Unable to sustain serious thought
for more than about 30 minutes, I flitter from subject to subject, sipping its
sweet nectar or bitter acidity like a demented butterfly. I will be heading
home from delectable North Carolina in less than 2 weeks, so now is the moment
critique, time to pontificate ignorantly about the health of Uncle Sam and
peek into the future.
(1) Only
a matter of days now until Joe Biden can totter off to his peaceful care-home
in Delaware, and hand over the nuclear codes and the government of the USA to the
unreliable care of Donald Trump.
Trump and his
oddball pal Elon Musk
Trump is inaugurated for his
second term on Monday 20 January. For the last 3 months, the world has tried to
anticipate Trump’s plans, and the chancelleries of many countries are a-tremble.
We can expect a hurricane of activity. He sees himself as a cosmic deal-doer
and he believes he can end the Russo-Ukraine War, probably by awarding invaded
land to Putin, acquire Greenland by squeezing his supposed ally Denmark, tame
Chinese expansion by starting a trade war, punish woke and Lefty Canada by
increasing its dependence on the US, upset the EU and UK by distancing the US
from her NATO commitments and regain control of the Panama Canal via extreme
economic pressure. At home, he will protect US companies from competition by
levying stiff tariffs on all imports, end illegal immigration by deporting thousands
of Latinos, recruit more police to fight crime and favour meritocratic
competition rather than “inclusive” policies in the labour market. Some of
these policies are sensible but many are destabilising, not to say predatory.
All need to be thought through carefully – not really Trump’s style.
Not much confidence has been
generated by Trump’s announced cabinet appointments (most subject to
congressional approval). There are many disruptors but few with solid governing
experience in their portfolio appointments. Recently much has been heard from
Elon Musk, adviser on government efficiency. Musk is said to be the richest man
in the world, through his control of Tesla, but his pronouncements on UK
politics at least have been naively ill-informed and Musk does not convince as
a team player and may not last long as Trump’s mouthpiece.
(2) America is not just about its politics, amazingly baroque as they may be. The USA is a hugely dynamic society, for years globally dominant and admired. Her living standards are light-years ahead of most of the world and even the gap between her and Western Europe is widening by the day. Her industries benefit from an enormously wealthy home market, natural resources abound, banks are solvent, new buildings rise in profusion, innovation and creativity are worshipped, tertiary education flourishes.
A country of
332m population is sure to have its problems. Ethnic tensions are a historical
legacy – the USA is 62% White, 19% Hispanic-Latino, 12% Black, 7% Other. Blacks
suffered the horrors of Slavery and Latinos were subservient. Understandably
Americans tiptoe around the racial subject and seek not to offend, especially
in the media. Hence there is plenty of what we Europeans call Wokery on TV. For
example, I watch with some pleasure Queen Latifah star in The Equalizer, a
spin-off from the Denzil Washington vigilante films, with 40-minute story
episodes based in New York. The storyline often revolves around perceived
exploitation of black people – fair enough for a US audience – but much less
suited to one in Europe where the demographics are entirely different.
Queen Latifah in The Equalizer
More frivolously,
can I raise the US diet? This country has superb ingredients and excellent
restaurants of all kinds. So why so much emphasis on vast helpings of junk food?
Why do US supermarkets prosper selling bleached bread, chlorinated chicken and fizzy
nothing drinks? There is almost a conspiracy to cap or defy nature. Oatmeal or cinnamon
cake tastes fine, but America insists on covering them with sugary icing or a
gooey mixture to pile on the calories. So of course, obesity is a rather
visible problem; Americans put a great store on looking good, so surely, they should
avoid a situation where one could park a bicycle between their buttocks! Yet in
summary, I certainly do not disparage the cuisine of any country that can
produce exquisite smoked beef brisket, toothsome clam chowder, amazing grilled rainbow
trout and ribeye steaks to die for! But Americans, remember the Greeks -Pan Metron
Ariston (Everything in moderation)
(3)
Finally, let us peek into the future, where
giant strides forward are made daily. Knowledge is power stated Francis
Bacon in the 17th century and the US and Western Europe are hoovering
up most of it, though China is nor a laggard. Space exploration, undersea studies,
genetics, mass transit systems, pharmaceuticals, robotics, energy projects are
all areas of intense effort and competition. Sadly for me, my excellent public-school
education left me wholly ignorant formally of science. I had precisely one term
of Science, which taught me how to light a Bunsen burner, and then I
concentrated on the Humanities. So, I was red-hot on Wordsworth, Gladstone, or
the Peninsular War but less hot on Newton and Faraday. I later read up
something about Robert Oppenheimer and Alan Turing (at least I saw the movies)
but if some soul wants a cogent explanation of Heisenberg’s Theory of Uncertainty,
he should knock on someone else’s door.
My layman’s instinct
tells me that great things have often been half-discovered in the past and now
can be revived with the help of the latest scientific techniques. After much research
in the dusty tomes of chroniclers and alchemists I present to you the
phenomenon known as “Spontaneous Human Combustion”, (SHC), first formulated in
1746 as a pseudo-scientific explanation of the death of Countess Cornelia
Bandi. There were several cases in the 19th century where SHC was certified
as the cause of death, but many of these cases were in Ireland and the deceased
were old ladies with a fondness for drink often huddling near a warming fire.
Unsurprisingly SHC was not much accepted in polite scientific circles.
But fast forward to September 2024 and
Israel’s remote pager attack on its enemies in Lebanon.
It is surely child’s-play
for modern practitioners of generic Artificial Intelligence to infiltrate a
trigger into some everyday item of clothing (trainers?) worn globally, detonate a SHC device and
observe the satisfying puff of white smoke as the target combusts. What
targets? Don’t worry,
I’ve got a little list,
I’ve got a little list,
And there’s
none of them be missed.
There’s none
of them be missed! (patents pending)
SMD
10.01.25
