Evil Diaries: Various Speculations

I suppose Wes Streeting, Labour’s putative health minister, believes the twaddle he spouts. For instance his comments on taxation are so wide of the mark that his poses are simply a proof of his stupidity. But what this means by way of health under his stewardship I do not know.

Certainly I was personally looked after marvellously some five years ago when I was diagnosed with cancer and, through my neuropathy – also caused by my diabetes, was a guest of Chelsea and Westminster for five months. However, my experience since has been fairly varied. This morning the ambulance men arrived to take me to Hammersmith hospital to be seen by a consultant dermatologist only for the ambulance men finding that the straps to hold me in the power track wheelchair down to my ground floor were too short to allow me to be safely carried. Given that I have driven myself at 120 m.p.h.+, flown myself solo and run a mile in under five minutes I felt entitled to stress that I would cheerfully take the risk of travelling with only one strap holding me in. But the cult of the Jobsworths kicked in and I must now await a “risk assessment”. Given that virtually the same wasteful pointless failures occurred some two weeks ago when the same task was considered, one wonders whether the NHS is run by mad men set upon destroying our lives. There is no chance of Wes Streeting correcting these deficiencies. And that would be true even if he were intelligent.

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I will not now recount my relationship with HMRC concerning my own affairs since I do not wish to stimulate petty revenge. But HMRC used to be run by some really intelligent and organised staff. HMRC is not so conducted these days.

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David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon (published by Simon and Schuster) recounts how oil was discovered in copious quantities by the Osage tribe on their reservation in Oklahoma in the opening years of the twentieth century. The problem was that the Osage did not break up their reservation into plots owned by individuals. As a result the white men gave members of the Osage tribe “Headrights” or a percentage of the oil successfully drilled. As a result these Indians became very well off and white men started murdering these Indians so that by the laws of inheritance the white men acquired the Indians’ money.

There were many murders where seemingly many of the killers were never brought to trial despite Edgar Hoover’s nascent FBI working on a broad front over some years to establish proof of guilt.

Of course, greed has always induced some people to kill as suits them but I think the central feature established by David Grann is that where societies allow sections, usually racial groups, to fall into a weak legal position to protect themselves, there are some very unpleasant people who step up to take advantage of the splits. This is how Anti-Semitism gets under way with the further distinction that Anti-Semitism is a disease. That is why the uneducated pro-Palestine youths and aged ignoramuses they seem to accumulate must be halted forthwith.

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A chum had an American couple, deeply engaged in and knowledgeable of American politics to stay this last weekend. They told him that they expect Biden to step down in June and, come July, Michelle Obama will be the Democrat presidential candidate. As anyone who has read her biography BECOMING will confirm Mrs Obama is not intellectually a lightweight (unlike, say, Kamala Harris who I am told is not very clever and above all is an idler). This makes the current 50/1 on Betfair for Mrs Obama a very reasonable speculation.

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Jersey Oil and Gas (JOG) seem to be going from strength to strength. Even after yesterday’s RNS the shares stand at around 150p and could make holders upwards of 500%.

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Finally my chum Nick Mordin, now based in Hong Kong, has very carefully measured the performance of Passenger at Chester last week. Provided he runs on day 2 of Royal Ascot in the Prince of Wales Stakes the 6/1 available is a stonking bet. You read it here first.