Tuesday, 30 April 2024
Quote Of The Month
David Thompson feels the same way I do about a once but no longer 'must-visit' website ruined by progressives:
"I’ve said before, regarding the pop-culture site io9, the more insufferably woke the site has become, the more generic and unwritten its content feels. By which I mean, it was once possible to stumble across lengthy articles on niche pop-culture subjects, often written with an affectionate expertise. Now, however, it’s difficult to differentiate one contributor from another. The content doesn’t read as if anyone in particular wrote it. It’s flavourless, uniform in its politics and ideological assumptions, both pointedly announced, and uniform in its tone. It might as well be generated by an algorithm."
Post Of The Month
Head Rambles struggles with relacitrant technology and as someone who recently upgraded to a new fibre-broadband router and still hasn't placated all her gadgets sufficiently, I feel his pain!
He Can't 'Arf Pick 'Em!
West Lancashire MP Ms Dalton, who entered the Commons in a 2023 by-election, was promoted by Sir Keir Starmer in November to Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities.
But yesterday she was derided for her Twitter postings on trans issues and self-identification. In 2016, she was asked by somebody in one Twitter exchange if a person decided they were a llama, should other people take them seriously. Ms Dalton replied: 'Yes. And treat you with dignity and respect.'
So, no asking them to tote your luggage in that case, then?
Might as well make yourself useful, Jocasta....
Labour sources hit back last night, stressing that her comments dated from before she was an MP and that the party had no plans to introduce self-identification of gender.
Which, given they are saying it before they are in power, means nothing.
Monday, 29 April 2024
Ooh, That Time Has Come Round Again!
It's my blogiversary, so consider this, in the immortal words of David Thompson, an 'open thread'.
Your landlady is taking the day off!
Sunday, 28 April 2024
Do Local News Editors Count On Their Fingers?
"In the early hours of Tuesday morning, October 13, 1914, a train of fifty trucks, filled with goods destined for the London shops and markets, and pulled by the latest pattern engine from the Eastleigh works, crashed headlong into a stationary line of trucks on the same line near Andover Junction."
Mathematicians (no, not you Diane, sit down!) will be quick to spot the glaring error there. Where have 10 years disappeared to?
Aha! Found them and updated the website.
H/T: Ian J via email
Saturday, 27 April 2024
We Can't Persuade The Buyers....
...so we'll go to the source:
Healthier ready-to-eat meals could cut EU emissions by 48m tonnes annually and save customers €2.8bn (£2.4bn) each year, as well as reducing disease, a report has found. Fast food and ready meals provide more than a sixth of the EU’s calories but contain far more salt and meat than doctors recommend, according to an analysis from the consultancy Systemiq commissioned by environmental nonprofit organisations Fern and Madre Brava.
So much for the labelling systems - given a choice, customers buy what they like, not what government says they should buy. Are you listening, electric car manufacturers?
“Making ready meals healthier and more sustainable is a no-regrets policy,” said Eduardo Montero Mansilla from the Spanish Consumers and Users’ Federation, one of 10 non-governmental organisations that co-authored the report. “We can improve the health of people and the planet at affordable prices.”
The report explored the effects of making big food companies comply with diets from the World Health Organization, which aims to avoid malnutrition and non-communicable disease, and the EAT-Lancet Commission, which tries to reduce environmental as well as human harm. In both cases, they found that ready-to-eat meals would need to contain about half as many refined grains and two-thirds less meat, on average, as well as “significantly” more legumes.
So at least this will have one good effect if it's ever implimented - people will go back to cooking for themselves, so they can have food with meat and flavour.
“We are currently living in a diet-related health crisis,” said Alba Gil from the European Public Health Alliance, which co-authored the report. “Our dietary habits shape our health, and therefore our future. It makes only sense that policymakers regulate the environments where we consume food to make it healthy and affordable by design.”
It only makes sense to people with a powerful urge to make others conform by crushing their free will. I thought we had a name for people like that?
The NGOs called on the EU to require big food companies to comply with health and sustainability guidelines for ready-made meals sold in the EU. The report did not analyse how consumers would respond to such a proposal.
Because it already knows. It can see how they react in other markets!
And Let's All Hope It's Not The Last...
Marcus is a German citizen with pre-settled status in the UK, where he lives with his family: his partner, Holly Cullen-Davies, and his two stepchildren. Any non-citizen who has been sentenced to at least 12 months in prison is, unless they successfully appeal, automatically deported to their country of origin. According to the immigration charity Settled, this appears to be “the first time in the UK that the power of deportation has been used after a criminal conviction flowing from a protest.”Good. Living in the country isn't a right, it's a privilege. Abuse it, and get sent back where you came from.
Holly, a concert pianist and choir leader, cannot move to Germany: her children need to be close to their dad, and she’s committed to looking after her parents. I met them for the first time last week, and I’ve seldom come across such a devoted couple. But unless Marcus can successfully appeal, their right to family life will be cruelly snatched away.
Actions have consequences, George, boo hoo!
Holly told me: “It’s impossibly sad to face the possibility that we’ll be separated for life. It feels like an intolerable punishment for the whole family.”
This is just one example of the vindictiveness of a flailing political class seeking to snuff out democratic challenge.
He didn't decide to 'offer a democratic challenge' though, did he? He didn't stand for office, or organise a petition - he climbed an important piece of infrastructure and inconvenienced thousands, to try to force his own viewpoint on others. That's the very opposite of democratic,
Climate campaigners have recently been deprived of their right to explain their motives to a jury, so now they are tried as if they were mindless vandals. Those who have sought to explain nonetheless have been imprisoned for contempt of court. The 69-year-old Trudi Warner is being prosecuted at the government’s behest for holding a placard stating an accepted fact of British law: that juries have a right to act according to their conscience.
And it hasn't stopped her, because she was at the side entrance to Snaresbrook Crown Court when I arrived for jury service on Wednesday morning the week before last.
The home secretary could cancel Marcus’s deportation with one stroke. So far, 157,000 people have signed a petition urging him to do so. As injustice is piled upon injustice, a great cruelty is being done. We need our Robin Hoods.
Robin Hood (allegedly) robbed from the rich to give to the poor - he didn't stop the poor earning an honest living.
Friday, 26 April 2024
It Should Have Been A Cull, Not A Ban...
“I think people assume that there are really few of these dogs around. I think people think this is generally confined to poorer neighbourhoods but it can happen anywhere.
“I felt sorry for the man. These may be loving pets but he was completely powerless. These dogs are so strong. “It was awful. The smaller dog looked like a rag on the floor not a dog. “Even if these dogs have to wear muzzles in public, they can still escape from their homes. We will see more of these attacks.”
I don'r feel sorry for the man, I reserve that for the small dog owner who - through no fault of her own - has lost her own pet and suffered injury vainly trying to save it.
The two XL bullies were seized by Sussex Police. The force said they are holding them in a secure kennel while an order for their destruction is sought “to ensure the safety of the public”.
The only good thing the ban has done is ensured the police cannot (as they would have done before) fob off victims with 'it's just dog on dog' and they will now put down the doughnuts and turn out. But then they will take the mutts alive and let them soak up taxpayer cash in kennels, instead of shooting them on the spot.
I Don't Think That's What's Meant By 'Traditional'...
The owner of an Indian restaurant which has been given a zero-star rating by council inspectors said the venue "deserves at least a four."
Sounds more like it deserves a closure order! What's the point of a rating like this if you can still carry on serving up platefuls of Delhi belly..?
Spice City in Liverpool city centre has been popular with generations of diners, with the Stanley Street restaurant promising on its website to "tantalise your taste buds in both our classic dishes and our exclusive Spice City Specials."
Council inspectors, though, were less than impressed when they visited last month. They slapped the venue with the lowest possible rating, with the results published on the Food Standards Authority website reflecting the need for "major" and "urgent" improvements in a number of areas.In the most recent inspection, on March 6, inspectors raised concerns over hygienic food handling, the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building and management of food safety.
Yikes!
When contacted by the ECHO for a response, boss Niz Islam said he did not accept the rating was fair. He said: "I've been here for 18 years. I feel like I'm being unfairly marked. Last time they made me pay 900 quid just to replace a broken fridge."
Why did you have a broken fridge? You should have had a working one.
Speaking to the ECHO in 2019, Mr Islam said: "We find the older generation still love a good, proper curry. We have a lot of loyal regulars who say no matter what, they will always favour a traditional Indian curry."
With traditional Indian food poisoning?
Thursday, 25 April 2024
I'm So Glad I Never Clapped For Them...
A retired nurse died after hospital staff mixed her up with a patient on a 'Do Not Resuscitate' notice. Pat Dawson, 73, was fit and healthy and had had no medical treatment in 30 years before suffering a suspected bowel obstruction, her family told an inquest. The widow and grandmother was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital by ambulance but died after she collapsed and staff stopped attempts to resuscitate her following a look at 'her' notes.
And 'her' is in inverted comments there because the person to whom the DNR was relevant was a man.
By the time medics realised that a mix-up had left them reading a DNR report relating to a 90-year-old man, it was too late to save her. The inquest heard that staff failed to check the NHS number on Mrs Dawson's wristband or even the gender and age on the notes.
The NHS - the place where you can ignore all safeguards and get away with it by pleading 'overwork'.
Emergency consultant Ahmad Alabood called the tragedy an 'honest mistake because [staff] were rushing' when the unit was 'over-stretched and over-crowded'.
Oh, they were rushing? Well, forget the fact someone's dead, eh?
The inquest also heard details from an internal report by the hospital trust, which warned: 'Given the relentless pressure on A&E departments, the investigation is concerned that a similar event could occur in the future.'
Utterly shameless. And why shouldn't they be? In any other industry, say, building or engineering, someone would be going to prison or facing a huge fine at the very least. In the NHS, however...
Mrs Dawson's son, John, told the inquest in Accrington: 'I know that our mum would have been horrified by how the system she gave her life to failed her.
'It is beyond belief the catastrophic way in which she was failed, not only by one individual but by doctors who have sworn the Hippocratic oath to do no harm, and our mum paid the ultimate price.'
Unfortunately, it's not 'beyond belief' at all, and it'll continue not to be until NHS staff face proper consequences.
Maybe Kier Starmer Isn't As Bad As I Thought...
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of not listening to the Labour party’s adviser on race relations.
Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, who is the mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence, is reported to have told a private meeting of Labour’s ethnic minority MPs and peers on Tuesday: “I wish Keir listened to me.”
It's to his credit that he doesn't, Frankly, we've all heard rather too much from you. And we've certainly spent far too much taxpayer money on you, yet I see we are about to waste even more.
It is alleged Baroness Lawrence complained of “gatekeepers” around the Labour leader who had prevented her work,The Times reported, and said she no longer knew how to respond to complaints about the party from black and minority ethnic voters.
The way she always responds, I assume - excuse them anything if they are black.
Her remarks — at a behind-closed-doors meeting of the black, Asian and minority ethnic section of the parliamentary Labour Party — come amidmounting disquiet about the treatment of Black and Asian Labour MPs and voters including long-standing investigation into Diane Abbott, Britain’s first black female MP.
She's not being investigated for the colour of her skin, but for the content of her character. A wise man once had something pithy to say about that.
Wednesday, 24 April 2024
Why Are We Importing Trouble?
A Muslim teaching assistant who claimed that being given the Christmas Grinch prize at a staff award ceremony amounted to religious discrimination has lost his employment tribunal case. Salah Toughfar said he was 'upset and distressed' to have been compared to the Dr Seuss character - despite not know (sic) anything about the mean-tempered creature until a colleague showed him a Wikipedia description.
You have to wonder how someone in a school environment could possibly claim that...
Mr Toughfar, a practising Muslim from Morocco, began working at The Grove School in north London in April 2020, an employment tribunal was told.
Ah. Why on earth did they need to import stroppy muslims from another country? It's not like we are short of them here, is it?
The Search Education Trust-run school is a specialist free school for students aged five to 19 with a primary diagnosis of autism, and is 'diverse', with pupils and staff from all backgrounds, the Watford tribunal heard.
Wonderful.
The learning support assistant, who still works at the school, told the tribunal he got involved in school Christmas activities such as putting up decorations in class as part of his role, but would not have a Christmas dinner.
He can't have been that upset if he still works there!
Mr Toughfar, who was represented by his wife at the hearing, had previously received the Prankster Award, which he did not raise an issue about at the time, the tribunal was told.
Is his wife a lawyer, then?
Judge Dilbaag Bansal said Mr Toughfar had 'not put forward any evidence whatsoever that his being awarded the Christmas Grinch award was either because of or related to his religion. 'The tribunal was satisfied that the reason why he received the Christmas Grinch award was because he had received the highest number of votes at the point the voting had closed.'
When even the other diversity hires won't support you, it's a lost cause.
But It's Not A Person...
...so it's nothing of the sort. Any more than winding up a company is 'murder'. Good grief, it's like saying if my auntie had balls she'd be my uncle (if that's even a saying that's still valid these days).
It is a global company with more than two centuries of managing money but for Abrdn jokes in the media about the lack of vowels in its name is no laughing matter. After changing its name three years ago, an executive at the fund manager formerly known as Standard Life Aberdeen has accused the media of “corporate bullying” that would not be acceptable if the business was a person.
Good grief!
“Would you do that with an individual? How would you look at a person who makes fun of your name day-in day-out? It’s probably not ethical to do it. But apparently with companies it is different,” he added.
Has he forgotten the artist formerly known as Prince then? He got tons of stick! As did Snoop Dog when he requested a name change to Snoop Lion.
...it settled on Abrdn in the spring of 2021, prompting scorn from City analysts, linguists and the press, who joked the company was experiencing “irritable vowel syndrome”, and was trying to be “too cool for schl”, and that the decision was “rlly stpd”.
All very amusing.
Tuesday, 23 April 2024
Doesn't Cambridgeshire Nick Have Access To A Dictionary?
If they do have one, they might find it useful to look up the word 'deterrant':
Campaigners have accused police of 'caring more about protecting a predator than women' after they refused to name or picture a depraved pervert who they fear is a 'risk to women'.
Cambridgeshire Police said a man in his 30s, from Peterborough, has been slapped with a Sexual Risk Order after displaying 'very concerning and escalating' behaviour over a number of years. This includes paying sex workers to pander to his fetishes such as licking his boots while he performs sexual acts on himself. During one incident, a woman was forced to assault the predator to escape.
I'm only surprised they didn't charge her with something...
While the order now bans him from entering a specific area of Peterborough city centre between 7pm and 7am for the next two years, police have refused to identify him to the public.
Can't be expected to do any work if no-one can tell you he's breached it, eh? Well played, lazy cops, well played...
When MailOnline quizzed the police force about how anyone would recognise the pervert, they said: 'While no court order was made to prohibit the naming of the man, we have chosen not to release this information as we do not believe it is proportionate given he has not been convicted of any criminal offences and the [Sexual Risk Order] was intended as a deterrent.'
It's no such thing if no-one knows who to watch out for, is it?
Here, look it up!
People might wonder why you put out a press release at all, if it's worse than useless...
The force said the purpose of their press release about the man was 'for public information and to highlight the action taken by the local Neighbourhood Policing Team'.
Ah, I see. You wanted the kudos of having 'done something' without realising it made you look like a partisan laughing stock.
Hopefully, The Owner...
...and not an innocent member of the public, if such a thing even exists in this notorious area of Brighton:
Two XL bullies have been seized by police after a man was bitten by a dog. Police were called to the scene where the dog had bitten the man at an address in Whitehawk Road, Brighton, at 3.30pm on Saturday, April 6.
The 36-year-old suffered minor injuries.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "Officers went the address and two dogs, which are believed to be XL bullies, were seized and taken to a secure kennelling facility while enquiries continue."
When you see a comment section with 50 comments in it, you know what you're going to find. It's like the Midnight Bark for the pit nutters:
Utterly delusional.
Monday, 22 April 2024
Makes A Change From Them Doing It Metaphorically, I suppose...
By which I mean, 'shooting themselves in the foot'!
The officer, who is attached to the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Firearms Command, was taking part in a training exercise at Fingringhoe Ranges, near Colchester, Essex.
Few details have been released about the incident although the Met said 'no other officers were directly involved'.
It's no surprise, is it, really?
Please Tell Me This Isn't Being Funded By Legal Aid...
A man who claims to have been made a 'climate refugee' after his home was demolished because it risked falling into the sea is suing the government.
Kevin Jordan, 70, said he had 'lost everything' after sea erosion saw his home in Hemsby, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk demolished by the local council.
His case will be heard by the High Court this summer, along with that of fellow Briton Doug Paulley, who says that Britain's hotter summer climate has worsened his health conditions and put him in distress.The government under Rishi Sunak is not Canute, I think you might have misread some grafitti there....
Mr Jordan and Mr Paulley are backed by Friends of the Earth, who say that the government's current provision for people adversely affected by climate change, for example from floods and extreme heat, known as the National Adaptation Programme (NAP) is insufficient. A self-professed 'climate warrior', Mr Jordan told the Telegraph that taking on the government was the 'natural thing to do'.
Fine, but don't do it with taxpayer money.
Sunday, 21 April 2024
Well, They Can't Identify Living Species...
...so I suppose expecting them to know this was a prehistoric reptile and not a mammal is fruitless.
Saturday, 20 April 2024
I Don't Want To Hear The Met Police Whining About Lack Of Funding Anymore...
...not when they are wasting it like this:
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) recommended that the former Love Island presenter receive a caution after an incident with her boyfriend in December 2019, but this was overturned after an appeal from the Met Police and she was instead charged with assault by beating.
Flack was found dead in February 2020 aged 40 and a coroner later ruled she killed herself after learning prosecutors were going to proceed with an assault charge.
And why shouldn't they? Why should her status as a (minor) celebrity spare her the same charge that would be applied to some drunken Romford slapper reeling out of a nightclub having assaulted someone in the ladies?
The Met has now said it is making “further enquiries” into potential new witness evidence relating to the actions of officers in appealing against the initial CPS decision not to charge Flack.
Incredibly, it appears the higher ups in the Met Police have got wind that some officers in their farce might just have carried out their job 'without fear or favour' and they are determined to nip that sort of thing in the bud in case it catches on!
The TV star’s mother, Christine Flack, told the Mirror: “We won’t stop until we get the truth. Something very unusual happened to Carrie at the police station that night, but no one kept a proper record explaining why.”
“As a family, we have been left with important unanswered questions.”
Your daughter decided the police would never dare arrest her and charge her for assault on her boyfriend. Thankfully, she was wrong. QED.
Signs Of Desperation From Remainers...
Friday, 19 April 2024
So What Will Be Done About The Officer?
Another day, another CPS screw up:
Judge Walters at Swansea crown court described the case against Dimitris Legakis, which was dropped on the eve of his trial, as “disturbing” and said it seemed “the high point” of the prosecution was that a police officer “took offence” against someone whose job was to take photographs.
I note he isn't named. Or photographed, like the idiot in the previous post.
Legakis’s barrister, James Hartson, told the court his client believed he was singled out by police because he had a camera, was arrested “with considerable force” and detained for 15 hours. He was charged by police with assaulting an emergency worker. His trial was due to start on Tuesday but the case was dropped on Monday after the prosecution said no evidence would be offered.
Having seen first hand the professionalism the CPS brings to bear first hand this week on my jury service, I'm really not surprised.
A CPS spokesperson said: “In a review prior to the recent hearing, we decided that there was no longer sufficient evidence to continue with the prosecution and it should be stopped. We acknowledge this should have been done sooner.”
You're not wrong there!
South Wales police said: “We note the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service not to offer any evidence in this case.”
And what will you do about it? 'Learn lessons'. I suppose? Lessons that shouldn't be needed:
College of Policing guidelines say: “Reporting or filming from the scene of an incident is part of the media’s role and they should not be prevented from doing so from a public place. Police have no power or moral responsibility to stop the filming or photographing of incidents or police personnel. It is for the media to determine what is published or broadcast, not the police.
So when a cop takes it upon himself to try to interfere, shouldn't that cop face more than a harsh word from his superiors? Because at the moment, we have a serious issue with the police in this country and it's getting worse every day.
Might As Well Get Them Some Hugo Boss Uniforms, Rowley...
...after all, they might as well dress the part, if this is how they are going to act:
The Metropolitan Police has been branded 'beyond appalling' after an officer threatened to arrest a Jewish man trying to cross the road at a pro-Palestine march because his 'presence was antagonising'.
Wow! It's true, then - there are still things that have the power to shock even this jaded blogger.
The man, who said he trying to walk around the capital after going to a synagogue, was pulled aside by a police officer who said he was 'breaching the peace' because he was 'quite openly Jewish'.
This moron must have thought this was a training video and not a comedy sketch:
The officer then replies: 'In that case sir, when the crowd is gone I will happily escort you out.' After the defiant man attempts to walk across the road in the Aldwych area, the officer blocks him and says: 'I don't want anybody antagonising anybody... and at the moment sir, you are quite openly Jewish. This is a pro-Palestinian march.
'I am not accusing you of anything but I am worried about the reaction to your presence.'
Oh, if only you had some sort of power of arrest and the tools to aid you in that should anyone react unlawfully, Officer NW 377...
Later on in the video, another officer says: 'There's a unit of people here now. You will be escorted out of this area so you can go about your business, go where you want freely or if you choose to remain here because you are causing a breach of peace, with all these other people, you will be arrested.'He clarifies: 'Your presence here is antagonising a large group of people that we can't deal with all of them if they attack you... because your presence is antagonising them.'
No doubt the weak puppet that Sunak installed in the Home Office after getting rid of his predecessors will have an excuse for not doing anything that's almost as ludicrous as the one employed by these cops.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: 'We are aware of this video and fully acknowledge the worry it has caused, not only to those featured, but also anyone who watches it, and will review the circumstances.
'We have always said that we recognise the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to be an issue of concern for many Londoners, and this includes the regular protests and marches in central London.
'Everyone has the right to travel throughout the capital in safety.
'We will meet with anyone who wishes to organise a march or protest ahead of 27 April.'
That's it? That's your take on yet again being exposed as thick, useless and cowardly?
Speaking about the latest incident, the Jewish man said he felt sympathetic towards frontline officers who are put in 'impossible positions' every week when they are asked to police huge protests 'where there's all sorts of criminality on display'.
Well, no doubt that's very magnanimous of him, but 'all sorts of criminality' are what they are paid to deal with, aren't they? Not preventing people from crossing the road because there's a mob who might feel antagonised?
What next, they turn up and stop shoppers entering Tesco because of the amount of shoplifting going on?
H/T: AngryExile via Twitter
Thursday, 18 April 2024
The Thing You Need To Remember About Reports...
...is they may not go the way you want.
The mother of a 17-year-old trans girl who was a patient at the now-shut Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust said she had initially welcomed Cass’s inquiry, but had been left “disappointed”.
If she's the mother of a child who has decided it was 'born in the wrong body', a lifetime of disappointment is heading her way...
She had believed the Tavistock was “fundamentally not fit for purpose” as a specialist clinic set up to handle a small number of patients, but the “hysterical environment” surrounding the report was leading to young people losing out on healthcare.
'Healthcare' is a strange term to see used for chemical and surgical castration.
She described being “shocked as hell” when her child began saying she was a girl at the age of eight in 2015.
A charity recommended she be referred to the Tavistock, “on the basis that it would either go away or it wouldn’t – and it didn’t go away”. “[Because she was autistic] they took everything really slowly. Really, really slowly.”
Another autistic child claiming they were 'transgender'. What a surprise.
“Puberty blockers have been really good for her. As she entered puberty, she was really, really dysphoric about her shoulders, her facial hair growing her voice deepening. She was very distressed by it and very sad.”
What this child needed was mental health treatment, but what it got was collusion in it's delisions that it could become something it wasn't born to be. The adults haven't been in charge for a long time.
The woman said the Cass report represented “an agenda from up on high that things need to be more difficult”.
“It’s hard enough as a parent without having the entire society or media pointing at transgender people as if they’re some aberration or as if they threaten us.”
They are some aberration. How many 'transgender children' can anyone remember from their own schooldays? For that matter, how many 'autistic' children? This is a social contagion, spread as much by social media as by word of mouth.
And the medical profession has been found sorely lacking in containing yet another plague. That's the finding of the Cass Report.
I Know It Doesn’t Look Like It Much Anymore, But You Weren’t In Turkey
...you were in Romford.
A schoolgirl was left terrified by a man who rubbed her leg and kissed her feet at Romford Station. The man had asked the 15-year-old girl for directions but when she helped him he “caressed” her knee and kissed her feet, a court heard. Members of the public had to step in to separate the man from the girl, who was visibly distressed and crying. Emil Muresan, 50, of Slade Green Road in Erith, was arrested at a nearby bus stop after the girl reported the incident to a teacher at her school.
If uou're thinking that's not a classic old Romford name, Reader, you'll be right, of course:
But he told police that where he comes from in Turkey it is common to kiss people’s feet to say thank you.
Well, take a look around you, Emil ol' son. You're not in Turkey.
On Monday (March 18) he was ordered to carry out 55 hours of unpaid work after he pleaded guilty to battery.
A probation officer who interviewed Muresan about the offence said the defendant tried to kiss his feet at the end of the conversation. Muresan’s barrister said his client repeatedly tried to do this to him too.
Kudos to him for carrying on the charade quite so far!
Muresan had initially been charged with sexual assault, but he later pleaded guilty to battery instead and the earlier charge was dropped.
Another lazy decision by the work-shy CPS, I see...
Sentencing him at Inner London Crown Court, Judge Anne Studd KC said: “You say it is a cultural normality for you, and there is some evidence to say that is true. But for her it caused panic.” He was given a one-year community order with a requirement that he must complete 55 hours of unpaid work.
Why not simply deport him?
Wednesday, 17 April 2024
Inventing Problems...
So, the suggestion of a four day working week is....guess what? Racist, according to Welsh Labour!
On the subject of 'equality risks', the report says there is a 'risk of widening existing inequalities between groups of workers i.e. office workers versus those on the frontline, particularly in 24/7 operations.'
Because those worker groups tend to be heavily weighted for ethnic minority staff. And this consultation outlined other supposed 'drawbacks':
Other risks included workers spending more money on leisure activities and heating while spending extra time away from work.
You couldn't make it up, could you? And you don't need to, the Welsh executive will make it up for you!
Other drawbacks listed in the consultation, made with senior Welsh government civil servants and public sector chiefs, include the potential need to hire an additional 179 full-time equivalent staff to keep service levels up to standard.
Strange that that isn't considered a benefit, given how free they usually are with taxpayers' money. But this is clearly too bonkers even for Welsh Labour:
A Welsh government spokesman told The Telegraph: 'There are no plans to introduce a four-day week across the public sector in Wales.
'Whilst the working group identified a range of potential benefits, they also highlighted the many complexities involved in adopting a four-day week and the impact these could have on a range of groups and individuals.'
You'd think if they just asked a few members of the public they'd have got the same answer a lot quicker...
Even In The Unlikeliest Locations....
...these things are owned by idiots:
A woman is in hospital with serious injuries after being attacked in her home by an XL Bully dog.She was trying to break up a fight between two dogs at the property in the genteel market town of Holt when the animals turned on her. The woman, who is in her 20s, was able to barricade herself into the bathroom for her safety before shouting for help.
It's nice-looking little new build estate, not the sort of place you'd expect some dimwit tattooed chav (another woman at that!) to be keeping these dogs.
A neighbour in Pheasant Close, a quiet cul-de-sac on the edge of the town, heard her cries and raised the alarm. Firefighters as well as police were sent to the scene and locals say fire crews had to help the woman escape from the property through a window, to avoid the dogs.
Did they not send armed cops then? Surely they should have, for everyone's safety.
The victim was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, where she remains. Police confirmed that one of the dogs, an XL Bully, has since been destroyed. The other animal - which neighbours have described as a pitbull-type dog - has been seized by officers and experts are trying to determine its breed.
I suspect she'll face no charges... though her relatives aren't helping with that:
Her grandfather, Alan Gilbey, who was at her home on Monday, said:'Fortunately, her dog saved her life. He pulled the other one off. He was a smaller dog.
'She's got him neutered and registered because they said he was borderline, so she should be getting him back tomorrow.
'He's not a banned dog because we already had him tested two years ago but you know what the police are like. They took one look and said he was a banned dog but that is not the case.'
Yeah, we do know what they are like, they are the ones who rush to the scene when your idiot granddaughter is being mauled by her dangerous 'pets'. And when she decides to break the law, for whicg I really hope she gets the book thrown at her:
Mr Gilbey explained the dog his granddaughter had been looking after was an unlicensed XL Bully which needed a home as its owners couldn't 'look after' it anymore.
You really can't fix stupid.
H/T:Dave Ward via emailTuesday, 16 April 2024
I Don't Know Why They Call Them 'Thinktanks'...
...it seems there's little thinking involved:
Ministers are facing calls to abandon the “cruel and nonsensical” fines levied on tens of thousands of unpaid carers for unwittingly breaching earnings rules by just a few pounds a week. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a centre-right thinktank, said the government should end the “persecution” of carers and accept that it was to blame for allowing overpayments to run up to huge sums, in some cases more than £20,000.That's like saying we won't prosecute burglars if the homeowner has failed to apply all the locks on their back door.
The DWP should be able to identify when a carer’s earnings have exceeded the £151-a-week limit and notify them, but in many cases the government fails to do so, meaning people unwittingly rack up huge debts.We all appreciate that rules are sometimes byzantine and complicated to follow (eh, Ange?), but let's not forget just who's money this is in the first place. It's the taxpayer's.
The former justice secretary Robert Buckland told the Guardian that the DWP “shouldn’t be treating these carers as criminals”, adding: “It’s utterly repugnant and wrong.” He said: “They need to accept they’ve made a mistake and accept the money is gone. Take it on the chin. The carers are going to be under immense pressure already and it’s not their fault. At the very least they [the DWP] could claw the money back over a long period of time so the carers aren’t put into immediate crisis. But it’s the DWP’s mistake so they should cover the lost money.”
And how would they do that, since any money they have is also our's?
The Signs Of A (Failing) Dictatorship
...can see seen in the illiberal and unnecessary laws they try to pass in their dying days.
MPs will debate plans for some of the world's toughest anti-tobacco laws on Tuesday. Rishi Sunak wants to make Generation Alpha, born since 2009, the UK's first smoke-free generation in a major public health intervention.
Anyone turning 15 from this year would be banned from buying cigarettes under the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which also makes vapes less appealing to children.
At least that has the small virtue of proven harm. But adulthood should confer the ability to take risks with one's health should one wish.
The creation of sexually explicit "deepfake" images is to be made a criminal offence in England and Wales under a new law, the government says. Under the legislation, anyone making explicit images of an adult without their consent will face a criminal record and unlimited fine. It will apply regardless of whether the creator of an image intended to share it, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.
That this is how a so-called 'Conservative' government should choose to spend it's last days in office is embarassing for our country.
Monday, 15 April 2024
Attract Better Readers, Joanne...
The Chocolat author, 59, has suggested that all books could include trigger warnings 'as standard' in the copyright page so that readers know what to look out for before they start reading.She has said introducing a new policy would 'make a lot of sense' as trigger warnings are like 'wheelchair ramps' in that they exist 'because some people need them.'
No, not at all. You're confusing 'want' with 'need'.
Ms Harris, whose prequel to her best-selling novel will be released next year, ran a social media poll to ask her followers if they agreed with placing trigger warnings in the copyright pages.
Ah. That's what this is about. The age old reason for something contoversial: "I've got a book to flog!"
She added that she didn't believe the warnings should be for 'things people might disapprove of (eg: swearing, etc)', rather thing that 'make them feel unsafe.'
What sort of book can ever make you 'feel unsafe'?
We All Know What's Really Behind This Decision...
...it's the desire not to have 'We told you so!' writ large on the headlines:
The owner of an XL Bully dog which attacked him and another man before being shot dead by police will not face criminal proceedings over the incident.
William Hunter, 49, and neighbour Michael McCafferty, 27, were set upon by nine stone Zeus in Hamilton, Lanarkshire. Police were called to the scene but were unable to bring the savage incident under control in January. Zeus tried to attack an officer as police used a taser to stop him but it had no impact. Armed officers then moved in and killed Zeus by shooting him four times.
Who could have seen that coming? Oh, lots of people.
Hunter was later reported to prosecutors under the Dangerous Dogs Act but they have now revealed a review of the evidence will see no proceedings taken against him.
Hunter, who brought the dog to Scotland a week before the attack, was left with wounds to his hip, hands, wrists and leg.
To hell with him, he brought it on himself, literally. What about the poor neighbour? Where's his justice?
A Crown Office spokeswoman said: "The procurator fiscal received a report relating to a 49-year-old male and an incident said to have occurred on 23rd January 2024.
"After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, the procurator fiscal decided that there should be no proceedings taken at this time.
"The Crown reserves the right to proceed in the future."
You'll have lots of opportunity. Hopefully, that means you might actually do your job in this case.
H/T: BullyWatch via TwitterSunday, 14 April 2024
Saturday, 13 April 2024
It's Still Not Long Enough...
Well, the guilty verdict was no surprise, although you never can really tell these days...
A woman has been jailed for 11 years for killing a couple who were ‘twerking’ in the backseat of her car moments before it crashed. Adele Ojokie Aidonojie, 23, had been drinking alcohol and driving at nearly double the speed limit when she crashed her convertible Mini Cooper in Battersea, South London.
And the families of the victims are somewhat lacking in IQ points too:
Following the verdict, the victims’ families expressed anger and sadness at the defendant’s behaviour. Ms Macharia’s mother said she had a ‘special bond’ with her daughter who was ‘one in a million’. She also disputed the defendant’s claim that the two were ‘best friends’, and said the pair had met just once before.
Probably should have sat down and put on a seatbelt then?
Mr Boutjettif’s family described how he had stepped up at the age of 16 after the death of his father, going to college and training to become a gas engineer.
‘He was a very caring person who had love for everyone he met,’ they said.
But contempt for road safety laws?
You Don't Need To Go To Africa To Get Threatened With Machetes...
...you've got a good chance of it happening at home, so why not stay here?
So far his efforts have raised £568,000 for charity, with a massive £217,000 of that having been donated over the last seven days as his loyal following spur him on to the finish line.
Which charity?
He is fundraising for The Running Charity, which supports the mental health of young people with complex needs or who are homeless, and Sandblast which educates people about Sahrawi culture.
Well, good luck to him.
Friday, 12 April 2024
They Can't Get The Three 'R's Right....
...so it's expecting a bit much for them to solve the Middle East conflict.
Schools in England are closing down legitimate debate about the Israel-Gaza conflict because teachers feel ill-equipped and are concerned about political impartiality, the government’s independent adviser on social cohesion has said.
I suppose teachers concerning themselves about political impartiality for once is a good thing, they've certainly never been too concerned before.
Dame Sara Khan said that if schools continued to shut down debate they risked “fuelling further anger, hate and polarisation”. She said the conflict, which has prompted huge demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters across London and elsewhere, has had a marked impact on schools, where pupils want to talk about events in Gaza.
I'm not sure there can be further 'anger hate and polarisation' from the usual suspects who stink up London's streets every weekend. .
She also said teachers felt there was too little guidance on teaching controversial issues in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons and were worried about a lack of support from the Department for Education (DfE) when difficulties arose.
When 'difficulties arise' meaning this sort of thing that sparked this whole review? Then they don't get support from ANY part of the government, so why single out the DfE?
The war in Gaza has caused a number of incidents in schools. In one case, Barclay primary school in Leyton, east London, sought help from the Metropolitan police to investigate threats to the school and abuse of staff after its decision to ban political symbols, including the Palestinian flag.
Seeking help from the Met Police is a bit like calling an arsonist to find out why your premises burned down. It's their lack of ability to stamp down hard on this fifth column we've stupidly let into our country that has lead to this state of affairs. Other police forces don't put up with it.
Another teacher in an inner-city school, who also wished to remain anonymous, said it was a “massive failing” on the part of schools. “From the word go, we were told this was a political issue and we can’t discuss it. If we’re not talking about it, it does not mean that the kids are not interested. They know what’s going on. They are going online where there’s no control over what they are seeing.”
The kids aren't interested. It's their parents who are pushing this, kids being kids the world over and they'd probably prefer to be worrying about what fashions are in or out and the fortunes of their preferred football team.
The NEU has been criticised over a motion to be discussed at its annual conference which expresses support for the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and brands Israel’s government “racist” and “guilty of apartheid policies”.
So, despite the teachers complaining that they get no support, they - or rather, their union - is actively fanning the flames?
The motion, to be debated by delegates at the gathering in Bournemouth next week, calls on the executive to “publish and circulate educational resources that members can use to increase understanding of Palestine and Israel”.It also says Israel’s government is the main driver of the conflict and calls on the UK government to stop “being an enabler of Israel’s apartheid policies”, while an amendment says all attempts to clamp down on the right to protest and discuss the issue must be opposed.
Fuck off. And when you get there, fuck off again. You're not worried about 'impartiality' at all, you just want the opportinity to cheerlead for the wrong side.
Why We Can No Longer Respect The Police...
Fab hair and nails, yass kween....but did you spend too long looking in the mirror and not enough looking at your job description?
Uk police quote of the year …”he’s breaking the law so what am I supposed to do “ . pic.twitter.com/MPmYp6X8o2
— karma (@karma44921039) April 11, 2024
The comments are priceless!
H/T: Jeremy Starmouse via Twitter
Thursday, 11 April 2024
Translating 'Guardian' Headlines
"Music reflects modern society"
Senior study author Eva Zangerle, an expert on recommendation systems at Austria’s University of Innsbruck, declined to single out an individual newer artist for having simple lyrics. But she emphasised that lyrics can be a “mirror of society” which reflect how a culture’s values, emotions and preoccupations change over time.
See? The obvious conclusion.
For the study in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers looked at the emotions expressed in lyrics, how many different and complicated words were used, and how often they were repeated. “Across all genres, lyrics had a tendency to become more simple and more repetitive,” Zangerle summarised. The results also confirmed previous research which had shown a decrease in positive, joyful lyrics over time and a rise in those that express anger, disgust or sadness.
There's precious little to be joyful about, so of course, song lyrics will reflect that. Good grief, the ridiculous things people are studying - presumably, for real money - never ceases to amaze me.
The number of repeated lines rose most in rap over the decades, Zangerle said – adding that it obviously had the most lines to begin with. “Rap music has become more angry than the other genres,” she added.
Gosh. I wonder why a thuggish music genre would have been top of this particular chart.
Once Again, I'm Relegated To Third Class Citizen...
Assaulting a shop worker will be made a separate criminal offence in England and Wales as part of a government response to a wave of retail crime.
So, assault me and it's dealt with under normal assault rules, but assault the lady stacking the shelves in Asda and ... it's somehow different and more of a crime? Why?
Rishi Sunak said shops must be free from the threat of crime or abuse. The government previously said it did not think a law change was required or would be "most effective" in response to a petition on the subject.
And now it's changed it's mind. Obvioulsy they think it's a vote winner.
There has been a long-running campaign - backed by several business leaders - to see violence against shop workers made a standalone offence. Helen Dickinson, chair of the British Retail Consortium, welcomed the announcement, saying "the voices of the three million people working in retail are finally being heard".
Three million votes on offer, eh?
The new offence will carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
If activist judges don't fall for the defence's sob story, you mean?
Wednesday, 10 April 2024
No, This Is Not 'A Lack Of Money Problem'...
...it's a 'lack of discipline problem':
...pause to consider the words of the new head of Ofsted, Martyn Oliver. In January, he talked about taking on wrecked schools when he was leader of an academy trust, including one in which students stopped staff, saying: “This is a no-go corridor, it belongs to the children.”
I very much doubt those were the exact words used. Almost certainly some thuggish demand voiced in a fake Jamaican patois (no matter the skin colour might have been as pasty-white as mine) that should have been slapped down hard at the time, not whined about in later interviews.
It is hard not to read this as a loud indictment of the political neglect of children and education under Tory governance.
On the contrary, it's pretty easy not to, I read it as a loud indictment of parent's failure to bring up their children to be decent, respectful members of society, probably because those parents aren't that themselves.
Whether it is routinely being told to eff off by 11-year-olds or breaking up fights, this isn’t a problem that can be chalked up to individual teachers’ poor classroom management. These incidents, ranging from spitting to throwing chairs, lay bare the impact of years of chronic underfunding of essential children’s services, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ah, the pandemic, the 2024 version of 'the dog ate my homework'.
How does this result in disruptive behaviour within classrooms?
How indeed, Lola?
The absence of support from social or youth services exposes children to unsafe environments, at home and in their communities.
Yes, these children would be decent members of society if only there were youth clubs on their doorstep. It's a familar refrain.
The continued refrain that a Labour government won’t “turn on the spending taps” may be meant to resonate with voters concerned about fiscal responsibility, but it rings alarm bells for those of us at the frontline of this crisis.
Why? Surely you are smarter than to believe that campaign promises will be upheld?
The question facing our next government is whether to continue the cycle of neglect or embrace a different future for our children – one in which bromides about how we value them and their potential is backed up with money spent.
You could stop by seeing them as 'our children' and focussing on why parents are raising their children to behave like this. But that would mean looking in a mirror, wouldn't it?
Religion Is Not Race...
...who would have thought you'd ever have to tell the BBC that? 
Katie Neeves, a trans woman who was appointed a UN Women UK delegate, was mentioned by Ms Rowling in a previous thread on X. The author claimed Ms Neeves "switched from straight man to lesbian at the age of 48".
Ms Neeves told BBC News she was "very disappointed" with Police Scotland.
She said: "JK Rowling is a bully and this act was designed to stop bullying, and if they're not going to enforce it then that's very disappointing."
You're a fraud, stealing a position from a real woman, and you have the nerve to whine about it?
Ms Neeves said the story had been published all over the world and was "all misinformation about me".Where's the 'misinformation'? You're a man and you always will be.
Ms Neeves also confirmed she would be making a complaint to the police but had not done so yet.
Great! Your's can go in the bin with all the other complaints that even Humza Yousless has had to admit aren't going to be taken seriously...
H/T: Barbarus via emailTuesday, 9 April 2024
Hello Reality, My Old Friend*!
When I sold my car, I didn’t expect a pat on the head; I wore my halo on the inside, and that was enough. But I did assume that those who had encouraged me to do the right thing – among them, my local council, which supposedly favours the walker, the cyclist and the keen user of the bus – wouldn’t now actively seek to make my life more difficult.
Oh, if only there was a German word to describe my feelings reading this...
Three years later, and part of me wonders why I bothered. Thanks to low traffic schemes, which benefit only select groups of very lucky people, bus journey times are often twice as long as they used to be, cars having been forced on to the main road.
What did you think would happen, they'd all disappear in a puff of smoke? Did you really count on everyone doing what you did? Did it never occur to you that some people can't live by bus and bike alone?
Meanwhile, the council has decreed that those who want their garden waste to be collected, as it has been ever since I’ve lived here, must henceforth pay £75 a year for the privilege – and for a service only half as frequent as before.
Isn’t it obvious what will happen next?
It is to us, yes.
Relatively few people, I predict, will cough up. Those with cars will drive to the dump, increasing traffic and pollution, while those without will either hide their dead dahlias in their regular rubbish (which means they won’t be composted), or they’ll simply fly tip (a serious problem in our neighbourhood).
More joy in heaven, etc, etc...
* apologies to Simon and Garfunkel
They Really Are The Enemy Within, Aren't They?
A foreign sex offender who raped a teenage girl has avoided deportation after winning a ten-year asylum battle to remain in the UK, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Judges ruled that deporting the rapist to Eritrea, East Africa, would breach his human rights because he had previously dodged military conscription and was at risk of being punished if he returned.What about the human rights of children in this country not to have to run the risk so some bewigged fool on the bench can stroke his conscience?
In an exclusive audit by this newspaper of the tribunal's recent decisions, we can also reveal how:
A Jamaican drug dealer who has been deported from the UK three times – only to then repeatedly sneak back into the country – has won his bid to stay.
An alleged crime boss accused by the Indian government of money laundering won his appeal against a Home Office decision to deny him asylum.
A Jamaican woman twice convicted of possession of drugs with intent to supply is still fighting deportation 22 years after she entered the UK.
An Italian drug dealer won an appeal against deportation – despite being described as having 'operational control' of a telephone line used to supply Class A drugs.
And the Tories have been in power for how long? Almost as long as some of these have been sucking up taxpayer funding on appeals.
Our audit of cases comes after Home Secretary James Cleverly called for a light to be shone on tribunal decisions, many of which are shrouded in secrecy because judges often impose draconian reporting restrictions.
Well, James, here's your light, and the cockroaches aren't scuttling under the nation's fridge, are they? Why would they, when they know you'll be doing nothing about them?
Monday, 8 April 2024
Another SNP Success Story!
It is understood up to 40 police officers have been called in to do extra hours every day since Monday in a bid to wade through all the reports submitted. Each officer is being paid time and a third, sparking fears the overtime costs could end up taking hundreds of thousands of pounds out of an already overstretched budget.Is anyone surprised? Didn't we predict just this?
Around 3,600 reports were made in the first 48 hours of the law coming into force on Monday. It is expected that figure could now have almost doubled.
At least! And some of those doing so will, of course, be those encouraged to do so by those for whom this bill was written. While the opposition proves useless, and the fightback is led by private citizens.
Officers say they must check every online complaint individually in case they contain covert messages from victims of domestic abuse or people trafficking.
Of course they do, got to keep that overtime rolling in, eh?
Mr Kennedy added: 'The hope is that once the public realise where the bar sits for a hate crime that it might change the number of people submitting inquiries, but you can't tell what the public is going to do. If someone thinks a crime has been committed and reports it online then officers have to look at it.'
Ah, yes, blame the public for 'misusing' the law. Not the idiots who ignored all the warnings and brought in an unjust law in the first place.
And you might want to reconsider that last sentence.
Round Two!
Well, time to settle in for my second bite at the cherry, as I'm once again on jury service for two weeks. It'll be interesting to see what's changed in the intervening ten years, hopefully the canteen has got better.
At least this time round there's no Tube strike, as it was called off at the last minute! But Tweeting of posts may be erratic over the next two weeks.
Sunday, 7 April 2024
Companies Might Want To Reconsider Using Local Newspapers For Free Advertising...
...because getting your brand into the papers only helps if you don't have to hold the rag up to a mirror!
A supplier of building materials is opening a new branch in Norfolk, in a move that will bring dozens of jobs to the area and help lessen supply chain issues for local construction firms.
Let's hope this doesn't lead to a reversal of fortune, eh EDP Photo Editor?
H/T: Dave Ward via emailNormal For Norfolk Journalism?
It's impressively wrong even by 'Daily Mail' standards!
It's an antelope, not a deer, it's an African animal not an English one, and it's a species, not a breed.
Saturday, 6 April 2024
You Know Times Have Changed When...
There's Nothing Government Legislation Can't Make Worse...
...case in point:
Who could have predicted that?
A law change to increase organ donation has resulted in fewer patients receiving transplants, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
Of course, since when doe a government initiative actually improve anything?
The new rules in England, which came into force in May 2020, mean everyone is presumed to be an organ donor when they die unless they have 'opted out'. Officials said the change would lead to at least 100 extra donors and 230 more transplants every year, also ensuring fewer patients would die waiting for an organ.
I immediately opted out and I bet lots of other people did. So do we get a mea culpa from government? Reader, we do not...
But NHS Blood and Transplant figures reveal nine per cent fewer transplants took place last year than before the change. The number of donors has fallen by ten per cent since 2019/20 and the waiting list for a new organ has rocketed 28 per cent. Experts have pointed to a drop in consent rates from families, who still have the final say over whether a loved one's organs can be used.
But politicians and charities say officials have failed to employ enough specialist transplant nurses, or address problems in over-stretched transplant units, meaning donor organs that become available are turned down if there is no theatre space.
It might also be because the guy heading up the process looks like a ghoul:
"Braaaaaiiins..."