Seen in the News

[Big Kev]

This was an interesting read, a Preston based IT bod tried raising the issue in 2003. He was ignored, sacked and discredited.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-l ... e-67921974

[Tizer]

This is getting really serious now and rapid escalation is likely...
`US and UK navies repel largest Houthi attack on Red Sea shipping' BBC
...The US military said Iranian-designed one-way attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen towards international shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea at around 21:15 local time (18:15 GMT) on Tuesday. Eighteen drones, two cruise missiles and one ballistic missile were shot down by F/A-18 warplanes from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower, which is deployed in the Red Sea, and by four destroyers, the USS Gravely, USS Laboon, USS Mason and HMS Diamond. HMS Diamond shot down seven Houthi drones using its Sea Viper missiles and guns, a defence source told the BBC. Each of the missiles costs more than £1m ($1.3m).

Apparently

[Tripps]

Yemen has been a problem to us for a long time. It's those "rebels" again, and the fact that warfare seems to be a national sport in the ocountry. My cousin was in the Royal Marines and was involved in this affair. He came to no harm I'm pleased to say. Radfan Campaign

Edwards patrol "They were beheaded and their heads displayed in the Yemeni Capital.[4][5][6]"

Google Radfan now and you will be offered this radfan All soon forgotten.

[Big Kev]

This is getting really serious now and rapid escalation is likely...

It sounds very likely.

[Stanley]

Kev, the dam has broken now and more and more surfaces about what happened. The terrible thing is that all the faults were obvious and known over ten years ago but nobody did anything.....
Think of the number of circumstances that applies to today. Nothing has changed.
Peter, yes I fear you are right and it's not going to be helped by Mr Shapps shouting at the Huti. He needs to do something concrete but of course he has a problem. We have nothing to throw at them!

[Tizer]

Post Office...A few days ago the BBC named and reported that an independent computer expert sent a report explaining the errors and failings in the Horizon system to the Post Office back in 2003 but the Post Office ignored it.

Radfan...One of my mates in the 1960s was with the army in Aden and had some tales to tell about the terrorism.

[Tripps]

I've been following this important local Barlick issue closely and I agree with David Whipp's decision. Brave to overrule the planner. I do hope he's got some warm trousers though - it's very chilly down here

Fence

[Stanley]

That's the first I have heard of it David. I can see the sense in the family's arguments but regret the fact that these screening palisades are becoming more and more common. Many of them providing more cover than the one in the image.
On an entirely different subject I see that we have committed to military action against the Houthi in Yemen. See THIS comment by Chris Mason in BBC News.
For Rishi Sunak, a landmark moment of his premiership. A landmark moment in any prime minister's tenure in office: the decision to commit the UK to military action. The government has the prerogative to do this without wider political consultation. But in this instance, ministers concluded there was sufficient time to brief the cabinet, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey and Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle before any strikes began. Sir Lindsay and Mr Healey attended a briefing in person in Whitehall. Sir Keir joined the briefing remotely. I understand senior government officials rather than ministers did the briefing. These conversations are a courtesy. But they are more than a courtesy.
My own view is that there is an element of this being a useful distraction technique for Sunak to divert attention from too much scrutiny of the actions of his failing government.
We are being sucked into the general breakdown of security in the Middle East and may eventually regret it.
Later.... Have you noticed that we didn't 'attack' targets in Yemen, we 'Pounded' them.

[Tizer]

Somebody has to stop Donald Trump, letting him become US President again is unthinkable, the consequences would be dire for the whole world. Please, please let it be a woman. Or even better a black woman!
`Can Nikki Haley really stop Donald Trump in 2024?' LINK

[Tripps]

Please, please let it be a woman. Or even better a black woman!

Why?

[Tizer]

Please, please let it be a woman. Or even better a black woman!

Why?

Because there's been so much that women and blacks have had to endure from white American men that it's time that a black woman took charge and got a chance to show they can do the job better.

[Tripps]

Call me old fashioned, but I'd rather judge a candidate on their record and ability to do the job, rather than their sex and appearance.

I think that's called a 'non sequitur'.

Women and blacks have had a hard time from white men - so one of them should be a candidate for President.

Went well with Diane Abbott though. . . . Note the shoes. Fortunately there were no laces to tie.

Diane Abbott.jpg

[Tripps]

Later that same evening. . . .
Rumours that the Tfl spokesperson previously worked in the software section of the Post Office remain unconfirmed.

Electric double-decker buses in London will remain in service despite growing safety concerns after one burst into flames in Wimbledon during the school-run.

A huge blast ripped off the back of an Optare Metrodecker 1050 bus travelling from Mitcham to Raynes Park in South West London at 7.20am. It came nearly two years after all Metrodeckers were temporarily taken out of service for safety checks in May 2022 when two were involved in a fire at Potters Bar bus garage in Hertfordshire - before being returned to service days later.

Now, the City Hall Conservatives have called on Mayor Sadiq Khan to withdraw all the buses until the cause of the Wimbledon blaze is known, but Transport for London (TfL), which has about 1,000 electric buses across its network, said it will not withdraw any Metrodeckers and has insisted they are safe.

A TfL spokeswoman told MailOnline: 'London's bus network remains safe to use and other buses in the fleet remain in service. TfL and bus operators will not hesitate to take action if required to ensure the network remains safe.' While firefighters continue to investigate the cause, fire expert Neil Pederson said it was most likely due to an electrical fault and not linked to lithium batteries.

Meanwhile, a second London bus burst into flames this morning, completely destroying it less than 24 hours after the Wimbledon incident. The hybrid vehicle caught fire in North Woolwich, East London, just before 7am today - with onlookers shouting 'what the 'heck' as they were urged to 'move back, get back'. The bus involved in today's blaze was an Alexander Dennis Enviro400 hybrid that runs on diesel and electricity, with about 900 in use across 78 routes in London.

[Stanley]

I agree with Peter about it being time for a woman and/or a black to be a presidential candidate. There are many good reasons why they would be preferable but one is the absence of balls. The Chinese twigged that many centuries ago and used Eunuchs in responsible positions.
The non sequitur is that if Diane Abbott was bad, all black women are bad.

As for vehicle fires.... Could it not be that the frequency of vehicle fires has as much to do with the increased complexity of electrical circuits as with the type of battery? Do we know enough to make judgements?
I will admit to being sceptical about the safety of anything with a Lithium battery during the charging cycle but that's only on the balance of probabilities.....

Meanwhile, in another part of the news cycle, see THIS BBC report that The Post Office may be facing even further troubles.....
The Post Office may have underpaid more than £100m in tax while overpaying its senior executives, according to tax experts. Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates says the Post Office paid less tax by deducting payments to victims of the Horizon scandal from its profits. This could count as a possible breach of tax law, according to experts. The Post Office said its financial information was "appropriate and accurate". It has been paying out to sub-postmasters who have had their theft convictions quashed. Repaying the alleged shortfall to HMRC could render the Post Office technically insolvent and would involve the government stepping in to financially support it. However as the Post Office is owned by the government, exacting financial penalties is tantamount to the government fining itself and no-one is suggesting the Post Office will cease to function.
Note that this is only a suspicion, we would need to see an opinion from the Treasury or HMRC to be certain that this is the case.

[Tripps]

My usual comment is 'make of it what you will'. I would reach a different conclusion.

This is the street protest by people in Yemen following the bombing on Thursday night. I've never seen a larger one.
Is it real or computer generated?

I read that David Cameron was heavily involved in the affair, and can't help recalling that when he asked Parliament for permission to bomb Libya, he was knocked back. He didn't bother asking this time.

Street protest

PS Electric bus fires . From the BBC. battery buses withdrawn from service

[Stanley]

I heard a former ambassador to Yemen speaking on R4 yesterday and was impressed by his certainty and clarity. He said that the Houthi have hit on a perfect strategy to disrupt trade and damage their enemies and basically his opinion was that the only way to solve the problem was negotiation and agreement as it was so easy to disrupt the flow of maritime trade. In other words, we are on a hiding to nothing!
My further thought was what would the opinion be in Egypt because the Houthi attacks mean that the flow of shipping through the Suez Canal and the income from that will stop and I would imagine that the Egyptian Arabs would have something to say about that.
And yes, I too was amazed at that image of the boulevard full of people as far as the eye could see.
But no matter how sceptical I am about the reporting, one thing that can't be avoided is that the fighting in the Middle East is expanding and if nothing is done to stop it is going to include Lebanon and Iran also. (I note that moves are afoot to brand the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation.)
One thing that is not being made clear by anyone at the moment is that none of the actions taken against the Houthi will do anything to stop the implications to costs and inflation.
I see that Taiwan has elected as president the man that China hates..... Suppose that triggers another problem? Add in Ukraine, Gaza and the possible consequences of the US election and there isn't a lot to be cheerful about at the moment!

[Tizer]

Some interesting background here...
`Fujitsu Japan remains tight-lipped on the Post Office scandal' LINK

I note this in particular: In 1999, the firm won a £184m contract to develop Libra - a software meant to standardise case management transactions across more than 300 magistrates' courts. In the end, it cost nearly three times more than expected, and the National Audit Office concluded that it was not able to produce even basic financial information.

That should have been enough to warn the government to stop using the company.

[Stanley]

See THIS report on potholes which seem to be keeping step with the rest of the news about conditions in the UK at the moment.
Potholes caused misery in 2023 on a scale not seen in years, but scientists hope technology like self-healing roads will help rid us of them for good. Reports of potholes and damage they caused hit five-year highs, according to local governments and the AA. The AA estimates they may have cost UK drivers as much as £500m in repairs. Scientists warn climate change will worsen the problem as more wet weather and temperature extremes give an extra battering to the surfaces we drive on. Almost 630,000 potholes were reported to councils in England, Scotland and Wales between January and November 2023, a five-year high, according to local government data compiled by campaign group Round Our Way following a Freedom of Information request. Data was only available from 115 out of 208 councils approached, meaning the total number of reported potholes is likely to be much higher.
I have news for the scientists. New technology like 'self healing roads' is pie in the sky so long as money isn't invested in routine maintenance of roads. 14 years of austerity have taken their toll and it will get worse.
Put is down as another circumstance we can blame Tory political and economic policies for.

[Tizer]

`UK officials tried to block Fujitsu from government contracts in 2010s: ‘Project Sushi’ failed to remove Japanese software company despite ‘woeful’ performance ' FT
`The UK government tried to block the Japanese software company implicated in the Post Office scandal from new public IT contracts in the early 2010s in a drive nicknamed “Project Sushi”, according to British officials. The Cabinet Office pushed to formally exclude Fujitsu and other companies from bidding for government deals on the basis of their performance in previous contracts, according to three current and former Whitehall insiders. The push came during the coalition era of 2010 to 2015, when the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties governed together. In particular, Fujitsu’s “arrogant” attitude during attempts to renegotiate agreements to get better taxpayer value for money fostered a relationship of “low trust” with the government, according to the officials. The Japanese company’s legal wrangling over a failed NHS IT system that was terminated in 2008 soured relations further, the insiders said. When the Tory-Lib Dem coalition came to power in 2010 the Cabinet Office tried to broker a deal with Fujitsu over the matter, but the parties ended up in litigation....'.

[Tripps]

"wir haben die schnauze voll

► Show Spoiler

"We are Fed Up""

Now I get none of my news from the BBC, and I'm a bit more investigative in finding out what's going on, I note that the protests by German farmers which have been occurring for a while and have been enormous, have now reached mainstream British media.Similarly the situation in Holland, where the government is trying to reduce farm production, got little exposure.

Here is something from The Guardian

Here's Al Jazeera

[Stanley]

I heard the German Farmer (Speaking remarkably good English!) speaking about the way the German government was trying to tell the farmers how to farm when they actually know nothing about it. I have also heard the Dutch farmers making broadly the same complaints about a government that thinks the way to cut back on atmospheric pollution by methane from farming is to ban cows. Both these reports were on Farming Today which is broadcast 5 days a week at 5:45 each morning with extended programmes on Saturday called Farming this Week.
No need to go to All Jazeera David, just get up earlier....
Meanwhile.... see THIS BBC report on today's debate on the immigrant bill.
PM Rishi Sunak is facing a blow to his authority as two deputy Conservative chairmen said they would back moves to toughen up his flagship Rwanda bill. Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith are among more than 60 Tory MPs on the right of the party supporting changes to the legislation, which returns to the House of Commons on Tuesday. Mr Anderson said the pair agreed with "90% of the bill". But he said they wanted to make sure it was "beefed up". "This is not a rebellion," he told GB News. "We just feel that there's a few areas in the bill that could be tightened up to make sure that it's watertight." However, the proposed amendments are not expected to pass, as both the government and opposition parties are likely to vote them down.

[Tizer]

As also heard on the radio this morning...
`Iowa caucus key takeaways: Trump’s hold on Republicans is clear but second place isn’t: Donald Trump won early and Ron DeSantis’ investment in Iowa paid off but Nikki Haley has focused more on New Hampshire' Guardian

[Stanley]

I saw and heard those reports as well Peter. Deeply depressing to hear that Trump had what was virtually a walk over.
See THIS for more depressing news but this time in the UK.
Two Tory Party deputy chairmen and a ministerial aide have resigned to rebel against Rishi Sunak's Rwanda bill. Deputy chairs Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith quit to join about 60 Tory MPs backing an amendment rebels said toughened the immigration legislation. Despite Mr Sunak suffering his biggest rebellion since becoming PM, No 10 is still confident the bill as a whole will pass in a vote due on Wednesday. If some 30 Tories joined the opposition in voting down the bill, it could fail. The legislation seeks to revive the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda and deter people from crossing the Channel in small boats. At least four Conservative MPs - including former ministers Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman - have publicly said they are prepared to vote against the bill if it is not improved, with reports that more could join them.
This is not a good look for a government that will be seeking re-election at some point in the next 12 months.....
If you are looking for non-political news try THIS
The FBI has begun an investigation after the BBC revealed claims that the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) sexually exploited and abused men at events he hosted around the world. Mike Jeffries and his British partner also face a civil lawsuit alleging they ran a sex-trafficking operation. FBI agents are now interviewing and issuing subpoenas to potential witnesses, the BBC understands. A lawyer for Mr Jeffries declined to comment. The investigation is being led by FBI agents specialising in alleged sex crimes, and federal prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York, according to several sources. The FBI and the US Attorney's Office both declined to comment. In October, a BBC documentary and podcast series revealed allegations that Mike Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith had exploited young men for sex at events they hosted in their New York residences and worldwide in luxurious hotels.
I sometimes think I must have led a sheltered life in some respects. Or perhaps I simply wasn't noticing!

[Stanley]

Later.... See THIS tragic story in the Sun.
A BOY of two starved to death next to his dad’s body after social ­services missed chances to save him, his devastated family said yesterday. Bronson Battersby, pictured in ­Pudsey Bear pyjamas, was found curled up with heart victim Kenneth 14 days after they were last seen.
Hard to realise that this could happen in the UK today. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.
So sad.....

[Tripps]

'Bishop' Mick Fleming of COTS,complete with his sinister dark glasses has been on the main ITV news. Live from Burnley at a warm shelter he set up. Commendable. Also interviewed was a homeless man who had spent the night in Asda's car park - unable to sleep due to the cold. The 300 illegal imigrants who arrived here yesterday will by now be in a warm hotel with food and medical attention, no bills to pay for the accomodation, council tax, energy bills, or food, and some pocket money too. They say the Bibby Stockholm is not good enough for ths purpose, and further ventures have been put on hold.

I bet the lad from Burnley wouldn't say no to it.

The PM made a dash to Kyev last week and promised them 2.5 billion pounds in aid over the next year. That much would go a long way spent over here.

Here I go again with my simplistic populist thinking. Hush child. . . .