Seen in the News

[Tizer]

Netanyahu, Putin and Trump are now locked in to wars. Their reputations, and perhaps their lives, depend on winning or at least keeping the wars going.

[Stanley]

You are quite right Peter.... That's the dreadful truth behind what is happening.

See THIS for more land-grabbing by Israel.....
The Israeli military has captured the strategic site of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a "decisive shift" in its offensive against Hezbollah. It comes as ground troops move ever deeper into Lebanese territory beyond their original demarcation line of the Litani river. The UK, France and Germany criticised Israel's latest escalation, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned more residents to evacuate from a larger swathe of southern Lebanon. Lebanon's prime minister has accused Israel of carrying out "collective punishment". The latest evacuation warning is the second time in recent days that Israel has told residents to leave the entire south of Lebanon below the Zahrani river. "Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, facilities or means of combat endangers their life," an IDF spokesman said. The spokesman said a "significant number of IDF ground soldiers" were involved in the operation, which was "currently expanding to additional areas". UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper joined European allies on Sunday in calling for Israel and Hezbollah to stop the escalating conflict. "Israel's military escalation in Lebanon has killed and displaced civilians, destroyed infrastructure, and eroded space for diplomacy," Cooper wrote on X. "It must end." Hezbollah "must end attacks on Israel and disarm," she added. In Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam made a televised address in which he accused Israel of a "scorched-earth policy and collective punishment" in the south of the country.
LINK for history of the castle.....

[Stanley]

HERE'S an opinion piece from Jerfemy Bowen that is worth reading......
The United States and Iran have both signalled that they would prefer not to go back to the war that has been on hold since the ceasefire was announced on 8 April. Neither side has allowed the steady drumbeat of military exchanges between them to end the talks being mediated by Pakistan, Qatar and others. The US still has powerful naval and air forces within striking distance of Iran. It is safe to assume that the Iranian regime will have kept its forces on high alert and will be using the ceasefire to re-organise and repair damage done by the US and Israel. Armed tension in the area in and around the Gulf opens up a clear risk for both sides of miscalculation and misperception. The US is trying to keep the pressure on the Tehran regime to make concessions by demonstrating that they are close by and capable of causing great damage. The Iranians are reminding the US that their determination to resist is undiminished and, if necessary, they will attack American bases and the wider infrastructure of the Arab gulf. The first objectives on what would be a long and perhaps unreachable road to a wider deal between the US and Iran is a continuation of the ceasefire and an agreement on a "memorandum of understanding" on the agenda of more talks between them. Getting to that is proving difficult. Israel's declaration that its bombers would return to Beirut has narrowed down Donald Trump's options even more. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not worry if his renewed offensive in Lebanon makes an American deal with Iran harder to get. He didn't want the ceasefire with the Tehran regime in the first place. As far as he's concerned, any deal between America and Iran is a bad deal.
There is much more but that last opinion about Netanyahu's role is telling. It reinforces what Peter and I have been saying. The bottom line is that Trump and the US are in trouble, they have made no gains and Israel is doing nothing to help him out.
Meanwhile, the global economic consequences mount daily.....

[Big Kev]

BBC News - Student loan inquiry begins as a third of people say university degree not worth it - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2e29gk73rjo

I didn't go to university but got NVQ level 4 qualifications whilst working (25 years ago). I am now in a job that required degree, or equivalent qualification (fortunately NVQ4 is first degree equivalent). At my age I wouldn't have paid for a university place but I don't think my CSE in woodwork would have got me in anyway

[Stanley]

I was over 40 when I got my degree and couldn't have done it if I had had to pay. As it was I got my three year course free and with full grants. I can't say if it helped me with work after, I suppose it must have but the main advantage as far as I was concerned was the sheer joy of learning.....

See THIS news from the Gulf....
The US says it has struck and "disabled an unladen oil tanker" that was sailing towards Iran, as part of Washington's naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command (Centcom) said a US aircraft fired a Hellfire missile into the engine room of the Botswana-flagged M/T vessel, after its crew "ignored repeated warnings". Centcom also released a footage purportedly showing the moment the tanker was hit on Tuesday. Iran has not publicly commented on the issue. The US military began enforcing its blockade of all vessels entering and exiting Iranian ports on 13 April. In its statement, Centcom said US forces "enforced blockade measures against Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie as it transited international waters toward Kharg Island". It said the ship's crew had failed "to comply with directions from US forces multiple times over a 24-hour period". Overall, six commercial vessels have been disabled and another 122 redirected since the blockade went into force, Centcom said. The BBC has contacted Botswana's government for comment.
This, plus Israel's actions in Lebanon, will not assist in peace talks.... Is there any end to the violence?

[Big Kev]

It’s the greatest ceasefire in the history of ceasefires, there’s never been a ceasefire so beautiful, no one else could have negotiated a ceasefire like this!