The 'oh come off it' story of the month

CBC report that:

'Quebec girl told to stop reading book by school bus driver
 

Sarah Auger, 8, enjoyed reading to and from school, until the bus driver said it was dangerous
 

Kate McKenna, CBC News 

 

An eight-year-old girl in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. was told she's no longer allowed to read books on the school bus because it poses a risk to the safety of other students.

​

Sarah Auger loves reading and used to enjoy using her 20-minute ride to and from school to read for pleasure.

But recently, her bus driver told her she had to stop.

She says she was told reading posed a risk to other students on the bus.

He suggested they might stand up to see what she was reading, or she might poke herself in the eye with the corners of the book. '

Seriously? Oh come off it.

Why bother to vote in local elections?

Why indeed, when so much of the areas that local councils are meant to control or manage are in fact controlled by the EU.

'This video aims to highlight a sample of just 8 local issues upon which the EU Parliament has usurped the control of central and local government in the UK - often to disastrous effect. Some appear scandalous, others farcical, but all illustrate that the EU is the hidden local issue. www.hiddenlocalissue.co.uk

This film was produced by the Europe of Freedom & Democracy Group in the European Parliament. It incorporates EU-critics, eurosceptics and eurorealists. The main goals of the Group are to reject the Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe and to oppose all forms of centralisation.
www.efdgroup.eu'

Europe, and by that I mean the EU, is not a marginal issue; it is the main issue in the UK as it affects so many aspects of our lives. So you have a choice in the upcoming local elections: vote for a pro-EU Labour party, vote for the mostly fanatically pro-EU Lib Dems, vote for a Conservative party with many EU-realists in the party but lead by pro-EU people or vote for a truly EU-realist party UKIP.

Do you like rare meat? Do you like rare burgers? Are you finding it harder to locate places that still sell a rare burger? Do you live in America?

If you answered yes to the above questions then Rare Burger may be the site you are looking for.

Bank Holiday Monday evening catchup

My Firefox crashed yesterday, taking 30+ tabs with it but even so I have more open then I can ever blog about in the coming week;

1) AFP report on the murderous Syrian regime:

'Pro-democracy activists in Syria called for fresh protests on Saturday after the alleged torture and killing of a 13-year-old boy by security forces in the flashpoint region of Daraa.

The body of Hamza al-Khatib was returned to his family on Wednesday, following his disappearance after a demonstration on April 29, activists said on their Facebook site, Syrian Revolution 2011.

"We will go out from every home, from every district to express our anger" over the killing, they wrote on the page which carries a picture of the boy.

"A month had passed by with his family not knowing where he is, or if or when will he be released. He was released to his family as a dead body. Upon examining his body, the signs of torture are very clear," they said.

"There were a few bullets in his body used as a way of torture rather than to kill him with. Clear signs of severe physical abuse appeared on the body such as marks done with hands, sticks, and shoes. Hamza?s penis was also cut off."'

I await the protests from the leftist elements who would be up in (metaphorical) arms had this been Israel at fault; I think I will wait in vain.


2) The Telegraph and The Mail have the photographic proof that Samantha Cameron is fit; in both senses of the word.


3) Mary Sean Young has some fascinating Polaroids from the set of Bladerunner, here's one...

Rachael and Deckard together...


4) The Telegraph report on what happens when occupational health departments need to ensure they generate work to keep them employed:

'...modern day police officers are being issued with "lifestyle guides", suggesting bedtime routines and healthy eating options.

Among the pearls of wisdom offered in the documents are that officers should assist their spouses with household chores and do activities such as gardening and dancing to keep fit.

The guides even offer advice on what fillings officers should have in their sandwiches. '

5) ZeroHedge think that DeSpiegel are taking a risk of being sued by Greece:

'Germany's Der Spiegel seems hell bent on getting sued to hell and back by Greece. After a few weeks ago it "broke" the news of a secret meeting that would consider the expulsion of the country from the Eurozone, it is once again stirring passions with an article claiming that Greece has missed all fiscal targets agreed under its bailout plan, according to a mission from an international inspection team, putting further funding for Athens at risk, Reuters summarizes. "The troika (aka the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank) asserts in its report to be presented next week that Greece had missed all its agreed fiscal targets," weekly Spiegel magazine reported in a prerelease. In other words, this could be the political game over for Greece, whose fate as has been disclosed recently, is intimately tied with the perception that it is following the troika's demands for fiscal change. If the three key bailout institutions are already leaking that Greece is done, next week could well be the beginning of the end for the €.'

Is that true, is the Eurozone about to fall apart as Greece fails to meet its targets? Does this mean that David Cameron will stop promising money to ailing EuroZone countries? Does this mean that those people who called for the UK to join the Euro will now admit their mistakes and that William Hague, John Redmond amongst others were right when they were being ridiculed for being 'little Englanders' and out of step with history?


6) Brian Lee Crowley in The Financial Post examines the premise behind the question “Are we running out of natural resources?” and explains why we are not. A good explanation that should be required reading for all eco-loons. Here's the conclusion:

'We are nowhere near to running out of natural resources. Human creativity and financial resources together will ensure a continued supply of all the resources we need. The exact form those resources will take cannot be known today, however. It relies on future innovations, which are, by their nature, unpredictable because they will be the fruit of our imagination and curiosity. That is why the human mind is the greatest natural resource of all.'

7) WireUpdate has some bad news for many visitors to Amsterdam:

'In an effort to stop drug tourism, the Dutch government on Friday decided to restrict access to cannabis coffee shops so that tourists will no longer be able to buy the drugs.

Coffee shops are establishments in the Netherlands where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities. As this is illegal in most countries, many tourists from around the world travel to Amsterdam to use cannabis.

But in an effort to reduce criminal behavior and tourism as a result of the drug policy, the Dutch government on Friday decided to introduce a membership system for coffee shops. The city of Amsterdam, where most tourists go, is against the decision

The new system will require members of coffee shops to be a citizen of the Netherlands and over the age of 18.'

This will not help the Amsterdam tourist industry and might make the drug-pushers in the Red Light district even more insistent...


8) The Other McCain has all you need to know about 'Weinergate', actually make that more than you probably want to know about New York Democrat Rep. Anthony Weiner's penis, BlackBerry


9) Noel Sheppard at NewsBusters wonders whether 'Hatred Towards Conservative Women is Last Acceptable Misogyny in U.S.'. here's an extract:

'Of course, Tantaros was correct.

What America has painfully learned since former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was first announced as John McCain's running mate in 2008 is that it is completely acceptable for media members to mercilessly attack a woman in print or on television and radio if she is a conservative.

In reality, not only is it condoned, it's applauded.

You can even win awards for doing so - just ask Katie Couric.

Sadder still is that the Left is constantly carping and whining about the scarcity of women in politics.

Maybe if they wouldn't attack every conservative female that deigns to enter public life there'd be more of them - or is that just too darned logical for a liberal?'

10) BizyBlog claims 'AP Reporters Fabricate Scurrilous ‘Possible’ Reason Why Walesa Wouldn’t Meet With Obama'. It's an interesting theory and one that should chime with anyone who realises quite how biased most of the world's media is in favour of Barack Obama. Investors Business Daily has the more plausible explanation:

' Someone who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for actually doing something just snubbed someone who won it for nothing. But Lech Walesa’s refusal to meet President Obama is also a cry to save Poland.

Lech Walesa, the former Polish president and heroic leader of the Solidarity trade union that helped liberate the entire Eastern European Soviet bloc from communist rule, has his moral courage indelibly engraved in the history books.

… on Friday, Walesa once again answered the call to duty and announced he would not accept fellow Nobel Peace laureate President Obama’s invitation to meet with him in Poland after the G-8 Summit in France.

… Close observers of this president for the two-plus years of his rule know he isn’t interested in listening to the likes of Walesa, any more than he wants to hear the leaders of former Soviet satellite states explain how the low, flat tax rates they adopted in recent years led their nations to double-digit GDP growth.

For the sake of preserving Poland’s hard-fought freedom, Komorowski and Tusk should be joining Walesa in giving Obama the cold shoulder.

The president hadn’t even had a chance to redecorate the Oval Office before he felt the need, in fall of 2009, to appease Moscow by scrapping plans to build a missile defense shield protecting Poland and the Czech Republic from attack by Russia, Iran or any other aggressor.

At the time, the Polish minister of defense said, “This is catastrophic for Poland.”

The message, once again, delivered loud and clear to America’s friends, allies and enemies alike, is that the U.S. can’t be relied on.

… The message Poland’s leaders should deliver to our self-satisfied president is the one Walesa is delivering by his absence: Neither your Nobel nor bin Laden’s head, Mr. President, is a substitute for U.S. help in keeping a liberated Eastern Europe liberated.'

That has cleared ten tabs, only another 20 or so to go!

Are trees too dangerous for children?

Freerange kids report:

'For almost a half-century, kids at the farm-based Moorestown Children’s School in New Jersey have spent a lot of their time stomping in the mud, running through the meadow and visiting the barn, blissfully oblivious to the danger in their midst.

Trees.

Oh, the child care inspectors don’t use that term. They call it “overgrown vegetation” — the tree branches that dip down to the ground, weeping willow-style. These must be chopped off — every last branch, until inspectors can see 7 feet of bare trunk on every tree — or the school will be cited for safety violations.

“But they play with the trees!” school director Sue Maloney recalls telling the inspection crew. The children “touch the trees! They shake the leaves. It’s what they do.”

Not anymore. Not if she wants to keep her license. This is the story of what happens when two different ideas of childhood collide.'

So it's not just in the UK...

Some more of Peter Sissons's comments about the BBC that I think bear repetition

The Mail's article based on Peter Sissons's memoirs had some interesting lines that I spotted:
1) Following a Health & Safety explanation about the dangers of water glasses:
'Proper water glasses would be available only for discussion ­programmes, when it might be aesthetically pleasing to have them in shot. The floor manager would receive a special payment for handling them.'

2) '... when the culture of political correctness began to influence what appeared on the screen. Soon after I started on News 24 in 2003, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal returned from the Gulf to a traditional welcome from families and friends at Portsmouth. TV reporters closed in to interview crew members, the vast majority of whom were men.

Of the five vox-pops that featured in the BBC News, four were with women sailors. During my stint of presenting that day I complained about this and asked if we could have some more ­balanced interviews, but in vain.'


The BBC brainwashing its staff as well as its viewers and listeners.

It's Health and Safety 'gone mad'!

Dick Puddlecote has spotted a classic piece of health and safety nonsense:

'Which do you reckon a risk-averse council would be most worried about?

- Hammering nails through your body
- Hanging from chains via piercings in your nipples
- Charging yourself with 300,000 volts and firing lightning from your fingertips
- Dragging a hoover around with your cock
- Swallowing a revolving electric drill
- Eating smashed lightbulbs
- Staple-gunning playing cards to your face
- Rectally inserting a fluorescent tube
- Smoking a cigarette

Aw shucks, you guessed it.

The Circus of Horrors, which began life at Glastonbury 15 years ago, said today it was locked in a battle with officials at the Corn Exhange, in King's Lynn, after being asked to provide a risk assessment for performers smoking on stage in order that an exemption could be sought from the council's health and safety and licensing departments.

[The show's ringmaster, John Haze said,] "To be honest, it seemed a bit stupid that we had to provide a risk assessment, given all the stuff we do. We had to do an assessment on how you light it and how you put it out. It just seems mad that they are going on about a tiny thing like smoking."

Good grief.'

What was happening at Heathrow during the recent snow?

Travel Mole reports some interesting news:

'Airlines offered Heathrow operator BAA help in clearing snow and ice from the runways but were turned down for health and safety reasons, it emerged today.

...

... according to the Daily Telegraph, it seems Lufthansa and another unnamed airline said they asked to help because BAA was not clearing snow fast enough but were told that it contravened health and safety rules.

...

The paper reports a Lufthansa spokesman as saying: "The whole process took too long and should have been started earlier. There was not enough manpower available, we were surprised how long it took to get things operational.

"We were not allowed to clean stands for health and safety reasons. BAA gets a lot of money to operate the airport and they refused to do that."

Another airline said BAA was being “jobsworth” about clearing the snow, refusing to allow frustrated airlines to help.'

What a surprise 'Health and Safety' was one of the factors, I would never have guessed.

A bit late for Trafalgar day but I just found this...

'The Battle of Trafalgar,.. Today

Admiral Nelson: "Order the signal, Hardy."

Captain Hardy: "Aye, aye sir."

Nelson: "Hold on, that's not what I dictated to Flags. What's the meaning
of this?"

Hardy: "Sorry sir?"

Nelson (reading aloud): "England expects every person to do his or her
duty, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation,
religious persuasion or disability.' - What gobbledygook is this?"

Hardy: "Admiralty policy, I'm afraid, sir. We're an equal Opportunities
employer now. We had the devil's own job getting 'England'
past the censors, lest it be considered racist."

Nelson: "Gadzooks, Hardy. Hand me my pipe and tobacco."

Hardy: "Sorry sir. All naval vessels have now been designated smoke-free
working environments."

Nelson: "In that case, break open the rum ration. Let us splice the
mainbrace to steel the men before battle."

Hardy: "The rum ration has been abolished, Admiral. Its part of the
Government's policy on binge drinking."

Nelson: "Good heavens, Hardy. I suppose we'd better get on with it ...
full speed ahead."

Hardy: "I think you'll find that there's a 4 knot speed limit in this
stretch of water."

Nelson: "Damn it man! We are on the eve of the greatest sea battle in
history. We must advance with all dispatch. Report from the
crow's nest please."

Hardy: "That won't be possible, sir."

Nelson: "What?"

Hardy: "Health and Safety have closed the crow's nest, sir. No harness; and
they said that rope ladders don't meet regulations.
They won't let anyone up there until a proper scaffolding can be erected."

Nelson: "Then get me the ship's carpenter without delay."

Hardy: "He's busy knocking up a wheelchair access to the foredeck,
Admiral."

Nelson: "Wheelchair access? I've never heard anything so absurd."

Hardy: "Health and safety again, sir. We have to provide a barrier-free
environment for the differently abled."

Nelson: "Differently abled? I've only one arm and one eye and I refuse even
to hear mention of the word. I didn't rise to the rank of
admiral by playing the disability card."

Hardy: "Actually, sir, you did. The Royal Navy is under represented in the
areas of visual impairment and limb deficiency."

Nelson: "Whatever next? Give me full sail. The salt spray beckons."

Hardy: "A couple of problems there too, sir. Health and safety won't let
the crew up the rigging without hard hats. And they don't
want anyone breathing in too much salt - haven't you seen the adverts?"

Nelson: "I've never heard such infamy. Break out the cannon and tell the
men to stand by to engage the enemy."

Hardy: "The men are a bit worried about shooting at anyone, Admiral."

Nelson: "What? This is mutiny!"

Hardy: "It's not that, sir. It's just that they're afraid of being charged
with murder if they actually kill anyone. There's a couple of
legal-aid lawyers on board, watching everyone like hawks."

Nelson: "Then how are we to sink the Frenchies and the Spanish?"

Hardy: "Actually, sir, we're not."

Nelson: "We're not?"

Hardy: "No, sir. The French and the Spanish are our European partners now.
According to the Common Fisheries Policy, we
shouldn't even be in this stretch of water. We could get hit with a claim
for compensation."

Nelson: "But you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil."

Hardy: "I wouldn't let the ship's diversity coordinator hear you saying
that sir. You'll be up on disciplinary report."

Nelson: "You must consider every man an enemy, who speaks ill of your
King."

Hardy: "Not any more, sir. We must be inclusive in this multicultural age.
Now put on your Kevlar vest; it's the rules. It could save
your life"

Nelson: "Don't tell me - health and safety. Whatever happened to rum,
sodomy and the lash?"

Hardy: As I explained, sir, rum is off the menu! And there's a ban on
corporal punishment."

Nelson: "What about sodomy?"

Hardy: "I believe that is now legal, sir."

Nelson: "In that case... kiss me, Hardy." '

Thanks to Doin' the Time Warp for the spot.

Sunday catchup (part 1)

1. Computer World report a story that shows that even IT experts are not security conscious when faced by a pretty face -

'Hundreds of people in the information security, military and intelligence fields recently found themselves with egg on their faces after sharing personal information with a fictitious Navy cyberthreat analyst named "Robin Sage," whose profile on prominent social networking sites was created by a security researcher to illustrate the risks of social networking. '

2. Spiked report that:

'A group of volunteers will shortly board some ships in order to deliver aid to suppressed minorities and send a political message to the world: It’s time for an end to occupation and oppression!'

So what's the news in this story about yet another flotilla heading towards Gaza? Well

'This time it’s an Israeli ‘peace flotilla’ organised by the National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS). And it will be heading for Turkey – where the ship that was attacked by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) set sail from – with the aim of bringing attention to the plight of Turkey’s minorities and to challenge the global image of Israel as an evil, murderous state.'

3. Harriet Harman was the subject of much controversy:

'(Harriet Harman) was last night facing damaging claims that she lobbied the
Home Office on behalf of a Labour Party donor’s immigrant wife who is living in Britain unlawfully.

The Leader of the Opposition was forced to deny furiously any impropriety over the wife of Monday Osaseri, a Nigerian-born businessman who donated money at a pre-Election fundraiser in Ms Harman’s Peckham constituency.

Just days later, in April, he emailed her Commons office to request a meeting to discuss his wife, who has been in the country unlawfully for more than six years.

Within weeks, Ms Harman had emailed the Home Office to ask about the progress of her application for leave to stay in the UK.

Last night, sources close to Ms ­Harman denied any connection between the donation and her request, insisting that the issues were dealt with by separate offices and in accordance with strict rules.

But critics said high-profile MPs should avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, particularly over such a politically sensitive issue as immigration.'

4. THe Telegraph have an article by the much missed PC David Copperfield, a former UK PC now serving in Canada, explaining why his new force is so much better – and cheaper – for the public. DO read the whole article, it most instructive and gives ammunition to those who know that 'front-line' services will not have to suffer to make 25% cuts.


5. The Telegraph has video of Canadian fighter pilot, Captain Brian Bews, ejecting from his cockpit seconds before his plane crashed and exploded into a ball of flames...



6. Health and Safety lunacy from Scotland where The Telegraph reports that

'Isle of Muck residents ordered to stop drinking spring water - The inhabitants of a remote Scottish island have been ordered to end centuries of tradition by drinking bottled water instead of drawing it from the natural springs that surround their homes....'

7. The Mail report that 'Being kicked out of Number 10 was 'not bruising' says a cheerful (Gordon) Brown' - Shame!


More later...

Health and Safety madness

Anna Raccoon reports on a seemingly insane case of health and safety lunacy:

'When a raft overturned on the Clear Creek in Arkansas, one of the casualties was a 13 year old girl who had been undergoing training in the art of piloting a few rudimentary logs roped together through a maelstrom of turbulent water.

One guide ... swam after her, braving rapids, rocks and other detritus.

By the time he caught up with her, the emergency services had arrived.

Following full health and safety procedures, they were consulting their rule book, assembling their ropes, ladders, briefing their rescuers and ensuring that they had done a full risk assessment and were properly attired.

Meanwhile, our intrepid guide was still battling his way down river through the rapids in pursuit of his drowning 13 year old student.

He got out of the river and ran the final distance in order to arrive at a point before her. He jumped in again, swam out to her, successfully saved her and brought her to the shore.

...

The official search and rescue team were furious. They complained to the sheriff.

...

28 year old rafting guide Ryan Snodgrass has been charged with ‘obstructing a government operation’. No really, he has.

“He was told not to go in the water, and he jumped in and swam over to the victim and jeopardized the rescue operation,” said Clear Creek Sheriff Don Krueger, noting that his office was deciding whether to file similar charges against another guide who was at the scene just downstream of Kermit’s Roadhouse on U.S. 6.'

Madness...

The air-transport ban - a manufactured crisis?

The Mail reports that (my emphasis):

'The Met Office unnecessarily triggered the six-day closure of British airspace which has cost passengers, airlines and the economy more than £1.5billion, according to senior officials.

A scientific model based on ‘probability’ rather than fact was used by the government agency to forecast the spread of the volcanic ash cloud, according to critics.

Matthias Ruete, the European Commission’s director general of transport, said air traffic authorities should not have imposed a widespread ban.

He suggested the ban should have been restricted to a 20 to 30 mile limit around the volcano in Iceland.

He said: 'The science behind the model we are running at the moment is based on certain assumptions where we do not have scientific evidence. It is a black box in certain areas.'

Results of 40 or so European test flights over the weekend, including a British Airways flight on Sunday, suggested the risks were not as high as computer models predicted.

None found evidence of any ash in engines, windows or lubrication systems.

'We don’t even know what density the cloud should be in order to affect jet engines. We have a model that runs on mathematical predictions.

'It is probability rather than actual things happening,' Mr Ruete said.'

A computer model, hmm that could be as relibale as those that predict Climate Change...

The UK in 2010

Three stories that show just a little of what is wrong with the Uk in 2010 after 13 years of labour misrule.

1) The Mail reports:

'A convicted rapist facing deportation has won a High Court battle to be allowed to stay in Britain so he can get married.

Alphonse Semo, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, threw his victim on a rubbish tip when he 'had finished with her'.

But last night he won the right to remain in the UK for his wedding, just hours before he was due to board a plane back to Africa.

A judge said it was difficult to have any sympathy for Semo, who was jailed for eight years, but he must be allowed to stay.

Mr Justice Collins said the Home Office had at first agreed to let the 53-year-old, from Deptford, south east London, get married to his long-term partner, a German national.

Then the wedding was effectively cancelled by a subsequent decision 'by the same Home Office - no doubt by a different department', he said.

The judge added that he was 'very reluctant' to intervene but said the Home Office could not be allowed to play 'hot and cold'.

The judge said: 'With considerable reluctance, I have to say he must be allowed to marry.

'That means there will be a prohibition against removing him.'

The judge said the Home Secretary would have to reconsider later, after the marriage, whether to make a fresh attempt to deport Semo.

That would engage issues of EU law as his bride-to-be, Bunsana Kalonji, is a refugee from the Congo who became a German national. The pair have a long-established relationship.

Once married, the pair are expected to claim that Semo is legally entitled to remain in the UK as the spouse of an European Economic Area national entitled to free movement within EU member states, including the UK.'

2) The Mail reports that:

' A father who was barred from a public pool's changing room because children were inside has said he was branded a 'pervert'.

Craig Roper claims new rules in force at a council-owned sports centre mean that all men are assumed to be paedophiles who pose a danger to youngsters if they are allowed in the same room.

The regular swimmer said he was furious when he was ordered out of the men's changing room at Scissett Baths in Kirklees, Yorkshire, after a confrontation with a teacher.

Mr Roper, a father of three who has been using the baths at lunchtimes for 30 years, said he always used a private cubicle if boys were still getting changed after morning swimming lessons.

But least week he says he was accosted by a female teacher after being let into the electronically operated room by a lifeguard, and she demanded that he leave at once.

'She said "What are you doing in here, you're not supposed to be here?",' Mr Roper said.

He was then forced to use a separate sauna facility to change.

Pool bosses later confirmed they had introduced new rules 'to protect all our customers from potential incidents'.

Mr Roper said: 'It implies that any male is perceived as paedophilic or as a threat or pervert. They haven't done this on the female side.

'I don't take it personally I just resent the introduction of a plethora of rules and regulations without considering how it impacts people's lives.

'It would now seem that the local schools have initiated a policy of "lock down" and implemented designated exclusion zones in what should be public spaces.

'After decades of the common sense approach to the multi-use of this small pool with limited resources it would now seem that the politically correct brigade have hijacked the agenda.

'These new imposed rules and regulations interfere with the civil liberties of the general public wanting to use this public sports centre.'

A spokeswoman for Kirklees Active Leisure, which runs sports facilities for the council, said the policy applied both to male and female changing rooms.

She said: 'We take all of our customers' safety and privacy very seriously and in order to protect all of our customers against any potential incidents we have a number of policies in place.

'We have a duty to specific groups in our community including our local schools to provide safeguarding of children.

'Kirklees Active Leisure introduced a new school swimming policy in 2007 in partnership with the education service stating that the teacher in charge of school swim sessions has the responsibility to ensure the safety and supervision of the pupils.

'As part of this policy KAL will, where possible, make arrangements for separate school changing areas to be available.

'This is the case at Scissett Baths, alternative changing areas are available to other customers during this time. These policies not only protect children but also all of our customers.''

3) The Mail reports that:

'Buying a goldfish at a pet shop used to be an innocent childhood pleasure.

But today an elderly pet shop owner told how she was entrapped into selling a goldfish to a 14-year-old schoolboy, then warned she could face jail.

She had breached a law introduced in 2006 which bans selling live fish to anyone under 16.

After a prosecution estimated to have cost taxpayers £20,0000, Joan Higgins, 66, a great-grandmother who has never been in trouble before, has been forced to wear a tag on her ankle like common criminal and given a seven-week curfew.

Her son, Mark, 47 was also handed a fine and ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work in the community.

Magistrates were today accused of using a hammer to crack a nut in their bid to enforce the animal welfare laws.

The Higgins' ordeal began when council officials heard the Majors Pet Shop in Sale, Greater Manchester was selling animals to children.

They sent the 14-year-old schoolboy into the shop to carry out a test purchase and Mr Higgins sold the youngster a goldfish without questioning his age or providing any information about the care of the fish.'

Happy in the UK? Happy with the effects of human rights legislation, safety legislation and idiotic laws? Consider this when voting...

Killed by a 'Health and Safety' memo

The Times reports that:

"An injured woman lay for six hours at the foot of a disused mine shaft because safety rules banned firefighters from rescuing her, an inquiry heard yesterday. As Alison Hume was brought to the surface by mountain rescuers she died of a heart attack.

A senior fire officer at the scene admitted that crews could only listen to her cries for help, after she fell down the 60ft shaft, because regulations said their lifting equipment could not be used on the public. A memo had been circulated in Strathclyde Fire and Rescue stations months previously stating that it was for use by firefighters only. "

This sort of story makes me so angry.

This "stranger" must be found

This is London report the case of a "stranger" saving a child's life by rescuing him from underneath a stationary train.

"The parents of a boy who fell beneath a Tube train today praised the "angel" commuter who saved his life.

Benjamin Nelson-West, four, slipped into the gap between the train and platform at Acton Town station.

A man then threw himself on to the platform and hauled Benjamin out seconds before the train pulled away."

I have reason to believe that the authorities are also keen to find this stranger. First they want to prosecute him for wilful disregard for Health and Safety regulations in that he jumped down under a tube train without first filling out a risk assessment form.
Second they need to check whether he has been CRB to work with children. He was alone in a dark space under a train with an unaccompanied child and if he has not been CRB checked then a prosecution must follow.

Another piece of "Health and Safety" idiocy

The Mail reports that:

"Police, firemen and paramedics refused to go to the aid of an accident victim who was drowning in just 18 inches of water... because they believed it was too dangerous.

A senior fire officer banned his men from using ropes and ladders to climb down a 15ft bank to the victim after carrying out a ‘risk assessment’.

Acting on advice, ten police officers who attended the emergency also failed to rescue father-of-three Karl Malton, 32, as he lay face down in the shallow water.

His body lay there for three hours after a decision was made to send for a ‘water rescue team’ based more than 50 miles away.

When relatives arrived at the scene, they found emergency workers standing around drinking tea.

An inquest into Mr Malton’s death yesterday heard that officers no longer have to swim or receive life-saving training."

For heaven sake these are "emergency services" and they now cannot go down a 15 foot bank with an 18 inch body of water at the bottom. So t appears that the emergency services stood and drank tea as a man lay in water, possibly dying; how reassuring, how modern, how Labour Britain. 12 years of Labour rule and this country has lost track of its basic values. This is madness, absolute madness; this country has to get its collective sanity back and soon or we are totally finished.

It is school policy not to grab them?

The Mail report a quite ridiculous story:

"It's being called a 'safe handling policy,' but the extraordinary health and safety rule which has enabled an inquisitive four-year-old boy to repeatedly wander out the school playground is enough to give any parent nightmares.

On four occasions since the start of term, youngster River Baker has walked out of school grounds during break time to explore the outside world.

Each time he has apparently been spotted by the supervising member of staff.

But instead of grabbing or running after him to bring him back, the teacher has 'tracked' the youngster on foot to ensure he comes to no harm and rung the police so officers can stop him.

On one occasion River and another boy of similar age were followed as they walked near a busy main road and five police vehicles turned up to pick them up, she claimed.

The bizarre series of events and refusal of staff to physically stop the four-year-old walking out the open school entrance has appalled and astonished River's mother Suzan Baker, 44.

'There are all sorts of issues here,' she said.

'The school policy is crazy but the security is also pathetic. The teachers say they keep an eye on the kids in the playground all the time, but when they get out, which is so easy to do, they have to follow them a couple of hundred yards behind. It's ludicrous.'

River has left St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School in Richmond, North Yorkshire, four times since January - twice going into a school next door, once walking alongside a busy road and once heading for woodland.

Miss Baker, a single mother-of-three, said she was told due to policy staff were not allowed to grab him.

'I was on a driving lesson when I got a call telling me that they had picked him up from woods at the back of his school. They told me they had followed him and rung the police. When I questioned them about it they just said "do you know how fast a four-year-old can run?"

'It's crazy, an adult could easily catch up with him and safely restrain him. But apparently it is school policy not to grab them.'

Two weeks earlier River and a friend were heading towards an abbey about a mile from the school and walking next to a busy road.

'Again the teacher followed behind and this time five police vans turned up to pick them up. When I found out about this I flipped my lid.

'It's so dangerous out there, it's terrifying what could have happened to them. They could have been run over or grabbed by a sicko before the police got there, it doesn't bear thinking about.' "

Another case of health and safety obsessed Britain...

"Intimidation"

The Telegraph report that:

"Salvation Army bands have been forbidden from rattling their charity tins this Christmas to avoid "intimidating" people, it has been claimed.

Members have been issued with guidelines stating that they must keep their tins still even when music is playing. One volunteer with the Christian charity said she had been told that rattling could also offend other religions."

Bye bye Britain, it was nice knowing you.

General insanity

This blog seems to have become dominated by the economic crisis and the US seeming to be sleep-walking into electing someone of whom questions are not allowed to be asked. So as lighter relief, I bring you this story from the weird world of "health and safety":

"A gardener who fenced off his allotment with barbed wire after being targeted by thieves has been ordered to take it down – in case intruders scratch themselves.

Bill Malcolm erected the 3ft fence after thieves struck three times in just four months, stealing tools worth around £300 from his shed and ransacking his vegetable patch.

But Bromsgrove district council has ordered the 61-year-old to remove the waist-high fence on health and safety grounds."

Read the whole story and wonder at what has happened to our senses in the UK.

The BBC censoring their own output

I saw this report on the temporary banning of "crispy duck ovens" in Chinatown on heath and safety grounds, when it went out early on Monday evening. What the BBC are not showing is the appalingly inept interview that followed this piece. The interviewer asked a question that was so poor that the interviewee (Ching-He Huang) even made a "what the heck was that about" face and the cameraman had to pan awkwardly away from her and onto the young female interviewer.