Tweet Of The Month

A bumper crop this month!

Post Title Of The Month

LegIron makes it two in a row:

Quote Of The Month

Longrider on the latest tedious example of wokeness from an institution conquered via that long, long march: 

"Britain is unusual in doing this anyway. Other nations really don’t bother. The French and Germans for example don’t get the obsession with visiting war graves. This is perhaps even more pertinent now that no one is alive who was there or involved. All of which is relevant to the point of apologising. If you go to the Menin Gate, there are long lists of the fallen – including those from the Empire. So what? Attitudes were different a century ago. It happened. To apologise for things people did and said who are now dead and cannot account for themselves now is noxious in the extreme."

Post Of The Month

Bill Sticker takes a trip around his latest home. 

Here's Hoping He Won't Be Lonely In Prison...

Mitigating, Christopher Holt, told the court Foster was lonely and a troubled teenager.

He said: “He’s a very troubled young man who committed a very serious matter which leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.”

I bet the other cons, should they get their hands on him, will show him what a 'bad taste in the mouth' really means... 

Sentencing Foster, Elizabeth Hunter, chairman of the magistrates’ bench said: “This is a very nasty offence deliberately causing suffering to this cat.

“We’ve heard the distress caused to this family.

“Clearly you have a lot of problems.

“I sentence you to 12 weeks in prison, you will be banned from keeping animals.”

He must pay £228 in costs and compensation.

It's nowhere near long enough. We all know he won't serve the full sentence. But I hope it feels like it. 

Twelve Years! Can You Believe It?

It seems like only yesterday... 

Well, to celebrate, I'm taking a day off! Normal service resumes tomorrow. 

The 'Justice System' Summed Up In Two Lines...

Texts on Liam Clarke's phone revealed he had sent a Valentine's Day special offer text for discounted cocaine to his customers, as well as other drug dealing messages.

The 24-year-old was caught with up to £2,500 of cocaine, but he walked free from court after a judge heard he is expecting his sixth child to be born in two months' time.

At least he's working hard at something... 

Peter White, defending, said Clarke pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was entitled to a third reduction of any sentence as a result.

Mr White said: "He was using cocaine at the time and fell out of employment."

It was just an accident, see? Like he tripped, or something. 

He told the court Clarke was 23 at the time and had two step children and two biological children, while shortly after the offence his third biological child was born.

Mr White explained that his partner is due to give birth to Clarke's fourth biological child in June.

Breeding his own criminal empire? 

He told the court Clarke has "taken on a great deal of responsibility".

Really..? Sounds a lot more like it's the taxpayer who pays into the benefit systems that's taking all the responsibility to me... 

The judge, Recorder David O'Mahony, said: "The strongest reason for suspending it is the effect your immediate custody would have on others. I have particular regard to the reference I have read from your partner."

Speaking about the offence, the judge said: "You were selling drugs for income to support your family.

"You did have a cocaine habit yourself and some was for personal use but the majority was to sell."

"The author of the pre-sentence report says you have not used drugs since then.

"You appear to have taken some steps to deal with your addiction."

The judge said he had read references from family members who "spoke highly" of Clarke.

Well, yes, I suppose they did. So what? 

"I have taken an exceptional course. Many judges would have felt they were unable by sentencing guidelines to do it.

"What it does mean is if you commit any offence at all in the next two years you can be pretty certain you will go to prison."

Can he? I'm not so certain. 

Find These Dogs...

The 68-year-old woman had taken her cross Brittany Spaniel, Lewis, for a walk on Wednesday afternoon on a residential street in Eccleshill when the three other dogs, said to be Bull Mastiffs, pounced.

She said they came across the road in a line without making a sound before going for Lewis, a rescue dog, prompting her to scream for help as they tore into him.

And people helped, as best they could. No-one over here is armed, which would have been a big help... 

The woman attempted to kick the dogs, others on the street beeped their car horns in a bid to startle the dogs and bring a stop to the attack, while one woman grabbed a hose pipe to spray them with water.

The woman said a man then came “out of nowhere” and took the dogs away, despite people shouting for him not to leave after what had happened.

I really hope some of them had the presence of mind to use their ubiquitous smartphones to get a good image of the thug.  

Lewis, who was stood with “blood pouring all over the floor” was taken to the vets, but it wasn’t good news. His owner, who gave her name as Gwen, said: “They rang me and said I’m really sorry, he’s got 14 very deep wounds and that they’ve gone through to his oesophagus and he needs to be put to sleep.”

“I’m absolutely distraught,” she said. “No-one knows where the man in car the came from, or where he went.

“It was horrific, it was absolutely horrendous. I will never stop hearing my little dog screaming, I couldn’t get them off, I was kicking, kicking and kicking them, they wouldn’t let go.

“It will haunt me for the rest of my life.”

The police have issued an appeal. Although you'd think someone with three large killer dogs would be known in the area already, wouldn't you? 

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “On Wednesday, April 14, police were called to reports of an incident involving a dog that had been attacked by three uncontrolled dogs in the Eccleshill area.

“As a result of the attack, the dog unfortunately had to be put down. Officers have attended and spoke with the owner of dog to establish the circumstances of the incident.

“A crime has been recorded for allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control.

“An investigation to identify the owner of the dangerous dogs is underway and enquiries are ongoing. Anyone with any information that may assist with enquiries is asked to contact 101, quoting reference 13210186315.”

Why do I think 'enquiries are ongoing' is police code for 'We're waiting for someone to tell us who owns these things, because god forbid we have to do anything ourselves'? 

No, No, Bears, You're Going About This All Wrong!

Climate change is pushing polar bears to extinction, but a warming world has also created a new animal that will carry on the species' genes - 'pizzly bears.'

Paleontologist Larisa DeSantis told DailyMail.com that polar bears are retreating inland to find food, since sea ice is melting, and are mating with grizzly bears that travel up to Alaska.

'This new type of bear is more resilient to climate change and better suited for warmer temperatures,' said DeSantis.

You shouldn't be adapting to new conditions, you should be rioting and smashing things up and demanding that the world stop doing what it's doing and listen to your demands! 

"Let Them Fight..."

It's Green pressue group vs....Brighton Council? 

Get the popcorn!

A campaign group say they have reported the council to the police for an alleged wildlife crime. It comes after work on the living wall in Madeira Drive, which was planted by the Victorians and is a wildlife reserve. Brighton and Hove City Council said on Monday that the Local Wildlife Site was cut on purpose in order to build a “possible” cycle lane in the road.

Better order in some more, now cycling has entered the fray! 

Conservative councillor Robert Nemeth said: "The Conservative Group is most concerned at this latest round of environmental vandalism on Madeira Drive and strongly feel that reporting to the relevant authorities is the correct course of action.

"It sadly follows the Council having to answer to the Information Commissioner’s Office for similar shoddy behaviour. It is yet another demonstration that voting Green damages the environment."

Heh! 

Who, Exactly, Is 'Taking The Mickey' Here..?

A motorist who "takes the mickey" out of the law has been caught flouting a driving ban - for the eighth time.

Because I'm not so sure it's the recidivist, actually, but the justice system itself. 

In July 2019 this newspaper reported how Darren Nicholas Derwin, of Horne Road, grinned as he learned he would not be jailed for his latest offence at the time.

He was already subject to a suspended jail sentence for theft when police caught him driving while disqualified... for the seventh time.

The police must have wondered why on earth they bothered when they rang him through the PNC, mustn't they? 

His defence counsel had suggested his client had become mixed up about the date his latest ban ended.

The judge retorted: "You’re taking the mickey – he has ignored driving bans all his life.”

Turning to Mr Derwin, he added: “I’m going to impose a prison sentence. But I’m going to suspend it” – whereupon Mr Derwin turned to a companion in the public gallery and grinned.

And why not? There are, after all, absolutely no consequences. Which encourages other scofflaws: 

As Mr Derwin left the dock there was a commotion as his companion remonstrated with the judge for imposing a fresh driving ban, telling him: “This is a joke. I’m trying to get him back on the straight and narrow and now you’ve banned him again.”

Err... 

Clearly, he has even fewer brain cells than the judge he's complaining about! 

In addition to the ban and suspended sentence, Mr Derwin was ordered to pay £85 costs, plus a statutory victim services surcharge of £115.

But on Monday, March 29, Mr Derwin was back in the dock at Reading Magistrates' Court. There, he admitted his eighth offence of driving while disqualified.

Yet again, the court ordered pre-sentence reports to be prepared on an 'all options' basis, including custody. Mr Derwin was meanwhile released on unconditional bail.

More 'pre-sentence reports'..? What do they think might have changed since the last one? As far as I can see, the answer's 'nothing'.  

H/T: I R Jackson via email

The Answer's Simple - Stop Volunteering...

The National Trust has ordered all of its volunteers to undergo diversity training as the organisation continues its 'woke' rebrand.

The heritage body is forcing everyone, including rangers who do not work with the public, to carry out the training as they return to work from lockdown.

It has already caused friction among volunteers and led to several resignations, with one slamming the Trust's new political 'agenda'.

Well, stop volunteering for them then! If they can't run their business without you, and have to start hiring staff instead, they'll soon change their tune. Because it'll eat into the money pot for people like the DG: 

Hilary McGrady, the trust's director general, insisted she was not woke, but accepted the timing of the report's publication was 'not brilliant in the middle of trying to deal with Covid and everything else'.

Who authorised it then, Hilary? Was it you? 

Two Lefts Don't Make A Right!

Unless you work for the photo section of the 'Mail', I guess...

H/T: Stephen Brown via email

Ah, The Labour Leader On Walkabout, Meeting Ordinary People...

Fancy a bacon sandwich now, I wonder why? 😉

Sunday Funnies...

Wait, nothing from Australia..?

Yes, I'm Sure The Danger Is In Arabella's Unsocialised Cockerpoo Puppy...

...and not Duwayne's trained killer pitbull. 

I mean, even their initial story bears that out!

Forman had seen the rottweiler before. It spent its days penned in a front garden, looking forlorn. In late October, Forman had dropped Nellie at her parents’ house after a morning walk, and was heading home to get ready for work. “I saw the owner first, standing on the edge of the pavement with the dog,” she recalls. She squeezed between the pair and some railings when the dog began to bark. “And then it just leapt up at me,” she says. “It was aiming for my face, but I put my arm up, and it took a massive chunk of it clean off. I couldn’t feel anything at first because it had taken all the nerve endings.”

Forman had joined the unfortunate ranks of Britain’s dog-bite survivors.

But not, you'll note, from the cockerpoo pup she'd bought.

Some cases grab the headlines, and cannot simply be blamed on the pandemic.

Like the one you used?

The Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association estimates there are now 12 million dogs in the UK, up about 2 million in 12 months. French bulldogs and labradors have been the most popular new dogs, according to analysis of pet insurance quotes by GoCompare.

And there's an obvious difference - if next door's Frenchie goes for my ankles, I can stomp the little sod into the middle of next week. 

The Labrador might pose more of a threat, but not as much as a dog that refuses to give up the attack after being kicked by a draught horse or shot with a taser or battered by desperate bystanders... 

As pandemic puppies grow into dogs with sharp teeth, too many lack the training to walk safely into the post-lockdown world. Meanwhile, dogs that do remember a life before Covid are on edge after a topsy-turvy year and face more upheaval as lockdown restrictions are eased. “Puppies haven’t been getting the same mental stimulation they would have done,” says Dr Jenna Kiddie, the head of canine behaviour at the Dogs Trust. “They haven’t been exposed to visitors to the home in the same way or been around other dogs. So we’re very worried about how they’re going to respond. Because they will probably respond with fear, and one way a dog can cope with fear is to use aggression.”

Typically, the dog advocates are out in force. Sensing a threat to their livelihood. 

Westgarth, whose book The Happy Dog Owner is out this month, says that even dog trainers often share the commonly held view that some attacks are inevitable and associated with certain breeds – and certain types of owners.

Any breed can bite, Westgarth adds.

Yes, it can. And if the West Highland terrier a few doors down nips me, I'm probably going to A&E for stiches. Not to the mortuary. 

Bags For Life Are The New Diesel Vehicles!

Morrisons has said it will become the first UK supermarket to completely remove plastic carrier bags from its stores.

The Bradford-based grocer plans to scrap its 'bags for life' with customers instead being able to purchase reusable paper bags.

Remember when you were an ecological hazard for driving a petrol vehicle, then suddenly the exact same thing when you'd switched to diesel? Well, it's happening again... 

Paper bags, with handles, will be used instead - costing 30p and able to carry up to 35lb of shopping.

Until it rains...

But maybe they haven't worked as well as they were supposed to?

In the last year alone, Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, The Co-operative Group, Tesco and Waitrose sold more than 226 million bags. But this was 322 million (59 per cent) fewer than in 2018-2019, according to the environment department Defra.

This means the average person in England now buys just four bags a year from the main supermarket retailers, compared with 10 last year and 140 in 2014 - causing the sale of single-use plastic carrier bags to plummet by 95 per cent.

They've done exactly what they were intended to do. 

I can't help but think that there's no better reason to demand they now be scrapped than the desire of the Green fruitcakes to make us all feel bad about ourselves. 

Who Protects You From The Protectors?

A mother-of-three was attacked and killed by her "protective" American bulldogs following an argument with her daughter, an inquest has heard.

Yes, it's this case. They are just getting around to the inquest. No need to rush, right..? 

Elayne Stanley, 44, was mauled by the two dogs at her home in Widnes, Cheshire, on 24 September 2019. An inquest at Parr Hall in Warrington heard the pets had previously been owned by her partner Paul Leigh.

Court orders requiring him to take steps to keep the dogs under control were made in 2016.

And by dumping them with the girlfriend, he avoided that court order, I suppose? After all, who checks?

Jason Lennox, lead dog legislation officer for Cheshire Police, said American bulldogs were "guarding dogs" and could pick up on body language during arguments.

He said: "DJ has interpreted this as a potential problem and has tried to stop any physical contact."

Asked by Ms Smith if the dogs may have detected she was pregnant, he said: "He may well have sensed you were pregnant and may well have been trying to protect you, or trying to protect you and the baby."

If this is the man who is the person who drives policy with regards to dangerous dogs, I think I can see why Liverpool has such a problem! 

Coroner Peter Sigee said Mr Leigh had been called to give evidence but had not attended.

The inquest heard a transcript of a police interview in which he claimed he was not the owner of the dogs, although he had admitted owning them during court proceedings in 2016.

Ms Smith said she was unaware of previous incidents involving the dogs including an attack on another dog, which had to be put down, and an incident where another dog owner was injured.

She also said she did not know if her mother was aware Mr Leigh had been convicted in 2016 under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

But wait a minute! Let's refresh our memory of what this lying scumbag said at the time, shall we?

Now, Paul Leigh, Elayne's former partner, who used to own the dogs, said they had never been aggressive in his experience with them."

So...will he be charged now? Or do we have to wait another 18 months? 

It's Not Long Enough...

Paige Blake, 24, was driving in her red Ford Fiesta while chatting on the instant messaging app when she clipped Freddie Oborne's bike on the A414 dual carriageway near Hatfield House.

Mr Oborne, from Hertford who was a keen athlete who competed in cycling events and triathlons, died at the scene at around a quarter past midday on Monday April 20 last year.

Astonishingly, she actually got a prison sentence!

Blake, of Longwood Road, Hertford, pleaded guilty at St Albans crown court to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for two and a half years.

But wait...

Blake is likely to serve half of her sentence - 15 months - before being released on licence to serve the rest of her sentence in the community.

*sighs* 

Judge Michael Kay QC banned her from driving for 4 years and 3 months.

It should have been a lifetime ban. 

I'm Concerned About The Judge's Mental Health...

A dad-of-two who led police on a 90mph chase through a housing estate was spared jail because of his caring responsibilities.

Wait, what..? Who does he care for? 

Banned driver Carl Mello said he got behind the wheel of his girlfriend's Ford C-Max because he was taking medicine to his cancer-suffering mum.

At 90mph? How badly did she need it? 

The 33-year-old, of Arley Close, Beechwood, Birkenhead, is a convicted killer who once accidentally shot dead his best friend.

Oh. And since then, he's been on the straight and narrow, apart from this momentary lapse, I suppose? 

He has since been sentenced for drug dealing, domestic violence attacks, a bar brawl and stealing from people's cars and homes.

*sighs* 

But he walked free from Liverpool Crown Court today after a judge heard he now looks after his baby, 10-year-old son, partner and mum.

And of course, social services are totally fine with this? 

Peter Wilson, defending...said a letter from the Stein Centre in Birkenhead showed Mello was trying to address his adult ADHD and that Mello was concerned about his mental health and its impact on his decision making.

I think we all should be concerned, frankly. But not about his decision making... 

Shouldn't Someone Else Be In The Dock With Her..?

The single mother-of-three bought her own home before claiming she had been made homeless and was then given a flat by her local council, a court heard.

So far, so 'ho hum'. But...read on: 

Owoeye, 49, who is Nigerian, is thought to be the first person in London to be convicted of fraud after receiving payments while under ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) immigration status. She pocketed more than £114,000 over five years.

An immigrant with this status cannot access the mainstream benefits system, homelessness assistance from a local authority or social housing.

Then...why did a council officer approve the application? If they'd done their job right, she wouldn't have been able to do what she did.

Judge Mann praised the investigators who uncovered Owoeye’s fraudulent behaviour.

Perhaps they'd like to do some more investigation? 

But It Clearly Is One Rule For Some, And Another For Others, Nick...

Now I hold no brief for Adderley, a thoroughly modern Chief Con in every respect, but he's spot on here:

Speaking previously, Chief Constable Nick Adderley, said: 'It is exceptionally frustrating when we see a group of people with no regard for other people's safety, completely flouting the restrictions and having the type of funeral many people would have loved to have had but have been unable to hold, simply because they think they are above the law.

'While I of course sympathise with anyone who has lost a loved one, it cannot be one rule for some people and another rule for others, and no one is above the law.

'This is why Northamptonshire Police is seeking to issue its first £10,000 fine to the organisers of this funeral for their total disrespect of the restrictions put in place to keep us all safe.

'This may seem like a harsh course of action to some but I do not apologise whatsoever when I have seen so many painful sacrifices made throughout this pandemic by law-abiding citizens I have a duty towards.'

Very well said! So...why, when our head of State herself is restricted to 30 mourners only, is the CPS letting them off? 

But on Monday afternoon at Northampton Magistrates' Court, the case against Rooney was suddenly dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Prosecutor Stella Moses said the CPS had taken the decision after a 'careful review of the case'.

Is it because the police got the law wrong? If so, we should be told. Because guess who's paying? 

The court heard Rooney, of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, had funded his own defence of the case privately and his costs will now be reimbursed through central funds.

Ain't it always the way? But if Adderley's officers blundered, it should come out of police funing, not general taxation. And if they didn't, questions need asking.

Derek Chauvin Is Already Yesterday's Chip Paper...

...or whatever the US equivalent is:

Oh no! What could the police possibly have seen when they responded that meant this happened? 

Well, luckily, their bodycam footage shows us:

It's that 'sweet, innocent 15 year old' with a whopping knife and about to kill another (black) person. What, seriously, are the police expected to do?

How about instead of protesting the police actions these people act like people, instead of like animals?
 

And She's Right...

The mother of a young man who died after he was pinned down in a citizen's arrest has branded his killer's sentence 'a joke'.

...he should have got the freedom of the city for ridding it of a menace. Instead, he found himself in the dock, and now in prison.

Stafford Crown Court heard Benjamin Hunt chased 25-year-old Christopher Walters after he had damaged a car with a hammer in Longton in May 2019.

Hunt, aged 32, then held Mr Walters by the neck, on the ground, for several minutes, using his body weight to pin him down even after Mr Walters lost consciousness.

Now Hunt, from Longton, has been jailed for 38 months in prison after admitting his manslaughter.

Clearly, his companion had even less faith in the justice system: 

Hunt's work colleague Jonathan Hassall, who was also involved in the incident, took his own life just days before he was due to go on trial for manslaughter.

But back to mommie dearest: 

The 58-year-old, from Bentilee, said: 'I'm not happy at all; it's disgusting. It's one big joke. It's disgraceful and shocking.

'If he had let my son go, the police could have found him if they had given them his description and he would have been charged with criminal damage.

'I don't feel like I've got justice for Chris' death. Everyone gets dealt a pack of cards in life, and I got the joker.

'I'm not happy with his sentence at all.'

Nor am I. You should be behind bars for giving birth to a habitual criminal... 

Have The Police Caught A Serial Killer..?

A 19-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Barnes musician William Algar.

Mr Algar, known to friends as Blaise, was found dead at an address in Nowell Road on January 3 after police were called to reports of concern for the occupant.

The 53-year-old man’s dismembered body was discovered at the property, with his arms and legs having been removed.

Emeka Dawuda-Wodu, of no fixed address, was previously charged with perverting the course of justice and appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court in March.

This week, he was charged by postal requisition with the murder of William Algar. He remains in custody.

Now, I know it's not a common name, but it rang a bell for other reasons, and a search brings up this: 

A man from Netherwood Road, W14, has become the third to be charged with a murder in Hounslow on 19 December. Emeka Dawuda-Wodu, 18 of Netherwood Road, close to West 12 Shopping Centre, was arrested on Friday, 10 January, and was charged with murder on Sunday 12 January.

The charge was brought in connection with an investigation into the murder of 35 year-old Ebrima Cham, pictured below, in Hounslow on Thursday, 19 December.

Ebrima, known to his friends as Brim, was staying with a friend in Grove Road Hounslow when he was fatally stabbed while he slept.

If it turns out to be the same man, and the age is right, questions need to be asked, don't they? 

You Used To Go To College To Expand Your Horizons, Didn't You?

...now it seems it's just the opposite:

Fiji Willets, 18, didn't expect the topic of farming to come up when she signed up for the BTEC National Extended Diploma in Animal Management at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.

Really? I mean, you'd think it'd be obvious from the title, if not the course outline..! 

She joined after reading it was 'great for people who love animals' - but was shocked to discover the course could see her work on a farm and possibly visit an abattoir.

Oh, well, mustn't be too judgemental, maybe she's one of those ignorant townies who... 

The teenager, whose mother used to be a veterinary nurse... 

Oh. 

...complained to tutors that she was suffering with anxiety over the module.

Ah, yes, 'anxiety'. It's the new 'get out of anything difficult' card. Initially, the college resisted, which is a welcome change. But eventually, were forced to surrender. 

She enlisted the help of the Vegan Society - who once called on bosses to provide workers with their own vegan shelf - to fight her corner and together they complained to both the college, as well as the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Despite being rejected twice, their complaints were eventually heard by exam board Pearson who decided the college could offer her an alternative module while taking the BTEC qualification.

Good luck getting a job now every employer knows that if you don't fancy doing part of it, you'll scream and scream until you're sick, Fiji... 

Is It 'Cos It Is Black..?

Yes, actually. That is indeed the reason this isn't anything like 'the best evidence yet'.

There has never been a documented report of a melanistic puma. Whatever this is, it won't be one.

Aviation Jokes...

,,,are just the best!

Police Social Media Operators, Some Advice...

Always, always, heed the wise words of Admiral Ackbar...

Too late!

Sunday Funnies...

We're going to look back on 2020 as the year things went very wrong...

A Warped View Of Diversity...

The BBC's diversity chief has claimed Idris Elba's TV detective Luther 'isn't black enough to be real' because 'he doesn't have any black friends and doesn't eat any Caribbean food'.

Yes, she's black herself. It's only surprising she didn't give an interview clutching a lump of watermelon to make her point, I suppose... 

Miranda Wayland said the hit crime drama, which won plaudits for having a strong, black lead character, was only superficially diverse and that corporation bosses are now looking to portray minority groups in a more convincing and rounded way.

Like...what? I mean, as has been pointed out by so very many people, this is almost a worse kind of racism and stereotyping than the old fashioned kind. 

...Ms Wayland told the MIPTV conference this week that to achieve true representation, TV chiefs must ensure black characters have an environment and culture built around them that is completely reflective of their background.

Well, I guess 'Crimewatch' is at least safe! 

Always Playing The Victim Card...

Maz Saleem said of her father’s murder: “This was one of the biggest acts of terrorism on UK soil.”

Eh..? 

The murder of one elderly man (and yes, I'm sure it's devastating for his family) is bigger than the Hyde Park bombing, or 7/7, or Canary Wharf, or Warrington, or Borough Market, or...

I could go on. And on, and on...

“Yet to this day most people have no idea about this case. Whenever terror-related headlines reach our screens they are often about those who identify with the Muslim faith; rarely do we hear of the merciless violence of white supremacists who took my father’s life.”

Well, yes. That's true. Because they aren't as common as Muslim terrorist atrocities. 

“An important start would be for the official, legal recognition of Islamophobia to finally be adopted by our government. Ignoring Islamophobia as a category is disrespectful to all these brutal killings of Muslims, it weakens the justice for family members left mourning,” his daughter said.

Disrespect? What, like attempting to withdraw donations made to a murdered girl because she was the wrong flavour of Islam? And what will you do when the tag of 'Islamaphobia' is applied to one of these types of killing?

These people see themselves as perpetual victims, aided and abetted by progressive idiots in the media.  

'You See, He's The Real Victim!' Pt 32874589

Billy Bellfield will spend six years in jail and four on licence after a series of violent attacks including trying to stab teenage girls on a train.

Utter scum, from an utterly scummy family... 

The court heard Bellfield had suffered “significant traumas” in recent years including the murder of his brother, Luke, 18, in Old Leigh in February (Ed: yes, this one).

In addition, Bellfield’s mum is battling breast cancer and the 21-year-old was involved in a serious crash which left him with a head injury and broken leg.

Which will probably keep him out of trouble longer than our feeble justice system... 

Mitigating, Cathryn Sutcliffe said: “While in custody his girlfriend who was pregnant had a child. He has never seen his child.

“At the end of February, a tragedy struck again. His younger brother Luke was murdered. He hasn’t been able to see his family and is unsure if he can go to the funeral.”

That's not mitigation, love. That's called 'consequences'. 

 

As did the father. Whoever he turned out to be.

 

Err, Yes, And..?

via GIPHY

It's Already Difficult To Recruit Male Teaching Staff...

The National Education Union's (NEU) annual conference heard that a 'toxic laddish culture' pervades the country's secondary schools and sexism 'stalks the corridors and classrooms'.

Gosh! Really? Just in class? When the bell rings, chivalry reigns once more?

Earlier, Ofsted's chief inspector Amanda Spielman suggested that sexual abuse among pupils could be 'happening outside of school' rather than being caused by a culture problem within institutions.

Didn't think so. For anyone else, this is a problem for parents to solve. But oh no!  

At the National Education Union's (NEU) annual conference, Amy Kilpatrick, from Newcastle, said it is 'absolutely the case' that the 'overwhelming levels of sexism and sexual harassment' in schools need to be addressed. She added: 'In order to achieve the drastic changes we want to see, then we must educate our boys, our male teachers and support staff.'

Struggle sessions for all, comrades! 

Delegates voted for male teachers and boys to learn about sexism and its roots - and to develop methods to challenge their peers - in order to 'proactively support women and girls'.

Richard Rieser, from Hackney in east London, called on men to 'own up and take responsibility' for sexism.

He told the conference: 'It isn't something where you can sit on the sidelines. You are either anti-sexist, anti-misogynist and do it as part of your professional work. Or, if you are silent, you are acquiescing to the dominant sexism that stalks the corridors and classrooms of our schools throughout this country.'

"You're either with us, or against us!" would have been a shorter slogan... 

Self-Driving Vehicles Strike Again...

Surely there was someone behind the wheel who could have halted its murderous rampage?

Are You Sure About That, Mrs Wright?

Wright's mother added that she wants Potter to be held accountable for 'everything she's taken from us'.

What's the going rate for a worthless wastrel son, with no apparent prospects other than petty gangsterism, who is prepared to resist arrest to avoid answering charges and has a warrant out for his arrest on attempted aggravated robbery charges after allegedly holding a woman at gunpoint for $820 in December 2019?

Wright's bail was originally set at $100,000 with orders that he should not contact the victim or any witnesses, refrain from drugs and alcohol and not have any weapons. A bond bailsman paid $40,000 for his release.

But his bail was revoked in July last year due to his 'failure to not possess a firearm or ammunition' and not keeping in touch with his probation officer, court papers show. At that time a judge issued a warrant for his arrest, that was still outstanding on the day he died.

I can't believe that even in America, it'd be all that much.  

An Expensive Farce...

Abedi, who conspired with his brother Salman over the bomb attack in 2017, entered a not guilty plea to assaulting Paul Edwards at Belmarsh prison in south-east London.

He also denied a charge of assaulting a second member of staff named Nick Barnett, during the 15-minute hearing.

You'd think this would be a bit difficult, given the plethora of recording devices in prisons, wouldn't you? Well, read on! 

Asked to enter a plea to the first charge on Thursday, Abedi, wearing a black, green and white zip-up jacket and with his hair grown out, told Westminster Magistrates' Court: 'I did assault that filthy pig, but I don't see any harm in doing that.'

Appearing on his 24th birthday via video link from HMP Frankland in County Durham, he added: 'This is my plea.'

Truly, a man who represents himself has a fool for a client! 

Asked to enter a plea on the second charge, Abedi said: 'Same as before. I don't see any wrongdoing.'

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring formally recorded not guilty pleas.

Wait, what? Why are we even wasting time and taxpayer money on this?! 

"And bad mistakes, I've made a few..."

We've all been there; just the other day, serving up sushi, I reached for the bottle of soy sauce and so very nearly poured out Worcestershire sauce into the dipping bowl.

And now the usual suspects have a new BabySeal™ to demand justice riot and steal trainers and HD TVs over...

How could the police do this to an innocent young man!

Oh...

And now the usual suspects are once again making this all about race, because of course Officer Karen wouldn't have pulled the wrong weapon if it had been a white or Mexican or Hindu man with open warrants resisting arrest and trying to flee in his deadly wheeled weapon...

Looks like it's time for this again:

 

"Don't Say We Aren't Doing Anything, We've Given Her A Crime Number..."

"The dog owner made no attempt to help, offered no apology and left my pensioner mum partially-conscious on the floor with the body of her dear little dog beside her.

"My poor elderly mum had to carry Roxy back to her house in a distraught state."

"My mum was taken to the hospital for treatment for concussion. She is still traumatised and suffering from flashbacks."

Typical breed attacker, typical breed owner.   

Heartbroken Ms Martin is appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time who has a dashcam, Ring doorbell or CCTV, or who knows the man, to contact the police, quoting reference 24/02/32.

Wait, why is she having to appeal for this? What are all the people employed by Kent Police to run their media doing? Why aren't they publicising a dangerous dog attack?

Blame The Programmer, Not The Software...

A software mistake caused a Tui flight to take off heavier than expected as female passengers using the title “Miss” were classified as children, an investigation has found.

It's enough to make you laugh, isn't it? How could the aircraft industry allow such a thing to happen? 

The departure from Birmingham airport to Majorca with 187 passengers on board was described as a “serious incident” by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

An update to the airline’s reservation system while its planes were grounded due to the coronavirus pandemic led to 38 passengers on the flight being allocated a child’s “standard weight” of 35kg as opposed to the adult figure of 69kg.

Well, amazingly, it turns out that going with the cheapest bidder isn't always the wisest idea. Who could have imagined that?

Investigators described the glitch as “a simple flaw” in an IT system. It was programmed in an unnamed foreign country where the title “Miss” is used for a child and “Ms” for an adult female.

And did no-one from the UK get hired to oversee what Sanjay and his brother were doing in their little hut in the Punjab? 

Differences...

Gunned down while resisting arrest? RIOT!

Gunned down while upholding the law? *crickets*

Uncanny, isn't it, how the responses can be predicted..?

"I'll Have What She's Having!"

Now updated for the modern IoT era:

*blinks*

Naturally, you're wondering how it works.

Err, sure, yes, yes, of course... 

"Here at CamSoda we figured we’d combine these popular activities and produce a technology that gets people off while their food delivery order is being prepared and ultimately delivered. With Grubuzz, not only will your mouth be watering while your order is being processed, but so too will your private parts. What better way to eat some of your favorite food from Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Outback Steakhouse or P.F. Chang’s than after you’ve orgasmed?!”

I don't think it'll come to the UK, KFC and Wimpy don't really have the same cachet, do they?  

H/T: I Jackson via email

Make Up Your Minds! (Again)

Well, which is it?

H/T: Stephen Brown via email

Sunday Funnies...

I just knew Australia would feature in this..!

Something's Been Hijacked, If Not The Nave Andromeda...

Remember this incident?

...16 members of the elite Navy force, the Special Boat Service, based only a few miles away in Poole, Dorset, were hailed as heroes for bringing the incident to a swift conclusion after they fast roped down on to the deck of the ship from helicopters while snipers in another helicopter patrolled above.

Well, we can't let that stand, can we? Our armed forces, heroes? Good grief!  

Politicians and human rights campaigners have called for an inquiry into the incident.

Of course they have! But, dear Reader, it's not into how a bunch of illegal immigrants got close to our shores, oh, dear me, no...

One of the stowaways, John*, who has now claimed asylum, said that on the day of the SBS raid he and the six other stowaways were locked in a cabin, as they had been for the previous 12 days since being discovered while tying themselves to the exterior of the ship. “Everything was very quiet on the ship. We thought maybe the crew had left because the ship was sinking and they were leaving us to drown. We shouted but nobody came. We waited for many hours and then broke down the cabin door and went up on deck,” said the 27-year-old.

Hmmm... 

All seven had tied themselves to the exterior of the ship using strong ropes in the early hours of 5 October when the vessel was docked in Lagos, Nigeria.

Wait, if they were discovered in Nigeria, why weren't they thrown ashore? This doesn't add up. 

They were not discovered until the ship docked in Spain where they were taken on board the ship by the captain.

So they weren't discovered in Nigeria? And why did the captain not offload them in Spain? 

He said all seven of the stowaways were shocked when the SBS arrived. “They came down from the chopper like they were going to war. They had guns and they couldn’t let us look into their faces. They told us to lie belly down on the deck. There’s nobody on the planet who wouldn’t have been frightened about that.”

I wouldn't. But then I'm not attempting to break the law of their country... 

John’s claim for asylum and as a victim of trafficking is under consideration. He said: “If they take me back to Nigeria my life will be in critical danger. I will lose my life. I am a strong Christian. ”

Now, I'm not a believer in anything, but isn't there something in the Bible about 'bearing false witness'? And obeying the laws of the country you find yourself in? I'm pretty sure there is. 

James Wilson, acting director of the charity Detention Action, which provided support for John while he was detained, said: “This debacle raises serious questions that the government now needs to answer. The lack of a credible or verified threat is deeply concerning and the situation appears to have been badly mishandled. The public and our military deserve an urgent inquiry into how and why the home secretary took a decision to deploy elite forces against vulnerable asylum seekers to stop a hijack that never happened.”

The only 'serious questions' it raises is just who funds the likes of you, and your 'charity', James... 

I Thought You'd Been Quiet Lately, Jim...

The usual suspects are out again:

There was some controversy caused by a scene in which Adrian Dunbar’s Ted Hastings describes Boyle as a “local oddball”. Series creator Jed Mercurio and the BBC have defended the moment, with the broadcaster clarifying that the comment was “not in reference to the character Terry Boyle’s disability”. “The word ‘oddball’ means an eccentric person and has no meaning or connotation of disability,” said the BBC. Mercurio also explained on Twitter that the phrase was a “direct quote” from Barry George, who was originally convicted of killing TV presenter Jill Dando in 1999, before his conviction was overturned in 2007. George used it to describe how the police characterised him (“I was the easiest target on the case. They (police) could just say, ‘We’ve got the local oddball.’”)

Who's causing this 'controversy' then? 

Jim Gamble, the former deputy director-general of the National Crime Squad, and now CEO of an independent safeguarding organisation, aimed at protecting the young and vulnerable...

*sighs* 

...took issue with the line on Twitter, writing directly to Mercurio: “The script writer of Line of Duty needs to reflect on the line referring to a suspect with special needs as the local oddball… You are wrong on this and would be best just to admit that. This was the Supt in charge of Prof standards, not a suspect referring to themselves. If you want your lead to be seen as crass and offensive this is the way to go.”

Typically arrogant. Well, I suppose he's got the charity behind hi..

Oh! 

The Down’s Syndrome Association backed the show (“The most important part of Line of Duty was that one of the main characters in the drama has Down’s syndrome,” it said in a statement)...

Heh! Are they deterred? Reader, they are not... 

Whether the remark was deliberately “hurtful” or not, it ties into Line of Duty’s bigger problem – a lack of sensitivity. Boyle is a character who has apparently been physically and verbally abused, manipulated for years and now dumped into the middle of a murder investigation. His character is, for all that we’ve seen of him, a perennial victim – we are never really shown who he is outside the context of this abuse. Like the majority of Line of Duty’s side characters, he exists almost purely to further the propulsive twists and turns of the central plot.

It's a drama show. I think that the purpose of all the characters is that, isn't it? 

Double Standards...

Chelsea Kirtley was changing her 11-week-old son Theo’s nappy in 2017 when she spotted a mark on his stomach. Three inches long and pinkish-brown, Chelsea panicked.

Holly Kobayashi was suspected of harming her eight-day-old baby, Adventure, after he developed a bruise the size of a 5p piece on his left arm in September 2017.

And both women were totally innocent: 

It was only after she sought a second medical opinion that Theo was diagnosed with hypermobility — a genetic condition that can cause skin to break or damage easily, which had caused the mark on Theo’s stomach.

It took four months for Social Services to conclude that the bruise had been caused by accident.

So...how on earth do stories like this one happen? Why do social services turn a blind eye to cases like this, and go in like gangbusters on middle-class Englishwomen?

Was it 'cos they is white?

The Owner's Temperament, However, Is Another Matter...

Jenner Stronge was convicted of possessing a prohibited pitbull-type dog called Bleu in January 2017, but was allowed to keep him with conditions including that he be kept on a lead and muzzled in public.

Well, those are easy to fol...

Oh. 

But, in February 2018, Mr Stronge was sentenced for failing to keep Bleu on a lead and muzzled, and an immediate destruction order was made, with Mr Stronge banned from keeping a dog for five years.

And that should be the end of it. But no, of course not. 

He failed to surrender Bleu because he was 'desperate to save his dog from destruction'.

The animal was later seized by the Metropolitan Police and held in private kennels pending the outcome of an appeal against his destruction.

Mr Stronge brought a legal challenge against the force for refusing to move Bleu to the kennels of the Dogs Trust, where he said a member of charity staff could take responsibility for Bleu and therefore could be his keeper.

I wonder how he could afford it?  

But, in a judgment today, Judge Roger ter Haar QC dismissed the claim.

The judge said Bleu had an 'excellent temperament and is not known ever to have shown aggressive or dangerous behaviour'.

Unlike the owner. 

The judge added: 'The basis of the destruction order was that the claimant was not a fit and proper person to be in charge of Bleu; the police did not suggest that Bleu's temperament or behaviour made him a danger to the public.'

Again, unlike the owner.  

Dangerous Places, Vigils...

Police have released a picture of the 23-year-old man who was fatally stabbed in south London last night as people gathered for...

A party? 

...a vigil to remember another recent knife attack victim.

/facepalm 

Two men suffering from stab wounds left the scene in a vehicle and later attended a hospital where they were both arrested on suspicion of murder.

One of the suspects, thought to be aged in his 30s, assaulted officers and NHS staff before fleeing from hospital following his arrest. Police launched an urgent manhunt and he was returned to custody on Wednesday evening.

Why was he able to flee? Wasn't he handcuffed and guarded? 

Just Tell The Truth...

Football club owner Steve Gibson's chauffeur mistakenly sent the tycoon's wife a text calling her 'f*** nuts' - and was dismissed for it.

Mr Gibson's chauffeur of four years Gerry Glover, 53, also said Polly Gibson was 'taking the p***' when she asked him for a lift, before quickly saying sorry.

He claimed he was talking about his dog in the messages and they were intended for his wife.

As excuses go, it's not the most convincing, is it? 

A judge has branded the redundancy excuse a 'sham', ruling Mr Glover was unfairly dismissed over the 'f*** nuts' text.

Is this yet another mad decision by an employment tribunal, like all the others? 

Well, no, actually. 

Mr Gibson hired a replacement chauffeur after telling Mr Glover a driver was no longer necessary.

Judge Andrea Pitt said Mr Glover's redundancy was a 'sham'. She said he was unfairly dismissed and the actual reason he lost his job was the 'f*** nuts' message to Mrs Gibson.

So why not just tell him that was the reason? 

Musical Interlude - April:"I know that I shall always be a lady to Colonel Pickering, because he always treats me like a lady, and always will."

Another of the great classics of cinema, never mind of musicals, what better to ease us into spring than George Cukor's adaptation of Lerner and Lowe's 'My Fair Lady'? 

Fully deserving of its status of second highest-grossing film of 1964 and its eight Academy Awards, it's a stunning - if pretty unrealistic! - look at London high society and the efforts of an unscrupulous professor to win a bet.

Here's future Sherlock Holmes, a young Jeremy Brett (dubbed by Bill Shirley) with my favourite number:

 

Question It All You Like...

Steve Gooding, from the RAC Foundation, said: "We should all choose the right vehicle for the right trip to cut the size of our carbon footprint.

"It is right to question if suburban drivers need a car capable of ploughing over rivers, across fields and up steep hills just to pop to the shops."

...so long as you turn out when it brreaks down. 

Actually, don't bother. I'm in the AA. Thankfully.

Edmund King, from the AA, told the BBC: "Talk of banning the advertising of SUVs is a naïve approach. Some of the cleanest cars come in the SUV shape but are all electric such as the Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model X or Hyundai Kona.

"The auto industry is developing a wide range of cleaner, greener vehicles with some of the best in SUV styles," he said. "Not all SUVs are large. Small SUVs are among the most popular cars on sale, because they usually offer the high-set driving position, practicality, safety and looks of more traditional off-roaders, but without the high price, running costs or emissions."

He added: "Cars like the Nissan Juke are often the family car of choice in suburban areas."

It seems the long march through the institutions hasn't quite made it to the AA yet.  

They Do Look Like Their Owners...

...stupid, aggressive and deformed. 

This is the man - if 'man' is even the right species -  who owned the two vicious beasts that mauled an 85 year old woman to death in her own back garden. 

Pictures posted online show Wheeler and two pals posing with seven similar breeds, alongside the caption: "My team looking strong."

Neighbours in Rowley Regis, West Mids, described the animals as like “ticking time bombs”.

Locals believe he breeds the puppies which can fetch up to £6,000 each, studding out his beasts as “trophy dogs”.

I guess we'll have to hope HMRC take an interest then, since they clearly have bigger teeth and are more up for a scrap than the West Midlands Police...

H/T: Dogsbite via Twitter

Modern Day Untouchables...

A "disturbing" video shows the moment a young woman was arrested at a university campus...

What was 'disturbing' about it, then? 

The University of Sussex has raised concerns with Sussex Police after the "young woman of colour" ...

Ah! 

...was arrested at the campus in Falmer during the early hours of Thursday.

Footage appears to show the woman being forcefully held against the side of a police car by an officer, as he handcuffed her.

Well, yes, no doubt. People often resist arrest. Surely university staff know that?  

The force said they had been called by university security staff who reported a gathering of about 60 people at student accommodation on campus.

Wait, you yourselves called the cops? Then started whining when they turned up and did their job? 

A spokesman for Sussex Police said the video clips "do not show the full circumstances of the entire incident", and that two officers had been assaulted after a small group had "become hostile" when officers asked the gathering to disperse.

Seems plausible. So, why the extraordinary reaction of the university staff? 

A University of Sussex spokesperson said: “We are very concerned about this incident, both in terms of the young woman concerned and the effect on good community relations.

"Yesterday, we immediately shared the video with Sussex Police to discuss our serious concerns as a matter of urgency and we remain in close contact. It is important Sussex Police are reviewing this, alongside additional footage of the incident, and it will be important to understand the full circumstances.

"The welfare of all our students is our utmost priority and we are committed to this. If anyone is directly affected by these issues, please contact the Student Life Centre.”

And we wonder why young people are whining, entitled snowflakes with no idea that actions have consequences... 

Question: What's The Fastest Car In The World?

Let's ask Mahwise Rani's mouthpiece:

John O'Higgins, defending, said 'She was driving home to Nottingham from Birmingham. 'She was driving a courtesy car. She had no reason to hurry. She drove too fast but can not explain why. She should have slowed down.'

Well, yes. Certainly after she'd hit her victim, slowed down to a dead stop! 

'She can not explain her failure to stop other than shock or panic. She is devastated by what she has done. She is much loved by her friends and family for acts of kindness and generosity of spirit.'

Is that supposed to excuse her fleeing the scene and having to be brought to a stop by other drivers? 

Peak 'Guardian' Again...

...he suffered from what he calls Bl-aquaphobia, a word he coined to describe the inherent fear black people have of water – a fear that’s “very, very different” from their white counterparts, he says.

“With white people, it’s usually to do with something that’s happened – ‘I fell into the water, there was an accident’, something like that. But there are a lot of black people, myself included, that have aquaphobia and don’t even know it.”

Except Nigeria, where there's quite a big swimming culture, apparently...

Sayso, a musician, who wrote the soundtrack to the film, is one of the few young people in the community who admits to liking swimming but that’s only because he grew up in Nigeria where, he says, it was a common activity. 

So why isn't it here, since it compounds risk? 

According to Swim England, the sport’s governing body, 95% of black adults and 80% of black children in England do not swim, and only 2% of regular swimmers are black.

It’s an alarming statistic that has life-threatening implications, Accura says, with black children three times more likely to drown than white children.

Wait a minute, though! How do they drown? In the bath? Because if they really did suffer from 'aquaphobia' they wouldn't enter the water in the first place, would they?

But back to why it's a UK issue. Well, would you Adam and Eve it!? Of course, it's 'racism'. 

The cultural barriers to swimming – from Afro hair to dry skin, to worrying about the myth that black people have heavier bones – are born of institutional and systemic inequalities that you see right across the aquatic industry, says Danielle Obe, founding member of the Black Swimming Association, a charity which launched last year to tackle the lack of diversity in swimming.

Yes, of course. When is it ever anything else? 

“Our community perceives swimming as a white man’s sport. Why? Because that’s what they see!” Obe says, arguing that it’s the same messaging you see whether it’s the Swimming Teachers’ Association or The Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

She points to swim caps as a case in point – they were designed by Speedo 50 years ago for Caucasian hair, “but they don’t work for us because our hair grows up and defies gravity”.

*sceptical face* 

To encourage her own children to swim, Obe designed a waterproof wraparound scarf – and has been touting it around manufacturers in the hope that one might develop it. They showed no interest.

“The perception is they don’t swim anyway, so why should we bother?”, Obe says.

So why don't you form your own manufacturing company? 

“We have to do something for our community,” she says. “It can no longer be that swimming is not part of our culture.”

Whose culture? It certainly seems to be part of the culture in other majority black countries... 

It Seems The Labour Party Just Admitted It Lies On Its Campaign Literature...

...not that we didn't already suspect that, mind you!

A Labour MP has apologised for handing out campaign leaflets promising would-be voters that her party would 'deal with Traveller incursions.'

Oh, really? 

Shadow women and equalities minister Charlotte Nichols had been delivering leaflets for the Party ahead of local elections in the Orford area of her constituency. Among the promises listed on the leaflet which featured the Labour Party's logo was a pledge to 'deal with Traveller incursions,' causing widespread anger among residents and on social media.

Not, presumably, the residents fed up with the mess and crimr associated with illegal encampments? 

Certainly, plenty of the wooly-minded keyboard warriors - like this idiot - weighed in: 

She later apologised in a statement for the 'hurt caused' among the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities, assuring people it was not in line with her personal views, or that of the party.

So your party won't deal witth traveller incusions?  But will promise to on its campaign literature in order to garner votes? I can't see any other way to interpret this...

In an earlier statement following outrage on social media over the leaflet, she said she had not been aware of the 'problematic definition' of incursions, which means a sudden invasion or attack.

A 'sudden invasion' is exactly what they are, and you know it. 

Happy Easter Sunday...

...however you choose to celebrate this rather strange one. 

Normal Bank Holiday service will resume tomorrow.

And Where Do They Come From, If Not 'Safety', Maddie?

News that Priti Patel is finally trying to do something about the asylum-shoppers has upset all the right people:

“We should be assessing people’s need for protection based on their case, not creating a two-tiered system of ‘deserved’ and ‘undeserved’ refugees on the basis of the risks they are forced to take to reach safety,” says Maddie Harris, who helped set up Channel Rescue and works for the Humans for Rights Network.

'Reach safety' from where? Calais? 

Who knew there was still a war on over there..? 

Joe explains that volunteers “keep an eye on Border Force, to make sure they fulfil their legal duty of providing safety for people trying to cross. We observe through spotting scopes in 15-minute shifts.” If they see a migrant boat in the water, they alert the RNLI or coastguards. If they see Border Force intercepting a migrant boat, they note coordinates, timings, which BF vessels are involved, and any human interaction they can see. Everything is then logged securely, “in case that information is required later, for example, in a court of law”.

Nice of them to collect information for the eventual deportation case, eh?  

Currently, due to the pandemic, all the observers live in this corner of the Kent coast, less hardened activists and more concerned local residents. Technical and legal training is provided over Zoom, by activists with expertise in seafaring, first aid and human rights. Each volunteer is also vetted, to mitigate the threat of infiltration, which has already happened.

Heh! By whom? Oh, of course - 'right wingers'.  

Charlotte, 40, is a working single parent from Folkestone and has volunteered for Channel Rescue since late 2020. For her, it is as much about bearing witness as accountability. “It’s a local welcome, as well as a British welcome. It counters the local arguments about people arriving. I don’t know whether you are aware of local opinions on social media …”

Let me guess. They aren't 100% supportive of you Open Borders crazies..? 

Charlotte describes them best as “a visible unwelcome”. On his public Facebook profile, a local man, for instance, gives daily updates on Border Force activity. A post from 9 January reads: “My count were [sic] up to five boats now so roughly 50 migrants. I’m still out on patrol just in case.” In the comments, frustration is often directed at the home secretary: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT THIS PRITI PATHETIC.” The same anti-migrant sentiment is rife on neighbourhood social media pages.

I wonder what they say about this group? 

An asylum seeker housed in the area explains how seeing anti-migrant comments online left them feeling. “There are a lot of racist people there, they broke me … now Folkestone is like hell for me.”

Well, the return trip to Calais will be a lot easier, I'm sure. Off you go! 

How Many More Of These Attacks Will We Tolerate?

The victim, who was in her 80s, suffered fatal injuries when the 'dangerously out of control' animals - believed to be pit bulls - cornered and attacked her.

An air ambulance was dispatched and landed near her home but she was confirmed dead at the scene.

No, I don't mean attacks on innocent pensioners enjoying some post-lockdown fresh air in their garden when the four-legged weapon dogs of their neighbour maul her to death. That goes without saying, and it seems the police are quite happy to tolerate dangerous dogs in their area. 

I mean attacks on the public purse by idiots in blue: 

A vet had raced to the scene armed with a tranquiliser to sedate the animals, which have since been seized to establish their breed.

They don't need to be alive for that. What does it even matter, since the new legislation that you supposedly demanded to help 'protect the public' isn't being used anyway?  

“...the well-meaning idealism of many young people who claim the country is still institutionally racist is not borne out by the evidence...”

So there! And the usual suspects are furious: 

A spokesperson for Black Lives Matter UK said that while the report focused on education, “it fails to explore disproportionality in school exclusion, eurocentrism and censorship in the curriculum, or the ongoing attainment gap in higher education.

“We are also disappointed to learn that the report overlooks disproportionality in the criminal justice system – particularly as police racism served as the catalyst for last summer’s protests,” the spokesperson said. “Black people in England and Wales are nine times more likely to be imprisoned than their white peers, and yet, four years on, the recommendations from the Lammy review are yet to be implemented.”

Well, maybe - just maybe - there are other reasons for that than the police and prosecutors all being Grand Dragons in the Ku Klux Klan, eh?

The report does note that some communities are still very affected by historical cases of racism, creating “deep mistrust” in the system, adding: “Both the reality and the perception of unfairness matter.”

Let them think what they like. That doesn't make it true. If they wish to concentrate on things done hundreds of years ago, before even they or their parents were born, that's up to them.  

Sewell said, in a quote released with the report summary: “Creating a successful multi-ethnic society is hard, and racial disparities exist wherever such a society is being forged. The commission believes that if these recommendations are implemented, it will give a further burst of momentum to the story of our country’s progress to a successful multi-ethnic and multicultural community – a beacon to the rest of Europe and the world.”

That beacon seems to have no problem in luring in more and more people of ethnic origin to this country, does it?