More Foreign-Origin Magistrates 'Improving' Our Justice System...

Like a lot of people, the magistrate's remarks on the RAF vandals who ruined the Paddington Bear statue drew a snort of derision from me due to their virtue signalling sentimentality.

"Paddington Bear is a beloved cultural icon with children and adults alike. He represents kindness, tolerance and promotes integration and acceptance in our society.

"His famous label attached to his duffel coat says, 'Please look after this bear' but on the night of 2nd March, your actions were the antithesis of everything Paddington stands for.

"Your actions lacked respect and integrity, two values you should uphold as members of the armed forces."

What I hadn't appreciated was that the magistrate, Sam Goozee, has already featured here - he's the magistrate who let off infamous scofflaw Max Coopey

H/T: Peter Wells via email

Nothing To Worry About, Just Go About Your Lives!

Police were called to a property on the A259 Marina in St Leonards on Thursday (March 20) following concerns over suspected chemicals found at the address. A section of the road was closed, and nearby homes were evacuated. More than 500 cannisters of chemicals were found inside the property, which have now been desensitised and disposed of safely. This included an additional 30 vessels of unidentified substances which are currently being tested.

So, terrorism? *laughs* Of course not! 

A 28-year-old man was arrested and has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

And the police do their best to reassure the population they are on top of things: 

Detective Superintendent Steve May said: “This has been a challenging few days for all involved, particularly those residents evacuated from their homes, and I would like to thank the public for their patience and support during this operation.

“We are doing all we can, with our partners, to bring this incident to a safe resolution and return the area to normality. I am confident the end is now well within sight.

“We are aware of speculation among the public around the full circumstances of this incident, and I would like to reiterate that, at this time, there is nothing to suggest any sinister motivation from the individual who has been detained, nor any ongoing risk to the public.

“There is currently no evidence to suggest any links to terror, extremist ideology or large-scale drug production.

Not really sure what that leaves, DS May.... 

A Fringe Benefit Of Cashless Payments?

After all, we can't say it's because the standard of parenting has got better, can we?

Society's move to cashless payments may have had an unintended positive side effect, surgeons say - fewer children needing operations or procedures to remove swallowed coins. The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) experts looked back over hospital records in England since the Millennium. Procedures to remove foreign objects, including coins, from children's throats, airways and noses saw a "significant decline", of almost 700 cases by 2022.

I know, correlation is not causation, but... 

But other factors - such as child-proof packaging and safety campaigns - probably also helped reduce cases, especially of objects stuck up the nose.

Yet curiously, these 'other factors' seem to not work with other items! 

But concern is shifting towards other potentially dangerous shiny objects, such as button batteries and magnets, which are now sometimes swallowed by children.

So much for the saviour being technology.  

It’s Only Taxpayers Money Pt 83290122

The family of Sheku Bayoh have reached an out-of-court settlement with Police Scotland after moving to sue the force following his death. Mr Bayoh, 31, died in Kirkcaldy, Fife on May 3, 2015, after he was restrained on the ground by six police officers. His family raised a civil action against Police Scotland three years later.

And the cops have thrown in the towel and are paying them to go away.  

A public inquiry has also been examining the circumstances leading to Mr Bayoh’s death, the investigation into his death and whether or not race was a factor. Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell met with Mr Bayoh’s family last month and offered an apology to them for their ordeal.A joint statement from Police Scotland and solicitor Aamer Anwar, who has been representing the family, said on Monday a settlement has now been agreed without any admission of liability by the force.

How much? We don't know, it's our money, and we aren't allowed to know. 

The statement said that to “respect the privacy of the family, the details of the agreement will remain confidential”.

The actual rank and file police aren't happy, either. 

A spokesperson for the Scottish Police Federation said the organisation, which represents rank-and-file officers, was “surprised to find that the chief constable has decided to settle this claim”.

The spokesperson said: “As the inquiry continues, it would be inappropriate to say any more at this stage, other than to remind the public that the clear position of the officers involved in the apprehension of Mr Bayoh is that they acted reasonably, in the public interest in the circumstances, given the danger that he presented.”

But with the state of the justice system they don't want to take a chance, and there's always more taxpayer cash where that came from, isn't there? 

'Can Present As A Female'

 ...but not very well!

Police are searching for a wanted person who has been recalled to prison. North Yorkshire Police are searching for Jason Whiteoak, from Selby, who has convictions for serious sexual assault and robbery.

Whiteoak, who can present as female under the name Karla, has also been known by a number of other names. 

Can he? Well, Reader, you be the judge:

I suppose at least Thames Valley Police aren't trying to gaslight us all that he IS a woman called Karla, unlike Surrey Police....

H/T: IanJ via email

The Diversity Doesn't Always Stay In The Inner City...

It has been reported that more than 50 youths armed with knives and machetes ran into Elm Park Primary School's hall, in Havering, Essex, at around 9pm on Saturday.

Yes, Elm Park. I'm very familiar with it. It's my end of the District Line, after all. Not the place you'd expect the inner city diversity to be in great numbers, until you realise this was a birthday party. For diverse youth. The sort of thing that tends to blow up into just this sort of disorder. 

The fighting allegedly lasted until 11pm before three teenagers were arrested on suspicion of assaulting emergency workers.

 Only three?

Footage from the scene shows dozens of children fleeing the hall screaming, as individuals at the back of the room can be seen raising weapons above their heads.

 'Individuals'...

One local resident told the Havering Daily: 'It was total chaos. We saw between 40-50 youths, running through the streets.

'We think they had knives as they were seen dropping weapons in people's drive ways and running away. They were attacking the police and there were so many of them that the police had to just disperse them. We couldn't believe what we saw. They were all aged 16 and over and they were not from here.

'Not from here' in more than one sense, of course.  

'Our road is normally so quiet, things like this don't happen here. This is why we are all so shocked at what has happened.

'We saw the police running after the youths, but due to the large number of them, the only choice they had was to disperse them.

'Our road was closed off for ages due to this and we were told that a serious incident had happened.'

And it'll keep happening, thanks to the transport system that allows the diversity to reach the nicer places..