Newsworthy but not its own thread worthy

[mental]

Originally Posted by alexora

Meanwhile, this is the situation on British streets:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xVRefKA8CZM

That scene reminds me of the long lines in the 1973 gas shortage here in the U.S. where you could only by gas on certain days based on what number your license plate ended with, a odd or even number. then you could only buy 10 gallons, today 10 gallons will last for a little while but back then when your car only got about 8 or 10 MPG on the highway & less in the city it did not last long.

[alexora]

Originally Posted by mental

That scene reminds me of the long lines in the 1973 gas shortage here in the U.S. where you could only by gas on certain days based on what number your license plate ended with, a odd or even number. then you could only buy 10 gallons, today 10 gallons will last for a little while but back then when your car only got about 8 or 10 MPG on the highway & less in the city it did not last long.

I too remember the 1973 oil crisis: it was a global thing.

In Italy, where I was, we also had the alternating number plates system + on Sundays no motor vehicle traffic was allowed, except for the EMS and public transport: streets usually congested with heavy traffic were taken over by joggers cyclists, and animal powered carts.

This is what a Sunday was like in Italy back then:

You Tube

You Tube

[alexora]

Things still not good in the South East of England (this includes London):

Fuel tanks still dry at 20% of
South East forecourts, say retailers

One in five forecourts in London and the South East of England are still without fuel, the body that represents independent fuel sellers has said.

The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said there had been a "marked improvement" across the rest of the UK thanks to "steady deliveries".

But conditions in the South East are "still challenging", the PRA said.

The improvement in supplies has led to forecourt firm EG Group to remove its £30 cap on buying fuel at its sites.

It said purchases were returning to normal levels in the majority of places, apart from the south of England.

However, the company, which has about 400 sites in the UK, added it expected supply issues to ease "in the coming days" due to the military driving tankers to restore supplies.

About 200 servicemen and women from the Army and RAF have been drafted in to deliver fuel from depots to forecourts.

The PRA said the situation around London and the South East was "still challenging". In these areas, it said 62% of the sites surveyed had both grades of fuel available, 18% had only one grade and 20% were dry.

In the rest of the country, the trade body said 86% of sites had both grades of fuel "thanks to steady deliveries and stabilising demand", with 6% having only one grade and 8% being dry.

"We are grateful for the support lent by the government through their provision of military drivers, although further action must be taken to address the needs of disproportionately affected areas," said Gordon Balmer, executive director of the PRA.

The PRA represents the interests of the independent filling stations across the UK, which account for nearly 5,500 of the UK's 8,380 forecourts.

The government has been criticised for not deploying the military earlier after panic-buying led to chaos and queues on some petrol station forecourts.

More than 65 drivers will start work, with plans to increase this to 200 personnel to be deployed in total, including 100 drivers.

The drivers have undertaken refresher training with the fuel delivery firm, Hoyer in order to take on the work.

Hoyer said the training included company safety procedures as well as equipment familiarisation and forecourt driving manoeuvres.

A government spokesperson said there were signs of improvement in average forecourt stocks across the UK, adding that demand was "continuing to stabilise".

"More than half of those who have completed training to make fuel deliveries are being deployed to terminals serving London and the South-East of England, demonstrating that the sector is allocating drivers to areas most affected in this first phase from Monday," the spokesperson said.

Fuel crisis: Six key dates

23 September: BP temporarily closes some petrol stations due to a shortage of lorry drivers

25 September: After days of long queues at stations, with many running dry, the government announces a temporary visa scheme, allowing 5,000 lorry drivers to work in the UK in the run-up to Christmas

27 September: The Army is put on standby to help deliver fuel to stations hit by shortages

28 September: Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the situation at forecourts is "stabilising", while the PRA says there are "early signs" pressure is starting to ease at pumps

2 October: Despite a "distinct improvement" nationwide, the PRA says petrol supplies remain critical in London and south-east England

4 October: Army starts to deliver fuel to speed up replenishments

The crisis began more than 10 days ago when BP said it had run out of petrol in a number of its outlets. That prompted motorists to fill up more than usual, leaving deliveries unable to keep up with demand.

Many sectors of the UK economy, including food firms and petrol retailers, have been affected by a chronic shortage of lorry drivers, which the haulage industry has blamed on factors including Covid, Brexit, an aging workforce, and tax changes.

David Charman, who runs Parkfoot Garage in West Malling in Kent, told the BBC's Today programme there was a big task ahead to restore supplies.

"This is not panic-buying anymore, this is people that have waited as long as they possibly can and now they have no fuel. We're having to push cars that are in the queue to get to our site because they've run out of fuel," he said.

"We didn't have the normal two days of stock underground... because of Covid but we were still managing the situation perfectly well. But now, when we're all empty, it needs a huge influx of fuel deliveries to everybody, not just to me, to ensure that we can get through this."

Source:

http://bbc.co.uk/news/business-58786269

[alexora]

Lights out in Lebanon:

Lebanon left without power as grid shuts down

Lebanon has been left without electricity, plunging the country into darkness amid a severe economic crisis.

A government official told Reuters news agency the country's two largest power stations, Deir Ammar and Zahrani, had shut down because of a fuel shortage.

The power grid "completely stopped working at noon today" and was unlikely to restart for several days, they said.

For the past 18 months Lebanon has endured an economic crisis and extreme fuel shortages.

That crisis has left half its population in poverty, crippled its currency and sparked major demonstrations against politicians.

A lack of foreign currency meanwhile has made it hard to pay overseas energy suppliers.

Many Lebanese people already depend on private diesel-powered generators for power. These however have become increasingly expensive to run amid the lack of fuel, and cannot cover for the lack of a nationwide power grid.

People were often receiving just two hours of electricity a day in the country before this latest shutdown.

In a statement, Lebanon's state electricity company also confirmed the shutdown of the two power plants, which together provide some 40% of the country's electricity.

Their closure led to the "complete outage" of the power network, the statement reportedly said, "with no possibility of resuming operations in the meantime".

Al Jazeera reports protests in the northern town of Halba, outside the offices of the state power company, as well as residents blocking roads with burning tyres in the city of Tripoli.

The country is also grappling with the aftermath of the Beirut blast in August 2020, which killed 219 people and injured 7,000 others.

After the explosion its government resigned, leaving political paralysis. Najib Mikati became prime minister in September, more than a year after the previous administration quit.

Last month the militant group Hezbollah brought Iranian fuel into the country to ease shortages. Its opponents say the group is using the fuel delivery to expand its influence.

Source:

http://bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-58856914

[alexora]

If the recent reports are true, it doesn't look as if Prince Andrew will ever be back in the spotlight again, except in a negative light...

Charles, Anne and Edward agree Andrew
can never return to public life

Prince Andrew’s siblings held a summit nine months ago in which they agreed their brother would never return to public life, it has been claimed.

Charles, Anne and Edward met in January to discuss the scandal-hit prince who is facing a sex abuse lawsuit in the US.

Virginia Giuffre, 38, one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, filed a civil case against the duke in August, accusing him of rape and sexual assault when she was 17 — claims that she has made for several years and which he has always vehemently denied. His lawyers say the accusations are “baseless”.

A source told the Sun on Sunday: “Nine months ago Charles, Anne and Edward had a meeting, a summit, and agreed there was no way back for him.”

Prince William is also said to see his uncle as a threat to the monarchy’s future.

Sources close to William told the the Sunday Times that he thinks Andrew has an “ungracious and ungrateful” attitude to his position.

One insider said: “There is no way in the world he’s ever coming back, the family will never let it happen.”

William, 39, had his own meeting with the Queen and his father Charles after Andrew’s disastrous Newsnight interview almost two years ago.

A source reveled that William despises Andrew’s attitude.

“Any suggestion there isn’t gratitude for the institution, anything that could lead the public to think that senior members of the family aren’t grateful for their position, (William thinks) is really dangerous,” the insider said.

The royals were said to be shocked when Andrew took it upon himself to speak to TV cameras following his Prince Philip’s death in April.

They feared he was trying to force his way back into the spotlight as a bid to return to public life.

“(Andrew) was literally gunning to be in front of a camera and was making it clear to the households that he was going to be in front of a camera ASAP,” a source said.

Andrew has kept a low profile over the past few months and even missed the birth of his granddaughter after Princess Beatrice went into labour.

He has twice visited Balmoral this summer to visit his mother, who is paying his legal fees from her Duchy of Lancaster income.

Andrew’s US legal team finally accepted the case had been served on September 21 and a preliminary hearing is due to be held in New York next month.

Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Prince Andrew did not comment.

Source:

http://standard.co.uk/news/uk/prince-andrew-charles-anne-edward-virginia-giuffre-b959702.html

[naturals]

Not really surprised by the result, but still needed to be validated as new chains make their own version:

http://yahoo.com/news/tried-hash-browns-6-fast-162007725.html

[alexora]

Greta Thunberg sings Rick Astley - don't give up the day job, Greta...

You Tube

You Tube

[alexora]

Originally Posted by alexora

Be sure to keep your Lego® in a safe place!

French police on trail of international
gang of Lego looters

Three suspects reportedly said they were part of team specialising in stealing collectible sets

French police say they are building a case against an international gang of toy thieves specialising in stealing Lego – and they have warned specialist shops and even parents to be aware of a global trade in the bricks.

The alert comes after officers arrested three people – a woman and two men – in the process of stealing boxes of Lego from a toy shop in Yvelines, outside Paris, last June. Under questioning, the suspects, all from Poland, reportedly admitted they were part of a team specialising in stealing Lego sought by collectors.

Source:

http://theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/30/french-police-on-trail-of-international-gang-of-lego-looters

Lego thefts continue, this time in the USA:

Seattle police bust lucrative Lego trafficking scheme

Police seize 171 Lego sets worth thousands from Pike Place seller accused by police of knowingly selling stolen goods

Police in Seattle went undercover to break open what they said was a trafficking ring involving the sale of expensive stolen goods: Lego, taken from an Amazon store.

Saying they had seized 171 sets, police released a picture showing the boxes stacked together.

The accused store owner denied knowingly selling stolen goods, protested against the picture and said he would fight the resultant charges.

According to one expert, Lego theft and trafficking has become a major concern.

RJ Coughlin, a director at Brickcon, a convention for adult Lego enthusiasts, told Fox 13 Seattle Lego theft was “very, very prominent here in the north-west”, in part because sets can fetch $800.

“You could go to Fred Meyer and Walmart in many parts of the city, in the outlying areas, and you’ll actually see Lego sets are locked up,” Coughlin said.

“You will see shelves that are pretty much empty, and if you talk to the employees they will tell you someone literally came that morning, loaded up the cart full of Lego and just walked right out [of] there.”

This summer, the Amazon 4-Star, a store in downtown Seattle run by the online retail giant, said it was the target of a repeat shoplifter who stole electronics and Lego sets worth more than $10,000.

At the same time, Rummage Around, an operator at Pike Place, was selling popular sets based on Star Wars’ The Mandalorian and other franchises. To an employee of the Amazon store, the sets looked suspiciously familiar. A supervisor visited, saw identification stickers on sets and contacted law enforcement.

Seattle police commenced what they called “Operation: MandalOrganized Retail Theft”, going undercover to investigate the Pike Place seller.

Plainclothes officers visited the store to offer marked merchandise – specifically, a Baby Yoda Lego set – to its 67-year-old owner, Mark Brady. According to police reports, after an undercover detective told Brady he stole the set from Amazon 4-Star, Brady said he did not like that the set was marked but could cut the marker off.

The detective, police said, asked Brady: “What else do you need?”

Brady allegedly replied that he would take “Lego sets – the big ones”.

After weeks of investigation, police determined Brady was knowingly selling stolen goods. Saying Brady directed a “prolific” shoplifter to steal from retail stores, they also said that on one occasion the shoplifter sold multiple items to Brady while detectives were in his store. Police said they were still investigating the shoplifting suspect, who they had identified.

Brady was charged with trafficking stolen property, an offense which could lead to prison time.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Brady denied knowingly selling stolen goods and said fellow Pike Place business owners had created a GoFundMe account to help him retain a lawyer.

“I do want to fight this,” he said.

Brady told the Post he was unhappy with the photo of the allegedly stolen sets, which he said made him appear to be a “monster”. He also questioned how police could prove which sets were stolen, and said his life had recently been made “miserable”, through several surgeries and slowing business due to the pandemic.

Police said the investigation was continuing.

Source:

http://theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/25/lego-seattle-police-trafficking-scheme

[alexora]

Under the 'Golden Arches'...

McDonald's workers in US strike
again over sexual harassment

McDonald's workers walked out at restaurants in 12 US cities in protest at the fast food giant's handling of sexual harassment claims.

Organisers, who have held five strikes over harassment since 2018, say McDonald's has "largely ignored" frontline workers who complain.

Cashiers and cooks walked out in Chicago, Detroit, Houston and Miami among other places on Tuesday.

The chain said "sexual harassment and assault have no place" at McDonald's.

It is not clear how many in total have joined the strike.

According to Fight for $15, the campaign group organising the action, workers have filed more than 50 complaints and lawsuits alleging harassment at corporate-owned and franchise McDonald's outlets since 2016.

'Not much has changed'

Campaigners claim the chain does little to tackle the problem at franchise-run restaurants, which make up the majority, but also at corporate-owned outlets. Moreover, staff who have spoken out have faced retaliation, such as having their hours cut or being fired, organisers say.

"I'm going on strike because despite years of protests, McDonald's still refuses to take responsibility for the countless women and teenagers who face harassment on the job at its stores across the globe," said Jamelia Fairley, a McDonald's worker in Sanford, Florida.

"No matter what McDonald's says, not much has changed for workers like me."

In a 2020 survey of nearly 800 female workers at McDonald's restaurants and franchises, three-quarters said they were harassed at work.

In the same survey, which was commissioned by unions, 71% said that they suffered consequences for reporting the behaviour.

After a review of workplace safety earlier this year, McDonald's said it will require all workers, at both corporate and franchise-owned stores, to undergo anti-harassment training from next January.

However, campaigners say the announcement is "short on specifics", including what might happen to those who fail to follow the rules.

In a statement, McDonald's said it was committed to "thoroughly investigating" allegations at its corporate-owned restaurants, and that it expected its franchisees to "uphold a similar standard".

"Every single person working at a McDonald's restaurant deserves to feel safe and respected when they come to work, and sexual harassment and assault have no place in any McDonald's restaurant," it said.

"We know more work is needed to further our workplace ambitions, which is why all 40,000 McDonald's restaurants [worldwide] will be assessed and accountable to global brand standards.

"These standards prioritise action in multiple areas, including prevention of harassment, discrimination and retaliation."

Source:

http://bbc.co.uk/news/business-59055359

[naturals]

IMHO, nothing beats McD's

http://msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/we-tried-7-fast-food-fries-and-these-are-the-best/ss-BB16G4jS