Seen in the News

[Stanley]

"Their whole behaviour is self promotion and antithetical."
Spot on Ken....
Electric cars.... We have to be 'world leading' in this as well so manipulate the stats on sales.... Simples!
Banning meat in Barrowford. The head has obviously swallowed the Vegan anti meat line which says cows farting cause climate change but not taken the trouble to check facts and learn the truth which is that the UK meat production is better for the climate than most other countries because we haven't adopted 'fee lot' farming like for instance, North America. I would react exactly like David.
Too many people see propaganda and suddenly become experts on stock-rearing, animal transport, slaughter and climate change. The head involved is evidently one of them.

[PanBiker]

There was an interesting but quit disturbing documentary on last night, part of the Yorkshire county type stuff. Last nights followed a previously very successful pig farm. Dad wants to retire and has passed it on to his three daughters. The dilemma they were facing was the lack of butchers in the abattoirs since Brexit. This has the knock on effect to them that they can often only send 50% of their beast for processing. The rest although completely healthy face culling and burying as landfill. The farm employs 12 stock men as well as the three daughters and they were running at a £7,500 loss per week trying to avoid killing healthy animals. That apart, the livelihood of the farm lads hangs in the balance if they have to pull the plug. The veterinary sector are up in arms and have complained as well as the farmers. Government response is that they have a plan but nothing happens to alleviate the problem.

Same old story, the majority of the butchers from the went home after Brexit and the government have not issued visas in any quantity to allow workers back in that are skilled and willing to do the work. While this is happening all over the country the government are chasing offshore deals to import meat. Total madness.

[Stanley]

And the Firm Eville and Jones who were given the contract of supplying the vets at the slaughter houses are bloody useless. Another bar has been asking the same language skills from slaughterers as is required from Medical doctors being recruited for the NHS.

[Stanley]

Watching the monarchy gets quite interesting at present. We have the sight of Andrew slowly sinking into privileged obscurity, Harry and Meghan shouting me me! and doing anything they can to get attention, the new book from Harry will not be welcome.
Now we have the prospect of Chuck being interviewed under caution by the police because it's fairly certain now that his valet Fawcett was selling honours to raise money for the Prince's charity. (The Met's decision to investigate follows its assessment of a letter it received last September relating to media reports that Prince Charles' former valet Michael Fawcett allegedly offered to help secure an honour for a Saudi citizen. Anti-monarchy pressure group Republic reported the heir to the throne and Mr Fawcett to the police last September.)
They aren't very good at picking friends are they.....
(I wonder if Brenda is picking up the tab for Andrews legal costs and what he's paying out to the charity. If so it will have to be out of her private funds and a sum of £12million has been mentioned....)
I'm glad I'm not part of that family......

[Tripps]

A caller to LBC alleged that HM Queen owned all the sea bed, and was coining a fortune, selling rights to erect windmills there. The presenter didn't believe him, but got it checked out. Seems its true. Sea bed

I guess that adding a couple of million to the amount which Andrew got from the sale of his wedding gift house from a Khazak despot (via his Swiss Chalet) won't cause Her Maj the slightest difficulty.

Meanwhile the King (in waiting) had no idea that his valet was selling honours and citizenship for cash donations to his 'charity'.

I think it's time the people threw away their dummy.
Problem is we might end up with President Blair /Johnson/ Archer

[Stanley]

I agree David. I hold no brief for the Monarchy or the system of privilege they underpin but will admit that Brenda has done a good job and kept her nose clean. The thought of the Buffoon being el supremo is terrible.....

[Tizer]

I'm surprised that this problem described in the article hasn't already been raised for other cars with adaptive cruise control. Our last Golf gave us a few frights by sudden braking for no obvious reason. Also, on motorways when the car in front slowed down as it moved left onto the slip road sometimes our car would suddenly slow down too. It was as if the our car was still `seeing' the car on the slip as still in our lane. Very disconcerting!

`Tesla investigated over 'phantom braking' problem' LINK
`The US government is investigating reports of Tesla cars braking unexpectedly on motorways. The so-called "phantom braking" problem is being looked at by US regulator the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It received 354 complaints in the past nine months and its investigation will cover approximately 416,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from 2021-22. Drivers say the issue occurs using the Autopilot driver assistance system.

[Stanley]

Susan has been using Jess's VW car while they are staying at Earby. She mentioned to Jess that there was something wrong with the steering as the car sometimes veered instead of going straight as normal. Jess enquired of the dealer and it turned out the car took control of the steering if it thought the track was wrong. A sort of soft version of self control. I'm afraid it wouldn't do for me.....

[Stanley]

The R4 profile this morning is of Ben Wallace the Defence minister. It was mentioned he was educated at Millfield School (LINK). the most expensive school in the UK. Never heard of it before. It's very low profile and a different world.....

[Tizer]

Jess enquired of the dealer and it turned out the car took control of the steering if it thought the track was wrong. A sort of soft version of self control. I'm afraid it wouldn't do for me.....

That's pretty much normal now on cars built in recent years. In some cases you can switch it off, not in others. Sometimes called Lane Assist. One small step towards autonomous cars.

...It was mentioned he was educated at Millfield School (LINK). the most expensive school in the UK. Never heard of it before. It's very low profile and a different world.....

It's not so low profile here in Somerset. Very well-known and respected. One of our neighbours in the Levels village was a teacher there. My teenage relative enjoys an opportunity for her Taunton school to trounce them at hockey!
Unfortunately a number of schools are identified in The Times yesterday for taking money from oligarchs and criminals...
`Dirty cash pays fees at top private schools' LINK
`Oligarchs convicted of embezzling hundreds of millions of pounds are sending their children to Britain’s private schools, an investigation by The Times has found. Parents convicted or under investigation for financial crimes, from Russia as well as other countries including Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, have enrolled their children at Harrow School, Brighton College, Queen’s College, London and Wycombe Abbey in Buckinghamshire. The revelations have prompted concern from Transparency International, an anti-corruption organisation which shared data with The Times. It said schools were not just providing education but “conveying legitimacy”....

[Stanley]

Private schools and buying legitimacy. Unfortunately that's exactly what it is in some quarters. The same u7sed to be true of the old Grammar Schools but most of them are now almost private schools and selling the same elitist image.
One of the things that stands out in the LTP is the way bright kids in the board school system were excluded from the grammar schools by petty censorship by staff and even if successful, the cost of uniforms and travel. Today those same barriers exist in the form of high fees.

[Stanley]

Nothing but bad news..... Putin recognises breakaway regions in Ukraine and sends tanks in. Stock markets in Asia are falling. Oil prices rising rapidly. Turn the wireless on, plenty more to worry about..... Deep Joy.

[Stanley]

Did anyone listen to Dame Vera Baird 0n R4 Today this morning ripping the crown prosecution service to shreds and directly attacking the Director? Well worth seeking out. We need people like her to speak truth to power....

[Stanley]

See THIS for an account in the Evening Standard of Dame Vera's attack on Max Hill. We need more of this!
Please take the time to read it. Yet another example of injustice towards women.

[Tizer]

Well done Dame Vera!

This is as bad as putting money into NFTs and cryptocurrencies...
`Christie's auction: Kennel hit by meteorite goes on sale' LINK

[Stanley]

My reaction is 'more money than sense'. Would any sane person buy that dog kennel?
Later.... more serious matters which you will all be aware of. Full scale invasion of Ukraine. Total madness!

[plaques]

Without embarking on a full scale invasion Putin has set up to two separate states within Ukraine. This would mean making Ukraine part of NATO a lot more difficult if not impossible. More twists and turns are yet to come.

[Tizer]

Our Defence Secretary Ben Wallace needs his mouth taping shut...
`Putin has gone ‘full tonto’ over actions in Ukraine' LINK
`UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said the Russian president has made the mistake of having no allies in his actions, comparing him to Tsar Nicholas I during the Crimean War. Mr Wallace, a former Scots Guards officer in the Army, claimed Vladimir Putin had gone "full tonto" over actions ordering troops into Ukraine. Russia's Ministry of Defence has hit back at Mr Wallace's comments. According to the RIA Novosti news agency, spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said: "We recommend that British servicemen study well not only the geography of Russia, but also its history, in order not to enrich our common military history with their lives to please poorly educated British politicians."...

[Stanley]

His comments about the Guards kicking some Tsar's arse were a disgrace. The man is a typical example of a bad army officer, wrong but convinced he is right and that he has a god-given right to impose his inanities on everyone else. God help us.
I heard a different calibre of officer from the General Staff commenting that we would have difficulty finding 1,000 troops to send anywhere after all the cuts the defence budget has suffered. That sounds about right.....

[Tizer]

`Ukraine conflict: BP under pressure to sell stake in Russian firm' LINK
`Oil giant BP is under pressure from the UK government to offload its 20% stake in the Russian state-owned oil firm Rosneft, the BBC has been told. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng spoke to BP boss Bernard Looney on Friday following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He "left Mr Looney in no doubt about the seriousness of government concerns about BP's overexposure to Russian interests", an official said. BP has said it is "closely watching the concerning developments" in Ukraine. Mr Looney and former BP chief executive Bob Dudley have a seat on Rosneft's board alongside its chairman Igor Sechin, who is a close friend and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin....BP's final year results, published two weeks ago, revealed Rosneft accounted for $2.7bn (£2bn) of its profits, about a fifth of its total.'...

And note Looney's comment that Russia was "a large member of the energy system. We avoid the politics, that serves us well in many countries around the world". So much for `corporate governance'!

[plaques]

And note Looney's comment that Russia was "a large member of the energy system. We avoid the politics, that serves us well in many countries around the world". So much for `corporate governance'!

That's a joke. how can international businesses run without taking the politics of a country into account? As we are seeing Russia has big lobbying groups in the UK. BP has seats on the board. Pull the other one.

[Stanley]

The problem is getting involved in the first place and finding ourselves in a position where we can't sell our share because nobody will buy it. The obvious buyer would be Rosneft who would offer pennies and laugh at us.

[Tizer]

I see that the Ukrainian army is now using the `Main Battle Tank and Light Anti-tank Weapon (MBT LAW), also known as the NLAW. A joint British and Swedish short-range fire-and-forget anti-tank missile system. Designed for use by infantry, the MBT LAW is shoulder fired and disposable, firing once before being disposed of. A disposable missile system - whatever next? It has already demolished one of the Russian tanks in an ambush on the edge of Kyiv. Wikipedia

[Tripps]

This is typical populist web sort of stuff - but it makes a point. They don't show Kaliningrad - but it wouldn't make much difference.

Encircled.jpg

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC comment on the surprise emergence of a credible war leader in the shape of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who had no experience of politics when elected less than three years ago. "While Russian President Vladimir Putin has appeared increasingly erratic - accusing Ukraine of "genocide" in the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk republics, and talking of the need to "de-Nazify" the country - President Zelensky, from a Russian-speaking Jewish family, has remained dignified, resolute and articulate."
A very good example of the saying, 'Cometh the hour, cometh the man'.