Seen in the News

[Stanley]

I'm watching THIS BBC news feed on the earthquakes. The death toll is up at 20,000 now and counting.
"The World Health Organization (WHO) says humanitarian organisations now have the challenge of ensuring those who survived the earthquakes continue to survive. WHO's incident response manager says there are thousands of people now surviving "out in the open, in worsening and horrific conditions", with disrupted access to water, fuel, electricity and communications, amid sub-zero temperatures "
The fear is that this exposure could lead to more deaths than the quakes themselves......

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report.
Hardly unexpected but Labour's Ashley Dalton has won the West Lancashire by-election. The vote was triggered when Labour veteran Rosie Cooper, who represented the seat for 17 years, resigned in November. Labour was widely expected to comfortably retain the seat, having eased to victory by 8,336 votes in the 2019 general election. The result, announced in the early hours of Friday, was Labour's third by-election victory in recent months.

More than 20,000 people are now known to have been killed in Monday's earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, though the UN warns the disaster's full extent is still unclear.

[Tizer]

`String of cars stripped of parts in Birmingham city centre' LINK
But what are the thieves stealing? Seeing the bonnets pulled up or off my first thought was items from the engine compartment but then I realised perhaps they remove the fancy modern lighting systems and also the front cameras and sensors.

[PanBiker]

Forgive me for stating the obvious but I find the search pattern deployed by the police and other organisations for Nicola Bulley to be a bit puzzling to say the least. I was taught that water always flows downstream if left to its own devices. In that case, if nearly a fortnight ago the police came to the consensus that she fell into the river why didn't they start the search downstream and work backwards rather than concentrating on the likely entry point and even spending time searching upstream? After extensive sonar sweeps etc the search has now switched to the estuary and into the sea, but its two weeks later!

Coastline search

Surely if you suspected someone had gone into the river, the first thing to do would be to measure the flow, multiply by the likely time factor and start the search the other side of the result. If I can think of that why can't the "experts"?

[plaques]

and even spending time searching upstream?

There is always the possibility that she may have dropped/lost something and walked back upstream to find it.

Ask any local angler and they will tell you the flow rates under different weather conditions and also where the eddies are that slow the flow down. Mind you these people are not experts so there's no point in asking them.

[Stanley]

Then again, perhaps there is a reason why she is being so elusive. We may all get a surprise eventually.

[Tizer]

I'm glad this issue is being raised at last. Accountants have been tearing their hair out due to the terrible performance at HMRC. And so have individuals who now find it almost impossible to contact HMRC...
`Diabolical HMRC service hurts economy - accountants' LINK
`Understaffing at HM Revenue & Customs is causing unacceptable delays and hindering economic activity, according to a leading accountants' group. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) said securing basic tax details takes months and is causing delays for companies. One accountant called the service "diabolical" and the institute wants an emergency taskforce drafted in.'...

[plaques]

Britain pays £2.3bn fine to EU over cheap Chinese imports Fine.
An EU fraud investigation found that over a six-year period HM Revenue & Customs failed to check impossibly low valuations put on Chinese consignments arriving into Britain. In one case it found that the average value declared at the UK border for women’s cotton trousers was €0.91 per kg, compared with an EU average of €26.09.

The sad thing is that the EU warned the HMRC that this was happening and we did nothing only arguing about it and pushing the legal costs up. Our inactivity of allowing some importers/exporters to engage in smuggling activities which are then paid for by the tax payer may be a cunning plan and possibly a Brexit benefit. The country is being run by rogues by rogues.

[Stanley]

Peter, couldn't agree with you more! I have had two serious encounters with HMRC over the last few years, first over Janet's will and than brother Leslie's, both settlements dreadfully held up for many months simply because HMRC were not doing what they should have done due to lack of staff.
This all started when staff numbers were reduced as a benefit of computerisation. This was going to take care of all the mundane jobs that clerks used to do. Problem was it didn't, the human hand was needed to take decisions.
This tardiness extends extends to checking tax accounts that are 'difficult'. Those belonging to foreigners or ex-pats. We keep seeing eye-watering estimates of how much revenue is being lost through inefficiency.

I saw that report Ken but didn't really understand it. From what I can see you could very well be right. God knows I read the reports in Private Eye each fortnight and they are in no doubt as to the scale of wrong-doing and lost revenue in the murkier corners of the finance industries.

[Stanley]

Breaking news at the moment is that another UFO has been shot down over Canada. See THIS BBC account of the incident.
Not mentioned in this report is the fact that another object is being identified over Montana.

[Tizer]

We keep seeing eye-watering estimates of how much revenue is being lost through inefficiency.

And it's widespread, not just HMRC. It's the same with inefficiency in public and private organisations.

[Stanley]

Can I be allowed to point out the awful example of Defence Procurement?
Have a read of THIS account of the changes in procurement methods due to start in 2023.

[Tizer]

There's much more known about the `UFO balloons' than the general press makes out...
`Taiwan reveals Chinese military balloons fly ‘very frequently’ into its airspace' FT
`Taiwan has observed dozens of Chinese military balloon flights in its airspace in recent years, far more than previously known, adding to concerns that Beijing could be preparing for an attack on the country. “They come very frequently, the last one just a few weeks ago,” said a senior Taiwanese official. Another person briefed on the matter said such incursions were happening on average once a month. Previously, Taiwan’s defence ministry had only confirmed one incident in February last year, in which multiple Chinese balloons in four batches loitered over the north of the country. Other countries in the region, including Japan and the Philippines, have observed balloon incursions into their airspace, but their governments have given little detail. The revelations of the frequent flights over Taiwan provide new insight into China’s extensive military balloon programme, which has drawn global attention after the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon earlier this month off the coast of South Carolina.'...

`“Some of the balloons are fielded by the [Chinese] PLA Air Force and some by the Rocket Force,” said one Taiwanese official, adding that military aircraft were regularly sent up to observe the balloons. According to people briefed on the matter in Taiwan and one US ally, the balloons have been collecting atmospheric data for use in radar and missile systems.'

[Stanley]

The thing that puzzles me is the fact that there is doubt about the last two objects as they aren't balloons and even the US Air Force hasn't ruled out that their origin might be extra terrestrial.

[Stanley]

Breaking news of a shooting at Michigan State University. LINK
Reuters report "At least three people were killed and five injured after a gunman opened fire at Michigan State University on Monday night, as law enforcement swarmed the main campus in East Lansing searching for a lone suspect, police said. Few official details about the gun violence were immediately available, but Chris Rozman, interim deputy chief of the university police, said shots were fired in two locations - at an academic building called Berkey Hall and the Michigan State University Union building."
Latest news is that the gunman has been found dead with a self inflicted wound.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report of an enquiry into how many local councils are going to take up the opportunity to raise Council tax levels 5%. Before we look at that let's remind ourselves that the increase is necessary because central government places more responsibilities on local government but reduces central government subsidy. In other words, a stealth tax.
Millions of households are facing an increase in their council tax from April, as local authorities try to balance their books. The County Councils Network (CCN) found three-quarters of English councils with social care duties that have published budget details are planning a 5% hike. This is the maximum allowed without a local vote, and would add £100 a year to bills for average Band D properties. The government said councils should consider money pressure on residents. It said the amount local authorities will be able to spend next year was set to rise by £5.1bn, representing an average 9% rise for local authorities. Work and Pension Secretary Mel Stride said the rise would be a "below inflation increase". Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rose by 10.5% in the 12 months to December. The government had put "about £60bn worth of funding for the current year into local authorities," Mr Stride added. He said: "It is for local authorities who are elected by local electors to take those decisions to try and get that balance between the pressure they're putting on local tax payers but also making sure they're able to continue to provide those services."
It's impossible at the moment to find any good news for those in the lower 50 percentile of UK incomes. The news is all bad. (Despite figures like £60Billion!)

[plaques]

Council tax is one of those regressive taxes that hit the poor the hardest. Taking a very simple extreme example on how this comes about and consider a council of 100,000 population. All living in band 'A' property and the council requiring £400 per house to cover their expenses. Then compare with a council of similar size but all band 'H' they would still require £400 per property. Its relatively cheaper to live in a posh area than a poor one.

[Tizer]

A clip from The Times front page today on river pollution due to farm run-off. The water in our local streams go from crystal clear to reddish mud colour after heavy rain due to the farms upstream. There's no detectable animal life in them and very little plant life.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is news is not welcome...
The Economist front page today has the headline `Xi Jinping vows to boost Iran trade and help revive nuclear deal: China’s leader reaffirms Beijing’s relationship with Tehran during visit by Ebrahim Raisi'
`China’s president Xi Jinping has vowed to step up trade and investment co-operation with Iran and “constructively participate” in efforts to revive its nuclear deal with world powers, as he sought to reassure Tehran about the nations’ bilateral relationship. During a visit on Tuesday to Beijing by President Ebrahim Raisi — the first such trip by an Iranian leader in more than 20 years — Xi said: “No matter how the international and regional situation changes, China will unswervingly develop friendly co-operation with Iran and promote the development of [the] China-Iran comprehensive strategic partnership.” ....

[Stanley]

I heard the report of China and Iran cosying up together. In a way you can't blame Iran, they have had a lousy deal from the West ever since the oil companies decided to pillage the country... (For that's what they did. Read 'The Seven Sisters' by Anthony Sampson and realise that the whole of Middle East politics has been corrupted by the activities of the oil companies.) What incentive is there for them to reject China and embrace the Western Powers?
I'm not advocating one course or the other. Just regretting that, as a region, the West has such a lousy track record of interference and exploitation in the Middle East.

[Stanley]

I've been reading the justified howls of outrage about Centrica profits just as they were caught breaking the law and forcing their way into poor people's houses to fit prepayment meters (Which in effect is making them self cut-off) and also noting the apologists pointing out that Centrica's profits don't come from domestic gas sales, they amount to only £10 per customer.
Quite right and deliberately so. We have short memories and many years ago when British Gas was restructured it was done in such a way that the domestic gas supply branch couldn't make money and therefore didn't pay tax. Nevertheless Centrica owns them and they are making a killing on the high energy prices. Some far sighted commentators remarked on this at the time but it didn't seem important.
Don't let them off the hook because some clever tax strategy makes them look as though their domestic gas supply business is not extortionate.
The controversy over the police revelations about the Lancashire lady who has disappeared shows no signs of abating. The Home Secretary Suella Braverman has stepped in with a letter to the Lancashire Constabulary asking for an explanation for the release of such personal information.
Not often I approve of anything this lady does but in this case she is right to hold the police to account.
(As someone commented this morning, if the subject had been a man it's inconceivable the same information would have been divulged.)

[Stanley]

See THIS Report in the Independent about a statement saying "The future of British policing will be under threat if the government continues to ignore calls for a “fair” pay increase. Submissions to the official advisory board on police pay say that the benefits of Boris Johnson’s pledge to recruit 20,000 extra officers will be lost if members of the force, who are legally barred from striking, continue to resign at rocketing rates. Documents seen by The Independent state that police officers’ pay has fallen by almost 17 per cent since 2010, with starting salaries plummeting from more than £33,000 to between £23,500 and £26,700 when adjusted for inflation.
The clear lesson from this, allied to the other public sector pay claims in the pipeline, is that the Tory policy of Austerity entered into under Cameron and Osborne and still being pursued by Hunt and Sunak , is doomed to inevitable failure. In the process of reaching this point of failure long term damage will be caused to society and in the case of the health strikes, even excess deaths.
When will the Tories recognise that a fair days pay for a fair day's work is not workers on the rampage or 'union Barons' running the country but the way the world works!

[Tizer]

The Guardian today reports that the carrier HMS QE isn't carrying jets. Pilots are training by flying jets from a land base to the carrier and back again to land. Apparently the MoD didn't order enough military jets!

A nib on The Times front page says: Staff on the new BBC News channel, that will replace the domestic service and BBC World News in April, say it will be short-lived and will "crash and burn like Liz Truss".
I'd not heard or seen anything about a new BBC News channel.

[Tripps]

Liz Truss - former PM, is saying just now in the House that we should send 'fighter jets' to Ukraine.

At least the spare Popes have the decency to keep quiet when they go. We seem to have three PM's at the moment.

[Stanley]

Re. the carrier Peter. That's right, they cancelled a lot they had ordered. They haven't got enough for one carrier never mind two! But come to think, that's not a problem for HMS POW is in a back street garage somewhere and nobody is talking about it. Looks like yet another major funding scandal.
As for the merger of BBC news with World Service News. Plenty in Private Eye about it and this is what I have been reporting on every time I pointed out that they were sacking journalists.
To give you an idea, all in post journos and presenters have to reapply for their jobs and do a screen test to prove they can present a TV programme, something many of them have been doing for years. PE reports that at least three have refused to go before the board. In addition, the man in charge of the process, Saeed Ahmed, after just 3 months working at the Beeb has handed in his notice. Further, staff at the news service have been told that the BBC is going to become the 'biggest and best' Tik Tok account and not a rolling news operation. Lots there to be worried about.... Lord Reith must be turning in his grave.

[PanBiker]

More locally according to posts on social media, Whitworth's Pharmacy was closed as all the staff walked out.