The Kennel Club has warned that dogs are being increasingly “marginalised” in society, and treated as a “nuisance” that must be controlled and restricted by the authorities. Like…smokers, maybe? Under the rising number of “dog control orders”, the animals are being banned from large areas of parkland, beaches and other public spaces on which they have traditionally been able to exercise. The effect, according to the Kennel Club, has been…
Troubled Bournemouth nightspot V Club has had its licence revoked, following a serious stabbing there last month. Licensing chiefs voted to take the drastic measure after a day spent hearing evidence from police, who claimed the premises was associated with serious crime. ‘Associated with’ it in the sense their customers cause it. But should we blame a business for what its customers do? The police have set a precedent with…
Phillipa Perry (last seen whining about attitudes to disability) on those alcohol consumption figures and why we should just shut up and tell our betters the truth if we know what’s good for us: If we put to one side mistakes such as not knowing the actual size of a unit of alcohol, it is apparent that our concern to retain a certain self-image is more important to us than our…
These are the two men police want to speak to after a customer was smashed over the head with a glass bottle in an unprovoked attack at a violence-plagued Manchester city centre takeaway. It’s shocking, this violence at late-night take aways. Someone should do something about it. Oh. Wait! Last week the M.E.N. revealed that the takeaway, in Manchester’s Gay Village, had been banned from opening late at night after…
…and isn’t this a prime example? Sex shops and lap-dancing clubs should be banned in Nottingham, says the county’s Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner.Chris Cutland claims they are “old fashioned” and “demeaning” to women. Yup, the person appointed to the position of making sure the police serve the neighbourhood rather than pursuing pointless politically correct campaigns dives right in with…a politically correct campaign! You couldn’t make it up, could you?…
Five species of invasive non-native aquatic plants are to be banned from sale, the UK government has announced. In the first ban of its kind, officials hope the move will save money and help protect vulnerable habitats. Yup, some plants are just so dangerous we can’t have them in the country. Haven’t we heard this before? So…what are they? Triffids? The plants to be banned from April 2014 are water…
Unwittingly, I’m sure, as her column deals with the Westminster proposals to ensure fat people on council tax and housing benefit go to the gym on their doctor’s advice, on pains of having their welfare payments docked: There are two questions inside this ghastly story, and the first is the central question posed by this Tory-led coalition: who is entitled to the state’s largesse? What is it for? To Tanya,…
Morale among social workers has been driven to rock bottom by… Persistent failure to get to grips with serious cases resulting in death of ghildren? The high-profile managers exposed as less use than chocolate teapots? The overweening ‘don’t rock the boat’ attitude of senior management? Well, no. You might as well expect fish to be driven to rock bottom by water. … cuts, targets and ministers making the issue of…
The police should be given greater powers to hack into private computers in their efforts to combat cyber crime, according to a concept briefing for parliament… What..?! … by justice minister Ivo Opstelten. Oh. Whew! No need to worry that Inspector Barnaby will be typing away in his office, two-fingered, tongue poking out of the side of his mouth in concentration, trying to find his way through your folders. It’s…
Wendy Goode’s home in the Tollers Estate has been sealed up by Croydon Council, which claims it is the only way to stop abusive and antisocial behaviour against neighbours by her former live-in boyfriend Lee Norfolk. Miss Goode, 47, has been an “active and willing partner” in Mr Norfolk’s bad behaviour, Croydon Council said, and has breached agreements to bar him from her home at 124 Goodenough Way. It appears…
…they are merely chess pieces on a board, and the game is ‘Social Cohesion’. It’s like ‘Risk, only with the potential for far more warfare: American-style “bussing” should be introduced in London to break down the segregated school system, a leading headteacher said today. Oh, and how dim do you have to be to come up with this idea? The idea was put forward by David Levin, head of the…
Thousands of ex-offenders are to be targeted in a national drive to add their profiles to the police DNA database in an attempt to solve hundreds of crimes. Yes, you read that right – ‘ex-offenders’. And how can they do this? Simples! Forces are using powers under the Crime and Security Act 2010, which became law last year. The aim is to gather DNA profiles from criminals who were convicted…
…so someone needs to remove it from me, to save me from myself. Miss Mantell, of Forestdale, who has dropped from size 24 to 14, says more needs to be done to stop others turning to the “last resort” of bariatric surgery … She said: “I have always had a weight problem since the age of 11. Some would blame my mother because she was always working and maybe it…
Beware social media the printed page! … during a hearing at Hull Magistrates’ Court yesterday, it emerged Miss Roberts and former head teacher Debbie Johnson – who was also accused of being involved in the conversation – had been cleared of any wrongdoing during an investigation by Hull City Council. Yes, this is the now-infamous case we noted here. The original story turns out not to have been one of…
But only when it comes to milk, of course. At least, according to Anna M Clark (president of EarthPeople, in case you were wondering. No ‘take me to your leader!’ jokes, please..): “Why are the children drinking pink milk?” asked the Finnish intern my family was hosting. As a graduate student, Nina came here last year to research American perspectives on green marketing. She accompanied me to a client site,…
Latest Comments