Friday Ephemeraren’t

an illustration of stereotype accuracy
Note the first comment in that thread, from the police themselves:
“Please be aware that we are monitoring the comments on this thread, so please refrain from using offensive language. We have zero tolerance for discriminatory comments on our social posts, so please be aware that your words could constitute a hate crime.”
I am tempted to open a Twitter account, just so I can post a comment about the propensity of travellers to commit crimes, and the propensity of British police to bully decent citizens while walking around with their thumbs up their bums.

the propensity of British police to bully decent citizens while walking around with their thumbs up their bums.
Easier and safer to harass tax paying citizens for wrongthink than track down real criminals who commit real crimes.

Morning, all.
so please be aware that your words could constitute a hate crime
I briefly assumed this reply was a parody, but apparently not. Readers may be wondering how the police might go about retrieving stolen property – in this case, half a dozen caravans – without the retrieval reflecting poorly on the thieves.

David:’ I briefly assumed this reply was a parody…’
Sadly, it’s fairly typical of the ultramodern copper. As we see here: http://twitter.com/cold957/status/1420381180453662723

Sadly, it’s fairly typical of the ultramodern copper.

Your email contains a number of referrals [sic] interpretable as prejudicial and intolerant… Any further correspondence that alludes to such language [sic] will not be responded to.

So, people are being assaulted, routinely, and a woman is stabbed in the face, but what really concerns our Champion Of Justice, our staff officer to Cressida Dick, is a fairly measured and factual statement of what happened. To even register the pattern of who is doing what, and doing it much more often than others, is “interpretable as intolerant” and a basis for scolding.

Oh, and some notable balloons.
Zardoz!

Interior of note.
You may clench your buttocks now.

Antifa clown makes claim of Heroic Defense.
“And now, the rest of the story…”

Re: “The Thieving Gypsy Bastards”:
During the resulting court case[citation needed], UK newspaper The Sun ran a story revealing that the principal Roma man who initiated the action against them was being tried for (and was later found guilty of) handling stolen property.
Wikipedia is wrong here (yeah, I know…).
This is how it went down:
There was indeed a furore following the publication of The Thieving Gypsy Bastards, and the issue was complicated by the fact that there were two rival organisations which claimed to represent the interests of the *ahem* “travelling community”. One of these was called (if memory serves me right) “The National Romany Council Of Great Britain” and was headed by a chap by the name of Hughie Smith. Hughie ran a travellers’ caravan site in the town of Oldham, where I worked as a prosecuting lawyer. I don’t think I’m exaggerating if I say that back then (the early 90s), such were the numbers and seriousness of the crimes committed by some of the inhabitants thereof, if said caravan site had been shut down and the inhabitants dispersed, then within six months at least half of us would have been looking for new jobs.
Hughie was contacted by several newspapers seeking a reaction to TTGB; unlike the rival organisation, which sought a referral to the then Commission for Racial Equality, Hughie explained that he felt that there were too many “do-gooders” who wished to intervene in the travellers’ chosen way of life and he wanted nothing to do with the CRE.
This did not prevent the newspapers having a field day a few months later when Hughie was arrested for handling stolen goods.
The local police executed a search warrant at the site and raided Hughie’s double-wide. Parked outside was a stolen Ford, bearing the numberplates of an identical model. It had been “ringed” (had its identity changed) and had been stolen from the forecourt of a dealer in Yorkshire a few weeks earlier. A vehicle logbook in the name of “H. Smith” and the ignition keys were found in the caravan. The logbook bore an address in a town about halfway between the points of the theft and the search; it turned out to be an accommodation address, and the coppers never could get a statement from anybody who lived there.
Outside, on the porch and covered by a tarpaulin, were two petrol generators, stolen during a warehouse burglary less than 48 hours previously. Hughie’s prints were later found on the generators and the tarp.
Hughie was duly arrested and during interview claimed to have come by the car legitimately, paying cash. That the log book bore a similar name was a mere coincidence. The generators- “Somebody must have put them there. Never seen ’em before”.
Hughie elected to be tried before judge and jury as opposed to the local magistrates’ bench, “handling” being an “either way” offence (I’m not going to go into the intricacies of English criminal procedure) and his solicitor asked for a “read-out” committal where the evidence was put before the magistrates for them to decide whether there was a case to answer (a bit like the US grand jury thing, I suppose).
On the morning of the hearing, to be held in a tiny courtroom, the public gallery (all eight seats) was packed with reporters, most of them “stringers” for the tabloid press. The defence solicitor, panicking, approached the prosecutor and offered a bargain- “He’ll have (i.e. plead guilty to handling) the generators in the mags (magistrates’ court, maximum sentence six months imprisonment) but you’re weak on the car. He’ll sign a disclaimer so the dealer can get it back”. The offer was deemed acceptable, Hughie duly pleaded guilty and sentence was adjourned for four weeks.
The following day, above the fold on page 5, The Sun ran a story with a banner headline: “YOU THIEVING GYPSY B*****D” (a little unfair on Hughie under the circumstances I always thought), together with a report on the previous day’s proceedings and an excerpt from the Viz strip.
I think this ought to be the point where I reveal that it was I who prosecuted the case (no autographs, and ladies, please stay the other side of the velvet rope). I can’t for the life of me remember what sentence he received.
Ah- these days any reference to TTGB is like one of Proust’s madeleines.
“Ou sont les batard de gitan voleurs d’antan?”

Such a vibrant, magical culture.

Such a vibrant, magical culture.
Meanwhile, possible clue noted.

Such a vibrant, magical culture.
‘Parenting of note’.

Zardoz!
A funny prank would be to have that that balloon accompanied by an infantry squad of Sean Connery look-alikes.

Oh, and some notable balloons.
At first I thought the first one was Justin Trudeau leering over the border, but then I blinked me bleary eyes and had some more coffee.

Meanwhile, possible clue noted.
Well I, for one, am shocked. He doesn’t look the type…

Granted it is a low bar to hurdle, but Meathead is more logical and makes more sense than 90% of the media.

Heh.

Day made Farnsworth. Whatever’s left in this oversized jug of assorted cocktails is yours sir.

LO: ’ I think this ought to be the point where I reveal that it was I who prosecuted the case…’
This site always produces the very finest anecdotes!

Math lesson of note.

At the University of Illinois-Chicago: [taken from David’s previous post]
More political lunacy: U. of Illinois-Chicago professor reported to school for urging student to turn assignment in on time The student expects the professor to defer to his or her bad habits/mental defects: “I’ve never been mentally able to start my assignments very early due to my anxiety”. It appears that deference to substandard behavior is now called “cultural competence”.

I just wish all those YouTube videos were not preceded by annoying Liberty Mutual ads.
I get an anti-Conservative political ad. Turdeau is preparing to call an election but the attack ads have already started. He is seeking a third annointment and my fellow Canadians are just stupid enough to give it to him.

On crime in GB: at the ariana grande concert bombing, the police noted a man standing around acting suspicious but did not speak to him…he had the shield of “otherness” protecting him. kaboom.
A man in london found a gun in his garden. He brought it inside to keep kids from finding it and called police. They arrested him for handling the gun. a little demotivating.
On the bull in the arena, there is another video where the people were standing too close to the bull gate, and the bull threw the first guy he encountered over his back (not gored fortunately).

Adblock, I don’t get any of the pre or inflight ads.
I really should get around to trying that.

Also works in my ancient iPhone with Safari.
Does it by any chance allow YouTube videos to keep playing even when you lock your phone? [ I suppose the answer is ‘no’, but that is for me the most frustrating feature of YouTube on phones. ]