Anyone learnt anything from the vaccine debacle with the EU ?

 Well that was nearly very nasty indeed. It has ended being only a little bit nasty.

The UK, though better planning and execution, got its vaccine supply chain and manufacturing rolling 3 months before the EU.

The EU is in real trouble because it stopped other countries from organising their own supplies ( though somehow Germany did anyway - why is there so little fuss about that ? ) and it hit on trying to grab some of the UK vaccine to look better.

The problem is this means people in the UK dying so the EU can save people under its jurisdiction.

We are - after a bit on NI border insanity - now in the realpolitik section of this crisis.

Clearly the UK has given a little ground ( ie sacrificed UK citizens lives in the face of threats from an aggressive foreign power - but the govt refutes the roll out program will change, but then they would wouldn't they ). In all probability the UK has given ground ( 9 million vaccines ) in exchange for being allowed to pretend to win. ( It will be possible to work out the number of UK citizens who die as a result, no doubt someone will do this ).

So we are barely being civilised.

We are certainly all ( EU, US, UK etc ) putting nation first.

This was a mild crisis. It could have been :

• A world wide failure of harvests ( Yellowstone explodes / asteroid strike etc )
• A really nasty virus - small pox etc
• A mid sized nuclear war
• A solar flare

In all cases if you had preparation its quite clear those without will come to take yours.

Say for example the UK has food rations for a year and the EU for 2 months - the EU would demand ours, and if it didn't get it then war would almost certainly follow. We now know civilisation is 3 square meals from anarchy.

I know none of this is very pleasant - but its time to rethink where the threats lie, our preparation for them, and if we get it right how we can avoid being mugged by the European Union, and then left to bleed to death in the gutter.

The mask has slipped - we would do well to learn our lessons.

PS You notice how Germany is getting away with its own vaccine order - tells you a lot about where the power really is in the EU.

A farewell to Tweets ?

Over the last few months what is becoming grouped as Silicon Valley Big Tech has been spending a lot of political capital, whether they know it or not.

They have moved from being a platform for information, though being one that also policed for its legal obligations, though to one that picks sides.

And they all picked the same side in the recent US elections.

Before the elections we the suppression of news disadvantageous to the Biden campaign, including news that had been published by one of the oldest running news paper in the United States that was actively suppressed by various technical platforms.

The wider media saved the announcement of a successful vaccine until after polls closed.

And then, perhaps sensing the quarry was fatally injured, they put their hands on the scales more openly. Trump tweets had banners under them, and the rest of the media followed through. ( The 4th estate just refused to investigate the accusations, and various election officials moved quickly to destroy evidence ).

Recently with the Capitol trespass they have doubled down ( if you look at the video of the police just letting these guys through you have to question what really went on - but don't do it on Facebook or Twitter ). Accounts have been suspended ( or close in the case of the US President ).

Of course many Trump supporters therefore left Twitter and went to Gab or Parler.

Now Gab , to give them credit, saw this coming and built their own infrastructure, but  Parler relied on Amazon. Amazon have said they will switch  Parler off at midnight tonight ( US time ). Apple ( and Google ? ) seem to be threatening to ban their app ( again Gab  bypassed these guys with a web only system some time ago ).

So just at the time that a very sizeable number of people are switching ( remember Friends reunited, Blackberry messenger etc ? No - their users moved ) Twitter main competitor is taken out for weeks.

There will be consequences.

My guess:

1) The bifurcation of platforms. Twitter on the left/new world order. others like  Parler & Gab  on the right. The establishment will try to ignore all but its pet platforms.

2) Legislation, taxation, regulation. Silicon Valley has broken cover for the radical left. The right is going to stop the assumption of benevolence that normal goes to private sector organisations.

3) Political organisations will only trust platforms that support their objectives. Twitter, Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple belong to the left. There 50% of the world to play for now.

And finally do I need to cancel my twitter account ?

One of the things I do value about it is the people I'm in contact with who take different views. My guess is they won't be coming across the Red Sea with me. I'll miss them, but this is starting to look like war.

Update:

See Darren Grimes interview Censoring Trump: Big Tech Has Gone Too Far - Sarah Elliott

How Government Helps Big Tech SUPPRESS Dissent - Victoria Hewson