Séamus Ahearne: Schadenfreude

Is a word searching for somewhere to be used! Or someone to be used about. That word fits neatly into yesterday. I shouldn’t take pleasure in such events, or in the discomfort of a natural political character, if not  a national treasure in the UK (as yet).

Nigel Farage was on ‘Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg’  BBC1 yesterday (5th January 2025) at 9 am. He was confident. He was aggressive. He was certain. He was persuasive. He had learned nothing from his Brexit experience. He spoke of his friends Donald Trump and Elon Musk. He was glowing with delight at their shared friendship, and wanted the world to learn from this trinity of geniuses! The world had to listen.

Nigel defended Musk who has attacked Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips, for not setting up an Inquiry on the Grooming Gangs in Britain. Musk had accused them of ‘being complicit in the rape of Britain.’ Elon wanted Jess jailed.

The day (yesterday)  hadn’t aged too much, when Musk was again letting his tongue loose on X. He said that Farage wasn’t up to being a leader of Reform and should be replaced.

Musk didn’t do well back in those days when the football team was lost in the Thai cave. (23th June – 10th July 2018) His offer of Tesla engineers and a mini submarine, was turned down. He then turned on Vernon Unsworth and threw ‘muck’ at him. Unsworth had suggested that it was all a publicity stunt and that Musk’s offer was useless. Elon likes to get his own way. And didn’t.

I did like to see Mr Farage get his comeuppance. But Musk and Trump surely are a most extraordinary combination. They are like two spancelled goats who will eventually create havoc for everyone and become rather uncomfortable together.

What a contrast these days with the funeral of Jimmy Carter being celebrated? A good human being, oozing with civility and courtesy. He is showing even now in death what is missing in America with the President elect and his proposed appointments. And now we have these two…….

A message for everyone: Being rich doesn’t mean that someone has something sensible to say! 

Poor Nigel Farage………………… However, it was lovely to see the smug smile wiped off his face!

Seamus Ahearne osa   6th January 2025.

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Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Seamus Ahearne posts a mid-summer reflection. Among other issues he wonders if “When people look backwards and dump the blame for everything on the past – they simply are avoiding the responsibility of what is facing them at the moment……. It is so much easier to be apologetic about the past than it is to look at today.”
He worries for Pope Francis “Why wouldn’t people leave him alone to get on with his business in Rome? We need him so badly and yet we waste his energy and time.”
But this mid-summer Seamus tells us. “We can stand back and let all this seriousness and pomposity of life be smiled at.”

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