Please sir, we want more...
The United Kingdom's two largest political parties — those which vie to become the Westminster government — agree on many things. But one of the things on which they agree is that the United Kingdom's long-standing tradition of providing safe haven for those oppressed or unsafe within their hope countries has had its day; that even our binding commitments under the 1951 Refugee Convention are now unsupportable. Instead, we now seek to prevent refugees from landing on our shores, even at risk to their lives. We even threaten to deport refugees — whether or not they have valid claims to asylum — to Rwanda.
Why? Because the parties believe that the xenophobia of voters in key groups in England is such that extending an open-handed welcome with those with valid claims to refugee status would result in their losing votes, and thus their chance of power.
Climate Change as Crime
What is the scale of the Climate Emergency as an event, compared to other events in human history?
Consider number of deaths as a metric.
The carbon economics of sawing timber
I'm currently sawing all the trees that blew down in my wood into timber, most of which will be used in buildings here on the farm. The sawmill I'm using is petrol driven. I'm trying to work out what the relative carbon cost of sawing it is, as opposed to leaving it to rot.
So, firstly, these are not trees I am felling. Only two standing trees have been felled, out of about 2,000 down; those two were actively endangering my house. Other than those two, all the trees were brought down in storms, mostly Storm Arwen. If left on the ground, they will rot and release most or all of their carbon over a relatively short period.
On the protection of minorities
Dear friends
Out, brief candle?
I've been unwell for exactly a month; over the course of the winter, I've been unwell for quite a lot more than that. By unwell, I mean relatively minor viral infections, the most recent one almost certainly Covid. But of course, with me, viral infections always trigger my ever-lurking psychiatric demons, so I've been experiencing nightmares, psychotic hallucinations, and very persistent 'suicidal ideation', to give it it's polite name. All this means my brain is so full of noise and chaos that it's hard to concentrate on even simple tasks.
It's... very trying.