Category: Commentary

Not much, apart from:

• providing 57% of our trade;
• structural funding to areas hit by industrial decline;
• clean beaches and rivers;
• cleaner air;
• lead free petrol;
• restrictions on landfill dumping;
• a recycling culture;
• cheaper mobile charges;
• cheaper air travel;
• improved consumer protection and food labelling;
• a ban on growth hormones and other harmful food additives;
• better product safety;
• single market competition bringing quality improvements and better industrial performance;
• break up of monopolies;
• Europe-wide patent and copyright protection;
• no paperwork or customs for exports throughout the single market;
• price transparency and removal of commission on currency exchanges across the eurozone;
• freedom to travel, live and work across Europe;
• funded opportunities for young people to undertake study or work placements abroad;
• access to European health services;
• labour protection and enhanced social welfare;
• smoke-free workplaces;
• equal pay legislation;
• holiday entitlement;
• the right not to work more than a 48-hour week without overtime;
• strongest wildlife protection in the world;
• improved animal welfare in food production;
• EU-funded research and industrial collaboration;
• EU representation in international forums;
• bloc EEA negotiation at the WTO;
• EU diplomatic efforts to uphold the nuclear non-proliferation treaty;
• European arrest warrant;
• cross border policing to combat human trafficking, arms and drug smuggling; counter terrorism intelligence;
• European civil and military co-operation in post-conflict zones in Europe and Africa;
• support for democracy and human rights across Europe and beyond;
• investment across Europe contributing to better living standards and educational, social and cultural capital.

All of this is nothing compared with its greatest achievements: the EU has for 60 years been the foundation of peace between European neighbours after centuries of bloodshed.

It furthermore assisted the extraordinary political, social and economic transformation of 13 former dictatorships, now EU members, since 1980.

Now the union faces major challenges brought on by neoliberal economic globalisation, and worsened by its own systemic weaknesses. It is taking measures to overcome these. We in the UK should reflect on whether our net contribution of £7bn out of total government expenditure of £695bn is good value. We must play a full part in enabling the union to be a force for good in a multi-polar global future.

Simon Sweeney,
Lecturer in international political economy, University of York

Nest has issues

Nest owners have reported that their smart thermostats have stopped working and as a result many woke up to colder than normal temperature in their house and unresponsive completely dead Nests. The fault lies in a software update (version 5.1.3 or later) that was pushed out to devices in December that drains the battery and ultimately shuts down the device.

I don’t recall the last time my heating system developed a bug, never mind one that was introduced by the manufacturer after they sold it to me. If a remote software update can turn your appliances off, can they turn them on? And if your microwave or oven is net-connected, then can someone turn it on when you’re asleep?

The 3.4GB of mobile data I've used in US would cost €17,272 (3) or €20,910 (Vodafone) with standard per-MB roaming. pic.twitter.com/hejsR8jVLT

— Adrian Weckler (@adrianweckler) January 7, 2016

Scandalous. Except that Three(3) is free for roaming in the US.

???

All Is Lost – (iTunes)
“13th of July, 4:50 pm. I’m sorry. I know that means little at this point, but I am. I tried, I think you would all agree that I tried. To be true, to be strong, to be kind, to love, to be right. But I wasn’t. And I know you knew this. In each of your ways. And I am sorry. All is lost here, except for soul and body, that is, what’s left of them, and a half day’s ration. It’s inexcusable really, I know that now. How it could have taken this long to admit that I’m not sure, but it did. I fought till the end. I’m not sure what that is worth, but know that I did. I have always hoped for more for you all. I will miss you. I’m sorry.”

Beautifully shot, mostly accurate, completely chilling.

It’s worth saying that 2015 has been, on the whole, a pretty challenging year. Things happened beyond my control that I was forced to react to and, in every case, I like to think that I did my best, with the information I had, and the outcomes I could foresee. Did I do everything right in hindsight? No. Would it have been better if I had chosen differently? Maybe. Is it worth worrying about? Absolutely not.

But what did I achieve in 2015?

• I went sailing.
• Got a new job.
• Lost 40lbs.
• Got a qualification in solar power.
• Got debt free.

I am looking forward to 2016 – indeed, I’m looking forward to the remainder of this year – because I’ve taken steps forward which I know I will cherish. But take it as read that when I say “2016”, I really mean “from this moment on”. For the two or three people who read this, this might even echo with some of you.

I want to do things in 2016.

I will be taking a CompCrew course somewhere warm over Easter. I know I will do this. If you want to come along and learn something, by all means. Usually the courses are up to six people so every friend is one less stranger and spending a week learning how to be useful on a yacht is no real hardship. It’s only about £650 or so for a week so why wouldn’t you.

I sold my dinghy earlier this year and I will be buying something bigger. While I have my eye on a Dufour 36 Classic and I’ll be working hard to scrap together the deposit for it one the next six months, even a cabin cruiser would be an improvement. Again – if you fancy going out on the water, ping me. I’ll be looking for excuses.

I want to try video podcasting. I kinda need to learn a bit before I embarrassingly put my face to a video screen but I enjoyed the bit of tech podcasting I did a couple of years ago (until it descended into a rant about Macs versus PCs or Android versus IOS – neither argument I give a shit about).

I want to visit a new country. I’ve been to France, Spain, Portugal, Sardinia, Italy, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Bulgaria, Gibraltar. I’ve not been to Switzerland, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Poland or Greece or any of Africa. Some of those are on the list.

And I want to start a new business. I have some ideas.

In the past, Khosla has acknowledged that at least half his green-energy businesses would fail.

This is an article about the green-tech investments by billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

But as any investor would know. Or indeed anyone who pays any attention to start-ups or the economy, 80% of start-ups fail. So how is a scoop about a VC with an expectation of a 50% fail rate anything but an optimistic vote of success.

Ahem.

Khosla has argued that the stakes for the planet are so high when it comes to energy that the potential benefits easily justify the costs of flops (which, as with all venture investments, are numerous).