It is a beautiful spring day and we just got back from a walk. With due credit to the band Chicago, hum “Saturday in the park,” as you read on.
– Speaking of walking, there were multiple hundreds of thousands marching in London pleading for another Brexit referendum. Some of it has to do with Parliament’s inability to plan a smooth exit, but the large part is due to Brexit being a financially imprudent idea.
– The Mueller report is in and I encourage a large dose of patience. Let people read and digest the thing. Plus, this is just the end of one phase, with much more to come. Future indictments will likely come from the Southern District of New York and be of a campaign finance or conflict of interest nature. Spiking the ball in the endzone is premature, especially when dealing with such an untruthful man.
– Boeing is in a heap of hurt, with an order for 50 737’s being canceled. Training is everything and, apparently, it has been shortchanged on this unwieldy plane. A pilot said the switch from autopilot to pilot in some instances maximizes the worst attributes of both at the wrong time. Unfortunately, hundreds have died.
– Seeing the horrible flooding in the US and the cyclone damage on the east coast of Africa reminds me of a report sanctioned almost ten years ago by the largest pension trusts in the world on the financial impact of climate change. Between the increased severity of forest fires, drought, flooding and sea rising, they estimated a cost on the order of multiple tens of trillion dollar. I think that might be light as there will be an echo effect that is worse than predicted then.
– Kudos to New Zealand, its people and its leader, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. From the heartfelt solidarity to the grieving Muslim community and nation to acting with seriousness of purpose banning assault weapons, Ardern showed what leadership looks like. As an American, I am envious of her leadership and proud we have such in our world.
Have a great weekend all. Best wishes to those in need or grieving their lost loved ones.
musingsofanoldfart 
Note to Readers: Speaking of Chicago, we saw them in an amphitheater, where it rained the entire first half. Since they collected our umbrellas, we were beyond damp. We still enjoyed them, but it was no Saturday in the park.
Note to Readers: We did see a similar type of leadership here in the US, when then SC Governor Nikki Haley openly grieved and worked with the Charleston mayor after the AME Zion church shooting there which killed nine. Her empathy was as noticeable as the absence of such with the current US President who is far more concerned with how it makes him look.
Great post, Keith. I don’t comment often, but I do read them all!
Thanks Sha’Tara. I appreciate your time and interest.
A very good overview Keith of many factors in many places.
Brexit now reminds me of the final stages of the life some of the larger stars. Internal mechanisms are breaking down under the pressure of lack of resources, leading to a massive eruption and them a final collapse into a small and withered husk. (with apologies to those with a finer grasp of the nuances of stellar bodies)
Roger, the lesson still unlearned is once the UK voted on Brexit, their hand was weakened. The EU was not about to bend over backwards. So, Parliament can bitch and moan all the want, but they should have gotten their act together and done so much sooner.
I think the wiser, but courageous course of action, is to admit the referendum was not based on all the facts. So, Parliament will belay the vote and decide to remain. A new vote will likely be the path forward, but it will be an uninformed one as well. Keith
It is quite the nightmare scenario Keith.
The current party in power The Conservatives have always been riven over the EU question and now is all in the open.
Their partners in coalition the DUP work only by the arcane ways of Ulster Politics which is motivated by quite different perspectives.
Labour has been cursed with a leader who in his heart in still a left-wing city councillor steeped in protest and ‘romantic’ causes. And truth be known in his heart of heart has more deeper sympathy with The Leave campaign, thus the most peculiar votes in the House of Commons. In this he has lost the tenuous hold on the moderates and relies upon his own supporters…..not dissimilar in this aspect to Trump’s position in a mirror image sort of way.
Meanwhile the passions of the voters run high and there is a bitter division, not just between Leave & Remain, but ever simmering ‘The Scottish Question’.
We don’t have a charismatic such as Churchill nor we do have a calm and responsible person in the style of Atlee.
No one can say from week to week where this will lead.
The most frightening aspect for the average Member of Parliament is that the feelings of the population are getting towards the first steps of being ‘out of hand’.
It would not be a surprise to see the Army deployed on the streets on the mainland UK in one role or another.
Roger, that is unsettling. Hypocrisy abounds in politics. It would be nice to see a nonpartisan pros/ cons analysis with financial projections. Even with that, it would still be political.
We have the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office who does their best to get estimates right. Yet, politicians laud them when it supports their position and finds flaws when it does not. Keith