WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

To paraphrase Clausewitz, "Football is war by other means". I suppose it is a useful safety valve?
Susan called in and we assessed the 'deep clean'. She is going to arrange for a monthly visit by the cleaners to keep me up to scratch..... I was reasonable before, I am getting close to spotless now!

[Stanley]

This Telegraph ARTICLE about the no-show of the F35 joint strike fighter at Farnborough Air Show. This is the plane that will eventually be on our new aircraft carrier. Pratt and Whitney say that they are 'confident' that the engine is OK despite the fact that a fire destroyed one of the planes and led to them being grounded.

[Tizer]

The engine fire happened before the launch of the new carrier and a fly past by the aircraft had to be cancelled by the Americans. The UK Government claims that the F35 was not meant to be part of the fly past. Choose who you want to believe!
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Barrowford school's KS2 'proud' letter to pupils goes viral (BBC web site)
A letter sent to pupils at a Lancashire primary school along with their key stage two test results has gone viral on social media sites. The letter to pupils at Barrowford Primary School in Nelson told them the tests do not always assess what makes them "special and unique". It has been posted on Facebook, Twitter and featured in national newspapers. Head teacher Rachel Tomlinson said she had been "absolutely astounded" by the reaction in social media and elsewhere.
More here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-la ... e-28319907

[Tripps]

Just saw a clip on the national news, of the children from this school. They all look very healthy, happy, and energetic, and are a joy to see..
Makes me wonder - what about the ones who think that sitting on the floor (can that be hygienic), singing and waving your arms up and down, is cringingly embarrassing? What about those who don't want to be in Les Miserables or Bugsy Malone, and don't have a poem in them - or even if they do, don't want to reveal their inner thoughts and feelings to the world. ? Are they catered for? I hope so.

Second attention grabber - is photo number 11 in this advert of Pluggy's roof? The roof

[Pluggy]

Just saw a clip on the national news, of the children from this school. They all look very healthy, happy, and energetic, and are a joy to see..
Makes me wonder - what about the ones who think that sitting on the floor (can that be hygienic), singing and waving your arms up and down, is cringingly embarrassing? What about those who don't want to be in Les Miserables or Bugsy Malone, and don't have a poem in them - or even if they do, don't want to reveal their inner thoughts and feelings to the world. ? Are they catered for? I hope so.

Second attention grabber - is photo number 11 in this advert of Pluggy's roof? The roof

Yep, that's me.

[Stanley]

I heard that report as well Tiz. Didn't the teacher say that she wasn't the original author of the letter? I think she said she had found it online....
See this BBC REPORT of the large crack-down on paedophiles using the net, including the 'dark net'. There must be some very worried people out there. Good! As it has been pointed out, this isn't the dirty mac brigade, it's people in places of influence in society.

[Tizer]

This is what caught our attention yesterday as we made a trip to Taunton. Two lorries crashed on the M5 near Taunton at 3.00am yesterday, 16th July 2014, leaving the southbound lanes closed for most of the day and one lane still closed today. Apparently the Royal Mail lorry was stopped on the hard shoulder and the artic ran into it. The local news said one driver had to be cut out of his vehicle but as far as I know only one person was seriously hurt, which is surprising when you see that the artic ended up across all three lanes. Of course it meant that Bridgwater and Taunton were at a standstill as long queues of diverted traffic tried to get through the towns and many journeys had to be cancelled, people were arriving hours late etc. Just imagine the knock on effect throughout this area and the effect on the local economy. We need to upgrade our response to motorway accidents so that they can be cleared faster. It would be worth the expenditure to avoid the financial burden on the economy.

[PanBiker]

The damage seems to be at the front of the Royal Mail truck and the artic is in front as well. Was he going the wrong way? I cant see how they could end up like this otherwise. There doesn't seem to be a lot left of the mail vans cab, so would assume that the postie came of worst. It normally takes a long time if the scene is classed as a crime scene, I can see that they are surveying the road.

[Tizer]

I've found another pic taken earlier in the event and we can now see why there appears to be no cab on the RM lorry - it's there but twisted round at 90 degrees. I wonder if the RM lorry pulled out as the artic was passing. The RM driver is OK and the artic driver has a broken leg. Perhaps the artic clipped the lorry, went out of control and jackknifed across the lanes. It happened at 3.00am which is fortunate because there was little other traffic about.

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You'll have seen the terrible news reports about the crashed airliner in Ukraine. I've just noted embedded deep within the BBC web site live news feed:
"19:00: A tweet (in Russian) from a key Twitter account used by pro-Russian separatists, in which they claim to have captured a Buk surface-to-air missile system, has now been deleted, BBC Monitoring observes. Ukrainians say the Malaysian plane could have been downed with a Buk, but pro-Russian rebels have now denied they have it."

The Buk is easily capable of reaching the 30,000 feet that the airliner was flying at. Perhaps it's good that Obama and Putin happened to be speaking on the phone at the time it happened so they could exchange information and avoid any immediate inappropriate responses.

[Stanley]

The story about the Malaysian plane is unfolding rapidly. (LINK) Everything points to Russian Separatists having mistaken it for a Ukrainian Antonov Transport. Question is, would amateur insurgents have had the skill to use the BUK system? A bit more complicated than a Kalashnikov! (LINK)

[Tizer]

They're not necessarily `amateur insurgents'. The pro_Russian separatists probably have among their number disaffected men from the Ukrainian military and plenty of undercover military men from Russia, not to mention Russian advisers and KGB officers. Putin is saying the shooting down of the airliner is the fault of the Ukrainian government rather than claiming the separatists didn't do it. That tells us something.

More was posted by the BBC this morning on the Buk missile I mentioned above:
"08:47: The Buk surface-to-air missile system that pro-Russian separatists allegedly used to shoot down the Malaysian plane has been sneaked into Russia overnight, Anton Herashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, says on Facebook. (BBC Monitoring)"

Also, " 07:31: Professor Michael Clarke, of the Royal United Services Institute, tells the BBC, "...We've also got the evidence that's been coming out overnight that the leader of the separatists Igor Strelkov... tweeted that he had brought down an Antanov 26 Russian transport. He then deleted that tweet very very quickly."

When I first posted last night the news reports were still saying it wasn't clear whether the aircraft was shot down with a missile or crashed due to a fault. By this morning they seem to be assuming it was a missile. Yet I haven't seen any firm evidence yet, although I expect that will turn out to be correct. US intelligence "believes" it was a missile.

[Bodger]

A bit more Putin, and for once i agree with him.
>>> On August 04, 2013, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, addressed the Duma,
>>> (Russian Parliament), and gave a speech about the tensions with minorities in Russia:
>>>
>>> In Russia, live like Russians. Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, it should speak Russian, and should respect the Russian laws. If they prefer Sharia Law, and live the life of Muslim's then we advise them to go to those places where that's the state law.
>>> Russia does not need Muslim minorities. Minorities need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell 'discrimination'. We will not tolerate disrespect of our Russian culture. We better learn from the suicides of America, England, Holland and France, if we are to survive as a nation. The Muslims are taking over those countries and they will not take over Russia. The Russian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of Sharia Law and Muslims.
>>> When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it should have in mind the Russian national interest first, observing that the Muslims Minorities Are Not Russians.
>>>
>>> The politicians in the Duma gave Putin a five minute standing ovation.
>>>
>>> If you keep this to yourself, you are part of the problem!

[Tizer]

Bodger, you've been had! Don't believe everything you receive in emails. It's a long-standing hoax as explained on Hoax-Slayer:
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/putin-duma-s ... -law.shtml

The nearest Putin has come to saying such things was at a January 2012 meeting of the Board of the Federal Migration Service:
"We must create the conditions for immigrants to normally integrate into our society, learn Russian and, of course, respect our culture and traditions and abide by Russian law. In this regard, I believe that the decision to make learning the Russian language compulsory and administer exams is well grounded. To do so, we will need to carry out major organisational work and introduce corresponding legislative amendments. "

[Tizer]

Here are the reported "intercepted phone conversations between pro-Russian separatists and what appear to be Russian military officers saying that separatists shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17", according to Ukrainian authorities. We'll have to wait and see if they are genuine.
BBC web site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-28362872

[Stanley]

What struck me was the surreal picture painted by a local farmer who said that the first thing he saw after he heard an explosion was 'bodies falling out of the clouds'. What strikes me now is that I would have thought that the enormity of this crime against humanity would have produced a concerted response to address the truth and find the perpetrators. Instead we get arguments about who started it... This goes beyond intransigence, it is a form of madness!
The other thing I noted was the report about which airlines have been avoiding overflying the conflict area and which hadn't. Quantas and BA have been diverting, others have simply ignored it.

[Thomo]

If the rebels in Ukraine were not guilty of murdering innocent people, why are they not allowing access to the crash site? Very little skill is required to operate a missile system of the type suggested, switch it on, load it, arm it and it will do the rest, when it sounds the alarm is what makes the difference. A push of a button at this stage and the missile is launched at whatever the system has located. The real skill is having an in depth look at the target first. Many countries in that area have Antonov military aircraft, and one wonders what would have happened had it been a Russian one!
Quite rightly Mr. Obama is making a lot of noise about this event, but from a relatively safe distance, and they have a reputation for starting things that do not end well.
Regarding Islam and its supporters, above, the word "integration" is used. It needs to be remembered that this is the key to tolerance in a host country towards imigrants, lack of integration leads to suspicion, the host nation should not be told to accept imigrants, and threatened by legal action if they do not. The key weapon of Islamic extremists is their ability to merge with their fellow beings with total disregard for the safety of the latter. I see that ISIS has stoned a defenceless woman to death in the middle east, sharia law at its finest! Most of us have no quarrel with other faiths until they try to impose their will over all, and we have a different kind of cancer to beat yet.

[Stanley]

Lewis Hamilton's front right hand disc failing at over 180mph yesterday at Hochenheim. The modern F1 cars are amazingly strong and the technology gets carried over into general car design. His mechanics didn't get a lot of sleep last night, they will have the car rebuilt and on the grid in 16th place today. We can expect Lewis to be pushing hard....

[Thomo]

The poor Australian family who lost two family members on flight MH17 having already lost two on flight MH 370.

[Stanley]

Lewis Hamilton carving his way to 3rd place after starting 20th. Plenty of racing and contact!
Strange noises coming from my washing machine... Drained it, opened it up and realised I had forgotten to take the metal hooks out of one of the kitchen curtains! After a search round the seals and in the filter I have found 3 of the 7. 4 are still AWOL! All back in on a rinse and spin cycle... Hoping for the best!
Later... It looks as though I have got way with it, normal rinse and spin with no noises off! However, now I have the problem of finding four of the old fashioned metal hooks... I rang Wendy to see if she had any but no luck. If anyone has any about please give me a ring!!

[Bruff]

''.....is their ability to merge with their fellow beings.....'

Not as good as Irish terrorists though. So good, they routinely killed civilians and soldiers on the streets and in the pubs and on the bus, admittedly not too many on the streets with hatchets, but at least a couple of squaddies were dragged from their cars and beaten senseless before the obligatory coup de grace via a bullet the head, all in front of the TV cameras.

Thankfully, I never went about my business as though danger lurked in every shadow then, nor feared danger from the 'other' then and I see no reason to start now. I can see though why some in society would want us to alter our behaviour thus, however.

Richard Broughton

[Tizer]

Yesterday it was this `Dark Giant Horsefly' (Tabanus sudeticus) that caught my attention - the biggest fly found in the UK, not common but this one found having a snooze in our conservatory. We caught it in a jam jar, had a good look at it and then released it in the garden from where it buzzed away loudly. It really is big, with a body about an inch (2.5cm) long like the one in the photo on the web page linked below. The eyes are a striking green colour.
http://naturenet.net/blogs/2009/06/07/c ... ssive-fly/

[Thomo]

At 1420 today, we were "overflown" by a Hawker Hurricane travelling North at about 300'. My contact at BBMF, Fl. Lt. "Parky" Parkinson is a BBMF Fighter Pilot, possible explanation for this visit is having a look!

[Stanley]

Couldn't agree more Richard. The declaration of 'The War on Terror' was one of the first mistakes made. Before that, can you remember when they closed the mid section of the M6 because of a bomb threat! We used to walk to school past UXBs.... Fear is such a potent tool, used by governments frequently and also by the drug industry and the advertisers. Fear of halitosis was the foundation of Listerine. Fear of wrinkles by cosmetic industry. Latest examples is fear of heart disease and statins. Remember Roosevelt? "We have nothing to fear except fear itself!"
See THIS for the news that the case against Tulisa Contastavlos' has collapsed because our old friend 'The Fake Sheik', Mazher Mahmood has been accused by the judge of lying on oath. He has been suspended by The Sun on Sunday, the inheritor of the News of the World's mantle. This is too close to phone hacking and it makes you wonder how if at all, standards of reporting have been raised.

[Gloria]

Tomorrow is "Fellsman" day for us---leaves Preston at 8-45am, a very good day to look forward to. AND, I shall be having porridge, it's the only time I have any, then full english, toast etc and coffee. Doubt I will have an appetite for any lunch. A good day will be had by all.

[Thomo]

Miss Roberts of Barnoldswick on the team from Jesus College Oxford in last nights University Challenge, and didn't she do well, several starters and bonus's.
Also yesterday afternoon a comment from one of a clench of cyclists passing here, "whats a Yorkshire flag doing here"!!!!