Current Affairs

[Onelife]

That's very mooooving

[david63]

Do MPs have any sense, common or otherwise?

This afternoon Dominic Raab was being question by MPs about the exit from Afghanistan as would not give definitive answers to how many were still in the country who needed to get out, nor would he say which ministers were "on the ground" in the area. Do these MPs not realise disclosing such information could put lives at risk?

The Select Committees are getting as bad as the media in wanting every minute detail - let's publish the names and addresses of those wanting to leave as I am sure the Taliban would not be monitoring what was being said

[david63]

Today's daft suggestion.

The Labour Party are suggesting that secondary school pupils should be told at the start of the year what the topics will be for the exams next year in case the have to do remote learning - why go the whole hog and give them the exam questions now?

[Mervyn and Trish]

It was very distressing for the poor animal the way they dragged him away.

How much of that distress was caused by the "supporters" protesting at the removal

If the owner had accepted the court ruling the animal could have been removed quietly with much less distress.

You may well be right. I wasn't really trying to attribute blame, just observing the obvious distress the animal suffered. We've had to have pets put to sleep and we and the vet went to lengths to ensure it was as stress free as possible for the animal. That was brutal.

[Onelife]

Never easy having your pet put down but when there is no alternative then it becomes every owner’s responsibility to make this process as stress free as possible… a regrettably decision by the owner who on this occasion allowed emotions to outweigh what was an inevitable outcome.

[Onelife]

Having served 30 years for the brutal rape of two teenagers I would have preferred Colin Pitchfork to continue his exemplary behaviour behind bars…. disgusting decision imo.

[Kendhni]

Today's daft suggestion.

The Labour Party are suggesting that secondary school pupils should be told at the start of the year what the topics will be for the exams next year in case the have to do remote learning - why go the whole hog and give them the exam questions now?

The topics for the exams are known every year (that is known as the syllabus) ... the question is do they try to narrow it down. I see no issue in that, in fact when I was doing O and A levels we always asked the teachers what they thought would be on the exams and focussed on those subjects (they usually knew in advance and willingly guided us).

Even at University several of the exams I sat allowed us to bring in any books or reading material we needed - they even had runners whose job was to get you texts and books from the library. It wasn't an exam of memory, it was an exam of understanding, interpretation and knowing how to find the information necessary (long before the internet).

[Kendhni]

At least some good comes from the lazy sods that cannot be bothered to take their stuff home - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-leeds-58396954

To be fair the same story has hit the headlines after every festival or large gathering for as long as I can remember (I even remember an article about the waste generated at Woodstock ... so todays youngsters are little different to the youngsters of 50 years ago).

The only difference is that this year someone is making even more of an issue about it ... and rightly so!

[Stephen]

Having served 30 years for the brutal rape of two teenagers I would have preferred Colin Pitchfork to continue his exemplary behaviour behind bars…. disgusting decision imo.

I quite like the term ‘Pitchfork’ for the use of.

[Kendhni]

Having served 30 years for the brutal rape of two teenagers I would have preferred Colin Pitchfork to continue his exemplary behaviour behind bars…. disgusting decision imo.

I quite like the term ‘Pitchfork’ for the use of.

I was halfway through that sentence before I stopped thinking 'wow, that is not the Onelife I thought I knew'.

[screwy]

He not only Raped them, he Murdered them also. 2 yrs apart,not an odd moment of madness,it was calculated, He should have Hung but too many limp wristed MPs and public.

[Stephen]

Having served 30 years for the brutal rape of two teenagers I would have preferred Colin Pitchfork to continue his exemplary behaviour behind bars…. disgusting decision imo.

[/quote]
I was halfway through that sentence before I stopped thinking 'wow, that is not the Onelife I thought I knew'.
[/quote]


I had the same thought. But I didn’t want to get caught up in a libel case

[Ray B]

Having served 30 years for the brutal rape of two teenagers I would have preferred Colin Pitchfork to continue his exemplary behaviour behind bars…. disgusting decision imo.

Back in the 50s,would he have got noose.? 15 years per girl, now free to enjoy the rest of his life, some how it doesn't seem rite.

[Onelife]

He not only Raped them, he Murdered them also. 2 yrs apart,not an odd moment of madness,it was calculated, He should have Hung but too many limp wristed MPs and public.

What we do know screwy is that it will have been a death sentence for the parents of those two young girls...shame on those who have authorised his release.

[david63]

shame on those who have authorised his release.

That's a bit harsh. Those who have authorised his release can only work within the rules for assessing these matters and if the rules state that he should be released then they have no other choice but to release him, in the same way as anyone else convicted of a crime.

There may very well be a case that the rules are inappropriate in this instance but that is a different discussion.

[Bensham33]

The Parole Board said Pitchfork's licence conditions include living at a designated address, taking part in probation supervision, wearing an electronic tag, taking part in lie detector tests and having to disclose what vehicles he uses and who he speaks to, with particular limits on contact with children.

With so many restrictions he's hardly free to enjoy a normal life.

It's the rules regarding release that need changing, as David says the parole board can only go by the guide lines.

Personally I would have thrown him in jail and left him to rot.

[Onelife]

shame on those who have authorised his release.

That's a bit harsh. Those who have authorised his release can only work within the rules for assessing these matters and if the rules state that he should be released then they have no other choice but to release him, in the same way as anyone else convicted of a crime.

There may very well be a case that the rules are inappropriate in this instance but that is a different discussion.

Like other released prisoners Pitchforks parole board consider him to be no harm to women…. try telling that to the many women who have been raped after the release of convicted rapists/murderers.

Harsh for those who put their trust in a system that allows this to happen.

[Kendhni]

I don't believe in the death sentence ... as a society most have evolved beyond such savagery. When most people sit down and think about it logically, rather than emotionally, they realise that there are far more arguments against it than for it.

Mind you that is not the reason I am against it, I just feel that once the rent-a-rabble pitchfork and torch brigade are allowed to get their way then the person cannot be made to suffer or live with their conscience any more (and most do have a conscience). Also it seems an awful waste of perfectly good harvestable body parts.

If life sentences actually meant life then the system would be reasonably OK, still not perfect, but better than state murder.

[towny44]

If life sentences actually meant life then the system would be reasonably OK, still not perfect, but better than state murder.

Yes but can we afford to keep prisoners in jail forever, when we have far more vital causes, like Afghan refugees who need feeding and housing.

[Onelife]

Mind you that is not the reason I am against it, I just feel that once the rent-a-rabble pitchfork and torch brigade are allowed to get their way then the person cannot be made to suffer or live with their conscience any more (and most do have a conscience). Also it seems an awful waste of perfectly good harvestable body parts.



I like your drift Ken…leave them to serve their sentence while harvesting their body parts

[screwy]

I spent 26 yrs working with Murderers and Rapists,if you think these people have a conscious I’m sorry but your mistaken and delusional.When it comes to Parole hearings a con will tell you what you want to hear,he has a long time to create a story of remorse. Reports are made by the personal officer,probation,psychology,a parole board member will interview also.It might surprise you but I never once recommended parole in my reports. It’s the Officers on the landing that know what the con is like not some probation officer or psychologist,we spend 39+ hours a week watching.I have come across some of the most dangerous people you could ever imagine, I would personally pull the lever.

[Kendhni]

I am pretty sure 100% have a "conscious" and that the majority have a conscience. However often they convince themselves they were justified in their actions. The issue is to get them to understand why that action was wrong. That is why a skilled psychologist will see through the BS and detach themselves from the emotional element - far more so than a 'screw' who sees the person in a fabricated environment trying to lead a fabricated existence.

The problem is that the prison system in its current form is only having limited success with very high recidivism rates. Part of that is the fabricated society the people live in while another is not addressing the underlying issues within society itself. Much to big of an issue for a simple chatboard response.

[towny44]

Ken, I suspect that because human nature is so varied that your ideas of re-educating prisoners would only work on a certain percentage, and that it is likely you would need several treatment regimes to convince enough prisoners to reform when released, and of course not all would succeed.
Which sort of leaves the cheapest and most effective system as deterrence, make prison so uncomfortable and dire that a life of crime loses its appeal. Not necessarily what I would propose but it does have its appeal to the masses.

[Onelife]

One of the biggest problems is that time served prisoners are released back into the same environment from which they honed their skills. The blame lies with successive governments who have created the ghettos in which crime becomes a way of life.

[oldbluefox]

Sometimes no matter what you do for some mud always sinks to the bottom. Crime for some is an easy way of making money without working for it.