WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Big Kev]

With a new eyeball, and a contact lens in the other eye, you can't have enough reading glasses. It's not something I'm used to yet

IMG_20260508_183817_HDR~2.jpg

[Stanley]

Enjoy the new territory Kev.....It will only get better when you have the next one done...

THIS caught my eye in the news....
Sir Keir Starmer has appointed former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a special envoy on global finance, as he attempts to shore up his position after his party suffered heavy election losses. Downing Street said the prime minister had also hired former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman as an adviser on tackling violence against women and girls. Brown and Baroness Harman, two influential and respected figures in the party, met Sir Keir in Downing Street before their roles were announced. The prime minister's authority is tottering after Friday's dire election results piled pressure on him, with some Labour MPs calling for him to set a timetable for his departure. Sir Keir has insisted he would not "walk away and plunge the country into chaos", and members of his cabinet have rallied around him. Admitting he had made mistakes, Sir Keir said "the hope wasn't there enough in the first two years of this government" and suggested he would set out the path forward as well as "the convictions and values that drive me" in the coming days. The prime minister is planning an attempt to reset his premiership next week by delivering a major speech and unveiling a new programme of legislation. The appointments of Brown and Baroness Harman signal the prime minister's intentions to refresh his government. Brown was chancellor before he became prime minister between 2007 and 2010, taking a leading role in the international response to the financial crisis of 2008. Downing Street said Sir Keir had "committed to boosting the country's security and resilience" and in his role, Brown "will advise on how global finance cooperation can help to achieve this". Baroness Harman was leader of the House of Commons during Brown's tenure as prime minister, and Labour deputy leader from 2007 to 2015. Downing Street said Baroness Harman will "advise the PM on how to galvanise government to deliver for women and girls". "The role will see her draw on work with women across Parliament to identify action needed to tackle misogyny and deliver greater opportunity for women in parliamentary and public life," No 10 said. Sir Keir posted a promotional video on social media that showed him meeting Brown alongside Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Baroness Harman in 10 Downing Street's back garden. "Together, we will build a stronger and fairer Britain," Sir Keir wrote in the post above the video.
There is more concentrating on the bewildered reaction of many MPs to Starmer's desperate attempt to convince everyone he is still a viable PM.

[Tizer]

Keep in mind this spot is a destination popular with cruise ships and it was pure luck it happened when there were no ships there. If there had been ships they would have been destroyed and everyone killed...
`Massive Alaska megatsunami was second largest ever recorded' LINK

[Stanley]

I saw that report but didn't realise it was in a populated part of the country....

THIS caught my eye....
4 hours ago
Mohammed Asasa had only just returned home after burying his 80-year-old father Hussein when several children ran into the house shouting, "the settlers are digging up the grave!" In the small village of Asasa, near Jenin in the West Bank, from which the family patriarch took his name, Hussein had been a highly regarded figure before his death last Friday from natural causes. In keeping with Islamic custom, the old man – a former livestock trader and father of 10 children – was laid to rest in a simple plot in the graveyard, on a small hill on the other side of the village from the family home. Anxious to make sure there would be no problems, Mohammed said he'd even sought the permission of a nearby Israeli military base to allow his father's funeral to proceed. Less than half an hour later, Mohammed and his brothers were back at the entrance to the site, aghast as a group of Jewish settlers - some of them armed - were hacking away at the newly laid grave with heavy hand tools. After initially trying to negotiate with the settlers, Mohammed rushed up to the grave just as they were about to break through a slab which was all that remained between them and his father's remains. "They were on the point of reaching the body," said Mohammed. "I'm sure they were about to remove it, so we had to make a decision there and then."
This ongoing and totally illegal pressure by Israeli settlers on Palestinians is part of the strategy to extend the Israeli borders. It's just as important as the IDF actions elsewhere.

[Whyperion]

I saw that report but didn't realise it was in a populated part of the country....

THIS caught my eye....
4 hours ago
Mohammed Asasa had only just returned home after burying his 80-year-old father Hussein when several children ran into the house shouting, "the settlers are digging up the grave!" In the small village of Asasa, near Jenin in the West Bank, from which the family patriarch took his name, Hussein had been a highly regarded figure before his death last Friday from natural causes. In keeping with Islamic custom, the old man – a former livestock trader and father of 10 children – was laid to rest in a simple plot in the graveyard, on a small hill on the other side of the village from the family home. Anxious to make sure there would be no problems, Mohammed said he'd even sought the permission of a nearby Israeli military base to allow his father's funeral to proceed. Less than half an hour later, Mohammed and his brothers were back at the entrance to the site, aghast as a group of Jewish settlers - some of them armed - were hacking away at the newly laid grave with heavy hand tools. After initially trying to negotiate with the settlers, Mohammed rushed up to the grave just as they were about to break through a slab which was all that remained between them and his father's remains. "They were on the point of reaching the body," said Mohammed. "I'm sure they were about to remove it, so we had to make a decision there and then."
This ongoing and totally illegal pressure by Israeli settlers on Palestinians is part of the strategy to extend the Israeli borders. It's just as important as the IDF actions elsewhere.

Supposedly some of the land is being purchased (from whom and are they legal sales?)

[Stanley]

Big email from Susan who is in Oz at the moment. She and Mo are clarifying arrangements for my tools after I die.... Nice to be able to get things sorted with them. Basically I am giving Muthomi everything that is engineering related including the books.....
She is back home May 24th.... It will be nice to see her.
[PS. We have no problems at all in talking about my death and what will happen. It makes things so much easier..... ]

[Cathy]

Makes sense Stanley… one less thing for others to decide or worry about .
Is Mothumi accepting?

[Stanley]

He's delighted Cathy.... And so he should be. It would be impossible to replicate the shed today, the elements just aren't available.....

[Stanley]

THIS caught my eye and reminded me of my 'drugged to death' articles....
38 minutes ago
The UK's leading baby-safety charity and an MP have written to the health secretary calling for "urgent action" to regulate the infant-sleep industry, following a BBC investigation. In the letter, the Lullaby Trust and Liberal Democrat Tom Morrison urge Wes Streeting to "ensure that no more babies' lives are put at risk due to unregulated and bogus sleep advice". Last week, an undercover BBC report revealed how some self-described sleep experts have been giving new parents advice that goes against long-established safer sleep NHS guidelines. Streeting said "dangerous misinformation dressed up as expert advice... must stop" and that parents should "only rely on trusted, evidence-based information" like the NHS Best Start in Life website. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said in March that the law would be changed to limit who was allowed to call themselves a nurse. This means people working in a hands-on capacity as night nannies would no longer be able to operate as "maternity nurses". An inquest into the death of football manager Steve Bruce's four-month-old grandson found that Madison Bruce Smith died after being placed to sleep on his front by someone calling themselves a maternity nurse. But many, including the Bruce Smith family, are calling for greater changes to be made by the DHSC and for urgent regulation for anyone working with infants. Currently, there is no oversight or regulation of the industry - anyone can call themselves a baby-sleep expert or consultant regardless of experience or qualifications. As a result, people can sell advice to parents which could be putting babies at increased risk of harm - including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (Sids) - without consequence.

[Stanley]

THIS is a useful crib to the leadership challenges....
Sir Keir Starmer is fighting to stay on as prime minister, as he stares down calls from Labour critics for him to leave Downing Street. Four members of his government, including Home Office minister Jess Phillips, have resigned, whilst scores of Labour MPs are calling for him to quit following a disastrous set of elections for the party last week. Here is a summary of what is happening.

[Gloria]

He's delighted Cathy.... And so he should be. It would be impossible to replicate the shed today, the elements just aren't available.....

How old is Mothumi Stanley.

[Stanley]

Not sure Gloria but I think about the same as Jess so late 30s......

[Stanley]

THIS is what caught my attention....
The bodies of three young women have been recovered from the sea off the coast of Brighton. Sussex Police said a search was launched after concerns were raised for the welfare of a person in the sea at 05:45 BST on Wednesday. It is not yet known how the women came to be in the water, but the coastguard has ended its search and said it was not looking for anyone else. The women have not been identified. Ch Supt Adam Hays said: "This is a tragic incident. We are at the very early stages of our inquiries." Hays added: "I understand the impact this tragic incident has had on the local community and more widely. "This is a sensitive investigation and we know the public are keen to understand the full circumstances. "But our priority at this time is identifying these three women and locating their families, who at this point remain unaware they have lost loved ones."

[Stanley]

THIS caught my eye....
New forecasts show increasing confidence that the developing El Niño in the tropical Pacific Ocean could be one of the strongest on record with warnings of record global temperatures and huge humanitarian impacts. Parts of the Pacific have been warming rapidly with data this week showing sea surface temperatures around 0.5C above normal - one threshold used to suggest the onset of El Niño, a natural warming of the Pacific. It is expected to strengthen over the next few months, peaking potentially as a very strong - or so-called super El Niño - in the autumn. Scientists are concerned about the consequences it could have on global weather patterns, including the likelihood of 2027 being the warmest year on record. In their latest outlook, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) suggest El Niño will begin within the month. They have increased the confidence to a two-in-three chance that it will be strong or even very strong by this winter. The rate of warming seen in the tropical Pacific over the last few weeks has been rapid.

[Gloria]

Not sure Gloria but I think about the same as Jess so late 30s......

Old enough to appreciate it all then? And make good use of it.