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  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176

    tlg86 said:

    Sean_F said:

    A dental student found guilty of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl will face no punishment after being granted an absolute discharge.

    Christopher Daniel, 18, denied carrying out numerous assaults on the girl while he was aged 15 to 17 and she was between six and eight.

    He was granted the discharge by Sheriff Gerard Sinclair after being found guilty at Dumbarton sheriff court at the end of a three-day trial. It means that Daniel, from Glasgow, will not be placed on the sex offenders register and the guilty verdict was not recorded as a conviction.

    The victim’s family were not allowed to see a report sent by the sheriff to the Crown Office explaining his “wholly exceptional” decision, an STV investigation has found. They believe that Daniel’s middle-class background, strong educational attainment and career prospects helped to convince the sheriff to grant the most lenient possible disposal.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/student-guilty-of-sex-assault-on-girl-6-will-not-be-punished-rpzdx6bmv

    Good grief. In effect, the Sheriff was condoning the offence.
    People like Xenon will be shocked to learn that Christopher Daniel is white.
    Did the judge make reference to Daniel's whiteness and maleness? Obviously a shocking decision, but two wrongs etc.
    Unfortunately the Sheriff won't release his reasoning.
    Not good for trust in the criminal justice system.
  • TM is good at this - she knows her subject better than anyone
  • MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034
    Foxy said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    A dental student found guilty of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl will face no punishment after being granted an absolute discharge.

    Christopher Daniel, 18, denied carrying out numerous assaults on the girl while he was aged 15 to 17 and she was between six and eight.

    He was granted the discharge by Sheriff Gerard Sinclair after being found guilty at Dumbarton sheriff court at the end of a three-day trial. It means that Daniel, from Glasgow, will not be placed on the sex offenders register and the guilty verdict was not recorded as a conviction.

    The victim’s family were not allowed to see a report sent by the sheriff to the Crown Office explaining his “wholly exceptional” decision, an STV investigation has found. They believe that Daniel’s middle-class background, strong educational attainment and career prospects helped to convince the sheriff to grant the most lenient possible disposal.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/student-guilty-of-sex-assault-on-girl-6-will-not-be-punished-rpzdx6bmv

    Good grief. In effect, the Sheriff was condoning the offence.
    People like Xenon will be shocked to learn that Christopher Daniel is white.
    I don't think that having good career prospects, or educational prospects, ahead of you, should result in any sentencing discount. If anything, it seems worse for such people to commit serious offences than it is for people who have nothing.
    What happened to that female student who stabbed her boyfriend and was convicted but she was still intending to become a doctor?
    She is waiting to reapply for her course:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/08/oxford-university-student-avoided-prison-stabbing-boyfriend/
    She should apply for a surgery residency, given her skills with a knife ...
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,773

    Miss, miss, I know this one...I believe the correct answer is unicorn poop.
    Yep.

    This is Groundhog Day.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176
    dr_spyn said:
    I wondered if the Twitter guy had missed something out:

    You have not simply let yourself down; you have let down those who look to you for inspiration, your party, your profession and Parliament.

    Constituents? I guess a judge wouldn't know who they were.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,388

    If there were a by-election in Peterborough, I'd expect Labour to hold the seat comfortably. The Leave vote would be split multiple ways.

    Peterborough does seem unlucky in its choice of MP's.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,773
    Leslie points out that unicorns are involved, yet again.
  • AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621

    TM is good at this - she knows her subject better than anyone

    Sadly we need a charismatic salesperson at this point in time, not an aloof and disconnected academic.
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 62,773
    Sean_F said:

    If there were a by-election in Peterborough, I'd expect Labour to hold the seat comfortably. The Leave vote would be split multiple ways.

    Peterborough does seem unlucky in its choice of MP's.
    Next stop Tommy Robinson?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,134
    edited January 2019
    They are throwing her under the metaphorical bus joyridden Nissan micra with mystery Russian behind the wheel.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,257
    edited January 2019

    If ever we leave the EU, it’s tough to see the ERG continue as a viable group.

    I will add this to my list of brexit positives - just above cheaper houses prices and just below a leaner financial sector.

    Still a short list, but shaping up.
  • tlg86tlg86 Posts: 26,176
    On the question of when did Fiona Onasanya commit the offence, I think the jury should have been asked to give a verdict on two counts to make their position explicitly clear. If the judge was going to make such a big thing of the distinction between the two points in time, it should not have been left to his discretion.
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    That's clearly a correct position morally, politically and practically.
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    I'd take note of this tweet, it might well reflect the views of a significant number of Conservative MPs:

    https://twitter.com/montie/status/1090250234003890176
  • AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621
    Sean_F said:

    If there were a by-election in Peterborough, I'd expect Labour to hold the seat comfortably. The Leave vote would be split multiple ways.

    Peterborough does seem unlucky in its choice of MP's.
    Have you been there? Ugh. They're scraping the bottom of the candidate barrel so hard the stuff has got splinters in.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 78,220
    edited January 2019
    dr_spyn said:
    Here is the best bit - absolute gold:

    By your own efforts and personal qualities you have risen to a great height, which I am satisfied you intended to use not so much for personal advancement as for the cause of social justice which first persuaded you to go into politics.
  • AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621
    edited January 2019

    That's clearly a correct position morally, politically and practically.
    If only they hadn't abdicated the moral high ground by being so tolerant of Chris Williamson and Pete Willsman.
  • https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1090240638535303169

    (and Margaret Moran, deemed not fit to plead).
  • AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    Meanwhile, this is one MP who voted for the deal who sounds as if she's left the fold:

    https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1090251379086712834
  • Anorak said:

    That's clearly a correct position morally, politically and practically.
    If only they hadn't abdicated the moral high ground by being so tolerant of Chris Williamson and Pete Willsman.
    Don’t forget red ken...it took them over a year to “investigate” if all the hitler stuff he said repeatedly on national media was ok or not.
  • AnorakAnorak Posts: 6,621

    Anorak said:


    That's clearly a correct position morally, politically and practically.

    If only they hadn't abdicated the moral high ground by being so tolerant of Chris Williamson and Pete Willsman.
    Don’t forget red ken...it took them over a year to “investigate” if all the hitler stuff he said repeatedly on national media was ok or not.
    I make it a daily goal to forget Ken as often as possible.
  • Pulpstar said:

    dr_spyn said:
    Here is the best bit - absolute gold:

    By your own efforts and personal qualities you have risen to a great height, which I am satisfied you intended to use not so much for personal advancement as for the cause of social justice which first persuaded you to go into politics.
    I'm surprised he didn't mention her similarity to Jesus.
  • OblitusSumMeOblitusSumMe Posts: 9,143
    Would Militant have been more successful if they had concentrated on recruiting MPs, rather than local councillors?
  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,814
    Good afternoon, everyone.

    Dr. Spyn, I'd watch Top Gear again if the Duke of Edinburgh were a presenter.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,293

    Liddington looking very twitchy.

    Coffee and late nights?

    I think all our MPs are living on late nights, coffee and gin now. :D
  • MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034
    dr_spyn said:
    Upon hearing her sentence, the first thought in my head was "Did race have anything to do with the harshness of the sentence and how does this compare to Huhne?" Glad to see from the sentencing remarks that the judge directly addresses the second point, and provides a very reasoned explanation as to his decision, which implies that race was not a factor, even implicitly.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    edited January 2019
    How is a recall petition set up?
  • Speaking of crazy decisions....

    Neither Wembley or Wigan’s ground are being used for rugby league World Cup, but leigh’s is.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/rugby-league/47040055

    That’s like holding an ashes series and not playing at lords or headingly.
  • Good afternoon, everyone.

    Dr. Spyn, I'd watch Top Gear again if the Duke of Edinburgh were a presenter.

    Top gear and the grand tour both need taking out the back and shooting.
  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,821
    edited January 2019
    Nope. What is this cross-party 'softer Brexit which the EU would have agreed to'? Would it, for example, have required any changes to the Withdrawal Agreement - you know, the one which the EU has said a thousand times can't be changed?
  • TrèsDifficileTrèsDifficile Posts: 1,729
    edited January 2019
    MTimT said:

    dr_spyn said:
    Upon hearing her sentence, the first thought in my head was "Did race have anything to do with the harshness of the sentence and how does this compare to Huhne?" Glad to see from the sentencing remarks that the judge directly addresses the second point, and provides a very reasoned explanation as to his decision, which implies that race was not a factor, even implicitly.
    How is her virtue in being a role model to black girls nothing to do with race?
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    edited January 2019

    Nope. What is this 'softer Brexit which the EU would have agreed to'? Would it, for example, have required any changes to the Withdrawal Agreement - you know, the one which the EU has said a thousand times can't be changed?
    It is absolutely correct.

    But of course we are talking about June 2016. Not today.
  • Richard_NabaviRichard_Nabavi Posts: 30,821
    edited January 2019
    TOPPING said:

    It is absolutely correct.

    But of course we are talking about June 2016. Not today.

    Possibly, but that's not what Lewis Goodall says.

    Edit: Even back in June 2016, I don't think there would have been cross-party agreement on anything. As you have pointed out many times, the opposition just want to oppose. They set up their six unrealisable tests specifically to provide an excuse to oppose anything agreed with the EU.
  • DUP support TM - just needs ERG now
  • FoxyFoxy Posts: 48,742
    MTimT said:

    Foxy said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    A dental student found guilty of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl will face no punishment after being granted an absolute discharge.

    Christopher Daniel, 18, denied carrying out numerous assaults on the girl while he was aged 15 to 17 and she was between six and eight.

    He was granted the discharge by Sheriff Gerard Sinclair after being found guilty at Dumbarton sheriff court at the end of a three-day trial. It means that Daniel, from Glasgow, will not be placed on the sex offenders register and the guilty verdict was not recorded as a conviction.

    The victim’s family were not allowed to see a report sent by the sheriff to the Crown Office explaining his “wholly exceptional” decision, an STV investigation has found. They believe that Daniel’s middle-class background, strong educational attainment and career prospects helped to convince the sheriff to grant the most lenient possible disposal.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/student-guilty-of-sex-assault-on-girl-6-will-not-be-punished-rpzdx6bmv

    Good grief. In effect, the Sheriff was condoning the offence.
    People like Xenon will be shocked to learn that Christopher Daniel is white.
    I don't think that having good career prospects, or educational prospects, ahead of you, should result in any sentencing discount. If anything, it seems worse for such people to commit serious offences than it is for people who have nothing.
    What happened to that female student who stabbed her boyfriend and was convicted but she was still intending to become a doctor?
    She is waiting to reapply for her course:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/08/oxford-university-student-avoided-prison-stabbing-boyfriend/
    She should apply for a surgery residency, given her skills with a knife ...
    While surgery is violence with permission, generally it needs to be a little more controlled.

    I suspect she will be banned by the GMC, and move into non clinical research.
  • Nope. What is this cross-party 'softer Brexit which the EU would have agreed to'? Would it, for example, have required any changes to the Withdrawal Agreement - you know, the one which the EU has said a thousand times can't be changed?

    Who knows, Richard. Mrs May made no effort to find out.

  • Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 61,814
    Mr. Urquhart, only seen about half an episode of Top Gear since May, Clarkson, and Hammond left. Not seen any of the Grand Tour.
  • Sean_FSean_F Posts: 37,388
    MTimT said:

    dr_spyn said:
    Upon hearing her sentence, the first thought in my head was "Did race have anything to do with the harshness of the sentence and how does this compare to Huhne?" Glad to see from the sentencing remarks that the judge directly addresses the second point, and provides a very reasoned explanation as to his decision, which implies that race was not a factor, even implicitly.
    I suppose when all is said and done, her likely striking-off, and loss of employment as an MP, are a much more serious punishment than 3 months in jail. I think that there would be more public sympathy for her if she showed any remorse for her behaviour.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,631

    tlg86 said:

    Sean_F said:

    A dental student found guilty of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl will face no punishment after being granted an absolute discharge.

    Christopher Daniel, 18, denied carrying out numerous assaults on the girl while he was aged 15 to 17 and she was between six and eight.

    He was granted the discharge by Sheriff Gerard Sinclair after being found guilty at Dumbarton sheriff court at the end of a three-day trial. It means that Daniel, from Glasgow, will not be placed on the sex offenders register and the guilty verdict was not recorded as a conviction.

    The victim’s family were not allowed to see a report sent by the sheriff to the Crown Office explaining his “wholly exceptional” decision, an STV investigation has found. They believe that Daniel’s middle-class background, strong educational attainment and career prospects helped to convince the sheriff to grant the most lenient possible disposal.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/student-guilty-of-sex-assault-on-girl-6-will-not-be-punished-rpzdx6bmv

    Good grief. In effect, the Sheriff was condoning the offence.
    People like Xenon will be shocked to learn that Christopher Daniel is white.
    Did the judge make reference to Daniel's whiteness and maleness? Obviously a shocking decision, but two wrongs etc.
    Unfortunately the Sheriff won't release his reasoning.
    Can the prosecution appeal the lack of sentence in cases like this?
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,936
    Sean_F said:

    MTimT said:

    dr_spyn said:
    Upon hearing her sentence, the first thought in my head was "Did race have anything to do with the harshness of the sentence and how does this compare to Huhne?" Glad to see from the sentencing remarks that the judge directly addresses the second point, and provides a very reasoned explanation as to his decision, which implies that race was not a factor, even implicitly.
    I suppose when all is said and done, her likely striking-off, and loss of employment as an MP, are a much more serious punishment than 3 months in jail. I think that there would be more public sympathy for her if she showed any remorse for her behaviour.
    I thought she was going to go on and on as an MP?
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,134
    edited January 2019

    Mr. Urquhart, only seen about half an episode of Top Gear since May, Clarkson, and Hammond left. Not seen any of the Grand Tour.

    The first season on grand tour was mixed, some brilliant episodes (including the epic first one)...since then it is just absolutely terrible and it really isn’t clear what it is now. Initially the idea was the tent went to a new country every week and they made content from there, now it is in jezzas back garden and the episodes are just random collections of contrived mini films. There is no format, none of the type of popular classic segments.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    edited January 2019

    TOPPING said:

    It is absolutely correct.

    But of course we are talking about June 2016. Not today.

    Possibly, but that's not what Lewis Goodall says.

    Edit: Even back in June 2016, I don't think there would have been cross-party agreement on anything. As you have pointed out many times, the opposition just want to oppose. They set up their six unrealisable tests specifically to provide an excuse to oppose anything agreed with the EU.
    True. But it would have made it slightly (slightly) more difficult for Lab MPs to oppose whatever deal was eventually reached if they had been invited in (and declined) back at the beginning of the process.

    And as for six impossible tests, well the whole thing is impossible so what difference would a few more contradictory and unachievable requests make?
  • Sandpit said:

    tlg86 said:

    Sean_F said:

    A dental student found guilty of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl will face no punishment after being granted an absolute discharge.

    Christopher Daniel, 18, denied carrying out numerous assaults on the girl while he was aged 15 to 17 and she was between six and eight.

    He was granted the discharge by Sheriff Gerard Sinclair after being found guilty at Dumbarton sheriff court at the end of a three-day trial. It means that Daniel, from Glasgow, will not be placed on the sex offenders register and the guilty verdict was not recorded as a conviction.

    The victim’s family were not allowed to see a report sent by the sheriff to the Crown Office explaining his “wholly exceptional” decision, an STV investigation has found. They believe that Daniel’s middle-class background, strong educational attainment and career prospects helped to convince the sheriff to grant the most lenient possible disposal.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/student-guilty-of-sex-assault-on-girl-6-will-not-be-punished-rpzdx6bmv

    Good grief. In effect, the Sheriff was condoning the offence.
    People like Xenon will be shocked to learn that Christopher Daniel is white.
    Did the judge make reference to Daniel's whiteness and maleness? Obviously a shocking decision, but two wrongs etc.
    Unfortunately the Sheriff won't release his reasoning.
    Can the prosecution appeal the lack of sentence in cases like this?
    I'm not sure how it works in Scotland.

    @DavidL would know better.
  • dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 29,414

    Speaking of crazy decisions....

    Neither Wembley or Wigan’s ground are being used for rugby league World Cup, but leigh’s is.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/rugby-league/47040055

    That’s like holding an ashes series and not playing at lords or headingly.

    The RFL could hold off a strong field for most useless governing organisation in the UK.
  • Tissue_PriceTissue_Price Posts: 9,039

    If there were a by-election in Peterborough, I'd expect Labour to hold the seat comfortably. The Leave vote would be split multiple ways.

    You are probably right, though a clear Remain candidate (probably not a LD) could also command a sizeable chunk of the (mostly Labour) vote.
  • GIN1138GIN1138 Posts: 22,293

    DUP support TM - just needs ERG now

    I still think Theresa is going to pull off a deal. Though the behaviour of Parliament is making it ever more difficult...
  • Sean_F said:

    Am going to have to start posting links that show BAME people get longer sentences than non BAME people for the same crimes?

    Don't bother. If anyone seriously thinks the criminal justice system is biased in favour of black people, they're already on another planet.
    It sounds like she had a good barrister.
    Yep, the system is certainly biased in favour of people who can afford a good lawyer.
    Are are themselves a lawyer - as in her case.
  • RobDRobD Posts: 59,936
    It’s not ministers that are the problem. Hence why international agreements should be dealt with by the executive and not the legislature.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,626
    Labour are going to end up owning FUBAR Brexit if they aren't very, very careful....
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,676
    edited January 2019

    DUP support TM - just needs ERG now

    For Brady's unicorn amendment?
  • Sorry to object again, but that's nonsense. It has nothing to do with 'good faith'. It's no different from any other draft international agreement which doesn't get ratified by a country's legislature. Happens all the time.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,626

    Good afternoon, everyone.

    Dr. Spyn, I'd watch Top Gear again if the Duke of Edinburgh were a presenter.

    Top gear and the grand tour both need taking out the back and shooting.
    I understood the Grand Tour had already been shot?
  • MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034

    MTimT said:

    dr_spyn said:
    Upon hearing her sentence, the first thought in my head was "Did race have anything to do with the harshness of the sentence and how does this compare to Huhne?" Glad to see from the sentencing remarks that the judge directly addresses the second point, and provides a very reasoned explanation as to his decision, which implies that race was not a factor, even implicitly.
    How is her virtue in being a role model to black girls nothing to do with race?
    That sentence is about being a role model, not the group for whom she is a role model.

    Switch out 'black girls' for 'the deaf', 'the disabled', or 'Syrian refugee orphans' ad infinitum, and the sentence still works, particularly given the judge's subsequent reference to social justice. So it is not about race, but about being a role model for a group which needs role models. If you don't think black girls need role models, I'd suggest you try being one for a while.

    In the US, there is an entire industry intent on building racism (and a whole list of other -isms) into every issue, regardless of fit. I had not realized it was as bad in the UK, where the historical factors conducive to giving rise to such attitudes are nowhere near as strong.
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787

    Mr. Urquhart, only seen about half an episode of Top Gear since May, Clarkson, and Hammond left. Not seen any of the Grand Tour.

    The Grand Tour is uneven. The ones that most closely follow the old TG format have been occasionally good, mostly OK to poor. The big set piece adventures to somewhere exotic have been every bit as good as their old TG equivalents, if not better as they seem to have a bit more budget to play with.
  • TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Be a good boy?
  • TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Avoid the pretty women who turn out to be prostitutes and/or men.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,134
    edited January 2019
    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    That’s unfortunate....Not lose your shirt....
  • MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034

    Sorry to object again, but that's nonsense. It has nothing to do with 'good faith'. It's no different from any other draft international agreement which doesn't get ratified by a country's legislature. Happens all the time.
    Indeed, Mr Nabavi. I think Mr Green needs to look at how the US Senate works.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Be a good boy?
    Am trying very hard. Night One was a success.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,676
    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Hire a car, go to the grand canyon.
  • Onasanya MP and solicitor gets 3 months jail. Her brother gets 10 months jail for the same offence. Both black.

  • TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Be a good boy?
    Am trying very hard. Night One was a success.
    In my lifetime I've spent 10 days in Las Vegas and I was a good boy every single day.

    Every single night however....
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 82,134
    edited January 2019
    rpjs said:

    Mr. Urquhart, only seen about half an episode of Top Gear since May, Clarkson, and Hammond left. Not seen any of the Grand Tour.

    The Grand Tour is uneven. The ones that most closely follow the old TG format have been occasionally good, mostly OK to poor. The big set piece adventures to somewhere exotic have been every bit as good as their old TG equivalents, if not better as they seem to have a bit more budget to play with.
    One thing you can’t fault, the stunning 4K cinematography. I think they would be better just agreeing to make 4-5 “big adventures” per year that are say 90 mins long, as they can’t do all the popular top gear segments and their replacements are naff.
  • Danny565Danny565 Posts: 8,091
    GIN1138 said:

    DUP support TM - just needs ERG now

    I still think Theresa is going to pull off a deal. Though the behaviour of Parliament is making it ever more difficult...
    I'd say most likely outcome is she brings her deal back with another waffly letter from the EU giving "assurances" that "no-one wants the backstop to be used" (but without actually changing anything in the deal itself), the ERG and DUP swallow their pride, and it scrapes through Parliament.
  • Carolus_RexCarolus_Rex Posts: 1,414
    Foxy said:

    MTimT said:

    Foxy said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    A dental student found guilty of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl will face no punishment after being granted an absolute discharge.

    Christopher Daniel, 18, denied carrying out numerous assaults on the girl while he was aged 15 to 17 and she was between six and eight.

    He was granted the discharge by Sheriff Gerard Sinclair after being found guilty at Dumbarton sheriff court at the end of a three-day trial. It means that Daniel, from Glasgow, will not be placed on the sex offenders register and the guilty verdict was not recorded as a conviction.

    The victim’s family were not allowed to see a report sent by the sheriff to the Crown Office explaining his “wholly exceptional” decision, an STV investigation has found. They believe that Daniel’s middle-class background, strong educational attainment and career prospects helped to convince the sheriff to grant the most lenient possible disposal.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/student-guilty-of-sex-assault-on-girl-6-will-not-be-punished-rpzdx6bmv

    Good grief. In effect, the Sheriff was condoning the offence.
    People like Xenon will be shocked to learn that Christopher Daniel is white.
    I don't think that having good career prospects, or educational prospects, ahead of you, should result in any sentencing discount. If anything, it seems worse for such people to commit serious offences than it is for people who have nothing.
    What happened to that female student who stabbed her boyfriend and was convicted but she was still intending to become a doctor?
    She is waiting to reapply for her course:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/08/oxford-university-student-avoided-prison-stabbing-boyfriend/
    She should apply for a surgery residency, given her skills with a knife ...
    While surgery is violence with permission, generally it needs to be a little more controlled.

    I suspect she will be banned by the GMC, and move into non clinical research.
    Maybe she could become a forensic pathologist, what with dead people not minding so much if you stick a blade in them, and her experience of the criminal justice system...
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    edited January 2019
    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    S-i-L lives in LV, and we've found the regular attractions pale very quickly. However, a trip out into the desert to somewhere like Red Rock Canyon is worth doing, as are some of the "ghost towns" nearby. It's near enough to the Grand Canyon to take a road trip there (there are bus tours from LV) or helicopter tour if you're willing to drop the $$$. The Hoover Dam is much closer and a good compromise if you don't fancy going all the way to the canyon.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,631

    Sandpit said:

    tlg86 said:

    Sean_F said:

    A dental student found guilty of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl will face no punishment after being granted an absolute discharge.

    Christopher Daniel, 18, denied carrying out numerous assaults on the girl while he was aged 15 to 17 and she was between six and eight.

    He was granted the discharge by Sheriff Gerard Sinclair after being found guilty at Dumbarton sheriff court at the end of a three-day trial. It means that Daniel, from Glasgow, will not be placed on the sex offenders register and the guilty verdict was not recorded as a conviction.

    The victim’s family were not allowed to see a report sent by the sheriff to the Crown Office explaining his “wholly exceptional” decision, an STV investigation has found. They believe that Daniel’s middle-class background, strong educational attainment and career prospects helped to convince the sheriff to grant the most lenient possible disposal.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/student-guilty-of-sex-assault-on-girl-6-will-not-be-punished-rpzdx6bmv

    Good grief. In effect, the Sheriff was condoning the offence.
    People like Xenon will be shocked to learn that Christopher Daniel is white.
    Did the judge make reference to Daniel's whiteness and maleness? Obviously a shocking decision, but two wrongs etc.
    Unfortunately the Sheriff won't release his reasoning.
    Can the prosecution appeal the lack of sentence in cases like this?
    I'm not sure how it works in Scotland.

    @DavidL would know better.
    Ah yes, they do things diff’rently up there!

    I understand that there’s sometimes a fine line between punishing someone for an offence and destroying someone’s future life for things they did as a juvenile, but on the face of it this looks like the wrong decision. Would be interested to hear the reasoning, maybe it was that the offences were at the very minor end of the scale or there was some other mitigation. He certainly had a good lawyer.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    edited January 2019

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Avoid the pretty women who turn out to be prostitutes and/or men.
    On checking in I was asked about 10 times whether I really only wanted just one key to my room so it is quite obvious that the default is not to avoid such people.
  • JonathanJonathan Posts: 21,676
    Danny565 said:

    GIN1138 said:

    DUP support TM - just needs ERG now

    I still think Theresa is going to pull off a deal. Though the behaviour of Parliament is making it ever more difficult...
    I'd say most likely outcome is she brings her deal back with another waffly letter from the EU giving "assurances" that "no-one wants the backstop to be used" (but without actually changing anything in the deal itself), the ERG and DUP swallow their pride, and it scrapes through Parliament.
    May has decided to run down the clock a little more by chasing unicorns. The main goal is to try to shift the blame.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992

    Onasanya MP and solicitor gets 3 months jail. Her brother gets 10 months jail for the same offence. Both black.

    PB contributor makes asinine comment. Probably white.
  • Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Hire a car, go to the grand canyon.
    If you are going to do that, Zion, Bryce etc are worth visiting.
  • MTimTMTimT Posts: 7,034
    Foxy said:

    MTimT said:

    Foxy said:

    Sean_F said:

    Sean_F said:

    A dental student found guilty of sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl will face no punishment after being granted an absolute discharge.

    Christopher Daniel, 18, denied carrying out numerous assaults on the girl while he was aged 15 to 17 and she was between six and eight.

    He was granted the discharge by Sheriff Gerard Sinclair after being found guilty at Dumbarton sheriff court at the end of a three-day trial. It means that Daniel, from Glasgow, will not be placed on the sex offenders register and the guilty verdict was not recorded as a conviction.

    The victim’s family were not allowed to see a report sent by the sheriff to the Crown Office explaining his “wholly exceptional” decision, an STV investigation has found. They believe that Daniel’s middle-class background, strong educational attainment and career prospects helped to convince the sheriff to grant the most lenient possible disposal.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/student-guilty-of-sex-assault-on-girl-6-will-not-be-punished-rpzdx6bmv

    Good grief. In effect, the Sheriff was condoning the offence.
    People like Xenon will be shocked to learn that Christopher Daniel is white.
    I don't think that having good career prospects, or educational prospects, ahead of you, should result in any sentencing discount. If anything, it seems worse for such people to commit serious offences than it is for people who have nothing.
    What happened to that female student who stabbed her boyfriend and was convicted but she was still intending to become a doctor?
    She is waiting to reapply for her course:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/06/08/oxford-university-student-avoided-prison-stabbing-boyfriend/
    She should apply for a surgery residency, given her skills with a knife ...
    While surgery is violence with permission, generally it needs to be a little more controlled.

    I suspect she will be banned by the GMC, and move into non clinical research.
    Yep. I don't see how she could pass any psyche evaluation to be put in a position to have power over patients' health.
  • MarqueeMarkMarqueeMark Posts: 52,626
    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Stop posting on pb.com?
  • Onasanya MP and solicitor gets 3 months jail. Her brother gets 10 months jail for the same offence. Both black.

    IIRC he pleaded guilty to three charges of perverting the course of justice, she was found guilty of just one charge.
  • TGOHFTGOHF Posts: 21,633
    May reaching out to the ERG and DUP - which is probably her only chance of a deal.

  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    Jonathan said:

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Hire a car, go to the grand canyon.
    Thanks will look at doing that. Good call.
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787

    rpjs said:

    Mr. Urquhart, only seen about half an episode of Top Gear since May, Clarkson, and Hammond left. Not seen any of the Grand Tour.

    The Grand Tour is uneven. The ones that most closely follow the old TG format have been occasionally good, mostly OK to poor. The big set piece adventures to somewhere exotic have been every bit as good as their old TG equivalents, if not better as they seem to have a bit more budget to play with.
    One thing you can’t fault, the stunning 4K cinematography. I think they would be better just agreeing to make 4-5 “big adventures” per year that are say 90 mins long, as they can’t do all the popular top gear segments and their replacements are naff.
    I think the next season is going to be exactly that.
  • SandpitSandpit Posts: 54,631
    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Go and see a couple of the big shows. I saw Penn and Teller do their bullet catch routine, and the Cirque de Soleil.

    Don’t take your credit cards to the casino, and make sure you wear a watch ‘cos there’s no clocks anywhere.
  • TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Get married by an Elvis?
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992

    rpjs said:

    Mr. Urquhart, only seen about half an episode of Top Gear since May, Clarkson, and Hammond left. Not seen any of the Grand Tour.

    The Grand Tour is uneven. The ones that most closely follow the old TG format have been occasionally good, mostly OK to poor. The big set piece adventures to somewhere exotic have been every bit as good as their old TG equivalents, if not better as they seem to have a bit more budget to play with.
    One thing you can’t fault, the stunning 4K cinematography. I think they would be better just agreeing to make 4-5 “big adventures” per year that are say 90 mins long, as they can’t do all the popular top gear segments and their replacements are naff.
    I rewatch the opening of the first GT (Clarkson going from London => Hothouse Flowers in the desert) quite often. It is fantastic.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992
    rpjs said:

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    S-i-L lives in LV, and we've found the regular attractions pale very quickly. However, a trip out into the desert to somewhere like Red Rock Canyon is worth doing, as are some of the "ghost towns" nearby. It's near enough to the Grand Canyon to take a road trip there (there are bus tours from LV) or helicopter tour if you're willing to drop the $$$. The Hoover Dam is much closer and a good compromise if you don't fancy going all the way to the canyon.
    Many thanks an itinerary is beginning to form itself!
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787

    https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/1090240638535303169

    (and Margaret Moran, deemed not fit to plead).

    Criminal law is a bourgeois construct, innit?
  • _Anazina__Anazina_ Posts: 1,810

    FFS she needs to be sent down

    People on here are utterly obsessed with this lady.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Stop posting on pb.com?
    LOL - you're lucky I didn't start posting as soon as I woke up.
  • Sandpit said:

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Go and see a couple of the big shows. I saw Penn and Teller do their bullet catch routine, and the Cirque de Soleil.

    Don’t take your credit cards to the casino, and make sure you wear a watch ‘cos there’s no clocks anywhere.
    Re cirque de soleil, go for the long standing one like O rather than Michael Jackson or beatles nonsense.
  • _Anazina__Anazina_ Posts: 1,810
    Pulpstar said:

    I don't think her being black has a tin of beans to do with her sentence, OTOH it has probably made her brother's more severe because he is a young black man.
    The leniency is due to the judge being a bleeding lefty halfwit.

    Nope. It's more the hard rightwing bias on here through which PBers view the world.
  • Tissue_PriceTissue_Price Posts: 9,039
    edited January 2019

    Onasanya MP and solicitor gets 3 months jail. Her brother gets 10 months jail for the same offence. Both black.

    She got off very lightly, and I agree with @tlg86 that the jury should have been asked to determine when her dishonesty began. But Festus was actually jailed for 3 offences:

    https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/sentencing-remarks-onasanyadocx.pdf
  • Interesting that the Speaker didn't call either of the amendments calling for indicative votes on options (F amd P), nor the SNP one calling for Article 50 to be revoked (Q):

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/29/amendments-to-may-statement-brexit-bill
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 42,992

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Get married by an Elvis?
    Or, after a few drinks, to an Elvis?
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 42,257
    GIN1138 said:

    I still think Theresa is going to pull off a deal. Though the behaviour of Parliament is making it ever more difficult...

    So do I. Passed in Feb/March, leave in Q2. Then she continues as PM until 2021 when she steps down and is replaced by Brexit Czar Michael Gove.

    This is the future that I see. I've tried others, I really have, and I know that plenty of them seem more likely right now, but none are quite as vivid and realistic looking on my device as the one above.
  • rpjsrpjs Posts: 3,787
    TOPPING said:

    TOPPING said:

    Meanwhile, for a bit of light relief from from discussions about jailed MPs and Br*x*t, I have found myself in Las Vegas for a few days.

    Anything I absolutely have to do while here?

    Avoid the pretty women who turn out to be prostitutes and/or men.
    On checking in I was asked about 10 times whether I really only wanted just one key to my room so it is quite obvious that the default is not to avoid such people.
    It's so you can leave one in the slot by the door to keep the lights and a/c on while you're out.
  • TOPPING said:

    rpjs said:

    Mr. Urquhart, only seen about half an episode of Top Gear since May, Clarkson, and Hammond left. Not seen any of the Grand Tour.

    The Grand Tour is uneven. The ones that most closely follow the old TG format have been occasionally good, mostly OK to poor. The big set piece adventures to somewhere exotic have been every bit as good as their old TG equivalents, if not better as they seem to have a bit more budget to play with.
    One thing you can’t fault, the stunning 4K cinematography. I think they would be better just agreeing to make 4-5 “big adventures” per year that are say 90 mins long, as they can’t do all the popular top gear segments and their replacements are naff.
    I rewatch the opening of the first GT (Clarkson going from London => Hothouse Flowers in the desert) quite often. It is fantastic.
    I hate to think how much they spent on that opening sequence.
  • _Anazina__Anazina_ Posts: 1,810
    The best thing about Fiona's sentence is the frothing it has triggered from the obsessives on here.

    Bravo!
This discussion has been closed.