One Is Coincidence, Two Is Happenstance...

...yeah, I think we all know the rest, don't we?

The news sparked fury from the Campaign Against Antisemitism, who said it was 'beyond belief' that prosecutors had decided to drop the case.

A spokesman said: 'This incident was caught on video that went viral, with plenty of witnesses on the plane, including Ryanair cabin crew.

'It is beyond belief that sufficient evidence cannot be amassed to establish jurisdiction and that potential culprits are free to go without sanction.

'This is the third time in almost as many months that the CPS has dropped or reduced charges against suspects in high-profile anti-Semitic hate crime incidents, and members of the Jewish community are writing to us in indignation.'

Well, quite! How do the CPS wriggle out of this one?

A spokesman said: 'Following a careful review of all the available evidence, we concluded there was insufficient evidence to prove that the alleged offences took place in British airspace and therefore within remit of our courts.'

It's not like planes are tracked to within an inch by radar is it? 'Air Crash Investigation'? No, never heard of the show....  

'The CPS takes racism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism in sport extremely seriously because of the devastating impact it has on victims and wider society.

'Where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest, we will prosecute these cases. We are working with sporting bodies and the police to advise them on the evidence required to build strong cases so that offenders can be brought to justice.'

You want them to do your job for you? Well, why not? They couldn't do much worse... 

I'm Going To Let Gordon Handle This One...

Matt Hancock has pledged to improve access to GPs after family doctors complained they were being overwhelmed.

Doctors say they have been set an 'undoable' task by ministers, with pent-up demand from the pandemic creating a 'tsunami' of patients.

Gordon Ramsay Chef Ramsay GIF from Gordonramsay GIFs

The numbers visiting GPs increased by 20 per cent last month, according to analysis of NHS England figures by the Health Foundation.

Wait, despite this 'deadly pandemic' the population has increased by 20%..? Really? 

In the first year of the pandemic, 31million fewer GP appointments were carried out than normal... 

No, didn't think so! It's just the system reverting to normal, and the lazy bastards having to go back to working for a living!

...as patients put off seeing doctors over fears of catching Covid or burdening the NHS.

I'm pretty sure the majority of them didn't have a choice, as GPs closed up faster than speakeasy owners in 20s Chicago when Elliot Ness and his men hove into view... 

Modern 'Journalism' Strikes Again....

Reaction from your readers?

If you're thinking that it looks like a cut and paste job from Facebook....well, who am I to disagree?

It's certainly not from comments on the original story!

It's really a mystery why so many local newspapers have taken to running these on your browser, isn't it?

So, does anyone feel a need to fund this sort of 'important journalism'..? Anyone? Bueller?

Snowflakes - Too Lazy To Do Their Own Heavy Lifting...

The poster was seen in a bathroom at Beckenham Beacon health centre on Monday (August 13).

It read: “Did you know that there are men, who have assaulted and raped women, housed in UK women’s prisons because they claim to be women?

“Did you know that groups are going into schools and telling kids they can ‘choose’ whether to be a boy or a girl, that these groups receive Children in Need and National Lottery funding?

“Did you know that proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act will mean that a man is allowed into women’s spaces (changing rooms, sports teams, swimming lessons) just by declaring herself to be a woman?”

And is any of that inaccurate? If the answer's 'No', what's the problem?

Yes, it's illegal flyposting. But it's up to the medical centre staff to remove it if they disagree.

However, step forward, virtue signaller extraordinare!

Harrison James spoke to News Shopper about his reaction when his girlfriend Amy, 25, showed him a photo of the poster she had seen at the medical centre.

He said: “I thought it was just disgusting that we live in a world where people would vandalise medical facilities with such outdated transphobic views.

“It really has no place in our society.”

*yawns* Oh, have you finished?

He said his girlfriend was unable to remove the poster because it was a plastered on with a sticker.

However, the pair are going back to the Beacon today with "warm water and soap" to remove it.

Harrison shared the poster on Facebook and encouraged people to “tear these signs down” after others were reportedly spotted in Beckenham.

What's wrong with you and your girlfriend trudging round Beckenham with soap and water, Harrison? 

I Don't Think That's How It's Supposed To Work, Love...

I'm pretty sure you're supposed to dump it somewhere else...

At a hearing on May 22 at Croydon Magistrates’ Court, Pascaline Djiemegwo, 32, of Princess Road in Selhurst, was ordered to pay £834 for littering a blue bag of household waste onto a public footpath in the road she lived on.

/facepalm

At a hearing at the same court seven days prior, Lovia Bonsu, of Brigstock Road in Thornton Heath, was ordered to pay a total of £400 for littering two black sacks and cardboard boxes in Raymead Passage.

That is at least a street off the one she lives in, so she clearly has a bit more native cunning.

Oh, Pull The Other One!

Primary school chef Coral Knockton was fined £65 for stopping in the box in March, although she claims that she was moving at the time.

“I know my Highway Code and I wouldn’t have gone into the box junction if I thought I was going to get stuck,” the 43-year-old said. “If that’s not a cash cow I don’t know what is – I’ve been treated totally unfairly.”

Nope! I've driven that junction lots of times, on the way to & from my mother's house to the shops, hospital, etc. Never once got a fine.

Know why? I wasn't stupid enough to enter the box junction when the exit wasn't clear!

Estate agent Helen Lines, 42, agrees and says her Heathway home is ruined by traffic chaos, adding she was fined twice in one week for being stuck in the junction last year.

“I actually hate this place – I think it’s crazy,” she said. “It used to take me five minutes to get from my house to Asda in Merrielands Crescent but since they introduced the junction it takes 40.

Go up the other way to Oxlow Lane, turn right, run down to The Bull roundabout, hang another right and go to Asda via the A13 that way.

Takes 20 mins at most.

“The council should come over here and try to cross the junction themselves – it’s shocking. Everyone moans about it all the time.”

But doesn't seem to want to do anything to avoid it...

Sounds Familiar....

It's often been said that Tikka Masala is the British national dish. But it might not be for much longer, as figures show two curry houses are closing in Britain each week due to a shortage of chefs.

This crisis is due in part to the retirement of the original wave of immigrants in the 1970s who set up curry houses. But the industry is also suffering due to immigration laws which make it difficult to bring chefs to the UK from abroad.

Oh noes! What can we do? Could we....maybe train some?

Well, one man plans to try:

An award-winning curry house owner plans to train budding youngsters looking to master Asian cuisine.

Ibrahim Ali, who runs the popular Usha Restaurant in Burnley, said he hopes to launch a curry college within the next 12 months in the face of a national staff shortage.

Hurrah!

But...there's a snag. And it's the usual one.

Ibrahim, who was a winner at the British Curry Awards and is Usha’s executive head chef, said: “The staff we have got at the minute are all over 35. The work is very difficult and it’s hard for us to engage with young people.

“I have tried. I have had apprentices, they do four or five weeks and then come up with excuses. We start work at 5pm and finish at 10pm, but the workload between then is heavy.

“We are finding it hard to attract the new generation. It’s hot, there’s shouting, and there are demands.”

Yup, the laziness and entitlement culture of today's youth strikes again.

Why Are The CPS Institutionally Incompetent..?

Bako, from Oldham, Greater Manchester was initially charged with child destruction but ahead of his trial pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Really..?

Miss Helen Veitch added: "A witness described how he swung his arm and punched her in the stomach – very low in the stomach.

''He repeatedly punched in the same area whilst still had his arm around her neck.' She said 'he hit her like a boxer.' She also said it seemed like a targeted strike and that the victim could not move. The witness says she still thinks about how strange it was that he got that low.

''She described the scream omitted by the victim. Another independent witness heard a clapping sound and said such a blow was delivered to him he felt it would have floored him."

Well, it's not for want of witnesses that they couldn't pursue the charge, so the only answer left is laziness...

H/T: wiggia via email

Sounds Like An Open & Shut Case To Me…

Mr Shipley said that he would now be making a formal complaint to Essex Police on the grounds of "negligence and incompetence".

Well, he won’t lack for evidence!

Mr Shipley said that he was told by an officer from Essex Police at the scene of the incident that it was "not a criminal matter as the offending dog was not a dangerous breed of dog".

In other words, they thought they could fob him off.

I mean, the only other explanation is that they are woefully ignorant of the law, and since that’s their job…

Later, after Mr Shipley had checked the law and contacted the officer again, he said the officer emailed him with a crime number and said the case was being transferred to police at Saffron Walden.

Aha! ‘Get someone else to take the flak’! That’s an old public sector worker trick.

Yesterday (Sunday October 19), Mr Shipley said he was told by another officer that as there were "no independent witnesses" and because the owner of the other dog "denies that her dog attacked mine, there is no way of knowing which dog bit me and therefore the police would be taking no further action".

Gosh, really? Well then, are we going to start applying that same criteria to rape allegations?

Well, I Suppose It Makes A Change From 'Muslim Grooming Gossip', Eh, Plod?

Inspector Jason Nadin of Tamworth Police said ..."The people who reported these incidents were genuinely concerned, but it is down to cat conspiracy gossip that has got out of hand."

I expect that's what they thought in Rotherham too. At first,

And...why does it seem that these days the police expend far more energy and enthusiasm in trying to 'no crime' something than they do in trying to solve it?

Sorry, Mrs Moy, But 'Stronger Legislation' Won't Make A Blind Bit Of Difference...

After Mrs Moy’s wound had been dressed, she contacted police to report the dog attack.

Officers discovered the animal had escaped from a nearby house and had warned the owners to keep it under control.

 That's it? That's all..?

But Mrs Moy believes tougher action should have been taken.

“This dog was very strong and vicious,” she said. “What if it attacks a child next time it gets out on to the street?

“I really think there should be stronger legislation, so that dogs which have proved themselves to be dangerous should be taken away from their owners.”

Yeah, that'd be nice, wouldn't it? But all the evidence seems to say it ain't gonna happen until the relevant authorities have to bear the consequences of inaction, and not the public.

A National Police Force..?

Oh, if only we had one...

Police in Blackpool confirmed they had been made aware of the incident.

A spokesman said it was believed the dog had escaped from its owner’s garden, but added police didn’t investigate dog-on-dog attacks.

Odd. The Met seem to.

An ‘Isolated Incident’, Eh..?

Sgt Rob Jameson said: “We are treating this as a serious incident because we want to speak to the man involved.

“This is an extremely isolated incident because the majority of pet owners are responsible people and keep their pets under control and well behaved."

You are kidding, officer?

Allow Me To Translate…

Police were called and the matter was handed to Broxtowe Borough Council, but the owners are not going to be prosecuted because it is their first offence.

Miss Dicken said: "A dog warden came to see me and said they were not going to prosecute and that the dogs are actually really nice and it was a terrible accident.

"I am absolutely disgusted. There needs to be a change. It should be made law to prosecute on the first offence."

“Well, it’s a lot of work, and really, madam, the sort of owners that let their children walk these types of dogs aren’t very nice and it’s a real bother to get them to court and there might be repercussions from them and I just can’t be bothered. I mean, I’m a public sector worker, after all, so what’s the worst that could happen?”

Perhaps You Need To Read The Legislation Again..?

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “We visited a property in Mill Hill Street and found the pit bull-type dog.

“The dog escaped from the property and ran towards Bower Street and attacked a Alaskan Malamute.

“The owners of the dog said that they were unhappy with the dog’s behaviour and 09:10 AMagreed to have it put down and they did so on Tuesday.”

The spokesman said the dog was not a banned breed and had not attacked anyone previously.

Ummm, hang on:

Four types in particular were identified by the Act:

Pit Bull Terrier (The English Staffordshire Bull Terrier is not on the list)

Japanese Tosa

Dogo Argentino

Fila Brasileiro

The Act also covers cross breeds of the above four types of dog. Dangerous dogs are classified by 'type', not by breed label. This means that whether a dog is prohibited under the Act will depend on a judgement about its physical characteristics, and whether they match the description of a prohibited 'type'.

So, any arrests? If not, why not?

Luckily your Liverpudlian colleagues aren't quite so complacent.

Hang On, Isn’t That Your Job?

Listing 37 reasons why it should close, Sussex Police claims JJ Whispers failed to prevent crime and disorder as it served alcohol to crowds of up to 700 people.

Yes, it’s the police war on nightclubs, pubs (and any other places where people have been known to misbehave) again. And when you look at the incidents mentioned in the report, they do seem to be expecting rather more from the club staff than seems reasonable:

Among the incidents reported include staff failing to call police after a woman was bitten by her ex and threatened with a brick.

OK, so just what incentive is there for them to do so, if it’d count against them at a license review like this one? And if she wanted it reported, why couldn’t she just do so herself?

On another occasion, officers claim a reveller at the club had to be stretchered out after vomiting because she had drunk so much.

Yes, there’s an onus on the staff not to serve someone who is intoxicated, but if someone else is buying rounds/has a low tolerance for alcohol/has ‘preloaded’ before arrival, how are they to know before they keel over?

On another occasion a man who had been drinking in the club was nearly knocked over by a vehicle as he left.

And…that’s the club’s fault how..? Are people to have no personal responsibility whatsoever?

Officers also criticised the club for advertising drinks promotions and on one occasion allegedly showing punters swinging from 28% proof bottles of alcohol on a Facebook video.

Well, how very dare a club advertise drinks promotions! And obviously selling 28% proof alcohol is illegal.

Isn’t it?


Oh…

So…what are the police going to do when they've closed down every pub and nightclub and yet they still find that crime and disorder happens?

No Crime? Really?

Cheryl Smith says she was attacked by the dog on July 26.

The 30-year-old claims the dog leapt over two fences and bit her in the street, knocking her against a fence. She says she suffered cuts and bruises after she hit the fence and three cuts from the dog’s teeth and two from its claws.

Seems like the immediate cessation of their postal service is the least the owners should be facing?

She reported the incident to police, who spoke to Tina Young, aged 48, of Westminster Avenue, Farnworth, whose address the dogs were at. The dogs belonged to her cousin Mark Holliday.

But no crime has been committed.

How so? This wasn’t an incident that occurred on private property, this was in a public place

Ms Smith said: “The fear I felt made me get in touch with the police in the first place. If that dog got hold of a child, I dread to think what it would do with it.

“I would’ve thought the priority is other people’s safety and not putting them at risk.”

Yes. I’d have thought so too…

Mr Holliday, insists Ms Smith was “grazed” not bitten.

He added: “The dogs are well looked after, they’re well trained, they’re just not used to strangers.“

That’s unfortunate, then, because – out in a public place like a street - everyone’s a stranger!

“If there’s a stranger, they’ll have a muzzle on. They’ve never bitten anybody before.”

Ah, the usual response from the owners of dangerous dogs when caught out.

It always comes as a surprise, doesn’t it?

For A Quiet Life*, The Police Recommend…

…you build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody.

Well, you didn’t think it was going to stop with nightclubs and corner shops, did you?

Plans for a two-storey, “drive thru” McDonald’s have been given the thumbs down from police who fear it will bring a rise in anti-social behaviour.

So the police now get the chance to veto anything that they feel will make more work for them? Which idiot gave them this option, and why?

The objection to the McDonald’s branch comes after police opposed an alcohol licence for a Twickenham outlet of coffee shop Harris & Hoole earlier this week on similar grounds.

Great! We can all look forward, in future, to being told our only option is to sit at home with a mug of cocoa and the radio on...

* Their quiet life, of course...

“Remember: Only Professionally Trained People Should Deal With Crime…”

“…unless, you know, we don’t feel like it, and then we’ll just get any old Tom, Dick or Ahmed to handle it for us'...

Gang members have been known to hide weapons in public places to avoid being arrested for carrying them in the street. But now volunteers, including Neighbourhood Watch members, are being taught how to recover dangerous items and the importance of preserving evidence in case a weapon has been used in a crime.

I'm guessing the 'training' involved is watching reruns of 'CSI'..?

The project began in Lambeth last week, where searches of two estates in the Coldharbour area of Brixton unearthed six knives. It will be rolled out to more boroughs in the coming months and could eventually spread across London.

I can't wait! I've got my own rubber gloves and everything!

Detective Chief Inspector Claire Crawley, from Trident, said: “For some time we have offered weapon sweep and forensic awareness training to council workers, such as estate wardens, across the capital.

“This is the first time we have had training sessions for local residents. It has been very well received in Lambeth, so we are booking further sessions for later in the year.”

Jack Hopkins, Lambeth council’s cabinet member for safer neighbourhoods, said: “We welcome support from the vast majority of law-abiding people who live here.”

A Met spokesman insisted there was no risk of prejudicing trials by having members of the public carrying out police work.

Yeah, I think we’ll let case law be the judge of that. Defence solicitors must be rubbing their hands together with glee...

Update: Farenheit211 might just have the answer to this.

I Hope, By This Action, The Police Have Made Themselves Liable For Future Attacks...

...though, given what they can apparently get away with, I'm not hopeful:

Security guards Graham Cook and Liam McHale, who were on patrol in the hospital grounds, heard her screaming and rushed to help her.

Mr Cook said: “Liam and I were carrying out a standard patrol at the hospital when we heard screams coming from a nearby street.

“We saw a lady on the floor being attacked by a large white bullmastiff and a pit-bull puppy.

“We physically lifted and dragged the dogs away from Mrs Hird, who appeared to be injured, so that she could escape to safety. We are just relieved that Mrs Hird is okay."

 And the authorities took action!

After the attack a dog warden was called to take the dogs away...

 Well, some of them...

...and they have now been reuinited with their owner.

Police are currently investigating the incident, but no action has been taken against the owner.

 /facepalm

The council statement is somewhat terse:

A Burnley Council spokesman said: “We believe the dog warden has acted correctly throughout this incident.

“A serious dog on person attack that results in hospitalisation is a police matter. However the council dog warden did attend the scene and took two dogs away to the kennels where they were seized under the police’s authority.

“The police subsequently allowed the dogs to return home. The council doesn’t have powers to keep dogs at the kennel if the owner comes to collect them.”

 In other words, 'We did our job. Unaccountably, the police didn't do theirs'.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Constabulary said: “An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident is ongoing. We have previously spoken with all parties involved and will be speaking with the owner of the dog in question again in due course.”

Don't rush or anything, eh? I bet the house has been marked on the PNC so that you don't walk unknowingly into danger though...