Is It Possible He's Even Worse Than Dick..?

He certainly hit the ground running. And now he's picking up speed:

Scotland Yard’s new Commissioner is consulting officers over a proposal to make every constable swear allegiance to King Charles III. Under UK law, all serving police officers must take the oath in which they swear to truly serve the monarch with ‘fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality’.

Wait, surely they don't have to do it over again? 

Reader, of course not... 

There is no requirement for existing officers, who swore allegiance to the Queen, to retake the oath because it passes to the heir in the event of death.

So why, in the midst of taking over a new role when his officers are about to revolt over his craven acquiescence to the demands of race hustlers and are being stabbed in the streets by maniacs, is he - you should pardon the pun - dicking around with something like this? 

The Commissioner, who is embarking on a period of major reform at the Met, told rank and file officers that he had found it ‘very powerful’ when he was sworn back into office as he took the helm at Britain’s biggest police force on Monday.

The man's ego is far bigger even than his predecessor's if he thinks for one moment that this is something that should take up valuable police time in the coming months. Not to mention the time it will take from the magistrates who have to administer the oath.

When Do You Ever..?

The unannounced felling of two memorial trees on an avenue in Cromer has led to an apology from Norfolk County Council (NCC).

The council, of course, claimed they had to come down because they were diseased.  

Chris Alston, the NCC's highway area manager, said: "Norfolk County Council would like to offer their sincere apologies for the distress caused by the removal of the two memorial trees and for the lack of advance notice to you, as residents, councillor Tim Adams, and Cromer Town Council.

"We will aim to learn from this mistake and ensure that any future such works include advance notice to Cromer Town Council, the local elected member, and residents in the future."

I notice it's only an aim, and not a guarantee... 

H/T: Dave Ward via email

What's The Swedish Equivalent Of Popcorn..?

Apparently, the 'far right' *pause for laughter* is taking over in Sweden. And Gina isn't taking it well:

It might be tempting to draw the conclusion that the progressive Pippi Longstockings are dying out in Sweden, while a new generation of aggressive conservatives is taking over. But rather than reflecting any drastic shift in the liberal ethos of Swedes, the election results reveal a more uncomfortable truth: that perhaps Sweden’s supposed liberalism was never that deep to begin with.

Well, of course. I mean, it couldn't possibly be that even the most liberal of them have woken up and smelled the coffee, could it? 

Since then, the main representatives of such “dreaded” difference – immigrants and their descendants – have come to constitute a quarter of the population. But many “native” Swedes do not typically mix with them – and flee their neighbourhoods if they move in.

It's hardly surprising; who wants to live in a neighbourhood where the sounds of gunfire and bombing fill the air? 

Then there is an unemployment rate among the foreign-born population of almost 20%. Sweden has also seen a surge in shootings and organised crime over the last year.

Feel the enrichment! 

The reasons behind the increase in crime are complex – class and social exclusion play an important role – but the result is a political and media debate that focuses on the supposed values or cultures of immigrants themselves.

These sort of values and cultures? When your own values and culture prevent you from resolving mistakes like others have started to, what else to do, but change the people at the top for ones that promise to do so? 

What we are seeing in Sweden might, then, not be a newly awakened belligerence, but the result of a longstanding desire for conformity. For what triggers the authoritarian mindset is exactly the narrative that “we” have somehow lost “our unity”. This popular myth in Sweden, together with a widespread fear of difference, is what was most likely to have contributed to the worrying election results in my country.

It's not a 'fear of difference', it's a realisation of that difference, and of the fact that - far from integrating into Swedish culture - a sizeable majority want to continue that culture they enjoyed in the homeland.  

Look, You'll Just Have To Put Up With Their Funny Ways With Scones...

...we all know it should be jam first, not cream first!

A man in his late 20s, from Eritrea, an East African country devastated by years of civil war, stopped to talk to DevonLive as he was walking with a friend near the seafront.

He complained about the food they had been given during their week-long stay, and claimed occupants were going hungry as no one had yet started receiving their £8.24 weekly allowance.

Really? Reader, no. Of course not: 

The Home Office is paying for full board, with 24-hour on-site support and security.

And if the food doesn't suit, you can always bugger off back to Eritrea. Or France.  

The first man, who had reached England by boat from Calais, said that the residents had given the authorities a week to sort out the problems or they would hold a protest in the car park outside.

When is the Home Office going to get a grip? Priti proved pretty useless, with Suella prove a braver (wo)man? 

H/T: IanJ via email 

In Memorium...

This will be the only blogpost today.

'Rodents Of Unusual Size', Indeed!

Errr, that's not a rat, Jemma, sorry...

H/T: IanJ via email

What Exactly Could They Do To Help?

Raise him from the dead?

Sunday Funnies...

Given the level of dentistry in that period, I'm not so sure No 4 really qualifies!

How Low Have Harvard Fallen...?

Scientists in China say it's very unlikely that the oblong Oumuamua asteroid that zipped into our solar system is an alien spacecraft - despite the claims of a controversial Harvard professor to the contrary.

Never mind that, what are its pronouns? 

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb wrote in his 2021 study of the object's potential origins: 'Each of these natural-origin models has major quantitative shortcomings, and so the possibility of an artificial origin for Oumuamua must be considered. Oumuamua’s anomalies suggest that it might have been a thin craft - with a large area per unit mass - pushed by the reflection of sunlight.'

Imagine getting schooled by the Chinese... 

A new peer-reviewed study by a group of Chinese scientists analyzes the data we have about Oumuamua to poke holes in Loeb's claim about how such an alien craft could be moving through space.

Once a revered institution, now a clown car full of lunatics... 

Actually, I Think You're Wrong...

A mum has spoken out about how she can't find employment because she is 'addicted' to getting tattoos.

That seems a bit unfair, what's a few... 

Oh.

Mum-of-two Melissa Sloan says she can't land herself a job due to her extreme look - but that won't stop her from getting more designs, admitting she currently gets three new 'prison style' inks a week.

The 45-year-old from Wales has ink all over her body, including bold designs with flowers and an England flag all over her face. She says her inkings are mainly done in a "prison style" by her boyfriend at home.

We don't get a picture of the boyfriend, and Reader, I think that's all for the best, don't you? 

"I can't get a job. They won't have me. I applied for a job cleaning toilets where I live and they won’t have me because of my tattoos.

The first job I had was cleaning ages ago, cleaning toilets. People have said I have never had a job in my life, I have had one once and it didn't last long."

Never had a job, yet has raised two children, clothed herself, clearly not starved, all on no income save what the state gives her. Is it me, or are the tattoos not really the issue here? 

H/T: IanJ via email