There’s something wrong with the alcohol watchdog. They have commissioned a report into a beer because it has a name that could be termed “aggressive”: Skull Splitter.
Yet this isn’t a new alcopop or “yoof” drink, but rather an 8.5% ale created more than 20 years ago.
One could understand there being complaints if it was an alcopop or otherwise aimed at the “yoof” market, as it would be seen as encouraging alcohol-fueled violence. But it isn’t. The sort of people who would drink this ale aren’t the sort that would then …

Unintentionally, I’m continuing a theme from last week – words that might cause offence.
I’ve read a couple of posts over the past week (from Nickopotamus and GeekLawyer) highlighting the news that the police themselves have taken action over a member of the public allegedly offending a group of individuals. An unamed 15-year old has been served summons by the City of London police under s5 of the Public Order Act 1986 -“displaying any sign …which is threatening, abusive, or insulting … likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress”.
What did the …

Something that’s come to my attention a bit recently our favourite old chestnut of “It’s political correctness gone mad”
As you can see from the new category & title for this weekly post “A Northern Monkey Speaks”, I am (unashamedly) from the land of cotton mills, flat caps, and decent pints of bitter in a friendly local pub. Perhaps as a result, I have a very dry sense of humour. Maybe not Bernard Manning level – but if someone gives me an opening to direct abuse at them, I normally take …

Is this racist?
White people are less likely to feel they can influence decisions on running Britain than other ethnic groups, a government survey suggests.Some 19% of white people agreed they had a say, compared with 33% of other groups, the Department for Communities and Local Government found.Black African people were most likely to think they could have an influence – 38% said they could…The second most confident group, in terms of its ability to influence the country, was Bangladeshis, on 36%.Next on 35% were Indians, followed by 34% of Pakistanis …

The BBC bleeped the word “faggot” in the Christmas song Fairytale of New York because they feared that it might offend some gay viewers. The offending passage goes:
You scumbag, you maggot you cheap lousy faggot, Happy Christmas your arse I pray God It’s our last.
This obviously and deservedly produced a hell of a lot of criticism from listeners and DJs alike, and the BBC has since backtracked from their absurd position. It’s hardly as if the word “faggot” was used as an attack on gay people in this context, …

Sayeeda Warsi is accused of “pandering to racists” when she said:
There are a lot of people out there who are voting for the British National Party and it’s those people that we mustn’t just write off and say ‘well, we won’t bother because they are voting BNP or we won’t engage with them’. They have some very legitimate views – people who say ‘we are concerned about crime and justice in our communities, we are concerned about immigration in our communities’.
What she says is perfectly reasonable. We shouldn’t just write …

WTF?
A police mascot has been criticised for being too white and male.The character, a police community support officer, or PCSO, called Steve, is white with blue eyes and blond hair. He is based on a real officer in Sutton, Surrey, and visits primary schools and public events in London.But one Metropolitan Police sergeant said “Steve” failed to represent the communities he served, and could leave Asian and women officers “isolated”. (The Telegraph)
As far as I am aware, the vast majority of people in Britain are still white. Hence, to have …