Wednesday, August 21, 2013


British Police forced to scrap 'barmy' plan to not arrest shoplifters who take goods under £50 after business owners branded it a 'looters' charter'

Plans by police in London not to arrest shoplifters who take goods worth less than £50 have been scrapped after being branded a ‘looters’ charter’ by shopkeepers.

Police in Hammersmith and Fulham – home to the Westfield shopping centre, Britain’s worst shoplifting hotspot – said that the radical scheme would allow them to focus on more serious offences.

Officers told businesses and town hall bosses they should deal with low-level crimes themselves rather than calling 999.

But representatives of the West London council and retailers reacted with fury.

Greg Smith, deputy leader at Hammersmith and Fulham Council, said: ‘Anyone who steals is a criminal – full stop. They will face the full force of the law in our borough.’

Conservative MP Michael Ellis, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee, added: ‘Such a policy would be akin to a looters’ charter.’

Scotland Yard admitted that  a sergeant in the borough had made the suggestion during a meeting with council officials and business leaders.

A pilot scheme was due to take place across Hammersmith and Fulham and would have meant shop assistants and security guards apprehending suspected shoplifters with less than £50 worth of goods themselves rather than calling for police assistance.

But the Metropolitan Police insisted this was not official force policy and dismissed the plan as unworkable.

Mr Smith added: ‘We are pleased that the local police have rejected this barmy idea.’

SOURCE





Librarian wants to stop boy who loves books from reading so much

All must have prizes?

A LIBRARIAN is out to stop a nine-year-old boy who loves books from continually winning a reading competition.

Tyler Weaver won the six-week-long "Dig into Reading" event run by Hudson Falls Public Library in upstate New York by completing 63 books from June 24 to August 3, averaging more than 10 a week, The Glen Falls Post-Star reports.

He has consistently been the top reader since kindergarten, devouring 373 books over the five contests, according to his mother, Katie.  "It feels great," Tyler told the Post-Star.

But library director Marie Gandron said Tyler "hogs" the contest every year and he should "step aside."  "Other kids quit because they can't keep up," Ms Gandron said.

Ms Gandron plans to change the rules of the contest so that instead of giving prizes to the children who read the most books, she would draw names out of a hat and declare winners that way.

She said she has an "attitude" about the contest because several years ago a little girl came in claiming she had read more than 200 books. Her mother backed her up, but it was discovered the girl was lying.

Tyler said this uproar has made him "a little bit angry."  "How would it even be a contest if you just picked a name out of a hat?"

KatieWeaver said if Ms Gandron takes an alternate approach to the contest next year, neither of her sons will participate.

"I don't see the downside of Tyler winning five years in a row. I think people should be proud of him, especially a library director," she said.

SOURCE





Antisemitic poison in British churches

During the years which preceded the Second World War Political and Religious meetings were being held throughout Europe during which Jews were condemned as a danger to society. Little was done by Christians to stop this teaching which incited the hatred which enabled the mass murder of men women and children to take place. Ordinary men who before the war were upright members of the community joined such units as Battalion 101 who were reservist Police officers and who became the most violent killers in history. Within five short years those men in that battalion, who numbered less than 500, originally defenders of communities, became the murderers of 83,000 Jews. They, who had families of their own, stripped and shot women and children at point blank range and the local Clergy watched. This happened for many reasons but one reason was that people were afraid to do anything to oppose such violence. If you were caught helping Jews you would be arrested and taken to the murder camps or executed on the spot, as were your family.

On Sunday the 25th of August the Greenbelt Christian Youth Summer Camp being held at Cheltenham Racecourse will host Reverend Lucy Winkett the Chair of the Amos Trust who will launch, on behalf of the trust, the Kairos Britain network of Churches. This network, which is also being launched in other countries around the world is targeting Israel as an oppressive unjust and racist nation who give no rights to the Palestinians. They condemn Israel and call out for Justice for Palestinians but they ignore the rights of Israel to defend herself and to live on land rightfully her own. They call for what they describe as an end to oppression and injustice by Israel but refuse to address the oppression of Christians in Gaza or the removal of Human rights of women and young men or the summary executions in HAMAS governed areas. They don’t condemn the firing of 29,000 rockets which have been fired at Israeli communities since 2000 or the suicide bombings which are now being prevented by the security fence. They don’t address the increasing teaching of hatred in Palestinian Arab schools. I could go on but I think I have made my point.

Greenbelt are also hosting a number of other speakers who are anti-Israel, one of whom Mark Braverman who calls Zionism Racism. This conference attended by the big names in Christianity such as Graham Kendrick and Steve chalk are inciting our youth to hate in the same way as European Church leaders did in the years preceding the Holocaust. This incitement is no less subtle and neither is it in any way less dangerous.

The difference between now and then is that we are not going to be rounded up and shot for standing with Israel and speaking out when the rest of the Church is condemning her. So why aren’t we? In every genocide there are victims, perpetrators, bystanders and rescuers. Many Christians in Holocaust were classified as bystanders because of the real threat of being murdered alongside Jews. So today why are many in the Christian community bystanders when there is no threat except that of words from those fuelled by antisemtism?

We are conditioned to believe that by attending a conference or a meeting held by a pro-Israel speaker and giving our money to support such ministries that we are doing all we can to help Israel. We are conditioned because this is how it has always been done and we go home satisfied that we have done the work that God has called us to do. We have actually become by-standers even by-sitters unless we put the knowledge we gain from such meetings into real action. Why aren’t we rallying at Greenbelt or New Wine or any anti-Israel meetings? Why aren’t we gathering together to pray at such events and show these groups that their teaching is heretical and inciting hatred.

The first part of the definition of Hate Speech is “Speech which generates fear on the part of an individual or group” I believe the Jewish community here in the UK are not as much fearful of the anti-Israel meetings as they are of the apathy within Christendom which allows these meetings to take place without a challenge.

I have written to the BBC who will hold their Radio 2 good morning Sunday programme at Greenbelt when this network is launched to point out that we will be attending because there is another side to the story, but they have not replied. I know the Jewish community have asked Greenbelt to allow them a speaker but that has been denied.

As you know Fathers House/Christians for Zion is taking a bus from North Wales to the Greenbelt event on 25th but I am only aware of one other group who is joining us and that is a car full of passionate believers from Northamptonshire. I am however aware that if there is a Charismatic speaker at a conference in London or Manchester the meeting will be full. Why is this the case, it easier to sit in a conference and enjoy the meeting and do nothing except listen. Is it also because Greenbelt are launching this on a Sunday and all the Israel supporters will be in Church on a Sunday and unable to attend? Is it because it is too far? Is it because it takes us out of our comfort zone? If so then we have become bystanders/by-sitters.

The launch of the Kairos Britain Network a week on Sunday will, I am sure, see many Churches join but few if any in the conference will oppose it. Britain can only boast of 13 who are considered Righteous Amongst the Nations (those who rescued Jews during the War) compared with such as 4,767 in the Netherlands and we in Britain did little to help Jews escape the terrors. I know God wants us to help the Jewish people, in fact Yeshua encourages us to do so in Mathew 25 when He says, and you visited me in prison, clothed, fed and helped me because you did it for one of these my family.  

Ezekiel 36 makes it very clear that God is gathering the Jews back to the land He promised them, not for their sake, the scripture points out, but for His Holy name. Greenbelt and their speakers are denying Gods Holy name and the people within our Nation are being blinded by such organisations from seeing God in action and being faithful to all His promises. 

SOURCE





Australia: Tougher parole laws go to Vic parliament

VICTORIA'S parliament will this week debate tougher parole laws while the latest review of the state system may be released as early as Tuesday.

Previously announced changes, including making breaching parole a crime, will be debated in parliament this week, while a review of the state's parole system by retired High Court judge Ian Callinan may also be released as early as Tuesday.

Premier Denis Napthine said the state would have the toughest parole regime in the country.

"We'll be debating further toughening of parole laws in Victoria to make it very clear that we will have the toughest parole conditions in Australia," Dr Napthine told reporters on Monday.

"There is no doubt that there needs to be improvements to our parole processes.  "We make no apology for making it very clear that parole is a privilege not a right."

Among the measures being debated in parliament are making breaching parole an offence and giving police greater powers to deal with those those who breach parole.

The government has already made it mandatory to put violent offenders back in jail if they are convicted of a serious crime while on parole.

The crackdown follows about 13 murders by parolees in recent years, including the Jill Meagher case, with the families of victims among those calling for greater transparency and accountability by the parole board.

Dr Napthine met with Ms Meagher's widower Tom last week to discuss his concerns about the Adult Parole Board of Victoria.

Helen Wicking, whose daughter Joanne was killed by a parolee in 2010, says victims of crime need to have a stronger voice in parole decisions, and called for stronger surveillance once prisoners are released.

Steve Medcraft, president of People Against Lenient Sentencing, says he hopes to see a degree of transparency introduced to the parole board.

"I would hope that we get a clearer insight into the workings of the body and more involvement from people affected by the decisions," he said.

The board's decisions are made in an administrative rather than a legal setting, meaning prisoners are not entitled to legal representation and hearings are not open to the public or media.

Two of the four reviews of the state's parole system - suppressed during an inquest - examine 11 cases of offenders alleged to have murdered people while on parole.

The issue goes back before State Coroner Judge Ian Gray on Tuesday. He last week lifted the suppression order but the Department of Justice sought a stay while it considered an appeal.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said the Callinan and other reviews should be made public.  "There needs to be an open process. It needs to be transparent."

SOURCE

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, AUSTRALIAN POLITICSDISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here

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