Dog Eat Dog...

Councillor Laila Butt, cabinet member for community safety and enforcement, said: “This is a victory for tenants, decent landlords and the dogged determination of our diligent investigation and enforcement officers.

“It’s more evidence that this council will relentlessly pursue rogue landlords in our resolve to stand up for decent housing standards for Londoners.”

She added: “This illegal extension and filthy flats would not have looked out of place in a Rio slum. Through our tough enforcement action they have been demolished so no one else has to suffer such bad living conditions.

“What makes matters worse is her connection to the estate agency - she knew the law and was intentionally exploiting people who find it hard enough to find property to rent at affordable prices.”

Damn! The pictures!

Maybe the 'Guardian' is right, ghastly English landlords exploiting poor immigrants who are desperate?

This is clearly the capitalist society writ large, and I should vote for Corbyn to protect the desperate from these voracious native exploiters of the poor, right?

Zoofshan Malik of Upney Lane, made £2,850 a month in rental income from the ‘beds in sheds’ at the back of a property she owned in Longbridge Road.

Oh...

But that's probably just a flash in the pan and...

A rogue landlord who repeatedly rented out an overcrowded and illegally-converted house in east London has been fined more than £10,000.

Petko Borisov, who lives in Lewisham, was brought to court after council officers found him renting his Dagenham property out without the correct licence – despite being fined for it two years previously.

Oh.

Well, At Least Florists Are Making A Living

A friend of the teenager who is also 17, last night laid flowers at the spot where Mohammed was fatally stabbed in the York Road estate.

The friend said: “He was a clean hearted boy. He was only 5ft that’s why he was known as Little Mo. I can’t understand why anyone would want to this. It’s getting out of hand. He was a lovely person. He studied with my brother.”

The student added: “It’s dangerous on the streets. Things are getting ridiculous it’s very scary. I just try to keep my head down. If you ask me Little Mo was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I have shed a tear over this. He just didn’t deserve it.”

Which rather argues that some people who are stabbed do, I suppose?

Troy Best, whose son was close friends with Mohammed, said: “It’s very sad and his family and friends are absolutely distraught.

“We hope the police can catch up with the people who did this very soon, this violence has to stop.

“We have to start taking time to talk to the youth out here because they are dying before they have even lived. All some of them need is a bit of guidance.

“It hurts my heart to see so many young people dropping like flies.”

You'd think they were talking about some disease, wouldn't you? Some random act, like a meteorite strike from the heavens? Something people's own decisions and actions cannot influence.

Not So Smart, Clearly...

A former professional footballer has avoided jail but had his ‘beloved’ dog taken away from him after he was filmed beating it in the street. Jason Smart, 48, was hauled before the courts for slapping his four-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier, Frank, twice in Castleton, Rochdale.

How did I know it'd be a Staffie..?

CCTV footage filmed by shop owner Paula O’Connor showed him ‘punishing’ the animal after it ran out into the road.

A court heard that Smart, a former Rochdale and Crewe Alexander defender, had previously suffered serious injuries running into the road to protect his pet.

And speaking on his behalf, Smart’s lawyer begged magistrates not to confiscate Frank who was ‘the most important being in his life’.

Clearly not important enough to put it on a lead...

However they rejected the plea and banned him from keeping any animal for a period of seven months, as well as ordering him to do 150 hours’ unpaid work. Frank will now be re-homed.

Smart, a former Rochdale footballer, stormed out of the courtroom at Manchester Magistrates’ court on Thursday after learning the decision, which he branded a ‘joke’.

What a strange reaction. Still, the stress of a court appearance can make people act completely out of character so...

Oh. Wait.

Ms O’Connor, spotted the dog outside her pet shop on Manchester Road in Castleton, Rochdale, in October last year, and initially thought it was a stray as there was no one with it, RSPCA prosecutors said.

However she then heard a man shouting and Smart, who lives on Manchester Road, emerged and hit him twice.

She told him: “Don’t hit the dog like that.”

Smart replied: “Shut up you stupid f***, it’s my dog, I can do what I want.”

Yup, just another waste of oxygen. At least the dog's now better off.

INCOMING!

Cyclists could be banned from Oxford Street when it is pedestrianised, London’s walking and cycling tsar has revealed.

*sharp intake of breath*

“In Oxford Street in the morning peak there are about 200 cyclists per hour. In Wigmore Street, slightly to the north, there are about the same number per hour, and again on New Cavendish Street and George Street.

"As a combination, they begin to add up, so it’s very important we do look at the cycling facilities in that area as part of that scheme.

“Whether they go down Oxford Street or alternative routes, that is why we do need to do a consultation and understand what the needs are of local residents and other stakeholders.”

And not the two wheeled Lycra hordes!

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib-Dem chairwoman of the London Assembly transport committee, said: “On this issue I think Will Norman is taking the right approach.

"Improving pedestrianisation of Oxford Street must definitely include proposals to improve cycling provision in the area, however the case for allowing cyclists on a pedestrianised Oxford Street itself does pose some challenges.

"It should be looked at, but it might just not be possible to deliver and neighbouring streets may be a better alternative.

I bet that goes down like a lead balloon!

“The number one priority must be to meet the needs of pedestrians of all ages, who must be able to walk down Oxford Street in comfort and safety.”

Hurrah! At last, the needs of those who want to walk in safety without dodging MAMILs is considered!

All In All It's Just Another Brick In The Wall

More than 100 parents have signed a petition after a school told them they will have to buy their children new uniforms for September. Longhill High School in Rottingdean says the new uniform will be smarter and help improve standards.

But parents have reacted with anger after being told they will have to fork out for a new “gender-neutral uniform” comprising a navy blue blazer, tie, grey trousers and PE kit to be bought from the school’s supplier.

WTAF...?

The petition says: “Against most parents’ wishes, the school are implementing a compulsory change of uniform with only the shirts able to be bought from any store.

“Many parents have already paid for the current, compulsory uniform, only available through the nominated supplier in the region of £150 for the year.

“No feasible explanation has been given for the change other than to ‘improve standards’.”

Now, I'm all for uniforms in schools, and I usually have little time for parents who whinge about them...but this is absurd!

They've bought the uniform you recommended, they can't be expected to fork out more money for some whim.

But school bosses said the current uniform was frequently criticised by parents of pupils and of prospective Year 7 entrants.

In a letter to parents, headteacher Kate Williams said: “We are committed to raising standards at Longhill and part of this is the improvement of the current standard of uniform. We are working hard to ensure we will have a cost-effective smart uniform that will be followed consistently by all.”

She added: "We believe that a uniform promotes and inspires pride and commitment to something greater than oneself. Longhill High school is on a journey of improvement and this is just one small part of the journey.

"We very much appreciate the support of the vast majority of parents in our drive to carry on improving standards at Longhill."

PARKLIFE!

It comes following a consultation on uniform last year in which parents’ biggest concern was cost.

Can teachers so dim really impart anything to their charges?

Sounds Like The Answer's 'Bugger All', Love...

Not that that should surprise anyone...

If Only Maddie Had Disappeared On The London Underground...

...we'd have had a quartet!

Sunday Funnies...

These days, I tend to ignore them all...

Post Title Of The Month

David Thompson brings us more news hilarity from UniversityLand:

Quote Of The Month

And DumbJon continues the theme:

"Consider the left's response to Rotherham. Here are a group of people who've spent years producing saccharine drivel about life oop North, while also giving house room to feminazis ranting about how rape culture is, like, everywhere, sista. But as soon as they ran into an actual rape culture, on the loose in Brassed Off territory....

Suddenly, it turned out rape wasn't about power after all. Feminists all but queued up to explain how the victims were practically asking for it, the sluts. Large parts of the left seemed to positively relish the idea of young girls being sexually tortured and humiliated. Their reaction was like nothing so much as a frustrated stalker enjoying the suffering of the woman who rejected him."