Seen in the News

[Tizer]

I'm pleased to see this news story about bringing back elm trees by growing resistant varieties...
`'Forgotten' elm tree set to make a comeback' LINK

Elms are nostalgic for me because I grew up with a view of elms from our house; but the photos of elms in the news article don't tick the box for me. They don't have the characteristic `top heavy' shape that I knew so well and it's better shown in this graphic: LINK

[Stanley]

I agree, and they are working on Ash die-back as well. I remember when Dutch Elm disease was at its height. A friend of mine in Warwickshire realised there was an outlet for the free dead wood and made a good living out of making garden and rustic domestic furniture out of it. He told me that he treated it and it was no longer infectious. I often wondered about that!

[Stanley]

See THIS Daily Mirror report of a British woman who has survived a 6 hour cardiac arrest while mountain walking in Spain. Her body temperature fell to half the normal value as she awaited rescue and appeared dead but the hypothermia probably saved her because she recovered. Said to be the longest period of cardiac arrest ever survived in Spain. A very lucky lady!

[plaques]

More of Tripps spooky probabilities. Headlines today..Katherine Jenkins mugged after trying to stop 'vicious' robbery on elderly woman. The last You Tube song I listed to last night was Katherine Jenkins.Time to say goodbye . A lovely singer.

[Tripps]

Here's another one - I read yesterday that Madonna (I think she's a pop singer) had her blood removed, invigorated with ozone, and put back in.

This morning on R4 news a lady apparently 'died' in the Pyrenees mountains from cold, but was taken to hospital where - yes - her blood was removed, had oxygen added and then put back in. After being 'dead' for six hours she made an almost full recovery, and will resume her hike when the weather gets a bit warmer.

What's the chances of hearing about that twice within 24 hours?

PS - Now I see that SCG covered this above. I missed it.

[Cathy]

Tripps , what’s the chances of giving us Victoria back?

[Tizer]

I was surprised how many times these towers fell down!
`Ironbridge Power Station cooling towers brought down' LINK

[Stanley]

Keep treading on his tail Cathy! Being at heart a gent he will respond in time. (I think he may be consulting his lawyers...)
Ironbridge cooling towers. Essential I know and I knew them well from my visits there but I did always think they were a blot on the landscape.

[Tripps]

Tripps , what’s the chances of giving us Victoria back?

I'm puzzled here - I don't remember taking her.

In the News. Nurses strike

Strangely they carry placards saying 'Committed to Care' and 'Patient Care First'. How does a strike support those aims? I read that 10.000 outpatient appointments have been cancelled. I'm puzzled again.

[Stanley]

That's what the management have been relying on as they ramp up the work and starve the wages David. The nurses are saying that they have had enough of being treated as cannon fodder, in the end that is even worse for patients. I support their actions even though they are drastic. Bottom line is the system is even more starved of money than in mainland Britain. By the way, they are paid less than nurses in England and they are badly served as well.

[Cathy]

Hi Tripps, I was reading your post in Today’s Pennine Weather saying that NSW is the bottom right hand corner of Australia. I was wondering what happened to Victoria and come to think of it, our Tasi as well.

[Stanley]

Hee hee! I think she has you David.......

[chinatyke]

World debt to reach 255 trillion US dollars by the end of 2019. Assuming world population is 7.7 billion, that's 33,000 USD per head or about 100,000 USD per family.

Source Institute of International Finance https://www.iif.com/Research/Capital-Fl ... m_content=

[Stanley]

You are right China. Far worse than in 2008 and yet they tell us they are experts at looking after the financial system. Hooey!

[Tizer]

China, it's no wonder we can't wean people off getting into debt when that's the example set by the governments. Whatever government we in the UK get next it will probably give a big boost to those figures.

[Stanley]

Problem is Tiz that borrowing to invest is the way out of the trap Austerity has plunged us into. If the return is greater than the investment it's OK. It's borrowing with no return to finance domestic spending (often because of austerity) that will get us in the end.

[Tizer]

I see that the financial wizards are predicting that the Help to Buy project is in trouble, for both the government and the house buyers. House prices are stagnant and may fall so negative equity is just around the corner.

[Tripps]

Help to buy sell. That's what it's really about.

[Stanley]

Like the stock markets, housing prices have been an inflationary bubble for far too long and the mistaken policies of the Tories have made it even worse. Add the effects of draconian lease conditions to the mix and the resale prices of many new houses has tanked. There is going to be a reckoning sooner or later and some very damaged 'owners'.

[Tizer]

The US Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing are responsibe for 346 deaths and should be ashamed of themselves...
`Boeing: US regulator admits 'mistake' over aircraft crashes' LINK
`US aviation regulators allowed Boeing's 737 Max aircraft to continue flying despite knowing there was a risk of further crashes. Analysis after the first crash last year predicted there could be up to 15 disasters over the lifetime of the aircraft without design changes. Despite this, the Federal Aviation Administration did not ground the Max until a second crash five months later...'
`...Ed Pierson, a former senior manager at the factory, told Congress he repeatedly warned Boeing's leadership of the safety risks caused by what he described as a "factory in chaos", but it had little effect. He also said that, after the crashes, US government regulators have shown little interest in his concerns. "I remain gravely concerned that... that the flying public will remain at risk unless this unstable production environment is rigorously investigated and closely monitored by regulators on an ongoing basis," he said in prepared testimony...'.

[Stanley]

I've been watching the Boeing news as well. It's very hard to see how the company can survive without a complete rethink. It can't be allowed to fail, the government will see to that but at the moment, protest how they may, the 737 Max planes sat idle on the ground are bleeding them to death. They are still building them......

[Stanley]

The latest news is that Boeing, having continued to make the planes, now has 400 of them in storage waiting for a resolution. All the previous ones are grounded as well of course. This triggers the news this morning that they are stopping manufacture. This is an enormous blow not just to Boeing but to all their sub-contractors. To date this has cost Boeing $9billion and counting, there is much more to come yet. The shares have fallen and nobody can see what the eventual resolution will be.
See THIS BBC report. What isn't mentioned is the fact that the 400 they have made may need further modification before they can go into service once the FAA have settled on the final conditions for return to certification. Then there is the time lag while other authorities ratify this decision.
That isn't all.... Are the travelling public going to trust the 737 Max when it finally gets certification?
All told, this is a company's worst nightmare.

[Tizer]

It's probably another example of launching products before they're sufficiently tested. There's too much of the `try it and see' approach these days. Bad enough when it's something like a folding smartphone that doesn't work but not acceptable when it's hundreds of people's lives at risk.

[Stanley]

Just think of the additional cots of maintaining all those planes stored outside. Are they insured? It looks like an impossible situation.
I wonder if Air Bus are seeing an uptake in sales? If so the long term effects could be even more significant.

[Tizer]

This topic seems to be turning into a conversation between me and Stanley!
Perhaps this will attract others to look...
`VCU pharmacy student Camille Schrier crowned Miss America 2020' LINK
`With a message of drug safety and a burst of colorful foam, Virginia Commonwealth University pharmacy student Camille Schrier wowed the judges and won Miss America. Her talent — a dramatic science demonstration of the catalytic conversion of hydrogen peroxide that shot bursts of colored foam high into the air — launched her over many of the other finalists, who showed off more traditional skills such as dancing and ballad singing..'.