This is the United States Navy's latest ship, the USS Zumwalt. A guided missile destroyer with stealth capabilities. Named after Admiral Elmo Russell Zumwalt, a leading and highly decorated force in the navy, especially through the Vietnam War. Zumwalt was also a reformer of the navy's personnel policies in an effort to improve the life of the ordinary enlisted sailor and help in easing racial tensions.
The ship is designed to be of a multi-functional capability, to support ground attack troops in land operations, anti-air, surface and underwater warfare, also carrying a compliment of six helicopters and is armed with a range of various ballistic missiles and guns. She has a crew of 142 and can manage a speed of 33.5 knots.
Production of the ship officially began in early 2009 and has been some years in the construction, the project was given to the major American naval yard, Bath Iron Works of Maine. There have been one or two hold-ups in the production schedule, testing the ship's new wave piercing inverted bow and tumblehome hull configuration which reduce her radar cross-section, but the US Navy was able to accept delivery of Zumwalt on 20 May 2016 and commissioned the ship 15 October, later in the year.
The Royal Navy, the most successful naval fighting force in the world, is facing a bleak future with fewer ships and resources. After almost a decade of cost cutting, decommissions and Strategic Defence Reviews, the once proud Royal Navy, finds itself in something of a desperate state.
In what was originally promoted as a small and necessary cut-back of three Frigates and two Submarines, has seen the wholesale departure of no less than 14 warships and with possibly more losses to follow.
In the future Royal Naval ships, must take on a greater number of rolls in the maritime world and take on the same workload with fewer ships, when with the rapid advances in technology, physical numbers are no longer deemed relevant.
The two future and long awaited Queen Elizabeth Class, Aircraft Carriers, are still not due to enter into operational service until as late as 2020 and should operate the F 35 Lightening Attack Aircraft and various support helicopters.
The Type 45 Destroyer, building programme was originally planned to be for twelve ships, their main duty being to protect the fleet and to act as escorts for the carriers, later being cut back to eight ships and then the final order being for six ships.
Likewise the much needed and also long awaited Type 26 Frigates, supposedly to be a partial replacement for the Type 23. The original planned order for thirteen ships, now stands at eight ships.
The final size of the Patrol Submarine Fleet, aside from the nuclear fleet, is expected to be set at seven or eight boats.
A lot of the Navy's problems are also land based, with the closure of various of various dock and port facilities under the tile of; A Better Defence Estate.
The British Steel Industry, the one time powerhouse of the world, has been in a steady and downward spiral of gradual decline for a number of years, faced with a loss of sales to restrictive trading practices and cheap foreign imports, seriously undercutting the British product. Not least of all with the loss of a British Railway's rolling stock steel order to the Italians and more recently the order for steel for BAEs Warship order, being given to the French. All due to an EU ruling which says basically that a Government cannot discriminate against a tender from another company just because it's in another country. Which in turn could easily place British steel manufacturers at a certain disadvantage.
Now, it appears, there is a Ministerial promise of a order on the table for steel to build the railway tracks, for the HS2 Rail Link. Which should go to the steel works in Scunthorpe and help to preserve around 4000, skilled worker's jobs.
The Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, is quoted as saying, the steel used in the £56bn project will be sourced from the UK.
The Scunthorpe plant, owned by Grey Bull Capital, a company turnaround specialist, purchased the works for a nominal £1 in May 2016, then set about pumping substantial resources and fresh life into the company. And assurances are in place, which guarantee the production of the two million tons of steel required for the rails project.
Disaster is looming for the Great British Public in the shape of a nationwide Milk shortage, all due to an increasing number of smaller dairy farms going into liquidation. Dairy farmers have been struggling for a great many years upon the general low price of milk and having to work solely to the demand of supermarket quotas. In reality this means for Xmas 2016 we could see a shortage of either Butter, Cheese, or Cream, perhaps more than one or even all three! So far this year the crisis is said to be worsening and there is a general shortage of supply throughout the industry, inevitably we are seeing the shop prices being driven upwards.
Since I first wrote this item, the price of a half-pound of butter, in UK shops, has risen by 20-30 pence, probably never to reduced!
The British military and technological company BAE Systems, recently granted the contract to build the Royal Navy's new generation of Type 26 Frigates, now finds itself under some pressure to use only British Steel, in the production.
British Steel, already struggling to compete with cheaper foreign steel producers, particularly the cheaper Chinese imports, has seen a steady decline facing the industry in rent years and to win the order to provide the steel for these ships can only be seen as a vital lifeline.
It appears the contract to supply the steel has not been finalized, although a French supplier is said to be the leading contender. The warship contract, set to safeguard a number of skilled jobs for the coming decades, could have a similar impact upon steelworker' livelihoods. The Government at the time, promised British Steel Companies would be able to compete upon a "level playing field" for the contract, also that steel orders would not go abroad if the most competitive price was British. Yet it is extremely difficult for any British company to compete with many other suppliers and the British Government, also needs to take into consideration the welfare of steel workers and the state of the British Steel industry as a whole.
Somehow, by the greatest good fortune, I've managed to avoid all the hoohah......well not really by any form of accidental good fortune, or a mysterious blessing of any monumental proportions. It's quite simple, I don't own a television set, mind you, it's all on the radio, just not quite as intense!
As any Politician/Senator, might say; "This is a good time for offloading bad news!"
It's that time of year, Autumn or even the Fall, depending upon where you are, plenty of leaves on the ground, I've already raked a dozen sacks from the front of the house! And the thing is, it's darker, it's damper and there's a serious chill in the wind, but the leaves on the trees have never looked better!
The tourist board used to call this; "Lakeland's Best Kept Secret" until they told everyone!
The Royal Navy is to get eight new Type 26 Frigates, over the coming years. The order to BAE's Govan and Scotstoun Yards on the River Clyde in Glasgow, comes after long deliberation and has been scaled back from the original planned order of thirteen ships. The order, initially placed in 2015 will safeguard the jobs of several hundred skilled workers for the foreseeable future. Michael Fallon Secretary of State for Defence, made the long awaited announcement and work will begin in 2017.
The Type 26 set to replace the Type 23 will be deployed chiefly for anti-submarine warfare, yet at the same time will find itself covering a number of other rolls to satisfy the Royal Navy's demands and should enter service sometime in the early 2020s. The ships will also be fitted with the new MBDA Sea Ceptor Air Defence Missile System.
Also plans for a number of other smaller defence and patrol ships not least of all five of the smaller Type 31 warships, is in hand.
Thinking of popping out and buying a super luxurious yacht at the weekend? Then first go and find your super piggy bank and while you're doing this, try and imagine something in the region of a huge and calamitous amount of money, then why not quadruple this sum add another obscene figure for those silly little things like staffing and running costs and you're probably well on your way.
This is a world where size or more likely length, matters, think of more than thirty meters and then consider of width, all to do with a simple matter of stability and the extra weights you begin piling on board. You know, on board Swimming Pools, a Spa, four or five Jacuzzi Tubs, Cinemas and Lifts, just exactly what is your Super Cruiser, without a lift or two? And then there's the Heli-Pad and don't forget the crew, how could you? After all, we're only talking about a feeble £1mil per meter, with perhaps a few little and not inexpensive extras.
What do you mean you don't want your ship built at a reliable British Yard? Of course you could shop around a few other possibly cheaper yards, worldwide, but in the long term this could all work out as a potentially expensive risk and you've got the hub of the luxury yacht building world, on your doorstep in Falmouth, Cornwall.
Of course it's getting to be something of a smaller world as all these private galleons become larger and more numerous. But at least you can still travel to some of those remote corner's of the globe and enjoy them from the comfort of your champagne filled circulation tub!
In the High Court this morning it as been ruled Parliament must vote upon whether the UK can begin the process of leaving the EU This simply means the British Government cannot begin to implement Article 50 A vague and sometimes obscure part of the EU Treaty, which basically says; "Any member state may decide to withdraw from the union in accordance with it's own constitutional requirements." The Government will however appeal, with a further hearing next month, there will be a statement read to MP's on Monday.The Prime Minister's official spokesperson is quoted as saying; "The Government had no intention of letting the judgement derail Article 50 or the timetable we have laid out, we are determined to continue with the plan."
At present there is a great deal of uncertainty from various factions and players, not least of all Jeremy Corbyn (leader of the opposition) and Nigel Farage (Ukip leader) The BBC's Assistant Political Editor, is quoted as saying; "If the court's decision was not overturned, there could be delays with potentially months and months of parliamentary hurdles."
The Prime Minister's intention has always been to trigger Article 50 by March next year and the other 27 member states have said negotiations about the terms of the UK's exit, likely to last about two years, cannot begin until Article 50 is set in motion.
The successful court hearing was brought about by an Investment Manager Gina Miller, who is quoted as saying; "The result today is about all of us. It's not about me and my team, it's about our United Kingdom and all our futures."
Also and partly based on the High Court ruling, there as been something of a Post-Brexit U-turn at the Bank of England, with the Pound staging something of a recovery and the planned interest rate cut, being abandoned. The economic outlook suddenly appears to be looking brighter, with a doubling of growth likely, potentially ruling out planned cuts in interest rates.
Of course there still remains some uncertainty about the pace of growth, maybe unsustainable at the 2016 rate, which will effect wages and in turn spending power of the public, as a result, shoppers will be less likely to be able to drive the economy forward.
Just a simple mention of the fateful and dreaded word Brexit, is supposed to send every man, woman and institution, in the land, into some kind of gloomy, glass half-empty, meltdown. But not so the world of high-end designer luxury accessories. In fact as the value of the Pound Sterling has fallen, there is a notable increase in foreign visitors to our shores and loaded with wads of cash, flocking to British high streets, in search of luxury branded retail bargains. And a number of named shops and stores are reporting a noteworthy increase in footfall and profits.
Each day, greater numbers of a more discerning customer are arriving from countries such as China and Japan, whom not only have their eyes fixed upon the currency deals, but also see the UK as a safe and welcoming destination, as opposed to some other European countries. They can see their spending power go further on a wide range of services and merchandise
A great many stores are benefiting from a late summer/autumn mini-boom and not just in accessories, but also quality clothing and foodstuffs from other luxury department stores.
Perhaps upon the downside from the devaluation, should the pound remain in the doldrums, say by the spring of next year, then there is likely to be a widespread spiral of price adjustment, generally meaning price increases across the board.
Apple, the world famous, multinational technology company, particularly known for the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet computer and Mac personal computer, to name but a few of their renowned products, enjoys a loyal following. Posting record profits of 233 billion dollars, for last year ending September 2015, has found itself upon a something of a recent stock market slide.
However this year, profits are down and it is their first fall in the last fifteen years, and although the outlook is far from bleak, it's a change from the recent optimism enjoyed by the company. Of course no company can enjoy year after year of continuous increasing profits without a glitch at some point. Last year there was the launch of the iPhone 6s which resulted in Apple banking a very nice £37.4 Billion, whereas this year sales have decreased and profits have slipped accordingly, the usual problem with technology, at some point everyone who wants one has got one. Also the new iPhone 7 doesn't appear to be generating the same interest. The Apple Watch seems to be another product suffering similar difficulties.
There is of course China, who have banned the 6s to introduce their own Smartphones, which seem to be readily available, having good technology, graphics and storage and new features.
Naturally, it's not all bad news, come what may, Apple still maintains it's place as the world market leader and to stay ahead of it's rivals, new technology is almost a certainty for the future.
If you have only the slightest interest in current affairs it's unlikely you would have the faintest knowledge of the particular area of Northern France and of great discussion, known as the Calais Jungle. Certainly a cause of some embarrassment for not only France and the UK but also the European Union in general and their more or less total failure to deal with the challenges of large scale migration.
The Jungle, being an appropriate title for such an area of tents, makeshift huts and piles of festering rubbish to form a depressing North European shanty-town. Of course the harrowing stories of crime, rape and even murder, the plight of many infants, often abandoned to make their own way. Hordes of young men, trying to stow away, in container wagons, sail to Dover, on makeshift rafts and even a case of one person trying to make his way up the Tunnel.
There have been a host of certain "celebrities" visiting the site, shocked and anguished at the plight of the youngest people, immediately and rashly, pledging to throw open their many flats and houses to the forlorn families. We've heard stories of groups of British "Anarchists" travelling to the camp supposedly in some sort of effort to incite the inmates into some form of rebellion. Also a recent story about a proliferate number of aid agencies at the site, for good or bad, often seeking to profit from a number of government grants. Then there are all those truck drivers, constantly fighting to keep their vehicles secure and what about those people whom live in proximity to the camp?
It's been said the camp held some 10,000 people at it's height, all seemingly with the sole desire to get to the UK although there is a interesting piece of European Law, known as the "Dublin Convention," which is meant to address this problem. The legislation states for refugees entering the union, they are supposed to register for asylum at the first country they enter. Yet certain countries who are expected to execute this piece of law have chosen to ignore or forget, any such policy.
Last week saw the curtain finally come down upon the Jungle, amidst, flames, security forces and dis-organisation, with fears many will simply relocate to new jungles. Certainly new camps have already been noted, dotted around several areas of the northern coastline. For the others, the greater number, they have been removed to various regions of France, where they will be registered and settled to begin a new life. Hopefully and for everyone concerned, this will begin a new and more successful chapter, in this sorry crisis.
