Seen in the News

[Whyperion]

Anyone thrown up the Commonwealth values ?

[PanBiker]

ransport Secretary Heidi Alexandersays it is "imperative" to "identify how this power failure happened and learn from this to ensure a vital piece of national infrastructure remains strong".

It's not rocket science, it is well known as a "single point of failure" and should be avoided at all costs for critical systems. It should have a complete backup system built into the infrastructure and switching over on failure should be automatic. Again, that is not rocket science.

If you venture down Skipton Road in Barlick and look to the right over the Rolls Royce sports field you can see that moves are ongoing to remove the grid pylons in that area and shove the cables underground. If all the overhead electrical grid was the same there would be considerably less failures in inclement weather.

[Big Kev]

[If all the overhead electrical grid was the same there would be considerably less failures in inclement weather.

There was a localised power outage in Foulridge this morning, just 12 properties affected. My lights flickered at 11 last night but the power stayed in for me, there were a couple of vans at the Lowther Lane substation this morning working on the issue.

[Whyperion]

Mums flat / flats? had a flicker outage annoyingly reset the dishwasher and the clock on the oven (which is a pain to set)
I cannot remember where I was living , probably somewhere in yorkshire and everyone switched on ovens to cook christmas dinner and blew the local substation fuse. probably 4 hrs later I suspect a bigger fuse was fitted, I think a few extra houses had gone up since that substation was built in the 1940s

[Stanley]

I see that the Treasury is piling pressure on Councils to give detailed reports on the number of potholes fixed or else risk losing the funding.
This is the worst thing they could have done and shows that they don't understand the problem. The effect will be for Councils to pressure their contractors to fix the maximum number of potholes quickly and cheaply. I the real world this means badly and so the repairs will break down quickly. This is a waste of money, far better to repair fewer holes but do them properly and effect a permanent repair.
Later, I am listening to the director of UK Energy services who says that Heathrow had plenty of power available but were not configured to take advantage of it. To illustrate his point he gave an extraordinary example, a data centre next door to the sub station that will eventually use 150 megawatts. Heathrow only uses 40 megawatts at peak demand. The data centre has taken steps to ensure it cannot go off line. Heathrow must do the same.
So that data centre uses three times more leccy than the biggest airport in Europe. Amazing.....

[Stanley]

I saw THIS report on an archaeological find....
2 hours ago
Archaeologists have helped uncover one of the "largest and most important" Iron Age finds in the UK. The Melsonby Hoard was discovered in a field near Melsonby, North Yorkshire, by metal detectorist Peter Heads and excavated with the help of Durham University. It includes more than 800 items, including two cauldrons or vessels, horse harness, bridle bits, ceremonial spears and 28 iron tyres, believed to have been buried about 2,000 years ago. Historians believe the "unprecedented" find could lead to a "major re-evaluation" of the wealth and status of the elite living in northern Britain at the time.
Always nice to see finds like this. It shows that investigations are going on.....

[Stanley]

THIS update on the search for an 80 year old hiker caught my attention.
Divers have joined the search for a missing 80-year-old man who disappeared close to one of his regular hiking spots. Brian Fletcher was last seen at his home in Bury on Saturday before he drove to a layby close to Tockholes village in Lancashire. An "extensive" search involving mountain rescue teams has continued on Tuesday, Lancashire Police said. The force has also released a new image of Mr Fletcher to show what officers believe he was wearing before he went missing.

[Whyperion]

sometimes wonder for these searches why cheap drones (arrays) with thermal imaging are not used , they can help in remoter areas

[Stanley]

See THIS surprising story.....
A prison governor began a relationship with a drug dealer who gave her a £12,000 Mercedes car after she illegally approved his early release on licence from jail, a court heard. Kerri Pegg, 42, was seen as a "rising star" in the Prison Service, quickly climbing the career ladder from graduate entrant to HMP Kirkham governor in six years, Preston Crown Court heard. But it is alleged she "didn't play by the rules" and while governor at the Lancashire prison she began a relationship with inmate Anthony Saunderson, who gave her the car. When police raided her home in Orrell, Wigan, they found a toothbrush with his DNA on it, jurors heard. Ms Pegg denies two counts of misconduct in a public office. Barbara-Louise Webster, opening the case for the prosecution, told the jury of seven women and five men: "Despite her success she didn't play by the rules that everybody else had to follow. "Her downfall was two-fold, the first, despite having a good income, she lived beyond her means. "She spent all her income and more, incurring debts and she had county court judgements made against her. "As a consequence, she became vulnerable and open to exploitation."
It sounds like the plot for a TV series..... (The trial continues....)

Later.... See THIS article in nature about short-sighted cuts to anti-viral research funded by the NIH.
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have begun cancelling billions of dollars in funding on research related to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 research funds “were issued for a limited purpose: to ameliorate the effects of the pandemic”, according to an internal NIH document that Nature has obtained and that provides the agency’s staff members with updated guidance on how to terminate these grants. “Now that the pandemic is over, the grant funds are no longer necessary,” the document states. It is not clear how many COVID-19 grants will be terminated. he crackdown on COVID-19 research comes as the NIH under US President Donald Trump has halted nearly 400 grants in the past month. An earlier version of the documents, obtained by Nature on 5 March, directed staff to identify and potentially cancel projects on transgender populations; gender identity; diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the scientific workforce; and environmental justice. The NIH, which is the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research, has awarded grants to nearly 600 ongoing projects that include ‘COVID’ in the title, worth nearly US$850 million. Together these projects make up nearly 2% of the NIH’s $47 billion budget. And the CDC plans to cancel $11.4 billion in funds for pandemic response, NBC News reports.

[Tizer]

Musk's idiot DOGE foot soldiers have cancelled projects whose titles contain the word `transgenic' because they don't understand that it's nothing to do with trans gender, sex changes etc. So scientists whose studies involve transgenic mice (and that covers a wide range of bioscience research areas) have had their funds terminated.

[Stanley]

It's going to get worse Peter.... See THIS BBC report......
Updated 46 minutes ago
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution, which operates more than 20 museums and research centres visited by millions yearly in Washington DC and New York City. The order directs the vice-president to "eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology" from the institute's museums, centres and the National Zoo in Washington. It also directs the interior secretary to restore federal properties, including parks, memorials and statues, which "have been improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history". The move is part of Trump's effort to shape American culture, in addition to politics. The order is titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History". It says that Vice-President JD Vance, who became a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents due to his position in government, will lead the purge.
This is pure cultural vandalism. The Philistines are in charge and will do irreparable damage to collections and institutions.

[Tizer]

There's a report of a specific effect of the DOGE cuts reported in the World Service's Science in Action...
Among the grants terminated this week by the National Institute for Health is a programme called AViDD, AntiViral Drug Discovery, supporting 9 independent consortia. Annette von Delft of Oxford University and Ed Griffen of the drugs discovery company MedChemica spoke to us about the overnight shut down of years of work and importance of antiviral development. World Service

[Whyperion]

There's a report of a specific effect of the DOGE cuts reported in the World Service's Science in Action...
Among the grants terminated this week by the National Institute for Health is a programme called AViDD, AntiViral Drug Discovery, supporting 9 independent consortia. Annette von Delft of Oxford University and Ed Griffen of the drugs discovery company MedChemica spoke to us about the overnight shut down of years of work and importance of antiviral development. World Service

Is the idea to Privatise Drugs research ?
Also note US Aid / Emergency Response effective null for Myamar Earthquake.

[Stanley]

I saw that report also Peter. Another example of moronic action to bring government spending down.

I heard questions being asked yesterday about the effectiveness of aid in Myanmar under the military junta's rule. I think THIS might be a partial answer.
9 hours ago
Myanmar's military junta has continued to bomb parts of the war-torn country following the major earthquake there, which has killed more than 1,600 people. The UN has described the attacks as "completely outrageous and unacceptable". Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews told the BBC that it was "nothing short of incredible" that the military was continuing to "drop bombs when you are trying to rescue people" after the earthquake.
We are used to seeing reports of disasters and crimes against humanity but I think this is a first for a reaction to an earthquake that has killed thousands.

[Stanley]

See THIS report from Gaza....
2 hours ago
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has said it is "outraged" at the deaths of eight medics killed on duty in Rafah in southern Gaza. The nine-person ambulance team came under heavy fire in al-Hashashin on 23 March, said the IFRC. Their bodies were retrieved on Sunday after access was denied for a week. One medic is still missing. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said their staff's bodies were discovered along with those of six members of Gaza's Hamas-run civil defence agency and one UN employee. They did not say who opened fire on the convoy - but Hamas blamed the Israel Defense Forces for the attack. The BBC has sought comment from the IDF. In Sunday's statement, the IFRC said the eight bodies of PRCS workers were retrieved "after seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen".
Here we have evidence of a new low point in Gaza. How bad does this have to get before Israel is forced to stop?

[Whyperion]

Not a chance , and Starmer has taken over the right in British Politics and envys the control Trump and Putin have over their political systems.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report about another stabbing....
Two 15-year-old boys have been hurt in a stabbing in a park, with one needing treatment for serious injuries. Lancashire Police said officers were called to Blackpool Road in Preston, close to Moor Park, following reports of an assault shortly after 16:00 BST. One teenager was found with serious injuries while a second boy suffered a stab wound which was "not thought to be serious", the force said. A spokesman urged anyone who may have seen social media footage of the incident to avoid sharing it and contact the police instead. The seriously injured boy's condition was described as "stable". Det Ch Insp Sean Kelly-Martland said: "This assault has left a teenager very poorly and our thoughts are with him as he receives treatment.

[Stanley]

THIS BBC report on the Chinese 'student' rapist is shocking.
3 hours ago
Twenty-three more women have come forward to the police with allegations against serial rapist Zhenhao Zou - a Chinese PhD student found guilty in London last month of drugging and raping 10 women across two continents. Police said at the conclusion of his trial they had video evidence, filmed by Zou himself, of potentially 50 more victims - and they have been trying to trace these women. Detectives now say, however, that they believe Zou's "offending group is far greater". Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence. Two women who have contacted police in the past month with new allegations have also spoken to the BBC World Service. One said Zou raped her in his hometown in China, after spiking her drink which left her conscious but unable to speak or move. The other said Zou drugged her too - in London - and that she had woken up to find him filming himself sexually assaulting her.
I think I may have led a sheltered life. I find this report shocking.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report....
8 hours ago
A prison governor accused of having a relationship with an inmate tearfully told a court she had been "incredibly stupid" by taking calls with him on a burner phone after his release, but denied doing anything wrong. Kerri Pegg, 42, is alleged to have had a relationship with convicted drug dealer Anthony Saunderson, who was known to criminal associates by the name Jesse Pinkman, a character from the TV show Breaking Bad. Giving evidence, Ms Pegg told the jury: "I didn't think I was doing anything wrong, but when I look back now, I was incredibly stupid."
Who does this woman think she is fooling? The article reads like the plot for a third-rate TV series.

[Tripps]

Or rather "NOT seen in the news.

As Brenda from Britol was once heard to remark "not another one !"

This is alleged to have happened in Madrid yesterday, but I can find nothing in the British main stream media.

This chap Mr McMaster has an electric Porsche Taycan, and makes a lot of money by blogging about the experience. I think he is now seriously worried. See here if you are interested = Spanish garage car fire

Another good report from a chap in New South Wales who sounds reliable. Australian report of Spanish car fire

The reason we hear nothing about it isn't hard to work out for anyone with an open mind. The correct action would involve a 180 degree turn in Government policy, and make President Trump's tarriffs look trivial.

[Stanley]

My own view is that whether the fears about electric cars catching fire are true or not, far better to act on worst case. Nothing lost if it doesn't happen.

Meanwhile closer to home.... the trial of the prison governor continues.... LINK
9 hours ago
A prison governor has denied being in a relationship with the boss of a drugs gang even though his DNA was found on a toothbrush and flip-flops at her flat. Kerri Pegg, 42, is on trial accused of misconduct in a public office after allegedly helping Merseyside criminal Anthony Saunderson get day-release from HMP Kirkham in Lancashire. She told Preston Crown Court that while she had been "incredibly stupid", she believed his DNA had got into her flat because she had taken her toothbrush into work. Ms Pegg is also accused of failing to declare County Court Judgments (CCJs) to Prison Service bosses and accepting a £12,000 Mercedes car from Saunderson, paid for with drugs, after his 2019 release.

[Tizer]

`White House fires National Security Agency chief' LINK
The Trump administration has fired the head of both the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, the BBC's US partner CBS has reported. The removal of General Timothy Haugh comes amid what appears to be a wider purge of top security officials at the agency and at the White House. Democrats have said they are "deeply disturbed" by the move and say it jeopardises national security....

[Stanley]

It would appear that these people have been criticising Trump's actions. Big mistake evidently, the main qualification seems to be that you have to be a yes man.
Is the Loomer woman what they call 'an influencer'?

[Tizer]

BBC's US man, Anthony Zurcher, on how the tide is turning against Trump. It's a long read but worth it...
`Trump's agenda grapples with political and economic reality' LINK

[Whyperion]

BBC's US man, Anthony Zurcher, on how the tide is turning against Trump. It's a long read but worth it...
`Trump's agenda grapples with political and economic reality' LINK

I did say give them until April 30th