bridgepoint Capital’s European Board, on which he resided with Lord Rose and Alan Milburn! The latter two are still there raking it in. Bridgepoint is a giant US private equity outfit. The record below therefore needs revising.
His other interests as currently listed on the Parliament website:
Category 1: Directorships
Non-executive Director, Russell Reynolds Associates Inc (company research)
Category 2: Remunerated employment, office, profession etc.
Member, European Advisory Board, Bridgepoint (private equity group)
Occasional income from writing and speaking engagements
Member, International Advisory Board of BP (energy)
Adviser, Hutchison Europe (telecomms, property, transport)
Member of Advisory Council of Vontobel Asset Management (fixed annual fee)
Category 10: Non-financial interests (b)
Chancellor, Oxford University
Category 10: Non-financial interests (e)
International Adviser, Praemium Imperiale, Japan Art Association
Trustee, the Tablet Journal
However, he does not delare his directorship and trusteeship of the Oxford Russia Fund, a company and a charity with income and spending of over £3m. I haven’t checked where the money comes from. HMG?
Getting them young –
‘OXFORD RUSSIA FUND
THE MAIN ACTIVITY OF THE CHARITY IS TO ADVANCE EDUCATION IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION THROUGH THE PROVISION OF SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDENTS AND THE MAKING OF DONATIONS TO EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS. THE CHARITY FOCUSES ON GRANTS TO RUSSIAN UNIVERSITIES FOR THE PROVISION OF SCHOLARSHIPS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACADEMIC BOOKS TO RUSSIAN UNIVERSITIES.’
http://opencharities.org/charities/1108957
Odious lot inc some of the committee members including Clwyd and Patel.
The report:
https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/foreign-affairs-committee/news-parliament-2017/china-international-rules-report-published-17-19/
Sri Lanka explosion
churches targeted
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-48001720
A terrible slaughter.
Sri Lanka church and hotel explosions: at least 100 killed and hundreds injured – live
Explosions hit three hotels and three churches in and around Colombo as well as at Batticaloa in the east of the country
• Full report: many killed and injured in church and hotel explosions
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/apr/21/sri-lanka-explosions-dozens-killed-and-hundreds-injured-in-church-and-hotel-blasts
Sri Lanka. A destination of choice for Liam Fox and Adam Werritty in 2011.
Adam Werritty and Liam Fox’s Sri Lankan connections
Defence secretary’s friend was familiar sight to network of diplomats, politicians and journalists https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2011/oct/13/adam-werritty-liam-fox-sri-lanka
The PM has tweeted:
Ranil Wickremesinghe
45 minutes ago
I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong. Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation.
The Wikipedia editors must sit poised waiting to make new entries and update old ones.
There is a long history of terrorism in Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it was called, a relic of the British Empire. It gave us our tea, rubber and spices. The East India Company was prominent. What did we give the Singalese people? The Tamils from India as labourers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Ceylon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_Sri_Lanka
Now more than 200 known to be dead, at least one of the eight explosions was a suicide bomber.
Nearly 300 casualties now.
Q How does the US State Department know that there will be more attacks in Sri Lanka? Are they engineering them? More dark arts? Perhaps Pompeo can elucidate.
‘April 22, 2019 / 6:01 AM
U.S. State Dept warns ‘terrorists’ continue plotting Sri Lanka attacks
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-blasts-usa/u-s-state-dept-warns-terrorists-continue-plotting-sri-lanka-attacks-idUSKCN1RY09A
Pompeo – a fast rise to power following some years as an army officer, a lawyer and an aircraft parts manufacturer with financial assistance from the Kochs. Then into politics in 2010, again with financial assistance from the Kochs. Then the CIA and now Secretary of State following the likes of Kissinger, Albright, Hillary, Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell – all still alive unlike many of their victims.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Pompeo
Sharp Ears
Q. How does the US State Department know that there will be more attacks in SriLanka?
The government of Sri Lanka were not told there were going to be bombs going off but some in their Intelligence groups knew.
The Government of Sri Lanka is open to the possibility that a coup d’etat
is under way.
From all over the world.
Who are the victims
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-48002169
So sad and such a cruel waste of life.
‘Notre Dame: the cause of the fire remains a mystery’: https://solidariteetprogres.fr/actualites-001/notre-dame-la-cause-de-l-incendie.html
Benjamin Mouton , the former chief architect of the Historical Monuments in charge of Notre Dame from 2000 to 2013, is very surprised at the rapid spread of the fire, because unlike most commentators he explains that such old hard timber does not easily catch fire.
He deliberately declines to blame arson, but it seems clear to me that he does suspect that as a strong possibility.
Not only do countries waste enormous amounts of money on weapons and the military, their Corporations also studiously avoid paying taxes:
‘It’s not just Amazon: These profitable US corporations paid ZERO taxes’:
https://www.rt.com/business/457150-us-corporations-avoid-taxes/?
Amazon made almost $11 billion, paid no Federal Taxes, but managed to get a $129 million tax rebate!
The lawyers did alright here. No wonder that there’s a saying – ‘a lawyers’ paradise’.
‘The UK government used more than £11 million in public funds to fight a lawsuit that sought compensation and an apology for the government’s role in the 2004 rendition of Libyan militant Abdel Hakim Belhaj.
Government lawyers were paid a total of £4.4 million for working the case, while Belhaj’s counsel received £6.9 million, all drawn from state funds, a Freedom of Information request revealed.
The huge expense shows the lengths the government went to to resist Belhaj’s suit, which, in addition to a formal apology and monetary redress, also demanded the prosecution of a British intelligence officer involved in the rendition.’
RT website
The International Olympic Committee, of all outfits, is giving £432k to the appeal!! Whose funny money do they have at their disposal?
https://news.sky.com/story/sky-views-iocs-notre-dame-donation-was-opportunistic-grandstanding-11700443
Roof renovation company says workers smoked on top of Notre Dame but rules out that as cause
https://www.euronews.com/2019/04/24/roof-renovation-company-says-workers-smoked-on-top-of-notre-dame-roof-but-rules-out-that-a
I thought it was illegal in any E.U. state to smoke at work, does this not apply to France?
I didn’t think any rules applied in France.
Notre-Dame scaffolding workers admit to smoking on the roof of Notre-Dame minutes before the huge blaze.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/notre-dame-scaffolding-workers-admit-to-smoking-on-the-job-before-blaze
A spokesman for family-owned Le Bras Freres, confirming a report in French weekly Le Canard Enchaine, told Reuters that some workers of its Europe Echafaudage scaffolding unit had informed police that they had “sometimes” smoked on the scaffolding, despite a smoking ban on the site.
I do hope these smokers are being given the third degree by the police?
Ramzy Baroud draws a parallel. No notice is taken of what has taken place and is taking place in Gaza. He writes of his grandfather’s mosque, built originally of mud and later with bricks and concrete, but now rubble.
April 26, 2019
Notre Dame of Gaza: Our Mosques and Churches are Also Burning
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/04/26/notre-dame-of-gaza-our-mosques-and-churches-are-also-burning/
I will name a Golan town after Trump, says Israel’s Netanyahu
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-48031045
Mr Netanyahu said the move would honour Mr Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan in March.
Israel seized the Golan from Syria in 1967 and annexed the territory in 1981. The move has not been recognised internationally.
Syria said Mr Trump’s decision was “a blatant attack on its sovereignty”.
I can not see how letting Israel get way with stealing the Golan,
is going to end well.
In 1964, Syria sought to divert the sources of the Jordan and prevent their waters from reaching Israel, provoking a series of border incidents; the Syrian plan was ultimately thwarted by IDF operations in the spring of 1965.
One third of the water used in Israel comes from The Golan.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/geography-and-geology-of-the-golan-heights
Does anyone else think that its odd the 800 year old oak took fire so fast and burnt yellow? that few fire engines arrived?, that they ruled out arson before the flames had been quelled, that the statues had coincidently all been removed prior to the fire because of renovatons, that the 2 guards permanently on duty to check for fire had not been found?, etc, good timing for Macron however with his yellow vest problems. Now he can ‘unify’ the country over Notre Dame!
Experts and Medievalists are urging Emmanuel Macron to slow down, building a monument can be done relatively quickly
but rebuilding a burnt out Medieval monument needs more time and thought, slow down boy.
https://www.france24.com/en/20190429-france-experts-warn-macron-against-rushing-rebuilding-notre-dame
I’ve heard that a donation to La fondation patrimoine to help with the rebuild of Notre Dame is tax deductible by 66% and the french authorities overall only get a third of the amount net.
Believe it or not, I saw that fire in my dream two weeks before. Then I did not understand what the Cathedral is burning, but later saw in the news. And the week before that, I was looking through [url=https://tranio.com/france/detached/]real estate listings[/url] to buy a house in France. Is that a coincidence or am I psychic?