WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Tripps]

Get on to You Tube and watch Pendle Council - Extraordinary meeting. Resignations and high drama. I don't get what it's about - something to do with "the app", and Councillor Tom Whipp seems to have very nice eye make up on!

PS:- Councillor McGladdery has resigned, and mentioned the Police. David Whipp has threatened to do so.

The motion is to propose the resignation of the Council leader. and seems to be connected with a taxi safety app which was discussed last month, when it was agreed to postpone its introduction. I watched that debate, and can#t see why the leader should resign over it. David Whipp has been accused of blatant electioneering and described as "the doyen of disaster, and the martyr of mayhem".

The motion has been defeated. 14 against, 7 for, and 8 abstained. Split on ethnic origins.

See for yourself.

[PanBiker]

Well I watched all of that and have to agree that it was an exercise in electioneering and a complete waste of both time and council money.

I assume that the paper written after the vote was D Whipps resignation as intimated?

[PanBiker]

Just had a look on the local FB sites and I see this quote from David which he has posted on five local Facebook sites.

"With that policy in tatters, my group has withdrawn from the council's administration".

[Tripps]

I stumbled across it half way through - then later started at the begining, and watched the first half. I am a little confused about the whole matter as you will see.

I thought I understood the taxi app thing, but I do'nt see a connection between that, and the demand for the resignation of the Council Leader.

I hadn't seen the quote from David Whipp which you highlight. I don't think "withdrawn from the administration" is the same as resigning though. This has some way to run. . . .

[Stanley]

And there was I blissfully unaware of any political earthquake.....
Will someone explain what it all means at some point?

[PanBiker]

It's not really an earthquake Stanley but David Whipp chucking a tantrum because he can't get his own way. By withdrawing his entire group from council proceedings it does mean that the council which was previously ticking over with joint control of all parties is plunged into no overall control. Very helpful.

Like Tripps said it has nothing to do with Asjad, the leader of the council and calling for his resignation is just daft.

The issue is an app for use by registered taxi owners but only 30 signed up for it. The app is supposed to make calling a taxi safer as all users have been vetted and their taxis tested for safety etc.
There is a meeting of the committee that oversees the operation of taxis in the borough next week. The taxi committee on the council is responsible for issuing the operating licences so the answer is simple. Don't give licences to anyone who is not prepared to sign up for the new operating procedure.

That's how I understand it. Calling the Emergency Meeting cost nearly £2000 as the Mayor commented at the end.

[Stanley]

Thanks for the interpretation Ian.....
Meanwhile, in another part of the jungle I saw THISarticle by one o0f my favourite economists, Paul Krugman.
Economist Paul Krugman said he believes President Trump’s immigration crackdown will “hobble” the country’s food production and home construction. In a post on his Substack, Krugman said he’s spent a lot of time reviewing Trump’s mass deportation plan and his tariff proposal. He wrote that “blocking imports of foreign-made goods and deporting foreign-born workers are, in some ways, similar in their economic implications.” “But tariffs are about dollars and cents; a crackdown on immigrants is about people,” Krugman wrote. “And because it’s about people, Trump’s hostility to immigrants is likely to do far more damage, humanitarian and even economic, than his trade policy.”Krugman said he hopes he is wrong but believes people will start turning on one another out of fear in a way that he described as “ugly and scary.” The mass deportation plan that is already underway has “unleashed forces of hatred” that Trump can’t rein back in, he wrote. He noted that it’s believed immigrants lacking permanent legal status make up around 5 percent of the country’s workforce. The agriculture industry might be hit the hardest, he suggested, noting that many farm laborers lack permanent legal status. “Push those workers out, either by actual deportation or detention or simply by creating a climate of fear, and just watch what happens to grocery prices,” he wrote. He also noted that about a quarter of construction industry employees are migrants. With those employees out of the picture, homebuilding will become more expensive, Krugman argued.
Many immigrant workers have already stopped going to work because that is where the illegals are being nabbed. This is worst in agriculture in Florida and California and is already causing shortages in the markets. Watch this space......

[Tripps]

If you have time and inclination go back to the last Council meeting where this situation regarding the adoption of the "app" was discussed. It lasts about three hours. I watched most of it at the time and looked up the Taxi regulations afterwards. They are very complex, and there is scope for mischief. Last night's vote, and the make up of the public gallery at this meeting show that the issue is divided on ethnicity grounds.

Surely the Mayor who has publicly stated "

"He continued to say that he was an MOT inspector and he always let people off with issues with their cars and let them resolve them later. He said you need to let people off and help them."

Should have declared a possible interest and recused himself from proceedings?

Pendle Council 19 Dec 2024

[Stanley]

The mundane fact that we have reached the end of January! I always feel this is such a significant month to get behind us. February can be a cruel month I know but it is so short! I can hear the snowdrops stirring.
Kev, how did you get on with the auto electrician? Have you got an answer?

[Big Kev]

:
Kev, how did you get on with the auto electrician? Have you got an answer?

The ECU has been 'flashed' with a software update and the car has been out for a road test, the live data didn't show any faults. They're going to force a static regeneration on the DPF this morning, if that is successful it's officially fixed. I'm expecting a call before lunch.

[Stanley]

It sounds as though you may be getting progress but in my mind this is an engine that is OK, it's just a faulty temperature gauge. I know that isn't accurate but it seems to me like a way of over complicating things.
I know, I'm hopelessly out of touch!

[Big Kev]

It sounds as though you may be getting progress but in my mind this is an engine that is OK, it's just a faulty temperature gauge. I know that isn't accurate but it seems to me like a way of over complicating things.
I know, I'm hopelessly out of touch!

Mechanicaly there's nowt wrong with the car. What I suspect is the ECU failed to reset after the replacement of the faulty sensor (it was one of the new sensors that was reporting the spurious reading). The software update has potentially reset all the sensor readings to default and everything is now showing as it should. The running of a static regen should prove this.

[Stanley]

"Mechanically there's nowt wrong with the car."
I think that's what I was trying to say Kev, and that's really my point. There's something wrong with a system that prevents you from using something that is, basically, just fine.....

[Big Kev]

"Mechanically there's nowt wrong with the car."
I think that's what I was trying to say Kev, and that's really my point. There's something wrong with a system that prevents you from using something that is, basically, just fine.....

Most of the systems are in there to control emissions. I had a VW Golf diesel, manufactured in 2002, it had an ECU controlling the engine (diesel pump, injectors etc), it had a catalytic converter but no DPF. It had 235000 miles on it when I traded it in, it still run without issue.
The problem with the newer cars is finding someone with the software and knowledge to diagnose any issues.

[Tizer]

This sounds like one of those midnight Ebay purchases after an evening of alcohol!... (I wonder if they've asked about the delivery charge?)
`Woman buys chimney for husband's birthday' BBC

[Big Kev]

We've had a successful forced static regen with no issues. I've paid the bill and am back in the road again.


Later:
Been to Padiham to pick up middle offspring and take him to Barlick. Picked up some shopping from Aldi while we were out. Confidence is slowly growing...

[Stanley]

I hope it continues to grow Kev. But it shouldn't be like that!

[Tizer]

The BBC has this headline this morning Farmers in bird flu 'panic' call for UK vaccine plan. I'm surprised at how little attention our news media have given to the serious bird flu problems in the USA. I knew about it last year only from Roland Pease's reporting (almost weekly at one stage) on the BBC World Service programme `Science in Action'. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has been closely involved, as shown in this web page: `H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation' CDC Note the first para: H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.

Also note that Trump has said he will shut down the CDC, regardless of it being recognised worldwide as the most important provider of data and advice on disease control of all kinds. I knew of it and used it's data regularly in the 1990s and early 2000s when reporting on food safety.

[Stanley]

It's the first time I have looked at that website Peter and what an admirably clear one it is!
What does it mean when they say they are modifying the site to comply with Trump's executive orders?

[Tizer]

What does it mean when they say they are modifying the site to comply with Trump's executive orders?

As well as `gender ideology' I think they've had to change other pages on, for example, vaccination. Other sites such as those of the Census Bureau and the Agency for International Development have been affected...

`CDC data site briefly went dark as agency complies with Trump ‘gender ideology’ order' FedScoop

`Health agencies purge Trump-targeted programs and websites: NIH spares grants so far, but ‘data apocalypse’ erupts at CDC' Science Journal

Climate information is disappearing too...
`Watchdog Groups Anticipate ‘an All-Out War on Science and Scientists’ by the Trump Administration: Some federal websites, including the White House’s, have already deleted climate information, including reports on resilience and adaptation vital to U.S. communities.' Inside Climate News

[Stanley]

Thanks for that Peter. The situation is worse than I thought. What puzzles me is that simple logic and a bit of quiet thinking demonstrates that these Trump 'initiatives' are damaging but normally rational people implement them anyway.
Is someone somewhere questioning these things?
See THIS BBC live report on Trump and his tariffs. This is pure bullying and I hope someone realises that the only reason he is being nice to Starmer is because he has his eye on the prize of the NHS!

[Big Kev]

Big test for the software update on the car tomorrow, I'm going to the office

[Stanley]

I shall be thinking about you Kev. Best of luck, it shouldn't be like this, I can remember a day when you got in a vehicle, pressed button 'B' and set off to drive 500 miles without any fear of what a computer programme was going to do. It would appear I am totally out of date.

[PanBiker]

A note through the door from Northern Powergrid to tell us they will be closing the back street on the 10th to dig it up! Work can last up to 4 days. They are chasing an underground fault.

I thought all the blue markings laid down in the street may have been for water as one branch goes directly to next doors stop cock in the pavement.

Electrical fault so it may explain why the street lamp in the vicinity hasn't worked for 6 months!

[Big Kev]

I shall be thinking about you Kev. Best of luck, it shouldn't be like this, I can remember a day when you got in a vehicle, pressed button 'B' and set off to drive 500 miles without any fear of what a computer programme was going to do. It would appear I am totally out of date.

I got to the office OK, despite the traffic caused by the serious crash on the M6 this morning. Confidence is growing