Seen in the News

[PanBiker]

We are fast approaching the top of the solar maximum curve in the current 11 year solar cycle. The aurora alert apps have been working overtime for the last 18 months or so as we race up the curve with more frequent major solar activity, sunspots and coronal mass ejections. Lots of red alerts, I even managed to catch aurora in a break in the overcast sky when we were in North Wales on our holidays this year. The large communication satellites that are under ground control have built in shielding and they can be reorientated to present their best side to strong solar wind events. Hardware that is not under 24/7 control from the ground is more susceptible to radiation damage in such events. 1998, during a previous solar max period 50% of the terrestrial Canadian electricity grid was taken out by a massive CME event. We are pretty insignificant when it is time for our local star to have fun!

[Tripps]

From The Times of Israel

The IDF provides new details of yesterday’s tragic incident in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, during which three Israeli hostages who managed to escape Hamas captivity were shot dead by troops.

According to a senior officer in the Southern Command, citing an initial probe, the incident began after one soldier stationed in a building identified three suspicious figures exiting a building several dozen meters away.

All three were shirtless, with one of the figures carrying a stick with a makeshift white flag, according to the investigation. The soldier, who believed the men moving toward him was an attempt by Hamas to lure IDF soldiers into a trap, immediately opened fire and shouted “terrorists!” to the other forces.

According to the probe, that soldier killed two of the men, while the third, who was hit and wounded, fled back into the building from which he came.At that stage, the commander of the battalion, who was also in the building where the soldier shot from, went outside and called on the forces to halt their fire.

Meanwhile, sounds of someone shouting “Help” in Hebrew were heard by the troops in the area. Moments later, the third man came out of the building to which he fled, and another soldier opened fire at him, killing him.
The battalion commander then realized that the appearance of the third man was unusual, and it was revealed to be an Israeli hostage. All three bodies were collected and taken to Israel to be identified.

The soldier who immediately opened fire upon identifying the three men did so against protocols, as did the second soldier who killed the third man, according to the officer. Still, the IDF said it understands what led the soldiers to do so.

In Shejaiya, the senior officer says the IDF has not identified any Palestinian civilians in recent days.

[Stanley]

Fascinating stuff Ian and I can understand why it attracts you. I listened to an astronomer talking about the meteorite shower and loved the fact he said you don't need to look in any set direction, just look straight up!
David, I heard that report and like anybody else I suspect, I was shocked. I suppose the only way to explain it is that the IDF members are largely young , inexperienced and frightened. It's a tragedy and will only serve some useful purpose if it shocks the Israelis into changing their strategy which at the moment looks more like genocide of the Palestinians than exterminating HAMAS
Doesn't Netanyahu know that it is impossible to kill an idea? We 'won' WW2 but Naziism still survives in odd pockets around the world.....

[Stanley]

Private Eye readers have been aware for months of the evidence against Baroness Mone and now we have THIS confirmation from the Baroness herself....
Michelle Mone has admitted that she stands to benefit from tens of millions of pounds of profit from personal protective equipment (PPE) sold to the UK government during the pandemic by a company led by her husband, Doug Barrowman. In an interview with the BBC, the couple apologised for denying their role in the deal for more than three years. But a defiant Baroness Mone said: "I don't honestly see there is a case to answer. I can't see what we have done wrong." PPE Medpro was awarded government contracts worth more than £200 million to supply PPE to the NHS during the pandemic through a so-called "VIP lane", introduced to help the government choose between huge numbers of supplier offers. In November 2021, the government revealed that Baroness Mone was the "source of referral" for PPE Medpro getting a place in the VIP lane. Millions of gowns the company supplied were never used but the couple say these were supplied in accordance with the contract. PPE Medpro is being sued by the UK government for £122m plus costs for "breach of contract and unjust enrichment"
I don't understand two things.... Why she can't see that what she did was wrong and why she is referred to as the 'former' Conservative Peer. She's still a peer and presumably still supports the Conservative and Unionist Party.

[Wendyf]

She told Laura Kuenssberg that lying to the press isn't a crime.

[Stanley]

What a peculiar logic! However, she must be cleverer than us, she has squirrelled millions away. I doubt if the investigation will lead to charges, that isn't how those echelons of society work.....
I despise her and her husband, in my book what they did was wrong and they are crooks.
(How old-fashioned!)

[PanBiker]

Lords of the Universe syndrome. Your cartoon today is perfect Stanley.

[Tizer]

I used to walk past this house on my way to school and we always got our meat from the butcher's shop there. My Uncle George worked for the butcher while in his teens...
`Blackburn explosion: Man pulled from rubble after blast destroys house' LINK

[Stanley]

Destroyed the man's life as well I don't doubt. We can be as careful as possible and still fall victim to something like that Peter. Best not to dwell on it or we will go potty with worry!
Ian, she's still headline news today. See today's cartoon.
Later.....
THIS Guardian article caught my attention.
A jury in Washington state on Monday ordered Bayer’s Monsanto to pay $857m to former students and parent volunteers of a school north-east of Seattle who claimed that chemicals known as PCBs made by the company leaked from light fixtures and made them sick, according to an attorney for the plaintiffs. The jury found the company liable for selling polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) used in the Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington. The verdict included $73m in compensatory damages, and $784m in punitive damages, according to Henry Jones, an attorney at the law firm Friedman Rubin, who represents the plaintiffs.

[Tizer]

That could start a landslide of court cases!

[Stanley]

That thought struck me as well Peter..... It's a risky business making chemicals.....

[Stanley]

I saw THIS this morning and thought about bloody time!
The Premier League and other sports governing bodies "should commit to cutting the volume" of gambling adverts on pitchside hoardings in stadiums, says an influential group of MPs. In a new report, the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee said a reduction was needed "to shield children from exposure" to betting companies' logos. The parliamentary group's chair, Dame Caroline Dinenage, said that "more should be done…[over] what often seems like a bombardment of advertising branding at football and other sporting events".
Am I wrong in suspecting that gambling is one of the greatest sources of revenue for these sports?
On another matter, money.... I see that inflation has fallen to 2.9% per month but closer examination of the figures show that if you don't run a vehicle and a large part of your expenditure is on food you are not doing so well with food prices still running at almost 10% inflation per month.

[Tizer]

This BBC Verify article really brings home the imbalance of deaths and injuries between Israel and Gaza. 50,000 Palestinians versus 1200 Israelis. It implies one Israeli is worth about 40 Palestinians...
`Israel Gaza: What Gaza's death toll says about the war' LINK

[Stanley]

I think you all know what it looks like to me and these figures back me up. I don't think the number of civilian deaths in Gaza is causing any great concern to the IDF.

[Stanley]

See THIS for news form Prague about a terrible incident...
The Czech Republic has declared Saturday a national day of mourning after a gunman killed 14 people and injured 25 at a university in Prague. President Petr Pavel expressed his "great sadness" and "helpless anger at the totally unnecessary" loss of life. The gunman, who police said had been "eliminated", is believed to have also killed his father and may be linked to the deaths of two people last week.
The murderer was a 24 year old student. What a waste. And of course an indictment of a system that allowed a young man to amass a large stock of weapons and ammunition.

[Stanley]

THIS caught my eye....
For the first time since 1917, Ukraine is celebrating Christmas on 25 December. The move is more than just a change of date from 7 January - the date for Christmas in the Julian calendar, which Russia uses. It's the continuation of a significant cultural shift in the country - the latest attempt to eradicate Moscow's influence in Ukraine. The adoption of the Western, Gregorian calendar is also a sign of Kyiv's continuing bid to align itself with Europe.

[Tizer]

`Airbus Atlantic: 700 staff sick after Christmas dinner' LINK
It looks like a classic Staphylococcus aureus poisoning, often the result of keeping contaminated food warm. Ourselves and about 50 others had it after a celebration meal put on by the canteen staff of the company I was working for - embarrassingly the research arm of a large food company! They'd made rice in advance and kept it at room temperature for too long. Afterwards, the canteen staff were replaced by an outside contractor. We were sick after we got home but some others had to stop their car on the way home to be sick. Another old classic Staph aureus problem that happened frequently on warm summer days was when working men's clubs took a coach to Blackpool and kept their pies on the roof rack!

[Stanley]

That's the beauty of the meals being kept in the fridge until needed and then zapped in the microwave and consumed immediately. I reckon that's how I get away with cooking enough for a week in advance and putting the pans in the fridge while they are still hot and cooling them down as fast as possible.
See THIS for the report that grabbed me and made me so glad I don't have to go anywhere!
Millions have taken to roads and rail in what is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year as people gear up for Christmas. The AA said it was expecting widespread congestion around shopping centres, football venues and ports. It is the last chance to get trains to or from London Paddington, which is closed from Christmas Eve, while King's Cross will have a reduced service.
I hope they all got to where they were going!

[Stanley]

Have a look at THIS BBC report to find out where you went wrong in your Xmas shopping....

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report from Gaza and reflect that this is the season of peace and goodwill.
There is no let-up in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, a UN official has told the BBC, after visiting a hospital struggling to treat the injured. Gemma Connell of the UN humanitarian agency OCHA (Organisation for the Conduct of Human Affairs.) told the BBC what she had seen at the Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza on Monday was "absolute carnage". Many severely injured people could not be treated because the hospital was "absolutely overloaded", she said.
There is much more if you can bear to read it. I don't need to comment you know what I think.

[Stanley]

I've just realised that the lousy day of wind and rain we are about to get is actually Storm Gerrit! (Where do they get these names from....) See THIS BBC report.
Drivers have been warned of potentially hazardous conditions as Storm Gerrit hits the country on Wednesday. The storm is expected to be felt across the UK, with a number of yellow wind and rain warnings in place. The Met Office has chosen to name the storm as it is expected to be a busy day on the roads, with people returning home after Christmas. People should expect journeys to take longer than normal in the hazardous conditions, the AA has warned. The storm is expected to hit the UK from the west early on Wednesday, moving up through the country throughout the day.

[Stanley]

See THIS report and wonder what possessed them!
This is Partygate: Russia-style. What happened at a Moscow nightclub was bizarre. What happened next says so much about the current atmosphere in Russia. On 20 December, blogger and TV presenter Nastya Ivleeva threw an "Almost Naked Party" at Moscow's Mutabor nightclub. Dress code? More like an undress code. Scantily clad pop stars and celebrities attended the soiree. Including Russian rapper Vacio [real name Nikolai Vasiliev]. He turned up wearing only training shoes and one strategically placed sock. It was a private party. But it became very public when videos and photos appeared on social media. Overnight, Vacio's became the most famous sock in Russia. And not in a good way.
I reckon they deserve anything they get and a psychologist could have a field day analysing what was actually going on here. Always nice to see over-privileged people getting their comeuppance!

[Tizer]

I see in a different news article that Nikolai Vasiliev was found guilty of `minor hooliganism'!

[Stanley]

See THIS for a bit of a puzzle.
A man who died after a car hit a group of people in Sheffield was a Good Samaritan who came to another victim's aid, police said. Father-of-two Christian Marriott had stopped to help an unconscious woman after a row between two groups in Burngreave on Wednesday afternoon. As emergency crews responded to reports of initial injuries, a car hit people. Mr Marriott, 46, had been out walking with his six and eight-year-old sons at the time, South Yorkshire Police said. "Numerous" people were also injured in the incident in in College Close, with one of them in a serious condition and being treated in hospital, officers added. Murder investigation continues after car hits crowd A 23-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of murder. Another man, aged 55, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and both men remain in custody.
I suppose it will become clear later....

[Tripps]

I suppose it will become clear later....

Don't bank on it. It is reported that no one who was present is assisting the Police with their enquiries.

PS Here's some more - Trigger warning for the Daily Mail. Sheffield murder