The wedding scene from Flash Gordon:
Celebrant: “Do you, Ming the Merciless, Ruler of the Universe, take this Earthling, Dale Arden, to be your empress of the hour?”
Ming: “Of the hour, yes.”
Celebrant: “Do you promise to use her as you will?”
Ming: “Certainly.”
Celebrant: “Not to blast her into space…” [Ming gives him a warning look] “…until such time as you grow weary of her?”
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Sadiq Khan’s deputy mayor for environment pledges to curb plane trips after clocking up 40,000 air miles, the Standard reports.
Mete Coban, a 32-year-old former Hackney councillor, was appointed to the £147,769-a-year City Hall role in July that involves him leading efforts to make London “net zero” in terms of carbon emissions by 2030.
While Hackney’s cabinet member for the environment, Mr Coban was revealed to have clocked up 40,000 air miles in two years.
I didn’t know that the London Borough of Hackney had a cabinet, let alone a cabinet member for the environment with worldwide responsibilities.
He said the “majority” of trips related to his job at an organisation, My Life My Say, that aims to get young people interested in politics and democracy.
But asked by Tory assembly member Thomas Turrell at a City Hall meeting about his travel habits, Mr Coban pledged to avoid “unnecessary” flights and to “lead by example”.
He told the London Assembly’s environment comittee: “I’m very clear that the majority of those flights relate to my previous role as chief executive of My Life My Say, where we are standing up for young people across the country, but also globally, to stand up for democracy.
“I don’t make any apology for making sure I am banging the drum for young people at some of the highest institutions, including the United Nations.
The need to make speeches at “the highest institutions” located in Miami, Dubai, Guatemala, Istanbul, Washington DC and Malta allowed “High Carbon Coban”, a member of the political class, to have 40,000 unapologetic air miles before he felt obliged to say that he would “avoid” flying while in his present role. Except when flights are absolutely necessary for his work as Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy, obviously.
We are governed by supercilious pricks.
But then what does that say about us?
I read somewhere that IQ levels are in decline. Might this be a factor?
Johnathan Pearce – it is not IQ, it is a system of rules and policies that have become a spider’s web. I can assure you that many people who work in government and in politics (both officials and politicians) are very much aware of the utter insanity of the policies that are followed – but are totally unable to do anything about it.
Although, yes, some people behave badly – making hypocritical speeches, grabbing “freebie” trips around the world, and so on.
I personally ignore all such “leaders” in “climate change” and have done since the days of Al Gore.
I’ll think about paying attention to them when they bring their carbon footprint down to the same level as mine.
Maybe.
JJM – yes, I see your point.
And their buying of very large houses on the sea shore, not on hills overlooking the ocean – but right at sea level, is also rather troubling.
Surely if they believed that the sea levels were going to dramatically rise, that rising C02 levels would cause this, they would not spending millions on buying vast houses at sea level.
The difference between their words and their actions is stark.
Especially as leaders such as Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama (and so on) are very well aware that China and other nations are massively increasing C02 emissions.
Never look at what people say. Look at what they do.
Paul Marks: “And their buying of very large houses on the sea shore…”
Putting aside “climate change”, your line above reminded me of something Logan Pearsall Smith once wrote:
“All reformers, however strict their social conscience, live in houses just as big as they can pay for.“
A hypocritical politician? The devil you say!
It’s odd that all these conferences and meetings about very important issues such as climate change, net zero and save something or another take place in locations such as Miami, Dubai, Guatemala, Istanbul, Washington DC and Malta.
What’s wrong with holding them in Clackton, Southend or Clapham Junction? Or, if they want to go somewhere exotic, mysterious and sample foreign culture, Bradford, Huddersfield or Blackburn? They’d rack up far less air miles and their carbon footprint would be much less, eh?
“And their buying of very large houses on the sea shore…”
“All reformers, however strict their social conscience, live in houses just as big as they can pay for.“
Recent evidence suggests that buying is now passé and that access to expensive housing (and pretty much everything else) is simply gifted to our new “reformers”.
Alternately, from an economic perspective, a difference between expressed (virtue signalling) preferences and revealed preferences. So there is a bit of a gap (some might say a chasm a mile wide) between their spouted ideals and their actual behaviour.
I think this is an understatement.
The more radical end of the Watermelon spectrum wants the UK (in the absence of world government) to implement individual carbon footprint limits, but no doubt any such limits would exclude the Eloi because…reasons. As for the plebs? Quit bitching and do as you are told.
Piano wire and lampposts are too good for these barstewards.
@Phil B
Indeed!
It’s not just them, though. As a research-active academic, I’m bombarded with invitations to “conferences” in locations such as The Seychelles, Crete, Dubai, Malta etc.
I could easily go-just spend a £K or two of grant money…
Excellent comments – I have nothing to add.
Primarily that ‘us’ watch Big Brother all the time, the monotone BBC.
He’s got nothing on John Kerry, who has always given hypocrisy a bad name.
“He’s got nothing on John Kerry, who has always given hypocrisy a bad name.”
John Kerry is the Heinz ketchup on your heaping helping of climate change ideology.