Of Course You Will, Because You’re Responsible…

 

In the end, the vote to cut the winter fuel allowance passed easily. Hundreds of loyalist Labour MPs tramped through the lobbies to back the government’s controversial plan. No 10 will hope the heat has gone out of the issue.

Well, it's approaching panto season, so just let me say 'Oh no, it won't!'

Scores of MPs abstained in silent protest, fearful that they could be condemning vulnerable pensioners to a cold, hard winter.

Government sources argued that only a dozen of the 52 Labour MPs who were absent for the vote had not been authorised in advance. The others had legitimate reasons including medical appointments and official travel. But what they did not acknowledge was that many of those who had permission to abstain were bitterly opposed to the cut.

Then they should have done the decent thing and voted against it. Instead, they took the coward's way out.  

In the days running up to the vote, whips had been encouraging them to find urgent constituency business so they could legitimately be absent.

I'm no longer shocked at the perfidy of politicians... 

Almost all Labour MPs, however, also blamed the Tories for the difficult decisions that they left the chancellor to take. “None of us wanted to do this,” said one. “But we wouldn’t have to if they hadn’t left us with such a mess.” A number of them do not regard the fight as over – and are planning to push ministers to look at extra help for the most vulnerable as the months get colder, perhaps by expanding the warm homes discount or bringing in a cheaper social tariff for some pensioners.

How quickly they forget 'There's no money left'... 

"It was not suddenly bred. It will not swiftly abate. "

"Through the chilled years ahead, When Time shall count from the date That the Saxon began to hate." 

Better begin counting....

Aldershot has a Labour MP @Ms_Alex_Baker. In Rushmoor 340+ flats has been bought by the council, using taxpayer's cash for migrants. No Brits allowed.

She also voted to end winter fuel payments to pensioners.

Down the pub she is told she is not welcome, get out & is a traitor.… pic.twitter.com/iEqBKUS0uh

— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) September 15, 2024

Just like her boss getting booed by the crowd at Doncaster racecourse. People are finally having enough. Long may it continue!  

H/T: David Atherton via Twitter

Labour's Prison Release Scheme, Skewered!

Always knocking it out of the park, that Matt...

Pulls It Out Of A What?!

I think the word they were grasping for was 'sheath'.

Sunday Funnies...

Are we even allowed beauty anymore? Some days, it doesn't seem like it...

Maybe The Critics Are Heartless Morons?

Critics say the deaths are tragic but have been blown out of proportion.

This is the resurgence of predators like brown bears in Europe which are now so numerous, they pose a threat to human life and agriculture.  

In Romania, which is home to the most brown bears in Europe, the animals killed 26 people and injured 276 over 20 years, according to the environment ministry. Data from Eurostat shows that motorised vehicles killed 45,000 people in the country in that time.

We can't really do without motorised vehicles, they are intrinsic to our society. Large man-eating predators, not so much. 

But wait, Reader! That's not the daftest assertion they have to make, no, not by a long chalk.

Cultural associations are a problem for the wolf, which has long been portrayed as the villain of fairytales. Helmut Dammann-Tamke, president of the German hunting association and politician with the centre-right Christian Democrats, says the threat of wolf attacks on sheep is “like something on a serving platter” for the far right because it reaches people on an emotional level. “This issue is an incendiary force in the hands of populists.”

Those dastardly far right, errr, wolves. 

A 2022 study of German municipalities found that wolf attacks on livestock predict far-right support. After controlling for factors such as immigration and jobs, the researchers found wolf attacks were associated with far-right gains in municipal elections of between one and two percentage points.

And suddently, I'm in favour of 'rewilding' after all!  

Environmental activists question whether blanket policies to cull animals will do much to avoid conflicts with humans and have called for measures to promote peaceful coexistence that range from fences and guard dogs to awareness campaigns for visitors.

Sounds a lot like what they call for when they want to persuade us 'diversity is a strength not a threat', doesn't it? 

TfL Need To Beef Up Their Cyber Security

The news that TfL had suffered a cyber attack barely made headlines. I read it, but didn't think it would affect me, as they said it wasn't going to affect passengers. 

Until, of course, my Oyster card ran low, and I needed to top it up online. And found I couldn't.

Transport chiefs in London are restricting access to a photocard portal for Oyster 60+ and other travel concessions after a cyber attack. The incident, which first became public on Monday evening, has largely not affected people who use the transport system in the capital.

But the transport bosses have now decided to temporarily restrict access to the photocard portal, which allows customers to apply for travel concessions, including the Zip Photocard, 16+ and 18+ Photocard and the 60+ Oyster photocard, as the investigation continues into the cyber targeting.

It also prevents people wanting to top up their balance online from doing so. As I found out. The only way to do it is at a shop. They didn't exactly advertise this, I had to find out from Twitter. 

In an updated statement, Shashi Verma, TfL’s Chief Technology Officer, said: “There remains no impact to our public transport services and no evidence that any customer data has been compromised.

“However, as part of the measures implemented to deal with the ongoing cyber security incident, we have temporarily restricted access to customer journey history for pay as you go contactless customers, as well as limited access to some live travel data via apps, TfL Go and the TfL website, including next train information and the TfL JamCams.

“In addition, we have made the decision to temporarily restrict access to the photocard portal, which allows customers to apply for travel concessions, including the Zip Photocard, 16+ and 18+ Photocard and the 60+ Oyster photocard.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that these temporary changes will cause to some customers and are working to bring these back online as quickly as possible.”

All that money the London Mayor gives TfL and where does it go? Not on cyber security, it seems.  

And on Friday morning  I got an email. Ooh, I thought, they've fixed it! That is, until I opened it:

So much for 'no evidence that any customer data has been compromised' Shashi. Looks like you found some after all. Good job you kept looking, eh?

Who Knew They Still Had Any?

And presumably, it being 2024, the women's testicles too?

The arresting uniform has been narrowly cut in such a way that there is barely room to swing a baton, they say. Women officers meanwhile are unhappy about the lack of space given 'between waist and the crotch'.

Most of the female cops are practically dwarves anyway. 

The damning verdicts on their official issued uniform came about as part of the first ever police uniform and equipment survey run by Lancaster University and the Police Federation.

Benjamin Elk of the Taxpayers' Alliance dismissed the survey as a 'farce' and 'distraction' to officers fighting crime.

Ah, if only that's what they did, instead of harassing people wanting to film in public. Or critiquing a crime victim’s language while ignoring the crime she's trying to report. 

‘It could be a rock...'

Well, yes, it most likely is. It's not really going to be a 20ft tall Bigfoot, is it? 

Quite apart from anything else, it doesn't appear to be climbing as a living creature would. What we have here is a classic case of pareidolia.

They Aren’t Fleeing ‘War And Oppression’, Enver…

...not if they are coming from France. It's not that bad.

Labour will be at real risk of failing to reform the UK’s broken asylum system unless it challenges Tory rhetoric and stops focusing on the deportation of asylum seekers, the head of the Refugee Council has said.

Enver Solomon, the charity’s chief executive, said Keir Starmer must use the language of “compassion and humanity” in order to tackle the vilification of refugees.

That'll be hard, since he doesn't possess those qualities. 

The home secretary’s plans to expand detention without opening safe routes are “costly and unnecessary” and the government must instead accelerate grant rates for asylum claims to tackle the backlog and community tensions around asylum hotels, he said. There is growing concern from charities, unions and left-leaning MPs that the government is adopting the language and policies established by the Tories around asylum and immigration.

Yes, clearly, nothing will halt 'the vilification of refugees' like cramming even more of them into our towns against our wishes. 

Solomon said the Labour government had not yet challenged the political rhetoric that had contributed to the hatred and vilification of refugees. He said: “Angry talk of invasion, stopping the boats and labelling everyone as ‘illegal’ has raised the temperature and had the effect of stripping people fleeing war and oppression from the world’s trouble spots of their stories and humanity.

What 'stories'? The usual load of old flannel they tell the 'Guardian'? What 'humanity'? When they put their children's lives at risk by leaving a safe country? 

“The challenge now is to ensure that the language of compassion and humanity is adopted by all politicians, with government taking the lead.”

“The current private contractors have consistently failed to deliver and it’s now time to bite the bullet and end the contracts as soon as possible. The government must work hand in hand with councils to ensure they are fully equipped to house people in local communities in a safe and dignified way that ensures value for taxpayers’ money.

How will we ever know if we are getting that, when it becomes a state secret? 

“Following the riots, it is also vital that serious work is led by government on community cohesion, including a clear plan on refugee integration,” he said.

Stopping arresting them for protesting would be a good start.  

Will Gen Z Survive?

They seem determined not to...

Experts have warned against a new Gen-Z health fad of drinking dead bacteria, which they claim could damage gut function and cause bowel issues. Also known as postbiotics, the supplements are growing increasingly popular among young people on social media.

Ah, social media, you have a lot to answer for! Is this fad being driven by vacuous slebs? Reader, you know it is: 

Last month, US supermodel Bella Hadid, 27, launched Picklesecco, a 'gut-healthy, postbiotic potion' that claims to support digestion and the nervous system, balance the gut microbiome and 'conjure clarity and vision'.

Sarah Miles drinking her own urine seems almost tame these days... 

In a video viewed more than 300,000 times, US health influencer Cecily Bauchmann said daily postbiotics helped to get rid of her bloated stomach. And in another clip seen more than 10,000 times, TikToker Brianna Wehan claimed that taking postbiotics had helped her 'debloat and ease my discomfort with my tummy issues'.

What do real science degree types say? 

'Would I take them? Absolutely not,' said Dr Christopher Stewart, professor of human microbiome research at Newcastle University.

I'll skip them too then. 

This Is The Attitude That Lead To That Victory In The First Place...

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged mainstream parties to exclude “right-wing extremists”, after preliminary results showed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) had come top in a state election, while a new populist force on the left established a firm foothold in the country’s political landscape. 

Voters in two closely watched elections in the former communist east made their dissatisfaction with Germany’s mainstream political parties clear, putting the AFD in the top spot in Thuringia, with 32.8% of the vote, and second place in Saxony, with 30.6%, according to preliminary results.

And lo, there was a great rending of garments and gnashing of teeth!  

“Our country cannot and must not get used to this. The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation,” Scholz said, adding that the most dire predictions, that his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) might fall out of a state parliament for the first time, had not materialised.

This time, Scholz, This time, and with that attitude towards the voters, who knows what will happen next time? 

He Could Cite Chris Whitty As A Cause...

A civil servant scared of catching viruses has won the first stage of an employment tribunal case over his bosses' refusal to let him work from home. John-Paul Pryce, who worked as a case officer dealing with debt and bankruptcy, was allowed to work from home during the pandemic. As a child he was frightened of germs, viruses and illnesses and those fears continued into adulthood.

And he never sought therapy? 

But with the emergence of Covid-19, and him contracting the virus in March 2020, he became fearful in the presence of others and would suffer panic attacks if people were close by. Mr Pryce said he saw them as 'coughing, sneezing germ and virus spreaders'.

Well, given that's exactly how the government of the day was describing them at the time, that's understandable. Of course, they were wrong then, so he's wrong to still believe it. 

In 2022, he was asked to return to the office, and his flexible working request emphasising the benefits of home-working because of his embarrassment in admitting to his phobia was rejected.But now he has won the first stage of an employment tribunal fight, with a judge in Glasgow ruling his symptoms should be classed as a disability under equality laws.

And the term 'disability' is stretched even more beyond recognition. 

Translation: "Oh No! We Accidentally Said The Quiet Bit Out Loud!"

Jewish organisations last night slammed an NHS Trust after an email urged its staff to boycott antisemitism awareness training. Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust provoked outrage after it published a statement in its weekly newsletter warning staff 'not to attend' an 'inappropriate' session led by the Antisemitism Policy Trust (APT).

Whoops! Never commit stuff like that to print, chaps! Haven't you heard the term 'plausible deniability'? 

An email — sent by an employee from the Trust's diversity team — followed a handful of complaints about the APT made via the Black Minority Ethnic network. Claire Murdoch, chief executive of the Trust, interrupted her holiday to personally telephone the head of the APT and apologise for the egregious 'error'.In an email seen by the Daily Mail, she told staff that the statement about the training had been made in 'error' after it had not 'gone through our usual sign-off process'.

Well, someone's face is red...or black or brown, I guess. 

She added: 'I have asked that colleagues look into how such a message was communicated in error and we will get to the bottom of it.'There have been a small number of concerns raised by some individuals via the BAME network with the Trust about the antisemitism training.

'This will be properly investigated - which is the right and proper thing to do - and will be shared both with the APT and NHS England.

'I have personally telephoned the chief executive of APT this morning to apologise for what I can only describe as poor process and error on our part.'

And not a slip-up exposing your true feelings? 

It is unclear if the person responsible for adding the statement to the newsletter will face any disciplinary action or will be required to attend the antisemitism training themselves.

I'm betting the answer's 'no' to both. 

Wait, What Country Am I In Again?

A man who drove for almost 100 feet with a 12-year-old girl trapped underneath his van has walked free from court. Ali didn't stop until the girl came out from the back of the vehicle, lay motionless on the floor, and a member of the public alerted him to what had happened. The unnamed girl was left with a broken collarbone and elbow and also friction burns.

Police at the time of the crash in Oldham, Greater Manchester said she suffered 'life changing' injuries.

The girl's family declined to support a prosecution, meaning he could not be charged with causing serious injury by careless driving.

Wait, what? This isn't the States, where the victim of a crime is required to 'press charges'. This is the UK, where the Crown takes on that job! 

At Tameside Magistrates Court, Ali admitted the lesser charge of driving without due care and attention. He was also ordered to pay £205 in costs and victim surcharge and had six points endorsed on his driving licence. The court heard he already had three points on his licence from two years ago for speeding.

*sighs* 

Sentencing, JP Pauline Taylor said: 'This is an unusual incident I must say. You have got three points already so you need to be extremely careful. It is a serious matter. If you get another matter on it, you might get disqualified.'

And, the law being an ass, you might not. 

H/T: RealBlackIrish via Twitter

It Should Be A Belated Wake-Up Call For The UK Too…

If there was shock, it wasn’t immediately obvious. Mario Voigt, leader of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in Thuringia, assumed the pose of an election winner, even though his party came second by some margin, with 24% of the vote. He announced he would begin coalition negotiations with other “parties of the democratic centre” – meaning without the AfD. In Saxony, where the CDU won narrowly, their leader, Michael Kretschmer, has also ruled out working with the AfD. In both states, this will require the centre-right party to build complex alliances with two or three leftwing parties.

Yes, it's the AfD's victory again, worrying all the right people in the left-wing press. 

Disgruntlement with mainstream politics was long treated as a peculiarity of the former East Germany, which included Saxony and Thuringia. The vice-president of the Bundestag, Katrin Göring-Eckardt of the Green party, herself a native Thuringian, was not alone in claiming that some east Germans are “stuck in dictatorship glorification”. Now Göring-Eckardt’s Greens have been kicked out of the Thuringian parliament and are polling at 11% nationally. Telling voters that their concerns aren’t real, it turns out, is not an election-winning strategy.

We'll have to see how it plays out in the UK next election, because I'm sure Sir Kier Stalin will try it. 

There were lively public debates everywhere in the buildup to the elections. People discussed politics at workplaces and at the kitchen table. Turnout was at a record high, with three-quarters of people casting their vote. East Germans are neither fed up with politics nor with democracy. They are fed up with not being taken seriously.

Ringing any bells, yet? 

The same applies to other demographics. A staggering 37% of young voters in Thuringia have voted for AfD. In Saxony it was 31%. Though higher than the national average, this is still in line with what we saw in the European parliamentary elections in June when the AfD beat all three parties of Scholz’s coalition in the 16-24 vote, coming second with 16% – just one percentage point behind the conservatives. The AfD also won the working-class vote by some margin in the European elections, but this fact gained little media attention and seems to have raised no eyebrows in the other political parties.

Ask Germans what their main concerns are. Immigration tops the list, followed by energy prices, war and the economy. The word I heard over and over again in recent months was angst. Given that a growing number of immigrants are being charged with violent crimes, which are on the rise, many feel this is an issue of safety.

Yes, this is definitly starting to seem very familar. 

These are uncomfortable topics to discuss, especially for left-leaning parties, but discussing them is exactly what they must do instead of handing a monopoly over those issues to the AfD. That is not the same as plunging into populism. If centrists don’t start a constructive debate on sensitive issues, nobody will. The response to the regional elections must be more than preventing a far-right takeover. This is a belated wake-up call for Germany’s mainstream parties. I hope it will be heard loud and clear in Berlin.

It needs to be heard in London too.  

Achievement Unlocked!

You sure have knocked that one out of the park, TwoTier! 

Sir Keir’s personal ratings have already suffered a drop since he took office, with the decision to axe winter fuel payments, repeated warnings about the state of the economy, and pressure on government spending ahead of the budget at the end of October.

D'Ream need to revise their hit, 'The Only Way Is Down' would be most appropriate, 

An Appeal For A Functioning Spellchecker?

It would seem to be sorely needed...

H'T: Ian J via email

You Know Where You Can Stick Your Entry Fee!

 

The Museum 4 Watton has a rather nice website, but clearly they didn't employ a proofreader! 

H/T:  Dave Ward via email

Sunday Funnies...

I'll stick to The Carpenters, I think..!

It Was Never About The Environment, Was It?

Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) (Ed: this mob) issued the plea ahead of next month's Autumn Budget, claiming it would receive the full support of the public.

Without any evidence for that, of course. It's not like this fakecharity is relying on the public for their money, after all.

In a letter to the Chancellor, It is proposed that drivers of EVs should be charged based on how far they travel. However, it says those who bought battery cars before the implementation date should be exempt from road pricing.

Which shows just what a nonsense the idea is, doesn't it? Either these vehicles are not taxed because they are better for the environment, or they are taxed. An arbitrary cut-off point makes no sense. 

With the Labour government set to bring forward the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars to 2030, the public transport charity says this has become an 'urgent issue' and that time is of the essence for ministers to find a solution for EV drivers to help plug the huge loss in road fuel taxation.

I wonder if it's occurred to anyone yet that this black hole will only exist if people buy these wretched things, and so far, they are resisting. as Longrider points out. 

Pay-per-mile taxation has been put forward by previous administrations but ditched as the scheme was deemed too politically toxic.

But since Starmer's Labour started out toxic, why not try them, eh, Silviya? 

CBT director of policy and campaigns Silviya Barrett said: 'The new Chancellor faces a looming black hole. She can avoid it, in a way which is fair and which garners broad public support. But she should start now, as this issue will only get more pressing.

'It should be cheaper to drive a zero-emission vehicle than a more polluting vehicle, but it's only fair that these drivers should pay a share, and a pay-as-you-drive model can achieve this.'

If only those 14 wasted years of 'Tory' government had done something about the proliferation of these quangos and lobbying groups masquerading as charities... 

There Are Definitely Consistent Aspects To All These

A series of deeply violent, sinister murders and attacks carried out by children have hit the headlines in recent months. Last week, the 17-year-old boy who stalked and murdered schoolgirl Holly Newton, 15, was found guilty of murder in just the latest youth case to reach the courtroom. From the killing of Brianna Ghey by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe to that of Shawn Seesahai by two unnamed 12-year-olds, some of Britain's most dreadful crimes have involved shockingly young perpetrators.

Can we find an expert to say that these murderers are the real victims? Reader, of course we can... 

MailOnline spoke to clinical and forensic psychologist and co-host of Locked-Up Living Dr Naomi Murphy about some of the most chilling crimes to go through the UK's courts in recent times. Dr Murphy, who has almost two decades of experience working with some of the country's most dangerous criminals, including teenagers convicted of murder, told MailOnline how those at the heart of such cases are often 'really damaged'.

*sighs* Of course, reading the article, there are other conclusions to draw. 

Just look at the names, where names are known:Bardia Shojaeifard,Cartel Bushnell,Yura Varybrus all sit among classic English names. And gang membership and 'revenge killings' stand out among the rest.

Im no clinical psychologist, so I'm not one to fail to notice what's staring me in the face... 

Change The Population, Change The Mood

Pride in Britain’s history has fallen sharply over the past decade as the country has become less nationalistic and jingoistic and more reflective about its place in the modern world, according to a leading barometer of the British public mood.

Is it still a barometer of the British mood, or is it merely reflective of the 'new Britons' that we've been importing in job lots over the last twenty years? 

Although Brexit and immigration have created flashpoints around national identity in recent years, the wider picture shows a more inclusive and self-critical sense of Britishness emerging and a decline in my-country-right-or-wrong views.

Perhaps because for many surveyed, they don't regard it as their country? 

There was a striking 22-point fall in the proportion of people saying they were proud of Britain’s history, from 86% to 64%, and a 13-point drop in those who said they would rather be a citizen of Britain than any other country, from 62% to 49%.

Is this merely reflective of the continual denigration of Britain and its history in schools and tv shows? 

There were also marked declines in the proportion of people expressing pride in Britain’s democracy, its economic achievements and its political influence in the world. People were less likely to agree that Britain was better than most other countries or that people should support their country even if it was in the wrong.

The progressives can, it seems, be proud of how their long march has turned out.... 

News Manipulation

That was the headline for the story. So the casual viewer probably flicked past it without even noticing a crucial point - it should have said 'claimed', not 'revealed'. 

Those two words do not mean the same thing. As the article makes clear.

And yesterday, we had this:

Surely the word they were looking for there was 'murdered'? 

And it's not just the MSM, the locals are at it as well:

The 'victims' in this case were the thieves who stole the bike. Some might say that disqualified them from the status. 

This Explains A Few Things About The Hampshire Farce...

A police officer has been given the green light to take his force to an employment tribunal for discrimination after he was ordered not to bring his dog to work.

No Reader, not his police dog.

Detective Sergeant Mathew Parker told bosses he needed his ‘psychiatric assistance’ pet Koda with him to help with his autism and other mental conditions.

Which in any sane world you'd imagine would be a bit of a barrier to being employed as a police officer in the first place. But we are well through the looking glass now. And this is the Hampshire Police farce, after all...

But when he brought the animal in without permission, he was sent away by a detective inspector who told him to come back without the animal, an employment tribunal heard.DS Parker sued Hampshire Police for disability discrimination, claiming that three other staff members had been allowed to bring assistance dogs to work.

Good grief, it's like a uniformed insane asylum... 

The tribunal held in Southampton, Hampshire, heard that DS Parker has worked for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary since 2004.The experienced officer suffers from autism, ADHD, PTSD, depression and anxiety, the hearing was told. At the time he made his claim he worked in the force’s digital investigations team.

Was he mad before he started work, or did it send him mad? 

H/T: BettyBoo via Twitter 

Past Labour MPs Had Something Positive To Celebrate

 

Sir Keir Starmer could perhaps have timed it better. On the day that Oasis, the band that symbolised the mood of sunny optimism that swept Tony Blair to power in 1997, announced their reunion, the prime minister’s message to the nation was that things would get worse before they got better.

And he immediately set about making them worse, personally.  

Politically, it is quite a gamble. There haven’t been all that many Labour governments in the past 125 years, but they have tended to arrive in power accentuating the positive. That was true of Blair in 1997 and true of Harold Wilson in 1964. It was certainly true of Clement Attlee in 1945, who insisted – despite the country being skint at the end of the second world war – that there would be no going back to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

I think what's coming under Sir Kier Stalin will make the Great Depression look like a regretted week in Bognor... 

His argument is not just that Britain is in a mess after 14 years of Conservative government, but that the mess is even worse than Labour imagined when it was in opposition. The prime minister says the prisons are full to bursting and a harsh budget will be needed to repair the public finances, while the recent riots are evidence of a “societal black hole”.

Not for nothing are you dubbed 'Larry Idiot'. Don't look at what he says, look at what he does. 

If the prisons are full, why is he filling them with people whose crimes wouldn't normally rate a spell in the cells? If the public finances are so bad, why is he giving away money overseas? If there's a problem in society, why is he tinkering with inconsequentialities rather than trying to repair society?  

Streaming TV: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount)

I didn't bother with Paramount, I had too many other services on the go, so I missed this first time around. But Apple TV offered the entire first season to buy and download, so I treated myself. And I was impressed!

If the 'Star Trek: Discovery' season 1 hadn't ended so badly (I really liked the direction it appeared to be taking, until that penultimate episode) this slot might well have been taken by that show instead. But they dropped the ball and Anson Mount's team picked it up and scored that touchdown in grand style. This is so very reminiscent of 'old' Trek, only with 2023 CGI.

Why Did You Not Tell Your Son To Avoid Dangerous Areas?

A fatal accident inquiry at the city’s Sheriff Court heard from his mother, Joanne Ferguson who claimed it had been ‘well known’ children had been able to venture onto the site.

She wanted to know why nothing had been done to stop them and wanted to know who had uncovered the manhole, when and why it had been left uncovered allowing her son to tumble down 20ft to his death.

I guess she didn't demand to know how her son got the idea trespass was A-OK because the finger of suspicion only pointed one way... 

Graeme Clark, joint managing director at RJ McLeod, the principal contractor for the flood alleviation project, told the inquiry he had ‘no idea’ how the boy had been able to get onto the site and access the manhole.He told the inquiry that while there, he walked around to inspect the fencing and the only damage he could see had been caused by emergency vehicles coming in that morning.

Which presumably had the effect of covering up any point of entry... 

Ms Gillespie pointed out he had said he had not known how Shea got into the site adding: ‘But immediately you thought you’d put extra fencing in the area next to the play park?’ The witness responded that the company had been aware of the play park when the original security plan was drawn up, and the firm ‘had a contractual obligation from Glasgow City Council not to fence it off’.

When he was asked why, he replied: ‘You’ll have to ask Glasgow City Council.’

Oh, if only we had journalists who did just that, instead of regurgitating court transcripts and calling it 'news'. 

Jury Nullification?

A private security guard who was accused of racism and false imprisonment for detaining a 15-year-old boy at Superdrug was today cleared of all charges after just 30 minutes of jury deliberations.

I mean, what else explains this? 

Jake De-Geus and his colleague Edwin Hirst, who were employed to patrol a high street in Chichester, West Sussex, had been accused of tackling the teen in an 'unlawful' and 'unjustified' manner. De-Geus, 30, who wept as he told jurors he wasn't racist, insisted they had been 'justified' in deciding to detain the schoolboy, who had refused to leave the store when asked, pretended to steal shampoo and then head-butted him.

And thanks to CCTV and body worn video, the court - and more crucially, the jury - can see this all unfold. And put themselves in the place of these guards, or the place of a shopper trying to buy something while these 'children' are in the store. 

Hirst, 40, was also accused of assault by beating having punched another teenager in the testicles. But now, a jury has unanimously cleared the pair of all charges after a week-long trial at at Portsmouth Crown Court, Hants, and jury deliberations of just half an hour.

Not even long enough to have a cup of tea!  

During his evidence, the court was shown body worn footage of the incident, for which the teenage boy apologised for the 'vile language' he used. In it, he could be heard telling the rangers to 'turn me around so I can spit in your face'. It was heard he had been banned from Greggs and Sports Direct and admitted he had 'probably' behaved badly at Boots in a previous incident.

And he won't be named or face any charges. This is why we are broken as a country. And I fear, beyond all repair.  

Delayed Deaths...

Two people have died from injuries sustained in separate Notting Hill carnival attacks.

Well, at least they had suspects in custody quickly. 

Shakiel Thibou, 20, was charged with attempted murder, possessing a knife and violent disorder. He attended court alongside his older brothers Sheldon, 24, and Shaeim, 21, who were also charged with violent disorder and assault by beating of an emergency worker. In the case of Mussie, Omar Wilson a 31-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody at a south London police station.

If only this year's weather had been different. 

Commander Charmain Brenyah, the Met's spokesperson for Carnival, said: 'Carnival is about bringing people together in a positive celebration. That it has ended with the tragic loss of life, among other incidents of serious violence, will sadden everyone involved.'

That the Met Police have a dedicated spokesperson for this wretched even tells you all you need to know about why it will continue to go on and on, doesn't it? 

No, That's Actually 'With The Grain' Of Everything You Did, Kier...

A grieving mother has hit out at Labour's early prisoner release scheme after being told one of her son's killers is to go free – just months after being sentenced.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer yesterday said the decision to release prisoners who have served 40 per cent of their sentence in order to ease overcrowding 'goes against the grain of everything I've ever done', referring to his former role as Chief Prosecutor.

 Absolutely everything he did in his time at the DPP was geared to excusing criminals

The victim was white. The killers were black. As is so very common these days. 

Gordon Gault died after being stabbed during a feud on November 9, 2022 between rival gangs in Newcastle.Eighteen-year-old Lawson Natty, who supplied the machete that killed him, was sentenced to two years and eight months for manslaughter in March.

He had already spent eight-and-a-half months on remand and is to be released in just two weeks under Labour's scheme, meaning he will have served 14 months in total.

All so that there's room to put real dangerous criminals behind bars.  

Why Would It Be Viewed With ‘National Pride’?

Every year as Notting Hill carnival (NHC) winds down, naysayers demand the event be banned. This year is no different. Carnival is viewed through a prism of crime in a way that no other large festival or major sporting event is. Is it because a very large gathering of black people is automatically seen as a potential crime hotspot?

Well, no. It's because a very large gathering of black people automatically becomes a crime hotspot. 

This view is unfortunately held not just by some sections of the public and media, but also by police officers at all ranks involved in policing it.

Well, yes. I expect long distance lorry drivers have a view on the aesthetics of motorways too, it's one of the things that comes with the job. 

In my 30 years in the Metropolitan police, I have carried out a number of roles associated with the policing of NHC. I have observed that officers often view it as a yearly event that is imposed on the capital. It’s not viewed with national pride, similar to something like policing England playing at Wembley – even though such matches often involve violent incidents, and police being assaulted.

Because what it's celebrating is another nation, and another culture. Not England.  

Also, I have never known a government minister or member of the royal family attend NHC in their official capacity, as they would with a national football game.

I wonder why?  

This association with crime, the lack of national pride and the feeling that carnival is an imposition influence public perceptions. At the same time, policing plans for the event appear to have a very strong enforcement approach, which often comes at the expense of community engagement.

It's a hotbed of crime, so how else could it be policed? 

Compared with European festivals of a similar size, the festival is held in a particularly dense section of the city, and so gangs are attracted to NHC to commit crimes and/or settle feuds before disappearing into the crowd. Consideration should be given to changing the location to Hyde Park, or somewhere that is more open, to assist in policing it more effectively.

Or we could just scrap it altogether? That would be my choice.  

The Restaurants Are As Much A Danger As The Music Venues And Carnivals...

A man is still fighting for his life after a group of people were stabbed and a gun brandished during a fight in Forest Gate. The condition update comes as the Metropolitan Police has issued an appeal for information about the incident in Romford Road on August 10. Officers were dispatched to the street at 3.40am after receiving reports of a group of men trying to enter a restaurant with a knife.

Pizza? Fish & chip? Chinese? Sushi bar?

According to Newham Council, the restaurant that they attempted to enter was Bronze Royal African Bar.

Ah. 

Police are yet to make any arrests in connection with the fight, in which a firearm was brandished, and the condition of the other three men has not been confirmed. Newham MPS (@MPSNewham) took to X yesterday (August 10) to appeal for information.

The 'victims' not cooperating in naming their attackers again? 

Errr, Other Way Round, Surely?

 

*sigh* Modern 'journalism' at the Liverpool 'Echo'...

But then, who's surprised?

What's Going On At Tesco?

This popped up last week. In August.

But it was as nothing compared to....this! 

I'm as fond of fusion food as the next person, but that!  

Sunday Funnies...

Never ridden one, never will...especially any of these!