Seen in the News

[Tizer]

Agreed Peter, but do those options carry the possibility of access to rare earths?

I doubt that Trump and his gang have considered the practicality of mining rare earths in the Arctic temperatures and environment. Such minerals are present at extremely low levels and need vast amounts of water to process the millions of tons of rock that would be mined or quarried. That's also why it's difficult in desert situations like in South America and causes so much pollution. In the Arctic temperatures it would need enormous amounts of energy to melt ice for the processing. It's a bit like Trump wanting American oil companies to grab all Venezuela's oil - they don't want to try because it's the worst type of oil, sells very cheap and is used mostly for making asphalt (and diesel after much expensive processing).

[Stanley]

That's a lovely example of the advantages of having experts on the site! Thanks Peter, a good clear explanation. They are thin on the ground these days....

HERE'S an imaginative defence against complicity in Epstein's sexual shenanigans......
Lord Mandelson has said he never saw girls at Jeffrey Epstein's properties, and declined to apologise to the late paedophile's victims for maintaining his friendship with the American because he was not "knowledgeable of what he was doing". In his first interview since being sacked as the UK's ambassador to the US over his links to Epstein, he told the BBC he thought he had been "kept separate" from the sexual side of the late financier's life because he was gay. He was fired after emails emerged showing supportive messages he had sent to Epstein after the American was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor. The former ambassador said the only people he had seen at Epstein's properties were "middle-aged housekeepers". He said he would have apologised were he "in any way complicit or culpable" but stressed that was never the case.

And in another report.....
See THIS reassurance on Trump and Greenland....
US President Donald Trump would not "land on Greenland and take it by force", Lord Mandelson has said. The former UK ambassador to the US told the BBC he admired Trump's "directness" in political talks but said he was not a "fool", and advisers would remind him that taking Greenland could spell "real danger" for the US national interest. There has been growing focus during Trump's second term on how the semi-autonomous Danish territory is run, with Trump saying on Saturday the US needed to "own" Greenland to stop Russia and China from doing so. Denmark and Greenland say the territory is not for sale, with Denmark warning military action would spell the end of the Nato military alliance. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold talks with Denmark about Greenland next week. The AFP news agency reports that a Danish poll suggests that 38% of Danes think the US will launch an invasion of Greenland under the Trump administration. Speaking on BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Lord Mandelson said: "He's not going to do that [use military action to take Greenland]. I don't know, but I'm offering my best judgement as somebody who's observed him at fairly close quarters."
So that's all right then....

[Stanley]

See THIS glimpse into the underbelly of our political system....
Former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has become the latest senior Conservative to defect to Reform UK, as Tories claim the move came after he was rebuffed for a peerage. Zahawi, who is a former MP, said he felt the UK had reached a "dark and dangerous" moment, and the country needed "a glorious revolution", as he outlined why he was joining Nigel Farage's party. However, Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake said the move came after he made "a number of approaches" to party leader Kemi Badenoch, pressing his case to be nominated for the House of Lords, but was rejected. Farage unveiled Zahawi's defection at a press conference on Monday, one of around 20 former Tory MPs to join the party.
Lest we forget.... Here's an extract from his Wikipedia entry....
Zahawi was a candidate to succeed Johnson in the Conservative Party leadership election, but was eliminated from the ballot after the first round of voting, and subsequently supported Truss's bid to become Conservative leader. Truss appointed Zahawi as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and Minister for Equalities on 6 September 2022 following her appointment as prime minister. He was succeeded as chancellor by Kwasi Kwarteng. After Truss resigned in October 2022, Zahawi endorsed Johnson to return to the premiership.[5] After Johnson withdrew from the race, he supported Sunak's bid to become Conservative leader. Sunak appointed Zahawi as Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio on 25 October 2022 following his appointment as prime minister. On 29 January 2023, he was dismissed from the roles after Sunak's ethics adviser, Laurie Magnus, advised that he had breached the Ministerial Code by failing to disclose that he was being investigated by HM Revenue and Customs while he served in his previous position as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Johnson.
For this he thinks he deserves a peerage.....

[Stanley]

THIS assessment of Kier Starmer's situation is worth a read.....
1 hour ago
Ditching his plans to make digital ID mandatory for workers in the UK is an almighty backtracking and dilution of one of the prime minister's flagship policy ideas of the autumn. I remember the first time Sir Keir Starmer talked publicly about his plans, because he was talking to me when he did so. It was September, and we were sheltering from the pouring rain, in an outside metal stairwell next to a giant ship being built by BAE Systems on the banks of the Clyde in Glasgow. What he had to say that day was rather overshadowed by the swirling storm around his then Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who 24 hours later was out of a job. What those around him were describing as "phase 2" of his government was already off to a bumpy start, but digital ID was seen as a defining idea of the parliament that the prime minister could own and then lean into the arguments it provokes with his opponents, within his party and beyond it. The thing is it provoked a lot of arguments, perhaps more than he had anticipated, including among some Labour MPs. It was the mandatory element that became the magnet for the stickiest criticisms. The idea cratered in popularity. It revived so many of the arguments that nuked the last Labour government's plans for ID cards about two decades ago. The sense from critics of an overbearing state, a 'show us your papers' society. So what have ministers done? They have junked the mandatory element of it. People will still have to digitally prove they have the right to work – but could use other things to do it.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on ballot cancellations.
Six out of seven Lancashire councils are to ask the government to postpone this year's local elections amid concerns about capacity issues and the cost of holding them. Pendle and Burnley borough councils are the latest to make a decision on the matter following council meetings this week. The government has given all authorities facing local government reorganisation the option to ask for a postponement as they prepare for the transition. But the move has proved controversial, with some opposition parties claiming it would be anti-democratic. The councils due to hold elections this year are Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Preston and West Lancashire. They are all due to be up by a third, which means a third of councillors are up for election, rather than the full the council. Four of these councils - Blackburn, Chorley, Hyndburn, and Preston - had already written to the government to ask for a postponement and it is expected that they will do so again. This week Pendle council also voted in favour of a postponement. Liberal Democrat leader David Whipp said it was "disappointing" as he was in favour of holding the election. He said: "I've had plenty of battles in the ballot box but this is the first time I've had to battle to save the ballot box. "I am really desperately disappointed that we've taken a slippery step towards losing our democracy." In favour of the move, independent councillor Mohammed Iqbal said: "The elections in May would have cost £100,000 and Pendle's staffing structure is down to the bone already. I don't believe that we have the capacity to hold the election."

[Stanley]

See THIS report which has left me completely baffled....
Updated 56 minutes ago
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says that she presented her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump at a private White House meeting on Thursday. "I think today is a historic day for us Venezuelans," she said after meeting Trump, the first time the two have met in-person. It came weeks after US forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and charged him in a drug-trafficking case. Trump expressed his gratitude in a social media post, saying that receiving the prize was "a wonderful gesture of mutual respect". The US president has declined to endorse Machado, whose movement claimed victory in 2024's widely contested elections, as Venezuela's new leader. Trump has instead been dealing with the acting head of state in Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's former vice-president. But he said meeting Machado was a "great honor", calling her a "wonderful woman who has been through so much". After leaving the White House, Machado spoke to supporters gathered at the gates outside, telling them in Spanish, according to the Associated Press: "We can count on President Trump." "I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado later told journalists in English, calling it "a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom".
I freely admit I don't understand this at all.

[PanBiker]

Arse licking of the highest order, don't know how to describe it better.

[Tizer]

The actual prize consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a monetary award. The front of the medal shows Nobel in profile, while the reverse differs depending on the type of prize. Ironically, the reverse of the Peace Prize medal shows `three embracing men, symbolizing fraternity'.

She can hand him the medal but she'll regret it eventually when Venezuela turns into an even worse basket case. However the bright side of this is that it shows the world more than ever how conceited Trump is. Anyone else would have said `Thank you for the thought but they chose you and you deserve it' and handed it back to her. But Trump thinks only of himself.

[Stanley]

Something nags at the back of my mind.... didn't Trump pocket another Gold Medal somewhere? Perhaps he has Magpie Syndrome.....

See THIS reassuring news for Lancashire....
8 hours ago
Lancashire's sole Conservative MP says he will not be following Robert Jenrick or any other high-profile Tory defectors to Reform UK. Former Shadow Justice Secretary Jenrick made the switch on Thursday after being sacked by Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch for plotting to defect. Earlier this week former Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi also joined Nigel Farage's party. But Fylde MP Andrew Snowden said Reform UK "seems to be a dumping ground for people who don't see themselves as having a political future in the Conservatives... Reform is starting to increasingly feel a little bit like our 'B team'."
I didn't realise the county only had one Tory MP......

[Tizer]

Wasn't he given a copy of the soccer World Cup or something similar. He can't resist pretty things (read what you like into that!)

[Tripps]

Fifty years or more after the last Moon landing the rocket Artemis has begun its journey to the launch pad. It weighs over 100 tonnes and presumably that's without its fuel, which will be added later. It won't be actually landing on the Moon. That will happen in a later phase "not before 2027"

Moon mission 2026

For the return journey - just start from wherever they happened to land, and press a button to go into Moon orbit. That's what they did last time apparently.

[Stanley]

I don't understand the economics of it David. In fact I don't clearly understand the need for any space travel...
I'm a simple minded old bugger who has enough trouble dealing with the world here on earth, never mind reaching out into the stars......

For instance, see THIS latest report about Trump and Greenland.
A threat by President Donald Trump to impose fresh tariffs on eight allies opposed to his proposed takeover of Greenland has drawn condemnation from European leaders. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the move was "completely wrong", while French President Emmanuel Macron called it "unacceptable". The comments came after Trump announced a 10% tariff on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland would come into force on 1 February but could later rise to 25% - and would last until a deal was reached. Mr Trump insists the autonomous Danish territory is critical for US security and has not ruled out taking it by force. Meanwhile, thousands of people took to the streets in Greenland and Denmark on Saturday in protest at the proposed US takeover. Greenland is sparsely populated but resource-rich and its location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks and for monitoring vessels in the region. Trump has previously said Washington would get the territory "the easy way" or "the hard way".
What happens when he decides the British Isles are necessary to complete US control of the North Atlantic?

[Tizer]

We've all seen and heard Trump described as the Man Baby but instead of growing he's now regressing At least I now understand why a new extra building is being put up at the White House - it's going to be the Trump Nursery. I've referred to him as Mad Dog Trump but that's probably unfair to the people previously given that appellation - Trump is BIGLY mad!

Instead of defending the US against Russia and China he's showing them how they might choose to attack his country and throwing away his allies at the same time. Putin and Xi will love the confusion sown by Trump. I wonder what went on between Trump and Putin in the background during Biden's term? Trump is very matey with Putin and the ex-KGB man knows how to make use of him.

European leaders shouldn't give in to Trump...
BBC's Faisal Islam, Economics editor
..Is this, as some trade officials have to assume, the biggest TACO [Trump will Chicken Out] of all time? These things can come and go and economically these countries have handled the damage so far. Think of Canada. It has seen its trade with the US slump. But Prime Minister Mark Carney’s strategy has seen Canada’s trade surge with the world by 14% - more than the loss of trade with the US...

[Stanley]

You make an important point Peter when you refer to Mark Carney's strategy to make up any loss in US trade by opening new trade routes to the rest of the world. If everyone did that it would demonstrate to US citizens exactly what they are losing by supporting Trump. There are parallels between this situation and the whole process of ditching EU trade with Brexit. It is now quite clear that this was a disaster. What happens when the US learns the same lesson?

[PanBiker]

I reckon Trump is actually insane, why does he think that he can simply buy another country. As I see it, Denmark and therefore Greenland is a member of NATO just like the US. It already supports US security services on Greenland. This has worked for decades and the idea of NATO is that if one member is attacked all the other members respond in support. Surely the safest and most amenable answer would be to renew the security arrangement with Greenland (Denmark) and with agreement beef up the security and surveillance systems accordingly. You don't have to own it to do that. It works in the UK with such sites as Menwith Hill and other bases around the country. I think that Menwith would get advanced warning of potential belligerent action, they have enough kit up there to ensure that.

I was ejected, along with all the members of our group from the base during an amateur radio club visit for having the audacity to ask how much gain their dishes had back in the 1980's. Just a passing comment that invoked a telephone call and two US MP's with weapons. Darley Dale AR Club never contacted us again.

[Stanley]

A friend of mine worked there monitoring Arab language intercepts. He became very disturbed by what he was asked to do but all his requests to be reassigned were denied so he started smoking weed and denied drug use on his monthly lie detector test. That did the trick and he was dismissed and got off the site.

THIS caught my attention....
Updated 39 minutes ago
At least 21 people have been killed after a crash involving high-speed trains in southern Spain, as authorities warn the death toll could rise overnight. The incident happened near the town of Adamuz, close to the city of Cordoba, when a high-speed train travelling from Malaga to Madrid derailed and crashed onto a neighbouring track, rail network operator Adif said. A second train travelling in the opposite direction, from Madrid to Huelva, also derailed. Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the country will endure a "night of deep pain". More than 30 are being treated for serious injuries in hospital, Spain's transport minister Oscar Puente said. He added the incident appeared to be "extremely strange", while the official cause is not yet known. An investigation is not expected to determine what happened for at least a month. The mayor of Adamuz, Rafael Moreno, was one of the first people on the scene of the accident. He described it as like "a nightmare". Andalusian emergency services said at least 73 people in total were injured in the collision. The twisted wreckage of the train made it difficult to recover survivors and bodies, rescue crews said. Cordoba fire chief Francisco Carmona told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE: "We have even had to remove a dead person to be able to reach someone alive. It is hard, tricky work." According to Adif, the crash happened about ten minutes after the train left Malaga at 18:40 local time (17:40 GMT). The company said it was setting up spaces for relatives of victims at Atocha, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga and Huelva stations. All rail services between Madrid and Andalusia were suspended following the accident and will remain close on Monday. The company said it will keep terminals open overnight for impacted passengers.

[Tizer]

I reckon Trump is actually insane...

He obviously suffers from megalomania, which is not what you want in the leader of what is usually described as the world's most powerful nation. As he gets increasingly delusional we have to wonder what Americans can do to stop him if he threatens to start WW3. It was difficult enough getting Biden off the throne - Trump would probably have to be physically removed and housed in Fort Knox!

[Big Kev]

The Orange Knob of the Apocalypse reckons he doesn't need to be peaceful as Norway wouldn't give him a Nobel Peace Prize. Mad as a box of frogs...

BBC News - Trump links Greenland dispute to not getting Nobel Peace Prize, in letter to Norway's PM - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy7mev35x2lo

[Tizer]

BBC's Steve Rosenberg, Russia Editor...
`'Europe is at a total loss': Russia gloats over Greenland tensions' LINK
Listen to Donald Trump and you would think Moscow and Beijing were lying in wait off the coast of Greenland, ready to pounce to boost their power in the Arctic. "There are Russian destroyers, there are Chinese destroyers and, bigger, there are Russian submarines all over the place," President Trump said recently. That is why, according to America's president, US control of Greenland is essential. So how do you think Moscow has reacted to its alleged plot being uncovered and potentially thwarted by a US takeover of Greenland? The Russians can't be pleased. Right? Wrong.
In an astonishing article, the Russian government paper is full of praise for Trump and critical of European leaders who oppose a US annexation of Greenland....