'Everything that is not forbidden is allowed'
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, aka Lenin
It is forbidden to criticise any bank's service delivery
It is forbidden to write articles about how the UK State bonuses Pension bureaucrats who leave impoverished pensioners devoid of support
It is forbidden to observe the constitutional vandalism of Elon Musk
It is forbidden to present evidence proving that brown, yellow, red and black people are just as racist as white people
It is forbidden to question the settled science of Climate Change
It is forbidden to demonstrate that those with double standards always want double helpings
It is forbidden to question the Washington assumption that the US alone has the right to Unipolar hegemony on Planet Earth
It is forbidden to point out that [1] the sexual peculiarities of Zelenskyy, Starmer, Macron, Gates, Bojo and Varadka make them by definition unrepresentative....and [2] the correlation between power seekers and narcissistic paedophilia is completely undeniable.
It is forbidden to present irrefutable evidence of anti-democratic practices and blatant corruption in the European Union involving Ursula Van der Leyen
It is forbidden to demonstrate why and how the EU witters on endlessly about 'democratic values' while adopting a Commissioner system that shuts 99.2% of citizens out of the decision making process on social, economic and diplomatic policy
It is forbidden to record and prove evidence of the UK's poor record of supporting the aged (27th out of 30 among First World Sovereigns)
It is forbidden to suggest that Vladimir Putin might be a patriot rather than a madman
It is forbidden to observe that Nancy Pelosi is in dire need of serious rehab treatment, and Hillary Clinton thinks all MAGAs should be mentally hospitalised in order to undergo a course of reprogramming
It is forbidden to point out that Hungary's Viktor Orban speaks more commonsense cultural truths every ten seconds than Van der Leyen has managed in a lifetime
It is forbidden to point out that Orban is being victimised because his opinions chime with real people everywhere....especially when it comes to Ottoman imperial history
It is forbidden to suggest that neither Elon Musk nor Vladimir Putin are nice people you'd want to have lunch with....because such would be an even-handed desire to hold all naked power to account - and that is the most forbidden freedom of all
OK folks....this is the Free West....so go to town, express your opinions.....and to Hell with the consequences.
(That's what we limeys call 'irony', by the way.
Getting progressively worse....
The plastic-based cork was heralded some years back as a triumph of technology over the ecological "problem" of Planet Earth running out of real cork. The picture above is a visual record of the tools I needed yesterday to open a wine bottle using mock-cork plastic: three different cork screws, all of which just went round and round in the plastic substance; hammer and old screwdriver to force the cork into the bottle; sieve to then strain the plastic bits out of the wine; and funnel to decant the wine into another bottle.
I'm amazed that shipper Felix Solis (one of the greats in my view) is still using plastic "progress", as studies over forty years in California, Australia, New Zealand and Chile have all proved conclusively that a metal screw-top bottled wine will last better than any known alternative. But of course, pretentious bourgeois wine snobs are in denial about this reality...as indeed they are about most factualities in our world. In my advertising days, a common claim to make about this or that product was that it was (for example) "High in protein but low in fat". The NYT/Washpo/DNC/BLM psychographic remains High in IQ but low in wisdom.
They call themselves progressive, but they can't discern the difference between real progress and Silicon Valley geek-speak: they're constantly on Transmit....but they never listen.
"They would not listen, they're not listening still....perhaps they never will"
The above lyric is from Don McLean's iconic song about Vincent van Gogh, Starry Starry Night.
The inability to listen is a constant among unelected bureaucrats, climate catastrophists, self-styled urban liberal elites, bankers, EU commissioners, blocist hegemony megalomaniacs and everyone trapped in a religious or political ideology.
I long ago gave up having any faith in priests, imams, pharisees and Party politicians. They are, all of them, power-seekers perverting every prophet's message purely for their own ends. When asked to fill in the 'religion' box, I type 'Godist'.
Read this arrogant response to various complaints I've made against my UK bank, Nationwide: It is the most hilariously accusatory, self-exculpating stuff I've ever read - my emphases:
'To clarify, our standard process is to automatically issue a replacement card at the end of the month before the card’s expiry in your case, October 2025. The replacement card is sent out no later than two weeks before the expiry date via postal service, which usually takes up to 5 working days. We do deliver internationally, but as a UK building society, deliveries to UK addresses are generally faster for replacement cards or card readers. Therefore, I cannot agree that an error has been made in this process.
You mentioned having written to us twice about how your new debit card would be sent. Unfortunately, I can only find one communication from you, related to your complaint.
With the above in mind I can’t agree we have made an error as we are in line with our process. However, we appreciate your feedback. We always make sure we learn from the complaints we receive. We look at them carefully to see how we can make our products and services better for our members, as well as how we can improve the training and support we give our colleagues'
The gentleman who sent this to me by email simply isn't listening to my concerns; rather, he's parroting a corporate position, viz - arrogant abrogation of any and all culpability. He also ignored the glaring evidence of poor service I appended to my complaints:
You will note from the above survey of 7,146 Nationwide customers (conducted by widely respected specialist research outfit Trustpilot) that some 4,277 respondents award the lowest service rating possible....while just 1,180 are happy with it. In short, 27.5% are happy, whereas 72.5% think the service sucks.
Exiting from a meeting with Access Bank here yesterday, I can only describe the joy of going into a grocery store, a pharmacy and a hardware supplier and being served by people devoid of a God complex who smiled all the time and offered advice about everything from wine via sun block to glue. Such people have to listen, because to ignore the customer is to die. Elite corporocrats never listen, because they know they have you by the balls.
Listening is a great skill. There is a woman in my life at the moment - I've known her for over two years - and a few days ago I was explaining why I do what I do. I asked her, "What are you thinking about when I tell you this stuff?" Her reply was instructive.
"I'm not thinking anything," she replied, "I'm listening".
Listening with humility and respect produces wisdom. To learn from the lowest is to reject Demigods in favour of Quantum Godism. Of which, more anon....
