Plebs 1 Toffs 0

[teamsaint]

Hope the weather is good for the day S-A.
if the OB get up to any undue kettling, I'll keep my eyes peeled for you.Hope there is a big turnout.
The industry I work in is distinctly ununionised.....

Your description puts me in mind of something I read once , perhaps in "Four gated city" of somebody setting off for an anti nuke demo ......

[amateur51]

Should give a nice lift to tomorrow's march.

Gather on the emBANKment 11 am; bring sarnie, banana, bicycle repair kit, and groundsheet for the rally in Hyde Park - reminder on kitchen table.

My marching days are over by and large I'm afraid but I shall be with you in spirit, S_A - I hope it's a great day out and thanks for going

[Pabmusic]

"The proceeding contratante might never have come to light if it had not been for an eagle eared television journalist who happened to be sat nearby."

Pedantry alert. Forgive my ignorance, but "contratante"? I'm genuinely curious. Did the writer mean "contretemps"? And shouldn't it be "eagle-eared"? The poor sub must have had to write this breaking story pretty quickly.

The Independent has now corrected both - someone was obviously watching this thread. However, 'eagle-eared' is silly, as eagles aren't noted for their hearing ability, but for their sight. 'Bat-eared' might be better, or 'dog-eared'. A dog-eared journalist, now that's good.

[Flosshilde]

A dog-eared journalist, now that's good.

[mangerton]

any other suggestions ?

Yes, lots. Like Koko, I've got a little list. It could be a whole new thread. What do others think?

[Ferretfancy]

Yes, lots. Like Koko, I've got a little list. It could be a whole new thread. What do others think?

There used to be a nice game in which Concorde was flying to the Bermuda Triangle. All you had to do was suggest passengers for the hundred seats. One of my colleagues was very miffed to find himself at the top of the list.

[Pabmusic]

Yes, lots. Like Koko, I've got a little list. It could be a whole new thread. What do others think?

It's quite a good idea, but it does have the potential to get out of hand, doesn't it?

[Flosshilde]

Especially if/when other board members started appearing on people's lists

[scottycelt]

Neither incident gives me the vapours, feigned or othwerwise. I'd have the thread title:

Jobsworths 1, Toffs 0.

Maybe even ... Politically-Motivated Journalists 1, Naive, Unsuspecting Toffs 0

As one who has often travelled from WML to EUS and back I've always found the Virgin 'Train Managers' extremely helpful, pleasant and remarkably tolerant of the occasional idiot who boards a train without a valid ticket and then takes umbrage when it is calmy esplained to him'her that this is somewhat contrary to the terms and conditions of travel.

However, it is now reported that Virgin Trains have fully backed Boy George's account and have refuted the allegations of the 'witness'.

Totally Exonerated Toffs 1, Politically-Motivated Journalists & Like-minded Forum Members 0

[kernelbogey]

Come to think of it couldn't 'Thrasher' Mitchell and the Diplomatic Protection Copper have had a penalty shoot-out in Downing Street?

[teamsaint]

I'm just checking here, but its Ok to be politically motivated if you are on the political right, a banker, employed by Murdoch, MI6, in the CBI, (ETC ETC),
but not if you are member of a union, employed by the guardian, support an interest group which supports ordinary people against the rich and powerful, on a demonstration.....etc etc,

that's right isn't it?
Politically motivated? an expression about as much use as dumbing down , and frequently used against the same people.

[An_Inspector_Calls]

Now that Mitchell's gone . . .

There's been much talk of the seriousness of Mitchell's offence - if that had been a provincial high-street he'd have been arrested - and so forth, so my first question about all this would be:
Why did the police not arrest and charge Mitchell on the night of the offence?

If it was the serious offence that people speak of, then that would have seemed the most appropriate thing for the police to have done. But they didn't. Why not? I think the reason they didn't arrest and charge him was that if taken to court he could quite easily have claimed provocation. There was no hint of any prior policy over the use of the gates, nor any announcement of a new policy, nor any hint of an imminent security threat, rather, the 'policy' was simply made up on the spot to wind him up.

_______

Now it gets ugly. Given that the police certainly didn't charge him on the night, shouldn't that have been the end of the matter? How did it enter the public domain? There have been no members of the public offerred as witnesses, nor members of the press, so this can only have been leaked by the police. It was the police that briefed the press against Mitchell. I very much doubt that's a thing the police can do legally - although, hang on, didn't they do something similar at Hillsborough?
So my next question is: who leaked the information about the incident to the press?

_______

And next: The Sun (last night's Newsnight) indicated that they had three copies of police log-books (!!!) and they all, broadly, lined up! Surprise! And strangely, these were all leaked to the Sun at about the same time. So three policemen independently decided they'd all go to the same newspaper at about the same time!
Did they dream this action up amongst themselves, or were they managed by a higher police authority?

Who managed the leak of the affair into the public domain?

_______

This is far more serious than the transgretion of Mitchell. There's a danger, as I see it, of us getting to a position where people are tried and convicted outside the law by the police and the media.

[teamsaint]

perhaps cameron, clegg and milliband will use this case to return the police to their true role of protecting the public and solving real crime, instead of the stuff that they currently seem intent upon.....


Well you never know.

[scottycelt]

I'm just checking here, but its Ok to be politically motivated if you are on the political right, a banker, employed by Murdoch, MI6, in the CBI, (ETC ETC),
but not if you are member of a union, employed by the guardian, support an interest group which supports ordinary people against the rich and powerful, on a demonstration.....etc etc,

that's right isn't it?
Politically motivated? an expression about as much use as dumbing down , and frequently used against the same people.

Well I understand what 'political-motivation' is, and I'm also very aware of 'dumbing down'.

'Toffs and 'Plebs' can be guilty of both.

Anyone who apparently seriously suggests there is no 'political motivation' in the cases of Mitchell and Osborne might themselves be guilty of attempting to 'dumb down' the listener/reader ... ?

[teamsaint]

"Politically motivated" usually seems to mean " I don't like what you are doing, and you seem to be on to something that I really would rather was kept quiet".

We should remember where the power lies...and those who have power frequently abuse it.
Can't abuse power if you don't have any.