The Stupidest Idea we ever had-and how we dismissed it

Here’s a killer quote, if ever there was one:

_{when reason and emotion collide, emotion invariably wins”. The right was much more skilled on this terrain, weaving compelling human stories while its opponents tended to take refuge “in reciting their best facts and figures, as if they were trying to prevail in a high school debate tournament”.}

It’s from an article by John Harris for the Guardian, [1] quoting the work of Drew Westen, a sagacious political philosopher whose work The Political Brain explains more than most about why progressives keep losing. ( Declaration of interest: Harris is on our list of all time top journalists because he actually goes out and talks to real people)

From which we deduced that the answer to all the world’s problems must be to create a Political party to obtain representation for The Intelligent and Educated. You know, the way working people in the UK set up the Labour Party in the nineteenth century, because they felt that the Liberals and Conservatives did not represent their interests? Spotted the flaw yet? We went on to point out to ourselves that we did all the science and doctoring and lawyering and wrote all the movies and……still not spotted the the flaw? And no, we had not been drinking, we’re on a diet at the moment; but we do not need to drink heavily to make huge blunders. We’re amazingly good at it, even when when sober . Last chance: have you spotted our fault?

OK here’s the answer. This morning we had coffee with a wonderful elderly neighbour who spent most of his life as a fisherman on the Sussex coast. In the course of a long, pleasant conversation we learned much of the Perils of the Sea. Storms, wrecks, unpleasant colleagues, conger eels, that sort of thing. For example, what do you do when you haul up a 1000 lb German torpedo and get it tangled in your nets in a strong wind and a heavy sea in the shipping lanes, and it is threatening to explode/capsize your boat/ slow you into the path of a 200 000 tonne supertanker? The answer is to think. Very quickly, very profoundly and very thoroughly, in a way that landlubber University Professors and keyboard wannabees never, ever have to.

And suddenly it crossed our minds. Who’s intelligent now? What price all your books and theories when you have to face existential crises like that one? And still have to calculate the economics of the fishing business-pay for fuel, pay the crew, keep alive, sell the fish, etc? And another lesson became even clearer. Until we in the Centre, on the Left, Liberals, Whigs, Progressives, Greens or whatever we want to call ourselves take very seriously-very seriously indeed- the feelings, emotions and opinions of those who actually do the work, we will be lost at sea indeed.

[1]tps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/01/labour-relaunch-government-nigel-farage-donald-trump?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

[2] Drew Westen The Political Brain Business News Publishing 2007

#john harris #inshore fishing #politics #government #progressive #conservatives

Are Ultra-Processed foods bad for your immune system? The Conversation thinks they might be

Go on any diet course these days (we’ve been on many) and the chances are that your course leader will inveigh against the dangers of processed foods[1] You know, those ones that saved us all so much time in the 1980s and 1990s, when it was essential to answer your e-mails and plan a talk over a delicious microwaved chicken korma. Well, processed foods comprise a lot more than just quick ready meals.And, l like a lot of labour-saving devices, they’re not all bad if used in moderation. Trouble comes when we all go too far. And our old friends The Conversation have an intriguing take on that. [2] Look at this extract frpm their article by Sam White and Phillipe Wilson

[there is] growing evidence that ultra-processed foods may affect how our immune system works. This may explain why some studies have linked ultra-processed foods with inflammatory bowel disease and potentially autoimmune diseases.

We on this blog have been tracking stories which link the digestive tract and immune system for some years. So it’s nice to see some real scientists really opening up this field. But there is a deeper lesson for us here, and it’s from economics, not science. Because economists of the classical school, or at least those who swallow their undergraduate textbooks, whole, always asseverate the a pure free market is the quickest way to achieve the optimum benefit. Well, processed foods are certainly free market. They have developed at breakneck speed, and certainly give the people what they want. The question is: how much do they need it? And at what cost does it come?

[1]https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/how-to-eat-a-balanced-diet/what-are-processed-foods/

[2]https://theconversation.com/ultra-processed-foods-heres-how-they-may-affect-the-way-the-immune-system-functions-231884?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest

diet #food #microbiome# gut #immune system

A very special French ’75

We know Friday Night Cocktails got dropped a few months ago (on orders from the top). But that won’t stop us from bringing you searing, cutting edge journalism when we think a story is much in the public interest that it must be broken. Even if it upsets The Great and the Good, the Powerful, and the Establishment, assuming that members of any of these groups read LSS. So, anyway, such was the case with the French 75 which we discovered at Cote, Brighton, last Saturday night before dinner.

Now, before you reach for your lawyers: we do note get any money for this. We have no commercial, financial ,commercial nor personal connection with Cote nor any of their staff. But when we, in the company of a companion visited that outlet at the end of a hideously long and dry January, we were more than in the mood for a little pick-me-up. And so it proved. Naturally we have adapted the details a bit, as we soon found ourselves a bit hazy about their precise nature. But the following will suffice:

The beauty of the French 75 is its simplicity. Refreshing simplicity, that fruity, slight sour quality we always look for in a great cocktail. Take a simple champagne flute; add a small quantity of sugar. Now add 1/2 measure of lemon juice and one measure of white gin. Cover all with cold white bubbly- Champagne, Cremont, Prosecco or cava, any of these will do. Top off with a slice of lemon peel to add that extra piquancy such ingredients demand. Now sit back and savour.

So, if you are Great, or Good, or Powerful-or just an ordinary Joe like us, here is a recipe which we hope all of you will enjoy. It’s going to be a bust weekend-so goodbye for now.

#french 75 #cocktail