Chavtowns

Have you found your town yet?

Go to the Chavtowns site and see what people think of your home town.

Bet you wish you had found this before you moved in!

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Hobson’s Choice

No – not her from Dispatches

I’m talking about the forthcoming local elections.

The choices in my constituency are the Green Party candidate, Lid Dem, Conservative or that other bunch.

What kind of a choice is that?

Why can’t there be an independent candidate who doesn’t give a stuff about playing silly name-calling games and who just wants to do their best for local people?

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

New additions

Couple more names on the blogroll

Confessions of a Special, written by Extra Special PC – whether that means an additional member of the volunteer police service or an officer with additional skills and abilities I’ll leave you to work out.

Barman’s Words - someone who works in a pub and wants to join the job. Obviously hasn’t been supping the drip tray enough!

Take a look – it’s only fair.

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Sexism question

In one of the offices I have to visit, one of the female members of staff has a calendar, which has a picture of a well known singer on every month’s page.

Some of these picture show this young man in various stages of undress, including shirt open, topless and him just in shorts.

According to the Dispatches programme this week, the fact that some male officers have pictures of scantily clad ladies on their wall makes them sexist.

Does this mean that this female employee is sexist?

Should I create a fuss about it, or do what I’ve been doing for years and ignore it for the harmless bit of entertainment that it is?

Why is it considered acceptable for women to display photos of men, but a capital offence for men to show pictures of women?

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Regrets

So John Prescott “regrets” having an affair with his secretary?

Would I be cynical if I said that I suspect he enjoyed it while it lasted and his only regret is that he got found out?

Yes, I know people from all walks of life have affairs, but how can we respect the integrity of a man who not only deceives his wife, but expects us all to believe that he wasn’t having the time of his life?

Come on Prezza – you’ve had your leg over, now admit that you cannot be trusted and see how your mate Tony looks after you.

One final question – HOW COULD SHE???

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Improving family life

Tattooed biker fronts foster parent campaign the Daily Mail

This story caught my eye last week. The gent in the story was identified as a shining example of a foster parent when he was checked out by Social Services. Good on him, I wish him all the best with the social misfits that he is likely to end up looking after.

It got me thinking about how some people jump through bureaucratic hoops to adopt or foster children. They put themselves through all manner of interviews, tests, assessments, home visits and general interference in their lives, in order to give children a good home.

This procedure is entirely necessary and completely appropriate. Wouldn’t it be good if every one who decided to have a child by natural methods had to go through a similar process?

At the moment, any couple with working genitals and a couple of minutes to spare can procreate. Whether they want to or not, there is no law stopping them from trotting out child after child. Most parents do their duty and look after the product of their union.

There is, however, the underclass of society who produce children for one reason only. They are the key to endless supplies of benefit payment. Child Benefit, Income Support, Housing Benefit, Social Fund, Disability Allowances, Carer Allowances. The list is endless.

A significant proportion of these children end up causing a significant amount of the problems in society. Anti-social behaviour, crime and poverty spring to mind.

Now, the wonderful Human Rights Act would prevent any legislation to control the reproductive activities of unsuitable parents. They are free to enjoy the benefit of their possessions to do with what they will. What the Human Rights Act doesn’t prevent is the government withholding benefits.

Welfare payments are a privilege, not a right and should be treated as such. Anyone who wants to have children should have to apply for benefits BEFORE they get pregnant. An assessment should be made of the applicant’s suitability as a potential parent, in the same way as foster parents and adoptive parents. Failure to meet and maintain required standards should prevent a successful benefit claim.

There’s nothing to stop failed benefit claimants from having a child, but they do so on the understanding that they will get nothing from the state. They will have to pay their own way.

I suspect that if such a policy was introduced, the birth rate would plummet and condom sales will go through the roof.

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Foreign criminals ‘not deported’

BBC NEWS Politics Foreign criminals ‘not deported’

See my other two posts of the day.

If more prisons are built, at least let’s have a government who know what they are doing, instead of the buffoons in charge at the moment.

Roll on Star Wars Day when I can vote for a new bunch of morons to spend my council tax!

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Offenders ’super hostels’ planned

BBC NEWS UK Offenders ’super hostels’ planned

See my other post of today.

Why not spend the money on prisons?

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Interesting times

I’ve been away (as I mentioned) in foreign countries for a couple of weeks, but thanks to the British press, I’ve been able to keep up with all the latest news.

Apart from the rat on the wall view of Leicestershire Constabulary that is due to be broadcast later this week, there have been a few other interesting articles.

The one that caught my eye was about the probation service not being able to keep track of all the serious offenders who have been released on licence or sentenced to community orders. These people go on to re-offend and the journalists seem to be surprised by this.

The Home Office in typical knee jerk response have introduced a new order to prevent these recidivists from being naughty, like that will make a difference. If three or four years inside hasn’t corrected their behaviour, then a piece of paper from the Magistrates isn’t going to modify it either.

I can’t recall which paper it was (it might have been the Guardian) but one contributor had the most sensible suggestion.

He stated that it is patently obvious that prison does not work as a deterrent. The evidence shows that very little rehabilitation goes on in prison, so his solution was simple.

Build more prisons.

Radical – his theory was (and I happen to agree with him) that no burglar ever committed a burglary whilst locked in a cell. No rapist ever re-offended whilst banged up in solitary and the chance of committing a drink/drive offence in the confines of a jail are pretty slim.

Prison reduces crime for as long as a prisoner is locked up. Stop pratting about with satellite tracking, community orders and “last chances” and send the persistent offenders down. I would rather my taxes went on something that is guaranteed to keep the drug dealer out of my area for 10 years than send them on some drug awareness scheme that serves only to provide them with a new network of customers.

Of course, it will never happen.

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!

Been away

Using up annual leave at short notice.

I’ve been reading a few papers and seeing a few things worthy of further comment, so I’ll hopefully be adding a few new posts in the next couple of days.

Thanks for stopping by.

© Stan Still 2006 – if you want to copy my stuff, it would be polite to ask first!