Seen in the News

[Whyperion]

I have had many run-ins with the BBC , the boundary between incompetence and corruption is fine.
Complaints sent in laughed off , technical inaccurracies and slanders taken as the BBC being above the law - perhaps I should have gone to Ofcom.
I doubt BBC is only organisation to selectively edit , ( the Met Police come to mind too ), but it is a reason why in court of law we declare to tell the truth - the whole truth (post office prosecutors ) , and the fiducary duty in insurance contracts
But once again the BBC makes the news rather than reports the news

[Stanley]

That is fair comment and I wouldn't attempt to improve on it....

[Tizer]

Donald Trump has published more lies and misinformation on his `Truth Social' web site and his publicity output in the last year than BBC News has in its lifetime.

[Stanley]

[Tizer]

I wonder when Americans (and the rest of the world) will wake up to the fact that they've got a gullible idiot sitting in the Oval Office who has zero attention span, almost no knowledge of geography and history and whose sole interest is in making the enormous fortunes of his family and friends even greater?

[Stanley]

Don't hold your breath Peter... I came to the conclusion long ago that anyone expecting American governance to look anything like ours is doomed to disappointment. They are a very immature democracy.

[Tizer]

From Anthony Zurcher, the BBC's North America correspondent, lot of interesting detail of how Trump is beginning to feel the tide is turning against him and people are realising that Trump himself is `fake news'. I particularly like AZ's comment: The president has repeatedly noted that the price of a Thanksgiving meal at Walmart is less than last year. But he doesn't mention that the retail chain's dinner package this season contains half as many items and a smaller turkey. That sums up Trump!
`Fifty-year mortgages and $2,000 cheques: What's behind Trump's affordability drive?' LINK

[Whyperion]

Smaller portions probably more healthy anyway. the US consumes (and throws away) too much of the worlds resources for its size

[Stanley]

I think Peter that it's quite obvious what is forcing Trump's hand, the bad results he suffered from in the recent elections are a very good measure of how Trump is doing. Even the Donald isn't daft enough to believe his own publicity....
See THIS

[Stanley]

I think Peter that it's quite obvious what is forcing Trump's hand, the bad results he suffered from in the recent elections are a very good measure of how Trump is doing. Even the Donald isn't daft enough to believe his own publicity....
See THIS Live report from the Lower House in the US.
Speaker Mike Johnson, the top ranking member of the House, is speaking to reporters after his chamber voted to reopen the US federal government. "We feel very relieved tonight," he says. "The Democrat shutdown is finally over." Johnson, who is a Republican, blames his colleagues on the other side of the aisle for the shutdown. He says this outcome was "totally foreseeable" and shutting down the government was "utterly pointless and foolish". But "shutdowns never yield any positive results", Johnson says. "Millions of families went without food on their table," he says. "It was a game they played with real peoples' lives." He said now "we've got the lights back on" and it's time to get the government reopened. {As a reminder: Democrats in the Senate rejected a spending bill that would have funded the government 14 times because they were pushing for an amendment that would protect healthcare tax credits which would lower medical insurance costs for Americans. They blamed Republicans for the shutdown. Republicans maintained that a healthcare discussion could come after the government was reopened.}

[Tizer]

Having trouble with OG pages slow to load this morning, but here goes...
`Fly-tippers bury field in mountain of waste' LINK
Fly-tippers have dumped a mountain of waste in a field in Oxfordshire. The "environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight" is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high. The enormous pile has appeared in a field next to the River Cherwell near Kidlington. Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, raised the issue in parliament, saying it was "threatening an environmental disaster". Charity Friends of the Thames said the illegal rubbish dump was created about a month ago by an organised crime group...

This is a growing problem. On a holiday in Bude, Cornwall, earlier this year we took to the fields leading from the town centre to the cliffs. We had difficulty because although the map showed a public footpath there was building work going on and we were obviously not wanted there. We had to cross a field to try to get to another path and were eventually in a hidden valley that led towards the sea. We walked past big mounds of dumped rubbish containing just about everything you could imagine - big stuff such as washing machines and all kinds of materials and plastic and metal sheets etc. Otherwise it would be a beautiful valley leading onto the cliffs but the big-time flytippers have wrecked the place.

[Big Kev]

Having trouble with OG pages slow to load this morning, but here goes...

There was an issue earlier but it's fettled now.

[Whyperion]

Oddly one of the banks pages were not progressing at 6am today
working by 8am
Annoyingly most of the waste pile COULD have been recycled had it not been intermingled,
Same with the dumped items reported by Tizer , though the value of metal washing machines is low they can be repurposed by scrap or otherwise

[Stanley]

See this for more bad news about Your Party....
7 hours ago
An independent MP involved in the founding of Jeremy Corbyn's new left-wing party has announced he is leaving the project. Adnan Hussain said he would be "stepping away" from the steering group of the movement currently operating under the name Your Party - citing a "toxic" culture particularly towards "Muslim men". The Blackburn MP also alleged a "pattern of clique-like behaviour and gatekeeping" and a party "dominated by persistent infighting". Hussain's resignation comes only hours after he signed a joint statement criticising Zarah Sultana, a fellow founder of Your Party, for transferring £200,000 from a reported £800,000 at the centre of major split in the party.

[Stanley]

See THIS report of flood damage....
Updated 7 hours ago
Disruption has continued after severe flooding from Storm Claudia led the fire service to declare a major incident in a Welsh town. People were rescued from flooded homes in Monmouth, after overnight floods left much of the town under water. Some had to be evacuated to a nearby library. Four severe flood warnings, external are still in place for south-east Wales, meaning there is a "danger to life" in those areas. Flooding has been less severe in England, but an ongoing risk remains, with 42 flood warnings, external in place. It comes as the UK heads towards a cold snap, bringing with it a chance of snow this week.
It would appear that we have been lucky. I wasn't even aware yesterday that we had a storm!

[Stanley]

The weather has changed! See THIS BBC news.
Cold Arctic air is set to sweep across the UK next week as communities in Wales recover from severe flooding that inundated properties and disrupted transport at the weekend. Temperatures are now set to drop, with yellow cold health alerts, external in place from Monday to Friday in northern and central parts of England. Snow is possible on higher ground in Scotland and northern England by Tuesday. The cold snap comes as Storm Claudia moved away on Sunday after delivering more than a month's worth of rain in parts of England and Wales. People have rallied together to help residents and business owners recover from unprecedented flooding in Monmouth, Wales.

[Stanley]

See THIS in Lancashire news...
An emergency food charity that sends meals to foodbanks across Blackpool has said it could face closure without support to keep its services running. The Big Food Project is a redistributor of surplus food from supermarkets and manufacturers to 125 foodbanks, schools, community kitchens, crisis services and families across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. It said it urgently needed help to keep its three trucks on the road, its warehouse open and food reaching those who need it most through its 150 volunteers. "Last week we put 17,600 meals out of the warehouse," founder Neil Reid said. "But we need people to volunteer, we need food, and also we need cold, hard cash."
I imagine this item could well be true of all food banks. We tend to forget that people are going hungry!

[Stanley]

THIS caught my eye....
3 hours ago
Both chambers of Congress agreed to order the US justice department to release its files on sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein. The House of Representatives overwhelming approved the measure in a 427-1 vote and the Senate unanimously fast-tracked it without a formal vote. The moves come just days after President Donald Trump reversed his position and urged Congress to vote to disclose the records following public pushback from many of his supporters. Last week, Trump and his ties to Epstein were thrust back into the headlines after more than 20,000 pages of documents - some mentioning the president - were released. The White House denied any wrongdoing. Republican Clay Higgins, of Louisiana, was the sole House objector and cited his concern about “innocent people being hurt” with the release of the information. Trump’s reversal from attacking those on Capitol Hill who wanted the files released to saying there was “nothing to hide” surprised some in Washington. The Republican congressional leadership was caught off guard after aligning their message with the president for the past few weeks and opposing the release. House Speaker Mike Johnson had repeatedly called the push to release the Epstein files a "Democrat hoax". On Tuesday, he voted in support of release.
This will have implications for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor....

[Big Kev]

Hopefully this isn't another non-starter.

Putin backs US plan for ending Ukraine war as Trump gives Kyiv deadline to accept

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c6257wrx301t

[Stanley]

Putin is backing Trump's proposal because Trump has caved in and given Putin everything he asked for and a brown paper bag to carry it away in. In Ukrainian terms the proposal is abject capitulation, giving away territory, agreeing to halving the army and renouncing Ukraine's ambitions to join NATO.
What makes it worse is the fact that Trump's '28 point plan' was put forward without any consultation with Ukraine. Zelensky is bound to reject it and if this involves rejecting Trump he will do that as well.
So, in my view, this initiative is bound to fail.

Meanwhile, THIS caught my eye this morning.....
The former leader of Reform UK in Wales has been sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison after admitting taking bribes for pro-Russia interviews and speeches. Nathan Gill, 52, from Llangefni, Anglesey, is thought to have received up to £40,000 to help pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) when he accepted money from Oleg Voloshyn, 44, a man once described by the US government as a "pawn" of Russian secret services. At the Old Bailey, Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Gill had abused his position and eroded "public confidence in democracy". Voloshyn was acting on behalf of a "close friend" of Vladimir Putin - Viktor Medvedchuk, 71, a former oligarch who was the source of the requests and the cash. The Metropolitan Police said their own investigations are continuing into "whether any other individuals have committed offences". Gill is the first politician to be jailed under the Bribery Act. Reform UK said it was glad justice was served, calling his actions "reprehensible, treasonous and unforgivable". Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accused Gill of "undermining our interests as a country" and called on Reform leader Nigel Farage to investigate what other links the party had with Russia.

[Tizer]

We can't give in now to Putin who started the war, invaded a peaceful Ukraine, killed many of its civilians (men, women and children), stole and brainwashed many Ukrainian children, and can't be trusted to keep any agreements regarding ceasefires or treaties. Unfortunately Trump might stop supporting Ukraine and European countries when Zelensky refuses to agree to his `deal'. European countries will have to provide more support for Ukraine because if Putin takes over that country he'll continue moving west. This could be the end of America's membership of NATO which would only be able to justify that name due to the membership of Canada. Let's hope that more sensible heads will get Trump to change his mind.

[Whyperion]

Zelensky did a wonderful Churchill speech on ukraine TV. passive aggressive against the US and taking the line that the fight to retain dignaty and identity goes on.
The point about freedom of religion as one of the 28 points made me laugh given the US present anti islam coming out of right wing media makers.

[Stanley]

When Trump rose to power he made a virtue of disruption and said he was a deal-maker and would change everything.
So far what he has done is smash the precarious but practical hold we had on order and diplomacy allowing Putin to pursue his Interventionalist policies.

[Tizer]

What makes it worse is the fact that Trump's '28 point plan' was put forward without any consultation with Ukraine.

After a lot of argument among Americans it now turns out that it is Putin's 28 point plan and it was released by the Russians. (Although by the time I've written this it may be back to being the Americans' plan!

[PanBiker]

I don't care who it is but how can a third party nation set draconian terms against a sovereign nation, including loss of territory and restrictions on their political system and what world organisations they are allowed to belong to? In my book that is an act of war in itself, the USA has not been on the front line in this conflict so has no rights to dictate any terms. Ukraine should have been allowed to join NATO and there should have been a united front against Putin when he invaded.