Toluu

Hodson Report

a daily look at our social underbelly in all its glory

being sick is no excuse for litteringOctober 14

It is one thing to get a woody over being able to tell people what they can and cannot do plus have the power to fine them but surely there is a point where this has to stop. Right now England is being over run by self absorbed mini-Napoleon’s who think that the world can’t fart without them having a say so. For these twits any sense of compassion or common sense is gone right out the window.

Such it the case with young Bradley Brooks who on the way home from a birthday party suddenly felt really sick to the point of throwing up. During his vomiting he had put down a couple of drinking bottles that he had with him. After he was done he began walking away from the scene of the crime where upon he was accosted by some community wardens who in turned fined him for littering. Yup the litter was one of the bottle that Bradley had been sick on and which he had left on what he thought was garbage bin.

They didn’t ask Bradley if he was alright, if he needed medical attention - no they just slapped him with a £50 fine for littering.

get out that pedometer and count your moneyOctober 13

I don’t know what the hell is going on in England but it is slowly turning into a country out of control. Whether it is camera on literally every street corner to creating a countrywide database of all cell phone call and Internet usage the people in power are abusing it like crazy. This abuse isn’t just happening nationally but it is literally trickling down to the council level in the cities and towns.

A case in point being the Councillors at the Braintree district council in Essex have decided that they should entitle themselves to a £1 every time they travel to official meetings or functions - on foot. Yup where once they were entitled to travel expenses if they took their car they now are expecting to re rebated when they decide to walk instead.

They aren’t alone either as their council counterparts at the Weymouth and Portland borough council can claim 40p - mile regardless of whether they drive or walk to functions or meetings. This type of thing hasn’t gone over all that well though

could your work tools land you in court?October 11

Carpenters, landscapers or any other profession that requires that you carry sharp instruments around in your vehicle beware they could get you charged and in court. At least this is what Peter Drew of Penzance England found out recently after somehow being charged and dragged before the court. This all happened after the police decided to search his van and found knives that he used in his business which involved ground clearing upon which he was charged in February with carrying offensive weapons.

It has taken six months for his case to make its way through the British court system during which time he was always being asked in his home town as to why he had been arrested. Mr. Drew didn’t say anything because his case was still before the courts and he didn’t want to make things any worse. However this week it all came to an end with an extremely pissed off judge who dismissed the case and then took the unprecedented step of making the Crown Prosecution Services apologize to Mr. Drew for the hell that they had put him through.

Judge Paul Darlow

left leaning activists labeled as terroristsOctober 9

I can understand why things like the Patriot Act come about. I don’t agree with the fear mongering used both to get it and in the implementation of government policies like it though. The moment you give the power to influence other peoples lives to other people in positions of power bad things will happen. The Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security are perfect examples of this - both in the ineptitude of the organization and its overreaching power. The No-Fly List is rife with names that should never have been put on it. Names of people whose lives have been changed. Some for no other reason than they have a common name and others because the pissed someone off.

In some cases though these terrorist watch lists are used by people in power to literally destroy the lives of others who hold different political beliefs. This is nothing new as proven by Hoover’s famous files that were used to blackmail people in power; and destroy people who he thought were dangerous to society only because they held different political beliefs from him. Today it is much easier to do as the merest mention of terrorism or even questionable

shouldn’t you be a legal organization before extorting moneyOctober 7

Ah, the pitter patter of happy little children as they run around the room before settling down to watch 20 minutes of Snow White. That is until recently when Irish preschools got a visit from the Irish version of the MPAA looking to extort money on behalf of the American movie industry. Yes it is true, the Motion Picture Licensing Company (MPLC) sent a letter to all the Irish preschools demanding that they pay €3 plus 17.5% Vat per year per child in order for them to be able to watch SpongeBob cavort around in the ocean.

Originally the MPLC had wanted €10, plus VAT, per child but the Irish Preschool Play Association (IPPA) negotiated it down to the €3 that was now being asked by the MPLC. It would appear though that the teachers at some of the preschool thought the whole thing was outragous and pretty well decided not to go with the flow according the article at Times Online

“To be honest, when I got the letter with the IPPA newsletter I laughed and binned it,†said Paula