G20 police officer Delroy Smellie cleared of assault

A Metropolitan Police officer accused of striking a woman with a metal baton at a G20 protest has been cleared. Sgt Delroy Smellie denied common assault on Nicola Fisher, 36, of Brighton, during the protest in Exchange Square, London, in April 2009. The officer told City of Westminster Magistrates' Court he feared objects in her hand were weapons. The Independent Police Complaints Commission said Sgt Smellie could still face police disciplinary action.

Prosecution 'failed'

District Judge Daphne Wickham found no evidence had been provided to show use of the baton was not measured or correct. She said: "It was for the prosecution to prove this defendant was not acting in lawful self-defence. "The prosecution has failed in this respect and the defendant has raised the issue of lawful self-defence and as such is entitled to be acquitted." The judge said Sgt Smellie had a "mere seven seconds" to act when Ms Fisher ran in front of him hurling abuse at a vigil held on 2 April to mark the death of newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson at a previous demonstration. Mr Tomlinson, 47, died after he was pushed to the ground by a police officer during clashes on 1 April. He had been walking home from work and was not part of the demonstration. Judge Wickham watched video footage of the incident and looked at numerous photographs before coming to a decision on the case, which was heard without a jury. She said circumstances meant the officer was not able to use CS gas and could not call for help from the police cordon. She pointed out that Sgt Smellie had deliberately bent his knees to hit Ms Fisher on her legs, causing a "transient flesh wound". Judge Wickham added: "I am satisfied he honestly believed it was necessary to use force to defend himself." Ms Fisher, who did not give evidence at the trial because she feared her lifestyle may be raised by the defence, said she was "disappointed" by the verdict.

She added: "I'm just glad it's all over. It has been a nightmare. "I stand by what I said."

Thumbs up

The Crown Prosecution Service had claimed Sgt Smellie lost composure because of Ms Fisher's aggressive behaviour. It argued he was justified in pushing her back and striking her with the back of his hand but claimed he went too far by striking her with an extendable metal baton. Ms Fisher was left with severe bruising to her leg. The incident was later viewed by thousands on internet video sharing website YouTube.

Ms Fisher was left with two bruises on her leg

Sgt Smellie smiled and gave two thumbs up to his supporters as he was cleared. The experienced officer, who had claimed he mistook a juice carton in Ms Fisher's hand for a weapon, had always maintained his actions were proportionate. He refused to comment on the outcome of the case, saying: "I don't think so, I have got a reputation to protect." Deborah Glass, of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, said Sgt Smellie could still face Metropolitan Police misconduct proceedings. She said: "People were understandably concerned when footage of this incident was played on the internet and it is right that the actions of the officer were put before a court. "Following today's decision, we will submit our report to the Met for their consideration in relation to any appropriate misconduct sanctions." Sgt Smellie, who was suspended during the trial, has been reinstated and can go back on duty, Scotland Yard said. A spokesman said: "When we have seen the IPCC's recommendations we will consider whether any misconduct proceedings are appropriate. " (my view)-See the pigs got away with violently abusing/hitting the public AGAIN!-I FUCKING HATE THE MORNS........one book of rules for us and NONE for you!

Tagged Trafford pet shop owner 'stunned' by tag

A pet shop owner who was electronically tagged after selling a goldfish to a 15-year-old boy has said she was "stunned" by the sentence Joan Higgins, 66, pleaded guilty at Trafford Magistrates' Court to selling an animal to a person under the age of 16 unaccompanied by an adult. She also admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a cockatiel at Major's Pets, in Sale, Greater Manchester. Trafford Council has defended the decision to pursue the prosecution. Higgins said that she had been in the pet trade for 28 years and would never intentionally harm an animal. She was forced to accept a tag because she is unfit for community work, but said: "I think it's over the top. "I would rather have donated something to a charity... I'd rather have done that than have a tag or a curfew. "You can't always get the balance right. And this particular one (boy) definitely could have passed for 16.

"Now in my shop any doubt and I ask them all for ID."

Officials sent the boy in to make a test purchase after receiving a complaint the shop had sold a gerbil to a 14-year-old girl with learning difficulties, who later dropped it into a cup of coffee. The boy was sold the fish without his age being questioned or providing any information about its care.

Case defended

An animal welfare officer also noticed a cockatiel in the store that appeared in distress and, when examined, was found to have a broken leg and eye problem. Higgins was fined £1,000 and ordered to stay in her house between 1800 BST and 0700 BST. Her son Mark Higgins, 47, who manages the shop, also admitted causing unnecessary suffering and was fined £750 and ordered to carry out 120 hours of community work. The case led to a series of national newspaper headlines bemoaning "Big Brother" snooping by local authorities. But Jonathan Coupe, executive councillor at Trafford Council, said on Wednesday he "wanted to set a few facts straight". He said the "main reason we took this prosecution was because the pet shop owner had caused unnecessary suffering to a cockatiel". Trafford Council had already warned the store about not supplying care information to customers, he added. "Magistrates felt the sentence they imposed reflected the level of cruelty caused to the animal." Animal rights group Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) also backed the council's stance. A spokeswoman said: "Ensuring pet shop owners adhere to basic animal welfare standards is the bare minimal that must be expected by authorities, yet cruelty in the pet trade remains the norm, not the exception." (my view)-Oh yeah! i forgot "The Goldfish"is a dangerous animal.......FUCKING IDIOTS......how the fuck to these pathetic assholes....become cops

Are you ready for yet more Twilight mania? Author Stephenie Meyer releases her first book in two years

Her Twilight books are already a global phenomenon to rival Harry Potter. Now booksellers are bracing themselves for a new wave of hysteria after publishers revealed author Stephenie Meyer is releasing her first new work for two years. Thousands are expected to queue overnight to be the first to get their hands on her novella The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner.

Breaking her silence: Twilight author Stephenie Meyer is releasing her first book for two years. The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner will be published in June

It will be published in June and is expected to be the biggest-selling novel of the year. The book will follow the life of Bree, a vampire character that features in the third Twilight title, Eclipse. She forms part of the vampire army which rises up against Twilight’s heroes Bella Swan, who is human, and Edward Cullen and his family, who are ‘vegetarian’ vampires. The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner will be published at 5.05am on June 5 as a hardback priced at £11.99. An e-book will also be available on June 5 from 11am. It is expected many fans will dress up as characters and camp out at stores in a bid to get the book as soon as possible. Miss Meyer is also placing her 192-page novella on a dedicated website, www.breetanner.com, from June 7 to July 5, for fans from around the world to view the story in English in a 'read only' format. Fang-tastic news: In Eclipse, Bree Tanner will rise up against Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), both pictured ‘I'd always considered The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner as something for the fans,’ said Miss Meyer. ‘They have been so supportive of all things Twilight.’ Publishing insiders have described the Twilight series as the ‘new’ Harry Potter because of the huge sales and interest. Miss Meyer's books have sold more than 45million copies worldwide and have been translated into 37 languages, with teenagers and children particular fans. The first three books in the franchise Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse have been adapted into films - Eclipse will be out in cinemas in July. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were plucked from obscurity to play Swan and Cullen but have become global stars. ‘A new Twilight Saga book from Stephenie Meyer, no matter how short, is the best news in the world for her legions of fans, and great news for bookshops everywhere - this could be the biggest-selling book of the year,' said Waterstone's children's buyer Sarah Clarke.

Account Disabled

Coincidence?.....i think not....last time i trust a friend

Why we LOVE OR HATE Twilight

It's wrong to refer to Twilight as "polarising". We read time and again that there are two opposing camps, one of "Twi-hards" and one of "haters". Those of us in the latter don't hate the Twilight series. We're just completely indifferent. That said, when the wave of hype is this potent and often inescapable, we're driven to point out that it's not all that the fans have cracked it up to be. We do have to live with the fact that Twilight 3 will likely be the biggest movie of 2010. If we so much as whisper our disapproval at the endless media coverage lavished on the cast or the crowds driven wild by vamp-hysteria, the franchise's enormous DVD sales and box-office figures are thrown back at us by the devotees as if they somehow prove Twilight's critical worth.

Opposing view: Why we LOVE Twilight

Let's dispel the idea that popularity is directly related to quality. If this was the case, the Mr Blobby song would have been one of the finest musical creations of 1993. If the figures said it all, Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel was one of the ten greatest movies of 2009. The numbers are on your side, teens, but they don't prop up your assertion that Twilight is "da gr8est eva". So what's all the excitement for? Perhaps what frustrates us most is that the vampire myth is so painfully well trodden. It seems like only a week ago that every boy lusted after Buffy and every girl longed to jump into the coffin with Angel. Go back to the 80s and teenagers were going vamp-crazy for The Lost Boys. At least that one was funny. The Twilight kids are not seeing the brighter side. Fans complain that the phenomenon is stereotyped as "teen" but the raw angst and melancholy emitted by the cast is straight out of the "dog ate my homework" book of hating your parents and painting your fingernails black. Unsure of herself and her place in the world, Bella Swan is a character teens can relate to and there's nothing wrong with that. But the sheer misery of watching Kristen Stewart scowl her way through the performance is, frankly, painful. Why couldn't they feed her to the bad vampires and carry on playing vampire baseball? It was almost getting fun for a second there. But she's not the real motor behind the phenomenon is she? There's practically a drum roll when Robert Pattinson first walks into school as Edward Cullen, prompting swoons around the planet. He's a looker for sure. But is the screaming really necessary? Certainly his clunky lines aren't making us want to spend eternity with him: "I feel protective of you," he says between odd dramatic pauses. "You're my own personal brand of heroine," comes next. Then it's "I'm a sick, masochistic lion." He's hardly making the earth shift for us. That said, he's the best thing in the franchise. So it's a shame he barely appears in the second movie, being replaced for the most part by shirtless Taylor Lautner and his high-protein diet. The first movie is low on screen chemistry. The second is devoid of it. Was the midnight queuing outside the local DVD shop really worth a few lines of dire-logue (Bella: "I'm coming." Edward: "I don't want you to come,") and half an hour of Pattinson? Teenage fascination with deathly heroes isn't a new thing, especially if the undead in question are bedroom wall material. But this smacks of overnight phenomenon to the point that you worry for the careers of the young stars involved. Their talents don't deserve to be forever associated with a franchise that will go down as one of the tackier reincarnations of the tired vampire myth.

The Twilight Saga is one of the most loved movie series of recent years. It's also one of the most hated. As teenage girls spend hours watching their favourite teen angst love story/image searching Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner/dreaming of being bitten by a brooding vampire, movie buffs are cursing and criticising it until they're blue in the face. Being as objective as I can, Twilight is good. No, honestly. It's so good I watched the first movie three times in as many weeks. Initially I thought the hype surrounding it (and the new, sexy British actor Robert Pattinson) was a load of old hooey. However, when told by a very adamant friend of mine to watch the DVD, I did, and I was converted in the short space of a few hours. Forget the hundreds of thousands of fan girls. Forget the biased views spewing from the mostly-male movie critic world (film experts hate it because, well, it's not aimed at them).

Opposing view: Why we HATE Twilight

Twilight is a brilliant example of simple yet effective storytelling and interesting cinematography. Not only that, but its impressive soundtrack (Muse, Paramore and Linkin Park) adds to the overall feel of moody, teenage life and those excruciating feelings of love we all remember from our adolescence. Another enjoyable thing about the movie is the way our heroine Bella Swan is obsessed with a vampire who loves her but also really wants to suck at her arteries. She might have the kind of face you want to slap but you're still rooting for her all the way through. New Moon, while not as good as its predecessor (mostly because the focus shifts from sexy vampire Edward Cullen to the overly-muscular werewolf Jacob Black - I'm cheering for Team Cullen) is still one of the best films of 2009. The plot thickens and becomes more implausible with every passing minute, but that only adds to its appeal. Who wants reality anyway? On the plus side, there are more laughs in New Moon than in Twilight, and the music is just as impressive thanks to Muse reprising their role as Best Teen Soundtrack Contributors Ever. Oh, and the aforementioned fan girls get to see Taylor Lautner strut his stuff topless. As the release of the third instalment of The Twilight Saga approaches, I can already hear the tuts and sighs from critics around the world, cracking their knuckles before gleefully slating it. Their views are tainted by the media storm surrounding it, but surely anything that generates this much coverage and takes in that much money has to be pretty decent, right? Going back to basics, this is a straightforward love story set in a world where vampires and werewolves exist among humans. The people in it are good looking, and every scene is filled with so much teenage torment, you're desperate for someone to crack a smile. However, that's a good thing - people love to watch stories they can relate to, and blood-sucking creatures and hairy wolf-boys aside, this is a valid take on reality. I'm not saying Twilight needs to be loved by everyone. It just needs to be understood and respected for what it is - a coming of age romantic tale with some blood on the side.(my view)-As much as i want to crack open the truth here-i must not,but a can tell you that a agree,men/woman vampires in movies should not be sexed up by half undressed ect,but yet again,the movie industry thrives on people watching and buying them so........SEX/SEXINESS sells:( makes me sick