Climate change? - by Richard... Sunday, August 01, 2010

Climate change? - by Richard... Sunday, August 01, 2010

So, floods sweeping Asia have killed more than 900 people, washing away thousands of homes and destroying infrastructure in some of the worst scenes in living memory. Heavy monsoon rains have exacted the heaviest toll in northwest Pakistan, with 800 confirmed dead and the regional capital Peshawar cut off. The deluge has also killed another 65 people in mountainous areas across the border in Afghanistan.

Floods devastating northeast China have killed at least 37 people and destroyed 25,000 homes, with the authorities racing to intercept vessels that broke their moorings and retrieve barrels full of explosive chemicals headed for a dam.

The worst floods in living memory have destroyed homes and swathes of farmland in northwest Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir, with the main highway to China reportedly cut and the military deployed to help isolated communities.

The United Nations says almost a million people had been affected by the Pakistan flooding. Footage shot from helicopters shows people clinging to walls and rooftops as gushing waters rampaged through inundated villages. Others walked barefoot through the water to seek safety, carrying their belongings and with children on their shoulders.

"This is the worst ever flood in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the country's history," provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said. "The death toll in floods and rain-related incidents has risen up to 800 across the province," he said, with another 150 people missing.

Now then ... is climate change supposed to bring drought or floods to these regions? It is difficult to keep up with the latest predictions, whatever they may currently be.

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Day 22 - Battle of Britain - by Richard... Saturday, July 31, 2010

It is a typical summer day - warm with clear skies. To those who could get access to the the beaches, an increasing number of which had been cordoned off in expectation of the invasion, bathing was an option. And that morning, a Sunderland of No. 10 Sqn Royal Australian Air Force, based at Mount Batten, is escorting the merchant cruiser Mooltan, out from Plymouth after a refit.

Three and a half hours out, at around, 08:55hrs, the pilot, Flt Lt Bill Garing (pictured) - nicknamed "Bull" for his voice, not his size - sights a formation of five Ju 88 bombers heading for his ship. He flies his heavy flying boat at them aggressively and, faced with an aircraft nicknamed the "flying porcupine", the Germans decide that discretion is the better part of valour. They retire. Garing is awarded a DFC for the action.

No. 10 Squadron RAAF is an interesting unit. Established on 3 September 1939 by Australian personnel already in England, they take delivery of new Short Sunderland flying boats (pictured top). Attached to the RAF, they are the sole RAAF presence in the European theatre until 1940 when the first Australians trained under the Empire Air Training Scheme began to arrive. When the squadron is officially disbanded on 26 October 1945, its aircraft have flown 4,553,860 nautical miles, undertaken 3177 operational flights and sunk five submarines.

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Not a happy proposition - by Richard...

Li Ka-Shing, Asia's richest man, has bought EDF's British electricity network business for £5.8bn. This is a deal we are told, that will see its £500m pension deficit for UK workers reduced by a quarter.

Advisers to Li Ka-Shing said the investor was "delighted" by the deal and could now look to buy more regulated assets in the UK. They said he had been attracted by sterling's stability and the regular returns of the UK power market.

However, there is every reason why EDF customers – and the British nation – should not be "delighted". The market has been "surprised" by the £5.8bn price tag – 45 percent over the "mooted value" – after the Hong Kong investor entered a bidding war with another consortium.

Scottish and Southern Energy, a potential third bidder, withdrew earlier in the process saying the asking price was too high considering the assets' deteriorated state. We thus have a situation where Li Ka-Shing is paying massively over the odds.

EDF, of course, is keeping hold of its much more valuable electricity generation business, and has been keen to sell off the UK distribution side in order to reduce debt after its £12.5 billion takeover of British Energy in 2008.

But, while EDF will be happy, in the nature of things, nothing is for nothing. Li Ka-Shing will want his money back. And, in a relatively competitive market, there are few options for major price increases. One other option is to "sweat" the assets, squeezing every penny profit, while cutting back on the investment.

But, if Scottish and Southern Energy felt it could not make money out of the business, despite already having a similar business in place, it is very hard to see how Li Ka-Shing can squeeze out a sufficient return. That is not a happy proposition - there must be a hidden agenda here, which does not bode at all well.

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Day 21 - Battle of Britain - by Richard... Friday, July 30, 2010

While the previous day had been fair, this Tuesday 70 years ago was marked by unsettled weather, low cloud and drizzle. Flying, therefore, was heavily restricted. Nevertheless, before noon, the Luftwaffe was out hunting on the Channel and North Sea, with a group of Ju 88s (type pictured) attacking a convoy off the Suffolk coast without success.

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The latest WWF campaign - by Richard...

Really good one this, a jolly jape by WWF in Bonn, involving a toilet, Saudi Arabia and a nameplate. But it is all very well for the WWF to be "deeply sorry" now. What about its claims that its actions are conducted on the basis of "robust, peer-reviewed conservation research and analysis."

And while the WWF is in the "sorry" mode, could we have an apology for the terrible mess it made on its "Amazongate" claims, relying on a website for unsubstantiated information, rather than using "robust, peer-reviewed conservation research and analysis".

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The dirty stuff - by Richard...

Somebody has to do it, and if I can't even bring myself to think about The Boy, then there is someone who is prepared to get their hands dirty – the redoubtable and combative Mary Ellen Synon.

This lady is much under-rated ... a sort of thinking man's Dellingpole, and much nicer looking. But that does not stop her ripping into Cameron with a gusto that is wholly admirable.

His current activity, she asserts, The Boy wants us to believe is true Conservatism. In response, the only question, says Mary Ellen Synon, is: "at what point are the true Conservatives going to rise up and roar that is isn't?"

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Greeks baring rifts - by Richard...

It might have disappeared from the notoriously parochial British media, but it is still there – Greece, that is. And their problems have not been resolved. In fact, they seem to begetting worse. The current round of troubles started a few days ago when the nation's lorry drivers announced their intention to go on indefinite strike today over plans to open up their sector to new licenses, opening up the transport business to new entrants.

Predicted shortages of fuel and goods, particularly on the Greek islands, have not been long in materialising and, at the height of the season, hundreds of thousands of holiday-makers look set to get caught up in the chaos, with even food and shortages of medicine threatened.

The government has no choice but to persevere – this strike being one of many as ministers try to implement fundamental economic reforms to meet the conditions imposed by the EU and IMF. Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou, has been struggling to meet the targets to secure a second payment of €9 billion by September.

With at least 100,000 tourists who had driven to Greece from neighbouring Bulgaria and Serbia now stranded, thousands have abandoning their cars as a result of fuel shortages. Officials taking the highly unusual step of beseeching visitors to stock up on fuel in Macedonia.

Premier George Papandreou set out emergency legislation late on Wednesday, threatening the drivers that unless they returned to work they would face stiff fines and their vehicles being requisitioned.

This is only the fourth time since the end of military rule in 1974 that such legislation has been invoked, but as yet no one is sure how the drivers will react to it. Chances are, the riot police are going to be busy, and one or two heads are going to get broken.

What is particularly vexing the government, though, is that the entire administrative structure seems to be breaking down. Under the emergency legislation, so-called mobilisation orders are supposed to have been issues, but most lorry drivers have yet to receive them.

The government is left without its big stick, seeking to negotiate a settlement, yet finding more and more sectors – one of the latest being the air traffic controllers – withdrawing their labour. Greece, it would appear, is not the place to be at the moment. But then it never was when there are a rather large number of Greeks baring rifts.

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Day 20 - Battle of Britain - by Richard... Thursday, July 29, 2010

The order to shoot down the German Seenotdienst aircraft, marked with Red Crosses, was still having its ramifications. Some RAF pilots were refusing to obey the order, and others wanted to see it in writing. Accordngly, on this day, the Air Ministry issued a communiqué.

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Right of reply - by Richard...

To the great Monbiot, The Guardian has given me right of reply. The comments are open on the piece – it will be interesting to see how the debate develops. If you comment there, you might also like to post a copy on the comment thread here, link below.

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