Will It Address The Elephant In The Room?

A national strategy to address the “public health disaster” of drowning has been launched in England – hours after two women died at an Essex beach, the latest in a surge of water-related tragedies.

The initial police reports of this one were shielded in secrecy and refusal to elaborate rather like the Brighton case earlier, but my Spidey Sense immediately leapt to a drowning, and of someone not white, just as in that case. And so it proved to be.

Among the measures being considered are: providing every child in England with water safety education and swimming lessons; establishing how climate change can increase risks; and media campaigns to inform bystanders how to respond to a potential drowning.

Pointless unless you are also going to look at who is drowning in such numbers. It happens every hot summer, after all. And often not to people called Mary or George. Even the esteeemed 'Guardian' has noticed this phenomenon.

Drowning prevention strategies for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are also being launched this week. Speaking at the announcement of the strategy in Canary Wharf, east London, on Thursday, Prof Mike Tipton, the chair of Water Safety England, said the measures would “eradicate the scourge of drowning”.

Unless you are going to eradicate human nature, how are you going to do that? Even the token white Brit they rolled out to speak knows that's a hope based on nothing:

Vanessa Abbess, whose 17-year-old son, Joe, died after getting into difficulty in the water off Bournemouth beach in 2023, warned the public against being “naive and complacent”. Sunnah Khan, a 12-year-old girl, died alongside Joe after being caught in a rip current. 

Abbess said: “As a society, there’s an element of naivety and complacency regarding the dangers of open water swimming. 

“It’s not enough to know how to swim in a warm pool if you don’t know what to do to help your chances of survival if conditions change or you find yourself in difficulty in open water. 

The risk needs to be assessed. You need to stop and think. You wouldn’t cross a road without thinking.”

I'll assume Ms Abbess doesnt get out much, because the young of all races tend to do that as well. 

This Must Be Why They Call Each Other 'Brother'

,,,and I just thought it was the uncertainty principle.

A man has been found guilty of assisting Daniel Khalife after his high-profile escape from HMP Wandsworth.

 And who would do such a thing? No doubt you too will be shocked at the name, Reader...

Adeel Khan, 32, from Waltham Forest, helped supply Khalife with money following his escape in September 2023.

And in a nice touch of irony: 

Khan will be sentenced at the same court on September 4.

Can they both be put on the same depportation flight too? 

It's Just The 'New Scots' Trying To Fit In....

It’s not exactly the Campbells and the McDonalds, is it?

Three senseless killings in the space of six months, all involving teenagers and bladed weapons, have raised concern over youth-related knife crime in Scotland to a level not seen for many years. The deaths of Amen Teklay, Kayden Moy and John McNab last year left many wondering whether the country was going backwards to the shameful time when Scotland endured one of the worst homicide rates in western Europe.

Probably, but it’s not going to stick out too much, as every part of the country is afflicted with knife crime and youth culture now. And the stories of the murders will be familiar reading to Londoners.

 A jury at the High Court in Glasgow found them both not guilty. The boys are now aged 16 and 17 but cannot be named because of their age. The 16-year-old said both he and Amen had swords and claimed that he stabbed him in self-defence. The older teenager said he had been standing a distance away and did not attack Amen. There were emotional scenes in court as Amen's family and friends heard the verdict.

Perhaps if the families had spend more time knowing what they were up to, there'd be less surprise at consequences catching up with them? 

On the day of the attack the teenagers took a train to Irvine after discovering through social media that Kayden and his friends were among a large group of teenagers who had congregated there. Cole Turley, 18, admitted the killing, while Jay Stewart, 19 and a 15-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found guilty of murder following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. At the same court on Tuesday morning, the judge Lord Scott sentenced both Stewart and Turley to a minimum of 16 years in detention, and the 15-year-old to a minimum of 14 years.

So Scotland is noy alone in this, sad to say. 

We Know You're A Bird-Brain, Stella, No Need To Prove It...

The lefty Labour MP posted a video on X showcasing what she believed to be an escaped pet parrot in a Walthamstow park.

And the internet responded with its usual magnificence posting pictures of badgers with 'lost dog found' captions, until the relentless mocking meant she deleted her Tweet. But of course, she’s equally ignorant of the fact that screenshots exist as she is the existence of feral parakeets.

You Can Never Close 'The Disadvantage Gap'

The gap between how well pupils from better-off backgrounds perform at school compared with their classmates from lower-income households has widened, according to a new report. Despite some improvements in the years since Covid, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) said the disadvantage gap had widened again in England and was still bigger "at every phase" of school than it was before the pandemic.

Ah, ‘before the pandemic’. Nicely slipped in there, that mad time when all plans were derailed, even socialist ones. 

The Department for Education said it was working to close the disadvantage gap by delivering opportunities for every child, including expanding government-funded childcare and extending eligibility for free school meals.

Working to close the disadvantage gap by funnelling money, taxpayer money at that, towards a hopeless cause. Typical socialist trick.

The EPI said the overall difference in academic achievement between low-income students and their wealthier peers was now 17% greater for children in early years than it was before Covid.

Hardly a crisis that requires government intervention, is it? 

"The size of the gap between the educational outcomes of children from more and less advantaged backgrounds is a scourge on our society," Julie McCulloch, chief executive of the EPI said.

Really? I can think of many things which could truly be considered a scourge on society, but this is not one of then. 

The EPI made a number of recommendations in its report for how to achieve it, including widening access to free funded childcare to all children, and increasing the amount of money schools can receive for the number of children they teach who are eligible for free school meals.

The Local Government Association called for more investment in the SEND workforce, and for a review into which children qualify for funded childcare hours, to make sure "those on lower incomes do not miss out".

The Department for Education said the government would do "whatever it takes" to ensure every child had access to opportunity, regardless of their background.

If some children don't take advantage of the access that already exists what more should be done is up to their parents, not the governement.

What Fresh Hell Is This?

A police press release:

A 22-year-old man has been charged in connection with an incident in Bristol in which a teenage girl was raped and a second teenage girl was sexually assaulted. 

Javed Orykhel, of Bedminster, an Afghan national whose self-defined ethnicity is Arab, has been charged with one count of rape, two counts of sexual assault, and one count of possession of a class B drug.

I suppose it's no great leap from accepting that a man can self-describe as a woman to having to accept that he can self-describe as a particular ethnic group. If you've already drunk the 'identity' Kool-Aide, and the police farces certain have.

 H/T: Jenn via Twitter

You're Holding The Store Responsible?

When the Dollar Tree lawyer asked her what she wanted out of the lawsuit, she replied: “You [have] to take accountability of what is happening in your stores. You’re causing pain to people. I don’t know if it’s because of the bottom line, or what, but it’s happening and you guys need to stop it.”

What does she want the store to stop, (and to pay her money for what has happened in it, of course)? 

Over the following months, the term “dollar store gooner” became a meme on the internet that spread far beyond the closed world of the gooners themselves. A “Dollar Tree gooner” crypto coin launched in January 2025, followed by an unofficial Pokémon card and a song released on SoundCloud by an underground noise band from Tennessee named Mukus.

I know you'll be as baffled as I, Reader, at least, I hope so!  

Long before it developed an association with criminal acts, “gooning” was understood as a pornography-fueled compulsion, sometimes involving multiple screens at once, that can become a substitute for intimate relationships with others. It also tends to come with a heavy dose of self-loathing. Experts say that online forums and video content aimed at gooners often send the message that obsessive masturbation – whether alone or in public – is as much as men like them can aspire to in life. Webster described it as a “disavowed manic state of triumph over something hideous”. One common trope of the pornography that these gooners consume has men ejaculating over women’s bodies, faces and hair – acts that, Lankford said, have no basis in evolutionary biology and are difficult to interpret as anything other than demeaning to the women.

When I shop at a store, i would expect the store to be responsible for non-slip flooring, electrical-safe freexer units and escalatots and lifts in working order. I wouldn't expect them to be financially responsible for the behaviour of other customers.

But this is America, and I guess Dollar Tree has deep pockets, while the disgusting 'men' who do this aren't worth suing.

These Are Apparantly 'Celebrities'?

If only they had been real ones maybe something would finally be done about these wretched dogs...

Freddy Brazier's nan Jackiey Budden was attacked by his bulldog Pablo and her neighbours called the police days before he was mauled by the animal.The son of Jeff Brazier and the late Jade Goody, 21, spent eight hours in hospital getting stitches on Monday after his dog savagely bit him at his nan's London home.

No Reader, I've no idea either... 

Jackiey was injured while attempting to pull Pablo off of him. Freddy was shocked when it happened and was left in a lot of pain,' reported The Sun.

He shouldn't have been that shocked, it wasn't the vicious brute's first attempt at biting the hand that feeds it!

Now it has been revealed that it is not the first time the bulldog has attacked with emergency services attending the scene to help last week.

Police and the fire brigade were called on July 16 by a concerned neighbour who heard screams of agony as the dog gripped onto Jackiey, which left her needing medical treatment. Four days later Pablo attacked again leaving both Freddy and Jackiey injured and requiring hospital treatment.

'Both the police and the fire brigade attended, but fortunately it wasn't too serious – and they agreed not to pursue criminal charges.

Bet that decision's being reviewed now!  It's classed as a 'pocket bully' so noy included on the DDA but probably should have been from the get-go if only the Tories had done a proper job.

'It's been an awful few days and Freddy is devastated as he absolutely adores that dog and Pablo is a huge part of the family.'

Nornally I'd take the piss out of such a statement, but with this sort of 'family' it's ptobably not so unusual. 

Clearly. Andy Burnham Reads Tim Worstall's Blog...

 ...he's said 'No to digital ID' after all! 

Andy Burnham will scrap plans for a government-issued digital ID for all British adults when he becomes prime minister on Monday. The move, which follows plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, will shift focus to "the daily priorities facing people across the country", Burnham's office said.

Most suspect it'll be back later in a new guise, and they are probably right. 

"This reprioritisation of public resource shows a change in direction towards improving everyday life and strengthening local economies over expensive national government schemes."

He's made a good start on that already by purging the Starmerites; we won't have Reeves, Lammy or Hermer to kick around any more,

Reacting for the Conservatives, shadow technology secretary Julia Lopez accused Burnham of "trying to pretend he's riding to the rescue" after Labour "wasted millions of pounds on this project". "After pressure from the Conservatives, mandatory ID was already apparently off the table. Andy Burnham now needs to explain whether that was untrue, or whether he is simply claiming credit for a decision that had already been taken", she said.

Probably the latter, and we'll see whan the honeymoon phase is over, won't we. 

Usual Suspects...

Elijah Seriki, 23, was found with stab wounds on Andre Street, Hackney at around 1.40pm on Monday July 13, and died a short time later.

Police have been surprisingly quick to generate a theory about who killed him too. 

Police have named and pictured two men they want to speak to.The Met have confirmed that they would like to speak to Cavalli Harriott, 22, and Jayqwan Stevens-Burke, 23, as part of their enquiries.

Isn't that handy - they both have official mugshots

 Ah, wonderful enriching diversity!