A License To Rob

At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask...

Thousands of drivers could have speeding fines cancelled after a fault saw some cameras falsely triggered on English motorways and A roads. And tens of thousands of drivers will have speed awareness courses cancelled as the government orders National Highways to look back at six years of speed camera data.

What about those who have already been on the course? Shouldn't they be compensated for their wasted time?  

Affected drivers will be contacted by police and be reimbursed for any fines while points will be removed from their licences where needed.

Police forces are also thought to be discontinuing thousands of other prosecutions, regardless of whether they were affected by the issue.

Remember this when someone next tells you 'the State works for you, comrade!' 

National Highways apologised for the error. "Safety is our number one priority," said chief executive Nick Harris.

Should have been accuracy instead.  

National Highways, which runs England's motorways, blamed an "anomaly" in how variable speed cameras were interacting with signs on some A roads and motorways. It meant a delay of around 10 seconds between cameras and relevant variable speed signs, meaning some drivers were incorrectly identified as speeding after the limit had changed. So on a road where the speed limit increases, a driver may see a sign saying 60mph, but the camera recording it may still be working on the basis of a previous 40mph speed limit.

Government IT folks... 

Until The Reply Is 'But Miss, It's All In The Koran'....

Schools are expected to solve social problems yet again...

Teachers will be given training to spot the signs of misogyny and tackle it in the classroom as part of the government's long-awaited strategy to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade. The plans - which focus on preventing the radicalisation of young men - are due to be unveiled on Thursday, after being pushed back three times this year.

Because the government thinks that a fraction of a school day is sufficient to overcome whatever you've picked up over a lifetime of home and religious indoctrination. I'm kidding, no-one in this government thinks at all. It's performative theatre. Starmer watched 'Adolescence' and thought it was a documentary.

We all know what's going to happen the first time the Muslims kick off about it, don't we? There's already a teacher who could tell us all, if he wasn't in hiding...

Pupils will be taught about issues such as consent, the dangers of sharing intimate images, how to identify positive role models, and to challenge unhealthy myths about women and relationships. The £20m package will also include a new helpline for teenagers to get support for concerns about abuse in their own relationships.

Will it include a helpline for the teachers too? They are going to need it.  

Under the new plans, schools will send high-risk students to get extra care and support, including behavioural courses to tackle their prejudice against women and girls.

The demographics of these courses are going to prove interesting... 

In response to the government plans, some teachers said schools were already doing the kind of work the measures outlined. "While we welcome any initiative that prioritises healthy relationships and consent education, it's important to recognise that schools like Beacon Hill Academy in Dudley have been delivering this work effectively for years," Principal Sukhjot Dhami said.

Dudley, eh? I think it's too late for most of the population. 

"But If You Fancy It, Just Be Someone Else Instead..."

🗣️ "Just be yourself, do whatever you like to do. Just love the game."

🇳🇱 Noa-Lynn van Leuven sends message to LGBTQ+ community after qualifying for the World Championship for the second straight year.

In association with @StarSports_Bet #WCDarts pic.twitter.com/fLfCaox4o3

— Oche180 (@Oche180) December 15, 2025

Strange way to 'love the game' by playing in a category you know full well you don't belong in. 

Predictably, the cult members are up in arms at what they perceive as unfair criticism, claiming - like chess and other non-physical sports - that he has no competitive advantage over a real woman, but is that the point, he's still taking away the chance for a woman to have a place by co,peting in the wrong category, isn't he?  

H/T Graham Linehan via Twitter

Now Do All The Other Organisations....

....because they are all at it!

Arts Council England has been accused of abandoning artistic excellence in favour of bureaucratic box-ticking after a damning review found it was attempting to 'change society' rather than support great art.

It's hardly the only institution to have been captured, is it? We know the Left's MO, don't we? 

1. Identify a respected institution.

2. kill it. 

3. gut it. 

4. wear its carcass as a skin suit, while demanding respect.;

The watchdog, which hands out more than £450million a year in public funding, came under fire in a report by Baroness Hodge, the former Labour culture minister, who was asked to examine how the quango distributes its money. Baroness Hodge wrote that she felt the initiative led to organisations feeling forced to 'tick all the ACE boxes to secure funding', and suggested the strategy be replaced with 'a new, less prescriptive' model. Her review concluded that the organisation had drifted away from its founding purpose, with evidence suggesting that art itself had been pushed into the background.

That was the point of it, Hodge.  

A Dreadful Familiarity...

That's what struck me about the Bondi Beach terrorist massacre, as I read about it over brerakfast in York at the weekend. All the hallmarks we have come to expect fromn the attack itself to the aftermath and the authorities scrambling to excuse their own part in allowing it to happen...

The alleged gunmen were a 50-year-old, who was shot by police and died at the scene, and his 24-year-old son, who suffered critical injuries and was taken to hospital under police guard where he remained on Tuesday. The 24-year-old was in a coma but regained consciousness on Tuesday, NSW police confirmed. Media have identified them as Naveed Akram and his father, Sajid Akram. Naveed Akram is an Australian-born citizen, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said. His father arrived in 1998 on a student visa, transferred in 2001 to a partner visa and, after trips overseas, had been on resident return visas three times. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the son first came to the attention of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) in October 2019. He was examined “on the basis of being associated with others”. New South Wales police and the director general of Asio, Mike Burgess, said one of the shooters was known to authorities, “but not in an immediate threat perspective”.

Muslims, taken in by a country and repaying it with slaughter, coming to the notice of the authorities but crucially, never enough enough notice to prevent their murderous hatred from finding expression, bevause of that peculiar sensitivity rtowards this murderous cult that infests every Western government. And then the police, arriving too late to do any good, as always. Ah, yes, the police:

 

As if that's supposed to help...

Some witnesses have suggested police were too slow to disarm the two gunmen, who killed 15 people and injured dozens in Australia's most famous beach on Sunday. "There are two officers in critical care... at the moment," Chris Minns said after sustained questioning from reporters. "They weren't shot in the back as they were running away. They were shot in the front."

The point being they shouldn't have been shot at all. Aren't we always told we have no need to protect ourselves, because a paid and professional force stands ready to do it for us? Yet how often it seems that's worse than useless when it comes to the crunch.

Well, Rev, You Know What They Say Happens When You Assume

Letters in tthe 'Guardian' can be illuminating. Here's one from Rev Dr Michael Fox:

Twenty years ago, while making a documentary on politics for the Open University, I interviewed a group of 15-year-olds at a school in Moss Side, Manchester. The school had selected a mixed group of children, half identifying as white British, half as second-generation immigrant. Against my expectations, when discussing immigration, the children of immigrants strongly expressed views similar to those now espoused by Ms Mahmood. “The country is full,” one of them said. I assumed at the time that the children were reflecting the views and language of their parents, with such factors in play as a desire to “fit in” their host country and to identify with the perceived values of their neighbours, a kind of “self-othering” as a natural response to the trauma of migration. Conversely, the white British children were open and accepting of immigrants.

Oh dear, how awkward, Rev! But why, apart from the obvious, did you assume it would be different? 

As a (non-Conservative) son-in-law of a former Conservative home secretary, the late Robert Carr, who took the decision to admit refugees from Idi Amin’s Uganda in 1972, I have always found it unthinkable that some more recent Tory holders of that office have abandoned the compassion he personified in favour of a “drawbridge” mentality.

A drawbridge is something you pull up when you're under attack, Rev... 

A Warning, If You're Considering Donating Your Body To Medical Science...

 ...which my father did, and his father befote him. It's well handled, the service they throw every year for the relatives to attend is very thankful, and you have the warm feeling that you are in some way helping medical science make advances.

Well, think again:

Yes, this is the US, but who'd want to bet some Dr Frankenstein isn't trying the same thing over here. So uncle Frank's cadaver may not be training the next intake of lifesaving A&E surgeons after all, but rather assisting an NHS plastic surgeon to make uncle Arthur a more superficially authentic 'woman'.

The Only Surprise Here Is It's Not The Met!

 If you were asked, it would be a toss up between the Met or the WMP, the two worst police forces in the land:

A police chief has been told to go back to Parliament amid claims he provided 'shoddy evidence' while explaining the decision behind a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attending an Aston Villa match last month.

The Home Affairs Select Committee has written to West Midlands Chief Constable Craig Guildford to provide 'further evidence' amid claims he misled MPs when he appeared in front of the committee on December 1. 

Daily Mail understands it is the first time a Chief Constable has been recalled to Parliament in this way.

You'd think they'd be more competent liars, at least wouldn't you? Or is it all just a publicity stunt?

Ruining Every Aspect Of The Justice System...

 ...that seems to be David Lamentable's real goal:

Childhood criminal records could be wiped under plans being considered by David Lammy. The Justice Secretary is considering simplifying the current system to prevent people from being affected by petty crimes in later life. It comes after evidence showed that people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s still had offences of street fighting and bike thefts in their youth disclosed to employers.

So not content with plans to ensure the safeguard of a jury of your peers isn't available to you in the future, he wants to ensure that employers can't avoid hiring people they wouldn't hire if they knew their background? 

Rachel de Souza, the Children's Commissioner, previously said judges should have the power to wipe criminal records of people who had 'done their time' for silly crimes committed as a child. Last year a 13-year-old girl admitted to threatening violent behaviour after she kicked a glass door at an asylum hotel. The offence will stay on her record for life and will be disclosed if she works in a job with children.

As it should be, no doubt. In modern Britain, being less than welcoming of the new Predator Classes is the greatest crime of all, isn't it? So much so that the filth will hunt YOU down if you object too strongly:.

so basically what I’m gathering from this is that a brown guy was harassing three women, they lashed out because they wanted him to go away, and now they’re being hunted by the police for doing a racism because they wouldn’t let the brown guy harass them endlessly pic.twitter.com/2t1kOcv0vC

— pagliacci the grinch 🎄🎁 (@Slatzism) December 11, 2025

Tell Us Again How Diverse Students Are The Key To The NHS, Labour...

 ...we need to keep hearing it as the evidence against mounts up and up:

A newly qualified doctor who pocketed £10,000 in benefits while studying medicine has been suspended from treating patients. Dr Ramkali Kaur, 28, illegally claimed housing benefit, income support and carer's allowance for two years while completing her five-year degree at Queen Mary University of London.

And when she was caugght bang to rights, she simply hastily donned the Cloak of Victimhood!

She later lied about the fraud to a senior consultant and attempted to shift the blame onto an 'overbearing' female relative, alleging the woman promised to cancel her welfare claims but instead let them run on and even intercepted her post.

Yeah, yeah, tell us another one… 

A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service panel has now found her guilty of misconduct and suspended her for four months, despite her protestations that she had been the victim of family pressure and financial hardship.

In her evidence, Kaur told of her upbringing in a deprived area of Birmingham and how she had been the only one in her family to be accepted into a 'prestigious and highly competitive' Grammar School.

A ‘deprived’ area, eh? 

For the GMC Ms Lousie Cowen said: 'Dr Kaur's conduct was of a repeated nature and showed a reckless disregard for professional standards. Her dishonesty was significant and she has provided only limited evidence of remediation, having not attended any courses on probity.'

Would any courses have workedon someone like this anyway? 

But Kaur's counsel Mr Andrew Faux said: 'This is a young doctor from very challenging background who has clearly made mistakes and had to grow up very quickly in the face of those mistakes.She then put her head in the sand and hoped things would go away, a response that continued through until the meeting in October 2022. The risk of Dr Kaur repeating her actions is low.''

Just the sort of attitude you want in a doctor - just ignore reality and ir'll go away! 

Handy, If You've Got A Paper Car!

 

Spuotterd at this advert.

H/T: Dave Ward via email

Sunday Funnies...

 If I'd starred in some of these disasters, I'd make sure my agent got me a part that was hard to identify too!

How Refreshing (At First)!

A coroner has warned that a social media clamour for selfies and videos could be contributing to fatal road collisions - after hearing how two teenagers died in a crash caused by a fellow sixth former as he drove them home from school.

Oh! Not anyone else's fault for a change? Not the car manufacturer, or local road maintenance firm? 

Matilda Seccombe, 16, and 17-year-old Harry Purcell were killed when the Ford Fiesta they were passengers in collided with an oncoming Fiat at 64mph while being driven by pal Edward Spencer. Another boy, Frank Wormald, 16, also died in the horror smash, which took place in April 2023 just six weeks after Spencer had passed his driving test. After Spencer, who was 17 at the time, pleaded guilty to three counts of causing death by careless driving earlier this year, prosecutors told Warwick Crown Court he had a history of 'showing off' behind the wheel. The court also heard he had a 'history of bad driving' since he passed his test, evidenced by social media posts and videos.

Ah, well, there you go. No doubt he'll be suitably punished?  

The farmers' son, of Newbold on Stour, Warwickshire, was sent to a young offenders' institution for two years, as well as being handed an eight-year driving ban and told he must take an extended driving test when he applies for his licence back.

Oh, I forgot - in this judicial system, killing people with your car is the best way of getting away virtually scott free... 

Ms Lee told Coventry Coroner's Court that she may write to the government and insurance industry bodies to highlight issues raised by the tragedy. But she was urged by solicitor Patrick Maguire, representing Harry's family, to consider contacting social media companies, after he referenced the videos showing Spencer's dangerous driving. Mr Maguire told the hearing similar footage from other drivers existed online, and suggested social media firms may have a 'duty to take this material down' as it 'subconsciously validates and encourages others to copy that driving'.

Blame the tool that allows you to post footage of yourself being a tool, and not the tools driving like idiots = that's modern life all right. 

'I'm from the Travelling community.'

 Oh, is that supposed to be an excuse for going on a rampage in the West End last Christmas, killing one man and bringing terror to all the others? Or is it a coded pleas for clemency? 

He said he was 'not a madman' and his brain must not have been 'in the right state' because he had been attacked.

Yes, he mowed down innocent pedestians returning from church and evenings out but it's totes OK, because he's a victim!  

Mr Aylett KC told jurors Gilheaney has six convictions for dangerous driving between 2012 and 2023 and two for driving whilst disqualified. Gilheaney said: 'I've been disqualified for as long as I can remember in my whole life since I was ever old enough, or before the age, to own a driving licence. I have been disqualified since the age of 14.'

Thus proving what use a disqualification that tsn't monitored for compliance is worth in our justice system. 

Gilheaney, of Harlow, Essex, denies murder and three counts of attempted murder following the collision in Shaftesbury Avenue, shortly after midnight on December 25. He also denies wounding with intent for getting out of his car and attacking a man. He admits dangerous driving, causing death by driving whilst disqualified and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

And so we waste more taxpayer cash and jurors' time.... 

'To say that the defendant had been driving like a maniac is simply a gross understatement,' Mr Aylett KC said. 'Instead, he was using his car as a weapon.'

Cops who went to this incident must have feared an Islamist attack. So why wasn't he shot at the scene by the armed polivce that were sent, thus saving the taxpayer the farce of a trial?  

If It Was Up To The CPS, You Wouldn't Even Know Their Names...

That thing that 'never happens' according to the left-wingers and the delusional refugee=coddlers has happened again:

Afghans Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal, both 17, had arrived only months earlier in small boats before assaulting the 15-year-old in a park on May 10.

Phone footage captured by the victim was so appalling that even one of the boy's own barristers warned it would lead to 'disorder' if 'the general public were exposed' to it.

No wonder the bleeding hearts are getting worried.

In the distressing three-minute clip, the girl could be heard crying 'you're going to rape me' as she was dragged away from where she had been drinking with friends in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The footage, played at Warwick Crown Court yesterday, also showed her weeping, screaming 'help' and begging not to be taken to the park.She was forced to perform a sex act on the boys in a secluded area, before she escaped and filmed more clips describing her ordeal. The girl was eventually found by a passer-by who took her to a nearby police station, where officers were able to obtain vital forensic evidence.

The CPS didn't want to name them: 

Jailing Jahanzeb for ten years and eight months, and Niazal for nine years and ten months, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano also accepted a legal challenge mounted by the Daily Mail which means they can be named for the first time.

But don't start praising the judge just yet. You've yet to hear her true concern about the impsct of this crime... 

She said they had 'betrayed the interests' of genuine refugees and 'should feel a deep and lasting sense of shame'.

It takes a breathtaking lack of awareness to state this as a valid concern and a reason for shame, rather than considering the impact on the actual child victim, but we should welcome it as a true peek under the mask of the modern judiciary, and a reminder that their interests ans concerns are so often these days not those of the country, or thei fellow couyntrymen.

The asylum seekers were living in taxpayer-funded houses at the time of the attack, having arrived in the UK by small boats. The boys admitted the attack in October. Jahanze faces deportation, but Niazal does not, as he pleaded guilty a day before turning 17 – too young to qualify.

His barrister made the extraordinary suggestion this would allow the younger of the two rapists to 'make a life for himself in this country' when he is eventually released. The judge later confirmed during her sentencing that she would recommend that the Home Secretary considers deporting both Jahanzeb and Niazal.

If we really do see the back of this pair after they serve whatever of their sentence the Prison systems sees fit, no-one will be more surprised than me. After all, they weren't even remanded in custody after admitting thair crime.

I Thought We Were Short Of Court Time?

Yet we apparently have time to waste on snowflake slebs' hurt feelings:

That brings our coverage of today's sentencing hearing to an end - thank you for joining us. To recap: Former foootballer Joey Barton has been given a suspended prison sentence for creating grossly offensive social media posts aimed at broadcaster Jeremy Vine and pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.

Hardly a valid use of court time, I feel. Unless he made threats to harm them, it was something that should have been dealt with purely via the complaints procedure of the social media apps in question. So did he make death threats?  

His trial heard he had "crossed the line between free speech and a crime" with six posts on X including comparing Aluko and Ward to serial killers Fred and Rose West, and calling Vine a "bike nonce". Barton, originally of Huyton, Merseyside, was jailed for six months but told his sentence would be suspended for 18 months.

That's it!? No wonder Vine and the others went squealing to the police, that wouldn't have even been covered by the media company complaints systems - they'd have simply been told to block him and ignore him. But thatwouldn't have sat well with the egos of these people, who are used to support systems that prevent them ever hearing what people really think of them, and they have people who know just what you need to say to get the useless police on your side:

In victim impact statements read to court on Monday, Vine called Barton "a small man who feeds off the pain of others"; Ward said she was "constantly afraid"; while Aluko said she was "humiliated"

None of those things justifies arrest and trial of Barton. Even if we weren't so short of court time that a moron is considering overthrowing centuries of our judicial safeguards.. 

Just going back over the judge's sentencing comments, it is clear that Andrew Menary KC was keen to talk about where the boundaries lie in the freedom of speech debate. He told Joey Barton: "Robust debate, satire, mockery and even crude language may fall within permissible free speech.

"But when posts deliberately target individuals with vilifying comparisons to serial killers or false insinuations of paedophilia, designed to humiliate and distress, they forfeit their protection.  

As the jury concluded, your offences exemplify behaviour that is beyond this limit - amounting to a sustained campaign of online abuse that was not mere commentary but targeted, extreme and deliberately harmful."

Absolute bollocks. 

Methinks He Doth Protest Too Much...

The jury, which was chaired by Alex Farquharson, the director of Tate Britain, commended Kalu's 'bold and compelling work' and praised the 'lively translation of expressive gesture' in the abstract sculpture and drawing. He added that her win was based purely on merit, saying: 'The result wasn't about wanting, first and foremost, to give the prize to Nnena as the first neurodiverse artist. That wasn't a driving factor. 'It was interest in, and a real belief in, the quality and uniqueness of her practice, which is inseparable from who she is.'

Sure, sure, we believe you, don't we, Reader? 

Hollinshead also said that Kalu has faced discrimination for her learning disability, where she has limited verbal communication, which continues to this day. 'Hopefully this award smashes that prejudice away,' she said, before adding: 'As Nnena is such a superstar, has worked so hard and has made history, she is ready to accept the call from the Palace about her Damehood.'

Don't laugh, the nomination's probably being written as I type this... 

Cover Me! 'We Have All The Time In The World'

Another old favourite that I thought would never be bettered to finish off the year, it's Elbow's rendition of the classic Louis Armstrong Bond song, 'We Have All The Time In The World'...

Just missing out on inclusion of this list, by virtue of being released in March after I'd already drawn it up, was Justin Heyward & Mike Batt's cover of 'Life In A Northern Town'...

New Ways To Tell Everyone That You're A Snowflake Who Can't Handle Life

Are you overly sensitive to rejection? Do you take it particularly hard when you’re criticised, playing the moment over and over again in your head? Are you constantly on the lookout for mild disapproval from others? If so, you might have Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria.

Or you might just be a terrible human being who cannot cope with life… 

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or “RSD”, is just one of the latest buzzwords that has become associated with autism and ADHD following the uptick in diagnoses for both conditions. Between 2019 and 2023, there was a fivefold increase in the number of open suspected autism referrals in the UK, while prescriptions for ADHD medication saw a 51 per cent increase over this same time period, according to the Nuffield Trust.

But we mustn’t sneer at this and consider it to be a case of people being eager to gain a tick in the box, even if the Health Secretary has his doubts too! 

As awareness increases (or overdiagnosis, depending on your view), the standard ADHD or autism diagnosis has become insufficient for some sufferers, who are seeking more niche subsections of the condition they can identify with. RSD, for example, is understood to be an extreme emotional sensitivity to rejection or criticism. It’s a fairly recent addition to the mental health lexicon, having been coined by psychiatrist William Dodson in the 2010s.

Of course, one everyone has it, you’re not special any more and have to find something else.

An equally popular cluster of ADHD/autism symptoms is Pathological Demand Avoidance, aka PDA, which is when an individual experiences an extreme resistance to doing something that is requested or expected of them. This can include anything from big tasks to everyday demands, like the mere act of going to work, as per the UK-based PDA Society, which defines PDA as “a determined avoidance of so-called ‘common’ demands of life.” Despite PDA being coined by psychologist Elizabeth Newson in the 1980s, it’s important to note that neither of these terms is included in formal diagnostic systems.

But they are proliferating in the places these people go to find validation of course: 

That hasn’t stopped them from taking root on TikTok, where users are embracing the terms with open arms.

’Users’ being a very apposite term for these people… 

Why Do Actions Never Match Words?

A woman savagely “battered” her own dog to death with a saucepan after stumbling home drunk from a party. Jordanna Wheeler, 29, whacked the bull mastiff so hard the pan was left buckled before she passed out on her sofa.

She's a tiny little thing, it rather beggars belief she managed it. Yet she was found bang to rights.

Cops found the pet dead on its bed in her filthy Swansea flat along with the “severely deformed” saucepan she used in the attack still covered in dog hair.

Wales again!

Prosecutor Dean Pulling said Wheeler later tried to “manipulate” mental health staff into sectioning her once she realised what she had done. She told a nurse she’d been out partying before she “woke up on the sofa covered in spew”.

And only when she came around did she discover “I had battered him to death”. The nurse said she showed “no remorse”.

Judge Geraint Walters said the public would be “outraged” and blasted her.“In this case, this is about as savage an attack on an animal by a person as I have ever heard.”

Quite right, so she's looking at a few months in chokey? 

He spared her jail, handing her a 16-month sentence suspended for 18 months and banning her from keeping animals for ten years.

*sighs* 

Oh No, Real People! Help, Help, I Feel Unsafe!

A BBC 'journalist' encounters real people's views:

We were filming an interview on the outskirts of a public park in Falkirk when a woman approached. "Can I just ask why you're encouraging these men to sit in this park?" she asked while recording the exchange on her phone. The man we were speaking to for our latest Disclosure documentary was living in a nearby asylum hotel, where angry protests had been taking place since the summer. The woman said men from the hotel had been following local children, and asked us to take our interview elsewhere.

Oh dear, not the hero's welcome for supporting refugees this BBC wonk expected? 

At this point, a group of asylum seekers who we hadn't noticed playing football nearby appeared over the hill. She told me it was my fault they were there and if "anything happens here, you've got it on your head".The woman uploaded her video to the internet. It was viewed millions of times after being shared by right wing influencers such as Tommy Robinson. She was hailed a hero for standing up for women and children. I was deluged with abuse and warned that I should stay out of Falkirk.

LOL! 

I don't believe my interview with this man, who later withdrew consent for its use, put anyone in danger. But this encounter, and its aftermath, gave me perhaps the sharpest insight yet into the fear some within the town - and beyond – have about asylum seekers in their communities.

It doesn't sound much as if you really learned why that  situation existed, but the folk of Falkirk did their level best to school you... 

Asylum seekers are not generally permitted to work while their claims are being processed and get an allowance of £1.42 a day to live on. With free meals, accommodation and no bills to pay, it sticks in the throats of some. Kevin, a regular protester, told me: "They're getting telly, they're getting warmth, they're getting clothing, they're getting phones, they're getting free healthcare and if you think that's right in our country right now, I don't."

Who could possibly think this was a sensible state of affairs, or one that can be sustained for too long without a backlash from the population forced to pay to give invaders a better lifestyle than they themselves can afford? 

The Cladhan was once a favoured place for wedding receptions, anniversaries and birthday parties. No warning was given or consultation held with the local community that up to 90 asylum seekers were going to be housed here in 2021.

Of course they weren't consulted, they knew what the answer would be!  And they knew why that would be the answer...

Former Cladhan resident Sadeq Nikzad, from Afghanistan, was jailed in June for the rape of a 15-year-old local girl. Sarah Jane Waugh, part of the Falkirk Pink Ladies group which wants the hotel closed, told us it "killed me to know that that girl's life was ruined". "We shouldn't be walking about in fear," she added.

No, you shouldn't, Do you think the local council executives are walking about in fear? They should be - fear of ther almighty backlash that is coming! 

There is a feeling among some, perhaps based in part on perceptions around how other cultures treat women, that asylum seekers are more likely to carry out sex attacks. Part of Nikzad's legal defence was that he didn't understand what was and was not allowed due to cultural differences between the UK and Afghanistan.

It can hardly be said to be just a 'perception' when everyone can see exactly how women are treated in these alien cultures when they open their morning newpaper... 

Some Good News Finally!

The upmarket bakery chain Gail’s is planning 40 more outlets after sales rose by a fifth last year as it opened 36 new bakeries and sales to supermarkets increased.

Hurrah! I love Gail's, I hope one opens nearer me than Wanstead or Central London! 

Speaking at a conference organised by Propel this month, Tom Molnar, who co-founded Gail’s 20 years ago, said the business was “still early in our growth”. He said: “We do have a lot of bakeries now, but it took 20 years to get there. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t very fast. Twice, we had to stop growing altogether, because we didn’t think that we could be better; we were worried about getting consumed by speed. We’re still early in our growth. You take McDonald’s, Greggs or any other successful food business here in the UK – they operate from thousands of sites, and we’re still below 200.”

Yes, because people don't appreciate quality and don't want to pay what it costs. They'd rather eat cheap - which is why Greggs ans McDonalds are so ubiquitous on every high street. 

The rapidly expanding chain has become an unlikely political bellwether – used by the Liberal Democrats to help identify areas where voters might be ready to switch from the Conservatives.

Eh?  

Its expansion has also spurred local protests, including a heated one in Walthamstow, east London, where a petition to stop a Gail’s opening was signed by hundreds of residents. A new branch in Brighton was spray-painted with the world “boring” and a large image of a penis, according the local newspaper the Argus.

Who could possibly object to a bakery? 

Whether We, The Readers, Would Buy Them Is The Real Issue Though

Waterstones would stock books created using artificial intelligence, the company's boss has said, as long as they were clearly labelled, and if customers wanted them.

And if customers won't buy them, there's no point in stocking them. 

However, James Daunt, a veteran of the bookselling industry, said he personally did not expect that to happen. "There's a huge proliferation of AI-generated content and most of it are not books that we should be selling," he said, but added it would be "up to the reader".

It's ALWAYS up to the reader, in the end. 

Daunt, who is heading into his 36th Christmas season in the book trade, said Waterstones' success had been built on handing more control to individual store managers to serve their own communities. "Head office is there to make life easier," he said. "Make sure the books that they order turn up on time, but do not tell [managers] where to put them."

And that can be a two-edged sword, with managers going rogue because they can, and damaging Waterstones' reputation.

A report published last month by the University of Cambridge , found that more than half of published authors feared being replaced by AI. Two-thirds also said their work had been used without permission or payment to train the large language models which lie behind generative AI tools. But some writers use AI themselves, especially for research, and AI tools are being used to edit novels, and even produce full-length works.

I look forward to one of my favourite author's takes on this... 

'Not Over', Nesrine? When Did It Ever Actually Start?

A “dangerous illusion that life in Gaza is returning to normal”, is how Amnesty International’s secretary general, Agnès Callamard, described this post-ceasefire period. Israeli authorities have reduced attacks and allowed some aid into Gaza, she said, but “the world must not be fooled. Israel’s genocide is not over.”

The 'genocide that never was', you mean? The 'genocide ' that the Israils aren't carrying out, or the one Hamas itself is doing it's level best to slip though the fog of war, unnoticed by the MSM?

Finger On The Pulse As Ever...

...eh, Matt?

Freudian Slip, 'Evening Standard'?

                                         

Essex Police began an investigation after his ex made a complaint several weeks ago that he allegedly attempted to rape her during their relationship.

Sunday Funnies...

 I'd be very wary of disturbing whatever's at No 12...or No 9 for that matter!  

All The Usual Suspects, Francine?

Shilling for an Afghan refugee in the States, Ali Faqirzada, she tries to bolster her appeal by telling us who else supports it.

Among his advocates are Leon Botstein, president of Bard College and himself a refugee from the Nazis, who has stated that wisest course in such situations is to be as vocal – to make as much noise – as possible. Others who have spoken out on Faqirzada’s behalf include the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, Congressman Pat Ryan, a Democrat of New York, the communities of New Paltz and Stone Ridge, New York, and the Episcopal bishop Matthew Heyd, who led a vigil in November outside Delaney Hall.

A long list of the usual suspects, inveterate bleeding hearts who are ideologically wedded to refugee status or/and rich enough not to have to live with the fallout from same. 

The merits of Ali’s case and the sheer absurdity of the suggestion that the genial, well-liked college student could pose any sort of terrorist threat has prompted an outpouring of popular support.

Aheer absurdity, Francine? Really? 

The sweeping new changes targeting Afghans were enacted in the aftermath of the tragic Washington DC shooting of two national guard soldiers, one fatally, by an Afghan national who had worked with the CIA and whose application for asylum had been thoroughly vetted and approved.

No doubt you'd have described that similarly, before the shots rang out? 

Common sense – a trait that the Republican party has claimed as an essential aspect of their political agenda – suggests that a genial, kind-hearted, highly motivated computer science student and hospital security guard should not be held accountable for someone else’s crime.

 I look forward to you explaining to your coterie that the average modern white American shouldn't be held responsible for slavery, a crime they neither comitted nor benefitted from, eh?

Nor should the entire Afghan community, many members of which have fled great danger at home, be punished for the actions of one man and made to worry about whatever safety and stability they have managed to find in our country.

Safety and stability that, as we know now, may be a sham... 

See, It Is Possible To Recover From Foreign Invasion

If you're a squirrel, that is!

Red squirrels have expanded their range across the Highlands by more than a quarter after a 10-year reintroduction programme moved hundreds to new homes. The species once came close to extinction in Britain when foresters killed them as pests and their natural habitat was destroyed. A deadly virus carried by invasive grey squirrels has hampered their recovery.

It's nice to see some good news. And a native species recovering from an influx of disease-ridden invaders gradually enchoaching on their last strogholscertainly fits that bill. Even if the 'Guardian' would go into a fit of the vapours if the same scheme was proposed for white English people. 

Scotland is the red’s heartland, home to 80% of the UK’s population of about 200,000. The reintroduction project, run by the rewilding charity Trees for Life, has established more than a dozen thriving new sites, from Ullapool to Morvern to Lairg.

I've still never seen one in the wild. Perhaps this gives me a better chance in future. 

More In Sorrow Than In Anger...

That's the statements put out as two rogue institutions are brought to heel by the victory in the Supreme Court and, no doubt, the urgings of their paid legal firms that if they continue drinking the trans Kool-Aide, they are laying themselves open to expensive lawsuits: 

This being 2025, of course, even the cringing apology has to have a 'trigger warning', least the word 'No' should cause a cock en froque to have a fit of the vapours:

The 'members of our community upset by it' can just pull on their big boy panties and go back to the gents...

Monkey Business...

An ex-keeper is suing Edinburgh Zoo bosses over alleged discrimination and "humiliation" she faced at work as a result of her ADHD. Lisa O'Hare appeared at the Edinburgh Employment Tribunal on December 1.She claimed she was subjected to "degrading" treatment and "excessive scrutiny" aimed at "constructing a case against" her. Ms O'Hara resigned from her post in February 2025 after starting in the role less than a year prior in April 2024.

It should be an open and shut case, because she sounds like a fucking nightmare to have had to work witrh, but you never know with tribunals... 

Ms O'Hara was assigned to care for primates at Edinburgh Zoo and the court heard she had difficulty identifying individual capuchin monkeys due to her ADHD, which her superior took issue with.

Zoo bosses claimed identifying individual animals is a vital part of a keeper's job to ensure animal health and wellbeing.

Why do I suspect that the welfare of the animals will take second place when the 'disability' card is played? With the tribunal, anyway, the zoo management and her workmates thankfully weren't happy to put up with it. 

Court documents showed Callum Gibson, Ms O'Hara's superior, said: "You have to start taking responsibility for yourself with training. It is not the rest of the team's responsibility to help you with this. There is only so much I can do to support this before you need to take ownership and communicate with others".

Ms O'Hara told the court: "I just didn't feel, given how it was a particular problem for my disability" how there couldn't be more flexibility, adding: "I felt it was unequally applied to me than others" and "there were other individuals" on the team who could identify the capuchins.

Maybe there were, but it was YOUR JOB to do so, not theirs!

She also alleged her colleague Kenna Valles repeatedly made critical statements regarding her timekeeping ability. In one instance, documents showed Ms Valles allegedly said "I'm just waiting on Lisa" in a "sardonic" tone. Ms O'Hara felt this showed her co-worker was "outwardly expressing annoyance with my disability and related difficulties with timekeeping" and "mocking my disability [and related issues] with timekeeping and hyper focus" resulting in "negative treatment and frustrations".

Are the other employees supposed to put up with someone who is continually later for work then? 

A solicitor representing the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, owners of the zoo, mentioned that five employees had lodged complaints against Ms O'Hara.

Seems they weren't prepared to, yet they didn't have a Disability Card to wave.

Disinformation…

Though handily, we have a new word to describe this now.  At the weekend, two Twitter posts about supposed UK Police overreach went viral, Tweeted by trusted accounts and retweeted endlessly by accounts trusted and untrusted. Neither of them were accurate: 

No, he wasn’t arrested for simply firing a gun in a country where it’s legal to do so (and it would be legal to do it here too) and posting a picture of it. He was arrested for a claim made by an anonymous person that this was part of targeted harassment of them, a claim apparently now dropped.

And the day after, this:

No, he wasn’t convicted of enjoying music in the comfort of his own home, as the Tweets would have you believe but of distributing music banned because it contained lyrics supporting terrorism.

The point being, whether you disagree with ‘hate crime’ nonsense, or think there’s two tier policing going on (I agree with both points), the police are here to enforce the law and neither of these cases were as presented. 

So when you’re on the Internet, take a tip from a police officer of the kind I wish still existed, and: ‘Mind how you go’

Canadians: Not As Friendly As 'Due South' Would Have You Believe

Two Canadian nationals have been charged with attempted murder after a young man was stabbed near the Tower of London. Jermaine Blackstock, 40, and Kamara Lewis, 26, are accused of wounding Cyrus Morgan-Flynn, in his 20s, on Pepys Street.

Good Lord! Don't we have enough drug dealers in the UK, that we have to import them from across the pond?  

They were also charged with possession with intent to supply class B cannabis and possession of criminal property, namely cash.

They aren't even based in London!  

Blackstock, who gave an address in Camden Street, Ladywood, Birmingham, and Lewis have been remanded in custody by Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

What would drive them here to deal drugs, I wonder? 

Oh...

Is There Anything More 'Anti Science' Than The Left, Polly?

That number will stay fixed for ever in public memory: 23,000 people died because Boris Johnson resisted locking the country down in time.

How many of those woulfd have died of 'normal' flu anyway, Polly? Will we ever know?  

But this is not just about one narcissistic politician. It’s about his entire rightwing coterie of libertarians and their lethally dominant creed in the UK media.

Ah, yes, the 'vast rightwing conspiracy again'... 

They have a long history of rejecting things that save lives – seatbelts, speed limits, smoking restrictions, sugar taxes, vaccination, benefits, sewers, clean air, the NHS itself and, of course, stopping climate breakdown.

Some of those lives being saved there are those of the people indulging in risky behaviour, which isn't quite such a noble endeavour as you make out, Polly, is it? 

Recall that during the 1980s and 1990s, the Sunday Times under the editorship of Andrew Neil promoted the strangest gay plague theory, publishing pieces suggesting that Aids wasn’t caused by HIV, and that it was almost impossible for heterosexual people to contract it.

It was. It was strictly a gay disease at first, and targetting the people most at risk, and not everyone, was percieved medical wisdom at the time. 

That anti-science tradition is alive and well today. Lockdowns are the quintessence of everything rightwing science-sceptics abhor: what misfortune that a tribe least equipped to cope was in power during the pandemic. In the circumstances, the interventions from those in charge were “too little, too late”. Hard to imagine, but Covid in the UK could have been even more deadly, had unavoidable facts about the pandemic not eventually overwhelmed their fact-free ideologies.

Could have been even more deadly for whom? The people who were never at risk from it, and who now see their children's education ruined, their country's economy trashed, and are about to see a thick token who would be out of his depth as a parking attendant in Islington but is somehow elevated to the status of a British Cabinet member use it as a lever to wreck our justice system even further? 

Sweden is the country constantly quoted by the right, as it relied entirely on a voluntary advisory approach, never compulsory lockdowns. In terms of deaths per capita, many fewer Swedes died than Britons: case proven? Hallett trounced? Alas, we are not Sweden in social structure, national wealth, vulnerable deprivation, health or social care, mainly due to the longterm malign influence of the right fighting tooth and claw against Swedish-style social democracy.

Funny the 'Guardian' never remembers that when it's praising Sweden for something or trying to suggest we need to be more Swedish.  

The precautionary principle, putting safety first when the science is uncertain, is as alien to these ideologues as risk registers.

And to those supporting the trans agenda and demanding chemical sterilisation for mentally ill children, Polly. Frankly, you don't get more 'anti science' than that!  

Brutally Murdered In The Street, And For What?

A saveloy and chips? Is life so cheap in vibrant, enriched  London? Yes, Reader, it is!

In bodycam footage captured during his arrest, Augustine furiously told police officers: 'I've not murdered nobody... I've not killed no one. What you talking about?' Augustine, who refused to attend court, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years before he can be considered for release by Her Honour Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC at the Old Bailey today.

As always, this wasn't his first rodeo: 

The judge said Augustine, who has a host of previous convictions, may never be released from prison.

Sure, we believe you. 

Don't We Have Enough Real Problems In Society That We Have To Imagine More?

One in four people think there is nothing wrong with creating and sharing sexual deepfakes, or they feel neutral about it, even when the person depicted has not consented, according to a police-commissioned survey.

Unfortunate, when the point of the survey was not to find out if it was a real problem after all, but, like so many other worthless studies, to provide cover for what activists want to do anyway. 

The survey of 1,700 people commissioned by the office of the police chief scientific adviser found 13% felt there was nothing wrong with creating and sharing sexual or intimate deepfakes – digitally altered content made using AI without consent. A further 12% felt neutral about the moral and legal acceptability of making and sharing such deepfakes.

What to do, what to do? The answer's obvious - push on regardless. 

Det Ch Supt Claire Hammond, from the national centre for VAWG and public protection, reminded the public that “sharing intimate images of someone without their consent, whether they are real images or not, is deeply violating”.

How very dare you ignorant peasants disagree!  I’ll tell you worthless subjects what you should think!

Commenting on the survey findings, she said: “The rise of AI technology is accelerating the epidemic of violence against women and girls across the world. Technology companies are complicit in this abuse and have made creating and sharing abusive material as simple as clicking a button, and they have to act now to stop it.”

Blaming technology companies for men harassing women is like blaming car companies for enabling getaway drivers. 

She urged victims of deepfakes to report any images to the police. Hammond said: “This is a serious crime, and we will support you. No one should suffer in silence or shame.”

But if you mention a racial or homophobic slur in your texts, don’t expect us not to notice, after all, a hate crime is a tick in the box! 

If Only He Was 'One Of A Kind'...

 ...sadly, there far too many idiots who ride quad bikes illegally on the roads. 

A driver has been charged over the death of a young man who was found next to an overturned quad bike on a busy country road. Ethan Powell, 20, who was described as a 'one of a kind boy' by friends and family, was found by police lying dead next to his quad bike in Wales.

It could have been a road legal quad bike, but seriously, what are the odds?  These things have a high death rate simply by their unstable nature - the only really suprising thing in this case is the involvement of another vehicle.

A 41-year-old man has since been charged with multiple offences, including causing death by driving a vehicle, driving while unlicensed or uninsured, perverting the course of justice and failing to stop after a road accident.

It'll be treated leniently, no doubt, as all road traffic deaths are in this country. 

 

Why Can't You Leave It Up To The Australian Parents Themselves To Stand Firm, Then?

Australia's landmark social media ban for children is being challenged in the nation's highest court, with two teenagers alleging the law is unconstitutional as it robs them of their right to free communication.

And the response? 

After news of the case broke, Communications Minister Anika Wells told parliament the government would not be swayed. "We will not be intimidated by threats. We will not be intimidated by legal challenges. We will not be intimidated by big tech. On behalf of Australian parents, we will stand firm," she said.

Why can't they, then, and if they feel giving their children access is a risk, not allow them to access it? Why do they need the hand of government to act for them? What the hell happened to Australia to make them such cravens who freak out at children's TV stars appearing in 'unsavory' music videos? 

Is it because every visit to the loo or game of football in the back garden runs the risk of death by lethal wildlife?

Noah Jones argued the government's policy was "lazy". "We are the true digital natives and we want to remain educated, robust, and savvy in our digital world... They should protect kids with safeguards, not silence."

 Sounds like the kids are alright to me...

Though opposed by the tech companies who will be charged with enforcing it, the ban is supported by most Australian adults, according to polls. However, some mental health advocates say it may cut kids off from connection, and others say it could push youngsters to even-less-regulated corners of the internet.

We'll see... 

It's About Time!

A judge has told a non-binary health worker who tried to sue their NHS Trust over being ‘deadnamed’ and ‘mis-pronouned’ that they should not have been so offended.

Hurrah! Sanity at last! Well, almost...

Using preferred pronouns to live as non-binary does not have the same protected status as reassigning sex, employment judge Ann Nicola Benson found. The case was brought against Cheshire and Wirral NHS Foundation Trust and six staff members by Haech Lockwood, a cognitive behavioural therapist.

She's a therapist!? I know they say 'set a thief to catch a thief' but I didn't think it worked for nutters too!  

Among the claims from Lockwood, who was born female and was previously known as Heather, were that they were referred to as ‘her’ on a series of IT servicedesk tickets and as ‘she’ or ‘her’ by colleagues during several interactions.

Not a very convincing troon, then, like so many of them? well, actually, not one at all!

The panel, led by judge Benson, said it was relevant that although Lockwood had changed their name and preferred pronouns, they were not proposing to reassign their sex from female to male. ‘We therefore find that the claimant does not have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment,’ the judgement added.

In other words, if she'd been a pretend man, the Tribunal would have probably ruled in her favour? 

Lockwood had claimed that the incidents had violated their dignity and left them feeling ‘unsafe’ – but judge Benson said there was no evidence of the conduct having that effect. Dismissing the claim, she wrote: 'Offending against dignity or hurting is not enough.'

No doubt the gender activists will be urging a change in the law to ensure this is recognised in future. 

I Have Questions....

 

African animals, Schleich? Are you sure? All of them? 

Sunday Funnies...

 At least the Lord Mayor's Parade never put a woman in a coma! 

Tweet Of The Month

 

And of course, 'tis the season: 

Post Title Of The Month

 Fahrenheit211 gets his inner Henry II on:

Quote Of The Month

Christopher Snowden suspects less-than-rigourous-scientific-methods:

The authors of that paper are actually quoting some British academics who have seen which way the wind is blowing and are treating gambling like a "public health" issue. Their study is one of many that makes the apparently shocking discovery that people will use arguments favourable to their cause when seeking to persuade others (sample line: "Focus on so-called ”black markets” is part of a wider industry “playbook” whereby companies deploy strategies to resist regulation and to undermine public health initiatives." Blah, blah, blah.)

Post Of The Month

 Tim Worstall (whose blog seems to have overcome its recent electonic woes and is stable again, notes that lawyers are keen on money.

Yet More Sob Stories In The 'Guardian'...

They just can't help themselves, can they?

Afran – not his real name – hit the headlines when he became the first asylum seeker to return to the UK in a small boat after being removed to France under the controversial “one in, one out” scheme on 19 September. He was sent back to Paris for the second time on 5 November.

“France, UK, France, UK, France – it’s not my choice,” he says. “I went to UK twice because I felt I had no other option. The smugglers in northern France attacked me and threatened my life before I crossed to the UK for the first time on August 6. When the Home Office returned me here the first time I believed the smugglers were still searching for me.

And rather than risk your life trying to cross the English channel in a small boat, you didn't think to go elsewhere in Europe by land? I womnder why?

Afran is sitting with three other recent returnees from the UK, including the first woman removed under the scheme. Soon after they speak, the policy will be followed by draconian measures that the government says will deter asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats. But the group’s stories – of danger, dislocation and a lack of protection even after removal – are a stark illustration of how those theories of deterrence can collide with the desperate logic of survival.

No, sorry, 'survival' is not the issue here or they would not choose the small boat route, which is insanely risky. They are determined to get to the UK and the UK only.  

Afran pushes fish fingers aimlessly around his plate and sips tea. The group, thrown together by circumstances, wear a jumble of donated tracksuits and lack weatherproof shoes and warm coats. All of them in turn laugh hysterically and weep at the hopelessness of their situation. “I know the security now in the detention centre I’ve been locked up in twice,” Afran says. “I told them I’ll be back for Christmas.” He laughs hollowly and then starts to cry.

Reader, he probablt will... 

On the other side of the Channel, another man, an Eritrean, is awaiting his fate in a detention centre. He was the second to return to the UK after being forcibly removed to France.

And he too has not been deterred, he too is still fixated on the UK to the exclusion of anything else.  

He says he came back to the UK again because he felt unsafe in France. After getting medical help for several conditions from a charity in Paris, he returned to his shelter late and was refused entry because the gates were already locked. ”I called my family and told them about the bad things that had happened to me. They arranged for me to return to the UK in a small boat because they understood that France was not safe for me.”

What about Holland? Belgium? Denmark? 

He adds: “I have suffered a lot and am terrified of being forced back to France. If the security at the Paris shelter had allowed me back inside when I returned from the medical appointment I would not have been attacked on that night – it was 23 October – and I would still be in France now. Because of the bad experience I had I no longer believe France can protect me.”

Documents seen by the Guardian, written before he was removed to France, show that a detention centre doctor judged his account – that he had been trafficked and tortured in Libya after fleeing Eritrea and before first reaching the UK – to be “consistent with torture”.

Lochlinn Parker, the acting director of the charity Detention Action, says...

Who cares? He's not exactly impartial, is he? He's making a nice living off this.  Being one of the employees in its £608k staffing costs. 

The three male asylum seekers around the table in the Paris cafe are protective of the woman who is with them. “Why did they send a woman back to France? This is really bad,” Afran says. “Even the security staff in the UK were shocked the Home Office was sending me back to France,” the woman says.

Yes, concern for females. This is believeable. 

“Before I came to the UK my mental health was normal. Now it is not. I do not know where I can go or what I can do to be safe. The Home Office is no good for humans. They have broken me. They have finished my life.”

They are still pretty good for this human, despite everything else, if they are keeping people like you out of my country. 

Racehustling Attempts To Conquer Cyberspace...

...after all, us folk here in reality have had enough of them, so they have to have new worlds to try to conquer.

A new study published in the Jama Network that looked at Black adolescents’ exposure to online racism – including traumatic videos of police violence, online racial discrimination and racial bias perpetuated by AI – can cause increased anxiety and depression.

As online hate speech increases and the federal government cracks down on diversity initiatives, which Tynes said has spurred the normalization of racism, investigations into youth’s exposure to online racism is more important than ever.

“We need studies that are documenting what’s happening,” Tynes said. “And also we need platforms to help people to manage those experiences, to critique them.”

Anf how does this 'online racist' express itself? Not, Reader, as you might have thought... 

The study began with a nationally representative sample of 1,138 white, Black, Latino and multiracial adolescents recruited by Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel, a US online research panel. Out of the larger sample, 504 participants were asked to complete a seven-day survey for a nationwide look at young people’s online behaviors in December 2020. While the study authors only focused on Black participants’ responses, they hope to compare those experiences to that of adolescents of different races in the future.

Because racehustling needs new victim narratives to survive. 

Respondents reported experiencing algorithmic bias one time per day every three days.

 Whut?

Some of the survey questions about algorithmic bias included how many times in the past year that a filter made them look more European by lightening their skin and straightening their hair, or whether their content about racial justice didn’t get likes because a platform suppressed it.

Maybe it didn't get likes because it was observably stupid. And a filter is something you apply yourself, isn't it? 

Questions about positive experiences that they had online around race included how many times they saw favorable comments or information about their race on a television show, film, a cultural website or social media.

If you aren't seeing favourable comments about your race, maybe it's a sign about your race's behaviour? 

Another question asked how many times they learned something positive online about their race’s contributions to society in the past 24 hours.

Forgetting that it's often made up bollocks anyway, or deliberate propaganda?  

Tynes wants youth to be armed with digital literacy tools that help them navigate algorithmic bias that perpetuates racism.

They'd do better witth actual literacy tools, wouldn't they?  

She hopes to analyze whether teaching Black history in schools imparts students with the knowledge and confidence needed to “help people protect themselves, critique the messages, and place them in historical context so that they don’t have the impact that they have”.

As Longrider points out, historical context has gone out the window!  

More Killer Kids...

A woman who died inside her home has been named by police after a 13-year-old girl arrested on suspicion of her murder was released on bail. The woman who died in Swindon on Friday was 55-year-old Sarah Forrester, Wiltshire Police have confirmed.

Can't name the suspect, of course. She's a 'child' and so must be protected.

The 13-year-old girl was later arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into custody for questioning. She has since been bailed while enquiries continue.

Bail for murder? Are there any clues that might show if murder by a child was a likely event in this lady's life? 

Ms Forrester worked as a counsellor at The Kelly Foundation, a Swindon charity which supports individuals with severe anxiety, depression and other mental health issues.

That's a pretty big one, eh, Reader? The police churn out the usual predictable boilerplate:  

Ch Supt Guy Elkins, from Wiltshire Police, said: "Our thoughts are with Sarah's friends and family at this awful time.

"An investigation into her death is being led by our major crime investigation team and local residents will continue to see increased policing activity in the area."

He said police are not looking for anyone else in connection with Ms Forrester's death.

And of course, that favoured phrase of the oh-so-modern copper:  

"We continue to urge people not to speculate on the incident," he added.

Urge away, Guy. Me, I'll speculate all I want. It is, after all, still a free country. Despite the best efforts of this wretched government.. 

'True Crime Podcasters' - Almost As Annoying As 'Auditors'...

Nicola Thorp, an actor, writer and broadcaster, who grew up in the town, describes Charlene’s disappearance, considered to be murder, as “a wound for Blackpool”.In a new podcast, she has set out to clear up some of the speculation, and expose how Charlene was repeatedly failed by those around her.

'Those around her' not, of course, to include those amazing immigrants without which our Northern towns would remain un-enriched, naturally. 

There were other elements of Charlene’s story that appalled her. The persistent racist narrative around the two Middle Eastern men who stood trial (they would go on to be awarded compensation for false imprisonment).

It’s racist now to not want Third Worlders to harass and groom young girls? 

That far-right antagonists continue to capitalise on the disappearance of Charlene.

Yes, the real problem with young girls mysteriously disapppearing is not the heartache for the family, but the ammunition it gives right wingers 🙄 

And worst, that there has been no justice.

That’s pretty common in the UK these days. 

Thorp, known for her role as Nicola Rubinstein on Coronation Street, has a history of campaigning for women’s rights.If she was to work on something about Charlene Downes, she thought, it had to have a campaigning edge.

Has she? One of the biggest issues of women’s rights these days is keeping deranged men in womanface out of female only spaces, yet I can’t find anything from her on this subject…

It took three years to put the eight-part podcast together. Her research would bring her into contact with Charlene’s family (with some deeply uncomfortable conversations), potential new leads, police, far-right activists and an intense Facebook group intent on uncovering the truth for Charlene, from which she would later be banned.

Yikes! That says quite a bit, doesn’t it, Reader?  

Thorp and Charlene were similar in some ways – the same age, with a shared love of the boyband Westlife – but had very different lives. How much did class play into the investigation? “[It was] everything,” says Thorp, when we speak at the Guardian’s offices. “Misogyny and class is what this entire story really is about – and race, in the case of the perpetrators of some of the grooming.”

Good old ‘Guardian’, never missing a chance to hit their single notes. 

A lot has been made, not unjustifiably, of the grooming that Charlene, among other girls in Blackpool, is said to have been a victim of by a group of takeaway workers, who are mostly of Asian heritage, but Thorp points out: “The white men who abused Charlene have not been widely reported on. They’re ignored.” This includes a man, Ray Munro, who was staying with the family at the time of Charlene’s disappearance and was about to be sentenced for child sex offences. (Charlene’s parents have said they didn’t know Munro was a sex offender at the time.)

You can see why her fellow Facebook sleuths threw her out.... 

The far right’s resurgence frightens her. Last year, just a few weeks before their Blackpool wedding, her then-fiance, the actor Nikesh Patel, with whom she has a baby daughter and who is of Indian heritage, drove Thorp to cover one of a number of riots that had broken out following the murders of three children in Southport, and the misinformation about the attacker being a Muslim asylum seeker. A protester spotted Patel in the car and yelled at him to get out; he managed to lock the doors and drive away.

Ah. 

There have been other incidents. She was picked up by a taxi recently, “and got told that I’m lucky that I live in an area where there aren’t many Asians. I said, ‘Well, there’s two in my house.’ He just came out with it. Racism has become emboldened in the UK.” She is scared, she says. “I think we should all be.”

But not of the grooming and killing of young girls, clearly. Just of people being less than welcoming of the wonderful diversity.