Seen in the News

[Stanley]

I'm quite happy to be out of date on the price of beer and fags Kev!

THIS caught my eye.
A public health campaign aimed at preventing a measles outbreak in a seaside resort has proved to be successful, a report has concluded. Across England this year, there have been 2,707 confirmed cases of the highly contagious disease - more than double the number seen in the years before the Covid pandemic. In response, additional vaccination centres were opened in Blackpool in an attempt to avoid an outbreak in the Lancashire town. To date, there have been no cases in Blackpool this year.
Good news to see that at least one town has managed to negate the effects of mistaken resistance to the MMR jab.

[Tizer]

A very simple example of `The Appliance of Science'!

[Tripps]

`The Appliance of Science'!

If you have the measles vaccine - you don't catch measles. Unfortunately if you have the Covid "vaccine" you can still catch Covid, - repeatedly.

[Tizer]

With Covid as with influenza, having the vaccine doesn't mean you won't get some symptoms if you are exposed to the virus but it does mean you are much less likely to suffer from very serious disease or death from it.

[Stanley]

And if I remember right, measles doesn't mutate as fast as the flu and Covid does.

[Stanley]

My heart sank when I saw THIS
District councils could be abolished and more elected mayors introduced across England under new plans for a major redesign of local government. Ministers are set to publish a paper on Monday outlining plans for mergers in areas where there are currently two tiers of local authority - smaller district and larger county councils - in a bid to streamline services. Elected metro mayors are also set to gain new powers over planning, in a bid to speed up the delivery of new housing and infrastructure. But the body representing district councils has warned the plans could spark "turmoil" and argued "mega-councils" could undermine local decision-making.
My fear is that the district councils are right, it will not end well.....

[Tizer]

This was us in 2023...
Somerset Council came into being on April 1 2023. The new unitary council brings together the services previously provided by the four district councils in Somerset (Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, and South Somerset) alongside the services provided by Somerset County Council.

This is us in 2024...
Somerset Council wins 12-month bankruptcy reprieve as Government approves special help.

[Whyperion]

I suppose if the Mayors also got the Sewage and Water Supply (billing it weekly with the council flat rent), supplied the Vit C orange juice at the weekly baby clinic , maybe generated the local leccy and made the gas at the gasworks and provided the street tramways it could be an improvement.

[Tripps]

"Drop the dead donkey' seems to be alive and well at CNN.

Clarissa Ward at CNN

I've seen a few dubious reports from the region over the years, but this one must take the prize. :smile

Well groomed for three months in captivity, and four days without water. I read that the lady concerned speaks fluent Arabic, but tried to wake him in English. PS - I've searched BBC News website for 'CNN', but can find no reference to the story. Perhaps Marianna Spring is still checking it out.

Guido is not so gullible -
Unfortunately for CNN, it turns out the “freed prisoner” was actually a “regime torturer” named Salama Mohammad Salama, a first lieutenant in Syrian air force intelligence. According to the fact-checking organisation Verify-Sy, Salama is accused of killing civilians and torturing young men on trumped-up charges. No wonder CNN found him cowering under a blanket. Giving even BBC Verify a run for their money…

[Stanley]

Say what you like about BBC David but they wouldn't have led me astray..... A|s you say, no mention of the lady's scoop on there.

In case you were wondering, see THIS news about Andrew....
The Duke of York will not join the rest of the Royal Family for the traditional Christmas gathering in Sandringham, royal sources have told the BBC. It is expected that Prince Andrew will "honourably withdraw" from Royal Family events at Christmas to avoid being a distraction. He is instead expected to stay at home in Windsor on Christmas Day. It comes after an alleged Chinese spy, linked to the prince, was named following a High Court judgement. Yang Tengbo, also known as Chris Yang, had been banned from entering the UK.
For "honourably withdraw" read not contest his prohibition. Why do 'Royal Sources' try to give the impression he is making some voluntary sacrifice?
The honourable alternative would be to stay quiet.

[Tripps]

Say what you like about BBC David but they wouldn't have led me astray.

They can deceive you by omission as well as inclusion.

[Stanley]

Well done David! I tripped over this on Youtube this morning. Just as you alerted us to.....

[Stanley]

I saw THIS report about police reaction to riots....
Police were unprepared for the scale of disorder that broke out in part of the UK following the Southport knife attacks, a police watchdog has found. Police intelligence did not predict the "rising tide of violent disorder well enough", according to the review of their response to the worst UK unrest in more than a decade. Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke praised officers for their "immense bravery and personal sacrifice" while protecting the public. But he warned it was "clear" that police had missed opportunities to prepare for widespread disorder, and that earlier incidents involving "extreme nationalist sentiment" had been underestimated.
My mind went from this to Thomas Piketty (LINK) and his book 'Capital in the Twenty First century.' in which he posits the possibility of increasing social unrest if the distribution of wealth isn't addressed by something like a global wealth tax.
Looked at with this in mind Mr Cooke's warning and suggestions need to be addressed, and this at the moment when the stock response to any demand for funding is 'we haven't got the money'! We may begin to realise just how badly the last 15 years of failed economic policy has damaged us.

[Stanley]

See THIS shocking report from the BBC.
There has been "a catastrophic rise" in deaths caused solely by alcohol in England over the past four years, prompting public-health experts to call for urgent action. More than 8,200 people died because of alcohol in 2023 - a 42% rise on 2019 - with the North East having the highest rates. The Alcohol Health Alliance UK says alcohol consumption could be reduced if a minimum price for each unit was introduced, as in Scotland. The government says it's unacceptable that alcohol deaths are at record high levels and it will prioritise public health in its 10-year plan for the NHS in England.
According to the ONS this is over 3,000 more than deaths from drugs. Why is alcohol legal and drugs prohibited?

[Stanley]

THIS BBC report got my attention.

Sean Pullen was trusted with cash handed to the Liverpool branch of the charity but pocketed the money before burning some of the containers in the garden of his home. Pullen, who was described in court as being "manipulative" and having told lies about his own military background, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position. He was handed a two-year sentence, which a judge at Liverpool Crown Court decided to suspend. Elaine Overend, a branch volunteer who worked with Pullen, told the court he had left behind a "trail of devastation" after the funds began to go missing between October and December 2018. Pullen, of Scarisbrick, Lancashire, is now registered blind and entered court assisted by his solicitor. James Rae, prosecuting, told the court although Pullen's admission was limited to £20,000, he could have defrauded the charity by up to £70,000. Ms Overend first raised the alarm when the Royal British Legion told her that only £20,000 had been raised by the Liverpool branch in 2018, because Pullen had told volunteers "that they had in fact raised over £50,000 that year". Pullen, who had been the poppy appeal organiser for Liverpool since April 2009, often sat in a minibus parked on Church Street while others went out and did the work of collecting, the court heard. He told a series of lies to volunteers – including that he was a "government spook" as an "excuse to shroud his life in mystery".
I think the old fashioned description of 'scoundrel' fits this man. My question is why suspend his prison term, is it solely because of the shortage of cells?

[Tizer]

Edit: [Whoops, I've just seen Stanley has posted on this elsewhere.]
At last... The bees `beet' the beet sugar barons...
`Bee-harming pesticides' emergency approvals to end' BBC

[Stanley]

Good news deserves multiple postings Peter!

See THIS BBC report for another sign of the times.
The owners of a seaside fish and chip shop which is closing after 123 years have described their last day as "emotional". Tony and Sharon Farrell took over the Dolphin Chippy in Fleetwood, Lancashire, 15 years ago. Mr Farrell said they had decided to call it a day because of the "ever-increasing food and energy costs" and reduced footfall since the Covid pandemic. "We've tried to sell for a few years but, with the current climate, no one wants to buy a fish and chip shop," he said. Mr Farrell told BBC Radio Lancashire he had cried as he turned off the fryers for the last time at the chippy on Blakiston Street, which had been going since 1901. He said their final customer had been a regular who he had nicknamed Captain Fishcakes. "It seems fitting our last customer was one of [the first], if not our first, customers, Kris Butler, buying jumbo chips and gravy in honour of his grandad who introduced him to the Dolphin in 1998," he said.
This is commonplace these days. Only one left in Barlick. Society is crumbling and nobody seems to know what to do....

[Stanley]

THIS got my attention.
Emergency doctors in the UK have issued a safety warning over water beads, which could be given to children as gifts over Christmas. The brightly-coloured soft plastic beads, also known as jelly balls, sensory beads, or water crystals are marketed as crafting tools and homeware items - but also toys. They are typically only a few millimetres but some can expand up to 400 times their original size in about 36 hours when exposed to liquid, creating a hidden danger. If a child swallows one, they can cause bowel obstruction and the consequences can be fatal.
Just the thing for an inquisitive child.....

[Tripps]

Sparkhill car crash and fire

Strange there is no video of the actual fire though, and a witness says it was like a bomb going off.

Said to have been ten fire engines in attendance. I suggest information is being witheld. I wonder why.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report of the same incident.
A major fire that broke out in a Birmingham shop is being treated as arson after a vehicle is believed to have hit the building before being set alight, police have said. The blaze, which started at the store on Stratford Road, in the Sparkhill area, shortly before 04:55 GMT, then spread to flats above. Residents were forced to leave their homes. Although five people were checked over by paramedics, there were no injuries reported. Local businessman Isaac Zintaan said people who lived nearby told him they heard a loud explosion "like a bomb went off". The 28-year-old, said: "[When I arrived] everyone was coughing due to the intensity of the smoke." He said it appeared a car had rammed a supermarket on the ground flood of the building and footage showed a Land Rover on fire with its rear to the property, as if it had reversed into it. A 4x4 was pictured being extracted from the shop by a fire truck and the vehicle appeared charred and warped by the blaze.
The same information as your source David.

See THIS. Not often Barrowford is in the news!

[Stanley]

See THIS Nelson news story. Not everyone is having a good Xmas.
A man has been charged with causing death by dangerous after a woman was killed crossing the road. Safia Karieem, 51, died on Manchester Road, Nelson, Lancashire at about 20:30 GMT on 15 December. Her family described her as "a beacon of light and kindness to those who knew her" and said her "absence was keenly felt by those whose lives she touched". Abubakar Mahmood, 19, of Farrer Street, Nelson was also charged with driving whilst disqualified and was remanded into custody to appear at Burnley Crown Court on 20 January.

[Stanley]

See THIS for a report that Rubik's cube is good for you.
Cubing and happiness: what experts say.... "Speedcubing satisfies the basic psychological need for competence, the feeling of effectiveness and mastery," explains Dr Beloborodova. It involves a number of factors including, problem-solving, memory, spatial reasoning and motor coordination.
But solving the cube may also elicit happiness because it taps into other emotions, according to Dr Julia Christensen, a senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Germany. "Awe, beauty, being moved, all these are aesthetic emotions, and experiencing them gives us an extreme sense of happiness,"
If this is true it confirms my frequent thought that I must be wired up differently than the people who experience this. I understand "the basic psychological need for competence, the feeling of effectiveness and mastery, It involves a number of factors including, problem-solving, memory, spatial reasoning and motor coordination." but would rather get those from an activity that also involves creation and I don't see that in playing with a Rubik Cube.
Sorry lads but I'll be sticking to my workshop!

[Stanley]

See THIS latest update to the story of the crash in Kazakstan that has killed 38 people.
Air defence experts have suggested that the pattern of damage inside and outside the plane indicates Russian air defence active in Grozny may have caused the crash. "It looks very much like the detonation of an air defence missile to the rear and to the left of the aircraft, if you look at the pattern of shrapnel that we see," Justin Crump of risk advisory company Sibylline told BBC Radio 4. Azerbaijan Airlines said flights between Baku and the Russian cities of Grozny and Makhachkala would be cancelled pending an investigation into the incident.
Social media is alive with reports that the plane was shot down by Russia.

[Tizer]

I was pleased to see this news and I hope the government keeps its promise and doesn't do a U-turn under pressure from libertarians (you'd think libertarians would be in favour of keeping footpaths open but unfortunately many of them are rich, both in money and land....
`Deadline to record forgotten footpaths to be scrapped' LINK

[Stanley]

I saw it as well Peter and, like you, I thought it sensible. I always thought the Tories were pandering to the wealthy when they set the deadline.
I see the Local Government Association said financial pressures had left councils with limited resources to process applications, making the 2031 deadline "a tall order unlikely to be met". That suited the owners as they are always loath to give up any of their feudal rights. (For another example look at leasehold land!)

My attention was caught by THIS report this morning.
Parents have thanked a child patient transport service for helping their baby who needed immediate specialist treatment after being born early. Sara Pervaiz and Mudasar Ahmed, from Rotherham, used Embrace when their son Ibrahim was born 12 weeks early on 17 April by emergency Caesarean and weighed less than two pounds. Embrace works with Yorkshire Ambulance Service and the Children's Air Ambulance to transfer critically ill youngsters in need of specialist care. Ms Pervaiz told the BBC the Embrace service was "100 times better than I ever thought it would be", and her son was now receiving treatment in Barnsley. Embrace was founded 15 years ago, and staff make around 2,500 trips a year around Yorkshire and the Humber - or further afield if there are no beds available in the local area. The service transfers critically ill children and infants from local hospitals to more specialised centres, and back again. Most are transferred by ambulance, but the Children's Air Ambulance recently hit a milestone of making 500 flights for Embrace.
It's so rare to see a service being praised for excellence. So this cheered me up no end!