Private healthcare service: ‘A surgeon with a poor history? Let’s investigate and dispense with his services if we find he’s not up to snuff. We have to protect our fee paying customers’
NHS Trust:’We’re keeping him on, because the real customer is the government, and no matter what, there will never be any adverse consequences for us.’
A man shot and seriously injured by armed police outside a rural village pub was wielding a chainsaw and holding what officers believed was a homemade bomb, a watchdog has said.
cant wait for the release of the body worn video!
The man, described as being in his 30s, was initially visited by unarmed police at a property opposite the pub at approximately 7.15pm due to an 'outstanding warrant' against him - but refused to come out.
No, Reader, it wasn’t for a parking offence- it was for assault.
The man then ignored two warning baton rounds and refused to put down the chainsaw, at which point he was shot by an armed officer with a conventional firearm.
What else were they supposed to use, harsh language?
Despite the presence of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, complete with a remote-controlled robot, Kent Police said that the case 'was not related to any terrorism offences'.
eEven though no doubt the bystanders would have been pretty terrified!
Eddie Powell, chairman of Harrietsham Parish Council, said locals has been stunned by the incident which was 'completely out of character' for the village.'This is completely out of character for around here.
It's the sort of thing you'd expect to happen in Oxford Street or Pall Mall.'
Or any other square on the Monopoly Board?
His half-brother Liam O'Meara told The Telegraph he believes officers used unnecessary force and O'Meara has "mental health problems".
The 44-year-old added: "The police could have shot him in his leg. They could have Tasered him, couldn't they? The bullet's gone straight in and out, so it has not caused many problems."
Liam told The Telegraph: 'When he was shot, most of the damage was when he dropped the chainsaw and it fell on him.
If he thinks the police should take chances in these situations, mental illness ()or fatal stupidity) clearly runs in the family!
A woman has been airlifted to hospital after being attacked by two XL Bullies and another dog in a horror attack in Scotland. The victim, 69, was reportedly left with 'serious' injuries after being mauled by the dogs in Shindale, Invershin, at around 1.40pm on Tuesday. She was taken by air ambulance to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and her condition is unknown.
And no, these beasts weren't, for once, owned by one of the usual suspects:
It is understood, two of the dogs are XL Bullies and both are registered and legally owned. The third dog was not a banned breed. A 76-year-old man has been arrested and charged over the mauling.
Most young fit men who own these things are unable to control them when they turn, never mind a 76 year old pensioner - so what value a licensing system that allows this nonsense..?
It is not known what has happened to the dogs at this stage.
Probably safely tucked up in kennels eating their way through taxpayer's cash, since the cops are too scared to do what they need to do in these cases due to the hounding they get on social media from the smoothbrains who revere these bloodsport mutts.
If only the Tories had had the balls to order a cull.....
Once more, I dive into ‘Reactor’ magazine to get an idea of what is coming up in the world of science fiction, and once more, find that fantasy worlds and imagined alien societies for daring heroes and heroines to negotiate takes a back seat to …. this:
Even in the earliest stages of editing the anthology Amplitudes: Stories of Queer and Trans Futurity, I knew the book would open with an epigraph from the late queer theorist José Esteban Muñoz’s Cruising Utopia—where he argues that “the future is queerness’s domain.” Or, put another way: something about queerness is always “not yet here.”
Really? It seems to be omnipresent, these days! Gone are the days I’d make a trip up to ‘Forbidden Planet’ in London to peruse the latest imports, mostly selecting titles by the quality of the artwork on the front cover (a dragon or alien big cat on the cover being a sure clue I’d like it!), secure in the knowledge that they were mostly written to enthrall the reader and sell copies, rather than push some personal sexual agenda.
Speculative fiction, too, is grounded in thinking about what has been, what is not, and what could be. In sf, we imagine our way into other worlds and other futures! Given that, I think there’s a natural connection between queer/trans life and culture and speculative fiction itself—it’s in those horizons of possibility.
Relentless propaganda is what it is - I'm old enough to remember when sci-fi was a beacon of hope, written by people whose desire was to entertain, not proselytise.
Failings by a Labour-run council contributed to the death of a foster mother who was killed by a 12-year-old boy she was caring for.
The boy said to police: 'Is she dead?' and 'looks like I got my first kill?' before insisting: 'It was an accident, I swear.' When he was arrested after trying to run away from police, the balaclava-clad youngster told a policewoman: 'I'm going to f***ing kill your family, you b****, and I don't give a f***.'
All he got was two years for manslaughter, and is probably out roaming the streets by now. The coroner is pointing finges:
She said the circumstances which led to the fatal incident 'were contributed to by the failings of the Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to have appropriate systems and processes in place when placing foster children, including but not limited to the lack of accurate and complete documentation, failure to communicate risks and concerns appropriately, failure to conduct appropriate risk assessments and failing to safeguard those in their care'. Ms Whittle said she would be writing a 'prevention of future deaths' report addressing issues including the council's lack of documentation and failure to complete forms; and a shortage of placements, although she said this was a 'national issue' and not just to be directed at Rotherham.
No doubt, but what consequences will there ever be for people who failed their duties, when they work for the State? People who rely on those with this sort of suicidal empathy?
The inquest heard how Mr and Mrs Grant volunteered to take him, despite them being categorised as only able to take in one child at a time, largely because of the complexities Child Y presented to them.
The complexities, or the colour of the child's skin? The foster parents were black, and although his idenntity has not been revealed, I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts the kid is too...
Ms Whittle said that Child X had a youth caution for possessing a knife and had at times talked about wanting to be part of gang culture, but this information was not included on the initial placement referral form, making it 'deficient'. She said Mrs Grant's decision that she could provide Child X with a short term placement 'was made without her full knowledge of Child X's risks' because of 'the failings of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to have in place systems and processes to ensure full details are included and up to date forms were used'.
She's dead, and cannot speak to her knowledge, which is handy for the coroner, I guess!
That's all our modern police farces want to deal with these days:
The incredible footage includes the man, wearing a beanie, being handcuffed and being pushed against a police car door as three officers surround him. A large bag of birdseed can be seen next to him on the kerbside.Footage later shows the distressed man hunched over and being led into the back of the police van where the door is shut and an officer can be heard saying he is 'under arrest'.
A pervert? A burglar? A shoplifter?No, Reader, just a man feeding the birds.
Tony Gath who witnessed the incident said he was 'disturbed' by what he had seen. Tony said: 'It was disgusting behaviour, all they had to do was educate the man on where he can and can't feed the birds, then send him on his way.
'I'm disturbed that they felt that level of intimidation and power was acceptable at all, not just in public.'
It's the only target they can display that level of intimidation against these days. Not really surprising they go balls-to-the-wall when they get the chance.
According to Wirral Council's official website there are 'no laws' that the council can effectively use to stop people feeding wild birds. But Environmental Health may be able to 'take action in significant and excessive cases' where rotten food waste is accumulating or the bird feeding can be shown to be the cause of an infestation of rats or mice. Cheshire Police said the council had previously reported to the police that feeding of the birds in the area was causing an 'increase in vermin'.
And the police, understanding that the balance of power these days has swung from the man in the street to a whole host of petty officialdom at the town hall, swung into action with a 'arrest first, release later when the spotlight's off and before solicitors can mobilise' protocol. Thereby marking themselves out, once again, as enemies of the people. I'm sure that won't come back to bite them in the arse in the future....
It is cheap, often poorly made, and usually ends up in the bin or buried among the other knick-knacks, takeaway menus and birthday candles in the kitchen drawer. Known as “fast-tech”, these low-cost electronics are increasingly common – from mini-fans and electric toothbrushes, to portable chargers and LED toilet seats, often bought for just a few pounds online.
Yees, Reader, the misantropes at the 'Guardian' are at it again - how very dare you get a moment's pleasure from something they don't think you should have?
But behind the bargain price is a growing problem: many of these items are difficult to repair, not recycled and quickly discarded. Electronic waste is one of the world’s fastest-growing waste streams, and experts say fast tech is playing an increasingly significant role.
Oh. 'experts'. Well. they are never wrong, I suppose?
In the UK, it is estimated that more than 1.14bn of these small electronic gadgets (including vapes) are bought a year and about half (589m) are disposed of in that same time, which is equivalent to 19 a second, according to Material Focus, the organisation behind the Recycle Your Electricals campaign.
“We’ve had fast food, we’ve had fast fashion, and we’re now in the age of fast tech,” says Scott Butler, the executive director of Material Focus. “We’re not moralist against technology, but what we are concerned about is the volume of low-quality, cheap, flimsy products that are flooding the market, which end up binned or unused.”
Not moralist? Methinks he doth protest too much...
Butler highlights “fad” fast tech as a key issue – cheap items that are bought at certain times of year or for particular occasions, such as mini-fans as the UK warms up or light-up Christmas jumpers. About 7.1m mini-fans were bought in the UK last year and more than 3.5m have already been discarded or forgotten in drawers in that same period.
*glances at cute, useful minifan standing on computer desk* From my cold, dead hands, Butler!
Laura Young, an environmental scientist and campaigner, says fast tech represents a new kind of environmental threat – not just because of the potentially toxic chemicals many contain, but because of the sheer volume and disposability.
These people won't be content until the entite population lives in tiny grey identical boxes, owning nothing, eating and drinking only what the 'experts' say is good for us.
Ms Freemantle was arrested at the scene and investigated by police. But prosecutors decided not to bring any criminal charges in June 2024 after Ms Freemantle said she had suffered an epileptic seizure.
In October, the Mail revealed Met Police had decided to reopen the probe after a serious case review uncovered significant flaws in the way officers conducted the initial inquiry, including consideration of medical evidence which led to the case being dropped.
But it wasn't the police who opted to drop the case, was it? Surely that decision rests with the notoriously hesitant CPS? Is nothing ever just an unfortunate accident anymore?
The case was subsequently reopened and handed to a top detective superintendent from Specialist Crime Command. Police then made a successful appeal for people who witnessed the crash to come forward to help officers understand whether the driver's behaviour was consistent with her diagnosis.
So they are going to try to challenge medical evidence with layman's observations of the scene? Well, God loves a trier, they say!
A spokesperson for Queensland ambulance said the woman suffered a “significant arm injury”.In a statement on Facebook on Sunday afternoon, the Darling Downs Zoo said the woman was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct when the attack happened.“This is something that she has done many, many times over the past 20 years. She is well versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals. “Inexplicably, at this stage, one animal grabbed her by one arm and caused severe damage to it. At no stage did this animal leave [its] enclosure and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public.”
Quitre bizarre! Clearly, there's only one explanation, taking our clues from human crime journalism - it must have been a black panther!
Update: they’ve now admitted it was a lion. But why not say that to start with?
