WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Whyperion]

every time in general I here spokespersons for Iran speak they seem relatively sensible ( aytollah a bit more mad and revengeful maybe he has a point though) spokespersons for US sound like mad men

[Stanley]

THIS caught my attention.....
A mother-of-10 who kept a vulnerable woman captive as a slave for 25 years has been jailed for 13 years. Mandy Wixon, 56, was found guilty of false imprisonment and forcing the woman to clean her squalid home in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. The victim, who has a learning disability and is now in her mid-40s, had washing-up liquid squirted down her throat, bleach splashed on her face and her head shaved against her will. She was also made to live off scraps. Passing sentence at Gloucester Crown Court, Judge Ian Lawrie KC told Wixon: "You cruelly and persistently held captive this woman... The enduring persistent trauma of that slavery remains." In a statement, the victim said: "For 25 years, I lived in fear, control and abuse. I was treated as though my life, my freedom and my voice did not matter."
There is much more. I find it astounding that such things can happen in plain sight in our modern society. Is anyone being treated like this near you?

[Stanley]

I was watching a rather good video on Youtube last night telling the story of the end of the cotton industry when I saw this image.... Bit of a surprise when you're watching mainstream TV!

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report about more footballers seeking asylum....
5 hours ago
Three more members of the Iranian women's football delegation - who were given humanitarian visas to stay in Australia - have changed their mind and will return home. The trio have been named by human rights activists in the Iranian diaspora as Zahra Soltan Meshkehkar, Mona Hamoudi, and Zahra Sarbali. Concerns grew for the Iranian team after they were silent for the country's anthem in their opening Asian Cup match against South Korea on 2 March - which led to them being branded "war traitors" in Iran. Confirming the decisions, Australia's home affairs minister said his government had done everything it could to ensure the women were given the chance to have a safe future in the country.

[Stanley]

News from Susan that she has solved the problem of her cancelled flight to Australia (due to the war in the ME) and flies tomorrow via Kuala Lumpur to Perth.....
Here in Barlick I shall be entertaining Uncle Bob.

[Stanley]

I am hoping that Susan's flight plans are not affected by the closing of air space over the UAR.....
Later.... Margaret in Perth tells me that Susan's flight to KL will not be affected. I hope she is right......
(I know I worry too much but what if the situation deteriorates rapidly? Could she be stranded out there?)

[Stanley]

Message from Susan. She is at LHR and the flight is viable.... BA4481 London-Perth.

[Wendyf]

Is that the right flight number Stanley? I was just looking for it. Could that be the cancelled Doha flight?
MH003 Malaysian Airlines to Kuala Lumpur at 10.25 looks about right.

[Stanley]

You are right Wendy, it's MH003, boards at 09:25, departs at 10:25.

[Big Kev]

This pic of me in August 1962

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[Cathy]

Big Kev ,That’s a very sweet photo of you.
Looking very smart.

[Stanley]

Susan is tucked up in bed in her hotel in KL . Bob Bliss visited yesterday and it was a delight..... He's 83 and is doing well.

[Stanley]

Message from Susan this morning. She has arrived safely in Perth. One less thing to worry about!

[Cathy]

Good news Stanley that Susan has arrived safely in Perth (with relief, I imagine). Tell her to stay there and stay safe.

[Stanley]

Morning Cathy..... Sister Margaret and daughter Jess will make sure she behaves herself I think!

[Stanley]

No sign of Susan yet.... no doubt she will surface today and speak to the world......

[Stanley]

Later..... she has surfaced!



It warms the cockles of my heart to see two daughters so evidently enjoying each other..... sets me up for the day!

[Stanley]

THIS cauht my attention....
Updated 1 hour ago
Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump's public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground. The war is "very complete, pretty much", Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit - are moving into the region. It is "winding down", but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated. Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world's oil export travels, is a "simple military manoeuvre", but for now only Iranian-approved ships are transiting the waters. The Iranian military is "gone", but drones and missiles are still striking targets in the region and targets have extended as far as the joint US-UK base in Diego Garcia. In a Saturday evening post on Truth Social, Trump threatened an escalation, warning that if Iran didn't "fully open, without threat" Hormuz in 48 hours, the US military would begin targeting Iranian power plants, "starting with the biggest". The day before, however, he had used his social media website to provide a numbered list of American military objectives for the Iran war, which he said the US was "getting really close" to fulfilling. The items, comprising his most detailed statement on the subject since the war began, included degrading or destroying Iran's military, its defence infrastructure and its nuclear weapons programme, as well as protecting American allies in the region. Not included was the goal of securing the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump said should be the responsibility of other nations that are more dependent on oil exports from the Gulf. The president has frequently noted that the US is a net exporter of energy and does not rely on oil from the Middle East – although such a view glosses over the global nature of the fossil fuel market, where price fluctuations directly impact the price at American gas pumps.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions.......

[Big Kev]

THIS cauht my attention....
Updated 1 hour ago
In a Saturday evening post on Truth Social, Trump threatened an escalation, warning that if Iran didn't "fully open, without threat" Hormuz in 48 hours, the US military would begin targeting Iranian power plants, "starting with the biggest".

Do we presume this is the same sort of deadline, he gave Putin, to stop attacking Ukraine?

[Stanley]

Kev, it's a terrible thing to have to say about an ally as important as the US but we can never assume that what we hear Donald Trump saying has any relationship to the truth or indeed, common sense. Ian is right when he says he is certifiable.....

[PanBiker]

On a lighter note, Wharfedale 14's against Ilkley. A very close run game. They were level up to 1 min before full time when Ilkley were awarded a penalty, successfully kicked so the score ended at Ilkley 15, Wharfedale 12. As always in Rugby the game ended with congratulations all round and medals for all participants. The Sunday lunch in the clubhouse was excellent to finish off our visit.

[Stanley]

THIS statement didn't reassure me.....
There is "no assessment to substantiate" Israel's claim that Iran has long-range missiles capable of reaching London, a UK cabinet minister has said. Housing Secretary Steve Reed told the BBC there was "no specific assessment that the Iranians are targeting the UK - or even could if they wanted to", after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that Tehran had weapons that could reach up to 4,000km (2,485 miles). It comes after it emerged Iran targeted the joint US-UK military base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, around 3,800km from Iran. Reed refused to say how close the missiles came to the British overseas territory, saying he could not share "operational details". Iran fired two ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia - one of which failed and fell short, while the other was intercepted, Reed said. The intercepted missile disappeared after a US destroyer fired missiles at it, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the strikes, citing US officials.

[Stanley]

There's something been bugging me for s few weeks but every time i come on the site I forget t.....
United Utilities (Used to be NW Water) are doing an advertising campaign bragging about the billions they are going to spend on infrastructure and putting themselves forward as community heroes..... No word about how they got into the position where billions need to be invested and certainly no mention of the fact that their customers are paying for it.
That is so dishonest and it pisses me off.
End of rant!

[Big Kev]

The Orange Knob has, supposedly, had constrictive talks with Iran and postponed the 'total destruction' of their energy infrastructure. I'm sure he said he'd killed them all so who did he have these talks with?

There is an upside to his current rambling

Brent crude has fallen 13% to about $96 a barrel. The FTSE 100 index is now up 0.5% having fallen more than 2% earlier.

Gas prices have fallen from 159p a therm to about 139p.

[Stanley]

Funny thing is the Iranian government say they haven't spoken to the US administration....