Seen in the News

[Tizer]

`Israel union calls for general strike as protestors across country demand Gaza hostage deal' BBC News Live

[Stanley]

HERE'S the latest6 news this morning.
Tens of thousands of people have rallied across Israel after the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were recovered by soldiers, causing national outrage. Protesters - many clad in Israeli flags - descended on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities, accusing PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of not doing enough to reach a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages taken by Hamas during the 7 October attacks. Sunday's protests were largely peaceful - but crowds broke through police lines, blocking a major highway in Tel Aviv. This comes as a major Israeli labour union, Histadrut, called for a nationwide general strike on Monday, pressing for a hostage deal.
Netanyahu will come under even more pressure as he is seen by many as pursuing HAMAS as a means of placating his far Right-wing allies and staying in power.

THIS news from Gloria's part of the county grabbed my attention....
A man has been critically injured after a suspected gas explosion inside a house. The home on Wheatley Drive in Longridge near Preston was "significantly damaged" in the blast at about 10:30 BST, Lancashire Police said. The man suffered serious burns and was taken to hospital, along with two others who had minor injuries. Local resident Mark O’Connell said he heard a "very, very large bang", adding: "Unfortunately some people have lost windows."

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report of news coming out of South Korea.
Last Saturday, a Telegram message popped up on Heejin’s phone from an anonymous sender. “Your pictures and personal information have been leaked. Let’s discuss.” As the university student entered the chatroom to read the message, she received a photo of herself taken a few years ago while she was still at school. It was followed by a second image using the same photo, only this one was sexually explicit, and fake. Terrified, Heejin, which is not her real name, did not respond, but the images kept coming. In all of them, her face had been attached to a body engaged in a sex act, using sophisticated deepfake technology. Deepfakes, the majority of which combine a real person’s face with a fake, sexually explicit body, are increasingly being generated using artificial intelligence. “I was petrified, I felt so alone,” Heejin told the BBC. But she was not alone.
There is much more about what is evidently an epidemic of fake images.
Is this what we can expect here as well? Or is it already going on?
I know it's useless but my mind goes back to when I was at school, we didn't have to worry about anything like this. Compared with today's children we were innocents abroad, no deep fakes or social media and we still went to Sunday school. Can we really say that today is an improvement?

[Tripps]

"Barnoldswick is the largest West Craven town and a key place situated between Colne and Skipton. But it is the largest town in England not on a major A-road, and it is less accessible on public transport than Colne and Nelson. "

- and what's wrong with that?

There is talk of a "plan". Oh dear.

Remember Hutber's Law and Joni Mitchell's song, and leave well alone.
Improvement equals deterioration.
You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

[Tizer]

There is talk of a "plan". Oh dear.
Remember Hutber's Law and Joni Mitchell's song, and leave well alone.
Improvement equals deterioration.
You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

That makes me think of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler's `Telegraph Road'....

A long time ago came a man on a track
Walking thirty miles with a sack on his back
And he put down his load where he thought it was the best
He made a home in the wilderness
He built a cabin and a winter store
And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
And the other travellers came walking down the track
And they never went further, no, they never went back
Then came the churches, then came the schools
Then came the lawyers, then came the rules
Then came the trains and the trucks with their loads
And the dirty old track was the Telegraph Road

Then came the mines, then came the ore
Then there was the hard times, then there was a war
Telegraph sang a song about the world outside
Telegraph Road got so deep and so wide
Like a rolling river
And my radio says tonight it's gonna freeze
People driving home from the factories
There's six lanes of traffic
Three lanes moving slow
I used to like to go to work, but they shut it down
I've got a right to go to work, but there's no work here to be found
Yes, and they say we're gonna have to pay what's owed
We're gonna have to reap from some seed that's been sowed
And the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
They can always fly away from this rain and this cold
You can hear them singing out their telegraph code
All the way down the Telegraph Road

Well, I'd sooner forget, but I remember those nights
Yeah, life was just a bet on a race between the lights
You had your head on my shoulder, you had your hand in my hair
Now you act a little colder like you don't seem to care
But just believe in me, baby, and I'll take you away
From out of this darkness and into the day
From these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain
From the anger that lives on the streets with these names
'Cause I've run every red light on memory lane
I've seen desperation explode into flames
And I don't want to see it again
From all of these signs saying, "Sorry, but we're closed"
All the way
Down the Telegraph Road

[Stanley]

I like that Peter.....
David, Quite! Nowt wrong with it at all but whoever wrote that doesn't know a lot about Barlick's public transport. We may not have rail now but we have good bus services.

"You don't know what you've got till it's gone."
I think that's been the broad theme of all my articles about the town. Who knows, someone might have paid notice....

I saw THIS BBC report on deaths in the channel...
Six children and a pregnant woman were among 12 people who died after a boat carrying dozens of migrants sank off the French coast, in the English Channel. In total, 10 of the dead were female and two were male, according to the local prosecutor's office. More than 50 people were rescued off Cape Gris-Nez, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, the French coast guard reports. Two are said to be in critical condition. Officials say the boat was overloaded and that its bottom "ripped open", while fewer than eight people on board were wearing life jackets.
Such a needless waste of life. I noted yesterday that James Cleverly has said that if he becomes Tory Leader he will advocate the Rwanda strategy again...... Apart form that very little appears to be being done to improve the situation.

[Stanley]

See THIS and wonder at the blind cruelty there is in the world.
A 14-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of an 80-year-old man in a Leicestershire park. Bhim Kohli died on Monday after an attack in Franklin Park while walking his dog on Sunday. The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been remanded into custody. He is due to appear at Leicester Youth Court, sitting at Leicester Magistrates' Court, on Thursday.
I think I have seen mention of stones being thrown..... What a tragic waste of two lives because the young lad will have to live with this all his life.

[Stanley]

I welcome THIS news from Wales.
The number of second homes for sale in a Welsh county has trebled since council tax increased by 200%. There were 135 Pembrokeshire second homes on the market in July, compared to 38 the previous year, latest figures dicate. An estate agent said houses were going on to the market at the highest rate this century, and it was damaging the tourism industry. However, campaigners pointed to the seaside town of Newport, where 30% of properties are second homes, and called for a legal act to give locals the right to buy.
The argument that this is bad for tourism ignores the fact that tourism is bad for the locals if it drives them out of the housing market and eventually out of the town. We see a similar situation locally in some Dales villages where the rise of second homes has led to the hollowing out of the core of the village. The same is seen in seaside fishing villages. I am all in favour of it.

[Stanley]

In the week the Grenfell Report was published THIS is an interesting article.....
Looking up at the glimmering Landmark Pinnacle on London’s Isle of Dogs, it’s hard to crane your neck back far enough to see right to the top. Completed in 2020, it is the tallest mainly residential building in Europe, soaring 784ft (239m) and 75 floors into the sky. It has a gym, roof terrace and designated pilates area. Inside, one of three concierges ask, without smiling, who I’m visiting, and I’m shown to one of the lifts. Apparently they don’t usually let you in without a name. Seven years ago, the catastrophic fire at Grenfell Tower led to changes in how high-rises should be designed to keep residents safe during a blaze. But problems persist in existing blocks. I’ve visited the Landmark Pinnacle as well as Invicta House, a council-owned block on an estate just outside Margate. While there are significant differences, concerns have crept up at both.
There follows an interesting comparison. I would hate to have to live in either of them.......

[Stanley]

I see in the news this morning that we are to be treated to free views of notable parts of the heritage and one that is headlined is Queen Street mill, 'The Last steam driven weaving shed in the world.'. Thereby hangs a tale, and I was there....
English Heritage had a target mill for saving as the representative steam driven weaving shed, it was Jubilee at Padiham but they took their eye off the ball and were very surprised to find it had been closed and Norman Sutcliffe was demolishing it. A quick rethink and they decided to save Queen Street at Harle Syke.
I had just finished my time at Pendle Heritage at the time and applied for the job of managing Queen Street but withdrew from the process when I discovered that the process was rigged and already decided.
There was a sequel. I can’t remember the exact date, it would be about 1993 or 94, I was invited by Peter White to accompany a British Council jolly across Northern England looking at industrial heritage sites. The excuse for me being there was the Lancashire Textile Project and all the work I had done on big artefacts. I couldn’t be with them at the start and joined the party in Durham. Put your hard hats on, there’s going to be some serious name-dropping here! I was in the crypt of either the cathedral or the castle taking wine with the chair of English Heritage, Lord Montague and various senior members of the organisation. I decided to be naughty, I asked his lordship if I was right in thinking that the basis for the decision to fund Queen Street was that it was the ‘Last Steam Driven Weaving Shed’, he said this was correct. As I opened my mouth I could see heads shaking in the background and eyes rolling upwards as they realised what I was going to say next, it was just like a Bateman cartoon.
I said, “Are you aware there’s another complete steam driven weaving shed in Rochdale?” It was a moment to cherish, the buggers all knew there was one but they weren’t interested in it so they ignored it. Lord Montague was very interested and asked me to send him details. I did, I sent him a full set of pics of the mill and received in reply the standard small ‘your communication has been received’ postcard, end of story, deep-sixed. In truth Baiting’s Mill at Norden wasn’t a very interesting building but it had all the elements of a steam driven weaving shed. What annoyed me was the fact that they all knew about it but ignored it for their own ends, it would have been ‘untidy’ to recognise that it existed.



This was the scene as Cudworth's weaving shed went under the hammer. At one time this was a familiar scene as an industry was destroyed. The scrapping at Baitings Mill was the last one in Lancashire. Problem solved, only one weaving shed left.

In 2000 I got a request from Robert. He asked me to get over to Cudworth’s Baitings Mill at Norden and photograph the loom-breaking and dismantling of the engine. I did this and it was just like the old days, blood, mud, smoke and destruction, as Robert said, “It’s the last one we’ll see”. When I got home I rang EH in London and talked to a nice young lady who knew nothing. I was very kind to her and told her that if she wanted to spread joy in the office she should go to her boss in the NW division and say ‘Stanley says you’re safe. Cudworth’s are scrapping everything at Baitings Mill’. She asked for my name and number but of course, nobody ever got back to me.
So whenever anyone talks about the last weaving shed, remember what Stanley said.....

[Tizer]

Yet another Chinese car maker coming to Europe to join those already there...
`Chinese giant Chery could build cars in UK' LINK

[Stanley]

I suppose they are forestalling any moves to impose punitive import tariffs.
See THIS report as the Covid review restarts....
An anti-corruption charity says it has identified significant concerns in contracts worth over £15.3bn awarded by the Conservative government during the Covid pandemic, equivalent to one in every £3 spent. Transparency International UK found 135 “high-risk” contracts with at least three red flags - warning signs of a risk of corruption. Twenty-eight contracts worth £4.1bn went to firms with known political connections, while 51 worth £4bn went through a "VIP lane" for companies recommended by MPs and peers, a practice the High Court ruled was unlawful. A Conservative spokesperson said: “Government policy was in no way influenced by the donations the party received – they are entirely separate.”
This news will come as no surprise to anyone who has read Private Eye's reporting on this. It was a rushed panicky process and badly managed by the government. Remember them cocking up test and trace and warehousing PPE supplies? On past experience I have no great hopes of any claw-back of funds......

[Stanley]

I saw THIS BBC report and it sent a chill down my spine.....
The government is warning of a "grim" September with up to 6,000 jobs set to be cut across the steel and oil refining industries, the BBC understands. A total of 2,800 jobs are set to go at Port Talbot in Wales, while up to 3,000 jobs are expected to be axed at British Steel in Scunthorpe. A further 400 will be cut at Scotland's Grangemouth oil refinery. Unions' hopes that investment from a new Labour government could help limit job losses have largely been dashed, according to sources. The government said it was facing "tough decisions" but added: "The solution isn’t writing a blank cheque to bail out the past, or to put taxpayers on the hook for the industrial challenges we’ve inherited." Labour's manifesto promised a kitty of £2.5bn to revitalise the UK steel industry.
6,000 jobs isn't a great number compared with a total UK work force of 33million but for this 6,000 it is a disaster and just before Xmas. (Why are there always job cuts in the run up to Xmas?) That's 6,000 families who find their circumstances completely changed. That's the reality behind a headline.....

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The Telegraph's front page today has a nib saying that US military chiefs warn that Trump wants to be a dictator and is a threat to US security. They believe Harris is the only safe option. I note too that back in January this was published by NBC News:
`Fears grow that Trump will use the military in ‘dictatorial ways’ if he returns to the White House.' NBC
And a year ago, this: `Mark Milley: retiring general appears to call Trump ‘wannabe dictator: Retiring chair of joint chiefs of staff says ‘We take an oath to the constitution’ not ‘to a wannabe dictator’ in farewell ceremony'. Guardian

[Stanley]

I heard that report as well Peter. Are his supporters aware of this or is the impression given by many commentators that there are enough people thick enough to let him get away with this correct?
At the moment there is a live debate between Trump and Harris coming in and it is centred on whether Trump is a putative dictator or not. I say debate but actually it's a slanging match, a smart move would be for Harris to say so and get the debate back on to facts, not accusations.

In UK news THIS got my attention.....
A new statue designed to commemorate Elizabeth II - the UK's longest-serving monarch - has received a mixed reception. The bronze sculpture, created by north Belfast artist Anto Brennan, was unveiled in Antrim Castle Gardens on Saturday. Since then, the statue of the late queen, Prince Philip and two corgis has attracted some criticism on social media and commentary from visitors to the County Antrim gardens. Antrim and Newtownabbey Councillor Vera McWilliam told BBC News NI: “We have to be honest, it does not resemble the queen in any shape or form.”
I don't see why the reception should be mixed. Anybody who sees this as an accurate representation of the Queen and Charles should get their eyes tested! I can't understand how it has been allowed to be approved for public display. Was there nobody on the scrutiny committee who could see this?

[Stanley]

I saw THIS report in the news and reflected that I live in a different world!
A mother who went on holiday to Ibiza rather than attending her son's sentencing for his role in riots has been ordered to pay compensation to the victims. Her 12-year-old boy kicked a bus outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Manchester on 31 July, before joining a mob that targeted a vape shop and threw missiles at a police van on 3 August. The 30-year-old mother was ordered to pay £1,200 compensation - approximately the same price as her holiday - and attend a six-month parenting course. The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, was handed a 12-month referral order and told had he been an adult he could have been sent to prison for between four and five years.
I'm so glad I don't live where this sort of behaviour (Hers as well as his!) is normal. That would be my idea of hell.

[Tizer]

This drives me crazy - just think how much money was spent on this one `private spacewalk' and what good it could have done down here on Earth if the billionaire used the money instead to help starving people....
`First private spacewalk a success' BBC

I regularly watch `Sky at Night' on the TV and enjoy all the astronomy and the wonderful things we are learning about the universe. But the latest episode was all about how soon we can get people on the Moon again, then on Mars and further out into space. That's when I have to distance myself from what's presented. I'm totally against sending humans onto other planets and even further beyond the Solar System. We have stricter control and precautions for Antarctica than we do for other planets. We're already contaminating the Moon. And Earth's atmosphere and local space is being filled with tens of thousands of satellites and being turned into a rubbish dump. We know less about the ocean deeps than we do about other planets. As you can tell, I'm angry. Polio has returned, thanks to Netanyahu, and we need billions of dollars to provide the vaccine. Instead we use it on vanity trips into space.

[Stanley]

I agree totally with you Peter and can't add anything useful to it. It was treated like a joy ride when it could have been for something serious..... I don't know why but a thought has just popped into my head that Bill and Melinda Gates could have shewn them what to do with their money!

See THIS item in the BBC news about fast food.
A ban on junk food adverts being shown on TV before 21:00 will come into force on 1 October 2025, the government has confirmed. Labour said the watershed on junk food advertising would be enforced alongside a total ban on paid-for online adverts, both aimed at tackling childhood obesity. The Conservatives had previously committed to the ban in 2021 when Boris Johnson was prime minister, but it was pushed back to give the industry more time to prepare. Health Minister Andrew Gwynne said confirming the scope of restrictions and the date they would be implemented provided clarity for businesses. Gwynne said the government wanted "to tackle the problem head on" and "without further delay".
I understand to making it less easy for people to binge on unhealthy food but wish to object to the illustration used.
Chips, buns, burgers and onions are not necessarily junk food. It is poor quality, excess salt and sugar or additives that make for poor quality. Those are the areas that should be attacked directly.

[Tizer]

Bill and Melinda Gates could have shewn them what to do with their money!

Yes, and such money could be used to sit up more colleges like this one in Belfast to equip youngsters for work on Earth in the modern world...
`Teenager invents robot to solve Rubik's Cube' LINK

The school's principal says: We have 10 or 11 post-primary schools from north Belfast coming here, and we want them all to use it. "By the end of our third year, we'll have 6,000 students and over 100 staff using the facilities. "It's a real leveller."

[Stanley]

I agree with you Peter....
I saw THIS in the news.....
Pope Francis has called both major US presidential candidates "against life" and advised Catholic voters to choose the "lesser evil" when casting their ballots in the November election. The pontiff said not welcoming migrants - seemingly referring to Trump - is a "grave" sin, and compared Kamala Harris's stance on abortion to an "assassination". “Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants, or be it the one who kills babies,″ the Pope said in rare political comments at a Friday news conference as he wrapped up a 12-day tour through southeast Asia.
His political comments aren't rare enough. I don't think they add much clarity to the debate Perhaps better if he sticks to promoting the Roman Church.

See THIS also.....
A teacher who carried a placard at a pro-Palestinian protest depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts has been found not guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence. Marieha Hussain, 37, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire denied the charge at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday. She carried a picture showing the faces of the then Prime Minister and Home Secretary superimposed on coconuts under a palm tree in November 2023. Her defence said the placard was not racist, but satirical and humorous. Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan argued coconut was a well-known racial slur, suggesting that someone was brown on the outside but white on the inside.
I leave you to judge whether she should have got off or not.
I thought the courts were overloaded and short of resources..... Perhaps someone should tell the prosecution.

[Stanley]

See THIS report about an explosion in Burnley yesterday.
A man was rescued from the scene of an explosion and then arrested on suspicion of making drugs. The blast destroyed a downstairs flat in a block in Burnley, Lancashire, at about 13:45 BST. Fire crews and search and rescue teams managed to pull out a man who had suffered burns in the explosion. Police said they were looking for another person who was also thought to have been burned but who had fled the scene.

[Stanley]

I heard a discussion on Today about Defence Spending and Lord Dannet was speaking. He said that people were arguing about whether we needed to get up to 2.5% of GDP. He reminded us that in 1940 in WWII it was at 46%.
The contrast illustrates what I was saying this morning about the war being paid for with deficit financing. This is perhaps what we need now.....

[Stanley]

THIS is head of the news this morning.
Donald Trump says he is "safe and well" after what the FBI says "appears to be an attempted assassination" on the former president at his Florida golf course. A Secret Service agent spotted an AK-47-style weapon poking out of bushes on the golf course about a hole ahead of where Trump was playing, and engaged the suspect. A witness then saw a man flee in a black Nissan, which was later pulled over by a sheriff and the potential suspect was arrested. A weapon, scope, backpacks and GoPro camera were found in shrubs near the edge of the golf course. The suspect has been identified by the BBC's US partner CBS News as Ryan Wesley Routh, a man reportedly in his late 50s
Reports still coming in.

[Tizer]

I'm pleased to hear that a British singer/songwriter, now in his 70s, has won his court case against Trump who has been using his songs/music in his campaign now and previously. The judge has ordered Trump to pay compensation for all the fees due and and to reimburse the singer's expenses on the court case. Great news - I wonder if it might open the door for all those other similar people who have been trying to stop Trump using their music and songs.

[Stanley]

If there was any justice it would Peter but with the Law you can never be sure......

Read THIS and weep for four kids who died a terrible death.
Four young boys died in a fire surrounded by rubbish and human excrement after their mother left them home alone to go to Sainsbury’s, a court has heard. Deveca Rose, 29, denies the manslaughter of her two sets of twins, Leyton and Logan Hoath, aged three, and Kyson and Bryson Hoath, aged four, and child cruelty. The four children died after a discarded cigarette or upturned tea light sparked a blaze at their terraced home in Sutton, south London. The boys are believed to have run upstairs and cried for help but were unable to escape the locked house and died under a bed, the Old Bailey was told.
What can anyone say?