Trump Could Be A Disaster For The Environment
This article on ITVx is entitled ‘Drill, baby, drill’: What Trump’s Re-election Could Mean For Our Climate
The article is a must-read.
It starts with a picture that has a placard that says “Trump Digs Coal”
I certainly don’t and have felt that way since probably the Aberfan disaster of 1966.
This is the first paragraph from the Wikimedia entry.
The Aberfan disaster was the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and overlaid a natural spring. Heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as a slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses.
In coal mining areas, disasters still happen.
We should all show our disgust at Trump ad the people who voted for him, by not buying any American products, unless it is absolutely necessary.
Trump Will Fix It
I can’t believe that I’ve just seen the title of this post, emblazoned across Trump’s stage.
The phrase doesn’t have the same connotations and odious ring, that it does in the UK, but because of its associations with Jimmy Saville, it is probably better not used.
All the world can now do, is wait for the result.
- It does appear that in the US, female voters have a high turnout.
- According to the Guardian, nearly a third of voters are black.
Certainly, if I were black or female, I wouldn’t feel, I could vote for Trump.
Indian Minister’s Health aAdvice: Lie In A Cowshed To Cure Cancer
The title of this post, is the same. as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Senior politician in Narendra Modi’s party says he drinks cow urine every morning to kill bacteria and eliminate negativity
These are the first three paragraphs.
The humble cow has long been venerated in India. Revered by Hindus, pictured with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and long used by his Bharatiya Janata Party to promote the leader’s own politically charged brand of nationalism, the animal plays a central part in Indian life.
That adoration could grow further after a senior politician claimed that cows could cure cancer.
Sanjay Singh Gangwar, 48, a BJP minister for sugarcane in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, said patients could eradicate their symptoms simply by cleaning and lying down in a cowshed. They would be cured by the “positive aura and energy” of cows, the minister said.
When I found a peer-reviewed paper entitled Coeliac Disease: Can We Avert The Impending Epidemic In India?, I discussed it with my GP at the time, who was of part-Indian extraction, and I got a rant about Narendra Modi.
I now take anything Narendra Modi says with a very large dose of salt.
Gangwar’s advice doesn’t stop there.
These two paragraphs give more pearls of wisdom.
The health benefits of a cow do not end there, added Gangwar. He advocated drinking “filtered” cow urine — which he said he did every morning — and use cow dung as flooring in village homes. And anyone suffering from high blood pressure should simply stroke a cow — once in the morning and again in the evening.
“If a cancer patient starts cleaning a cowshed and lying there, even cancer can be cured,” he insisted as he inaugurated a cow shelter in the city of Pilibhit. “If you burn cow dung cakes, you get relief from mosquitoes. Everything that a cow produces is useful in some way.”
So to Gangwar, the global-warming methane, that cows emit is useful, but in what way?
Is Gangwar, Donald Trump’s long-lost Indian son from a dalliance in the country?
Donald Trump To Open Second Aberdeenshire Golf Course In 2025
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These opening two paragraphs introduce the course.
The 18-hole links MacLeod Course – named after the former US president’s Lewis-born mother, Mary – will welcome players at the Trump International resort in Menie from the Summer of 2025.
The resort claimed the course would feature the “largest sand dunes in Scotland” and form “the greatest 36 holes in golf” alongside the original course, completed in 2012.
It sounds to me that the environmental aspects could be rather detrimental. But then Trump has form for a poor record in this area, as I wrote in Trump Forgot The Ace Of Clubs!
Former US President Donald Trump Launches $99 NFT Trading Cards
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
Under images of two of the cards, one showing him as a roughneck with a shotgun and the other as a superhero, this is the first paragraph.
Former US President Donald Trump has launched a collection of digital trading cards depicting him in various guises including a superhero, astronaut and Nascar driver.
In the superhero picture he has a T on his chest.
I would think a W with an anchor would have been more appropriate.
Should I Get Depressed About A World Ruled By Putin, Trump And Xi?
When I read the reports of the mid-term elections in the United States, Putin’s War in Ukraine and Chairman Xi’s coronation as Emperor for Life, I despair.
As I suspect do many others!
Voters In Trump Counties Far More Likely To Die Of Covid
The title of this post is the same as that of this article in The Times.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Americans in areas that voted for President Trump are almost three times more likely to die of Covid-19 than those in counties that supported Joe Biden, an analysis has found.
In the most strongly pro-Trump areas there was an almost sixfold difference in pandemic mortality with the most pro-Biden areas, according to National Public Radio (NPR).
I suppose Trummkopf will say it is fake news.
Covid: Biden Vows 100m Vaccinations For US In First 100 Days
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
These are the introductory paragraphs of the article.
US President-elect Joe Biden has set a goal of 100 million Covid vaccinations in his first 100 days in office.
He said his first months in office would not end the outbreak and gave few details on a rollout plan but he said he would change the course of Covid-19.
Introducing his health team for when he takes office on 20 January, he urged Americans to “mask up for 100 days”.
I can see a few rocks ahead in his plan.
Vaccine Production
According to media reports, the number of vaccinations has declined since Friday because of delivery issues with the Pfizer vaccine.
In Tracking COVID-19 Vaccination Statistics, the number of vaccinations in the last few days are as follows.
- 15th January – 324233
- 16th January – 549920
- 17th January – 205235
- 18th January – 204076
The figures have been declining because of these delivery issues.
Pfizer say they are updating the factory in Belgium to increase production.
I don’t believe that, as the United States will be needing a million does per day, that they can get enough production on a reliable basis.
A Federal Lockdown
I believe that to get the virus under control in the United States, the country must follow the route of countries like France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the UK and have a period of perhaps a hundred days of total lockdown.
But I doubt that would be possible in the United States.
Mask Wearing
I don’t believe that Americans will mask up for a hundred days.
The Anti-Vaxxers And The Trumpeteers
I can see them having a field day!
Especially, if Joe Biden adds some strong legislation to curb the spread of the virus. Which in my view is needed.
Conclusion
It’s going to get a lot messier and probably more dangerous in the United States in the next few months.
Trump And The Open
This BBC story today, which was entitled Trump National Stripped Of 2022 US PGA Championship.
The Times also has an article today, saying that Trump has been lobbying hard to get The Open allocated to his course at Turnberry.
I have a feeling that the access and the fact that in 2024, the Open will go to Troon will scupper Trump’s ambitions.
Good crowds will need good transport access and preferably by rail to a large population centre with lots of hotels.
- 2021 – Royal St. Georges – The nearby Sandwich station is being lengthened to take high speed trains from London, especially for the tournament.
- 2022 – St. Andrews – Perhaps too short a time to put in the long-promised rail link to Leuchars, but the train service to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow from Leuchars is good.
- 2023 – Royal Liverpool – The course has a nearby station at Hoylake and Merseyrail are getting new fleets of classy Swiss trains. Enthusiasts could always take the ferries part of the way from Liverpool.
- 2024 – Troon – The rail line to Glasgow goes past the course and there’s time to build a temporary station if needed.
The other courses on the active rota for the Open are.
- Carnoustie – The nearby Golf Street station is used during major golf tournaments.
- Muirfield – This course has had other problems. But the rail links are not good.
- Royal Birkdale – Like Royal Liverpool, it has a nearby Merseyrail station.
- Royal Lytham and St. Annes – This course has a station and it looks like the rail link will be upgraded soon.
- Royal Portrush – The nearby railway station was rebuilt for the 2019 Open
There is no rail line anywhere near Turnberry.
I feel that the R & A have enough excuses to avoid giving the Open to Turnberry.
It looks to me that Trump bought the wrong golf course.
‘Natural’ Nasal Spray Could Stop Virus Before It Enters The Body
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the two introductory paragraphs.
A Canadian nasal spray that has been shown to stop the coronavirus from spreading through the body will begin its first UK clinical trial tomorrow.
The SaNOtize nitric oxide spray is designed to prevent the virus from passing through the nose to the respiratory system. The trial will be run by Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Surrey.
I shall be watching SaNOtize‘s development with interest, as something that could be similar got my life on track!
I am 73 and I was a very sickly child, despite the persistence of the GP, who delivered me, who was the superbly-named Dr. Egerton White, to try and sort out my problems.
I was always, having terms off school with respiratory problems, probably caused by the London smogs of the 1950s. We lived in Southgate and they had as bad smogs as anyone.
In the end, with the connivance of a pharmacist called Halliday, they formulated a nasal spray, that worked. I can still smell it!
My health improved with the Clean Air Act and during University in the seaside city of Liverpool.
Later, I worked for ICI on chemical plants and there was an unfounded story, that the pensions were good, as working on ammonia plants and the like kept you clear of all the viruses going around. But on retirement in all that clear air, you got everything that was going and died soon after leaving work. Hence the pension scheme had more money than it needed.
My health also improved, when at fifty I was diagnosed as a coeliac and went gluten-free.
Now after returning to London after the death of my wife and son to cancer, and suffering a serious stroke, my head is all choked up by the pollution. The Covid-19 lockdown makes it difficult to take the cure, which is a couple of days by the sea. Biarritz, Gdansk and Liverpool work a treat.
Trump Got It Wrong!
Trump was advocating injecting bleach to cure the Covids.
- Note that bleach is a strong alkali
- This spray is based on nitric oxide, which when mixed with water forms nitrous acid.
- Wikipedia says not to mix-up the weak nitrous acid with nitric acid.
So Trummkopf couldn’t tell his alkali from his acid, which surely is a recipe for disaster.
Nitric Oxide
This is part of the introduction in the Wikipedia entry for nitric oxide.
An important intermediate in industrial chemistry, nitric oxide forms in combustion systems and can be generated by lightning in thunderstorms. In mammals, including humans, nitric oxide is a signaling molecule in many physiological and pathological processes. It was proclaimed the “Molecule of the Year” in 1992. The 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for discovering nitric oxide’s role as a cardiovascular signalling molecule.
I remember a fascinating BBC Horizon program about nitric oxide’s role as a signalling molecule.
- It started with research done by a veterinary professor at Glasgow University, who believed that after experimenting with penises from dead bulls, concluded that nitric oxide had something to do with it.
- But his ideas were so out-of-kilter with established thought, that his research was sidelined at conferences in journals.
- Reasons like it was a poison and such a simple molecule were given.
- Then in London, someone who knew of his research, had a patient dying of toxic shock syndrome.
- He suggested injecting the lady, with large amounts of nitric oxide, in the hope they could save her life.
- Her partner agreed.
And as it worked, there was a very happy ending.
I
The Anonymous Widower 