Another 'Urban Myth' The Left Pooh-Pooed As 'Racist' Comes True...

Geese are being stolen from a park with locals fearing they are 'being taken to eat' on Christmas Day, a councillor has said. Black Ash Park in Newport is well known for having scores of geese and ducks that visitors love to see and feed. However, the popular birds are vanishing from the park amid concern the missing animals may be linked to upcoming Christmas dinners.

Ah, no doubt the Left are up in arms at more 'racist' dogwhistling... 

It comes as 70 butchered geese killed for their meat were found dumped in the countryside in Terrington St Clement, Norfolk, on December 15.

Ooops!  

West Norfolk Council have issued an urgent appeal for information following the discovery and said it suspected a link with Christmas.

No flies on you, West Norfolk Council... 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And worst, that there has been no justice.

That’s pretty common in the UK these days. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ah. 

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

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

For Fox Sake…

A dog has been fighting for its life after a fox attack in what the owner has called an 'epidemic.'

Fabulous, a two-year-old Russian Toy Terrier, went into cardiac arrest yesterday after he was bitten and thrown in the air by a fox on March 9.

What sort of terrier is the victim of a fox? I think the clue is in the name 'toy terrier'.

And sure enough, it's one of those spindly-legged, bulgy-eyed, hamster-sized yappy beasts so beloved of modern dog owners. Named 'Fabulous'...

And what prompted this attack? Was little Fabulous seen as lunch?

“It is getting out of hand, I’m scared this is going to keep happening. The vixens have had cubs, there could be 20 foxes from now until September.”

*sighs*

Samantha said she thinks more should be done to help dog owners.

“The Vixens will only become more aggressive because of their cubs.”

What should be 'done to help dog owners', then, Samantha? Do we need an urban Jim Corbett to set up a machan in your garden at night?

Urban Myth No Longer..?

Mayor Judith McMahon believes action is needed to protect the town’s wildlife.

She said: “One reliable source who spent an awful lot of time in the park was aware this was happening so decided to befriend the people he suspected of taking the animals.

“After engaging in conversation for a few days it was identified that they were feeding the ducks and geese, taming the animals to get close enough to capture them.

I thought we were persuaded by the powers that be that we were ignorant bigots and there was no danger of immigrants eating our swans..?

Despite, well, the evidence that such did indeed occur?

“We should be protecting the wildlife and ensuring that a culture doesn’t evolve where it isn’t challenged.

The culture didn't evolve. It was imported.

“The very least we can start with is putting up signage to warn that taking the wildlife is not acceptable.

In English..?

“We have food banks in Southend, so one can assume it’s for cruelty or financial gain. It’s an abhorrent practice and has to be stopped.”

Good luck with that, your worship...

Avon & Somerset Police: “Urban Legend? What’s That?”

Dangling from telephone wires, shoes can be found suspended by their laces above terraced roads everywhere from St George to St Andrew's. To some, they are simply an eyesore.

But for police there is a more sinister explanation for their presence – they believe they reveal the locations where illegal drugs can be bought. Officers have now hired a cherry picker to remove shoes hanging from wires in St Paul's and St Werburgh's.

Remember, police are whinging constantly about ‘terrible Toreee cutz’. Bear this in mind, always…

In a post on the Avon & Somerset police website, PC Simon Humphrey, neighbourhood beat manager for Montpelier and St Werburgh's, said officers had been helping "keep the community safe" by working with Brandon Hire to "remove shoes and trainers from telephone wires that indicate the areas where you can buy illegal drugs".

Now, I've never heard of this one. So I did what any normal person would do – I went to Snopes, and discovered, in about 20 seconds, that it was unmitigated bullshit.

Not that the cops are aware of this, though I suspect smarter ones than PC Humphrey have an inkling:

Paul Bunt, Avon & Somerset police's drugs strategy manager, said shoes are found on wires in Bristol for a wide variety of reasons.

He said: "There's nothing to say that if you see them there is drug dealing going on, but that's not to say it isn't."

*chuckles* If you say so, Paul…

Maggie Telfer, chief executive of the Bristol Drugs Project, dismissed the practise of using shoes hanging from wires as a means of attracting drug users.

She said: "It's a bit of an urban myth and more of an American thing. Anyone seeking to buy substances on a regular basis wouldn't need a pair of trainers on a telephone wire to know where to go. If they are using substances, they will go to friends or people they know. We are not going to have people walking the streets looking for pairs of shoes.

"We haven't been made aware of police removing shoes."

You have now. I bet it gave you a few laughs.

Until you realise you’re paying the salaries of morons.

Can We Just Cull Attention-Seeking Chavs Instead?

The weekend before last, just after dark, the family was enjoying a peaceful evening at home when suddenly they heard a piercing, screaming noise from the garden. They rushed to the French windows at the back of their flat to see an appalling sight: their beloved pet — a gentle, playful dog smaller than a tabby cat — dangling from the jaws of a fox. Horrible — and frightening.

To make matters worse, Chico was also covered in fox urine.

Oh noes! How awful!

But what made matters worse for her and the family was the attitude they say they found when they took the animal to their local RSPCA branch in Putney, South-West London.

Errr, hang on? They took it to an RSPCA branch? For people on low incomes?

When a chihuahua puppy costs upwards of £250, sometimes as high as £500?

Something odd here...

While the Brewsters are grateful the vet saved their dog’s life, they are angry and bemused by the way Britain’s premier animal charity treats the threat from urban foxes.

The non-threat, you mean?

...when he took their dog in for treatment, the staff seemed more concerned with the welfare of foxes than their pet. Once the surgeon had patched up Chico, ‘we were told that they wouldn’t treat our dog again unless we had him castrated,’ says Richard. ‘Why can’t the foxes be castrated?’

Because they are wild animals. And because if you are careful and don't leave a snack-sized animal out in the garden unattended after dark, you'll have few problems, despite the evident hysteria of the 'Mail'.

Richard asked what would happen if he used an air rifle to kill the fox. ‘They told me they would prosecute me for animal cruelty.’

Quite rightly too, it being a totally unsuitable weapon even in the hands of an expert.

I can speak from personal experience about the brazenness of the urban fox.

Oh, yeah. You, and a lot of your colleagues, right?

Shortly before my son was born, my wife was watching TV on the sofa one night. We’d left the conservatory doors open because it was a warm summer evening. My wife looked up — to find a fox standing 6ft from her.

Eight months’ pregnant, she was petrified — but when she screamed the animal didn’t flinch. Happily, he left the house without further incident, though we now keep a barrier across the back door whenever we leave it open.

It's dingoes that steal babies, you idiot. And they wait until they are born.

One of our neighbours was not so lucky.

Really? As unlucky as poor Mr Clarke?

They discovered a fox in an upstairs bedroom, seeking sanctuary on top of a wardrobe. Not knowing what to do, they screamed and shouted and shooed it towards the back door.

Whereupon it turned on them, sinking its killing fangs into their defenceless throats before rampaging around London and climbing the Post Office Tower?

The fox panicked and left the house, leaving a trail of faeces all the way down their stairs.

Oh. Is that it..? Is that all?

Bruce Lindsay-Smith runs a company called County Pest Control, and has been dealing with urban foxes in and around London for 37 years. When I call him, he is on his way to the home of a chihuahua-owner in Hampstead to cull a fox who has been wandering into houses. He regularly deals with foxes who eat dogs, and says the problem is getting worse.

Well, he would, wouldn't he?

Lindsay-Smith says: ‘Foxes do kill dogs and eat them. I’m talking about small breeds — miniature Yorkshire terriers, chihuahuas, pomeranians and so on. These attacks are much more commonplace than they used to be because foxes are becoming more brazen.

Ah. Right. And that's nothing at all to do with the fact that there's just more of these bite-sized dogs around than there ever used to be?

Which is a rather more bizarre phenomenon than urban foxes trying new prey. It can't all be down to the popularity of some flash-in-the-pan Hollywood flick, can it?

None of this washes with the Brewsters, nor one suspects with any of the hundreds of owners whose pets are likely to be attacked this year — partly as a result of the attitude of a charity that boasts: ‘We’ve been here looking out for animals since 1824.’

Errr, I don't see how. Can foxes read?

But when the RSPCA’s spokeswoman says that it cares ‘just as much about dogs and cats as it does about foxes’, aren’t we entitled to respond: shouldn’t it care more about our pets than about the animals which prey on them? Surely foxes are pests?

Isn’t that what the millions who have donated to the charity over the years would want?

Probably not, no. But then I rather doubt that the RSPCA cares about what the donor wants anyway. And I don't see anyone up in arms about that.

So it comes down to personal responsibility again - would you leave £500 out in your garden unattended? No? Well, don't leave a snack-sized walking £500 out either. Simples! And your faithful companion is in more danger from the local Staffies anyway.

Looking at the comments from the idiots unwilling to accept that nature's red in tooth and claw, I think George Monbiot's 'rewilding' pipe dream is going to stay just that...

Two Words: Camera. Idiot.

Farmer Ross Armour, 41, said he had lost about 50 to 60 lambs this year without a trace.

He said: “We see black cats all the time. They come along the road. We don't know if there is one or two.

“They're quite big - dog-sized - and they're nicking all our sheep we think."

*sigh*

How Urban Panics Start….

Terrified residents have been spreading false rumours of child abductions in south Essex, according to police.

Essex Police said it has been inundated with calls from frightened parents, asking about a spate of child abductions rumoured to have happened in Castle Point and Rayleigh in the past few days.

Residents started making the panicked calls around Saturday lunchtime, saying said they had received text messages or seen text messages on other people's phones containing the rumour.

I’ve seen this go around before. Once it starts, it’s very hard to stop. Old style gossip and Chinese whispers were bad enough, but the reliance on the Internet and texting means it now spreads exponentially faster and further than ever before.

But the police are doing their best:

But officers have been quick to stamp out the rumour and insist there is no truth to it.

However, judging by the comments, it isn’t going to go away.

Among the sensible reactions we have some that sum up how these panics start, and why they are so hard to stop:

milesawayfromessex, Downtown says...

So what about the incident last Thursday, in Hockley, 8pm, near the Spa Pub, 11 year old boy, very distressed, crying, saying 2 men had tried to get him in a car?
When i checked with Essex Police they had no record of it, dispite their PCSO comforting the boy after the incident and looking for the two?????
so whats happening ?

Instantly, this is now at best a cock-up, at worst a conspiracy: ‘the authorities know something, but they aren’t telling us!’.

This is helped by the ‘I’m not sure if this is a wind up, but better safe than sorry’ crowd:

buttonbaggins, Westcliff says...

If i see something like that I feel its best to pass it on, as you its always best to be alert whether its true or not. As for this rumour my friend was sent it via a text from a POLICEMAN! so go figure!

And then there’s the ‘hey, there’s a pattern emerging here’ people:

Publicdefender, Castle Point says...

THERE IS A LOT OF SEXUAL CRIMES GOING ON AT THE MOMMENT.
SEE THE ECHO ,
the Echo should have outlined this in there piece.
Canvey has had a number if incidents, Thundersley has had a flasher and an approach from a car,now Hockley, from memory there has been 5 or 6 in 2 months .

People have a right to be concerned.

And of course, since this is 2010, the ‘someone might be liable if they don’t!’ argument:

Hagrace, Hockley says...

My son's school sent a letter home Friday about the incident in Hockley so they obviously thought there was something to write home about (pardon the pun) Even if this is Chinese whispers, at least it makes parents alert. No matter what we tell our kids about strangers, there's nothing a youngster could do if a grown-up physically dragged them into a car. Vigilance is vital and I am glad the school took it seriously enough to take action. If they hadn't and an abduction occured there would be hell to pay as well as compensation claims!!!

We sometimes forget that though the technology changes, people don’t.

Take away the texting, the Twittering, the mobile calls, and how is this reaction any different to a bunch of superstitious, frightened peasants warning everyone they meet on their way to the fields to dig turnips for a living about the witch who is making their neighbour’s cows barren?

I Thought This Was An Urban Myth!

A bag-snatcher on a bicycle pinched a bag of poo from an elderly dog-walker in Worthing.

The thief rode past the pensioner near the Post Office in High Street, Tarring, and grabbed a bag she had been using to clean up after her dog.

Oh, to have seen his face when he checked the bag!

"The lady was not harmed and clearly the thief stole nothing of value."

The crime took place at 10.45am on Sunday.

The suspect was described as a black teenager.

His homies aren’t going to be too impressed…

Commenters excel themselves, too!