999 should only be called in an emergency. Yet some, it appears, are more interested in a little bit of amusement for themselves:
A judge has hit out at his “astonishingly limited” sentencing powers after he was unable to jail a teenager whose hoax 999 call led to a woman’s death.
Ian Paterson, 17, called the fire brigade on June 29 because he was “bored”, and reported a fake warehouse fire “for a laugh”. (The Telegraph)
Unfortunately, on the way to this non-existent fire, a fire engine collided with a car, killing one person and seriously injuring her daughter.
Anyone who dials 999 for a non-emergency risks the life of other people immediately. The most simple example being being that emergency vehicles are taken from real emergencies to respond to hoaxes - with the strong possiblity that deaths occur.
The punishments for hoax calling the emergency services should be far higher. It isn’t an innocent little prank, but a mighty dangerous one. And that must be reflected in the punishments for hoax callers.
It is called “historic” by some, but really the opposite is true. Instead of being the “first tentative step towards searching for a solution to a country that is in crisis”, it is a blow to democracy.
Tsvangirai has made a massive mistake by agreeing to talk with Mugabe about a power-sharing agreement. There can be no real steps forward whilst Mugabe remains in power as unelected President.
The only way any steps forward can be amde for Zimbabwe is for Mugabe to no longer be in charge. He is a tyrant and a murderer, and must be removed so that Zimbabwe can move towards a brighter and more democratic future.
By agreeing to talk with Mugabe, and intending to sign a final deal in two weeks time, Tsvangirai is betraying his supporters - and everyone else in Zimbabwe. And Mbeki, by brokering such a deal, is implicit in ensuring that Mugabe remains as a tyrant.
Ian was arrested in connection with a hate campaign conducted against Watford Lib Dem councillors, and has now resigned as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Watford. No charges have yet been brought against Ian, just accusations. As such, Ian has resigned to enable the local party to move on, not because he is guilty.
Personally, I do not believe that Ian has done this. I don’t think that he is so stupid as to conduct such a campaign. However, if he is convicted of this in a court of law, then I will stand corrected. And if he is cleared, then I shall expect acknowledgement of his innocence from all accusers.
This sort hate campaign is unacceptable, and whoever has been carrying it out - Ian or anyone else - should be brought to justice. Politics must be conducted through reasoned debate, not by the use of intimidation.
I certainly do not believe that “Tory hope for Watford fades“. Watford is still winnable for us, we just need to ensure that we select the right candidate and work even harder than before. And I will most certainly be playing my part.
PS. I thought long and hard before writing this post, but since some ‘hilarious’ commenters [who I presume are Lib Dems] started making comments like this:
Will you be visiting Ian in jail? You Tories are hilarious, it’s true
Over the decade since that tough on crime supremo took over, police recorded crime is up 7% (1997-98 to 2007-08). And when you probe beneath the totals, crimes of violence turn out to be up much MUCH more…
What’s that? Ah yes, of course - we’re not allowed to make that comparison because during the last ten years, the Home Office changed its counting rules for recorded crime not once, but twice. Twice. Is it any wonder nobody trusts the stats? (Burning our money)
Measuring crime stats is imprecise anyway - and always underestimates the level of crime because it is simply recorded crime that makes these statistics.
There is always the “dark figure” of crime, the crimes that are not reported to the police for various reasons - such as fear of reprisals from the criminals and concern over whether the police could or would bother to do anything about it. And with the way that the police appear to do so little about it at the moment - appearing to be more concerned with thought crime - the dark figure is inevitably huge.
To add to this is the lack of respect that is now given to the police by many sections of society, as exampled by this story:
Two police officers were attacked by a mob in south London after they asked a 15-year-old girl to pick up her litter.
One officer was dragged to the ground and kicked while the other was bitten by a girl who jumped on his back. (BBC)
How can it be claimed that crime is truly down when police officers are being attacked in this way?
[I]n Glasgow East, [Labour] is presenting the former Conservative prime minister as a hate figure and accusing her government of “wrecking” the country. (The Telegraph)
The government has now formally ratified the EU Constitution Lisbon Treaty. In doing this, they have sidestepped the courts, and shoved two fingers in the direction of the British people.
We wanted to vote on it, and successfully stalled ratification. But the government have now gone on anyway, despite their being a hearing today on whether Stuart Wheeler may appeal the original decision. Hopefully the government’s action of ratification - which could be said to be holding the court of the UK in contempt - works in Wheeler’s [and our] favour.
Brown’s action is also dismissive of the people of Ireland - the only people in the EU to get a chance to vote on the treaty - who voted no. At the same time, Sarkozy, who currently holds the EU Presidency, is declaring that Ireland must vote again - because they gave the “wrong” answer - aka the one with whom he disagrees.
It is disgusting that such actions are taking place. By saying that the Irish should vote again, rather than accepting the will of the people, the EU destroys any and every claim that they have to being a democratic institution.
No decision has yet taken by the government as to whether they will create a huge database containing a record of our phone calls, emails, and internet use.
The Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, said that it could be a “step too far for the British way of life”, and then asked the question:
Do we really want the police, security services and other organs of the state to have access to more and more aspects of our private lives?
The answer to this is, of course, no fucking way.
The government already has a whole load of databases containing our personal information, and haven’t exactly shown themselves to be all that good at protecting it.
Why do they need any record of our private communications? They are private for a reason - because they are bugger all to do with the government, or anyone else for that matter. Rather than literally bugging every single one of us, why can’t they just accept that it simply is none of their business and leave us alone?
What they already have is a step too far for the true British way of life. This database would just send it tipping right over - just like ID cardswould.
The government dosen’t need more databases and they already know more about us than they need to. What we the people need is fewer intrusions into our lives by the Big Brother state.
After a decade of Blair getting off around the world to stay woith rich mates for his summer holiday, it appears that “I’m staying in Britain” is the order of the day for politicians, with Brown reportedly going to Southwold in Suffolk and the Scottish coast, and Cameron holidaying in Cornwall. Only Clegg is bucking the trend, and is going to Spain to stay with his inlaws.
To be honest, who cares where politicians go on their summer holiday so long as they pay for it all themselves?
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999 should only be called in an emergency. Yet some, it appears, are more interested in a little bit of amusement for themselves:
Ian was 
The government has now formally 
No decision
