In America there is still fall out from the first presidential debate where both candidates are claiming victory in what was just ‘Handbags at ten paces’ fight of mudslinging and name calling with nothing of the reason they want to be president really found to be noteworthy. While Biden did try and keep his cool to address the issues that concern Americans, he did lose control at times due to Trump’s incessant interruptions while he tried to talk. It appeared to the world that Trump’s only tactic going in to the debate was to insult, bully and try to interrupt Biden at all cost. What was witnessed was a verbally aggressive standoff rather than a presidential debate. Due to the chaotic display the commission that oversees US presidential debates says it will change the format to ensure the remaining two encounters between Donald Trump and Joe Biden are more orderly. One thought on how to control the next two debates is to put controls on the microphones to prevent interruptions. This has brought criticism from the Trump camp while the Biden camp has stated they will adhere to whatever rules or procedures the commissions feels is necessary. Trump will still try to interrupt even if his microphone is turned off, that was proven by the way he stalked Hilary Clinton around the stage in the 2016 debates, he just can’t help himself because he is narcissistically hardwired to try and dominate whoever his opponent is.
As for the ‘White Supremacist’ debacle, that just introduced a group of radicalised individuals to the world stage as the group named by Trump [which I will not name] has jumped at the chance to glorify their cause across social media. Whether or not the group named are ‘White Supremacists’ or not the argument should be that Trump refused to openly condemn far right race hating individuals and groups only appearing to them as a call to arms and to be on standby, as a coded message to prepare for war against the far left groups should Trump lose. Sixty five million Americans watched on, as their president humiliated their country on the world stage by bickering, insulting and purposefully interrupting which only showed how inept this man is at his role. All he can do is unprofessionally conduct himself in a manner unbefitting to the presidential seal he vowed to serve nearly four years ago.
Yet while all this intrigue and misdirection within the American presidential election cycle is been highlighted on the world stage the bigger issues of the one millionth death from COVID-19, the forty deaths from the California wildfires, the massive loss from two hurricanes, the worsening climate change, the growing economic meltdown and the brutality facing protesters around the world at the hands of law enforcement is going unreported. The issues within other countries around the world remains secondary as the world watches on to see if a future America is one of calm and equality or a burning cesspit of racial and sexual abuse at the hands of a party hell-bent on turning the country back to a time of inquisitions, torture, slavery, indentured servitude and the iron fist of a white privilege dictatorship. Under Trump the America constitution and peoples civil liberties will be destroyed, been replaced with a radical domineering corrupt authoritarian leadership as seen in both China and North Korea bringing forth a new Reich of fascism.
On that bitter note I will jump the pond to dear old Blighty and see what type of shitstorm is brewing here. Well the country is failing in its fight against COVID-19 s more localised area are hit with new tighter restrictions due to the rise in positive cases of the virus. We are simply receiving mixed messages from this government on how badly their plans have been to eradicate or even slow the virus’s rate of spread. Johnson and his cronies are in a no win battle with the problems of controlling the speed of infection since opening up the country back in July. Questions are been asked to why Britain is in the build-up or even the midst of a second wave of the virus while countries like Italy and Germany are controlling the rise much better. Our Italian brethren put it down to the time the country spent in lockdown which was much longer than Britain as well as the measures undertaken by businesses and the Italian public to create safe areas with better awareness of wearing masks when in public, while other’s put it down to the mentality of the British who refuse to be corralled and follow simple rules.
Myself when I do venture outside to the local shops which is as far as I go these days, I see how shop owners are doing their best to fight the issues they face while there is those I see blatantly refusing to wear masks whilst inside the shops which tells me that it is in fact the minority of the morons that refuse to wear masks that are creating the sudden rise in the spread of the virus. But I also blame the government, who has done very little to clarify what is expected. Each time you see a cabinet minister or a supposed health professional during an interview or a briefing they are not wearing a mask even when said interview or briefing is inside. I can’t recall one picture of Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock or either of the health professionals who take these briefings entering the room wearing a mask before removing it to talk. How can the rest of the British public be expected to adhere to the rules when the very people telling us to wear masks don’t? It brings it back to the mentality of ‘Do as I say, not as I do!’ which never ends well, does it? Then there’s the fact that when MP’s, advisers or aides of the cabinet break the rule there are no consequences such as the now fabled Dominic Cummings debacle or the new headlines about Johnson’s own father flouting the rules when pictured without a mask while in his local newsagents breaking current Covid-19 restrictions claiming during his apology that he may not be "100% up to speed" with current rules as it was his first day back in the country after returning from abroad which highlights yet another breach of the rules which is the self-isolation of anyone entering the country from abroad. The question been asked by the public is when will Johnson Senior be fined the £200 fine for first time offenders which was introduced by the government last week for not wearing face coverings in a shop or be fined for breaching self-isolation guidelines for foreign travel. Another question been asked is whether or not the former labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will be fined £10,000 after been photographed at a dinner party which appeared to have nine guests, going against the government's "rule of six". So once again I ask if top politicians, their families and friends are disobeying the rules and not getting fined, how can the government or the local authorities fine the ordinary citizen?
So between the Americans blatant disregard for protective measures, the British disregard for local lockdown rules and the growing concern within other world nations like India which is predicted to beat America in to first place for the highest number of deaths, we have to start to ask ourselves one simple question. Is this the pathogen that will strip the world nations of their populations? Are we facing a global extinction event? Or are we simply facing just another uncontrolled virus similar to those as far back in history as the first recorded virus’s such as Leprosy during the 11th century, the Black death of 1350, London’s great plague of 1665, Cholera which was first seen in 1817 and lasted till as late as 1960, Russian Flu of 1889, Spanish Flu of 1918, Asian flu of 1957, The first cases of AIDS in the 1980’s, Mad Cows disease in the 1990’s, SARS in 2003 and Avian flu in 2008. The world has faced its fair share of deadly viruses, while COVID-19 isn’t the worst in numbers of deaths it has to be the most globally publicised due to social media and twenty four seven news. I believe because we live in an age of technology driven news and gossip is the reason COVID-19 appears to be the world’s worst pandemic when in fact it would be lucky to make it in to the top ten of pandemics according to death toll. Other’s like AIDS and Cholera have killed so many more and have lasted for years, but because one was classed as a sexually transmitted disease and the other appeared as a common ailment of life, along with the archaic styles of news reporting in those era’s very little was known or reported. The opposite can be said for COVID-19 which is more publicised and has incurred global lockdowns causing it to be a greater threat to humankind. Also because the virus is stumping the scientific community which is classed to be the most advanced in history, the cost to life appears greater.
Do not get me wrong I am not playing down the threat COVID-19 is to modern day civilisation, just putting it in to prospective and comparing it to other pandemics throughout history. The coronavirus has become a world changer, but is still a new virus, which scientist are fighting to understand and as through history it is not going away fast, it is not specific to race, sexuality, age or financial situation, it is non-prejudiced to who it kills, so as a globally community and as individuals we need to look out for firstly ourselves by staying safe and secondly to respect our fellow human beings by limiting the exposure we have to each other. Heed the warnings, obey the sensible rules and abide by the precautions so we can see a quick and decisive end to the rising death toll because the last thing any of us wants is to be caught in an extinction event. On that bitter note I will call it a day,
Rant you tomorrow!
Rant you tomorrow!
