I Hate To Say ’I Told You So’…

Actually. I love it, after all. it hsppens so often. Though rarely so quickly:

Public disorder broke out in Ballymena in Northern Ireland, with police saying a number of missiles had been thrown towards officers after crowds gathered near the site of an alleged sexual assault in the town. The unrest follows a protest in the area, about 30 minutes’ drive from the capital city of Belfast, earlier on Monday evening, the police statement said, adding damage had been reported to a number of properties.

More people unwilling to trust to the authorities' claims that the forces of law and order should be their only recourse? Stands to reason it would come first from a community long harbouring a distrust of government and its false promises.

Protesters gathered after two boys appeared in court after an alleged serious sexual assault in Clonavon Road, media reported. On Sunday, police announced that detectives investigating a serious sexual assault on a teenage girl in the adjacent Clonavon Terrace area of Ballymena had charged two teenage boys.

Those 'teenage boys' requiring the assistance in court of a taxpayer-funded Romanian interpreter. Which little nugget may go some way towards rxplaining the action taken by the community.

It's going to be a long hot summer. Isn't it , Reader?

When I Don’t Hear English Spoken On My Morning Commute, What Else To Call Them?

Because I don't. Dozens of Eastern Europrean dialects, African and Indian languages, but very rarely the language of my countrymen. Even the Tube driver's announcements are in heavily African accented tones.

Every government needs an immigration policy and the one led by Sir Keir Starmer is no exception. Laws are required to establish the terms under which migration to the UK is allowed, and to deal with the complexities surrounding irregular arrivals. But the decision to publish an immigration white paper a week after Reform UK made significant gains in local elections, when it is riding high in national polls, is hard to defend. Rather than defusing public concerns, the prime minister risks playing into the hard right’s hands – and undermining the community cohesion he says he wants to protect.

Ah, that fictional ‘hard right’ again. Are they in the room with us now, ‘Guardian’ editorial writer? 

Some of the proposed measures are reasonable. Others are not. Visa rules are complicated and ministers have identified real concerns about the way the system works. But the timing and language, particularly the prime minister’s references to an “island of strangers” and forces “pulling our country apart”, were awful choices. The danger is that such rhetoric ends up reinforcing divisions and xenophobia.

Actually, I think it’s the actions of the immigrant community that’s reinforcing that. 

The pledge to deport more foreign criminals smacks of tabloid politics.

Because we all want foreign criminals to stay here for…reasons, I guess. 

Granting counter-terrorism-style powers to the Border Force risks stoking, not easing, fear.

I don’t think anyone expects them to use them, since they struggle to use the ones they currently have properly… 

Sir Keir’s anger about the Tories’ track record is justified. It harms democracy, and helps opportunists like Nigel Farage, when parties tell voters one thing while doing another. But past mistakes do not justify present ones. Migrants have been and will remain a vital part of the UK’s labour force and student bodies. The government and its MPs must highlight these positives clearly and loudly.

Highlight the positives as much as you want, the negatives are all around us and speaking much, much louder. 

That's A Lot Of Words To Say 'We Have To Obey The Law', Mark...

Representatives of Goal Diggers undertook a 12-mile walk from their training pitches in Haggerston Park to Wembley Stadium to deliver their open letter to the FA. In it they demanded a reversal of the ban on transgender women from women’s football and described the FA’s decision as a “pitiful and weak response” to the supreme court’s ruling.

And did the FA immediately capitulate? Reader, surprisingly they did not!

Mark Bullingham, the chief executive of the Football Association, has written to London grassroots football club Goal Diggers FC explaining the governing body’s decision to ban transgender women from women’s football “was not an ideological judgment, but a difficult decision” based on legal advice that a “change in policy was necessary” following the supreme court ruling which said the term “woman” in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman.

So there! Of course, hiding behind the ‘big boys did it and ran away’ excuse, instead of coming out and saying ‘We should never have gone along with this nonsense in the first place!’ So brave… 

Goal Diggers player Becky Taylor-Gill (Ed: yes, Reader, just the sort of smug white liberal woman who you'd expect to find hurling gasoline on this fire so she can preen about her conscience) said the FA needs to stand more firmly with transgender women.

“Their motto is football for all. Put your money where your mouth is,” said Taylor-Gill. “Put your lawyers in the situation where they can fight for football to be for all.

Why should they lose money on an unwinnable case so men who dress up as women can get their kicks in the female dressing rooms, Becky? Given they are losing money already by aligning themselves with this wretched movement?

“We’ve created a safe space for trans women in our women’s team that we really cherish and they should feel welcomed. This decision will just push more trans women out of football at a time when that’s what they really need.”

Pushing men out of female spaces is only going to increase, because they never should have been in them in the first place. 

And All It Proves Is Union Members Aren’t Special

...they often have the same outlooks and interests as anyone else - and the same fears for what the country is becoming.

Trade unions are becoming increasingly concerned by a rise in “racist and bigoted” comments online from their own members and officials, the new leader of the Fire Brigades Union has told the Guardian. Steve Wright, the general secretary of the FBU, said internal inquiries into allegations of racism have uncovered dozens of cases where members have been found to use racist slurs or stereotypes, often regarding asylum seekers.

Gosh, so everything in the union garden isn't rosy after all? 

Other unions have had similar incidents, he said. Together, a group of unions plan to launch a campaign warning that online populists and far-right organisations are distorting the truth about immigration and race.

Why the assumption that they are distorting it? Maybe they are accurately reporting what their members are telling them? 

“On social media, some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up. You’d like to think we’re getting better, and we’re not.

“So we have been talking to other unions and they have seen exactly the same problems. We are pushing for new policies within our union which will recognise that this is happening and address issues of racism and bigotry within the union. We also want the TUC to address this too.”

Not address the cause of this discontent with progressive left wing dogma, dear me, no! Just shove it down people's throats even harder. That'll do the trick! 

“It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said. “I think it’s born out of last year’s riots, because our members are representative of society. We have seen the rise of Trump and the politics of Farage and it is hugely damaging. But it has resonated with some of our members.”

And that mustn't be allowed to happen! Who do they think they are, having their own opinion that isn't shared by the union leadership? 

When The Worm Finally Turns, It Isn’t Pretty

The first time I went to Hanau, I was creeped out by how ordinary it was.

Imagine being 'creeped out' by something ordinary? 

This mid-sized city of 100,000 people right in the geographical centre of Germany, looked and felt like many other places in western Germany I had been to: built around a bombed and reconstructed old town, expanded by a soulless mall with a multiplex cinema, surrounded by a vast industrial area and neighbourhoods separated along class lines. What the city prides itself on is that the Brothers Grimm grew up here in the late 18th century before they started publishing folk tales such as Cinderella and The Frog Prince. Since 2020, however, Hanau stands for something else: it’s the place where a far-right gunman killed nine people he assumed to be immigrants, and afterwards killed his mother and himself.

Ah. Not something 'ordinary' at all, then... 

Emiş Gürbüz, mother of one of the Hanau victims, spoke at this year’s official commemoration, attended by the city’s highest-ranking politicians as well as Germany’s federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. “This event is a stain on the history of Hanau and of Germany,” Gürbüz said, close to tears. “If everyone had carried out their duties, these nine people would still be alive.” Gürbüz’s son, Sedat, was killed during the attack at the shisha bar he had previously owned. He was 29 years old.

It's a familiar refreain, if the cast of victims is different this time.  

But what followed this year’s commemoration – which, unfortunately, coincided with the anti-immigrant and racist discourse of the final week of the federal election campaign – was frankly shocking. The coalition of mainstream parties that runs Hanau’s city government issued an extraordinary statement laying into Gürbüz, accusing her of political agitation, disrespect and of “exploiting” the atrocity. It said that no such future commemorations would be held in Hanau to mark the victims. Citing another speech that Gürbüz made at the Berlin film festival, the statement further alleged that she had publicly expressed hatred for Germany and Hanau. “Why she applied for German citizenship in such a state of mind will probably remain her secret,” the statement added.

Are they not supposed to mention the fact then? Is she supposed to be allowed to complain about anything she likes, and no one ask awkward questions, stifled by her victim status? 

But why would it be inappropriate for a grieving mother whose son was murdered by a racist and who now has to witness almost every political party campaigning on anti-immigrant manifestos, to express hatred for what Germany has become?

It's not. She's perfectly entitled to her free speech. But so is everyone else. And if they have decided they've had enough of the whining from someone given everything they didn't have in their home country, and the ingratitude shown for having been given it, then they'll exercise their own free speech to express it. It's unfortunate, but when you try to bottle it up this is what happens.  

At a time when far-right support has reached historic levels, it’s a peculiar take on the term “respect” to treat survivors of a racially motivated right wing terrorist attack in this way. Is this to be the fate now of anyone of migrant heritage who criticises public failings?

Well, nodding silently and never asking questions hasn't worked so well up to now, has it? 

More Police Incompetence

A teenager who was savaged during a dog attack has been hailed a “hero” for shielding his puppy and younger brother during the ordeal. Police were called to Stanley Gardens in Herne Bay on Tuesday afternoon after a 17-year-old boy and a Dachshund had been attacked by an aggressive dog.

I'm getting so very sick of these stories. If the boy had been younger, the consequences could have been so much worse... 

The teenager required medical attention, with doctors creating a body map of his injuries before flushing and dressing his nasty wounds. In the aftermath of the ordeal, his mum Cara told KentOnline Dougie is lucky to be alive and a younger child “wouldn’t have stood a chance”.

And what did the police do? The usual.  

Despite reports of the dog being an XL bully, officers are working under the impression it is a Rottweiler-bulldog cross-breed.

'The impression'? Why is it only an impression? Well, Reader, it's because despite this attack, and all the recent damage caused by out of control dogs, the police action has been...well, it'd be an exaggeration to call it 'action'. 

The offending mutt was secure at its owner’s home when officers attended and police opted not to seize it as it is not a banned breed, offering advice on using a muzzle instead.

A police spokesman has confirmed an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

I wonder if that investigation will include READING THE FUCKING DANGEROUS DOGS ACT.... 

The act specifically beefed up because the useless lazy bastards in the police farces whined they didn't have the powers to deal with dangerous dogs. So they were given more powers. Why aren't they using them?

Why aren't people in the areas these mutts are roaming taking their own measures for public safety?

So Good, Right Up To The Last Minute...

...but then Judge Harmes fumbles the ball:

Ian Birch, for Carnell, told the court his client was remorseful and regretted what happened on the day, while Carnell, who had no previous convictions, said she was sorry for what happened to Theo and that she considers herself an otherwise upstanding member of the community. She said since the incident she had felt she has done everything possible to put things right, including pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.

But Mr Harmes told the court: “It seems to me she has done everything in her power to minimise the offence.” He explained how Carnell told the probation service a previous incident where the dog had caused her injury was due to her slipping before her hand went into the dog’s mouth.

“I am not going to buy that,” Mr Harmes said.

Well, who would? Apart, that is, from far too many of your colleagues? 

He added that in June 2022 the dog attacked another dog leading to Carnell having to pay substantial vets fees.

“She pretends she didn’t know about that,” Mr Harmes said. “I see people in here shaking their heads at me. Shake away. I don’t care. This dog has hurt another dog and was known to be potentially dangerous. Almost weekly dogs in this country attack young children. If an owner cannot control their dog they shouldn’t own a dog. I do see this matter as very serious.”

Hurrah! Thankfully, at least one judge has seen the light. 

It was said in mitigation that Carnell, 46, of Church Street, immediately tried to help the boy when the dog set about him. “Of course, she would have been appalled by what happened that day,” Mr Harmes told Mr Birch. “But what I am saying is that she would have been on notice that the dog was a risk.”

Indeed, so, having failed to buy her fake remorse, her dumb excuses, her denial of the reality of her dangerous 'pet', you'll throw the book at her, right? 

Carnell was sentenced for being the owner of an out-of-control dog for three months suspended for two years. She was disqualified from owning a dog for four years and she must complete 100 hours of unpaid work. She must also pay £2,400 in costs.

*sigh* Of course not... 

H/T: ProtectOurPets via Twitter

This Is How To React To Government Overreach!

People who keep chickens in their garden now face prison and large fines if they fail to register them all under strict new rules brought in to tackle bird flu.

But within hours of the new Government database going live on October 1, protesters and pranksters managed to crash its website by listing as ‘pets’ everything from rubber chickens to chicken nuggets.

The controversial clampdown, which also applies to keepers of pigeons, ducks, geese and birds of prey, has been introduced as part of a UK-wide effort to prevent the spread of bird flu.

I'm proud of you, Britain!

Last night the site was still suffering technical problems. One smallholder in Easington, County Durham, who asked not to be named, said: ‘This is just petty bureaucracy gone mad. ‘I keep a small flock of chickens on my allotment for their eggs. I moved them indoors, at great expense, during the recent bird flu outbreak, and there’s never been a problem with this.

‘I know other keepers who say they’d be prepared to move the few birds they own into their loft to avoid detection rather than register them.’

This is the situation we have in England now - chicken resistance!  

Jane Howorth, founder of the British Hen Welfare Trust, based in Devon, agrees with the need to keep a register but added: ‘Unfortunately Defra held a consultation and then ignored the results, imposing what many see as unnecessary bureaucracy. I’m unsurprised at the reaction.’

I guess they didn't get the result they wanted, and thought 'well, people will just meekly comply anyway'. Found out it doesn't work like that. Now whose goose is cooked, DEFRA? 

He Who Pays The Piper, Stef...

A five-week run of A Midsummer Night's Dream at a major Manchester theatre was cancelled after the director bitterly feuded with theatre bosses over references to Palestine and trans rights. The Royal Exchange Theatre, which sits in the heart of the city, was due to run a modern version of the Shakespeare classic set in contemporary Manchester with a drum and bass soundtrack. It was directed by Stef O'Driscoll, known for her work in London's Royal Court Theatre. Theatre bosses cancelled the first few performances, which were due to start on September 6, citing a cast injury and a 'technical issue.'

But Reader, that wasn't the real reason... 

But the real reason for the cancellation was that theatre bosses objected to a song in the production which referred to trans rights and the phrase 'Free Palestine', Manchester Evening News revealed.

Whereupon it was impressed upon the director who was paying. 

A meeting between the cast, director and upper management took place last Wednesday, where disagreements were supposed to be worked through. But a source told the paper that the row could not be resolved.

And now the money tap has been turned off. 

And poor Stef has gone whinging to the Luvvie's Rag claiming that the situation left the show’s company feeling ‘devalued, invisible, problematic and unsafe’. A bit like trans activists and Palestine terrorism marchers make women and Jews feel, eh, Stef?

"It was not suddenly bred. It will not swiftly abate. "

"Through the chilled years ahead, When Time shall count from the date That the Saxon began to hate." 

Better begin counting....

Aldershot has a Labour MP @Ms_Alex_Baker. In Rushmoor 340+ flats has been bought by the council, using taxpayer's cash for migrants. No Brits allowed.

She also voted to end winter fuel payments to pensioners.

Down the pub she is told she is not welcome, get out & is a traitor.… pic.twitter.com/iEqBKUS0uh

— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) September 15, 2024

Just like her boss getting booed by the crowd at Doncaster racecourse. People are finally having enough. Long may it continue!  

H/T: David Atherton via Twitter

This Is The Attitude That Lead To That Victory In The First Place...

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged mainstream parties to exclude “right-wing extremists”, after preliminary results showed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) had come top in a state election, while a new populist force on the left established a firm foothold in the country’s political landscape. 

Voters in two closely watched elections in the former communist east made their dissatisfaction with Germany’s mainstream political parties clear, putting the AFD in the top spot in Thuringia, with 32.8% of the vote, and second place in Saxony, with 30.6%, according to preliminary results.

And lo, there was a great rending of garments and gnashing of teeth!  

“Our country cannot and must not get used to this. The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country’s reputation,” Scholz said, adding that the most dire predictions, that his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) might fall out of a state parliament for the first time, had not materialised.

This time, Scholz, This time, and with that attitude towards the voters, who knows what will happen next time? 

It Should Be A Belated Wake-Up Call For The UK Too…

If there was shock, it wasn’t immediately obvious. Mario Voigt, leader of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in Thuringia, assumed the pose of an election winner, even though his party came second by some margin, with 24% of the vote. He announced he would begin coalition negotiations with other “parties of the democratic centre” – meaning without the AfD. In Saxony, where the CDU won narrowly, their leader, Michael Kretschmer, has also ruled out working with the AfD. In both states, this will require the centre-right party to build complex alliances with two or three leftwing parties.

Yes, it's the AfD's victory again, worrying all the right people in the left-wing press. 

Disgruntlement with mainstream politics was long treated as a peculiarity of the former East Germany, which included Saxony and Thuringia. The vice-president of the Bundestag, Katrin Göring-Eckardt of the Green party, herself a native Thuringian, was not alone in claiming that some east Germans are “stuck in dictatorship glorification”. Now Göring-Eckardt’s Greens have been kicked out of the Thuringian parliament and are polling at 11% nationally. Telling voters that their concerns aren’t real, it turns out, is not an election-winning strategy.

We'll have to see how it plays out in the UK next election, because I'm sure Sir Kier Stalin will try it. 

There were lively public debates everywhere in the buildup to the elections. People discussed politics at workplaces and at the kitchen table. Turnout was at a record high, with three-quarters of people casting their vote. East Germans are neither fed up with politics nor with democracy. They are fed up with not being taken seriously.

Ringing any bells, yet? 

The same applies to other demographics. A staggering 37% of young voters in Thuringia have voted for AfD. In Saxony it was 31%. Though higher than the national average, this is still in line with what we saw in the European parliamentary elections in June when the AfD beat all three parties of Scholz’s coalition in the 16-24 vote, coming second with 16% – just one percentage point behind the conservatives. The AfD also won the working-class vote by some margin in the European elections, but this fact gained little media attention and seems to have raised no eyebrows in the other political parties.

Ask Germans what their main concerns are. Immigration tops the list, followed by energy prices, war and the economy. The word I heard over and over again in recent months was angst. Given that a growing number of immigrants are being charged with violent crimes, which are on the rise, many feel this is an issue of safety.

Yes, this is definitly starting to seem very familar. 

These are uncomfortable topics to discuss, especially for left-leaning parties, but discussing them is exactly what they must do instead of handing a monopoly over those issues to the AfD. That is not the same as plunging into populism. If centrists don’t start a constructive debate on sensitive issues, nobody will. The response to the regional elections must be more than preventing a far-right takeover. This is a belated wake-up call for Germany’s mainstream parties. I hope it will be heard loud and clear in Berlin.

It needs to be heard in London too.  

Jury Nullification?

A private security guard who was accused of racism and false imprisonment for detaining a 15-year-old boy at Superdrug was today cleared of all charges after just 30 minutes of jury deliberations.

I mean, what else explains this? 

Jake De-Geus and his colleague Edwin Hirst, who were employed to patrol a high street in Chichester, West Sussex, had been accused of tackling the teen in an 'unlawful' and 'unjustified' manner. De-Geus, 30, who wept as he told jurors he wasn't racist, insisted they had been 'justified' in deciding to detain the schoolboy, who had refused to leave the store when asked, pretended to steal shampoo and then head-butted him.

And thanks to CCTV and body worn video, the court - and more crucially, the jury - can see this all unfold. And put themselves in the place of these guards, or the place of a shopper trying to buy something while these 'children' are in the store. 

Hirst, 40, was also accused of assault by beating having punched another teenager in the testicles. But now, a jury has unanimously cleared the pair of all charges after a week-long trial at at Portsmouth Crown Court, Hants, and jury deliberations of just half an hour.

Not even long enough to have a cup of tea!  

During his evidence, the court was shown body worn footage of the incident, for which the teenage boy apologised for the 'vile language' he used. In it, he could be heard telling the rangers to 'turn me around so I can spit in your face'. It was heard he had been banned from Greggs and Sports Direct and admitted he had 'probably' behaved badly at Boots in a previous incident.

And he won't be named or face any charges. This is why we are broken as a country. And I fear, beyond all repair.  

Really? It Makes Me Feel Utter Despair...

...when I hear politicians talking about lifting the two-child limit, it makes me feel excited and hopeful.

I suppose it takes a particular mindset to celebrate the forthcoming opportunity to profit from others' hard work. I'm glad I don't have it. 

Even without the limit, we would only be living just a little bit better. The price of everything – gas, electricity, water, council tax – keeps going up, so things would still be very hard. Surviving is so difficult. I wish someone in power would assess the current price of everything and think about how much families actually need to not only get by, but to live on.

I wish that someone would remember that those 'hardworking families who want to live and not just get by' will instead be further impoverished by being taxed to support the feckless like you...

I did used to get some financial support from my children’s father, but that’s all stopped now. My relationship with him was very abusive, and I don’t want to ask him for anything now, as he always expects something in return. For the past 16 years, he and I were on and off – and there were arguments, fights and violence. We’ve separated now, and I’m trying to do what’s right for me and the kids.

You had three kids with him despite all that, and now you want the taxpayer to pay for them? GTFO!

Why can't the 'Guardian' ever find a genuinely deserving case to champion? 

🎵"I'm all mixed up inside, I want to run but I can't hide, and however much we try, we can't escape the truth..."🎵

I wonder how much Starmer and his wretched party are enjoying what promises to be a Long Hot Summer...?

I guess when you excuse one group's reactions to events and urge the police to go softly-softly with them, other groups think 'Well, might as well chance my arm!'. 

Because all that happens when the police crack down even harder on them is the sense of grievance gets stronger, and a few more people observe the differing reaction and start to think 'Hey, that conspiracy theorist I laughed at might not have been so wrong after all!'...

And then, no amount of 'It's the Russians to blame!' is going to help things. 

At Last, A Judge No Longer Prepared To Waste Public Money!

Although an exact figure has not been calculated, Hussain has cost the police, criminal justice system, and essentially the public, thousands upon thousands of pounds, by dragging her case through the courts for more than two years, hauling her dog’s victim through relentless hearings, appealing her conviction, withdrawing the appeal, then appealing the order to destroy her dangerous dog.

This is this case, which would have been avoided, as would the mauling of this victim, if police had acted the first time this dangerous dog caused trouble.

During a hearing at Preston Crown Court last week, Judge Guy Mathieson refused to accept an application to adjourn the appeal hearing. He then refused to uphold the appeal against the destruction of Ashiya Hussain’s dog Bruno, saying the time spent on the case was “not a proper use of public funds”.

Thank god for a judge with sense!  

Evidence was presented to the court by dog handling and behaviour expert Craig Richardson who said that while he believed Bruno was a danger to other dogs, and not directly to humans (unless they got between Bruno and another dog), he could be trained to lower this aggression. He suggested that the dog’s life be spared, and he be given to a new owner, with conditions for that new owner to keep the dog muzzled at all times while out in public; to be on a harness while in public; to be controlled by two points of contact at all times such as a lead attached to a collar and also a harness; and to only be allowed off a lead when in a private field.

What new owner would want to take this thing on?  

A proposed new owner, Ansar Ali, also gave evidence during the hearing, telling the court that he would take care of Bruno at his terraced home in Great Harwood, which only has a small back yard, and would take him to work with him at a car garage every day and keep him locked in that garage should he need to nip out.When asked by Judge Mathieson when Bruno would ever get chance to exercise or be allowed more space to roam around in, Mr Ali could not provide a satisfactory answer.

Come to think of it, why did the owner need such a beast? There may be a clue in the comments: 

 Very interesting...

When an adjournment for the hearing was requested, so a second dog expert report could be compiled, Judge Mathieson said: “We are not going to use any more money on this case, for a dog. I know it’s a family pet but it’s a dog.

“How many thousands of pounds is to be spent? If this was a privately paid for case would this still be going on?

“How much is it costing on a daily basis, how much to keep Bruno in kennels? No-one has the answer, so shall we just adjourn for another three months for more public money to be spent?”

Bye bye Bruno. You've lived two years longer than you should have, in any sane country. 

If You Fail To Uphold Law And Order...

Penny was questioned by the NYPD on Monday but was released without charge. The investigation is ongoing and it is likely that a grand jury will be impaneled to determined whether or not charges should be brought.

Anthony was originally booked on suspicion of murder the next day, but then released without charge after the District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Anthony was in 'mortal danger' and 'acted in self-defense'.

The decision to drop the charges against Anthony has angered protestors and at a meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, activists held up signs reading 'Justice for Banko Brown'.

...don't be surprised when others step in and do it. 

Two different US cities, both beset by exactly the same issues; lack of action on lawlessness by the authorities. And tolerance of idiocy like this:

One protestor, who identified herself as Lia McGeever, erupted into a scream over the death of Brown. She said: 'I hate a lot of people on this board for the reasons that led up to Banko Brown's death.

'There's a lot of performative people on this board who will say one thing and support black people, homeless people, trans people, and then immediately stab you in the face — being racist, transphobic, anti-homeless.

'I don't have any words prepared today. I just want you to feel our pain.

'So, I am going to spend the next minute screaming cause that is what is going on in here. 'That is what the trans genocide in this country, in this city, has brought me to.'

That she wasn't immediately removed, that she was allowed to have her pointless little temper tantrum, is merely another symptom. 

But This Isn't 'Controversial'...

A pub landlord at the centre of a row over golliwogs has denied that he is racist after controversial social media posts from him emerged declaring support for...

Apartheid? Forced repatriation? Brown sauce on bacon sandwiches instead of tomato?

...'White Lives Matter'.

Ha ha ha ha ha! Try harder, race baiters.

He faced a huge social media backlash and was accused of being racist after his hard-hitting posts were circulated by critics.

It wasn't anything like 'a huge social media backlash'. Ask Nike what one of those looks like. These people aren't 'critics'. They are race baiting shit stirrers and should be regarded as such.

In the latest twist to the controversy, historic Facebook posts from Mr Ryley also show him posting: 'Black Chancellors matter' in October 2022 in a reference to former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng.

The monster, eh?

Mr Ryley, who is the licensee of The White Hart pub is due to be questioned by police when he returns from Turkey next month. He is being investigated for a hate crime because of the display of golliwogs in his pub.

He added: 'I will have a solicitor with me and I'm looking forward to defending my position. The golliwogs are not me being racist, they are a reminder of my childhood. I don't understand how anybody could be offended by them.'

They aren't. They are pretending to be, with the full collusion of the disgraceful Essex Police.  

They Had No Standing To Give Such Orders...

...so 'defying' them is absolutely the right thing to do:

A pub landlady today defied authorities and put more of her golliwog collection back on display just days after 20 of them were seized by police as part of an investigation that she and her husband had committed a hate crime.

She added: 'The police took 20 of my golli dolls but I've got plenty more of them upstairs. If people don't like them and feel offended by seeing them then they don't have to come into my pub. It's as simple as that. I'm not going to give into this crazy political correctness. We have customers at this pub from all different races and none of them have ever complained about seeing my gollis on display. Why did the police get involved in this?'

Indeed, a good question, since thay utterly fail at their real job, when needed... 

The White Hart pub is located on the edge of a council estate in Grays notorious for crime and drug dealing.

Ms Ryley and other regulars fumed that police rarely attend when called out for 'real' crimes and slammed the presence of six police officers who removed the golliwogs from the pub.

So what prompted the action now, given a previous complaint to the council had been seen off? 

The landlady claimed that the complaint was made by a customer who entered the pub three weeks ago and asked her to remove the golliwogs as he found them offensive.

She said: 'None of the regulars had ever seen him before, he's not from around here and doesn't even drink in this pub. He walked in, took some pictures, complained and then left.'

We will, of course, never know his name. He'll be protected by the Essex plod better than any supergrass... 

A Home Office source said: 'The Home Secretary's views have now been made very plain to Essex Police so they're under no illusions.

'Police forces should not be getting involved in this kind of nonsense. It's about tackling anti-social behaviour, stopping violence against women and girls, attending burglaries and catching criminals – not seizing dolls.'

Over to you, Essex plaod. What will you do now, meekly accept defeat, or double down and send more officers to remove these new dolls?  

And They Are Right To Be Worried...

Schools admit they are extremely worried about the copycat protests that have erupted in the last two weeks, typically sparked by videos shared on TikTok with many thousands of views. But what has shocked many leaders most is the number of parents on social media applauding pupils taking part.

Because this isn't just a case of don't-care, my-child-can-do-no-wrong chav parents. Far from it.

Sam Strickland, principal of Duston school, an academy in Northampton that teaches children aged four to 19, told the Observer: “Some parents have been arguing that it is an infringement of human rights for schools to restrict toilet use during lessons. That’s ludicrous.”

Is it? I suspect if the local 'refugee' centre told its inhabitants they could only use the toilets at certain times you'd be pretty vocal about it at cocktail parties with your fellow teaching heads... 

He argues that parents are “legitimising” demonstrations that could quickly get out of hand and become a serious risk to young people’s safety, by openly questioning the fairness of school rules and the authority of teachers.

You really believe you shouldn't be subject to questions on those issues, do you? 

Chris Stokes, principal of Farnley Academy in Leeds, wrote to parents on 24 February condemning a protest at his school that morning over locked toilets during lessons. A parent told the local newspaper the school was infringing young people’s human rights. Others backed her up on social media.

But Stokes said in his letter that the decision to lock toilets had followed “two very serious safeguarding events”. He wrote: “It was a necessary decision to keep all pupils safe.”

Because collective punishment is the easy way out, rather than dealing with those who break the rules. As expected.