I Guess He's A Very Cross Terrier?

Neddie, a Jack Russell/Border Terrier Cross, attacked a woman walking her own dog in Castle Meadow public field in Berkeley.

The dog, which escaped when owner Helena Harrison, 42, dropped the lead, went for Susan Stump, sinking his teeth into her left knee.

Six months previously five-year-old Neddie ran out of his owner's house in Lantern Close and chased two children riding passed (sic) on their bicycles, Gloucester magistrates heard on Tuesday.

It was still aggressive when officers attended the house. But hey. let's give it another chance!

Defending barrister Susan Cavender said Harrison had installed a stair gate at her house after the first incident and has now put up fencing around the garden.

"She also puts a muzzle on Neddie whenever he goes out into public places but on this occasion he had just had a serious operation and was recuperating so she left the muzzle off.

She has acted like a responsible owner," she added.

No, she hasn't. A responsible owner would have either had the beast retrained or destroyed.

Certainly, they would not have taken the muzzle off just because he felt a bit poorly that day!

Pardon Me..?

Gosh, it's ages since we had one of these. I thought they'd tightened up, but maybe not...

Sunday Funnies...

Hmmm, that there evolution theory maybe needs some work...

"'The school’s focus will be on ensuring it continues to meet the educational and well being needs of all pupils.'..."

...'but we won't worry too much that they are doing maths and English in the company of a convicted rapist':

Her older brother is also due to attend the same school in Cambridgeshire next year and will face bumping into him between lessons.

If that were my brother, I like to think that would be longed for, rather than used as a lever to get the rapist moved to another school...

Another mother, said: 'I can't believe that the person in question has been allowed back into the school.'

'As parents we were not told about it, which I am furious about.'

'I feel my daughter is at risk. I am so angry and shocked by what's going on. Whoever's decision it was to place the attacker back at the school has a lot to answer for.'

Well, indeed!

But they won't have to. They never do.

I Wonder If Cllr Mike Harris Will Support This One?

Well, maybe not. After all, it's one thing to nod approvingly when people make comments about daft religions, and whinge bitterly when you feel you've been targeted unfairly for political reasons.

But it's quite another to defend speech that would make your progressive chums a bit hot under the collar...

Councillor Graham Partner – who quit the BNP to sit as an independent – has been censured "in the strongest possible terms" for sending out the New Year message to more than 5,000 voters in his Coalville division.

Gosh! What did he say?

The leaflet, which featured part of an article from a national newspaper, said victimhood "comes easily" to followers of Islam.

The leaflet said: "Every terrorist atrocity, every blood-soaked massacre is justified by reference to imagined grievances. But the greatest persecutors of other faiths are Muslim, themselves."

Is the truth not a defence, then?

It criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, for being "woolly in thought and appearance".

I repeat: is the truth not a defence then?

It appears the answer is 'No':

Coun Partner, who did not attend the hearing, saying he had to work, was found to have breached the code of conduct on two counts by showing disrespect to others and bringing the authority into disrepute.

I think your former council leader has that latter role sewn up, doesn't he?

In his statement, Coun Partner, who had signed a declaration to abide by the code of conduct, said: "The claim that the leaflet caused distress to any minorities has not been demonstrated, but it was seen as an opportunity to feign offence on their behalf by political rivals who are incapable of defeating a single independent councillor by fair and proper means."

Sounds like a job for the head of advocacy at Index on Censorship to me!

I bet I shouldn't hold my breath, though...

Going For The Gold In Chutzpah!

Ahh, if only it was an Olympic event. Our defence briefs’d clean up!

Darren Burleigh, defending, said his client did not try to push past Mr Fanty but accepted the discrepancy would not make a difference to sentence, adding that Hamlett had no intention of pressing assault charges against Mr Fanty.

"He has thought about his position and he is not going to pursue any action against Mr Fanty," Mr Burleigh said.

"This is because he knows it is his fault that he finds himself here and not the fault of his victim.

"I would submit this shows an awareness of the impact on victims in cases like these.

"He understands why what happened did happen."

A unique combination of the passive voice plus the sheer cheek of obliquely claiming victimhood due to getting (rightly) clobbered when the real victim found him trying to burgle his house!

But Darren was merely warming up…

Mr Burleigh said Hamlett burgled the property to fund a drugs habit that started before he was even a teenager and that when he undertook the offence his mind was "pickled".

"However he has taken full responsibility and displayed a high level of remorse," Mr Burleigh.

"He would even like the opportunity to meet his victims, showing I would say courage with a small 'c'. "

My thoughts? Well, they begin with ‘c’ all right…

New Addington - Not Just A Human Sewer Then...

Parents kept children and pets inside this weekend after a main drain overflowed, leaving human excrement, sanitary products and dirty toilet paper on the streets.

Residents were greeted with the vile sight in Oakbank, Fieldway, during Saturday night after heavy rain caused flooding on the estate, something residents have claimed is a regular occurrence.

Jessica Squires could not be reached for comment....

If Frothing-At-The-Mouth Lunacy Was An Olympic Event, Frances Would Win Gold!

Frances Ryan uses the South African 4x400 metres relay team inclusion of disabled runner Oscar Pistorius as a lever to get out the message that the disabled are being demonised as never before.

It’s quite something to watch, actually:

… there's an undoubted achievement simply in the inclusion of a disabled person in the Olympic competition. For most people with disabilities, inclusion is the shiny medal they spend their lives fighting for but which stays slightly out of reach. This isn't new. It's the nature of being different. It is worsening though, and in the current climate, without radical change, there is little hope of it getting better.

Ah, yes. The ‘current climate’. Said with the certain hope that everyone reading CiF will understand exactly what’s meant by this.

It shouldn't be that difficult, should it? For a person to be included? Sometimes it seems difference is a crime for which disabled people are punished daily. One aspect of this will feature on the route to the Games themselves – Paralympians being welcomed to a city whose transport system is usually inaccessible to them.

Yes, well, when the various disability acts were considered and then passed, the transport system got an exemption, due to the huge cost involved which made it totally impractical. Not to mention the drain on the productive sector while the works were carried out!

Oh, don’t worry, though; other people who believe in spending other people’s time and money on grandiose schemes are right behind you in demanding changes!

Exclusion is sneaky though, it doesn't even need to be literal. Thanks to David Cameron and friends, disabled people are facing not only physical barriers but growing symbolic exclusion. This is what a climate of fear does – a climate that doesn't simply emerge from tough economic times but needs to be manipulated and nurtured. It's manipulated by a government that thinks welfare reform means arbitrarily removing vulnerable people's benefits. It's nurtured by a rightwing populist press eager for benefits-cheats scapegoats and scaremongering.

Oh, here we go again with the bonkers rhetoric!

This is a climate in which a website needs to be created to collate the number of people committing suicide as a result of the government's policies.

I…what?

Calum's List details the deaths of people where either professional or family testimony, or a suicide note cites welfare reform as the main reason for their taking their own life.

*stunned disbelief* Yes, it really exists.

And those who click for their dose of outrage probably never get to the small print at the bottom that reads:

The primary aim of this website is to research and publish a definitive list of all deaths, where deficiencies in the current UK welfare reform legislation may have been a factor.

Not quite the authoritative documentation method she implies, then, is it?

A climate in which the number of disability hate crimes reported to the police has reached a record high .

Yes, of course it has. You set a target, people will strive to reach it. Their jobs depend on it, don’t they?

As the crowds cheer, the people of this country would do well to think on that sentiment. A disabled person shouldn't have to be "super-able" to be included. Having been allowed to join the mainstream, Pistorius can strive to rise above it. For the ordinary disabled person, it would be nice to be allowed to take part.

They seem to have no trouble taking part in the ongoing pity-party and rage against the idea that we can't go on spending as if there was a magic money tree, do they?

They Sound Like A Typical Hull Couple…

For eight months, Yvonne Dearing was abusive and rude to her neighbours when drunk.

She would call the emergency services and send fire engines to their homes on false alarms.

While Dearing was causing havoc, her partner Graham, 56, went on an arson spree around the city centre, blaming it on the stress of being married to her, although they had tied the knot four weeks earlier.

At least they are each saving two other people from Hull – err, hell…

If There's Naming And Shaming To Be Done...

...aren't we missing someone?

Kane Gorny dies following basic errors by doctors and nurses. The staff included:

SIMON BRIDLE: Consultant orthopaedic surgeon in charge of his care who failed to monitor him. When Mr Gorny became agitated, Bridle sent a more junior doctor rather than attending himself. He then failed to follow up the incident or check on his patient’s welfare.

ADELA TAACA: Nurse in charge of his care the night before he died. She failed to give him vital medication or carry out important observations because she did not want to wake him in case he became aggressive. Taaca also ‘forgot’ to tell a doctor to check his high sodium levels, despite them being the highest she had ever encountered. She was demoted to a healthcare assistant and is being investigated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

PHILIP STOTT: Surgeon who operated on Mr Gorny but failed to read his medical notes. He arranged for the patient to be sedated, removed his drip and then left without linking his behaviour to his medical condition. Instead, Stott asked Miss Cronin whether Mr Gorny was on drugs. He told the hearing: ‘I didn’t follow it up. I should have done but I didn’t . . . I just went home.’

VICTORIA AGUNLOYE: Locum junior doctor who dismissed the concerns of Mr Gorny’s mother moments before his death. She said she knew Mr Gorny was suffering from a rare condition called diabetes insipidus, but failed to link this to his behaviour. She claimed she did not check on the patient when his mother asked her to on the morning of his death because he was not her patient.

SHARON GIBBS: Nurse who failed to monitor Mr Gorny’s fluid levels after he was sedated. She admitted she had not recorded that his drip had been taken out and lost track of his water output, leaving boxes on his fluid balance chart empty. She also failed to link his aggressive behaviour to the fact he had not been given his medication, despite knowing about his condition.

ERLINDA EDWARDS: Nurse who carried out pre-operative checks on Mr Gorny but failed to highlight his condition to other staff. She also neglected to detail his medication and the fact that he suffered from diabetes insipidus on a ‘communication’ sheet. This meant other medical staff were unaware of his condition as none of them wanted to read through his substantial medical records.

DR KONSTANTINOS KARRAS: On-call doctor who was told by a nurse that Mr Gorny had very high sodium levels and was asked to attend, but failed to do so. He also failed to pass the concern on to the night on-call doctor. He blamed the target-driven culture for preventing him from seeing Mr Gorny.

POORIA HOSSEINI: Junior locum doctor who failed to investigate the real cause of Mr Gorny’s behaviour shortly before he was sedated. He said that this was because Mr Gorny was Agunloye’s patient. She said he was Dr Hosseini’s patient. He left for the evening without chasing up the blood test results which may have provided an explanation for Mr Gorny’s behaviour.

Yes, their names deserve to live in infamy (because, god knows, it's unlikely to affect their careers; one - Taaca - has been selected as the sacrificial victim and will have to endure demotion, for a while). But there are others involved who deserve a share of the blame:

A police officer told the five-day hearing that Mr Gorny had twice shouted: ‘Nurse, can I have some water?’ and was ignored by all the medical staff present.

Pity he didn't have the strength to take someone hostage; that unnamed police officer would have brought him the water personally (hell, would have ordered him a takeaway curry too!) rather than file the observation away for the future coroner's inquest...