Did I read it right this morning? Did Elon Musk really say
this week: ‘The biggest weakness in the western world is empathy’? If I did,
I’m curious to know whether he has ever been known to utter Are there no prisons? Are there no
workhouses? or maybe let them die and
reduce the surplus population. (I think he was also a little lacking in the
matter of vocabulary. What I’m sure he probably meant was ‘sympathy’, not
‘empathy.’ They’re different. But that’s a minor point and his meaning is well
taken. And if there’s one thing we don’t expect of people in the higher
echelons of power in the US
these days, it’s precise English. It’s even becoming almost a rarity in the UK.)
* * *
Meanwhile, back on home ground, Mr Starmer and his Chancellor are pushing forward with their war on welfare. The main victims are the sick and disabled, but Starmer continues to decline the option of taxing the very rich a bit more which I’m told could produce comparable pecuniary benefit. What he is considering is giving special tax breaks to American tech giants in order to appease Donald Trump in the hope that Mr President will be kind to Britain in the matter of trade tariffs. The word ‘blackmail’ springs easily to mind. And the concomitant phrase ‘giving in to blackmail’ follows close behind.
This is a strange affair. End of rant.
No comments:
Post a Comment