so a roundup of some things seems in order.
I get really tired of "Because I say so/because I can" being the excuse(and it is, it is not a 'reason') for LE doing things. And officers and Assistant D.A.'s not knowing the law they're supposed to be following. In the second, there's going to be some interesting legal mess for the PD and ADA on that bullcrap.
Sebastian has some more on the Olofson case. He also has a lot on the current BS going on in Philadelphia, including the Mayor opening his mouth and, I'd think, making himself a prime target for a lawsuit.
The University of California system seems to be controlled by a bunch of bigots.
And just because: "...because you suck, and we hate you."
Friday, May 23, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Kim took notice of the stupidity of some NATO rules
the other day , and here's more on it. Also on the idiot general who was trashing our snipers for taking out a Taliban commander.
On the bright side, the Poles seem to have done damn well:
"Eighteen elite Special Operations snipers hid inside the city, picking targets and reporting back on enemy movements. Polish snipers working alongside U.S. forces had been given less restrictive rules of engagement by their government, said a senior U.S. intelligence official with direct access to information about them. “The Poles could kill people we couldn’t,” he said. For example, he said, American snipers couldn’t shoot unless they saw a weapon in the target’s hands, while the Poles were allowed to fire at anyone on the streets of Fallujah holding a cell phone after 8:00 p.m. “They had an eighty percent kill rate at six hundred yards,” the intelligence official said. “That’s incredible range.”
Obviously, they're not listening to the socialist morons of the EU on the 'proper' way to fight terrorists.
On the bright side, the Poles seem to have done damn well:
"Eighteen elite Special Operations snipers hid inside the city, picking targets and reporting back on enemy movements. Polish snipers working alongside U.S. forces had been given less restrictive rules of engagement by their government, said a senior U.S. intelligence official with direct access to information about them. “The Poles could kill people we couldn’t,” he said. For example, he said, American snipers couldn’t shoot unless they saw a weapon in the target’s hands, while the Poles were allowed to fire at anyone on the streets of Fallujah holding a cell phone after 8:00 p.m. “They had an eighty percent kill rate at six hundred yards,” the intelligence official said. “That’s incredible range.”
Obviously, they're not listening to the socialist morons of the EU on the 'proper' way to fight terrorists.
'Department of Family and Protective Services'
my ass.
SAN ANGELO, Texas — A state appellate court has ruled that child
welfare officials had no right to seize more than 400 children living at
a polygamist sect’s ranch.
The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the grounds for
removing the children were “legally and factually insufficient” under
Texas law. They did not immediately order the return of the children.
Much more of the decision at Volokh, including
The Department did not present any evidence of danger to the physical health or safety of any male children or any female children who had not reached puberty. Nor did the Department offer any evidence that any of Relators' pubescent female children were in physical danger other than that those children live at the ranch among a group of people who have a "pervasive system of belief” that condones polygamous marriage and underage females having children. [Footnote: The Department's witnesses conceded that there are differences of opinion among the FLDS community as to what is an appropriate age to marry, how many spouses to have, and when to start having children—much as there are differences of opinion regarding the details of religious doctrine among other religious groups.]
And a commenter points to this:
Half the mothers from a polygamist sect that Texas child welfare authorities put in foster care as children have now been declared adults.
Attorneys for Child Protective Services say 15 of the 31 mothers are adults. One is actually 27.
Another girl listed as an underage mother is 14, but the state has conceded she is not pregnant and does not have a child.
Gee, maybe somebody will also get to asking the local authorities
A: Why did they roll out an armored vehicle to raid the place, and
B: What the HELL are they doing with one, anyway?
SAN ANGELO, Texas — A state appellate court has ruled that child
welfare officials had no right to seize more than 400 children living at
a polygamist sect’s ranch.
The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the grounds for
removing the children were “legally and factually insufficient” under
Texas law. They did not immediately order the return of the children.
Much more of the decision at Volokh, including
The Department did not present any evidence of danger to the physical health or safety of any male children or any female children who had not reached puberty. Nor did the Department offer any evidence that any of Relators' pubescent female children were in physical danger other than that those children live at the ranch among a group of people who have a "pervasive system of belief” that condones polygamous marriage and underage females having children. [Footnote: The Department's witnesses conceded that there are differences of opinion among the FLDS community as to what is an appropriate age to marry, how many spouses to have, and when to start having children—much as there are differences of opinion regarding the details of religious doctrine among other religious groups.]
And a commenter points to this:
Half the mothers from a polygamist sect that Texas child welfare authorities put in foster care as children have now been declared adults.
Attorneys for Child Protective Services say 15 of the 31 mothers are adults. One is actually 27.
Another girl listed as an underage mother is 14, but the state has conceded she is not pregnant and does not have a child.
Gee, maybe somebody will also get to asking the local authorities
A: Why did they roll out an armored vehicle to raid the place, and
B: What the HELL are they doing with one, anyway?
Mountain lions and bears but no tigers as yet;
oh my.
And would it be too damn much to ask for a reporter to get the basic facts on a black bear right, dammit?
The animals are vegetarian so this one could have been feeding on crops and berries.
“There is lots of food for them around here,” Goss said.
No, you moron, they're omnivores; they'll eat anything. Crops and berries in the city, my ass.
And would it be too damn much to ask for a reporter to get the basic facts on a black bear right, dammit?
The animals are vegetarian so this one could have been feeding on crops and berries.
“There is lots of food for them around here,” Goss said.
No, you moron, they're omnivores; they'll eat anything. Crops and berries in the city, my ass.
Mini-cannon post?
A few months ago someone had a post on making miniature cannon, as in BB or buckshot-size bore. Anyone remember where?
I know it's old, but:
Two Diaries
HER DIARY:
Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird.
We had made plans to meet at a bar to have a drink. I was shopping with
My friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a
Bit late, but he made no comment on it.
Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet
So we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was
Wrong; he said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He
Said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to
Worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled
Slightly, and kept driving . I can't explain his behavior. I don't know why he
Didn't say, 'I love you, too.' When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him
Completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat
There quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent.
Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15
Minutes later, he came to bed. To my surprise, he responded to my
Caress, and we made love. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his
Thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do.
I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.
HIS DIARY:
Bike wouldn't start today, but I did get laid.
And on that note:
Illinois officials hiding the truth?
Why would anyone think such a thing?
In Michigan, retired DNR forester Mike Zuidema says he was ridiculed when he reported seeing a cougar. Zudiema has now documented 1,100 cougar sightings in upper Michigan since the 1950s and believes authorities are trying to hide a growing cougar population.
"It was a cover-up initially related to budgets," he said.
He says state officials didn't want to pay the costs of managing a new endangered species and that recently a high-ranking Michigan DNR official told him there is a disinformation campaign underway.
"We have been told that when we talk to the press and news channels, not to say it was a mountain lion. You can say the tracks were consistent with mountain lions. Or it probably was a mountain lion. But don't actually say it was a mountain lion, even if you think so," said Zuidema.
And why all the costs? Why, the enviroweenies and their regulations and their lawyers and their agenda to control how we'll be allowed to live, as is being demonstrated with the polar bears.
In court documents filed late Friday, the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups asked a federal judge to reject Interior Department actions that were announced last week.
Polar bears are threatened with extinction in many areas because of the melting of their sea ice habitat. The groups say greenhouse gas emissions have led to rapid melting in the Arctic.
...
Kassie Siegel, climate director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the administration’s proposal “violates both logic and the law” because it did not address the primary threat to polar bears. The listing of polar bears under the law is significant, she acknowledged, but the groups want them classified as endangered, a more serious category than threatened.
Joining in the court case were Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council. They announced their new federal court filing on Tuesday.
Which is exactly the kind of bullshit we knew was coming. Never mind that their numbers have increased about fivefold since the 70's, list the bear in any way and the weenies and lawyers come out of the woodwork to use it as an excuse to take more control of our lives.
How about a season on enviroweenie lawyers?
In Michigan, retired DNR forester Mike Zuidema says he was ridiculed when he reported seeing a cougar. Zudiema has now documented 1,100 cougar sightings in upper Michigan since the 1950s and believes authorities are trying to hide a growing cougar population.
"It was a cover-up initially related to budgets," he said.
He says state officials didn't want to pay the costs of managing a new endangered species and that recently a high-ranking Michigan DNR official told him there is a disinformation campaign underway.
"We have been told that when we talk to the press and news channels, not to say it was a mountain lion. You can say the tracks were consistent with mountain lions. Or it probably was a mountain lion. But don't actually say it was a mountain lion, even if you think so," said Zuidema.
And why all the costs? Why, the enviroweenies and their regulations and their lawyers and their agenda to control how we'll be allowed to live, as is being demonstrated with the polar bears.
In court documents filed late Friday, the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups asked a federal judge to reject Interior Department actions that were announced last week.
Polar bears are threatened with extinction in many areas because of the melting of their sea ice habitat. The groups say greenhouse gas emissions have led to rapid melting in the Arctic.
...
Kassie Siegel, climate director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the administration’s proposal “violates both logic and the law” because it did not address the primary threat to polar bears. The listing of polar bears under the law is significant, she acknowledged, but the groups want them classified as endangered, a more serious category than threatened.
Joining in the court case were Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council. They announced their new federal court filing on Tuesday.
Which is exactly the kind of bullshit we knew was coming. Never mind that their numbers have increased about fivefold since the 70's, list the bear in any way and the weenies and lawyers come out of the woodwork to use it as an excuse to take more control of our lives.
How about a season on enviroweenie lawyers?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
And now for a look at some other parts of the world
Yuck.
More specifically, in South Africa:
As we made our way through the Ramaphosa squatter camp in Reiger Park on Gauteng’s East Rand, a woman’s words made us freeze in horror. “They are burning people down there,” she said.
I ran to the nearest police officer and said: “The locals say they’re burning a person at the other intersection.”
Officers leapt into a Casspir and a Nyala, and drove through the debris and barricades in the road.
I ran after them, with other photographers following.
Two hundred metres down the road we found the first man. He had been severely beaten and was semi- conscious. Police thought he was dead, but later realised he wasn’t.
Found this through Kim, and as he says, don't look if you have a weak stomach: the pictures are bad.
In Canada:
In many respects, the June 2 Tribunal’s guilty verdict will represent the ultimate triumph of those “progressive” “Trudeaupian” ideals that have been infecting the nation’s institutions for generations.
“At one point,” remarked Steyn after that televised “debate,” “I looked across at the Sock Puppet Three and thought: It’s not about who wins the argument. They’re the future of this country, and that’s that.”
And if he's right, Canada is screwed. They've still got time to do something about it, but I fear it's running very short.
And in (formerly Great)Britain:
42 year old, Sahnoun Daifallah, appeared in front of a magistrate on charges he squirted a “foul-smelling” substance, later determined to be a mixture of feces and urine, over frozen chips and wine bottles at a Tesco in Gloucester - he then went on to shower and ruin 706 children’s books at Waterstones in Cirencester, Gloucs. Not quite satisified with showering his human liquid waste concoction over just two stores, Mr Daifallah proceeded to the Air Balloon pub where, after making offensive comments to the barmaid, he proceeded to sprinkle more feces and urine all over the pub food.
And good news from France, in one of the worst blood-libel pieces of reporting ever:
It is ironic that I, a private individual, had to lecture one of France’s most influential TV stations in order to demonstrate that a child cannot move; lift his head, arm, and leg; stare at the camera; and still be considered “dead” a good 10 seconds after the newscaster tells us “the child is dead.” One need only look at France 2’s own footage to realize that the “death” scene was faked.
And I have to throw this in for the US: if the Obamessiah doesn't want people bringing up who he associates with, he ought not to associate with people like this:
Yee says he was arrested for speaking out against the abuses against the Gitmo prisoners-- Not because a Customs agent found a list of Guantanamo detainees and interrogators among his belongings. Court-martial charges against Yee were dropped on March 19, 2004. Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller cited that national security concerns would arise from the release of the evidence against him.
This Obama delegate says he was locked away in a Navy prison for 76 days in solitary confinement. He says at times he was even subjected to sensory deprivation and was threatened with the death penalty.
Yee will be an Obama delegate at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Two things: that he's an Obama delegate to the Evil Party Convention tells a lot about who they want to associate with, and he's getting off because of a method David Horowitz & Co. used back when he was a communist.
More specifically, in South Africa:
As we made our way through the Ramaphosa squatter camp in Reiger Park on Gauteng’s East Rand, a woman’s words made us freeze in horror. “They are burning people down there,” she said.
I ran to the nearest police officer and said: “The locals say they’re burning a person at the other intersection.”
Officers leapt into a Casspir and a Nyala, and drove through the debris and barricades in the road.
I ran after them, with other photographers following.
Two hundred metres down the road we found the first man. He had been severely beaten and was semi- conscious. Police thought he was dead, but later realised he wasn’t.
Found this through Kim, and as he says, don't look if you have a weak stomach: the pictures are bad.
In Canada:
In many respects, the June 2 Tribunal’s guilty verdict will represent the ultimate triumph of those “progressive” “Trudeaupian” ideals that have been infecting the nation’s institutions for generations.
“At one point,” remarked Steyn after that televised “debate,” “I looked across at the Sock Puppet Three and thought: It’s not about who wins the argument. They’re the future of this country, and that’s that.”
And if he's right, Canada is screwed. They've still got time to do something about it, but I fear it's running very short.
And in (formerly Great)Britain:
42 year old, Sahnoun Daifallah, appeared in front of a magistrate on charges he squirted a “foul-smelling” substance, later determined to be a mixture of feces and urine, over frozen chips and wine bottles at a Tesco in Gloucester - he then went on to shower and ruin 706 children’s books at Waterstones in Cirencester, Gloucs. Not quite satisified with showering his human liquid waste concoction over just two stores, Mr Daifallah proceeded to the Air Balloon pub where, after making offensive comments to the barmaid, he proceeded to sprinkle more feces and urine all over the pub food.
And good news from France, in one of the worst blood-libel pieces of reporting ever:
It is ironic that I, a private individual, had to lecture one of France’s most influential TV stations in order to demonstrate that a child cannot move; lift his head, arm, and leg; stare at the camera; and still be considered “dead” a good 10 seconds after the newscaster tells us “the child is dead.” One need only look at France 2’s own footage to realize that the “death” scene was faked.
And I have to throw this in for the US: if the Obamessiah doesn't want people bringing up who he associates with, he ought not to associate with people like this:
Yee says he was arrested for speaking out against the abuses against the Gitmo prisoners-- Not because a Customs agent found a list of Guantanamo detainees and interrogators among his belongings. Court-martial charges against Yee were dropped on March 19, 2004. Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller cited that national security concerns would arise from the release of the evidence against him.
This Obama delegate says he was locked away in a Navy prison for 76 days in solitary confinement. He says at times he was even subjected to sensory deprivation and was threatened with the death penalty.
Yee will be an Obama delegate at the Democratic National Convention in August.
Two things: that he's an Obama delegate to the Evil Party Convention tells a lot about who they want to associate with, and he's getting off because of a method David Horowitz & Co. used back when he was a communist.
A quick note of a few things
First, as should be expected, the Illinois Governor and Chicago city government are as corrupt and disgusting as all the little stories said. And is it any surprise that these clowns, who insist that the peasants must be disarmed for public safety, have different rules for themselves?
Found the second at Insty.
I think the saying is, 'If you're making enemies of the right people, you're doing it right'.
You'd think the Brit police would get tired of being made into the PC Police, but they keep on doin' it.
Why doesn't it surprise me where this is happening? As a commenter says, some of these idiots will be spitting on troops- again- soon.
More on that last later.
Found the second at Insty.
I think the saying is, 'If you're making enemies of the right people, you're doing it right'.
You'd think the Brit police would get tired of being made into the PC Police, but they keep on doin' it.
Why doesn't it surprise me where this is happening? As a commenter says, some of these idiots will be spitting on troops- again- soon.
More on that last later.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Kevin noted the study showing 'ballistic fingerprinting' is BS
here; now Ahab notes the study showing that the claims for microstamping of ammo are also the product of the backside of a hyena.
Two different methods were designed to evaluate the ease with which lasermachined micro-characters could be intentionally defaced or obliterated. In the first method, the firing pin for an AMT “Backup” 380 Auto semi-automatic pistol was held perpendicular to a household sharpening stone and rubbed back and forth for 30 seconds. The second method involved placing the firing pin for a Sig Sauer P229 semi-automatic pistol on its side on an anvil and rolling it back and forth while lightly peening it with a ball peen hammer for 15 seconds. The firing pin was then stood on its base and the tip was peened for an additional 15 seconds.
…
Finally, both defacement/obliteration methods demonstrated that the microcharacters could easily be intentionally destroyed with the firing pin removed from the firearm.
Go over and read up when you can.
Two different methods were designed to evaluate the ease with which lasermachined micro-characters could be intentionally defaced or obliterated. In the first method, the firing pin for an AMT “Backup” 380 Auto semi-automatic pistol was held perpendicular to a household sharpening stone and rubbed back and forth for 30 seconds. The second method involved placing the firing pin for a Sig Sauer P229 semi-automatic pistol on its side on an anvil and rolling it back and forth while lightly peening it with a ball peen hammer for 15 seconds. The firing pin was then stood on its base and the tip was peened for an additional 15 seconds.
…
Finally, both defacement/obliteration methods demonstrated that the microcharacters could easily be intentionally destroyed with the firing pin removed from the firearm.
Go over and read up when you can.
Yeah, I've heard the news about Ted Kennedy(Hypocrite-MA)
No, haven’t written about it before. Yes, I’ve got a confession to make.
I’m not changing my opinion of him because of the tumor. No “A great statesman, a great American” bullcrap*. I think he has been a hypocritical, corrupt, disgusting example of a liberal/socialist politician. Pushing the death tax when his own fortune has been carefully sheltered from it, trying to ban guns while paying private security- ARMED- to cover himself and family, pushing tax increases while sheltering the family money from them, playing the ‘alternative energy’ game while trying to prevent any scheme that might bother his view, playing the big women’s rights champion while often treating women as disposable chips to play with. He left Mary Jo Kopechne in a car in the water to die because it was 'inconvenient' for him to find a phone and call for help; anyone else’d have had a criminal conviction and probably have spent years in prison for leaving her to die, but a father more concerned with power and money than lives managed to protect him of the consequences of his actions. As a man, I think he sucks. As a politician, I think he’s done real damage to this country.
That does not mean I should feel pleasure at this announcement, or satisfaction. But I have to admit that when I first heard ‘Sen. Kennedy’ and ‘seizure’ my first thought was “maybe this’ll get him out of that office.” Not a good thing to think, it's a consequence of the fact that I can't think of a good thing to say about him. I know this is hard on his family, but I just can't find any sympathy in me for him.
* I bleepin' hate it when somebody dies and, immediately, people who made it plain for years that they thought the deceased was a crooked, stupid, drunken etc. turn up making speeches praising all the 'fine qualities' they had in life.
I’m not changing my opinion of him because of the tumor. No “A great statesman, a great American” bullcrap*. I think he has been a hypocritical, corrupt, disgusting example of a liberal/socialist politician. Pushing the death tax when his own fortune has been carefully sheltered from it, trying to ban guns while paying private security- ARMED- to cover himself and family, pushing tax increases while sheltering the family money from them, playing the ‘alternative energy’ game while trying to prevent any scheme that might bother his view, playing the big women’s rights champion while often treating women as disposable chips to play with. He left Mary Jo Kopechne in a car in the water to die because it was 'inconvenient' for him to find a phone and call for help; anyone else’d have had a criminal conviction and probably have spent years in prison for leaving her to die, but a father more concerned with power and money than lives managed to protect him of the consequences of his actions. As a man, I think he sucks. As a politician, I think he’s done real damage to this country.
That does not mean I should feel pleasure at this announcement, or satisfaction. But I have to admit that when I first heard ‘Sen. Kennedy’ and ‘seizure’ my first thought was “maybe this’ll get him out of that office.” Not a good thing to think, it's a consequence of the fact that I can't think of a good thing to say about him. I know this is hard on his family, but I just can't find any sympathy in me for him.
* I bleepin' hate it when somebody dies and, immediately, people who made it plain for years that they thought the deceased was a crooked, stupid, drunken etc. turn up making speeches praising all the 'fine qualities' they had in life.
Monday, May 19, 2008
And in the category of 'Pandering to Enviroweenies and Foreigners,
the winner is:
OBAMA!
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
May I break from my usually somewhat restrained language for a moment?
Fuck you, Barack Hussein Obama. And the clapped-out horse you rode in on, and your terrorist friends, and everyone everywhere who thinks we shouldn't do those things. Who the HELL do you think you are, telling us we have to change our lives to make other countries happy? Telling us we have to seek the approval of other countries? You miserable, pandering, suckass little politician. Ignoring the little fact that the countries using your socialist formula are in the hole(one reason they're pissed at us), one reason we have problems with oil is clowns like you who don't want us to exploit our OWN reserves. And then you whine about the cost of oil and say that YOU can SAVE us!
If I'd had any doubt you were a standard-issue leftist politician, and should be kept the hell out of the White House, this idiocy removed it.
OBAMA!
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
May I break from my usually somewhat restrained language for a moment?
Fuck you, Barack Hussein Obama. And the clapped-out horse you rode in on, and your terrorist friends, and everyone everywhere who thinks we shouldn't do those things. Who the HELL do you think you are, telling us we have to change our lives to make other countries happy? Telling us we have to seek the approval of other countries? You miserable, pandering, suckass little politician. Ignoring the little fact that the countries using your socialist formula are in the hole(one reason they're pissed at us), one reason we have problems with oil is clowns like you who don't want us to exploit our OWN reserves. And then you whine about the cost of oil and say that YOU can SAVE us!
If I'd had any doubt you were a standard-issue leftist politician, and should be kept the hell out of the White House, this idiocy removed it.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Remember the doctors who are asking kids about
guns in the home and so forth? Well, it's worse(big surprise, right?) in Britain:
Imagine a country where strangers have the right to ask intrusive questions and store the answers on a database.
Where everyone from police officers to leisure-centre staff can demand: "Tell me who you feel close to?"
They will also have been trained to ask questions about sexual behaviour, family life, religion, secret fears, weight and "sleeping arrangements" at home.
Incredibly, thousands of Government and council apparatchiks in Britain became entitled on April 1 to ask such questions of anyone under 19.
This horrifying invasion of privacy has begun, almost unnoticed, because the Government has cleverly presented it as being in the interests of "child protection".
Big chorus now: "IT'S FOR THE CHILDREEENNNN!"
The questions don't need a parent's consent since any child over 12 is deemed responsible enough to grant permission for an interview.
Well, isn't that convenient?
Any child not achieving the Government's five "outcomes" - being healthy, staying safe, enjoying life, "making a positive contribution", and achieving " economic well-being" - is now defined as having "additional needs".
In other words, they can define a kid having a fight with brother or sister, or being told to behave 'or else!' by the parents as having 'additional needs'. Which means the Big Nanny can step in.
How did this idiocy come about? Margaret Hodge announced the ECM agenda in 2003, just after Tony Blair ignored his friend's unsavoury history as leader of Islington Council during one of Britain's worst child-abuse scandals and, to widespread protest, made her Children's Minister.
Hodge claimed the ECM was justified by the case of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie who was abused and murdered by her guardians.
As the reporter who exposed paedophile rings in Islington's children's homes and, later, the blaming in neighbouring Haringey of an innocent social worker for Victoria's death, I was mystified.
I knew the problem was never lack of paperwork on children at risk, but too many stupid people reading it - and failing to act.
So, on April Fool's Day, the very effective Child Protection Register was abolished.
In its paternalistic zeal, however, New Labour replaced the register with the Integrated Children's System.
Let's see: incompetent socialist politician with connections, instead of being canned, gets put in charge of program that can screw with lots of peoples' lives. Yeah, that makes sense.
Further along, we find out just what professionals will be able to do thisintrusive bullcrapinterrogation:
In an effort to develop a more "common" approach, anyone from a sports coach to a playgroup worker is allowed to question a child, as long as they've been on a three-hour training course.
There is a risk that the interrogators could include people who may derive a perverse thrill from asking children personal questions about bathing, dressing and "changes to their body".
Allowing so many people to probe into children's personal lives is also a threat to this country's long-treasured right to privacy.
Right to privacy my ass, it could put their bloody LIVES at risk.
And, as always, comes one of the rusty hammers government uses:
"The association of ECM with Victoria Climbie and the use of expressions such as 'safeguarding' and 'at risk' have stifled essential debate - after all, who could possibly be against protecting children?" said Dowty.
She believes we should refuse to comply. But how strong will families need to be, if by opposing the scheme, they risk being accused of negligence - or worse - towards their children?
Yep. "Well, you don't want your child to answer questions? What are you hiding, then?" Etc.
Back when my kids were small we found out that one of their teachers was asking them- and other kids in class- questions about their home life, parents, etc. They were told to tell said teacher, next time she asked, that "My parents told me not to answer questions like this. And if you ask them again, they want to meet with you and the principal and ask why." I can't remember exactly how the ex put her part of it, but it did help get the point across that this bullcrap would not be allowed to continue. But here you've got the bloody government giving anybody who's taken a three-hour class permission to ask these questions. Talk about ripe for abuse... and that's besides the general matter of "Don't you morons have anything better to do? Like get the hell out of peoples' lives?"
Imagine a country where strangers have the right to ask intrusive questions and store the answers on a database.
Where everyone from police officers to leisure-centre staff can demand: "Tell me who you feel close to?"
They will also have been trained to ask questions about sexual behaviour, family life, religion, secret fears, weight and "sleeping arrangements" at home.
Incredibly, thousands of Government and council apparatchiks in Britain became entitled on April 1 to ask such questions of anyone under 19.
This horrifying invasion of privacy has begun, almost unnoticed, because the Government has cleverly presented it as being in the interests of "child protection".
Big chorus now: "IT'S FOR THE CHILDREEENNNN!"
The questions don't need a parent's consent since any child over 12 is deemed responsible enough to grant permission for an interview.
Well, isn't that convenient?
Any child not achieving the Government's five "outcomes" - being healthy, staying safe, enjoying life, "making a positive contribution", and achieving " economic well-being" - is now defined as having "additional needs".
In other words, they can define a kid having a fight with brother or sister, or being told to behave 'or else!' by the parents as having 'additional needs'. Which means the Big Nanny can step in.
How did this idiocy come about? Margaret Hodge announced the ECM agenda in 2003, just after Tony Blair ignored his friend's unsavoury history as leader of Islington Council during one of Britain's worst child-abuse scandals and, to widespread protest, made her Children's Minister.
Hodge claimed the ECM was justified by the case of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie who was abused and murdered by her guardians.
As the reporter who exposed paedophile rings in Islington's children's homes and, later, the blaming in neighbouring Haringey of an innocent social worker for Victoria's death, I was mystified.
I knew the problem was never lack of paperwork on children at risk, but too many stupid people reading it - and failing to act.
So, on April Fool's Day, the very effective Child Protection Register was abolished.
In its paternalistic zeal, however, New Labour replaced the register with the Integrated Children's System.
Let's see: incompetent socialist politician with connections, instead of being canned, gets put in charge of program that can screw with lots of peoples' lives. Yeah, that makes sense.
Further along, we find out just what professionals will be able to do this
In an effort to develop a more "common" approach, anyone from a sports coach to a playgroup worker is allowed to question a child, as long as they've been on a three-hour training course.
There is a risk that the interrogators could include people who may derive a perverse thrill from asking children personal questions about bathing, dressing and "changes to their body".
Allowing so many people to probe into children's personal lives is also a threat to this country's long-treasured right to privacy.
Right to privacy my ass, it could put their bloody LIVES at risk.
And, as always, comes one of the rusty hammers government uses:
"The association of ECM with Victoria Climbie and the use of expressions such as 'safeguarding' and 'at risk' have stifled essential debate - after all, who could possibly be against protecting children?" said Dowty.
She believes we should refuse to comply. But how strong will families need to be, if by opposing the scheme, they risk being accused of negligence - or worse - towards their children?
Yep. "Well, you don't want your child to answer questions? What are you hiding, then?" Etc.
Back when my kids were small we found out that one of their teachers was asking them- and other kids in class- questions about their home life, parents, etc. They were told to tell said teacher, next time she asked, that "My parents told me not to answer questions like this. And if you ask them again, they want to meet with you and the principal and ask why." I can't remember exactly how the ex put her part of it, but it did help get the point across that this bullcrap would not be allowed to continue. But here you've got the bloody government giving anybody who's taken a three-hour class permission to ask these questions. Talk about ripe for abuse... and that's besides the general matter of "Don't you morons have anything better to do? Like get the hell out of peoples' lives?"
Hmmm, maybe there are reasons Obama is so sensitive
of any whiff of 'appeaser' being attached to him. Things like this:
On May 14 Barack Obama held a private meeting at Macomb Community College with Hassan Qazwini. Qazwini is the leader of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Debbie Schlussel describes Qazwini as Hezbollah's most important imam and agent in America.
Obama's meeting with Qazwini came to light because of a brief report in the Detroit Free Press (with the photo above) deriving from Qazwini and his mosque. The Obama campaign has not itself posted any news account or press release regarding the meeting on its Obama News page. A Google News search on "Obama Qazwini" shows that news of the meeting has essentially remained a closely guarded secret.
Gee, why would the media want to keep this secret? After all, it shows the Obamessiah meeting with the enemies of this country, without preconditions, to talk...
Well, maybe that's why.
Mark Steyn has a bit to say on the sensitivity here.
On May 14 Barack Obama held a private meeting at Macomb Community College with Hassan Qazwini. Qazwini is the leader of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Debbie Schlussel describes Qazwini as Hezbollah's most important imam and agent in America.
Obama's meeting with Qazwini came to light because of a brief report in the Detroit Free Press (with the photo above) deriving from Qazwini and his mosque. The Obama campaign has not itself posted any news account or press release regarding the meeting on its Obama News page. A Google News search on "Obama Qazwini" shows that news of the meeting has essentially remained a closely guarded secret.
Gee, why would the media want to keep this secret? After all, it shows the Obamessiah meeting with the enemies of this country, without preconditions, to talk...
Well, maybe that's why.
Mark Steyn has a bit to say on the sensitivity here.
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