Today is a day to remind ourselves that there is still a place in this world for kindness and generosity, for compassion, co-operation and collaboration. Those of us (and we are many) who wish to build a better world will need mutual support and a helping hand wherever possible. There is no doubting it will be hard, and that authoritarianism and the far right are on the rise, but they have always been defeated in the past and they will be defeated again. Stay strong and determined. Together.

A Scot with no US connections, I have no influence over the US elections. I have just as little faith that hopes and prayers will make a difference as I have that "thoughts and prayers" will do anything in stemming the epidemic of gun violence n that nation, but it is all that I have to offer. I fear that whatever the outcome of the vote, the result will be rancour, violence and even more division and hatred. Still, I have to hope, since the fallout from this election will be global.

We really never never learn, do we. Another ecological catastrophe: "...all fishing for wild salmon should cease. In 2022, Inland Fisheries Ireland reported the wild salmon population as 171,700, yet that same year they licensed catching of 10,348 salmon. Now the species is red-listed and facing extinction. It’s inexplicable that the Irish authorities continue to sanction their demise." https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/2024/11/02/as-long-as-ardnacrusha-is-in-operation-the-shannon-and-its-salmon-will-never-recover/

Whichever candidate for the poisoned Tory leadership chalice crosses the line first, it's hard to decide who might be worse. No, Kemi Badenoch, is streets ahead. This is a disgrace and clear evidence that she is unfit to be anywhere the leadership. It seems that the Tories have now decided to turn on the mentally ill as another group they can demonise. What an absolutely vile woman. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/kemi-badenoch-mental-health-autism-jenrick-b2630847.html

For those interested in electoral stuff, the journal Nature has taken a look at different electoral systems, their strengths and weaknesses. One thing the author is certain about, though, is that "“The Electoral College is extreme and an anachronism, and it’s not going anywhere” (according to David Samuels, a political scientist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis). He is critical, too, of the increasingly polarised debate in the US. An interesting read.https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03258-9