WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Tripps]

I've just seen this elsewhere (in 'The Mill actually)

The big story: Rochdale on the brink -
Top line: The by-election in Rochdale this week isn’t the only story in town. Far from it. The future of Rochdale AFC, the town’s 117-year-old, fan-owned football club, is in peril. Without a £2m cash injection, its chairman says it will face liquidation by the end of next month.

George Galloway mentioned the problem yesterday in his election campaign. I didn't hear any solutions though.

I spent much of yesterday afternoon trying to do a post on the subect and comparing and contrasting the chairman of Manchester United with a former chairman of Rochdale FC. The connection being that they were both named Ratcliffe. I mentioned the fact that Fred Ratcliffe was a regular at the discrete after hours drinks sessions at the club, and during one such - on learning I was in the army, he bought me a drink - about 1970 'ish.

I contrasted that with the unlikelihood of (Failsworth lad, Chairman of Ineos, and multi billionaire) Sir Jim Ratcliffe doing the same. I gave up when I couldn't blag a picture of Fred as it was in the format file.webp . He had a spring manufacturing business and gave Cyril Smith his big break into business. It would not surprise me to hear that Stanley knew him.

Here's a link, for anyone interested in this nonsense, which is the next best thing. Fred Ratcliffe

[Stanley]

Sorry David but no, the name doesn't ring any bells.

[Stanley]

The fact that twice this morning I haven't been able to access the site. All seems to be well now.

[Stanley]

I got a birthday card from Martha yesterday. She sent it from Somerset a month ago.... Yet more evidence that the Tories can't run the Post Office!

[PanBiker]

The fact that twice this morning I haven't been able to access the site. All seems to be well now.

I have checked the logs and all seems well. The auto site backup was completed at 12.30am using the anonymous user account. As you keep unusual hours, you have probably fallen foul of maintenance tasks by the hosting company which normally take place out of regular waking hours.

[Tripps]

The big news of the day is the report into Wayne Couzens the ex policeman and rapist - now safe in jail.
The report author is Dame Elish Angiolini, a long time member of the great and the good in Scotland. I have been aware of her for over ten years, and a google of the terms Angiolini , Holly Greig, and Robert Green, will show things that don't appear in wikipedia. That is why nothing about the state of Scottish politics, even today, surprises me.

[Stanley]

You're probably right Ian. All seems to be well now.
I heard the Lady on the radio and she certainly sounds very persuasive when she says that the flaws in the system that allowed Couzens into the force and didn't stop his career when it became obvious that there was something wrong still exist. What struck me was that she kept saying she hoped the government would take notice of her. As we have seen in the past we get too many of these reports and recommendations that are ignored once the report has been 'accepted'. There is no statutory requirement to act.
The major world event that has my attention is the report that IDF troops opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians trying to get food from a truck in Gaza.
This morning I hear that the USA has blocked any debate of this in the UN.
I daren't comment on any of this, I would be seen as ranting. I think you all know my views.....

[Whyperion]

Rishi keeps saying Labour will take us back to square one. Honestly , do some of us think that might be no bad thing ?

[Whyperion]

Gaza Truck, 100 lost their lives BBC Verify
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68445973
at best , a muddle, certainly a result of unnecessary military action , (<insert date of your choice here>) deliberate by "one side"? who knows but should never have got to this state of affairs

[Stanley]

As I predicted.... Sunak, Starmer and Davies all failed to address the fact that the reason why Rochdale turned away from all of them is because of their failings in dealing with the far right Netanyahu government, not some esoteric circumstances outside their control.
I heard the Israeli 'defence' yesterday and it failed to acknowledge that the reason why there was an out of control mob round the food aid convoy is solely down to the IDF actions in Gaza and their ongoing refusal to allow food and oil into the Strip.

[Tizer]

I heard the Israeli 'defence' yesterday....

That would be Lt Colonel Lerner who is always wheeled out like an automaton to defend the actions of the IDF and rebut any criticism from the BBC.

[Whyperion]

Formula 1 Race Day being Saturday (as it will be next week) rather upsets ones routine of a post sunday lunch watch or listen. The reason is being in the middle east next Sunday is Start of Ramadan , so things had to come forward one day. (Thursday Practice is nothing new, Monaco has a religious holiday on Fridays of its normal F1 calendar week so everyone has a rest that day)

[Stanley]

I noted THIS UN report on the number of bullet wounds that casualties in hospital had after the incident.
Many of the people treated for injuries following a rush on an aid convoy in Gaza on Thursday suffered bullet wounds, the UN has said. UN observers visited Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital and saw some of the roughly 200 people still being treated.
In a statement on social media, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said, "Dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling." The IDF's Lt Col Peter Lerner also told the UK's Channel 4 News that a "mob stormed the convoy" and that Israeli troops "cautiously [tried] to disperse the mob with a few warning shots".
Spot on Peter......

[Tizer]

One man's mob is another man's crowd of desperate, starving people trying to reach food.

[PanBiker]

Indeed, it just depends who is judging them or what ulterior motives they have. The French Resistance during WWII was judged to be a terrorist organisation by the Germans, freedom fighters to the Allies. It was and will always be so. Free Palestine now!

[Tripps]

I heard Matt Frei soeaking to Lindsey Hilsum on the radio yesterday. They are both world class foreign correspondents.

They spoke of the lack of any press coverage in Gaza at the moment. They are signatories of a petition of fifty six such journalists which has just been sent to the Israelis, demanding accesss to Gaza. They rightly said that only an independent outside observer can have any chance of reporting the truth.

On the very sparse evidence I have seen - the Hamas version of events seems more likely.

[Stanley]

I'm sure you're right David.
I think the UN decided from the beginning that the Hamas Health Authority reports on the number of casualties and the nature of injuries and conditions in hospitals were reliable. 30,000 deaths seems to be a widely accepted figure.
I heard the report from the journalists protesting about Israel making sure they can't get into Gaza to give us a clear picture of what is happening. I think we all know why that is the case, the last thing the IDF wants is accurate reporting!

[Tizer]

`Horses on the run bring traffic to a halt on US motorway' LINK

That happened to me when driving on the M6 in the early 1970s. It was the middle of the night on a Sunday, the motorway was empty except for me (those were the days!). Then I saw lights ahead (white, not red). Then they seemed to be getting closer. That's when I realised there were three vehicles, one in each lane and they were coming towards me. A moments panic while I thought back to confirm that I hadn't somehow got onto the wrong side of the motorway. Next I could see flashing blue lights and I slowed down to a crawl. The vehicles then moved nearer to the central reservation and I suddenly saw horses in my headlights. The police cars were blocking off the motorway and herding them towards a slip road ahead and I had to stop while the police moved across in front of me and herded them up the slip road.

[Big Kev]

That must have been a sight to see, unnerving I would imagine until you could see what was happening.

What caught my attention was the £75 saving on my car insurance. I am changing cars at the end of the week, the Hyundai ix35 is being traded in against a Ford Kuga, the Kuga is four years 'younger' than the Hyundai so I was expecting it to increase. Made my morning

[Big Kev]

Got some strange looks in Lidl just now, I thought I was being considerate to others by wearing a face mask while still positive for Covid. It appears the great unwashed think differently to me.

[Stanley]

I can understand that Kev and also understand why, when it was down to you being considerate towards them, it could be annoying. Does anyone know how long it's infectious for?

[Wendyf]

Two large off road type electric bikes travelling at 25 to 30mph along the canal towpath between Salterforth and Foulridge yesterday morning. Sounding horns to make walkers get out of there way and not slowing down at all.
Later in the day, coming through Colne centre at 5.30pm there was a kids motorbike with 2 young lads on board weaving through the traffic...

[Tizer]

`Bee-harming neonicotinoid use "makes a mockery" of ban' LINK

So bees and other insects (and probably other animals) have to die so we can have our food bunged full of sugar. It needn't be so. Monoculture is the ultimate cause of the problem. Sugar beet crops could be protected by growing native nectar-rich flowering plants among the lines of beets. These would attract insects and birds that feed on the aphids that spread plant viruses. We don't harvest the beet leaves as food, it's the underground bit that we want so it doesn't matter if weed leaves are mixed in with beet leaves. And anyway, wouldn't it be better if we didn't eat so much sucrose?

[PanBiker]

I have been sharing petitions and protests about neonicotinoid use on Facebook for the last few years. It's a travesty and stupid to say the least. We loose the bees at our peril.

[Stanley]

Of course I agree with both of you.
I often contemplate the fact that we know that it was the introduction of sugar to Australia that ruined the Aborigines health by attacking their teeth but we do exactly the same to ourselves.