But You Don’t – You Know Only What She Chooses To Tell You…

So it was a relief to hear the new home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, articulate clearly that weekend what should always have been Labour’s line on both the English and British flags: that, as the English-born daughter of Pakistani-born parents, she sees herself in them and is “all for” their use as a symbol of unity, but not as a means to exclude and divide.

Oh Gabby, What do you think now she's a proven liar..?

“I’m a patriot, not a nationalist,” she told the Sun on Sunday. And, yes, it would have been better had Keir Starmer said something like that from the start.

Perhaps he didn't want to be caught in a lie so quickly, unlike his DEI hire Home Sec?

The outlines are fuzzy, but in Liverpool there are glimmerings of a new politics of belonging: an aspiration to be what Mahmood called an “open, tolerant, generous” country, welcoming to newcomers, while acknowledging that migrants aren’t the only ones sometimes struggling to find their feet in a multi-ethnic nation.

And how do they feel in Manchester now? Probably the same, since vacuous ‘don’t look back in anger’ acceptance of insanity seems to always reign there. 

The biggest challenge Mahmood now faces, one I have not seen before in my lifetime, is the shocking rise of ethnonationalism. It’s the blood-and-soil politics of those who claim Rishi Sunak isn’t really English despite being born and raised here – a charge not levelled at his US-born, Brussels-raised, white-skinned predecessor, Boris Johnson – or that being Muslim is somehow fundamentally incompatible with living a properly “British” life.

It is, because so many of them cannot seem to. 

We are not an island of strangers, in the words Starmer now regrets using: just an island that needs reminding, sometimes, of who we really are.

Actually,we’ve been reminded of who they are too much, Gabby. And we are sick of it! 

So Do You Not Have A Description Of The ‘Men’ Either…?

Detectives are appealing for witnesses after a woman was raped by a group of men in a churchyard in an Oxfordshire town.

‘Men’ of no obvious appearance again? 

Officers said they wanted to trace a “Good Samaritan” they believe might have tried to help the woman as well as anyone else who might have information. The woman, who is in her 30s, was raped by a group of men at St Mary’s Church’s churchyard and the surrounding area of Banbury town centre, police said.

And a witness of no appearance too? 

DS Mark Personius, the investigating officer, said: “This is a horrific crime and Thames Valley police is conducting a thorough investigation to identify the offenders. “I am making a public appeal to a specific witness, a woman, who we believe may have tried to help the victim. At this stage, we don’t have a description of this Good Samaritan. However, if you believe you are the woman, please contact the police as you may have vital information that can help us piece together what happened.”

You don't appear to have anything to 'piece together', or are you simply not telling us what you do have deliberately? The police do, after all, have form for this. 

Accurate, To A Point...

 

...though the corridor's too clean, Matt. And there 's no fat nurse reading 'Heat' magazine and ignoring the patients in the corner.

Why Are We SO Worried About AI?

 It's not going to take our jobs if it can't tell a bird from a cat, is it? 

Sunday Funnies...

 Hollywood being economical with the actualité again? Say it ain't so! 

Never Forget, Never Forgive…

Lana Collie-James was 14 years old in the midst of the Covid pandemic when she was offered a stark choice: her education or her mother’s life. “My mum’s clinically vulnerable. She has a compromised immune system, along with a plethora of other illnesses that would make Covid hit very hard,” she says.

“I got given the ultimatum. My mum said: do you want to go to school, do you want to go to secondary school and risk taking this home? So as a 14-year-old I had to make the decision to either get an education and risk my mother dying, or not get an education and try to teach myself the best I could. “That’s a very difficult situation to give to a 14-year-old, but also a situation that, whichever decision I made, whichever outcome I chose, would completely change the trajectory of my life.”

The damage the overreaction to Covid has done is still not entirely understood and indeed, I fear that no matter what the conclusion on this inquiry, there'd be nothing stopping the government from doing it all again at some point in the future. 

Collie-James stayed in virtual isolation for the two years of education that culminate in GCSE exams at age 16 rather than risk her mother’s life.

With her school refusing to continue remote teaching and threatening fines for non-attendance, Collie-James took on the responsibility of teaching herself.

Which probably guaranteed her a better education than she's have got attending the propaganda-factorties we call schools, ironically rnough. 

“I got, like, maybe a couple of tests [from the school], that’s it,” she says. “I don’t know if they marked them at all or if I got any feedback. I’m pretty sure I didn’t. Maybe I got sent a PowerPoint once or twice. “But even so, I then had to essentially teach myself GCSEs, which was a little bit insane, and I didn’t see anyone for two years. I saw two friends, one of them a neighbour, with social distancing, which was nice. But in general it was an extremely isolating and lonely experience because it was just me and my mum.”

After “spending a lot of money buying textbooks”, Collie-James concentrated on core subjects and managed passes in design and English, followed by resitting and passing maths when she started at college the following year.

 Wondering if she'd actually done better than if she'd spent two years in the sausage-factory of modern comprehensive education, Reader? Yes, me too...

Kate Eisenstein, the director of policy, research and legal for the inquiry, says the four weeks of hearings will investigate how the interests of children and young people were taken into account by decision-makers, as well as evidence of the differing impact on children.

I'll save you the time, Kate. They weren't. No-one's were. 

A Lie From The Home Sec?

 Friday's morning headline in the 'Guardian':

And I snipped it out for a post this morning, planning to add 'unlike all the others who were', only for it to prove yet another lie from this wretched government :

The Yom Kippur killer was on bail for alleged rape before his synagogue attack, it emerged last night. Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was under investigation by Greater Manchester Police over a sexual attack carried out this year and was due to appear in court.

Now, how is our taquiya-practicing new Muslim Home Sec going to get out of this one? She doresn't have many options, does she?Claim the police lied to her, in which case surely sackings must follow? Or say she only asked about terrorist knowledge, and not other crimes, which won't wash with anyone? 

The killer had criminal convictions for lesser offences not related to terror, but was not known to counter-terror agencies.

Two seconds on the Police National Computer would have shown these up, unless of course they misspelled his name, and really, is that not what you'd expect from a farce whose armed officers shoot two of the innocent people menaced by a terrorist, killing one?

The Description Of The Complainant That I Fully Expected...

A fire service worker has won an unfair dismissal case after he was sacked for 'assaulting' a female shopper at Tesco who pushed to the front of the self-checkout queue. London Fire Brigade's Ryan Shearwood was getting his lunch from Tesco when he got into a bust-up with another customer, a tribunal heard. Mr Shearwood, a mechanic with the fire service, was waiting by the self-checkout tills when he called the woman out for skipping the queue.

Good for him! But no good deed goes unpunished, I guess… 

There was an altercation and the woman claimed she was 'shoved to the ground' by Mr Shearwood, it was heard. The woman later complained to the London Fire Brigade, claiming she was 'physically assaulted' by Mr Shearwood during the lunchtime row. Mr Shearwood argued he did not shove her and said all he did was simply extend his elbow to the side to 'defend' himself from being 'barged out of the way'. Mr Shearwood, a fire hydrant technician, was fired for misconduct after the fire service investigated the incident and concluded he had assaulted her.

Wait, what skills do the Fire Brigade have to investigate anything other than arson? And why weren’t the police involved? 

There was a lack of CCTV footage because Tesco would not release it unless there was a police investigation, and it was then destroyed after 30 days.

Seems the complainant went straight to the FB and none of them said, ‘Wait, let’s see if there’s a case to answer before firing him’ As I’m reading this, I’m thinking there can only be one possible reason for this sort of overreach…

'He is an extremely unreasonable person and even the staff were saying a simple apology or acknowledgement of the misunderstanding of the situation could've rectified it, but he refused to do so. '

Calling me names and escalating the situation further by loudly saying there was something wrong with me and I have "mental health issues" which I know was a predictable attempt to paint me as angry crazy black woman, which is not something that I take lightly at all.'

Aha! I love it when I’m proved right!  

The judge added the fire brigade did not carry out a fair investigation on procedural grounds.

You’re not kidding! 

A decision on compensation will be made at a later date, with a hearing listed to take place next month.

I hope the tribunal soaks the FB for every penny they can! 

'Mum Of The Year' Award Can Be Given Early....

Amanda Shannon, from Dovecot, claims Rainhill High School has repeatedly failed to implement "reasonable adjustments" for her daughter Rebecca, who began the new term in September wearing nose and upper lip piercings - a birthday gift from her father.

One of the most unpleasant and unattractive of modern 'fashions', and of course, mum exercises no taste or control and so agrees to this. 

Rebecca, who has inattentive and hyperactive ADHD and is awaiting assessment for pathological demand avoidance (PDA), is said to have been placed in isolation and later excluded for two days for breaching the school's uniform regulations.

A grab-bag of initials that prtobably means 'perfectly healthy but disobedient and disrespectful little hellion'.... 

Amanda claims the school declined to allow Rebecca to wear transparent retainers whilst on the premises – something she believes would have represented a reasonable compromise.

You seem to be forgetting they have no readon to compromise - they laid down the rules, and you need to follow them. 

The piercings, Amanda maintains, are vital to Rebecca's sense of self and fulfil a practical function by serving as a "fidget toy" in her mouth, helping her concentrate during classes, reports the Liverpool Echo, reports the Mirror.

Strange hoe such things weren't needed when I was at school, we all concentrated or we knew what would happen! 

The 44 year old told the ECHO: "She sees it as part of who she is. Rebecca struggles with identity and confidence. She's said to me: 'This is me, this is who I am.'

"Last year, even getting her into the classroom was a struggle. This year she really wants to learn. She's told me she wants to progress sets and do well, but now it feels like she's being shut out."

She probably is, if I headed up that school I'd do anything I could to ensure she stayed out, for the sake of the kids who want to learn without disruption. 

Amanda, an NHS critical care nurse (Ed: !!!) , also claimed that Rebecca was denied access to the school canteen during her isolation period, stating: "Rebecca rang me saying, 'Mum, I'm hungry and they won't let me get any food.' I had to tell the teacher they were breaching her basic human rights. Only then did they let her get something to eat."

School says 'Didn't happen!'  

Rainhill High School has categorically refuted this, asserting: "We can confirm that we would never restrict access to food or drink for any student, regardless of the situation."

Translation: 'Chavmum is trying it on, just like her hellspawn. Who probably learned it from her in the first place. 

The concerned mother worries her daughter could face permanent exclusion unless the matter is resolved.

Again, if I were headmistress, that's what I'd be planning. 

‘Queasy Anxiety And Increasing Frustration’ Is What We All Feel , So Why Should You Be Different?

Because with this useless bitch in No 11, we're ALL screwed!

  

There are more than 1.7 million children and young people in England’s schools who are recognised as having special educational needs and disabilities (or Send). When you factor in their parents and carers, it highlights the huge number of people who anxiously watch this area of policy. All of them know that the systems those kids depend on are dysfunctional and broken. And they are also keenly aware of something else: that whereas their experiences once tended to be ignored and overlooked, they have now crossed from the online world into Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, The One Show, Good Morning Britain and all the rest, as a huge conversation about the politics of all this gets louder and louder.

Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing...nothing other than a determination to keep their hands firmly in the taxpayer’s pocket, that is! 

Late last year, whispers from the top of government began to circulate, about drastically restricting the number of EHCPs. Ministers, meanwhile, have refused to be drawn on whether or not EHCPs and the very clear rights they enshrine will survive their reforms at all.

Is no one investigating the reasons for the growth in these then? No?

Whatever the government’s answer to the Send crisis, the report says: “The solution cannot be to remove the statutory entitlements from a system which lacks accountability in many other areas and in which parents already have so little trust and confidence … The Send reforms must not be based on any withdrawal of statutory entitlements for children and young people with Send.”

Any project that rules out a conclusion from the very start before it's even looked at the issue is a waste of everyone's time... 

It feels as if there is a mounting realisation in Westminster that existing Send rights increasingly look like a precious wall of defence against the cruelty that would be let loose if Reform took national power. And I increasingly sense something else: a rising aversion to standing anywhere near anyone who believes in the modern myths of “overdiagnosis” or the idea that changes to the Send system ought to start with snatching away rights and entitlements.

Why would anyone believe that this would be a priority for a Reform government? 

The Untouchables...

The unruly Doran family made global headlines and were branded the 'holidaymakers from hell' after an anti-social rampage saw them deported in disgrace from New Zealand.

Back in Britain, patriarch Patrick Doran then sparked outrage upon settling in Worcestershire, where locals said he demanded a six-figure sum to leave or face years of threats and collapsing house prices.

Isn't that extortion? Is it even any different to what is being done to JLR or Kido Nursries, except it's less high tech? 

Now, the clan are once again being forced to pack up - after losing a bitter planning war in the heart of rural Lincolnshire. After reinventing himself under the alias 'Alan Gray', Mr Doran bought Stickney Showground, near Boston, and began illegally developing a three-acre grazing field into a gated, gravelled fortress.n February this year, East Lindsay District Council refused permission for Mr Doran to open a gypsy and traveller site with room for up to 30 static and touring caravans, a toilet and wash block and a dayroom building. An enforcement notice then followed, ordering the demolition of brick structures already put up without permission and demanding the land be restored to open fields.

Which they'll simply disobey like they disobey every law. 

The Dorans, along with the Collins family who had joined them on the site, now have 12 months to leave and 15 months to return the site to its original state.

Why? They moved in over a weekend, give them a weekend to fuck off again!  

Speaking to the Daily Mail at the site this week, one of the residents, who described herself as a family member, complained that they are 'the most hated people on earth', adding that 'they [the council] think they can sweep us under the carpet'.

I'd say they were their own worst enemies, but that's ruling out all the people they move in next to!  

Another man associated with the site, who didn’t give his name, said: ‘We want to live a peaceful life’, then threatened our reporter with ‘trouble’ if they reported on the site or returned.

Every time, they show you what they are, so when are politicians and the police going to treat them as what they are?  

Man Who Only Has A Hammer Sees Nothing But Nails

Something is happening, and we see it on both sides of the Atlantic. On the surface, it is about flags, identity and political allegiance. But to me, as an American living in Britain, recent events reveal something deeper: both our societies are normalising hate ​and othering in ways that corrode not only our politics but our souls.

Nothing better than a foreigner come to tell us where we are all going wrong, eh? Good old 'Guardian'! But maybe I shouldn't be hasty, maybe he has something valuable to s...

Oh.

The something is aggressions and micro-aggressions: a coarsening of everyday encounters. I have snapshots. Recently, at a celebrated creative hub in London, I twice endured blatant bias. My guests and I – the only all-Black table in the room – were left in the dark, literally. As night fell, every other table was given a lamp except ours. When I raised it with management, I was interrupted, dismissed and told it was an oversight. A Black staff member was sent to smooth things over​. An official later told me that while they had “a different view of what happened”, they accepted that this was “how [I] experienced it” and admitted it “fell short of [their] usual standards”. My Blackness was overlooked, diminished and dismissed – while whiteness was appreciated, affirmed and celebrated, in a space that loudly markets itself as a home of “belonging”.

The thought that there could be other reasons for this failure to supply a lamp doesn't appear to have ever crossed his tiny mind; maybe the staff were working to a rota of tables and that one was last? Maybe all the other tables were polite and appreciative, and his was loud and racous and demanding, so naturally the staff left him to last? 

These are not minor indignities. They are signs of a culture where suspicion and prejudice are no longer whispered but weaponised.

Of course they are, dearie.... 

Martin Luther King Jr warned: “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.” Hatred, he knew, corrodes the hater as much as the hated. Love, by contrast, is the only force capable of transforming both. This is not abstract philosophy. It is lived truth.

That you can use MLK as an example, when he'd be utterly horrified at what modern day 'black culture' represents is enough evidence for anyone to immediately dismiss your chip-on-the-shoulder whinge. 

Societies cannot thrive if they are built on grievance. Empathy must become a public practice woven into our schools, workplaces and laws.

The black movement itself is built on grievance.  

Here in Britain, empathy would mean confronting racism where it hides in plain sight: in private clubs that celebrate whiteness while ignoring Blackness, and in everyday encounters where bias is excused as banter.

I've thought about this and decided: nah.  

The Left Don't Do This To 'Explain' Anything...

... they do it to try to shut up people who are raising a subject they don't want other people to find out about.

Note: The article itself is paywalled. But there's better reporting of it on Twitter anyway.

Tweet Of The Month

 

Post Title Of The Month

 It's fair to say Tim Worstall is a tad skeptical of these claims about Blackpool: 

Quote Of The Month

 Nick Drew on Ukraine's veteran problem: 

"If Zelensky has dropped any balls at all, the biggest has been his failure to crack on with a proper conscription plan: so Ukraine has been fighting the war with men (and women) predominantly of age 30+, some a lot older still, when everyone knows that (infantry) warfare is a business for 18+. Those 30+'s have fought magnificently - much, much better than the Russian rabble** they have faced - but there is a limit. Meanwhile, back on the home front, a large percentage of the remaining male population has been (a) bribing the local commissar to keep themselves out of the recruiting office, and/or (b) skipping abroad. There is only so much that can be delegated to a fleet of drones, across a battlefield as large as Ukraine's."

Post Of The Month

 A twofer this month.

I don't usually recommend petitions, but this one really is important, and Thomas Fairfax at Samizdata has the right idea.

Meanwhile, David Thompson on the insainty of the Swiss.

If You Want People To ‘Rethink Their Stereotypes Of Blackness’

When Dr Deborah Willis was an undergrad student at the Philadelphia College of Art, she asked the question that informed her work for years to follow: “Where are all the Black photographers?”

*sigh* If a photograph is good, what does it matter the colour, creed or sex of the person who clicked the shutter release? 

She hopes Reflections in Black allows people to rethink their stereotypes of Blackness. “I want people to see that this work that the artists are making is about freedom, freedom to express that voice that James Baldwin always talked about,” she says. “Freedom to think of progress and to see the new narratives that are not based on others who only see Black people as othered and demeaning … and see it as an intervention.”

Ah, 'stereotypes' - maybe rather than demand more black photographers to erase 'black stereotypes', demand that black people stop acting out those sterotypes constantly. Stop public defecation, stop chimping out in public spaces,  stop stealing, stop blaming everything and everyone else for your bad behaviour or failures. 

Maybe stop murdering each other? 

After winning the MacArthur award that year, her 27-year-old nephew was killed during an altercation at a nightclub in Philadelphia when he was on his way to help her install an art exhibit she curated in DC.

I notice the 'Guardian' doesn't tell us who killed him... 

Of Course It's Up To Them....

...they don't want a fire onboard their planes, you moron!

Darongkamas, who is unable to walk for long due to chronic sesamoiditis, argues it shouldn’t be up to Qantas to decide which aid someone with a disability can use. “Other ones are too heavy for me. I don’t need to tell [that] to Qantas. It is my choice,” she said.

And it's their airplane. If TfL think these type of batteries are too dangerous to have on the Tube, which travels along the ground, then they are certainly too much of a risk to have 30,000 feet in the bloody air! It's hardly Quatas' fault you chose to buy a cheap Chinese mobility aid - surely you could afford an airtravel-compliant one on your salary?  

Many airlines have tightened their restrictions on flying with lithium-ion batteries, often found in mobility devices, to try to avoid any possibility of a fire breaking out onboard. Qantas’s policy says mobility aids are permitted with lithium batteries of up to 300Wh, as long as the batteries can be removed from the devices and taken into the cabin, which Darongkamas says she always does.

However, they were suspicious of the manufacturer's claims and rightly chose to err on the side of caution - as I'm sure we all hope an airline would. 

A Topmate spokesperson told Guardian Australia the ES33 “is indeed designed and intended for use as a mobility aid” and that the battery was “certified and safe for air travel when handled in accordance with relevant regulations”. An Iata spokesperson said airlines have to “consider and balance the needs of the passenger travelling with the mobility aid and the safety of the aircraft and its passengers when deciding whether or not it can accept a mobility aid for transport.”

They have got the balance right here, but of vcourtse, the disability lobby weighs in with their usual entitlement.  

In July, before it closed Darongkamas’s case, Qantas apologised for giving her conflicting advice but said the information available still did not satisfy that the ES33 had been “manufactured as a mobility aid” to the required safety standards. Qantas said even though it “repeatedly liaised” with Topmate in China the manufacturer was unable to supply the required information about the battery’s test standards. Guardian Australia put this claim to Topmate, but the company did not directly respond to the question.

Gosh, I wonder why?  

I Can Think Of A Better Term, 'Mail'...

...like 'reckless little thug'.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named due to legal reasons, hurled the 15kg blue chair 50 feet downwards towards punters at the busy mall in Stratford, east London, in March. He and his friend, then 14, were arrested when a video of the incident bearing the caption 'No way bro almost killed someone' went viral on social media.

The 16-year-old boy claimed that he and his friend regularly threw objects off bridges and trains as 'pranks'. He later admitted recklessly causing a public nuisance and criminal damage. Wearing a black Nike t-shirt, the 16-year-old boy appeared in the dock at Stratford Youth Court today accompanied by a Somali interpreter.

Presumably he knows enough English to make videos on social media, so why should the taxpayer fork out for an interpreter? 

Mark Tooley, representing the 16-year-old, said he had been 'showing off' 

'Perhaps he may well have sought to make friends in the wrong kind of way - it was called showing off when I was a kid.

I doubt this was the sort of thing kids routinely did when you were a kid.  No-one had social media then. Nor Somali immigrants.

'It still applies here doing something criminally stupid and reckless, but happily causing no harm 

'He is an immature young man yet to come anywhere close to full maturity and understanding - rehabilitation is the key.'

I can think of a more appropriate word beginning with ‘R’ - repatriation! 

District Judge Shanta Deonarine said the two offences were 'so serious that no other sentence is appropriate other than a custodial sentence'.

For a paltry 8 months, in a youth offender centre holiday camp? 

The judge said the offending was mitigated by the fact he was 'intellectually a low functioning individual with impaired intellectual ability'.

The description ‘Somali’ covered that, and why is it mitigation? 

His 15-year-old friend denies both charges and will stand trial on December 2.

Wasting yet more taxpayer money. This one hits hard, because I have the misfortune to walk through this mall every office day.

Yes indeed, But The Real Problem Is...

 

... the joke's on all of us, Matt!

Oh, How I Longed To Be A Hotel Receptionist In The Week...

                                     

...so I could apologise. and ask housekeping to remove them and replace them with a complementary fruit basket.

Full of bananas and watermelon! 

Sunday Funnies...

No 20 is good, but still not quite as good as this classic: 

“Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again.”

As If I Needed Any More Reasons To Hate Kier Starmer....

 ...now the bastard has put me on the same side as these two cretins! 

Truly, he is the very worst PM we've ever had the misfortune to have:

At minus 47, he has the lowest personal approval ratings of any incoming PM on record. The latest 'mega-poll' suggests that if an election were held tomorrow, Labour would lose 267 seats and Reform UK would sweep to power. It's hard to know where to start in listing Sir Keir's failings over the past year, but the two which have caused most despair are the lunacy of his tax, borrow and spend economic policies and his abject failure to tackle migration.

And now we can add to that proposing something so stupid almost the entire voting population can see it.. 

Even King Canute Knew A Losing Proposal When He Saw It

When Charis Duthie moved to Johnshaven with her husband in 1984, she could cycle along the coastal path out of the village. Now, she meets a dead end where the sea has snatched the land and is instead greeted with a big red warning sign of what is to come: Danger Coastal Erosion.

Which would have been predicted at the time. And yet they still bought a house there? 

“You can see gardens that were there and now they’re gone,” she says. The north-east coast of Scotland is experiencing a rapidly worsening erosion problem that will only be exacerbated by recurrent patterns of extreme weather and rising sea levels.

And rather than moving a little further inland, there are people working to try to halt this! 

Finding a solution to the problem has taken on an urgency like never before. Three years ago came the announcement of the Platinum Jubilee Path, named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne. The aim is for it to start in St Cyrus, four miles south of Johnshaven, and end about 90 miles further north in Cullen, a village with close associations to Robert the Bruce.With the markets that have traditionally fuelled its economy – fishing and oil and gas – dwindling, Johnshaven wants to attract more visitors through the coastal path plans. The aim is to be part of Scotland’s Great Trails, which offers a map of named, walkable trails around Scotland. Currently, there is a gap in the map along the north-east coast between Aberdeen and Dundee, and Johnshaven sits in the middle of it.

Awkward!  

For Duthie, 71, helping to fill this gap is an increasingly daunting task. She is part of a small team called the Mearns Coastal Heritage Trail (Merchat) who work to restore and create coastal paths in Aberdeenshire. But as they work in one area, the sea snatches land away in another.

Is the penny ever going to drop? 

To complete areas of the trail, Merchat has had to gain funding through grant applications. The food ingredients firm Macphie has donated £30,000, and a further £40,000 has come from Aberdeenshire council’s allocation of crown estate Scotland cash from the Coastal Communities Fund, money allocated by the government to help coastal communities “flourish and strengthen their appeal as places to live, work and visit”. Caspar Lampkin, project officer for the Aberdeenshire coastal paths on Benholm and Johnshaven community council, says further help from Aberdeenshire council is likely to be minimal. “They’ve told us that they don’t have the resources to do anything,” he says.

Learn your lesson!  

Become Ungovernable...

I had our annual sstaff survey at work recently, and after all of the usual business related questions comes the pink 'n fluffy shit - do you believe you are of 'lower socio economic status',do you consider yourself disabled and of course, genderwoo bollocks: do you identify with ther same gender as your sex at birth. 

I usiually tick 'yes' but this time I noticed the option of 'other' followed by a text box for the mentals to put whatever made up status they want. So this year, I ticked that box, and wrote in it: 'I refuse to play this ridiculouis game'! 

We should all do this when faced with these nonsense questions. Because people like Tony have wormed their way into every organisation and no-one can now winkle them all out, so simply refuse to co-operate.  

And don't get me started on this nonsense..! 

Useless Pieces Of Paper...

Savannah Bentham was by herself in the static caravan where she lived with her parents in the village of East Heslerton, in North Yorkshire, when she was set upon by the six year old family pet, Biggie, a police officer informed a coroner on Tuesday.

'Biggie' not being a collie, Labrador or cocker spaniel, but a breed created from fighting dog stock - an XL Bully.  And it ripped out her throat.

Mr Wilkinson informed the court that there was no indication the dog had ever behaved aggressively previously, and the family had adhered to everything that was required in relation to its exemption certificate under the recent dangerous dogs legislation.

Which was just a piece of paper - nothing that changed reality and magically made this mutt a safe family pet, anymore than a  'Gender Recognition Certificate' magically makes Arthur into Martha. 

Asked by the coroner, the officer confirmed that there were no witnesses to the attack in the caravan. He said a post-mortem examination on the dog found no "physical or pathological alterations" that would have caused a "burst of aggression". 

Pointless looking for those - they were in its DNA and breeding, not in its body. Pointless believing that a government issued piece of paper has magical powers. Yet people do believe that. 

The Left Are Responsible For It No Longer Being A ‘Guilty Pleasure’, Adita

Aditya Chakrabortty on the Unite The Kingdom March, which reminds him of the racism of the Seventies:

Back then, racism was a furtive, guilty pleasure: deep down, even bigots knew their bigotry was ugly. No more.

Who is responsible for so misusing the term 'racist' that it's lost it's power, Aditya?  

What was striking about last weekend’s march wasn’t the turnout, easily matched by some of the protests about Gaza. It’s the lack of shame, the brazen insistence on an Englishman’s right to make others feel small.

Aren't you 'an Englishman', then Aditya?  Aren't you Lefties always telling us that if you're born here, no matter your background, you're English? Is that yet another Left lie?

It’s the normalisation of what was until recently considered malicious extremism. And a big driver isn’t the crowds down in the street, but the suits in our supposedly progressive government.Whenever confronted with violent prejudice, Keir Starmer coughs, splutters and takes the coward’s way out. He either pretends not to see racism or panders to it.

A Tim points out, some immigration can be positive, but  the scale of it has changed a tad since the 70s. 

But Aditya believes it's all Starmer's fault. See you do have something in common with those marchers after all!  

Just over a couple of months ago, in small towns across Northern Ireland, migrants were burned out of their homes and a mosque was petrol bombed. The prime minister’s response? First and foremost, he deplored attacks on the police. Muslims deluged with hate and fearing for their lives got only a promise of “every step possible to keep you safe”. Stripped of rhetorical flourish, this is the bare minimum any citizen might expect from a state.

The bare minimum one can expect from a state is surely secure boarders and control over who comes in. 

At the end of last month, Nigel Farage promised mass deportation of practically anyone seeking asylum in this country, even if it meant handing Afghan women over to the Taliban and sending Iranian dissidents to their deaths. To the press, No 10 didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow at the Reform UK leader referring to other humans as a “scourge” or an “invasion”. For the great unwashed, it posted the most extraordinary advert. “Whilst Nigel Farage moans from the sidelines, Labour is getting on with the job,” it read, showing an image of Starmer stamped with “removed over 35,000 people from the UK”. Why vote for the full-fat hatemongers when diet racists will do the job just fine?

I think referring to Labour's pitifully ineffective measures as 'racist' is a fine example of my initial point. 

Starmer might observe how much of the UK would simply fall apart without migrants and their children – from your local hospital to the school to the care home. How universities are facing collapse without foreigns students and their bumper fees. He might even point out – imagine! – that migrants are human too, with their own lives and dreams for themselves and their families. We could get on to the legacy of empire, and about how the climate crisis and poverty force other populations to move.

Why do they move here? There are plenty of other countries, aren't there? 

The Overton window is shifting further and further to the right. The ultimate price for that will not be paid by a politician, but by people far from power: an Ethiopian boy, perhaps, with no family, or an Asian kid looking out the window one evening.

This isn't Ethiopia so why should we care? And of course, by 'Asian' you don't mean Chinese or Thai, do you Aditya? You mean Pakistani. 

The True Face Of An Eco-Tycoon...

An eco-tycoon and his wife who were filmed destroying a community flowerbed amid a bitter row with his green-fingered neighbours over plans to build a gym at his home has finally settled the case and left the country.

Oh dear, how sad. But what sort of 'eco-tycoon' destroys nature?  

Oh, silly me, the ones that build the bird-choppers do. I suppose, Maybe this isn't as bizarre a story as I first thought when the headline caught my eye...

Michael Hodgson, 55, of Gwaenysgor, near Prestatyn, North Wales, was charged with criminal damage listed at a value of £178 over the incident in the village of around 230 residents in August last year. He and his wife Shirin Pootschi, 57, were caught on camera in a furious rage pulling up a bed of wildflowers outside his house just 24 hours after they were planted.

Insane! 

At the time locals said it was the culmination of a 10-year planning row between Hodgson and his neighbours, ongoing since he first moved to the village 11 years ago. Hodgson had put in three separate planning applications to build a home gym and office adjoined to his £500,000 home - but each time it faced fierce opposition from neighbours.

And he lost the argument: 

Hodgson has since donated an unspecified amount of money to a local church as part of an out of court community settlement order. Prosecutor Mrs Jackson told the court Hodgson has since moved out of the UK, although still maintains a property in the village. It is unclear where he and his wife are now living.

Beware if you've recently acquired neighbours! 

Defence lawyer Selina Woodward said: 'The community resolution was to pay a sum of money to the local church. That was paid.' She added: 'This gentleman and his wife have been through an absolute nightmare.'

 No, they caused one, they aren't the victims here, though I'm sure that's what they are paying you to say.

The lawyer said a PC in the case had stopped responding and she sought an adjournment. District judge Gwyn Jones adjourned the case until next month for North Wales police to liaise with Hodgson about the outstanding aspects of the community resolution.

Meaning they skipped town before fully complying? What lovely people... 

Inconvenient Facts

Transport for London (TfL) suppressed taxpayer-funded research that showed low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) do not reduce car use, it has been reported. TfL, which is under Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's control, chose not to publish a University of Westminster study after it found the controversial traffic relocation schemes helped to increase cycling but failed to encourage people to drive less or walk more, according to the Times.

Who's surprised? Not me!

Emails between Transport for London and the university show that officials were concerned about the report’s results coming out, the newspaper reported. The correspondence discussed how they might present the findings in the most positive light before a decision was made not to publish, the Times said.

An official is said to have reminded others in one email that “all of this stuff is FoI-able” (available under freedom of information laws) before reassuring them that no one outside TfL yet knew about the study.

And now everyone knows about it and also know that TfL are liars by omission and nothing they claim can be trusted! 

Dilemma For The Progressives...

Yay, Diversity!

Fundi embodies the growing involvement of black Kenyans in horse racing, changing perceptions of a sport that has been synonymous with the country’s white minority since the British colonial era. “Growing up, that was a sport for other people, not me,” said Muturi Mutuota, who, like many other children in Nairobi in the 80s and 90s, was taken to the racetrack by his parents at weekends. Now, Mutuota, who is in his 40s, is a director at the Jockey Club of Kenya, which operates and regulates the sport. At this year’s Day of Champions, three of the seven trainers were black, as were 10 of the 13 jockeys.

Booo, cruelty to animals:

The deaths of three horses in less than an hour at Cheltenham on Sunday, including Abuffalosoldier, who collapsed as ITV Racing’s reporter in the pull-up area was concluding a post-victory interview with his jockey, brought the track’s November meeting to a miserable conclusion after two days that were full of positivity and promise for the winter campaign ahead.After viewers had seen replays of the incidents in which Bangers And Cash and Napper Tandy died, as well as a freeze-frame of the instant before Abuffalosoldier’s collapse, Patterson said: “Public support is decreasing for horse racing and we have seen welfare improvements come in after our disruption of the Grand National last year which obviously is better for horses in the short term, but yeah, we need to be thinking of phasing this out completely and having a complete ban.”

Gosh, which will win? 

I Thought The Aussies Were Blunt By Nature?

An Australian doctor who raised the alarm about Erin Patterson has been sanctioned by the medical regulator over disparaging comments made about the triple murderer.

Can you actually 'disparage' a convicted triple murderer? 

Chris Webster was a key witness in Patterson's trial, at which a jury found her guilty of killing three relatives and attempting to kill another with a deadly mushroom lunch in 2023. After the verdicts, Dr Webster told BBC that Patterson - now serving a life sentence - was a "heinous individual" and called her a "disturbed sociopathic nut-bag" in an interview with the Herald Sun.

And what's wrong with that? Aren't Aussies famous for calling a spade a spade? 

The Medical Board of Australia found his actions were inappropriate and ordered that the general practitioner undergo ethics, privacy and social media training.

Apparently, they received complaints from members of the public! Australia, what happenred to you?  

Dr Webster told the BBC on Friday that he understood and accepted the decision from regulators - who have not publicly commented on his case but listed the conditions on a public register. "As far as my comments go, I stand by them," said Dr Webster, who still works as a GP in Patterson's home town of Leongatha, in regional Victoria. He said that regulators did not find any breach of patient confidentiality, as he was talking about matters that had been openly discussed in the murder trial. "I was found to be inappropriate in my professionalism," he said, "and that has to do with the use of salty language and my use of social media."

If he'd killed a few patients by incompetence, he'd probablv have got off lightly. After all, they don't seem to care as much about having living patients as they do about having unoffended patients.

The Aphra investigation concluded that Dr Webster must do at least eight hours of training in topics including professionalism and ethics, professional communication, privacy and confidentiality, and social media. He must also be mentored by another doctor for five hours a month for a period of one year, Dr Webster says. He called it an "onerous condition", which might require him to take one day off each week to travel to Melbourne, and could mean he has less time with patients. "Ultimately, the community is getting punished as well, and that's disappointing," he said."There's never been any question about my competency and skills as a doctor. It's all about my attitude and presentation, and maybe in this modern world, that kind of thinking might be a bit archaic. Doctors are human beings."

It seems Australia is even further down the road of progressive nonsese than even the US and UK.... 

One For My US Readers:Be Honest....

Did you vote for liberals getting tossed around like rag dolls? 😁

Be honest. pic.twitter.com/fnZd8xaLCH

— Mr. Star Spangled MAGA (@4thOfJuly365) September 19, 2025

Because who wouldn't? 

Some context here - whereas we in the UK have left wing politicians who welcome illegal immigration or speak against attempts to remove illegal immigtrants, across the pond they have politicians who actively seek to impede those federal agents attempting to remove illegal immigrants. 

The other difference is that President Trump isn't going to put up with this. And so they take steps to prevent them doing so. And it's glorious to see.

Red Flag Phrases

 Another day, another attempt to whip up sympathy for a wrong 'un.

The father of a Cardiff man who has spent 20 years in prison after stealing a mobile phone has said his son has served a "life sentence" behind bars.

Not yet. But we can hope.

Leroy Douglas, 44, was handed a minimum term of two-and-a-half years in 2005 for robbery, but remains in custody as he is subject to an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). The controversial measure was scrapped in 2012, but campaigners are calling for those currently serving an IPP to be resentenced and have filed a case against the UK before the United Nations.

Hmmm, I'll bet he lets slip a few clues about just why his son is still behind bars in the course of this interview.... 

Anthony Douglas, 63, said his son was a "normal kid" growing up who was "easily led" to make bad decisions.

Translation: 'es a good boy, it's everyone else's fault! 

Mr Douglas admitted his son had struggled with poor behaviour while in custody, but said being in a prison environment from a young age had created the "product that he is today".

Translation: Unable to follow instructions and ptone to fits of temper. 

"He started to act out because he doesn't think it's fair that he's been kept in there that long, so that's had an impact on his behaviour."

Translation: the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - like his father, everything bad that happend to him is doen to someone else, never his own actions.

So once again, they've found someone who actially belongs behind bars indefinitely. Strange how that keeps happening, eh?

HIghly Trained Professionals

That's what we are always told armed police are. And yet...

A police officer has been shot in the leg by a police firearm while trying to detain a man with a machete. The Gloucestershire Constabulary officer was taken to hospital with a non life-threatening leg injury after the incident in Silverstone Walk, Gloucester, on Wednesday.

Oh, Gloucestershire... well, they have form. Perhap Mr Mickelthwaite's found a new job?

"My thoughts are with the officer who's been injured and his colleague following this incident," said temporary chief constable Maggie Blyth. "I am grateful for the bravery they have shown in detaining someone suspected of carrying out a robbery and possessing a machete and who was believed to have been a real danger to the public."

Sounds to me like he’s not the only one! And if you send armed officers, shouldn’t they stand well away and use the threat of  their guns as a deterrent, rather than get close and start wrestling with the prisoner?

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service confirmed an ambulance, critical care car, a rapid response vehicle and the hazardous area response team attended the incident.

Why a ‘hazardous area response team’? Did he bleed acid like a xenomorph? 

A cordon has been put in place and police officers will remain in the area to provide reassurance to the public.

Very reassuring, I’m sure! 

How Will They Get The Cork Out With Their Little Paws?

I mean, sometimes even I struggle, and I've got the benefit of opposable thumbs!

I'm Not So Good At Maths Myself.....

 

...but I'm pretty sure Matt's on the money here.

Sunday Funnies...

 Ouch, but sadly accurate.

Does No-one Read For Pleasure Anymore...?

 Or do they just read to see their own desires and worldview reflected in the pages?

Yes, it's Reactormag again. 

For me, reading was always an escape from my world, and a chance to see another, either real or invented. How sad for today's generation, unable to appreciate anything that doesn't 'reflect their reality'.

I’m Shocked, Shocked To Find Fraud Going On

The head organiser of the LGBTQ Pride parade in London is under internal investigation over claims he abused his position, including by buying luxury perfumes with food and drink vouchers donated by a sponsor. 

Christopher Joell-Deshields, who has been chief executive of Pride in London since 2021, is facing a series of allegations from volunteer directors and others.

 Yes Reader, he's black...

Sources said that Joell-Deshields had been suspended by a newly constituted board of London LGBT Community Pride, the community interest company behind the parade.

 Oh, well, that's that, then, I guess. But wait, maybe not: 

Joell-Deshields declined to comment on the allegations but appeared to reject the new board’s authority to suspend him.

What?  

He said: “I remain in my role as CEO of Pride in London and as a director of London LGBT Community Pride CIC. “The current legal and governance matters relate to the organisation itself. These matters are being addressed through the appropriate channels, and it would be inappropriate to litigate them in the press. “ 

You mean it would be  'inconvenient' - for you... 

Nothing in this statement should be interpreted as an admission of any allegation, nor does it comment on any other individual. For that reason, I will not be making any further comment at this time.”

I really think you've already made enough. 

Here’s Another Theory – They Don’t Reciprocate

 After all, if I take a vegetarian friend out to dinner, every single restaurant has a vegetarian option, but when did a vegetarian restaurant ever serve steak for non-vegetarian diners?

Ask anyone who frequents plant-based establishments – whether they are vegan, vegetarian or simply trying to cut down on meat – and it is likely that they will have seen a favourite spot go under in recent years. Many of my London favourites, such as Rudy’s Vegan Diner, Halo Burger and Neat Burger, have closed, while friends across the country have lamented their own losses: The Glasvegan in Glasgow, Veggie Republic in Liverpool, Jungle Bird in Birmingham.

And why is this? 

There seem to be two popular theories as to why so many apparently successful plant-based restaurants are closing. Some argue that the hospitality industry as a whole is struggling; others say that the never-ending, oversimplified discourse about protein and ultra-processed foods has driven people away from veganism.

The elephant in the room that they are avoiding is surely the lack of choice - if you want to take a group of friends out for a meal, where do you go?  Somewhere everyone can get what they like, or somewhere only vegetarians can?

But, despite the negativity, interest in veganism is still on the rise, with environmental and health concerns now considered more significant contributing factors to giving up animal products than animal welfare.

But there are people for whom the penny has dropped: 

Then there was the news last month that the New York-based Eleven Madison Park (EMP), the only plant-based establishment in the world with three Michelin stars, would be putting meat back on its menu this autumn. The head chef, Daniel Humm, explained: “The best way to continue to champion plant-based cooking is to let everyone participate around the table.”

Hurrah! Yes? Apparenetly not, Reader: 

Unsurprisingly, this announcement did not go down well with EMP’s nearly half a million followers.

Why? It seems they are less concerned with going to a restaurant that serves the food they like, and more concerned with going to a restaurant that doesn't serve the food they don't like. Bizarre behaviour. 

Just Throw The Damn Life Ring!

 Narrator: It can always get more stupid...

Once, any association or organisation with 'Royal' in its title was an assurance it was staffed with ex-military, no-nonsense types, competent and dependable. Not any more...

Hang The Cost, Full Steam Ahead

Peak rail fares have been scrapped on ScotRail trains, meaning passengers will no longer pay higher prices for travelling on busy weekday trains.

Making people pay the same price for something that's in greater demand? Adam Smith must be rolling in his grave.

The Scottish government-owned operator said its aim was to get more commuters out of cars and onto trains.

Ah, I see. It's for Gaia so any economic nonsense can be excused. They've already rejected it once:

A pilot scheme scrapping peak-time fares, a policy championed by the Scottish Greens, was introduced in 2023 but ended in September 2024 after ministers said the costs of the subsidy could not be justified. However, in his programme for government speech in May, First Minister John Swinney announced that peak fares would again be scrapped.

Who said Scotland wasn't a deeply unserious country? 

Speaking at the launch of the scheme in Edinburgh on Monday, he said it would help people to move "from their cars onto trains", which would provide environmental benefits. He added: "This is financially sustainable because it's an investment in the rail network and it's an investment in the people of Scotland. "People in Scotland simply travelling from Edinburgh to Glasgow on a daily basis will see their travel costs fall by almost 50%. That's a massive saving when people are struggling financially."

But how are you going to pay for it. John?  

Why Should They Co-operate?

Victoria Police believe people are helping harbour alleged Porepunkah gunman Dezi Freeman, saying some residents know where the fugitive is. 

Maybe Aussuies are as fed up with their police service  as we are here in the UK? 

Speaking to media on Monday afternoon, Supt Brett Kahan said Freeman’s network was “wide” and asked those who know where he is to come forward. “You are committing an extremely serious crime by harbouring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman,” Kahan said. “People know the whereabouts of the person who’s allegedly killed two cops. People have chosen, for whatever reason, not to come forward, and I’m taking this time to appeal to you to come forward in that respect.”

Good luck with that. There's a long history of fugitives in Convict Land. And not so very far away. either.

Crushing All Joy Out Of Life…

They have been a familiar sight at takeaway sushi shops around the world for decades but it could be the beginning of the end for fish-shaped soy sauce dispensers. South Australia will be the first place in the world to ban them under a wider ban on single-use plastics that comes into force on 1 September.

Why? I mean, they are tiny and useful and make you smile when you see one (or maybe that's just me?). What possible reason could there be to ban them? 

The device known as shoyu-tai (or soy-sauce snapper in Japanese) was invented in 1954 by Teruo Watanabe, the founder of Osaka-based company Asahi Sogyo, according to a report from Japan’s Radio Kansai. It was then common for glass and ceramic containers to be used but the advent of cheap industrial plastics allowed the creation of a small polyethylene container in the shape of a fish, officially named the “Lunch Charm”.

And charming they certainly are. But they must go. Because eco-loons are soulless people. 

Under South Australia’s new law, only pre-filled soy sauce containers with a lid, cap or stopper and containing less than 30ml of soy sauce will be banned. Plastic sachets will be allowed but the government hopes bulk bottles or dispensers will be used in sushi shops instead. The South Australian environment minister, Dr Susan Close, said each plastic fish container was used for just seconds but “their small size means they’re easily dropped, blown away, or washed into drains, making them a frequent component of beach and street litter”.

Must be a peculiarly Aussie thing, I've never seen one over here. 

Other single-use plastic items included in the ban are plastic cutlery and expanded polystyrene food packaging, such as pre-packed instant bowl noodles.

So we'll cut down more trees to make wooden takeaway cutlery instead? Make it make sense!  

Dr Nina Wootton, a marine ecologist at the University of Adelaide, said plastic sushi fish are more damaging because they could be mistaken for food by marine life. “If it hasn’t already been broken down into microplastics yet and it’s floating around in its whole form, then other organisms that eat fish that size could think it is a fish and then eat it,” Wootton said.

Amy proof this has ever happened? Surely if there was, you'd show it? 

Maybe 'Watchlist' Is The Wrong Term?

A man who brandished a knife outside one of the country's most prestigious prep schools is reportedly on the counter-terror watchlist.

And he was arrested before he could do anything by the people supposedly watching him? Well, no, Reader, he was reported by the public. 

He was arrested shortly after pupils and parents gathered near the gates of the school, which counts Lady Gabriella Windsor as a former student.

At least this time, the police took their concerns seriously: 

The suspect, from High Wycombe, tried to run away after police officers challenged him. Officers threatened him with Tasers and were able to disarm and detain him before armed units were deployed.

Shame, if only they hadn't been so diligent... 

It is not yet being treated as a foiled terror attack, but the suspect is thought to have appeared on a counter-terror watchlist for showing interest in Islamist ideology, according to The Telegraph. The man has also reportedly been convicted of a child sex offence, and it remains unclear if he is on a MI5 watchlist.

It 'remains unclear' just why anyone uses that term without bursting out laughing, since no-one is actively watching these people. 

Yeah, OK, Now Do 'Gender Reassignment' Surgery...

 Aparrently, a new film with the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal has cast a light on the popularity of leg lengthening surgery, and the NHS is worried.

...amid a wave of interest in the cosmetic procedure and clinics in Turkey offering discounts, the NHS in England has issued a stark warning, urging people against it. The surgery involves breaking the bones in the legs before pulling them apart to lengthen them over weeks or months.

Which sounds pretty extreme but is nothing compared to the horrors of trying to make a man into a facsimile of a woman, or even worse, vice versa. So why isn't the NHS similarly warning against this too? 

Prof Tim Briggs, an orthopaedic surgeon and NHS England’s national director for clinical improvement and elective recovery, said leg lengthening surgery was “not a quick fix”.

Neither is 'gender reassignment' surgery. We can tell by the number of victims who go on to kill themselves. 

“It is a serious, invasive procedure that can be beneficial for patients when there is a genuine clinical need but carries significant risks and requires informed discussions between patient and surgeon.

Yup, just like the modern day practice of hacking away a lump of flesh from a girl's arm or leg to fashion into a non-working penis so she can pretend to be male. 

“Patients face months of treatment, which can be extremely painful, with the possibility of infection, nerve damage, blood clots and even permanent disability.

Also no different. 

“Anyone considering this surgery for cosmetic reasons abroad, should think very carefully about the long recovery and the risks, and I would urge against it unless well informed about where they are seeking treatment.

Why aren't the mentally ill men and women who believe they are the opposite sex similarly urged to consider if it's the right course?

“Don’t gamble with your health or your life for a few extra inches without fully understanding the risks.”

But if you think you're really Arthur inside and not Martha, hop up on this table and we'll crack on! 

Ignore H&S At Your Peril

A puzzling accident when first reported now sees some clarity:

Yasir Ali and Muhammad Zafar - pictured here for the first time - died suddenly on Saturday afternoon while removing cargo from an HGV in an overflow car park at Hitchin Football Club in Hertfordshire. A third man who was working with the pair was also seriously injured and is now in hospital where it's understood doctors are contemplating having to amputate one of his arms.

How on earth did such an accident happen? 

Mr Ali, 34, from Luton, and Mr Zafar, 33, from Dunstable, were friends and were both attending the University of Hertfordshire as international students originally from Pakistan.

Ah, it becomes a lot clearer now… I wonder what they were studying?

Maybe Give Them ALL Support Then?

The main screening tool used to decide which domestic abuse victims get urgent support "doesn't work", Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips has admitted to the BBC. Police, social services and healthcare workers across the UK have largely relied on the Dash questionnaire to assess risk since 2009. But there are now mounting concerns from academics and those working in the sector that the checklist does not correctly identify victims at the highest risk of further harm.

Does anything work properly in the UK? Sometimes it just doesn't feel like it... 

The Dash (Domestic, Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour-Based Violence) assessment is a list of 27 questions put to victims, to 24 of which they answer yes, no or don't know. The questions include things like: "Has the current incident resulted in injury?" and "is the abuse getting worse?" The resulting score typically determines what happens next. If a victim is classified as "high" risk, they are referred on for specialist, intensive support.

And perhaps scrap the idea that there's some sort of hierarchy of domestic abuse, and that some are more worthy of support than others?

Ministers are introducing a clearer legal definition of “honour”-based abuse in an attempt to catch more perpetrators and protect women and girls from violence and coercion.Teachers, police officers, social workers and healthcare workers will receive training to spot the signs of “honour”-based abuse and better support victims, while an awareness-raising campaign will encourage victims to come forward.

Maybe treat all domestic violence as serious from the get-go? It's a theory...

He Should Be Given A Commendation

A police officer that followed two teenagers in a van shortly before they died in an e-bike crash could be sacked, despite the vehicle being half a mile away at the time of the fatal collision.

What?! 

The van was approximately half a mile away from the e-bike, on a different road, when the fatal crash occurred, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), has said.

So was he charged with anything ..I mean, anything other than doing his job and trying to prevent a larger accident happening to innocent road users? 

However, in April, the Crown Prosecution Service said it would not bring criminal charges against the South Wales Police officer.

Then that should surely be the end of it. Unless police farces are worse than I feared… 

Now, the IOPC has announced that the unnamed officer, of South Wales, is set to face gross misconduct proceedings related to his actions both before and after the crash.

Those actions being? 

Particular concerns have been raised regarding the accuracy of the accounts he provided to colleagues after the collision incident, which potentially breach police standards of honesty and integrity.

OK, well , that’s not good. Police officers shouldn’t take it on themselves to lie about things, that’s just for the Prime Minister to order them to do. 

He also has a misconduct case to answer over his driving and language he used in relation to the boys at the collision scene.

Was he insufficiently respectful of the irresponsible little scrotes? No wonder we're in a pickle if that gets you booted from the force these days.

'Why it was manoeuvring at low level over West Yorkshire was a mystery,'

 

Doubt the firm will be happy with this publicity for their range....

'I'm not a "flying-saucer", or "alien visitation" freak, but whatever it was deserves the term UFO.' Mr Tunnah, originally from Scotland, then showed the perplexing snap to some of his friends 'just out of interest'. 'They all tended to agree that it was "real", "solid" and appeared to be travelling at speed from the dissipating "arch" on the horizon,' he said.

Well, there goes Yorkshire folk's legendary reputation for hard-headed down to earth common sense!

An Elegant Thrust Of The Knife...

 

...as we've come to expect from Matt

Sunday Funnies...

 Really, they limited themselves to just 21?

The Unemployment Lines In The US Are Getting Longer...

 ...not due to economic issues, just down to the emotional incontinence pd so many progressives in their reactions to the hideous muder of Charlie Kirk:

Let the sounds of fired libtards lull you to sleep. pic.twitter.com/reybGIdRhS

— David Santa Carla 🦇 (@TheOnlyDSC) September 12, 2025

Their mouths (and mostly social media fingers) writing checks their employers, once brought to their attention, declined to cash. 

And it's not just Twitter of coutse, over on Bluesky, where so many of the 'be kind' left went because they found Twitter 'too toxic':

Noe is it just the US, sad to say, mant washed up UK failed tv 'personalities' decided to get in on the act, despite the fact Charlie Kirk was relatively unknown here:

What posesses people to see a man shot for his opinions, and immediately rush to show the world how some opinons simply aren't worth listening to? Trawling through Twitter has been like wading through a swerer, or, as the inimitable David Thompson put it: 

Some people, even now, are asking if people should lose their jobs for what they have said on social media, and I have to say 'Yes, yes, they should, because this isn't a freedom of speech issue, it's an issue of basic humanity and self control' And the people who cannot display any have been tolerated too long. Now is not a time fot 'unity' and singing Kumbahya', it is, as my fellow blogger James notes, a time for anger and refusal to tolerate the status quo the progressives have enjoyed up to now.