Coalface

A very full day but some excellent meeting discussion. We are facilitating technicians from Tanzania and Mozambique to develop a master plan for management of a very large and very important landscape laying across both countries. In theory our work will lead to greater profile of the habitats, species and people who all exist there, and more funding, investment and commitments by those with resources.

As I lay in bed I tried to watch some of the US presidential debate but it didn’t sustain my interest. Even the normal parts (Trump is too unhinged to comment on) felt vacuous and superficial. No one is doing anything interesting enough to shift the dial on inequality, injustice, rights or empowerment of the oppressed. Kamala Harris is obviously the only functional one of the two, and she is likeable and professional. She has to win to reassure us that the American electorate is not deranged, although I feel my politics these days are not very in sync with these mainstream supposedly left-leaning parties wedded to big business and essentially entrenching inequality.

The fact that the right wing in the US screams about Kamala being a terrifying communist who will confiscate money from the wealthy shows how deeply ingrained capitalist thinking is. In financial terms she’s a highly successful lawyer worth around 8 million dollars. Just slogging along at the coalface trying to keep her head above water.

Trump is just beyond the pale. He couldn’t be coherent if his life depended on it.

Is this a decorative pond? Is it a shallow swimming pool? We may never find out.