Don't Want No Short People 'Round Here…

A mum has spoken out after her son was left 'traumatised' following an armed police incident in Tameside on Tuesday (April 14).

It followed reports of a suspected gun at around 5pm. Officers responded and found a group of school-aged teenagers at the scene who had been in the vicinity.

Videos shared on Facebook showed the drama as it unfolded, with several police vehicles at the scene, including armed police. A police helicopter was also spotted circling the area amid the major response.

As you would expect from a report of a firearm…. 

Eye-witnesses claimed they saw youths with a toy cap gun who were understood to be 'firing it' at each other at the McDonalds restaurant. Police rapidly responded after reports were made via 999.

Reports of youths with a cap gun? No, a real one presumably. 

The mum of a 13-year-old who was arrested and surrounded by police with guns has now told of how her son was 'traumatised' and 'woke up screaming' following the ordeal. He had bought the toy gun with friends and was 'playing' with it before officers raced to the scene.

Oh no, a traumatised child! 

The mum, who asked to remain anonymous (Ed: And no wonder...), said her son had finished MMA training when he bought the toy gun. She explained: "He'd finished training and wanted a McFlurry from McDonald's. Before that he'd been to a shop and bought this cheap snap gun that makes a noise."Him and his friends had it, and I don't think they understood it could have been perceived as anything other than a toy. They were playing with it and didn't intend to cause fear. They are only kids.

"It would've been obvious it was just a small silver plastic toy. But then the police came and my son was scared and put it down and tried to run. He was treated like he had a gun and was pushed to the ground and arrested by officers with guns. My son is only small."

Why should the size matter? How big do you have to be to pull a trigger? 

She added: "It's been absolutely traumatising for him. I understand in a real situation the police would have to act on the severity of it, and I don't blame them. But it's clear someone rang the police because they were annoyed with the kids who were being a nuisance or annoying.

So who do you blame, the people reporting it? They may not have been acting responsibly but they may well have been. Surely you can’t expect everyone to know these days if it’s just ‘kids being kids’ as those days are long gone! 

No Longer Accepting Excuses...

The court heard Amber blamed 'immaturity' for the decision to keep driving after her diagnosis, and she has written to Ms Cheema to apologise.

What about the pedestian she nearly killed? 

The judge said Amber was 'in the midst of an epileptic fit' when her driving became erratic, and she 'may not have fully appreciated the very realistic fear of her passenger'. 

He was encouraged by Amber's barrister to spare her a spell in prison, but concluded: 'It was clearly a deliberate choice to disregard the information given to her by her doctor. 'You are fortunate you did not kill people that day, it's as simple as that', he told Amber. 

'You are lucky it wasn't far worse.'

She’s lucky, judge!?! 

Amber, who was on an accountancy graduate scheme prior to sentencing, will serve just over a year in prison before she is eligible for parole, and she is banned from driving for the next three years and four months.

It seems a pathetic sentence given the aggravating factors, but it’s almost astounding to see a prison sentence in a case like this one that it’s welcome.

The 'Complex Reasons Why People Might Have Larger Families'....

... aren't always actually very complex, but may be rather sinister. And something the progressives don’t want to acknowledge.

Clearly, more needs to be done to reduce inequality and deprivation in Britain. Even once the effects of this change have been felt, an estimated 4 million children will remain in poverty.

That’s the Guardian, welcoming the end to the two child benefit cap, the only sensible policy the Tories managed to get through.

But this week’s win should not be taken for granted. Benefits Street-type hostility is still all too widespread in Britain. When Labour was voted in, six in 10 Britons favoured keeping the cap in place – which may have added to the hesitancy around reversing it. That has reduced slightly, but research for More in Common last year found that 49% believed that removing the limit would be a “very” or “somewhat” bad idea, compared with 36% in favour.

That 49% have realised who we are paying to breed.

When ending it was framed as giving every child a good start, support surged.

Proof that you can fool all of the people all of the time. 

Sometimes, huge wins can be short‑lived. Labour must talk proudly about this moment, then build on it.

Yes, please do keep on talking about the disastrous decisions you have been making since you came into office, what’s the worst that can happen?

A Hat Trick!

A woman has died after being attacked by two dogs at a house in Wolverhampton. Emergency crews were sent to Willis Pearson Avenue, in the Bilston area of the city, at about 23:30 BST on Wednesday after reports a woman in her 70s had been injured. She died at the scene, West Midlands Police said.

And at least the taxpayer won’t be on the hook until any trial of the owner this time:

The dogs, not believed to be a banned breed, were later destroyed and had continued to be aggressive towards emergency services at the scene, the force added.

A 37-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury resulting in death. He was taken to hospital after receiving hand injuries.

The breed hasn’t been established, but there are clues: 

Mr Wright said the two dogs were 'Rotweiller-like' and very powerful. 

'They were really big dogs,' he said. 

'The other day a bloke was walking down the road with his kid and they turned back because of the dogs. 

'I used to see the guy who lived with Carol walking them, but it was more like them walking him, they would drag him down the road. 

'He had no control over them whatsoever. 

'The two dogs had been there about two or three months.

Maybe Rottweilers, maybe the new monster on the block, the Cane Corso. Maybe some crossbreed. But undoubtedly a risk to the neighbourhood. 

If only neighbours felt confident that the authorities would act on reports of this, the tragedy might have been avoided. But clearly they didn’t. 

This Is Why We Love Social Media!

And why politicians don’t. Stella Creasy is upset. The peasantry are mean to her:

The slogan “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution” holds new meaning in a world where an MP simply singing along to Robyn is labelled a sign of national decline. A tweet celebrating a Saturday night in my own constituency has now been viewed by almost 1 million people – and many more have offered an opinion.

Oh noes! The great British public shouldn't be allowed an opinion! Shut it down!  

Egged on by political opponents and the presenters of GB News, these have included death threats, vile commentary on my appearance and accusations that I’m not fit for office, all because I went to a silent disco.

No, it's because your party is loathed for good reason, as are you yourself. Not for your dancing, for your policies. 

Joy is now seen as something that should shame politicians – as though having frazzled and miserable people in our parliament is good for decision-making.

Your decision making?  It's awful, no matter what emotional state you're in at the time. 

Underlying this is more than just embarrassment about seeing a middle-aged MP dance, it’s a concerted attempt by some to drown out their opponents’ voices through character assassination.

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

Abuse and violence towards politicians is at an all-time high. Every day, MPs trade stories and sympathies about criminal proceedings against those who have harassed them, offices being attacked and poison pen letters, and fears they have for their families and staff.

Yet they do nothing about the causes of it. What did you do when Southend's MP was hacked to death in his office by one of your imports, besides import more of them, while ensuring his daughter's pleas for a public enquiry were ignored!  

It’s not hard to see why making rage-baiting statements is appealing in a world where the next generation will end up poorer than the last. Frustration and fear about the future are widespread and understandable. Politics seems incapable of offering answers at a time when they are needed.

Maybe then we should stop looking to politicians to provide them? 

It is also why dismissing the social-media cesspit misses how behaviour online feeds the real world, as it sets the expectation that we politicians deserve what we get. Since Elon Musk took over, X has promoted conservative material and demoted alternative perspectives.

You've got Bluesky for those.

But public debate and good policy-making only thrive when people can speak freely and listen carefully...

Then stop locking up people for doing just that, and start to argue that people shouldn't be allowed to use the law to silence people arguing against woke policies!  

... it is noticeable that attempts at public shaming are disproportionately handed out to women and people of colour.

Oh, give it a rest!  

If we want to stop politicians being punched, we need to stop using them as punchbags.

Nobodies punching you, more's the pity. We, the public, however, that's another matter... 

This'll Shut You Peasants Up!

Detectives have said they are yet to find evidence that an alleged rape outside a church took place as reported or that any immigrants or asylum seekers were involved. Surrey Police previously received a report that a woman in her 20s had been followed and assaulted outside the church in Ashley Road, Epsom, after leaving Labyrinth Epsom nightclub on Saturday between 2am and 4am.

And the refusal to issue a description (after the Southport affair, supposedly a lesson learned) led to big trouble in little Epsom... 

In a statement released today, Assistant Chief Constable for Local Policing Sarah Grahame said: 'Over the past week, there has been widespread speculation and commentary following a report of a rape in Epsom in the early hours of Saturday. 

'We are aware of the strength of feeling this has created, and of the frustration caused by our limited public comment on the matter. 

'During this time, we have been investigating in depth to establish the sequence of events and to clarify the circumstances surrounding the reported incident. We have reviewed an extensive amount of CCTV footage from the area. 

'We have also been interviewing potential witnesses, carrying out forensics investigations and conducting house-to-house enquiries. 

'To date, we have not found any evidence of the offence as reported but the investigation is ongoing.'

Interesting phrasing, implying something went on - are the police so utterly captured now that they feel confident in publicly labelling a woman a liar, or a slut, rather than admit that there may be a problem with illrgal ethnics from Third World cultures?

Of course, they feel safe to do so because the woman has anonymity. If she chooses to forgo that, this story may not go away.

Professional Journalism...

 Don't expect it from 'The Guardian' where they can't even agree on the name of the whale...

Timmy? Or not?

Oh! No-one told the photo editor!

Assuming He Has That Long...

 

Well, Matt's hopeful, at least...

Sunday Funnies...

 It's easy to see where real creativity went...

When The Politics Of Envy Creep Into Journalism

 

How awful, a luxury car no less. Is that the most salient fact about the vehicle? Well, no...

John Bell, 74, was hit by the Maserati Quattraporte - which was allegedly stolen - at the property on Forthill Road in Broughty Ferry at about 13:00 on Monday. 

The driver, 55-year-old Fraser Garden, was taken to hospital for treatment and released before being charged over the collision. 

Garden faces a total of nine charges including causing death by dangerous driving. He is accused of stealing the car before losing control of the vehicle, entering a garden at speed and trapping Bell against a house. 

He is also accused of failing to stop to give his name and address, refusing a blood test and failing to report the collision. 

Garden appeared in court on Tuesday, made no plea and was remanded in custody.

At least he was remanded. In the Met , he'd probably be freed on bail.