Well, The Answer Should Have Been 'No'...

...shouldn't it, chancellors?

As the number of serious sexual assaults escalates across universities, experts say female students often do not want to go to the police, fearing delays and traumatising questioning, and knowing only 1% of rape cases end in conviction. Universities say increasing numbers of women are instead turning to them to investigate​...

Why would a university ever decide that this is something they should agree to do? 

A student conduct panel, often comprising academics, support staff and students, takes evidence from both sides and decides whether a student has broken the rules by committing sexual misconduct and should be suspended or expelled. Universities stress this is not like a court of law.

Of course it isn't. and a court of law is precisely where allegations of wrongdoing snhould be examined and tested. But as Longrider points out, increasingly, that's not the case. Extrajudicial means are sought, even by those who should know better... 

Prof Sir Steve West, the vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England and president of Universities UK until earlier this year, said: “As expulsion is a penalty, parents of the accused often start to raise the stakes by hiring a lawyer. It is a power game, because usually the victim has no representation, and I think it is completely unacceptable and unfair.”

No, actually, it's pefectly fair. What you were doing is the unfair approach.  

West said that parents “rarely tell us that they’re going to do this in advance”, typically turning up with a lawyer to the final student conduct committee hearing. He worries that this will “drive silence”, with victims frightened of being subjected to exactly the sort of adversarial investigation they wanted to avoid by not complaining to the police.

Unfortunately, there's no avoiding it. Sexual assult almost always takes place in private, so a proper investigation is always going to be adversarial in nature.  

Smita Jamdar, a partner at the law firm Shakespeare Martineau who advises universities on sexual assault hearings, said: “There are increasing numbers of students choosing to bring cases of sexual misconduct of all sorts to their university rather than the police, and increasing numbers of very serious allegations.” She added that choking and sadomasochism (S&M) were now “not uncommon”. Jamdar said institutions often brought her firm in because an accused student had hired a lawyer and the university needed support. “Everyone ends up arguing over legal principles that are utterly bamboozling to most student conduct panels,” she said.

Because they aren't the right place or the right people to be handling them.   

How Are We Going To Know..?

GPs last night threatened to strike...

Ahahahahaha! Good one!

....over a proposed NHS contract they say fails to pay them enough to see patients.

Well, since they haven't fully got back to seeing patients, why should they expect to be paid? 

The doctors’ union claimed the rates on offer do not take account of inflation – and vowed to take industrial action if the Government and NHS England refuse to renegotiate.

They should refuse. Call their bluff. 

The NHS is braced for strikes on four days out of five next week, with nurses, ambulance staff and physiotherapists walking out.

This is a concerted effort by unions to bring down the government. It can't really be anything else, can it? 

Sore Losers...

The MPTS panel suspended Professor Stebbing for nine months, so he was unable to care for his 150 patients. The GMC had wanted more — it had pressed for him to be struck off completely.

And since they didn't get him, they went after....his witnesses. 

And now the GMC has put Professor Sikora under threat of being struck off, too. He and another expert oncology witness who testified in Professor Stebbing’s defence have been served with notice from the GMC that they are now under investigation. The GMC will not tell them why.

‘Three months after the hearing had ended, I and the other defence expert received letters from the GMC saying our fitness to practise is under investigation,’ Professor Sikora told Good Health. ‘There’s been no hint of what we’d done wrong. They only sent 5,000 pages of transcript from Professor Stebbing’s disciplinary hearing.’

The GMC has a long and rather less than illustrious history but this seems Kafka-esque even for them! 

‘The GMC then wrote to all my employers telling them that I am under investigation,’ says Professor Sikora. ‘Of course they are all worried that I’ve done something wrong. How can giving tribunal evidence possibly affect my fitness to practise medicine?

‘This is witness intimidation and in a criminal court it would be illegal.’

Indeed it would. But medical professionals often seem to think the laws of the land don't matter to them, has anyone noticed? 

The Council Has Spoken, Peasants!

Bradford's Council has prohibited a new ITV drama about Peter Sutcliffe's murders, called The Long Shadow, from filming throughout parts of the city including streets and parks.

To shield the surviving victims and their relatives from further pain, I suppose? 

Emails reveal there had been plans to film the series in another part of the country, but victims' families 'thought it needed to be told in West Yorkshire'.

Oh! Well, then, why..? 

One email, understood to be from Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe, said: 'I'm not keen on us participating in anything that perpetuates the memory of the man, so the answer's no from me I'm afraid.'

Ah. But wouldn't it bring a boost to the area? 

The production company responded by trying to assure the council the series would not 'exploit or sensationalise the nature of his crimes'. It also offered to work with charities and support groups in the area...

However, a final email signed 'Susan' - sent in response to the matter being chased by New Pictures - says: 'I said no quite clearly I think?'

The breathtaking arrogance of that statement tells you all you need to know about how local council folk see themselves, doesn't it? 

A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: 'The story of this very dark and painful era has been told many times including within well researched documentaries which have given survivors and victims’ families a voice.

'We cannot ban filming in public spaces and have not tried to do so but we can choose whether to actively support this film or not.

'Out of respect for the many people affected, we have chosen not to support this film.'

So 'streets and parks' aren't public spaces? And the 'people affected' directly by these crimes have told you they want this? But your leader knows better...at least, she thinks she does.

Compare And Contrast Again...

Humble rail workers:

Humble postmen:

*sigh* Lawyers:

Says it all, doesn't it..?

Do You Need More Proof That Drag Is Narcissism Writ Large?

I was being mercilessly bullied at school, and it was obvious to even the ants that crawled the pavements that I was gay as hell, which also happened to be my Iraqi parents’ worst nightmare. Home was a cosseted environment where any kind of genuine self-expression was policed.But the rainbow fish were almost defiant in their flamboyance.

I was hypnotised by their ethereal, kaleidoscopic forms that seemed to reject the conformity of the world I was desperately trying to fit into. Strange, undefinable creatures that moved through the sand and the water as if constantly in the process of becoming – I was transfixed.

Understandable. Aquariums have a power to soothe the soul, but they can't work miracles. Of course, most people buy them because they want the challenge and pleasure of keeping alive and happy these exotic pets.  

Instead of feeling solace, irrationally, I felt anger that my marine companions couldn’t understand what I was going through. I scanned the tank and tried to grab the attention of a pair of clownfish. But they were swimming along happily together – just another couple who had found love – and suddenly the tank made me feel lonelier than ever.

Because everything's about you... 

Shortly afterwards, I quit my job at the marine shop and developed a complete aversion to my fish tank, barely able to look at it without the temptation to smash the glass. I couldn’t even bring myself to turn on its lights.

One night, I saw that all my fish and coral were floating rigid on the surface. It was the final confirmation I needed – the tank no longer served me, and couldn’t be the heal-all balm I needed it to be.

So this twisted individual let his expensive pets die and now has a 'Guardian' column to boast about it? It's enough to make you vomit... 

The Only 'Human Error' Here Is In Cowering Before The Karens, Tesco...

Tesco has apologised to shoppers after...

Out of date food? Dirty store? Rude staff?

...'racist' security tags were placed on cosmetics for black skin but not lighter skin tones in one of its stores.

*sighs* Buckle up, we're going in.... 

Mother-of-three Natalie Westgate complained to the chain after she spotted the security measures on the makeup, calling it 'racist' and 'absolutely disgusting'.

'I understand you have to security box items but do you think it is ok to only have the dark range security boxed and not the entire range,' she said to Tesco.

'Please ask your race and ethnicity network and Black Voices Advisory Group what they think to security only boxing the dark range then get back to me.'

The utter arrogance in that demand is breathtaking. But sadly only to be expected of someone who doesn't even pause to consider the absurdity of having a 'race and ethnicity network' in the first place...

The supermarket responded first on Twitter and said 'stores may sometimes use security tags on items which have recently been subject to theft and the decision to do so changes from store to store'.

Brave of the corporate Twitter-wrangler to use facts and logic to bat away the annoying Karen. But futile, because there's never just one. They hunt in packs. And the avalanche of manufactured outrage reached the eyes of a manager trained to be obsequious in the face of anything 'racist':

A spokesperson for Tesco apologised and said that it was an example of human error, and they should not have been tagged.

'It’s really important to us that Tesco is a place where everyone feels welcome, and the tags have now been removed,' they told The Sun.

So there you have it, thieves and shoplifters; Tesco wants you to 'feel welcome'. You know where to go now, don't you? 

Putting Diversity Before Public Safety...

In a judgment today, Mrs Justice Heather Williams rejected the forces's bid to overturn the decision to reinstate the convicted officer.

Yes, it's this case. Again.  

She said: 'The PAT was entitled to regard this as an exceptional case in which dismissal for the officer's gross misconduct was not a necessary and proportionate sanction.'

And what was so 'exceptional' about it? 

The judge continued: 'The PAT reached the conclusion that it did because of the unique circumstances of the conviction, the officer's stellar career, the substantial impact she had had on enhancing the reputation of the MPS as a whole and its assessment that her dismissal would reduce confidence in the police in some of the communities in which the MPS had struggled to gain trust.'

In other words, the perception of those 'communities' that the police and white society has it in for them counts for more than being able to get rid of a proven liar in the force. Just because she's black.  

Isn't there a name for that? Doesn't it begin with 'r'..? 

Scotland Yard also challenged the reinstatement of Detective Constable Asweina Gutty, who was dismissed following her conviction for assaulting her then-partner, before being given a final written warning after an appeal to the PAT.

However, Mrs Justice Heather Williams also rejected this challenge, finding the PAT was 'entitled to conclude' that a final written warning was suitable in the 'unusual circumstances of this case'.

What was unusual about it? That it was a mixed race relationship? That they were lesbians? That the aggressor racially assaulted her lover as well as physically assaulted her? 

District Judge Nina Tempia said: 'What concerns me is she is a serving police officer prone to anger outbursts and she is dealing with members of the public.'

It would appear not to concern Williams overmuch... 

That's Not How It's Done, Minister!

Over here in England, our ministers are much smarter. They get their offspring to do it!

It Would Be Interesting To Overlay This Map With The One About Putin's Nuclear Threat On The Capital...

...and see which one would do the most damage!

I fear it might not be the one showing the fallout from a nuclear strike...

London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) could be extended towards the Surrey border as efforts are made to reduce pollution and congestion in the city. Drivers of the most polluting vehicles could face a charge if they travel on part of the A3 or into Kingston, Richmond, Sutton and Croydon under the proposed expansion.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has asked Transport for London to consult on plans to expand the ULEZ for 2023. At the moment any vehicle that does not meet the European emission requirements must pay £12.50 per day to travel through any part of the designated ULEZ area.

£12.50 every time you take your car off the drive to go to Tesco. When does this madness ever stop? 

No, Not Everything Is 'Racist'...

Yes, I'm broadly in favour of working from home, not least because it's annoying all the right people, could save money and is giving it to the transport unions good and hard without benefit of lube... 

But that doesn't mean I'm bound to agree with this nonsense:

A group of Apple employees have accused the big-tech giant of racism over its push for corporate workers to return to the office, saying that the shift back to an in-person model will make the company 'younger, whiter, [and] more male-dominated.'

Errr, what..? 

Although Apple will 'likely always find people willing to work here,' the group wrote, the shift back to working in the office will 'change the makeup of [the company's workforce].'

It's already changed once, what you seem to be worried about is it might change back.  

'It will lead to privileges deciding who can work for Apple, not who’d be the best fit,' the group wrote. 'Privileges like “being born in the the right place so you don’t have to relocate”, or “being young enough to start a new life in a new city/country” or “having a stay-at-home spouse who will move with you."'

All things that apply to any job, anywhere. 

'And privileges like being born into a gender that society doesn’t expect the majority of care-work from, so it’s easy to disappear into an office all day, without doing your fair share of unpaid work in society. Or being rich enough to pay others to do your care-work for you.'

Wait, what the hell is 'your fair share of unpaid work in society' supposed to mean? Didn't anyone else notice what they slipped in there?

Does The 'Guardian' Realise What It's Inadvertently Published Here?

Sunita Ghosh Dastidar - a journalist and filmmaker, apparently - on the terrible injustice of foodbanks:

I grew up in Whinney Banks in Middlesbrough, one of the most deprived areas in England, with almost a third of children living in income-deprived households. My mum is a first-generation immigrant, and my parents had to start from nothing here. For a while, we were homeless – when my mum was heavily pregnant with my brother – and I took my first steps in a hostel for families.

Hmmm, OK. But since you grew up to be a journalist, it clearly worked. I guess you must be one of those hard working immigrants who triumphed without handouts and...

Wait! 

We were eventually moved from the homeless hostel into a brand-new council house a few streets away from the corner shop where my parents used to work.

Immigrants getting council houses? I thought that was 'a myth spread by the far Right' according to the progressive press? 

Such housing is available to far fewer people now.

Well, yes, and it's no wonder, isn't it? We ran out of supply! 

People like Mark and Kath are doing what they can and their resolve to help their local community by filling people’s stomachs should be commended. But we need political intervention rather than community intervention. I was partly lifted out of poverty because of the help I received through government funding for community services, and that’s what we need now.

You mean, you want the government to stick its hand even deeper into my pocket for people who come here for a free ride? No! We're not putting up with that any longer.

The Blame Game...

It's lack of resources!

We don’t have enough bodies on the ground. It’s not just midwives, though. We’re also short of obstetricians, maternity support workers and admin staff, too. That means that midwives end up getting stretched doing lots of things that could easily be done by someone else, like filling in paperwork so that a mother can go home with her baby. As a result their skills, especially to monitor women and babies, aren’t used.

It's the way those resources treat you!

After interminable hours, a doctor was called and then another. They attempted a ventouse delivery and I can remember the cup popping off the baby’s head and the doctor reeling backwards. Next the forceps were used and finally after hours of pain my son was delivered. He was big for a first baby and bore the scars of the forceps blades down both sides of his face.

At a checkup at 37 weeks, I was dismissed by my consultant when I enquired whether I might need a C-section this time. Due to the “natural birth” dogma I had ingested, it was something that I did not ask for loudly enough, too intimidated by this senior doctor who dismissed my fears and worries; telling me that a 4kg baby was not considered to be large.

I had a third baby. That baby was born in a different county after an initial meeting with the consultant at Shrewsbury where I was yet again belittled and my fears dismissed. I was once more refused a C-section. This time everything was different. My views and thoughts were listened to and I gave birth in a controlled and managed environment.

Who to believe..?