Postman Pat Demands Doggie ID

Crackdown on dangerous dogs to make microchips compulsory for all | World news | guardian.co.uk All dogs are to be compulsorily microchipped so that their owners can be more easily traced under a crackdown on dangerous dogs to be unveiled today. The measures will be set out by the home secretary, Alan Johnson, who will point to rising public concern that "status dogs" are being used by some irresponsible owners to intimidate communities or as a weapon by gangs. Much of the legal framework stems from the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, which used to be held up as an example of the poor quality of legislation passed by MPs in haste but has actually proved a resilient and useful law over the past 19 years. The Home Office said yesterday: "While this legislation is an essential tool in tackling antisocial behaviour, the government wants to look at it again to ensure it is working as it should and enables the police, local authorities and the RSPCA to take swift action to protect the public and stop abuse." A few problem dogs so all dogs are legislated against, why is this no surprise? And for the DDA to be announced a success shows the art of revisionist history to be alive and well.

Death By Resource Allocation

Fire chief: I was right to forbid shaft rescue - Scotsman.com News Mr Stewart, of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, had arrived at the scene of the accident to take care of media duties. But when he found himself the senior officer at the top of the disused mine shaft, the 38-year-old decided to take command of firefighters who were poised to mount a rescue mission. Mr Stewart, who has 17 years' service, explained why he stopped the paramedic going into the hole, even though he was harnessed up and ready to go. He said: "I spoke to the paramedic and asked him some questions, if he was trained to work at height, or in confined spaces or familiar with any fire and rescue kit. "The answer to all of those questions was that he was not trained in any of them. "I explained to them as the officer in charge I could not let him access an area like that without appropriate training or equipment. "It was not my intention to allow any more resources into that shaft." "Resources" "Media Duties" "Appropriate Training" - When firemen start talking like this all is lost,

The Joys of Public Transport

Cockroaches cluster on trains - Telegraph The average railway carriage is providing a home for up to 1,000 cockroaches, 200 bed bugs and 200 fleas, it has emerged. A recent survey by Passenger Focus, the consumer watchdog, found that most of the travelling public was reasonably content with the level of cleanliness of their trains. I don't want to sound like Sir Nicholas but I'm obviously in the minority here.

Blue blistering barnacles!

TV station fined for for broadcasting a Tintin cartoon in which Captain Haddock and villains were smoking. The Higher Board of Radio and Television (RTUK) said in its ruling that TV8 had broken the law designed to protect people from the harmful effects of smoking and it fined the station 50,000 Turkish lira (£21,000). A cartoon character smoking! No wonder the kids are dying in their thousands on the streets.

Peer Reviewed Paper Shown to be Bogus

Fall of Andrew Wakefield, ‘dishonest’ doctor who started MMR scare - Times Online We are all for bogusmongers getting bashed here so hurrah! The damage has been done with the resurgence of measles, though the scare seems to be increasingly ignored. One beneficial result is that scaremongering has been damaged as well with people increasingly sceptical. But what of The Lancet, but what of the other 11 co-authors who quickly disassociated themselves, what of peer review?