When Did We Stop Listening To The Headshrinkers?

Because even they are aghast at the news that a school in Scotland is allowing one of its pupils to 'identify' as a wolf:

...clinical neuropsychologist Dr Tommy MacKay insisted last night: 'There is no such condition in science as 'species dysphoria'. It's not surprising that we are seeing this in an age when many people want to identify as something other than they are.

'Now we have a council which appears to accept at face value that a child identifies as a wolf, rather than being told to snap out of it and get to grips with themselves, which would be the common-sense approach.'

That's pretty refreshing. Are even the usual purveyors of woo getting fed up with how far people are taking things? 

The local authority said the pupil belonged to a group who called themselves 'furries' and identified with 'animal persona'. The council said it offered 'personal support' and 'more specific support' from a 'wellbeing worker', including counselling and help with learning, adding: 'There is very little specific guidance on species dysphoria.'

What sort of 'support' are they getting? Hopefully, they are being taught apart from any child who 'identifies' as a lamb? 

It explained that it followed Scottish government guidance called Getting It Right For Every Child (Girfec), and used a 'wellbeing wheel' to support pupils regardless of barriers to learning or challenges they face.

Time to take a leaf out of 'Game Of Thrones' and break the wheel! 

And Why Has It Gone Virtually Unnoticed By The MSM?

As cyber-attacks go, it could have been worse. In Nightsleeper, the new BBC thriller airing just after Transport for London revealed its systems had been breached, passengers are locked aboard as a train seized by hackers hurtles dangerously towards the capital. In real life, the troubles for TfL customers are far less dramatic. The actual physical transport services, the buses, trains and tubes – many of which are effectively remote-controlled – have been unaffected by its cyber-attack. But as TfL continues to tackle what it calls an ongoing incident – despite the recent arrest of a suspected perpetrator – the minor headaches are growing persistent.

I know, I suffer from one of them at the moment - one that's not mentioned here. Luckily, I found a helpful counter staff at my local who helped me top up my Oyster card at the machine on Thursday.

The impact on most consumers in the short term is they have less information; both in being able to check online journey histories or contactless payments, or view some live transport updates, now that TfL has cut feeds.

And it's rendered it impossible to top up your Oyster card online (which goes unmentioned as an issue here). But at least the 'Guardian' is writing about it...  

A spokesperson said there was currently no date set for when this information would be accessible again, “but we can assure customers that once it is available they will be able to see their full journey history and correct any incomplete journeys or maximum fares.”

Because they don't know? Are they admitting that? It's only going to become a bigger and bigger issue the longer it goes on:

A potentially bigger issue is developing for those who now cannot apply for discount Oyster photocards, including children’s Zip cards and the 60+ pass. Although TfL has advised bus drivers to allow children to travel free without current ID, there is no solution for older children travelling alone to swipe in to the tube network for the discounted fares. With a 95p flat tube fare for 10-15-year-olds, travelling at full adult rate could, for a child regularly travelling to school, add up to hundreds of pounds extra by Christmas.

So why isn't this a bigger story? Is it because not enough journalists travel by public transport? 

No one at TfL has yet put a date on the return of all systems.

It's an utter disgrace. 

Victim Blaming At The 'Guardian'...

He's talking about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, and what is subtext to start out with quickly becomes apparent:

The second apparent attempt on Donald Trump’s life – on Sunday at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida – occurred just over two months after he was wounded during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. “They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you,” the former president said after the first attempt. “I’m just standing in the way.”

“They” should not be coming after anyone. There is no place in a democracy for violence, nor for threats of violence.

Did you expect a 'but', there, Reader? It's there. It's just silent.  

Last weekend, two hospitals in Springfield were locked down after bomb threats, police said. Other threats received by Springfield officials have forced government buildings to close, two elementary schools to be evacuated and the students moved to a different location, and a middle school to shut down altogether. After Republican VP nominee JD Vance first began spreading baseless rumors about Haitians in Springfield, members of the neo-Nazi group “Blood Tribe” marched into the city carrying guns, wearing body armor, and carrying Neo-Nazi flags. At a 27 August town hall meeting, one claimed that the city had been taken over by “degenerate third worlders”, blamed Jewish people for the influx, and warned “crime and savagery will only increase with every Haitian you allow in.”

Springfield’s Haitian immigrants say they are afraid. Some have kept their children home from school, fearing violence. Others have reported harassment on the street, in their cars, and at stores.

They are the real victims, after all. No-one's shooting them, but they are getting angry glances and mean words and memes on social media, and that's just as bad!  

Trump and Vance are using the oldest of tyrannical ploys – fueling deep-seated fears by creating an “other”, depicted as subhuman, who “take over” towns and “devour” loved ones. In Springfield, the loved ones are peoples’ pets. But how far is this bogus claim from vicious Nazi claims of Jewish people devouring children? Substitute “Jew” for “Haitian” in Springfield or for “Venezuelan” in Aurora, and you’re back to the Nazis of the 1930s. In demonizing and dehumanizing migrants, Trump and Vance are not just seeking to win over a few wavering voters across the nation or making a play for control of the Senate. They are trying to scare America into becoming a more fearsome, more racist nation.

And what does that have to do with the assassination attempts? 

Let me repeat: there no justification whatsoever for violence or threats of violence in our democracy. While utterly despicable, Sunday’s second apparent assassination attempt on Trump can be seen as a symptom of the hate-filled politics that he and Vance are peddling. This must stop.

Subtext: 'He had it comin'..!' 

It's Always The Ones You Least Suspect...

The Head of Met's Black Police Association could be sacked over 'racist' WhatsApp messages. Inspector Charles Ehikioya, who has served for 26 years, has been accused of sending 'misogynistic, racist, violent and otherwise inappropriate' texts between 2017 and 2020. Insp Ehikioya, based in the professionalism command, is now facing being sacked without notice if the allegations are proven at an upcoming gross misconduct hearing.

Oh dear, another triumph for the Met Police's DEI programme.... 

The initial decision to bring forward the case in February triggered an immediate backlash from some within the force with calls for new ethnic minority recruits to boycott the Met until they can be 'adequately protected'.

Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, went to X/Twitter to call the allegations 'dubious' and that the case 'will show the corruption at play within the misconduct system'.

What exactly is it that Andy wants them 'protected' from, their own conduct? 

Why Not Cut It From All?

Robert Jenrick has said he would cut off aid from countries that do not take back people who fail in their asylum claims, as part of a package of measures designed to bolster his anti-immigration reputation in the final stages of the Tory leadership race.

Why not promise to junk it all, Robert? It's not as if you'll ever have to make good on the promise, because even if you win, the modern Tory party is a busted flush.

The announcement comes days before Tory members gather in Birmingham for the party’s annual conference, at which Jenrick and his fellow leadership contenders will give speeches and answer questions in what is likely to be a key moment in the race.

But it's hardly going to be as newsworthy as the recent Labour conference, no matter what happens. 

Jenrick said in a statement: “Illegal migration is placing intolerable pressure on our communities and the taxpayer. While the number of people here illegally has ballooned over the last 20 years, deportations have plummeted.

“The government must stop other countries exploiting our generosity by imposing severe visa restrictions and restricting foreign aid to countries that do not take back their nationals here illegally.”

You had 14 years in the Big House, why didn't you do any of this then? If you had, you might not be the Opposition today. 

I Thought It Took Two To Tango..?

A judge has told boxer Chris Eubank's son Joseph to 'reflect on your behaviour' after he was cleared of raping a 16-year-old girl near Brighton Pier.

The 27-year-old, of Hove, had previously denied attacking the drunk girl in a dark and secluded part of the beach on July 16, 2022. He instead said the teenager was 'completely happy' during the encounter and told jurors it was 'all very fluent and very consensual'.

And the jury clearly thought so too, though that didn't stop the judge from making her partisan comments: 

Today, he was found not guilty at Lewes Crown Court of two counts of rape. Speaking after the unanimous verdict, Her Honour Judge Christine Laing KC (Ed: Oh. Her...) told Mr Eubank he needed to reflect on his behaviour.

The judge told him: 'You need to think about your behaviour, Mr Eubank.

'You do have to reflect on your behaviour, it was not decent behaviour in any way, shape or form.'

But getting sozzled on vodka, having sex in public with a total stranger then running to the police to cry rape is, Christine? 

Streaming TV: Ms Marvel (Disney+)

Not a character I ever really read much about, when the trailers for this one debuted I was 'What?! Really..?'

But it worked! It was such a difference from the other Marvel offerings, and it really did have a charm all of its own. It introduced a community that didn't seem to feature anywhere else in the genre too, parts of New York that didn't get much screen time, and above all, it was fun. 

Now Suddenly They Are Concerned About Wasting Taxpayers' Money?

It's never usually been much of a concern...

English-speaking patients are being pushed to the back of the queue in waiting rooms at NHS hospitals in favour of patients who need an interpreter, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Imperial College Healthcare, an NHS Trust with five hospitals across north-west London, prioritises patients who have been assigned an interpreter. The trust's aim is to avoid additional charges from the interpreting service.

One way to do that would be to stop it altogether. No speakee da English? No treatee here!  

It is unclear whether NHS trusts nationwide take this approach, but last night it sparked a row, with Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick claiming the approach lets down British NHS patients. The former immigration minister told The Mail on Sunday: 'Brits are already waiting too long for treatment. The last thing they should be subjected to is the indignity of being pushed to the back of the queue.

'This is yet more evidence of the pressure mass migration places on our public services and the difficulties integrating such unprecedented numbers.

The mass migration that happened under the 14 years your party was in office, Robert? 

'Non-English speakers shouldn't be given a queue pass.'

They shouldn't be here sponging off the NHS in the first place!  

Television doctor Sarah Jarvis said: 'I do understand the rationale in terms of reducing costs to the NHS. I would much prefer vulnerable patients to be prioritised.

'This is not prioritising on the basis of clinical need, which is what doctors believe in.'

Not all doctors, Sarah. 

From The Council That Brought Us 'The Empty Box'...

,,,it's another triumph of wasted money:

The Chantry Centre multi-storey car park in Andover has reopened after a car struck a wall in the Shopmobility area. The incident occurred on Sunday morning (September 15) and Test Valley Borough Council immediately closed the car park amid safety concerns.

 

That bumper barrier did a great job of stopping it, didn't it? And three days to declare it safe?

H/T: Ian J via email

'Get Orf Moi Land!'

A brother and sister are at war with their local council after erecting an illegal fence through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

No, not the usual red-faced Farmer Giles type this time: 

Urusa Ahmed and her brother Syed triggered a dispute in July 2021 when, without planning permission, they erected a fence around their two acre woodland plot that blocked public footpaths. The pair went on to illegally install large security gates and have erected several structures, including a large dwelling-type building with windows and a livestock shed, at the woodland site they own near Chesham, Bucks.

After missing Buckinghamshire Council's order to take the fence down by November 2022 , the case was upgraded to 'a criminal offence'.

But the dispute has boiled over in recent months as locals, furious at what they claim is council inaction over the saga, have taken the law into their own hands and smashed large sections of the fence down. The attacks came to a head on Tuesday when police were called in after two men armed with a sledgehammer were caught hacking down the fence.

You'd hope, would you not, Reader, that a Muslim couple breaking the law to keep people away from their secluded land would attract the attention of the security services. What are they hiding? 

Urusa told MailOnline: 'Everybody has the right, it is a human right, to fence off your land, especially when people are trespassing.

'The land is like everywhere else! There is a sheep farm next to it, it has fences, the farm behind us has fences, opposite us has fences, next to us has fences.

'Now tell me one good reason why the council will not allow us to have fences? What's the difference between us and the rest of the people here?

'Why can't people have livestock in agricultural land, and if you have livestock, how can you expect us to protect them.

'There are men coming in with dogs, big dogs, deliberately trying to intimidate me.'

There are laws in this country and everyone is expected to abide by them. If you want to live in a different country, where the laws are different or non-existant, Heathrow's thataway!   

50% Accuracy In The Headline...

It follows an incident in Barking town centre on November 8, 2022 where the 94-year-old victim was approached by suspects who stole his wallet whilst he was hugged as part of a distraction robbery.

Det Sgt Sarah Osborne, of the Met’s East Area Command, said: “Muresan targeted the victim because he was elderly and vulnerable – a decision that ended his life and placed Muresan behind bars.

“The victim had lived in Barking for more than 30 years.”

There's no way this man is 'a Dagenham man', is there?

Police enquiries continue in a bid to identify Muresan's associates.

Add an extra year on his sentence for each one he fails to identify. And deport the lot.