#the north water bbc

[devoted-to-colin-farrell]

Colin Farrell on preparing for The North Water mini series. Alongside bulking up (“I did weights and ate loads... I wouldn’t recommend it”) he got deep into the role, from refusing to wear gloves in Arctic temperatures so that his hands bled, to contemplating exactly what drove the character to take the path he had.

“I’ve never read a role like it where what felt like sheer, carnal brutality was fleshed out so beautifully.”

We were telling a very ugly story in a very beautiful place,” he added. “There was something in that contrast or contradiction that was very powerful.”

[zvaigzdelasas]

[BBC is UK State Media]

A vessel suspected by the Namibian authorities to be carrying military cargo intended for Israeli use in the ongoing war in Gaza has been blocked from docking in the southern African country.

Namibian Justice Minister Yvonne Dausab told state media the ship was stopped because it had “explosive material destined for Israel".

The MV Kathrin, which set off from Vietnam, had requested permission to dock in the port of Walvis Bay – before sailing north, on a suspected route towards the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar.

Rights groups had warned that Namibia could have been implicated in potential human rights violations had it allowed the vessel to dock.[...]

The MV Kathrin, which was set to dock at Walvis Bay on Monday from Vietnam, was stopped in accordance with Namibia's support for the Palestinian people and the country’s call for an end to the violence in Gaza, Ms Dausab told the state-run New Era news website.

Citing a police investigation, Ms Dausab said the vessel was "indeed carrying explosive material destined for Israel, and was therefore prohibited from entering Namibian waters". “Namibia complies with our obligation not to support or be complicit in Israeli war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, as well as its unlawful occupation of Palestine,” she said.[...]

Namibian human rights organisation the Economic and Social Justice Trust (ESJT) welcomed the move.

"We are pleased that our government has decided to respect international law and decided not to be complicit to genocide," ESJT's Herbert Jauch told the BBC[...]

Namport has not responded to the BBC for comment about the MV Kathrin.

The real stewards of the International Rules Based Order [27 Aug 24]

[justforbooks]

Johnnie Walker

Former pirate radio disc jockey who went to Radio 1 and later became a stalwart of Radio 2

Johnnie Walker, who has died aged 79, began his career as a disc jockey in the offshore pirate radio era of the mid-1960s. He was one of four pirate DJs – the others were John Peel, Tony Blackburn and Kenny Everett – who came to symbolise that time and continued to prosper in its aftermath.

The pirate radio stations, of which the most famous was Radio Caroline, were set up on ships and disused forts in the North Sea, avoiding British regulation by broadcasting from international waters and providing pop music to a British teen market not catered for by the BBC stations of the era.

Their DJs offered a fantasy version of adolescence from clued-up older-brother substitutes who, in the case of Peel, Blackburn and Walker, were former public schoolboys. Within this dreamscape Walker’s persona was that of the smooth-talking kid who got the girl. His theme tune was Duane Eddy’s 1960 American hit Because They’re Young, which more than 40 years later was still being reworked into the intro to Walker’s Radio 2 drivetime slot.

The pirates went on air in the dying months of Sir Alec Douglas-Home’s Conservative government, and Harold Wilson’s succeeding Labour administration devoted an extraordinary amount of energy to suppressing this sound of youth. The Marine Offences Act of 1967 brought an end to prosecution-free pirate radio on 14 August, but Walker could still be heard proclaiming the cause of freedom and the unreasonableness of adults from Radio Caroline the next day.

Peel, Everett and Blackburn were among the DJs who abandoned the rusting boats off the coast for a comfortable billet at BBC Broadcasting House in Langham Place, London, where Radio 1 was launched that September to meet the demand that the pirate stations had identified. The illegal broadcasting had confirmed Walker’s place in teenage affections, but by the spring of 1968 Caroline too had buckled under the pressure to stop broadcasting, and a year later Walker decamped to Radio 1, taking over its lunchtime slot.

Walker was born Peter Dingley in Hampton-in-Arden near Birmingham, the fourth of five children of Trevor Dingley, a salesman for W Canning & Co, an electroplating company, and his wife, Mary (nee Waters). At Solihull school, Peter failed his O-levels because, he claimed, he did not want a piece of paper to determine his path in life. So, at 16, he became a car salesman while moonlighting as a dance hall DJ under the name “Peter Dee”.

In May 1966 he joined Swinging Radio England, on a ship off the coast of Essex, and changed his name to Johnnie Walker. A couple of months later he switched to Radio Caroline, the first, and the most fashionable, of the pirates.

Walker was a radio natural, laconic but warm, and somebody who clearly cared about the music he was playing. His taste was for the adult oriented rock that dominated the pre-punk 1970s – or at least its album charts – bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan and Steve Harley’s Cockney Rebel.

At BBC Radio 1, this brought him into conflict with a management that had become enamoured with Top 20-dominated playlists. The Bay City Rollers, in those ancient times the teenybopper rage, were, Walker suggested, “musical garbage”. He told callers put out by his views to “take a running jump”. Thus, by 1976 he had quit the station to seek his fortune in California.

He did not really find it, and after spells with the stations KSAN in San Francisco and WHFS in Bethesda, Maryland, he returned to Britain in the early 1980s. He worked for local commercial stations until 1987, when he rejoined Radio 1. He then went to the BBC’s Greater London Radio from 1988 until 1990, when he was sacked for suggesting that the ousting of the prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, would have people “dancing in the streets”.

Despite that setback, his career in the 1990s, with Radio 1, LBC and Classic Gold was a success. In 1998 he joined Radio 2, which by then was playing the very same music he had been promoting three decades earlier when it was young and supposedly fresh.

In 1999 the progress of his revitalised career was disrupted when he became the subject of a classic News of the World undercover sting. Walker was videoed taking cocaine and offering to provide the “tycoons” – NoW reporters – with the services of sex workers. He was suspended by the BBC, went into drug rehabilitation and after being fined £2,000 for possession of cocaine was reinstated at Radio 2. The NoW’s work had made it difficult, the magistrate observed, for him to receive a fair trial.

In 2003 Walker took absence from his show for cancer treatment, from which he made a good recovery. In 2009 he began presenting the show that would define his later career, Sounds of the 70s.

He was appointed MBE in 2006, and in 2013 he received the gold badge of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. His eponymous autobiography was published in 2007. In 2008-09 he was an adviser to the Richard Curtis film The Boat That Rocked, an attempt to recapture the pirate radio era.

Walker announced in early October that he was retiring from radio after 58 years, having been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and presented his final Sounds of the 70s show at the end of that month.

He is survived by his second wife, Tiggy (nee Jarvis), whom he married in 2003, and by the son and daughter of his first marriage, to Frances Kum, which ended in divorce.

🔔 Johnnie Walker (Peter Waters Dingley), radio presenter, born 30 March 1945; died 31 December 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[thepastisalreadywritten]

12 June 2024

Wreck hunters have found the ship on which the famous polar explorer Ernest Shackleton made his final voyage.

The vessel, called "Quest," has been located on the seafloor off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack on board on 5 January 1922 while trying to reach the Antarctic.

And although Quest continued in service until it sank in 1962, the earlier link with the explorer gives it great historic significance.

The British-Irish adventurer is celebrated for his exploits in Antarctica at a time when very few people had visited the frozen wilderness.

"His final voyage kind of ended that Heroic Age of Exploration, of polar exploration, certainly in the south," said renowned shipwreck hunter David Mearns, who directed the successful search operation.

"Afterwards, it was what you would call the scientific age. In the pantheon of polar ships, Quest is definitely an icon," he told BBC News.

The remains of the ship, a 38m-long schooner-rigged steamship, were discovered at the bottom of the Labrador Sea on Sunday by a team led by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS).

Sonar equipment found it in 390m (1,280ft) of water. The wreck is sitting almost upright on a seafloor that has been scoured at some point in the past by the passing of icebergs.

The main mast is broken and hanging over the port side, but otherwise, the ship appears to be broadly intact.

Quest was being used by Norwegian sealers in its last days. Its sinking was caused by thick sea-ice, which pierced the hull and sent it to the deep.

The irony, of course, is this was the exact same damage inflicted on Shackleton's Endurance - the ship he used on his ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917.

Fortunately, the crews of both Endurance, in 1915, and Quest, in 1962, survived.

Indeed, many of the men who escaped the Endurance sinking signed up for Shackleton's last polar mission in 1921-1922, using Quest.

His original plan had been to explore the Arctic, north of Alaska, but when the Canadian government withdrew financial support, the expedition headed south in Quest to the Antarctic.

The new goal was to map Antarctic islands, collect specimens and look for places to install infrastructure, such as weather stations.

Shackleton never made it, however, struck down by heart failure in the Port of Grytviken on the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia, the last stop before reaching the White Continent. He was just 47 years old.

After his death, Quest was involved in other important expeditions, including the 1930-31 British Arctic Air Route Expedition led by British explorer Gino Watkins, who himself tragically died aged 25 while exploring Greenland.

Quest was also employed in Arctic rescues and served in the Royal Canadian Navy during WWII, before being turned over to the sealers.

The RCGS team members carried out extensive research to find Quest's last resting place.

Information was gathered from ship's logs, navigation records, photographs, and documents from the inquiry into her loss.

The calculated sinking location in the Labrador Sea was pretty much spot on, although the exact co-ordinates are being held back for the time being.

A second visit to the wreck, possibly later this year, will do a more complete investigation.

"Right now, we don't intend to touch the wreck. It actually lies in an already protected area for wildlife, so nobody should be touching it," associate search director Antoine Normandin said.

"But we do hope to go back and photograph it with a remotely operated vehicle, to really understand its state."

Alexandra Shackleton is the explorer's granddaughter and was patron to the RCGS survey.

"I was thrilled, really excited to hear the news; I have relief and happiness and a huge admiration for the members of the team," she told BBC News.

"For me, this represents the last discovery in the Shackleton story. It completes the circle."

The explorer continues to spark interest more than a century after his death.

Hundreds of people visit his grave on South Georgia every year to pay their respects to the man known by his crews simply as "The Boss."

"Shackleton will live forever as one of the greatest explorers of all time, not just because of what he achieved in exploration but for the way he did it, and the way he looked after his men," said David Mearns.

"His story is timeless and will be told again and again; and I'm just one of many disciples who'll keep telling it for as long as I can."

—

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO OBE FRGS FRSGS (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic.

He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

[fishfingersalad]

Rvb bbc ghosts x buzzfeed unsolved au Leonard “Alpha” Church III and his older sister Carolina Church inherit a creepy manor in the middle of nowhere halfway across the country after their great grandfather Leonard “Epsilon” Church dies of old age (yes Epsilon being their great grandfather is odd, it's for lore reasons).

Church’s college roommate Tucker has a ghost hunting youtube channel (Church edits his videos for him) and decides the manor seems spooky so he tags along to check it out with his co host (Kai) and camera/audio guy (Caboose) as well as Junior. Tex (Churches on again off again gf) comes along to bully them for getting scared, whenever she ends up on the show their views go up so they don’t complain. Carolina doesn’t wanna be stuck alone with Church’s friends so she invites her workout buddy Wash.

Unbeknownst to them, Tuckers “rival” youtube channel (the reds, Simmons is video and editing, Grif is audio, Lopez is in charge of their other equipment) catch wind of their plan to investigate the manor (Kai told Grif who accidentally let slip to Sarge) and they (literally just Sarge) take it as a challenge and they decide (are forced by Sarge) to follow the others to the manor to do their own investigation (Donut flirts with Locus the gas station attendant. This is important to me for some reason). Doc is unofficially part of the red team crew as first aid aka he follows them around bc he's worried about them going to all these abandoned buildings with no medical knowledge

Cw: talk of deaths in some detail, especially fires.

The Manor is actually haunted, by fifteen different ghosts:

Wyoming: 1840’s, fell out a window onto a weathervane

Florida: 1960’s, aspirin overdose 

York: 1980’s, car crash, has poltergeist abilities

North: 1850s, arsenic poisoning

South: 1850s, arsenic poisoning

Maine: 1910s, hunting accident, can sometimes be seen as a looming shadow in the dark

Ct: 1940s, military spy, shot

479er: 1960s, pilot, small aircraft crash

AI: 1920s, Children of a rich man who burned his house down while his wife was away with their youngest son, Leonard “Epsilon” Church (age 2 at the time). Delta (17), Theta (7), Eta (11), and Iota(11) died from smoke inhalation,  Gamma (15) and Omega (14) were burned,  Sigma (18) escaped the fire but succumbed to infection while still on the manor grounds. All of the ai ghosts carry a smell of smoke wherever they go (I have a drawing of them somewhere)

The only ones who can see the ghosts without outside influence (cameras, sensors, that stuff) are Church, Carolina, Wash, Donut, and Caboose, due to all five of them having near death experiences in their pasts, and later Doc after he’s possessed by Omega. Junior is also able to see ghosts though no one is sure why. 

Most of the au’s “story” is just silly interactions with the ghosts pranking the youtubers and various shenanigans. Wash deadpan pretends there are no ghosts to annoy both York and Tucker. Junior befriends Theta, Eta, and Iota, which concerns Tucker to no end especially since he tends to act like a horror movie child, all “Daddy, the lady with the hole in her head is in the corner again, daddy my friends with no faces wanna go play outside”. Sarge has a holy water super soaker that he carries everywhere incase of “ghouls”. South takes great joy in tormenting Simmons specifically. York follows the youtubers around and throws things at them, he only uses his poltergeist abilities for mischief. Ct finds a secret joy in sneaking up on Church to make him jump. Donut keeps telling his friends that the ghosts are there and real but none of them really believe him despite York pelting them with random objects. Wash finds a stray kitten and the ghosts are all immediately infatuated and begin following it around. Florida and Donut gossip together. Doc has to figure out how to deal with a rage fueled fourteen year old taking over his body. Tex punches Tucker on camera and it becomes their most popular video to date. Their second most popular video includes Tucker being attacked by Sarge with his holy water super soaker.

I just have so many little silly ideas about them...

[girlactionfigure]

🟤 RESTRICTIONS DROPPED, BEACHES RE-OPEN - Sunday afternoon Israel News

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

▪️HOME FRONT - MOST RESTRICTIONS REMOVED.. Home Front Command lifted the restrictions in most of the country, except the north and near-Gaza communities - which have returned to their previous restrictions.

.. Minster of Labor signs an order allowing work to continue at “factories providing essential services” overriding Home Front Command restrictions in that specific situation.  Valid for 48 hours.

▪️KINNERET BEACHES.. to re-open at 17:00 today.

▪️HAIFA BEACHES.. returning to normal activity, lifeguards headed to their stations.

▪️HIGH COURT - WHY NOT RED CROSS VISITS?  The High Court issued a conditional order and requires the state to explain why the Red Cross will not visit the murdering raping baby killing Nuchba terrorists of Hamas.  The Nat. Sec. Minister’s previous statement: “when the Red Cross checks our hostages, they will be permitted to check the Hamas prisoners.”

▪️AIR TRAVEL.. while Ben Gurion and Israel airspace have re-opened, many airlines canceled their flights - some until the end of the month.  At least 15% of operating flights are affected.

▪️THEY BELIEVE THEIR OWN LIES.. the Houthis congratulated Hezbollah: "A big and brave attack against Israel”.

.. The IDF clarifies, following Hezbollah's claims: "No military base in Israel was hit, and no target in the center of the country was hit by Hezbollah's barrages."

.. Hamas welcomed Hezbollah's response: "A high-quality and large response against several vital and strategic targets deep in Israel, in response to the assassination of Fuad Shuker. This is a slap in the face to the Israeli government and a message that its crimes against the Palestinian and Lebanese people will not go unanswered."

▪️TEN BIS (lunch delivery program for employees) REPORTS.. people ordered water, cottage cheese, and yogurt - up 143% today.

▪️GROCERIES.. All the grocery chains in Israel are reporting a lively movement of customers today. It is emphasized that there is NO SHORTAGE OF PRODUCTS and branches will continue to be open in most areas of the country.  Preparation, not panic.

⭕ RUMORS HEZBOLLAH HIT AN IDF SHIP.. a number of channels are reporting that Hezbollah hit an IDF navy ship this morning.  In pictures and video on some channels, a significant explosion is shown at sea somewhat near, but not that close, to a navy ship.  Other channels show video of moderate damage to a ship engine room and what appears to be a part of a rocket body.

⭕ HEAVY BOMBING.. across southern Lebanese towns.

🔹BBC SAYS.. A BBC reporter in Beirut reports from Western security sources:  Israel is expected to carry out wider preventive attacks throughout Lebanon.

🔹BBC ALSO SAYS.. BBC: Many Lebanese living in the Dahiya (Hezbollah) quarter of Beirut were instructed in the 48 hours before the planned Hezbollah attack to evacuate their homes to "safe areas" - until further notice.

🔸DEAL NEWS.. Egyptian source: Israel agreed in principle to withdraw from the Philadelphia border corridor and the Rafah crossing. ( Unlikely, the Prime Minister’s Office has denied this multiple times. 

[beardedmrbean]

An estimated 4,000 illegal gold miners are hiding underground in South Africa after the government cut off food and water in an effort to "smoke them out" and arrest them.

The miners have been in a mineshaft in Stilfontein, in the North West province, for about a month.

They have refused to cooperate with authorities as some are undocumented - coming from neighbouring countries like Lesotho and Mozambique - and fear being deported.

Illegal miners are called "zama zama" ("take a chance" in Zulu) and operate in abandoned mines in the mineral-rich country. Illegal mining costs the South African government hundreds of millions of dollars in lost sales each year.

Many South African mines have closed down in recent years and workers have been sacked.

To survive, the miners and undocumented migrants go beneath the surface to escape poverty and dig up gold to sell it on the black market.

Some spend months underground - there is even a small economy of people selling food, cigarettes and cooked meals to the miners.

WATCH: The dangerous world of illegal mining in South Africa

South African miner feared for his life during 'hostage situation'

Local residents have pleaded with the authorities to assist the miners, but they have refused.

"We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. We are not sending help to criminals. Criminals are not to be helped - they are to be persecuted [sic]," said Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni on Wednesday.

Police are hesitant to go into the mine as some of those underground may be armed.

Some are part of criminal syndicates or "recruited" to be in one, Busi Thabane, from Benchmarks Foundation, a charity which monitors corporations in South Africa, told the BBC's NewsDay programme.

Without any access to supplies, conditions underground are said to be dire.

"It is no longer about illegal miners – this is a humanitarian crisis," said Ms Thabane.

On Thursday, community leader Thembile Botman told the BBC that volunteers had used ropes and seat belts to pull a body out of the mine.

"The stench of decomposing bodies has left the volunteers traumatised," he said.

It's not clear how the person died.

Although the authorities have been blocking food and water, they have temporarily allowed local residents to send some supplies down by rope.

Mr Botman said they had been communicating with the miners by notes written on pieces of paper.

Police have blocked off entrances and exits in an effort to compel the miners to come out.

This is part of the Vala Umgodi, or "Close the Hole", operation to curb illegal mining.

Five miners were pulled out on Wednesday by rope, but they were frail and weak. Paramedics attended to them, and then they were taken into police custody.

In the last week, 1,000 miners have emerged and been arrested.

Police and the army are still at the scene waiting to detain those who are not in need of medical care after resurfacing.

"It’s not as easy as the police make it seem – some of them are fearing for their lives," said Ms Thabane.

Many miners spend months underground in unsafe conditions to provide for their families.

"For many of them it's the only way they know how to put food on the table," said Ms Thabane.

Local residents have also attempted to convince the miners to come out of the mineshaft.

"Those people must come out because we have brothers there, we have sons there, the fathers of our kids are there, our children are struggling," local resident Emily Photsoa told AFP.

The South African Human Rights Commission says it will investigate the police for depriving the miners of food and water.

It said there is concern that the government’s operation could have an impact on the right to life.

Minister Ntshavheni's remarks have provoked mixed reaction from South Africans, with some praising the government's unyielding approach.

"I love this. Finally, our government is not tiptoeing on these serious matters. Decisiveness will help this country," one person wrote on X.

While others felt the stance was inhumane.

"In my view, this kind of talk from the Minister in the Presidency is disgraceful and dangerous hate speech," one user said.

Another wrote: "They are criminals but they have rights too."

Illegal mining is a lucrative business across many of South Africa's mining towns.

Since December last year, nearly 400 high-calibre firearms, thousands of bullets, uncut diamonds and money have been confiscated from illegal miners.

This is part of an intensive police and military operation to stop the practice that has severe environmental implications.

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday the Scottish actor Peter Mullan born 2 November 1959 in Peterhead. I love Peter’s work and rate him as highly as Brian Cox and If ever there was a story of rags to riches it is Peter Mullan, born in Peterhead the family later moved to Mosspark in Glasgow. Mullans father was a drunken violent man but despite this Peter did well at school, at least till the age of 14 when the climate at home forced him out onto the streets and into a gang, spending less and less time at school. In his own words he was aggressively lobotomising himself but admitted he kept up his reading on the sly “You couldnae tell the gang you were reading Carl Jung.” he said. I’m not sure his heart was in the gang culture as he says he was “kicked out” after a couple of years, he returned to school and sailed through his Highers and started at Glasgow University at 17. His dad died of lung cancer on his first day. Mullan studied economic history and drama and despite suffering a nervous breakdown in his final year still managed to graduate. He went on to teach drama at Borstals, prisons and community centres while becoming involved in the left-wing theatre movement that flourished in Scotland in the 1980s. In 1987 he made his professional acting debut with the Wildcat theatre company in a political pantomime. Bit parts in Scottish films and TV series followed, The Steamie, Taggart, of course, and Rab C Nesbitt, as well as The Big Man and in Braveheart, he uttered the words, “We didn’t come here to fight for the” Danny Boyle, Shallow Grave and Trainspotting were another two films that Mullan served his apprenticeship in. The breakthrough came when Ken Loach chose him in the title role of “My Name is Joe” he gave a brilliant portrayal Jekyll-and-Hyde character , a recovering alcoholic whose humanity and warmth masked a frightening capacity for brutality. He won his first award at Cannes as Best Actor for the role. Around the same time Mullan was starting to get into directing, three surreal comic dramas set in the Glaswegian working-class world and then his first full length film, he not only directed but wrote the excellent Orphans an odyssey of four working-class siblings roving round Glasgow in the 24 hours after their mother dies. Channel Four, who funded the film chose not to distribute it as they didn’t think it would attract a large commercial audience. The film however was shown at Film festivals around Europe and won numerous awards, in interviews, Mullan has said that once Orphans started winning awards Channel Four apologised and asked if they could distribute it, an offer he refused. Since then Peter Mullan has not looked back, directing and penning The Magdalene Sisters and Neds as well as starring in amongst others, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, War Horse, Hector and Tommy’s Honour, on the small screen he was one of the main characters in ITV series The Fixer, The BBC Two drama Top of the Lake, and in the excellent drama series Gunpowder. More up to date Peter has appeared as Jacob Snell in the first two seasons of the Netflix series Ozark, all three series of the BBC Two sitcom Mum and a recurring role in the popular TV reboot of Westworld. He has also starred in the Netflix fantasy drama Cursed. We will next see Mullan alongside Colin Farrell and Tom Courtney in the BBC series The North Water. Peter was also one of the participants of the National Theatre of Scotland’s Scenes For Survival project, which featured talents from the country’s arts industry making lockdown-related short films as a response to the country’s theatres having to close during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mullan has been busy in the past few years, appearing in TV shows Liaison, Payback, After the Party and LOTR: Rings of Power, as well as the film, Baghead a Horror film which has average reviews on IMDb. Outlander fans look out for him in the spin off series Outlander: Blood of My Blood, a prequel to the popular Starz show, it follows the parents of both protagonists from the original series. Tony Curran is also cast as a younger Lord Lovatt. It is follows the parents of both protagonists from the original series it is expected to premiere in 2025 on Starz. He has a few oter projects on the go, the most hard hitting will no doubt be an ITV mini series called Lockerbie which will focus on the investigation into the crash on both sides of the Atlantic and the devastating effect it had on the small town and the families who lost loved ones.

[master-john-uk]

BEWARE THE FULL MOON! 19th August 2024.

The Full Moon will reach it's peak at 19:26 (British Summer Time)... shortly before midnight in New York.

August's Full Moon is most commonly known as the Sturgeon Moon. This is due to the abundance of these prehistoric fish that used to be seen in the rivers and lakes of North America at this time of year. Due to overfishing, poaching and water pollution they are now one of the most critically endangered species on Earth.

In China it is called The Hungry Ghosts' Moon... when the gates of Hell open up, and the hungry dead walk among the living once more. Despite it's rather macabre atmosphere... The Hungry Ghost Festival originates from a celebration of the harvest.

It is also a Super Moon tonight... which means it will appear much larger than usual. [Some news agencies, including the BBC are incorrectly saying that it is a Blue Moon. A Blue Moon is the second Full Moon within a calendar month. This does not happen very often!]

I am now safely locked inside my Dorset farmhouse. If you have to go out tonight... take care!

[hazel-of-sodor]

Sodor in the age of scoial media

Sodor in the age of social Media

2. Henry

Henry was perhaps the slowest of the famous eight to adapt to the internet. Henry prefers to spend his free time in quiet nature, and the internet had little appeal to him. He would occasionally post inline about some mishap that befell his shedmates, but was largely inactive till the early 2000s.

In 2005 Cyclone Gudrun flooded the North Western coast, which was home to a large part of the Island's population of the endangered Welsh Pine Martin. He worried endlessly for several days. It came to a head one night when Gordon finally snapped. The express engine was sympathetic, but days of evacuation and emergency supply trains had left the mighty pacific sleep deprived and irritable. He had been looking forward to his well deserved sleep, and Henry's rambling was keeping him awake.

"Henry my dear engine, the poor Pine Martians.."

"Pine Martins"

"...Indeed. The poor Pine Martins have my deepest sympathies, but I am desperately in need of sleep, and since it has escaped your notice, all of us here are engines, with little ability to help the creatures even if we had the time."

Henry's face fell, leaving Gordon feeling as if he had kicked an 80 ton puppy.

The No.4 sighed, and turned his attention to the problem, "what is it they need?"

"Pardon?"

Gordon eyed the 4-6-0 grumpily, "What is needed to save the creatures, as I am quite certain you will not be able to rest until something is done. The last thing needed right now is for you to have an accident because you went without sleep."

"One would think you hadn't been listening to him at all these last few days." James snarked from Gordon's opposite side.

"Listening and understanding are not the same thing Little James. I understand the Martins homes are flooded, and they are already quite rare, but I do not know what can or should be done to remedy their plight."

Henry considered his pseudo cousin. "We need volunteers mainly, to search for Martins displaced by the storm, and the funds to care for them until they can be returned to the forest once the flood waters. recede." He paused thoughtfully , "The main problem is people don't know. All the focus is in the displaced people. Which that is just as important but..."

"Post it." Gordon interupted.

"What?" James asked.

Gordon sighed, "Post the situation online. When a engine in the mainland needs funds for overhaul, they often ask for Thomas to make a post online to raise awareness. I do not see why you could not do the same for the Pine Martins. We will all share the post as well so more people will see it."

Several engines stared at the Pacific, but Henry slowly started to smile, "Really? You would do that."

Gordon hrmped, "I can spare a few moments to help the critters so we can all finally sleep. When I see little Thomas tomorrow I will ask him to share it as well."

It should come as no surprise that having Thomas the Tank Engine ask for help saving cute little creatures with wide pleading ideas was just as effective as a full broadside from HMS Hood. Volunteers and funds poured in, and a foundation was quickly established to help look after the Islands population of Pine Martins, but this gave Henry an Idea.

Henry began to chronicle his encounters with Sodor wildlife, his crew helpfully taking videos, which he would post as he read descriptions of the animals. This quickly gained traction (and followers.) Children loved listening to one of the Famous Eight talking about new animals.

In 2007, the newly prosperous Sodor Conservation Society officially partnered with Henry, and began an online docuseries about the endangered animals of Sodor. The Series, aptly named Preservation and Conservation, would become a run away success. Series Three saw the series leave Sodor (although their steam powered narrator remained on the island), with Series four and beyond playing on the BBC in Britain, and Series Five and beyond playing on PBS in the United States. Preservation and Conservation is now on its sixteenth series, with series 18 greenlit.

Henry is now the Mascot and board director of the SCS, and a well respected figure in ecological conservation. From 2008 onwards he has carried the society's emblem on the side of his cab.

If you find his pages online these days, Henry can be found documenting the animals and plants he sees on his daily runs, and. Occasionally documeting the hijinx of his fleetmates as well (most notably the time James got sprayed by a skunk during the filming of series 7) While more Niche than many of the other online engines in the North Western fleets, Henry would argue his online presence is one of the most important.

[time-being]

On the "US" airdrop in Gaza

I've put "US" in quotes because the first caption on this BBC story calls that into question.

I believe that Jordan is a different country than Jordan. It's not clear to me what the US's involvement was in this operation. Maybe the US asked Jordan to do it and paid for it?

Regardless, the reported number of meals is 38,000.

Nobody really knows how many people remain in the north of Gaza, but it's probably hundreds of thousands.

Genocide Joe's plan for the starvation he's facilitated in Gaza is roughly one meal for every 4, 5, or 10 people, every few months.

This is reminiscent of US news about a delivery of 50,000 liter bottles of water earlier on in the genocide.

It's a pittance.

[eaglesnick]

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Elie Wiesel

For the 200 people already sentenced for their part in the Southport riots and related incidences of racial hatred, acts of violence, Incitement to arson and murder, the average prison sentence is two years.

Today, one of the two Just Stop Oil activists who threw tomato soup at Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers also received a two-year jail sentence. The other defendant received 20 months.

Whether or not you agree with the tactics of Just Stop Oil or the Extinction Rebellion protestors the fact remains we are suffering a worsening climate. When the crisis was first brought to out attention the debate centred mainly on the phrase  “global warming". The ice caps would melt, the average global temperature would rise, geographical areas already hot would become hotter. At the beginning of this debate our mainstream media simply concentrated on temperature change and here in cold damp Britain, temperature rise didn’t seem such a bad idea.

How things have changed! Now we realise that rising temperatures in Britain do not mean warmer drier summers: warmer yes, but also wetter.

“England drenched after wettest 18 months since records began in 1836" (Financial Times: 15/03/24)

Six months on and widespread flooding continues. A month’s  worth of rain fell in a couple of hours over central and southern England, homes have been ruined, roads became impassable, and farm animals became stranded. This is how global warming affects us  here in the UK.

There is another consequence of global warming – mass migration.  In those countries where the climate has become hotter and drier, where water shortage and famine have become the norm the population has no choice other than to migrate.

The BBC recently asked the question “Is the world ready for mass migration due to climate change?” with estimates as high as three billion people expected to be displaced by the effects of global warming. Judging by recent political events and the findings of various opinion polls the answer to that question as far as Britain is concerned is a resounding NO.

It is therefore ironic that right-wing politicians like Nigel Forage, politicians obsessed with migration, have described Just Stop Oil protesters as  “a complete and utter disgrace”, claiming they are  “akin to domestic terrorists”. Of course, Farage and his Reform UK Party have long been advocates of the false claim that human activity has nothing to do with climate change and that reducing CO2 emissions is a waste of time.

“Net zero means reducing man-made CO2 emissions to stop climate change. It can’t.” (Reform UK website: 2024)

Whether or not Farage and Reform UK really believe their climate change denial statements is open to question. What is not in doubt is the amount of funding they receive from other climate deniers and fossil fuel interests.

“Reform UK has received more than £2.3 million from oil and gas interests, highly polluting industries, and climate science deniers since December 2019, amounting to 92 percent of the party’s donations.” DeSmog: 04/06/24)

Is it any wonder Reform UK supports fracking, extended gas and oil extraction from the North Sea and scrapping the UK commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.

Corporate money clearly talks, especially that of the big oil and gas companies, and this may well explain why the Just Stop Oil protestors received such harsh sentences for the crime of  throwing soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers.

The Just Stop Oil activists did not damage the painting itself as a defensive screen protected it. The only damage was to the FRAME housing the painting, estimated at £10,000. The estimated cost of 4 days of rioting resulting from the Southport murders is between £200m and £500m in damages, lost trade and policing.

The conclusion is clear. Instigating riot, taking part in riot, encouraging arson and racist behaviour and even murder is no worse than throwing tomato soup at a painting that you know is protected by anti-vandal glass.

The wealth and long reach of corporate oil and gas interests seems not only to influence the climate policies of Reform UK but also the values and response of our judicial system to anyone who dares protest about the fossil fuel industry.

[dzthenerd490]

News Post

Palestine

‘Missing in action’: Where has Palestinian Authority been since October 7? | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera

From exodus to exodus: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon flee Israeli attacks | International | EL PAÍS English (elpais.com)

Tributes pour in for Palestinian student burned to death in Israeli attack on al-Aqsa Hospital | Middle East Eye

The Israeli ‘General’s Plan’ for northern Gaza is unlikely to succeed | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera

US imposes sanctions on 'sham charity' fundraising for Palestinian terror group | The Times of Israel (Israel-US Propaganda Bullshit)

Sudan

Sudan war: Afcon 2025 qualifying wins bring 'pride and joy' to country - BBC Sport

Sudanese army claims gains in Khartoum, retakes key water station - Sudan Tribune

Spiraling Sudan bloodshed sparks refugee surge into Chad (voanews.com)

Sudan war: 'They ransacked my home and left my town in ruins' (bbc.com)

Ukraine

Zelenskyy says ‘victory plan’ to end Russia war includes NATO membership | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera

Ukraine says North Korea is sending soldiers to help Russia in the war : NPR

Ukraine war: Meet Bucha's female unit who gun down Russian drones (bbc.com)

Exclusive: Inside a secretive Ukraine drone unit targeting Russian territory | CNN

Record high deaths in the Russia-Ukraine war: What you should know | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera

Lebanon

Lebanon official says Nabatiyeh province's mayor killed in Israeli strike | AP News

Israel row with Unifil peacekeepers driven by long distrust (bbc.com)

Netanyahu wants UNIFIL out of Lebanon. Why? | Israel attacks Lebanon News | Al Jazeera

Other

Taliban-run media stops showing images of living beings in some Afghan provinces | AP News

Afghan Triples: Hundreds of ex-special forces to be allowed in UK (bbc.com)

Congo cancels an auction for 27 sites earmarked for oil exploration | AP News

ICC prosecutor announces renewed probe into alleged crimes in eastern Congo | Africanews

Congo's war is creating a mental health crisis for those in displacement camps near Goma | AP News

Saudi Arabia, Egypt strengthen investment ties, urge Gaza and Lebanon Ceasefires | Africanews

Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia Counter Ethiopia in New Alliance (foreignpolicy.com)

A rare rain in the Sahara Desert | Weather News | Al Jazeera

Flooding kills more than 20 people in Morocco and Algeria | AP News

Myanmar and China have world’s ‘worst environment’ for internet freedom | Internet News | Al Jazeera

Israeli-Palestinian conflict – Rafah – Mother Jones

[tubeteevee]

can we hear about why youre not supposed to dive around the titanic im curiouse

the titanic is in 12,000 feet of water in a remote area in the north atlantic ocean. she wasnt even located until 1985 (that is a 45,000-ton ship that was lost here for seventy-three years). the idea of “touring” a location like that is just absurd, you cant even see more than a few feet ahead of you thats WHY the BBC did that whole (UNMANNED) 3D scanning mission earlier this year. people don’t dive the titanic because there’s just no feasible reason to put a human being in that much danger to look at 4 square feet of what’s left of a boat.

shipwreck diving is a hobby, but it’s limited to shallow wrecks and experienced divers and even then you’re risking your life down there. it’s not unheard of for a wreck to have a post-sinking body count (the SS andrea doria comes to mind with her current total of 22) because they’re unstable structures in a state of decay and there’s a whole lot that can go wrong.

[inspofromancientworld]

Oldest recorded creation myths in the world: 1500 BCE - Hindu creation myth India Created by Brahma, who emerged from the formless chaos and darkness that existed before the beginning. Brahma separated the five elements (earth, water, fire, are, ether) then created living beings, gods, and demons. There was a battle between the gods and demons, which the gods won. The gods then asked Brahma to create humans to worship them as their boon. Humans lacked knowledge when they were created, so Brahma gave them the Vedas so they'd know what rituals to perform. Called the Purusha Sukta Found in the Rigveda

1600 BCE - Eridu Genesis Mesopotamia (incomplete) Created by An, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag. Enki, the god of wisdom, water, knowledge, crafts, and creation, creates a home for the gods on Earth. Enki sculpts humans from clay and tasks them with serving the gods. Humans multiply and get noisy, annoying the gods. Enki warns Ziusurda to build a boat to save his family, after which, he was gifted eternal life. https://study.com/academy/lesson/eridu-genesis-overview-summary-sumerian-flood-story.html

1300 BCE - Enūma Eliš Mesopotamia Created by Marduk. Tiamat, who embodies chaos and the primordial sea, gives rise to Apsu, the god of groundwater, and Tiamat's consort. They create Lahmu and Lahamu, then they give rise to Anshar and Kishar. Anshar gave rise to Anu (the sky), then Nudimmud (also known as Enki [same as Eridu Genisis] and Ea). They're loud, so Apsu complained to Tiamat and Mummu. Mummu proposed destroying the gods, Tiamat was reluctant. Apsu embraced Mummu. Upon learning about this, Ea created a sleeping spell for Apsu, taking his divinity, then killed him. Apsu's body became the home of the gods. Then Ea and his consort Damkina used Apsu's heart to create Marduk. The other gods complained to Tiamat, and she gathered her forces to attack Ea. Ea heard of Tiamat's plan, though, and sought counsel from Anshar, who advised him to allow Marduk to fight. Marduk defeats Tiamat with a net he was given by Anu, as well as using the seven winds (north, south, east, west, a whirlwind, a cyclone, and Imhullu [the evil wind]), and an arrow. Marduk split Tiamat in two, creating the earth and the sky. Marduk placed the likeness of the gods in the constellations and created a home for Anu, Enlil (the god of wind, air, earth, and storms), and Ea.

3000-1100 BCE - Greek creation myth (from Minoan, Mycenean, and Greek sources) Created by Gaia and Uranus. In the beginning, there was only Nyx, a black-winged bird. She laid an egg that hatched into Eros. Half the shell rose to become the sky and Eros named it Uranus. The other half became the earth, which Eros named Gaia. Eros caused them to fall in love and they had many children, who gave them grandchildren. One child, Kronus, became fearful of the power of the grandchildren, so he swallowed his children, until his wife, Rhea, gave him a rock instead of their last born, Zeus. Zeus killed his father, releasing his siblings, and starting a great war in heaven. The younger generation won, sealing up the older. Zeus's generation set the constellations in Uranus and life on Gaia. Zeus saw that animals and men were missing and told Prometheus and Epimetheus, his sons, to create these creatures, giving each a gift. Prometheus made men and Epimetheus made animals. Epimetheus used all the gifts, so Prometheus gave men fire, angering Zeus. Zeus had Hephaestus create Pandora, who was given a gift from each god, including a jar containing all evils. She is given to Epimetheus, who ignores Prometheus' warnings. Pandora then scatters the evils in her jar, except hope, which is held in by the will of Zeus. https://www.cs.williams.edu/~lindsey/myths/myths_16.html

3100-2686 BCE - Egyptian Creation Myth (Early Dynastic Period) Nu, an infinite, lifeless expanse of water, was all that existed in the beginning. Gradually, a mound of earth called benben emerged and the god Atum appeared on the mound, creating himself by speaking his name. Atum created Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture). They gave birth to Geb (earth) and Nut (sky). Geb and Nut were lovers, but were separated by Shu, creating space between earth and sky after they gave birth to Osiris (fertility), Isis (motherhood), Set (chaos), and Nephthys (protection). Isis and Osiris gave birth to Horus (the sun). (Exact details vary by location.)

65,000 years ago - Dreamtime Australia The world was created by powerful spiritual beings created the land, sea, and sky. They made mountains, rivers, water holes, rocks, plants, and animals. People were created, given huting tools, land, and totems in their Dreaming, thus the Spirits are the Ancestors from the beginning of time. The Ancestors showed people which places were to be sacred and what rituals to perform and what songs to sing to please the Ancestors. The exact nature of the Ancestors varies from huge snakes to the Wanadjina (cloud and rain spirits).

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from BBC:

Ocean heatwaves have been well documented in recent years. Now, scientists say river temperatures, too, are soaring – leaving Alaska's world-famous salmon to navigate increasingly challenging waters as they struggle to complete their migratory cycle. When circumstances deteriorate, migrating fish are often forced to keep moving until they find cooler water. Now, changes in salmon populations are already affecting the culture and lifestyle of many coastal native tribes, a connection that goes back thousands of years.

Salmon are anadromous fish, meaning they spend parts of their lives in different habitats. Alaska's rivers are home to all five species of Pacific salmon; pink (humpy), chinook (king), coho (silver), sockeye (red) and chum (dog). Although there are differences between them, they are all born in freshwater and spend some time there before heading to the ocean, which has better resources for them to eat and grow. When ready, they return to the same stream they were born in, to reproduce and then die.

Salmon go back to their home river because it usually gives them the best chance of survival, says Peter Westley, associate professor of fisheries at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. "Different rivers have different factors, like temperature and how much water is in it, and how big the rocks are – all kinds of stuff. So, the fish that were born there and survived there have traits that allow them to do well there."

However, salmon are also very temperature-sensitive and there is growing evidence that some are veering to cooler habitats. Westley led a research project that confirmed salmon are increasingly spawning in Arctic rivers, a region which had previously been too cold. This suggests that at least some salmon species, in this case chum, could be venturing into new territory as climate change reshapes their environment. Similarly, a more recent study found a significant shift in the migratory patterns of Pacific salmon; namely a northward movement into the western Canadian Arctic as it gets warmer.

However, rising temperatures are affecting salmon species differently across the regions of Alaska. While some are working their way north, other populations are severely declining. "In some southern parts of Alaska, it's getting so warm that salmon are really struggling with heat stress and are dying," says Westley.

Although fish can, in theory, find better conditions elsewhere, it doesn't always happen. "Migrations are costly. If you're going to travel, it puts you at risk of being eaten by predators and you're burning energy to swim longer distances. It's difficult for a fish to just go somewhere else," says Westley. "And if you go too far north, there's not as much food, so there are real trade-offs for fish that are migrating."

This trend is not endemic to Alaska, and although climate change is affecting habitats, it is not the only culprit. A 2024 global study by the World Fish Migration Foundation found an average of 81% decline in migratory freshwater fish populations between 1970 and 2020. Due to data limitations, the situation might be even worse. The report states that migratory fishes are disproportionately threatened, especially those that spend parts of their life in freshwater, largely due to overfishing, and habitat loss or degradation.