Seen in the News

[Tizer]

I heard a commentator who seemed to have some authority on the subject say that Netanyahu was finished as a politician as soon as the action against HAMAS comes to an end. He had no doubt about this. We shall see...... I Hope he is right.

That's widely accepted now. The people hate him, the military mostly hate him. But he knows his time is up and therefore he's become more dangerous and will do extreme things.

[Tripps]

I note today that Britain has actively, and publicly, entered the Gaza war on the side of Israel.

Search for hostages That's not how it is being spun - but it's the truth. They are filling a gap in the Israeli war capability.

Sold as "searching for hostages" but these aircraft are capable of a lot more than that.

I wonder how that will go down with the East lancashire Councillors who resigned from Labour when Starmer did not demand an immediate cease fire. This action is far more important, and I guess has only been revealed because they could no longer hide it.

Speaking of Councillors - each Council meeting is started with 'declarations of interest'. Is it time our Defence Secretary did the same and resiled from the issue?

[PanBiker]

No one has really mentioned the number of hostages that are being held by other combatant regimes. According to Israel it is all down to the big bad bogey man Hamas, but that is far from the truth. Multiple factions were involved in the original raid who all have some kind of axe to grind with the State of Israel.

[Tripps]

According to Israel it is all down to the big bad bogey man Hamas,

Watch what Andrew Neal said about Hamas on Question time. Hamas

[PanBiker]

Don't need to I watched it live. Point is, all the hostages are not held by Hamas so eliminating that regime will not fully solve the problem. But it probably will make it easier to claim Gaza as part of the Israeli State which I personally think is part of the master plan.

[Stanley]

It seems pretty clear to me that the 'master plan' is the elimination of all Palestinians in Palestine. That solves the mythical 'two state solution'. I'd like to be proved wrong but everything points that way......

[PanBiker]

It seems pretty clear to me that the 'master plan' is the elimination of all Palestinians in Palestine.

AKA ethnic cleansing, where have we heard and seen that before. Oh, it was regime in the 1930's and 40's who tried to exterminate the Jews.

Not a lot of difference to what is happening to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank in my view.

[Tripps]

The Elgin or Parthenon Marbles are in the news. I went to see them at the British Museum a long time ago and wasn't too impressed. A bit vague now, but there seemed to be lots of broken bits and pieces. I was well impressed by the Rosetta stone though.

King Charles III has shown what he thinks by wearing a tie with the Greek flag as the sole decorative motif. Not too subtle for one who should be above such matters. His parents I read, deliberately avoided Greece (last visit 1948), no doubt to avoid controversy with Phil being a bubble and all.

Got me thinking - under what circumstances would he wear a tie which had a similar pattern, but the Union Flag instead of the Greek flag. I can't imagine him ever doing so. People would think he'd gone 'far right'. Can't have that now.

[Stanley]

You have a good point Ian.
That applies to Chuck's tie as well David. You're quite right. The national flag has never been clear of far right associations since the National Front started misusing it.
I see we have one piece of good news this morning. See THIS BBC report on the rebellion in the Commons last night.
The UK government has narrowly lost a vote on a plan to set up a compensation scheme for the victims of the NHS infected blood scandal. MPs - including 22 Conservatives - voted to back an amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill. It requires ministers to establish a "body to administer the compensation scheme" within three months of the bill becoming law. MPs cheered when the proposal by Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson was approved. The Haemophilia Society said thousands had waited far too long for justice and Rishi Sunak "should be ashamed" it had taken cross-party pressure and public opinion to force him "to do the right thing". It is the first defeat in the House of Commons on a whipped vote since the last general election in 2019. The legislation - passed by 246 votes to 242 - has cleared the House of Commons, but it also needs to be approved by the House of Lords before becoming law.
Just one of the stains on our national reputation looks like being removed. I am pretty certain the Lords will endorse the amendment.

[Tizer]

A brief item from BBC's live feed on Gaza this morning (in particular, note the last sentence):
From Yolande Knell, BBC Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem
`Could Israel flood Hamas's tunnels with seawater?'
Israel has set up large pumps on the coast that could be used to flood tunnels used by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza and drive out fighters, according to a Wall Street Journal article. I have asked the Israeli military for comment. It says it is checking the report. The BBC has not been able to verify it independently. However, back in 2015, we saw how Egypt used seawater from the nearby Mediterranean to flood a network of hundreds of tunnels along its border with Gaza and end a flourishing smuggling trade.
Citing US officials, the Wall Street Journal says that the Israeli army completed the instalment of five pumps to the north of Gaza City in the middle of last month. It says that they could flood the vast network of tunnels spanning the Palestinian territory within weeks. A complicating factor would be the Israeli hostages that Hamas says it has hidden in “safe places and tunnels”.
Attempts to pump salt water into large areas across Gaza could also damage its underground aquifer polluting its main water reserve.

[Stanley]

"Attempts to pump salt water into large areas across Gaza could also damage its underground aquifer polluting its main water reserve."
That thought did strike me when I heard the first reports. Apart from the possibility of drowning Israeli hostages.
But in another interview on R4 I heard an Israeli politician (Sorry, didn't catch his name or position) saying that Netanyahu is out of control and capable of anything. He was calling for his immediate removal and a cessation of the attacks on the Gaza Strip. He forecast that military action would cease inside a week because many in government felt like him.
I hope he is right and will watch and wait.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report suggesting that the use of cash has risen because some people use it as a budgeting tool.
Cash use has grown for the first time in 10 years as shoppers keep a close eye on their budgets while prices rise, retailers have said. The British Retail Consortium said 19% of purchases were made with notes and coins last year, echoing a report by banks showing a slight rebound. The figures come as the financial regulator is set to consult on a plan to help people access cash. Ministers say banks will be fined if money cannot be withdrawn or deposited. Under government rules, free withdrawals and deposits will need to be available within one mile for people living in urban areas. In rural areas, where there are concerns over "cash deserts", the maximum distance is three miles.
I can see the logic in this, if all you have in your pocket is your available cash, you can't overspend as you could with a card.....

[PanBiker]

Having an excess of cash in coinage in Barlick is a disadvantage. I have the job of processing the contents of our charity collection tins which generate a lot of mixed coinage. Problem is no banks and the Post Office will not take multiple bags of change regardless of denomination. I have a paying in card which can be used at the bank or Post Office, our bank which is Barclays, nearest branch now is Skipton which I think is scheduled to close.

Our promised banking hub is apparently on the way sometime in the new year but this will have different bank representatives each day for information. Counter and cash transactions I believe will be handled by the Post Office so probably no mileage there.

There is another aspect that can only be resolved by a proper bank and that is old coinage and notes. Post Office will not accept old £1.00 coins or old paper notes. I had nearly £80.00 worth of those recently all found in collection tubs and very welcome. Current resolution for processing the cash goes like this:

Remove notes, empty cash into our coin counter which counts, segregates and gives a running total. This is just to get an idea of the total. Chuck all the coinage into a shopping bag and then transport it to Asda to wash through the Coinstar machine, most supermarkets have one. They allow you to dump your change, it counts it and it spits out a credit note, (minus a fee) that you can exchange for notes and the odds. £50.00 of loose mixed change normally returns about £48.00. Bring that home add to the sundry rejected old coinage and notes, old and current and then take it to the bank in Skipton to pay in.

Good job I don't have to go to work and I have a bus pass!

End of the day the charity takes a couple of quid hit, shouldn't have to but that is the nature of cash handling today.

[Stanley]

Avery timely description of the problems lack of a proper bank or a 'night safe' causes for some people. Much of what you described there Ian was news to me, I knew about the problems with retail takings and why cheques are bad news these days but hadn't realised it was as bad as you illustrate. The banks know about this but obviously don't care......
See THIS BBC report on the inquest verdict on Ruth Perry. i]An Ofsted inspection "contributed" to the death of head teacher Ruth Perry, an inquest has ruled. The inspection "lacked fairness, respect and sensitivity" and was at times "rude and intimidating", senior coroner Heidi Connor said. Mrs Perry, 53, took her own life in January while waiting for an Ofsted report to be published. Her sister Julia Waters said "urgent lessons must be learnt from Ruth's death". Ms Connor expressed concern about the system's impact on school leaders. The coroner's verdict was recorded as "suicide: contributed to by an Ofsted inspection carried out in November 2022." In her concluding remarks, Ms Connor said: "The evidence is clear in this respect, and I find that Ruth's mental health deterioration and death was likely contributed to by the Ofsted inspection." This is the first time Ofsted has been listed as a contributing factor in the death of a head teacher. "Today, the coroner's conclusions validate what our family has known for a long time - that Ruth took her own life as the direct result of the process, outcome and consequences of an Ofsted inspection of the school she led and loved, Caversham Primary School," Prof Waters said.[/i]
Thanks to a brave coroner who has the courage to tell the truth as she sees it. Will we now see sanctions on the named leader of the inspection or OFSTED itself? Sunak says his government 'does things'. Go to it then!

[Stanley]

See THIS and reflect on what a heartless system this is. This woman should never have been rejected but it would seem that nobody who dealt with this case saw this. This is evidence that Theresa May's hostile environment is still alive and well in the corridors of Whitehall!

[Tizer]

The FT reports that Xmas supply chains are at risk due to drought in Panama affecting the Canal and shipping attacks near Suez.

The Daily Mail reports that cancer screening results and Xmas cards are being delayed because Royal Mail depot managers at sorting offices are giving priority to more lucrative `premium products' such as Amazon deliveries. So, for example, vapes are being delivered faster than cancer scan results.

The Tory Party won't need a plan to stop immigration - soon nobody will want to come here!

[Stanley]

I heard both of those reports Peter and noted that "some firms are having difficulty in obtaining Xmas decorations"
Meanwhile, see THIS report on other shortages.
A senior UN aid official has warned that half of Gaza's population is starving, as fighting there continues. Carl Skau, deputy director of the UN World Food Programme, said only a fraction of supplies needed have been able to enter the Strip - and nine out of 10 people cannot eat everyday. Conditions in Gaza have made deliveries "almost impossible", Mr Skau said. Israel says it must continue air strikes on Gaza to eliminate Hamas and bring Israeli hostages home. Israel Defence Forces spokesman Lt Col Richard Hecht told the BBC on Saturday that "any death and pain to a civilian is painful, but we don't have an alternative". "We are doing everything we can to get as much as possible inside the Gaza Strip," he said. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the IDF, was filmed telling soldiers the army has to "press harder" because "we're seeing terrorists surrendering... a sign their network is collapsing". Meanwhile, the Biden administration has used an emergency law to bypass Congress and authorise the sale of some 14,000 rounds of tank ammunition worth more than $106m (£85m) to Israel.
I don't think any comment is needed on the above. It is obscene. I just broke off from writing this response to brew my morning coffee. This entailed the use of running water and electricity. These are unobtainable luxuries in Gaza..... It has to end, sooner rather than later.

[Stanley]

See THIS latest report from Gaza. The situation gets worse and deaths must be increasing. Apart form anything else one quote I heard yesterday on R4 said that there was only one toilet for 750 people and the growing fear was of infections due to the lack of water and sanitation, let alone starvation.
How long can this be allowed to go on.....?

[Stanley]

SeeTHIS BBC report on what Joe Biden said yesterday about the Israeli war on Hamas.
US President Joe Biden has said Israel is starting to lose global support over its "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza. His comments, made to donors at a fundraising event on Tuesday, marked his strongest criticism yet of Israel's leadership. Mr Biden has offered unwavering public support to the country since Hamas launched its attacks on 7 October. And while he reiterated that Israel could count on US backing, he issued a direct warning to its government. "Israel's security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world," he told donors to his 2024 re-election campaign in Washington. "But they're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place," he said.
My reading of what is happening is that Netanyahu knows that the time is fast approaching when world opinion will force him to stop actions against HAMAS because of the number of civilian deaths. He is crashing on in order to kill as many Palestinians as possible before that happens....
What can we expect then? I think we will see a campaign to move the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip into the West Bank on the grounds that Gaza cannot support a civilian population. Israel will take on the noble task of repairing the war damage and when that is complete will it be handed back to the Palestinians? I think we can all guess at the answer to that.
(Of course, this could be nothing more than the ramblings of an old man...... )
(PS. Have you noticed that the BBC have stopped referring to the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip as Palestinians but now refer to them as 'Gazans'. I wonder why......?)

[Tizer]

Not all Palestinians live in Gaza, the others live in the West Bank area.

[PanBiker]

Not all Palestinians live in Gaza, the others live in the West Bank area.

Indeed they do and are harassed daily by the IDF who take it on themselves to police the area. They lock hundreds of kids up in prison for throwing stones.

[Stanley]

I knew that Peter. What I am flagging up is what looks like a an attempt to write the Palestinians out of the story in Gaza. The report where I heard the use of the word was about the 18,000 dead in Gaza, most of whom were Palestinians.

[Stanley]

See THIS report of the finding of the lad who has been missing in France.
A British teenager, missing in France for six years messaged his grandmother: "I love you, I want to come home" after he was picked up by a driver. Alex Batty vanished during a holiday to Spain with his mother and grandfather. The pair, who do not have parental guardianship of the 17-year-old, have not been located and remain wanted in connection with his 2017 disappearance. Currently, Alex is at a young person's centre in Toulouse and could be back in the UK within hours.
No doubt we will get some sort of explanation eventually but it looks as though whatever happened to the lad was a form of kidnapping. I'm glad there is a chance things may improve for him.
Later.... I have heard a report that Hungary has vetoed the sending of EU funds to Ukraine. This, together with the problems in the US is a serious matter. Surely it can't be allowed to stand?

[Stanley]

THIS caught my attention. Not because Harry has won but because at last we have a legal ruling that Piers Morgan knew that hacking was taking place and condoned it. He has always denied this and there is little doubt that Harry wants him and others to be prosecuted.
I can agree with this, I'm not concerned about Harry's finances but I am all in favour of wrong-doing being prosecuted!

[Tizer]

I wonder if these two stories are related?...
`HotSat-1: UK climate satellite suffers failure in orbit' LINK 1

`Watch: Sun emits strongest solar flare in years' LINK 2