The China EV industry threat - could we see World car makers out of business? And a full return to Petrol and Diesel vehicles?

 

A new chapter in the Electric Vehicle folly -

potential collapse of the EV project and a future return to liquid fuels.

China is a 97% monopoly holder of access to the rare Earth metals used in production of Electric Vehicle batteries and for the Green industry. That should be worrying for the world's motor manufacturers and people who might buy electric vehicles.

The ability for China to 'turn off' and immobilise electric vehicles touted in the press recently is not new technology, this facility has been inside vehicle software for years. 

Some few years ago, a tractor that was ploughing a field in Britain stopped, the owner rang the dealer who said it had been remotely turned off because the owner hadn't made a payment. So this is a reality.

Imagine a theoretical scenario with the danger for the British motor manufacturers for example, that China 'dumps' a massive amount of cheap electric vehicles onto the Western markets, cheaper than the resident manufacturers can make them for in the first place.

Such a move could make these other manufacturers stop producing vehicles and essentially go out of business because they could not compete. Or they would have to go back to recommencing petrol and diesel production to survive.

This move would allow China then to set the price of their own produced EV vehicles for sale in the West at whatever price they choose, you would have no other purchasing choice except not to buy and go back to walking.

As such, then China could with effectively near complete market control, could choose as a geopolitical policy, not to produce electric vehicles and sit on the access to the required minerals so no one else can either. Or sell the minerals at a very high price if it chose to.

Thus, the West would be forced to again to start production of Petrol and Diesel vehicles from a point zero if it could start from the ashes of the EV folly.  

If the western motor industry collapses totally, China could then become virtually one of the only providers of motor vehicles and the result would be that the electric vehicle project could be eternally doomed, the street chargers then being little more than monuments to the stupidity of the whole project. 

China could decide that it would only produce liquid fuel vehicles and as such the EV market could almost collapse. In effect it could control most of our transport by default. 

No one seems to have woken up to this potential problem.

No one seems to have seen that the early technology of the EV is dangerous to pursue as a sole alternative to other forms.

The EV policy is being presided over by people who often of not have the technical ability to understand the great steps needed to drive alternatively.

It is easy to grab headlines by making bold statements of intent, but these are often at the expense of the technology to do so not being a proper solution that is ready to go.

Watch Reviews 4U - The Write Time - the Longines Rollerball Pen

                                           

The Longines Rollerball Pen

You've got the watch so why not have the accompanying pen? I came across this nice Longines accessory on Ebay a while ago.

So, what is it like? Well, I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it is to use, it isn't just an exercise in extending the Longines portfolio, in fact like their watches, the rollerball pen is rather nicely understated.

I have a couple of nice Parker brand rollerball pens of a similar design which are slightly larger in size and a touch heavier in weight, I have used the Parker ones for compiling notes for book projects and they are very nice to use.

The Longines 1832 Heritage Collection in Black -

style and simplicity working to provide you with a classic look -

the design of the Pen echoes the Rollerball

The Longines Rollerball is quite minimalist, in the Bauhaus style, a style I like and something which the 1832 collection watches evokes too. The stark black accented by the chromed fittings really works nicely - on both the pen and the watch.

The Rollerball has a winged logo badge engraved on the pen cap end and the Longines name around the banding on the pen cap.

The pen uses conveniently available and inexpensive Schmidt 888 Rollerball Refills, this is a great selling point as you are not tied to an expensive and exclusive high cost refill only produced for a limited or one model of pen. The Schmidt 888 refills I found on Amazon are very reasonably priced.

Writing with the pen is easy and enjoyable, I found it a nicely appointed pen that was easy to use, not too heavy, not too large and coupled to the easily available refills at a great price, it is a win-win.

The Pen is contained in a leatherette cover and this is inside a draw string soft cloth pouch with the Longines name and Logo on.

I have seen new Rollerball pens for around 100 Euros, I managed to find some quite reasonably priced on Ebay.

Get one if you see one!

Fremantle Ship on fire in North Sea carrying 3000 vehicles - Electric vehicle possible source- The future of importation might be nigh if Insurers won't insure transport

Ship on fire in the North Sea carrying cars and EV's -

Electric Vehicle reported as believed responsible for starting the blaze

The Fremantle Highway Cargo Ship being hosed down in the North Sea - 

this effort will likely not save it from sadly being lost in the end

This ship will probably be scrapped now. A serious fire took hold inside the vessel, with further combustion being promoted by electric vehicle batteries and the combustibility of the other internal combustion engined vehicle cargo components fuelling the fire in a confined space. It was not possible to extinguish the flames and I believed that this vessel would likely sink.

Sadly one crew member is dead as a result of the fire on this vessel, it shows the dangers of carrying electric vehicles on boats, which is why they are being banned from some ferries and also underground car parks.

Trying to put out the flames on this vessel at sea proved a futile exercise as the batteries short out and combust, spreading to other vehicles and the ships's flammable parts. 

(Update, it is still afloat but under tow and is going to be salvaged - scrapping this ship might cause further toxins to be released).

The colossal environmental impact of these burning vehicles and components is a major set back for the EV industry. This example may prompt insurers to not cover the transport of these vehicles in future.

It takes 22,000 gallons of water to put out a single EV battery fire on land per vehicle, a fire in a gigafactory will be a major disaster and will not be able to be put out before it destroys the establishment - the reason is that the batteries do not need oxygen to burn, they burn because of short circuits which generate heat and melt insulation, leading to chain reactions of spreading in an EV battery, which is a collection of linked individual cells. 

The dangerous fumes given off by burning batteries can cause paralysis and the hydrofluoric acid can burn through skin and bone.

This is surely a fitting obituary to the folly that is the EV project? If ever there was a good argument for abandoning the EV, then this is it - one EV car fire has essentially made this ship a floating environmental disaster that will cost millions to compensate.

Strangely there was very little media coverage.

 

Uxbridge Election 2023 - A Tory 2024 Election Win hinges on their dumping 'Green' Climate Change Agenda Policies like Net Zero

The stark warning for the Tories is clear - 

Dump the 'Green Crap' Policies 

or Lose the 2024 Election

Citizens are making their voice heard -

Green policies cost the Earth and voters in their pockets for little benefit

**Britain produces less than 1% of the Global Emissions - 

to do anything or nothing 'Green' will make NO real difference at all.**

**CO2 constitutes 1/2 of 1% of the total atmospheric gases - 

this is not a problem but CO2 is used to generate scaremongering 'news'**

ULEZ sounds good on paper - charge drivers of older and more polluting vehicles for city driving. But.... having cleaned the air, no charges are made for the numerous airlines polluting those ULEZ cities with their emissions generated on take off by planes.

London, Bristol and Birmingham are all Cities with ULEZ zones - all also have airports. Do the math as they say. Pay to drive in but don't pay to fly out.

The rank hypocrisy of this situation only heaps more fuel on the fire to show that the Green Agenda policies are costing voters and costing the Earth literally to achieve. 

This is starting to manifest at the ballot box and for the Conservative party as Uxbridge 2023 showed. 

Green is a vote loser, Labour nailed that ULEZ flag to the mast at Uxbridge and lost. 

15 minute cities across the nation are being challenged and repealed, like the Green agenda they have been foisted on people without a vote or consultation. 

This short pin-point article should show you why the Climate Change excuse is being used to control people and the hypocrisy of the 'Green' policies threatening our future prosperity and freedom of movement:

The UK heritage vehicle movement creates £18 Billion for the UK treasury a year, taking away road fuels will kill that. That £18 billion was our Defence budget about 10 years ago. 

(We will lose not only historic vehicles which will be worthless museum pieces without access to fuels, but skills and jobs across a wide range of outlets.)

Germany has cleverly circumvented the 2030 Petrol and Diesel vehicle ban by producing synthetic Petrol, it can now sell Petrol engined cars after 2030 that can use synthetic Petrol, which also means older cars can use it to.

Germany has not been stupid enough to pin its hopes on EV's which are a failure. It knows that.

E10 Petrol

Ethanol in Petrol reduces performance of the Petrol.

It is noticeable that E10 performs far worse than E5 Petrol. E10 loses an average car around 120 miles of range per tank of fuel. Is that Green?

The Ethanol would be better used in the Drax power stations instead of Biomass, we can grow the sugar beet in the UK to make Ethanol. This would save cutting down mature forests in the US, see below.

The Electric vehicle take-up and used EV sales. The truth.

Volkswagen has stopped a production line of EV's because of lack of demand. BMW a profitable company has been offered  'grants' to build the electric version of the Mini in the UK. 

Lack of sales stopped the EV Mini production in the UK, automotive 'gerrymandering' of production will produce more unsold vehicles sitting on runways of old airfields.

(Second hand electric vehicles are being dumped onto the used car market because people are seeing the pitfalls, mostly the replacement battery cost, short battery life, charging cost, accessibility and lack of working chargers or the right type for their cars.

Electric vehicle ownership is now around 1,000,000 vehicles as opposed to 34 Million Petrol or Diesel vehicles on the roads. With the 2030 'Ban' approaching in just over 6 years, the take-up is pitiful and by 2030 I doubt will be near 10%. This policy is already a failure and should be discontinued.

EV Battery production literally is costing the Earth, employing slave labour including Children, poisoning the water ecosystem and land with the extraction and refining of minerals.

EV's fail 43% of MOT's due to worn eyes, the heavier cars also make more pothole damage and tyre debris, oil is used to make both tyres and tarmac. 

Just stopping oil is not achievable unless you are a brainwashed eco-zealot and the principle only exists in your mind.

This folly of pursuing these electric vehicles for general use is obvious, they do have a place in urban areas for short journeys but otherwise they are a failure. They will fail for the same reasons they failed in the USA around the 1900's the battery range and charging issues.)

Untaxed Airlines taking off, blow out pollutant emissions back over 'Clean air zones' such as happens in London, Bristol & Birmingham where ULEZ zones are enforced and drivers are forced to pay-to-drive - somewhat of an own goal. Aircraft produce their most pollution on take off blown back over these cities. So much for clean air. We are again being taken for fools.

(Each aircraft movement creates the same CO2 output as a family car driven 75,000 miles - equating to about 10 years of average driving of that car in just that one takeoff. 

Multiply that by the aircraft takeoff events happening at 90 second intervals for most of the day and that means around 30 events per hour across at least 12 hours a day for each airport meaning around 400 flights per day on a busy day.)  

Burning wet biomass culled from North American mature forests, then shipping the wood debris across the Atlantic in ships travelling 10 feet per Gallon of oil consumed and burning this wet wood, creates massive amounts of CO2 making one such 'Power Station' that burns Biomass the biggest sole CO2 polluter in the UK.

(Powdered Coal burned in Power Stations is more efficient and less net CO2 producing than wet biomass - We were told NOT to burn wet wood some years ago in woodburning stoves - which anyone with one of these, knows not to do. 

We have 300 years supply of high grade coal in Wales that is cleaner and greener than the Biomass alternative.

Culling mature trees in the USA means that there is a 30 year wait for replanted growth to equate in CO2 consumption what has been cut down. Sheer stupidity to think this is ecologically sound)

The world is an oil based economy and has been for over 100 years.

(Even electric vehicles use tyres made from 80% oil and the paint that Just stop oil vandals throw around is likely made from Oil, as are their pvc banners. 

Oil has to be refined, as part of that process we get Natural Gas, Petrol Diesel, lubrication Oils and Grease and other products from this operation. Fuels are volatile and are hazardous to store and burning them is a way to use them.)

Electric vehicles are not the future.

(In the 1900's America had a flourishing Electric Vehicle presence, it died a death because of the obvious limitations that exist today and because now as then, liquid fuels are more convenient and efficient.)

The reality is that if the developed countries shy away from Oil, other nations will not and continue to use it. Oil is not going to go away.

It is likely that the finite minerals needed for batteries will be gone before direct one for one parity replacement of today's vehicles will be achieved.

(Synthetic fuels have been made since the 1940's, only the prevalence of naturally occurring Oil and the fact it is cheaper to exploit  have meant that synthetic, Green and Net Zero fuels which are possible and being made now, have only just now become viable alternatives in cost terms. 

We should be in no rush to dump or stop manufacturing internal combustion vehicles which CAN operate on synthetic fuels.)

Tyre debris causes ill health. EV's create more tyre debris particles due tot heir weight.

(The worst offenders are electric vehicles that wear tyres out far quicker, around every 2 years and these tyres are 80% Oil, the Tarmac used on our roads is also from Oil.)

Free energy has been available to the world since 1954.

(See Stephen Greer's work on this subject. We have the technology gained around 1954 to have moved away from Oil to free and clean energy. The USA which relies heavily on Oil would have lost its world advantage and considerable wealth by pursuing this path. Do the math as they say.)

Policies such as Net Zero and the cessation of production of Internal Combustion Engines has been engineered as part of a Transport Apartheid project to control personal transport and restrict movement. 

It will not stop nations including China, India or Russia from burning fossil fuels. 

Nor has any viable alternative been in place to take the place of ICE engines before making rash promises of 2050, 2036 and 2030 production and sales cut-off dates.

Adopting dates grabbed out of thin air of '2050', then '2036' and now '2030' as dates to 'ban' I.C.E engined vehicles are sheer folly. 

These 'statements' are being made without a credible solution either in place, without a realistic alternative being in place and often made by headline grabbing politicians and those with often very little technical idea of the problems to overcome or the practicalities.

Many scientists and leading industrialists have pointed out this obvious error. 

Politicians blind by green tinted glasses have not seen this schoolboy error.

Almost as big an error was the failure to unify the charging plug size and pin layout on electric vehicles and chargers before going down this 'green road'.

The bottom line is that the Sun creates our climate and China has a large industry controlling the weather though electronic and airborne chemical means. 

Such artificial 'influencing' of the climate means that any fluctuations or spikes in the weather can be 'conveniently' blamed on climate change when this is patently not the case.

Humans can change the weather by electronic and chemical means and this has been done since the late 1940's. The results can be conveniently blamed on climate change by the eco zealots and the brainwashed.

Climate Change is the biggest scam since the South Sea Bubble fiasco in the 1700's.

It cannot explain why in the days when Jesus was around that Grapes could be grown in Britain, as they could also in the Tudor times, yet conversely how in the 1800's the climate was so cold that the River Thames was frozen solid for months in Winter.

More than 10,000 years ago there were no glaciers and Greenland was fertile green land not an icy enclave. We had an Ice Age 10,000 years ago. It is only a phase. 

Sea levels are controlled by gravitational forces from the Moon which is moving away from the Earth by 12 inches a year. Less gravity force = less pressure on the water = water rising over time. Simple physics not 'Climate change'.

We are all being scared over this climate 'situation' and it is being exploited to control us. It all looks like a huge scam.

The problem for politicians is that the public are not so easily conned as a woke focus group and otherwise unemployable academics sitting round drinking coffee and telling each other how good they are for coming up with this nonsense.

In 2024, the results at the ballot box will favour the politicians brave enough to say 'enough of the green crap'. The alternative is to lose and face a political wilderness for the next generation under another party. 

And control of your travel, heating and wealth through the Green and unnecessary policies that will literally cost the Earth will be paid for by you.

Watch Reviews 4U - The Longines 1832 L4.825.4.52.0 Heritage watch in Black

                                       

The Longines 1832 L4.825.4.52.0 Heritage Collection Watch

If you are looking for a stylish and smart watch that is 'dressy' but also suitable for everyday use, then watches from the Longines 1832 Heritage collection might suit you.

The stark, Bauhaus inspired design ethos of form and functionality are at a zenith in this design. It harks back to the 1950's Longines era where the post WW2 designs with block hour markers were popular on the Silver Arrow and Silvergines models. I still have an old 1958 Silvergines which was my first Longines watch.

The Longines 1832 in Cream dial day / date version

The 1832 is available as the plain date version as shown here, called day/date, a Moonphase /date version and also a very rare Chronograph version.

The main three versions are available in either a matt  Black dial or a Cream dial, more of a vellum colour light beige.

                                   The Longines 1832 movement is superbly finished

The case is highly polished stainless steel with a plain, straight drum sided look to it, the lugs are parallel and fairly long although this I think adds to the modernist look and means that the strap ends don't wear against the case and mark it too.

The Longines Heritage  40mm Chronograph

The Longines 1832 very rare 42mm Chronograph

The strap is a buckle type not the deployment type seen on similar price level watches in the range, this might have been chosen as part of the vintage aesthetic, the watch employing design facets inspired from 1950's Longines watches in the design as mentioned.

                              The Longines 1832 Moonphase version -

I think this would look nicer with rings framing the 

date chapter ring and the Moonphase face giving more definition

The movement is an ETA, a brand that Swatch group that owns Longines and Tissot uses as a base for their ranges and very good these movements are too. The movement is very nicely finished with machine turning and engraving to the parts, the glass exhibition window really shows off the beautiful movement very nicely.

The Longines 1832 Moonphase with cream dial - 

The date Chapter ring is better defined here I think than on the black dial

The case front is topped with a Sapphire glass and this is anti-reflective coated helping to give crisp contrast to the dial. There are no nasty flaring back-reflections here, the black dial is a matt finish but looks 'glossier' face on thanks to the shiny glass. 

The cream variant dial is a matt finish too, something adopted on the Seiko Zen Garden watches of late.

The Longines 1832 has a simple Longines branded buckle strap

On the wrist, the watch is a delight, not obtrusive, stylish for business or casual wear, the minimalist design really works. The 40mm case size is a good compromise, but it would have been nice to have had a 42mm option for those that like a slightly larger case and dial, the weight difference would be negligible as this is not a heavy watch by any means.

My 1832 was picked up from EBay  NOS it had been worn once by the look of it so is like new. I may go for another one with the cream dial or for the black dial column wheel chrono version too. 

So what is the final verdict? Overall, I really like the design of the 1832 series watches and the colours for the dials are good choices, a nice Blue dial option would really set the collection off, like on the 'old' Record Chronometer 40mm from a couple of years back which could be bought with silver, black or blue dials. I have a blue one of those and it works very well sharing the same 40mm case as the 1832.

My only addition would be as mentioned, the blue dial and perhaps 42mm case size versions - I think that this design overall is attractive, stylish and with good high street deals out there, you could get a nice watch that is suitable for formal or casual wear. A winner!

Longines is getting the price, style and design right with the superbly decorated movements elevating these watches into a bracket that makes them look more expensive than they are. In comparison to other Swiss brands, the pricing is competitive and the value for money very good.

  

Great White Sharks off the British Coast around Cornwall - not Climate Change but warm water currents. Here is why...

Great White Sharks Migrate - 

that means they pass the UK Coast as a natural process

Blaming Climate Change for the possibility of seeing Great White Sharks off the UK Coast around Cornwall is both lazy and incorrect.

The actuality is that these apex predator Sharks migrate from North America, down towards the African Cape around to Australia. 

They follow the Gulf Stream, the warm water currents that are created by the tectonic Earth plates releasing warmth from the hot mantle of the Earth into the sea.

These warmth outlets change position as some are closed and others open. This is natural, this has nothing to do with the climate. 

As such the warm water 'paths' that this process creates, change over time, this also influences our weather patterns too. It can indeed change the weather bring meteorological changes over lands where this previously was not a problem or occurrence.

There is evidence that these plates have now created new warmth tracks across the ocean lower down and this means that Great Whites are now found in the mediterranean ocean in more recent times. 

This is a change from the established paths from Florida round the African Cape towards the direction of Australia.

The other effect is that this change of passage means that these Sharks will pass closer to the UK mainland than before and as with the Mako Shark, close to the UK Coast as Mako have been caught in UK waters recently.

It is therefore likely that these super Sharks will soon be positively identified and encountered in our waters closer to land than before. Thanks to nature.

 

Justin Hayward - Forever Autumn from the War of the Worlds album - a great accidental concept album

 Justin Hayward - Forever Autumn from the War of the Worlds album

He will be forever associated with this unique and iconic track

The Iconic album sleeve artwork for the War of the Worlds 33rpm Vinyl record

Music often generates memories - in 1979 I was at school and one of very few guitarists in the school, a boy called Clint came to our school for a term and was full of a record called War of the Worlds, which he bought to an after school club and played a few tracks.

It wasn't long after this now greatly revered record had been released, and I picked up on some guitar work on the record that appealed to my ears. Coincidentally, a rerelease of the late 1960's Moody Blues hit 'Nights in white satin' was back in the charts.

It clicked that Justin Hayward the singer on Forever Autumn which I think I caught on Top of the Pops was also the singer on 'Nights'. I had just before that got my hands on the sheet music to 'Nights' and learned the song. At the time I lived about 5 miles away from Horsell Common where war of the worlds had ben set, H G Wells had lived nearby in the town of Woking in the late Victorian era when he wrote the book.

The orchestral sound on the war of the worlds album was a mix of acoustic instruments, electronic effects, voices and early synths.

Jeff Lynne's ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) was doing a similar style of music to that on the war of the worlds album with the same sort of musical mix. I am still a fan of ELO and this album too.

The Moody Blues were an early adopter if not innovator of the 'concept album' - their late 60's 'Days of future past' album era produced 'Nights' along with 'Tuesday afternoon' - what would become known as the classic Moody Blues style, they did not really adhere to any formulaic position or direction - they just did their own style free of management interference.

Their use of the Mellotron in the mid 60s Moody Blues music by Mike Pinder - an early adopter of this almost proto synth transformed their musical course and gave 'Nights' that great sound as it expanded the sonic possibilities of the song. 

The Mellotron was a keyboard sound effects style instrument and it was used by the Beatles to great effect, Rick Wakeman used one on his recordings on David Bowie's Starman era work. Mike Pinder dispensed with the majority of the installed sounds on the Mellotron and used the available bank space to duplicate the strings type sounds, thus creating more of an orchestral sound. 

The Moody Blues also had the advantage that Decca, their label, had top quality recording studios and they were given free reign to just record their music.

Moving on to war of the worlds, Justin Hayward was the ideal choice for the song Forever Autumn. The song features Chris Spedding on lead guitar (who had gone for the vacancy in the Moody Blues that Justin got) and also Dave Freeman an early innovator of synths and one who was important in the use of developing human voicing synth sounds.

The us of Richard Burton's narration on the war of the worlds album was a masterstroke, I listened to some out takes of the narration recording and Richard is the consummate professional, retaking a passage of script with different emphasis on certain parts without any behind the mic drama. His delivery suits the pathos of the story, with decades of theatre performances, he gave the part a weary and atmospheric cadence in parts, it was superb work.

With war of the worlds revived as a stage show in London's West End, Justin Hayward came to the production and with the use of Richard Burton in CGI form, a new audience came to see and hear this great concept anew. 

Gary Barlow, born in 1971 did record a version of Forever Autumn, this brought the song to a new audience - just like any great work, artists can bring their own unique talents to the song - think of any number of songs in the past all covered variously by artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and many more from that time.   

The Moody Blues continued to write and record after war of the worlds and perhaps it brought the group back to the spotlight commercially. Songs like 'The Voice' and 'I know you're out there somewhere' from the 80's only served to show the great talent on offer.

45 years or so later, I am still enjoying playing that music too. I started songwriting back in 1983 after leaving school and starting a band with some school friends who I had played with in the school years in other outfits. 

I ignored the advice on my first day of secondary school 'forget about being a pop star or a footballer.' Why should I listen to someone who can only teach? By 3 years later, I was not allowed to do music as a subject and lost most of my interest in school, just going along to get the certificate and get out at the first opportunity.I am still playing all this time later by the way and really enjoying it at a level I would not have thought possible.

When I saw the video recently  for 'I know you're out there somewhere' it was immediately relevant to me and my past life, it really struck a chord for want of a better phrase. Back in the 1980's the A&R men used to go to certain pubs that hosted live music, the place you learned your craft in, now it is mostly stage school alumni who go straight into an industry where it is all provided and they just sing. There is no connection to a band, no having worked at the craft with a unit, its all very sad I think.

Happy days. Forever Autumn, Justin and the Moody Blues still sound great although some have now passed on.