The LibDems Return To Their Normal Status...

...that of national joke, thanks to Matt. 

Did You Mean 'Led'..?

Still no proofreaders, eh? 

Sunday Funnies...

And we look at what modern USA has elected....

Tweet Of The Month

Another bumper crop...

 

Post Title Of The Month

David ThompsonDavid Thompson on the bizarre efforts to safeguard a Pride crossing...

Quote Of The Month

Bucko on the coming election options:

"What on Earth do these people think distances the Conservatives from Labour these days? What do they think the current government is doing that Tony Blair didn't already do or want to do? What do they think a Labour government will do differently than the current incumbent?

The two main parties are as different as night and later that night."

Post Of The Month

Longrider on the reaction to Nigel Farage's election announcement.

"It is difficult to rationalize how someone can justify fighting to keep a dog alive who brutally mauled an innocent woman to death."

 Apparently, not in America.

The victim was 95-year-old Janet D'Aleo, a family friend who dropped by with her aide for a visit, but the Hornishes weren't home at the time. Authorities said Dexter grabbed D'Aleo by the ankle and caused the woman to fall. D'Aleos' aide reportedly beat Dexter with a metal step stool in an attempt to rescue the elderly woman, but to no avail. Police Chief Richard Brown said the D'Aleo suffered “massive injuries including flesh, muscle and tendon loss to the lower extremities.”

Dexter is, of course, a pitbull.

The state medical examiner also ruled that D'Aleo died from dog bites. Annie Hornish disagrees, saying, "We think Dexter jumped up to greet her and knocked her on her back, and then the aide panicked because Janet fell and Janet was so fragile." She believes DeLeo died from a heart attack.

"The aide testified that Janet didn’t make a sound throughout the whole thing," she said. In the beginning, the Hornish family paid for Dexter's boarding fees while they fought the euthanasia order, but finally stopped after shelling out $42,000. In addition to trying to save Dexter, they are also suing the town to recoup their financial losses.

And incrediby, they havee found someone who is willing to give this thing a home.

Town officials continue to shoot the idea down and say they will push for Dexter's termination.

The whole nonsense could have been avoided if Dexter was shot down on the scene. Just sayin'. 

H/T: BullyWatchUSA via Twitter

Slow Justice Is No Justice...

Police charged Bernard Valentine, the owner of the dogs, with six counts of owning a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control in a public place – one count for each animal that attacked Amelia. Valentine was living in a campervan outside his mum's house two doors down – and the dogs had jumped out. A few months earlier, in December 2022, his dogs had set upon a man walking his Dalmatian in the same place, injuring both.

A familiar refrain. This mother isn't taking it lying down.  

Jade believes her daughter might not have been hurt if police had acted earlier.

A pretty reasonable take, frankly.  

She said: "The victim gave an extremely clear and strong description of the man and the dogs so police were made clear it was Valentine. If the police had done something and arrested him then, then this wouldn't have happened to Amelia but it just seems they have shoved this under the rug. They just let him get away with it. "[The police] are there to protect the public and they failed here. They put my daughter in danger."

Even they couldn't argue against that, and so... 

Greater Manchester Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct when Valentine was charged with the offences in relation to Amelia's attack. Today, the watchdog confirmed its investigation into the conduct of two Greater Manchester Police officers in relation to separate incidents of dog bites in the same street is almost finished. A report will be finalised once the IOPC decides if either officer will face disciplinary proceedings.

Don't rush, or anything, eh? And what of the mutts? 

The dogs are still alive while their breed is being determined.A spokesman for Minshull Street Crown Court said: "Reports being done to confirm the breeds have been delayed, due to an outbreak of a virus at the kennels. It would appear they are still there. A hearing will be held but is not yet scheduled."

'It would appear'..? Don't they know? 

Maybe Because They Keep Paying Him To Do So?

This week, a new Russell Crowe movie is released. The film concerns a demon that comes to inhabit a person, and the struggles of a priest to cast the demon out. You might have seen its poster, in which Russell Crowe wears a dog collar and clutches a crucifix. If that sounds familiar, it might be because it has only been a matter of months since the last time that Russell Crowe starred in a film about a demon that comes to inhabit a person, and the struggles of a priest to cast the demon out, that had a poster in which Russell Crowe wears a dog collar and clutches a crucifix.

I thought it sounded familiar, but just assumed it was deja vu.  

If you think it’s slightly inexplicable, to the point of outright derangement, for Russell Crowe to make two films about the same thing, with more or less the same title, where he pretty much wears the same costume, and the poster for each of them uses the same font, then you might have a point.

I'm not sure what point, really, other than 'he's a paid actor who takes the jobs he's offered'... 

How Can Someone With This History Be Allowed To Walk The Streets?

Much less get employment as a security guard?

Gavin Plumb has a history of trying to kidnap or falsely imprison women which resulted in several convictions, the court was told yesterday.

But clearly, little if any jail time. 

On August 14, 2006, the man accused of plotting to kidnap and murder Holly Willoughby approached a woman on a train, sat opposite her and showed her a note. It said: 'I have got a gun. All you have to do is keep quiet. Do what I say. 'So just stand up and get off at the next stop with me. Don't cry or make a sound. Don't stop me from touching you because I won't hurt you.

'If you do all this, no one will get hurt but if you don't I am going to shoot you and myself and everyone else.'

The 'terrified' victim began to cry and other passengers came over, leading to Plumb tearing up the note and fleeing at the next stop.

And a few days later, he did it again. The only attack he actually appears to have served any time behind bars for is in 2008. 

Referring to the latest allegations, Ms Morgan added: 'You will consider all of that against the background that, as he boasted to others online, he had done it before.

'He had sought to kidnap and to imprison other real women. Using a real weapon and real methods of restraint – terrifying real women.'

I suppose at least we can content ourselves with the fact the court system seems to believe in 'real women'. 

In The Same Time Period As It’s Seen ‘An Explosion’ In Something Else…

The UK has seen an “explosion” in insecure, low-paid work in the past 14 years, according to a new report. The TUC said its study had found that the number of people in insecure work had reached a record high of 4.1 million.

The analysis of official statistics shows the number of people in “precarious” employment – such as zero-hours contracts, low-paid self-employment and casual or seasonal work – increased by nearly 1 million between 2011 and 2023.

Gosh! What else, I wonder, has expanded in that time period..? Could it be the sort of people who welcome this type of work?  

The growth in insecure work since 2011 has been fuelled mainly by lower-paid sectors of the economy, said the report.

 Bingo! 

Nowak said that Labour’s “new deal for working people” was an “opportunity for a reset”. The opposition party’s plan includes bringing in a ban on zero-hours contracts and “fire and rehire” tactics as well as “introducing basic rights from day one to parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal”. The plan also aims to strengthen the rights of employees from the first day of their employment with a company. “As well as preventing workers from being treated like throwaway labour, it would stop good employers from being undercut by the bad,” Nowak said. “We must end the Conservatives’ race to the bottom on employment standards.”

You're a good head out in front in that race, you utter hypocrite.  

And So It Should…

How often should you wash your clothes? Doctors don’t really know, but the decision is more cultural than medical, anyway. Worried about leaving the house in sweaty shirts or stained shorts, people often chuck clean clothes in the laundry basket after wearing them just once.

But the urge to avoid whiffy garments carries a climate cost that has largely been ignored. New research shows that feelings of disgust and shame encourage excessive clothes washing even among those who care about their carbon footprint.

Now - to appeast the Greens - we should go without washing clothes?! 

Swedish scientists surveyed a representative sample of 2,000 people and found that when asked, in effect, to air their dirty laundry, their fear of being seen as unclean overpowered environmental identities.

Well, can I say, 'Thank goodness!'. Morning Tube commute is stressful enough, what with the stale cannabis stench and the appparently huge number of ethnic minorities who haven't yet assimilated enough to apply a can of Sure in the mornings. 

Though that's more of an issue in high summer, and are we even going to get one of those this year?  

Klint and his colleague knew from previous research that many people do not link their laundry to the environment, despite washing machines draining energy and water. After seeing that studies to alter habits had mostly failed, the researchers decided to explore the societal dimensions that make people overwash clothes. They found a high sensitivity to disgust, shame or violations of cleanliness norms was associated with frequent use of washing machines. They found no such effect for environmental beliefs.

I think to swallow the enviroMENTALISM cult's offerings, any sense of disgust must necessarily be absent. 

Fast fashion has long been under fire from sustainably minded shoppers, but wasteful washing practices have so far escaped much attention. The average European household does four to five loads of laundry a week, and though the frequency of washing has stayed steady for 20 years, the size of the machines’ drums has grown.

So be warned, they aren't going to stop at your car, they are coming for your washing machine next!  

How Else Are You Supposed To Train Recruits?

A Royal Marines major who was a member of the bearer party for the Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin has denied telling a teenage trainee who is believed to have taken his own life that he was the “worst recruit” and a “failure”.

I'm guessing he wasn't a failure, then? 

Oh... 

Clark’s family believe his death was avoidable and are concerned about how he was treated by trainers and fellow recruits.

At the start of his inquest in Exeter, his mother, Tracy, said he was kind, generous, thoughtful and selfless. He loved rugby and had decided aged 13 he wanted to be a marine. Clark was taking part in a four-week course called recruit orientation phase (ROP) at the commando training centre in Lympstone in the summer of 2021. He had struggled with his “personal administration” – a military term for keeping uniform, kit and locker in order – and was frightened at losing a piece of equipment, a blank firing attachment.

Sound like he was indeed a failure. Was he not supposed to be pulled up for it, then? 

Why are people reluctant to state 'These are the required standards. You're not meeting them'? How else are you supposed to know?

Thrift, who described himself as a “father figure”, told the inquest that it had not crossed his mind that a cut Clark had on his arm could have been self-inflicted, saying he had believed the teenager’s story that he fell against a radiator.

So he's to be castigated as well for believing the recruit when he told a lie?  

DEI Takes To The Air...

The world’s largest airline pilot union suggested airmen and women stop using terms purportedly offensive to women and LGBTQ individuals, calling out terms like “cockpit” as non-inclusive.

My my, is it April 1st already? Time, like snowflake flight crew, really does fly! 

Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, represents over 70,000 pilots worldwide and states that it collaborates with a United Nations agency on its policies.

Well, there's your first mistake!  

According to a diversity, equity and inclusion language guide released in 2021, the ALPA lists numerous terms and phrases to avoid — especially “masculine generalizations” — that it deemed to be non-inclusive.

Now you know why Virgin Air thought this advert might be a crowd pleaser!  

“Inclusive language in communications is essential to our union’s solidarity and collective strength and is an important factor in maintaining flight safety,” the guide states.

What about this contributes to 'flight safety'? 

“The purpose of this language guide is to offer examples of terms and phrases that promote inclusion and equity.”ALPA, for example, suggested replacing the word “cockpit” with “flight deck.” The purportedly offensive term “has been and may be used in a derogatory way to exclude women in the piloting profession,” the guide states. “Many women have heard a variation of ‘It is called a cockpit for a reason’ by a male pilot, suggesting that women do not belong in the piloting profession,” the guide said.

I like my equality messages in my stage shows, but can't say I care too much when actually getting on a plane... 

H/T: Melindi Scott via Twitter

If You Wonder Why Reform UK Is Doing So Well...

...just look at this:

Tunisian Khaled Hajsaad, 25, wore the headband as 45,000 pro-Palestinian protestors marched through London calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on November 25, 2023. He was convicted of wearing an article supporting a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act, 2000.

Sucks to be you, Khaled, now, eh? 

Hajsaad had denied the charge and claimed that his green headband with a 'Shahada' on it was an Islamic oath and expression of faith which had been coopted by Hamas.

Ha ha ha ha! Who on earth would believe th... 

District Judge Nina Tempia today gave Hajsaad a conditional discharge for three months meaning he will not be punished unless he reoffends. She did not ask him to pay any costs due to his limited means as he lives on £49 a week.

*sighs* 

Hajsaad, of Smethwick, Birmingham, lived in Palestine until he was five and later lived in Tunisia, arriving in the UK a year ago. He attended Westminster Magistrates Court wearing a blue bodywarmer and tracksuit bottoms assisted by an interpreter.

Paid for by us, the poor bloody taxpayer. At least if the useless bitch on the bench had imposed costs, we'd get some of it back.... 

Tom Wainwright, defending Hajsaad, said: 'The offence for which he has been convicted of does not mean he is a supporter of Hamas.

'It should not be said or reported that he is a supporter of Hamas.'

He's clearly a supporter of Hamas.  

'His first time in court has been a salutary lesson. It's not an experience he wants to repeat. There is no risk of him reoffending or being back before the court.'

No risk of him being put on a plane back to Tunisia either.  

"Baby, you and me, we ain't nothin' but mammals..."

Anderson said the perception that same-sex sexual behaviour was rare in animals had fed into a narrative that it was “unnatural” in humans.

“I think that record should be corrected,” she said. “One thing I think we can say for certain is that same-sex sexual behaviour is widespread and natural in the animal kingdom.”

Lots of behaviour is widespread and natural, but do we really need to see it all in nature documentaries, breathlessly narrated by David Attenborough? We've got popular sci-fi for that sort of thing.   

Respondents said they were not influenced by sociopolitical concerns, but many remarked that journals appeared biased against publishing anecdotal reports compared with systematic studies.

Showing they perhaps had more of an eye to social norms than the researchers.  

Josh Davis, of the Natural History Museum in London and author of A Little Gay Natural History, said: “Around 1,500 species have been observed showing homosexual behaviours, but this is certainly an underestimate because it’s seen in almost every branch of the evolutionary tree – spiders, squids, monkeys.

“There’s a growing suggestion it’s normal and natural to almost every species,” he added.

“It’s probably more rare to be a purely heterosexual species.”

The spiders are probably just avoiding becoming a post-coital snack... 

In the past, same-sex sexual behaviours were often framed as a “Darwinian paradox” – apparently contradicting the evolutionary pressure to survive and reproduce. There is growing evidence, however, that some same-sex sexual behaviours can have evolutionary advantages. In black swans, male-male couples frequently court each other, steal eggs, raise chicks together and are more successful in ensuring these chicks’ survival than heterosexual swan pairs.

Misogyny wins again? 

It's Going To Help With More Than Just That, Judge...

CCTV footage shows killer Bardia Shojaeifard dressed in school uniform going after teenager Alfie Lewis before stabbing him to death in broad daylight. The murderer, who was 14 at the time, is thought to have kept the six-inch blade hidden on him as he went about his outday, preparing to seek out his victim at home time.

And now will never see the light of day and be free to walk the streets for the rest of his natural...? 

Shojaeifard, who is now 15, was today handed a life sentence, with a minimum term of 13 years before being considered for release.

*sighs* 

The murderer, who is of Iranian heritage and was described in court as 'outwardly normal', can be identified for the first time today after judge Mr Justice Cotter at Leeds Crown Court lifted reporting restrictions. He said naming him would help in the 'vitally important debate about the scourge of knife crime, among young people in particular'.

It'll also help in showing the handful of people in the UK who still believe the UK justice system is worth a bucket of cold spit how wrong they are. 

The teen denied murder, claiming he feared for his life when he pulled out the weapon, which police said had a black-painted handle. He was found guilty by a jury after a trial in April.

If I 'feared for my life', I'm pretty sure I'd avoid the threat, not stalk it. The jury clearly agreed.  

Lifting the restrictions which previously banned Shojaeifard from being identified because of his age, he said: 'The question has to be asked, how it can be that it has come to this? 'If a seemingly normal 14-year-old boy takes a knife and uses it against a boy of the same school year, how bad must things have become?'

Good question, judge, and an even better question would have been 'And how has the lax sentencing from me and my fellow members of the judiciary contributed to that?'... 

'Without your interest in knives Alfie would be here today.'

Without mass immigration from every Third World shithole, Alfie would be here today too. 

Frankly, They Don't Deserve To...

...as Matt sums up for us all.

Funny Looking 'Jet', 'Daily Mail' Editor...

 

What exactly do you think that spinny thing on the nose is, an airconditioning fan? 

H/T: Stephen Brown via email

Sunday Funnies...

Over here in London, we just rely on the knife crime and murderous cyclists. And the weather. 

The Modern Day Untouchables...

Maya Forstater, 51, the head of the charity Sex Matters, has revealed Scotland Yard has been investigating her for the crime of malicious communications since August 2023.

The alleged crime, which carries a punishment of up to two years in prison, relates to a post Ms Forstater wrote on X/Twitter about trans former GP, Dr Kamilla Kamaruddin.

Dr Kamaruddin said that after transitioning, patients allowed her to perform 'more intimate examinations that they did not let me to do when I was a male GP'. Ms Forstater tweeted in June last year that Dr Kamaruddin 'enjoys intimately examining female patients without their consent'.

Perfectly reasonable inference to draw from his actions. If he disagrees, it's up to him to sue for libel. In a civil court. It's absolutely no case for the police to bother with. 

But she claims that while on holiday, she was sent an e-mail from the Met Police which said she would be arrested unless she voluntarily attend a police interview.

 Here, try under 'v'

*sighs*

'And obviously I didn't want to be arrested so I went. So I had to get a solicitor and went into the police station to be questioned, and it was only then that they told me what the tweet that was supposed to be a crime was.

'I sort of thought that this must be mistake. It was like half a tweet. It didn't tag anybody. It was attached to a blog post that explained why I'd said it.

'It was not a threat to anybody, it was not obscene, it was based on facts and quite disturbing fact that a doctor who is male was boasting about examining women who wanted a female doctor, and who were told they were getting a female doctor.

'Most people want a woman, and if you ask for a woman you should get a woman.'

Well, quite! If there's any sort of crime committed here, it's surely false representation and sexual assault by the doctor, but since the police have been entirely captured by this ridiculous cult, we'll wait in vain for them to do anything about it...

But she has still not heard the outcome of the investigation ten months after first being contacted by the force. But she told MailOnline: 'I don't think I targeted a member of the trans community. I think I talked about a male doctor who was doing something inappropriate.

Ms Forstater, who has not ruled out legal action against the force, said that she was told she was being questioned for 'targeting a member of the trans community'.

'If you can't call that out, then what you're doing is you're making a section of society unable to be criticised and unable to be scrutinised... even when they're in a position of asking a woman to take her underpants off and be examined.

'It's a situation where the utmost respect should have been given to the patients, not to the identity of the of the trans identifying doctor.

'And if you can't call that out without the police saying you're targeting a vulnerable community and then calling you in and basically acting like a private police force then bad things will happen.

'People will not respect the privacy and dignity, and the consent of women.'

Well, the police certainly don't, as they've proved time and again... 

'It's Not The Dog, It's The Owner!'

An XL Bully dog in Bolton could be destroyed after it got into a fight with a similar dog.

...well, in this case, it does seem to be the owner as well.  

The rules changed on the breed of animal in February this year, meaning owners were ordered to muzzle them in public and have insurance for them. But Bolton man Gareth Everett failed to apply these rules to his dog named Menace, Bolton Magistrates' Court heard.

I very much doubt he's the only one. So this is yet another non-starter that would merely cause an extra burden to responsible owners while scofflaws ignore it like they ignore everything else.  

The court was told his dog attacked another XL Bully after leaving his home in March this year. A woman took her XL Bully, which was registered properly, and tied it upside outside the Best One store on Morris Green Lane in the town.Julia Draper, prosecuting, said:

“The defendant’s dog, called Menace, attacked the woman’s dog for minutes rather than seconds.“Eventually a lead was used to loop around the dog and separate it.

“The defendant had been notified his dog was out and had caused a problem at the shop.”

Who'd expect that behaviour from a dog named 'Menace'?  

The prosecutor also said there would be an application for the “forfeiture and destruction” of the dog to come under the Dangerous Dogs Act. She added that there would be an application for compensation to the woman who owned the other dog but it was unclear what the veterinary bill was at this stage.

Chair of the bench Joanne Halliday adjourned the case to next month. She said: “You are going to see probation and a report is going to be done. “A decision will be made over the forfeiture and destruction of the dog.”

Let's hope they come to the right one. It'll make a nice change.  

H/T: SamBrowfan via Twitter

Physician, Heal Thyself...

Consultant doctor Natalia Wilson, 53, turned on David Birrell and suggested he was being sexist towards women after he politely asked her to stop interrupting him during proceedings. In a bizarre legal rant, Wilson claimed the experienced barrister 'shouted at her in front of everybody' and said he had used 'discriminatory and abusive language' towards her.

That's not helping your case, madam.... 

She then called for Mr Birrell, who has been presenting cases for the General Medical Council for a decade, to be replaced by another lawyer, saying that he had an undiagnosed mental health condition and posed a 'high risk to female litigants.'

I'm pretty sure the hippocratic oath has something to say about diagnosing illness in a court sutiation, and if it doesn't, perhaps it should have. 

She further alleged the GMC itself had broken the law '50 times' during its investigation into her and suggested Mr Birrell see a psychiatrist saying he had 'persecutory delusions' about her.

Welp, might as well go for broke!  

At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, Wilson, from Drayton, Oxfordshire was ordered to be erased from the medical register after she was found guilty of professional misconduct.

Shocker, I'm sure you'll agree, Reader? 

Earlier the hearing was told Wilson, who qualified in medicine in Russia and worked at HMP The Mount in Herts and HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, was applying for jobs with the East London NHS Foundation Trust and The Interact Medical locum Agency in 2022. She set up bogus email addresses to falsify character references purporting to be from four fellow consultant psychiatrists she had briefly met during her career. Fraud officials at the NHS trust began investigating the authenticity of Wilson's CV and noted one of the referees quoted had their forename and surname the wrong way round. Another reference was signed off with just the doctor's surname and not their title.

The only real surprise here is that someone in the NHS actually bothered to scrutinise references for once... 

The Final Insult...

Just when you thought the story of the calf-ramming cops couldn't get any worse...

A source told MailOnline: 'The police handed her over to two men who were there when it happened. They offered to look after Beau Lucy and took her to a farm near Heathrow.

'But when the owner got there, it was a bit of a struggle getting her back. They insisted on being paid for keeping her, and he had no choice but to cough up.'

Hardly surprising, as they turned out to be travellers. 

A Surrey Police spokesperson said: 'Following the injury caused to the cow, two members of the public offered to use their trailer to transport her to a nearby smallholding accompanied by police. 'Once identified, the owner then collected the cow from the smallholding. The members of the public have sought costs for providing this transportation service.

'Surrey Police intends to make a compassionate payment to the owner of the cow. This will cover both the cost of recovery of the cow from the scene and the cost of immediate critical care for the cow by a veterinarian.

'The latest update we have on the condition of the calf is that she continues to recover under the treatment of a vet and has been reunited with her herd.'

You can't even decide if it's 'a cow' (it isn't but it sounds scarier) or  'a calf' (It is, making your action even more unnecessary). 

Now Let’s Hear The Charges They Were Arrested On…

Black children are more than six times more likely than white children to be subjected to a strip-search by police, a new study shows. Of the forces in England and Wales that provided data for the study, 10 showed a disparity where black people were 10 times more likely to be strip-searched. Sussex police were 18 times more likely to subject a black person to a strip search.

Black adults were 4.7 times more likely than white adults to be told they must strip, and black children are 6.5 times more likely than their white counterparts.

And maybe that's a function of the things they are arrested for? Drugs charges and weapons charges, where a search is as much for the safety of the suspect as anything else.  

The data covers the year until March 2023 and the trust says the data is another example of institutional racism, which most forces deny exists.

Dr Shabna Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, said: “Strip searches are inherently violent, humiliating and harmful, especially for children.

You know what else is 'violent, humiliating and harmful', Shabna? Being stabbed to death because you've inadvertantly crossed an invisible line.  

“Strip-searching is such an invasive procedure, and when deployed with this level of racialised disproportionality, by police forces riddled with institutional racism, the harm reaches way beyond the individual child or person.

“If we actually want to build safer communities and safeguard our children, we need to invest in our social infrastructure and ensure people have the opportunities and resources to thrive and flourish.”

And maybe parents should check where little Ahmed has got those new trainers from?  

The Met said it had made changes since the Child Q scandal:“We wish these types of searches were not necessary, but sadly we know there are children in London being exploited to carry drugs and weapons for others, as well as being involved in criminality.”

You're wasting your time, people like Shabna have an agenda to sell for their employers, and they'll sell it no matter what.  

No Need For Special Pleading Here...

..instead of 'My child should be able to break the rules due to disability', the key take should surely be 'why are there rules about dancing in the aisles at a pop concert?'.

A single mother has told how she and her seven-year-old son who has Down's Syndrome were escorted from a Pink concert 'like criminals' because he wouldn't sit in his seat.

Vanessa Vasey, 48, paid £630 for tickets to take Jesse to see his idol at her P!NK Summer Carnival Tour 2024 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, on Saturday. But Jesse's disabilities and sensory disorders meant he refused to sit on his seat, so Vanessa, Jesse and their friend Kirsty stood near to the seating area while the child danced to the support act.

They were then approached by about six security guards who told them to take their seats, the mother said. When Vanessa explained the situation, she was given an ultimatum to sit down or leave.

I mean, it's not a chess match or art appreciation class - why shouldn't children want to, and be allowed to, dance in their seats?  

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Pink representatives have been contacted for comment.

No doubt there's some H&S nonsense to be quoted but, really....

You’re Spot On With That Description…

“The Nuseirat market is always crowded, but now more than usual because of the many displaced people,” said Haroun, 29, who is now staying with an uncle. She was looking at outfits for the girls when the first Israeli airstrikes hit, and almost without thinking raced out of the door to go to them. Outside, she found a scene “like the horrors of judgment day”, as panicked crowds tried to escape the coming onslaught.

Yes, it was indeed like judgement day. Which is when the evildoers face consequences.  

El-Nemer, a 37-year-old software engineer originally from northern Gaza, was among the crush of people trying to escape.“I was jogging along the street with other women. We were terrified,” she said. They ran past health clinics and schools where they might once have sought shelter, but now shunned because of Israeli attacks on both types of compound.

And why do they? Because that's where the terrorists are hiding.  

They would not discover for hours that the intense attack was launched to support Israeli special forces on a mission to free four hostages held in apartments near the market. Gaza’s health ministry said more than 270 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 injured in the assault.

I note they don't say 'civilians', this time. Because who was holding these hostages? People like this, drs and journalists. 

The hours of bombardment were ordered at least in part to shield the hostages and Israeli forces, and the attacks intensified after a rescue vehicle carrying the three male hostages was trapped under heavy fire, Israeli media reported.

Under heavy fire from the so-called 'civilians'. 

Abu Youssef, 42, said even living beside the hospital had not protected his family from an airstrike that hit directly next to their home. He had lost his three other children earlier in the war, and doctors said his last son had little chance of survival. “Everyone in my family and my brothers’ families was either killed or injured. Three of my nieces died so far; my sister is still fighting for her life,” he said. “My house is near al-Awda hospital,” he said. “Although it is hundreds of metres away from the building they targeted, there were a lot of airstrikes and all kinds of attacks in the area to cover up their cowardly operation.”

You see the mentality of these people? It's fine and dandy to attack civilians at a music festival and take hostages, but when the other side comes to rescue them, that's 'cowardly'. There's no negotiating with people like this.  

Well, She'd Made A Deliberate Decision To Ignore The Rules Of Society, So...

Sentencing Wade, whose criminal record includes 137 previous offences, Recorder Taryn Turner said her riding had led to “tragic” consequences for the victim. She said: “You shouldn’t have been on the pavement and your bike should have been mechanically sound, but it wasn’t."

“I’m quite satisfied you made a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road and had a total disregard for the risk that your riding of this bike presented, which was obviously highly dangerous," the recorder added.

Not some Lycra-clad lout on an expensive mountain bike this time, just the usual underclass with a record as long as her arm who has never been deterred by any of her numerous other convictions... 

Prosecutor Laura McBride said Wade had been “highly impaired by alcohol” at the time of the crash. She was also said to be steering with only one hand as she was carrying a bag of dog food with her other hand. A police officer who inspected her bike after the crash confirmed it had no working brakes.

And won't be deterred by this one, either.  

No Frills Train Travel Expanding?

The British transport operator FirstGroup has applied for two more “open access” services outside the main train operating contracts as the government attempts to increase competition on the rail network and cut fares. Open access means the operator takes full commercial risk, running services on infrastructure owned by a third party, on a chosen route that is not subject to a rail franchise set by the Department for Transport.

Just what the railways need if they are to come into their own again!  

FirstGroup began running an open access service through its Lumo business between London and Edinburgh in October 2021, which has carried more than 2.5 million passengers so far. It says train cancellations are among the lowest in the industry. Encouraged by the success of Lumo, FirstGroup said it had recently submitted applications to the Office of Rail and Road for a new Hull Trains service between London and Sheffield, which could start in 2026, and a new Lumo service between Rochdale and London, which could begin in 2027.

I've travelled to Edinburgh on Lumo, and yes, it's a very no-frills service. Take food with you, as the trolly service only does drinks and crisps - if you want a sandwich you need to have ordered it on their website before boarding. But when every train station is full of places to pick up a sandwich, is that such a hardship? 

It has also applied for the extension of a number of Lumo’s daily services to and from Glasgow; for an additional, eighth return service on Hull Trains between London and Hull and for an extra sixth return Lumo service between London and Newcastle. If successful, these services will more than double its open access capacity over the next three to five years.

And this can only be a good thing, surely? 

Sharon Graham, the Unite general secretary, said this strengthened the case for public ownership.

Oh. Of course. I was forgetting the rail unions. 

She added: “FirstGroup is extracting colossal profits from our bus and rail networks at the expense of passengers and workers. It makes no sense to pour billions of pounds into subsidising public transport and then allow third-party operators to profiteer from them by running down jobs and services.”

How are they doing that, when they are giving passengers what they want - cheap, reliable service?  

A Most Peculiar War…

Michoacán, where about four in five of all avocados consumed in the United States are grown, is the most important avocado-producing region in the world, accounting for nearly a third of the global supply. This cultivation requires a huge quantity of land – much of it found beneath native pine forests – and an even more startling quantity of water. It is often said that it takes about 12 times as much water to grow an avocado as it does a tomato. Recently, competition for control of the avocado, and of the resources needed to produce it, has grown increasingly violent, often at the hands of cartels. A few years ago, in nearby Uruapan, the second-largest city in the state, 19 people were found hanging from an overpass, piled beneath a pedestrian bridge, or dumped on the roadside in various states of undress and dismemberment – a particularly gory incident that some experts believe emerged from cartel clashes over the multibillion-dollar trade.

Apart from guacamole I have no use for avocado. It's like eating flavourless candle wax. So the concept that people will kill each other over it is rather baffling. 

Stop Whining That We Fought Back Against The Gaslighting!

People circulating 'offensive comments' about a police plea to find a missing woman? What fresh hell is this?! 

Even in Broken Britain, surely a police request to help find a missing woman should only be met with support and assistance and...

Oh. 

Once again, social media is Kryptonite to the modern police farce.

We Can Stop Referring To Our Police Farces As A Bunch Of Cowboys Now...

...cowboys would know how to handle this situation. Hell, anyone with an ounce of common sense would:

A witness said he was 'disgusted' at seeing the police ram a terrified calf with their squad car as people call for the officers to be sacked.

Kai Bennetts, 22, said the young cow was left with an 'open gash' and 'loads of grazes where the skin had come off' after it was hit by the police car and thrown several metres down the road.

The useless bastards knew they were going to get a well-deserved kicking for this, so the modern TSG waded in - the social media spin team:

Which blatent lying might have worked, if not for the many, many videos of a small half grown calf (not a 'cow' at all) wandering tamely around the streets. 

A length of rope to make an improvised headcollar would have been a better option but today's modern university graduate police officer can't be expected to deal with livestock sensibly and calmly, clearly.

Home Secretary James Cleverly also asked for a 'full, urgent explanation' as to why officers appeared to use a police car to hit an escaped cow. He said the police action seemed 'unnecessarily heavy handed'.

The RSPCA described the footage as 'upsetting and distressing' and said the police 'action appears disproportionate to the situation'.

This was no bike riding phone thief - if this was the only course of events they could think of, then they do not deserve to wear the uniform. 

But I doubt they'll worry about the referral to the IOPC too much, they've got away with worse.   

Update: shortly after I scheduled this post, more detailsmore details came to light - they rammed the poor beast FIVE TIMES, not two, and the pressure of public opinion has forced them to suspend the driver. Although since I doubt the driver took the action on his own initiative, the real culprit in HQ is no doubt yet to be found.  

Why Not, You've Got As Much Chance Of Delivering...

 

...as on any other promise, as Matt knows full well.

Sums It Right Up, Doesn't It?

Whoever did this is my new Hero😂

pic.twitter.com/qYr4p6QA1J

— Queen of the FlumpsQueen of the Flumps (@TheMistressRox) June 14, 2024

Me too!  

Sunday Funnies....

I'll stick to Prosecco, thanks! 

"As credible eye-witnesses, there is not a jury in the land who would doubt their testimony. "

Are you sure about that? 

Settling down to enjoy her lunch, pensioner Annie Mitchell gazed out absent-mindedly at a bird box in the garden when a large black shadow caught her eye. Convinced she had seen a strange cat ‘larger than a labrador’ roaming on old tennis courts beyond her home in Kirriemuir, Angus, the 71-year-old braved the February chill to take a closer look. ‘I felt it was bigger than any cat I have seen. I went outside to get a closer look and was only a car length away. It looked big.’

Here's the video she took and well, I can only say, if that's a 'car length' away... 

Mr Welsh, a ghillie, deerstalker and farmhand, said: ‘From the way it was moving, the tail size and that, it was slightly like a panther but it could be a crossbreed. I’ve seen them plenty of times. I’ve seen lynx, I’ve seen panthers, I’ve seen crossbreeds – they’re all over the place.’

No Loch Ness Monster? Scottish Sasquatch?

In July last year, panic gripped the villagers in Brydekirk, Dumfriesshire, amid talk of a cat the size of a labrador prowling the fields nearby. Beyond the talk, there was nothing tangible for the experts to get their teeth into until, earlier this month, some remarkable proof came to light just over the Border in Cumbria, thanks to the bloodied remains of a recently savaged sheep and a quick-thinking local. The sheep was discovered by Sharon Larkin-Snowden early one morning in October after she disturbed whatever had been eating the carcass. ‘I saw something black, running, and I assumed at first it was a sheepdog,’ she said. ‘Then I did a double take and realised it was a black cat. It ran towards a stone wall, stopped and then jumped the wall. It was big – the size of a German shepherd dog.’

Luckily, this local was equipped. No, not with the usual camera with all the photographic quality of a potato, but something else.  

Something made her take a swab of the carcass, which found its way to Professor Robin Allaby, a biologist at the University of Warwick with an interest in big cat research. He analysed the sample and discovered ‘Panthera genus’ DNA, which can only have come from a lion, leopard, tiger, jaguar or snow leopard.

Wasn't it lucky she happened to have a DNA test swab on her? When I went walking in Cumbria, all I packed was some Kendal Mint Cake!  

The astonishing breakthrough has reignited the eternal question – if there are big cats prowling the Lake District, is it too much of a leap to suppose big cats are living wild in Scotland too?

Makes my upcoming trip to Edinburgh potentially more exciting!  

You're Right, He Hasn't...

Streeting continued: “He's a formidable campaigner, but what Farage has never been tested on is actually delivering the change he says he wants to bring about."

...but the Tories and Labour both have. And both have been found wanting. 

Lord Cameron has blasted Nigel Farage's 'dog whistle' rhetoric and claims the Reform leader is 'intent of destroying' the Tory party.

I see your problem, Dave ol' chum, that's your job, isn't it. 

The RSPCA - Harming Animals In The Future!

Police bust a dogfighting ring in leafy, upmarket Chigwell, and the RSPCA ensure....that the illegal pitbulls are well cared for? Seriously?!

RSPCA Behaviour and Welfare Specialist Claire said: 'A lot of these dogs were nervous and shut down when they arrived in our care and many had extensive scarring on their muzzles, heads, chests and front legs; something we see in dogs who have been involved in organised fighting.

'The dogs were being kept in poor conditions, with little interaction with the outside world, except for when they were taken to fight another dog in bloody bouts that often ended in serious and fatal injuries.

'They had never experienced what it's like to curl up on a sofa and feel safe, or the fun of running through grassy fields or chasing after a football.

'But now they're getting the love and care that they deserve and have really blossomed and come out of their shells.'

So, the RSPCA is happy to risk the future safety of other pets and children everywhere? Apparently so. And yes, they'll have no trouble finding someone to take on this canine time bomb. 

One of the dogs, eight-year-old bull breed Jane - who was removed from one of the pens in the garage at the Leadleys' home - has been settling into a loving foster home.

Her fosterer Debbie, who now plans to adopt her, said: 'Jane is doing brilliantly and has settled in so well. Her behaviour is fantastic and she loves to go out for walks, and have a good sniff. She just wants to enjoy life and is really chilled.

'She's really chilled out and enjoys snoozing in the sun until she gets too hot, and then she moves into the shade.

'She can be fussy about eating so I've been roasting her chicken and cooking her steak, and she's slowly building up a good appetite. She's certainly very spoiled!'

I hope that thought flashes through your mind when the inevitable happens. 

'Of No Appearance'...?

Just an ordinary Lars, Malthe or Anker? Well, no:

An attack on the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, which left her “shaken” and with a whiplash injury, was probably not “politically motivated”, Danish authorities have said.

A 39-year-old Polish man, who was apprehended after allegedly hitting the prime minister on Friday evening, was remanded in custody until 20 June after appearing before a Copenhagen court, the prosecutor Taruh Sekeroglu told reporters.

“It is not our guiding … hypothesis that there is a political motive here. But that is something that the police of course will investigate,” Sekeroglu said.

What else could be a motive for a Polish man to come to Denmark to assault a politician, then? Expect to see more of this, whatever it is... 

And None Of The Usual Suspects Will Complain...

...in fact, the usual anti-monarchy urbanites with 'hate racism' stickers on their electric vehicle who demand the council act when a fox shits in their garden and rips open their bins will be absolutely silent when a six-ton jumbo devastates an impoverished African's maize crop and tramples his grandma into the bargain. 

These are the same crowd that will enthusiastically back Starmer's plan to end trail hunting - because it's not love of animals that drives them, it's something very ugly. 

Like Killing Your Parents And Demanding Clemency Because You're An Orphan...

The activists who hounded Baillie Gifford out of sponsoring the summer book festivals are now trying to back hastily away from the backlash they are facing, by trying the 'We won but we’ve just realised the consequences of winning. How can we blame our victim for this?' tactic:

Which is quite the bald-faced chutzpah, I think you'll agree, Reader?

“Our first priority is to our audience and our artists,” Hay’s chief executive, Julie Finch, said at the time. “Above all else, we must preserve the freedom of our stages and spaces for open debate and discussion, where audiences can hear a range of perspectives.”

Now you'll have to stump up the cash for that yourselves. Good luck!  

It's Not Just Medical Hurdles To Overcome Here...

Two children who were born deaf can now listen and dance to music after undergoing ground-breaking gene therapy. The treatment, given as an infusion into the ear, works by replacing faulty DNA which causes a type of inherited deafness known as DFNB9. Researchers hope a similar approach could help in other congenital cases of deafness – which account for 60 per cent of the 430 million cases worldwide.

Which should be a genuine 'good news story' but I bet there are those waiting in the wings to throw cold water on it for ideological purposes.  

In the world-first gene-therapy trial, five children in China – two girls and three boys, all around three years old – gained hearing in both ears. All five were able to hear and speak words and locate where a sound was coming from.But two showed more advanced improvements and were even able to respond to music, which has more complex sound signals. The latest results, reported in Nature Medicine, build on work the team carried out two years ago when they treated children in one ear.

I'm usually pretty good at seeing someone else's point of view even if I don't personally agree with it, but I cannot fathom the mindset of someone who not only refuses to acknowledge that their child is disabled, but actively resists attempts to fix the problem.

And why is it just this particular disability? Why is there no corresponding 'blind culture', or 'wheelchair culture'? 

The study's main author, Professor Zheng-Yi Chen, said: 'The results from these studies are astounding.

'We continue to see the hearing ability of treated children dramatically progress and the new study shows added benefits of the gene therapy when administrated to both ears, including improvements in speech recognition in noisy environments.'

Professor Chen, who is also an associate professor of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery – at Harvard Medical School in the US, added: 'Our ultimate goal is to help people regain hearing no matter how their hearing loss was caused.'

I wish you the best of luck with that, and I hope you're prepared for more than just the medical complications and roadblocks you'll face.  

He Was Determined To Keep That Appointment In Samarra...

A homeless man who was taken to a park by police to prevent him getting in a fight, was later 'stabbed by a teenager' with a broken vodka bottle, a court has heard. Milton Hurlington, 42, was dropped off at a park in Wembley, north London, on the evening of July 17 2023, by police, in the hope that he would stay out of trouble. Officers had been called twice that day to pick him up, following his aggressive behaviour towards a bus driver, and at a Lidl supermarket, the Old Bailey heard.

And he continued with the aggressive behaviour, but met someone equally antisocial.  

But after being left at King Edward VII park, Mr Hurlington allegedly verbally abused a group of young men. One of them allegedly smashed the victim's alcohol bottle then chased and fatally stabbed him in the right armpit, jurors were told. Wael Farroukh, 19, from Wembley, has denied Mr Hurlington's murder and having an offensive weapon.

NHI. 

'Understood' By Whom, Stevie Wonder?

This is the moment a crazed dog sinks its teeth into a pug and refuses to let go as bystanders attempt to halt the attack by fighting it off with a chair. Horrifying footage of the attack in Leith, Edinburgh, yesterday captured the moment the helpless pug wails in agony as it is mauled by a dog more than double its size. During the video, a group of five bystanders are seen trying to remove the dog's tight grip on the pug, but its strength proves too much.

Unsurprisingly, as it's yet another XL Bully type.

One man is heard shouting: 'Get off, I swear to god I'll kill it!' While the man filming the video can be heard saying: 'I knew that dog was f***ing trouble when I saw it... that's outrageous!'

Police in Scotland said they were aware of the attack but the dog has not been seized. They could not confirm the breed of the dog but it's understood that it is not an XL Bully.

Huh? If they know what it isn't, they must surely know what it is. And whatever breed it is, it's clearly a dangerous dog. In the keeping of someone who can't or won't control it. 

Last month, a woman suffered serious ­injuries after two XL bullies mauled her in a vicious attack, also in Leith. It came after two XL bully-type dogs killed a chihuahua in March and bit its owner’s shoulder in an incident in Glasgow. In the same month, two children were injured in a suspected XL bully attack in Ayrshire. Police also shot dead an XL bully-type animal earlier this year after it injured three people and another dog in East Kilbride.

Which was predicted when the SNP prevaricated over adopting the DDA's revision because their loathing of England far outweighed their love of Scottish people.  

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'Around 1.15pm on Monday, 3 June, 2024 officers were made aware a dog had bitten another dog in the Newkirkgate area of Edinburgh.

'There were no reports of anyone being injured during the incident.

'The owners of both dogs were traced and appropriate advice given.'

What 'advice' did you give the victim? Not to have a dog of prey size?  

Well Done....Now Let's See What The Other Part Of The Justice System Does!

Police want to return stolen mobile phones to their owners after recovering 24 that they believe were snatched in the City or West End on March 26.The appeal follows an arrest outside the Bank of England that day when City Police said they found the devices.

He presumably didn't have them on him at the time or he might have done down a bit harder, with a bit of luck.  

Sonny Stringer, a 28-year-old from Islington, has been charged with nine thefts, one robbery, dangerous driving and having no motor insurance. He has been remanded in custody to appear at Isleworth Crown Court on April 22.Two suspects were seen on camera riding electric motorcycles who police say were identified as phone snatchers. CCTV operators kept them on camera and alerted officers. One arrest was made.

If he won't name his fellow thief, he should be sentenced to double time. If, knowing our justice system, he sees any jail time at all,  

Thanks For Proving The Case Against, Beth...

She's an A level student in Cornwall, apparently, though the 'Guardian' neglects to tell us what subjects she's studying. 

Like many other young people across the country, I feel helpless when watching the actions of this government, knowing that I have no say over the decisions being made. Instead, we’re forced to watch older members of the public – especially the oldest, who turn out at the highest rate – cast their vote on what will ultimately impact us the most.

This is perhaps most stark in the case of global heating.

Well, I'm guessing it's not history or geography then, if she's swallowed the Great Green Delusion. Maybe she just wasn't paying attention in class? 

...we have to sit back and watch as the UK grants 100 oil and gas production licences for the North Sea, and as Rishi Sunak flies in a jet from Leeds to London, a journey that would only take about two hours by train.

But Beth, if we don't have a secure power generating capacity for the future, there's nothing more important for 'your generation's future' than that. Do you want to have no TikTok every time the wind doesn't blow? 

A voting age of 16 can already be seen in Scotland, where the outcome has been overwhelmingly positive.

Ha ha ha ha! 

Many young people see politics as boring and corrupt, and therefore waste their vote, meaning that their voice isn’t heard. Lowering the voting age to 16 would encourage political engagement, a vital part of democracy.

The Conservative party has consistently failed young people over the course of its 14 years in power, with more than 270,000 children waiting for mental health treatment...

Stop imagining that boys can become girls and vice versa and you might not have so many problems. 

In primary school, we are taught to speak up for ourselves, be curious and make our own decisions. Well, now is the time to practise what you preach, and let us have our say.

We expect you to have grown up and no longer have primary school attitudes, though. 

Can we take this little brat to school in the comments? Reader, we can not.... 

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

*sighs* 

Finally, They Are Learning!

Well, some of them, anyway.

A judge has asked for more information about a women's claims she had three heart attacks and cared for a blind husband - saying he does not believe 'a word' she says.

Unfortunatly, the story is behind a paywall, but we know the name's 'Horvathova' which is a Romani name, so the judge's unexpected scepticism is perhaps well founded. 

It could be this story, which despite being in the same paper, isn't behind a paywall:

Regina Horvathova, 48, was brought before Bolton Crown Court after spending money with a bank card that did not belong to her and handling stolen goods including a Mercedes.

But she could not be sentenced for her crimes because her failure to work with probation meant there was no report on her ready for the court.

Judge Eliot Knopf said: “I see what’s been said and I give her one last chance to comply with the process and if she doesn’t she will face the consequences for that.”

The 'consequences' being what?  

A Hit! A Palpable Hit!

Matt unerringly has his finger on the pulse...

Are You Drunk, 'Mail' Writers?

Because this is impressive even by your low standards! 

Sunday Funnies...

I'm puzzled as to why a people like the Aztecs needed to invent No 4....

It's A Mugshot, Not A Fashion Shoot!

What happened to make this her mugshot? I thought they had to be a fixed standard?

 

A young mother who kicked another woman in the face and stamped on her head has been jailed.

No pussy pass? That's a revelation!  

Charlotte Katie Unwin, 23, was twice given a chance to stay out of jail for the late-night street attack, York Crown Court heard. But now she is behind bars after the probation service twice sent her back to court for not carrying out Judge Simon Hickey’s order.

“I view your excuses with some scepticism,” the judge told her. “In my judgement it is not unjust to impose an immediate custodial sentence.

“People who stamp other people, particularly young women defenceless on the ground, usually go to prison.”

Not 'usually' enough! Bring on the excuses!  

For Unwin, Graham Parkin said she had seen a man who had intimidated her when attending unpaid work and probation appointments and so she had stopped coming. But the judge said she had not told the probation service about this man.

Because he never existed?  

Mr Parkin said Unwin had difficulties including post traumatic stress disorder because of treatment she had suffered. She had had problems in her childhood that had led to her using “extreme behaviour”.

“She has never had a life,” he said.

But she's no doubt made a lot of other lives a lot more miserable. 

Brooke Morrison, for the probation service, said Unwin had been given five extra days’ rehabilitative activities for breaching the suspended sentence conditions at a hearing in September 2023. For a time after the hearing she had worked with the probation service, but had not co-operated with the service or attended any appointments since the beginning of April. In total, she had only attended 35 appointments out of 82. She had provided acceptable explanations for 26 of the missed appointments, but not for 19 of them.

So it's off to jail, and I suspect, consequences for the first time in her life.  

You've Had Years To Do This...

More GP surgeries and diagnostic centres would be built under a future Conservative government funded by slashing the number of NHS managers, the Tories have said.

In their first major health offer of the General Election, the Conservatives have said they will bring more care services into the community.

...so I'd be a fool to believe you now, wouldn't I? 

Go Back To Flogging Kias, Bob!

Film actor Robert De Niro was scheduled to accept a leadership award from the National Association of Broadcasters, but the group has rescinded the award after the celebrity spoke out against Donald Trump outside his criminal trial in New York this week, the Hill and the Huffington Post report.

Whoops! Consequences rarely visit Hollywood's Golden Boys and Girls!  

A spokesperson for the group told The Hill on Thursday that their event was “proudly bipartisan” and said: “While we strongly support the right of every American to exercise free speech and participate in civic engagement, it is clear that Mr. De Niro’s recent high-profile activities will create a distraction from the philanthropic work that we were hoping to recognize. To maintain the focus on service of the award winners, Mr. De Niro will no longer be attending the event.”

And did he have anything to say for himself? 

In a statement to the Hill, De Niro did not protest the decision, and said he continued to appreciate the group.

Heh! He's expecting the award in the future when the fuss gies down. How brave.  

In his most biting comments, De Niro spoke of Trump through the lens of the largely Democratic city whose voters know Trump well and roundly rejected him at the polls. “We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot, a two-bit playboy lying his way into the tabloids,” he said. “A clown ... No one took him seriously. They take him seriously now.”

And he's now got a bigger chance of winning, thanks to the overreach of liberal morons like you, Bob. 

Four Years..?

...to bring in a verdict that anyone could have brought in a day after the event? 

A man armed with two knives who was shot dead by a City of London Police during lockdown was lawfully killed, a jury at an inquest has concluded. A Metropolitan Police officer Tasered and then fatally shot Hassan Yahya, 30, on March 8, 2020, in Northumberland Avenue as he moved towards the force HQ Great Scotland Yard. On Friday, a jury at the Inner West London Coroner's Court returned a verdict supporting the conclusion of the Met’s internal investigation that Yahya was lawfully killed.

Did they do nothing wrong? Well...

IOPC regional director Charmaine Arbouin said: "During the course of the officers' interactions with Mr Yahya, they made numerous attempts to apprehend him using non-lethal force - including multiple discharges of Taser over a five-minute period, which proved ineffective."

Just as with dangerous dogs, they wasted time trying to take him alive.  

It was later discovered that Yahya had been receiving treatment for mental health issues, but this was unknown to the police at the time.

And if it had been known, it shouldn't have changed a thing. 

Those Who Live By The Sword...

One TikTok video captioned 'my boy' shows the owner dancing in her kitchen with her dog and laughing. The overlaying audio hauntingly plays: 'This is my son, and I don't give a f*** if you think he looks aggressive.' Posted in December, the footage with the audio continues: 'I don't give a f*** if you don't like the look of him, and I certainly don't give a f*** if you think the breed should be banned.'

The videos are of foul-mouthed and dim Nicole Morey, 23, who was savaged to death by her 'boy' in Limerick after a night out celebrating her birthday, with horrified Garda who turned up having to shoot the hulking brute off her shredded corpse.

The harrowing incident was captured on CCTV, and the footage has been leaked online, with Gardaí urging the public not to share it.

I heard this rumour on Twitter, but I've not seen the video, and I'd urge anyone sent the footage not to view it. The Garda are right, I did see the video of Ian Price being mauled to death, and it's something I wish I could unsee. 

Ms Morey had previously posted on a dog behaviour Facebook group seeking advice on how to control the animal.

A quote from one of my favourite movies seems appropriate here: "You never had control, that's the illusion! I was overwhelmed by the power of this place. But I made a mistake, too, I didn't have enough respect for that power and it's out now." 

Reacting to the shocking news, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said she now favours banning certain breeds of dog in Ireland, including the XL Bully.

Just like Scotland. It always takes a hi-profile death in their own country to force these idiots in power to act. 

Currently no breeds are banned in Ireland, but there are restrictions on certain breeds - meaning owners must be over 16, the dogs must be muzzled in public, kept on strong leads or a chain and must wear collars at all times, containing the owners contact information. Asked if she wanted to see an outright ban, Ms McEntee told RTÉ News At One: 'Personally, I think there should be, yes.

'Where a dog is known to be potentially vicious… where there is a pattern of particular dogs, then we do need to go further here.

'This was in a person's home, so how do we protect people where they have dogs that are restricted, even within their own homes as well?

We don't, Helen. We let this problem solve itself.  

'This review group is looking at all of the options here.

'We need to ensure that nothing like this happens again, this is really, really devastating.'

It will happen again, as it already has in England, despite the ban. But now it's mostly happening to the people that own these wertched things, and not to innocent people in public areas.