Credit where it is due

A fast 25 minute loop.
Against my admittedly prejudiced expectation, according to a report in today's Guardian, the UK government has made a legally binding commitment to halve UK carbon emissions by 2025. This won't single-handedly prevent global warming from spiralling out of control, but it is a positive step in the right direction by the world's 8th biggest emitter, hopefully to be followed by the other 7.

Pavane for a troubled past

A fine 25 minute run through the May-green woods.

Queen Elizabeth and her entourage are about to visit Ireland in a courtly dance of diplomacy and gesture.


Meanwhile the soon-to-be erstwhile head of the IMF is accused of attempted rape in a sordid scandal that seems to be rocking the Euro-zone. Whether this is due to moral outrage or concern at the potential tectonic shift in the leadership of the IMF is not immediately clear. What is clear is that far less coverage has been devoted to the IMF’s loan policies and their negative impact on public health, access to food, and the environment in many developing countries.

one percent

Back to the city for a lovely 65 minute woodland run.
David Attenborough was describing on the radio the ambushing of a group of colobus monkeys by chimpanzees, demonstrating that within the 99% of DNA shared by humans and chimpanzees lies the capacity both for great savagery and for creative teamwork, whilst we habitually pride ourselves on the final 1% that enables us to feel superior.

Right and wrong

A speedy 60 minute run around the forest, with the dogs spurred on by the sight of several deer.

Meanwhile in London, testimony at the Chilcott enquiry at last begins to show the mendacity, and oil-based reality, of Blair’s defence of his invasion of Iraq. The world would be a much safer place if NATO leaders such as he, & of course GW Bush, were put on trial for such travesties.

And, across Europe, not only is the political left unravelling but, according to Der Spiegel today, from Norway to Italy, from Finland to France, the political right is thriving in the void, no doubt by promising protection to the rich & powerful and hope to the beleaguered poor of the electorate. Not a good time to be a refugee !

Carpe diem

Another swift & showery 25 minutes. April may have been the driest month on record, but May is obviously trying to be the wettest, at least in the Western Highlands.

Six months ago, Neal Ascherson wrote, in an excellent article in the Herald*, that “the present Scottish government has become the last bastion of faith in a public-service state” as the UK’s 30 year stampede towards privatisation has led to the worst economic and social inequalities for 90 years.  Six months on, that bastion may be wet but it is even stronger, and it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that there has never been a better time to move for independence. Thank you David Cameron & George Osborne, Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher (a form of words I never expected to be using ! )

Signs of hope in Japan too,  where the Prime Minister has scrapped plans to build 14 new nuclear plants, and focussed the energy strategy on making its existing plants safer, and on conservation and renewables.

* Thanks to Donald Mackinnon for passing on the article

Scottish Spring

A fast and extremely wet 30 minute run, reflecting on the mixed delights of this Scottish Spring.

What is happening in Scotland may not be equal to what has been happening in the Middle East – after all, we are not trying to overthrow a brutal dictatorship, just a self-serving hypocritical bureaucracy run by inexperienced elitists. However, since the election of last week, the Scottish leaders of all 3 major London-based political parties have announced their resignation, without a shot being fired !

Less encouragingly, there has still been no news of the Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei since he was arrested on 9 April. Adrian Searle has written a comprehensive account of the situation in the Guardian and there is a substantial online petition addressed to the Chinese Ministry of Culture - please sign it if you are concerned.

Republic of Scotland ?

Out for an early 25 minute run as the black clouds build up for a major deluge.

One glimmer of light, and perhaps the most unexpected outcome of the UK elections on Thursday, was the substantial majority won by the Scottish Nationalists. This was almost certainly more to do with the massive unpopularity of the other parties up here than it was an active vote for full Scottish independence, since recent opinion polls show support for independence at only 25-35%, but perhaps that will now change....

Smoking guns and ticking clocks

In the Highlands again, and a restorative 25 minute run between the rain showers.

Today the UK news is predictably dominated by early results from yesterday’s local elections & referendum, and by more smoke and mirrors to justify the illegality of the US action in Pakistan. More interestingly, the sometimes irritating but usually convincing George Monbiot has just written an excellent essay setting out some of the dilemmas faced by the environmental movement. One stark truth stands out - that as the race to exploit & despoil more and more of the planet continues, we still haven't found a convincing alternative.

Presidential re-election 1 Civilisation 0

Back to the city for a 25 minute run through the sun-dappled woods.
This morning's news is dominated by a flurry of insinuation and denial between the US & Pakistan about who knew what with regard to bin Laden.
Robert Fisk, writing in the Independent seems to be one of the few public voices suggesting that a summary execution is perhaps not the act of justice being claimed by Obama, and a thoughtful cleric, Abdal Hakim Murad, pointed out on the radio today that even the Nazis were allowed a court hearing.

May Day + 1

After a week of other activities - ditch digging, moving rocks etc etc, back to a 75 minute run this morning, with clear blue sky, hazy mountains, and the surface of the loch like a mirror. Running doesn't get much better, especially with a border collie like Benn !

On the other hand, after blanket coverage of some wedding with silly hats, the news has reverted to bleak normality. Libya is descending further and further into an unresolvable mess. The USA has finally managed to kill Osama bin Laden, in a piece of brutal vengeance worthy of a Rambo movie. And the situation at Fukushima, though apparently no longer news-worthy, improves with excrutiating slowness.