Barley, a golden Lab, had wanted to play with a rabbit - but unaware of the dangers, he followed it under the train line fencing at Magnolia Road, Rochford.
The pooch then became unable to squeeze back through and was left stuck behind the fencing.
Thankfully, Essex Police officer PC Roy Porter was patrolling the area at the time and with the aid of a shovel, the officer digged to get Barley back to safety.
Uhh..?
A heroic couple who rescued a missing dog that had been lost in snow-covered mountains for two weeks has been reported to the police for supposedly breaking lockdown rules.
Ciara Nolan and Jean-Francois Bonnet found eight-year-old golden retriever Neesha near a summit in the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland, on February 6.
*sighs*
H/T: Longrider via emailFahrenheit211 with a salient warning for the Right:
"It is pointless and will be called hypocrisy, if we blast apart the bullshit of for example critical race theory whilst turning a blind eye to the Qanon types, the anti-vaxxers, the flat earthers, the Rothschild obsessives, the people who believe that space isn’t real, the people who believe that they are fighting Lucifer from their keyboards or the absolute lunatics who believe that Bill Gates invented multiple sclerosis (Fact he did not. MS type symptoms have been known about since 1300 and the disease was identified and named in 1868). We need as rightists to gain some gravitas and be seen as people to be trusted, which is difficult as the Left own or control nearly all MSM. But, we can’t do that until we expend the same energy as we put into countering leftist conspiracy theories on dealing with the knobwittery on our own side."
DumbJon tears the vacillating 'scientists' a new one over mask policies that just don't stand up to scrutiny.
Women’s groups have warned the government that a campaign to honour more than 1,700 war heroes with statues will further exacerbate...
Oh, god, let me guess...
...the “astonishing” gender imbalance of the UK’s civic statues.
Yup! Thought so...
The Common Sense Group of Conservative MPs has proposed that every recipient of the Victoria Cross and George Cross be immortalised with a statue in their place of birth. Just 11 of the 1,761 holders of these honours are women, according to the Fawcett Society.
Well, yes. Women haven't - historically - been to war. Give it a few more decades and there may be more. But the men will always likely outstrip them.
InVisiblewomen, a virtual museum and national campaign for gender equality in UK civic statues, says that while all 1,761 are heroic people, to erect statues of so many men would be wholly retrograde.
So you can't have a well-deserved award because of your sex? Isn't that illegal discrimination?
In a letter to Sir John Hayes, the chair of the Common Sense Group, and copied to Dowden and Jenrick, Terri Bell-Halliwell, the founder of inVisiblewomen, writes: “The best estimate of the number of UK statues of named non-royal men was 500 at last count in 2016, while named non-royal women numbered just 25. Given this astonishing existing imbalance, I was shocked by the proposal of the Common Sense Group concerning the erection of statues to all holders of both the Victoria and George Cross.”
She told the ministers that there are a number of active campaigns for statues of women, including the suffragettes Mary Jane Clarke, Amy Walmsley and Sylvia Pankhurst, the palaeontologist Mary Anning, the MP Barbara Castle, the author Virginia Woolf and the Matchgirls, the working-class women and girls who became pioneers in the unionist movement by campaigning for better conditions at their London matchmaking factory.
“If the public purse is really to be used for new statues surely it is these women who should have first call on such funding? Even if every one of them had a statue, we would still not have come close to gender equality in who we look up to on civic plinths, but at least it would be a step in the right direction,” she wrote.
I've got a better idea: let's send the SAS to burst into Terri's bedroom, kit her out, and drop her into Iraq. If she makes it back alive, she gets a medal and a statue!
Real life:
Jodie Turner-Smith transformed into Anne Boleyn in a first look image at the new drama of the same name, after being cast as the first black actress to play Henry VIII's second wife in a bid to 'challenge conventions'.
Fiction:
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening has spoken out about the show's decision to recast its non-white roles, following allegations of racial stereotyping in recent years.
On Tuesday it was announced the character of Dr. Hibbert, voiced by white actor Harry Shearer, has been replaced by black actor Kevin Michael Richardson.
Police are braced for a spike in violent crime this summer as lockdown is eased and society gets back to normal.
The sort of 'normal' where fatal stabbings are carried out for...well, why, exactly?
Ty said: 'It was only a few weeks ago and we were walking back to the estate when some guys stopped us and asked us where we were from.
'They chased us, screaming they were going to kill us for being in their ends. It happens around here all the time. There's a lot of post code violence around here.'
'Post code violence'. Otherwise known as gang violence, which cannot, must not be challenged by stop and search, according to black politicians and progressive thinktanks.
'Derkwon was not affiliated to any gang, I can promise you that. He was very funny and a proper entertainer. He loved making us laugh. He was very street smart and I'm going to miss him a lot.'
When being 'street smart' doesn't keep you safe, what will?
Speaking to BirminghamLive, Miss Coffman said: "We've been living in one room and we've just had to get on with it. But it's becoming a nightmare.
"My support worker actually said we are classed as 'homeless' because of the severe overcrowding and the state of the home as it's beyond repair.
"In January 2019 I started having a leak in the hallway I thought it would be sorted.
"We have been mopping up the leak in the hallway - but it's got to a point where my ceiling has started to fall down and I can't cope."
Really? Let's take another look at the family, shall we?
...the mum, who has an eight-month-old baby girl, another girl who is two next month, and a boy, aged three, said her move pleas with the council had fallen on deaf ears over the last two-years.
Hmmm... *counts on fingers*
The council isn't - for once! - fooled either:
"There is a lengthy waiting list for properties at present," a city council spokesman told BirminghamLive.
"We are aware Ms Coffman is in a one-bedroom flat and since moving in her family has increased to three.
However, as you will appreciate from the length of the housing list it could be some time before she is rehoused."
She could always rent privately. Or keep her legs together.
Judge Samantha Leigh told Ballard: “Your behaviour fell far below what it should have been in a caring and loving relationship.”
Ballard was given a two year suspended prison term, 200 hours unpaid work, 60 days rehabilitation and a £200 fine.Not really 'justice for someone who smashed his partner’s head against a rock, threw a bin’s contents over her car and strangled her, and threatened a neighbour who tried to come to her aid, is it?
Mr Riddle's intervention raises serious questions as to how Mr Rodhouse can continue in his job under NCA director general Dame Lynne Owens, his old boss from Scotland Yard and Surrey Police.Sure, in a country with the rule of law, who elected top officials on the basis of their competence, not abstract factors like identity group, cronyism or belonging to sinister organisations like Common Purpose.
In his letter to Miss Patel, Sir Richard said the 'apparent condoning of police criminality by its notional watchdog, will inevitably give rise to allegations of political manipulation of the police ... an orchestrated cover-up ... and corruption at the highest level'.
Over to you Priti. You're the one where the buck supposedly stops, aren't you?
Calls for dog owners to keep their pets on leads along a stretch of seafront inhabited by protected birds have...
Been met with nods and exclamation of 'Well, yes, that seems sensible, under the circumstances'..?
...sparked an angry backlash.
What were the odds?!?
The area is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Ramsar site, which is a wetland of international importance, particularly for its role as a waterfowl habitat.
Now, the authority is asking for feedback on the idea of enforcing lead use along the stretch as part of a consultation on its Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), which govern rules around dog control, among other things. Initial responses have thrown up “substantial suggestions” that dogs should be made to wear leads.
From people who are keen on birds, and also people not keen on muddy pawprints on their clothes accompanying the cry 'He's just being friendly!' no doubt...
Among them is Tankerton resident Andrew McGuinness, who branded it “a terrible idea”.
“The question is whether off-the-lead dogs alter habitat and wildlife,” he said. “As far as I know there is only personal anecdote, but no scientific proof that an off-the-lead dog has altered either of these.
“Most of them are well-behaved off the lead.”
Well, yes. Most people aren't serial killers, but the ones that are cause a bit of damage, Abdrew...
“I live close by and the only problem I’ve really experienced in more than 10 years in the (proposed) area is the trouble with cyclists who won’t dismount or use designated routes.”
I'm not sure pointing out another group with an image problem caused by a selfish minority is going to help your case much, is it?
“This sort of Draconian suggestion is a sad measure of where ‘community’ has gone in recent times.
“At a time of Covid, extended lockdown and limited opportunities to exercise outdoors alongside one’s dog, why not clamp the dog to its owner’s leg and be done with it?”
Oh, extra points for bringing Covid into it!
Campaigners want Brighton and Hove City Council to ensure children have at least two plant-based days a week in a bid to tackle climate change.
What are they going to do, stand over them and force them to eat it? What is it, anyway?
Plant-based dishes include breakfast tofu scramble, cauliflower rice bowl with black beans and zucchini chips, according to everydayhealth.com.
Oh, yeah, they'll just wolf that down...
A petition to the council calling for the scheme was created by Alison Plaumer and has now been signed by...
Ah, some meat in this story at last!
...21 people.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, well, it doesn't end until the 13th June, let's see if they can get into treble figures.
The petition reads: “We also request that all council run events be plant based, post pandemic, plus any other council run establishments, for example day centres, in order to reduce food emissions.”
Yeah, I can see that happening. There's things even Brightonians won't swallow...
Mesaadi Saaed only has a provisional licence and no insurance for the Vauxhall Astra he was driving at 11.30pm on May 28 last year. Bolton Crown Court heard how 19-year-old Saaed, who had two passengers on board, suddenly sped off down Halliwell Road after seeing a police car.
Robert Smith, prosecuting, told how the car travelled at up to 60mph during a five-minute pursuit, heading through two sets of red traffic lights.
It's fortunate no-one was killed.
Eventually, on Fern Street, Saaed and his passengers abandoned the car in the middle of the carriageway, but officers managed to catch him a short distance away in woods. The court heard that Saeed, of Slater Street, Bolton, has no previous convictions although he does have penalty points on his provisional licence for driving without insurance.
Hasn't even got a full licence, and has points on it already. Why doesn't this disqualify someone from ever obtaining one?
Rebecca Caulfield, defending said: "He knows that he should count himself lucky that pedestrians were not hurt."
She added that it had been a difficult time for the takeaway worker as his mother had been diagnosed with cancer and he had bought the car intending to do it up and sell it to make money for his family.
She said: "He knows it was wrong to get into the vehicle that night and drive.
"He says he did attempt to stop but he was encouraged by his friends not to stop. He says he was scared and simply panicked."
He had control of the engine and the brakes. They didn't. Case closed.
The Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Martin Walsh sentenced Saaed to 12 months in a young offender institution, suspended for two years.
*sighs*
The BBC has extended its deadline for over-75s to set up a new paid-for television licence after more than 650,000 households did not respond to its letters setting out the change.
Or perhaps, like me, they are trying but failing to penetrate the bureacracy of the TV Licensing Authority?
...a statement said that 16% of the group had not replied, and that because of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic the corporation was “giving older people a bit more time to make arrangements for their next licence”.
Ah, yes. Of course it's 'the pandemic', and not 'Shit, if we haul old ladies into court, will people think we're bullies?'..
The change was delayed for two months last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. When it was eventually implemented the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, said he felt “let down” by the BBC and claimed the cost could be covered by “efficiency savings”.Such as..?
The BBC had estimated the cost of keeping the scheme at £745m by 2021-22 and claimed maintaining funding for over-75 licences would have led to the closure of BBC Four, the BBC News channel, the BBC Scotland channel and Radio 5 live, as well as a “number of local radio stations”.
Since I suspect the audience for these could all fit on a few coaches, why not scrap them?
Sebastian Cox, defending, said on both occasions Bregazzi was in a mental health crisis and her medication was incorrect or had run out.
...although I suspect this creature will eventually end up killing someone.
He said: ‘Certainly by October she had run out of all medication, she was unable to get that prescription.
‘She reports hearing voices, and still does to this day. The negative voices of her family, who simply can’t accept her for who she is.
‘Deeply ingrained is the trauma of her identity, not being helped by a family who simply can’t accept it.’
Can't accept what, his delusions, or his criminality?
Sentencing her to nine months imprisonment as well as a £100 fine, Judge Freya Newbery told her: ‘You hadn’t been released that long from prison and walked towards a woman not known to you and you threw some coffee around and exhibited some angry traits.
‘‘She was pushed to the floor heavily and the effect on her was both physical and mental.
‘Not stopping there you walked towards the Tube and walked to Ms Kreners, who you assaulted by heavily knocking her to the floor.
‘There has been an increase in your offending, including of violence, battery, assault harassment.
‘Of course I have to protect the public.’
Of course you do, glad you - unlike the other judges this dangerous creature has come before - realise that.
Bregazzi was previously handed a suspended sentence in 2018 for pushing PC Sam Chegwin onto the tracks at Hanger Lane station and jailed weeks later for kneeing PC Florina Russ in the chest.
She has previous convictions for more than 60 offences including assault, harassment and shoplifting designer frocks and handbags dating back to 2007.
Mark my words, we've not seeen the last of it.
'I will be appealing this decision, which I feel is wholly disproportionate to what I did, especially in relation to other much more serious recent offences in Hampshire where police officers were not dismissed.
'I also have serious reservations about how this case has been handled by Hampshire Constabulary as it has taken almost two years to come to a conclusion.
'Myself and my legal team also felt it was not appropriate the Chief Constable chaired the hearing following her recent involvement in those more serious misconduct offences. However, this objection was dismissed.'
And who is the Chief Constable? Why, none other than Olivia Pinkney! Yes, her.
Cycle couriers will NOT be made exempt from rules against cycling on pedestrianised streets in York - despite calls from a union for permits to allow riders to cycle through the city centre.
Well, good! But you know there's a 'but' coming, don't you?
But City of York Council will look at whether couriers delivering food and other services by bike should be allowed to cycle on pedestrianised streets in future.
I'm not sure that No 23's chicken tikka getting a little bit cooler is worth a pensioner being run down by one of these two wheeled maniacs..
York's pedestrian zone was extended under emergency powers during the pandemic and cyclists are not allowed to cycle on pedestrian streets during the hours 10.30am to 5pm during lockdown or Tier 3 restrictions or 10.30am to 8pm at other times.
But cycle couriers say that having to walk their bicycles along these streets causes delays and costs them earnings.
Get another job, then.
One worker, who did not wish to named, estimated that more than 100 nursery workers who had appointments were refused the jab.
She said: "On Friday, staff at the NHS 119 service confirmed we are social care frontline key workers who can access the vaccine.
"Other nursery staff around the country then booked online for their vaccine, and many successfully received it - including in Eastbourne and Crawley.
"But Brighton Centre is turning nursery staff away from booked appointments as they don’t recognise the sector as being able to access it."
So one part of the vast apparatus of the NHS is telling staff 'It's fine, go ahead!' while the other is all 'Computer says 'no'..'.
Sounds just about right.
Another nursery worker said she had called the NHS 119 booking service three times to "triple check" she was eligible for the jab. She said: "It was confirmed on the phone I was eligible and I should keep my booking.
"But on Saturday morning at least 12 nursery workers I know were turned away by staff at the Brighton Centre and told the information which had led them all to make the booking was false."
Like a lot of the information coming from the NHS! But if it's only the bonkers principality of California-on-Sea, it's not that much of a problem, is it?
Yesterday it was reported that hundreds of social care professionals, including nursery workers, were turned away from appointments at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford over the weekend, having booked appointments.
Ah.
The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) issued a joint statement with the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) and the Early Years Alliance on Friday.
It stated that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had not changed its definition of who is included in its social care worker group as prioritised for vaccination and that early years and childcare practitioners, including nannies and childminders, are not included in this group.
Maybe you should ring NHS 119 and tell them that. They don't appear to have got the memo...
In mitigation their barristers argued their clients had been raised in the care system and pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding at an early opportunity.
They know there will be leniency automatically applied for it even better than their mouthpieces...
Dyson appeared via videolink from HMP Elmley after being sentenced for 30 months in a Young Offenders’ Institute for attempted robbery last year.
Turner, who appeared in person, had recently been released on license after serving a custodial term for attempted robbery.
That worked well, didn't it?
Judge Rupert Lowe sympathised with their unsettled childhoods but stressed violence of this nature will land offenders in prison.
Just not for long.
Dyson, of Peall Road, Croydon, was sentenced to 18 months custody.
Turner,of Bromley Road, London, was handed 12 months custody to be served consecutively with his current custodial spell.
Told you!
...being pretty wriggly on the facts of the case:
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Wrigley said on Friday: 'At the moment we have no other information than that. It was an unprovoked attack, certainly.
'It happened very, very quickly and Sven and his young friend were attacked for no reason that we know of at this time.
'There were six who attacked the two young men. The two who have been arrested have now been released on bail.'
And aren't named?
'We are still conducting our inquiries to confirm the identity of all of those who took part.
'This group of young men came to that area and moved together as a group before the offence.
'The offence took place, I believe they left initially in a group together as well, so I believe they acted together.
'The group of males have been described as a mixture of white males and black males and that's the descriptions varying from different witnesses at the moment.'
There must be CCTV covering the area. Why haven't any images of these 'young men' been released to jog witnesses memories?
Mr Wrigley said there will be extra patrols in areas where violent attacks have been carried out.
'We are doing everything we can in terms of dealing with young people who think it's okay to go out on the street with knives,' he said.
'Statistically, if you carry a knife, you are more likely to be a victim and obviously you're more likely to use it, so don't do it.'
Strong words, there.
Mr Karney tweeted on Wednesday morning: 'Extra security measures have caught two males filming themselves urinating on the mural.
'Thanks to GMP they have been arrested.'
I wonder if the average Manchester shopkeeper is wondering if, should he see some yob emptying his bladder against his shop window via CCTV one night, he could expect the Flying Squad to swoop in with such alacrity?
The clue is in 'mural' - of dead American criminal George Floyd.
The latest incident comes two days after the painting was defaced with racist graffiti for a second time.
On Sunday night, the memorial was targeted after a large 'N' was sprayed over it.
The mural was also defaced with vile graffiti last summer when a masked vandal sprayed 'n****r' over Mr Floyd's face.
Clearly, this 'tribute' is doing one good job - becoming a magnet for vandals and keeping them away from other areas!
Councillor Jon-Connor Lyons said the artwork has since been covered up 'to prevent further graffiti or cause any emotional damage to our communities.'
Anyone caused 'emotional harm' by damage to this mawkish, out-of-place so-called 'artwork' needs psychiatric help...
A spokesman for GMP said: 'Officers received a report around 1am on Wednesday 17 February 2021 of two males urinating against a George Floyd mural in Stevenson Square, Manchester.
'Officers attended and two men, both aged 22, were arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage. They remain in custody for questioning.'
Unless they were aliens with acid urine, I think any competent solicitor will be able to prove no 'damage' has occurred that wouldn't be erased with a mop.
Dramatic pictures captured the moment terrified spectators fled for their lives after a group of bears launched an unexpected attack on their rescuers while being released back into the wild in Iraq.
Six Syrian brown bears that were saved from captivity in people's homes were being freed during a wildlife conservation project in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq yesterday.
But moments after the cages were opened, the raging bears charged towards the crowd of onlookers and journalists as the ceremony descended into chaos.
Sounds like the typical sort of operation carried out by third world organisations.
This was the third such release by the organisation over the past few years.
In 2018, reporters were attacked by three bears after they were released in the same mountain range, according to Mr Prevkani.
He said the bears had been panicked by the surroundings with a large group of people including media crews.
So on future occasions, you make sure you...have a large group of people around?!
Now remove the Royal Warrant as well.
The RSPCA is set to hand over its role in bringing animal cruelty cases to court so it can focus on 'frontline work' after criticism over its private prosecutions.
The animal welfare charity revealed today it has paved the way for the Crown Prosecution Service to take over the role.
But it added this would only continue as long as 'animals still get the justice they deserve'.The CPS is an utter basket case, but I suspect it'll still do far, far better than you've managed throughout your reign of terror (and error).
The charity also unveiled its new strategy up to 2030, with one of its aims being to push a more vegan agenda on the public.
Judging from the amount of vegan stuff I see on the remainder counter, you're wasting your time.
But it's nice to see you openly admitting that the money little old ladies leave you in their wills to save animals is going on overtly-political causes. Hopefully, more of them will decide to leave it to small independent charities instead.
Jon Harley, prosecuting, said a routine telephone call from domestic violence charity Harbour enabled the victim to escape Russell’s grasp and hide in the bathroom on September 30 last year.
Whew! Saved!
Mr Harley said two days earlier the defendant threatened his partner with a knife after they argued about his need for drugs.
Wait, what? And...she was still with him? Well, I guess she knows better now, eh, Reader?
Andrew Turton, in mitigation, said his client knows he needs help to address his anger issues but said his partner was keen to rekindle their relationship.
Oh...
The court heard how the woman refused to provide a victim impact statement and wanted to get back with her partner once he was released from custody.
Well, at least the courts will deal with him now as he deserves.
Judge Howard Crowson jailed Russell for a total of 18 months for all three offences. He said: "You have a history of violence and your record suggests much of it directed towards partners and this is just the latest of these."
Wait, 'partners'? He's done it before, to others? What's it going to take for this silly bitch to learn?
The police and court staff must utterly despair of having to go through the motions with people like these...
A Norfolk council showed a sense of humour and a canny eye for marketing as a tongue-in-cheek job advert got people laughing.
North Norfolk District Council got creative when listing a new graphic designer role on its team, mocking up a screenshot using the much-loved graphics editor Microsoft Paint.
Social media users reacted with amusement to the advert, with one commenting: "No need to advertise, this is TALENT," and another saying "this ad is golden!"
It is, isn't it?
H/T: Dave Ward via email...Jo Maxwell, defending, asked the judge to impose a drug testing and rehabilitation requirement (DRR) rather than impose a prison sentence.
She said: 'I do not say that lightly, I have taken full instruction and she instills upon me the previous DRR was extremely helpful for her.'
It can't have been, can it, or she wouldn't have would up in the dock for another drug offence...
Thomason, of Walton, admitted one count of possession of crack cocaine.
Still, hopefully at least the judge isn't an idiot.
Judge Anil Murray, sentencing Thomason, said: 'If you want to get yourself sent to prison you're going the right way about it.'
Except....well, not so much!
The judge said he would activate the sentence 'unless it is unjust to do so', adding 'I am persuaded on this occasion it would be unjust.'
What?! To whom..?
'I am told your engagement has been good, you completed a previous DRR.'
Are you a moron as well, your honour?
As he passed sentence the judge said: 'If you commit more offences and you find yourself here the judge isn't going to have much choice but to send you to prison.'
Only if she appears before one who isn't as thick as two planks. She's clearly a betting woman.
There had been no dishonesty, bad faith or personal gain on the part of Batmanghelidjh or the trustees, Mrs Justice Falk said. Nor had there been any inappropriate expenditure on children assisted by the charity.
Sure, whatever. If you believe that I've got a great bridge for sale...
Hamed, 32, from Yemen, was dealing with multiple traumas by that point. He had been jailed and tortured by Houthi fighters in his home country after he refused their efforts to forcibly conscript him.
“The Houthis imprisoned me naked for one week and deprived me of sleep,” he said, describing various tortures he was put through, including having to sleep under a blanket smeared with excrement and threatened with rape. Hamed escaped to Saudi Arabia...
Hurrah, a Muslim country, he'll be safe th...
Oh.
...where he was subjected to labour exploitation and given only a fraction of the wages to which he was entitled from working as a salesperson. Once again he fled, paying smugglers to help him cross from Turkey to Greece.
Oh, well, Greece has a hot climate, right? I guess he'll feel at home th...
Wait.
When Hamed reached the UK...
Illegally, of course.
Many of the asylum seekers who have ended up at these sites have fled from the risk of torture, persecution and death in their countries of origin.
So they say. But people genuinely fleeing those things are usually happy just to get to a safe country. Not these 'asylum seekers', though.
The genuine ones are grateful to be rescued.Not these, though:
Matin, 26, from Iran, said mental health among Napier residents was so poor that there had been multiple suicide and self-harm attempts.
“The first impression I had was it looked like a prison. There were fences, security guards walking around, I was really depressed,” he said.
“There is no support for mental wellbeing. We have one nurse on site, in case you get a cold or flu. People are getting more and more frustrated.”
What 'support for mental wellbeing' did you have in Iran, Matin?
“It’s true we have a roof above our heads … but this is what many animals have,” Matin said. “We really need reassurance and safety. The Home Office do not provide this.”
Well, no. That's not their purpose. Their purpose is to defend this country from invaders and criminals. A job that, under Priti Patel, as under so many recent Home Secretaries, they are failing in every single day.
Another asylum seeker, Mohamed, ...said one of the worst things about Penally was the flashbacks and nightmares it triggered about the situation from which he had fled in a war-torn country in the Middle East.
“We are human beings, not terrorists. We came here because of war. I swear to God I would not leave my country if I could stay there safely.”
Why did you leave all the safe ones along your route to come here, then?
Mohamed was one of a group of asylum seekers who created a union at Penally – CROP, or Camp Residents of Penally.
“Home secretary Priti Patel said we should be grateful for the accommodation in the barracks,” he said. “How can we be grateful? The conditions here are against humanity.”
You aren't asylum seekers - you're economic migrants. Anyone can see that. Except, perhaps, 'Guardian' readers.
The academy’s students have come up with two initiatives aimed at highlighting the issue of school exclusions: No Lost Causes, and IC Free. Lewis is involved in the latter project, which takes its name from IC3, the police shorthand for someone identified as black.
Both campaigns highlight the fact that school exclusions disproportionately affect black and ethnic minority children and young people...
Really? Hmmm. How are they targeted, then?
Most exclusions are the result of zero-tolerance behavioural codes common to a huge number of schools, whereby answering back or refusing to follow an instruction can take someone from a relatively trifling punishment to exclusion in short order.
Ah. Because they can't obey the rules. How fiendishly discriminatory!
Do we have any examples?
Esther Atunrase, 18, is another of the young people behind IC Free. At school, she tells me, “I got bullied quite a lot for being tall.” She says her attempts at self-defence resulted in internal exclusions. She describes being placed in a booth, where “you can’t talk to anybody, you can’t stand up if you don’t ask. Literally, it’s like being in prison. I’ve been there multiple times...”
Prison? I doubt it! The school's recollection is, as you might expect, a little different:
“Esther had a few challenges to overcome, including a sports injury – which she did very well, with a lot of support from staff here. This did include some time on different occasions in the reflection centre. Our records don’t quite match her perception of the events – and that is to be expected.”
Heh!
But back to fun with numbers:
As the young people at the Advocacy Academy note, pupils with black Caribbean heritage are nearly three times as likely to be permanently excluded as white children.
Maybe that's because they are three times as likely to ignore the rules? I mean, do white children always follow the rules?
In 2018-19, two groups had the highest rates of exclusion: those from Gypsy and Roma families, along with those classified as “Traveller of Irish heritage”.
Ah. No, they don't. So what we have here isn't a colour thing at all. It's a culture thing.
“Let’s say that 80% of kids in a school respond really well to a zero-tolerance, no-excuses policy,” Dave Whitaker says. “Well, what about the other 20%? Do we accept them as collateral damage – or do we improve our systems so we’re getting nearer to 100%?”
“The education system is wonderful when children toe the line,” Ananya says. “But the second you deviate from the norm, there’s too little support. And kids get damaged.”
It's the culture of the offending groups that needs to change. Not the rules and guidelines that other cultures have no problems following.
The court heard that Mason failed to remove faeces deposited by a dog under his control in Coopers Close, Witnesham, near Ipswich, on four occasions last year - May 20, July 7, July 21 and September 25.
He was convicted of the offences on January 6.
Ugh!
Ms Jempson said a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) was now being sought due to the amount of like offences.
She added that Mason has a "clear history" of offending and has shown a "complete lack of engagement" with the complainant.
Oh..? It's not just inability, then?
Mason, who was sentenced in absence...
Guess not!
Magistrates also fined Mason £60 for the May 20 offence, £120 each for the July 7 and July 21 offences, and £180 for the September 25 offence, making a total of £480.
Mason...was also ordered to pay costs of £1,980 and a victim surcharge of £48.
This left Mason with a total bill of £2,508 and a 28-day collection order was made for the money.
Do you think they'll ever get the money? I don't.
And this once again proves the utter inability of the justice system to deal with dedicated incorrigibles.
A hospital has told staff to use terms like 'birthing parents' and 'human milk' rather than just referring to 'mothers' and 'breast milk' so transgender people are not offended.
That tiny minority.
Or rather, the even tinier minority who aren't content simply to get on with their new lives but insist everyone should be talking about them and following their societal-changing demands 24/7/365. A minority so tiny you'd need a scanning electron microscope to spot them amongst the teeming multitudes.
Except, as is so often, it's enthusiastically embraced, enhanced and promulgated by the progressives who have infected every single public sector organisation, and are rapidly moving to conquer the private sector now:
Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust unveiled a blizzard of 'gender inclusive' phrases in a drive to stamp out 'mainstream transphobia'.
What is 'mainstream transphobia'? Are trans people being hunted down in the street and burned at the stake by a howling mob? Are they being routinely denied human rights, denied jobs, housing, etc?
Of course not. So - as is common with all movements - in order to keep themselves in comfortable jobs, the organisations that claim to represent their needs focus on smaller and smaller 'issues'.
Other changes include replacing the use of the word 'woman' with the phrase 'woman or person', and the term 'father' with 'parent', 'co-parent' or 'second biological parent', depending on the circumstances.
And the wave of fury from the people who find their identities erased to ensure that this tiny minority can claim a 'victory' may well usher in genuine 'transphobia'. In the same way the sight of a rabid dog promotes 'caniphobia'...for self-defence!
The move was welcomed by inclusivity campaigners. Campaign group TransActual tweeted: 'This is fantastic, well done. Let's hope many more trusts follow suit. Everybody deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.'
Except when - in doing what you believe will achieve this - you are actually creating the thing you claim to be fighting...
...before he murdered all those people:
Mr Price said Taylor had been riding the bike legitimately on an off-road site shortly before the incident.
Andy Robinson, prosecuting, said Taylor was riding a motorbike, not wearing a helmet and went the wrong way around a roundabout on Beechwood Road, Blackburn, on August 31.
"The manoeuvre on the roundabout caused him to collide with a Range Rover," said Mr Robinson.He was also over the drink-drive limit...
"Unfortunately, he made the decision to ride it home which took him onto the road and into contact with the Range Rover," said Mr Price. "He co-operated fully with the police at the scene and in hospital where he provided a blood sample."
I'm pretty sure they don't give you much choice, Mr Price...
Gym goers? We'll do you like harp seal pups, you covid-breakers!
A police raid on a gym in Liverpool which breached Covid rules by refusing to close saw officers pin a man to the floor and wield batons at customers and staff who attempted to flee.
Travellers? Let us close the road for you!
Up to 200 mourners ignored the coronavirus lockdown by amassing outside a church to attend a funeral today as families paid their respects to a tree surgeon who was crushed to death by heavy machinery at work.
Witnesses described travellers binning social distancing rules and drinking en masse, with even children reportedly seen carrying boxes of Stella Artois beer, at the funeral of Daniel White in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire.
Bikers revved their engines while police were pictured down Churchgate road as a funeral cortege led by Mitsubishis proceeded to St Mary the Virgin Church, where elaborate floral arrangements were laid.
They couldn't make it any clearer, could they? They will treat people not according to the law, but according to the whims of whichever cowardly commissioner or commander heads them up.
They aren't a service. They are a gang.
Two girls aged two and three were rushed to hospital in Birmingham after being mauled by an escaped guard dog in a shocking street attack.
The two girls were both injured during the attack in the Saltley area of the city, with one dragged around in the dog's mouth 'like a rag doll'.
It is understood that a guard dog escaped from nearby business premises before attacking the two girls.
If that's a genuine trained guard dog, I'll eat my hat. It's a mutt, untrained, probably kept as - well, not a pet, even - more like a four-legged burglar alarm. Scenes like these are common in Delhi and Karachi.
This, however, is Birmingham, Alum Rock, to be precise. But the only difference is that the weather isn't as warm.
Police said the animal has been seized.
Why? Why wasn't an ARV despatched? I know they have a lousy track record, but this is ridiculous! If not for passers-by coming to the rescue, this would have been worse.
A review by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) found that 359 of 1,252 charges last year under laws brought in to aid public health measures were later withdrawn or quashed in court.
Every one of the 232 prosecutions brought under the Coronavirus Act was incorrect, with its misuse described as an “embarrassment” to the justice system.
Yes, you read that right - all of them. At least, all of them that they've counted so far...
The CPS figures only cover finalised cases in England and Wales, and more prosecutions are currently progressing through the courts.
Anyone think maybe they've done better with any of those?
No. Me neither. So...what's going to happen now that this shocking state of affairs has been revealed?
...the government has said it has no intention of scrapping the law and the head of the CPS said that it would be making no formal recommendations, despite the findings of its review.
*blinks*
Max Hill, the director of public prosecutions, told The Independent: “The act has a purpose. It’s right that we must point out where there’s been a mistake made and we will continue to do that, but any changes are not for us to recommend and not for us to put into effect.”
Then...what's the point of you? Of any of you?
The UK's head of counter-terrorism policing has urged the Home Office to consider relaxing positive discrimination laws to ensure police can hire more BAME recruits.
What?! Who on earth would have the cheek to ask this?
Oh. Of course.
Neil Basu raised the issue at the last National Policing Board meeting chaired by the home secretary Priti Patel...
Can anyone imagine how Teresa May would have answered? Yes, me too. But not Priti.
...who reportedly stood firmly against the idea.
Yes, she might be all talk when it comes to illegal immigration, but she's not standing for this, thankfully.
Recent figures reported that police forces all across the UK had failed to hire a representative number of black, Asian and minority ethnic police recruits despite a high number of BAME applicants.
If police forces aren't hiring them, despite them applying, it's because they don't meet the required standards.
We have enough of those already, we don't need any more even if they do come in different colours...
Dozens of activists have quit the Green Party in protest at...
Good grief! What could be upsetting the famously stable and sensible Green Party troops?
...the election of a transgender campaigner as head of its women's group.
Ahahahahahahahahaha!
Ms Bristow, who is seen as a rising star in a party famed for its 'wokeness', appeared in the 2020 Pink List of most influential members of the LGBT community in her home city of Bristol.
But her critics claim Ms Bristow's new role means women are losing representation within the party. Some even fear that its focus on trans issues could overshadow its traditional campaigning against environmental catastrophe.
There's really only one thing to do here, isn't there?
In emails from departing supporters seen by The Mail on Sunday, furious female activists among the 52,000-strong membership criticise the party's stance on women's rights.
'You can't even discuss it without being accused of transphobia,' wrote one. 'It's a terrible situation which I believe is driven by a powerful lobby intent on driving an agenda which is anti-gay and anti-women.'
We're going to see more and more of this in 2021.
A spokeswoman for Tesco said yesterday: 'We're incredibly sorry to hear about this and are shocked to hear the reported circumstances.
'It wouldn't be appropriate for us to comment further while we are investigating these reports.
'We have 2,600 defibrillators in stores across the country which are available for anyone to use and we are reminding colleagues of this.'
Wait, why would you need to remind 'colleagues' (ugh, if you mean 'staff', say so!) about this?
Samantha performed CPR on the elderly man after he suffered a suspected heart attack near the store on Wednesday.
She called 999 and was told to get a defibrillator - but this was refused when another member of the public ran in to collect it.
Samantha said the member of staff even phoned Kent Police and reported an 'attempted theft' of the life saving machine - before they were told it was actually required.
*speechless*
Ugh! And....the name of this establishment?
Jimmy’s Continental Cuisine, on St Paul’s Road in Seacombe, Wirral...Say no more!
An out-of-control dog has injured a number of people in an incident in Chippenham. At least six police units responded to reports of the animal biting several locals in John Coles Park on Malmesbury Road this afternoon (Saturday 16 January).
At least one child was rushed to hospital for treatment at around 2.15pm whilst police officers, the dog’s owner and vets tried to bring the dog under control.
The animal reportedly escaped a house in the Greenway Lane area before running into the park and carrying out the attack.
Did the police act this time? Reader, they did...
“Officers attended and were able to bring the dog under control with the assistance of a local vets.”
What? Why? An ARV should have dealt with this, permanently!
Following the incident, the dog was allowed to go home with its owner...
*blinks*
...but an investigation has been launched and police enquiries are ongoing.
Meanwhile, over at the local dog-worshipper's Facebook page, is there concern for the injured children and their own animals from this known threat? Reader, there is not:
Yes, let's be concerned about the future of the poor little doggie-woggie and what restrictions might get put on dog owners (Ed: Ha! As if!) and not the mauled child.
Do you remember what we did? We stopped consuming. And we really rather loved it.
Really? I thought there'd been an immediate run on Amazon and eBay and Just Eat. Not to mention online entertainment, or does it not count if pixels are flowing into the house rather than parcels..?
In April discretionary spending dropped by 30% in Australia. In early May 52% of us told the researchers behind the BCG’s Global Consumer Sentiment survey that we planned to “reduce spending on luxury products even after the crisis is over”. We told others that, post-pandemic, we’d focus spending on meaningful, simple experiences with each other and buy less stuff.
Yeah, yeah. 'We' tell ourselves every year we'll give Veganuary a shot too, yet the ramainder shelf in supermarkets stays packed with unbought PlantChef and Wicked ready meals...
But it didn’t stick. And this truth has been hammered home as we start the new year. By early June we were spending like mad people, back to pre-pandemic levels. Consumer confidence reports released on 12 January showed spending on goods went up 13.3% year on year, and consumer confidence was at a 13-month high.
Whoever thought we wouldn't?
It’s 2021; can we call it as it is? Drop the C-bomb? We were hoping to be freed from capitalism.
Who's 'we'? Clearly, 'we' weren't!
To my mind, we become so trapped in the cult that we struggle to imagine how to release ourselves, or a better world beyond it. But we are going to have to.
Oh? Really?
It’s worth casting our mind back to early Covid and the hope, lightness and connection we felt as we go forward into the abject uncertainty of 2021. Because, and here’s the Great Revelation in it all, that was us. That was who we are.
It appears it was who circumstance forced us to be, temporarily. But now we're back, baby!
Kevin Liston, defending, said there had been allegations that Bucek, who appeared via video link from HMP Forest Bank, had been the victim of modern slavery and pointed out that most of the offences involved "an older member of the Czech community".
"He rarely commits these offences on his own," said Mr Liston. "He is always in the company of another party and he is a vulnerable individual who is suggestible, easily influenced and finds it difficult to not get involved in criminal activity under their level of control."Deport him. And those who are encouraging him to break the law.
Sentencing Bucek, who pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and failing to stop, Judge Graeme Smith said he had "no choice" but to detain the teenager.
"It seems plain that you were paid by someone else to drive the car, however, you exercised a choice to do that because you wanted the money," said Judge Smith.
Well, no flies on you, eh?
He activated each of the suspended sentences, meaning Bucek, who was also disqualified from driving for two years, will serve two years in a young offenders' institute.
Can we deport him then?
Mr Rich said yesterday: 'It is totally unacceptable that police officers – of all people – were expecting a group to go into a room that was too small and had warning signs about protecting people from Covid-19.
'I was told I was going to be arrested and was put in a severe restraint. It was completely unlawful that cuffs were used. The behaviour of the officers was absolutely shocking.'
I would agree, but a) it's Essex Police, and b) the track record of cops understanding and obeying the covid restrictions they expect everyone else to follow isn't good, is it?
Choosing a former barrister who brought his own solicitor to the interview to try this with isn't the smartest move, mind you.
Miss Tmaira has now lodged a formal complaint on his behalf for wrongful arrest, assault and unlawful imprisonment. She said: 'I've been a solicitor for 18 years and I have never, ever witnessed such a thing in all my career.'
What could have made them act like this? Any clues?
He had previously worked with Essex officers in his capacity as a defence lawyer.
Aha!
Unilever has said it will tackle advertising stereotypes and work with more businesses run by women and other under-represented groups as part of a wider inclusivity drive.
Shouldn't they choose business that give a good service or provide viable deals for the company? Isn't that how capitalism is supposed to work?
Dave Ingram, its chief procurement officer, said Unilever had set a target of spending €2bn (£1.8bn) a year with companies owned and managed by women, under-represented minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities and the LGBTQI+ community by 2025.
Whether they are any good, or not? Good lord, has the woke virus spread further and faster than Covid?
Unilever will also increase the number of advertisements that feature or are created by people from diverse groups. The move would “help tackle the prevalence of stereotypes that are often perpetuated through advertising, and promote a more inclusive representation of people”, it said.
Frankly, this just means more adverts that are unrepresentative of the real world that people can see around them - a world where everyone's a mixed race couple.
Unilever has also set a target of only working with businesses that pay employees at least a living wage or income by the end of the decade. Hitting this ambitious target would involve working with farmers, suppliers, NGOs and governments to bring about systemic change.
Remember when businesses existed just to make a profit for their shareholders?
Hove and Portslade MP Peter Kyle said there have been numerous incidents of spit attacks being reported by The Argus.
He said some cases have included “vicious” incidents against A&E staff at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.
And he's disgusted at...wait. What party is he again?
But the Labour MP, who is also a shadow justice minister, says in many cases it has exposed the lack of support and help given to people with alcohol and drug problems.
*speechless*
"I’m pleased magistrates are acting with tough sentences.
"Yet most perpetrators are reported as alcohol and drug dependent. Early support could have helped them and prevented crime.
Failure to support people with multiple challenges early means more good people suffer later."
Does he realise that most of these people have drained the coffers of 'support and help' and it's done not one whit of good?
No, probably not. Why would he?
National counter-terrorism police had to rely on updates from Twitter for nearly two hours after the Manchester Arena attack, the inquiry has heard.
Wait, what?
The SO15 Reserve, a 24-hour operations centre for national counter-terrorism operations, was still having to rely on Twitter for information at 12.13am, nearly two hours after the attack.
The evidence is being given by this man.
"I think they must have been listening to the force radio or heard something happen in that area and he had contacted his wife and said, 'Don't go to sleep because it looks like something's happening',"
Great! The terrorist response is reliant on gossip from a friend of a friend...
Mr Basu said social media could be a help but added: "It's a massive hindrance when there's so much of it that it takes experienced detectives and analysts a long time to go through the material and that obviously could divert resources."
You aren't kidding! So...why did you have to rely on it?
The force duty officer at Greater Manchester Police, who was supposed to notify SO15, was said to be "overloaded" and had to get a junior officer to answer his phone.
Perhaps recruiting police officers on the basis of their skin colour, religion or gender rather than their ability to deal with pressure isn't a winning strategy, eh, GMP?
Or maybe they should, in any future terrorist attack, just tell callers to ask the terrorist what he wants and give it to him?
Defending, Christopher Pix said Mr Brindley suffers from epilepsy due to depression (Ed: Huh..?) and that his dog had had "a positive influence on his mental health".
I wonder how its victim's mental health is?
Due to the absence of previous complaints or incidents related to the dog, Mr Brindley was ordered to pay £250 compensation to the victim.
An order has been made for the dog to be muzzled in all public places.
I thought we had moved on from the fallacy that a dog is allowed 'one bite'..?
...the single mum was spared prison after the judge said no one else could look after her children because their dads are in jail.
Yup. Plural!
Gayle Smylie has two children and Kelly Featherstone has one child to Anthony Moss, who is said to have previously 'two-timed' the pair.
But after Miss Featherstone allegedly made controversial remarks about Smylie's family online, Smylie and Moss invaded her property.
The 42-year-old was dragged into her living room, struck in the leg by Moss with a bat, and repeatedly hit by Smylie.
It's like a 'Jeremy Kyle' episode, isn't it?
Smylie, formerly of the same Widnes address, has six previous convictions for seven offences, including assault causing actual bodily harm in 2009. She was last convicted in 2011.
And she's still considered by the State to be a fit person to look after her children...
Following the hearing, Detective Inspector Joanna Reeves, from Lincolnshire Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: 'We carried out a full and thorough investigation into this collision.
'I know the family were very disappointed there wasn't a criminal prosecution and I hope the inquest has provided them with some answers.'
PC Rich Precious, Family Liaison Officer for Lincolnshire Police added: 'I've worked with Amelia's family since the day of this collision. I've seen at close quarters just how much Amelia was loved and how she is now deeply missed and by so many.
'The strength and patience demonstrated by Amelia's family has been astonishing throughout the different stages of the investigation and more recently at the inquest.
'I can't even begin to imagine their turmoil and how they have felt and coped, but they have been absolutely incredible and are a testament to themselves and to Amelia, showing just how much she was loved by them and by everyone who knew her.'
So despite all that, no charges were brought, because it was a totally unforeseeable freak accident?
A two-day inquest into her tragic death in March 2018 heard that the vehicle, which was being driven by then 22-year-old Cameron Perkins, from Covenham St Bartholemew, was 'unroadworthy' due to a catalogue of faults.
*sighs*
And why shouldn't he?
Cornerstone Barristers yesterday ended Mr Holbrook's association with their chambers after he refused to take down the offending online posts from January 17.His 'offensive opinion' was to call a stroppy teenager a stroppy teenager. That's all. And he's not grovelling to her, or anyone else.
He said: 'I don't accept that a policy premised on reasonableness should be outlawed as discriminatory.
'Those, like Ruby's parents, who advocate a particular political view must accept the right of others to criticise it. Equality laws put considerable force on schools to accommodate cultural differences.'
In an article for The Critic , Mr Holbrook wrote: 'The only reason that chambers proceeded to expel me, despite my resignation, was because the salivating attack dogs wanted some red meat to chew.
'Chambers was compliant enough to jump to their barking but it made no difference to me – save to enhance my reputation as a free speech advocate.'
He said he would now do pro bono work, via the Free Speech Union, for anyone similarly 'cancelled' in their workplace.
Good for him. And the stroppy junior political activist? She's clearly furious that he dares to continue to have his own opnion.
'I'm not against people expressing their opinions but it was unfair for him to talk about what I went through at the age of 14, and to call me a "stroppy teenager of colour" for simply calling out a discriminatory policy.
'I had hoped he would take it down and possibly even apologise. He has now written two articles continuing to challenge the validity of my case.'
As is his right. Or did you not really understand what you were saying in the first seven words of your comment?
Miss Williams said: 'Afro hair is a protected characteristic. We want the choice to wear our natural hair – like everybody else – without being judged.
'I don't know what people thought went on that makes them call me 'stroppy'. He seemed so proud to say it, showing how much privilege someone has to write whole articles on a topic they know nothing about. I'm just fighting for the same school rules that others have.'
But you're not - you're demanding special privileges based on your colour. You're demanding to judge other people without them having the power to judge you right back. Perhaps he'd have been better off calling you a 'thick student of colour' instead.
You're certainly showing yourself to be exactly that.
And why would that be? Because he's done it before, and got away with it, I have no doubt.
But this time, the man who was stopped filmed it:
'The officer was with a colleague on patrol and part of their duties was ensuring people are adhering to Covid restrictions.
'The man explained he was heading to work - that's clearly a justifiable reason to be out and about and there was no suspicion he had committed any offences.
'As such, he should not have been challenged in the way he was.'
So, you can't deny it. You've no choice but to admit it.
What are you going to do about it? Because I know what you should do. Assuming there's Lidl around up there.
