News

Badger and the censor THERE are times, readers, when

Published

9 years ago

February 26, 2015

THERE are times, readers, when Badger despairs at humankind’s ability to be cruel to each other. There are times when, with a badgerly shrug, he simply wishes he could walk away and find somewhere cool and dimly lit to lie down with an un-improving volume of light verse. Readers will know that Badger has detected a certain sourness and cynicism in public discourse over recent years. As you will also know by now, readers, Badger is bang onside with sourness and cynicism, if it has a point: but what we are now experiencing is the nihilism of halfwitty and half-witted remarks, such as “Don’t vote, it only encourages them.”

A sentiment often advanced by those who do not vote and then complain at a result they forfeited all right to complain about. Consumerism has fractured society into chunks, some of which overlap and some of which stand in glorious isolation. In a world more interconnected than ever before, there seems to be more genuine loneliness – or, perhaps, wilful isolation of the self – than at any time Badger can remember.

As we have become increasingly identifiable by third parties through our actions and our responses to stimuli (for example, shopper loyalty cards; banking information; online gaming; online advertising) and accordingly placed into groups for targeted marketing, so the glue that holds us together as families and communities has weakened. Badger sees the way people, write and behave on social media and some of the vile and offensive things that appear on it. And Badger wonders whether the term “society” has somehow passed its sell by date.

The expression of extremes seems to have become the norm, particularly from the wilder shores of the fascist right. Those who express those racist, repugnant and intolerant views claim protection derived from a freedom of speech they want to deny others. That they are able to express their views at arms’ length or from the safety of a keyboard before a glowing monitor, seems to suggest that some line has been crossed.

As we look at online avatars and profiles, we become less human, less humane and more inclined to casual cruelties. The problematic result of all of this can be summarized as follows: social networks are addicting and provide the illusion of real relationship. Over time, we begin to falsely equate genuine, humanto- human relationship with the shallow connection and gratification offered by social networks.

We increasingly define ourselves in terms of our digital presence and feel the need to “share” constantly to feel heard and less alone. It is that need to be heard which causes people to ‘shout’ online. Scarcely a report of a court story can appear online without someone, usually someone with only a nodding acquaintance with spelling and grammar, hopping out from under their bridge to offer an opinion.

Over Christmas, Badger was looking at some exchanges on The Herald’s own Facebook feed. There was a report of a case. The report set out the charges the accused faced, the course of the trial, the guilty verdict and the sentence passed by the Court. Judging from the reactions, you would have thought that newspapers and their web feeds should only carry news that relates news that trolls find agreeable – for example “Billy Goats Gruff Eaten” or “Judge praises axe murderer for being nice to his mum”. It was “wrong” what was written. The story was not “true”. It was all “unfair”. It was “sad” to send the guilty to prison. Gloves off: what was written was objectively right.

There was no lie. The facts spoke for themselves. It was not unfair. The accused had their chance to defend their actions. They could not do so. The word “guilty” means guilt was established according to the law and beyond a reasonable doubt. That is not the law as trolls wish it, but the law as it is. Badger was horrified by one person, who from the content of his remarks was lucky not to be lifted by the rozzers himself. Badger pondered before deciding that a line had been crossed. He deleted comments that were argumentative, intimidatory, and hectoring in tone.

Enough was enough: freedom of speech does not include the right to bully others by being a keyboard warrior. If the person whose long and aggressive rants was to be believed, people who had committed a crime had gone unpunished. The fact he was prepared to stand idly by and do nothing about that state of affairs, speaks volumes for the very special trollish logic he applied to his statements. Badger censored a debate. Now, readers Badger is in favour of open, friendly, non-judgemental and balanced argument.

At the same time, he knows he is personally seldom all four of the foregoing at one time – and occasionally their diametric opposite in each and every respect – but Badger makes a genuine effort to approach those terms both singly and collectively. Badger was reluctant to reach for the metaphorical blue pencil, but for better or ill he did. Make no mistake, the remarks Badger deleted were not the ‘casual cruelties’ he referred to earlier. These were not spiteful, petty remarks of the type made by insecure juveniles.

The remarks he censored were appalling, crass and menacing. In the great scheme of things, however, they were far less offensive than some of the toxic rants Badger has seen peddled as fact by bigots online; but they were far over the bounds of what a reasonable person would tolerate. They were certainly beyond what an occasionally unreasonable Badger could tolerate. What makes humans human is their interactions with each other. Every human is different and each of us has rights and obligations that come from being part of the whole. Badger wouldn’t have it any other way. Our society is more important than “comments”, “likes” and “shares” on social media. Badger fears, however, that which connects us in so many ways, makes inhumanity to others far easier than it was previously.

letter to badger

‘Humane and committed’ -do you know best this time?

DEAR BADGER, Since you started to climb out of your badger sett each week and write articles for the Pembrokeshire Herald you appeared to want to help local humans, but last week you seemed to have lost concern for yourself and your wildlife friends.

In your last article you stated that Simon Hart, MP is “humane and committed”. Simon Hart before he became our MP was the Master of the South Pembrokeshire Hunt, Director of the Campaign for Hunting and Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance which was and still is deeply “committed” to the return of hunting with dogs. So surely, Mr Badger, you have to ask the question “what is he committed to and is it humane?”.

Simon Hart MP has strongly supported the campaign to repeal the Hunting Act 2004. The Act not only made it illegal to hunt wildlife with dogs for sport, but also made it illegal for hunts to block your sett entrances whilst hunting. So that law, besides protecting you, protected young badger cubs when they were born underground. Furthermore, Mr Badger, Simon Hart MP was against vaccinating your relatives in Wales, instead of culling, so you don’t catch Bovine TB from cattle.

Culling badgers is a disaster when carried out in England and was said to be “ inefficient and inhumane” after the badgers were shot and took a considerable time to die. Surely Mr Badger you must reassess your opinion of what being “humane ” means, or one day in the future, you may be culled or get blocked in your badger sett and unable to get out, so that will be the end of your excellent articles.

Michael Sharratt

Cwm Coile

Whitland

Carmarthenshire

Community

Public reminded to stay away from Ward’s Yard and Criterion Quay

Published

14 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE PORT of Milford Haven is reminding members of the public to stay away from Ward’s Yard in Milford Haven and Criterion Quay (sometimes known as the offshore jetty) in Pembroke Dock due to concerns over public safety. 

Despite significant security measures, people continue to access the sites illegally, ignoring and sometimes damaging the onsite signage and fences.

Niall Yeomans, Head of Health, Safety and Security at the Port of Milford Haven said: “Safety is our key priority. Members of the public are continuously putting themselves and members of our team at risk of serious harm by trespassing in these areas.”

“Both Ward’s Yard and Criterion Quay are unsafe for public access. They are isolated areas next to deep water and are susceptible to slips, trips and falls.”

Both sites are owned by the Port of Milford Haven and are private property. Anyone found onsite without consent is trespassing, and any criminal damage could result in prosecution.  

Anyone who sees any suspicious activity at Ward’s Yard or Criterion Quay is asked to contact Dyfed Powys Police on 101 urgently.

Crime

‘Sophisticated’ organised crime gang trafficked cocaine and cannabis to Aberystwyth

Published

16 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

FIVE people have been found guilty or admitted to conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis as Dyfed-Powys Police continues its efforts to dismantle organised crime gangs.

Officers seized cocaine with a street value of more than £400,000 from gang members, who continually changed tactics to avoid arrest.

Six defendants have appeared in court in the latest phase of Dyfed-Powys Police’s Operation Burleigh, which sought to disrupt the trafficking and onward supply of class A and B drugs into Aberystwyth, with all but one admitting their charges or being found guilty by a jury.

This brings the total number of people awaiting sentence under the operation to 15.

The court heard that officers from Dyfed-Powys Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Team and Ceredigion Priority Policing Team led the investigation into the OCG, which was described as ‘sophisticated, well-organised and evolving’.

Detective Sergeant Steven Jones said: “This conspiracy operated on a County Lines model, where controlled drugs are trafficked into a smaller rural town from a larger city, and the operation is controlled by one or more ‘drugs lines’.

“In this case there were a total of four lines controlling the supply of cocaine and cannabis within Aberystwyth.

“The conspirators frequently evolved their actions to frustrate the authorities and evade capture.”

The OCG embedded members were mainly asylum seekers brought to Aberystwyth by Toana Ahmad and another man who remains outstanding, with the sole purpose of dealing drugs. The drug lines were initially based in Swansea, and later in areas of Birmingham.

Three properties – on Terrace Road, Alexander Road and Parc Graig Glas – were identified early in the investigation as being used to house the OCG members embedded in Aberystwyth. Substantial amounts of cash, controlled drugs and weapons were recovered from these properties, and from the people found inside.

When arrests were made, the gang changed its tactics. Drugs began to be supplied from vehicles, and OCG members stayed in guest houses to avoid detection.

DS Jones added: “Trusted couriers were employed to transport drugs to Aberystwyth and cash back to Birmingham or Swansea. A number of vehicles, including taxis, were used as the gang attempted to avoid detection along the route, while trains were also taken when courier cars were stopped by officers.”

In June 2023, two vehicles travelling from the West Midlands towards Aberystwyth were stopped by police on consecutive days. A black sock was uncovered in the engine of the first car, which was found to contain 82g of high purity cocaine divided into 169 grip seal plastic bags.

Davinder Singh, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs, was the driver of the second vehicle, which was a taxi. A blue plastic bag was seen falling out of his shorts, which contained over 81g of high purity cocaine divided into 167 grip seal bags.

DS Jones said: “On the basis that the amounts of cocaine transported over the 37 couriers over the course of the conspiracy period were similar, over 3kg of cocaine would have been conveyed to Aberystwyth from Birmingham.

“This equates to class A drugs with a potential street value of over £308,950. In addition to this, class A drugs were seized from individuals and addresses with a potential street value of £103,445, along with cash totalling £11,687.

“A number of teams and departments across Dyfed-Powys Police, from analysts, CCTV operators and priority policing teams, to CAB, the Technical Support Unit, Economic Crime Team and Force Intelligence Bureau all assisted in dismantling the OCG from top to bottom.

“Their dedication and relentless efforts have assisted in making Aberystwyth a safer place to live without the threat and harm of drugs being made easily available on the street.”

After a seven-week trial at Swansea Crown Court earlier this year, the following three defendants were found guilty for their parts in the conspiracy:

Toana Ahmad, aged 33, of Lee Gardens in Smethwich, West Midlands
Barzan Sarhan, aged 31, of no fixed address
Ahmed Piro, aged 26, of no fixed address

The jury failed to reach a verdict on two defendants during the earlier trial. They have been subject to a retrial starting on July 1, with the following outcomes:

Hawre Ahmed, aged 35, of Pinderfields Road, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, was found guilty by the jury of conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs.
Diar Yousef Zeabari, aged 35, of Flat 5, 41 Bryn Road, Swansea, was found not guilty of conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs.

Karwan Karim, aged 39 of 125 Griffith John Street, Swansea, also stood trial, and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A and B controlled drugs on day three.

In addition to the OCG members found guilty during the most recent trials, the following have previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs under Operation Burleigh:

Davinder Singh, aged 36, of Huntingdon Road, West Bromwich
Daban Khalil, aged 23, of Streetly Road, Birmingham
Kastro Omar, aged 30, of Junction Road, Northampton
Karwan Jabari, aged 26, of Weedon Close, Northampton
Walid Younis Abdal, aged 34, of St Anne’s Road, Doncaster
Saman Aziz, aged 41, of Kirk Road, Merseyside
Adel Mustafa, aged 39, of Hubert Road, Newport
Charlotte Roberts, aged 21, of Sutton Hill, Telford

The following have previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs:

Akasha Smith, aged 24, of Third Avenue, Aberystwyth
Luqman Jarjis, aged 21, of Wake Green Road, Birmingham

News

Community asked for views on allocation of new St Davids homes

Published

16 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE FIRST phase of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Glasfryn housing development in St Davids is progressing well with the second phase also underway.

The development being built by GRD Homes Ltd, began in November 2023, with a first phase completion date of Winter 2024 looking hopeful, ahead of the scheduled plans.

The first phase consists of seven properties, including a mixture of one and two bedroom bungalows

As completion draws closer the properties will be advertised via Pembrokeshire Choice Homes.

Ahead of this, the Council’s housing team will be holding community engagement on the 13th August 2024 at the Ty’r Pererin Centres, Quickwell Hill, St Davids, SA62 6PD, 5pm-7pm.

This will be a chance for officers to liaise with the local community about the allocation process for these properties.

Glasfryn’s second phase is well underway, with the initial groundwork already completed. This phase includes a further 11 two bedroom bungalows, with a completion date in late 2025.

These bungalows will meet the latest Welsh Government’s Development Quality Requirement, and will be energy efficient, built to EPC A specification and include solar panels to help tenants with running costs.

The Glasfryn development is funded in partnership with Welsh Government.

Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr Michelle Bateman said: “We are really keen to work with the community on a local lettings policy for these new properties, as we have done for our developments in other parts of the County.”

If you have any queries please email the Customer Liaison Team on [email protected], phone them on 01437 764551, or visit Housing’s Facebook page.