And Why, I Wonder, Would Anyone Have Cause To ‘Hate The BBC,’, Nihal?

Former BBC radio presenter Nihal Arthanayake, who was at Radio 1 for more than 10 years at the same time as Mills, told ITV's Good Morning Britain on Tuesday: "My first thoughts were obviously with the alleged victim here, without question.

Shouldn't the first thought have been 'Is there even a 'victim' here?; apart from Mills, that is, who appears to have suffered from the BBCs desire not to repeat past mistakes? Full disclosure here - I listen to Radio Two every day, and Mills is a presenter I liked. 

But even if he had not been, his abrupt sacking is looking like an overreaction driven by an over-cautious management, that could backfire if he decides to sue. 

"But also, Scott Mills is a human, he's a person who got his dream job that has now been taken away from him, and his validation, largely, in life, probably was defined by that job. 

Good point, shame it then descended into self pity on behalf of Auntie Beeb.... 

"Therefore, we have to be very careful. There's a current feeding frenzy going on. 

Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me!  

"A lot of that is driven by people who just hate the BBC, so they'll use that as a stick to beat the BBC with.

Whu eould that be, I wonder Nihal. Is it it's frequent peddling of obvious propaganda on behalf of those it has decieded are 'vulnerable minorities' instead of groups who want to change British society as it is, or who want to overthow basic principles in favour of insanity?  Is it its strangely partisan approach to what it considers to be news?

"But there is a human being - well, there's two human beings - at the centre of this."

And a lot of humans out there who are no longer willing to fund a national broadcaster that appears to hate them. 

This Isn't Good News Polly!

The news is very good (mostly). The cost of full-time childcare in England for children under the age of two has dropped by a phenomenal 39% since last year, thanks to government funding. This stat, from the 25th annual survey of nurseries by the children’s charity Coram, provides a good opportunity to stop and consider how far the country has come in that quarter-century.

As ever, Polly is, I suspect, on the wrong side of history here.  

In 1995, there were nursery vouchers for a few, but only 4% of children under five in England were in nursery: the right argued young children were the responsibility of families, not the state, and that mothers should stay at home.

And have we blossomed into a paradise as a result of scrapping that policy, Polly? Are children better behaved, women gainfully employed in vital roles? Or has it resulted in the opposite situation? 

Labour’s strong cohort of women arriving in the Commons in 1997, led by the veteran Harriet Harman with her childcare strategy, fought hard to finally add the missing cradle to the “cradle to grave” welfare state.

 When she wasn’t supporting those who wanted to have sex with them, you mean?

In 2003, the Treasury introduced child care tax credits, although more as a way to get women into work.

And now every HR department in every large organisation is chock full of women, and are we better for it?

Then, in 2004, the government extended free part-time nursery places to all three- and four-year-olds in England. That was a giant step – but every step of the way was a fight, and still is.

Free? I don’t think so. 

Since last September, parents have been able to claim 30 hours a week of state-funded childcare for children from nine months old until they start school. This could save working parents an average of £8,000 a year per child. Take note of what campaigners always said would happen: just in the past year, these extra free nursery hours have enabled nearly a third of parents to up their working hours.

Families can also save up to £450 from free breakfast clubs and £500 more in September, when half a million more children will get free school meals.

Free school meals paid for out of taxation aren’t really ‘free’ at all. As they have no choice but to admit:

Early years childcare is neither totally free nor universal. That precious 30 free hours is only during the 38 weeks of term time, so parents have to pay the holiday gap: one week for a child under the age of two can cost about £189. Funding is too low at a time of rising energy and staff costs: many nurseries also charge extra for meals, trips, nappies, sun cream, anything they can think of. Private nurseries, often run by large private equity chains, are in wealthier areas, shunning families who can’t pay for extra hours.

But here is the great perversity that undermines the key social purpose of the nursery movement: early years education does the most good for the most deprived, yet those children are ineligible for the full hours until they reach the age of three. What makes them “ineligible”? The very things that make them deprived; if their parents don’t work or work too little to earn £10,158 a year, the child gets nothing until aged two, and then only half as many hours as the rest.

This year’s report from the charity Kindred Squared found that about a third of children in England who started reception in 2025 were not ready for school. Some of them were still in nappies, not using knives and forks, not able to sit still, barely speaking and unsocialised. Some teachers felt that less time in early years education contributed to these issues.

And so, I ask a question I've already had to ask over at 'Orphans',  why aren't people raising their own children any more? 

Why Did You Stop?

The Metropolitan police has said it will resume arresting people who show support for Palestine Action just weeks after it said it would no longer do so following a high court ruling that the ban on the direct action group was unlawful.

High court rulings? Since when did you pay attention to those? You seen happy to ignore the Supreme Court, after all.... 

After last month’s judgment, the Met police said it would immediately stop arresting people for such offences under the Terrorism Act but would gather evidence for potential future prosecutions. But on Wednesday it said it had “revised” its enforcement approach, describing the statement made immediately after the high court’s decision as an “interim position”.

Something changed, and it wasn't the threat such demonstrations posed, so it must have been pressure on the police to DO THE FUCKING JOB THEY ARE PAID FOR. 

Deputy assistant commissioner James Harman said: “While the high court has found the proscription of Palestine Action to be unlawful, it has confirmed the impact of that judgment will not take effect until the government’s appeal has been considered which could take many months. 

“That means it is still a criminal offence to support Palestine Action. 

How do you get to be a deputy assistant comissioner without understanding the law? 

“We must enforce the law as it is at the time, not as it might be at a future date. We must do that consistently and without fear or favour.”

Yes, you must. So isn't it long overdue for you to actually give it a go?  

Tweet Of The Month

 

And this is a worr of pure genius:

Post Title Of The Month

 Longrider once again knocks it out of the park with this one:

Quote Of The Month

 Bucko on the most bizarre take on a subject by the Guardian, one which also puzzled Tim:

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the whole purpose of Britains version of ICE was to single out non-white, foreign born workers? Ok, fair enough, I'm sure there are many white illegals in this country, but if you're looking for illegals in an Indian restaurant, you're not there for the Albanians"

Post Of The Month

 Nick Drew at Capitalists@Work on the subject everyone wants to avoid considering....

The Men Of No Appearance (Except Technical Nationality) Strike Again!

Two men who were arrested over the arson attack on Jewish charity-owned ambulances in north London have been released on bail, the Metropolitan Police has said.

And are they as we suspected? 

The men, British nationals aged 47 and 45, were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and have now been bailed until April.

Well, that hides a multitude of possibilities these days, doesn’t it? 

Cdr Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said there were "strict bail conditions in place while we continue to investigate their suspected involvement in this incident". 

"We continue to work to try and identify all of those involved in this appalling attack and the investigation team is working around the clock to do this," she said.

Oh, so it’s being investigated as terrorism? 

Although the case is not being classed as a terror incident, the Met said the investigation is currently being led by counter-terror officers. The Met previously said the investigation was looking at an Islamist group with potential links to Iran, following unsubstantiated claims of responsibility by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya - The Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand.

Oh. 

Well no doubt all sorts will claim responsibility. Some of them might even be truly foreign.

The BBC has also seen CCTV footage which shows three men approaching the synagogue in February. Members of the Jewish community now believe this could have been a surveillance attempt before the attack this week. The footage, which has since been handed to police, shows a man trying to pull a locked door handle. When challenged, they said they were looking for a local mosque.

Oh,BBC! Bag open, cat frolicking in plain sight! 

Possession Of These Dogs Is Always By Those Who Should Not Have Them....

 Prove me wrong! 

The 31-year-old, who runs a recovery business transporting cars, said he did not come home after being called by police because he was driving illegally after being disqualified from driving - and did not want to be caught.

This is the ongoing trial of Sean Garner, 31, who denies being the owner of the hellhound that ate a pensioner alive despite valient efforts by neighbours to come to his aid:

Courageous members of the public used makeshift weapons - including a broomstick, a golf club and a spirit level - as they attempted to rescue Mr McColl, who was screaming 'Help Me!'. Police had to shoot the dog ten times to neutralise it - nine times with a pistol and once with a shotgun - the court heard previously. Police 'did not take any chances' with the second dog, Malibu, who was shot dead at the scene as well.

And no wonder. Surely only Jim Corbett or Kenneth Anderson have witnessed such a scene of horror, and that not in an English suburban garden, but in a jungle where it is to be expected: 

Prosecutor Birrell previously gave the jury graphic details of the injuries suffered by Mr McColl, who died in hospital a month after the attack. The hound had 'eaten him alive, he said, adding parts of Mr McColl's face were found in the animal's stomach when vets cut it open. 

He said: 'It guarded him as if he were his prey. It had savaged him. 

'There was no food in the dog's stomach, just parts of John McColl's face. And bits of plastic. 

'The dog had attacked Mr McColl and it would just not let him go,' he added.

Always owned by the wrong people, perhaps because there's no right person to own one of these things.When he was called by the police to surrender himself for this atrocity, he sent his pregnant partner to face the music. This tells you all you need to know about the calibre of the man, doesn't it?

As does the lies he relied on to keep him out of trouble:

He also ran an Instagram page called Little and Large Bullies, the court heard, which he used to promote dogs for breeding. Garner has admitted he advertised Malibu for breeding as an XL bully, but he claimed it was because it was easier to sell puppies from that breed.

Reader, it wasn't. He knew what he had, and he knew that there were men like him out there that would want to buy these things. 

Garner denies being the owner of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control. He has previously admitted two counts of possessing an XL bully without an exemption certificate relating to Toretto and Malibu. XL bullies were banned in December 2023. 

The trial continues.

I would say its a foregone conclusion, but who really knows with the state of the UK justice system? 

And Yet, They Can’t Do The Same To Dinghies In The English Channel

British forces are now "ready to act" to board and detain ships in Russia's so-called shadow fleet in UK waters, the defence secretary has said.Ministers identified a legal basis in January that would allow forces to board sanctioned vessels, but approval for the military measure was not given by the prime minister until Thursday.

Sounds about right for the current incumbent of Number 10! 

Questioned on why that decision had not come sooner, John Healey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme "what operations like this require is training, preparation, understanding discussion with allies [and] a clear legal basis".

Aren't they all things one would expect the navy to already possess, and if not, to be able to practice in peacetime on the hordes invading our country via the Channel?  

Sir Keir Starmer said the move would starve "Putin's war machine of the dirty profits that fund his barbaric campaign".

While Two-tier Kier's sabotaging his own campaign... roll on May!