Personally I would use them as the pot hole filler, but then I'm like that.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqj7d1dwz1vo
Convicted criminals could be told to fill potholes and clean bins under plans the government is understood to be developing. As first reported by the Sun on Sunday,, external the Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is said to want to expand unpaid work, which she believes to be too lenient.
She is understood to want probation teams to work with councils, so that local authorities are able to assign jobs to offenders. Private companies would also be able to employ those who are on community sentences.
Offenders would not be paid wages, but the money earned would be paid into a fund for victim's groups. It comes as prisons across the country are struggling to deal with overcrowding after the number of offenders behind bars hit a new high.
A government source said: "With prisons so close to collapse, we are going to have to punish more offenders outside of prison. "We need punishment to be more than just a soft option or a slap on the wrist. If we want to prove that crime doesn't pay, we need to get offenders working for free - with the salary they would have been paid going back to their victims." They added this meant doing the jobs the public "really want them to do - not just scrubbing graffiti, but filling up potholes and cleaning the bins".
https://stopsurrogacynowuk.org/2025/05/14/do-be-quiet/
Last month we received a ‘cease and desist’ letter from a law firm on behalf of their clients, My Surrogacy Journey.
This UK agency wanted us to stop talking about them and the law firm representing them issued a SLAPP – a Strategic Legislation Public Participation. Frowned on by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, a SLAPP aims to intimidate and silence opponents. It sends a message to recipients that speaking further may land them in legal trouble.
Since I have not done anything illegal I will continue to write about this agency and their connected businesses such as their new clinic, their foundation, their agency in Mexico and the Modern Family Show which is paused as they await the birth of their third child, born to a woman in Mexico this time.
But I am not at all surprised that an agency operating under the UK model of so-called ‘altruistic’ surrogacy whilst running a commercial operation in Mexico, might not appreciate my words in this article, which inspired the letter. No, I am not surprised at all as we have seen the active silencing of women who speak up about surrogacy before.
Several surrogate mothers who were signed up with Surrogacy UK have told me they were removed from groups after raising doubts, concerns or for expressing feelings reluctance or regret. As this doesn’t align with their narrative they are ejected and blocked. These women can no longer access the social networks designed to support them, they have no one to talk to outside of their own friendships an family and as surrogacy is presented as a unique and alternative way to have a family, many do not understand the intricate and complex emotions that come to a head in surrogacy during pregnancy and postpartum.
We supported a surrogate mother through part of her legal ordeal which was thankfully successful in ‘setting aside’ the parental order she signed under judicial encouragement, but she is not the first, nor will she be the last.
Another surrogate mother has been threatened more subtly, by calling her character and reputation into question and should she continue to speak out her credibility will be undermined. Others may want to speak but they don’t have the freedom to discuss their experiences and this is not a new experience...........................................................................
There's way more wrong with an old bloke who hoards Barbie dolls than merely the hoarding aspect.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3xlel7vrro
Hoarding in the UK has become a "mental health emergency" which requires an urgent response, a leading social enterprise has warned. Clouds End CIC has been supporting more than 300 people who hoard in Birmingham, helping them to declutter their homes and encouraging them to attend mental health support groups.
It is an intervention project funded by Birmingham City Council, working closely with social services. Estimates suggest 2-5% of the UK population may have hoarding disorder, which the World Health Organisation classified as a mental health condition in 2018. However, Heather Matuozzo, founder of Clouds End CIC, says the true number will have risen significantly since the pandemic.
"Anecdotally, and looking abroad, it's quite seriously on the increase, but we don't have the figures to prove it yet," she said. "Our referrals are certainly increasing - it's a behind-closed-doors mental health emergency. "You're meeting people who have got stuck in life, some with some really heartbreaking stories. We need to act now."
Bloody woman has no shame.
https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/comment/nicola-sturgeon-speak-philosophy-festival-35112729
Nicola Sturgeon is clearly enjoying life after politics, going to the gym and taking bookings for all manner of engagements: the only problem is, she's not actually resigned as an MSP.
Perhaps the former First Minister still wields such a fearsome reputation in the SNP that nobody has the guts to tell her that she's supposed to step down before embarking on a career as a second-rate variety act. And then there's the awkward fact that if a failed politician is going to flog themselves as a public speaker, then the public might expect them to actually speak about issues from their career.
Such as, in Sturgeon's case, the gender reforms and legislation she introduced and the wider drive she led to embed transgender self-identification at all levels of public life in Scotland. Sadly, more than a week after the Supreme Court ruled that a woman – in the eyes of the law – was a biological female and not a bearded fella in a dress, we are yet to hear from this equalities trailblazer.
On Easter Monday, the Glasgow Southside MSP posted a selfie of her working out at the gym, prompting the satirical Scottish social media account 'Brian Spanner' to quip: "Pontius Pilates". This clever remark – referencing Easter, fitness classes and the betrayal felt by many women under Sturgeon – was retweeted by JK Rowling, who famously once wore a T-shirt bearing the slogan: 'Nicola Sturgeon, destroyer of women's rights'.
Rowling, who celebrated the Supreme Court ruling on her superyacht in the Bahamas, also took aim at 11 Westminster politicians including Sir Keir Starmer, David Lammy and Angela Rayner, all of whom have previously said that trans women are women.
She said: "Will any of them issue an apology or admit that they made a serious error in siding with well-funded activist groups lying about what the law actually said, and which had measurable, severe impact on some of society's most vulnerable women?"
‘I taught 16-year-olds. Don’t give them the vote’ - Teachers, parents and even many teenagers themselves think the voting age shouldn’t be lowered, yet Labour’s reason for pursuing it is clear
What I’d tell my 16-year-old self is a classic writing exercise. But if Sir Keir Starmer has his way, the answer could soon include, “Don’t vote for that party, you idiot.” The Prime Minister has redoubled his manifesto commitment to reduce the voting age from 18 to 16 this week, telling Parliament’s Liaison Committee: “We will definitely get it done.”
Scotland has allowed 16-year-olds the vote since the referendum of 2014 and Wales did the same in 2021 – however, Westminster governments have been less inclined.
If it happens, roughly 1.5 million voters, or 3 per cent of the voting age population, will join the electoral register – though parents, teachers and politicians are strongly divided on whether or not it’s a good idea to let teens who the law still considers too young to drive, drink or gamble to influence the direction of democracy.
Many argue that 16-year-olds are unlikely to bother voting, with a poll by Ipsos Mori showing that in 2019, the general election turnout was just 47 per cent for 18 to 24-year-olds. By contrast, 74 per cent of over-65s hoofed it to the ballot box. There’s also concern that the Left hopes to manipulate outcomes, as a recent YouGov poll found that 56 per cent of 18 to 25-year-olds voted for Labour in 2024, compared with 32 per cent of the entire population.
Interestingly, young people themselves are not so keen to change the law. A poll for The Student Room, an online community for students, found that 79 per cent of users felt 18 was the right age. Others point out there has been no uprising among teenagers demanding voting rights, and when the public was polled in 2018, only 34 per cent thought 16 and 17-year-olds should have the right to vote.
One compelling argument, however, suggests that even 18 might be too young to make informed, impactful decisions.
“At 16, adolescents are still in the process of cognitive development,” says Elena Touroni, a consultant psychologist and co-founder of Chelsea Psychology Clinic. “By this age, the brain is well developed in areas related to basic reasoning, decision making and social understanding. However, the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain responsible for impulse control, risk assessment and long-term planning – does not fully mature until the early 20s,” she explains. “This means that while 16-year-olds may be able to form opinions, understand political issues, and make decisions, their ability to evaluate long-term consequences and risks might not be as developed as that of older adults.”.............................................................
I'm going to take you on a little educational trip to Scotland now, where I think we might learn a thing or two about refugees, asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. The SNP have been in power in Scotland for a very long time. Nicola Sturgeon said plans to deport illegal immigrants were disgraceful. The SNP website urged Britain to take its fair share of refugees and asylum seekers. Humza Yousaf called the Rwanda Plan 'morally repugnant' and should be scrapped. In fact Humza Yousaf wanted to go one step further, and house Gazan refugees in Scotland. The SNP even wanted to introduce free bus passes for asylum seekers. As of July 2024 there were 213 asylum hotels in Scotland.
The fair people of Glasgow took to the streets to physically prevent the deportation of people suspected of committing immigration offences, and the police backed down. Well done, to all the refugees welcome protesters in Glasgow. Amazing work. Now, let's check in and see how Glasgow is getting on today, shall we? 4,000 asylum seekers descended on Glasgow and now the council says: We can't take any more! The city is crumbling under the weight of asylum seekers. It's damaging social cohesion, it's caused a housing crisis. The situation is 'utterly untenable' - they've got homeless migrants wandering the streets. They're planning on turning a care home into a base for refugees. An asylum seeker was shot dead by police after stabbing six people at a hotel. Elsewhere in Scotland, a failed asylum seeker raped a schoolgirl near a pub. There's nowhere for Scotland's own homeless to live - they're in temporary accommodation.
Now the council wants the Government to pause sending asylum seekers to Glasgow. Hang on a minute, the rest of the country wants that! So when they want it, it's because they're overwhelmed, when we want it down here, it's because we're all racist bigots.
You reap what you sew.
https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/snp-government-admits-help-write-34978574
The SNP Government has finally admitted that it was involved in writing up transgender guidance for the NHS which has contributed to a very public employment tribunal. The likes of John Swinney have tried to insist they can't comment and have nothing to do with policy which allows biological men to use women-only facilities.
But a freedom of information request revealed that government civil servants helped to write new guidance on the use of "preferred" lavatories and changing rooms. They were part of a policy development group charged with drafting a new "gender transitioning guide" for the NHS.
This document claimed that telling a trans person that they cannot use their "preferred facilities" could amount to "unlawful discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment." Legal experts have claimed that public bodies need to supply single-sex facilities as it is against the law not to.
The "development process" for this policy involved "subject matter experts" from "both the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland." But according to the Daily Telegraph, the government refused to say whether the experts were affiliated to the trans lobby groups who advise SNP Ministers.
Here are 5 things that happened in the last week alone, five things that when looked at together not only symbolise the ongoing decline of our country but point to the dark and difficult future that awaits us unless we urgently and radically change course.
First, in the political system, a group of governing Labour MPs, many of whom preside over severely disadvantaged neighbourhoods here in Britain, decided to instead spend their time lobbying for an airport in … Kashmir … to please their local Muslim constituents.
While many of these Labour MPs opposed the expansion of Heathrow airport here in Britain, they are now using their time to prioritise the expansion of air travel in Kashmir (which, interestingly, is the same part of the world where many of the Pakistani Muslim rape gangs come from).
What this reflects is the ongoing injection of a dark and dangerous sectarianism into British politics that was also reflected this week in the election of an ‘independent’ candidate at local elections who, like those independent Muslim candidates at the 2024 general election last year, campaigned not on issues central to Britain but instead … Gaza. What all this reflects, in other words, is how we are now heading, slowly but surely, toward a highly divisive model of sectarian politics that looks more at home in countries like Lebanon than here in Britain —politicians who are now openly putting sectarian interests ahead of our national interests.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93n3legwjlo
Police are investigating a report of a teacher viewing pornography at a school in the Scottish Borders.
Police Scotland said it received a complaint of a man viewing images at Hawick High School on Wednesday.
Scottish Borders Council said it was aware of the situation but was unable to comment on individual staffing matters.
It said any appropriate action would be taken in accordance with its policies and procedures.
https://order-order.com/2025/03/26/migrant-paedophile-spared-deportation-because-hes-an-alcoholic/
In yet another ludicrous display of a left-wing judge thwarting the deportation of foreign criminals under the ECHR, a Pakistani paedophile, deemed a “danger to the community,” was allowed to stay in the UK last year…because he’s an alcoholic. Eh?
The criminal, who’s been granted anonymity, came to the UK in 2010, was jailed in June 2020 for assaulting emergency workers while “heavily intoxicated,” and was jailed again in December 2022 for sexually abusing a girl under 13. At a June 2024 First-tier Tribunal, Judge Leanne Turner ruled that deporting him would breach European human rights law. Her reasoning? He could be persecuted in Pakistan as an alcoholic because alcohol is illegal over there. The judge ruled:
“Sufficient evidence to show the lower standard, that the appellant would face inhuman or degrading treatment on return to Pakistan as a result of a highly likely criminal prosecution and imprisonment for his uncontrollable alcohol consumption. As such, returning to Pakistan would breach the U.K.’s obligations under Article 3 of the ECHR.”
Details of the case were published on Monday after the Home Office appealed the decision, arguing Judge Turner made mistakes by assuming he would drink and would be imprisoned in Pakistan. At the Upper Tribunal, Judge Soraya Reeds said:
“Given that there are likely to be Muslims in Pakistan who drink and possess alcohol, the assertion that all will be arrested, prosecuted and indeed receive imprisonment is not evidenced.”
The case is back with the First-tier Tribunal, where a new hearing will decide at a later date if he’ll finally be deported. The Judiciarchy strikes again…
Quite! God, the media gets worse for this, my eyes are bad so I don't always pick up on it to correct it. In fact I now find myself looking at something and thinking there is something wrong here but my brain or whatever is causing it won't pick out what it is, I know but somehow I can't "see" it.
Cheesecake anyone :blobjoy:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c871z5gvl8do
It is unclear what the announcement means for those who work in the visitor centre or on the estate.
BBC Scotland News has contacted Clan Donald Land Trust's CEO, Alex Stoddart, for further comment.
News of the sale caught the surrounding locals off guard.
Dr Andy Williamson, chair of the Sleat Community Council, said no-one in the community had known the decision was being made.
But he was not "overly surprised" by the lack of consultation.
"The trustees aren't in the community. They're in London and the US," he said.
Dr Williamson said the lack of a relationship between the landowners and the community could be "detrimental to a good outcome" in the sale.
"Our fears are it could be packaged off or further broken up. Our fears are that people might want to buy it simply to put wind turbines on it," he said.
"How does that benefit the community? How does that benefit the people of Sleat and the Isle of Skye?"
Oh for fuck's sake! 🤦
The fad is causing concern among doctors. Nayar said she had seen women who wanted a caesarean section at 36 weeks, four weeks early. “One woman said the astrologer told her that after 36 weeks the whole month was bad,” she said. “No date was a good date. And for this reason, she actually wanted me to go along with her. I told her to get lost.” The craze for mahurat deliveries has prompted clinics to list them among their other services. Parents feel they can control the destiny of their child by giving it the “head start” of being born on the right day at the right time. “I’ve had clients who have said they want a Taurus baby or a Leo baby,” Kaushik said.
For doctors like Nayar, the obsession with star signs is frustrating. “I wish they would realise they cannot engineer a child’s destiny,” she said. “If only life were so simple.”
🙄 Bent as a dog's hind leg.
It has since emerged the hour-long film’s narrator – Abdullah Al-Yazouri, 14 – is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who is deputy minister of agriculture in the Hamas-run government.
The BBC issued an apology on Wednesday night, claiming it “had not been informed” of the connection by the documentary’s producers before it was broadcast. “We followed all of our usual compliance procedures in the making of this film, but we had not been informed of this information by the independent producers when we complied and then broadcast the finished film,” a spokesman said. Danny Cohen, the former controller of BBC Television, said the corporation had failed to do “basic journalistic checks” and accused it of “trying to throw the producer of the documentary under the bus”.
“Yesterday the BBC claimed they had ‘full editorial control’,” he said. “Today it is someone else’s fault. “The serious questions asked of the BBC remain unanswered: why did our national broadcaster fail to carry out the basic journalistic checks needed to ensure that propaganda from the terrorists of Hamas was not broadcast in primetime?”
The apology came a day after the BBC defended the hour-long film, saying it had full editorial control over the content and that the children’s parents had no editorial input.
In the documentary, the boy’s background was not revealed to viewers and it is not clear if the film crew were aware of his links to Hamas.
The corporation has now added a disclaimer to the documentary, which admits the Hamas link but continues to insist the documentary makers had “full editorial control”.
A doctor who removed the ovaries of two women without their consent has been deemed ‘fit to practise’ by a medical tribunal.
Dr Ali Shokouh-Amiri, who admitted to the unauthorised removal of ovaries while working at a hospital in Guernsey, has been permitted to continue his medical career but received a formal warning.
He is now working as a consultant gynaecologist at Southend University Hospital, part of the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
Allegations and proven misconduct During a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing, Dr Shokouh-Amiri faced over 100 allegations of inappropriate behaviour, with 24 instances proven. The 24 proven instances included:
Removing the ovaries of Patient C and Patient D without consent, with no clinical justification for Patient D’s ovary removal Touching Patient D’s clitoris Kissing and hugging Patient F on two occasions Rubbing or touching Patient A’s leg Performing multiple intimate examinations without a chaperone present The allegations involved six patients under his care during his time as a partner at the Medical Specialist Group (MSG) in Guernsey from 2016 to 2019.
https://x.com/HazelAppleyard_/status/1891200703999218065
"Gay couple hire a poor woman from the Philippines to use as an incubator. Impregnate her with one baby from each man. A week before they’re due to go and get the babies, one of the men DECIDES HE DOESN’T WANT THE BABIES ANYMORE AND LEAVES AFTER 23 YEARS TOGETHER.
Now the one remaining guy doesn’t even know if he will be able to keep the child that isn’t biologically his without the missing father’s assistance.
These poor, poor babies don’t stand a chance - and being ripped from the only woman they’ve ever known at birth and flown to a different country is only the START of their problems.
Demonic!"
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14399423/Miliband-tree-massacre-drax-energy-pellets.html
Since it started importing huge quantities of pellets in 2012, Drax has relied on America's South for most of them, not only because it has vast tracts of forest close to coastal ports for easy export but also because these conservative states impose few of the regulations that protect woodland in the UK and the rest of Europe.
Logging companies traditionally cut down only the biggest trees as they are most suitable for the building and furniture industries, leaving the smaller ones to keep growing. They also left the ecologically-precious 'wetland hardwood' varieties such as cypress because they were too gnarled to become planks or tables.
Now, there's so much demand for wood that will simply be pulped for pellets, everything is worth cutting down. Environmentalists acknowledge that any really high-quality hardwood may still be sent to a sawmill but the rest becomes biomass. Sometimes, they say, an entire clearcut is turned into pellets. […]
Everyone I spoke to in North Carolina admitted they were slightly shocked that 'tree-loving' and climate change-aware Britain, of all countries, had facilitated the biomass industry –adopting renewable energy accounting rules that didn't account either for the forests being lost in the US or the carbon emissions from burning the wood.
Derb Carter, a senior lawyer at the Southern Environmental Law Centre, told me he had repeatedly visited the UK to explain the situation to government officials.
‘There was this assumption that surely the US regulates how forests are managed to protect the public interest,' he said. The Brits were 'surprised', he said, when he explained that in southern states like North Carolina, there was nothing of the sort.
Exactly, but green, innit 🤪
Random cat of the day
That is what they are about, it's the money, the grift, the jockeying for positions while selling us down the river, it was never about Repeal and kicking this shit to death once and for all.