The New Diary of a Nobody

It is a thirsty world

When I was younger I really didn't think I would see many changes in my world. Oh, there was this thing about World War 3 but only paranoid American school kids were practicing hiding under their desks - to the rest of us it was far less of a possibility.

Now I am older I find that my future is being drawn in far darker and harsher detail than was ever invisaged in "On the Beach" or "The Crysalids" or other apocalyptic novels.

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Quenching Mexico City's thirst

"Population growth, the over-exploitation of subterranean aquifers, and a failure to recycle limited water supplies have turned a once-fertile region into a barren desert."

Mexico city, once the water logged Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, sat within a broad, deep lake of floating crop islands and tropical beauty, is drying out. 20 million people have drunk the city dry. Water recycling is minimal, and they have a leaking water problem that makes Thames water look wonderful.20 million people and it rains less. In other parts of the world it is worse.

Some predictors indicate that Africa could lose 25% of its water in the next 50 to 100 years. In constrast other parts of the world could get wetter. The seas could rise, the storms could be more ferocious and the floods more debilitating. And the population will rise because we are getting better at keeping it alive.Anyone ofr a nuclear holocaust? At least it would be quick. Perhaps the Iranians will obige.

Read the BBC article news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wor...

So much news! Any ID what is happening?

The too and fro of the ID bill continues in its own rather daft way. If anyone has bothered to follow all of this then they are either on the committee or are having a very tired life.

The truth is that if ID cards were introduced tomorrow and they were mandatory, then most people would get one. People would object and you might even get a riot or two. But within ten years it would be a matter only for historians.Will ID cards make life easier? Get the technology right and possibly. But it will only be in the same way that a chip and pin card is seen as better than cash. And is that better? Well, possibly - possibly not. Never seen a major problem with cash personally. It can't be decoded and if anyone steals it, well they get what was in your pocket, but ot doen't give them access to any more.So, cash is probably better. Hmmm. Better ditch ID cards and credit cards, oh, and cheques, IOUs and anything else that is not the real thing. Ah, that would be cash as well then.So lets reject ID cards and return to bartering with gold, silver and tin. Or we accept the lot, but make it workable. You choose.

How much a Peerage?

I feel in my bones that this is not a particularly life or death scandal, however it once again highlights the fact that Patronage is and has been part of our political system as much as it has been part of the US system.

We have to look again at many parts of our honours system and seperately at the second chamber. Personally, I am in favour of removing the ability for politicians to place honour upon anyone - especially as they often seem to have a limp grasp on the entire idea of Honour in the first place. Let us take it fully back to where it belongs - the Royal family.

If the system were to be run completely and soley by the palace, with no intrusion from the government, then they system could be designed to truly honour those which society wishes to recognise.

However, to really clean up the system we need to change the way political parties are funded and run. The demands on a polical party's purse has become astronomilcal with most of the budget going to mass marketing technicues of one sort or the other. Not only has this proved very expensive but it has put a tangeable barrier, the marketing specialist, between the party and the voter.

If there was a draconian limit on spend, then the party's would be forced to make greater use of traditional techniques, like meeting people more often. Or simply talking to camera rather than spending thousands on pointless images (I know they are pointless - I do this for a living).Either way, if power corrupts then the currency of power is the same as anything else - cash. Remove large amounts of cash from the system and you remove some of the tools of corruption. It is not a cure, but it is a start.

Taking the politics out of the Greenhouse

There is a simple problem here: If sea levels rise, the Tower of London will get flooded. This is the trouble when the river you are parked on is more or less at sea level. And will sea levels rise? Well, if the workd heats up - yes.

The trouble is there is dispute as to whether the world WILL heat up in the near future. CErtainly it has gotten a little warmer, but is this really showing a major trend? The best evidence unfortunately thinks that it is - we could be in big trouble. In fact we could be in enough trouble that we will get there whether we do anything or not, and that is a depressing thought.The USA has, however, a different approach. They say that firstly the indications are so small as to be misleading - they may or may NOT be showing climate change. They also are havng tremendous trouble with the idea of one body telling another what it can do - especially of the second body happens to be the USA and the first has anything to do with the UN.To be honest, the USA has a more realistic problem too. As the most powerful, or rather most succesful, economy in the world currently, they have unbelievable power requirements. And they are very worried that climate change will mean they will have to start turning power off. This could be politically destabalising not only for the US but for the rest of us as well.However, the US is taking a very dishonest approach to the problem - at least publically. Rather than confront the situation head on and start looking for solutions that may protect against climate change as well as keeping stbility - taking a lead, in other words - they hide behing a wall of political twists and turns that are as meaningless as they are rediculous.Avoiding a problem is not a solution. In other areas the US has been good, or perhaps over zealous, in getting it's hadns dirty, why are they so backwards in this one that may REALLY matter?

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Tower of London on climate list

The Premier Blog?

(BBC NEWS - Nick Robinson's Newslog)

From the thousands of blogs out there, this one gets premier positioning on the BBC website. And it fulfills everything a blog should - it is consise, it does not just regurgitate eveything lse, it is personal and, of course, it is free! (Erm, with a nod to the licence fee)

But does it get any more noticed than, say, my own? Well, okay it does a bit, well probably quite a lot, but I do wonder whether the total amount of readers of the blogs of the world actually exceeds the total number of bloggers. I hope this has a magnificent hit rate - it would give the rest of us hope!

Who cares where the votes come from? (BBC NEWS - Blair to defend key schools plan)

I get this deep feeling that the job of "running the country" that is meant to be the pervue of elected MPs is being subverted by the need to be political. Okay, so this is not new, not even recent, but it is getting to be a complete pain!

Now, I quite like at least some of what the government is proposing in the current education bill. Well, I would, wouldn't I? I have kids of the right age, I am fed up with the state of education, and the fact that I can do noubt about it, and I also remember and fear the looney left in the education system that tried so hard to cock up my own education.Despite that I am a labour supporter. However, although I have no particular wish to vote for the Tories, I am aware of one thing. EVERY MP in the house is there because they were elected by people of this country. A vote from a Tory, Lib Dem or other carries the same weight as a vote from the Labour back benches.That is called democracy and, as an ordinary voter, I do not give a jot what flavour any particular MP is, but I do care about the result. Yesterday's result was good for me. Let's face it, if I lived in a Tory constituency, the MP I would have to lobby would be a Tory MP - That is who represents me, even though I voted labour.It is about time that the news people stopped focussing on the stupid westminster soap stories and started talking policy.Read more at news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_...