Unthreaded
People ...
You mightn't like smart meters - the sustainability crew have a fresh(?) way to torment you coming down the chute
I give you "Smart Waste"
There are seminars and projects .... I've already seen an Internet of Things "smart waste" kitchen bin that updates its contents to the cloud.... there's talk of integrating it with smart fridges to generate alerts about unused food.
They haven't moved onto toilets yet - but I'm confident they won't be able to resist that.
I don't see any projects to monitor the piles of waste that are spontaneously combusting with recently seemingly increased regularity across the UK.
tomo
UaT
it's a pretty tangled web that's been woven in N. Africa and migration-wise.
We really don't get to hear what's been done in particularly Libya and Egypt. The descent of Libya into murderous chaos in particular is a consequence of both US and EU actions. I traveled to Libya before the fall of Qaddafi but not after - as an observer from afar it now looks absolutely frightful and imho a stabilising military / security international force should have been installed.
The standard of reporting from the places that are in trouble and sourcing migrants is simply unacceptably pisspoor - most politicians in the first world who are taking decisions on what to do seem similarly uninformed - allowing really bad actors to exploit the situation both in terms of international banditry (where did Libya's gold go?) and the assorted carnival of gold plated despots bleeding their own populations dry and banking the loot in the "west".
The migrant ferries are simply farcical - maybe the operators are simply deluded eejits (some of the volunteers definitely are) - but the opaque funding and the actions of the assorted administrations seem to indicate a game plan....
If the situation regarding migrants into developed countries isn't addressed then chaos is sure to follow - I see Toronto city administration has declared that they are at migrant saturation level. That the migration has been cultivated for political purpose is a given - we have yet to see actually what that purpose is.
For myself - heading generally to the source counties of migration for work purposes - I often see places that have enormous potential for improvement that are run at the whim of a tiny elite to the detriment of the locals and I also see the underside of assorted "first world" involvement.
The "humanitarian" veneer that's applied liberally to the migrant (and asylum) business must be stripped away - it does not help the travelers in the long run and only serves to build popular resentment in the host/destination countries. I doubt though that we'll see/hear our politicians indulging in informed, honest discussions about it.
tomo
gc, yes, France and the EU blamed the UK for Sangatte because we mae it too cushy for migrants. What the migrants are now realising is that the whole of the EU makes things cushy for them. The EU is almost as much of a push over as we are. So north Africa might be a staging post but it won't stop them coming. Even assuming north Africa will be prepared to accept those the EU doesn't want.
TinyCO2
Jun 28, 2018 at 11:44 PM | golf charlie
It was ever thus with politicians, sometimes the blame game is used to divert attention away from domestic problems, and sometimes leads to war. I've beleived for many years the way to prevent a lot of wars, and latterly mass migration, is to help people and nations become wealthy. Not in the Corbyn sense of bringing everyone down to third world levels but by bring everyone up to modern first world standards. Over half a century of chucking "Aid" at the problem has failed, anyone with half a brain can see that which obviously excludes 99% of politicians. All that's happening now is wringing of hands and passing the buck.
It was pretty obvious from studying European history in the 19th century what was likely to happened once standards of health care improved in Africa and Asia. For one or two generations family sizes would increase from 3 or 4 surviving children to a dozen or more. The country would be unable to support the numbers, people would move to cities and then look for somewhere else for a life with better prospects. That's why I have distant cousins in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Chile and that's just the ones I know about.
Uibhist a Tuath
Yipee. Delers spot on, Labour in disarray, May told to grow a pair and NGO mafia attacked.
Jun 29, 2018 at 12:18 AM | Pcar
Yes, the EU has no one prepred to speak on behalf of the EU, and defend the EU for not recognising EU bungling and bungs.
UK Remainers are still obseessed with scare tactics about BREXIT, and can't admit the EU screwed up before, and is still doing it now.
Within the EU, Europhiles daren't criticise Merkel, whilst she still holds power. The EU Merkel crisis continues. It is about time to relabel "Merkel Migrants" and their MSF funded "Water Taxi Services", for what they really are.
golf charlie
Meanwhile in Venezuela the price of a coffee breaks the bolívares fuertes 1 million barrier.
Jun 29, 2018 at 12:02 AM | tomo
Corbyn regards this as a triumph for good politics and "Fair Trade" coffee breaks at work.
golf charlie
Delingpole: Finally, the UK government has rejected the £1.3 billion Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon Project.
Delingpole: Jack Dorsey’s Twitter ‘Hateful Conduct’ Rule Only Applies to Conservatives…
Treason? Richard Corbett, Labour Party’s leading man in Brussels, the home of the European Union, has announced he will be supporting Belgium in Thursday’s World Cup match against England.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s ex-chief of staff has savaged her failing Brexit strategy, Europhile fifth columnists within Government and Parliament, and the bully-boy tactics of Brussels itself. “Britain repeatedly says we want the EU to prosper; they repeatedly say they want us to fail.”
German MPs to Bring Criminal Human Trafficking Charges Against Migrant Transport NGOs
Yipee. Delers spot on, Labour in disarray, May told to grow a pair and NGO mafia attacked.
Pcar
Meanwhile in Venezuela the price of a coffee breaks the bolívares fuertes 1 million barrier.
tomo
https://www.wsj.com/articles/migrant-issue-could-be-make-or-break-for-eu-merkel-warns-1530197239
Migrant Issue Could Be ‘Make-or-Break’ for EU, Merkel Warns European leaders are gathering for a summit that could show the influence of anti-immigration forces
BRUSSELS—Divisions over migration threaten the European Union’s future, embattled German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Thursday, as leaders gathered for a summit that could show the sway of newly empowered populists.
golf charlie
Tiny CO2 & tomo
The EU have now decided they are united in agreeing to Front Line States having holding camps on a voluntary basis.
I have not heard the views of Malta, Italy and Greece, but I can guess the response from Croatia.
Merkel Migrants will keep flowing to the African Coast, and Merkel's Free Passenger Ferry Services will continue to operate with no destinations East of Italy. Crisis NOT resolved. EU Fudge production unaffected.
Egypt does NOT welcome refugees. Tunisia is trying to rebuild confidence in its tourist industry.
Spain DOES have territory on the African Coast that no one is supposed to know about whilst Spain bellyaches about Gibraltar.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plazas_de_soberan%C3%ADa
●Plazas de soberanía●
The plazas de soberanía, plus Ceuta, Melilla, andAlborán Island
"The (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈplaθaz ðe soβeɾaˈni.a], literally "squares of sovereignty") are the Spanish sovereign territories in North Africa. These are separate pieces of land scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco. The name refers to the fact that these territories have been a part of Spain since the formation of the modern Spanish State (1492–1556), and are distinguished from African territories obtained by Spain during the 19th and 20th century."
"Historically, a distinction was made between the so-called "major sovereign territories", comprising the cities of ●Ceuta● and ●Melilla●, and the "minor sovereign territories", referring to a number of smaller enclaves and islands along the coast. In the present, the term refers mainly to the latter."