POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

See THIS disturbing report on how the law on deep fakes is not being enforced
Campaigners have accused the government of dragging its heels on implementing a law which would make it illegal to create non-consensual sexualised deep fakes. It comes amid a backlash against images created using Elon Musk's AI Grok to digitally remove clothing - with one woman telling the BBC more than 100 sexualised images have been created of her. It is currently illegal to share deep fakes of adults in the UK, external, but new legislation that would make it a criminal offence to create or request them is still not in force despite passing in June 2025, external. But it is unclear whether all of the unclothing images created by Grok would fall foul of this law. The BBC has contacted the government for comment.
There is much more information in the article. Quite rightly agencies affected are asking pointed questions about why no action has followed th passing of the law into force.

[Stanley]

See THIS report about growing pressure on 'X'.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall says she would back regulator Ofcom if it blocks UK access to Elon Musk's social media site X for failing to comply with online safety laws. Ofcom says it is urgently deciding what to do about X's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok, which digitally undressed people without their consent when tagged beneath images posted on the platform. X has now limited the use of this image function to those who pay a monthly fee. But Downing Street said the change was "insulting" to victims of sexual violence. Musk said on X the UK government "want any excuse for censorship" as he replied to a post questioning why other AI platforms were not being looked at. Kendall said: "Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent. She added: "I, and more importantly the public, would expect to see Ofcom update on next steps in days not weeks." She said the Online Safety Act "includes the power to block services from being accessed in the UK, if they refuse to comply with UK law" and "if Ofcom decide to use those powers they will have our full support". The BBC has approached X for comment.
Why is there any delay in acting?

In another part of the forest I saw THIS report from Twin Cities.
Updated 1 hour ago
A video filmed by the US immigration agent who fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday has emerged, showing the moments before gunfire rang out. The 47-second footage, obtained by Minnesota-based outlet Alpha News, shows Renee Nicole Good sitting behind the wheel of her car and speaking to the officer. US Vice-President JD Vance shared the clip on social media, commenting that the agent had acted in self-defence. Local officials have insisted the woman posed no danger. Good's wife has paid tribute to the 37-year-old, saying the pair were trying to support their neighbours when she was shot. Her death has sparked protests across the US. President Donald Trump's administration says Good tried to run over the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in an act of "domestic terrorism" after blocking the road and impeding the agency's work. Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has described that account as "garbage" based on the video footage. The BBC has asked the homeland security department and the White House for comment on the new video that emerged on Friday. The footage starts with the officer getting out of his car and filming Good's vehicle and registration plate while he walks around the Honda SUV. A dog is in the backseat. Good says: "That's fine dude. I'm not mad at you." Her wife, Becca Good, is standing on the street filming the interaction with her mobile phone. She tells the ICE agent: "That's OK, we don't change our plates every morning just so you know. It will be the same plate when you come talk to us later." She adds: "You want to come at us? You want to come at us? I say go and get yourself some lunch, big boy."

[Stanley]

See THIS update on events in Minneapolis.
6 hours ago
At least 29 people have been arrested in Minneapolis during protests over the death of a woman who was shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. One police officer was also injured after a "chunk of ice was thrown at them", city officials said, during demonstrations which saw 1,000 people take to the streets of the city on Friday night. Protests against immigration enforcement have been held across the US after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in her car on Wednesday. The Trump administration said the agent who fired the shots acted in self-defence. Local officials have insisted the woman posed no danger. Minneapolis Police declared an unlawful assembly on Friday night as protesters gathered outside the Canopy Hotel in the city, where some ICE agents were believed to be staying. The Minneapolis police department said in a statement that "some individuals forced entry into the hotel through an alley entrance". Videos posted online showed protesters flashing bright lights into the area, blowing whistles and banging on drums. Police said there were "well over 1,000" demonstrators in the area and some threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, police vehicles and other vehicles, but no serious injuries were reported. One law enforcement officer suffered minor injuries but did not need any medical attention, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.
It looks as though this story has legs. Not good news for Trump.... As President he is expected to unite the Nation. This is anything but.....

[Stanley]

See THIS report for another example of how Trump is running the US. (or ruining....)
Updated 12 minutes ago
Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, he said on Sunday. In a video announcing the probe, Powell said the US justice department served the agency with subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment over testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Federal Reserve buildings. He called the probe "unprecedented" and said he believed it was opened due to him drawing Donald Trump's ire over refusing to lower interest rates despite repeated public pressure from the president. The Fed chair is the latest to come at odds with Trump and then face criminal investigation by the US justice department. The justice department and White House has not yet commented on the apparent investigation. "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions, or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation," Powell said. "I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one, certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve is above the law, but this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure," he went on to say. The probe, which prosecutors have not confirmed, would signal a fresh escalation in Trump's ongoing dispute with Powell, who the president nominated for the role as Fed chair in 2017. Trump has repeatedly threatened to remove Powell, who he has criticised for not cutting interest rates as quickly as the president would have liked. In the second half of 2025, the Fed cut interest rates three times.

[Tizer]

That reminds me of the video clip where Trump was waving papers in front of Powell and castigating him about the latest economic figures. Powell took the papers, looked at them for a moment and said `These are from 3 years ago'!

On international affairs Trump now seems to be a fully fledged example of `the pot calling the kettle black' (excuse the mixed metaphors). Having missed the Nobel Peace Prize he's aiming for the prize for being the world's top dictator and achieving it by ousting or killing all other dictators. If we're lucky he might have not noticed that his own name is on the list! (Where's James Bond when we need him?)

[Stanley]

I think it's fair to say that he is out of control.....

[Stanley]

see THIS BBC report on Iran.
5 hours ago
"I saw it with my own eyes - they fired directly into lines of protesters, and people fell where they stood." Omid's voice was shaking as he spoke, fearful of being traced. Breaking the wall of silence between Iran and the rest of the world takes immense courage, given the risk of reprisals by the authorities. Omid, in his early 40s and whose name we have changed for his safety, has been protesting on the streets of a small city in southern Iran over the past few days against worsening economic hardship. He said security forces had opened fire at unarmed protesters in his city with Kalashnikov-style assault rifles. "We are fighting a brutal regime with empty hands," he said. The BBC has received similar accounts of the crackdown by security forces following the widespread protests across the country last week. Since then, internet access has been cut by the authorities, making reporting from Iran more difficult than ever. BBC Persian is banned from reporting inside Iran by the government. One of the largest nationwide anti-government protests took place on Thursday, the twelfth night of demonstrations. Many people appear to have joined the protests on Thursday and Friday after calls from Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution. The following day, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said: "The Islamic Republic will not back down." It appears that the worst bloodshed occurred after that warning as security forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps take their orders from him.
Is this simply one more round of protests and reprisals or is there something different in the air?

[Tripps]

Nearer to home and probably more important -

Emergency meeting of Pendle Council last night
Motion that "they request the Government to postpone the forthcoming elections."
David Whipp the Charman spoke, and was strongy opposed. There were the usual confusing double negatives and substansive motions etc but

Passed by 18 votes to 10.

Other Councils are being canvassed, but since that means that a Labour Government will be protecting Labour candidates, the election will probably be postponed. We used to think that "if elections made any difference they would ban them" was a joke. .

Aside - interesting to note tht except where convention dictates otherwise (top table) the seating arangements largely divide on racial grounds. Littlle sign of communuity integration.

[Stanley]

I spoke to David Whipp recently just before the by-election in Barnoldswick which was contested by a Reform candidate (Who didn't succeed). He was telling me how dangerous Reform is and I found myself reassuring him that their fatal flaw was Farage.
This meeting is all about the danger of a Reform landslide in May. It may be that I am wrong about Reform, the council evidently think so.

[Tripps]

The by-election winner was Liberal- Councillor Bryony Alys Hartley. She sent apologies via David Whipp last evening for her absence as "she was on holiday". It's a bit early in her career to be truanting.

This whole business (and the digital ID affair) strengthens my definition of a politician as 'someone who says they are acting for one reason when actually it is for another.

Don't mither about Reform UK. There is a long time until the next election, and I think they will self destruct before then. The tergiversation of the egregious Nadhim Zahawi is a sign. Perhaps the thickest skinned man in British politics - and there's some competition for that title. Remember Jeffrey Archer used to call him 'Lemon Kurd' when they organised a spurious charity for Kurdish refugees in the 90's together.

Lemon Kurd

A plague on the lot of them. . . .

[Stanley]

"There is a long time until the next election, and I think they will self destruct before then."
Exactly the point I made to David Whipp.
I have this touching faith in the system.... I believe there are enough good honourable people out there to ensure that in the end virtue will triumph. Some may think this naïve but I have seen it happen and it will happen again.....

I saw THIS report heading the BBC politics news this morning.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says she has lost confidence in West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford, after a "damning" report into the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a match with Aston Villa last year, She says the force was guilty of "confirmation bias", and that it overplayed the threat posed by Maccabi fans, and underplayed the threat to them in Birmingham. Here's a recap of her Commons statement. Mahmood says she does not have the power to dismiss Guildford - saying it's a matter for the local police and crime commissioner - but the government will reintroduce those powers for the home secretary. The commissioner says he will follow "due process" and give the matter "careful and detailed consideration". In a new statement on Wednesday evening, West Midlands Police says it is "extremely sorry" for errors, and that "we are taking immediate action". Earlier, Guildford admitted AI was used in a report that led to the Israeli fans' ban - pressed by MPs on two previous occasions, he denied that AI was involved
The police can't operate without public trust and this Chief Constable's actions destroy that contract, therefore he should go.

[Stanley]

I think that is even more perceptive now David with the news that Farage has got Jenrick in the tent.... That man will only have one goal and it won't be good news for Nige!

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, THIS is happening.....
More than a third of eligible councils in England have asked to postpone their elections due in May, affecting more than 2.5 million voters. The government is carrying out a major overhaul of local government structures. Twenty-five councils want to postpone their ballots to help deliver that reorganisation - but opposition parties say Labour is "running scared" of voters. Most wanting a delay are Labour-led, but two are Conservative-led and one is Liberal Democrat. Some of the councils that have asked for a delay are run by more than one party, or independents. Last month ministers told 63 local authorities they would authorise delays to the polls if there were "genuine concerns" about delivering them alongside the government's overhaul of local government. So far, 25 have requested a delay, 35 have not and three are yet to confirm their position. Elections would be postponed for a year with the expectation they would take place in 2027. Ministers are expected to approve the requests in the coming days. The BBC contacted the 63 councils who could request a delay to their May elections to ask for their decision.
The elephant in the room is of course whether this damages democracy and what effect will this have on the challenge facing Starmer from Reform and his recent track record.

See THIS for more on the Jenrick tergiversation....
3 hours ago
On Wednesday afternoon in a large wood-panelled room in parliament, Robert Jenrick was sitting alongside Kemi Badenoch and the rest of the Conservative shadow cabinet talking about foreign policy. "He was honestly very positive and chipper", says one who was in the room. Within twenty-four hours a sensational leak from inside Jenrick's own Commons office would lead to him being thrown out of the party he joined as a teenager. And him deciding to back Reform, its biggest rival. For months Jenrick had been on defection watch, and behind the scenes Badenoch's team were picking up worrying signals. "We'd been in a high state of alert", says a senior conservative. "For quite a long time we've been hearing from multiple people that he was on manoeuvres. We knew about at least one evening meeting he'd had with Farage in December".
Secret discussions
In fact Jenrick had been having many more secret discussions with Reform figures for four months including with the party's leader. "There were multiple conversations, many one-to-one meetings with Nigel," says a Farage ally. Was Jenrick offered a top cabinet job in a possible future Reform government? "Nothing was offered", insists the senior Reform source. "Honestly, genuinely nothing."
I know it's a very old fashioned view but we do not pay these people for 'manoeuvres' like this.

[PanBiker]

MP's that jump ship, whatever party should not keep their seats in parliament without further success in a by election in their constituency. They were not originally elected on their new party allegiance credentials so should automatically be tested again.

[Tripps]

MP's that jump ship, whatever party should not keep their seats in parliament without further success in a by election

Agreed - but if that was the consequence, and they thought they might lose, I don't think they would do it.

***********
I've had to stop listening to star presenter James OBrien in the mornings on LBC. For two days running now. he has made a direct comparison between the death of the innocent lady in Minneapolis and the deaths by the theocratic regime in Iran. Words to the effect that 'both countries shoot their own citzens in the face'.

Trump Derangement Syndrome writ large. One awful controversial death in USA, compared with several hundred (or thousands depending on who you believe, in Iran). Some possibility that a trial will follow in MN. No chance at all of that in Iran.

[Stanley]

Regarding the penalty of a fresh ballot after tergiversation..... there is always the possibility that The Party changes opinions and ethics and not the individual. In that case would a ballot be fair?
I agree with you David about the fundamental difference between the death of the lady in Twin Cities and the Iranian slaughter. To compare the two is ro demonstrate that you are ignorant of the true principles at stake and possible resolutions.
You are correct again when you name this tactic Trump Derangement Syndrome. It is his modus operandi; first confuse, then divide and after that disrupt. Drive your own policies through the chaos you have created.

See THIS BBC report for the latest example of Trump in action....
US President Donald Trump has threatened to place tariffs on nations that do not go along with his ambitions to annex Greenland. Trump said at a White House meeting that he "may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland", which is a self-governing territory controlled by Denmark. He did not say which countries might be hit with new tariffs, or what authority he would invoke to use such import taxes in pursuit of his goal. Along with Denmark and Greenland, other countries oppose his plans, and many in the US have expressed scepticism about an acquisition. As Trump spoke, a bipartisan congressional delegation was visiting Greenland to show support for the territory. The 11-member group included Republicans who voiced concerns about the president's calls for the US to somehow acquire Greenland for national security reasons. They met MPs as well as Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart Jens-Frederik Nielsen. Group leader Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat, said their trip was to listen to the locals and take their views back to Washington "to lower the temperature". Trump has said Greenland is vital for US security - and Washington would get it "the easy way" or "the hard way" - an apparent reference to buying the island or taking it by force. "I may put a tariff on countries if they don't go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security," Trump said at Friday's White House meeting on rural healthcare.

[Tripps]

TDS (Trump Derangement) Syndrome doesn't apply to President Trump but to others , including James O'Brien. It's said to be perjorative.
TDS


The other award was from FIFA - well deserved I'm sure. He really must get that low self esteem looked at.

[Stanley]

Well! That just demonstrates how bad I am at distinguishing truth from AI modifies images.
I suspected AI and had a furtle. HERE'S what I found......
What a privilege it is to be alive in such a peaceful and prosperous time. If you ignore the genocides in Sudan and Gaza, fighting in eastern Congo, continued attacks on Ukraine, military airstrikes in Myanmar, near-daily strikes on Lebanon, “extrajudicial killings” on Venezualan vessels, increased political violence in the US, along with various other inconvenient issues, then I think we can all agree that Donald Trump has ushered in world peace. Donald Trump receives the peace prize from Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Trump was awarded the inaugural Fifa peace prize at World Cup draw in Washington.
Good luck convincing the nasty Norwegians on the Nobel committee of that, though. They’ve doled out peace prizes to many an alleged war criminal but have a weird grudge against Trump. Still, at least Fifa, an organisation renowned for its impeccable ethics, appreciates the president’s efforts. Last Friday, Trump was awarded the inaugural Fifa peace prize in an over-the-top ceremony that would have made a lesser man, one burdened with a smidgen of self-awareness, feel like a prize idiot. Ridiculous as the Fifa peace prize may be, the strategy was sound; if you want something from Trump, you need to flatter his ego. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fifa kickstarts a trend for organisations and corporations bestowing outlandish awards upon the president in an effort to get on his good side. To get the ball rolling I have a few suggestions.
The rest of the article is well worth a read....
Thank you David for educating me and yes, I agree with your conclusion, the man needs help....

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report for news of another management problem in the House.
The government has abandoned a final debate on its Hillsborough Law following a backlash from campaigners and some Labour MPs over the extent to which it would apply to intelligence officers. The draft legislation creates a legal obligation for public authorities to co-operate with and tell the truth to inquiries. But a government amendment would have made co-operation by intelligence officers with inquiries subject to the approval of the head of their service. Bereaved families say MI5 and MI6 officers should be fully subject to the proposed law and point to a series of cases where MI5 has provided false information. The government had originally pulled just the amendment from a vote, due to be held on Monday, before it scrapped the entire third reading of the bill - when a draft law is tidied up before going to the Lords.