Seen in the News

[Whyperion]

1908 and all that.
MSN's Feed has ploughed through a series of historic interviews that the Daily Telegraph are re-printing. This from 1908 was will Kaisier Williem of Germany. He raises some interesting points

"Thereupon I ventured to remind his Majesty that not England alone, but the whole of Europe had viewed with disapproval the recent action of Germany in allowing the German Consul to return from Tangier to Fez, and in anticipating the joint action of France and Spain by suggesting to the Powers that the time had come for Europe to recognise Muley Hafid as the new Sultan of Morocco."

"His Majesty made a gesture of impatience. “Yes,” he said, “that is an excellent example of the way in which German action is misrepresented. First, then, as regards the journey of Dr. Vassel. The German Government, in sending Dr. Vassel back to his post at Fez, was only guided by the wish that he should look after the private interests of German subjects in that city, who cried for help and protection after the long absence of a Consular representative. And why not send him? Are those who charge Germany with having stolen a march on the other Powers aware that the French Consular representative had already been in Fez for several months when Dr. Vassel set out? Then, as to the recognition of Muley Hafid. The Press of Europe has complained with much acerbity that Germany ought not to have suggested his recognition until he had notified to Europe his full acceptance of the Act of Algeciras, as being binding upon him as Sultan of Morocco and. successor of his brother."

The Kaisier then goes on to state the build up of the Naval Fleet was protection of a country with a growing empire and against Japan and not a threat to England, that Germany officially had backed (or not criiicised ) England in the Boer War. And he mentioned the working and middle classes of Germany didnt really find ( presumably the higher parliamentary reported) England / English a pleasant peoples.

Interesting and my memory of any learning , if indeed I had any of Edwardian International Relations , doesnt recall the specifics of but a few general factors leading up to WW1.

What it does show is in a changing world some things seem to stay the same.

_________________--
Grok, the AI assistant made by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence firm, was specifically told not to use sources that said he was responsible for spreading misinformation.

Supposedly, there are a couple of YT vids of asking different AI about Musk and the first month of into Trump as president, The results were both pretty critical including Grok.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report of funding for Queen Street Mill.
A Lancashire mill museum, which featured in the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech, has been allocated more than £800,000 of government funding. Queen Street Mill Textile Museum in Burnley is the only surviving 19th Century steam-powered weaving mill in the world but closed in 2016 for three years due to financial constraints. It is among hundreds of heritage and cultural venues nationwide to have been granted cash as part of the government's Arts Everywhere Fund. The money will be used for repairs to the mill's northlight roof to protect its collection of more than 300 historic looms and machinery, Lancashire County Council has said.
This will not cure the ills that Queen Street has always suffered under. I must be one of the last people alive who know the story behind the effort to preserve 'The last steam weaving shed'. The original candidate was Jubilee Mill at Padiham but English Heritage, as it was then, took their eye off the ball and it was lost to demolition. Queen Street was chosen as a replacement but was never a success. I proposed Bancroft shed long before all this happened as it was a working mill and gave EH a plan that would have worked but it all came to nothing. Then I found them another 'last steam weaving shed' at Rochdale but they ignored that as they had already started on Queen Street.
Another forgotten corner is that my mate Robert had a serious bid on the table for years to buy the mill and run it. It all came to nothing.
Oh, and at one point I was a contender for the post of manager of the Queen Street Project but withdrew when I found that there was skulduggery going on in the background.... As I say, there's a lot of baggage behind this.....

[Tizer]

`Putin offers Russian and Ukrainian rare minerals to US' BBC

Oh well, I guess Starmer didn't read OG on the day I posted this and now it might be too late...
Eurasia

[Stanley]

I don't think there's much doubt that the issue of rare minerals from Ukraine is a key interest for Trump and Musk.

See THIS report on BBC local news.
A head teacher has said her primary school has pulled out of a government breakfast club scheme because the funding does not cover the cost of it. Sharneyford Primary School in Bacup was one of 14 in Lancashire named as part of the nationwide scheme involving 750 schools. Head teacher Sarah Smith said the amount given per meal per child - 78p for those on free school meals - was not enough to cover the cost of food and staff. The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the government would "be working with school leaders... to make sure we get this right".
I know that school and it has enough difficulties to contend with without a mean penny-pinching policy like this. Ms Phillipson should be ashamed of that typical piece of political word soup. It's a disgrace. We are talking about children's lives here.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report about a new CEO for LCC
The new chief executive of Lancashire County Council has been confirmed as Mark Wynn. County councillors gave him a round of applause after voting unanimously to approve his appointment at an extraordinary meeting earlier. The 55-year-old had been recommended for the role by the authority's cross-party employment committee earlier this month. He had been doing the job on a temporary basis since last August, following the departure of Angie Ridgwell after a six-and-a-half-year stint. Alan Vincent, the deputy leader of the authority, told the meeting the new boss was "an excellent choice" for the job, which comes with a salary of almost £237,000.
Look at his pay. No wonder he's smiling!

[Whyperion]

King (Charles) has sent via PM Starmer a state visit invitation to President Donald Trump
BBC Comment
"Traditionally second-term US presidents are not offered a state visit and have instead been invited for tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle.
King Charles' letter proposed a meeting to discuss details of the state visit at either Dumfries House or Balmoral, both in Scotland"

Not sure what the SNP might have to say about that. Donald's building a second golf course in Aberdeen too.

[Stanley]

See THIS for another example of the affects austerity has on what should be normal functions of local government. Spend £13m on something and then outsource it.....
A shake-up at a £13m museum has seen some staff made redundant and an overhaul of the way the attraction runs. Blackpool's Showtown museum - which celebrates the Lancashire seaside town's entertainment history - has now been taken under the wing of the same company which already runs the Sandcastle Waterpark on behalf of the council. About 15% of staff have been made redundant with chief executive Liz Moss set to leave after resigning from her role. Showtown, which is approaching a year since it opened on 15 March, will continue to be operated by the Blackpool Heritage and Museum Trust on a day to day basis. However, Blackpool Operating Company Ltd (BOCL) is providing an operational overview.

[Stanley]

See THIS report by the Parliamentary Accounts Committee.
The failure of the High Speed 2 (HS2) programme, one of our most important public sector projects, is now a reputational risk to the UK. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today publishes its report updating its long-running scrutiny of the project, following the cancellation of HS2’s Northern leg. The report urges the Government to lay out to the public, in responses to the PAC expected before summer this year, what value taxpayers can now expect from their huge investment in the project.

Basically they say that it is a text-book example of how not to run a project..... (Add it to Brexit!)

[Steeplejerk]

Stanley Graham spotted on the BBC news this morning

[Stanley]

Did you watch it Tom?
If so, a few familiar faces from the past there....

[Steeplejerk]

I did watch it Stanley none of my pics made the big time but lots of very familiar faces,fantastic

[Stanley]

In TV terms five minutes on the news is amazing but we need a lot longer don't we!

[Stanley]

PS Tom, on aGAIN AT 08:15 IF YOU WANT A SECOND GO.

[Whyperion]

Problem with HS2 (never mind the cost of land acquisition) was that the Chief Executives etc always said it must happen , and happen in the format they were sitting on, until the Govt took away half that pile, so now they had to defend the rump that was left. To me for capacity using Marylebone for Birmingham made better sense with some improvements there, running HS2 to Heathrow to Manchester Airport with better connections at each end would have been better simply as Euston wasnt working unless the option of just tunneling under the existing lines could have been done and then build both ends at the same time (and in the middle too)

[Steeplejerk]

Stanley you have 1 up on Robert Aram he only got as far as BBC 2

[Stanley]

And it's on again tonight on BBC NW at 06:30.....

[Stanley]

Guess what.... The BBC NW Tonight edit was a great improvement.....

[PostmanPete]

Guess what.... The BBC NW Tonight edit was a great improvement.....

[Stanley]

Nice one Pete....

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS article on the BBC website.....
Fifty years ago, a young, posh, boarding school-educated photographer called Daniel Meadows went to Lancashire intent of capturing the last breaths of a dying industry. But while he was there, he struck up a surprising friendship. Stanley Challenger Graham was the man who ran the engine powering 1,000 looms at Bancroft Shed in Barnoldswick, one of the last steam-powered weaving sheds in the UK. In fact, engineer Stanley is the last surviving mill worker to feature in an exhibition of the images Daniel took, which have resurfaced at the Four Corners Gallery in London and will return to Lancashire later this year. And Daniel and Stanley's friendship has lasted to this day.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on leazsehold.
2 hours ago
Ministers have outlined plans to abolish the leasehold system in England and Wales. Proposals to change the law would ban the sale of new leasehold flats. Under the leasehold system, third-party landlords known as freeholders own the building and a leaseholder buys the right to occupy a flat within it for a fixed time period. The government said it wanted to move to a way of building homes that was more in line with the rest of the world, known as commonhold, where homeowners owned a share of and had control over buildings they lived in. But freeholders said leasehold was the "most effective way of managing large complex apartment buildings". A white paper published on Monday stated the sale of new leasehold flats would be banned and commonhold "reinvigorated" with a new legal framework.
It's about time this remnant of the Feudal System was consigned to the dustbin of history.

[Whyperion]

See THIS BBC report on leazsehold.
2 hours ago
Ministers have outlined plans to abolish the leasehold system in England and Wales. Proposals to change the law would ban the sale of new leasehold flats. Under the leasehold system, third-party landlords known as freeholders own the building and a leaseholder buys the right to occupy a flat within it for a fixed time period. The government said it wanted to move to a way of building homes that was more in line with the rest of the world, known as commonhold, where homeowners owned a share of and had control over buildings they lived in. But freeholders said leasehold was the "most effective way of managing large complex apartment buildings". A white paper published on Monday stated the sale of new leasehold flats would be banned and commonhold "reinvigorated" with a new legal framework.
It's about time this remnant of the Feudal System was consigned to the dustbin of history.

Leasehold Houses (generally) I think were made to disappear under the last government, if not there is no reason for a short leasehold house.
For "Split House" flats - generally say less than nine properties again shared freehold seems fairer
For larger blocks unfortunately management and rapair costs wont go away so it is transparency and fairness that are key for the building to be maintained against peril Hidden wayleaves for services to residents should be provided free with sinking funds established on first sale and subsequent sales at modest rate
What about external landscaping -including vehicle parking should this be the local authority parks and gardens ?

[Whyperion]

Allocating vast sums of money to build missiles in Belfast nearly reminds me of keeping dangerous asbestos related jobs going in Rochdale - so that there will be employment. Problem is you cannot eat missiles and they cause immense pollution if used as fireworks. One might as well spend the money on unemployment benefits and leave the raw materials still in the ground (dont explosives use cotton/water too?) Maybe even bribe the enemy (or is that a situation where one would be bled dry ?) . Its difficult , one wants a end to war , some wars should be better to negotiate (Rwanda?, Sudan?, Gaza??) Things the EU also have to look at on Thursday , never mind who pays- the poor working taxpayer ?

[Tripps]

I've jut seen a summary on the TV news of the Oscars ceremony from Los Angeles.

I'm,so happy to say that finally - I have never heard of any of the films, and I didn't recognise a single one of the 'film stars'. Having watched them, and listened to the speeches - that pleases me more than you can imagine.

[Stanley]

I suspect that would apply to me as well David if I had watched the ceremonies....
I saw THIS Pendle news on the BBC website.....
Councillors have axed plans for a new £2m waste transfer site as they agreed a tax rise for the coming year. Pendle Council shelved the scheme in Nelson as the new budget was set, while another waste site, planned for Henrietta Street in Bacup, was also postponed. Councillors said the facilities could prove to "white elephants" ahead of potential changes to waste management across Lancashire, as well as expected reforms to the county's councils. A council tax rise of 2.99% was also approved. Band D properties will now be charged £307.52 for Pendle's share of council tax, an increase of £8.93 for the year. More than 60% of Pendle homes are in Band A, which will see an increase of £5.95 for the year from £199.06 to £205.01. Lib Dem councillor David Whipp called for the £2m waste plans to be axed. He said: "Local government reorganisation requires us to reconsider our priorities, and what we can aim to do in the next two or three years." Whipp added that with council reform "the pattern of waste collection and disposal may change radically" and "it would be foolish to spend millions on something that may well be a white elephant in just four years".