Thanks to Fergus Burnett of the Civil Society for the Headline.
Ah perhaps that’s why Rachel Reeves has had a bit of a breather, my she and the Treasury must feel that their boat has come in. I wonder what Boris Johnson would have done with the money.
The “National Fund” was set up a 100 years ago to pay off the “National Debt” incurred during the First World War. The fund was started by a banker Gaspard Farrer with the amount of £500,000. The fund received other donations from other philanthropists , but has received no new donations since 1985.
There was a court case in 2023 to see if the now £600million fund could be given to existing Charities in the UK, but the Courts have now decided that the money should go to the Treasury and will be used to write of a £670 million gilt.
So there you go , Gaspard Farrer wishes have been followed and the Charity will be wound up and MP’s will still be hiving off expenses and giving their friends Government Contracts and using everyone else’s money for their own purposes. They don’t miss a trick , do they?
Nevertheless , the money was supposed to be used for the National Debt and we have got plenty of that. The Charity itself is being wound down , I wonder though who was living off the interest of all that money, no doubt the Charity had expenses?
Thanks to Holly Lennon of STV News for the Headline
Unfortunately , commercial interests of Road Haulage firms are overriding the safety concerns of their drivers when it comes to harsh weather.
A driver who refuses to take his /her rig out due to bad weather , can be made subject to a disciplinary. This is simply not safe if there are serious weather warnings, perhaps we should just accept that we might not get our Grocery Deliveries or Santa’s Toys may not arrive in time for Christmas.
Of course the Conspiracy Theorists could say that all these Amber and Red warnings are generated by our Climate Change Obsessed Meterologists who just want to bring our economy to a halt and slow down global warming (if it’s happening). Let’s face it they can live in the cold , are vegan and all their children make their own toys out of string.
Apologies for the cynicism, but I do have empathy with anyone who feels that driving a large truck on black ice is not a good thing to do and is not just risking their lives but everyone else’s.
Thanks to Abhimanyu Mathur ” X““and the Hindustan Times for the Headline
The film “Dhurandar” has not been given an official release in several Middle Eastern Countries ( including United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Quatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia) due to an “Official Ban”
The film is about an Indian Spy in Pakistan.
“Dhurandar” has emerged as one of the biggest hits in Indian Cinema and it’s refusal to be shown in the Countries that have banned it is viewed as a direct act of suppression against Freedom of Expression. The approach to PM Modi has been made by the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association( IMPPA).
Apart from the Indian Film Industry being quite powerful, I’m not sure what PM Modi will be able to do . Mind you it makes me want to see the film , apparently it has had a significant success in India amid the Hindi’s, perhaps it is not regarded as a very positive film for Muslims, but they won’t know until they see it and anyway I can’t believe that it would be so biased and negative. Perhaps it reflects a time in history or even the present that needs reflection .
Banning does not solve anything, and I will be interested to see if PM Modi can affect change or indeed is interested in taking up the case.
Thanks to Janey Doyle , Wiltshire BBC Online News for the Headline.
Apparently the solar panels with this construction would be four miles wide and two miles long with panels that would stand roughly the height of a double decker bus.
Not surprised the Council and the locals are objecting to it , sounds an absolute monstrosity and apparently the substation is some distance away from the site that would connect it to the National Grid, so where would all the power go?
Oh well, it’ll have to go to Central Government for approval and guess what will happen.
Thanks to Reuters News and BBC News Online for this Headline
It’s hard to know how this could possibly be happening. Apart from the fact that Chrystia Freeland does have Ukranian heritage, and just happens to have played Trump at his own game when it came to negotiating tariffs on behalf of Canada when she was Minister of International Trade (2015 to 2017). Ms Freeland also is an ex- journalist, which seems increasingly a qualification to be successful in Politics.
Interestingly enough on her mother’s side during the aftermath of World War two her mother was born in Germany in a hospital administered by the US Army. Chrystia herself was born in Canada and until her recent appointment by Zelensky was MP for Toronto.
So Zelensky is beefing up his International Economic Power with the aim of reconstructing Ukraine when the War is over , if it is ever over. Meanwhile with houses in Canada, Ukraine and London, Chrystia is well placed to cover the ground wherever she is needed.
Thanks to Jimmy Rice output editor Sky News Online for the Headline
Glad to say someone is addressing the dearth of support there is for people who are economically challenged and cannot access the appropriate levels of internet support. Nowadays it is essential to have access to the internet and we need to make the information that makes it so more available to people.
In an economy that has been led by people with their head in the clouds for far too long, there have been so many left behind. The internet, ie. e.mail, web site searching and doing transactions online is now a necessary part of life. It needs to be accessible and secure . Security is key, we must not shy away from that fact. With accessibility comes responsibility too.
I’m glad to see that some of the Private Providers are offering deals for those who are economically challenged. Though again I think it’s dangerous that there are people out there in the UK , who for whatever reason cannot access anything and it is unacceptable that a Government of any Country allows that situation to occur. It should be part of every Citizen’s rights and a duty of the Government to ensure fairness and accessibility.
Thanks to Michael Ribbeck of the Swindon Advertiser for the Headline
In my mind to keep everyone that is frail safe they should have access to this service for free. Also we should value the service and the people that work to provide it. It should be like how the Japanese view their care, that it is an “honour” to care for people who cannot care for themselves.
Apparently those that do have the telecare service pay what they have always paid along with the budgeted increases but have noticed a deterioration in the service. That is not right. If they pay more the service should improve
With the modern digital culture and high speed broadband, everyone should have access to help if they need it . It should not be a question of if people need to pay for a better service.
The opportunity should be to review what is needed , where it is needed and what is the most effective technology and human input to achieve it. In the long run that will save money and reduce distress for those who need the support.
Thanks to Euro News online and Gregory Holyoke for the Headline.
This article is inspiring as it tells me about a place called Arwa Amba in northern Ethiopia where a group of Ethiopian’s have set up a community that has the values of equality , peace and pacifisim. The purity of the idea came from a young Ethiopian man who saw the unfairness in his daily life and wanted to live a different way.
It has survived and thrived successfully and consists of around 500 to 600 people currently living in the northern mountains of Amhara over 550 kilometres from the capital , Addis Ababa. It’s principles as a community have addressed poverty, exploitation and gender inequality. For me it represents a beacon to everyone else not just in Ethiopia but throughout the World.
It has faced challenges to survive over the last thirty years it’s been part of the Ethiopian Landscape. At the moment, however, it faces it’s biggest challenge . As the Peace Lovers are surrounded by warring factions on all sides.
My hope is that the conflicts that they are surrounded by do not destroy what surely should be preserved as a better way to live than arguing about money and land rights.
Thanks to Liam Gilliver from Euro News Online for the Headline
PFA’s are known as forever chemicals as they take ‘forever’ to break down therefore when the products they are made of are disposed of then they stay in the earth , water and air of the planet we live in.
This legislation has taken a long time to come into force, considering the great French Environmentalist Jacques Cousteau was a pioneer in showing the World the beauty of the sea and how it could be decimated by waste and abuse caused by human activity.
Even now , the legislation has been watered down, with Tefal the French owned non-stick pan company preventing the products that they use to achieve their non-stick coating being banned as Tefal has said that they stopped using PFOA’s ( a forever chemical known for it’s heat resistance properties) in 2012 and what they use now( another forever chemical) , has no record of being linked to cancer causing properties.
In truth I would never buy a non-stick pan or indeed an aluminium pan coated with non-stick. I tend to go for stainless steel, cook at lower temperatures and try not to burn stuff. I suppose with eggy bottoms then a good scrubbing brush with a bit of bicarbonate soda works miracles. So I’m not so sure how successful Tefal is but like Renault, the French like to protect their industry so the Tefal lobbying obviously worked.
The good news though is for clothes and make-up , products that use PFA’s when there are perfectly good alternatives to make the product are now banned. Result
Let’s face it the majority of us want to avoid risk and will not buy products however cheap that cause illness and desolation. Well done the French Government and let’s hope everyone else will follow.
Thank you to Suzanne Leigh and BBC Online News for the Headline
I choose not to continue the media hype, it’s a case currently highlighted and does not need me to further publicize the complainant.
Frankly when the incidents occurred that caused this debacle, the lady concerned was 15 years old, so I cannot see how you can argue that she was capable of making a decision that would mean her Citizenship of the UK would be revoked. So personally I think the Government is trying to defend that which cannot be defended.
However, as the Media (probably the liberal media) has taken hold of this and has made two films about it, with a lot of discussion in newspapers and television about the case. The said young woman now is in a refugee camp in Syria with no nationality as her Bangladeshi parentage does not entitle her to live in Bangladesh either, the Bangladeshi’s have refused her entry to Bangladesh.
She was born in the UK and has up until she left the UK at 15 only ever lived in the UK. Went to school here. So refusing her reentry and encouraging her to go to Bangladesh, stinks of the worst drunken pub rascist saying ” go back to where you came from” to someone who is a second generation Britain , but who is not as white as said rascist.
This was our Government then and it seems our Government now wants to follow through on that line. Which absolutely seems incredible to me and strikes me as desperation for votes from the quiet majority of homespun supremacist’s who crawl out of the woodwork to vote in elections that matter to them. Anything to do with race or the death penalty.
I have no idea what the Security Forces know about this woman and if there are concerns about her motives. The reality is that if she does return to the UK then she should be closely monitored and it must be quite clear to her that if radicalisation is still part of her make up , then that is a criminal offence and will be treated as such. We are not powerless, and we need to be able to deal with that should it occur, using the Criminal Laws of this Country.
What I find unacceptable is the emphasis on her appearance and this hair, makeup and sunglasses idea , it shouldn’t matter what she looks like. She was born in the UK and she is our problem or if the Human Rights Lawyers and Her Media Supporters are right our solution , not anyone else’s.
Yes she may need financial support when she comes back, let’s face it with youth unemployment in the UK as bad as it is , she may have needed that anyway if she stayed. What is everyone so scared of , do we not think we have the resource to deal with her. I actually think if we continue to disown her and leave her in what is the maelstrom of the Middle East that we may turn her completely against any chance of leading a humane life. She was misguided at 15, I’m sure lots of people have made mistakes at 15 , and wouldn’t expect to pay for that mistake for a lifetime. If she has committed international crimes try her, but to continue denying her rights that she was born with , is basically wrong and makes the Government look foolish.
This is an AI generated image which represents the fear of the unknown.
thenotsomightyom 