DutchEnery

Something strange happening in UK society – the BBC being accused of being biased. NOOOOH, please not another accusation! Not Auntie BBC? Yet it is funny but I have been getting hot under the collar for a while. It is the fact that the BBC seems to have become aggressive in its reporting. Ms Maitliss in particular. But there are others. When you look at the news we can see Mr Corbyn being portrayed as Saint Corbyn, smiling, waving the microphone. So, yes thanks BBC you’re doing a grand job. There is however a nasty side to all this – I am an avid history addict and it is rather disconcerting to note that all these things have happened before. The propaganda, the appearances of a political leader at large rallies, selected public adulation, exposure by the media. When, you ask? In the early thirties, in Germany. Now, we know how all that ended. I am not bothered about proper politics, leaders have to have media exposure, and yes a strong opposition is paramount. But here we see

Ah, election over, austerity over. Problem is, what exactly IS austerity? We hear a lot about balancing the books and yes, that seems to make sense. Sense at least for ordinary people like myself. I certainly try not to spend more than I bring into the home budget! Is that making sense? Austerity meant mostly cutting public spending by the government in the name of ‘balancing the books’. Admirable in one way but very problematic in other ways. But governments are on a different level. For a start they control the issue of money. That is to say the amount of money that is in circulation. They can and do print more. Called quantitative easing. We noted this action when billions were spent to bail-out the failing banks. So national economics is not quite the same as home economics. So, was the Labour party wrong in calling for billions to be spent on so-called public projects such as nationalising the railways, and possible other industries, water, power etc. Dropping university

I always enjoy election campaigns and listening to all the interesting promises candidates, especially the party leaders, make. The first thing that is important to remember is they are promises, not actual intentions to incorporate into policy. The second thing is the finance details or rather lack of it, are widely inaccurate or simply based on approximations about present standards. Meaning they have no idea of how these promises will possibly be worked out. I suspect we will hear that after the election these promises were well liked ideas and hopefully would be carried out but that at the present time and in the uncertainty of the political world, they are not affordable. In other words, no change. Although Mr Corbyn is gaining ground, possibly because of his appearances in strong Labour areas only and filmed by pro-Labour BBC newscasters his ideas are basically and completely unaffordable. Even if he had the intention of actually carrying them out! I just cannot believe

I am an avid watcher of political programs, especially now with a General Election looming.From time to time I can assure you these programs are worthwhile watching as they are comparable if not better than Live at the Apollo (a comedy program worthy of the name). You will see well dressed, well-fed people in tuxedos or evening dresses spouting all sorts of rubbish. Reality just being circumcised and mudslinging the norm. Now I don’t mind the mudslinging I can do a bit of that myself. But when I hear Jeremy Corbyn’s ideas of how to put things ‘right’, his inability to add up, I begin to wonder of how much of his ideas will actually be carried out if he was elected as PM? I am sorry but can the UK actually afford him? We already have a £1.7 trillion debt hanging around our necks and by all accounts this could reach £2.5 trillion by 2025. Don’t make a mistake, Theresa May also has to borrow at least till 2020 if elected as PM. This country needs to wake up fast, we need to take hold

How interesting it is to see the Labour party’s attempt to win over voters. It is quite evident they have taken the way of big, very big promises. We are talking billions! Well, I suppose, talk a big lie often enough and people will believe you. Funnily though this time they have taken some effort to make the figures fit. But how in all good sense can you seriously think that to borrow so much money and spend, spend, spend, is a prudent way to govern? It is just cloud-cuckoo land. People just do not seem to grasp you cannot keep going on like that. In fact this is the big problem of the western world. We are all living on borrowed money. It is like the big party before the Titanic sinks. Reality is reality, truth is still truth, it will not go away. The youngsters today are fed up with austerity. In reality there is no austerity but simply a desire to fit the expenditure to income. I had always been of the opinion that politicians are there to govern the nation for the benefit

The latest news is full of reports of a massive ransomware attack on the NHS computer systems (and many others as well). Now this is not a new phenomenon, actually this type of cyber attack has been with us a while. It seems the process itself is quite simple. Due to inadequate safety/security, old software, no backup systems or even plain carelessness it is too easy to scan a whole range of IP addresses, looking for open gates to walk through (gates=ports). The choice is over 64,000 ports, take your pick. So, too easy to install a bit of software that encrypts the hard drives and stops access. Hey, I am doing that myself as well! I encrypt my own hard drives! To decrypt you will need a 256bit password. Now why do businesses and the NHS which is in charge of some highly sensitive data (medical records) not think more about how they set up systems? Ditch Windows altogether and use Linux? Have proper back-up systems, possibly using NAS (Network Attached Storage). Even a simpleton

I read a very interesting book by Scott Mariani. Writing high-octane action novels . But what interests me is some of the plots and chat accompanying. In this paperback story ‘The Babylon Idol’ (his latest) whilst settling down after a fearsome encounter in Olympia, Greece the main character Ben Hope comments on the shoes of his companion he just saved from a grisly death. His interesting dialogue centres on the history of female footwear. In fact he thinks it is a sign of female oppression. Quoting from the footbinding of the Chinese women to the 6 inch stilettos today. The lady with him says ‘So you think it is a male conspiracy?’ His answer to that ‘Do you know of any female footwear designers?’ It is a good point thinking about it. Why do women wear these type of shoes, shoes which are not incredibly healthy for the feet and legs. Most women would say, we do it to look pretty. Yes, but for whom? Well, not for donkeys I suppose. It has to be MEN! So, it IS a conspiracy. And I